Irredeemable #10
Written by Mark Waid
Art by Peter Krause
Cover Art by Paul Azaceta (Cover A); Dan Panosian (Cover B); Jeffrey Spokes (Cover C)
BOOM! Studios
Price: $3.99; Release date: January 27, 2010

What if the world’s greatest superhero became the world’s greatest supervillain?

Previously in Irredeemable…

The Plutonian, Earth’s most powerful and beloved hero, has gone rogue. In the past few weeks, tens of millions of innocents have died at his hands as he has rampaged across the planet. His former teammates, the Paradigm, have been searching far and wide for some way to stop him. For now their best defense is Survivor, one of their own, who has absorbed his dead twin’s powers and has forced the Plutonian into retreat — and, unwittingly, into the hands of Modeus, Plutonian’s former arch-enemy, who now secretly inhabits the body of Plutonian’s young sidekick.

Meanwhile, it’s evident to everyone in the Paradigm — including her husband Gilgamos — that Bette Noir has been keeping some staggering secrets….

So far I’ve been loving the job Mark Waid has been doing on Irredeemable, it’s been my favorite BOOM! book along with another Mark Waid written series, Incorruptible. Being a life-long Superman fan, it’s fun to see what the character would be like if he turned on the world [...]

Planet Hulk
2-Disc Special Edition DVD
Directed by Sam Liu
Starring Rick D. Wasserman, Lisa Ann Beley, Mark Hildreth, Liam O’Brien, Kevin Michael Richardson, Samuel Vincent, Advah Soudack, Michael Kopsa, Marc Worden
Lionsgate Home Entertainment
Release Date: February 2, 2010

Planet Hulk is the latest direct-to-DVD film from Marvel’s Animation Studio and it’s got a lot going for it. Director Sam Liu has previously worked on Superman/Batman: Public Enemies and screenwriter Greg Johnson worked on one of my personal favorites, Doctor Strange. The film is also based on one of the best Hulk stories of all time (written by the awesome Greg Pak) in which the Green Goliath is deemed too dangerous for Earth and exiled to another planet free of any intelligent life. Unfortunately something goes wrong and the Hulk’s ship crash lands on a war world where he’s immediately forced into slavery and forced to fight Gladiator-style for his freedom. All of these factors contributed to my Hulk-size anticipation of the film and I can thankfully say I was not disappointed.

Every aspect of Planet Hulk is solid, from the voice acting and animation to the character development and story. The film is a direct adaptation of the previously mentioned Greg Pak epic storyline, which is a different approach in contrast with the recent Marvel animated films which created their own stories and weren’t directly adapted from any one arc [...]

Paris, Texas ***1/2
Criterion Collection – Blu-ray
Directed by Wim Wenders
Starring Harry Dean Stanton, Nastassja Kinski, Dean Stockwell, Aurore Clement, Hunter Carson
Release date: January 26, 2010

What a way to open a film. The image first seen conjures up a mood that is sustained throughout the entire picture. It is of a splendidly eerie sight, showing a lonely man strolling aimlessly amidst towering mountains that resemble Monument Valley in which John Ford filmed The Searchers – in which Paris, Texas resembles in a way – with a rugged, dirty suit on, wearing a tattered red baseball cap and clutching an empty jug of water as if his life is depending on it. He has been roaming for days it seems. Just glance down at his shoes, or at least what is left of them, for further evidence of the many miles of terrain this man must have journeyed over. Four years he has appeared this way. Probably shunning reality away every time it manages to creep close to him and running from inner fears that bind him to his past life. There is no doubt he is searching for something. Something that is fearful and passionate only to him. But why? For what? Paris, Texas will slowly expand its straight-edged narrative to expound upon these questions. While all the while doom is looming in the air and the ghastly guitar music is alluding to an act of terror that may have already happened or has yet to have occurred. German director Wim Wenders is able to pierce the heart and confound the mind within the very first sequence of his film: A work of a European in a manner that is so Americana [...]

Muppet King Arthur #1
Issue 1 of 4
Written by Paul Benjamin and Patrick Storck
Art by Patrick Storck
Cover Art by David Peterson (Cover A); Dave Alvarez (Cover B)
BOOM! Studios
Price: $2.99; Release date: February 10, 2010

Do you like Arthurian legend? How about The Muppets?

BAM! Here’s a comic for you: Muppet King Arthur #1, the first of four issues in the new BOOM! Studios comic book series from Paul Benjamin and Patrick Storck.

