The single most greatest t-shirt, ever.

It's almost as if God created the devil himself and gave him this t-shirt.

Dragonball: Evolution: A not-so-quick review.

Movie: "Dragonball: Evolution"
Year: 2009
Rated: PG-13
Genre: Action, stupid
Director: James Wong
Writer(s): James Wong, Ben Ramsey.
Based on the Manga by Akira Toriyama.

In a misguided attempt to find a bad movie to mock, my friend, Stephen and I rented the live-action adaptation no one was really asking for; Dragonball: Evolution.

Surprising as it may be, I have never really been a Dragonball fan. I have never read any of the manga (manga is by and large something I yet to fully embrace) and I've watch only about a dozen episodes of DBZ, a few from GT and none of the original series. I know only the basics: the character names and, in the broadest sense, the premise.

Now, this shouldn't be a problem. Any decent adaptation will take it's time to tell you what you should know, and why you should know it. Who is who and what they do. Most importantly and utterly essential, why you should care about anything that is happening on screen.

Confusion starts to set in after about 5 minutes. After a pointless fight scene, Goku; the film's protagonist, and Goku's grandfather; the film's protagonist's grandfather, start to talk about the power and purpose of the Dragonballs. Whoa, wait a minute... Who are you people? Where are we? How can you do all those cool martial arts moves? Is this the future? The past? Is this even Earth? I guess so, because that's what the prologue said. Besides that, none of these questions are answers.

Needless to say, I kept asking Stephen; a big fan of Dragonball, questions during almost every scene trying desperately to make heads or tails of the mess I was viewing. He assured me that everything was either completely changed or changed only slightly, but still, bared no real resemblance to any of the DB's original incarnations.

To go further into this movie's plot would be like walking into a black hole. Why? Essentially, there is none. A random sequence of events occur in order to create this movie. Is any of it related to each other? Is there any semblance of narrative story-line running through it? Will we ever get an expository scene explaining (or, over explaining as these things usually go) what the fuck is going on? Sorta, not really, and no.

To make matter worse; not only does this movie have no plot but it has no action. Nothing really happens. Nothing... at... all... and thing's get boring. V E R Y B O R I N G.

I will give this movie 2 points for the following: It's short and feels short. A meaningless sense of pride washed over me when I figure out a glaringly obvious plot point about 20 minutes before it occurred.

Not being a DB fan all I can really say is this movie is lame. That's it. I don't feel like any part of me has been hurt in anyway or that anything I hold close was cut to pieces. I just feel bored. Bored with the luck luster fight scenes, vacant plot, and acting that ranged from over-the-top to underwhelming at best. I want this movie out of my system and hopefully this review will help, although I not sure how necessary it is for that. A good night's sleep or a cold soda could purge this movie from you. In a word: Forgettable.

Something I've been waiting for!

This mixed with Where the Wild Things Are = our childhoods live again!

A graphic that made me laugh.

I have no problem with Comic-con. I just have a feeling that being there would be an almost Hell on Earth experience for me. I couldn't take being around that many people, all of whom mostly likely far nerdier than I.

Still, the allure of a con is something not to pass up. I would like to venture fourth and tackle a few.

A weird feeling of Joss.

So tonight I saw Taking Back Sunday? Why? Beyond it being free, I really don't know.

JOSS WHEDON RELATED MEDIA TIME!


Yes, as you can see; the Whedon penned The Cabin in the Woods has 3 new, self-aware posters out; yay! and boo! Yay, because I'm a fan of both Whedon and director Drew Goddard; who also wrote Cloverfield.

Now, why boo? These poster are emblematic of something I don't personally find appealing about Whedon's work: The wry, sometimes too self-awareness to it all. I honestly have no problem with things being a bit tongue-in-cheek. A light smathering of fourth wall breaking is par-for-the-course. However, when everything and everyone involved knows it's in a form of media it's, for me; impossible not to feel like something is being pulled over on me. That I'm being fucked with.

I know horror as a long standing tradition of knowing it's surroundings. But come on, Joss; you're the guy who usually pushes genre's into new territory. This feels like a lazy attempt at fan service. Using the weakest chain to pull in the Evil Dead crowd. But I'm not sure I should solely blame Whedon for this.

I'm one who has defended and ridiculed camp. For one, camp is not nearly as bad as people like to think. There are times when things get inordinately campy that they cross the boarder into being inspired or even genius. Other times, usually when Joel Schumacher is involved; (yeah, Sam, I went there) where everything becomes so overloaded it's abysmal torture.

I think, probably wrongly so; that being self-aware, breaking the fourth wall and tongue-in-cheekness is a style of camp. Postmodernism has been described as kitsch mixed with high art. I'll agree with it being kitsch. I've never felt any real form of non-accidental intelligence coming from anything postmodern excluding Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West.

But maybe I'm pontificating here for no real reason. These are early posters for a movie that is coming out in a year. What are posters? Advertisements. Maybe they are less important because of trailers and review aggregating websites such as Rotten Tomatoes. Still, posters play an important role, kinda. These posters grabbed me. They got me thinking, they slightly angered me, but most importantly: They make me want to see this film.

So, I guess they won.


EDIT: The original title to this entry was, 'A weird feeling of loss.' I have changed it to, 'A weird feeling of Joss' because I thought that was clever. I am a shithead.

A movie no one was asking for that doesn't need to happen.

Wait for it...

1..
2..
3..
4..
5..

BOOM!

OMG WANT!

So far the Blackest Night is pretty good. Issue #1 is largely a build-up issue, reintroducing us to the DC world, complete with who's dead, should be dead and who isn't but might just be soon. I was pleased with the introduction of the Black Lanterns. Though zombies and the fact that their rings say "Flesh", I found them to be a nice alternative to regular living dead. They talked, told some crafty jokes and altogether knew how to kill.

Intelligent zombies + Green Lanterns + a bunch of other lanterns = good stuff

Someone did something I would never have the patience to do.

Mario Family Tree.

