REVIEW: The Grey

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Uncle Critic

Let me start off by saying this is the most terrifying movie I’ve seen in years. It’s not some horror movie the boogie man is going to get me stuff. No, this is some real life, you’re stuck in the middle of nowhere and your chances of surviving are so small you need a microscope to see that slice of the pie chart, terrifying shit. Joe Carnahan, the man behind both Smokin’ Aces movies and the A-Team movie wrote and directed The Grey. It stars resident movie badass Liam Neeson, which is always a sign of good things to come. He’s working in Alaska with an oil drilling team; he’s the guy they hired to kill wolves before they will the workers. The season has come to an end and everyone piles on a plane to go home, that doesn’t last very long. In a truly fucking horrifying scene the plane crashes and most of the people on board die. Now a team of about seven guys get to track through the snow covered fields of Alaska looking at nothing but more snow in hopes that they’ll find some way of saving their own asses before they freeze or starve. To make things worse they encounter a pack of wolves that seems to be tracking them and killing them off one by one throughout the movie. There’s not one single thing these guys have going for them, it’s really the worst of the worst situation you can imagine. The only good thing is knowing that I’m watching a movie about this instead of being out there in the giant snow coffin that these guys seem to be in. The movie, besides being intense and scary on a whole new level is pretty fucking awesome. Liam Neeson from this movie makes the guy he plays in Taken look like a complete puss. My only single complaint about this movie is I wish it was just a little longer. It’s almost two hours long but I could have done with another fifteen minutes of this. I can’t recommend seeing this movie enough, it’s pretty amazingly badass, best movie I’ve seen this year so far.

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New Comics – Part 2 (DC pt 1)

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Uncle Critic

Continuing with new comics here’s the first part of our look at DC comics and their recent relaunch.


DC

Batman: Odyssey – This was started before the DC relaunch; I’d have been just fine if they’d have decided to scrap it with the relaunch instead of continuing on.

Penguin: Pain And Prejudice – I hate that this is only a five issue mini-series because it’s so damn good. It’s a book that’s from the point of view of the Penguin; it really shows how sadistic he is but at the same side it shows what made him that way. I’ve always liked the Penguin and this book just makes him even cooler. Cannot recommend it enough.

The Huntress – The Huntress is a character I’ve always kind of liked but have always felt she was underused, this book is perfect for her, I just wish it was an ongoing series. It’s a good read so get on it while it’s here.

DC Universe Online Legends – This title is crazy and awesome, it’s crazy awesome. If you just let go and let it be the alternative reality that it is you’ll have a lot of fun here. It takes a lot of the DC universe and goes where these things would never ever go. This book is super fun, I really recommend it.

Action Comics – Superman is my favorite comic hero of all time, and Action Comics being the staple that it is, it’s a giant reason I was opposed to the reboot. Little did I know just how much they’d fuck up the best superhero ever. I pretty much hate everything about this book; Superman is some sort of fucked up version of himself that seems like he was invented by too many Batman fan boys.

All-Star Western – I’ve always liked westerns and Jonah Hex (let’s just not talk about that awful movie), so I was excited for this one. Luckily the DC reboot didn’t fuck this up at all; it’s a perfect book of what it should be. Jonah Hex in a western comic being badass.

Animal Man – People seem to love this book, I never really liked Animal Man, but I do like this book. Not as much as a lot of people seem to though. The art is sick, but the story seems very slow moving, it’s alright but there is better stuff out there.

Aquaman – I liked Aquaman until I was like ten, then I realized how lame he was. However with this relaunch I find myself really liking him again, this title is really really enjoyable. I love reading it and I once again like Aquaman.

Batgirl – Barbara Gordon and magically walk again and she’s back as Batgirl. As much as it annoys me to lose our previous Batgirl Barbara has always been the best. This is one of my favorites of the relaunch despite the flimsy excuse for her walking again.

Batman – Best of the Batman titles from the relaunch. The first storyline sucks you in pretty quick, so far it’s one of the better Batman stories in recent years, it centers around a secret group that’s been in Gotham for just as long as the Wayne’s have been, the Court of Owls!

