5/BLADE

I don’t think I’d ever heard of this character before I saw this movie. But when I saw it, I was blown away, and I went to look up all the comics I could find about him (which are, sadly, not enough IMO). Wesley Snipes, who also produced the film, clearly had a love for the character which really shines through the whole film. While it’s true that Blade is pretty one-dimensional, I thought Kris Kristopherson brought some needed heart to the film in his role as Blade’s mentor, Whistler, and Stephen Dorff was delightfully evil as the Vampire villan, Deacon Frost. It almost seems all but forgotten now, but it could convincingly argued that this is the film that really kicked-started the beginning of this wave of superhero movies that we’ve been seeing in that past decade+, as it was soon followed by the X-Men and Spider-Man films. Speaking of which…

4/X2: X-MEN UNITED

Actually, I should call this one a tie between X-Men and X2, since I do think that X2 is the superior film but it really only works if you’ve seen X-Men first so, in a sense, X2 doesn’t stand on it’s own. But, anyway, I loved this one. The stakes were higher, we got to see more characters, and it really explored the complex relationship between Prof. X and Magneto, which is the true heart of the X-Men’s story. That’s what the concept of the X-Men is really all about, defining the difference between the philosophical approach between these two men and how each believes they are doing the best thing for their community. In many ways it has been compared to the conflict between Dr. Martin Luther King Jr (Prof. X) and Malcolm X (Magneto), which I think is a great way to look @ it. Although the underlying theme of mutants as a group fighting for their rights can be compared not only to the civil rights struggles of Blacks, but also other ethnic groups, religious groups, and well as the GLBT community, not to mention anyone who ever felt like they’ve been picked on and made to feel like they didn’t belong in society, which is why I think the X-Men have been such a popular comic-book creation for over 30 years now. Most readers can identify with them.

Plus this movie had lots of bad-ass action scenes with Wolverine.

3/SPIDER-MAN

I always loved Spider-Man, and Toby Maguire did an excellent job in his role as Peter Parker. I thought the effects in this film, they had him jumping around, walking on walls, and swinging on his webs, were excellent. The man things I have to deduct points for in this film is that I didn’t like Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane, and the Green Goblin’s mask looked stupid (but, otherwise, Willem Dafoe was perfect).

2/BATMAN BEGINS

I seem to be the only comic-book fan who was not that thrilled with The Dark Knight. It was good, and Heath Ledger was great as The Joker, but overall I enjoyed Batman Begins much more. Christian Bale is absolutely perfect as Bruce Wayne/Batman, as are pretty much all of the rest of the cast (except for Katie Holmes, who was the only weak link in the film). What I like most about it was that in showing Bruce’s training, and what he went through to become Batman, it showed that HE is a badass. The problem with previous slate of Batman films was that it almost made it seem like he was more like Iron Man, as if Bruce Wayne is just some regular guy until he puts on the Batman suit and then he can do all this cool stuff. But, no, Bruce Wayne only wears the costume so that no one knows who he is, and so that it will scare criminals, but even without the body armor and fancy gadgets he’s still The Greatest Fighter In The World. So I liked that aspect, and the fact that they even made it all seem sort of realistic. It almost didn’t feel like a “superhero” movie, in the strictest sense, it just seemed like a good action movie where the lead character just happened to put on a costume. So it really worked for me.

1/IRON MAN

This movie remains the best, so far. I honestly can’t think of one single thing I’d change about this film. I liked the story, and the entire cast was perfect. And that goes double for Robert Downey Jr. When I saw him on screen, it was if I was literally seeing the character step out of a comic-book and come to life. The Tony Stark that I’d been reading in comics for years was real! That’s how I felt when watching this. Unfortunately, the sequel suffered from the typical superhero sequel problem: adding too many villains and extra characters, plus I think that while Iron Man was clearly just made with the intention of trying to make a good movie, Iron Man 2 was made with the intention of trying to build a “Marvel Universe” in the movies to lead up to an eventual Avengers movie. Black Widow, for example, had no real need to be in that film. Hopefully now that that’s out of the way, they’ll be able to just make Iron Man 3 another good film on it’s own. But, for now, I’m leaving the first film in my #1 spot.

Of course, that very well could change when the Avengers movie is released next month. It is looking REALLY good.

I know, I probably should change this blog name from iBLOGalot.com to ihardlyeverBLOGanymore.com, but I have just been so busy with work that it’s like the creative side of my brain has shut down completely. I should explain, I work for an orthopedic supplies (wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, canes, etc.) distributor. I’m a shipper in the warehouse of our main branch (we also have a branch on the East Coast), I ship packages out via Fed Ex & UPS, and, since February, our business has been increasing steadily, with what feels like double the amount of regular orders. Of course, I know that’s good. It’s great, in fact, for the company and for me. I’ve had people say things like “Hey, that’s job security!” And, they’re right. One thing I definitely don’t have to worry about right now is getting laid off. I can still get fired, but I am in no immediate danger @ all of being laid off. Although, with my particular position, that was never a big concern. As the shipper, even if business started dropping off steeply, I’d be one of the last people laid off. They’d first get rid of some salespeople and customer service people in the front office, and some of the other other warehouse workers, like the guys who unload the containers and pulls the orders, to cut back on expenses, and just make the remaining workers cover for them. By the time they get to me, they’d just be shutting down the whole company. So I’m good.

