I SAW IT ON TV: Lost finale

While I was away, fall TV wrapped up.

Idol was anti-climatic (Blake didn't wanna/need ta win), but you can't deny the power the show now has in the fading music industry.

Survivor was perhaps the best season since Pearl Islands and Rupert (or even longer), with many twists, shocking developments, and the ever prevalent wrinkles the producers throw out actually made for some great results again and again. (Plus I was pulling for Earl)

Heroes, haven't watched the last two episodes yet, so the jury's still out on that...
but I'll tell you now, I dug on Lost a lot more than Heroes after both came back from their respective breaks.

The Lost finale was great on so many levels and really paid off the whole third season in big ways, while also setting up a new formula to not only spin things around for the final 3 (shortened seasons), but hopefully do away with the dreaded, redundant flashback sequences!
So much action - the others beat-downs, big character moments - Hurly saving the day, cool settings - the undersea station, and the twist ending - bearded drugged-out future Jack.
For those that tuned out this season, you're missing out!

You can check out EW's comprehensive coverage of the show, including wrap ups and speculations, HERE

TSL has been MIA

Well, took a couple weeks off.
11 days in Mexico, a 4 day camping trip...
but I'm back.

Tuesday is the new Monday.

Things around mi casa are seriously deep.
Piles of paperwork, books, comics, clothes, and all manner of crap crowd my office space.
The list of to-do's is mind boggling.
I have artwork commissions to crank out, and oh yeah, a comic book or 3 to produce.

There's also been a ton of comic culture items to go on about:
season finales on TV (Survivor's, Idol's, and Losties oh my!), big movies in theaters I've missed (Spidey 3, 28 Weeks Later, to name but two), internet/blogoshere firestorms I could rant about (MJ does laundry, women in chains on comic covers, what's the world coming to?!?), stacks of comics and graphic novels I've read (World of Quest, Sentinels book 2, Planet Hulk, Ultimates 13 and it's 8 page fold out!!)...
but all in good time.

For now, I'll just say I'm back, and keep your eyes peeled for many things to come!
:)

DeviantArt - Buffy commission

Thought I'd share a commission I did recently of Buffy the Vampire Slayer...
Never really watched the show, but am a fan of Whedon via Fray, Firefly, and Astonishing X-Men.
I'm also really enjoying the new Buffy season 8 comics!

SUPER REAL NOTES - Special #2

It's the summer of sequels, and I'm currently cooking up one of my own...

SUPER REAL VS THE MOVIE INDUSTRY

Stay tuned,
jason

SUPER REAL NOTES - Pittsburgh Con wrap up

Okay, it's a week later (as usual), so it must be time for my con wrap up for Pittsburgh Comicon 2007.
It was a 3 day event last weekend (the final weekend of April) in Monroeville PA.
I had an artist alley table and shared a hotel room with my buddy Dave Dwonch (Big Monster Productions/ Special Education - pictured above with my table) and new buddy Ryan Spano (forum regular from Comic Geek Speak and all around clown - pictured left). Both were a big help and a blast to hang with.

Right off the bat, the main thing that stands out for the Pittsburgh show are the many online friends that I finally got a chance to meet, and the pair of outstanding fans that I met at Wizard World Philly Con last year who hit me up again this year (Mike and Brian, you guys are awesome). That alone would've been great fuel for the weekend, however, the icing on the cake was the way the show is organised, the promoters of this show take care of the exhibitors like no other con. Not only do they provide beverages up to two times a day, but they also provide lunch on Friday and Saturday, to every exhibitor. That's artist alley, small press, dealers, and yes, even the guests. Now any other show caters to their guests and calls it good, not in Pittsburgh. To make things even better, even sweeter, the con hotel adjoins the convention hall, and the organisers host an open bar and poker tournament on the hotel's penthouse floor every night, also open to any exhibitor with a badge. So, you've got the hotel bar where everyone goes, or the penthouse for those in the know, where there's sketching and schmoozing til the wee hours each night.

Suffice it to say, with me and my roomie Dave being on West coast time (3 hours earlier than Pittsburgh's Eastern time zone) it was tough to get any sleep.

