Big Trouble in Little Hollywood

Have Hollywood writers lost all of their creativity?  In this age of the Redo, Re-Make, and the Re-Hash it seems that Hollywood has done it yet again.  The original 1986 movie Big Trouble in Little China that starred Kurt Russell and Kim Cattrall will be Hollywood’s next victim.  To make matters worse the movie isn’t even thirty years old yet and here we are being subjected to another movie that someone has decided to reinvent instead of trying to invent a movie on their own.  Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is in talks to star in the move taking the role that Kurt Russell played in the original movie.  If you’ve forgotten or haven’t seen Big Trouble in Little China it’s a movie about a trucker named Jack Burton who goes to Chinatown to visit his friend Wang and gets pulled into rescuing Wang’s fiancé from the ancient and evil Lo Pan who wants to make her and her reporter friend his brides. 

The movie was failure in the box office but quickly became a cult classic as it becomes a tale of when mysterious East meets the modern West.  The character Jack Burton represents the atypical American trucker jock who talks big and loud and backs everything up as the best he can with his fists.  Then he realizes that the men he must fight use martial arts and they are led by monsters and the sorcerer Lo Pan.  I only know of a handful of people who did not fall in love with the machine gun mayhem met the martial arts Kung-Fu fest that resulted in action and comedy that everyone who is a fan loves.  Not to mention the memorable bad guys the Three Storms that stood out and stole the movie.  There’s the powerful and muscular Thunder who was able to expand his body at will, the elusive Rain with his swords that flash faster than bullets, and finally there is the unforgettable Lightning whose image of the lightning wielding shogun that inspired the Mortal Kombat character Raiden. 

So admittedly, yes I wouldn’t mind seeing a re-imagined vision of the movie with those unforgettable characters brought back to life.  Let’s face it Dwayne Johnson is also a name that the people recognize and will go to the movies to see.  I’ll admit I saw Hercules and San Andreas mostly because of the “People’s Champion”.  Unfortunately just because you throw the Rock at the movie doesn’t make it a good idea to make it.  In this instance I don’t like the idea of re-making this movie so soon.  They re-made The Thing by claiming to make it a prequel and they couldn’t even do that right.  I mean all you had to do was right a movie based on the facts of the John Carpenter’s The Thing and what happened?  The screwed the pooch.  Don’t get me wrong I still like the prequel but I’m disappointed by the fact that they could have done so much better.  It’s a clear example of why it is not always a great idea to re-make movies. 

Major Fan Favorite Universes will be Reset this Summer

Creativity.  It’s always shifting and constantly changing and if you’re person with a good imagination you should easily be able to adjust to new stories being told.  Now easily adjusting and liking are two completely different things when we’re talking about stories that make sense or stories that are good.  Being creative means that you’re capable of imagining a great deal but only you will know if you are able to accept what has been created.  Sometimes we are given great ideas that make us believe in the impossible. And sometimes we are given ideas that don’t inspire us and oftentimes the consequences to those uninspired ideas are re-writes and ret-cons that are force upon us. 

Take for instance DC comics and their “New 52” which they started over 4 years ago.  They were able to revitalize all of their characters by giving them all new origins and it allowed new readers to pick up and fall in love with characters that they never knew existed or could never follow before because their history was too convoluted for them to follow.  We saw a new Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman emerge who had traveled different paths to where they finally joined together as the Justice League.  Somehow the Green Lantern history was merged into the new universe and when sales began to slip DC decided to converge all of their universes causing another reset once again.  This time they are making all of their past restarts and crises relevant by allowing the convergence to continue. 

Marvel has also decided to reset their own universes by having all of them die so that something new can be born.  The launch of the Ultimates line boosted sales for Marvel which helped propel the company out of bankruptcy.  The Ultimates also helped influence their successful movie franchise.  The Ultimates line saw a more realistic modern storytelling for comics and also saw a fresh new look for the characters.  This helped Marvel turn things around in their main comics’ branch making the stories more modern and streamlined.  Now the alternate universes that exist are being destroyed and a free-for-all has taken place which will see a new Marvel universe emerge when the dust finally settles.

