Wolverine To The Big Screen in 2007

Appears so. Numerous sites are reporting that Fox suits made that announcement to distributors in Europe. Further, the film will reportedly focus on Logan's search for answers to his life, of which he has no memories. That isn't new. The very ambitious release date is. More news once we have something a bit closer to concrete.

Confessions of a Bad TV Addict

Mister Fanboy TV has returned from his visit at Vistas, a "spa" where he spent the last 30 days "rejuvenating" himself and purging the "toxins" from his system.

Mister Fanboy TV: Over the last 30 days I have learned that I need to take ownership for my own problems. So, here goes. I have a problem with pork chops. I have a problem with Nepalese refugees. And I have a problem with ugly toes. There I said it. But my biggest problem is my addiction to bad TV. I go on and one about how I hate American Idol (I really do). Why do I want to watch a show with amateurs singing? But more importantly, why would I want to hear them sing songs I hate? And then there's Paula Abdul she's just ... just ... No, I cannot go there. I can feel the rage building.

All of that is true. But what is also true is that I have been watching So You Think You Can Dance the last few weeks and I have enjoyed it. Why? I do not know. The counselors at Vistas think it has something to do with an incident 13 years ago at a Scrabble tournament in Ames, Iowa. I am not so sure. Regardless, I am glued watching the flamboyant men and women (especially the men) bump and grind and get critiqued after by insane female judges (the men seem sound of mind enough, with the obligatory bitchy Englishmen). God knows what the dark haired female judge is on that forces her to scream like that. The old me would have asked for some. But the counselors at Vistas have taught me coping mechanisms - like gin. Now that I have faced my addiction, I need to work through it. Won't you help me by sending me money, hookers, drugs, or booze. Please. Rationalize it by saying you're doing it to help the children. They are our future.

Oh, one more thing. Someone needs to garrote the host's wardrobe people for what they make her wear during the show. Last week she wore a giraffe print mini dress. She consistently wears the most hideous clothing I have ever seen. Even more hideous than looking at this.

Shudder. Scary shit, huh?

Mister Fanboy Movies Superman Returns Review

Mister Fanboy Movies joins us with a review of Superman Returns, which opened in theaters today.

Mister Fanboy Movies: Last night I joined Mister Fanboy Comics for a showing of Superman Returns at our local theater. He was supposed to join me for this review, but he probably was up all night on message boards leaking spoilers to other comic geeks. At any rate, this review will contain spoilers, but we'll try to keep you guessing about things that haven't yet been revealed in the popular press. You've been warned.

First off, let me say this straight out: Superman is not my favorite comic book character? Why? It's hard to say. Probably because he can do just about anything. I like a bit more vulnerability in my superheroes. Having said that, I completely got into the film and enjoyed it immensely.

The movie starts off about 5 years after Superman 2 (Director Bryan Singer wisely forgets the 3rd and 4th installments). Superman (Brandon Routh) has been on some sort of journey to find himself (kinda like your slacker friends who go to Europe for a month and end up backpacking for 7 years), or in this case, to visit the remnants of Krypton to look for survivors. He doesn't find any and returns to Earth, crash landing into the Kent Family Farm in Kansas. Eva Marie Saint does a nice turn in the small role of Martha Kent. Superman then returns to Metropolis to try and pick up where he left off.

But things have changed immensely. Although Daily Planet editor Perry White (Frank Langella) gives him his old job back and he reunites with Jimmy Olson (Sam Huntington), Lois is nowhere to be found. Why? She's on assignment in the skies on a 747 that is ready to launch a space shuttle into space. Peta Wilson from TV's La Femme Nikita has a nice cameo here. Alas, things go wrong and he must change his guise from "mild-mannered" Clark Kent to uber-male Superman to save her. And save her he does. The action sequence is phenomenal. Although it's obviously necessary to use CGI for stunts such as this one, it's not overused and is entirely appropriate.

Lois (Kate Bosworth) is stunned to see Superman, but they don't get chance for a reunion just yet. He just plain dropped out of sight 5 years previous. In fact, she received the Pulitzer Prize for an editorial entitled "Why The World Doesn't Need Superman" while he was gone. Much has changed in her personal life too. She has a young son Jason (Tristan Lake Leabu) and a new man in her life Richard White, Perry's nephew played by James Marsden (Cyclops from the X-Men movies). Clark wants to tell Lois how much he loves her, but with so many changes in her life, he demurs. Later in the film as Superman he goes through the same dilemma. For her part, Lois now has family obligations and more of a commitment from Richard than she ever had with Superman.

