Heroes on the Big Screen

Have you noticed the abundance of comic-inspired movies hitting the big screen this summer. Out already is the well-received Thor (check out my review later in this issue, also 77% fresh on rottentomatoes.com), Priest and the critically panned Dylan Dog. This is just the opening salvo of comicdoms attack on the cinema.

The rest of the summer doesn't slow down at all in comic offerings. Green Lantern and X-Men: First Class open in June. Captain America: The First Avenger, Cowboys vs. Aliens and Transformers: Dark of the Moon continue the trend in July. The summer finally winds down with Conan 3D in August. That's 9 comic related films in 4 months.

There is no denying the impact the comic landscape has had on the movies. One only need look a little further down the horizon to summer 2012 (Dark Knight Rises, Avengers, MIB 3, Iron-Man 3, Amazing Spider-Man, and the Man of Steel) to see this is no mere fad. Summer movie going is becoming a veritable comic-fest, and I for one am very pleased.

My one hope is that movie-goers start to hit the comic stores after being introduced to these characters. Buy some of the books these characters appear in. See them in their original form. Trust me, they (or you) won't be disappointed.

The Mighty Thor

After going to the midnight opening of Thor, I was all set to review the film for you loyal Dubbs readers. Then I decided that I had to take a step back. Most people know very little about Thor, so before I review, I'll give you a little history lesson.

Thor was created for Marvel comics back in 1962 by the trifecta of Stan Lee, Larry Leiber and Jack Kirby. He was based on the Norse thunder god of the same name. Thor was a young, handsome and cocky god who was set to take over for Odin (think the Norse version of Zeus) as King of Asgard as Odin fell into the Odinsleep (a sometimes decades long slumber the all-father needs to stay all-powerful). While getting ready to hand over the reigns, Odin realizes his arrogant son must be humbled. He then banishes Thor to Earth, powerless, and in a frail human form to learn humility. Thor (in the human form of Donald Blake) learns he can access his powers in time of need, and uses them selflessly to defend the humans on Earth. Along the way he falls in love with Jane Foster, joins the Avengers, chooses Earth over Asgard, and learns how evil his half-brother Loki (the Norse god of Mischief) truly is.

This movie captures just about all of the nearly 50 year journey of the title capture perfectly, and all in about 2 hours.

The film starts on Earth with Jane and her research partners following a unique storm front. This front leads them into direct contact with a powerless and stranded Thor. The story of how exactly he got there is then explained in a flashback to the amazing setpiece that is Asgard. Here we see a royal celebration that is cut short due to an attack by the banished Frost Giants. This leads to Thor's confrontation with the giants (in the most action-packed sequence of the film) and eventual banishment by Odin. Once on Earth Thor has many hilarious fish our of water scenes, while he bonds with the humans and tries to recover both his hammer, and his godhood.

At the same time, we are learning that Loki has been scheming the whole time so that he can be crowned King instead of Thor. Thor's asgardian mates the Warriors 3 (plus the lovely Lady Sif), uncover the plot and travel down to Earth to bring Thor back and thwart Loki. This sets up a battle on Earth between Thor and the Destroyer (sent down by Loki), where Thor defends the humans, and earns back his godhood, which gains him a return trip to Asgard where he has an ultimate showdown with his half-brother.

It seems like there is a ton going on for a 2 hour film, but Kenneth Branagh pulls it off. He brings his Shakespearean chops to the table and finds the perfect balance between the grand setpieces and costumes, as well as the simpleness of the U.S. desert. The cast is also very strong. Chris Hemsworth is a perfect embodiment of Thor. Equal parts cocky and wide-eyed humility. Tom Hiddleston's Loki is also perfectly cast. I think the movie works so well because of how smarmy and mischievous Hiddleston makes Loki. Portman, Saarsgard and Dennings are all very good as well in providing comic relief and human moments through out.

This film, like the other Marvel Studios films was ripe with hidden easter eggs for the comic faithful. The Infinity Gauntlet and Eye of Agamato were visible in the Asgards weapons room. Jeremy Renner was incredibly cool in his tiny Hawkeye cameo, and what about the post credit Cosmic Cube. All little touches a comic geek like myself loved.