Even the Star Wars universe has recently been reset to only include the movies and the Clone Wars and Rebellion television series.  Once George Lucas sold his property to Disney they found that they had twenty years of history and back story from the “Expanded Universe” that the fans knew and loved.  With their determination to make more movies Disney felt that the only way that they could do this was to practically make all of that history disappear and start fresh.  This move of course angered many fans such as myself at first as I had fallen in love with the Expanded Universe and it was there for me when I was going to through a tough time in my life.  To hear that they were now saying that it was non-canonical was shocking but afterwards I realized that this was the only way they could make the new movie freely without tripping over everything else that had been written before it. 

So what do you do?  You accept that you aren’t going to be able to change the minds of a multi-billion dollar company when they already have a plan set in motion.  Or you can go back and enjoy all of the things that you made you love the comic books and Star Wars so much and read them over again.  Either way no matter what happens you have to realize that unless you become a writer or artist who will one day effect the creative processes for these enterprises you have no say in what’s going to happen so you might as well enjoy the ride.  Whatever you do don’t give up on what you love.  You may not like the fact that your favorite mutant is now gay or your favorite lantern has been killed.  This is the world of fantasy fiction.  Enjoy it while you can.  

Flash Season Review

The first season for CW’s The Flash has come to an end and the question now is did the show live up to its expectations?  I have to say honestly as a fan of the Flash the show did not disappoint.  Of course it had its campy moments and bad acting where you’re looking at Detective Joe West (Jesse L. Martin) and asking why is he here but other than that the season was phenomenal.  From the very first episode to the last one the season has shown the progression of Barry as a forensic scientist trying to solve his mother’s murder to when he becomes the Flash.  After that the brakes were kicked off the ride and let go.

From the special effects to the rogues who emerged to take center point as villains this season I was hanging onto the edge of my seat.  Now anyone can talk about how great the action and the special effects were but let’s discuss the drama of this show that’s based off a comic book.  The best drama of this show was between Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) & his father Henry Allen (John Wesley Shipp).  The chemistry they produced as a son trying to redeem his father and a man who has never raised his son but is proud of the man he’s become is an essential part of the plot to the story driving the Barry’s need to solve his mother’s murder and find the Man in Yellow or the Reverse Flash.  Even the fatherly way Professor Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanaugh) acted when he interacted with Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes) & Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker).  When the realization that Professor Wells was the Reverse Flash came to be each of them had a hard blow to deal with knowing that the man who was responsible for shaping them into the scientists that they were was a murderer did not sit well.  It tugged on the ol’ heartstrings to watch Professor Wells play everyone like a fiddle yet you had to like the guy as he encouraged Barry to push himself beyond his limits. 

So what else made this show great was the amount of characters that was introduced throughout the season.  Old fans were mesmerized to see Gorilla Grod that the screen and new ones were blown away as the Firestorm was revealed to be Caitlin’s fiancé who was presumed dead.  I geeked out with Professor Wells used his Flash Ring to put on his Reverse Flash uniform and run into battle against the Flash, the Arrow, and Firestorm.  Oh, and to find out that Cisco himself did not escape the particle accelerator explosion unphased was a last minute bonus.

However, to top it all off when the helmet of the Golden-Age Flash Jay Garrick emerged from the wormhole at the end of the show I was practically jumping up and down.  By creating the wormholes Barry has opened the doorway to the multiverses which will probably see Jay Garrick come running through some time.  Earlier this season when the writers were talking about a second speedster for the 2^nd season most people thought it would be either Bart Allen or Wally West.  I know have my suspicions confirmed about Jay Garrick.  In the comic universe Barry Allen’s first encounter with another speedster was with the Golden-Age Flash Jay Garrick when he crossed the dimensional rift and found Keystone City.  So what’s in store what next season.  Rumors are they will explore the multiverse and with the DC’s Legends of Tomorrow jumping off next January there’s no telling where The Flash will go next.  