But wait, what about a villain? Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) has been released from prison because Superman didn't testify at his trial (I guess Krypton is a bit too far to serve a summons). He's joined by Kitty Kowalski (Parker Posey) and assorted Henchmen. Luthor then steals the crystals that Superman used to create his Crystal Fortress. Luthor designs a grand plan to create a large land mass in the Atlantic that will displace so much water that it will kill over a billion people. On the plus side for Luthor, he'll become the world's most successful real estate agent. Superman gets wind of this and conflict ensues. That, boys and girls, is the story in a nutshell.

Spacey does a great job as Luthor. At times, he's as funny as Gene Hackman was in the earlier films, but he turns evil on a dime. Very well cast. However, Parker Posey almost steals the show as Kitty Kowalski. In the showing I was at, nearly every line spoken by her resulted in roars of laughter from the crowd. I was left wanting to see more of her and Spacey. Hopefully, there's much that was cut from the finished film that we will be able to see on the DVD.

All of the smaller-roled actors did well. We even get to see Jack Larson (Jimmy Olson from the 1950s Adventures of Superman TV show) as a bartender and Noelle Neil (Lois Lane from the same TV show) as a woman Lex married on her deathbed solely for her immense wealth.

Which leads us to the two big characters. As Lois, I was a bit put-off by Kate Bosworth during the first half hour of the film. Much like Margot Kidder did in earlier Superman films, she played the strong woman clawing her way to the top in a man's world. In this reviewers opinion, it didn't work at first. But when Superman came back things changed. I don't know if it was a conscious acting choice or some of my own personal opinion, but once we got over that hump, I thought she did a great job.

When I saw clips from the film before it was released, I was a bit concerned that Brandon Routh looked too wooden (like Al Gore) and was too small and young for the role of Superman. For me, Christopher Reeve is the ideal Superman type. This likely has to do with the fact that I was 6 years old when the first film debuted. However, once I saw this film I was very happily surprised. As Clark, he may not be able to pull off the broad bumbling physical comedy of Reeve but he does a great job of making the role his own. Once he puts on the suit, he fills it in and takes on the Superman persona so well that I forgot I wasn't looking at Reeve. In sequels (you just KNOW they are coming), he will fill out the role even better as he ages. Good job to relative rookie Routh. Hopefully, he won't be typecast and will be able to carve a varied career out of this.

The music was great and once I heard it I was instantly transported back to my childhood with all of the giddy feelings and happiness. It was a wonderful feeling. The opening credits were "retro" and we very similar to the first films. See, fonts do matter. Although the costume is pretty sacrosanct, the boots seemed a bit "puffy" to me (I can't think of any other way to describe it) and the Superman emblem seemed like a weird cross between a wet suit and an iron-on T-shirt emblem. Although, that's a minor quibble.

Bryan Singer has to be commended. His film has been described as an homage to the Richard Donner directed first film and it shows. In fact, through the use of nifty-CGI long-dead Marlon Brando is able to reprise his role of Jor-El, Superman's dead Kryptonian father (it should be noted here that the Jonathan Kent character has died at some point as well, though it's only mentioned briefly). As I said before, the special effects are very effective and not overdone. The scene after the credits (or was it before?) where we are allowed to follow Superman's rocket from the exploded Krypton through space on its way to Earth was one of the single most beautiful uses of special effects I have EVER seen. Although my astrophysics is rusty (and yes I took an astrophysics class in college AND barely passed it thankyouverymuch), we got to see a journey through nebulas, exploding stars, black holes, galaxies, solar systems, asteroid belts, and our own Milky Way as the rocket falls to Earth.

Singer does a nice job of balancing the human drama (or in this case, human-alien drama) well with the action too. Women in the audience clearly responded to the love story between Lois and Clark/Superman. Singer has again exceeded all expectations with this film. His filmography stands out for high quality films and this one continues in that vein. It leaves me wondering what might have happened if some accommodation could have been made with Fox to delay filming of X-Men: The Last Stand so he could have directed it as was originally planned. However, it wasn't meant to be.

One more thing. There's one MAJOR plot point that I have not even alluded to here, but you really must see in the film for yourself. You didn't think I would give away the WHOLE story now did you?

In summary, Superman Returns is a quintessential fun summer escapist film with the bonus of a great screenplay and acting.

Film Grade: A

-Mister Fanboy Movies

Freshmen Return in the Fall: Doesn't That Make Them Sophomores?

In an appearance on Late Night With Conan O'Brian, actor-writer Brian Austin Green talked about his Freshmen series at Top Cow. We heard it may be coming back, and after some digging at the Top Cow site, it was confirmed. Fun series. You should pick up the trades if you can.

