Random Reviews: Movies, Teasers, Trailers, Musics

What up, readers? I got to thinking that I could make it look like I'm writing more if I separate any reviews (TV shows, movies, songs, teasers, trailers, albums, etc., etc.) from my Random Thoughts blogs into their own "column." So here we are, trying this out. I'll give you a warning now, before we jump into Random Reviews: I like pop-punk music. I like superhero, fantasy, sci-fi movies. Those things make me excited. Those are the things I'm going to write about. You won't see many reviews of Oscar-bait. If you don't like my taste in music or movies, recommend me something. Because I don't want to hear you bitch about how blink-182 isn't anything to write about (yes, yes it is—just look below), because then everyone has to hear ME bitch about you bitching about it. See where this is going? I'm always down to watch a new/old/classic movie or listen to a band I've never heard of. I may wind up falling in love.

And a brief warning before we dive into it, I will be discussing Captain America: The First Avenger, which means minor spoilers and major spoilers when it comes to the after credits scene. I'll warn you again when I get to it.

—After close to a decade, and two years since announcing they were back together, blink-182 released a single, Up All Night. For those who haven't read about my love affair with Mark, Tom, and Travis, let me redirect you here for a sec. For better or worse (probably worse), these three guys impacted the way I've understood music more than any other group. I've been elated since they got back together, and dying for any information about their new album (it's called Neighborhoods and should be out mid- to late-September), let alone new songs. So I was all over KROQ's website, waiting for them to play Up All Night. And here it is for you:



I've been listening to it a lot since it came out on Thursday, July 14. My first reaction was a simple, quiet, "Oh." It's definitely blink, but with a lot of Boxcar Racer (Tom and Travis's single-album side project) in the verse and a bit of Angels and Airwaves (Tom's band) in the chorus. I listened and listened and listened. The intro and main riff just didn't click with me. The intro still doesn't. Either does the ending. At all. The riff has slowly started growing on me, but we're still a ways away from saying I dig it. I accept it. It just seems so far removed from the rest of the song. Like the verse/pre-chorus/chorus are for one song, and they pulled in this guitar to fill some space. Because I like the pre-chorus and chorus. It has the energy of blink-182. Especially the pre-choruses where we hear Mark and Tom singing together. That, more than anything, got me excited about the song. It's just nice to hear them singing together. The lyrics aren't anything to be blown away by, but they never really were known for their lyrical prowess (or musical prowess. Whatever, I love them). It's taken the song a while to grow on me. I say that as a fan of their 2003 self-titled album, which was a huge departure from 2001's Take Off Your Pants and Jacket. It's a different blink, which makes sense: People change, writing styles change, tastes change, etc. It's not a great song, or a great blink-182 song, but it IS a good blink song, and I'm more than happy to take it.

—The trailer (teaser? It's 2 and a half minutes!) for The Amazing Spider-Man was leaked and has now premiered online and with Captain America. Watch it right this instant so we can have a conversation!



I've been excited about this particular reboot for a while now. I trust the people involved. Every time a new casting choice was made, it was a great get. And really, I was sold once they announced Marc Webb as the director. Now, you can definitely argue the merits of rebooting a series that is barely ten years old. I'm not interested in that conversation just yet, although I am getting tired of origin stories, but I'd argue it makes sense in this movie since they're sticking with the timeframe immediately after the bite, as opposed to jumping ahead months or years. ANYWAYS...I like what we see. I definitely appreciate that we're seeing Peter Parker's parents. That's something barely touched upon in the comics and has never graced the silver screen.

That last sequence, from Spidey's POV? Pretty rad. I don't care about the comparisons to the video game Mirror's Edge. I care about the fact that I'm seeing through Spider-Man's eyes. At the very least, if we don't see much action like that in the film (I don't expect us to, given all the talk about practical web-swinging by the stunt crew and Marc Webb), the video game developers now know which way to go with the game. Give me that POV and the wide-open playground that was Spider-Man 2: The Video Game and I'll buy it. 

I'm also a fan of Marc Webb's approach to Peter being an outcast in high school: In this interview, Webb rightly mentions that being a "nerd" is no longer such a vehemently looked down upon thing. Knowing things about computers isn't nerdy so much as useful. And that's what Peter Parker was when Spider-Man was first created; that's what set him apart as a nerd and outcast. Marc Webb never outright mentions what they've done to maintain that, but I like the little hints we get throughout the trailer: People staring as he passes through the hallway, head down, hood up, scribbling in the classroom. It's easy to be an outcast in high school, but as I've been out for six years, I'd love to see how they're approaching it.

—At last! I tried to get the bootleg up here last week but failed (and failed, and failed one more time, just to really drive it home), so believe me when I say I've been antsy about diving into this teaser since then. And now I get to treat all of you to a very dorky, in depth analysis of the teaser. Lucky you!



The first thing that stands out to me is the voice-over: We have Liam Neeson's Ra's al Ghul, (presumed) dead leader of the League of Shadows, who trained Bruce/Batman in Batman Begins. It's important, both its context and the simple fact that it's being used. Will we see the League of Shadows go after Gotham (third time's the charm!) now that Harvey Dent is dead and the Batman is hunted? I think it's certainly possible, especially if Marion Cotillard is playing Talia al Ghul, as originally rumored. Currently, she's billed as Miranda Tate, a Wayne Enterprises board member. Liam Neeson was also billed merely as Henri Ducard, so this wouldn't surprise me at all.

