Nazi Joker

The last few days have been pretty dense with good movies. I watched Inglorious Basterds the other night. I saw it in the theater and loved it. I was a little worried a second viewing would show some flaws I overlooked the first time. Happy to say it totally holds up. That movie is close to flawless.
I could go on and on about it but I'll just talk about the stand out. Christoph Waltz as Col. Hans "The Jew Hunter" Landa. As far as I can tell it's his first English speaking role. He completely steals the show. Although, you want more horrible things to happen to the Nazis, you find yourself rooting for Landa. Amazing one liners from this character. Even though everything is good in this movies, during every scene without him I was just waiting for him to come on screen. Every time i saw him i wanted to cheer. A lot like Heath Ledger's Joker in Dark Knight. A Nazi Joker.


Another movie that totally held up was The Hangover. I've watched it twice since Tuesday. I've been a fan of Zach Galifianakis for a long time. There are comics who's weirdness is an act. I have a feeling that is how he rolls. He isn't the type of guy who can just audition for any role. I feel like the Alan was a part that was written for him. Of course, I'm a "ra-tard" and don't know this for sure. Fact checking is for sissies.

I've been fighting this long running battle with not hating people who say I remind them of Seth Rogen. Funny People didn't help me there. Of coarse I'm fatter. Is it sad that I really said "I wish I was in the shape Seth Rogen is in"?

The picture of me with my Boston Terrier was taking a year before Funny People was released. So that happened.
Regardless, Funny People is Apatow's best movie yet. I love that he has a sense of morality and his comedies are trying to say something. It's not just dick and fart jokes. He does sprinkle in the fart jokes in a such delightful way.

First Flight indeed.

After a few months of, I recently jumped back into comics. DC is in the middle of a Green Lantern event dubbed Blackest Night. If none of the words in the last sentence make any sense I couldn't fill you in if I tried but Blackest Night is amazing.
Geoff Johns is easily one of the top writers in comics. He has turned Green Lantern into a top tier character in the DC universe and has even broadened the scope for the DCU. That's pretty amazing for a Universe that has at times had 52 dimensions.
Every Green Lantern event amps up my fanboy warm fuzzies for the title. So my first entry on this blog is appropriately a review of the DC Universe animated movie. Green Lantern: First Flight.

DC has been really putting out some very good direct to DVD animated movies. There rival Marvel is still just crapping out superhero cartoons. Although, I have more familiarity and affection with Marvel, DC's movies are undeniably owning as far as quality and captures the feel of the comics.

Green Lantern is an origin story. If you've never read the book you will not be lost. Hal Jordan is an ace test pilot. one of those "right stuff" kind of guys. He finds himself chosen to become a Green Lantern, an elite intergalactic police force. He is partnered with Sinestro, the greatest Lantern of all time. It's basically cops movie in space but without the weak ass analogy i just laid down. Bare with me people.

Hal Jordan finds himself reporting to a group of old looking smurfs that hate him because he is human. His mentor Sinestro believes in what he does so much he is willing to destroy anyone or anything that is in the way. We quickly see sinestro has all the makings of an intergalactic Hitler.

The movie is very straight forward and doesn't throw anything at you that you don't see coming. It's solid though. A must watch for fans.

The real news here is an upcoming live action Green Lantern movie. Ryan Renolds is probably going to be wearing some green spandex (....pause for the ladies to cheer..) as Hal Jordan.

What I am mostly excited for is Jackie Earle Haley is attached to play Sinestro. Hollywood has rediscovered this guy. He was the tough, dirt bike riding kid in the original Bad News Bears. More recently, He was spot on in the Watchmen movie as Rorschach. People have railed on that movie a lot. While there is a lot to nitpick about the movie missing what the comic did, Rorschach is not one of them. He is also playing Freddy Kruegger in a Nightmare on Elm Street remake.

I can't wait to see what they do with Green Lantern in a mainstream movie. If they are just shoving the next character through the line of the superhero summer movie cash cow, we could be seeing a cinematic disaster of Batman & Robiean proportions. If is made by people who love this title and grasp the scope of the Green Lantern Corps then I will be seeing a new franchise born. Hopefully we get the second.