This series sees the famous Muppets gang in Great Britain during the Dark Ages where our favorite green guy Kermit is thrust in the role as King Arthur after he pulls the sword Excalibur from the stone, ushering in the legendary Arthurian times.

Being released on the publisher’s BOOM! Kids line implies this comic book is for children, but that’s only partially true, as I found that some of the humor was clearly adult, namely the references to modern-day politics. But yes, the kids will love it too, because the Muppets are in action, and Fozzie Bear never fails to … WOCKA WOCKA … slip in a corny joke [...]

Siege #2
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciller: Olivier Coipel
Inker: Mark Morales
Colorist: Laura Martin
Cover: Olivier Coipel; Gabriele Dellotto (variant)
Marvel Comics
Price: $3.99; Release date: February 3, 2010

As much as I enjoy Brian Michael Bendis‘ work on a variety of titles, his big event work at Marvel has generally left me cold. There weren’t a lot of things wrong with series like “House of M” or “Secret Invasion” per se, but the stories were never as exciting to me as they should have been. I think a lot of that can be blamed on their length. Fortunately, Bendis and Marvel made the wise decision to make their new event “Siege” only four issues, which I think has forced Bendis to cut all the filler and get straight to the killer. And as it turns out, that killer is the Sentry.

Siege #2 finds Norman Osborn’s attack on Asgard in full swing, but unfortunately, he loses control of one major player, just as the Avengers are planning their counterattack. Ares has been one of Osborn’s big guns, but when the god of war finds out that he’s been played for a fool, he decides to take Norman out. Unfortunately, Norman has another big gun, and calls in the Sentry to take on Ares [...]

Detective Comics #861
Written by Greg Rucka
Art by Jock
Co-feature Art by Cully Hamner
Cover by JH Williams III
DC Comics
Price: $3.99; Release date: January 27, 2010

JH Williams III became one of my favorite artists last year when he was brought on board Detective Comics (along with writer Greg Rucka), bringing with him his impressive layouts and a highly photo realistic style.

With Detective Comics #861 Jock takes over for Williams on art detail, bringing a very different dynamic to the art. The two have radically different styles, with Jock having a much more angular style. He doesn’t have the way with the intricate layouts that Williams does, but he adds grit to the issue that Williams doesn’t have. Jock’s has an economy of line, and the coloring adds a very expressionistic angle to the art. If you’re used to his art, and enjoy it as I do, the change will not be as much of a bitter pill to swallow, but if you’re looking for a style similar to Williams III, you may not enjoy the change as much.

A new storyline starts in this issue as Batman and Batwoman are tracking down the same case in two different eras and I’m assuming we will see how they are connected at some point, but as when Williams was drawing it, the star here is Jock’s art. He has a great way of projecting the mood of the scenes [...]

Superman: Secret Origin #4
Issue 4 of 6
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Gary Frank and Jon Sibal
Covers by Gary Frank
DC Comics
Price $3.99; Release date: January 27, 2010

If there’s one thing that can be said about last week of comic releases, is that this was a week for the art lover. Case in point: Superman: Secret Origin #4.

The story by Geoff Johns for this issue is not bad, showing the first face to face meeting between Lex Luthor and Superman, as well as a new origin for the villain Parasite, but the main reason to pick up this issue is the fantastic art of Gary Frank. The first thing to note is the way he draws Clark Kent. You may argue that Frank draws him to look a little too much like Christopher Reeve, but I think it adds another layer to the character, since so many of us identify Reeve as the ultimate Superman. It’s something that will appeal to casual fans, and I think once this series is done, this is going to be a great book to give to your non-comic reading friends [...]

Captain America: Reborn #6
Written by Ed Brubaker
Penciled by Bryan Hitch
Inked by Array
Colored by Paul Mounts
Lettered by VC – Joe Caramagna
Cover by Bryan Hitch
Price: $3.99; Marvel Comics
Release date: January 27, 2010

Captain America has been one of my favorite series since Ed Brubaker took over several years ago.

We all knew that when the original Captain America, Steve Rogers, was killed at the end of the Civil War event, that he would be back at some point. Unfortunately, this series that is bringing Steve back to life has been plagued by delays, and had an extra issue added to complete the story.

So, was the wait for Issue #6 worth it? Well, I guess it depends on how much you HAD to have Steve Rogers back behind the shield. If you really wanted him back, than this may have lived up to the expectations, but for me, the whole series has been kind of underwhelming, and I’ll be glad to get back to the regular adventures of Bucky Barnes or Steve Rogers or whoever they want to call Cap [...]

