These and Those

A hodgepodge of random dorky goodness today. (And, in case you're wondering, that's only the fourth time in my life I've ever typed the word "hodgepodge"). Anywho, on to it then.

-First up, I'd like to mention an interview that our buddy Kevin did over on Comics Bulletin with Marvel writer Mike Benson. You can check the interview out right here. Benson is the current writer on Moon Knight, which is a book I follow regularly and is consistently a great read.

-Next, it's Iron Man vs. the Joker! Well, OK, not really, but Robert Downey, Jr. and the late Heath ledger are both up for Best Supporting Actor, as the 2009 Oscar nominations were announced today. Downey is up for his role in Tropic Thunder, and Ledger, of course, is up for his darkly brilliant turn as the Joker in The Dark Knight.

Mickey Rourke attempts to make the ultimate comeback, as he's up for Best Actor thanks to a stellar performance in The Wrestler. You can check out the entire list right here.

-The film adaptation of Neil Gaiman's young adult novel Coraline opens in theaters on February 6, and you can check out trailers, and other things, here. I read Coraline about a year ago, and I found myself thinking, "kids find this fun and adventurous?" Because I found it to be plain, old creepy. But a great read, and I have high hopes for the film.

-Our buddy Gary pointed out some YouTube videos of a low budget, 1990s Canadian Public Broadcasting television show called Prisoners of Gravity. The show was a much-loved speculative fiction discussion and interview program, and it continues to have a fan base today.

Go to YouTube, and search for "Prisoners of Gravity," and you'll find a ton of shows, included among them an interview with Alan Moore!

Well, that's all I've got for today. We'll be back tomorrow with something of greater substance.

I promise.

Exfanding Review: The Wrestler

A quick review today, about one of the most talked-about films of the past year, Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler. Now, right off the bat let's just warn everyone that this is a hard R-Rated flick, so definitely don't bring the kiddies.

I should also preface the review with the fact that I've followed Professional Wrestling on and off pretty much my entire life, but the story of this film is a universal one, and knowledge of wrestling is pretty irrelevant to one's being able to understand or follow the movie.

Now, the first thing that jumps right at you when the film opens and we see our first glimpse of Mickey Rourke as aging 80s superstar Randy "The Ram" Robinson, is that this part was written specifically for Rourke.

This movie is, in some ways, analogous to Rourke's own career path, and Rourke embodies the broken-down Ram, perfectly capturing the essence of the character. Simply put, Rourke's performance as the once-great Madison Square Garden headliner is pretty stunning. As is Marissa Tomei's in her role as the complicated and eminently interesting love interest.

The film opens with a wrestling match featuring The Ram against a young wrestler trying to make his way to the big time. And when I say "wrestling match," I mean just that. This opening scene goes a long way in cementing the believability of the movie, and of Rourke as the title character. Not only does he look the part, but he can play the part.

Rourke is in the ring, performing the various moves, and looking more than capable as a pro wrestler. And this is very important, since the film requires the character to partake in some pretty brutal wrestling action (including a bloody "hardcore" match featuring tables, and chairs, and ladders, and glass, and staples, and...well, you get the idea).

Really from the moment the film begins, the viewer is completely immersed in this guy's world. And, as the film progresses, the audience alternately loves the character, and despises him, and fears him, and fears for him, and it is this cycle of emotions that make this movie stay with the viewer hours, and even days, after seeing it.

I won't give a plot summary here, for two reasons. First, because I'm no good at it, but mostly because I felt the script was utterly predictable. At various points in the film, before events happened on screen, I knew they were going to happen. And, usually, something like that would completely ruin a movie for me, or anyone I guess.

But, despite this fact that I was watching a story where I knew what was going to happen at each turn, I found myself glued to the flick, unable to turn away, and disappointed when it ended.

And, I suppose, that's a hallmark of good film-making, and certainly a credit to the actors and their performances.

So, I'll end with this. The Wrestler is the story of a beaten down, broken, has-been trying to rectify the sins of his past. The story is utterly human, and recognizable. If you go see it, you'll find yourself rooting for The Ram, and rooting against him, and you'll leave the theater still thinking about him.

On This Day...

As anyone who has read this blog over its short (but epic!) life online knows, we tend to stay away from politics and "real," serious news, and instead we focus on fan culture and the like. We see this blog as a nice little escape for people; be it a quick read during a lunch break, or a nice sit down with a cup of coffee in the morning.

Either way, we want this blog to be fun, and entertaining, and a cool way to stay in tune with all the dorky goodness out there. But today is a different day than any other, and we thought we would be remiss not to mention the historic nature of Inauguration Day 2009.

No matter what your politics are, I think everyone can agree that today marks a unique moment in history; today brings with it the culmination of years and years of struggle and the scene in Washington, DC, this morning is a testament to just that.

Today, our country takes a great leap forward as the Reality of America does its best to catch up with the Promise of America.

So, tomorrow we'll be back with the usual, dorky wonderful that is the nature of this blog, but for now we'd like to leave you with the following:

Yesterday, we celebrated the life and teachings of a great, peaceful man. And today our country will swear in its first African American President. So, on this day in history, we encourage all of our readers to take a moment to think about where we are now, how far we've come, and what is left to be accomplished.

...as you watch the inauguration right here, streaming live from Hulu.com:

CommentLuv: Free blog advertising

CommentLuv is a dandy site that I came across via Musings of the Chatty DM. Here's how it works: If you've registered your blog with CommentLuv, anyone who leaves a comment has the option to easily include a link to their most recent blog post.

Registering and installing the widget on your blog is straightforward and takes all of 5 minutes. This allows you to choose which blog post to display when commenting on a blog that has the CommentLuv service; otherwise, your options are extremely limited.

Doing a full configuration to actually use CommentLuv on your site takes about 10-20 minutes and a little bit of tech savvy, which you probably already have if you're attempting this in the first place. Either that, or you've got a highly trained HTML monkey in the back who you keep fed with Spam and occasionally reward with cookies. ::groan::

If this sounds interesting to you, give it a shot at CommentLuv.com. Just don't be a dweeb and post comments haphazardly for the sole purpose of advertising your blog. That's my job.