I bought this the day after my great transminnesotan bike ride. So long as I'm working to be in shape, I'm going to aim to look like Superman, except my face won't look as ugly as Henry Cavill's. Also, I bought this shirt to work out in, since I don't like lifting while wearing sleeves and I also wanted something Superman-related to motivate me. I love it, and I'm going to wear it a lot. There's a similar Batman tanktop, for anyone who's interested. I work out pretty hard, but unfortunate
Starting at 9:30 AM, June 29 in a small town just south of the Twin Cities, I began my long bike trip. I would have started sooner, but it was raining, and before I officially started I made sure to fill up my tires to the maximum suggested psi. I biked all the way to Rochester, where I turned onto Interstate 90. The blacktop was nice and smooth, and the road had plenty of shoulder. Basically, I was cruising, and it was an amazing ride. Simple, straight, uncomplicated. I put my MP3 player
Currently, I have all ten seasons of Smallville, the third season of Lois and Clark, the third season of Wonder Woman, and even though I am a comic book nerd the only actual comics I own are the original BIONICLE comics. I also own all or the Christopher Reeve Superman movies, plus the Richard Donner cut of I&II on blu-ray, and Superman Returns. I own all of the Batman films to date, including the Adam West movie. Then, of course, all the Spiderman movies and Marvel expanded universe movi
Faora has amazing potential as a villain, and up to date she has been defined purely as "Zod's Wife". Granted, spouses are a major part of a person's life, but she was always grouped with him when Superman was in need of distinct villains. She really needs some independence to become her own thing and a unique presence in the comics. Let's face it, she has always been been an orbit character and she's never listed as one of Superman's main enemies. The roster goes Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Paras
Fret not, those who feared that Pixar could not live up the the standard set by the Toy Story trilogy! Going in, it was difficult not to get anxious that the prequel to the now classic Monsters Inc. would be an unnecessary shoe-in with an arbitrary storyline. One he contrary, everything about this story completely lives up to the original, and adds depth and context to Mike and Sully that feels absolutely right. I watched it and realized "Yes, that's them! That's who they are." It really ma
When Goyer pitched Nolan the story for Man of Steel, Nolan stopped everything he was doing because he realized he had just stumbled upon the freshest idea since Marty McFly invented Rock'n'Roll. I had my doubts because I really didn't like having "Mr. Batman" connected to Superman, because I didn't want the Man of Steel to live in the shadow of the Dark Knight. However, I acknowledged that Mr. Nolan loves to play with characters, explore what their meaning, and play with the big moral question
There's this thing called the Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa, or RAGBRAI for short. It will start next July on the 21st, so last Wednesday I decided to prepare for it. So here's what I did: for fifty miles, I biked from my home to Sioux City. I was surprised to find myself getting sore the first few miles out. The bike also broke down at least half a dozen times for the first half of the ride alone. The bike wasn't the only technical problem. In my backpack, I had a bunch o
How to watch an Iron Man movie: Go to the theatre wearing a superhero t-shirt In my case, a Superman t-shirt, since I feel he symbolizes the genre Avoid sitting by loud people who have to comment on everything Have fun Above all, Iron Man 3 is a fun movie. The trailers make it out to be darker than the others, but it's really no more serious than other Disney movies such as The Lion King. It's kid-friendly, filled with humor, and makes for a while ride. Is Tony Stark pushed like never be
If One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Juno had a baby, she would look something like this. It doesn't make a dramatic case for neurotic people and how they are abused by society, though it still makes them into underdogs who compel audiences to root for them. It breezes through the daily life of these individuals without earnest intensity, although that doesn't prevent it from being a sincere and serious story about these people. From the perspective of Silver Linings Playbook, social disabi
This movie makes me feel like a child again! A major part of this is due to this movie being released on the year of my birth, 1993, but I also have to give credit to Steven Spielberg. Somewhere in that bearded man is a kid that refused to go away, and he can capture this movie with not only spectacle but the rightful sense of wonder that children always wanted to see. Rich with cinematic vision and attention to detail, from the incredible realism of the larger-than-life attractions to the br
I truly can't believe that Lucus made those awful sequels to the first three Star Wars films. The first three were masterpieces, filled with political drama, fantastic special effects, and a great cast. The next three films really don't count. I'm so upset, I'm going to list why they sucked: 1. Luke's Actor Here I was at the end of Episode III thinking that Anakin's son was going to be as epic as ever. Yet, it turns out that he's actually as whiny as ever. "I was going to go to Toshi st
Wow. My expectations were pretty high when I entered into the theatre, because the trailers made this look like a pretty solid action film. I love it when my expectations are high and they are still beat. Where to start? This film is technically perfect. I am predicting that a year from now it's going to have a nomination for Best Picture. The whole package is good. It has great directing, great acting, great characterization, great writing, great music, great pacing, great editing, great
