Blazin' GEEKS

The General's Back in Town

noreply@blogger.com (Nick "Blaze" Paramonte) — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 17:17:00 +0000

TV Guide says Micheal Ironside along with Peyton List will reprise their roles of Sam and Lucy Lane for an upcoming family reunion in Smallville's final year.

General Lane and Lucy were last seen in separate episodes during Season 4. The General, however, has been mentioned numerous times, including last season when Lois called to discuss her wedding to Clark (Tom Welling) while under a persuasive spell.

My favorite Clois moment in episode three of the horrendous fourth season, "Facade", General Lane shows up to tell his daughter she failed the last semester with Clark laughing behind her back. After giving his future son-in-law the look, puts him in charge showing Lois around Smallville High to make up for credit.

Aside Ms. Graves delivering The Falcon Punch (which I used in my latest 5 Second video) to Dumb Blondie's face, The McGuffin Kryptonite centric was one of the worst episodes of Season 9.

With Ironside's return to the show maybe that Darkseid's vessel is possible. But I'm not going to hold my breath considering The Lord of Apokolips (from that glimpse of him on Clark's Dark Knight spot in the San Diego footage.) is a human cloud (Galactus in Fox's last Fantastic Four/Silver Surfer film-direct-to-spin-off that didn't happen) that can tranform into a swarm of crows (Brian Peterson & Kelly Souders' brilliant idea of the Parademons).

Anime Supernatural

noreply@blogger.com (Nick "Blaze" Paramonte) — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 23:38:00 +0000

A brief glimpse of the only good show on The CW, in Japanese animation by the minds of Madhouse (The Animatrix, Vampire Hunter D, and Spawn).

Aside from the physical monster (as opposed to the black smoke spirits were used to) at the end and the familiarities like Mary Winchester (or Jessie's) death scene, the white eyes of my favorite villain from the show, Alistair (Christopher Heyerdahl's portrayal of the character was better then Mark Rolston in my opinion), nothing in-particular showy.

All I can say is I'm stoked for this. It better be distributed in America, after-all this series originated here, plus Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki are providing the voices. There's no reason why it shouldn't be.

The Flash (Wally West) AMV

noreply@blogger.com (Nick "Blaze" Paramonte) — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 02:31:00 +0000

My first music video, so cut me a little bit of slack.

Based off Mark Waid's story that introduced The Speed Force to The Scarlet Speedster mythos, "Terminal Velocity", Wally is torn between staying in the other dimension or go back to deal with the death of his uncle, Barry Allen, continue to fight the good fight against evil, and his complicated relationship with Linda Park.

Song: Linkin Park - "New Divide"

THIS IS A NON-PROFIT VIDEO MADE PURELY FOR FUN.

Avengers Assemble!

noreply@blogger.com (Nick "Blaze" Paramonte) — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 01:36:00 +0000

Here's the little promo that surprised the guests (and anyone else who managed to catch the live feed on UStream) after the Thor panel in San Diego went officially online.

I'm still disappointed about the Ed Norton recast to Mark Ruffalo (and the fans severely booed Marvel Studios' executive producer, Kevin Feige when that question was brought up). It hurts the continuity, but then again they already shot themselves in the foot with Rhody.

With the additions of The Infinity Gauntlet, as well as The Cosmic Cube, Invaders (including Namor without wings on his ankles), and Hydra, I sincerely hope they aren't overloading on their first films for these franchises. You can't cover all that material within a one-hour-and-forty-five-minute time span.

To watch the footage from previously said panel, go here.

Season 9 in 5 Seconds

noreply@blogger.com (Nick "Blaze" Paramonte) — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 20:08:00 +0000

You may have noticed (aside from the season premiere, "Savior") I didn't make more parody videos for Smallville's ninth year.

The reason being after the eighth ended so dreadfully, I waited out to see how it turned out. And not to my surprise (besides Clois coming together) underwhelming too (which can be said for the tenth after seeing you know who touching Doctor Fate's helmet). So I've decided to do something different.

Batman: Under The Red Hood Review

noreply@blogger.com (Nick "Blaze" Paramonte) — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:52:00 +0000

I enjoyed the last feature, Crisis on Two Earths (which I still watch frequently). DC Universe films have been whooping Marvel's ass, so here are my thoughts on Batman's third film in this line.

