Posted by
Unknown
- Friday, April 4, 2014
Some comic book story elements are so iconic that they've made the leap into pop culture. These infamous tidbits range from the death of Batman's parents to the power of Superman's glasses to completely shroud his identity. Likewise, the notion that Aquaman is useless has rippled out all over the world. But those who've enjoyed a joke at the expense of the Justice League's soggiest member may be surprised to discover that the King of the Seas, Arthur Curry, has received a spin-off book: Aquaman and the Others. As the title suggests, the book focuses on Aquaman and his past partners, all of whom wield Atlantean artifacts that grant them powers. I gave this book the benefit of the doubt, as many of the New 52's best books have been the ones you'd least expect. After a single issue, however, Aquaman and the Others sinks far more than it swims.
The issue opens with a full-page advertisement that's eighty percent abs and ten percent Arrow logo, with an actor taking up what's left over on the page. It's a bold way to open. After that, the story begins with a flashback to "thousands of years ago," in which the usurped Atlantean king Atlan stabs an alchemist who's trying to stop him from taking the final ten bars of "gold of legacy"—which may be the most underwhelming name since the Matrix of Leadership from Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. As the alchemist bleeds out, Atlan teases that the gold will give him the power he needs to retake his throne.
We then jump to the modern day and its sluggish "meet the team" pacing. This is the comics equivalent of speed dating—we encounter one character just long enough to see them do something interesting, then immediately move on to the next. First up is Prisoner of War, who wields the so-called Manacles of Force and has the consciousness of several fallen soldiers locked within him. He staves off the attack of a group of mysterious assailants despite the manacles not providing their usual powers. A similar scene plays out as we meet Ya'Wara, whose Globe of Transportation fails to activate as she fights a group of poachers who go so far as to take a monkey hostage. (I think it would be fun if a crossover event gave everyone in the DCU Atlantean artifacts; Batman can have the bat-shaped Boomerang of Pain! All kidding aside, naming things after what they do is a bit underwhelming.)
After the two misfires, we finally get to see one artifact work as Sky Alchesay, a young Native American girl who is the recent recipient of the Seal of Clarity, uses the Seal to fend off another group of attackers (dressed similarly to the previous groups) by taking her assailants into the Ghost Lands. There, they confess to a master plan to collect all seven Atlantean artifacts. Elsewhere, Aquaman assists the Operative when the latter's—wait for it—operation goes south because the Atlantean Key fails to work.
As Aquaman and the Operative round up the rest of the Others in the Operative's mobile command center, the Living Room, we jump to a villainous plot in Trezygstan, where the orchestrator of the previous attacks makes plans to use more firepower next time. The Living Room is shot down, but before we can see how the Others fare, the story jumps to Iran. There, Sayeh—the previous wielder of the Seal of Clarity—is taken prisoner by the previously-seen assailants, though not before she can wrap up the issue with a vision of events from the upcoming DC limited series Futures End.
All in all, this was a pretty standard introductory issue. It made a fairly simple inciting incident (the artifacts not working) last an entire issue. I'm always supportive of new readers to comics, but issues like this baffle me as they underserve longtime comics readers. It seems counterintuitive to spend so much precious page space introducing us to a cast of B-list characters. One line of dialogue can explain what their powers do, showing us that they aren't working correctly. Dedicating an entire issue to driving this notion home seems excessive. Although the tease at the end was interesting, the issue didn't wholly succeed at establishing an exciting world for these characters to play in.
What did you think of the return of the Others? Are you looking forward to Futures End? Let us know in the comments section below!
Posted by
Anthony Mango
- Thursday, April 3, 2014
Captain America: The Winter Soldier - Directed by Anthony Russo, Joe Russo and Joss Whedon. Written by Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely, Ed Brubaker. Starring Chris Evans (Steve Rogers), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Scarlett Johansson (Natasha Romanoff), Robert Redford (Alexander Pierce), Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes), Anthony Mackie (Sam Wilson), Cobie Smulders (Maria Hill), Frank Grillo (Brock Rumlow), Emily VanCamp (Kate / Agent 13), Hayley Atwell (Peggy Carter) and Toby Jones (Dr. Arnim Zola).
