Monday, May 7, 2012

Avengers Vs. Thunderbirds









* = You know they were thinking it. Hell you know YOU are thinking it just looking at a picture of them thinking about it.













We saw Avengers (Infinite *’s out of 5) on Sunday morning.

I won’t gloss over it, I LOVED IT! Of course it helps that The Hulk stole the show. I really don’t have a lot to complain about, which is saying something since I’m a nitpicky Comic Nerd. I mean don’t get me wrong I want to complain. I want to bitch about the idea that they elected to use the Chitari rather than a more recognized Marvel Alien Menace like the Kree, the Skrulls, or the Shi’ar. I want to bitch that the scene where Loki’s staff causes all the team members to reach Epic levels of Dickishness and eventually leads to the first Hulk scene is unclear and sort of poorly explained. I want to whine that Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye didn’t get as much character development as the rest of the team. There’s a part of me that felt like Maria Hill was wasted as a gopher instead of an almost unlikable hard ass. I want to hate these things. BUT I can’t. I simply can’t. There was too much other stuff going on that was just INSANE fun. From the Thor Vs. Iron Man tangle with Cap being the voice of reason, to Loki’s mischievous smile, to the Hulk’s one line, to Ruffalo OWNING being both Banner & The Hulk, Downey Jr. not over taking the rest of the cast, to the earnestness of Chris Evans as Captain America, and even to ScarJo’s one great acting moment as the Black Widow. I loved the Thanos teaser, and that last post-credits moment made me laugh pretty hard. This movie isn’t Shakespeare, and it doesn’t pretend to be. It’s a BIG, FUN movie, and for me that’s enough sometimes.

Don't just take my word for it, here's what Cassandra thought; I am happy to report that I went to a movie at 9:40 AM and I did not fall asleep! There’s probably not a whole lot I can say about the Avenger’s that would do it justice, but I will tell you that I thought this was an excellent movie. The mix between action, story line and humor was almost as perfect as you can get. Every character had their own, quotable moment but I will agree with most reviewers that The Hulk definitely stole the show. There’s not a lot of plot to ruin, so I’m not going to go into details, but I HIGHLY recommend seeing this movie. My only real question is, would it be a requirement to see the individual character movies to understand the story line, or can someone who has not seen any still enjoy the movie? I’m not sure if I can answer that myself since I have seen some of the other movies. Either way, I think Ben stated it perfectly when he said that he would have gladly turned around and paid another $5.00 to see it again that morning. I give it 5 Puny God’s out of 5.

On a side note, the trailers for The Dark Night Rises & Prometheus have ensured that I will be in a theatre to see both of them. I think the Nolan Batman finale was a given, but I wasn’t completely sold on Ridley Scott returning to the Aliens ‘franchise’. Now I am. And by the by, don’t believe the hype this IS an Aliens movie. The trailer had the ‘Space Jockey’ in it, it had the Giger ‘iconography’, and as much as they seem to want to run from it the vibe is there. Could this be the mythical ‘Best Summer Movies Ever’? I loved John Carter and now Avengers. With Nolan’s ending to his Batman trilogy looking fantastic and now Prometheus I think I might enter into September with my Nerdy Mind officially blown.

Funny thing about being out and about before 10am in the morning to see a movie, is you miss some stuff. LaLa & Lee had their baby.

Little Gus Gus popped into the world this weekend, and he’s a biggun’. Everyone came through the experience unscathed and happy. I have to say that this is just further onus for Cassandra and I, much to the dismay of Dave, to get on it and have a child SOON. I mean c’mon who doesn’t want to experience the joy of parenthood? To change filthy diapers, to clean food off of everything, and to devote you’re every waking moment to this little person. This little person that is one part you and one part your spouse. This little person who you are blessed to mold, teach, love, and nurture into someone new. Anywho, before I get off on that tangent again, this is just a CONGRATS to LaLa, Lee, & Gus Gus!

Last night I finished Michael Moorcock’s third Hawkmoon book The Sword Of The Dawn (** ½ out of 5).

It didn’t like it as much as the first two books, and was slightly dismayed that there is a fourth book running around out there that hopefully wraps up the tale. I think the reason I struggled with this one is it seems a bit too much like a side trek that is drug out entirely too long. This is my main issue with Moorcock in general. He gets repetitious and he tends to de-compress his tales to a degree. It’s not to say it’s not fun, it’s not to say that it’s not well written, it’s just that I wanted more from this tale, I think I want resolution. I find that these tales float a line between ‘Flash Gordon-esque’ serial pulp to full blown books. I think that’s one of the problems, it’s a bit of both and yet neither. The fact is I am still enjoying the adventures of Dorian Hawkmoon and WILL be seeking out the fourth book if for no other reason than to hopefully get a resolution. Hopefully.



It’s another week so another Rise Of The Runelords miniatures set preview;

First off this week is the Common Ogrekin. I wish I would have had this when I ran my PC’s through Moma Kel’s little settlement a few months back. However, knowing that my PC’s might return there for some bloody vengeance makes this mini a MUST HAVE! First off it’s an inbred Ogre mated with a Human. Secondly, look at it, it’s NASTY! Thirdly, it’s a Common so I’ll be able to get it on the cheap. This is a Must Have in this set for me.
Next up is the Common Faceless Stalker. I have to admit I’m not sold on this mini. It’s sculpt isn’t helped by the pose or the horrible looking paint. It’s just extremely static and boring. It looks like I sculpted it, and that is by NO MEANS a compliment. All that being said I might pick this one up just because it fills a gaming niche, and it’ll be cheap. A lot of my final decision will be based on the reviews of others when the piece can be looked at ‘in hand’. Currently I think I’d have to pass.
Last but not least this week is the Common Skinsaw Cultist. I just want to say you can NEVER have too many Cultists. I cannot tell you how many encounters I’ve run where I was scrambling to find more Cultists. This one is a bit more flamboyant than many of the other Cultist minis I have, and I think that might be a good thing. The look of it inspires some interesting ideas about Far Realm Cults or Secret Societies only spoken about in hushed whispers. This one will be a MUST HAVE for me. We’re coming down to the end run on this particular set; I’m curious what they’ve got left to show us. Overall, it’s a decent set, but best of all it’s one that will be cheap for me.