Batman And Robin – As the title suggests this is about Batman and Robin, a lot of it deals with the Bruce Damian relationship. It’s a little different than it was before the relaunch but not a whole lot has changed here.

Batman: The Dark Knight – After reading the first issue of The Dark Knight I actually did a face palm. It was so fucking cheesy bad I almost gave up right there. But I kept reading and luckily things picked up immediately, issue two was way better and the title continues to be pretty decent. It is maybe the weakest of the Batman books, but a bad Batman title is still better than a lot of other titles out there.

Batwing – Batwing is a book that stems from the Batman Inc storyline that happened before the DC relaunch. He’s got a futuristic suit that he uses; he’s almost an Iron Man Batman. I kind of like this book but at the same time I kind of don’t. A lot of people seem to love it, I think it’s a decent read but at the same time it’s a little boring.

Batwoman – I’ve liked Batwoman a lot since she came onto the scene so I was happy when I heard she was getting her own title. Unfortunately it’s pretty awful. I tricked myself into liking the first few issues with blind fan boy-ism but I’ve recently realized this just isn’t good. I don’t really care for the art with this title and the story hasn’t been all that great. I’m hoping for some drastic changes soon.

Birds Of Prey – A pretty cool all girl bat-team that has always been pretty meh. I’ve always been on the fence about Birds of Prey, but with this launch I’ve really been enjoying this team more than I ever have. It’s a great book.

Blackhawks – A book I really tried to like, a military team that has a lot of action in it. The problem is I really can’t bring myself to care. After a couple issues I just gave up and quit reading. I did like their spot in the Deathstroke comic though.

Blue Beetle – Never liked Blue Beetle, I have no idea why he has his own title but I gave it a chance anyway. It’s pretty much exactly what I expected, a complete waste of a book.

Captain Atom – A title I was going into cold, knew nothing about Captain Atom, and I still don’t. I read this for about three issues then gave up. It was a really bland read, every seemed really generic and forgettable.

Catwoman – I’ve always been a fan of Catwoman and I figured she’d get her own title but I didn’t know what to expect out of this relaunch. Luckily they didn’t screw anything up, it seems they were going for an ultra sexy and dangerous book, I think they succeeded to a point. It’s a great read and starts off with a bang; I’m really enjoying this one.

DC Universe Presents – I don’t know why they didn’t just call this comic ‘Deadman’ because it’s just a Deadman comic. At first I really liked this but recently it’s failing to hold my attention, the story just seems to be moving too slow for me.

Deathstroke – A total surprise here. I’ve liked Deathstroke but he’s been a guy that never had a big focus on him so I didn’t know how his title would turn out. As it goes, this is one of my favorite titles from the relaunch. Super fun and pretty violent, Deathstroke is a great read; he’ll take out anybody for the right price.

Demon Knights – I really liked the first issue, it was one of my favorite of the launch. Issue two was just really confusing and it went downhill from there. I really wish this had kept being as good as it started out, but I don’t know how much longer I can hang with this one.

Detective Comics – Ruining the numbering of Action Comics and Detective Comics was two of my giant problems with the DC relaunch, and it still is. But looking past that it’s been a pretty decent/weird/dark story that centers on the Joker, even though we don’t see much of the Joker.

Frankenstein, Agent Of S.H.A.D.E. – Another book that I like a lot, it seems a lot like the Hellboy movie in book form, but to me that also means it’s fun. One of my favorite books to read, not every issue has been awesome but most of them have.

Green Arrow – Green Arrow is a guy that’s had his up’s and down’s but I’ve stuck by him more often than not. I like this new run because it seems to call back to when I was younger. As much as I liked the Robin Hood version he had become recently I always had a soft spot for all his goofy trick arrows and this book brings that back. It’s a lot of fun.

Green Lantern – The primary focus of this is one Green Lantern, at least so far. But in this case it’s not Kyle Rayner, or Hal Jordan (well, kind of Hal) but Sinestro is the Green Lantern for this book. Nice twist eh? It’s pretty awesome, it didn’t take long for a Sinestro/Hal team up story, even though Hal isn’t in the corps anymore. We’ll see where this one goes, so far it’s the best of the Lantern books.