The bulk of the teaser takes place in a hospital room, with none other than Commissioner Gordon. He's not in good shape. This, I did not expect. And who's he talking to? Assuming the response audio isn't being cut from another scene, he's talking to Bruce. Not Batman. On top of that, it's Bruce's voice that we hear, not the ridiculous Batman-voice. But they're talking about bringing Batman back—it's like Gordon knows Bruce is Batman. Listen to the dialogue: "We were in this together. Then you were gone." (The bold is my emphasis.) Gordon is talking to Bruce about their crusade against evil in Gotham. I want you to let that sink in. There have been moments in the comics where Bats has toyed with the idea that Gordon knows who he is under the mask, but here, it sounds like Chris Nolan is going all the way.

And what about Bane? We get some creepy close-ups of him while Gordon talks to Bruce. The real take-away, besides Gordon being in baaaaaaad shape, is that final shot, which lasts all of 1.5 seconds, of Bats, soaking wet, breathing hard, backing away, and this hulking mass coming into frame. That's Bane and that makes me excited. One need only look at the body language of the two to see that Batman is getting his ass kicked, handily, too, I'd imagine.

And now, folks, be warned. Minor and major spoilers abound below!

—I got back into my old ways Thursday night, going to a midnight show of a superhero flick (in case you couldn't tell, it was Captain America: The First Avenger). To be blunt, I had a lot of fun watching Cap on the big screen. I've always had a bit of an aversion to the really GOOD superheroes: Superman, Cyclops, Captain America. Maybe I wish I was more of the dark and brooding type, like Batman or Wolverine, because them I love. But the true and blue good guys? Never had much of an appeal. But while the credits were rolling, I genuinely wanted to be a better person after watching the erstwhile Steve Rogers. What cemented him, really, was the time we spent with him pre-super soldier serum. In case you haven't seen the movie, or don't know about Cap, here's the skinny (get it?!): Steve Rogers was a weakling that wanted to join the war effort to help fight the Nazis, but was rejected left and right because he was too small. He gets selected for a special program and BOOM! Captain America!

But what makes Cap great in this movie is how well Chris Evans plays Steve Rogers throughout. You can tell, up and down, that the man throwing the vibranium shield is the same guy that volunteered time and again at the beginning of the movie. There's a consistency of character, moral character, that's honorable and downright inspiring. As such, there isn't much growth for Cap. Take Thor, for example, from earlier this summer. At the start of that movie, he's an arrogant d-bag. By the end, a humbled hero. Here, Steve Rogers is the exact same, albeit taller, stronger, and more muscular. I'm still not sure how good or bad that is. We don't see him struggle with his new-found size and power. We do see him struggle, briefly, with how he's used by the USA, but even that's resolved quickly.

But again, this movie was a lot of fun. I enjoyed the pseudo-campiness, how they managed to leave certain things open (did the Red Skull get taken to Asgard?), and the subtle inter-connectivity to other Marvel movies, namely Thor. I've been worried about Joe Johnston's directorial abilities since the unmentionable (but watch me mention it) Jurassic Park 3, but this harkens back to his work on The Rocketeer.

Now here are some real spoilery bits about the post-credits scene: It was much less a scene and much more a teaser trailer for 2012's The Avengers. In one word? Totalnerdboner. Seriously. Thor in in his Ultimate-universe costume, talking to Tony Stark, a quick shot of Cap's new costume, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Loki...Everyone's there, except the Hulk. Bruce Banner doesn't even make an appearance. My guess? Based on the post-credits scenes from The Incredible Hulk and Thor, Loki pulls the same shenanigans he did in The Avengers #1 and makes Hulk out to be the bad guy.

Wow, that was longer than expected (that's what she said). I'll save a few other reviews for next time, like Beautiful Small Machines Robots in Love EP and whatever movie I may have seen recently.

But wait—what about that tease from facebook, to the tune of a cool life update? Well, I haven't been updated about it yet, so it'll have to wait. I will tell you it has something to do with an item I've blogged about several times in the very recent past, and that it's something that means an enormous amount to me. I'll leave you with yet another hint, and then I'll be off: If you make yourself more than just a man...

The Long-Awaited Return of Random Thoughts!

Ahoy, howdy, aloha, blog-reading-pals! I've clearly been out of it for some time. Sorry about that: I have no real idea how to properly managed my time with what amounts to an evening/night-job. Or amounted to. I'm officially on summer vacation—sorry, furlough. The good ole IRS let me and mine go at 11:31 p.m. Friday, July 1st. I spent my first week off as any 24-year-old should: playing video games needlessly. Now that I've gotten that mostly out of my system (that's a pun, I do hope you caught it), it's back to blogging! So enough with the delay, let's splash into it:

—I went ahead and got myself an Xbox 360. Most of that is thanks to my pal, Matt, who got those of us in his wedding party t-shirts with our Halo emblems. Pretty sweet gift, and I had no choice at that point but to return to my gaming ways. MischiefManaged is back.

—Speaking of mischief being managed, the final Harry Potter movie comes out on Thursday. I guess technically it's Friday, but whatevs. Here's the rather gnarly final trailer. I fully expect to weep and weep and weep (for a brief history of me and HP, read this!). Anyone who wants to witness such a thing, let me know. Because everyone I know up here is a gorram Muggle!


—Speaking of gorram (I promise, this will be the last "speaking of..."), I'm rewatching the totally badass space-western, Firefly, with my girlfriend. This show is always good. No matter how many times I've watched it, it doesn't fail to entertain. It's like a better Star Wars universe. And I don't say that to put down Star Wars; I say that because what Joss Whedon created in 14 episodes and a movie genuinely compares to a mythology that's existed for over 30 years. So expect to hear "shiny" and "gorram" out of me a lot. And other made-up space lingo.

—Speaking of made-up space lingo (yeah, I'm a dirty liar. Deal), I'm three episodes into frakkin' Battlestar Galactica. This last episode was absurdly tense. I started off with it as a step-up from background noise, and within 10 minutes, it had all my attention devoted to it. My only problem with it thus far? I'm a sensitive little bitch when it comes to religion (clearly). It's not overwhelming, it isn't preachy, and I'm working on being a less sensitive little bitch.

