Exiles 32

Posted by John Klein III on January 3, 2014
Posted in: Review. Tagged: , , , , . 1 Comment

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Writer Judd Winick

Pencils Jim Calafiore

Inks Mark McKenna

Colors Transparency Digital

Letters Dave Sharpe

Avengers Forever Part Two of Two

Cover Dated October 2003

The Exiles team find themselves on an Earth where Captain America is the King Vampire, and his fellow Avengers : Wasp, Falcon and Hawkeye are also vampires.

This issue opens with Captain America reattaching his severed head back onto his neck.  This, naturally, freaks Mimic.  Luckily, Sasquatch bashes through the floor to throw off the dead captain.  Wasp convinces Cap to retreat.

There is an ad for the movie, Grind.  Whenever I read a back issue, and see an ad for a movie, I like to see if anyone escaped that film.  Adam Brody, I knew was in it.  Who I didn’t know was that Jennifer Morrison was in it.  I first saw her on How I Met Your Mother, and now on Once Upon A Time.  Might have to try to see this movie.  I am a sucker for any film that follows a set of four male friends.

Magik checks on Mimic.  I do enjoy this version of her, has a very dry sense of humor.  She also tells it like it is.

Hawkeye bit Sunfire, who I wished the Proper Marvel Universe’s Mariko was as fun as this version.  So she is slowly becoming a vampire, but since it was one of Cap’s vampires, the process is going to be much faster.

Another nice thing about this series is Morph, who is actually funny.  Which is not typical of that type of character in a comic.

Mimic wants Magik to teleport the team to England, so that Union Jack can assist them with Sunfire.  Magik doesn’t want to, as it will exhaust her.  She gets convinced to do it.  Calafoire really read the script, as the panel of the team coming through the stepping disc, you can see that Magik is exhausted.  Great job!

Union Jack has a solution, just kill her now and spare her the pain.  The team objects to this and he tells them the only other solution is to kill the vampire king.  He tells them that the only item that can do this, is the Soul Sword of Bata’s Circle.  Which of course, is exactly what Magik’s sword is.

We cut to San Francisco, where Captain America is having to recite a novel length monologue. If he is successful, he will be able to rule the world.  Due to it being so long, he doesn’t get to finish by the time Nocturne snatches his magical box.

There is a one page ad for JLAvengers, such a great miniseries.

Union Jack enters a multipage fight with Captain America.  Magik then straight up runs Cap through with her soulsword.  Once she does, she questions why Union Jack didn’t just let her do that from the beginning.

Turns out, now that Captain America is dead, this means Union Jack is now the new Vampire King, which was his plan.  He is about to attack Magik when Sunfire is cured and saves Magik.

The Tallus tells the Exiles team that their mission was a success.  Before they can go, Union Jack messes up the process and the team gets separated.

Issue ends on a funny note.  We only see where Morph and Sasquatch end up.  In Northern Canada.  The problem is that they run across a recently escaped Wolverine from the Weapon X program.  He is only growling and naked.

Uncanny X-Men Volume Three Issue 15

Posted by John Klein III on January 2, 2014
Posted in: Review. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

Uncanny X-Men V3 15

Writer Brian Michael Bendis

Art Kris Anka

Colors Rain Beredo

Lettering & Production VC’s Joe Caramagna & Chris Eliopoulos

This would be in my top five favorite issues of the year.  I love these character issues.  The premise is simple, Ladies Night Out.

Uncanny X-Men V3 15 Magik 1

Issue opens with Magik meditating in front of Dr. Strange.  This is part of her training.  Turns out, she isn’t being trained by present day Dr. Strange, but with a version of him from the past.  How does that work, I wonder?  How do they make appointments for their next session?  Meet back here next Tuesday, and then for her, it could just be the next five minutes for her.  Which could be pretty awesome, she could get a lifetime of training and only have to be gone for an hour in the present day, or seconds.

Their session is up, and Wong asks if she can reveal if he is alive in the future.  He doesn’t care if Strange is alive, just him.  A nice opening to an issue.  We get that the three of them are getting close and like Illyana, I have no idea what Strange is up to these days.  I know he is in New Avengers, but that’s it.

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Back in her room, the Cuckoos and Tempus approach Magik.  Eva finally notices that she doesn’t have any clothes.  Then the Cuckoos noticed the same thing, they want to go to shopping.  It is a great two page spread.

I find it funny that either Celeste or Phoebe mention the eating situation.  They are using an operating theater as a kitchen table.  I really enjoy the implications of this.  The team haven’t taken any time to make the former Weapon Plus base into a home.  It literally is just a place to sleep and plan their next moves.

Jean Grey comes by and Eva invites her into the room.  Celeste rolls her eyes so hard.  Jean makes a joke to how she has been wearing the same thing since 1963.  Which is the year she debuted, so it is a clever reference.

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Magik wants to just go get the supplies that they want, but the gals want to actually go shopping.  It isn’t just an excuse to look at clothes, it gets them away from the base, they get to spend time together.  They can be normal people.  Irma mentions books, Jean asks if they have books, and Eva wants to buy books too.  They really need to turn that base into a school or boarding house.

