Jump to content
DVDVR Message Board

_MJ_

Members
  • Posts

    1,757
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by _MJ_

  1. After someone offers to pay for Walt's cancer treatment in the first season and he turns it down(I think due to his disdain for the person and his pride), you get a decent snapshot of what type of person you're dealing with for the series. Joining the drug business was less shameful than taking a loan from someone he didn't like or respect.
  2. That was a grand premiere. No tiptoeing, slow build here. Shit is going down.
  3. The critics didn't love anything this summer and my poor RT list has felt the impact. Taking a quick glance at the current scores, I think only one person has done better on the RT list than the box office list. Interesting. Also, a movie with only a 78% rating is going to end up finishing 3rd on the RT list. Very telling. Star Trek has the highest RT rating, but it didn't seem to blow anyone away. At least not with the people I've talked to who saw it. Hell, I barely hear the movie discussed now.
  4. The brand-split only PPVs might have been awesome for hardcore fans, but I doubt casual fans cared for them.
  5. The Walking Dead is a good start because it's recognizable and the first 50 issues or so are pretty suspenseful and intense. I'm not a big fan of how Kirkman writes dialogue and I haven't kept up with it lately since I thought the plots were starting to get repetitive though. I also think Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O'Malley is a good series to check out if you're just getting into comics. It's not a superhero book, but it's fun. It's a coming-of-age story about a slacker trying to get with what he believes is his "dream girl" with a bit of a twist. It's not as basic as it sounds. You probably heard of Alan Moore's Watchmen with the movie and all. It's an obvious pick and it helped me get into comics. Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughn might be a little intimidating but it's a great book and it's not an ongoing title, which means it has a beginning and end. It's about all the men on Earth suddenly dying except one male and his pet monkey. The surviving females have to deal with what's left of society. Charles Burns' Black Hole is completely out of the superhero realm. It's more graphic novel than comic book series. I still dig it. The story deals with the aftermath of a sexually transmitted disease which causes grotesque mutations in teenagers.
  6. Damn. I was slowly regaining some dignity in this game and then The Wolverine cuts me off at the knees. I don't remember my lists so I don't know where I placed it, but I think I put it pretty low on my RT list. I think it'll move up a few spots on the blockbuster list (at least $100 million), which will help. I think I put 2 Guns too low on my blockbuster list though. They are releasing it at a relatively dull period for mainstream movies. I don't see much overlap between the Smurfs 2 and 2 Guns audiences so they both have an opportunity to make a decent amount($20 to $40 million?) this weekend.
  7. I doubt they'll ever do it, but I think a WWE offseason might be a good idea. Especially back when they took the brand split semi-seriously. Nice break for the wrestlers, writers, and even viewers. Build up intrigue with cliffhangers. Etc. I'm obviously not thinking about the money side of things here, which is why it won't happen.
  8. I don't own PS3 or XBOX so I'm out of touch, but this is suppose to be current system generation graphics? Yikes.
  9. Is the Black Mirror arc good? Not Morrison, but it has Grayson under the Batman mask.
  10. I didn't like the ending either. I figure he ended it the way he did because he was set on a sequel, but that's not a good excuse. Anyway, I had more problems with the plot dragging at various points in the story. I think Gilman(author) handled the lead characters pretty well though, especially the female character(I forget her name). I thought he did a good job of developing her mindset throughout the books' various events. I will read the sequel eventually, but I've heard it's not told from their viewpoint, which turns me off.
  11. so much this. i know it was always meant as a short term deal, but MAN did we get suckered out of the best thing they could've possibly done with the franchise. Or maybe it's because i'm a Grayson fanboy. as Fowler said, he's back to being Nightwing. the series started off a bit slow, but has become very good since Dick moved to Chicago (#19). Can't wait for the Annual in October to see the next direction for him. Yeah, I'm a Grayson fan too. I don't usually read the books until I hear something interesting is going on and they put the arc in graphic novel/trade form. I definitely wish they kept him under the Batman mask longer. Thanks for the information.
  12. I can't tell you the exact reason former fans went away because it's probably a combination of factors. I can tell you if wrestling experiences another boom, it's going to be due to exciting, transcendent characters and/or a hot, compelling storyline. I'm obviously not saying anything radical here. Others have already mention it. Just look at the last two big buzzworthy things to come from the WWE: CM Punk's rant and the beginning of the Nexus storyline. I don't think the draw of the Attitude and early nWo era was the quality of matches during that time. It was the characters(Rock, Austin, etc) and storylines (Who is joining the nWo?). I consider myself more of a casual fan(I know, I know) now. I'm not heavily invested in following the quality of WWE matches, but I think it's fine if not better now than during Attitude era. I know people like to see entertaining matches(I do too), especially when they're at live-events, but until they stumble upon or get lucky with a hot character and/or storyline, it's going to stay the way it is for awhile. This, of course, is not taking into account the changes in the tv industry, itself. It's going to be very difficult to reach the same level of ratings/audience highs in the new media, even with a boom.
  13. I haven't read the short story or seen the 1947 movie, but I really like The Secret Life of Walter Mitty trailer. Stiller is directing, and the trailer gave me some Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind vibes. I'm into it.
  14. Sort of confused as to why they are positioning Vince against Cena. I think it's to make sure you know that Cena is still a good guy, despite being the overwhelming favorite instead of the traditional "odds being stacked against him" story heading into a match.
  15. I didn't read this run, but what are they doing with Dick Grayson now? I'm curious.
  16. The Half-Made World by Felix Gilman The book is set in an steampunk influenced environment, but it's not a strictly steampunk book. There are parts that drag and I remember it taking awhile to set up the world in the beginning, but it's still a decent read. Here's a synopsis: "The world is still only half-made. Between the wild shores of uncreation, and the ancient lands of the East lies the vast expanse of the West---young, chaotic, magnificent, war-torn. Thirty years ago, the Red Republic fought to remake the West---fought gloriously, and failed. The world that now exists has been carved out amid a war between two rival factions: the Line, enslaving the world with industry, and the Gun, a cult of terror and violence. The Republic is now history, and the last of its generals sits forgotten and nameless in a madhouse on the edge of creation. But locked in his memories is a secret that could change the West forever, and the world’s warring powers would do anything to take it from him. Now Liv Alverhuysen, a doctor of the new science of psychology, travels west, hoping to heal the general’s shattered mind. John Creedmoor, reluctant Agent of the Gun and would-be gentleman of leisure, travels west, too, looking to steal the secret or die trying. And the servants of the Line are on the march." http://www.amazon.com/The-Half-Made-World-Felix-Gilman/dp/0765325535
  17. I still can't believe The Hunger Games made all that money in the U.S. If it had made $100 million, I think it probably would have been considered a moderate success, yet it made 4 times that amount. Bananas. Despite not reading the books, I knew it was a popular series, but a couple of these Young Adult book trilogies have passionate followings. I did not get what made this one stand out, especially since Jennifer Lawrence wasn't a big name yet. Matter of fact, I kept confusing it with the "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" series.
  18. _MJ_

