Trailer Watch: Transcendence

To be perfectly frank, I had never heard of this movie until the last few days. I probably heard or read some things on it at its start but nothing comes to mind. That being said, this looks pretty cool and I'm in.

NB of the Week

-I AM THE ONE WHO SPOILS.-

Switching things up a little, I wanted to further sell the amazing title that is Saga. This week saw the release of issue 17 and it's ridiculous how brilliant each issue gets. If I haven't filled you in before (and I speak a lot so it's possible to have forgotten), here's the jist:
Marko and Alana are from two different species who are at war. They have fallen in love and have sired a daughter, making a lot of people angry and wanting them dead. Alana was in the military and she is the one who helped Marko escape, branding her a traitor along the way (though Marko breeding with her has also put a sentence on his head). The two are on the run with their newborn daughter, making friends with a ghost girl who has become something of a nanny to Hazel (their daughter), mercenaries are on their trail with cat's that tell if you're lying, trees that are rocket ships, princes who are robots and dream about weird sex (which we get to see on their tv heads). This book has been described as a combination of Star Wars, Romeo and Juliet, Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones and I'd actually say that's a very good description. It's scifi love mixed with magic and fantasy and odd sex (that the Thrones connection, if ya didn't know) and I truly believe it is the best written comic being published today. The art of Fiona Staples, whom I never even heard of before this book, is an absolute perfect match to what Brian K Vaughan writes and I would argue that her art is the most complimentary art to a story out of everything published today as well.
Vaughan and Staples have created a masterpiece of a book. Almost two years of story and everything just keeps getting better. Every book has a slow point. Every story and character has a point where things are just not as good as the last. Not to say it's bad but that it loses it's excitement and flavor for a bit. Saga has lost nothing. Every issue makes you want more. Every death brings a tear. Every kiss brings a smile. It plays on your emotions in every direction and I can't wait for more after every read. There is some really good stories being told in the comic world but in my book, nothing is better than Saga. This is a title that I absolutely recommend to anybody who wants a smart, mature, eloquent story that makes you forget you're paying 2.99 for a comic book.

Trailer Watch: 22 Jump Street

If you haven't seen this yet, you need to. If you have seen this yet, watch it again.
Naughty language is in this red band trailer. Please be careful and responsible.

NB of the Week

Montezuma's Revenge!

Justice League #25

DC continues to tell a few good stories as their whole line suffers from Dick Editor Syndrome. This one kinds falls in the middle. Essentially all we get here is Owlman telling Nightwing that he wants to stop Ultraman from enslaving all of humanity. Nightwing chooses the lesser of the two evils and says he'll help Owlman. All while Superwoman just happens to be listening. (amazing variant cover shown)

Cataclysm: Ultimate Spider-Man #2
Galactus has destroyed New Jersey (not much loss there) and it's up to Spidey and his gang to try and stop him. Only not in this issue. Cloak and Dagger get close and try to shoot light in his eye but that's about it. Big ending, though, as Miles reveals himself as Spider-Man to his father, not wanting to hide anything from him if this may be their final moments together.

Cataclysm: Ultimates #2
Down on the street level of the Galactus fight, Fury and his Commandos are going against the Gah Lak Tus swarm, which is turning all it touches into part of it's hive mind. After some great fighting, that includes Hulk, Abigail Brand, Emil Blonsky, Stature and Punisher. Fury, Dum Dum and Danny Ketch are left with no choice but to flee. All Seems lost as this mini has become the darkest and most bleak of all 4 Cataclysm minis.

Captain America #14
Cap and Falcon are left fighting Nuke and, no surprise, defeat them. Falcon has to stop Cap from crossing the line (I assume playing on how dark the last 10 years in Dimension Z have been) and Falcon, after letting a photographer leave with her camera intact, finds that she published those photos, claiming America was part of Nuke's murdering the whole time. Things look bleak in Cap's world right now.

Astro City #7
After some female villains are stopped and captured, they reveal to all that they have been working for the hero Winged Victory the whole time. As a strong feminist, Victory vows to stop these lies on her own. Problem is that her powers come from the strength of females so with her loyalty in doubt, she may be stripped of her power. Not to mention the Confessor is now on the trail. Great old Astro City just as it should be.

Trailers Watch

Two awesome trailers were released in the last day. The first was Jupiter Ascending by the Wachowski Siblings. It visually looks amazing, as they always do. My only problem is that I'm not quite sold in Tatum and Kunis being stars  of a scifi action movie. But it looks damn amazing

 The Next is the teaser for the new Godzilla. I've been a pretty big Godzilla fan for a while and can't wait for this one. It's just a teaser so there's not much but it's enough to get my excitement going.