I thoroughly enjoyed Thor. The acting, directing and costumes were all spot-on. My one complaint is I wish there was more action. The movie starts off with a huge action sequence which seems like a portent of things to come, but it never quite gets there. Sure there are other cool scenes (like the Shield base with the above-mentioned Hawkeye) but nothing that matches the battle with the frost giants. The final conflict, which crosses both Earth and Asgard also proves to be very anti-climactic. While Branagh has crafted a well-acted, solid, believable story of a banished god, I couldn't help but want more. With that said, there is plenty to enjoy for comic and non-comic fans alike. A solid 3 star effort that I highly recommend.

Happy Birthday Empire

To celebrates my favorite movie turning 30, I wrote the following piece for ADW #55.

Empire Strikes Back is my favorite movie of all-time. It takes and expands on ideas introduced in Star Wars. The same message of hope against all odds is the present, but the villains really beat the snot out of the main characters for the duration of the film. In the end, seeing that they survived the day (and all the odds), all you’re really left with is hope. Kind of. It might be the best movie ever where the bad guys win.

As in Star Wars, the rebel alliance struggles to overthrow the evil empire. At the onset of the film—on frozen and barren Hoth—we see just how out matched the rebels are. As the rebels flee the planet, the main characters split up. There is room for multiple characters to make a journey of self-discovery—though Luke Skywalker’s is still at the forefront.
Jedi-wannabe Skywalker travels to Dagobah where he meets and learns from Jedi Master Yoda. No character grows more than Luke. He goes from rebel pilot to Jedi-in-training to battling Darth Vader in a light saber duel that culminates with the greatest twist ever: “No, I am your father.”

In a separate part of the galaxy, Princess Leia and rebel pilot Han Solo try to escape Empire capture. Along the way, their characters grow in leaps and bounds from the first film and fall in love with each other, making Han’s innevitable capture all that much more emotional for us, the audience.

Even though the overall outlook of the film is bleak, the message is hope, never giving up. Just when we think Luke’s ship will stay at the bottom of the lagoon forever, Yoda is able to easily raise it through his faith in the Force.

This is my favorite movie of all-time, and I highly recommend it to everyone. It’s a movie that crosses multiple genres—action, science fiction, drama, romance—and pulls it off successfully. It is inspirational, overcoming insurmountable odds and never saying, “I can’t.”

Zoinks

OK, I apologize. This is the longest I've ever stayed away from this site. It's been almost 6 weeks. I hope you accept my apology.

With that out of the way I just want to say I have been writing very regularly in ADW. I'll post some of those pieces over the next few days. I've seen some comic films, which I'll write reviews of. I've drawn a few pictures (not nearly as many as I'd like) which I'll post. I've bought a few toys and comics. My son is now 8 months old, a paid child model, has two teeth and is sleeping in his own crib. My daughter just took her state wide english and math tests (fingers are crossed) and is getting ready for her dance recital. My wife is still amazing, she astounds daily. Plus I started a new job that I'm extremely excited about and keeps me plenty busy.

So check back over the next few days for plenty of updates... who knows, I just may break my record for consecutive days posted.

Top 20 of 2008: Rhino

On of my favorite movies of 2008 also produced one of my favorite toys. Bolt was a wonderful Disney animated film which starred the voices of Miley Cyrus and John Travolta. IT told the story of a canine actor that didn't know he wasn't a real-life superhero. When he thinks Penny is in trouble he escapes the television studio to embark on a real world adventure to rescue Penny. Along the way hijinks ensue as Bolt teams up with Mittens and Rhino.

This particular toy was a plush doll that my daughter got as a Christmas gift for my wife. Rhino proudly sits on our coffee table constantly watching the TV ala his character in the movie.

