Jumper Review

Although this movie had great potential, it is all pretty silly and even somewhat confusing. It concerns a boy who discovers his ability to travel through time portals.



Later, after all of this jumping around, another group is out to get these "jumpers". It's not really satisfactorily explained why.



The overall exercise seemed to be to do a lot of on location shooting. It's not boring, however, just kinda stupid.



Hayden Christensen (Darth Vader) still can't act and Samuel L. Jackson does his best with more subpar material.



Brainless, mindless, fun, but don't expect much more.

Pogen Cookies and Frank Zappa

One of the best Frank Zappa songs is this one called "Florentine Pogen". For fun, I decided to do a search on the Internet to see if anyone knew what a "Florentine Pogen" was. I do, but I just wanted to see what others said.



Amazingly, little is known about these Swedish cookies. and most people hadn't even heard of them. I was living in Southern California in the early 70s as was Zappa. His song debuted in 1974. It has nothing really to do with the cookie, other than the name, but Frank must have been eating them just the same. The Florentine ones were probably the best ones they made.



Apparently, the Pogen Cookie Company is really spelled Pagen in Sweden, but people in the US would probably pronounce it pay-gen, so that's why the change to Pogen.



Nobody seems to remember the many varieties of Pogens. I still have a brochure about the cookies and besides Florentine Pogens, there was Oatmeal Pogens, Toffee Pogens, Sprits Pogens, Walnut Pogens, Raspberry Pogens, Sugar Pogens, Ginger Snap Pogens, Pogens Pistachio, Apricot Pogens, Chocolate Chip Pogens, Coco-Mint Pogens, Half Moon Pogens and Space Pogens.



I remember trying them all as a kid, and remember that most if not all of them were pretty good. I never quite understood why they called the pistachio Pogens Pogens Pistachio, but oh well.



So now you know...

Cloverfield Review

I really wanted to see this, but was also hesitant, because I thought it would be another "Blair Witch Project", a movie I hated.



What a pleasant surprise to see that it actually had a story. It has been told many, many times before, namely in multiple "Godzilla" films, but the "live coverage" look made it seem fresh and new.



A problem I have with the shaky camera bit in 2008, however, is that there are more and more stabilizers in cameras these days, that the shakiness is almost moot, yet camera operators keep doing it. A telling scene is one where the crowds are surrounding the head of the Statue of Liberty (mercilessly out of scale I might add), and they are using their cell phones to capture the action and the images in their phones are quite stable and everyone's trying to get a good shot.



Finally, at 85 minutes, it's just a tad too long to make this feature film worthy. It would have made for a marvelous half-hour episode of the original "Twilight Zone".



Overall, it is worth seeing just to see a very noble experiment, but be prepared to get a little queasy with all of the camera movement.

"Liverpool 8" is Great!

Ok, people probably think that since I am a Beatles fan that I like anything and everything The Beatles put out. Not so. I am, however, very impressed with Ringo Starr's output for the last decade. Every album, save for "Choose Love" from 2005 has been remarkably good. It's too bad most other Beatle fans don't think so.



"Liverpool 8" follows in the traditions of 1998's "Vertical Man", 1999's "I Wanna Be Santa Claus", 2003's "Ringo Rama", and 2005's "Choose Love". "Choose Love" was a major disappointment compared to the others on this list, but still leaps and bounds ahead of Ringo's late 70s and early 80s output. In fact, if you compare the last decade to Paul's solo output, Ringo's has been far, far superior (although Paul finally emerged with a good album last year with "Memory Almost Full").



For those wanting to explore Ringo beyond "Yellow Submarine" and his early solo hits, I'd recommend the above five studio albums. They are all hard-rocking and are fun, "good time" albums that all feature catchy hooks and melodies.



I have listened to "Liverpool 8" three times already since purchasing it yesterday, and know that I will be listening to it a lot more.

