Well kids it's officially here. We're on the eve Halloween ComicFest, which means tomorrow you can head down to your local comic book shop and pick up free comics! But which should you pick up? I got you covered. Check out my rankings below and remember to use the Comic Shop Locator to find your local participating store.
15. Rachel Rising: This book is in black and white and the pencils aren't good, plus the story is boring. Avoid this book.
14. Vamplets: I was really excited for this mini comic. Even bought some to hand out on Halloween, but little did I know that this would be a poor jumping on point with little happening and no back story to go on.
13. The Adventures Of Ernie: The cover is misleading, this is very cartoony. Also very kid-like, the pages are meant to be coloured in and numerous puzzles like maze's and alike disrupt what little narrative there is.
12. Plants Vs. Zombies: I get this is based of a video game with no narrative but this is pretty hard to follow even split up in different stories. Maybe if I played the game I would understand more, but at face value it's nothing more than a couple physical gags.
11. Scooby-Doo Team-Up: Another one for the kiddies here, although this book isn't really bad, the Scooby gang aren't allowed to do what they do best with Batman hanging around, it's also the '66 Batman so I'll just leave that at Zoinks!
10. My Little Pony: This actually had it's share of laughs until the end when we learned moral lessons... This will be a great book for kids but it's a little too silly for me,
9. Extinction Parade: They did a good job setting up this series for new readers but it was extremely wordy, though I suppose that's at least a little expected since they have to carve out vampire and zombie histories while talking about the humans to a certain extent.
8. Boom! Halloween Fright Fest: Really without the god awful Adventure Time holding this book back this could've easily been a top 5, maybe even top 3... But where Adventure Time failed, Peanuts and Fraggle Rock shined.
7. Resident Evil: A Fun read for fans of the series, difficult for new readers since it reads like traditional Japanese manga from right to left. It's also all in black and white but it gives that certain aura about it being a Resident Evil book.
6. Angry Birds: The birds interacting with the pigs made for some funny moments in this all ages book that reads just as well to adults.
5. Grimm Fairy Tales: This was a very good read and although in true Zenoscope fashion there are ridiculous amounts of oversized cleavage espescially since we are to believe that this half naked witch woman is hanging out with a bunch of kids. We get a retelling of the classic monkey paw story and it is definitely the book you get the most bang for your free buck since it's a full book,
4. Betty and Veronica: The creme de la creme of mini comics this year, normally Archie ends up near the bottom of my list but this was a very good read as was the other Archie title.
3. Hero Cats Of Stellar City: If you follow my Big B blogs I wrote about how much I enjoy this series and the Halloween story is no different, we also get a back-up Princeless story that I didn't think was as good as the critics say it is but hey it still made the top 3.
2. Afterlife With Archie: This is just a reprinting of the first part of the first issue of Afterlife and although it avoids the gore to make it more kid friendly, and black and white to keep the cost down, you also get the first few pages of the newly launched Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina.
1. Legends Of The Dark Knight: Before their was The Long Halloween, Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale did a series of Halloween Batman one-shots, this reprints perhaps the finest from the series as a can't put down book that should be at the top of everyone's list to grab tomorrow.
In case you missed it earlier this week, Warner Bros officially announced their plans for the DC Comics cinematic universe that began with 2013's Man Of Steel and continues with at least 10 more films including the previously announced Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice (click HERE for more info) and although some casting announcements have been made it's time to dreamcast the other 9 films. In This first part we tackle the next DCCU movie after Batman V Superman... 2016's Suicide Squad.
Rumour is Warner's is circling 4 A-list actors for this film, Will Smith, Tom Hardy and Ryan Gosling have been among those rumoured, but here's my choices:
Deadshot: As much as I like Gosling as an actor, Hardy is the perfect choice to become leader of the Suicide Squad. Plus Gosling did say he wouldn't do a superhero movie and that Drive would be his version of one.
