So I know no one bothers to read my journals but I feel like venting so

First of all I finally saw GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra. Not nearly as horrible as i'd been expecting. Even the goofy "accelerator suits" and Marlon Wayans couldn't ruin it for me. The one thing that WAS just as horrible as I'd been led to believe was Cobra Commander. Great origin and an interesting new take on the character but whoever designed his costumes, particularly the mask he wears when he finally refers to himself as "Commander" needs to be drug out in the street and shot. What was wrong with the blue hood or mirrored glass faceplate? Yes they're goofy but we're used to them. This just looked awful.

Still a good movie though definitely a must see for fans of action movies.

However tonight I saw (and was severely disappointed by) Whiteout. Maybe it's just me but the trailer seemed to imply that whatever they were dealing with was something more than simple human evil. The way it was edited made it seem to me that they had actually found SOMETHING under the ice and it was killing them. Maybe it's just 'cause I haven't seen a good monster movie since Cloverfield. Instead it's all been slashers and High concept junk like Knowing.

I went expecting Predator. I got an episode of CSI: Antarctica.

Turns out the movie is based on a graphic npvel I've never heard of. Had I known this fact I could've saved my money. It's still an ok movie just not what I wanted to see.

So I watched GI JOE Resolute last night, and i must say that it is freaking awesome! All the best characters made an appearance (though three probably didn't survive). Through some of the best writing the franchise has had in quite awhile what could have been a cheesy stupid movie became truly EPIC in scope. From Snake Eyes in Japan to Tunnel Rat 20 miles up destroying Cobra's communication network I was in awe. After watching Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow's fight I was drooling over how amazing it was. And Road Block pulled off what has to be the funniest thing I've EVER seen in an action cartoon. If you saw the show you know what I mean. Let's just say it involved a large gun, a grenade, and a VERY surprised Destro.

The voice work was solid and you could tell the actors respected the franchise. David Hayter was stellar as Duke and Vilgax (from Ben 10, I don't know his real name. lol) managed to turn Cobra Commander into an incredibly frightening character, rather than the screeching mostly ineffectual comedy villain of the original show. I missed Chris Latta but they made the right decision.

In all if you somehow missed it last night you owe it to yourself to find it online. I believe adultswim.com will have it posted on Monday so watch it there if you have to.

Forget that live action debacle that's coming out. THIS is the true GI JOE, and it it glorious.

Also just as a hopeful note, I've heard rumors that this may actually be a movie length pilot for a new show. I certainly hope so.

Edit: OK since i wrote this I have since realized that duke was NOT David Hayter but was in fact Steven Blum, best known as Spike Speigel from Cowboy Bebop. They DO sound kinda similar though. Besides Iwas being Deafened by AWESOME. lol

Today is a sad day for geeks everywhere.

David Arneson, co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons has died at the age of 61.

I can't find any information on what killed him but I choose to believe he had a heart attack while slaying a Green Dragon, already weakened by the beast's poison he just couldn't hold out any longer.

In all seriousness though he was a visionary and the world is a little less colorful without him.

I do!

(possible spoilers below)

I have to say that when the movie was first announced I was not quite sure what the big deal was. I hadn't read the Graphic Novel. After finding a copy of it at Hastings and reading it I realized that this was possibly the best thing I'd read in quite some time.

Was the movie any good? That depends on several factors. Those who have read the book will come away either condemning it for not being PERFECT and including everything, or praising it for being as faithful as it was. If you've never read the book though it MIGHT be a tad confusing if you don't pay attention.

Honestly though the things that were taken out (Tales of the Black Freighter, the death of Hollis Mason, most of the stuff at the newsstand,) didn't feel right for the movie (excepting Hollis) and will probably be put into the director's cut in some way or another.

The biggest change comes at the end. No the giant alien squid doesn't make an appearance and frankly I'm glad. It always seemed just a little bit too far out there compared to the rest of the story.

The new ending (which i won't spoil here) works much better for me, and for the movie in general.

Also a lot of people are complaining that Silk Spectre (both of them) weren't very good actresses but I had no problem with them. I thought they did fine. They could have been better but they weren't AWFUL like so many seem to think.

In fact the only part of the movie I didn't enjoy was the guys sitting next to me in the theater. They OBVIOUSLY hadn't read the book, were total jocks who came expecting Batman type heroics, and WOULD NOT STOP complaining about Dr. Manhattan's nudity. All they had to say about the movie afterward was "That was one weird movie".

You have to give Zach Snyder (Director) and David Hayter (Screenwriter) credit where credit is due. They filmed the unfilmable movie and did it in a way that makes me want to see EVERY movie they ever make in the future.

So what did you think of the movie? Let me know!

Today finds me sad. I just learned that Micheal Crichton, one of my favorite authors has died at the age of 66. Apparently he had cancer and had been fighting it for some time now. I never knew since the news rarely considers famous authors newsworthy, at least around here.

For those who don't know Micheal Crichton is the man behind Jurassic Park, Sphere, Timeline, Andromeda Strain, and ER, as well as many other novels combining current events with speculative Sci-fi. He was always able to make even the most preposterous ideas make sense and almost workable. If you've never read any of his books I strongly suggest you do. You'll enjoy it. (ok maybe not Prey his latest)

Micheal Crichton- 10/23/42 - 11/4/08