Green Lantern Corps – Unlike the Green Lantern book where it’s primarily the focus of an individual this is more of a team effort as you might expect. I’ve always liked Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps; it’s got a lot to offer as far as the different lanterns, it’s pretty much limitless that continues in this book. It’s a great read so far. There’s a lot of Guy Gardner too if you like that type of thing.

Green Lantern: New Guardians – Remember the tons of different Lantern corps that were started the past year or so in DC? Well they haven’t been forgotten about in the relaunch. This is the book that focuses on them. It starts out pretty good and seems to have some good potential, looking forward to what will happen with this title. This is primarily where you see Kyle Rayner too; they did a nice job of splitting the earth guys up between titles.

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New Comics – Part 1 (IDW and Marvel)

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Uncle Critic

Recently DC did a total reboot/relaunch, it annoyed a lot of people and a lot of people were excited. I’m a big fan of comics, personally I was pretty annoyed but now we’re about five issues in so I figured I’d weigh in on it. However I don’t just read DC so I figured I’d mention some other new books that have come out recently (some the same time as the DC relaunch, X-Men I’m looking at you).

 

IDW Publishing

G.I. Joe (All titles) – IDW has a few G.I. Joe books going right now, all of them are incredible. I highly highly recommend them. These titles are some of my most anticipated to read every time a new one is coming.

Ghostbusters – A new Ghostbusters series started, it’s on issue five now. A lot of people like it but personally I wasn’t super big on it. It’s alright but a real letdown. So far I’m still sticking with it but not too excited about new issues.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Ninja Turtles did a relaunch, much like G.I. Joe I’ve been a big fan since I was a kid. The new title is a little weird with some minor changes but it’s good enough that I can just go with it. It’s a great book that I’m always stoked to read. It starts at the beginning with an origin story, right now it seems like that has just about finished and it looks like they’re going to get into some adventures soon.

 

(Favorite IDW titles, G.I. Joe (ALL), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

 

 

Marvel

Scarlet Spider – Scarlet Spider came around during the whole Spider-Man clone saga deal. I thought it was one of the few good things to come out of all that so I happy to see it come back in some form. The Scarlet Spider is a Parker clone, Kaine. Not a lot happens in the first issue, in fact nothing at all does, he doesn’t even put on the spider suit, but I’m still looking forward to what’s going to happen.

Wolverine & The X-Men Alpha & Omega  – I don’t know why they didn’t just fit this into the ‘Wolverine & The X-Men’ title; it’s basically a side story. It was a really good read, I’m not sure where they’re going with this or how many issues but I’ll be reading.

Avengers: X-Sanction – Not much to say about this, Cable is back and he’s fighting the Avengers in order to save his daughter. Only two issues in and it’s pretty awesome so far.      

Carnage, U.S.A.  – Another return to the Marvel universe, this time Carnage is back and he’s taken over an entire town. The first issue was great, the second was a lot of build-up, I’m happy this is around; it looks like it’s going to be great.

Avenging Spider-Man – I have no clue why this book was launched, they didn’t need another Spider-Man title, but I’m not going to complain if they want to give me more Spider-Man either.

Magneto: Not a Hero – Magneto is getting blamed for acting like the old villainess Magneto even though he claims he isn’t up to his old tricks. Turns out the Magneto clone, Joseph is back.

Deadpool Max 2 – I hated the first Deadpool Max run; it was in part responsible for me no longer liking Deadpool after being with him from day 1. But this new run is actually pretty good, it along with the stuff they’ve been doing in the regular Deadpool title has brought me back on board the Deadpool train.

Legion of Monsters – This book is kind of fun but is really seems like Marvel’s answer to DC’s Frankenstein, Agent Of S.H.A.D.E.. And I’d really just rather read that instead.

The Incredible Hulk – This is another one of Marvel’s best going titles. Bruce Banner and the Hulk have separated. Hulk is trying to lead a quiet life and Bruce…well he’s turned into a mad scientist. It’s incredible.

Wolverine & the X-Men – So the X-Men split up, Wolverine took one team and Cyclops took one. The first issue of Wolverine & the X-Men was awesome, the second was pretty meh which really worried me but since then it’s been smooth sailing. This title is really fun and interesting to read. Best thing out of the X-Men in quite some time.

