Wednesday, 30 December 2015

Comic Shop Corner: Deadpool & Cable: Split Second #1

This weeks hot book: Deadpool & Cable: Split Second #1

Synopsis: Call them a duo with a special kind of dynamics...call them the odd couple but with guns...call them 90s comics distilled down into two characters -- DEADPOOL AND CABLE ARE BACK, BABY! That's right -- The Merc with the Mouth and the Soldier with the Scowl are together again in this all-new series! When Cable gets a vision of a terrible future set off by the death of one man, he knows he must protect him no matter what! I'll get you three guesses who's been hired to kill that guy. Go on, guess. The fan favorite team of Fabian Nicieza & Reilly Brown have reunited to get the gang back together -- and it feels so good!

Why check it out? It's well known that Rob Liefield created Deadpool, but the scripter on that issue of New Mutants #98? None other than Nicieza. Upon completing the New Mutants run with issue #100 the two went on to do X-Force until issue #12 when Liefield leaves and Nicieza becomes the full time writer. Years later, he and Reilly Brown paired the two characters together for 50 issues after their previous solo issues ended and it ended up being gold. So why pick this up? Why wouldn't you!? These two creators revitalized these characters by pairing them up and now they're doing it again when Deadpool is at his peak of popularity.

Sunday, 27 December 2015

Special: Best Christmas Movies

Hey everyone. The holidays are officially over and I hope everyone had a good one! For this post-Christmas pre-New Year Special post I'm going to rank all the Christmas movies I watched this year based on the movie's quality and it's yuletide cheer. First up, a couple rules:

1. The movie must be a theatrical release, so no Netflix specials, straight to DVD fare or TV movies/specials. I also didn't include this years releases (Krampus and The Night Before) since they deserve more than 1 viewing before being properly judged.

2. The judgment for Christmas spirit is in the table below.

5=Christmas themes throughout plus Santa or Jesus
4=Christmas themes throughout
3=Mostly Christmas themed
2=Half Christmas themed
1=Barely Christmas themed

And now the list:

24. Edward Scissorhands
Movie rating: 4     Christmas rating: 1     Total rating: 5

23. Batman Returns
Movie rating: 4     Christmas rating: 2     Total rating: 6

22. The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
Movie rating: 5     Christmas rating: 1     Total rating: 6

21. The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause
Movie rating: 2     Christmas rating: 5     Total rating: 7

20. Eloise At Christmastime
Movie rating: 3     Christmas rating: 4     Total rating: 7

19. Disney's A Christmas Carol
Movie rating: 3     Christmas rating: 4     Total rating: 7

18. The Polar Express
Movie rating: 3     Christmas rating: 5     Total rating: 8

17. The Santa Clause 2
Movie rating: 3     Christmas rating: 5     Total rating: 8

16. Scrooged
Movie rating: 4     Christmas rating: 4     Total rating: 8

15. Home Alone 2
Movie rating: 4     Christmas rating: 4     Total rating: 8

14. Mickey's Christmas Carol
Movie rating: 4     Christmas rating: 4     Total rating: 8

13. Home Alone
Movie rating: 4     Christmas rating: 4     Total rating: 8

12. Die Hard 2
Movie rating: 4     Christmas rating: 4     Total rating: 8

11. The Nightmare Before Christmas
Movie rating: 5     Christmas rating: 3     Total rating: 8

10. A Very Harold And Kumar Christmas
Movie rating: 4     Christmas rating: 5     Total rating: 9

9. The Santa Clause
Movie rating: 4     Christmas rating: 5     Total rating: 9

8. A Christmas Story
Movie rating: 4     Christmas rating: 5     Total rating: 9

7. Eight Crazy Nights
Movie rating: 5     Christmas rating: 4     Total rating: 9

6. The Muppets Christmas Carol
Movie rating: 5     Christmas rating: 4     Total rating: 9

5. Just Friends
Movie rating: 5     Christmas rating: 4     Total rating: 9

4. Gremlins
Movie rating: 5     Christmas rating: 4     Total rating: 9

3. Die Hard
Movie rating: 5     Christmas rating: 4     Total rating: 9

2. Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas
Movie rating: 5     Christmas rating: 5     Total rating: 10