They came to Illyana instead of Emma first, as Illyana is the nice lady professor.  Illyana is taken by surprised that she could be the nice one, and the students are surprised as well.  They don’t know her, and they do know Emma.

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We cut to Emma, sleeping on her knees with her butt in the air.  Who sleeps like that?  I can’t imagine she slept like that next to Scott.  Seems like a bad sight gag.

They wake her up, and she likes the idea of shopping.

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She has a giant duffle bag full of cash.  Maybe she did rob that casino from the previous issue.  Though she did have her own money prior to joining the X-Men.  She references her Hellfire Club days, so she has money from that as well.

Emma shouts at (and calls her) Pryde.  We see that Cyclops and her were talking.  I wished we got a page of what those two were speaking about.  I love the idea of him leading Uncanny and her All New and that it makes sense that they have meetings together.  Also, he should add her to his inner circle.  Also, I want to see Young Scott talk to Emma, I am not sure we have had that yet, and I now they haven’t spoken to each other in great length.

Kitty doesn’t want to go shopping.  Emma mentions that Kitty has been wearing the same outfit since 1980, which is the year she debuted.  Jean wants to go, as she has to hang out with boys all the time.  Kitty is in after that.

They ended up going shopping in London.  I like the outfit Kitty is wearing, her color scheme is still present.  Yellow dress, black belt and dark blue jacket.

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Jean, also a nice touch, is wearing a yellow shirt with green collar with a green dress with a Phoenix necklace.  Jean always looks good in yellow and green.  I even like the touch of Celeste and Phoebe wearing the same outfit, and Irma is wearing it as well, but she added a jacket.  She is really trying to stand on her own.   Illyana is still wearing those sticks in her hair but now they look fashionable, they are smaller.

Jean finally confronts Celeste about what her problem is.  Jean isn’t even the Jean of legend, she is the teenage version so why not treat her as a new entity instead of the legend that hurt Emma and is known to be all powerful.  It gets heated fast.

Kitty wonders if they should step in and Illyana wants them to work it out on their own.

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Then we hear sirens and the ladies go outside to investigate.

This is when the Inhumanity story comes in and tries to get us interested in that smaller event.  Which I have no interest in, the X-Men are clearly not taking part in it, just like Infinity, so I’m skipping this one as well.  What is it about, for those skipping out and also for those who may not know.  At the end of Infinity, Black Bold – the king of the Inhumans, set off a bomb made of their Terrigen Mist (the material that activates their Inhuman power) and now everyone who has a latent Inhuman gene, is now being transformed into an Inhuman.  Hence, why the event is called Inhumanity, it is a very clever title.  The way these new Inhumans are being tranformed, they have a cocoon wrapped around them and then once the process is over, they hatch out with powers.

There is a giant crowd, so the X-Men can’t see what the problem is.  Emma tells the Cuckoos to gently disperse the crowd.  Jean offers to try it as she hasn’t done anything like that yet.  Kitty orders everyone to stand back.  Magik says, except for me.  Kitty says, of course.  I love that they have only been back together and they are already back to knowing how to approach a situation together.  They have complete trust in each other and they know what the other is fully capable of.

They approach the cocoon.  Jean has figured out what has happened by obtaining the information from someone in the crowd.

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The cocoon hatches and you wouldn’t believe who we find.  Geldhoff, the first original Ultimate character of note.  He was a complete idiot in that universe.  His proper version doesn’t seem to be much different.  Also from Latveria, and also has that thick accent.  Also, he is an idiot.  In the Ultimate universe, his story, also by Bendis, took place in Ultimate Spider-Man and was the way Spider-Man get the X-Men, including Ultimate Kitty Pryde.  Such a great story, one of these days we will get around to reviewing it.

Uncanny X-Men V3 15 Magik Shadowcat 5

So Emma asks him questions, and one of the Cuckoos end up answering it.  This freaks Geldhoff out.  He hasn’t noticed that he has been transformed.  They tell him that he has changed.  He, just like his Ultimate version, doesn’t want to be a mutant.  This version finds them disgusted, whereas his Ultimate version just didn’t like the idea of being a product of an experiment.  Also, Ultimate was a teenager and this guy seems to be at least into his late twenties.

I have been meaning to mention this, that Anka has been killing it on art this entire issue.  Bendis dialogue is A+ as always.

They try to calm him down and he uses his power for the first time.  Kitty was phased, as she is a genius, but the rest of the team is knocked out.  She does eventually fall, but she was the last.  This haunts Geldhoff.

Uncanny X-Men V3 15 Shadowcat 1

The New Madame Hydra, Doctor Rappaccini (who knows what happened to Viper?) and maybe she isn’t the new Madame Hydra, she just happens to be wearing a green dress but her necklace looks like a Hydra-inspired outfit, but I can’t make out the symbol on it.  Either way, she is working with A.I.M. and they still are wearing those bee keeper outfits that I wished got translated into the Captain America film.  Turns out, and I am sure the Inhumanity miniseries and the actual key issues get into this, that AIM is gathering as many of these new Inhuman cocoons as they can obtain.

