An Epic Epic of Epicness It Was!

SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD!!!!


Seriously YES! If you haven't read the books, YOU MUST! Go! Go get them NOW! YOU WILL LOVE SCOTT PILGRIM!


But whether you have or not, you will enjoy this movie if you are a fan of fun (and DEFINITELY if you are — or ever were — a fan of video games.) I had a GREAT time with this movie! It's got laughs, loves & action! And definitely managed to capture the heart of this comic (unlike SOME adaptations I know...sigh...) There's awesome comic and video game type effects throughout! All the kids do an excellent job! I was a little worried Michael Cera would just be Michael Cera, but he actually did a great Scott! (Still hate his hair though...haha) Young Neil & Wallace were my favourites (I've always been a fan of Keiran Culkin!). Knives kicked ass and so did our Todd (played by SUPERMAN) & Lucas Lee (our very own, CAPTAIN AMERICA)! I also really loved Roxy! The chick from Parenthood (Mae Whitman) was PERFECT in that role! (::sigh:: I LOVE Parenthood...) So yeah, this movie comes HIGHLY recommended. I can't wait to see it again!!!!

Oh and here's how I went to see the midnight screening. Dressed in full nerd gear. Ramona t-shirt, a replica of Ramona's bag (thanks Etsy!) & the Ramona & Scott rubber bracelets I got from Comicon (excellent idea Oni!)!



The End.

Fuck you, M. Night

Seriously. Fuck you. I’m done with you. I had your back with The Village, I actually REALLY liked that one. I was on your side with Lady in the Water. I said, “You know what? This was a little different than the other movies. So what? It was still entertaining.” I even thought The Happening wasn’t terrible. I enjoyed it. I didn’t think it was GREAT, like Sixth Sense or Unbreakable, but I still had a fun time watching it.

But The Last Airbender? Holy wow. This movie was AWFUL.

I know there have been a shit-ton of bad reviews. I didn’t actually READ them, but I’d heard said that it lacked the emotion and humour of the animated series. Man, that’s an UNDERSTATEMENT. I went into this movie WANTING to like it. PREPARED to give it more chances than many other have. I’ve often seen movies and enjoyed them (to some degree) regardless of the feelings of the general public, so I thought, “Maybe I won’t LOVE this, but I bet I’ll at least like it somewhat!” No such luck.

Be prepared, there are be spoilers ahead…

First off, and now I know this doesn’t affect story at all, but it is REALLY annoying and completely pulls you out of the story for anyone who was a fan of the cartoon, but for some unknown, DUMB reason, M. Night has changed the pronunciation of a bunch of names!! Aang is now pronounced “Ah-ng,” Avatar is “Ah-vah-tar,” Sokka is the WORST, pronounced “Soak-ah” — ugh, it makes me shudder just THINKING about it — Iroh is “Ee-roh”…I think that’s it, except for, no joke, someone says “Yin & Yang” and pronounces it “Yin & Yah-ng”!!! What the fuck?!?! WHY?!?! It’s not like you’re adapting the movie from a book where no one has said these names out loud! What POSSIBLE reason can there be for this?!!? Arrrghhh!! Made me so angry and annoyed the whole time. And SOAK-AH just sounds stupid.

Secondly, the acting. Ohmygod, TERRIBLE. Just AWFUL. Reminds me of the terrible acting in Twilight. Only I care less about THOSE movies. Everyone is just so fucking STIFF! Yeah, dude from Twilight, you are JUST as bad in this as you are in those!

Third, yes, NO emotion, NO humour. There’s like ONE joke and it’s so poorly delivered, no one laughs. And honestly, if I hadn’t seen the cartoon I wouldn’t have given a rat’s ass about any of these characters. That’s the BEST thing about the cartoon! You REALLY start to care about them! Not so in this. Not at all.

