Memorial Day

Please take time today to remember those that gave their lives to protect the citizens of this country.

Though gone, they shall never be forgotten.

-GJ

That's Just Scary

It's been a day chock full of racing; first there was the 100th running of the Indy 500, then Nascar's Nextel Cup race the Coca-Cola 600.

But here's why I'm posting about it...

First in the Indy 500 on the final lap, race leader J.R. Hildebrand crashed coming out of turn 4 and ended up finishing second as he skidded across the finish line on three wheels.

Later in the evening was the Coca-Cola 600. This time on the final lap, leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. ends up running out of gas coming into the final turn and ends up 7th.

Now what makes this really interesting...look at the photos, notice something?

That's right, the primary sponsor for both of these cars is "THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL GUARD" How weird is that? I don't think that's ever happened before.

Congrats to Dan Wheldon for his win in the Indy 500 and to Kevin "Where Did He Come From" Harvick for his win of the Coca-Cola 600.

-GJ

R2-Dew2...?

I want one!!! Don't you?

-GJ

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is the fourth installment of the franchise brought to us from Disney.

Without ruining the movie by giving away too much of the storyline, in On Stranger Tides Capt. Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is forced to lead the infamous Capt. Blackbeard (Ian McShane) in the race to the Fountain of Youth against both the Spanish and English.

Also returning for this installment is Geoffrey Rush (Capt. Barbossa) and Kevin McNally (Gibbs). Along the Ian McShane, we also welcome Penelope Cruz (Angelica Malon) and Sam Claflin (Phillip Swift).

This movie really can be seen as good or bad depending on how much of a fan you really are.

If you're not a die hard fan of the franchise and are just looking for a movie to go see then On Stranger Tides is a fantastic choice. There is plenty of action, a really good storyline, and well timed humor from characters we can easily relate with.

Die hard fans on the other hand may find themselves a tad disappointed with this film for the following reasons...

• Though Depp portrays Capt. Sparrow flawlessly once again, at times it feels as if his jokes are simply forced they don't seem to run as smooth as in the previous films.
• No Orlando Bloom or Keira Knightley. The lack of Bloom is one apparent reason it seems the jokes are forced, Bloom and Depp had a chemistry that was definitely missing.
• There is plenty of action, but Pirates of the Caribbean always, always has a major ship engagement...just not this time.

If however fans can get past these few flaws and the one or two plot holes that are very very apparent, they may actually enjoy this film.

All in all, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is a film that everyone should give a chance and go see in theaters.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is a Jerry Bruckheimer film and directed by Rob Marshall.

Official Trailer


Check Out Another Blogger's Review

-GJ

Green Lantern Door Hanger

Just found this Green Lantern door hanger among the advertisements that the guys threw in with my comic book purchase this past week at Coliseum of Comics.

-GJ

To The Comic Book Store #28

How did it get to be Wednesday already? Not that I'm complaining, I like Wednesday, it's free comic book day down at my local Coliseum of Comics, I just want to know where the time goes these days.

Anyways...here is what we picked up this week...

FREE

PAID FOR

-GJ

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Trailer)

This cannot come out soon enough. Is there a gamer out there that can honestly say this is not for them?

-GJ

Top 5: Comic Book Villains

Check Out Our New Squidoo Lens For The Top 5: Comic Book Villains

-GJ

Marvel vs. DC - Round 2

Check out our Squidoo Lens dedicated to Gambit vs. Green Arrow

-GJ

Solo vs. Reynolds

The Han Solo (Star Wars) vs Malcolm Reynolds (Firefly / Serenity) debate will be one that will go on until the end of time, and over on Squidoo we've gone ahead and created a lens to help sort out this debate.

Check Out Our Han / Reynolds Duel Lens

-GJ

Google Logo 5-20-2011

Google logo for May 20th 2011 created by Matteo Lopez.

-GJ

Marvel vs DC - Round 1

DING! DING! DING!

