Justice League: Throne of Atlantis

Justice League: Throne of Atlantis ~ Throne of Atlantis is the first sequel to Justice League: War, which in turn was a result of the New 52 continuity created by The Flashpoint Paradox.  Confused?  Don't be.  Suffice it to say, the DC Comics Universe used to be different and fun, and now it's not.  These are the adventures of what passes for the Justice League in that new world. 

This is a Justice League that doesn't get together for meetings, doesn't look like themselves from the comics (or the ones I fondly remember), and doesn't particularly even like each other - except for Superman and Wonder Woman of course, who are romantically involved.  This team dynamic is a darned shame because the cast has great chemistry.  Nathan Fillian's Green Lantern joins Rosario Dawson as Wonder Woman, Jerry O'Connell as Superman, and Sean Astin as Shazam (who is again sadly neither the wizard nor the real Captain Marvel). 

Thankfully this is not really a story about the Justice League, but more of a(nother) retelling of Aquaman's origin, something done much better in the comics, and in the animated "Justice League" episodes "The Enemy Below."  I really didn't care for the re-jiggering of characters like Mera, Black Manta, Atlanna, and Ocean Master however.

I liked the pseudo-anime style animation and the majestic score by Frederik Wiedmann, who had previously composed for "Beware the Batman" and the much-missed "Green Lantern: The Animated Series."  But that's really about it.  Like previous entries in this new series of animated features, there's a lot of violence, both bloody and lethal, not something I watch superhero cartoons for, at least not to this extent. 

Look for a cameo by pre-Steel as John Henry Irons and a reference to "Mercy Reef," the cool Aquaman spin-off from "Smallville" that never got past the pilot stage.  Not recommended unless a hardcore fan, or you like the New 52 Justice League. 

Avengers Confidential: Black Widow & Punisher

Avengers Confidential: Black Widow & Punisher ~ This animated feature comes to us from Madhouse, the folks behind Iron Man: Rise of the Technovore, and the four Marvel Anime series - "Iron Man," "X-Men," "Wolverine," and "Blade." I wasn't too fond of the feature, but I liked the first three series quite a bit. I was initially a bit conflicted seeing this one because as happy as I was to finally see the Black Widow get some time in the spotlight, I am not a Punisher fan.

This feature does not hold back on the violence, and is definitely not for the kids. As a matter of fact, the opening scene with the Punisher, a graphic bloodbath gunfight, is everything I hate about the character. My heroes don't wholesale murder dozens of individuals just because they're in the way. No matter his motivation, even if there's a heart in there somewhere, to me, the Punisher is a murderer and a villain, no better, if not worse than the 'scum' he 'punishes.'

Most irritating of all, regarding the sequence, is that the Punisher doesn't kill the big bad in charge, a fellow named Cain, but allows him not only his life but to escape as well, after killing dozens of his underlings outright. Punisher's murder spree is interrupted by Black Widow, Nick Fury, and S.H.I.E.L.D. They manage to only distract the killer. The Punisher in this feature is superhuman, almost supernatural, as if the animators were unaware of the character's origins and 'power set.'

A deal is struck, Punisher's freedom for his cooperation in the SHIELD mission that collided with his criminal massacre. Forced to work together, the Black Widow and the Punisher pursue Leviathan, a Russian offshoot of Hydra, who were among the big bads in the first season of "Marvel's Agent Carter." When Widow describes Leviathan to the Punisher, it's startling to hear his hypocritical care for dead civilians. Again, I reiterate, villain.

Now there's some weird stuff going on in this story. There's a character who's a mish-mash of both the original Red Guardian and Hank Pym foe Egghead, an anime stereotype version of Amadeus Cho staying at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Istanbul headquarters for some reason, and cool cameos of old school Marvel villains like Count Nefaria, Baron Zemo, Taskmaster, and others. The Hulk shows up as well, ridden by Amadeus Cho in a visual that conjures both the Imperial Guard's Warstar and Rankin-Bass' animated "King Kong."

And just so you don't think the Avengers part of the title is misleading - Iron Man, Thor, Hawkeye, Captain Marvel, and War Machine all show up late in the third act. They help wrap up Leviathan's bio-soldiers as well as Graviton, and the Griffin, and the other villains. Quite a finale, and I would love to see more anime Captain Marvel.

Now there is a nice evolution in the Black Widow and the Punisher's partnership. They go from opponents, to bickering couple, to the Widow actually teaching him something about mercy. So I didn't hate him as much at the end as I did at the beginning, but I still have intense dislike. The score by Tetsuya Takahashi needs to be mentioned also as its one of the best parts of this feature.

The animation is spectacular, visually stunning, and the kind we've come to expect from the company who also did "Death Note," Batman: Gotham Knight, and The Animatrix. And as much as it's not the Punisher we know, it is kind of cool seeing his eyes glow in combat. As I said, it's pretty violent, but worth seeing for comics fans, and Punisher fans will probably love it.

And if you'd like to hear more discussion of this feature, or my feelings about the Punisher, please check out this week's episode of The GAR! Podcast.

Chinese Gods

Chinese Gods ~ This one is another film lost to the legal video/DVD generation, and in most cases, like with me and Dead Is Dead or Poor Devil, is one some folks are unsure they remember correctly or perhaps remember seeing at all. Sometimes known as Chinese Gods, or The Story of Chinese Gods, or simply the unlikely Bruce Lee cartoon, its real title is Pang Shen Feng.

Created in 1976, with a character drawn to look like Bruce Lee, I first discovered this on Saturday afternoons in the early eighties where it invariably showed up as part of the martial arts flicks on UHF. I have to wonder what the regular kung fu and Shaw Bros. fans made of this animated feature mixed in with their standard fare.

The simply animated film, with old school anime flair and just a touch of Yellow Submarine surrealism, loosely strings together a handful of tales from Chinese mythology into one story full of bizarre visuals and wild martial arts fight sequences. Be warned ahead of time, this is not for kids. There are adult themes and concepts, and quite a bit of violence and sexual innuendo, even blood and a bit of nudity.

Chinese Gods starts a little slow, but once the strange creatures, monsters, and demons start showing up, it gets quite good. I remember being so entranced with one such beast - the nine-tailed fox - that I wrote it up and used it against my players in a Dungeons & Dragons campaign. Here the nine-tailed fox gives Bruce Lee a run for his money.

The one fighter with third eye bears more than a passing resemblance to Bruce Lee. This homage was obviously well meaning and long labored as it's very close to the real thing. From poses to fighting stances and styles, this Bruce Lee, and it's a hoot to see him not just in period garb, but also fighting magical creatures. It takes a downturn however when he becomes a dragon, not a cool dragon, mind you, but more like Pete's Dragon.

There's also the half-naked kid who flies by riding fiery wheels on his feet. Did I mention how surreal yet cool this flick is? I thought Chinese Gods stood the test of time and was well worth seeing again. It's definitely available on YouTube here, and might also be on out of print VHS or bootleg DVD. Good but surreal fun.

Castle in the Sky

Castle in the Sky ~ When I first saw this movie way back in the late 1980s at Philadelphia's Roxy Screening Room, It was called Laputa: Castle in the Sky. As it's been passed around from different distribution companies with vaious translations and dubs, it's also been known as Island in the Sky, City in the Sky, and Laputa: The Flying Island. I know that I searched for a copy for decades, and was thrilled when Disney finally released it as part of their Studio Ghibli line in 1998. It is my favorite of those films, and my favorite by Hayao Miyazaki, who wrote, directed, and produced it.

The film focuses on a young girl and her new friend running from fascist government spies and military, as well as air pirates, as all pursue a mythical city in the sky called Laputa. As it turns out, she is the long lost princess of Laputa and only her pendant can find the city and release its secrets, which include, not only a treasure, but also a weapon of mass destruction. The legends are pulled from not only Jonathan Swift's book "Gulliver's Travels" but also the Hindu epic "The Ramayana" as well with its Indra's arrow.

The characters are wonderfully Miyazaki originals, coming across like a weird hybrid of both Max Fleisher and "Speed Racer." There is some terrific design work that both conjures a Welsh mining town that Miyazaki once visited, his love of airplanes (as evidenced in The Wind Rises), and a firm foundation in all things steampink. The Goliath and Tiger Moth airships, and the amazing flaptors of Dola's air pirates are excellent examples of that.

I love the chase sequences, and the battling airships. This is a steampunk pulp fan's wet dream, high adventure at its finest. The characters are fun, you can love them, you can hate them, and most of all root for them and fear for them. There are characters in live action 'real' movies that are not as three dimensional as these folks. The Disney dub boasts a voice cast that includes Anna Paquin, James Van Der Beek, Mandy Patinkin, Andy Dick, and absolutely stellar performances by Cloris Leachman as Dola and Mark Hamill as the evil Muska.

I love this film, and it's easily in my top ten or twenty favorite films of all time. If you like anime, or adventure, or steampunk - this is absolutely must see, but really I think everyone will enjoy Castle in the Sky.

Quickies 2-19-2013

Steel Against the Sky ~ A classic Warner Bros. two-reeler from 1941, this has stock characters and a predictable end, but all in all is great fun. Two brothers, Lloyd Nolan and Craig Stevens, high rise construction workers, compete for the same girl, sexy dame Alexis Smith. Thrills abound in the climax high above a bridge construction in a raging ice storm. Classic forties Hollywood melodrama at its best - snappy banter, comedy, romance, and adventure. And watch out for the young Jackie Gleason. Worth watching.

Spaceship Yamato ~ This 2010 live action version of the animated TV series "Star Blazers" is everything you would expect it to be. I liken it to seeing my comic book heroes, the Avengers, on the big screen. It's something I never thought I would see in a million years, and yet here it is. Fabulous special effects bring the animation to life. So worth seeing, even if you just look at it with no subtitles on YouTube. Absolutely must see for any "Star Blazers" fans.

21 Jump Street ~ I really only watched the first season of this show when it was originally on, so I'm not a fan by any real stretch, but I do hate the idea of remaking old TV series into comedy movies, especially when the source material was not a comedy. I can forgive "Bewitched," but this one doesn't quite fit. About the only thing I liked about this was the Johnny Depp reveal at the end. The rest of this mess is really like Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum just got stoned and improv-ed what they thought "21 Jump Street" might be about. Hill is so not funny here, and I equally don't get what all the fuss over Tatum is. Avoid this like a salad bar without a sneeze guard.

The Cabin in the Woods ~ Joss Whedon strikes again. There's really not much I can say about this one, other than it is always more than you expect, and always goes one better. Unpredictability at its best, a modern horror classic. If I told you anything else, I'd spoil it. You're on your own.

Double or Nothing ~ This great one-reeler from 1936 stars Phil Harris as a stunt double in Hollywood who while under gas dreams he goes to 'Doubles Heaven,' home to lookalikes of the stars. An amusing musical romp, and lots of fun for fans of classic Hollywood, starring many doubles of the day.

The Last Airbender

The Last Airbender ~ Long before a friend turned me on to the beautifully animated TV series, I saw large chunks of this movie while on a cruise. You know how television on a cruise ship is like half a dozen movies on a continuous loop? This was one of them. I was unimpressed.

At the time, I had no foreknowledge of "Avatar" or bending or any of the mythology involved. I was bored by many undialogued scenes, cool special effects but without substance, and what seemed like a lot of spiritual mumbo jumbo and clever subtext that I just didn't understand. Pretentious was the word I was looking for. And I was bored by it. If memory serves, I actually found Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time more interesting.

Of course the other factor at work here is M. Night Shyamalan. I love M. Night. I even have loved M. Night after it was uncool to love, or even like, him any more. When the critics turned on him and left to drown in low box office and derivative stories I loved the guy. I even dug Lady in the Water, but even I was let down by The Happening. And though he only directed, produced, and wrote the screenplay for this one, I was hopeful this would not continue the critic's curse. It sure didn't seem like it from what I saw however.

In the pre-"Legend of Korra" excitement, and having also watched a dozen or so episodes of the original series too, I decided to give the feature film another shot. The first thing that struck me about The Last Airbender is the somberness of it, the almost lack of humor. That said, it is respectful of the source material, but almost too much so. It's like M. Night wants so badly to give it a serious treatment, he forgets it's a story about kids, he forgets to have fun. This is just not about childlike wonderment, it's about being a kid too, despite the world it takes place in.

The Last Airbender also has something in common with many of the films made from Stephen King books. If you have read the books, you already know what the characters are thinking and feeling so you dismiss any absence of same on the screen. This also works with this movie, having seen the source material. This is why it felt so empty the first time I saw it, but on more recent viewing, I understood it.

The two hour movie is essentially shorthand, or Cliff's Notes if you will, of the fifty plus episodes of the animated series, or the first third of them at least. M. Night strives to keep a lot of it in, even when it has lost its context. It's a lot of tell over show, and any writer will explain its the other way around. Much is lost by M. Night being meticulous. Without knowing ahead of time what is what, the film becomes a convoluted mess.

Despite all that, the second time around I enjoyed the film quite a bit. There are some wonderful visuals, some that I wouldn't have thought this director capable of, but again, it's not the animated series, but it tries in its own way. And in that way, The Last Airbender is a great companion piece to "Avatar," just not alone.

Avatar and the Legend of Korra

Those who know me well know that I struggle with insomnia. Last year when I purchased an iPhone, coupled with the insomnia, I started to develop a bad habit - watching entire runs of TV shows while I sat awake in bed. After I had finished up "Nip/Tuck," I asked on Twitter what folks thought I should watch next.

Other than things I had already seen, I got all the usual stuff thrown at me like "Buffy," "House" and "Babylon 5." Sigh. Friend and Vidcast partner Allison made a suggestion that at first I thought was odd - "Avatar The Last Airbender." I'm not much of an anime guy. Other than the old old school stuff like "Speed Racer" and "Kimba," the only anime I've ever been into was "One Piece." But I respect Allison's opinion a lot, despite appearances on the Vidcast, so I gave it a try.

I was more than surprised, I was blown away. I was introduced to a fantasy world in which some people have the ability to 'bend' the elements, in other words, to control the earth, the air, the water, and the fire. One being, the Avatar, has the ability to bend all four, and is basically proclaimed the savior and leader of people by example. In this world, the Avatar has been absent for over a hundred years and is released from an icy tomb. Once free, he must finish his training and grow up. The young boy Avatar and his friends together defeat the Fire Empire that has ruled much of the world with a fascist regime.

Along the way, I fell in love with the characters, the story, both episodic and overarching, and the beautiful backgrounds and animation. It is an amazing series that I can not heap enough praise upon. I was mesmerized and devoured well over fifty episodes in just under two weeks. Yeah, it was that good. But then it was over.

Imagine my surprise recently when I learned that Nickolodeon, the network who made "Avatar," was working on a sequel by the same folks. I was thrilled. Several weeks ago "The Legend of Korra" began airing. The story picks up almost a century later. The Avatar has brought a new age to the world, one of prosperity and enlightenment. Republic City is the capital of much of the world, a world in the midst of a cultural and industrial revolution. Into this turn of the century steampunk world of Republic City comes Korra the spunky new Avatar in training.

The creators could have gone the easy route, a rehash of the original series, a proven formula that worked, but they went different. This is a whole new spectrum of the concept. Korra is in a cityscape, she's a bending athlete, and the world is in upheaval between the benders and the non-benders. Much like "Avatar" before it, I love this show, and can't recommend it enough. This is an amazing show. Watch it.

The Secret World of Arrietty

The Secret World of Arrietty ~ Probably one of the most wonderful things Disney has done in recent years, outside of their Cruise Line and keeping Marvel Comics from going under is obtaining distribution rights for Studio Ghibli. Those of us in the genre audience who have loved the breathtaking work of Hayao Miyazaki can now share it with the rest of the world.

The newest import from the Land of the Rising Sun, via Disney distribution is The Secret World of Arrietty, also known as Kari-gurashi no Arietti, is based on "The Borrowers" novels by Mary Norton, which have provided inspiration for many television and film projects. The Borrowers are tiny folks who live in the floorboards of your house and only take what they need.

Here they live in a house soon occupied by a sickly boy who sees them right away, especially a high-spirited young Borrower girl named Arrietty. A tentative friendship blooms in this smaller than usual (pun unintended) Ghibli film. It is wondrously animated and tells a touching story with a surprising voice cast. Amy Pohler didn't annoy me and Carol Burnett slips easily into a villain role.

Like all the Miyazaki and Ghibli films, this is a joy to watch, a wonderful adventure and character story, highly recommended.

RIP Peter Fernandez

Award winning actor, voice actor, author, lyricist, writer and director Peter Fernandez passed away Thursday after a long battle with lung cancer. He was 83.

Peter Fernandez was the guiding force behind the Americanization of such anime classics as "Speed Racer," "Gigantor," "Astro Boy" and "Star Blazers," and also live action imports from Japan like "Ultraman," "Space Giants," "Mothra" and several of the Godzilla films from the 1960s. His early career was in radio on shows like "Gangbusters," "Mr. District Attorney" and "Superman."

More recently he had a small part in the big screen version of Speed Racer and a featured role in the newest incarnation of the animated series. Other recent work included "Kenny the Shark" and "Courage the Cowardly Dog."

I had the opportunity to interview the man at the New York Comic Con a few years back and it's one of my most cherished memories. I was nervous as hell but he was a very kind and generous, and understanding interviewee. Some of that interview is available here.

I have lost another huge chunk of my childhood, but I'm glad I was able to meet Mr. Fernandez, and at least tell him how much his work meant to me. He will be missed.

Astro Boy

Astro Boy ~ I guess I should have known better with this 2009 updating of the 1960s black and white cartoon beloved from my youth. And it’s a long way past the evolution of the animation too. The story seems wrong. The origin of Astro Boy is fairly intact, but it has the feel and the stench of both A.I.: Artificial Intelligence and Wall-E when neither is really appropriate. It even has stronger ties to Pinocchio. Astro Boy is Astro Boy, let it be what it is, ya know?

The voice of Nicholas Cage as Dr. Tenma screams first and foremost as wrong. Wrong not just because it’s obvious that it’s him and his voice is inappropriate for the part, but because he displays little emotion in a role fraught with tragedy. It’s like he is reading words, not filling an image with his live personality. His ‘performance’ is a travesty.

The film also suffers from what most superhero movies of the past four decades do – the mandatory origin. Why can’t we just accept that this character exists, and then tell a good story? Did Indiana Jones have an origin? Did Jack Ryan? And even though I looove the recent film, did the crew of the Starship Enterprise? The movie is always half over, sometimes more, by the time we see our hero in his final hero form. It annoys me.

And speaking of hero form – why does Astro Boy have to be so politically correct and wear a shirt? Sorry, folks, but product recognition, in this case, character recognition, dictates that the product is recognizable to its fans. Astro Boy is topless. Deal with it. What’s next? A leisure suit for Tarzan? A mask and cape for Jason Bourne? Again, let Astro Boy be Astro Boy.

I waited for the DVD, even though I was very excited when I first heard they were making this. The first preview I saw had Nicholas Cage’s toneless deadpan voice, the shirted Astro Boy and a tender moment with a teenage girl, and it just turned me off. Now don’t get me wrong. This movie is not bad, it’s really quite good, great for the kids, and recommended so - but what it isn’t is a satisfying version of Astro Boy. Rent the DVDs of the original series – even higher recommendation.

Perfect Blue

Perfect Blue ~ This is quite possibly the best anime I have ever seen. Not only is it that good but it deftly illustrates the difference between Japanese and American animation. America makes cartoons of what isn’t possible, while Japan creates things like Perfect Blue - a straight thriller with almost zero fantasy elements.

This tale of pop idol Mima trying to make the jump from teeny bopper superstar to a grown up serious and sensual actress while being stalked by a deranged fan – is not the usual fare for anime. No swords, giant robots or magic schoolgirls – no martial arts or even tentacle sex – just solid drama, story and characters. This is don’t miss, but be warned, even though it’s animated – this is not for kids. Sex and violence abound. Perfect Blue is very Hitchcock with just a touch of Gaslight, recommended.

Howl's Moving Castle

Howl’s Moving Castle ~ This Hiyao Miyazaki classic is based on an award-winning novel by a British author, Diana Wynne James. Set in a very imaginative 1920s-ish steampunk world where magic exists, this surreal tale is well-suited to Miyazaki’s filmmaking and storytelling talents.

Young Sophie is cursed and turned into an old woman, voiced by the late and legendary Jean Simmons, and starts cleaning a wizard’s giant walking castle – the one referenced in the title. Howl, appropriately played by Christian Bale, is a spoiled brat of a wizard, and a coward to boot, seemingly a perfect role for Bale based on his on-set tantrums of recent years. The voice cast is rounded out by Billy Crystal as a enslaved fire demon, who for the first time in quite some time is not grating on my nerves. The demon, Calcifer, is actually a lot of fun.

The highlight of the film is the subtle way that Sophie ages and de-ages, depending on her emotions and situations, throughout. It’s a wonderful touch. I can’t recommend this enough as I love Miyazaki, but by the same token, it is Miyazaki, and a hard and bizarre pill to swallow at times. The man is a genius, and the animation is visually brilliant, so even just as eye candy, this is so worth seeing.

For another view on this flick, check out the Comic Widows review by Maxine Nelson here.

Marvel Anime

Marvel Comics is expanding their characters to Japanese animation in 2010. Madhouse will be producing four animated features next year with Iron Man, Wolverine, Spider-Man and the Hulk.

Honestly I’m surprised this hasn’t been done before. Wolverine’s origins and best stories have always involved Japan - and Iron Man, come on, Iron Man just screams anime with all that tech. He's practically a mecha. Looks good, can’t wait.

8 Man

I’m giving away my age with this one. What the hell, I’ll come right out with it, I’ll be 45 next week. Yeah, I’m effing old. Anyway, when I was barely old enough to walk or read I also started watching television, thus beginning a destructive habit that lasts to this day.

There were certain cartoons that I vaguely remember, but recall as being good, but never saw again until decades later. There were “Gigantor,” “Kimba” and “Astro Boy,” both of which I had little memory of but when I saw them again decades later I found my initial reaction was fairly dead on. These were excellent anime that still hold up and are as entertaining to me now as they were then.

There was also another Japanese cartoon among them that I vaguely recalled, but never saw again. This was called “Tobor the Eighth Man,” but my foggy young brain remembered it as “8 Man,” which ironically was the actual Japanese name for the hero and the show. Legend (and fact) has it that the reason we’ve never seen this again in the States is that 8 Man gets his powers from smoking cigarettes. I’m unsure whose idea this was for a children’s TV show, even in 1963, but come on, really? And furthermore, why would a robot smoke?

I finally got to see a few episodes on a DVD called Cartoon Crazys: Comic Book Heroes, thank you, NetFlix. Sadly, it does not hold up as well as the others I mentioned. The tale of a police detective murdered by criminals whose mind is put into the body of a robot is intriguing yet done with the simplistic overtones of a standard American cartoon, rather than a Japanese anime.

Frequently 8 Man is referred to as the precursor to Robocop, and an original concept in itself. This is not necessarily true. It should be noted that in 1942 DC Comics published the adventures of Robotman, a robotic crimefighter with a human brain, created by Jerry Siegel of Superman fame. Either way, it’s still fun. Ralph Bakshi worked on these translations and his sly hand can be heard in lines like “Why is this sign in Japanese?” commenting on the kanji characters throughout the cartoon. Like I said, fun.

“Tobor, the Eighth Man” is worth a look, if for nothing other than nostalgic reasons. And remember, kids, don’t smoke!

Ponyo

Ponyo ~ The first thing that strikes me about Ponyo (also known as Gake no ue no Ponyo) is how terrific it is now that in America, not only are Hiyao Miyazaki’s films distributed mainstream by Disney, but that Hiyao Miyazaki films are now an event. This is just how it should be. He’s a genius, and it’s about time he’s treated this way.

I think a lot of that may be due to TCM. A year or so back they did an entire week of Miyazaki films that brought his work into the mainstream consciousness. I knew about him but then again I have a comics and anime background. I know this was when my wife’s eyes were opened to his brilliance, a probably many others as well.

Ponyo is a simple yet bizarre tale of a goldfish who falls in love with a little boy and then wants to become human. From there it gets complicated. And the complications are what I love about Miyazaki. He always follows the game plan of the Hero’s Journey, yet he takes the roundabout way, the twisted mountain road, so that he is never predictable – and that’s refreshing. When was the last time you could not guess the ending or even the next scene of a film?

This is an enjoyable flick for both adults and children, and highly recommended. I really enjoyed it. And if you like what you see, check out the rest of Miyazaki’s films. You’ll be glad you did.

The Beatles - Rock Band

Courtesy of Brad Meltzer and E3 2009, here comes the sneak preview trailer for "The Beatles: Rock Band."

Check it out here.

It just doesn't get any cooler than this. The Beatles. Rock Band. Anime. Pychedelics. And of course, the Beatles. Wow. A shame the actual game (see below) just doesn't look half as cool...

The game releases on September 9th, 2009.




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G.I. Joe: Resolute

G.I. Joe is back, and no, I'm not just talking about the upcoming live-action movie. If folks go on over to Adult Swim.com, you can check out the first two chapters (and in the following days, the rest) of "G.I. Joe: Resolute," an updated, anime-style and R-rated for violence new series with the Joe crew facing off against a meaner more terroristic Cobra. Not for the kids, but well worth checking out!


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Green Lantern: First Flight

As excited as I am about this upcoming animated DVD I am still not sure what to think of some elements. Cosmetic changes such as Abin Sur, the traditional Green Lantern costume and the new school Sinestro in a tale supposedly telling Hal Jordan's beginnings are troublesome and annoying, but not as much as the anime-style yelling for no apparent reason. Still, I'm looking forward to this one. No release date has been set yet, except for "Summer 2009."

Astro Boy Trailer

Astro Boy, or Mighty Atom as he was known in his native Japan, ushered in the anime age for many here in America.

In the early 1960s the classic Tetsuwan Atomu manga by the genius Osamu Tezuka was brought to animation in Japan and quickly sold to NBC in the US. The series' success quickly paved the way for "Gigantor," "Kimba" and "Speed Racer," and changing animation forever.

There have been more than a few manga and anime series of Astro Boy, and even a rare and very hard-to-find live-action movie, and now Imagi Animation Studios, a Japanese-American collaboration, is readying a new CGI Astro Boy film for theatres. Here's the trailer:



Interesting. Is it me, or is it just not Astro Boy unless he's barechested? Either way, it looks great, and has a rather impressive voice cast. I'm looking forward to it.

Astro Boy hits the big screen in October 2009.

Gatchaman Teaser

Known to some of us as "Battle of the Planets" or "G-Force," and to a later generation as "Eagle Riders," the classic Japanese anime series "Science Ninja Team Gatchaman" is coming to the big screen. Above is the first teaser. Looks a bit like they're going for a Speed Racer effect. Either way, I can't wait!