Following the events of not only Captain America: The First Avenger, but also the entirety of the Phase One series of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this film sets the pace for the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron in more ways than one. S.H.I.E.L.D. is put under the microscope and in a time where everything is a different shade of gray, it takes a man out of time who bleeds nothing but red, white, and blue to set things straight.
I was personally eagerly anticipating this and expected it to be amazing. Thankfully, it did not disappoint.
It's time for another REVIEWPOINT as we break down the film's hits and misses.
WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW
As always, let's start with the bad news first.
THE MISSES
1. MUSIC
I'm pretty much grasping at straws to find anything to put in the Miss category. The music served its job well, but I can't remember any of it as standing out, so if I need to put anything down, that would be a slight misstep. Then again, I'll be listening to the soundtrack again in the future, and outside of the context of the film, I might have to even remove this Miss down the line.
2. NO CROSSBONES REFERENCE
Unless I didn't see it—and if that's the case, please let me know in the comments below—at no time in the film was Brumlow referred to as Crossbones, nor did he wear his trademark mask. That's a shame, but hey, nothing can be entirely perfect, right?
THE HITS
1. AMPED UP TO THE NEXT LEVEL
Nothing in this film felt as though it was a step back. Even the flashbacks themselves were all about pushing the story forward, rather than trying to relive some former glory. On top of it, everything stepped up. I actually think Captain America: The First Avenger was one of the weakest entries in these connected Marvel films due to a rushed pacing, lack of character development, and so on. This manages to not only accomplish those things that they failed at doing before, but surpass them and have enough of a self-awareness to up the ante and make things more grandiose for the second go-around. Why bring back the old uniform? Not just because the old suit was better than the one in Avengers, but because he didn't have his stealth suit anymore (awesome use of that costume, by the way) and because it served a functioning purpose to influence Bucky's memory banks. Speaking of references...
2. CHARACTERS, CAMEOS, AND NO MISSED OPPORTUNITIES
One of my biggest complaints in superhero films is when there are new characters created for the movie, but people from the comics could have filled that spot. This film acts as though it was written by true fans of the comics and throws that nonsense out the window. Any time they had a chance to toss in a reference, they did—but not at the expense of the film itself. There were absolutely no moments in this that felt as though they were there simply for fan service and got in the way.
Introducing Sam Wilson (aka The Falcon) as the new best friend of Steve Rogers is fully justified, considering their relationship in the comics. We needed another person to tag along and who in the climate of this film would be better than Natasha Romanoff, which means not only does the female audience have a legitimate badass representative that they can identify with, but it also ties into their relationship with the Avengers. Numerous mentions of Tony Stark also help this out, but it doesn't stop there with the connections to Iron Man and the surrounding characters from both these movies and from the source material.
You need a corrupt politician? Bring on Senator Stern from Iron Man who we were supposed to hate. If you're looking for a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent that we wouldn't expect to be bad, but they are? Jasper Sitwell can fill that role. Want a Captain America villain to fight him at the beginning of the film? Batroc the Leaper! Sharon Carter would obviously be the person that Captain America is flirting with. Crossbones is the perfect choice for a strike force villain. My God, they even were able to get Dr. Arnim Zola's television head in this movie and make it work!!
3. STEPHEN STRANGE
This deserves its own section, just because of the magnitude of the quick reference. As much as I thought it was cool to see DC Pierson and Danny Pudi have cameos, the fleeting "blink and you miss it" cameo that resonated the most was definitely this shout out to Dr. Strange. With Sitwell mentioning that he was a threat for the future, every fan in the audience knew what was coming in Phase Three.
4. SERIOUS TONE
Too many superhero films think that they need to be pessimistic and—forgive me for continuing the overuse of this phrase—"dark and gritty" in order to not come off cheesy. Worse off, some of them think that this is all silly and they should go campy, which just backfires. This movie keeps a serious and realistic tone without abandoning the fun of the superhero genre.
