Mr. Hakujin

Ah, these types of threads both excite and infuriate me. Here's mine "for now." * Opening credits: Voodoo Lady - Ween * Waking up: Minnie the Moocher - Cab Calloway * Average day: The Good Life - Weezer * First date: 1234 - Feist * Falling in love: Everybody Needs Somebody to Love – Blues Brothers * Love scene: Stellar - Incubus * Fight scene: No Shelter - RATM * Breaking up: 11am – Incubus (I broke up w/ her) Black – Pearl Jam (she broke up w/ me) * Getting back together: Suck My Kiss - RHCP * Secret love: Are You That Somebody - Aaliyah * Life's okay: 99 Problems – Jay Z * Mental breakdown: 19th Nervous Breakdown – Rolling Stones * Driving: Have Love Will Travel - The Sonics * Learning a lesson: Let It Be – The Beatles * Deep thought: Star Wars (OST) – John Williams * Flashback: Walk This Way - Run DMC * Partying: Groove Armada – I See You Baby * Happy dance: Weapon of Choice – Fatboy Slim * Regreting: La Valse D'Amelie – Yann Tiersen * Long night alone: Take 5 – Dave Bruebeck * Death scene: Fond Farewell To A Friend - Elliot Smith * Closing credits: We’ll Never See The Likes of You Again – Flogging Molly

Yeah, I a gree that's a definite possibility about DC. However, I think Kirkman expects readers to think the DC story mullethead is spouting is bogus. So Kirkman knows readers know it's likely bogus and in order to surprise us it will likely hence therefore be in other words unbogus. That is unless he knows we know that we know it won't be bogus then flips the script and in fact DOES make it bogus! My head hurts. Um, zomm-bee stampede! Whoo!!!

Re: Issue #59 Aww shit--it's a zomm-bee stampede, y'all! I got a not so good feeling someone is a gonna git bit next issue. Sorry, all the Rebel Flag talk in politics has my inner redneck seeping to the top.

Agreed! Fantastic find, Jax!

Back in '02 I was all about me some Utada Hikaru! I disagree about her not having "any" solid albums though. Deep River is a great album. It was the first album of hers I bought, and by far her best. Although I do agree her greatest hits CD would be a better purchase for casual/new fans, especially considering import prices. Exodus, her English "crossover" album was fail though. Maybe 2 or 3 decent songs on the whole thing. Ultra Blue was meh. And I've yet to hear her last album, Heart Station--which if anyone knows of a good quality torrent I'd be obliged for linkage. She's got a new all English album called This Is The One in the works. However, based on the single called "Come Back To me," it sounds like fans can expect another Exodus rather than Deep River.

Watchmen A- This film based on the acclaimed comic book by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons is set in a world slightly skewed from our own. What if superheroes had existed since the early 20th century? How would that skew our own history—the Vietnam War for instance? The bulk of Watchmen is set in the 1980s. The USA & Russia are on the brink of nuclear war. Superheroes were outlawed during President Nixon’s 3rd term in office and now someone is killing off the retired heroes. The film uses flashbacks to give history on each of the Watchmen and they are all certainly interesting. Purists will likely have complaints about deviations from the source material, but they should be few as Wathcmen has to be one of the most faithful adaptations of a comic book ever realized on screen. My biggest problem with the film is the same problem I had with the comic book—the ending. Watchmen is a well paced, violent, adult (male and female nudity is prominent), comic book film that uses extraordinary characters and situations to explore the most basic aspects of humanity.

^^ Yeah, The Roots as the house band is pretty cool, but how long do you think that'll last? Branford Marsalis lasted barely 2 seasons w/ Leno. I'd be surprised if The Roots stuck around past May. And Andy Richter is supposed to return as Conan's sidekick when he takes over the 11:30PM spot.

