« February 2011 | Main | April 2011 »
If you listened to my latest podcast, Comic News Insider Episode 323, then you heard my review of Sucker Punch. And the secret audio I found of "Zack Snyder" and "Emily Brown" singing a song to the tune of "A Little Fall of Rain" from Les Miserables. While you should listen to the episode for it all, I thought I'd give you the song on it's own. It should soon shoot up the charts. You'll see! Enjoy.
Comic News Insider: Episode 323 is now available for free download! Click on the link or get it through iTunes! Sponsored by Dynamic Forces.
Reviews: FF #1, Lorna: Relic Wrangler #1, Sucker Punch
It's a big supersized show with lots to cover, so strap in! And, don't adjust that volume! We're back to normal sound. But don't get used to it just yet kids. Former co-host God Joe is back in town and has agreed to produce some episodes here and there. Must be all the liquor Jimmy used to bribe him. This week, Jimmy is joined in studio with comedy duo, Grace N' Michelle! They are Grace Helbig and Michelle Vargas. 2 incredibly funny and talented ladies who have a huge following. Grace and Michelle sit in to co-host and Jimmy brings back the "Converting to Comicdom" segment to see if he can turn them to the nerd side. They chat about the Captain America trailer, Samoas, friends in theater, and accidental racism. News includes: Marvel comics at Starbucks, Chew on Showtime, Geoff Johns on Aquaman, the Granito story, and Warner Bros. plans for DC movies. Jimmy also visited the Paley Center last week to see a panel with the cast of SyFy's Being Human. Listener feedback and more! Leave your iTunes comments! 5 stars and nothing but love!
Also, get a hold of us!
212 501 6246
Thanks for listening!
If you're not familiar with Invader Zim, then you must start watching it now. It was an animated series that first aired on Nickelodeon back in 2001. Brought to you from the crazy genius cartoonist Jhonen Vasquez (Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, Squee!) Official blurb from the Nick site:
"After botching the first invasion, invader Zim is eager to redeem himself to the leaders of his home planet Irk. They assign Zim an obscure, unimportant planet called "Earth" along with his sidekick Gir. Together they infiltrate human society disguised as a schoolboy and pet dog. Strangely, no one at "Skool" seems to notice him except for classmate Dib, who's an obsessed paranormal investigator. Dib tries to warn the world, but no one believes him except his sister Gaz, who doesn't care. Clueless but relentless, Zim roams Earth looking for weaknesses in our defenses and the big break that will win him praise and recognition from his leaders."
It was pure hilarity! I couldn't get enough. It was a huge hit with kids and adults alike. Heck, our first big celebrity interview for my podcast COMIC NEWS INSIDER was with Olivia D'abo who voiced "Tak" on the series. That's her with former co-host Joe and I. And here's an episode with her character in it.
There were about 50 episodes that aired over the years but it's been off the air for a long time. However, the cast was at InvaderCON in Atlanta this weekend and read a couple of the unproduced scripts live on stage. Awesome! Enjoy, meat puppets!!!
I stopped into the local piano bar where my friends work the other night. Just to have a few beers and catch up. At one point, the pianist starts playing "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey. I was a huge Journey fan back in the day and think the former lead singer, Steve Perry, is vocal perfection. As many of you may or may not know, some years back, the remaining members of Journey were looking for a new lead singer. They found Arnel Pineda from The Phillipines. Who fucking rocks and whose voice sounds eerily similar to Perry's. I'm 1/2 Filipino, if you didn't know, so I was quite proud of this dude.
All caught up now? Good. Anyway, I'm sitting at the bar when the pianist starts to play the aforementioned Journey song. I hear the woman next to me say this to her husband. "Journey! Woooo!!! I love Steve Perry!"
Another few seconds pass and she continues. "Too bad that got that damn Asian now".
Oh, racism. You're comically awesome sometimes!
By no means, am I an English major. And my grammar isn't perfect. But it really bugs me when people don't know the difference in certain homonyms. Specifically the following:
So many more though. I see people I know doing this all of the time. I get that typos happen and that auto-correct on phones is to blame often. But when people do it all of the time, it's just plain ignorance. People, please learn! If I see repeat offenders then I'm just going to start embarrassing you in public about it. I shall become the Homonym Police! Or Homo Po for short! Wait a minute. That doesn't sound right.
Take this all with a grain of salt. I am one to use what the kids call "street vernacular". Know what I'm saying, yo? Word.
Plus, I have an unnatural love for using ellipses...as they make me happy...so take that as you will...
Sucker Punch, Zack Snyder's new flick, is a visual feast. It lacks in story but has stunning visuals. It's getting a lot of hate across the interwebs. I'm sort of in the middle on it. It didn't really affect me to the point of being moved by the story. The "clever" plot twist at the beginning/end was pretty obvious. Still, hot girls with big guns? Yes, please! (Yes, I'm shallow. Have you met me?) Beautiful CGI and really awesome fight scenes helped to make up for the lack of character development. But just barely. I'm a sucker for good fight choreography, fun wire work and pretty pictures.
Oh this small plot I speak of? Girl gets thrown into a mental ward and fantasizes a way out. Simple as that. It's a giant video game/music video with smoking hot girls in it. The girls starring in the film are led by the exquisite Emily Browning. Abby Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, and Jamie Chung support with Carla Gugino as their matriarchal advisor. I think there were other people in there as well.