Persepolis Review

I recently saw an advance screening in San Francisco of "Persepolis", an
animated feature film based on the graphic novels by Marjane Satrapi. The
screening was through the SF branch of ASIFA, courtesy of Karl Cohen. I invited
Lee Hester of Lee's Comics to join me to see this and he enjoyed the screening as well.



The screening had its share of a few comic book notables in the audience, namely
Trina Robbins ("Go Girl" and "From Girls to Grrrlz") and her partner Steve
Leialoha ("Spider-Woman" and "Batman" among others). Lee shared some of his
popcorn with them.



As for the movie, I didn't know what to expect. I actually expected a
disturbing, depressing tale and even though I have eyeballed the graphic novels
(on sale at Lee's Comics!), I never have actually read them for that very
reason. I shouldn't have had such a jaundiced view.



What a refreshing surprise to find that it wasn't really about any particular
political events, although the overthrow of the Shah and the Iran-Iraq War was
mentioned and even shown briefly, it wasn't the main focus of the story.



The real story was about Satrapi herself and her story is so universal, it
really could be told anywhere by anyone. I could even write a story about my
struggles of trying to be a writer and trying to maintain a job and
relationships that would be vaguely similar to Satrapi's.



There were some truly funny moments including Satrapi's pursuit of pirated audio
music cassettes and also her escapades with her various loser boyfriends.



That said, the film is not bereft of some tragedy, but like I said, it isn't the
sole focus. Satrapi has had a well-rounded share of life experiences.



The film is in French with English subtitles, but don't let that keep you away.
It's a very entertaining feature film. I suppose it didn't have to be animated,
but I am glad that it was and it is somewhat similar in art style to Charles
Addams.



Incidentally, Persepolis is the name of an ancient Persian ceremonial capital.
Of course, the present day capital of Iran is Tehran.

No Country For Old Men Review

I love the Coen Brothers. I have loved every movie they have done except "The Ladykillers", which I do not know why they did. It's like remaking "Gone With the Wind" or something.



Anyway, I'm happy to report that "No Country for Old Men" has taken the Coen Brothers back to "Blood Simple" and "Miller's Crossing" territory with excessive gore and a great story.



Javier Bardem is a totally ruthless killer and Tommy Lee Jones personifies the real cop, meaning that Bardem gets away with it, and Jones can't find any clues. This is what makes the film disturbing for people. They hope that "CSI" would come to the rescue.



If you are not a Coen Brothers fan, or if you aren't familiar with their work, I'd suggest starting with "Fargo" and "The Big Lebowski", arguably their two best films. Follow this up with the aforementioned "Blood Simple" and "Miller's Crossing" and then try this, and you will be deeply impressed.

Simpsons Movie Review

I haven't written a blog in awhile just because I have been exceedingly busy with the holidays and such. Anyway, I finally saw the "Simpsons Movie" last night on DVD and have to say that I half like it. I have given up on "The Simpsons" as of last season as the writing has really gone downhill. I didn't even want to see the movie because of this. I later found out that the movie was written by some of the older writers. This made me more excited to see it.



What's interesting is there is a joke about 2/3's of the way through the picture where it says, "To Be Continued" at the top of the screen. What's amazing is that the last half hour of the movie really sucked!!



I believe the first hour of the movie was written by the earlier writers, while the last half hour was written by the current team. It's just that noticeable! See for yourself if you don't believe me. I was laughing for the first hour and then then laughs completely dropped off especially when they were trying to be funny.



Even the first hour had moments of lousy humor...Spider-Pig, give me a break!!



Ultimately, what could have been the best Simpsons story just felt like a standard half hour show padded out to 90 minutes. Very disappointing.

Beatles 2008 Group. Join now!

Hi,

I'm Mark Arnold and I'm writing a book about The Beatles, my favorite group. It's currently over 300 pages and I hope to have it completed by next Summer with a Fall 2008 release date. I'm looking for artists and advertisers. Anyone who's artwork is used will receive a free copy of the book when it is published (Limit one book per artist).