Documentary Tuesday

With yesterday being the travel day for the World Series, and there being no football on, I found myself with nothing to watch on TV. I just happened to be on ESPN when their latest 30 on 30 documentary premiered, Len Bias A Kirk Fraser Film. Admittedly my knowledge of Bias is limited. I knew he was a star in the ACC (Coach K once said that the two toughest players to guard over his career at Duke were Michael Jordan and Len Bias) and a high draft pick of the World Champion Boston Celtics. As a Lakers fan the latter scared my brother, which in turn scared me. I remember my oldest brother being worried about the Celtics because of Bias inclusion on the team. A team Bias seemed to relish playing for. Then almost before it could sink in, Bias was dead from a cocaine induced overdose. I was 10 when that happened, so the social impact of it all was lost on me. Seeing this documentary last night educated me on what a phenomenal athlete Bias was. Hearing about the fateful night he overdosed from his still grieving teammates was raw, tough and emotional. You could tell that with some the guilt and hurt has never gone away. Even more tragic was the shooting death of Jay Bias, Len's younger brother who was shot and killed 4 years later. I was also very stricken with the way Len's parents dragged themselves up from the grieving and were able to help at risk children and preach on the perils of peer pressure. This documentary was a brilliant glimpse into the talented game and tragic ending of an amazing athlete gone too soon.

I then started flipping channels and ended up on HBO, which was playing By The People: The Election of Barack Obama. This was a very in depth look at the effect Barack had on people while on the campaign trail. With unprecedented access (produced by Edward Norton), we were able to see such touching moments as Obama calling his girls from the road and having very fatherly conversations with them. Or such private moments as Obama receiving word that his grandmother had just passed, then having to go onstage and give an amazing speech (where he visibly breaks down and cries). We then get to see the night of the election where America was so filled with hope and promise. On this anniversary of his election, I think its important that we sit back and think about the impact our President has had on us. This film helps illustrate that. Lets not forget Barack's message of hope and acceptance. It's definitely on display throughout this gripping documentary.

Joe Cool

If you are a G.I. Joe fan like moi, today is a monumental day. Not only do you have G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra being released today on DVD, but you have the far superior G.I. Joe Resolute.

Now I know the Joe live action film grossed over $150 million in the U.S. (and $300 million worldwide) but as I mentioned on this site when I saw the film, I was severely disappointed. The movie was a frenetic, action packed mess. It was built for the modern short attention spanned video game set. Heavy action, spandex clad women, crazy locales, little plot and no nod to the history and backstory of the Joes. In short a mess.

G.I. Joe Resolute, on the other hand, hits on just about every note. It's the Joe cartoon we always wanted to see. It's smartly written, wonderfully animated, and the Joes sound (although with a limited voice acting cast) and act just like you always wanted them to. The body counts are high, the action is heavy and for once, Cobra is badass (look at the way they destroyed Moscow and killed 10 million people). It's the best of classic Joe. You have the Duke/Scarlett/Snake Eyes love triangle (with Scarlett wrongly selecting her man). You have Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow to the death (with a proper telling of their origin, unlike the crap in the live action film). You have (simply put) the best incarnation of G.I. Joe ever.

So when you hit your local Best Buy, before reaching for The Rise of Cobra, reach for G.I. Joe Resolute. Trust me, from a lifelong Joe fan, you will be making the better choice. Yo Joe!

Lars and the Real Girl

In my tour of movies I haven't seen, I tuned in to Lars and the Real Girl last night. The same way I was extremely impressed with The Kingdom last week I must admit to being incredibly surprised at how much I enjoyed Lars.

Ryan Gosling as Lars, the young man suffering from a delusion disorder who thinks he is in love with a real girl doll, was absolutely amazing. Kelli Garner as Margo and Emily Mortimer as his sister in law were also great. After his performance in Half Nelson and now Lars and the Real Girl, Ryan Gosling is easily one of the finest young actors in Hollywood.

If you haven't yet seen Lars, give it a whirl, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

The Kingdom

I just saw the movie The Kingdom by Peter Berg, starring Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman. I know I'm like two years late, but I finally pulled off the cue and gave it a whirl. I must say, I really liked.