1. Elf
Movie rating: 5     Christmas rating: 5     Total rating: 10

Saturday, 26 December 2015

Top 10 Countdown: December 26, 2015

10. Set It Off - The Haunting
Last week: NEW!


9. Marianas Trench - One Love
Last week: 10.


8. Hedley - Hello
Last week: 8.

7. Good Charlotte - Makeshift Love
Last week: 9.


6. State Champs - All You Are Is History
Last week: 4.


5. One Direction - Perfect
Last week: 6.


4. As It Is - Speak Soft
Last week: 5.


3. Arkells - 11:11
Last week: 1.


2. Seaway - Best Mistake
Last week: 3.


1. As It Is - Sorry
Last week: 2.

Sunday, 20 December 2015

Special: The Night Before/Krampus/A Very Murray Christmas Mini-Reviews

'Tis the holiday season so why not tackle some mini-reviews on some of the holiday flicks that hit your local multiplex and streaming service this year.

The Night Before:

Ethan, Isaac, and Chris have been friends since childhood, and for a decade, their yearly Christmas Eve reunion has been an annual night of debauchery and hilarity. Now that they're entering adulthood, the tradition is coming to an end, and to make it as memorable as possible, they set out to find the Nutcracka Ball - the Holy Grail of Christmas parties.

My thoughts? Not too often you have a Christmas movie that hits on so many different emotions like The Night Before does, all 3 of our main characters are flawed and overcoming those flaws with the help of their friends and a drug dealing Michael Shannon, surprisingly being the emotional centerpiece to this film. More importantly this movie is also really funny which is almost as rare as an emotionally satisfying Christmas film.

Final verdict: 4 out of 5 drug dealing Zod's.

Krampus:

When his dysfunctional family clashes over the holidays, young Max is disillusioned and turns his back on Christmas. Little does he know, this lack of festive spirit has unleashed the wrath of Krampus: a demonic force of ancient evil intent on punishing non-believers. All hell breaks loose as beloved holiday icons take on a monstrous life of their own, laying siege to the fractured family's home and forcing them to fight for each other if they hope to survive.

My thoughts? Not nearly as scary or horrifying as the trailer's make it seem but Krampus is still good campy fun. You can tell that it's a traditional comedic cast and that overshadows what little gore there actually is. Mostly the scares come from the toys and elves that look more menacing than you usually see them in Rankin-Bass specials. But overall this movie is more akin to Gremlins than to Black X-Mas.

Final verdict:4 out of 5 homicidal gingerbread men.

A Very Murray Christmas:

Bill Murray worries no one will show up to his T.V. show due to a terrible snow-storm in New York City.

My thoughts? People have been crapping all over this Netflix Original Holiday Special. It currently holds a 36% user rating on Rotten Tomatoes, despite a solid 77% critic rating, to go along with a 5.8 user rating at IMDB and an ever lower 5.1 user rating at Metacritic. I will say not a lot happens in this special, A snow storm knocks out the power cancelling Bill's Christmas Special so he's stuck in the hotel singing songs with the staff and other occupants before passing out and going into a dream sequence where George Clooney and Miley Cyrus show up to sing along with Bill. This can essentially be explained as a series of famous people (Chris Rock, Maya Rudolph and Jason Schwartzmen among them) singing famous Christmas songs along with Bill Murray for an hour. Not my cup of tea but obviously some people will and have enjoyed this, just don't expect a plot.

Final verdict: 2 out of 5 golden rings.

Saturday, 19 December 2015

Top 10 Countdown: December 19, 2015

10. Marianas Trench - One Love
Last week: NEW!


9. Good Charlotte - Makeshift Love
Last week: NEW!


8. Hedley - Hello
Last week: 9.

7. Zebrahead - Worse Than This
Last week: 5.


6. One Direction - Perfect
Last week: 7.


5. As It Is - Speak Soft
Last week: 6.


4. State Champs - All You Are Is History
Last week: 1.


3. Seaway - Best Mistake
Last week: 4.


2. As It Is - Sorry
Last week: 3.


1. Arkells - 11:11
Last week: 2.

Wednesday, 16 December 2015

Comic Shop Corner: Justice League #46

Before we delve into this week's selection some exciting news... All the Free Comic Book Day books for this year's event (May 2016) have been announced! So head on over to http://www.freecomicbookday.com/Home/1/1/27/981 to check out what all the Indie publishers, IDW, Image, Dark Horse, Marvel and DC are releasing for you this year.

