Paper Towns

1:15 a.m...just finished reading Paper Towns by John Green.

I got Paper Towns and An Abundance of Katherines (also by John Green) for Christmas. I decided to read Paper Towns first because John said he was going to make a video discussing the book and I didn't want to be spoiled. (I could have waited to watch the video whenever I finished Paper Towns, but that's not the same.) So that was my original motivation for reading Paper Towns immediately and as fast as I could--finish the book before John discusses it.

After reading a few chapters, though, I forgot about the forthcoming video and forgot about putting the book down. Paper Towns is an excellent, well-written story. I'll write a list of what I liked because I love making lists--but after I've thought about the book a little more.

By the way, I found out about John's books through the vlogbrothers (of which John is one half). Another way YouTube's been good to me in 2008.

Watchmen Update and PC vs. Mac

Two things stood out when I checked Google Reader today and both were from the Movie Blog.

First, a PC vs. Mac video inspired by the Transformers.

Second, Fox won the legal battle for Watchmen. To bring you up to speed...there was an issue concerning the movie rights to Watchmen between Fox and Warner Brothers. Fox originally had the movie rights but gave up on the project more than ten years ago. Warner Brothers made a film and set a March release date (and it looks awesome!) but supposedly didn't secure the rights.

Now Fox will probably settle a deal and Warner Brothers will lose money...and who knows when Watchmen will be in theaters.

Dollhouse and Serenity

Here's a still from a trailer for Dollhouse. See Echo.


Source

Here's a still from the opening credits of Serenity. See River.


Source

They're both great shots...but did anyone else notice how similar they are?
I'm curious.

Freerice.com now more than vocab

FreeRice.com was an incredible site to begin with. It's a multiple-choice English vocabulary game. You're given a word and you have to pick the synonym out of the choices. Do well and you move up to more difficult words. Simple.

Every correct answer donates 20 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program. The more you play and the more you answer correctly, the more rice you donate.

Now they've added different subjects to play. The site loads English Vocabulary by default, but you can click on the Subjects tab at the top of the page and choose to answer questions about art, chemistry, English grammar, geography, languages, or math. Even better, you can switch subjects while you play and your rice total will carry from one subject to the next.

So now you can brush up on more than vocabulary and support a charity at the same time.

Project For Awesome: Aftermath

10:45 p.m. EST...I watched a few P4A videos today, but not nearly as many as yesterday.

The majority of the Most Discussed videos currently on YouTube are Project For Awesome videos.

Pages 1-3 of the Most Discussed videos:

P4A videos are on pages 4 and 5 too, but not in the vast majority. There are P4A videos in the other "Most" lists too...Most Popular, Most Favorited, and the others. They have the strongest presence, though, in the Most Discussed list right now.

So that was the idea: one thumbnail, one idea taking over YouTube to promote various charities. Looks like it worked. :)

Project For Awesome (P4A) Update

11:40 p.m. EST...I can't be bothered to make screenshots right now, but take a look at this. Go to www.youtube.com. Click on Videos.

No P4A videos on the first page of the Most Viewed list yet, but WHATTHEBUCKSHOW is making it's climb up page 2.

For the rest, I'm talking about only the first page.

Rising Videos: Johnny's video for Save the Children

Most Discussed: 16/20 videos are part of Project For Awesome on the first page!

Most Responded: 2/20 P4A videos, that one by WHATTHEBUCK and one by the vlogbrothers

Top Favorited: 4/20 are P4A videos

Top Rated: 9/20 are P4A videos

Yes, we are the Nerdfighters
and the world is in luck
'cause we increase the awesome
and we decrease the suck
--Hank Green

Project for Awesome: On the Rise

I've commented on and rated about 30 videos so far today. I checked the Most Discussed page on YouTube at exactly 3:52 p.m. EST and there are 6 P4A videos on the first page!

Check it out:



This is so exciting! Back to watching videos...

Project For Awesome

Tomorrow, December 17th, is Project For Awesome on YouTube. YouTubers make videos about their favorite charities. Then the YouTube community pulls together to comment on and rate the charity-related videos so that they end up on the Most-Discussed and Most-Viewed pages on YouTube to raise awareness (and hopefully some money) for charities.

Last year, Project for Awesome videos took over YouTube for the day. I didn't spend a lot of time on YouTube then so I didn't know about it. I'm looking forward to participating this year, though, by rating and commenting on videos.

The Project is headed by John Green, Hank Green (aka the vlogbrothers) and Alan Lastfuka (aka Monday on the Five Awesome Guys). Check out Project for Awesome's site and keep an eye on YouTube on Wednesday.

Technorati Tags: Project for Awesome, YouTube

Watchmen Trailer

The Movie Blog posted a new Watchmen trailer yesterday. It's pretty similar to the last trailer with a few extra shots in it. Still looks amazing. Still can't wait to see it.

Which reminds me that I wanted to reread the graphic novel...

Horrible Update

Newteevee.com has a great review up for Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog with information about the special features on the DVD, including the winning applications for the Evil League of Evil.

I've seen a bunch of applications on YouTube the past two months, but the Final Straw is my favorite. He's an off-beat villain perfect for the League with lyrics like:

I am the the hangnail that consumes you
I'm the paper cut of doom.

and:

Not a glory hound attention hog who needs to make a splash
and hold a city hostage
for a briefcase full of cash.

I hope he's one of the winners.

New Terminator Salvation Trailer

The Movie Blog has the new trailer up for Terminator Salvation and it looks awesome, as do the previous trailers.

I love the Terminator movies. I love the concept. I love the world.

But I'm not sure I like Christian Bale as John Connor. No doubt Bale is an incredible actor. He's awesome in The Dark Knight. He was fantastic in The Prestige. But he sounds like Batman in the trailer.

If Bale mixes that gravely, harsh voice into John Connor, that could ruin the whole movie for me. John Connor is tough but not in the same sense as Batman, and he doesn't have to disguise who he is. There's no reason to use that voice. Maybe I've just grown too attached to Thomas Dekker's portrayal of John in The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

I'm going to see Terminator Salvation in May regardless, but I don't want to hear the Batman voice in it.

Dr. Horrible on DVD

Dr. Horrible is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com. (The release date is December 19.) The original price was $14.99, and it was reduced to $13.49, so it must be selling well. That's definitely good news.

Amazon is going to post a list of the special features, but I know there's a musical commentary, a regular commentary, behind the scenes clips, and the winning applications for the Evil League of Evil.

I can't wait for the DVD, and I hope Joss Whedon and company make some kind of sequel.

The incredible thing is, there's no advertising for Dr. Horrible outside of the internet. People involved in Dr. Horrible, especially Neil Patrick Harris, have talked about it in interviews, but no TV spots, no movie trailers...I don't know of any magazine ads.

Joss Whedon accomplished something huge with Dr. Horrible. He proved you can make quality entertainment without Hollywood studios. I hope more fantastic work comes out of it.