Or maybe not

Remember when it was reported that Comedy Central had renewed Futurama for 26 episodes? As it turns out, the budget for the show has been cut drastically. A major outcome of this is the possibility of the main cast being replaced.

Is there really any point of even bothering to produce new episodes anymore? It won't be the same. Another setback of the budgets is a smaller writing staff and shorter delivery time for the new episodes.

I have a sinking feeling this will be a huge disaster. A faint echo of what the show once was, completely ruined by its newest incarnation. Sorta like, I dunno, the Simpsons.

Another article.


It's too hot to do anything.

Because the "Blackest Night" (for those of you who aren't super nerds, DC"s big summer event, centering around Green Lantern) drops tomorrow, I was inspired to make this short comic. In the Blackest Night, a bunch of newly colored corps appear, each powered by a new emotion. Hal Jordan, the popular peter that he is, gets to somehow try on all of the newer rings, resulting in this: Identity Crisis!

With Pictures

Being men about town, like Howard Moon, Sam and I have little time to squander. However, putting aside precious time to work our fingers to the bone. With an almost heavenly grace and ease we create masterworks. Or, silly comics about silly things.

After finishing the inking process on the story we are currently working on, Sam scanned everything into his computer. After a bit of a discussion, we decided to add color. For the time being we'll be using color sparingly for a more impressionistic look. We both have a bit of apprehension towards using color completely.

Regardless, we'll probably try out both options. I may post pictures of both and try to get some feedback, but, ultimately, the decision is ours. I have a feeling, for each story, we'll use a different color palette and style accordingly.

So we are making real progress here.


The Clash are the best band ever.

Green Lantern News

Hey Everyone

So casting for the new Green Lantern movie has been announced and the Winner is.....

Ryan Reynolds

I am unsure how I feel about this one. While he has charm that I could argue might be a plus for the film, it doesn't necessarily meet the character of Hal Jordan. All the choices they have made so far have more been Guy Gardener characters, focused on humor to draw in more crowds and make more money. Meh.

A few great things to enjoy.

First off, we have a new District 9 trailer. Surprise, it's rated R!

The more I see of this movie the less I think I know what it's about. I have to admit, seeing that guy in that mech worries me greatly. I really don't want another robot fighting movie. The first time I saw the teaser, I was soo happy. A slick science fiction movie THAT'S ABOUT SOMETHING AND HAS A THEME THAT GOES DEEPER THAN A THROW AWAY LINE SPOKEN BY A CHARACTER, WHO, YES, IS A GIANT ROBOT! Let's hope they do this right. If not, I will cry.


Second, and the best, Doctor Doom's stand up.



Sam and I need to get out act together but we have a good many video ideas. I've been slacking lately, but I'll whip myself into shape soon, you'll see!

EXCITING NEWS FROM VIZ ABOUT ONE PIECE!

VIZ MEDIA DELIGHTS FANS WITH ANNOUNCEMENT OF ACCELERATED PUBLISHING SCHEDULE FOR HIT PIRATE MANGA SERIES ONE PIECE

Company Rolls Out Most Aggressive Manga Publishing Schedule Yet With 5 New Volumes Of High Seas Action/Adventure Saga To Debut Each Month Throughout The First Half Of 2010

San Francisco, CA, JULY 6, 2009 – As first detailed this past weekend at Anime Expo® 2009, VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, announced a significantly increased publication schedule for the hit pirate manga series – ONE PIECE – delighting fans everywhere. Beginning in January 2010 and continuing through June 2010, five new ONE PIECE manga volumes will be published each month, for a total of 30 new volumes. The new schedule will launch with volumes 24-28.

To further complement these releases, VIZ Media has launched a brand new, dedicated ONE PIECE web site at OnePiece.VIZ.com that will be updated regularly with plot and character information, and will also provide special free manga chapters.

ONE PIECE Rated ‘T’ for Teens takes readers to a world populated by pirates and filled with adventure. As a child, Monkey D. Luffy dreamed of becoming the King of the Pirates. But his life changed when he accidentally gained the power to stretch like rubber…at the cost of never being able to swim again! Now Luffy, with the help of a motley collection of pirate wannabes, is setting off in search of the “One Piece,” said to be the greatest treasure in the world.

The manga ONE PIECE was created by Eichiro Oda, a comic creator and artist, and debuted in Japan’s Weekly Shonen Jump in 1997. One of the most popular comic artists in Japan today, Oda started out by winning the Hop Step Award (a monthly award given by Shonen Jump for amateur artists) as well as the esteemed Tezuka Award. His art style is reminiscent of Akira Toriyama, Sergio Aragones, and the movie Yellow Submarine.
“This will be our most ambitious accelerated manga publishing schedule for any property thus far, and we are confident it will be a huge success, as ONE PIECE is an exciting series that enjoys a large and very dedicated following in North America,” says Gonzalo Ferreyra, Vice President Sales & Marketing for VIZ Media. “Pirate stories are known and loved the world over and ONE PIECE, with its zany cast of characters and high seas action, enjoys more than 177 million copies in-print in Japan alone. We look forward to new and old fans alike exploring these fun adventures as each month Luffy and his cohorts search for the elusive One Piece treasure.”

For more information please visit the dedicated website at www.onepiece.viz.com.

About VIZ Media, LLC
Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), is one of the most comprehensive and innovative companies in the field of manga (graphic novel) publishing, animation and entertainment licensing of Japanese content. Owned by three of Japan’s largest creators and licensors of manga and animation, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media is a leader in the publishing and distribution of Japanese manga for English speaking audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and South Africa and is a global ex-Asia licensor of Japanese manga and animation. The company offers an integrated product line including magazines such as SHONEN JUMP and SHOJO BEAT, graphic novels, and DVDs, and develops, markets, licenses, and distributes animated entertainment for audiences and consumers of all ages. Contact VIZ Media at 295 Bay Street, San Francisco, CA 94133; Phone (415) 546-7073; Fax (415) 546-7086; and web site at www.VIZ.com.

4th of July.

So, yeah. America. Great country.

