Future "Lone Ranger"? I hope not.

There have been talks recently that Armie Hammer, one of the stars of the hit movie The Social Network is aiming to put on the mask and hat of legendary cowboy hero of the airwaves, The Lone Ranger. When I think Lone Ranger, I am sorry to say I do not see this guy as him. I may only be a kid of the 21st century, but culturally, I am a kid of the 20th century. I have a passion for things like classic radio shows, pulp novels, classic movies and all the other amazing stuff that defined America in the 20th century from a cultural aspect. If Hollywood tries to make a new film about this timeless character, its going to go the same route as The Green Hornet, right down the toilet.

See the problem with Hollywood today, is they try to "vamp up" the things that our parents and grandparents grew up watching and listening to for the modern child, who, in my opinion, is spoiled rotten by the glut of new, well everything. And don't even get me started on the cartoons out there today. The stuff shown on Cartoon Network and Nick is just downright stupid, not even worthy of being called cartoons. But that rant is for another day. Bottom line is, I don't like the fact that they are going to chose this kind of actor to play such a serious and amazing character. If they find someone who has the acting chops to put on that mask and uniform, mount a bright silvery horse and yell to the heavens "Hi yo Silver, away!" then by all means go ahead. But please, do not put this farce out there, its only going to tarnish the good reputation of the Lone Ranger.

Who is Next?

With so many hero movies coming out this summer, I have to pose the question, who is next? In the great pantheon of DC heroes, there are so many others that could get their own movies. I personally would love to see a Flash movie, with either Barry or Wally as the Scarlet Speedster for the big screen. Now the question is, who could play either one of them. Who would the villains be, just a single villain or the entire Central City Rouges gallery? And who would play these dastardly fiends?

Also, why can't there be a movie about the Justice Society of America? And I mean the classic JSA. Who would play these legendary stalwarts, that set the bar for the more well known members of the DC Universe? Who would the villain or villains be? Vandal Savage, Per Degaton, the Wizard or even the Icicle? I want to hear your opinions readers, so please do not hesitate to speak your mind.

Earth X

This comic, when I first read, was the most amazing thing I had ever thought I'd read. It takes place in a alternate Marvel Universe, similar to the way Kingdom Come takes place in a alternate DC Universe. The basic plots are Captain America, now a very old man, fighting against the young son of Comet Man, who has discovered he has mind control powers and is using them to take over America as The Skull. Meanwhile, the Inhumans have returned and are allied with Reed Richards to find a way to combat the coming threat of the Celestials. Along the way, we see many other characters from the Marvelverse, grown up, retired or whatever. This book has amazing artwork and a fantastic script. With cover art by legendary Alex Ross, you will not be disappointed. So get out there and pick up your copy today!

An Amazing Book

Paul Malmont's novel The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril is an amazing book that takes the readers back to 1930's Depression New York City, with Walter Gibson, author of the famous pulp novel adventures of The Shadow teaming up with Doc Savage creator Lester Dent and Scientology founder L.Ron Hubbard (when Hubbard was still a pulp writer) to solve the mysterious death of the then semi-famous pulp horror writer H.P. Lovecraft. Along the way, they run into a Chinatown criminals, a ruthless military colonel, a Mongol warlord and a deadly gas that causes horrible deaths in those who inhale the toxin. This book is a must-have for any fan of classic pulp literature, and I myself have read it many times over, never getting bored with its rich language and amazing attention to detail. Malmont truly brings the world of the pulp novel into reality in way that will have others coming back again and again.  

Doctor Who is back for more adventures!