Harley Quinn: I would love to get a young Helena Bonham Carter in this role, but since she's too aged we'll go with one of her Harry Potter student's with Emma Watson. She's elegant enough to pull of the psychiatrist role and crazy enough to play Harley. If she can nail the voice, there is no one better.
Captain Cold: Okay I'm cheating a little bit here because of my Percy Jackson fandom, but David Ayer is directing Suicide Squad and his current film Fury, stars Logan Lerman and I'd loved to see him lead a younger team of Rogues, though I'm sure they'll go older and Boomerang is likely ticketed for Suicide Squad I can dream.
Killer Frost: Emily Browning... No questions here. Snyder loves her and her career's on a downturn currently. She'd kill to be frost (see what I did there) and she'd do a great job.
Black Spider: The fact that Smith is being circled leads me to think there must be at least one African-American member, though I don't think Smith fits with my younger squad, I'd like to say Michael B. Jordan but he's likely tied up with Fantastic Four so I will again go with a Percy Jackson connection and cast Brandon T. Jackson as Black Spider while also being the comedic relief.
Amanda Waller: Finally, what's the Suicide Squad without it's fearless leader that stuck bombs in all their necks? I'm thinking they'll go with a sexy New 52 version of Waller so I'm thinking Halle Berry would work.
Villain; They could go anyway with this. Part of me thinks they should use a lesser Batman villain (Victor Zsasz?) but on that same note does Zsasz (I think Jude Law would be awesome as him BTW) warrant having the Suicide Squad come after him. Which is why I believe they'll go with a mob type villain, either headed by Falcone, Penguin or my personal pick Black Mask. The obvious pick is Hugo Weaving, but he may want to get away from masked villains/vigilantes so I'm going with Guy Pearce or Ralph Fiennes, both are European but both are bat-shit crazy! I also wouldn't hate Tim Roth.
It's been a while since I did one of these mini-review sets. I did it with new comic series a while back and since October is another hot bed for new series you can likely expect another but last night I attended my local drive-in for a triple feature night so let's talk briefly about each.
Annabelle:
"Before there was The Conjuring, there was Annabelle" Warner Bros. tagline for their creepy doll horror flick that serves as a quasi-prequel to last summer's breakout horror hit The Conjuring. Annabelle tells the story of a newly married couple, expecting their first child, that has occultist's run into their home after killing their next door neighbours, the occultist girls maternal parents, they escape unharmed however as the police kill the male and the girl died of an apparent suicide with a doll in her arms, Annabelle. In typical horror movie fashion the doll follows the couple and their newborn baby and torments them.
My thoughts? This movie was boring. It borrowed from some of the worst movie franchises without bringing anything new to the table. Their was one truly scary moment that didn't rely on failed jump scares. How bored was I? I timed the damn movie, 50 minutes before we actually see the damn doll move, that's right over half the runtime was setting up that there is clearly something wrong with this doll. There was nothing particularly good about this movie, the only good thing I can say about it is at least it's not Paranormal Activity 4. I wasn't particularly fond of The Conjuring either, it was just okay, but at least I didn't dislike it.
Final verdict: 2 out of 5 creepy porcelain dolls.
This Is Where I Leave You:
When their father passes away, four grown siblings, Judd, Wendy, Paul and Philip are forced to return to their childhood home and live under the same roof together for a week, along with their over-sharing mother. Judd is dealing with the impending divorce from his wife Gwen after catching her in bed with her boss on her birthday. Wendy's return home reminds her of her past love she left behind in order to leave town, now stuck in a loveless marriage she wonders what might have happened had she stayed. Paul never left home and shared the family business with his father though his wife, Judd's ex-girlfriend, are trying desperately to have children and the stress is affecting both of them. Philip, the youngest, brings his new girlfriend for the family to meet, a world renown psychiatrist who's closer to his mother's age than his.
