Sgt. Angle reporting for duty!

I suppose it’s only natural that I must cover the fantastic Kick-Ass, released this weekend to take an approximate haul of $19.75 million to place second behind…How to Train Your Dragon(?!).

HTTYD is a boat load of buckets of fun. But I have a good feeling that a good chunk of Dragon’s haul this weekend had to do with youngin’s purchasing tickets in order to sneak into Kick-Ass while their parents enjoyed ice cream with false ideas about what movie their kids were really seeing.

Hit Girl X 2…a menace?

Kick-Ass is currently the proud owner of controversy thanks to mega-critics like Roger Ebert’s one-star review of the movie, saying, “[Kick-Ass] regards human beings like video-game targets. Kill one, and you score. They’re dead, you win. When kids in the age range of this movie’s home video audience are shooting one another every day in America, that kind of stops being funny.”

I’ve been having a hard time with this “case” since seeing the film on Friday. On the one hand, Ebert has a point. American films have always reveled in extreme violence (despite this being written and directed by Brits). On the other hand…well, many cultures have films or stories with children as protagonists, strong and almost untouchable fighters kicking butt and showing no mercy. Normally, though, these kids punch and kick without a spot of blood in sight.

Hit Girl is, ultimately, a strong female character, something writer Jane Goldman proudly declared at Wondercon a few weeks ago. She is strong because her strength is not based on her sexuality, but in her ability to defend herself, her resilience in the face of the violence she encounters, and because, at heart, she is still a human being — despite rarely flinching at the sight of blood, or the death she causes.

In the end, Hit Girl’s life turns out to not be the game she’d been hoping for, yet she is fulfilled, at the young age of 12, with the satisfaction that only mature adults usually reach. Sure, in the world of the story, she’ll probably grow up with some issues that will never go away. But chalk that up to basic humanity in a very unbasic universe, the future of which we may never see, but only hope will be.

And that, my friends, is what movies are — or should be — all about. They should bring into question our very own concerns and fears, for the characters and for ourselves, and hope that the characters we care about — even just a little bit, even if they’re covered with blood — will turn out to face their flaws and outgrow them.

The extreme violence in Kick-Ass is really nothing new to cinema. See, for example, A Clockwork Orange, Irreversible, or even the very recent Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. In all of these films, rape, murder, and beatings are all shown in various amounts of graphic detail. In the great Korean film Oldboy, a man seeking revenge doles a heavy dose of ultra-violence out to his former captors, pulling teeth and harshly beating a set of jailers at one point. Of that film, Ebert said, “We are so accustomed to “thrillers” that exist only as machines for creating diversion that it’s a shock to find a movie in which the action, however violent, makes a statement and has a purpose.”

Using this statement, can we say beyond any doubt that Kick-Ass contains violence “with a purpose”? Perhaps. Perhaps we can say that American culture is so numb to the true effects of violence — because of movies, television, and comics — that when children beat, shoot and kill, we look at them in the same way we see adults. Is it possible for an 11-year-old girl to kill without remorse? Maybe. But that is one messed up girl.

And maybe that’s the point. That for all the colors, the quirky lines, the comic relief, and the just plain fun factor of Kick-Ass, there really is a deeper current underneath that seeks to resonate with audiences after the fact (despite Vaughn just making the movie for fun). Violence is not okay. The movie itself points a finger at the fact that “no one has tried to be a superhero” in reality — simply because it cannot be done, that there is too much to lose and not enough to justify it. The risk is too great, the violence is too painful, and the psychological effect is overwhelming at the least.

Only a puff of violence

Other comic book adaptations — Spider-Man, Superman, and Batman — generally adhere to the cartoonish violence that their print counterparts embody — the none-too-bloody beatings, the simply stunned instead of killed footsoldiers of the villain. Even The Dark Knight, the film responsible for the future of comic book adaptations, left a lot of the violence off-screen or non-existent. Perhaps that’s because of the nature of Batman’s character, or maybe it was Warner Bros. insistence on a PG-13 rating.