Season 6 of the popular British science-fiction show Doctor Who is back! After many months of waiting, everyone's favorite Time Lord is back with Amy, Rory and River Song for more adventures. For those who have no idea what Doctor Who is, let me break it down for you in the most basic way possible. The Doctor (main character) is a member of a humanoid alien species known as the Time Lords, and he travels around in a TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space) is a time machine and space ship, disguised as a police call box, that takes the Doctor and his companions on incredible adventures. I should point out that the show has been around since the 1960's, and so for those who dive all the way back into the original stuff and get confused, let me explain. Every time the Doctor dies, he regenerates or comes back to life, each time with a new face, hence the large variety of actors over the years. Now that I have broken it down for you readers, lets get on with the review. This new episode, "The Impossible Astronaut" takes the Doctor and his friends to 1969 America, right around the time of the moon landing, to answer a help call from President Richard Nixon. The episode has fantastic dialogue, great visual shots and amazing special effects, and a few twists and turns that surprised even me. I'm not going to spoil the episode, but if anyone wishes to watch old Doctor Who, if you have Netflix you can find lots of the classic episodes on there, and if you have a very large cable package, you can catch new episodes on BBC America. So I suggest you get out there, and start getting yourselves into this amazing science fiction show. And believe me, its going to be spectacular.

Superman #900

Next week is a very special week for the most famous superhero ever folks. He's flying back into town in time to make it for the one of the biggest milestones of his caped career, Superman #900. Clocking in at 100 pages, this issue will be, according to the DC Comics website, featuring the hugest Superman vs Lex Luthor battle we readers have ever seen! And that's not all we get. There's also get an incredible lineup of guest talent for this issue, including Dark Knight screenwriter David Goyer; legendary Superman: The Movie director Richard Donner, Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof and the entire creative team behind the hit new game DC Universe Online! I am reserving my copy early, cause I sure as heck don't want to miss this. You dear readers should as well, cause with a creative team like this, the 900th issue can't help but be amazing.

The Big Bang Theory: What is its future?

With the last episode of the popular CBS comedy series The Big Bang Theory ending with Howard proposing to his girlfriend Bernadette, and her saying yes, this raises the question, will this season end with wedding bells? I personally want it to, despite the fact that Howard's character might change a bit, meaning he could no longer make creepy comments about girls due to his presumed marital status. But there is also the raised question, what will Howard's mother think? That woman, as frustrating as she may be, is his mother and a devout practicing Jew, and Bernadette is a practicing Catholic. That just spells conflict with a capital C. Also, will Penny and Leonard get back together, or are fans going to have to suffer through more of Raj's baby sister Priya trying to change Leonard? Lets see what you have to say loyal fans, let your voices be heard.

Upcoming Smallville Episode stills

Well this is a treat folks, we have been given a look at a series of stills from the upcoming Smallville episode "Booster" which is introducing fellow DC superheroes Booster Gold and Blue Beetle. Now this version of the Beetle is going to be Jaime Reyes, having just been fused to the mystic scarab. Since both scarab and host are getting used to the new partnership, Jaime has any, if no control over the scarab, so he goes on a bit of rampage, tearing up the city. In comes Booster Gold, with his infomercials and 1-800 number. He then goes to show Clark that the people need a hero they can see and know about. Given Clark's history of rescues as "The Blur", he begins to see that change is needed. Now we aren't going to see him actually becoming Superman, but we do get a treat, Clark pulling for the first time the classic phone booth change. I pulled a few images for your enjoyment readers, so take a look, post comments with your opinions. Let your voices be heard my friends, and mark your calendars, cause the season finale is only 3 episodes away.

Superhero Movie Showdown: Whose it going to be?

With May only a few weeks away and with it, the release of Thor to kick off the summer movie franchise, it has myself and many fans wondering, who will be the one to really steal the summer? Will it be Thor, with Shakespearian actor/director Kenneth Branagh at the helm, or Green Lantern, the first DC film in forever featuring another one of their big name characters besides Batman or Superman? Or perhaps X-Men: First Class which brings to movie goers the story of how Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr (Magneto) meet and eventually have the falling out that leads to them becoming such bitter enemies? But maybe it will be Captain America: The First Avenger to steal the show, with such an amazing cast of actors? Who knows, not us thats for certain. But whatever opinions you may have my friends, I'd love to see them be voiced. But above all, be courteous and no cussing out of other bloggers.