My thoughts? With an extremely likable cast, who shine brightly throughout despite that this is really Bateman's rodeo, and very funny moments I'd like to say this movie was better but in reality it was really flawed. There were no surprises as things started to unfold. Upon meeting everyone and finding out their relationships and problems you can pretty much map out what is going to happen. Don't get me wrong, this is a good movie I would recommend to anyone, but it was very similar to other problematic family movies such as The Savages and The Way Way Back with it's overly used cliches.
Final verdict: 3 (bordering on 4) out of 5 dysfunctional families.
The Equalizer:
In The Equalizer, Denzel Washington plays Robert McCall, a man who believes he has put his mysterious past behind him and dedicated himself to beginning a new, quiet life. But when McCall meets Teri (Chloë Grace Moretz), a young girl under the control of ultra-violent Russian gangsters, he can't stand idly by - he has to help her. Armed with hidden skills that allow him to serve vengeance against anyone who would brutalise the helpless, McCall soon realises he's made more enemies than he had originally anticipated, but he's prepared to fight for what's right. He is The Equalizer.
This was a silly, silly movie. It tried to be ultra-violent while showing very little in the way of violence. They show a drill and insinuate it is going into someones head and you hear screams then see a bloody drill bit. That being said, this movie was never not entertaining. Most say Denzel is one of the last true stars in Hollywood as his last movie as a leading male to not open above 20 million was the awful Out Of Time back in 2003 which opened to a paltry 16 million. Moretz isn't given as big of a role as the studio wants you to think but she's the moral centre of the film so although she may not be there she's constantly on your mind. Antoine Fuqua's direction is solid, despite the silliness and I'll always watch Denzel bust some bad guys. The movie did feel a little bit long especially since you can pinpoint a handful of points when Denzel could put an end to the mob and vice-versa but that's Hollywood for you.
Well it's officially October so I think we can officially close off the summer movie season which begins May 1 and wraps up August 31. Looking at the box office numbers you can clearly see there were a lot of winners (Guardians Of The Galaxy, Transformers: Age Of Extinction) and a lot of losers (Sin City: A Dame To Kill For, A Million Ways To Die In The West) but I've put together my own awards ceremony to celebrate the summer movie season.
Most Successful Summer Movie: Guardians Of The Galaxy
Well another summer and another #1 hit for Marvel... Only no one expected this one. Guardians Of The Galaxy was considered a risk to every person that did not work for Marvel, working in house Marvel knew that it had a hit with James Gunn taking on this colourful collection of characters. It's earned nearly $650,000 worldwide and outgrossed Transformers 4 here in North America... Take that Michael Bay.
Honourable Mention: Transformers: Age Of Extinction - Transformers is over 1 Billion worldwide, but everyone saw that coming. The numbers are way lower here in North America and the rest of the world will soon realize these films have been declining in quality and the numbers will show.
Best Summer Sequel: How To Train Your Dragon 2
The original was a near perfect movie, the sequel improved on it. This was seen as a sure fire hit and a favourite among box office buffs to be the highest grossing movie of the summer, and although it seems unlikely it'll hit 200 million domestically, that by no means makes this movie a failure, the worldwide gross has been up and just like the original it will play well to the home video crowds.
Honourable Mention: X-Men: Days Of Future Past - In what seemed like a brilliant scheme to get movie-goers out to see the X-Men, Fox combined the casts of the original trilogy and first class to show us a post apocalyptic future that the only chance of survival would be to go back in time, shortly after First Class took place and put a stop to a series of events, It was a Top 5 movie at the box office and with most critics as well. You can write this off as a success.
Best Summer (Re)Launch: Guardians Of The Galaxy
Be prepared to have Guardians merchandise thrown at you in every possible direction. The movie has already spawned a sequel, which was announced after opening weekend numbers were in, a cartoon series and a crazy amount of toys and comics.
Honourable Mention: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Regardless of how you might feel about the film, it introduced the heroes in a half shell to a young wide-spread audience. It already has a successful TV series on Nick and as an old school fan, this movie wasn't as bad as everyone said it was.
