Sherlock Holmes [review]

This film was superb on many levels.
Guy Ritchie's directing skills are triumphant in this film depiction of Sherlock Holmes. It follows the novels/short stories extremely well. Many who follow the films of past will probably not be too satisfied with it, but according to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's short stories on Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, It has done a remarkable job of painting us a picture of who they truly were imagined. As for Irene Adler's story, the movie pretty much made a sequel to the only story she shows up in, but taking her personality and Holmes' ideals of her.

The acting in this film was sensational! Robert Downey Jr. was nominated for a Golden Globe for this role (perhaps an academy award nomination is to come). He made you understand who Sherlock Holmes was written out to be - a scrutinizing man so soaked up in his work and his companion while adoring the only woman who could ever outwit him. Jude Law's Watson is the best version ever put on screen. Finally they make a point that he was a medic in Afgahn wars and was a gambler. One thing that was not pointed out was that his fiancee/wife Mary was a woman who was seriously so gorgeous and hired them formerly to help her with a case in which Watson helped her big time (and love was formed). They did however keep her personality also true to the story. As for the nemesis in the books (Moriate, he does show up but we don't get to know who he is for sure until the end of the film which smells of sequels.)

One thing that I thought was wonderful is that probably to protect a bit of RDJ's past, we don't see Sherlock doing his cocaine, morphine, and opium as he did from time to time in the stories. It was not something to focus on and I am glad it didn't come up, while we get to understand that he is a fighter, violinist, pipe smoker, and other things that were brought up often in the stories. On the other hand in telling my husband this before we saw the movie, there is a scene where it seems like Mr. Holmes is hullucinating or dreaming which my husband said, "That must be one of his trips" while watching it in the theatre. If this is true, they did an excellent job of concealing it. Afterall, I for one hate movies with drug use.

There was no nudity or vulgar/profane tongue in this film from what my memory recalls. If you saw the original trailer in May or June (whenever it came out), I am sure it led to the idea that there would be such things involved. It was so nice that the focus of the film were the characters and the breaking down of a mystery. In the original trailer there were things like Irene Adler (played very well by Rachel McAdams) in a bodice/corset and kicking Mr. Holmes in his pelvic region as well as the main characters in a boat in which Watson and Holmes are at it in discussion and she says, ""uh, they've been flirting like this for hours".". . .all of that was cut. The most nudity there is here would be of a fat old man in a copper bathtub (we don't see anything), Rachel McAdams' upper back as she takes off a garment, and Robert Downey Jr. cuffed to a bed with a pillow covering him in a sensitive area. Considering how most of Guy Ritchie's films are, it was very clean in the language department.

As for violence in the film, there are a bunch of fighting scenes but nothing shocking and gross. The most gore we get to see is shrapnel sticking out of the shoulder of Watson. If there is anything this movie has, it is loads of action.

An excellent website I check because I don't like bad language, sexual sequences, drugs, and content that ruins films for me, is Kids in mind. They explain in full detail what is in the movie for sex& violence, language, and profanity.

and yes, this was the 55th RDJ film I've seen and it is certainly one of his greatest. I rate this film 4.25 out of 5 stars!!

09

Greetings!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday!

Anyway, I think it would be great if you all send us your top lists of 09. It can be movies,books,music,events,etc. Just e-mail me at melissamanfredi@att.net. Writers, you can just post your lists of course :)

Deck The Halls

Happy Holidays everyone!

Iron Man 2 Trailer

There have been a lot of DC Comic reviews on this blog, but in our household we are Marvel fans. . .and more specifically even I am a big time Robert Downey Jr. fan. The combination of Iron Man and RDJ playing Tony Stark is just great. I have all of the Iron Man comics on my computer and read a few of them as a child (thanks to my Marvel loving brothers). Although there are some changes to the story, I can't help but love to watch Iron Man over and over (my husband is just as bad with it which is nice, and even my older son loves it - but he has more of a Spiderman fascination).

Since the start of the filming of Iron Man 2, I have made sure to keep updated with director/actor Jon Favreau's Twitter and all the news articles released. The trailer has come out!! I thought I'd share it. Let me know your thoughts (whether you know the comics or not).

Monster Squad

Now, I don't know how to review this movie without giving tons away, but I will try. Monster Squad is a the story of a young boy, Sean, who is the fearless leader of a club of boys who hang out in a tree and obsess over monsters. Well, it turns out to much of their amazement, monsters aren't just a figment of their imagination. It features all of my favorite classic horror stars such as Dracula, The Creature of the Black Lagoon, The Mummy, Wolfman, and Frankenstein's Monster. There are a lot of surprises that are unusually for these monsters. One is actually very heart warming. You will have to watch the movie to figure it out. Also, this whole thing got started because of a lost copy of Van Helsing's diary. The guy really should have kept a hold on that thing.

Rent Monster Squad on Netflix: click

For Fans Of: The Goonies, The Lost Boys, and Universal Monster Movies

Rated: PG-13 (adult content)

Romeo x Juliet - The Anime

Romeo and Juliet is one of those stories many people are drawn to. It is rare that a story does not have a happy ending. It is a story of infatuation and power and confusion.

The anime however is one I've followed for a while now. Unfortunately after the fansubs came out as the episodes were released from Japan, they asked the US to stop fansubbing and wait for the release of the anime to the States. For once we listened. Finally I am able to finish watching it. Netflix also has it available in two parts (4 disks). I have completed the first 3 disks as of yet. The great part about this version of Romeo and Juliet is that there is more of a plot line developed. There is more of a learning process about their family. There is also more time they get to spend with each other in comparison to Shakespear's quick wedded bliss of knowing one another a day. I don't know if this has a happy ending or a sad ending as we know it, but it still is very interesting. The art on the other hand is beautiful.

Although I have seen far too many anime over the years (please don't say "animes", as "anime" is plural for itself!), over the past few years I have had a hard time liking newer anime. Perhaps it is because I am one of those who speaks fondly of the anime of old, or I've just grown tired of the same old story. For once I wanted to see more than the first few episodes (lately if I watch a disk, I give up and go on to the next anime in hopes that I can enjoy the entire series). If you are into romantic tales and into classic stories retold, I recommend this anime!

