On the one hand, I can’t really call myself an “aficionado”.
On the other hand, I grew up on comic books and love them enough to know when a comic-based-movie is satisfyingly loyal, and when the idiots in Hollywood betray the comic faithful with too much “reality” (how about that—Hollyweird worried about “reality”). Making an outrageous comic book come to life ain’t that hard folks. It’s supposed to be what friggin’ Hollywood does.
That is, it ain’t that hard if you have talent, imagination and a genuine love for the original product.[1]
What always comes to mind for me in this regard is the line James Marsden a.k.a. “Cyclops” gave to Hugh Jackman a.k.a. “Wolverine” in the first X-Men movie when “Wolverine” questioned the leather outfits the X-Men wore—
Sorry guys. The best example I could find was a movie poster of X-Men III…in Polish.
—The sarcastic answer came back from “Cyclops”; “What did you expect, yellow spandex?”
It was a direct slap at all of the X-Men and Wolverine faithful (of which I am one) who were expecting at least an attempt at adapting the comic-book look to the big screen. In insulted disgust, I yelled back, “Yes! I did expect ‘yellow spandex’!”
The latest incarnation of this famous hero-team:
The Astonishing X-Men
It took me all of 15 seconds to work out a plot line that provided for both costumes and alter egos: the world hates mutants so, in order to go amongst “regular” humans for their own good to fight crime, you must hide your identity behind a mask and a created name. The head X-Man (“Professor Xavier”) gives the X-Men full latitude to make whatever outfit they whish as long as it doesn’t hamper their crime-fighting. Given that, you’d want something to be sensational or outlandish in order to gain a psychological edge (fill your outfit with gadgets and add “technological edge”) against your prospective enemies.
Ooooo! That was hhhaaarrrddd!
“But Johnny,” comic book fans might say, “what about the characters like ‘Rogue’ or ‘Storm’ who don’t hide their faces?”
OK, are you ready? Watch this: those characters and the others like them have been so jaded by their personal experiences with bigotry that they purposely keep their faces exposed as a challenge to the non-mutant world. Professor X is allowing them to work through their anger and will use psychic and electronic trickery to keep them safe when necessary.
Oooohhhh…that’s amaaaazzziiinnnggg!
I really believe that extended time in Southern California rots your brain.
I didn’t find any humor in the line from that first X-Men movie and it has been my rallying cry in protesting disloyal comic book movies ever since.
Even when I’m not familiar with a franchise, I know obnoxious, disloyal movie-making when I see it — like that dumbass Tim Burton’s “Batman” which are studies in outrageous drug-induced fantasy and schizophrenia. Which era of time do your stupid movies take place in, Burton, the 20s or the 90s??
Fortunately, the new “Dark Knight” Batman movies (1 out, 1 soon to be released) staring Christian Bale are much better.
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Comedian Michael Keaton as “Batman” |
Christian Bale as “The Dark Knight” |
Oh, that reminds me; if there are any directors, writers or producers reading this, message for ya — “People watch movies like this to see costumed badasses kick the crap out of evil people so PLEASE stop humanizing our badasses”. The two most obnoxious examples that come to mind are in the second Burton Batman movie “Batman Returns” and at least two of the Spider-man movies where there were extend scenes in which the badass had to pull his mask off for “touching” portrayals of emotion. NO!!!
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I was excited to see the first Fantastic Four movie but not overly hyped, and that’s how I left the theater; entertained…but not hyped.
As with all other comic movies to date, the casting was hit and miss — the hits are always bull’s-eyes and the misses are always, “Dude! What were you thinking???”
I thought Michael Chiklis as “Ben Grimm” a.k.a. “The Thing” was a dead ringer. The comic books make Thing a little huger and more intimidating but I’m OK with the onscreen look.
There was some tweaking of the costume between the original movie and the sequel (apparently in response to fan criticism) such as accenting the fan-familiar “brow ridge” that made the character look even better.
Chris Evans as “Johnny Storm” a.k.a. “The Human Torch” was more “eh”. Yes, the Johnny Storm character is drawn simply so there is some latitude in who you cast but you sure as hell wouldn’t make the connection if you just saw a picture of Evans out of costume: “Hey! Johnny Storm!” No. And I guess the whole X-Games thing in FF1 was a natural fleshing out of a somewhat under-developed character. OK, I think. He has grown on me since then but he didn’t bowl me over.
Jessica Alba as “Sue Storm” a.k.a. “The Invisible Girl” was the obligatory sex-object pull for the idiot male viewers who watch movies with bodyparts other than their eyes. The only effort made to have her represent the character was some blonde hair dye. I found her a little annoying in the first movie but not so much in the second. I enjoyed how she was shown as more of a typical girl in FF2:ROTSS — wanting very much to marry the man she was in love with, being jealous of the stupid crap he got into and even crying when the wedding got ruined.
She is the first one to “swap” powers with Johnny (more on that, below). She goes “Flame on” and floats past Reed who redundantly exclaims, “You’re on fire!” to which she irritatingly screams in best “Brat” fashion, “Ya think?!” That was cute.
But, of course, the incident causes her clothes to be burned off and she gets changed back to be naked (still relatively a family movie in that it was implied). This happened in the first movie, as well. “Sue” exclaims in the scene, “Why does this always happen to me?”
Why? —Because you’re Jessica “Sex Object” Alba and Stan Lee is a pervert who uses cheap tricks in an effort to draw boys to the box office.
And, judging by the modest returns it garnered, the movie needed more than that.
Ioan Gruffudd as “Reed Richards” a.k.a. “Mr. Fantastic” was a downer for me. I guess I expected him to be a little less of a dweeb. I remember Reed Richards as tall and more heroic. There is no doubt that I was influenced here by the Hanna-Barbera cartoon from the late 60’s.
Stopping by YouTube, I caught an episode that covered Galactus and the Silver Surfer…in 1967! Boy did that bring back memories! Did Hanna-Barbera use the crap out of their voice actors or what? Some of the same voices are in everything from Huckleberry Hound to the Hobbit.
It’s funny; all of the characters are simplistic cartoons but there’s just something about the Hanna-Barbera Reed Richards that left its mark on me. If “character development” was what changed him from a heroic leader into a short dork, I’d rather not’ve gone there.
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Ioan Gruffudd trying to bring Mr. Fantastic to life. |
Hanna-Barbera |
Gerald Mohr was the voice of square-jawed Mr. Fantastic in this great cartoon which ran 18 episodes from 1967 to 1968. |
Even in the comics of not-so-long ago, Reed Richards looks more heroic than how he was portrayed in both movies. |
I do have to say that Julian McMahon as “Victor von Doom” was “spot on”. If there’s anything that stays in my mind from the comics regarding the Fantastic Four and Dr. Doom, it’s the infamous “eyes of madness” behind the mask. I remember this as a prominent part of the character in both the comic book and the cartoon but it was done only for a split second in the first movie and had me yearning for another, more prolonged shot ever since.
Had to surf a long time to get this shot but it was well worth it.
Of course, Fantastic Four 1 had it’s Leftist zingers. Such as the bar scene where the newly-transformed Ben Grimm complains to the bartender that, “If there is a God, He must hate me”. To which, Ben’s future love interest — a beautiful, blind black woman named “Alicia” (played by Kerry Washington) — responds assertively “She.” The message? Being blind, “Alicia” has amazing insights into the humanity of a monster and the Divinity (and gender) of God. Only the most extreme “mother earth” pagans are feeling you on that one, Stan.
After watching a ‘67 cartoon episode on YouTube, I watched FF1 again and something struck me: there is a scene that is the culmination of the “Reed Richards/Sue Storm” conflict (which amounted to this — they were an item until Reed’s dedication to dorkiness drove them apart) and the Reed character tries to pry from “Sue” what she wanted in a man — a hero like this? — by expanding (through CGI) his jaw to be ridiculous and pronounced. Was this mocking what the writers/producers thought was just too far to go? —Making Mr. Fantastic heroically inspiring like I found him to be so many years ago on television??
In fact, in both movies, it seems that the writers put next to no effort at all in showcasing Mr. Fantastic’s abilities and that these scenes were just thrown in as “fillers”. They included such greats as;
- Reaching across the hall for toilet paper.
- Sneaking a briefcase into someone else’s overhead baggage stowage on an airplane.
- Twirling two girls on a dance floor.
In FF1, there is a scene where “Johnny” gives an interview to some movie bimbo who asks, “Can he really expand anything?”
Gratuitous and crass but par for the course with Hollyweird.
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After watching the first film, I was entertained but felt for sure that I would be waiting until I could find it for $7.99 in Wal-Mart before I bought it.
I was a little excited when I saw the previews for the sequel. The SFX looked impressive and fun, even though (at the time) I was not very familiar with the character of the Silver Surfer and what little I knew made me think he was a little silly. Comic portrayals of the Surfer had him wearing silver swim trunks and riding a silver surfboard that looks like it just came off of a Beachboys album cover.
I put the movie in my Blockbuster Online queue and waited.
I don’t even remember how this came up at work, but a guy there offered to lend me his personal copy and I took him up on it, not waiting to receive the movie in the mail.
I intended to throw it on as a lark while I worked out but, by the time I got halfway through my routine, I knew I had to run the movie upstairs and onto the big TV and pump the soundtrack through the stereo.
Wow.
The dynamic of the Surfer as a sort of alien/Eastwood/spaghetti western anti-hero was almost as cool as the SFX and incredible costume that went into bringing him to life (I couldn’t believe a costume was used for the close-ups until I watched carefully the 3rd and 4th times). Yep, there’s an actor in there sure enough.
His name is Doug Jones and he seems to be a science fiction favorite for his sharp features and odd physique. For instance, he has previously played the role of the aquatic “Abe Sapien” in the 2004 movie “Hellboy” (and will again in the upcoming sequel).
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The real Silver Surfer, |
Doug Jones as “Abe Sapien” |
I watched a couple of online interviews with Jones and came away thinking he was a little fruity until I found two gems about him (although I have not corroborated the personal information):
The Wikipedia article on him states that he is a married Christian who goes to youth gatherings to speak of the dichotomy between dedication to Jesus Christ and working in the entertainment industry! Odd how a Christian like me was drawn to his work, huh?
And, as far as having enthusiasm for his work (which helps bring it to life)—
He said he owns the first 18 issues of The Silver Surfer, and finds the character to be very inspiring.[2]
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The movie has been out for a while so I’m going to go into detail here (if you haven’t seen it, bookmark this page and come back when you have).
The Surfer is the alien scout of a force so frightening and deadly it destroys whole worlds; known as “Galactus”. It’s the Surfer’s job to go find eatable planets.
In the comic books, Galactus looked like a tough character to bring to life in a logical, believable way and, interestingly, the producers of FF2:ROTSS didn’t!
Galactus and his herald as The closest we get in FF2:ROTSS to
they appear in the comic books. seeing Galactus are only subtle hints.
[left] OK, I dig the big-time SFX because, the guy is going to eat our planet, but we still want to see him.
Would you believe it took me a long stare at this picture [right] to see the form of his head and “helmet”. I sure as hell didn’t catch it while I watched. What were the producers afraid of?? [3]
Galactus in an awesome adaptation for the video game
Marvel Ultimate Alliance. This is how it could’ve been done!!!
But I was so impressed with how the Surfer was portrayed in the movie that I instantly fell in love with the character. He wasn’t just “brought to life,” he flew out of the comics. At every step the silly, kids-stuff was upgraded and improved to the point of making a really neat character. Rather than a southern California surf board (doubtless what the original writers had in mind many years ago), the movie created an inter-dimensional alien “beacon” that just happened to resemble a surf board. Rather than a silver dude in a silver bathing suit, the CG SFX made the Surfer into a cool-looking humanoid alien with a distinct upper torso and an indistinct lower (which is how you keep clothes off without getting nasty).
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So let me take some of this scene by scene, because it’s average financial returns could’ve been greatly improved upon if some stupid crap was avoided—
OK, the lawyer and politician slime that force me to see that stupid FBI warning at the beginning of the DVD should all die slow, horrible deaths forced to watch Richard Simmons work-out videos over and over and over in hell.
Maybe I started my review a little too early into the DVD but, hey, it’s my friggin’ movie review and not having the choice to chapter through that crap (like no one on the damn planet knows you could go to jail for illegally copying the friggin’ movie) is nanny-state bullsh-t to the max.
Stan Lee is a degenerate Hillary-Clinton-money-donatin’[4] reprobate but I love the Marvel page-flipping beginnings to Marvel movies.
I’m marveling (no pun intended) at the beginning — because I’m watching it again just for you, my audience — and how well it was done (and disgusted at how the Fantastic Four movie franchise seems to be at an end already). The opening scene is one of excellent SFX; we observe the end of a world at the hands of Galactus (unseen, of course) and the ejecting out of his emissary in a protoform, off in search of another world for Galactus to destroy, homing in on…the Earth.
The next area of plot focuses on the natural progression in the lives of Reed Richards and Sue Storm — their wedding. Would this facet of the plot be prolonged and goofy or deep yet to-the-point in order to save more film for “Clobberin’ Time!”?[5]
You guessed it: prolonged and goofy (which is one of the reasons why a great plot with super SFX didn’t knock it out of the park).
This strain of the plot begins in an airport.
The first thing that comes to mind in this part of the film is how well done Michael Chiklis’s “The Thing” costume is. And even more impressive is Chiklis’ gravelly voice and union-boss personality — right off the pages of the comic book. The ability of the actor to move the face and form expression is a testimony to modern costume artistry.
We’ve come a long way from the claymation of Ray Harryhausen.[6]
[left] The comic book Thing tough to bring to life? Not for a team with talent![right] Special Effects legend, Ray Harryhausen.
The scene ends with Johnny proclaiming “I don’t fly coach,” and Ben, after nearly breaking his row of seats upon sitting down, looks out the porthole of the flying jet to see a reclining “Human Torch” flying wingman.
“I hope it rains,” growls Ben as he slams the porthole shade shut on the flaming show-off.
Again, right off the pages of the comic book. Well done.
The Surfer “solidifies” a bay in Japan and we get the play-by-play from a supposed news reporter on a TV about the “ruling out of ‘global warming’ as the cause”. Bleh.
We now spend an unnecessary and inordinate amount of time on the Sue Storm/Reed Richards wedding, including the gayest scene in the whole movie—Reed Richards’ “bachelor party”. Of all the stupid wastes of time and CG imaging!! It should all have been edited out in favor of filling in the story of how the Surfer came to be.
I don’t know what is worse about the three military dorks that show up to discuss with Reed the Surfer’s Earthly shenanigans — prepping our world for destruction by surfing straw holes into our core for Galactus. —That they look about as professional military as Bill Clinton or that, yes, the Army really does have female officers that wear their berets like mushrooms.
Males, too, for that matter.
If you don’t know that the godfather of Marvel Comics — Stan Lee — is a suck-up to Hillary Clinton, and you didn’t catch the “global warming” comment, maybe you got a whiff of the Left-leaning slant from the movie creators[7] when “Sue” asks “Ben” “How does Reed know the general?” and she gets told that “Reed” testified that the “general” was pushing a “missile defense system” that “didn’t work”.
This is a fascinating study into the psychology of the Left: their mania over stopping our efforts to create a functional ballistic missile defense shield.
The issue is pretty common sense to anyone with a brain —
- The people who hate this country want to destroy it.
- The quickest, most thorough way to destroy our country is with nuclear weapons delivered via ballistic missiles.
- If there is any way possible to protect us from this threat, we should do it, right??
President Reagan took point on this project back in the 80’s. There are various versions of how it might be made possible; whether a laser shot from a satellite or a missile fired from a ship, plane or land-based launcher designed to intercept the incoming missile (the phrase coined by John F. Kennedy of “a bullet hitting a bullet”). The morons in the Leftist “mainstream” media slandered it as “Star Wars” but the name that encompassed all of the efforts at that time was “The Strategic Defense Initiative”.
So why does the Left hate our efforts towards a missile defense screen? For the same reason they hate the military — either institution makes America strong.
There was another jab at the institutions that make us great.
Reed does figure out how to get the upper hand on the Surfer by knocking him off his board, which renders him powerless and he is captured. At this point, General Annoying (I enjoyed it when Doom freeze-dried him) calls in some little schmuck who is a total caricature of the sniveling, unscrupulous evil interrogator. The little dweeb belonged more on the Rocky Horror Picture Show then in portraying the slightest semblance of modern interrogation, “Heh, heh, heh. I’m going to poke you with this needle. You’re not going to like it. Heh, heh, heh.”
I’m sure you’ve seen this controversy on CNN (the Caliphate News Network) regarding our efforts to combat global Jihad. They so enjoy broadcasting issues that make us look bad. Thanks to the Leftist idiots in the media, in Hollywood and in our government, protecting muslims who want nothing more than to cut our throats from getting water poured up their nose (which really only makes you think you’re drowning — a.k.a. “waterboarding”) is now our highest calling.
It doesn’t matter that they turned our own family members into flying suicide bombers against their wills on September 11th 2001.[8]
It doesn’t matter that they test their chemical weapons on dogs (taking notes as the poor, hapless animals suffer to death).[9]
It doesn’t matter that they strap bombs to women with Down Syndrome and push them into crowded streets.[10]
It doesn’t matter that they capture innocent people and then slowly saw their heads off in front of cameras while chanting “god is great”.[11]
But, God forbid, that we get a little rough with them in our efforts to uncover their latest barbarism, pour some water down their noses or have them get naked and make funny shapes. Oh the world is coming to an end! It would be much better in the eyes of the Left for us to be exposed and vulnerable to every possible machination of the jihadi throat-cutters.
So Stan Lee and his idiot Hollywood cronies find it more important to shove their suicidal, America-hating agenda into a pretty fair movie regardless of the consequences (because ideology trumps box office returns).
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Next we get in to the cute little tension revolving around how being “superheroes” conflicts with “family life” and “wedding plans”. GAY! The cute little pseudo-philosophical dialogue between “Sue” and Ben’s blind girlfriend “Alicia”[12] — GAY!!
In spite of all this “gayity”, the wedding did provide some fun, heroic, comicbook-come-to-life moments.
Can you get any more outlandish than Jessica Alba in a wedding dress protecting the guests from an out-of-control helicopter with Sue Storm’s force field? Regardless, it was fun. Reed stretches out to save someone else and Ben eats the tailrotor to save his girl. Good stuff. The best is when Reed tells Johnny to take off after the silver streak the flies overhead during the commotion.
I’ve gotta say, I tip my hat to the creators here, it was a big risk in causing non-comic junkies to snicker at Johnny’s transformation cry—“Flame on!” You know, maybe it’s the little kid in me, but I never get sick of it.
The Johnny/Surfer chase was masterfully done. Each time I watch it I enjoy it almost as much as the first time.
This scene will be as perennial as the scene in Transformers where the evil alien F-22 jet “Starscream” transforms in mid-flight, grabs a bridge overhang and flips up on top of the bride while transforming in one fluid motion.
Using Lawrence Fishburn for the voice of the Surfer had the desired effect (especially since Fishburn’s voice seems incongruous with how the Surfer looks, it adds an “alien” quality to the character).
Another great scene has the Surfer emerge from his board while flying. Really cool. There is no doubt that the Surfer made the movie and developing him and his plot line more rather than dabbling in pop-crap would’ve brought in a lot more money.
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But, speaking of saving characters, I have to be thankful that the creators were loyal enough to understand the importance of bringing back Dr. Doom (and Julian McMahon to portray him). Anyone that knows anything about the Fantastic Four know that von Doom is their ultimate nemesis. He is the Joker to Batman and Lex Luthor to Superman. And, like a good sequel, he returns but isn’t the central antagonist.
There is an aspect of the film that also recalls Batman but in a bad way (and by that I automatically mean a Tim Burton “Batman”). Johnny’s encounter with the Surfer gives him a “fluctuation” in his “molecules” that creates a juxtaposition of superhero powers with any of the other Four he touches. This pushes credulity beyond the envelope of “willing suspension of disbelief” and I know, given a comicbook movie that may sound brash but hear me out—
In “Batman Returns” (1992), Burton introduces “Catwoman” played by Michelle Pfeiffer. The character is created by — are you ready? — getting thrown out of a window then “revived” by 40 stray street cats. This “magically” imbues her with — you guessed it — the ability to die and revive 8 times (the 9th would be it, though).
Wow Burton, ton of creative energy went into that one. Moron.
All that I ask is that, if you want me to walk all the way over there, hold my hand half the friggin’ way. People go to the movies to be entertained so you really don’t have to go far to create a situation that brings us into the world of fantasy. Of course, the more effort you put in to transporting us, the more thoroughly we enjoy the experience.
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Yep. It’s “Fantastic ONE” Johnny. |
And, if you put no effort what-so-ever into the trip, we stand there and stare at you with a look of, “Dumbass. Are you kidding me?”
That is my opinion regarding the sub-plot that allows Johnny to interchange “powers” just by touching someone. Yeah, cute, but also DUMB.
And, most importantly, it detracted from what I watched the movie to see: my original favorite characters with their original powers kickin’ ass.
This did come into play during the next-to-the-last finale where Johnny volunteers to magically take on everyone’s powers in order to take on Dr. Doom (who has been super-charged by stealing the Surfer’s board). Now, previous to this, anyone that Johnny touched swapped powers with him but, because the creators thought it would be fun to combine all 4 into 1, he just sucked up everyone’s powers during the sub-finale.
Not that it wasn’t a little cool (which is why they did it), but the purpose of bringing the Four to life is to walk you into the fantasy that would make you almost think, “Yeah, that could be real. No, really!”
So do you understand the delicate balance I think these schmucks should walk between science/fantasy and just plain childish/outlandish?
Again, what changes childish silliness into science/fantasy is effort, talent and creativity.
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What sows it all together is Galactus arrives (but, again, is not seen) and begins to suck up our planet. The Silver Surfer is touched by all of the sacrifices the Four are making to save their planet — even Alba gets to act “heroic” by taking an intergalactic spear thrown at the Surfer (whose alien name is “Norrin Radd”) by the supercharged von Doom.
Upon seeing this, Norrin brings her back to life via “the Power Cosmic”[13] and decides that the deal he made with Galactus — to find him worlds to eat in order to save Norrin’s home planet — could only end in their mutual destruction.
With a boost from Johnny, Norrin surfs into the heart of the Galactus fire-cloud and confronts him (but we still don’t see the face of Galactus). “I can no-longer serve” he says and then builds up for a power overload designed to take them both out.
When he exudes all of his power, he spreads his arms out in an ironically Messianic fashion that wasn’t lost on me. The Galactus cloud implodes and disappears, saving planet Earth and our four heroes.
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But why did Galactus laugh as Norrin tried to take him out…?
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If you stayed through the first few seconds of credits, you were treated to the Surfer and his board floating free in space…to open an eye and call his board to himself.
Good stuff.
UPDATE: Wednesday, 4 February 2015; 09:21 AM, EST
The reboot of the Fantastic Four has thoroughly pissed me off. Black actor “Michael B. Jordan” (almost as annoying as a typical “black” name) was cast as Johnny Storm, white comic book character, the brother of white Sue Storm. All of the great ideas and special effects that could’ve been done and I will not watch it.
Originally, I assumed it was the diarrhea-brained Leftist scum at 20th Century Fox urinating all over my childhood with their racial bean-counting but I now see that Marvel is working with them.
It was only a matter of time. They have done miraculously well not making any of their own movies too stupid. The gag-me Leftist stupidity in the latest Spider-Man movies I chalked up to “Columbia” (you know, the “Isis” broad?) but I see now Marvel never really gave complete control to anyone and some Leftist woman named “Laura Zisken” is also responsible.
Guys, I’m not racist. I will go outside my race to be inspired whenever it works. See my review of The Book of Eli.
But, like I said, these are Leftist Helliwood scum pissing on my childhood and if I could, I’d piss on them back.
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ENDNOTES: As baby Darth Vader said in “Star Wars: Episode I (the fantasies of a fat, bearded moron)”, will we ever see him again?
Who knows? An interview with Chris Evans from the MTV movie blog[14] claims that, although all of the actors and creators would like to revisit the Four, Fox wouldn’t take the risk given the average returns of the sequel.
And, even if they did, there is no guarantee that they would be smart enough to bring back the Surfer and even Galactus while still creating a fresh story with even more favorite characters coming to life. It can be done.
Maybe someone in-the-know will come across the words of Johnny Cirucci and step out of their Southern California bubble long enough to figure it out.
[1] For example, I think it was obvious that producer Peter Jackson had/has a genuine love for J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy (hence, the resounding success amongst those familiar with the novels).
[2] Doug Jones: Silver Surfer Inspires Me, 31 July, 2006, Cinematical.com
[3] The only acceptable reason for leaving so much up to the imagination would be to make Galactus the central menace to the next FF movie but, based on what little I’ve found on the ‘net, that doesn’t seem to be happening. Of course the big daddies in the industry need to top FF2:ROTSS with the sequel but you can do it while still bringing back the Surfer and writing in 2 or 3 more beloved characters. It ain’t that hard!
[4] Read up on it from the web site of former Clinton fund-raiser Peter Paul.
[5] For those of you not initiated into the Marvel Faithful, this is what “The Thing” always proclaims before some much-need ass-whoopin’.
[6] And yet, what fun a Harryhausen film was to us pre-CG kids!!
[7] A Hollywood movie with an unnecessary push for the Leftist agenda completely superfluous of the plot. How novel.
[9] Disturbing Scenes Of Death Show Capability With Chemical Gas, Nic Robertson, CNN.com
[10] More Cases Of Terrorists “Baking” Children Cited, Bob Unruh, WorldNetDaily.com
[11] Nick Berg Beheading Video Is Here, posted by Classical Values.com and Korean Beheading Video Being Passed Around On Islamic Sites, Free Republic.com
[12] You may laugh but, as much as the “Ben & Alicia” thing is begging for criticism, I suffered through it. I want to say there may even be some comicbook history behind this relationship but I don’t know for sure. If it isn’t overdone (and the movie really pushed it) I was OK with it.
[13] This is what the comics call the power Galactus has, which he imbued upon Norrin Radd to make him into the Silver Surfer.
[14] “Fantastic Four 3” Probably Not Happening, Reveals Chris Evans, Shawn Adler, MTV Movies Blog
