Tagged: television

MATT RAUB: Spider-Man 3 Review

So here we are, one day before the highest anticipated film of 2007, Spider-Man 3, gets released into a record 4,252 theaters. I, just like about a billion other fans, couldn’t wait to see this flick, mostly because this is the film where we get the infamous Venom as a villain, along with a laundry list of other storylines. But before I get too deep into that, lets break it down. Usually when reviewing comic book movies, I like to break the critique down into three separate sections: the Acting, the Story, and the FX.

Lets begin with my least favorite part of the entire film: the acting. Now I may be a bit jaded, but I’ve never really got into having Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker. This is where doing a book or comic adaptation gets funky, because originally the character’s voice and overall demeanor is up to their interpretation. A perfect example of this is the [[[Harry Potter]]] film franchise. The casting of those films were almost spot-on with the fan’s interpretation of the characters, and they didn’t even have the visual aids that comic books have.

With that said, in my head Spidey was the nerdy, quiet kid before bitten by the radioactive/genetically enhanced spider, but then gains self-confidence while still keeping his puerile attitude towards life. This is how we get the wisecracking interpretation in modern books. But with Maguire’s performance, we are constantly treated to the somber, “woe is me” Spider-Man who, granted, still jumps, swings, and does whatever a spider can, but in between those periods is constantly in a state of teary-eyed misery. Even in the second film where he is convinced that being Spider-Man is a curse, and trashes the costume, he still looks like at any moment, he could burst into tears. Some could attribute this to Maguire’s incredible range, but if I wanted that, I’d go see Seabiscuit again.
 
Spider-Man is the comic relief of the New Avengers, and even in the Ultimate books, he may cry, but when he’s in the suit, he’s a regular swinging Henny Youngman. The same goes for this film, in the times that the mask isn’t on (which is way too much to begin with), his eyes are constantly filled with tears.

Moving on to our leading lady, Kirsten Dunst, I have a whole different problem. In the first film, I was starting to get into the idea of having a non-supermodel quality Mary Jane Watson and by the end of the second film, I was completely sold, though she looked like she hadn’t eaten since Jumanji. And just then, as if it was her master plan to get us all to love her, and then crush us, in a press junket for Spider-Man 2, Dunst was quoted in saying that her ideal plot for another sequel would be where our webbed hero dies in the first act, and the rest of the film is about Mary Jane coping in the modern world with an unborn Spider-Baby as a single mother. Some of you remember this quote as “The Day We Started to Hate Kirsten Dunst.” I don’t know what it is about female actors and preaching their ideas when the majority of the audience paying attention to them are people who could care less about them. We go to superhero movies to see [[[superheroes]]], not their girlfriends.

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MICHAEL DAVIS: The Blame Game

  • News
  • April 20, 2007

4203157070-8623360Monday April 17, 2007 at Virginia Tech University a gunman took 32 lives. I am writing this the following day, Tuesday April 18. To give this piece a little more perspective I tell you this: I lost my sister and grandmother some time ago and when ever I hear of any random act of violence like what happened at Virginia Tech I always pause and think of what the families are going though. I say a silent prayer and hope that somehow the pain that they feel now will ease a bit over time. It never goes away but I hope that they find some comfort from what will seem like an eternity of grief.

My family unit was my mother, sister, grandmother and myself. So half of my family was taken from me. I had to deal with losing my sister and grandmother; my mother had to deal with losing her first-born child and her mother. It hit us both very hard. We were lucky enough to have friends and family around us to comfort us. After a while – a great while we had to deal with the why of what happened. Why them? Why now? Why not me? Why were they there? Etc, etc.

There was always a why.

Those questions are as biting now as they were then. My mother and I still deal with those questions every single day. As I said we had help getting though it.

In the last 24 hours I have heard the Virginia Tech Massacre described in many ways by many people in the media.

A National tragedy

A Nation mourns

America is saddened

United as one

We all feel this (more…)

MATT RAUB: Your weekly Who review!

  • News
  • April 19, 2007

picture-1-6586209Hey gang, Matt Raub back again, and that can only mean one thing – it’s Who time! So here we are, already a quarter of the way through another explosive year of Doctor Who. And what better time to start the season three story arc than in the 727th produced episode, beating out all of the Star Trek series combined!

