30 Second Movie Review:Takers

"Takers" is not a bad film.It just cannot remotely live up to the excellence of the film it apes,"Heat".Just like the aforementioned classic,this film follows a gang of thieves,led by Idris Elba,who specialize in big elaborate jobs.It also follows the cops,led by Matt Dillon who are trying to identify the bandits and predict their next move.The story even tries to involve you in not only the cops personal lives,so you can appreciate them as characters more,but the thieves as well.This was done to much greater effect in "Heat"."Takers"is a good looking film with some good action sequences,and one of the best foot chase scenes I have scene in quite some time,but if you are having a hankering for a great heist movie,well just watch or rewatch "Heat".3 stars for "Takers"(5 for "Heat")

Cover To Cover

Aquaman gets no respect.The guy is the King of the seas,yet no one seems to like this long standing DC character.His series never last long becasue of this,and it's too bad really.He had a pretty good series in the mid 2000's that eventually shifted gears dramatically(and for the worse)and got itself cancelled.This cover is from that run,drawn by the regular series artist,Patrick Gleason.I can't recall why Aquaman is fighting Supes,and we all know that in the end the boyscout would win,but I do like the fact that Arthur is not going down without a fight.I have always dug this cover,and I may pull this run out and reread it soon.

Red State - Official Teaser Trailer [HD]

The teaser reveals next to nothing.The film is about religious extremists,the kind that think "God hates fags"and the such.The part that to me is most surprising is that Kevin Smith made this.I was a big fan many years ago and still think some of his movies are quite good,but he has gotten really lazy,and it's a shock to see something that looks so well made come from him.

Apollo 18 - Official Trailer [HD]

this looks pretty damn cool

Worst Jeopardy Answer.....Ever

Pussy Furry!

Cover To Cover

Another favorite of mine from my childhood.Drawn by Carmine Infantino,I love the sense of speed,motion and reaction in this 1 drawing.Barry simultaneously getting changed into his Flash costume and getting mowed down,all in a quarter of a millisecond.Cool cover.

Soul Asylum+Wyclef Jean - Gone till November

Soul Asylum cover this Wyclef Jean song and it rocks,here is a version featuring Wyclef.

Soul Asylum Live @ Mohegan Sun 2/19/11

Just threw this video up as I have a second to talk about the free show I caught at Mohegan Sun, Soul Asylum last saturday.I saw them 2 years ago as well,and as I said then,I would pay to see these guys.They may be past the prime of the early nineties,but they don't act like it or play like it.Fun banter between songs,deep tracks and the songs that everyone know to please the people who may not be as in to the band.Great show,and the live version of this song,"Black Gold"may have been the best of the night.If you see SA listed as a free show at Mohegan,get there early and you will have a great time.

Cover to Cover

Captain America,vol 4,came out shortly after 9/11.It started off it's short run quite good,written by John Ney Rieber,and drawn by the incredible John Cassaday(covers too).The book concentrated on Cap fighting terrorist threats to the U.S.,and the covers all carried an even moreso than normal patriotic vibe,mixing in elements of war propaganda posters from the 40's.Issue 2 has always had my favorite cover,with Cap's shield literally smashing terror into shards.

Thor - Trailer 2 (OFFICIAL)

So this is the first trailer for Thor that actually has me pretty psyched.The teaser and the first trailer were both good,but I just wasn't feeling it for some odd reason.This one showed some levity,but also got into more of the clash between Thor and Loki,which I'm assuming will fuel the plot.Something good to go see in May,as long as it's shown in 2D as well.

30 Second Movie Review:The Last Exorcism

Good movie.Hard to describe.It's not really a horror movie.It is a faux documentary following a preacher who has been performing sermons and exorcisms since he was a young boy,who has finally admitted to a loss of faith,and that the exorcism end of it was always a hoax.He doesn't believe in demons,but he still performs the exorcisms because in his eyes,they are just sick people who are benefitted from his charade and they get better because it is all psychosomatic.He and his film crew get called out to a rural farm to perform an exorcism on a teenage girl.From this point on the movie straddles a fine line as to what is psychosis and what may just be a true demonic possesion.I enjoyed this,but can understand how hardcore horror fans could be dissapointed.The last few scenes are particularly good.3 out of 5

Cover to Cover:Companion

Just as an aside from that last Alpha Flight cover,here is the G.I. Joe Tribute.

