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Fall TV season...

2007-09-27T19:10:00.000-07:00

I've spent a decent part of this week parked in front of the television checking out new shows and starting the new season with a few others. Monday was the return of Heroes. Watching the premiere brought me right back into that universe as if I'd never left. The premiere took place 4 months after the 1st season finale. This is definitely a show I won't miss.
I stuck around to watch Journeyman after that. I really like the premise but it's something that's been done before (e.g., Quantum Leap). I'll probably give a couple more episodes and decide on whether to keep watching. One thing that is nice about it is that it will have self-contained episodes and not serialized like Heroes or Lost. So if there is nothing better on at 9 pm on Mondays, I can watch it without being out of the loop.
Tuesday night was Beauty and the Geek. Don't have much to say about it. It's a popcorn show for me, just something that's fun to watch. I missed Reaper and will have to try and catch that one online or something.
Come February, Wednesday nights are going to be tough. I watched the premiere of Bionic Woman and I liked it quite a bit. I'm interested to see where it goes. But it's on at the same time as what Lost was last season as well this season starting in February I'm guessing. Will definitely have to DVR one and watch the other. Although NBC is getting better about putting their shows online while ABC has been doing it for a couple seasons now.
This evening, I just finished watching the season premiere of The Office. It was an hour long episode and there were quite a few stories going on in this one. This show only gets better by the season.
I'm really pumped for Sunday night. It's the premiere of Dexter on Showtime. I can't wait for that one. That's probably the one I've been looking forward to the most.
So that's my fall TV season so far.

Robot Chicken Star Wars Special

2007-06-19T12:08:00.000-07:00

I don't know if it will be on Youtube for long but you have to check out Sunday night's Robot Chicken. In case you missed it, it's absolutely hilarious. They filled 30 minutes rather than the usual 15-minute episodes with just Star Wars-related skits. Very, very funny stuff.

Here's part 1:

New Batsuit...

2007-06-15T13:34:00.000-07:00

Apparently next week's Entertainment Weekly will include a pic of the new Batsuit for the Batman Begins sequel, The Dark Knight. I believe it was EW where I first saw a glimpse of the Batman Begins batsuit almost 3 years ago. I think the new one looks pretty sweet. As noted, the head and neck area have a lot more range of motion. That's a good thing. The utility belt appears to be the same, from this angle anyway. I'm really pumped for next July.

I Am Legend

2007-06-13T20:37:00.000-07:00

Apple.com recently posted the teaser trailer for the latest adaptation of Richard Matheson's very entertaining book, I Am Legend. This one stars Will Smith. There was talk for a good, long while about Arnold Schwarzenegger starring. Thank goodness that didn't happen. There have been two other adaptations: The Last Man on Earth starring Vincent Price and The Omega Man starring Charlton Heston. I've only seen The Omega Man. I didn't really care for it much.
I first read the book over 5 years ago. My uncle let me borrow his hardback copy. I didn't read it right away but once I started I couldn't stop.
It's the story of Robert Neville, the last man on earth, and he's not alone. The rest of the world has turned into vampires. So each night is torture for him and he spends his days hunting them down. The book was written in 1954 and is set in the late 1970s. The current movie, coming out this December, is set in the near future. The setting for the book and movie are entirely different. I don't want to go into a lot of detail on the differences but I'm going to read the book again. I bought a paperback copy a few years ago and it sat on my shelf until recently when I let a good friend of mine borrow it. He was familiar with I Am Legend from a White Zombie tune of the same name. I had forgotten about that but after telling him about the book, it made even more sense to him. Needless to say, he loved the book.
So before you see any of those movies based on the book, read it first. I am looking forward to the new one although I know it is definitely going to have major differences from the book.

Since my last post...