The URL is http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/Beatles2008/?yguid=3662762

Please join my Yahoo! Group!

Thanks so much!

Regards,
Mark Arnold
thft@att.net

Juno Review

My friend Lee and I saw an advanced screening for "Juno", about a sixteen-year-old who "accidentally" gets pregnant. Though I initially was hesitant about it (as was
Lee) as it may be extremely sappy, it came across as quite humorous and even
edgy.



I have compared it to the best of Dan Clowes movie work like "Ghost World" in
style, as well as "Little Miss Sunshine" in attitude, so if you like either of
those films, you will probably enjoy "Juno".



Everyone does a credible acting job, especially people who kind of surprised me
like Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman as the hopeful adoptive couple. Ellen
Page is really outstanding as the teenage mom to be, with a surly and nasty edge
to her, and she looks young enough to be 16, even though in real life she's actually 20 (21 in February).



It's funny that many in the cast has done a superhero movie. Ellen Page
portrayed Kitty Pryde in "X-Men 3: The Last Stand". J.K. Simmons (who portrays
Juno's father) is best known as J. Jonah Jameson in the "Spider-Man" films. Of
course, Jennifer Garner was Elektra in "Elektra" and "Daredevil". And Jason
Bateman did the voice of Hermes in an episode of "Justice League" (ok, it's a
stretch).



Other good acting is by Allison "West Wing" Janney as the stepmom and Michael
"Superbad" Cera as the nerdy boyfriend who gets Juno pregnant in the first
place.



We got free t-shirts and split a popcorn and enjoyed a great show worth seeing.

Beowulf is Amazing!!

Thanks to ASIFA (The International Animated Film Association), I got a free pass to an advance screening of "Beowulf". I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know it was animated, nor did I know that it was in 3-D until a few hours before seeing the picture.



I saw the picture and the Century Theaters in the new annex of the San Francisco Center and boy, are those nice theaters with leather seats and everything. The Center itself rivals the best of Las Vegas in their shopping areas.



Anyway, got the glasses, which were not cheap either. They were heavy duty "Austin Powers" type glasses with polarized lenses, the only way to see 3-D. Forget that "red-blue" stuff. We also got free popcorn and a drink to boot!



Unfortunately, someone didn't tell the projectionist how to run a 3-D film and the film look double-imaged, or basically how it looks without wearing the glasses. Some people gave up quickly and walked out, but the projectionist kept trying.



Eventually, after about a half-hour, the folks from Paramount apologized and said that they did not have a flat print, and they couldn't get the 3-D print to work, so people started filing out.



I was slowly gathering my things, because I never make a hasty exit out of the theater, when suddenly one stubborn guy started yelling and applauding. I quickly put the glasses back on and looked at the screen and it was in F*&%ing #-D!!



Now, I've seen 3-D films before, so the novelty isn't that new for me, but I was concerned more with the story than the effects. Let me tell you, YOU MUST SEE THIS FILM! If you've seen films like "Final Fantasy" or "Polar Express" and how they claim that this was lifelike animation, "Beowulf" blows it all away!! There were times when I thought that this was a live-action film, the animation was so good!



The effects were excellent, the story very entertaining and engaging with some elements of humor, and it was worth waiting for. Too bad 90% of the patrons had already left. They missed a great show and will probably tell their friends that 3-D and "Beowulf" sucks!



My highest recommendation!! 2007 has been the best year for films this decade by a longshot!

Ringo in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

Should Ringo be inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an individual as
much as a member of The Beatles? Of course! If you are just looking at chart
action, Ringo has done more on the charts than George or even John ever did in
the solo years and he was the first ex-Beatle to have two back-to-back #1's
(from the same album, even)!



So what if Ringo doesn't write his own music all the time, he's the Beatle's
Beatle. Ringo is the only one seen hanging around consistently with the other
ex-Beatles. How often did you see John and Paul hang out together, or Paul and
George immediately after the break-up? Ringo was always the glue that held
everyone together and was able to get the others to help him out on his albums
consistently, and really enjoyed being around his "brothers".



