A DC New 52 title almost snuck through

Sunday night. I was bored out of my mind.

I went onto 4 Color Fantasies Internet storefront just to browse around. I had already purchased the "Fringe" comics written by Joshua Jackson (review to come!) but I was looking for a cheap, one-and-done comic to kill the boredom.

I had heard many good things about "I, Vampire" so I thought I'd give it a shot. Hey, it was only $1.99.

Holy crap! The book is pretty good.

I am a total newbie to the characters of this book, which apparently go back to 1981.

The plot has vampire Andrew trying to talk down another vampire, Mary, from doing something really horrible. You see, he sired her and it all went downhill from there. While he can keep his sanity and vampire condition in check, she cannot and wants total power.

Her plan is to basically take over the world and kill everyone. But, since this is in the DC Universe there is a hitch.

One of the best lines is Andrew telling Mary "And you think you and your army stands a chance against Superman and a half-dozen Green Lanterns and Wonder Woman and--"

She cuts him off with "Shhh. I'm hunting wabbits."

That one single panel shows off what's right about the book. There are huge stakes. Tons of vampires against the DC heroes, wow. And the book has some humor to it, helps counteract all the blood and killing. Writer Joshua Hale Fialkov does an amazing job to balance the two and push the book to the max.

Especially with the ending. I didn't see it coming. It's like an epic "Lost" style cliffhanger that makes you wonder where the book is going next.

I'm not a huge fan of the art by Andrea Sorrentino. Not to say I hate it, but it's a very unique style that really fits the gothic tone of the book, just not my thing.

And this book and the time when I purchased it shows off another great feature of the New 52 system, especially with online books. I kind of fell in love with this one, now I can immediatly buy the next issues without having to wait for a comic store to open and drive down there.

The future looks bright for the book, especially with Batman showing up in the fifth issue.

Response to negative 'Muppets' reviews

"The Muppets" was released last week and took the world by storm.
In a move that surprised even us, the film ended up with a 98 percent at Rotten Tomatoes. That is 129 fresh reviews and only three "negative" reviews as of Nov. 28 at 7 p.m.

That's a darn good percentage not just for any movie, but a family movie and a silly one at that.
Now, I won't get into my thoughts on the film (that is saved for the show), but I was reading those three lone reviews and something stuck out to me in each.

If people don't like the film, that's fine with me. Just say "I didn't get it" or "Not my kind of movie."
But in this case some big generalizations were made that kind of made me wonder. More than "heh, yeah right" but "did we see the same movie?"

Take the Chicago Reader's review (which, by the way is less than 150 words). Writer J.R. Jones makes a statement in there that says "except for a few good zingers from balcony dwellers Statler and Waldorf, there isn't much here for mom and dad."

I saw the film Wednesday and right after thought that my 6-year-old niece might not like it because a lot of the stuff might go over her head. And I was in a theater full of adults that were laughing like crazy. You think kids would "get" the '80s robot? That whole gag is totally made for adults.

How many kids would get the gag about Miss Piggy's assistant?

The Village Voice's review throws out a unique statement: "Terrified of alienating those who were raised on the originals, The Muppets panders to them instead, constantly blasting or restaging Top 40 hits from the past three-plus decades, continuing the cheap strategy that worked well on YouTube two years ago with the Muppets’ cover of 'Bohemian Rhapsody.'"

I don't get how playing a Cee-Lo Green song is trying to not alienate people raised on the originals. Maybe if it just played in the background I would think it would be used to grab kids, but the song is re-done to make it fun... for everyone. And to use the words "constantly" is a gross overreach.
Finally, the Globe and Mail makes a hilarious statement: "Several tunes, umpteen cameo appearances, scores of lame jokes and much up-beat sentimentalizing later... (deleted for spoilers sake)...but this old man in the gallery remains unconvinced."

Um, maybe I'm out of touch but, isn't that what the Muppets have always been about? Tunes, cameos, lame jokes and up-beat sentimentalizing? That's what gives it the charm it's always had. Yes Fozzie's fart-shoes are lame, but he's always been a horrible stand-up comic.

And people are supposed to leave the theater happy. It's a feel good movie.

It's not like it's supposed to be some kid friendly version of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo."

'Leverage' is back! Thank God

Last night one of cable's best shows, "Leverage," returned with a batch of eight new episodes.