—It's that time of year, folks, where I have to figure out what to do for Halloween. After a kick-ass Wolverine costume in 2009, I epically failed in 2010. I apparently looked too much like Judah Friedlander in my everyday life that no one noticed/realized I was going as him. They just thought I was lazy. I refuse to cut my lusciously long locks, so that rules out fellows like Han Solo, Indiana Jones, and so on. But it does leave wide open Nurse Joker, Gideon Gordon Graves...I don't know folks. Halloween is tough.

—K-Swiss is a lot more awesome than previously thought. Exhibit A:




—Not only am I working through Firefly with my lady, but we just wrapped up both season 1 and 2 of Community. For months, or at least the months when I actually blogged, I've been mentioning this show as a favorite of mine. I <3 it a ton. That doesn't stop season 2 from being seriously flawed, though. Seriously is a bit harsh. It suffers from a lack of planning, from too much flying by the seat of one's pants. Reading Dan Harmon's interview with AV Club (parts 2, 3, and 4), it became clear that was the case: between studio nonsense and running behind schedule, the reason particular stories, namely Pierce's and Chang's, seem short-changed or different each episode, is because they were. There was an overall theme to Pierce throughout the season, but it seems that once the studio nixed an early idea for Chang, he became way too much: Comic relief, resident crazy person...There was no consistency with him and the group. That bugged me more than anything. But on the other hand we had Troy's 21st birthday, or the bottle episode, or Dungeons & Dragons. Those episodes reassure me that Community is, and will continue to be, streets ahead.

—In case you haven't heard, Netflix is upping their pricing: They're officially splitting Instant Queue and DVDs come September 1. Lots of folks are up in arms, especially since we used to get both products for $9.99, and now they'll be $7.99 each. Much as I'd like to be a rabble-rousing, pitchforking townsperson, I can't. This was inevitable. Netflix got a shit ton of content on the cheap many, many years ago. Those contracts are all ending, and the movie studios realize how profitable all of this actually is. So they're going to charge more for their content. And Netflix will need to make up that cost somewhere. Be pissed, folks and friends, since we'll be the ones shelling out. But keep in mind the good of Netflix. They've given me discounts any time there's been a glitch or problem with my Instant Queue. They offer rad "Welcome Back!" deals if you ever leave. They're a good company providing a good service. Want to bitch? Bitch to the studios that want more money.

—I regrettably saw Transformers 3. I hate myself for it. Now, the 3D was awesome. The idea that there's a plot, in the sense that most movies have a plot, is nonsense. No, this movie reminded me of the Star Wars prequels: a whole lot of scenes, bad dialogue, and shiny objects. The first one was fun. Scenes were more than 30 seconds a piece. You could follow the action. The second one is a disgrace to turds everywhere. This one, well, it's a turd with a cherry on top. A rotten, decrepit, cherry.

—If you read my blog way back in January, you probably know that I'm a fan of Batman. Or that I can be depressing and a bit of a downer (that was a weird blog. Sorry). I'm more concerned with the former, as the official poster for The Dark Knight Rises was just released. It's very Inception-esque, much like the original Inception posters were very The Dark Knight-esque:

Awesome. I love the implications of the poster: the crumbling buildings, the look up towards the bat-symbol. Chris Nolan has become a master of the tease, which is a lost art in the world of movie advertising.

—Sticking with Batman, the teaser trailer for The Dark Knight Rises has been confirmed as attached to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II. Of course, gracious nerds recorded it and put it online, so here's a crappy version of it (once an official version is posted, I'll update with that):

The Dark Knight Rises - Teaser Bootleg (2011) by CineHeroes

Editor's Note: First, I had the youtube video. That was removed. Then, the vimeo. That, too, was removed. And finally, I had this dailymotion video. Seems Warner Brothers doesn't like the leak, because it has now been removed. Sorry, faithful readers!

Yeah, you can bet your ass I'll have a blog dedicated to analyzing that teaser. Until then, friends.

Random Thoughts: The Internet Video Killed the non-Internet Radio Star Edition

Welcome, one and all, to an awe-inspiring, show-and-tell edition of Random Thoughts! Each thought, randomly selected, will include a video presentation to go along with it. So I hope you like Youtube, Vimeo, and links to both, because this post will be saturated in them!

—If you watch one video from this year's Grammys, make it this one. The passion and joy these guys showed made me excited about music. They were loving every second. So was I.

—Honestly, I don't know how I haven't shown this video on here before, but believe me when I tell you it's the best thing you'll watch all day, weekend, week, month, year, decade, quarter-century, half-century, century, millenia, and possibly even your life: Rock Your Baby!

—So I love Scott Pilgrim vs The World. I've been pretty clear about that. So when I saw Edgar Wright post this on his blog, well, I had to do the same:

—If you watch two videos from this year's Grammy's, make the second this one. I couldn't have been happier to see Arcade Fire win this. I wrote about their debut album, Funeral, but haven't shared too many thoughts about The Subarbs. It's killer. They can't make a song that's hard to listen to.

—Did you watch that Captain America commercial again and again, like I did, but think to yourself, "Gee, this is missing something?" Problem. Solved.

—You remember that video of my friends killing it in Wilmington to George McCrae's Rock Your Baby? Of course you do, there's no way you forget that. Also, you probably just watched it a few minutes ago. ANYWAYS, there's another video. Chase, as it turns out, has a mind for what will be amazing to watch and be a blast to film. I was fortunate enough to help on this next one (by help, I mean stand there, off-camera, while Stephen filmed, Chase directed, and Matt and Ben acted). Trust me when I say this is the second best thing you'll watch all day, weekend, week, month, year, decade, quarter-century, half-century, century, millenia, and possibly even your life: Maneaters from Outer Space!!!

