Howdy Inter-Webbers. I’m Matt Cohen, and I dig the summer.
You just can’t beat the combination of warm sunny days and crisp, colorful comics. Something about the natural light that’s all around lends itself to enjoying funny books. It’s bliss. And, on some rare, lucky occasions, us few and dedicated get to see our childhood heroes put up on the bigscreen in larger then life glory. The Summer Movie was built for Comic Book adaptations. And this summer seems to be the most Comic Booky in years, if not ever. We’ve already seen the kickassness that is IRON MAN, and DARK KNIGHT promises to wow geeks the world over when it gets released next month. Somewhere in all the hype for the previously mentioned films, another comic book movie got forgotten by the masses, or so it seemed. Luckily, according to the first weekend box office, only the opposite could be the case, and it’s well deserved. I am here to tell you that THE INCREDIBLE HULK is pretty damn good. Nearly great.
Hulk, Hulk, Hulk… What are we gonna do with you? I was too young to watch the TV show, and the Ang Lee version – while entertaining – left me wanting a lot more. I compare that film to superhero ballet. Beautiful and masterful, but boring as all hell. With the new reboot, directed by TRANSPORTER 1 + 2 helmer Louis Leterrier and starring (and supposedly mostly written by) Tyler Durden himself (Spoiler) Edward Norton, I – along with countless other Hulk Comic fans – were given one more chance for one of our favorite four color characters to be done justice on the big screen.
Was the wait worth it?
I defiitely think so.
Though THE INCREDIBLE HULK is far from a perfect film, it is evertything it needed to be to make it an extremely enjoyable summer film. So there’s that factor. But forget the masses. Forget the uninitiated. Will a comic book fan like the new Hulk movie?
Yes, yes and a whole lot more yes.
By this time there are countless Hulk reviews on countless websites, so to avoid redundancy and try to keep this bad boy fresh, I’m going to get right to the nitty gritty. How the film played for me. I’ll break it down into pros and cons, to further avoid another long winded synopsis/review that you don’t want to read, and I don’t want to write.
HULK LIKE!!! (pros)
Comic Book Content: More so then possibly any comic book film that has been released in this fun filled decade of ours, THE INCREDIBLE HULK is jam packed with content and references lifted directly out of the comics. It is almost hard to keep a tally of the geek-ster eggs (I’m witty), they fly by so fast and often. It’s one thing for a big summer blockbuster to pander to the masses, but for one to pander to Comic Book fans – That is freaking fantastic. From shout outs to obscure characters yet to play their part in the MU, to glimpses of players just now finding their role, this film does not skimp on the cameos. Of course, by now everyone knows about Tony Stark’s appearance in the film, but to me, the more impressive and quite frankly badass cameos belonged to Doc Samson and Sam Sterns, two characters who will (hopefully) morph from what we’ve seen in this film, to the respective hero and villain we all know and love. The entire film practically seeps comic book style, from the Kirbyesque sonar canons to the fun and often cheesy (and yet somehow still effective) dialogue. Simply put, fans of the comic will not be let down one bit. All the characters remain true to their roots and I applaud Marvel Studious on yet again making a comic book film for comic book fans.
The Acting: First it was Robert Downey, Jr. and crew in Iron Man. Now, Edward Norton leads another ensemble of extremely talented actors in what is a shining example of how good a comic book movie can be. No need for overacting and schtick. Everyone here plays it real, unless the character calls for some other trait or eccentricity. The viewer doesn’t feel like they are watching a film in a genre that has traditionally been style over substance to the max. Hulk, along with Iron Man and Nolan’s Batman series, has definitely reversed the “Comic-Acting” trend in a big way. Norton and Roth in particular really shine here, bringing a sense of depth and emotion to their respective characters that viewers would probably not expect in typical “Light” summer fare. Norton gives a unique performance as Banner, not necessarily drawing on Bixby and Bana, rather by playing it fairly simple and “real” he paints a Bruce that rings truer to the comic version then any I have seen so far. He manages to bring a quiet intensity to the role, one I felt was badly missing in the other film and television attempts. Roth is Roth. What can you say about the man? I mean, it’s freaking Mr. Orange! Roth, as usual, is one of the most nuanced and compelling screen actors around, and never does he let Blonsky become a parody or a caricature. Though he is menacing and f’d up to the nines, we understand this man, his motivations, his desires. The chance for cheesiness was high in that role, and Mr. Roth couldn’t have done a better job of avoiding it. Rounding out the cast are Liv Tyler and William Hurt, two actors who are very hit or miss in my opinion. Thankfully, both hit this time, bringing life and scope to what can be considered very two dimensional characters. Commendable job on both fronts. And I would be lying if I said Tim Blake Nelson is not one of my favorite actors in the world, and though his performance as Dr. Sam Sterns was a “Tad” campy, it fit right in with the character (If you know who the character is about to become… hint…hint…. google it.) and got me extremely pumped for any and all future appearances.