Cover to Cover

Alpha Flight was one of the books as a kid that I did read sequentially for a while.This cover sticks with me because it promised a death and delivered!Poor Guardian was dead by issues end and his demise was pretty brutal as well.The cover really gave you the sense that anyone could die,and has been used as a model,or tributed many times since then.Just a few weeks ago,G.I.Joe:Cobra 2 issue 12 used the same cover model and did it in stark pink to boot.It was one of the if not the first death issue I had read in a comic,and it drove some finality home for me.Of course he didn't really die,but thats just par for the course with comics and thats cool too.

Bond,Alicia Bond

Justin Bieber has been hired to play the new 007 in a reboot of the series in which the former ladies man agent is a young lesbian just starting off her career in the British Secret Service

Cover to Cover

Greg Land drawn.Hawkman staving off a savage opponent,blood flying.I loved this series and have always loved the simplicity of this cover.It cuts Hawkman down to his core,despite having one of the most overly complexed histories of any comic character,he is a badass warrior when it comes down to it.

Food for Thought

Stopped for lunch today at what is quickly becoming one of my new favorites,Tandoor Indian Restaraunt in lovely downtown Middletown.And by lovely,I truly mean that.I grew up in the Mtown and although downtown was always an interesting and fun trip,it didn't alwaya look so nice.In the last 14 years since I moved out of town,a really nice renovation has taken place.Tandoor is located right where Baskin Robbins and Record Express were a lifetime ago.Truly delicious Indian food,offered in an abundant and reasonably priced($8.95)lunch buffet.Several chicken dishes are typically offered,as well as a lamb dish,and of course many vegetarian and bread options.Nicely cooked,spicy but not hot for the folks with conservative tastes.I highly recommend a trip,I know I'll be back soon.

Spidey gets a name

So it will be titled,"The Amazing Spider-Man",which was the working title for "Spider-Man 2"a few years back.Hey it makes sense to me.The costume looks good,really curious to see a trailer for this thing.

30 Second Movie Review:Coraline

So I finally got around to this one.My wife has been on me about watching this forever and I never was in the mood.So the mood hit last night.I am,despite being a comic book geek,almost wholly unfamiliar with any of Neil Gaiman's work.This is the filmed,stop motion adaptation of one of his books,which could best be described as a fairy tale.Coraline is a 10 year old whose family has moved from Detroit to a creepy little town in Oregon.Coraline's parents are work obsessed,leaving the adventurous young girl feeling a bit alone and ignored.Then as so often happens in fairy tales,she finds something magical.A doorway in her new house that leads to another world,with an alternate version of her family,who want nothing more than to spend time with her.Of course there is some really creepy stuff going on too,as she soon discovers.I liked this film,and although I felt it dragged a bit in the beginning,it comes alive about half way through.Coraline is a really likable character,and once she learns that the grass isn't always greener on the other side,grows up quite a bit on screen too.I give this a 3.5 for story out of 5,but the incredible stop motion animation earns it a overall 4.

Cover to Cover

High school was a good time and bad time for my comics reading.It was good because it was when I was reading alot of series,and some pretty good ones at that.It was bad because in a couple short years(appx 91)I would stop collecting due to money and other issues.In a way I lucked out because I missed all of that mid 90s glut of special covers,Image forming,speculative buying and tons of bad storytelling.This cover always stands out to me as a favorite period of Uncanny,when the X Men were hiding out in Australia and battling the Reavers.This X team consisted of Wolverine,Jubilee,Storm,Rogue and Havoc amongst others.I loved the fact that this cover is so dark,with the skulls,and the X shaped cross,yet it's primary colors are green and purple,two colors that don't really forge a sense of dread,but it works.this cover is fairly popular,seen on tshirts and other merchandise,but to me it also has a good amount of sentimental value.

30 Second Movie Review:Saw:The Final Chapter

So let's get this straight.The Saw franchise has gone on too long,and hopefully it is now over.The acting is usually one level above porn,the sets give off a vibe of almost no budget,and by the time any franchise gets to it's seventh installment it usually feels old.That being said,I had a fun ride.Any horror series that actually has  interconnecting plot threads that build from one film to another,and also can play with the viewer's sense of time in such a smart way is alright by me.Jason Voorhees kills teenagers every summer,Freddy haunts nightmares,etc,etc.Saw is a series that killed off it's killer in the third film and his influence is still getting people stuck in his twisted traps 4 films later.Now the traps are one of this franchise's biggest selling points,and lets say that there is one in particular in this film that goes down with the best of the series.We get a true sense of closure here,and things come full circle in quite a cool way.Let's just hope this is it,because they left it on a good note.3 stars,4 for the series as a whole.

