I love this video

One of the coolest videos ever.I'm not being sarcastic I love this thing.

Wimpussy

It's a new word.Used towards someone(generally a man)who has no injury or handicap,but wants other men to do his lifting for him in fear of breaking a nail or a sweat.Too wimpy to be just a wimp and too much of a pussy to be just a pussy.Wimpussy.

Graphic Language:The Chill

DC's Vertigo imprint is where comic creators get to do the hard material that would'nt fit in with the Superman and Captain Marvel type stories.Vertigo is where the monsters reside,and with the recent startup of their new line of original graphic novels,they have extended to more original stories in that vein.The Chill is written by novelist Jason Starr and nicely drawn in black and white by artist Mick Bertilorenzi.The story follows a NY cop as he is investigating a series of homicides with ties to old Druidic custom.An older cop from Boston who seems to know alot about what is going on begins to lend a hand,as more and more bodies pile up.The plot and the answer as to what is happening is actually pretty cool,but the killers,motives and all of the actual mystery is explained in the first chapter.At no point do you not feel ahead of the police characters as to what is happening,yet the book plods along as if it is a mystery to the reader as well.I also failed to understand why a main character seemed to go against his beliefs at the very end,doing something that the story spent explaining he was clearly against.I have high hopes for other books in this line,but as far as The Chill is concerned,I give it a 2 out of 5.

30 Second Movie Review:127 Hours

The Titanic sinks,and he has to cut his arm off.Call them spoilers,but when based on a real event,a film is working it's way to a definite ending,so it actually kind of changes the dynamic of the storytelling process when you know the end.Aron Rolston,as played by James Franco,is an adventurous young man who enjoys hiking,biking,climbing and canyoneering.He decides to take a weekend trip to a very isolated spot in the desert to engage in his activities,and neglects to mention to anyone where he is going.Boulder meets boy's arm,and he is trapped for 127 hours until he finally cuts his arm off.Now that being said,there is so much more.Franco gives a excellent performance as Rolston descends from hope,to less hope,to terror,to acceptance of his fate.Much of the story is told in the form of dreams,hallucinations and flashbacks,but director Danny Boyle keeps the narrative quite linear and takes us on an emotional journey as our main character goes through this ordeal.Some films use a particular song in such a way that it will forever link the song with the film for me.The Allman Bros "Midnight Rider"always makes me think of the opening credits of Rob Zombie's The Devil's Rejects,a perfect symmetry of story and song.Bill Wither's "Lovely Day"with it's pure optimism highlights a sequence in the film where Aron tries to fashion a pulley system to move the rock,and it is like a punch in the gut,because you as the informed audience know it is not going to move.Great one man show by Franco,who is quite good.4 stars.

Ticket to Ride

Here we have a very memorable road trip from my youth.Me and three friends drove to Baltimore for the weekend to take in a game and get a tour of the 2 year old Camden Yards,home of the Orioles.As we arrived on Friday the 17th,we flipped on the motel TV and were assaulted by the image of history happening.Every channel was following a car chase featuring an Ex NFL great and a white Ford Bronco.We were glued to this event.Of course this filled America with high drama for the next year,but I will never forget where I was during the chase.The game and weekend were fun and filled with memories,but somehow I'll always assosciate it with my boy Orenthal.If you ever get a chance to see Camden Yards,do so,a great park.

Coheed And Cambria April 25th,2011

Saw Coheed at the House of Blues in Boston last night,a great show.First up was an acoustic set compromised of songs spanning their five albums plus side projects.This song,which I really dug,is a new one,presumably titled "Iron Fist".After a brief intermission,they plugged in and played the entirety of their first album,"The Second Stage Turbine Blade".A few song encore,and one more song for a second encore equaled a great,long show,and an exhausted me,who still had to drive home.Got in at 2 AM and was at work for 745.I am going to crash hard.Definetly worth it,one of the most underrated bands out there today.

