Author Archive

The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien: Four Emmy Nominations

Friday, July 9th, 2010

Proof positive of the effectiveness of being creative, original and actually funny: The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien has not only been nominated for one Emmy, but FOUR.  And Jay Leno’s Tonight Show received no nominations.  Not only that, but ratings since Leno returned have been worse than they’ve been since 1993.  NBC actually congratulated Conan, saying “We congratulate Conan and all our nominees on their creative accomplishments and their deserved nominations.”

Conan also tweeted about the nominations, saying “Congrats to my staff on 4 Emmy nominations. This bodes well for the future of The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.”

(more…)

Wonder Woman’s New Look: More Modesty is a Good Thing

Saturday, July 3rd, 2010

Reading comics is always a double-edged sword.  When I was a teenager I recognized the ridiculous nature of the artwork with regard to the women as artists draw them.  I also recognize that they’re drawings.  That doesn’t mean that for some they won’t be something of a challenge, though.  Well, last week a new design was announced for Wonder Woman.  It’s not the first time her costume has been redesigned, but it is the most drastic.  The thing about it, though, is that it’s both realistic and functional.  It’s also far more modest than anything that she’s worn in the past, outside of an all white full body costume at some point that I’d never seen before.  I only wish that it had gone further with the modesty, but such is life.

Now, let me just say that I’ve never been that big of a fan of Wonder Woman.  The character is one that I only knew about because when I was young I’d watch Super Friends.  When the FX network was kicking off, they would show the old Batman show, followed by The Green Hornet, and I seem to remember watching the old Wonder Woman tv series there as well.

I also read some JLA and saw her again in the Justice League cartoon.  Otherwise, I really had no interest in the character.

That being said, I think that the new costume is the right direction for DC Comics to take her.  It’s something that adds a big more strength to her character and will earn her more respect.

(more…)

E3 2010: Nintendo News

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010

This week was Nintendo’s Press Conference at E3. The announcements that were made completely topped last year’s show and puts Nintendo on top as the definite winner of this year’s E3.  Last year I was a bit disappointed even though I was pleased by what was announced.  I was hoping for three properties to be announced that weren’t.  This year, those three properties were all accounted for: Donkey Kong, Kid Icarus and Zelda!

This year’s list is ridiculously long.  I can’t even begin to tell you how much Nintendo has just blown my mind.  While looking into the games that I wanted to write about, I found more games that Nintendo has announced at E3.
(more…)

Donkey Kong Country Returns! Coming to Wii, a true sequel!

Tuesday, June 15th, 2010

A couple of years ago I wrote an article called “Donkey Kong Country Trilogy, My Dream Game” never thinking that it would actually happen.  Nor that a true sequel would actually happen.  But this week I have been given an amazing gift from Nintendo.  They announced a new DKC game at E3!  This wasn’t the only game that surprised me at this E3 and I’ll be writing my response to a bunch of the games that Nintendo announced like I did last year.

This game, however, is enough for me to feel that Nintendo has won this years E3 Expo.  I know that this is a selfish reason, though.  I’m completely pumped about the game and look forward to jumping back into the DKC world when the game comes out this fall.  The original is my all time favorite video game, and I loved the sequels as well.  I just never dreamed that I would see another one so soon.

(more…)

Ninja Turtles Film Franchise in Platinum Dunes’ hands

Friday, May 28th, 2010

Since last fall’s purchase of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles rights by Paramount, the future of the film series has been in the air.  Now we have some idea of where it is going, just not what it’ll look like when it finally hits the big screen in a couple of years or so.  Paramount made a first look deal with the partners in Platinum Dunes, a company created to generate genre films as well as expand their scope.

The most interesting part of the deal is who makes up the partners in Platinum Dunes: Brad Fuller, Andrew Form and Michael Bay.  Yes, the same Michael Bay who is busy working on Transformers 3.  Apparently there is a meeting set in the next few weeks with writers for the project.

I can see how Michael Bay and Transformers was a good fit, but Michael Bay and TMNT?  That’s a mystery that remains to be seen.  He’s not the likely candidate to direct the film, but there isn’t a director list put together yet, at least in the public.

What would TMNT look like with Michael Bay at the helm?  What concerns me is what would become of the character of April O’Neil.

Lost – Series Finale – Amazing Ending to an Epic Adventure

Monday, May 24th, 2010

I loved the finale to Lost.  It really closed up the series well and captured all of the characters very well.  In a lot of ways it reminded me of my favorite book in the Chronicles of Narnia, The Last Battle.  Here are some reactions from around the internet:

James Poniewozik, Time:

The great puzzle of the last season of Lost has been: how can both the flash-sideways universe and the Island universe mean anything? If Sideways is the universe in which Oceanic 815 never crashed, who cares what happens on the Island? If the Island is where the characters’ fates are sealed, how can there be any meaning to what happens in the Sideways?

The moving, soulful finale that Damon Lindelof and Carleton Cuse gave us met that challenge. The Island world, we learned, absolutely mattered to the physical fate of the survivors. (And sci-fi purists ticked over the spiritual ending should at least give it up for this: what happened, did, indeed happen.) And the Sideways world mattered because it was the culmination of the spiritual, moral, human lives–the souls–of the characters.

