Darth JayDer Comics

Hello, hello! Welcome to the new year for Darth JayDer Comics. This year we will see some awesome new stuff coming out, as well as some good vocal returns from the people who have brought you the happiness you so crave. But before we unleash awesomeness, how about bringing back a thing or two from the past. And I know, I know, I’m sorry. I update like an old man. Well, I’m 3o this week, so maybe that is appropriate. Enough of the ranting and dwelling, on with the recommends!

Game: PVZ: Plants Vs Zombies

The title and concept alone sound silly as can be, but I dare you to play it for 5 minutes and not buy a copy yourself. The concept: You grab falling sunlight. You use those sunlight for points. With those points you plant plants. All the while, zombies are sliding in on your lawn wanting to pass your horticulture and eat the brains of the house hold. Not just your everyday, run of the mill zombies. No, no, no. Instead we have Road Cone Zombies, Dolphin Zombies, Football Zombies, Zamboni Zombies, Bobsled Zombies and more. The best part, it’s fun. The better part, once you beat it, there is a ton of things to do, not just the main game. Very worth the $20.

TV: Being Human

Hurry! Hurry! Watch it now before America decides to bring it over and make it all American-ized… like Taco Bell. Mmmmm, Taco Bell. Ok, bad example. How about the first season of the Office, or the horrendous attempt at Coupling? Ok, Phew, I saved that one.

Now, give me a minute before you decide that this sounds silly. The show is about a werewolf, a vampire and a ghost all living in a flat in England. (dramatic pause, awaiting your laughter and idiotic stares of…uh,…idiocy.) Well, now that that is out of our system… I admit, it does sound like a tripe-laced sitcom show, but in fact, it’s pretty up and straight and serious. There are funny parts, but those come more from the situations the characters are in. All in all, it’s a damn good show.

So, if you’re sick of all the dreck vampire bullshit that is flooding the scene right now, but still like the genre, give this one chance, it’s got some pretty nice stuff up their sleeve to keep ya watching.

_____ See something cool? Read a great book? Play a wicked game? Shoot me a comment on this page and let me know about it. I might have to recommend it to everyone else._____

Hey and welcome back to the Weekly Recommend.  This weekend was spent with friends, bitching about the film industry and cheering on the Northern Illinois football Huskies to a 48-3 victory over Indiana.  That might be the only time we ever discuss sports on this blog.  heh.

MOVIE:  IN BRUGES

So I rented this movie I have been reading about for months now and I was so pumped up about it that I knew I was going to love it for everything it was.  I watched it and it was beautifully animated, gorgeous rendering, and good direction…but the script was just so non existent.  So I am instead recommending “In Bruges” and let me tell you, you will LOVE it.

The film has charm and a beautiful script from start to finish.  It’s comedic presence never masks the over all tone of the film and the seriousness never dulls out the humor.  The gentle mix of both worlds is excellently executed.  Seeing as how this is Martin McDonagh’s sophomore film, we can only expect great things in the future.  Thanks Eric for turning me on to this.

_______________________________________________

COMIC BOOK:  (will update later)

_________________________________________________

WEB COMIC: DARTHS AND DROIDS

OK, here is why I like this comic so much.  If you’re a Star Wars fan, you’ll love it.  If you’re a table-top RPG fan, you’ll love it.  If you’ve never played a table-top or seen Star Wars (do these people exist?) you might lost at times, but the author politely guides  readers through certain words and phrases used by the gaming community as the comic continues on.  If not, there’s always Wikipedia.

The comic follows Star Wars Episode I (Or as we like to say it, “Failure on Sesame Street”) still frames from the film in comic book form and the text is from a role playing table where players are constantly fighting with the GM (game master).  It’s a hilarious look into why Episode I might have been  so terrible.  Because it JarJar was a fucking little girl in disguise.  Hilarious and updated 3 times a week.
____________________________________________________

MUSIC: BECK (MONGOLIAN CHOP SQUAD)

If you have ever wanted to be in a band and rock a stage like a star, then this manga / anime / CD collection is for you.  The story follows a young boy in high school who starts to learn to play the guitar and eventualy teams up with a friend and some other musicians and they form a band called Beck, named after the singer’s dog.

However, once they release a CD, and this is where the confussion you might be having is coming in, they find that when the CD is shipped to America that the label had to change the name of the band since there are already 2 pretty well known music acts called Beck.  The rock music they make is really damn good and catchy.  Love the song “Full Moon Sway,” a gentle ballod of emotional conflict.  The only trouble with getting your hands on the music side of this act is that, for what I know and I could be wrong, the CDs aren’t available in America yet.  Soooo. they are about $40 - 50 each.  But if you know where to look….

____________________________________________________

VIDEO GAME: (will update later)

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts

Well, fans of the time wasting, This weekend proved to be more used for productivity than watching and reading.  I did do a few of them, though.  I’m a totaly work-aholic, for shame for thinking such.