—Between the song, the visuals, and the childhood adoration of the story, watching this trailer for Where the Wild Things Are still gives me goosebumps.



—A couple of years ago, I saw this video. It's a stop-motion short, set to Sigur Rós's Hoppípolla, which is an unfairly beautiful song. It tells a sweet little love story, so of course I like it (I'm a sap, through and true).


A SHORT LOVE STORY IN STOP MOTION from Carlos Lascano on Vimeo.

—This has nothing to do with videos, but the ladies that work on the other side of my cubicle have given me a nickname based off my phone voice: Mr. Smooth. They're convinced I could work at a sex line if this gig fails to stimulate.

As always, thanks for reading folks! I guess watching would be more appropriate this time. Tune in next time for what the French call a certain...I don't know what.

Expanded Thoughts III: The Blog is Back...In Time

I'm starting to think Random Thoughts/Expanded Thoughts might become my norm, with full-length posts being a special treat. My mind is all over the place as it is, and since I'm distracted by anything and everything, this caters directly to that. So take a seat at your desk, relax on your bed, or gather around the PS3 (yes some of this blog's traffic has come from PS3s) for another thrilling edition of Expanded Thoughts with your host, Joey Bear/MadChops/Joe Joe Binks/Jo Bo/Jo Co/Captain Really-Good-Looking of the S.S. Hot Stuff!

—BIRTHDAYS! Happy birthday Zac (Feb. 8, and congrats on the track coaching job, dude!), Chad & Jessie (Feb. 10), and Richard & Charles Darwin (Feb. 12)! Happy belated birthdays to me & Bobby (Jan. 5), Jake (Jan. 6), Ben (Jan. 8), and Matt (Jan. 15)! Hooray aging!

Author's Note: And happy birthday Abe Lincoln! I can't believe I forgot him.

—Egypt is in the midst of a revolution. The people are rising up and fighting against tyranny, hoping to finally have a real democracy. Millions have shown up to protest, and their numbers have consistently been in the thousands. I don't want to acknowledge our government's reactions to this, and especially not the media's, except to say that it is utterly deplorable for a nation that was founded on revolt against tyranny to call foul because the current tyrant is pro-USA. You see, my fellow 'Muricans, democracy is not spread by invading a nation, dismantling said nation, and sitting there expectantly while the people try to figure out what just happened. It starts with the people because it's for the people. While I doubt I have anyone from Egypt reading this, if there are, here's one more fan of true democracy cheering you on. Live long and prosper.

Author's Note: Mubarak has officially stepped down. Egyptians, I am humbled by your determination to make this a peaceful, non-violent revolution, and by your resolve. What you've done is incredible. Congrats on getting your country back. 

—Could it really be? Has Long Island really gone 2ish weeks without snowfall? It's about damn time, comrades! I thought snow was something to miss, thought it was fun, and pretty, and a tid bit exciting. I was wrong.

—So the Super Bowl happened. Congrats to the Green Bay Packers on the win. Shame on the Black Eyed Peas for that half-time show. I'm OK with Christina screwing up the national anthem—I feel like it'd be harder to get it right in front of that many people at that sort of setting.

—The commercials weren't so impressive. What caught my eye was the Captain America trailer. It's about time we got some footage, even if it was just for 30 seconds. The effects team did a great job making the biggest and buffest Chris Evans we've ever seen look like the smallest weakling on the schoolyard. The suit looks good in action, but I still worry about that blatant blue. And what about that little tease of Hugo Weaving's Red Skull? Oh, oh, oh! And we got a frame or two of the Howling Commandos. Can you tell I'm excited for this? Oh yeah, here it is:



—Now that I'm getting close to my target weight, I've been looking more at what kind of foods I want to eat again, but shouldn't. Taco Bell naturally found it's way onto that list and I'm genuinely surprised that it's better for me (and you) than McDonald's, Wendy's, or Burger King. Granted, no one ever gets just one burrito or chalupa, so when you combine everything it's almost certainly worse. But item to item, it's not too bad. Looks like there's a Quad Steak Burrito in my future!

—Despite the fact that the UNC Tar Heels have beaten the Duke Blue Devils more often than not (the record stands at 130-101) and that nearly every single meeting between the two teams is decided in the last 10 minutes of play, when Duke wins, it's because Coach K has the refs in his pocket. Tell you what, Carolina fans (and since this is coming from a Duke fan and NC State alum, I'm sure it'll be taken with a grain of salt), how about the bitching stops? That goes for Duke fans, too. But this time, I'm talking to you, Tar Heelians. The refs didn't blow a 14-point lead, the players did. Did the refs miss calls? Yes. But it happened on both sides, not just one. Duke outplayed Carolina in the last half by an extreme margin, just like Carolina outplayed Duke every moment, every play of the first half (seriously, if they can bring that intensity for another half, they've got another ACC title coming their way). Blaming the refs belittles the actual efforts of human beings who busted their asses for our entertainment and their own passions. Good grief.

—I will forever be perplexed by pro-life and/or Christians/religious folks who are so adamantly pro-death penalty. Abortion is a topic I won't jump into here (right now, anyways), but the execution of an individual I will discuss. Especially if I get to call out the hypocrisy of an entire group of people! Nothing like feeling superior, eh? Anyways...Yeah, the death penalty is barbaric and if Texas is any indication of the rest of the nation, we've been putting plenty of innocent people to death to satisfy our vengeance/bloodlust. Were it up to me, every death row case would be reopened and looked at with our current investigation techniques. It's not like life-in-prison is some sort of luxury we'd be affording these people, disgusting and wretched creatures though they may be.

