Batman Arkham Asylum Getting Black and White

The Batman Black and White statue series captures definitive versions of Batman that've left a lasting mark on Batman's history. Artists from Bob Kane, Jim Lee, Frank Miller, etc. are all captured in statue form and are definitely worth collecting for any Bat fan. It looks like Batman Arkham Asylum has rightfully staked their mark in Bat history as the video game design will be getting its own statue. This will be mine!

Monday Nights Are Jacked!

Well, the United States is once again in peril meaning one thing... Jack Bauer is back in season eight! Since the start of last season, it's been well known that this will be 24's last season. I actually appreciate shows that give a definitive ending, rather than allowing a show to continue off course in "jump the shark" land. I still enjoy watching 24, but I'm sure many others feel quite the opposite.

Jack is at peace with his daughter, grand daughter and potential son-in-law. Out of no where, an old informant he used to work with literally shows up at his door step, telling him about an assassination attempt on a political leader, President Hassan. Long story short, Jack get's caught in the mix, and is convinced by his daughter Kim that he's the only one that can put an end to this.

Let's rewind a bit. I'm not sure what happened, but at the end of season seven, Jack caught a virus from a biological weapon that left him near death with little chance of surviving. It seems as if they decided to forgo that plot line as they quickly washed it away in a matter of a few sentences.

I wasn't a big fan of Kim giving Jack a pep-talk, giving him approval to "save the world!" I understand that he had no reason to help CTU, but I think putting him in danger somehow would've been a bit more motivating. It didn't help that Kim's pep-talk wasn't all that convincing either.

Why is Jack telling the newly formed CTU what to do, when Jack is no longer employed by the US government? I understand he's BFF's with President Taylor, for saving her life and all, but how is it they go from "who's Jack Bauer" to "let him do what he wants."

There are a handful of new faces this season, namely Freddie Prince Jr. It's a bit of an awkward choice considering he's heavily tied to teen rom-coms, never imagining him to fall in the shadow of Jack Bauer. Who knows, maybe they are setting him up for a potential spin off?

Let's see how the season pans out, so far so good... I'm hoping they keep me on the edge of my seat and end this show with a bang!

Olivia Munn, the current princess of Maxim!

Olivia Munn, geek princess extraordinare, is on this month's cover of Maxim magazine. It looks like she's managed to be the official advertisement for their monthly subscription sign-up as well. Three Borders book stores from three different cities, I have yet to find this issue on the magazine racks. They are either selling like hot cakes or I've been visiting the wrong book stores. I still need a copy!

Movie Review: Avatar

Happy New Year! Another day, another decade!

I’ll admit, I had my reservations about Avatar. No critic screening and a five-hundred million dollar budget seemed like a recipe for disaster. A very expensive disaster! Well… I walked out of the theater pleasantly surprised!

Avatar’s story isn’t terribly unique if you’re looking at the top line premise of the film. It’s basically man’s obsession for money and industry versus the spirit of nature and mother earth. The unforgiving human race is on the planet of Pandora to mine rare metal that sells for millions on Earth. The natives, the Na'vi, are unwilling to relocate their home and livelihood where the rare metal is located. The humans declare war on the Na'vi, reeking havoc on Pandora.

What makes Avatar unique is the world James Cameron created. He created an alien race, language and planetary way of life for this film. I should also mention that James Cameron developed new film technology for the movie which was very impressive, making animated facial expression realistic and virtually tangible. The 3D experience was an added bonus for this film. I was concerned that the 3D visuals would get annoying after thirty minutes into the film, but that was not the case at all, making for a smooth visual experience. Keep in mind, Avatar is over two and a half hours long. I’m happy to say I didn’t find one dull moment in the movie. There is enough action and drama at every turn to keep you entertained.

Overall, Avatar is a must see, especially in 3D. I can see myself watching this movie again in theaters, hopefully in IMAX.

A dark ending for comics books in December 2009

Well... not really an ending to comic books. On a weekly basis, I'll go to www.diamondcomics.com to view new releases for the week so I can plan my weekly comic book purchases accordingly. Low and behold, the "new release" section was empty. Thinking they redesigned the site, I scrambled diamondcomics.com wondering why they had to re-shuffle things. Well, it turns out it was never there to begin with, it was never updated. Diamond Comics, the worlds largest and only distributor of comic books is taking the later half of December off. I just found this out today! I'm guessing it makes sense considering the holiday schedule. All will be well with the world come January 2010 when regular comic book shipments commence.

