Friday Movie Review- George Lucas owes me another hour and a half of my life

A few years ago now, George Lucas had a good breakfast, got really drunk, was hypnotized, and then was possibly blackmailed into allowing Genndy Tartakovsky, the creator of Dexter's Laboratory and samurai Jack (BEST. Cartoon. EVER) to do two one hour Clone Wars projects that were then split into smaller episodes for airing on cartoon network. They were, as I've mentioned before in my posts, Brilliant. I include the list of events that compromised Georges decision making abilities because he obviously made a good call.

Sometime early this year I recieved the shock of a lifetime when I found out just four months before the planned release date that Lucasfilm was releasing another star wars movie to theaters. I was shocked that it somehow got by me. Really? and it's animated? and it's a clone wars movie? didn't they already do that? Everything about this new movie was down played, with even the marketing only showing up a week or so before the movie.

Turns out that George has been developing TWO star wars TV series, one of which would be a computer animated Clone Wars show. With further research, I discovered that the "Movie" was actually the intended pilot for the show, and Lucas decided to put it in theaters to heighten awareness of the upcoming show. I had my concerns, among them being the complete lack of reference to the previous Clone Wars, a very odd animation style, and the very odd build up to the film. But, it was star wars, so I went.

I got to the theater early and excited, sat down, and waited for the movie to start. Thirty seconds into it, I knew I was in trouble. The logo showed up, the music began... and it was wrong.... it was as though someone wanted the star wars theme, but couldn't get the rights, so they made something that sounded as close as they could. Grimacing, I prepared to read the crawl.... but there wasn't one...... Huh? The next thing I know, I'm watching the opening to starship troopers, or very nearly. A wartime news report intro? really? The confusion went from there.

I was dumbfounded. When I was preparing to go to the movie, I had complained that it was only an hour an a half. That was the longest hour and a half of my entire life.

The movie was, well, pretty bad. The writing was awful, the plot was bad, the music was weird, and the animation was a little off. The Action was pretty decent, and you could tell the movie makers knew this, as the action made up about 95 percent of the movie.

While watching a tv shoe, you might notice that after a commercial the characters will say what they said just before the break, or will quickly summarize what just happened. Well, while the move had managed to edit out the commercial breaks, they didn't remove the dialog that re-establishes the plot, which means every fifteen minutes or so you get to hear Anakin's padawan (let me just say again... Wha?) recite what they're doing and why.

If you are intrigued with exploring the clone wars, rent the animated season... they make a two hour movie that leads directly into the third movie, and they're REALLY good. If you want to see something that exeplifies beating a dead horse, watch this.
The sad thing is, it's actually not as bad as I make it sound, and if they had aired it on TV, I probably would have thought it was ok. But instead...... ugh.

Watch it on video. score- 2/10

OK, so I lied about not making up missed topics......

As I sit here, feeling used, tired, and near death (I hate paperwork BTW) I realize the thing I'm most upset about was that I missed blogging on the couch potato report, which, apparently, I was really looking forward to. So, at the risk of listing and praising in unsupported monosyllabic stereotypical slang (i.e. "freak-ing awe-some"), I've been watching the following-

Heroes- I like "Heroes" a lot, being a comic guy, that's probably a given. I really enjoy how the story evolves and intertwines at the same time. I also get a huge kick out of reinterpretations of classic comics gimmicks, like the crossover, or the peak into the future. We recently watched the second season, then caught the premiere, and I've got to say, it's gonna be a great season. If you haven't watched heroes, give it a try. it gives you answers a more often than "lost" and it's a great epic story of the coming of an age of heroes.

"I'm a PC"- a while back I commented on hoe much I dislike smear campaigns, and use the "I'm a mac, I'm a PC" commercials as an example. I always wondered what Microsoft would do to strike back, and they've finally done it, but in a way that makes me proud to own a PC. Instead of slamming Mac's, they disprove their advertising by showing the diversity of PC owners. While I do HATE windows vista, well done Microsoft.

"Chuck"- just finished the first season, and wow! Even though the concept is a twist on a fairly stereotypical spy show, I love the actors (Adam Baldwin even manages to slip in some firefly references, which warms my heart), and the show manages to stay fresh instead of doing a variation on the same script every episode. With some fun pop culture references, dang funny jokes and decent action, chuck is a geek friendly dramody that is really fun to watch.