The Oscars have come and gone, and though it's been over a month, I thought I'd come back and make this entry to share my thoughts in the ceremony's highlights and moments that I personally found interesting. To start off, let's give a hand to James T. Kirk. He had never been nominated for anything and probably never will, since he's not that kind of actor. However, it seems that the Academy still has a sense of how to represent every aspect of the cinematic culture (outside of the vulgar, o
"ARE YOU THERE?" .........."No, to your right a bit." .........."There?" .........."A little more." .........."Wait, I see you," said Monosmith. Buzzy's bright chartreuse uniform stood out from a half a mile away, even when it was mostly blocked by tree branches. He was seated halfway up the opposite hill. There was a river in between them, so one of them was going to have to get wet. "You stay there. I'm coming to you." .........."Hurry, that light caught a bit of attention." ..........That was
This controversial film is something that people seem to either love or hate. I have encountered people who think that it's not a Bond film, while I, with my limited experience with Bond films, feel that it's a Bondier film than any ever made. Certainly, it has a new feel, and it definitely stands out, because there's something different about this one. There's something special and unique. Since I don't know where to start, I might as well begin at the beginning. It sets the tone with a u
FOR YEARS I HAVE BEEN HAUNTED BY THE PHANTOM OF MY BEST FRIEND. She is a woman, and very much like an older sister to me. She is, in a sense, my ultimate peer. She is the person who never gives up on me, always has faith in me, and knows that I will pick myself back up again when I fall. She doesn’t coach me, but she holds me in her confidence, knowing that if she can get things right, then I will, too. We are, after all, peers. This perpetual specter has never left me and has be
4 - Mr. Saavik A half-Vulcan, half-Romulan woman? Not to mention extremely attractive when played by Robin Curtis. My nerd senses went squeeling. You know I'm a nerd when I consider one of my favorite make-out scenes of all time to be when young Spock and Saavik engage in their Vulcan version of a kiss during Spock's pon farr. I ship that relationship all the way. Especially since Mr. Saavik conceals even more emotions than he does. Yeah, I guess some of my other screen-crushes wer
This is the first year I've ever bothered to watch the Academy Awards Ceremony. Part of this is because I have been following Spielberg's Lincoln for quite some time. I have a great reverence for Spielberg, and to anticipate him doing a biopic of one of the greatest presidents with Daniel Day-Lewis was a worthy wait. Then I saw the advertisements, and I instantly knew that it was going to be a powerhouse performance. I watched the movie, and it was the first time in a while that I have been
From the way fans describe this movie, you could almost swear the director was a Wal*Mart greeter. Fans of Star Trek love to rant about which movies they hate, and this is usually near the top of the list. I don't know: from what I remember of The Journey Home, I actually prefer this. It has its charm, and something to fall in love with, although it's definitely not one of the best ones out there. It's primary fault is that it feels more like an extended episode with a high budget. Chief a
This movie has it all. It can play the balance between simple fun in storytelling while being dead serious. It has great characters, wonderful action, perfect set designs, and a magical world of scenery all rolled into one, all the while centering around a great story. How often do you get all of these things in one package? Almost never. Move aside, Avengers, because it looks like someone came up with something easily twice as epic this year. There is not a minute of this three hour long
I was really excited for the movie and it made for a wonderful way of celebrating Christmas. When I walked into the theatre, it was packed, and that was saying something considering that it was a big theatre. It was a good thing I claimed my seats early. Regardless of this film's quality, I formed some opinions beforehand. First, any Les Miserables film is better than no Les Miserables at all. It's a story that needs to constantly be retold, and I can live without seeing my dream version r
One does not simply walk in the shoes of Lincoln. He is not a role like Luke Skywalker, who was an original creation that one could cast anyone before because we had no idea what a Luke Skywalker was. No, this is the man whose face we literally see every day on the faces of five doller bills and pennies. Many actors have come and gone playing him, but the part of Lincoln has, as far as I can recall, always been a supporting character in civil war movies, someone whose presence was limited bec
Chloe Sullivan This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who knows me. I absolutely love this character. She's the absolute of beauty on television, with her only competition being Allison Mack (who, by the way, has an awesome name). There's so much to love about her that I don't know where to start, so I might as well just chronicle my entire experience with the character. The first I saw of her was in Season 2 of Smallville and in a couple of early Season 3 episodes, back when
3 - Ellie Sattler When I watched Jurassic Park for the first time in a very long time, I was struck by the people they cast. The kids were perfect, Grant was perfect, John Hammond was perfect, and Ian Malcolm was perfect. But the most perfect of them all was Ellie Sattler. Everyone had the perfect fairytale look that fit their archetype perfectly: this is a kid, this is a well-intentioned billionaire playing God; this is a sarcastic doctor; this is a man; and Ellie Sattler was a woman. And on
3.5 - Eponine Eponine! O Eponine! If ever secondary characters were given so much justice. Victor Hugo, the passionate writer he was, created a brilliant Character in Eponine Ternadier, daughter of the treacherous inkeepers and unrequited lover of Marius. I guess Cosette was worthy competition, given that she's the poster child for Les Miserables (literally) and the adopted daughter of Jean Valjean, altogether with her own amazing story, but Hugo is relentless in doing every sing