—Going off that, our society's acceptance of violence, but not sex, makes no sense. Sexuality is the most natural of our human tendencies, yet children are bombarded with the evils of premarital sex, masturbation, oral sex, etc., etc. Where's that same condemnation for violent acts? Look no further than the way sex is treated on the big or small screen, compared with violence. You can get away with shooting up a neighborhood, but not teenagers being sexual (they are sexual, and will continue to be). I like to think if we were more open and forth-coming about sexuality, its implications and consequences, people would be smarter about their bodies. Maybe I'm just dreaming.

—With that venting out of the way, here's more comic book movie news! Fox just released the trailer for X-Men: First Class. Does it look good? Yup. Cool idea, great cast, creative minds behind it? Check. Am I skeptical? Absolutely. As my facebook pals will attest, I don't trust Fox. Not after X-Men: The Last Stand or X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Especially not after Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Daredevil, or Ghost Rider. My trust, and faith, has to be re-earned at this point. This trailer is definitely steps in the right direction, though:



—Dear adults/middle-aged-individuals using social networks,

Hi. It's Joey. You don't need to keep the caps lock button depressed whilst typing. Exclamation points are good for one per paragraph. Ellipses work like this "...", not ".....................................................". And please, please, please stop commenting completely out of context. When someone posts about a puppy, refrain from telling the poster all about your house on the beach and your recent engagement. That's what the wall or private messages are for.

Sincerely,

Joey

—If you live up here on Long Island, or you're ever visiting me because you can't stand to be away from me, you/we need to go see Tonight's Entertainment. These guys kill it every single time. Even on an off-night, which is rare, they bring an energy and rock it something fierce. If I lived in Ohio, replace Tonight's Entertainment with the Chardon Polka Band. Another band that's a blast to listen to.

—Glee, you have been a mountain of disappointment this season. Throughout my years of watching TV and movies, I've learned how to suspend my disbelief. Hell, I used to be a fan of pro wrestling (may still secretly be), and if I can watch that, I can suspend disbelief. But everything about that episode just screamed stupid. The biggest offense, though, was stating that Thriller was the Super Bowl of pop songs, and then mashing it up with another song. Now, I love the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Heads Will Roll is a killer song. But Thriller doesn't need help, doesn't need back-up. And to make it worse, a character then asked who the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were. I chuckled because that was funny. But it was actually very bad: You were mashing up the Super Bowl of pop songs with a song from a band you're acknowledging not a lot of people know? Tuesday's episode was better, but it feels like characters are acting out-of-character simply so we have storylines. That's a mark of bad writing (yeah, I said it). I'm rooting for you, Glee, really, I am. So please step it up.

—More superhero movie news! We finally got a look at Andrew Garfield in the Spider-Man costume. I'm on the fence. It makes sense to want to differentiate the look from the recent Tobey Maguire/Sam Raimi costume. But their costume so closely matched the comic book counterpart. This one, less so, and there's been a lot of resistance to it. Nerds (and I include myself when I say that) are very protective of their/our superheroes. The only alternative Spidey costume that was ever totally embraced was the symbiote (include the Scarlet Spider costume for me, too (although that wasn't really Peter Parker...it's complicated)), all the rest were trashed after less than a year (Iron-Spidey, anyone?). Spidey's looked a certain way in the comics for decades. Suddenly a movie comes around and starts tweaking that? But it could be a lot worse, Spidey-fans! It's not a bad costume, just different. It's not like they're totally redesigning one of the most iconic hero costumes ever.

—If I have to choose, George Harrison is my favorite Beatle.

2011: A Random (Thoughts) Odyssey

You might've noticed I didn't blog for over two months. There was no real reason. Well, nothing concrete, anyways. I just didn't have anything to say and would've felt like an egomaniac blogging for the sake of blogging. Granted, you've got to have a bit of egomania in you to blog in the first place, but I'm talking about Lex Luthor-type egomania. Anyways, here's what's on my mind:

—As of this morning (1/26), I'm three months and a day into my diet/health kick. I'm down to 181 lbs., for a total of 35.5 lbs. lost. The last time I weighed 181 lbs.? Sometime in 2004 or 2005. That was my senior year of high school. I'm in better shape now and healthier, too—45 minutes of cardio a day and eating with my head instead of my stomach. I feel good and I plan to drop an additional 11 lbs., if only to see 170 again. Those V-lines (or hump-lines or sex-lines or whatever you kids call them), too.

—The 83rd Academy Awards nominations were just announced. At this point, I don't care. I'll watch them, sure. But do I have a vested interest? Nah. They gave Alice in Wonderland a visual effects nomination, a movie with atrocious effects, but couldn't find room to nominate Scott Pilgrim VS the World for visual, sound, or editing. Shenanigans!

—Speaking of movies, lists, awards, etc., some friends and I have spent the last monthish talking about the best movies of the year. Here's my revised list, with brief snippets of reason:

1) The Social Network: Could it be anything else? Aaron Sorkin's writing is bloody captivating and makes me greener than the Hulk. I never thought watching someone type away on a computer would be fascinating, but I was proven wrong. Jesse Eisenberg was amazing, with more than just his delivery. His body language was phenomenal and by Zeus, did you see his eyes? They could've murdered the sun. Andrew Garfield made the movie though, by being the one completely likable fellow. He was the beating heart. David Fincher made it work, and Trent Reznor's score was great in its subtlety.

2) Scott Pilgrim VS the World: Easily my favorite movie of the year. I prefer this version of Scott Pilgrim's tale to Bryan Lee O'Malley's graphic novels, which is usually blasphemy in the nerd world. I know the movie has some issues (just read my review!), but it did so much so well. The editing was, as my pal Chase said, revolutionary. Edgar Wright assembled a stunning ensemble that worked together like old friends. The visuals, the sounds, it all clicks. And the bonuses make me wish I had been a part of the production.