The Hulk: He looks fake!!! He looks CGI!!! HE’S A 10 FOOT TALL GREEN MONSTER-MAN!!! General casting was not going to solve that one. I am under the opinion that they absolutely NAILED the Hulk this time around. Forget the haters. Of course he has to be CGI – a realistic practical affect would be impossible. So when all is said and done, one can only judge the work by what was put on screen, and what was put on screen in pretty much the EXACT Hulk we know and love from the comics. Though the changes were subtle and slight from the past film they did wonders to improve the look and overall feel of Big Green. He’s not as bulky now, less Frankenstein then in the Ang Lee version. Not as neon green, which as ridiculous as it sounds really helped me to buy the reality of the universe, at least more then I did in the previous film. Besides the physical changes there are personality ones as well. This Hulk is smarter, a better fighter (through better use of defense) and yet at the same time much more animalistic then previously seen. This Hulk is pure rage and aggression, but coupled with a quick and resourceful mind. The ultimate destruction machine. One scene in particular nailed it for me. SPOILER ZONE. Hulk and Betty are holed up in a cave during a thunderstorm. A crash of lightning booms out of nowhere, and Hulk is not only startled, HE IS PISSED. He runs out of the cave, picks up a giant boulder, hurls it at the sky, pounds his chest and screams. HULK IS MAD AT THE SKY!!! And even better then that, Hulk tries to fight it! That is the Hulk I know and love. The Hulk that runs on pure anger and aggression. No more contemplative dune jumping Hulk, finally, after years of waiting, The Hulk is here and he’s as badass as we’ve ever seen him.
HULK SMASH!!! (cons)
Abomination: Not so much the character as the visualization. Not great bordering on craptacular. I don’t know why this trend continues but I really have a problem when they make “Monsters” look like they are about to explode. Mr. Hyde in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen suffered from the same issue. They don’t look cool and creepy, they look bloated and as if they will fall apart at the first touch. I know that they wanted to make Hulk look “Good” in comparison but I really think the design team made a mistake with the look of Abomination in this film. And here is a simple solution they could have used… The comic book version. Why did they not go with the reptilian, scaled Abomination we are used to? I think he would have worked fine on screen, a hell of a lot better then Mr. Melting Corpse Boy that we got. Yes, the size and power were there but the look was all off. My one major complaint with the film.
SUMMARY: All in all, a great extremely fun film that will not dissapoint comic fans and “Normals” alike. If this and IRON MAN are any indication of the future of Marvel Studios, not only am I on board but I am one of the biggest supporters. All I can say is, BRING ON THE AVENGERS… Wait, what? Another seven years!!! Oh… Never mind then… REMIND ME ABOUT THE AVENGERS IN FIVE YEARS!!!
That’s all she and or he wrote for now. Tune in next week for another gripping and nail eating installment. Until then,
“Keep em’ bagged and boarded”
Matt Cohen is currently very current
Jonathan Coulton on Jonathan Coulton: “In 2005 I left my day job writing software to pursue music full time. To keep myself busy I released a new song on this website every week for a year in a project called Thing a Week. A few of those songs became big internet hits (my folky cover of Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Baby Got Back”, a funny video called “Flickr”, a song called “Code Monkey”), and I am now fortunate enough to make my living as a musician.
Paul and Storm are a comedy music duo, and they have been performing as a duo since 2004. Before that, they were one half of a cappella band Da Vinci’s Notebook for about 12 years. A Paul and Storm show is part music concert and part standup/improv comedy”“just enough of both to fit neatly in neither category. They like to engage the audience, and are known to award snack cakes and/or other prizes for good (and sometimes bad) behavior. Their show would be PERFECT as a cable special, and would make lots of money for whichever brave channel decides to air them first.
Born in the fall of 2006 in the center of the two-man acoustic comedy rock scene, Columbus, Ohio, the self proclaimed Turner and Hooch of Rock and Roll, The Paul Frumpton Experience Featuring Larry – known more colloquially as Jeff Stormer and Jeremy Hoover – are best described as what happens when comedy, music, caffeine, and improv collide in a chocolaty, peanut buttery explosion of good times. Stormer and Hoover met as students of Ohio State University and have been performing for scraps of food and hobo nickels ever since. Jeremy and Jeff’s major influences include Bacon, Booster Gold & Blue Beetle’s irreverent banter, David Bowie’s crotch in Labyrinth, and a deep-seated love of go karts. Finally, we feel obliged to mention all the things that are off limits to the comedy duo… This list includes NOTHING.
