It is a comic geek’s fantasy. A new editor in chief for DC Comics is needed. Searching far and wide, they come to one conclusion: I should be the EIC. I am given carte blanche to do what I want. Initially, I keep it down to five initial actions.
1) A two year moritorium on mega-crossovers. A crossover should be a special event. Something to draw in readers and make them want more. Mega-crossovers aren’t special when they happen every year. Initially, I would propose that we hold off on a major crossover for at least two years, which would lead into my next action.
2) Begin planning a mega-crossover for after the moritorium period. With careful planning from start to finish, we would be able to insure that this crossover would be as spectacular as such an event should be. In addition to that planning, there is also the time to build to event, planning clues in a number of books.
3) Expansion into new media - DC has a decent presence on TV and in the movies. If I were made EIC, I would explore expanding DC into new media directions. Chief among them would be the creation of an web based comic (similar to what Marvel has done with Spider-Woman), DC wikis, using the old Who’s Who format to collect information on characters, teams, events on-line and in CD format, and dramatic podcasts (similar to the audio adaptation of the Doomsday storyline as Superman Lives).
4) The creation of two anthology series - DC has begun to bring back the anthology series, but the concept can be expanded. The two new series would have multiple stories with rotating characters (one headliner, and an “undercard of stories). One of these series would revive the old World’s Finest series, the other could possibly be a continuation of DC’s Wednesday Comics weekly, if it is deemed to be a success.
5) Creator push - Bring in big name talent to pull in new readers is just a given. But, DC can work on developing new talent. DC ran a title in the 80s called New Talent Showcase, an anthology series featuring stories that fell outside the usual DC universe, and worked to bring new writers and artists to comic audiences. A title like this, either traditional or digital, could expand DC’s talent base and introduce new titles that can be licensed for other media.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Sunday, June 07, 2009
The Guilty 10 from the Last 10
Following the same guidelines set in my previous post Worst 10 in the Last 10, here are the 10 movies in the last 10 years that I like in spite of themselves (and other people).
I’m still working on the Best 10 list.
The Guilty 10…
1) Daredevil (2003) - There is just something about this movie that just clicked for me. Maybe it was Colin Farrell as Bullseye, or the really cool explanation (and effects) of how Daredevil’s radar sense worked, I don’t know, but I usually end up watching this movie whenever it’s on. Check out the Director’s cut, it actually added a lot to the movie.
2) Punisher (2004) - Granted, Rebecca Romijn is way too good looking to be Joan (who was a bit mousy in the original story), but Thomas Jane is spot on as Frank Castle. Even better, we do see him wear the Punisher’s iconic skull in this movie, unlike the Dolph Lungren version.
3) National Treasure (2004) - This one I saw on DVD because my dad wanted to see it. I have to say, I was really pleasantly surprised by this neat little adventure movie.
4) Snakes on a Plane (2006) - In another decade, this movie would have been late night theatre fare much, much like Rocky Horror Picture Show, with all the audience interaction of Rocky Horror. Still, it’s just a fun movie to watch, especially on commercial cable (“I am tired of these monkey fighting snakes on this Monday to Friday plane!“).
5) Silent Hill (2006) - I loved the creepy video games. And this movie managed to capture the same creepiness.
6) Slither (2006) - I love old horror movies, the Universal monster movies, Them, Hammer horror. Slither manages to play into the who B-movie/alien invasion movie while keeping a sense of humor about the whole thing.
7) Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004) - This movie captures the feel of the old serials.
8) Hellboy (2004) - a decend job bringing Mike Mignola’s comic icon to the big screen. Ron Perlman is perfect as Hellboy.
9) Blade: Trinity (2004) - The last of the Blade movies, but it is Ryan Reynolds that shines as vampire-hunting wiseass Hannibal King.
10) DOA: Dead or Alive (2006) - This is the epitome of the guilty pleasure. It’s not well acted in general, and the story is, well, it’s based off a video game where the principle premise is that scantily clad women fight each other. Regardless, I still have fun watching it, sort of like the fun you have when you watch an old kung fu movie.
I’m still working on the Best 10 list.
