The Official Conversation Thread

[A Dark Knight]

Nah, I'm probably going to see it even if it isn't well received.

[Drazar]

Originally Posted by Old_BenKenobi

Can't wait to see Hulk whoop some ass.

Is it hypocritcal of me that I'm seeing Avengers for pure fanboy reasons and don't give a damn if the story or acting or direction or dialog turns out to be terrible?

If you feel the need to make amends, you can always rent Ghost Rider: Spirit if Vengeance. <3 heh, if Avengers suck i can't wait for all the fanboys saying how bad shared universe movies are lol.

[The Hylden]

Old Ben has gone to the dark side...



All is lost....

[A Dark Knight]

Avengers has received an extremely positive reaction from everyone so far.

[batfan08]

Originally Posted by Drazar

If you feel the need to make amends, you can always rent Ghost Rider: Spirit if Vengeance. <3 heh, if Avengers suck i can't wait for all the fanboys saying how bad shared universe movies are lol.

Not really, Ghost Rider:SoV kinda sucked. Nevermind, no kinda involved, it just sucked. Move along here people, nothing to see (but suck). To quote Stan "The Man" Lee, "'nuff said."

[Old_BenKenobi]

Originally Posted by The Hylden

Old Ben has gone to the dark side...



All is lost....

I ain't gone to no Dark Side, I've just beat Vader into submission and I'm just about to realize how close I'm coming to going to the dark side. Then comes the electric shock torture.

[Drazar]

Originally Posted by batfan08

Not really, Ghost Rider:SoV kinda sucked. Nevermind, no kinda involved, it just sucked. Move along here people, nothing to see (but suck). To quote Stan "The Man" Lee, "'nuff said."

And we're suppose to take the guy who preferred GL over Thor on this? It's go time! Round 1!

[Batman The Trailer Hunter]

Ghost rider did suck...but it was enjoyable...ish

[Drazar]

Allright Poozers! Debate time! Why would you ever ser Crank Brothers hilarious roadie movie with Crazy Nick Cage suck?!

Ps. Haywire, tonight!

[Batman The Trailer Hunter]

I WANT THIS

[batfan08]

For starters, I did enjoy GL more than Thor at first, as I'm more of a DC fan. However, I never had any trouble recognising which was the better film (Thor). As for Ghost Rider: The film is a mess; it is one of those films that's just a notch over the "so bad that it's good" line, and thus, it has no redeeming qualities. Most of the action consisted of him swinging his chain once (foes instantly turned to ash quite often), and the villains were mediocre at best (quite a feat, when one of whom is the devil himself, the other being that unmemorable arms dealer turned albino Johnny Rotten (get it? Because he rots stuff? Heh).

The entire plot was frankly a bore, and I couldn't give a flying about the kid or his mother, so why would I waste my time rooting for characters I don't care about? The whole Catholic Illuminati/Monk thing was so out of place that it felt like the boy geniuses Neveldine & Taylor just shoehorned them in for the sake of their B and C list celebrity cameos (Idris Elba, Anthony Stewart Head; of Buffy fame, and Lord Raiden himself, Christopher Lambert, with so many tattoos that he'd make Bradbury's illustrated man blush). In fact, it's pretty bad when the only character that I'm remotely affected by is Elba's (whose name I can't even recall any longer). Nicholas Cage's Johnny Blaze was his most ridiculous performance this side of The Wicker Man, and his Ghost Rider wasn't that great either. The bike looked more like a junker that puffed smoke every time you started it up than it did a powerful instrument of the devil's bounty hunter, and I can't say I favored the Rider's charicature of a look much either.

It is a convoluted mess that doesn't even deserve to be called a film ( By the way, his "flamethrower" moment wasn't in the movie but 5 seconds (probably less than in the trailer). So, that "over the top funness" that you always like to cite was almost nonexistent. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance: A lesson in mediocrity if I ever heard of such.

