Real-Life SuperHeroes? Perhaps This Isn't As Good As First Thought

Growing up I always wanted to be a superhero. Then I thought being a vigilante would be bad-ass. And, to be frank, during my darker moments, I've considered villainy...who knows, it could be fun.

But again these were dreams.

Sad to say, but I believe citizens of Washington deem otherwise.

http://www.dailydot.com/news/phoenix-jones-fight-video/

There is much to now think of, mainly the issue of whether or not this can go on in modern-day society.

But is legalizing fighting good? Will "boys be boys" as the old saying goes? Is the allowance of non-participation of police, safe, or do we now have too much freedom?

Does this mark the dawn of a new era of bringing fiction to the streets?

This could be cool...or not. Maybe, in this case, fiction is best left to the comic books after all.

With much to weigh and consider, I leave you with one of my favorite quotes:

"What am I giving people by running around in tights and punching crooks? What am I showing them? Am I showing them that good wins out, the crime does not pay, that the cavalry is always on its way — or am I showing them that any idiot with fists for brains can get his way if he’s fast enough and mean enough? Am I fighting violence — or teaching it?"

-- Daredevil, from Roulette

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Beyond Awkward

Beyond Awkward: When Talking About Jesus is Outside Your Comfort Zone by Beau Crosetto was a good read. The book discussed a lot of things that I never considered before. It also ventured into depths that I neglected within myself, either afraid to admit my failures or ashamed to inspect my shortcomings. I believe it is applicable to almost anyone, especially those were are either new to evangelism/ministry and have no clue to go about it, or are those that have been hurt when talking to someone about their belief/disbelief of Jesus.

Basically, through many fun and relative examples (that you either or on the giving or receiving end have more than likely encountered), the book discusses why Christian conversations are so awkward, and from there, what to do about it. It first discusses why our environment and culture has influenced this tension. Then it shows how certain actions and words can make our conversations awkward. From here, it makes an important distinction with being awkward and from being creepy, and how to prevent the latter and be more careful while in the former. Another important distinction shown, was that of being timid and that of being pushy, and how to move from those far areas into a place of practical obedience. It shows, as Christians, what signs to be looked for in terms of how we communicate with another/others as well as to where to place our faith. The book also teaches well in terms of patience, timing, and listening. All in all, awkwardness is shown in a positive light to bearing much fruit, if applied properly in terms of how we deal with it.

I think this book is good for non-Christians to read as well. This book shows Christians in a humble regard, in that we do make mistakes, and we are prone to falsely and incorrectly misrepresenting our belief and love for God, as well as our desire for all peoples to have a relationship with our God. More than likely, if you are a non-Christian that has had bad experience with hearing from another person about God, its because of how the person was speaking to you. They were either not trained, not listening to you, nor listening to God properly. All of these can be possibilities, however, all of these, in time and in faith in God, can be rectified.

Beyond Awkward has many strong questions for those of all levels in terms of their faith. Definitely will change your outlook and willingness to pursue and continue conversations such as these.

"Go Set A Watchmen"...A Must-Read For Our Generation, Out This Tuesday

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Later made into a movie that arguably rivaled the book's impact, let a lone received many awards. Years later, being released this Tuesday, is its sequel: Go Set A Watchmen.

The question is...can such high quality be duplicated? Will the message behind such phenomenal writing be the same as years past, or can we expect something to match the reality of today's generation?

For those of have not read To Kill A Mockingbird, shame on you. In my opinion, your youth has been deprived and perhaps you should consider that you are not as mature as you once thought. This book is usually assigned freshman year of high school. Prior this, my mother forced me to (thankfully) watch the film when I was much younger. I can't emphasize this enough, but if you haven't seen the movie or read the book, you are missing out.

The plot is simple, and yet covers the complexities of life. Rape. Segregation. Racism and prejudice. The legislative system of the courts. Social out-casting. Lies and pride, both of which that lead to corruption. Chosen ignorance and naivete. Doing what's right, despite lack of support. Standing up for the wronged, those that are depressed, and those that are defenseless. Being the hero that no one recognizes or understands. Being a father to the young, when its hard to admit the harsh truths of one's generation. Being an example that's hard to follow.