Nevertheless, Kick-Ass was a film that was not financed by any American studio, and Lionsgate only picked it up for distribution after it was already in the can. To be clear, on the page, it was thought too violent and unmarketable. On screen, it’s visually satisfying and portrays a director at one with his craft, and is good enough to feed to an audience for mass consumption. But I digress…

Hit Girl embodies the ideal superhero, the one who is born that way, who has been trained, and can actually succeed at surviving and succeeding. But at what cost? (Those who’ve seen the movie will know). The moment it no longer becomes a game (and although she claims at one point that she never plays, life for her thus far has only been a colorful shoot’em’up) is the moment she’ll have to drop everything and grow up, to save her powers for only the most necessary moments, if they should ever rise. Vengeance does not a hero make. Neither does stupidity or just plain violence. The true hero of the film, Kick-Ass, learns this the hard way. He becomes a hero when he is most needed, when he finally understands what makes a hero. It is this point that Hit Girl only barely touches in the film, and perhaps will come to fully realize in later installments…

We can only hope.

You are dismissed!

Sgt. Angle

Hello folks!

This past week, I went out and caught the newest iteration of Clash of the Titans in my local cineplex, and while I thought the film was okay, I spent most of the time wondering why neither of the writers (there were two of them) had bothered to ever pick up any sort of Greek mythology book and do some research. Heck, I would have settled for them just re-watching the original. However, I am not here today to speak on the sadness that was the new CotT script, I wanted to talk about Greek mythology in comics.

Like any form of popular culture, trends are always coming and going, and comics are no exception. One year there will be 10 new westerns, the next year, zombies will be in every other title. This year though, it seems that the fickle lady that is pop culture has made greek mythology cool again. Everywhere you look, there is a Greek god just waiting to say hello. From Percy Jackson to Marvel’s Hercules, Greek is chic. As I am the editor on MYTHOI (a book that also deals with mythology, though not just that Greek stuff), the increase in the popularity of mythology stands out to me. There are plenty of books out there on the subject right now, but are all of them good? I think not. Let’s take a look at some of the mythology heavy comics that are on the market today:

GREEK STREET from DC comic’s Vertigo imprint takes characters like Opedipus, Dionysis, and Agamemnon and retells their stories in a modern setting . Writer Peter Milligan obviously knows his Greek myths, but he takes a great many liberties with the stores.  Davide Gianfelice provides moody art that fits the story well, but just doesn’t do it for me.

THE OLYMPIANS graphic novels by George O’Conner are a series of books that focus on Greek Gods (Zeus, Athena, Ares) and are aimed at educating and entertaining a younger audience. The art is fun, in an Michael Avon Oeming sort of way, but the story is somewhat lacking. I know this can seem critical of a book aimed at children, but that’s just how I feel.

THE AVENGERS only makes this list because of Ares recent involvement with the Avengers. The only way that this relates at all to mythology is that Ares is in fact the Greek god of war (which he reminds someone of every issue he is in). He is a fun character though, and it’s nice to see him get some play.

OLYMPUS by Devil’s due productions is the story of two brothers that are bound to work for Zeus and wind up tracking down a rogue god. Nathan Edmonson has put together a fun script that builds well from the original material, and Christian Ward has a fin and exciting art style that tells the story well. It’s a shame that this book only lasted 4 issues.

PANTHEON by IDW was just announced at Wondercon and sprang from the mind of  The Shield’s Michael Chiklis. The story, writen by Marc Andreyko focuses Greek Gods returning to a messed up Earth to battle for the fate of mankind against the titans. The art will be by Stephen Molner. This series looks interesting, but series that spring from a celebrity are rarely awesome.

GOD COMPLEX by Image looks at the Greek god Apollo living amongst us mere mortals, and the shenanigans that ensue. Michael Avon Oeming co-writes the book with Daniel Berman, and while Oeming knows his gods, the whole “deity living among us” idea is kind of played out. John Broglia provides art that looks so much like Oeming, I wouldn’t know Michael didn’t do it if not for the credits, which is not a bad thing. This book is still fairly new, so time will tell if the book is any good, but it’s off to a good start.