But I have got to say, this is not easy. This isn’t a sit down job, I’m standing all day long, except for when I can sit down during my two 15-minute breaks, and my half-hour lunch. And, frankly, some days I’m so busy I just keep working during one or both of my breaks. Occasionally, I even just keep working during lunch, eating while I work. And I sometimes I go in early, to try to get caught up. We got pretty backed up Friday, so I think I’m going to go in an hour early tomorrow morning (no, I don’t get paid extra when I do that, I just do it anyway because that’s how I am, for some reason). So the other consequence of this is that my feet always hurt. I’m talking constant pain. Not excruciating pain, and sometimes it’s not as bad as other times, but it’s always there. It’s like my tinnitus, most of the time I don’t notice it because I’m busy, but it’s always there. It gets worse as the days progress, and throughout the week. No matter how much I stay off my feet @ home, it’s never long enough for the pain to go away completely. I’m sure this also due to age. Before I worked @ my current job, I was doing the same thing @ my previous job, so I’ve got over 15 years of working on feet all day. It’s just not as easy to do in my 30′s as it used to be in my 20′s. I’ve even started wearing bigger shoes (with the special insoles inside). I’ve already got big feet, in terms of length (SIZE 15), but now I also wear them extra-wide, just to keep as much pressure off my feet during the day as possible.

So the thing is, when work is over I’m tired. I just want to go home, get off of my feet, and veg-out until bedtime. My weeks are just one big blur of wake up/go to work/go home/got to sleep/repeat. And then I keep planning to catch up on stuff (like this blog) on weekends, but then I end up just laying around the house, watching TV, reading, and browsing the internet. I can’t seem to get my mind in the state of wanting to sit in front of my computer and think of something to write. I swear, it’s like my weekend is over in a flash, and then it’s back to work. Blah.

Now, I know I shouldn’t complain, there are lots of people out there who don’t have a job, and are struggling to find one, especially right now in this economy. And here I am with a steady job and a roof over my head, so I just need to figure out a way to get my head back in the game, so to speak. I need motivation.

On a lighter note, a couple of weekends ago, Sofia Vergara (aka My Ideal Woman) was the host on Saturday Night Live, so I stayed up to watch it. I haven’t stayed up for a whole episode of that show since Sara Palin was on it 4 years ago, but I couldn’t miss this. She was very good with what she was given, but I have to say that overall I don’t think that show is as funny as it used to be. I thought the funniest skits were the various fake TV commercials that they did. But the biggest surprise of the night for me was how much I enjoyed the musical guests. A British “Boy Band” called One Direction. I’d never heard of them before, until that night, but I absolutely loved both of the songs that they performed on the show. I know I’m definitely not in their Target Demographic, since I’m not a teenage White girl, but consider me a fan now. These lads rock!

And my first thought was: that’s funny.

And my 2nd thought was: I wonder if they locked down all those fake domains?

So I checked and, well, guess who owns FACEPARCHMENT.COM now, baby!!! Bwahaha!

I bought it, and I’m just redirecting it to my blog here.

It only cost me $8.99 to register it for one year through 1and1.com. If it gets me a few extra hits here and there, that’s worth it, right?

Of course, I guess I should update this blog more often, in order so that there’s something new for folks to read if they do come across it. I’ll get to work on that. I’ve just really busy and tired. Work has suddenly doubled, it seems. Which is good, it’s job security, but it’s also physically demanding. It seems like all I do is wake up in the morning, go to work, work nonstop all day (sometimes even coming in early and working through breaks, off the clock, just to try to get everything done), then come home and go to sleep. That’s it. Monday through Friday. I just don’t have the energy to be “creative.” I have gotten a couple of DVD’s and books, so I’ll try to post some reviews and stuff over the weekend.

Reblogged from click, view, learn - adam maikkula:

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I’ve written before on Jay-Z’s partnership with Water For Life and the UN to raise awareness of the world’s water crisis, but after seeing a video from the World Food Programme about rapper 50 Cent visiting Somalia to see how his donations have helped during the famine, I started to think further on what we are witnessing…

Even 50 will tell you…

Read more… 1,056 more words

Sitting here alone on a Sunday afternoon, I’m feeling a tad contemplative.
Looking inward, I ponder the uniqueness that is ME. What do I think is something about me that is GOOD, and something that is BAD?

MY BEST QUALITY
My open-mindedness

I consider myself to be an extremely open-minded person. I hold no malice in my heart for anyone based on their race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, nationality, social-standing, or any other superficial characteristic. I hate bigotry in all it’s forms, no matter who it’s directed at. I could have a million bad experiences with folks who all happen to be “____” but that would never lead me to believe that ALL “_____” people are bad. I give everyone a fair shake until they do something that proves they don’t deserve it.

Whatever color your skin is is irrelevant to me. Have sex with whomever you want, as long as you’re all consenting adults. Pray to God, Allah, Jesus, Jehova, Buddha, or Oprah, I don’t care, as long as you’re not blowing up buildings or sacrificing small animals. I’ve very self-centered when it comes to my approach to the rest of humanity. My only concern is are YOU cool with ME? If the answer is YES, then I’m cool with you.

MY WORST QUALITY
My inability to forgive

I can hold a grudge forever. I definitely have “one-strike & you’re out” policy. If someone does me wrong I will not forget about it. Ever. I can keep the flames of hatred burning in my heart for a lifetime. It may not always be @ the forefront of my thoughts, but it’s back there.