The con itself went well, and I was busy sketching all weekend, on through mid day Sunday. Now, it wasn't necessarily that I had sooo many sketches, but I was moving pretty slow on Saturday. I even had a couple chase me down after a much needed break and ask for their sketchbook back. I felt really bad, but I did what I could. I did lots of fun sketches and met lots of cool people.

Aside from taking in the all-you-can-eat buffet at the GOLDEN CORAL (yes, that's the name) Friday night, Saturday night we travelled a little ways to a cool local Sandwich/Pub chain, Primanti Brothers, where they take some fresh bread with your choice of sandwich meats and pile it on with cole slaw, french fries, and tomatoes. Sounds strange but tastes excellent (especially with a big brew).

Among the folks I got to meet were the entire ID Comics crew, of which I'd met Bryan Turner the year before at WWPhilly, but they're all super talented and super cool. You can see Bryan (below left) and Jose's (above) pinups here that they did for me at the show (which are both amazing)! More on the ID comics crew and Super Real to come...

I also got to meet Mr Skootles creator and TSL regular, my friend Howie Noel (pictured below left). Howie and I didn't get to hang out as much as I'd have liked, but he did do this awesome sketch of Holly during the show (above right).

Also in attendance was my friend Ryan McLelland (Philly, Newsarama), another person I'd have liked more time to catch up with. David Montoya (pictured above right) my former neighbor at SDCC and now good friend, Dave does an awesome book called Moho.

I also ran into Dirk Tiede, creator of the webcomic Paradigm Shift, I'd met Dirk a couple years back at SDCC when we were both at Modern Tales. We did a book swap, and I'll have a post on his incredibly good manga here soon.

Another awesome book I'd been wanting to pick up for years now, that I grabbed the whole now complete series of was Sentinels by Rich Bernatovech and Luciano Vecchio. Look for a post on that soon too.

So there you have it, a quick rundown of the faces and things I saw at the con. It was a great time. So many cool people, and so much hanging out and talking shop. A couple nights Dave and I ended up in the lobby after the bar or penthouse closed and one night he even ended up pitching his drunken idea for a new series based on creator David Mack (a guest at the show) to him after I turned in one night. Dave's idea was called MACK FOR A DAY, and basically the premise was, what would you do if you could switch bodies with David for one day? One of those things that sounds funny at 3am after a few too many, but not really something you approach the guy about and pitch. Ha ha! Funny stuff, and good times.

So once again, big shout out to all the cool people I hung with at the show and all the cool fans that stopped by the table!!
I Hope to return next year.

SUPER REAL NOTES - Pittsburgh Comicon this weekend!

I'm flying out this AM for the big Pittsburgh Comicon in Monroeville PA that runs all weekend, 4/27-4/29!!

I'll have a space in artist alley with all the latest and greatest Super Real swag, artwork, and doing sketches.
Stop by and say "HI!" if you're in the area!

I'm looking forward to meeting friend face to face for the first time, and hanging out all weekend with them and of course, THE FANS!!!!!!!!!!!
__


Also, don't forget, JOSH HOWARD PRESENTS: SASQUATCH is in comic shops now, and includes an all new 10 page story by yours truly!

Go HERE for more details...

MEANWHILE AT THE MOVIES... Death Proof FAN ART

I've completed my fan art for the DEATH PROOF portion of GRINDHOUSE, which you can see on DeviantArt

IN CASE U MISSED IT: I LOVE STAR WARS!

Look, I really don't understand why the mass majority find Empire the best of the trilogy, and at the time Return was my favorite (though in retrospect it's clearly the original), but let's not argue over which of the series was the best, and just all agree that Star Wars was the greatest set of films. ever. made. bar none.

What's that? You weren't old enough to see Star Wars in the theater, or you're criminally miswired so as not to agree with me and the ba-jillions who feel the same?
Well fuck... what a shame.

Do you like Star Wars though?
Really like it?

Good!
Me too!!

So, if you're like me, hearing about this book may sound too good to be true. How about a "making of" that's not only all encompassing, but well constructed, and get this, largely compiled during the creation, or just after, of the 1977 film?
I know I must put down the comics long enough to get and read my copy.
What better way to transport back to that magical time in the late 1970's, when a series of films totally blew your mind and swept you, hyperspeed, to a long time ago... yadda yadda yadda.

