So, I want to buy a SDCC Plastic Man figure on MattyCollector.com.

...and everything seemed to be working out. My daughter goes down for her nap right before the sale was supposed to start, I am seated in front of computer 10 minutes before 12 p.m., just waiting for the site to allow me to purchase the item. About 4 minutes of 12, I refresh my screen and get this:

Matty-Stitched-01

It's a hold screen. The site is down because of too much traffic. This screen is a constantly rerunning 5 second countdown. It went off for one second, I clicked "add item to cart", and this screen came back again. I love it when companies do this. It's like they have no clue what to expect and get caught unawares. Of course, they SHOULD have known and made sure their servers could handle the influx. 

So, will I ever get my Plastic Man figure? Will I get it before my daughter wakes up? Will there be a sternly worded letter written to Mattel? I think the answers will be: probably not, probably not, and definitely.   

A quote from a panel at San Diego Comic Con ticks me off.

Arsenal4

Didio noted that most of the people that reacted positively to this story had small children of their own, meaning the writers "touched a real nerve" which was a good job and not a bad job.--Dan DiDio at Thursday's DC Nation panel about the events in Arsenal's life.

Really, Dan? Who are these parents? I want to see them. I want to be sure they exist. Because I am the parent of a small child, and I think that killing off Lian, the 5 year-old daughter of Roy Harper, is disgusting, cheap and reprehensible. Especially since teh result is a poorly written, laughable series.

And you think that making comic fans think of what would happen if their small child was killed is a "good thing"? That's a nerve I just do not want touched.

Man, this statement really infuriates me.  

Movies: Toy Story 3

Movie_poster-toy-story-3

Toy Story 3 isn't just an animated sequel. It's a prison escape film. It's a story about growing up. It's a story about friendship. It's a thriller more thrilling than any others that come to mind in the last few years. It's a comedy with more laugh-out loud moments than any comedy I've seen in years. It has more heartwarming moments than any tearjerker I've ever seen.

It is the best film I've seen all year, which isn't surprising. Pixar rarely strikes out.

I believe Pixar films do not get the proper respect they deserve simply because they are CGI animated. This is one of the great shames of American cinema today. Because there is no company, no producer, no director that can match Pixar for quality films, great writing, and awesome characters.

In this films, the toy's owner, Andy, is about to go to college. His room is about to be taken over by his sister. Something must be done about the toys. A mistake results in the gang being sent to a local day care center, which is more like a prison run buy a big cuddly bear. They spend the film trying to improve their situation.

The plot, as most Pixar films are, is more complex than your typical kid flick. But everything simply works. If you do not cry at the end of the movie, then there is something seriously wrong with your emotional well being.

The film is almost criticism proof. Sure, you can make a comment about it being an advertisement for certain brand-name toys, but any "Toy Story" without name toy in it would be illogical.

Great film. See it in a theater,

Movie: Iron Man 2

Iron-man-2-poster

The reason why Iron Man 2 is any good at all is due to two things--the directing of Jon Favreau and the acting of the stellar cast. Because there are many facepalm moments.

This is one busy movie. There are a lot of characters on screen, which is usually the death knell in comic book films but here seems to work well. Certain characters get a shafted--Rhodey, Black Widow, but they get enough good scenes to make an impression.

It is also busy plotwise. Tony Stark has to deal with an angry Russian out to kill him, a rival industrialist jealous of his fame and celebrity, a Senator looking to appropriate the suit for the U.S. Government, the spy organization S.H.I.E.L.D. breathing down his neck, daddy issues, and, if all this wasn't enough, a degenerative disease that is slowly killing him. I'm surprised they didn't give a psycho ex-girlfriend and a newspaper editor out to get huim as well.

Favreau really has grown as a director. He has become quite adept at chosing his scenes carefully, buliding tension, and letting the picture tell the story.

The acting is top notch. The scenes with Gwyneth Paltrow and Robert Downey, Jr. are some of the least action oriented scenes but yet are some of the most exciting. They are totally in tune with each other and with their character. I would also say that this is some of the best acting that Scarlett Johansson has ever done. Her part isn't all that big, but she plays the dual nature of her role well. Sam Rockwell is his usually excellent petulant child self, and Mickey Rourke, Sam Jackson and Don Cheadle turn in their typical solid performances.

The dialogue has the feel of being improvised. When it works, it pops. When it doesn't, it thuds. There is also a good deal of humor here, quite a good deal of it double entendre stuff, but that also works.

