Another re-re-release?

Recently I redesigned my room. And as I was streamlining, I noticed that I needed to have my ultimate movie collection displayed. I’ve bought movies practically every week because of my cinephilic tendencies. For the past 2 year, my collection has culminated in over 300 movies. It would be overwhelming to have all my movies in my room, so I opted to take one stand (fits 120 movies) and choose the best, the favorites, and the most entertaining. I chose my favorite Audrey Hepburn movies (Charade, Roman Holiday, Funny Face), my favorite musicals (Gigi, Cover Girl, An American in Paris), the greatest movies of all time (West Side Story, City of God, The Departed), my Hitchcock collection (Strangers on a Train, To Catch a Thief, Rope), pre-1970 movies (Rebel Without a Cause, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Bringing up Baby), good contemporary movies (the Talented Mr. Ripley, Howl‘s Moving Castle, Persepolis), my favorite comedies (40-Year-Old Virgin, She’s the Man, the Devil Wears Prada), nostalgic childhood movies (Indiana Jones,  Aladdin, A Chipmunk Adventure), and TV shows (Gossip Girl, Saved by the Bell, X-men Evolution, Sailor Moon, Buffy, Friends, Family Guy). If someone wanted to look at my psyche or just wanted to watch really good movies, then I’d point to them to this collection.

Also, I added my absolutes on top: movies that are considered my favorite movies of all time. I put Paris I Love You, When I Knew, Sleeping Beauty, and Notorious. And with that sense of completion, I discovered that a few companies are releasing Notorious and Sleeping Beauty next month. What? I spent a lot of agonizing time searching for these movie to find out that they are doing the 4th release. I applaud these companies for releasing these films so new people can find the beauty of the cinematic experience, but it feels like a cheat for film “freaks” out there who searched forever and spent a lot of money.

I can understand Notorious because it is a rare film. Notorious was released 4 years ago on the Criterion collection and is now out of print. I bought mine for $60 at Amoeba in Haight-Ashbury. It was worth the buy, but I will still buy the new release because of the special features along with Spellbound and Rebecca. I had no qualms buying the new releases of Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Funny Face, and To Catch a Thief a few years back because the restoration and special features qualified for the second buy.

But Sleeping Beauty? No Thanks. I don’t agree because they have that Disney Vault every few years. They pick a film, release it, and put in the vault forever until they re-release the same film in seven years. Nothing is ever special except for the fact that they include crappy features of Disney Stars butchering classic songs (remember Raven Simone singing Under the Sea for the Little Mermaid). The quality will be about the same so the restoration is trivial. I should stop focusing on this, and contemplate on the films I recently bought and still need to watch. I’ll watch Purple Noon and Flower Drum Song, so until next time.

You’re Gonna Love Tomorrow.

Desperate Housewives premiered with its premiere episode of the fifth season. While I loved the past couple of season, I felt more could have happened in the first episode since it sets the big mystery. Last season had the show jump 5 years in the future (I.e. Lost, One Tree Hill) and we had a view of all the women looking different. Bree is a successful writer/cook, Lynette has trouble with her now-teenaged sons, Gaby is a mess with two fat daughters, and Susan has a new man. Edie comes back in a leopard-skin bathing suit while washing her car (the slut is back!) She receives with a new husband, who sets up the big mystery as he’s out for revenge in Wisteria Lane. In the opener, the audience is tricked to believing Mike is dead, but instead they killed the people in the other car. Gaby is frumpy and dirty. I miss the fashionista, but it seems she will be back in shape in the middle of the season. While Desperate Housewives is nowhere near the Gossip Girl or Heroes, I will continue watching the show to watch my  favorite suburban maidens.

September Comics Review.

Every Wednesday, I make an effort to buy comics. I chose the titles that interest me with characters that are most appealing. So on a regular basis, I will give a quick recap of 10 of my favorite issues of the month. There are a few and almost 90 percent of them are from Marvel comics. I can’t help it if I’m a marvel zombie.

Wolverine: Origins 28
I usually don’t pick up a Wolverine book because I’m not a fan of the character. But I picked up Wolverine Origins because it was the prologue to the crossover with X-Men: Legacy that deals specifically with Professor Xavier. The crossover is called Original Sin and deals with the relationship between Wolverine and Xavier and each other memories by uncovering their pasts. This book was worth the price value because it speeds you up in Wolverine’s world: he has a son, a secret operative, his first fight with the Hulk, and the first meeting with Xavier. A good start to the crossover with hyper realistic, gritty art from Mike Deodato. 3/5

X-Force 7
X-Force starts a new arc that is engaging the reader in a covert group of X-Men. The atmosphere is dark and gritty with beautiful art from Mike Choi. The last art was too uncompromising for the reader’s eyes, so I like the change of scenario. The plot revolves around a former X-Men villain (Bastion? I can’t remember) resurrecting other certain mutant hating characters and the downward, feral spiral of Wolfsbane, and Angel succumbing to his Archangel persona. Some nice character touches are brought up with an appearance from the cuckoos, but the big shocker is The Vanisher possesses the Legacy Virus. Off to a good start to which I have high hopes for. 3/5

New Avengers 45
The latest issue of New Avengers finishes off the “Secret Empire” of the Skrull kingdom. The past two issues recounted who the skrull queen posed as in the superhero community (Spiderwoman!) and revealed her intentions (conquer Earth, eliminate the mutants, divide the superhero community). This issue showcases the skrulls during the altering reality of the House of M with basically a recap of the crossover. The issue showed some inconsistencies with the House of M such as Spiderwoman‘s reaction and motives. It was a good finish to the storyline, but there wasn‘t any shockers. But Jim Cheung provided the art, so it wasn’t a complete loss. 2/5

X-Men: First Class 16
First Class is a great series. It depicts the adventures of the original 5 X-Men (Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Beast, Angel, and Iceman) in a modern twist, but still staying faithful to the Silver age X-Men stories. Usually each issue partners the X-Men with a classic villain or ally that previously was never touched upon in the 1960s. This is the last issue for the series, so it was bittersweet to see the pairing of Iceman with the Fantastic Four’s the Human Torch (with a special appearance from Spiderman). These characters are so similar as they are the obnoxious younger characters of their respective teams. They meet, and they fight off monsters. They form a secret clubhouse and have hilarious dialogue such as having cool villains. I enjoyed this issue a lot and will miss it. 5/5

Magneto: Testament 1
Testament is an issue from the X-stable of comics that I’m looking forward to reading on a regular basis. There never has been a series that delves into the origins on the X-Men’s arch nemesis, Magneto. Writer Greg Pak does extensive background and it shows. Magneto is tainted with good characterization as he lived through the Holocaust. The first issue sees a young Jewish boy live through the Third Reich and the injustice it follows (he excels in sports, but his medal is taken away because he is a Jew) . I will follow into the rest of the mini series because I have high hopes to see what happens to Magneto. 5/5

Secret Invasion 7
Secret Invasion is a good series. It’s Marvel’s answer to a big summer blockbuster. Brian Michael Bendis can sure as hell write well, but is pacing is agonizingly slow as he known for decompression storytelling. After 6 issues, we finally get all the avengers fight off the skrulls in New York City with the big three avengers uniting (Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man). The three avengers have changed since the last time they met (Thor was reborn, Iron Man is head of S.H.I.E.L.D., Bucky is the new Captain America). The past 4 issues could have been combined into one issue! Either way, I’m curious to see what the skrulls have planned and what they did to the Wasp. The momentum is gone, but hopefully the last 2 issues prove to be shocking and earth-shattering. 3/5

Uncanny X-Men 502
Uncanny X-Men continues the storyline of the X-Men moving to San Francisco. This issue was fun as we get the team fighting off the Hellfire Cult and showing a dominatrix (the red queen) controlling one of the main villains. Fun issue, with surreal art from Greg Land, as it shows the classic x-men in some light-hearted fun with an appearance by the Dazzler. 4/5

All-Star Superman 12
Grant Morrison finished off his 12 epic story of the Superman legend. From the first issue, the reader knew Superman was going to die. But unlike any other superman story, we are shown the human side of Superman as he makes his sacrifice for the Earth as he heals the dying sun . He has one last fight with Lex, but proves to be trivial to the Superman legend. The series is an homage to the kooky Silver age stories with a modern, sc-fi twist. Frank Quitely did the art and I will miss his grand and humble interpretation on the man of steel. 4/5

Ultimate Origins 4
The penultimate issue of the series keeps the secrets rolling as the reader sees Nick Fury’s origins as a replica of the Super-Soldier formula and the modern team who tried to recreate the serum (Bruce “the Hulk” Banner, Spiderman’s father, Mr. Fantastic’s father, and Henry Pym). We also get to see the first appearance of the Hulk in the Ultimate universe and the untimely death of the Parkers. And lastly, as an ominous sign, we see alien statues reveal itself to be watching the foreseeable destruction on the human race. 4/5

X-Men: Legacy 216
I’ve been enjoying this series as it delves into the mind of one of the greatest telepaths, Charles Xavier. After Xavier lures his first student, Cyclops into the woods, Cyclops’ girlfriend (Emma Frost) confronts Xavier in his shady past. His ethical relationship is questioned through previous accounts with Beast, Rogue, Moira, and Cyclops. He acts like a god that determines the fate of the people around me. My only disappointment was that there wasn’t any flashbacks on Emma’s past with Xavier. Nonetheless, the issue provided closure with Xavier and his X-Men. 5/5

Glamorpuss 3
Glamorpuss is a strange comic book. There are no plots or any superheroes in sight. To describe its man objective: Comic Book that makes fun of the Fashion Industry with ads and presenting some comic book history. Not much to say, but I find myself enjoying the pretty pictures and some of the mockery it makes of the industry. It doesn’t make any sense, but should it? 3/5

Till next month, find these comics and read ‘em!