Check out this review on AICN for THE MAKING OF STAR WARS HERE

There are also some nice behind the scenes photos included.

I know I'll be getting myself the hardcover...

30 years, wow, I remember discussing with my friend "10 years, so long ago" when I was just a mere dumb-ass teen listening to my Joshua Tree cassette-tape circa the summer of 1987, and getting pseudo-rabid for the release of the remastered editions 10 years ago...

SASQUATCH in stores tomorrow!

My first published work outside Super Real hits comic book shops tomorrow, JOSH HOWARD PRESENTS SASQUATCH

It's a HUGE anthology tradepaperback with tons of cool indy creators (256 pages with 27 stories), including an all new 10 page story by me!

You can pick it up in shops via Diamond Order Code - FEB073830

Or direct from Viper HERE

Or direct from me for the $25 cover price, via my PayPal id: jasinmartin@hotmail.com

CHECK OUT PREVIEWS AND MORE AT IT'S WEBSITE: HERE

My story is quite a departure from what I do in Super Real... (or is it?)

SUPER REAL NOTES - Pinups

I recently recieved a couple more pinups, and thought I'd share...

The first is from artist Thom Chiaramonte, who does an awesome comic/webcomic called FINIT-e and many many commissions. Thom and I have been talking up an art swap for some time, and he just fit my pinup into his schedule for this awesome piece of the girls of Super Real...
Check out Thom's works and comics HERE

The next is from Santino, an artist who'd contributed to last years Super Real Pin-up-and-coming Contest. Here, he's splashed some colors on one of his entries (again of the 3 ladies of the book)...
Santino can be reached at this email: cuentadesanti@hotmail.com

Thanks guys, great stuff!

MEANWHILE AT THE MOVIES... Grinding on GRINDHOUSE!!

Got to see GRINDHOUSE for the second time last night, it was as much of a treat as the first time, the damn thing throws so much cool shit at you, a second viewing is practically mandatory (or third, fourth, etc).

It's visual nirvana.
The thing I really keyed in on the second time was the soundtrack. Both RR's Planet Terror score, masterful 80's synth echoing that blistering theme throughout, and of course QT's best soundtrack since the remarkable Pulp Fiction collection. I bought the Death Proof soundtrack, and can attest it's really great (I'll have to pick up the Planet Terror too).

So speaking of visual nirvana, and my obsession with all things Grindhouse, here's a collection of fan arts for the movie/s, complete with links to the creators. A fine assortment of interpretaions of the films array of inspiring and iconic characters!!!

Please share any cool one's you've seen that I might have missed!

First, we have a selection of CHERRY DARLING's:

Josh Howard

Cameron Stewart

Grant Gould

Cristian Navarro

Lubasa

And then we have some of the other characters:

Machete by Carlos Lerma
Quite possibly my favorite!

The Babysitter Twins by Don Ramon Sierra

Dakota (aka Doctor Block) by Cameron Stewart
I just love how Cameron captured sooo much about the character here!!

Lee (aka The Cheerleader girl) by HC Noel

Also, be sure and check out this great GRINDHOUSE FAN SITE on MYSPACE (and not just because they made my fan art their avatar ;)

I SAW IT ON TV: Lost no more

Despite views to the contrary, and waning interest, I think Lost is beginning to hit on all cylinders again.
Sure they've stretched things out, and had some really weak moments, but as we swing towards season finale time, the show is getting much better.
Last nights episode was a great one, thanks I'm sure to the writing debuts of one Brian K Vaughan, so, if you're still getting your Lost on, you must check out the Entertainment Weekly episode wrap-ups. They're filled with much more than a play-by-play of the episodes, and delve into the subtext of one of the densest shows on TV, highlighting all the little elements that tell what ultimately is going on, and build what potentially may come.
They're very smart, and a great addition to the experience of following the show.

Check out the latest wrap up HERE

IN CASE U MISSED IT: Future Formats?

Over on the always informative comics blog THE BEAT, Heidi covers discussions on the format crossroads the US industry has come to, spurred by some OGN creators musing on ramifications of that process vs monthly production (specifically in terms of revenue generation), which then spurs all kinds of thoughts and speculation on where we're heading...
Is this the death of monthlies?
Are Graphic Novels/OGN/TPB/Manga and the bookstore market the future?
Is it digital?
Digital to trade?

Hop on over and check it out HERE
and again HERE
There are some very interesting points and views shared.

As for my thoughts an independent publisher in the direct market?
From what I'm reading, seeing, and hearing around the industry, the market is definitely less promising than it was even 2 years ago, and new approaches are fast becoming the norm, as opposed to first starting out with monthly serialization via comic shops.
More and more are forced to start out via the internet, or trade, as selling in the low range of distributed independent publishing is simply not viable.
And I muse more and more on a hybrid of the trade first approach...
Smaller collections, or page counts, somewhere between a monthly and a trade.
The pros of which would be yielding a higher price point (and conversely fewer runs at a printer) than a monthly, but also yielding more frequency in the market than the straight-to-trade approach, thus allowing for more chance at revenue and exposure than publishing less frequently.
Something I've not really seen anyone doing.
To me, with Diamond's thresholds being set at about where a moderately successful indy can hope to distribute, that is around 1k in distribution at the current 3-4$ cover price, it behooves one to go for the higher price point of the trade, at a 10-15$ cover to find a better chance at success.
So why not try something in between, say a 2-4 issue length collection/format (anywhere from 48-96 pages, as opposed to 120-200), priced in the 5-10$ range, that one could release about twice a year (as opposed to every 12-18 months)?
A lower price point than a trade for readers to try, with a higher price than a monthly (and less runs at a printer) to allow for more opportunity for profit in sales.
(This would also make it easier theoretically for a self/small-publisher to maintain schedules, a huge challenge for those attempting serial publication in this position)
Which of course, as with straight to trade, could still be serialized first via the web.

Or, another variation a friend mentioned they were attempting with their next OGN, don't start serializing on the web until your work is complete (or at least enough for a collection), so you can offer the print version to the web readers immediately, and potentially capture more sales from readers not wanting to wait out the serialization? (The opposite of the current popular approach of collecting as you go)

Just a couple of ideas on future format/approach to publishing comics I've not heard discussed...

What do you think?

HEY DJ! - NIN@MID

Oh glory glory, first Grindhouse an new shit from QT (an RR)... now a mere 11 days later there's new NIN, glory glory!!

NINE INCH NAILS: YEAR ZERO
4.17.07

CON SWAG: Emerald City Comicon 2007 part 2

RAZOR KID #1 - RoninStudios: Written by Marcus Almand, pencils by Jeffrey Cruz

Picked up Razor Kid from DeviantArtist FooRay, who's working on issue 2 of the book. I'd seen it somewhere online and thought the style looked interesting if familiar. Upon flipping through and seeing it had the great work of Cruz, I had to check it out.

RK is standard superpowered storytelling, a young aspiring hero, competing to get a license from C.A.P.E. (citizens authorized for protection and enforcement), but where it shines in in the execution. The plotting and character, Alex Tanaka, are fresh and fun to follow. Turns out Alex is a genius who though he lost both his arms, devised his own prosthetics, that not only give him the functionality he's missing, but much more.

RK is a nice mix of good writing, solid art, and a well developed concept. Check this out if you like books like Invincible, where the creators make the tried-and-true seem fresh and fun!

STEVE LAWLIS: FRANKENSTEIN'S MONKEY - Rorshach Entertainment: Created/Written by Brian Meredith, art by Erik Thompson

I'd seen Erik's nice cartoon artwork for some time now, so I was excited to see he'd worked on a comic and was quick to pick up this new entry from Seattle Publisher Rorschach.

Steve Lawlis is well suited to Erik's style, as it feels much like a mash-up of 3 cartoon network shows; Johnny Bravo, Powerpuff Girls, and Dexter's Laboratory. In fact, after a fun intro that feels like we're going to be treated to a nice cartoon inspired yet adult focused tale, things spiral into the all-too-familiar, with Lawlis being the macho stand in for Bravo, directed by the mayor to fend off outlandish threats to the city ala Powerpuff Girls, and alongside and up against evil/crazed scientists and situations born from their mischief, that would be Dexter's Labortory. Now, I don't think Meredith was actually going for that trifecta, but in hindsight that's what I found. I wish I had better things to say here, I wanted to like this, but it just seemed uninspired, and I really don't need to hear anyone quote Charlton Heston's key line from Planet of the Apes (you know it), EVER. AGAIN. THANKS.

