Author: Robert Greenberger

Warner Premiere Formally Announces ‘All-Star Superman’

  • News
  • November 30, 2010

DC Entertainment’s All-Star Superman was one of the better things to be released by the company during the past decade. It was universally acclaimed and awarded, recently being collected in an Absolute edition. Now, Warner Premiere is tackling Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s 12-part saga as their next animated feature. Here’s the formal press release:BURBANK, CA, (November 29th, 2010) – Grant Morrison’s beloved, Eisner Award-winning vision of Superman’s heroic final days on Earth is brought to exquisite animated life in All-Star Superman, the latest entry in the popular, ongoing series of DC Universe Animated Original Movies coming February 22, 2011 from Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. The highly-anticipated, full-length film will be distributed by Warner Home Video as a Blu-Ray™ Combo Pack and 2-Disc Special Edition DVD for $24.98 (SRP), as well as single disc DVD for $19.98 (SRP). The film will also be available On Demand and for Download.

In All-Star Superman, the Man of Steel rescues an ill-fated mission to the Sun (sabotaged by Lex Luthor) and, in the process, is oversaturated by radiation – which accelerates his cell degeneration. Sensing even he will be unable to cheat death, Superman ventures into new realms – finally revealing his secret to Lois, confronting Lex Luthor’s perspective of humanity, and attempting to ensure Earth’s safety before his own impending end with one final, selfless act.

The celebrity-packed voice cast is headed by James Denton (Desperate Housewives) as Superman, Christina Hendricks (Mad Men) as Lois Lane, and Anthony LaPaglia (Without A Trace) as Lex Luthor. The stellar cast includes seven-time Emmy® Award winner Ed Asner (Up) as Perry White, Golden Globe® winner Frances Conroy (Six Feet Under) as Ma Kent, Matthew Gray Gubler (Criminal Minds) as Jimmy Olsen and Linda Cardellini (ER) as Nasty. 
Arnold Vosloo (The Mummy), Catherine Cavadini (The Powerpuff Girls), Finola Hughes (General Hospital), Alexis Denisof (Angel), Obba Babatunde (That Thing You Do!), Michael Gough (Batman) and John DiMaggio (Futurama) round out the voice cast.

Based on the Eisner Award-winning DC Comics series/graphic novel of the same name by Grant Morrison with illustration by Frank Quitely, All-Star Superman is executive produced by animation guru Bruce Timm and directed by Sam Liu (Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths) from a script by acclaimed comics writer Dwayne McDuffie (Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths). (more…)

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Review: ‘Superf*ckers’

[[[Superf*ckers]]]
By James Kochalka
Top Shelf Productions, 144 pages, $14.95

superf-ckers-lg-3363487Reading the reviews about previous editions of James Kochalka’s Superf*ckers I was thinking this was going to be an amazing satire of the super-hero genre, poking fun at teams from the Justice Society of America to the Thunderbolts.  Over the years, Kochalka had been doling out one issue at a time, starting with Superf*ckers #271 in 2005 and released a fourth issue in 2007. Top Shelf has collected the four issues with the previously unpublished [[[Jack Krak #1]]] in a new collection released earlier this year.

I don’t get the praise. Not at all. Kochalka’s robbery figurework is good for his childrens’ books and other independent works but when it comes to super-powered, hyper-sexualized characters, it feels entirely wrong.

Over the course of the collection, these spoiled, nasty would-be heroes act like whiny, horny, spiteful high school students. None seem to be using their powers for the public good, but instead, to outperform each other in the hopes of gaining acceptance in the club. They are a uniformly unlikeable bunch and the satirical elements are so broadly played they’re more slapstick than witty commentary on modern comic book tropes.

Kochalka cuts between combinations of heroes one-upping each other, excreting with abandon and he paces these various threads nicely enough. He crams each page with plenty of panels and action, brightly coloring everything in what must have been a painstaking manner.

Amazingly, at the outset, Kochalka thought this might be an all-ages title but as he got further into this, he couldn’t prevent his annoying heroes from cussing so it has remained a book aimed at older readers. “And it makes the action more dramatic,” he told Comic Book Resources. Not at all. The cursing and invective permeates every pages as do the acts that should never be attempted at home.

