Festival: Prequel

What better way to start a new job than by taking a week off work to attend the Toronto International Film Festival?

Yes, that IS a rhetorical question.

For the past six years I've been dying to do the fest properly. But a combination of work and school have always made it impossible to see much more than ten films. So this year I took a week off, bought a day pass, a ten pack of tickets and I'll probably end up seeing over thirty films.

Interested in what that looks like?

Well, there it is.



I'll be lugging a camera around the fest taking pictures of all the cult celebrities and no name writers that you've never heard of. So stay tuned to this site for updates.

FYI. There will be no pictures of Brad Pitt unfortunately, because The Assassination of Jesse James was the ONE film that I wanted to see that was sold out. Such is life.

Fan Expo 2007

I attended Fan Expo 2007 over the weekend.

Essentially the Expo is a combination Horror/Sci Fi/Anime/Comic Book nerdfest. If you have a nerdly peccadillo and live in the GTA then the Metro Toronto Convention Center was the place to be.

Some highlights.

1. Jonathan Frakes
2. 2$ Comic Books
3. Frank Quitely
4. John Romita Jr.
5. Autograph Mania
6. Green Lantern

Some lowlights.

1. Fighting your way past a storm trooper in full armour with a helmet that has destroyed his peripheral vision.
2. Creepy middle age Anime fans. Not middle aged anime fans. Just the creepy ones. You know who you are.
3. Lineups.
4. Line Capping.

I had a great time and I wish Scott had badgered me into doing this a couple years earlier. I walked out with a ton of comics and I got to see artists and authors I really admired. Oh, and we capped the night off by going to see Superbad.

Now that is how you party down my friends.

Autograph: Part Deux

THEY CAME!

Cos was able to get the books signed.

But don't take my word for it. I'll let him tell you in his own words.

Okay, so after I finished playing a wild tennis match in the driving rain and electrical storm I was ready to head over to the book signing. But wait, my tennis opponent/friend's car wouldn't start... so we had to hurry to fix the car in time using random combinations of things that looked like tools from my truck.

Then I rushed out with the book in hand, the street lights out from the storm, the rain pouring. I arrived at the comic store where there was also a protest going on against "comic book author/right wing extremist Warren Ellis" They had signs and weapons, but I proceeded into the store anyway, where I was robbed. They took the comic books I came with, but luckily due to the size of the store I was able to purchase the same comic books she sent me for twice the price of whatever she paid.

So I continued to the line where I had to wait a grueling 17 hours with no food or water, but just beer. Right when I was about to approach Mr. Ellis at his desk with his cowboy hat, Jack Daniels bottle, and half empty red bull can, the protesters were back with their signs, raging. That wouldn't stop me. I walked up to Mr. Ellis, I told him "Your work has inspired me in many ways." Haha, little did he know I hadn't read a comic book in my life. Or maybe he did know, he thanked me and then stabbed me with his knife in the leg, not believing a word of what I said and ending my glorious tennis career.

I hobbled out of the store under heavy gun fire, diving for The Beast, my 1999 Ford Ranger. I slammed the accelerator and spun out in the driving rain with the signed comic book in hand. Maybe after all that work and danger I'd read it, my first comic book, but naw, I didn't want to bend a signed copy of it. Was it worth the 20 ice creams I held out for to do, only time will tell.

In summary, about 65% of this story is true, and I got that book singed and SOMEHOW returned unharmed (;

So now I apparently owe several brownie earthquakes to a person I've never met. Oh well, I've heard worse fates.

Faulk Out.

Autograph: Part 1

So.

Warren Ellis is apparently signing autographs today in Phoenix. Nearly two weeks ago I sent a couple comics to S's cousin in this hopes that he might be able to score me a signature (or two) from the man himself.

However, as of Friday, the comics have yet to arrive down south. Which means, if they don't show up in the mail today I'm absolutely pooched for getting an autograph.

I have no one to blame but myself for leaving it so last minute, but I honestly thought that 7 business days would be enough time for it to arrive.

So it's finger crossing time.

Edit. Email from the cos. Nothing yet. Mail hasn't arrived. The possibility, however dim, still exists that it could come today. Here's me. Not betting the farm.

Post Script

Yah.

I'm going to try to keep this up to date a little more.

(Insert laugh track here)

Movie Monster Mythbusters #1: Vampires

Why do people almost always become evil when bitten and turned into a vampire?

I can understand how they might seem to be evil from a historical standpoint. "Hey it's the Dark Ages and I need blood to survive. Soooooo I'm going to take a couple pints outta you if that's ok?"
The act might be evil. But the need that drives the act is not.

So why, in modern vampire movies, do good people turn bad? Bedsides the dramatic tension it adds to the story line I can't figure out a logical explanation behind it. You need blood to survive. Solution. Blood bank. It's less glamourous but just as effective.

The need to drink blood wouldn't fundamentally change your personality. Maybe over time your mind would become a little unhinged at the radical change in your culinary habits. But that's crazy. Not evil. So the question stands.

300

S has gamely put up with weeks of me shushing her whenever the 300 trailer comes on TV. And yes, you can only walk around yelling "This. Is. Sparta!" for so long before you get on everyone's nerves.

Synopsis. 300 hundred Spartans, led by King Leonidas, attempt to stop the invasion of God\King Xerxes' Persian Army by fighting them in a narrow pass.

So how much does this movie rock? Um, how about quite a lot? I fell in love with it when it was just a wee trailer. The original trailer. The one where they were still blasting NIN behind lots of slo-mo Persians taking a nasty header into a rocky pit. I snapped up the hardcover reprinting soon after and that only heightened my anticipation of the actual film.

Sadly though, it was one of those things where I built up the film up in my head so much that there was no way the real thing was ever going to live up to the hype. (It's called Stars Wars Syndrome and its a big reason why I'm trying to keep my expectation for the Transformers movie so low. Damn you Michael Bay!)

The cinematography in 300 is amazing. There are several incredibly elaborate battle scenes filmed in one continuous shot, speeding up and slowing down the frame rate for maximum effect. It's not a new technique but I don't think I've ever seen the device done on such a large scale. And like Miller's last big screen adapation much of the visual aesthetic of the film is pulled directly from the comic. Light and shadow are continually shaped and formed in every shot focusing the attention of the audience as needed.

Yes there are a lot of decapitations and dismemberments. But the blood flashes by so quickly on the screen, that the film never feels truly gory. Headless corpses don't bleed and the wounds on an arrow riddled solider are strangely clean. In fact, given the material, 300 is remarkably restrained. Once you get past the initial shock you'll see that even the more heinous of injuries are presented with very little blood.

The film's weakest moments come when it attempts to distance itself from the source material by tacking on an unessesary subplot. Having Leonidas' wife Queen Gorgo attempt to rally the nation behind her absent husband (using rousing speeches about freedom and duty) might have been intended to bring a feminine presence to the story but all it really does is slow the film down.

And Gerard Butler's undeniable screen presence as King Leonidas would have been better served by a stronger supporting cast. Rodrigo Santoro as Xerxes in particular delivered a weak performance, never quite managing to portray the menace and decadence nessecary to a megolmaniacal God\King.

So what's the final verdict? After years of bungled oppurtunites and missed chances it's nice to see comic book movies finally getting the chance to show a mainstream audience what the medium is capable of. 300 is one of the best examples I can think of where the essence of the original work has been translated successfully and effectively onto the big screen. Like any film it has it's weaknesses but when you put those aside I think you'll be surprised at just how powerful a movie it is.

Pull List: 7\3\7

52 #44

Interesting twist\disembowelment last week. I hope that's not the end of Osiris because he was the first interesting addition to the Merry Marvel Family in a long time. Also it's good to see Buddy Baker alive and kicking. I've got warm place in the cockles of my heart (maybe below the cockles, maybe in the sub-cockle area) for Animal Man whenever Morrison is writing him. At first I thought that they may have revamped his powers but after a reread I realized he wasn't actually doing anything new, just reading the powers from animals who are reeeeeeally far away.

Authority #2

FINALLY. I thought this was never going to come out. I'd almost forgotten what the Authority was. They're a super team right? Hopefully after the lead up of the first ish we'll actually see some faces this time out.

