Shmee.Me

March 31, 2014March 31, 2014

The Walking Dead Season 4 Is Over!

I am always sad when The Walking Dead goes off the air. I am lost until Game of Thrones fills my Sunday show void. We now have to wait until October to see if the gang can get out of their latest jam. This is one of the rare season finales that has the left group hanging over the long break. The short mid-season break always has a cliff hanger, but for the season ending they usually tie things up fairly well. I guess they know that they are not going to be canceled any time soon, so why not do whatever they feel like.

What I loved about this half of the season is they really got in to all main characters’ heads a little bit, so we could see what motivates them, and who they are away from the group. It was really daring of the show to go so stripped down and minimal, especially after the show has given us so many large scale action set pieces recently. I think it all paid off though, and now they can tell a bigger story, and have us understand all the characters’ future decisions better.

This is going to be the first season that they have kept their writing producer Scott Gimple for the next season, and I think he deserves it. He gave us probably the best season of the show so far, though The Governor walking around got a little tedious, and I can’t wait to see what he has the group up too starting in the fall. The Game of Thrones had better be good otherwise this will be a long wait indeed!

March 28, 2014March 28, 2014

My Top 5 Superheroes Without A Movie!

With movie studios making billions at the box office off of superhero movies it may be surprising that they are leaving so many good heroes unused, so I am going to help them out and give them a few suggestions. You will note that Wonder Woman isn’t on the list, and that is because they have cast her, so I am giving Warner Brothers the benefit of the doubt (I probably shouldn’t). Here are my top five heroes not in a movie in reverse order:

5: Hawkgirl

Usually when a hero has “girl” or “Miss” in their name it means that they are a cheap copy of their male counterpart, and Hawkgirl started out that way, but thanks to good writing Hawkgirl is now more famous than Hawkman. She has beat the crap out of Superman a few times (though all DC heroes get their shot at the red and blue Boy Scout), and she is one of the best warriors the Justice League has got when it all hits the fan. If they make a Justice League movie after Batman & Superman she had better be in it.

4: The Flash

This is sort of cheating because he has had a movie and a TV show, but they were both unwatchable, so I am going to say that they should give it another try. The best part of The Flash is his sense of humor. The Flash movie could be the first straight up superhero comedy movie that the fans would love. Since he is a founding member of the JLA, if they go forward with the aforementioned Justice League movie and The Flash isn’t in it, I will raise up an army of geeks to destroy Warner Brothers studios.

3: Gambit

I know I am cheating again because he had a cameo in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but if you blinked you missed him, and again that movie is soooo bad that I am trying to forget that it happened. With all the good X-Men movies that have been made it makes me irate the Ragin’ Cajun has not been used. Coincidentally X-Men Origins: Wolverine discounts Deadpool from this list because he is in it too much, and it is my greatest fear that if they green light a Deadpool movie that Ryan Reynolds will be in it.

2: Invincible

Invincible may not be super well known outside comic book circles, but his creator is: Robert Kirkman. Yes the Robert Kirkman of The Walking Dead fame, and as much as I love the Walking Dead, I love Invincible more. He is kind of like a Superman, but with the awkward social issues of a Spiderman, and even better yet Kirkman as made a whole superhero universe for Invincible to play in. Image Comics hasn’t made many superhero movies outside of Spawn (speaking of terrible movies), but it is time for them to jump in the pool, and Invincible is a great place to start.

1: Captain Marvel

For anyone that has been following my blog this shouldn’t be a surprise since I have talked about the current Captain Marvel a lot, but I would be okay with any of the Captain Marvels including DC’s Shazam, or if Marvel wants a Ms. Marvel that is cool too. Seriously Captain Marvel is huge, and he/she/it crosses the DC/Marvel line. I know there has been rumors that she in the new Avengers movie, but since we haven’t seen any casting news, I am guessing that she didn’t make the cut, so sadly she lands at number one on my list.

That is my top five, and I would love to hear yours, or just to be told how wrong I am, so let me know what you think!

March 27, 2014March 27, 2014

Get Stuck In A Think Tank!

