Ultimate Avengers 2

Ultimate Avengers 2 Rise of the Panther
2006
Lionsgate DVD

Released about 6 months after the first film,this DTV animated film was the second of the now long running Marvel DTV animated films.

We have the same team as in the first film. But early on in the film we get introduced to Black Panther. Who is the King of the African country of Wakanda. After the aliens from the first film attack and do massive damage to his country Black Panther has no choice but to go ask the Ultimate Avengers for help.

What I liked about this film was that the animation is much better than the first film. Plus the story ,at least to my knowledge,isn't adapted from the Ultimates comic. So when I watched it I had no idea what was gonna happen next. Another thing I enjoyed was Black Panther. I have always been a fan of this hero. I like how how he is not only a superhero but the king of a country.

The DVD  sadly this time doesn't have that many extras. We get a featurette about the Ultimates comic. A gag reel. The same DVD-ROM game that was on the first DVD. And very short looks at the Iron Man and Dr Strange DTV animated films.

I get the feeling that this DVD didn't sell that well. The reason I think this is cause it has now been 6 years and we haven't gotten a sequel. Where as after the first one we got a sequel the same year. Hopefully with the mega success the Avengers film is having ,we might get another Ultimate Avengers DTV film. Ultimate Avengers 2 Rise of the Panther gets a C+.

Punisher War Zone

Punisher War Zone
2008
Lionsgate DVD

I have been a fan of the Punisher character since around the mid 80s. So in the late 80s and I heard about the upcoming Punisher film starring Dolph Lundgren as the Punisher I was very excited. Well the film never got a theatrical release in the USA. But as soon as it came out on VHS I rent it and hated it. Then in the mid 2000s I heard about a new Punisher film. This one came out in 2004 and actually got a wide theatrical release. I went opening night and was so fucking mad at how bad the movie was. So by the time Punisher War Zone came out I wasn't expecting a good film. Now for some reason no theater in my area got the film. And since the first two has sucked so much I didn't even bother renting it when the film hit DVD. Well fast forward to 2010,I am at a panel at Coast Con. And the host of the panel is telling me how great the film is. So as soon as I got back home I put it at the top of my Netflix queue. Got it in and ended up watching it 4 times in 4 days. Then went out and bought the DVD.

The Punisher this time is played by Ray Stevenson. And Ray does a great job as Frank Castle. The film is somewhat based based on Garth Ennis's run on the Punisher comic. What we get is one of the best action films in years. With in the first 20 minutes close to 100 people have died,most of them in amazing ways. I love how the film used Jigsaw. Jigsaw was one of the Punisher's few recurring villains in the comics. Dominic West is really good as Jigsaw,he captures the over the top aspects of Jigsaw. Wayne Knight as Microchip almost steals the show. But really the action is what makes this film so great. It perfectly captures the feel of the comic. Sadly the film did horrible at the box office. I want to say it is one of the lowest grossing theatrical released films based on a Marvel comic. So any chance of a sequel is very very slim. Which is too bad,cause since the film has come out it has gotten a cult following.

There is 2 versions of the DVD. A single disc and a double disc version. Now I have the single disc version. And besides a trailer it has no extras. Punisher War Zone gets a A.

Ultimate Avengers animated movie

Ultimate Avengers the Movie
2006
Lionsgate DVD

This was the first of a series of animated direct to DVD movies that Marvel started doing in the mid 2000s. Semi based on the Ultimates comic. The Ultimates comic is the Ultimate universe's version of the Avengers.

The film starts off in World War II. With Captain America stopping the Nazi's from launching a missile. He discovers that some of the Nazi's are actually shape shifting aliens. Cap ends up on another missile that gets launched. And when it explodes he falls into the cold waters of the North Atlantic. This causes him to go into a form of suspended animation. We jump ahead to the present day and Cap is found and revived by a team of Shield agents led by Nick Fury. Fury ends up recruiting a bunch of other heroes. They are Ant-man,Wasp,Iron Man,Thor and the Black Widow. And this newly formed team ends up having to fight off an invasion of the same aliens Cap discovered back in World War II.

