Meet your Figureheads - The Angry Veteran

I have know him for 20 odd years
The Angry Veteran, we went to the same high school. We are friends. We were both in Drama. I know things. Exclusively for the WoW, a video the Angry Veteran did in 1989 to show off his "Rap Skills".

I am Malach, I am so proud of him

It was fun while it lasted

The Long Arms of Marvel's Legal Team
If you did not get to see the X-Men Origins: Wolverine trailer I posted yesterday, your shit out of luck. I guess Marvel's Legal Team can reach Russina YouTube, called RUTube. Well, we had it for one day, and Malach knows your sad, so he got this to replace it with.

I am Malach, and who loves ya?

X-MEN ORGINS: Wolverine

As Stolen From Comic Con
We will see how long this is available, it has been taken down in tons of places, but I found a copy. Enjoy . .

I am Malach and I get the good shit.

Dark Knight, A Review

Welcome to a World Without Rules
So, Malach and Dr. Murk went this afternoon to go see The Dark Knight. We were supposed to be joined by The Angry Piper, but he pulled a Otis Serungis on us.

The Dark Knight is of course the latest in the series of Batman movies, this being a sequel to the very good Batman Begins, and like it's predecessor has nothing to do with the Batman movies of the late 80's through 90's. Like those movies it attempts to move Batman away from the campy 60's version my parents grew upwith, and return Batman to what he really is.

It of course was excellent overall, Christian Bale once again does an decent job portraying a tough character to portray, playboy billionaire industrialist by day, and violent costumed vigilante by night. The polarity of a hero who is doomed to be the same as his villains.

This movie of course features Heath Ledger's version of the Joker, Gary Oldman retaining his role of Jim Gordon, and Aaron Eckhardt playing an awesome Harvey "Two Face" Dent. Maggie Gyllenhaal takes up the role of Rachel Dawes, the role Katie Holmes played in Batman Begins before she was kidnapped by Xenu. Micheal Caine returns as Alfred, and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox.

The casting is excellent, Bale does a adequate job in the Bruce Wayne/Batman role (better than any previous), even though his whispering disguised voice as Batman is kind of annoying; Ledger lives up to the hype as the Joker, a very dark, psychotic, insane genius version of him, maybe too insane, a bit far from the comic book version, but I prefer the Joker this way anyway (IE The Killing Joke). Eckhardt though, steals the show as Harvey Dent, and especially his transformation into Two Face.

The movie is a shade under 3 hours, and in that time explores mainly the Joker, and how he completes messes up Gotham City, from the Crime Lords, the Police, Harvey Dent, and Batman. While not giving a true origin of the Joker beyond little tidbits from the Joker himself ("ask me how I got my scars"), the movie explores the reasons for the Joker being, how Batman and Joker are the same person in a way, and Ledger plays up his psychotic brilliance perfectly. The Joker does these excellent choice based death traps, that add a real sense of nuttiness to the character. While Batman won't bring himself to kill, the Joker refuses to kill Batman, or he would have no reason for being. As he is Batman's greatest foe, Batman is his. As the Joker states in one great scene to the Bats, "You complete me". Better than Nicholson, but Mark Hamill still did the best Joker.

The Joker is eventually captured, but this is all part of his plan, and plan that turns Harvey Dent into Two Face, and further crumbles Batman and Bruce Wayne's world around him, by the end of the film, Batman is as wanted as the villains he fights. Wayne Manor is still ruins, and the love of his life is dead.

If you are any sort of fan of Batman, this is a must see movie, just for the portrayals of the Joker and Two Face. The movie is obviously open for a sequel, Batman's greatest enemy lives (though the actor portraying him didn't).

I have few complaints about the film. The first is it does not come across whether or not Two Face dies in the movie, neither myself nor Murk could figure that out. Also, this might be too realistic as a Batman movie, Batman almost seems out of place in his own movie, which is pretty much a dark gritty homicide drama. He was almost like if you had a pro wrestler leading a homicide investigation. Finally, it is the complaint I have about EVERY Batman movie. Why can they not ever get the costume so it looks cool, and not stiff, over armored, and more fluid like the comics? They could do it for the Spiderman movies, why not Batman? Perhaps they are trying to make it too realistic, Batman is a comic book hero, and does not look like one in this movies? He looks more like a armored martial artist. Use some CGI if you need too.