I side w/ Bob in the fact I've got waaay too much geek swag for my own good. I keep threatening to sell it all on e-Bay, but I'm too damn lazy to bother. So when my gf asked me what I wanted I told her nothing, but she's a typical female in that she loves to shop so she came back w/ a Mario T-shirt, some cool chopsticks, a bunch of Ramune soda, some Star Wars caricatures by this artist her sisters are gaga for (she didn't know his name, but his initials are RAK--I never heard of him), and a bag of green peanut M&Ms from the M&M store in Orlando. The only "celebs" they ran into at the convention were Lou Ferigno & Peter Mayhew (Hulk & Chewbacca)

^^ Yeah, I hear the original is a classic. It's on my "must see before I die" list, right behind Son of Rambow. ;) (that last bit was for Dr. Girlfriend)

The 2007 zombie party looked awesome. Too bad none of that went down this year. Maybe next year. My gf and her 2 sisters went to Megacon on Saturday and enjoyed it. But they mainly go for the merch and geek viewing than panels and such. Apparently she picked me up some cool stuff. Looking forward to seeing what swag I got tomorrow.

Outlander B Beowulf with a sci-fi twist. The Grendel monster design was unique and looked great on screen. The CGI was a bit weak in some scenes and Ron Perlman was sorely underused, but overall it was a well paced and entertaining take on the English language’s oldest adventure tale. Sex Drive [unrated] B- As the filmmakers point out in their tongue-in-cheek intro, this unrated version is more about making guys laugh and/or grossed out than any real plot. Gratuitous shots of naked women were added in random scenes and there’s even a few full frontal males thrown in for the ladies (or dudes into dudes…). They also incorporate adlibs and various alternate takes into the actual film rather than put them on the DVD as stand-alone “bonus features.” Sex Drive Unrated goes into familiar waters with it's subject matter and attempts at crude humor, but it separates itself from the other “teen seeking to lose his virginity” comedies and made for a truly “unrated” comedy experience. The Day The Earth Stood Still [2008] C- I’ve yet to see the original sci-fi film this one was based on, but it is hard to imagine it could be any worse than this snooze fest. The film’s pacing is tedious, the plot holes are gaping, and the main characters are annoying. (If you don’t hate Wil Smith’s son Jaden, you will by the end of this film.)

Nah, Nas wants to have the success of a commercial album, no doubt. But he also wishes to maintain his own self perpetuated image as some socially conscious "artist" while doing so. Unfortunately for Nas this has not worked out in his own favor and has resulted in him being relegated as a footnote in hip-hop--someone popular musicians in hip-hop can say they like so as to appear less than shallow in their own musical tastes. Or, in short... Nas=irrelevant.

Kanye West=Commercial Pop Music. 'Nuff said.

Role Models C+ Don’t you hate it when all the best lines of a comedy are in the trailer? Such is the case with this “buddy” comedy written by & starring Paul Rudd & various members of the 90s comedy sketch troupe The State. Despite Rudd phoning in his performance and some tiresome by the numbers directing & storytelling, this film did deliver its fair share of laugh-out-loud moments courtesy of a foul-mouthed kid and some heavy handed geek bashing. Choke C+ Sam Rockwell delivers a solid performance in a film that makes an admirable attempt at condensing the sex addicted, delusional messianic, self-loathing life of the novel’s con-artist slash colonial interpreter protagonist. However, the central theme of the novel is reduced to voiceovers and one throw-away scene rather than fleshed out in the film itself. One can’t help but wonder how the film would’ve turned out had it been in the hands of a more capable writer and director.

Yes, great comic. I wasn't ecstatic over the ending arc, but it was well worth the ride. And a bit of FYI for 'Y' fans: Y's writer also writes for the show LOST & Hurley was reading a Y: The Lat Man TPB before he boarded the plane in last week's episode of LOST.