Marvel Comics Keyboards

I can't recall the last time I needed to peer down at my keyboard to type-up a quick email. Years f typing does that to you, where you can blindly strike hot-keys when needed. Now there's an incentive to look down at your keyboard. Marvel themed keyboards! They even have Star Trek! This will be a good excuse to finally get a keyboard for my PS3! I hope DC jumps on board (pun intended)! I would love to have a Batman themed keyboard!



You can purchase them here.

Batman needs braaains!

What could possibly be more bad-ass than Batman? Batman... as a ZOMBIE! Emerging from the Blackest Night mega series comes Batman in zombie form... and they're making an action figure out of it! While Batman's consciousness if somewhere in time, his dead body is being exploited thanks to the Black Lantern storyline.

Movie Review: Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes is a fun film that is a decent balance of action, mystery and comedy. Just don’t expect to hear the word “elementary” throughout the movie. Sherlock Holmes is a refreshingly new and sexy take on the old 19th century.

I thoroughly enjoyed Robert Downy Junior’s neurotic portrayal as the world’s greatest detective, being unconventionally witty and socially awkward. Unfortunately, I couldn't help but think of Captain Jack Sparrow. Watson, played by Jude Law, was just as interesting. Not so much about his contribution to the film, but more so his portrayal. I always imagined Watson as Sherlock’s portly sidekick, but they managed to make him an English gentleman (not a far stretch from Law’s other performances). Most of the humor originates from Holmes and Watson’s interaction, a 19th century odd couple if you will. Holmes is the quirky slob while Watson is prim and proper. Rachel McAdams was the damsel in distress with a Catwomen-esque manner. Although hot by all means, I didn’t care much for her in this movie as Holmes' rogue love interest. She seemed wedged into the story line. In hind sight, I'm sure adding a hot female lead helps dispel any homo-erotic innuendos considering the two main characters are good looking men.

The story itself reminded me of an amalgamation of X-Files, CSI and Scooby Doo. The story centers on the premise of science versus magic, challenging Holmes’ disbelief of the supernatural and the unexplained. Lord Blackwell is the maniacal villain, hell bent on ruling the world, wielding his powers of magic and the dark arts. In the midst of all this, Holmes and Watson scientifically explain how they uncover each investigative clue to ultimately stop Lord Blackwell.

Overall, Sherlock Holmes is a good film and worth your theater dollars. I can see future films being made with this franchise.

Bryan Singer is back for more X-Men

Bryan Singer did a fantastic job bringing X-Men to the big screen before jumping ship to direct Superman Returns. However, fans lost on both ends here. Brett Ratner gave us X-Men: Last Stand, aka "Wolverine featuring the X-Men" and Bryan Singer decided that Superman shouldn't punch a single thing during the duration of the movie (I did like the Richard Donner homage though). In the end I don't blame Singer for making Superman Returns, after all, who in their right mind would pass up an opportunity as big as Superman? I do blame Ratner for killing Professor Xavier and making Cyclops a complete wuss (he's the leader of the X-Men for goodness sake!)

According to IGN, Singer will be coming back to direct a new X-Men flick, tentatively titled "X-Men: First Class" heavily suggesting another origins story. I'm glad Singer is in good spirit to bring us back into his X-Universe. If there's anyone out there to nail it, it would be him. In fact, he helped pave the way for Hollywood to start taking comic book movie adaptations seriously. My only request with this new X-Film... please give Cyclops his balls back!

Read the full story here.

Nic Cage in Kick Ass

Kick-Ass, written by Mark Millar, tells the story of superheroes in the real world. To be precise... teenage kids, as superheroes in the real world. Meaning no superpowers, mutant abilities or uber geniuses. If this film stays faithful to the comic book, which I'm hearing it will be, I think audiences will be taken back by the amount of violence.

Originally, this movie was self funded. Movie studios weren't thrilled about teenage heroes being subject to adult violence. But when buzz about the story grew like wild fire because of the comics' success, Lionsgate was quick to jump on board. Kick-Ass stars Nicolas Cage, Mark Strong, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Aaron Johnson, Chloe Moretz and will be directed by Matthew Vaughn. Kick-Ass hits theaters on April 16th 2010. Here's a sneak peak at Nic Cage gunning for the "father of the year award!"