While there might be plenty of books out right now with a focus on Greek myth, finding one that is a) good and b) true to the source material is no easy thing. Eventually the pop culture bandwagon will move on to something else (I would be partial to clowns being cool again), but until then enjoy all the coolness that Greek myth has to offer. Thanks for stopping in folks, I’ll see you next week.

This week, I’m going to be a little brief, but I am also going to start part of a little series. The topic of my multi-part blog will be the antithesis of my last post: the offensive. Speaking of my last post, I noticed that there were some issues playing the videos that I embedded. I’ll do my best to make sure that doesn’t happen again. Mia Culpa. But moving forward to the concept of offense, I’d like to start (as most of you can guess by now) by setting up a working definition for the term; the OED states, “An attack; aggressive action, or an aggressive act.” This works for an incredibly broad definition. And I think I’d like to stay in the broad realm of connotation for this section of the blog. To begin with, let’s examine some of the origins of the offensive.

History is full of people who went on the offensive, but I think it is worth it to consider some of the first violence that comes out of biblical literature. Of course the earliest instance of violence in a biblical sense is the slaying of Abel by Cain. Jealousy was the motive for the crime, and the weapon of choice for Cain was … ? Here’s where it gets a little interesting. The New American Standard bible states in Genesis, chapter four, verse eight, “And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.” The King James Bible, which is usually very different from the New American Standard states something surprisingly similar, “and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.” In both cases, the actual act is not described with any detail. All we know is that there was a “rising up.” I think that this fact of rising up is important for several historical reasons, but getting the upper hand on an opponent is almost always a position of power. This really becomes important in Viking culture, particularly with the story of Beowulf. Because I believe that the Cain slew able unarmed, or better said, bare-armed, I believe it is important to look at the first line of defense any person is born with: your appendages.

The key to martial arts or any unarmed combat is the use of your appendages to cause purposeful damage to your opponent. I don’t (at the moment) want to get lost in a discussion of the various martial arts that are available and all of their strengths and weaknesses, but I think it is worth it to consider that these are highly specialized fighting styles that developed for years. No matter what the style, the fact that it exists is a testament to its ability to whoop some ass. Here’s a few clips of stunning martial offensive:

That was Aikido, which is an interesting blend of offensive-defensive. The guy that is being thrown about is using his knowledge of physics and falling to avoid taking serious damage. Here’s a more blatant style:

I’ll admit that the material in this video isn’t necessarily top grade, but you get the picture. There are some styles that flow and some that chop, but the body by itself is certainly a force to be dealt with. This last video is probably the most heated discussion in martial arts history. The man was Morihei Ueshiba and he is worthy of his own clip. In fact, I believe that I will explore some of the details of this man’s life for the next post. But here is the video where you can see that, if this video isn’t a planned sham, then Ueshiba somehow managed to master throwing people without necessarily having to touch them all the time. Here is where faith in a power like chi or ki really comes into play. I have my own opinion on chi or ki or whatever the hell you want to call it, but I can attest to the presence of incredibly complicated physics that can seem to be manipulated with seemingly super-human results. There may just be a spiritual component to this. I’ll have to ask God if I see him. Here’s the video; judge for yourself:

When it comes to weaponry, the sword is a good place to start looking . There are some styles that are a little more honed to practical applications of whoop-assery then others. I’m going to post this video of a swordsman that possesses incredible agility and remarkable athleticism. But is the material within this display lethal? From what I see, this appears to be a more modern (showy) adaptation of a classical sword-form. What’s the difference? In the classical method, the sword was great offense. In the modern adaptation, the sword is given an over-inflated elegy in the age of handguns and personal explosives. Here is the pretty swordsman:

The man is obviously talented, but there is something overly tense in the man’s movements. Note the comparison video that I will show. Gone is the fancy flipping, gone is the hardcore techno music. In its place is just the amazing ability to cut down your opponent. OK, so there is one jump in there, but I believe that the purpose of that move is to leap out of the way of your opponents lateral strike. Pay special attention to 2:06. The ability to cut multiple poles all at once would certainly mean a killing blow; also notice how long it takes the swordsman to prepare himself to effect a blow of that caliber. Could he realistically pull of a stroke like that on the battlefield?

