All Things Fun! Podcast - Episode Five

Episode 5: Ed vs. The Shape-Shifting Aliens

Ed Evans and his co-host Wes Hitchins, kick off this scary Horror themed show reading some listener feedback and presenting the new Listener Feedback Voicemail Number, then Glenn Walker, of ComicWidows.com fame returns and talks about Marvel Comics' shape-shifting Skrulls. Listeners get their first chance to enter the new ATF Match Game Contest. And finally Wes rolls out his favorite Halloween/Horror themed games.

Air Date: October 30, 2007
Runtime: 50 minutes

Check it out here: http://www.allthingsfun.libsyn.com/

Sara, Dean and the Professor

Gypsy 83 ~ Sara Rue, late of ABC’s “Less Than Perfect” is a Stevie Nicks-obsessed Goth girl who takes a cross-country jaunt with her gay Goth guy-pal to see ‘the Night of a Thousand Stevies.’ No, I shit you not. It’s actually pretty good and Sara gives an impressive performance except for one moment that invalidates the rest of the flick. In a scene that out-camps Phoebe Cates doing her Christmas and Lincoln’s Birthday speeches in the Gremlins movies, Sara tells of a talent show in high school where she pees herself on stage. The subplot of the Amish hitchhiker exploring the outside world for the first time is sometimes more intriguing than the main plot itself. And Karen Black is also here, not as creepy as usual, and definitely not as creepy as in real life. Great soundtrack and worth seeing unedited, as opposed to how it’s shown on Logo.

BOA ~ Here’s what OnDemand has to say about BOA: ”It’s the future. Deadly criminals shipped off to high security prison in Antarctica. But there’s a presence there more dangerous than all of them combined: A giant, prehistoric snake hibernating under the facility. Gee, I hope nobody wakes him up.” Wow, not much I can add to that, eh? Dean Cain is actually funny and watchable here, more so than he’s been since “Lois and Clark” probably.

Quatermass and the Pit ~ I first saw this one as a child, when it was called Five Million Years to Earth, and it scared the hell out of me. When I saw it for four bucks at Walgreens the other night I had to pick it up. While all that remained in my memory for three decades was the devilish image at the end of the film, I fully expected it not to live up to expectations – especially in the discount rack at a drug store, but I was wonderfully surprised. This is a very sophisticated sci-fi thriller that I’ll probably watch again and again. I also look forward to checking out the rest of the Quatermass films. A definite winner.

The Heartbreak Kid and More

The Heartbreak Kid ~ I was unaware this was a remake of the 1972 classic until I saw the names Neil Simon and Bruce Jay Friedman in the credits - and I wish I hadn't. If I had kept thinking this was just another Farrelly brothers cringe-fest I could have enjoyed it so much more rather than knowing they were destroying the memory of a great flick.

Now it's not that Ben Stiller or the Brothers F don't produce a good or amusing movie, it's just that it pales considerably to the darker and more mature Simon comedy. And while I was suitably entertained, I couldn't get behind Stiller's character who comes off badly and lacking, well, character. Stiller is good as usual, but Michelle Monaghan and Malin Ackerman steal the show. This is definitely a guy's chick flick, and worth the price of admission - as long as you haven't seen the original.

Transformers ~ Now I'm a generation removed on this one. When the Transformers cartoon was on the air and the toys and comics were the rage, I was more concerned with stuff like college, work and yeah, girls. So I just like I just don't get it when it comes to the robots who are 'more than meets the eye.' And I am definitely out of the loop with my younger friends who cried when they heard that Bumblebee would not be a Volkswagen. But I can live with that, they've all put up with my rants about why insert-any-superhero-movie-here sucks.

And so I walked into this one blind, not knowing the cast of characters, the backstory, anything really. It was all new and fresh, and bad. It's really not that great, or sophisticated, a movie. And nearly not effort was put forth to differentiate one robot from another - I know I couldn't. Perhaps a studied eye and someone well-versed in the mythos could, but not I. And this is a shame, considering how much was put into making the robots look realistic. They could have put the same detail into making them not look so alike.

