Archive for the ‘ Comic Books ’ Category

Movie Review: Iron Man 2

Iron Man 2 is a direct sequel to director Jon Favreau’s 2008 original, Iron Man, and as such it will benefit the viewer to have seen the first film in this series before going out to see this new film. I say this not only because this movie starts off where its predecessor left off, but it will also leave those interested in the dark as to how Tony Stark, played by Robert Downey Jr., became Iron Man. For those that have seen the first film, its sequel is a definite must-see, since it introduces new characters, delves deeper into the story behind Tony Stark, and is packed with great action.

The second film in the Iron Man saga takes the action to a whole new level by introducing a host of new characters, both friend and foe. This movie begins in Russia where we see Ivan Vanko, played by Mickey Rourke, who would soon become Iron Mans nemesis, Whiplash. Justin Hammer, played by Sam Rockwell, is brought into the picture during Tony Starks congressional hearing, where he tries in vain to get Mr. Stark to hand over the Iron Man technology to the US government. The character of Whiplash is introduced to the world, and Tony Stark in particular, when he steps onto the Monaco Grand Prix F1 Race course and destroys the cars with his electrified whips, including that which Tony Stark was driving! Doing so leads to a great fight scene in which Iron Man brings out his new Iron Man Mark V portable suit. We are next introduced to Black Widow, played by Scarlett Johansson, who is a S.H.I.E.L.D (Strategic Hazard Intervention and Espionage Law-Enforcement Division) operative working undercover as Tony Starks new assistant, Natasha Romanoff. We also get to see Tony’s friend Rhodey, a.k.a Lt. Col James Rhodes, played in this film by Don Cheadle (previously played by Terrance Howard), suit up as the powerful and badass War Machine.

As an Iron Man fan, I really enjoyed how this film showed Tony Stark as being flawed and vulnerable, as any human is, even though he is nearly invincible when he is wearing the Iron Man suit. This vulnerability is originally shown when we find out that Tonys use of the suit is having ill affects on his health. We also get to see his flawed nature when he gets drunk in front of everyone at his birthday party while wearing the Iron Man suit, making the suit look like nothing more than an expensive and destructive toy. Beyond that, we learn that Howard Stark, Tony’s father, did not care much for Tony as a child, but knew that Tony would be the one to revolutionize the world as a grown man.

Iron Man 2 is also a great movie to check out if you are an action junkie or just want to see a great action flick. One of my favorite scenes is the fight between Iron Man and War Machine, in which the two go blow for blow and literally end the battle with a bang. Another great action sequence happens when Ivan Vanko sends his army of Hammer Drones and War Machine after Iron Man, which quickly turns into an exciting aerial battle. There are many more great action scenes to look forward to when seeing Iron Man 2.

Personally, I really enjoyed watching Iron Man 2 not only because it was fun to watch, but also because it enhanced the story of Iron Man. Going into the movie, I was really excited to see the War Machine suit in action, and I love what I saw. War Machine seemed to put a decent fight against both Iron Man and the Hammer Drones. I was also happily surprised to see Black Widow kick some serious butt in this flick. As a fan of the franchise I also appreciated that this movie showed us that Tony Stark is as human as anyone else. Seeing that helped me believe in the character of Tony Stark more than I would have otherwise. On a side note, I was surprised that Ivan Vanko was never referred to as Whiplash in the movie.

If you are Iron Man fan, comic book geek, or action junkie, you owe it to yourself to check out Iron Man 2 in theaters. For the rest of you, I recommend seeing it simply because it is a great action flick and a great way to start off the summer.

If after reading this I haven’t convinced you to check out Iron Man 2, maybe its trailer will:

2010
05/07
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Movie Review: Kick-Ass

About a month ago, I was completely unfamiliar with Kick-Ass and the comic book mini-series this film is based on. I later found out that the story involves a high school loser who gets sick of being unnoticed and beat up all the time, and decides to develop a superhero persona named Kick-Ass to deal with these issues.  After a Youtube clip of Kick-Ass fighting off a three man gang gains mass popularity, the other masked vigilantes come out of the shadows, namely Red Mist, Big Daddy, and Hit-Girl.