 

(Late)NB of the Week

-YOU THINK I'M NOT SPOILS JUST BECAUSE I CARRY A RABBIT?-

Much like last week, I had two comics that left me wanting more for one specific reason: jaw-dropped ending. The first comic I'll definitely spoil the ending to while the second I'll leave much more open.

DC Universe vs. Masters of the Universe #3 (of 6)
Written by Keith Giffen/Tony Bedard
Drawn by Dexter Soy/Derlis Santacruz/Andres Ponce

Skeletor is now all souped-up and trying to steal magic from the DCUniverse. Last issue, He-Man stabbed Superman clean through the chest as he and the League had been taken over and attacking the Masters. Evil-Lyn high-tails herself and the Masters out of there before anybody else can overreact, leaving the League lost and wondering how to stop their new foes. Shortly after, Man-At-Arms and other Masters arrive in the DC looking for Adam and the others, which of course leads to another fight. We end the issue back with Skeletor, giving the villain monologue and revealing his new, powerful master... Dark Orko. Shoulda been nicer to the little guy.
In theory, it's a little lame and worn out to turn a hero bad and turn on the other heroes but I could care less. This is fraking Orko and he looks evil and pissed and I can't wait to see what actually happens with this story.

Inhumanity #1
Written by Matt Fraction
Drawn by Olivier w/ Yu and Weaver

I won't say anything about the big ending but it's a whopper. After the events of Infinity, Black Bolt has released the Terrigen Wave across the globe, seemingly killing himself to so. As Karnak explains to the other characters, at the dawn of civilization, the Inhumans were created. From there, a portion left the city, wanting to live a different life than what was given. Hundreds of thousands of years later, Inhuman DNA has been spread and moved throughout the world and bred into the human race. What the Terrigen Wave did was unlock that code in all those descendants, creating a new breed of Inhuman, in the hopes of hiding Thanos's son from Thanos himself (which is what Infinity was partially about). What all this leads to in this issue is a big death and a lot of unanswered questions that make me want to read wherever it is that Fraction is going to take the Inhumans in the new ongoing series (that was pushed back to April, gosh-darn-it). This issue was pretty heavy in dialogue as it's a lot of back-story and explaining but it's totally worth it. If you have any interest in the Inhumans, now is the time to start following.

Clif-Notes: Now You See Me

When I first saw a trailer for this one, I figured it's be a big flop cuz nobody wants to see the Facebook douche as a magician, somehow stealing money from banks and just being an all around nuisance (or at least I didn't). What I got was much better than expected, though still nothing worth running to.
Now You See Me is the story of four magicians (in one way or another) who are brought together by a mystery person. A year later, they are the biggest magic act on the scene. As their first of three final acts, they rob a man's back from across the globe. As the feds (Mark Ruffalo and Melanie Laurent) get involved, they begin chasing after the Four Horsemen (original) and soon find that they are always two steps behind this silly show that has to be more than they see. Cuz magic isn't real, right? -dun dun dun-
The movie isn't anything amazing and I'm glad I waited until after the theater run but it was worth a watch. I won't give anything away but I will say that this was one of the few movies that won me ovber with it's ending more than the rest of the movie. I was having some problems with the story and decisions characters were making but by the end, you see it all in another light and it does make more sense. Again, nothing too grand but it definitely won me over with it's reveals. Which is the perfect way for a magic show to end.

NB of the Week

-HOW CAN THERE BE CONVERSATION IF ONE SPOILS IS DUMB?-
Co-Winners Of The Week Edition!

Powers: Bureau #8
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Drawn by Mike Avon Oeming

Hawkeye #14
Written by Matt Fraction
Drawn by Annie Wu

What these two issue did this week was prove that real, down to Earth, human dialogue will always win out for me over big story plots. No offense to Hickman and the ending of Infinity but it wasn't even close.
Over in Powers we get the start of a new story in which the super-team The Circle (which is lead by The Extreme, an obvious play on Cable and his old X-Force team and I'm assuming a little poke at Liefeld as well) is murdered except for one, who demands to only talk to Christian Walker. Meanwhile, something seems to infect Retro Girl and she is having massive problems gaining control over herself in any fashion.
In Hawkeye, the issues have now begun their split-focus with every other issue switching between Clint and Kate, this one starting with Kate. Having taken Lucky with her (I'm still partial to the name Pizza Dog) and leaving Clint for LA, she tries to start her own life as a crime-fighter. What that starts with is the finding of a thief who stole some rare flowers from a floral shop after the shop refused to sell 'em because they were special for a wedding (of whom Kate has befriended those two grooms-to-be, hence how this all began.). She's a bit out of her league in that she hasn't really practiced his solo, investigation stuff but by the end, she gets the thief, who it turns was working for Madame Masque who is looking for Kate after their earlier debacle (in the Annual from a few months ago).
In premise, these stories are nothing grand or even overtly creative but what they both have is amazing dialogue. Bendis, though causing his stories to sometimes suffer, has shown over and over that dialogue is important to him. What he writes is absolutely authentic sounding. You don't even really notice the story goes nowhere because you love reading it so much.
Fraction, on the other hand, has a knack for slow progression included in his dialogue. It's witty and funny and often filled with lines that you kinda miss until a few panels later. Much like with Clint Barton, he has turned Kate into a person instead of a character. They may be (Young)Avengers but under the work of Fraction, her and Clint are nothing more than human. These are people that we could be talking to every morning at the water cooler (if you have a water cooler near by). If more writers were able to write this realistically, I would be broke withing the first month.