Midnighter #5

Out on his own. I wasn't sure how well a solo title was going to work for Midnighter. A lot of his character is defined by his relation to the rest of the Authority. On his own he's just Batman without any pesky morals about killing. But I have to admit that Ennis did a really good job. They're handling the whole team\solo adventure puzzle by treating it similar to Wolverine and the X-Men. Midnighter is still part of the team. But now, every so often, he just goes out on his own and kicks a little ass.

Superman / Batman #32

This title is dragging a little bit. I'm still reading it but my interest in what happens is flagging. I think it might be because the Loeb arc was such an epic adventure that it becomes a challenge for the next guy out to top it. I'm not ready to drop it just yet but previously I couldn't wait for the next ish to come out and now I'm reading it hoping that the current blah-ness is just a temporary condition.

Ultimate Spiderman #106

I came to USM late but I've always loved Bagley's pencils. The great thing about the Ultimate Universe is that there isn't thirty years of continuity weighing everything down. It brings a freshness to Spiderman stories that's pretty hard to find anywhere else. I think they've done a great job touching on the major threads of Peter's life and making a new story out of it instead of just retelling it.

Ultimate Vision #3

A good read. I love the nearly continuous plot thread here that comes out of the Ultimate Extinction story line. They just as easily could have given The Vision a "Villian of the Week" to pound on. But instead they chose to tie in her story directly to the larger over arching plotlines of the Ultimate Universe. I likes it.

new universal #4

I've never read New Universe. So I don't have any baggage when it comes to this title. I just like watching Ellis dabble in his super teams. Nothing so far to drive me away. One caveat. Salvador Larroca, for whatever reason, likes to draw the peripheral characters based on famous actors. I find it distracting rather than amusing. I don't know if he's just screwing around or if there's a reason behind the whole thing.

Dark Tower #2

Peter David meets Stephen King. I know there are naysayers, but I really loved the early Dark Tower books as a kid. David does a great job creating the feel and flavour of Roland's world and he condenses a lot of information from different books into one coherent storyline. Also a big thumbs up for Jae Lee's pencils.

Justice League of America #6

Nearly seven years on and I still miss Morrison's turn on JLA. Meltzer is doing a fairly decent job but he's taking his sweet time officially revealing the new line up. (Although you'd have to be pretty slow not to have pieced it together by now.) All in all a good read.

The Quick and the Dead aka Before They Were Big

The Quick and the Dead is one of those perfect movies where it combines the talent of those just on the cusp of making it big with those already there. Originally a Sharon Stone vehicle, TQATD attempts to capitalize on the sucess of Basic Instint and Sliver by showing the tough as nails femininity of Stone in a different genre.

The really great thing about this film is that so many of her co-stars are on their way up the Hollywood ladder while Stone is at her peak. After this the only thing her fans have left to look forward to is her milfy retread Basic Instinct 2. (Of course I'm completely ignoring her role in Casino in order to make my point here)

But look at who else is in this film. Sam Raimi, in his first directing gig post Army of Darkness, is clearly having a blast with a bigger budget film. He brings the same tongue in cheek sense of humour to the Western genre that he did to Horror by poking fun of the tired old motifs and making them his own. When Raimi cam meets Western style zoom ins good times will be had by all.

And the talent. Gene Hackman crustily barking his way through the entire thing. Russell Crowe in his biggest film to date and his first Hollywood outing. Leonardo DiCaprio three years out of Growing Pains and taking on adult roles. Cameos by Tobin Bell, Lance Henriksen and Gary Sinese showcase some solid actors who've got their best work ahead of them.

It doesn't hurt that I'm a sucker for a good Western and there are far worse cinematic travesties than watching Hackman chew up the scenery under Raimi's direction. There's no way you could gather all these names under the same tent today.

TQATD isn't a perfect film. You still have to put up with all the restrictions placed on it in order to prevent anyone from taking the attention away from Stone. And it feels a little cheesy sometimes as Raimi overuses some Western conventions. (Does it really have to rain everytime something really bad happens) But overall, for genre fans its got a lot of good things going for it and you'd be hard pressed to find a more energetic, creative Western.

P.S. After sitting through the travesty that was Prison Break this week I'm dropping this turkey like a phat beat on Saturday night. They're not even trying to keep the plot believable anymore. Stace and I spent the entire episode laughing our asses off at how cheesy the story was. Letting this show go won't be tough at all.

Wolverine #51

I tried to like it. I really did.

