BANE OF HUMANITY

A look at Bane in the upcoming film “The Dark Knight Rises”.

By Jason Pluscec (aka J-Man)

So Bane was never a big villain for me growing up. If you were not in a cartoon or the Adam West Batman series, then I didn’t care about you that much – Two-Face falls in that category. And both Two-Face and Bane got majorly shafted in the Joel Schumacher films, getting very silly roles to play. Bane was especially ruined being portrayed as a dumb brute who could hardly speak. But Bane was given some great moments in the Batman Animated Series and in the comics. Bane was the one who almost ended Batman’s career in the, now legendary, story arch called Knightfall.

Since that time I have grown too really like Bane and I was excited to learn that he would be playing a major role in the upcoming The Dark Knight Rises, directed by Christopher Nolan.

They chose Tom Hardy to play Bane and I think it wasn’t a bad choice, but a bit surprising. In Batman & Robin Bane was played by wrestler Jeep Swensen, a bloody huge bastard who could kick the crap out of you and give Hulk Hogan a run for his money. That guy WAS Bane. Big and bad-ass! Hardy did work out for the role and given that Bane will actually be a character and not just a thug, they needed to choose an actor. I like that. Choose an ACTOR for a role! So Hardy in the end is ok by me.

Now as to whether or not he will be the real Bane, meaning the Bane of the comics, that is to be determined. I don’t think he will be, as Joker, Scarecrow, Ra’s, and Two-Face were not really their comic counterparts, but were “sort of” accurate. That being the case I am pretty sure that there will be no “Venom”.

Fans of the Nolan series, and of Nolan himself, always quote “In Nolan we trust.” I am not really sure what that means since I don’t trust anyone. I want results, not promises. Nolan has delivered some good Batman movies, but they are not amazing. Tim Burton’s Batman came at the right time in history. Remember that before that everyone thought Batman (and all comics) where just for kids and cheesy. Sure The Dark Knight Returns (by good old Frank Miller) was around, and Miller helped bring comics back to their roots and made Batman dark again, but that wasn’t in the public eye. The average person still thought Batman was Adam West even if the comicbook geeks knew different.

So after Burton made his Batman films, they wanted to go lighter again and got Joel Schumacher to make kid friendly Batman films. They sucked and everyone hated them. So it’s not a stroke of genius to do a new Batman film and make it serious. DUH! It was tougher for Burton to make his Batman serious, also if it had failed we’d be in a different Hollywood now, since Burton’s Batman spawned a new take on the superhero genre in general! Burton’s movie changed the way the public viewed comics and superheroes! Nolan is just a product of that!


When the posters for Batman Begins were being displayed in theatres I remember one random person looking at it and saying “Why don’t they just end Batman already, it sucks.” That was because he remembered how bad the Schumacher films were. I wish I could find that person today because I guarantee that guy LOVES Batman Begins and Dark Knight! Asshole. Batman should never end!

So in any case, Nolan is doing the complete reverse of Schumacher, making it SUPER serious and realistic. Hence the no Joker falling into the acid thing and no Lazarus pit for Ra’s.

So if those fantasy elements were removed for the other films, why would Bane have Venom in his veins? Now maybe they will say he has some drugs in him or something, but it will link to something realistic. However I have feeling he will just be a big guy who is strong – but I could be (and hope to be) wrong.

If I am right and Bane has no drugs in him, am I ok with that, well I guess so? This is Nolan’s universe of Batman, so he makes the call. That being said the recent 6 minutes of footage released with Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol is bringing up more negative points on this new film besides the look and character of Bane. Now we have his voice to deal with!

I saw the footage and I agree with critics of it, you cannot understand what Bane is saying. This isn’t an “accent” thing, like watching Jet Li and not understanding his English, this is a muffled thing. You cannot hear Bane properly because he is actually using his real voice underneath the mask!

Well there’s your realism for you! If someone speaks behind a mask you can’t hear them! I guess this is Nolan’s vision – I wonder if the comic book adaptation of the movie will have Bane’s dialogue blurred out?

This whole issue has caused debate among the forums. Nolan has said that he will tweak the voice in editing, and that it’s not necessary to understand every word as long as you get the gist of what he is saying. First off, what is tweak in editing mean? Second, I want to know what Bane is saying. Obviously the screen writer wrote dialogue for him, so it’s important no?

Here’s the thing:

A – some fans won’t care if you can fully understand him or not, they will manage.
B – some fans will be pissed off. Is it a deal breaker – who knows, but it’s annoying.

So why not just make him understandable and please everyone. No one is going to walk out of the theatre and say “damn it, I was able to understand all the dialogue, this movie sucks.”

Also, Nolan has said that he doesn’t want to dumb down the movie and that movie-goers have to work harder to enjoy the film, it’s not going to be spoon fed.

Work harder to enjoy the film?

To Christopher Nolan.


My name is Jason Pluscec (aka J-Man) I have enjoyed your films (for the most part) and think you are an ok guy, but I have to take offense when you tell me I need to work harder to enjoy your films.


I work very hard for my money at a crappy desk job and after 6 years I am still considered a temp. When your film comes out I will have to go 2 weeks early to buy advanced tickets because it sells out. Of course I have to get Imax tickets, so it’s like 6 bucks more, then I have to drive to the theatre 2 hours early to make sure I get half decent seats. I buy food there for another 15 bucks, I have to endure seat kicking, coughing, sneezing, dirty toilets, whispering and chatting during the film and 20 iphones being used for texting or making calls, and then I have to drive my friend home afterwards using up gas and time, just to have you tell me that I don’t work hard enough for YOUR MOVIE and I can’t understand a fucking word Bane says.