Brain Tunes

A Great Big World feat. Christina Aguilera - Say Something
Most who know my music taste know that I may have a definite preference but that I'm open to listening to most anything (sans country). A few days ago, my brother dropped me this song. I have never heard of A Great Big World but I'd give one song a whirl. I love it. It's a very touching and sad song but it's beautiful. Everybody knows that Aguilera has an amazing, loud, strong voice but all she does is soft harmony and that for me is what makes the song so great. Will I listen to this band more? Meh, probably not. But this song stays.

NB of the Week

-I SWEAR BY MY PRETTY FLORAL BONNET, I WILL SPOIL YOU-

100 Bullets: Brother Lono #6 (of 8)

Written by Brian Azzarello
Drawn by Eduardo Risso

Last we saw, Lono was stepping up and trying to do right, but as he stood against Craneo, thug-turned-ally Paulo steps behind him, holding a gun out. His friendship seemly a ruse. Or is it?...
When this issue starts, Paulo starts shooting at the car Craneo is in, past the head of Lono. He's going to protect this orphanage and kids no matter the cost. As Craneo drives off for the inevitable backup, everybody gathers back in the church as Paulo reveals he knows the secret of Sister June. He got the gun from her because she's DEA and came her for Craneo, his crew and their whole operation. Just as it's all coming to light, Craneo arrives again with more in tow. At first, the priest goes out to try and talk sense into them. Paulo them follows in order to save him and the children. As a last ditch, the priest warns them that the DEA is here and is watching them, which only sets them off into a larger rage. Out of nowhere, shots fire, men begin to fall and Lono has stolen a car, claiming he's the DEA, forcing the gang to leave the church and children and chase after. He's doing right but it feels so unnatural. He knows it's not like him to ever run. As June and Paulo and the kids all come together, the priest finds a scooter and says he has to go after them. That before all this, he heard Lono's confession. He knows what Lono was and what he's likely to do to his captors.
"Paulo... Your friends have no idea what they're going to do. What they have... What he will submit to just to get their measure. Only God can torture the devil. Your friends... I have to save them."

And with that, we're left with this haunting eyeline. Lono is back and the dog is about to be let off the leash.
Ive said it with this mini before and it deserves repeating: Azzarello is writing this like he never ended 100 Bullets. It's grit and crime to a perfect point and I can only hope that more minis come after this one.

(Fake)Trailer Watch: Machete Kils Again... In Space

Apparently this trailer was shown at the beginning of Machete Kills but since I was unable to get to it in time, I never saw it. Luckily it's now online. Not that another Machete movie is likely but good lord I'd love to see this.

Clif-Notes: Parkland

Parkland is based on the book Four Days in November by Vincent Bugliosi and is the story surrounding the Kennedy assassination and the people who then have to deal with it all. As history goes, I know that there are many conspiracies around this. From it revolving around Johnson becoming president to there being another gunman. Thankfully, I really have no desire to find out about these as I figure it's done and it deserves to be over. What this story does is tell about the events that happened. No theories, no debates. Here's what did happen on those days and as far as the movie goes, I was quite amazed. The movie stars many great names including Paul Gimatti, Marsha Gay Harden, Billy Bob Thorton, Colin Hanks, Mark Duplass and Jackie Earle Haley and even some very solid performances from names I wouldn't normally put at the top like Zac Efron and Tom Welling. Everybody in this movie was pretty damn good, in the very least. Anybody who knows me knows that I can have quite the stomach for violence and gore and everything between but I found the first 30 minutes or so very strong and kinda hard to watch. It revolves around the actual shooting and the doctors trying to save his life and the reaction of people to the news of Kennedy's death. The mood is very heavy and you can feel it through every face, from main stars to the extras. I felt the pain of that day and it was not an easy feeling. We then follow the arrest of Oswald and his subsequent murder and are left very empty, but not really in a bad way. It's left open in a way that you know those conspiracy theories are all following suit. That you know it's not a happy ending and the last fifty years fills in all the gaps after it.
Maybe this movie didn't have the fullest story to tell and maybe it's a story that some could feel has been told countless times and therefore has less meaning. None of that takes away from the amazing acting and that acting is what makes an emotional and personal story like this one worth watching.