I advise you go ahead and check this out if you like Thompson's cartoony style, the book doesn't get in the way of enjoying his work (though it could stand colors to make it really pop, like on the cover).

MEANWHILE AT THE MOVIES... Cherry Darling

Saw GRINDHOUSE on Friday night but didn't have a chance to finish my fan art til this afternoon...

Needless to say, the movie was incredibly awesome, and chocked full of great imagery and characters to inspire countless pinups etc, if only I had the time. I did at least get my take on Cherry Darling, the go-go dancer turned machine-gun-legged zombie killer heroine, from Robert Rodriguez's PLANET TERROR, finished though!

If you haven't seen the film yet, what are you waiting for?!?
Go NOW!
It's a great moviegoing experience, and two great films!!
I hope to see it again, and hopefully at a drive-in!!!

THE BEAT's Heidi MacDonald had a great review and feminist POV on the whole thing with comic's noteables getting active in the comments HERE
And of course AINTITCOOL.com have tons of reviews and coverage HERE

MAKE MINE MANGA: Empowered

This just in... I've finished volume one of Empowered, and I'm going to go ahead and file this gush under MANGA...

Yeah yeah, all you mangaphobes and manga purists may argue whether it belongs under such a classification, but I'm stickin to it.

Empowered is the 243 page black and white artwork collection of shorts centered around a sexy/cute female member of the Superhomey's, named Empowered. She's a superchica with self confidence issues, who, thanks to the trickey powers that her skintight suit endows, is perennially being bound and gagged by the supervillains she goes up against. Along the way the book builds on these funny slice-of-life skewed superexploits and our heroine gains a henchman boyfriend, bad girl best friend, and one entraped essence of space demon that lies around her apartment bitching. The book is full of creator Adam Warren's trademark art and scripting. Warren has one of the most unique voices in comics, an imaginative mind and skillful touch with dialogue make his efforts always a joy to behold. Emp vol 1 is no exception. At first, the volume feels a bit lacking, as it was born from a series of shorts with no grand scheme in mind, empty bits to get our heroine in distress gradually build a world, relationship/s, and story that is totally immersive.

Reading Empowered is most rewarding because of it's unique approach, feeling more like a novel, or journal in it's expansive structure, and wide open reach. By the end of the volume things pick up considerably, and leave even more to explore for the next of what are hopefully the many planned volumes to come.

If you're not an Adam Warren fan already (shame shame), give Empowered a chance, especially if you've ever enjoyed superpowred adventure in your comics, it's a new type of mature exploration of those themes that's both sexy, and ultimately resonant. Empowered is filled with real life emotion and experiences, and Warren is tapping into a new mold of storytelling here, both in structure and scope! I loved it, simply loved it!!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

MEANWHILE AT THE MOVIES... It's finally here!!!

Tonight, baby.
Don't be a []

CON SWAG: Emerald City Comicon 2007

Just off my fourth con in the span of 6 weeks, it's time, no past time to share some of the treasures I've unearthed cruising through the artist alley exhibitors. But since the most recent swag is freshest in my mind, I'll start with that, and some of the stuff I grabbed at this past weekends Emerald City Comicon (a great show, that's back on track this year).

First up is the latest work from Super Real friend, Edward Pun. Edward you may recall turned in the slick variant cover of participant number 3 for issue 2, and also contributed 5 pages to the recent Super Real Special. In the meantime Edward put the finishing touches on his first issue of BETSY MAE BITE, a full size black and white comic featruing a mysterious farm girl, her cow, ufo's and men in black.

In BMB Ed weaves a light, fun, and pulpy tale centered around the titular cute girl Betsy, and the events that transpire one evening on her farm. With Ed's clean and ultra smooth storytelling, he could make a book about paint drying a fun read. Here though, he plays with some much cooler material and the result is one good comic book yarn that's a little bit manga, even more "animated", and a whole bunch of fun!

You can check it out HERE for now, but I'm sure Ed will be adding it, along with his latest group venture ATOMIC LEAD, to his website store found HERE

Next we have a heady concoction from James Stokoe, SNACK COMIX issue 1.