So in closing just make Bane’s voice normal.


Thanks.

Does this seem strange to anyone else? Why are we working harder to enjoy a movie? Shouldn’t the studio be working hard for ME to enjoy their movie?

In any case I will be buying tickets in advance for Imax and seeing this first day – using up a vacation day for it – so I am still excited to see this, and Bane’s voice isn’t really a deal breaker for me personally, but I don’t get why Nolan can’t just change it.

For Bane in general, I am not so worried about tweaking his character, since again, I didn’t grow up with him and I feel that he will be pretty cool in this movie. As usual I am just sharing my thoughts and I’d like to thank Sean (aka Deceptisean) for inspiring me to write this blog entry and a lot of these ideas were Sean’s as well.

Until next time.

J-Man.

ZEBRA TIME

The Making of Zebraman 2 or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Japanese.

By Jason Pluscec (aka J-Man)

So I already reviewed this movie on the Fantomzone Blog (I’m sure you read it) and you may be thinking why are you now talking about it on this blog? Well I wanted to explore the making of Zebraman 2 and the Japanese in general.

First off, this was directed by Takashi Miike, who has made several other weird movies and even some truly horrifying ones. Not that it matters, I myself write horror stories as well as Superhero-ish stuff. So no big deal there, but when you watch some of his other stuff you form a visual in your head of what he looks like, and how he must be in real life. Well when you see him in the making of Z2, you see a nice older man who is very respectful of his actors and his crew.

What I really noticed about Z2 is how much everyone got along. Don’t get me wrong, I have watched tons of “behind the scenes” featurettes and everyone seems to get along, but I don’t see any level of respect taking place.

I know its cliché, but the Japanese really do bow a lot and it’s a great show of respect. Even the lesser crewman gets bowed to and everyone seems to be really working hard.

It’s not that they are not having fun, it is fun, but they are also working hard and getting stuff done; which is probably why you don’t hear about how they are always going over budget or taking too long on shoots, like you do in Hollywood productions.

You also don’t hear of outlandish budgets for films. Well that’s because production companies and CGI effects teams don’t gouge film makers saying that it costs 1 million dollars to extend Wolverines claws. So you get great films that equal Hollywood standards that don’t cost as much. The budget of Avatar could have made 10 Zebraman movies!

Also you don’t have stunt doubles doing everything. The girl who plays the Zebra Queen isn’t a martial artist at all. She is skinny and weak in real life, but in this movie she kicks ass. Well that’s because she was trained to kick and punch. I know, actors always train, like Matt Damon in the Bourne series. The only problem is that they zoom in the action so much that you cannot tell what is going on in the fight scenes. Which means that the fighting wasn’t good, so they had to cover it up with fast cuts and zoom-ins. Of course there are stunt doubles still used, but at least they can do some of their own work. Look at Jackie Chan – who has been wasted in Hollywood. They get him for his skill then don’t use it because they are afraid of a lawsuit. They are scared he will get hurt and sue! So they end up doing nothing with him and wasting his talents.

Sure the Zebra Queen isn’t a great fighter, and at one point it took 21 takes to get one kick right, but at least they took the time to make it right instead of just fast cutting the action. On a related note, she was injured during one of the fights and she kept on filming. This is a 20 year old skinny Japanese girl, and she didn’t whine about it, she just moved on.

Another great thing is that at the end of shooting someone’s final scene, everyone applauds and a bouquet of flowers is given to the actor and they make a speech. I am not sure if this is the custom of all films productions, but I have never seen it done in the making of other films.

It was really sweet. The Zebra Queen was so thankful to everyone and she was even crying! The lead actor, who has been in films for 25 years, was really touched and made a big speech about how he was thankful to everyone that helped him out; then of course we had the bowing and the congratulations.

I am not saying that Japanese films are better or worse than any others, but I just thought I’d share with you my thoughts on the making of Zebraman 2 and how I was moved by the people making it, and the respect everyone showed.

Until next time.

J-Man.

TWILIGHT TEACHINGS

By Jason Pluscec.

When people talk about Twilight, and how much they love it etc, it’s usually girls, or young women. Which is fine, but if you know me, you know that I usually loath anything directed towards this teen audience, because it usually sucks.

I am not getting into Twilight bashing or anything, since I actually liked Eclipse, but I find it fascinating how young girls or women can love it so much.

It’s not the vampire thing, since I don’t see these same people running out and watching Near Dark, 30 Days of Night, or the black and white Dracula movies from Universal, so it must be the whole romance thing.

Ok, so that’s a duh, I knew it was for that. Bella must choose between two different hot guys, one is a werewolf and the other is a vampire – of course their bad-boy image has something to do with it, but they aren’t too bad. Jacob doesn’t writhe in agony when he transforms into a wolf, and Edward doesn’t produce grotesque fangs or experience flesh melting in the sun. So they are the “nice” bad-boys – which is a female fantasy I suppose.

I don’t much care about any of that – if they have that fantasy, then that’s fine. Let them have it. What I find interesting though is that Bella is in high school and no one in the films, including her useless father, ever talks about grades.

I mean these films are basically saying that girls are only complete if they have a boyfriend. Maybe Bella should drop both of those fags and concentrate on studying and getting into a good school so she can have a career. I thought that’s what the woman’s rights movement was all about – equality - not crying over a boy.

It’s funny that little girls take to the series also, which is teaching them that they must acquire a boyfriend in high school to be somebody. Maybe they should be taught that doing their school work is what is important and that leads to a good job and a future in society.