Star Power Waning: Stars Who Flopped As Superheroes

There's a moderately interesting fluff piece over at ABC News that talks about actors who failed royally as superheroes (or, comics inspired at least). Although we take issue with putting Pam Anderson in that list for Barb Wire (yes, we liked it's chessiness) and might have added a few more (Helen Slater or David Hasselhoff anyone?).

San Diego Comic-Con Right Around the Corner

Before you know it, Comic-Con in San Diego will be upon us (July 20 -23). We at Mister Fanboy are still reeling in sticker shock for our hotel rooms. Luckily, we found a hotel about 5 miles from the convention center for ONLY $130/night. Yes, we said only. There are some cheaper rooms down in San Ysidro, near the Tijuana border, but the location appeared to be a bit sketchy. San Diego is VERY expensive in the summer. We feel very lucky that our day job is requiring us to visit San Diego this summer and is paying for one of those nights and our mileage/gas (not an insignificant thing these days), and that we were able to finagle it so that we visited during Comic-Con. Convenient, huh.

Spider-Man 3 Trailer Online

Even though it doesn't come out until next summer, the Spider-Man 3 trailer went online today. Sandman. Black costume. Venom/ Symbiote. Flying Goblin. You know you wanna see it. Click here to check it out.

Punisher Marries Hottie TV Psychic

Thomas Jane, who played Punisher in the recent film we don't want to see and couldn't care less about, has married Patricia Arquette of TV's Medium. Now we really won't see the film. Why? We're jealous. We've always had the hots for her and shall take it out on her new husband by not seeing his old movie. Petty? Yes. What's your point? Arquette, by the way, was previously married to Nicholas Cage of the upcoming Ghost Rider flick. She's also one of the Arquette brood which includes Patricia (Desperately Seeking Susan -- if you were alive to remember that one), David Arquette (Scream), and Alexis Arquette (the tranny from Wedding Singer, and Surreal Life). Clearly, Patricia got all the good looking genes.

Check Back Here Tomorrow For Our Review of Superman Returns

We've got tix for the 10 PM showing at the restored Art Deco CAVERNOUS theater in our fair burg this evening. We don't know what to expect. Wethinks 70% of what we've heard has been good, and 30% not so much. Fear not trusty reader, we will give you our own fair and balanced review of the film. Or monkeys will fly out of our butts. Not sure which.

Breaking News: Spidey Embarks On A Life Of Crime

Spidey is arrested for robbing schoolchildren. Read the article here. No word yet on whether or not Aunt May will be baking him a cake with a file in it. Mary Jane will be on Larry King tonight to discuss; J. Jonah Jameson will be on Nancy "The Harpy Tranny" Grace's show tonight espousing hatred.

Today in History: Evil Imperialist Mutant Japanese Octopus Defeat Day

Here we have this true-to-life representation of the infamous event. It was on this date, 60 years ago today, that the U.S. defeated a swarm of mutant octopus-human hybrids created by evil imperialist Japanese scientists, just 10 months after the dropping of the nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki ended World War II in the Pacific. The scientists and their military collaborators where in hiding following the armistice and refused to acquiesce to the will of the Allies. They embarked on radical mutation experiments to create their hellish army. Here we see an anonymous Marine Corporal wielding the now-celebrated Nippon barbecue Stick brand flamethrower to vanquish one of the horde. Mysteriously, the scientists all disappeared but it is rumored they created an underground bunker on the island now known as Godzilla Island. Thank you for joining us for this very special moment in history.

This image is part of the treasure trove if images over at Superdickery.

All But Confirmed Hawkeye Is Already Back

As many readers know, one of the Avenger's killed by Scarlet Witch when she went bonkers in the Avengers Disassembled arc was Hawkeye (Clint Barton). Soon after, writer Brian Michael Bendis told us we'd see him soon. Then, in She-Hulk, some weirdness happens to Shulkie and she gets a message to a version of Clint from the past (this may not have influence on where I am going with this). In Daredevil, Matt Murdock is sent to prison for crimes performed as Daredevil, his alter ego. Soon after a man wearing the Daredevil costume shows up fighting crime in Hell's Kitchen. Here on Mister Fanboy, we guessed that the man in the Dardevil suit was none other than Clint Barton. In yesterday's "New Joe Fridays" column on Newsarama, Marvel Editor in Chief Joe Quesada does some serious hinting when a reader question is posed:

Newsarama: “Doombug” - Joe with the new 'Hawkeye' being confirmed, can you tell us where Clint Barton will be during all of this? Maybe a teaser to one of the Civil War books?

JoeQ: You should be seeing more of Clint by years’ end, you never know where he’s been but I bet he’s been having a devil of a time.