    The Bridge

    Yeah, the last episode was definitely the most disappointing. I'm not feeling Ruiz hooking up with the widow already. Too easy.
  19. I've seen a couple of doom and gloom headlines over this summer's box office failures, but I don't think it's surprising. Look, after Man of Steel was released, the only summer movies you could believe were going to be surefire blockbusters were the two big animated releases: Despicable Me 2 and Monster University. Anything else was a genuine surprise (looking at you, World War Z). Honestly, the significance of international box office probably needs to get more attention in the U.S. before we label things a complete box office failure. Also, of course, this year's box office numbers are down compared to 2012. Last year was a historic year for box office. This year didn't have a chance. Inflated ticket prices and increase 3D movies be damned. As for Wolverine, I don't know. There's probably a lot factors. We already know now you can't just put out any type of superhero film with the expectation it will make bank, even if it has a popular character in it. This implication is only going to increase as more superhero films are released next year. Plus, Wolverine has already been a bunch of films so he's not a fresh draw or an exciting idea. His own film was not received well (do they even acknowledge the events in the new one?) so the new film was going to need a significant upgrade to appeal to people. I wasn't overwhelmed by the marketing for it in my area too. I didn't even know it came out this weekend until about Thursday.
  20. The NBA is still trying to push this Lakers/Heat "rivalry" with another Christmas game between the two? I'm sure ESPN wants to push this "Lebron to the Lakers" storyline, but we all know there are better matchup options. Heat/Spurs and Heat/Thunder come to mind. Hell, even Heat/Knicks if they want a big market team in there. Lame.
  21. _MJ_

    The Bridge

    Yeah, I dig the way Demian Bichir plays his character. I didn't like his character on Weeds(not his fault), but he's the highlight for me so far. Diana Kruger's character doesn't bother me nearly as much as she appears to bother others. Matthew Lillard as the douchebag journalist and the Captain from Monk are nice additionals too. However, the plot hasn't grabbed me. Maybe it's me, but I feel like I'm only half paying attention to it when it's on. I zone out during the scenes with the widow who is slowly discovering her dead husband's shady dealings, even though I know it's going to eventually link up to the main storyline. That side plot has been dull (so far). I really like the idea of the show. I'm going to keep watching it because it has potential and it's one of the few quality shows running this summer. Good timing by FX. I've read the showrunner wants to use the first case as an introduction into the El Paso/Ciudad Juarez setting and they want to explore the area deeper a la Baltimore in The Wire. She doesn't want it to be a traditional "cop show". This interests me. At this point, I prefer FX's The Americans over it, but it's alright.
  22. I got no ill will toward Gilbert Arenas getting paid. Owners usually have the power in these situations, and if a team is willing to give you a bunch of money for a long term contract: take it. I don't know who his agent was at the time of the contract, but I hope Gilbert still sends him a birthday card.
  23. Well, they really like SAGA and Brian K. Vaughan. That's the main thing I got out of this list. Also, it reminded me to check out Chris Ware's Building Stories set. I need to look into Jonathan Hickman's work too. I've read good things about The Manhattan Projects and East of West.
  24. I'm not going to sit here and let you mock the music legacy of Ruben Studdard
×
×
  • Create New...