The Falcon is a pretty ridiculous character in the comics, but they went the perfect route by having him be a soldier with access and training to a form of specialized paratrooper equipment. The comedy was not over the top like in Iron Man 3 or from what we are seeing so far with Guardians of the Galaxy, but rather just there to help ease the tension and keep the thrill ride from being all doom and gloom. Plus, the comedy was more witty and realistic than silly as well.
5. SMART STORYLINE
This could have very easily just been a movie about an assassination attempt on Nick Fury or Captain America fighting a whole bunch of bad guys simply because S.H.I.E.L.D. told him to. Instead, the plot stands on an interesting political question of whether or not you should sacrifice freedom in order for security. Steve Rogers has seen the worst war ever, and even he is able to resist the corruption and fall into the same mentality as the villains. From the very beginning of the movie, a storyline is introduced about not knowing who you can trust, and boy does that thread weave its way through this film in a great way that pays off in the end. Never sacrifice your ideals, no matter what you're facing.
6. FANTASTIC ACTION
Every action sequence in this film was awesome, whether it focused on Captain America himself or revolved around Nick Fury, Black Widow, Maria Hill, etc. Naturally, the highlight in my mind was watching Cap actually kick some serious ass like he should—and that, he did. The opening set piece with the boat was by far the coolest in showing that off and finally letting us see Captain America the way he is in other media. Gun fights, car chases, close-call knife fights, aerial battles, espionage....this movie has it all.
WOULD I RECOMMEND IT?
100%, absolutely, no questions, yes, without a doubt, go watch this movie. This is either on par or better than Iron Man as the best in the franchise and you don't need to be familiar with the Winter Soldier character or storyline to eat it up, either.
If you want to check out some more comic book film Reviewpoint articles: Man of Steel | Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox | The Wolverine | Kick-Ass 2 | Thor: The Dark World | Justice League: War | RoboCop
What were your thoughts on the movie? What should the next Reviewpoint be?
LEAVE US A COMMENT BELOW!
Posted by
Fellonius Munch
In breaking news, Zack Snyder's Batman vs. Superman follow-up to last year's Man of Steel has scooped up not one, not two, but three new actors to join its ensemble!
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| "TELL ME WHERE THE CRAYONS ARRRRE!!!" |
When casting rumors were whipping about the Internet last year like a hurricane (Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Bryan Cranston, Joaquin Phoenix, Denzel Washington, etc.), nobody knew quite what to expect or believe. It's frustrating being a fan, having to hear a rumor one day only to have it quashed and replaced by another the next. Especially when you're a fan writing the news. So it gives me great pleasure to be able to dish out some casting news that I feel is a lot more reliable.
Fresh off the press, we've learned that Snyder has bagged the pretty young thing Tao Okamoto, aka Mariko from last year's The Wolverine. Yeah, that's one Marvel character in the bag, right?
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| "...did he just jump out with my lemonade?" |
We've also learned that Callan Mulvey has signed up. Mulvey, who will be recognizable to some through his role in 300: Rise of an Empire, also appears in Captain America: The Winter Soldier as Jack Rollins. Oh hey, there's another Marvel character in the bag. That's where the poaching stops, for now at least!
Last but not least is veteran actress Holly Hunter, whom I suspect may end up playing someone else's mum. I may be wrong, but my blasted intuition does like to run wild. At least this lady has some experience as an actual superhero, though. She voiced Elastigirl for The Incredibles. Can I get a LOL? No? That's okay, I suppose.
Fanboys Anonymous does not know yet who these new additions are contracted to play, but these really are some intriguing choices. Tao Okamoto is only known for The Wolverine so far and only has one other television credit under her belt. Callan Mulvey's history is mainly in television and only recently has he been getting bigger parts in film. Is this straight-out poaching a case of Warner Bros and DC playing the familiarity game in competition with their rival? I guess only time will tell.
Sound off, Fanboys! What do you make of Bats vs. Supes' new cast additions? Comments below and thanks for reading.
Posted by
Fellonius Munch
Now that AMC's The Walking Dead has reached the conclusion of its lengthy and dramatic fourth season, I'm guessing that the die-hard zombie fans are going to have to get their fill elsewhere. Many, like myself, are going to revisit the classics, and not just because there's a serious lack of ghoulish new DVD releases to get our teeth into.
