Oh, here's something I didn't post blogsphere. I don't know why I'm posting it now, but it was there, so I figured why not?
Okay blogsphere I've got something of a statement to post,
Overall from day to day, the media I observe happens to be decidedly negative. I don't watch too much television for that reason, but at the same time, media extends from many sources. Eventually if one absorbs enough of it, humans can become extensions of the media they absorb, and thus retain a decidedly negative outlook on the world around them.
People begin to clash with one another in simple conversation, it's almost like miniature wars; one side argues against another side to prove that they're right, and gain whatever minute reward that can be attained from such conflict. It extends to each and every person, creating a world of conflict in which we all must endure.
Or does it?
There is without a doubt a negative aspect to the world around us, and probably to a majority there are many problems. There aren't though. From what I can see, people are out talking about, participating in, and most importantly: creating positive things. I suppose it's actually taken me this long to realize this myself, but I'm saying it anyway. While there are negative things in all of our lives, you can't simply focus on those aspects. There are many things all around us that you can find enjoyment in, but you have to be willing to recognize what they are, and really take them in.
I find that I like art quite a bit. From photography, to concepts for video games, I very much enjoy what people create, and for those things to exist, there have to be positive minds producing them. The existence of art in the world alone (and art in abundance mind you) is a statement to the fact that there are positives all around us at all times.
I don't know why I'm saying this really. Probably just a reminder for myself on one day or another, but I thought it needed to be said. Take that for what you will.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Movie Reviews: Blood the Last Vampire, Rudo y Cursi, Transformers 2, Away we Go
Hello again blogsphere,
Again I've got no comic news, but hey what can I say, if I could post my scripts I would. In the last week or so, I've watched a few movies though, and since I do happen to review them from time to time, I thought "what the hay."
First up is Blood: The Last Vampire, a J-horror action flick based off of the Anime movie and T.V. series. Being sort of a fan of the original (and I use that term loosely), I thought that I'd give it a shot to kill some time. The story revolves around a young girl named Saya, who hunts vampires, even though she's a vampire herself (the twist being that she drinks the blood of vampires to survive). Yeah, Japanese Blade pretty much...but it's also Japanese.
This is an action flick that pulls no punches, the story is interesting enough to be followed, but all we really want to see are the kick ass showdowns. On that end alone though, the standard wire-fu and slow mo, leave a little to be desired. If you're bored with nothing to do, you can watch this and be satisfied. Just don't expect this to raise your I.Q. and you'll be fine. Oh yeah, it's also cool that they have a bi-lingual cast.
Rudo y Cursi on the otherhand is quite a nice piece of film. From the screenwriter (and director of this film) and stars of E Tu Mama Tambien, Rudo y Cursi is about two brothers from rural Mexico, who get scouted to play professional football (soccer for you Americans :p) and how the rivalry at home continues on the field. It's the setup for any sports movie, but because its foreign, there's quite a bit more to it.
The story is incredibly intimate, showing you quite a bit of the pair's family life as well as their personal struggles. You can see how the two of them are rivals very clearly, as well as the reasoning that motivate them to be so. Through the comedic aspects of the movie are apparent, the narrative and themes are stronger, making the film more than you would expect. Of course, this is pretty much the same with any foreign drama and myself ^^
And of course we have the reviled Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
To be honest, I've got no idea what put critics off to this movie. Michael Bay must have either paid them to say nice things about the last one, or didn't pay them to say good things about this one, because I see very little difference between the two.
The setup is, Optimus Prime and his Autobots have been hunting down the remnants of the Decepticons on earth (if you don't know who Optimus Prime is, or what an Autobot or Decipticon is either, just stop reading and save yourself the useless knowledge), and in doing so, discover a new foe that's been working behind the scenes of the ranks of the Decepticons. Sam Witwicky, now about to go to college, is once again drawn into their conflict and is forced to make a decision between joining the Autobots battle, or trying to lead his own life.
So, once again, this is AN ACTION MOVIE. This is not the Bicycle Thief, Citizen Kane, nor even The Seventh Seal. If you don't like hot girls, computer generated robots fighting, one liners, and explosions, I suggest you find something else to watch and or talk about. While there are some annoying characters, and more potty language than you would expect, if you saw the first one and liked it, you're in familiar territory. It's just more. More is sometimes a good thing, and in this case it is. That's all I have to say about that.
And now to my favorite of the bunch: Away We Go.
This was something I read about in an Entertainment Weekly, that I had to buy in order to reach the 5 dollar card purchase limit in a store. I was only really interested in it because I like Maya Rudolph, and this is her biggest acting role since SNL. The story is that of an couple who get pregnant, and decide to find another place to live in order to raise their child. So, they go on a trip across the country (and even to Montreal!), in order to find a place to put down some roots.
This was a very intelligent, thoughtful, and yes another cliche adjective, touching film. I say this because once again, despite the obvious witty humor and comedic situations, this movie is making one of the truest statements of what I believe marriage and relationships have evolved into in America. You have the illustrations of parents that can't have children, parents with children that they don't take care of, single parents raising their children; from baby boomers to new age hippies, this movie takes a pretty good look at parenting and from all sides and generations.
On top of that, it speaks quite a bit on what I think is how what we consider to be love in relationships these days. To some people this might be either an eye opener, or mere fantasy, but I can see these characters as real people. I'd like to think that I can see a little bit of myself in the main characters, and even though this is a fictitious movie, I'd like to think that the relationship that they have would be attainable in real life. Needless to say, this is a definite must watch.
Oh yeah, the performances were brilliant by the way, Rudolph and Krasinski have amazing chemistry as Verona and Burt, and there are a crap ton of great actors supporting this movie as well. On top of that, Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida (whom I've never heard of) provide some of the most witty and intelligent banter I've ever heard in a romantic comedy. Or is it a drama-dy? Sam Mendes (director of Squid and the Whale) once again has made me very happy.
Well, I think that's all I've got for now. This summer may have some slim pickings, but I guess I still find things worth watching. Hopefully more comic news next month ^^
Again I've got no comic news, but hey what can I say, if I could post my scripts I would. In the last week or so, I've watched a few movies though, and since I do happen to review them from time to time, I thought "what the hay."
First up is Blood: The Last Vampire, a J-horror action flick based off of the Anime movie and T.V. series. Being sort of a fan of the original (and I use that term loosely), I thought that I'd give it a shot to kill some time. The story revolves around a young girl named Saya, who hunts vampires, even though she's a vampire herself (the twist being that she drinks the blood of vampires to survive). Yeah, Japanese Blade pretty much...but it's also Japanese.
This is an action flick that pulls no punches, the story is interesting enough to be followed, but all we really want to see are the kick ass showdowns. On that end alone though, the standard wire-fu and slow mo, leave a little to be desired. If you're bored with nothing to do, you can watch this and be satisfied. Just don't expect this to raise your I.Q. and you'll be fine. Oh yeah, it's also cool that they have a bi-lingual cast.
Rudo y Cursi on the otherhand is quite a nice piece of film. From the screenwriter (and director of this film) and stars of E Tu Mama Tambien, Rudo y Cursi is about two brothers from rural Mexico, who get scouted to play professional football (soccer for you Americans :p) and how the rivalry at home continues on the field. It's the setup for any sports movie, but because its foreign, there's quite a bit more to it.
The story is incredibly intimate, showing you quite a bit of the pair's family life as well as their personal struggles. You can see how the two of them are rivals very clearly, as well as the reasoning that motivate them to be so. Through the comedic aspects of the movie are apparent, the narrative and themes are stronger, making the film more than you would expect. Of course, this is pretty much the same with any foreign drama and myself ^^
And of course we have the reviled Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
To be honest, I've got no idea what put critics off to this movie. Michael Bay must have either paid them to say nice things about the last one, or didn't pay them to say good things about this one, because I see very little difference between the two.
The setup is, Optimus Prime and his Autobots have been hunting down the remnants of the Decepticons on earth (if you don't know who Optimus Prime is, or what an Autobot or Decipticon is either, just stop reading and save yourself the useless knowledge), and in doing so, discover a new foe that's been working behind the scenes of the ranks of the Decepticons. Sam Witwicky, now about to go to college, is once again drawn into their conflict and is forced to make a decision between joining the Autobots battle, or trying to lead his own life.
So, once again, this is AN ACTION MOVIE. This is not the Bicycle Thief, Citizen Kane, nor even The Seventh Seal. If you don't like hot girls, computer generated robots fighting, one liners, and explosions, I suggest you find something else to watch and or talk about. While there are some annoying characters, and more potty language than you would expect, if you saw the first one and liked it, you're in familiar territory. It's just more. More is sometimes a good thing, and in this case it is. That's all I have to say about that.
And now to my favorite of the bunch: Away We Go.
This was something I read about in an Entertainment Weekly, that I had to buy in order to reach the 5 dollar card purchase limit in a store. I was only really interested in it because I like Maya Rudolph, and this is her biggest acting role since SNL. The story is that of an couple who get pregnant, and decide to find another place to live in order to raise their child. So, they go on a trip across the country (and even to Montreal!), in order to find a place to put down some roots.
This was a very intelligent, thoughtful, and yes another cliche adjective, touching film. I say this because once again, despite the obvious witty humor and comedic situations, this movie is making one of the truest statements of what I believe marriage and relationships have evolved into in America. You have the illustrations of parents that can't have children, parents with children that they don't take care of, single parents raising their children; from baby boomers to new age hippies, this movie takes a pretty good look at parenting and from all sides and generations.
On top of that, it speaks quite a bit on what I think is how what we consider to be love in relationships these days. To some people this might be either an eye opener, or mere fantasy, but I can see these characters as real people. I'd like to think that I can see a little bit of myself in the main characters, and even though this is a fictitious movie, I'd like to think that the relationship that they have would be attainable in real life. Needless to say, this is a definite must watch.
Oh yeah, the performances were brilliant by the way, Rudolph and Krasinski have amazing chemistry as Verona and Burt, and there are a crap ton of great actors supporting this movie as well. On top of that, Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida (whom I've never heard of) provide some of the most witty and intelligent banter I've ever heard in a romantic comedy. Or is it a drama-dy? Sam Mendes (director of Squid and the Whale) once again has made me very happy.
Well, I think that's all I've got for now. This summer may have some slim pickings, but I guess I still find things worth watching. Hopefully more comic news next month ^^
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Because I haven't posted in too long
Hello again blogsphere,
Have I been missed? Can the inanimate feel? Oh the endless conundrums of life...yeah that's only a hint of what I've been doing with my free time. Despite my lack of posts, I really have been more productive than I've been in a long time now.
Paradise Road is coming along nicely, with going on 3 scripts ready for paneling.
I may have a chance to get Of Saints and Suicide actually done soon here (the scripts have been finished for months, but with no artists...)
And I've got my first script done for a special project of mine, that I'm dying to start.
I can't say too much about Fashionable Nonsense at this point, as the money to get it done is just not there. I will and am going to do something with it, the only determining factor being when. In between that all, I haven't actually been watching too many movies, as I can't help but find this summer blockbuster season: DEVOID OF ANYTHING GOOD.