Dr. Rappaccini, once asked what they should do with the X-Men, is quote a very smart man told her once.  The best way to defeat the mutants is to leave them be.  Let them do it themsevles.  Which is so very true.  Anyone who want to defeat the X-Men should know this, they will always win when the odds are largely against them,   So plan on the X-Men winning and have that work out for you, and beat them after that.

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The ladies wake up.  The Cuckoos make the police turn away so that they can gather themselves.  Irma mentions that with the newly created Inhumans, maybe this will take some heat off of mutants.  Kitty asks how people will know the difference.  Emma is pretty sure their world just got more complicated.

I know there are some theories out there that people are thinking that Marvel is doing this so that they can push the mutants (who film rights belong with FOX) into a smaller corner and have the Inhumans become the new mutants.  It is an interesting theory but until Marvel cuts the X-Franchise down to maybe four or five series, I don’t believe it.  Looking at the December checklist, they have 16 issues coming out so clearly they are as popular as ever.  Plus, I am sure Disney doesn’t care if FOX puts up the money for the X-Men movies if Disney benefits from the comic sales.  Though I am sure they rather have the movie money and the comic money but you get what you can.  Plus, they should just work out a deal where they can phase the movies back into Disney’s hands.

Next issue has Magneto on the cover, who has been missing in a while.  He didn’t get much to do during Battle of the Atom.

Excalibur 32

Posted by John Klein III on January 1, 2014
Posted in: Review. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

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Writer Chris Claremont

Artist Ron Wagner

Letters Tim Harkins

Colors Glynis Oliver

Girls’ School From Heck Part One of Three

Cover Dated December 1990

Issue opens with an alternate timeline.  This one, what if the members of Excalibur were all men, except for Captain Britain.  Kitty Pryde is now Dark Tiger.  Phoenix is now Arizona – Completely missing the point.  Meggan is now Morgan.  Also they with Nightcrawler, who is still male, now all seem like very young teenagers.  Captain Britain is their tutor and leader.

That section ends with no tie the proper story.  This section’s art is a bit all over the place.  Where Wagner excels is the quieter and female dominated rest of the issue.

Before we get to that, we get a page of Mesmero trying to go straight by being a psychologist.  He finally realized that if you don’t try to cheat people, you don’t quite get punched in the face as much.  His current client?  The Iron Lady herself, Margaret Thatcher.

At this point, Cross Time Caper is thankfully over.  Unfortunately, Kitty and the rest of the team are still separated.  Both are on the same version of Earth, the Proper Marvel Universe, they just don’t know the other is a well.

Kitty got back sooner, so Courtney Ross has enrolled Kitty into her former school, St. Searle’s.  The headmistress is Miss Rutherford.  She seems nice enough.

Kitty has nowhere else to go.  Her parents are divorced, she can’t decide who to live with.  Her former team, the X-Men, are believed dead.  Her current team, Excalibur, is presumed missing, and she doesn’t want to live in their lighthouse base by herself.  She might as well get a proper education.

Kitty gets to her room and meets Phoebe Huntsman and her friends.  They have gone through all of Kitty’s things, keeping what they want.  One of the friends, Veronique starts reading from Kitty’s diary.  After she reads a passage regarding Colossus, Kitty starts throwing punches.  Turns out, for some mysterious reason, Kitty can’t phase, so Phoebe gets a lucky shot in.

I like Miss Rutherford’s reaction.  Even if the young ladies were stealing her stuff, Kitty shouldn’t have resorted to violence.  Up to this point, Kitty’s inner monologue has been giving us how much experience Kitty has.  She has traveled through time, to different dimensions and timelines, has saved numerous planets, including her own.  By the time children her age were thinking of junior high school, she was already taking college courses.  When she joined the X-Men, age was nothing but a chicken wing.  The X-Men only cared about what she brought to the team and treated her as the peer she was.  But she has been honed to be a soldier in Xavier’s army since she was 13 and a half so violence comes easily to her.

Miss Rutherford’s punishment is to have Kitty write out a sentence one thousand times, “St. Searle’s teaches young girls to become young ladies.”  This is hard on Kitty has she is used to typing, which I can completely relate too.  My handwriting is horrible but now that I type so much, my hand hurts after writing a bunch in a brief moment.  There is this fun moment when Miss Rutherford keeps calling her Katherine, and Kitty finally corrects her and says she prefers Kitty.  Miss Rutherford believes Kitty’s childish behavior is due in some part due to her willingness to keep a childhood nickname.  Never really thought about that before.

Kitty somehow finishes the task, and I can only imagine a lady like Miss Rutherford, when she says a thousand, she doesn’t mean, do it for an hour and move on to something else.  She meant a thousand times.