I am all for love, and as I said I am not trying to bash Twilight. A responsible parent will tell their child that this is just a movie and they shouldn’t even be watching it unless they have finished all their homework.

One good thing about Twilight is that fact that teens are actually reading the books. I encourage reading, since I myself find it hard to do (unless it’s comics) but if teens are going to read, then give them something better!

In any case, the movies also depict battered women in the form of the werewolf’s wives. The leader’s wife was once attacked by him and he almost tore her face off, yet she remains with him. Hmm, I thought if you are beaten by a man, you should leave? I guess not if you really love him though – great lesson guys.

I am not saying that this is focused on, but I cannot help but notice it and how it’s very glossed over.

Whatever, just getting some thoughts out of the way, and maybe it’s all explained in the books – something that I have been repeatedly told – well I don’t care about the books, I am reviewing what I saw in the film!

In any case, I don’t see anything that wrong with Twilight and as I said, it falls to the parents to deal with this kind of thing. I mean I watched horror films at a young age and I don’t think killing is right, so obviously young girls can watch Twilight and view it a simple love story, but I sometimes wonder if the parents are seeing what I see and if they were seeing what I see would they allow their kids to watch it?

J-Man.

I HAVE THE POWER!

Everything I know about life I learned from He-Man.

By Jason Pluscec (aka J-Man)

Introduction.

So everyone pretty much knows that I love Masters of the Universe. I collected the toys as a child and I am currently collecting them as a grown up child. My love of He-Man began when the toys first came out. I was the target age group and my mom worked at The Eatons Center which was the biggest store in Ontario – maybe Canada, at the time at least. So one day my mom brought home He-Man and Beastman, I immediately fell in love with the characters and just as luck would have it (or as Mattel had planned), a cartoon was also out at the same time so I could see these characters come to life on the small screen. My love of He-Man began there and it never ended.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.

I am Adam. Prince of Eternia. Defender of the secrets of Castle Grayskull. I won’t bore you with the rest of it, but everyone remembers that opening! Well the story of the show began with Mattel, the toy company. They wanted to produce some toys targeted towards boys that had science fiction, action and fantasy all mixed together. Rumours at the time suggested that He-Man was actually supposed to be Conan, but apparently Conan was too violent for kids (which he definitely is) so they retooled him into He-Man. This of course was never really confirmed, but Mattel at the time knew that they had to have a cartoon to go with the toy line to get kids pumped up!

Enter Filmation. They were willing to produce the show, but they wanted to make a kids show that was fun and entertaining, Mattel on the other hand, wanted the show to sell toys. This was a standard technique used by everyone (Silver Hawks, Thundercats, Transformers, GI Joe etc). But Filmations first priority was to tell stories.

Whatever the case, this mixture produced an amazing effect, because you could watch the cartoon and then go and buy the toys of your favourite characters, which in my case, turned out to be everyone.

Of course the brilliance was that with each new episode or season, they would introduce more guys and then you’d have to buy those toys. In a great marketing decision they decided produce She-Ra – targeted towards girls. He-Man’s twin sister fought against the evil Horde – led by Hordak – who was oddly enough, packaged with He-Man toyline, not She-Ra. That was even more brilliant because if girls wanted to have She-Ra fight Hordak, they would have to buy He-Man toys and boys who wanted Hordak to fight She-Ra had to buy her toys. So basically you had cross promotion all over the place and business was good!

This eventually led to more cartoons, The New Adventures of He-Man and more toys, then a 2001 Cartoon, which had more toys and then Staction figures (figures that don’t move – so they are basically statues in the size of a figure), then finally Mattel decided to introduce the Masters of the Universe Classics line directed to old school collectors like me and through all that I have never wavered. He-Man rocks.

Life Lessons.

Next I’d like to share a few life lessons that revolve around He-Man – and when I say He-Man I really mean the Masters of the Universe Figures, or MOTU Figures, not necessarily He-Man the character. From now on I will refer to the toy line as MOTU, and I am only going to discuss the vintage line – the one from the 80s that we all know.

A Pocket-full of Clawful.

Clawful was a cool toy. He was red and had a big claw arm! He was basically a lobster – most MOTU figures were animals or something. And as a child I would carry him around in my back pocket.

So one day my grandfather and I went to visit one of his friends, and I took Clawful around as usual. And on the way back I put him in my back pocket as I always did. When I got back home I checked my back pocket and he was gone. I had lost one of my favourite toys! I was very upset and that day I learned that if you care about something, you don’t carry it around with you all over the place and you make sure you take care of your possessions.

The next day I actually ended up finding a Tygra Figure (from Thundercats) and since there wasn’t any lost and found (in a parking lot where there was no one around) I kept him and learned that when something is lost, something new can always be found.

Battle-Armor Birthday.

So my friend was having a birthday party. He was a good friend but I had never been to his house before, so I was excited to go over. I had gotten him Battle-Armor He-Man for his birthday. And when I say “I” I mean my mom of course, and I was excited to give it to him as his gift. See I never even had BA He-Man myself, so this was a real treat for my buddy, because I wasn’t feeling envious of him getting something I didn’t have.

So I get there and he isn’t home. That’s right; the kid who invited me to his birthday wasn’t home! He was at some other guy’s house and was hanging out. His mother said I could go there and visit, but I wasn’t going to some random kid’s house. And my mom wasn’t about to let me! So we went back home and I was pretty upset. My mom ended up giving me BA He-Man to try and cheer me up, which it did of course, but I learned how people aren’t reliable all the time and that sometimes you’ll get let down.

Sadly this happens more today than back then.

I know by now you all think I was some spoiled brat kid who got whatever he wanted and it’s mostly true – hahaha - but you’re just jealous!

