Right Now: a little update

So where have I been the last 2 months? Just sitting around waiting for some good music to finally come out, but it never happened. I'm in the middle of summer school and realized it had been a long time since I posted, so here is a quick run
-down of things I want to talk about;
- albums of the year (of course)
- saw the Avengers & Thor
- new cartoons (some soon to be cancelled)
- new school year It's a lot on my mind and I am going to try and post one topic per day...I say try because I probably won't post again until Christmas.

Video Killed the Radio Star: New Spider-Man Trailer

I could have turned this into a Venting the Anger post, but let's try and be positive here. Spider-Man does have web shooters again and he does appear to have some of the classic wise cracking humor going on here.

So I won't mention Peter creating the formula to turn Connors into the Lizard or the fact that once again we will have a super long scene in which Spider-Man runs around the city without his mask on. Or the fact that Peter's parents are somehow related to Connors, even though they are best remembered for a 90's storyline in which they were spies/traitors/SHIELD agents...so I am sure this movie can clear that up.

Video Killed the Radio Star: Is this what I sound like?

A short video of what comic book nerds say. I will admit to saying some of these. The one that sticks out is the whole "Galactus is a cloud?" because every time I talk about FF2 I always say that.

Thoughts Without Words: Are you kidding me??? Again

I can't believe I am doing this again, but why do movie executives always want to change something that is fine the way it is? Seriously, we have seen it with Wonder Woman, Spider- Man, X-Men and many others and now it has come to the iconic Superman. Now I already discussed his new costumes in the relaunch of DC Comics, and I even pointed out the new suit. But there was one thing I didn't discuss that post. And that is the lack of the red undies. In the promo picture it was hard to tell if they were on or missing because of the lighting. Now it is official...they changed one of the most iconic and most recognizable costumes of all time to this

*sigh* when will they learn to leave things alone? The cape is gone too, but since there have been pictures of him with a cape I am assuming it's missing for a reason. And what's up with the stripes down the side? What was wrong with the original design? Now since I don't want to be too negative I will add two things; first the hair is better than it was in the promo pic and second Henry Cavill looks like Superman...his arms are huge! Is it enough to make me look away from the stripes and missing red trunks? We'll see, but I'm gonna say...no.

Venting the Anger: Catwoman needs ears

Maybe I should change this blog to a comic book costume blog...

So the new Batman movie is going to have Catwoman in it and they released the first picture today;

Really? That's it? She looks like she could be any generic spy from any generic spy movie...heck even Spy Kids. Now if you look closely, she does appear to be wearing some sort of mask under those blue blockers. But really what makes Catwoman's costume a Catwoman costume? Let's look;

Every one of those suits (minus the golden age green one) has ears. And why not...she's supposed to be a cat! Even that train wreck of a movie Catwoman with Halle Berry had ears. Here's a comparison of the ladies, including Michelle Pfeiffer's iconic suit;

When you look at it this way, you can clearly see why fans are a little worried about this. Catwoman needs ears!

Thoughts Without Words: New Superman costumeS

Yes I said costumes.

Back in June DC announced it was rebooting the entire DC Universe and giving everyone a makeover. Now I have talked a lot about comic book costumes on here, so of course I will talk about these. Now I was always going to talk about the new Superman comic costumes, but it just so happened that they released an image of the new Superman costume for the new movie, so I will throw that one in here too.

So first up are the new comic costumes. Here is the one from Action Comics, which supposedly tell stories from his earlier days on Earth...in fact he can't fly yet, just jump.

What the?!?!?!? Is Superman wearing jeans and a t-shirt? Wow. Seriously, it looks like a commercial for Wrangler jeans...Brett Favre is in trouble. And how can he be wearing a t-shirt of his logo if he is just getting in the public eye. Did he go to like Cafepress or something and said "hey, I got a cool idea for a shirt..." It just looks bad.

Next up is the costume for the Superman title;

If you have read any comments online about this costume, they are all true. This costume looks like it was ripped from the 90's with the armor. I also don't like the fact that the red "underwear" is gone. The high collar isn't the worst thing about this, so it gets a pass. But seriously, if you are Superman...why do you have armor? Clearly, he was ok running around in jeans and a t-shirt, so why the upgrade?

Finally, the new movie suit;

Things I like about it;

• The big 'S' is back
• Those arms are huge!

Things I don't like about it;

• Cape is super long...I like it better than the original but I thought they got the length right on Superman Returns.
• The texture on the suit.  What's the purpose of it?  The new Spider-Man has it too...why?
• Colors are dark again.
• The hair...he needs a haircut...hippie.

Compare it to the other suits;

I felt the worst thing about the Returns suit was the small 'S'. The dark colors weren't too bad, especially on the film.  I am sure more pictures will come out in the next few days and I will post them and of course give my thoughts on them.