We cut to the other members of Excalibur, minus Lockheed – of course, they are chasing Vixen and her criminal gang.  Vixen turns back into Nigel Frobisher, a guy who has been a bit of a running joke in Excalibur up to this point.  He was a womanizing sort of jerk slash goof ball and then he flirted with the wrong lady and now he spends some of his time as a woman.  That will teach him!  Except, for the most part, it hasn’t.

We cut back to Kitty as she is leaving the school, she is running away as no one talks to her or wants her around.  On her way out, she overhears a phone conversation of Miss Rutherford’s, the school is losing money and may have to close down.  As soon as she steps off campus, she notices she can phase again.  There is definitely something going on at that campus.  She gets to a bar and calls Courtney, waking her up and then promptly hangs up.  Kitty is no quiter and will see this through to the end.

We cut to the next morning, and the students are about to play field hockey.  Kitty hasn’t been seen yet and their teacher, Mr. Reeve, notices that Kitty is missing.  That darn Phoebe is still wearing Kitty’s leather jacket, as if it is hers.  Phoebe and her friends start trash talking and then Kitty shows up, still wearing last night’s clothes, but she is ready to be goalie and leave everything on the field.

Kitty makes me proud when Phoebe calls her a Yank, and Kitty is quick to say she is a Cubs fan and being called a Yankee is a high insult.  Of course, these are British young ladies and they don’t know baseball that well.  But still, represent Kitty!  Go Cubs in 2014!

The game is 0 to 0 for the most part until Kitty finally scores in overtime.  Her outfit is battle worn at this point as she scores off of Phoebe.  We see from the bushes that Courtney Ross has been watching this entire time.

Issue ends with Mesmero happy with his new face turn.  Then two AIM Battletanks, that’s what it looks like at least, tell him that he is going to start working for them as they want his access to world leaders to start bringing in real money and power.  Poor Mesmero, he wanted to be legit so much.  Of course, if he had just stuck to non-famous people, he wouldn’t have this problem but there isn’t any money in that.

. . .

And with this, we are off in 2014!  Got some major plans for this here blog and I am really excited about all of them.  Thanks for reading this past year!

2014 in Film

Posted by John Klein III on December 31, 2013
Posted in: Film. Tagged: . 4 Comments

One thing I loved doing, back when I was addicted to the American Film Institute’s Top 100 lists was at the end of the year or the beginning of the next, was look back at the movies of yesterday, in five year intervals.  Remember the days when studios would release anniversary DVDs?  Those days seem to be gone now, or they wait for the 25 or 50 year milestones.  We also are not buying as many DVDs or BluRays as we use too, which I suppose Netflix hurt that.  In my opinion, what really hurt those sales were all of those bare bone DVDs.  I, myself, love a commentary track, and won’t even buy a new disc unless that is on it or at least two or three other features.   I also like to look at the year ahead to see what movies I am going to be interested on, just based off of who is making it or if it is a sequel.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_in_film

I should say here, that I list a bunch of these films, and will probably only be able to watch a quarter of them, or lose (or gain) interest as actual promotion comes out.

January

I am very interested in Aaron Eckhart’s I, Frankenstein.  Been reading some good buzz about it and it has been quite some time since the last adaption.

February

The LEGO Movie, there was a time when they were announcing which characters were showing up in it and it sounds awesome.  I know we are going to be getting LEGO Batman and Superman in it.

RoboCop with Michael Keaton and Gary Oldman, and a slew of others.

Pompeii, I want to see, ever since our Italy honeymoon, I’ve been trying to relive it through other means.

March

Mr. Peabody & Sherman, may have been my favorite segment of Bullwinkle and Rocky.  Haven’t seen any footage, hopefully it isn’t like the Smurfs or the Chipmunks live action films.

Need for Speed, looks like Keaton is coming back, yo!

Veronica Mars, we still haven’t made great headway with the series but this might just do it to motivate us.

Bad Words, Jason Bateman directing and starring, after the rough year he had in 2013, this might just turn things around.

Muppets Most Wanted, hopefully Jaosn Segel can show up for just a bit in this one.  Glad Nicholas Stoller is still around as writer.

April

Captain America : Winter Soldier, so excited!  April will be Captain America month like how November was Thor Month here at S&FwM.  I am hoping we start seeing footage of Emily VanCamp soon!  Looking at this, I bet Alan Dale is an evil business man!

Walk of Shame, I do enjoy James Marsden.  Also has Elizabeth Banks and Gillian Jacobs!  Ethan Suplee for good measure as well.

May

Amazing Spider-Man 2, movie gets better and better the more I hear about it.  Chris Cooper is going to own this film!

Legends of Oz : Dorothy’s Return, oooof!  This must be trying to make up for Oz the Great and Wonderful.  Though I already have seen the sequel of Wizard of Oz, and if this one doesn’t have the Pumpkin Prince, then I am passing.  Plus, it has modern day Martin Short, and I can’t handle that guy.

