My Most Favorite SuperHero Movies as of Today

So yesterday I went to see the new Watchmen movie and I thought it was pretty amazing film. Though I thought it was pretty good, it wouldn't be my most favorite hero film. So I gave it some thought and here are my Top 10 most favorite superhero movies, as of March 8th, 2009...

10. The Incredibles (2004)

Ok what is up with Disney and Pixar doing a better fantastic four movie than the real fantastic four movie. DJ argues that this is too much of a family movie, but Pixar makes good movies with good scripts. It mixes in a lot of intriguing ideas of superheroes being retired and called back up to save the day. It also deals with betrayal, finding yourself, and family bonding and all that goody-feel good stuff. And you can actually watch this one with your little kids, so that must be good for something.

9. X-Men (2000)

And with this movie the modern age of superhero movies arrive. You watched the movie and wait to see if your favorite mutant will show up. Then fan favorite Wolverine joins the team. Mix in this story of using the mutant Rogue. And wrap it up with an epic battle between the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants. This movie set a standard that all superhero films now follow and add and that's why it made the list.

8. Batman Begins (2005)

So Batman Begins brought up a brand new concept in comic book movies, the reboot. The old Batman movies from the 90's, the first two were good and the rest just went downhill from there. Batman Begins ran Batman from his roots and showed the true side of Batman from the comics and not the silly Adam West kind. It had a really good storyline including a twist over one of Batman's best not known to much of enemy, Ra's al Ghul. With a darker undertone and giving a real basis over why Batman does what he does, it was a good all around package, and the most epic moment at the end of the film, leaving it wide open for its much sucessful sequel.

7. Spider-Man (2002)

The first Spider-Man will always have a special place in my heart. Spider-Man has always been my favorite comic book character and many others, a symbol of the normal everyday man now gifted with powers. Along with X-Men, Spider-Man ushered in the new millenium age of comic book movies and giving you something to look forward to every summer from here on out. Though I have seen this to death because of cable TV replayness. But seeing Pete put on the suit and soar through the air on line of web for the first time is just pure epicness.

6. X2: X-Men United (2003)

So yeah, people love everything there is about Wolverine, which is why he gets his own film coming in a few months. I don't think that's what the X-Men are about, but it still makes a good movie. In this one, Wolverine's past comes back to haunt him in the form of William Stryker. So Wolverine and apparently his X-Men go to stop his diabolical plan to destroy all mutants. Now my one pet peeve is when characters that don't exist at all in the comics are placed as deux ex machinas in movies, as in Jason Stryker. Though they did in this movie show just how friggin powerful Professor X really is. As in most trilogies, the second of the X-Men series was the best, while the third was other crap. Someone has to break this trend! Please!

5. Superman: The Movie (1978)

Ok so I haven't seen this movie in ages, and I'm completely trusting DJ on this, but yeah we say Superman: The Movie is #5 on our list. And I'll just say this, probably without this movie, there wouldn't be any other superhero movies out there. This defined the genre and it belongs on the lis, nuff said. Now someone just needs to make another good movie about the man of steel for the modern age and do it right (stupid Superman Returns).

4. Iron Man (2008)

Iron Man was the biggest surprise superhero movie of all time. No fanboy gave it much thought. The thing that probably made it work was the fact that everyone knew who Iron Man is, but didn't know much about him, so they could've wrote anything they wanted. Also the fact that Iron Man has been getting bad rap in the comic world ever since Civil War. All of this seemed like a very bad idea. Robert Downing Jr. made a really beliveable Tony Stark however and combined with very neat graphics it made Iron Man look amazing. It was a good movie and like all first films for heroes they have to spend that time introducing everything, meaning there was lacking actual Iron Man in the movie. Also the introduction of the Arc Reactor has made it ways into comics so that's always cool. How long this series survive will be a toughy since Iron Man doesn't have many interesting characters besides the Mandarin. But we'll see once Iron Man 2 comes out.

3. Spider-Man 2 (2004)

Now this was a throw up for us, which was better Spiderman or Spiderman 2? Since Spiderman is now played the hell out of on cable TV, I would say 2 was better. Since everything is defined by the first movie, they can work on just making an interesting storyline. Doc Ock was made to look for cool for the first time in like, well ever. This movie really defined the relationship of the characters with one another. What I didn't like is how Spiderman's secret identity was just shown to just about everyone, in which he was like what only about to keep it secret for a good 2 years? Wow, that's not that long. The ending left much potential, but Spiderman 3 killed all of that with trying to finish a story/please the fans/make things look interesting.