Thoughts Without Words: More Emma Frost from X-Men First Class

Well a couple of months ago I posted the first picture of January Jones in her full on Emma Frost costume. Emma Frost definitely has a lot of ... well sex appeal and it's going to be hard to pull it off. So today a couple more photos of her popped up and well...

I might be in the minority here, but it's still not working for me. There is something that is still a little off.  Maybe it is that lack of a choker or maybe it is the fact that January Jones has the same facial expression in every single photo.  I gotta say that photo of her on the couch...not flattering.  She looks very old in that photo, I think it's the hair style to be honest with you.

Much like the rest of the movie...it's just not working for me.

Venting the Anger: X-Men 1st Class

Seriously, how hard is it to make a movie based on a comic book that has such a vast history to pull from. And when you call a franchise "First Class", seems like it would be pretty easy to just look up who the "First Class" was and go with it.

Of course, I am talking about the new X-Men movie. I talked about it HERE once already. And I just can't see how they messed up the team. Everyone knows Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Beast (human form), and Angel.

Seems easy enough right? Well here is a screen capture from the new trailer. Let's see;

WTF?!?! Banshee?  Havok?? Who is now Cyclops' dad instead of younger brother???? Magneto? Mystique???? Seriously HOW CAN YOU SCREW IT UP!!!!

And what is up with Havok's costume? He looks like a character in Tron that has his Identity Disk on backwards. At least they got Emma Frost's suit somewhat right.

On it's own it might be a fine movie, but come on too many X-Men fans are familiar with the back story to believe something like this.

Thoughts Without Words: Emma Frost, X-Men: First Class

I have ripped on X-Men First Class already. And today they released a picture of January Jones in full attire.

Now Emma Frost has been around for awhile and started out as a bad guy. Recently though, she has been fighting for good. So before we get to the new photo, here are a couple of her comic appearances.

Her first style was this one. Pretty risque to say the least.
Her current look is a little more...modern?
At least she has pants on now right?

Anyway here is the movie version
Complaints? Can I nitpick on the hair? It has changed since the "fake" team photo was released, even though the outfit is the same. I guess it's that 60's style? I don't know. It seems like it is missing something...can't figure it out though. Maybe it's the lack of a choker? Just seems a bit off to me.

Thoughts Without Words: Another Spider-Man movie picture

I'm not going to turn this into a spoiler movie blog. But I do want to talk about the suit again.What the heck is this thing? I got nothing. The red streak down the legs is another reminder of the Ben Reilly suit, the same with the gloves. I think the most troubling is the red eyes. Oh well. I have a feeling the suit is going to suck, hopefully the movie isn't too bad. And on the plus side, it's better than X-Men First Class.

Venting the Anger: X-Men - First Class

Seriously...WTF?!?! I didn't like any of the previous 3 X-Men movies because they didn't follow the comics, I won't talk about the horrible suits. The first class of X-Men will always be Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Iceman, and Angel...that's it. None of this Storm, Wolverine, Cyclops, Rogue, and whoever else they put in there. The first 3 movies were so messed up and then they tried to bring in Beast and Angel ... nevermind. Well it was announced last year that they were rebooting with X-Men First Class. Heck there is even a comic serious of the same name with the original 5 X-Men. Cool, right? Well today we were graced with the first official photo of X-Men First Class.What the...?!?!?! Who are these people? I recognize 3 people. Beast in the middle who looks like a blue afro-haired Vulcan and Emma Frost, who actually looks like she does in the comics, which by the way is very hard to pull off if you have ever seen her costume in the comics. And Mystique who looks like a head was photoshopped on some random body.

Where is Cyclops? Jean Grey? Iceman? Angel? Why is Mystique in an X-Man costume? Who is the red faced guy? And who is the other chick? I found out the guy to the right of Beast is Havok...yeah Cyclops' brother. So that makes sense, let's have a movie called X-Men First Class and have only one member be apart of it. Better yet, let's put in one of their brothers so it's like he is in it too.

This movie is going to suck worse than X-Men 3 or Spider-Man 3. I don't understand how you can't just make a movie about the original 5 X-Men.

Thoughts Without Words: New Spider-Man & Captain America movie costumes

Well I wasn't going to talk about the movie designs, but then I realized that I have talked quite a bit about comic book costumes, so why not some more.

First up is the new Spider-Man suit.At first glimpse it looks ok, but then the comic book nerd in me starts to pick it apart. Where is his little red belt (which never really served a purpose)? What's up with the little designs on the gloves? Are the spider legs going all the way down to his waist? And are those web-shooters on the outside of his suit? Well at least he has web-shooters again.

The Toby Maguire Spider-Man suits were not perfect by any means. The webbing on the suit always seemed a bit much...too silvery. But other than that, they nailed it. I won't talk about the Spider-Man 3 "black suit" because well... it sucked. And if I talk about it anymore this will turn into a Venting the Anger post. It is the worst adaptation I have ever seen. Ok enough of that.