Loeb's writing was one of the few things that pulled me back to the Superman titles after my departure over the whole Superman Red\Superman Blue debacle.

God. That whole plot line was so derivative.

One Superman, the Red one of course, was an angry hot head who would charge into dangerous situations. While the Blue Superman was calm and collected, more of a thinker than a doer.

The 90's have so much to answer for.

But the start of the B13 virus plot arc right through to Supes big battle with Red Leather Fetishist Zod were high water marks for the Superman titles.

So I'm always willing to give Loeb a little leeway.

....aaaaand he's not doing much with it. When it comes to Wolverine #51 there's no reader more forgiving then I am. Maybe if something had actually happened I'd feel different. Instead it was thirty pages of fighting. Fighting left over from the last ish, flashback fighting with other X-Men, fighting on the Blackbird and then finally fighting in the wreckage when the plane crashes.

Fighting.

I get it.

It's the same thing we've seen Wolverine and Sabertooth do a thousand times before and while I feel like there might be a method to the madness its just taking to long for the story to get to the point. (And for some reason the back story Loeb is trying to weave into the ongoing narrative really grates on my nerves. So much about Wolverine's character is defined by his relationship to his past. I think when you start adding on to that pre-Origins history you're just trying to spin the character into something new rather than explore\examine what makes him great in the first place.)

Sadly I don't think Simone Bianchi's art helped much. I enjoyed seeing her covers on the recent Detective Comics run but I just wasn't warming up to her work in this ish. Maybe I just got tired of seeing the same thing (fighting, fighting, fighting).

Anyway this title is on the bubble. Loeb has to deliever something significant the next time out or I'm afraid I'm going to have to drop it.

No one wants him to suceed more than I do.

Wolverine #51

I tried to like it. I really did.

Loeb's writing was one of the few things that pulled me back to the Superman titles after my departure over the whole Superman Red\Superman Blue debacle.

God. That whole plot line was so derivative.

One Superman, the Red one of course, was an angry hot head who would charge into dangerous situations. While the Blue Superman was calm and collected, more of a thinker than a doer.

The 90's have so much to answer for.

But the start of the B13 virus plot arc right through to Supes big battle with Red Leather Fetishist Zod were high water marks for the Superman titles.

So I'm always willing to give Loeb a little leeway.

....aaaaand he's not doing much with it. When it comes to Wolverine #51 there's no reader more forgiving then I am. Maybe if something had actually happened I'd feel different. Instead it was thirty pages of fighting. Fighting left over from the last ish, flashback fighting with other X-Men, fighting on the Blackbird and then finally fighting in the wreckage when the plane crashes.

Fighting.

I get it.

It's the same thing we've seen Wolverine and Sabertooth do a thousand times before and while I feel like there might be a method to the madness its just taking to long for the story to get to the point. (And for some reason the back story Loeb is trying to weave into the ongoing narrative really grates on my nerves. So much about Wolverine's character is defined by his relationship to his past. I think when you start adding on to that pre-Origins history you're just trying to spin the character into something new rather than explore\examine what makes him great in the first place.)

Sadly I don't think Simone Bianchi's art helped much. I enjoyed seeing her covers on the recent Detective Comics run but I just wasn't warming up to her work in this ish. Maybe I just got tired of seeing the same thing (fighting, fighting, fighting).

Anyway this title is on the bubble. Loeb has to deliever something significant the next time out or I'm afraid I'm going to have to drop it.

No one wants him to suceed more than I do.

On Smallville

I lost touch with Smallville after the fall hiatus last year. There wasn't anything particularly wrong with the show, it had been chugging along at pretty much the same rate for the past four seasons and season numero five wasn't much different. It just seemed like my life got increasingly hectic around the Christmas break and a lot of my TV watching habits went by the wayside.

Some was a genuine loss. (I'm looking at you Battlestar Galactic) Others I picked up again after a bit (and shouldn't have). Prison Break, take a bow. And others, like Smallville, just slipped off the radar never to be seen again. Well yesterday I got a chance to watch my first episode in a little over a year. And I could immeadiately tell that if any epi was going to bring me back to the fold it was this one.

