Who watches the WATCHMEN?... The lucky b@$%@?ds at Comic Con, that's who!

As I sit here in the Zangz's Vault of Geekdom Headquarters on a Satruday morning, thousands of lucky bastages are all converged in San Diego to take part in what can only be described as heaven on earth. I talk of course of the huge San Diego Comic Con. It is the largest and most celeb filled event for comic book/Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror/pop culture lovers of all walks of life who have the time and fundage to travel and attend.

It has become the new hot spot for Hollywood to promote their upcoming films for the next year. They usually drag in big name celebs. Last year both Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny from this summer's X-Files movie were there. That's just the tip of the iceberg! This year Hugh Jackman, Rose McGowan and Marky Mark Wahlberg have already made appearances to promote upcoming flicks. The studios have recognized the power of geek interests and their association with internet buzz. They know that immediately after these promotional panels for these films, fellow geeks will tear into their laptops and send out oodles of buzz on these movies across the world wide web!

One movie that is being promoted is Robert Rodriguez's remake of Red Sonja which will showcase the talents of his trophy/slampiece/actress/girlfriend, Rose McGowan. Word is that even though they didn't have any footage shot yet to show the crowd, Miss McGowan was lookin' darn fine. This is one I'll keep my eyes open for as Rodriguez's movies are some of my favorites.

There's also a lot of buzz on the upcoming epic movie based on Alan Moore's graphic novela to end all graphic novela's, WATCHMEN. There was some footage shown and reportedly looks even better than what is shown in the trailer (view HERE). To bring this baby to the big screen takes a huge set of nards as the story is sooo huge and epic. I hope they'll be able to translate it all on film!

Many of the cast of WATCHMEN showed up, including the so beautiful it should be illegal, Carla Gugino. She's starred in many geek-lovin' genre pics. Apparently she's also promoting the Walt Disney remake of Escape to Witch Mountain. I remember seeing the original way back when I was a wee one. I developed a bit of a crush on actress Kim Richards. Ah... the good old days of prepubescent attractions.

From THIS little story of happenings from the Punisher: War Zone panel, things don't look too bright for a real gritty, ass kicky Punisher sequel. That's not good.

You know, I used to go to GenCon every year before it moved out of state and I miss going to cons quite a bit. One of these years, very soon, I'm going to have to invest in traveling somewhere and go to one. I don't know about San Diego Comic Con (if I win the lottery, perhaps), but maybe DragonCon in Atlanta (They're even bringing in MSI to play!!!!) or Chiller Con in New Jersey. Horrorfind Weekend in Maryland isn't out of the question either. If not for emptying my bank account on cool dren and collectables, then to just hang around like minded freaks such as myslef. I really have to break down and do that real soon.


In other news, I saw Stepbrothers last night! After seeing the trailer (view HERE) I was a little nervous that those were going to be the only funny scenes in the whole movie. I was happily proved wrong as myself, Roberto and Iris wiped constant tears from our eyes from laughing throughout the movie. Admittedly, it is plain and stupid humor. But it's soooo well done by Will Farrell and John C. Reilly that you just can't stop laughing. It's a perfect comedy that celebrates the man-boy in all of us! I'm sure there was more than one time that Iris, who was sitting between me and Roberto, looked at each of us and thought, "Holy Crap! This is my life!" It's not quite nearly as funny as Anchorman, but is a lot funnier than Semi-Pro. I would say it's even with Taladaga Nights. If you need a 90 minute chuckle fest, go see this movie!

Ok, kiddies, if I can't geek it up in San Diego with Carla Gugino and Rose McGowan, I'll have to settle with some rented movies and my newest Xbox 360 title Conan. See you all later.

Stay Vertical!

Zangz.

BAT-FRACK CRAZY!

The next week or so is going to be pretty busy for me, so I just had to log in here and tell you about THE best movie of the summer.

Now, I've seen Indy, I've seen Iron Man, I've seen Hellboy, I've seen a slew of really fun, geek-lovin' movies this summer.  I loved every one of them.  There was not one that I was disappointed in at all.  But, I have to say that Batman: The Dark Knight has found it's spot at the top of my summer movie list!