2007-06-13T17:48:00.000-07:00

I've watched my share of TV since my last post and continued to buy a few comics on a regular basis. I also joined the rest of the world and subscribed to Netflix. I had to upgrade to the 2-at-a-time unlimited plan since my wife and I have totally different tastes in movies and I tend to get mine watched a lot faster than she does. So Netflix really likes her as a customer. I've been renting documentaries mostly.
I didn't miss a single episode of Heroes or Lost. I feel that Heroes had the best season of shows overall but Lost had the better finale.
My wife and I did make sure not to miss the last episodes of the Sopranos. My feeling is that Tony did not get whacked after the screen cut to black. I'm in the camp that Tony is always going to have be aware of his surroundings regardless of where he is. That's the life he has to live.
As far as the big screen goes, I've only seen Spider-Man 3 and Knocked Up for the summer movie season. SM3 was a tad disappointing. Like a lot of people have said, too much was crammed into the flick. Knocked Up was hilarious and well worth seeing. Both my wife and I loved it.
On the comic book front, Civil War finally ended in the Marvel Universe although the repercussions continue with the Initiative. I've dropped on the number of issues I buy on the crossover events. Civil War was a bit much. I continue to keep up with Ultimate X-Men and the Ultimates Volume 2 just finished up. Looking forward to Volume 3. My other top titles include New Avengers, Wolverine and a handful of other mostly Marvel titles. The only DC title that I read regularly is Justice.
The rest of the summer will probably consist of more TV, more movies from Netflix and more comics.

"Dexter" kills on Showtime

2006-12-20T09:11:00.000-08:00

I know it was on Sunday night and it's been a few weeks since I last posted but I just want to say "WOW!" about the finale of Dexter. This amazing show is probably my favorite new show and quite possibly my favorite one overall right now. I'd have to say it beats out Lost and Heroes and I love both of those. I'm sad to see the 12-episode season end already. My next step is to find the book it's based on, Darkly Dreaming Dexter, and probably go ahead and pick up the 2nd one, Dearly Devoted Dexter, that the 2nd season to come will supposedly be based.
Michael C. Hall more than deserves the Golden Globe for Best Actor. If you haven't taken the time to watch this show, hopefully you've got Showtime On Demand to go back and watch all of them.

What I'm watching...

2006-11-07T13:12:00.000-08:00

I've been spending many hours on the couch this fall season watching both some new shows and returning favorites.

Here's my week:
Sunday:
Dexter - Probably right at the top of the list of my favorite new shows. I never got into Six Feet Under so I wasn't all that familiar with Michael C. Hall but wow. He's just unbelievable in this role. This is just a great show. Showtime replays the show every night of the week so there are plenty of chances to catch this one.
60 Minutes - I grew up hating this show because my dad always had it on Sunday nights and it interfered with The Simpsons or some other Fox cartoon. But now as an adult, I hate missing it.
Monday:
Heroes - Up there with Dexter, it started out kind of slow but things are really picking up now. Hiro is my favorite. He's the geek who is into the whole good vs. evil and using his power for the good of mankind and not benefit himself, etc. Finally there is a good show to watch on a Monday night.
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip - I hated Friends. I couldn't stand it. But I love Matthew Perry in this. Bradley Whitford is great too and so is D.L. Hughley. I know it's not doing great in the ratings but give it some time.
Tuesday:
Nip/Tuck - I wasn't an avid watcher of the first 2 seasons like my brother was but have jumped on the bandwagon late last season and then this season. Rosie O'Donnell's guest appearances have been great though I'm not for her own spin-off series like I've heard others talk about. I think her character would get old quickly.
Wednesday:
Lost - This show sure likes to mess with people's heads. I don't care much for the 2 new Losties but there's still a lot of season left. Tomorrow night is the last new episode until February which is bad news but the good news is that it will new shows for the rest of the season without repeats. I can handle that tradeoff.
South Park - The new season is great. Matt and Trey are still at the top of their game.
Thursday:
The Office - This is the only sitcom I can watch and it's a good one at that. The show has really grown since the partial first season.
Friday:
Battlestar Galactica - Another show I'm late in jumping on board with. Previous 2 seasons I was always gone on Friday nights and didn't have a DVR to record with and never took the time to set my VCR and never got around to getting the DVDs. Anyway, this show is smart sci-fi. The sci is almost secondary to the fi and drama. And it's the sci part that is the reason why my wife won't watch it with me. I do sometimes have to record it since a lot of Fridays are spent driving to the in-laws or out with friends.

The nightly shows I try not to miss are Countdown with Keith Olbermann, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. If you watch all 3, then you'll have a pretty good idea of what's going on in the world.

Iron Man news...

