So, I saw The Kingdom today and it was not a bad movie. Basically, some extremists start some shit in a oil company settlement in Saudia Arabia and Jamie Foxx and his team (Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner, and Jason Bateman) go in to investigate. Along the way they befriend Colonel Faris Al Ghazi who helps them dodge and bend the rules of the Saudia government in order to find the mastermind.
I wouldn’t say that the film is visually stunning or anything. The intro scene is pretty savage as far as unprovoked violence goes. The action scenes are all quick cuts and impacts. I would say the action sequences are on par with the last Bourne movie. The one standout was a prayer scene that really calms you down before the next big action rush.
Colonel Faris’ is probably the best played character in the entire film. A cop concerned with more than just punching the clock, he could easily be the Saudi John McClane. On the lighter side, he quotes the Hulk and Steve Austin as two of the reasons he became a cop. Continue reading ‘The Kingdom: Not a terrible film’
It’s been a surreal decade to be a comic book fan. All these blockbuster movies of things I never even dreamed I would see on the silver screen have been both incredible and disappointing. I never imagined an X-Men movie that would blow me away. But the first two were definitely a religious experience for me.
Now even the smallest comic book properties are being bought up to be optioned. As an aspiring comic book writer, I just want to make comics. I don’t want to deal with extra stuff like optioning my ideas. Well, I don’t want to deal with it. But I do want the money from it.
To see a Spider-Man musical on Broadway is simply bizarre. Reading adventures of the character has often been extremely personal for me, as they are for many longtime fans. To think that there will be a “Spider-Man” leaping around in tights, tied up to wires, spinning across the stage to a Bono-penned soundtrack is nuts. (Editorial Note: Neal is opposed to Bono and U2 with every ounce of his being.)
I’m not complaining. I love to see these near and dear characters touch other people too. It’s just sometimes I almost can’t handle it. I hope the excitement for these heroes rubs off and brings more readers into comics. As a writer, that’s the sort of “extra stuff” I would love to deal with.
The Immortal Iron Fist #9. Second part of the fighting tournament story set in a crazy otherworldly location. Keep an eye out for the scene where Danny finds some old friends in a strange place. It’s abnormally well done. The sort of thing that sticks with you for years. Plus there’s a hilarious wordballoon that makes it even more special. I have to mention Justice League of America #13. It’s the first issue by Dwanye McDuffie, and the first JLA issue I’ve enjoyed. John Stewart steps up, Vixen and Supes share a moment, and Batman in a straight jacket.
I am super cereal folks. I really love Amy Winehouse. I recently (yeahyeahyeah i know it came out like 7 months ago) got up on her cover of Valerie, originally by The Zutons. Every version of it that I listen too just makes me like it even more. I first caught wind of Amy via Pandora when I was in Mexico last year and was hooked. I gobbled up Back to Black and recently started listening to Frank again. I totally cosign the ‘modern motown’ thing. I’m like 85% sure that Nick does too. (EDIT: Nick can’t stand it.)
I kind of feel bad that she is comes across so batshit crazy. Despite the makeup, the Elvira hair, and assorted other eccentricities, I really hope she stays around for a while. I just can’t get enough of her music and isn’t that what it is all about – the music?
It’s harder than you would think. Recording the actual podcast, that is. Neal setup the blog and podcast web infrastructure with success over the course of a couple days. And he did it well. But getting the actual podcast product proves to be a bit trickier.
First off, there’s the distance. Neal lives in Illinois and I live in Pennsylvania. That means this is going to be a “call in” podcast, especially if we decide to do interviews in the future. So Skype was my natural first choice for getting the damn thing done. Coupled with Sunflower – an application that allows me to reroute the internal audio of my computer into the recording program of my choice (in my case, Audacity) – I can do everything internally in my machine.
Skype is also a great choice because it allows me to make both domestic and international phone calls from my computer if I choose to do so. This would allow for interviews easily in the future. But alas, the free computer-to-computer calling program has serious buffering issues on my iMac G4, and making it record smoothly could take some serious work. Continue reading ‘The Making Of: Getting Audio for the Shocker’
Did anyone really buy into the whole 50 vs. Kanye Sept 11 release thing? It might have been more of a big deal if either artist had come out with a disc worth listening too. Instead, we have rehashed mixtape tracks and pathetic production from Kanye, and ‘the kind of shitty tracks you hear at a party before it gets real live’ according to Nick.
Kanye pulled in T-Pain for the 3rd single Good Life which just proves that even a decent beat can be ruined with a voicebox. For me, the highlight of the album is definitely Everything I Am, a track that floats so smoothly you can easily ignore Kanye’s self-absorbed verse and get in a decent nap.
50 once said “I only make club records.” While I can’t really speak to that, I can say that Ayo Technology is all 2003-era Paris Hilton style and no 2007-era heat.
That’s right, AudioShocker is here! Get ready for the hottest podcast out. Enjoy these hot tracks from our favorite group The Unlicensed Attorneys at Law. They are the “Sloppy Seconds” bonus tracks from their new album Nasty Confessional.
Nick is here. Justique is here. Maybe even Pete is here. But Neal is gone in AudioShocker Podcast #87 on Tuesday, July 7, 2009! Then it's the end of an era as Ross Campbell and Nick wrap up their first podcast story arc in A Podcast with Ross and Nick #5 on Wednesday, July 8, 2009!
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