In the season opener of Big Bang Theory we find Sheldon staying over at Howard’s because he cannot keep a secret Penny told him from Leonard. Once settled in bed Sheldon begins to ramble about Catwoman due to the Halle Berry Poster over Howard’s bed.
Here’s their conversation. After this I will give my list of favorite Catwomen.
Sheldon: That poster of Halle Berry is a little unnerving.
Howard: So don’t look at it.
Sheldon: She’s like my fourth favorite Catwoman.
Howard: No Kidding.
Sheldon: Yeah, Julie Newmar, Michelle Pfeiffer, Eartha Kitt and then her.
Howard: What about Lee Meriweather?
Sheldon: Oh, I forgot about Lee Meriweather.
Howard: Well I’m glad that is settled.
Sheldon: That makes Halle Berry my fifth favorite Catwoman. It’s Julie Newmar, Michelle Pfeiffer, Eartha Kitt, Lee Meriweather …
Howard: Please I’m begging you go to sleep.
Sheldon: I’m trying. I’m counting Catwomen.
Sheldon: She did make a fine mutant in the X-Men movies, though.
Howard: Oh for God sake.
Sheldon: She’s not my favorite of the X-Men though. In order that would be wolverine, Cyclops…wait I forgot Professor X. Professor X, Wolverine, Cyclops, Iceman, then Storm, Angel, the Beast…No wait Nightcrawler. Professor X, Nightcrawler, Wolverine, Cyclos, Iceman, then Storm, Angel, the Beast…
I have to disagree with Sheldon a little on the order of Catwomen.
My favorite Catwoman is Michelle Pfeiffer, then Julie Newmar, Eartha Kitt, Halle Berry, Lee Meriweather. (And we’ll throw Adrienne Barbeau in there as well. She played Catwoman in Batman the Animated Series).
I was just reading about a Comic Book Show in Reading, PA at the Expo Center. The Expo’s website had no information about the show other than the dates (September 6-7). So I did a search for more info and learned that the show is hosted by Comic Geek Speak. For more show information check out their website at http://www.comicpodcasting.com/cgsss/index.php. There you’ll find out who is exhibiting and what guests will be there. I might be going just to check it out.
It is sponsored by Golden Eagle Comics. I used really like that shop before the owner got sick and it was being run by this guy I don’t really care for mostly because he just wasn’t friendly like Lem. I really enjoyed stopping by and talking geek with Lem he was a great guy. I just learned tonight from a post over at comics bulletin from Lead Slinger Studios that he had passed away earlier this year. He will be missed. He has been missed. Golden Eagle just has not been the same without him.
Batman: Gotham Knight is out on DVD now. It is the latest animated feature from
DC Comics. It is actually six mini movies all done (or should I so over done) in the anime / mango style. Just because anime is getting more popular doesn’t mean every thing needs to be produced in that style let alone in six different variations of the style. I don’t think any of the stories stands up on their own and they certainly don’t move smoothly from one story to the next. Over all I say avoid this or simply rent it or get it on demand like I did.
The best thing about this is that they got Kevin Conroy to voice the bat. He is the voice of Batman in almost all the animated versions to appear on TV. So if they could get him for this production why not use him in the Justice League animated film earlier this year?
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian was very good. Most people seem to have an issue with the fact that Narnia is not the same place it was in the first film. How could it be it is 1300 years later? For once I read the book first and this was a very close rending of the original. All but one scene, that is.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was pretty good. At first Harrison ford appears really old and you think how the heck is he going to pull this off. Surprisingly he does and you soon forget how Old he really is. The only thing I didn’t like was the ending (sorry spoiler alert)… I didn’t mind the whole alien thing or even the space ship leaving I the thing I did not like was how the 13 skeletons became one living breathing alien. They were dead and dead is dead even in alternate dimensions. A friend of mine did not like that Indy wasn’t on a search for a religious object. I beg to differ and say the crystal skulls are a religious object just not a Christian one. Perhaps after another viewing I’ll see past the resurrected alien and like it a bit better. Who knows.