I remain baffled why anyone things this is a laugh-out loud must-read series. In the same interview he said, “On the surface it’s fun and breezy romp, but underneath it’s a layered satire of American society, the comic book scene, power and pathos and the human condition.” That might have been his intent but the execution fails to measure up.

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Review: ‘Sondheim! A Birthday Celebration’

  • Uncategorized
  • November 28, 2010

sondheim2-3776994You are no doubt wondering why ComicMix is reviewing [[[Sondheim! The Birthday Celebration]]], the DVD edition of the 80th birthday celebration that aired this past week on PBS. Believe it or not, we believe in covering significant events in popular culture, not just the fads and the celebrities, but people who have made contributions that have proved influential to today’s creators. Stephen Sondheim, for over fifty years, has been elevating the musical theater art form, and his music and lyrics have found their way into books, film, and yes, comic books.

Musical theater in America came into its own in 1927 with [[[Showboat]]], co-written by Jerome Kern with book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Its next evolutionary step came with [[[Oklahoma]]] in 1943, from Hammerstein and Richard Rogers. Living down the hall from the lyricist was a young boy named Stephen Sondheim. Their relationship helped Sondheim develop his ear for music and lyrics, letting him burst into the public’s ear with his lyrics to [[[West Side Story]]], the musical that propelled theater to a new era. His influence remains strong today.

What sets Sondheim apart from other playwrights and lyricists is the intelligence of his words. He expresses mood, feeling, emotion and character with a sophisticated use of language that has helped elevate the art form. More than that, he rarely repeats himself so the shows he has created on his own sound nothing like one another. He dares to explore subjects dark ([[[Sweeny Todd, Assassins]]]) and the more whimsical ([[[The Frogs]]]).

Given the lengthy number of shows he’s been involved with and multiply that by the number of memorable songs he has crafted, him impact is immense. To celebrate the occasion this year, he has annotated his works in the recently released[[[ Finishing the Hat]]]: Collected Lyrics (1954-1981) With Attendant Comments, Principles, Heresies, Grudges, Whines and Anecdotes. The world has honored him with numerous performances including two special nights at Lincoln Center in March which was recorded and formed the special we’re talking about.

Performing his works are stars young and old, familiar and unknown, but
all singing with affection (and some amazing diction). These include
Michael Cerveris, Joanna Gleason, Nathan Gunn, George Hearn, Patti
LuPone, Marin Mazzie, Audra McDonald, John McMartin, Donna Murphy, Mandy
Patinkin, Bernadette Peters, Elaine Stritch and Chip Zien. Paul
Gemignani, Sondheim’s longtime colleague, was conducting the New York
Philharmonic and the evening was hosted with wit by David Hyde Pierce.
There were some nice running gags that kept things light and you could
tell the performers were thrilled to be there.

(more…)

Nicholas Cage Teaches ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’

  • News
  • November 27, 2010

Nicholas Cage is an incredibly gifted actor who continues to display his passion for genre works by appearing countless adventure films. This past summer he was the mentor in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and is next seen in January’s Season of the Witch. In this interview, courtesy of Walt Disney Home Entertainment, Cage talks about last summer’s film, coming out on DVD Tuesday.

Question: How did you get involved with The Sorcerer’s Apprentice? Nicholas Cage: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice began with my desire to play a magician in a movie. I played a magician of sorts in a movie called Next, which is when I became fascinated with ancient mythologies and philosophies from England. I loved the subject, so I had a conversation with Todd Garner – the producer of Next – and I said to him, “Boy, I’d really like to play a sorcerer from the times of King Arthur.” The very next day he said to me, “Nic, I’ve got it. Why don’t we create a movie around the sorcerer’s apprentice from the Fantasia movie?” It was perfect.

Question: How important was it to transform your look for your role in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice?

