I was about ten years old when I first sat in front of a massive CRT and VHS setup on vacation at my cousin’s cabin in the woods. Except I wasn’t scared in the least bit. I was mesmerized. So started fifteen years of action figures, extended universe books, costumes, excitement and consequent disappointment at the prequels.
You can imagine then my surprise at the news last week of Lucas selling his empire to Disney for over $4 billion. I posted my initial reactions to that corporate decision on that day on my Geek My Life blog, but since then I have realized that this sale was probably the best thing for Lucasfilm to re-energize it. I’m assuming, of course, that Disney will re-energize faithfully to the Star Wars franchise, and with the latest rumors coming out of the Hollywood offices, I think they’re on the right track.
Several sites claim to have insider information that Matthew Vaughn dropped the sequel to the X-Men movie because he was offered directorship of Star Wars VII. Vaughn has a solid and many would even say impressive resume that consists of Stardust, Kick-Ass, and X-Men: First Class. All of these films were successful in their own ways, a hard accomplishment in the cut-throat, short-attention-span industry of movies.
Vaughn directing on the set of X-Men: First Class.
These films exemplified strong directing mixed with entertaining, consistent story lines and easy-to-follow pacing. If Vaughn is able to do the same thing with Star Wars VII, I doubt few Star Wars fans will find anything substantial to complain about in regards to storytelling, especially since Vaughn is a writer. “If [Vaughn] ends up directing Star Wars, we’d also be getting someone that could solve script issues on set” [Collider]. This is especially important considering that my digital media professor keeps emphasizing that the successful professionals in entertainment are the ones that know more than just one craft.
But what about the characters? What will Disney do with them? After all, people like Luke, Han, Leia, and even the non-humans like C-3PO are many of the reasons why fans are in love with Star Wars in the first place. Though the film hasn’t officially been scripted yet, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher have already gone on record to say they are excited to see the future of Star Wars. How ironic considering that when Hamill was younger he said that “[Return of the Jedi] has to be the last one, period” [Huffington Post].
Harrison Ford decided to join the ranks, kind of last-minute like when Han decided to join the Rebels. But he took it a step further, saying that he is open to the idea of being in the new film, not just supporting it off-screen. Considering that he thought Han Solo “should have died in the last one to give it some bottom” [EW], it appears that Ford’s attitude towards his character and the franchise is coming around. Ford probably “won’t go to the next level of contract talks until there’s a script and director in place” [EW], but him coming back as Han Solo for Star Wars VII could very well be one of the turning points to returning the Lucasfilm franchise to the grand old way it was.
Don’t do it, Han! I mean, Harrison. I mean, yeah… just don’t do it.
There are a lot of “we’ll see” and “what ifs?” flying around right now in the Star Wars fandom, but it’s better for them to be flying around at lightspeed like the Falcon than to not be around at all. That would mean Star Wars VII isn’t happening, which would be disastrous. Besides, many of us are just starting to get used to saying Star Wars VII without questioning the reality of it. We’re in a happy place now.
While the rest of the world was watching The Walking Dead (I think I’m the only person I know who doesn’t watch that show), I was watching Boardwalk Empire.
Holy shit.
Seriously, that’s the only words I can come up with.
Never mind, I’ve found some more.
Okay last week was amazing. Damn near perfect actually with the way it was written and bouncing back and forth from everyone’s Easter dinner and Gillian killing the poor kid from Indiana, and Gyp beating down a priest, and Nucky and Margaret exchanging loving looks before Margaret refuses his juggling lessons so he goes and makes up with Eli… perfect. I loved every part of it and was pretty damn certain that it was going to be the best episode of the season. I was wrong. I was foolish to rush to judgment, even if it was a good judgment. I have seen the error of my ways and it was “The Pony” that shined a light on my hastiness.
Where to even begin? Might as well start from the top.
Newsflash: people are getting fed up with Gillian’s shit. The dude with the muttonchops whose name I can never remember pretty much tells her to stop the horse and pony show with this whole “Jimmy is dead” schtick but it’s Richard who really puts her in her place with his very somber and to the point, “Jimmy deserved better than this”. You tell her Richard! But don’t do anything that pisses her off too badly or she’ll kick you out and then Tommy will have no one to protect him from her psychosis.