Good news, the 4th issue is under way and looking good so far.  unfortunately, or fortunately, I guess I can see both sides, but the book is not going to be as big as predicted.  It looks like the page count so far will be 44 pages down from the predicted 52.  The story has not been changed in anyway, it has not be cut or altered, just tightened and reworked, visually.  And trust me, it flows so much nicer.  I can’t wait for people to read this one.

But on to the wasting of time and intellectualizing….

COMIC BOOK: WANTED & KICK-ASS

This might seem like a gimme..A movie nut loving the original comics.  But after I reread them this weekend, this is anything but a gimme.  Both series penned by Mark Millar and are fucking amazing.  If you haven’t read “Wanted” but have seen the terrible movie, you have seen probably the first 3 or 4 pages of the book.  I knew I loved the book but after reading again this weekend, I fell in love again.  It was still angst filled and still action extreme with top notch characters that the movie just didn’t capture. Worth every penny for the tpb.

Now, “Kick-Ass”?  Fucking rule.  A comic book fan kid gets a itch in his ass to start being a super hero in his city…and gets the snot kicked out of him and lands him in the hospital.  But does he give up?  Hell no.  He is KICK ASS and he takes the licking and keeps ticking.  Little does he know that there are others doing the same thing….  The movie  is being made now, I have hopes but I am a realist and hopes are for the comic books.  After all, the last comic book movie Nic Cage was is was “Ghost Rider”….But we will see.

MOVIE: THE ONION MOVIE

Reminiscant of “Kentucky Fried Movie” and “Amazon Women on the Moon” with their small snippets and skits, this movie ties these all together as if you were watching the Onion TV channel.  If you are not familiar with The Onion, educate yourself.

The movie is side splittingly hilarious and keeps itself in check from time to time while even making fun of itself.  The movie coasts along and at some points gets a little stagnant and slow, but the film makers know this and play with that emotion in the viewer.  A definite watch, possible buy.

TV SHOW: THE RICHES

FX does not come to mind when I think of the best TV show channels, even though it gave us Nip/Tuck, which the first 2 or 3 seasons were excellent before it became self-aware of it’s horrendous problems and kept going with them.  But FX has outdone itself with this little dirty, gem: The Riches.

The story follows a family of white gypsies as they con their way from one lifestyle to another and end up living in suburbia with a brand new house all to themselves.  The troubles and tribulations are typical for a show like this, but it’s the characters that we like and want to continue watching, not to mention the OUT-FUCKIN’-STANDING acting by Minnie Driver and Eddie Izzard.  Just wow.

MUSIC: OPTIMUS RHYME

Sure, go ahead and laugh or giggle about the name.  Go ahead and make your snide comments about them being nerdcore. All finished?  OK.

This is an amazing band.  They do hip hop with a live band and they are the shit on 7 levels.  Great licks, great riffs, great beats, great bass.  And without a doubt the best live show I have ever seen.  Too bad they broke up a couple weeks ago, it was a sad day for rea, but their music lives on with 3 CDs.  The first two are LPs while the 3rd is a remix of the 2nd album.  Do yourself a favor and pick up the first 2 albums, you will NOT be disappointed.    And even if you don’t dig them the way I do, you get the elitist attitude of knowing you have a CD you can’t find in Best Buy.

TV SHOW NOT TO WATCH: FRINGE

This will not become a new thing for the weekly recommend, but I simply wanted to get the word out about how bad Fringe was.  I was actually very excited to watch this one.  I had read the reports, read the reviews and seen a glossy-overcasted mirage of advertising online and at the cons this summer.  I was intrigued.  I was let down.

The show is boring.  Sure there’s lots of action, and the pilot cost $10 million, but the story is fucking null and void of anything with substance.  The characters are cardboard and just not interesting AT ALL.  The story is mundane and been done a thousand times before.  And there is no way no one didn’t see what was coming.  Just horrendously terrible.  Stay away at all costs.

_________________________________________

Want more movie news and Movie reviews?
Check out Junk Film Reviews and News, my movie blog posts.  Unrelenting and vicious where it needs to be.

Did anyone else have the VMAs in the background last night?  Lil’ Wayne won best hip hop artist of the year???  I’m sorry, any respect I might have once had, even though I know I no longer have any, is now completely eroded for the main stream music community.

But this is not what this section is about.  I do not hate on, strongly, with this section, I give hope.  And so, let me give hope:

MOVIE: ROBOCOP

I got to watch some movies over the weekend.  Some I had not seen in a long time, and others I wish not to see again for a LONG time.  My end saying?  Baby Mama (made to watch by the girlfriend) was better then Harold and Kumar 2.  The original 1970s Tales From The Crypt?  Not nearly as creepy as I remember it.  Alien and V For Vendetta…still fucking awesome.  What about an X-rated action movie?

“I’d buy that for a dollar!”

With the upcoming film by Aronofsky (helm of Requiem for a Dream and Pi), I think it’s important to watch the originals.  Usualy, if a movie is remade or a sequel, like this case, is made so many years later, then something about the original has to still be damn good. And I have always loved Robocop, but how would it handle with my current world view?