No really, I'm holding out for Transformers and Public Enemies, but summer movies have sucked thus far. I'm hoping that by August something will sneak in for me, but until then I'll just catch up on comic books or write like I have been. The catching up of comics is a definite maybe... (ha ha, get it! I grammatical errors are funny!)
Alright, till the next time I feel like blogging again ^^
Have I been missed? Can the inanimate feel? Oh the endless conundrums of life...yeah that's only a hint of what I've been doing with my free time. Despite my lack of posts, I really have been more productive than I've been in a long time now.
Paradise Road is coming along nicely, with going on 3 scripts ready for paneling.
I may have a chance to get Of Saints and Suicide actually done soon here (the scripts have been finished for months, but with no artists...)
And I've got my first script done for a special project of mine, that I'm dying to start.
I can't say too much about Fashionable Nonsense at this point, as the money to get it done is just not there. I will and am going to do something with it, the only determining factor being when. In between that all, I haven't actually been watching too many movies, as I can't help but find this summer blockbuster season: DEVOID OF ANYTHING GOOD.
No really, I'm holding out for Transformers and Public Enemies, but summer movies have sucked thus far. I'm hoping that by August something will sneak in for me, but until then I'll just catch up on comic books or write like I have been. The catching up of comics is a definite maybe... (ha ha, get it! I grammatical errors are funny!)
Alright, till the next time I feel like blogging again ^^
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Paradise Road
Alright blogsphere,
I haven't abandoned my other projects, but I have started a new one which I'm very enthusiastic about called Paradise Road. This is a very noir styled story, set in modern day era. Here's a quick blurb that I came up with about it:
Oliver Murdock is an investigative psychologist on the trail of a serial killer, who kills his victims in bizarre and strange ways. As he follows the killer's trail of carnage however, he begins to uncover something much more sinister. Beyond even the heinous and depraved murders, the killer begins to take Oliver on a journey, revealing terrible secrets and a world of horror.
The road to Paradise is not paved with good intentions.
There's a little more to it than that of course, but I guess I'll have to wait till I actually get the comic done for anyone to read it. On the other hand, I do have many characters in the story, which I intend to profile. Starting next week, I'll post the ones that Igor and I get done here, and hopefully we'll have some more to show later.
Till then I suppose ^^
I haven't abandoned my other projects, but I have started a new one which I'm very enthusiastic about called Paradise Road. This is a very noir styled story, set in modern day era. Here's a quick blurb that I came up with about it:
Oliver Murdock is an investigative psychologist on the trail of a serial killer, who kills his victims in bizarre and strange ways. As he follows the killer's trail of carnage however, he begins to uncover something much more sinister. Beyond even the heinous and depraved murders, the killer begins to take Oliver on a journey, revealing terrible secrets and a world of horror.
The road to Paradise is not paved with good intentions.
There's a little more to it than that of course, but I guess I'll have to wait till I actually get the comic done for anyone to read it. On the other hand, I do have many characters in the story, which I intend to profile. Starting next week, I'll post the ones that Igor and I get done here, and hopefully we'll have some more to show later.
Till then I suppose ^^
Monday, May 11, 2009
Movie Review: Star Trek, Book of Blood, Angels and Demons, and Terminator: Salvation
Hello again blogsphere,
Well you got one comic post, so of course you knew another movie review couldn't be far behind ^^
I actually postponed this one because, well to tell you the truth, I really don't have much of a review for any of these. Apart from Star Trek, the rest of the movies weren't very good. Maybe I'm just over the flash bang of summer blockbuster movies, but I'm just not that impressed with movies in theaters right now.
I'd elaborate more on these movies, but I'm really not very compelled to so here goes:
Star Trek - very good. go see it where the sound can shake your seat.
Book of Blood - alright.
Angels and Demons - it's a Dan Brown book turned into a movie. that means awful.
Terminator: Salvation - Holy crap what a letdown.
Other than that, I really didn't feel much for these movies at all. I think that I need to just take this summer time to look for even more obscure films, and possibly forgo the movie theater until September (with the great exception of seeing Transformers Revenge of the Fallen, because that will be awesome).
Till I find another movie to watch blogsphere...
p.s. - oh yeah, I forgot that Drag Me to Hell comes out soon. I'll see that ^^
Well you got one comic post, so of course you knew another movie review couldn't be far behind ^^
I actually postponed this one because, well to tell you the truth, I really don't have much of a review for any of these. Apart from Star Trek, the rest of the movies weren't very good. Maybe I'm just over the flash bang of summer blockbuster movies, but I'm just not that impressed with movies in theaters right now.
I'd elaborate more on these movies, but I'm really not very compelled to so here goes:
Star Trek - very good. go see it where the sound can shake your seat.
Book of Blood - alright.
Angels and Demons - it's a Dan Brown book turned into a movie. that means awful.
Terminator: Salvation - Holy crap what a letdown.
Other than that, I really didn't feel much for these movies at all. I think that I need to just take this summer time to look for even more obscure films, and possibly forgo the movie theater until September (with the great exception of seeing Transformers Revenge of the Fallen, because that will be awesome).
Till I find another movie to watch blogsphere...
p.s. - oh yeah, I forgot that Drag Me to Hell comes out soon. I'll see that ^^
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Untitled Detective Story
This is Oliver Murdock, the main character of the next story I'm working on with Igor Glushkin.
More details soon...
Monday, May 4, 2009
Movie Reviews: 20th Century Boys and S. Darko
(crap! forgot to post this...eh well. Here's a post from last week!)
Okay, so I'm late to the party again blogsphere,
I've come to realize that 2008 (whose Oscar picks sucked btw) was a really good year for movies, in my humble opinion. There were quite a few movies that I saw, which were just really good in lots of ways (movies which I won't list right now because I'm lazy :P).
The reason why I mention this is because I just watched 20th Century Boys today, and while it was released in November, it was still last year and I didn't know about it till this one. While this movie didn't blow me away, it was just really cool to see something of the like. The story is based on friendships from childhood, which of course is typical Japanese, but I thought it was illustrated very well this time. These kids who all grew up in the same neighborhood and played with each other, came up with this story about the end of humankind, through an evil organization bent on conquering the world.
Of course they get older and forget about it, and they all grow apart and start their own lives, but after a school reunion they find out that a friend of theirs died. The way he died causes them to think about their childhood more, and they remember the story, eventually noticing that it's actually happening exactly how they wrote it as children. I won't say that it's a great movie, as it's got a bit of slow down as most J-movies tend to, but it was really well put together and fun to watch. Oddly enough, this is a movie that I would like to see an American remake of, or at least a Luc Besson spin on ^^
The latter movie is a far less enjoyable experience.
Granted, I'm not the biggest fan ever of Donnie Darko, but I did enjoy the movie. I thought that it had quite a bit going for it, and appears to have influenced quite a few indie films in years since. S. Darko of course, is nothing like it's predecessor. The story revolves around Donnie's younger sister, Samantha as she runs away from home with her slutty friend from wherever they're from and get into doing the same thing her brother did.
The only reason I gave this movie the time of day, was the fact that it's got the Darko name attached to it. I thought that it would at least be a nice homage to what was, or maybe something completely different. I thought that I'd find something redeemable about it (granted I'm actually still technically watching it, as it plays while I'm watching this), but I really don't like it. Maybe it's just me, but everything seems very much forced, none of the characters seem like they fit the world they inhabit. I find the story itself to be a try-hard version of Donnie Darko, while desperately trying to differentiate itself as an original creation.
I'm being harsh though. I mean it is direct to DVD, and...well...I should probably be over Donnie Darko since I was never really into it. I guess if you're like me, and you expect this movie to have a semblance to the original: don't. If you want to watch it to satisfy your curiosity, have a crack at it, but lower your expectations, critical standards, and intelligence quotient, immediately before doing so. I should have known better than to watch anything other than a summer blockbuster. That'll teach me. Thank god I'm seeing Star Trek later this week.
Okay, so I'm late to the party again blogsphere,
I've come to realize that 2008 (whose Oscar picks sucked btw) was a really good year for movies, in my humble opinion. There were quite a few movies that I saw, which were just really good in lots of ways (movies which I won't list right now because I'm lazy :P).
The reason why I mention this is because I just watched 20th Century Boys today, and while it was released in November, it was still last year and I didn't know about it till this one. While this movie didn't blow me away, it was just really cool to see something of the like. The story is based on friendships from childhood, which of course is typical Japanese, but I thought it was illustrated very well this time. These kids who all grew up in the same neighborhood and played with each other, came up with this story about the end of humankind, through an evil organization bent on conquering the world.
Of course they get older and forget about it, and they all grow apart and start their own lives, but after a school reunion they find out that a friend of theirs died. The way he died causes them to think about their childhood more, and they remember the story, eventually noticing that it's actually happening exactly how they wrote it as children. I won't say that it's a great movie, as it's got a bit of slow down as most J-movies tend to, but it was really well put together and fun to watch. Oddly enough, this is a movie that I would like to see an American remake of, or at least a Luc Besson spin on ^^
The latter movie is a far less enjoyable experience.
Granted, I'm not the biggest fan ever of Donnie Darko, but I did enjoy the movie. I thought that it had quite a bit going for it, and appears to have influenced quite a few indie films in years since. S. Darko of course, is nothing like it's predecessor. The story revolves around Donnie's younger sister, Samantha as she runs away from home with her slutty friend from wherever they're from and get into doing the same thing her brother did.
The only reason I gave this movie the time of day, was the fact that it's got the Darko name attached to it. I thought that it would at least be a nice homage to what was, or maybe something completely different. I thought that I'd find something redeemable about it (granted I'm actually still technically watching it, as it plays while I'm watching this), but I really don't like it. Maybe it's just me, but everything seems very much forced, none of the characters seem like they fit the world they inhabit. I find the story itself to be a try-hard version of Donnie Darko, while desperately trying to differentiate itself as an original creation.
I'm being harsh though. I mean it is direct to DVD, and...well...I should probably be over Donnie Darko since I was never really into it. I guess if you're like me, and you expect this movie to have a semblance to the original: don't. If you want to watch it to satisfy your curiosity, have a crack at it, but lower your expectations, critical standards, and intelligence quotient, immediately before doing so. I should have known better than to watch anything other than a summer blockbuster. That'll teach me. Thank god I'm seeing Star Trek later this week.
Friday, May 1, 2009
So yeah...
Hi again blogsphere,
Since this blog is really just a bunch of reviews and random thoughts, I think that I'm just going to turn it into my personal blog. I don't know when I'm going to start a new one, but it will be dedicated to the comic book stuff I do, rather than just smattered about like they have been.
The comic stuff will appear here too, but obviously less frequently than the other crap I have to say XD
That is all. You may now return to your daily lives ^_^
Since this blog is really just a bunch of reviews and random thoughts, I think that I'm just going to turn it into my personal blog. I don't know when I'm going to start a new one, but it will be dedicated to the comic book stuff I do, rather than just smattered about like they have been.
The comic stuff will appear here too, but obviously less frequently than the other crap I have to say XD
That is all. You may now return to your daily lives ^_^
Movie Reviews: The Solosit, Dead Snow, and Splinter
Hi blogsphere,
I know, long time no speak, but I come bearing the review of a great horror flick! Actually I've seen a few movies of note, one being The Soloist, and the other being Dead Snow.
