Bad Toons

I'm really sick of these negative ads. I mean, where does Plank get off running these kinds of ads?

Yes, the last refuge from reality, Cartoon Network, has joined every other network in showing annoying political ads. Only these ads are for fictional candidates that kids are suppose to vote for on CN's web site.

Now, you could say, "Hey some of them are kind of funny. They even got famed animal-zoo person Jack Hanna to do one." And you'd be right, but I'm just tired of hearing anything that starts or ends (or even contains) the phrase "I approve this message."

If November 2nd wasn't days away, I don't know if I could take much more of this. What? Turn off my television and read a book? What do I look like a nerd? Hey, wait a minute. I am a nerd! I listed "Tale of Genji" as one of my favorite book on my profile!

Ahem, Happy Halloween, folks.

But Seriously... Vote.

Unless you've had your head buried underground, or haven't been watching television, which is pratically the same thing, then you know that November 2nd is Election Day.

Unless you don't live in the USA. You people can't vote in our election, so go away.

I'm just asking that you, a citizen of the United States, be responsible for one day and vote. With the race for Presidency being so close, every vote is going to matter. I won't tell you who to vote for, or even who's going to be on the ballot. (It's a surprise.) Just go out and vote. Please.

Not that I really want to you to just pick names at random. I'd rather have one informed voter than twenty uninformed voters. Do a lttle research on the candidates in your state.

"But, I'm too busy..."

No, you're not. You have the Internet. In half an hour, you'll have all the dirt on your favorite auditor up for re-election. And for God's Sake. don't listen to the negative ads on TV and the radio. It'll give you brain cancer.

So, read up, be informed, and I'll see you at the polls and resulting chaos afterwards. Remember, it's like what Rev. Jesse Jackson said on the Daily Show, the youth of America has taken an interest in these elections, and they will decide the future they will live in.

Don't you want to be a part of that?

"I'm George W. Bush."

"I'm John Kerry."

"And we both had nothing to do with this message. Seriously, dude."

Brief Insight

What if a side effect to taking medication for your "over-active" bladder is diarrhea?

Jon Stewart on American Perspectives

I caught the last twenty minutes of Jon Stewart on American Perspectives. (Hence the title. Get it?)

Jon Stewart's the host and executive producer of the "Daily Show," and during the show, he was fielding questions about politics and the media. It was really interesting to watch and I'm not just saying that because I'm one of his biggest fans.

Stewart was speaking with a mixture of humor and honesty as well as intelligence. Quite refreshing compared to today's media crammed with idiots and talking points.

I hope that it's shown again this week, so try to catch it, okay?

Comic Review: Rogue #4

I was impressed by Robert Rodi's stories for the now-canceled Elektra series, so I decided to check out X-Gal Rogue's new series, written by him with art by Cliff Richards and Norm Rapmund and beautiful cover art by Rodolfo Migliari.

The story so far finds Rogue returning to her hometown Mississippi, in search of a young mutant's mom, but instead gets involved with searching for her own past. She finds out that her mother and father were involved with some cult to open a door to a dreamlike dimension called the Far Banks, only to find out that her mother crossed into the Far Banks vowing never to return.

And that's pretty much the normal stuff. There's a girl who looks just like Rogue running around. Campbell Saint-Ange is a handsome stranger who is immune to Rogue's power and claims to know her mother. Then, there's these strange wraiths that seem to attack Rogue and show an interest in her "twin." And let's not forget the cases of hysteria and derangement sweeping Mississippi.

It's an understatement to say that there's a lot going on in this story, but by issue three I was unsure where exactly this was all going, and if I cared to find out. But issue four brought a new element into the story that renewed my interest: Gambit.

This issue focused mainly on Gambit while Rogue doesn't really do anything new. Gambit, who was probably sick of wallowing in self-pity over his hopefully temporary blindness, decides to track down Rogue using his charm to hitch rides.

The issue ends with Gambit walking in on Rogue and Campbell in a motel room. No, it's not what it sounds like. Or is it? Let's just say I'm looking forward to the next issue...