And holy CRAP, don’t get me started on the bending!! Jeebus! It took them FOREVER to bend! In the time it took them to bend something, they could have been punched in the face! There was like ONE scene with Aang doing some super-cool QUICK bending. Oh, and get this, the fire nation can’t CREATE fire in this version! They can only manipulate it! (Now a friend of mine says he never liked that about the cartoon since none of the other benders could create their elements, BUT, I think it’s a nice trade-off since fire doesn’t exist on it’s own like water, air & earth do. But either way, just stick to the fucking show!)

Zuko! Holy Christ! If you thought he whined too much about his dad on the cartoon! This kid is the WORST! And he’s not bad-ass enough! In season 1, that kid was an a-hole! This one’s a little bitch!

The ONLY thing it had going for it was that Appa & Momo are still adorable. But they’re BARELY in it and completely useless. The scenery was gorgeous, and the few times they DID bend, it was kinda cool. Oh, and the characters LOOKED the part OK. Except for the Fire Lord who was oh-so-NOT-AT-ALL-SCARY. Sigh.

Man, the PACING on this thing was awful too! It’s so rushed! I know it’s a lot to fit in a movie, but it CAN be done! Some shit can be cut out, like the Blue Spirit bit where he rescues Aang. Leave that out, so you can flesh out the story more. SOMEthing! Like, the kids leave the water tribe and then they’re just in the Earth kingdom helping an occupied section. No discussion, nothing. Ugh. It was just so weird. But really, the acting man. Just terrible. I don’t get it.

So, I’m basically saying, “don’t bother.” I mean, I know if you’re as big a fan of the cartoon as I am, you’ll still want to see for yourself. But be prepared. I THOUGHT I was prepared. I wasn’t. This was one of the worst adaptations of something I liked that I’ve ever seen. Serisouly. Worse than Eragon. Simply awful. Which is so depressing.

You know, the whole time, I’m thinking, “Man, Peter Jackson would have made this shit AWESOME."


The End.

Just go buy the real thing:

My New Love: Banksy

How cool is that?! I've seen his stuff online before — friends of mine directing me to find it — but I never really looked into anything about him or his art. After seeing Exit Through The Gift Shop last night, however, I'm hooked! Banksy is a street artist. And until now I never really knew anything about this amazing movement.


Street artists are AMAZING. And Banksy is like their king. haha Well, not really, but he seems to be the most famous one. One of the really cool — and also really frustrating as a fan — thing about Bansky and other street artists, is that the art isn't permanent!!


Many of these images are gone! Especially ones done in controversial places. On his website, he posts a notice from like the parks department over at Alcatraz asking that people not deface their parks with graffitti, saying they're not there "to argue about whether or not this is artwork." What I find interesting though, is them directing you to see the "historic graffitti from the Indian Occupation." Though if guys like them weren't around back then, there wouldn't be any to look at. In 100 years, maybe Banksy graffitti will be protected somewhere. Let's hope so.


I mean, personally, I'm not a fan of "tagging." To me, it's just ugly scribbles stupid kids feel the need to draw so people notice them. Political graffitti, or just plain artwork, can be fantastic, however. Obviously, someone might not want it on their houses, but some commercial walls are improved with stuff like this! :-) Part of me hates that it's often cleaned off or that I can't own a Banksy original (or even reproductios — he doesn't do 'em), but on the other hand, it really just adds to it's specialness (is that a word? ;-P).

I guess I can settle for just looking at these pictures...

Oh yeah, he's British. Did I mention that? ;-) heh Just adds to his appeal. I wonder if he's hot... In my imagination, he ABSOLUTELY is. ;-P

In any case, Exit Through the Gift Shop is actually NOT a movie ABOUT Banksy. As he tells you at the very start of the film, it's a documentary about a guy who was trying to make a documarty about Banksy, but Banksy thinks his story was way more interesting.

But there's plenty in it about these street artists which has sparked a new interest for me to obsess over. And it's pretty fucking funny too. Here's the trailer:



Oh and check this out? Recognise this?