In the episode, entitled “Gridlock,” the Doctor and Martha travel on their third voyage together, this time to the future city of New New York. Some of you may remember that we’ve been to New New York, and fairly recently (Don’t worry, Martha brings that up too). Last time, the Doctor and Rose visited a sick friend in very chic hospital above ground, but this time we find our traveling duo deep in the city’s bowels and on the New New York Motorway, which reaches all the way to New New Jersey. Fun thing about this motorway is that, due to the traffic, it takes about 10 years to go four miles. Well, in all the chaos, Martha is kidnapped by two motorists hoping to get into the express lane. The doctor then does his doctor thing and declares he will find her if it’s the last thing he’ll do.

The greatest part of this episode isn’t a quirky part of dialogue, or interesting plot point, but the way the episode was shot. The majority of this episode is going from car to car, whilst the doctor searches for Martha. Now, each car is shot in the exact same set, just with a change of furniture and a few new actors. This makes for an incredibly cheap budget for the episode, and while this is completely unnecessary for the BBC’s top rated show, it reflects some of the ingenuity that American TV lacks. My hat is tipped to executive producer and episode writer Russell T. Davies and the boys and girls overseas for this particular stunt.

Back to the episode, while looking for Martha, the doctor comes across an old buddy – in fact, the same old buddy he came across the last time we were all in New New York: The good ol’ Face of Boe. Those of you who remember the last encounter with that giant head-in-a-jar, remember that Boe said he would meet the Doctor a final time, and then he would tell him the great secret. So now here we are, and that big secret is? **SPOILER WARNING**

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MICHAEL DAVIS: Art School Confidential

  • News
  • April 13, 2007

michael-davis100-2929148The one thing you can count on in the comics business is people want to get in. By this I mean there are a zillion people who want to make comics their lifework. To some “comic books’ is a silly way to make a buck. Well forget them. Tell them to have a ham sandwich and shut up. I’m talking to all the young creators who want to make this their careers. I know a bit about this and if you allow me I would like to share some of what I know with you.

The first step on the road to comic immortality is education. I want to talk to the young artists out there. I will let my good friend Mike Baron in a guest column talk about becoming a comic book writer (Mike, please write a guest column for me!).

There are a lot of young artists who think it’s smart to simply copy Image Comics from the nineties and that will give them the art background they need. It won’t. By the way, Image does great books and Jim Valentino has a fantastic nose for good content. I’m sure that Jim would agree that the books Image is doing today are vastly different from the ones they were doing when they revolutionized the comics industry in the nineties. There are a great many young artists who think that copying Todd McFarlane or Rob Lefield will give them the tools they need to be the next Todd McFarlane or Rob Lefield – again, it won’t.

There are no sure fire ways to break into the comic industry as an artist. The industry is filled with self-taught artists-some of these self taught creators are superstars. However, most people can’t simply draw themselves into the field. For the majority of you I think a good art school is a great first step, the first step you will need to establish your own way in a very competitive comics business. How do you choose a good art school?

Very carefully.

An art school should not just teach you art, it should equip you to navigate the business. You want a school that will deal with you as an aspiring professional and not just an artist. A lot of schools don’t do that. Some of the best schools have working professionals teaching there. You would think that will be a great place to go right?

NOT necessarily.

Some instructors will share with you every single thing they know. Some won’t. Why won’t they? Because you will be their competition in a very short time. Because they will someday fear you.

Oh. Nobody told you that?

Look, the professional art school is a business. Before I go on let me be clear: I’m not talking about teachers in fine art curricula. Those teachers teach students who want to make art for art’s sake. Those students want to bring their vision to people for no other reason than to make their personal statements. I’m talking about teachers of Illustration, Cartooning, Animation, Graphic Design or any commercial art course. Chances are if your teachers are working professionals they will not share with you all their contacts or their knowledge. Or to put it another way, if you were an rookie on The New York Mets and your position was center field, do you really think the veteran who held that position would tell you all he knew?

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Felix sues clock

  • News
  • April 9, 2007

4219_4_4-7935215asm_clock-9705372Felix, the world’s oldest cat, has reached into his bag of tricks to whip out a lawsuit.