Technorati Tags: Dr. Horrible, Joss Whedon, Neil Patrick Harris, DVD, Amazon

New Half-Blood Prince Trailer

Warner Brothers released a new Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince trailer on Friday exclusively for fan sites. (You can check it out on MuggleNet.)
It looks incredible and there's only one thing I didn't like about it. So first, the things I'm really excited to see:
- The special effects for apparition look awesome! I know Fred and George did some apparating in Order of the Phoenix, but that was just a pop-in, pop-out sort of thing. This looks a lot better.
- I don't know how well the music in the trailer reflects the score for the movie, but I like the updated version of Hedwig's Theme.
- The books and the movies have done a good job of including humor amidst the dark and dangerous scenes, and Half-Blood Prince doesn't seem to be an exception.
- Scenes involving the Pensieve are always interesting. I love how J.K. Rowling uses the Pensieve in the books to give us background information, and it's great to see that carry over to the movies.
- There's a brief shot of Draco Malfoy looking at himself in the mirror. It made me think he was questioning what he was doing. I wonder if the movie will explore Malfoy's work with the Death Eaters and how he feels about it. I hope so.
And what didn't I like? We have to wait until July 17th to see the movie instead of lining up in theaters on November 21st.

Technorati Tags: Harry Potter, Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling, trailer, Pensieve, Malfoy, November, July

NaNoWriMo: T-minus 29 days

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) started today. During November, people all over the world write original novels. The goal is 50,000 words by November 30th. It's quantity, word output, that matters, so participants have to hold their inner-editors back. They'll be plenty of time for revisions later so their task is just to write, write, write.

This is NaNoWriMo's tenth anniversary. I found out about the project a few years ago and would love to do it, but there's no way I could write that much in a month (and have it be a coherent story) and keep up with school. So count me out for now, but I'd love to join in on NaNoWriMo some time in the future. I'll be thinking of plots and characters in the mean time.

Good luck to everyone's who's participating!

Technorati Tags: NaNoWriMo, writing, novel, November

Lifehacker posts too much

I love Lifehacker and the vast range of topics it covers, but I'm tired of seeing 20+ posts in my RSS feeds on a daily basis. I'm not interested in every article that goes up, but I'm subscribed to every post. I barely pay attention to the headlines anymore as I scroll through Google Reader, and I rarely read more than 5 posts per week. Lifehacker has become exercise for my scroll wheel.

I did read one article today, but I found it when I visited the site--not through the RSS feed even though I'm sure it was in there today.

I unsubscribed just now, and I'll probably check the site a few times a week. No more clogging my feeds, though.

What I Want in a Blog

I'm currently subscribed to about 30 blogs in Google Reader. That's a lot to follow, but I don't read every post on every blog. Why not? For starters, I don't have that much time to spend reading blogs on a daily basis. I'm not interested in every post in my RSS feeds, and I don't read some posts simply because they're not useful to me.

Here are some things I look for in blogs, what I like and don't like. It's the difference between visiting the blog once and coming back to read every post.

Post enough to keep me interested and not much more

I generally prefer shorter posts. They take less time to read and the faster I can learn from them, the better. The other thing I look for is how the post is written. If there's a list or it's broken into parts, I'm more likely to read it even if it's more text. I can easily see what that post is about and read what I want from it. I don't need to dig through a block of text for one useful tip. I tend to skim long posts anyway, so I'm essentially reading a short post.

Frequency is also a factor in if I subscribe to a blog. I don't care if a blog posts once a day, a week, or a month as long as it's somewhat consistent. I like a steady stream of updates. Blogs that post multiple times a day are great, but I don't find their posts nearly as useful to me. Seeing 20 posts from one blog over the course of the day can be a turn off and I might unsubscribe.

Make your posts easy for me to read

Write descriptive titles and include relevant images. Break the text up into sections or make lists. Include links to what you're talking about so I can read more information about the topic. Use bold and italics and change the font size to make your post visually appealing.

Include the post's publish date

Nothing bugs me more than a hard-to-find publish date (or author for group blogs). The internet changes all the time, and new information is always available. I want to know how old the post I'm reading is. An old date won't put me off reading a post. I just want to determine if it's still useful (software updates and responses to news items, for example).

Think about the layout

I prefer stream-lined designs. I don't want flashy banners, auto-play videos, or background music. (I'll click the video when I want to watch it--no worries.) Don't crowd ads and posts together. Make sure the color scheme doesn't interfere with text readability, and please make sure the text is big enough to read. Nothing makes me leave a site faster than the likes of size 8 pink text on an orange background. Or worse--white text on a busy background image.

I like blogs that are reader-friendly. They don't bombard me with too many posts too fast and so I can actually enjoy what I read. The color scheme makes sense, the layout is organized, and there are enough updates to keep me interested.

These are my thoughts. What do you look for in blog posts? What makes you subscribe to a specific blog?

YouTube Binge

Also known as one of the reasons I haven't written a blog entry in two weeks despite having ideas for roughly 8 posts.

Every now and then, I go on a video binge and watch every video on an entire channel over the span of a few days (or sometimes all in one day). The first time this happened, I came across ItsJustSomeRandomGuy. He has a running series about Marvel and DC super heroes and villains using action figures, mini sets, and props, and he and his girlfriend voice all of the characters. RandomGuy voices Peter Parker and Joker particularly well, and he sings as the Green Goblin. I found his channel with 40 videos uploaded and watched them all in the span of two nights. Lots of time on YouTube, but well spent.

Then some time this past spring, I followed a suggestion to watch a Doctor Who-related video and ended up watching everything on littleradge's channel. He's funny, he's thoughtful, and he's a Doctor Who fan. What more can I ask for?

Earlier this week I was looking for clips from Blink, a Doctor Who episode from season 3, and found this awesome fan-made song which was posted as a response to Trock and I had no idea what that was, so of course I clicked. Turns out Trock is "Time Lord Rock," the equivalent of Wrock--"Wizard Rock," as in original fan-made music about the Harry Potter series. (Check out the Ministry of Magic for excellent examples.) So Trock is that but for Doctor Who and the term was coined by nerimon on YouTube. I've now watched about 70 of nerimon's videos over the course of 3 days...He and littleradge comment on everyday topics like movies, education, annoyances, and technology just to name a few.

Nerimon leads to charlieissocoollike and fiveawesomeguys which connect to fiveawesomegirls, but I don't have time to delve into all those videos. Maybe I will, though, since television doesn't offer much to look forward to anymore. I'm currently following two shows, but I'm more excited about Trock and new videos in my YouTube subscriptions.

5 Things I Love About Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles returned for a second season on FOX. The series has its ups and downs, but it has my attention. Set between the second and third Terminator movies, The Sarah Connor Chronicles explores Sarah's task to raise her son to lead mankind against the machines in the future. The series stars Lena Headey as Sarah Connor, Thomas Dekker as John Connor, Summer Glau as Cameron (a reprogrammed terminator future John sent back to help), and Brian Austin Green as Derek Reese. Here are 5 things that keep me interested in the series. (Minor spoilers for season 2, episodes 1 and 2)

Image from FOX

5) Sarah's in charge

I know we're in a post-Buffy era where strong female characters aren't so rare anymore, but regardless I enjoy how much of the series is about Sarah. It would have been easy to focus on John and his destiny, to watch the hero grow up (and that might also make for a good series), but instead we see how Sarah deals with what's going on. She can't provide a normal life for her son and she doesn't try to. Sarah is careful about trusting Cameron and she adjusts to working with Derek, a resistance fighter from the future. They all have different ways of doing things, but Sarah takes the lead. Sarah is one of the few fictional mothers that must put her son in harm's way for the greater good, and she doesn't shy away from that challenge.

4) Time travel

Time lines play a big part in the Terminator movies, and even though the writers use time travel in the show, they're smart about it. We're clear on who's from the future and from when and what they're doing in the present. Sarah, John, Derek, and Cameron are always working toward a better future, so we don't have a mess about altering the past to affect the present or the future. Time travel can be really confusing but the series keeps it clean.

3) Flashbacks of the future

This doesn't seem to make sense at first, but neither does "back to the future." We see glimpses of Derek's memories--his past, which means our future--and we also see random scenes from the future. Robot fights, resistance fighters taking out bases...They're a direct tie to the future depicted in the original Terminator movie.

2) Cameron isn't human

Summer Glau is so believable as a terminator. She's socially awkward, blunt in her comments, and always takes the efficient path rather than the compassionate one. She calculates her movements and her speech sounds unnatural at times. She's programmed to act the way she does, and it shows. The season 2 premiere showed us Cameron out of control, and as scary as that is, the insecure feeling that she could short circuit at any moment and attack John is even scarier. Glau may seem meek and unassuming, but she packs a lot of power into her role.

1) John Connor, strategist

John Connor's characterization hasn't been completely consistent throughout the series. Sometimes he needs his mother's protection, and sometimes he plays the rebellious teenager. He's been a peacekeeper but also the one to spark action. John's brilliant at times, and I love those moments when he shines, when I believe he will lead humankind against the machines. The first season finale showed John's intelligence through his plan to take out the AI traffic control network. We see John's training applied to how he talks to new people and how he moves in unfamiliar places. The Connors have a code of saying the date first when they talk call each other to ensure that a terminator isn't mimicking one of their voices over the phone. Simple things, but that's what makes their characters. I hope as the series goes on, we see John grow into an intelligent, strong leader.


Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles airs on FOX, Monday nights at 8:00 EST.

Technorati Tags: Fox, terminator, john, sarah, connor, chronicles, cameron, glau, dekker, headey

New Domain

Please update your bookmarks to www.digitalfare.net. If you don't, digitalfare.blogspot.com will still redirect here, but this site has a new home now. :)

Links

Here's a list of sites I like.

Entertainment

Supernatural.tv - The #1 fansite for the CW's Supernatural. Check out news, the gallery, interviews, media, and a huge messageboard.

The Movie Blog - Great site for movie news and reviews.

xkcd - Geeky web-comic that's updated every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

thesixtyone - Listen to new and upcoming bands...lots of indie stuff. The whole site is a huge multiplayer game. You can "bump" (give points to) songs you like and the songs with the most points show up on the homepage. You can make playlists, comment, and earn points to play even more. Some bands offer free downloads and you can buy mp3s through Amazon.com. Check out my profile on thesixtyone.com.

Resources

Problogger - Great resource for advice on maintaining your blog. Lots of info, lots to read.

Blogger Buster - Another great resource for bloggers. Check out template collections and tutorials.

Lifehacker - Tips on organizing your life and becoming more efficient.

stck.xchng - A huge resource of free stock images.

Other Sites

Weekend Roundup

Three sites this week. Can you tell I've been busy?

50 Ways to Take Your Blog to the Next Level - Tips about hosting your site, writing content, and advertising. (chrisbrogan.com)

Heroes Season 3 Promos - The new promo shots for NBC's Heroes look awesome!

Sarah Connor Rocks Your Head - A look at FOX's returning series, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

What did you find this week?

Weekend Roundup

5 Creepiest, Scariest TV Monsters - Monsters from Doctor Who and Buffy the Vampire Slayer are both on the list. (Pop Vultures)

11 Free Mind Mapping Applications and Web Services - I've tried mind mapping with a few of my college courses this semester. I prefer to do it by hand, but these services will come in handy too. (Lifehack)

Captions Coming to YouTube - You can now add captions or subtitles to YouTube videos. Not to be confused with YouTube's annotations that allow you to include notes in your videos, like VH1's Pop-Up Video. (The Blog Herald)

The Faces Behind the Voices - Photos of popular cartoons and the people behind the characters. Did you know the same man voiced Yoda and Miss Piggy? (A Little Bit of Everything)

Find any good sites this week?

Superman Reboot Update

The Movie Blog posted about Mark Millar writing the next Superman movie. Epic trilogy like Lord of the Rings? I'm definitely interested. I'm not familiar with Millar's work, but he's done a lot with comics and superheroes in the past. The comments at the Movie Blog are mostly favorable, so that's something.

A three-part Superman movie could work really well. I'd love to see Superman deal with one or two major villains throughout the movies. As I've said before, Lex Luthor shouldn't be the main adversary, but I wouldn't mind seeing him in a sub-plot.

The first movie shouldn't spend too much time on Superman's origins. Make it brief if it needs to be included at all, and them move on. The 1978 Superman film did the origin story really well. We saw Krypton explode and Clark's journey to Earth during the opening credits. Then we glimpsed Smallville and the Kents, but the bulk of the movie was about Superman in Metropolis.

I hope Millar stays away from time travel in the new movies. Spinning Earth backward to reverse time and save Lois was cool only the first time around, even though it's a ridiculous concept. Clark better not find a way to go back in time and see Krypton either and encounter his infant self (a la Smallville's season 7 finale). Oh, and please no amnesia kiss.

Check out the Movie Blog's post on Millar's involvement in the Superman movie(s) and you can see the full article at /Film.

Technorati Tags: Superman, Mark Millar, movies, reboot

Dr. Horrible's Soundtrack

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along blog was a huge hit in July, and several sites are still talking about it. The soundtrack was released today on iTunes. It has 14 songs, including the 10-second instrumental bit at the beginning of each act and the ending credits. You can see the liner notes and lyrics at drhorrible.com.

"Bad Horse Chorus" is catchy, "My Eyes" is bittersweet, and "Slipping" is menacing. The lyrics are clever, and the music will get stuck in your head.

I've had the songs repeating in my mind all week, and that's before the soundtrack and without re-watching Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. It's Horribly delightful.

Technorati Tags: Dr. Horrible, Whedon, soundtrack, lyrics

Weekend Roundup

Just a few this week.

No Heroics - Trailer for an upcoming UK television series about superheroes who are off-duty (The Movie Blog)

Wii Fit Parody - YouTube video that questions the effectiveness of Wii Fit's exercise programs

The WB.com - A few years ago, the WB television station merged with UPN to create the CW.  The WB channel is back, but this time on the internet.  You can watch select episodes of Buffy, Smallville, Everwood, and other WB shows for free with commercials.

Doctor Who movie - Speculation on the possibility of a Doctor Who movie (The Movie Blog)

How to draw anything (in 1 step) - Funny tutorial on drawing (Aviary)

 

Did you find any good sites this week? 

Weekend Roundup

A sampling of sites I saw this week:

 

2081 - Trailer for a movie based on Kurt Vonnegut's short story Harrison Bergeron.  I first read this story in 7th grade, and while I love it, I don't know if there's enough material in it for a full movie.

Iron Man 2 - News on the Iron Man sequel (The Movie Blog)

TheWB.com - The WB is launching a site this week where you can watch past WB shows as well as some new web shows (RedEye)

Death of Star Wars - Comments on Star Wars: The Clone Wars and how it deviates from the spirit of the original trilogy (The Movie Blog)

Top 10 YouTube Hacks - List of YouTube tips and tricks (Lifehacker)

Fantastic Contraption - Game where you design a vehicle or system to move an object to its goal.  Some of the higher levels are very tricky/frustrating.  Warning:  you may spend a lot of time on this.

Flow - Simple flash game where you drift around in the ocean and eat organisms

Write Better Web Content - 21 tips for improving your online writing, blogger or not (Dumb Little Man)

What Makes for a Good Blog? - Merlin Mann lists his opinion of the necessary qualities (43folders)

Desktop Blogging Tools - Reviews for 15 blogging tools (Smashing Magazine)

9 Tips to Get the Most Out of Social Media - What the title says (Stepcase Lifehack)

 

What interesting or useful sites did you come across this week?  Share your links in the comments.

Warner Bros. Announces Superman Reboot and Future DC Movie Plans

Comic books fans received exciting news today with Warner Bros. announcement of its plans for future DC comic book movies.

The good news is Warner Bros. will be adopting the Marvel model of introducing characters one by one, each in their own films. This means a Superman reboot (likely no Bryan Singer and no Brandon Routh) as well as more superhero movies including the Green Lantern, Flash, Wonder Woman, and Green Arrow. Then there'll be multi-character films. Hello live-action Justice League! (It's a dream come true.)

I'm happy the next Superman movie won't have to deal with the mistakes in Superman Returns (such as the kid!), but I'm disappointed that they're scrapping the whole movie and starting over. I wanted a solution between reboot and sequel. I thought Brandon Routh was a brilliant choice for Superman and his Clark Kent was perfectly mild-mannered. Routh had a difficult job of wearing the suit and cape on the big screen after Christopher Reeve, and the next actor to take the role will have the added pressure of rebooting the franchise.

The makers of the 1978 Superman film wanted an unknown actor to be the title character and they got Christopher Reeve, probably one of the best casting choices in film history. Bryan Singer kept that philosophy for Superman Returns, and I wonder if Warner Bros. will continue that for the upcoming comic book films. Do we need unknown (or little known) actors to portray popular superheroes or is it better to get popular actors for the roles? What do you think?

Check out The Movie Blog for more info on the WB's and DC's plans, and you can read the full article at comingsoon.net.

Technorati Tags: Superman,Superman Returns,reboot,DC,WB,Warner Bros.,comics,superheroes,movies

Superman movie: Reboot or Sequel?

The Movie Blog posted about the future of Superman in theaters. The studio's taking their time deciding on what to do next--reboot the franchise or make a sequel to Superman Returns (SR). Superman fans have mixed reactions to SR. Character portrayals, casting choices, and the plot have all been debated over the past two years since the movie came out. The one thing most people agree on is that Superman shouldn't have a son. ("The kid needs to go!" and variations of the same thought appear all over fansites.)

I liked Superman Returns. It's by no means an incredible comic book movie, but it has its moments. It has awesome visual effects--the falling plane, the earthquake, and the moment when Superman bursts through the clouds into the sunlight are stunning scenes. The trailer is proof enough of what a beautiful film it is. Take a look:

I don't want a reboot or a sequel. I want a do-over. Consider SR non-existent as far as the plot goes, but keep some of the same things. I liked the musical score, and I want Bryan Singer to direct the next Superman movie. The visual look of Superman Returns is all thanks to him. Write a better script, and don't let the director have so much control over the story.

Despite what some people think of Brandon Routh's ability to pull off Superman and Clark Kent, I want to see him in the next Superman film. Give him more lines to work with. Routh obviously imitated Christopher Reeve's portrayal of Superman, and that's okay but I'd like to see a new interpretation. Let Routh flex his talent. Give us a dorky Clark Kent and a noble Superman without copying past incarnations.

I like Kevin Spacey's take on Lex Luthor, but Lex shouldn't be the main villain in the next Superman movie. Enough of Lex Luthor and his "affinity for beachfront property." It was amusing in the 1978 film but now it's overdone. Let Superman deal with Bizarro, Brainaic, Darkseid, or Doomsday instead.

I do want to see someone else as Lois Lane. Nothing against Kate Bosworth, but she's not right for the part. I don't know if it was her or the script in Superman Returns, but it didn't work. I'd love to see Erica Durance (Lois from Smallville) in the next Superman movie as Lois Lane. She portrays an independent, smart, and strong Lois. It's far from SR's Lois who needs to date her editor's nephew and use him to get what she wants at the Daily Planet. Lois Lane has always been the model of an independent, working woman. She doesn't need anyone's help to be the top reporter at the Daily Planet.

We don't need another origin story for the most popular superhero ever. Please don't use Kryptonite as a cop out, and seeing Jonathan Kent would be a welcomed treat. I just want an entertaining, smart Superman film that stays true to the original characters.

Technorati Tags: Superman, Bryan Singer, Superman Returns, movies, reboot, sequel

Weekend Roundup

Between Google Reader, StumbleUpon, Digg, and Delicious, I see a lot of web sites and read about various topics. So here's my idea: As I'm browsing during the week, I'll keep track of the more interesting content that I find and then I'll post a list with a few remarks on the weekend.

It depends on how much free time I spend online (and me remembering to keep track of sites), so this might not be a weekly thing. With that said, here's my first Weekend Roundup. If you haven't come across these sites, dig in! This is Digital Fare, after all.

The Empire Poster Quiz - Empire has a collection of letters cropped from movie posters. You guess which movie title each letter is from. I got 9 right. How many do you know? (Don't cheat!)

14 Ways to Use Twitter Politely - The Morning News posted this article about the Dos and Don'ts of Twittering with tips about responding to messages, keeping some conversations private, and promoting your own blogs or services. I'm not on Twitter yet (I say "yet," because I've accepted that I will sign up for Twitter at some point), but this is a nice list for any Twitterer to read.

Half-Blood Prince Delayed - Several sites, The Movie Blog included, posted news this week that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, originally premiering in November, has been delayed until summer 2009. Potter fans are disappointed, of course, and The Movie Blog briefly commented on why this might be a bad move for Warner Brothers.

Madagascar 3 - So I have The Movie Blog in my RSS feeds. The sequel to the Dreamsworks film isn't out yet, but here's news on part 3. Madagascar was okay...not a movie I want to see again. Must we have sequels to mediocre movies? No new ideas for animated films? Really?

How to think faster, better on your feet - CNN posted an article about applying improv techniques to real life situations. I found the article through Lifehacker.

Top 10 How To Videos - Lifehacker's list of tutorial videos covers a range of topics including buying cars, Photoshopping photos, and boosting Wi-Fi signals. The Photoshop video is my favorite on the list.

Search Any Website From Within Firefox's Address Bar - This post on Fabworker explains how to search sites using Firefox's address bar in one step instead of going to site and using its search box. Cool feature for Firefox 3.

Better Blogging - Men With Pens has a huge resource list for bloggers with advice, how tos, and explanations of blog-related topics.

30 Books Everyone Should Read Before Their 30th Birthday - Great list of literature to work through. I've read 5 books on the list and parts from a few others.

Did you come across any good sites this past week? Something helpful, funny, or unexpected? Feel free to post your links in the comments.

Hancock had a good premise

I wasn't very interested in seeing Hancock, but it wasn't a waste of time. It started off as an interesting, original superhero film. John Hancock (played by Will Smith) has superpowers but a bad reputation with the public. Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman) is a public relations executive who offers to reinvent Hancock's image after Hancock saves his life. Charlize Theron plays Mary, Ray's wife. Major plot spoilers below the image.

I like the idea of a superhero who helps out but doesn't really care about others. Hancock saves people and stops disasters, but he doesn't make it nice and tidy. He wrecks buildings and he causes traffic jams. It's a nice change from Superman creating fine-tuned order out of chaos. (Watch the scene in Superman Returns where Superman zips around Metropolis during the earthquake, blasting broken glass with his heat vision and catching falling parts of buildings before they hit the pedestrians on the street below. It's cool and only Superman could pull that off, but it's too neat.) Granted, we don't know why Hancock even bothers, but it's nice to see a super-powered person who gets his hands dirty.

The movie could have stayed on that thread--a superhero who needs to reinvent his image, who needs to have a better reputation with the public and answer to the damages he causes. It's similar to that guy suing Mr. Incredible for saving him when he didn't want to be saved. It can be comical and it's different. It makes you think about how superheroes would function in the real world. Will Smith could have easily pulled that off, but even he couldn't make the rest of Hancock entertaining.

It should have ended with the new and improved Hancock, polite and available to lend a helping hand in his spiffy suit. The movie drags on though. The lame mythos, the soap-opera side-plot between Hancock and Mary (lost lovers with a dash of amnesia mixed in) and the forced sacrifices the characters have to make feel like excuses to have a few fight scenes and blood.

Hancock deserves some credit for a different take on superhero movies, but the last third of the movie should have been cut.

Technorati Tags: Hancock

Dr. Horrible on Imacynic

I have an article up on imacynic about Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. It's a blend of my Dr. Horrible posts here with some new/updated stuff. Click here to read it.

My friend Jamie runs imacynic.org, "literature for the eclectic and affluent geek." I'm a contributing writer, and so far my articles have been about television and movies with the exception of one about Post Secret and Flickr. Be sure to check out his site (especially the Dark Knight content)!

Technorati tags: imacynic, drhorrible, Whedon

Sci Fi Wire's Top 10 Canceled Shows

Sci Fi Wire posted a list of 10 sci-fi television shows that were canceled after their first season, before the general audience had a chance to see their awesomeness.

I was surprised to see Eerie, Indiana at #10. I used to watch that Saturday mornings, and it was a nice pairing with Goosebumps. I was not surprised to see Firefly at #1. It's one of the few shows that got its huge following after it was canceled.

I noticed half the shows on the list were on FOX. Just saying.

Technorati Tags: television, canceled, scifi

Supernatural Fandom: United We're Boring

Image from SPNmedia

It's summer time, most TV shows are on hiatus, and that means there's not much to talk about on fansites. It happens every year: forum participation goes down and new threads stop popping up. Take away new episodes, plug the constant flow of spoilers, and hardcore Supernatural fans will do one of two things: argue about Sam's place in the series or complain about Dean's role on the show.

Supernatural is one of the few shows that has a main cast of two people. Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki star as Dean and Sam Winchester (respectively). Fans tend to favor one brother over the other, so all summer long, it's the fall-back conversation. Who's the better hunter? Which brother is a better brother? Which brother has more fans (and which fan group is the best)? Back and forth, the same stuff over and over again. It's not centralized to one place-- the CW's forums, Supernatural.tv, even IMDB's messageboard--have had their share of redundant discussions that often turn to heated arguments.

Supernatural's fandom has that kind of loyalty and dedication because there are only two main characters. Attaching to one is easy, and pitting Dean and Sam against each other is even easier to do.

Imagine if the same thing happened in another fandom. Take Heroes for example. Who's your favorite? The choices are Hiro, Ando, Claire, Mr. Bennet, Peter, Nathan, Matt, Isaac, Sylar, Jessica/Niki, Micah, DL, Mohinder...and still more. The number of characters splinters the fandom, and in this case, that's a good thing. Even if one character has a huge following, chances are it won't be overpowering. Fans of the other characters keep each group in check, and it's less likely one following will be dominant.

It's a different story with Supernatural, though. Two characters, two followings, and they're head to head with few new topics to discuss.

We still have six weeks until season 4 starts.

Technorati tags: Supernatural, television, fandom

And so it starts

Welcome to Digital Fare, now that I'm set up, more or less.

Officially, this blog starts this week, but you'll notice there are blog entries on here dated from April through July 2008. I kept their original post dates of those entries from my first blog and I thought their content fit here.

My plan is to post about topics related to the media (movies, tv), internet, and entertainment. Digital Fare as in "something offered to the public, for entertainment, enjoyment, consumption, etc."

Thank you for reading, and I hope you visit often!

About

Welcome to Digital Fare, a blog about movies, television, and internet media. I'm Kali and I've been blogging since September 2004, but Digital Fare started in August 2008. (I posted about random topics on my first blog, and some of the last posts there grew into this blog.) I'm currently studying media and communication in college, and I use this blog as an informal way to write about my interest in media.

Where else can you find me?

You can follow me on Twitter or check out what I'm listening to on Uvumi. I post things I find amusing and/or like on Tumblr. I have a short fiction blog called Flicker in the Night. I was the forum administrator on Supernatural.tv from October 2005 to February 2009 and I still stick around there because old habits die hard.

If you'd like to contact me, you can do so through my tumblr.  There, you can send me questions, suggestions, or get in touch.  If you'd like me to respond to you personally, please include your contact information in your message.

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Please subscribe to Digital Fare by clicking the orange button on top of the sidebar if you like the content on this blog. The RSS feed is freely provided by Feedburner. (If you're unfamiliar with RSS, please check out whatisrss.com.)