The movie still kicks major amounts of ass in all the right spots.  From the action POV, the movie is top notch.  From the socio-politica POV, this movie is top notch.  From the film buff’s POV?  Make sure you don’t waste your time when you can enjoy the X-Rated version in all it’s glorious content.  If you recall, the original X-Rating was not suggested for porn as it is so commonly used today.  The X simply meant it dealt with adult issues and violence above the desires of anyone under 17 years of age.  When porn adopted and ended up stealing the X as their own, NC-17 was a better description.  Plus, the X-Rating Robocop received would pale by today’s R-rating.  The only things cut out of the film to make it an R are three, pretty quick scenes, but they are pretty violent.  Plus you get to see Red from That 70s Show being all bad-fucking-ass and younger.

While the movie spawned a great sequel, the third installment was the poster child for why you should never dumb down a series just to make it more teen and family friendly.  Rent part one and two, but pretend part 3 doesn’t exist, unless you wanna make a drinking game out of it.

MUSIC: FREESTYLERS

The breaker’s wet dream.  This album came out a while back, back when I was working at Tower Records in 1999.  And it still rocks.  This album feels like a collaboration with Roller Rink music, Breakers and Trip Hop-Dance Hall.  The songs are catchy and creatively mixed.  Using a lot of break beats the songs just make you want to start popping right there in your car…which I did…and a few people starting watching….so I started doing harder…faster….stronger….and we’re done.

The music is tight and the flows accompanying the beats is party-esque material perfect.  Throw this on for the back ground, for the rock out, or even for the party you’re throwing, it’s a great album for any occasion.

VIDEO GAMES: ONEECHANBARA series

Oneechanbara, or better known in America as Zombie Zone, Zombie Hunter, or Bikini-Clad Zombie Killer, is fucking fun as hell.  It harks back to older school arcade mashers.  You remember the ones.  You had a pocket full of quarters, slamming them into the coin slot just to slash zombies with your wickedly long katana.

The game is nothing but T&A, though no nudity from what I can find, a long ass katana that gets blood soaked (and you have to clean the sword for it to do normal damage) and a never ending army of zombies, monsters and birds at your dismembering pleasure.  The only difference I have been able to find in the America and Japanese versions is the soundtrack.  The American has a europop, dance track looped behind each level.  The Japanese has a really poppy J-Pop soundtrack that makes you feel like you are in an anime-gone-wrong.

Now, is the story good?  It’s pretty routine.  The graphics are ok, and the character development is nil and void.  But the game play is just fucking fun.  They make up for cruddy features by making you work to find new playable characters and new costumes for each.  Some of the costumes are worth fighting for….you know, if you want to masturbate to a video game character.  In fact my only complaints so far are two:

1. The killing gets a litle bit repetious.  Although the maiming is so much fun, it gets old just mashing on buttons.  Maybe I haven’t gotten far enough to enjoy new combos, but the ways to kill them get old after an hour or so.

2. The Blood.  It’s fucking pink/purple/  I know, a game like this might get some crap from the censors, there is after all A LOT of blood, but still.   You lose all interest in seeing the gore after you realize it looks like you just cut open a CareBear.  Then again, if I could play a game that you could dismember 80s iconic cartoons I would be first in line to play.

COMICS: LOCKE & KEY

A tupendously effectively creepy story about a family who has just goen through  a horrible ordeal where the father of the family is killed by a ruffian he used to try and council in high school. The family (2 sons (18 and 9), a daughter (roughly 14 or 15) and the widowed wife) move into the mother’s side family hosue called Key House.  Little do they know there are keys, magic keys, that are used for very different purposes, but all of the are very powerful.

I don’t want to give away too much but the story is amazing and addicting.  When I discovered it was only a 6-issue run I was a little heart-felled but in the final issue there is an ad for the continuation of the series in Winter of ‘08.  So…yay.

TV SHOW: PSYCHE

You will notmally find it extremely hard-pressed for me to recommend or even enjoy an episodic-type show (non continuity based) that isn’t a sitcom like Simpsons, South Park, How I Met Your Mother, Big Bang Theory, or things of that nature.  But something…and I use the term lightly because I know exactly what it is…draws me to watching this show over and over again.

There is absolutely NO continuity based elements other than the tradtional character-archetypes and relation scenerios.  Also this is a cop show, solving crimes and making cops looks like good guys.  All in all, this is a show I should by all rights never even think of watching.  But it’s the main character that makes the show worth every second.  There is no other character in the show besides the dad of the main character that is intriguing.  The rest seem to all support the hijinks and intellience the main ensues.

The show is great, although completely perdictable.  So far I have watched 5 episodes and within the first act (ie, the first 7-10 minutes), we have been able to figure out who the culprit is each time.  That is the only part that I think a structure like Dexter would help it.  Screw these little piddly crimes and enemy-of-the-week episodes, and focus on one big bad guy for the season, or at least 5 or 8 episodes linked together.  If this was a continuity based show I would hark it up for probably best show of the year, but alas, it’s entertaining and something you really don’t have to pay much attention to to follow.

