THE BEST OF 2011

A few more days, and we'll say goodbye to 2011.

Normally, I post this on the 31st, but I have a feeling that I'm not going to have internet access again, just like last Christmas, I thought to just post this today. My favorites of 2011.

But before I proceed, I'd like to give thanks to all the readers, followers, contest participants, all those silent readers, the people who followed my twits and liked my Facebook page (I am hoping you'd interact with me more there, specially those non-bloggers who I really don't know personally). I appreciate your taking your time to read about what goes on inside my head, even if most of the time they're not that interesting.

Enough drama, let's get on with the awards:

BEST MOVIE (International)
LAST YEAR: Toy Story 3
This film wasn't a part of my nominees of best films for the year, and I don't really think you'd all agree that it's the best film of the year if you see it. There were three films this year that gave me a wide smile after finishing the movie. Harry Potter, Crazy Stupid Love and my pick this year for best movie... The Help. It's a period film about a girl who wrote a book detailing the challenges of being a 'colored' maid, earlier in the last century. It's a film that you'd really root for the protagonists of the story. It made you care about the characters. I don't know what it is with Emma Stone, but so far she hasn't done any bad film in my book.
RUNNER-UP: Crazy Stupid Love, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

BEST MOVIE (Local)
LAST YEAR: My Amnesia Girl
This is the year of the indie films. Before, when I hear indie movie I instantly think of gay films. This year's best film is essentially a gay film, but it defied the norm. Zombadings: Patayin Sa Shokot Si Remington didn't have mandatory sex scene. It did not portray us Filipinos as poor people. And it made me laugh out loud throughout the entire movie. Films like these and Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank gave me hope that Pinoys can do really good films and not just cheesy romantic comedies. Although I'm really looking forward to seeing Unofficially Yours next year (John Lloyd forever!!!).
RUNNER-UP: Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank, No Other Woman

GAME OF THE YEAR
LAST YEAR: Mass Effect 2
The last few months have been hard on my wallet. All the good games came out within  weeks of each other. But there was no other game this year that made me stay at home on weekends, forget that I'm in a relationship and basically ruined my social life other than The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. This game literally has no ending. I'm 100+ hours into the game, yet I'm still not half into the main story. Massive is not an appropriate description of Skyrim. It's not a perfect game. I own the PS3 version and I experience (take note, it's in the present tense) lag whenever I've played more than 6 hours of the game, it's not for those people who crave action every minute into the game (you do a LOT of walking in Skyrim), and even if it's got a hundred of people in the world, you'll hear the same voices over and over again. But then it lets you kill dragons. DRAGONS for cripes sake! Nuff said.
RUNNER-UP: Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, Gears of War 3,

BEST OF TV
LAST YEAR: Dexter
This year I'm really torn about this category. A lot of shows really deserve being on this list. I really got hooked on all these shows this year and they really delivered the goods. But I have to make one choice. Game of Thrones. Where else can you see incest, blood, gore, sexposition (exposition while in the middle of having sex), beheadings, DRAGONS, and heroes not be safe from death? Nowhere. Well, Once Upon A Time just did the last part. HBO didn't just give us a modern day Lord of the Rings. They stayed faithful interpretation of the original George Martin series (A Song of Ice and Fire) and they gave it to us in 10 straight weeks. I can't wait for April to see Season 2 (A Clash of Kings).
RUNNER-UP: Once Upon A Time, Shameless

BEST OF PINOY TV 
LAST YEAR: Showtime
I don't get to religiously watch the primetime teleseryes, but from time to time i try to catch up. There aren't a lot of shows that I find really interesting. Like I said in a previous post, some of the stories being shown these days are recycled stories from before but only give a different twist that would at least make it seem like a new show. Lost relative. Kidnapping/hostage taking towards the end. But it's not really those scenes that make us watch them. It's in the meat of the story. The acting. The way it makes us feel better about ourselves seeing we don't have family members who want us dead. And it's always a positive if it makes us laugh. I've always been a fan of Xyriel's acting, and seeing Coney Reyes brings me back to those days when I was a kid watching my mom cry while watching Coney Reyes on Camera. 100 Days to Heaven deserves this award.
RUNNER-UP: Budoy

COMIC EVENT OF THE YEAR
LAST YEAR: The Thanos Imperative
Earlier this year, Marvel said that 2011 was going to be the year of the mutants. They did good on that promise with really great stories like Schism and Regenesis. But undeniably, this year's event is the Dark Angel Saga. Critics have been unanimous in proclaiming this storyarc as a modern day classic. Comparisons with The Dark Phoenix Saga is well-deserved, if not an understatement. This is an awesome story. The tale of Angel's descent into becoming the heir of Apocalypse is as gripping and as emotionally straining as other literary classics. It's beautiful when it started and much more how it ended. The Dark Angel Saga is a perfect example of how to write a comic event.
RUNNER-UP: DC: The 52 Initiative, Spider-Island

BEST COMIC SERIES
LAST YEAR: The Walking Dead
While The Dark Angel Saga instantly put Uncanny X-Force on the front row of this list, credit must also be given to other perfectly written series. And my hats off to Scott Snyder in making me read Batman. His Detective Comics was just riveting. A story you can't put down and stop reading. He knows his Batmen, whether it's Bruce or Dick, and he knows how to give them a challenge. Detective Comics' The Black Mirror and now his Batman's Court of Owls storylines are just some of the best stories published this year. I don't want him to leave this book as I think Scott and Batman are a perfect fit. Credits to Jock, Francesco Francavilla and Greg Capullo for giving the matching tone in terms of the art for Scott's words.
RUNNER-UP: Uncanny X-Force, Amazing Spider-Man

BEST IN MUSIC
LAST YEAR: Baby (Justin Bieber)
We don't really get a lot of quality Filipino music these days. I don't know if we're lacking good songwriters or if we just ran out of creative juice in terms of song making. What we're left with are bands with song whose lyrics don't always make sense and really good singers singing really used up remakes of songs. Then in came Zia Quizon's Ako Na Lang. It's refreshing in the ears. It sounds sosyal. It's uptempo. And you can't help but put the song on repeat. I loved this song. Whenever my phone randomly plays this song, I wouldn't listen to anything else anymore. I am not sure if her album contains remakes too (hopefully not), but listening to these kinds of songs make me hopeful in our ailing music industry.
RUNNER-UP: Adele

NEWS OF THE YEAR
LAST YEAR: President Noynoy
Don't you just hate it when Filipinos are put in bad light. I am proud to be a Filipino. I don't want to leave this country. But when you have an incompetent and bratty President, a corrupt ex-president, a boxer who longs to someday become a Vice President (or God forbid the future President), a sibling rivalry that ended up in murder between a Senator's half sister and poor brother headlining the news, it makes you change your mind a bit. Thank God, Shamcey Supsup and Gwendolyn Ruais made us forget about those thing even for just a couple of hours. They may not have won their crowns, but at least our attentions have been diverted to something pretty and not nasty.
LAST YEAR: The Arroyo's

BLOG OF THE YEAR
LAST YEAR: The Deadbeat Club
I loved short posts. They are easier to read. They don't make my nose bleed. And when done the right way, they entertain. I don't like long posts. I don't like posts written so lengthily with no direction and have no point. Bloggers tend to do that. But there is one blogger that does that, yet he still successfully gets me engaged in reading his long posts. He got me reading through his ordeal in finding an empty cubicle where he can dump his shit. I don't know how anyone could be so gifted in words. I'm jealous. His blog is not for everybody, you'd probably find this guy arrogant or snobbish. He probably won't find the time to visit your blog back if you comment on his posts. But he is a great read. This year the Best Blog is Lio's Same Shit, Different Day.
RUNNER-UP: Wickedmouth, Human, All Too Human, Ms. Chuniverse

Agree? Disagree? What were your bets for the year? And you've got til Sunday to join my little pacontest, see posts below. :)

I might not be online again on Sunday, so HAPPY NEW YEAR Everyone!!!

