“This is it. They’re making a new Star Wars.” This was me, to my parents, my friends, the disinterested kid next to me on the bus, our local postal worker- everyone I knew. In my hands, the novel “Star Wars – Heir to the Empire” by Timothy Zahn, its foil […]
Year: 2015
Happy Thanksgiving 2015
Happy Thanksgiving! If you’re reading this chances are you’re my friend, family, or a very stubborn Spambot. In any case, if we’re connected on any level you should know that you’re dear to me, whether I’ve known you for 20 years or we just chat about video games. I’m thankful […]
Barcelona: City on the Edge of Tomorrow
Barcelona feels like a city on the edge of something new. Yes, the history is here, backed by a rich Catalan (don’t you dare call it Spanish) culture, and yes, there are plenty of museums and sights to take in, but unlike a lot of Europe the story doesn’t quite […]
When the Chips are Down
There’s a line in the 2005 movie Sin City that sticks with me. “A smoker’s a smoker when the chips are down.” I used to be a smoker, but years ago I chose life and dropped the vile habit. I now find my thrills by way of Starbucks espresso and […]
Remembering Wes Craven
A knife to the gut. A plunge from on high. It comes out of nowhere, sudden and fast. Its horror isn’t so much in the act itself, but in its explosive speed and its undeniable finality. Like a cart over the rails, once set in motion there’s no stopping it. […]
Jurassic World – A Benevolently Absurd Modern Blockbuster
I couldn’t stop laughing. During the course of its two-hour-plus run time, Jurassic World dishes up something for everyone. As in, everyone in the world. All ages and all demographics are assembled, ushered into an Epcot Center-like faux theme park setting to square off against the real reason we’re in […]
Ascent Into Madness: The Wachowski’s Have Made the Craziest Movie Ever
I finally got the opportunity to see Jupiter Ascending. Jessika surprised me with it last night, the deluxe 3D Blu Ray version no less. The 3D functionality of our TV was dormant for at least two years, but this seemed like a good a catalyst as any to knock the dust off the glasses […]
Goodnight to the Big Show
Tonight is going to be so weird. The Post-Letterman Era is upon us. I discovered the David Letterman show when I was 8 or 9. It was summer. Grandpa left the TV on after another broadcast of The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson wrapped up from Burbank. The TV blinked […]
MAD MAX FURY ROAD: A Post-Apocalyptic Fable for the 21st Century
We live in a terrifying world. The cult of ISIS marches through the Middle East, with its black clad fundamentalists consumed by zealotry dispensing brutal violence without a pause. On the flip side, callous operators dispense drone strikes and missiles from afar, the deaths of innocents engulfed in flames tallied […]
2015 Eisner Awards Nominees + My Picks for Winners
The 2015 Eisner Awards nominations have been released! Check out the full list here. Just for fun, here are my picks for winners in each category: Best Short Story “Rule Number One,” by Lee Bermejo, in Batman Black and White #3 (DC) Love, love, love that this got nominated, and […]
‘We’re Home’ – Star Wars Brings a Generation Full Circle
When Han Solo and Chewbacca appeared together on screen for the first time in over 30 years via last week’s new Star Wars The Force Awakens teaser trailer, it took Harrison Ford just a single line to bring an entire generation to its emotional knees– “Chewie,” Ford’s aged voice uttered […]
Happy 20th to ‘Chrono Trigger’
Time is a weird thing. It’s the most mysterious force in the natural world, it’s existence perhaps nothing more than an illusion spun by our monkey brains to make sense out of the swirling universe we find ourselves staring at, bleary eyed and confused. Twenty years. Twenty spins of the […]
Can Peter Parker Finally Grow Up?
It’s time to let go. It’s time to put the scrapbooks of teenage, wisecracking Peter Parker on the shelf. It’s time to hang-up the throwback perpetual bachelor fantasy. It’s time to put Spider-Man away. It’s time to let Peter Parker get old. I say this as a reader who came […]
Favorite Things About 2014
Here’s a completely subjective breakdown of some of my favorite things about 2014, in no particular order. 1. Winter Soldier Yeah, I know Guardians of the Galaxy had the raccoon and the talking tree and the humor and the amazing soundtrack, but Marvel’s first 2014 offering, Captain America: The Winter […]