The Last Days of American Crime #1
Issue 1 of 3
Written by Rick Remender
Art by Greg Tocchini
Lettering by Rus Rooton
64 pages, Full Color; $4.99
Radical Publishing

From Rick Remender, the critically acclaimed writer of Punisher and Fear Agent comes the first issue of The Last Days Of American Crime. Featuring covers from Alex Maleev and Greg Tocchini this crime noir thriller captured my attention with its really cool premise. Picture this:

In the not-too-distant future, as a final response to terrorism and crime, the U.S. government plans in secret to broadcast a signal making it impossible for anyone to knowingly commit unlawful acts. To keep this from the public, the government creates a distraction, installing a new currency system using digital charge cards.

Enter Graham Bricke, a career criminal never quite able to hit the big score. In a grand scheme, Graham intends to steal one of the charging stations, skip the country, and live off unlimited funds for the rest of his life [...]

If you know me or if you read the site, you probably wouldn’t think of me as someone who was into the lovey-dovey romance movies. Truth is, while I really get sickened by the ridiculously cheesy and unrealistic “rom-coms” that are mass produced to steal the incomes of a multitude of tissue-wielding women, I can admit that I enjoy a well-done romance movie from time to time. I’ve never been much of a relationship kind of person, but have still been considered something of a romantic, and so long as the movie is entertaining and doesn’t get out of hand, I’m down for a viewing!

Enter The Good Guy: a new film from Roadside Attractions and director Julio DePietro about a young, seemingly-perfect couple living the big city life. The movie debuted last year at the Tribeca Film Festival and follows Beth (Alexis Bledel), a sweet and beautiful young woman with a good job and a great group of friends in New York City. [...]

The Final Destination
3D Blu-ray Edition
Directed by David R. Ellis
Starring Bobby Campo, Shantel VanSanten, Mykelti Williamson, Nick Zano, Haley Webb
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Release Date: January 5, 2010

Much like the Saw franchise, the Final Destination franchise has become a horror standard. And though they don’t release a Final Destination film every single year like their counterparts do, the movies have always had a great sense of terrifying fun about them. Up to Final Destination 3, these movies were still silly and lacking plots and story, but there was plenty of gruesome fun to be had where Saw got very old very fast after their second installment. So how would The Final Destination, the fourth film in the franchise, hold up? Let’s find out!

This time around, we begin at a suspicious racetrack where NASCAR-quality vehicles race at some small town track where rednecks and apparently good looking college-aged kids like to enjoy the races. As with the previous films, disaster strikes when an unfortunate string of events leads to a massive crash that sends metal and fire shooting into the crowd and causing the aging building to begin collapsing everywhere, killing many, many people. [...]

Edge of Darkness
Directed by Martin Campbell
Staring Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston
Rated R
Release date: January 29, 2010

It has been exactly eight years since Mel Gibson headlined his own movie (and if you guessed Signs, you get shiny bonus points) but that does not mean he hasn’t been in the spotlight. When he was not directing movies depicting Jesus’ death or Mayans, he was caught in one drunken scandal after another. Hollywood is a strange place though and everyone is one hit movie away from being a hot property again. Perhaps Edge of Darkness, a revenge story set in Boston, is just what he is looking for.

Gibson stars as grizzled cop Thomas Craven, a devoted single father to his little girl Emma (Bojana Novakovic). During a trip home to see Thomas, Emma is taken, shot and killed by a masked assailant right at his front door. Led to believe this act was committed by a criminal from his past, Thomas spirals into grief and madness knowing he had a hand in his little girl’s death. However, when evidence comes up that perhaps the killer was targeting Emma all along, Grief begets violence as Thomas does whatever it takes to uncover the whole truth [...]

More Than a Game
Directed by Kristopher Belman
Lions Gate Home Entertainment
Release date: February 2, 2010

They may be the best high school basketball team ever. He may have had the best high school basketball player ever. Akron, Ohio’s St. Vincent-St. Mary won the proverbial basketball lottery when they got LeBron James and his boyhood friends to attend their school. From humble beginnings, future NBA superstar James, along with childhood friends Dru Joyce, Sian Cotton, and Willie McGee, all began a journey that would take them from local fame to national acclaim. The “fab four” were later joined by Romeo Travis in their sophomore year and the five fused their talents and, with the help of a dedicated coach, rewrote Ohio basketball history.