"Wings" on TV Land

TV Land is showing old "Wings" episodes from 5 to 8 PM every Friday night. "Wings" has got to be my favorite sitcom, and of course it stars a young Tim Daly. I remember watching it when it was on NBC. Those were the days...

Tune in right now and commence the laughing!

Tim Daly's New Series

Tim Daly is starring in a new series called "Eyes," that will start midseason on ABC. Daly's Harlan Judd founder of Judd Risk Management, a "discreet, high-tech firm that handles cases with the highest possible stakes."

It will also star Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon, A.J. Langer, Laura Leighton, Eric Mabius, Rick Worthy, and Natalie Zea.

No exact release date was mentioned.

Spider-Man 2.5

That has to be the worst title ever. Except for X-Men 1.5 and Spider-Man 1.5. Those are pretty stupid too.

Spider-Man 2.5 the DVD will be released with new footage, but what's this? Sam Raimi said in an interview that he's happy with how Spider-Man 2 came out. So why the changes?

Money, pure and simple. Sony's making Raimi go and shoot new scenes so as to have a sound reason why anyone should buy two of essentially the same thing, only instead of having a new featurette on the joys of costume designing, or intern-getting-coffeeing, it will have new scenes that will somehow improve this masterpiece.

But messing with the actual film? That's wrong. Sony should call it Spider-Man 2 "Special Edition." I loathe the term "Special Edition," especially after Lucas slaughtered the once great Return of the Jedi, so you could say I'm a little biased.

So, the moral here is, if it ain't broke, then stay the @#*&! away from it.

Spider-Man 2.0 will be released on DVD November 30th, just in time for Christmas, which will be December 12th this year for no apparent reason.

Farscape's back!

Tonight's the first part of the Farscape mini-series on the SciFi Channel, tying up all the loose ends left by the series finale.

I got into Farscape back in 1999, when it first started and became a big fan of it, until about the third season where my interest waned because of weaker stories. But I watched the last half of the fourth (and final) season that rekindled my joy for Farscape.

I'm not surprised that the SciFi Channel would cancel this brillant series, given their current programming. Yes, I am talking about Frankenfish. They probably deleted it bacause they couldn't make a Farscape: Altantis spin-off.

Nevertheless, Farscape's back. Score one for the fans.

Late Night Treat

If you're an insomniac who loves reading subtitles, then tune into TCM late Friday night for their "TCM Imports" movies.

Last week they showed "Jigokumon" or "Gate of Hell," about a samurai who obsesses over a lady whom is already married to one of the Emperor's favorite warlords. Unfortunately, I missed it, so I can't tell you how good it was.

But last night, or this morning if you really want to be technical about it, was the TCM debut of Robert Bresson's "Le Proces de Jeanne d'Arc" aka "The Trial of Joan of Arc." Using the actual transcripts, Bresson protrays a very accurate version of Joan of Arc's trial in little over an hour of film. I saw about half an hour of it before our electricity went out. So hopefully TCM will show it again so I can see all of it.

Next's week's movie will be Carl Theodor Dreyer's "Gertrud." For more information, check out TCM's official web site.

Comic Review: Street Fighter #10

This is a comic book that fans can usually only dream about.

Seriously.

The amount of detail that Ken Siu-Chong puts into each issue is amazing. He continues to fill the pages with not only the main characters everyone knows, but also the more obscure as well. Take this issue for example:

Page two features a cameo of Yun and Yang while most of the issue features SF Alpha's Master Gen, apparently Chun Li's old master.

This issue focuses on Fei Long and Chun Li as they track down Xiayu and Yanyu. Chong has put Bison's dolls, to good use especially all of the unplayable characters like Xiayu and Yanyu. While Juni, one of the only two playable dolls if you don't count Cammy, has made a few cameos, Juli, the other playable one, has yet to make her appearance, except on covers.

This issue also helps set up future clashes, including Cammy vs Chun Li as well as a rematch between Ken and Vega. This issue concludes with a small backstory with Master Gen and a young Chun Li, drawn by Andy Seto, who also drew a variant cover.

