Shmee.Me

March 13, 2014

Find Freedom With X-O Manowar!

Some of the free comics I got from Comixology were X-O Manowar issues 1-4. I don’t read a lot of stuff from Valiant comics, but if the rest of their stuff is as good as Manowar then that will have to change. X-O Manowar was big in the 90’s, but with Valiant re-launching their comic brand it was a good time to reboot Manowar too, and they are doing a great job.

The story starts off with a group of Visigoth rebels trying to stop the march of the Roman Empire. While they are fighting they are captured by aliens, and after years of slavery on the alien ship the rebel leader Aric finds armor that will only attach to a true warrior and gives the wearer amazing powers, and he uses it to exact his revenge.

What I love about this comic so far is the isolation of the main character. He is an alien slave for years, and when he finally gets the power to free himself and his people, he finds out that things have changed while he is away, and none of that is possible. Despite the fact that all superhero origin stories are similar they managed to make this one feel fresh and exciting.

It is also well drawn and very colorful, and the action is displayed well in the book. All the artists did a great job. The art is a least half of the reason to read a comic book, and they are holding up their end.

I will be looking to get more X-O Manowar comics in the future. It is a good book from an eager comic book company looking to make its mark, and I wish them the best. If the same old stuff from DC and Marvel has got you in a rut, Manowar might be just the book you have been looking for.

March 12, 2014March 12, 2014

Titanfall Lands Upright!

It wasn’t that long ago that I was talking about how excellent the beta for Titanfall was, well now the real thing is out, and I am glad to report that the game has delivered on its promise. Titanfall by Respawn Entertainment and published by EA exclusively for Microsoft platforms, has made me love playing multiplayer first person shooters again.

Not much has really changed since the beta except that they have loaded the game up with more stuff: more maps, more guns, more customization options, more gameplay modes, and last, but definitely not least, more Titans. Sure there are only twelve people per match, but the craziness that can happen with those twelve people over tenish minutes is amazing.

Not everything is perfect in the game however, I am not a big fan of the Titan versus Titan mode, and the main gameplay mode that was not available in the beta is what is known as “Campaign Mode”. For most games this would be the single player, but in Titanfall they just use it to add story to the maps during multiplayer, and give you background in to the world that Titanfall takes place in. This is a cool idea, but since the story progresses whether you win or lose the match, it makes you seem inconsequential, and then they are talking and stuff is happening in a small window in the corner of the screen, but you are way to busy fighting in a war to be paying attention to it. I would like to see this idea fleshed out more for the next game, but this time around it was mostly something to do to unlock the customizable Titan chassis.

That may sound like I hated a major component of the game, but since I was playing Titanfall the whole time, it was still a lot of fun. It was just the story didn’t integrate well. It is a minor negative awash in a sea of positives. There is nothing better then wall running on a building, shooting a sniper, and then landing on the back of a Titan and taking it down, sure that has only happened once for me, but it was exhilarating.

Xbox One finally has their system seller, yeah it was a few months too late, and then when they launched people couldn’t sign in to their new Xboxes, but this is a game to buy a console for. I don’t know how much Microsoft paid EA for the exclusive rights to this game, but they got a bargain. All I want to do right now is to go play Titanfall some more, and it has been a long time since I have said that about a First Person Shooter.

March 11, 2014March 11, 2014

Getting To Know Comixology!

Comixology is a digital comic books seller. I am still not sure how to feel about digital comics. On one hand I love eBooks, and I use my Kindle all the time, but on the other I love to collect comics. I love the feel of glossy pages in my hand, and trying not to rip them as I turn the pages, but having my comics everywhere I go is very handy, and since the people at Comixology are either always having good deals or giving comics away, my digital library is growing.

So far I am using them to try out new series’, or titles that they are giving away for free/cheap, but I may give in and start buying most of my comics this way. It is just so convenient. I feel bad that my local comic book story doesn’t get these sales, but they are so far away, and my Surface is right next to me.

I love turning on my Surface and reading a comic book or two, and the thought of not having to worry about destroying my comic books in a bag while I travel around is great. I know Marvel has started to give away the digital comic book of most of its paper back ones that you buy, and that is great, but I wish that Comixology would do the same thing in reverse and ship me all the paper versions of the digital books that I own. That would be awesome (never going to happen).