The Guilty 10…
1) Daredevil (2003) - There is just something about this movie that just clicked for me. Maybe it was Colin Farrell as Bullseye, or the really cool explanation (and effects) of how Daredevil’s radar sense worked, I don’t know, but I usually end up watching this movie whenever it’s on. Check out the Director’s cut, it actually added a lot to the movie.
2) Punisher (2004) - Granted, Rebecca Romijn is way too good looking to be Joan (who was a bit mousy in the original story), but Thomas Jane is spot on as Frank Castle. Even better, we do see him wear the Punisher’s iconic skull in this movie, unlike the Dolph Lungren version.
3) National Treasure (2004) - This one I saw on DVD because my dad wanted to see it. I have to say, I was really pleasantly surprised by this neat little adventure movie.
4) Snakes on a Plane (2006) - In another decade, this movie would have been late night theatre fare much, much like Rocky Horror Picture Show, with all the audience interaction of Rocky Horror. Still, it’s just a fun movie to watch, especially on commercial cable (“I am tired of these monkey fighting snakes on this Monday to Friday plane!“).
5) Silent Hill (2006) - I loved the creepy video games. And this movie managed to capture the same creepiness.
6) Slither (2006) - I love old horror movies, the Universal monster movies, Them, Hammer horror. Slither manages to play into the who B-movie/alien invasion movie while keeping a sense of humor about the whole thing.
7) Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004) - This movie captures the feel of the old serials.
8) Hellboy (2004) - a decend job bringing Mike Mignola’s comic icon to the big screen. Ron Perlman is perfect as Hellboy.
9) Blade: Trinity (2004) - The last of the Blade movies, but it is Ryan Reynolds that shines as vampire-hunting wiseass Hannibal King.
10) DOA: Dead or Alive (2006) - This is the epitome of the guilty pleasure. It’s not well acted in general, and the story is, well, it’s based off a video game where the principle premise is that scantily clad women fight each other. Regardless, I still have fun watching it, sort of like the fun you have when you watch an old kung fu movie.
The Worst 10 in the Last 10
I originally did this roughly two years ago. In that time, I felt it was necessary to revisit the list, seeing what may have dropped off, and what may have been added.
The criteria for the list is simple. First (and obviously), the movie had to have been released in the last ten years (1999 to 2009). Secondly, I had to have seen it, or at least enough of it to know it’s garbage. Finally, it had to have seen theatrical release (thus eliminating a number of direct to DVD and Sci-Fi Channel movies).
I do hope to make a Best 10 in the Last 10 list, but this one is a lot easier to compile.
The List (in no particular order)
1) Star Wars Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace 1999 - Squeaking in under the timeline wire, the first of Lucas’ new Star Wars films, and a real disappointment. The characters were flat (except Jar Jar Binks, who was just annoying), and the story was weak, a real shame considering how long Lucas had to work on it. This was the movie that made me not want to pay full price for a movie again (yay matinee).
2) Star Wars Episode 2 - Attack of the Clones 2002 - Episode 1 was a disappointment in that I thought it could have been a lot better than it was. Episode 2 killed the magic of Star Wars for me. Where the characters were flat and uninteresting in Episode 1, the were just total jerks in Episode 2. It is sad when you have a talented cast like Episode 2 had (and Hayden Christensen), and the best acting is from a computer generated muppet. I stopped watching Star Wars movies altogether because of this one.
3) Aeon Flux 2005 - Beyond the occasional appearance on MTV’s Liquid Television, I never really got into Aeon Flux. When I watched this movie, I found it incomphrehensible. Somehow, I have a feeling watching the original series would do anything to clear up the confusion.
4) Ultraviolet 2006 - It is really saying something when half way through watching a movie, you decide to do something a bit more interesting, like house cleaning. This movie just did not make me care about it at all.
5) Alone in the Dark 2005 - Seriously. Did casting really think we would believe that Tara Reid was a scientist?
6) House of the Dead 2003 - The second Uwe Boll movie on the list (Boll directed Alone in the Dark), House of the Dead was based off the arcade shooter. The movie is horribly cliched, badly acted, and just downright bad.