The thing I kept wondering was, why wasn't G.I.Joe just like this. A realistic portrayal of U.S. problem solvers to a terrorist problem. Real detective work, lots of hands on realistic fighting by a team of specialist. This movie is what G.I. Joe should have been.

Top 20 of 2008: Indiana Jones

One of my favorite movies of all time is Raiders of the Lost Ark. Its a brilliant film created by the genius minds of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.

When figures based on Raiders were announced I knew I would want an Indy. My only Indy figure at that point had been the exclusive Disney World figure. Which most collectors know was a pretty flat version of the character. As previews for the figures were released I found myself falling in love with the Deluxe version of Indy on the horse. I hunted and hunted this figure down (my wife often says that I enjoy the hunt almost as much as the figures themselves). Multiple visits to Target and Toys R Us bore no fruit, so I finally had to give and order online.

I was incredibly pleased with the figure that was delivered. The holster with gun, the whip, the perfectly sculpted jacket and hat, the articulation in elbows and knees (which allow Indy to sit on said horse) all make for the best Harrison Ford figure ever.

Top 20 of 2008: Wall-E

My favorite movie of 2008 also provided one of my favorite toys... Wall-E. My daughter actually got me this for Christmas.

This line of toys actually was created to appeal to the younger consumer, so it's a pretty simple figure. Articulation in the head and arms, as well as wheels for movement basically make up the figure. The color scheme captures the character perfectly as well. If you haven't seen this film, please do so, it was easily my favorite film of 2008 and this was easily one of the top toys.

Top 20 of 2008: Lego Indy

One of the best things about Indiana Jones and The Curse of the Crystal Skull was that it re-raised public awareness of Indy and allowed new great figures to be created. One of these series was the Lego Indy series (which was also followed by a Lego Indy PS2 game).

As soon as I saw this figure I knew I had to have it. It was based on my favorite Indy film (The Last Crusade) and came packed with Indy's dad (Sean Connery) on a motorcycle with sidecar. Easily one of the best and most fun figures of the year.

Noooooooooo Joe!

Last weekend marked the opening of the first ever live action G.I.Joe film. The fanboy in me was completely geeking out. While the skeptic in me totally knew this would be awful. Every preview I saw made me realize this wouldn't be the Joe I grew up with, still I couldn't resist.

I was able to talk my very expectant wife (34 weeks along) and my good buddy into going to the midnight showing with me. There is a movie theater close by the office, and I typically work late on Thursday, so everything was in allignment. I would finally get a chance to watch Snake Eyes versus Storm Shadow on the big screen, in live action.

Then the movie started... and my excitement level quickly waned. Let me preface my review by saying I'm a huge Joe fan. HUGE. I own 600 or so of the figures, and have just about every comic ever produced. I revere the classic 80's cartoon, which was such a huge piece of my childhood. I even liked the G.I. Joe Resolute that aired recently on the cartoon network. If done right, I love just about any version of G.I. Joe. This movie misses on a lot of levels.

First off, it seems the writers of the movies disregarded just about every piece of Joe history. This I simply don't understand. If you are going to make a movie out of one of the greatest pop culture series of all-time, why not use more of the source material. I love Snake Eyes and his mythology. To basically toss out the love story between he and Scarlett, to make use of a ridiculous Marlon Wayans, is a huge slap in the face. Also to have Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes meet as children is a huge mistake. We have to believe they could be brothers (a relationship forged over them being in a war together i.e. in the original Joes, SE and SS fight as teammates in Vietnam), and that Snake Eyes loses his whole family which leads him on a path to self discovery that leads him to the Arashikage dojo in Japan. Having a poor boy looking for a meal in Japan simply doesn't carry the same weight. Also while on the subject of Snake eyes, having him not speak because of a vow of silence is absurd. In the comics, he loses his voice while protecting Scarlett. Furthering the notion that the two of them are in love, and that he would do anything for her. All huge missed points in the film.

The other really huge problem I had with the film was Cobra Commander. Basically everything about him was awful. From his being the Baroness' brother, to being disguised as Dr. Mindbender (or whatever generic evil doctor that was), to his awful costume at the end (how do you forego the simple majesty of Cobra Commander's two iconic costumes. Either a hood or a shielded helmet... they had two options... argh). All things that missed the boat.