Speaking of DC, I do read mostly DC however it wasn't my intention to have 4 posts in a row about DC Comic properties but alas that's how it ended up thanks to this week being extremely light... Anyways let's check out this week's feature:

This weeks hot book: Justice League #46

Synopsis: "Darkseid War" rages on! Wonder Woman and Mister Miracle must rally to find the missing Anti-Monitor, while the rest of the League deals with the consequences of their new, godlike abilities.

Why check it out? Well apart from this being the most exciting arcs the Justice League have undergone since the New 52 launch in September 2011, this arc also marks the return of Darkseid who hasn't been seen since the first Origin arc which didn't really dig deep into his character, rather they focused on the leaguers coming together but with this arc he gets his due, as do his children. So why this issue? Francis Manapul, the man that drew The Flash so beautifully at the outset of the aforementioned launch, is drawing it! This will likely be the most gorgeous book of the entire arc which will make it more than worth your while.

Monday, 14 December 2015

Special: Christmas CD

Howdy folks! With every holiday season that comes you get treated to a new volume of the hit Christmas compilation, which I make every year, "What's A Partridge? What's A Pear Tree?". We're at volume 8 this year and the information for download and tracklist is below, but before we get into that, here is the link to last year's post which has last year's CD (volume 7) and a direct link to the previous years article which has volumes one through six. (LINK IS HERE) And now here's the obligatory "I own none of the music listed here or in previous articles" quote.

What's A Partridge? What's A Pear Tree? Volume 8

http://www.mediafire.com/download/qj8hn5hcu3ucla9/What%27s_A_Partridge_What%27s_A_Pear_Tree_Volume_7.zip

1. Relient K - Angels We Have Heard On High
2. Seasons Change - Holidays
3. Count Your Blessings - Round Up The Christmas Tree
4. Jason Lancaster - All I Can Give You
5. Issues - Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays
6. It's Only A Story - I'm Coming Home
7. Amely - Christmas Time Again
8. William Beckett - Do You Hear What I Hear?
9. State Faults - Mookie's Last Christmas
10. Automatic Habit - Merry Christmas, Don't Come Home
11. Divide & Conquer - I Sat On Santa's Lap And All I Got Was This Restraining Order
12. Metro Station - Last Christmas
13. This Wild Life - Sleigh Ride
14. MxPx - 2005
15. Sunrise Skater Kids - 12 Days Of A Pop Punk Christmas
16. Sherri Dupree & Max Bemis - White Christmas
17. Hawk Nelson - Up On The Housetop
18. illScarlett - Christmas Vacation
19. Daisyhead - Silent Night
20. A Rocket To The Moon - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

Saturday, 12 December 2015

Top 10 Countdown: December 12, 2015

10. Simple Plan - Boom
Last week: 4.

9. Hedley - Hello
Last week: 10.

8. 5 Seconds Of Summer - Hey Everybody
Last week: 8.

7. One Direction - Perfect
Last week: 9.


6. As It Is - Speak Soft
Last week: NEW!


5. Zebrahead - Worse Than This
Last week: 5.


4. Seaway - Best Mistake
Last week: 6.


3. As It Is - Sorry
Last week: 3.


2. Arkells - 11:11
Last week: 2.


1. State Champs - All You Are Is History
Last week: 1.

Wednesday, 9 December 2015

Comic Shop Corner: Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1

This week's hot book: Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1

Synopsis: DC Comics and IDW team up for the crossover you never saw coming as two of the greatest entertainment icons meet for the first time! In Gotham City, a series of deadly raids leads Batman to believe he’s up against a group of highly trained ninjas known as the Foot Clan! Somehow, they’ve crossed over to another dimension and are determined to take advantage of the situation while looking to get back home. But they haven’t come alone: Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo are hot on their trail. Get ready for excitement as heroes and villains from both worlds clash and team up in an epic battle that threatens the very fabric of reality!