The Soloist was a bit of a letdown considering the actors and director involved, though that's not saying it's not worth watching. To me, it falls along the lines of another Slumdog Millionaire; meaning that it's a look at another lifestyle, drastically different than most of our own. Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx both play their roles well, and Joe Wright (director of Atonement) do a good job of illustrating the story, but their efforts are undermined by that of the story.
Dead Snow on the otherhand, is nothing short of b-movie goodness. I've been looking forward to seeing this, as it runs along the same lines as Hysteric Psycho, nonetheless it didn't dissapoint. With Zombie Nazis, and a forign cast, you can't really do too much wrong. The gore was over the top, the characters were cardboard, it's just a great b-movie to laugh and have fun with.
But what I just recently watched, is by far, the best horror movie I've seen in a long time.
Splinter is a nail-biting, skin crawling, scary horror film. A suburban couple decides to go on a camping trip for their anniversary, and on their way pick up a young couple whose truck has broken down. The pair are taken hostage, as it turns out the couple happen to be criminals on the run. Forced to drive to the border, they stop at a gas station to prepare, discovering it vacant. This is where their trouble begins.
I found this movie actually scary. Everything is well done. I mean everything. The special effects, the actors, the directing, I couldn't find a fault with this movie. Nothing was hokey, or cheesy about this, and the way that the settings, and characters worked with each other made everything seem believeable. That, and the suspense is so viceral, I found myself actually jumping and cringing at only 15 minutes in. Honestly, if you like horror, this is a total must watch.
Oh yeah, I've noticed that I've slacked on the comic updates. What can I say, I'm poor. I'll post more as soon as I get some things worth showing, but rest assured there will be more.
Till next time ^_^
I know, long time no speak, but I come bearing the review of a great horror flick! Actually I've seen a few movies of note, one being The Soloist, and the other being Dead Snow.
The Soloist was a bit of a letdown considering the actors and director involved, though that's not saying it's not worth watching. To me, it falls along the lines of another Slumdog Millionaire; meaning that it's a look at another lifestyle, drastically different than most of our own. Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx both play their roles well, and Joe Wright (director of Atonement) do a good job of illustrating the story, but their efforts are undermined by that of the story.
Dead Snow on the otherhand, is nothing short of b-movie goodness. I've been looking forward to seeing this, as it runs along the same lines as Hysteric Psycho, nonetheless it didn't dissapoint. With Zombie Nazis, and a forign cast, you can't really do too much wrong. The gore was over the top, the characters were cardboard, it's just a great b-movie to laugh and have fun with.
But what I just recently watched, is by far, the best horror movie I've seen in a long time.
Splinter is a nail-biting, skin crawling, scary horror film. A suburban couple decides to go on a camping trip for their anniversary, and on their way pick up a young couple whose truck has broken down. The pair are taken hostage, as it turns out the couple happen to be criminals on the run. Forced to drive to the border, they stop at a gas station to prepare, discovering it vacant. This is where their trouble begins.
I found this movie actually scary. Everything is well done. I mean everything. The special effects, the actors, the directing, I couldn't find a fault with this movie. Nothing was hokey, or cheesy about this, and the way that the settings, and characters worked with each other made everything seem believeable. That, and the suspense is so viceral, I found myself actually jumping and cringing at only 15 minutes in. Honestly, if you like horror, this is a total must watch.
Oh yeah, I've noticed that I've slacked on the comic updates. What can I say, I'm poor. I'll post more as soon as I get some things worth showing, but rest assured there will be more.
Till next time ^_^
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Movie Review: Sorta...
So Blogsphere,
I watched the work copy of Wolverine today (or tonight depending on what you rate the morning).
It was pretty damn sweet. Unfortunately this is the work copy we're talking about, so I can't actually review it until I see the final cut.
This is just a post to rub it in any and everyone's face.
^_^
I watched the work copy of Wolverine today (or tonight depending on what you rate the morning).
It was pretty damn sweet. Unfortunately this is the work copy we're talking about, so I can't actually review it until I see the final cut.
This is just a post to rub it in any and everyone's face.
^_^
Monday, March 30, 2009
Review: Dragonball Evolution and Knowing
Hello again blogsphere,
I know I said that I'd do a full review on Dragonball Evolution last I was here, but let's be honest, do I really have to tell anyone how that movie is? I mean it's Dragonball Evolution. Seriously reviewing the movie is like picking on a quadriplegic baby with spina bifida. If you've seen the trailers, you know what to expect when and if you choose to see it. Just have a sense of humor about it, and you can enjoy it. Trust me, there are no surprises in this movie.
I'm leaving it at that.
Knowing on the other hand was surprising to me. I'm pretty conflicted with it at that, because I don't know what I can say about it. The only reason I decided to take a look at it was because Alex Proyas directed it (I'm a fan of The Crow and Dark City, what can I say), and although I was entertained on multiple levels, I don't know how to feel about it.
Knowing's premise is that of a recently widowed MIT professor and his son trying to move on from his wife's death. The father is more logic minded, while the son seems to hold more to a faith based view, which was played off interestingly through the movie. What changes their situation, is the fact that the son comes to own a letter written 50 years ago and stored in a time capsule. The letter appears to be simply numbers scrawled across a piece of paper, and yet the father discovers it to be much more. The letter foretells all the days of human tragedy of to come from 50 years to the date of the letter, down to the number of people killed each day. The father takes it upon himself to discover if the letter could actually be accurate, and if so, exactly what it's purpose is.
This movie has quite a few strong points, and a well put together premise, but the shortcomings of it are nearly the exact proportions. The visual effects aren't all that great, but they get the job done. The film's pacing is spot on, but the characters seem to lose themselves as the movie goes on. That and there is a bit of malechavanism that arises through the course of the film, and that's bothersome to me. On the otherhand though, the ideas presented are nice, and keep you guessing where the movie is going to end up. Where it ends up though is a bit questionable to me though...
Even though overall I don't see this as a good movie, I still can't say that I didn't enjoy it, even though the glaring flaws of it are hard to ignore. Maybe it's just the fan in me that won't allow me to completely bash it (I actually did loathe the ending), but I can't disregard the high points either leaving me at a crux. I'm going to just go ahead and say avoid this movie in the theaters to be safe, but it could be fun for a movie night...maybe?
I know I said that I'd do a full review on Dragonball Evolution last I was here, but let's be honest, do I really have to tell anyone how that movie is? I mean it's Dragonball Evolution. Seriously reviewing the movie is like picking on a quadriplegic baby with spina bifida. If you've seen the trailers, you know what to expect when and if you choose to see it. Just have a sense of humor about it, and you can enjoy it. Trust me, there are no surprises in this movie.
I'm leaving it at that.
Knowing on the other hand was surprising to me. I'm pretty conflicted with it at that, because I don't know what I can say about it. The only reason I decided to take a look at it was because Alex Proyas directed it (I'm a fan of The Crow and Dark City, what can I say), and although I was entertained on multiple levels, I don't know how to feel about it.
Knowing's premise is that of a recently widowed MIT professor and his son trying to move on from his wife's death. The father is more logic minded, while the son seems to hold more to a faith based view, which was played off interestingly through the movie. What changes their situation, is the fact that the son comes to own a letter written 50 years ago and stored in a time capsule. The letter appears to be simply numbers scrawled across a piece of paper, and yet the father discovers it to be much more. The letter foretells all the days of human tragedy of to come from 50 years to the date of the letter, down to the number of people killed each day. The father takes it upon himself to discover if the letter could actually be accurate, and if so, exactly what it's purpose is.
This movie has quite a few strong points, and a well put together premise, but the shortcomings of it are nearly the exact proportions. The visual effects aren't all that great, but they get the job done. The film's pacing is spot on, but the characters seem to lose themselves as the movie goes on. That and there is a bit of malechavanism that arises through the course of the film, and that's bothersome to me. On the otherhand though, the ideas presented are nice, and keep you guessing where the movie is going to end up. Where it ends up though is a bit questionable to me though...
Even though overall I don't see this as a good movie, I still can't say that I didn't enjoy it, even though the glaring flaws of it are hard to ignore. Maybe it's just the fan in me that won't allow me to completely bash it (I actually did loathe the ending), but I can't disregard the high points either leaving me at a crux. I'm going to just go ahead and say avoid this movie in the theaters to be safe, but it could be fun for a movie night...maybe?
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Movie Review: Wow, guess what I watched.
So Blogsphere,
I've told you my love of comics, movies, video games, and pretty much all things geeky and asian right? So guess what I found last night? Here's a hint: it's a movie based on a manga turned into a famous anime series that's slated for release this year that has a whole lot of fighting it it and characters with names that translate into stuff like rice, carrot, and vegetable and everyone yells and screams for a long time.
Guess yet?
That's right, I found Dragonball Evolution online, and let me tell you: its even better than what you imagined from the trailers. Seriously. If you lived in 1990, and this movie came out, you would soil yourself. With great lines like "I made a promise I wouldn't fight." and the retort being "Oh it won't be a fight." (character pours beer or "drink" on the ground) "It's going to be a massacre." and characters that meet for the first time and become friends in under 2 minutes to the point that they're coining terms together like DBE (dragon ball energy XD) you know you've got a winner on your hands.
(I know I've got huge run-on sentences going but I don't care I'm talking about Dragonball Evolution XD)
I can't wait to write full review of this movie, because honestly so far, this has got to 2009's funniest movie yet. I can't stop laughing at least. I'll get you a review as soon as I can.
I've told you my love of comics, movies, video games, and pretty much all things geeky and asian right? So guess what I found last night? Here's a hint: it's a movie based on a manga turned into a famous anime series that's slated for release this year that has a whole lot of fighting it it and characters with names that translate into stuff like rice, carrot, and vegetable and everyone yells and screams for a long time.
Guess yet?
That's right, I found Dragonball Evolution online, and let me tell you: its even better than what you imagined from the trailers. Seriously. If you lived in 1990, and this movie came out, you would soil yourself. With great lines like "I made a promise I wouldn't fight." and the retort being "Oh it won't be a fight." (character pours beer or "drink" on the ground) "It's going to be a massacre." and characters that meet for the first time and become friends in under 2 minutes to the point that they're coining terms together like DBE (dragon ball energy XD) you know you've got a winner on your hands.
(I know I've got huge run-on sentences going but I don't care I'm talking about Dragonball Evolution XD)
I can't wait to write full review of this movie, because honestly so far, this has got to 2009's funniest movie yet. I can't stop laughing at least. I'll get you a review as soon as I can.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Tenative Cover
Well this would be the cover of Fashionable Nonsense issue 1! A few tweaks will be added and such, but it's pretty much there kids, so enjoy ^_^
Friday, March 20, 2009
Review: Wolverine and the X-Men
Hello again blogsphere,
So I haven't watched any movies of note lately (not to say I haven't seen any. I saw The Class, and Two Lovers this past week, but they both weren't very good so I opted not to speak on them), and since my regular media consumption is limited to comics, BBC news, and re-runs of Solitary. Needless to say I was bored, but then I'd forgotten that I had 3 episodes left of the 1st season of Wolverine of the X-Men.