View the trailer HERE!

Note:  There may be things in this review that are considered SPOILERS.  Do not read if you haven't seen the movie!!!!  I would have blackened them out but for some reason Blogger isn't cooperating with me.

I went with my friend Spanky on Friday night.  It was a 10:15 PM showing at a local entertainment center located on the second level of a town mall.  The theater was slightly more hoity toity than others as it was smaller, had a digital projection screen and you could bring your beer from the bar in there.  Very nice.  Plus, there was a frell of a lot of eye candy there also.  Another bonus to the evening's Bat-festivities.  I, being a geek, had on my Batman T-shirt a bought umpteen years ago when the Batman hype was going nuts before the opening of the first Tim Burton Batman movie.  So the geek flag was indeed flying.

This sequel to Batman Begins, the film that rebooted the Batman Franchise, is far better than it's predecessor.  That's a huge feat since Batman Begins was an incredible film in itself.  Dark Knight is darker, more action packed and the acting performances go beyond being top notch.

I have no clue as to where to start with this film.  There's so much about it that I loved.  I guess we'll start with the obvious and most hyped of the movie... The late Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker.  

I will admit it.  I wasn't too thrilled when I heard he was cast as Batman's most diabolical arch-nemesis.  I felt that it was simply due to his Oscar hype from his work on Brokeback Mountain.  Not a movie that a lot of us closed minded, heterosexual geeks were flocking to see.  But,  I was put out of my worries about Daniel Craig being Bond when Craig kicked immense amounts of ass in the role. Ledger's performance of the Joker does the same for me.  It is THE ONE Joker that will go down in Bat-history as being the most disturbing.

Unlike the past Jokers (Nicholson, Romero, Hamill), this is the first one where you feel a real sense of pure dread about him.  He's out of his mind nutters.  You have no clue as to what he's going to do to his intended victims.  What you can bet on is that his victims will have a nasty, untimely demise.  He's up there with Hannibal Lector when it comes to unpredictability.  He doesn't do it for the money.  He doesn't do it for the power.  He seems to do it because he likes to watch people suffer.  And that, folks, is messed up!  You'll certainly feel very uneasy when his character is on screen menacing people.

The little freaky nuances he brings to the character make the Joker all the more creepy.  The lip smacking, the eye rolling, the constant lying about how he got his smile scars.  It's all just disturbing and Ledger pulls it off wonderfully! SPOILER BELOW...........

One thing that both disappointed me while, at the same time added to the freakiness of the Joker, was the fact that his origin is never explained in the film.  He just starts to make big trouble in Gotham City one day.  I was expecting, and maybe hoping for an origin story in the same vain as Alan Moore's "Killing Joke" graphic novella.  But, by not explaining where he came from and why he is the way he is makes it even more disturbing.

In any case, Heath Ledgers performance will go down in history as being one of the greatest film villains of all time.  Sad that he's gone.

All the other perfomances are spot on.  Especially Gary Oldman as Detective / Commissioner Gordon.  I wouldn't be surprised if he sat and read every DC Batman comic that Gordon ever appeared in.  He really gets the heart and soul of the idealistic and driven Gordon, the one good cop that truly wants to make a difference.

Christian Bale is every bit as good as Batman as he was in the last film.  He has a lot more to chew on with his acting chops in this one also.  Morgan Freeman, Michael Cain, Aaron Eckhart,  and Maggie Gyllenhaal round out a phenomenal ensemble cast.  There's not a bad apple in the bunch.  Special kudos go to Aaron Eckhart's role of Harvey Dent, Gotham's Kight in Shining Armor D.A.  SPOILER......

I thought his character/s were going to survive this movie so as to set up the inevitable 3rd Batman movie of the Bale era. But, I guess it's not to be.  Too bad as Eckhart did an excellent job in the role.

Though this movie is seeped in lots of drama filled dialog, there's also lots of action to boot.  It is well crafted and quite brutal at times.  The violence that the Joker puts Gotham City through is pretty destructive to say the least.  Though, it's not gory violence it is pretty non stop and, as I said before, BRUTAL.  Every punch has a jaw being broken and every explosion causes more damage than one would believe.  At the same time, it's all well shot and pretty awesome.  There's a chase scene through the streets of Gotham that involves a semi trailer that is full on ass-kickery!  I shat you not!!!!

Another cool thing about this movie is the fact that it's not just a costumed super hero movie.  It's mostly a crime drama with a little Mission Impossible and James Bond put in also.

Did I have any issues with the movie?  Very few indeed.  It does run a little long.  There were parts that could have been condensed.  And Harvey Dent's role towards the end of the movie could have been saved for the next Batman movie rather than strapped on to this one.  And now that we've seen the legendary Heath Ledger performance of the Joker (who sadly will not reprise the role), where the frell are producers / writers / actors going to go from here????  Any performer who will have the daunting task of being the next Batman villain will have to step up their game several notches to parallel the performance Ledger gave.

Which makes me wonder who will be the next villain?  The Penguin?  The Riddler?  Perhaps a darker version of Catwoman (NOT BERRY!!!!) is in order to fill the villain shoes for the next movie.

The movie isn't just about great performances and action.  There are a few morality issues that are investigated here.  How far are the powers of good going to go to fight evil?  Are they going to have to go to the same level as evil and fight fire with fire?  Something to think about when walking out of the theater.

In a nutshell, Warner Bros. succeeded in giving us one of the greatest Batman/Joker stories ever told, on film or anywhere else for that matter.

I'm going to go out and have a beer and cigar before diner.  Until next Bat-time, stay Bat-vertical!

Zangz.

"Fanboys" is freed from greed / The Big Red One

The weekend is here, so lets get right into it!

There's some really great news about the Star Wars influenced comedy movie, Fanboys. It looks like greed machine has relented and we're going to get to see the movie as it was originally intended to be seen, as a fun filled, touching comedy, not the American Pie, schlock filled T&A movie the Weinstein Company were going to turn it into.

So there won't be any self-love pie scenes. But, there ain't nothin' wrong with Kristen Bell in a Slave Leia outfit.

You can read the announcement right HERE!


I recently finished Alice Cooper's autobiography, "Golf Monster" which I tore through pretty quickly. If you're a big Alice Cooper fan, it's a damn good read. If you're an Alice Cooper fan who loves golf, you'll REALLY enjoy this book.

Since I find watching, let alone playing, golf about as much fun as watching paint dry, I'd say it's a damn good read!

Now I'm onto yet another James Patterson Alex Cross mystery novel, "Mary Mary". I'm blowing through these Cross novels like nobody's business lately. This is my third of the summer.


Here are some more movies I've checked out!

HELLBOY II: The Golden Army - Of course I made that font big and red! Just like the main hero of this movie.... ya putz. Myself, Roberto and his lovely wife, Iris, got together after work yesterday and went out for dinner and a movie. After stuffing ourselves full of dips, salads and an enormous meatloaf dinner, we waddled our way to the movie theater to view a visual cornucopia of full-on geekosity! This movie has everything a fantasy lover could dream of. A secret underworld inhabited by ancient mythical beings, settings and sights that quench the optical thirst of anyone who has a love for the fantastic and loads of well choreographed action sequences are all represented here! There's even a couple of love stories that are being told. One may tare at your heart strings a bit towards the end. The movie got three thumbs up from all of us...... (though, Iris did have some time-out sessions while she tested her digestive fortitude from the aforementioned dinner). But what she did see, she liked. Though I can't say I liked it every bit as much as the first Hellboy movie (that one dealt with more of a Horror story, this one's all about Fantasy), I still hope they don't wait another 4 years to make the 3rd flick. Director Guillermo del Torro has a lot on his plate with the Hobbit films coming up. So he better get Pearlman back in the big red suite ASAP. If you have a soul and a love for the fantastic, like me... SEE THIS MOVIE!!!!
(view trailer here)