Why check it out? Uh do you need another reason? Look at the title. Written by James Tynion IV (Batman and Robin Eternal, The Woods) and drawn by newcomer Freddie Williams II this book has gotten great reviews early but again it's the TMNT in Gotham... You should've bought this already!

Sunday, 6 December 2015

Special: Top 10 Non-Christmas Movies That Take Place At Christmas

Well readers it's finally December so we're ready to tackle some Christmas lists this holiday season. To check out some past lists of the ilk search the blog for "Christmas" or when you get down to the bottom of this post the tags are listed and if you click on "Christmas" all the posts should come up. Anyways this week we're tackling 10 movies that aren't considered "Christmas Movies" but that take place on Christmas... So here we go.

10. Friday After Next

Finds Craig (Ice Cube) and Day-Day (Mike Epps) back in the old neighborhood where it all began. It's Christmas time and a ghetto Santa Claus breaks into their run-down apartment, stealing all their presents, along with anything else he can stuff into his sack, including the rent money hidden in their stereo speakers. Their only hope to not get evicted before Christmas is to take jobs as security guards at a local mall, where they learn some comic lessons about the true meaning of the holidays.

Best Christmas Quote: "That's right. Got my ass back in the projects. The only place where you get robbed by Santa Claus on Christmas Eve." - Craig Jones

9. Catch Me If You Can

Frank Abagnale, Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) worked as a doctor, a lawyer, and as a co-pilot for a major airline -- all before his 18th birthday. A master of deception, he was also a brilliant forger, whose skill gave him his first real claim to fame: At the age of 17, Frank Abagnale, Jr. became the most successful bank robber in the history of the U.S. FBI Agent Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks) makes it his prime mission to capture Frank and bring him to justice, but Frank is always one step ahead of him.

Best Christmas Quote: "Carl? Carl! Merry Christmas! How is it we're always talking on Christmas, Carl? Every Christmas, I'm talking to you!" - Frank Abagnale Jr.

8. Trading Places

Upper-crust executive Louis Winthorpe III (Dan Aykroyd) and down-and-out hustler Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy) are the subjects of a bet by successful brokers Mortimer (Don Ameche) and Randolph Duke (Ralph Bellamy). An employee of the Dukes, Winthorpe is framed by the brothers for a crime he didn't commit, with the siblings then installing the street-smart Valentine in his position. When Winthorpe and Valentine uncover the scheme, they set out to turn the tables on the Dukes.

Best Christmas Quote: "Okay, pork belly prices have been dropping all morning, which means that everybody is waiting for it to hit rock bottom, so they can buy low. Which means that the people who own the pork belly contracts are saying, "Hey, we're losing all our damn money, and Christmas is around the corner, and I ain't gonna have no money to buy my son the G.I. Joe with the kung-fu grip! And my wife ain't gonna f... my wife ain't gonna make love to me if I got no money!" So they're panicking right now, they're screaming "SELL! SELL!" to get out before the price keeps dropping. They're panicking out there right now, I can feel it." - Billy Ray Valentine

7. Rocky IV

After reclaiming the boxing championship title, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) plans to retire and live with his wife, Adrian (Talia Shire). However, during an exhibition match, Rocky's friend Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) is mercilessly beaten to death by hulking Russian newcomer Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren). Rocky vows payback against Drago and flies to Russia to train for a Christmas Day fight. Despite their different training methods, Rocky and Drago both wage a long and intense match.

Best Christmas Quote: "Are you planning to grow reindeer or something? How the heck are you supposed to train here? What a depressing vacation. What about the Rose Bowl game? I hope they have my comics here." - Paulie

6. Prometheus

The discovery of a clue to mankind's origins on Earth leads a team of explorers to the darkest parts of the universe. Two brilliant young scientists lead the expedition. Shaw (Noomi Rapace) hopes that they will meet a race of benevolent, godlike beings who will in some way verify her religious beliefs, while Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) is out to debunk any spiritual notions. However, neither the scientists nor their shipmates are prepared for the unimaginable terrors that await them.