Mad Max is a a Monster Action Hit

Okay so if you want to take your girlfriend out to go see Pitch Perfect 2 to keep her happy go ahead and do that.  Then after you're done tell her you have to meet up with the boys purchase a ticket to Mad Max:  Fury Road and enjoy.  If you like me grew up in the 80's and loved everything Mad Max because of the vehicular destruction, mayhem, chaos, and absolute Car-nage that comes with the name then you will love this movie.  From the moment it starts it is non-stop action from the beginning of the movie to the end.  It's a race for blood and survival and if this movie doesn't get your blood pumping then something is wrong with you.  Do you have to be a Mad Max fan to enjoy this movie?  No.  But it won't hurt.  Director George Miller topped himself with the crazy insane stunts that were performed in this movie.  Granted our hero Max doesn't say a lot of words but let's face it, when you're Mad Max you don't rely on words you rely on your actions.  The Motorcycles, dipping left and right in the middle of a sea of cars.  With apocalyptic tornadoes and sand storms the special effects are just as spectacular as the stunts.  Charlize Theron does an amazing job as Imperator Furiosa as she tries to save the brides of Immortal Joe from being his breeding sows.  They run trying to find a place where they will be able to have a better life and along the way Max gets dragged into the middle of the situation and has no choice but to either help or be enslaved.  Now that's all you're going to get from this Mad Max-ian.  So until someone gives me a truck with a reinforced chassis a lifted suspension giant dune buggy wheels and a snow plow on the front...go get yourself a ticket and enjoy the ride.  

DC is Becoming the New Television Rockstar where Marvel is the Paragon of Movies

I just finished watching the season finale for CW's Flash and I have to say that I was cleverly surprised at the end.  His decision to not rescue his mother resulted in everything continuing as it had.  He was forced into fighting Eobard Thawne aka Professor Zoom the Reverse Flash and during the fight the helmet for the Golden-Age Flash Jay Garrett fell through the wormhole.  And the final piece that pulls it all together is the is the sacrifice Eddie Thawne made.  He was troubled ever since Thawne had revealed to him the future that lay in store for Barry and Iris in which they get married.  Eddie didn't know where he fit into the puzzle so he was giving up but a pep talk from good old Professor Stein made him realize that he had a purpose.  Eddie decided that he wanted to marry Iris and she agreed, however when he saw that Thawne was going to kill Barry he acted selflessly and shot himself.  Thawne was his direct descendant so by killing himself he effectively erased Eobard Thawne from the timeline killing him.  Of course with the tragedy still fresh to deal with Team Flash had to deal with the singularity that arose from the wormhole and had grown so large that it could swallow the city.  Barry of course being the hero raced upwards into the eye of the singularity to stop it.

Whew.  With all that action and drama in the last ten minutes alone.  The Flash will keep surprising us next season and let's face it what Marvel is doing with their movies, DC is doing with their television shows.  By opening the wormhole the Flash ripped open multiple doorways through time.  This will ultimately lead into DC's Legends of Tomorrow which will premier next January.  And if you were fast or canny enough you saw the first appearance Hawkgirl without her wings.  With the Arrow, Flash, & Legends of Tomorrow all connected their making their way to creating something amazing.  With the success of Gotham over on FOX , CBS stands to gain some impressive viewing numbers when they start showing Supergirl.  

Star Wars VII - The Force Awakens Trailer 2

Who didn’t see the new Star Wars trailer for Episode VII – The Force Awakens?  If you didn’t you must be living under a rock.   This was the second trailer to be released in regards to the movie and it was released of course at Star Wars Celebration.  Ask anyone who has seen the trailer watch how their eyes light up when they tell you about it.  I even scared and surprised my friends when they saw that I was excited beyond belief.  There is just something about the trailer that once it starts you can’t help but crack a smile as you hear the legendary haunting music that John Williams made famous.  And then you see the ruined hulks of an X-wing starfighter and a Star Destroyer in the background as Luke’s voice begins to talk about the Force and how his family is connected to it and a lightsaber is passed like a baton.  After that something in your chest beings to pound as you watch explosions going off left and right.  X-wings take off into the air as TIE fighters strafe a hanger.  The characters Finn and Rey (John Boyega & Daisy Ridley) are running for their lives.  A Sith Lord with his lightsaber grasping outwards with the Force, a phalanx of Stormtroopers and a chrome armored trooper before you reach the finale with Han Solo and Chewbacca claiming that their home. 