The International D+ Director Tom Tykwer has come a long way since Run Lola Run, unfortunately it’s been in a downward spiral. The International has some great cinematography in beautiful locations and a stunning action sequence in New York’s Guggenheim Museum, but it lacks momentum, engaging characters, and most importantly for an action thriller—an interesting plot. Yes Man B- The premise is weak, but Jim Carrey delivers his same over-the-top brand of slapstick and he brings the funny more often than not in this un-edgy comedy. Ditto for Zoey Deschanel and her doe-eyed eccentric charm as a Vespa driving indie-rocker (not too much of an artistic stretch there for Zoey). Chocolat B- OK, so I’m late to the party with this sweetly sentimental and predictable romantic comedy from back in 2000. The French accents were terrible, but it definitely made me want to visit a chocolate store. Oh, and for the geeks it has Trinity, Doc Ock, and Sydney’s mom from the show ALIAS.

back in college every weeknight was letterman then conan. i haven't really watched a lot of conan in the past 4 years--he's own too late and i have to get up too early for work. i'm looking forward to possibly catching him agian now that he's taking over leno's spot. and i'm also curious to see what a prime-time leno will do--although it will likely suck as much as late-night leno.

Issue #58 was pretty good. Morgan and the fate of his son Duane is a bit of a "zombie cliche," I get the feeling this same sequence of events has even transpired before in this very series, but I thought the way it was written/drawn was very compelling. The tension Kirkman created it looks like Kirkman is rounding up a group of murderous mo'fos. This can only mean some truly fucked up shit is on the horizon....I hope.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona B- I had a hard time deciding if I liked this film or not. It’s definitely not a typical rom-com. If you can get around the whole pretentious, wealthy, educated and listless New Yorker aspect of the characters they are mostly intriguing as are the plot’s love triangles. However, there’s no real resolution to the film’s take on love and you do end up questioning what exactly this film is about. Perhaps that there are no real answers (or is it no “easy” answers?) is part of the film’s charm.

In Theaters: Frost/Nixon B Frank Langella’s performance gives scope and dimension to Nixon. The film focuses mainly on the sadness and loneliness of the man but also showcases his intellect, political prowess, and greed. And it is aptly titled as the film also paints an interesting character portrait of David Frost through the context of these career changing interviews. New In Town C As far as fluff filled rom-coms go this one was watchable. The film stars Harry Connick Jr. & Renee Z. and extols the virtues of small town life and Middle America while getting most of its punch lines from (playfully) mocking the people that hold those same virtues dear. On DVD: Forbidden Kingdom B- It’s The Last Action Hero for kung-fu films. If you didn’t like that film then you’ll probably hate this one as its half in Mandarin and the plot is a less engaging. However, anyone who is a 12-yr-old fan of kung-fu films (or one at heart) should find this film an enjoyable enough rental. Rock-N-Rolla B+ Guy Ritchie goes back to what made him famous with Lock, Stock, & Two Smoking Barrels. And like that film, this film balances laughs and violence with plot twists that center around a stolen antique, a group of small time London crooks in debt to a bigger crook, and characters with some major father/son issues.

IMHO the main villain in IM2 should be alcoholism. I could care less if there's another guy in armor he beats up. Just let him wail on more Mandarin fronted terrorists for action scenes. As long as they build upon Stark's guilt & self loathing from the first film, there could be some great character moments in IM2. Also, a drunken IM flying into the Chrysler Building or the Statue of liberty or something would be pretty awesome.

Christalmighty! Marvel hit it outta the park w/ Iron Man and now everything you hear coming out of IM2 seems to be one casting fuckup after another. Let's hope the bean-counters over at Mighty Marvel don't screw up the future of Marvel Studios...

Appaloosa C- Ed Harris directed this beautifully shot western that has one ridiculous plot turn after another. You get the feeling he was going for an old Hollywood type of Western film, but it just doesn't cut it in so many ways. For example, Viggo Mortensen's character was supposed to be this badass gunfighter but the film never has any badass gunfights. If you're craving a modern Western I suggest watching any two episodes of the HBO series Deadwood rather than wasting 2 hrs of your life with this film.

My current favorite OST: My all-time favorite OST:

That sounds more like a Garth Ennis story arc though. And Bendis tried that formula for SECRET INVASION but he forgot steps 1 & 3.