New Comics and other upcoming reading material

So I did the rounds this morning, perusing the various websites of comic book publishers and boy oh boy is there some good stuff coming out. From DC we have Batman #709 with the climactic finale of Batman vs the Angels of Death, and Justice League of America # 56 with the third installment of "The Rise of Eclipso" storyline. There is also a new Astro City trade paperback coming out soon entitled Astro City: Shining Stars, collecting the mini-series's on Astra Furst's college graduation, various adventures of The Silver Agent and Honor Guard member Beautie. And with Fables # 104, the epic third part to the "Super Team" saga.

From Marvel Comics there's a mix of various trade paperbacks from the Spider-Man family and the X-Men as well. From Dark Horse Comics we have the upcoming issue of Doctor Solar: Man of the Atom, in which the Doc must save his beloved Gail while fighting off a horde of Nuclear-Ninja warriors. Try saying that five times fast. Further down the road is Hellboy Library Edition Volume 4 collecting "The Troll Witch  and Others" and "Crooked Man" story-lines, plus thirty pages of new sketchbook work.

And last but not least my two personal favorite from Dynamite Entertainment, I hope all of you are looking forward to the upcoming first issue of the Kirby Genesis mini-series, which comes out in June, and the latest issue of Kevin Smith's Green Hornet series has Britt Reid Jr. trying to fight crime solo, making a rookie mistake that may very well force him to give up the mask and hat of the Green Hornet for good, meanwhile Hayashi and Clutch return from Japan after dealing with the Juuma clan, tailed by the deadly assassin Redhand! I'm certainly looking forward to all this new material coming out and you should too, so go out and reserve your copies at your local comic book store today!

'The Dark Knight Returns' Animated?

Ok so I've been hearing the buzz around the campfire and the buzz is that Frank Miller's amazing 'The Dark Knight Returns' could be next in the line of DC Animated films. But after the underwhelming treatment All-Star Superman was given this year, I have to ask. Is it worth it? The problem with DC Animation that tries to bring existing stories into another format, is that they try to change so many things around! Look at 'Under the Hood'! And now there's also talk of Batman: Year One getting done? That I would like to see, but if they seriously try and screw things around, they might as well not even bother. The DC Showcase shorts are even better than these, and that's saying something, because they took characters that have been around forever, built plots that tie into those characters and what they are/do. And I'm also hearing that we can expect a film that is a "loose adaptation" of the Justice League "Tower of Babel" storyline. It's getting to the point where I really am not going to bother watching anymore DC Animated films, if they are just going to be shoddy adapatations of things. Thoughts anyone? Lets hear them.

Classic Superman cartoon= Awesome

So I was browsing this morning, watching those 1940's Superman cartoons on Youtube and I stumbled across this quite by accident. It's an excellent piece of animation by veteran Disney animator Rob Pratt, whose work includes Pocahontas, Hercules, Tarzan and Fantasia 2000, as well as Disney shows Kim Possible, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil. The cartoon combines the traits of past Superman actors, and the musical score is taken from the 1948 Superman movie serial. Here's the link everyone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2WVlmNqMMs, watch the cartoon and feel free to post your comments about it on here.

Josh Pence joins "The Dark Knight Rises"

Production on Chris Nolan's third and final Batman film The Dark Knight Rises is close to beginning and while the story may be under tight security, rumors and speculation are covering every possible detail, many of which involve tying the film back into Batman Begins. Still no word on whether or not Joseph Gordon-Levitt will be playing the role of Alberto Falcone, estranged son of former Gotham crime boss Carmine Falcone, but we do have someone new coming to the cast, Social Network star Josh Pence. Pence has been signed on to play a younger Ra's Al Ghul in flashback sequences throughout the film. This would certainly confirm the number of rumors flying Gary Oldman, who plays Commissioner Jim Gordon in the series, that film ties up a lot of loose ends and brings the trilogy back to where it all began. Liam Neeson played Ra's Al Ghul in Batman Begins and if you take a look at the photo above you can see the resemblance between the two actors. Also new to the cast is Anne Hathaway playing the famous feline thief Catwoman and Tom Hardy as strongman Bane. Whatever direction the film goes, lets hope Nolan can bring it all back together and round it out with a smashing finale.