Next week, I’ll focus in a little more on Ueshiba, and I’ll take a look at the softer side of martial arts: the inner styles and their truly inseparable mystical aspects.

So there I am, having just usurped control of the Fates’ Tower in God of War II, when I see my friends porn collection just dripping out of his closet.  I meandered over, opened the closet door the rest of the way and began looking through what had to be 200 different titles, from Girlvana 2 to Pussy Foot’n 5.  When he came back into the room I said, “Dr. Cellus, what the hell is all this?”

Sheepishly, the good Doctor confided that his porn collection had nowhere else to hide given his current living situation.  I was amazed.  It would appear that this movie connoisseur had, on more than one occasion, been caught with his jerk collection by ladies who found it beneath them and disgusting.  These ladies, upon seeing titles like Helpless Heroines in Double Jeopardy, promptly stormed out, leaving Cellus and the videos the play man-craps one more time.

I have been thinking about that moment a lot lately and I figured more of you may have this problem.  You want a movie for you-time, but not something you have to be embarrassed about — hell, something you can watch alone (for about three minutes) and with the ladies!

Fear not.  I am here.

Below you will find a list of four great films.  That’s it.  Four genuinely good(ish) films that can be watched by your eyes and balls only, with a woman you would like to see naked (emotionally of course), or just seen in your collection without any sort of odd refrain.  I’m not talking about movies made as an excuse to show boobs — no cheap horror movies or low budget skin here!  Women can spot unnecessary nakedness from a cover alone.  Feel free to put these out in the open for all to see, not only won’t you be ashamed, but some may think you’re a smarter person for owning them!

Femme Fatale (2002)

Brian De Palma.  Yeah, the guy who did Carlito’s Way, Scarface and Mission Impossible!  You see?  Your a film enthusiast!

The film revolves around a woman, played by Rebecca Romijn Stamos, trying to escape her past as a thief.  Antonio Banderas plays a photographer caught up in more than he can handle.  RottenTomatoes.com currently has the film at a 48%.  Why?  The film gets slow in some parts and is overall melodramatic and just plain silly, but I have an answer to that, several in fact, you ready? Here they are: 0:08:00, 0:10:00, 1:47:00, 1:36:00, and 1:26:00.  Another great thing about films in the not really great but kinda, sorta enjoyable category  is that you can almost always find them in the $2.00 bin at your locally closing Blockbuster.  Go get it!

Gia 1998

You had to know this was coming.

If you haven’t seen this movie, go BUY it right the f*ck now.  I’m serious.  Stop reading.  Go.

I assume that those of you reading this have seen Gia now and we can all be on the same page.  Everybody knows that Angelina Jolie blew way up for her role in Gia, but some people forget that her lesbian cohort is none other than Elizabeth Mitchell, that’s right, LOST’s Juliet.  When I recommend you all buy this film it must be understood that it has nothing to do with the 92% on RottenTomatoes.com, or 0:24:00, or 0:25:00, 0:26:00, or 0:27:00.  No.  I want you to buy this movie because it makes you a better person.  Really.

No.  Not really.

Secretary (2002)

Maggie Gyllenhaal has made quite a name for herself lately.  After topping that bitch from Dawson’s Creek as Rachel Dawes in the last Batman film, Gyllenhaal has proven that not only is she beautiful, but incredibly talented as well.  If you saw Secretary you know what I’m talking about. Funny thing about this one: a girl actually introduced me to this film a while back and couldn’t believe that I hadn’t seen it — it was one of her “faves.”  I owe that girl something because she was right.  Currently holding at 74% on RottenTomatoes.com, Secretary is a legitamtely good film with plenty of laughs and sighs (the sighs are particularly rewarding at 0:20:00, 0:53:00, 1:15:00, 1:41:00 and 1:43:00).

Check it out and watch it with a girl, unless you are a girl, then come over to my house with another girl and we’ll watch it together…

Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001)

Do you know who Alfonso Cuaron is?  Well, he’s a done a few little films like Children of Men, Great Expectations and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban — ya know, little shit.