Biggest Summer Disappointment: Lucy
This movie looked so great from the trailer but then you watched it and you thought to yourself "okay not as good as I would have thought... But not bad!" Then the ending came about and you retracted that statement. Lucy was always going to be a tough sell, but critics mostly liked it and it was a surprise hit taking in over 100 million domestically. But for me and everyone I spoke with that saw it, it lacked a lot, so all that potential was wasted.
Honourable Mention: Sin City: A Dame To Kill For - The opposite of Lucy here, I quite liked this movie, however critics were mixed and box office receipts might as well of been non-existent. Sin City deserved better.
Biggest Summer Surprise: Edge Of Tomorrow
I'd be lying if I said Edge Of Tomorrow was on my must see list upon it's release, it was a fringe movie for me then the reviews were spectacular so I decided I'd watch it, when I finally got around to it I was obviously surprised. It was action packed, it was a fresh outlook, which surprised me since well the trailer made it seem like The Source Code. Tom Cruise can still be an action star, and in a sci-fi movie no less, a genre that has really struggled to turn out hits.
Honourable Mention: Lucy - You just can't ignore those box office numbers...
Best Summer Thrill: The Purge: Anarchy
I could not peel my eyes away from the screen during The Purge: Anarchy, after watching I realized the movie had some flaws but I could not ignore the fact that I was enthralled with watching these 4 stories cross over with each other to become one story of how people deal with a 24 hour time period where all crime is legal including murder.
Honourable Mention: Edge Of Tomorrow - Damn you Tom Cruise, why can't you just kill those aliens on your first try.
Best Summer Laugh: 22 Jump Street
This was truly the summer of sequels, for me anyways... 6 out of 16 movies I have seen as of this writing were sequels. And most have been honoured already so let's go ahead and honour the funniest movie, also a sequel, 22 Jump Street. The sequel to 21 Jump Street starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum take them to college to stop a drug ring... Yup that's almost 21 Jump Street and this is almost as funny, but it still beat out the other comedies.
Honourable Mention: Neighbours - Remember that time you heard Seth Rogen was going to be a dad and living next to a frat house whose leader is Zac Efrom? Hilarious right? It was...
Best Summer Family Affair: How To Train Your Dragon 2
In case you haven't figured it out yet I really liked this movie.
Honourable mention: Maleficent - This was the role Angelina Jolie was born to play... And she played it Maleficently... I mean magnificently. This was a fun fantasy film for the whole family that took an old tale and gave it a whole new spin. It gives me lots of faith in Disney live-action reboots after I was scratching my head at Cinderella and Jungle Book movies forthcoming before seeing this.
Worst Summer Movie: Sex Tape
I literally just finished watching this movie... I planned to review it for this Sunday special, until I watched it and realized I wouldn't be able to say that much good stuff about it, which makes for a short review, so you get this award type post instead... Thanks a lot Sex Tape.
Honourable Mention: Lucy - For a bad movie, this sure has been mentioned a lot!
Best Summer Movie: How To Train Your Dragon 2
You guys are so smart for guessing this right!
Honourable Mention: X-Men: Days Of Future Past - This movie had a lot going for it, however it did not have an adorable animated dragon. Fox step up your game, that could've been the difference maker.
The Players: Director: David Ayer (End Of Watch, Street Kings) Writer: David Ayer (Training Day, The Fast And The Furious) Starring: Brad Pitt (World War Z, Inglorious Bastards), Shia LaBeouf (Transformers, Nymphomaniac), Logan Lerman (The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, Percy Jackson) Michael Pena (American Hustle, End Of Watch) and Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter, Green Zone)
Synopsis: April, 1945. As the Allies make their final push in the European Theatre, a battle-hardened army sergeant named Wardaddy (Brad Pitt) commands a Sherman tank and her five-man crew on a deadly mission behind enemy lines. Outnumbered and outgunned, and with a rookie soldier thrust into their platoon, Wardaddy and his men face overwhelming odds in their heroic attempts to strike at the heart of Nazi Germany.