There's not all that much action, or serious robot-on-robot action sadly until the end, and that battle scene and chase scene is great - even though I didn't know who was who. Great mecha action for fans of giant robots and kaiju eiga alike. Shia Le Bouf continues not to impress me and John Turturro was actually a surprise in this flick as a parody of a military baddie. Megan Fox is the highlight of the human cast, she's definitely got a career ahead of her. All in all, fun eye candy for the last fifteen minutes, the rest fast forward through.

Down in the Valley ~ I have to say this has got one of the most impressive preview trailers I have seen in some time. The preview is definitely worth seeing. But once I got the film through Netflix... wow. Despite it having Ed Norton in the lead, one of my favorite actors, he overacts atrociously, and the film is just crap. Don't see it. See the trailer below, and leave the rest to your imagination.



Heading Home ~ This is probably one of the earliest, if not the first, example of why sports heroes shouldn't become actors. In this 1920 silent Babe Ruth plays himself in the 'true life story' of his early days. Quaint if inaccurate and amusing for the title cards that are written in weird colloquialisms of the time. Worth a watch if only to catch Ruth in his thin prime and to watch his facial expression unchanged throughout.

24 Hour Comics Day

What is a 24 hour comic?

The 24 hour comic challenge is for a cartoonist to completely create a 24 page comics story in 24 straight hours. A "24 hour comic" is any comics story you make while facing the challenge, even if you take more than 24 consecutively-awake hours to make the comic or if you end after 24 hours with a story that's shorter than 24 pages. For more details on the challenge, click here.

Is this really the best way to make a great comic?

Probably not (although some really cool comics have been made this way), but that's not the real goal. The goal is to have the experience of trying. It's a creative exercise that can teach you a lot about what you're capable of.

Who came up with the concept of 24 hour comic?

A cartoonist namd Scott McCloud. Scott is the leading theoretician in the comics field, a position he achieved with the release of Understanding Comics, an analysis of the comics form in the comics form. Head on over to www.ScottMcCloud.com to learn more about Scott and his insights.

How many 24 hour comics have been done?

Over 1000 people have taken the challenge so far.

Who is the youngest person to have drawn a 24 hour comic?

Duncan Lowell, who took the challenge at age seven during the first 24 Hour Comics Day in 2004.

What is 24 Hour Comics Day?

It's a celebration of creation of 24 hour comics. The first day was held in 2004, and a second is scheduled for 2005. This is a day when people are encouraged to create 24 hour comics. Some folks gather at the official event sites to work on comics side by side, while other folks work on their stories at home alone or in private gatherings. Many of the official event sites are open for the public to come and watch the effort.

So, if I want to do a 24 hour comic, I have to do it on 24 Hour Comics Day?

No! Hundreds of folks did 24 hour comics before there ever was a 24 Hour Comics Day! Whenever you feel moved to do one and have 24 hours to spend, do it. The "Day" is just a good time for doing them in groups. Also, many people who have always wanted to do a 24 hour comic find it's good to have that one scheduled day to keep them from just putting it off.

My friend and I want to work on a 24 hour comic together...

No, you don't. If you and a friend do a comic together, that's not a 24 hour comic. A 24 hour comic is one person's work, making it more of a marathon effort. But... so what?! If you and a friend want to spend 24 straight hours together collaborating on a comic, great! Do it! In fact, many of the 24 Hour Comics Day event sites have folks working on collaborative comics, as well as other people doing their own thing in an atmmosphere of creativity.

Where can I go to read 24 hour comics?

Lots of folks post their 24 hour comics on their websites. And there are now books collecting some fine examples of 24 hour comics.

Mighty Avengers #5 Reviewed

"The Astonishing Ant-Man Cover" - my comic book review of Mighty Avengers #5, by Brian Michael Bendis and Frank Cho, is now online at Avengers Forever.

The battle against the Ultron Interface continues, Sentry gets mad and Ares takes charge - check out my review here.

Enjoy!

And if you'd like to make a donation to help keep the Avengers Forever website as mighty as ever, click here. Thanks!