It mattered, it moved, and it achieved.

Liz Kelly, Washington Post:

If, as some said, “Lost” was to be judged by its finale then all I can say is Damon and Carlton pulled it off. I’ve been crying and laughing and basically an emotional basket case for the last 2.5 hours. I could not possibly have asked for anything more. I am in awe.

Henry Hanks, CNN:

Answers or not, as two-and-a-half hours of television, the final “Lost” was extraordinary, and I think it accomplished what it set out to do: It was a very memorable ending, and people will be talking about it for years to come. One thing I never expected was how emotional I would feel watching this finale, and reflecting on it.

Jeff Jenson, EW:

“The End” was an emotionally draining epic that had me crying with almost every single “awakening” and has left me mulling the true significance of the Sideways world, which was revealed to be a Purgatory-like realm created by the souls of the dead castaways themselves.

Maureen Ryan, Chicago Tribune:

Finales are hard. And I must admit that my expectations for the “Lost” finale weren’t high. Perhaps later in the week, I’ll go into the reasons that caused me to lower my expectations. Suffice it to say, I just wanted Sunday’s finale to be … not bad. I was hoping for a middling ending, to be honest.

Yet “The End,” the show’s final episode, was so much more than middling. The first two hours were exciting and emotionally engaging, especially when the island castaways in the Sideways world began remembering their “real” lives. Those “flashes” were powerful and many cast members did some of their best work in those scenes. I got chills as I saw Juliet and Sawyer talk about that coffee date. Sun and Jin, Charlie, Kate and Claire — all their recollection moments were moving and powerful.

But the last half hour or so took the finale to another level.

Rex Hammock, Rexblog:

I think the creators of the show did precisely what they should have done with its finale: They gave the series a conclusion, but did not make it conclusive. In the same way any great work (and I’m not ready to place Lost in this category) of literature, mythology, philosophy or faith, there is still room for interpretation existing that offers those who want fundamental, simplistic answers to have one: “they all died;” as can those who want ambiguity that can provide the foundation for a lifetime of debate: “where was that plane flying to?”

Iron Man 2 – Another Marvel Comics Movie better than the First

Sunday, May 9th, 2010

Like many of you, I saw Iron Man 2 this weekend.  It was actually the midnight screening on the local (real) IMAX at Celebration Cinema.  I had a great time with this movie, and felt it was far more fun than the original.  It also had a greater sense of pace and handled a good number of leading characters very fairly and even handed, with much dignity for them all.  Even Black Widow was handled with proper respect for the character.  Having read some Black Widow comics, I was fully prepared for the character to be a very poor representation of the original, and was pleasantly surprised.

All of the action was turned up a few notches, and there wasn’t a very poor and generic villain that nobody had ever heard of this time around.  Instead, we had two villains to worry about.  An odd business tycoon that served as the generic villain of this film, but then an actual member of the Iron Man rogues gallery: Whiplash.  About time, Favreau.  The first film felt too much like Ang Lee’s Hulk by the end, with a villain that nobody really knew about, nor cared about enough to love to hate.  Granted, he wasn’t that extreme, but you get the idea.

What did I mean, about movie being better than the first?

(more…)

Young Justice: Animated Series on Cartoon Network – Fall 2010

Thursday, April 29th, 2010

One of my favorite comic book series was Young Justice.  The team consisted primarily of Superboy, Robin and Impulse (who is now called Kid Flash in the comic world).  Other original members included Wonder Girl, Arrowette and Secret.  The team’s guardian was Red Tornado.  The membership of the team changed as time went on.  Characters code-names changed, members came and went, and the series came to an end in 2003 as many of the characters joined Teen Titans.

This fall on Cartoon Network, the series that I never thought would happen is coming.  This is likely thanks to there already being a Teen Titans cartoon, so they don’t cause confusion by having another one.

(more…)

Star Wars Prequel Reboot: Blog #2 – Fans of the Saga

Saturday, April 10th, 2010

For this entry, I’ve been inspired to talk about Star Wars fandom, and what that has become since the prequels.  I became a fan of Star Wars while in junior high, this was in the mid-1990s, a few years before the Special Editions would come out in theaters.  Episode I: The Phantom Menace was released in the spring of my senior year, just prior to my high school graduation.  Until that time, the only fan related Star Wars hate revolved around the Ewoks, whom I had no trouble with and still don’t.

(more…)

New Denver the Last Dinosaur TV Series and Movie in the works

Saturday, April 10th, 2010

Do you remember the cartoon series Denver the Last Dinosaur?  This was a show that I used to watch when I was younger, about a group of teenagers that found a dinosaur egg that hatched, and the dinosaur that came from it became their friend and they had many adventures with him.  The show was highly acclaimed as being a very educational series as well.

World Events Productions, the company that holds the rights to this and Voltron, as well as created this series is currently at work on a new series as well as a potential film version.  They’re doing the same with Voltron, with Voltron: Panthera Force (now under the production title: Voltron Force) premiering this fall, and a live-action movie in active development.  It should have come as no surprise that they would also be interested in exploring a rejuvenation of another one of their properties.  Especially considering that the original series was recommended by the National Education Association for its engaging, non-violent storylines.

(more…)