Chef, just the talent alone perks my interest.  Jon Favreau directing and playing.  Sofia Vergara, Scarlett Johansson, Jonny Legs (John Leguizamo), RDJ (Robert Downey Jr.), Dustin Hoffman and Oliver Platt.

Neighbors, Nicholas Stoller stepping into directing now!  Good for him.  Jake Johnson, Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, Lisa Kudrow, Craig Roberts, this looks to be pretty funny.

Godzilla, I have heard good things but I haven’t seen the trailer yet.

Blended, ha Joel McHale, so I will be on the look out.  Most likely it is a Adam Sandler & Drew Barrymore reunion, so I am weary of that.

X-Men Days of Future Past, oh yeah!  I have some good plans for May here.

Maleficent, this is the first I’ve heard that Paul Dini co-wrote the screenplay.

A Million Ways to Die in the West, Seth MacFarlane’s follow up to Ted.  Has NPH (Neil Patrick Harris) and Sarah Silverman.

June

The Fault of Our Stars, my wife will be interested due to Shailene Woodley being in it.

Jersey Boys, with Clint Eastwood directing and Christopher Walken as one of the cast?  To whom do I give my money to?

Purge 2, didn’t know it made enough money for that but that’s interesting.

July

Deliver Us from Evil has Eric Bana and Olivia Munn with Joel McHale.

Tammy, directed and starring Melissa McCarthy.  Could go one way or another.  Harrison Ford and Dan Aykroyd, I like them.

Two Hercules films in one year?  Oh boy

They are going by Wachowskis now?  That makes sense.

August

Basic Math, Jason Segel and Cameron Diaz, I can do with one and can lose the other.

Looks like Dan Aykroyd is coming back too!

Guardians of the Galaxy, so excited, now that I know Karen Gillan is in it, I am all set for this.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, really hoping that this will be good and we don’t have to go several more years before another Turtle film.

The Giver, I love the novel so much!  Hopefully they don’t screw this up!  Good cast though, Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, Alexander Skarsgard, Katie Holms.  Not sure who will play Jonas, but the movie rests on that young man’s shoulders.  Taylor Swift is in it too.

Sin City : A Dame to Kill For, been waiting for this one!

Jane Got a Gun, I feel like I just read something about this the other day that sounded good.  Natalie Portman, will see this eventually.

The Loft, apparently a Thriller.  James Marsden.  Wentworth Miller, haven’t seen him since that episode of SVU he was in.  Eric Stonestreet, I do enjoy the films he chooses, definitely doesn’t want to be type casted.

September

No Good Deed, probably won’t see this but I do enjoy Taraji P. Henson from Person of Interest.

Search Party, has Alison Brie!

This is Where I Leave You, Tina Fey and Jason Bateman! Sold!

October

Gone Girl, NPH in a Thriller!  With Ben Affleck and Tyler Perry in a non Tyler Perry film, so brave David Fincher!

The Interview, Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg writing and directing again.  This one has Lizzy Caplan!

November

Big Hero 6, still can’t believe Disney went with this as their first animated feature from Marvel.  Hopefully the lack of sales don’t turn them off from making a Pet Avengers film.

Interstellar, Christopher Nolan’s next film!  Excited from that alone.  Huge cast!

Dumb and Dumber To, they finally decided to make this.

The Hunger Games : Mockingjay – Part 1, oof,, that is quite the title.

Horrible Bosses 2, still not sure how they can pull this off.

December

Exodus, Christan Bale as Moses!

The Hobbit : There and Back Again.  Final part of the Hobbit Trilogy.

Annie, hopefully this doesn’t ruin Annie for an entire generation.

No Luke Wilson films unfortunately.  This Luke Evans guy is blowing up though.  No Ryan Reynolds either.

2009

They never did make another Die Hard in a Mall comedy did they?  Shoot!

Already own Dark Knight, Fanboys, Watchmen, I Love You Man, Wolverien Origins, 500 Days of Summer, and Paper Heart

Race to Witch Mountain, wish it was a better film.

Would not mind owning Adventureland, Angels & Demons – had Warrior Pope!  Still need to see Terminator Salvation.  With the way the Hangover movies went, probably never own the first one.  Hurt Locker will be nice to have on the shelf.  Still need Public Enemies for my Bale collection, along with Terminator Salvation.

I still want to see I Love You, Beth Cooper.

One of these days, I will treat my wife to owning all of the Harry Potter films.  That one gorgeous set is like 400 dollars!?!

Cove, such a good documentary, I still think about it.  Should buy it.

Still need to watch Time Traveler’s Wife.  Still need to own Donald Glover’s Mystery Team, such a fun movie.  Still need to watch Extract.  Still need to watch Whiteout too, I’m further behind on my comic book movies than I thought.  I did enjoy the trade.  I remember wanting to watch Love Happens with Aaron Eckhart and Jennifer Aniston.  Still need to own Whip It.

Couples Retreat, should have been so much better with that cast.

