Archive for December, 2010

Dem Reviews: DC Comics – The 75th Anniversary Poster Book

Whenever you think of comic book publishers, there are really two names that come to mind and for over 75 years, DC Comics has been publishing some of the most read funny books and brought us such memorable characters like Superman, Batman & Wonder Woman. To mark the long history of said superheroes, Quirk Books has teamed up to produce “DC Comics: The 75th Anniversary Poster Book” which includes “100 of the most important, most incredible and most bizarre comic-book covers” from the long history of DC Comics. The covers include some of the best from titles such as Swamp Thing, The Flash, V For Vendetta and featuring art from masters like Frank Miller, Jack Kirby, Curt Swan, Neal Adams, Alex Ross, Jim Lee and many, many more. A foreword by DC staple Paul Levitz beautifully opens the book.

These best thing about this book is that every one of these featured covers are printed on thick stock (although I would have preferred a glossier sheet but I’m a paper geek) and it’s pages are perforated so, if you felt so inclined, you can remove your favorites from the book, frame them and display your favorites on your wall. Sure, it might go against your nerd instincts to keep a book intact & pristine but it’s kind of hard to resist not framing that Adam Hughes Wonder Man cover. Each of the covers also include interesting information of how the cover came to be and also tells some interesting backstory on some of the entries so it’s not only a feast for the eyes. Tackling topical issues such as the struggle for women’s rights, drugs, and war, the covers are arranged chronologically and reflect the changes in American society over the years. Not being the biggest fan of the DC Universe and it’s characters, I went into this with a firm sense of skepticism but I came out the boom tube learning a lot about the history and with a whole new appreciation for the community and it’s characters.

The quality of the book is top notch and would go perfectly in any comic book collectors coffee table. With 100 covers featured, my only knock would go to the fact that there should have been more. But I guess they’ll save that for the 100th anniversary.

The book has a MSRP of $40 but can be found a lot cheaper around the net.

On Scene: Tron Legacy

The Tron Legacy midnight screenings were last Thursday, and we just knew the nerds (our people) would be out in full force for the event. So we decided to go out to the IMAX at Edwards Theater and talk to them, man on the street style, for our newest addition to Dumb Drum, which we are tentatively calling “On Scene.” And who better to host such a video series than our multi-talented and all-around awesome friend Travis Sheridan. Travis asked some fellow “Tronies” some questions (before we eventually got kicked out by security) and this is what transpired. Mad props to Kyle Lowe for shooting and editing this bad boy. Enjoy and watch out for us at future nerd-related events around town!

Dem Reviews: Black Swan

Since seeing “Pi” and “Requiem for a Dream” I’ve become a big fan of Darren Aronofsky’s films. I had been highly anticipating the release of “Black Swan”: an intense psychological thriller based in the world of ballet, and was not disappointed. The first scene is a jump into the surreal: Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) dreams she is dancing The White Swan with a creepy feathered pas de deux partner. This sets the tone for the rest of the movie as the audience is forced to question what is real and what is imagined. Read more…

Jon Favreau will not direct “Iron Man 3″

After months of speculation of what would happen after the next three Marvel Studios movies (“Thor” in May, “Captain America” in July and “The Avengers” in 2012), today director of the first two Iron Man films Jon Favreau has announced that he will not be directing the third installment of the franchise, currently on track to follow the Avengers movie next year. Favreau sites in this L.A. Times interview as his motivation to jump off was in order to “find something that lights a fire” inside of him creatively and that a new start would be “easier to do with a project that isn’t loaded with built-in expectations.” His next film after “Cowboys & Aliens” is “Magic Kingdom” which some have called “A Night At The Museum” at Disneyland. Not totally blown away by that premise seeing as many of the big Disney rides at the theme park have already been turned into successful Hollywood films (Pirates Of The Caribbean), will soon be rebooted (Haunted Mansion) or are derived from major film franchises (Indiana Jones) but hopefully Favreau can work his magic on the Magic Kingdom.

Personally, I’m okay with seeing Favreau go. Credit is due to the man for turning Iron Man into the success it was and essentially raising the level and recognition of Marvel Studios to the level where they could negotiate crazy 9 picture deals with actors and laying the groundwork for all Marvel fanboys like myself to see the Marvel Universe expand on the big screen. And although I wouldn’t call “Iron Man 2? a failure, it definitely didn’t spark like the first film did and maybe getting some new blood in the directors chair might be what the franchise needs. What do you think? Will the franchise never recover from this or did the outlook just get a little better in your book? Also, what director would you like to see helm the further adventures of Tony Stark? Chime in!

Dem Trailers: Fast Five

Some say director Justin Lin saved this franchise and turned it towards a better direction after the financially successful, but absolute piece of shit that was “2 Fast 2 Furious.” Others say this franchise has been still born since the first film but regardless, the series has brought joy to many car lovers out there with the automobiles being the cornerstone of the series for probably a majority if its fans, which made this comment to USA Today by director Lin a gut check for fans like myself:

I think what keeps it going is that it’s not really about cars. I have to be honest: I’m not a big car guy. At the core, Fast and Furious is about family and how to create them.

Ugh. Look Mr. Lin, just STFU and make a movie that caters to the core audience. That core audience goes for the cars and please don’t kid yourself otherwise. I understand where you’re coming from and you wish to add a little depth to this puddle of character development the franchise has nurtured but alienating the car folks is not the way to do it. Maybe that would have been something you could have explored in your first crack at the franchise… two fucking films ago. Kinda late now, brah. Anyways, sorry to get off track, this just brought me back to a moment in history where another director made a comment that made me angry to no end but lets get on with it. Check out the new trailer (stupid title and all) in HD over here at Apple and let us know what you think. And regardless, Justin Lin, I will be at the midnight showing for this next year.

Dem Trailers: Thor

I’d be lying if I said the footage that leaked from Comic Con earlier in the year didn’t sour me towards this film, directed by Kenneth “I was in ‘Wild Wild West’” Branagh. I’ve tried my best to erase all memories of that but it’s kinda hard when it’s a beloved character like Thor. But I must soldier on and the part of my brain that was able to erase those bits really liked what they did with this trailer. But if I had to choose this film or “Captain America” to be more successful next summer, I’d still put my money on the former. If you need to see this in HD, head on over here to Yahoo! to peep it. So what did you think? “Hammer time!” or “I’d rather lick a Frost Giant’s ball sack”? Also, after teh break, check out the first poster for the film. That looks pretty nice! Read more…

Dem Trailers: Transformers – Dark of the Moon

(Updated with streaming version!)
Can’t say that I’m super excited for this next entry into the Michael Bay cash machine that is the Transformers franchise but what I can say is that besides that horrible title, this trailer looks intriguing. And after the last film, there is no way on Earth that this can be half as bad as that steaming piece of shit, right? And there no gratuitous Megan Fox this time around since she got the axe. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Peep it out over here (no streaming version yet) at Apple and let us know what you think. [Via Slash Film]