Shmee.Me

March 21, 2014July 7, 2015

I Cast Jem and The Holograms!

I was going to review another comic book today, but yesterday The Hollywood Reporter dropped the bomb that a Jem and The Holograms movie was being fast tracked with Jon M. Chu (G.I Joe: Retaliation) to direct. Well what could I do but to cast this movie for them, so they can get right to work! I have little cousins that need to see this work of art! This was the hardest movie I have cast due to the fact I know of almost no actors in the right age group for this, but here it goes:

Rio Pacheco:

At first I was thinking James Franco because he is up for anything, but he is a little old for this flick, so I went with family! Dave Franco. The kid can act, and much like his brother, he is in all sorts of random ~~crap~~ movies.

Aja Leith:

I had no idea on this one, and searching for “Young Talented Asian Actresses” is not something that anyone should try. Unless you like feeling like a creep and getting viruses. To each their own I suppose, so I went with the only one I could think of: Brenda Song. She has done good work on movies like The Social Network, and it would be good to get her away from Dads.

Carmen ‘Raya’ Alonso:

I was in a similar situation as with Aja, so again I went with someone I know, and why not have a Disney Channel reunion movie while we are at it. I went with superstar Selena Gomez. Boom! This movie just made a billion dollars. Seriously I am the best casting director ever!

Shana Elmsford:

This choice was surprisingly easy. I was just watching an interview about the new movie Divergent, and it was with the charming Zoë Kravitz. She can sing, and she can act! Man I am good at my fake job.

Kimber Benton:

So we need someone young and spunky that we can believe is a song writer? I am going to go with Elle Fanning. Put her in a red wig and we are good to go.

Jem – Jerrica Benton:

Well Elle kind of gave this one away, but if you are going to have sisters in the movie, and you have two talented sisters anyway, why not use them? Dakota Fanning. The Fanning sisters, and Selena Gomez?! Man. Best movie, EVER!

I am never going to cast a little girls’ movie ever again. I was way out of depth, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. I hope you enjoyed my choices.

March 20, 2014March 20, 2014

DC/Marvel Comic Book Review Double Shot!

I have been reading quite a few comic books lately, and I am really disappointed in myself for being away from them for so long! I thought today I would bring you not one, but two mini reviews of new Issue #1 comics I started this week. Up first:

Captain Marvel #1:

I know you are thinking, “Hey didn’t they just do a Captain Marvel #1 with Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel, and didn’t you review it?” Yep, but they decided that it worked so well that they are going to do it again! Sort of.

This Captain Marvel starts a few months after the events in the last Captain Marvel series, but now Carol is off to space to keep an eye on things, and help out a mysterious friendly Alien.

Captain Marvel in space? Yes please, and if they can keep up the good art style and witty dialog it should be a great series. The only downer I can see is that for future collectors the numbering of the issues is going to get real confusing. People asking themselves, “Which Captain Marvel #1 with Carol Danvers on the cover is this?” Won’t someone please think of all the confused nerds!

I appreciate them letting people know when they are starting a new story, but maybe they should try out a new numbering scheme similar to TV shows like: 1-1 for series one, 2-1 for series two, and so on. That way when we are in the store we know what we are buying without having to read half of the book. Still it is a fun issue, and you should read it. If you get the wrong Captain Marvel #1, your in luck because that is a good book too.

Forever Evil #1

It is the New 52’s first major crossover event! The super bad guys from Earth 3 have come to Earth prime to rule it after all the Earth 3 people got all uppity forcing Ultraman and crew to destroy it. They say they have “killed” all the heroes, and they are looking for some new villains to help keep the “peace”. Someone forgot to tell them that Lex Luthor doesn’t like to share the world with anyone. Especially a Kryptonite snorting Superman lookalike. (Yes you read the right)

The content of this book seems a little forced, but the artwork is amazing! The double centerfold (sorry not the girly kind) with all of the villains on it is worth the price of admission by itself. I think this is a smart book for DC. If they have one thing over Marvel, it is that they have the coolest villains, so why not let them shine for a few issues?