2. Watchmen (2009)

There is no other movie that kept to the original source material than the movie I just saw the other night, Watchmen. As having read it, I just felt nostalgia from seeing everything I read coming alive on the big screen, and Zack Snyder didn't miss much. There was a slight tweak of the ending, but it made it still work. Rorschach was just about everyone's favorite character in the movie, being just a total badass and the actor eeriely resembled the comic character. There is that feeling that Snyder adapted it a little too well and didn't add his own touch, and that what made it for me #2 and not #1 just cause I've seen it all before and there were little to no new surprises. But still, seeing them say the epic lines from the comics word for word on the big screen was worth it.

1. The Dark Knight (2008)

So it's been almost a year since it came out and I am still love the Dark Knight. So yeah you know already why I like this movie and you have your reasons why you like it too. And Heath Ledger's Joker has become almost synonymous with the character itself and the Oscar isn't too bad either. It catches you immediately with the first scene and pops twists and turns as the movie continues. It draws influences from many different stories including Batman: The Long Halloween and melds them into a genius storyline that pushes Batman to the limits. It also just builds on the dynamic that Batman and the Joker have together and you can't really go wrong with when you a write a story with them in it. When they go against each other, it will be epic (not even Superman vs. Lex Luthor or Spiderman vs. Green Goblin can top it). Know we just wait to see what the next in the Bat franchise brings.

Honorable Mention: Hellboy (2004), Superman II (1981), Batman (1989), The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Brucey Bear STRIKES AGAIN

So i was walking back from dinner this evening and I saw this strange looking dude writing a note outside my dorm room door. He had blonde hair and sunglasses on and dressed kinda weirdly, he looked like a white lil wayne. Well before he left I was able to take a picture of him for Austin to see. He keeps leaving notes outside for him that creeper. This time he even left a signed shot of himself for Austin. Who does this guy think he is? Man something needs to be done about Brucey. They're kinda fuzzy but here are some of the shots i got of Brucey Bear. Who is the mysterious Brucey Bear? We'll never know.

double shot at love...mtv confuses me

so tonight I randomly procrastinated from my work (as usual) to stop and watch the season finale of A Double Shot at Love with the ikki Twins with my floormates. And yeah like the few shot at love shows it was pretty bad and I was confused again. So yeah SPOILER (not that you really care) both of the twins fell in "love" with Trevor (one of the final 2) sending the other person home. In which once again the lesbian loses, YAY FOR EQUALITY!!! So they made Trevor, who kinda looks like a homeless guy, the TV says he's a boat captain apparently, pick between the two of them. And by all laws of science, if you pick one over the other, you are screwed, mostly because SHE IS HER SISTER DUMBASS. So guess what, he picked Vikki over Rikki, or something like that, MTV does a shotty job at helping us figure out who's who. Now me and my friend Eric, were joking about how they could've added in a few more random twists that these shows are know for and here a few examples... just out of nowhere Howie Mandell shows up and offers Trevor a decision, pick Rikki, Vikki, or a case with $1,000,000 and of course he says, "Deal or no deal?" My other twist was that one of the twins was actually a dude so of course there would be a gigantic "IT'S A TRAP" coming from 4chan, oh 4chan how I love/loathe thee. I was curious and wanted to find out, just who are the ikki twins? Apparently they are famous sportscar models, you know those girls who sit ontop of sick looking cars at auto shows. And they've been in playboy, oh geez. So there you have it, my rant/blog on the latest shot at love series, here's to Vikki and Trevor trying to beat the current record of 3 month relationship!

Welcome Home to Corvallis, wait is that GGW Bus!?