3) Toy Story 3: If you've seen this movie, you cried. At least twice. I think I did three times. Looking back, I don't believe I was manipulated through the score, or by blatant attempts at sentimentalism. The trash disposal scene rests soundly as one of my favorite movie moments ever. We witnessed characters facing the worst possible situation, and instead of wasting that moment with panic or desperation, they reached out to one another. It was tragically heroic and I applaud Pixar for giving us something as real as that scene.

4) The Town: Ben Affleck, though the (former) butt of a lot of jokes, has a serious future in directing. He can handle action, knows how to build tension, and can get the best out of his actors (as evident by Jeremy Renner's Oscar nod). The crime movie has been done to death, but this felt fresh and invigorated. I appreciated the homages to Heat, too. At this point, it's hard not to take cues from Michael Mann's opus; even The Dark Knight's prologue was a love letter of sorts to Heat. I'd say Affleck and co. did a hell of a job keeping the standard high.

5) Black Swan: This spot was a tough race with True Grit and Inception right there. In fact, for a while Inception was in, but after a second viewing of Black Swan it won out. Haunted and disturbing, this movie stays right in your face and really doesn't let go. I love following an unreliable narrator around, especially when it's Natalie Portman at her best. She played this part so well, which is thanks to her skill and director Darren Aronofsky. The man cannot make a bad movie and each one will stick with you long after you've watched. Nina's trip throughout the film is horrifying and we feel as frightened as she does.

—I'd like to thank FOX broadcasting for canceling the excellent Firefly after all of 14 episodes. Now what the hell am I supposed to elliptical to? Arrested Development? Oh. Right.

—Just in case you haven't been visited by the Obvious Fairy, fallen out of the Obvious Tree and hit every branch on the way down, or been beaten with the Obvious Stick, read this.

—Before training ended at my job, we were told that in the last seven or so years, we'd only ever closed for snow three or four times. So far this year? Twice. We've gotten out early twice, too. Best part? I don't have to make it up during spring break or summer vacation. Of course, I don't have a spring break or summer vacation, but that's the price of adult(ish)hood.

—Over the summer, during the height of the Park 51 Muslim Community Center mania, no one seemed to notice that Republicans shot down a health care bill for 9/11 first responders. It came to a vote again in December, and the Republicans voted against genuine heroes one more time. But this time, a few people had enough. Shepherd Smith, over on FOX News, went off on a rant about it. Jon Stewart and all of The Daily Show took it up as a personal cause. They dedicated an entire show to it and invited a panel of 9/11 first responders onto the show to tell the truth about their situations. It was heartbreaking and disgusting how these men were treated. After that episode, the corporate media finally picked it up. Then the bill went to vote again and passed. So when people say that Jon Stewart isn't in the news business, you can agree. He's in the getting-shit-done business.

—The Superbowl is set! The Pittsburgh Steelers vs the Green Bay Packers. I'm rooting for Steelers even though they beat my (newly) beloved Jets. You can't argue against their defense and even if Big Ben is a sketchy/creepy/downright horrible person off the field, on it, he gets work done. But really, I love Troy Polamalu. It's hard not to. Even if he's not integral to the stop, he's there at the end of every play. There's that hair, too.

—Far too often, hosts at awards shows take the event deadly serious. Not Ricky Gervais. He recognizes the absurdity of a bunch of overpaid entertainers patting themselves on the back. I loved every joke, every line, every awkward moment. Everyone ever should take a cue from Gervais and not take themselves too seriously.

—Losing My Religion will be 20 years old on February 19. This song cannot get old. It's as powerful a listening experience now as it was when it was first released. I got to see Peter Buck (R.E.M.'s guitarist and writer of the classic riff) play the song live with Hootie and the Blowfish in 2006. Pretty awesome moment.

—I got my first gray hair. Two days after my 24th birthday, one of my fellow trainees, Maureen, looked over in my direction and gave me the wonderful news. Two others confirmed it. I'll take gray over bald any day. Gray has a certain prestige to it.

That's it for now, amigos! I'm (still) working on a blog about the greatest comedy currently on TV, Community, so that may or may not be next. So until next time, remember that only you can prevent forest fires.

It Happened On a Dark Knight

For those unaware, Batman was my first superhero. My dad, older sister, Cindy, and I used to watch the old Adam West re-runs in the den when I was little. How could I not be captivated? I fondly remember my Batmobile toy from Burton's 1989 movie, and the Batman action figure with the belt that acted like a grappling hook. I've been sporting Batman t-shirts for nearly two decades. I'm proud to say I've never seen all of Batman and Robin.  I saw Batman Begins after graduating high school and loved it. The Caped Crusader is in my blood. I'm actually writing this blog draped in my Batman blanket. So, by January 2008, I had binders and notebooks covered in Joker smiley faces, Bat-Symbols, and "Why So Serious?". I think I might've even been working on a Joker voice because yes, I am that kind of person. Once we started seeing footage from the movie, I was nerding out hardcore. The entire summer before the release, all we talked about at work was The Dark Knight. I saw it at midnight in Joker facepaint and green hair because, once again, yes, I am that kind of person. What Heath Ledger did with the role blew me away. I immediately planned a trip to Raleigh for an IMAX screening. I saw it again when I went to Greensboro to visit friends. I may or may not have acquired it to watch while waiting for the DVD/Blu-Ray release. And you bet your ass I was there the day of the release to get the Blu-Ray. I love it and count it among my favorite films.