All of this and so much more. Especially to learn from and to weigh into our world, from which the content is pulled from.

And yet, in the sequel Go Set A Watchmen...the main protagonist Atticus Finch, will now be set 20 years into the future of his time, whereby he will now be considered a racist. I do not like this for his character; but perhaps this is for greater and yet unknown reason.

I am open-minded for what Harper Lee brings to the table in this sequel, as well as what she has to say about our world and the many people that inhabit it. I will be sure to share my thoughts after reading.

Everything is Bigger in Texas...and Yet Teaching Slavery is Not

My grandmother is from Texas, I am sure this would piss her off as much as it does to me now.

I want to be a teacher myself, and no matter how much I dislike American history, I do own it...both the good and the bad. We must teach both sides, so as to learn from our mistakes, to realize the grace and mercies that have spared us and allowed us to overcome, so we could promise the next generations better futures.

I am ashamed.

Please read the article from the Washington Post below. Please feel free to leave your opinions in the comments.

Only in Texas: Slavery is a Side Issue in Civil War

Miss This Movie If You Want to Live (haha get it)

Terminator 5: Genisys. 4 out of 10.

I'm a fan of the series, but I have to be honest here and give my full criticisms. Spoilers below.

So the opening of the film drags on, giving a strong reflection of the departure of Kyle Reese to the timeline of Terminator 1. However, the opening equally separates itself from Terminator Salvation, by reinventing the relationship and interactions between Kyle and John Connor. What pisses me off, was that there were so many quality actors in the film, but they were wasted on a poor script and overall horrible writing.

Too much was going on. Time travel was overused. The idea of alternate realities was a good one, its just that there seemed to be too many options addressed at once, so it was very hard to believe that any of the good guys were ever prepared for something like this.

The majority of the characters were ruined. Kyle and Sarah Connor only weren't that bad on the basis that the other characters were completely wrecked. Kyle was too wimpy and indecisive, he also wasn't a badass, like he used to be. Literally, he was only there for body shots. Big waste on what I consider a great actor. Sarah Connor played an interesting interpretation of being young. Her faults however were in the fact she never had plans and complained waaay too much. Aside from that, she talked about her past childhood too much to the point where I stopped caring, and her relationship with Arnold's Terminator (pitifully called "Pops") was not only awkward, but could not be taking seriously. Mostly, I hated how they tried to reinvent the romance between Kyle and Sarah. It was perfect the way it was. Tbh, I regret that one or both of the characters didn't die off.

Speaking of people, you couldn't take serious, Arnold. He had many cool scenes, but all of them were wasted, in terms of their potential. Literally, he needed to be helped out in every situation, or was the back-up. Not ONCE did he ever have a one-versus-one fight. One should not add character development to a Terminator...this idea was definitely pushed far too much in the film, as for some reason, he was a father-figure (I can't believe I just said that, let alone watched it). His character was actually pretty weak, and arguably of the same power as the humans he guarded, yet again pitiful. Watching every scene, was like watching an old guy with arthritis trying to write scenes in a movie... where an old guy with arthritis somehow wins. In a weird ending, he is somehow overpowered, and does nothing with his newfound power...HORRIBLE WRITING, as though empowered, he is purposeless. What sucks is that he used some form of magnet in like the entire second half of the movie, which was not only boring, but repetitive, and like Arnold in the film, got old quick. For some reason Arnold became: the voice of reason between clashing Kyle and Sarah; a master of quantum physics/time travel; a comedian. Oh wait a minute, no he didn't, cause Terminator's aren't supposed to have personality and oh yeah his character SUCKED .

