Well Hugh Jackman released the first teaser footage of X-Men: Days of Future past on Instagram, and I have to say that it just feels good to have the gang back together again. Hopefully with Singer back in control of the franchise we will get another great X-Men movie, and I cannot wait to see how it turns out!
Shmee Pursues Flight In Captain Marvel Volume 1!
After arguing for a Captain Marvel movie, I decided that I should read the new Captain Marvel re-launch that features Ms. Marvel, Carol Danvers, as the new Captain Marvel. The new series is written by Kelly Sue DeConnick, and with the art by Dexter Soy and Emma Rios. I read the first trade paperback volume, In Pursuit of Flight, and I was quite impressed.
The story starts off with Captain America trying to get Ms. Marvel demoted. Which is a joke because Carol Danvers is a Colonel in the Air Force, so becoming a ‘Captain’ would be a couple of steps down. This prompting leads to some soul searching, and the soul searching leads to an old friend giving her an old airplane that somehow takes her to the past. While in the World War II era she is able to rediscover who she is, and why she is the perfect Captain Marvel.
The story in this book is very well done, DeConnick did a great job of not writing an origin story, but covering enough of the past so that if you are new to the Captain Marvel franchise, you will have no problems following along. Meanwhile she crafts a new hero to root for.
The art is well done, but it is also this volume’s greatest weakness. They change artists towards the end of the book, and it is totally different, so it is hard to tell who is who and what is going on until you get adjusted to the new look. It is still good art. It is just a hard left as far as the look goes.
If you are looking for a new Avenger to root for, the new Captain Marvel is a great one to read about. I enjoyed getting to know the other ‘Captain’ in the Avengers a little better, and I cannot wait to read the next volume in her story.
Shmee Starts The Journey To The Dark Tower!
The Dark Tower by Stephen King was always a series I was interested in. I mean it is a fantasy novel about a Gunslinger on a magical journey to the nexus of time and space called The Dark Tower, so that is right up my ally, but I have never started because King never finished the series. When he finally got around to writing the last book in 2003, it had fallen off my radar, but thanks to movie types trying to make a movie or show about the series it came back to the top of my reading list.
I have only read the first book, but I am hooked. It is a fun book in a cool universe, and now that I know it has an ending, I can’t wait to read it. If this series has been off your reading list, it is probably time to put it back on.
Shmee Picks Wonder Woman!
I decided that since I keep crying about Warner Brothers not making a Wonder Woman movie, that I would make their job easier by picking Princess Diana of Themyscira myself. Here are my top five picks:
5: Ashley Greene
I have to admit that I mostly just picked her because she has the look. She has been the in the awful Twilight movies, but I won’t hold that against her because she looks like Lynda Carter’s daughter. The fact that she is young and unknown works in her favor, so she could wear the red, white, and blue for a long time.
4: Kate Beckinsale
She has been a leading female action star for a long time now, and that might make her too obvious for this role, but movie goers would believe that she could beat up the bad guys while in the uniform, and that is a good thing.
3: Gina Carano
She is an MMA fighter turned actress known mostly for her role in Haywire. Unlike the other women on this list, she can beat up bad guys in real life, so being the first lady of super heroes should be pretty easy for her.
2: Jaime Alexander
Jaime already has a good job as a super hero as one of Thor’s side kicks, Sif, but she has proven that she could take on the fight by herself, so why not cross enemy lines from Marvel and star as one of the best super heroes period for DC. She has the look and the acting chops, so she would be a slam dunk.
1: Gina Torres
The other actresses on this list may have the classic Wonder Woman look, but Gina has the feel and grandeur of Wonder Woman down. I would feel very safe if I knew she had come from Themyscira to protect the mortals. Plus as a geek favorite, she would get butts in seats which would be important to executive types.
That is my list, and I am sure you disagree with me, so I would love to have you post your list women to be the Amazing Amazon.
Shmee Hangs Out With The Emerald Knights!
Green Lantern: Emerald Knights is an animated DC Universe movie that was released directly to video. DCU has been making quite a name for themselves in the comic book world by releasing good well told movies. This movie is about the Green Lantern Corps.
The movie is actually six short stories told by Hal Jordan (Nathan Fillion) to his new recruit Arisia Rrab (Elisabeth Moss) as they get ready for a battle against the massive Krona. The stories are meant to calm her as well as give her some history about the Corps. The stories are: The First Lantern, Kilowog, Laira, Mogo Doesn’t Socialize, Abin Sure, and Emerald Knights which is the fight against Krona.
The stories are all good, but like any time there is an anthology it can hurt the flow of the film. It does serve as a good way to get a foot in the Green Lantern universe, and it is way better than the Green Lantern feature film that Warner Brothers released. Just like Wonder Woman the DCU guys should be in charge of the Green Lantern feature films as well.
The voice actors do a good job, and anything with Nathan Fillion gets my approval. Elisabeth Moss does a good job playing the slightly overwhelmed new recruit facing almost certain death. Though as they say in the Corps, everyone dies.
This is not the best DCU movie they have released, but it is still worth a watch if you like the Green Lantern, or just want to lean more about the Green Lantern Universe. DCU continues to turn out good work, and Warner Brothers continues to ignore it, but at least fans are getting to see good DC Hero films. If you have an Amazon Prime account, this movie is free for streaming, so it is worth a look.