Wall-e - This little robot will steal your heart. I just pretty much loved this whole flick. When I first heard the Wall-e soundtrack I couldn’t help wondering why they included the two songs from Hello Dolly. This becomes clear once seeing the film. The beginning is a little slow, but worth it. My only complaint (and not really sure it is a complaint] is that Wall-e did not affect more of the humans on the ship prior to the big final scene. I just think his presence on the ship would have caused more than two people to “awake” from their self-absorbed worlds before the big ending. Overall this is an excellent film worth both a big screen viewing and addition to my DVD collection when it comes out.
Hell boy 2 - I don’t usually get to say this, but this sequel was just as good as the first film. Had I not known this going in to the film I would have said the guy from Pan’s Labyrinth must of had something to do with this, and well, yes he did. Boy does it show, but in a good way. Visually stunning. But we get more than just new other worldly characters to look at, the story is good and our main characters are developed further as well. The scene that stands out the most for me has Hellboy and Abe singing to a Manilow song. You really have to see it. This film is well worth the big screen price tag.
Batman: The Dark Knight - Well here I go again this sequel is just as good (may even be better) than the first one. I tried to stay away from too many spoilers on this film before seeing it, which was a little hard to do after Heath Ledger died. It really is a darn shame too because he made one hell of a great Joker and it would have been nice to see him play the part again. The few glimpses I saw of the film before hand had me worried they were putting too many villains in one film like the last batch of Batman movies. But it is nicely done. Heck you don’t even need to see the first film to go see this one. We do get a glimpse of Scarecrow at the beginning, but the story is all about the Joker and Harvey Dent. By the end of the film I was getting a little tired of Christian Bale’s Batman voice. It actually started to grate on my nerves. I don’t mind his regular speaking voice too much even with his speak impediment, but when he lowers his voice for the Bat it just really bothers me. (And not just me but the two people that went with me said the same thing.) Since we saw the film it seems many other people have posted their reviews and have pretty much said the same thing.
A few years ago I first wrote about the possibility of an animated version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer over at ScifiSlacker.com and much like the ill-fated animated Star Trek they teased me with as well was never to be.
After fours year one gives up hope that anything will ever happen. The one day you stumble on a tiny little blip in the TV Guide telling you that just this month someone leaked the 3 minute pilot for the BtVS animated series and your little heart starts a pumping. Hell, with the success of the BtVS Season 8 comics (gosh those are good) maybe they could see fit to bring about this once shelved project and breath life back into the Vampire Slayer franchise on the small screen.
The clip is very nicely done and done in a style of animation that I really like similar to the Batman The Animated Series cartoon. Very cool (if this does ever come into being I hope they stick with this style and don’t screw it up by making it pseudo anime).
Now this little pilot does have all our favorite characters doing their own voices except Sarah Michelle Gellar who apparently is too good to go back to doing anything Buffy related (what has she done lately besides the voice of Bufy on Robot Chicken?), but the girl doing Buffy’s voice (Giselle Loren) is most excellent and you would never even miss that other actress (what’s-her-face).
So to read more about Buffy the Vampire Slayer the Animated series or sign the petition to bring it on (maybe a DVD movie like the resurrection of Futurama) head over to BuffyAnimated.com. Watch and enjoy while you can (I am sure this will be yanked from YouTube at some point).
The Batman Dark Knight figures are pretty cool. I’m not talking about the six-inch figures or even the deluxe figures (although the deluxe Joker does look more like Heath than the others). I am referring to the small 3.75-inch scale figures. You have probably noticed by now that I have a thing for small toys and action figures. Even though I never really collected the Star Wars figures that’s my favorite scale. At first Mattel only released the large figures and a bat mobile with a 3.75 inch figure, but I wasn’t going to pay that much money when all I wanted was the bat.
Then they appeared on the pegs at my local Target, they being three different two packs of batman figures in my favorite scale! I grabbed the Batman / Joker-set and the Batman / Bruce Wayne set. I didn’t really feel the need for The Batman / Scarecrow set as I did not need another Batman and the Scarecrow does not thrill me. There is also a little play set, which includes a Batman as well (again I wasn’t paying 15 bucks just for a Batman). The only thing is the figures could have had a little more articulation. I would have liked elbow joints especially since the Joker’s jacket kind of kills the articulation in the legs. Batman’s cape is cloth, which is nice. Also there are no peg holes for stands. Bummer, but there is cool treads on Batman’s boots.
