The rumors were true! Amazon has kicked off unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows for its Amazon Prime customers. In addition to free two-day shipping and $3.99 next-day shipping on goods shipped and sold by Amazon, Prime customers now have access to “5,000 movies and TV programs”.
I strongly encourage you to consider Amazon Prime. I’ve been a customer since launch and love the service. You get great shipping rates and a decent library of videos to stream…and any purchases you make through this site help keep it going a bit longer. Honestly and selfishly, I think it’s a great value at $79. Plus, it’s cool to get free two-day shipping on really heavy items.
In my review of All-Star Superman, I mentioned that the disc comes with a teaser feature on Green Lantern: Emerald Knights. Nathan Fillion takes the lead role as Hal Jordan. He’ll be accompanied by rocker/author Henry Rollins and WWE legend “Rowdy” Roddy Piper.
I’m super psyched to hear Rollins as Kilowog. Once described by a thick Russian woman as “a most interesting warthog creature”, Kilowog has trained thousands of Green Lantern Corps members. While Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Guy Gardner, and Kyle Rayner have all the big adventures, a lot of readers view Kilowog as the backbone of the Corps. It was fun listening to Rollins talk about the character — he totally gets it and it looks he’ll do a knockout job.
Sadly, The Hot Rod was not in the feature. Who do you think he’ll play? Are any of psyched for Henry Rollins as Kilowog? On a related note, wouldn’t Nathan Fillion make a better Nathan Drake than Mark Wahlberg?
All-Star Superman has Kal-El tackling tremendous challenges, including the most daunting one of all — death. In the comics, Morrison used Superman’s powers to reestablish the fact that he’s the greatest hero in the DC Universe. He also did a masterful job at making him seem vulnerable, human, and interesting. That’s so hard to do with a character that’s mostly invulnerable and unbeatable, yet Morrison pulled it off in a way that feels natural and effortless.
Watching Superman deal with his impending doom is even more compelling than watching him accomplish marvelous feats. It’s great watching him reveal his identity to Lois Lane and spend a day courting her. It’s fun watching the various facets of Kal-El. There’s the heroic and beloved Superman. There’s the bumbling and clumsy Clark Kent facade. And, perhaps most importantly, there’s also the earnest, respectful, and kind-hearted Clark Kent that was the product of a wholesome upbringing in Smallville. Morrison makes all three facets of the character distinct, yet harmonious.
Obviously it was impossible to include the events of all 12 issues in a 75-minute movie, but this a great adaptation that’s true to the tone of the source. Throughout the movie I felt amazed by Superman’s heroics, touched by his interactions with the woman he loves and his mortal enemy, and moved by the way he dealt with death. Sure, there were some details and arcs that were left out, but I was more than satisfied with Dwayne McDuffie’s adaptation of Morrison’s books.
The same goes for the animated interpretation of Frank Quitely’s art. Quitely’s illustrations are so distinct and unique. The animators did a good job at recreating the tone of his art. Again, a lot of details and intricacies were left out, but that was completely expected. A stricter translation could have been done, but that would have required a lot more time and money.
While the story and art are not quite as great as the comics, they’re very good and truly brought to life by Christopher Drake’s excellent score. I’ve enjoyed his work in past DC animated features, but this is his best yet. His music helps deliver the bright sense of optimism you’re supposed to get from watching Superman and imagining you’re in Metropolis. More importantly, the music helps replace some of what was lost in translation from print to animation.
As an added bonus, there are commentary tracks, a couple of Superman: The Animated Series episodes, and a feature on the upcoming Green Lantern: Emerald Knights. As a huge Green Lantern mark, I was thrilled to learn more about this upcoming animated movie. As far as teaser features go, it worked. I’m totally amped for Emerald Knights.
I highly recommend All-Star Superman. It’s not quite as good as Batman: Under the Red Hood, but it’s very close. If you have any questions about the movie, leave ’em in the comments section and I’ll answer ’em.
I was trying to interview actor Jay Mohr about hosting the 14th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards at DICE 2011…but that never really got started. He liked my microphone and thought it was cool that I also use it to belt out Journey songs in karaokoe. This led him to singing a bunch of Van Halen songs. I thought it was cool that he did one in his Christopher Walken impersonation, as per my request. I thought it was cooler that he cut off his interview with Kotaku’s Brian Crescente because he remembered what song he wanted to sing. Ha!
Check out this clip of outtake footage when you have a chance. Bonus points will be awarded if you can name the famous gaming people in the background!
Since 2010, it has been rumored that Amazon will offer free unlimited video streaming to its Amazon Prime customers. If you’re not familiar with Prime, it offers free two-day shipping and $3.99 next-day shipping on most Amazon purchases for an annual fee of $79. Recently, Engadget discovered some evidence that showed the rumor could pan out soon.
Netflix is, by far, the most popular video streaming service in America. Amazon could challenge Netflix in the streaming space with this rumored deal. It would be cheaper than a yearly Netflix subscription and users would get additional value from the shipping services. While Amazon would arguably lose money on the streaming service, the idea is that it would more than make up for it when customers purchase physical goods.
I’ve been an Amazon Prime customer since the program’s inception and I absolutely love it. That said, it also makes me spend more money than I probably should since I know that my items will arrive quickly and I want to maximize the value of my subscription. Since money is a bit tight, I’ve considered dropping Prime in 2011, but the prospect of free video streaming will probably make me hang onto the service.
For gamers, the choice is especially interesting. Amazon has several great deals on games and often ships new titles to Prime customers so that they arrive on launch day. However, Netflix is available on all three current-gen consoles. Amazon Video on Demand is available on TiVo, PC, certain Sony Bravia televisions, and select Panasonic Viera models. Though I suppose using an Xbox 360 as a Windows Media Extender would allow for console playback. The point being that Netflix has direct ways to watch content on consoles, while Amazon does not (yet).
I’d love to hear what you think of this rumor. Would you subscribe to Amazon Prime if it included unlimited video streaming? Also, thanks to RPadholic tokz_21 for reminding to write about this rumor.
I can’t believe I forgot to include The Town in my recent batch of airplane movie reviews! The omission had everything to do with jet lag and nothing to do with the quality of this film. Despite the positive reviews I heard from friends, I had a hard time believing that a movie directed by, co-written by, and starring Ben Affleck could be any good. Don’t get me wrong, I loved him in numerous Kevin Smith movies and in Good Will Hunting, but most of his other movies sucked (or he sucked in them). The Town is shockingly good.
The movie is a nice mix of drama, action, and Boston accents. It’s completely believable that a small section of Boston (Charlestown) has produced numerous bank robbers because…well, that’s what I think Red Sox fans are like (I’m kidding). The Town is a suspenseful and enjoyable crime drama. The writing is sharp and Ben Affleck is actually charming in the movie.
Hmmm, perhaps Affleck is only good when his lines are written by Kevin Smith or when he uses a Boston accent.
On Friday afternoon I accepted a quickie weekend contract job that had me in the air longer than on the ground. Thanks to my handy United upgrades, I spent the air hours in business class and caught up on a ton of movies. Most of them were what I expected, but a few of them surprised me. Here are some random thoughts on the movies I saw over the weekend.
Date Night: I thought this would be a total comedic farce, so the action surprised me. The comedy was decent, while the action was surprisingly good. Steve Carell and Tina Fey were expectedly funny, but the supporting cast really made the movie for me. I loved the brief roles Mark Wahlberg, JB Smoove, James Franco, Mila Kunis, and William Fichtner played. I was expecting an okay comedy going in and was surprised by an above-average action/comedy flick.
Megamind: It’s completely unfair, but whenever I go into a DreamWorks movie, I’m always thinking, “Yeah, no way this is as good as a Pixar film.” That’s almost always true, but that doesn’t mean that DreamWorks movies are bad. Megamind was way better than I thought it would be. The voice acting was strong and the movie had more heart than I was expecting. It was a cute blend of comedy, action, and romance. Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, David Cross, Jonah Hill, and Brad Pitt were fantastic in their roles. Megamind definitely exceeded my expectations. Good stuff.
Due Date: I was expecting a very uneven movie and that’s exactly what I got. Some of the lines and scenes were hilarious, simply because Robert Downey, Jr. and Zach Galifianakis are great comedians. That said, a lot of the script was just poor and couldn’t be saved by the actors. This was the perfect airplane movie for me — something I was curious to see, but not curious enough to pay for in the theaters or as a rental. I’m glad I got to see it, but I’m even happier I didn’t pay money for it.
Red: I really dislike Bruce Willis. I’ve just heard too many stories from LA friends about what an absolute dick he is. He’s also getting harder and harder to accept as an action lead due to his age. Even Bruce Willis’ dickishness wasn’t enough to defeat an excellent cast and great choreography. Plus, Mary-Louise Parker is a total milf. Helen Mirren was her usual charming self, but it was hard to buy her mowing down baddies with a machine gun. While it’s easy to be dazzled by all the star power in the movie, it would be a mistake to ignore Karl Urban (Agent William Cooper). He’s fantastic in his role. Plus, geeks should give him props for his performances in Star Trek (Bones) and The Lord of the Rings (Eomer). I enjoyed this movie in spite of Bruce Willis’ sheer dickishness.
Morning Glory: This was a random selection on my part. I figured that Rachel McAdams is cute and Harrison Ford is awesome, ergo it should be somewhat entertaining. It wasn’t a great movie, but it had some moments. Diane Keaton was very good and I like seeing Patrick Wilson (Owlman from Watchmen) get work. There were some moments that I found funny, but left me wondering, “Would this be as funny to someone that didn’t know a little bit about video production?” I’m looking forward to seeing this movie again when it’s on cable, but I wouldn’t spend money to rent it. Also, I felt guilty for thinking that Rachel McAdams is like a poor man’s version of what Neve Campbell used to be.
It’s Kind of a Funny Story: I didn’t get to finish this movie on my trip back and I really want to see how it plays out. A little over an hour into it, I was very much charmed with its smart and subtle comedy. Zach Galifianakis is more restrained than usual and it totally worked. I was very impressed with Keir Gilchrist. Zoe Kravitz is hard to take your eyes off of — you can totally see that she’s the daughter of Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet. From what I saw so far, the movie seemed like a nice blend of a smart script and strong acting. I never heard of the movie before, but I’m super glad that it was on the menu.
Anyway, that was my wacky international movie experience. Let me know if you caught any of these movies and what you think of them (please).
Confession: I like Ashton Kutcher. On paper, I should loathe him. Punk’d is retarded. A lot of his movies suck. And there was that stretch in the early 2000’s when he annoyingly went to every videogame party in Los Angeles…
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Timmy Bradley’s disappointing victory, Ozzy Osbourne’s sudden illness, or last-minute international jobs, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Confession: I like Ashton Kutcher. On paper, I should loathe him. Punk’d is retarded. A lot of his movies suck. And there was that stretch in the early 2000’s when he annoyingly went to every videogame party in Los Angeles. (To be fair, it wasn’t just him. Every party had at least on person from That ’70s Show and American Pie.)
The truth is…I find him funny and charming in some of his movies. I’ve enjoyed listening to him talk about his politics (fiscally conservative, socially liberal). I like that he’s perceived as this idiot pretty boy, but is much smarter than he looks. I love that he was one of the first celebrities to use Twitter in a hardcore way. Although his restaurants — Dolce and Geisha House — draw a hipster crowd, they’re actually very good. The Demi Moore thing is pretty cool too.
Ah, I feel better now that I’ve come clean about all of that. Do you have any celebrities you like but, on paper, should hate? Whether they’re from movies, music, or TV, please share your celebrity confessions today!
A few weeks ago I snagged a copy of Marvel Knights: Black Panther, a collaboration between Marvel Knights Animation and BET. I’m a fan of the character and the comics, so I was definitely curious about the DVD. However, I went into it apprehensively since it was released as a web show in 2010 with little fanfare. I was pleasantly surprised by the DVD; it’s unique, violent, well acted, and true to the comics. Here are some random thoughts on Marvel Knights: Black Panther.
Good: The art style is fantastic. Most of the scenes are only partially animated, which gives the series a motion-comic feel. A skeptic would say that this was done to save time and money, but the effect is used so well that I’m giving the creators the artistic benefit of the doubt. Additionally, the use of colors gives each location a unique feel. By switching up the color palettes, Wakanda, Egypt, Washington D.C., etc. have distinct looks. I love what the artists and animators did with the series — very cool stuff.
Good: The story is true to the comics, with only a handful of changes. This isn’t surprising since former BET president and Black Panther writer Reginald Hudlin developed the project. The most noticeable difference is switching out Rhino for the Juggernaut. Obviously Rhino makes much more sense as a villain in Africa, but I’m going to hazard a guess that there was a licensing issue. If you’ve read the Black Panther comics then you’ll be satisfied with this adaptation.
Bad: My only major complain about the series is its opening theme song. Composed by Stephen James Taylor, the song is based on the Bantu language and meant to be in the Wakandan language. It doesn’t work. At best, it’s a little silly. At worst, it’s gratingly annoying.
Good: The voice acting is top notch. Djimon Hounsou is fantastic as T’Challa/Black Panther. Hell, I can even see him playing the role in a live-action movie. Alfre Woodard and Kerry Washington are also excellent. Marvel fanboys will love Stan Lee’s brief role as General Wallace. The direction and acting are among the best in an animated series based on a comic book.
Good: Those of you that love gritty action and violence will dig this series. It doesn’t pull any punches. You’ll notice that after seeing the first decapitated head mounted on a spear.
Bottom Line: Black Panther isn’t the most popular character in Marvel Comics, but he’s one of the most important ones. Due to advancements in technology and large deposits of vibranium, Wakanda is one of the most important countries in Marvel’s version of Earth. I’m thrilled that the Black Panther series has been released on DVD. If you’re into the character or want to enjoy a unique animated series, I recommend buying it.
customers. If you’re not familiar with Prime, it offers free two-day shipping and $3.99 next-day shipping on most Amazon purchases for an annual fee of $79. Recently, 