There is an electric current that hits you as the music picks up and all you can do is watch and pray that by the time it comes out you’ll have experienced something so profound that it borders on a near religious experience.  Or maybe that’s just me because I get chills up my spine every time I watch it and believe me I’ve seen it multiple times.  What makes this so exciting?  Is it the return of the original characters:  Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Han Solo, Chewbacca, C-3PO & R2-D2?  Is it the fact that we finally get to see a universe that is completely new to all and has yet to be revealed?  Is it the artistic vision that only J.J. Abrams can bring to it that returns us to on site locations shooting and sparingly used CGI effects where appropriate?  For me it’s all of these things.  To discover the identity of the Sith and what happened to the Empire.  To watch a new battle of the updated X-wings and TIE fighters.  To see a new Jedi emerge on his journey and to take up the mantle that Luke held alone against the Empire from the end of Episode IV – A New Hope to Episode VI – Return of the Jedi.  Damn, my Nerd flag is flying high and will stay there for the next 242 days until the release of Star Wars Episode VII – The Force Awakens.  

Deconstruction of Originality! Iceman from our childhood is officially no more!

Thank you Brian Michael Bendis for ruining my childhood!  A few hours ago Brian Michael Bendis gave an interview to Good Morning America and basically dashed any hopes of me picking up another Marvel X-Men comic book ever again.  He is the writer on the current “All-New X-Men” and has a few years ago he shook up the mutant world and its fans by having the original five students, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Angel, Beast, & Iceman time-jump from their past as teenagers to the current time where they are adults.  Following conflicting truths and battles in which they find out that none of them with the exception of Iceman are the same person in the future.  Cyclops has tried to take over the world and declared war against the humans.  Jean Grey is dead.  Angel is now the Archangel.  Beast is covered in blue fur and of all things looks like a cat???  Anyways in an attempt to try to change things the young X-Men decided to stay in our time. 

Well, today Brian Michael Bendis dropped a bomb on us by outing young Bobby Drake aka Iceman and says that he is gay.  I’m sorry I just don’t buy that.  Is this just an attempt to draw in some homosexual fans to the X-Men?  If so you already have Northstar a mutant from the team of Alpha Force.  It’s long been known that he was gay and that he was not ashamed about it.  No one made a big deal about it then and many of the X-Men fans accepted him for who he is.  So, why try to re-write history of a fan favorite character who is already established with a rich history?  Oh because you brought them from the past into the future and now you think you can write whatever you want?  I’m sorry, if you wanted to try to bring more gay fans to the X-Men why not create a new X-Man who pushes the boundaries?  Oh they already did that with Wolverine’s wayward son who is apparently bi-sexual.  So why ruin everyone’s favorite ice-wielding mutant?  Oh because he’s time-displaced you can do whatever you want?  Thank you Marvel for proving that you have officially run out of original ideas.  

Is CW's Arrow finished at Season 3?

When CW's Arrow first came out  the word was a bit ambiguous but after the 2nd season word was that Arrow was getting stronger.  After binge-watching the 2nd season all the way though I had discovered that Arrow was well written and choreographed for a show based on a comic book hero.  I was excited and enjoyed watching the show's protagonist Oliver Queen dispense justice and revenge week after week.  As his task became tougher and more wide-spread his backup crew grew in size from his chauffeur and personal IT assistant to a street-wise kid who ends up dating his sister.  So where do you go from there?  You kill his mother set his city on fire before his sister runs off with her psychotic father as Oliver fights against the ultimate warrior in Deathstroke the Terminator.

So how did they start the third season off?  They killed Diana's younger sister who was an assassin trained by Ra's Al'Ghul and the League of Assassins.  With the League of Assassins proclaiming that they be handed the murder before too long or they would tear the city apart.  So when did Ra's Al'Ghul become Oliver Queen's archnemesis?  Wasn't he supposed to be one of Batman's ultimate villains?  In the interest of making the Arrow a more compelling character the bigwigs at the CW and DC decided to expand the Arrow's repertoire of baddies and of course with the League of Assassins there is plenty of fodder to go around.  Of course there are other obvious questions that need to be answered and the most obvious being does every villain in Starling City have to use a bow and arrow just as the vigilante and his protege utilize?  With all the world of array of weapons every third villain has to use the same bow and arrow.  Can we see them use something else?  Anything else?  Now that we've seen the emergence of the Atom can we see him actually use his shrinking ability or are they just going to keep having him fly around as their version of Tony Stark and Iron Man?  With the season drawing to an end what will happen?  