Currently, you see Ringo and Paul hanging out together so often, you'd think
they were married!



Ringo is also the only one who could conceivably pull-off the All-Starr Band
concept year after year and keep his ego in check.



Ringo is also known for literally being "Ringo". Even people who don't know all
of The Beatles by name or looks or even know or care about The Beatles seem to
know Ringo by name or sight.



Ringo is also a survivor! When many of his contemporaries have left us (not
always by their own volition), Ringo continues on and on and soon into his 70s!
He battled drug and alcohol addictions, a near fatal car crash, and almost died
in the late 70s from an intestinal problem, yet he survived!



Ringo has never been respected as he has always been perceived as goofy, but
that goofiness is also charming and Ringo is also very lovable and intelligent
as well.



Without Ringo, there would be no Mr. Conductor, no All-Starr Bands, no "I'm the
Greatest" with John and George, no "Octopus's Garden", no "It Don't Come Easy",
no "Photograph", no "Ringo" album!



Sure, Ringo has put out a lot of crap ("Sextette", "Ringo the 4th", a cover of
"Where Did Our Love Go"), but he's always charming and interesting to watch what
he'll do next, which is more than you can say about 90% of others in the music,
movie, TV or animation fields.



Please induct him now!

My Encounter With Stan Lee

Reading Lee's Comics' recent encounter with Stan "The Man" Lee, reminded me of my own
"personal encounter" with him. Check out Lee Hester's blog on one of the links on this page.



I've seen Stan Lee being paraded around many times at the San Diego Comic
Convention (now called Comic Con International) during the 90s and 00s, but one
year (I believe it was 1995, but I've been to San Diego so many times, the
memory clouds as to exactly what year it was), I got to meet the man himself.



Anyway, on this particular occasion, I was doing my usual rounds on the sales
floor scanning the boxes for more elusive Harvey Comics and the like, when I
poked my head behind a half-closed curtain that was close by.



There was some rustling and that's what attracted my attention. Behind the
curtain was Stan Lee! He was packing up some stuff and placing it in a
briefcase. I introduced myself and then asked him what was going on.



Stan said that he just completed a presentation and that he was going to be
going shortly to a signing. I asked him, "Where is everyone?" Stan and I looked
around and realized that no one was around, so I decided to take this
opportunity to chat with him until his "handlers" arrived.



I asked him how the show was going for him and he said, "very well", and then we
started talking about just general stuff like current movies that we liked and
stuff. I also mentioned that I had a "Fantastic Four" book from the 70s with his
signature in it, and he said he probably signed it, because he signed a lot of
books like that in those days.



I mentioned my "Harveyville Fun Times!" publication and he wished me luck with
that as publishing is a difficult field to break into. Soon, someone came up
and said that Stan was needed for his signing. I said good luck to him and that
it was nice meeting and chatting with him. Stan agreed and was led away to his
next event, and I resumed looking through old boxes of books.

Disturbia Review

I had a free pass to see this before it came out, but either in conflicted with something else or I wasn't that interested in seeing it. In any case, I have now viewed it on DVD and it is a very good film. Just don't tell anyone it is really "Rear Window"!



I get annoyed with the dozens of remakes that are made every year and I always say that why don't filmmakers just take the same stories and create new characters and new situations with essentially the same plot, instead of just a straight remake. This is was happened here, and I think the film's better for it.



That's why "Risky Business" is as good as "The Cat in the Hat" (the book at least) and the recent "Martian Child" is as good as "Lilo and Stich" or "Clueless" is as good as "Emma" or "West Side Story" is as good as "Romeo and Juliet", etc., etc.



If you've seen "Rear Window" you know the basic plot, but instead of the voyeur being holed up due to a broken leg, he has a leg brace due to a conviction and cannot leave his home beyond 100 feet or so.