Another huge problem I had were the accelerator suits. They were simply not needed Joe's were always soldiers pushing themselves to their limits while battling an evil, ruthless terrorist organization. While I enjoyed the scene more than I thought I would (I was more put off by Scarlett's motorcycle riding which was ridiculous), I thought the suits were not needed and out of character. It was clearly the best action scene in the whole film, but it was superfluous and not G.I. Joe. Give me the same exact scene sans Scarlett on the motorcycle and the crazy suits and you have a scene literally pulled out of the old animated series.

With those broad strokes out of the way, lets take a look at some of the individual characters.

Duke: Channing Tatum was completely wooden, but believable when he was quiet and simply fighting like a soldier.
General Hawk: Dennis Quaid was fine as the Joe leader. It was actually pretty close to both the cartoon and comic.
Heavy Duty: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje used a ridiculous and unnecesarry accent. He would have been much better served using his own voice and sounding more like he did on Lost, as opposed to simply sounding lost with an awful accent.
Ripcord: Marlon Wayans was a complete waste. The movie did not need his comedy interjected within it. A bit player on the show and comic, he was given way too much play. If you needed to give Duke a buddy, why not go with Flint or his brother, Falcon.
Scarlett: Rachel Nichols was the closest to being spot on. She fought well, was smart and loving, was badass with a wrist mounted crossbow and was a red head. Short of her relationship with Snake Eyes, she was the character they most got right.
Snake Eyes: Ray Park did a great job with the physical aspects of the film. We learn very little about SE and they completely ruined his backstory, but Park does a great job with the action scenes. The mask on the costume was awful, but everything else was designed well.
Breaker: Saïd Taghmaoui was fine as the tech expert on the team. We learn little to nothing about him, and thats fine. He had one of the best geek out moments of the film when he popped in a piece of Double Bubble and blew a big bubble ala his character in the comics.
Baroness: Sienna Miller was right on as well. Besides Scarlett, she was the most dead-on of all the characters. Her costumes were perfect. The backstory was awful (dating Duke, having CC for a brother) but Sienna herself was great.
Destro: Christopher Eccleston was just OK. He should have been the star of this pre-Cobra prequel, but he falls a little flat. Eccleston played it a little closer to the vest. Also he wasn't physically on par with Destro. He was simply too small.
Cobra Commander: Joseph Gordon-Levitt was awful. It was like he mailed it in. Of course, he didn't have much to work with. Awful backstory, awful costumes. Simply awful all around.
Storm Shadow: Byung-hun Lee was basically what you'd expect from Storm Shadow. Had some nice modern ninja style outfits, overall his costume worked better than Snake Eyes. Played a much bigger role than SS typically did in previous Joe stories.
Zartan: Arnold Vosloo was a joke as the master of disguise. A simple hat, or an eye patch do not a master of disguise make. Interesting plot point with Zartan as the President.

All in all, I must admit to being thoroughly disappointed in the film. Had I been a 10 year old boy (what I guess the core demographic would be) I would have loved it. It hops all over the world, has an action scene every 12 minutes and enough eye candy to keep most happy. I unfortunately expected greater. This film missed for me on so many levels.

Top 20 of 2008: Ahsoka

Summer 2008 brought us another chapter to the ever growing Star Wars saga. This was the full CGI animated Clone Wars. This movie (and related TV series) is supposed to nestle in mid-way through the Gendy Tartovsky animated Clone Wars from 4 years ago.

The breakout character of this movie and series was clearly Ahsoka Tano. She seemed to be a character specifically meant to get girls to know and love the Star Wars universe. It clearly worked with Scrappy, as she was all about Ahsoka. She wanted the toys, the costumes, Pez dispensers, everything. I thought the character was a bit too much of a smart ass, and didn't know how to respect authority, while also being impetuous. Besides that, she also proved to be a fast learner, and quite handy in a fight.

