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If you are reading just post a "hello" in the comments section. You don't even have to properly identify yourself, but it would be nice.
Site meter stinks. I can't really tell anything about my traffic anymore.
Also, comments and suggestions for topics are always welcome and appreciated.
Sunday, August 01, 2004
Slow weekend. Sort of.
I saw The Village, and I'm not sure what I think. It was okay. That daughter of Ron Howard's probably has a career ahead of her. I might add it's nice to see a 20-something actress making an appearance without having to first star in a Nickelodeon tv-show or having had ever appeared on the WB.
Spoiler here
Look, I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to know that M. Night Shayamalan is going to throw you a curveball at the end of the movie. So instead of just watching his movies, at this point, you kind of sit there and try and figure what the clues are.
The problem is this: Shyamalan pulled his trick in 6th Sense, and then let you get your guard down for Unbreakable, and then... POW! he got you again. From what I hear, he did the same thing in Signs (I never saw it).
So who really believes at this point the guy isn't just going to keep recycling the same gag? He's like the nerdy kid at the party who got everyone to laugh with his great joke, so he keeps telling it to the same people, over and over, trying to get the same reaction.
Maybe it's a spoiler that this movie has a twist ending. You can be like Jamie and declare you'd pieced it all together before the movie ended, or you can be like me, and feel a bit impatient to figure out exactly what the twist is by the change to the second act... because you know that whatever he's telling you now isn't true.
The point is: watching a movie isn't real-life. In a movie, you're given a limited amount of information, and you have to accept that what the story is telling you is true. Yes, it worked once or twice with Shyamalan, but what if every movie pulled this stunt...? people would abandon movies altogether. Every bit of information you're using to enjoy the movie becomes suspect when you know any bit of it could be misleading.
Sure... you can always surprise people if you lie to them for two hours. At some point, I just kind of wonder what else Shyamalan has other than this one parlor trick. He seems like a competent director and the actors did fairly well with what they had to work with.
Unfortunately, I'm not watching this movie in a vaccuum. I remember Shyamalan's previous efforts. Perhaps if this were my first, I'd have been somewhat impressed. But for me, the entire last third of this movie lost its steam.
end spoilers
Go catch this one if you were thinking of seeing it. It's okay. And it had Sigourney Weaver and William Hurt who are two actors I've always dug. It's creepy, and has some nifty stuff in it.
The new Justice League Unlimited series premiered this weeked. They've taken the show into a new direction I wasn't really anticipating, but I think I can get into. Looks like the JL is officially sanctioned, has more of a space station than a satellite, and has a staff running their various space hangars, etc... Kind of cool. But not what I was anticipating.
The story was a decent enough intro to what this incarnation of the JL is up to. The art is up to last season's standards, they've added 3D for some space scenes, and the voice talent was pretty good. All in all, it was a lot of fun. The opening scene with GA was about as classic GA as I think you're going to find.
My complaint: The new music stinks. Shirley Walker scored a lot of the Batman/ Superman animated work (including the phenomenal theme to the Batman/ Superman Adventures, circa 1997). Why Ms. Walker wasn't selected, and a screaming 80's electric guitar was chosen in her stead is something only Bruce Timm can know.
I really enjoyed seeing so many DC characters get little cameos (anyone else see Zatanna on the people-mover?), and I look forward to JLU plunging into television spotlights for so many of these characters. It was good to see the animated version of Supergirl return, and to see Captain Atom and Green Arrow done spot-on for TV.
Teen Titans was also well done, bringing the Judas Contract storyline from the comics (circa 1982) to a head.
I'm really getting into Megas XLR on Cartoon Network. The G-Force inspired episode from last week was absolutely hysterical, and this week's episode was pretty good as well.
Over at RHPT.com this weekend, Randy ponders what makes a movie good or bad, pointing out that his bottom line is entertainment value. And then takes a pot shot over Dedman's bow by taking a jab at Jim's worship of the Dogme 95 flick, The Celebration.
I see Randy's point, to some extent. I mean, if he enjoys a film, be it The Care Bear Movie or Wild Strawberries, shouldn't that be enough?
There are two answers to this question.
Popular answer: Yes. If you like something, that's all you need to know.
Critical answer: No. All art forms should be held to some critical standard with which to judge their merit for the present and for the long-term.
The movie trailer which raised the question was National Treasure, which I'm going to have to side with Dedman on. This looks like a stinker. Ughhh.. I'm not sure I need a film degree to see this being a paint-by-numbers clunker.