Well, a few years ago Mr. Cuaran made a gem of a thing called Y Tu Mama Tambien; in all seriousness, this really is a great film.  It follows two boys and the girl (Ana Lopez Mercado) of their dreams on a road trip through Mexico.  I laughed, I cried and I got a huge boner hug from the girl who’s shoulder I was crying on… yup.

RottenTomatoes.com says: 91%.

I say: 0:01:00, 0:05:00, 0:55:00, 1:03:00, 1:12:00 and 1:34:00.

There are plenty of other “good” films out there that no man should feel shame for owning, but I think I’ll save those for another day.

If you have any suggestions, feel free to add them below.

Until next time,

Mr. Wolff

Hey, kids! Welcome back to the Book Report.

Today I want to talk about a book — and the series that followed it — that covers a vast array of ideas, including the problems with godhood, ecological and environmental concerns, the philosophy of religion, power in political maneuvering, and the pros and cons of eugenics. The story was written over the span of more than forty years, and with the inclusion of side stories and prequels, the series can be considered still in progress.
The series inspired a movie, two miniseries, computer games, a board game, and a song by Iron Maiden. George Lucas cited the book as an influence when he made Star Wars in 1977.
The series has been called the science fiction equivalent to The Lord of the Rings. The first book is titled Dune, by Frank Herbert.

Dune was published in 1965, and the following year it won the Hugo Award and the first ever Nebula Award for Best Novel. The book is set 20,000 years in our future, and humanity has spread across the galaxy. There is a Galactic Empire, however true political power is managed through corporations. When not just nations, but entire planets, desire your product, your ability to influence political policy increases.
And there is no product more desired in the galaxy than the spice melange.

Melange (the spice in the books, and not the peppercorn spice shown here) extends the life of those who ingest it, as well as grant slight prescient abilities. The spice is crucial to space travel, as well as to the Bene Gesserit. The Bene Gesserit are a matriarchal religious order who use their power and influence in subtle ways to preserve and advance the human race.
Yet it seems that anyone who has a use for spice also has a hidden ulterior goal within their spice usage. That melange is the most desired product in galaxy, then, means that plenty of political maneuvering surrounds spice production. That the only source of spice is the desert planet of Arrakis means the political maneuvering often turns violent.

The book opens with control of Arrakis being given to House Atreides, headed by Duke Leto and his Bene Gesserit wife Jessica. What follows is a tense, exciting novel filled with betrayal, political upheaval, and fulfilled prophecy.

There are quite a few themes I could write about in conjunction with this novel, but the one that I keep coming back around to concerns what it means to be human.
A significant back-story event of the novel (which gets explored more thoroughly in a prequel) is the Butlerian Jihad, a war between humans and thinking machines (computers and artificial intelligence) occurring approximately 10,000 years in our future, the result of which is the prohibition of any type of thinking machine. A revised version of the Bible came out with a new commandment after the hundred year war: “Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind.” In the fourth Dune novel, God Emperor of Dune, the Jihad is described as a semi-religious upheaval initiated by humans who felt their reliance on machines was usurping their humanity. “The target of the Jihad was a machine-attitude as much as the machines,” the main character states.

The actual war against machines isn’t what concerns me. Tell me if this picture looks familiar:
You are walking down the street, and you see a young teenager walking your way. Ipod headphones are stuck in their ears, dark sunglasses cover half their face, and they practically run into you because rather than watch where they are going, their attention is focused on the constant stream of text messages they tap into their phone. And you just know, if you were to look at the content of their messages, there abillity 2 spell wouldnt B 2 good
I’ve decided to start calling this Media Sensory Deprivation (MSD). Have you heard of sensory deprivation tanks? Essentially you float inside a dark capsule of liquid, so that any sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch gets filtered out. MSD then would be filtering your five senses through the variety of media available to “connect” us even deeper to the rest of the world. In 2006, the University of Wyoming was granted more than $10 million by the National Institutes of Health to determine how sensory deprivation (such as can happen in cases of extreme neglect) may lead to abnormal brain function in adults.