Casshern - This puppy could have been one of my all time favorite movies! It could have! This Japanese film, shot much in the style that is a mix of anime and something like the film Sky Capitan and the World of Tomorrow, had all the makings of a flick I'd totally jones over. Excellent and fantastical art direction and some great action sequences with a cool super-hero/savior to boot. However, this movie lost me due to one big draw back. The plot crawled slower than a hick farmer driving his tractor down the country interstate while you're stuck behind him in a "no passing" lane. Rat-Bastage!!! Anyway, this movie is riddled with far more dramatic dialog and longing glances scenes than the few action sequences that are done so well. On top of that the dialog is of course in subtitles which completely pulled me away from the grander of the visuals. Ya know, sometimes an English voice over doesn't hurt. It had loads of potential, but I'll have to pass on purchasing this one. One viewing was enough.
(view trailer here)

MirrorMask - Put the minds of the Jim Henson Company along with famed fantasy writers, Neil Gaiman andDave McKean and you're sure to come up with something pretty interesting. And that's just what they do with this fun little artsy fantasy tale. Here's another movie that visually brings you into a completely bizzar fantasy world. Except this world has kind of an art-house feel to it. The plot and story are very parallel to that of The Wizard of Oz. A young girl who is a juggler for a failing circus finds herself traveling to a world that mirrors the artwork she draws on the walls of her room. I had a good time with this movie and if your a fan of Neil Gaimen's work or your looking for something that's far more artsy fartsy than the standard fantasy/fairy tale movie, it's worth the rental.
(view trailer here)


And that about does it for this entry. I'm off to watch Mimic. A favorite I haven't seen in a long time and one of Guillermo del Torro's first movies he's brilliantly directed. Perhaps some video games and a cigar later.

Until next time, as a wise man once said to me, Stay Vertical!

Zangz.

The Hounds of War on Independence Day.

Happy 4th of July to you all!

So far my holiday weekend has been quite wonderful. Yesterday I took a half day and started the weekend off early. Since we have a huge 3rd of July fireworks display that I can view from my parking lot, I took a folding chair, some beer, cigars and a good book and hunkered down for the afternoon/evening. Quite the spectacle. The fireworks lasted about 50 minutes and were being shot off of a barge down in the harbor as well as a tall downtown building. The cigars and beer were pretty decent also.

Today's fun involves helping my mom walk a dog that she's sitting for then hitting the food store for provisions I'll need later today. 'Cause once again Iris and Roberto have graciously offered to hold the annual, impromptu 4th of July Hullabaloo. Last year's quickly became The Great 'Squito Siege of 2007! I'm bringing two cans of OFF to do battle with the little sh*tz this year. HAVE AT ME BASTAGES!!! THEN GET READY FOR THE HOUNDS OF WAR!!


Last weekend I went to our local huge music festival, Summerfest and checked out a showcase of female, solo, local musicians called Chick Singer Night. Then I went into "dirty old man" mode and stuck around for country artist Miranda Lambert who actually stayed away from the usual pluck, pluck "my dog died and lover left me" crap that plagues country music and she stuck with a lot of good old rock 'n' roll tunes (Did an awesome cover of Zep's "Rock 'N' Roll). Then after a few cigars and beers I waddled over to another stage were I saw the closing number of a Rock chorus/alternative/happy-feel-good group called Polyphonic Spree who were a lot of fun to hear. At the end of their show they even came out and danced around in the audience. Now that's audience interaction!!!! Look into it Miranda!


So I've put aside GTA4 for just a smidgen of time to pick up on Quake 4. So far the game is quite challenging and looks great. I also still have to finish Mass Effect as well as Oblivion: Shimmering Isles. I'll get there, I'll get there.


Well, here's something I haven't done for a spell. Here are a couple of movie reviews of Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror and Pulp movies I've rented lately........

Cloverfield - Put together a dash of King Kong and a splash of Blair Witch and you have a small inkling of what Cloverfield is like. At first I was a little annoyed at the cast of characters that were being introduced in the beginning party scenes of the flick. They were all of the typical, young, beautiful yuppie people that quickly got on my nerves, save for one goofy cameraman character. But, once the shat hits the fan and the Big Nasty is released, it becomes a no-holds-barred, heart pounder of a movie. Definitely worth the rental, if not for purchase!

The Covenant - Remember how cool the movie The Craft was about young witches learning to deal with their powers? Well this similarly themed movie about young Warlocks learning to deal with their powers. There's also a bigger cheese factor to the story in this one as it's more action orientated than The Craft. I tended to enjoy the Craft far more than The Covenant since I enjoy watching cute Goth chicks far more than a bunch of teen magazine looking pretty boys use magic to thwart evil. Good for a few chuckles as a rental.

Rise: Blood Hunter - Lucy Liu stars as a journalist who finds herself transformed into vampire and hunts down those responsible. Not the most original theme or vampire story out there and not as well executed as the Blade movies, but still watchable, especially if your a big Lucy Liu fan.

Skinwalkers - Yet another modern/action tail of broods of Werewolves doing battle with each other. Far from being at all original, it was still a fun filled cheese fest to watch. Rent it.

Undead or Alive: A Zombedy - I'm still on the fence on this one. This mixed the genres of Western, Comedy and Horror all together. It stars Chris Kattan and James Denton as two cowboys who find themselves in a town that becomes Zombie central. Sadly the two main actors have about as much chemistry as two bricks. Sure, there were a couple of scenes where I chuckled a bit. Plus, I'm always a sucker for anything involving zombies. Then there was the striking female lead as well. But there were also a few things that bugged me. It was a no budget production that kind of came off as just that. Especially the "score" which was made up of just one song played over and over and over and over and over again. By the end of the film the lyrics were scorched into my brian, "Undead or Alive, Undead or Alive, Undead or Alive, Undead or Alive, Undead or Alive, Undead or Alive, Undead or Alive, Undead or Alive, Undead or Alive" over and over and over again. That was the whole score. And it's not even a really good song to begin with. For that reason alone this film went down several notches in my own opinion of the film. Rent it if you like zombies.... I guess.

The Simpson's Movie - I'm probably the only geek on the face of the earth who doesn't wet dream about the Simpsons' when he goes to bed on Sunday night. Sure, I like them just fine. I think their longevity has a lot to do with the comedic relevance of their association and understanding of both pop and geek culture. But, at times, I get a little sick of the Simpsons (WHAT!?!?! THAT'S IT, ZANGZ! TURN IN YOUR GEEK MEMBERSHIP CARD!!!! PRONTO!!!) Seriously, I have to take a break from the Simpsons every now and then. So when I heard that they were going to be going to the big screen I was hoping for something far more funny than what we all get to watch on TV every Sunday night. Well, that wasn't the case. The movie was no funnier than one of their TV episodes. Sure, there were a few chuckles (Spider - Pig), but I feel that if you're going to put the Simpsons on the big assed screen, it better be an out of the park hit rather than the same old same old. Good for rental for die hard Simpsons' fans.

Nightwatch - This Russian made Matrix meets Highlander freak fest is wonderfully crazy as hell. A lot of fun filled action sequences riddle this film and make it visually fun on the peepers! Though the movie can be quite a bit hard to follow at times and does have some dragging moments, it's definitely worth checking out!

I have a few more that I have to get to and will do so once time lends itself. But for now, I have to get ready for the day's festivities. So until next time, as a wise sage once told me, Stay Vertical!

Zangz.

Some not so great news / Some really friggin' great news!

First, the not so great news....

Click HERE

I had the pleasure of meeting him one year at GenCon. It was about 6 years ago. Did ya know he started out as a stunt man before he got into acting? (Useless information #3006!)


Now some really friggin' great news! Check out the new Bond trailer while you can....

Click HERE

In brief other news, you may have noticed I've given the blog a bit of an upgrade. Lots more crap to read through on the left hand side of your screen now. Yep. I'm that desperate for attention.

I'm out to try a cigar I've never had before, but heard good things about, Ashton.

I'm outta here.....Zangz.