Wade Williams as Black Mask was the highlight performance. With an unbelievable sense of rage that either figuratively steam would come out of the voice actor's ears or his head explode.

One of the best moments in this film is where he says to the new guy joining the mob, "You keep staring at me like that, I'm gonna cut your eyes out". There's a pause which is then followed by a Falcon Punch. Bruce Greenwood did a good job as The Dark Knight. He pulled off the father figure which is essential to this story that was adapted by the original writer, Judd Winick.

There's an excellent chase scene with The Caped Crusader, Nightwing, and Red Hood across the Gotham City rooftops. Plus all the fight scenes were amazingly well choreographed.

Alexander Martella and Vincent Martella nailed the second Robin in the flashbacks with young Jason Todd transitioning from the light hearted sidekick to the character's infamous trait to talking back to his mentor.

While David Warner and Mark Hamill will always be the quintessential voices to Ra's Al Ghul and The Joker, Jason Issacs along with John Di Maggio did fine for what they were given.

Big problem with Ra's being involved with the resurrection (as opposed to just Talia in the comics since her father saw Jason as a lost cause), would never ally himself with The Clown Prince of Crime. Bruce Wayne digging up Jason's grave himself would draw attention unlike from the source. Jensen Ackles still sounded like Dean Winchester for the majority of the movie until the brutal climax where he's actually delivering the role of the adult Jason.

Neil Patrick Harris owned Dick Grayson (the "get in the car" line, classic), his screentime was short. If he had at least one fight scene with Jason's persona it would be fulfilling. Lastly, did Bruce Timm and company really have to stick Jason in Tim Drake's old outfit?

Overall, I wouldn't put this above excellencies of Mask of The Phantasm or Return of The Joker, but it's definitely earned the third spot.

Rating: 9 1/2

The DC Showcase: Jonah Hex short with Thomas Jane and Linda Hamilton was way better then the live action movie ever was. Which includes catchy spaghetti western music by The Track Team, Jeremy Zuckerman, & Benjamin Wynn.

Superman/Batman: Apocalypse looks to be another good one, minus Andre Braugher as Darkseid because no one can top Micheal Ironside from the DCAU.

SDCC: First Look at Cap's Shield

noreply@blogger.com (Nick "Blaze" Paramonte) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 02:47:00 +0000

More Marvel exclusive are still pumping out.

Nice and metallic. With the costume going through developments over the course of the film, Chris Evans said to MTV that his primary weapon will to.

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Sounds like we'll be seeing the triangular one as-well. About the transition from frail Steve Rogers to muscular super-soldier, they'll be using a body double in the vain of Toby Maguire's metamorphosis in Spider-Man.

SDCC: Behind Young Justice

noreply@blogger.com (Nick "Blaze" Paramonte) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 22:26:00 +0000

Definitely more mature then Teen Titans.

The show's got the production value of an animated feature then just-another-TV-series like previously mentioned or The Batman. I was wrong about Aqualad and Artemis (who's Wonder Girl, Kassie's age in this continuity then her adult self) being the leaders as the poster implied prier. The character designs for Robin, Kid Flash and Red Arrow are top notch.

Don't like Miss Martian (a Titan member) being on the team though. As I'm torn about Kara Zor-El's existence (despite me liking the first two storylines by Jeph Loeb), it takes away from J'onn J'onzz and Kal-El's last-of-their-kind aspect. In my opinion, I prefer Arsenal over Roy Harper's first and last alias'.

SDCC: First Look at Thor's Helmet

noreply@blogger.com (Nick "Blaze" Paramonte) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 18:51:00 +0000

The complaining can stop now.

It would've looked too goofy if they stuck to traditional with the enormous feathers.

Thor & Cap Posters

noreply@blogger.com (Nick "Blaze" Paramonte) — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 19:24:00 +0000

Even though the event starts tomorrow, news has already begun. Marvel delivers these exclusives that Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, and Hugo Weaving will be signing at Saturday's panel at this year's San Diego Con.

There's no doubt in my mind that Goldilocks' film is gonna rule (go out on a limb and say that it will top Iron Man's films). Winghead has the right tone, but I still have to see some footage of Evans as Steve Rogers to be sold or not (same stance for Ryan Reynolds in his CG Lantern suit).