I've recently found my inner elitist, and have been touting him all over town, so I'll start by saying that cartoon's today suck. I'll give credit to some of the funny ones, but that's not really my forte. I'm an Optimus Prime kind of guy. Most of my affinities lie in the guise of my childhood heroes; apart from a few of the re-launching, or re showing of all those old properties, kids these days don't have anything cool to watch (or play with for that matter, action figures blow these days too). Enter Wolverine and the X-Men, the fourth animated version of the X-Men since Pryde of the X-Men in the 80's.
The setup is that the X-Men have broken up after the founder Professor Xavier disappears, along with Jean Grey. Cyclops goes into depression (LOL), and the team pretty much disbands afterwards. Wolverine, among the diaspora, realizes that human/mutant relations are intensifying with the implementation of the mutant registration program. With no X-Men, mutants are pretty much sitting ducks for humans, and so he takes it upon himself to get the X-Men back together and eventually ends up leading them.
Now anyone who has any knowledge of the character Wolverine, knows full well that this sounds ridiculous. But not only do they make Wolverine into a believable leader without breaking his character, but they weave a really awesome storyline; one which involves all the classic stuff from the old show and comics, as well as making it accessible and fun for anyone else. It's just my opinion, but I know what I like when I see it, and I like this show.
I'm a firm believer in the fact that American cartoon's died after the mid 90's. Heck, maybe even before. Most of my affinities lie in the region of Japan, mostly because my favorite cartoons through the 80's and 90's are Japanese. Only a select few American cartoons did I really enjoy, one of which was X-Men. It's definitely of it's time, but back then, that show was aces. Not alot of cartoons since can emulate or capture the way that show worked, but this show does so surprisingly. If I were a kid again, I'd be all about it. Plus I could look forward to the inevitable action figure line and subsequent video game. At least if the marketers work it right ^^
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Watchmen was.
Yes Blogsphere,
I am the one angry little comic book fanboy with a problem with the Watchmen movie.
I haven't seen it, therefore you might be wondering why I have a problem with it. From what I hear, it's the graphic novel to the letter, plus updating the bits that needed tightening. I hear that it's nothing short of excellent, so you might be wondering what kind of head wound I must have.
My problem with this movie is simple: it exists.
Yes, the very fact that Watchmen got made into a movie is a travesty to me. And I love comic book movies. You can ask any of my friends that have known me for any number of years, there isn't a comic book movie since the original Batman I've turned my nose up at. I'm looking forward to seeing X-Men Origins: Wolverine quite a bit as well as Astro Boy, Red Sonja, Hack/Slash, Whiteout, Kick Ass, Preacher (if it comes out), and even Dragonball Evolution. All on my schedule of movies that I'm going to watch this year. But Watchmen has never been there.
My reasoning lies in this: of all the comics books created through history, there are only a few that stand out as surpassing the "simplistic nature" of the medium. Watchmen stands among these few. While the rest will never be anything more than what they are because of the wishes of their creators, Watchmen cannot. It's creator has no control over his work, and because of that, the highest bidder can do what they will with it. That indignity alone should be enough for me, but that's nearly a moot point, as I'm also guilty in watching the other films made from Alan Moore's works.
Watchmen is a credit to comic books. It's the equivalent of Citizen Kane, Sgt. Pepper's, or Starry Night to comic books. How many people in their respective communities would like to see them redo either of those pieces of art, or better yet, replace them with other versions? Imagine Uwe Boll doing Citizen Kane over, and his version becomes the only one you can see. Nickleback doing Sgt. Pepper's? I'm not saying that Watchmen is the Bible, but it deserves the same respect that you would give any of those pieces of art. But it doesn't get that respect, and why? Because it's a comic book. One of Time's 100 greatest novels, and winner of a Hugo award, but still a comic book at the end of the day.
You might say "What are you talking about crazy? It's an honor for a book to be made into a movie!" That's not my point, but you could say that. However, that's also contingent on the quality of the movie. This Watchmen looks like I expected it to: a summer special effects action blockbuster. What's reaching the world on a mass scale, isn't an academy award winning film, but a summer blockbuster. A good movie. I can't in good conscience be satisfied with that. I may be premature in saying all that, and if Watchmen becomes the highest grossing film next to Dark Knight, or even gets a nod from the Academy, I'll see it right away. It doesn't look like that right now though.
The reason why I'm so stringent in my stance against the Watchmen movie is of course personal. When I read Watchmen, I was on a comic high reading Vertigo series, and all of the superhero stories recommended to me by comic book fans. I picked up Watchmen because I had just read Top 10 volume 1, and heard that Watchmen was Alan Moore's best; and when I first started reading it, I got bored. I couldn't see what was so good about it, it was just a ton of talking. Then it dawned on me that I was just looking for people beating each other up, or some violence of some kind, like in every other book I was just reading. I felt small and stupid, and suddenly I challenged myself to start over again from the beginning. I finished Watchmen in two days because I had to sleep, I'd read too many comic before it before I started.
After I finished it, I felt like my world got a little bigger. I realized that comics didn't all have to be the same, that there could be a much deeper communication placed in them. It simply never occurred to me that a comic book could be another way, and it took me reading Watchmen to realize that. I promptly started re-reading the other comics looking for such a thing, but couldn't find it. There will never be another Watchmen in comic book history, and now what was it's relevance is come and gone.
I say this, because I had a conversation about my feelings on this topic, with a friend of mine. During it's course he said something I felt was important, but I can only paraphrase:
"Let's face it most comics are shit. And no one cares about the socially inept losers who read them."
While I disagree with a great majority of the statement, I do see his point, because I saw it. I looked for other comics that emulated Watchmen and only found a handful. The rest I simply like because I like comics. The rest of the world sees what my friend sees, and he proves my point for me.
No person without an interest in comic books would read Watchmen seriously, unless prompted by a credible source because they know comic books are for the most part juvenile. You turn it into a movie, and everyone can enjoy it right? But if all the best comic books get made into movies, why would you want to read the comic anyway? On top of that, what do you associate being better: the comic? Or the movie?
Spider-Man, X-Men, Batman, sure they've all had great stories for their series and characters, you've seen quite a few of them featured in their movies. But can anyone tell me the name of any story of any of those comic book characters, that people have considered to be more than just a superhero/comic book story?
Watchmen was.
There. I've said my piece. My fight's already been lost so I'll probably see the movie sooner than later. What I'll have to wait for, is to see if I have to eat my words ^^
I am the one angry little comic book fanboy with a problem with the Watchmen movie.
I haven't seen it, therefore you might be wondering why I have a problem with it. From what I hear, it's the graphic novel to the letter, plus updating the bits that needed tightening. I hear that it's nothing short of excellent, so you might be wondering what kind of head wound I must have.
My problem with this movie is simple: it exists.
Yes, the very fact that Watchmen got made into a movie is a travesty to me. And I love comic book movies. You can ask any of my friends that have known me for any number of years, there isn't a comic book movie since the original Batman I've turned my nose up at. I'm looking forward to seeing X-Men Origins: Wolverine quite a bit as well as Astro Boy, Red Sonja, Hack/Slash, Whiteout, Kick Ass, Preacher (if it comes out), and even Dragonball Evolution. All on my schedule of movies that I'm going to watch this year. But Watchmen has never been there.
My reasoning lies in this: of all the comics books created through history, there are only a few that stand out as surpassing the "simplistic nature" of the medium. Watchmen stands among these few. While the rest will never be anything more than what they are because of the wishes of their creators, Watchmen cannot. It's creator has no control over his work, and because of that, the highest bidder can do what they will with it. That indignity alone should be enough for me, but that's nearly a moot point, as I'm also guilty in watching the other films made from Alan Moore's works.
Watchmen is a credit to comic books. It's the equivalent of Citizen Kane, Sgt. Pepper's, or Starry Night to comic books. How many people in their respective communities would like to see them redo either of those pieces of art, or better yet, replace them with other versions? Imagine Uwe Boll doing Citizen Kane over, and his version becomes the only one you can see. Nickleback doing Sgt. Pepper's? I'm not saying that Watchmen is the Bible, but it deserves the same respect that you would give any of those pieces of art. But it doesn't get that respect, and why? Because it's a comic book. One of Time's 100 greatest novels, and winner of a Hugo award, but still a comic book at the end of the day.
You might say "What are you talking about crazy? It's an honor for a book to be made into a movie!" That's not my point, but you could say that. However, that's also contingent on the quality of the movie. This Watchmen looks like I expected it to: a summer special effects action blockbuster. What's reaching the world on a mass scale, isn't an academy award winning film, but a summer blockbuster. A good movie. I can't in good conscience be satisfied with that. I may be premature in saying all that, and if Watchmen becomes the highest grossing film next to Dark Knight, or even gets a nod from the Academy, I'll see it right away. It doesn't look like that right now though.
The reason why I'm so stringent in my stance against the Watchmen movie is of course personal. When I read Watchmen, I was on a comic high reading Vertigo series, and all of the superhero stories recommended to me by comic book fans. I picked up Watchmen because I had just read Top 10 volume 1, and heard that Watchmen was Alan Moore's best; and when I first started reading it, I got bored. I couldn't see what was so good about it, it was just a ton of talking. Then it dawned on me that I was just looking for people beating each other up, or some violence of some kind, like in every other book I was just reading. I felt small and stupid, and suddenly I challenged myself to start over again from the beginning. I finished Watchmen in two days because I had to sleep, I'd read too many comic before it before I started.
After I finished it, I felt like my world got a little bigger. I realized that comics didn't all have to be the same, that there could be a much deeper communication placed in them. It simply never occurred to me that a comic book could be another way, and it took me reading Watchmen to realize that. I promptly started re-reading the other comics looking for such a thing, but couldn't find it. There will never be another Watchmen in comic book history, and now what was it's relevance is come and gone.
I say this, because I had a conversation about my feelings on this topic, with a friend of mine. During it's course he said something I felt was important, but I can only paraphrase:
"Let's face it most comics are shit. And no one cares about the socially inept losers who read them."
While I disagree with a great majority of the statement, I do see his point, because I saw it. I looked for other comics that emulated Watchmen and only found a handful. The rest I simply like because I like comics. The rest of the world sees what my friend sees, and he proves my point for me.
No person without an interest in comic books would read Watchmen seriously, unless prompted by a credible source because they know comic books are for the most part juvenile. You turn it into a movie, and everyone can enjoy it right? But if all the best comic books get made into movies, why would you want to read the comic anyway? On top of that, what do you associate being better: the comic? Or the movie?
Spider-Man, X-Men, Batman, sure they've all had great stories for their series and characters, you've seen quite a few of them featured in their movies. But can anyone tell me the name of any story of any of those comic book characters, that people have considered to be more than just a superhero/comic book story?
Watchmen was.
There. I've said my piece. My fight's already been lost so I'll probably see the movie sooner than later. What I'll have to wait for, is to see if I have to eat my words ^^
Oh, before I forget
I've got an ill temper sometimes blogsphere,
It usually takes quite a bit to offend my sensibilities, and so when I feel such is being violated I take it upon myself to rant. My last rant wasn't a very good one, as it strayed too far into my own feelings rather than the facts at hand.
What can I say, I've yet to achieve perfection.
I can almost certainly promise that this will happen every time I rant. Including this next one coming up ^_^
It usually takes quite a bit to offend my sensibilities, and so when I feel such is being violated I take it upon myself to rant. My last rant wasn't a very good one, as it strayed too far into my own feelings rather than the facts at hand.