But honestly, I wasn’t. I never got any of the big stuff, like Nintendo, sports equipment or even a kick ass bike – I had a bike of course but it wasn’t amazing or anything. I actually only cared about He-Man. Remember, think of all the different stuff you wanted as a kid – or now even, clothes, bikes, sports, toys etc. I was never into sports, which costs parents thousands of dollars, so He-Man was definitely not that expensive. I mean what’s a $5.00 figure when you’re kid plays hockey and skates cost hundreds and hockey leagues cost even more! I mean I never cared about anything else but He-Man, superheroes and Star Wars! I was a cheap kid to please!

Stealing Skeletor.

Here’s one I am not proud of. My “friend” I use that term as loosely as possible, since he is responsible for stealing and destroying most of me He-Man figures, stole Battle Armor Skeletor from this other kid. He ended up hiding the stolen goods at my place, and me being stupid agreed to it. So this kid and his mom came to my door and asked me if I had Skeletor. I told them I didn’t, in my mind I was holding it for my “friend” so I felt ok saying I didn’t have it. It was a lie and I knew it.

I’m not gonna say that I thought I was in the right, I was wrong and I knew it back then. And this “friend” of mine had been stealing stuff from kids before, and this time he decided to including me in his scheme, which I didn’t like. I was stupid to go along with it, but he was my “friend”. That being said when my “friend” came back for the stolen Skeletor I told him I didn’t have it and that I gave it back.

He called me a loser for giving the toy back to the kid he stole it from, but I was much smarter than that. I had kept it for myself. I guess in a way I thought I was teaching my “friend” a lesson and I got a free Battle Armor Skeletor! Which I still have to this day! And yes I did go back later and tell that friend that I had his Skeletor and offered to give it back, which amounted to nothing, since he didn’t even like He-Man figures, he just wanted to catch my “friend” in the act of stealing, and he ended up letting me keep the Skeletor anyway! So even though I wasn’t honest at first, I still made right by that kid and he ended up letting me keep Skeletor anyway!

But I did feel really bad about the initial lie and I have never done anything like that again!

The Stratos Affair.

Stratos was always one of my favourite characters in the MOTU line. I always wanted him but never got him as a kid. So my other friend, who will remain nameless, decided to trade me his Stratos for some of my other non MOTU toys. I ended up giving him Green Lantern (Super Powers toyline) and Hulk (the smaller Mego toy version). So I got Stratos and was very happy. Right away I started playing with Stratos and I was always very careful when playing with my toys. But the next day during play Stratos’ leg suddenly broke off!

MOTU figures have small rubber bands connecting the legs, and they could be broken if not handled properly, and this friend knew this figure was about to break so he traded it to me in order to pawn off a figure – a con artist at 10 years old!!! I wasn’t gonna stand for it. So I go back to his place the next day and found that he wasn’t there.

He and his family had MOVED! He traded me the day before he moved, knowing Stratos would break and I would lose 2 of my other toys. Well that just sucked and I learned about how shitty some people are, and they are willing to take advantage of you. Let the buyer beware – that was that days lesson.

However, I also learned about friendship. That same day my real friend, Victor, ended up giving me his Stratos because he felt bad for me. I still have that Stratos to this day, and I subsequently replaced the Hulk and Green Lantern in my older age, so there!

There are actually more stories, but I figure you’ve all had enough. This is one of the few posts I have done that tell you about myself, which I think was the initial point of blogging but somehow got lost.

In any case I just wanted to share some stories about He-man and my love for it to maybe give some understanding of myself and why I sometimes view these simple toys, as more than just that, they are memories, and they really serve as a souvenir of memories, rather than just junk that others would throw away. I can still remember how I got each and every He-Man figure I own and they all hold a special place in my heart.

Until next time.

The New 52

A look at some of the number 1’s hitting the comic shops.

By Jason Pluscec (aka J-Man)

So DC introduced the NEW 52. 52 titles starting over at #1. Some thought this would just be another reboot (a new post-Crisis if you will), but it seems as though this is it. DC has re-launched and there is no turning back.

Do I think it’s necessary? Not really, but who am I to judge. I wont bore you with facts on comics or what I think of it, as it’s not important. It’s done. Nothing I say or do will change what has happened. It’s all thanks to the Flash – read Flashpoint if you want the details (I’ll read it in trade).

That being said I am very happy that Swamp Thing and Resurrection Man are back. They are two of my favourite characters in the DCU. Also, Jonah Hex has re-started, and for those who know me, know that ever since the 90’s I have NEVER missed a Jonah Hex series. So I am all for it.

I’ll start by saying that I wasn’t able to read all 52 issues, but I got all the big ones. I did miss, Batman and Robin, Batgirl, Catwoman, Supergirl and all the Green Lantern titles, so I wont be discussing those. But I will review the 18 issues I read, in order from worst to best.

Wonder Woman – This was the worst. And I don’t mean it sucked, but it was just the weakest issue of the 18. WW already exists here and nothing much happens with her. The issue just shows Hermes die (or dying – he may survive) and Zeus impregnating a girl, which if you know your Greek Mythology isn’t anything new. All in all, I was hoping for something more with this one, as I am a big time WW fan. I’m sure it will get better with the explanation of the story, but not enough for me to collect it.

Suicide Squad – Never was into the SS, but this time around Harley Quinn is the leader and I guess that has some appeal to readers. The issue itself has a twist, which I could see coming by page 4. It’s interesting, but it’s not really for me. For those that don’t know, SS is about villains doing a mission for the government, a suicide mission. So if they die no one cares. It’s not really my thing, but that’s just me. It’s not horribly written or anything, and the art is nice!

Resurrection Man – I am a HUGE fan of Resurrection Man and I was really looking forward to this. The issue isn’t a bad one, but it’s an intro to RM and his powers, so that new readers could get on board, so for people who already know of him, it’s a bit dry. I will still collect this one, as I have to see what happens, and I’m sure issue 2 will be better.

Swamp Thing – My second favourite DC character (after Superman). The main problem with this issue is that after you have read all the Alan Moore stuff, ANYTHING else isn’t as good. This continues from The Search For Swamp Thing, where Alec Holland was separated from the Green and became his own person again. That is interesting and I am looking forward to where the series will head, but like Resurrection Man, this is a “for new readers” issue.

Blue Beetle – I am new to BB, but I was intrigued by the cover and his new costume. In this intro issue, BB finds the scarab and only turns into BB at the very end, I’ll give it a try for issue 2 to see how it pans out. My only negative point is that they use a lot of Spanish slang words, and it’s hard for me to follow what is being said, but again that is just me, so other readers may not find that an issue at all. I’ll give it a chance for another issue.

The Fury of Firestorm – So Jason and Ronnie don’t know each other here and they both become Firestorm via some kind of explosion. The beginning of the issue is really heavy as terrorists kill a family and then head over the school where Jason and Ronnie go and starting terrorizing people there. So then both Jason and Ronnie turn into a Firestorm and then merge into a big version! Pretty interesting stuff, I may get issue 2, but I don’t think I’ll end up collecting it.

JLA – Intro issue of course. Batman and Green Lantern meet up for the first time and go to find Superman. Darkseid has been sending some aliens to cause havoc on Earth, and everyone thinks Superman is causing the commotion. So GL finds Superman and Superman pretty much beats him with one punch. The issue ends with Batman and Superman squaring off. I have to get issue 2 just for that reason, but that is an obvious cliff hanger scenario and it seems a bit forced in my opinion.

The Savage Hawkman – So Carter Hall doesn’t want to be HM anymore and decides to destroy his Nth metal armour, but there is some kind of eruption and Carter is consumed. Sometime later, an alien ship is found and villains attack. The alien is a tough SOB, so Carter looks like he is gonna get killed, when suddenly he transformers into HM with upgraded armour. It’s kind of like Captain Marvel or Hulk. He simply becomes HM. Interesting premise, I may get issue 2.

Justice League Dark – Enchantress has gone psychotic so Deadman, Constantine, Zatanna, Shade the Changing Man and Madame Xanadu have to team up. I am very interested to see where this goes, I am a big fan of Deadman and Constantine, so this is going to be interesting. I have to say that I am very intrigued by Shade the Changing Man as I don’t know much about him. I will collect this until (or if) it gets boring.

The Flash – Barry Allen is the man in this issue and some interesting things happen. I have never collected Flash at all, but always kind of wanted to. This issue is cool because at the end Barry finds himself surrounded by multiple versions of his friend Miguel. I will get issue 2 for sure to see what the heck is going on!

The Dark Knight – Interesting start with Wayne giving a speech on fear at a fund raiser. Wayne is then cornered by an Internal Affairs agent who suspects that Wayne is funding Batman. The issue closes with Arkham Asylum in a riot as a bunch of Batman villains break out – but the big shocker is that Two-Face has become a Bane/Venom muscle guy! So it ends as Batman faces an enormous Two-Face – calling himself – One-Face. I will get issue 2.

Detective Comcis – This issue starts off with Arkham riots as Joker and Batman team up to fight the other criminals. Turns out Joker was really Dick Grayson in disguise. Later Bruce meets with Damien, Dick, and Tim at a party. The issue closes with Joker fighting a new villain and the last page of the book is a torn off Joker face? This is basically a must collect for now.

Batwoman – Breakout hit of the new 52. Love the story of Batwoman and her character is just cool. I love the art, which is sometimes surreal, but very cool looking. Kate Kane has to find a bunch of missing children – the mystery has just begun and I cannot wait to see how it ends. A must collect.

Batman – We are hitting my top 5 with Batman here. This is a must get as Batman is after a serial killer that has targeted Bruce Wayne. All we know is that this guy is sick and needs to be stopped. Very intriguing story, can’t wait to see how it pans out.

Aquaman – I was an Aquaman guy. Not too many people know that, but when Peter David started the series, I got them all. I have every issue from that point – which is like 70-80 or so. Then Aquaman started over in “One Year Later” I stopped at that point, but this issue for me was just amazing. Love the art, and I love how they acknowledged Aquaman as being a bit lame. He was actually never lame in my view, but some think he sucks. Well in this issue he kicks ass! A bunch of deep sea monsters emerge and Aquaman is gonna have to take them down! I am very excited for this series and I am glad Aquaman is back with a vengeance.

Action – Grant Morrison. I can end the review right there. He wrote All-Star Superman, enough said. I will add that Superman here is more concerned with helping people than making a cool costume, which is why he is wearing jeans. However, he has a cape and the symbol, so what more do you want. This is basically what Smallville should have been; Superman starting to learn about his powers. In this issue, like in Action number 1 from 1938, he can only leap over tall buildings. By issue 6-7 he will be brought up to speed with the other current version of himself in the other issues of 52.

Superman – Even better than Action. It starts with the tearing down of the Daily Planet building – which is a reference to new beginnings and how change is tough, and sometimes it sucks. This is all referring to Superman being changed, so it was a really nice intro to Superman. After the Planet is taken over by a huge corporation, Lois is put in charge of the television news department, and her first assignment is covering a huge alien fire monster which Superman fights. This issue has a great story and one hell of a good fight with Superman defeating the fire monster using his brains as well as his brawn. I will collect this one for sure!

All Star Western – The best of the new 52. Jonah Hex is brought in to solve a series of murders occurring in Gotham city in 1880. His partner is Amadeus Arkham, a doctor of the criminal mind. They learn that several prostitutes are being killed by a man wearing a skull ring (no not the Phantom) when they discover that all the rich men in town wear such a ring, they learn of a secret society made up for several well known figures, including mayor Cobblepot! This issue is a great starting point for wannabe Hex fans, as Arkham narrates and gives his impression of the bounty hunter. The best of the new 52 is a great book to start this re-launch.

So all in all I am happy with most of these new books and can’t wait to see what they do next.

So if you want to check some out, I hope my little reviews helped you in some way.

Special note, each and every issue of the New 52 has a cloaked figure somewhere in the background – check out this link for all the sittings.
http://www.comicbooktherapy.com/dc-comics-mistery-purple-strikes/

Not sure what that is all about, but it has something to do with Flashpoint.

Until next time…

Indiana Jones and the Trend in Movies.

A comparative of the four films.

By Jason Pluscec (aka J-Man)

I own all the Indiana Jones film series, not the televisions series though, but I still consider myself a true fan of the series and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was the first movie I ever rented on VHS (the second was Robocop).

In grade school when asked “what do you want to be when you grow up?” I said Archeologist. I loved ancient civilizations and learning about our past. Even as a kid I knew that Archeology wasn’t about fighting Nazis and obtaining magical artifacts, but I have to say that the Indy series really inspired me to look into it. I never became one obviously but still it was a dream of mine.

The series as a whole has been one of the most successful franchises of all time and is considered by most to be up there with Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, and it should be. The series offers high adventure, action, fantasy and one of the most recognizable characters ever, Indiana Jones.

Of course if you really research it, you will find that a lot of the Indy series was inspired by the old Serials – or chapter plays. I mean Raiders especially is considered to be a homage to that style of film making.

The cliffhanger endings were a staple of the Serials and Indy sure has his far share of narrow escapes. But with each installment came a slightly different tone and style, even though they were all made by Spielberg and Lucas.

I am not going to bore with you the details of each movie, but I am going to examine the way others see them.

Some say Raiders is the best, others say Crusade, and still others say Doom. A lot of people are very sure of which they like the best, and when asked, some have very strong opinions on which is better or worse. I find it odd that this occurs since Lucas and Spielberg were both involved in all of them. Maybe there is some connection between age and which film you like, or gender, or the order in which you saw them?

For those of you who are not in the know – the films are:

Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Interesting to note here is that Temple of Doom takes place BEFORE Raiders. If you note the dates given during the films, it takes place before Raiders. In Raiders, Indy is battling the Nazis during WW2 but in Doom he was a soldier of fortune. In any case, my personal favorite was always Temple of Doom. It was the first one I saw though and I was blown away by the land of India. I mean the locations and scenery were so amazing and Indy was fighting to save kids from a real bad guy (turns out that bad guy is a super-duper famous Indian actor who always plays evil bastards). Also to note is that a kid named Short-Round is Indy’s sidekick. When you are a young boy watching this movie you connect with Shorty because he is a kid too and you feel as though you can go on an adventure with Indiana Jones and not get in his way. I also found him to be really cool and not annoying at all.

Something else to note is that I love horror movies, so Temple of Doom was a great way to showcase some really creepy stuff. The bugs, the ripping out the heart, the cult etc. Plus the Temple itself is an amazing design. And the action in the end was so amazing, the rope bridge, the mining cart chase, and at one point Indy turns bad too! This movie has it all folks!

So you see this whole experiment thing started when I was speaking to some people about the series and I always assumed that Temple of Doom was the best one. It’s like when people talk about Die Hard – part one is obviously the best. Or Robocop, or even the Exorcist. But I was informed that they thought Temple of Doom was one of the worst ones! I was in total shock of course. I just couldn’t believe it, but maybe I was crazy? Was I wrong? Or was my viewing experience and age somehow to blame – probably, so I decided to undertake this experiment.

I recently completed a survey of friends, family and co-workers and asked them to rank the four films in order from best to worst. I put the results into excel and studied them. Now I didn’t use the scientific method, but I did keep personal opinion out of it and stuck to the facts. Most of the people on this survey have seen all four films, a few of them hadn’t seen Skull, but it seems that everyone I surveyed but 3, thought that Skull was the worst. So I think I’ll start there.

When I decided to do this survey I had a feeling that people would rank Skull the last. It was very obvious why – they didn’t like it. Well that and I think the whole Alien thing was perceived as being silly or unrealistic.

Well all the films have unrealistic stuff, but it’s usually in a religious context and this was an extraterrestrial one. But remember for those who don’t believe in a religion, the earlier films too were unrealistic. Indy himself doesn’t even believe. So I don’t really see a point in arguing that the alien stuff was too out there. But don’t get me wrong, introducing Indy’s kid and trying to force him to be a lead wasn’t a good idea. That and the fact that Indy didn’t really know what was going on and was kind of bumbling his away around until he found the Skull. I think the people who grew up with this series where kind of let down, but 2 of the 3 people who ranked it 3rd best were people who were older when they saw the films – and they thought it was enjoyable. They weren’t nostalgic about Indy as much and viewed it as an entertaining film that had an interesting concept. The 3rd person who ranked it 3rd best was someone my age, who just thought the alien angle was cool and different. So there you have it.

All in all I surveyed about 30 people and they all said Skull was the worst, so there really isn’t much more to say about that.

How about age? Does your age determine which one you like. Well my study shows that older people – when I say older I mean older than 35, tend to prefer Raiders. I am guessing they saw it as kids/teens and loved it, and that was their first memory of it. For people my age, the results were a tie between Crusade and Raiders. I would assume that is true because adults who loved Raiders would show their kids that movie and it would be their first exposure to the series. As for Crusade’s high marks, I think it’s was probably the first one they saw in theatres. I wasn’t really old enough to see Temple of Doom in the theatre, but I defiantly saw Crusade – I think seeing it on the big screen gives more of an impact. I did however see Temple of Doom at the Cinesphere at Ontario place on the Imax screen – that was amazing. In any case, there were a few who ranked Doom the best, but they were few and of the younger crowd – seemingly for the same reasons I did. Maybe it was the first they saw on VHS, or the fact that its in a totally foreign land.

Crusade for me was 3rd because Sean Connery spends much of the movie belittling Indy. As a kid who worshipped Indy (I would even play Indy at home – complete with a skipping rope whip, and my mom’s bag, and a crappy hat) I wasn’t into the idea that Connery was always saying he sucked. Didn’t Connery see the other movies? Also there was a bit too much comedy for me in it.

Funny that when I got older I actually enjoyed the bickering between Connery and Indy and understood it more. Typical father/son relationship that I didn’t get when I was a kid. But when I was older I found other problems like the Grail. Does it make you immortal? If so is Indy immortal now? But I think the immortality was limited to the surrounding area where the Grail was found. If you leave that mountain you are normal again. So then why were Connery’s wounds healed and not reopened? And if you are only immortal in that mountain, then why does anyone even care about the Grail. I know they wouldn’t know that going in, but still – why protect the Grail with traps and the Templar Knight if the Grail doesn’t work outside the mountain? I don’t know, I just didn’t get it. The movie is still wicked though, but I don’t understand the how it’s better than Doom. But the prime arguers for Crusade vs Doom are women.

If you go by gender, then only one female ranked Doom the highest, and that was my cousin. I only mention that because we grew up together playing Indy and I always watched Temple of Doom, so she has seen it like 20 times, so no doubt she likes that one the best! All the other women ranked Doom 3rd or worst. I think that’s because the gross out factor was too big.

Granted that I see their point, the bugs, ripping out the heart and eating the snakes and monkey brains is pretty odd, but I don’t see how it’s much worst than a pit of snakes, or a cave of rats. But I have to admit that the bugs are defiantly the worst of the gross out parts.

In any case, I think I have given enough food for thought for one post, just wanted to sign off by saying that this is just my opinion and my experiment was very loose and of course nothing is set it in stone when it comes to opinions. These were just my observations.

Until next time.

J-Man.

Under the Umbrella

A look at the “Resident Evil” Film Franchise.

By Jason Pluscec (aka J-Man)

Introduction.

I own over 700 horror films on DVD. These are not burned mind you, but actual DVDs. I have loved horror films since I was 11 years old and my favorites were always the big franchises! Friday the 13^th, A Nightmare on Elm St, Child’s Play, Phantasm, Halloween, Hellraiser, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and even smaller ones like, Basket Case, Scream, Return of the Living Dead, Romero’s Dead Series, Evil Dead and so on, are all favorites of mine. Recently audiences seem to be going away from these franchises and looking to single horror movies, or remakes of those franchises. But actual franchises don’t exist much in horror except for the “Saw” series and the “Resident Evil” series. Both of which I really like. And even though its not original like Saw (Saw isn’t based on a comic book or something) I still like Resident Evil. It’s a series that gets better and better with every movie. However, some people are not liking the series and getting very upset over the fact that it doesn’t follow the video game that it’s based on. I’m writing this to give my take on it.

Mee-la Yo-vo-vitch (aka Milla Jovovich).

Return to the Blue Lagoon. Off topic you say? Not if you know your history. Milla was actually the star of that and I think it was her first starring role (she was in Two Moon Junction also). Anyway, the first Blue Lagoon was a nice movie about 2 lovers trapped on a island and the sequel is basically the same damn thing, except that Milla Jovovich is in it. I was watching a talk show that she was on talking about the role. I guess she was a model at the time or whatever, and I always thought super models were pretty ugly and too skinny. But I changed my mind when I saw Milla on that talk show! I thought she was just the greatest. I followed her career since then, with Married With Children, Dazed and Confused, Parker Lewis Cant Lose (one episode only) and I always thought she was really attractive, but when Fifth Element came out I was pretty surprised and actually found she had some acting skills. I know it’s a whatever role, but her character was so great in that movie and I think it has a lot to do with her. After I saw The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, I was totally blown away. I think she should’ve been nominated for an Oscar for that role. I think she is a good actress that is still looking pretty damn good (remember, she’s had a baby!) So basically she is the total package for me. And I am glad that she is the star of this franchise.

Now that I bored you with Milla-fan crap, I can get to my point. She is one of the few actors that have stayed on with a franchise. Lets review: Michael Keaton – 2 Batmans, Christian Bale – 3 Batmans (I doubt he will return for a 4^th), Tobe – 3 Spidermans, and that’s just a few. Right now there are 4 RE (Resident Evil) movies and a 5^th is sure to come. Milla is still a big star, and keeps busy. She also starred in “Stone” with DeNiro and Norton this year. And after RE3, she made “The Fourth Kind”, so it’s not like she needs that series to continue her career. Sure she is married to producer/director Paul W.S. Anderson, but she can do what she wants. He didn’t direct them all! Regardless, she has stuck with the series and that’s how you build a franchise. Plus if you notice, Resident Evil is one of the few franchises that focuses on a female hero. Freddy, Jason, Mike Myers etc are all men and bad guys! Even Saw is really about the villains, and not the survivors. Something like the Evil Dead series is based on Ash, so that’s cool, but you don’t really find too many horror franchises focusing on FEMALE HEROES!.

Off my game.

Now before I continue, I have to admit that I NEVER played ANY of the games at all, I really want to though, mostly because of the movies. But if you wanna stop reading this, then you have that right. I will try to make a point with this article having not played the games.

First off, have you seen the Wizard of Oz? Ok. Have you read the book? Did you know it was a book? Did you know there were several books? Did you know they made a non-musical sequel based on the next 2 books continuing the story? If you answered “no” to these questions is your opinion of the classic film no longer valid?

I would argue that if you HAVE read all the books then your opinion is definitely more informed and probably more valid than someone who hasn’t read the books, but we can all agree that the movie is great – even though it’s different than the book! There were NO RUBY SLIPPERS in the book! Her shoes were silver! Those slippers are so iconic, yet they were silver in the book. Also, Oz was a real place there, not some dream-world. Sorry if I ruined someone’s childhood fantasy there, but you get my point. There were major changes to the storyline, but the movie is still a classic.

In any case, the major point here is that you don’t need to know everything about a particular property to make an educated assessment of one part of it. I LOVE He-man (in all forms, toys, comics, cartoons) and the live action film wasn’t accurate, but I still loved it cause it was a cool movie with He-man in it! I could go on and on but you get the idea.

All Pac-Man does is eat.

Pac-man goes around eating dots and you have to eat all the dots before the ghosts kill you. In Donkey Kong you have to reach DK at the top of the screen by passing different obstacles that he throws at you. Games used to be simple. Now you require a blu-ray disc in order to play them. I remember DK having a great story line – because there was a “cut” scene (they weren’t called that back then) but it shows you what happens in between game play. After you pass the “barrels” stage DK grabs the girl and runs away. Before the game starts you see him grab the girl and run up the building etc. So these scenes continue the flow of the game. Now cut scenes are like mini movies that are sometimes 30 mins long! You gotta have time on your hands to play games now a days. Which brings me to the Resident Evil games. I have not played them, but I hear the storyline is really good. Now I am all for a storyline, but when did games become mini movies where I have to navigate characters through long, overdrawn storylines. I want to play a game, not watch a game. So changing the storyline from the game to the movie doesn’t affect anything for me, since I don’t much care about seeing a visual interpretation of the game in real life.

Spiderman is a comic, so when they make a movie I want to see that comic come to life. But video games are mini movies that have come to life – in a CGI way at least, so why do I now need to see a movie bring a game come to life, when the game is already there. If you like Mortal Kombat, then you know the movie was great because it added more story because the game was just a 2D fighter. But Resident Evil is a huge game with a great storyline, so why do you need to see that in a film when you already own it as a game. It’s like making Pixar’s film “The Incredibles” into a live action film. It’s already a CGI movie, so what’s the point! I would prefer a new storyline with the movie that non-gamers can enjoy! But then again the movies themselves have a lot of game stuff in them anyways!

More than meets the eye.

I understand that gamers want the game to be adapted in live-action because they love the stories. Well I guess those who hate the RE films also hate: Transformers 1 & 2, GI.Joe, Street Fighter (with JCVD), Mortal Kombat Annihilation, The Nolan Batman films, Spiderman 3, Green Hornet, Star Trek 2009, Iron Man 2, Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, Starsky and Hutch, Wanted, Kick-Ass, Sherlock Holmes, Lord of the Rings, Clash of the Titans, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (remake), A Nightmare on Elm St. (remake), Halloween (remake), Superman Returns, all the X-men films and so on – because ALL of those are not anything like the source material. In some cases, like Transformers, they are not only UNLIKE the source material, but actually pissed on it (literally in Transformers). So pardon me if I don’t feel bad for you guys who didn’t get a “game accurate” RE film. Join the club. At least the RE movies are good. As I said, He-man wasn’t accurate, but at least it was a fun movie. Transformers, Superman Returns, etc, those movies destroyed childhoods, so at least you don’t have to experience that!

Monsters galore.

The monsters in the RE films are right out of the game. I have found some pictures to tell the story for me.

So basically as you can see, Jill Valentine, Chris/Claire Redfield, Nemesis, the dogs, the executioner and all the other monsters are right out of the games. So I am not getting this hatred? Oh, it took too long for those characters to get introduced, well maybe – but at least they did show up. And you know why – because the fans wanted it! When’s the last time fans actually got the studio to give them what they wanted. The fans kept bugging for more game accurate stuff, so they got it! The last fight in Resident Evil Afterlife is right out of the game. If you watch the features of the Blu-ray they show you the fight in the game along with the movie and it’s exact! They even changed the dogs to match the new game – in the new game the dogs split in half exposing teeth inside themselves. When are the fans gonna get what they want from Transformers. Or did the fans of Transformers want Bumblebee pissing on people, Optimus Prime tripping over bird fountains and Megatron getting defeated by Shia Labeouf?

The final point is that you are getting a GOOD movie from a GOOD game. Not a crap movie from a good game. I mean the characters look good, and the monsters look like the game. Transformers is just awful and no one looks OR acts like they are supposed to, so technically even though the characters are in the movie, we are not getting them in an accurate form.

AT least the film makers respect the material they are making the film from and the films are doing well too. So I just don’t get this hatred on the series. Just sit back and enjoy yourself for once!

J-Man.