Ahsoka's figure was clearly the hardest of all the Clone Wars figures to find. With only one per case she was quite rare. I was actually quite lucky to find not one, but two. This figure's pain scheme was spot on. It has a real cloth skirt. Ahsoka's lightsaber, and a backpack to carry Jabba's son baby Rotta. The figure also has articulation in the knees, elbows and neck. This figure was clearly one of the highlights of 2008 toy collecting.

Family Gambit

Early in May, I dragged my wife to see the wretched X-Men Origins: Wolverine. While not nearly as bad as X-Men: The Last Stand (which is one of the worst comic movies in recent history) this movie was pretty bad. Liberties were taken with the source material (Paul Jenkins great Origin, Barry Windsor Smiths equally great Weapon X) to the point that the story was ridiculous, to the point of comical. The special effects were also pretty subpar. The scene were Wolverine pops his claws in the bathroom of the Hudson and cuts through their sink looks amatuerish. I feel like I could've put together better effects on my Mac. Deadpool was ridiculous as an amalgamation of mutants... he was much better as the wisecracking mercenary from earlier in the film. I will gladly pass on his solo film. Besides Iron Man (and the Incredible Hulk to a lesser degree) Marvel has been on a pretty bad streak of movies. Hopefully this changes soon. In what has been a good summer movie season, this easily stands out as the worst movie I've seen so far.

With all that said, The Wolverine movie inspired comic great Jim Lee to have a Gambit challenge. On the WildStorm blog site there was a video of Jim Lee pencilling and fully inking an image of Gambit in under 8 minutes. 8 minutes... are you kidding me. Not only did he draw it quickly, but he drew it amazingly. He is a true genius in the comic art medium.

With my comic idol drawing and inking a Gambit that quickly, I figured I would try and draw a Gambit image as quickly as possible. The below image was pencilled in 17 minutes (or twice as long as it took Jim to draw and ink). While I had to run some errands with my daughter the next day, my wife gamefully handled the inking for me. The inks took her a little over an hour and are distinctly her. They have a softer, lighter touch to them. The affect of the inks give the finished product a sketchier feel. While my pieces tend to have starker blacks when I ink them this piece serves as a nice change of pace. Another collaborative piece we can both be proud of.

Old Man Indy

As a disciple of George Lucas, I'm a huge fan of the Indiana Jones series. I've thoroughly enjoyed all the films... including last summers Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The announcement last year that Hasbro would finally be making good mass market Indy figures (as opposed to the exclusive Disneyworld figures) brought smiles to toy collectors worldwide. With that announcement and the release of the new movie, we all knew that KOTCS figures would soon follow the initial wave of Raiders of the Lost Arc figures.

Hasbro did a great job of releasing classic figures alongside figures of the latest film. The best of the classic line will be seen in my top figures of 2008 post. Above is the best of the new movie line. An older, grayer Indy without hat. He did come accessorized with a gun, crystal skull, whip and satchel. The figure came articulated at the neck, shoulder, elbow, hands, waist and knees. The paint scheme did a great job capturing the fact that this was an older Indy. Great job all around.

Watchmen

Okay, so I saw the Watchmen movie a few weeks back and absolutely loved. It was quite possibly (IMHO) the most faithful comic adaptation of all time. There was a huge change to the ending of the original story which I actually though worked better than the original ending. It made for a tighter story on screen. The essence of the story remained the same while providing many of the iconic visuals from the stunning artwork of Dave Gibbons.

Dave Gibbons has basically been the only artist who ever even attempted drawing the Watchmen. The Watchmen is one of those books that is absolutely revered by the comic community. You would be hard pressed to find a bad review of the original book-especially from the comic fans.

When the buzz for this film started to build (around the time the first trailer hit with the Dark Knight last summer) the brilliant artists at Wildstorm drew a thumbnail that they would later turn into a jam piece. I decided that this would be a great opportunity to take a crack at characters I've loved for a long time as well. In addition, this turned into a jam piece of my own.