Was is better the Ironman? I am still debating that. But is get 3 1/2 Rubbersuitheads out of 4.

I am Malach, and you wanna know where I got my scars?

This is interesting

How is the Wand of Wonder Percieved?
This image was made using Wordle. It works by basically taking the most common articles here, and most popular search engines-wise, taking one word keywords out of those articles, and making a image based on the words, the more popular the keyword, the bigger the word. Check it out:

Click it to enlarge, and try it out with your own blog. Thanks to that English hottie, Kitty for the link.

Batman: Gotham Knight, a review

Good Stuff
So, Malach who has a plethora of Best Buy gift certificates, went out and purchased Batman: Gotham Knight (BGK) and watched it last night. BGK is a direct to video 6 episode interrelated animated films; a Batman anthology, in the vein of the Animatrix. They are set between the events of the feature length movies, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.

The shorts are written by a collection of well known American comic book writers, screenwriters, and television writers: Josh Olson, David Goyer, Brian Azzarello, Greg Rucka, Jordan Goldberg and Alan Burnett. Each of the 6 shorts is individually written by one of the writers, but relates to the whole; the first couple years of Batman's career. As each short has a different writing style, they also have a different animation style, each directed and animated by a popular anime director: Shojiro Nishimi, Futoshi Higashide, Hiroshi Morioka, Yasuhiro Aoki, Toshiyuki Kubooka, and Jong-Sik Nam (Yeah Wikipedia is racist against the Japanese, no articles on these directors). Bruce Timm of course is the executive producer, and BGX retains his influence and additionally the talents of Kevin Conroy and many of the original voices actors from The DC Animated Universe. It is rated PG-13, for stylized violence, and has some pretty gory, though cartoony, violence in parts, including a decapitation, and realistic depiction of unanesthesitized surgery.

The 6 stories trace Batman's first year or two as the caped crusader, taking off right from a few months after Batman Begins. He battles the likes of Killer Croc and The Scarecrow; Gotham's ultra violent gangs and criminal underground; explores much of his psychological makeup (why he does what he does, and the crazy edge he rides and a costumed vigilante); explores his pre-Batman training through effective flashbacks; and finally fights off Deadshot. Much of the hour plus explores Batman and Bruce Wayne, what made him and why he does it. The animation style is pretty amazing, and yes, it has some anime elements to it, but not so overpowering that the Angry Piper will hate it. It is more in the highly detailed vein of Akira, Spirited Away, or Cowboy BeBop than say something like Naruto or or the cheesy anime rip off they did for Teen Titans. The animation is impressive, breathtaking in places. The fluid movements, the stylization, and especially Gotham.

The short films do an excellent job of establishing what Batman is, if you had never known what Batman was, these films would immediately get you started. The intro film, not part of the 6, does an very interesting job of describing how Batman is perceived from the eyes of 4 kids. Each has seen Batman fighting and unnamed robber, and each perceives him in a different way, while perfectly describing Batman's image. One of the middle films, has Batman deep in the Gotham sewers, severely injured, and bleeding profusely, attempting to make it back to the surface, where of course Alfred is waiting, fighting off pain and unconsciousness, and continually flashes back to his early training with a Fakir woman.

While for some, it might miss what they are looking for . . . classic Batman vs. Villain of the Week battles, true Batman fans, especially fans of Batman: The Animated Series, and the current The Batman, will love these films as much of the influence on the character provided by these "cartoons" is felt in this and the current feature films.

Malach gives it 3 out of 4 Rubbersuitheads, and be careful with this one around children.

I am Malach, The Batman

The return of the Search Phrase Gremlins

It's Back!
Now that Third Option Media has built up a number of blogs, articles, and such, we now have the return of the Search Phrases! Beyond the obvious and most popular which either have to do with slow pitch softball or cures for high blood pressure (there are hundreds of those), we got these funny ones too. Enjoy the ride of hilarity!