Review For GLC #43

Last month's issue of the Green Lantern Corps left quite a few readers miffed. In the final pages of that issue, we saw Kyle Rayner (known by the Corps as The Torch Bearer due to his carrying the Green Lantern mantle alone during the duration of the late 90's and early 2000's prior to Geoff Johns rebooting the franchise in 2005) sacrifice himself defending the planet Oa's Central Power Battery. As it was under attack by a hefty legion of Black Lanterns, he managed to decimate a good majority of them with his final actions. The final page of the issue showed Rayner's ring flying from his finger off into space to a lay over destination. (Typically, when GL's pass, their rings immediately seek out replacement bearers. Due to the events of The Blackest Night and the Green Lantern Corps' inability to train new recruits in the face of war however, all rings from the deceased are being sent to the planet Mogo to hibernate until the crisis is over.)

In the opening pages of issue 43, we find Rayner's current flame Soranik Natu as well as best friend and GLC's very own tough skinned rebel Guy Gardner attempting to retain the ring from flying off to Mogo while simultaneously fending off an oncoming black ring from placing itself onto Kyle's lifeless hand. Natu, a surgeon on her homeworld attempts to revive the deceased while Gardner, already known throughout the Corps for not having the most level head in his earlier days, goes into a grief triggered rage. In the midst of this, Guy becomes unwillingly indoctrinated into the Red Lantern Corps and proceeds to tear apart more Black Lanterns in his rage.

The final scene in the book sees the arrival of a Star Sapphire who initiates one of the hokiest resurrections ever conceived in the history of comics.

While I've been a fan and out spoken supporter of the ongoing Blackest Night saga, I've also been able to admit that there's a high level of absurdity to the entire debacle. We're talking about undead individuals rising up and feeding off of the emotions of their loved ones before physically ripping out their hearts. The premise in itself isn't the most original, but the high end writing courtesy of both Geoff Johns in the main title as well as the GL title and Peter Tomasi in the GLC title has kept this a series to stay excited about. In GLC 43 however, Tomasi fumbles the ball big time.

What should have been a very meaningful death for a seminal character in the DCU pantheon last issue seems like it was nothing more then a cheap plot device to allow Guy Gardner the avenue to defect to another team. While I've enjoyed the color spectrum of the different Lantern Corps over the last several story lines leading up to The Blackest Night, I can't help feeling that I'm seeing something of a Power Rangers syndrome occurring ever so slightly. Even the speculation of a White Lantern showing up within this series to help tie up the resolution smacks of Saban. While I'm positive Johns in his master plan wasn't attempting to ape a Japanese derived children's show, the similarities are too up front and present to ignore. At the least, can I hope to add a Red Lantern Guy Gardner to my toy collection in the near future?

Having Kyle Rayner pass on in the line of duty was noble. His death was reminiscent of Kara Zor El (the Supergirl of Earth One)'s passing in Crisis On Infinite Earths and Connor Kent (Superboy)'s death in Infinite Crisis. Sure, the internet lit up with fans of Rayner outraged - but to be sure, his passing meant something. His return in this issue felt cheap and further emphasized the idea that this was simply a plot device for Gardner's defection. While I as a Kyle fan am quite happy to see he's now amongst the living and won't be joining the Black Lanterns, it would have been nice to leave the pot on the stove to simmer for a bit longer. In a year's time when this story arc is collected into a trade, folks reading it will find it anti-climatic and undercooked in both plot and execution.

While this particular issue isn't enough to spoil my enjoyment of the overall Blackest Night event, it certainly places a sour note into the overall pace and flow of the story. I hope Tomasi spins quite the yarn around Guy Gardner as Red Lantern considering the cheap tactics he's utilized to get the story to this particular plot point. Again with the action figure, DC Direct could just the sculpt of their previous Gardner figure and give it a new paint job to reflect his new (albeit temporary) color alliance. A mediocre story and the potential for a neat toy - I suppose the trade offs justify the means eh?

Issue Grade: C+

Jingle Bell?

From talking to friends it has been become quite apparent Christmas music is never on top of their lists.

Anyway, I am looking for more contributors. So if you know anyone who would be interested, please send them my way. I can understand it will be slow for awhile due to the Holidays.

New Poll!

Here are the results of the last poll:

Have you been to the movies on a holiday?

No	0 (0%)
Yes	1 (33%)
I refuse to	0 (0%)
I plan on it	2 (66%)

Thank you to all that voted!

Our new poll question is "Do you listen to Christmas music?" I think the results would be mixed. I personally enjoy it since I was raised listening to everything from Jingle Bell Rock to modern covers of classic Christmas songs done by rock bands.

The poll is on the right side, so vote away!

Cha Cha Chia

As Seen on TV of the Day: Chia Pets

Website of the Day: As Seen on TV

Almost every Christmas I would get one of those gifts that you see on TV infomercials. The only item I failed to receive was the infamous Chia Pet.

What is a Chia Pet you ask? It is a brown figure made from clay covered in "chia" seeds that you water. They started out as animal shaped figures, but now have a wide variety including Obama.

They have branched out into other plants such as the Chia Herb Garden and the Chia Tree.

If you want more info on these interesting planters, go to their wiki page. They have quite the history.

How Do I Title A Post About A Subject This Awesome!?

2008's Grant Morrison penned Batman R.I.P. arc did alot of folks no favors. For those who preferred their Bats sans the greater DCU and the other caped heroes of that ilk, this story arc's final culmination in DC's then current company crossover Final Crisis was like a shot to the head. Tony Daniel's gorgeous looking but mediocre in written execution Battle For The Cowl followed soon there after placing Gotham in chaos before reluctant former protege and first Robin in line Dick Grayson begrudgingly took over the mantle. Nearly one year later, we see in the pages of Morrison's Batman and Robin monthly that Grayson still hasn't settled into his mentor's boots and ears - second Robin Jason Todd is now behind bars after a second stint as the Red Hood while third Robin Tim Drake has taken on another alias (albeit all too similar in many ways) and has taken to traveling the world in search for Bruce, thoroughly convinced the man still lives. Fourth Robin Stephanie Brown has moved on up and taken the mantle of Batgirl much to the chagrin of the new B & R team. The son of the Bat, Damien Wayne is the current Robin and has taken to playing the bad cop to Grayson's good. Oh yes, and it would appear that they're all currently contending with Black Lanterns masquerading as deceased love ones. The fun never stops.