It's the cover to Blur's album Think Tank!! I love Blur...and I never knew. Ugh. I actually I think I have some special version of this CD with a different cover. Booooo...

So now I'm going to be scouring every wall as I walk around. If I ever come across a Banksy original, I might just pee my pants from excitement!


The End.

PS One of the other artists mentioned in the movie is Space Invader, who I also love. And I SWEAR I've seen one of his little dudes on a building along the West Side Highway. Every time I saw it, it drove me nuts because I didn't know why it was there! I thought it was maybe part of a sign for a store that closed down. If it's his, it would make me SO happy. :-)

IRON MAN 2!!! Hell. Yes.

So, now you've all had a chance to see Iron Man 2 (what!? You didn't see it opening weekend?! Are you feeling ok?!?!), tell me what you think! Personally, I LOVED it! OK, I still think I like the first one better, but this was a damn good sequel (and I was even more excited with the extra-after-the-credits scene in this one — I hope you stayed to watch it!)!

My minor problems with it (which didn't deter from my enjoyment)... SPOILERZ AHEAD!

• First, I know the general public laps this shit up (and I know it was also to help sell costumes) but I HATED the scene with the little kid thinking he's going to blow up the robot. Sure Iron Man notices that one little kid in all that mayhem and saves him with time to comment. Fuck all the other people.
• Second, I didn't like that Whiplash just became Iron Monger (Obediah from the first movie) at the end. And also that he would remove his helmet/face plate IN THE MIDDLE of the fight.
• I would have liked it if Natasha had more of an important role.
• Didn't love Sam Jackson playing himself when he should have been playing Nick Fury.
  
• While Don Cheadle did I a good job, I would've liked having Terrance Howard back more. Plus Howard is better looking. ;-P

There may have been something else, but clearly nothing too important as I don't recall it now!

What I especially liked about the movie:

• Pepper Potts RULED.
• Loved the Iron Man/War Machine banter throughout.
• LOVED the suitcase suit!
• Robert Downey Jr. killed it AGAIN.
• I love Agent Coulson.
• As previously mentioned, the extra scene.
• The Hammer/Stark rivalry.
• Oh man. Black Widow. ::drool::
  

Seriously. She was so hot in this and there's nothing I love more than a hot chick KICKING ASS!

Go see it if you haven't! And check out this kick-ass art book my department put out for it!



And if you didn't get the first one, it's now out in paperback!




The End.

KiCK-ASS: The Movie!!!!

OK, so I finally saw Kick-Ass last week and I LOVED IT!!!! And I'm not just saying that because Marvel published the book or because I'm friends with the awesome dudes that created it! I swear!

There were certainly some changes in the story, but I think they made for a better movie. Some things work better in a comic or book than they do on the big screen. Especially when you're shooting for a wider audience.


Well anyway! It was so much fun! "Super" heroes, VIOLENCE & cussing! What more does one need! The kid who plays Dave "Kick-Ass" Lizewski does a pretty good job. But the star of the show, in my opinion...


Holy shit. That girl is so fucking awesome. I mean, I loved her in the comic, but she's even more KICK-ASS (har har) in live action! Holy balls! I want to be her so bad. And be her I shall. Last year, while watching Star Trek I decided I would be a Starfleet chick and such has happened this time. I'm SO going to be Hit Girl. Though I have to say, just doing a quick search does not yield very good results on costume bits. The wig will probably be the only easy part. And I think I can make her belt. We shall see.


And I have to say, Nick Cage? Not so bad! He was actually kinda funny at times! Far cry from his role in Ghos...um...nevermind! Nick Cage rules! haha OK, not really, but I didn't hate him in this.


So if you've had any reservations on this, ignore them! hehe It really is a lot of fun. Especially if you like violence. Watching a 12 year old slicing & dicing in a purple wig is surprisingly fulfilling. haha Well not that surprising for me, as I'm not a fan of ze childrens. THIS is a child I could love. ;-)

AND if you like to read the series...well...what's stopping you!