More Than a Game is a very well made documentary that keeps the viewer’s interest throughout with a sly use of visual effects, editing, and original music. Director Kristopher Belman was able to capture some amazingly candid footage by following the St. V basketball team during James’ senior season and with the aid of first-hand accounts by the players themselves, photographs, and home videos, the viewer follows these young men from middle school all the way up until the last days of high school and it’s a remarkable journey [...]

Demonic #1
Top Cow – Pilot Season
Written by Robert Kirkman
Art by Joe Benitez
Cover Art: Marc Silvestri
Top Cow
Release date: January 27, 2010

It’s time for yet another installment in the 2010 version of Top Cow’s Pilot Season. What is Pilot Season? Well I’m glad you asked. Pilot Season is the annual initiative from Top Cow started way back in the year of 2007 that gives the fans control over which one shot will get turned into a full mini-series. Imagine American Idol for comics and you basically have Pilot Season in a nutshell.

Check out my thoughts on the first issue of Demonic below in my audio review.

Here’s the official synopsis: The demon is in his head. The demon makes him strong. The demon gets angry when he doesn’t kill. Scott Graves is possessed and he will do anything the demon asks as long as it promises not to make him kill his wife and daughter. Scott stalks in the night as Demonic, a vigilante known for savagely slaughtering the wicked. He asks himself, how long can he continue living this way and what if the demon isn’t real?

From the creative minds of Image partners Robert Kirkman and Marc Silvestri comes Demonic! [...]

Surrogates
Blu-ray Edition
Directed by Jonathan Mostow
Starring Bruce Willis, Radha Mitchell, James Cromwell, Ving Rhames, Rosamund Pike
Disney Pictures Home Entertainment
Release date: January 26, 2010

Stick a movie in front of me that features Bruce Willis as a member of Law Enforcement and so help me I’ll watch it. From Die Hard to, um, Live Free Or Die Hard — via The Last Boy Scout and Sin City, among many others — Willis has defined the straight-talking no-nonsense no-shaving vest-wearing law-ignoring cop. Surrogates is the latest Willis movie to hit DVD/Blu-ray — a sci-fi action thriller based on the graphic novel of the same name — and this time he’s a robocop.

In the not-too-distant future most of the world’s population rarely venture outside their own homes. Instead they spend their lives as operators, connected to their stem chairs seeing life through robot surrogates. Thanks to a Supreme Court ruling more than 10 years ago, over 98% of the population use surrogates in daily life; they go to work, they do the shopping. Thanks to this statistic, crime in the U.S. is down 99% and all other bad things like racism and sexism have seen a huge decline. Surrogates were initially developed to help disabled people, used only in a medical context. Then costs came down and eventually these robots became affordable to regular people and private use of surrogates became popular.

Surrogates are you, but much better in every way: flawless skin, perfect hair, they cannot be hurt, and should they be destroyed, you can just buy a new one. This is a world populated by only beautiful people. This is life… only better [...]

Fallout 3
Game of The Year Edition
Platform: Xbox 360
Developer: Bethesda Softworks
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks, Zenimax Media
Release Date: October 13, 2009

We’ve now reach the year 2010, and Fallout 3 was first released on October 28, 2008. This means that if you’re a big video game player, then you’ve probably already roamed the desolate Wasteland of post-apocalyptic Washington D.C. and don’t need my review or opinion. Thankfully, Bethesda Softworks and the game were honored with the coveted Game of the Year designation, and a Game of the Year edition of the game was released this past October with all of the amazing extra DLC content that was created to accompany the title.

When friends of mine first pushed me to play a little game called The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, I was reluctant and didn’t know what to expect. After an epic 230 hour adventure (Yes, I take my time and do A LOT!), it was one of my favorite games of all time. Naturally, when we began hearing about the game studio’s next game, Fallout 3, it became an incredibly high priority, and once again, we were not let down.

Fallout 3 takes place in the year 2277, long after you and I have become dust in the wind, and two hundred years after nuclear war finally decimated our beautiful planet [...]

Family Guy Presents: Something Something Something Dark Side
DVD | Blu-ray
Directed by Dominic Polcino
Starring Seth MacFarlane, Seth Green, Alex Borstein, Mila Kunis, Patrick Warburton, Mike Green
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Release Date: December 22, 2009

Family Guy is at it again with their second visit to the Star Wars universe in Something Something Something Dark Side. After they successfully spoofed Star Wars: A New Hope in humorous but faithful fashion with Blue Harvest, we could hardly wait for more to come around. Now that we have this cartoon version of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back available to us, the trilogy spoof is almost complete!