James Darmody is dead.
Everything about Nucky “discovering” that Jimmy had died was awesome. It’s hard for me to imagine a world in which you’d find something like that out days later in the newspaper as opposed to plastered all over reddit or twitter the moment it happens. Thank the heavenly angels above for technology. Of course we wouldn’t know any differently so it wouldn’t matter and now I’m just stuck in a loop so moving on.
What exactly was Nucky thinking Gillian’s reaction would be like? No really. Did he honestly think she’d be wearing black and sitting in a corner of her “health resort” entertaining condolences? Once again I have to wonder, does no one in this show watch this show? Come on Nucky! You are better than this. You had to have known from the first moment when Eddie (poor Eddie, someone needs to rescue that poor man) told you Jimmy was dead that there Gillian would be unstable. Foolish.
Thinking back on it, I’m pretty sure we saw Nucky with every single person besides his wife. Instead she’s off with Owen looking at ponies for Emily. The girl who can’t walk. How is she going to ride a pony without use of her legs? Has Nucky ever ridden a horse? You control it with your legs! I mean you have reigns and all but legs play an important role. Of course Margaret’s misgivings over the horse probably have more to do with her doomed marriage than proper riding technique. Every single time we see Owen now, I just picture a countdown hanging over his head. It is only a matter of time before he is killed off. Oh and every time he and Margaret get it on in very open places (hello people- get a room or something!) that countdown speeds ahead a bit. I did like the shout-out to Fry’s Chocolate Cream. As the first mass-produced chocolate bar, we owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Fry (even though it was bought out by Cadbury in 1919 and then of course Kraft bought Cadbury in 2010) and his sons. While we’re on Margaret, let’s acknowledge the “ugh” moment of this episode. Ugh, the birth control thing. Much like being unable to fathom a world without instant news, it’s hard to imagine one in which you had to corner a doctor friend outside the hospital to ask for a diaphragm. Different world.
We returned to Chicago! Torrio has returned and it appears as if he’s ready to hang up his holster. I loved watching Al Capone come to the realization (slowly) throughout the episode that he was being handed the reigns. However, for once, it was not Al Capone and Torrio who were the highlights of a Chicago storyline. Oh my sweet mother mary that was Van Alden, with Sigrid coming in a close second.
No, it’s an iron. – George Mueller
Had I been drinking something at the time, I’m sure I would have choked on it when we saw O’Banion standing in Van Alden/Mueller’s kitchen. Should we stop calling him Van Alden? Is he full-time Mueller now? Maybe we should just call him “husband” like Sigrid does. On second thought, Van Alden is fine.
So, Van Alden is an alcohol producer now. Oh how the mighty have fallen. Not only that but he’s now O’Banion’s “muscle”! See kids, this is what happens when your wife bashes a federal agent’s skull in and then you finish him off. This dude is an after school special just waiting to happen. Just for shits and giggles the special can include a segment on bullying.
“Don’t bully or Van Alden will iron your face off”- has a nice ring to it. I’m sure with a little finessing, Van Alden can replace the boogie man as the go-to “get your shit together or you will be sorry” story that parents tell their children. Anyone who has paid the least bit of attention to the show had to see this coming a mile off. Dude is a bit unhinged in the first place but those guys were massive douche canoes. Even I was getting to the point of wanting to throw a typewriter whenever they came on the screen.
I know I can’t be the only one who yelled “HULK SMASH” when watching this scene. Now I really want them to do a Halloween episode and watch Van Alden dress up as The Hulk to go trick or treating. However, seeing as The Hulk didn’t exist until 1962, I don’t think this is going to be happening. It would be awesome though.
Speaking of awesome- that meat-packing set was amazing. Especially with the guy who was beat up by the guy that Capone then killed (his name is completely escaping me at the moment) repeating “it’s where meat comes from” about a hundred times. The “cattle jobber” sign was also a nice touch.