If sensory deprivation can lead to abnormal brain function, what possible side effects could MSD have on brain function? Are people losing their humanity by becoming so connected to their machines?
A few months ago Mr. Wolff put up a post on robots, filled with paranoia of just how close Skynet may be to becoming active.
A more interesting dilemma to me would be the self-enslavement of humanity to machines in order to make life easier and more “connected”. Skynet-type paranoia would be unnecessary.

The Butlerian Jihad, then, is a symbol of humans wresting back control over their lives — of regaining their humanity, as it were. The Dune novels are awash with this theme of humanity, and Frank Herbert explores this theme in a variety of intriguing ways throughout the entire series.

So give this award-winning series a read. Or, even better, download the series to your Kindle, Nook, iPad, or e-reader of choice!

Until next time,
still paddlin’ the old knew…
_-Akatzen-_

Sgt. Angle Reporting for Duty!

Because this past weekend yielded very little in new releases (Date Night…wa-hoo), I’ve decided to take a moment to tease your visual appetites with some recent development news. Sources include “Nikki Finke’s Deadline Hollywood,” Chud.com, slashfilm, and The Hollywood Reporter. Be warned: while some of the following tidbits may excite you, most will undoubtedly piss you off to one degree or another.

By the way, I guess I was on assignment when this bit of news came out, but Sam Mendes is directing the next James Bond movie. Recently, it was confirmed that he was moving on to Bond 23 instead of directing John August’s adaptation of Preacher, the excellent comic book series by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon. No word on the mysterious director currently being approached to direct Preacher for a 2011 shooting table, though it’s quite possible John August will direct it himself. Also pleasurable news on the ultra-violent tale: Hard R, spread over several films. Delicious.

–Captain America (Chris Evans) has a sidekick: Sebastian Stan will play Bucky Barnes, and has signed on “for five or six pictures”, leading us to believe that he will likely take on the popular Winter Soldier identity. Stan was most recently in Hot Tub Time Machine, and looks like this:

Ooh, I brood.

– Chris Pine will play Jack Ryan in a sort of origin story, just before the character joined the CIA. Rumor has it that the film will be called Moscow.

– The Green Lantern’s suit in the feature film starring Ryan Reynolds will be entirely CGI.

–Andrew Niccol (The Truman Show, Gattaca) is in talks with New Regency Productions to get his newest script produced (and to direct it himself). I’m Mortal is set in the not-too-distant future where the aging gene has been switched off. To avoid overpopulation, time has become the currency and the way people pay for luxuries and necessities. The rich can live forever, while the rest try to negotiate for their immortality. A young man who suddenly becomes rich with time runs to escape the police force known as “time keepers.” Very Logan’s Run, but also sounding very fun from a very original writer. Very.

– David Fincher was reportedly due to direct Pawn Sacrifice, the Bobby Fischer biopic starring Tobey Maguire, but it turned out to be a classic diversion tactic so Maguire could Castle his King a simple meeting about the project. Instead, it looks as though Fincher (while spearheading the mammoth, multi-director Heavy Metal adaptation) will be directing the American version of best-selling novel The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Film was already made into a Swedish thriller (and quite a delicious one, too!), but with Steve Zaillian penning the American version, we could be looking at a whole new level of suspense to correspond with the source book. Perhaps Akatzen has read it and can give us a taste?

–Paul Greengrass, hot off the apparently unsuccessful Green Zone, is in talks to direct the remake of Fantastic Voyage. The original movie co-starred Racquel Welch and was about a team of scientists that was shrunk and injected into a Russian diplomat’s bloodstream to save his life. Obviously, the Cold War elements will be taken out of the new version, and, of course, it’ll be shot in 3D. But no Racquel?

Fantastic indeed.

–Next up are a couple of sequels, one qualifying as a reboot. Harold and Kumar smoke a constant dooby co-writers and directors of the second installment have attached themselves to write and direct American Pie 4, which is being deemed as a reboot of the franchise, with an aim to cast the original actors…right. And new director Todd Strauss Shulson will be directing Harold and Kumar 3 starting this summer.