I've decided not to do a Public Enemies review. It was a really good movie, but Sam and I have come up with a few really good video ideas and I want to focus on those.

I had a great fourth. I hope you did too.

I'm really kinda drunk.


LOVE YOU READERS!

A Query for the Fans #1

So anywho, I moved out of my cambridge residence this morning. Before lifting heavy boxes though, I powered up, eating homefries and watching the 1990s "Mortal Kombat" film. I must say, it is quite enjoyable and for the small section I watched, I caught a great segment. This segment consisted of Lu Kang, some girl (I assume Sonia) walking around until Sub Zero shows up. He lets them know that he doesn't hate them and wants to be friends and help them. THEN, Scorpion shows up, launches some snakes out of his hands (which doesn't really make sense) while saying his oh-so-classic line "Get Over Here!" A fight ensues.

This got me thinking:

Why aren't there more nerd arguments about who would win in a fight between Sub Zero, Scorpion and/or Reptile? For something so relevant to our generation, you would think people would have more opinions.

I personally like Sub Zero. The whole ice thing can get overplayed but I think Sub Zero was one of the pioneers of the ability.

Discuss!

Space Wedding or a Marriage made in the Stars

During one of Adult Swims many cuts, there was a story featuring a couple that was married in Zero-G. For those of you who don’t know what Zero-G is,

“The ZERO-G Experience is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience true weightlessness. On our specially modified Boeing 727, parabolic arcs are performed to create a weightless environment allowing you to float, flip and soar as if you were in space.

A ZERO-G Experience is available starting at $4,950 per person. Your ZERO-G Experience includes 12-15 parabolas, your own ZERO-G flight suit, ZERO-G merchandise, a Regravitation Celebration, certificate of weightless completion, photos and video of your unique experience. Read more about how it works.”

Adrien and I were stunned by the concept. There was something different about this though. Names were mentioned though, Erin and Noah. I don’t know many people that go by that name, but I do specifically know two, whom I did a panel with this Spring at Anime Boston.

Following my intuition, I scowered my memory and the internet only to find that I was right. I know them. Not on a very personal level, however, I know people who got married in space. This is relevant and bloggable on two levels:

1. It’s a really cool idea. Space Wedding!

2. I am unsure about how I feel about marriage. Though it has importance on a societal level, I sometimes wonder if I am one of those people needs/wants to be married. This is somewhat caused by the enormity of people in my generation who are getting married at a fairly young age. I just don’t understand how someone could get married so early on, right after High School. This example however, certainly makes me lean toward the concept of it. It is a nice to see some people in my generation who really take time to think out their wedding, focusing on their individuality and love for each other.

Either way, here is the website about their experience, as well as the Adult Swim Spot:

http://www.zerogravitywedding.com/



Congrats, Erin and Noah!

June, or why things have been so slow lately.

Actually, I wouldn't say slow, per say, but maybe you've noticed we've been posting more news stories than original content lately. The main reason being Sam and I haven't been able to do anything together for about 2 weeks now. Starting the second week of July things around here will start to pick up; this is what I'm aiming for, at least. We have a few video ideas and if I twist Sam's arm enough I think we'll post some of our comics. I don't mean the entire thing, just some samples for your consideration.

Either way, June was an impressive month for us. We are getting closer to 100 posts and I think we'll have something special planned for that... if we can think of anything.

We're becoming a real blog! HURRAY! Oh, you like us, you really like us! I just can't believe it! You like us!

I have planned a Public Enemies review when I get the time to see that movie, so look out for that.

Besides that; unless something really dire, or ridiculously awesome, comes up; this will probably be my last post until after the 4th.


Oh, I realise I should probably mention this. Yes, I have been editing the layout quite a bit lately. There are a few more things I want to do but I run the risk of looking silly. If the other Sig Bot member agree with my choices, then a drastic change can be expected. I am really happy with the look of the blog right now. If you think so, let me know. If you don't then I hate you.

Darkseid Minus New Gods: A Hilariously Good Idea.

If you've read Garfield minus Garfield then you'll understand what this is all about. If you don't know who Darkseid, or the New Gods are, then you should probably watch this video. It covers their origin and whenever I can send people over to Linkara, I generally take the chance.

Anyways, here is a sample.


Darkseid Minus New Gods.

Watching the details, not the Watchmen.

I don't know about this.

On the blu-ray edition of the Watchmen director's cut there will be this feature called "Maximum Movie Mode". I'm not even going to bother describing it seeing as the video below will do that for me. As far as I can tell it's something of a Director's commentary, but you can see him, as if HE is watching the movie with you! Also, he can pause and rewind as he likes! So it's a scene-by-scene dissection with the director.

I want to make it clear that I do think this is really interesting feature. Given the right movie; lets say Ken Russell's The Devils, and the right host; Mark Kermode, this could be amazing.

However, this is Watchmen; ZACK SNYDER'S Watchmen. A nearly 3 hour movie that almost completely missed the point of it's original source material.

Now the director's cut, I believe, is well over 3 hours. I'm not sure if I want to sit down with this guy, watch this movie, and give him complete control over the viewing experience. Seriously, am I going to have to sit there for 4 hours listening to Snyder fall over himself about how "brilliant" he thinks this movie is? Or suffer through him constantly pick out all the great "attention to detail"?

Because really, that's all this movie was. It got the details to a tee. It completely missed the big picture.

Breaking the Day, Breaking the Day

So Daybreakers...

Why we haven't talked about it, I can't tell you.

A film that looks like a cross between the Matrix, Brick and Alien. Apparently in the future, Vampires are the best thing ever to be. So they take over, with everyone wanting to go vamp and gather up the remaining humans as a blood supply. So the age old question that much of America is facing right now: What happens when our food source, what keeps us alive, runs out? We'll find out.

To be honest, it looks fairly good. Sam Neil and Willem Dafoe are enjoyable, especially when they reverse roles (I am refering to Sam Neil's daring escapades in Jurassic Park and the suits that I've seen Dafoe wear) Ethan Hawke is a good main lead also. Anywho, its nice to see something redeemable in the awful vampire era we are facing currently.