Heck, just out of the blue some memory of an incident that happened to me in 9th grade will pop into my head, & I’ll want to kick that person’s @$$ today.

I know this sort of attitude is unhealthy, & I need to learn to just let things go, but it’s hard. I’m working on it, though. Really. I swear.

5/HERO AT LARGE

I saw this film as a wee lad, and always loved it. A struggling actor named Steve is hired to dress up as superhero called Captain Avenger and stand outside movie theaters to help promote a movie about that character. One night, after work, he’s @ a local store when some guys attempt to rob it. Still wearing his costume, Steve stops the robbers, and the grateful owners tell the police that “Captain Avenger” saved them. The press picks up the story, and it makes the local news. Steve likes the feeling of being a hero, so he starts intentionally going out in his costume, looking for crimes to stop. This doesn’t always go well for him, as he gets shot in the arm, but the press continues to cover the story, and then the mayor of the city, who is facing a tough re-election campaign, decides to track down this hero, find out who he is, and force him to work for him, in order to cash in on his popularity. John Ritter starred as Steve, and did a fantastic job with the character. This movie explores the theme of what would happen if a regular person decided to become a costumed vigilante in the “real world”, decades before and much better than later films like Mark Millar’s Kick Ass ever did.

4/BLACK SCORPION

The thing about this film is that it is not meant to be taken completely seriously. It’s definitely a bit campy, although not over the top. Joan Severance plays The Black Scorpion, whose secret identity is police detective Darcy Walker. It’s a classic Clark Kent/Superman (or Diana Prince/Wonder Woman) set-up, where Darcy is the straight-laced shy lady who is able to to act more forcefully, and embrace her sex appeal, when she puts on her disguise. With the help of a streetwise mechanic/inventor named Argyle (played by Garrett Morris), Black Scorpion uses an array of high-tech gadgets, including a souped-up “Scorpion-Mobile” to fight the crimes that she can’t handle as a Detective, including a mysterious villain called The Breathtaker, who plans to poison the air of the city. This is not for kids, as it is rated R, due to a scene where The Black Scorpion seduces (or practically rapes) her male police detective partner (who is, naturally, fascinated by The Black Scorpion while completely ignoring Darcy), and gets fully nude. I won’t deny that Severance’s sexy appeal is part of my enjoyment of this film but, overall, it’s just a fun little movie. This film spawned a squeal, also starring Joan Severance, which I also enjoyed, although it ups the camp level considerably, and then a short-lived TV series starring a new actress, which I have not seen yet.

3/DARKMAN

Now, this is the film that really blew me away when I first saw it. A decade before he could get his hands on Spider-Man (supposedly, he was initially trying to get the rights to film Batman, but couldn’t, so he created his own new superhero), Sam Raimi directed this original superhero movie. Liam Neesom is a doctor who is trying to create a new synthetic skin, which could be used to help sever burn-victims. When he is murdered and left for dead by some mobsters, he uses his formula to create several disguises for himself. Not only can he recreate his old face, which was burned off in the explosion that was supposed to kill him, he can also create skin-masks that can make him look like other people. The big flaw is that the synthetic skin only last 100 minutes in direct sunlight, after which it dissolves, which is why he must stay in the dark as much as possible. Another result of his accident is that he can no longer feel pain, and has increased strength. Now as “The Darkman” he tries to get to the bottom of the mob conspiracy that did this to him, and now threatens the entire city, while also trying to see if he can perfect his skin formula, and live a normal life again. This movie is full of drama and action. Neesom does a great job as the lead, and so does Larry Drake, who plays the mob boss. I’m surprised this film is remembered more. You could almost say it was ahead of it’s time. Heck, with all the other successful superhero movies these days, I’m surprised they haven’t tried to remake this by now, with a bigger budget. Neesom could play the bad guy this time, with a new younger actor as the hero. Anyway, there were 2 straight-to-video sequels (both without Neesom, but Drake returned for one), and a few comics produced, but none of them match the original film.

In fact, it was a tough decision on which films I’d list as #2 and #3. The 2 on the list could be interchangeable, because I loved them both, although they are vastly different. So how I judge them is also vastly different. In the end, for #2 I had to go with…

2/THE METEOR MAN

This film is criminally underrated, especially among comic-book fans. I had been considering doing a full-length review for this film in my Best Movies You’ve Never Seen category. The problem is, too many people who have seen it, or just heard about it, compare it to other mainstream superhero movies, which is unfair. This film is not trying to be a serious film like Iron Man, Spider-Man, Batman Begins, etc. It’s a comedy. Specifically, it’s a comedy for All Ages, something that a whole family could enjoy. Robert Townsend (who wrote, directed, and starred in this film) has made a film with a positive message, about a superhero who just so happens to be Black. Townsend plays a mild-mannered Elementary School teacher named Jefferson Reed, who lives in a neighborhood that is seeing a rising crime rate, due to the actions of a street gang called The Golden Lords (due to their all dying their hair the color of gold). The gang recruits young children to help carry out their crimes, including drug dealing, car-jacking, vandalize and robbery. Everyone in the neighborhood is too afraid to stand up to the gang, and so is Jefferson.

