New York City has been experiencing a little taste of autumn these past several days -- my kind of weather! It's been moodily dark, rainy, and deliciously cold for going on 4 days now. Perfect jacket weather. And you already know how I love jacket weather.
It's had a remarkable effect on my mood. Suddenly my spirits are lifted and I feel as if I can take on the world! Wow ... I honestly don't know what it is, but summer heat and sunshine seriously drags me down. I walk around for 3 months generally feeling "ugh!" the entire time.
Well, ok, that's not exactly true. I must admit that after a long winter, those first few weeks in June around here can feel refreshing. Walking around in short sleeves for the first time after many, many months hidden indoors I can all but feel my skin greedily soaking up that vitamin D! And, yes, it gives a heady rush of feel good endorphins for a brief time.
But then summer has the nerve to go on for another two months or more, and that brief love affair I have with it wears off quick. By the time September rolls around, I'm so over her!
And so, yeah, this isn't yet the start of cool, crisp Fall weather around here. It's really just a short-lived taste of things to come 6 or so weeks from now. But it's enough to make me a truly happy camper this one week at least. On my way to work yesterday morning, I lugged my camera with me and took the following atmospheric and dramatic shots on the rainy streets of Greenwich Village:
It's days likes these when the Big Apple truly looks like its DC Comics counterpart -- Gotham City. I'm pretty sure Batman keeps watch some nights from atop that clocktower.
Can't say that I've ever been a huge Green Lantern fan growing up. Save for Batman and Superman, most of the Silver Age DC comics superheroes always seemed so lame. I'm more of a Marvel guy. But the new movie coming out sometime next year, starring Ryan Reynolds as the Hal Jordan iteration of the Lantern, is shaping up rather nicely. This is the first official trailer to be seen by anybody. Check it out for yourselves, even if you don't know anything about the property. I daresay this doesn't seem quite so lame as I thought it would be. What about you?
Okay, I'll say a few more words. I've been waiting for "The Walking Dead" to finally air when I first saw the official trailer that came out of Comic-Con over the summer. The television production -- based on an Image comics property written by Robert Kirkman, and drawn by Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard -- was developed by Frank Darabont, one of my favorite writer-directors. It's also being produced by Gale Anne Hurd (of Terminator and Aliens fame), and the music provided by none other than Bear McCreary, a composer I just admire so much after his work on the Battlestar Galactica series.
So, in other words, full of WIN all around!
But enough words, how about some trailer footage to whet your appetites? Yeah, I thought you might like that. So click on the clip below, and then join me in checking out the 90-minute premiere tonight on AMC.
Just finished watching the Blu-ray of this, which was released earlier this week. I have to say, I was very impressed. Although I wanted to hate the storyline--because of a certain controversial decision to bring someone back from Batman's past who's been long dead--the production values of this animated film kept me glued for the entire 75 min run. The voice work was superb, and the animation's more in line with what I like to see in animated movies of a dark and mature nature. Almost like the HBO's "Spawn" series from back in the day.
And you know what? Now that I had some time to process the big reveal of just who it is that's "under the red hood," I actually think it's a pretty neat new development. Sure, we probably could have done without it . . . but now that it's here, Batman will just have to deal with it like he always does. It makes the universe he inhabits just a little more interesting now.
But I won't say anymore. What I *will* say is this: if you're a big fan of anything and everything Bats, do yourself a favor and check this out. Especially if you've liked the superbly slick and mostly spot-on direct-to-video animated movies Warner and DC have been putting out lately. This is another shining badge to add to their collection.
Check out the trailer below if you want an idea of what you're getting with this film:
Rent or buy (I recommend buy), you owe it to yourself to check this out. Trust me.
Oh yeah! It's here, I saw it. It kicked my ass. And now I must sit on my hands until May 7th to watch the actual movie. Arghh, but I so want to see this NOW!!!!
Don't think I need to say anymore. The preview speaks for itself. So what are you waiting for? Click on the video player below and enjoy the goodness for yourself:
Not too long ago I wrote in this entry about the upcoming April movie release, Kick-Ass. Click on that link if you want to see what all the hype is about and why I so can't wait for this to come out.
