The Big Five-OH

I guess it would be remiss of me not to take a little time to acknowledge the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who. This day, fifty years ago, was when the first episode, "An Unearthly Child", broadcasted in the BBC. If I'm fortunate, I might even be here to see the 100th anniversary in 2063, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

It's surprising to learn how many pop culture ideas came from the 60s and all are celebrating their golden anniversary. James Bond did a few years ago.  Fantastic Four will next year.  Spider-Man and Ultraman will have theirs in 2016. This is just me skimming the surface, of course.

I suppose I'm a little jealous in that I have no idea or character that will outlive me.  No one will look fondly back, fifty years from now, at something that I wrote.  So, I just borrow a very old ideology, one of goodwill and self-sacrifice. Hopefully, that will see me through.

Top 10 Soundtracks of 2005

Anyone who knows me, or even looks at this list, will know that I'm very biased, but hey, it's my list, okay?

1. Revenge of the Sith
2. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
3. Munich
4. Memoirs of a Geisha
5. Goblet of Fire
6. Corpse Bride
7. War of the Worlds
8. Kingdom of Heaven
9. Fantastic Four
10. Batman Begins

What I'm Listening to Now

1. Memoirs of a Geisha - John Williams
2. Intensive Care - Robbie Williams
3. Godzilla VS the Sea Monster - Masaru Satoh
4. Fantastic Four - John Ottman
5. Corpse Bride - Danny Elfman

I've been meaning to write some reviews to a number of these albums, but haven't had the time. Please bare with me since work's kept me very busy.

Movie Review: Fantastic Four

I was very excited when I heard that they were finally making a Fantastic Four movie, almost as excited as when I learned that they were making an X-Men movie. Like X-Men, this is an origin story. The four explorers (with Victor Von Doom for a twist) go into space and get zapped by strange cosmic rays that forever change them...

But unlike the X-Men and most of Marvel's superheroes, the Fantastic Four are welcomed by the people they protect. They are celebrities. The series is also more lighthearted in tone than that of X-Men, Blade, and Daredevil. This translates pretty well into the actual film, especially the characters' various relationships, except for the Reed-Sue-Doom love triangle that never was. Unfortunately, the humor goes too far sometimes (like the pigeon thing, the dog covering its eye, etc) and could possibly hurt the viewing experiences.

The cast overall was pretty solid. I liked Ioan Gruffudd as Richards (my favorite character) though his gray streaks as a result of the cosmic rays seemed a bit silly. Chris Evans and Michals Chiklis were born for their roles, and can only make the usual rocky relationship between Ben and Johnny all the more amusing. While Jessica Alba wouldn't have been my choice for Sue, she held up better than I thought, leaving Julian McMahon as the weakest link.

But that might not be all his fault. His character, Von Doom, is an unfortunate clone of Willem Dafoe's Norman Osborne: After having business troubles and exposed to strange matter, Doom just decides to go crazy and start killing people. And the final battle between the FF and Doom seemed all too short. (That whole "First lession in chemistry.." started to get a little cheesy too.)

The movie's a commendable effort to bring Marvel's First Family onto the big screen. It's better than X-Men and Daredevil, but just doesn't hit the heights of X2, Spidey, and Batman Begins. Still, it was one of the most enjoyable introductary-exposition movie since Hellboy. B

Fantastic Four Score Preview 2

Go to composer John Ottman's web page (www.johnottman.com) to hear clips from the Fantastic Four score, and see pictures from the recording sessions.

Fantastic Four Score Preview

Amazon.com has some clips from the uncoming movie, the Fanastic Four. 4 are based on the main characters: Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, and the ever-lovin' Thing. They also have an exclusive clip with the Thing saving the fire truck from falling off the bridge. If you listen closely, you can hear John Ottman's score. It's more lighthearted than X2 but not as over the top as Goldenthal's Batman scores. (I hope.) The score will hopefully come out on July 14, about a week after the movie is released.

Fantastic Four Score and More...

Good news: John Ottman's score for the Fantastic Four movie will be released on uber-cool record label, Varese Sarabande, despite all of the major record companies' efforts. Batman Begins will have a score-only release featuring the combined talents of Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard.

Bad news: Matthew Vaughn has left the production of X3, leaving it in the mercy of either Behind Enemy Lines's John Moore or After the Sunset's Brett Ratner. Among the revealed casting are Vinnie jones as Juggernaut, Maggie Grace as Kitty Pryde, and Kelsey Grammer as Beast.