I returned to my home away from home today after a long winter break. How dozed asleep and half listening to my mp3 player, I was in a car with both my parents driving to the local Safeway to buy some milk. Only to find sitting across from the local corvallis bookstore was a Girls Gone Wild bus. Now i thought it was pretty slutty when the Tempe 12 girls came to the campus with their airbrushed beauties in calender form, now I can only imagine how low its going to get at the local bars with this bus rolling in. How many of my female peers are going to end up on video tape drunk and flashing and how they are sooooooooooooo going to regret it later in life (most likely the next morning). But yeah that's what campus life is all about, i think, maybe not. But yeah in sleazy commerical advertising form, look for your local OSU girls in the next installment of GGW (most likely its the blonde going whooooooooooooooo!).

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Movies, Movies and More Movies

Well snow storm is finally over and I kind finally leave the house and socialize, kinda. But that's not what this post, it's about what I did during my 2 weeks stuck in the house, I watched a whole bunch of movies, so I dedicate this blog to reviewing what I watched and most of these are pretty relavent since most are just now coming out on DVD (don't ask where I got them from in the first place), I'll try my hardest not to give spoilers. Well here we go, Steven being the critic...

Quantum of Solace (2008)

Daniel Craig returns to his role as James Bond, in this latest installment to the franchise and the only film to have a storyline follow up another film. Casino Royale was one of the best Bond films ever shot, but Quantum falls a little short on one big reason, the movie flys by waaaay to fast. It seemed they wanted to duplicate the amazing chase scene from royale again, but to do it four times in the movie just hurts the eyes keeping up with Bond dashing on rooftops. They continue to come up with new diabolical plans to take over the world and ways for Bond to stop them. The best way I can describe it is an evil Al Gore trying to take over the world, one small country at a time. Once again this is a setup for another James Bond movie in the future that has potential, but as for this one, it is bascially a flop. C

Eagle Eye (2008)

I went into this movie thinking it was a ripoff of Phone Booth or something, but I was wrong. This movie really keeps you guessing about what the big plan is. Though after awhile even before the big reveal you get an idea about who the omniscient cell phone caller is, after you find out you might feel like the idea of the "evil sentient computer" is done before. The fact that the computer even looks like HAL is a drawback. Then again I'm also a sucker for explosions and gun fights, and there are plenty of those in this movie, boom boom boom. Another point is, I'm not a big Shia Lebeouf fan, I really think he can't carry a movie but they keep pushing him as lead, he has this sidekick feel and it just feels awkward when he does all this kickass stuff in the movie. Michelle Monaghan on the other hand was amazing, she played the confused single mom forced into all of this perfectly for me and looked great doing it. I could go on and on about the casting, but in conclusion Eagle Eye was a good thriller with a satifying against the odds ending. You should see it at least once and have your opinions about it. B+

American Pie Presents Beta House (2007)

Oh teen movies, why do I keep going back to thee? Yeah for some reason I watched Beta House before watching Naked Mile, but really? how was I supposed to know they were related to each other? This one follows the recipe that has made all the other American Pie films: add crude character name Stifler, lots of beer, lots of boobs, an out of place lead character, and oh yeah Eugene Levy. This movie seems to be a lot more cruder than any other teen movie out on the market, not much of a plot, besides save the frat through ridiculousness, but really does any of that matter? This is a movie about watching people have an awesome time at college and having a good laugh about all of it, because really, college isn't as amazing as it is in the movies, close but not that amazing. If you are college student, watch it, it'll give you a good laugh and disturb you at some points, anyone else, don't even give it a second thought. C-

Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008)

First off, Seth Rogan is only 26? Are you kidding me? He looks like...well that's off the point, Zack and Miri made me laugh a bunch and since it's a comedy it suceeds in my book. A think what made this so amazing was the fact it was two extremely down of their luck characters try to make a porno and epic-ly fail. With the eccentric characters and just the plain idea of what all the characters are doing, the idea itself is just plain funny. Only the mind of Kevin Smith could've came up with something like this. Seth Rogan is typical Seth Rogan and I wouldn't change a thing. On the scale of the movies he's been in however, Zack and Miri don't match up to Superbad or Knocked Up. The ending feels kinda rushed at the end, but you'll get your laughs and feel good feeling by the end. And those of you who come into this film looking for some girl-on-girl action, shame on you, shaaaaaame. B+

The House Bunny (2008)