Yea, I meant Twilight

Something Sam and I should watch sometime: Troll 2

Wow.

Japan has built another giant robot.

Hooray, our imminent deaths-by-giant-robots-most-likely-from-Japan are upon us.

It was fun.

Michael Bay should be the dead Michael!

A little too harsh?

Anyways, if you didn't know, Michael Bay is not only the Devil but he is also insane and stupid and evil.

I can assure this will be the last Transformers related post for a while. That is unless the IMDB goofs page for the movie becomes the longest in the history of that site.

My on going campaign.

I'm starting to get the feeling that all my Transformers hate is starting to annoy some people: I don't care.

Here are 2 articles over at Topless Robot to enjoy.

A lengthy review of the movie.

A fake interview Rob at TR had with himself to further explain the movies terribleness.

Because others do it better.

So, if you read my Revenge of the Fallen review and you want more Bay bashing, watch Spoony and his brother tear this movie apart. Keep in mind this review covers largely the same ground I did but is filled with such vile it's worth a watch.

Warning: This is almost an hour long.

On Recent Deaths

I know Scott mentioned the recent death in the most recent posts (Michael Jackson, Farah Fawcett, Ed McMahon)

Here's a thought (and a nerdy one at that, in the tradition of the blog):

The Blackest Night is coming out, which features the ever-popular Black Hand, a diabolical villain who has been granted the ability to raise the dead, or more specifically dead famous and/or super-powered people. I'm probably the only one who thought about this but who else thinks its weird and creepy that so many famous people are dying?

They might just come back to life :P

(I kind of miss home already)

Michael Jackson is dead.

And Sam is away, so today is pretty terrible.

With my partner away, I'm going to try to write a few stories in his absence. Maybe I'll actually get somewhere.

Anyways, everyone is dying, you could be next. Watch out for snakes.


*DISCLAIMER*
I thought it would be amiss if I didn't say SOMETHING about Jackson. To be honest, it kinda sucks. On the other hand, it has no real affect on me. Maybe I'll download Thriller and cry. Most likely, I won't.

Today took years off my life.


EDIT:
Yeah, I know. Farrah Fawcett and Ed McMahon have parted from the mortal coil with our brother Michael.

Shitty week.

NEW JAPANESE CUTE FILM GO!

I like his work, particularly his older stuff but this looks like it has promise.

My Revenge on the Fallen

Movie: "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen"
Year: 2009
Rated: PG-13
Genre: Action / Stupid Giant Fighting Robots
Directed by: Michael "The Anti-Christ" Bay
Written by: Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Ehren Kruger

You can probably already tell where this review is going. Before we get into the meat of the bone I'll TRY to explain the plot. Wish me luck!

After the events of the first movie The Autobots have been helping the US and UK military to rid the world of the remanding Decepticons. However, we soon find out; after a lengthy and confusing action scene, that more and more Deceptos are coming to Earth each day. But why? What could the Decepticons possibly be looking for?

Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf), the first movie's "hero" is packing his stuff for college - You see, Sam; who has befriended giant alien robots; his car being one of them, wants to have a "normal" life - when he finds a shard from the Allspark. Upon touching the shard his mind fills with an entire library of information. But what is it that he now holds in his brain?

The information that has come to inhabit Sam is a map. This is about the time the movie stops caring for the plot and everything converges in on it's self and goes batshit crazy. Or maybe it was just me.

Anyways, there is this Transformer called "The Fallen", the original Decepticons and Magatron's master. The map leads to a MacGuffin called the Matrix of Leadership. The Matrix of Leadership powers devices called Sun Harvesters. Sun Harvesters were installed all over the galaxy thousands of years ago by the Dynasty of Primes; the original 13 Transformers, The Fallen being the 13th. Sun Harvesters, well, harvest suns; thus killing all life in that planetary system, to power the Allspark. The Fallen, being a Decepticons and an overall dick wanted to use all the Sun Harvesters regardless of other life in the galaxy and now he is back to finish the job. More or less.

Confused?

First off, I want to say this: This is NOT a kids movie. I don't mean that in the sense that its too dark or too serious/mature. I mean that in the sense that, well... Remember the scene in the first movie about masturbation? Multiply that by 10 and you'll be close to how crude this movie gets. It's leering, it's sexist, it's gross. This is a movie about giant fighting robots, do I NEED to see John Turturro ass? Do I NEED Rainn Wilson as an over-sexual College professor? And why the fuck are those actors in this movie? You can do any better than this?

Now, I've decided to just not review this with some labored review (this movie doesn't deserve that). So here are my 3 biggest complaints, or the the 3 things I think boil this movie down and define it.

One, when Sam first arrives to his dorm room there are two movie posters on the wall: Cloverfield and Bad Boys 2. Now, I'm not going to rag on either of these movies; I liked one and haven't seen the other. However, I think this personifies the movie: 2 and a half hours of The Anti-Christ (Michael Bay) and the other makers of this movie jerking themselves off all over the audiences face.

Two, the humor. I honestly, even though I have said I don't usually like comedy films (that's a discussion for another day), enjoy when any film injects some humor into its self. Life is funny, movies are hyper-reality, so they can be funny too. However, every 5 minutes; regardless of scene, there is a joke. Now, the situation of giant fighting robots can certainly present many opportunities for humor. You must remember that Lucifer (Bay) has the mind of a 12 year old and none of the jokes are any funnier or smarter than your average dick or fart joke. Puerile to say the least.