Still need to watch The Box with James Marsden.  I have almost bought it on several occasions.  Still need to watch The Men Who Stare at Goats.  Brothers was so good with Jake Gyllenhall and Tobey Maguire.  I liked Natalie Portman in it as well.  If the DVD has good features, I could be tempted to own it.  I really liked Up in the Air, I need to start an Anna Kendrick collection.

2004

I wouldn’t mind owning Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!, such a fun movie.  Probably lose some street cred but I liked it.  If asked who I would want to star as me in a movie, I go to choice has been Topher Grace.  If he an Erica Christensen can do a movie together, that would be awesome.  That’s who I would get to play my wife.  They both have cute noses.  I’m that guy, I guess.

I need to reown Perfect Score, such a fun movie as well.  Sold it as my wife thought it was a dumb movie on premise alone.

I already own : EuroTrip, Passion of the Christ, Club Dredd (I was a big Broken Lizard fan at one time), Scooby Doo 2 (should not be the last live action film with that cast but I can see why it has been), Jersey Girl, Hellboy (still need to own the sequel with that 3 disc set), The Punisher (the Tom Jane one), Napoleon Dynamite, The Notebook, Spider-Man 2 (still the best one), Anchorman, Garden State (sequel should be out one of these days), Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (still need to own the other two films), Without a Paddle, Cellular, Team America : World Police, Sideways, and Blade : Trinity.

I didn’t even know they made a sequel to Agent Cody Banks.  Can’t believe (or can really believe) that Hilary Duff didn’t come back for it.  Has Frankie Muniz worked since then?

Secret Window, hated.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, I want to still see.

Remember Anne Hathaway’s Ella Enchanted era of films?  Boy did she break and not break from that mold.  She has had quite the career.  Princess Diaries 2 came out that year too.

Been tempted to watch The Girl Next Door.  Still need to own Shaun of the Dead.  13 Going on 30 is a cute film.

My favorite Harry Potter film, Prisoner of Azkaban came out.  I’ve been told I would like Dodgeball, still haven’t seen it.  The Terminal was a cute movie.

I, Robot, is like my thesis statement on why I hate robots so much.  Should own this but then I will own a robot film.

Halle Bery’s Catwoman, ooof, that movie is turning ten!  That’s the thing about movies, no matter how bad they are, they do get older.  One day Warner Brothers will release an anniversary edition of it one day.

I’ve read something regarding Tom Cruise’s Collateral that made me want to watch this.   Apparently, he is quite bad ass in it.

Little Black Book, I have forgotten that Brittany Murphy passed away.

Alien vs. Predator, would have been better without the humans in it.  I would love to see that movie.  Whatever happen to Sanaa Lathan?  Loved her in Love & Basketball.

Still need to watch Layer Cake.  Heard good things.

Suspect Zero, now that was a truly horrible film.

First Daughter with Katie Holmes and Michael Keaton, was this his last live action film until 2014?  He was awesome as Ken in Toy Story 3.

Saw, I need to own this one and whichever ones has Donnie Walhberg.  The ending to Saw is still one of my favorite endings.

Still not sure why I don’t own The Incredibles, so odd.

Flight of the Phoenix, I still think about this film, should get it one of these days.  Spanglish, my wife really likes.

I remember really liking Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, not sure why others didn’t.  In Good Company, I need to watch one of these days, fully.  I feel like I’ve seen it on television from time to time but never committed to the whole film.  Remember this phase of Scarlet Johansson’s career?  Now she is a megastar.

It never fails, I will almost always own more films from the ten years ago category than the five years ago.  Once we got married, my movie buying ways had to be cleared and most don’t hold make the cut.  Now with Netflix, it is hard to even try to keep the ones we do own, but I like special features and will get rid of bare bone DVDs in a heartbeat.  Still cant’ believe they make bare bone BluRays.  Seems to have completely missed the point of a bigger storage space capacity.  We do live in an era where you can get five dollar BluRays so they are not the Criterion medium like they started off as.

Everyone, thanks for reading!  Not just this post but for the past months!  2014 should be pretty exciting and be safe out there tonight if you are traveling!  Also, be safe if you are indoors!  There are crazies out there!   

Book Report : Super Graphic

Posted by John Klein III on December 30, 2013
Posted in: Books. 1 Comment

SuperGraphic02

I saw a couple sample pages of this book, by Tim Leong and knew I should buy it.  I read it on the Kindle Fire, so my page numbers might be off.

I was pleasantly surprised that Kitty Pryde made many graphs, and even more surprised when Lockheed and Magik was represented, at least once.

Page 22 – Character Line Up, has Lockheed around two and a half feet tall and Kitty at five and a quarter.

Super Graphic Many Affiliations of the Marvel Universe Kitty Pryde

Page 87 & 88 – The Many Affiliations of the Marvel Universe, Kitty is associated with three : The X-Men, Excalibur and The New Mutants.

Page 100 & 101 – Battle Breakdown.  Now I am not sure how accurate this one is, it keeps track of how many battles characters have won, tied or list.  Kitty has been in 201 fights, won 55 percent, tied ten percent and lost 35 percent.  Lockheed, 166 fights, won 55, tied 15 and lost 30 percent.  This is a two page graph, so it wasn’t the easiest to read on the Kindle.