2006-10-10T09:37:00.000-07:00

The latest casting news for the Iron Man movie is Terence Howard of Hustle & Flow fame. He'll play Jim Rhodes, an old friend of Tony Stark who served as Tony's personal pilot for a while, impersonated Iron Man on more than one occasion and eventually became the superhero War Machine with the help of an Iron Man-esque armor suit from Stark Industries. In case you didn't already know, Robert Downey, Jr. will play Tony Stark/Iron Man. I'd say this flick is off to a good start with the casting choices. My bet is that we wouldn't see anything of War Machine until a sequel or two later. I wish Jon Favreau all the luck in directing this flick. As fan of the comics and Favreau, I hope this helps keep Marvel movie standards up high like the X-Men and Spider-Man moves have done.

Heroes Gets Full-Season Pick Up

2006-10-06T14:44:00.000-07:00

This is great news. This is my favorite new fall show. Though slow at times, I can't help getting sucked into it. It's a good reason to look forward to Mondays, or at least Monday nights. Like a lot of people, my favorite is Hiro, the Japanese kid who can travel through time and space. I could care less about the indestructible cheerleader though, unfortunately. The cliffhanger at the end of episode 2 was great. And I like the addition of the LAPD psychic cop. So with NBC picking up the show for a full season, there will be a lot of room for this show to grow into something really cool. Like comics, this show and others like it, Lost for example, are about groups of people working together and you can obviously see Heroes is working towards that with plently of bumps along the way. That's why I've always preferred X-Men to Batman but there are always exceptions.

Marvel's Civil War

2006-10-06T14:22:00.000-07:00

So I've been keeping up with Marvel's crossover event Civil War and it hasn't been cheap. The only ones I'm really invested in are the main title, Civil War, New Avengers, Wolverine, X-Men, Amazing Spider-Man and Frontline. It seems that Wolverine has been mostly style over substance. The art is flashy but it doesn't have the story that earlier storylines had like Enemy of the State or Agent of Shield. I've never been a big Spider-Man fan and can count the number of issues on one hand but the Civil War tie-ins are really good with how he deals with the major revelation at the end of Civil War no. 2. It's great to see 4 of the original 5 X-Men team up on a mission in Civil War: X-Men. That's been a lot of fun to read. New Avengers is focusing on individual members of the team and how they've dealt with the situation. My favorite character throughout this event has to be Captain America. He believes that what he's doing is right despite the public outcry and decisions by the government. Next to the main title, Frontline has been my favorite. It has a few different tales in each comic from a variety of points-of-view. It's an inside and behind-the-scenes look at what's going on in the Marvel Universe.

I'm back...

2006-10-06T13:54:00.000-07:00

So it's only been 3 months since my last post. I apologize to everyone that hasn't been reading this. Anyway, I do enjoy writing about comics, movies and TV and there really isn't anyone around that I can talk geek with so this was my only outlet. Not much has happened in my life in the past few months. One thing that has changed in the last month or so is the amount of disposable income I have to blow on the newest DVD, item of interest, etc. If any of you have heard of Dave Ramsey you'll know what I'm talking about. I still have money to blow but it's spent less often and there's less of it to spend. All so that my wife and I can become debt free in a couple years by paying off our car and student loans as quick as we can.

Anyway, I'll be back to posting on the news you need to know in the world of geekdom and nerdtopia. That's the goal anyway.

Brand spanking new Spider-Man 3 trailer

2006-06-27T12:04:00.000-07:00

Here it is in glorious Quicktime. If you've already seen Superman Returns, you know what I'm talking about. I'm sure the site is getting hammered so be patient. It's worth the wait. I'll try to post my thoughts on Superman Returns tomorrow as I'm going tonight. The trailer looks very cool. There's going to be so much going on in this movie, I can't wait to see more.
Apple - Trailers - Spider-Man 3

Went to see Nacho Libre...

2006-06-19T14:27:00.000-07:00

My wife and I went to see Nacho Libre over the weekend. We're both big Jack Black fans. She's also in love with Jared Hess's, the director, previous movie, Napoleon Dynamite. While I like the movie, I can't watch it repeatedly like she can. Anyway, we were both very pleased with Nacho Libre. It's not the funniest thing we've ever seen but I knew not to expect that going into it. With the right material and director, Jack Black can be the funniest guy out there. I think he did really well playing a Mexican Friar with aspirations to become a wrestler. While it's no School of Rock, it does keep me satisfied from beginning to end. I'll definitely buy it on DVD when it comes out because I'm sure there's got to be some hilarious outtakes and maybe some good deleted scenes.