Albany Comic Con

Went up the NY Expressway to Albany sunday,to attend a small Comic Con they put on twice a year.Held at the local Holiday Inn,it was a fairly quick 2 and a half hour jaunt there.It's been awhile since NYCC last October and it's still awhile til the next,so I figured this is a nice little hold over.I was correct,not nearly as many exhibitors or pros,but still a good time to be had.I got some cool autographs,and had another chance to chat with a truly nice writer,Ron Marz.I met Mr.Marz last year at a small con in North Haven,and he was gracious both times.I also had the chance to get a couple of Firestorm covers signed by Jamal Igle,who seemed quite cool too.I paid 15 bucks to  indie artist Tyler James,for quite a cool sketch of Booster Gold.If you want to check out some of his stuff heres the link.http://www.tylerjamescomics.com/Trades were the deal of the day,as I found bargains to be had all over,many full priced brand new trades being sold at 35-50% off.Picked myself up a collection of the old Giffen,Dematteis Justice League,and some other cool stuff as well.For the 5 dollar admission and a fun time to spend a few hours on a sunday I am game for the next one in October.This time I'm bringing a list of trades I need so I don't have to try to mentally picture my bookshelf and wrestle internally with whether or not I have thos or that already.

30 Second Movie Review:Tron Legacy

I loved Tron as a kid.It was bright and shiny and there was a cool line of toys.Then I tried to watch Tron again as an adult and cringed.How could it be that bad?Well I also loved Knight Rider as a kid,so obviously there is no accounting for the tastes of a 7 year old.The basic idea of Tron is that Kevin Flynn,genius computer programmer gets beamed into the grid,basically a computer operating system.In the grid,programs have identities and compete in frisbee fights and race motorcycles to the death.The sequel takes place many years after the first,and now Garrett Hedlund(Four Brothers,Friday Night Lights)plays Sam Flynn,Kevin's estranged son.Sam ends up in the grid and finds his long time missing dad,trapped by his own creation,CLU,a program based on Kevin, gone bad.I enjoyed this more than expected,and once again mostly on it's visual merits.All FX save one in particular are top notch,and the use of neon lights against a dark landscape work well.Hell even the soundtrack was damn cool,by techno robot group Daft Punk.Now the one FX botch was that CLU is a CGI version of a younger Jeff Bridges,and man is it bad.Several times it took me right out of the film because I could'nt help look at how fake it was.It is distractingly bad,especially when he talks.In something like The Polar Express it would have worked becasue all the characters are digital,but when put in scenes against real actors it is rough.Overall I have to step beside my own preconceived notions on this and give it a 3 star review.

New Ultimate Spidey

Marvel is hyping the storyline "The Death Of Spiderman"pretty heavily these days,and now we have the first look at what will be the new Spidey suit(don't know if that is Pete or not in though).This is all taking place in Marvel's Ultimate line of books,which focus on all the familiar characters we are used to,but in new and updated stories.The costume seems like a nice blend of the traditional Spidey suit and the Black suit made popular in the late 80's.

Cover To Cover

Alex Ross has done alot of great covers,and seems to really like doing JSA covers(he even co wrote a good bit of the current series with Geoff Johns).This cover in particular is a fave of mine.Mr.Terrific is one of the many cool JSA characters and this is an exceptional rendering.The third smartest man in the world,invisible to all technology,and an ex athlete,this is a character I wish DC would give a mini series or ongoing to,but that will never happen.Great,simple cover.

Ticket to Ride

The only time I have seen Rush thus far.Great show,they had an opening act(shitty 90's alt rockers Candlebox)and still played a 3 hour show replete with indoor fireworks,a giant movie screen,inflatable rabbits and a whole lot of lasers.This was in support of their "Counterparts"album.Incredible band,I really have to see them again.

30 Second Movie Review:RED

I wish i could say better things about this film.I felt no dislike for it,but had no real affection either.Based on a Warren Ellis comic miniseries about CIA operatives who are classified as Retired,Extremely Dangerous.Bruce Willis plays Moses,the most efficient,deadly Black Ops Specialist,now retired.Suddenly his humdrum retiree existence is rattled by some assasins,and he has to figure out who is trying to kill him and why.In the course of the story he picks up a love interest,and reunites with some other former comrades from his previous career.John Malkovich is funny as a deadly but paranoid Operative,and Karl Urban is good as usual as the current Black Ops Specialist trying to take Moses down.I felt that the tone was a little light for my taste,and most of the action scenes were goofy rather than thrilling(although the Willis/Urban fist fight was top notch).Overall not bad,not good,2.5 stars.