They have made owning and buying digital comic books so easy and convenient that I can see them being my comic book future, but I am sure that I will still get the paper copies of the ones I like. If you see a good deal on a book that you want at Comixology, you should give it a try. They are good at what they do, and they might start to win you over too.

March 10, 2014March 10, 2014

Don’t Bother To See Now You See Me!

Now You See Me was a surprise hit for Summit Entertainment in 2013, but I think people got too caught up in the cool premise and excellent cast to care that movie itself was lacking in substance. Though it could be that due to its success I went in with high expectations, while other people were just happy it was watchable.

It is about four talented street magicians, J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson), Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher), and Jack Wilder (Dave Franco), that are brought together by a mysterious man to complete a series of increasingly difficult heists. The FBI lead by Agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) is powerless to stop them.

With this setup it seems like it should be a magical Ocean’s 11, but it is never as clever as any of the Oceans’ movies. Instead of filling you with awe and wonder, they flash a bunch of pretty stuff in front of you and then end up with a ton of cash, and instead of letting you try and figure out how they did it, they have Morgan Freeman’s character tell you like two minutes later. They clearly think you are too dumb to understand what is going on without them holding your hand.

Since Freeman is always giving away how the magic is done it never feels like the magicians are doing any magic. It just makes them all seem like hustlers trying to pull a very large fast one on everybody. It is hard to root for a bunch of smarmy jerks, but that is kind of what they are asking you to do.

They do have a great cast in this film, but they all play their standard characters. Jesse Eisenberg is smart but neurotic, Harrelson is odd, Fisher is sassy and self confident, and Franco is a cool hustler. All these actors can do more then play their usual type, but the writers were too lazy for that. Well maybe not Franco, but if he keeps playing in movies like this we will never know. It is such as shame.

I wanted to like this movie, but I just couldn’t. It is pretty and has a fun cast, but it feels like they had a cool idea but didn’t think the audience was smart enough for it, so they dumbed it way down. It might have been a good movie at some point, but it is not worth watching in its current state.

March 7, 2014March 7, 2014

Who Should Play The Justice League Dark?

Guillermo Del Toro has been in talks with DC/Warner Brothers to do a Justice League Dark (The Justice League that deals with what goes bump in the night) movie, and if anyone is going to take Vertigo’s characters and make movie out of them it would be him. I, being the ever helpful person that I am, thought I would cast the big five for him.

John Constantine

John is probably the most recognizable JLD character, since his book has been running for what seems like forever, and he is the center of the JLD. I am going to pick Aaron Echkart.

He has got the look, and we saw in the Dark Knight he has no problem bringing comic book characters to life. I think he will also do a good job of mixing the serious with the humor that Constantine needs. Since they are going another way with Batman now, he should be free.

Madame Xanadu

The mystic of the JLD is a good opportunity to work in some young blood. My professional selection is Kerry Washington.

She is such a good actor, so it is time to get her away from Scandal and on to bigger things. I think she would have a lot of fun with this role.

Deadman

Deadman is an interesting one since he would have to be computer animated the whole time, and if you are going to do computer animation there is only one actor you need to call: Andy Serkis.

Andy is a the best at bringing life to CG characters, and he could let his creativity run wild with the poor undead Deadman.

Shade, the Changing Man

Shade would be a good time to use an unknown actor, since he can look like just about anyone, and the public would have no pre-conceived ideas on how he should look, but my job is to cast him, so I went with Cillian Murphy.

I probably should have shied away from another Dark Knight actor, but he is so good at being moody that I couldn’t help myself. He has proven in all his work that he would do a good job, and it would let him be the hero for once.

Zatanna

AKA The other JLD character people might know (but still probably not). Since she is the one that will probably save the day in this flick, I went with someone with a lot of acting experience, and I think she looks a lot like Zatanna as well. Jennifer Connelly.

My friends will probably just think I am picking her because of my long standing crush on her, but no, I think she has what it takes to play the master magician, and would provide a good anchor for this group.

This is my cast for the JLD. I would love to hear your take on the JLD, or even what other characters you would throw in and who you would like to play them. Like who would be Swamp Thing, or Frankenstein’s monster? Leave a comment if you have an idea! Shmee out.