About the site

Digital Fare uses a free template, LightWord, from Deluxe Templates. Digital Fare is hosted by Blogger and looks best in Firefox. All images on the blog are hosted by PhotoBucket. The Follow Me Twitter badge in the sidebar is from Design Mirkku.

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Al Gore Places Infant Son In Rocket To Escape Dying Planet

Al Gore...Gore-Al = Jor-El...Get it?

Every now and then, I love the Onion.

"He will be faster than a speeding Prius, stronger than the existing Superfund program, and able to leap mountains of red tape in a single bound. These superpowers will sustain him in his never-ending battle against conservatives, wealthy industrialists, and other environmental supervillains."

A job at Daily Planet for our young hero seems like the perfect fit.

Read the article | digg story

Technorati tags: Superman, Al, Gore

Dr. Horrible back on Hulu

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is back up on Hulu.com. Go watch it if you missed it the first time around, and of course, it's there to re-watch. :)

Technorati tags: drhorrible, hulu

Dr. Horrible's End

I watched Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog in its entirety one more time last night, and I'm still not sure about the ending.

I like seeing Dr. Horrible being, well, horrible. The last song in Act II sets him up to go after Captain Hammer, and that's exactly what he does. Neil Patrick Harris' singing is excellent throughout the show, but his song after freezing Captain Hammer is chilling and menacing. I love it because we see Dr. Horrible as a full-fledged villain--not a bumbling mad scientist regularly beat up after botched heists.

Penny's death, however, feels like a let down. I understand the innocent bystander gets hit idea, and her death is what propels Dr. Horrible into the Evil League of Evil. Acts I and II make Penny likable enough, but her character comes across as being weak. She's timid, hesitant, and quiet. Sarah Dobbs pointed out that you even have to strain to hear Penny when she's singing alongside Dr. Horrible or Captain Hammer (both of whose words are much easier to pick out). It's not an act, there is no twist--that's how Penny's character is. I'm sad when she dies at the end, but I don't care as much as maybe I should.

We find out plenty about Dr. Horrible. His personality, his desires, and his problems are on display the entire time. Captain Hammer, while not a likable guy, is a strong character. Penny's just...there. Dr. Horrible has a crush on her. Captain Hammer wants to irritate Dr. Horrible by dating her. Penny wants to help out the city by converting an old building to a homeless shelter, but she needs Captain Hammer's influence to get the building. So when she dies I'm sad, but not that sad. Dr. Horrible has my sympathy at the end, when he puts on a confident face for the League and then back at home, we see he's grief-stricken over losing Penny.

If you haven't seen Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, I suggest you check it out some time. (Now it's only available on iTunes.) Joss Whedon's intentions aren't completely clear, but the acting and singing is superb nonetheless.

Technorati Tags: drhorrible, Penny, death

Whedon's Dr. Horrible is simply wonderful

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is a mini-series starring Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother, Doogie Howser, M.D.) and Nathan Fillion (Firefly). It's an internet-only thing made of up three acts. You can see Acts I and II at drhorrible.com and Act III will be up Saturday. The idea came out of the writers' strike standstill when Joss Whedon (creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly...and Dollhouse coming this fall) wanted to make something significant with less money and no major studios.

And so we get this wonderful, funny, quirky musical comedy. Dr. Horrible (played by Neil Patrick Harris) is a sub-par villain with a crush on a girl he sees at the laundry mat. Captain Hammer (Nathan Fillion) is the superhero of the story, but he's not necessarily a nice guy.

The music's good, and the story's entertaining. Thank you, Mr. Whedon, for giving us something to look forward to in the middle of the summer.

You can watch it for free online until Sunday night. Then you can get it off iTunes or on DVD later on.

Technorati Tags: drhorrible, Whedom, musical, comedy

The Joker is the best villain

Every comic book movie features a villain or two to challenge the hero, and this summer everyone's looking forward to Heath Ledger's Joker in The Dark Knight. We know he's creepy, we know he's crazy, but what makes the Joker such a good villain? Let's take a look at a few other villains and see how they stand up next to the Joker. (Note that I'm going by the villains' portrayal in movies and on TV rather than in comic books. If they're drastically different in the comics, please feel free to leave a comment about it.)

First up, Lex Luthor--Superman's archenemy. Luthor doesn't have any superpowers, but he has a lot of money and he's really smart. That's a bad combination for a guy who has it in for the Man of Steel. (Notice it's the same combination that Bruce Wayne has, except he becomes Batman.) Luthor's motivation for doing bad things varies depending on what you're watching, but Lex is always after more power and more money. He attacks Superman because Superman is the one person that consistently gets in his way, one of the few people who are always suspicious of Lex and therefore keep a closer eye. Lex might be jealous of Superman's power, and there's also a less prevalent reason--maybe Lex sees it as his duty to keep Superman in check, to keep Superman from having too much power and influence on Earth. Whatever his reason, Lex is a definite threat, and he's got guts to go up against Superman, and to do it multiple times.

Step over to the Marvel sides of comics, and we have a different kind of villain in Magneto. He leads the Brotherhood and counters Professor Xavier's X-Men. Professor X and the X-Men (the good guys) want equality for mutants. Magneto wants to go further and live in a world where mutants are superior to humans. So a struggle begins between two world views. Magneto is less of an in-your-face villain (like Green Goblin, for example), and prefers rather to work in the background. In the first X-Men movie, he sets up his apparatus to change humans into mutants in the Statue of Liberty, and he plans it unnoticed. He believes he's making progress, but really he's forcing his ideas on everyone else. Like Lex, he has a reason for everything he does, and he does have a definite goal in mind.

Sylar on NBC's Heroes is yet another type of villain. His only motivation is more power, and he gains it by killing other people to get their superhuman abilities. He has no purpose except to collect as many abilities as he can. This might make him a simple villain, but still a dangerous one because he can't be satisfied. He will always want more power.

So what's the Joker's motivation? I would argue that he doesn't have one, and that makes him the perfect villain. He sets bombs, he steals things, and he hurts people for no reason. You could say he's cultivating power and influence by building on people's fear of him, but then what would he use that influence for? The Joker doesn't have a reason for what he does, and so he will never have a reason to stop.

I've yet to see how Ledger's Joker compares to past incarnations, but going by the movie trailers, maybe the Joker's motivation is to counter Batman. Maybe he wants to take Batman off the streets so criminals can have free reign. He says, "This town deserves a better class of criminal." I say that's exactly what the Joker gave Gotham.

Sleep in on Saturdays

A decade ago, kids eagerly woke up early on Saturday mornings (7-8 o'clock early). They grabbed a bowl of cereal (preferably something with a lot of sugar) and sat down on their couches excited to see new episodes of their favorite cartoons. Even teenagers had a few shows to look forward to. TV was broken down into 30 minute slots. ABC, FOX, the WB, and NBC all offered a variety of Saturday morning programming, and we had to make difficult decisions about what to watch and when. Series such as Looney Tunes, Animaniacs, Batman, Spiderman, and even the Power Rangers offered pure entertainment. These shows were smart, funny, and a perfect way to relax after a week of school work.