• how to defeat sin in the airship
• toyi naked in eden
• mr. fantastic mary jane watson hentai
• [jod] super smash kung fu panda radio helicopter
• zangief gay parade
• wife loves wand
• vigilante for hire new bedford massachusetts
• vampire bite cock
• tripping off skittles
• son and mother hump like mad
• people with high blood pressure does really get angry easily
• obama is a lieing sack of shit
• no-you-idiots it's-tony-blair!
• lara logan's feet pics
• john mcain eats babies
• dana bash and horse face
• cat cora's tits
• cannot focus very well high blood pressure
• is astroglide flammable
• i hate choas dragoon
• random junk i can get high on
• why can i only remember things that have happened a few hours ago
• vampires vs cock
• explain evil heart
• i always wonder if i should give the ass or the crotch
• naked families

And that is only from the past week

I am Malach, your New Bedford Vigilante

Join the Internet Party

I am Malach and I would do Wikipedia!

Kung Fu Panda - A WoW movie review

The Wu-Xi Finger Hold
Malach, the wife and the kiddos went to see Kung Fu Panda yesterday, and I must say, it was excellent. It was thoroughly enjoyed by the 5 year old daughter, the 6 year old son, and my wife and I who are both in our 30's.

The film is by Dreamworks Animation, and stars Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen, Jackie Chan, David Cross, and Al Swearengen. It is rated PG, mostly for intensely animated Martial Arts scenes (which frackin' rocked). The film is CGI animated, and well done, and stylized.

The Plot revolves around a Panda named Po (Jack Black) who works in his father's (who is a goose) noodle shop. He is a Kung Fu fanatic, and fan boy, who dreams of someday becoming a Kung Fu master, though his father wants to raise him up in the noodle business and have him take over the shop. The local Kung Fu master, a tortoise named Oogway, has a premonition that and old student of his protege Sifu (Hoffman), and now most evil Kung fFu master snow leopard Tai Lung (Al Swearengen) will escape from prison and reign terror upon their valley once more.

Oogway orders a ceremony so a might Dragon Warrior can be chosen to defeat Tai Lung. Everyone assumes it is one of the members of the Furious Five, Sifu's best students (Jolie as Tigress, Chan as Monkey, Rogen as Mantis, Liu as Viper, and Cross as Crane). As the students show off their skills to the assembled crowd, Po who got accidentally got locked out of the ceremony, tries increasing foolhardy was to gain entrance, finally doing that and landing directly in front of Master Oogway as he is pointing out who the Dragon Warrior will be, making Po the Dragon Warrior. Of course everyone assumes it is an accident, and wise old Oogway states "there are no accidents".

Sifu is stuck training a overweight noodle vendor with no Kung Fu experience, and despite his protests, and those of Po's, Oogway does not change his mind. Sifu attempts to get Po to quit, but no matter what physical and mental tortures and humiliations he puts him through Po refuse to quit, and the fan boy is him actually enjoys living in the Kung Fu world, even with the beatings.

Tai Lung as per the prophecy escapes, and heads to the valley to seek his revenge, and claim the Dragon Scroll (with untold universal power). Oogway then passes away (Ascends to Nirvana) leaving a final request that Sifu train Po. Sifu and Po are both at a loss to do this. Meanwhile, the Furious Five are defeated and almost killed in a battle with Tai Lung.

No more spoilers from here, the movie goes another hour after this.

Wonderfully acted, and animated, the movie is very funny for both adults and kids, and has some killer Martial Arts scenes. It plays very much in the style of those old 70's Kung Fu movies, Bruce Lee, and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. I would highly recommend taking a child to this movie if you don't want to go as creepy adult. I would also recommend this to the Angry Piper, it is right up his alley.

The Opening title sequence is pretty amazing and ground breaking. They are a hand drawn, vividley colored dream sequence, that has been stylized to somewhat resembly Chinese Shadow Puppetry. It also harkens stylistically to anime like Samurai Champloo or Afro Samurai.

