Articles by matt-raub
Tue Jul 3, 2007 — by Matt Raub
MOVIE REVIEW: Live Free Or Die Hard
Is the fourth time the charm?
Well, after 12 years John McClain is back in full force with Live Free or Die Hard, the fourth sequel in the series, and the sixth sequel to come out this summer. I have to say going into the flick I wasn’t expecting much, especially after seeing the trailer, which only made me believe Ric Meyer’s micro-review in saying that this isn’t a Die Hard sequel, it’s actually the unwritten sequel for Unbreakable. So between that and the fact that this is the first Die Hard film to receive a PG-13 Rating, I was less than excited for it.
Having that frame of mind, I think I was able to enjoy the film much more. I wasn’t looking for a direct comparison to the first three movies, I just wanted a good John McClain movie, and that’s what I got. The biggest issue with Bruce Willis’ character is that Willis himself has so drastically changed his acting style in the last 12 years, that it’s like asking Walt Disney’s head to unfreeze itself and start drawing exactly like he used to. Granted the fun loving, swearing Bruce Willis that we remember from the first flicks is long gone, and we’re left with the bald, grumpy old man Willis who looks like he has to force himself to smile, but we all just have to change with the times, and even McClain has to age.
Following the formula of With a Vengeance, our hero is accompanied by a would-be sidekick, who fights spends a good chunk of the movie deciding whether or not this is a battle worth fighting, and of course breaking out of his mold by the end of the movie to become someone super cop John McClain can respect. This time around, we get Mac Boy Justin Long as the cowardly super hacker Matt Fuller. Long played the role just as any sidekick should, by accentuating the heroism of…well, the hero.
Also along for the ride were Maggie Q and Tim Olyphant as the evil duo. Everywhere I go, guys are falling in love with Maggie Q, and until checking out this movie I didn’t know why. She manages to play the seductive-yet-deadly henchwoman very well. And as per usual, Olyphant oozes charisma as the bad guy in this picture. I’ve been following this guy since Gone in 60 Seconds, and I’ve had nothing but good things to say about each of his roles.
Mon Jul 2, 2007 — by Matt Raub
Tyrese Gibson wants Luke Cage
Transforming his way into Marvel's heart
Fresh from the set of Transformers, Tyrese Gibson sat down with the boys over at IGN and spilled his guts on how much he wants the titular role of Marvel's Luke Cage big-screen project.
"We'll see, man," he says. "You know, they're doing the rewrites on it right now. I have not officially signed on to be a part of it, but they have me in mind, so I'm honored."
Having third billing in Transformers may be a big deal, but Tyrese told us that he'd have to step it up even more for Cage. "I'm gonna have to get my body at 199.99 percent," he says. "The Luke Cage fans are out there. I see the emails and the blogs -- they want the best for the character. Hopefully, I'll be that guy... if the script is right."
Kevin Feige, Marvel Studios President of Production, recently indicated that the movie rights to Luke Cage have went back to the studio after Sony couldn't commit to a "decent" script.
"We never got a script on Luke Cage while it was at Sony that did it justice from our point of view or [director] John [Singleton]'s point of view," Feige says. "The rights since have reverted back to Marvel, but I would love to do a Luke Cage movie -- again, looking for ways to continue Marvel movies with fresh content and different points of view. I think Luke Cage would absolutely fit into that."
Of course, we'll have all the latest as news develops on this project right here at ComicMix.
Luke Cage art copyright Marvel Characters. All RIghts Reserved. Tyrese Gibson copyright Tyrese Gibson.
Sun Jul 1, 2007 — by Matt Raub
Indiana Jones and the Legend of the Greasers?
You're not getting older...
Here's a new picture of Harrison Ford and his on-screen son Shia Labeouf from next May's unnamed fourth installment of the Indiana Jones franchise (working title: Indiana Jones and the City of the Gods). From the looks of it, the story seems to take place in the late 50s/early 60s and gives us an old and very gray Dr. Henry Jones Jr.
From what I've seen of this movie, and it hasn't been much, I am looking less and less forward to its release next May. Thanks to our friends over at Splash News for the picture.
Sidenote: Could Shia look anymore like Seth Green? Do I smell a Robot Chicken crossover??