When developing a comic book franchise into a movie, most directors tend to take their own creative liberties with it in order to gain mass appeal. However, Director Matthew Vaughn has done his best to stay as true to the original source material as possible, and it shows. Those that have read the Kick-Ass comics will not be disappointed by what they see on the screen. In fact, this movie can be seen as a more visual version of what’s in the comics.  On top of that, all of the fights are amazingly fun to watch since there’s plenty of surprising “Oh Shit!” moments to keep the audience cheering.

I personally enjoyed this movie a lot, for more reasons than one. My favorite part of this movie is the story, because I was able to relate to what Dave Lizewski was going through in life. In fact, I too have fantasized about what it would be like to become a superhero but, unlike Dave, I never acted on those fantasies. I also really liked Red Mist’s “Mistmobile”, which is a lame name but it’s an awesomely tricked-out Ford Mustang, complete with a body kit, engine mist, and interior lighting. My favorite hero was surprisingly Hit-Girl, because she was the only skilled fighter and pulled off a lot of crazy moves. I also really liked how Damon Macready’s comic told the story of how he became Big Daddy. Subtle things like the comic-book style transitions (i.e Meanwhile…) also caught my attention and made the movie feel more authentic.

Aaron Johnson plays the title character, Kick-Ass / Dave Lizewski, who is more of an underdog than a hero. However, Kick-Ass definitely becomes more of a hero by the end of the movie. While he is the title character, Kick-Ass isn’t the movies only hero. Chloe G. Moretz plays Hit-Girl / Mindy Macready, who is surprisingly acrobatic for such a young girl. She’s also the one who kicks the most ass in the movie, by taking down an entire New York City mafia on her own, for the most part. Christopher Mintz-Plasse, who most would know as McLovin from Superbad, plays Red Mist / Chris D’Amico, and does a fantastic job of pulling off the rich, villainous character. Lastly, Nicolas Cage does a great job as Big Daddy / Damon Macready, a man with a vendetta against mob boss Frank D’Amico.

Whether or not you have read the comics Kick-Ass is based on, definitely go check out this movie in theaters. You won’t regret it. Before you do though, check out it’s trailer below:

2010
04/16
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Amazing Spider-Man Extra! #2

ase2

This issue of The Amazing Spider-Man contains two stories, one a little better than the other in my opinion. The first story, Anti-Venom Returns by Dan Slott and Chris Bachalo, is where the good action is. Anti-Venom starts off as a vigilante, fighting the good fight against Mr. Negative and his Inner Demons. The twist at the end leaves you wondering what Anti-Venom will do next. The second story, A Night Out With Wolverine by Zeb Wells and Paolo Rivera, shows us a side of Wolverine that we do not often see. In it, Wolverine tells Spider-Man, in his own special, drunken way no-less, that he should not let any opportunity pass him by or he might miss a big one. The question I had in my mind throughout the story was, “Why would Wolverine want to go to a bar with Spider-Man of all people?” The answer may surprise you.

Below are the details of each of these stories, so do not read ahead if you are planning on picking up this issue!

SPOILER ALERT!

Anti-Venom Returns!

By Dan Slott and Chris Bachalo

Anti-Venom starts out as a vigilante, saving a young, drugged-up chick from herself by removing the poison from here veins and getting her to go to the F.E.A.S.T Center. He then goes after the people who sold her the drugs in an effort to rid New York City of their kind. In doing so, however, he runs into Mr. Negative and his thugs, known as the Inner Demons. He finds them in an OS-CORP truck loaded with drugs and is ready for a fight. Fortunately, he finds out that they were hi-jacking truck and never intended to deliver the goods to OS-CORP. So Anti-Venom and Mr. Negative are on the same side, but Anti-Venom believes that Mr. Negative is poisoning the city. After a quick-n-dirty fight with the Inner Demons, Anti-Venom vanishes and Mr. Negative orders a search. The truck is then taken to the F.E.A.S.T warehouse, where Mr. Negative is discovered. After finishing his business with his associate, Mr. Negatives changes back into….Martin Li! After having seen this, Anti-Venom goes nuts, later realizing that he’s the only one that knows the truth behind Martin Li and that since he’s a monster no one will ever believe him.