For many, all of this continuity clutter has proved overwhelming. Many have questioned why the brass at DC have in the wake of last year's mammoth The Dark Knight decided to take such an avant garde approach in their story telling. On paper, it isn't the best idea to remove the man from the cowl on the comics pages after his very presence was what nearly sank the Titanic in box office sales.

For those detractors (of which I am not one. While I understand the apprehension met by many by the recent events in the Bat universe, I'm currently enjoying the ride and look forward to each week's new batch of comic developments), DC has been rolling out a few alternatives. The first was the recently released Batman/Doc Savage one shot featuring the title characters in a 'pulp and powerless' variant of the DCU where super powers simply don't exist. I take personal exception to this due to Batman's use of fire arms. While the excuse has been that his dependence on them is a harkening back to his more noir days in the pages of late 30's and early 40's comics, I argue that he only used them then because he was a brand new character who hadn't been fully defined yet. 70 years later, Batman upholds a very staunch moral code - amongst his short list of blacks and whites, killing is at the top and resides on the 'Bad, Tsk Tsk' side.

In the coming year, DC is putting together a set of graphic novels featuring Bats completely revamped - yet another Year One scenario. I was initially apprehensive of this as it reeked of 'been there, done that' until I saw one particular detail...

friggin' GEOFF JOHNS is at the writer's helm!

The man behind the current 4th volume run of Green Lantern (my absolute favorite ongoing title which after 46 issues, is still fresher then an overzealous Frenchmen's loaf of piping hot bread) who brought Hal Jordan back in GL Rebirth - the guy who is currently retooling Barry Allen in this year's very hot (but often delayed) Flash rebirth - the guy who is actually bringing the JSA to the Smallville screen in the coming months - the man who is the architect behind this year's brilliant Blackest Night. The man who can for all intents and purposes in my book atleast, do absolutely nothing wrong.

See here's the thing about Johns, when he crafts a story, he approaches it like a clock maker. The Blackest Night for example, was forecasted back in 2004 when he retooled the Green Lantern franchise. There have been easter eggs in both the Green Lantern run as well as the accompanying Green Lantern Corps.

After Flash Rebirth, he'll be at the helm of the Flash's new ongoing.

...and this guy, THIS guy - he's writing a set of graphic novels on Batman.

Batman.

Batman.

Batman.

Yes, my inner fanboy is squealing like your big sister back in 87' at that NKOTB concert.

2,010 is gonna be good!

TGIF

Memories of the Day: TGIF

Website of the Day: ABC

Anytime I think of television from the 90s, I always think of TGIF. TGIF was a block of Friday night shows on ABC. I am aware that it started in late 80s, but when I was old enough to stay up late to watch tv, it was a whole new gang of shows. The one show that sticks to most people's minds would be Family Matters. It must be hard to forget the annoying voice of the unforgettable character, Urkle. Also, there was Step by Step. It was sort of an updated Brady Bunch. My favorite would always have to be Boy Meets World. It had the goofy teen stuff we all can relate to. Later on, shows changed a bit and we got Sabrina The Teenage Witch. Sabrina's cat, Salem, is totally a talking version of my oldest cat. There was also a show that didn't last too long, Teen Angel. It was about a guy who ate a bad hamburger and came back as an angel to hang out with his best friend.

Let me know if you have any TGIF memories :)

A Monster In Every Generation...

We aren't talking about the re-invention of the wheel. As far as electro divas go, Lady Gaga is only the latest in a vast line known for contributing both good and bad marks to the pop cultural landscape.

Invariably, I tend to measure my pop stars up to a few litmus tests. Should they match up to each one with atleast one or two flying colours, then I add them to my shortlist of catchy obsessions.

A few examples of what I consider TRULY great examples of electro pop goodness: 1977's collaboration between dance floor goddess Donna Summer and Moog progeny Giorgio Morodor. The result? The sprawling 20+ minute epic 'I Feel Love', a cavalcade of spaced out synth sweeps, robotic beats and cooing vocals courtesy of Ms. Summer.

Another barometer: the self titled album by one Madonna Louisse Ciccone. See here's the thing about Madonna, here career has been largely hit and miss (the Evita soundtrack comes to mind for marks to place in the "Bad! Shame On You!" column. Her most recent Hard Candy was a large miscalculation and suffered from too many cooks in the kitchen with multiple producers and enough varying sounds to make it sound like a badly composed composition then a cohesive record), but when she's on, she's fabulous (her Confessions On The Dance Floor two years back met derision by many for its heavily robotic sound, and I'll confess that maybe the Morodor influence is what had me sold, but what a solid record!). That first record though? Near perfect. Half of the bloody thing ended up as singles - count them, 'Holiday', 'Lucky Star', 'Burnin' Up', 'Borderline', 'Everybody' - we're talking a MASSIVE record.

One last barometer: Kylie Minogue's 2002 released single 'Love At First Sight' single. Put simply, it did for me what 'I Feel Love' and Kraftwerk's 'Trans Europe Express' did for everyone in '77. For a 17 year old kid coming out of punk rock and a listening palate that demanded everything be loud and fast, Minogue reminded me why New Order were still my favorite band ever despite their lack of testosterone ridden aggression and why electronic music lived up to the promise Brian Eno bestowed upon it when he proclaimed it the future of music.

So where does this put Lady Gaga? While I admit a bit of envy at her success and age (being only a year younger then myself), her Fame album is undeniably brilliant. With a pair of missteps (the generic Paper Gangster and the filler ballad Brown Eyes), the album still sports a 13 strong set of songs that come one after the other like bullets out of a glitter drenched machine gun. Sure 'Just Dance', 'Love Game' and 'Poker Face' are rad songs and were heard pouring out of every rolled down window up and down every city street, but the rest of the record? 'Summer Boy' cops Blondie with the best of them while the record's self titled track has such a massive sound that every other pop song released this year sounds positively underwhelming in comparison.

With her recently released 8 song Fame Monster, Gaga steps things up in many ways by slowing them down. 'Speechless' pays homage to the Queen reference in her name while 'Alejandro' and 'Bad Romance' are more four to the floor dance tracks in the vein of the album's predecessor's singles.