The Otto Messmer creation who first appeared in Pat Sullivan cartoons dating as far back as 1912’s Felix Saves The Day has taken offense at the popular Kit-Kat Klock. The clock dates back to the 1930s; it’s taken Felix a bit of time to file the papers. Next time, he should pull an opposable thumb out of his bag of tricks. However, it should be noted that the Kit-Kat Klock had been marketed in the past as the "Felix Clock."

Felix has been a perennial in comic books as well as on television and in both silent movies and talkies. Kit-Kat Klocks are no relation to the popular candy bar, whose manufacturers may be waiting on deck for their turn at bat.

Apollo and Annette? Starbuck and Li’l Archie?

Transformers sell out, Bendis and Bagley invade The Mighty Avengers, the awesome Bob Bolling (one of the all-time great writer/artists) returns to Li’l Archie, Galactica‘s Apollo shares even more television wisdom (complete with a season review), and the low-down on this year’s Free Comic Book Day!

But most important, you get a peek under Annette’s blanket – all on ComicMix Podcast #24, available right here, right now:

MICHAEL DAVIS: The Emperor’s New Clothes

  • News
  • April 7, 2007

michael-davis100-6237660I don’t really have a subject for this week, which explains why I’m writing this on Thursday afternoon with a Friday morning deadline. Sorry, Mike. Nothing really ticked me off or got me excited this week. That’s an issue for me because when I took this gig I made a promise to keep it current and to always have a definitive point of view.

Well, what follows are some random thoughts that I may as well get off my chest. None of these things really warrant an entire column (yet) but they all have my interest,

Remember the story of the Emperor’s new clothes?  Well that seems to be what is going on with American Idol. Major newscasts like the Today Show (who made my greatest list last week) are all saying that this kid Sanjaya Malakar can’t sing.

HELLO!!!!!????

Even before America stared to vote this kid beat out thousands of other singers to make it to the show. Now everyone is saying he can’t sing. Why? Because one person said he could not sing after one bad performance and now everybody is saying it. What is up with people? People are just sheep! He is clearly not the best singer on the show, but the kid can sing. Why are people such sheep? Why, why, why?

Sheep, sheep, sheep!

In other random thoughts, in case anyone is interested I will be speaking at the Biola Media Conference April 21st at Biola University and at Cal State Northridge on April 23rd. Maybe the person who sent me the angry email will want to come down and heckle me.

What angry email? The angry email that I was sent in response to The Black Panel article I wrote. They told me “You are a Uncle Tom who does not care about Black People. We have a right to be represented and you should let any black person on the panel who wants to be there.” They also said that I was…” one of those uppity (N-word) who only dates white woman!” (My Asian lady loved that one.)

Well, fellow and or gal (I don’t know what you are because you sent the email anonymously – how brave, by the way), if you are feeling strong come on down and take your best shot. Hey wait. Why don’t you speak at the conference or at Northridge. I’m sure they will just let you walk in off the street and talk about your work or whatever you want to talk about. I mean you are entitled right? Wait! Now that I think about, it why don’t you just walk on to the Tonight Show? I’m sure they will just let you be a guest. Wait! What am I thinking?? Why doesn’t ABC just do a special on you? I mean you have certainly earned the right to have your own show right?  Wait, wait wait!!! Not a show –you deserve your own NETWORK!!! I mean why not? Wait, wait wait, wait, why don’t they just hand you your own galaxy? 

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MATT RAUB reveals: Bob Dylan is a Cylon!

  • News
  • April 5, 2007

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So it’s been about two weeks since the season 3 finale of Battlestar Galactica. “Crossroads Part 2” has aired, and I’m tired of sitting on what I have to say about it. If you’re one of the unfortunate one’s who have still yet to see the show, here’s the spoilers: Basically we learned: who the final four Cylons turn out to be, how everyone copes with the recently deceased Starbuck, the outcome of the Gaius Baltar trial, that President Rosaline’s cancer has returned and she’s back on the wacky drug that made her see snakes, and finally, that Bob Dylan is a Cylon!

Don’t worry; I know there is a lot here, so I’m going to break it down for those playing along at home.