Avengers 1959 – For some reason I really wanted to like this title, even though I really don’t care for the Avengers. But this, much like any other Avengers book, just kind of bored me.

Uncanny X-Men – This is Cyclops’ X-Men team, and it’s pretty much exactly what it is, Cyclops’ X-Men. It’s really not that good, pretty boring. The only reason I keep reading it is in hopes that it gets better and the fact that he does have a few people on the team I really like.

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man – Spider-Man was the only thing about the Ultimate universe that I liked…and they killed him. They fucking killed Spider-Man! In his place they put some new kid that got bit by a spider in a slightly different way and he has different spider powers. I don’t like this but I keep reading it to see where it goes. Mostly I just hate all the spider powers they gave him, I mean he can turn invisible! Where is the challenge going to be in fighting bad guys when you’re invisible?? I’ll continue to hate-read it until something breaks me and I stop or it actually gets good.

Ultimate Comics X-Men – The big pull for this was ‘look we’ve got a Wolverine again’, too bad it’s not really Wolverine, and it’s like the bootleg B-team Wolverine. The book itself doesn’t really help things either, it’s not really that entertaining or anything. Pretty much your standard Ultimate universe bullshit.

Captain America – Captain America is another comic hero that everyone seemed to love that I just never gave a fuck about. His books were never great to me or anything. When they started this new run I decided to check it out, just because I’m a damn comic nerd. Oddly enough, I’m really enjoying the hell out of this. I won’t say it’s turned me into a Captain America fan, but I will tell people I read this comic.

Fear Itself: The Fearless – Fear Itself is another Marvel big event, it seems like they just go from one to another, and most of them suck. Well if you thought the last three big events sucked, you haven’t seen anything yet. Fear Itself is awful, and this is as well. The new issue at least had a pretty fun Wolverine fight.

The Punisher – I’ve always liked the Punisher, he seemed to be in a slump for a while but with this new run (and the new Punisher Max) he really seems to have pulled out of the dive. This is a great title; I enjoy the hell out of it.

Ghost Rider – A new Ghost Rider is on the scene, no longer the one we’ve known for years, now there’s a woman in the bike seat. I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about a new Ghost Rider, but I was pretty sure I’d hate it. Turns out it’s not that bad, this run started out pretty strong, recently it’s started to go to a meh slump, but overall this isn’t a bad title. It’s got its good and its bad issues but I guess that’s what happens with Ghost Rider anyway.

Moon Knight – Moon Knight is a character that flew under the radar for me for a long time. He was kind of just there; I liked him alright but never really followed him. Until the last run, it was fucking incredible; it turned me into a giant Moon Knight fan. When I heard he was getting another title I was pretty stoked. We’re nine issues in and it isn’t as good as the last series but it’s still pretty awesome. You’ve got Moon Knight being insane and taking care of business, it’s a great read.

Venom – A new spin on an old character. Flash Thompson (now with no legs) has the Venom suit. It’s being used as a military weapon. Basically they put it on him, he goes on black-op missions, and it’s pretty fucking cool. The whole look of Venom is different, with a more soldier look thanks to Flash, but as he loses control sometimes you can see the old Venom for a second. I love the fuck out of this book.

FF – Once the Human Torch died they renamed the Fantastic Four; however it didn’t do much for the title. This is one of those titles where I like the people involved but it just doesn’t come together as a very interesting read.

Daken: Dark Wolverine – Daken is another Wolverine spin-off character, I never really cared for him until I started reading this title. It fleshed out the character more than just ‘bad guy Wolverine’ and now I really enjoy him and the book.

Uncanny X-Force – This is, without a doubt the best book that Marvel has. Twenty issues in and every one of them has been incredible. Uncanny X-Force is pretty much as black-ops X team that goes out and permanently eliminates any problems that they need to. The team is Archangel, Deadpool, Fantomex, Psylocke, and Wolverine, so as you can imagine, it’s pretty badass. I can’t recommend this book enough; it’s one of the best comics out there right now.