Best Christmas Quote: "No, no, no. It's Christmas, captain, and I want to open my presents." - Charlie Holloway

5. First Blood

Vietnam veteran and drifter John J. Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) wanders into a small Washington town in search of an old friend, but is met with intolerance and brutality by the local sheriff, Will Teasle (Brian Dennehy). When Teasle and his deputies restrain and shave Rambo, he flashes back to his time as a prisoner of war and unleashes his fury on the officers. He narrowly escapes the manhunt, but it will take his former commander (Richard Crenna) to save the hunters from the hunted.

Best Christmas Quote: None. That's right. They make no mention of the holiday but eagle eyed viewers can see Christmas Decorations in various location throughout the movie so put it on and enjoy.

4. Go

Grocery store clerk Simon (Desmond Askew) occasionally sells drugs from his cash register at work, so when soap opera actors Adam (Scott Wolf) and Zack (Jay Mohr) come looking for Ecstasy on a quiet Christmas Eve, they are surprised to find Ronna (Sarah Polley) covering his shift. Desperate for money, Ronna decides to become an impromptu drug dealer, unaware that Adam and Zack are secretly working for obsessed narcotics officer Burke (William Fichtner).

Best Christmas Quote: "They can't evict you on Christmas! Then you'd be ho-ho-homeless!" - Simon Baines

3. Kiss Kiss Band Bang

Two-bit crook Harry Lockhart (Robert Downey Jr.) stumbles into an audition for a mystery film while on the run from the cops. Winning the part, he lands in Hollywood, where he's flung into a tangled, murderous conspiracy with his childhood sweetheart, Harmony Lane (Michelle Monaghan), and hard-boiled private eye Perry van Shrike (Val Kilmer). This deadpan, affectionate parody of film noir tropes is named for film critic Pauline Kael's influential 1968 collection of film reviews and essays.

Best Christmas Quote: "Merry Christmas, sorry I fucked you over" - Perry van Shrike

2. Batman Returns

The monstrous Penguin (Danny DeVito), who lives in the sewers beneath Gotham, joins up with wicked shock-headed businessman Max Shreck (Christopher Walken) to topple the Batman (Michael Keaton) once and for all. But when Shreck's timid assistant, Selina Kyle (Michelle Pfeiffer), finds out, and Shreck tries to kill her, she is transformed into the sexy Catwoman. She teams up with the Penguin and Shreck to destroy Batman, but sparks fly unexpectedly when she confronts the caped crusader.

Best Christmas Quote: "Two lives left. I think I'll save one for next Christmas. But in the meantime, how about a kiss, Santy Claus?" - Selina Kyle/Catwoman

1. Iron Man 3

Plagued with worry and insomnia since saving New York from destruction, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), now, is more dependent on the suits that give him his Iron Man persona -- so much so that every aspect of his life is affected, including his relationship with Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow). After a malevolent enemy known as the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) reduces his personal world to rubble, Tony must rely solely on instinct and ingenuity to avenge his losses and protect the people he loves.

Best Christmas Quote: "Pepper, it's me. I've got a lot of apologies to make and not a lot of time, so... first off. I'm so sorry I put you in harm's way. That was selfish and stupid and it won't happen again. Also, it's Christmas time. The rabbit's too big. Done. Sorry. And I'm sorry in advance because... I can't come home yet." - Tony Stark/Iron Man

Saturday, 5 December 2015

Top 10 Countdown: December 5, 2015

10. Hedley - Hello
Last week: NEW!


9. One Direction - Perfect
Last week: 10.


8. 5 Seconds Of Summer - Hey Everybody
Last week: 9.


7. Four Year Strong - Stolen Credit Card
Last week: 5.


6. Seaway - Best Mistake
Last week: 7.


5. Zebrahead - Worse Than This
Last week: 6.


4. Simple Plan - Boom
Last week: 2.


3. As It Is - Sorry
Last week: 4.


2. Arkells - 11:11
Last week: 3.


1. State Champs - All You Are Is History
Last week: 1.