Justice League: Cry for Justice #1 (of 7) - I’ve been waiting for this one. Unsatisfied with the state of things Hal Jordan decides, rather than wait and simply react to villains, to take the war to them. As a concept it’s got promise, the eccletic group of heroes might be fun, and (as Green Arrow mentions) when Hal gets determined to do something things get interesting. What I’m not sold on however is much of the James Robinson’s writing after those first few pages. And if one more character repeated the “I want Justice!” mantra I was going to throw my comic across the room. I get it, okay. The retarded first grader gets it. Stop already! Aside from having all the subtlety of a Michael Bay film it’s still worth picking up, but it needs to get better by issue #2.

Continue reading Comic Rack - Justice, Sword, Reborn, Secret Six, & more

Our good pal (and fellow office dweller) Eric was kind enough to hip me to the sweet pop sounds of the French band, Phoenix, recently. I’d heard of them via their track on the Lost in Translation soundtrack, but as with many Sophia Coppola related things had soon put them out of my mind. However a quick deep dive into the band’s discography has made me an eager fan of their joyful and unabashed pop craftings.

So to give a little back to Eric (whom I never thanked for posting that Wilco clip) I’m going to go ahead and throw out a video that many of you might already be aware of - Lisztomania (from the most recent release “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix“). Even if you’ve seen the clips before, give another look. It’s a damn fine pop nugget, and the band’s official video is a fun, clever (and oh, so very French*), affair that alternates between Beatlesesque hijinx and studio/practice footage. However, this fine soul rightfully realized that a song that seemed so steep in the best of the 80’s pop wave put together this mash-up version using naught but well-synched up Brat Pack** footage:

My only complaint would be that there was far, far too little Hollywood. I mean, really now. Other than that, I’m happy to say I’ll be cheerfully bopping along to that tune in my head for the rest of the day.

*and I say that as a good thing. I do love me the French.
** I refuse to consider my beloved Kevin Bacon a Brat Packer, but I’ll let it slide here.

Okay, this little advert from the good folks at The Faculty of Science at the University of Copenhagen made me smile.

The Power to Create

How can you not like a super-hero team which includes Black Vulcan, Apache Chief, Juan Gigante, Jesse Jackson, and The French Tickler? Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Multi-Culture Pals:

This comes from “Very Personal Injury” my favorite episode of Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law where the poor hero is forced to sue after a coffee spill prevents him from enlarging.

Go here and click on showtimes/tickets to find out. Why, you may ask, would I be interested in seeing a documentary about a heavy metal band in their 50s who are still trying to realize their dream? You’re just going to have to trust me on this one. “Anvil! The Story of Anvil” is one of those expertly told stories with so much heart, humor, and revelatory moments caught on camera, you might think it was fiction. It’s not. It’s all real. The veteran Canadian band is playing shows now and has been following the movie release into some cities as well. Follow their Twitter account @AnvilMovie and see a film that has a lot to say about friendship, loyalty, and perseverance. Read my review here.

Now I ate my share of Count Chocula and Frankenberry when I was a kid, and I remember Booberry (though it was one I could never find on the shelves of my local Topeka grocery).

However, I have absolutely no memory of Fruit Brute. I’m not sure, as a kid, I would have gone for a lime-flavored marshmallows, but I am pretty damn curious. And I’m pretty sure I’d remember something as awesome as a Werewolf cereal, if I had heard about it. Sigh, my life is incomplete. Anybody still got a box of this I could try? And maybe a bowl of Yummy Mummy, too?

Fruit Brute

You know what I miss? Posting music videos. A silly little pleasure to be sure, but one I think that needs to return. So with that in mind I’ll dig through the stuff I’ve been listening to to start sending some A/V love out there on a more frequent basis.

Of late I’ve been spending a lot of time with the music of Grant Lee Phillips*. It’s been a while since we’ve had a new release from the man, but the discography that’s out there is certainly a delight if you’ve got the mind. He’s a man who has adroitly gone from Americana to Glam to Folk and back again (often piling them all together) over the course of his career, and for that I’m eternally grateful. So with that in mind let’s take a few and check out “We All Get a Taste” from his 2001 release “Moblize”:

*oddly enough I’m not that enamored of the Grant Lee Buffalo albums. Weird, I know.

Okay, Karl Malden’s death isn’t going to garner the attention of Michael Jackson or even Farrah Fawcett, but the actor worked for more than 60 years in movies and television before passing away earlier today at the age of 97.

His career highlights included The Sting, Patton, The Streets of San Fransisco, The Cincinnati Kid, Pollyanna, How the West Was Won, Skag, On the Waterfront, Meteor, The West Wing, Captain Courageous, and A Streetcar Named Desire (for which he took home an Oscar). Those who can remember back to the 1970’s might also recall Malden for his series of famous “Don’t leave home without it!” American Express commercials.

G’night Karl, you had a good run.

Now I hated me some Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (you can read my review here). For the sake of time, and not wanting to give away major plot points, I neglected to get into too much detail on the actually plot of the movie. Those of you who are interested in a hilarious blow-by-blow rundown of the film should definitely check out Topless Robot’s take.

I will give you one word of caution as this little rant has more than it’s share of spoilers. However, if you have seen it, or a just looking for yet another reason not to, then this examination from everything of specific scenes and plot points to the reason behind the entirety of Megan Fox’s career and celebrity is a must read:

“She looks like a porn star and has the same acting talent as one, yet for some reason she makes mainstream movies. This tonal disconnect is what’s so appealing about her.”

Well, it’s not my favorite Michael Mann film, and is sure not The Untouchables, but for all it’s faults, Public Enemies is still a fair film filled with some great moments, and it’s worth a good long look.

The story is centered around bank robber extraordinaire John Dillinger (Johnny Depp). We don’t learn much about Dillinger over the course of the film other than he’s the brains of the operation, well respected among other robbers, disliked by the mob for bringing attention on them, and an all around good guy (at least for a robber and murderer).

Continue reading Public Enemies