I have gotten a few emails lately discussing the desire to have recommendations of more movies. One person writes, “One movie a week is not enough. I would love to see more movie recommendations through out the week.”

Aside from eating, playing games and drawing, I’m pretty lazy there, Tim. Not a diss to your suggestion, just getting up the energy to do this more than once a week is pretty daunting, specially when I already have 2 comics, a new album, a paper, and 2 videos on my plate.

Another writer, and this is a close friend of mine also said something about getting more movie recommends. So I was thinking after I read his email and decided, this week I will give more movie recommends, only I am still busy. What to do? What to do?

Why not just make this week all about movies? Damn skippy, I tell myself. So this is what is happening this week.

MOVIES:

Europa Europa
An amazing tale about a Jewish kid who has to pretend he is a Nazi during WW2 and tries to assimilate with them in fear of being found. And then he does the same with the Russians. It’s an emotional ride that will tear out your heart and coddle it long enough for you to grasp the feeling and then twist it some more. It’s a beautiful ride, a great story and one that will live on forever in cinema.

Return of the Living Dead
Now, let me explain something…I am a film elitist. Boiled down, this means I am a cinema asshole. If some one were to stroll up to me and recommend Return of the Living Dead at a video store, and I was not into horror movies, I would skoff in their face and promptly continue to urinate on their cash register. However, this is a different situation. I DO like horror movies, and zombies being on top of my favorite style of horror. But, if you’re like me and simply LOVE the zombie genre, you too know that there is a shit load of tripe out there that should have never seen the light of day. But not this one. Why? Well, let me tell you.

Sorry for the pause, I am eating Orange Sherbet and vanilla ice cream. Back to it…

Return of the Living Dead is a mock sequel to the original Night of Living Dead. What is a mock sequel? It’s like a fan film, a what if film, a “I loved your movie so much that I want to do a spin off” film. The movie is a direct story-after from NotLD. They reference it as a movie but in reality the movie was just to cover up the truth. Zombies are real and they want your brains. One even says so. This is to my knowledge the first zombie who ever uttered the phrase, “Brains!” A winner in my book.

SIX STRING SAMURAI
If you have not yet seen this monster, good luck finding it. Netflix has ONE copy and it’s been at someone’s ouse since before I started my account. Luckily I have a shitty copy to make me happy. The movie looks like it was made for no more than $40,000 including film stock, actors, locations, catering and about $39,000 worth of desert. Upon hearing this and seeing the box art, one would think this was an UP All Night USA special. But no, it’s really fucking good. The story is about a post-apocolyptic world where in the 1950s nukes were launched and the only surviving people of power were rock stars. Elvis was King of the country and years go by. It’s later and the King has died. Every Rock n Roller in the world is on a mecca to try and fill the shoes. Out hero, Buddy (who resembles Buddy Holly a bit too close) battles Surf Rockers, Rock a Billies, and even the source of athe movie’s angst, Heavy Metal heads who resemble Slash. Buddy takes his guitar and sword and an orphaned kid who can’t speak along for the ride. If you can find this, I recommend it highly.

NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 2
By no means what so ever am I anti-homosexual. I was the first person to say fuck McCain when he said he would ever have a Pro Gay VP. I’m part of PRISM dammit. But in the honor of movies like Top Gun, NoES2 was by far the GAYEST MOVIE EVER MADE. Think it was ok? That’s cool, go back and watch it again. In fact, go back and watch it and every time a gay-suggestive thing is uttered on screen, take a shot. You’ll be drunker than my grandma on Thanksgiving before we hit Act 2. The movie was brilliantly disguised this way I think as an anti-homosexual film. They made it seem that homosexuality was a demon inside and it needed to be killed. Every thing remotely straight causes the gay in the character to urk through a little more until finally, Freddy comes into the real world manifesting all this pent up rage and mixed emotions.
This is not a good movie by any stretch of the imagination. It was so bad, they never even mentioned once in later films and even worse…after the completion of the first first film, Wes Craven said he was not do any sequels, but after the travesty that was part 2, he had no choice but to come back and make part 3, possibly the best of the series.

FREE ENTERPRIZE
Every time I recommend this to people, they NEVER take it. This is without a doubt, one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. Why is it funny? Because I am a nerd. I get the reference they are making about Star Wars and Logan’s Run and Sandman and every other toy joke. It’s a movie about nerds for nerds. The story is based on 2 guys who never really grew up and out of their nerd lives (still have toys, still collection Star Trek stuff, would rather buy the Planet of the Apes Laser Disc Boxset than pay an electric bill) and how they have to confront their current selves with the selves they have to grow up and become. It’s a beautiful tale, full of wickedly witty liners and the correct use of the term Wagnerian. Plus, it stars Bill Shatner AS Bill Shatner.

B13
Now, before you get all huffy at this next statement read on past it….This movie has one of the worst stories ever. The plot is paper thin and the acting is far worse. Why am I recommending it? Everyone needs a great action film. And the action that is delivered is breath taking. Clear, cut well, and dynamite sequences that make a crappy movie in to a pretty damn entertaining one. In the vein of Tom Yum Goong (which should also be nominated for best fight movie EVER), B13 is a tale about a futuristic France, a ghetto that is barracaded off from the rest of the world and a nuke inside threatening to blow it all up. Good action, bad acting…but damn good action. Made by the same guy who did Leon The Professional.

Love Me If You Dare
Aside from Casablanca, this is my favorite romance film. This is how romance is in real life, it’s painful and full of problems, but ones we would never give up for all the great things we could endure along the way. The story is extremely fresh and original, paced exceedingly well and masterfully shot and directed. I can’t say enough good things about this movie, just trust me on this one and rent it, rent it, rent it.

KIKUJIRO
This film, for about 3 years, held my favorite film position. In the heart of Central Station and Hanabi, the story is an emotional journey to find one’s self. Directed, writtern, edited, and starring Takahasi Kitano, this film is beautiful in all the right places. When a young boy finds out where is mother is, he runs away from his grandmothers in hopes to see her again. The nosey neighbor over sees this and tells her husband to go watch over him. They travel together as a moral-filled and moral-less savant duo along the country side betting on horses, losing innocence, and trying to find his mother. This is one of those very rare movies, like Amelie, that will cradle your heart with it’s theoretical hands and warm it until it feels like it will burst.

That’s it for right now, go and enjoy some very fine cinema and some very entertaining movies.

For those of you who like webcomics, I would love to promote these:
Questionable Content
Hijinks Ensue
PvPonline
Looking For Group
DING!
VGCATS
Penny-Arcade
Sin Fest

I hope you enjoy and come back soon, hopefully I will have some art up from our new books “WASTE LOCKE”…..See you soon.

Is was a very long weekend.  And unfortunately, I was lazy as shit.  But I did ponder on the needed recommends, so here goes.

MOVIE: BOMB THE SYSTEM
The reason I first picked this movie up was that the editor was Jay Rabinowitz, editor of “Requiem for a Dream”, “Pi” and a few other films that I simply loved.  Suffice to say, I fell in love with this one.  This title is currently on my top 5 list of all time favorite films.  It follows a duo of tag artists trying to make themselves bigger and better than the normal grafitti riff-raff.  Shot expertly and cut together magically, this film will blow you the fuck away and not look back for help.

MUSIC: PRIMUS
The kings of the bass lines, Primus has roc ked for years.  While most people will probably remember the song “Wynonna’s Big Brown Beaver” I would like to recommend a previous album, “Pork Soda.”  While I think “Sailing the Seas of Cheese” is brilliant, it was “Pork” that first made me love Primus.  Kinky bass licks and provacotive chords make this album one of my all time favorites.  Specially since a couple songs are done on an Electric Bass, the stand up kind, and Les Claypool banging it out.  Fucking tear-jerking.

TV SHOW: SPACED
If you are unfamiliar with quite possibly one of the smartest, funniest tv shows in history, this is a real fact I just made up, then be enraptured that it is FINALLY coming to America on DVD.  Ever heard of Shaun of the Dead?  You loved it, right?  We all did.  This was the TV show that the actors and director made before Shaun.  And if you want to get technical, “Shaun of the Dead” acts like a sequel to the TV show because they bring back key characters and more through out the movie that only if you had watched the show you would catch.  Funny as hell and worth the money to pick up.

VIDEO GAME: CHRONO TRIGGER
Without hesitation, I will call this my 2nd all time favorite RPG, surpassed only by Final Fantasy III.  With character design done by Akira Toriyama, this game was brought to my attention very rapidly when it was first released.  I remember days going by obsorbed in this game that I wouldn’t trade back for anything.  Interesting characters, memorable story lines and guess what?  You don’t have to buy a SNES to play it.  It’s coming out for the American DS this fall, hopefully.  Grab it,  Love it,  Thank me later.

COMIC BOOK: LOST AT SEA by BRYAN LEE O’MALLEY
“Lost at Sea” is one of those stories you want to reread from page 1 as soon as you finish the final page.  It’s a soft story about realizing who you are and how you fit into the world that lies before you.  The beautifully thick pen strokes only add to the desolate and epic scope of the truth that is our lives.  On a road trip home from school our heroine has to come with terms of her existence.  Every page is a joy and I highly recommend this to anyone who has ever had a heart, given it away and lost it.

MOVIE: MST3K
While this can be classified as a catch-all topic, you don’t necessarily have to watch them all, sometimes just one in a while is really good.  For those unfamiliar with the acronym, MST3K (or Misty) stands for Mystery Science Theater 3000.  This is the show where the main guy, shot into outer space, and his two robot cohorts sat in front of the movie screen, via a silhouette, and made fun of old cheesy movies.  While some are definitely better than others, it’s always a joy to have people rip on the movies you probably would never have watched to begin with.  As an added bonus, MST3K the movie has just been rereleased to DVD and available through Netflix (since this is where I got my copy).  And…if you find yourself  saying, “But Jaysin, I’ve already seen all the MST3K episodes.”  Fear not.  You can download the Riff Trax from their webpage and sinc them up to newer, and sometimes more deserving of criticism movies…cough cough.;..Top Gun…cough.  And of course there’s always The Film Crew who have been releasing movies in the same way.  Ironically, these are all the same writers, so it’s the same humor as MST3K.  Enjoy!!!