Devil of a time, huh? Seems pretty obvious to us, but we've been had before. By the way, in case you missed it, the point of this whole post was to be self-congratulatory because sometimes you need to toot your own horn and basically tell the world that you are better than the rest of them.

BREAKING NEWS: CHiPs Rift

Ponch to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. John slighted. Will their partnership end? More news at 11.

Super Shape Shifting Bomber: A New Toy for the Pentagon?

A super-shape shifting bomber. No, it's not a new superhero comic. It's in development by the pentagon. Read the Popular Science article here. This UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle; not to be confused with a deep sea unmanned autonomous vehicle) is a new toy the Pentagon is hoping to find under their Christmas Tree in a few years. You know you want one. All the cool kids are gonna get one.

Superman Comes Out For Same-Sex Polygamy

Yeah, we know were beating a dead horse. It's Friday. What can we say?

New Futurama in Our Future

According to an article in the Washington Post, new episodes of Futurama will be produced and air on the as part of a deal with Comedy Central. The series was originally on Fox. After its cancellation, reruns aired on Cartoon Network. The reruns and new episodes will begin airing in January 2008. Although the series was sometimes hit and miss, the Mister Fanboy staff laughed riotously at the episode with the surviving original Star Trek cast members, as well as Welshie, taking the place of the deceased Scotty.

Comic Movie News

Two interesting tidbits of comic movie news today, beyond the Superman Returns PR blitz..

Hollywood Reporter did what it's surnamed implied and informed us that Zach Snyder has been tapped to direct the film adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen, one of the best stand-alone comic stories ever. Snyder directed the upcoming 300, based on Frank Miller's Bronze Age-era graphic novel. Good news for the film finally being made? Maybe? As the article points out, the film has been spending years in development, being bounced around studios and with multiple directors signed on to the project over the years.

Also, Marvel has announced a May 2, 2008 release date for Iron Man. The film, to be directed by actor-director John Favreau (Swingers, Elf) is Marvel's first film in a series of much ballyhooed films to be produced in-house. Don't rely on that release date too much. Those things have a tendency to change.

Corey Feldman and Corey Haim Reunite for Reality Show!?! Ummm ...Why?

An article in the Washington Post lays it all out. It's bizarre as fuck. No other way to explain it.

And yes, the Mister Fanboy Staff does read the Washington Post. We are political junkies too. When we get our geek on, we do it hardcore. We know. It's sick and fucked up. Maybe more than the Coreys on reality show.

Barbie Blondieri Saga: Growing Up

Fans of our blog know that from time to time we bring you the occasional tidbits of goodness from beyond our usual focus of comics, film, TV and whatnot. Regular readers are already familiar with the developing saga of Barbie Blondieri, her unsightly neck growth, and the whole drama being some guy named Phil's fault (see May 2006 archives for more info). Barbie now goes by the name Chastity Pariah, is the 13th wife of one Gideon Jedediah, and raises their family strictly adhering to the Mormon fundamentalist lifestyle in Resurrection City, Utah.

At any rate, now we bring you information on Barbie's troubled childhood, by focusing on her young childhood. Born in 1971 in Torrance, CA, Barbie is the youngest of two daughters born to Paul Blondieri (born in Naples, Italy, 1940) and Janice Jones (born in Los Angeles, 1946).

Blondieri was an engineer with Northrup-Grummon, a defense contractor. Janice was an emergency room nurse at the local hospital. Barbie's parents were your typical 70s parents, except that they were very straight-laced and did not rebel one iota. Regular church-goers, the Blondieri's were so conservative that Charlie's Angels on TV was too risque for their home. Nixon was infallible in their eyes, much like the Pope, just because he was the President. Barbie's older sister Sandy (born in 1966), was her little sister's hero. Active in Girl Scouts

and 4-H (yes, Torrance had a 4-H club), Sandy won the 1976 Girl Scout Southern California Regional Bicentennial Jamboree Award for the most prized heifer. In this case, I am speaking of the cow. Sandy was also a spelling bee champion, winning her Middle School Spelling Championship by correctly spelling the word "dicktink" (look it up if you are unfamiliar with it).

Barbie looked up to her sister like a god, but never seemed to match her potential. Always compared to her sister, Barbie never really could step up to the plate. Then everything changed.
At the age of 15, Sandy ran away with a 23 year-old named Leo who was the night manager of the local Adult Movie Theater. A real winner that guy. Five years went by before the Blondieri's heard from Sandy. By this time she had moved to a commune in Vermont, where she was in charge of the dairy operation (see, 4-H Club can be useful!). During this time she entered into a common-law marriage with one Scott "Moonbeam" Purkowski, having one daughter named Baez Purkowski. At some point, however, Sandy left the commune, Moonbeam, and Baez behind and joined her sister in the world of Mormon fundamentalism (see photo below, taken by one of our "moles" in Resurrection City).