Did anybody notice a familiar face in one of the latter episodes of The Walking Dead last month?
Yup, that's none other than Bub from George A. Romero's original zombie trilogy conclusion Day of the Dead. If you don't know that is, ask a bunch of your zombie fan friends to stand around you in a circle and then point at you and laugh.
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| Or maybe we'll just have Bub shoot you himself. |
The Walking Dead's very own zombie effects guru Greg Nicotero recently teased that the show would feature its biggest classic zombie tribute yet, and in episode 15, titled "Us," audiences spotted the unlikely Day of the Dead hero getting up to no good in the train tunnel Glenn and Tara were battling to get through. The first thing I said to myself was, "Wow, Bub, how did you get out of that abandoned missile silo and get all the way across Florida?" Then again, he's had 19 years to figure it out I guess.
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| Maybe then he's been Dancin' in the Dark! |
Nicotero, who got his big break working in special effects with the legendary "Wizard of Gore" Tom Savini on that 1985 cult classic and who also had a feature part as the ill-fated Private Johnson, couldn't get the original actor, Sherman Howard, to play the part, however. The part went to zombie regular James Barker. No bother to Howard, who is a literal rock after bringing Bub to life the first time around.
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| Sherman Howard, who originally played Bub. |
As a huge fan of the original trilogy, I was captivated by Day of the Dead not only because of Savini's advanced zombie effects and gore and its haunting atmosphere, but also because the protagonists' worst enemies are the people they count on the most to survive. Despite Romero having to make the movie on a tiny budget and therefore completely rethink his endgame, and despite the finished product being mauled by both critics and fans over the early years, Day of the Dead is now one of the greatest offerings in zombie movie history. So here's a tribute of my own to Bub and to the daddy of all things zombie related.
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| "Coochie Coo, Ima eat you!" |
Sound off, Fanboys! Who saw Bub, and who do you think they'll tribute next? Comments below and thanks for reading.
Posted by
Anonymous
- Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Readers, isn't it fitting that, a week after my Noah review, I picked this book up? It's strange the way it came together, really. I guess you really don't have any idea yet, but this book asserted the most odd interpretation of the few words allowed into the Bible that have to do with the odd Book of Enoch.
Interestingly enough, our main character and her daughter, who are mourning the loss of their husband and father, are what you would call "walkers." They have the uncanny ability to leave their bodies whenever they choose, projecting their "selves" into a spirit plain where they can see each other and average people who cannot see them. Talk about an advantage over others. Cora, the mom and main character, has not "walked" in a very long time because of something that occurred during her childhood, something that she is afraid could repeat itself. These evil and frightening memories are dominated by a massive man with silver hair, a killer.
I never would have put two and two together and arrived at the conclusion that the idea of the walkers was drawn from the few words spoken of Enoch in the Bible if not for the help of the author, or at least without reading much further into the book. For those of you who remember, "Enoch walked with The Lord all of his days and then was taken into heaven." This book really gives "walking" a definition and one that I found impressive.
As little Grace and Cora continue to blossom from their hard shells of mourning—or lack thereof in Cora's case—they begin to meet others like themselves, and eventually Cora is moved to walk again. After breaking her promise never to do so, will she meet with this evil man from her past? The odds say no, but Cora knows better. The man with the silver hair has been waiting.
At this point, the book really takes off into another realm where religion and urban fantasy mesh together in harmony and the "offspring" is one of the best ideas for an urban fantasy book I've read. Janet Allison Brown is a fine author. She has allowed her mind to fabricate an authentic new idea and has given it to her soul to pen. Read up, you won't regret it. Tell me what you think downstairs.
Posted by
Michelle Quillen
Pop quiz, hot shot. You have two weapons: a baton and a cell phone. Which do you use? Which…do you use?
In Watch Dogs, you won't have to choose. Ubisoft recently released a trailer for their highly anticipated game to show players just how they can hack their way through the Chicago's transit system, strangers' cell phones, and city computers to be the ultimate vigilante by accessing more than 30 traditional weapons and 65 different vehicles all at their mercy.