Nicholas Cage: Actors often change their looks for roles and I’m certainly part of that school of thought. In fact, I want to transform myself every time I get a new role. I’ll wear wigs, I’ll wear nosepieces, I’ll wear green contact lenses… I’ll do whatever I need to do to create a character. That’s what acting’s all about. That’s the fun of it.


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Win an ‘I am Legend’ Digital Download

  • News
  • November 27, 2010

Warner Bros’ adaptation of Richard Matheson’s novel I am Legend helped sustain Will Smith’s star power. Now the movie is coming to phones and digital notepads everywhere.  The movie comes to iTunes for the first time ever with Bonus Content including behind the scenes footage and interviews with the star himself:  
Robert Neville is a brilliant scientist, but even he could not contain the terrible virus that was unstoppable, incurable, and man-made. Somehow immune, Neville is now the last human survivor in what is left of New York City and maybe the world. For three years, Neville has faithfully sent out daily radio messages, desperate to find any other survivors who might be out there. But he is not alone. Mutant victims of the plague — The Infected — lurk in the shadows… watching Neville’s every move… waiting for him to make a fatal mistake. Perhaps mankind’s last, best hope, Neville is driven by only one remaining mission: to find a way to reverse the effects of the virus using his own immune blood. But he knows he is outnumbered… and quickly running out of time.

To win a digital download of the movie with extras, all you have to do is tell us what makes YOU a legend. The most creative answer, as solely judged by the ComicMix braintrust, to arrive by 11:59 p.m. November 30 will be chosen. 

Jay Baruchel Talks Playing ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’

  • News
  • November 26, 2010

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice was one of those summer movies that didn’t generate the buzz Walt Disney had hoped for but it did have its fans and for those who may have missed it, the movie comes to DVD on Tuesday. Actor Jay Baruchel played the title role and in an interview supplied by Walt Disney Home Entertainment, he reviews his work on the film.Question: How does it feel to be involved with The Sorcerer’s Apprentice ?

Jay Baruchel: It’s a great honor to be part of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, but it’s also very stressful because Fantasia is cherished and beloved by so many people around the world. The sorcerer’s apprentice sequence of Fantasia is one of the most iconic and important sequences in film history, so I didn’t want to screw this up. If you were going to create a retrospective of great film moments, I think the Fantasia sequence would be up there alongside Cary Grant being chased by the crop duster in North By Northwest. It has been exhilarating to get the chance to do something so important to so many people, but there’s a lot of weight on our shoulders and I didn’t want to get it wrong.

Question: How do you deal with the stress of working on such an iconic project?

Jay Baruchel: There are two possible outcomes. You can either let the stress get the best of you and wilt in the face of adversity, or you can let the stress push you to work harder than you’ve ever worked before. The only other time in my career where I felt a similar weight on my shoulders was when I got to work for Clint Eastwood. It was tough. There’s a great sports analogy that comes to mind when I think about this. If you get drafted into the NHL and you get to play on the same line with the guys that made you want to start playing hockey in the first place, are you going to mess up under the pressure? Or are you going to show everyone the reason why you are standing there next to these amazing athletes? I had to bring my A-game to this project. I wanted to prove to everyone that they made the right decision in hiring me.

Question: What was your highlight to the filming of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice?

Jay Baruchel: Shooting plasma bolts out of my hands has been a lifelong ambition of mine. Ever since I played Street Fighter II when I was a kid, I’ve been waiting to shoot energy out of my hands. For years, nothing happened. My hands finally get to work in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.

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Review: ‘Scott Pilgrim vs. the World’

Let me start by telling you right off that I enjoyed watching [[[Scott Pilgrim vs.the World]]] because it was a visual delight with an appealing collection of performers. As other reviewers have noted, this film was the best feature to adapt the video game playing experience to the screen. Universal Pictures gets credit for giving the production crew the freedom to play with everything from their opening titles through the graphics and sound effects.

The movie, despite an aggressive and pervasive marketing campaign, crashed and burned in August and the answer to that disconnect may well be in the story and characters. At its core, Scott Pilgrim is a love story or a series of love stories but you are left to wonder what the attraction is.