Why you should watch: That cast is damn good, although I'm not usually one for war movies.
4. Dracula Untold
The Players: Director: Gary Shore (debut) Writer: Burk Sharpless and Matt Sazama (debut) Starring: Luke Evans (The Hobbit, Fast & Furious 6), Dominic Cooper (An Education, Need For Speed), Sarah Gordon (Dream House, Belle)
Synopsis: Luke Evans stars in Dracula Untold, the origin story of the man who became Dracula. Gary Shore directs and Michael De Luca produces the epic action-adventure that co-stars Sarah Gordon, Dominic Cooper, and Diarmaid Murtagh.
Why you should watch: The trailer looks good, although the early reviews have not been kind, but Luke Evans star has been on the rise ever since he took the role of Bard in the latest Hobbit film.
3. Nightcrawler
The Players: Director: Dan Gilroy (debut) Writer: Dan Gilroy (Two For The Money) Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko, Prisoners), Rene Russo (Thor, In The Line Of Fire), Bill Paxton (The Terminator, The Edge Of Tomorrow), Ann Cusack (Grosse Point Blank, The Informant!)
Synopsis: NIGHTCRAWLER is a pulse-pounding thriller set in the nocturnal underbelly of contemporary Los Angeles. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Lou Bloom, a driven young man desperate for work who discovers the high-speed world of L.A. crime journalism. Finding a group of freelance camera crews who film crashes, fires, murder and other mayhem, Lou muscles into the cut-throat, dangerous realm of nightcrawling -- where each police siren wail equals a possible windfall and victims are converted into dollars and cents. Aided by Rene Russo as Nina, a veteran of the blood-sport that is local TV news, Lou thrives. In the breakneck, ceaseless search for footage, he becomes the star of his own story.
Why you should watch it: Just watch the trailer, it looks way better than it sounds.
2. Gone Girl
The Players: Director: David Fincher (Fight Club, The Social Network) Writer: Gillian Flynn (debut) Starring: Ben Affleck (Argo, Good Will Hunting), Rosamund Pike (An Education, Jack Reacher), Neil Patrick Harris (Harold and Kumar, The Smurfs), Tyler Perry (Star Trek, Madea)
Synopsis: Directed by David Fincher and based upon the global bestseller by Gillian Flynn - unearths the secrets at the heart of a modern marriage. On the occasion of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) reports that his beautiful wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike), has gone missing. Under pressure from the police and a growing media frenzy, Nick's portrait of a blissful union begins to crumble. Soon his lies, deceits and strange behaviour have everyone asking the same dark question: Did Nick Dunne kill his wife?
Why you should watch it: It's directed by David Fincher, if you've been living under a rock he's directed Fight Club, Se7en, The Social Network, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Panic Room, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, Zodiac, and probably more I can't think of. Also Affleck's a really good actor.
1. The Book Of Life
The Players: Director: Jorge Gutierrez (debut) Writer: Jorge Gutierrez (debut) Starring: Channing Tatum (Magic Mike, 21 Jump Street), Zoe Saldana (Guardians Of The Galaxy, Avatar), Diego Luna (Milk, Elysium), Christina Applegate (Anchorman, Hall Pass), Ice Cube (21 Jump Street, Ride Along)
Synopsis: THE BOOK OF LIFE, a vibrant fantasy-adventure, tells the legend of Manolo, a conflicted hero and dreamer who sets off on an epic quest through magical, mythical and wondrous worlds in order to rescue his one true love and defend his village.
Why you should watch it: Animation is a hard sell to most adults, but this movie looks beautiful, inspired and heartwarming. There aren't any reviews yet but I think it's fair to say this has the potential to be the best animated flick this year.
