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With “X-Men: Days of Future Past”, Bryan Singer makes a triumphant return to the franchise he started and in the process gives us the best X-Men movie to date

Staying true to the basic concept of the classic 1981 story line, “X-Men: Days of Future Past” tells the tale of a dark, doomed not-so-distant future and the desperate attempt (via time travel) to change the past and alter the time line.

Wolverine once again takes center stage as his healing factor enables the surviving future X-Men to send his consciousness back into his younger body.  Once there, he must seek out both the younger Xavier and Magneto in order to prevent Mystique from killing Bolivar Trask.  The assassination of Trask would trigger the implementation and use of his anti-mutant weapon system (the Sentinels), and herald the beginning of the end of both man & mutant.

There is a nice balance between the time spent in the past with the “First Class” cast and the original cast’s final battle in the future, as they struggle to buy Logan enough time to complete his mission.   Bishop and Blink also get some good moments as they engage the ever-evolving Sentinels.

Hugh Jackman gives his best performance as Wolverine, bringing some restraint to the table this time, along with his usual humor.  Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy build on the great chemistry they established in “First Class.”  The breakout star though is Evan Peters as Quicksilver.   Despite the early concerns regarding his look, the character really works in this movie.  The use of his powers during an important prison break sequence is highlight of the film.

“Days of Future Past” should have a special appeal to the millions (and millions) of X-Men fans who were less than thrilled with “X3: The Last Stand” as it mostly erases the bad taste left from that poor effort.

Overall, this is the most enjoyable and satisfying movie of the summer so far, and it helps breathe new life into a franchise that had seemingly seen its best days already past.

Mark J. Marble

“The Amazing Spider-Man 2” is a tough movie to put your finger on because it truly is a mixed bag.  The things it does right, it does very right, but there are also some problems with the film as well.

The strength of the movie is the chemistry between Andrew Garfield’s Peter and Emma Stone’s Gwen.  Their relationship is the glue that holds the film together.

This is also the most accurate on-screen portrayal of Spider-Man we’ve seen yet.   He moves, acts and jokes like the character many of us grew up reading about when we were kids.  The fight scenes are also probably the best yet in the franchise.

While Jamie Foxx’s Electro hovers close to an over-the-top performance that would make Joel Schumacher proud, he does manage to rein it in just enough to make entertaining.   Dane DeHann’s  Harry Osborn is much less successful.  His version of Harry lacks the warmth or depth of James Franco’s version in the Sam Raimi trilogy.   It is also much harder to buy into the close friendship between him and Peter.  Purists will also be troubled with the decision to make Harry the 1st Green Goblin and have him essentially take over his father’s (Norman) role in one of the most important events in Spider-Man’s history.  The choice also seems odd since we’ve been told repeatedly how director Marc Webb wanted to be true to the Peter/Gwen relationship and history, but yet gives us this big change.  Paul Giamatti is quite effective as the once and future Rhino, despite barely getting any screen time.  He is used essentially as a framing device to bookend where Peter/Spidey is at the beginning and end of the movie.

The movie is probably at least 20 minutes too long, with way too much time being devoted to showing us what happened to Peter’s parents and tying all the evils in the Spider-Man universe seemingly to Oscorp.  Beginning the film by seeing Peter abandoned again with Aunt May and Uncle Ben and spending those opening moments focused on Peter’s parents, instead of Peter himself, was an odd choice.

The reviews overall have been pretty bad, and while I think they might be too harsh, I definitely see where they are coming from.  “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” does seem often to be more interested in setting up what comes next more than what is happening now.  While it is definitely better than “Spider-Man 3,” I don’t know if I’d rate it above any of the other Spider-Man films.   Like I said earlier, it’s a tough movie to wrap yourself around (at least after only one viewing).

–  Mark J. Marble

Chad and I will be getting to our review of Sinestro #1 in the not-so-distant future, but I still felt compelled to write a little something about this book. While one issue does not necessarily a good series make, the first issue definitely steers the book in that direction.

Getting a look into Sinestro’s mind alone is interesting in the early pages.  His new mission, brought on by his reunion with Lyssa Drak , is believable and clearly is the kind of trigger that would get Sinestro back in the game.  How his mission will jibe with Arkillo’s refocused Sinestro Corps (or Arkillo Corps) should make for fascinating reading, as will the role Soranik Natu will play as the series goes on.

Sinestro #1 already has me looking forward to the next issue more than most, if not all, of the other Lantern books.  Hopefully, the book can follow-up on a great premiere issue and if it can, Sinestro will one-up Hal Jordan once more: He’ll be starring in a more interesting comic.

Mark J. Marble

Besides the Saint Walker maquette, probably the best Green Lantern statue that has come out in the past year or so is the Classic Confrontations: Green Lantern Hal Jordan vs Parallax piece.

This well-sculpted collectible features a large translucent version of the entity of fear breaking free from the Green Lantern Central Power Battery.  Attempting to stop him is Hal Jordan, who finds himself constricted and trapped by Parallax’s tail.

The large Parallax fits into the power battery base.  It can take a few minutes to align in properly and it never truly locks into place.  The plastic fear bug also comes with two sets of wings that slide into grooves on its back.

The cleverest part of the statue is the porcelain Hal Jordan figure.  The Emerald Knight comes in two sections that are held together with a magnet.  This allows Hal to be placed inside Parallax’s tail easily.  The magnet is powerful enough to keep the two pieces together normally, but too much pressure or contact can cause the parts to separate and fall.