One bone to pick with Johnny Torrio though- I’m not 100% but I’m pretty sure that shekels were not in use in Pompeii at the time Vesuvius erupted. It probably would have been some form of Roman currency. Not only that, but the residents of Pompeii were not killed by lava but rather heat. Their bodies and everything around them were then preserved by volcanic ash, not lava. The closest you’d get to lava covering a city would probably be Herculaneum.
More afraid of losing money than his life.
– Johnny Torrio
As awesome as all of that Chicago business was, my favorite was Sigrid. Girlfriend decided to take advantage of the still in their kitchen to make her a batch of the Norwegian spirit, aquavit. I’m looking forward to big things from her. Of course we probably won’t see them again for another month but whatever.
You know it’s a good episode when Van Alden ironing a man’s face is one of the lesser parts of the show. Nucky and his showgirl were all over this episode. I’m going to come out and say it. I do not like Billie Kent. I did not like her with Nucky at all and I especially did not like Nucky with her. He needs to get over this “help the flavor of the month damsel in distress” bullshit he’s got going on because I’m tired of watching it.
However when he gave her that annuity I damn near literally laughed out loud because all I could think of was this:
Of course we know she won’t need that annuity much longer but first let’s discuss Esther Randolph. She is quickly becoming my favorite woman on the show. Especially if she keeps using phrases like “in for a penny” and “mighty white of me” and telling Nucky that she “runs naked through the pages of the United States Criminal Code”. :swoon: My only fear is that they are going to try to make Esther Randolph a love interest for Nucky. A couple of episodes ago I might have been more on board with that idea, but now I’m just really really hoping they don’t go down that road. That would be most distressing.
When Lucky showed up at the “health resort” (seriously Gillian, that is perhaps the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard uttered, which is saying a lot) and mentioned that he was having dinner with AR and Nucky, I thought nothing of it.
When Gyp showed up there (rudely insulting Richard Harrow- I’m thinking we need to send Van Alden to teach him a lesson) and Gillian told him about Lucky, AR, and Nucky having dinner at Babette’s I thought “hmmmm, you know Gillian, you probably just created a scene without even knowing it”.
When Billie was standing outside Babette’s and they did that meaningful slow lingering close up on their faces I thought, “I think something bad is about to happen.”
When this happened,
I might have exclaimed “OH MY GOD!!!!” so loudly that two dogs came running from across the house to my rescue as they thought something or someone was violently assaulting me.
Can you blame me? Because OH MY GOD!!!!! I’m usually a somewhat perceptive person but this show has caught me off guard so many times this season that I’m beginning to question myself. This was such a typical Gyp Rosetti move though. Need to get two guys? Bomb an entire city block. It’s been over 24 hours (my internet has been on the fritz which is why this is so delayed) and I’m still a little stunned. We know Nucky, AR, and Lucky are okay, and Billie is dead (I didn’t like her but damn this was a bit of a drastic way to get rid of her) so the biggest question is, what about Babette?
Honestly, this is one of the best hours of television I’ve watched in a long time. It built on itself (well it’s been building for weeks now) perfectly to the obvious climax of the season. If you’d told me after the Gyp Rosetti/Taxi Driver episode that his retaliation would be this severe, I wouldn’t have believed you. I knew it would be big, but I didn’t know it was going to be literally big. I can not wait to see what happens from here on out.
There’s no avoiding it- this was another 4.5’er. It is so close to a 5 that had it involved Chalky White in some way (is he even on the show any more?) it probably would have been there. But alas, he wasn’t so 4.5 it is.
“Until next time” is my usual ending, but this week…
Welcome to Comic Rack! My pick of the top five comic news stories in no particular order…
Jeff Lemire Takes On Green Arrow.
If it’s not obvious from reading this column regularly, I’m a pretty big fan of Jeff Lemire. The man could doodle a Family Circus cartoon on a napkin and I’d still be happy to track it down and read it. Hearing he was stepping in to take on writing duties for Green Arrow was a bit shocking, because of all characters out there, I wouldn’t have expected him to choose this particular one to work on. I guess it’s good for Green Arrow fans and maybe I’ll even become one. Unfortunately, my fantasies of a Lemire run on Superman have yet to be fulfilled, but I guess that’s what dreams are for. Everyone needs something to hope for I suppose. All I know is if he did, I’d officially buy it in every single way possible: singles, trades, hardcovers, Absolute, digital issues, digital trades, over and over again. I’d love it that much. Until now, Green Arrow fans, you’re in for a treat.