Yes, it has problems. Chris Nolan has trouble figuring out how to film Batman's fighting style. In Batman Begins it was fast and blurred and tight. We were supposed to feel like one of the guys getting pummeled. A lot of folks complained about that style, claiming the action was hard to follow. I agree and disagree with that; it was hard to follow every single hit, but I don't think Batman's fights are about individual moves. What they did in The Dark Knight, though, was a bad call. They pulled the camera back and didn't have much in the way of quick cuts. Sounds good in principle, but the choreography for the fights made Batman look slow. Really slow. It didn't feel right. That Batman-voice was bad news, too. Yeesh. Harvey Dent's arc was rushed, no two ways about it. Whether or not Nolan had any plans to do a third movie, killing off Dent after a rushed descent into madness and climax was not the right call. That's one of those threads you could leave open-ended and still have it feel satisfying. In that same vein, Nolan seems to struggle with the third acts in his Batman films. The first saw a main villain tased and a fight on a train. The second was drawn out. The idea was good, but the execution just felt off. And that shot of Batman running from the cops looked silly, like a kid in a Halloween costume. There's slight series inconsistencies, too. Wayne Enterprises is in a different building and the old one is completely ignored, despite the truck flip occurring right in front of it. There's not a single mention of the Narrows, or its current condition. And what about the train? We see it in one, maybe two shots. These latter two things were such huge, huge parts of the first film that it was odd to just completely move on from them. But I let myself look past all of that. Here's why:

—The story continues in a logical way. As Batman Begins ends, Gordon talks to Bats about escalation. We have Batman copycats, trying to fight crime with guns and hockey pads. The mob's getting desperate and dangerous. And of course, there's the Joker. He pushes Gotham to the brink, to what he sees as the next step. One of the few times he speaks honestly is in the interrogation room with Batman. There's no normal anymore in Gotham. Only freaks.

—The camera work and cinematography. Holy crap did this movie look amazing. Wally Pfister deserved an Oscar for his work, especially with the use of IMAX. Honestly, I have no idea why Hollywood hasn't jumped on that bandwagon. Yes, the cameras are heavier, harder to work with. Bigger, too. And louder. But if James Cameron can develop new technology to film 3D, why not IMAX, too? Why spend tons of cash to convert movies to crappy 3D in post when that money could go towards improving IMAX cameras?

—Harvey Dent. While Two-Face gets the shaft, Aaron Eckhart does a great job as Gotham's White Knight. He balanced the good, lawful man on a mission with a violence and anger just under the skin. Watching him fall was a pleasure, as bad as that sounds.

—The subtlety. In the opening heist, Joker gets himself a sawed-off shotgun. He also leaves in a school bus. He uses that shotgun at the fundraiser and again in the tractor-trailer. He leaves the hospital aboard a school bus, which is probably how he got there in the first place. There's also Scarecrow showing up again. Even if Nolan relegated him to a drug dealer (stupidstupidstupid), it's nice to see that these characters are still in Gotham, and not disappearing after the credits roll.

—Heath Ledger's Joker. Plenty has been said about this performance. Heath ate up scenery like it was edible underwear. If he was on the screen, he's all you watched. The Oscar was more than earned. Heath transformed himself into this character. He's completely unrecognizable, and it's not just the voice and make-up. Even when we see him sans facepaint, that's not Heath Ledger. It's the Joker, through and through.

Comic aficionados have also said plenty about this interpretation of the character. No, this it's not the playful but morbid Joker from Batman: The Animated Series. It's also not the insane Clown Prince of Crime from the comics. It's not Nichelson's Joker, or any other Joker. As it turns out, there is no THE Joker, no definitive take on the character. Alan Moore has a version. So do Grant Morrison, Tim Burton, Jeph Loeb, Chris Nolan, and so on for seventy-one years. He changes based on the medium and the writer. He changes based on the context of the story. Maybe Heath's Joker wasn't so playful. He didn't laugh as much as some might've wanted. He used facepaint instead of being scarred. But so what? This Joker was as charismatic and engaging and thoughtful and destructive as any we've seen. He was Batman's foil. And those, I think, are keys to the character.

Central to this version was manipulation and planning. This plays out beautifully in a bedside chat in a hospital, between Dent and the Joker. Every sentence is there to serve a purpose, to take Dent on a very specific journey down, down, down into madness. He masterfully shifts the blame of Rachel's death from his own shoulders to Gordon's and the mob's. Joker claims he's not a schemer, when in truth, no one schemes more, or better, than him. From the top of the movie, the bank heist was thoroughly planned. His meeting his the mobsters? Watch how he carries himself. He's reciting a practiced speech. When Gambol interrupts and calls him a freak, we see Joker go off-the-cuff. He planned out killing Gambol. He planned out the murders of two public officials, attempted the assassination of two, and one of those was in plain sight. And of course, there's the tractor-trailer/SWAT chase. Now, I read a lot of people complaining about this. How could Joker have planned all of that to work out that way? Well, readers, he didn't. Unless he had a crystal ball, there's no way he could've predicted the Batmobile's destruction or Gordon being alive and well. No, I think he just planned for lots of scenarios. There's also the meeting with the Russian mobster. Again, a rehearsed speech and act. He even had a cue for his goons to come in and douse the money in gas. I love it. I love that he lied to everyone except Batman.

