Comic-Con International 2010 – My Experience in Nerd Heaven

A couple of weeks ago I excitedly told my aunt that I was going to Comic Con in a week, with a big ol’ smile on my face.  I didn’t really expect her to be jealous, but I was overly excited.  Then she asked if it was a gathering of comics or something.  As in comedians.  I then proceeded to try and explain that it was this really cool event that happens each year that has been taken over by Hollywood in the past decade or so.  Basically it has everything a nerd would desire to see, including comics, writers, artists, video games, tv shows, and movies.  I told her about the panels I was planning on sitting in on and some of the people that were scheduled to attend.  I was adamant about making her see how awesome it was, but she just didn’t get it.  Color me deflated.  Oh well, I guess Comic Con is just for certain people…

Like this girl:

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Now Playing Review – The Last Airbender

Other than getting to eat my roommate’s cooking all the time, one of the best things that happened last year was her introducing me to Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender.  The show is full of fun episodes that form an epic adventure that spans all three seasons, is incredibly well written in concern to both plot and characters, and is beautifully animated.  Basically it has everything needed to inspire a truly amazing live action big screen adaptation.  Unfortunately M. Night Shyamalan’s interpretation of the source material is not something to show those who have yet to be initiated into the fan club.

Water, earth, fire, air.  Though these basic elements have divided the four nations of the world throughout history, they lived in peace until the fire nation attacked.  The people looked to the Avatar, the one person in the entire world who is the master of all four elements, to help find harmony once more.  However their need would go unanswered, and for the next 100 years they were left to fend for themselves.  Today the war still rages on as the fire nation continues to extend its reach further into the other weakening nations.  As all hope seems lost, a brother and sister come across a boy frozen beneath the water’s surface of the southern pole, revealing himself to be the Avatar that disappeared so many years ago.  Though a great amount of time has passed he must now return to the fight that he abandoned to bring peace and hope back to the four nations of the world. [Read more...]

Review: The Last Airbender

The Last Airbender adaptation from the adored Nickelodeon show doesn’t really come together and I don’t think it will work for the loyal or uninitiated viewer.

The film follows three plot lines, a brother and sister from the water kingdom, a exiled prince of the fire kingdom, and the last airbender who just so happens to be a mythological deity, or Avatar, that has been missing from the world for the last 100 years.  The prince has been looking for the Avatar and after the brother and sister accidentally awaken him from his unknown slumber the group’s destinies become intertwined.

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Introductions are in Order

Tarantino has hit his stride again with the Basterds

Hello all, I’m Grant and I’ll be doing occasional reviews on this site. This introduction should let you know what I like, and what you can expect from me.

Favorite Film Genre

From Double Indemnity to Brick I love a good Film Noir. I enjoy the expansive plots and confusing narratives that leave me as lost as the protagonist. I love the ambiguous intentions of the characters (be it the protagonist or one of those dangerous ladies). Also, over the years I may have become so disenchanted with the ‘Hollywood Endings’ that I see a pessimistic film with a downer ending as a breath of fresh air.

Thoughts on Quentin Tarantino

He is a huge dork, but this only enhances his craft. It is nice to have a writer/director who is more obsessed about the film than I am. Tarantino has an amazing ability to let his soundtracks guide his films. His interesting and comedic dialogs are thought provoking and very quotable. Tarantino is amazingly refreshing because he continually provides creative narratives and long tracking shots to improve his story telling. It won’t always be a success (Deathproof) but Tarantino sacrifices nothing during his filmmaking and I will gladly see anything written and directed by him.

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