7 Best moments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

In the past few years Marvel has taken over the market in the movie business.  They opened up with Iron Man and showed the world that it was possible to make you believe that a man could build a suit of armor that allowed him to fly.  In the following years they've continued to build upon that success with film after film culminating in the most recent "Guardians of the Galaxy" which took the viewers and fans far beyond the reach of Earth and into space.  So throughout the years what have been some of your favorite moments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that they've created and allowed us to watch and enjoy?  Well, I'll list you a few of mine and I'll go in order with at least one favorite scene from each movie.

Iron Man - First I would like to state that they started off by casting Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark.  This is a man who has basically lived his life damn near a mirror to Tony Stark's fake life.  He's dealt with fame, women, money, substance abuse and trying to rebuild your life afterwards.  He was basically hired to play himself.  All he had to do was put on a suit.  From there it was straight up a gold mine.  Robert Downey Jr. was catapulted back into the fore front of main men for acting gigs and has forever been cemented in our hearts and minds as the ultimate Tony Stark.  No matter who they cast after him no one else will do a job like he has.  Just like Michael Keaton's portrayal of Batman.  Not to mention that this movie made a billion in revenue.  Now my favorite part in this movie was the test flight where Tony Stark takes his Mark II for a spin and ends up crashing through the roof of his garage.  He crashes onto one of his priceless cars and gets blasted with fire extinguisher from one of his robotic "dummy" arms.  Classic.

Avengers - Where to start with this movie?  You have a cast of people who all have extraordinary abilities and you have to make it worth my $8.75.  How do you do that?  You hire Joss Whedon who has a knack with making a movie with a large cast work so that everyone gets equal enough time pertinent to their characters.  After that you throw in every character that the Marvel Universe has built up or shown and give them something to hit.  The Chitauri and Loki.  This movie was such an overnight sensation that people consider this the epitome of the superhero movie.  You can't do it better than this.  There's comedy, drama, danger, action, and when it’s over a sense of not only fulfillment but a craving for more.  When I was overseas and this movie came I out I bought four bootleg copies of the movie until I found one that was movie quality and then I watched it over and over again.  I couldn't wait to for the next phase of their plans to begin as I was catapulted on an adventure that culminated with a glimpse of Thanos smiling as he warned that to go against Earth is to court Death.  I got goose bumps.  My favorite part of this movie was when the alien attack was on the Avengers were all doing their thing trying to reign in the Chitauri.  Iron Man flies past the Black Widow who was on a flying chariot trying to reach the scepter.  He flies down up the street taking out several Chitauri before turning back around and firing repulsor beams into Captain America's shield who instinctively redirects the beams into the crowd of the Chitauri.  Iron Man then takes off firing on other Chitauri who are climbing the building to get to Hawkeye who is firing well placed arrows where they need to be placed.  The last shot of this scene was where Thor and the Hulk were fighting on the back of a troop transport and they took it down together crashing into Grand Central Station where the Hulk and Thor take a moment to breathe before the Hulk hits Thor.  This was such a fanboy/geek chic moment that I was moving back and forth in my seat when I first saw it and even still to this day I get excited watching their instinctive teamwork at play.

My 2nd favorite scene from this movie is the part where Loki is berating the Hulk telling that he is a God and that he should be worshipped and then the Hulk grabs him up and starts pounding him into the ground mercilessly before he lets him go and walks away and says, "Puny God."  