The plot line dealt with an early incarnation of the Justice League (Green Arrow, Cyborg, Impulse\Flash, Aquaman and of course our man Kent). Being a huge JLA fan I was interested to see how this onscreen version would fair and as far as superhero shows go it was definetly better than getting kicked in the head.

It wasn't terrible, but that's what I've been saying about Smallville since it first aired. It's never been awful but it takes a dedicated fan to tune in on a weekly basis. I suspose that with all the other shows that have been cruelly obliterated by corporate decree in the last couple years I should be glad that there's something out there that I still like.

I was struck by an overpowering aura of sameness as I watched. Clark is still suffering the same do I, or don't I tell angst. Lex is a full on baddie now, just not bothering to hide it anymore, and still feuding with Lionel. Ma Kent has grown into her role as folksy Superhero Den Mother. (No sign of Pa Kent though. I remember, briefly, hearing that he'd shuffled off his mortal coil sometime last season. Presumably they'd told Clark that he'd gone to visit Grand Ma's farm to stretch his legs and run around with all the other disposable charcaters in order to soften the blow and avoid more teenage angst from out favorite protagonist) Even the teaser for the next show was exactly the same sort of stuff that I'd been watching before I left the series. Clark searches for lost Krpytonian artifacts that may or may not explain his lot in life.

But on the whole it was like I had never left the show. It seemed very soap operatic that way. That I could leave a show for almost a year and come back so seamlessly is a testament to the writer's ability to keep everything status quo for so long and make it just interesting enough to keep viewers sticking arouind. To be fair, I'm sure that all sorts of important things have happened in the last season but none of them of them had the ability to change the core philosophy of Clark and his sheltered existence.

So sadly I won't be coming back to Smallville. As always it's never been bad show but its always seemed to lack those flashes of brilliance that make for truly memorable television. Maybe it's just a victim of canon unable to break free of its comic origins and operate on its own steam. Or I could be on superhero overload. I'm little tired of rebirth, retreads, reboots and reimaginings right now. What I'm really looking for is some change and growth out of my heroes. Because, unlike Smallville, the real world doesn't stay the same year after year.

Some thoughts on the Academy Awards...

Worst. Oscars. Ever.

An hour and a half into the Oscars and they've awarded only one really significant category (Best Supporting Actor)

I want to give them full credit for trying new things. But if I really wanted to hear Tom Hanks and Helen Mirren read the stage directions for the best adapted Screen Plays...well....I can't even imagine the world where I'm that desperate for such dismal entertainment.

I almost feel like bludgeoning myself with the remote control in the hopes that the blood rushing to my head wound will wake me up enough to care about what's going on.

All the worst (dull) aspects of Oscar shows years past are here. The greatest tragedy of all being the return the Interpretive Dance. I think it was truly a missed call to stack all the big categories at the end of the evening.

It makes me yearn for the Whoopie Goldberg years and I didn't think that would ever happen.

Mind Warp

"Bubbly, bubbly, bubbly Eeee-No!"

There.

Now maybe it'll get out of my head. It's been on a loop for the past hour.

Pull List: 28\2\7

52 #43
Batman #664
Justice #10
Wolverine #51

Short list this week. Justice has been a good read so far and I'm sorry to see that there's only three issues left. Always enjoy Ross' work. I actually got around to picking up Kingdom Come today. I was flipping through my pulls and I just really felt like getting something with a little meat to it. I've read it so many times, but I've never bothered to buy it for myself.

I'm hoping Morrison redeems himself with Batman this week because the last issue was so dissapointing from so many standpoints. As prose it wasn't the worse thing I've ever read, but having to read it in 16 pt font with so those cheesy computer graphics made it an obligation and not a treat.

52 is 52 and while I've enjoyed it so far none of the "big" payoffs it's been delivering in the home stretch have really been worth the time I've invested in it.

Wolverine probably won't make my reading list much longer. I like Loeb but the set up last ish didn't do anything for me and I was vaguely insulted by the "I Hate Canada" comment that Wolverine tossed off as his parting shot of the filler story. Not enough for me to give up on it quite yet, but its definetly on the bubble.

The Move

I'm contemplating make the switch over to Blogger or Blogspot (or whatever it's called) from L-Jay. Scottie's had his page here for a bit and I like the extended features that he seems to have. I'm bulldozing through the start up settings right now so we'll see how things work in terms of usability.

Faulk off.