Notable astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, who you may recognize from his appearances on The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, or even old episodes of Attack Of The Show, has located Krypton, the home planet of our super powered savior, Superman. At least in the comic book anyway, as of Action Comics #14, which he guest stars in. The cool thing is that they apparently give out real coordinates for a real star that you can actually find and look at if you were so inclined.
You’ll have to read “Star Light, Star Bright” to find out just how Superman and Tyson pinpoint Krypton. For amateur astronomers who want to spot the real star LHS 2520 in the night sky, here are its coordinates:
Right Ascension: 12 hours 10 minutes 5.77 seconds
Declination: -15 degrees 4 minutes 17.9 seconds
Proper Motion: 0.76 arcseconds per year, along 172.94 degrees from due north
I have no idea what any of that means, but it sounds awesome and makes me want a telescope so I could figure it out and find it. Unfortunately if I do spot it, and an alien ship lands in my backyard I’d kill it. Immediately. There would be no way I’d raise that thing.
Comic-Con Staying In San Diego Until At Least 2016.
It seems every year there’s talk about how CCI is getting too big for San Diego, and how it needs to move to a bigger place to accommodate the thousands and thousands of attendees it attracts each year. Having been to Comic-Con twice, back when it was still possible to buy 4-day passes online without a camp out by the compute on release day, people were saying this in droves. I can only imagine it has gotten worse over the years, and my attempts to go back again have been stifled not only by my lack of funds, but the sheer impossibility of getting passes. However, it seems to be a good thing for San Diego, and who can blame them? The whole city turns into one giant party that weekend, and no matter how you spell it, that’s revenue the city uses and needs. I hold out hope that one day it’ll move somewhere closer to me, so I don’t have to shell out at least grand for airfare/lodging/passes/merch just to go. When 2016 arrives, who know?
An interesting concept that I always find intriguing to explore is the fact that all superhero stories don’t really have an ending. Despite all great stories needing an ending, the fact that superhero stories need to keep being printed keeps them from having a definitive, final story that wraps up their character once and for all. People have attempted this, most famously Frank Miller with Batman. For a while Marvel printed stories called _____: The End where the blank was the main characters name. They had Hulk, Punisher, and I believe even Wolverine. They were all pretty amazing and seeing this same concept applied to Daredevil is one that piques my interest. The idea behind it is to look into a “possible future” where we’ll see the last few days, and the eventual death of Matt Murdock. Frankly, the concept alone has me, and it’s something I’ll be looking forward to.
Last but certainly not least, is the very real fact that Hurricane Sandy has devastated thousands on the East Coast, which is of course, home to nearly all of our favorite superheroes. The fact that so many have been so generous and supportive in this time is one of the few things these days that gives me hope for humanity. Along with that, is the average comic fans propensity for good, and Art For Sandy Relief is a great, if slightly silly sounding charity source that’s a win-win for everyone involved. This relief effort is led by Rich Ginter and Jim Viscardi, former and current Marvel employees respectively, who have started art auctions to donate to relief efforts. There’s a bunch of neat pieces you can bid on, and even if you’re not serious about buying, someone is and bidding does nothing but help raise more money for those in need. It’s a pretty great thing and a sign that the comics industry, and comics fans in general, still have lots of great human beings in their community. Be a part of that community why don’t you?
The Cochise Film Festival is a celebration of the low budget and independent films that often get overlooked by most mainstream reviewers and promoters. Recently started up by Adam A. Park (an independent film maker and actor in his own right with a great little movie called ZombieMutation coming soon) and using films from his production label Trash House Cinema, he and his crew put together an interesting and eclectic selection of movies.
