Stan Lee is asked by Archie Comics to create a comic book for them. Just his luck, Stan Lee runs across a group of Marvel clones that happen to be aliens from another galaxy with their own sets of powers and abilities. Stan Lee narrates the tale of Stan Lee in which Lee plays Stan Lee who is looking for an idea for a comic. Just his luck Stan Lee comes across the idea for his new series when he decides to help a bunch of space cops and their prisoners escape US authorities. Though Stan Lee plays himself as the main character, he’s really there to lend exposition to a clunky story, and inspire awe on the audience for a bunch of half baked heroes and villains.
The Tick: The Entire Series (DVD)
The slapstick wild animation really worked in favor of the original animated series of “The Tick.” Mainly because the world based on the Tick and around the character was so beyond reality and surreal that we accepted anything about it. The Barry Sonnenfeld led live action series is not only unnecessary but comes off as so incredibly cheap and bargain basement in production quality. The budget is so low that there’s very little action and slapstick, and so much more eccentric individuals in wild suits bouncing comedic dialogue off of one another and nothing else.
Our Top 5 Childhood Animated Crushes
Valentine’s Day is this Friday, folks. In celebration of the day that reminds a lot of people that they’re single, and forces a lot of people to buy presents for their loved ones out of sheer obligation, we’re featuring five animated characters from our childhood that we crushed on for many years. They stemmed from television, movies, or perhaps video games, and they’re five animated women we were definitely fond of and swooned over for a long time.
What animated characters did you crush hard on? Let us know!
The Lego Movie (2014)
Upon watching the trailer for “The Lego Movie,” I bashed it as resembling nothing but a glorified “Robot Chicken” segment. I’m happy to say that “The Lego Movie” not only proves me wrong, but manages to be the antithesis of everything it had potential to be. It’s novel, it’s entertaining, it’s funny, it’s witty, and though it revolves around one brand of toy, it never actually feels like one giant commercial. Instead it celebrates why Lego has been so relevant in pop culture. To make things even more interesting is that it influences audiences to be special by aspiring for individuality and true accomplishments.
Haunter (2014) [Blu-Ray]
Director Vincenzo Natali’s “Haunter” is a major departure from his 2010 hyper sexual science fiction monster movie “Splice.” It’s in many ways much more tame, and occasionally can feel like a PG-13 outing. It’s still a pretty grim and occasionally creepy horror film, but it can also be an interesting fantasy film that works in twisting the conventions of the ghost tale to, for once, make the victim of the movie monster the heroine.
Return to Nuke ‘Em High Volume 1 (2013)
Any movie that begins with inexplicable opening narration from Stan Lee is an automatic win in my book. From the opening exposition from Stan “The Man,” to clips from the previous “Nuke ‘Em High” series, “Return Vol. 1” is really a return to form for people that appreciated the punk rock trash “Class of Nuke Em High” series that had no limits in bad taste and grue. It’s an entirely new generation with an entirely new subtext, and Lloyd Kaufman embraces those themes head on and without fear of controversy.
The Walking Dead Season 4 Episode 9: After
As much as I adore “The Walking Dead,” it’s always so much better when it focuses on silence and quiet dread. Scenes of Carl walking through a deserted suburb, or Michonne walking camouflaged within a herd are some of the most uneasy moments of the new episode. Much to my surprise, the series has been veering much closer to the comic books than it has been for the last four years, and it’s borrowed some of the best and most compelling story lines involving the aftermath of the prison invasion. There are a lot of callbacks to the first season. There’s a mention of Shane teaching Carl to tie knots, there’s a top down zoom in of a military tank like the final scene of the pilot, and now Rick and Carl have holed up in a house together exactly like Morgan and Duane did in the pilot.