Superman Film Villain Chosen!

The word has gone out ladies and gentlemen... and the word is ZOD! The despot general from Superman's home planet of Krypton has been announced as the villain in the upcoming Superman reboot directed by Zack Snyder, which has been renamed Man of Steel. For those of you who have no idea who the General is, well its time for a backstory. Zod was head of Krypton's military and police forces, until he tried to overthrow the Ruling Council, right around the time of Jor-El's discovery that the planet was doomed to explode. The sentence for Zod, his lover Ursa and mindless bodyguard Non was going to be death, but Jor-El interceded on their behalf and instead convinced the Council to lock the trio in the Phantom Zone. Over the years, Zod has made numerous reappearance's, always with goals to either conquer Earth or kill Superman. The internet has been abuzz over this character choice, with the usual ranging from "I hate it!" "I love it!" and "Meh". The difficulty here folks is that people are afraid that this reboot may just end up recycling bits of the 1980 Richard Donner film Superman II. And the man who has been cast as the villainous Kryptonian general is Michael Shannon of Boardwalk Empire fame. But I have to ask you readers, what direction do you think this character and casting choice will go? Speak your minds friends, but be polite about it. 

Summer 2011, So Many Movies!

With the summer fast approaching, we should all take a moment to step back and look a the fact that are so many films coming out. By my count there are 16, four of those being superhero films and seven are sequels. Those numbers aside, this summer will also be a battle for box office supremacy, with Paramount turning out Thor, Captain America and Warner Bros. with Green Lantern and Harry Potter. The goods news is that there is going to be a movie out each weekend, no matter how bad some might be. So get those wallets out everyone, cause this summer is going to be one giant movie mashup.

Summer 2011 Movie List
1.Fast Five - April 29, 2011


2.Thor - May 6, 2011

3.Priest - May 13, 2011

4.The Tree of Life - May 18, 2011

5.Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - May 20, 2011

6.The Hangover 2 - May 26, 2011

7.Kung Fu Panda 2 - May 26, 2011

8.X-Men: First Class - June 3, 2011

9.Super 8 - June 10, 2011

10.Green Lantern - June 17, 2011

11.Cars 2 - June 24, 2011

12.Transformers: Dark of the Moon - July 1, 2011

13.Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 -- July 15, 2011

14.Captain America - July 22, 2011

15.Cowboys and Aliens - July 29, 2011

16.Conan - August 19, 2011

Superman Reboot: Who do you want?

With all the buzz around about director Zach Snyder's upcoming Superman reboot Superman: Man of Steel, the question that has everyone hopping is who should be the villain? Can we expect another Lex Luthor plot, or maybe something more ambitious? If they could pull of another villain, and NOT General Zod, say Metallo, Parasite or whoever I would like that. But the question again is who? I'd like to hear everyone else's ideas and opinions. Please speak your minds.

The Three Musketeers: Will it flop?

The latest buzz in movie world has been with the upcoming film directed by Paul Anderson based on Alexandre Dumas classic tale. But now, we get a bit more. Not only are we getting all the primary characters from the book, we are getting a seemingly excellent cast. But the trailer has people either cheering or groaning as our heroes deal with Cardinal Richelieu and his agents as they attempt to plunge the European continent into war. For those who have not seen the trailer or the cast, just click this link http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1509767/ and after you are done, come back here and post your thoughts on what direction you think the film will go.

Real Life Super Heroes

Today is my 100th blog post since creating this page, and today I was plagued with the question of what to write about. Then it hit me, the RLSH (Real Life Super Heroes). These are ordinary men and women, like you and me, who put on costumes, have equipment, and go out to patrol their neighborhoods, help their communities and make a difference. And they do it all without flying, running at super speed or having any powers beyond their own physical skills.

