A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

Want to read the opening scrawl of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith?

Click here.

Tim Burton's "The Corpse Bride"

Charlie and the Chococate Factory isn't the only Tim Burton movie starring Johnny Depp coming out this year. Burton also returns to the stop-motion animation technique he used in the great Nightmare Before Christmas in The Corpse Bride, coming this Halloween, starring Johhny Depp as the voice of the character seen here:

A Very Special Episode of Smallville

Worst. Episode. Ever.

This episode was so pandering to the perceived audience who are now turning to American Idol on Fox, that it’s thrown good storytelling out the window just for a chance to show even more skin/sex than they were earlier in the season. Throwing in the little PSA from Chloe at the end did not make up for a horrible excuse of a “A Very Special Episode of Smallville.” Lana was so painfully cliché that I think I saw the actor playing Jason rolling his eye at her dialogue.

How did Alicia know about red kryptonite, and where to find it? Major plot hole to get things moving.

The less said about this episode the better. If not for the Lex/Lionel mansion scenes, this episode would have been a complete waste.

Oh look! Alicia’s back next week. Oh joy.

I Gotta Have More Cowbell!

Great article about the classic Will Ferrell-Christopher Walken SNL skit about Blue Oyster Cult's recording of the '70s classic, "Don't Fear the Reaper."

But why read about it when you can watch it?

Super Ringo!

Beatles drummer Ringo Starr is teaming up with comic-book legend Stan Lee to become an animated super-hero, CNN reports here.

This will mark the 4th animated incarnation of Ringo, but only the second time he voices himself. In the 1964-65 Beatles cartoon and in the 1968 animated feature, Yellow Submarine, Ringo (like the other Beatles) was voiced by another actor. He appeared as an animated version of himself in an episode of The Simpsons.

Remember Smallville?

OK, Smallville returns this week with a new episode for the first time in over a month. I never did a review of the last new episode, so let’s just do a quick recap. The episode was more of a set-up for future storylines with the convenient plot device of a fear toxin. A LuthorCorp accident releases a gas that causes victims to see their worst fear realized before putting them in Nicodemus-flower-like comas.

Jason: (who was at LuthorCorp applying for a job, unbeknownst to Lana), Jason is afraid that a) Lana fears he has an ulterior motive in following her from Paris to Smallville and b) that she is still in love with Clark (duh). So, obviously, Jason must have something to hide that he’s afraid Lana will discover. Something to do with his mother, perhaps?

Lana: afraid that everyone she loves will die like her parents did. No revelations there, moving on.

Clark: Lana will discover that he is an alien responsible for the death of her parents. Again, nothing new here. He quickly shakes off the effects. Next.

Chloe: discovers her mother isn’t dead, but is actually institutionalized, then fearing that heredity will cause the same thing to happen to her. Actually at the end of the episode we learn this is the truth about her mother. This is an interesting development.

Lex: (who purposely exposed himself to it to help find the cure. OK): has a repeat of the vision he saw in the first season of him as president in a black glove, smiling as he brings about Armageddon (the actual Apocalypse, not the movie. THAT would be a big fear), so I guess he fears he will become mankind’s worst enemy. Alright, Lex fear big, baby!

That covers the fears we are privy to. Meanwhile, Lionel, still claiming to be on the side of good (after body-swapping with Clark in an earlier episode) is released from prison by a mysterious benefactor. As he walks out of prison, he is greeted by a limo occupied by someone he recognizes, but we don’t see. Who could it be?

Also, as Chloe confides to Clark her mother’s secret, she hints that she may have also discovered Clark’s secret.

OK, that sums it up. On with the new episodes.

Johnny Carson R.I.P.

Official Fantastic Four Site Now Online

See the first teaser trailer and more at www.fantasticfourmovie.com

The Batman Trailer You HAVEN'T Seen

Batman: New Times

Dating Tips for Comic Fanboys

"How many dates before I can ask her to wear the Wonder Woman outfit?" and other answers to your dating questions here.

Free Comic Book Day is Coming

More DC Comics on the Cartoon Network

Joining Teen Titans and Justice League Unlimited on Cartoon Network this April are two more animated series based on DC Comics' characters.

According to Cartoon Network:

• Krypto the Superdog will join Cartoon Network's weekday lineup on Monday, April 4, at 9:30am (ET/PT), the network announced today. The series chronicles the comedic adventures of Krypto, a test-pilot puppy whose malfunctioning rocket ship--built by Superman’s father--takes him to Earth. There, he befriends Kevin Whitney, a young boy longing for friendship. Together the two partner to fight the forces of evil.
  
  
• The Batman will join Cartoon Network's lineup of superhero shows on Saturday, April 2, at 9:00pm (ET/PT), the network said today. The series, from Warner Bros. Animation, premiered last fall on sister network Kids WB.

New JLU on tap

Justice League Unlimited concludes its 3rd season (the first two without Unlimited in the title) with a 2-parter, "The Once and Future Thing." It's a time travel story with Part 1 (airing this Saturday at 8:30 pm) occuring in the past and Part 2 (Saturday, January 29) taking place in a future we've seen before in the animated DCU.

Bruce (Batman) Wayne and John (Green Lantern) Stewart are headin' for the last round-up.

According to story editor and writer, Dwayne McDuffie, who told Silver Bullet Comics ' All the Rage column:

“The Once and Future Thing” is a really, really fun story that’s going to surprise a lot of people. A couple of major revelations for our characters and several guest shots that we couldn’t have done any other way. It really is an apocalyptic season finale. (And that’s not a Jack Kirby pun.) I can tell you that the bad guy is Chronos and the League will be going to the old west and meeting a lot of the DC Comics western heroes, including Jonah Hex and (my favorite) Bat Lash, among others. They will also be going into the future of the DC animated universe. Batman from Batman Beyond will appear, as will Static (from the Static Shock animated series, which I co-created). Static's a pretty old guy at the time the episode occurs. And speaking of old guys, we'll also see... oops, almost gave too much away.

The 4th season starts right after that, where we'll see the continuation of the government conspiracy subplot that's been running under many of the episodes this season. According to Cartoon Network, the new season will feature Black Canary, Shayera (Hawgirl), Vigilante, Vixen and The Question battling such villains as Lex Luthor and Felix Faust. Superman will also take on Cadmus in a battle that will determine the future of the League.

More "Fantastic" footage and Other Super-Hero Movie Thoughts

Here's some new footage to the Fantastic Four movie due this summer.

Fantastic Four footage

The first trailer for the movie was shown with Elektra, which opened this past weekend.

Speaking of Elektra, it is officially the first bomb of 2005. The movie, which opened in the fifth spot, earned only $12.5 million. Even Halle Berry's Catwoman earned $16.5 million when it opened in July. With Blade: Trinity also performing below expectations, Marvel's 2005 movie hopes rest strongly on the shoulders of The Thing and his Fantastic friends. With no new Spider-Man or X-Men film for at least two more years, the bloom is off the Marvel super-hero movie rose.

That's where DC comes in, with Batman Begins due this summer and Superman Returns next summer. Up next for DC though is February's Constantine, starring Keanu Reeves, based on the long-running DC/Vertigo title Hellblazer. I don't think expectations are that high, but I think it's a safe bet it will do better than Elektra or Catwoman, since it also taps in the still-hot horror movie genre.

New Batman Begins Pics

From a German web site: Batman News

Incredibles on DVD March 15

The best superhero movie ever made get released on DVD on March 15 -- The Incredibles.

DVD extras will include:

• All-new animated short showing Jack-Jack's adventures with the babysitter, where his powers first manifest themselves;
• Alternate ending;
• Deleted scenes and bloopers;
• Feature commentary with director Brad (The Iron Giant) Bird, Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) and FroZone (Samuel L. Jackson);
• Making-of featurette

Mark you calendars now. Store are already accepting pre-orders: Best Buy, Barnes & Noble and Circuit City.

Elvis is Still the King

One week after topping the UK pop music charts with 1957's "Jailhouse Rock" 70 years after his birth, Elvis claims the #1 spot once again with his 1959 release, "One Night". It's Elvis' 20th British Number one, more than any other solo artist.

According to Reuters UK, it's all part of a plan:

Elvis's record label is re-releasing 18 number ones in consecutive weeks, in time to cash in before the 50-year copyright protection on sound recordings in most European countries expires on his earlier hits

All time British chart-topper is Paul McCartney, who has 22 No. UK #1 hits as a Beatle, solo artist and as member of Wings.

Happy Birthday Elvis

Today, January 8, 2005, would have been Elvis' 70th birthday.

Elvis on the Milton Berle Show in 1956.

Elvis has left the building.....

Frank Miller Time

Next Friday, January 14, the Daredevil comic/movie spin-off, Elektra, starring Jennfer (Alias) Garner opens. You can see the first five minutes of the movie here.

Elektra is the first of three movies based on the work of comic writer/artist Frank (The Dark Knight Returns) Miller to debut in 2005. He created the character of Elektra during his classic run on Daredevil in the early '80s. This April, the movie Sin City, which Miller co-directed with Robert (From Dusk Til Dawn) Rodriguez, opens based on his series of creator-owned graphic novels. And in June, of course, comes Batman Begins, based in large part on Miller's 1988 storyline Batman: Year One.

In July, Miller returns to Batman comics, with his 6-issue stint on "All-Star Batman," a new stand-alone, non-continuity comic meant to attract fans of the movie. With art by Jim Lee, and featuring Dick Grayson as Robin, this is a version of Batman that everyone will recognize.

Start getting psyched now!

Is this thing on?

Due to circumstances within my control, I have been absent from this site for a few weeks. Not to fear, I shall return, though I may be short one Smallville review, since I never completed my review of the last new episode.

To be continued...