The suspected killer is near by and like "Rear Window", nobody believe the main character's paranoia. The main thing that sets this apart is that the story is updated to the 21st century to include the latest technology and attitudes. This is what really sets everything apart. The women in the film are sexy like in "Rear Window", but they're also strong and have no problem stabbing and kicking instead of just cowering in the corner while their man saves them.



Highly recommended!!

Are Comic Books For Kids?

I read an article just now called, "An Audience Worth Fighting For!" by Zach Smith.



While I generally agree with the author's statements, I do disagree with the
statement that "Comic books were originally created for kids." While kids have
been the main readers of comic books since their inception, the realities are
that comic books were created to make money, which is why they aren't targeted
to kids anymore. The people who have money now and are willing to spend on comic
books are fans who grew up with the books, which is why they are targeted to
them.



EC (and Harvey for that matter) did horror comics that many adults read, not
because they wanted to destroy young minds, but because they were making money
at it, and they enjoyed doing them. Sure, there were companies out there
concerned about such things as whether you are warping kids' minds (i.e. Archie)
and that's why they helped initiate the Comics Code, but also "Archie" didn't
sell half as well as those old horror books, so there was some personal interest
vested in getting a Code established.



That's like saying, "Animated cartoons were originally created for kids." I've
watched enough animation documentaries to confirm that most animation was
created by animators to entertain themselves. They really didn't care who was
watching it, and as long as they got their paycheck, they continued to put out
product. Since most "responsible" adults especially from the Great
Depression/WWII era considered spending any money on "frivolous junk" i.e. comic
books, it fell on the kiddies who had no concept of "saving money for a rainy
day", and would eagerly spend, so the books were geared towards them as a
result.



Nowadays, since adults are very willing to spend hundreds, even thousands on a
single book, why print up a cheap 10c book for some kid to read and trash, when
you can print it in a deluxe hardback on glossy paper and charge a big price for
it! The content then has to follow suit so the Comics Code is more of a
formality than anything else.



It is the harsh realities of the industry.

Martian Child Review

I didn't know what to expect from this film. I did a little investigating beforehand and discovered that it was sort of a science fiction tale and starred John Cusack and his sister (playing his sister, so what a stretch) Joan Cusack. I also discovered that the movie was based on a story written by David Gerrold, best known to me as one of the writers of the original "Star Trek", so I was intrigued.



So it is a story of a small boy who claims to be from Mars and I won't spoil it by saying which way it goes, but I will say that it is very satisfying. Admittedly, the film volleyed dangerously close to being syrupy but it has enough humorous and harder situations to keep it on an even keel.



I will say that despite my respect for Mr. Gerrold, I realized after I saw the film that the story was not entirely unique. In fact, I figured out that it is awfully a lot like "Lilo and Stitch", the Disney animated movie from a few year's back!!



Ultimately, unless you don't like movies that are in the least bit heartwarming, I would give it a try. The film is nicely paced, and although it kind of wraps up a little too neatly, it leaves you with a nice, good feeling.



As a footnote, I saw the movie in a Palo Alto theater when a 5.6 earthquake hit. It's interesting to see how people react in different situations. I usually just take natural disasters in stride, but I did check around to see if I or anyone else was in danger of some chandelier falling or something, but this was one of those crummy box theaters, so I just sat there calmly, figuring that I'd duck beneath the seats if the shaking got heavier. Other people tended to be more vocal and when the shaking was done a few leaped out of their seats and onto their cell phones.

Bay Area Comic Book and Animation Group

This is the local group that was on Meet Up during the first half of
2007 designed to get all fans of comic books and animation of the San
Francisco Bay Area together to attend events or parties related to
comic books and animation. It can be an organized event like a comic
book convention, a tour of a museum like the Cartoon Art Museum in San
Francisco, or a film festival, or you can even host a party in your
own home.

Just so no one feels left out, we invite fans of all genres, not just
Marvel and DC. We encourage fans of Harvey, Archie, EC, etc. to join
as well. So let us know and on we go....