COMIC: STRAY BULLETS
A classic piece of art here, folks.  For those of you who have had the pleasure to read these you already know this fact.  Stray Bullets was an underground comic from David Laphem back in the 80s that reads like the best movie you’ll ever see on paper.  While reading the first couple issues it may seem disjointed and unrelated because it is.  The first few books have very little to do with each other, but just like Tarantino or Guy Richie’s craft of film making, Lapham ties all the stories together masterfully.  What drives this story?  Character and the development or destruction they go through.  Worth every cent to pick up the trades

TV SHOW: DEATH NOTE
As much as I would love to recommend the English version of this because it’s easily available on Cartoon Network, I have not seen the dub version so I will not prop it nor disrespect it.  I know many anime series that are nothing like they used to be when they come to English dubbing.  They are actually getting voice actors now.  But I digress.  To sum up Death Note, it’s a cat and mouse game. A very smart teenage boy in Tokyo finds a black note book which he learns can control the mortal fate of anyone he writes the name of in the book.When the world’s top detective starts to track him down the story becomes a perfect examination of character building exploits that drive the plot through out.  You’ll find yourself cheering on Light, the intelligent teen who deems himself the world’s new god.

VIDEO GAME: CASTLEVANIA: SYMPHONY OF THE NIGHT
There is a plethora of Castlevania titles, most, imo, are worth leaving on the shelf and wondering about.  However, this side scroller is possibly the best side scroller ever because many issues: the RPG aspects that make you grow in level through out the game, the character and story that bleeds slowly through out game play, the constant traveling back and forth from point A to point G to point X to point A, but it never gets boring, and of course the wicked new spells, familiars and as soon as you think you’ve beat the game, the castle turns upside down and you have to do it mall over again, in reverse…Wow.  This PlayStation 1 title is wicked worth the money.  I heard you can pick it up on XBOX live for the 360.  Shell out the $5 or buy the PSP title Rondo of Blood and beat level 4 or 5 in a certain way and play it on your PSP.

MUSIC: FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS
Ok, ok.  This is a 2-for.  I was just introduced to this HBO show and I love it.  It’s hilarious and very well designed, but it’s music, even though really really funny, is just plain good.  It’s pure indy cred-style music, the kind you can expect to check out at a coffee house or street corner but it’s awesome how diverse they are in their own style.  Very worth checking out.,

God, somedays, like today, I wish I had a light saber.  And not the kind that can literally cut through steel, because we all know how many legalities and court appearances George Lucas would have to make.  I want one of those that just slide out of the handle and you can buy at Toys R Us.  I think I want it bec because it’s this generation’s version of the wiffle ball bat.  And how many times would you like a wiffle ball bat on you so you can justifiably, and non-emergency room-visitingly, whack that fuck outta someone?   Quite a few by my log I keep in my truck when driving in heavy traffic.

But none of this anger, on to what I think you should be wasting your time with!!!

MOVIE:  FUNNY GAMES
Now, I have yet to see the original 1997 German version, but it is on my Netflix queue.  I am discussing the American remake.  I fucking hate remakes, save a select few (All Quiet on the Western Front, Dawn of the Dead, and …. The Departed to a lesser degree), but this movie, blew it up!!  It was wickedly well acted, perfectly cut and technically spot on with direction and lighting.  I was telling my friend who recommended this to me, I have seen a lot, and let me stress A LOT of gory, a lot of sadistic, and a lot of truly fucked up torture films in my history as a film nerd.  But this is without a doubt the FIRST time I have ever sided with the characters being tortured.  I actually found myself wanting them to live.  If you’re not a fan or gory movies, no fear.  They NEVER, save one time,  show violence.  They never show the beating of the family or anything like it.  The only time there is violence on screen, you will jump and cheer, trust me.  Definitely one for the art crowd or anyone who can truly enjoy good film.

COMIC BOOK: THE BOYS
I have been picking up a lot of books recently, most offer the same face as the World of Warcraft comics, BLAH.  I had forgotten all about The Boys.  I walked into my comic shop and saw issue  21 and my jaw dropped.  The last issue I had read was 9, so I quickly bought the rest of the series and had a ball reading up on the stories I had loved.  The story is an easy one to follow with a Mark MIllar-esque feeling to it.  It’s written by the same guy who did Preacher and drawn by the guy who did Transmetropolitan.  How can you go wrong?  Worth picking up, every cent of the book.