So, if you're a Street Fighter fan, I can't think of an excuse why you aren't out buying this issue, or the ones to come...

Ultraman Tiga Update

Tody I got a response from the good people at the "Zstore," the official on-line store for FUNimation. To quickly summarize what they said, I would say that they didn't help me at all in finding out whether or not they plan on releasing the final 16 episodes of the "Ultraman Tiga" series. In fact, the last paragraph which was also the longest, went on and on about Dragonball Z DVD sets, which made me doubt that they even read my email.

But on the upside to this, I checked out amazon.com, which finally has a preorder page for volume four, stating its release for November 9th. This date usually changes so I expect it won't come out until mid-December. But at least it seems hopefully that they will at least be releasing it.

Which was all I wanted FUNimation to say in the email in the first place.

Judex and Other Fun Facts

It's amazing what you can learn from TCM at one in the morning. Currently they're showing "Judex" a French silent film serial with the supposedly first superhero ever created. Or at least rich millionaire with a fetish for disguises who runs around in a hat and cape.

I wouldn't be surprised if the back of the DVD case claims that "Judex" (French for Justice) had inspired later-day heroes including the Shadow and Batman, but I find it unlikely that even in the 1930s, foreign silent films were all the rage.

I can't picture Bob Kane going to see this film and come out saying, "You know what? I want to write a story about a guy who dresses like a bat." But you never know.

In other late night news, last night our local WB affiliate was showing cult-favorite "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension" from 2 AM to 3:30AM, which is funny considering that the movie's at least an hour and forty minutes long.

They must have cut at least a half an hour of the movie, leaving whoever is watching it one bewildered insomniac. They even cut out the part when Banzai kicks a red Lectroid in the groin. Classic stuff.

Have you have seen the Saint movie with Val Kilmer and Elisabeth Shue on network television? They cut off the last ten minutes of the film. No free cold fusion for everyone!

Am I getting to a point? Do I even have a point? Maybe. I'll get back to you on that.

The Ultimate Reality Show

Everyone's been cashing in on the election "craze" with beer commericals featuring fake debates and so on. So much in fact, thet it seems like they actually think people are going out and voting on the first Tuesday of November. (Which they should.) Which is a perfect time to launch a new reality show following President Bush and Senator Kerry on the road to the White House.

Yes, whatever's left of a private life will be exposed for an overly eager public that gets excited about practical anything expect the weather in the Artic. (It's cold there. All the time. That's why the Weather Channel never talks about it. That and the fact that no one lives there.) Cameras will be poking their noses into the every day struggles of our President and his opponent, as they run the most negative campaigns since (ahem) 2000.

Family members will be grilled on awkward and ultra-personal questions, while President Bush answers the question everyone wants to know: If you eat Heinz ketchup, are you some kind of Satan-worshiping, child-eating member of the liberal media? (According to Fox News... yes.)

In the end, I want everyone to watch these two candidates, one of whom will represent the USA for the next four years, and realize just how truly screwed we'll all be no matter who wins.

Comic Review: Wolverine #20

Okay, so I pick up the latest issue of Wolverine with new series writer Mark Millar and super-cool artist John Romita Jr.

I don't want to ruin it for those of you who haven't read it, but what the heck. Apparently, Hydra's got control of Wolverine, and now he's loose in SHIELD HQ, and probably before this six-parter's over with, Wolvie's going to have to tangle with every super-hero in the Marvel Universe.

But this all seems so familar with me...

Let's see, a couple years ago, Erik Larsen (of Savage Dragon fame) started off his run on Wolverine, by having Wolvie's body possessed by some kind of alien and then he had to fight all sorts of super-heroes. Does that ring any bells?

Shame on you, Millar. The least you could do was wait a couple of years before reusing story ideas like Chris Claremont, who probably has it down to a fine art by now.

Oh, and the wrap-around cover and the last page splash? Super-cool. Keep up the good work, Romita!

Movie Review: Collateral

Michael Mann directed this film about a soft-spoken cabbie named Max (Jamie Foxx) who dreams of his own limo service when he picks up the wrong fare: a hitman (Tom Cruise). The two of them take a tour of LA as Cruise picks off his list of required hits.

While the premise of the movie sounds very ordinary and perhaps predictable, the movie thrives off of the interaction of Cruise and Foxx, jerky hand-held camera movements, and realistic lighting. LA almost becomes one of the characters in this movie, since the setting and atmosphere is what helps sell this film and engross the viewer.

What I was really surprised at was the tasteful use of violence and cursing. I personally was expecting a fowl-mouthed gore-fest considering the plot about the murderous Vincent. But we rarely see his "work," only at the dance club do we see why Vincent's the best in his business. There is some cursing but it seems to be used at right time.

The only thing more daring for Cruise to be the "bad guy" in the film was to dye his hair gray. But Cruise does a good job, transforming his pretty-boy image into that of the savage hitman. Through his talks with Max, we learn a little about Vincent's past but not a lot. Foxx, on the other hand, is stuck with a more typical quiet-working-man-who-gains-a-backbone-to-fight-back character.

The only real flaw with the movie is of the last ten minutes or so on the subway. There, you can find some movie cliches as Max moves from car to car to escape from Vincent.

But overall, with great acting and superb atmosphere, Collateral is definately worth your time.

Where's Ultraman Tiga?

Hey, FUNimation! Quit cashing those Dragonball Z checks, and release the final DVD set for Ultraman Tiga. While it's all nice that you've been pretty constant with the Tenchi GXP series, it's been months since Tiga volume 3 was released, and it seems that volume 4 is not coming out any time soon.

So, what's up with that? Your web site doesn't mention any troubles or if you've cancelled volume 4. All the commercials I have seen for the DVD sets make it sound like you've planned from the beginning to release all four volumes. So where's volume four?

We U.S. Tiga fans don't want an incomplete set, so please release the final set!

Support Tim Daly!

If you didn't catch it yesterday, TNT's still showing "From the Earth to the Moon" miniseries which features an all-star cast including Tim Daly!

Blah blah blah emotional story of the Apollo missions. Blah blah Tom Hanks produced blah blab. Blah blah blah TIM DALY!

But seriously, if you got nothing better to do than watch television for twelve straight hours, then watch this miniseries.

DVD Review: TMNT The Original Series

When a new animated version of Eastman and Laird's indie comic book series about four mutant ninja turtles appeared a year or two ago, I checked it out for purely nostalgic reasons. While the stories were more loyal to the original material, I found it less entertaining than the original cartoon that I had grew up with. Part of it was I missed the original cast of Cam Clarke, Rob Paulsen, and the rest.

Finally, F.H.E., who must have desperately held onto the rights of the original since the 1980s, has released the first DVD of the original series. Contained in the DVD is the first five episodes, the usual five-part tv-movie/pilot that worked so well on other 80s cartoons. With them are four bonus episodes from the series' final season, supposedly unaired.

I was genuinely surprised on how entertaining the episodes are even after twenty years. The gags and wisecracks come a mile a minute so much in fact that you'd expect Roger Moore's Bond to appear at any second. ("April, you wouldn't last five minutes in a ninja pizzeria!") It's silly to the point of absurdity with machine gun-carrying grannies (from "Goldfinger?!") and hot-rodding interdimensional teenagers, but it's just pure fun.

The picture quality's above average, especially considering its age. The worst of the aging is in the main titles, but most of the actual episodes are clean. The animation itself is for the most part fairly detailed and probably the best the Turtles will look in the whole series. The sound quality's okay, but don't expect super Dolby 5.1 Surroundsound.

With no animated menus or even a booklet, the only effort they put into this DVD is a nice slipcover. It's nice they made an effort with the bonus episodes, but I would have preferred them putting in the episodes that came after the first five, instead of jumping to the end. Overall, this is a nice piece of my childhood which I happily embrace, and if you can find a copy for around ten bucks, it'd be worth your time as well.