A few thoughts about San Diego Comic-Con

Last year I said Warner Bros. won San Diego Comic-Con thanks to all the trailers they showed. Heck, had Warners only showed the first “Wonder Woman” last year, I think they still would have won.

This year however, I’m giving Marvel the win. This is not because I didn’t like what WB did, but because Marvel gave us a new “Thor: Ragnarok” trailer, some much-needed “Captain Marvel” movie news, and even some “Ant-Man and the Wasp” casting announcements. So kudos to you Marvel, you win San Diego Comic-Con 2017.

There were of course a ton of news to come out of this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. So many news items come out at the same time, that it’s rather easy to miss some of them. I’m not going to comment on everything, that would take far too long and my wifey keeps telling me to pack for our vacation. But here are a few thoughts I had on this year’s SDCC:

• “Thor: Ragnarok” looks like a lot of fun!
• Michelle Pfeiffer playing Janet Van Dyne? Hell yeah.
• Thanks to his enthusiasm, Jason Momoa has won me over.
• Vincent Price’s voice gave me nightmares as a kid, and even as an adult. Thanks a lot “Stranger Things.”
• Because of the “Westworld” teaser, I have been humming Sammy Davis Jr. all morning.

• The Kingsman panel was cool and all, but I think 20th Century Fox blew a big chance by not featuring anything else on Thursday.
• “Wynonna Earp” got renewed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• I appreciate that SYFY does a nightly show live from the convention, but it would be nice if they featured something about comic books, and not just tv and film.
• The second trailer for “Justice League” was awesome. I think there was more humor in the trailer, than in any of the other Zack Snyder DCEU movies combined. Now I’m really excited to see the movie.
• The first thing I thought of when I saw the Justice League poster was…

Bismillah! No we will not let you go – let him go
Bismillah! We will not let you go – let him go
Bismillah! We will not let you go let me go
Will not let you go let me go (never)
Never let you go let me go
Never let me go ooo
No, no, no, no, no, no, no
Oh mama mia, mama mia, mama mia let me go
Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me

 

I paid to see that: The Forgotten

What’s that old saying? “There’s a first time for everything,” or something like that. Well, I didn’t quite believe it until today. But this morning it finally happened to me: I completely forgot I saw a movie.

ironically enough, the movie I seem to have blacked out was 2004’s, “The Forgotten.” The name didn’t ring a bell, so I had to google it, and even then my friend Ali had to convince me a bunch of us went tot he movies to see the damn thing.

If you’re like me and don’t remember “The Forgotten,” the film was directed by Joseph Ruben and starred Julianne Moore, Dominic West, Gary Sinise, Alfre Woodard, Linus Roache, and Anthony Edwards. There’s some good talent there, so I was still surprised I forgot I saw this movie. But when I read the plot, some memories started coming back.

The film’s plot finds a woman named Telly Paretta (Julianne Moore), who believes that she lost her son in a plane crash a little over a year ago. She wakes up one morning and is told that she never had a son. Yet, all of her memories of the boy are intact, but there is no physical evidence to back her up. Despite what her husband and her psychiatrist say, Telly sets out in search for solid evidence of her son’s existence.

She then runs into a man named Ash (Dominic West) whom she thinks is the father of a girl named Lauren (Kathryn Faughnan) who was her son’s friend and also died in the same plane crash. At first, Ash dismisses her claims, saying he never had a daughter, and calls the police on her.

I don’t remember too much about the movie after that, but after thinking about it, a couple of things do stand out:

• The look on Dominic West’s face when Julianne Moore peels back the wallpaper in his house
• Gary Sinise creeps me out
• Me thinking “Anthony Edwards left E.R. for this?”
• At the end of the movie I was like “That’s it?”

So while I may have forgotten “The Forgotten,” maybe it wasn’t because of old age or something like that. But maybe I forgot “The Forgotten” because it’s and awful movie that I paid to see in the theater.

I hope we at least went out to dinner before or after the movie. That at least would have been worth it.

 

 

 

Comic Review: DREAD GODS #1

DREAD GODS #1
Written by: Ron Marz
Art by: Tom Raney, Nanjan Jamberi, and Dave Lanphear
Published by: IDW Publishing/Ominous Press

Ominous Press launches with the first of three limited series set in a science-fiction/fantasy universe of epic heroes and insidious villains. In DREAD GODS, gods in a fantasy world discover they’re actually monsters in a post-apocalyptic landscape.

Acclaimed creators Ron Marz and Tom Raney join with art master Bart Sears to usher in adventure like no other! Includes a backup tale by Bart Sears, and a wealth of added content.

In early 2016, I attended SC ComiCon, and was fortunate enough to meet most of the Ominous Press crew. I’m talking of course about the three amigos: Ron Marz, Bart Sears, and Andy Smith. This year, the Ominous Press booth was my first stop at SC Comicon, and I had a chance to briefly catch up with all three creators and even got them to sign some cool stuff.

But seriously Ominous Press guys, you need to bring Tom Raney with you one year. That way I can meet the entire Ominous Press gang and get him to sign something. So please, bring Tom Raney with you to SC ComiCon in 2018,

Pretty please?

Anyways, it was while visiting their booth in March that I first learned about their upcoming books, including Dread Gods #1 written by Ron Marz and drawn by Tom Raney. Dread Gods is a series that blends science fiction, reality tv, an apocalyptic world, and Greek gods. Sounds crazy I know, but keep in mind Ron Marz is writing this book. And as any longtime comic book fan can tell ya, Ron Marz always delivers.

In Dread Gods #1, Ron Marz gives us just a glimpse into this new world. He shows what daily life is like for these people, but he doesn’t detail a whole lot. I liked this, because left me as the reader trying to figure out what I just witnessed, and by issue’s end, I was asking plenty of question and wanting more.

Meanwhile, the art by Tom Raney drew me right into this story. No surprise there really, I’ve liked Raney’s work ever since I saw it for the first time in the pages of Uncanny X-Men #292, almost 25 years ago. Damn, I am getting old!

Anywho, Tom Raney’s art keeps getting better and better, and he really makes
the backgrounds and environment of this strange new world really stand out. Man’s world has crumbled, it’s now dirty, and dark place for the survivors. But the god world is very clean, with open spaces, and inhabited by the strong and beautiful gods.

Dread Gods #1 was interesting read for sure, and one that will leave you asking questions, and coming back for more. Thanks to the talent involved, I have no doubt Dread Gods will be an entertaining series to follow.

Dread Gods #1 gets an: A

Book Challenge Review: July 1963: A Pivotal Month in the Comic Book Life of Tony Isabella (Volume One)

Synopsis:

July 1963: A Pivotal Month in the Comic Book Life of Tony Isabella (Volume One)
by Tony Isabella

Lo, There Shall Be a Beginning
For Tony Isabella, that beginning was July 1963, and a brand-new copy of Fantasic Four Annual #1. Over fifty years later, and after a decades-long career in comics during which he created such iconic characters as Black Lightning, Tony returns to where it all started.

Over 130 comic books were released in July 1963, including Marvel’s Avengers and Fantastic Four, DC’s Green Lantern and Justice League of America, and a slew of others, from those featuring well-known characters like Archie, Richie Rich, the Jetsons, and Donald Duck, to such obscure titles as Girls’ Romances, Konga, Stoney Burke, and Space War.

Tony’s reading (or in many cases, re-reading) them all. In this first volume, he’s starting with Action Comics #304 and coming up for air with Bat Man #158. In between there’s lots of Archie, Mighty Mouse, Spider-Man, Alley Oop, and even Jerry Lewis. Tony analyzes each issue in-depth: the stories, the ads, the creators, and the context, with plenty of anecdotes and production details to satisfy comics fans and historians alike.

Mark it on your calendar: July 1963! It’s coming up next.

A Brief History:

If you follow these posts, then you know I’m in in the middle of a reading challenge, and one of the items on the list is to read “A book about books or reading.” Well, I wasn’t sure what to do, but lucky for me, comics legend Tony Isabella came to the rescue!

My Thoughts:

I love learning about the history of comics, there’s just so much there to discover. And there are some good book out there about comics history in general, but when an author is able to add in how comics affected his or her life? Those are the best books to read.

July 1963: A Pivotal Month in the Comic Book Life of Tony Isabella is not only a guide to the comics of that month, but also an inside look at the life of a young Tony Isabella. Why he started buying comic books, which ones he gravitated to, and which comics he stayed away from. Some of the stories in this book had me laughing so hard, that even my wifey wants to read this book now.