People are freaking out that Snyder's upcoming Superman film will suck. I loved Dawn of the Dead and 300. And I really liked Watchmen so I'm staying open minded. I'm more forgiving then most when it comes to films like this. (Heck, I was one of the few who actually liked Frank Miller's The Spirit). It wont change your life by seeing it but if you're into video games and like watching beautiful girls kick ass, then you might dig it.
Your choice. Choose wisely. Or get Sucker Punched!!!
I miss out on the Girl Scout cookies every year it seems. And each year they go on sale, I hear about people getting them but can never seem to find them myself. They aren't available online. The official site says you should seek out a local girl scout group. A bit creepy, if you ask me.
I lamented about not having my favorite GS cookies, Samoas, all week. Even on my podcast, Comic News Insider. And lo and behold...my cry was heard! Mad thanks to loyal listener Jesse for sending me 2 boxes! Pardon me if I get crumbs on this post. Nom to the nom.
I attended the SyFy Being Human panel/screening at the Paley Center last night. If you're not familiar with the show, it's based on the original BBC show of the same name. Basically, a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost try living together as normal humans. Sounds like a bad joke, but I've been a big fan of the UK version. Lotsa fan controversy when the US one was being made since the UK one is still airing (Season 3 just ended over there and is close to ending on BBC America over here). I've never been one of those who just blindly hate something before it happens like so many other viewers. That being said, I did question why they were doing it since the UK one is still airing.
I watched the first episode and really liked it. And it's gotten amped up since then. Finding it's feet already. There are a few similar plot points to the original but it's already veered into it's own show. And that's a good thing. The show stars Sam Witwer as vampire Aidan, Meaghan Rath as ghost Sally and Sam Huntington as werewolf Josh. Immediate comparisons to the actors on the UK version, of course. They are making the roles their own and doing a great job at it. It's about 9 or 10 episodes into it's 13 episode season 1.
At the Paley Center, the 3 leads appeared along with recurring co-star Sarah Allen who plays vampire Rebecca. I loves her lots! Also in attendance was Mark Stern, the President of Original Content for SyFy.
I was there as a guest of Jill Pantozzi (aka The Nerdy Bird) but not as registered press. Jill was there conducting interviews. For some reason, I've never registered with the Paley Center. As I waited for Jill to arrive, the stars started to come in. Funny moment when Sam Huntington and Meaghan Rath entered. They are stopped by the ticket taker woman who asks them for tickets. Without missing a beat, Sam says, "Tickets? I don't know. Do we have tickets for this?" All the while checking his pockets in a comedy manner. It was pretty funny! Since I wasn't there as press, I didn't feel like I could approach them to ask questions. But, I had my iPhone recorder so I was able to ask Meaghan a quick question. Of course, I took lots of pictures.
Once everyone was gathered inside, we got a few words from Mark Stern and then were treated to next Monday's episode. And boy, was it a powerful one. No spoilers but big things happen! Quite moving and funny at the same time. Really great performances all around. After the screening, the cast was brought up and the moderator started in with the questions. Some highlights:
The cast genuinely got a long and there was much camaraderie. They were cracking each other up (as well as us) the entire time. Always great to see a cast get along so well. You can often tell when some don't like each other but they all are great friends.
It all ended with a quick Q&A from the audience. And that was that! Really fun time. I got to sit in as Jill interviewed Witwer. She'll probably have those interviews up on her site and/or Newsarama at some time in the near future. So, check 'em out! Thanks again to Jill for getting me in as her guest! I'll be chatting about it a bit on next week's episode 323 of my podcast, COMIC NEWS INSIDER. Tune in!
Comic News Insider: Episode 322 is now available for free download! Click on the link or get it through iTunes! Sponsored by Dynamic Forces.
Reviews: The Guild: Tink One-Shot, Ruse Vol 2 #1, Spider #1, Xombi Vol 2 #1, The Downsized
Stepping into the rotating co-host chair this week is good friend Heidi MacDonald (The Beat). Heidi gives a great recap of last week's big Chicago comic convention, C2E2. Jimmy hopes his real journalist pal wont call him out on his fajournalism. They chat about Jimmy being interviewed in Stated Mag, wish William Shatner a Happy 80th, judge the first pic of Adrianne Palicki in herWonder Woman outfit, Pop Funk Archie t-shirts and the new Simon Pegg/Nick Frost/Seth Rogen movie Paul. News includes: Zack Snyder's plan for his Superman film, new Sailor Moon in the U.S.,The Sandman TV series is back on, Steve Rude needs an intern and Darren Aronofsky leaving theWolverine movie. Listener feedback and more! Leave your iTunes comments! 5 stars and nothing but love!
Also, get a hold of us!
212 501 6246
Thanks for listening!
We had the "Super Moon" last night. Look up the scientific hoo ha to explain it all, kids. The lame "moon" jokes came out all over Twitter (#SuperMoon) and elsewhere. Here are some of mine (and I'm sure others used them before and/or after I did):
One of the best on Twitter was from a proper science type. Professor Brian Cox (from the UK) had this to say.
Got it, nobbers? You can put your end of the world signs away now. At least until another 18-20 years.