Check out our Squidoo lens dedicated to BATMAN VS. SPIDER-MAN

-GJ

To The Comic Book Store #27

Ah Wednesday, you just can't come soon enough. This week however the run to the comic book store was quick and painless; not much going on, it was kinda quite which is very unusual.

But as usual we came away with some good stuff.

FREE

PAID FOR

-GJ

Do It Yourself - Magneto Helmet

You know you want to do this too.

-GJ

Stan Lee Cameo Update

Stan "The Man" Lee may not be appearing in X-Men: First Class (2011) but fear not he will be seen in Captain America (2011), The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), and is preparing to make his mark on The Avengers (2012).

But don't take my word for it, read it from the man himself...

-GJ

Thor (Movie Review)

Finally had the opportunity to catch Thor in theaters and was rather pleased with the way this film turned out.



First I must say Chris Hemsworth made a fantastic Thor. The accent suited the character perfectly as well as the arrogance Hemsworth was able to portray into Thor.

Thor also came with a great supporting cast...

• Natalie Portman - Jane Foster
• Anthony Hopkins - Odin
• Clark Gregg - Agent Coulson

And many more.

The story line was a well done and quite enjoyable; from Thor's rise, to Odin's teachings, and Loki's betrayal.

Asgard itself was graphically stunning. A lot of time and effort was obviously put into creating the home of the Gods.

Graphics all around were very good; of course your brain was aware that a lot of things had to be performed through CGI, but to the eyes everything looked so real that you forgot it was nothing more than mere CGI.

Thor of course is not a serious film from start to finish, and has just the right amount of humor, well spaced and well timed.

Like all other Marvel movies of course there are also a few Easter eggs.

• 1st - Stan Lee, can you spot him? (No Cameo for X-Men First Class)
• 2nd - Jeremy Renner portrays a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent named Clint Barton aka "Hawkeye"
• 3rd - Stay until the credits have finished. Worth the wait

If you are a fan of Thor, or comic books (especially Marvel) then Thor is a must see. For the average run of the mill movie goer, if you are just looking to escape reality for an 1 hour and 54 minutes without having to think to hard, then you too want to catch Thor.

**Though there is one problem I had, Thor removed his helmet very early on and never wore it again; he should have been wearing it on a couple of occasions at least.**

Don't forget that Thor will be back in Marvel's "The Avengers" (2012).

Check Out Another Blogger's Thor Review

-GJ

Smallville Finale (Review)

After ten years Smallville has finally come to an end.

Now I must admit I didn't watch most of Smallville's run; three episodes into the first season I said nuts with this, but gave it another shot during it's season seven run and was hooked.

As far as the finale goes though, it went as expected (which was not all good).

First the only physical action was between Clark Kent "Superman" (Tom Welling) and Oliver Queen "Green Arrow" (Justin Hartley); a fight that lasted all of a minute of airtime.

Next we have the fact that there was just way to much that needed to be wrapped up into this 2 hour finale. We needed to see what Lionel Luthor was up to, in what capacity Lex would show up in, when would Clark fly and get his suit, and the outcome of all the objectives Darkseid had set out to accomplish.

Now all of these were covered but for a two hour event, this was just way too much. Another two hours might have been helpful.



Over the last few episodes the show had been bringing in different characters / actors from throughout the last nine seasons, for their one final hoo-raa. Even Aaron Ashmore who played Jimmy Olsen made an appearance in the final moments of the finale (apparently playing a younger brother to Jimmy Olsen).

In the end, it was still a very impressive episode, everything wrapped up, favorites making one more run at glory, and an ending that allows for these characters to show up again somewhere in another DC tv show (Raven perhaps?).

So for a simple conclusion, if you have the chance to catch the season finale of Smallville...DO! And Smallville, you will be missed.


-GJ

No Stan Lee Cameo

Sadly we learned via Twitter last night (5/12/11) that creater of the X-Men, Stan Lee, will not be appearing in the upcoming Marvel movie X-Men First Class.