James is a friend or current/former roomey (or sumthin like that) of the incomparable comic kids Brandon Graham and Corey Lewis, and their influence is all over Stokoe's work that I've seen (or ya know, his influence is on their stuff, it's all mixed in ya know?). That said, it's a good thing, as Graham and Lewis got enough style and crazy ideas to fuel a line of books each, and the work I've seen of Stokoe is equally impressive. This however is the first time I've been able to pick up a book of Stokoe's. (I know he's got something due soon from ONI PRESS too, of which I'm down for and eager to see)

Snack Comix is 40 pages of black and white goodness. Stokoe presents 2 stories here, the first longer story centered around a visored biker dude hangin back to watch giant monsters throw down and tear apart a city, as the rest of the population heads for the hills. His writing and work on the page are fresh, cool, and most of all fun. His stuff, again as with Graham and The Rey, exudes a unique spirit that's contagious. The second shorter story is a simple tale behind the scenes of an Orc army.

Very cool goods here.
Check out his website or DA page!

Stay tuned kids! Much much more good, "You have to see this shit!" stuff to come...

SUPER REAL NOTES - Emerald City Comicon this weekend!

It's time for the fifth annual Emerald City Comicon, the Pacific Northwest's largest comic show!

As usual, there's a never ending lineup of top notch guests (including my all time fave creator, Michael Golden!), the show really goes all out in that department.

I'll have a table in the artist alley this year, table 203, which looks to be at the front of the con hall right as you come into the area!

Looking forward to meeting friends and fans all weekend!
Stop by and say hey if you're at the con!

SUPER REAL NOTES - Review-o-rama!

A couple weeks after the books came out, Super Real VS The Comic Book Industry is piling up some reviews...

Here are 3 more that have hit over the last couple days, 2 reviews are some of the best I've received for the series, and one just didn't like the sidetrack/detour the special took. Have a look!


First up we have a review over on BROKENFRONTIER.com from columnist and Super Real fan Jason Berek Lewis -

Martin’s comedic writing skills get stronger with each issue.
and
Martin has rewarded his dogged fans with a light, entertaining special that gives indie talent a chance to shine. He is a true champion of independent comics, and Super Real is a winning read every time.

Please check out the full review HERE
(and you can post your own comments via the link in the forums there too)


Next we have a review in the weekly PAPERBACKREADER.com column STRAY VOLTAGE by Dan Head -

I dug this issue the most, and I recommend it highly to anyone with an even half-developed sense of humor.
and
The sense of playfulness in this book shines through from start to finish, making this one a real winner.

Please view the whole review HERE


And last, the not so swell review from Marc Mason's THECOMICSWAITINGROOM.com -

SUPER REAL is a book that is very much worth your time, but ultimately this digression for the series doesn’t pay off.

Marc just wasn't feeling the art here most of all, and the different tone, which is fine, you can't please em all. :)
Check out the full review HERE

Oh, and I almost forgot, found this one the other day while Googling the Special...
A podcast review from COMICNEWSINSIDER.com, episode 81 features a review of the special from the review pair, and while they go on about liking the book and wanting to check out the regular series, when it comes time to rate it (via a 3 tiered soundbyte rating system), they only gave it two "MEH's" (middle rating)... come on guys, you know you liked it better than MEH!! ;)
You can check out their podcast HERE (remember it's Episode 81)

So, 2 loved it's, an it was good but not great, and an "I like the series, but the special didn't do it for me"... to paraphrase.
Not bad!

STAY TUNED,
jason

TALES FROM NETFLIX - March

Time for another helping of overlooked gems from DVDland...

ALTERED - My wife added this to the queue, I'd never heard of it, turns out it's a horror/sci-fi genre piece from the writer/director of the massive indie hit THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. Apparently his first offering since that little low budget creative dynamo... Eduardo Sanchez helms a more polished effort, that takes familiar genres, again to new territory. I don't want to explain much of the story, as it's a treat to watch unfold, but it focuses on a group of young men, and their past with supposed abduction, of the alien kind.