As to the villains, they were pitiful. The first evil Arnold got beat too easily. Though the Asian T-1000 was creative, it was shot at repeatedly, and for some reason was not rational enough to escape. Lastly, JOHN CONNOR'S CHARACTER WAS RUINED. Like there idea was cool, and I respect it. What made Terminator 2: Judgement Day so cool, was the idea that your enemy was now your ally. They do the reverse with John Connor. Except, you can't believe the character. Like there were no signs of him trying to resist, which I found ridiculous. Also, I don't think he should have been that powerful, there was no significant difference between him and a T-1000. As to Skynet/Genisys... the hologram idea was creepy at first, but soon got very annoying. By personifying Skynet, the enemy now has a face, and is not so omnipresent as it used to be...

The movie seemed to be going all over the place, and the characters definitely were not ready for what they were up against. Too many blow up scenes, and equally, too much character development that was rather forced. Last, a happy ending was weird; someone should have died for a sense of the series' dark realism. Honestly, simpler would have been better. I am saddened there is likely going to be a sequel to this.

You know how they made Terminator Salvation just to make up for Terminator 3?...well, this movie was so bad, they need to make another called Terminator Redemption. There came a point, when I couln't take the movie or its plot seriously. There came a point where I stopped caring about the characters or their outcome. There came a point where I was tempted to give the rating a 5 or 6...then the end happened. There also came a point, where I wondered if this was worse than Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines...and to that, I'll say who cares, I suffered both times.

Don't watch the movie. Just save yourself some time and stop at Terminator 4: Salvation.

Should I Bother With Batman?

This is in reference to finishing reading the NEW52 series. Spoilers below.

So right now in the DCYOU series, there's a new Batman (*SPOILER*), which is Gordon. I personally like the idea, since it could add great character development to an already great character.
The series is just starting, so I'm open-minded and looking forward to where the story will go. In the comic community, there's currently a big divide as die-hard fans are in an uproar to this new Batman. Time will tell, how this story turns out, as right now, it is BIG.

However, this blog post is about what happened before the new Batman.

So, I personally didn't like the Volume 1: Court of Owls arc. I ranked it 7 out of 10. (Nerds/Batman fans, please don't send me hatemail...leave it in the comments). I thought it took too long (11 issues, I only really liked issues #0 and #10) to get to the point; the end was rushed and not as satisfying as it could have been. What I hate the most was that it was just a set-up book to Volume 2: City of Owls, which I haven't read yet, and because Court of Owls was so over-hyped, I don't want to read at all.

So I've asked if I should just skip to the Volume 3: Death of the Family arc...Batman fans claim I'll miss out on important/needed info...So I've been stuck on whether or not I should bother continuing the series. I mean, why waste $20 on a series I'm not invested in.

LUCKILY, my best friend Irene bought me Volume 5: Zero Year: Dark City, which now gives me a reason to buy Volume 4: Zero Year : Secret City...I am really looking forward to the Zero Year arc, as it describes Batman's first fight and his involvement with the Red Hood Gang.

If the Zero Year arc sucks, I'll be sure to let you know here on my blog. I will also stop reading the entire series, and just wait to see if this Gordon arc is worth my time. Stay tuned for more!

Chronicle...the Most Underrated, Yet Best SuperHero Movie EVER.

So what happens when a bunch of high school guys get telekinetic powers?

Well...everything.

That is the premise of the movie in a nutshell. Simple, yet throughout, enticing.

Clip from Chronicle

Storytelling was not original, however, it was the most realistic. Pacing was appropriate, with a gradual start to get a feel for the characters and their environment, then quick and sudden to keep the audience on their feet and entrapped in the film. There was an existing level of predictability, as such with most movies within this genre, yet I was still enthralled for more.

Lots of action, and equally, finesse. Cinematography was great, as it really added to the feeling as if you were actually there with the characters, living the life as they do. I was actually saddened when I realized how many other superhero films over-complicate this aspect and force "great scenes"in our faces, often times as this tends to be poorly received.

Acting was superb throughout. Perhaps it was this aspect that pulled the movie together the most. Everyone was believable. Even if their roles were not too complex, they made them their own, and were quite natural with it. From dark and lonely to know-it-all and popular to not-so-much to I-am-what-I-am-but-what-am-I-really-doing...put simply, I grew to love and be attached to all the characters. Great fluidity here and the dynamic between them all served to huge influence to the quality of the film.