We've watched a lot of great stuff lately, but I do have to run, it's late, and I've got to work early.
Next time!

Weekend Observations- Dealyed Instant Gratification

Instant Gratification is an odd thing. For instance, I love Burgers, especially on the grill. But many a time I have stuck in a microwave burrito, or even worse, gone to McDonald's, just to have something now. It's not what I wanted, but the wait was short and my work was minimal.
I'm much the same way with entertainment. Every summer I swear I'm absolutely done. done, finished, with midnight premieres... but as the night comes closer and closer, I realize just how badly I want to see the movie and realize I can't wait any longer, even if that wait is only 12 hours or so. So, inevitably, come Thursday night there I am at the premiere, listening to the high school age morons shouting and yelling, crammed into seats and wondering if I'm going to be able to stay awake the entire movie. I swore off midnight premiers with Transformers last year, saying it would be my last. Since then, I've been to Iron man, Hulk, Hellboy 2, Speed Racer, Dark Knight, X-files, and, God help me, the animated Star Wars movie, all at midnight.

Obviously, I have a problem.

Which is why I love DVD sets. I don't have to live with a cliffhanger (unless it's the season closer and I'm caught up to the latest season), I can watch as many as I can stand as often as I like, and I can skip, pause, and rewatch to my heart's content.

The Problem is, when there is cliff hanger, I get so caught up in the story, I try to start watching the season week to week, still needing instant gratification, because there's no way in hell I'm waiting a year without a fix of this show. And then, invariably, I get behind one way or another, and then I get busy, and have no choice but to wait for DVD. at which point the cycle starts anew.

It's even worse with comics. These days EVERYTHING is collected ina trade paperback, or a collection of the stories, and they come out fairly fast... every six issues or so, so very six seven months you can have the next batch. Sometimes the spacing or the demand makes the wait even shorter. The only people who collect week to week are me and those who want to sell their comics one day. Now I am not deceived. I know that comics aren't really going to be worth much... probably ever, but I still buy month to month. Trades not only come out fairly quickly, but they're usually pretty inexpensive, at least comparatively. A standard comic will run you three to five dollars a piece these days, but a normal trade will collect four to ten issues for anywhere between fourteen to thirty dollars, so usually cheaper than the actual book. Not always, but usually. So the smart thing would be to get trades, but I still do monthly. Why? because I follow the story. It's funny when instant gratification means waiting a month instead of six months. Go figure.


The companies make money either way, and here I am with a mad on for the story. Do I need to be the first to know? Rationally, no. But internally I'm dying for the next issue. Is there a way to counter this? well, other than never watching tv or only getting comics at a book store (where they only sell trades) the only option is to be extraordinarily in control of your impulses and entertainment needs.

So I guess I'll try to mature,l but until then I'm going to look up prices on Itunes for heroes episodes, then I'm going to see what comics come out on Wednesday. Wow.... I really do need help.

"My attempt to self regulate" OR "My daily cup of Mike (my name isn't Joe, but I'm gonna make the joke anyway... it a free country, dang it!)"

So, in an attempt to make my week a little more interesting, I've devised the following schedule for the week. While I suggested it, my wife refused to make me a sticker chart to motivate me to actually follow said schedule (what? I bet YOU would work hard if offered the right sticker....), so that means that this isn't so much what to expect as what to hope for. But, anywho-

Monday- Weekend thoughts, meditations, or lamentations on practiced boredom.

Tuesdays- Couch Potato Report. What am I watching? Why? What do I think of it? Just think, you used to be blissfully unaware of the answers to these and other questions about my sad life and my overburdened couch.

Wednesday- While this is New Comic Day (praise the Comic Gods), it is also the night before Thursday, the accursed weekly paperwork due date. That being said, I'll probably be weeping over a pile of progress notes and wondering why I ever left my job at the Comic Shop (oh, that's right, it closed.... DAMN YOU, COMIC GODS!) instead of blogging... unless I choose to escape said paperwork. So this may be "Random Blogging Day." We'll see.

Thursday- I usually feel pretty good on Thursdays, except for the nagging reminder that next week brings another late night of tear stained paperwork, paper cuts, and writing utensil phobias
(Belonephobia is the fear of sharp, pointed objects, while Graphophobia is the fear of writing). Anyway, this will probably be the day I comment on New Comic Day (praise the Comic Gods).

