Hey, Guess What? I'm Sick

Physically ill, that is. But that's what I get for watching "Stars Without Their Makeup."

Actually, I'e been sick since Sunday. The illness wasn't life-threatening, just the common cold, but man, it was one nasty bug. I just felt awful and couldn't move out of this little corner I had dug for myself. There, I eat, drank, watched television, and, for the most part, slept. Oh, and take drugs. I did take a lot of drugs.

Thankfully, my family was there to help me. If not for them, and the heating pad, it would have surely taken another week or so for me to heal. Or die. For some strange reason, I find it totally plausible that I'd die from something as lame as the common cold.

According to my estimates, I drank, in five days, four gallons and lay waste to at least two boxes of Kleenex. (Actually I think they were Puffs.) Tuesday and Wednesday were the worst days, but ever since then I'm been getting better.

But seriously, is any of this really interesting?

TCM's Poor Timing

It's that time again. TCM's month of Oscar-winning movies, but most of the more obscure films are getting lousy placement.

Movies like the Seven Samurai which was shown at three in the morning. Tonight was TCM's "premiere" of Burton's Batman, and it got a 10:15 PM timeslot. Even James Cameron's Aliens should get a better ranking than half past midnight.

Why are all these great films, which TCM usually only shows once a year anyway, get these bad times? Is it because they're too "modern" for TCM? Or because they're not done by Hitchcock? I enjoy the occassional "modern" movie on TCM, like Beetlejuice, while it still retains the dignity that AMC has lost years ago.

But it seems that TCM is far more cautious with the more current films they show. TCM, please treat your more modern "classics" with the same respect as you do with your usual movies and occassional art/foriegn film.



(No, seriously. TCM once showed Beetlejuice, widescreen and everything. I'm not making it up.)

This Week in Comics

Daredevil #70: This is the storyline I've been waiting for since Bendis came aboard this title. Intricate flashbacks and era-influenced art enhances this story of revenge as Bont, the first Kingpin, is finally released from jail and seeks vengence on the man who put him there all those years ago: Daredevil. All things that make Bendis a great writer with none of his super-slow pacing. A

Green Lantern #4 of 6: Sinestro beats up Green Arrow and Kyle Rayner, while Hal Jordan frees himself of the Parallax parasite and the Spectre to become Green Lantern once again. I'd have thought that Johns would have waited for the penultimate issue to make Hal GL again. Same solid storytelling, but this issue seemed to have become more slugfest than plot. B

Spectacular Spider-Man #25: It really hasn't changed much since last issue. blah blah blah Where's Jenkins? blah blah Wasted talent blah blah When will the hurting stop? D-

Street Fighter #13: Ken's getting married, and Guile, Ryu, and Sakura are invited to the celebrations. But Balrog and Vega show up with some thugs, and things get messy. Same great characterizations and enjoyable action sequences. Not much Chun Li though. B+

Wolverine #25: Wolverine vs the X-Men. People uncharacteristically cursing. Northstar's dead. Mark's writing is nothing new. Romita Jr's really wasting his time here. C

Julie and Elliot

I've been recently listening to the Frida soundtrack with music by Elliot Goldenthal and other Hispanic songs featured from the film. The songs are pretty good, but I usually focus on Goldenthal's score. Some of my favorite tracks are the lyrical "The Floating Bed" and the eerie "La Calavera." "Burn it Blue" also a pretty good song with Goldenthal's music and lyrics by director Julie Taymor.

I find that working with Taymor brings out Goldenthal's best, having worked together on many projects over the years. Her first film, an adaptation of Shakespeare's "Titus A.," resulted in a schizophrenic score that has cues from a traditional orchestra, swing bands, and industral sound. As you may guess, it's my favorite Goldenthal score.

What you may never guess from reading the linear notes that Julie and Elliot write about each other but they're actually a couple. I thought that they were married, but according to Internet Movie Database, they're not. In fact, the IMDB states that a "mutual friend" introduced them in 1980 because the friend thought that "they shared a similar sence of the grotesque."

Anyways, I look forward to their next collaboration, which should bring about the usual artistic excellence.



Still reading? Here's some interesting trivia:

Julie Taymor graduated from Oberlin College, Ohio. (Ohio's cool.)

Elliot Goldenthal was a student of Aaron Copland. Yeah, that Aaron Copland.

Movie Review: Ultraman Cosmos VS Ultraman Justice

This movie was the last chapter in the Ultraman Cosmos series, which had to be pretty popular, considering its abnormally long 65 episode run and three movie sequels. I'm not familar with the Cosmos series, but it didn't stop me from enjoying this movie.