The trick The League has learned to employ is admitting The League is enjoying a movie, even when the The League knows a movie is bad. This doesn't make you, as a viewer, less of a person. But at least you can acknowledge that maybe the film you are watching was not as craftily put together as it could have been. It doesn't mean you're stupid for enjoying a bad movie. It means that you're freely enjoying something awful. If people couldn't do this, we might have Police Academy 1 and 2. But would we have all 6?
Critics be damned..! Movie studios are trying to woo the hard-to-please comic dork fanbase. Funny thing... turns out that if you don't go in and change everything about a comic book in order to bring it to the big screen, it can still make money (ie, Spider-Man, X-Men, etc...)
Apparently it's beginning to dawn on producers that you do have a built in audience if you make these movies according to the comics, but you lose that core if you step away from the source material. And given the money that comic nerds will be willing to spend if you actually give them something they want to see, studios are taking notice.
check out the article here. It details film events at Comic-Con 2004. Thanks to Jim D. for the article.
Unfortunately for the studios: many comic fans cannot separate cartoons from reality, and they tend to be a little blunt if they didn't like your last outing. So don't go to Comic-Con expecting the kid-gloves treatment. Comic fans are not known for their social graces.
I might point out that no self-respecting comic nerd will go see the new film "Constantine," based upon Alan Moore's pet DC creation, John Constantine. If the producers really think the comic fans are going to like the changes they've made, they are wrong. Trying to figure out why Constantine has to be British is like asking why Bond can't be American, or why Catwoman can't be Catman. Between Constantine and Catwoman, it's gonna be a long year for DC Comics at the movies.
Saw the tariler for Batman Begins on the big screen. I enjoyed it. Couldn't tell if a single other person in the theater even shrugged.
I saw The Village, and I'm not sure what I think. It was okay. That daughter of Ron Howard's probably has a career ahead of her. I might add it's nice to see a 20-something actress making an appearance without having to first star in a Nickelodeon tv-show or having had ever appeared on the WB.
Spoiler here
Look, I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to know that M. Night Shayamalan is going to throw you a curveball at the end of the movie. So instead of just watching his movies, at this point, you kind of sit there and try and figure what the clues are.
The problem is this: Shyamalan pulled his trick in 6th Sense, and then let you get your guard down for Unbreakable, and then... POW! he got you again. From what I hear, he did the same thing in Signs (I never saw it).
So who really believes at this point the guy isn't just going to keep recycling the same gag? He's like the nerdy kid at the party who got everyone to laugh with his great joke, so he keeps telling it to the same people, over and over, trying to get the same reaction.
Maybe it's a spoiler that this movie has a twist ending. You can be like Jamie and declare you'd pieced it all together before the movie ended, or you can be like me, and feel a bit impatient to figure out exactly what the twist is by the change to the second act... because you know that whatever he's telling you now isn't true.
The point is: watching a movie isn't real-life. In a movie, you're given a limited amount of information, and you have to accept that what the story is telling you is true. Yes, it worked once or twice with Shyamalan, but what if every movie pulled this stunt...? people would abandon movies altogether. Every bit of information you're using to enjoy the movie becomes suspect when you know any bit of it could be misleading.
Sure... you can always surprise people if you lie to them for two hours. At some point, I just kind of wonder what else Shyamalan has other than this one parlor trick. He seems like a competent director and the actors did fairly well with what they had to work with.
Unfortunately, I'm not watching this movie in a vaccuum. I remember Shyamalan's previous efforts. Perhaps if this were my first, I'd have been somewhat impressed. But for me, the entire last third of this movie lost its steam.
end spoilers
Go catch this one if you were thinking of seeing it. It's okay. And it had Sigourney Weaver and William Hurt who are two actors I've always dug. It's creepy, and has some nifty stuff in it.
The new Justice League Unlimited series premiered this weeked. They've taken the show into a new direction I wasn't really anticipating, but I think I can get into. Looks like the JL is officially sanctioned, has more of a space station than a satellite, and has a staff running their various space hangars, etc... Kind of cool. But not what I was anticipating.
The story was a decent enough intro to what this incarnation of the JL is up to. The art is up to last season's standards, they've added 3D for some space scenes, and the voice talent was pretty good. All in all, it was a lot of fun. The opening scene with GA was about as classic GA as I think you're going to find.