For a truly young Indiana Jones, May will also see box sets of completely remastered versions of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles television series plus major documentaries about the various historical figures who appear in the series. 15 episodes, each 90 minutes, with one featuring Harrison Ford in character.
Fri Jun 29, 2007 — by Matt Raub
Buffy Meets Rocky Horror!
What goes around goes round and round
Well, it was bound to happen, but it looks like some die-hard Whedonites have taken the next step in interactive theater by touring the musical episode "Once More, with Feeling" from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The show has been touring for a few years at local indy theaters, and is coming around again this summer to the IFC Theater in New York.
Much like the dying breed of Rocky Horror Picture Show screenings done around the country, the show is at midnight, and plays the episode with subtitles behind a cast that acts out each song, move-for-move. Also included is Buffy-Okie and surprise guests from the cast and crew. You can believe that this ComicMix reviewer will be at the event in NYC with bells on, and I'll have all the details for you shortly after. For a complete list of showings, and all the info you need, check out the Official Myspace page right here!
Tue Jun 26, 2007 — by Matt Raub
Kevin Smith Pilots Reaper
CW thinks it's a comedy
Kevin Smith is set to direct the CW pilot Reaper, a comedic drama about 21-year-old Sam Oliver, a slacker who learns that his parents sold his soul to the devil when he was born and now he must to pay the debt by becoming the Satan's bounty hunter, retrieving souls escaped from hell. Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters (Law and Order: SVU) wrote the project; it film for two weeks in Vancouver, beginning March 12th.
Sun Jun 24, 2007 — by Matt Raub
Is Nick Fury Samuel L. Jackson?
Iron Man movie ... and more?
After about a week of watching what looks like another “Crispen Glover as Joker” rumor, we here at ComicMix have decided to go with the story that Samuel L. Jackson has been added to Jon Favreau’s Iron Man cast as none-other-than Nick Fury.
Aint It Cool News first broke the story on Thursday with an impenetrable source: seeing Jackson physically on the set. Again, those of us who remember the constant tug-of-war game between the truths and jokes that many alleged Internet journalists like to play with us are pretty weary about this news, because it seems TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE!
If this were the case, Jackson would evidently be portraying the Ultimate version of the character, of which he was originally modeled after. Not only is this the biggest casting news for next May’s film but for future Marvel projects as well, opening the door for a spin-off franchise – and an Avengers film, which Marvel is already discussing.
The most interesting thing about this story is how the Internet fan base seems to be torn into two camps over the news: one that is jumping for joy over the news, and the other that is up in arms, saying that it would be another “Michael Clarke Duncan as Kingpin.". So I put the question to the fans here at ComicMix: What say you, Funny-Book Fans? Comment now!
Sat Jun 23, 2007 — by Matt Raub
Here's Your Iron Man Cast
Movie set for next spring
Entertainment Weekly just released the cast picture for next summer's Iron Man. The line-up shows us Robert Downey Jr. as wealthy weapon-maker Tony Stark, Gwyneth Paltrow as his administrator Pepper Potts, Terence Howard as his buddy/bodyguard (and later War Machine) Jim Rhodes, and a clean-headed Jeff Bridges as mentor (and villain?) Obadiah Stane. Those of us who remember Stane's character from Card's Ultimate Iron Man storyline know how truly evil this character can get, and I can't wait!
The movie, directed by Jon Favreau, drops next May, so expect to see more promotional pictures to come.
Thu Jun 21, 2007 — by Matt Raub
LICENSING SHOW Day 2: Plenty o’ Pix
Iron Man, Hulk, Dark Knight, Dr Who
A pretty big outcome for the second day of the 2007 Licensing Show. Lots of movie pushes, of course with this being one of the biggest franchise summers in film history. Warner Bros was there in the same form as last year, showing off some of the new cars from their new flicks. We got the first peak at the The Dark Knight’s brand new BatPod (and no, you can’t play music on it, its just a cooler name than Bat-Cycle) also we got an up-close look at the new Mach 5 from next summer’s Speed Racer.
Also in the movie department, we got a bit of a tease over at Marvel’s booth for both The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man slated to come out next summer as well. Nothing too exciting over there, but the New Line booth was surprisingly pretty popular. To promote next year’s Golden Compass, there was a nine-foot armored bear, and despite popular belief, not only do I like girls, but I am also really looking forward to this film. Based of the series of His Dark Materials books by Phillip Pullman, this is the first of the series, and looks to be even better than last year's underachiever in The Chronicles of Narnia.