The reasons for this dramatic shift is still unclear. According to Moonbeam, who now has re-embraced his birth name Scott and is a software engineer in Rochester, NY, it all stemmed for a bad acid trip in 1987. The next morning Scott awoke to find that Sandy had abandoned him and their daughter. Scott has since remarried a corporate marketing executive for the Kodak Corporation. Neither he nor his daughter has had any contact with Sandy since she left Vermont.

Once her older sister left home, Barbie's parents essentially disowned Sandy for embracing the "godless hippy lifestyle." This turned out to be a major boost in Barbie's self-esteem (which, in retrospect considering how she turned out, is laughable in concept). Although she loved her sister, she felt liberated and that she had jettisoned her from her life. According to Tiffany Van Der Platen (nee Sanchez), who was Barbie's BFFL in 8th grade, Barbie's whole outlook changed. She became more confident at home. Unfortunately, that proved short-lived; within two years, everything changed. With no other sibling to deflect the pressure from her parents, Sandy became their sole focus.

In our next installment, we'll take a look at Barbie's troubled adolescence. If you have any information about the Blondieri family, Chastity Pariah, or Gideon Jedediah, please contact Mister Fanboy at once.

Superman Returns: Perhaps It's Better Than Earlier Reported

Perhaps the early review we discussed in a post earlier this week about Superman Returns being not so good was an anomaly. Click here for a story from ABC News that discusses positive reviews of the film from a variety of critics. Don't forget, we'll have our review up on the site sometime on opening day (6/28).

Mister Fanboy Movies' Top 10 Really Good Bad Movies

Mister Fanboy Movies joins us with his list of Top 10 Really Good Bad Movies.

Following on the heels of a similar list on Cinephilia (check it out!), I went through my archives to identify my favorite BAD movies. I was due to make a post anyway and since we are talking movies, I thought I would take the semi-original idea of others and palm it off as an original one of my own (see yesterday's post from The Gilded Moose for a great example of that). Some of the films straddled between REALLY bad and funny bad, so all of it's very subjective. Also, I realized that the 90s and 2000s are not yet represented, so I may need to remedy that case. Next month I hope to give out my list of truly bad movies.

Runner Up (In case any of the other films can't perform their duties). The Cars That Ate Paris: A 1974 Australian flick directed by Peter Weir. This is a hard one to describe. Basically, the townsfolk from Paris, Australia cause auto accidents to scrap and sell the cars of outsiders. Some are killed and others are absorbed into the town's population. Meanwhile, the teens in town have transformed their vehicles into things that look like they came from a Mad Max movie. A violent confrontation between kids and adults ensues.

10. Sheena: In this 1984 flick, a white girl is raised by African tribespeople in the bush following the death of her parents while in Safari. As a nubile adult, she teams up with a crusading journalist (Ted Wass, the dad from TV's Blossom) to stop the evil machinations of the country's Mugabe-like dictator. The film stars Tanya Roberts as Sheena. You might remember her from Charlie's Angels, A View To A Kill, Donna's mom from That '70s Show, or recent AM radio ads for cheesy Vegas vacations. She uses her ability to talk to communicate with animals to foil the plans of the dictator. If this appears as a Tarzan rip-off, you're right because it is (although she appears to be able to communicate with animals over a large distance, kinda like Aquaman from the old Super-Friends cartoon). The "passion" between Sheena and the reporter is as poignant as any coming-of-age story. But why didn't she hook up with any of the guys she lived with in the bush? Is she racist?

9. Chopping Mall: This 1986 horror film follows a group of teenagers (of course) who are trapped in a mall while being hunted by murderous Security-guard robots. Super-bad! Best dialogue: "Where will be hide? I know! We'll be safe in the Tom Mcan shoestore." Huh?

8. Xanadu: Olivia Newton-John stars as a Greek Muse - in a demigod sort of way. She comes to the help of a struggling artist by inspiring him to create a successful disco roller-rink. To reach Olympus, she roller skates through a mural painted onto a brick wall that mystically transports her. The music, in all it's disco splendor, really ads to this film. Gene Kelly also stars. Tip: Being very tipsy makes this 1980 film more enjoyable.

7. Lair of the White Worm: 1988 cheesy sci-fi/fantasy comedic-melodrama punctuated by action and horror. It stars Hugh Grant, Catherine Oxenberg and Amanda Donohoe. You know that if it's got Oxenberg in it, it's gonna be bad. Directed by Ken Russell (of course), the film centers on the magical the D'Ampton worm (this large snake-dragon worm thing) being summoned from ... Somewhere else. The best part: The witch with the strap-on ceremonial gold jewel-encrusted dildo. Now you KNOW you gotta see it.