Cover to Cover

As a kid I always loved comics,just not in the same way as some really hardcore fans.My dad used to pick up a few issues at his job(old school spinner rack)for me and give them to me when he got home.Rarely did I ever get the same title month to month,so much of my early childhood was spent reading them 1 story at a time,enjoying the art,but not necessarily getting into arcs.That type of reading comics started closer to 7th and 8th grade,where I HAD to get every issue of this book or that.Somewhere in my parent's basement lies a box with a ton of my early comic collecting years.Some of my fondest memories of comics are culled from those books,mostly dating early 80s.The covers nowadays usually just have the hero striking a pose or go for some sense of higher art,but generally don't connect with the story told in the book.Back then they did.This is a favorite of mine.Iron Man 169,where Tony,beaten by the booze gives up being IM to Jim Rhodes.This cover uses dialogue to great effect as well,which has recently been used to greater effect again in the last few years.Tony looks to be at the end of his rope as drawn by Luke McDonnell and makes it known that he is done.I love this cover.

Cover to Cover

I am going to post some comic covers that I find to be fantastic every few days or so.Just a nice little reminder of these books that I love and the fact that a well put together comic cover really can make an issue leap into your hands.My first post is drawn by Mike Deodato from his run with Bruce Jones on "The Incredible Hulk"from about 8 years back or so.My favorite hulk stories were told during those years,and the covers consistently rocked.The way they planted the Hulk's head off to the left and filled more of the cover with the stark white is really eye catching.Cool stuff,more on the way.

30 Second Movie Review:Buried

"Buried" is one of those movies that will make you cringe.In a good way.Ryan Reynolds plays Paul,an American civilian contractor driving trucks in Iraq.His convoy gets attacked(terrorists?insurgents?,we aren't told)and he is buried alive in a coffin.The entire film takes place in said coffin.1 hour 35 minutes.And it works.Being a claustrophobe myself the first ten minutes was excrutiating to watch,as you feel all of the feelings that he feels,from panic to sheer frustration to terror to acceptance.His captors have given him a phone to communicate with them,and he also uses it to reach out to his employers,his family,911,anyone that will listen.You feel his desperation as he has been given a 9 PM deadline by his captors,get someone to pay 5 million dollars or you stay buried.Paul knows no one with money or influence,but Reynolds completely sells you on the fact that he is not going to give up until he figures out how to get out of the box.This is spoiler free so all I can say is the last ten minutes is a rollercoaster of emotions,and it doesn't let you down.I give this 4 out of 5 stars,an excellent film.

30 second Movie Review:Piranha 3D

So my trusty Netflix envelope came and it was last summer's "Piranha"(not the)3D(version).I had high hopes for this,as it looked to be a funny gorefest.Wrong.It tries,sure,but never really catches on.It focuses so much on scenes for the 3D version that it cripples a 2D viewing.There is plenty of blood,and tons of nudity for those of you who like that stuff.The director Alexandre Aja has made some really cool horror films,such as "High Tension"and the remake of "The Hills Have Eyes"in the past few years,but this is in the same category as his last film,the stinker "Mirrors",you remember,the one about killer mirrors with Jack Bauer.So if I had to give this a rating of 1 to 5 stars,I'd hit it with a 2.5,not the worst I've seen,but I can't say i liked it either.

2 minutes in heaven are better than 1 minute in heaven

I miss Flight of the Conchords,a great show.It only lasted two seasons,but produced some great laughs.I got a chance to see them live in Boston a couple of years ago and they were great .If you haven't heard of them,they are the worlds best comedy folk duo(at least from New Zealand).Two seasons of the show and two albums out as well,all worth a look or listen.

Transformers: Dark Of The Moon (Transformers 3 Official Trailer 2, Super...

I want to like this movie,I really dug the first,but felt the second was just way too long and no fun at all.I'm not asking for Oscar material,just a fun movie about fighting robots thats less than 2 and a half hours long.

"Captain America" (1990) Trailer

The new one looks good,but damn,Matt Salinger IS Captain America

200 Hits

Got my 200th hit and that's cool with me.If you enjoy the blog,sign up to follow it,I adjusted the security parameters so it should be much easier.It was set to super difficult mode without me knowing.

Nothing Suits Me Like A Suit - Barney Stinson - How I Met Your Mother

I've been watching reruns of "How I Met Your Mother"lately and am sad to realize that I am coming in so late to what is really a great sitcom,a rarity today.It plays off of a "Friends"vibe,with a group of late 20s in NYC.The cast is solid but the two standouts are Jason Segal and Neil Patrick Harris,who truly is a talented guy.This is from an episode I caught a few days ago and reminded me of his awesome singing performance in "Dr.Horrible's Sing Along Blog"from a few years back.