–Baywatch is getting adapted to the big screen. Here’s a possible teaser photo:

LITERARY ADAPTATIONS

–The Three Musketeers (already conquering cinema since Disney’s version) has two adaptations competing to even start shooting: Summit Entertainment (behind the evil black creative hole Twilight series) has Paul W. S. “I’m not the talented” Anderson directing and co-writing, shooting in 3D, and is currently casting (I told you about this last week while angling on Wondercon 2010). Warner Bros. is looking to capitalize on the recent Sherlock Holmes vibe, also adding 3D, with a script by Peter Straughan (The Men Who Stare at Goats). WB is currently focused on Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity) or David Frankel (The Devil Wears Prada) to direct.

–Meanwhile, the “talented” Anderson, as in Paul Thomas, has reportedly been working on is next opus, entitled The Master. Project is reportedly about a young dude who starts a faith-based organization and another young man who becomes his lieutenant in the organization. Most of it takes place on a boat, and Philip Seymour Hoffman is supposed to star, with a possible supporting turn by Jeremy Renner.

–Finally, some news about Hangover director Todd Phillips’ upcoming encroachment on the Apatowverse that has dominated male-oriented comedies for most of the last decade. Phillips is already directing Due Date (starring Robert Downey, Jr., and Zach Galifianakis, releasing on November 4) and is prepping Hangover 2 for Memorial Day 2011. Beyond that, he and Joel Silver are producing Project X (just the working title), a $12 million comedy that hopes to cast entirely unknowns, and for which Phillips will be acting as “Creative Godfather” as well as producer. The Godfather title seems to be something of a new unofficial title in Hollywood, with Chris Nolan gaining that status on the next Superman reboot as well.

Director for Project X will be newcomer Nima Nourizadeh, a British commercial and music video director. Check out his celebrity filled Adidas commercial below.

You are dismissed!

Sgt. Angle

Happy Sunday Folks!

Today I am going to spotlight one of the legends in the mainstream comic book industry: Frank Miller. While his more recent works have been less than stellar (I will touch on that later), there is no denying that he has been a major force in the comic book landscape for the better part of the last three decades as both an artist and a writer.

Frank Miller began his comic book career with a host of fill-in issues for any company that would hire him. His first printed work was back in 1978 with Gold Key Comics’ THE TWILIGHT ZONE #84. Eventually he would end up at Marvel doing fill-in issues and covers, but it wasn’t until he took over as the artist on DAREDEVIL in 1979 that people began to stand up and take notice. When Miller began writing DAREDEVIL as well as illustrating the book, the title became wildly popular, and Miller became a name to watch. While at Marvel, Frank also illustrated (and co-plotted) the hugely successful WOLVERINE mini-series with writer Chris Claremont.

Eventually, Miller would move over to DC where he did his own creator-owned series, the aforementioned RONIN, as well as some of his most famous work on Batman, including THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS and BATMAN: YEAR ONE. In between his bat-opuses, he went back over for one of the greatest DAREDEVIL runs of all time, Born Again, with artist Dave Mazzucchelli (his cohort on YEAR ONE).

Eventually, Miller would split from the big publishers due to creator rights and censorship issues, taking his star to Dark Horse Comics. Once at Dark Horse, Miller launched a slew of new series, including HARD BOILED (with Geoff Darrow, the guy who storyboarded The Matrix), GIVE ME LIBERTY (with Dave Gibbons, the guy who drew WATCHMEN), 300, and, perhaps the work that he is best known for, SIN CITY.

Frank Miller went into the 21st century on a roll, but the latest millennium has not been good for him. Miller returned to DC for a sequel to THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, THE DARK KNIGHT STRIKES AGAIN, which was not well received. Miller also began writing a new Bat-centric series named ALL STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN THE BOY WONDER, which is almost universally thought of to be tripe (despite beautiful Jim Lee artwork). He also Directed a film version of WIll Eisner’s THE SPIRIT, which did not go well for him. On a bright note for Miller, the 00’s did see two of his stories, 300 and SIN CITY made into successful films, both with sequels on the way.

