Author: Me

Iron Man

Saw Iron Man this weekend. Awesome. I have never been a big fan of Robert Downey Jr, but he delivers in this one. The story is faithful in spirit to the comics and tells an excellent origin story.

Robert Downey Jr. plays Tony Stark a wealthy industrialist whose company primarily develops weapons. He gets kidnapped and made to create a weapon for a terrorist group. Instead he creates his first suit of armor and trashed them and escapes. This is not a quick part of the movie either. They really go into details here and give Tony an understanding of just what use his weapons have been put to. When he eventually gets back to the US he holds a press conference and announces to the world that Stark Industries is out of the weapons business. Obadiah Stane, Tony’s partner, clearly does not like this and convinces Tony to keep out of the limelight for a time, while he spins this in a positive direction. In seclusion at his home, Tony begins working on an improved suit. Eventually getting it right and heading back to the middle east and destroying a cache of weapons the terrorist group has. We learn that Stane was working with the terrorists to kill Tony and he has been supplying them with weapons. Stane gets ahold of Tony’s first suit of armor and creates his Iron Monger suit. Then we get a nice confrontation between Iron Man and the Iron Monger.

Pros: Robert Downey Jr.’s portrayal of Tony Stark, Pepper, Happy Hogan, Obadiah Stane, Jim Rhodes, the Iron Man armor (all versions), the action sequences

Cons: Computer AI Jarvis. The only negative aspect of this movie. Jarvis is not a flesh and blood servant, but an AI construct.

I can say this movie gets a rating of 8.5 out of 10. To put this in perspective, Spider-Man gets a 9 out of 10, Spider-Man 2 gets a 9.5 and Spider-Man 3 gets a 5. X-Men 1 gets a 7, X-Men 2 gets a 8 and X-Men3 gets a 2.

Go see this movie now! And stay after the credits for a scene capper that helps setup a future Avengers movie.

I am really looking forward to the Incredible Hulk movie coming out June 13th.

Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay

I loved the first Harold and Kumar movie, but missed it in theaters.  I decided I was not going to miss a chance at seeing this one.

If you liked the first Harold and Kumar movie, you will like this one also.  It does suffer a little from sequel-itis.  It is not quite as funny, but still delivers.  I will not go too much into the plot – not looking to give out spoilers.  But events unfold that get Harold and Kumar thrown into Guantanamo Bay as terrorists.  They escape and are working to get to the US and clear their name.  Hilarity ensues.

Also, this movie is not for kids.  It has a lot of nudity, recreational drug use and profanity.

That said.  Two words.  Bottomless Party.

Other things to keep in mind: Neil Patrick Harris, Unicorns, Cyclops, Rednecks, etc.

Not sure if i have a real ratings system.  But I would give this a 7 out of 10 with the first Harold and Kumar getting an 8.5.

Kings of Awesome

Check out this band from Central Florida. They will be performing Wednesday April 16th, 8pm at the Backstage Lounge in Gainesville, FL.

Give them a listen at http://www.myspace.com/kingsofawesome

“OCALA, FLORIDA — It seems any punk kid, with a face that looks like a tackle box exploded in it, can pump the same four chords on his guitar at full volume, get a record deal and let the cash roll in. No substance, no direction… and they call that ‘modern Metal.’

In the heart of Central Florida, there are a few musicians who want to bring the passion back to the Metal scene. These are men with something to prove — rebelling against the common concensus that “there’s no market” for the raucous, energetic rock-n’-roll they enjoyed in the 80’s.

“You see something about the world you don’t like and you either try to change it or you let it be,” says KINGS OF AWESOME frontman Matt Robarge. “We know what we like to hear and, with only one or two exceptions, there aren’t any bands playing what we want anymore. So, we’ve decided to make it. Plain and simple.

“I’ve been told its tough… sometimes I’ve heard it’s impossible. I want to thank those people because that’s the fuel to our fire. I’m sure a lot of our influences were told the same thing. That’s sorta where our name comes from… we’re already a success because we’ve all done things people have said in our lives we couldn’t do – form bands, write songs, play gigs, make money, get recognition.”

The reigning KINGS — Matt, Casey, Ric and Chris — are focused, embarking on their creative process. Like their name, they vow to be bold conquerors of the Metal kingdom… in Central Florida and BEYOND.

Hail to the KINGS.”

Lunar Eclipse

I decided to try and take some photos of the eclipse with my inexpensive digital camera. They didn’t turn out that great, but here are the ones that came out ok.

Bands you may not have heard of…

It’s been awhile since I posted anything. So I decided to goahead and get something out there. I wanted to mention 3 bands I came across while listening to various podcasts.

Pike

Pike is based out of Cincinnati, OH is a punk influenced band. One of their members used to be on the Night of the Living Podcast (great horror podcast by the way). Even though I work in an internet-related field, I have been slow to purchase music digitally. Pike changed that for me. Night of the Living Podcast had a special episode when Pike held a CD Release Party. I was hooked. Went to their website and purchased almost every song there. Very affordable prices compared to iTunes.

Unified School District

I first heard USD from the Geek Savants podcast’s opening and closing theme.  Super Ugly is one of the hosts and USD is his music.  iTunes has  some of USD’s music for sale and you can purchase tracks directly from MySpace.  Thier MySpace page has several songs you can listen to to get the flavor.  Think rap – but not gangsta rap.

First Jason

First Jason is described as hardcore horror-punk.  That pretty much sums it up.  First Jason is fronted by Ari Lehman, the actor who played Jason Vorhees in the first Friday the 13th movie.  You can find 2 songs on the website and MySpace page: Red Red REd and Sink or Swim.