Lastly, and rage and depression inducing; the twins. There are two new robot characters, Mudflap and Skids. One is a red Chevrolet Trax and one is a green Chevrolet Beat. I don't know which, to be honest; not only do both robots look the same, but both cars are almost identical. Now, here's where things get down right offensive. Both characters speak in an urban dialect (Ebonics). Skids, the "smarter" of the two, has a gold tooth. Worst of all: Neither character can read. One of them, Skids? Proclaims; "Nah, man, that just ain't our thing." This is racist. Okay, Bay, you asshole. Now, you may ask, "Why blame Bay for this, it wasn't written by him?" Well, you're wrong. Due to the writers strike the original script had to be turned in before the beginning of the strike, which it was. Bay then took it upon himself to re-write a majority of the script; adding humor, more action and more personality to the characters. This leads me to believe that personality to Bay means obvious racial stereotypes.

Now, there are other problems with this movie: It's almost a carbon copy of the first movie. The action scenes are nauseating. The editing is non-existent. The movie runs about 40 minutes too long. The second half is giant clusterfuck. You could tell in the theater that the audience was losing patience with the convoluted garbled mess the last 3rd of the movie became. When you establish several plot lines you gradually pull them together so at the end they become one. You don't have all them jump on top of each other in the last 30 minutes.

One of the funnier line... funny in an ironic way. When in the desert with an old defected Decepticons, Turturro and LaBeouf are trying to figure out what the fuck is going on - oh, but aren't we all? LaBeouf asks, "Give us some plot, some semblance" and Turturro futhers this questioning by saying, "Don't get episodic on us, we want the beginning, middle and end."
How I feel like these are things this movie will never deliver.

D9

District 9 is probably one of the only movies I'm actually excited about this summer. Last night, before Revenge of the Fallen (more on that later), there was a 5 minute feature about the movie. Granted the sound was off, still, the images were striking. The more I see of this movie, the more I get excited. Usually, with a secretive movies such as this, the opposite occurs. Here is a new trailer.



I love the look of those aliens.

COMIC UPDATES from an Artist Perspective

Hey Howdy Everyone

Sam here with a comic update. I did a good amount of work on it last night, finishing up the 5th page and reworking pages 1 and 2. I originally did them on a train, without a ruler so they ended up being pretty dumpy. Luckily with the help of the wonderful girlfriends art supplies and that fact that I drank a lot of coffee at work the same day, I was able to bust out the work I needed to get done.

So heres what I need to get done:
-An inked version of all the pages so far, as well as adding some shading for a nice effect.
-Figuring out where the wording is going to go and how I am going to input it. I could go with a nice hand written thing or just type it in if I scan it. Thoughts, Ideas?

Finally,


I am having trouble conceiving the last panel, where our hero rides into the skies. It's not as easy as this:



but hey, i'm working on it.

Needs to happen,

Does anyone remember the movie Powder? Well, it was alright. The director is a child molester and went on to direct the Jeepers Creepers movies, so we can pretty much say with an even hand that he is scum and hopefully will burn in Hell.

Now before I get really off topic. Here is a fake trailer for a Powder sequel entitled Powder 2: Powder 2 the People. This is one of the best fake trailers I have ever seen and it's nice to see someone with a World Burns to Death shirt on.




Also, the Last Air bender (stupidest name ever) trailer looks pretty interesting. However, I know nothing of Air bender and it's directed by M. Night Shyamalan so I already hate it.

Dude, get a blog.

One, that title is a line from the new video at Atop The Fourth Wall. For the lazier readers: LOVE LINKARA!
Two, Dear Leader are a really good band.
Three, I started watching Mr. Show clips again. I can't believe I used to watch that show when I was a kid (I was like 10).

I will be attending the midnight showing of Revenge of the Fallen tomorrow.. or, is it Wednesday? I've already read/heard some really nasty reviews and I wasn't a huge fan of the first one so I'm not going in with any hopes for anything good. I will review it for the blog, most likely in text form. Watch out for that.

Sam will be going to Florida for a week on Thursday, so no videos for a while. After the 4th (of July) I have a feeling we'll start churning them out more and more.

I'm about halfway through the second short story we're working on. Sam is still drawing the first. As these things go, I'm always about a step or two ahead of him. I have to say I'm really really happy (and pretentious) about what I'm writing. I think it's my best work so far.

Lastly, I've been making really subtle changes to this blog's layout. Hopefully you can't notice. If you do, thats fine. I hope you think it looks better now.

I love seals, they're fucking beautiful and cute.

Another video! What ifs!

It should be noted that we are making these videos with a built in webcam so quality is going to be so-so. We don't have professional cameras or the disc space to make massive epic videos. We'll work on getting the quality better. Until then, sit tight. We don't have plans of making this a terribly important online series or anything, it's just easier for us to get our opinions out/fight.

We spent a good amount of time making that ending picture, shame it gets so ruined.

I've decided I'm fine with this.

After about 2 hours of figuring out how Blip works, and listening to Daft Punk, I can say I'm happy with this. Hope you are too!

- Scott AND Sam.

IT LIVES!

Giant Robot Update!

Days after the completion of the RX-78 Gundam in Japan, it has begun to move. Luckily it is only the head, however, how long until its limbs devour the skies and its feet quake the earth! Also the head is equipped with guns, so i guess we’re kind of screwed.

~Sam

Blackest Night Updates

*Found at Topless Robot*

Blackest Night Panel. I assume the comics have started, i know it is this week but I am unsure on what date. I will have to travel to Comicopia and ask Matt Lehman.

This panel features the Black Hand, a villian of the Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, who is now one of the first Black Lanterns. Apparently, he has also become Jennifer Love Hewitt, in the sens that he is now a Ghost Whisperer.

I think its great that they are going to bring back a bunch of dead people (yay Martian Manhunter!) even if they are kind of evil and such. Either way, I am more than excited!

In other news, LAZER TAG today!

Because David Lynch is crazy and weird and I love him.

I realise this has been going on for about two weeks now and there are 6 episodes already. Either way, check it out, please.

Because we love this song

another version of Bright Eyes

Taste the Rainbow....of Hal Jordan

*Found over at ToplessRobot*

Sadly, neither Scott, Jon or I are attending Comic Con in San Diego. And to make things worse, DC is releasing a series of action figures featuring Hal Jordan in Red, Blue, Yellow and Orange Lantern Suits exclusively at the Con.