Tony Isabella even gives readers some factoids for the year, like the top songs, movies, book, and other stuff from 1963. I found these sidebars a lot of fun, even if I didn’t recognize some stuff.

Like many comic fans, Tony’s life was changed when he discovered comic books. I would even go as far as saying that were it not for July 1963, Tony may not have become the prolific writer he became.

Final word and Score:

I couldn’t put this book down, it’s so damn good! Thanks to this book, I learned more about one of my favorite comic creators, and I learned a ton of stuff about comics I didn’t know before. Did you know there was an Adventures of Fly-Man comic? or that some of the ads in comics back then were crazy? I sure didn’t, but I do now thanks to Mr. Isabella.

July 1963: A Pivotal Month in the Comic Book Life of Tony Isabella gets an A+.

And just like that, another item is crossed off the 2017 reading challenge:

 

Guilty Pleasure: Failure to Launch

A few days after my birthday in 2006, my friend Ali suggested we do a double feature instead of our usual one movie on $5 Tuesday movie night with the entire gang. I’m always game to see any movie, so of course I said yes.

The first movie on our schedule would be the romantic comedy “Failure to Launch.” The film was directed by Tom Dey, and starred Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker. I don’t remember how we chose our first movie, but my guess is “Failure to Launch” was the only movie playing at the Patriot Cinema in Hanover when Ali and I got there.

In case you don’t remember, “Failure to Launch” is about a 35-year-old guy named Trip (Matthew McConaughey), who still lives at home with his parents Sue and Al (Kathy Bates and Terry Bradshaw). Trip’s parents want him out of the house, so they hire a woman named Paula (Sarah Jessica Parker), who is a specialist at getting grown men to move out of their parents’ homes.

I don’t know for sure if that’s a real career or not, but Sarah Jessica Parker made it believable enough. But that’s the basic premise of “Failure to Launch,” and I know you’re probably thinking it doesn’t sound all that great. You’re probably thinking this is one of those movies you’re supposed to hate, but guess what? I liked “Failure to Launch.”

I’ll admit that at first, I thought what Kathy Bates and Terry Bradshaw were doing to America’s favorite naked bongo player was just cruel. But as the movie went on, I began to sympathize with them, and understood where they were coming from. I even began to feel bad for Matthew McConaughey, who didn’t know what the heck was going on.

I’m not trying to say “Failure to Launch” is the greatest comedy in the world. Heaven knows this movie is not exactly Shakespeare, but at least it doesn’t try to be. This movie has plenty of the usual romantic comedy stuff you see all the time, and it also has some silly comedy bits. For instance, during the course of “Failure to Launch,” a few of the characters are bitten by chipmunks, a dolphin, a lizard, and a mockingbird. And yet, I laughed at all of it.

While the main stars are great, “Failure to Launch” also has a surprisingly strong supporting cast. I already mentioned Kathy Bates, but believe it or not,”Failure to Launch” features the talents of Zooey Deschanel, Bradley Cooper, Patton Oswalt, and Justin Bartha.

So yeah, I’m a fan of “Failure to Launch” and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Ali didn’t love the movie, but she didn’t hate it either. I’m pretty sure she laughed a few times along with me.

I guess this is just one of those movies that for one reason or another always makes me laugh, I can’t explain why. That’s why when I saw a used “Failure to Launch” dvd yesterday for $3.00, I snapped it up.

Ain’t That a Kick in the Head?

Fun fact: I have been dealing with headaches ever since I was 8 years old. They’re not fun and they’re not pretty. Rarely does a week go by where I don’t get at least one headache. And of course, like many other headache sufferers out there, I also deal with those damn pesky migraines.

My headaches are brought on in part due to my vision problems, so they’re just something I will always have to deal with I suppose. But over the years I have tried just about every medication out there. From plain old aspirin in the 80’s, to the various Excedrin products of today, I’ve given them all a shot.

About 20 years ago, my doctor prescribed me some migraine meds. I can’t recall the name of the stuff, all he told me was to take it as soon as I felt a headache coming on. I tried to explain to him than not all my headaches were migraines, most of them were your everyday type of headaches. Well, the doctor didn’t care. He just said to take the stuff as soon as I felt the pain coming on otherwise it wouldn’t work.