They also were promoting a film that I have heard absolutely no buzz about up until today entitled Inkheart starring Brendan Fraser, Paul Bettany, and Helen Mirren, based on the book by Carnelia Funke of the same title.
The BBC booth was also there promoting the hell out of Doctor Who, which I had absolutely no qualms with. This big push was due to the American release of series three to the Sci-Fi Network next month. Also coming to Sci-Fi in August, and came to me as a huge surprise was a remake of Flash Gordon. Now before I dusted off my Queen soundtrack and started to dance, I did a little bit of research, and the creative team consists of some of the minds that brought us Relic Hunter, Beastmaster, Young Blades, Andromeda, and oh, yes: Painkiller Jane. So before we all get excited and break out the champagne, I’d bet on this show being off the air before the bottle runs dry.
Finally, and by far my favorite part of today’s show was the news about Xip3, a new jacket company buying the rights to Transformers to release a “Transforming Jacket” that will be released with the DVD in November. I got to see first hand how this works, and it’s pretty cool. The jacket is black with silver accents, and can “transform” from a sports jacket to a backpack to a pillow in seconds. The unisex jackets will all be numbered and in sizes extra small to extra large. You can reserve your copy starting in July over at the Xip3 website.
Overall, a great show and I can’t wait to hear what wonderful things await for the ComicMix crew for day three!
Fri Jun 15, 2007 — by Matt Raub
REVIEW: Fantastic Four Two
Silver Surfer sours
OK, so here we go: it’s the official midway point between the first and latter half of the Summer of Blockbusters. With last week’s box office flop consisting of Ocean's 13
Starting off with the acting, I was more than happy with everyone’s performances in the film, including Alba’s, who I bitched and moaned about in the previous film. This movie has got enough content jam-packed into 89 minutes that her flickering eyes and blank stare were almost as invisible as the character herself.
My favorite part of a superhero sequel is that we’re beyond the need for introductions and origins, and we can get to the grits of the character. There were a few things I wanted in the first film that were delivered with bells on in this film. Those being: more Johnny and Ben camaraderie, less “will they or won’t they” with Sue and Reed, and a whole lot less of Julian McMahon looking somber. While we got much more of the first, the second two still had their moments, but again with a film that primarily shifts the focus on a brand new character, the little problems like that get lost in the cracks. We also get a reprise of Stan Lee, unsurprisingly, but this time he doesn't come back as Postman Willie Lumpkin, but another, very special character. I won’t give it away, but I’ll drop a hint: He’s old.
The next section of course being the special effects of the film. And I’m somewhat jaded in this category, because for years, the only Fantastic Four I knew of other than ink on paper was from the Roger Corman epic, and those of you who remember that also remember a lot of clay-mation stretchiness and I Dream of Jeannie
I’m going to put an end to the rumor right now and admit that Yes: Galactus is a cloud, BUT! It's completely pulled off in this picture. I was the first webgeek to bitch and moan that I wanted a giant purple dude like we’ve always known the Devourer of Worlds to be, but when you consider the impact of a twister three times the size of earth coming to literally eat the world, the image is haunting, and even us original geeks get a nod from the crew towards the end of the picture. Again, I don’t want to spoil too much, but during the final battle, look directly into the “belly of Galactus” to see an old face.
Sat May 26, 2007 — by Matt Raub
MATT RAUB: The Pirates 3peat
The ComicMix Movie Review
So here we are, smack-dab in the middle of the unforgiving Summer Blockbuster Land of 2007, we’ve already got 300 Spartans, a few talking turtles, a spider, an ogre, and a whiney Kurt Russell under our collective belts, and we still have so much more to get to. But here we are with the culmination of the summer in Disney’s third installment to their Pirates of the Caribbean franchise entitled World’s End.
Now, going into this film I had pretty high expectations, which I normally don’t, but this film had enough build up in the first two films to get just about anybody excited for an outcome. So with that said, I had a few issues with the movie as a whole, but before we get to that, so as not to ruin tradition, lets break down the film into the specified categories.