[A Dark Knight]

Well, I thought Thor was great. Same with Captain America and the rest of the MCU films. I'm really having trouble waiting for Avengers.

[batfan08]

Again, not saying it wasn't. I enjoyed GL, but I think Thor is a great movie. So much so that I saw it twice, so that must count for something, huh?

[Batman The Trailer Hunter]

Originally Posted by A Dark Knight

Well, I thought Thor was great. Same with Captain America and the rest of the MCU films. I'm really having trouble waiting for Avengers.

This wont help the wait any...

[Old_BenKenobi]

Is it too early to call "bromance" on that one?

[A Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by batfan08

Again, not saying it wasn't. I enjoyed GL, but I think Thor is a great movie. So much so that I saw it twice, so that must count for something, huh?

That it does.

Originally Posted by Batman The Trailer Hunter

This wont help the wait any...

No, no it doesn't.

[Drazar]

Originally Posted by batfan08

action consisted of him swinging his chain once (foes instantly turned to ash quite often), and the villains were mediocre at best (quite a feat, when one of whom is the devil himself, the other being that unmemorable arms dealer turned albino Johnny Rotten (get it? Because he rots stuff? Heh).

I agreed that the villain was not a physical match for Ghost Rider, which is what both movies suffered from, but i do feel Ciaran Hinds performance as the Devil was good, he was a malicious dealer. The main opponent Blackout was simply a loser villain who becomes a super powered loser villain. Like i said, they need another Driver for an opponent, one would think you'd go with someone like Vengeance.

The entire plot was frankly a bore, and I couldn't give a flying about the kid or his mother, so why would I waste my time rooting for characters I don't care about?

Fergus Riordan gives a strong performance as a tough street kid who isn't an annoying 90s street kid who can't shut his mouth. He is a strong willed, clever and emotional character who lacks a father figure and Blaze even wants to help him in that factor by doing some stunts with him. Nadya was a woman who had sanked to the bottom but was making personal redemption, one of the central themes of the movie. I can't blame them for your lack of empathy.

The whole Catholic Illuminati/Monk thing was so out of place

But Angels & Demons weren't?

Nicholas Cage's Johnny Blaze was his most ridiculous performance

Which is great. Nic Cage has the charm that when he is having fun, so is the audience. Movie business is entertainment, and he delivers a performance that makes you believe this man is haunted/cursed by the spirit of vengeance.

The bike looked more like a junker that puffed smoke every time you started it up than it did a powerful instrument of the devil's bounty hunter, and I can't say I favored the Rider's charicature of a look much either.

I favored the downright dirty and nasty look he had. It felt corrupt, rotten and downright negative like there was nothing good. It felt like Clayton Crain's Ghost Rider from Ennis' Road to Damnation had come to live.

So, that "over the top funness" that you always like to cite was almost nonexistent.

The trailer showed less of the Flamethrower since it didn't include the head nod, but that's rather unimportant. The movie is filled with comedy from Nadya fooling a business man, Moreau being saved by "God", Blaze's blackmailing to release the Rider, the Rider himself with just being flatout insane and toying with all the petty humans who tried to get in his way, the Willmhelm scream cameo, Road Kill among others. It felt like the Crank brothers movie. Not to mention when the Rider comes out of Blaze, man was that crazy.

My thoughts on the movie Haywire:

Director Steven Soderbergh delivers an movie with such stunningly viewed action that hundred million box office monster movies could only dream of achieving, with mixed martial arts fighter Gina Carano starring as Mallory Kane, a covert operation agent.

Haywire is a spy thriller that’s story gets across the globe as Mallory Kane is out to clear her name from being framed as a threat to the United States while also getting her revenge on the people responsible for all of this. The story is rather less important and I didn’t even truly feel or have any sort of care who the true villain(s) was behind it all, all I wanted to see was Gina Carano kick some ass and work her way out of this, she is the star child here and Soderbergh does an most excellent job showcasing her martial arts skills, her beauty and her utter dominance towards her enemies.

That isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy the superb casting this entire film had from Ewan McGregor who plays Kenneth, Mallory’s boss, Michael Fassbender is Paul, another fellow agent in the field. Antonio Banderas is Rodrigo, a contact for the American government agent Coblenz played by none other than Michael Douglas himself. Fans of Fassbender be warned, he isn’t in this movie for more than 15 minutes max.

Added with the beautiful variety of settings, Carano’s performance comes a very smoothing jazz score from David Holmes, which is a pleasure to your ears as mysteries unfold and tensions rise.

There isn’t much more to say, but even though it has the running time of 93 minutes, I still wish it could have lasted longer as Gina Carano is pure eye candy with her self-made stunts. Very enjoyable movie with recent spy thrillers adding a lot of class and style to them, with an all-star cast and great vision from the director, I sure wouldn’t miss this movie out at all.

Recent book's i've read:

(click image to enlarge)
Secret Avengers: Run the Mission, Don’t Get Seen, Save the World by Warren Ellis
Warren Ellis writes espionage one-shot stories with six different artists: Jamie McKelvie, Kev Walker, David Aja, Michael Lark, Alex Maleev & Stuart Immonen. Each story packs a well-paced 20-page story with a stunning double page spreader to kick up the action or blow the reader’s mind with its scenery.

The Secret Avengers led by the Super soldier Steve Rogers are: Super-spy Natalia Romanova; martial artist Shang-Chi; Asgardian Warrior Valkyrie; the mutant with brains and brawn, Henry McCoy; possible borderline psychotic Moon Knight and the one-man army James Rhodes, codename: War Machine.

The stories are your typical spy work, the Secret Avengers are mainly set against the Shadow Council who either tries to rule the world with Doctor Doom’s old machinery or completely annihilate by it with transmitted bad continuum. Alongside the dirty secrets of British Government’s MI: 13, Super soldier drug markets and biological weapons of mass destruction. All these threats while remaining unseen from the public eye. All these stories also show the whole new pressure Rogers has to carry on his shoulders, as these events aren’t your ordinary caped super heroics as his Captain America days are.

I really enjoyed the setting Ellis puts these characters on, how non cape comic he treats the series with Rogers operating like a proper director would, especially the threat level here as no one of this can be revealed to the public or it would cause so much panic and terror everywhere. All the characters are portrayed as proper spies with only Marc Spector being referred as his codename Moon Knight, as his identity is secret to them, everyone else is referred by either their first or last name, no “silly” superhero names are being thrown.

Rating: 87/100 – For such a cheap premiere Hardcover you get more than you bargained for. 6 standalone stories each illustrated by a different artists bringing his A-game, clever writing from the story settings to the characterizations, especially Henry, Steve, Valkyrie & Natalia. It’s a fun book that shows how spy thrillers are done in a comic book universe, with its crazy comic book science and bio-monsters.

Flex Mentallo: Man of Muscle Mystery by Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely.

(click image to enlarge)

Flex Mentallo is a Grant Morrison creation that was created as a parody of Charles Atlas, the strongman bodybuilder, the hero of the beach with a strong vibe of 1930s pulp heroism attached to him. This oversized hardcover is the first reprinted re-collection of a 1996 mini-series done by Morrison & Frank Quitely, with brand new coloring by Peter Doherty.

The book can be read as an autobiographic of Morrison because it touches a lot of things he utterly beliefs at, while his shamanistic symbolism and sigils is also there, his childhood fear of atom bombs and the concept idea of superheroes being able to save lives and leap forward to become something real and existing amongst us. It’s a tribute from Morrison to all the things he loves about comics, while inserting a huge chunk of his own personality into it. This is further evident if you’ve read the book Supergods or seen the movie Grant Morrison: Talking with Gods.