6. Barbarella: The opening sequence of this 1968 film tells you all you need to know: Jane Fonda rolls around a bunch of furs in an orgasmic sequence while a rocket ship blasts off into space, sending her over the edge. Sex, sex, sex. That's all this film is. Think of the 80s version of Flash Gordon and add 50% more campiness and I think you've got it. Directed by Roger Vadim, Fonda's husband at the time, who clearly had no qualms about making his wife a sex-object for millions. Thanks Roger.

5. Hell Comes to Frogtown: Add one part nuclear apocalypse. Sift in mutant frog baddies. Add a dash of "Rowdy" Ronny Piper, as one of the last men on earth. Piper then "saves" the last group of fertile women on earth from the oversized frogs. Now sit back and enjoy this 1987 film you know you saw on "Night Flight" or USA's "Up All Night." Good stuff.

4. Tentacles: This 1977 film takes it takes itself way too seriously. Cast includes John Huston, Henry Fonda, and Shelly Winters, in addition to its Italian cast. The Americans are there mostly in cameo roles, but clearly for "star power" reasons and to take home a paycheck. This cheesy Italian film is obviously playing off of the success of Jaws. It follows the story of an evil octopus stalking the waters and coastline of this seaside Italian town. Luckily, orcas trained by some of the characters come to the rescue to save our main characters (just in the nick of time). The best part: The scenes filmed in a dark underwater place (pool?) where the obviously poorly made plastic tentacles are moved quickly through the water and accompanied by lots of bubbles, portents of the imminent arrival of the octopus.

3. Liquid Sky: Where to begin with this one? Released in 1982 and starring Anne Carlisle, the movie is so hideously bad is transcends it's badness. It takes itself so seriously and is so bad that its earnestness becomes hysterical. A super-cheesy UFO lands on top of the penthouse apartment of a bisexual woman (an androgynous model no less). Aliens are in search of heroin, but decide that the chemicals caused by the brain in orgasm are even better. Huh? It gets even better. The aliens kill everyone who has sex with her by shoving a glass pipette into their heads to suck out the chemicals. But then, the coup de grace: The victims dissolve. But, wait, there's even MORE kiddies. The aliens aren't ever seen and you get the sense that the filmmaker was going for some sort of punkish art house movie with frenetic images and shocking moments. It's shockingly hysterical.

2. Faster Pussycat, Kill, Kill: Lots of tits and ass, chicks with guns, and violence, these are a few of my favorite things ... and Russ Meyer's as well. Filmed in black and white, the 1965 film would probably shock audiences even today with its over the top revenge ideas for women "wronged." But the women also kill for what appears to be fun, and zero in on a crippled (but equally evil) rancher and his sons, purportedly hiding lots of money. We were lucky enough to see it a little over 10 years ago on the big screen at the Key Theater in DC at a Russ Meyer Film Festival (sadly, the theater's gone now). You'll have to turn over lots of stones to find it, but it's well worth it. Why are you still sitting there? Go out and find it.

1. Beyond the Valley of the Dolls: This 1970 movie has lots of interesting components. Russ Meyer's predilection for big bosoms and violence. Pam Grier's first film role (a cameo). A performance by the Strawberry Alarm Clock. The corrupting influence of the big city cliche, not to mention the city leads all good kids to drugs cliche. A violent tranny who subjects the cast to an orgy of violence as Superwoman. And the best part -- screenplay written by Roger Ebert! I will say no more. You know you want to see it. I hear the DVD comes out this summer.

-Mister Fanboy Movies

Professor, How Does Kryptonite Work?

Well Gilligan it ... it's too difficult to explain here. Click here for more information.

Lois, why do you gotta go and try and kill Supes? I hear the movie sucks but, isn't that a bit harsh. Oh, maybe not. Kate Bosworth is playing you in the film.

Cover from the good folks at Superdickery.

Early Reviews: Superman Not So Super

Mike Sangiacomo has an early review of Superman Returns over at Newsarama. If you don't want to spoil the surprise, don't open the link dumbass. Doesn't sound promising. Look for the Mister Fanboy Movies Review here once the film opens.

In Case You've Been Living Under a Rock ...