In all likelihood, with all of the hyperbole removed, we truly are looking at our generation's defining pop star. Our older siblings had Madonna and we have Gaga. What sets her apart? We're talking avant garde dance troupes, absolutely mind blowing outfits (not the scantily composed stuff, but the orbs, the lighting panels, all of it colliding in a collage of Dadaist fashion brilliance). To say that Lady Gaga is staging a massive pop cultural coup is an understatement. Detractors say the masses are brain washed - truth is this, they're wrong. Our generation finally has a pop star on a mass scale with actual creative chops and none of the mindless manufactured bunk and bile that has afflicted the past pop messiahs whose prophecies have ultimately amounted to nothing.

In Gaga we trust...

In Defense of The Remake...

We have quite the toss up here:

On one hand, Wes Craven is against the rebooting of the Nightmare On Elm Street franchise. This is also the man who subjected film audiences to the Scream franchise. Truth: What this man has to say is completely irrelevant. He certainly can't argue the finer points of cinematic integrity when he green lit that lot of bunk.

On the other hand, we have Robert Englund completely in support of not only the film's reboot, but also his own replacement, the quite stunning Jackie Earl Haley. A quick look at Haley's resume shows him in the driver's seat as one of the leads in last year's breath taking opus Watchmen as the film's narrator and chief anti-hero Rorschach. Rubbish alternative ending aside, Haley translated his character perfectly from the comics and his demise at the hands of Dr. Manhatten at the film's end was poignant and tragic and all too human as his flame was extinguished in the name of preserving integrity and truth.

Rumors abound quite loudly as of late that he'll be starring in another DC property as arch villain/Hal Jordan's former mentor/former Korugarian borne Sinestro in the budding franchise Green Lantern.

All said, there are reputable detractors and supporters on both sides. What can break this movie however, is the involvement of Michael Bay, the architect behind the abysmal Transformers franchise - will this be another bummer like the rebooted Texas Chainsaw film several years back? Or will it languish in relative obscurity like its sibling franchise Friday The 13th which saw a relatively underwhelming reboot this past year?

As something of a devotee to the original Elm Street franchise, I'll give this one a shot - judging by the trailer, it would appear Freddy gets a much stronger back story and origin ala Mike Myers in 2007's Halloween reboot (noticing a pattern with the seminal slasher reboots yet?) and resultantly, the film's villain/lead gets a more human albeit still jarring face.

Come April, we'll see how this one washes...

Tim Burton

Artist of the Day: Tim Burton

Website of the Day: Tim Burton Moma Exhibit

My first glimpse into Tim Burton's world was when I had a childhood obsession with his first film, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. At the time I wasn't aware that the film was a Tim Burton film. But looking back at it now, it is quite obvious. He has come a long way from films like Beetlejuice. Oh yes, we must not forget his version of Batman.

It has become impossible to go into a store that sells movie related toys without coming across Jack Skeleton. Now, he has Tragic Toys that are characters from his poetry book,

The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories. I would not recommend these as a gift for the child you babysit for.

I am very excited about the Tim Burton exhibit in NYC at Moma. I have many good reviews of it and hope to make a trip there before it closes.

Poll Time!

Question of the day: Have you ever been to the movies on a Holiday?

I put a poll up to your right, but I would love if you leave a comment on your experience.

I am excited for Sherlock Holmes coming out this Christmas :)

The Truth.

Fact: French Onion Soup is one of THE finest dishes in all of the culinarian realm.

Try to dispute this and be met with silence.

If one does NOT ascertain that French Onion Soup belongs in the higher annals of pop culture consciousness, well...

...there's no hope for them.

Buffyverse

TV Show/Comic of the Day: Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Website of the Day: Much Ado About Buffy

Buffy has never been a normal girl. That much is obvious. She has been chosen to be the one to pretty much save the world in a matter of hours.

I first saw the movie in 92 and thought it was pretty funny. But the show is the way it should have been done. It still has moments of humor, but it is much like a horror movie put into a tv show.

If you still can't get enough of that, there is always the Angel series. It shows you what happens to Buffy's ex-vampire love. It even has singing demons. Now, demons aren't all bad in the Buffy/Angelverse. I guess you have to watch it to understand.

Now, if you still can't get enough, there are the comics. Dark Horse continues to tell the tales of Buffy in Season 8 (which is in comic form rather than tv) and you can also catch up with Angel in his series.

Oh yea, there is a musical episode of the show. Who can say no to that?

.

Piet Mondrian - De Stijl.

Still we build monuments upon Dadaist props.

Drop the pretense (repeat and rinse) - Jackson Pollock was more metaphor then artist.

The hardest part is? We are not minimalists.

No sir, we are not minimalists.

Phillip Glass and Terry Riley - Brian Eno and David Byrne -

Blog posts running on too long and sentence structure with no juncture or pauses left to breath.

And I heard we dropped the pretense (repeat and rinse) - was Prince a minimalist?

Apartment Therapy is more metaphor then tips.

and none of us are minimalists.

No ma'am, we are not minimalists.

None of us are minimalists!

None of us are minimalists!

None of us are minimalists!

We compose our top 5 toy/music/comic/artist list.

Let it be said ma'am and sir - no please let me insist.

None of us are minimalists...

Shopping...

At the age of 25, I can see the naive joy of Christmas presents in the rearview mirror of my memories. We've all had those times - squirming in bed, unable to sleep because of the anticipation of discovering the contents in all of the shiny boxes out in the living room. As time has gone on (read: when I started living on my own), I've gotten to the point where I don't even think about Christmas gifts. Sure I'll get something for Melissa, but aside from that, I don't purchase Christmas gifts for a large cache of people. On the same token, I've come to not expect anything on Christmas morning either. Priorities shift. Now it's about what's on the table to be eaten, who there is to spend the day with - things change, mindsets change.