Up to this point Stan Lee has appeared in all Marvel movies featuring characters he created (Spider-Man, Iron Man, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Daredevil, Hulk).

So are you going to miss playing the "Where's Stan Lee?" game?

-GJ

A Special Thank You To NBC

You didn't pick up WONDER WOMAN and we couldn't be happier about that decision.

That's right folks NBC rejects pilot for David Kelley's Wonder Woman, so whatcha think, was this the right decision? (Yes, yes it was)

-GJ

To The Comic Book Store #26

Just when one thinks they are making progress catching up on one's comics, Free Comic Book Day at our local comic book store, Coliseum of Comics, just happens to roll around again (actually if you haven't realized this happens every Wednesday).

But this week I was well prepared; First I was able to acquire Eight (8) free comics, and then used my stamp card provided via the store which was in the amount of $10 which allowed me to pick up a grab bag with ten comics, one new release, and three from the $1 bin.

And of course without further delay, here they all are...

FREE

$1 BIN

NEW RELEASE

GRAB BAG

So there you go, twenty-two (22) comics and not a single penny spent.

Not all of these issues are top notch but hey free is free, right?

So what do you think?

-GJ

Will I Ever Catch Up?

Every week I post about my runs to the comic book store; a post that show cases the comics I've picked up for the week.

What you don't know is that I have been unable to get all of those comics read...

(So yeah, I'm only 46 behind at the moment.)

Sadly though this is not the only thing I'm behind on.

First there's my Warhammer 40K project...

Now this doesn't look like a lot but if you've ever done anything with Warhammer 40K you know these things can be time consuming; What's pictured here is probably at least another six months worth of work.

Then of course there's my Gundam Red Frame model...

(Man I haven't even taken off the shrink wrap to this one!)

I do have ideas for making this model look like its actually seen some action though; add scorch marks, highlights, and maybe some sand or grass to the feet.

There are also a score of other projects I'd love to be working on...

• Squidoo Lenses
• Stop Motion Movie
• Video Posts
• Sketches
• Movie Reviews

Just to name a few.

Okay so the goal is to complete at least 50% of these projects by years end; think I can do it?

Are there any projects you're behind on? Feel free to share them in the comments section.

-GJ

New Logo

CHECK OUT OUR NEW LOGO!!!!!!

Ok it's not the world's greatest logo, but it's our logo, so we're very happy with it.

-GJ

To The Comic Book Store #25

Trips to the comic book store are always entertaining. This week though, it's the employees that looked like the fools.

Why you may ask, well you see there is this little movie called Priest (out May 13th) that a customer asked if they had the comic for that it was based off of and nobody knew what he was talking about. Ok yes Priest was a graphic novel and not a comic, but four store employees (including the "comic specialist") never even heard of Priest. Sorry but that's sad.



Okay so now for what I picked up this week...

FREE

PAID FOR

Well that's if for this week, any questions?

-GJ

Add Audio To Comic Books?

Overheard while shopping at Coliseum of Comics a customer asked one of the employees the following question...

"Do you think comic books should be like greeting cards and play sound when you open it?"

He suggested that it would be neat if you opened a comic and a song started playing followed by an announcer to give out a little information on the issue. i.e. "Marvel Presents, X-Men #666, By Writer, With Artist...etc."

Of course this seems like a "neat" idea until you stop and think about this one tiny little thing...$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. That's right, you add audio and just like those once 99 cent greeting cards, you just tripled the price; and at already $2.99 to $3.99 per issue can we really afford to have this luxury?

Now if you wanted to have audio clips or even an entire issue narrated then our suggestion would be to stick that kinda stuff into the digital comics, but leave the print ones on silent; hey it's worked this long.

So what do you think; would you pay extra for your comics to have audio? Would you like to have this option for digital releases? Would you actually give a crap if you read comics?

-GJ