Before seeing this film I had read the first series of The Ultimates. And really enjoyed it. I liked the different take on Captain America. Well the film is a weird mixture of The Ultimates comic plus the Marvel 616 continuity.Now I have heard some people say the animation in the film isn't that good. I would have to disagree,I thought the animation was pretty good for a direct to video film.

The DVD has a few extra features. The only one I really liked was a trivia track. When turned on the trivia track will give you various bits of information while the movie is playing. There is also a featurette,that seems to be mainly aimed at people that don't know much about the Avengers. The DVD also has a "What Avenger are you?" feature that you have to use a computer to access. I have never bothered to try this feature out. Ultimate Avengers the movie gets a B.

Ghost World

Ghost World
2001
MGM DVD

Ghost World is a film based on a comic book written and drawn by Daniel Clowes. The comic was serialized in Clowes anthology comic Eightball.Over the course of 4 years and and 8 issues Clowes put out one of my favorite comics.

I first read the comic back in late 1997. So when I heard it was being made into a film I knew I had to see it. The film got a very limited theatrical release. So I ended up having to wait for it to hit home video before I could see it. The day it came out I bought a VHS copy.

This is the story of two long time friends. Enid and Rebecca,who have just graduated high school. They were outcasts in their school. And are very happy to escape the hell that is high school. Well Enid ends up having to take a remedial art class during the summer to actually graduate. Well her and Rebecca have been planning on getting summer jobs and renting an apartment. Rebecca quickly gets a job but Enid is a slacker. And this drives a wedge between the two friends. But while this is happening Enid strikes up a friendship with Seymour,who is played by Steve Buscemi. Seymour is a lonely record collector. And he is amazed that a young pretty female like Enid would have any interest in him. Thanks to the some help from Enid,Seymour ends up getting a girlfriend and starts to become less of a social misfit.


Before this film I had no idea who Scarlett Johansson was. And she does a great job playing Rebecca. I also really didn't know who Thora Birch,who plays Enid,was. But after seeing the film I remembered her as the younger sister from Hocus Pocus. Ghost World showed me that both ladies are really good actresses. Now Scarlett doesn't have that big a role in the film,but the scenes she is in you can see the potential she had as an actress. Now Thora Birch is amazing,she is perfect as Enid. And actually looks almost exactly like how Enid was drawn in the comic.

The DVD has a decent amount of extra features. There is some deleted and alternate takes of scenes. A kind of disappointing making of featurette. The original theatrical trailer. And finally a music video for song "Jaan Pechechaan Ho". I wish there was a commentary on the film. One with Daniel Clowes,Thora Birch and Steve Buscemi would be interesting. Ghost World gets a A.

A History of Violence

A History of Violence
2005
New Line DVD

Directed by David Cronenberg and written by Josh Olson,A History of Violence is a film about a man who is trying to escape his past. Viggo Mortensen is Tom Stall. Tom owns a restaurant in a small town. One night some people try to rob the place and Tom quickly kills both of him. This causes him to become an overnight celebrity in the town. But all the media attention brings someone from Tom's past to the town.

I remember hearing about this film before it came out,and being a fan of Cronenberg's films I wanted to see it. But the movie only got a limited theatrical release. For some reason I completely forgot about it and never rented the DVD. Then back in 2008 I was on my way to work and stopped at Dollar General to get some snacks. Well they had the DVD and it was only $5. The cashier saw me looking at it and told me it was one of the best films she had seen in years. So I bought it and watched it that night at work.

Well after watching it,the next evening I got online and did some research on the movie. Turns out it is based on a graphic novel that was published in 1997 by Paradox Press,which was an imprint of DC comics. Also learned that to get a R rating the film was slightly cut. Some scenes of violence were shortened. As far as I know the uncut version has not been released on DVD in region 1.

Now I will have to admit that I have loved pretty much every film David Cronenberg  has done. And of his more recent work this is my favorite. The main cast are all really good. Viggo does an amazing job with what had to be a hard role. Maria Bello is really good as his wife. Before seeing this film I don't remember ever seeing her in anything else. Ed Harris and William Hurt also do great with their roles. This has to one of the most accessible Cronenberg films so far.

The DVD has a decent amount of extra features. There is a commentary with Mr Cronenberg. A making of documentary. And three featurettes. The best of which shows the differences between the US cut and the International cuts. There is also some deleted scenes. A History of Violence gets a A-.