From beginning to end, it was a classic story. Love, loss, friendship, family, identity, sacrifice, freedom, hate, betrayal, power struggle...to be honest, I felt like I was watching a realistic X-Men film (sorry for the diss, but it took you 7 movies to pull that off properly). Also what's great is that its a complete sequel with no need for a prequel or sequel. Last, no plot-holes!

What I don't understand is how this movie only won ONE award, apparently for Best Trailer (didn't even know there's an award for that).

Definitely my favorite Superhero film and now one of my fav films.  10 out of 10 for sure.

BattleBots...The Show You Should Be Watching

First: You don't have to ever watched the show before, to start watching now. Always a plus.

Second: Nerds are RAGING harder than ever before and bragging rights are the real prize here.

Third: ROBOTS ARE KILLING EACH OTHER!!!!

What's not to like?

So its bracketed, so its pretty easy to catch up and figure out how are the favs in the competition. The prep, mods, offense, and defense are all important to the general schematics, and as to popularity and public opinion coming in to the tournament.

The reality, however, is all about one's driving capabilities and strategy. More importantly, is one's ability to survive...especially when things don't go as planned.

There are moments when ego's get wrecked almost as badly as the robots themselves. 

There is fire. There is shredding. There is over 250 pounds worth of flipping, fighting, and raw force. 

You will love the weapons. You will love the energy. You will love the battle.

I'm 3 episodes in. Watch BattleBots.  

Wanna Learn More?

Which Comic Book Character Best Represents the 4th of July?

I'm betting 99.9% of you are thinking of Captain America. Some of you who like American warfare, may also be thinking G.I. Joe or plausibly Transformers.

However, all of you are wrong...

Jubilee. She is clearly the best.

This character is a mutant among the X-Men, arguably the most young (if you exclude all the post X-Men groups that really sucked, and were crappy attempts to reach the appeal of the younger generations). Her power is practically the equivalent of firecrackers. I hated her as a character, because she was the most inexperienced, and also the most useless. Often times, she got the X-Men into more trouble trying to rescue her, than her actually saving them. On her own, she was even more useless, though rather resourceful. She's on the soft-part of my heart, as she was a constant team-up with Wolverine, the latter clearly doing all of the work. Regardless of how fans and hater alike felt about her, she is arguably a core team-member of the X-Men, for which many of us are excited to see her official debut in the upcoming film X-Men: Apocalypse (she was actually see in the Deleted Scenes of X2: X-Men United).

Anyhow...HAPPY 4TH!

FINALLY...My Review of "Guardians of the Galaxy"

Let me get to the point (for once): It was good. NOT GREAT, but good. Definitely better than my expectations. 7 out of 10.

Here's why it took so long for me to watch: So straight up the comics suck. When I first started reading comics, I picked up the series, because I was like "I like Marvel and I like Star Wars and I like Sci-Fi, so this has to be good"...IT WASN'T. This was considering I read the arc that made them popular, known as Annihilation. So of course I took a break until right when I heard they were making a movie...so I picked the series again, whereby they had a new team, currently consisting of Iron Man and Agent Venom...my high hopes for improvement were wasted: the story was hardly better.

Thankfully I ran into someone who watched the movie first and loved it. This person, then read the comics, and soon to have the same self-realization as I had experienced twice-over. The fact that this woman agreed with me, and still told me to watch the movie gave me the inspiration I needed. Also taking my friend Simon's file, also proved necessary. My critique of the movie is below; Spoilers ahead.

So the first hour was long and boring. First half honestly seemed to be going knowhere (GET IT, HAHA). Not great set-up at all, as I think it could have been done at a faster pace, and it would have gotten the point. Many scenes here had incredibly dry humor and fighting was mostly poor. Thankfully it got better in the second hour. Animation was clearly not-considered, and if anything over-done in the second half, which further proves my point that watching the movie was like watching LAME STAR WARS.