It seems like they are trying to throw a little of the Ben Reilly Spider-Man suit into the mix. And I will be honest with you, there's nothing wrong with that. It's a good design. And if you aren't going to go with the original look, you might as well try something new. But look at the new suit and Ben Reilly's. No belt, check. Web-Shooters on the outside, check (not as bad as Ben's). Spider legs go all the way down, check (although once again not as bad). If I was going to stray away from the normal Spider-Man suit I would also look at this one. Change up the funky legs and you have a winner. I think the execs want to go away from the Toby Spider-Man movies that they are willing to tweak the suit a bit to distinguish itself from those movies.


Next up, Captain America.
I have nothing bad to say about it. They do a good job of making it look realistic. I mean he was a soldier during WWII. I'm not happy about the brown helmet under his helmet, but other than that...this looks good.

I will update this as more pictures come out.

Who Decides: Comic Book Movies

So I have a nice short list of favorite comic book movies. I know there are a lot, but these four really do it for me. Now to be honest, I haven't seen the Iron Man movies yet, I know what is wrong with me. I have seen the 2 different Hulks, the X-Men trilogy, Daredevil, the Punisher (all 3 of them), and all of the Batman movies. So I have seen my fair share of them.

Now first off, as I say on my profile, the movies need to stick to the comics. I didn't see the X-Men in the theaters because the team was all wrong and the suits? What was up with them? Speaking of costumes, to this day, I still haven't seen Spider-Man 3 because how hard is it to get the black suit right? They dropped the ball there, I won't talk about the emo Parker I keep hearing about. So onto the list.

4. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer - now I didn't see this in the theaters because I heard they made Galactus into a cloud instead of a giant robot. I guess since he was never seen it is ok. But the movie itself is pretty solid. The Fantastic Four have always been a more light hearted more family oriented comic book and I think they did it here. The cast is perfect. Jessice Alba is the weakest link on the cast. Reed, Ben, and Johnny Storm come to life on the screen just the way you always imagined they would as you read the comics growing up. It's a shame to see Chris Evans moving onto Captain America because he nails Johnny Storm and it will be hard for me to forget him in this role.

Trailer:


3. Superman 2: The Richard Donner Cut - I just reviewed this film a few weeks ago, so if you want a really detailed review of it go HERE. I can't add much to that review. It is a great movie and the RD Cut makes it so much better.

Trailer:


2. Spider-Man 2 - This should be number one. I'm actually not taking off any points for the black costume either. It is perfection. The movie does a great job of establishing Peter and all of his troubles and trying to balance a love life, school, family and friends, and Spider-Man. It's better than the first because it doesn't have that ridiculous Green Goblin mask either...what was up with that thing? Doctor Octopus is perfect. I can't really explain his performance unless you have read the comics. And the whole movie is full of memorable scenes. How about the train scene where Peter is unmasked and all of the people on the train help him out and not worry about who he is?

Or the ending when Peter is unmasked in front of Mary Jane...classic. The music the drama is perfect.


Trailer:


1. Batman (1989) - while the movie itself might not be as strong as Spider-Man 2, it is better than the first Spider-Man. This movie is number one for the lasting effect it had on movies and tv. First off the movie itself, it was good. Keaton was great as Batman. Remember this was Beetle Juice. I was worried even as a 6th grader that this would be like the 60's Batman. Nicholson does a great job as the Joker. I won't get into the whole Nicholson vs. Ledger for the best Joker. Let's just say he took Cesar Romero's Joker and intensified him. It wasn't an origin movie, I'm looking at you Batman Begins, but it did have just the right amount of flashbacks to refresh an already known story. The ending was also shocking. You saw the death of a major villain. Huh? No Arkham? It was shocking.

As far as the lasting effects, remember this was the first comic book movie since the horror that was Superman IV. Fans were unsure as to the seriousness of the movie. Would it be another CF or would it be like Superman I and II? Would it be like the 60's tv show or Year One? It brought back comic book movies. The hype surrounding this movie was nothing like I had ever seen or have seen since. 20/20 was running segments on Batman. The hype machine was in full effect back then. Turn on the tv and you would hear about Danny Elfman's soundtrack, Prince's Bat Dance song, the merchandise available, or the actors themselves talking about their roles.

What else? How about the entire DC Animated Universe got its start because of this movie. That's right. While Batman was getting ready for release, Bruce Timm started work on Batman: The Animated Series. The basis of the show was the Tim Burton Gotham City. A darker city and darker Batman. It was great.

The show itself was a hit and even after the flop of Batman & Robin, the DCAU kept going. It gave us Superman, Batman Beyond, Justice League, and finally Justice League Unlimited. The writing was always top notch. Stories for JLU came from previous stories in Batman. Harley Quinn? She was born in the Batman series before the comics. The biggest shocker would be the length this universe lasted. From 1992 until 2006...that's 14 years! All because of the success of Batman.

Trailer: