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  Nick Paramonte 8:00 pm on 03/05/2011 Permalink | Reply  

  Smallville “Scion” Review 

  

  Minus that horrendous Chlollie scene (which just proves that Allison Mack’s stereotype is also a slut with a capital S), I enjoyed “Beacon”.

  Annette O’Toole’s second guest star appearance was much better then that out-of-character version of Martha in “Hostage”. The Luthor family reunion was awesome. Lucas Grabeel (who’s played Lex Luthor before in the Season 6 episode, “Reunion”) delivered another stellar performance. He channels Michael Rosenbaum’s Lex so well, I can’t wait for said person to appear in the series finale.

  Skipped Smallville‘s Hangover (aka “Fortune”). After I saw the infamous moment, all I have to say is:

  F##K YOU BRIAN PETERSON, KELLY SOUNDERS, AND ANNE COFELL SAUNDERS!

  After the confirmation about the ending that happened in said episode (at the beginning of this article), I was severely skeptical about the idea of Conner Kent aka Superboy being on the show because:

  • The last time the producers decided to introduce a member of The Super-Family into the cast, it was a clusterf##k from The Seventh to this year’s glorification. Hate you too producers.

  • Clark still isn’t Superman yet.

  So going into it I thought this was gonna totally suck, but (to my surprise) I liked it alot actually. This is one I can just watch from start to finish with no fast forwarding whatsoever (considering the piles of garbage TPTB put on throughout these dragged-out years).

  Lucas made a very smooth transition from Alexander to Conner. He pulled off being the mannered and slightly rebellious teenager to the dark (I mean by Conner’s near-rape attempt on Lois) extreme version of himself on Red Kryptonite resulting in a confrontation between him and Clark in the ruins of The Luthor Manison that’s similar to one of my favorite fights in the series, Jonathan vs. Kal from The Third Season’s opening in “Phoenix”.

  Tom Welling’s character filled his adopted father’s shoes of being the mentor and father figure unlike his neglecting animated counterpart on Young Justice. Lois’ observation that Conner being Clark & Lex’s Love Child was Erica Durance’s highlight. Another saving grace was Conner not flying or being called his future alter-ego.

  If the last episodes of the series undoes everything that happened in here, my score will subject to change.
  

  Rating: 9

  The shot of the Legion ring was obviously from the Booster Gold / Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes with an appearance by Ted Kord) episode. Clark will naturally assume Michael Jon Carter is a member of the 31st Century group and Booster biting back say, “Who the hell are they?”

  John Scheider guest starring as Jonathan from The Luthor-verse is frillless at this point to have a moment that should’ve been featured in “Luthor” to make an entire event-of-the-day out of.

   

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  Nick Paramonte 7:59 pm on 02/28/2011 Permalink | Reply  

  83rd Academy Awards 

  

  The musical remix with Harry Potter 7, Toy Story 3, The Social Network, and Twilight 2 by The Gregory Brothers was the highlight of the night. On a sidenote, there was one autotune that wasn’t featured was The King’s Speech:

  [youtube.com=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PEMsyg8LRY]

  Anne Hathaway (the next Catwoman) was hilarious. Opening with her and co-host (I’ll get to him later) with Alec Baldwin and Mr. Narrator, Morgan Freeman were really funny. Priceless shot she made to Hugh Jackman (and the left hook to James Franco’s face) for their beginning number two years ago.

  Like everyone else, I was peeved that Nolan got snubbed by The Academy for a spot in the Directing category for Inception. But in the places where it did win for Cinematography, Sound Editing (Tron: Legacy being very tacked on), Mixing, and Visual Effects made up for it.

  No surprise Pixar’s winning streak would end, why would it? Nothing against Jeff Bridges, but I’m glad he didn’t win for Leading Role (that ultimately went to Colin Firth) for True Grit. I liked The Coen Brothers’ remake of the John Wayne classic (minus the epilogue and Matt Damon being miscast), but Bridges laid on the drunkenness to that version of Rooster Cogburn pretty thick. However, I was surprised that Haile Steinfield (Mattie Ross) didn’t win for Actress In A Support Role (acting lived up to the hype) that went to Melissa Leo for The Fighter.

  It was obvious from The Red Carpet pre-show, James Franco was wasted throughout the entire ceremony. Maybe because he had to dress in Marylin Monroe drag (but that’s just my guess), so Hathaway had to carry the rest of it by herself.

  Rick Baker winning Make-Up for the subpar Wolf Man remake was ridiculous. The only reason is because he won The Oscar for American Werewolf in London (the better film). Besides, the footage they showcased were the CG transformation scenes more so then Benicio Del Toro in prosthetics.

  Even though I haven’t seen the top nominated films yet (still can’t wait to see Black Swan), I got this feeling Geoffrey Rush (Cassanova Frankenstein / Barbossa) was also overlooked for Supporting Actor to Christian Bale. This is coming from the opinion that Rush is the better actor then Bale.

   
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  Nick Paramonte 8:12 pm on 02/24/2011 Permalink | Reply  

  Wonder Woman Reaction 

  What I think about NBC’s “reinvention” of The Amazon Princess starring Adrianne Palicki (the fake Kara from Season 3 of Smallville, that siren from the failed Aquaman pilot, and Sam Winchester’s dead girlfriend from Supernatural) is:

   
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  Nick Paramonte 7:11 pm on 02/24/2011 Permalink | Reply  

  Dark Knight Rises Villians Announced 

  After two years of nothing but rumors, Warner Bros. finally gives us legitimate news on who’ll be facing off against Batman in the third and final film of Nolan’s trilogy.

  Anne Hathaway will play Selina Kyle, the slinky and savage outlaw who is known as Catwoman, in next year’s Christopher Nolan film “The Dark Knight Rises,” according to a press release from Warner Bros.

  Tom Hardy, already announced as a cast member, will play Bane, the chemically created brute who first appeared in the comics in 1993 — making him a far “younger” villain for Nolan’s Batman mega-franchise, which has most prominently featured the Joker (who first appeared in 1940) , Two-Face (1942), Ra’s Al-Ghul (1971) and The Scarecrow (1941).

  Find it just a little odd that a British actor is playing the South American assassin, but then again (aside from Morgan Freeman and the two past actresses) the actors in this franchise are from English descent portraying Americans.

  With Nolan’s method (which has worked really well so far), removing the fictional elements out. Whether it’s Ra’s Al Ghul’s Lazarus Pits or Joker’s bleached skin, the Venom drug might not be present considering Bane in the comics can function without it after the events of Knightfall and Gail Simone’s run on Secret Six last year.

  From the press release, sounds like were not going to see alot of Hathaway as Selina’s alter ego, implies another Harvey Dent syndrome. What I mean by that is (even though Rob and I were giving props to Aaron Eckhart in our review when the movie came out) Two Face’s portrayal was still piss pore. His motivation was nothing but avenging Mary Sue (oh I’m sorry, RACHEL!!!).

   
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  Nick Paramonte 10:12 pm on 02/20/2011 Permalink | Reply  

  JCVD in Expendables 2? 

  

  Aside from some shaky cam, I really enjoyed the first one. Just to see all of our favorite action stars (along with some bad ass roles for Terry Crews and UFC fighter, Randy Couture) in one place was such a huge Fangasm.

  According to MovieWeb, Mr. Muscle from Brussels is being considered a role in the upcoming sequel.

  “JC seems to be leaning towards appearing in the sequel, as far as I know…If Steven Seagal is not in the sequel. From what I’ve heard it, Steven Seagal won’t be, not because of Sly, but because of producer Avi Lerner, who had a few bad experiences with Steven.”

  To be honest, (being a somewhat decent villain in Machete) I’m not a big Seagal fan. So, I wouldn’t be crushed if he doesn’t show up. Anyway, this is awesome news, it definitely makes up for that Rush Hour 3 rumor six years ago.

   
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  Nick Paramonte 9:10 pm on 02/20/2011 Permalink | Reply  

  Captain America Superbowl Spot 

  

  The wait is over, our first look at The Star Spangled Super Soldier’s film.

  Stanley Tucci as Dr. Erskine has the most dialogue. In the short amount of time (both in the spot and the movie itself), he definitely projects the character’s wisdom which is very similar to Shaun Toub’s Yinsen in the first Iron Man. At 24 seconds, we see Hugo Weaving in full glorious make-up as The Red Skull. The one more element that would’ve sent me to Fanboy Heaven would be him smoking through his long cigarette holder.

  It appears in the beginning that frail Steve Rogers is enlisted into the army despite his condition (unlike comics continuity). Also, I knew they were using a body double for the pre-serum scenes, however I didn’t expect him to be the size of a child. It’s a little too much of an exaggeration. Prior, I thought Chris Evans would be just be tall and lanky.

  Aside from that small gripe, I’m super-stoked for this film.

   
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  Nick Paramonte 10:48 pm on 02/11/2011 Permalink | Reply  

  Smallville “Collateral” in 5 Seconds 

  

  Parody late I know, but do I really need to comment on this shit?!

  Not only did we get more glorifying from Brian Peterson & Kelly Souders (the show’s producers), but they had Lois Lane worship Dumb Blond aswell.

   
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  Nick Paramonte 5:06 pm on 02/03/2011 Permalink | Reply  

  My DVD Collection 

  

  

  Still cycling through what seasons of Smallville to keep and ones to trade back and the third year of Supernatural being the weakest link. The annoyance of the Bela character (from fans and even Eric Kripke, the show’s creator) and the introduction to Ruby, who was a villain anyway which made that year even more pointless since they shoved that “Sympathy for The Villain” crap (as Dean threw it down to Lucifer inhabiting Sam’s body in the alternate future episode, “The End”) down our throats.

  

  

  

   
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  Nick Paramonte 8:04 pm on 01/30/2011 Permalink | Reply  

  Henry Cavill is Superman 

  

  Snyder announced his lead as The Man of Steel in the very well deserved reboot to this franchise.

  HENRY CAVILL WILL TAKE ON THE DUAL ROLE OF CLARK KENT / SUPERMAN IN THE NEW FILM FROM

  WARNER BROS. PICTURES AND LEGENDARY PICTURES

  BURBANK, CA, January 30, 2011 – Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures announced today that Henry Cavill has won the coveted role of Superman, the iconic superhero.

  The film will be directed by Zack Snyder, who stated, “In the pantheon of superheroes, Superman is the most recognized and revered character of all time, and I am honored to be a part of his return to the big screen. I also join Warner Bros., Legendary and the producers in saying how excited we are about the casting of Henry. He is the perfect choice to don the cape and S shield.”

  Targeted for release in December 2012, the new Superman movie will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

  This British actor has good credentials with The Theater which is essential to the guy donning the cape and tights. Cavill has been one of the fan picks for years like Christan Bale was before Batman Begins ever came to be (pre-major gravel). Also, he auditioned for the role twice when Brett Ratner (X-Men Derailer) and Bryan Singer (Donner Homage) were onboard.

  Look-wise, it’s like George Perez’s rendition stepped off the page. He’s got the natural curly hair to pull off The Spit Curl unlike the one pasted onto Brandon Routh’s head.

   
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  Nick Paramonte 10:38 pm on 01/06/2011 Permalink | Reply  

  Smallville “Icarus” Review 

  

  To give my thoughts about the previous Smallville episodes that aired before this, I liked “Patriot” despite John McCain as Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke, Arthur Curry’s Atlantean heritage finally being addressed. Surprisingly, the “lining with mythos” TPTB have used in the past for more excuses was put to good use for a change with Orin and Mera (Elena Satine resembling Alyson Hannigan) being married before Lois & Clark tied the knot which falls in with comics continuity.
  

  “Luthor” was an okay alternate universe episode, better then the previous ones (“Apocalypse” and “Pandora” not withstanding). John Glover’s return as Lionel “The Magnificent Bastard” Luthor being the highlight (the way the character was originally before being redeemed in Seasons 5-7, minus the failed full circle convenient plot called Veritas) and Tom Welling’s performance as the evil counterpart (with the references to Ultraman and Earth-2 term). But I couldn’t get over the newest Deus Ex Machina that was the cause of it and Lollie’s (the Lois / Oliver relationship that’s been over 4 years ago) screen time.

  Onto the mid-season finale, Hawkman went out with a bang…literally. Michael Shanks pulled out the stops as Carter Hall meets his maker (again) by saving Lois from an explosion and passing the torch of leadership to Clark before the reincarnated Egyptian prince, Khufu passes onto his next life with Shayera / Hawkgirl. The funeral scene was well done that’s on par with Lionel’s memorial service even though Zatanna, Aquaman, Flash, Martian Manhunter, and Cyborg were stand ins for the absent actors.

  We learn here that Darkseid has been present on Earth during The Spanish Inquisition and World War II like Satan in The Twilight Zone episode, “The Howling Man” which contradicts the “explanation” from that god awful Kara centric with the second DEM (the first being the orb from Seasons 7-9), The Book of Rao. But I’ll roll with this explanation over the other, lesser of two evils.

  While the fight scene was good, Michael Hogan still looked like Saul Tigh from Battlestar Gallactica with a sword. Which I believe that was the only reason the producers cast him in the first place.

  Unfortunately Impostor Cat Grant turns her ugly head again to be more obnoxiously annoying, I wanted so bad for Lois to punch her lights out for ratting them out without outside interference, but there was, and I especially didn’t care for her “change of heart” either.

  The flashback about how wonderful Chollie is was total SUCKAGE which makes me severely dreading what’s to come in the next five episodes after the hiatus. With Ollie very likely going to have a case of The Clana Syndrome like Clark did in S8, Dinah (Alaina Huffman) better give him the cold shoulder that he rightfully deserves instead of being a rebound.

  Rating: 6 1/2

  So it appears that the pyramid device that knocked everybody out, sent them inside their minds (“Labyrinth”) and unfortunately (cringing) Dumb Blondie returns for a five episode arc for more glorifying up the hilt. Clark loses his powers (Blue Kryptonite since we saw it turn up again this year), what a shock and Lex with hair, what the hell? We clearly saw Alexander shave his head at the end of “Harvest” to symbolize his turn to what Luthor will always be.