Now when people read this and dig into it further, they might think that these people are crazy for putting on costumes, and going out to fight crime, or help out in their community. And the truth is, you kind of have to be. A few days ago, Yahoo News did an article on the Heroes, with reporter Jim Brasher going out on a night patrol with San Jose hero Motor Mouth. Motor Mouth put it best: "You have to be a little eccentric, there's no question about it. You gotta be eccentric and you gotta have a little bravado about yourself."

When I first found out about the RLSH, I thought it was more of a club or just a fad of people wearing costumes and fighting crime. And since I am a devoted fan of superhero comic books, I thought it was just downright cool. But the more that I read and learned, the more I realised, that this isn't just people putting on costumes and going out there for perks or fame, it's as I said, to make a difference. These people put themselves in danger every night, and they do it because they want to make change. But that also makes them vigilantes in the eyes of the law. Now of course this is considered a crime, but is it a crime to want to make a difference? To want to help the police by tackling the problems that they can't always get to? I certainly don't think so. Awhile back, I was talking to one of the heroes, Patriot, about wanting to get involved and wanting to help. He told me that helping out doesn't always mean putting on a mask and costume. You can start by getting involved in your community and doing volunteer work.

The RLSH is growing in members and their message is being spread. Director Michael Barnett and produer Theodore James spent a year on the road following forty heroes across the US for an upcoming documentary called, yep you guessed it, Superheroes. The point of the heroes is best put in the words of Director Barnett: "There's not one thing the RLSH community focuses on, they really do focus on everything, every aspect of the community, and how to make it better. And the thing that drives all of them, is people who do not care; that's their mission, change the people who do not care to caring people." If anyone who read this blog wants to learn more about the RLSH go to http://www.reallifesuperheroes.org/ and just take a look around. Read up on the heroes, read some of their adventures and maybe you will be inspired to create your own hero and make a difference.

News on J. Edgar

Today a image was released of Leonardo DiCaprio on set as one of the most legendary of American intelligence officials, J. Edgar Hoover. The film, directed by Clint Eastwood, will be set during the 1919-1920 Palmer Raids and moving forward in his career, while also examining Hoover's private life as a closet homosexual. I myself think that DiCaprio's likeness in makeup to Hoover is astonishing, but I am wondering, can DiCaprio bring it to the screen, playing the man who ran the FBI for close to five decades? We can only hope so. There has been no release date announced yet for the movie, so I am not going to form any further opinions, but I think that this will be an excellent movie. What are your thoughts readers? Let them be voiced. 

Green Lantern's Looking Bright

Alright, so first off I would like to apologize to all my readers for not getting a post out on Friday, and I know this is a lame excuse but I was on spring break and and my parents decided to take our family on a trip to Wisconsin for the day. But now on to the latest news for the upcoming Green Lantern film. A few days ago, at WonderCon, a new trailer for the upcoming hero film starring Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan was released. This trailer has gained much favor with fans, giving everyone a better look at Mark Strong's Sinestro, Parallax being cast as the embodiment of fear and Geoffrey Rush's voice work for Tomar-Re, as well as improved CGI work on Reynolds Green Lantern uniform. To see the new trailer and the amazing advancements made, go to http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/wb/greenlantern/ and click on Wonder-con footage. Warner Bros. recently apologized for the first trailer and have announced that a second official trailer will be released when they are happy with it, so we can probably be looking at a new one screening ahead of Thor on May 6. But aside from that, this has put Green Lantern on the top spot with the other upcoming summer hero movies (Thor, Captain America and X-Men: First Class). And as a side note, DC Comics Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns has announced that a Justice League movie is in development, but Ryan has not been approached for a part in the film. So much is happening at once! So many hero films! It feels like we are literally getting bombarded by costumes! So much to look forward to in the summer! I don't know about the rest of you but when the call goes out, I'm getting my tickets early cause I am not going to want to miss any of this.