See the city through protagonist Aiden Pearce's eyes as he traverses the Windy City and literally beats his way through cyber wars, sidewalk scuffles, and shootouts when Watch Dogs is released this summer on May 27.
"Disrupt," the next-gen engine driving the Watch Dogs game, brags beautiful graphics and a bumping unique soundtrack to bring your capital voyeurism to the next level. Just check out the latest trailer below:
Various perks accommodate preordering this action-packed title based on the platform that you're lurking. Place your preemptive purchase with PlayStation and get four exclusive missions, 60 minutes more of gameplay, a white hat hacker outfit, and an additional battery pack that allows you to hack twice as hard. Preordering with GameStop will unlock exclusive investigative abilities on top of ultimate ATM bank account hacking abilities for mega cash monies. If you're an Amazonian, enjoy the exclusive perks of a black viceroys outfit and biometric AR. If you're a person of Walmart, your incentives include a cyberpunk gun and outfit.
Watch Dogs will be available the Tuesday after Memorial Day (May 27, my birthday!) for the PS4, PS3, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC. The Wii U version's debut will be announced at a later date, but PS4 and PS3 purchases will include an in-game outfit and bonus missions.
Will you be pre-preordering a copy of this E3 award-winning title? Let us know why or why not in the comments below, and for more information on the game itself including more trailers, gameplay videos, and concept art, head over to the official Watch Dogs website here.
Posted by
Fellonius Munch
Late last week some of us were treated to a surprise new movie trailer. That trailer was for a sequel to one of the horror genre's most original and beloved franchises. But hey, why am I talking like nobody knows what that franchise is? It's written in the damn title!
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| BOOM!!! |
Phantasm: Ravager is the fifth movie in the franchise, which everybody thought ended late last century with Phantasm: Oblivion, despite the daddy of the series having pushed long and hard for the ending fans have been getting old waiting for. Well, Reggie, Mike, Jody, and the Tall Man are all back. Even the Lady in Lavender, who killed Tommy 35 years ago, is back for this one.
Original writer and director Don Coscarelli is passing on direction duties to director David Hartman this time (whose credits as a director and visual effects artist include Transformers Prime and John Dies At The End), in a move that has both excited and dismayed old-school horror fans. Divide and conquer is the first saying that comes to mind.
Hartman reportedly got the job of replacing Coscarelli greatly due to his work as a visual art designer on the Bruce Campbell horror-comedy Bubba Ho-tep. I have to say that his credits are actually pretty promising. He has a long and diverse history in film, television, and animation, which could actually be perfect for this. Being a fan of the franchise with such experience, Hartman is pretty much helping to end Phantasm the way both Coscarelli and the die-hard fans would see fit.
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| "Yeah, come on, Don! My 70's ice-cream vendor suit's gettin' a bit "ripe!" |
So what does Phantasm: Ravager have in store for us fans?
A recap on events since that fateful summer's night back in 1979: After discovering that their town was being terrorized by that other-worldly horror icon known only as the Tall Man, lonely kid Mikey, his older brother Jody, and their guitar-strumming ice-cream vendor friend Reggie thought they'd entombed the Tall Man. That came at the cost of Reggie's life, also at the hands of the Lady in Lavender!
Then we learned it was all just a dream! Jody had died in an alleged road accident and Reggie had become Mikey's legal guardian. Then, however, in one strange horror twist, it wasn't really a dream after all, and the Tall Man returned to claim Mikey. Evading him, the two survivors hit the road in search of him as he moved from town to town harvesting the locals to add to his army of minions. The results were often disappointing for the inept ghoul-fighting duo; they never got any answers or managed to keep this nightmare dead and buried for long before falling foul of the twisted hand of fate.
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| "Sure thing, officer, here's my license and registration!" |
Come the end of Phantasm III, Mikey learned that his deceased brother had been kept around by the Tall Man as one of his freakish and deadly flying orbs. He too was then abducted and mutilated, his own mind becoming encapsulated in one of those same orbs. Phantasm: Oblivion was about Reggie's desperate attempt to find the lost Mikey as he wandered the land for answers, traveling through time and different dimensions, then meeting the Tall Man in his original incarnation—as Civil-War era doctor and inventor Jebediah Morningside!
