Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) - Trailer (HD)

One of the more assuming moments during my geek movie night on Friday was during the trailers before Xmen: First Class. The following trailer came on and I immediately knew which film, I'd seen the trailer before. It's a sad commentary on both the audience and the movie's marketing that when the title rolls at the of the trailer, most of the audience erupted into shocked laughter...

That said, it doesn't look horrible. Just not sure the audience exists.

100 books/graphic novels in 12 months

New goal. Since I added graphic novels, I'm well ahead of schedule for 52 in a year. I am currently at 42 with 4 months to go. And I just joined an online book club so four more are assured. Therefore I'm revising my goal up to 100. 100 books/graphic novels in 12 months. Ideally I'd like to break down to be at least 60/40 but I've been so graphic novel heavy lately I'm sure it will be closer to 70/30 or 80/20

1. October - Interworld - Neil Gaiman

2. October - The Prince - Machiavelli  

3. November - The Bourne Betrayal - James Ludlum, Eric Van Lustbader

4. November - Catch 22 - Joseph Heller 

5. December - First Daughter - Eric Van Lustbader

6. December - Suck It, Wonder Woman - Olivia Munn

7. December - It's Hard Out Here For a Shrimp - Pepe The King Prawn

8. January - Good Omens - Neil Gaiman

9. January - A Jew Must Die - Jacques Chessex

10. January - The Pearl - John Steinbeck

11. February - Let America Be America Again - Langston Hughes

12. February - The Dream Keeper - Langston Hughes

13. February - The Tavernier Stones - Stephen Parrish

14. February - Hawkman: Endless Flight (Graphic Novel) - Geoff Johns, James Robinson, Rags Morales

15. February - The Thieves of Manhattan - Adam Langer

16. March - The Eternals (Graphic Novel) - Neil Gaiman, John Romita Jr. 

17. March - A.D. New Orleans after the Deluge ( Graphic Novel) - Josh Neufeld

18. March - The Grand Design - Stephen Hawkin

19. March - Boozehound - Jason Wilson

20. March - Sin City The Hard Goodbye (Graphic Novel) - Frank Miller 

21. March - Whilteout Vol 2: Melt (Graphic Novel) - Greg Rucka, Steve Lieber

22. March - Gotham Central: In the Line of Duty (Graphic Novel) Ed Brubaker, Greg Rucka, Michael Lark

23. March - DMZ (Graphic Novel) - Brian Wood, Riccardo Burchielli 

24. April - Ultimate Fantastic Four #1-#6 (Graphic Novel) Bendis, Millar

25. April - The Maverick Experiement - Drew Bergquist

26. April - The Sword - Brian Litfin

27. April - The Simple Dollar - Trent Hamm

28. April - Hitler's Pre-Emptive War: The Battle for Norway, 1940 - Henrik O. Lunde

29. May - Unwritten: Inside Man (Graphic Novel) - Mike Carey, Peter Gross

30. May - Parker: The Hunter (Graphic Novel) Darwyn Cooke, Richard Stark

31. May - The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle (Graphic Novel) Jim Butcher, Ardian Syaf

32. May - Marvel 1602 (Graphic Novel)  - Neil Gaiman, Andy Kubert, Richard Isanove

33. May - Daniel X: Alien Hunter (Graphic Novel) James Patterson, Leopoldo Gout

34. May - Small Gods: Killing Grin (Graphic Novel) Jason Rand, Juan Ferreyra, Kristen Simon

35. May - Fray (Graphic Novel) Joss Weadon, Karl Moline, Andy Owens

36. May - Planetary Vol 2: The Fourt Man (Graphic Novel) Warren Ellis, John Cassaday

37. May - Planetary Vol 3: Leaving the 20th Century (Graphic Novel) Warren Ellis, John Cassaday

38. May - Eye of God - Ariel Allison

39. May - Tick Tock - James Patterson

40. May - Xmen: Kitty Pryde Shadow and Flame Vol 1 (Graphic Novel) Akira Yoshida, Paul Smith

41. May - Red (Graphic Novel) Warren Ellis, Cully Hamner

42. May - Parker The Outfit (Graphic Novel) Darwyn Cooke, Richard Stark

Upcoming:

The Dressmaker of Khair Khana - Gayle Tzemach Lemmon (Book Club)

Who Killed Art Deco - Chuck Barris

Pirates of the Levant - Arturo Perez-Reverte

The Last Dickens - Mathew Pearl

Shiloh - Larry J. Daniel 

The Liar - Stephen Fry 

First Snow - Eric Van Lustbader

Faithful Place - Tana French

Any suggestions on future books/graphic novels are very appreciated. 

Movie Review: Wonder Woman (2009) Spoilers

I've had the pleasure over the past few months to rediscover several classic comic book tales through the increasingly stellar animated films that both DC Comics and Marvel Entertainment have been putting out straight to DVD.

Tonight I had the pleasure of watching Wonder Woman (2009). I've read the origin of Wonder Woman many times but have never found myself completely engrossed in the character. Historically, I've struggled with the worlds of magic/mysticism collide with that of the more common superhero. It's an argument meant for a different post entirely, or for that matter a white paper. However, this streamlined version of Wonder Woman, that introduces her to the modern viewer and does a good job of not overly explaining the mythology, was an enjoyable and eminently re-watchable version.

Wonder Woman, or Diana as she is known at the beginning of the film is voiced by Keri Russell. To me it's always a credit to a voice actor when I don't spend too much time trying to determine who it is. The voice fit Diana perfectly and I didn't even realize it was Russell until the credits rolled. Diana is given enough naivety and smarts to give the character's first interactions with the modern world seem plausible and natural. What was especially pleasing is that the tone of the film seems much like Diana herself. It never questions her abilities and moves forward with a consistent and entertaining tone.

Ironically, the fact that I immediately knew the voice behind Colonel Steve also improved the character for me. Colonel Steve is a hard character to accept at times. The carbon copy handsome, talented, charming blah blah blah. He's the star quarterback who donates his time to taking meals to old ladies and saving kittens from trees. At best he's grudgingly likeable. At worst, the viewer can't stand him. In a brilliant bit of casting, Nathan Fillion was brought in as the voice of Colonel Steve. Immediately, I couldn't hate the guy, no matter how hard I try. Fillion has made a career out of being the handsome, charming, seemingly too good to be true archetype that everyone can't help but love. No matter how strange some of Colonel Steve's lines could be worried or how the swings in his character's outlook changed, it worked. Mostly because Fillion's voice reminded you of some strange combo of Richard Castle, Mal and even Captain Hammer.

The rest of the voice cast is good to passable. Oliver Platt and Alfred Molina are excellent as Hades and Ares and the animation is never a distraction. On the whole an excellent rental and enjoyable for fanboys and regular watchers alike.

Grade: A

LEGO StarCraft Siege Tank: Nugget From The Net

Lego's have to be the worlds most underrated toy. The amount of options and creative outlets that they allow are endless. I used to build Xwings and Ywings before the sets came out, pirate ships that flew and so on. Below are some of my favorite recent Lego related creations.

Acadia Cafe - Review

One of my goals for 2011 has been to widen my horizons. I tend to go the same places, eat the same foods, listening to the same music, watch the same shows. By nature I am a creature of habit. I like the comfort of an establishment where I know the menu and where the wait-staff knows me by name. Perhaps it is a curse left over from working at Cheers. Nonetheless, 2011 is about trying new things.

Over the past few months I have had the pleasure of trying out several new bars, establishments because of their live music. Last night, it was the Acadia Cafe. 

The Acadia Cafe is a small bar/eatery/music venue located on Cedar Ave in Minneapolis. They have solid acoustics, a seemingly well training sound technician and the amount of taps and beer variety you would expect from a thriving Minneapolis location. They have a mostly traditional menu with a few hip twists on old favorites like the cleverly named GLBT. 