Predators Review

noreply@blogger.com (Nick "Blaze" Paramonte) — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 21:53:00 +0000

I wasn't thrilled about (cheap moneybag) Fox making another one considering the AVP films flat out sucked. But with Robert Rodriguez producing and the trailers, it looked interesting.

The first and second half of the movie has very good momentum, establishing characters, atmosphere, and setting. Very few jump-scares was a good sign, it's been done to death.

There's some excellent camera work like the P.O.V. shot while the group is falling into the water (ala Arnold Schwarzenegger) and the samurai duel with the incredibly badass Hanzo played brilliantly (because he had the least amount of dialogue) by Louis Ozawa Changchien.

Biggest problem is the third act falls into the trappings of the 1987 original. Adrian Brody is not action hero material. He can not deliver catchphrases like Arnold or Danny Glover could. Yet they hammer it up, especially by the final battle.

You had Danny Trejo, (Machete, which looks better when I saw the latest trailer before the movie started) Oleg Taktarov (Nikolai), Mahershalalhashbaz Ali (Mombasa), and Louis all reduced to supporting roles (Danny getting killed off early which was a total buzz-kill) that don't get axed until the end. They all would've been much better leads then Adrian. Hell, Mark Wahlberg or Jason Statham would've been really cool.

Lawrence Fishburne was Mac with an imagery friend instead of Jessie Ventura. Alice Braga was Anna with a gun, but ends up as a damsel (Sonya Blade kicks ass in the beginning of the Mortal Kombat movie and then becomes helpless screaming).

While the duel was well shot, there's one tiny problem with the whole thing. An old katana sword can withstand the blows of a Predator's chopper? Are you kidding me? It's alien tech, it should've sliced that blade in two, plus it's ancient so there should be rust all over that thing Hanzo would've bother picking up. If it was a piece off another chopper that Noland stole during his time then I would've bought into it.

I can't get over Topher Grace. He's still Eric Forman from That 70's Show to me and when he makes "the turn", his expression is like he's about to pass out. Overall, it had the potential to be on par with the previous films in the franchise but just inflates.

Rating: 6

Batman/Superman: Apocalypse Teaser

noreply@blogger.com (Nick "Blaze" Paramonte) — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 16:30:00 +0000

A glimpse of the ninth DC Universe feature after Under The Hood.

I never get tired of the female opera singer in trailers. She makes it epic, dramatic, and sad all at same time. Hope the score in the actual product is on par with this.

The great Tim Daly and Kevin Conroy are back and Eddy Asner (Up) returns (having played the character twice in Superman and both Justice League series') as Granny Goodness. Animation has little a bit of the early Micheal Turner's slender art style but Granny looks less like the ugly harlot from the DCAU, more leaning towards the Jack Kirby facial I'd guess.

Lauren Montgomery (director of Wonder Woman and also co-doing again with Sam Liu on the upcoming Batman: Year One adaptation, which comes after tenth feature Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, where pre-Parallax Hal Jordon arrives in the future when Kyle Rayner was the new successor) is at the helm which is awesome (despite being involved in the making of that atrocity called Superman: Doomsday).

Whedon's Wonder Woman

noreply@blogger.com (Nick "Blaze" Paramonte) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 01:07:00 +0000

With the recent debut of Diana Prince's new (horrible nineties looking) threads in #600 of JMS' run, costume designer, Shawna Trpcic (artist on Josh's previous work like Angel and Serenity) posted on her Twitter account concept art of what the uniform could've been in the live action film.

Spot on with the left, not so much on the right. There should be no black on The Amazon Princess' uniform whatsoever. The leggings comes close to my thoughts even though the stomach exposure is a little much. It should still be one piece suit.

About the other illustration (minus belly exposure being a little much), it's pretty exactly what I thought the final one would look like.

City of Scars

noreply@blogger.com (Nick "Blaze" Paramonte) — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 18:43:00 +0000

BITS' latest Batman film has been out a month now, so here it is for your viewing pleasure:

On a budget of $27,000, Aaron Schoenke made a visually stunning movie. Kevin Porter has the the look, physique, and just the right level of Bat-Gravel (unlike Christian Bale).