Lex Friedman’s musical influences include artists like They Might Be Giants, Moxy Fruvous, “Weird Al” Yankovic, CAKE, Barenaked Ladies, Tom Lehrer, Ben Folds, and Michael Jackson. Lex has left a smattering of bizarre music videos on YouTube, which have been slowly overtaken by videos of his 18-month-old daughter Anya. He occasionally shares new songs on his blog. He currently appears both weekly and weakly as the host of the “Week in Douchebaggery” on Cracked.com. Lex, his aforementioned daughter Anya, his lovely wife Lauren, and his diabetic maltese Charlie all live together in New Jersey, and sincerely hope that you don’t hold that against them. He gives one of them two injections if insulin each day – guess which! Lex also wrote this sentence. To avoid appearing like a suck-up, Lex has neglected to mention other musical influences of his who may or may not be the Iron Chefs of this Song Fu competition. Let’s just say he happens to also love the musical stylings of a guy whose name rhymes with Shmonathan Shmoulton.
My Fu is stronger than you! I am Coleman Bear Saunders, or Cloakie to most. At the age of 25 I work with music everyday at my studio that I recently built. I produce, engineer and compose various genres of music with ninja like precision. I have been picking away at the guitar since the age of 7 after watching my Dad play Johnny Cash tunes in the wrong key while singing the wrong lyrics, although I do the same thing because that’s the way I was learnt, ya hear me boy? I live in Kentucky and the music scene isn’t the greatest, so I turn to the internet to pipeline my Fu to the masses for free. I’m getting tired of music these days, I want some more songs about Dragons and fucking! Songs that take you on a journey and let you experience a different world, like movies do. My dream is to compose and score music for video games, TV, and my ultimate goal, the big screen. This is why the Song Fu competition was made for me. All the challenges that the competition presents to me will be similar to the expectations of future employers. Good luck to all, and may the best Fu win.
Elaine Chao Finnell is a singer/songwriter from the San Francisco Bay Area. In her checkered musical past, she has been a choral singer, a pit musician, an a cappella vocalist, a vocal percussionist, a hip hop beatboxer, contemporary Christian worship musician, and a musical librettist. After leaving the a cappella world in 2001, Elaine shifted into the world of hip hop theater, touring with spoken word artist Aya de León, then going solo and performing in such venues as the Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco and at the Apollo Theater in New York City. She began writing music at the tender age of 17, co-authoring her first musical with Brian Allan Hobbs. Since then, she has written two full length musicals and two plays. She currently plays regularly at her church as a lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist. While not in her musical pursuits, Elaine can be found in a cubicle at a major software company, at home with her engineer husband and their network of Macs, or studying martial arts at a local university.
To Serve Mankind seeks to do just that, via music that makes you think about the world and your place in it differently. Friends since high school, the duo, likened to They Might Be Giants or Barenaked Ladies, have played back yards to front yards and everywhere in between. It seemed like just yesterday To Serve Mankind had absolutely no future, and look at them now, competing in Song Fu against artists such as Paul and Storm and, uh, the Jonathan Coulton. Jeff Little and Bryan Ewing both grew up in Apple Valley, CA, an environment which demands creativity just to stay sane among Joshua trees, dirt, and the Wal*Mart. With a combined vocal range of at least a perfect 5th, To Serve Mankind is ready to take the world… aeriously. Bryan is into Rock, Jeff digs on Funk. Both serve as worship leaders at their respective churches and are married… not to each other… but to one woman each – Bryan to Michelle, Jeff to Jen. Bryan has a son named Malachi, and Jeff is expecting his wife to follow through on this pregnancy thing and produce a daughter, Jane. Jeff, Bryan (and Malachi) love Avatar: The Last Airbender.
The Deal: After 20+ years making music as a hobby, I recently wrote and recorded a song for my daughter. I got a little taste of mild success (hey, my mom liked it). So now I’m taking my music out of the closet, dusting it off, and seeing how it does in the sunshine. Who knew there was so much work in just attempting to do music for a living. I feel like I am opening a Subway franchise (Only opening a Subway franchise seems more fulfilling in a creative way).