One night Jefferson is struck by a meteor from space, parts of which are embedded in his body. He soon finds out that he now has amazing super powers. He’s super strong, invulnerable, can fly, has x-ray vision, and many other abilities. When the neighborhood finds out, they enlist him to help solve problems. His mother (played by Martha Gibbs) makes a costume for him, and he becomes Meteor Man. This eventually draws him into conflict with The Golden Lords, and other criminal enterprises. Things get serious when Jefferson starts to lose his powers, and he has to try to convince everyone to stand up for themselves. I won’t spoil any more of this film but, like I said, it’s a positive film with a great message, namely, that just like in real life, we can’t wait for some “superhero” to solve all of our problems. Ultimately, it’s up the community to do it for themselves. And it’s got a cast that’s a who’s who of Black Hollywood, with major and minor roles from people like Bill Cosby to Luthor Vandross, and young Don Cheedle in what I think is one of his very first acting roles. It’s a shame that a film like this is all but forgotten, while HANCOCK, about a Black superhero who is a self-centered alcoholic, made over $200 million.

Marvel Comics produced a comic-book adaptation, and a follow-up miniseries with all new adventures. I own them all, as well as a little Meteor Man action figure, which is on a shelf in my bedroom and, of course, I own the movie on DVD. I highly recommend it.

1/UNBREAKABLE

The best non-comic-book superhero movie, ever. Back when M Night Shyamalan was still considered a borderline-genius. Bruce Willis is the rock-hard “Security Man” and Samuel L Jackson is the evil “Mr. Glass”. As a comic-book reader, I can totally see how these characters would fit into a traditional comic-book story, yet by placing them in the “real world”, Shyamalan was able to deconstruct the whole concept of superheroes, and supervillains, in a way that I don’t think had been done before (@ least not so well). An average man is the sole survivor of a plane crash, and then is approached by a mysterious stranger who suggests that it was more than sheer luck that saved him. I love everything about this film, from the slow build-up of Willis’ character discovering his various powers and accepting what that means, to the increasing madness of Jackson’s character, and the desperation he feels about wanting to prove his theory about the existence of superheroes in real life correct. And then the reveal @ the end. Loved it. I know some fans have wished for a sequel, but I don’t see any need. All that would do is turn it into a traditional superhero story, but I prefer to leave this as it is. Let our imaginations wonder what happened next.

Just my opinion.

Years ago, on Myspace, I wrote a blog listing 99 random facts about me. I don’t remember all that I wrote, but I’d been considering writing a new version for this blog. Inspired by this post, I’d decided to try again, but only with 25 facts, since that will be easier.

1/MY FULL NAME IS JOHN RICHARD LEMAR

2/MY NICKNAME, “J.R.”, IS BASED UPON THE TV CHARACTER J.R. EWING, PLAYED BY LARRY HAGMAN
My brother was always a big Soap Opera fan and, as a wee lad, he got my interested in the TV series Dallas, and I quickly become hooked on the show and fascinated with the character of J.R., in particular. @ the time, I was still primarily known as “John”, but I eventually managed to get everyone to every to call me “J.R.”

3/I AM LEFT-HANDED
Specifically, I write and eat with my left-hand. I do everything else with my right hand. My older brother is the same way. And we’re the only ones in our family, that we know of, who is not completely right-handed.

4/I AM NOT A RELIGIOUS MAN, AND DO NOT BELIEVE IN ANYTHING CONSIDERED “SUPERNATURAL”

5/I AM SLIGHTLY CLAUSTROPHOBIC
I get uncomfortable in elevators, and will therefor avoid getting in them whenever there’s a better alternative.

6/I AM AFRAID OF HEIGHTS
Technically, I’m afraid of falling from heights. But I’ve never had a problem riding airplanes. In fact, I usually request the window seat. I think it’s because I’m able to understand that, statistically, it’s very unlikely that a plane will crash.

7/THE WORST PAIN I HAVE EVER FELT IN MY LIFE, SO FAR, WAS WHEN I HAD MY WISDOM TEETH PULLED OUT @ AGE 19

8/I HAVE ONE FULL-SIBLING (AN OLDER BROTHER) & ONE HALF-SIBLING (A YOUNGER SISTER).
I also have a cousin, one year older than I, whom I grew up with and she feels like a sister to me. So do 4 of my Godsiblings. Through my father, I have a younger stepsister and stepbrother, and through my mother I have 9 stepsiblings, but I’ve only met one of them.

9/I LOVE TO READ
I always have. Science fiction, fantasy, comic-books, biographies, I’ve read books on everyone from Malcolm X to Malcolm Forbes.

10/I AM A BIT OF A GERM-PHOBE
I’ve always have some antibacterial lotion or wipes in my car, and @ my desk @ work. And I avoid touching food with my bare hands. Some people mock me for being overly cautious, like when they see me using paper towels to eat potato chips, but I rarely get sick. So it’s working.

11/I DO NOT KNOW HOW TO SWIM

That ties in with the whole germ thing. The idea of getting into a large body of water with other people, and their various bodily fluids is unappealing to me.

12/I HAVE NEVER ONE ANY ILLEGAL DRUGS

I just say no. I’ve have several opportunities in life to try marijuana, but I don’t want to take the risk. I don’t want to mess with my brain (any more than it’s already messed up). I didn’t even have my first drink of alcohol until I was 30.

13/MY FAVORITE ACTOR IS NEIL PATRICK HARRIS

14/MY FAVORITE ACTRESS IS ASHLEY JUDD

15/I HAVE NEVER SMOKED CIGARETTES, BUT HAVE SMOKED CIGARS A FEW TIMES

But I didn’t inhale.