Iron Man II - Not only was this the sequel to Iron Man but this was the first time we see another suit of armor in play.  We also see the War Machine in action fighting alongside Iron Man taking out the robots all controlled by Whiplash.  Scarlet Johansson's Black Widow was introduced in this movie as first a secretary for Pepper Potts and then is revealed to be a Shield Agent assigned to keep tabs on Tony Stark.  Marvel was able to expand on the character of Tony Stark.  He was now slowly dying from the very thing that had saved his life and he was in a race to find a way to stop himself from dying.   Past that Tony was viewed as an everyday man with money and a suit of armor.  He had a birthday party in his suit. The best moment of this movie was when he was driving through the Monaco Grand Prix and is attacked by Whiplash.  Once Happy throws him his suitcase he popped it open was able to unfold a suit directed from the case and pulled it on.  He was then able to fight against Whiplash capturing him.  For all of us who use to read Iron Man during the 80's-90's era we are all familiar with the suitcase that Tony Stark used to keep on him in the event of emergencies.  When he was attacked he would open it and step into his Iron Man suit.  Oh man, I know so many people who were so happy to see that moment it makes them satisfied and able to trust Marvel that they are able to show our favorite characters and portray them according to how we remember them.   

Captain America:  The Winter Solder - The opening to The Winter Soldier is by far the best portrayal of Captain America's actual abilities when compared to a normal trained soldier.  The scene opens up in DC near the monuments where Cap is running and he passes by Sam Wilson who is at first just a man trying to get his daily jog in but after the sixth or seventh time of hearing "On your left" he tries to catch up to Cap but can't.  The instant comradery shared between a couple of fellow soldiers makes them both instant friends and you can believe that they are friends the further the movie progresses.  Sam brings a soldiers devotion to duty and fighting a worthy cause that also mirrors Captain America's need to fight for a cause and not just a job for security reasons.  This is one of those movies that has action but also a plot that makes you think about the actual political climate of our country today.  However, the best scene in this movie is where Captain America is on an elevator and he begins to notice the personnel that are slowly starting to pile in.  After the doors close he asks would anyone like to get out before they start.  Then he proceeds to take each and every man in that elevator to school showing them why he's the super soldier.  

Guardians of the Galaxy - And finally I bring you to a close with the Guardians of the Galaxy.  First I'll lead with $774 million worldwide revenue.  Second, the cast was the second best group casting aside from the men and woman who made the Avengers.  This was also a gamble for Marvel as they had to make a movie with characters who were relative strangers to people who were not familiar with the comics.  I was relatively worried about this movie as I was a fan of the Guardians from the comics.  When I watched Peter put on his headphones and start dancing to Redbone's "Come and Get Your Love" I fell out laughing literally from my seat.  People looked at me as if I was having a seizure attack.  After that they were laughing along with me as we watched Starlord, Rocket Raccoon, Groot, Drax, and Gamora struggle to deal with each other’s wildly disproportionate attitudes while trying to save the galaxy.  From seeing the Nova Corps come to life to seeing the multi-colored people of Xandar to Yondu's Arrow this movie grabbed you and held on until the very end.  My favorite scene in this movie you would think would be the scene with the Collector's Vault but no I was excited about something else.  Yes, it was pretty cool seeing the many fascinating things that the Collector had stored away in his vault from Howard the Duck to Adam Strange's Cocoon to a member of the Chitauri as well as one member of the Dark Elves from Thor II.  No my favorite scene in this movies came at the end when Ronan was ready to destroy the planet he is distracted by Starlord who is singing The Five Stairsteps "Ooh Child" while dancing in front of him inviting him to a dance-off.  

My second favorite part of this movie was immediately after that when Starlord had grabbed ahold of the Power Gem and was trying not to be incinerated from its power and his comrades all come together to share in the burden and he turns the power back on Ronan declaring, "We're the Guardians of the Galaxy, bitch!"

And there you have it my 7 favorite moments of the Marvel Cinematic Universe from Iron Man on down to Guardians.  What's your 7 favorite moments?  And if you haven't seen any of the movies I've mentioned stop what you're doing and go grab a friend and watch these movies.  They're not only entertaining but they're fun and you'll enjoy them.  

Daredevil

The trailer for Marvel's "Daredevil" has arrived for all of those who are fans of the vigilante from Hell's Kitchen.  The series will premier on Netflix later this year and with it being a Netflix original series that means only one thing.  BINGE WATCHING is in full effect.  Netflix has garnered the idea to not only pay for the series but to have the entire season able to view straight from Netflix as soon as its ready to view.  That means you can view the last episode first and then go backwards to the beginning.  Or maybe that's me because I'm freak like that.  I guess everyone else will do the common sensible thing and just start at the first episode and go from there.  

