Monthly Archives: February 2012
R.I.P. Davy Jones
Word just came out that Davy Jones of the Monkees passed away today from a heart attack at the age of 66. This seriously stinks, as The Monkees are one of those great bands that seemed less than special at their time, but have grown in stature over the years. We gave away both seasons of their classic tv series back in December, which brought back memories of watching them and even seeing the band (minus Mike Nesmith) in Toronto back in 1996.
Here’s a classic Davy moment that isn’t Daydream Believer.
Trailer Time: Avengers Assemble In Another Trailer, Complete With Lots of Hulk!
Well, another new Avengers trailer is here and safe to say, it’s the best one yet! I’m fairly certain that you’ll let out a few ooh’s and ahhh’s as we get an even better look at Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk and a fairly badass baddie that the team will be dealing with. So sit down and get ready for another taste of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. May 4th can’t come quick enough!
Finally, The Darkseid Of American Justice On The Wednesday Run – February 29, 2012
In a month that happens to have five Wednesdays, this week was always going to be a light week for new comic book releases. Still, that’s no excuse to not make your mid-week run to the local shop: there’s still a treat waiting for you there!
Whether you know them as the Justice League of America, the JLA, Justice League Europe, Justice League International, Justice League Unlimited or Justice League Task Force, these days DC’s greatest grouping of superheroes go by the simple yet effective: Justice League. Read the rest of this entry
There’s Prog Rock and now there’s Newgrass: Punch Brothers, Carolina Chocolate Drops and The Cranberries Take Traditional Music To Untraditional Places
Bluegrass and old-time traditional folk or string band music isn’t exactly mainstream these days, but acts like Mumford & Sons, The Avett Brothers, The Band Perry and The Civil Wars have received major exposure on the Grammy Awards in recent years and that’s a good thing. This week I stumbled upon two really interesting albums of what you might call modern bluegrass music as well as a new release from one of the best pop-rock/folk acts of the ‘90’s.
Mat Langford’s Gaming World: First impressions of the PS Vita.
The Vita is here!
I’ve had five days to play with Sony’s new handheld, the PS Vita, and so far it’s a great experience. Here’s a rundown on my experiences with it so far, both good and bad.
Tales from the Longbox – Justice League #1 (1987)
Every other week, Jason Shayer will highlight an issue or a run of issues pulled from the horde of comic book long boxes that occupy more room in his house than his wife can tolerate. Each of these reviews will delve into what made that issue or run significant as well as discuss the creative personalities behind the work. “Long Box” refers to the lengthy, white cardboard boxes most comics find themselves stored within – bagged, alphabetized and numerically ordered.
Justice League #1
“Born Again”
May 1987
Writers: Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis
Penciler: Kevin Maguire
Inker: Terry Austin
Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis’ take on the Justice League was a dramatic departure from the expected, which was a reboot of the team book featuring DC’s big seven (Aquaman, Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Flash, Martian Manhunter, and Wonder Woman). Let’s set the historical perspective for this issue. In the post-Crisis DC universe, the Legends crossover event had just wrapped up and the current incarnation of the Justice League (known as the Justice League Detroit) was destroyed, including their orbiting satellite base. Also at that time, Superman was being rebooted by John Byrne, Wonder Woman by George Perez, and the Flash (Wally West) by Mike Baron and Butch Guice. In the wake of all of this, the Justice League was being rebooted as well, but without the majority of those big seven superheroes. Giffen in his 2007 introduction to the hardcover reprint, mentions that they didn’t have input into who was going to be on the team.
Act Of Valor Takes Down Tyler Perry, Wanderlust Bombs Big Time – Biff Bam Pop’s Box Office Wrap-Up Report, Weekend of February 24th
Tyler Perry went to war this weekend and lost to a group of NAVY Seals. Meanwhile, Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd are probably wondering what went wrong with Wanderlust. Here’s things turned out at the box office this weekend:
Act of Valor, the action film staring honest and true NAVY Seals managed to top the box office this weekend with a strong $24 million. With a budget of $12 million, the film is already in the black, taking out some pretty serious competition along the way.
Good Deeds, staring Tyler Perry is a non-Madea role, managed to underperform this weekend, debuting in second place with a lacklustre $16 million. While Madea tends to be Perry’s go to draw, I’m still surprised that this film didn’t even hit $20 million. In all likelihood, Good Deeds will eventually find its audience on DVD and VOD shortly.
The biggest disappointment of the weekend has to be Wanderlust. Audiences just didn’t turn out to see Jennifer Aniston and Paul as a couple that leaves New York and winds up at a hippie commune. The film got some decent reviews, but could only muster $6.6 million to land in eighth place.
As for the rest of the top five, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island continued its strong run to land at number three with $13 million for a total of $76 million. Safe House dropped to fourth spot with $11.4 million, while The Vow closed out the top five with $10 million.
So, to recap, here were our predictions:
1) Good Deeds – $21 million
2) Act of Valor – $19 million
3) Safe House – $18 million
4) Journey 2: The Mysterious Island – $15 million
5) Wanderlust – $10 million
And the result were:
1) Acts of Valor – $24 million
2) Good Deeds – $16 million
3) Journey 2: The Mysterious Island – $13 million
4) Safe House – $11.4 million
5) The Vow – $10 million
Next week sees the release of Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax and the Hangover-esque Project X. Be sure to check back on Friday to see our predictions!
Happy 80th Birthday, Johnny Cash
One of my biggest concert going regrets was skipping Johnny Cash’s gig at Toronto’s Massey Hall in 1996, in support of his Unchained album. I figured he’d be back. I was wrong. Not long after the gig, Johnny took ill and stopped touring, eventually passing away in 2003. One legend I never had the chance to see. But I love the Man In Black. Today would have been his 80th birthday. Let’s take a moment to remember just how kickass he was, is and always will be.