Starting off with the best element of the film, the acting, I was more than pleased with the performances of the cast. Geoffrey Rush returns as Captain Barbosa and did an amazing job playing off of Depp’s Captain Jack. His performance is full of creepy glances and pirate lingo which I had completely no idea what it meant, but it still sounded awesome. Knightley was impressive in stark comparison to her role in the first film, this film was meant as the “all grown up” point in her life where she’s no longer the dainty, naïve Governor’s daughter, and has embraced the pirate way of life. Orlando Blooms role, while large in the last 20 minutes of the film, was somewhat lacking in the other 2 hours and 40 minutes. There seemed to be way too many different parties to give enough screen time to each of them. Bill Nighy did an amazing job, of course.
Which brings us to the final member of our massive leading cast, Captain Jack Sparrow. I only had two major problems with this film, we’ll get to number two later, but the biggest one was the unnecessary, force fed comic relief in this film. It isn’t even considered to be comic relief because it consumes 90% of the movie, which just makes the other 10% well needed dramatic relief. I was happy in the first two films where our comedy came mostly from our two would be pirates Pantel and Ragetti, and the occasional wackiness from Depp’s Sparrow, but in this film, Captain Jack ends up going crazy in Davey Jones’ locker, which apparently makes everything, yes everything he says sound like it was written by Larry David. Now normally I’m the first one to complain that a movie is taking itself too seriously, but this became ridiculous after three hours of zany one liners and slapstick visual jokes. I was rooting for the major death at the end of the movie, only because the audience needed a shellshock to help us realize that it wasn’t a Night at the Apollo.
Tue May 22, 2007 — by Matt Raub
Joker runs wild on the World Wide Web
Ha!
As a follow up to our earlier story, the original website where we got a look at Heath Ledger as the Joker, http://ibelieveinharveydenttoo.com has been torn apart, and the only thing that remains is an error that comes up and says "Page Not Found". Pretty standard, right? Think again!
Just for kicks, check out the site and hit control-A (or command-A for all of you Mac users). The Joker seems to have left his mark, even without his face. This fun new marketing technique used to promote 2008's The Dark Knight seems to keep turbo-geeks like myself filled with wonderment, and I can't wait to see what's next to pop up from our friends over at Warner Bros.
Thu May 3, 2007 — by Matt Raub
MATT RAUB: Spider-Man 3 Review
Note: Consider this whole review under a major spoiler warning!
So here we are, one day before the highest anticipated film of 2007, Spider-Man 3
Lets begin with my least favorite part of the entire film: the acting. Now I may be a bit jaded, but I’ve never really got into having Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker. This is where doing a book or comic adaptation gets funky, because originally the character’s voice and overall demeanor is up to their interpretation. A perfect example of this is the Harry Potter film franchise. The casting of those films were almost spot-on with the fan’s interpretation of the characters, and they didn’t even have the visual aids that comic books have.
With that said, in my head Spidey was the nerdy, quiet kid before bitten by the radioactive/genetically enhanced spider, but then gains self-confidence while still keeping his puerile attitude towards life. This is how we get the wisecracking interpretation in modern books. But with Maguire’s performance, we are constantly treated to the somber, “woe is me” Spider-Man who, granted, still jumps, swings, and does whatever a spider can, but in between those periods is constantly in a state of teary-eyed misery. Even in the second film where he is convinced that being Spider-Man is a curse, and trashes the costume, he still looks like at any moment, he could burst into tears. Some could attribute this to Maguire’s incredible range, but if I wanted that, I’d go see Seabiscuit
Spider-Man is the comic relief of the New Avengers
Moving on to our leading lady, Kirsten Dunst, I have a whole different problem. In the first film, I was starting to get into the idea of having a non-supermodel quality Mary Jane Watson and by the end of the second film, I was completely sold, though she looked like she hadn’t eaten since Jumanji
Tue May 1, 2007 — by Matt Raub
The last Spider-Man 3 Preview (NSFW)
Really. Honest.
The last preview pix from Spider-Man 3. Honest. These will be the last preview pix.
Obviously.
Thu Apr 19, 2007 — by Matt Raub
MATT RAUB: Your weekly Who review!