However, there are quite a bit of stupid parts as well. Nick Fury is basically a plot contrivance to nudge Tony towards his third act life-changing discovery. Rourke's character gains control of a piece of technology that he really shouldn't have been able to. And the final battle features Iron Man rushing off to "protect the people " in the immediate area, by flying off through a skylight in a glass roof in an auditorium, which is shot out by the bad guys allowing glass to rain down on the people in the audience and flying in front of a big glass window of an observation tower to allow the people inside to be strafed by machine gun fire.

All in all, the good parts outweight the bad points. I liked it, but wonder how it will hold up to repeat viewings. 

Movie: The Losers

The_Losers_poster

The Losers is a old fashioned, late 70s--early 80s action film given a modern upgrade. Yes, it is based on a comic book that is not even ten years old, but it is an action movie based on the old time tradition of the shoot-em-up. 

The plot revolves a special forces group who have been double crossed by their handler. Presumed dead, they take up a mysterious woman on her offer of bankrolling their vengeance. Gun play and explosions ensue.

Their have been some changes from the comics to the screen, including the race and nationality of some of the characters. But some of the best scenes from the comic make it to the screen, including Jensen's corporate office get away and the hijack of Army helicopter.

There is a lot of backstabbing and people not being who are not who they say they are. There are a lot of people being in the right place at the right time and people showing remarkable resilience to getting shot.

But all in all, it is a great mindless action film. The acting is great from top to bottom with each actor cast perfectly for their roles. It's might not be the most faithful adaptation of the comic, but it is one fun popcorn summer film. 

 

Movie: Hot Tub Time Machine

Hot_tub_time_machine

The title might have scared some people away or given the idea that this film might have been completely brainless. That's a shame because while this is a raunchfest and a grossout comedy, it has a lot of wit to it.

An suicide attempt by Lou (Rob Corddry) reunites him with  two of his estranged friends, Adam (John Cusack) and Nick (Craig Robinson). They decide to try to get Lou's character's mind of things by taking him, and Adam's tag along nephew, Jacob (Clark Duke) to a ski resort where they had some of their best times. They find that the resort has gone to seed, but they also find a hot tub which mystically will allow them to travell back to their glory days of 1986.

Any time travel comedy had to at least name drop Back to the Future and this one does, once by a character calling Lou "McFly" and the other by a standout performance by Crispin Glover. But that's where the similarities end. This is a story about the rediscover of friendship and taking opportunities that are given to them.

The typical "don't do anything to mess up the future" card is played, but fate almost compels the characters to change their own past. The film plays with duality as well. Not only do Adam, Nick, and Rob play adults in their own younger bodies, but also Chevy Chase plays a maitenence man who my be an all-knowing seer or just a guy who tells it like it is.

There is plety of sex, nudity and vomit scenes to choose from, but there are also a lot of laughs. Great performances by the leads, who make it almost impossible to see the roles played by anyone else.

It's a great comedy with a better than average cast and a lot of wit and a little bit of heart. I liked it a lot.

Play: A Behanding in Spokane

Scan

I have to say that I am a huge Martin McDonagh fan. I haven't seen all of his plays, but I've at least read most. Therefore, it was a no brainer that the wife and I would get a babysitter and go in to see his latest play, "A Behanding in Spokane" on Broadway.

How was it? Well, it was good, but it was far from being McDonagh's best.

The plot involves a man by the name of Carmichael (played by Christopher Walken) who has had his left hand cut of by a group of toughs at a very young age. He has searched for the hand for 47 years, and thinks he has finally found it. Marilyn (Zoe Kazan) and Toby (Anthony Mackie) claim to have the man's missing hand and are willing to sell it to him for $500. When the hand turns out to be a fake, big trouble starts.

The play is a pitch black comedy farce. It holds back no punches and doesn't even bothering with the pretense of trying to be politically correct. Run without an intermission, it races from beginning to end and is never boring.

The acting performances are good, although Walken is basically being Walken throughout the play. There is little along the lines of new characterization from him, as he lets his own recognizable tics take over. Sam Rockwell is excellent, given a tough character to get a handle on, makes it his own. Anthony Mackie is strong as the overly sensitive scammer. If the cast had a weak link, it would have to be Zoe Kazan. She plays a ditz well, but sometimes gets overpowered by other actors on stage and has lines lost due to too soft delivery.

There are some questionable choices made by McDonagh. Rockwell's character comes out in the middle of the play and addresses the audience. It gives his character background, but is rather unnecessary. It's the kind of bit that would run to hide a scene change, but this was a one-set piece. This interruption could have been added into the main flow of the show and it would have been more effective.

Another questionable scene is an extended phone call between Walken's character and his mother. The bit is necessary to set up the ending, but ran longer than it needed to. It reeked of being filler.

But all in all, it was a really good show. The style is not for anyone, but if you are strong of heart and stomach, you'll find plenty of laugh out loud moments.