A Preacher Revival?

Word is that the amazing Garth Ennis comic Preacher is being picked for a pilot at AMC with Seth Rogen set to produce. For those that are comically-challenged, Preacher is the story of a preacher (duh) named Jesse Custer who bonds with an entity known as Genesis (the offspring of a demon and an angel) which in turn gives him "The Word" (forcing anybody do whatever he says). He then embarks across anywhere he needs to find answers, along with his vampire friend Cassidy and his trigger-happy ladyfriend Tulip. It's a brilliant comic from start to finish and if ya like yourself some good 'ol mature reading, look no further. Which brings me to my only problem. There's a lot of tv-unfriendly things in this book. And not just violence and harsh language. Garth Ennis is pretty much known for his adult themed writing and it's kinda hard to imagine a lot of key moments being used. As Walking Dead has shown, it's not always a problem and they could definitely figure out ways around it but Walking Dead ain't no Preacher. We're talking about things like incest, beastiality and God biting out eyes (well maybe just one but still). I love the book and would love to see any incarnation of it put to live action but I'm obviously hoping for a better one over a shitty one.

(Late)NB of the Week

-GUESS WHAT? I JUST SPOILED A BEAR!-

Cataclysm: Ultimate Spider-Man #1 (of 3)

Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Drawn by David Marquez

When Marvel's Age of Ultron had finished, 3 things had happened: 1) Those of us that bought it were screwed out of $40, 2) the Spawn character Angela was moved over to the Marvel Universe and 3) the 616 Galactus had been moved to the Ultimate-verse. That last one is from where this Cataclysm stems. Galactus has merged with the Gah Lak Tus swarm and is going after the Ultimate Earth and it's up to the Ultimate heroes to take on a new challenge.
Each of the three ongoing titles are on hiatus as they all get 3-issue minis tying into the main mini, Cataclysm: The Ultimates Last Stand, and Spidey leads the way for 'em. In this issue, we get some aftermath from the last Ult Spidey story and not much else but that's also where Bendis exceeds as a writer. His writing and dialogue is as crisp and real as ever. Spider-Woman wants the Ultimates to go after Roxxon (from the last story), Lana (Ult exclusive villain-turned-possible-hero) is finding that she may be better suited to be a villain-turned-possible-hero, Miles finds out that his year long absence has made people (namely the police) actually miss him and Cloak and Dagger realize they are alone and may need Spidey in their lives. And then they turn around to see Galactus.
Bendis is a master with words. He makes every issue of Ult Spidey feel natural and fun and comics need those books to settle the serious tone that most others take. He writes a world that is ridiculous and lavish and he makes it all feel like it's the one we have right outside and that's an amazing talent to have. However, his writing is also the worst part of this title. We are given three issues instead of the ongoing in order to tie into the big Cataclysm event and this issue has nothing but the last page tying into it. It's an issue that would have been better suited in the monthly because now we only have two issues to take Miles into the big Galactus brew-ha. Amazing issue, just nothing to do with why it was started.

Comics Are No Place For Science...?

-MY RANTING INVOLVES ELEMENTS BROUGHT TO THE GREEN LANTERN-VERSE FROM THE LAST STORY, LIGHTS OUT. STOP IF WISH NOT TO KNOW THE CONCEPT-
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So, in a book that has different alien species harnessing emotions as energy based weapons, should I really be this baffled by the science of it? At this point in the game? In the latest story, a villain from before the current creation, called Relic (nice, subtle name), comes in claiming that he must stop the emotions from being used because it turns out that all the energy being used is from a "reservoir" that they are depleting and once it's out, existence ends. Here's where I for some reason can't stop with the science: energy cannot be destroyed so... how are they using it all? I get that the "well" could become dry, but in the idea that they are using energy from emotions, how is that energy being destroyed? How did it get filled to begin with? The storyline ended with Kyle Rayner, with all the Entities of each emotion (sans Fear but with Life. How the shit did Life just die?!) sacrificing himself to refill that "reservoir". Only he came back out and the Entities stayed to die and do it (they killed Life?!). So... emotion can refill it? Or better yet, since energy can't be destroyed, why can't somebody like Firestorm change something over into energy they can use? Then again, the "reservoir" is contained behind the Source Wall, so it's pretty convenient that the energy can be drained out from it, but nothing can go back in... I don't understand how not one Lantern from any of the factions can remember that energy can't be created or destroyed.
Or maybe I'm suddenly thinking too much into it. I'm probably thinking too much into it.