Super Graphic Character Kingdom

Page 139 – Character Kingdom, under Mammals, then Feline, we find Shadowcat.

Page 147 – To The Grave and Back, tracking how long characters have stayed dead.  Magik, from 1993 to 2009.  A very long sixteen years.

Page 191 – A Peek Inside the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning.  Kitty is Headmistress, and teaches Ethics 101 – Forgetting Everything You Ever Learned from Emma Frost.

Page 215 & 219 – Ranking the Characters in the Marvel Comics Universe, Kitty is on page 219.

If the above doesn’t tempt you, then the below graph may, as it is the first one I saw, and I knew then, that I had to see the rest.

Vamers-Infographics-Super-Graphic-A-Visual-Guide-to-the-Comic-Book-Universe-by-Tim-Leong-What-Would-

X-Men Legacy 21

Posted by John Klein III on December 29, 2013
Posted in: Review. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

X-Men Legacy 21

Writer Simon Spurrier

Penciler Khoi Pham

Inkers Khoi Pham with Jay Leisten

Color Artist Rachelle Rosenberg

Letterer VC’s Cory Petit

I couldn’t get my hands on a copy of X-Men Legacy 20, I see from comicbookdb.com that Magik shows up in that issue, though I have my suspicions that whoever copied the character list from issue 19, didn’t edit characters out but I can’t get confirmation one way or another.

Thus, I have no idea what happen in the previous issue.  From the recap page, Shadow Phoenix (there is probably a better name for the entity) lay seize to David’s mind and he merged several of his personalities into his main one.  Turns out, there never was a Shadow Phoenix, Aarkus the Aetheric tricked him into taking control of his own mind.

Issue opens with the merged entity consisting of Blindfold’s brother and the Xavier personality from David’s mind that escaped.

We see David losing a fight to this merged entity.  The entity is punching David over and over again.  We see characters in the background, such as Iron Man and Captain Marvel.

Inner David looks bad arse with how he is multi-colored and fiery hair.  He is gathering the smaller personalities easily but the bigger ones are keeping to their own.   Ruth tries to encourage David, but she wants to work with him.  He is distracted with trying to become whole.

Pixie comes by Ruth’s room and try to check out on her.  We see that David is at Ruth’s bedside.  Then he goes back to his fight.

Then we get this great moment when the entity reveals that due to the way it was created, that he sort of works as David’s son.  Except that he doesn’t have any daddy issues that hold him back.  He also doesn’t care about those he hurts in this adventure.  So not only does he not have daddy issues, he isn’t trying to redeem himself either.  He is pure power.

X-Men Legacy 21 Magik

David’s ‘son’ punches him in the head, and we get the panel that got me to buy the issue.  Within this character bubble, we get : Magik , Abigail Brand, Beast, Magneto, Doop, Cyclops, Storm, Emma Chamber, and Wolverine.

“Son’ doesn’t have any master plan or anything silly like that, he just wants to kill as many as possible before it ends.  That’s a villain that can only be stopped by death.

X:DoFP – Kitty Pryde’s Time Phasing Powers

Posted by John Klein III on December 28, 2013
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

So Bryan Singer has confirmed that in X-Men : Days of Future Past, Kitty will be sending Wolverine back in time using her time phasing powers.

http://www.newsarama.com/19436-bryan-singer-s-own-x-men-days-of-future-past-trailer-annotations.html

Which of course, is not one of her powers, in the comics.

I wanted to see if anyone else was annoyed by this, as much as I am.  All I found online was this person :

http://www.stfuandplay.com/story/content/hollywood-just-doesnt-understand-comic-books-does-it#.Urdj73_n_mx

At least, in this film, Kitty will play a crucial role in the plot.  I wonder if she will get this power in the comics?  Also, why wouldn’t she just time phase all of the foes through time, like a Weeping Angel.

Once she has this power, why would she stop using it?  Just keep going back and fixing the problem.  Also, why would she time phase a second person, and not take herself along.  How did she even discover she could even send people back through time.

I am sure the pivotal scene is action pack so there won’t be time to explain or answer any of these questions.

Also, if she is time phasing people through time, how does that person come back to the present?  I’m sure that has to be handled in the film but that sure seems like a big problem.  Especially with it being Wolverine back in time.  Unless there is a sort of default, after 48 hours, you come back to whatever future you created.  Which is pretty risky.

Cataclysm : The Ultimates Last Stand 2

Posted by John Klein III on December 27, 2013
Posted in: Review. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

Cataclysm Ultimates Last Stand 2

Writer Brian Michael Bendis

Penciler Mark Bagley

Inker Andrew Hennessy

Colorist Jason Keith

Letterer VC’s Cory Petit

Issue opens with Miles Morales’ Spider-Man wondering what he can do against the threat that is Galactus.

Galactus has already scored one victory, he has completely destroyed New Jersey.