The story follows Wally Sage, a young adult who is about to commit suicide and is talking to a mystery man on the phone to discuss his childhood and most importantly his love to comic books, such as his favorite hero Flex Mentallo, who was brought alive by a child’s wish and again if I start delving into the story further, it’s not only spoiling but me reciting what Grant Morrison utterly believes, so I don’t wish to comment further on the story.

The brand new coloring removes the “Silver Age” vibe the book had going, but with its wacky concepts and more modern look, I’d simply call this a “Neo Silver Age” book akin to what Grant Morrison has been writing for the past few years, dark, while still carrying an hopeful message with high sci-fi concepts.

Frank Quitely’s art is absolutely gorgeous, if you’ve read We3, Batman & Robin or All Star Superman, that’s the sort of art you’re in ready for, with obvious modern coloring & inking. Flex’s over the top muscle massed body is larger than life giving this very Herculean look around him, the expressions are clear and the environmental settings can be larger than life.

Rating: 96/100 – As a Morrison/Quitely fan I was more than pleased, but I would feel the writing could come across more evident on what Morrison wants to aim, because as a longtime Morrison fan I’ve read his interviews, watched the documentary movie and read Supergods, so I already have a strong sense of what he aims, believes and how he has made the comic fan community seen him as. So for a non-Morrison fan some of the concepts might seem outrageous or flat out weird. Still it’s a wonderful oversized hardcover for your book shelves.

Also during Haywire i saw these two promising movies:
NSFW

[Old_BenKenobi]

Just spent 150 bucks on comics:

Sin City: Hell and Back (probably the last Sin City book I buy in the while. The only ones I dont have now are The Big Fat Kill and Family Values and they're probably my least favourite Sin City stories).
Essential Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos Vol 1 (my first essential volume)
The Mask omnibus Vol 1
The Mask omnibus Vol 2 (got both volumes because Amazon had them for 16 bucks apiece and I needed to get two books to hit the free shipping mark).
Jonah Hex: Lead Poisoning (this volume is OOP so I had to nab it as soon as I saw it on BD)
The Untold Tales of Spider-Man omnibus (was gonna wait longer to see if it got further discounted but meh, 68 bucks isn't bad).

Being employed is a fun thing.

Oh dammit, I just got hit by an Avengers spoiler. Serves me right for not swearing off the internet for three weeks.

[Drazar]

Yeah i'm doing my best to avoid spoilers. Millar spoiled what Loki's army consists of and that really disappointed me, totally uncool. I'm purchasing my tickets tomorrow for 27th premiere evening showing.

Nice purchases you made. Isn't the Mask stuff filled with gruesome, grotesque dark humor? I'm only familiar with the movie and cartoon hehe.

[Old_BenKenobi]

Damn you Europeans and your early release dates. I don't know if the extremely positive reception so far makes the wait better or worse. Better because I don't have to worry about it being crap, worse because it makes me want to see it and the supposed Hulk badassery even more.

And yeah, The Mask is truly gruesome. The concept was to combine Looney Tunes craziness with realistic violence, so he'll bash someone over the head with a mallet and instead of them getting a tall lump they get their brains smashed up. In the one issue I've read some bikers beat-up Stanley on his way home and when he put the Mask on he went to their club house, brutally murdered everyone there and burned it to the ground. He also did this creepy thing where he disguised himself as a normal human and revealed himself by ripping the old face off... I can't wait to read the rest.

[A Dark Knight]

Avengers seems to be getting unanimous praise. It makes the wait that much harder.

Has anyone watched the trailer for Looper? Looks good. There's just one thing...

[Drazar]

6 tickets bought! AVENGERS ASSEMBLE.

[Batman The Trailer Hunter]

I've read a few spoilers online about the first half of the movie...I am disappoint...because i have to wait till the 4th

[A Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by Drazar

6 tickets bought! AVENGERS ASSEMBLE.

Nice!

Originally Posted by Batman The Trailer Hunter

I've read a few spoilers online about the first half of the movie...I am disappoint...because i have to wait till the 4th

[JackWinz]

I am currently rounding up a midnight show posse in my town.
c: