If Ya Don't Know, Now Ya Know

Supe's new suit. Its causing a bit of a stir on those new-fangled internets. Mostly because of the lack of red 'Underoo' section about the loin-al area. I think the update is pretty unobtrusive and really just adds some body streaming detail that works. Probably in motion and under actual studio lighting rather than this daylight cell-camera shot these details will be less noticeable. This is Henry Cavill, by the way. Best known for his turns in The Tudors and Stardust. He certainly has the Man of Steel look down. With Zak Snyder helming the project and David S. Goyer and Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight) both receiving story credits my faith in this take on Superman is strong. The cast is myriad and all-star, featuring Amy Adams (The Fighter) as Lois Lane, Russel Crowe as Jor-El and Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as The Kents. Morpheus all co-stars. I don't see anything not to be excited about. In fact, the writing crew in place to fuel Zak Snyder's often dazzling and sometimes overzealous vision may be what he needs to be full on cannonized. Films like The 300 and Watchmen seem to split the fanbase on his understanding of the graphic novel adaptation. But I just can't see any holes in this production team Bryan Singer's name is noticeably nowhere near the top of the credits, production or otherwise. I was under the impression he would be somewhat more intimately associated with this project. I'd rather see him stay focused on the direction of the X-Men franchise anyways, as his deviation from that series to direct 'Superman Returns' was probably one of the worst missteps Fox took concerning the world's favorite group of outcast mutants.

Oh and don't worry. Several other leaked photos show the red cape in all its glory. My reactionary theory on the absence of cape in some shots is that perhaps they are adding it digitally to control the look in flight or action sequences. This flick won't be flying in until Summer 2013 so there will be plenty of superhero glory or misques to dissect before then. Still wicked stoked for Avengers directed by ubergeek creator and occasional director Joss Whedon (Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse....pretty sick track record).

You Don't Get to 500 Million Friends Without ReBooting a Few Franchises

Ok, this will be a relatively important Superhero movie not called 'Dark Knight' in 2012 as well... Am I concerned? Of course. Am I excited? More so than originally. Director Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer and a bunch of music videos) does NOT inspire...anything really. Its easy to get angry about the demise of Sam Raimi's well-envisioned Spider-Man. Before Bale lowered his voice a couple octaves while trying to catch the doomed Ledger Raimi's portrait of a kid struggling with his own identity - secret or otherwise - was the modern blueprint. And while Andrew Garfield's sympathetic turn in The Social Network may have earned him a good chunk of studio credibility the fanboys are not gonna be quick to anoint the second coming of Peter Parker...especially if the whole venture still wreaks of sparkly vampires and shirtless werewolves (which, lets be honest, is exactly the demographic Sony is looking to snare with this backpedal into 'Spider-Man Goes to High School with obligatory love triangle' territory) when it lands in July....sometime after the Dark Knight Rises and before the Avengers Assemble next year.

So this doesn't show us much. But I'm more intrigued than I was before I saw it. For the record I am sincerely rooting for Andrew Garfield. I just think he is getting thrown into a Fanboy meat-grinder and he may not be ready for the backlash. Not that I sympathize... Herrrre 'goez

It's Been a Long Time.....Shouldn'a Left You...

Ack....Back on the Chain Gang.

I'm going to get this blogging thing and Scheduling thing right. To swear that it will start tonight is likely a falsehood but I'm sure that clocking entries at a good clip will keep me entertained, if not necessarily the huddled masses. So a few points of interest.

The Avengers movie is shooting in Cleveland. Amazing.

Having made sure to check in for each Avengers entry I know that when Joss Whedon has finished overhauling the entire ideology we will be floored. I find it interesting that the crumbling husk of a city, more boarded windows than active commerce, where jobs and NBA stars are fleeting or non-existent, known as Cleveland was chosen as the setting for what will be the most important comic book movie not called 'Dark Knight' of 2012. The fact that my family on both sides...though not biological father's side, hails from Cleveland by way of suburb or migration from Youngstown strikes me. Why this destitute former wondertown? What did Joss see here? They opportunity to expand and rebuild? If so then perhaps there is hope for some of the Bode cousins who continuously strive to create something from nothing in the city that Moko Bovo couldn't save, to say nothing of Drew Carey..

I just started Mad Men and I didn't realize how in-depth the character study would go. Draper's disturbing-ness is disturbing... The universal story of a man projecting one character and living an entirely different novel? I guess I'll break it down further as I go further. LOST will never be topped. Mostly because of its a build to go diving in the deepest character oceans ever recorded... but Mad Men's chasm may go further down.... its just narrower.

Audible Mainframe. I toured with this band for 5 years and count myself as a founding member contributing to the overall style and feel, some of which they still carry. I left the band in 2008 when I chose to move back to the East Coast from Long Beach... I have few regrets (to have ever started drinking being one of those that spring to mind but having a year of sobriety under my belt alleviates some of that sting) and had my reasons for leaving California behind but I think about Audible Mainframe and my Robot Comrades often. My Aunt Becky recently faced a battle with cancer. Her fight is going amazingly well.

Victor, the front man for Audible Mainframe, just moved back to Boston to begin his battle with cancer. This is difficult for me to understand. All I can really wrap my brain around at this point is that self-actualization is one of my strongest beliefs. So I will think hard. Or pray. Or whatever wording makes sense to the individual. But Victor's situation throws life out of balance and causes one to examine factors of life I hadn't previously made room for.

This week I'm listening heavy to Foster the People. At first I thought "Pumped Up Kicks", the rapidly-becoming-ubiquitous single from their record Torches might be their only solid entry but the strength of the record is not immediately apparent. In my experience an indication of real strength, not the studio-bought kind that only lasts for 6 weeks worth of iTunes downloads.. We'll see.

So yeah, I'm typing from a four-in-the-morning vantage-point. And life seems to be flashing across the tablet screen right now. In reality I suppose we ain't even talking about a game. We talkin' about practice. As  my mother put it during our first session of art teaching at Springfield's Tinkham Rd. Juvenile Detention Facility last week..... "LAYUPS make you a better basketball player. Sketches make you a better artist."

I'm gonna watch the sunrise and think about what else I've done wrong over the last five years. Usually makes for good reading.