I think I’ve blabbed on enough, how ‘bout we wrap this up with some…

RANDOM CRAP!

- Today is ‘D-Day’ for the Vikings stadium bill. Times are tough, I get it, but Minnesota do you really want to get out of a multi-billion dollar covenant with what is fiscally a ‘sure thing’? There are only 32 teams in the NFL. That’s 32 opportunities to reap TONS of money. The Vikings don’t cost the state of Minnesota, they bring revenue. That stadium won’t be just for the Vikings, even though they’ll be paying for half of it to be built, it’ll be there for High School games, potential concerts, WWE, the possibility of hosting a Super Bowl, or even the possibility of hosting a Final Four. That is a shitload of revenue. It’s the biggest ‘Job’s Bill’ that’s on the docket this year. We, as Minnesotans, are already paying for Target Field, Target Center renovations, and the U. of M.’s new football stadium. The Vikes have been trying to get this done for 13 years. For 13 years the state has been telling them to ‘wait their turn’. They’ve waited. And now we are the 11th hour. Make no mistake if it doesn’t get done the NFL WILL move the Vikings somewhere else, and in all honesty I don’t think we’ll ever get a team again. As a Chiefs fan, a Vikings watcher, and overall just a lover of the game of Football I hope our Legislators can get their act together and get this done.

- We need to mow today and I already don’t want to.

- On the way home Friday our care was hit by falling rocks while going under an overpass on 100. It dinged my windshield and hood. It was a scary moment. I want to hope that it was simply some rock that had shook loose from somewhere and unfortunately we were just at the wrong place at the wrong time. The sad thing is a part of me thinks that it more likely the work of someone throwing rocks. Does that make me a bad person? The fact that I ALWAYS look for the worst in people, does that make me overly negative? I’m just curious.

- Yesterday Dave & I played some Small World & it was GLORIOUS!

- Speaking of Board Games I just finished another Monster Card Deck for the D&D Adventure System Games.
The theme was ‘Points Of Light’ and built around the really fun IDW Dungeons and Dragons comic book. I tried to use monsters that had appeared in the book thus far, as well as making sure that all my allies where the main five characters from the book. I’ve slowed a bit in my production speed, and most likely will continue to do so. My next set is going to be ‘Shadowspire’ which will be built around a city that the PC’s in my current D&D game have used as a home base. After that is the ‘Jade Isles’ which will be an Asian theme. I’m contemplating trying to do something with the ‘Isle Of Dread’ after that since I dig that module. However I most likely will be doing a ‘Rise Of The Runelords’ adaptation first. I’m going to try and stay slow and steady on the creation front, and hopefully get some more actual playing of the game in.



- I painted on Sunday. Sure it wasn’t very much, but at least the effort was there.

- Dave let me hear the new Waves Of Mercury stuff. I was impressed. It's much heavier than The Fairly Secret Army stuff, and I mean MUCH HEAVIER. However it holds onto that idea of melody and Doom Metal wrapped in a beautiful Prog package. He also let me hear the rough mix of another project he has been working on with a guy we board game with called Blood Of The Earth. It's Post-Black Metal 'Shoe Gazer'. I know I'm not completely sure what that means either, maybe Dave will explain it in the Comments section. I have to say I really liked it, in parts I loved it. It's just a bit dense and repetitious to me, but that's just me. It always awe-inspiring to head down to the basement recording space. What Dave is able to get out of that space is uncanny. What he and Greg are able to do musically never ceases to amaze me. It's sort of like going to a holy place when I go down there since it's where musical dreams come true.

- I need a flippin' haircut.

And with that I'm done...


"Will you be entertained by beast and knives?

Vital mentalisms will blow your minds!

Cthulu's red headed step child, quite the precocious babe.

We like to keep it on the D.L. because our clientele prefers it that way


The seven legged sow will see to the after-show.

Don't you think the candelabra gives a pleasant glow?


Now may I present to you the basilisk?

Please don your goggles if you wish to resist.

From the fiery depths of the planet's core

The never sleeping for wont of eating unholy stench of the manticore.


Please produce your access pass, no photographs please.

Some of our guests are how shall I say? Hyperbolic V.I.P.

There is a velvet room for the discriminating pack.

Celebrities and tentacles regard the beast with two backs.


The seven legged sow will see to the after-show.

Don't you think the candelabra gives a pleasant glow?


Paparazzi! World wide video debut!

Paparazzi! World wide video debut!

Paparazzi! World wide video debut!

Paparazzi! World wide video debut!


And just when you thought it could get no stranger,

May I present the semblance of a Scandinavian doppelganger.

From the frozen depths of a forgotten fjord,

The never sleeping for wont of eating unholy stench of the manticore"
* = I think Jim Lee could draw anything and I'd remain interested. His work is just so damn dynamic.

2 comments:

  1. Oh, Ben, wherefore have you gone? I miss you, brolo-el-cunado. With no bloggings, you absence is felt more sharply.

    Best Regards,
    ANT

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ant,
    I'll be back, just been busy and fighting some back pain. I'm going to try and knock one out on Friday.
    B.

    ReplyDelete