Kung Fu Panda gets 3 1/2 Rubbersuit Masks out of 4 for kids and 3 out of 4 for adults.

As and added bonus to this review, click me to hear Cee-Lo Brown and Jack Black doing Kung Fu Fighting.

I am Malach and I am Kung Fu Fighting

How talented is the Angry Piper

Well Check this out
Here is the Piper with his "life partner" Hobbs von Wackamole playing the flute.

Amazing now, outdoes there first video with them and the guitar!

I am Malach and I bring the truth!

Sex and the City a review

No way
You don't really think Malach went to see that tripe do you? Of course not, with the Celtics Game (BEAT LA! BEAT LA! BEAT LA!) last night and Battlestar Galactica winding down it's season, I had no need to see Sarah Jessica Parker's dog face on a 20' screen.

But my wife saw it, she said it was "Very Good". She would give it 3 1/2 Superstars out of 4. The atmosphere was kind of like opening night for Iron Man, except instead of geeks, the place was filled with desperate housewives. Unfortunately, she would not give me any spoilers, God I hate her, Torture Time!

I an Malach, and I was once Samantha for Halloween.

HOLEEEE FRACK!

I just wet myself
Cause Palmer showed me this:

I am going to go masturbate now

I am Malach, and that was SERIOUSLY on Balls.

Dear John Barack McCain Obama

Dear Sir,

One of you will be our next president, and their are a ton of issues to face. The most pressing issues is this countries economy: the prices of consumer goods, the mortgage crisis, and general cost of living.



Malach is not poor, in fact, he is far above what the poverty level is for a family of four. I am not wealthy either, my wife and I don't even bring home a six figure salary combined. I am a married man, with a mortgage, a car payment, and two children, your typical tax paying, voting American.



Here is the problem. Over the past year, it has become a struggle to live a decent life. Between the cost of daily living, monthly bills, and my mortgage there is little left to save, or even use for fun. Many of you know Malach was effected by the Sub Prime Mortgage Crisis. Well needless to say this threw my own personal financial health into disarray. But I persevered. In that time though, the price of gas has essentially gone up almost 400%, which in turn has raised the prices of food and other products. My winter gas bill, went up almost 25% per month. To top it off, both me and the wife have jobs that require driving (I do around 400 miles a month for work).



Then you go to a store to buy groceries, and a bill that cost $120 six months ago, now costs $180. It is almost as if that extra $500 transferred from my mortgage to my living expenses, and I am a very frugal guy. My Health Insurance keep going up 5 - 7% while my pay only 3%.



I know this is not only effecting me, I see it everyday at work, and more and more affluent people come in seeking help with bills, mortgages and such. I even have friends, who make double what I do, having financial issues too.



Something has to change, I am afraid New Deal style sweeping changes need to be made. And I don't mind tightening my belt a bit, but what I do mind in deciding between paying my car, and going grocery shopping, cause I can no longer do both. I love my job, and I suppose I could try and find a higher paying one, or get another one, but why? How is that fair?



Sincerely,

John Q. Public.

Ironman, a review

I AM IRON MAN!
Malach took the kids to see Iron Man this weekend, and I must say kuods to a job well done. My kids are 6 and 5, a boy and a girl, and they both loved it. It is rated PG-13, but neither child had any issue with that (I am not even sure why it was rated that).

The movie itself is a adaptation of the comic book series Iron Man, and out of all the comic book films, this one is perhaps the most accurate depiction of any comic book hero in movie form. While not right in line with the comics, the changes they make, even moving Tony Stark out of Manhattan to the West Coast works. The plot is well written, with an excellent balance of dialogue, character development, and of course action. The casting was absolutely perfect. Robert Downey Jr.(RDJ) plays a role he was born to play in alcoholic playboy Tony Stark; Jeff Bridges, who always plays amazing villains, takes Obadiah Stane to a new level of nastiness; and even Gwyneth Paltrow plays Pepper Potts, and the unrequited sexual chemistry between her and RDJ is perfect for both roles. SPOILERS TO FOLLOW

The plot revolves around billionaire military industrialist playboy Tony Stark. Stark had inherited his father's business Stark Industries, and using his mechanical genius, creates some of the most powerful weapons is the world. Stark, while a genius, is a hard drinking, womanizing partier, and the day to day operation are run by his father's partner Obidiah Stane. Stark heads to Afghanistan to show off a new weapon, the Jericho cluster bomb. After his successful showing, he heads back to the airport in a military convoy, which is attacked by a Terrorist Organization called (foreshadow) The Ten Rings; all are killed except for Stark.

