Monthly Archive for October, 2009
Cowboy Ninja Viking, now that’s a strange title for a comic book yet somehow totally appropriate. From writer A.J. Lieberman and artist Riley Rossmo, Cowboy Ninja Viking or CNV from here on out, is a tale about the mind and how fragile it can be yet how violent if employed in the hands of ruthless people. I’ll admit, I was a bit hesitant starting in on something with such an odd and almost ridiculous name but in the end it all worked out.
CNV doesn’t have any ninjas or cowboys or vikings, instead there’s Duncan. A man with split personalities that thinks he’s all three. How he became that was is what makes it interesting. In an effort to create the perfect special operations soldier for the War on Terror, the U.S. military began experimenting on people with Multiple Personality Disorders. The idea was to create soldiers out of people who were effectively useless to society. By maximizing the multiple personalities they could deploy soldiers who could manage effectively in different situations, bringing different skill sets to different battle scenarios.
These new soldiers, called Triplets, were the perfect killing machine. Or at least they were intended to be. The program was a complete failure expect for Duncan. When one of the other Triplets goes rogue, a secret agency comes to bat to save the day. It’s now up to them and Duncan to get the job done and bring the rogue Triplet down.
Liberman really brings out the interesting, crazy and quirky characters. He’s created a world that’s embedded with unique characters that are sure to bring about some massive death and destruction. It’s going to be one interesting ride. As a fan of Proof it was a pleasure seeing Rossmo handling the art chores. Using a primarily, blue and white colored tones, Rossmo switched up his style a bit, but to mixed effect. Yes, we still get the quality art, but seeing as in how it’s supposed to be a full color issue I was a bit disappointed with the white and blue tone. You never saw any other colors, and for me that’s holding it back from a five star rating.
Image really is on a roll with it’s depth of bold, creative books and Cowboy Ninja Viking is no different. It has the potential to be a great series, the writing and art is solid and really draws you in. My only gripe is the tone they’ve taken with the coloring, other than that there’s no reason you shouldn’t be reading this book.
I’ll admit that I was a bit hesitant going into Astro Boy, the big-screen adaptation of the cult Japanese cartoon. Having grown up watching the various Japanese cartoons, Astro Boy always stood out as one that left a memorable impression. Big robots battling it out against each other, or alien invaders, Astro Boy was about fun. Would the modern day re-imagining of Astro Boy do justice to the classic series and draw a new generation in? Unfortunately not. Not that it’s a terrible movie, but it’s not really one that’s geared towards kids. The messages and political undertones in the movie gear this more towards adults, people that are not going to flock to theaters to see this on their own.
Astro Boy begins with a quick animated sequence showing how humanity ruined the planet and Metro City, a city in the clouds is humanities eden. People are happy and robots are tasked with doing all the work. The man making this life of leisure possible via his robotic inventions is Dr. Tenma, voiced by Nicolas Cage, the father of 13 year old Toby, voiced by Freddie Highsmith. Toby looks set to follow in his fathers footsteps until an unfortunate accident leaves Dr Tenma alone and pining for his son.
Guilt stricken, Dr. Tenma creates a virtually indestructible robot version of his dead son. Using a strand of his sons hair, he’s able to implant the boys memories into the robot, in he hopes of bringing his son back. Not realizing that he’s actually a robot, all goes well for Toby at first, but Dr. Tenma begins to notice small discrepancies and comes to the realization that this robot is not his son, nor will he ever be. This disillusionment leads the doctor to banish Toby and after a small confrontation with President Stone’s, voiced by Donald Sutherland, troops Toby falls from Metro City to the Earth’s surface.
Joining with a group of kids on the surface, Toby eventually reveals his secret and takes the name of Astro Eventually Astro Boy makes it back up to Metro City to battle it out with a giant version of a red energy powered robot and saves the day.