Fans of the hit show Sherlock, the good one not the crappy American version Elementary, should be overjoyed at the recent Hollywood Reporter announcement that Benedict Cumberbatch and Paul McGuigan are teaming up to bring the story of The Beatles manager Brian Epstein to the big screen. Cumberbatch will play Epstein in the yet untitled film, and McGuigan, who has directed several episodes of Sherlock, is attached to direct. Like any good story to come out of Hollywood there is also another Brian Epstein biopic in the works based on Vivek J Tiwary’s graphic novel titled The Fifth Beatle, Epstein’s oft used nickname. McGuigan and Cumberbatch do have the advantage of having Tom Hanks in their producing corner however, so hopefully that will bring some extra credibility to the project.
The story is reported to focus more on the personal life of Epstein than that of The Beatles, and little as I know about Brian Epstein he is described as a “closet homosexual with drug and gambling problems” so it seems like there is a lot of material to draw from other than him being the manager of the biggest band in the world.
For his part Cumberbatch has become quite the hot commodity of late, lending his talents to the much-anticipated The Hobbit, working with Brad Pitt in Twelve Years a Slave, and taking on the role of a young Khan (rumored) in J.J. Abrams world of Star Trek. One would think that the familiarity between Cumberbatch and McGuigan will help raise the acting level of the project and as pictured above, at least on looks and accent, it seems like they have the right man for the part.
‘Killer Within’ has to be one of the most heart-wrenching episodes of The Walking Dead to date. The last episode focused solely on Woodbury and the Governor, but this episode was mainly dedicated to the folks back at the prison, although we did visit Woodbury briefly. Merle has spoken with Andrea, who told him where the farm was, which is where his brother Daryl was last seen by her, which likely will not end well. Michonne is still obviously uneasy about being in the little town of Woodbury, but Andrea is eating it up. She has a drink with the Governor, and he even tells her his name is Phillip. For a short second, I thought it was cute! Then I remembered the floating heads in tanks, and brought myself back to the edge of my seat to await what happened next.
Back at the prison, someone had opened the chain on the gate and let the walkers in, as well as firing up the generator and sounding the alarms, thus attracting walkers from everywhere. Hershel was just getting on crutches for the first time, and Lori is all super pregnant, so this wasn’t the best timing. Some quick cleanup of the courtyard was required…
Rick, Daryl and Oscar go try to shut off the generators to stop the alarms from sounding when Andrew (whom we predicted was still alive weeks ago) tried to attack Rick. For his trouble he then got shot in the face by Oscar, who will now undoubtedly become a member of Rick’s group. The somewhat funny image of Daryl crouched down with a knife behind Oscar just in case he tried to shoot Rick was pretty awesome. {Editor’s Note – Stupid Andrew.}
There were two very gruesome deaths this episode. Two main characters met their end in almost unwatchable ways. The first was T-Dog, who had gotten bitten by a walker thanks to Carol’s failure to watch his back. Despite this, he kept going with Carol to help her get out, and ultimately let himself get attacked so that she could get away. This guy got torn apart. It was grotesque. {aka awesome}
The next happened when Lori went into labor while she, Maggie and Carl were running from a gang of dead. They hid in the boiler room and Maggie declared that Lori would have to give birth right there. Carl, who has clearly not yet been traumatized enough, was going to have to help deliver his baby sister. Poor kid! Maggie yanks Lori’s pants off and tells her to push. Lori is bleeding, though, and is clearly going to need a c-section. She gives this long speech to Carl, which would be absolutely devastating if I cared the least bit for her character, and then tells Maggie to cut her open, and instructs her to also do what needs to be done when she turns. Maggie slices her stomach, finds the uterus, and pulls the baby out with Carl’s help. The baby is alive! The mother however, is not. Carl then takes it upon himself to shoot his mother so that she cannot turn. That was devastating. {Meh.}
When Maggie and Carl returned to Rick with the baby girl, Rick quickly realized the situation and exerted some intensely raw emotion. I mean, good lord; that was some of the best acting I have seen on this show. My eyes had tears in them. I cannot watch this show without putting myself in their shoes. I constantly ask myself what I would do in their situations. But something like having to shoot your own mother? That would be beyond my capabilities.
Overall, I would say that this episode was outstanding. The acting was phenomenal. We lost two main characters in one episode, making sure we know that anything can happen during any episode.
Grizzly Bomb 