Kids aren't as excited for Saturday morning TV anymore. Besides the steady decline of quality American television series, networks are putting less new programming on Saturday mornings. You can always catch an episode of the tenth (or so) Power Rangers spin-off, but you'll find a lot of reruns (especially of the Disney variety).

Switch over to cable, to Nickelodeon's Saturday morning schedule, and Spongebob Squarepants is on for at least an hour. Prepare for dumb-downed humor and annoying nasal voices…Reruns are likely too, since like other networks, Nickelodeon doesn't save the good stuff for Saturday mornings anymore. Disney and Nickelodeon both air new programming during the week now. Saturday morning TV has become Rerun Land.

But I don't want to talk about reruns. I want to discuss the decline in children's television--and not the education stuff. Just entertainment.

The 1990s brought back Looney Tunes and introduced a few new Warner Brothers cartoons. We had Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, but also Wacko, Yakko, and Dot on the Animaniacs. Tweety and Sylvester had their own show and so did Pinky and the Brain. Simple and pleasant animation, bright colors, witty characters, and a full orchestra produced all the music.

I realize a lot of 90s kids' show were violent. Elmer Fudd carried a rifle and shot Daffy Duck. Wile E. Coyote suffered all sort of injuries from falling Acme anvils, and Wacko regularly swung his giant wooden mallet. Somehow, though, that violence didn't stick. Daffy always pieced himself back together and Wile E. always popped up after flattening to the ground.

Maybe kids got the message that violence wasn't permanent, or maybe they were detached enough from the shows they watched to know it wasn't real. They knew cartoon characters couldn't be hurt but people definitely could.

Either way, humor and storylines balanced out the violence well enough that it wasn't a major issue. The result: Saturday morning cartoons were something children, teens, and adults could all enjoy. The slapstick humor in Animaniacs made kids giggle while adults picked up on the pop culture references. Batman had the superhero appeal for kids and the mature, developed storylines for adults. Can we still say that about current shows geared toward kids? Look at most of Disney's and Nickelodeon's programming, and your answer will be a forceful No. Even if you're able to tolerate an episode or two, by the end of the week you'll be sick of the trite storylines, the flat characterization, and the similarities among all the shows.

Come Saturday, you won't want to wake up to that kind of stale programming. You'll want a break from weekday series, something different and unique to kick off your weekend. I'm sorry, but you won't find it unless you invest in 90s cartoons DVD sets.

Marvel and DC Movies

Since I saw Iron Man last week, I've been thinking about a few differences between Marvel and DC comic book movies. I like movies from both and I'm not saying one side is necessarily better than the other.

For the sake of brevity and to keep me from rambling too much, I'm not counting sequels. The Dark Knight comes out in July and Spiderman and X-Men both had successful sequels. But I'm not talking about those--just the first installments.

Here's the list of why I think Marvel is more willing to take risks but still respects the comic book origins of its characters.

1) Marvel jump-started the superhero movie genre with X-Men.

I think most people consider Spiderman the beginning of the current trend of comic book movies because it was so successful, but mutants were in theaters two years earlier with X-Men in 2000. We had the Superman movies in the late 70s and early 80s, and Marvel brought back spandexed heroes in the 21st century.

2) It's okay to change the costume, but be sensible.

Brandon Routh's Superman and Tobey Maguire's Spiderman donned darker colored suits than their traditional bright costumes, and that worked out well. Hugh Jackman's wardrobe went a step further by replacing Wolverine's yellow suit with black leather. This change might have offended classic fans, but it was a smart move. Silver-screen Wolverine in sunshine yellow just wouldn't have been as intimidating. Or nearly as cool. Marvel knows when comic book and cartoon colors won't translate to real life.

Click for larger images

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3) Main characters can be serious and funny in the same movie. Really.

Every comic book movie to date has its bright and dark moments, but I think Marvel does a better job of balancing the two sides. Peter Parker's geekiness and the younger X-Mens' lack of control add some comic relief to their movies. "But wait," you say, "Clark Kent's dorky. That's funny sometimes." That's not enough. You need smart, funny dialogue. A broad sense of humor that appeals to a lot of people.

Iron Man has it: Tony Stark's snarky, sarcastic personality, his flops in developing the suit, his quirky robots. Comedic timing in there throughout the movie.

Sure, Clark's a dork, but I'm not laughing when he gets stabbed with Kryptonite seconds after Lex mocks him. I am, however, cheering on Iron Man even as he's fighting a machine 3 times his size. Batman Begins has it's moments, but I mostly remember rain, sewers, and Batman's cape billowing across the screen. Uplifting moments have to stick out if you're going to remember a movie's light-heartedness.

4) Changing minor things is okay, but please leave major aspects of the character alone.

I can make this point brief. Giving Spiderman organic webbing is (arguably) cool. Giving Superman an illegitimate son is (definitely) not.

5) You can appeal to more than superhero fans. (Yes, it can be done.)

Marvel movies do a great job with giving the audience a brief origin story and necessary background information with plenty of time left for an awesome movie made of action scenes, character development, suspense, humor, and a little romance. We see Peter Parker get bitten by the spider, and then he gets his powers. Does the movie have to tell us how his parents died? No, so it doesn't. Tony Stark builds his iron suit while being held captive, but we don't hear anything about his mother (and that's okay). We meet the heroes and then they're off to save citizens and fight crime.

DC has a different method. We see Bruce Wayne watch his parents' murder. We see he's afraid of bats, and he becomes Batman to overcome his fear and fight crime in Gotham. That's really great, but is all of that introduction necessary? Even with the movie reigniting the franchise? I don't know. I would have been fine going into the movie knowing this Batman was slightly different from past incarnations. I wouldn't need multiple scenes to explain it to me. Then there's Superman Returns. Good fun if you're a long-time Superman fan and enjoy spotting all the references to past incarnations of the Man in Steel. The film's crew obviously spent a lot of time working those references in, but that work will be appreciated only by a small audience who already loved Superman. What good are those homages to the casual viewer?

The scene where Superman catches Kitty's speeding car is well-shot and exciting. But how many people know that Superman's stance as he lowers the car to the street is a throwback to Action Comics 1, the first comic book in which Superman appeared?

Or for another example, how many people saw the bartender near the beginning of the film and thought he looked familiar? Superman fans know the actor is Jack Larson, and he portrayed Jimmy Olsen in the 1950s live-action Adventures of Superman series (with George Reeves as Superman/Clark Kent).

Those bits in the movie are great for existing Superman fans, but the general audience doesn't care. Superman Returns is a decent movie on its own, but there are several confusing things in the plot-holed script. What's going on with Superman's son? Since when does Perry have a nephew (involved with Lois)? Is the Fortress of Solitude broken? More knowledgeable fans can guess answers to these questions, but everyone else is lost.

6) Marvel makes movies for its lesser-known heroes.