With apologies to "White Collar" the crew from "Leverage" are the best con artists on TV. In "The Experimental Job" the team took on a college's secret society to help homeless veterans who were being tortured and exploited.

Hardison infiltrated the fraternity while Eliot went in as a vet and as usual Christian Kane stole the episode.

His face off with an interrogator provided more insight into Eliot's shady past and gave him a chance to showcase his badassness. When the interrogator questioned him about the people he's killed, Eliot replied "Names? Dates? Locations? What food was on their breath? What color their eyes were? Want to know the last words they spoke? Want to know which ones deserved it? Or better yet, the ones that didn’t? Want to know which ones begged? Want to know why I know these things…Because I can’t forget. So there’s nothing you can do, no punishment you can hand out that I live with every day. So to answer your question, no, I don’t have a count. I don’t need to.”

Wow Christian Kane. Just wow.

It's no secret that Eliot Spencer is a dangerous man, but his good looks, charm and heroic nature make it easy to forget that he has this mysterious past. Not since season three's "The Big Bang Job" have we gotten such an inside view of who Eliot really is.

Of course Eliot was never broken, however when Hardison was kidnapped it only took him four minutes to break the interrogator. Proving torture does work if Eliot Spencer is the one dispensing it.

The reason "Leverage" continues to work so well is the constantly growing chemistry between the team. Nate and Sophie are dating, Eliot and Hardison are a great odd couple and Parker and Hardison slowly heading toward romance. All these entanglements and their commitment to each week's case make the team a perfect blend.

It also doesn't hurt that the show is genuinely fun to watch. A quality that's in rare supply these days.

Next week's take down at a big corporation is also an "Office" homage. Let's hope they do "The Office" when it was funny.

'WKRP:' Best Thanksgiving TV ever

Like everyone else we have our own Thanksgiving traditions here at Inscaped. Besides enjoying maple glazed turkey with cornbread stuffing and homemade macaroni and cheese, we also love watching classic Thanksgiving TV.

While "Friends," "How I Met Your Mother" and "The Cosby Show" all offer great episodes, there is no Thanksgiving TV better than "WKRP in Cincinnati" classic "Turkeys Away."

This is the classic episode where Mr. Carlson decides to give away free turkeys, except he misses one important fact about turkeys. Head to Hulu and enjoy.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Inscaped for Nov. 22

Ranking the New 52: Part two

Just finished reading all the second issues that I wanted to in the DC Comics New 52.

And I'm happy to say there has been some movement in the rankings. I was happy that some issues actually got better. Usually the sophomore slump kills that.

So, without further ado here are the new rankings. I've added the previous rankings next to them to see movement:

1. "Batgirl" (No. 1)
1. "Aquaman" (No. 2)
2. "Nightwing" (No. 3)
3. "Justice League" (No. 5)
4. "Red Lanterns" (No. 4)
5. "Animal Man" (No. 5)
6. "Green Lantern Corps" (No. 9)
7. "Batman" (No. 10)
8. "Demon Knights" (No. 8)
9. "Detective Comics" (No. 7)
10. "Flash" (No. 11)
11. "Mister Terrific" (NA)
12. "Batwoman" (No. 12)
13. "JLI" (No. 13)
14. "Wonder Woman" (No. 15)
15. "Static Shock" (No. 17)
16. "Resurrection Man" (No. 14)
17. "New Guardians"(No. 20)
18. "Green Arrow" (No. 22)
19. "Green Lantern" (No. 29)
20. "Action Comics" (No. 32)

Also decided to drop "Suicide Squad" and "Red Hood and the Outlaws" after the second issues, so they are off the list.

A sneak peek of third issue rankings will find "Batman" moving up along with "Green Lantern Corps." "Batman" may turn out to be one of the best books if it keeps going how it is.

'Gnomeo and Juliet:' Ridiculous and great

Earlier this year "Gnomeo and Juliet," an adorable little movie about feuding garden gnomes came and went from theaters very quickly and quietly.

Well it turns out the film, which is based on Shakespeare's classic play, is hilariously surreal and deserves a lot more attention than its received.

James McAvoy and Emily Blunt provide the voices of the star-crossed lovers with Michael Caine, Dame Maggie Smith, Stephen Merchant, Ashley Jensen and Jason Statham also doing voice work.

What made the movie so great, was even though it didn't shy away from some of the more tragic twists of "Romeo and Juliet" it stayed firmly within the fun, animated world it created.