16/I HAVE NEVER TRAVELED TO A FOREIGN COUNTRY

I kind of would like to visit Israel or South Africa, someday.

17/I LOVE OLD WOODY ALLEN MOVIES, ESPECIALLY “Annie Hall,” “Sleeper,” “Manhattan, AND “Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex But Were Afraid To Ask”

I like some of his more recent films, as well. But his classics movies are my favorites.

18/I ONCE $114 FOR A SINGLE COMIC-BOOK.

MIRACLEMAN #15 This was pre-internet for me, and I spend a lot of time going to different comic-book stories, trying to track down every single issue of that series, and #15 was the holy grail. I couldn’t believe it when I finally found a shop that had a copy. It wasn’t even a “mint” version or anything, but I just had to have it.

19/I TOOK 3 MONTHS OF KARATE CLASSES WHEN I WAS 12

My mother made me, because she was dating the instructor, even though I didn’t want to do it @ the time, which is why I eventually dropped out. Looking back, I wish I’d stuck with it. I’d be a walking lethal weapon by now.

20/I DON’T PARTICULARLY LIKE ANIMALS

I have no pets. I don’t want anything that walks and/or has fur or feathers in my house. I would like to get some fish, one day.

21/I HAVE LIGHT-SENSITIVE EYES

I frequently have to wear sunglasses when I’m outdoors in the sun.

22/MY FAVORITE FOOD IS PIZZA

Especially 4-cheese pizza with rising crust. I could eat it every single day.

23/I DIDN’T GET MY FIRST DRIVER’S LICENSE UNTIL I WAS 22

Since I couldn’t afford a car, it wasn’t a big priority before that. I failed my first driving test, but passed the 2nd one a week later.

24/MY TEENAGE AMBITION WAS TO BE A RAPPER.

From about 13 to 19, I was “The Captain J”. My style was sort of a cross between the braggadocios raps of young LL Cool J, and the story-telling raps of The Fresh Prince. I got as far a meeting with an executive with Geffen Records but, needless to say, I never got signed.

25/I THINK I HAVE SLIGHT SOCIAL ANXIETY DISORDER

I get uncomfortable in large crowds. Even if I know everyone.

I know I’m late on this, but I still felt it was worth writing about.

Newt Gingrich promises to build a moon colony by 2020; make it a U.S. state
By Tecca | Today in Tech – Thu, Jan 26, 2012

The race for the Republican presidential nomination is about to blast off into outer space: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich announced that, if elected, he’d establish a colony on the moon by 2020. READ MORE

Okay, first of all, Gingrich is still a hate-filled ego-maniacal nutcase, however, that being said, I actually think this is a pretty awesome idea (& no, Fidlerten, that doesn’t mean I’d ever vote for him). Seriously, our space program is weak. It’s been almost 43 years since we first landed on the moon, and what have we done since?!? We should not only have colonized the whole darn place, we should be living on Mars by now, and heading towards Jupiter! There should be permanent space stations floating around. I know a lot of folks dismissed Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative, but that’s another good idea, in my opinion. Space-based protection from enemy missiles!

I know, you may think that this all sounds very “science fiction-y” (& I will admit to being a huge fan of sci-fi), but space-protection is a serious issue. We don’t want to end up like the dinosaurs, do we? Speaking of which, did you know there’s a big asteroid heading in our right direction, right now, which might hit us in 2036? And if it hits us, it could have the impact of over 500 megatons of dynamite? I’m not kidding, it’s called 99942 Apophis, read it about HERE.

But don’t worry, scientist are pretty sure it won’t hit Earth.

Anyway, I know some people say we shouldn’t waste time exploring space when there’s still so many problems on Earth, but that’s short-sighted thinking. The space program has already given us many inventions that make our lives better. Who knows what other further advances we could discover, with a more advanced space program? So, beam me up, Scotty!

I skipped this movie in the theater, and only just recently saw it on DVD. Verdict?

Two Thumbs Down.

The special effects were nice, when it came to the sequences in outer space. It was cool to see the various aliens that I’m familiar with in the comics, Tomar Re, Kilowog, Sinestro, and Abin Sur, were all voice-acted just the way I imagined they’d sound (although in the comics Abin Sur is red, not purple, but I assume they didn’t want the movie audience to think there was a connection between him and Sinestro, who is also red). I was surprised they didn’t add in Ch’p, who is basically a little talking squirrel. The planet OA looked fantastic. The training sequences with Kilowog and Sinestro were cool. But it was the scenes on Earth that fell flat.

I’m not that familiar with the villain Hector Hammond, so I can’t say whether or not they got that character right, but Hal Jordan was all wrong. Just as I suspected from the commercials I’d seen when it came out, it appeared that they were trying to somewhat copy the formula of Iron Man. But Hal Jordan is not an irresponsible playboy. As I think I may have said to y’all back when it first came out, the character of Hal Jordan is straight-laced and in control. He has to be, as a test pilot. His job is to get into brand new experimental planes and push them to their limits to see if anything will go wrong. You have to be “fearless” to do that, and be able to think clearly under extreme pressure and make split-second decisions that could save your life. In the late 70’s, he was teamed up in a comic-book with Green Arrow, as a sort of “odd couple” duo, with Green Arrow as the liberal crusader, while Green Lantern was the stereotypical conservative. So, as a comic-book reader, that was hard for me to get past what I considered to be a huge mis-characterization of Hal Jordan, although I guess that wouldn’t bother the general audience that would be unaware of that.