THE BEST OF 2011: ANG MGA NOMINADO

Hanggang bukas na lang naman ang Nobyembre, at sa Huwebes ay Disyembre na, at dahil pasulput-sulpot na lang ang mga blog post ko kaya ngayon ko na ialalathala ang mga nominado para sa aking taunang Best of the Year Awards.

Sa mga bago lamang dito, tuwing huling araw ng taon ay naglalathala ako ng mga naging paborito ko sa taong nagdaan mapapelikula, telebisyon, musika, comics, video games at blogging. Wala lang, gusto ko lang. Blog ko kasi 'to. Tsaka para na rin matakpan yung post kung saan nagpost at nagbura ako ng concert video ko.

At dahil mayroon pa ngang isang buwan bago matapos ang taon, maaaring hindi man makasali sa listahan ng mga nominado, merong mananalo na shoe-in lamang.

Kung sa tingin ninyo, may nakaligtaan ako, let me know, idadagdag ko.

MOVIE OF THE YEAR (INTERNATIONAL)
Bridesmaids
Drive
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part Two
Source Code
X-Men First Class

MOVIE OF THE YEAR (LOCAL)
Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank
No Other Woman
Thelma
Zombadings: Patayin sa Shokot Si Remington

GAME OF THE YEAR
Batman: Arkham City 
Dance Central 2
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Gears of War 3
LA Noir
Portal 2
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

TV SHOW OF THE YEAR (INTERNATIONAL)
Community
Game of Thrones
Once Upon A Time
Shameless
Suits
The Good Wife
The Walking Dead

TV SHOW OF THE YEAR (LOCAL)
100 Days to Heaven
Budoy
Reputasyon

COMIC EVENT OF THE YEAR
DC's 52 Initiative: DC Reset their entire comic line
Fantastic Four: Three - The Death of Human Torch
Spider Island: New Yorkers start having Spider-Man's powers
The Dark Angel Saga: Archangel the heir of Apocalypse
X-Men Schism: X-Men Civil War between Cyclops and Wolverine

COMIC BOOK SERIES OF THE YEAR
Amazing Spider-Man
Detective Comics / Batman (The Scott Snyder run)
Fantastic Four / FF (Future Foundation)
Morning Glories
The Walking Dead
Uncanny X-Force

SONG OF THE YEAR
Ako Na Lang - Zia Quizon
Give Me Everything - Pitbull Feat Neyo
Party Rock Anthem - LMFAO
Rolling in the Deep - Adele
Someone Like You - Adele
Super Bass - Nicki Minaj

NEWS OF THE YEAR
Miss Universe and Miss World
The Arroyo's
The Norway Massacre
The Revilla's / Bautista's
The whole KC/Piolo debacle

BLOG OF THE YEAR
(Blog must at least have one post  per month... hindi pasulpot-sulpot lang... previous winners not included)
Escape Islands
Human, All Too Human
Mood Swings
Ms. Chuniverse
No Spam, No Virus, No Kidding
Same Shit Different Day
Sentimiyento de Patatas
Soul Jacker
The Creative Dork
The Daily Panda
The Gasoline Dude
The Great Maldito
Wickedmouth

Hindi pa tapos ang taon, marami pa pwedeng magbago lalo na sa mga pelikula (andyan ang aking childhood favorite na Adventure of Tintin, Muppets, Mission Impossible).

Kung meron akong nakalimutan, o kung meron sa tingin niyo na dapat kasama sa listahan ng mga nominado sabihin niyo, malay niyo yun pala yung dapat manalo nakalimutan ko lang kasi ulyanin ako.

BEST OF 2010

And so another year is about to end in a few hours.

But before I give out the best of 2010, I’d like to first thank everyone who made this year a good year for Gillboard. When I outed myself a few months ago, I thought that I would lose some blog readers because of it. I did lose a few, but surprisingly I gained more friends.

I did not expect that, and I appreciate all the support.

So a big THANK YOU goes out to all the people who still visit me and read, comment and interact outside of this medium. I love you all (in a not so romantic way).

On to our awards, here are my choices for the best of 2010:

BEST MOVIE (INTERNATIONAL)
LAST YEAR: Slumdog Millionaire
2010 wasn’t a good year for movies. There were a lot of duds and a lot of hyped movies that did not deliver. But there was really one film that I looked forward to. And I’m glad it delivered and exceeded my really high expectations. Buzz, Woody and the rest of Andy’s toys have one more adventure, and it’s their best yet. Toy Story 3 was for me one of the best films I’ve seen ever. I like films that make me smile after seeing it, but with this one, I was happy. I cried. I mean who wouldn’t. The last few minutes of the film was just heartbreaking as it is triumphant.
RUNNER-UP: Inception, How To Train Your Dragon, Kick Ass

BEST MOVIE (LOCAL)
LAST YEAR: You Changed My Life
John Lloyd’s been on my list three years running. I think I’m already a fan (man-boobs and all). It was a three way close fight for this title. One was about my birthday, the second is a shoe-in (Here Comes the Bride) which was hilarious and the third one was the winner, My Amnesia Girl. Toni Gonzaga and JLC have chemistry and they should do more. I know I hated the ending for this film, but damn, it was a great movie. No, this is not a rip-off of 50 First Dates. It’s a different story altogether. One that may not be common but is kinda logical (my kasintahan’s gonna burn me for saying this). Anyway, the tandem is fresh, the pick-up lines may not be original but were perfectly delivered by the duo. I loved this film.
RUNNER-UP: I Miss You Like Crazy, Here Comes The Bride

BEST GAME
LAST YEAR: Assassin’s Creed 2
Compared to 09, there were a lot of great games that came out this year. Well, not really. It’s only this year that I got my Playstation 3, so I only got to play most quality games recently. I only listed down 4 titles because these were the ones that took up one quarter of my year. But the best game of 2010 for me is Mass Effect 2. This in my opinion is one of the most engaging games of all time. Imagine, if you played the first game and kept your file, it’s going to read all the decisions you made and carried it over to your story. You have a cast of well-developed characters, hundreds of planets to explore and tons of missions to finish. And through it all you have to keep all your relationships intact, for when the time comes you go on your suicide mission you wouldn’t want one of your team members to die. I’ve played it twice, and it broke my heart to see some of them died. I’m playing it the third time hoping I’ll keep them all.
RUNNER-UP: Fallout: New Vegas, Red Dead Redemption

BEST OF TV
LAST YEAR: Glee
I was hooked on only two shows this year. The one a gem of a new series based on the comic book by Robert Kirkman. And the other, is one hell of a serial killer series. It was a tight race, but I’m going with the numbers. At the end of it all, The Walking Dead was only 6 episodes long. Not long enough to really get me excited. Dexter on the other hand had 12 for Season 5. The story of a forensics expert by day and serial killer by night won me over this year. Each episode was brilliant and the best part is that it gets better and better each week. I recommend you to see this if you haven’t. It’s one of the smartest tv series on air right now. And it’s one of the best. I am banging my head on the table for not recommending this in the past.
RUNNER-UP: The Walking Dead