Run At The Dog are high energy, rock/pop, category-sluts with multi-gendered vocals and intricate arrangements. They are like Abba meets Faith No More meets Mos Def meets the Mormon Tabernacle Choir meets Steely Dan. The songs of this Minneapolis 5-piece are always written right away, with no respect for the calculating mind. Audience members are unsure whether to dance, laugh, or panic.
Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, John Romita, Curt Swan, Fred Hembeck… Yes, Fred Hembeck. Destroyer of universes, gentle mocker, ooner of lamps, and master of four-color mirth, our very own Fred Hembeck has been honored with 
Although my interest was certainly piqued, I in no way expected to be as swept up as I became in HBO’s miniseries on the political life of our 2nd president, 
Going in, I had my reservations about 
As far as classic seasons go, I’d have to include the 4th season of 
I’ll never escape a jungle prison with nothing more than bubblegum and a fire ant, but I admit to feeling just a little bit MacGyver-ish when wielding the 
Not realizing just want kind of legs the series would wind up having, Fox originally released the first season of 24 as a borderline bare-bones DVD set. Eager to rectify that mistake (and get fans to purchase a second version), we’ve now got 
Rest assured that not only is Steve McGarrett back in the fourth season of 
After losing themselves in the wilderness of HD-DVD for a year, Paramount has come in from the cold with a full embrace of the high-def victor, Blu-Ray, with a clutch of releases to get up to speed. They all sport the same bonus features as the standard definition discs (save for Bee Movie, which does have some exclusive materials), but fancy-pants cinephiles can now pick up 
There’s always something mildly off-putting about reunion movies featuring the aged cast of beloved TV shows. Maybe that’s because they’re usually frozen in our memories looking and acting like they did when we last saw them, regardless of how time has since treated the actors. Such is the case with the pair of flicks contained on the 
If you made up the story of Raymond Burr’s life, you would call it a an outrageous soap opera fabrication – but the truth is just as outrageous as fiction, as you’ll discover in the biography 
Since everyone and their brother seems to be releasing westerns from their catalogues these past few months, it makes sense that Lionsgate would want to revisit 
I think I’m going to coin a new term for 
If you never got around to picking up either 
Not one, but two more actresses get the featured collection treatment – Sophia Loren and Catherine Deneuve. The 
The one-armed man is still on the loose in the first volume of 
When a TV show is successful, there’s always the a certain amount of curiosity as to whether the characters would transfer to the big screen. Sadly, Don Adams’s Maxwell Smart did not do too well in the transition, which meant the sublime genius that was Get Smart became the tepid disappointment of 
It’s a bit of a grab bag, but 
All good things must come to an end, and so must things that lived a few years beyond their shelf life – the eighth and final season of 
Having long ago given up on watching it since being disappointed when after its first few outings on Adult Swim and the first season DVD, I was curious to see if my opinion would be changed by the second season of 
Director: Larry Charles
Director: Clark Gregg
Oh no! Just when you thought it was safe to hang out at the Quick Stop…
Even though they’ve done just about everything possible (including throwing the kitchen sink at it) to tear down the beloved characters and stories of their relaunch, time and unfortunate editorial machinations have only made the Keith Giffen/J.M. DeMatteis/Kevin Maguire run of Justice League International look all the more enjoyable by comparison. Ignore all of that Uber Final Infinite Crisis of Something Or Another business and pick up the first volume of 
Ah, but I will say this – thank jebus for the relaunched Booster Gold. Slowly but surely, the series has been fixing the bastardizations wreaked in the past few years within the DC universe, and reintroducing some of the FUN and ENJOYMENT that’s been missing in comics today. Let me say, unequivocally, grab the first collection, 
Even though I think there were diminishing returns following the spectacular, pre-franchise outing and its first sequel, it’s still welcome to have brand new, deluxe special editions of the five films featuring Detective Harry Callahan – aka “Dirty Harry”. 
