The New Musings of a Quiet Geek

The controversy blowing up the internets right now is which is better: DC or Marvel comic movies.  This was exacerbated the other day when WB made the apparent announcement that the DC movies won't be action comedies (Like the more popular of the Marvel movies) but stay with a more dramatic tone.  (Case in point hardcore DC fans like the Green Lantern movie even less than the average movie goer...) Then there's a third group (Seemingly headed up by DC groupies) that wonder why we can't get along. I personally am a fan of both but let's face it, liking two sides of anything literally equally isn't likely or even likely possible.  To that end I've been pro-Marvel since I was like 6 years old. I watched both SuperFriends  and Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends but liked the latter more. Truthfully, with my admitted bias, it holds up just a bit better to this day. On the other hand, Marvel has not put out a cartoon of Justice League 's quality since. (Yeah...

Since I last posted, I've seen 2 movies (Well, in the theater anyway...) 1. Lucy with Scarlett Johansson was an interesting and entertaining movie. So what if people technically already use 100% of their brain and nothing interesting happens? In a recent post, I profesed my enjoyment of the new summer TV series  Taxi Brooklyn  which is based another Luc Besson film. I'd imagine that that movie is very similar to Lucy . This movie is an odd combo of serious and silly. While the aforementioned NBC series seems to balance this well enough, Lucy can't seem to. Oddly, my brain didn't feel like mush as it does after pretty much every Michael Bay movie.  (The Transformers series can't decide what maturity level to target. Does that mean maturity and tonality are different things? ::shrugs::) 2. The second film of the summer from Marvel Studios, Guardians of the Galaxy , had a tonal mix as well but did a spectacular job in the balance department...and soundtrack depart...

1. Spent the 4th at my parents' house. Their cat, who I guess is new though has lived in their yard for about three years, Black Beauty immediately became smitten with me. (Anyone who knows me or my mother's side of the family in particular should not be surprised.) I guess he looked around the house for me after I left.  While there I went to the wedding of a young woman from my father's church. Judging by who was in attendance, her mother, who has removed some of my stitches in the past, did the guest list... 2.  Finally saw X-Men: Days of Future Past . Though the last two X-Men movies ( First Class and The Wolverine) were my favorites of the series, I wasn't really looking forward to seeing the original cast and director Bryan Singer return. As director of the first 2, he's to blame for setting the franchise tone. (You would think it'd would be writers but no...)  The boring black costumes and the massive continuity errors still make me shutter. Anyway, I ...

This entire post is commentary on the following article: "10 DC Superhero Team-Ups We’d Like to See After Batman V Superman & Green Lantern/The Flash" You've been warned. 10. "Fish Out of Water" jokes aside, awesome idea. In fact, the similarity of Ben Affleck to Jason Mamoa's Stargate: Atlantis co-star Joe Flanigan (Or vice versa? Whatever...) makes this an even more interesting proposition.  Hell, they could make a live action movie of the Batman: Brave and the Bold with Black Manta using Aquaman's jealous brother to destroy Atlantis. I'd watch... 9.  I'm not feeling this one. If there are more variations on any characters in the DC Universe than these two, I'm unaware of them.  The most well-known versions, are mob daughter Helena Bertinelli and Power Girl isn't an alternate universe Supergirl but her clone. "Batman and Catwoman had a daughter?" Well, yes, and no... A live action version of this would make as much s...

1. Took the cat to the vets for nail trim. Paid $20! For 5 minutes of work! (Those against raising the minimum wage, don't comment. The tech won't see much if any of that money so the argument is beyond moronic.) Officially, I have a roommate who's never here and has a severe cat allergy anyway. Also, it takes my aunt coming over just to get him the carrier so doing it at home isn't an option. Plus, he's at least 11 years old and isn't as cooperative as he was when he arrived at age 8; which was hardly at all anyway. The point is, if I ever could do it at home I certainly can't now.  This is the second issue I've had with this local clinic. A few years ago, they stopped stocking the cat's medicine in a form he'd actually take due to lack of popularity. (Those who know me know how I hate this explanation...) To their credit, the first time (first 2 times actually) I brought Amos in after my medical issues of last year, they actually asked how I wa...

I have been eligible to vote for about 17 and half years. This is the first year I can remember, living and in two states where a lot of stuff actually happened during the primary elections.  This is the current state of affairs in this country of ours.  Sure, incumbents moving on to other things or retiring leaving seats open has always happened and are one thing but this year, people are turning on the incumbents. Oddly, in offices as in innocuous as county sheriff. Here in Cumberland County, Maine, the democrat Kevin Joyce had two incidents at the jail where where prisoners sneaked into the other part to "get to know" another prisoner better. This seemed to be challenger Mark Edes entire reason for running. (The fact, to me, that security is a Republican issue yet there isn't one running speaks a volume or two about my county.) I admit I voted for Edes since if he felt he could do a better job might as well give him a shot. To be clear, I have no problem with Joyce a...

As you've probably heard if you follow such things, British director Edgar Wright is out as helmer of next year's Marvel movie Antman. If rumors are to be believed, Marvel had a problem with some aspect of the script and Wright wouldn't change it. Supposedly the production is still on schedule. We'll see.  This production was doomed from the start but not for reasons you'll probably catch around the 'net. First Wright wanted to go with Antman #2 Scott Lang instead of Hank Pym. Say what? To me, and I know I'm probably in the minority, he's way more interesting than Lang. (At least for the first movie...) Lang stole Pym's suit to save his daughter from criminals. (Did I mention she's also dying?) To me, it's like going with Guy Gardiner instead of Hal Jordan for Green Lantern... Anyway, Pym is an arrogant scientist (basically an alcoholic version of Big Bang Theory' s Sheldon)  who figured out how to make things shrink and grow.  His lov...

Welcome to the 750th edition of my musings! To celebrate the occasion, I'm giving you a two topic post AND the return of the exceedingly rare, if not now nonexistent, book review! The most recent trip to the Four Lands was the spectacular Dark Legacy of Shannara trilogy. Author Terry Brooks has said that after he finishes the next three stand-alone novels, he wants to write something else for awhile.  And who can blame him? I was reading the previous two-booker in the hospital and my neurosurgeon, after seeing the book on the table, commented, "He's still writing those? I read those as a kid!" I myself started reading his books the summer between junior high and high school when I was recovering from back surgery.  (Actually it was his less financially, and maybe creatively, successful Magic Kingdom of Landover that I started with first thanks to my aunt working at a book distribution warehouse/center...) I should note that the last time he wrote something differen...

The whole Donald Sterling controversy is surely blazing inferno in our society and I must put my thoughts down for posterity. Conservatives pounced when the NBA cracked down on it.  "We're allowed to be assholes!" a friend commented on Facebook. Like fuck you are! In this particular case, as owner, Sterling was the face of a NBA franchise which, theoretically, should be a family friendly thing.    "If you don't agree with his policies, just boycott." Yes, you could, still, for that matter, but the NBA still did the right thing for removing the reason for doing so. I have never been to LA so I couldn't tell you how far apart where the Clippers play from where the Lakers play but let's assume the NBA aren't just money grubbing whores and LA needs both teams for the greater good. "But he's been a racist since he bought the team back in the '80's." We didn't have the internet so info didn't travel as quickly.  The Cl...

I recently finished binge-watching the first season of Young Justice on Netflix. What an awesome show! Fans of Greg Weisman's other stuff ( Gargoyles, Spectacular Spider-man) know that he perhaps overcompensates for the lack of continuity found in many cartoons of my '80's childhood by have continuous threads throughout the show that you'd find in dramas like LOST or Once Upon a Time which is kinda awesome but I can see how that choice could play into why the shows don't last beyond 2 seasons. I'd love to know what age group he was targeting.  The plots were very complex for a show where the main cast was teenagers. What was also fascinating about the season was it guest-starred heroes that figured prominently in Batman: The Brave and The Bold (which was the previous DC cartoon on the air) such as Green Arrow, Black Canary, Captain Marvel, Red Tornado, Aquaman and of course Batman; not to mention villains such as The Brain and Monsieur Mallah. (Actually, th...

I was looking forward to the new Captain America  sequel coming out this weekend.  I discover it wasn't listed on the website  of my local theater or their phone listing.  This has been happening more and more lately.  Neither Green Lantern nor The Wolverine were shown.  ( Man of Steel  must have been and I wasn't in town for  Ironman 3 or Thor: The Dark World .) For years now, they've been the "art house" theater of the Portland area. (Which I think is stupid but whatever...)  Currently, they're showing the Grand Budapest Hotel on 2 screens (TWO screens!) and will be showing 2 parts of  Nymphomaniac.  Who the hell wants to watch a sex movie with Shia Lebouf?  What kills me is this theater is situated between 2 comicbook shops! (TWO!) Because I don't drive, and because the theater in Falmouth which was directly on the busline is no more, the best option is to take the bus to So. Portland, get off at the grocery store and then ...

I actually wrote this blog post in my head months, or maybe years ago, but decided not to share the thoughts with you all.  But, now with the seizure meds or whatever, the filters for what I think you want to read and what I want to talk about are gone so... A review I read of the How I Met Your Mother finale mentioned in passing that his friends hung out in a bar like on this show and not in a coffee house like on Friends . I would say, given the choice, my friends are more likely to go to a coffeehouse. (Strictly speaking, it might be accurate to say a 70/30 split...) This comment mad me think of other TV shows and why or why not I liked them. Judging by what's popular in specifically the sitcom genre these days, my family life was/is completely different than everyone else's.  My family is more like the Huxtables or the Keatons than the family on Raising Hope for instance.  (Yes, we all have at least one advanced degree and watch PBS...).  As I know I've men...

Television shows, movies and comic books often use fictional countries to set their stories in. DC Comics even goes a step further and creates fictional cities. (Question: Why did Arrow writers change Star City to Starling City? They kept Central City, which is a lamer name if you ask me, as is...) I presume they do this because they don't want to cause an international incident. It would drive me insane while watching the '60's  Mission: Impossible series and they'd be in Kuala Rokat or somewhere and I'd be like, "Where the fudge is that?" The '80's series and the movies came up with a better solution: go to a real country and take down an arms dealer or something just hiding out there, which if you watch the news, really happens. Novels in the political thriller genre, such as my own, at least try to go this root.  (At least ones I've read in the last 30 or so years.  But what if you don't have the rights to use the fictional country? I...

This morning, I read this article on the internet and it greatly upset me for several reasons. One, of course 2 Broke Girls is "shallow." It's a sitcom for God sakes!  Two, in what universe is  How I Met Your Mother any where near as good a show let alone better then Big Bang Theory ? The premise is ludicrous.  It would not take more than 6 episodes to tell you how my father met my mother and that would be if I included the courtship, wedding AND honeymoon where my father fell asleep and my mother ate 5 tuna fish sandwiches. All 3 of which I will point out HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HOW THEY MET as they would have already done so at that point. Also, unless the father has dementia, or is just demented, why the hell would he start his story years earlier than he needed to? My father's first marriage isn't important to their story and dates he went on in-between have never been brought up... Now, if they call the show Bunch of Friends Who Frequent A Bar ... Oh, wait...

I could tell you where I've been but I assume many of you are friends of mine on Facebook and already know. Besides, I'm done talking about it. I could tell you about "the war" between Marvel's Agents of SHIELD and DC's Arrow . Right, speaking as a fan boy, the latter show, in it's second season, is showing the rookie how it's done.  To be fair, however, I'm going to wait to see if the ABC series picks up the pace in the second half... No, today, I want give my thoughts on the new CBS series Intelligence. Earlier this century, NBC tried to reboot The Bionic Woman . Her name was Jamie Sommers and she had the same abilities as Lindsay Wagner but that's where the similarities ended. The show bombed.  I remember pointing out at the time, the lead actress, Michelle Ryan was better at the role when she didn't have to hide her British accent so that didn't help... Anyway, this season CBS decided to not reboot the concept just blatantly ...

Recently, in movie news it was announced the Marvel speedster Quicksilver would appear in both Avengers 2 (with his sister Scarlet Witch) and in the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past .  (Then Warner Brothers announced a Flash movie would happen but more on that in a minute...) As many geeks, but maybe not average moviegoers, know, Marvel Studios does not own the live-action "X-Universe"; Fox does. However, some characters, like Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch can be used by both with a few provisos.  Marvel can't mention that they are mutants, meaning some other reason they have powers will probably have to addressed, and that their father is Magneto.  Since Wanda is not appearing in X-Men ,  Fox may not have to gloss over much.  Maybe the fact Quicksilver was married to the Inhuman, Crystal? That's not likely to come up in conversation... Anyway, DC Comics had a superhero with super speed first. There have been three Flashes in the comics.  All, impor...

Man, I'm unproductive today.  I'm also somewhat annoyed. As some of you may have noticed on Facebook yesterday, I related the story on how I got a call from my doctor's office that I still hadn't gone for lab work that had been ordered 2 weeks ago.  One, I don't remember hearing this before. Two, it wasn't mentioned last week when the pain in my side was determined to just be a, really bad,  muscle pull.  If such an order existed wouldn't it be cancelled after the ultrasound found nothing? Anyway, my second clue that this  clue this wouldn't end well: the lab test was set up at not my usual hospital but the other one.  Say what?  So I went that afternoon.  They had no record of the order.  They called my doctor and I waited though when she go an answering machine, I knew the damn office was closed. I waited anyway about 2 hours.  My entertainment was druggies and Fox News... I was going to review The Wolverine here but it's not pla...

Saw RED 2 yesterday. Just to get it out there, I fall into the "Better than Original" camp.  Mary Louise Parker was funnier than I remember her being in the first.  Perhaps her funniest role, if not best, since Boys on the Side .  John Malkovitch and Helen Mirren kick ass both in the comedy and action departments. Catherine Zeta Jones and Anthony Hopkins and even Byun-hun Lee were more than adequate replacements for Morgan Freeman and the late Ernest Borgnine. As much as I love nitpicking, I really have none... 

So I'm back in Portland. Still not 100% but I have the energy to do what I need to do.  (Isn't that the slogan for "Powdermilk Biscuits?") I have nothing more to add to that. Questions? Fingers crossed that I get back on the hospital's free care program because this upcoming bill (Still paying off the April fun...) will be horrible even after my insurance pays their part... Oh, Amos' self-cleaning litterbox finally bit the dust after the rake kept getting stuck and made noises like an MRI machine. (Machine gun for the non-medical among us).  Guess who, while recovering from neurosurgery, had to take the outercasing off to convert it to a normal box? Man of Steel devolved into non-stop action towards the end of the movie but I really can't say any of the action scenes were completely unnecessary. They made logical sense. They were just too long.  Readers of fanboy rants know the issues they had with all the previous movies.  Too much Luthor and not enou...

1. So for those of you not Facebook friends with me, the shunt malfunctioned again.  The day before my scheduled follow-up with the neurosurgeon,  the incision in my head started to leak cerebral fluid.  The cause was either an infection in my abdomen or the scar tissue build-up had formed  a "reservoir" or "swimming pool" and the system simply backed-up and out my head.  After being the hospital for about 10 days,  I am now back at my parents and feeling pretty well.   2. A couple weeks ago, my parents and  I went to see Paul McCartney's son, James, in Portland. In addition to many of his songs reminding me of his father,  my mother  and I were surprised that many songs sounded a lot like John Lennon including the song "Bluebell" which James wrote about his mother.  I had a good time.   The opening act was Jon Sandler and he was pretty good as well...   3. Star Trek Into Darkness was an awesome movi...