In terms of races and space groups, I was iffy. I am glad they introduced so many important groups in one movie. I was pissed thy never once mentioned the species of either Rocket or Groot. The Ravagers were not necessarily needed in the film, and I feel like they were too much like cross between cowboys and pirates...it was kinda weird, esp to take them seriously aside from their captain. They didn't establish enough Kree to really understand what they are as a species, as its not just Ronan the Accuser who is a fanatic. As to the Nova Corps, overall they were embarrassing, and practically defenseless. The fact that the Ravagers had more ships survive than the Nova fleet was pitiful. The Nova Corps should have had more weapons/tech, that also should have been comparable to Kree weaponry. Also, they showed too many Nova armors to not use it, which was also a waste.

Now main characters. Groot was okay, I hate how much they used him to show love, as it made the movie too much for family/kids. Rocket Raccoon was not as annoying as he easily could have been, thankfully. Gomorrah pissed me off, She was sexy as per her role, but they were equally too many loving moments, for me to take her character seriously.  She's foremost the galaxy's deadliest assassin. She did not seem that way as she never really killed anyone, got beat up easily, bartered too many times, and her final fight *SPOILERS*, she technically never won. Drax was good, overll my fav character. However he was not (and also Ronan) big/strong enough. Drax is literally supposed to be comparable in power to the Hulk. YUP: THE HULK. Thanos pissed me off, like a boss at first, but then told off like a loser in his second scene. Thanos doesn't take that, for he is Thanos. There would have been retribution, and I feel like he should have killed Ronan in the end. I also wish that they should have shown him use his raw power, just for the fact that the audience needs to gauge his weakest before seeing him empowered by the Infinity Stones (*cough* Soul Gems *cough*). Ronan was surprisingly badass. Usually he's the character you love to hate, since he gloats too much and then loses easy. In the movie, his intro is badass, his fights badass, and even his ending. I liked Starlord, but I just wish he didn't have the facial hair and was skinnier. I loved his showings of poor, but needed, but humorous team leadership and the fact that he was always the lead in humor. Often forced in comics, for the movie, it worked in the second hour. All in all, all characters had dialogue and mannerisms and backstory spot on to the comics, which I appreciated.

Now lets talk about the ending. I HATED IT. Yes, I like the interpretation that one Stone is enough to take out the average person...hence the purpose of the Gauntlet. I also like how it could kill you. But I DO NOT agree with the fact that the Guardians could collectively (SPOILER) survive exposure to the gems, and then somehow channel/redirect the power to kill Ronan...it was just overdone, and used as a means to have a happy team-up scene; altogether too obvious for my liking. If not for the ending, I would have ventured giving the movie a 7.5, if not an 8.

I wouldn't really recommend the movie, as again not one of my fav Marvel movies, nor are the characters that interesting for me. This is definitely also a set-up movie, which I hate, since there was no actual plot within this one movie itself. I am glad it remained true to the comics, and yet better. Glad I waited, as it was hardly worth seeing in theaters, and it got too much hype. Watch other movies people, this was good, but not the best.

AMERICA DAY IS HERE!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!

How am I going to celebrate you ask?
Answer: Relaxation with family and movies and probably starting some comics (Civil War seems appropriate for the occasion).

ENJOY YOUR FREEDOM TODAY AND KNOW THAT WAR IS NOT ON OUR SOIL, WHICH IS SOMETHING TO BE THANKFUL FOR...REMEMBER SADLY WE'RE IN A WORLD WHEREBY NOT EVERYONE STILL HAS THAT YET.

BE BLESSED!!!

Review of DC's "Cosmic Odyssey"

I have to be honest when I say this...but this is a a very LAME NAME for a graphic novel as good as this.

So this story was written by Jim Starlin, arguably best known for writing the epic Infinity Gauntlet.
Though not a war, it definitely classifies as a grand story of survival at all costs.For Darkseid fans out there, this is the story of stories. Though surprisingly not a Justice League story, as Darkseid stories usually are, it was great nonetheless.

Basically the story is about the Anti-Life Equation. YUP. The same Anti-Life Equation that has fueled all the evil that is Darkseid. But, as always, the Anti-Life Equation is not what it seems to be... in fact, it is so much more. More evil. More powerful than could ever be imagined...

So much so, that Darkseid needs the helps of the heroes that he has altogether made his enemies of time past. He needs their help...to save the universe...or so they think.

Great writing and use of characters all-around. Classic and memorable team-ups. My personal fav aspect, is the focus of cause and effect, and the grave measure of consequences.

Highlights: Superman lets thousands die before him. Green Lantern makes one of the biggest and fatal mistakes EVER. Batman punches Orion in the face and walks away from it...that and so much more.

Glad to have this in my collection. Definitely a must read.

The Breaking of Bane...and the New Batman

First, this review is not about current Batman titles...where *Spoilers* Commissioner Gordon is the new Batman. I will probably write about this subject once more issues have been released, and I could gather a better opinion. However, so far, I like where it's going...

This review is about Batman issues #500 and #667. I would like to thank Geektopia for giving m this issues for free! Spoilers below.

So #500 is the finale of the Knightfall arc whereby Batman has been beat by Bane by Bane breaking Batman's back. WOW. That's a lot of B's. So the whole of Gotham knows this (lastly Nightwing of all ppl for some reason) and is scared. Bane has made Batman his, and the police are yet again against the newest Batman, who is chosen and replaced by a crippled and recovering Bruce. Jean Claude Valley, formerly the crazy/schizo/sometimes villain/mostly hero (possibly super-powered) Azrael is now the new Batman and the 3rd Robin Tim Drake doesn't like it. But because he's Tim (my least fav Robin, and currently *SPOILER* Batman Beyond), he won't do anything about it, and just stays in the background as Jean Paul unleashes his violent terror in front of the eyes of Gotham as witness.
Also a new Batsuit is introduced, which is pretty badass and purposeful...in my opinion ugly and clunky at times, but at others dark and menacing. (Kinda ironicThen there are two fights...both are pretty badass...the results, I will just say for now are EPIC...

#667 jumps way later in the Knightquest arc, where you realize Jean Paul's role as Batman still hasn't changed. Nothing really happens in this issue. However, he's still badass with the crime he does fight, and for some reason playing chicken in his Batmobile with a train (collectively going OVER 300 MPH)...fun read at the least.

Even though, its only two issues, glad I read it. It's also made me open-minded towards Jean Paul's Batman. It's known in the Batman community, that everyone HATES this arc...I however am interested to read more, though I hope it stays as good as it is so far.

Superman #75: The Death of Superman

So, I know I read this before, and possibly own this issue. So foremost, I would like to thank my friend Derrick, for giving me his book when we were in English class together that one summer. (Again Derrick, I am sorry for never giving it back to you...but to be fair, I asked and you said its cool, however if you want it back, though reluctant, I would give it back).

Anyhow...I bought a printed issue (beatup and old, but still intact) for 50 CENTS! Definitely the best buy EVER!!!

This is the final fight against Doomsday...back then, the stakes have arguably NEVER been so high...a must-read for Superman fans.

Review for Justice League #41

First off...IT WAS AWESOME!!!

I don't care if you've never read this series before...literally, just start here and you will be impressed. 

Second, I want to give a shout out to my friend Will cause I wouldn't have read this, and probably would have just heard about it secondhand. 

Third SPOILERS:

So basically you get an intro to a bunch of characters. The dialogue and escapism shown was great setup and true to his character. The minor Darkseid fight shows Darkseid's a BOSS as per usual. Even Darkseid's cohorts traveling across the Earth gives an extra adding of fear into Darkseid. Then you get an intro to *Spoiler* Darkseid's daughter Grail who takes down JL single-handed. Super-badass, and I'm looking forward to how she will be used for the future...hopefully she doesn't get ignored easily, as I think she could make a GREAT WonderWoman villain. I loved how Superman and Luthor are classically pitted against each other...more importantly, I'm looking forward to their likely team-up in the next issue. I think the story pacing starts slow, but overall gets quick and edge-of-your feet fast...

I think that the new female leads should be very pivotal to the story...

Also, the main villain introduced will scare the crap out of you...

*SPOILERS*

DARKSEID VS ANTI-MONITOR WAR should be your top read right now!