An unconscious Stark is taken captive in grave condition. As fate would have it, he is put in captivity with a Dr. Ho Yinsin, who creates a device that he embeds in Stark's chest that prevents the shrapnel in his chest from reaching his heart and killing him. Stark immediately improves upon the device, which was run by car battery hook up to work on it own power source, Stark invented arc power source. Yinsin and Stark become friendly, and Yinsin begins to show Stark the errors of his lifestyle.

The Ten Rings terrorists, demand Stark make them their own version of the Jericho missile, Stark agrees, but secretly designs his first crude Iron Man armor instead, and uses it to escape captivity, though Yinsin is killed in the ensuing battle.

Stark returns to the US a changed man, immediately announces Stark Industries would no longer produce weapons, which upsets Stane. Stane tells Stark to take some time off and reconsider what he said. Meanwhile Stane start working the board of directors against Stark.

Stark goes into seclusion, design a better power supply for the device keeping him alive, and then begins designing his second version of the power armor he used to escape. He also finds out, that Stark Industries has been supplying Ten Rings with Stark weapons technology under the direction of Stane.

Faced with this realization he dons the armor and sets out of right the wrongs his company has done. Stane who is working with Ten Rings, receives the broken up pieces of of Stark's old original armor, and sets about Stark Industries to create a series of armored soldiers which he calls Iron Mongers. And you can see where the rest of the story heads.

Ironman of course comes into battle with Stane, now in the first Iron Monger costumes. Titanic battle, and with the help of Pepper Potts (and a early SHIELD), they defeat Iron Monger, and Stane is killed in the process.

A cover story is created by SHIELD, of course Stark does not follow it, and reveals he is Ironman at the end of the movie . . . credits roll. But is doesn't end there. After the credits are finished, there is a final scene. Stark returns home to find Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson) waiting for him. Fury tells Stark, he is not the only one like him, and they need to discuss "The Avengers Initiative" and the movie ends, obviously open for sequels. Their is quite the buzz about Jackson playing Fury; Fury is traditionally a white Clint Eastwood looking fellow (Except for his Ultimates incarnation, which is based on Jackson's look). It has to be better the 1998's version of Nick Fury played by David Hasselhoff. END SPOILERS

Iron Man, while not Citizen Kane was still a very fun, excellent movie, one of the best of the comic genre I have seen. My kids loved it too. It gets 4 1/2 out of 5 rubbersuit masks!

The Road - A Review

What an amazing book
Malach just last night finished reading The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. The Road has won numerous accolades, not only from Oprah, but also a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; they are also making a film of it. From the man who penned No Country for Old Men, The Road is about a father and son journeying across a a landscaped blasted by some unnamed implied nuclear cataclysm years before. A Father and Son journey the former United States where civilization has been pretty much destroyed, along with most life. What is left of humanity is rat tag bands of cannibals, and refugees, who attempt to survive this ashen and cold landscape, scavenging what they can from the ruins of society.

Ash covers much of the Earth and obscures the Sun. All plant life and animals seem to be dead or extremely rare. Oceans and rivers seem devoid of any life. Any life even humanity is rare, and one can go for weeks without seeing another person. Life is so bad, some people are eating each other, even to the point of having children to eat them.

The unnamed Father is literate, very knowledgeable and well read, and mechanically inclined, has has passed this on to his 10 year old unnamed son. The Father decides he and the son will not survive another winter where they are, so they head South, in an aim to reach warmer climates, if there are any left in the world; largely following highways. The journey's threats to the duo's survival create an atmosphere of suppressed terror and tension I have never gotten reading another book.