My complaint: The new music stinks. Shirley Walker scored a lot of the Batman/ Superman animated work (including the phenomenal theme to the Batman/ Superman Adventures, circa 1997). Why Ms. Walker wasn't selected, and a screaming 80's electric guitar was chosen in her stead is something only Bruce Timm can know.
I really enjoyed seeing so many DC characters get little cameos (anyone else see Zatanna on the people-mover?), and I look forward to JLU plunging into television spotlights for so many of these characters. It was good to see the animated version of Supergirl return, and to see Captain Atom and Green Arrow done spot-on for TV.
Teen Titans was also well done, bringing the Judas Contract storyline from the comics (circa 1982) to a head.
I'm really getting into Megas XLR on Cartoon Network. The G-Force inspired episode from last week was absolutely hysterical, and this week's episode was pretty good as well.
Over at RHPT.com this weekend, Randy ponders what makes a movie good or bad, pointing out that his bottom line is entertainment value. And then takes a pot shot over Dedman's bow by taking a jab at Jim's worship of the Dogme 95 flick, The Celebration.
I see Randy's point, to some extent. I mean, if he enjoys a film, be it The Care Bear Movie or Wild Strawberries, shouldn't that be enough?
There are two answers to this question.
Popular answer: Yes. If you like something, that's all you need to know.
Critical answer: No. All art forms should be held to some critical standard with which to judge their merit for the present and for the long-term.
The movie trailer which raised the question was National Treasure, which I'm going to have to side with Dedman on. This looks like a stinker. Ughhh.. I'm not sure I need a film degree to see this being a paint-by-numbers clunker.
The trick The League has learned to employ is admitting The League is enjoying a movie, even when the The League knows a movie is bad. This doesn't make you, as a viewer, less of a person. But at least you can acknowledge that maybe the film you are watching was not as craftily put together as it could have been. It doesn't mean you're stupid for enjoying a bad movie. It means that you're freely enjoying something awful. If people couldn't do this, we might have Police Academy 1 and 2. But would we have all 6?
Critics be damned..! Movie studios are trying to woo the hard-to-please comic dork fanbase. Funny thing... turns out that if you don't go in and change everything about a comic book in order to bring it to the big screen, it can still make money (ie, Spider-Man, X-Men, etc...)
Apparently it's beginning to dawn on producers that you do have a built in audience if you make these movies according to the comics, but you lose that core if you step away from the source material. And given the money that comic nerds will be willing to spend if you actually give them something they want to see, studios are taking notice.
check out the article here. It details film events at Comic-Con 2004. Thanks to Jim D. for the article.
Unfortunately for the studios: many comic fans cannot separate cartoons from reality, and they tend to be a little blunt if they didn't like your last outing. So don't go to Comic-Con expecting the kid-gloves treatment. Comic fans are not known for their social graces.
I might point out that no self-respecting comic nerd will go see the new film "Constantine," based upon Alan Moore's pet DC creation, John Constantine. If the producers really think the comic fans are going to like the changes they've made, they are wrong. Trying to figure out why Constantine has to be British is like asking why Bond can't be American, or why Catwoman can't be Catman. Between Constantine and Catwoman, it's gonna be a long year for DC Comics at the movies.
Saw the tariler for Batman Begins on the big screen. I enjoyed it. Couldn't tell if a single other person in the theater even shrugged.
Friday, July 30, 2004
DC Character Profile: Mr. Terrific
Secret Identity: Michael Holt
Rating: Awesome
Official Website: DC profile
What makes him a superhero: Mr. Terrific is not infused with super powers, per se. Instead, Mr. Terrific is, as many DC characters, born with superior intelligence, intellect and athletic ability. Terrific holds multiple PhD's, speaks dozens of languages and is trained in some form of martial arts. He's also quite the inventor, utlizing his gravity defying T-spheres for everything from video conferencing to tracking enemies to shooting lasers.
What he's about: Mr. Terrific is all about "Fair Play" (it's written on his jacket if you don't believe me). He's there to even the odds for the underdog and to make sure justice is served.
Why The League digs him: Mr. Terrific came on the scene with a minimum of fanfare in the mid-90's when DC was resurrecting the names and ideas behind several of their World War II era characters. The original Mr. Terrific was Terry Sloane, a sort of Bruce Wayne type. In 1997, Terry Sloane was fairly outdated, and so DC decided to revitalize the property by updating Terrific's origin and giving him Terry's story as inspiration.
Since then, Mr. Terrific has served as a mainstay of the JSA comics. He's quickly risen in fan popularity, and even serves as Chairman of the JSA (Justice Society of America), playing the role of cool, confident leader.