One of the funnier running gags was how in the middle of all the fighting and craziness the gnomes would return to being statues whenever people would appear.

The film was also helped by an upbeat soundtrack of music by its executive producer Elton John.

It wasn't the masterpiece that Pixar produces or the polished product of Dreamworks, but "Gnomeo and Juliet" was an irreverent, enjoyable movie that was definitely one of the best animated films of the year.

Here's hoping it gets a push during Oscar season.

New 'Avengers' images

In our continuing obsession with all things "Avengers," here are the new ad banners. The top one features the four main heroes, while the bottom one focuses on the supporting S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.

My one complaint: the absence of the badass agent Coulson. Marvel get on this and give Coulson his own poster.

Inscaped for Nov. 17

Battle of the 'Snow White' movies

Last week we were treated to the first trailer for "Snow White and the Huntsman," otherwise known as the Kristen Stewart version.



My first reaction was "wha?"

Why is Snow White in battle armor? My brain hurts.

I put a lot of faith in the other Snow White movie "Mirror Mirror," because Julia Roberts is the Evil Queen in that one and Tarsem is directing it. Good enough combo for me.

But, then I saw the trailer tonight...



What... the... hell...

I don't even know what I'm supposed to say about that. Visually it looks great, then the characters open their mouths.

The Evil Queen is supposed to be EVIL, not a funny, "Devil Wears Prada"-esque, "let's throw a bunch of crap in a blender" character.

And the dialogue... "Snow-way!" "You can rub my tummy!"

I may have to let this digest over the next few days.

Tim's show of the week: 'Community'

All it took was getting a song stuck in my head for almost a week!

"Community" took an otherwise boring Thursday night and hit the comedic equivalent of a home run with "Studies in Modern Movement."

But, it almost wasn't the best of the week.

This last week was a toughy.

"CSI" was a really good episode that actually made me start liking the Ted Danson character. That has to count for something.

And "A Gifted Man" was so good (as it usually is) that I actually had to pick my jaw up off the floor at certain parts.

But, laughing until I was in tears won out. As it should.

The episode was all about Annie moving in with Troy and Abed, but Jeff pretending to be sick so he didn't have to help.

Of course, he was caught. By the Dean, which made it funnier because he was essentially blackmailed into this (note what the Dean is wearing):



I must have watched that clip a dozen times since Thursday and I'm still laughing. I love the cheesiness of it and the karaoke camerawork is amazing.

Everyone had great moments in the show, which always makes for a great episode. Well, expect Ken Jeong who was missing from the episode.
But, bonus gold stars go to Jim Rash who was the MVP of the episode. Sometimes the Dean character can be a bit too much, but that last episode was the perfect amount.

It's just too bad that NBC is leaving "Community" off it's midseason schedule.
BOO!

My hope is that the USA Network can pick the show up. Wouldn't it be perfect paired with "Psych?"

A 'Doctor Who' movie without The Doctor

Today "Harry Potter" director David Yates announced that he was working with BBC Worldwide on a "Doctor Who" movie.

At first glance that sounds like the most exciting news ever. Imagine seeing Matt Smith or possibly David Tennant having an action-packed romp through time and space in the TARDIS joined by Amy, Rose, Martha or Capt. Jack.

Unfortunately, none of that will come true because Yates wants to reboot the story and start over.

Wait, what? Start over?

Why would you start over when you have access to 50 years of mythology and character development, along with actors who already understand the complex nature of bring The Doctor and his companions to life?

Yates said that everything would need to be redone from the ground up, meaning none of the current television timeline would be used.

So just so we're clear, you're going to take one of the most popular television franchises of all time, transfer to the big screen, but not use any of the story that made it so popular in the first place?

Wow that's sound decision making.

While it's nice that BBC is involved, it's extremely disingenuous of them to make this movie (a clear money grab) and not treat it like love letter to the fans that have made "Doctor Who" its most valuable property.

Yates says the film is three to four years away, since he has so much work and planning to do.

In the meantime, "Doctor Who" faithful can enjoy Steven Moffat and Matt Smith's fantastic work and hope that someone comes to their senses before this abomination hits theaters.

Inscaped for Nov. 10

Heavy D: 1967-2011

For anyone who grew up during the hip-hop/dance music days of the '90s, Heavy D and the Boyz were the architects of some of the best club jams ever.

Dwight "Heavy D" Myers passed away Nov. 8 after being found unconscious in his home and the rushed to the hospital.