This Week in Comic Books

Black Widow #5: Natasha learns more about the "Black Widow Program" and doesn't like what she learns. While I'm still on the fence about tossing out the Widow's Bite, I feel that Richard K. Morgan continues to write a competent and gritty spy thriller, resisting the temptation to turn the Black Widow into another Sydney Bristow. My only complaint is that this idea of the Black Widow program seems like a poor copy of Cap's Super Soldier serium (enhanced strength, etc.) and Wolvie's Weapon X (fake memories) and the typical angst that ensues. B

Fantastic Four #522: New herald Johnny Storm confronts his new master Galactus, while Reed and gang finally show up to rescue Johnny. I like the parallels Waid addresses between Galactus' origin and the FF's origin, but I was hoping for more philosophical debate between the World Devourer and the power cosmic-enhanced Storm. But the cliffhanger just makes me want more. B+

The Flash #218: Another of Johns' Rogue Profile, this time focusing on "reformed" Rogue, Heat Wave, a pryomaniac with a history of arson. I felt this was better written than the Mirror Master profile and much more disturbing, especially considering that Heat Wave thinks of himself as a "hero." A

Planetary #22: Another retrospective issue focusing on the history of William Leather, the evil Human Torch. This issue at least moves forward the story a little as Snow is obsessed with taking down Randall Dowling. I especially liked the references to the Lone Ranger, Green Hornet, and the Shadow/Spider. Ellis and Cassaday are a perfect team. A

Spectacular Spider-Man #24: Where's Paul Jenkins? It doesn't really matter, because even he couldn't make this story interesting: Peter Parker in Paris with Gwen Stacy's illegimate daughter, Sarah Stacy. Basically a filler story until Jenkins comes back (for the final issue) and a crossover to the worst story ever written, (The Gray Goblin?!?) it's nothing more than a waste of space, time, and talent. D

Ultimate FF #15: Warren Ellis dusts off his Dictionary of Science Fiction Terms for our first look at the Ultimate Negative Zone. Clearly, Ellis' strength is science fiction, and I enjoyed everything from the giant skeleton in space to the first exchange with the aliens. Best issue Ellis has written yet. I almost forgot that they're all annoying teens. B+

WE3 #3 of 3: Grant Morrison's mini-series comes to its gruesome end as our heroes, the biorgs, fight off against the terrifying Weapon 4. This is still the most original comic book series you'll read this month, and Frank Quitely makes it all the more enjoyable. I just wished that it was a longer series so that Grant could have fleshed out the story more. B+

Comic Review: Fantastic Four #521

We've been lucky over the last few years to have some pretty talented teams working in the comic book industry: Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely on X-Men, Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins on Flash, Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev on Daredevil, and, of course, Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo on the Fantastic Four.

This amazing creative team is going out with a bang as their last storyline involves everyone's favorite world-eater, Galactus. In part two, we see Johnny Storm adjusting to his sister's powers, the Power Cosmic, and his new job as Galactus' herald. Yeah, you heard me, Galactus' herald.

Johnny visits various planets, hoping the aliens will join him and find a way to oppose Galactus. Unfortunately, none of them seem to be in the mood to talk, which may have to do with the fact that their planet has been put on Galactus' menu. But once Johnny realizes the full potential of the Power Cosmic, he finally gets Galactus' attention...

The only thing I didn't like about this issue was the lack of Reed and company. I know that it's all about pacing and stuff, but the cover is misleading, as usual. A-

Fantastic Four Movie Update

The new picture of Doctor Doom has been circulating the web for awhile. It looks good; Doom's got his traditional green robes and metal mask. Meanwhile, I heard that we might see a teaser trailer as soon as January, just in time for the Elektra movie.

Speaking of...

The Elektra movie official site's now up with new wallpapers, an image gallery, and a couple of behind the scenes movies. No word yet on the soundtrack, though I hope that there'll be a score CD.

In other news...

Hopefully by the end of the week, I'll have some more new chapters typed up for my novel. But I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you.

Fantastic Four movie

The first photos of the cast from the new Fantastic Four movie have started to circulate throughout the web. I was a little unsure at first when I heard about the cast: Ioan Gruffudd as Reed Richards, Jessica Alba as Susan Storm, Chris Evans as Johnny Storm, and Michael Chiklis as Ben Grimm. Julian McMahon has supposedly been cast as Doc Doom but no image as been released yet of what he'll look like.

But looking at them in their navy costumes, well, they do look like the Fantastic Four, except that Johnny's apparently not going to be blonde. Gruffudd looks the most like his comic alter-ego straight down to the graying temples, while Alba looks more super-model than super-hero. And for all you anti-computer generated Hulk people, it looks like Chiklis will be wearing a Thing suit.

Of course, I haven't seen anything yet about how their powers will turn out on the big screen, or even the plot, but this seems to be a promising beginning. Supposedly, the overall feel of the movie is based more the updated "Ultimate FF" than the regular long-standing series. The movie's should be coming out summer 2005, and you can check out the pictures yourself at either Comics Continuum or Super Hero Hype.