There are a lot of Forever Evil crossover books to read, but I think I will just stick to this main ark. This series has a lot of potential, and the 7th and final issue comes out next month! Yeah for short a short series! I can’t wait to see Lex unleash everything he has got.

March 19, 2014March 19, 2014

The Justice League Is Unlimited!

I had been meaning to watch the Justice League Unlimited for quite some time now, but there has always been something else to watch. However, with my current comic book kick it seemed like the perfect time sit down and watch some cartoons. It is a shame this show only ran for three seasons, because it is pretty great.

The timeline for the Justice League Unlimited is directly after the first Justice League cartoon show, and most of the earlier DCU animated movies. It also serves as the ending to the long running DC Animated Universe that started with Batman: The Animated Series, but since all the episodes are mostly self contained, you will not need to have watched all of that to enjoy this show.

What I really loved about this series is how many superheroes the story tellers used. It features characters like The Question and Dr. Fate regularly, and even Booster Gold gets his own show. If you want to see a wide breadth of DC’s stable of characters, this is good place to start. Sure, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern are in it quite a bit, but they work in a lot of others, and it is great to see how different heroes solve problems.

Like most things DCU does, the hand drawn animation is top notch and it really bring the characters to life, but sadly they try to work in some computer animation, and 2004’s CGI is just not up to snuff. The CG Justice League space station is always jarring to look at. It just looks out of place.

Not all of the episodes are winners, but the vast majority are fun, and as a comic book geek getting to see that many characters in one show is a blast. It is a shame that they ended the original DC Animated Universe, but at least it went out with a bang, and not a whimper.

March 18, 2014March 18, 2014

Things Get Creepy With The Justice League Dark Volume 1!

Since I gave my casting choices for the Justice League Dark, I thought I would post a review for the New 52 DC re-launch. Peter Milligan has done a great job with this book. Especially showing why the JLD is necessary with the existence of the normal Justice League, which contains some of the most powerful beings in the universe.

The story starts out with Madame Xanadu talking to herself about the main members of what is to be the JLD, Zatanna, Deadman, Shade: The Changing Man, and John Constantine, and how she needs to bring them together to stop a great evil. While this is happening a girl named June Moon seeks out Deadman because the Enchantress is after her. The Justice League tries to defeat the Enchantress, but their strength is no match for the power of her magic. Only people that understand magic can hope to defeat her. Will the members of the JLD unite in time to stop the craziness of the Enchantress?

This book does a great job of not needing to do an origin story for each character, but instead having them reveal the important parts about their past as the story progresses. It is also fun to see the normal Justice League get their butts handed to them, and having no idea what to do. I like that the book that doesn’t deal with standard superheroes. These people don’t really see themselves as heroes, and they are not even sure that they like the people they are working with, but if they have to deal with them or have the Earth be destroyed, they will make due.

DC did a good job getting a smart writer in Peter Milligan to update this book. Plus it brings a lot of good Vertigo comic characters in to the main line, and DC could use some good none A-Type heroes in their universe. I will be checking out more JLD volumes in the future.

March 17, 2014

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Blu-Ray Update!

I have already done a Catching Fire review, and my opinion of the film hasn’t changed, so you can find the film portion of the review here, but I thought I would give my impressions of the Blu-Ray release.

The movie holds up to repeat viewings, so there is no reason to worry about having this movie in your collection, and its transfer is excellent. They shot it with real film, so there is a little grain in movie, but that just adds to the feel, and gives it a more gritty look. Though you may want to pick a different movie if you really want to show off what your TV can do (I can suggest a couple of flicks for that purpose if you like).

The film is a little light on features. There is a preview for Lionsgate’s new YA movie Divergent, an interesting hour long “making of”, a couple of deleted scenes, and an audio commentary. The “making of” is the best one, but it doesn’t go supper in depth, so it is something you may watch once, and the deleted scenes don’t add anything, so it is easy to see why they were cut.

Despite the slightly disappointing features, the movie is still great, one of the best movies from last year in fact, and it is well worth adding to any collection. Though I would understand if you wanted to hold off a couple of years for the eventual “The Hunger Games: Complete Box Set”, but I am impatient, so I am happy that it is in my collection now.