Melissa and I are in that space between. We are neither beneath our parents nor are we parents to anyone else. That leaves us free agents in many ways and if you were to catch either of us away from the ears of those who may frown upon it, we would gleefully tell you we like it better that way! See, everytime I win a full run of comic books on eBay (Green Lantern Volume 2: issues 1 - 187 complete for example) or Mellie gets a realllyyyyyy expensive bottle of perfume at Ulta (Harajuku by Gwen Stefani perhaps?) - well, there's our time of getting things. Because we find things to buy year round, the gift receiving part of Christmas is somewhat irrelevant...

I am however, quite the fan of a good deal. I'm huge into finding great bargains in second hand shops (season 1 of Buffy for 8! Score!) - I suppose though, I'm not as much of a fan as some.

See this morning, while I was JUST going to bed; throngs of people around the nation were lined up around big box outlets everywhere looking to get in to procure great deals for their Christmas lists. In lieu of last year's incident which saw the death of a WalMart employee at the erm...feet of a throng of early bird shoppers, many stores stepped up their security today with many having never closed last night in an attempt to keep a queue from forming. By all reports, nothing worse then a pair of physical altercations in a few California area WalMarts occurred.

Black Friday has always been synonymous with Thanksgiving in my mind. It turns out, the terms originated in the 60's, well before my time. By the time my mind began registering and storing shopping outlet television commercials to memory, things bled into each other. Thanksgiving and Christmas were a two in one separated only by a month for the sake of letting folks catch their breaths - and catch up on their shopping.

Over the years, I've watched as Buy Nothing Day has sprung to prominence as something of a counterpoint to the first day of the year where most retailers finally see their profit margins climb out of the negative areas. Decrying Black Friday for its heavy exploitation of consumers and its emphasis on crass consumption and capitalism, these individuals in their most extreme have called for an end to capitalism altogether. While the sentiment is merited (I myself spent today in and didn't buy anything either), sometimes I've noticed it can be something of a trendy thing to embrace (read: punk rock types who worship anything on Epitaph Records and still think throwing swears at random makes them rebellious despite being in their mid 20's!). For these 'anarchist' types (who've probably never even read Emma Goldman or Alexander Burkman to get the true inner workers of the anarchist term), they view Black Friday as the embodyment of everything that is wrong with society - society consumes, they're greedy, they buy too much and they don't care about anything else.

This may be true on one side - but there's another.

See the thing with capitalism? In any 'free' country, a certain level of it is needed to retain a semblance of freedom and the ability to CHOOSE. Otherwise, you would have government sanctioned food programs instead of restaurants to pick from, no say on which service provider you would like to go with for housing utilities, not much choice on entertainment and all of those cool apps I see the punks tapping away on their iPhones with, well - those wouldn't be there either would they? Not without a heavy amount of governmental licensing and approval before each and every one hit the iTunes store anyway...

Is it possible to keep things balanced?

I'll tell you after Cyber Monday wraps and I'm hiding my bank statements...

Day After Thanksgiving

TV Show of the Day: Friends

Website of the Day: Hulu

Last night we ate so much that I went into a food coma. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Anyway, on to the blogging. During the Holidays it is impossible to avoid those TV specials. Almost every Thanksgiving there are sitcoms where the dinner is the star. For example, the episode of Friends where Monica sticks a turkey on her head to get Chandler to laugh. It is also the first time he says I love you to her. We also can't forget the episode of Full House where first DJ's turkey is frozen solid and then it is like a black ball of coal.

Now, we will all be looking forward to the 24 hours of A Christmas Story to be played on our screens.

Make Cooking Fun!

Functional Toy of the Day: Russian Doll Measuring Cups

Site of the Day: Stuff Hipsters Hate

I found these measuring cups while looking at fun house things that I will probably never buy. But look at these! They are cute, displayable, and useful! Another plus side is that they come in 6 sizes!

Tomorrow I will talk about Thanksgiving and television episodes that commemorate the holiday. Have a safe Thanksgiving Eve!

Reviews for GL # 48 and BN # 5

Geoff Johns has been building anticipation for his Blackest Night storyline for a few years now. Starting with Green Lantern Rebirth back in 2006, the current volume has been retooled (even Hal Jordan's origin has been reshaped to include the current arc's co-villain The Black Hand, who in the time of his debut was a light and harmless villain who has since seen a massive overhaul into a more sinister guise) and at the run's midpoint in the 20's, The Sinestro Corps War arc outlined what was to be a War of Light.

Now there wasn't just A Green Lantern Corps. Now there were Yellow rings floating around. As time went on (and I'll spare the details for those of you unfamiliar with this story), a Blue Corps came into play followed by a Red. The Star Sapphires, long villains in the Green Lantern pantheon now shine a light and are rounded out by Agent Orange (the orange light of greed) and the Indigo Tribe who of course wield the Indigo light.

Seven Corps. If it weren't for the skilled writing and heavy layers of plot and story put into this by Johns, it would all just come off like a complicated and more grown up version of the Power Rangers. If only the Power Rangers were this great or even this much fun...

To catch up to speed from the past few issues of GL and Blackest Night issues 1-4, something has caused the dead heroes of the DCU to rise again. They're all wielding Black rings and are allied with what has now become led by Black Hand and christened The Black Lantern Corps. In the last issue, it was revealed finally that the mastermind behind even Hand's motives is Nekron. Most current readers of the GL mythos found themselves scratching their heads and running to their local comic shops to figure out who this guy was. As it turns out, Nekron first appeared in the 1981 three part series Tales of The Green Lantern Corps. Astute readers of GL's third predominantly Kyle Rayner fronted volume will note that Nekron appeared in one of the annuals bringing dead GL's back to life albeit for a very short time.

This pair of issues brings us up to speed on seeing the wielders of the colors of light reluctantly teaming up to take down the Black Lantern presence - GL # 48 is predominantly dialogue and build up showing Red Lantern Atrocitus finally succumbing to pain and revealing why his anger is so strong while Blue Guardian Sayd makes a deal with Agent Orange Larfreeze in order to acquire his participation.

From there we're thrust into Blackest Night #5 where Barry Allen (the recently resurrected Silver Age Flash) is joined up by more current Flash and successor Wally West. The two are joined by various members of the JLA and JSA before Hal Jordan and the other ring bearers come in to neutralize the threat. This only makes matters worse however when Atrocitus's red ring activates the skull of Bruce Wayne that Black Hand has been carrying around all this time...