But perhaps that was because its main focus was on Ultraman Justice, who was introduced to the UltraFranchise in the last Cosmos film. But I'm getting ahead of myself. As the movie starts, ex-Cosmos host Musashi has achieved his dream: create a rocket to send a bunch of friendly monsters to a vacant planet so that they can live in peace. Then Ultraman Cosmos appears fighting off some Big Robots, but even with Musashi reuniting with him, Cosmos is not match for them, when Ultraman Justice comes to the Big Robots' aide. Cosmos' timer stops, he and Musashi die, and the robots destroy the shuttles.

And that's the last we see of Cosmos and Musashi for a half an hour or so. A group of characters from the series slowly meet and seek out Musashi and finally bring him back to life, but I found this to be the least interesting thing in the movie, but those familar with the series will probably enjoy the reunion.

While that happens, we observe Juli, Ultraman Justice's host, as she walks among humanity in its seemingly last moments. She's working with an alien force that wants to wipe out humanity before it becomes a menace in 2000 years. Juli is motivated by bitter memories of having given a monster 200 years to mend its way, only it didn't change, and she was forced to kill it. She meets different manners of people, including stereotypical biker gangs and members of the current anti-monster team who try to convince her that humanity's worth fighting for.

But what warms her cold heart is a cute girl and her pet dog. (Luckily the girl isn't as annoying as some children stars that seem to lurk in these UltraMovies.) The main thrust of this film seems to be Juli's moral dilemma, her struggle to discover why Cosmos found humans so worthy of his protection. I was reminded of the Silver Surfer's plight, when he revolted against his master, but I digress.

But the rest of the movie's pretty much pure action. After Juli watches the friendly monsters try in vain to stop the Big Robots and save the little girl's dog, she realizes that Cosmos was right. So, she changes into Ultraman Justice, reveals the new Crusher Mode, and start kicking butt. Justice has trouble defeated the Big Alien Ship that Transforms into Big Robot, but by then Cosmos is revived, and together they destroy it with some teamwork.

With everything patches up between the Ultramen, they fly off to stop the huge Death Machine that's decending over Earth. All seems hopeless until...

You get the idea. For the most part I really enjoyed this movie. I wished the movie could have focused more on Juli's relationship with the aliens, some arguments/discussions about what they're doing that could have better illuminate Juli's inner conflict, or even a conversation with Cosmos, who speaks to Musashi while they float in some other dimension. Also, Ultraman Legend should have gotten more screen time, that Death Machine blew up way too soon.

Did I ruin the ending? Ooops. Anyway, the fights and special effects are typical of Ultraman movies, like the Tiga/Dyna one. Fukiishi Kazue did a great job as the first female alien host of an Ultraman and makes the movie worth watching just for her. Not that all the Ultraman battles didn't help. (This movie boasts the first battle between two good Ultramen.) Cosmos fans will probably enjoy the "reunion" scenes more than me, but may also be put off that Cosmos isn't in it as much.

But me? I love this film, and wish that Ultraman Justice (and Juli) had gotten their own series. A-

Movie Review: Shi Mian Mai Fu

More commonly known as "The House of Flying Daggers" in the U.S., this movie is sure to amaze fans of both "Crouching Tiger" and "Hero."

The movie is set during the Tang dynasty while the current government is struggling against a secret clan known as "The House of Flying Daggers." Mei, a blind dancer, is suspected of being a member, so Captain Leo assigns one of his men, Jin, to befriend her and help her escape from the police capitivity, in hopes of learning the location and identity of the Flying Dagger's new leader. Of course, in their three day trek across China, Jin and Mei fall in love, but not everything is as it seems...

And it would ruin the movie if I told you all of them, but one of them seemed obvious to me. Let's just say that blind warriors are more of a Japanese thing. Anyway, the love story aspect is the typical lovers from different sides fall in love, nothing too original. And aside from some plot hiccups, like how long someone can live with a dagger in their chest, the story flows smoothly.

Some of these hiccups may have been from the rewites made when veteran actor Anita Mui died, and director Yimou Zhang decided to remove her character rather than replace her with another actor.

Anyways, despite any flaws that the movie has, it has plenty of action sequences that are all beautifully choreographed. The only thing more distracting is the breathtaking locations that this film was shot at. Actors Takeshi Kaneshiro and Ziyi Zhang bring their characters to life with great passion. Andy Lau's Leo didn't seem to be as developed as the others, but he's also not in the movie as much.

While this movie may be nothing totally new, its witty banter and enthralling battle scenes elevates it higher than "Hero." B

My Novel: The Main Characters

I know that I've mentioned the fact that I am writing a novel (on Chapter 11 as we speak) and that it'll never be published due to its originality and intellectual depth, but I haven't really talked about it, besides the occassional character profile.

This novel will focuses on the heroines: Sara and Zoey. Sara's the only survivor from an alternate universe, and while her looks can be deceiving, she's one hundred percent alien. Inside of her is a shard of a reality-altering crystal from the Nexus of Realities, which she hestitates to use for fear of turning into her mentor, a power-crazy madman who ended up destroying her universe. The crystal also prevents her from dying, though Sara doesn't seem to know why it wants to keep her alive.