Any one who truly knows my art style, knows I dont draw hands or guns very well (or cars for that matter). With a large gun and a few sets of hands featured very prominently, my lovely wife decided to pitch in and not only draw hands and the guns of the Comedian, but she also did an amazing job on drawing and inking Archie (Nite Owl's ship).



This piece was a definite change from what I've been doing lately. I've been focusing more on single character pieces. Drawing this large of a cast was a definite challenge. Basically drawing 7 characters (if you count Archie) was a definite daunting task. Not only is this a piece I loved working on, but a piece that I will always hold very high regard for as it was a jam piece between my wife and I (thats her signature under my initial box)... thanks my love.

Who Watches The Watchmen

I did (according to second week box office though, it seems like only comic fans have though) and I loved it.

I'll post a longer review when I'm done with a piece of art to honor this great comic and film. For now, I'll simply say that the movie was as faithful a comic adaptation as has ever been presented on screen. Quite possibly the best comic film of all time.

More to come...

Top 10 Movies of 2008

So I'm a few weeks late on my Top 10 list of 2008. I figured it was better late than never. Plus I wanted to put my list out before the Golden Globe awards tomorrow. For what it's worth, here is my list of the Top 10 movies of 2008.

10. The New Frontier
DC's modern retelling of the Silver Age forming of the Justice League was beautifully adapted from the incredible mini-series by the brilliant Darwyn Cooke. The animation and voices were top notch. DC's animation studio continues to hit on all cylinders. I would have loved to have seen this film on the big screen instead of a direct to DVD release.

9. High School Musical 3
The end of the Troy and Gabriela saga for the HSM cast was handled very well in the first big-screen effort. The songs, sets and costumes were all amped up with big-screen budgets. On top of that, it was a fun, and still innocent tale of growing u and learning to make your own choices. "I Want It All" by Ryan and Sharpay was the highlight of the film for me. An obvious big budget number that could not have been done on the small-screen.

8. Kung-Fu Panda
I expected a silly animated film and ended up with one of my favorite films of the year. A great tale of learning and acceptance with standout voice acting by Jack Black, Ian McShane and Dustin Hoffman. Plus it contains some of the best fighting scenes of the year. One of the years best films for the whole family.

7. Cloverfield

Yes, it came out very early in 2008, and was really nothing more than disaster-porn, but no movie had me more on the edge of my seat in 2008. Scary and chilling at times, it made you forget that the ridiculously good looking cast was getting eaten alive. Fun concept, that was very well executed. I thoroughly enjoyed this film.

6. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
This was another movie where I expected nothing and walked out thoroughly loving the film I had seen. The marketing campaign for this movie was brilliant and initially drew me in ( okay, Kristen Bell in the cast didn't hurt) but the movie definitely delivered. It was more than the typical cookie-cutter romantic comedy. Fun, heart-warming, gross and tender, all at the same time.

5. Iron Man
I was incredibly excited for this movie, and it didnt disappoint. Robert Downey Jr. was perfectly cast as Tony Stark. That and the modern re-telling of the the characters origin wonderfully directed by Jon Favreau made this an easy choice for the Top 5. Marvel proved that an obscure comic book character done smartly and right could make for a huge box-office hit. Hopefully everyone stayed through the credits and saw Samuel Jackson brief but brilliant turn as Nick Fury.

4. The Reader
A coming of age love story between a teenager and middle aged woman that spirals into a legal thriller about the Holocaust where we learn to what lengths some people will go to keep a secret. Amazing performances by the incomparable Kate Winslet (the best actress in Hollywood today) and Ralph Fiennes make this movie a must see. I wouldn't be surprised to see both performances be nominated. Great work also by the makeup artists in the film. The movie covers almost 50 years so the characters do a serious amount of aging which is wonderfully captured on screen. Some will think the movie is a little gratuitous, if you can handle the nudity and some adult situations, you'll be in for an epic film.