What can I say, I've yet to achieve perfection.
I can almost certainly promise that this will happen every time I rant. Including this next one coming up ^_^
Adventures in sickness
Hello Blogsphere,
I wish I had more to say coming back from my absence that was positive, but all I've been is terribly sick therefore work came to a standstill. No longer though, I just made a ton of headway today, and while I can't show anything to you yet you'll just have to trust me as I'm very proud of myself for doing so. I've written my 2nd issue to FN, and my 1st issue to my new comic Of Saints and Suicides (it's a working title.)
Saints and Suicides is about a girl named Joan who works at a crisis center, who gets a call from a man who wants to end his life. After she saves him, he begins calling her back, and they develop a relationship of kinds. Joan is helping him, but she's got no idea just exactly what she's helping him with...
Was that cryptic enough to sound enticing? ^_^
I'm happy with the progress so far, but I've got to get things together to get these puppies into production. You can look forward to seeing more by the time you see your first summer blockbuster movies. Speaking of such things...
I wish I had more to say coming back from my absence that was positive, but all I've been is terribly sick therefore work came to a standstill. No longer though, I just made a ton of headway today, and while I can't show anything to you yet you'll just have to trust me as I'm very proud of myself for doing so. I've written my 2nd issue to FN, and my 1st issue to my new comic Of Saints and Suicides (it's a working title.)
Saints and Suicides is about a girl named Joan who works at a crisis center, who gets a call from a man who wants to end his life. After she saves him, he begins calling her back, and they develop a relationship of kinds. Joan is helping him, but she's got no idea just exactly what she's helping him with...
Was that cryptic enough to sound enticing? ^_^
I'm happy with the progress so far, but I've got to get things together to get these puppies into production. You can look forward to seeing more by the time you see your first summer blockbuster movies. Speaking of such things...
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Rant in G minor
Hello again blogsphere,
I've come today with a slight grievance, though albeit late. On January 29Th, my local "Indy" paper ran an article about a fellow comic writer:
http://www.columbusalive.com/live/content/features/stories/2009/01/29/ca_u_unedited.html
Struck by this, as I find my local paper disagreeable, I decided to read into the particular issue because of the resonance. Also, because most periodicals apart from ones geared toward comics, rarely feature the writers of comics as opposed to the artists. So I pick it up, and it's just an interview, nothing insightful or inspiring. This wasn't unexpected, what was however, was one line that fittingly ended the the article:
"Comic books are really just soap operas for adolescent boys and, I guess, pseudo-men."
Really Mr. professional comic book writer? Is that what you write? Soap operas for pseudo-men, from whom you draw faux notoriety, and a paycheck from? Honestly, if it weren't for those that he regards as such, he wouldn't even be a blurb in a local paper. Beyond my own personal displeasure, I've got a problem with this guy professionally.
Here is a person who's made it to the peak, looking down on all the rest of us trying to reach his position, and his viewpoint is still that of a Trilobite. Why are you even writing anything comic book related, if you regard the medium with such apathy? I'm not saying that the person should be a fanboy obsessed with Superman since his birth, or affixed upon Swamp Thing's torment of being. In the same breath, I can't condone anyone doing or pursuing a path that they obviously resent and abhor.
If you suck at writing novels, who cares! Keep doing it! At least you'll have something to strive for as crappy novelist, and won't have to suffer working for some pronounced-brow, mouth breather's entertainment.
I'd blow up an orphanage to be able to sustain myself by writing stories.
To see someone exactly where I want to be, doing exactly what I want to do, treat it with such contemptuous nature, I can't help but want to grind this person's throat with my teeth. I'm not saying that everyone should take themselves that seriously, but if you are able to do something that others aren't capable of, please take note of your position. Because how you view it, speaks volumes to the uninitiated.
I understand how ludicrous I must sound when I say this, but I would like to be able to talk about a graphic novel one day, as I would a piece of literature. I'd like to be able to discuss the artwork of a comic, as opposed to writing or vice versa, in an exchange of media consumption with my peers, without looking like an adolescent. Most people don't read, but when a book is recommended to someone, they have at least the potential to pick it up or reference it at one time or another. Why is that? Because literature is taken seriously, by those who create it, and those who read it. If I were in a conversation about media, either seen or heard, and brought up the most recent issue of 100 Bullets, I'd more than likely be scoffed at.
People don't consider comics as valid media.
If you wonder why, you need no further than to look at the writer of the Terminator Salvation series. In his eyes, I am a pseudo-male. If he can't see what he's doing as anymore than writing to my low chromosome count, my comic book dreams don't have much hope. But, I'm giving this person more credit than they're due. My wasting time on him slandering his own work, just gives more people time to actually believe that comics are what he says they are. I mean, he is writing the Terminator Salvation comic adaptation. So I'll close in saying what I've already said:
If you don't like what you're doing, don't do it. Let someone else who actually cares give it a shot. Either that, or go on and spare the rest of us your suffering, stick your head into the bottom of your toilet bowl and flounder there for awhile.
I've come today with a slight grievance, though albeit late. On January 29Th, my local "Indy" paper ran an article about a fellow comic writer:
http://www.columbusalive.com/live/content/features/stories/2009/01/29/ca_u_unedited.html
Struck by this, as I find my local paper disagreeable, I decided to read into the particular issue because of the resonance. Also, because most periodicals apart from ones geared toward comics, rarely feature the writers of comics as opposed to the artists. So I pick it up, and it's just an interview, nothing insightful or inspiring. This wasn't unexpected, what was however, was one line that fittingly ended the the article:
"Comic books are really just soap operas for adolescent boys and, I guess, pseudo-men."
Really Mr. professional comic book writer? Is that what you write? Soap operas for pseudo-men, from whom you draw faux notoriety, and a paycheck from? Honestly, if it weren't for those that he regards as such, he wouldn't even be a blurb in a local paper. Beyond my own personal displeasure, I've got a problem with this guy professionally.
Here is a person who's made it to the peak, looking down on all the rest of us trying to reach his position, and his viewpoint is still that of a Trilobite. Why are you even writing anything comic book related, if you regard the medium with such apathy? I'm not saying that the person should be a fanboy obsessed with Superman since his birth, or affixed upon Swamp Thing's torment of being. In the same breath, I can't condone anyone doing or pursuing a path that they obviously resent and abhor.
If you suck at writing novels, who cares! Keep doing it! At least you'll have something to strive for as crappy novelist, and won't have to suffer working for some pronounced-brow, mouth breather's entertainment.
I'd blow up an orphanage to be able to sustain myself by writing stories.
To see someone exactly where I want to be, doing exactly what I want to do, treat it with such contemptuous nature, I can't help but want to grind this person's throat with my teeth. I'm not saying that everyone should take themselves that seriously, but if you are able to do something that others aren't capable of, please take note of your position. Because how you view it, speaks volumes to the uninitiated.
I understand how ludicrous I must sound when I say this, but I would like to be able to talk about a graphic novel one day, as I would a piece of literature. I'd like to be able to discuss the artwork of a comic, as opposed to writing or vice versa, in an exchange of media consumption with my peers, without looking like an adolescent. Most people don't read, but when a book is recommended to someone, they have at least the potential to pick it up or reference it at one time or another. Why is that? Because literature is taken seriously, by those who create it, and those who read it. If I were in a conversation about media, either seen or heard, and brought up the most recent issue of 100 Bullets, I'd more than likely be scoffed at.
People don't consider comics as valid media.
If you wonder why, you need no further than to look at the writer of the Terminator Salvation series. In his eyes, I am a pseudo-male. If he can't see what he's doing as anymore than writing to my low chromosome count, my comic book dreams don't have much hope. But, I'm giving this person more credit than they're due. My wasting time on him slandering his own work, just gives more people time to actually believe that comics are what he says they are. I mean, he is writing the Terminator Salvation comic adaptation. So I'll close in saying what I've already said:
If you don't like what you're doing, don't do it. Let someone else who actually cares give it a shot. Either that, or go on and spare the rest of us your suffering, stick your head into the bottom of your toilet bowl and flounder there for awhile.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Movie Review I forgot to post: Beowulf and Waltz with Bashir
(Well wow blogsphere, I completely spaced on posting this. I wrote this review up in February, and just didn't post it for some reason. I'm actually posting this from the future on March 25th. I guess I got sidetracked, but hey, better late than never right?)
Ok blogsphere,
Sometimes I miss a thing or two that comes out, and don't bother looking for it until prompted by something later. This is limited to the media I consume, nothing else. I don't want you to think I forget to brush my teeth or anything like that, because that'd be gross. But in the case of movies, it's really easy for me to lose track of...well alot.
So, tonight would be a prime example, as I watched some video of bad Letterman guests, Crispin Glover topping the list. As you might suspect, I like Crispin Glover. I start watching interviews with him, one of them featuring his roles in film, including his role as Grendel in Beowulf. I decide to watch a Crispin Glover movie.
With the choice being between his latest Hollywood films, I decide to watch Beowulf instead of Charlie's Angels Full Throttle.
While I enjoyed quite a few technical aspects of the film, I found the writing to be lacking. Because this is an old movie I've watched, I won't bother with the details of the story, but this is a retelling of the epic poem of Beowulf. Basically this is the equivalent of a Marvel Comics What-If? Where something that we know to be, is no longer, and the universe moves forward from that point.
Beowulf is one of the bad issues.
No offense to Neil Gaiman, or the ancient epic poem, but the way this was written was pretty bad. They completely lost me as a viewer, not because it was confusing, but because they started it out with such compelling beginnings, only to end in the most predictable and boring manner possible. Honestly, it wasn't a bad concept, but the way it was executed, was just too big of a let down for me. Bad storytelling, makes for bad film.
Ironically, Waltz with Bashir, is the complete opposite. Like Beowulf, it's technically great, what they do with the animation style is nothing short of phenomenal. But the real draw is the story of the director Ari, and his memories of war. His introspective in the time he spent in war, is told mostly through other people, who all have their own memories of the war as well. The movie forces one to think very hard about the things they say, and the stories they tell, as the movie's theme is actually how the human mind responds and relates to memories. Which makes the animation perfect for such a task.
Also it reveals an almost hidden history, about the war in Lebanon in the 80's. I know there are quite a few people that have already been informed about the nature of the fighting over there, but I for one had no idea that such things happened over there. Even though the war in Iraq has shown us glimpses of their lives, I had no idea that the middle east had such a sorrowful history of war. I've read Persepolis as well, but that's from one person's perspective. This documentary showcases multiple viewpoints, as each person interviewed tells you their own personal story, which is recreated through the animation as well as actual video of the massacre they speak of.
I really like this film. The subject matter is very strong, and gives quite a bit of real insight into the world of soldiers and the history of the middle east. Not only this, but it also showcases the abilities of animation, as it almost puts you there in the memories of the soldiers, allowing what they saw to unfold right before your eyes. Granted, I love animation, so I enjoy how they illustrated the soldiers memories. Though I can see why a person would think that it's too fake for them, as some sequences might take a person out of the film. Don't let that discourage you from watching it though, as what's spoken of in the film is very real.