X-23 – I’ve always liked the character of X-23, even though she was another ‘Wolverine spin-off’ she was at least interesting. I’ve read all the mini-series and everything and was happy to hear she finally got her own book. It’s been great, except the last few issues have kind of gone in a slump, which is a real shame especially since I hear it’s coming to an end very soon.

Punisher Max – This book is incredible, it’s exactly what the Punisher should be. Violent, angry and awesome. The stories are very well written too so it’s not just the insane over the top violence that pulls you in, you need to keep reading to find out where things are going. This is the best the Punisher has been in years.

 

(Favorite Marvel titles Incredible Hulk, Venom, Uncanny X-Force, Punisher Max, All Spider-Man books)

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REVIEW: Jerk Store # 10

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Uncle Critic

The new issue of my favorite running zine, Jerk Store! We’re in double digits now, so get excited. Starting off there’s a mention of music burnout which I myself suffer from sometimes (note lack of updates at times) and a Mean Jeans picture recreation which was pretty great. First up for ‘real’ content is an interview with a band I’ve never heard of, Hell Money. Even though I have no idea who they are it’s still a good read. After that came one of the two interviews I was really stoked for in this issue, a rad band with an awful name, Turkish Techno. A pretty good interview, among other things it explains some of the major delays in their LP coming out (such a long wait, but it was great when I finally got it). It also explains the aforementioned awful band name. This interview is back to back (well not quite, there’s a write up about the state of some governments which kind of hits the nail on the head) with the other piece I was really looking forward to here, the interview with Adam Ali from It’s Alive Records! I’m actually wearing my It’s Alive Records hoodie as I’m reading/writing this. The intro before the interview is pretty perfect noting that it’s a label you get into by noticing they put out a lot of great records just because you’re buying records of bands you like, and that in turn gets you hooked on the label. That’s exactly how I’ve gotten into a lot of the labels I support today, It’s Alive Records is very much included in that list. Also in the intro it notes that Adam is one of the nicest dudes, I’ve only had nerdo internet (and notes in records) contact with him but I very much agree, Adam rules. It’s a great interview, and a very long one. Mainly, as you might expect, about records. Reading that really makes me want to start a label…but you know, that seems expensive. After this issue’s interviews there’s a highly entertaining vacation journal. I guess it’s kind of weird that you like reading about someone else’s vacation, but whatever, it sounded like it was a pretty awesome trip. (Besides getting smashed by a stage diver, I hope that turned out ok) Also I’m jealous because I haven’t been to an Awesome Fest yet. The Vegas branch of the trip seemed pretty decent, personally I’d have spent all my time gambling, it sounds like they should have instead of going to the show. And I really really want to hear this “Vegas story” that was mentioned, it sounds incredible. Then closing it out, as all issues of Jerk Store do is a ton of cool short reviews. As with every issue of this Zine that came before it I’d say this is a must read for anyone that’s into the type of music covered in here.

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REVIEW: Haywire

Posted on January 22, 2012 by Uncle Critic

In case you don’t know who Gina Carano is she’s an MMA fighter. She’s pretty badass in the ring, with only one loss, it’s clear she’s good at what she does. But now she’s trying her hand at movies it seems. This is her first real role, a Steven Soderbergh film, the guy that directed Ocean’s Twelve and Traffic. Besides having the lovely Gina in it the movie tries to bring some class with Michael Douglas and some action movie street cred with Antonio Banderas (looking like Saddam Hussein’s twin for most of the movie). This movie was a lot of fun; it reminds me a lot of the cheesy action movies of the 90′s. I’m not talking the big budget monsters like Terminator and Rambo I mean the almost B movie type. Where you’ve just got people beating the crap out of each other for an hour and a half and saying some good one liner’s sometimes. That’s pretty much what this is, Gina kicking lots of ass for an hour and a half. The movie doesn’t look like a million bucks, (though with a twenty three million dollar budget you might wonder why not), it is amazing fun. Anyone who enjoyed the fist to face action movies of years ago, I’m talking the Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Steven Segal, Don ‘The Dragon’ Wilson movies will love this movie for exactly what it is. I for one hope Gina Carano keeps making lots of action movies; I will go see every one of them.

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