3. The Dark Knight

Quite possibly the greatest comic book film ever made. Christopher Nolan has crafted a wonderful and realistic modern mythology in his Batman movies. Proving that you can make comic movies intelligent, yet still cater to the popcorn set. Easily put, one of the best movies of the year. Also, enough cannot be said about the brilliant performance of Heath Ledger as the agent of anarchy known as the Joker. Simply brilliant and deserving of a nomination. I hope they can get the whole crew (Nolan, Bale, Caine, Oldham) back together for at least one more foray through the streets of Gotham.

2. Revolutionary Road

The movie is best described by a phrase that is used in the film "the emptiness of hopelessness". Sam Mendes directs another movie in the vein of American Beauty. A movie about a young couple that seem perfect on the outside, but the closer you look, the more you realize how empty their lives truly are. Which character is really worse off, the husband who hates his job but supports his family, or the wife who sits and home and raises children but hates her life. Watching it all spiral out of control makes this movie truly special. Kate Winslet turns in the performance of the year and deserves to take home an Oscar for her efforts. Michael Shannon in two scenes practically steals the movie. He may also get a nomination for maybe 10 minutes of screen time, but every single second of it is riveting.

And now, finally my pick for the number 1 movie of 2008

1. Wall-E

The folks at Disney Pixar continue to churn out hit after hit. When I first heart that the first 30 minutes of the film where practically silent with only the beeps and boops of robots, I wasn't sure what to expect. What I got was the best film of the year. A brilliantly crafted tale written by Andrew Stanton on the perils of how we currently live our lives and the dangers we face. Wall-E is more human and emotional, barely saying a word than most lead actors in movies today. As perfect a film as I've ever seen. Incredibly animated and acted. a great piece of film-making.

Summer Blockbusters

Zoinks! It's been a while wince I updated this puppy. While working freelance onsite and having some time to kill I figured I'd finish the quick movie rundown I started more than a month ago.

One of the annual rites of the summer is the inevitable summer blockbuster. Now admittedly I have not seen everything, but everything I have seen has been of pretty high quality. With roughly half the summer still left (I started typing this on July 16) I doubt I will see a movie as entertaining, gripping and powerful as The Dark Knight.

In terms of comic book movies, as strong and smart as Iron Man was, as action packed as the Hulk was... this movie outpaces both, by a lot. The only movie that comes close to the quality level of Christopher Nolan's Bat epic is Pixar's Wall-E, which I also thought was excellent. Not only Wall-E and Dark Knight are the best 2 movies I've seen this summer, in fact they are the 2 best movies I've seen this year. Of course the fall movie season and the winter awards season push will provide plenty of fodder for my best of the year list.

Getting back to the Dark Knight though, I must say Christian Bale is perfect as Bruce Wayne. I do find his Batman to be a bit annoying with the way he's combed the depths of his lower register to try and give himself a gravelly tough guy voice. He sounds more ridiculous than he does tough. What more can be said about Heath Ledger's performance. Truly one of the most captivating movie villains to ever hit the big screen. His was the most chilling portrayal ever of the Joker, either in print or on screen... ever. Aaron Eckhart's transformation from DA to grotesque villain seemed a bit rushed but provided the backbone for the entire film. If the Joker could turn this top law man into a twisted villain he could do it to anyone. Maggie Gylenhal was also a pleasant upgrade over the lovely Katie Holmes. Her death providing the tipping point for Eckharts Dent. All in all a perfect film (note I didn't classify it as a comic film... with a film this good, no classification is necessary).

Here are some of the other notable films I saw so far this summer: Forgetting Sarah Marshall (yeah that was late April, but in my opinion it started my summer as I was laid off shortly after watching this film), Iron Man (3rd fave of the summer), Indiana Jones (dug it, felt like it belonged in the Indy family), Kung Fu Panda (much more enjoyable than I anticipated, great fighting scenes), The Incredible Hulk (better than the first, Ed Norton a plus), Wall-E (close 2nd best film of the year) Step Brothers (funny, funny, funny), Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (well told Del Torro tale. Solid second act to this character) Star Wars: The Clone Wars (aimed at kids, I dug it, would have been better received had the main characters not been so bratty)... more to come, as I plan on catching Tropic Thunder, and Pineapple Express very soon as well.