Shmee.Me

April 29, 2014April 29, 2014

Disney Killed The Star Wars Expanded Universe, And It Is OK!

When I first head that Disney was going to kill off the current Star Wars Expanded Universe, I was dumb struck. “How dare they just toss out the stories that I love!”, I thought, but the more I think about it, the more I am okay with it. Disney wants to make a Star Wars Universe that is cohesive and make sense, and that is a good thing.

Most of the stuff in the Expanded Universe was pretty awful anyway, and honestly a lot of it didn’t fit together, so it was broken. Disney starting over allows them to pick and choose the good ideas out of the EU, and ignore all the garbage. We don’t know what they are going to keep at this point, but they did give us a few examples: The Inquisitor, the Imperial Security Bureau, and Sienar Fleet Systems from the table top RPG are in the new cartoon, so you never know your favorite EU Star Wars character may still make it in.

Even if something we like doesn’t make the cut it isn’t like it is going to cease to exist. They didn’t make EA take down Star Wars: The Old Republic, Wookieepedia is still going strong, and the books on your shelf didn’t disappear. It just isn’t necessarily going to be treated as canon going forward. If this was a comic book universe the fans would care less because they toss stuff out of the canon all the time. It is just a big deal to Star Wars geeks because it has held together for as long as it has.

If the new stuff from Disney is awesome nobody will even remember that they tossed out the current Expanded Universe and started over. They will just be enjoying the cool new stories. As long as Disney has Chewbacca getting crushed by a Moon (best death ever) the world will keep on spinning fellow Meatbags!

April 28, 2014April 28, 2014

Hey Guess What? Warner Bros is Making a Justice League Movie!

Well it is about time that Warner Brothers told us all what we knew was happening anyway, they are making a Justice League Movie! If you can believe the Wall Street Journal anyway. This was one of Hollywood’s worst kept secrets, even by their loose lipped standards. It is supposed to come out by 2018 at the earliest after Batman Vs. Superman, and if people like it there will be all sorts of DC superhero moves.

It will be interesting to watch that film develop since they are approaching it the opposite way Marvel did, by making their “Avengers” first, and then having the solo films. I hope it works because DC has a lot of really good characters that are just waiting around for someone to use them. Who knows how long people’s appetite for superhero movies will last.

I will be curious to see which villain they use as the impetus for building the League. I am guessing it will be Brainiac. He is super smart and super strong, and you can use him in a myriad of ways. Though my hope is that they use Darkseid, so that in future movies they can have the whole planet of Apokolips attack. What is more fun than one crazy baddie? A ton of crazy Baddies!

We have about four years and two months to speculate on this film, and I can’t wait. Though it all hinges on Batman Vs. Superman being good. Here is hoping. Though a part of me just knows that Warner Brothers will find a way to screw this up.

April 25, 2014July 7, 2015

They Cast Cyborg For Batman Vs. Superman!

They cast a Cyborg for 2016’s upcoming Batman Vs. Superman, so I think it might be safe to start calling it The Justice League. The man they cast for Cyborg is a relatively unknown stage actor by the name of Ray Fisher. I am sure he will be fine, but the question is now what heroes are they going to use to fill out the rest of the Justice League. Since they haven’t announced an Arrow or a Flash, and the Flash is a founding Justice League member, it is starting to lend credence to the rumor that they are just going to use the actors and characters form the TV shows. Still I would like to throw a few more heroes in to this flick:

Green Lantern:

I love the Green Lantern, so this would be a perfect time to re-introduce him, and why not use John Stewart or Guy Gardner. They can forget all about the other Green Lantern, and start all over. It would be awesome.

Zatanna:

They say they are still working on the Justice League Dark movie, so it would make sense to have a crossover, and Zatanna is in both Leagues. As an added bonus she is one of Batman’s few true friends, and if he is going to fight Superman he would need someone powerful in his corner.

Stargirl:

While she is not super well known outside of comic book circles and Cosplay conventions, she knows how to kick butt and take names. I think people would understand an awesome girl with a cool stick without too much back story. Honestly she is like DC’s version of Captain America, but I see no problem with that.

