Smallville: Absolute Justice, is a two-hour episode written by Geoff Johns - writer of DC Comics' Green Lantern: Rebirth. The episode proves to me that there is a solid direction for the show to continue in, and how the show can be an enjoying experience, and just exciting to watch. Likely taking cues from the recent hit DC comic book film Watchmen, the episode is rich with material pulled straight from comics lore, and is also rich in dark tones as a superhero serial killer goes on the rampage. A lot of potential story arcs are set up with the introduction of the Checkmate and Suicide Squad organizations, and some revelations establish future story trails.

The tone of the Absolute Justice leaves one to ask:
What is the future of Smallville?
Will it become a show called Metropolis?
Will it spin off into a Superman film series?

I think there is a future there, but only time will tell the path...

New Transformers Stuff

According to seibertron.com and tformers.com, Transformers is getting some fresh entertainment with a new animated series called Transformers: Prime. This new show marks a new chapter in the rather schizophrenic Transformers franchise (the changes in the franchise are MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE), as the door to the rather over-extended Revenge of the Fallen line comes to a close. Very few details have been revealed about this show, other than the fact that actor Jeffery Combs will be portraying the legendary Autobot Medic named Ratchet, and that the show will air on Hasbro's new network The Hub. The Hub is Hasbro's joint venture with Discovery Communications, and presently exists as the network Discovery Kids. The Hub will start off with a heavy focus on programming from Hasbro's extensive library of kids' entertainment. I would suspect that the success of the two Transformers movies, and the mild success of the recent G.I. Joe film has emboldened Hasbro to push further into the multimedia arena - now having a movie production wing and a television network to call its own.

We'll see...

There are only two Transformers series that I remember as having any true substance and staying power - The Beast Era (composed of 3 seasons of Beast Wars, and 2 seasons of Beast Machines) and Transformers Animated (the most recent Transformers cartoon series that had excellent character development and story, and was painfully short-lived). I hope Hasbro doesn't decide to do Transformers: Prime for a year or so, and then decide that the franchise needs to take yet another new direction.

I for one feel that the franchise is becoming far too over-saturated with new reboots, and reinventions. The core of what Transformers is is getting lost in this goopy soup of marketing/merchandising overload.

Hasbro, stick with one thing and find a creative way to keep it going for a few years, and allow your "audience" to get attached to the characters/figures for a while.

I mean, think about it: DOES ANYBODY EVEN GIVE A SHIT IF OPTIMUS PRIME DIES ANYMORE? HE JUST COMES BACK IN 50 DIFFERENT REINCARNATIONS, OR A WHOLE NEW SERIES.

Movies: Movies to see from Now through Summer

I reviewed Fandango, and here are the movies I plan to see in theatres this year:

The Wolf Man
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Alice in Wonderland
Clash of the Titans
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Iron Man 2
Prince of Persia
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
The Last Airbender
Predators
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Tron: Legacy
Smurfs
The Green Hornet
Thor

Though this summer doesn't look as heavy-hitting as previous ones when it comes to movie blockbusters, and highly anticipated flicks, I suspect there's going to be some sleeper hits. I've got hopes on Percy Jackson - we need a new Harry Potter movie series, don't we? And I'm placing bets on Clash of the Titans. What's on your list?

Entertainment: Hilarious STAR WARS review

A couple of friends have suggested watching this Youtube review on a few occasions, and I finally got around to watching it - IT'S HILARIOUS! After watching the 70 minute review (there are 7 parts to this review - part one is below) of STAR WARS EPISODE I: The Phantom Menace, I was wanting more. Red Letter Media posted the review on Youtube, and also has reviews of some of the Star Trek movies and more.



The reviews, while being morbidly side-splitting, do offer thorough insight into how certain films fail to be spectacular. From character development, to story, to the whats and whys of how a movie successfully engrosses the audience, these reviews take you through the film from beginning to end pointing out inaccuracies, and failing movie logic.

I've taken screenwriting and creative writing classes in college - and though this doesn't make me an expert, these reviews would be great tools for educating as well as entertaining.

