My Personal Favorite...Songs

First off, this song has been around for some time, 2007 to be exact. So I felt that if you've not heard it before, it's quite unlikely you ever will.

For some reason, this American band isn't very big and it was quite fortunate that I managed to hear it on the local airwaves. And ever since I heard this 1 song alone, I fell in love with it. I do hope the band earns greater success.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Melee - Built To Last

Movie Review (Not) - Fantastic 4

I have to say that I ahve been a great fan of the FF since the John Byrne run back in the early 80s (well, actually, even before that, but then JB just made me an even bigger fan). So, when the 2 FF movies came out in 2005 & 2007, FF fans like me were ecstatic as any fan would be, just to see their heroes on the big screen played by hot celebs. However, when I gave my verdict that the 2 FF movies were really not that fantastic* (yeah, pun intended), most disagreed with me. 

So having said that, I am quite excited to see the reboot of FF, DESPITE Johnny Storm being black, with Sue for a white sister! I think they would get it right this time! Are you as stoked as I am for this movie?

* the only exception being the Silver Surfer scenes by Doug Jones, which IMHO were super AWESOME!

Comic Review - Fearful Asymetry (Part 2 - DC)

As promised, here is the 2nd part of the post on characters that look a bit off and imbalanced (and I'm not referring to psychos). Anyway, you know what I mean.

Eclipso, 1 of the major baddies in DC. Why I say he's major, it's 'coz back in the 90s, DC had a major event (ie: across multiple titles) where Eclipso was the villain. Anyway, Eclipso derives its powers from the stone and the host that is "possessed" may not necessarily be a male or even human.

Deadshot. Remember this name. This is because with all the hype about the Suicide Squad, he's looking pretty likely to be a breakout character. As for me, I do like Deadshot, (I guess you can more or less equate him to Marvel's Bullseye) because he's a stalwart of the said Suicide Squad, one of my favorite teams in the DC Universe.

Monocle, a foe of the Hawkman. I honestly don't know much about this character. Firstly, despite my love for the Hawkman, he's not an A-List Hero. Secondly, even when I do read Hawkman stories, I don't see the Monocle in them. So how did I ever came across this D-List character? Well, waaay back in the 80s, I used to love to get the books with the bios on all the characters. In Marvel, it was called the Marvel Universe, in DC' it was called Who's Who in DC. I have all the issues and pored thru' them.
Ravager. Well, the current version is the latest version but the 1st Ravager I came across was an enemy of the New Teen Titans (Wolfman and Perez). Fans soon discover that he was the son of Slade Wilson, or better known as Deathstroke the Terminator (see below).
The Penguin , despite being a key part of Batman's Rogues Gallery, hasn't really been taken seriously by fandom until maybe recently, due to the brilliant portrayal by Robin Lord Taylor in the Gotham TV Series. Nah, I didn't really like the portrayal by Danny Devito in 1992's Batman Returns.


Jonah Hex, I had never really read any Jonah Hex stories as I'd never been a fan of the Western genre. Despite having read him in a couple of crossover guest-appearances with Justice League, it didn't really get me interested enough to pick up the title. Also, the dismal attempt by Hollywood with Josh Brolin and Megan Fox didn't do the character any favours.

Cyborg, now a member of the Justice League in the New 52 DC Universe. But I first got to know him when he was a founding member (along with Raven, Starfire, Changeling/Beast Boy, Kid Flash, Robin and Wonder Girl) of the best incarnation of the Teen Titans, aptly named the New Teen Titans way back in 1981 under the masterful hands of Marv Wolfman and 1 of my favorite artists, George Perez.

It was also in the New Teen Titans that Deathstroke the Terminator was introduced. Over the years, Deathstroke has built a very strong reputation for being a bad@$$ in the DCU. He even single-handedly defeated the entire Justice League (yup, you read that right) in the Identity Crisis mini series.

 Metamorpho - Ahhh, this guy looks really weird and I don't blame you if you thought he could be a bad guy. Anyway, he's one of the mainstays of another DC team created back in the 80s - the Outsiders.

Now speaking of weird, this one takes the cake - Composite Superman! This one I definitely haven't read before. I think even if I was a kid, and if I saw this weird looking character on the cover, I'd probably stay away. I think I'd be willing to give it a read if there was a story with him in it but I won't go out of my way to look for stories with him in it.
Last, but definitely not least is Two-Face! This is one of my favorite Bat-Villains. I like him a whole lot more than the Joker. Whether it's in the movies, TV series or Comics, I can't get enough of Harvey Dent.

Did I miss out anybody? Let me know. =)

Movie Review - Hideaways

Movie Title
Hideaways
Year
2011
Genre
Romance, Fantasy

Story

This is a quirky little Non-Hollywood (it’s British) movie that I personally think is quite a pleasant change to one’s viewing entertainment.

Growing up in a remote Irish farm, the main character James Furlong (Harry Treadaway) comes from a lineage where the Furlong men in the family seem to be blessed (or cursed, depending on how you see it) with a strange supernatural power. Depending on the circumstances, this power can also become quite horrific (as in James' case).

When James, the current male descendant has his powers first manifested on the farm where he lived, which was full of livestock, the farm animals ALL were mysteriously killed. Not knowing how the newly manifested power works, James' father blamed & beat him for the farm animals’ deaths, resulting in the equally mysterious death of his father and grandmother.

James was then sent to live in a reformatory boys’ home, where, as a newbie, he was bullied by the seniors. This too resulted in the massive deaths of most of the boys in the home. He fled in fear into the woods nearby.
Viewers can conclude by now that whenever James is harmed, in distress or physical pain, he emits a death wave that kills EVERYTHING within a limited radius – in the farm, the farmhouse and boys’ home.  Many years later, when we see a teenage girl, Mae (Rachel Hurd-Wood), dying from cancer. She overheard the doctors telling her mom that her condition was terminal and there’s nothing more the doctors could do to help her. She then ran away into the woods where she accidentally comes across a hut where James had lived alone all these years. Mae has already resigned herself to her eventual death and is afraid of very little. James shares his story and how he ended up living alone in the woods but Mae was unafraid.

At the end of the movie, viewers finally learn the 2^nd aspect of James' power/gift, which was he also had the ability to give life to others when he feels love.

Acting
I may be slightly biased as I hardly know any of the actors here but I thought they had all delivered competent and credible performances. Although there were parts where I did think that the performances by both the actors playing James were a little wooden.

Overall
I quite liked this show and in fact I would like to watch this movie again sometime in the future (if I manage to get my hands on it again). It may not be the typical Hollywood production (ie: not having the slick sets, CGI or special effects) and some may find the pacing a little awkward but it'll pay off if you allow yourself to get to know the characters.

I would recommend that you watch this at least once.

Rating: 6/10