I've waited to post about The Dark Knight for a while now. I meant to over the summer, but there's a ton of things I meant to do over the summer I never got around to. When January rolled around and I realized I still hadn't blogged about anything in over a month (now over two months), I got to work. And I waited to post this today. Three years ago today, Heath Ledger died. I remember coming home from my screenwriting class, heading into my room, and getting a call from my friend, Chad. He told me Heath Ledger was just pronounced dead. I called bullshit. It just seemed so far-fetched. The timing felt wrong. If you remember, the first teaser for The Dark Knight had just been released ahead of I Am Legend in early December 2007. It was a true teaser, too: no images from the film, just dialogue and a chilling laugh. The seven minute bank heist had also been attached to the IMAX screenings of I Am Legend, and the viral marketing, which had started in May 2007 (revealing the first image of the Joker), was in fifth gear. Word was starting to spread about his performance, even before we got to see a trailer. And then his death. Selfishly, the first thing I wondered was whether Chris Nolan and co. had everything they needed, or if reshoots were necessary. I was worried about whether or not The Dark Knight would be finished and released. Later that day, I read about Heath's little girl, Matilda, his relationship with her, and some anecdotes from their Brooklyn neighbors. Then it became about a person, a father, not a character or a movie. Here was a kid who would never get to know her dad but from the movies he made and the stories she's told. And the thing is, this happens all the time. Children lose parents every day. This isn't uncommon, but we're all taken by surprise when it happens to a celebrity. We hold them to some odd, immortal-esque standard, when really, they're just as fucked up as you and me.

Author's Note: Why so serious, Joey? That ending's a bit morbid. I should lighten up. Next blog will end on a happier note. Funnier too, maybe. I promise.

Expanded Thoughts or: How I Learned To Stop Procrastinating And Love The Blog

I'm working on a couple of ideas for full-length posts, but until I stop and write them, you'll just have to deal with another stupendous edition of Expanded Thoughts, with MadChops! Shall we? (We shall.)

—This diet is doing good things. I'm eating healthier and smarter, I'm losing weight, and I'm feeling good. Wednesday marked 10 lbs. loss since my official start date (13.5-15.5 lbs. since the unofficial). Thanksgiving scares me though. So does the pizza party that's just been planned for the Friday after. This is where I up the exercise and control how much I eat.

—The Green Lantern trailer leaked. I'll link to it/embed it once there's a high quality version available sometime this weekend. I'm glad we're seeing it so early, because if this was closer to release, I'd be worried. CG is a blessing and a curse and you really see that here, particularly at the end. On the other side, Kilowog looked awesome. So did Abin Sur, Sinestro, and Hector Hammond. Still looking forward to this in big ways.

And here it is! I couldn't imbed it, so the link goes to Quicktime's site, which has several HD versions: http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/wb/greenlantern/

—That wasn't the only trailer to come out this week. We finally got a look at Jon Favreau's secretive Cowboys and Aliens. In case those words don't get you excited, let me introduce a few more: James Bond. Han Solo. Olivia Wilde. Cowboys. Aliens. Favreau does amazing things with genres that could just as easily cheese out. But when you take the story seriously, like with Iron Man, you can get great results. Jon, I've added this to my anticipated movies.

—You probably thought that after Cowboys and Aliens, I was done with trailer talk. You were, as it turns out, totally wrong. Because you see, the red band trailer for David Gordon Green's Your Highness came out a day or so ago. In case you have no idea, it's about James Franco and Danny McBride in the middle ages. They may or may not be stoned. Also, supreme-crush Zooey Deschanel as Franco's wife-to-be and Natalie Portman as a badass not afraid to show off her ass. To me, it looks as funny and nonsensical as Pineapple Express, which I loved.



—I'm re-reading Jurassic Park. But this time it's with the critical, editorial eye I developed the last few years at UNCW. Don't get me wrong, I adore the book and love the story, but it would take months to cut out all the superfluous words, monologues, and get the dialogue into something that resembles the way people communicate with each other.  All the references to dinosaurs as lizards, too, and their flicking tongues (they're a type of reptile, but not the type you're familiar with). It's still a blast to read, flaws and all. If only I could watch Return of the Jedi and The Last Crusade with the same mentality.

—Glee is at its finest when it is dealing with the students. When they have the A storyline, the show kicks ass. See last week's episode. When the teachers have the A storyline, I get annoyed. See this week's episode. And I sure as hell can't understand why every single song on this episode had a teacher singing with the students. This is not a show about an eclectic group singing a musical. It's about a high school glee club. The adults should rarely, if ever, be singing with the kids in performances. The adult cast is full of great support characters, but their issues should not be the forefront unless it directly affects the glee club. Yeesh.

—Comic Book Movie News Time! Denis Leary is the latest edition to Marc Webb's Spider-Man movie, in the role of Gwen Stacy's father, Capt. Stacy. Tom Hardy has been cast in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises, but we don't have any idea as to who he'll play. Maybe Dr. Hugo Strange, maybe Croc. Maybe neither. There's also two female roles open: one to play a love interest, and the other a villain. Darron Aronofsky's The Wolverine will begin shooting in April of next year. I stand firm that I will not purchase another ticket for a FOX-produced comic book movie.

—I'm done saying anything after you sneeze. There's plenty of origins for "God bless you" after a sneeze and not a one makes any singular type of sense. Some think it originated during the plague and sneezing was a symptom. Could be people thought your soul was escaping and the devil might've found a way into you. Either way, it's old, archaic, and to me, foolishly outdated as a tradition. Sneezing is something our body does. It's extraordinary in its unextraordinarily commonness. So don't think me rude when I say nothing after you sneeze. Just think me crotchety and grumpy about traditions no one thinks to examine.

—I have to say it again: Community is one of the best comedies on TV right now. There's no excuse not to watch it. Old Chevy Chase as a racist? Yes please. Donald Glover on a regular basis? Heck yes. Alison Brie in the occasional cleavage revealing sweater? Say no more! It's also uproarious and well-written. But that's minor in comparison to Alison Brie's cleavage.

—Freddie Mercury was the last great front man. He may very well be the best. Do you think there's one better? Let me know, because I'd love to hear a case for someone else.

—Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 came out. I didn't see it at midnight. This breaks my heart in terrible ways. I'm hoping for a Sunday showing. But it may have to wait until after work Monday. I need some nerds up here.