Jay Caputo really stood out performance wise. He hit the right level of schizophrenia to Arnold Wesker which I'd say that's on par with George Dzundza's portrayal from B:TAS. Victor Zsasz didn't have a big role as I thought prier, but Guy Grundy still manages to pull off a serial killer without any dialogue. Paul Molnar delivers the goods once again as The Clown Prince of Crime with his prosthetic nose improved upon then Patient J (even though it was still obvious).

Few gripes I had are that while it was neat to see Black Canary (the bartender) in there, it was a throw away cameo. The Joker's hair and make-up on Paul's face this time around was very glaring unlike previously. A problem the costume suffers from The Cowl Syndrome. The actors that were the weakest links were Christopher Parker (Crispus Allen) and Katie Joy Horwitch (Rene Montoya).

Rating: 8

The Next Webhead

noreply@blogger.com (Nick "Blaze" Paramonte) — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 16:55:00 +0000

Relative unknown, Andrew Garfield has been hired to replace Tobey Maguire in Columbia's reboot of the Spider-Man franchise. Also comes complete with many more stills and video of the announcement which isn't showboating at all.

"After a comprehensive worldwide casting search, Andrew Garfield has been chosen to portray Peter Parker when Spider-Man swings back onto the screen in 3D on July 3, 2012. The new film will begin production in early December directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay by James Vanderbilt. Laura Ziskin and Avi Arad will produce the film from Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios."

Andrew definitely passes off as a teenager with his slim appearance (build a little bit of muscle), more so then Maguire. I'm a little optimistic, but Vanderbilt of The Losers wrote the script for this and we all know how that turned out. Without Chris Evans' hilarious performance as Jensen, it would've been just another mediocre action flick.

Happy Independence Day from BZG

noreply@blogger.com (Nick "Blaze" Paramonte) — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 01:30:00 +0000

Jonah Hex Review

noreply@blogger.com (Nick "Blaze" Paramonte) — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 17:47:00 +0000

After the trailer came out, all the optimism was ripped out of me, especially when no reviews for it before the film came out, that's was a massive red flag.

Despite drastic changes to the character (the revenge plot and the supernatural ability to talk to the dead), the movie was just so damn bland. Nothing really stood out for me.

Josh Brolin was a great choice for Hex, the problem was he had little to almost nothing to work with it. Plus he must had something in his mouth to keep his jaw positioned with the scare makeup because you couldn't understand a word he said at certain key moments. Malkovoich just walked through the movie with no sense of effort whatsoever.

After his performance as Lt. Archie Hicox in Inglorious Bastards and the set pictures, I was looking forward to Michael Fassbender as the tattooed, knife welding psychopath, Burke. But when he said in an interview that he be channeling Frank Gorshin's Riddler, my thoughts were it was gonna be extremely over the top. Minus one moment where he pulled a Gorshin laugh, I was proven wrong.

Onto Megan Fox, they'd could've gotten anyone better for a prostitute (ironically enough since that's picking up speed for her, ergo Jennifer's Body). Like the Twilight series and the Chloe Sullivan worship, I just don't see what people see in her (from what I can see is disillusionment). Yes she's hot, but other then that she can't act to save her life.

As I said, it was nothing special. Rental at best, but that's saying very little.

Rating: 1

Toy Story 3 Review

noreply@blogger.com (Nick "Blaze" Paramonte) — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 20:53:00 +0000

The Day & Night short before the movie started was very creative with 2D characters with visuals of the internal emotions in 3D animation.

Beginning the film with Andy's imagination that was shown in the previous films and afterward Randy Newman's "You've Got A Friend in Me" playing was a great way to reintroduce these beloved characters we haven't seen in 11 years since the second film. Just pure nostalgia.

Spanish mode Buzz Lightyear doing the tango with Jesse was the most hilarious moment ever. Blake Clark, who replaced the late Jim Varney as the voice of Slinky did a good job imitating Varn's distinctive speech pattern, despite one scene where it slipped.

Director, Lee Unkrich delivered an emotional ride (the incinerator scene), the one that stood out for me was the absence of Woody's girl during the exposition, Little Bo Peep (played by Anne Potts) was sold in another garage sale.

The Disney Digital added to the experience rather then subtracting considering the tread is kicking into overdrive. While Lotso voiced by Ned Beatty was a pretty good antagonist, out of him and Stinky Pete (susprisely performed by Kelsey Grammer), I still stick with Sid Phillips from the first one.