A Night Out With Wolverine

The story starts with Spider-Man and Wolverine walking around New York on a cold, winter night. When they arrive at a bar Wolverine takes off his mask. Spider-Man refuses to do the same in order to preserve his secret identity. The two walk in and get a table, and then Wolverine tries to hit on a chick at the bar. Her boyfriend takes offense to this and approaches him. A fight quickly breaks out, and once its over the chick walks her boyfriend out of the bar. Wolverine grabs a whiskey meets Spider-Man at their table. After downing a few shots, Wolverine tells Spider-Man a story where the morel is  not to let any opportunity pass him by, or him might miss a big one. The angry boyfriend then returns with a shotgun and blasts Wolverine in the head. It doesn’t phase him of course, but the Spider-Man grabs the dude’s gun and saves him from a pissed-off Wolverines claws. Once he came to his senses, Wolverine apologized for what he had done. The two then exit the bar and Spider-Man asks why Wolverine had chose him as his drinking buddy, especially since he doesn’t drink. Wolverine replies saying that it was his birthday and that he didn’t want any of his X-Men friends to judge him.  Happy Birthday Wolverine!

2009
03/02
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Welcome To Hoxford #1

This is an interesting new series written by Ben Templesmith. I picked it up because I am a huge fan of prison lore. I like any TV show, movie, whatever that has a story that is at least partly based on or around prison. Such would be Prison Break on Fox, which I love, and Oz on HBO. With this deep interest in the subjectmatter, I read Welcome To Hoxford and absolutely loved. It’s the start of what could be a great new series. The story starts off at an unnamed prison with an inmate, Raymond Delgado, who is suffering from multiple personality syndrome. Because of his condition, he, along with other clinally insane inmates, are taken to a new penitentiary, Hoxford, that is built and run especially for them. Once they arrive, Hoxford Comissioner Gordon gives them a welcoming speech in which he tells them that there is little chance that they will ever see the outside world again. Gordon enters the facility with a nurse, Dr. Jessica Ainly, who has come to take care of Mr. Delgado. Gordon explains to her that they are fully staffed and that Raymond will be taken care of. After she leaves, we meet one of the Hoxford inmates, Jones, in the shower. He’s giving Burly Bill a bit of a hard time, until Bill loses it and knocks him out. After he regains consciousness, Delgado literally gets his chomp on. He bites Jones, and then a couple officers come in and escort Jones out of the area and into a meatlocker. This issue ends with a literal BANG! The two officers blast Jones to bits.

2008
09/12
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Venom: Dark Origin #1 of 5

Being a huge fan of Venom and his various spawn, when I saw this at the comics store I just had to pick it up. The subtitle, “Dark Origin,” says it all. This is part of a limited series that explores how Venom came to be the heaping mass of liquified evil we all know and love. This issue starts with a young Eddie Brock who is helping a little girl and her dad find her lost kitty. LIttle do they know, but Eddie actually has the cat hidden in a box in his basement. We soon learn that one of the contributing factors to Eddie’s dark nature is that his mother died while giving birth to him. Because of that, he’s had a whole in his life that he’s found hard to fill. We then see Eddie as a teenager in high school, trying to get the attention of a cheerleader named Sarah who is seemingly not interested in him. Eddie then gets caught in the boys locker room wearing anothers guys jacket, and gets beat up because of it. Next we see Eddie in the ESU Admission’s Office, where the Dean is going over his transcript. While making a phone call, he meets a girl who helps him find his place. However, they walk into an alley and run into a group of thugs. Suddenly out of nowhere, Spiderman comes in takes care of the thugs. Having not seen this fight, the girl Eddie is with thinks Eddie got rid of the thugs. The issue ends with a widely-grinning Eddie taking full credit.