DC have given us Batman and Superman, and that's great. But everyone knows Batman and Superman, so their movies both had a pretty good chance at success. Marvel, however, takes its chances with lesser known characters (or at least looks past its most popular franchises). Marvel gave us the X-Men, Spiderman, and the Hulk, but it also gave us Daredevil, the Fantastic 4, and Iron Man.

DC could risk a little more. They've got Green Arrow, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Hawk Girl, Green Lantern...all those characters have potential to be great movies. So where are they? I really want to see a live-action Batman Beyond. With Inque. Hey, I can have high hopes.

Comic book movies are in right now, and they're successful at the box office among a broad audience. Marvel seems to know what its doing with its characters. I'd like to see DC step up and give us more characters, smart (and tidy) plots, action, and humor. The films can be deep and thoughtful at times, but really, I want to be entertained. Give me super-powered escapism and I'll enjoy every minute of it.

Superman Returns screencaps are from Follow Tomorrow.


Technorati tags: Superman, Ironman, Marvel, DC, comics, movies, Batman, X-Men, superheroes

Michael Rosenbaum moves out of Smallville

Michael Rosenbaum (Lex Luthor) won't be a season regular for next year. (Smallville fans should already know this). In contrast to Gene Hackman's menacing but comical Lex in the 1978 Superman movie (which is also entertaining, but for other reasons), Rosenbaum's Lex is intelligent, approachable yet threatening. Lex's character was written better in earlier seasons, but Rosenbaum has continued to bring depth, sympathy, and believability to his character.

I don't know how they're going to write Lex out of Smallville. It's not like the writers can send him to Metropolis. Clark, Lois, and Chloe already spend a lot of time in the city.

This excerpt from the article is interesting:

In season eight, Clark will face his ultimate challenge with the appearance of the legendary, unstoppable destroyer Doomsday, who appears on Smallville for the first time. As comic book fans know, Doomsday is notorious for being the only character in the DC Comics universe to have killed Superman.

I don't read comics, but I did see the animated Superman: Doomsday film that came out last year. The movie was entertaining enough, and the battle between Superman and Doomsday was epic. If a full-fledged Superman died at the hands of Doomsday, what exactly is Smallville's Clark supposed to do? He doesn't know how to fly yet. He has some experience fighting super-powered villains, but he hasn't gone up against anyone near Doomsday's level. I'm not sure the show can pull it off unless they fast-forward ten years or so.

Technorati Tags: Rosenbaum, Smallville, Superman, television, Doomsday

Summer Superhero Movies

The New York Magazine posted an article about this summer's four superhero movies--Iron Man, The Dark Knight, The Incredible Hulk, and Hellboy 2--and speculated on which ones may not live up to the hype.

Here's my take.

Iron Man looks pretty good. Fun, lots of action, bits of humor. I don't know much about the superhero but if the trailers are anything to go by, this looks like perfect summer entertainment.

The Dark Knight will undoubtedly be good, but probably more dark and creepy than shiny fun. I liked Christian Bale's portrayal of Bruce Wayne/Batman in Batman Begins (even with the ninja tendencies), and everyone knows Heath Ledger is phenomenal as the Joker.

It's really too soon to remake the Hulk, and The Incredible Hulk doesn't look that compelling. It might have a better story, and the Hulk isn't supposed to keep getting bigger as the movie progresses, but those are the only two good things I'm aware of. Besides that, I don't know that many people take the Hulk seriously. It's a lot more fun to watch the animated grumbling Hulk who can barely piece sentences together and enjoys smashing whatever he can.

Hellboy 2...I didn't know there was a first one. I haven't heard much about this movie, and I just found out today that Guillermo del Toro directed it (also directed Pan's Labyrinth and El Espinazo del Diablo). I think that's a problem--not a lot of people know about it. Good story, good acting or not, it doesn't matter if no one goes to see it.

Technorati Tags: Ironman, Batman, Hulk, Hellboy, movies, summer

Internet Distractions

For all the necessary, useful activities we use the internet for (researching essays, communicating with faraway friends...), we also have access to unlimited distractions. Some are consistent. You have to check Facebook every ten minutes to see if someone wrote on your wall. You want a twenty minute break from work, so you play a few levels of Bejeweled.

The fact that these distractions are so easy to access makes it difficult to keep a steady work pace. (Your favorite forum is only a few clicks away in a separate tab, after all.) Outside of self control, though, we have a few options. There are programs out there that you can use to self-block yourself from specific web sites. Lifehacker recently featured an article on LeechBlock, a small application that lets you set which sites you want to block, on which days, and at what times.

That works great if you put off work by visiting a handful of sites. You can keep yourself away from LiveJournal, GoogleNews, and Yahoo!Games--whatever you use to procrastinate. For me though, specific sites aren't an issue. I get bored of social-networking sites (like Facebook and LiveJournal) fairly easily, so even if I check them before I dig into an assignment, I won't spend much time on those sites. Same thing with online gaming sites--they can hold my attention only for so long.

And then I look for something else. I find a new blog or a random article. I even take a break from web-surfing to reorganize files on my computer (or my bookmarks, which I sorted through for forty minutes the other night).

Blocking yourself may be of some help, but really, it's up to the person to focus on work instead of procrastinating. I'm not much of a help to myself when it comes to buckling down and getting to work, though. I just downloaded StumbleUpon, and I love it! It's a toolbar application that not only brings up random web sites, but finds ones tailored to your interests. Then you give sites a thumbs up or thumbs down to tell StumbleUpon more about what you want to see. The more you stumble, the better the sites match your interests...Because I needed another way to avoid writing essays and such.

Technorati tags: internet, Lifehacker, distractions, StumbleUpon

Good News For Smallville

Miles Millar and Alfred Gough, the creators and executive producers of Smallville, have announced their resignation and so will not be involved in season 8. Mania.com posted their open letter in which they thank everyone involved in Smallville and talk about how proud they are of the show.

What makes this good news? Other shows' fans might be concerned when the show's creators step down, but in Smallville's case, this is exactly what the fans have been wishing for. Millar and Gough deserve credit for rethinking Clark Kent's teenage years and creating an intelligent, well-written series that explored Clark's discovery of who he is and his journey to become Superman. But that all went down the drain after season 3.

Season 3 is perhaps the most compelling year for Smallville, but it carried darker themes and story arcs, so Millar and Gough promised an upbeat season 4. That promise translated to shallow plots and even worse uses of Kryptonite (Kryptonite Gatorade and plastic surgery??). Clark and Lana continued their off and on relationship and three years later, that pairing is still central to the show (and now we have Kryptonite-laced gum). Season 5 hinted at a move to Clark and Lois, but then Lana faked her death and moved onto the Kent farm (do I smell soap opera?), and here were are back in season 1 with Clark trying to make a relationship with Lana work. The series has become repetitive and tiresome, hindering most of its characters' development.

But now Millar and Gough are gone, and hopefully that means their Lana-centered arcs are gone too. The best thing for Smallville now is someone to step in who knows the Superman mythos well and can morph Smallville's stagnant Clark Kent into America's most iconic superhero.

Technorati Tags: Smallville, television, Gough, Millar