Why So Serious?

From Detective Comics #33

Batman has always had great confidence in his own abilities.

Rocky Balboa's Wrestling Counterpart

Randy "The Ram" Robinson was one of the most celebrated professional wrestlers of the 1980s. Now, twenty years later, The Ram is struggling desperately for the fame and glory that once was. But times have changed, and those times are tough. He maintains his wrestling presence by participating in small matches held at local school gymnasiums and fan signings at the VFW.

While The Ram dreams of a comeback that will propel him back to the heights of his fame, reality is quickly setting in. Complications from aging and a lifetime of steroid use make entering the ring more and more dangerous every time. However, life outside the ring doesn't have much to offer him. This former wrestling superstar now lives in a trailer park, works at a grocery store, and fails at every attempt to reconnect with his estranged daughter. Plus, his only real female interest is a stripper named Cassidy who treats The Ram as just another costumer.

Since the "real" world has nothing to offer, The Ram places all his hopes and dreams back in the ring. At least there, the fans (those who remember him) still love and adore him.

This movie does bare some resemblance to the washed up, underdog athlete story of the Rocky movies, particularly the excellent Rocky Balboa. However, this isn't a Rocky movie, and everything doesn't always work out just fine and peachy for The Ram. The Wrestler is moving and bittersweet. It left me wanting to cry and cheer for joy at the same time.

And maybe I'm too young, but I don't really know Mickey Rourke particularly well in anything other than Sin City. So, while I can't speak much to this being the declared resurrection of his career, I can say that he gives a mighty fine performance in this film. Rourke certainly deserves all the acclaim and fanfare he's received for this role.

Oh, and if you're scared of Darren Aronofsky movies, don't let that understandable fear dissuade you from The Wrestler. This movie is by far the most mainstream and approachable movie he's done. So just forget for a moment the weirdness of Pi, Requiem for a Dream, and The Fountain, and go watch this movie.

8.5/10 Toddsperience

And Knowing is Half the Battle!

This looks dumb. But it also looks like it has all sorts of crazy action in it, so I'm all for it!




Is it me, or does it appear that Stephen Sommers has watched a lot of Michael Bay movies since his last directorial outing (Van Helsing)? Compare the scene at 2:06 in this trailer to the final battle scene in Transformers and you'll see what I'm talking about. Or just compare it to anything in the new Transformers trailer shown in a previous post.

And how cool would it be if they actually did include those cheesy PSA's in the movie?

Free Comic Book Day

Saturday, May 2nd, was Free Comic Book Day (FCBD). On the first Saturday in May, independent comic book shops tend to have promotions and celebrations that include giving away (completely free!) several comic book titles. I picked myself a small swag of free goodies.

• Wolverine: Origin of an X-Man. This tells the tale of Logan's first mission for the Canucks immediately prior to his legendary encounter with the Hulk. I think. What do I look like? A Marvel historian?

• Blackest Night #0. A prologue to Geoff Johns' upcoming Green Lantern storyline, this issue was a well done story about pondering and reflection. Hal Jordan and Barry Allen (the formerly deceased Green Lantern and Flash) meet at Batman's grave to discuss the nature of death and a superhero's apparent knack for overcoming it. They talk about the deaths and resurrection of various heroes, including their own respective demises. Allen comments that if there is an escape from death, "you can bet Batman's already planning it."

• Savage Dragon #148. This issue is rather neat, as it's smack in the larger continuity of the title and not simply a prologue or one-shot. The first few pages actually recap the last 147 issues and leads into the current storyline. A nice tactic to help new readers understand just what is going on in this crazy book.

• G.I. Joe/G.I. Joe Origins/Transformers Animated. Three short issues in one! The Transformers part is definitely aimed at kids, but the G.I. Joe stories are top notch, with one written by Larry Hama himself!

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 Reprint. This is amazing. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the TMNT, FCBD offered this reprint of the 1984 debut of the beloved heroes in a half-shell. It also includes new forwards written by creators Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman!

So what's with all this comic book nonsense? Well, to answer that question, let me throw down some imdb links for your surfing pleasure.

Wolverine
Green Lantern
G.I. Joe
Transformers
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Savage Dragon

The comic book industry: Hollywood's creative team.

And, yes, I realize G.I. Joe and Transformers are based on toys, but their stories were told in comic book form long before they made the jump to summer blockbuster on the big screen. Also, it's been over a decade since the Savage Dragon cartoon. But aside from that one, the rest have movies currently in the works.

Next FCBD: May 1, 2010.

Invite the Uninvited!

Surprisingly, The Uninvited is a better than average American remake of an Asian horror film. Emily Browning (Lemony Snicket) stars Anna, a teenage girl severely traumatized by her ill mother's accidental death some ten months ago. After cutting her wrists, she was institutionalized until she stabilized mentally.

Now released, Anna goes home and bonds with her sister, played by Arielle Kebbel (The Grudge 2). However, all is not well, for Anna starts seeing horrifying images of ghosts. Anna and her sister deduce that these ghosts are warning them that their mother's former nurse, and father's new girlfriend, played by Elizabeth Banks (The Ubiquitous), actually killed their mother.

There are a few shocks and scares with freightening ghosts, but not as many as you would expect. And that's ok. Instead of being straight up horror, The Uninvited delves into murder mystery territory as the young girls investigate just who their father's girlfriend is. This, coupled with the surprisingly enjoyable ending, sold me on the movie.

As far as American remakes of Asian horror films go, The Uninvited ranks somewhere near the top. Of course, that might not be saying very much, anyway.

8/11 Toddsperience

Liar Liar II

In Yes Man, Jim Carrey plays an introverted shut in that will make up any excuse so as not to be excised from his sofa, watching movies alone. An old buddy coerces him to attend a seminar where he make a covenant with himself to answer "yes" whenever the opportunity presents itself. Get it? Instead of having to tell the truth, he has to say yes! It's the same, but different!

It's not a wonderful movie, but it's by no means horrible. As a one time viewing, it's actually quite enjoyable. The predictable storyline and shenanigans ensue for your amusement. This movie does have a couple of noteworthy pluses, such as Rhys Darby (Murray from Flight of the Conchords who basically plays the same type of character), Harry Potter themed parties, and a small subplot involving the mockery of male nurses.

6.7/10.2 Toddsperience

Revenge of Freaking Huge Robots!

I have no idea what's going on in this, but I don't really care. It looks awesome. Enjoy.

Transformer "Revenge of the Fallen" trailer #3 from Bay Films/Michael Bay Dot Com on Vimeo.