Overall, this lives up to the title of "Best Movie of the Year". It was a satisfying conclusion to the franchise. In my opinion it deserves to be in The Great Hall of Trilogies such as the original Star Wars and Back to the Future.

Rating: 10

On Set of The Mighty Thor

noreply@blogger.com (Nick "Blaze" Paramonte) — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 21:57:00 +0000

Thank you Entertainment Tonight.

Seeing Hemsworth on location, I mean DAMN. He's a big guy that totally fits the Herculean stature stated by Kenneth Branagh. There's definitely chemistry going on between him and Natalie Portman that's definitely going transcend to screen perfectly.

Anthony Hopkins looks great as The All-Father, my one gripe is the costume looks way too similar to the lead character's uniform. I understand it's supposed to illustrated their father and son but to have both their armor look exactly alike is a little too much.

On a side note, I watched some of Portman's rap skit from SNL, it was quite hilarious.

Wizard World Attendence

noreply@blogger.com (Nick "Blaze" Paramonte) — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 01:10:00 +0000

I'll be going to Philly convention. Unfortunately I'm going by myself since Rob has other obligations that can't be ignored, but on the bright side my older cousin, Louis will be there instead.

Expecting the crowd a mob scene considering the huge lineup of celebrities that will be there. Sir Patrick Stewart, Linda Hamilton, Linda Blair, Adam West, Bruce Campbell, and James Marsters to name a few. You'd think this would be on L.A.'s guest list.

The trades I 'll be looking for at the Midtown Comics booth are some of the early nineties Superman trades (the notables being Krisis of Krimson Kryptonite and President Lex.) and Flash: Born to Run.

A Better Look at Thor

noreply@blogger.com (Nick "Blaze" Paramonte) — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 17:39:00 +0000

With the release of official illustrations of Chris Evans as Captain America, Collider has received better looks of Chris Hemsworth in the outfit.

With the addition of the recent logo, director Kenneth Branagh is going for the Jack Kirby version where the Asgardians are aliens as opposed to the figures of the Norse mythology that's current. More like an amalgam of both Kirby and Oliver Coipel's styles.

First Look at Captain America

noreply@blogger.com (Nick "Blaze" Paramonte) — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 23:25:00 +0000

AICN has received the first conceptual art of Chris Evans in the costume that was described on Joblo.

This design works for Avengers, but not in a 1940's setting that non-Winghead's film takes place. I was hoping they'd gravitate more to the Ultimate version were it's a colorized red, white, and blue WWII uniform.

"Things I Like to See in Season 10" Reply

noreply@blogger.com (Nick "Blaze" Paramonte) — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 02:01:00 +0000

"It's that time again." And no it's not a lesson to learn from "The Wheel of Morality" from Animaniacs.

Kryptonsite's Graig once again posted his needs for the final season (which was stated by Tom Welling, now an executive producer on the show and The CW have said but you can't trust the network on keeping their side of the bargain). Here my thoughts compared or against to.

#10. Greg Beeman directing the series finale.
Smallville has some really fantastic directors in its crew, with one of my favorites being the series' star, Tom Welling. But seeing Greg Beeman's take on the ninth season finale made me all kinds of nostalgic - the man knows how to helm a season finale. So many of Smallville's best premieres and finales - like "Commencement" or "Crusade" were under Greg Beeman's watchful eye, and I'd love it if the man who had so much to do with Smallville's original "look" could come back for the end. If that's not possible, I hope at the very least Beeman will be on the roster of directors used for next year.

Michael Rosenbaum's impression of Greg's directing on behind-the-scenes featurette on the Season 3 DVD quite hilarious. Beeman is good but writer/director/fanboy from S4-6, Spartacus (buddy on Facebook), Steven DeKnight, who made some landmark episodes like "Onyx" & "Justice" being my favorites.

But I have to acknowledge, he also did that stupid Kryptonite Vampire episode (to which DeKnight himself wasn't pleased with the final product) which is considered as on the worst of Season 5. Plus it just more of massaging Chloe's inflating ego.

#9. A good departure for Chloe.
So, we know Allison Mack has announced she's not coming back to Smallville as a series regular. But I do hope her final episodes are good, and that her departure is a great one. I actually would prefer that she does not die, as many have predicted; and I do hope she goes back to journalism, perhaps in another city, so longtime fans who fell in love with that aspect of the character can see that character again. But most of all, I hope she, along with others (see Choice #8) will be back for the series finale, also.