This statue is definitely worth having in your collection.  If you don’t already own it though, you might have a tough time tracking it down.  As I write this, I couldn’t find any listed on eBay and even Big Bad Toy Store has it going for over $300, and that is for one that has been opened.  Hopefully this will show up again, at least on auction, so more people can have a chance to own this superb piece.

– Mark J. Marble

As one of the cooler Green Lantern products to come out recently, the “S” series Green Lantern mini-figs are definitely not to be missed.

The current set of eight “Lego” like figures does its best to represent the emotional spectrum with versions of a Red Lantern, Blue Lantern, Green Lantern, Black Lantern, White Lantern, “Agent Orange,” Atrocitus and Sinestro.

The majority of figures are seemingly supposed to show Hal Jordan as different color lanterns (Red, Blue, Green, Black and Orange).  Despite the Agent Orange name on the collector’s card (more about these later), the figure is clearly not Larfleeze and looks just like Hal, other than having black hair for some reason.  The Black Lantern Hal looks very good, even though it does carry a pretty big mistake since it is the life symbol that appears on his chest, not the Death/Black Lantern one.  The Blue Lantern Hal comes with an awesome surprise as it gives you an extra head of Saint Walker to swap in or out as you want.

Both the Atrocitus and Sinestro figures are very impressive looking, despite Sinestro looking like he spent a few extra hours in a Korugarian tanning booth.  The White Lantern, since he comes with black hair, would suggest that he is supposed to represent Kyle. but the collector’s card indicates it is actually Superman.

Each figure comes with a sealed pack of three collector’s cards and there are 12 different cards in all.  Of interest, the Black Lantern Card, like its box, does have the chest symbol correct, while the cards continually carry over a “Greem Lantern” typo.  Each figure also comes with a weapon, a few extra hands and a display base.

Overall, this is a pretty good set and gives us the only current “Lego” representation of the emotional spectrum.  It would be good if they make another set that it includes a Star Sapphire and Indigo-1.  The absence of these two corps (and of female figures) is very noticeable.

These figures currently are only available over seas, but there are some good auctions on these sets on ebay.  We’ve ordered a few from this seller/auction, and they have been very reliable and affordable ($13.99 w/free shipping for the set, not in original packaging).

Mark J Marble

Before I go any further, I have to admit something. I love Saint Walker. Love, love, love… Saint Walker. Since the introduction of the emotional spectrum and the multi-colored lantern corps, perhaps no character’s light has shined any brighter than Bro’Dee “Saint” Walker. As the first Blue Lantern, he established himself quickly as one of the most noble and admirable lanterns in the entire Green Lantern mythos.

His appearances in the first season of Green Lantern: The Animated Series only served to reinforce that view as Saint Walker projected wisdom, hope and selflessness. His teaming with Kilowog (and Mogo) to defeat the Red Lantern invasion was the highlight of the series so far to me.

After releasing statues of Hal Jordan and Atrocitus from the animated show previously, it was no surprise that Saint Walker would be the next in the series to see the light of the day (pun fully intended). While the Hal Jordan sculpt was not bad (and the Atrocitus one was almost all bad), the Saint Walker is the Goldilocks of the collection- It’s just right. It perfectly captures his gentle lean look while still delivering an action pose. Light blue energy surrounds his feet and helps connect the figure to the base. Assembling the statue was a snap: Walker slides into the base with ease so there is very little chance of damaging either the figure or the base.

With so much right about this piece, it breaks my heart to report the one bad- the Blue Lantern symbol on his chest is upside down. Yes, just like how DC made the same mistake on the Saint Walker bust from the “Heroes of the DC Universe (Blackest Night)” series.

I don’t get why DC can’t get the symbol right. I really don’t. While I personally prefer to always see the Blue Lantern symbol with the “angel wings” connected to the lantern, if it’s so hard to reproduce, just do the version where the wings don’t connect to the lantern. At least it can’t ever be upside down that way.

Despite this flaw, I still recommend this piece to any fellow Saint Walker or Green Lantern fan. It retails for around $124.99, but it is available at a discount at Big Bad Toy Store for $89.99 and at DC Shop Entertainment for the amazing price of $59.99

I still have faith we’ll eventually get a Saint Walker statue without any symbol screw-ups. I still have hope that “All will be well.”

– Mark J Marble

The LanternCast crew has been at this for 5 years now and we figured it was a pretty big deal. So join us as we look back, listen to messages from fellow podcasters and YOU the listeners! Oh and one BIG announcement you’re NOT going to want to miss. Edited by our EPIC producer James Doyle! Please visit our site at http://www.LanternCast.com

Download the episode here: https://lanterncast.com/Lanterncast169.mp3

Dan and Chad ramble on and on and on and on and on about nearly every incredible topic you’ve always wanted to hear from the LanternCast. Or so we want you to THINK. Edited by our EPIC producer James Doyle!

Download the episode here: https://lanterncast.com/lanterncast166.mp3

New York Comic Con is just days away, and we wanted to remind folks we are in fact still alive and will be roaming around…but just on Friday. We catch up on a few other things, including 3-D covers and more. Perfect for listening to on your way to a big convention! Edited by our EPIC producer James Doyle!

Download the episode here: https://lanterncast.com/lanterncast167.mp3

Now that we’re taking a break from the current issues, here’s some fun pop topics to entertain you. And trivia as well! Edited by our EPIC producer James Doyle!

Download the episode here: https://lanterncast.com/lanterncast165.mp3