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| "Penny for your thoughts, young lad! Ehhh, actually I'll just take YOUR BRAIN!" |
Frustrating to many, Oblivion offered an ending and finally an explanation to the Tall Man's purpose for embalming the living and turning them into psychotic Jawa-type midgets. What world has he come from? What is his mission, his ultimate goal? What was his fixation with Mikey? We learned that he wasn't the typical pure evil to expect from such an iconic horror monster, at least not always, and that he expected Mikey to become his apprentice and eventually his replacement. But why choose somebody who so opposed him?
We never got our answers, dammit, and the closure we sought—seeing Mikey, Jody, and Reggie huddled around Jody's old Plymouth Hemi-Cuda during better days—never happened either!
Over the decades, Phantasm has been quite an influential horror series and has been unique in many ways. For one, Don Coscarelli is the only writer and director of classic horror to stay with his own franchise from beginning to end, aside from George Romero. Second, his is the only classic horror franchise to retain all of its original lead characters, with the exception of James LeGross filling A. Michael Baldwin's shoes for Phantasm II. Third, its soundtrack is one of the most original and iconic horror themes of all time.
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| ...of all time! |
You could look at it as the prototype to the Silent Hill franchise, also as the godfather of puzzling horror series such as SAW. At its '80s/'90s B-movie horror best, it was about Reggie, the double-double-barreled shotgun wielding ice-cream man, comically getting his arse kicked by zombies, midgets, and chainsaw-wielding henchmen while failing miserably at getting laid. Its first and fourth installment, however, proved that it could also be a very thoughtful and touching drama as well as a horror-comedy of sorts.
We're all hoping that Phantasm: Ravager gives fans the closure they seek, answering those long-festering questions and giving this great little cast the sendoff they so well deserve. This latest and most-likely final sequel looks like it's not just going to be a culmination of past events but also one that invites tons of carnage, bloody explosions, and comical dismemberments, just for old times' sake!
And NOW…
Sound off, Fanboys! In a time of classic horror remakes and movie franchises jumping to videogame format, what do you think of this band of rascals tooling up for one last ride? Bearing in mind that no two Phantasm movies were ever the same, are you looking forward to Ravager, and do you think that today's technology can do the old-school horror franchise justice? Comments below, please, and thank you for reading.
Posted by
Eddie Siqueira
- Tuesday, April 1, 2014
John Frusciante's new album Enclosure was released (literally) into the stratosphere on March 29, 2014 on board the "experimental" interorbital satellite Sat-JF14. The album is transmitted to an app, which plays back its music directly onto your phone or iTunes—provided the satellite is somewhere above your head, until it goes around the other side of the globe again. As of Monday, March 31, you can download this app, called Sat-JF14.
I wish I had something more fantastic to say other than "neat." I totally dig this idea, but I can't help but fear a looming April fool's joke in there somewhere… especially after the hoverboard thing. Then again, if logic serves me, smartphones get their data from satellites, and the app does stream it from somewhere, so it's not impossible. Who knows what airspace laws were bent to send a single satellite into space with the sole purpose of streaming music (which will do so for only a little less than a week).
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| This app is for real, called Sat-JF14 |
Regardless, this is excellent publicity for the genius six-stringer. Some online comments already call him pretentious, but whatever, man. With his guitar skills and musical talent, he can be the first man on Mars for all I care and that would still be justified. That's ridiculous though: everyone knows the human race came from Mars.
Let's hope we get to see some other killer creative album releases. We've come a long way from artists giving it away for free like Nine Inch Nails's The Slip in 2008 or Radiohead's 2007 release In Rainbows, which allowed fans to pay what they wanted to obtain the album. In both instances, the albums did great.
Oh, almost forgot: Frusciante's album officially releases on April 8. I'll be hearing Enclosure real soon, for sure. Big fan here! So, what do you guys think of this musical spaceman stunt? Love it or hate it? Comment!