In case you were wondering what I was talking about in my last post, I am speaking of the new line of DC toys from Mattel the DC Infinite Heroes. This a new scale for The DC guys standing a mere 3.75 inches tall (same scale as Star Wars and Indian Jones).
According to my sources (Toy magazines, internet, and Previews) these weren’t supposed to hit until August with new waves in the fall, but I found them at Toys R Us and Target already.
Available now are: Shazam, Adam Strange, Guy Gardner, Zoom and two three packs, which consist of Gordon and two Gotham Swat team members and Flash, Weather Wizard, and Mirror Master.
I was able to pick up the 3 packs at Target and got 4 of the 7 individual figures pictured on the backs of the cards at Toys R us (Target had the same individual figures I had already purchased at TRU). My guess is the rest pictured will appear in another wave of figures.
Since I stopped collecting the Justice League figures (they were just too hard to find and the new figures are all in 3-packs with figures I already have. It was getting way too expensive plus they are hard to display. My entire collection fell over like dominoes. These are a great alternative. DC Infinite Heroes will feature new and classic characters, I might not even mind having to buy yet another Batman and Superman in the new scale (although I do think the new small scale Dark Knight figures will fit right in with this tiny plastic crowd.
My Guy Gardner Figure will be going back as I just learned of a TRU exclusive
6- pack, which will include Guy, Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Man hunter, damaged Man hunter and Qwardian, Like the JL figures the only unique ones will be Hal Jordan, John Stewart and damaged Man hunter.
Future 3-packs are Superman, Wonder Girl and Super Girl and Captain Boomerang, Star fire and Raven. Toyfare also lists Hush as an individual figure which would make sense if this first wave has four individuals and list three other figures on the back.
Each figure has 10 points of articulation, a pretty good likeness and the all important peg hole for a stand (not included).
Looks like the female figures will only have six to eight points of articulation and I am keeping my fingers crossed they will have a hole in the foot too.
I like going into a toy store and finding new action figures in their aisles. In the last few months action figures seem to have taken a turn toward playability again. Hasbro has release 3.75″ Indy figures. The same scale as the Star Wars figures.
Now Mattel has released DC characters in the same scale. They have good Sculpts and good articulation. So why did we ever put up with those seven and eight inch mini sculptures that didn’t move and were no fun to play with?
So now my Star Wars figures can hang out with and play with my new Indiana Jones and Super hero figures. Shazam can swoop down and save R2 from The clutches of Black Adam and Darth Vadar as Indy rides away on his horse. (Yeah I play with my toys.) I have always loved small figures and hope this scale keeps going strong!
Finally got to see the Ironman movie and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed the action. Downey did a great job playing an alcoholic womanizer. Did he have practice? Seriously, he did an excellent job in the film. Before the movie we got a glimpse at a few of the summers upcoming flicks. Two in particular stood out for me Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and The Incredible Hulk.
I will mostly likely be waiting in line for Indy but not so much for the Hulk. Although this new trailer showed me a little more about the movie and that is might actually have a plot and not just be the big hideous CGI monster all the time. So I had hope for about 24 hours, now I am not so sure. I just read about Edward Norton’s disagreement with Marvel over the film’s substance at IGoTheBeat. According to IGTB and EW.com Marvel wanted a shorter faster paced film while Norton and the director wanted a longer film with more substance (I have to agree with Norton).
Perhaps the negative press will actually drum up viewers for the film. Most people I know weren’t planning on seeing this film simply because of how horrible Ang Lee’s Hulk was (I wouldn’t even give it a half star). So maybe with all the rumors and press people might just go to see what the hubbub is all about. I still won’t be seeing it in theaters, but someone might go. Good luck with that movie Marvel. You might be thanking your lucky stars that you did Ironman first.
The world’s greatest paranormal investigator will hit the big screen in Hellboy II: The Golden Army on July 11. The movie will take you from our world into a realm inhabited by elves, trolls and demons.
