Best of 09: Top Films

5. Zombieland


How is it possible that two excruciatingly funny movies about zombies exist in the same Universe? Will this cause some sort of personification of entropy to descend upon Earth and reap the souls of the living? Perhaps it just means that zombies are inherently funny. Although putrification can be quite humorous, I have a feeling that intelligent writing and a love of the genre may be the reason behind this phenomenon.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but Zombieland succeeds in every facet as a comedy and a horror film. It's the filmic equivalent of finding extra fries at the bottom of the bag....a real treat. Not too mention one of the best cameos in recent history.

Don't forget the rules of Zombieland:
1. Cardio
2. Double Tap
3. Wear Seatbelts
4. Beware of Bathrooms
5. No Attachments
6. Cast Iron Skillet
7. Travel Light
12. Bounty paper towels
17. (Don't) Be a hero
18. Limber Up
22. When in doubt, know your way out
29. The Buddy System
31. Check the back seat
32. Enjoy the little things More>>

Short and Angry Reviews

The newest Avatar still.

Flashforward (The Book) : Oh noes! We screwed up the world! Now I am a robot in the future!

Flashforward (The ABC Series) : Oh noes! I'm an alcoholic! ZZZzzzzzzzz

V (The Revamped ABC Series) : Dammit, they weren't called V's. They were the visitors. Do we call the enterprise crew Star Trek's?

Family Circus: I'm convinced this is some sort of avant garde humor. The art of the non joke.

And Another Thing: If I believed in the devil this would be his handiwork. Leave. The. Hitchhikers. Guide. Alone.

Karen Armstrong: You put your wishy in. You take your washy out. You put your wishy in, and wave your hands about. More>>

I.M.P.S. The Relentless Chapter 2

I.M.P.S. The Relentless Chapter 2 from Blacksheep Productions on Vimeo.

Whoo hoo! Better late than never. More>>

Reach for the Starman

The Starman Omnibus, Vol. 1
DC Comics

Real emotion. Real emotion is a rarity in any sort of fiction. One of the things that separates a classic story from merely a popular one. It's a double rarity for said fiction to create living, breathing characters who nearly step off the page and speak to you. James Robinson and Tony Harris's Starman is one of these rarities.

The mid nineties were a bleak time to be a comic fan. Over muscled mono-syllabic buffoons carrying guns the size of a small Balkan nation were the rule. Some of the leaps made in the eighties by cutting edge books like Sandman and Watchman had catapulted the medium into the public eye, but speculation had reared it's ugly head and pumped hundreds of vapid "collectible" comics into the market.

This glut, while ultimately very harmful for the industry also ushered in a handful of truly remarkable titles that probably wouldn't have been released in the previous decade. James Robinson and Tony Harris set out to revamp a third string hero, A Justice Society of America old timer named Starman. However Robinson and Harris's Starman was much different than his Golden Age counterpart, who just happened to be his father.

Jack Knight had absolutely no ambition to become a hero, a fact that he makes plain throughout the entire book (which collects the first seventeen issues of the comic). Jack just wants to run his junk shop and leave the heroic exploits to his father and brother ( David Knight, who took over the mantle of Starman after Their father Ted retired). Unfortunately, Jack's idyllic existence isn't meant to last and David is assassinated while patrolling Opal city and Ted Knight is attacked and hospitalized.

Jack Knight may not want to become a hero, but unfortunately he IS one. He has to wield a backup cosmic rod as necessity to save his own hide and gradually falls in to becoming a full time hero. Much like Peter Parker before him, Jack is a real person with real motives and problems. Also like the Webslinger, he has an amazing cast of supporting characters that nearly jump off the page.

James Robinson's dialogue is whip sharp and Tony Harris's beautifully realistic and expressive art brings a wonder to the series that is not present in comics very often. Starman is a fantastic series and I give it my highest possible recommendation.

The Specs
I think I like the format of this book a bit more than the behemoth Absolute editions that DC has solicited for a couple of years now. This volume adheres to more of a standard Hardback size while retaining the high quality paper and color separation that makes the artwork really pop off the pages. The price is also considerably lower than the absolute editions which is also a big plus in my book. The standard DVD style extras are also included with sketches, a cover gallery, and commentary.

All in all a quite superb package.









More>>

All New, All Different!

As you may have noticed, there have been very few updates here within the last few months. I originally started this blog to speak on a variety of issues pertaining to secularism, theistic criticism, and scientific discovery. I began to feel as if this ground has been tread by several excellent blogs and that mine was essentially just repaving the same highway. So from this point on Society of Heathens is going to be experiencing a rebirth. I will still speak about the topics of science and secularism, but SoH will become much more based upon my stream of consciousness. I'll post more about this and the upcoming Project: Yellow in the coming days. Excelsior, True Believers! More>>

Birds are Weird

This is awesome. Some more Professor Dawkins goodness with the added bonus of the Galapagos Islands. I want to go on a Darwin cruise so badly. More>>

Baloney Detection as an Art Form - Michael Shermer

I have been neglecting the Society for a little while now, so I haven't had a chance to post any of the newly minted RDF TV videos yet. Now I have, and I feel all the better for it. I'm also a bit hungry. More>>