Although we hoped to keep the secret for a week when we posted news that Civil War #2 contained a H-U-G-E plot plot point in the life of Spider-Man, we've decided we can do so no longer (mostly because many, many mainstream news organizations have reported it in the alst few days). What is it, you ask? Simply put, Spider-Man has revealed to the world in a press conference that his secret identity is none other than Peter Parker. This was all done in the context of the passage of the Superhero Registration Act by Congress, forcing superheroes to register their powers with the government, ostensibly coming under the government's control, and the possibility of a government paycheck as a federal crime-fighting employee as well. To be sure, the act is creating a schism in the superhero community. Spider-Man is often seen as the heart of the Marvel Universe. For him, the safety of his loved ones has always been paramount. If his secret identity was revealed, then he'd put them in danger. However, with the Act looming, things have changed for ol' Spidey. He's now an Avenger, allowing him more respectability in the eyes of the public than ever before. Aunt May and Mary Jane both know about his secret-identity. Most interestingly, he has come under the tutelage of Iron Man (Tony Stark, who revealed his secret identity a few weeks ago as well), who has strongly endorsed the act. It all seems like it's been too easy; has Tony slipped Spidey a mickey to make things go his way? Only time will tell. The main point is that Peter Parker's life will now change for ever. Although living at the Avenger's Headquarters allows he and his family some semblance of protection, M.J. is an actress and model and is out in public periodically. Will that put her in danger? What will this do to Peter's career as a teacher? All interesting stuff. Let's see what this does to the character long-term but there is no doubt that this is a huge event in his life. We are guessing Spider-Man will get hit wit lots of civil suits from both villians claiming damage and from others. One funny aside: In CW #2, J. Jonah Jameson, Editor of the Daily Bugle and, in a sense, Spider-Man's greatest (human) nemesis as well as Peter Parker the freelance photographer's employer, faints at the news. Pretty funny stuff. Can't wait to see where this goes.

GLAAD Glad for Young Avengers

According to a short news item over at the Blog@Newsarama, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) honored Young Avengers as its Media Award winner for Outstanding Comic Book. Wiccan and Hulkling of the Young Avengers are gay teens and a couple. We think it's great that the series is honored. It's well written and does take a chance with gay teen characters (the title is Young Avengers so one would assume it's being targeted to younger comics reader). But reading the list of nominees for the award, it seems as though the only criteria is to have a gay character. We're not quite sure how we feel about that. Yes, it's good that comics are inclusive and all, but it's kinda sad that for the gay community just showing a gay character is enough to get lauded. However we suppose the same could be done for any minority that's been historically oppressed by the minority (calling Noam chomsky please). Then again, it may explain the popularity of the particularly hideous Will and Grace. Gotham Central, Strangers in Paradise, Top Ten: The Forty Niners, and Y: The Last Man were the other nominees. Amongst the Mister Fanboy staff we are familiar with Gotham Central, have never read Strangers in Paradise, but are regular readers of Y: The Last Man and all of the Top Ten series, so it's hard to comment on the winner vs. the losers (kinda like it's hard for the White House to comment on anything that they don't want to talk about - assholes). But we will anyway. For our money, the best of the bunch in terms of telling a compelling gay-centered story would have to be Top Ten: The Forty Niners. It's a flashback story to a time that in our world would be ca. WWII and its aftermath. Even though it has yet to be released, we're pretty sure that the new Batwoman comic will have the inside line on being next year's winner of the award.

In other gay friendly news (What's with this theme lately?), Comix-Fan has an article up entitled "The Top 10 Gay / Lesbian / Bisexual / Transgendered Characters in Comics." As far as we can tell, the authors have compiled pretty inclusive lists, but we really don't have our finger on the pulse of these kind of things.

Again we ask: What's with the recurring theme of gayness in comics. We're just wondering. Not that there's anything wring with that.

Happy Father's Day Weekend from Your Favorite Superheroes!

Celebrate the weekend like real superheroes should! Then visit YouTube to find more from the same author. It's a hoot.

Abadazad Back - In Book Form

For those that remember over 2 years ago, CrossGen began releasing Abadazad. Mixing the mythical with the topical, it followed a young woman's search for her kidnapped brother in a mystical world. Unfortunately, CrossGen filed for bankruptcy a few issues later and the series folded, But then, Disney picked up the property through it's publishing arm. Normally we hate all things associated with Disney, though we applaud them in this case.

Last weekend Mister Fanboy staff were in a local bookstore and were pleasantly surprised to see the first 2 volumes released by Disney. If you missed the series -- and most of you did -- you are highly encouraged to pick the story up in its new format that mixes illustration with prose. Who cares that it's targeted towards kids. It's that good. According to a Mister Fanboy staff member, it's Wizard of Oz meets The Phantom Tollbooth meets The Chronicles of Narnia meets Alice in Wonderland with a dose of race relations thrown in. Aside from the aforementioned film pitch cliche, the story is that good. It really is. The books have been in the Mister Fanboy staff lounge all week and we've had fights break out over who is to read them. If you have children in your life, it's a great book to get under cover of them and would make great bedtime stories. More volumes are forthcoming. The creators of the series, destined to be a classic, are J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Ploog.