You don't see Mr. Terrific actually having to get into fights too often. Usually he's too busy outsmarting the competition.
Secret Identity: Michael Holt
Rating: Awesome
Official Website: DC profile
What makes him a superhero: Mr. Terrific is not infused with super powers, per se. Instead, Mr. Terrific is, as many DC characters, born with superior intelligence, intellect and athletic ability. Terrific holds multiple PhD's, speaks dozens of languages and is trained in some form of martial arts. He's also quite the inventor, utlizing his gravity defying T-spheres for everything from video conferencing to tracking enemies to shooting lasers.
What he's about: Mr. Terrific is all about "Fair Play" (it's written on his jacket if you don't believe me). He's there to even the odds for the underdog and to make sure justice is served.
Why The League digs him: Mr. Terrific came on the scene with a minimum of fanfare in the mid-90's when DC was resurrecting the names and ideas behind several of their World War II era characters. The original Mr. Terrific was Terry Sloane, a sort of Bruce Wayne type. In 1997, Terry Sloane was fairly outdated, and so DC decided to revitalize the property by updating Terrific's origin and giving him Terry's story as inspiration.
Since then, Mr. Terrific has served as a mainstay of the JSA comics. He's quickly risen in fan popularity, and even serves as Chairman of the JSA (Justice Society of America), playing the role of cool, confident leader.
You don't see Mr. Terrific actually having to get into fights too often. Usually he's too busy outsmarting the competition.
Thursday, July 29, 2004
By the way. Set your TiVO/ DVR/ whatever.
Justice League Unlimited premieres this Saturday night.
Should be cool. Mr. Terrific, Atom Smasher, The Creeper, Green Arrow, The Question and a host of others will be making small appearances. You can also see Captain Atom, Supergirl, Dr. Fate, etc... etc...
I hope this show does well enough to continue to extend for several more seasons. DC comics, like Marvel, have a massive number of characters and stories to share. And seeing them brough to the television medium is a huge amount of fun.
Look, I know many or most of you aren't going to read a comic, but if you want to see some crazy super hero action without the shame of actually buying a comic, Justice League is the place to do it. And this episode is perfect for the uninitiated as they kick off a new series. Give it a try!
Justice League Unlimited premieres this Saturday night.
Should be cool. Mr. Terrific, Atom Smasher, The Creeper, Green Arrow, The Question and a host of others will be making small appearances. You can also see Captain Atom, Supergirl, Dr. Fate, etc... etc...
I hope this show does well enough to continue to extend for several more seasons. DC comics, like Marvel, have a massive number of characters and stories to share. And seeing them brough to the television medium is a huge amount of fun.
Look, I know many or most of you aren't going to read a comic, but if you want to see some crazy super hero action without the shame of actually buying a comic, Justice League is the place to do it. And this episode is perfect for the uninitiated as they kick off a new series. Give it a try!
Jim may have found his entire rise to fame completely exploitive, but we can now safely quell the rumor that William Hung has not ended his meteoric rise (and life) with an intentional heroine overdose.
see article here
You know, I can definitely see how see how folks might see William Hung's fame as a bad thing. But I don't. And here's why:
Jessica Simpson's sister.
I missed the whole part where Jessica Simpson became famous, but we all know that it's not exactly like Jessica Simpson worked her way up and out of the club scene, paying her dues and performing at humiliating shows at Astroworld for years before she got her lucky break. She was a pre-packaged deal, a face for magazine covers and album jackets. Don't mind if she can't dance at all, and she has voice as bland as Kroger brand Vanilla ice-cream.
According to certain factions, we live in a meritocracy. But it ain't a perfect world, and that's not really how it works in certain realms. At least in the entertainment business, it's who you know and how you know them. Hundreds and thousands of bands can tell you: even if you do get a record deal, the chances of you getting the kind of promotion that Jessica Simpson, et al, have enjoyed is nil. That kind of marketing is based solely on marketing research and not on years of a steady build-up of fans. But, hey... it's America. If that's what the record companies want to do... whatever.
So now, riding on Jessica's coat-tails comes Ashlee Simpson. Who, you know, is some sort of rocker. Like Johnny Lydon and shit. But she is still managed by mom and dad, and she has a TV show. Never mind she's like 12, doesn't write her own music, and let's face it... she's maybe a good enough singer for a high school production of Annie, Get Your Gun.