By issue's end, many of the DCU's major players who at one point in their careers found death but eluded it are now playing for Team Nekron and The Black Lantern Corps while Barry and Hal are left trying to avoid being ringed in themselves.

Blackest Night takes a break for the month of December and will resume in January with a wrap up scheduled for March. This series gets better and better with each issue and the layers that are able to be pealed back with the supplements of GL and GLC each month make for quite the ride. Geoff Johns at one point stated that he wanted to shape the Green Lantern mythos to be epic to the point of being on par with a saga such as Star Wars. If he keeps down this road, he won't be bluffing in his claim.

If you haven't latched onto the Blackest Night yet due to worries of too much past continuity or not enough knowledge of characters, don't let that deter you. There's enough accessibility to where you won't be needing to reference Wikipedia every page (well, maybe every ten or twelve pages...)

Solid.

Sometimes the Masses Aren't Wrong . . .

So I've always been the kind of person who has ignored things simply because they are excessively popular. I figured that would change as I grew up but it never really did. I have gotten past it to a degree but it does still happen.

Point being, as much of a bookworm as I have (or haven't compared to some) become in the last few years, I didn't want anything to do with the Twilight series. Like I said, I have a natural aversion to all things grossly-popular and this was no exception.

A couple of months ago the family and I went down to visit some friends and we decided we'd watch the first movie in the series. Upon first viewing, I wasn't overly impressed with the way the story was told, but I did love the atmosphere of the film. I figured it was a movie I'd probably watch again, and quite possibly enjoy more the second time around - that turned out to be the case. Since watching it the second time, my sister gave my wife her copies of the books. My wife read through them QUITE fast in comparison to her usual reading speed, so I figured there must be something to them. I ultimately decided that I would read them as well. . .

Now that I've read through Twilight and am currently about 60 pages into New Moon, I'm thoroughly "geeking out" about the story. Don't get me wrong, I'm not really a lovey-dovey, dreamy type . . . okay so I am . . . but anyway, I'm a Dune freak talking about how a drizzly, overcast day in north Jersey is a "Forks kind of day".

Yeah, that's right, I'm in deep. It might be because the story reminds my high-school-sweetheart-wife and I of our story, or it could just be the neatness of "vegetarian" vampires. Regardless, I'm having fun with it. As for the movie adaptation of New Moon, I think they did a splendid job with the direction and cinematography. However, as I've just started the book, I can't say much for its accuracy. The music for this one seems to be more potent and fitting. Not to say the music wasn't good in the Twilight film, but this one just seems more enthralling.

In closing, I've learned two things of late: the masses aren't always wrong, (maybe just misled) and it's really weird to see the way actors and actresses change over the years, even over a few number of them.

Comic Book Days

Job of the day: Working at a comic shop

Website(s) of the Day: G.E.N. & Graham Crackers Comics

What does Monday night mean to me? It means me going to bed earlier so that I can wake up early on Tuesday morning. Why? It's because I help out once a week for store credit. I dig and sort through long boxes of comics that I have no interest in (umm Punisher) to obtain the ones I am interested in. I get to drink a funky energy drink while listening to movie scores on the speakers. I hear Kriss and the manager talk about figures, comics, movies, etc. I actually enjoy being there. It makes me feel like I am behind the scenes. Today I grabbed a copy of the new Emily The Strange and an issue of Previews. Previews is a catalog of what is coming up in the next few months in the comic book world.

Anywho, time to take a nap and then read some comics of course!

If They Had Used Vegetable Broth, There Never Would Have Been A Problem...

Tony Chu isn't the typical criminal investigator. Speaking with the particular dietary life style that I choose personally, I'm pretty sure I would just quit the business altogether if I had his sense of erm... intuition.

See, Tony is a Cibopath (please don't hurt your head trying to look this up - it isn't real - it's a device for use in the plot... oh internet.) - he's able to get psychic impressions from everything he eats. He uses this ability to solve cases - murder cases. One can get a pretty easy jumping off point for what exactly it is he has to eat at times in order to get a clue...

Resultantly, Tony is so disenfranchised with consumption, even on his own personal time, that he only eats beets. Beets as it turns out, are the only thing he can eat without knowing where they came from...

Set in a post chicken world where its restricted in every form, there are now dirty operations selling pollo in mass quantities and making a high profit - chicken is the new drug trade. Unfortunately the case gets personal for Chu when he finds that his brother, a former celebrity chef is buying the birds in large amount...

The plot thickens from there.

Chew is an ongoing series on indie Image Comics (and one of its few diamonds in the rough amidst a stable composed largely of bunk fare) and has been quite successful so far.

Issue #6 releases tomorrow setting up a new story arc while the previous five issue story arc has been collected into trade and will be released tomorrow in correlation. (I'm actually going to give it a read now...)

If the guys over at the Big Two aren't doing it for you and you still haven't warmed up to the certain pleasures offered by Dark Horse (purveyors of fine Buffy comics everywhere), give this smartly written and highly entertaining series a shot! (Please be advised that this series is for mature readers due to swears and occasional adult situations).

Order Volume 1 of Chew here.

Tomb of Ligeia

I grew up in a mad-house-Vincent-Price-watching family.

Over five years ago I signed up to Netflix. Right away I filled my que with movies I hadn't seen in a long time. One of those films was called Tomb of Ligeia. Unforunately the movie right away became unavailable and sat in my que's "save"section until they received a new copy. I noticed last week that it came out of the save section. I made sure I would watch it immediately before it would become unavailable again.



Tomb of Ligeia stars Vincent Price, who is very known for being in movies based off of the Edgar Allan Poe short stories. He landed mainly roles for playing in thrillers/horrors aside from his many Poe roles. The co-star is Elizabeth Shepherd.

Quick plot explaination: a man's wife dies and he feels her will to live after death still haunting him. He meets a woman who looks just like his wife and falls for her. Will his dead wife destroy his chance of new love?

Ramune Fizz Fizz

Beverage of the Day: Ramune

Website of the Day: Japan Forum

What is Ramune? It is a soft drink (pop,soda,etc) originating out of Japan. Its fun design is what keeps me wanting more. The flavor can be a little plain at times, mostly tasting like bubble gum (well, the ones I pick). You can mostly find them in your Asian market.