Noone plays a dumb blonde better than Anna Faris, well besides a real dumb blonde. The movie is like a sluttier version of Legally Blonde, kinda. Once again I watched a movie that doesn't have much of a plot to it. And many people won't get it, though if you watched a single episode of The Girls Next Door or The Soup making fun of said show, then yeah you get it. I didn't noticed this until the end of the movie, but this is the theatrical debut of American Idol winner Katherine McPhee, well good for her, she's looking good. The other person you might recognize is Tyson Ritter, the lead singer of The All American Rejects. To round out this cast is two teen movie superstars Emma Stone and Kat Dennings, both have been in an Apatow movie you have seen. Halfway through the film you will be watching and especially listening and you'll noticed, what is up with this soundtrack? It's like watching a movie and having MTV doing their usual TRL Countdown (Shake It- Metro Station, When I Grow Up- PCD, Girlfriend-Avril, Shut Up and Let Me Go - The Ting Tings, etc.) This movie is all Faris and nothing else, and I love me my Faris. C-

Resident Evil Degeneration (2008)

Whoa the graphics on this game look amazing! Dude, that isn't a game, it's a CG movie made by the people who made the game. Well, is it better than those piece of crap english live action movies? Not really, it's about the same. In fact the zombies are dumber than the ones in the movie. That's kinda sad. Yes it is. Is the story worth anything? Not really, but it fits between the 4th and 5th game and gives you an idea who's behind the 5th game, but if you didn't play the games you wouldn't know at all. So the fact that it looks cool and fits in continuity is all that it's good for? Basically, yeah. The moral of the story kids, if you can't pull a FF Advent Children don't even try. D

No Country for Old Men (2007)

It won a few oscars, it has to be good right? In a way yes, it is a really intense thriller movie with one of the most eviliest antagonists I have ever seen, and after watching you will think the cattle gun is the most badass weapon ever. This movie lost me a few times, mostly over the fact I can't make out a texan accent without it being dead silent and listening really closely. This movie is really deep to the point I don't really get the ending even after wiking it. The one thing I noticed is that these guys know all the survival tricks, man I wish I could think of these things, if I was in the movie I would be the dead guy at the beginning cause that how long I would survive. Once again, I love a good gun fight and add in the suspense of a thriller and it just kicks it up a notch. Anton Chigurh is going to kill you and there isn't a thing in the world you can do to stop him, nothing at all. A-

Serenity (2005)

Good god I love this movie! I finally got down to watching it a second time and it still is just as amazing as the first time I saw it. For those of you who don't know, Serenity is the follow up to the cult series Firefly, about the crew of the spaceship Serenity and their adventures as they try to make a buck, the setting is a space western-like universe. The movie itself centers on the mystery of the girl, River Tam. The movie reveals the secret of her past and establishes concretely who is the bad guy is. It has one of the biggest twists that can be offered in film. Even if you haven't seen the 14 episode TV series you will still be satisfied of just the sure experience of the film. If you are a sci-fi fan and haven't seen it yet, what is wrong with you? Everyone needs some Summer Glau kick ass action, Captain Mal's one liners, and the dreaded fear of the reavers. Like many other fans, here's to constatly wishing for the continuation of the stories of the crew from the 'verse. A+

So yeah eight movies along with endless amounts of TV, comics, and YouTube is what keep me from going insane during the snow storm. But wait, I still have a week of winter break left, it is far from over.
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It's Been Getting Worse

Snow, snow everywhere, you are being such a pain now. It's been about a week and a half of snow and it's not getting any better. My house is completely drapped in white. While all this is happening, I'm basically trapped in my own house with nowhere to go. I've been amazed at how some people can just weather the storm and sled while its dumping snow out of the sky. Hope is on the horizon however as this upcoming weekend there will finally be a decent break in this winter storm. I would also like to point out that I have never watched the weather report so much in my life. If this finally dies down, the interRacials might be able to get one more video out during this winter break, well see.
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The Winter Storm

So all of oregon is in a winter wonderland-ish look right now, just came out of nowhere, well for me anyway, been out of the loop because of finals. Its friggin cold outside and I'm the kind of person who complains about that kind of thing. Well this storm is suppose to stay in town for awhile breaking off sporadically every once and awhile, which doesn't mean much but it kinda hinders my hangout plans with the other members of the interRacials. Here's hoping for the best, oh the holidays it's not getting any better at all...
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Here's Tyle shirtless Snow Run