TV SHOW: PINK 5
While it’s not technically a TV show, I want to recommend this over any of the other dreck I’ve been spoon fed lately.  It’s a series of fan films based in the Star Wars universe and they are done expertly with the perfect touch of valley girl-isms.  A delight to watch over and over again.  It also doesn’t hurt that the production value is HUGE!  It really looks like she is in Jabba’s palace.  It’s fucking great.

BOOK: RULES FOR RADICALS by SAUL ALINKSY
This book is the only other reason aside my father why I hate and mistrust the government that leads us.  It is a how-to manual for making your voice heard and truly winning over the minds of the masses.  It’s how to disassociate yourself from the core and be unique and against the system.  It’s a tough book to get through but all the better once you do.

VIDEO GAME: FINAL FANTASY III (Japanese VI)
I would have liked to have recommended Okami again, since it was just a fuckingly amazing game in every aspect and Capcom needs it to sell well in order to make more games from Clover Studios, but I think I should at least offer something new each week instead of reminding you what I have already quoted.  The American FFIII was fantastic.  My buddy John and I went nuts over this game for months.  We would trade the game back and forth to level up our characters, him doing more of the work than I; I was much more into the story.  The story was the poop on  so many levels, and one of the only video games EVER to make me cry.  The ghost train and the opera house, all i have to say.  If you can find this gem on SNES, download from Wii, or even on a rom, do yourself the favor, take off a few days from work, grab some Dr Peppers and Cheetos and enjoy one of the most stellar RPGs ever made.

MUSIC:  ?????
Music is always a touchey thing to recommend, you make one false move and you might lose that indy cred you’ve built up, or if you go too far out there, you keep your cred but lose any chance of people actually trying something new or even fucking finding it.  If you think you’re local CD store can get any CD, think again, music sold in stores is only, I would harbor the guess at something near 8-10% of what is actually out there, and wouldn’t you know it…some of that shit you can’t find in the stores is soooooo damn good.  So, without further ado, I offer this week’s music selection:
Find something you’ve never heard of and try it!
You heard me.  I know it sounds abserd, but sometimes the best finds are the ones you find yourself.  Troll a forum about music, pick a band you have never heard of and is not touring with a band you have heard of, and check out their music.  Better yet, and here is the gutsy but WAY better way to find unheard music….go to a local venue and see some locals bands.  Don’t go the Metro, even though I love it, go out to a bar, an open mic night….hear stuff you’ll never hear again and revel in it.  That is my command, go now monkeys of the night and feast your ears on tunes of glorious harmonies.

This weekend I was laid up on my couch due to an old back injury so I took a little time to think through what I would recommend to someone.

Movie: CASHBACK
Among the total tripe you can find at your local video store, you can stumble across some amazing gems.  I was lucky enough to see the original short film this movie was based on a few years ago and when the full length film was released I was over joyed to pick it up release day.  The story revolves around an art student who is dumped by his girlfriend and finds himself not sleeping.  HE now needs something to do with his time so he gets a job at a local grocery store.  The symbology in this piece is epic and I think it’s found it’s way into my top 25 list.

Comic Book: SCOTT PILGRIM
As much as I would love to lump sum all of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s pieces into one recommendment, Scott Pilgrim is an excellent read, and of course this allows me to recommend the other books later.  Pilgrim is for anyone who likes music, video games and even a little pop culture references thrown in from time to time…oh yeah, and romance.  The key driving plot device is a love story.  And it’s told magnificantly.  As I have said for years, guys love romantic stories.  We long for them.  But, we just can’t handle them being told as strictly a love story.  This is why Smallville and Heroes and Lost (shifty eyes looking around the room) works so damn well.  We need danger, fighting, ninjas, video game references and more.  Scott delivers on all these.

Book: STAR WARS: TALES FROM JABBA’S PALACE
As I am a self defined Star Wars fanatic, I love all thigns Star Wars.  I espeically love the darker side of the galaxy, the Imperials, the gang lords, the bounty hunters.  This collection of short stories expertly defines the going-ons of the motely crew deep with in the palace of Jabba the Hutt.  Some of the faces you will recognize from the films, some you will not.  All in all, a fun read for those of us too interested in the world that three movies hinted at.

Music: AESOP ROCK
This is kind of a gimme, I’m just hoping someone hasn’t heard of him.  His lyrics, beats and all around artistic creations make normal hiphop look like rudimentary trash.  I haven’t heard an album of his I don’t like yet, however LABOR DAYS, FAST CARS DANGER FIRE AND KNIVES and his newest release, NONE SHALL PASS are my favorite.  The rhetoric and pure genius his lyrics portray is stunning to any level of MC or rap fan.  His voice is cool, calm and as smooth as silk.  If you have yet to bles your ears with his songs, do so now.

Video Game: OKAMI
Oh come on.  You play the reincarnation of a wold god.  Paint brushes are your weapons.  How can you not love this?

This weekend I had some time to think over what my recommendations would be.  While I have thousands of movies, well, er, no,. that’s not true.  While I have about a hundred movies I have ready to recommend I find it hard on which ones to bring forth this early in the game.  So I will, instead of looking through my catalouge, reccommend a film I have seen recently.  This weekend I watched a documentary, so hoping it was goign to be good enough for me to rave about it here, only turning out to be shit piled on top of shit and crap then oozing out of it. So instead, I have picked….