Scott (Michael Cera) is a 22 year old slacker with no apparent profession, about to be tossed from the dingy apartment he shares with his best pal, the very gay Wallace Wells (Kieran Culkin). Whenever he’s not aimlessly wandering about, he plays bass in the band Sex Bob-omb and is said to have gone through numerous girlfriends during his high school years but it’s been a year since his last major breakup. To compensate, he’s been chastely dating Knives Chau (Ellen Wong), a 17 year old high school student.  That is, until he spots the pink-haired Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) at a party.

Before even exchanging a hello, he has learned that the pretty girl has a powerful and somewhat awe-inspiring reputation. But here she is, living in Toronto and seemingly employed as a delivery person. He falls for her and she seems to blithely accept this and then comes the price to be paid for dating this woman. Scott must defeat Ramona’s seven deadly exes which forms the spine of the film set against a Battle of the Bands competition.

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Will Friedle chats about his time in the Batcave

  • News
  • November 25, 2010

batmanbeyond1-3252388The popular voiceover actor took time last week to speak about his days as the new Caped Crusader in preparation for this week’s release of Batman Beyond: The Complete Series, a nine-disc limited edition DVD set that presents nearly 20 hours of animated action spread over 52 episodes, as well as including all-new bonus featurettes and a 24-page, 8”x 12” collectible booklet.

Batman Beyond: The Complete Series centers on Terry McGinnis, an ordinary teenager … until his father is mysteriously murdered. Suspecting foul play at his father’s company, Wayne/Powers Corporation, Terry meets Bruce Wayne and learns of a secret identity hidden for decades. Now too old to don the cape and cowl as Batman, Wayne refuses to help – so Terry does what any brash young kid would do: steal the Bat-suit and take matters into his own hands! Vowing to avenge his father’s death, Terry dons the high-tech suit tricked out with jetpacks, a supersensitive microphone and even camouflage capabilities in search of his father’s assassin.
The all-star production team was headed by executive producer Jean MacCurdy and producers Bruce Timm, Alan Burnett, Glen Murakami and Paul Dini. Writers on the series included Burnett and Dini, as well as Stan Berkowitz, Bob Goodman, Rich Fogel, Hilary Bader and John McCann.

Friedle made his mark in live-action television and film from the time
he turned 10, starring in hit series like Boy Meets World and Don’t Just
Sit There. He gradually shifted his attention to voiceover work, taking
the lead in Batman Beyond and co-starring in Disney’s Kim Possible to
name but a few. Today, he primarily stays behind the microphone, voicing
such notable roles as Doyle on The Secret Saturdays and Blue Beetle on
Batman: The Brave and the Bold.Will Friedle took a futuristic
Dark Knight in altogether new directions as the voice of Terry McGinnis
in Warner Bros. Animation’s breakthrough 1999 series Batman Beyond.

QUESTION: When you think back on all those Batman Beyond sessions, what are your favorite memories of recording the series?WILL FRIEDLE: This sounds like a cheesy answer, but working with Andrea (Romano) is just the greatest experience. Every week you go in and it’s amazing and fun. You just never knew who the guest cast would be. My favorite was  recording Return of the Joker. Sitting between Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill for five days was pretty incredible. I learned more about being a voiceover actor in those five days than I did in the five months before that. Just watching the two of them work – how Mark got so into the character, completely losing himself in that role. And then there’s Kevin with that deep, booming voice, always sitting with his back straight and working perfectly with the microphone. It was an education.

QUESTION: Do you have a favorite Batman Beyond episode?

WILL FRIEDLE: There was an episode called “Out of the Past” where it’s Bruce Wayne’s birthday and as a birthday present Terry takes Bruce to see a new play, “Batman: The Musical.” So there’s Bruce sitting in the audience, watching these people in costume jumping on stage, singing about the Dark Knight, and Terry’s right behind him humming the songs. And Bruce just hates it. Seeing Bruce Wayne watching “Batman: The Musical” was pretty funny.

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Review: ‘Batman Beyond the Complete Series’

batman-beyond-complete-series1-4554306I admit to being leery when Warner Animation announced their plans to follow the  amazing [[[Batman the Animated Adventures]]] with a next generation hero called [[[Batman Beyond]]]. After all, it was a clear departure from the source material and there was no knowing how this would work.