HBO Schedule: BATMAN BEGINS

2006-06-16T14:49:00.000-07:00

I don't know what my deal is but anytime Batman Begins has been on HBO, HBO2, etc., I stop channel surfing to watch it. I just love this movie. I know every line by now but I can't help myself. I love this movie and everything about it. Whether it's Christian Bale, Liam Neeson, the batsuit, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, the Tumbler, I can't get enough. Long before the movie came out and I saw a picture of the Tumbler, I didn't know what to think but after seeing footage someone took during filming, I couldn't have been more stoked. Up until this movie, the Batmobile of the first 2 movies was my favorite. There was no other until the Tumbler came along. I loved Morgan Freeman's Lucius Fox and Michael Caine's Alfred. Though it's fiction, the scenes between a young Bruce and his father remind me how important my father is and almost brings a tear to my eye, each time. Though there isn't the clear themes in the score like there was by Danny Elfman in the first two, I love this score big time. Enough ranting. I wish they'd hurry up and get busy with the next one.

Bozell's Entertainment Column -- Are Comic Books No Longer For Kids?

2006-06-16T14:27:00.000-07:00

I really don't know why I'm posting this but it just ticked me off but Bozell has always done that. I think he's just figured out what comic books are today or whatever he thinks they are. Or maybe someone suggested he write about this and it was a slow week. He's right in that there are comic books out there that kids shouldn't read but that's not the only thing available. Would he would prefer the comics of the 50s that had racial stereotypes like Captain America taking on the Japanese who had scary eyes and large fangs?
Comics have grown up for years now. Where was he when Watchmen came out? Or Dark Knight Returns? It just really bugs me when people like him speak about subjects that they really don't know much about. I hope everyone has a good weekend. I'll be spending part of mine reading comics and watching a movie or two. I really want to see Nacho Libre.

It's a Marvel: Spidey Unmasks

2006-06-15T14:58:00.000-07:00

Well I think I've allowed enough time for everyone to find out the major revelation that takes place in Civil War #2. And actually I haven't read it yet as I haven't been able to make it to the comic shop this week (it's 35 miles away). While I don't really have an opinion on what Spider-Man did, I do like the idea of what Civil War is doing. If it were me, I'd be on the other side where a superhero's secret identity needs to be protected. It is reassuring that the editors won't be making it so everyone forgets this happened or it was all a dream type of cop-out. I just wonder what the long-term effects will be for Spider-Man and the rest of the Marvel Universe.

Possible movies for DC Comics

2006-06-14T15:01:00.000-07:00

Here's an interview with DC Comics head Paul Levitz about the future of DC Comics-related movies. Another Batman movie is a given. It's just the whole matter of figuring out when. I sure hope we don't have to wait until 2008 for that. I like the possibility of a Flash movie. I loved the CBS television of the early 90s. As far as other characters, I'm curious who would play Wonder Woman since first hearing Joss Whedon's name attached to the project. My guess is that they would get a big name actress as Wonder Woman is not as big a name as Superman, yet.

11 Superman Returns clips

2006-06-14T08:04:00.000-07:00

Check out these 11 clips from Superman Returns. If you have trouble viewing them, my guess is that the site is getting hammered pretty hard so keep trying throughout the day. The more I read and watch about this film, the more excited I get. Only 2 weeks until we see him return.

Marvel Studios developing Thor: The Movie

2006-06-13T12:41:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what I think about this. Would Thor have a big enough audience to make any money? I'm all for making comic book movies but I think it would be really tough to incorporate the Norse mythology with current day happenings. How do you make that so it's not cheesy? I don't think Thor has the same capabilities as what the first Blade had 6 or 7 years ago where it comes out of nowhere to surprise everyone including the comic faithful. I could be totally wrong but I think there are a few other characters to do something with before taking on Thor. But you never know, amazing things can happen if it's in the hands of the right person.

Casino Royale in glorious QuickTime

2006-06-13T08:31:00.000-07:00

I've always been a fan of the Bond movies. Roger Moore is probably my favorite minus A View to a Kill, his last one. I'm hoping that this movie does for the Bond franchise what Batman Begins did for that one. I like how Bond seems more rugged to start with as Daniel Craig is not the looker that the others were. So take a look and see what you think. It doesn't come out until November so it'll probably be a good one to see if the fall movie season is thin.