BEST OF PINOY TV
LAST YEAR: Pinoy Big Brother Double Up
It sucks that I work on the night shift as I don’t get to see any of our local teleseryes. So this year it’s a difficult category. I’m left with talent shows, variety shows, Juanita Banana and Sabel. My choice is based on what made me laugh out loud, and that goes to Showtime. I know the talents haven’t been as stellar as when it started, but man Vice Ganda’s antics do not grow old. She’s really hilarious. I actually want to be a part of the madlang people (I hope someone nice from ABS-CBN reads this and gives me complementary passes). I want to experience how it is to be an audience member. Maybe show off my talent. Lolz
RUNNER-UP: Pilipinas Got Talent

COMIC EVENT OF THE YEAR
LAST YEAR: Norman Osborn’s Dark Reign
The Big Two didn’t really have a lot to offer in 2010. They did have their share of events, but they haven’t been really well received. But there was one event that I really got hooked on in 2010. The Thanos Imperative. The Cancerverse has ripped a hole in the universe. It’s a parallel world where nothing dies. Where Death is Dead. It’s slowly coming out of the hole to eat up our universe. Our only hope lies in Thanos, the mad titan. This is the best event I have read this year, I’d even go so far as saying this is the best since Joss Whedon took over the X-Men franchise. Every issue was a solid effort from it’s creators Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning and Miguel Sepulveda. It’s a story that’s so big it involve the whole Marvel cosmic universe, and it was great. I actually shed a tear when I flipped to the last page of the series’ ending.
RUNNER-UP: The Deaths of Nightcrawler and Cable

BEST COMICS SERIES
LAST YEAR: Invincible Iron Man
The Walking Dead may not have won this year’s award for Best TV Show, but it’s printed counterpart is a runaway winner for me. I am six years late in reading Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard’s post apocalyptic opus. This time I made sure that I am not left behind. I’ve actually caught up. 79 issues of this series, I read in a month’s time. Best damn comics I’ve read in years. The last year saw Rick Grimes and company living in a walled community and determining how to create a society free of rules and norms, it may have had less zombies this year, but the end of issue 79 promises to give us a return to form. A herd of zombies is about to destroy Rick’s community. I can’t wait for 2011 to begin!!!
RUNNER-UP: Invincible Iron Man, Unwritten

BEST IN MUSIC
LAST YEAR: The Man Who Can’t Be Moved (The Script)
Call me jologs. Call me whatever you like. But I sang to the tune of Justin Bieber’s Baby all year long. It’s not a great song. Not by a mile. But dammit you’re lying if you tell me you don’t know this song. I sang this song at work. I sang this in the bus. While I’m taking a shower. I sang this to my Kasintahan. I sang this song all year long. Don’t tell me you didn’t.
RUNNER-UP: Club Can’t Handle Me

BEST IN NEWS
LAST YEAR: Goodbye Corazon Aquino
It’s two years in a row for the Aquinos. Happy news this time as the Philippines finally elect a new President. And with the change in leadership, we also saw a glimmer of hope for our country. But before that, of course who would forget the circus that is the campaign period of our elections. Jamby Madrigal’s tinapa incedent. Manny Villar’s desperate moves. Joseph Estrada’s betrayal. Jejomar Binay’s surprise win. The campaign period was only a few months, but the things that happened then could fill up news for an entire decade. Kudos to our fellow countrymen for choosing the lesser evil this time. But as always, our eyes are now focused on one man alone. And hopefully it won’t be because of the women who dumped him.
RUNNER-UP: Anything involving Willie Revillame

BLOG OF THE YEAR
LAST YEAR: The Professional Heckler
Nominating someone is hard enough, given the category. I read all of the blogs that were nominated. Most if not all, I’ve acquainted to outside of our respective homes. But how do I choose the winner. Each blogger’s home is his/her personal kingdom. Each story or article came from the heart. They’re sincere. But then I read other people’s blogs because not only do I want to get to know these people, I also want to be entertained. Others entertain through their life’s anecdotes. Others through their travels. Others through jokes. And there are people who entertain just by giving their opinions. My choice for the year did not only do all of those mentioned. He also did it in fewer than thirty sentences, sometimes even less than a hundred words. And so I award the Best Blog of the Year to The Deadbeat Club.
RUNNER-UP: Wickedmouth, The Great Maldito, The Gasoline Dude’s Life
Agree? Disagree? And what are your bests for the year? Let me know.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

BEST OF 2010 (THE NOMINEES)

Disyembre na. Aside sa malapit na ang Pasko, ibig sabihin din nito ay malapit nang matapos ang taon.

Isa sa mga pakulo ko dito sa aking mumunting tahanan ay ang magpost ng mga Best of The Year awards. Dahil excited ako, at wala gaanong maisulat. Naisip kong ipost ang mga nominees sa mga categories na pinaparangalan ko.

Ang mga mananalo ay gagawaran ko sa pagtatapos ng taon, bilang huling post ko.

Patikim lang ito. Mga nominado.

MOVIE OF THE YEAR (INTERNATIONAL)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows
How To Train Your Dragon
Inception
Kick Ass
Scott Pilgrim Vs The World
Toy Story 3

MOVIE OF THE YEAR (LOCAL)
Miss You Like Crazy
My Amnesia Girl

GAME OF THE YEAR
Fallout New Vegas
Halo Reach
Mass Effect 2
Red Dead Redemption

TV SHOW OF THE YEAR (INTERNATIONAL)
Big Bang Theory
Dexter
Glee
How I Met Your Mother
Shit My Dad Says
The Walking Dead

TV SHOW OF THE YEAR (LOCAL)
ASAP XV
Juanita Banana
Pilipinas Got Talent
Showtime
Wala akong naabangang teleserye ngayong taon. :(

COMIC EVENT OF THE YEAR
Bruce Wayne Returns
Siege of Asgard
The Deaths of Nightcrawler and Cable
The Temptation of Daredevil
The Thanos Imperative
Wolverine Goes to Hell

COMIC BOOK SERIES OF THE YEAR
American Vampire
Chew
Invincible Iron Man
The Walking Dead
Unwritten

SONG OF THE YEAR
Baby
Club Can’t Handle Me
I Love The Way You Lie
Just The Way You Are
Teenage Dream

NEWS OF THE YEAR
Anything Willie Revillame
Congressman Manny Pacquiao
First Ever Automated Philippine Election
Lotto Jackpot Winner of 700+ Million Pesos
President Noynoy Aquino

BLOG OF THE YEAR
Citybuoy
Clockstopper
Dong Ho’s Eskapo
No Spam No Virus No Kiddin’!
Pluma ni Jepoy
Prinsesa’s Anatomy
Sunny Starfish
Teacher’s Pwet
The Deadbeat Club (wag ka magrequest ng ‘and’ dahil alphabetical order ‘to)
The Gasoline Dude’s Life
The Great Maldito
Wickedmouth

Hindi pa ito final. Di pa tapos ang taon. Malay natin kung may humabol na mga mahuhusay pang mga pelikula, palabas, blogger o kung ano man bago magtapos ang taon. May tatlumpung araw pa ngayong Disyembre.

Kung may nakaligtaan ako, sabihin ninyo, baka yung nakalimutan ko, yun pa yung deserving manalo.

POP CULTURE

Haven't posted anything geeky in awhile. Nobody reads it anyway. But I'll try, I mean it's in my veins, being a geek.

Here's what I've been hooked on these days:

SHIT MY DAD SAYS: This is one of my favorite new sitcoms. It's not really geek-y per se, unlike say Doctor Who, Chuck or Battlestar Galactica. It's a comedy about a son moving back in with his father who likes talking to his plants and pointing shotguns at girlscouts. It's funny. It's from the same people who made us laugh via Will and Grace. I thought to add it here because this show casts one of geekdoms icons, William Shatner. This is a good show, among the three I've been following these days (including How I Met Your Mother and Big Bang Theory), this is the one where I laugh the loudest.