Those of you who remember the set-up in “Crossroads Part 1” know that throughout the episode, Colonel Tigh, Sam, Chief Tyrol, and Press Secretary Tory Foster (played by Michael Hogan, Aaron Douglas, Michael Trucco, and Rheka Sharma, respectively) hear strange sitar music that draws them toward the center of the ship. We don’t know where it comes from, only that these four are the only ones that can hear this music. We find out in the finale that mysterious music is a cover of the Bob Dylan song “All Along the Watchtower” – and not Jimi Hendrix’s, either! Now, those of you who read my review for the film 300 know my feelings about switching from orchestral beats to heavy modern guitar, but that goes full force when it’s a sci-fi show that uses an actual song when the show takes place millions of years ago and/or galaxies away!

Either way, we discover that these people hearing the music are drawn together and discover that they are all Cylon sleeper agents. This is probably one of the biggest moments in the season, and I feel likeit  didn’t get the respect it deserved by clumping all of the Cylon-outings in one scene.

Moving on, we also get the verdict of the excruciatingly long trial of Giaus Baltar. The arc basically consisted of a whole lot of father/son Adama melodrama, cranky Rosaline explains how her cancer has returned (which should be a non-issue because we know that the bastard Cylon-baby is the cure) and some more mystifying lines from Batlar’s lawyer, Matt Murdock-lite Romo Lampkin (played by 24’s Mark Sheppard). After some deep prodding from the prosecution, a recently de-commissioned Apollo takes the stand and gives this entire speech on what he’s been feeling from day one. This was a great little monologue, because he talks about how the fleet has forgiven all of its past “crimes against humanity,” referencing a lot of the back story along the way. Essentially this is what persuades the tribunal of judges to give Baltar a verdict of not guilty.

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Dying to get on television?

  • News
  • April 2, 2007

The SCI FI Channel is hosting a national casting call/contest for entrants for its "SCI FI Saturday: The Most Dangerous Night of Television". One viewer will win a Die-On role in a future SCI FI original movie which will debut within the Saturday 9pm time period. The winning entrant will be selected at random and receive a trip for two to the filming location of the SCI FI original movie. The deadline to enter is May 26, 2007.

With any luck, you’ll be cast in Mansquito 2: The Itchening. But personally, I wouldn’t be caught dead in one of those films.

MATT RAUB Reviews Doctor Who season 3 premiere

  • News
  • April 1, 2007

2007-01-12-9724203The Doctor is back, and not only does he get a new companion but a new Sonic Screwdriver to boot! I just set my peepers on a back-to-back marathon of last year’s “The Runaway Bride” and the brand-spanking-new season 3 premiere, “Smith and Jones”, and I figured I’d drop in to throw down my two cents on the episode. Be forewarned, there are some spoilerific parts to this review, so if you decide you want to wait until Sci-Fi finally airs the show in 2023, then I’d turn away now.

From the first episode in season 1, I was a huge fan of Billie Piper as Rose Tyler, I thought she was gorgeous, and had incredible range. Though there were a good 12 episodes or so where she cried through the majority of the program, I still couldn’t dislike her. With that said, I was pretty hesitant to like this new companion, the intelligent and attractive medical student Martha Jones, played by Freema Agyeman. We first get a taste of Agyeman in last season’s “Army of Ghosts” as she was one of first victim of the Cybermen. We now find out she was the cousin of Martha Jones, and that’s a clever touch.

Looking back, this episode can very easily be put in stark comparison to season 1’s opener, “Rose.” Much like in that episode, the majority of this episode is exposition on our new companion’s life, an unexpected conflict, and the random entrance of the Doctor to save the day. Also, there is a scene very reminiscent of “Rose” where the Doctor grabs Martha’s hand and tells her to run…sound familiar? Of course, the doctor is still pining over the loss of Rose, but as established in “Runaway Bride,” it was time to find someone new.

The concept: the hospital where Martha Jones works gets transported to the moon. The Doctor, posing as the meandering patient John Smith, discovers that the transportation as by an intergalactic rhino-police (that’s intergalactic police that look like rhinos, not intergalactic police that only police the rhino population). The transportation was to single out a fugitive that they believe is hiding out in the hospital. The Doctor and Martha jump on the case to find the criminal and get the inhabitants back to Earth before they all lose oxygen.

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