A big problem was also the main villain, Parallax, some kind of “fear monster”, I just couldn’t quite follow what the heck that was all about. So, overall, I couldn’t recommend it. Like I said, the effects were good, it’s impressive that they now have the technology to make the Green Lantern ring look real on screen, so I still think there’s potential. But I wouldn’t try a straight sequel with Ryan Reynolds again. If I were in charge of WB studios, I’d try to do what was done with the Hulk sequel, basically reboot it and treat it like its own movie. Get Cuba Gooding Jr. and make a movie about the John Stewart version of Green Lantern.

Reblogged from The Eburne Chronicles:

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A neighbor on my block has a Confederate flag hanging from his porch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I find it deeply offensive, but there seems to be a “don’t fuck with me, I won’t fuck with you” understanding between us that keeps the peace.

 

As a person from a big city, I’ve seen my fair share of racism and to be sure the North isn’t immune to it. 

Read more… 550 more words

The 7th, and final, issue of Mark Millar’s most recent creator-owned comic-book was released last week. You can read my reviews of the previous issues here:

#1, #2, #3, #4, #5 & 6

So, this issue picks up where the last one left off. Ormon, the little monkey who is actually an agent of Satan, has transformed the school bully, Sharpie, into Superior’s arch-nemesis Abraxas, a big man in some high-tech armor. And Abraxas is smashing up buildings, demanding that Superior shows up to fight him. Tad Hamilton, the actor who played Superior shows up and tries to bluff that he’s really Superior, and scare Abraxas away, but it doesn’t work. Luckily Simon decides it’s worth giving up his soul, in order to save everyone, so he become Superior again, and saves Hamilton from getting killed, and then starts to fight Abraxas. Then Ormon turns into a villain called The Annihilator, a giant skeleton monster, and joins the fight. Superior battles both for several pages, managing to knock out Abraxas, and then he blasts The Annihilator, who turns back into Ormon. But Ormon is still happy about how he finally managed to get a soul for Satan, something he hasn’t been able to do for 500 years, and that it was just in time because if he hadn’t bought a soul by midnight, he’d be dragged to the deepest pit of Hell.

Then Maddie Knox shows up and point out to Ormon that if Simon is now permanently Superior, and Superior the character is immortal, then Ormon will never have a chance to get Simon’s soul. So then Ormon is dragged back to Hell, and Superior turns back into Simon, and goes back to his parent and to his old school, where he is a lot happier now. Superior is then mourned across the world, as everyone thinks he died. And Tad Hamilton is now, once again, a huge movie star, signed to make 5 new Superior movies. The book ends with Maddie taking Simon and his friends to see the newest Superior movie, and we get a shot of the screen, with “Superior” re-enacting the final scene from some of the Superman movies, where he flies above the Earth and winks @ the audience. The similarity is driven home, by a dedication to Christopher Reeve and Richard Donner.

So, what’s the final verdict? Much like Millar’s recent high-profile creator-owned series, Kick Ass and Nemesis, I feel that there was a great concept here, that didn’t live up to its promise. Millar’s execution of this idea is lacking in several areas. In this particular issue, my Suspension of Disbelief was tested several times. In the beginning, Simon’s parents seem to take the news that he is Superior with surprising ease. We don’t even see any reaction from them. The fight between Superior, Abraxas, and Annihilator takes up multiple pages, we see building getting smashed, huge explosions, and buses and planes getting tossed around, yet the actual violence seems toned down. We see people running, but there’s no sense of urgency. A few times we see people watching the fight and cheering Superior. @ the end, we see the funeral for Superior, but no mention of the what must have been thousands of people who were killed during the fight, not to mention the billions in property damage. Somehow, Simon’s school remained unscathed, as did all his friends, so he could have his happy ending.

And I wondered how did Tad Hamilton happen to get to Abraxas so quickly? He just happened to be in the area? And then how did Maddie Knox make it right into the center of the big fight, among all that destruction, she somehow managed to safely get through all that, and get right up to Superior and Ormon?
It makes no logical sense, other than, that’s where Millar needed the character to be, so he put them there. That’s very weak writing. And even the ending, just seemed too convenient. In a way, I suppose that it’s better than what I would have expected, with Simon’s heroic sacrifice, being willing to sell his soul in order to save all those innocent people, redeeming him in God’s eyes, allowing him to keep his soul. But it’s still pretty weak, and something Ormon should have known. But, then again, Ormon seems extremely ineffective anyway, he’s the power to give this incredible power to Simon, and to to Sharpie, yet he was somehow unable to convince anyone else to sell their soul for the past 500 years. I’d bet that a whole lot of people, even those who were not handicapped, would sell their soul for in exchange for becoming an extremely powerful superhero. So that doesn’t add up either.

And the redemption of Maddie Knox still doesn’t ring true for me, after the way she was originally introduced and written in this series, as a fame-hungry reporter, willing to even use sex to get a story. Now she’s suddenly had a epiphany and is a good person. I don’t buy it. And, as expected, the issue continues with the unnecessary foul language. Near the end, @ the movie premier, Simon’s friends are checking out Maddie’s ass, and wondering if he’s banging her. Despite Millar’s repeated claims that this series would have a different vibe than his other work, it read like the same stuff he’s been doing since Wanted, with violence and cursing included, just because he could include it.