Bottom line, I'm glad I watched Beowulf so that I had a bad enough taste in my mouth to seek out Waltz with Bashir. Check it out if you can ^^
Ok blogsphere,
Sometimes I miss a thing or two that comes out, and don't bother looking for it until prompted by something later. This is limited to the media I consume, nothing else. I don't want you to think I forget to brush my teeth or anything like that, because that'd be gross. But in the case of movies, it's really easy for me to lose track of...well alot.
So, tonight would be a prime example, as I watched some video of bad Letterman guests, Crispin Glover topping the list. As you might suspect, I like Crispin Glover. I start watching interviews with him, one of them featuring his roles in film, including his role as Grendel in Beowulf. I decide to watch a Crispin Glover movie.
With the choice being between his latest Hollywood films, I decide to watch Beowulf instead of Charlie's Angels Full Throttle.
While I enjoyed quite a few technical aspects of the film, I found the writing to be lacking. Because this is an old movie I've watched, I won't bother with the details of the story, but this is a retelling of the epic poem of Beowulf. Basically this is the equivalent of a Marvel Comics What-If? Where something that we know to be, is no longer, and the universe moves forward from that point.
Beowulf is one of the bad issues.
No offense to Neil Gaiman, or the ancient epic poem, but the way this was written was pretty bad. They completely lost me as a viewer, not because it was confusing, but because they started it out with such compelling beginnings, only to end in the most predictable and boring manner possible. Honestly, it wasn't a bad concept, but the way it was executed, was just too big of a let down for me. Bad storytelling, makes for bad film.
Ironically, Waltz with Bashir, is the complete opposite. Like Beowulf, it's technically great, what they do with the animation style is nothing short of phenomenal. But the real draw is the story of the director Ari, and his memories of war. His introspective in the time he spent in war, is told mostly through other people, who all have their own memories of the war as well. The movie forces one to think very hard about the things they say, and the stories they tell, as the movie's theme is actually how the human mind responds and relates to memories. Which makes the animation perfect for such a task.
Also it reveals an almost hidden history, about the war in Lebanon in the 80's. I know there are quite a few people that have already been informed about the nature of the fighting over there, but I for one had no idea that such things happened over there. Even though the war in Iraq has shown us glimpses of their lives, I had no idea that the middle east had such a sorrowful history of war. I've read Persepolis as well, but that's from one person's perspective. This documentary showcases multiple viewpoints, as each person interviewed tells you their own personal story, which is recreated through the animation as well as actual video of the massacre they speak of.
I really like this film. The subject matter is very strong, and gives quite a bit of real insight into the world of soldiers and the history of the middle east. Not only this, but it also showcases the abilities of animation, as it almost puts you there in the memories of the soldiers, allowing what they saw to unfold right before your eyes. Granted, I love animation, so I enjoy how they illustrated the soldiers memories. Though I can see why a person would think that it's too fake for them, as some sequences might take a person out of the film. Don't let that discourage you from watching it though, as what's spoken of in the film is very real.
Bottom line, I'm glad I watched Beowulf so that I had a bad enough taste in my mouth to seek out Waltz with Bashir. Check it out if you can ^^
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Introspective: Grasshopper Manufacture
Hello again blogsphere,
Yes, it's another introspective! What can I say, I'm a writer not magician; if I can't make a rabbit come out of a hat, you'd better believe I can't materialize artwork. Regardless, here's another one of my favorite things! Grasshopper Manufacture is a video game production company based out of Japan. Of course this feeds into my bias of loving that country, but I don't care; to me: these guys can do no wrong...until Suda51 dies at least.
My story with these guys is yet another story of coincidental circumstance. I think it was about 2006 that I first played a Grasshopper game; being into Anime back then, I was excited about the new Samurai Champloo game for PS2. I was working at a video store at the time, so when I found out we had it, I decided to check it out one night. The presentation was so off the wall, and the gameplay was so awkward...I don't want to sound pretentious, but I knew there was something special about it. I'm not going to lie, I set out to buy it but didn't, and I have an out of sight, out of mind type personality, so I didn't even think about it again.
The same is true of my favorite game Killer7, which you can probably guess who it was made by. I'd heard of Killer7, followed it, and when it was finally released, I didn't even bother to play it. Maybe...two years ago, a friend of mine had it, and I asked if I could borrow it because I remembered that I wanted to check it out. I lost sleep playing that game. I thought that I knew what a video game was, and should be, but Killer7 was completely different. I was baffled that there was so much in one video game; dark humor, political commentary, philosophy, ultra-violence, power rangers. It hit everything I consider to be enjoyable in one fell swoop.
There's nothing that I can compare it to, to this very day.
After that, as I do with most everything I like, I went on a rampage looking for anything and everything about the company, who wrote and directed it, it's reception, and if the company was going to make anymore games. To date, I only own two of their games which are Contact for DS and Killer7 for Gamecube, but I've played Samurai Champloo and No More Heroes, and not one has let me down. Even though I'm sure that Goichi Suda is responsible for the majority of their work, I give the entire company credit. They've got quite a bit of talent, and I wouldn't be surprised if they'll be credited with advancing the industry one day soon.
It may sound pompous, but playing their video games is like playing with interactive art to me. Every game they approach, from the writing, to the art direction, is stylized so uniquely, I've got no problem picking up anything they make without a second thought. I really can't say that about many things, and so Grasshopper Manufacture earns a place in my Pantheon of inspirations. I won't recommend their work to everyone, because I know some people think that movies are bad if their favorite character dies; but, if you're adventurous enough, read up on them. I'm sure you'll find a game in their catalogue, that would suit your tastes ^^
Introspective: Battle Angel Alita
Good evening again Blogsphere,At the moment I'm feeling a bit nostalgic, if not spacier than usual, so I've decided to take a little time out to give you a little insight into a piece of media that I value and the history I have with it. Tonight's foray is into Yukito Kishiro's masterwork: Battle Angel Alita (or Gunnm as it's called in Japan).
When I was a kid, I couldn't get enough of Anime. Even when I was a child, I didn't know that the cartoons I most enjoyed watching were from any county in particular, I just knew if they looked a certain way that I was automatically going to like it way more than anything else on at the time. When I turned 10, I happened to catch an Anime festival on the burgeoning Cartoon Network.
It rocked my world.
I watched the entirety of Vampire Hunter D before my aunt and uncle caught me, and put a movie or something on to stop me. After I found out that the cartoons I liked had a different name than cartoons, I went on a rampage looking for anything that bore the golden word. When I was about 13 or so, I was already in full swing; graduating from feature film Anime, to series, which really hurt the wallet back then. I scoured the internet for info on series that I'd heard of, and then stumbled upon the source material for most of the work, which was manga.
To be honest, I don't know how I came upon Alita, as manga was completely foreign material to me. I didn't even like comics that much back then, so I had no idea what I was getting into. All I know is that I read about Battle Angel, and just knew if I was going to start reading Manga, that had to be the one. So, begging my Dad (incessantly no doubt), I got him to order it for me, and as soon as I got through the first 10 pages, my horizons were broadened.
Yukito's story seems childishly simple, barely the plot of a good kung-fu flick with a twist of sci-fi. But it's beginnings are extremely deceptive, as the story and plot truly draw you into Alita's world and story.
Daiuske Ido, a cybernetic doctor, goes looking for spare parts in a junkyard, and finds the damaged frame of a female cyborg. Damaged, and yet still functional. Taking it upon himself to restore it, he succeeds, but the cyborg suffers from complete amnesia. Deciding to give her a new life with him, he names her Alita (after a dead cat), and working as a bounty hunter to earn extra money to build her a body (he was already a hunter, but starts doing it more for Alita's sake). After her body is built, Alita takes it upon herself to help Ido in his endeavours, and finds that she seems to be a natural master of a powerful martial art known as Panzer Kunzt. From there, she embarks on a journey of self discovery, of who she once was, and who she may yet be.
I get all of this from maybe half the pages in the 1st volume.
Oh yeah, and I'm 13 and very impressionable at the time.
Needless to say, because of such Alita's story has always held a special place for me, in my pantheon of creations to aspire to. I mean it was my first Manga, and that good. It's actually a highly underrated work, as not many people seem to pay it attention. The image above however, is from James Cameron's new production, as he's planning for a 2010 film based on the first 3 chapters of Alita. There aren't that many things that you can hope to come true in your lifetime; I mean we live in the new millennium, and there are no flying cars, spaceships, or trips to Mars. If I were born in the 50's, I'd be pissed.
Normally, had Alita even been selected to become a film, chances are Uwe Boll would have been the one to direct it. Not only will Battle Angel be seen by millions, but James Cameron himself will be the one to bring her to the big screen. I've known about this for awhile now, but the fact remains: This couldn't be any better. Therefore, I'll end with a plug: go read Battle Angel Alita before the movie comes out ^^
...Yikes this is a long post...
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Compare Contrast
Sorry Blogsphere,No text yet, but here's a side by side comparison of color v.s. black and white. Spooky no? I'll get some text up there one of these days...
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Review: Wendy & Lucy
Another good evening blogsphere,
Then again what's good and bad is a questionable subject isn't it? Fashionable Nonsense is progressing along well, and I'll probably have much more to show at the end of the month. I'm also working on the beginnings of two other projects, to which I'll post through text and a few character designs, but I digress.
It's been a bit since I actually did a movie review hasn't it?
Once again, I've watched so many that I've pretty much lost track. I will mention the two that surprised me the most, the latter being Taken starring Liam Nissen. While it's very much an action movie that screams 80's throwback (honestly, I was almost surprised not to see Steven Segal just charge in and break someone's neck for good measure), it was surprisingly rousing to see Liam play such a character. The action was very much in the vein of the newer Bond films, and Bourne Identity, so it wasn't for the faint of heart or squeemish like myself. Lol. No really, get some drinks and rent it when it comes out on dvd.
Wendy and Lucy on the other hand, was a completely different animal altogether. I don't know how the hell Hollywood just chooses to sidestep films like these and Good Dick; real human drama, captured on film. For myself, the mark of a good film isn't in the suspension of disbelief, but how much one can actually see themselves in what's being portrayed. If I can understand a character's motivations and plight, sans monologue, flashback, or any other filmographic or literary device: I know I'm watching a good movie. Wendy and Lucy does this for me, and for the life of me I can't see why this didn't get any nod whatsoever.
The story is of a girl named Wendy, and her canine companion Lucy. They're on a road trip to Alaska to look for work, living out of Wendy's car on the way up, and just barely scraping by as they go. One day in their travels however, Wendy wakes up to find that her car won't start, and this is where things begin to take a turn. This movie is so very well done, I can't say enough. I really felt Wendy's struggle, and felt for her, more so than most movies I watch allow me to. Some might complain about the lack of backstory, or characters, but for myself I honestly just felt like I was meeting an actual person instead of a character for once. Definitely one of my favorites.
Anyway, that's all from me tonight blogsphere. I'll be back next time with colored pages and text from Fashionable Nonsense. Till then ^^
Then again what's good and bad is a questionable subject isn't it? Fashionable Nonsense is progressing along well, and I'll probably have much more to show at the end of the month. I'm also working on the beginnings of two other projects, to which I'll post through text and a few character designs, but I digress.
It's been a bit since I actually did a movie review hasn't it?
