Posts Tagged ‘Mark Marble’

Transportation metaphors (again), super friendly aliens, alternate timelines and the all powerful (yet still somehow completely oblivious) Kyle Rayner! Listen in as Mark and Chad continue their reviews! All this and, of course, LISTENER FEEDBACK! Be sure to chime in on our voice-mail at 708-LANTERN!

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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

Green Lantern Corps continues on and so must the reviews! Pointless “obvious money grab” tie-ins! Lanterns complaining at every turn about light usage! Hal’s face is irresistibly punch-able! All of this and MORE unbelievably exciting things await us in these three issues! Be sure to chime in on our voicemail at 708-LANTERN!

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Once more into the fray, the guys RETURN to current issue reviews! This one is chock-a-block with fun! Hal VS Girls! Hal VS the ability to delegate! Hal VS light conservation! All this and Mickey Mouse impersonations, the joy of the name ‘MukMuk’ & topical ‘Jurassic Park’ references! Be sure to chime in on our voicemail at 708-LANTERN!

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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

The guys continue their mini-break with a topic of Chad’s choosing! Yeah, it’s a doozy. Geek conversation abounds as the guys talk about TV shows, merchandise, other NON-GL comics (gasp!) and more! Be sure to chime in and leave us a voicemail at 708-LANTERN!

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What better way to celebrate April Fools Day then by putting it out 10 days late! Who’s the fool now?!?! But really, keeping with tradition, the guys all got together and made some great skits for your listening pleasure. Is this the best one yet? Eh, the jury is still out on that. But you’ll like it none the less! Leave us a voicemail at 708-LANTERN!

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It’s 2014 folks! So Chad and Mark take a break from current issue reviews and talk MOVIES! What are we looking forward to? What could we give “three pounds of monkey crap” about? All of this plus Doctor Who, classic rock and 80’s cartoons! Listen in! Leave us a voicemail at 708-LANTERN!

Download the episode HERE!