Now, let me talk about the bottle. There is a marble sitting in between the body and the top of the bottle. You take the top off and use it to push (really hard) the marble into the body of the bottle, which creates a fun fizz. The drink doesn't always come in these fun filled bottles, but I am sure they are the ones people enjoy the most.

Go on, go buy one!

Batman and Robin...

Last year's Grant Morrison penned Batman R.I.P. arc was pretty great - rife with Silver Age references (the Batman of Zur-En-Arh, The League of Bat Men, etc), the arc was a great read. Bruce was worn down and defeated by a new enemy - Doctor Hurt and a society known as The Black Glove - and put on the streets before finally redeeming himself. It was implied that at the end of the story's arc, his struggle with Hurt on an exploding helicopter was to be his final curtain.

Not so.

At the same time as R.I.P., Morisson was also penning the DC company wide cross over Final Crisis - a story line widely decried even now for its highly pretentious writing and unlived up to plot points. In issue 6, we find Bruce is still alive after all and has a gun holding the bullet that killed the God of the Fourth World known as Orion. Facing off against Orion's father, Darkseid (the man responsible for all the chaos in the plot), he makes a passing remark about how he never uses fire arms - 'but this time he'll make an exception' - before proceeding to nail the god of Apokolips with it. Before beginning to succumb to the poison within the bullet, Darkseid Omega Sanctions (go look that junk up in the old Super Friends cartoons from the 80's!) Bruce and by the end of the comic, he's back in the prehistoric days scrawling bats onto cave walls.

Is Bruce dead? Is he truly alive and just looking to find a way back from Dinosaur land?

Whatever.

In the aftermath of all of this, Tony Daniel's mini series Battle For The Cowl covered the vacuum left by Bats in Gotham with second Robin/now big bad Jason Todd now running around in a robotic Bat suit killing anything he finds. Dick Grayson of course is on the scene to stop him but is reluctant to take up the mantle of the Bat despite third and current Robin Tim Drake's pleas to do so. At the end of the series, Todd is defeated and Grayson takes on the mantle while Bruce's son Damien takes over the Robin mantle in the wake of Drake leaving to travel the world in his search for Bruce (apparently, he's the only one in the DCU who just won't buy that he's actually passed on...).

Starting last June, Morisson returned to helm (in what would presumably be considered the reason he offed Bruce in the first place) the new title Batman and Robin. His idea to juxtapose a more lighthearted Batman (in both his Robin and Nightwing guises, Dick was always comparable to Marvel's Spider Man in that he cracked jokes and utilized sarcasm in situations) and a more serious Robin (Damien being the son of Bruce and Ra's Al Ghul's daughter Talia was born into the League of Assassins and was being taught how to kill after his first moments walking) was initially met with detraction by the majority of the comics community.

When the first issue dropped however, all of us had to pick our mouths up off of the floor. Morisson's considerably dialed down and more straightforward writing combined with Frank Quitely's exquisite and crisp art were a 1 2 punch. The team cranked out the first three issues without trouble and fleshed out the Professor Pyg villain first introduced briefly back in Bats # 666 while showing the working dynamic between the new Dynamic Duo. Trading insults towards each other as much as blows towards their foes, this new pair were starting down a bad road. With Dick used to his own role as Nightwing, taking on an act as complex as Batman was proving hard and he had issues being comfortable with it. Sensing this and in turn comparing him constantly to his father, Damien often went off on his own and did whatever he wished regardless of Dick's instruction.

Now we're in November and the second arc has wrapped up. With Phillip Tan on artwork (something of a step down from Quitely's) and a re-introduction of Jason Todd now reclaiming his Red Hood guise as well as a new villain called the Pink Flamingo, Batman and Robin hasn't let up steam in the writing department at least. With atleast seven more issues ordered for the run of the series (with Quitely coming back for atleast one more arc), there's much to look forward to. Issue 7 will be released after Wednesday's Blackest Night #5 in what appears to be something of a coinciding crossover.

While I'm sad that Bruce isn't with us right now, the current era of Reborn books - B & R, Detective Comics (featuring Batwoman), Paul Dini's Streets of Gotham, etc - are all proving to be solid reads with great writing and wonderful character development. While I may seem six months late on the Reborn era, I let things stay on the burner and simmer for awhile so that I could look at the line of books more objectively. It's easier to assess them when they have half a year's worth of issues under their belts more so then when they only have a month or two.

Your comic book shop has these in mass - go try them out now!

Dance The Magic Dance

Movie of the Day: Labyrinth

Manga of the Day: Return to Labyrinth

We have all seen the movie or at least got the Magic Dance song stuck in our head. I will however avoid certain...things about David Bowie in this film. Okay, we all know his hair looks amazing. He is pretty much unforgettable along with many of the other characters in this movie. My favorite would be the worm-like creature with the British accent. "Ello." "Did you just say Hello?" "No, I said ello, but that's close enough."

Now, if you haven't had enough of this classic tale, there is a manga continuing this tale. It's about Toby (Sarah's little brother) and his return to the Goblin King's castle. I have read the first two (4 is almost out) and noted the beautiful art work that is of course, manga styled. Check it out if you haven't yet.

(co-editor's note: Jennifer Connelly is STILL hot!)

Not So True Blood

As a closet dark soul, raging geek, and graphic designer I am always looking for great beverage and snack design. Enter: Blood Caffeinated Energy Potion. This tantalizing beverage is almost too much for my senses. From the clever packaging to the realistic viscosity I am addicted.

Come on, how many nights have you and your significant other spent the night listening to too much Tiger Army only to be awakened by the awkwardness of your lover trying to use your neck as a bendy straw? Not a good look. It's just like real blood, minus the hepatitis worries of course. I suggest you peep it out.

Nom Nom Nom

Let's Talk Sonic Youth....

Sonic Youth and I have had a difficult relationship for quite some time now.

I was first introduced to them via their Dirty record (wasn't everybody?) - but due to my being a generation after the siring of the Grunge nation, I didn't hear it until much later at the age of 17 from an old band mate of mine. Compared to alot of the other stuff we were listening to at the time, perhaps I was looking for something more straightforward - Sonic Youth were too abstract. Too arty for even my tastes. Through the next few years though, Kim Gordon's repeated motifs in the record's 'Drunken Butterfly' stuck with me and I would occasionally go back to them finding increasingly more and more enjoyable stuff - just never enough to make me fall in love.