Daredevil's first season is supposed to be based on his origin that was written by Frank Miller back in the 1980s.  This means we'll cover his origin of how he was blinded and how he acquired his heightened senses.  His love for the law but will we also see his father "Battlin" Jack Murdock a struggling boxer who wanted his kid to keep his nose in the books before his death at the hands of the Kingpin.  Who we will see guaranteed will be Elektra the female assassin who becomes Matt Murdock's love interest as well as arch-rival.  And let's not forget, the irrepressible Bulls-eye, an assassin who never misses his target.  With these elements add in the fact that the man is a struggling law student and practicing attorney by day and a roof-jumping vigilante ninja by night.  How did he get to be a ninja?  Well if you paid attention to the trailer and saw a man with white eyes that should be Matt's mentor and trainer Stick.  The one who teaches him how to see without seeing.  How to use his heightened senses to open his mind and to go further than he could have gone with his sight intact.  Check out the trailer below and set a date on your calendar because The Daredevil is almost here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxIldZcUuCk

Believing in the Fant4stic

So, I know I'm a week late but the I just have to say that I watched the trailer for the new Fantastic Four (remake/reboot) and I have to say....Wow.  At first I didn't know what I was going to hate more...Marvel's Ant-man or the Fant4stic?  The only thing I thought going for the movie was Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm the new Human Torch and Jamie Bell as the Thing.  I find Michael B. Jordan to be an interesting fresh face who will probably go far and I think that portraying the Human Torch will catapult his career even further than it is now.  Miles Teller as Reed Richards, Kate Mara as Sue Storm, and Jamie Bell as the tormented Thing.  I've been a fan of Jamie Bell since "Jumper" and "The Adventures of Tin-tin".  Miles Teller starred in Project X and 21 & Over and Kate Mara is no rookie to the scene but as she appears to be the eldest one of the 4 cast its no wonder she looks like Sue the mother and not Sue the girlfriend.  Little known fact, she starred in "Nip/Tuck" one season opposite of the great Julian McMahon who was also Dr. Doom in the last Fantastic Four movies.

I like how they show what looks like the Think Tank where Reed, Susan, and Doom learn and do their experiments.  But it also pays homage to the original comic book by showing Johnny working on his "hot rod".  Then there is the fantastic emergence of the Thing from a rock like formation.  Now aside from that there is the rest of the Fantastic Four.  We have an essentially Ultimate's take on the Fantastic Four as they are all younger than what was originally portrayed and imagined.  We also see them taking a trip in a  "shuttle" but I'm pretty sure that they didn't travel to outer space because none of them looked like official astronauts.  No it looks like the new 4 gain their new powers by trying to travel to another dimension...namely the Negative Zone.  I gotta say that I am greatly looking And I say that with some assurance thanks to the the large portal seen in the last still of the trailer.  If you haven't see it check out Fantastic 4 Trailer that I've posted.

Fantastic Four Official Teaser Trailer #1 (2015) - Miles Teller, Michael...

Emergence of the Atom

For those of you who are fans of the CW's Arrow and you are also a DC fan we have good news that has been dropped this week.  The minuscule micronaut the Atom will be making an appearance this season during episode 15 "Nanda Parbat".  Ever since the beginning of the season when Brandon Routh was announced to portrait Ray Palmer fans have been waiting patiently to see the Atom's debut.  Especially with Palmer buying the Queen Consolidated and since then has been slowing building a suit that will help him not only fight crime but also help advance science and medical studies.

However, first the Arrow needs to return to Starling City in order to save it from a thuggish brute named Brick who essentially wants to run the Glades without interference from the cops and other city officials.  And he's got his wish as the Mayor has now ordered all cops out of the Glades.  Damn, can the people of Starling city get a decent break?  With the Arrow presumed dead the job of protecting city has fallen onto the shoulders of Diggle, Arsenal, and the new Black Canary.  At this point and time having another hero around really would be a boon at this time.