Civil War #2: Wow

The internet is abuzz with the major reveal in Civil War #2, released today. Suffice it to say, it will change Spider-Man forever. We won't say what it is here (we'll try our best to wait a week before we mention it), but it's a bombshell. To be sure, there have been hints that this might happen for the last month or so. I am not sure that I think it's a good idea for the character long-term, but it will undoubtedly provide storyline fodder for the next 10 years, at least. If you haven't rushed off to pick up Civil War #1 yet, do so now. While you're at it, pick up Civil War: Frontline #1. In CW:F #1 last week, Tony Stark/Iron Man revealed his identity to the public.

SPOILER ALERT (NO- We're still not going to tell you about Spidey)

In CW #2, Captain America's building a resistance that includes Falcon, the Young Avengers, Cloak and Dagger, and a few others I couldn't pin down. Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic is revealed to be building a superhuman holding facility (my people call it a prison) for those superhumans/costumed vigilantes that don't register with the federal government. Also shown to be siding with Iron Man and Reed Richards on the side of registering are She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel, Doc Samson, and Tigra

Finally, props to writer Mark Millar for using the word "umbrage" on the CW #2 recap page. We like that word. Now if they could find a use for the word "Non-U," we would be really impressed. It's really a word. Look it up and check out these books.

Gaze Into My Crystal Ball: Marvel Cartoons/Movies in our Future

In a report over at iFMagazine, Avi Arad, outgoing mover and shaker when it comes to Marvel's properties in the realms of TV and Screen talks at length about some of the upcoming projects. Check out the article, but here's the short-list.

TV Cartoons: Fantastic Four, Wolverine and the X-Men, Spider-Man, Iron Man (planned)

Films in Development (basically any stage in prepping for the film, but not currently being filmed): Hulk 2, Iron Man, Fantastic Four 2, Thor, Luke Cage, Black Panther, Nick Fury, Ant Man

TV: Blade (premiering next month)

Films being filmed/edited: Spider-Man 3, Ghost Rider

NOTE: Photo will Avi Arad on the Left and Stan Lee on the Right

R.I.P. Hard Time

Last week saw the release of Hard Time #7, the final issue of the series. We just want to take a moment to acknowledge the well written and drawn series. It followed the story of Ethan, convicted in a mass school shooting (even though he thought it a scam but his friend came armed) while he was in high school. The series spends 99% of its time with Ethan in prison. For us, it was the best part of the series. The supporting characters really make the series. Mostly fellow inmates, they really help propel the story. Along the way Ethan develops a conscious power kinda thing, allowing him to ultimately have out of body experiences while still in his cell. The final issue fast-forwards 49 years later to show us a parole hearing that will determine Ethan's fate and at the same time relive his memories through the help of some futuristic machine, Do yourself a favor. Find the back issues and pick them up. Note that the current series is a Season 2, kinda like Marvel did with She Hulk and Ultimates.

Plush, High Pitched Anthropomorphic Animals and Odd Human Representations to Take a Shot at Late-Night Cable TV-- They Cannot Fail!

Follow the Bouncing Ball:

Ma-Na-Na-Na
Do-Do-Do-Do-Do
Ma-Na-Na-Na
Do-Do-Do-Do
Ma-Na-Na-Na
Do-Do-Do-Do-Do
Do-Do-Do
Do-Do-Do-Do-Do-Do-Do-Do-Do-Do

I think you know what that means. TBS has apparently given the green light to a pilot entitled Late Night Buffet featuring the Muppets. In addition to the obligatory celebs, the cast will be full on Muppet on Muppet action. I can see it now. Fozzie's gonna be all over the stand-up opportunities. Kermie's gonna be all weirded out and professional at the same time. Miss Piggy will be the glory sow. And Scooter will be the stage manager. I will be hanging out with Janice on the tour bus.

Hey. Wait a second? Wasn't that the original Muppet Show? Who cares. It rocked. Honestly though, it sounds kind of like Space Ghost: Coast to Coast and we mean that in a good way.

First Pee-Wee and now the Muppets. What's next H.R. Puffinstuff? One can only hope.

Spider-Man 3 Images

Below are some early, most likely unauthorized, images of from the filming of Spider-Man 3.

Spidey in costume


Topher Grace as a blond?!



A sneak peek at the infamous black costume.

And my favorite, Spidey giving a policeman (perhaps James cromwell from Babe?) a hand-job. Scroll down to see more pix that question Peter Parker's sexuality. He, he. Now that I think of it, between he and Superman, maybe there's something in the water.