The Father is constantly coughing up blood, and he knows he is dying. He struggles to protect his boy from the elements, attack, starvation, and mental health. He also tries to protect the boy from what he sees as a dangerous desire to help those they meet along the way. They carry one pistol, with two bullets (meant to commit suicide as opposed to being captured as food), the Father struggles keeping them alive, and with his decision to kill his son if need be to prevent him from suffering a more terrible fate - many of these fates they meet and see along the journey.

They face all these obstacles themselves, they have each other. The Man who is the solid rock of truth and logic, the boy who holds real faith, and core ethics of humanity. They repeatedly assure themselves that they "are the good guys" and to that end they will not do some of the things, more of the wild people of the world will do to survive. Not to give away too much of the ending, they head south for months, surviving as best they can, seeking their salvation.

This book absolutely blew me away. I read it in about a week, and had trouble putting it down. It is filled with such tension; tension I have never felt in a book. You are right there feeling the pain, the cold, the ash in the lungs. You genuinely fear for the duo, and cry when awful things happen to them, and scream with joy when good things occur. They book itself lends a lot of symbolic religious allegory, especially to the New Testament, but you can read other reviews for that.

The writing itself is beautifully sparse. It is very hard to describe how it is written. It is written mostly narratively, and most of the book is sparse dialogue between the Father and Son. It is more like a poem that a written narrative. Very easy to read, while still being very deep. It will be very interesting to see how the remake this book for film. I highly recommend this book. If you only read one book, read this one.

I am Malach, and I am very impressed

Something for the ladies

Hello Ladies . .
See how Malach's mind works. Been on vacation this week, took the children to Buttonwood Zoo. Saw a sign, it inspired this:

There is no Beaver on Exhibit
by

Malach

Get this custom shirt
at Zazzle

Now, you know you want one, Mother's Day is coming soon.

I am Malach, and I am a you t-shirt man

Fuck Earth Day

Dr. Murk's Favorite Holiday!

http://view.break.com/491919 - Watch more free videos
Thanks to Le Mooooge for the video.

I am Malach and I am about to pour oil over a duck

Yay!

• MTV
• Music Videos
• MTV Shows
• Entertainment News

I am Malach, 'nuff said

Happy Angry Feckin' Piper Day!

Starring the musical talents of Dr. Robert J. Murk, and Mrs. Robert J. Murk (ME SO HORNY!)

I am Malach and someday we will hear about his whole trip to Ireland!

The Murk and Malach Show Spring Extravanganza!

Show 19 is now Loaded!
Spring is here, are so are Murk and Malach. In this podcast we discuss the upcoming presidential election, your candidates, your resurrgent Boston Celtics, Kid Intense, Meet The Heroes, and Murk and Malach announce their own candidacy for President. But there's more, Soviet Russia jokes, soft rock classics, and once again, NO ANGRY PIPER! Listen, we have deep thoughts and subliminal messages!

You can play the show directly from this link. Careful, there occasional profanity, and it is just over an hour long.

I am Malacn, your American Dream

Horton Hears a Who - A Movie Review

But first, a plug
Check out the new collaboration from Christopher Morris and Malach the Merciless, Meet The Heroes the webcomic.

Horton Hears a Who
So, Malach took the kiddos to see Horton Hears a Who this weekend. We were very excited to see the film, done by Blue Sky Studios who had brought you the Ice Age Movies, and Robots; both films I found thoroughly enjoyable.

Horton Hears a Who is about am an imaginative and naive elephant named Horton (Jim Carey), who while wading in a pool, hears a yelp from a speck of dust that flies by. Thinking there is family microscopic life on the speck, he places it on a clover to keep it safe. Little did he know, an entire city of beings lives on the speck in a city called Whoville (never clear if this is the same Whoville in the Grinch).

Horton comes into contact with with the Mayor of Whoville (Steve Carrell) and they decide that they need to keep Whoville safe. Every little thing in Nool, seems to effect Whoville (where most of the comedy comes from). Horton would move the speck to a small sheltered cave on the Mountains of Nool. Horton, is the only creature on in Nool who can hear the mayor (big elephant ears) and he is ridiculed by the other creatures of Nool, most especially the Sour Kangaroo (Carol Burnett) as crazy. Kangaroo attempts to embarrass Horton, and his crazy antics by taking the clover from him and crushing it.