Once again, I've watched so many that I've pretty much lost track. I will mention the two that surprised me the most, the latter being Taken starring Liam Nissen. While it's very much an action movie that screams 80's throwback (honestly, I was almost surprised not to see Steven Segal just charge in and break someone's neck for good measure), it was surprisingly rousing to see Liam play such a character. The action was very much in the vein of the newer Bond films, and Bourne Identity, so it wasn't for the faint of heart or squeemish like myself. Lol. No really, get some drinks and rent it when it comes out on dvd.
Wendy and Lucy on the other hand, was a completely different animal altogether. I don't know how the hell Hollywood just chooses to sidestep films like these and Good Dick; real human drama, captured on film. For myself, the mark of a good film isn't in the suspension of disbelief, but how much one can actually see themselves in what's being portrayed. If I can understand a character's motivations and plight, sans monologue, flashback, or any other filmographic or literary device: I know I'm watching a good movie. Wendy and Lucy does this for me, and for the life of me I can't see why this didn't get any nod whatsoever.
The story is of a girl named Wendy, and her canine companion Lucy. They're on a road trip to Alaska to look for work, living out of Wendy's car on the way up, and just barely scraping by as they go. One day in their travels however, Wendy wakes up to find that her car won't start, and this is where things begin to take a turn. This movie is so very well done, I can't say enough. I really felt Wendy's struggle, and felt for her, more so than most movies I watch allow me to. Some might complain about the lack of backstory, or characters, but for myself I honestly just felt like I was meeting an actual person instead of a character for once. Definitely one of my favorites.
Anyway, that's all from me tonight blogsphere. I'll be back next time with colored pages and text from Fashionable Nonsense. Till then ^^
Sunday, February 1, 2009
what a difference some color makes ^^
The characters once again, only this time in color! Once again, drawn by Jason Dube, and colored by Erica Kahoon ^^
Monday, January 19, 2009
eve of the new presidency
Well hello there blogsphere,
It's approximately 11:24pm here as I write this, watching Koyaanisqatsi incidentally, and I feel compelled to say something about tomorrow. Of course, tomorrow is inauguration day, the beginning of the 44th president's term in office.
I state these things to say, I didn't do anything for Obama.
I did vote for him. I did support him. But ultimately, I did nothing to actually help with the progression of his campaign. Although the weight of my inaction does weigh heavily upon me, it also helped me to realize something. Obama won because people wanted him to win. People put time and effort into making sure that he was the one who got in office. Many, many people.
Obama is nothing short of an inspiration, and I think he's succeeded in opening people's eyes to the potential of individuals beyond stereotyping (at least I should hope he has...). He's someone to aspire to be, but we can't just simply rely upon him to change the world. Yeah, that's been said before I'd bet, but I'd like to add my two cents in on it anyway.
I don't know what you think, but I'd say the odds were stacked against this guy. After I heard what he was about, yes, I wanted to vote for him, but I didn't think he'd win. Either way, he's not the point. What this nation did as a whole, is. I'm certain that Obama is going to be a great president, but will people ever get together like that again? Will people be able to perceive what should be, as opposed to what shouldn't be that clearly again?
Granted, voting is essentially very easy to perceive, and even easier to act on. Obama is going to be great, but he's not going to fix the world by himself. Maybe I'm doubting him too much, maybe he can singlehandedly do so, others have. All I'm saying is that I see a great potential in my fellow man now; the potential to come and move forward on one accord together. There are bigger problems facing our nation besides the level of comfort we're able to enjoy in our country.
I think that Obama should be used as an example, or even a rally point to actually right the wrongs we have in our society. I'm not going to give examples because I think that if you're alive, and over the age of 16 I'm sure that you can see problems with things around us. We don't need to stop by just voting another president into office; we need to move forward with the same fervor and clarity about the world around us, and change it for the better. It's possible.
I've seen what can happen when people move together, I just hope that we can continue to as a nation, and eventually as a world. Granted, it's very hypocritical for a person of my stature to make such statements, I was just thinking out loud. Don't hold it against me. Next time I'll put up a movie review or bit of my comic, I promise.
Oh yeah, Koyaanisqatsi is great by the way. If you like art, you should take time out to see it.
It's approximately 11:24pm here as I write this, watching Koyaanisqatsi incidentally, and I feel compelled to say something about tomorrow. Of course, tomorrow is inauguration day, the beginning of the 44th president's term in office.
I state these things to say, I didn't do anything for Obama.
I did vote for him. I did support him. But ultimately, I did nothing to actually help with the progression of his campaign. Although the weight of my inaction does weigh heavily upon me, it also helped me to realize something. Obama won because people wanted him to win. People put time and effort into making sure that he was the one who got in office. Many, many people.
Obama is nothing short of an inspiration, and I think he's succeeded in opening people's eyes to the potential of individuals beyond stereotyping (at least I should hope he has...). He's someone to aspire to be, but we can't just simply rely upon him to change the world. Yeah, that's been said before I'd bet, but I'd like to add my two cents in on it anyway.
I don't know what you think, but I'd say the odds were stacked against this guy. After I heard what he was about, yes, I wanted to vote for him, but I didn't think he'd win. Either way, he's not the point. What this nation did as a whole, is. I'm certain that Obama is going to be a great president, but will people ever get together like that again? Will people be able to perceive what should be, as opposed to what shouldn't be that clearly again?
Granted, voting is essentially very easy to perceive, and even easier to act on. Obama is going to be great, but he's not going to fix the world by himself. Maybe I'm doubting him too much, maybe he can singlehandedly do so, others have. All I'm saying is that I see a great potential in my fellow man now; the potential to come and move forward on one accord together. There are bigger problems facing our nation besides the level of comfort we're able to enjoy in our country.
I think that Obama should be used as an example, or even a rally point to actually right the wrongs we have in our society. I'm not going to give examples because I think that if you're alive, and over the age of 16 I'm sure that you can see problems with things around us. We don't need to stop by just voting another president into office; we need to move forward with the same fervor and clarity about the world around us, and change it for the better. It's possible.
I've seen what can happen when people move together, I just hope that we can continue to as a nation, and eventually as a world. Granted, it's very hypocritical for a person of my stature to make such statements, I was just thinking out loud. Don't hold it against me. Next time I'll put up a movie review or bit of my comic, I promise.
Oh yeah, Koyaanisqatsi is great by the way. If you like art, you should take time out to see it.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Fashionable Nonsense character sheets
Hi blogsphere,
Since I can't get my friend's photoshop to turn the first few pages of the comic into jpeg, here are some character sheets instead! Done by Jason Dube circa 2007. Enjoy ^-^
Since I can't get my friend's photoshop to turn the first few pages of the comic into jpeg, here are some character sheets instead! Done by Jason Dube circa 2007. Enjoy ^-^
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
things about my finished comic...
Hello again blogsphere,
My comic blog has more about my obsessive movie watching, than comic endeavors. I've got some work on hand, but I don't actually have the tech to post it, namely since I don't own my own computer -_-
The book I've got coming out is called Fashionable Nonsense, and like most titles I think, it's about exactly that. While it's mostly pretentious of myself to actually call the book "fashionable", when I'm the farthest from such, it is very much about nonsense.
The story focuses on a protagonist named Emery Bowen, who basically has given up on his dreams and such. Of course, simply impossible circumstances occur when he's hit by a car, which sends him to the lair of the Dammed Director, in which he strikes a deal to find some fun/inspiration in his life again (against his will, and with a price of course). So he wakes up in the house of a one Mona, and her strange roommates, and suddenly his life is lots more interesting.
While I don't know if the book is interesting or not, it's my intention to actually craft some kind of story worth reading out of this setup. It's a work in progress, what can I say? All I know is that it's full of my own little observations from pop culture, and that I'm straining to make it as funny as possible. I've got plans for the puppy, but they require lots more support than a blog I write at work ^o^
Anywhoos, I should have some work to show by this weekend I'd hope, but we'll see. Till then, I guess it'll be hanging around in orbit...
My comic blog has more about my obsessive movie watching, than comic endeavors. I've got some work on hand, but I don't actually have the tech to post it, namely since I don't own my own computer -_-
The book I've got coming out is called Fashionable Nonsense, and like most titles I think, it's about exactly that. While it's mostly pretentious of myself to actually call the book "fashionable", when I'm the farthest from such, it is very much about nonsense.
The story focuses on a protagonist named Emery Bowen, who basically has given up on his dreams and such. Of course, simply impossible circumstances occur when he's hit by a car, which sends him to the lair of the Dammed Director, in which he strikes a deal to find some fun/inspiration in his life again (against his will, and with a price of course). So he wakes up in the house of a one Mona, and her strange roommates, and suddenly his life is lots more interesting.
While I don't know if the book is interesting or not, it's my intention to actually craft some kind of story worth reading out of this setup. It's a work in progress, what can I say? All I know is that it's full of my own little observations from pop culture, and that I'm straining to make it as funny as possible. I've got plans for the puppy, but they require lots more support than a blog I write at work ^o^
Anywhoos, I should have some work to show by this weekend I'd hope, but we'll see. Till then, I guess it'll be hanging around in orbit...
Monday, January 12, 2009
reviews: Chanbara Beauty & Tokyo Gore Police
Good evening blogsphere,
I've got another review tonight of two movies I've been meaning to watch for awhile now: Tokyo Gore Police, and Chanbara Beauty. Before you start thinking it, yeah this is supposed to be a blog about me and my comic work, but what can I say: I don't own a computer of my own at the moment. So since I've got the time on my hands, I might as well write about something I'm doing right?
So yeah, I'm a big fan of J-movies and all things asian in general (Isn't it weird that I want to be a comic writer, and watch japanese movies? :p), and I've been waiting to see Tokyo Gore Police for awhile now. Chanbara Beauty was sort of a "why not", as it's based on a video game series over there, but strangely enough the movie is tolerable in the bounds of such (fancy that America? then again Silent Hill wasn't bad was it...oh wait, that was supervised by the Japanese too ^-^).
So Chanbara Beauty, a zombie flick based on a video game series. If you're watching movies to be cultured and such, stay very, very far away from this one; not that you can't see it coming a mile away. I can understand being misled by the title; but if you see the box art with the girl in a cowboy hat and bikini brandishing a katana with glamour lighting, and still expect this to be a thoughtful romance, do the world a favor and drown in a cup.
Overall this isn't all that great. The main character Aya is a daughter of some assassin clan, who's out for revenge against her little sister Saya for killing their dad. That and helping some crazy doctor overrun the entire world with zombies. Oddly enough this movie takes itself seriously, so you really have to watch it for action's sakes, or be a weirdo and laugh at the carnage (guilty as charged -_-) It's got some cool fight scenes, but the movie is entirely humorless, and for something like this you just can't afford to be.
Onward!
Tokyo Gore Police! Once again, if you watch this looking for a sensitive drama about a police woman and her aging father, just bury your head somewhere till you can't breath anymore (last joke like that I promise).
The story is that the Tokyo Police have been privatized to take on these crazy monster psychos called engineers. These guys have some serious body mods, as their wounds turn into weapons; (no seriously, a guy gets his face scratched and sprouts gun eyes after tearing off half his head from the teenie wound!) impervious to normal weapons (it seems at least, there's some discrepancy with that...), the only thing that can kill these guys is sheer badass, in the form of Ruka, a katana carrying cutter who takes no prisoners. She hunts the engineers in honor of her late police father (who's fate we see unfold/explode at the beginning), who's killer remains a mystery...