MOVIE : CHARLIE BARTLETT
While the movie doesn’t come without its certain flaws, it’s easy to look past them in this charmer of a indy flick. The story is held together by excellent characters and a desire to see how it all works together.  The story is about a young high school kid, after being kicked out of anumerous private schools, decides to attend public school. Usually, this is where your avergae shitty Hollywood film would fall apart and become the same trnedy bullshit you’ve seen a thousand times.  But for Charlie, he isn’t satisfied with fitting in, he wants to be loved.  He starts his own Pharmacy and therapy sessions in the boys bathroom at the highschool. With great acting from Robert Downy, Jy, this jem slept at the box office and hopefully will hit hard on DVD.

COMIC BOOK : OFF ROAD
This piece of work comes from an artist that attended the same grad school as I did and I think that was the major reason I first picked it up.  Again, this is a story based on excellent characters.  In this semi-autobiographical tale of three friends bonding triumph of their lives a story of well defined characters, excellent adventures and skid plates all find themselves lost and stuck while going off-road on a mad-hungry lust for touching their inner manhood.  The kinship and dialouge makes for a great read.  The author/artist, Sean Murphy, has done his fair share for other comics (Batman, Buffy, Ten Titans, Hellblazer and various Marvel Covers to name a few), it is my knowledge that this is his only autobioographical book and that makes it tops of my list of his career.  A definate worthy read and in my case, reread.

TV SHOW : FOSTER’S HOME FOR IMAGINARY FRIENDS
It takes alot for me to enjoy, like, or even respect a TV show.  I need good characters, good writing, and good quality.  While Foster’s lacks in the quality department, it is made up for by it’s fun atmosphere and really good writing.  The first three episodes are highly continuity based, similar to Heroes (as in, you miss one episode, you’re fucked).  The show is about an 8 year old kid who has to get rid of his imaginary friend because he is becoming too old.  He finds a foster home/adoption home for imaginary friends.  Soon the adopt-hopefuls at the home take to both Mac, the boy, and Bloo, his imaginary friend.  I went into this show extremely apprehensive.  I didn’t think it would be anything more than a kids show, and at times it does serve to the children audience, but most of the time the writing is actually very good.  A charming watch for a gloomy day and a thoughtful memory of your own imaginary friend from childhood.

BOOK : LULLABY by CHUCK PALAHNIUK
I haven’t read this book in forever.  I picked it up again this weekend and flew through it quickly and loved every page.  With the upcoming travesty that is the film version of Choke, I was feeling in the Palahniuk mood.  The book didn’t disappoint at all.  I loved it as much as I did the first time I read it.  A lullaby, or culling  song is being investigated by Carl, a newspaper reporter with a sharp eye, after numerous children and babies are dying from what seems to be a simple nursery rhyme.  It escalates, it’s awesome.  Read it.

VIDEO GAME: World of Warcraft
I would like nothing else to prop Portal, but chances are everyone with a gaming system or a computer has already played, loved and replayed this game, if not simply for the clever banter from the vicious antagonist, taunting you at each step of the game.  But you have already played this.  If you haven’t do yourself the favor and fucking play it already.
Instead, I’m playing it safe…With Blizzard’s World of Warcraft.  Never playing Warcraft I-III (no need for beratement, I get enough of it from my friend Tim), I still loved the world created here.  WoW, more commonly known, is an MMO, and if you didn’t know this you have been living in Iowa for the past 5 years where technology is still the wonderment of the new traffic light down on Main Street and 1st.  It’s addicting, fun, addicting, troublesome, addicting, and panic-causing, but it’s still a blast to level up and discover new zones and new threats.  I would never recommend this to anyone who wants to accomplish anything with their lives since all your time will now be drawn into this game.  But it’s cheaper than drinking, and twice as addicting.

MUSIC : NO MORE HEROES
If you haven’t heard of this band then this means you must be living in the same area that still marvels over the traffic light on 1st and wonders what an MMO is.  It could be that you simply don’t know the band’s name but their smash hit song, “Sweep the leg” is already a cult classic.  If you still haven’t heard of it, go over to YouTube and check out the video for Sweep The Leg.
OK.
Are you back?
Good.
While the 4 popular songs off the album are tight as hell (Sweep the Leg, Zombie Me, Jump In (Michael) and Someday), the rest of the album is damn good as well.  Since the late 1990s, I have not and will continue not to pick up a whole CD just because I like one or two songs of that album.  I think radio songs are the worst way to know what kind of songs a band makes.  The best songs are usually the ones that will never play on the radio, in most cases.  Anyway, I bought this CD for $1.67 on Used Amazon, and with $1.50 S/H I think I got a decent deal.  Not to mention I love the entire CD.  The music changes up from Pop to Funk to Blues to slow balled.  Its a joy from the first track to the last.