Altered is well written, well shot, and well executed in the plot department. It's full of nice touches on troupes of the genres we all know and have seen before, that makes for an enjoyable and fairly edge-of-your-seat thrill-ride through one dark evening in the boonies. Sound familiar? Well, yes, that could be the Blair Witch summary, but Altered more than stands on it's own.

This is really worth checking out if you like cool little sci-fi or horror work.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Check out the film's website HERE

LOGAN'S RUN (1976) - This is another one of those movies I, a genre loving disciple, should've seen in my 30 odd years of movie viewing, but am embarrassed to admit I haven't. I always thought I'd seen this, just too far back to recall, and had envisioned it as something entirely different than what it was. Any way, I had the pleasure of catching this on TCM's Oscar movies month a little while back, and of course, am glad I did.

While the special effects, wardrobe, and style at work in the movie are certainly dated, LR holds up really well 30 years later, certainly not near as much as 77's Star Wars (thanks to Lucas' groundbreaking special effects), but mostly thanks to the moral and societal themes present in the distant future tale. I can see why Bryan Singer was attached to remake this, the plot is very interesting.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DORKS - Just released, this 2004 German high school comedy mixes zombies into the formula to enjoyable results. It's well filmed, has a nice cast, and a fun story. It's full of some fun moments where they play with the central casts (a group of 3 high school friends) circumstance, they've been turned into flesh eating zombies but no one knows.

Unfortunately, it never really goes much of anywhere (not that you'd expect it to), or does too much with the concept, but it is none-the-less a cool sidetrack through the zombie genre, that will please zombie fans, or those who enjoy some goofy 80's style horror themed fun. Did I mention it's lots of fun!?!
RECOMMENDED

THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED - TFINYR is a great documentary on the Motion Picture Association of America, and the process by which they rate every movie you've ever watched. Like movies? Than you'll like this look behind the curtain of the ratings system you've seen and followed all your life.

Don't worry, it's not a dry doc pic, the director/writer fills the movie with many directors commenting on their experiences with the review board, and even hires a private detective to help expose the secret members of the MPAA. It's really kind of startling how much we take the system for granted, especially in light of what's exposed here. And, as a creator of media myself, this certainly hits close to home.
RECOMMENDED

ZOOM: ACADEMY FOR SUPERHEROES - Okay, this isn't a good movie by any stretch of the imagination. It's not even a good superhero movie. Zoom is uninspired, and while pretty to look at, oddly lifeless, the director knows how to set up a shot, but gets zero out of the cast and straightforward seen-it-all-before story.

There's more than one god-awful montage, Tim Allen not even bothering to phone it in, and a predictability factor that's off the scale, BUT, but, if you like comic books, you'll find some fun to be had here. Cheap, pretty, boring, lifeless, fun, but hey, comics were disposable entertainment once, so just pretend this is a 20 cent miss from the spinner rack...
MILDLY RECOMMENDED

ON THE RADAR RECOMMENDATIONS
(The more mainstream fair most folks, if not all, have already heard of):
BORAT - What is there to say about Borat? It's worth checking out for the heaping helping of deleted scenes (including a hilarious Baywatch spoof), and the promo tour video...
THE PRESTIGE - There were two nicely filmed turn of the century magician movies last fall, and THE PRESTIGE was the best of the two. Directed by Christopher Nolan (he of MOMENTO, and BATMAN BEGINS) with much of the cast from Batman Begins (the impressive Christian Bale returns along with the always superb Michael Caine), but where I felt Nolan was lost in a hopelessly overrated blockbuster with BB, here he's on his A-game and knocks it out of the park. Simply superb!
THE DEPARTED - You don't need me to tell you how great this is, or the Oscars, see it for yourself! A great movie!
FLUSHED AWAY - I really wasn't looking forward to this, it was lost amongst a sea of CG animation flooding the box office, and was from studio Aardman, makers of Wallace and Grommit, of which I'm not too smitten, but it was excellently animated, finely written, and zipped along a great pace. Very good!
THE LAST KISS - Another I didn't care to see, I enjoy Braf, and liked his Garden State, but this seemed too similar. While it is VERY similar in tone to GS, it is fun to watch, with a solid expansive cast, and believable real life love story (similar to Vaughan & Aniston's more comedic take on the darker side of romance, The Breakup)...