The movie was cute, but that is really about it. Surprisingly, with both Blue Sky doing it, and cast members like Jim Carey, Steve Carrell, and Carol Burnett, the film was missing much of the comedy that previous Blue Sky outings had. Don't get me wrong, there was some comedy in it, but overall, the film seemed to focus much more on the cutesy and morality, than entertaining. The film really focused on believing in things you can't experience with your senses, and that everyone matters (Bah!). Even my kids, who normally sit through a movie pretty enraptured, got up a few times to get a snack during the showing.

The movie of course is based on the Dr. Suess classic, and they actually do a pretty good job of character development based on that short children's story. It is CGI created, and the animation is excellent; the film is definitely Suessian, from the characters, to the setting, only on steroids.

Don't get me wrong, the movie isn't all bad, or boring, it is just not something that I would be excited to see again. I got several chuckles out of it, and there were some interesting more adult oriented jokes (Whoville's version of MySpace, WhoSpace, was fun), I guess I just expected something on the lines of Ice Age, or Robots which were both better than this movie.

So, wait for it to come out on DVD.

A bonus review short - Justice League: The New Frontier
Now this was good. My son and I purchased it last weekend, and watched it. First, this animation is rated PG13, it features cartoon violence, and blood, and some adult themes. The film is an adaptation of the of the comic DC: The New Frontier.

Excellent film. It is set in the 1950's. You have all the 1950's versions of your DC Justice League favorites. In this setting of Anti-Superhero McCarthyism, the Korean War, and the Nuclear Age we are dropped. Superheroes are either working for the government or wanted vigilantes.

In this setting a supernatural threat to the world develops and Supers and humans have to work together to repel it forming the first Justice League.

The animation is extremely good, and stylized like the comic. The acting is exceptional. It is worth a rental of the DVD, especially if you are a fan of DC, and Bruce Timm's animated DC universe.

I am Malach and I killed Roger Ebert

HELL YEAH!

Go Speed Racer GO!

I am Malach and this is about as "on balls" as it gets.

Watchmen, Book Review

Who Watches the Watchmen

Malach has just finished reading Watchmen, yes, the 1986 groundbreaking comic mini series. While I have the originals in my collection, I wanted to read it again, having not read it since 1986, and being 14 years old. I remember enjoying it immensely, but with the upcoming movie, I wanted to reread it with adult eyes.

Now, yes, this is a very critically acclaimed series, and an influence not only on modern comics, but modern movies and cinematography as well. To date it is also the only comic series to ever win a Hugo Award and was also voted to TIME Magazine's top 100 best English Novels since 1920.

So, I went out and bought the trade paperback. Wow! I quickly remembered reading it back then, but WOW, what an amazing piece of fiction. What an amazing visual feast for the eyes.

Written by Alan Moore, and Illustrated by Dave Gibbons (Colored by John Higgins), Watchmen is set in a alternate reality to our own world. It is 1985, in the midst of the Cold War (how I miss you), costumed vigilantes are real, and the Doomsday Clock moves ever closer to Midnight. It tells a story of a group of costumed heroes, past and present, and a mysterious murder of one of their own.

Superheroes are real, with a slight catch. Unlike most comics, no one has superpowers, save one, the rest are just normal people who decided to fight crime as anonymous costumed vigilantes. These are normal people with the typical issues, neuroses, and the failings of you or I. Superheroes have been around since the 1940's, and as they get older, younger people replace them or even take over their identities; that is until 1977, where the Keene Act made it illegal to be a costumed hero, unless your registered with the government. Most chose to retire, while some became government employees

The only hero with any power is Dr. Jon Osterman AKA Dr. Manhattan. Dr. Manhattan was accidentally locked in a nuclear testing device, he was apparently killed, only to reform as a blue skinned being with Godlike powers called Dr. Manhattan (he can manipulte matter down to the smallest atom, teleport instantly whereever he wants to, and sees time all at once). He of course comes to work for the US Government making him the ultimate weapon of the Cold War, giving the US a decisive advantage.