Holy Schnikes

This kid is 5 years old.I look up to a 5 year old.He is so badassed he is probably dating a 7th grader. I don't know how he got so good,but I have a feeling his parents lock him in his beat laboratory for 12 hours a day and throw full soup cans at his head when he gets tired or slacks off.But you know what,it's worth it,because this kid rocks.

Cover To Cover

Joss Whedon's run on X Men about 5 years ago was just about my favorite period for that franchise.Utilizing a smaller group(Beast,Cyclops,Emma Frost,Kitty Pryde,Wolverine and the return of Colossus)and having them face the intergalactic threat of the aliens from Breakworld made for a fast paced,action filled arc.Artist John Cassaday did interiors and covers and this one is a fave,Wolvie running buckshot on a bunch of alien soldiers.It's an image repeated many times on Marvel covers,and when done right it is always striking/

30 Second Movie Review:Source Code

Great to see Jake Gyllenhaal in anything after that Prince of Persia turd.Anyways,Source Code is a damn good movie,the second Home Run for director Duncan Jones(David Bowie's)son,after last year's awesome sci fi classic Moon.The central premise is the military has the means to send a soldier's mind into the body of a person in the past.They set the rules up,explain them to you,let you know that you are not dealing with time travel,but parallel realities and do it in a way in which it is easily acceptable and not confusing.Colter Stevens is repeatedly sent back to inhabit a passenger on a train in Chicago that is going to get destroyed by a bomb.Through the magic of plot devices,he has 8 minutes each time he goes back before the explosion.Each trip back,he gets more familiar with what will happen,and he is trying to unravel the mystery of who planted the bomb,so he can help the military find him and stop future attacks.In between events,he is in a control module speaking to his superior officers through a monitor system.It didn't take long for me to figure out his exact situation,and the movie reveals it with over half to go,but it adds to the story,bringing about quite a poignant conclusion.I really feel that this thing ran on all cylinders,and the ending was very satisfying,despite the feeling that there is one plot thread left up in the air,that effects how you may feel about the ending.Tough to describe unless you have seen it.4 stars.

30 Second Movie Review:Due Date

I didn't expect to like Due Date.I usually won't even review comedies on here because comedy is so subjective.I thought that since it was from Todd Philips,director of The Hangover and starring Zach Galifinakis,it would be an unfunny attempt to cash in on his new comedic stardom.I was wrong.Robert Downey Jr. plays a yuppie asshole trying to get home in time for his first child's birth across country.Zach plays a very strange asshole,who recently buried his dad and also has to get to L.A. to try his hand at acting.They get stuck together,and are forced to travel across the U.S.They have misadventures(of course)and they bond thru their differences(of course).To me it never felt forced and I liked the little sad moments that bonded these guys,and laughed at most of the trouble they got into as well.Makes me think fondly of Planes,Tranes and Automobiles.While not a direct remake,almost a 25 year later tribute.4 stars.

30 Second Movie Review:Unstoppable

Ridley Scott generally makes the good movies(Alien,Blade Runner,Gladiator)and Tony Scott makes the fluff that is entertaining(Top Gun,Deja Vu,Crimson Tide).Well here he is again,reteamed with Denzel Washington for the umpteenth time.No,they do not top their best together(Man On Fire),but they are on par with their recent remake of Taking of Pelham 123.Chris Pine plays the newbie train conductor,who is trying to get through his first day on the job with soon to be ousted engineer played by Denzel.They don't see eye to eye but guess what,they make friends.A train the size of the Chrysler building,loaded with deadly chemicals is running unmanned on a track,and only our at odds heroes can stop it.This is the kind of movie that is a fun watch,shot well,some good tense scenes as various people try to stop or board the train,but in reality,it's quickly forgettable.3 stars.

Greatest Frontman....Ever

Queen is easily one of my favorite bands,and in my opinion criminally overlooked alot for their contribution to Rock music.One undeniable fact is theat Freddie Mercury was and still is the greatest frontman,lead singer of all time.Just watch this video and look at the showmanship and the effect he has on over 100k people in that crowd.Great couple of songs too.