The Ultimates and Fantastic Four pick Spider-Man up as landing on Galactus did not accomplish anything.  Tony realizes that Galactus is made up of cosmic energy.  So throwing more energy at him, isn’t gong to work.  The heroes resort to saving lives on the ground as they can’t do anything about the actual threat.

Tony realizes that Galactus’ energy signature is the same as the Proper Marvel Universe.  He knows this from the time Proper Peter Parker showed up during the Spider-Men miniseries.  Thor states they should send it back to that universe.  Human Torch is quick to mention that maybe that universe sent Galactus to this universe to get rid of it.

I must have missed this but Thing can turn purple plasma instead of orange rock.  I wonder what determines when he does which.  At least he looks like his old self that way, so he must be happy about that.

I must have also missed from Spider-Men, I only read a few issues at the store, but turns out the Mysterio from that mini, is also the Proper Mysterio, I wonder if he was also the Mysterio from the second volume of Ultimate Spider-Man?  I am not sure.  Mysterio states he has no idea how to fight Galactus, he only knows the Fantastic Four and Reed Richards have defeated him.

Now I completely missed this but turns out Ultimate Reed Richards went completely evil at one point.  I really like his new uniform as well, plus the scar that runs vertical over his right eye reminds me of the rumored scar that Proper Dr. Doom had before putting his face plate on his face, thus scarring him further.

 Regardless, Tony and the gang hate Reed Richards.  They do not take his suggestion that they let him go to the Proper Marvel Universe to enlist that universe’s Reed Richard.  Tony wants to go, but his suit will not let him, and they belief they cannot risk losing him.  Spider-Man offers to go, as he at least met that Spider-Man, and was over in that universe for a little bit.

Galactus forms his world eating machine while the heroes bicker amongst themselves.

Cataclysm 2 Shadowcat 1

Then we get the entire reason to buy this issue.  The final page, we see the X-Men on Utopia, wondering if they should get to New York and help out.  Colossus wants too.  Jean really doesn’t want to, as humans wouldn’t help if this was a mutant issue.  Also there is Shola Inkosi, Derek Morgan, Magma and Armor.  Also, their true leader, Kitty Pryde.  Will she lead them into this charge?  I’m just happy that she is finally in this mini.  Next issue’s cover hints that the X-Men are defeated.  Let’s hope not!

Comics Should Be Good’s Top 24 Christmas Stories, The Results

Posted by John Klein III on December 26, 2013
Posted in: Lists. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2013/12/24/2013-comics-should-be-good-advent-calendar-24/

http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2013/12/25/the-24-greatest-christmas-stories-ever-told/

The top 24 stories have been revealed, and only two X-Men stories made the list.  Which I find disappointing, but it us nice that there are so many Christmas stories to choose from.

24. Superman’s Christmas Adventure 1

23.  Christmas Parade 7

22.  Tangled Web 21

21.  Teen Titans 1

# 20 Uncanny X-Men 230

http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2012/12/05/the-greatest-christmas-stories-ever-told-20/

19.  Hitman 22

18.  Batman 239

17.  Infinite Holiday Special 1

16.  Fables 56

15.  Hellboy Christmas Special 1

14.  JSA 55

13.  Spectacular Spider-Man 112

12.  Four Color Comics 203

11.  Incredible Hulk 378

10.  Marvel Holiday Special 2005

9.  Superman 64

8.  Flash 73

7.  Starman 27

6.  JLA 60

5.  Marvel Team-Up Volume One Issue 1

4.  Four Color Comics 203

# 3 Uncanny X-Men 143

http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2012/12/22/the-greatest-christmas-stories-ever-told-3/

2.  Christmas With The Superheroes 2

1.  Batman 219

A slew of DC comics, a couple of Duck comics and various others.

The Santron comic is pretty fun, look for that one.

Thanks again to Brian Cronin for taking the time to create the list.

Marvel Holiday Special 1992

Posted by John Klein III on December 25, 2013
Posted in: Review. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

Sweet Christmas, Everybody!!!

Marvel Holiday Special 1992

There are two reasons to hunt this issue down and own it.

The first is this :

SCAN0001

Dave Cockrum drawn Excalibur!  Look how cute Lockheed is!  He does not want to be dressed as Rudolph.

The other is two page, three with an extra credits page and additional covers, Ghosts of Christmas Comics Past by Barry Dutter.

“X-MEN # 143 contained a Christmas classic by the ultimate X-MEN team – Chris Claremont, John Byrne and Terry Austin!  The story was called “Demon,” and any similarity to the movie ALIEN was purely intentional.  The issue found then-X-Man Kitty Pryde alone in the X-Mansion on Christmas Eve, forced to fight a savage N’Garai demon all by her lonesome!  This was Kitty’s first real test in solo action, and she passed with flying colors.  (Since Kitty will eventually grow up to look like Sigourney Weaver, this came as no big suprised!)”

The issue also has stories starring Wolverine, New Warriors, Spider-Man, Punisher, Doc Samson, Thanos, Iron Man and Daredevil.