You can visit Youtube at the link below to see the Phantom Menace review:

STAR WARS: The Phantom Menace Review

There's also redlettermedia.com

Collecting: Additions to my She-Ra Collection

OK...so I broke my figure-a-month rule by proceeding to purchase not one but two vintage figures for my She-Ra collection - it's an early birthday gift (it happens to be next week).

I already had She-Ra - I got her when I was a kid. Frosta was my first purchase for this year-long venture, and she happily stands besides The Most Powerful Woman in the Universe, ready to defend against invaders from the rest of the toy room they both look over. Click here to see the previous blog entry here...

Thank God for ebay...it's the best way to complete this venture. Most of the items in the She-Ra action figure collection can be found there.

Sweet Bee was the first purchase. She hails from a race of bee-like people who venture to Etheria (the world She-Ra inhabits in her war against the Evil Horde) to find a new home (Sweet Bee's homeworld was destroyed when it's sun exploded). Unlike Frosta, Sweet Bee does catch the attention of She-Ra's twin brother He-Man, who develops a slightly noticeable crush on her.

The second figure was Mermista, the token mermaid character of the line. She is the princess of the underwater kingdom of Salineas. Her powers are derived from the Power Pearl, an artifact that is protected by the Salineans. She has control over the water, can convert from mermaid to human form, and can telepathically communicate with sea creature...very Aquamanish, don't ya think?

Entertainment: Green Lantern is Green Lit!

According to Comicbookmovie.com, Green Lantern will start filming in two months! I typically don't pay attention to all the hoopla that surrounds non existent comic book movies - a lot of time, it's just healthy rumor mill, or nothing truly etched in stone.

But an interview with Martin Campbell, director of the recent Zorro movies, and the two Daniel Craig James Bond reboot films, proves that this movie is on track - with Ryan Reynolds set to portray the Green Lantern...YES!

The approach of focusing Green Lantern on the character's intergalactic cop rendition is a smart move - setting it apart from previous comic book movies. This also opens up a whole galaxy to explore for a movie franchise.

I'm excited.

My 2010 Challenge is...

As a belated Holidays gift from my better half, I spent Saturday afternoon sifting through Ebay for some potential purchases. I went ahead and purchased an Adora action figure from the new Masters of the Universe Classic (MOTUC) exclusive toyline. It's the first figure from the line that I will be purchasing. The interesting thing is - she doesn't go on sale on mattycollector.com (the only place you can purchase it officially) until January 15th. The toyline is so hot that some of the limited release figures sell out in less than a day - one is released every month, with a bonus figure thrown in every now and again.

One of the remedies to missing out on a figure is to have joined the mattycollector subscription club, but you have to pay for that every month. The other way is to go to third party vendors - the online stores that go in and buy the figures in bulk, mark up the pricing, and sell them to the ravenous customers that missed out on the first round. This is not always the solution - Mattel is controlling the distribution numbers of the figures to a degree that you won't find a figure anywhere...without having to pay some outlandish markup through a third party vendor.

I digress...I'm holding out on purchasing a lot of the MOTUC figures due to the simple fact that I've collected many of the characters in the original line, as well as the 2002 updated line. I'm looking for something new - ala the Adora figure. I love the line, and am very excited for it's continuation, but I intend to invest my dollars in building up an MOTUC collection with a focus on the Princess of Power (POP) and New Adventures of He-Man (NA) chapters of the line. Until these figures start showing up on mattycollector.com, I am going to satiate my thirst for POP product by collecting the figures I never could as a kid.

Every month of 2010, I intend to expand my vintage Princess of Power collection by one figure. I am in no way planning to collect EVERY product from the line - I am not a completionist collector, and some products are of no interest to me. The core of this vintage collection will be:

First: the characters that appeared on the show
Second: expanding to interesting pieces that didn't appear in the show

January is Frosta - the Ice Impress of Etheria

She is the reigning Queen of Castle Chill in the Kingdom of Snows, and is known to have an intense crush on He-Man, Adora/She-Ra's twin brother. She sends out blasts of ice, as well as turn things into ice.