And check out the cool "making of" book too!




The End.

KICK-ASS!!!!

Kick-Ass kicks ASS! If you haven't heard of Kick-Ass, that sucks for you. But luckily, I've just fixed that. Kick-Ass is Mark Millar's creator-owned series published by the Marvel Icon imprint. Mark Miller kicks ass, if you didn't already know, and this is just another in a string of excellent comics by the wee Scotsman. (I'm his friend, I'm allowed to call him wee. ;-P) He's the fella that brought us Wanted which was eventually made into a major motion picture starring the (in my opinion) ultra-hot James McAvoy, as well as Morgan Freeman and the beautiful Angelina Jolie. He also wrote very many fantastic books for Marvel, including The Ultimates & The Ultimates 2, Ultimate X-Men & Fantastic Four (all great).

Kick-Ass (drawn by the VERY talented, long-time comic artist, John Romita Jr.) is about a young fella who wants what most young fellas who read comics wants...to be a super hero. Frak. I want that! Though I don't think I'd like to get the taste of really that awaits this young fella as he tries to make his dream come true. Anyway, rather than have me explain any more of this, you can just check out the trailer for the movie! That's right! Another of Mark Millar's creations is about to be released as a major motion picture! (I just really like saying "major motion picture.") Here, for your viewing pleasure, the age-restricted trailer (put in your birthday to view):



And either before or after you see this, you should go pick up the hardcover collection of the series (this collection edited by yours truly, look for my name on the credits page :-P), available in one of two covers, shown below:

The mass-market, everywhere cover (my personal favourite)...


OR the Direct Market Only cover (which means you can only get it at a comic book shop):


(As you can see from the covers, it's NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE! hahaha)

As a special bonus for you, my loyal blog readers, here's one of Johnny's penciled page from the series. I won't tell you when/where/why this happens:

Sooooo...nothing left to say except GO READ AND/OR SEE THIS BOOK AND/OR MOVIE! ;-) heh


The End.

PS Here's a picture of me and the wee one the last time he was in town. Love that guy! <3 onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i400.photobucket.com/albums/pp90/igotkittypryde/-1-1.jpg">

In Honour of New Moon

I'm actually looking forward to New Moon despite the fact that the FIRST Twilight movie was a pile of poo. Mostly this is because of Jacob. As I've mentioned before I am in love with Jacob. Not so much the actor (though he's gotten pretty cute), as the character, but either way, they're both in the new movie. I'm also pretty excited for Dakota Fanning being in it. I love that girl. I'm hoping the fact that the first movie (miraculously) made a bunch of money, they'll spend a little more on this one. THe "glitter in the sun" effect in the first one just made Edward look sweaty. Ew.

ANYWAY. So I was watching Saturday Night Live from a few weeks ago, with special guest Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift, as some of you may know, is DATING the actor who plays Jacob. You might also know that HIS name is ALSO Taylor. This I find to be ridiculous. It is probably the reason that the Digital Short for the episode was made, though. And THAT was fantastic. I present it here for you. Enjoy!



Ha! Love it! And Taylor does a great job impersonating the ridiculously over-acted Bella. ;-)


The End.

"If He Gets Up, We'll All Get Up, It'll Be Anarchy!"

Sad day today. I'm sure everyone knows by now, but I just had to post SOMEthing. John Hughes, director of one of my favourite movies of all time, The Breakfast Club (and many other classics), passed away today from a sudden heart attack at the age of 59.

There's not much to say, but I'm just sad. I know that movie backwards and forwards... Ah, just sad. That's all there is to it. He was fairly young too! What a shame... :-(

I think I'll watch it this weekend. Love these "kids"!


"Screws fall out all the time, the world is an imperfect place."

The End.