You know a major feature film is fast-approaching when the studio starts releasing the classic material to DVD, and such is the case with the rapid fire release of both the 
If it had an arc like the plant its characters peddle, than season 3 of 
If Indiana Jones has made you interested in finding out what real archeology is all about, I can recommend no more enjoyable series than Time Team – the Brit show which performs digs across the UK, and is hosted by Blackadder‘s Tony Robinson. A perfect introduction to the series is 
This weekend, the space nerd in me will be delighting in reading 
It’s always a pleasant surprise when a series whose release has been pleaded for by fans gets put out on DVD, and it’s even more exciting when there are actually a decent amount of bonus materials as well. Such is the case with the complete first season of 
Hopefully, you’ve already picked up all four volumes of the Jack Kirby’s Fourth World Omnibus, as they should be required reading for any comic fan. If you’ve already wisely purchased those, you’ll also want to get 
You know, few shows are feature characters as relentlessly flawed as 
Although it never lit up audiences, you can at least say that the TV series based on Stephen King’s 
Although it quickly disappeared from screens when it hit in the mid-90’s, the attempted re-launch of 
Mike Judge and Don Hertzfeldt’s 
It’s goofy and good-natured and well within his safe zone, but there’s something undeniably tired about Will Ferrell’s latest loveable boob pic 
Continuing their spotlights on great British actresses (having already dedicated sets to Judi Dench and Helen Mirren), we now get 
Give it enough time and even the most marginal of films enters into the realm of classic, and it’s with that in mind that we’ve now got a special collector’s edition of 
The least effective officers of the California Highway Patrol are back on their bikes in the second season of 
The latest release from The Weinstein Company’s high-falutin’ “Miriam Collection” is the tragic tale of Joy Division’s Ian Curtis, 
With a powerhouse producing team – including Ridley and Tony Scott – I expected quite a bit from the new mini-series based on Michael Crichton’s 
I tried – jebus how I tried – to find something funny in 
Director: Gil Kenan
Director: Joel and Ethan Coen
While talking to a fellow film fan/addict, at least a generation behind me, I discovered that as much as they loved the medium, they sorely lacked the experience of witnessing the films that blew my mind and opened a whole new doorway for the remarkable talents of today. An amusing anecdote; having mentioned, “Electra Glide in Blue” its amazing dramatic opening, its bent on the “Easy Rider” mythos and extolling Robert Blake’s performance, my friend interrupted me. “Robert Blake the killer?” bemused the young fiend, had no idea of the depth and range of Mr. Blake’s performances in such masterpieces as, “In Cold Blood” and “Electra Glide”¦”
That’s when it dawned on me. At least two generations have been nurtured on a stream of processed junk food celluloid that has been siphoned through an unstable era of video and dvd half-baked rental chains that have only been interested in bottom dollar cinema. Blockbuster and Hollywood Video lead the way of the demise of the revival houses. Homes to long lost forgotten movies that sometimes developed cult followings due to their obscure vision that set off minds like that of the two Davids (no ““ not the mutts from American Idol) ““ Lynch and Cronenberg. There was also the appreciation for storytelling inspiring the works of P.T. Anderson and the Coen brothers. Sometimes just downright exploitive fun tickled the guilty pleasures of Tarantino and Rodriguez spurring their imaginations. Add the chance to get reacquainted with classics such as Night of the Hunter and To Kill a Mockingbird and have one realize how good movies use to be.
Now the sad part, what I’ll suggest to you dear reader will be hard to find in the GRCs (generic rental chains). Ask your local Blockbuster/Hollywood employee if they have an obscure title and they’ll either deliver the usual glazed look or robotically attend to their computer to check the inventory of the bland and mundane ““ more than likely telling you it’s unavailable or only to be had as a purchase at a ridiculous sum. Not true ““ buyer beware! Netflix has one of the most extensive libraries I have seen. I do not work for them nor am I a member. This is merely a fact that I must hail to whoever is behind them. They don’t have it all, but they have damn near 90% of it!
Unfortunately, my first viewing of this masterpiece of madness was not at a revival house. It was a legend that eluded me for years till a good friend in the late’80’s lent me a bootleg copy on VHS. Poor sound, graininess and a 25″ RCA TV could not dampen the power of this man’s vision. I found myself rewinding back to scenes verifying what I was witnessing. I had not been this confused and mesmerized since my first viewing of 2001: a space odyssey. Not that they’re in the same genre, but possibly the same existential level, making one think and contemplate on what they are experiencing. That is probably the best way to describe this metaphysical western that has a cosmic mystic/master gunfighter face down four, just as unusual, rivals in order for him to reach self-enlightenment and a surreal resurrection. Confused yet?
PALM SPRINGS – Can you believe that an article in the Washington Post can expose a problem and inspire a swift resolution? Last year Neely Tucker’s “Mannix Was the Man” questioned why this TV detective show wasn’t out on DVD. The story was picked up by numerous papers across the countries in the following week. Fans of the show wrote the studio demanding a Mannix fix. This groundswell of support has been rewarded with Mannix: The First season being released on June 3.
A lot of actor talk about how they can’t stand to see their movies. Connors sounds like an excited fan eager to snag the boxset. “I wasn’t crazy about watching myself at the time I was doing things. You look at it and you get despondent in that you should have done something different. You shoulda, coulda done it better. But now I look at it and say, ‘Wow! God, we were young in those days. Look at that: I’m running.'”