The tap selection includes my current favorite, Surly Furious. Their Swiss and Mushroom Burger was somewhat surprisingly cooked exactly as I requested. (Truly medium rare burgers are very hard to find). In keeping with their location and audience, they "hand-patty their burgers fresh each day from humanely grown, all-natural, hormone and antibiotic-free cattle." All nice and good from a feel good stand point but even better they tasted great. I was especially pleased with the onion bun, it really added a excellent touch of flavor. 

The wait-staff was quick and responsive and very focused on the task at hand. Not to a point of rudeness but just enough business-like focus to keep my drink full and my order correct. There was an almost Scandinavian sense of work and focus. Very little nonsense. Except for the dishwasher. From my spot at the bar I could see back into the kitchen and I'll admit that I really didn't need the sight of his pants sagging so low I could venture a decent guess as to his brand of boxers. My gratitude that he avoided the briefs. That said, he and the entire restaurant seemed very clean and did in no way impact my enjoyment of the food. Just his fashion. 

The main reason I went to the Acadia Cafe last night was to see Wasted Education. I have seen them at two different venues now, The Acadia and the well known Turf Club. I'm not sure if it was the acoustics, the sound engineer or simply the band having more time together but last night's performance was vastly superior in terms of sound quality. It's always a challenge to find a correct musical mix in a restaurant, considering all the challenges that come with food prep and service. Kudos to both the band and the establishment for making it eminently listenable last night. 

Overall The Acadia Cafe is an excellent venue to listening to live local original music, have a good beer and well cooked burger. 

Grade B+ (A if you catch the dishwasher's off night!)

X-Men First Class - Fan made title sequence

Like much of my generation, I have been hooked on the X-men for most of my life. The original cartoon in the 90's was absolutely required viewing. I even set the VCR for the special prime time event one summer. I've enjoyed most of the films for what they were, fun pop culture popcorn movies. However, the upcoming prequel seems to offer some deeper subject matter.

In the X-men mythology, Xavier and Magneto are the archetypal characters. Good and Evil. Yet just like Christian theology, they were once partners, in this case even equals. What happened that drove such an incredible wedge between them? What was the ideological break? Set against the reality of the cold war and the Cuban missile crisis, the movie has the opportunity to speak to bigger themes of good vs evil or if there is even such a distinction to be made. 

The video below is a fan made opening sequence for the film. To me it's very well done but seems to be a bit heavy handed. I'm sure the actual opening will be much more modern Hollywood.

What do you think?

X-Men: First Class Title Sequence from Joe D! on Vimeo.

Arnold Schwarzenegger Teams With Stan Lee On New Comic And Cartoon

I firmly believe that creative talent ebbs and flows. Any creative mind or genius has ups and downs. However, it seems that there comes a point when the downs are all that is left. Look at some of Einsteins last work, or anything done by George Lucas since 1990 or any Rolling Stones album of the past 25 years. The well does run drive at some point, its just nature. It happens to everyone.

It's time to finally acknowledge that it has happened to comic great and icon Stan Lee. The man created some of the most memorable and brilliant characters of all time. He had a hand in Spiderman, Fantastic Four, The Xmen, The Avengers, Thor, Daredevil and literally thousands of others. He is on the Mount Rushmore of comic creators.

However, the past decade has been astonishingly bad. If you were to tell me that Stan Lee had been abducted and replaced by his evil mentally challenged twin, I would gladly believe you. It seems inconceivable that the same mind that helped to build most of the Marvel Universe is also responsible for Stripperella, Ringo as a super hero and now some ill conceived project with the Governator.

Please Stan, just stop. Don't let people know you as the reality show shill and cameo creep. It overshadows the really impressive and worthwhile previous years of genius.

Arnold Schwarzenegger Teams With Stan Lee On New Comic And Cartoon