Gridlock keeps the Doctor in New New York
Hey gang, Matt Raub back again, and that can only mean one thing – it’s Who time! So here we are, already a quarter of the way through another explosive year of Doctor Who
In the episode, entitled “Gridlock,” the Doctor and Martha travel on their third voyage together, this time to the future city of New New York. Some of you may remember that we’ve been to New New York, and fairly recently (Don’t worry, Martha brings that up too). Last time, the Doctor and Rose visited a sick friend in very chic hospital above ground, but this time we find our traveling duo deep in the city’s bowels and on the New New York Motorway, which reaches all the way to New New Jersey. Fun thing about this motorway is that, due to the traffic, it takes about 10 years to go four miles. Well, in all the chaos, Martha is kidnapped by two motorists hoping to get into the express lane. The doctor then does his doctor thing and declares he will find her if it’s the last thing he’ll do.
The greatest part of this episode isn’t a quirky part of dialogue, or interesting plot point, but the way the episode was shot. The majority of this episode is going from car to car, whilst the doctor searches for Martha. Now, each car is shot in the exact same set, just with a change of furniture and a few new actors. This makes for an incredibly cheap budget for the episode, and while this is completely unnecessary for the BBC’s top rated show, it reflects some of the ingenuity that American TV lacks. My hat is tipped to executive producer and episode writer Russell T. Davies and the boys and girls overseas for this particular stunt.
Back to the episode, while looking for Martha, the doctor comes across an old buddy – in fact, the same old buddy he came across the last time we were all in New New York: The good ol’ Face of Boe. Those of you who remember the last encounter with that giant head-in-a-jar, remember that Boe said he would meet the Doctor a final time, and then he would tell him the great secret. So now here we are, and that big secret is? **SPOILER WARNING**
Sat Apr 14, 2007 — by Matt Raub
MATT RAUB on Painkiller Jane
Comics/TV hybrid gets few miles to gallon
Hey gang, Matt Raub back again for another TV review for the newest comic and Hollywood hybrid show, Painkiller Jane. The show is based off of Jimmy Palmiotti and Joe Quesada’s comic from the 90s about a government agent who can’t die. The episode stars Kristanna Loken, the robot hottie from Terminator 3 and another remarkably popular comic book movie, Bloodrayne.
Going into the show, I knew nothing about the comic book. All I knew is that Palmiotti knows how to draw very attractive female characters, which I sometimes reason enough to read a book, just not this time. So the episode was a fresh start for me, being an origin story of sorts.
The episode starts with one of my least favorite plot sequences, where we start the episode halfway through the plot, and then we jump back two days or so. I consider this the “J.J. Abrams” episode format, because there was a point in the last season of Alias where every episode would do that. I long for the days when we started at point A and ended at point C, without going all Sam Beckett on us and confusing the story.
After getting over that little issue of mine, I found the episode to be a little too dumbed-down for the same audience that has been taking in episode after episode of Battlestar Galactica. There were little flashbacks to things that happened six minutes ago in the episode, which I found to be unnecessary. An argument for this could be that the director of the pilot was going with a Tony Scott feel for the episode, using quick cuts and flashbacks. Either way, it felt as if they were treating an audience who lives in the land of intelligent television like they have never seen an hour long science fiction show.
Going into the story, D.E.A. officer Jane Vasko stumbles across a secret government operation that hunts “Neuros,” which are people with neurological powers, and that means a whole ton of freaks of the week. On Jane’s very first mission, she gets pushed out of a window 44 floors up. She’s pronounced dead and after a very trippy flashback sequence of everything that happened thus far in the episode, she wakes up without a scratch on her. From this point on, Jane is able to heal any of her wounds that she comes across almost instantly. You may be asking yourself the same questions I was during this episode, such as: Did she know she could heal her whole life? Why did it take falling off a building to work? Or has anybody noticed the fact that this show is a lot like Torchwood? Great questions, but I unfortunately don’t have any of the answers.
So while we have the sultry Loken as our invulnerable star, and a fresh and funky visual style that should capture the MTV audience, I don’t think this show has much of a lifespan. It is too simplified for a Sci-Fi audience and people today need more than a name and a comic book tie to continue to watch a show. Anybody else remember Blade: The Series?
But to satisfy my fans, I still need to rate this pilot. Due to the fact that the show could have been a lot worse, I give it a 6/10, but I don’t know how much more of the show I can handle.