2008
09/07
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The Punisher #61

This issue starts off in Tierra Rota where Gabriela Nunez is celebrating her quiceanera with her family. Suddenly a van pulls up and a group of masked men come out and kidnap her. Next, we see The Punisher as he walks around in New York City and eventually into a bar. There we a shadowy figure who has been expecting The Punisher. When Frank Castle leaves the bar, so does this shadowy figure, right behind him. Apparently this shadowy figure is a man from Tierra Rota, a town that is under siege by criminals who kidnap and slaughter the towns young girls. The man risked everything in order to find The Punisher and request his aid. After explaining to him the situation that his town is in, The Punisher tells the man from Tierra Rota that he is not the man for the job. The old man accepts his decision and heads home. Back in Tierra Rota, we see a group of people hiding in a local restaurant, La Casa, and suddenly a couple black vans pull up. One of the men in the restaurant decides to do what he can for the group and fend off the terrorists. Unfortunately, this brave man gets blown to bits. News of this hits New York, where The Punisher reconsiders the shadowy man request. We then see a little girl at home in Tierra Rota. As one of the terrorists goes to grab her, a shotgun shell blasts clear through his head. The issue ends with The Punisher in Tierra Rota holding a smoking shotgun.

2008
09/06
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The Amazing Spiderman #569: New Ways To Die: Book Two

This issue begins where the last one left off, with Norman Osborn and his Thunderbolts ambushing Peter Parker in an attept to get at Spiderman. The group then leaves, and we next see Eddie Brock at the F.E.A.S.T Homeless Shelter with Martin Li Mrs. Parker. Eddie has great news for them. Apparently his system has somehow been purged of the symbiote. Anyways, at Osborn Manor, Norman sends the Thunderbolts out on a reconnaissance mission to find Spiderman, who is actually right under their nose at Osborn Manor. After Spiderman gets rid of Osborn’s troopers, Osborn sends out a call to the Thunderbolts to fall back to base. Songbird and Radioactive Man copy the order. Venom, however, has other plans. He has found his original host, Eddie Brock at the F.E.A.S.T Homeless Shelter. When Spiderman realizes his Aunt May is in sudden danger, he decides to get there as fast as he can. Venom, in the mean time, gets inside and grabs his target, Brock, and the symbiote tries to overtake Brocks body again. However, Eddie’s body refuses to combine with it and the sybiote gets burned, much to the surprise of Venom. The issue ends with the introduction of Anti-Venom!

2008
09/06
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My Comic Stores of Choice

Since I’m posting about comic books now, I thought I should post a shout-out of sorts to the stores that provide the comics I read. While I’m at home in OC, Cali, I go to Comics Toons and Toys. This is a great store with a large selection of comic book, graphic novels, and the like. If you would like to check it out, it’s located at:

13542 Newport Ave
Tustin, CA 92780
Phone: (714) 730-2117

In Tempe however, I’ll be going to Atomic Comics. I can’t say how good of a store it is, as I have yet to go there. I chose this store simply because it is the closest comics store to where I live. For those interested, Atomic Comics is located at:

4001 E Broadway Rd, Phoenix, AZ‎ – (602) 431-3994

2008
09/06
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The Amazing Spiderman #568: New Ways To Die: Part I

Since this is the start of a new Spiderman mini-series, this issue starts with a brief look into who Spiderman/Peter Parker is. That’s why this is a good place to start if you are new to the world of comics, and you like Spiderman. Anyways, the real action of this issue starts when we are introduced to yet another goblin, Menace. After a quick and dirty battle between Spiderman and this new goblin, we find out that Peter Parker is having trouble finding work, so he seeks Harry’s advice. Heeding this advice, Peter sells his photo’s of Spiderman to a newspaper that is competing with the DB, Front Line. While at the Front Line office, we find out that New York Mayoral Candidate Randall Crowne is behind a series of illegal sweatshops. Since things aren’t going so well for his campaign, the candidate decides to hire Norman Osbourne and his Thunderbolts to straighten things out. The Thunderbolts are made up of Venom, Songbird, and Radioactive Man. Anyways, mysteriously enough, we see that Eddie Brock in Martin Li’s homeless shelter, having been cured or the Symbiote. The issue ends when we see Peter Parker being ambushed by none other than Norman Osbourne and the Thunderbolts.

2008
09/06
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