BIG BANG THEORY: Arguably one of the best shows on tv today. I love Sheldon, Leonard, Penny and company. They're like the geek version of Friends. It's absolutely hilarious. Sometimes it makes my nose bleed, but that's fine, I like to pretend I'm smart most days. It's a good thing I've learned how to download using torrent, now I am updated on my favorite shows. Did you see the first episode? That was absolutely funny, the one with the robot arm. If you can't relate, try to find that show.

AMERICAN VAMPIRE: I have not been a huge fan of vampires. I did not, and will not EVER go gaga over the whole Twilight series. I occassionally watch The Vampire Diaries and I have yet to read a decent vampire book. But every once in awhile, you discover something new, something fresh, something good. Like say, True Blood. American Vampire is in a way like that. In the story, it says that vampires differ with the place where they come from. The traditional vampires are found in Europe, but in America, vampires can walk during the day, they don't drown and are way stronger than the European ones. Interesting stuff. Specially when parts of it are written by horror master himself, Stephen King.

FALLOUT 3: I've fallen in love again with this game for the PS3. I bought a pirated copy of this game before for my xbox, but it broke down when I started to play. But since I now have the original PS3 version, I've gotten to know this game better. And can I just say, wow!!! It's really an immersive game. Post-apocalyptic Washington DC is awesome. The story is rich, the graphics is cool, everything about this game is just perfect. Well except for the way I play it. But I love this game. I know, I'm two years late for this post, but damn! Better late than never, I say.

LITTLE BIG PLANET: My 'kasintahan' loves this game. It's cute. It's easy to play. And it's just one brilliant game. It's innovative, very creative and highly addictive. I'm sorry if it's only now that I get to highlight these games (I only bought a PS3 a couple of months ago). Sackboy is currently my desktop wallpaper. He's so cute. Do they sell toys of this character? I want one for Christmas.

THE HUNGER GAMES: Been reading alot of good reviews about this series, and finally I have a copy of all three titles. This is one of the first things I bought after I got my salary yesterday. I haven't read a good book since The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo a few months ago (Can anyone lend me the last two books of the millenium trilogy?). Anyway, I know it's set in a post apocalyptic world, but other than that, I don't really know much about this book. I'll try to post a review once I finish this series. I'd like to rekindle my love for reading books again. There was a time my goal in life was to have 800 books in my room. Right now, I only have 80. I need to read more.

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HOLLOWS: Have you seen the trailer to this film? Epic, yeah? In the next few days leading to the film's showing, I'm gonna read the last book and watch all the films. This is the penultimate chapter of Harry filmwise, so this ought to be good. It seems to be loyal to the source material, so that's great. The sixth film was technically beautiful, but kinda boring storywise. I just hope it's because they're pulling all the stops to make this the best one yet. Or best two. I can't wait for November.

KINECT: I'm going to buy this no matter what. I am so looking forward to this peripheral for the XBox 360. This is the future of gaming. Motion control. Early reviews seem to be positive for this one. I can't wait for November. I think this is where my 13th month pay will be going.

So there you have it, those are what keeps me from bloghopping these days. Comics, tv, video games.

REVIEW DAY

It's been a very long time since I last posted a review of anything on this blog... I miss writing reviews. I may not be an expert on the stuff I rate, but I do love sharing with the people the things that I like. Even if alot of my dear readers can't relate to the things I like. What can I say, I'm a fanboy.

And since I haven't done alot of this lately, I thought I'd just do it one time big time. Review everyhing of interest I've played or read the past few weeks. So bear with me this is going to be a VERY LONG POST!!

MASS EFFECT 2
Of course I'll start with this one. Bioware's magnum opus. Xbox's first big title for 2010. The sequel to one of the best RPG titles of all time. Commander Shepard's penultimate adventure.

Okay, I know it's still too early to tell, but this is in the forefront for my game of the year. I know Final Fantasy's still a couple of months away, but everything about this game for me is just perfect.

The story picks up a few years after the Alliance stopped the Geths from taking over the galaxy. Saren was defeated, Sovereign was destroyed but the threats to the galaxy never stops. Good luck with that. This time alien beings called the Collectors have been harvesting human colonies all over the universe. So John Shepard must form a team to stop these evil from taking over.

And forming the team's basically what the game is all about. Not the Final Fantasy or Suikoden kind wherein you just add those people up and won't give a damn about them. In Mass Effect 2, each character has a backstory and it is your job to get to know these people better. Not for the sake of moving the story, but the success of your mission depends on how loyal these people will be to you. I'm only 20 hours into this game, but I feel I've already invested too much on all of them.

This is a beautiful game. I swear the first 30 minutes of the game my jaw was literally on the floor. The graphics are some of the best I've seen in a video game. The voice acting is brilliant. The gameplay is superb (I love scanning the planets... people say it's the most boring part of the game but that's how you improve on your weapons and tech so I don't care). Oh and it also helps that your saved data from the first game leaves a mark here. Every decision you've made in the first game will impact the story here.

If it isn't obvious yet, I LOVE THIS GAME!!!

RATING: 10 out of 10 stars

THE UNWRITTEN
I don't really know how to describe this book in words. But all I can say is that this is one of the most intriguing, most brilliant, most intelligently written comic books I've read in a very long while.

No this is not about superheroics. No vigilantes, no masked heroes, no apocalypse, zombies with black rings, or supervillains taking over the world. This is the story of Tom Taylor, the son of a J K Rowling-esque writer who created a character based on the boy. Only that he's a wizard with great powers. I know it may sound boring, but it does get interesting, because the world of Tommy Taylor the boy wizard starts unraveling in Tom's world.

I know it might sound as if only geeks would be interested or would enjoy this book. But I beg to disagree. This is a smart comic book. Mike Carey created a very intelligent tale that will be enjoyed by people who loves books, historical fiction, Harry Potter or just well-written stories.

The good thing about this title is that it's published by DC's Vertigo line. Meaning, we don't have to be worried of this title being cancelled because of low sales. I will be able to finish the whole story as planned by it's creators without any interventions by the editors or whoever's in charge of running the title. Mike Carey and Peter Gross have complete freedom over their created world.

This is not for everyone, but if you'd like to feel smart. I recommend for you to read this title.

RATING: 9 out of 10 stars

CHEW
This is the story of Agent Tony Chu. He is a federal agent working for the US Food and Drug Administration (or at least that's what I think FDA means). If you think that's boring, yeah it probably is. But here's the catch... Agent Chu's a cibopath. That means every time he eats a particular food, he gets visions as to where that food came from. What kind of fertilizers were used to grow the fruit, how the cow a beef came from was butchered, and how someone was murdered.

Say what?!

Yeah, Agent Chu eats people to find out their backstory. It might sound disgusting, well it really is... but that's the fun part of this comic. Chu eats any and everything to find out their back story. Dead dogs. Fingers. Nothing's sacred in this comic book. This one's really a riot.

This is my first time reading John Layman's work, and I can say I'm not really disappointed. I only read this because this is really hyped up when I read comics reviews. And I think the hype was with good reason.

It's not only funny, but it is a lot of fun to read. I was reading the first trade paperback of this title in a bus, and I know people were looking at me because I was snickering most of the time. It's really good.

This year I've found the joy in reading independent comics, and I must say these titles are way better than half of my super hero pull list.

I'm considering dropping most of my comics in favor of brilliantly written independent titles.

RATING: 8.9 out of 10 stars.

More review days in the next few weeks.