As it turns out, there was little to fear. The series, which ran from January 1999 through December 2001, honored the past and showed us a future Gotham City that still needed a Dark Knight. Rather than just add wrinkles and gray hair to all the familiar figures, things have changed. Dick Grayson seems to be gone, Alfred and Jim Gordon are dead with Barbara Gordon now the police commissioner. And sitting in the gloom of Wayne Mansion is a still-angry, infirm Bruce Wayne.

He knows there’s work to be done and in time, targets teenager Terry McGuinness as his successor. The youth has just lost his father to violence and Wayne’s appeal sounds logical so he signs on to don a high-tech cowl, sans cape. With Wayne barking orders in his ear, Terry is the new Batman, instilling fear in the hearts of 21st century criminals.

The series lasted a strong 52 episodes plus spawned a direct-to-video film and the character wound up on other series such as [[[Static Shock]]] and was given an epilogue in episodes of [[[Justice League Unlimited]]]. There was even the tangentially-related spinoff [[[The Zeta Project]]].

Obviously the brain trust that included Bruce Timm, Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, Dwayne McDuffie, and Glen Murakami rose to the occasion, taking everything they learned from their previous efforts and poured it into this series. The future was recognizable with sleeker architecture that cast new shadows on the city’s streets. The miniaturization and sophistication of the gear was not stretching the imagination and the new sorts of threats owe a nod to the rogues of the past but were fresh menaces.

Today, Warner Home Video has released the long–awaited [[[Batman Beyond the Complete Series]]] in a nifty box set. You get all three seasons of the series and the original extras plus a bonus disc. Tucked within the box is a nice 24-page booklet with character and set designs and some glimpses into the process. The box is slipped inside a plastic wrap that approximates animation cels and makes this a lovely package, perfect for the holiday season.

The episodes look great on DVD and the stories hold up after all these years.

There are three new featurettes all running about five minutes each, which looks back at the show’s origins and the thinking that went into the series’ design and architecture. You don’t learn a lot that’s new but the creators’ affection for Terry and his world is clear. There is also the 75th anniversary documentary [[[Secret Origin]]], which is nice but it would have been nicer to have the episodes and movie that Terry’s Batman appeared in, making this a real complete set.

Fox Prepares Plethora of Holiday Gift Items Plus a Major Sale

  • News
  • November 22, 2010

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has made their list and are checking it twice to prepare DVD gift sets for every conceivable taste and special interest. We’ll be exploring some of those options when ComicMix launches its Holiday Gift Guide in the coming days.

With Black Friday imminent, we want to tip you off that FoxConnect is having a Black Friday Sale that runs from November 22nd to December 5th.  Savvy shoppers can save up to 70% off on favorite Movies and TV shows on Blu-ray and DVD – Some favorites for as little as $4 for select titles!

The new release we’re most looking forward to is the studio’s 75ht Anniversary Gift Set, coming December 7. Check out the formal release:Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment paints the town diamond white with the release of the TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX 75TH ANNIVERSARY GIFT SET, a 75-film, three-volume set, highlighting a remarkable, rich and unparalleled heritage of classic films, Academy Award® winners and box office smashes.  Debuting on DVD December 7, each volume covers 25 years of the studio’s legacy along with an exclusive hard cover companion book highlighting the historic significance of Fox’s 75th anniversary featuring legendary stars, compelling stories, timeless music and unforgettable images.

The massive DVD set features a variety of genres and some of the finest films of all time from South Pacific to Star Wars, Alien to Avatar and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes to The Devil Wears Prada.  Among its 46 Academy Award®-winning features, the collection highlights seven Best Picture winners including the DVD debut of Cavalcade, How Green Was My Valley, All About Eve, The Sound of Music, Patton, The French Connection, and Slumdog Millionaire.

Just in time for the holiday season, the TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX 75TH ANNIVERSARY GIFT SET will be available for the suggested retail price of $499.98 U.S.

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