As an artist, Frank Miller has evolved tremendously over his career. When he broke into the business he tried to insert his noir-ish sensibilities into superhero books, but he still had to soften his work to make it fit the mainstream mold. As Miller got more successful, he was able to take more risks, not only with his pencilling style but, his story-telling methods. If you compare early 1980’s Miller to late 1990’s Miller the change in style is obvious. Even looking at early Daredevil art compared to THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, you can see that Miller was constantly allowing his style to evolve. The turning point seemed to really occur first on RONIN, with his line work becoming looser, and the shading and tone work becoming a more active story-telling tool. By the time Miller began SIN CITY, his lines were exceptionally loose, with heavy blacks and negative space playing as the primary visual devices. Miller’s paneling has also become more risque, moving farther away from the traditional multi panel lay-outs, and moving more and more towards telling stories with series’ of single images.

From a writing standpoint, Miller has always had a knack for telling great crime stories. Be it DAREDEVIL, BATMAN or SIN CITY, there is perhaps no one better at making the dirt of a situation evident to the readers. This is not to say that MIller’s non-crime books don’t also stand out. 300, RONIN, and HARD BOILED are all excellent, and very well written. As Frank has gotten older, however, it seems that he has grown less in touch with the gritty situations he once wrote so well. In his prime, Miller’s dialogue was a strength, making conversations pop. In the last decade though, the line he is most famous for is “I’m the Godd@mned Batman”.

On a personal level, I am a huge fan of just about all of Frank Miller’s early mainstream work. Both of his DAREDEVIL runs are spectacular, and his BATMAN work is a beautiful example of how excellent 1980’s comics could be. Several mini-series that I have mentioned throughout this piece, RONIN, WOLVERINE and 300, should be read by anyone who wants to like comics. That being said, I have always preferred Miller’s writing to his artistic style. While some of my favorite stories have come from the ben of Frank Miller, some of my least favorite art has come from his pencil. Some of Miller’s art I love, I can’t imagine THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS looking better unless Neal Adams himself drew the thing, and the same goes for RONIN. While this artwork fits wonderfully with many of his stories, (SIN CITY being a prime example of this) sometimes his loose lines just look sloppy and rushed. I could barely make it through THE DARK KNIGHT STRIKES BACK, and any time I see a variant cover by Miller, I make a little sad noise.

Frank Miller is an integral part of the comic book industry. Without him, creator rights and comic book censorship in comics would not be where they are today. In his prime he was one of the greats, and even if he is fading from his greatest creative years (I’m not saying he is, he could just be in a slump), his older works still hold up beautifully today. If you are trying to get a friend into comics, give them something by Frank MIller . Just make sure it’s not something recent.

This week we have an interesting post. If you have not seen it yet, the new trailer for the third “Step Up” movie is now out on the internet. If you have not seen it (or if you want to see some pretty impressive moves) watch the video below.

3D has finally caught on to the dance world and I have to say that I am very excited. I think that what some of these dancers can do is nothing short of amazing and I can’t wait to see what happens when I put on the DisneyDigital3D glasses. I can remember when my father took me to see Captain-Eo with my older brother…it was incredible and it changed my life forever. Watching Michael Jackson move in 3D was astonishing and I can’t wait to see what these B-Boys have to offer in the world of 3D.

Now…lets talk about the “Step Up” movies for a second…

STEP UP: I never really liked this movie. I thought that the dancing was under-whelming and the directing here didn’t offer anything we haven’t seen already. Channing Tatum was a terrific dancer but he alone could not make the movie worth a second viewing. My opinion.

STEP UP II: New characters. New director. New opinion. When this film came out I was a bit hesitant at first but when I saw the film I was completely shocked at how much better it was than the first. It even had the only highlight from the first movie, Channing Tatum. The way they showcased the dancing in this film was spectacular. They found a way to show us everything we wanted to see without all the fast MTV Music Video cuts to hide any flaws. It felt like you were actually there with the dancers.

How can you not say this is incredible?

STEP UP III-D: I have to say, I think this has potential to be the best in the trilogy. The trailer looks promising with its high paced and multiple styles of dance just in the two and a half minute trailer. I guess we will find out in August…

Keep dancing,

Admiral Eo