Martian Manhunter:

While he is kind of a stretch, he does run the League, so I think he needs to be in this movie in some fashion. Heck he could even be the one to stop Superman and Batman from killing each other since he is pretty invincible himself.

Nightwing:

I have never really liked any of the Robin’s, but Dick Grayson as Nightwing has always been one of my favorites. He has Batman’s code, but he seems to actually care about the people he is saving. In other words he is not a cold and calculating jerk all the time. Plus something tells me Bats will need the backup.

Who would you like to see in the Justice Leauge movie? Any big Red Tornado fans out there? (Of course there isn’t) The nice thing about the JL is there are like six billion heroes to choose from, and while a lot of them are subpar it is always fun to see them show up from time to time.

April 22, 2014

Gravity Blu-Ray Update!

Gravity was one of my favorite films from last year, so I was thrilled to get the Blu-ray from my wife as a birthday present. My thoughts on the movie haven’t changed much since I saw it last year, but I am still going to give my review of the disk, and the difference between the small and big screens.

Sadly this movie isn’t quite as awe-inspiring on a TV as it is in the theaters. I have a fairly large TV (60″), but it just can’t compare to the feeling of having space seem to wrap around you like it did at the cinema. That being said, it is still a great movie, and exciting to watch. If you missed it in theaters, you still need to watch it now. Just know that you missed something special by skipping the theater last year.

The transfer on the disk is flawless, I didn’t see any grain or screen particles whatsoever. The sound is equally well done. While you should use Speed Racer to test the color of your TV, you will want to use Gravity to test your black levels. If the darkness seems gray to you, you need to adjust your set or get a new one because this movie has really deep and true blacks.

The Blu-ray set has a decent making of so you can see how Alfonso Cuarón made space come to life. It is worth watching at least once, but the movie is the true star here.

If you missed Gravity in theaters, I feel sorry for you, but you should still watch this excellent film at home, or at whoever’s house you know that has biggest TV. Just tell them that you will bring the movie and the pop-corn. I am sure that they will be glad you shared this wonderful movie with them.

April 14, 2014April 14, 2014

Marvel Kicks Off Summer With The Winter Soldier!

It is looking like Marvel’s bet to start summer in early spring is paying off. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the sequel to 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger, and this movie is better in just about every possible way. Future Marvel movies will have to work very hard if they are going to be better than this film.

The story picks up sometime after the Avengers movie, and S.H.I.E.L.D is now a respected world counter terrorist agency. Its most famous member is Captain America, AKA Steve Rodgers (Chris Evans), but just as things seem to be going well for the agency, enemies from within and without will threaten its very existence.

There was a lot of talk before this movie came out that it was more of a 70’s spy movie than an action movie, and I wouldn’t go that far. Captain America 2 is still about beating up bad guys, but they definitely use the spy genre’s tropes to their benefit. Captain America 2 also takes on a much darker tone, not Dark Knight dark, but still much more serious than the other Marvel movies, and it is like a breath of fresh air.

While I love the witty banter and silly jokes in the other movies, it was nice to have one of the movies take itself seriously, and to deal with current issues. That is not to say there aren’t good one liners and a couple of laughs in this film, because there are, but this film has important things deal with: like the USA now being a surveillance state. Not to mention Marvel Film Universe changing events.

The cast continues to be wonderful: Chis Evan, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, and Colby Smulders (who I was underwhelmed with before) all bring this movie to life beautifully. They really know their characters well at this point, and now they can make their Marvel counterparts feel like real living people despite the fact they are larger than life superheroes. There isn’t a weak link as far as acting goes in this film.

The only problem I have with this movie is the title. You would think that with The Winter Soldier’s name being in the title, that it would be all about him, but this is a S.H.I.E.L.D movie. It really should be Captain America and The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D (Oh yeah it has The Winter Soldier in it too!) or something. Still that is a very minor quibble, and it has nothing to do with the quality of the film. It just threw my expectations for a loop a bit.

This was a big movie for Marvel because it sets up the next group of films as we head for next big Avengers flick, and so it took on a different tone and style then before. Marvel has had amazing success with this universe of films, and if they can keep pumping out movies like this, they will continue to do so. You should see Captain America: The Winter Soldier. It is fantastic.