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| Sat-JF14 being launched in the Mojave desert. Where will it land? |
Posted by
Fellonius Munch
Word has it that Sigourney Weaver has joined the cast of Prometheus 2, teaming her with producer and director Ridley Scott once again, thirty five years after Scott introduced her to audiences everywhere as Warrant Officer Ellen Ripley. Oh, and did I mention that she'll be playing…Ripley? Just gonna give you a moment to get over your nerdgasms, right there.
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| Even holding him at raygun-point couldn't guarantee a smile. |
Okay, finished?
What hasn't been fully revealed or cleared up since Scott delved back into the Alien universe two years ago is whether this whole new franchise really is set before the events of Alien or afterward. Well, judging from our sources, Weaver will be portraying a future clone of Ripley, and we don't yet know if she'll be a lead player alongside Noomi Rapace and Michael Fassbender or if she'll just provide us with a cameo.
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| "...and then I said, no lad, I'm just big boned!" |
Apparently the studio wanted to maximize the success of the sequel after Prometheus left many original fans a little sour. So if this news is just an April Fool's prank, whoever thought this was a bright idea just destroyed any hopes of anyone being interested at all. Additionally, I might just hunt them down to the edges of the Earth and punch them right in the testicles, repeatedly. If they don't have testicles, I'll punch them in the arse repeatedly instead, until they can't sit down ever again!
However, IMDb also confirms the addition of actor Danny Webb. Any clues? Adding weight to the theory that Prometheus may actually be a sequel to the Alien quadrilogy, Danny will be playing a certain character named Morse. You may remember that Morse was the only surviving prisoner of Fiorina "Fury" 161, escorted away Weyland-Yutani troops at the end of Alien 3.
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| "MY JAM SANDWICH! IT JUST EXPLODED!" |
I like the idea that Prometheus could be a sequel as opposed to a prequel, simply for the fact that no sci-fi prequel should ever be more technically or humanly advanced than that which it claims to precede. I like the idea of Sigourney Weaver returning to the character and the fictional universe that she made so memorable, even at the age of 64. Simply put, she's still got it and we Alien fans still want it!
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| "Do I like it kinky? Ummm, I gave birth to an alien..." |
Sound off, Fanboys! What do you make of this news? Feel free to leave your comments below and thanks for reading.
Posted by
Anthony Mango
- Monday, March 31, 2014
After nine seasons, it's finally time for Ted Mosby to meet The Mother in the How I Met Your Mother series finale two-part episode, entitled "Last Forever."
This has been an odd show built around the premise that we already know what happens: Ted meets The Mother and they have two children together. How Ted gets to that point, however, has always been a mystery to the audience. Tonight, that mystery is solved and the story comes to an end.
Yesterday, we had a special podcast retrospective of the show in which we discussed our theories on what is going to happen, what we'd like to see, and reminisced about our favorite moments as fans. Give it a listen! Is The Mother dead, or is that just a red herring?
LAST FOREVER REVIEW
Let me be blunt here: my gut reaction is to be mad. Throughout this entire series, I've been hoping that they would stick to their guns and Ted would not end up with Robin. Little did we all know that they were in fact sticking to their guns, but that that WAS their original plan.
It's disappointing, and I feel like they even admitted why: The Mother is barely in the story. Ted really just spent all that time talking about some other woman instead of their mother. How does that make Ted Mosby anything but LESS likable than before?
It's obviously not their intention, but it really comes off as though Ted's relationship with Tracy wasn't actually the love of his life. She was just another bump in the road like Stella and Zoey and Victoria to fill the void. She was a means to an end for him to have kids and after that was done, she was no longer useful.
Again, while I'm writing this out, let me remind you that this is my initial gut reaction to something I've waited nine years to see, so my opinions might change on this later, and right now, ten minutes have gone by and I'm already less angry and more disappointed.
I liked how the episode started with a flashback to the origins of the group, but immediately it started to make me think that this was just another sign that they were making Robin too integral.
I'll give credit to Carter Bays and Craig Thomas that they did stay true to the idea that this might be fictional, but it doesn't mean everything is a fairy tale. Barney and Robin getting a divorce? That happens in real life. The likelihood that we would have three perfect couples in Lily/Marshall, Barney/Robin, Ted/Tracy that all live happily ever after and play bridge on the front porch was probably not going to happen.