Though his signature hit was "Now That We Found Love," he was also known for "The Overweight Lover's In the House" and "Is It Good To You." He also recorded the theme song for "In Living Color."

Though he doesn't get as much credit as his contemporaries Will Smith and LL Cool J, he was just as responsible for rap's increasing mainstream appeal. His cool lyrics and infinitely danceable beats caused suburban teenagers to request his music on pop stations and had his videos in high rotation on MTV.

When his rap career began to fade he turned to acting with recurring parts on "Living Single," "Bones" and "Boston Public" and roles in "The Cider House Rules," "Step Up" and the recently released "Tower Heist."

He recently made a stage comeback at the Michael Jackson Tribute Concert and the 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards, which makes this news all the more sad.

"In Living Color" is scheduled to return to TV in the spring, so here's hoping they keep the theme song as a nice tribute to Heavy D.

My DC New 52 drop list pt. 1

As Stephanie and I continue to cover DC Comics New 52 initiative, there are bound to be comics that either of us end up not liking.

And since we're not made of money, there are books that we're bound to drop; or just stop reading.
So far I've read 32 of the 52. I think I'm really at the point where I might be done with trying new ones out. I think I may try "Superboy," perhaps "Mister Terrific," but that's it.

Out of those 32, I've decided to drop seven books: "Justice League Dark," "Red Hood," "Teen Titans," "Suicide Squad," "Hawkman," "Firestorm" and "Stormwatch."

In this post I'm going to talk about the four books I like to call "one and done." These are comics that I gave one issue to catch my interest and did not.

"Stormwatch" probably has the easiest excuse: it was not reader friendly at all. To be fair, I've never read a "Stormwatch" comic previous to this. What interested me what the addition of Martian Manhunter and writer Paul Cornell.

Cornell's "Action Comics" run with Lex Luthor as the lead character was amazing stuff. It was like the crack of comics to me, I would have paid a lot more for each issue than I did.
The problem was that outside of Martian Manhunter I had no clue who these characters were and it read like I should. The dialogue was good, but I was just confused. And when I'm paying $2.99 a month, I don't want to be confused.
I also read "Fury of Firestorm" because of writers Gail Simone and Ethan Van Sciver. Also, to be fair, I've never really been a huge fan of Firestorm. But, with these guys behind the book I thought I'd give it a try.
Now I've read that "Blackest Night" did happen in the New 52 universe, so I thought "OK, cool." What I didn't think of was that overall "Blackest Night" happened, but that doesn't mean every single thing during "Blackest Night" happened.
Like everything to do with the character of Firestorm.
This book is not only a total reboot of the character, but just not my cup of tea. I get that the two characters don't like each other, but then the race card gets thrown in and I'm just out. Like with "Stormwatch," I liked most of the dialogue just fine.

Steph's show of the week: 'The Good Wife'

Hey, I found some Schweddy Balls

And in the least likely place possible.

I should also mention this went a lot better than the last time I tried a weird ice cream sight unseen:

Inscaped for Nov. 4

Inscaped for Oct. 27

Why 'Glee' can't be fixed?

Originally this was going to be a blog all about how to fix "Glee" and return it to its former glory.

However, following tonight's episode "Pot O' Gold," it appears that the show can't be fixed and doesn't really want to be.

"Glee" started out as a fun comedy about a group of quirky outsiders who band together in the glee club to take on the world. Though they all fit certain high school stereotypes, the characters had heart and made viewers care about them.

Now tons of success and three years later, the show has become a parody full of caricatures. As great as she is, Jane Lynch is being wasted as Sue Sylvester. She shows up and yells insults at the kids, drops one liner about Matthew Morrison's hair and stomps away. Come on, she could do that in her sleep.

Also the musical numbers are starting to blend together. Sure the magnificent ones stand out, but those have become more fleeting in recent episodes.

The problems seem to start with the writing. The stories have become so over the top ridiculous that they're not even plausible by "Glee" standards. Not to mention the characters have either been written into a boring corner or made completely unlikeable.

Despite producers' assurance that the show is headed back to basics and will focus more on the core group this season, the series shows no signs of improvement. Even more disturbing, no one seems to be concerned with righting the plane. Everyone involved seems content to just ride things out until the bitter end.

With sub-standard writing and producers who seem more interested in pursuing other shows, the show will become the new "Heroes" even faster than expected.