Sigh

Introduction From The Man Himself.

Hello internet, I'm Jonathan Drain. Don't confuse me with the one in Ireland. He's a nice guy but not me.
I'm a helping hand here for Sam and Scott. I've been on the internet for quite some time and drawing dinosaurs and robots since before then. Never really been on a blog before but I do subscribe to quite a few of them.
Regardless I'm the least experienced with comics and graphic novels here. I don't read a lot of them but I grew up with them floating around my house. I'm pretty sure I have an issue of Spider-Boy floating around.

The end of the world looks beautiful.

Remember that big ass Gundam replica? Even though he terrified me, he was my friends. We were tight, thick as thieves. Well, that was until I saw this:

Look at those dead, judgmental eyes. Just look. He is mad at me. I'm not sure what I did, but this Gundam is damned pissed at me. Maybe it's because I've been spreading the gospel, or maybe he is just alone and scared. He is stuck to the ground, you know? Wouldn't you be mad?

Either way, at this point, in my eyes, everyone is on their own. Giant, beautiful looking robots are going to kill all of us in a matter of days. I will miss you, all of you, I mean that.


Earth, I hardly knew ye.


MORE AWESOME PICS!

NEWS

So the script for one of our shorts has been completed and the name (rough draft) is in the works. Our wonderful artists are TIRELESSLY working their fingers to the bone to deliver this project on time. It's a quaint little story about love, badgers, existentialism, flying, love, the evils of the the corporate world, Japanese girls, and bicycles (and badgers).

Our next story, which is (probably) going to be much longer than the the already completed story, is currently underway. Hopefully, personally speaking, this story will be about 20 pages, meaning it will be more of a legitimate short story and not a mini-short.

If you notice on your right, over there ----------->
Jon Drain has joined our team. He is, of course, a junior member and will be monitoring his performance closely. Sam and I hope that one day J. Drain will grow into his own and we can stop all the nightly lashings.

LAME: Stephen Sommers was NOT fired. He has retained final cut on G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. Dear lord, have you seen the promos for that thing? Looks fucking terrible.

Comic books are great!

Bambi Meets Godzilla

You're welcome, Sam.

Gotta go back...back to the Past

training


This is when Scott and I more or less became Best Friends.

Be for warned, its pretty junky and the audio is awful.

So turn this shit up loud and enjoy!

I will never understand why this wasn't already on this blog

This is still just hilarious to me.

What are those guys....some real ninjas?

*Found at Topless Robot*

Though indefinetely stupid, Japan is in the works for making a live action Naruto Shippuden (the 2nd half of the series, where everyone is older. Sadly, I enjoyed the first half a bit more but ya know) for a stage show at Universal Studios Japan this July and August. The thing I am always surprised about with these kinds of the things is the pains they go to in accuracy. Look at Sasuke, Shikamaru and Sakura. All done fairly well. Not to say I am pleased with the idea but I am glad someone is actually trying to do a good job *cough Dragonball cough*

We will once again fall under the rule of the hypno-toad and brain slugs.

Comedy Central has decided to live up to their name and has picked up the once canceled, now classic animated show, Futurama, for 26 new episodes.
If you didn't like this show, fuck you. Seriously, I don't want to be your friend if that is the case. I mean that.

It's almost like Japan is TRYING to cause the robot apocalypse.

This was built for The big Gundam fest in Tokyo. I'm calling it "The" big Gundam fest because if your festival has built a 60 foot replica of the thing its celebrating then it's really the only festival that matters. This isn't anywhere near the actual size of a real Gundam, but damn, that is impressive. On the plus side: I guess you could say the Earth Federation already has their first, albeit small, Mobile suit. On the downside: Holy shit, Japan is making giant, possibly homicidal, robots.
More pictures.

What the fucking terrible?

Why are half-naked women dressed up as Watchmen characters dancing to the Suspiria theme?

WHY?!

I FINALLY HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO POST THIS PICTURE!


MAKE IT STOP! MAAAKKKKEEEE IIITTTT SSTTTTOOOOPPPP!!!!!

Its true. It does look like the Super Mario World. Especially at 0:32.

I don't give a shit about Tetris.

But today the game turns 25 years old. That's fucking insane.

All of us here, at the SIG BOT, are very saddened by the death one Mr. David Carradine. Sam and I began listening to Loveline a while back. It's a funny show. The first night we listened to it together Carradine was on it. He was a very insightful man. Sad to see him go.

The meeting, as Sam said, went reasonably well. Personally speaking, I'm still a bit confused over things, but we're ironing that out right now. J. Drain has a very good style and Samuel and myself are full of weird/silly/funny ideas. Hopefully things work out well in the end and you, the readers, get to enjoy our odd sensibilities.

Now, y'all should head over the Sam's other blog, Damage -> MP, and check This out. A lot of time was spent making it, and I love it.

I want to work on getting more content on this site, soon. Work we are making mostly. Art, comics, and reviews. We're in a middle ground between having nothing and having something. Need to get to the other side soon.

Sinestro Corps War is pretty exciting and in the best way: It's making me seriously want to drive DEEP into the Green Lantern mythos.

Get the Unwritten # 1. It's a dollar and its pretty neat. I'm probably going to get up with that series as it goes along. At the same time, I see it causing me to write a little opinionated article about a few things in comics that annoy me.

Beep.

Jonah Hex First (dissapointing) look

neat.....

Not really enough ugly for me considering:



oh movies based off of comic books...

This is more important than you'll ever know.

Total Eclipse spoof
Uploaded by chinesedaughter. - Explore more music videos.

Comics Teamo Meeting #1

Hey Howdy everyone

Sam here with a little update about our comics.

Lately, we've gotten stuck in a rut. Working on a long 10+ chapter story can tough ladies and gentlemen and after awhile, you just don't care that much anymore. I still really enjoy the Fall and the Flood but it never really clicked more me like other stories have. I think we got way in over our heads, so we've decided to focus more on shorts. Though tougher to do, I think it will give us some good practice and let us get a feel for our style.