And the issue contains a 6-page preview of Millar’s next series, Supercrooks, which also features the cliched violence and bad language that Millar’s fans seem to love, but I am totally bored with, so I’ll be passing on that. In my opinon, Millar does his best work on corporate-owned characters, where he’s reigned in by editors. When left to his own devices, he just goes overboard too much.

So, in the end, I must give this series Two Thumbs Down.

Showing off a new original sci-fi character that I came up with last year, like Tiberius Chang, and Starship Captain Stormalong. I didn’t have a clear image in my head, so I contacted a couple of artists and asked them to draw “an Asian woman in a futuristic space suit, with a name-tag that said CHEN on it”, and then let them go with it. I think I may have also asked for them to draw her with a ray gun, too, but I don’t recall. The first image I got back is the above one, from Joshua Covey. That man knows how to draw sexy women, and this is no exception. The only slight problem with it was those HUGE BOOBS. I mean, just being practical, I don’t know many Chinese women who are naturally built like that. But I guess I should have been a bit more specific in regards to body type. So I just asked him to remove the name-tag, and darken her skin a little. So I can still say she’s Asian, just maybe she’s Filipino, or Cambodian, or East Indian, instead of Chinese. I also asked him to change the suit colors, based on another image I saw on his Deviant Art profile. And he did another awesome job:

I still haven’t figured whom this character will be, or what her story is. But I’ll get to it.

The other artist I commissioned was Keith Howell, who came through with this image:

I really liked that. So then I sent it to another artist, Mauricio Vargas, and asked him to draw the same character.

And then I got a bust-shot, from Daggerpoint, whom I told to draw without the space helmet on, and showing her long hair.

I eventually decided to go in a different direction, with the look of the character, so I won’t be using these. But I still consider it money well-spent.
Check the links for each artist, if you’re interested in your own commission. You won’t regret it.

Dang, for a bloke who calls his site “iBLOGalot” (& I still can’t believe that domain wasn’t already taken when I tried to register it), I sure don’t seem to be blogging a lot, lately. Here it is, Jan. 22, and my last post was Jan. 11. That’s no good. Don’t you hate it when Real Life Stuff gets in the way of precious blogging time? Well, I’ve got a bunch of reviews that I need to post, but first let me just sort of look back @ some recent stories that have been in the news.

So, Beyonce gave birth to a girl, and Jay Z may or may not have vowed to never use the word “bitch” in any of his songs again. When I first saw this reported through Facebook, my initial thought was, I hope he and Beyonce have boy next time, then maybe he’ll stop using the word “nigga” in his songs, too. I was (mostly) joking, but I do think that the reactions I was seeing were interesting. Many people seems to still want to criticize Jay Z, pointing out that he already had a mother, and then a wife,, both of whom are just as female as his new daughter, so why didn’t he have this revelation before? I suppose that’s a valid point but, on the other hand, if it were true, that would still be a good thing, wouldn’t it? So, some folks may not reach enlightenment until a certain event happens to them, in this case it’s the birth of his daughter, that’s better than nothing. Richard Pryor didn’t come to the personal conclusion that it was wrong to use the aforementioned word “nigga” until he famously visited Africa, later in his career. I could argue with that and say why’d he have to go across the world and see Black people in another country before he made this decision? But, really, that shouldn’t matter. But, back to Jay Z, if he were to make that vow, I’d want to know if it would just be a personal choice, or would he try to convince other rappers to join him? Would he forbid the artists he’s signed to his own label from using it on their records? Would he not records songs with other artists, like Kanye West, who use that word? If he really took a stand, I’d be more impressed. But, either way, I still like Jay Z (as I’ve said before).

Everyone online was talking about the Stop Online Piracy Act last week, with several websites shutting down for a day in protest. I’m a bit torn on the issue, as I due firmly believe in free speech, and I like the freedom of information that the internet brings, but the characterization that I see of this as “the big greedy corporations trying to silence the little guy” seem simplistic to me. Maybe this particular bill was a bit of an over-reach, but I don’t think many of the crusaders want to admit that online piracy is a problem. I mean, personally, I someday hope to make a living as an author, but I’ll never be able to do that if everyone just reads my books for free. And I’ve seen this happen far too many times, as I’ve participated on multiple message boards and blogs over the past 10 years or so, whenever the issue of piracy comes up, people will go out of their way to justify stealing content. Full disclosure: I will confess that I have illegally downloaded music and movies before. But I know it’s wrong. I admit that. What I hate are the people who refuse to admit it, and don’t think they’re doing anything wrong. There are far too many people who seem to think they have a right to get stuff for free. Or they’ll say something like, “I never would have paid for it (whatever it is they’ve illegally pirated) anyway, so they’re not losing money from me.” Which is just a ridiculous argument. But I don’t have the energy trying to argue with people like that anymore. It’s too depressing to see that sense of entitlement in action.

