(S)he's a Demon on Wheels
Dec 07Everybody’s linking to the first pics from the new Speed Racer movie by the Wachowskis…and now, here’s the trailer…
…but it looks like USA Today is either fumbling its reportage, or utilizing willful ignorance, in still calling them “the Wachowski brothers.” Unless there’s been some kind of change of heart, my understanding is that Larry is now Lana, or will be soon.
Or is the studio trying to keep the whole “Mega-blockbuster director used to be a dude, now he’s a lady” story under wraps so all the nice little Christian kiddies will still be able to persuade their parents to take them to see Speed Racer after church? Who knows.
Also: Is it just me, or is Summer 2008 shaping up to kick way more ass than Summer 2007? Dark Knight, Speed Racer, Prince Caspian…looks a lot more promising than Rise of the Silver Surfer and Pirates 3.
"…just a videogame."
Dec 06Hairy-chested video game reviewer love god Tim Rogers chimes in on Super Mario Galaxy.
"Saw" Meets "Rocky Horror"
Dec 06Okay.
So how the FUCK has this existed outside of my radar until now???
Sarah Brightman, Paul Sorvino, and Anthony Head star in a musical horror flick directed by the guy who helmed the Saw franchise.
Read that sentence again. Now one more time.
This is some kind of black convergence. I predict the end of the world is nigh. I will be there opening night.
Sexytime for Trailers
Dec 05Lotsa big sneak peeks and trailers coming up for big impending films…there’s talk of the Indy 4 trailer and the Star Trek trailer hitting within the next two to three months, and the first seven minutes of The Dark Knight will precede I Am Legend in IMAX.
Ain’t It Cool has a few more tidbits: a nice Prince Caspian trailer, and for a flick coming in just a few days, the first five minutes of The Golden Compass.
(I couldn’t get the Caspian trailer to load all the way, so keep trying. I still need to see the first Narnia flick. I also need to read the last two Dark Materials books, although I have read Golden Compass three or four times, always intending to continue the series after I was done, but never getting into the second book. I think I need to try harder. Also, to shut up.)
Do the Zuda
Dec 04So I was finally inspired this morning to tromp over and check out Zuda Comics, where I quickly found a favorite.
I think there’s some slight refinements to be made–it would be neat if I could get an RSS feed to update me when the comics have new content, for example–but I was frankly stunned at how simple, elegant, intuitive, and versatile the comics reading interface is.
First off, it abandons the vertical orientation of print comics for a 4:3 aspect ratio that completely fills my monitor in full-screen mode. The controls are damned easy, and they fade quickly into the ether when in full-screen mode, so you can see the entire strip. Pages load very quickly as well.
On my nice flat-screen work monitor, it’s a seamless and satisfying reading experience–far better than any of the CBR files I “acquired” during the rapidly-receding halcyon days of illegal comics downloading. Not to slam the CBR format, as I think it’s the best at what it does, even if what it does ain’t pretty.
But this–now THIS is a way to read comics online. In that sense, it seems as though DC has stumbled upon a bit of an innovation. Which pleases me, and yet SHOCKS ME TO MY CORE.
These bastions of old media are supposed to be clinging to their paper periodicals for their very life, and they are, but DC is also quietly pushing the ball forward in a very leading-edge way. In doing so, they’re leaving Marvel behind in the dust, cause although the Digital Comics Unlimited interface is decent for what it does (and what it does ain’t pretty, neither), Marvel’s product isn’t nearly as sleek as the Zuda interface, which rocks. It also has no original content behind it, and if it ever does, it’s unlikely the content will push the comics format forward at all–it will probably be designed just like a print comic, so it will fit in the DCU reader, and so that they can print it and sell it.
This is a really exciting time to love comics.
