Nerd in the 'Noke

The Losers (2010), PG-13, 98 minutes - I've been looking forward to this movie for months and it didn't disappoint. It's based upon a comic book series that was published by DC's Vertigo written by Andy Diggle and penciled primarily by Jock. The Losers is the story about a special forces unit that witnesses something that they weren't supposed to. Their superior, an evil ghost of a man known only as Max, orders their elimination. One problem: they survive and go about making Max's life difficult in their efforts to clear their names and records. As with most comic book based movies, the cast is integral to the story's transition to the big screen, and the cast of The Losers is as close to a perfect fit as you can get. Jeffery Dean Morgan (Clay), Zoe Saldana (Aisha), Chris Evans (Jensen), Idris Elba (Roque), Columbus Short (Pooch), and Oscar Jaenada (Cougar) are all living, breathing versions of the characters created on the page by Diggle/Jock. O...

Many of you who will read this have probably heard at least a part of the trials and tribulations I've had in my efforts to see Alice in Chains live. For those who haven't, it's really too long to bother going into but I will say this: after two trips to Charlotte, a snow storm, a sick (with the flu) band, an 8 week postponement, a change in venue, and a combined two days of vacation time used, all it took to see Alice in Chains live was sitting through some rain. The show was originally going to be held at The Fillmore in Charlotte. It's a great venue that I saw the Dropkick Murphy's at back in March. The postponement of the show allowed them to move Alice in Chains outside to the NC Music Factory (another part of the same facility). It makes sense really, you figure they were able to increase their capacity, sell more tickets, everyone wins right? Oh wait, it's now the end of April and it's raining. Having worked in minor league baseball for a few yea...

Daredevil has long been my favorite comic, and has been in the hands of some excellent creative teams over the past few years (Brian Michael Bendis/Alex Maleev, Ed Brubaker/Michael Lark, and now Andy Diggle with Antony Johnston and artists Roberto De La Torre and Marco Checchetto). Over that time, one of the greatest things about Daredevil as a book is that the stories have been self contained in DD's own little corner of the Marvel Universe (Hell's Kitchen). This has been awesome in that all you need to do to follow DD's story is pick up a single book. No crossovers, no major universe changing events, just the monthly Daredevil release. This past weekend at C2E2 (Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo), Marvel made major announcements concerning the upcoming Shadowland storyline that has been teased in a couple of recent issues of DD. I was a little leery at first as it's being released as a separate mini-series (5 issues) that will stand alone, but will also tie into...

Kick-Ass (2010), R, 117 minutes - As some may know, Kick-Ass is based upon a comic book series (8 issues), written by Mark Millar and penciled by John Romita, Jr. Millar's name may sound familiar to some movie-goers even if they are not into comics. Another of his creations - Wanted - was a big summer flick a couple of years ago. Just as he did with Wanted, Millar succeeds in telling an interesting story while being shockingly violent and/or profane at times. Trust me, parts of the trailer don't even begin to portray how violent and profane Kick-Ass can be. That being said, as long as you are not easily offended and don't mind a little (ok, alot) of actiony blood-splatter, you will be thoroughly entertained by this comic book movie. Kick-Ass is the story of Dave Lizewski, your everyday nobody teenager. He wonders why no one has actually tried to be a costumed hero in real life. After having a comic book nerd debate about it with his close pals, he decides to or...

The Losers is based on a Vertigo comic book by the same name written by Andy Diggle and illustrated primarily by Jock. I just finished the series this morning. It's a miltary/special ops action/thriller with a good bit of humor thrown in. The trailer looks to be pretty faithful to the source material and the cast also looks to fit the characters of the book quite nicely. Can't wait for this!

I've been thinking about launching a blog about the various things I'm interested in for quite a while now. I figured it was finally about time to go ahead and do it. As some may know, I'm a huge movie buff and have posted many movie reviews in different places in the past (myspace, facebook, even a facebook review group created with a couple of friends). None of these really worked out the way I had hoped (or would have liked), which is why I've begun anew here. This space will most likely be filled with movie reviews and my thoughts on upcoming films as well as sports, comics, music, or whatever else pops into my head. As always some reviews will be lengthy and detailed, others short and sweet. It really just depends on the mood I'm in at the time. I encourage open discussion (everyone has their own thoughts/opinions/suggestions) so feel free to add your two cents if you feel so inclined! I'm also not sure that I like the name that I've given it so i...

How to Train Your Dragon (2010), PG, 98 minutes - I've been hearing really good things about this movie for the last two weeks and I finally got a chance to check it out myself. I must say, I wasn't disappointed in the slightest. The animation is excellent, the story is fun, and the use of 3D may be as good as it was in Avatar. How to Train Your Dragon is the story of a young viking named Hiccup who can't bring himself to kill the rare and dangerous Night Fury dragon after shooting it down amidst a dragon attack on his village. Hiccup's father (the leader of the village) enrolls him in dragon training in the hopes of toughening up his son and making a proper viking out of him. Hiccup attends the sessions and takes the verbal abuse from the other viking youth in his class then sneaks off in the afternoons to nurse the Night Fury back to health. In the process he learns that dragons and vikings can co-exist and that the dragons attack because they are just as s...