Everyone’s also been talking George Lucas’s movie RED TAILS, which premiered this weekend, and seems to be doing well. I’m glad, but I can’t help but feel a little guilty that I really don’t have any interest in going to see it @ the theater. See, I happen to have a lot of online friends on Facebook and Google+ who happen to be Black folks that are either professional or amateur (or aspiring) actors, actresses, writers, artists, producers, models, or just some way involved in the entertainment industry. And they’re all very excited about this. And it’s become like a racial cause, that all Black people must support this movie, to show Hollywood that quality Black films can be successful. But…I’m just that interested. As I said on person’s profile, in my defense, this isn’t the type of movie I’d go see even with an all-White cast. I’m not a big WWII buff. I didn’t go see Saving Private Ryan or Pearl Harbor, either. I mean, I am interested in the topic, I watched an old cable movie called The Tuskegee Airmen years ago and enjoyed it, but just not enough to pay to go sit in a theater and watch it. Frankly, few things get me to the theater lately. I just no longer enjoy the experience. I’d rather just wait until a movie comes on cable, or sometimes I even buy the DVD, and then watch it @ my leisure in my home. So that’s why I plan to do with Red Tails. But, again, I do hope it does well, @ least makes back its budget, because I would like to see more good Black films getting made. But I more genres, not just comedies or dramas, or standard action films. I want sci-fi. If this were about The Tuskegee SPACEMEN, I’d be all over that.

Hmmm…that’s not a bad idea. Don’t anybody steal it! It’s mine! I’ll have to get to work on that soon…

Speaking of buying DVD’s, yesterday I was skimming through Amazon, and decided to buy the Ghost Rider film on DVD. I found a cheap used copy, for under $5, so I went for it. Nic Cage is one of my favorite actors (2nd only to Neil Patrick Harris, of course), but I’d never read any Ghost Rider comics, so I wasn’t really familiar with the character, which is why I never saw the movie. Then today, about 11am, I switching channels on TV and Ghost Rider is about to come on! So I quickly cancel my order on Amazon, which luckily hadn’t shipped yet, and started to watch the film on TV. Man, that sucked! I didn’t even finish, I turned it off about half-way through. So I’m definitely glad I saved some money on that one.

I noticed from my blog stats, that my various Rick Olney posts have been getting a bunch of new hits lately. Tracking back, I see that some folks have been busy spreading the word about his various behavior, as it’s been posted more than once across Blogspot, Tumblr, Typepad, Posterous, WordPress, & Twitter, which is good. The more folks that are made aware of him, the less chance he has to cheat anyone in the future. I no longer feel comfortable participating in the thread about him on the Gail Simone Forum, as feel that several of the participants have lost track of the real purpose, and are little too interested in talking about and commenting on Olney himself, instead of just keeping aware of his scams, but I do like knowing that I’ve done my part to get the information out there.

I also noticed that my old blog about Cindy Roldan as been getting new hits. Since I’ve switched blog url’s twice since I originally posted that, I’m glad if any friends or family of hers are still able to find it and read it.

But the biggest news I’ve missed is in regards to politics. Apparently, I spoke too soon in my blog about Mitt Romney, when I remarked how lucky he’s been and how his opponents have self-destructed. Newt Gingrich won the South Carolina GOP Primary.

Newt. Gingrich.

NEWT F***ING GINGRICH.

Seriously. This is ridiculous. Y’know, some of my best friends are Republicans (or @ least identify as “conservatives”), but if anyone actually wants that man to be President, you’re a moron. I can’t believe any sensible person could hate President Obama that much, that they’d be willing to put this maniac in the White House. I don’t support Romney, but I could accept him as President. He may be a flip-flopper who will say whatever he has to, in order to get elected, but he ain’t bats**t insane. So that’s something. But I guess that anti-Mormon contingent in the GOP is still pretty strong. Oh well.

And, to make matter worse, A Judge in Georgia is ordering the President to appear in court to prove he’s an American citizen. Unbelievable. This nonsense is still ongoing. Y’know, for 3 years the Birther Movement was shouting “If he has nothing to hide, why doesn’t he just release his birth certificate?” So he finally did, and they STILL don’t believe it! Let’s face it, nothing will satisfy them. And we all know what this is REALLY about, don’t we? And I’ll bet you anything that the judge in this case was appointed by a Republican. If they really try to force the President to personally respond to this, it will be open season. Every yahoo in every “red” state will be filing suits, from now until Nov., just to tie him up and keep him from campaigning. If anyone needs to have their citizenship revokes, it’s these Birther idiots. Frak ‘em all.

Just my opinion.

(AP)LAS VEGAS – A judge in Las Vegas on Friday gave Floyd Mayweather Jr. until June 1 to turn himself in to serve a 90-day jail sentence for his guilty plea in a domestic violence case, allowing the undefeated boxer to meet contractual obligations for a Cinco de Mayo fight against an as-yet unnamed opponent.

Minutes later, Mayweather, 34, was seen driving a new white Bentley Mulsanne out of a nearby parking structure with at least one other person in the car. Mayweather posted photos of a new Bentley this week on his Twitter account, along with separate posts of photos of himself with his children and himself serving people at a food line. The car has a base price of about $290,000.
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Pardon my language, but this is straight-up BULLSHIT! For the record, I am a fan of Floyd Mayweather Jr., as a boxer. I’ve got a standing bet with one of my co-workers, that if Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao ever do finally fight, that Mayweather is going to win (but I’m only betting $5, because I think it’s highly possible that Pac-Man could win), so I’d love to see that fight happen, but that shouldn’t be given precedence over a jail sentence.

I don’t give a damn if he’s got contracts signed to fight, and if there’s an “economic benefit” to the city if he fights. Maybe he should’ve thought of that before he put his hands on his baby-mama. Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time. If this was someone like me, you can bet that my broke-ass would be in jail right now, but the multimillionaire celebrity gets a pass? What does that say about our justice system? Sheesh.

Must be nice, being part of the 1%, right Floyd?