Sara lives on the planet Nagosti (silent "t") and wears a tegarei, a symbotic material that acts as a second skin. She also holds the title of Ambassador of Harmony, basically a intergalactic negotiator. She is usually in tune with her surroundings, and avoids talking about her past. Due to an unfortunate incident in the past, Sara does not like to go to Earth, especially the 26th Century when the incident occured, and despises a human named Bert Falconer, who plays a big part in the novel.

Zoey Walker's a twentysomething girl from the twentysomething century. She ran with a gang of hackers and ended up on Mars to participate in an illegal experiment, in which Zoey was the only survivor. Now, Zoey can "tele-hack," interfacing with software without any hardware. (She can read and manipulate data and primative systems with her mind.)

Zoey met Sara some time after, wandering the streets of Mars. Sara immediately offered to take her in, knowing a little about what it's like to be alone. At the time of the novel, they've only known each other for about a month, and Zoey still hasn't learned a lot about Sara, despite her constant questioning.

They live in the Machine, a mysterious relic of unknown origins. It exists on a parallel dimension outside of time and space. While Zoey suspects that it was created by Sara's mentor, this has not been confirmed.

The Latest James Bond Rumor

I enjoy going to Internet Movie Database to see what they think qualifies for news, and the latest rumors on the next James Bond film. So far, they've said everyone from Colin Farrell to Hugh Jackman are going to be the next James Bond.

Now, they're reporting that the next James Bond film will be based on the first Ian Fleming novel, Casino Royale. It will be directed by Martin Campbell, who previously did Goldeneye, and Pierce Brosnan will NOT be returning. The producers are looking for a young, unknown actor to replace Brosnan as the world's most famous spy.

Since it's too early to really comment on the new Bond film, I only hope that it's not a prequel. Most prequels so far, AHEM Phantom Menace, have turned out pretty bad, and left us with annoying teenager versions of characters we love. Also, don't make me have to mention James Bond Jr. I will if I have to.

Batman: Trademark

Here's an interesting story idea I've been playing with:

There doesn't seem to be an end on Batman's war on crime, but Batman's found a new weapon.

As Bruce Wayne, he starts marketing Batman to Gotham' as the next "super-idol" much like Metropolis' own superstar, Superman. At this point, most people think that Batman's just an urban legend, only a few know that he's real. Wayne Enterprises heads this massive media frenzy, producing everything from action figures to t-shirts. The bat emblem can now be found on gym shoes or coffee mugs.

Batman's plan behind this is two=fold:

1. Be like Batman. In fit condition and does not smoke or drink, he is a positive role model.

2. If you break the law, Batman will break you. Comic books and other forms tell "real" stories of Batman punishing criminals with exaggerated powers to keep people superstitious and fearful.

It seems like Batman's plan is working; that according to statistics, crime may be gone in Gotham in a mere twenty years, but something's bothering Batman. There's something he's forgotten, something he's missing. Gangs are using the bat symbol to mark their terroritories, and swarms of reporters roam the city trying to find the real Batman and who he really is.

People are now twisting what Batman stands for, turning him into rationale behind vigilantism, as Batman's master plan slowly crumbles. Now crimes are commited in his name, while Batman's left wondering: has he sold out?

Well, what do you think? Tried to think of a new angle on Bats, while making a couple digs on the whole comic book/ toy industry. Could be an Elseworld.

Manga Review: All-New Tenchi Muyo! Volume 5

One of my all-time favorite animes is Tenchi Muyo. (The OVA, that is. The tv series wasn't bad, but Tenchi in Tokyo was just nuts.) Hitoshi Okuda has successfully captured the spirit of the series in his long-running manga adaptation. And this volume is no exception.

The main story in this volume involves a Mihoshi-related accident in Washu's lab which splits Tenchi into five younger versions of himself that are transported into five separate books, and the girls only have half an hour before the change becomes permanent. It was an amusing story, but I prefered the shorter ones: The Masaki residence celebrates Mamemaki, a Japanese ritual which involves throwing beans to scare away wintertime demons. Washu makes a slight change to the ritual, and the usual chaos occurs. Other adventures include Ryoko in a Saki drinking contest with her natural immunity switched off by the "Saki Sage," and Tenchi and the girls visit a revolving sushi bar.

Okuda's characterizations of the girls are still as solid as ever, even Ayeka and Ryoko's bickering doesn't seem gratuitious as it was in the series. Tsunami makes a guest appearance, which reminds readers of the manga's OAV roots. And also she's pretty cool. But what I enjoy the most is the almost invisible fourth wall in Okuda's stories. Washu mentions one of the OAV episodes, while Ryoko goes as far as kicking one of the narration boxes after the narrator said some rather unflattering things about her.

It's a solid entry in Okuda's series, but nothing too different than what he's written before. B