When Melissa and I got married, we combined our cd collections (but not our vinyl, her only contributions at that point were a few pop punk seven inches). One of the cd's now available to me - SY's 1995 effort Washing Machine - beckoned me to give the group another try. This time I got it. By this point, I had also been into avant garde composers such as Karlheinz Stockhausen and early German bands such as Can and Neu!. I had also by this point fallen in love with the early 70's electronic punk band Suicide as well as their late 70's No Wave descendents such as James Chance, Teenage Jesus and The Jerks and my absolute favorite - D.N.A.. Hearing them through the filtered ears of having subjected myself to these bands and their recordings, Sonic Youth seemed almost down right poppy in comparison. Growing up with an older sister who worshipped the alt gods of the 90's, Melissa professed that one of her favorite singles ever was the band's "Bull In The Heather" due to the song's accompanying video clip featuring a prancing Kathleen Hannah of Bikini Kill and later Julie Ruin/Le Tigre fame.

Upon hearing Washing Machine in its entirety, I went to the record store a while later and purchased their b-sides record The Destroyed Room. All four sides of the record poured brilliance from the speakers and I couldn't stop - one of my vices since has been collecting all of their recordings on vinyl (so far I have 10 out of the 16 studio records, 4 out of the 6 vinyl releases in their experimental SYR series, etc). For quite some time now, Sonic Youth have been takers of my life's soundtrack.

No strangers to pop culture themselves, Sonic Youth were actually some of the original pack who embraced it openly - 1990's Goo featured a Kim Gordon penned tune ruminating on the life of Carpenter's singer Karen while most recently, they performed an acoustic version of their 1986 tune Starpower on the wildly chastised by some and obsessed with by others television program Gossip Girl. Having been released from their contract with mainstream label clowns Geffen Records some years back and in turn, now creating without the pressure of mass audience success, they've released this year's The Eternal on Matador - is it irony or natural progression that the record boosts some of the 'poppiest' songs of their career? Sonic Youth have been around for nearly 30 years and in that time have been the architects for 75% or more of what every other underground, indie or 'alt' band has drawn from - they've got nothing to prove.

Here's to 30 more....

I Got Nerve

Celeb of the Day: Miley Curus

Website of the Day: www.vh1.com

Yes, I picked the child of Billy. If you give Hannah Montana a chance, you will find it quite funny. I laugh every time. She has a wonderful voice and seems like someone who is easy to get a long with. Probably the best teen-friendly pop tunes in a long time.

Also, she gives the peace sign like someone else I know.

Why Does Everyone Want This So Bad When The Second One Was So Awful!?

Fact: 1984's Ghostbusters is easily within the pantheon of quality films. Me personally, it's easily in the top 10 (however I won't further quantify the nerdiness of this blog by composing any top 10 lists).

See, it has everything. You have Harold Ramis, Dan Akroyd and Bill Murray at their comedic zeniths. These were the men who were spinning gold at the cinemas and this was their master piece. You had Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis and Annie Potts all providing solid supporting rolls (and in their brief moments - such as the altercation between Venkman and Janine about the poor quality of the work environment - actually outshining the leads).

The music, while dated - has stuck with me since first seeing the film as a small child. The eeriness of the atmosphere when the ghosts were freed from the reactor, the oft-repeated motif with the piano throughout the film - all of it. Gold. When I was in kindergarten and we went to the skating rink, Ray Parker's theme song ALWAYS got everyone on the floor - in the first grade, our music teacher would play it on his keyboard for our class and we would shower him with applause!

When the credits roll, one sits back content in knowing that they've viewed a film that is fully encompassed within its own 100 minute run time.

1989 had an answer for that. 1989 had an answer for alot of things - on one front you had Sonic Youth and Nirvana preparing to make pariahs out of Bret Michaels and his ilk of poncy Aquanet dependent troops. On another front, Tim Burton's seminal Batman was released into the cinemas to much acclaim - HERE was an answer to all of the detractors who envisioned Bats as a guy doing the Batusi while high on hallucinogens and flower power. Millions flocked to see and enjoy it...

...but did those millions enjoy Ghostbusters II?

GB II had the advantage - enjoying the largest three day opening for a film up until that point - a balloon that was popped by Bats one week later. When pairing the film next to its predecessor however, you see a myriad of differences. GB had all of the vitality and energy of a 4 year old child - except, the child had somehow been born with a high level of genius and reflected this in snappy words and clever thought. GB II was that child as a 9 year old lying in the gutter with a bottle of Stefanoff and a collection of bad life choices. To apply a more minimalist assessment of Ghost Busters II, it was flat, dull and uninspired. It felt like a cash in and it came off crass. But why? The original ensemble of actors was there, the director was there, yet it the final product was so insipid.

Since then, it would appear that key members of the cast as well as very forgiving audiences and fans - no doubt still dizzy from how great the original film was - have been lobbying for a third and final installment to complete the franchise. Akroyd and Ramis, both having done a few notable things in the last two decades, but not too much - have been the main proponents. Bill Murray, the final piece in the original triumvirate, now knee deep in a resurgence due to his roles in a number of great films such as Lost In Translation, The Life Aquatic and The Royal Tenenbaums has taken a more level headed stance in that he would only be in support of a sequel if the script is above par. According to Akroyd, the film would be a spring board for a new generation of ghoul hunters - including Eliza Dushku of Buffy and Dollhouse fame.

While I'm not personally all that crazy about a third installment, I'll still be one of the mindless hopefuls who buys a ticket on opening night anyway on the off chance that it would have some redeeming value. Perhaps I am one of those denizens who is still dizzy from the brilliance of the original film - it's so easy to forgive slip ups when the first attempt was so solid. As it stands, Ghostbusters III is looking at a 2012 release date - in my own opinion, the film will probably languish in development hell for a few more years before a key player kicks the bucket (none of them are getting any younger) or is finally put to bed in the vault of cinematic broken dreams.

I'm only pulling for it because honestly, I think Eliza Dushku with a proton pack WOULD be pretty rad...