Does this mean we should automatically dislike Ashlee? Nah. Again, this is America. If Ashlee Simpson turns your crank, best of luck to you. But at least recognize her as being as pre-packaged as a Happy Meal.
Then I think: When Avril Lavigne was announcing Grammy nominations and misprounced David Bowie, shouldn't she have been euthanized just then? I'm no music snob, but, I mean... holy moley. This girl is making MILLIONS of dollars, and she's a cardboard prop. And she can't identify one of the most important pop stars of the past forty years.
So maybe William Hung doesn't know who David Bowie is either, but he knows what he likes. And, darn it, he at least TRIES to know something about the tunes he likes. And he was willing to go all out at the AI auditions. And he took his rejection with grace, which is more than you can say for most of the bozos who pass before the AI tribunal.
So William Hung sucks. So what? So does 90% of what comes out in any given year.
My point is, if Ashlee Simpson is given carte blanche to make millions of dollars with her talentless self, then why can't William Hung? Because he doesn't have a pretty, talentless sister?
I'd like to see William Hung rewarded for daring to dream in a cynical world. He doesn't have parents working around the clock to get him face time with record producers and record execs. Nope. Instead he stood in line and patiently waited his turn and gave it his all when the opportunity arose. How many of us can say we did the same?
So he's a little goofy and sweetly-naive? And unsure of what to think, folks want to write their own readings onto the William Hung phenomenon. You cannot honestly say that you think William is doing this with anything but the best of intentions. So as long as he gets a big fat check at the end, I'm happy for the man. I hope he makes a billion dollars.
see article here
You know, I can definitely see how see how folks might see William Hung's fame as a bad thing. But I don't. And here's why:
Jessica Simpson's sister.
I missed the whole part where Jessica Simpson became famous, but we all know that it's not exactly like Jessica Simpson worked her way up and out of the club scene, paying her dues and performing at humiliating shows at Astroworld for years before she got her lucky break. She was a pre-packaged deal, a face for magazine covers and album jackets. Don't mind if she can't dance at all, and she has voice as bland as Kroger brand Vanilla ice-cream.
According to certain factions, we live in a meritocracy. But it ain't a perfect world, and that's not really how it works in certain realms. At least in the entertainment business, it's who you know and how you know them. Hundreds and thousands of bands can tell you: even if you do get a record deal, the chances of you getting the kind of promotion that Jessica Simpson, et al, have enjoyed is nil. That kind of marketing is based solely on marketing research and not on years of a steady build-up of fans. But, hey... it's America. If that's what the record companies want to do... whatever.
So now, riding on Jessica's coat-tails comes Ashlee Simpson. Who, you know, is some sort of rocker. Like Johnny Lydon and shit. But she is still managed by mom and dad, and she has a TV show. Never mind she's like 12, doesn't write her own music, and let's face it... she's maybe a good enough singer for a high school production of Annie, Get Your Gun.
Does this mean we should automatically dislike Ashlee? Nah. Again, this is America. If Ashlee Simpson turns your crank, best of luck to you. But at least recognize her as being as pre-packaged as a Happy Meal.
Then I think: When Avril Lavigne was announcing Grammy nominations and misprounced David Bowie, shouldn't she have been euthanized just then? I'm no music snob, but, I mean... holy moley. This girl is making MILLIONS of dollars, and she's a cardboard prop. And she can't identify one of the most important pop stars of the past forty years.
So maybe William Hung doesn't know who David Bowie is either, but he knows what he likes. And, darn it, he at least TRIES to know something about the tunes he likes. And he was willing to go all out at the AI auditions. And he took his rejection with grace, which is more than you can say for most of the bozos who pass before the AI tribunal.
So William Hung sucks. So what? So does 90% of what comes out in any given year.
My point is, if Ashlee Simpson is given carte blanche to make millions of dollars with her talentless self, then why can't William Hung? Because he doesn't have a pretty, talentless sister?
I'd like to see William Hung rewarded for daring to dream in a cynical world. He doesn't have parents working around the clock to get him face time with record producers and record execs. Nope. Instead he stood in line and patiently waited his turn and gave it his all when the opportunity arose. How many of us can say we did the same?
So he's a little goofy and sweetly-naive? And unsure of what to think, folks want to write their own readings onto the William Hung phenomenon. You cannot honestly say that you think William is doing this with anything but the best of intentions. So as long as he gets a big fat check at the end, I'm happy for the man. I hope he makes a billion dollars.
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