So we met yesterday, J.drain, Scott and Myself at Borders, and quickly made the switch over to Burger King. There we talked (some say a bit too much) about heroes. From there, we traveled to the sexy woods and conspired about shorts. Here is a streaming sample of ideas that we're going to be working on:

- A bike messenger floats on through his day after running into some intensive traffic.

-A plumber who makes his work quite an adventure when a woman loses her ring.

-A ex-diver practices his craft on what proves to be an icy morning.

Thats all for now, you whipper-snappers. I know you're as excited as we are (maybe) and hopefully we'll be able to bang some out, if scott and i can stop passing out.

A few things before I go to sleep.

I've been listening to a neat little podcast called Made of Fail. If you're into anything nerdy, check them out. Also, if you're interested, listen to DumpsterTech. DT isn't really my thing, but some of you might find it interesting.

Tomorrow night Conan O'Brien takes over The Tonight Show. Maybe you could say I'm a little too excited about this, but I love Conan. I can't wait. Here's a picture of his studio. Its neat!

Tomorrow, Jon, Sam and myself are having our first meeting of the brains. Handjobs abound!

Don't read Bite Club. It's not that great.

Next up: Sinestro Corps War. Excited!

The Team.

Hopefully, soon, Jon Drain will be posting on this blog every once and a while. We'll be giving him fun topics to write about... such as... LARPING!

He will also be assisting us on our comic.

About that... we're re-tooling things a bit so everything has comes to a slow pace. We're shifting our focus from a longer, novel sized story and trying to get a few short stories out first.

Wish us luck!

Hey, Jon Drain.

This is an update. I love you.

Heck!

Movie: "Drag Me To Hell"
Year: 2009
Rated: PG-13
Genre: Horror / Suspense
Directed by: Sam Raimi
Written by: Sam Raimi and Ivan Raimi

Sam Raimi, the venerable horror director, returns to a genre he nearly perfect after 22 years. Drag Me to Hell, a movie based on a script written as far back as the early 90s, is finally hitting theatres. I cannot tell you how excited I was, about a year ago, to find out Raimi was returning to horror. Adding to the fact the title of the the film was DRAG ME TO HELL. I couldn't wait. I couldn't help imagining the balls-to-the-wall experience only Raimi can provide. Then, I saw the trailer. I was not grab, in fact, I was worried. Worried that, like many other movies made by Ghost House pictures - A company owned by Sam - it was going to be a lame, tame, uninspired garb. Plus, a PG-13 rating? Come on! YOU DID EVIL DEAD 2!

Regardless, I solider on and I have seen Drag Me to Hell. Now, it it any good?

For the most part: Yes.

This movie has everything you'd expect from Raimi. It is frenetic, over-the-top, hilarious, and grueling. Even after the convoluted nature of Spider-Man 3, Raimi proves he is still able to produce a good straight-forward horror movie. He hasn't gone soft. He's left emo Peter far behind and is ready to punch to audience in the face. Many people may see the PG-13 rating as a hindrance, but Raimi pushes the bounders of the rating. He includes all the sick bits you would see in an Evil Dead movie, just not as much.

I do have to say one thing about this, however. For the most part the film relies on jump-scares, as do many PG-13 rated horror films. However, the movie has a weird rhythm. I would consider myself a horror expert (I'm going to say, yes, I have watched 10,000 hours of horror movies) and even I couldn't tell when things were going to pop out of nowhere to scare you. You know how most of these films use their scores to scare you? Everything goes quiet and then BOOM! In Drag Me to Hell Christopher Young's score is at full blast the entire time. You never feel like you have control over the situation and it's perfect.

If you're an Evil Dead fan, like me, you'll have a lotta fun with this movie. The references are everywhere. You could consider this entire movie a reference to Evil Dead 2 and if you're a huge nerd about it, there is one moment that will warm your heart. (Seriously, I can't believe they included that.) Both movies have the same feel thanks to Peter Deming's wild cinematography.

Now a few things bug me. For one thing, I don't like Justin Long. I don't think I ever will. He just... I don't know, rubs me the wrong way. There is no Bruce Campbell. For a movie soaking in Evil Dead, why couldn't Ash poke his head in for a second. Yes, you hear Campbell's voice, but that's not enough. I think there were too many gross out scares and that the movie relied on them a little to strongly. Lastly, the ending... that ending. It's not bad. It works. It could be seen as funny. It felt mean to me. I could feel the rug as it was pull out from under me. I liked that rug. Give it back.

Is Sam Raimi back? Well, He never went anywhere. Spider-Man 3 had problems but was passable. Ok, wait... Is horror-movie-making Sam Raimi back? Possibly. If he decides to stop worrying about money and goes all out making a hard R horror movie then I would say so. For now, he is just vacationing in a town where he used to live. A town in which he was very popular and important. The citizens are asking you to stay a little bit longer, Sam, so why don't you?

This is one thing Comic Book Movies don't need to stop doing

He's crazy and I love it.

I don't know, guy.

If you aren't familiar with the Spider-Man's post Civil War storyline One More Day then I'll sum things up for you: Everyone knows who Spider-man is, Aunt May gets shot as a result of this, Peter decides the only way to deal with this is SELL HIS MARRIAGE WITH MARY JANE TO MEPISTO SO AUNT MAY CAN LIVE.

Now, I won't go on and on about how fucking insane and stupid a move this was. We all know this is way way out of character for Peter Parker. We all know this goes against some of the main tenements of Spider-Man mythos (Why didn't he ask for Uncle Ben and Gwen Stacy back?). My main problem with this is... well... it's just so cruel. If any two characters in any comic series deserve to be happy and together it's Peter and Mary Jane. Marvel editor-in-chief and writer Joe Quesada doesn't think so. Yes. I'll say that again: THE FUCKING EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF MARVEL HAS UNDONE A MAJOR PART OF ONE OF THEIR MOST POPULAR CHARACTER'S LINEAGE.