Chloe Sullivan and Lionel Luthor were Smallville's two "legacy characters;" part of what made them fun to watch was to see where they fit into the puzzle. If Allison's time in Season 10 is limited, let's make sure it's time well spent.

I beg to differ. Lionel was the only good "legacy" character on the show. Dumb Blondie was never fun or likable, she was an annoying little pest since day one. Thinking she's all mighty until Clark had to save her lousy ass. Another worthless damsel in distress.

#3. The Costume. And Flying.

Sure, you all SAID "no flights, no tights," but you also made it sound like Smallville would be a 5-year journey. We're tired of waiting, and the start of "Salvation" had is salivating for more. Make either of those things happen, and watch ratings go up, up, and away.
I imagine Season 10 is when Clark is going to embrace his destiny and go public - at least I hope it is. Fully embracing that means finally becoming Superman, which would require the involvement of a costume at the very least, if not flying as well. The direction for the ending of last season and the entirety of Season 9 (which the show shouldn't have gone on that long).

Like I've mentioned in my "Salvation" review, the black outfit wore this entire year had no real good reason to be there in there first place. The reason was so Clark can look more dark, brooding, and emo. I really hope he wears Ma Kent's gift. But then again that could've been another teaser to what we won't be seeing until the series finale.

Agree 100 percent, the show should've been 5 seasons tops if the past and present producers weren't distracted with the baggage they pile on after another, after another, after another, after another, after another.

1. Clana: The biggest shipper that was dragged through the mud.

2. Chloe "Dumb Blondie" Sullivan: "Original Created Character" my ass. She's the most unreal computer wiz/hacker, smart-mouth, hypocritical, control freak stereotype I've have ever seen in my entire life.

3. Oliver Queen/The Green Arrow: Having an established hero to show the lead the bigger picture was fine (even though TPTB decide not to have the lead character find that out for himself) but like the two bimbos, he outlived his short lived reason to be there. But they continued to shoehorn him into Superman's show and even a further extent the other the heroes.

4. Kara Kent/Supergirl: Introducing his cousin when he's not even The Man of Steel yet was an insult to injury.

Flight can't be denied or ignored anymore. There are no more excuses.

#1. Michael Rosenbaum.
Tom Welling says we can't do Season 10 without him, and who knows the show better than Tom?

I wrote a whole column about this on KSiteTV a few months back, and what I said then still stands today -- I think the only way I will be 100% fulfilled with Smallville's ending is if Lex Luthor returns. I feel the show was envisioned as the rise of Superman to heroism and the fall of Lex Luthor to villainy. We might get one half of that, but now we need the other half.

I'm sure it would be costly, but it would be worth it. I applaud the producers for including Michael Rosenbaum's image in the flash forward of the Season 9 finale, "Salvation" because it implies to me that they wouldn't do something silly like recasting Lex.

Think about it for the long-time fans, though. Surely partly due to the Friday move, the show has lost around two million viewers a week. Some of those were Lex fans. More might leave when Allison Mack is gone. But the return of Lex? Might be enough reason to come back, whether it's for one episode or a dozen. Rosenbaum is worth it.

Smallville was the only good thing going for Micheal's career that really showed his amazing acting ability. It started with Lex, it must end with him, either as president or CEO. My P.O.V. it's been the two steps forward and two step back for Clark Kent/Superman. For Luthor, it was a constant forward progression until the detour where he decided to screw the town whore.

Lastly to speak of, Tom wants John Schneider and Kristen Kreuk to return. Yay for flashbacks of Pa Kent, nay to The Human Kryptonite.

"Salvation" Review

noreply@blogger.com (Nick "Blaze" Paramonte) — Sat, 15 May 2010 14:22:00 +0000

With the producers and writer's pointless shipper, glaring plot holes, conveniences, and Deus Ex Machinas, (even though I'm normally not a big fan) this finale was much better then "Failsday" last year.

The flash forward to Clark's future which involved quick shots of him as Superman taking flight to save a plane from hitting The Planet was a nice surprise. The glimpse of the actual suit at the end of the teaser, implies that stupid black outfit will be thrown in the dumpster (where it rightfully belongs) and the red and blue finally comes back after being out of the picture since Season 8 went to Tartarcus. As an added bonus, Boyscout takes charge of the dysfunctional group of heroes that will one day become the JLA.

With the mention of Apokolips from Waller at the end of Absolute Justice, the mysterious old lady (Granny Goodness) here and non-Kryptonians attacking Green Arrow, Darkseid is a guarantee for the final season (knock on wood at the very least a half decent closing) as Rob speculated.

After Kal-El delivers the biggest pow in the kisser to Zod (something we haven't seen in the series since sending Bizarro up in the air in the Season 7 premiere) without saying a word, kisses Lois, speeds off, and right after that Clark's soul mate figures out the secret.

I thought since Richard Donner floats around in the minds of the PTB, they'd pull the infamous memory eraser kiss, but thank Rao that didn't happen. But they could still pull off that kind of fastball, to step back from the forward progression that there also notorious for.

Aside from said scene, I didn't care for the previous Clois moment in The Kent Farm that echoed "The Secrets & Lies" mantra of Clana from the last eight years. This iconic relationship CAN'T fall into that horrible trapper.

Unfortunately Dumb Blonde still lives, but the only reason I'm not ranting and raving right now about Stalktower being nothing but a stereotype, news came out recently that Allison Mack will no longer be a series regular on the show anymore which has my swinging my arms up in victory.

Highly doubt Ms. Graves is really dead because nobody ever stays stiff for long in comics. She'll either be cursed to spend eternal hell as either a brainwashed Female Fury (she'll finally get payback from being denied the honor of putting a bullet into Chloe's thick skull in "Persuasion") or suffer in slavery on the fire pit planet that's opposite to New Genesis.

Overall, Season 9 moved Lois & Clark another step forward in their relationship, with some excellent banter (The real kiss, movie night, and Lois' heartwarming hug) that made the dreadful second half of last year a distant memory, but I still wouldn't recommend this staller (S7) when it's released on DVD.

Rating: 7

Iron Man 2 Review

noreply@blogger.com (Nick "Blaze" Paramonte) — Sun, 09 May 2010 14:47:00 +0000

Initially I liked it in first viewing but certain aspects of the story that didn't sit right with me. Like Howard Stark's puzzle to the palladium replacement (a little too convenient for the plot), Rhody's transition into War Machine, Mickey Rourke's acting in the opening scene (particularly Ivan Vanko's scream after his father dies), or Sam Rockwell's performance as Justin Hammer, but the second time didn't bother me as much.

Robert Downey Jr. doesn't just play Tony Stark, he is Tony Stark. Director, Jon Fevreau gives his cameo role of Stark's bodyguard, Happy Hogan an extented role. Yes it's a shameless plug, but it was okay and humorous when he fought one of Hammer's goons.

Gwyneth Paltrow is given a much bigger role in the sequel, taking charge as CEO of Stark Industries since Tony is dieing from arc reactor poisoning. The charm of the relationship between Pepper Potts and Stark is still there but it's less prominent. Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff aka The Black Widow and Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury appearance didn't upstage themselves in Shellhead's movie.

Don Cheadle was okay in Terrence Howard's role but I still missed the original actor. But aside for that, the big problem is that during the fight in the bachelor pad, at no point did Rhodes stumble in trying to operate the Mark II, it's like "he's in the suit and poof he's War Machine." which hurt his overall arc.

Now, I understand Hammer was only a side villain but at no point did Rockwell felt like an equal to Downey. Especially during his scenes with Rourke, he comes across as the company suck up then the head of another weapons manufacturing corporation that rivaled Stark's, he's more like an up in-upcoming rookie who gets outsmarted (very easily I might add) by the main bad guy.

We get prototypes of the Iron Soldiers that were foreshadowed in the previous, but their sequence was longer compared to the triple threat match with Crimson Dynamo/Whiplash was short-lived (very anti-climatic).

The Ten Rings were out of the picture completely, but Hammer's line when he's being arrested towards the end suggests he's one of them since The Mandarin has his jeweled fingers involved in the countries that double deal under the table with devices of mass destruction.

The after credit scene with Agent Coulson and the other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents' discovery of Mjolnir in the crater in has me really pumped for Thor next year, even more so then Green Lantern.

Rating: 7 1/2