But damn it, why did this have to turn out to be a series about how Ted was still in love with Robin throughout everything? I know that it would be even more depressing if Tracy died and there was nobody there for Ted, but doesn't this just make you think that Ted only loved Tracy as much as he allowed himself to be deluded into thinking? He thought he loved Zoey, he thought he loved Victoria, he thought he loved Stella, he even thought people like Leilani were "the one." So what's the difference with Tracy? There were more clues about destiny than the others?
A friend of mine brought up a great point. He said it's as if they completely glossed over Tracy and said to the audience "what did she die from? Who cares." And then the kids basically have the reaction of "Dad, our mom has been dead for like, six years, just get over it already." Ouch. Also, why don't we even get a name for Barney's daughter's mother? I liked the idea that his daughter was the true love of his life, but her mother doesn't matter either?
I'm glad that they at least tried to tie up some loose ends, like Marshall paying Lily after losing the bet, but he technically didn't now, did he? And why was there no explanation about Bob Saget's voice?
It's going to take a long time for me to process this and I'm sure I'll be easier on it in the future, but if I'm giving an honest initial reaction to it, I can't help but be disappointed that for a show that has meant so much to me over the years, built upon the concept of receiving a payoff, it all ended up being kind of tossed aside for a Ted and Robin ship. Ted was supposed to be telling us the best love story that ever existed: the story of how he met Tracy. Not the story of how he always had a thing for Robin and now that his wife is dead, it's supposed to be justified for him to go after her for the millionth time.
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Posted by
The Dace Man
- Sunday, March 30, 2014
Hey, hey, hey, Dacetacular Nation! Chris Dace is back, bringing you a diamond in the rough that's circulating on the Internet.
With the upcoming finale of How I Met Your Mother, set for Monday, March 31, it's no surprise that that the entire cast would sit down with James Lipton on Inside The Actors Studio. That's when we got a duet from actors Jason Segel and Neil Patrick Harris.
All it took was a question from an aspiring actor in the audience about the pair's extemporaneous 2005 performance of "The Confrontation" from Les Miserables, and a reminder from Alyson Hannigan that "We haven't heard that in a long time." After Jason Segel asked who would claim which role, Neil Patrick Harris—as only he can do—started to sing. This drew Segel into the song, and the two were off, giving us one last legendary memory with the entire cast. Check it out below, and make sure you catch the Fanboys Anonymous retrospective on How I Met Your Mother, only on Mega Powers Radio!
As always, check back regularly to see what Chris "The Dace Man" Dace is looking at (and no, not just porn) as well as all of the other bloggers here at Fanboys Anonymous. Remember, keyboard warriors: leave your feedback! Until the next time, for the few, the proud, and, of course, the Dacetacular, grab a beer—and in this case a French pineapple!—and check out what's going on here in the Dace-Sphere. See ya next time!
We then jump to the modern day and its sluggish "meet the team" pacing. This is the comics equivalent of speed dating—we encounter one character just long enough to see them do something interesting, then immediately move on to the next. First up is Prisoner of War, who wields the so-called Manacles of Force and has the consciousness of several fallen soldiers locked within him. He staves off the attack of a group of mysterious assailants despite the manacles not providing their usual powers. A similar scene plays out as we meet Ya'Wara, whose Globe of Transportation fails to activate as she fights a group of poachers who go so far as to take a monkey hostage. (I think it would be fun if a crossover event gave everyone in the DCU Atlantean artifacts; Batman can have the bat-shaped Boomerang of Pain! All kidding aside, naming things after what they do is a bit underwhelming.)
After the two misfires, we finally get to see one artifact work as Sky Alchesay, a young Native American girl who is the recent recipient of the Seal of Clarity, uses the Seal to fend off another group of attackers (dressed similarly to the previous groups) by taking her assailants into the Ghost Lands. There, they confess to a master plan to collect all seven Atlantean artifacts. Elsewhere, Aquaman assists the Operative when the latter's—wait for it—operation goes south because the Atlantean Key fails to work.