I took the migraine meds three times, and all three times I ended up hugging the toilet while I puked my guts out. To make matters worse, this damn mdication didn’t do anything for my migraines. So once I was back to normal after the third time, I decided that I would rather live with the headache/migraine rather than taking that stuff again.

I’m sure there’s better meds out today, and I will probably try some soon. However, I refuse to try Botox for my migraines, that’s  too much even for me.  Anyways,  yesterday I found an unexpected form of migraine relief.

Yesterday was day 3 of my latest migraine, and I since Excedrin didn’t work, I figure it just needed to run its course. Then, after going to the grocery store, I decided to stop for lunch at the Hardee’s next door. I bought two hamburgers and a small fry, and within an hour of eating them, the pounding in my head stopped.

By late afternoon, the migraine was just about gone. It felt like everything finally stopped rattling in my head, and the light show that usually comes with a migraine was also gone. So now I know: when I get another migraine, ignore the meds and drive straight to Hardee’s for a couple of burgers.

But I may also get a chilidog, those are good too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best Week Ever 1997 Edition

1997 was a huge year for our little TNU gang. That was the year we all graduated high school, and that fall some of us went straight to college. That was also the year one of us got hit by a car in downtown Boston, but that’s another story.

I spent my summer working at Blockbuster, hitting golf balls at the driving range, and hanging out with my friends. But I also spent a ton of time at the movies that summer. At that time, my go to place for the latest movies was the General Cinema in Braintree Ma. The theater was close to home, and with something like 10 screens, there were plenty of movies to choose from.

Take for instance a week like this one twenty years ago. Over the course of a few days after July 4th,  I spent my hard-earned money and saw “Men in Black,” “Contact,” “Face/Off,” “Hercules,” and “My Best Friend’s Wedding.” That was a lot of movies for one week, but I knew if I didn’t go see them, I’d have to wait until they came out on video, and back then it took around 8 months for that to happen.

Anyways, out of all those movies I saw, I think my favorite (at the time at least), was “Face/Off.” All right, so the acting is way over the top, and the action sequences go on a bit too long. But when I first saw “Face/Off,” I had a really good time, and where else can you see Margaret Cho playing an FBI agent?

“Face/Off” was pure mindless pop corn fun, and it came at a time when I could really enjoy this sort of stuff. All these years later, I can still pop in the “Face/Off” Blu-ray and enjoy the madness by John Travolta and Nic Cage.

“Contact” and “My Best Friend’s Wedding” I saw on the same day with a friend from work. We weren’t dating or anything, this was just two friends hanging out one day. Once we decided to go to the movies, she got to pick one, and I got to choose the other movie. But come to think of it, I had to buy the snacks for both.

Out of “Contact” and “My Best Friend’s Wedding,” can you guess which movie my co-worker picked?

Yup, you guessed right, she picked the rom-com. It wasn’t all bad though. I have to admit I did laugh a couple of times during “My Best Friend’s Wedding.” My choice for the day was of course, “Contact” starring Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, James Woods, Tom Skerritt, William Fichtner, John Hurt, Angela Bassett, Jake Busey, and David Morse.

If you haven’t seen “Contact,” you’re missing out. This is one of the strangest sci-fi movies out there, but it is also one of the most underrated sci-fi movies out there. With an excellent cast, and a cool premise, this is still one of my favorite movies of the 1990’s, and it still holds up today.

Out of all the movies I saw that weekend, my least favorites were “Men in Black,” and “Hercules.” I’m not entirely sure why I didn’t enjoy “Men in Black” in 1997. Maybe I was expecting something else, and not so much humor. Whatever the reason was, it took me another 5-6 years before I came around and realized that yeah, MIB is a good movie.

As for Disney’s “Hercules,” that was just a bad movie. I did however like the animation style, but as I sat in the theater watching the movie, it was clear that Disney’s hand drawn animated films were starting to lose steam already. Then again, after the likes of “Beauty and the Beast,” and “The Lion King,” something like “Hercules” can’t live up to the expectations.

As you can see a good chunk of my summer of ’97 revolved around movies days and night. I saw plenty of movies that summer, but this week stood out for me. Yet, it doesn’t seem like it’s been twenty years already. I guess this means we are getting old.