Friday- Used to be new movie day, but alas, summer is over and I'm afraid not too much is coming out. But I will still use this day as Movies review day, and wow do I have a lot to make up for, since we just had a great summer. So, old or new, Friday is the day I praise or slam the movies I've been watching.


And that will essentially be what to hope for. I work a LOT, so I'm sure I'll get behind. Rather than try to pick up a lost day, though, I'll just honor the topic of whatever day I decide not to be lazy.
Peace!

Lindsey Lohan is Gay?

So, I've been hearing about crazy celebrates for awhile, and whenever one went without undies or got drunk and plowed their pink mustang into the side of a building, I've always heard about it no matter how hard I've tried to avoid it. But in the last few weeks I've been amazed at how low key the media is on the whole Lindsey Lohan deciding she's gay thing. And she's getting married! wow! but I only know this because I check a movie sight every day that has made it their mission to chronicle the event.

Sorry, folks, no real point but, but I'm flabbergasted at the inconsistencies of the media... sometimes being gay is huge, but other times it's almost ignored. Kinda like when a celeb does something positive... could it be that going gay is now a good thing, thus NOT newsworthy? Or is it that I just live under a rock?

I'm weird like that... when it comes to a frank and intelligent conversation or debate about current news and politics I usually don't have much to say... I blurt out a few quasi intelligent phrases then sit back and listen to the vengeful wrath of the other person..... but get me started on the latest debacle from the pages of marvel comics and I can rant passionately for hours. I think the sad truth is that I could just never really care as much about real life. Hey, it makes me a bad person, I admit, but guaranteed I enjoy my discussions about comics fantastically more than I would enjoy listening to your mature political debate. and that's all that matters.

For instance, in recent months I've tried to define my politics and decide just which side of the line I agree with... and as I learn about republicans and democrats and right and left, I can't help but know deep in my heart the whatever decision I make, the whole matter will never matter as much to me as deciding between Marvel and DC.

Why does politics matter so much to people? Or the lives of celebrities? Are people's life just that boring, or is there something I'm missing? I care about politics, but the moment I start losing sleep or hell, the moment I start losing personal me time on any level, I'm done and I move on. I wonder if some people just enjoy the conflict, enjoy the debate?

To be fair, I know many politically savvy people do care for valid reasons, unfortunately I can't list them because they make little or no sense to me. Anyway, if you want an intelligent discussion that basically covers my feeling on the subject, check out Votaries of Horror.

One last thought before bed

Anyone else wonder how Charles Shultz Would feel about his characters being used to sell insurance? Doesn't seem to compute for me..... Huh, so much for a legacy.

My Blog Free Year, the evils of World of Warcraft, and why having a kid should be saved for masochists.

Awwwww... Isn't he cute? What you see before you my friends, is NOT the reason why I stopped writing this Blog. The real reason? I'm Lazy and I developed a World of Warcraft addiction sometime last year that didn't let up until recently. But he is cute, eh? So let's blame him.

Last year, right about the time I stopped writing, well, just before, as I'm sure it helped the whole "oh yeah, I did have a blog once" thing, Life took a turn for the complicated. One of my best friends went to jail, I was miserable in my job, my brother was in a near fatal car accident, my grandparents were in a near fatal car accident, and my Dad got married (perhaps the least traumatic, but still, weird). I thus invested all of my time into world of warcraft, playing five or six hours a night, which stopped, oddly, just before the cuddly superhero you see above was born.

A lot has happened, but the last thing I want to chronicle is the last year or so of my life. To be brief, though, friends were made and lost, new jobs were attained, three WOW characters hit level 70 (the highest) I moved, had a kid, and moved on to a career that I really enjoy. And that's that.

If anything, I want to reestablish a couple things. I love Media. Television, Movies, Books, Comics, you name it, I read, watch, endure, and Enjoy, and then complain mercilessly or make fun of it. Unless I like it. Then I buy it, put it on an alter, and worship it, again, till i watch something else.

The purpose of this blog was always to share my love for entertainment and to share what I've found to be an interesting, off beat, and somewhat original view of the world. While there aren't alot of readers, hell, I think I had Eight readers when I wrote religiously, and I'm sure they've all given up hope by now, I'm going to try to write more regularly. I mean, it's either be constructive or spend time seeing just how badly I can emotionally scar my son. Look at that cute face. Which do you think he's pulling for?