Marvel heroes coming back to TV

2006-06-12T20:30:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to hear that Marvel is sticking with what's worked in the past and that's animation though I don't see how they're going to be able to do anything new with Spider-Man or the X-Men. There have been 3 incarnations of Spidey in the last 10 years or so. What else can they do? I'm sure I'll watch it anyway. As far as X-Men, Wolverine will once again be the focus or leader of the team. As I said in my X-Men 3 review, Wolverine is not the leader of the team. I wish they'd stay true to the book. It worked for the X-Men cartoon in the early 90s with Cyclops as team leader. I don't mean to be Cyclops's biggest defender or anything. I just think it takes away from Wolverine's mercenary/solo/on his own terms dynamic. The new Fantastic Four cartoon is going for an anime/manga look which should work for it. As far as Iron Man goes, I'm more excited to see what Jon Favreau is going to do with the movie.

Steve & Barry's Introduces New Line of Marvel Branded Apparel

2006-06-12T20:21:00.000-07:00

This is cool news. Steve & Barry's is a huge store, at least the one's I've seen. I haven't been able to see any of the apparel yet. Once again, comic inspired products are finding their way into mainstream retail stores. I've linked to the press release above. You can also click here to see if there is a Steve & Barry's near you.

Marvel's Civil War...

2006-06-06T15:08:00.000-07:00

I've enjoyed Marvel's summer crossover event, Civil War, so far. The subject matter as well as the characters, books, etc. intrigues me a lot. For the longest time, I've always seen comics as a commentary on current events and Civil War isn't shy about it one bit. What's fascinating is that there are no bad guys per se and our favorite superheroes are forced to choose sides. Seeing who does what makes for some good storytelling. All of the main titles and a few new ones are all centered around Civil War so if you're late in picking this up or don't want to shell out the cash for each one, wait for the trade paperbacks later this year.

My thoughts on X-Men: The Last Stand

2006-06-01T16:21:00.000-07:00

Don't read if you haven't seen the movie yet...
I've had a few days to reflect on my thoughts about X-Men: The Last Stand. Going in, I was expecting to be really disappointed. After seeing it I have a lot of mixed emotions. There are parts of me that were thrilled while at the same disappointed and let down.
I loved seeing the Fastball Special as Colossus is my favorite mutant along with Wolverine of course and I thought Kelsey did a decent job as Beast and I actually thought the acrobatic action sequences with him at the end were better than the intellectual ones of him conversing with others. And I liked the entrance each of the X-Men had when they arrived on Alcatraz Island. Seeing Bobby ice up all of the way was good to see too. For whatever reason, I really like Iceman in this movie and always have in the comics.
Ever since the first one, I've hated how they handled Cyclops. He's the team leader, always has, always will be. While I know Wolverine is the focus of all of these flicks, I still think there was room for Scott. Heck, it's even mentioned in The Last Stand that Scott is leader but he's never been treated that way. So his death (maybe) along with Xavier's really bothered me. Killing off the 2 main reasons there's even an X-Men to begin with was a major gripe of mine. Also, Phoenix's powers could have been much cooler. X2 gave us a glimpse of what it could be but they just decided to make Phoenix a multiple personality of Jean's.
Enough writing. I probably won't see it in the theater again but I will definitely pick up the DVD. It's too bad this is the last X-Men movie. I can accept a Wolverine spin-off, that's a given. But Magneto? I just don't think that will have a broad enough appeal. And when it bombs, critics will try to say that it's the end of comic book movies. They've lost their appeal. But even after the crap that was Elektra, comic movies are still going strong.

LOST season 3 potential...

2006-05-25T13:08:00.000-07:00

This story has some of the possibilities the 3rd season of Lost has in store for us. I'm still giddy about last night's finale. With the addition of Henry Gale as a major player among the Others, seeing more of them and what their deal is on the island will be exciting to see. I don't know what it is about this show that has me so wrapped up in it. Maybe it's just as simple as the best and worst humanity has to offer when people are faced with rather dire situations. And the dashes of science fiction thrown in are really nice too.