Now my question is will the Atom's emergence help boost the popularity or intrigue about Marvel's Ant-man?  Me personally, I've found the Atom to be a more exciting character with interesting abilities.  Ant-man was only defined by his duality along with the Wasp.  They came as a set pair and they have remained entwined ever since.  Even when Hank Pym put the suit away and became the wife-beating Yellow-Jacket he was still tied to the Wasp.  Which made him all that more interesting than when he was the Ant-man.  So will the Atom be more popular and will he gain his own television series which ideas are being thrown around right now??  Or will the movie Marvel's Ant-man gain the high-ground and surprise us all.


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Superman's new super power is called Super Flare???

So apparently it was just revealed that the Superman is gaining a new power this week called...wait for it...Super Flare.  Not really original I know but it sounds a little familiar since the writers of the story have also had their hands on another "Superman" type hero from Marvel's side of the barn.  You comic fans may know him as the Sentry.  He was also a powerful man with flight and super strength and drew his powers from the sun.  Yeah...I'm sorry this is just another sad bad idea in a long list of ideas.  Right up there with nipples on the bat-suit.  Now don't get me wrong.  This is the first official super power Superman has gained in almost 70 years.  And you name it Super Flare???  OK, where is Doc Brown and the Delorean at?  I want to go back in time to when comics were worth reading.  Well since I'm sans a time machine and a theoretical physicist I guess I'll just continue reading old comics, independent comics(who actually have original ideas) and books that continue to feed the ghost within the machine.


  http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/02/03/dc-comics-reveals-the-name-of-supermans-new-power

Ghost In The Shell announcement

It’s pretty hard to surprise anyone in today’s world of cinema and movie-making but today DreamWorks’ revealed that they have cast Scarlett Johansson for the live action Ghost In The Shell.  For anyone who is not aware, Ghost In The Shell is based off a manga series where in the future mostly everyone has a cyber-brain which allows them to dive into the net.  Section-9 is a team of highly trained specialists who are charged with protecting Intelligence assets in Japan.  They wage cyber-warfare against terrorists who hack as fast as one can think.  The manga was so popular that it spawned two anime movies and three anime series (Stand Alone Complex).  They are led by the infallible Major Motoko Kusanagi who is the gruff field commander who has spent the majority of her life living in a cybernetic body that allows her to do things that most people can’t.

Now if you think it’s just another action shoot ‘em up series you’re dead wrong.  Ghost In The Shell is one of the most intelligent franchises that has ever existed.  The writing is so smart that multiple viewings are required in order to understand the entirety of the movies and episodes.  Aside from the intelligence it’s brilliantly imagined with concepts such as light-reflective camouflage that can turn one invisible.  Think Tanks called Tachikomas that start off as semi-sentient tanks that follow orders but somehow end up developing their own artificial intelligence.  The main theme that has made GITS so popular is the concept of the Ghost.  It’s perceived as a cybernetic soul or essence that one has that defines you as an individual.  Is it possible to exist as an individual if one doesn’t have a body?  If one doesn’t possess a Ghost? I recommend that you find a copy of the original movie which has just released the 20th anniversary DVD pop some popcorn and watch GITS.  You have to sit and be prepared to follow every second because if you don’t you’ll find yourself lost inside the myriad madness that has made the series so popular.   

Marco Polo

If you haven't watched Marco Polo on Netflix then you are missing out.  Here are a few words that can be used to sum up the show.  The House of Five Pleasures.  Hundred Eyes.  Blue Princess.  Praying Mantis.  And last but not least...KHAN!!!!  Kublai Khan not Khan Noonien Singh.  This is the story of young Marco Polo who found himself indentured to the Khan of the Mongols just so his father could open up trade with the Mongol King.  This is also a story of a young man discovering his path and finding that blood is thicker than water but in Mongolia it’s not your blood that matters.  There's sex, political intrigue, assassins, and a blind martial arts master.  If you thought the royal court at Kings Landing from Game of Thrones was cut throat you have yet to discover that honor has more than one meaning in the land east of the Mongolian desert.  Just watch the first ten minutes of the first episode and you'll be hooked.