We're at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BACBAAG

Envy Review

I was recommended to see the movie "Envy" with Ben Stiller and Jack Black. While I liked the cast and the story, the execution was a little off. The movie had its moments and a few laughs, but it didn't grab me completely like some of their other movies. I did really like Christopher Walken who always seems to play some suitably creepy character. Stiller and Black did their usual shtick, so if you are not a fan of their previous work, this movie won't help.



The story as it is concerns Black inventing a dog poop spray that makes it disappear. Stiller claims that this is not possible. Black proves him wrong, becomes a zillionaire, and then the fun begins.



Rachel Weisz and Amy Poeler also star, though a friend of mine who watched it with me wondered what Weisz was doing in a film like this. I liked it better than she did.

30 Days of Night Review

Saw this and didn't know what to expect. What started out as a half-way decent vampire flick degenerated into a very stupid one. The main hero did something near the end of the movie that made absolutely no sense whatsoever, especially as it occurred near the end of the 30 days. They waited that long, they could have kept going.



It was strongly reminiscent of the original "Night of the Living Dead". So much so that it almost seemed cookie-cutter in its approach. Also, the vampires weren't terribly threatening. They just seemed to wander around and howl a bit, and occasionally feast. It seemed like you could overwhelm them rather easily.



Another thing, every so often the main character would say that everyone had to move from their hiding place. Why? Their hiding place wasn't discovered. Wouldn't they be discovered more easily by all that moving around? And also, early on in the movie, they announced that they would sleep in shifts. By the end of the month, they seemed to stay up all the time.



In another scene, an ultra-violet lamp was used to great effect until the vampires cut the power. This is Alaska. You would think that they would have an extra generator or two up there.



I like vampire films from "Nosferatu" to Lugosi "Dracula" to Lee "Dracula" to Coppola "Dracula", but this one was unfortunately stupid.

Haven't Posted in a while

Life has been a whirlwind as of late. After being completely out of work for over three months, I got a job and also a lot of projects are coming down the pike. This is good. You'll hear more about them as time goes on, I'm sure, but for now, I just wanted to post another blog before too long. I used to do these things every day, you know!

Looney Tunes Volume 5 List is Out. Some Titles STILL Missing

Well, it's another year and another year for me to be disappointed, but less so, as quite a few from my list of 66 two years ago has dwindled down to 49. Here are the remaining cartoons I would like to see on DVD before I die! BTW, if you want to know what IS on Volume 5, check it out on Amazon.



1. The Village Smithy
2. Egghead Rides Again
3. Porky's Hero Agency
4. Cinderella Meets Fella
5. Hamateur Night
6. Porky's Picnic
7. Porky the Giant Killer
8. The Timid Toreador
9. Porky's Cafe
10. Horton Hatches the Egg (I know this is on a Dr. Seuss collection, but I want it on a Looney Tunes collection)
11. Fresh Hare
12. The Impatient Patient
13. Coal Black and De Sebben Dwarfs
14. Tick Tock Tuckered
15. Daffy Doodles
16. Birth of a Notion
17. Hot Cross Bunny
18. Daffy Dilly
19. A Lad in His Lamp
20. The Bee-Deviled Bruin
21. A Ham in a Role
22. Mutiny on the Bunny
23. It's Hummer Time
24. Hare We Go
25. Rabbit Every Monday
26. Chow Hound
27. Ballot Box Bunny
28. Thumb Fun
29. The Hasty Hare
30. Fool Coverage
31. Hare Trimmed
32. I Gopher You
33. No Parking Hare
34. Beanstalk Bunny
35. Hare Brush
36. This is a Life?
37. Dime to Retire
38. The High and the Flighty
39. Rabbitson Crusoe
40. Bedevilled Rabbit
41. Piker's Peak
42. Ducking the Devil
43. Hareway to the Stars
44. Bonanza Bunny
45. From Hare to Heir
46. Wet Hare
47. Bill of Hare
48. Mad as a Mars Hare
49. Dr. Devil and Mr. Hare