MODERN COMIC BOOK CLASSICS

I know alot (if not all) of the people who visit my page aren't interested in comic books. A lot of you can't relate to whatever it is I'm saying when I'm talking about super heroes and what have you. But please allow me to try and change your mind about it. I've been wanting to post this for like a month now, I just didn't have an idea of how to execute this. The thought came to me yesterday while I was trying to get some sleep, but earlier while I was taking a shower when I remembered this, I wasn't able to recall about half of the ideas I wanted to express. So while I still have the other half in tact right now, I decided to write this one out.

Plus, I've been wanting to write in English again. It's an itch I've been wanting to scratch for weeks now.

Going back to comic books, people immediately assume it's a kid thing... if not, a geek thing. Comic book collectors are usually stereotyped as nerds or people that bullies like to pick on. Well I don't think that it's entirely true. I've been buying comic books since I was a teen-ager, and I've never actually seen any kid in any of the comic book shops that I frequent. Not one child. Now as for the nerd thing... the late Francis Magalona is a comic book junkie. As well as Bobby Andrews. Do you actually think they'd be qualified as nerds? I don't think so.

I know collecting these things could be an expensive hobby, but believe it or not I'm willing to lend (NOT GIVE!!!) some of my collections to people who are interested in seeing what I see in these things.

Anyway, comics have matured alot these past few years. Gone are the black versus white, good versus evil ways of writing comic book heroes. Protagonists might step on the shades of gray. Villains have more complicated goals rather than just wanting to conquer the world. And heroism now isn't always perceived as it should be. Just like almost all of it's readers, comic books have grown up.

My intro's gone long enough. Here are some of the stories that I think could be considered Modern Classics.

ULTIMATES VOLUME 2 Mark Millar(w), Brian Hitch (a):
This is an alternate universe version of Marvel's Avengers. It's about thirteen issues, half of which seems not to be connected to each other. It shows us the flaws in the characters of each of the members of the team. The setting is just like the real world, where superheroes are not a common thing. Thor's perceived as a psycho who fancies himself as a god. The Hulk is a brainless monster with a lust for destroying things. And Captain America might just be fake. As the story goes on, we find out that there's actually a plot to take out all these supers so that America can be invaded to by a superpowered terrorist group. And they actually succeeded. This is actually an awesome story coupled by fantastic art. Just imagine if Michael Bay is given unlimited budget to do this story, it'd be an awesome movie. The eight page spread by Hitch by the end of the series is a work of art. During the time of it's original release, this title was plagued by delays so it's really difficult to follow this story. But if you read all 13 issues in one sitting, the only word that'll come out of your mouth will be 'wow'.

NEW X-MEN by Grant Morrison
The self-proclaimed God of all comics left a mark on X-Men when everyone thought that this title can't offer anymore new stories to tell. Gone are the colorful costumes and the superhero missions for the mutant team. You actually feel that Xavier's School for gifted youngsters is actually a school. Alot has happened in Morrison's run that made readers realize that this is not their father's X-Men. Cyclops is fooling around with Emma Frost when Jean Grey's not looking (or reading his thoughts). Beast turned from ape-like to catlike, Charles Xavier can walk again, a million mutants died in Genosha and the X-Men just became a great read again. The only thing that I didn't like is that the art in his whole run was inconsistent. There were issues with really gorgeous art (Phil Jimenez, Ethan Van Sciver), and there were really horrible ones(Igor Kordey). I think he had 6 artists throughout the entire run.

ASTONISHING X-MEN Joss Whedon(w), John Cassaday (a)
After Grant left the X-Men in 2004, the question was how to make the title still readable. Enter Buffy The Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon who completely abandoned what Grant established and brought the X-Men back to their basics. Which was basically soap opera with alot of action. This is 25 issues of awesome characterization and great banter. With the death of Jean by the end of Morrison's run, Joss worked on Scott and Emma's relationship and actually made me like what they had over Scott and Jean's. At one point, he turned Wolverine into a sissy girl which was hilarious. He brought Colossus back to life, and unfortunately ended Shadowcat's in one of the best death(?) in comics ever... I loved this run because 1) I'm a fan of Buffy when it was still airing 2) it has sweet sweet art from Cassaday and 3) it's just good. Problem, again with this run is that it was plagued with delays, but if you read this in one sitting, specially the entire run, it's more than satisfying.

CAPTAIN AMERICA by Ed Brubaker
The thing I loved about Ed Brubaker's Cap is that it reads like a good spy/action story. Prior to this, I hated the character as I see him only as one sanctimonious SOB. He's actually a boring character in my opinion. But Brubaker changed my mind. Now, this is the only title that I religiously follow. You see, in the 1940's Cap had a teen-age sidekick named Bucky. He was lost back then trying to stop a madman (which was actually a trap). The Russians got hold of his body, and turned it into one of the world's most effective assassins... The Winter Soldier. Captain America saved him. And now that Steve Rogers (Cap) is dead, it falls on the hands of Bucky to continue the legacy of the fallen soldier. It's 40+ issues of just great read. If you're into shows like 24 or Alias, Captain America reads something like it, only with more action and the sexy Black Widow.

DAREDEVIL (GUARDIAN DEVIL) Kevin Smith(w), Joe Quesada(a)
This is probably one of the best reads I've had in a long time. I just bought this 10 year old story a few weeks ago, and I remember not having slept because I can't stop turning the page until the end. You see, one night a woman gave Daredevil her baby because apparently, it was prophesied to eventually become the anti-christ. Of course, the forces of evil would want to get hold of the child, and it's up to the man without fear to protect it (regardless if she's the antichrist or not). What follows is one of the most tragic thing to happen in the life of our hero. It's really heart wrenching seeing the Daredevil tortured emotionally. I really liked the funeral in the end. Almost made me cry. The story and the art were fantastic in this 8-issue series that made the whole Daredevil franchise one of the most consistently acclaimed title in Marvel's roster.

IDENTITY CRISIS Brad Meltzer(w), Rags Morales(a)
One of DC's strongest suits is that it's heroes are some of the most powerful beings in the world. Unfortunately, that's also their crutch. Creating a problem for the heroes as powerful as Superman, as smart as Batman or as strong as Wonder Woman is something that's close to impossible to do. But what Brad Meltzer did with this 7-issue mini-series is something fans didn't expect to read in a DC comic. Ralph Dibny, The Elongated Man is a family man, his wife is one of the Justice League's best ally. She was loved by everyone. But she was killed by an unknown enemy. Her death not only crushed the league, it also opened some of the worst-kept secrets that the league kept from their own. A secret that will forever change the way the heroes see each other. I actually thought that this was a great story. Issues of rape, manipulation, and family were tackled and it all worked perfectly. I'm not a DC fan, but this story made me want to root for their lesser-known characters like Dibny.

I actually have more. Unfortunately, my job is getting in the way of my blogging. I'll post another one of these some other time. If it's only possible for me to upload the titles I mentioned above, I would've just so you'd see what makes me go crazy about comic books.

DARK REIGN

Allow me to geek out one more time, I don't usually do this alot anymore, write comic book stuff. Honestly, the reason for this is because for a time last year, I stopped purchasing comics on a weekly basis because I was pretty much jobless. But since I have a nice-paying job again, I thought to restart buying my one and only vice. Although now I'm not buying as much as I did before. Just some titles that I think are worth my money and are really interesting. Mostly Marvel stuff.

DARK REIGN, this is the current direction Marvel is headed right now. This storyline explores the Marvel Universe that's being headed by Norman Osborn aka the Green Goblin. After the Skrull almost succeeded in invading our planet, the outgoing President gave the guy the power to police the planet. Apparently, it was Osborn who made the killshot on the leader of the shapeshifting aliens. So now it's a brand new albeit darker day on 616 earth. To make things worse, Osborn has put together a cabal of Marvel's most sinister evil leaders including the King of Latveria, Doctor Doom, the new kingpin of New York, The Hood, Namor the Sub-Mariner, the trickster god, Loki and the current queen of all mutants Emma Frost, the White Queen.