7) Bloodrayne 2005 - The third Uwe Boll film on the list, and probably the one that cemented his reputation as the Ed Wood Jr. of the 21st century, though that's really kind of an insult to Ed Wood Jr. Even more shocking is that Ben Kinglsey, the man who played Gandhi (and won an oscar for that role) was in this… movie.
8) Matrix Reloaded 2003
9) Matrix Revolutions 2003 - A poll these two movies together not because they are both Matrix movies, but because personally, I think the two of them, edited down and merged into one, could have been a great movie. Instead, what we got were two movies with scenes that were way too long (some almost painfully long), and action sequences that were added to say, “Hey, look what we can do!”
10) Underworld: Evolution 2006 - I had high hopes for this movie. I loved the first one. Sadly, I was disappointed in this one. The story seemed to go nowhere, the characters seemed to do nothing, and the love scene between Selene and Michael seemed to be there so that the director could say, “Oh yeah, that’s who I get to sleep with every night.” From what I heard, the third movie in the series is supposed to be vastly better. From what I’ve seen of this one, I don’t think it could be worse.
The criteria for the list is simple. First (and obviously), the movie had to have been released in the last ten years (1999 to 2009). Secondly, I had to have seen it, or at least enough of it to know it’s garbage. Finally, it had to have seen theatrical release (thus eliminating a number of direct to DVD and Sci-Fi Channel movies).
I do hope to make a Best 10 in the Last 10 list, but this one is a lot easier to compile.
The List (in no particular order)
1) Star Wars Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace 1999 - Squeaking in under the timeline wire, the first of Lucas’ new Star Wars films, and a real disappointment. The characters were flat (except Jar Jar Binks, who was just annoying), and the story was weak, a real shame considering how long Lucas had to work on it. This was the movie that made me not want to pay full price for a movie again (yay matinee).
2) Star Wars Episode 2 - Attack of the Clones 2002 - Episode 1 was a disappointment in that I thought it could have been a lot better than it was. Episode 2 killed the magic of Star Wars for me. Where the characters were flat and uninteresting in Episode 1, the were just total jerks in Episode 2. It is sad when you have a talented cast like Episode 2 had (and Hayden Christensen), and the best acting is from a computer generated muppet. I stopped watching Star Wars movies altogether because of this one.
3) Aeon Flux 2005 - Beyond the occasional appearance on MTV’s Liquid Television, I never really got into Aeon Flux. When I watched this movie, I found it incomphrehensible. Somehow, I have a feeling watching the original series would do anything to clear up the confusion.
4) Ultraviolet 2006 - It is really saying something when half way through watching a movie, you decide to do something a bit more interesting, like house cleaning. This movie just did not make me care about it at all.
5) Alone in the Dark 2005 - Seriously. Did casting really think we would believe that Tara Reid was a scientist?
6) House of the Dead 2003 - The second Uwe Boll movie on the list (Boll directed Alone in the Dark), House of the Dead was based off the arcade shooter. The movie is horribly cliched, badly acted, and just downright bad.
7) Bloodrayne 2005 - The third Uwe Boll film on the list, and probably the one that cemented his reputation as the Ed Wood Jr. of the 21st century, though that's really kind of an insult to Ed Wood Jr. Even more shocking is that Ben Kinglsey, the man who played Gandhi (and won an oscar for that role) was in this… movie.
8) Matrix Reloaded 2003
9) Matrix Revolutions 2003 - A poll these two movies together not because they are both Matrix movies, but because personally, I think the two of them, edited down and merged into one, could have been a great movie. Instead, what we got were two movies with scenes that were way too long (some almost painfully long), and action sequences that were added to say, “Hey, look what we can do!”
10) Underworld: Evolution 2006 - I had high hopes for this movie. I loved the first one. Sadly, I was disappointed in this one. The story seemed to go nowhere, the characters seemed to do nothing, and the love scene between Selene and Michael seemed to be there so that the director could say, “Oh yeah, that’s who I get to sleep with every night.” From what I heard, the third movie in the series is supposed to be vastly better. From what I’ve seen of this one, I don’t think it could be worse.
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