The US and the Soviet Union have edged ever closer to Nuclear War, but the presence of Dr. Manhattan keeps the Russian at bay, though dramatically accelerated the arms race. Richard Nixon has somehow remained in office since the 70's, manipulating the Constitution to give him an unprecedented 5th term. It is into this world that we are thrust, very close to our own.

Edward Blake, is a retired costumed hero known as Comedian (also a government employee, very instrumental to the way this world has developed). He is murdered violently thrown from a upper floor window at the very beginning of the book. This event sets in motion a mysterious far reaching conspiracy, that will eventually effect the entire world order. The last vigilante left operating illegally, Rorschach, begins to uncover this plot which he feels is a conspiracy to kill off costumed adventurers. And the story takes off from there.

Soon, Dr. Manhattan, disillusioned and disinterested by humanity and the world, and said to be causing cancer in the loved ones, abandons the Earth for Mars, which immediately causes the Soviets to invade Afghanistan, and immediately creates real palpable fear of nuclear armageddon. This is where the plots begins to twist, so I won't reveal more.

Character development is as good as any novel I have read, you get a good feel for these characters, their interest, quirks, and feelings. The godliness of Dr. Manhattan, the insanity of Rorschach, the calculating nerdiness Nite Owl, and overt sexuality but lack of self esteem of Silk Spectre . . . The dialogue is rich and realistic.

The comic book itself, it's layout and art, is a work of pure genius. While Dave Gibbons is not the best artist in the comics scene, the way he and John Higgins set up the panels is breathtaking. Done very minimalistic, four colors, slight shadings, and deep blacks, it evokes a mood of paranoia and hopelessness. It is also a homage to 1940's early comics. The repetitive nature of the symbols and icons throughout the work is amazing. Analyze the pages, as images, words, and phrases appear and reappear throughout out the book, the most famous being the bloodstained smiley face. Gibbons also illustrates it like a storyboard, it is more akin to watching a movie, that reading a comic book. He uses no thought balloons throughout the book, and prefers to show thought by character expression and body language. In addition he rarely show wide shots in any panel, instead shrinking the panel upon face, objects, and actions. He uses no actions lines, preferring to show action with a spray of blood, or flying of glass. There are also no onomatopoeic sound effects, very common is comic books.

They also as groups (Moore, Gibbons, and Higgins) do some really unique things. One is the comic within a comic plot device. Throughout the comic Watchmen, and young man is reading a pirate comic called The Black Freighter which as your read along with him, relates directly in sections with what is going on with the comic book, even to the point of trading narration and dialogue. In addition, every chapter (originally issues) is addended with a real few page of something going on the in the story, for example a excerpt from a book about his life as a costumed adventurer from the first Nite Owl, or the psychological evaluation of Rorschach, which helps fill in back story.

If you have never read a comic book, or haven't read one in a long time, pick this up, your will be pleasantly surprised. I honestly cannot wait for the movie, this book will translate well to movie, hopefully they do it right, it will be an AMAZING movie.

I am Malach and who watches me?

My latest Home Improvement Project

My Stairway/Front Entrance
If you already read this on my blog, call me Dr. Murk. I recently remodeled my stairway/front entrance. It was in already rough shape. It is a recent stairways addition, and was put in to save room in the main house before the addition was added. To that end, the stairway is not particularly wide, and goes up almost spirally doing a complete 180 turn to get to the top of the upstairs hall.

Because of the that, I had to knock out a wall to get some furniture upstairs, and a few pieces of furniture caused cosmetic damage going up there. So we were left with this.

Now, if you look at the left side of this picture, that half wall went to the ceiling, and is what I ripped down. Also, the left part of the stairway was done in a 1960's style of drywall, while the right side (also the exterior wall) was done in horse hair lathe and plaster. You will notice the ugly brown paneling, which covered much of the house. The missing panels are from the move. The damaged ceiling is also from the move.

I know your wating with baited breath, here is the after from the same view, dont mind the ladder and tools: All I have l