More on Star Trek

Saw it for the THIRD time this weekend and plan on seeing it more, as well. Still cried at the beginning, still laughed at the jokes, still loved every single thing about that movie...maybe even moreso!

Anyway, just wanted to share this PvP strip with you (as brought to my attention by Wil Wheaton on HIS blog...and for those who don't know, Wil Wheaton is Wesley Crusher from Star Trek: The Next Generation!)



The End.

HOLY BALLS! STAR TREK!!!!

Oh man! I know this has been talked about and blogged about TO DEATH, but I just need to say how much I love this frakkin' movie!!!!

I finally saw it on Saturday and liked it so much I saw it again last night — by myself – at an IMAX theater. This time I loved it even more. I really think it's a perfect movie. Not necessarily THE perfect movie, but it's got everything I want or need in this kind of movie.

The characters: funny, endearing, quirky, just GREAT. I know the original Star Trek only slightly (I was a Next Generation girl thanks to my grandma!), but I just LOVE these characters now!

The cast: FAN-FUCKING-TASTIC! Every single actor in this movie was great. I fell in love with all of them! (Super cool to see Eomir in it too! hehe)

The action: LOVE the bar scene, LOVE seeing Spock kick ass

The technology/effects/etc.: everything LOOKED cool. The ships, I liked the transporter effects, it's all awesome.

It's fucking funny, its dramatic, its emotional. I teared up in the first frakkin' scene! IT'S GOT EVERYTHING, DAMMIT! haha

I also seriously want to date Kirk, Bones and Spock all at the same time. Oh and lets not forget Scotty! I LOVE Simon Pegg!! And he did such a great job (excellent Scottish accent as well!) haha Even Kirk's dad was awesome (and handsome) and I'm PSYCHED that he's been cast as Thor!! Woo!

Anyway, if you haven't seen this, GO. It's so great and you don't need to love Star Trek to enjoy it. (Though, yeah, it's definitely cooler if you recognise the characters and some of the stuff they always say...can't imagine there's a person out there, though, that hasn't at least HEARD of Kirk and Spock and couldn't recognise the Spock little hand thing that he does! haha)

HOWEVER, I heard some horrible things about how it's better than Star Wars, so lets just cut that out, shall we? I mean...STAR WARS. ::ahem::

Anyway, here's a funny video someone sent me, related to that. Enjoy!




The End.

I Love You, Paul Rudd.

A wonderful co-worker of mine pointed me in the direction of this upcoming movie, starring my favourite, Paul Rudd. I cannot wait. Go. Click. Watch.

Laugh.


I Love You, Man


The End.

Feel the Thunder!!

The TROPIC THUNDER (okay, so I'm a little gay).

Seriously, this movie is awesome. Go see it. (I know I'm a bit late on this, but there might be others who haven't made it to the theater for this yet!) I'm not going to ruin anything, but it's hilarious! I even like Jack Black in this, and if you know me at all, you know I HATE THAT UNFUNNY SONOFABITCH. ::ahem:: Tom Cruise, phenomenal. I especially love his close-out of the movie. Hehehehe

But the star of the show? Robert Downey Jr. Holy crap. This guy has too long been under my radar. I always had a soft spot for him, b/c I LOVED Chances Are when I was young. But I never really paid any attention otherwise. But b/t Iron Man, Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (which I made a point to see after I met him) and Tropic Thunder, he's easily become one of my favourite actors. He's just amazing. His performance in TT was outstanding.

Also, the movie opens with a fake commercial and trailers that are outstanding. Please, please see this if you haven't!

I'll leave you with this, my meeting of the man himself (with a little Favreau thrown in for good measure). He's hot for an old guy! ;-) He also seemed a bit...hyper...the entire signing (they were sighing at the Marvel booth at the 2007 San Diego Comicon and I was given the fun job of standing next to Mr. Downey Jr. the whole time to make sure no fans came up from behind.) My mother was quite impressed that I had my arm around him... yeah, that was cool. ;-P haha


The End.