In celebration of the opening, the grand prize winner of TFAW’s Ultimate Hellboy Contest will receive ten (10) movie tickets to Hellboy II: The Golden Army at their local theatre, a copy of the Hellboy Library Edition Vol. 1, Hellboy: The Companion TPB, Hellboy Lunchbox, Hellboy Movie Photo Coaster Set, and both Hellboy Animated Statues.
One second prize winner will win a copy of the Hellboy Library Edition Vol. 1 and a copy of the Hellboy 2: The Golden Army Movie Prequel Comic, which is signed by Doug Jones (Abe Sapien)!
Ten (10) third place winners will get a subscription to Crooked Man, the new Hellboy mini-series starting in July.
I first heard of Laurell K. Hamilton and Anita Blake Vampire Hunter on a toy collector’s forum a few years ago from a fan of the series. I picked up Guilty Pleasures, the first book, and rather enjoyed. Now fast forward a few years. I just picked up the audio version of the book Incubus Dreams, which is book twelve in this series not having read the other ten books in between. So I had high expectations for this story.
I finally finished the audio version of Laurell K. Hamilton’s Incubus Dreams. Thank god I was listening to the abridged version (only 10 discs) instead of the unabridged version (24 discs). Twelve hours of this dribble was bad enough I don’t think I could have made it through thirty hours.
So what exactly did they cut out of this story for the abridged version? I thought perhaps major plot points were dropped. But according to the reviews I was reading about the book that might not be the case. So they must have cut out some of the sex or perhaps the sexual scenes had gone into much more graphic detail than what I was getting. I don’t know and I have no intentions of finding out.
I will read her earlier works (I loved Guilty Pleasures when I read that a few years ago and now in comic book form from Marvel), but I don’t think I will bother with any of the books beyond this one. Incubus Dreams is 12th in the Anita Blake series so I will have plenty to check out before I finally give up on this author.
If I wish to read (or in this case hear) pure Vampire/Werewolf erotic fantasy I will look for books like Deep Inside by Polly Frost. With Anita Blake I was hoping for a Vampire mystery with a little sex in the mix, not that the entire story would be filled with only sex. We lost the whole aspect of any mystery or case a few chapters into this storyline and never got it back again until the very end of the book. Everything in between was one sexual experience after another. We had characters come and go too easily without any story development. What happened to the Vampire servant Damian? Anita f—ks him and he has a complete vampiric break down only to drop out of the story completely without resolving the problems brought on by the encounter. That is only one of many, many flaws with this story. The story ends with what else, more sex and the mystery is left unresolved. Not that I will be picking up book 13 in the series any time soon to see if this author bothers to fill her readers in or not.
My suggestion is to stay away from this story. Go ahead and read the earlier works of this author but don’t bother with this book. Even better check out the comic book version of Anita Blake Vampire Hunter (at least she is actually hunting vampires, raising the dead and dealing with werewolves instead of just f—king them all).
As I said I was listening to this story. I did not yet mention the flaws in the audio version, which is published by Brilliance Audio and read by Cynthia Holloway. Cynthia does a good job of rendering the characters and keep our interest even if the story can’t. My biggest problem with the audio version is the production. The publishing company Brilliance Audio sees fit to add unneeded audio at the beginning and end of each disk. Most people today take their discs and turn them into MP3s, which is what I did and that is why I found the fade in/out music and notice to put in the next disk a real distraction. Combine that with the repeated two or three lines of text from the previous disc and the annoyance only compounded. So drop the unwanted extras from your audio discs and maybe they will be easier to listen, although even that would not have helped this story.
In the season opener of Big Bang Theory we find Sheldon staying over at Howard’s because he cannot keep a secret Penny told him from Leonard. Once settled in bed Sheldon begins to ramble about Catwoman due to the Halle Berry Poster over Howard’s bed.
Sheldon: That poster of Halle Berry is a little unnerving.
Sheldon: Yeah, Julie Newmar, Michelle Pfeiffer, Eartha Kitt and then her.
Sheldon: That makes Halle Berry my fifth favorite Catwoman. It’s Julie Newmar, Michelle Pfeiffer, Eartha Kitt, Lee Meriweather …
Sheldon: She did make a fine mutant in the X-Men movies, though.
I have to disagree with Sheldon a little on the order of Catwomen.