Who wouldn't be interested in that? I mean come on!!! Excluding Frost, most of these people are truly badass. And they are the new rulers of earth. A lot of possibilities would come out of that plot alone. I'm so looking forward to see how they'll stab each other in the back.

Here's my pull list...

INVINCIBLE IRON MAN: the current storyline is called World's Most Wanted. It's Tony Stark's fall from grace, and eventually his redemption. After Civil War, Tony was given the keys to the kingdom and was the head of the planet's security, but failed miserably. Now, Osborn is doing everything to get his greedy hands on the Super Hero Registration list, and it's inside Tony's head. With Norman having all the resources to have Tony's head in the platter, including turning Iron Man into the world's most wanted man, I'm so excited to find out what he'll do to evade the long arms of Osborn's law.

WAR OF KINGS: Not only earth is facing a dark new day after the Skrull invasion. Even the cosmic universe is not safe. The Skrulls really screwed with the Inhumans that's being lead by Blackbolt, and he's had enough. They were created to be the ultimate weapons, and now they're going to be what they were made for. And that actually means they'll have to go through Emperor Vulcan's plans for expanding the Shiar empire. Yeah, that's the stuff that make legends. I'm currently picking up The Guardians Of the Galaxy title.

NEW AVENGERS: Yeah, I dropped a lot of the Avenger's titles after my monetary problems before, but I'm keeping this one. This is the title that actually got me hooked in the current Marvel Universe in the first place. I'm actually intrigued with the current storyline... In the end of the invasion, Luke Cage and his wife Jessica found out that Jarvis the butler is really a Skrull. And he's the one taking care of their daughter and he inevitably took off with their child. Plus, there's a new Sorcerer Supreme, and he's not Dr. Strange, and it's in this title where we'll find out who it's going to be. Good stuff.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: The whole Red Skull saga took about 40+ issues, and 2 Captain America's to get resolved, and I'm actually looking forward to reading new stuff and new enemies for the current Cap. Batroc the Leaper just made a comeback, and he's a little bit more menacing now than he ever was (the guy's really goofy, so this is cool). Bucky Cap's on his way to China now to retrieve the corpse of his old teammate the original Human Torch to stop the bad guys from turning him into a living weapon or much worse. It's a Brubaker penned title, so I'm expecting it to be really awesome!!!

X-FACTOR: Siryn and Multiple Man's baby is already born, but something tragic has happened and it will truly drive a wedge between all the members of Madrox's X-Factor Investigations. As much as I want to give out spoilers about this title, the writer plead for everyone to not go online and tell the whole story. It's really tempting to do it, but I'll honor Mr. David's wishes. 2008 wasn't really a good year for the title, but with the current storyline and the latest issues twists, there's no other way to go for this series but up. I love this comics.

THUNDERBOLTS: Andy Diggle took over the writing duties for this team since November, and this series just got better. It's no longer the Colorado's saviours as half of the team joined the new Dark Avengers, and the other half are either dead and/or disposed of. The Thunderbolts are now a team of assassins, thieves and mercenaries doing the bidding of none other than Norman Osborn. I'm not really familiar with Diggle's work, but from what I've seen the last 3 issues, I'm pretty sure I'm going to enjoy the ride with him steering the wheels for Thunderbolts.

In the next few weeks I'll also be adding Daredevil and Mighty Thor to my pull lists as they both have intriguing storylines coming. In Daredevil (which I'm currently collecting via trades), Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin makes a comeback. And in Thor, we'll find out what the real plan of Loki really is for the new Asgard and his half brother Thor.

Again, I don't have that many titles at the moment to collect as I'm saving money to buy a new Xbox 360 and hopefully a PS3 by the end of the year. Hopefully. I think I've already saved enough to buy me one soon.

REQUIRED READING: WATCHMEN

March is still a long wait away, but if you've seen The Dark Knight the past couple of weeks, you may have glimpsed a trailer for another super hero movie... Watchmen. Nerds around the world cried with glee with scenes straight from the comic book itself.

According to the trailer, this is the most acclaimed graphic novel in history.

Watchmen is set in an alternative earth in the 80's, where vigilantism is outlawed, and the planet is in the brink of World War 3. When one of the former heroes is brutally murdered, those who are left brought it to themselves to find out what's causing this and who's methodically taking out all of the other super-heroes. This graphic novel is not just about heroics, it deals about alot of deeper aspects like rape, the morality of omnipotence, how one is considered insane, and doing something bad for the greater good. Watchmen is proof that comic books and super heroics are not just books for kids. It's intelligently written by the legendary Allan Moore, and drawn by the equally brilliant Dave Gibbons.

I've heard about this title when I was still new to the whole comics collecting hobby. But it was only last year that I've really read the title. It's actually difficult to read this in only one sitting because of all the ideas being brought up by this title. But I'm not saying that it's hard to understand. To be honest, people smarter than I am will appreciate this more, but it's easy to comprehend. Like I've said the writing is superb. You get the aspects of who the characters are. And each one has a distinct voice from the others. From the very powerful Dr. Manhattan, the smartest man Ozymandias, to the desperation of Nite Owl and the edgy Rorschach everyone has weight.

Artistically this is the comics version of Da Vinci, or a great indie film. The angles are something new. The type that'll really get your mind to work. This is a series where you just don't ogle at the pictures. Yes, the pictures are pretty, but it's beauty that you'll more than just appreciate. I love how Gibbons does the different perspectives of the same subject. Scenes like Dr. Manhattan's Mars home, to love scenes are drawn artistically that you'll get affected by it's brilliance.

There is a reason why this is hailed as a classic. Some of the points introduced by this series are still fresh 23 years after it was first released. Marvel's Civil War and DC's Identity Crisis in a way took a page from this seller. At it's release, it won the prestigious Hugo Award, as well as an Eisner and Kirby awards.

Honestly, I'm worried about the movie that's about to come out. It was Moore who said that this was not written to be adapted in the big screen, and I agree. It's really going to be difficult to sell this as an action film, because it's not. It's more of a thinking man's noir story. Zach Snyder did a lot to impress us with 300 and Dawn of the Dead, so I have high hopes for this film. I'm not expecting too much, but I really hope that the film be loyal to the story and not be like Wanted which is the same about the comic book only in it's first 10 minutes. But judging by what I've seen with the trailer, it could be a direct adaptation. So at least it should be good, story-wise

Watchmen's got it all for everyone, gore and violence, all-out action from beginning to the end, and steamy love scenes in the middle.

SCORE: 8.5 out of 10

REQUIRED READING: WANTED

I don't know when this movie will be showing here in the Philippines, but I'm very excited about this film. The trailer looks action-packed and Angelina Jolie and James McAvoy... sexy!!!

If you must know, this movie actually is based on a comic book written by Mark Millar (Civil War) and with art by the amazing JG Jones (Final Crisis). Now looking again at the trailer it's quite obvious that the story is not going to be really faithful to the comic, but if you're just like me who's looking forward to watching this film, but is pretty much clueless as to what it's about... read on.

Before I go on with the comic's story, let me first point out the big difference between the movie and the comic book. Again, watching the trailer it's obvious that this film is about a brotherhood of assassins, the comics is actually about a fraternity of supervillains in a time after they have disposed of all of the superheroes in the world. I think Hollywood is just being smart about this film, because it would really be difficult putting into film, characters like Shithead or Fuckwit.

Anyway, Wanted the comic book is actually about Wesley Gibson, your typical loser with an unfaithful girlfriend, an ass for a boss and a life of quiet desperation. Mostly, a little bit like me... the only difference is that, he is actually the son of the world's most powerful assassin. Now this assassin died, and for Wesley to inherit the millions of dollars his father worked for, he has to become a villain.

Enter the Fraternity led by Professor Solomon Seltzer. This is a brotherhood of supervillains who is currently running the world after they effectively destroyed all of earth's superheroes and turned them into a memory only remembered through comic books. Apparently, there's some sort of a power struggle between two of the five leaders Seltzer and Mr. Rictus.

This is where things turn for the worse for Wesley Gibson and his mentor/partner The Fox. And if that wasn't enough, there's a huge twist at the end that will change how you'll look at our lovable loser.

I am a huge fan of Mr. Millar's work ever since I grabbed a copy of his Ultimate X-Men a few years ago. That title actually brought me back to reading comic books. He's the Michael Bay of the comics industry with his knack for action, and this mini-series is chock full of it. This is a mature readers title, so it's full of sex, violence and a lot of the f-bombs, so I think only wusses would not like this title.

The art by JG Jones is perfect. The action looks so real, I love the violence depicted by his pencils, and the way Wesley changed from the loser that he was to the killer he turned out to be is so believable. While it's obvious that he actually based some of the characters from celebrities, it's not distracting and made me think what if Eminem and Halle Berry were the ones who played Wesley and the Fox in the film. That would've been cool.

The only criticism I have is the sort of anticlimactic ending. Millar actually made it work, but I really do prefer that the twist in the end not happen. I think they'll do this in the film as well, as it's actually central to the story, but it really came out of the left field, that while interesting, wasn't really necessary... at least for me. But like I said, somehow the writer made it work, and gave a reason for Wesley's existence.

Final word: The comic book is cool. Makes me hope that while it's obvious that over-all it won't be like the series, I do hope that they at least will be loyal to the story. I can actually see how they could turn characters like Shit-head, Dollmaster, and the Council of Five be more realistic. And the curbing of the bullet is actually way cooler than what's in the comics (Wesley actually shot the wings of flies in the book).

SCORE: 8.9 out of 10.

REQUIRED READING: IMMORTAL IRON FIST

THE 7 CAPITAL CITIES OF HEAVEN:


First of all, an introduction to Iron Fist. As per Marvel: Orphaned billionaire Daniel Rand was raised in the mystical city of K'un-Lun and grew to become it's champion. After defeating the dragon Shou-Lao the Undying, Danny was granted extraordinary powers, enhancing his mastery of the martial arts and allowing him to achieve a superhuman level of strength, speed and fighting prowess. Now Danny - a captain of industry a hero on the run and a member of the underground New Avengers - stands between the innocent and the unstoppable hordes of evil and wicked men as THE IMMORTAL IRON FIST.

Now I'm sure a lot of you don't know who this guy is, as until recently, Iron Fist was never a mainstream superhero. He was created during the 70's in the wake of blaxploitation and kung-fu films. He was Luke Cage's partner in Heroes For Hire, and just recently joined the Avengers as part of the superhumans against Super Hero Registration. And he's the star of one of the most hailed Marvel series, The Immortal Iron Fist.

While the entire run of Ed Brubaker (Captain America) and Matt Fraction (Invincible Iron Man) is critically acclaimed, I wanted the maiden entry for my comic book reviews to be about their second story arc titled The 7 Capital Cities of Heaven (issues 8-14).

Danny Rand, the Iron Fist of this generation finds himself a weapon of his city K'un-Lun in a tournament between 6 other mystical cities vying for passage to Earth. The game... a kick-ass kung-fu tournament that makes Jackie Chan and Jet Li films look like amateur circus acts.

What's really interesting is that the entire tournament is less than half of the entire story, we also are thrown in the middle of a brewing war against corruption in Rand's home turf. Oh yeah, and a terrorist cell called Hydra is targeting the invisible city to turn into rubble and dust.

If I were to nominate a title that will get people to read comics, The Immortal Iron Fist will definitely be on top of that list. I believe that these characters will be myths in the future, just like the Greek, Norse and whatever gods we're so into these days. Brubaker and Fraction are weaving a great mythology for the character that makes him so interesting, and this title so hard to put down.

Where else can you find characters whose names are so cool, you'd hate your parents for naming you Michael or Jason? Fat Cobra? Bride of Nine Spiders? Dog Brother #1? Tiger's Beautiful Daughter? Steel Serpent and Prince of Orphans? If you could only see their looks and their moves, your jaw would drop to the floor just like mine did. Sumo Thunder Stomp, Whirlwind of Impending Doom, Burning Chi Thunderfoot, The Black Milk of Hell, Jawsnapper in Twilight and The Stabbing Newlywed are just some of the cool moves each player made throughout the entire run. If I wrote all of it here, I'd have no more room for the review.

This series is peppered with coolness, that each issue you're going to say 'wow' several times. Every character had a moment and the writers effectively wrote them that you'd care if something bad happens to them. Just like this line by Misty Knight (she's Danny's on-again-off-again girlfriend):

"You're all cold. You're all tired. And you've got to protect Momma Hogarth while trying not to get yourselves killed. My partner has a way with the blade. And clearly I'm unafraid of a tussle or two. Now, you might manage to bring down one of us, or maybe even both of us. But I promise you that--before we die--we will blind one of you. We will kill two of you. And three of you will never have children. Ever."
-BRILLIANT!!!

The comic book is mostly perfect, but there's only one thing that kept me from truly enjoying the entirety of this book. David Aja was not able to complete this story. I'm pretty sure not all people would appreciate the art, I know some prefer a manga style of drawing when reading comic books. But I really loved Aja's style. I don't know how you call it, but I've really warmed up to it. It has this European style which is detailed and conveys emotion effectively. And his action sequences are the bomb!!! I was wondering how he would've interpreted the scene where Iron Fist punches a train (yes, you read that right!!! That's how cool Iron Fist is). Anyway, his replacements Tonci Zonjic, Clay Mann and Kano did the best that they can, and were able to keep the art competent in Aja's absence.

There's a lot to love about this book and I'm not ashamed to profess all of it. I've got a man-crush on Iron Fist!!! There, I said it. This is the best and only kung-fu comic book in the market. I am not afraid to recommend it to non-comic book readers out there. This book won't let me down, mind you. This has got everything you need, action, suspense, great dialogue, great characterization, and a whole lot of kung-fu fighting. Definitely a classic!

RATING: 9.5/10

REVIEW DAY: SPOILER SPOILER!!!

Thursday is an expensive day this week. There's 3 comic books I bought, and I saw the movie Speed Racer. As for the reviews today, it's just the second issue of Secret Invasion and the film that I'll be doing. Like I said before I'll be doing something different with the comic books.

Let's start with:

SPEED RACER: This is a movie done by the creators of the Matrix Trilogy. If I remember my movie history correctly, the original film made huge leaps in terms of moviemaking magic. I remember going home thinking what if we're really living in a world controlled by machines, computers and programs. I almost started a cult. But then there came the two sequels. They're just okay. The effects were great, but the story... not so much.

Now, after some time, the Wachowski's are back. And looking at the trailer it seems that they're bringing their A-game in terms of effects. But did it deliver?

Yes, and no. It's hard to answer. I'm conflicted about this film, specially because I'm still giddy over the whole awesomeness of Iron Man. Yes, the effects are great! I love all the race scenes specially the one in Casa Cristo (I think) It's really like the cartoon coming to life. Unfortunately though, for me the story was a little dragging. There were a lot of scenes that I thought shouldn't have been added in the movie. And I could just imagine the kids getting confused because the story jumps from past to present, and add the whole corporate plot detail to the whole thing.