Bongo comics Free for all 2010

Bongo Comics Free for all 2010

 What a great cover. Of course most comics fans will know it is a homage to the cover of Amazing Fantasy 15. With Comic Book Guy in the place of Spider-man. This was the first of the Bongo FCBD comics I ever picked up. We get 4 stories all starring various people from the Simpsons TV show.

The first story is titled "Clown Therapy". Starring Krusty the clown,it is about Krusty who is forced to add educational content to his kid's show. This causes him to freak out and his therapist tells him he needs to change jobs. So Krusty ends up working at the Springfield power plant. And of course wacky stuff happens. Written by Chuck Dixon with pencils by Phil Ortiz and inks by Mike Decarlo,Clown Therapy is a great story to start this issue off with.

Up next is "Maggie's Crib". This is a wordless 2 page story that is written and drawn by Sergio Aragones. I love how Maggie manages to outsmart Homer in this story.

The third story is "Homer beats the heat". It is summer time and Lisa is complaining about how hot it is. So Homer tries various things to help Lisa and him to stay cool. Written by Tony Digerolamo,pencils by Phil Ortiz and inks by Mike Decarlo,this is a fun little 5 page story.

The final story is "The League of Extraordinary Barts!". We have 3 different super hero versions of Barts from different Earths all teaming up. The only superhero Bart I had seen before was Bartman,but we also get a Mr Fantastic version of Bart. And a Bart that is the sidekick to Pieman. This is a great story that is full of all kinds of Easter eggs for comic fans. Written by Ian Boothby,with pencils by John Delaney and inks by Andrew Pepoy. This story is my favorite one in the issue and I would love to see more stories using this premise.

Overall this is a great comic. Plus it being free adds to it's greatness. Bongo Comics Free for all 2010 gets a A.

Bongo comics Free for all FCBD 2012

Bongo Comics Free for all FCBD 2012


Every year on free comic book day Bongo comics puts out a free comic. Most of the time the comic is loaded with great Simpsons stories. Usually it turns out to be one of my favorites of the FCBD choices. Sadly this year it was the worst one I got. 

We start off with a great cover of Comic Book Guy dressed up as various geek icons. We start off with a story about the Springfield bear patrol. It is a great funny little story. And sadly it is funnier than the Simpsons TV show has been in years. Up next is a Sergio Aragones story "My first Peso". This story seems to be auto biographical. And of course has great Sergio artwork. Well after that story it is time to flip the book over. WTF Spongebob? I have never been a SpongeBob fan. This side has one fairly long SpongeBob story. Then a one page gag strip. And both of them are pretty shitty. Now I know I didn't have to pay for this. But if I had known in advance that most of the book wasn't gonna be Simpsons stories I doubt I would have gotten it. Bongo Comics Free for all FCBD 2012 gets a C-.

1001 Classic Commercials DVD set

1001 Classic Commercials DVD

 I have been wanting to get this DVD set for a few years. But never saw it in any stores. Then last year I was trading some DVDs with a buddy of mine. And he had the set and didn't want it. So we worked out a deal. A few weeks later I got in a huge package. The first thing I watched was parts of this set.

The set has 3 DVDs. The commercials are grouped into categories. Like say toys,food,cigarettes,etc. Now I haven't watch every thing on all 3 discs. But what I have watched has been pretty fun. Sadly some of the commercials are in such bad shape they are really hard to see or hear. But then there is some that look amazing when you consider how old they are. One of my faves is one that has Bugs Bunny and the Monkees advertising Kool Aid. Plus I love all the various ads for toys and cigarettes.

I have noticed that this set keeps turning up in the Walmart $5 bin. And it is more than worth that price. 1001 Classic Commercials gets a B.

Blackstar the forgotten prototype for Masters of the Universe

Blackstar

Back in the fall of 1981 a new cartoon premiered on CBS Saturday morning. This  was Blackstar. John Blackstar is an astronaut who is sucked through a black hole and ends up on the planet Sagar. After arriving he meets the trobbits,which are pink hobbit like creatures that live in a tree. Blackstar ends up fighting off the evil Overlord. During this battle Overlord's weapon,the Powersword,splits into two parts. Blackstar ends up with one half and Overlord has the other half. The rest of the series is mainly about Overlord trying to get back the half of the Powersword that Blackstar has.