All caught up now? Good. Because here's the latest red band trailer of the movie. Red band means that this is for mature viewers only, so you're going to be asked to enter in your birth date as a statement that you are indeed old enough to watch something like this. As far as I know, I don't have anyone under the age of 18 visiting this blog. But just a precaution.
Btw, I'm loving the line: "And with no power comes no responsibility." If you don't understand why this is awesome, you don't read comic books. 'Nuff said.
Speaking of comics, if you want to pre-order the volume 1 hardcover compilation of the first batch of original Kick-Ass comics, upon which this movie is based, click on the following Barnes & Noble link:
I'm currently boycotting Amazon due to a horrendous fracas going on over there and how they're screwing over some of my favorite authors. If you want to read more about the situation, check out John Scalzi's excellent blog, Whatever.
Now, of course, this is just to whet the appetites (and dreams) of Batman: Arkham Asylum fanboys everywhere, but a teaser trailer for a sequel hit the web recently. So, of course I have to post it here:
You're not really showed a lot, although a lot *can* and should be read between the lines. For one, it seems old Jokes is still alive. Which isn't really that hard to believe, given who we're talking about here. But it also seems he and his goons have taken over Gotham. Or, at least, a very beat-down quadrant of the city. Whatever the case may be, it's clear the developers at Rocksteady cobbled this together from the already existing and still smoking game engine from the previous game. It has only been 4 months since it released, after all. So I'm sure most if not all of this footage will NOT appear in the actual sequel.
Still, I'd be lying if I said I'm not sufficiently intrigued. Batman: Arkham Asylum was one of my top gaming highlights of 2009. I love that game to death! I'm hoping this teaser means we'll only have to wait until next Summer for a sequel.
Well, well, the day has come. I knew when I purchased the Director's Cut DVD of my favorite film of 2009--Watchmen--that I would most likely be double dipping when they eventually released an even longer version jam-packed with even more supplemental goodies. And sure enough, that day has arrived:
I hate doing it, but I just had to double dip this time. I mean, come on! Just look at it. How could I resist? To make it a more justifiable purchase, I decided to splurge on the Blu-ray version this time. In that sense it will be like watching the movie new, this time on my HD-TV.
This four-disc box set includes both the original Theatrical Release (in standard format) as well as the Director's Cut (blu-ray), with what seems to be an additional 40 minutes tacked on to the latter. The reason? This time, in addition to a few minor extensions, we're finally getting the graphic novel within a graphic novel--Tales of the Black Freighter--which will be woven into the story line the way it was always intended.
The metacomic "Tales of the Black Freighter" was released as a standalone DVD a few months back, gorgeously drawn and narrated by Gerard Butler. But I've never seen the product, so it's going to be nice to have it included within the actual movie for the sake of purists like myself.
The other 3 discs include the aforementioned bonus features, a copy of the "motion" comic--which is basically a moving version of still frames taken from the original graphic novel and set to a narrator and basic sound effects/music--and the now ubiquitous digital copy of the film. You'll also be able to connect to Facebook through BD-Live, though I don't see much use for that particular function. Maybe I'll change my mind.
*Note:* The standard DVD version of this same box set includes 5 discs instead of 4, only because they could not fit the entirety of the motion comic on 1 DVD-ROM disc the way they can with the more spacious BD-ROM disc. Yeah, it's that HUGE. Run time for the motion comic is a whopping 5 and a half hours (325 mins) long! Holy Christ, folks! Again, like "Tales of the Black Freighter," the motion comic has been previously released on DVD. It's just nice for me to have it in one place with this box set since I never did get around to purchasing the standalone version.
If you're a huge fan of Watchmen (the movie or the comics, or both) you owe it to yourself to have this in your collection. Especially if, unlike me, you were more patient and refrained from purchasing the Director's Cut a few months back. If I had known that an even bigger release was destined to hit shelves so soon, I would have waited, too. Oopsie on my part!
Remember about a month ago when I was gushing over the upcoming Batman: Arkham Asylum video game?
Well my oft-visited fount of all things gaming, IGN.com, has just issued their review of the PS3 version, in which they scored the game a 9.3 out of 10!!! Greg Miller calls it: ". . . the greatest comic book game of all time." A few of the other editors at the site agree.
After reading the review, be sure to check out the video review as well, which shows you the actual game in motion.
The little niggling issues they had with it aside, I'm loving everything I'm hearing so far. The combat system looks like fun, and thank god you can switch up between straight-out brawling and stealthy takedowns. Because having all of just one or the other element would have been tiring.
Above is the official trailer for the new Batman: Arkham Asylum video game coming out at the end of August. I've been keeping silent on this because I no longer like to spoil games until just when they're about to drop. In any event, this game's got me jizzing in my pants!
Lessee here:
Kevin Conroy reprising his role as THE voice of Batman? Check.
Mark Hamil back voicing the Joker? Check.
A slew of other original voice actors from The Animated Series, including Efrem Zimbalist (Alfred), Richard Moll (Harvey Dent), Arleen Sorkin (Harley Quinn), and Michael Ansara (Mr. Freeze) back as well? Check. Check. Check. And CHECK!!!!
And, to top it all off, Paul Dini is back to pen the script. OH HELL FUCKIN YEAH!!!! This is a veritable "Batman: The Animated Series" family reunion, all in video-game format! I think I'm in comic geek heaven!
Arkham Asylum is looking to be *the* definitive Batman game fans have been clamoring for. Batman has been done many times before on the consoles and PC--from comics-inspired, to the various cel shaded and lego games, to movie tie-ins--but never has so much awesome talent been gathered under one banner like this. Rocksteady Studios upped the ante and delivered the goods! I know it's a bit early to be praising a game that's not even out yet, but seriously: this is looking GOOD! And some of the advanced buzz is really, really positive.
From what I've been reading, this will be Batman done proper. Not only is the story dark and moody, but the visuals are looking to match! And, honestly, could you have picked a more perfect adversary and chilling location than the Joker at Arkham? The answer is NO, no you could NOT!!!
But even more impressive is the gameplay. Check out the trailer below and you'll be able to get a sense of what I'm talking about. In this game, you'll have to take on enemies the way the Batman really would. This means using stealth, gadgets, and scare tactics to weave beautiful takedowns and jaw-dropping acrobatics onto unsuspecting goons. And with Bane, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, and the Riddler to name a few tossed in, the boss battles should be something epic to boot! And of course, Batman doesn't kill, so this will also be implemented into the choice of combat and execution styles the gamer has to pick. How brilliant is that?
Lastly, for us Sony fans, the PlayStation 3 version of the game will offer a bonus exclusive whereby you'll be able to unlock the Joker as a playable character in one of the mission room challenges and, perhaps, even more. Check out the video below to see how the Joker's mechanics play out:
Honestly, after seeing that, I don't know how anyone can settle for the Xbox 360 or PC versions. For real!
Batman: Arkham Asylum hits stores on August 25th. I'm going to be starting up Dead Space real soon, but hopefully I'll be done in time to get this on the day it drops. If not, I'll save it for my birthday in early September.
After watching X-men Origins: Wolverine over the weekend, I think it's safe to say the writers had no f'n clue how to write the characters the way they were intended to be in the comics. No more so than everyone's favorite sarcastic and wry-humored assassin-for-hire, Deadpool, played by Ryan Reynolds in the movie. It wasn't Reynolds fault, of course. He's actually perfect to play the role, and in fact had a few good moments in the movie. Very good, in fact. But as usual, he was under-utilized and not quite on point with his comics counterpart thanks to the above mentioned cluelessness of the writers and director.
Anyway, here's a fan-made spoof of the "I'm a Mac . . . I'm a PC" commercials, using Marvel and DC characters instead. It's obvious this person reads comics and "gets" Deadpool. I mean, this is PERFECT! This is how he was supposed to be in the movie:
LOL! I so want to see a Rorschach & Deadpool sitcom, ala The Odd Couple! But with guns and swords . . .