Director David Bowers has managed to keep the story largely faithful, but has added a bit too much political commentary that’s going to go right over the heads of younger kids. With the Blue Energy representing good and Red Energy representing evil one can’t help but think of the U.S.’s political landscape. Even the theme of starting a war in order to get re-elected smacks of political commentary. Perhaps it’s the banners stating “Now is Not the Time for Change” that really send it over the edge. It’s as if they’re smacking you over the head and trying to tell you one is better than the other, and it’s apparent by their Blue comments on just who they prefer. For me this really hurt the film, which could have been far more enjoyable.
The voice acting is solid for the most part. Kristen Bell, Nathan Lane, Donald Sutherland and Highsmith all do a great job, but Nicolas Cage as Dr. Tenma felt wrong from the start. It felt like a cold, dead performance, one that didn’t match the look of the doctor. I was particularly disappointed in it. Visually, Hong Kong’s Imagi Studios does a great job. The colors are vibrant and really stand out, and the animation is fluid and looks superb.
Overall, I was pretty disappointed with the end result. Astro Boy is supposed to be targeted to a younger generation, but its political messages are anything but. So much potential was lost. If you must see it I’d recommend waiting to watch it at home, especially if you have an HD tv and blu-ray player, it’ll look great on it.
Zombie movies have regained a bit of a resurgence since 28 Days Later, and for the most part have proved to be very successful at the box office. The latest zombie movie to hit theaters is Zombieland, from first time director Ruben Fleischer and the writing team of Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. A bit more Shaun of the Dead than 28 Days Later, Zombieland takes the best of the best and adds in their own unique humor to make it one of the most enjoyable zombie/horror movies to come out in a while.
Starring Jesse Eisenberg, as Columbus, and Woody Harrelson as Tallahassee, Zombieland is a road trip movie complete with a trip to a West Coast amusement park. Think of it as National Lampoon’s Vacation with rage infested zombies. Columbus is your typical geek, a phobic shut-in with a fear of clowns while his travel buddy Tallahassee is is a nothing-to-lose kind of guy who’s on a mission to find some Twinkies. His philosophy is that you’ve got to enjoy the little things in life. Columbus on the other hand as a set of 32 rules that he believes will help him survive the zombie apocalypse.
The 32 rules actually make a bit of sense, Rule #1: Cardio – you need to make sure you stay in shape in order to outrun the zombies. He notes that fatties were among the first to go after the zombies took over because they were easy to catch. Other rules Rule #2: Always wear your seat belt and the best, Rule #3: Always double-tap – you’re not wasting bullets if you’re making sure the zombie is dead. While his rules may seem ridiculous, as the movie progresses you’ll actually see how they’ve helped him last as long as he has.
During one particular stop in search for Twinkies, the duo run into a couple of con-artist sisters; Wichita, played by Emma Stone, and Little Rock, played by Abigail Breslin, who take them for everything they have. After some back and forth shenanigans, the four agree to head out to Los Angeles in search of the rumored last bastion of humanity. Their trip makes a stop in Beverly Hills, where Tallahassee has the bright idea of spending the night at Bill Murray’s house. To say much more about would really ruin all the fun.
Zombieland is focused around four main characters, and in order for it to work needs the actors to put on one hell of a show, thankfully the cast is 100% u to it. You can tell how much fun Woody Harrelson had playing Tallahassee because he was the star of the show. A bad ass redneck enjoying what he does best, killing zombies. Eisenberg does what he does best, the neurotic, self depreciating geek. Emma Stone is her usual sultry self and Breslin delivers some of the best deadpan throughout the film.
Taking cues from other zombie movies, director Ruben Fleischer has a frantic style that really works well. From the opening montage of zombies running wild, to the various zombie attacks, you can tell that the characters live in a world that’s truly screwed. There’s no hope for the way it way, there’s just survival. Clocking in at under 90 minutes might be a little disappointing, but any more and it may have been stretched thin.
Zombieland was a lot of fun, pure and simple. The acting and script were both solid and delivered a lot of laughs. If you’re a fan of zombies, comedies and especially zombie comedies, then this is for you. Don’t go in expecting a horror movie ala Night of the Damned, instead go in with the intent on enjoying yourself and having a laugh.