When I was a young kid this was my favorite cartoon. But sadly it only lasted one season. Blackstar was done by Filmation. And if you watch it you can see how lots of the plots and ideas from this cartoon were used later on in Filmation's Masters of the Universe cartoon. I can remember when I first saw the Masters of the Universe cartoon a few years later I was mad that it had ripped off Blackstar so much.

Now I never remember seeing this show ever in reruns or syndication. But from 1983 through 1985 the Galoob toy company produced a bunch of action figures. Each of the good guy figures came packages with a PVC figure of one of the Trobbits. Also I remember having one that had a flint sparker in the figure that made a symbol on the chest light up.

By the mid 2000's I had pretty much forgotten about this cartoon. Then BCI put out a DVD set that all 13 episodes. Some of which even have commentaries. I quickly bought it and sat down to watch it. Surprisingly it holds  up as good if not better than Masters of the Universe. This DVD set is out of print now. But isn't that expensive.

After doing some research I found out that over in France there was a short lived comic book based on the cartoon. I would love to find some copies,even though I can't read french. It seems weird that neither DC or Marvel did a comic book based on Blackstar. But that might be cause it only had the one short season.

With all the various 80's cartoon series coming back and getting comic books,I would love to see more Blackstar stories. Sadly this cartoon is mostly forgotten. Even among people of my age group most of them have no idea what I am talking about when I mention Blackstar. The Blackstar cartoon and DVD set get a solid B+.

Black History Month 2012 fifth movie

House Party
IFC airing
1990

I don't think I have seen House Party in over 15 years. But back when I was in high school Showtime showed it at least once a week for over a year. And I must have seen it close to 40 times back then. Somehow over the years I had forgotten about the movie and how funny it is.

The plot is simple Play is throwing a party at his house,cause his parents are away on vacation. He wants his buddy Kid to come and their buddy Bilai to be the DJ at the party. Well the day of the party Kid gets in trouble at school. And he knows if his father finds out there is no way he will be able to go to the party. So he tries his best to keep his father,played by the late Robin Harris from finding out. But of course his dad finds out and grounds him.

While this is happening we see Play getting ready for the party. Plus two girls Sharane and Sidney getting ready. The party is getting started and all seems like it is going good. But of course you know something has to go wrong.

Kid manages to sneak out,cause his dad has fallen asleep watching TV. So he starts walking to the party. But runs into so bullies that were fucking with him at school that day. And after some misadventures he finally gets to Play's house.

By this time the party is in full swing. We get to see lots of scenes of people dancing. And of course with this film being over 20 years old the clothes and dances are extremely outdated. Kid and Play have a dance off with Sharane and Sidney. And right after that Kid and Play have a friendly rap battle. One of the guys at the party passed out drunk. So while Play and another guy are carrying him home ,Kid offers to walk Sidney and Sharane home. Kid just barely misses his father who has arrived at the house looking for him.

Play gets back to the party to discover that someone has broken the toilet and left a huge stinking log in it. So he says the party is over and goes about kicking people out. Kid gets Sharane home to her apartment in the projects. It seems that he might have a chance with Sharane,but we find out that Sidney has a crush on Kid. So after he walks with her to her house she invites him inside. Kid is about to get him some when Sidney's parents come home early from a party. So Kid jumps out the window and is on his way home when he runs into the bullies from earlier. This ends with the bullies and Kid getting arrested.

Now Kid is in lock up and uses his one phone call to call Play to come bail him out. Well the bullies talk some of the other guys in the lock up into raping Kid. So in an attempt to prevent this Kid launches into a freestyle rap. Somehow this keeps the rapists off him until Play gets there to bail him out. Finally sometime early in the morning Kid gets back home. He makes it all the way into his bedroom with out his father seeing him. He is about to jump into bed when his dad catches him. And the credits start to roll. During the credits we here Kid's father beating the shit outta him.

Now the film is dated. But still I was laughing my ass off through out most of the film. Shit I now want to see if it is out on Blu ray. Somehow I doubt it is,but a DVD will be almost as good. House Party gets a B+.