Another comic book review?” you may be asking. Yeah well since this is my blog I get to review whatever I have been up too, and lately that has been a lot of comic books! Think Tank is a comic book released by Top Cow Comics (one of the founding members of Image Comics), and it is written Matt Hawkins and illustrated by Rahsan Ekedal.

Think Tank is about Dr. David Loren a genius DARPA worker who decides that he doesn’t want to make stuff that kills people anymore, but unfortunately the government will not let him go. He is too smart, and he knows too much, so all that is left is to plot his daring escape.

This is a fun book because it is so different. It is about an almost average guy who’s big brain makes him a quasi-superhero due to all the cool stuff he can build, and you feel bad for him once he realizes the damage that his inventions cause. Matt Hawkins must have done is research because the tech that David builds is probably close to becoming real. Plus David is that perfect heroic jerk slacker that is almost impossible not to love.

The book is in black and white, but Rahsan Ekedal still does a good job with the artwork. His shading is so good that I swear I can almost see the colors anyway, and the way he conveys action is almost perfect. He really brings this super smart idiot to life.

This book is different then the stuff I usually read, and it is nice to see something other then The Darkness, Witchblade, or something else over top 90s edgy come out of Top Cow. If they spent more time making comics like this, they would be one of my favorite comic book companies. Think Tank is a winner, and I think you should read it!

March 26, 2014March 26, 2014

Frozen Blu-Ray Update!

Frozen was by far the best American animated film to come out in theaters last year, and it was one of the most successful movies period, so far earning north of a billion dollars worldwide. I reviewed the movie when I saw it theaters last year, and I loved it. My thoughts on the film haven’t changed much, so this mostly going to be a review of the disk itself, and anything else I think needs to be said.

Like pretty much all computer animated films, this movie looks wonderful on an HD TV. All the colors just pop, and even if you do not have a 3D set, the images seem to come out of the screen. You feel like you can run and jump in the snow with Anna, Elsa, and the rest of the gang.

One thing I did notice on my second viewing, is that while the movie is better then anything Pixar has done in a couple of years story wise, Disney Studios still has a ways to catch up with their digital film counterparts as far the animation goes. The characters can still look a bit stiff, and separated from their environment. It is almost not fair for them to have to be compared to Pixar all the time, but the bar has been set, and Disney Animation falls just a tad short.

There are not a ton of extras on this disk. Their are couple of deleted scenes, but they are roughly drawn, and not fully animated. They do give a glimpse of what Elsa would be like if she was evil, and a little more info on the sisters’ relationship. There is a “making of” featurette, and some music videos as well.

This is a great movie, and it looks fantastic on an HD TV. You should have no worries about bringing this movie home. If you have kids this is probably a must buy. I hope Disney Animation Studios continues to make great movies like Frozen.

March 25, 2014

Shmee Is Under Locke & Key!

Locke & Key is a graphic novel written by Joe Hill and illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez. I usually don’t read a lot of horror comics, but the idea of a family living in a Lovecraft inspired mystery house sounded like fun, and it was free. I as a rule never turn down free comics, but Locke & Key is worth paying for.

The story starts off with a grieving family moving to the father’s childhood house after the father was brutally murdered by a kid he counseled in school. The house doesn’t have an address, but instead is named “Keyhouse”, and is located in Lovecraft, Massachusetts (subtle I know). It turns out that the house has magical doors that can be opened with special keys, and for some reason only kids can learn about them. Oh yeah! The girl from The Ring lives there, and she is supper creepy!

Hill does a good job of being spooky while still telling an interesting story. You feel sad for the pain that the Locke family is going through, but at the same time you want to learn more cool stuff about this crazy house, and its neat doors and keys. You can tell that he loves the universe that he is playing in and adding too.

The artwork is great in this book. Despite the name of the town, Rodriguez really brings Lovecraft to life, and the house is full of all sorts of awesome detail. If I didn’t have to live in fear of The Ring girl, I would totally love to live in an old house like this. Anybody have any old named houses for sale?

This is a fun book, and while I didn’t pay for it, you should have no qualms about laying down a few bucks for it. It is creepy and engaging, and a heck of a lot of fun. Hill and Rodriguez have done a great job with this book, and I am very happy it is in my collection.