The best thing about these movies is that everyone can enjoy them. Not everyone is a Star Wars fanatic, so this is a hilarious way for them to see the world and the characters, even if it’s absurdly different from the way that George Lucas created them to be. For those of you non-Star Wars fans, this second film in the series takes place a few years after the Rebel Alliance blew the hell out of the Emperor and Darth Vader’s precious Death Star. Now the Empire is hot on their tail with plans for revenge. After Luke Skywalker comes into his own as a Jedi with intense training by Jedi Master Yoda, he hurries to a showdown with Vader after the evil Sith springs a trap on Han Solo, Princess Leia, and his other companions.

Returning for the second adventure is Peter Griffin as Han Solo, Stewie Griffin as Darth Vader, Brian Griffin as Chewbacca, Carter Pewterschmidt as the Emperor, and Glenn Quagmire as C-3PO [...]

(500) Days of Summer
Blu-ray Edition
Directed by Marc Webb
Starring Zooey Deschanel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Fox Home Entertainment
Release Date: December 22, 2009

The omniscient narrator declares that what we are watching is not a love story, but a story about love. An odd little twist that brings a kind of assurance and authenticity to (500) Days Summer. Once this statement is solidified early on in the film it makes us view the movie in a slightly different way and rightfully so. An original narrative technique is what the film has going for it. It disregards a linear story line but never capitalizes on the true potential the script really has. Many films use discombobulated narratives that are fragmented and dislocated to resemble the emotions its characters are feeling. The split screens and split narratives are too much imbued within stylistic ploys, making each scene that carries these fashionable devices incompetent and never availing.

Screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, along with the innovative mind of director Marc Webb, may have dislocate the narrative a tad too much and haven’t peered thoroughly enough into the emotional angst of Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a greeting card writer, who is in love with Summer (Zooey Deschanel), his coworker. This is Tom’s story he tells to his two friends and little sister, in a way that isn’t chronological, his mishaps and successes he has experienced with Summer throughout the 500 days he believed he loved her [...]

Adult Swim in a Box
Aqua Teen Hunger Force Volume 2 | Space Ghost Season 3 | Moral Oral Season 1 | Robot Chicken Season 2 | Metalocalypse Season 1 | Sealab Season 2
Animated
Cartoon Network
Release date: October 27, 2009

It is true what they say: Good things do come in small packages. Or in the case of Adult Swim in a Box, it comes in a small box. This new collection offers up full seasons of SeaLab 2021, Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, Metalocalypse, Robot Chicken, Moral Orel, and Aqua Teen Hunger Force. The set also comes with a nice bonus disc full of Adult Swim pilots never before seen until now. And with a price tag of $69.95 (and that’s the list price; Amazon has it now for $50.49), it is hard to find anything wrong with a set like this but not impossible.

Like it is written on the DVD, this set is indeed a cash grab. The fine folks at Adult Swim have packed in six seasons’ worth (around 20 hours) of content. This, along with the price tag, is a definite steal for any fan of Adult Swim who has not gotten the DVD sets for themselves or as a gift for a person who has not been properly introduced to the lunacy that is Adult Swim. My only big issue with the set is the lack of fluidity among the seasons [...]

Avatar
Directed by James Cameron
Staring Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Released date: December 18, 2009

James Cameron’s Avatar has been in development for more years than some of its viewers have been alive. This has been a passion project for Cameron, and much like Peter Jackson’s King Kong, it’s nice to see him finally complete the film, if only so he can move on to other projects I’d like to see (cough, Battle Angel, cough). Now that it’s out, is the movie worth the wait and the hype we’ve gone through before its release?

Paralyzed ex-Marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) finds himself in a unique situation when he is given the chance to take over for his recently deceased twin brother and take part in the Avatar program. The goal of the Avatar program is to explore the planet of Pandora and increase diplomatic relations with the indigenous population of the planet, a group of people called the Na’vi. The Avatar program allows humans to walk around in genetically engineered Na’vi bodies, which they then use to explore the planet and interact with the locals. The Na’vi are tall humanoids with blue skin and mostly cat-like features that are very reminiscent of Native Americans in their culture. They are very in tune with the land, and as with the Native Americans, their village is sitting on top of a large amount of valuable metal that a large corporation wants to get their hands on. Jake is able to take his brother’s place on the team because they are genetically duplicate, so he is shipped off to Pandora, even though he’s not a scientist. The company wants to put his military training to use by having him get intel on the Na’vi village so they can invade and remove them. Of course, Jake is able to gain a place in the tribe, where he comes to identify with them and eventually seeks to protect them [...]