So this movie is pure awesomeness, very much like the Machine Girl last year (they both came out at the same time, so why do we get this one so late?), gore out the yin yang, and violence so ridiculous you can't help but laugh. It's the best parts of a Troma flick with a dash of Paul Verhoven's Robocop; meaning that it knows it's a b flick and embraces it, while entertaining the hell out of you.
Also, for the j-inclined, this was done by the same guy that did Meatball Machine, so you'll see more than a few actresses, props and characters from his works. Meatball Machine wasn't his best though...
All in all it's been a good night for movies on my end, hopefully I'll have time to watch more stuff like this later. For now it's adieu.
p.s. - If anyone knows where I can find Happy Negative Chainsaw Edge streaming, please let me know ^^
I've got another review tonight of two movies I've been meaning to watch for awhile now: Tokyo Gore Police, and Chanbara Beauty. Before you start thinking it, yeah this is supposed to be a blog about me and my comic work, but what can I say: I don't own a computer of my own at the moment. So since I've got the time on my hands, I might as well write about something I'm doing right?
So yeah, I'm a big fan of J-movies and all things asian in general (Isn't it weird that I want to be a comic writer, and watch japanese movies? :p), and I've been waiting to see Tokyo Gore Police for awhile now. Chanbara Beauty was sort of a "why not", as it's based on a video game series over there, but strangely enough the movie is tolerable in the bounds of such (fancy that America? then again Silent Hill wasn't bad was it...oh wait, that was supervised by the Japanese too ^-^).
So Chanbara Beauty, a zombie flick based on a video game series. If you're watching movies to be cultured and such, stay very, very far away from this one; not that you can't see it coming a mile away. I can understand being misled by the title; but if you see the box art with the girl in a cowboy hat and bikini brandishing a katana with glamour lighting, and still expect this to be a thoughtful romance, do the world a favor and drown in a cup.
Overall this isn't all that great. The main character Aya is a daughter of some assassin clan, who's out for revenge against her little sister Saya for killing their dad. That and helping some crazy doctor overrun the entire world with zombies. Oddly enough this movie takes itself seriously, so you really have to watch it for action's sakes, or be a weirdo and laugh at the carnage (guilty as charged -_-) It's got some cool fight scenes, but the movie is entirely humorless, and for something like this you just can't afford to be.
Onward!
Tokyo Gore Police! Once again, if you watch this looking for a sensitive drama about a police woman and her aging father, just bury your head somewhere till you can't breath anymore (last joke like that I promise).
The story is that the Tokyo Police have been privatized to take on these crazy monster psychos called engineers. These guys have some serious body mods, as their wounds turn into weapons; (no seriously, a guy gets his face scratched and sprouts gun eyes after tearing off half his head from the teenie wound!) impervious to normal weapons (it seems at least, there's some discrepancy with that...), the only thing that can kill these guys is sheer badass, in the form of Ruka, a katana carrying cutter who takes no prisoners. She hunts the engineers in honor of her late police father (who's fate we see unfold/explode at the beginning), who's killer remains a mystery...
So this movie is pure awesomeness, very much like the Machine Girl last year (they both came out at the same time, so why do we get this one so late?), gore out the yin yang, and violence so ridiculous you can't help but laugh. It's the best parts of a Troma flick with a dash of Paul Verhoven's Robocop; meaning that it knows it's a b flick and embraces it, while entertaining the hell out of you.
Also, for the j-inclined, this was done by the same guy that did Meatball Machine, so you'll see more than a few actresses, props and characters from his works. Meatball Machine wasn't his best though...
All in all it's been a good night for movies on my end, hopefully I'll have time to watch more stuff like this later. For now it's adieu.
p.s. - If anyone knows where I can find Happy Negative Chainsaw Edge streaming, please let me know ^^
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
The Wrestler, and I Spit on Your Grave
Alright...my first movie reviews...scary...
-sigh- Well here goes. Alright, the Wrestler is a great movie. A great film that I didn't like, but a great film nonetheless.
The setup is that Randy the Ram is an aging professional wrestler, and while you may take that lightly, it's not a joke. I'll say this much, I never really thought much of pro wrestlers, but after seeing this I'd like to support them more. It really tackles some issues in life that I love to see addressed, and I really think that people can take a lot away from the movie. If I tell you any more about it, it'll be ruined for you though. Like I said, it's a great movie, but I didn't like it. Not because of it's quality, but because it's what I expect from Darren Aronofsky.
Don't get me wrong, he's made some of my favorite films, but for those of you who have seen Requiem for a Dream or The Fountain, won't be surprised by this movie's content. Once again, I have to drive the point home here, this is a great movie to watch, but I found it predictable considering the director. Kind of makes me fear for the Robocop remake...a little at least.
I Spit on Your Grave on the other hand, I've got no problem expounding upon. This movie is pretty vile I've got to say, and I'm not very squeamish. I was recommended it by a friend of mine, but I was expecting something different.
Honestly, I can see the merit in it's creation, but it was poorly executed. This movie prides itself on it's lengthy rape scene, which in a sick way delivers on its promise. It did make me feel disgusted, and made me feel disgusting actually sitting there to take it in.
I don't recommend this movie in any way, shape or form, unless you really need to get some horror history under your belt. And unless you're a complete freak like myself, you don't need that much horror history.
Oh yeah, I'm not going to give anything scaled ratings, I think that sort of defeats the purpose of reading anything. Well, that's my review virginity. Maybe I'll take this down after I realize how bad I am at this ^^
-sigh- Well here goes. Alright, the Wrestler is a great movie. A great film that I didn't like, but a great film nonetheless.
The setup is that Randy the Ram is an aging professional wrestler, and while you may take that lightly, it's not a joke. I'll say this much, I never really thought much of pro wrestlers, but after seeing this I'd like to support them more. It really tackles some issues in life that I love to see addressed, and I really think that people can take a lot away from the movie. If I tell you any more about it, it'll be ruined for you though. Like I said, it's a great movie, but I didn't like it. Not because of it's quality, but because it's what I expect from Darren Aronofsky.
Don't get me wrong, he's made some of my favorite films, but for those of you who have seen Requiem for a Dream or The Fountain, won't be surprised by this movie's content. Once again, I have to drive the point home here, this is a great movie to watch, but I found it predictable considering the director. Kind of makes me fear for the Robocop remake...a little at least.
I Spit on Your Grave on the other hand, I've got no problem expounding upon. This movie is pretty vile I've got to say, and I'm not very squeamish. I was recommended it by a friend of mine, but I was expecting something different.
Honestly, I can see the merit in it's creation, but it was poorly executed. This movie prides itself on it's lengthy rape scene, which in a sick way delivers on its promise. It did make me feel disgusted, and made me feel disgusting actually sitting there to take it in.
I don't recommend this movie in any way, shape or form, unless you really need to get some horror history under your belt. And unless you're a complete freak like myself, you don't need that much horror history.
Oh yeah, I'm not going to give anything scaled ratings, I think that sort of defeats the purpose of reading anything. Well, that's my review virginity. Maybe I'll take this down after I realize how bad I am at this ^^
film reviews GO!
Hello Blogsphere,
Tonight I just realized that I now have a blog page, in which I can pretty much put up whatever I want. Granted it's only been a day since I made one, I had a thought: I watch a lot of movies. So many that I actually have trouble remembering what exactly I have, and haven't seen.
Ergo, I'm going to do reviews. Betcha, didn't see that coming.
I probably won't stop at just film reviews, but for now I've got quite a few under my belt, so I might as well keep track of such. I don't have time to do one now, but I will. Tonight I'm watching The Wrestler, which I'm thoroughly enjoying. I'll probably review it tomorrow night though, since I'm not done watching yet...
Tonight I just realized that I now have a blog page, in which I can pretty much put up whatever I want. Granted it's only been a day since I made one, I had a thought: I watch a lot of movies. So many that I actually have trouble remembering what exactly I have, and haven't seen.
Ergo, I'm going to do reviews. Betcha, didn't see that coming.
I probably won't stop at just film reviews, but for now I've got quite a few under my belt, so I might as well keep track of such. I don't have time to do one now, but I will. Tonight I'm watching The Wrestler, which I'm thoroughly enjoying. I'll probably review it tomorrow night though, since I'm not done watching yet...
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Blog GO!
Well good evening blogsphere,
Hehe, I actually used the word "blogsphere", and spell check actually accepts it. Only on the internet...no wait there it went. So ok, I'm P. Smith (aka, K. Smith), and apparently I've been killed by invisible bullets. No, I'm not crazy, I'm just writing a blog with a co-worker of mine in the background. I tried to kill him back, but I'm dead, and cant' fire soul bullets because I don't have a soul. This is my intellectual discourse verbatim, by the by.
Alright, alright, I'll stop with the superfluous b.s. So I pretend to be a comic book writer, and this is where I'll be talking about the stuff I write. I don't know if you can tell or not, but I'm just a little skeptical about what I like to do. This blog is half chronology, half...amazing!? It's my little satellite in the orbit of the blogsphere, hence the boy in it and such. Clever, no?
It might just languish here forever until I forget the password and no longer think about it, or it might actually get noticed and I'll feel obligated to work at it. We'll see what happens.
I'm pretty all over the place with my writing. I don't write anything but fiction, but I don't actually stick to a particular genre. I'd like to do everything if I could, but I'm sure time won't allow me that option. Once again, what I do and don't do is something that's going to have to materialize. I'm not making any resolutions, or taking any oaths. What I will do, is what I'll do; and what I do, is what you'll see.
Alright. I think that's a nice enough introduction. Now... I'm going to find a way to fix this blog thingie...'s wagon. -chortle-
Hehe, I actually used the word "blogsphere", and spell check actually accepts it. Only on the internet...no wait there it went. So ok, I'm P. Smith (aka, K. Smith), and apparently I've been killed by invisible bullets. No, I'm not crazy, I'm just writing a blog with a co-worker of mine in the background. I tried to kill him back, but I'm dead, and cant' fire soul bullets because I don't have a soul. This is my intellectual discourse verbatim, by the by.
Alright, alright, I'll stop with the superfluous b.s. So I pretend to be a comic book writer, and this is where I'll be talking about the stuff I write. I don't know if you can tell or not, but I'm just a little skeptical about what I like to do. This blog is half chronology, half...amazing!? It's my little satellite in the orbit of the blogsphere, hence the boy in it and such. Clever, no?
It might just languish here forever until I forget the password and no longer think about it, or it might actually get noticed and I'll feel obligated to work at it. We'll see what happens.
I'm pretty all over the place with my writing. I don't write anything but fiction, but I don't actually stick to a particular genre. I'd like to do everything if I could, but I'm sure time won't allow me that option. Once again, what I do and don't do is something that's going to have to materialize. I'm not making any resolutions, or taking any oaths. What I will do, is what I'll do; and what I do, is what you'll see.
Alright. I think that's a nice enough introduction. Now... I'm going to find a way to fix this blog thingie...'s wagon. -chortle-
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