I am not a fan of the animated series, as I think when it was first shown, I was still a baby or toddler, or we didn't have television back then. Anyway, so I'm not familiar with the story of Speed. To the fans of the show back then, is this a good adaptation of the original story? Regardless, I thought this film is really targeted for kids. I'm sure a lot of people will find something good about this movie.

Anyway, it's about Speed Racer (that's his real name actually) and the story of how he was really born to drive. As a kid, he knows nothing but driving due mainly to his brother's being the greatest racer of his time. But something happens to his brother, and now it's all about bringing back the glory of the tarnished Racer name.

Like I said all the racing scenes (with the exception of the final moments of the Grand Prix race) are all great. The whole what-a-cartoon-looks-like-when-done-in-live-action is innovative and interesting. The whole movie is colorful, and it's fine considering that a lot of movies being done lately are dark.

It's a good film, it just was a little dragging. Seriously, I hated Speed's younger brother and the chimp. Yeah, they provided the comic relief of the film, but they're just nuisance. Kids will definitely love them. But I'm not a kid anymore.

GRADE: 7.5 out of 10

So I guess Iron Man is still the movie to beat...

SECRET INVASION 2 of 8: Before the review, let me just say this. I'm starting to hate event comics. It started with Civil War... 200 pesos for a page count of a regular comic book. It seriously sucks bad. If it were like World War Hulk that's got a huge page count, then I'd understand the increase in price. But come on!!! For this issue? Mighty Avengers 13 is better than this one.

Fortunately, it's a good issue. I would've preferred though if this whole issue is still part of Secret Invasion 1. It seems that the Skrull Invasion is not a secret anymore.

In savage land, it's an all out brawl between the two Avenger teams and the people from the Skrull ship that crashed last issue. It seems that not everyone on that ship is a Skrull. In fact one of the heroes that was thought dead is confirmed to be the real deal... It's Mockingbird!!! (I'm hearing only crickets). Yeah she's not that popular. But in the geek world, she's got a lot of fans. Apparently, she died before, and now she's back. I don't really know much about her.

Anyway, back on the mainland, the invasion is already full blown as Skrull ships finally take to the skies bringing with them supremely souped up versions of the Super Skrulls. For non-geeks out therethe original Super Skrulls are Skrulls with combined powers of the Fantastic Four (them I'm sure you're familiar). But now, the Super Skrulls have the abilities of almost all powerful heroes (one of them seems to have Dr. Strange, Iron Man and BlackBolt's powers).

I guess this is where the real invasion begins, and where almost all of the tie-ins will be taking it's plots from.

Like I said I like this issue, but the main problem is the price. I'm fine with the first issue as it was double sized, but this one is so thin. It's not really worth it. And me having a budget for collecting comics is making me think twice if I should continue following this story. I mean, I can wait until the trade comes out. There's always the web to look at if I want to read spoilers.

GRADE: 7/10: The guality of the story does not falter, it's my issue with the price. Probably, if they added some additional info or some background to justify the price next time.

BEST OF COMICS TO FILM

So Iron Man the movie is successful. This just goes to show that the trend of adapting comics to film is not going to die anytime soon. In fact, this year there are still 3 movies that came from the funny books (The Dark Knight, The Incredible Hulk, and Wanted).


I know there have been many awful comic book films that have been released, but the few that are good, are REALLY GOOD. So forget about Fantastic Four or Superman Returns or Ghost Rider, they're done in bad taste.


That's why, in keeping with this trend, I'm going to list down the best comic book adaptations as of now. Iron Man is included there, but I'm not going to put it here since I just wrote a review about it a few days ago.


But before anything else, I'm just going to warn you, I'm not the type of person who reads a lot of indie comic books, so if your favorite is not in there (say Road To Perdition, or A History of Violence, or Ghost World), that just means my taste is more of the mainstream comic books. I have nothing against these books (or films), I just don't like drama. Although I loved Road To Perdition...


Anyway, here are my 5 favorite comic book films of all time.


300: Who doesn't love this movie? Us guys love it because of the action, girls love it because of the men and gays... it's just you know... it's raining men. Hallelujah! Har har. Anyway, this is the story of 300 Spartans and their part in the Battle of Thermopylae. King Leonidas leads the army to stop the Persians led by Xerxes from invading his land of Sparta. This is a very stylish film. I remember my jaw dropping in a lot of the action scenes in this movie. I have the DVD, and everytime I'm feeling emo, this is what I watch. Don't ask why.


BATMAN BEGINS: Yeah, it took 20 minutes before Batman showed up (or was it an hour, I don't remember), but the long wait is worth it when you finally see the guy wearing the cape and the mask. You know Falcone is going to be fucked up. Batman Begins tells the story of the transformation of Bruce Wayne from victim to vigilante in the best Batman movie yet. It sets up some of the things that will happen to this year's film. And the best news is, it's just the first part of a supposed trilogy!!! This would have been the perfect comic adaptation, only thing I didn't like was Katie Holmes being in the cast. I love her as Joey in Dawson's Creek, I just don't think she fit in the whole cast. I hope Maggie Gyllenhaal does better in The Dark Knight.


X-2: I'm an X-Men fan, and although I didn't like the first movie, this sequel had me literally falling off my seat. I think I joined the millions of geeks who cheered during the whole assault on the mansion scene. From the appearance of Colossus, to Siryn, Shadowcat, and Wolverine raising hell with the soldiers, I think I cried because of glee. Everyone had a moment in this movie, from Mystique to Jean Grey even minor characters like Rogue, Iceman and Pyro. Oh yeah, and who could forget the most awesome opening sequence ever with Nightcrawler's attack in White House.


SPIDER-MAN: The first one obviously. I think this kick-started the whole trend of brilliantly adapting comic books to film. This started the whole hero's origin movies. The whole build up the character so that when the hero appears in costume, you'd be in awe. With the exception of the horrible acting of Aunt May when she was attacked by the Green Goblin, I actually thought the film was well done. I watched this movie in the cinemas like 12 times. 8 of which I paid for by the way. Like I said, this film isn't perfect, but it has an advantage of being the first of it's kind.


BATMAN RETURNS: I really liked Michael Keaton as Batman. I know he's not as good looking as George Clooney or Christian Bale, but his Bruce Wayne is quite believable. And his brooding Batman is much better. I kind of had a problem with Bale changing his voice when he's in costume. But anyway, why did I put this here? One word: Catwoman!!! Michelle Pfeiffer as Selina Kyle... sexiest bitch I've ever seen. I loved the whole "I'm Catwoman, hear me roar!" I think the first time I walked my dog was to this film. Yeah, I'm sick and twisted, but it's Michelle Pfeiffer!!! In a cat suit!!! "YOu know a mistletoe is poisonous when you eat it, but a kiss is more dangerous if you mean it" one of the best lines of the film. And oh yeah, there's Penguins here. Who hates Penguins? The animal, not Danny Devito.


STARDUST: Not all comic book adaptation needs to be about action and heroes and villains. Ghost World is proof of that (has anyone here in the Philippines seen that film... it's cute). But it could also be about love, and fantasy and falling stars and evil witches. This was one of my favorite films of last year. Neil Gaiman wrote the original story, and Michelle Pfeiffer is in it too. I have not yet read the book (I have every intention of doing so when I have budget to buy one). It may have been adapted from a book, not sure if the comics or the book came first, but the point is, it was done as a comic book, so there.

I love comics. I love movies. You combine the two together. Add a very creative director. Plus some great casting. All of these equals magic!!!