Astro Boy coming soon in theaters!

Wow, when I heard that Astro Boy is being made into a CG movie I’m stoked!  First of all, I was thankful that they didn’t do a live-action movie but a CG movie instead.  This is an excellent move.  Since a live-action movie would not do justice to Astro Boy and would just ruin it.  But a CG movie on the otherhand is the next logical step from the original anime.

I’ve been a fan since the anime of the 80’s.  I remember watching it on Sunday afternoons while I’m vacationing in Nanay’s house (BTW, she’s my grandmother but we all fondly call her Nanay).  While watching Astro Boy, Nanay would serve me hot pan de sal with scrambled eggs.  Those were the carefree days!

So hopefully the CG movie would GET it right and I’m hoping that it would be as enjoyable as the original anime.  I could still hear the original theme song in my head: “Soaring high in the sky…”

G.I. Joe Moview Review from a Long-Time G.I. Joe Fan!

I TOTALLY ENJOYED THE LIVE-ACTION G.I. JOE MOVIE!

That totally sums up my general feeling for the movie.  Actually I have been waiting for a live-action Joe movie for a very long time.  Since I’ve started collecting the 3 3/4″ figures in 1990, I’ve been wishing and waiting for a Hollywood version of my favorite toy line.  In the 90s, I buy new figures every week, I record the cartoons in our old Betamax, I enjoyed watching the first animated G.I. Joe the Movie, I bought the original VHS tape of that movie, etc., etc…

I could not believe that 19 years later I would be watching a live-action movie and an excellent adaptation as well.  The main characters this time around are Duke and Ripcord.  Ripcord had a figure but didn’t appear in the cartoon, AFAIK.  In the cartoons, the main characters are usually Duke or Flint.  I have a Flint figure and I like him better than Duke.  But anyways, Channing Tatum is excellent as Duke and Marlon Wayans as Ripcord is very likeable.  I thought that he would be annoying like in some of his previous movies, but I was surprised that I really liked his character and I liked the comic relief that he provided.

The action sequences are top-notch especially the chase in Paris — it’s un-freaking-believable!  It’s worth the entrance fee alone… I would watch the movie again just for that action sequence.

I love the way they interspersed the movie with flashbacks.  It provided additional characterization without ruining the flow of the movie.  And unlike the last Wolverine movie, which treated years of character history like crap, this movie respected the source material, drew from it, improved on it and even though it altered some of the stories behind the characters they are integral to the advancement of the plot.  And some of the characters have stayed true to the source material like Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow (Snake Eyes, incidentally is my all time favorite Joe!).

For a long time fan like me, I appreciated those little things that they’ve put in there just for the fans.  For example, Hawk saying those classic lines “Knowing is half the battle”, Ripcord calling someone Bill (He could be Wild Bill) and Heavy Duty yelling out that classic battlecry, “Yo Joe!”.

For the inevitable sequel, here is my wish list:

• Improve the mask of Cobra Commander, since the mask is part of his character.
• Feature more Joes (Roadblock, Flint, Lady Jaye, Beachhead, etc.)
• Feature classic vehicles (H.I.S.S. tanks, X- Wing, Rolling Thunder, etc.)
• Feature the classic Cobra Guards and Crimson Guards
• Remove Snake Eyes’ mouth!

Well, that’s it.  I’m now heading back to the movie theaters for another viewing

Excellent Iron Man 2 Cover of Entertainment Weekly

Check out the excellent Iron Man 2 cover of Entertainment Weekly.  Tony Stark aka Robert Downey, Jr. is looking good as usual,  as well as co-stars Scarlett Johannson and Mickey Rourke who star as the sultry Black Widow and the menacing Whiplash respectively.

I’ve also seen the much-talked about 5 minute video footage of Iron Man 2 straight out of Comic Con 2009 and it’s so freaking good!  Just wait till the last scene and you’ll have goosebumps… I officially can’t wait for 2010 to arrive and to have Iron Man 2 invade our cineplexes once again!

What are you waiting for, check out the video footage here:

http://azraelsmerryland.blogspot.com/2009/08/iron-man-2-video-trailer-footage.html

G.I. Joe is almost upon us!

Opens August 7th! That’s next week… Can’t wait

M. Night’s still Happening

I’m still a fan of M. Night Shyamalan.  Even though most people diss M. Night nowadays, I still eagerly wait for his movies.  I previously enjoyed The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs and The Village.  I least like Lady in the Water.  So when The Happening opened, I’m there for it.

The movie is good.  The suicides are really shocking particularly the jumping construction workers and the bodies in the trees.  Mark Wahlberg is good as well.  The movie moved somewhat slowly but still OK.  And just when you thought that everything ended well, the last scene shows a similar scene identical to the first scene in Central Park, but now, I guess, in Russia or another European city.

The Man with the Whip and Fedora Hat is Back

Indy is back!  I’m excited since he was my favorite adventurer since my high school days.  But unfortunately not all is alright with the movie.  One word – aliens!  Somehow I just can’t put Indy and aliens together.  I like it when it’s more historical and more archaelogical.  Although the action scenes are still okay.  My favorite still is the Last Crusade.  Maybe I just miss Henry Sr…

Forbidden Kingdom – A Dream Match-Up!

Who haven’t dreamed about a big match-up between two of the best martial artists in the world — Jackie Chan and Jet Li. Now here comes Forbidden Kingdom which ultimately fulfilled that dream. The story was simple, and I guess everyone would’ve known it already. It’s about the quest to free the Monkey King from the Warlord. And it’s up to a boy, with some help from Jackie and Jet, to do it. The fight scenes are solid and there’s a hint of a sequel. Now, if only Bruce Lee was still alive…

Iron Man Flies Straight to No. 1 for the Second Week

Congrats to Iron Man for being the No. 1 movie again in the box office for the second week.

Iron Man – No. 1 in the Box Office!!!

Wow Iron Man surely beats, not just Iron Monger, but all those other movies in the box office. It earned an impressive $100,750,000 in its first weekend alone. Got this figure from Box Office Mojo

Iron Man — Solid Movie!

Wow, what can I say!!! I was totally-blown away by Iron Man. It surely is the best comic book adaptation so far! Kudos to an excellent comeback performance by Robert Downey, Jr. He IS Tony Stark. No other actor can embody the man that is Tony Stark. And he had fun doing it.

The fight scenes are awesome. And the flight scenes? Whoa!!! You just can feel the sonic boom right in your face.

And unlike most of the people who left the movie theater, me and my bro waited until the credits were done and we’re rewarded with the cameo to end all cameos, plus a line delivered by that cameo to end all lines delivered by cameos!

P.S. As a bonus, I got to see the full-length Incredible Hulk trailer. I’m stoked!

Jack of all Media

I’ve just finished watching 88 Minutes starring Al Pacino when an epiphany hit me. Al Pacino’s character is named Jack Gramm. Jack? Again? Now I’ve realized that there ARE a lot of Jacks in movies and TV series. So I began to recall them. Here they are. Maybe you could add some more Jacks:

• Jack Bauer (24)
• Jack Shephard (Lost)
• Jack Ryan (Tom Clancy Novels & Movies)
• Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Carribean)
• Jack Stanfield (Firewall starring Harrison Ford)
• Jack Skellington (The Nightmare Before Christmas)
• Jack Carver (Far Cry PC Game)
• Jack Slate (Dead to Rights PS2 Game)

Can’t think of any others but I’ll add more once I remember them.