Now, before I get too off-topic here, in Sunday's newspaper comic strip of Spider-Man, Peter woke up to find out this whole business with Mepisto was just a dream!

To put this bluntly: I am never reading another Marvel comic again.

Need more reasoning? Now you don't.

Anime Boston

Once a year, the office people of both Boylston, Newbury and Mass Ave. Streets are greeted with the awkward stylings and acne filled faces of anime nerds. Many are dressed as Ichigo Kurosaki (BLEACH main character) while others sport the red cloud of the Akatsuki (Naruto's main antagonist group). I, however, took the high road, sporting cut off shorts and a "Two Pikachu's Shirt" (For those you who don't know what that is, go on Youtube and find the video under Snorlax). It was a interesting con; lets go over some of the good times and the bad.

-Highlights:

-I did a panel! This was only my third con but at 10am on Friday, me and my other colleages over at Manga Recon sat down with about 30 people. We spoke of series long gone, forgotten by mankind, time and space. I talked about Cyborg 009, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, and What's Michael. It was a lot of fun and I'd love to do it again. I described it to a few people as "it was like talking too a bunch of friends. They really were interested in what we had to say and wanted to get involved."

-I found some really rare stuff for pretty cheap. I got Final Fantasy Tactics for 25$, Metropolis for $5 (Normally its 15), a first edition copy of Gyo (I gave it Scott cause I have Gyo memorized. Its about walking fish who scare people. Done), volumes 5-9 of "Here is Greenwood" for $30, and a pretty rare Gundam model. Overall, I spent $180 but it was totally worth it.

-The panels I saw were pretty impressive. I really enjoyed the Saiyuki or Journey to the West panel, it was a run through of all the adaptations since the 1960s following up until the adaptation done by Gorillaz Artist, Jamie Christopher Hewlett. I also saw a "Worst of Osamu Tezuka", which was hilarious and eye-opening within its own right. Osamu Tezuka, probably one of the greatest Manga creators ever, basically used all the money he had made from Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion to feed his own messy and incredibly bad creations. One of them was 4 live action actors in the future, however the heads were animated. It was creeply tasteful. Time well spent.

-I ended up having a lot of nice conversations with people. And they were just about OMG i love that series, we talked about Digital Distribution Issues, Old Manga, Costumes, etc etc. I felt like there was a nice community this year.

-This is a personal goal but it was achieved nonetheless. As I walking early on to go to my panel, the two sisters from Comicopia came up behind me. "Hey are you gonna come by and visit our panel?", they asked and of course I replied with a "of course!" I have finally been recognized as a regular costumer at Comicopia! They know my name and they cut me some deals at the table! I am very pleased!

-Fail Areas:

-Not really any impressive cosplay. I saw a lot of work put in but nothing stood out. Some people just don't know how to dress.

-Some of the panels ended up just being fucking stupid. I went to the ADV Panel, which was David Williams and his wife, answering questions about ADV films. Only he wasn't able to answer any of the important questions (ADV's Budget, certain plans for the future) and avoiding answering the stupid ones ("Is this series coming out soon? What's happening with this specific licsence?") The same thing happened at the Sailor Moon and I just left.

-Anime Boston is kind of like the kid brother of Anime Cons. There really aren't as many announcements as NY or San Diego Comic Con. It kind of sucks for a review so its more of a fan based Con.


Other than all of that junk, Here are some pictures. you should go next year, It worth it if you can enjoy awkward people and nerdy things.

Don't y'all wish this was real?

Awesome fan made trailer. I never thought about Nathan Fillion for Hal Jordan but the more I think about it, the more it works. Sam and I will get into a fight about this. I'll post the results of that later.

Remember Sham-Wow!?

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Terminator: Salivation.

Terminator Salvation
Year: 2009
Rated: PG-13
Genre: Science Fiction / Action
Director: McG
Writer(s): John D. Brancato, Michael Ferris
Uncredited Writer(s): Jonathan Nolan, Anthony E. Zuiker, Shawn Ryan, Paul Haggis, David C. Wilson.

Note: I'm going to try to give the reviews a more formal look from now on. I'm basically copying i-mockery's way of doing it. Umm.. go to their website, it's better than this. I'll probably put a link in the sidebar when I'm done with this.


Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks thats a lot of uncreated writers. Please. That's just unreal. My god. That many people, including someone who wrote the Dark Knight (DK for short) couldn't make this movie any good.

Yeah, I'll spare you the plot - it only boarders on interesting a few times, but always stays in that 'huh, what, this doesn't work with the other movies' area for way too long - and come out and say it: This is the worst giant fighting robot movie of the year.

To begin with, this movie isn't really about John Conner. It's about this possible robot man guy named Marcus... or something. And it's about Kyle Reese. Being more of a fan of the Reese character than anyone else in the series, I enjoyed this aspect. Now, beyond that, there really are no other characters. They're all just there. Waiting for their robot enemies to attack or what-have-you. Some one's pregnant. Some one's Asian and has ash marks permanently around her eyes. And some one is the rapper Common. Beyond that, they ain't much else.

The acting is bland. It's kinda sci-fi channel original caliber acting with Christian Bale pretending he is still playing Batman. Which gets so annoying as all hell. Jesus. Stop doing that. On the subject of Batman, this movie suffers from the DK backlash: It's needlessly dark and serious in tone, there is little breathing room, and every character has to either die or go through some major loss. None on which seems significant in this movie because you never really care about what's happening to any of the characters. Besides that Marcus guy, I cared about him.

Now, the action is actually exciting, for what it is. The style was a cross between Michael Bay and Children of Men. Frantic but up-close and never lingering. However, there are only about 3 actual action scenes. One really long one and a few shorter ones.

This movie gave me Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull flashbacks, which isn't good. Everything about this just felt so phoned-in and under-thought. Nothing had any importance. It didn't make you feel like Connor was this great hero over the machines. It didn't even make me feel like the Machines were really that big of a problem in the future. Also, Helena Bonham Carter shows up near that end and I thought that was really strange.

Hey, just watch T2.