I Miss Hana…

 

Hana Gitelman, a little known character on the TV show Heroes, really didn’t get me too excited when she first came into the TV show helping Ted and Matt take down the company, or try to. She then just dissapeared, only being found in the graphic novels which I’m now working on which apparently led to her death somehow in “The Death of Hana Gitelman, Part 1 and 2.” I can understand she really didn’t fit into the TV medium with her power of cyberpathy and electronic reception, but as you can see in that picture, she looks like she’d kick butt! In an interview, they said she was better off in the comics with her bigger sequences in China, jungles, and in space. I guess she just belonged in the comics. If anything really cool comes up in the comicsinvolving Hana, I’ll let you know, but until then, Hana will always be in the deep Heroes fan’s heart.

What is Yahoo! Trying to Say?

   

I’m a member of Yahoo, and I review movies on their site. Anyway, they have a feature where they recommend movies for you. And mine has recommended First Sunday, 27 Dresses, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, P.S. I Love You, Mr. Woodcock, and I Am Legend. What are they trying to say, that I enjoy chick flicks with the occassional boring movie after seeing zombie thrillers? Is this because I gave Spiderman 3 an A+?

Oldies Sunday-School of Rock

This is a little thing I’ll try to do where I go back a couple of years and review some of the older, yet still worth mentioning films, films I haven’t gotten to review in the past. This week I’m reviewing one of my favorite movies ever, School of Rock.

(9.50/10.00) School of Rock is a fantastically fun movie, and one that you should not miss. Dewey Finn (Jack Black) is a rock musician, that is until his band dumps him. So now Dewey is band-less and job-less. That is until one day a school calls for Dewey’s roommate to be a sub for a middle school class, and, needing some money, Dewey takes the job. Pretty soon Dewey turns the class into a rock band, and uses them to try to win The Battle of the Bands. This movie is hillarious, with several rock and roll references, things that go along with rock references, and the classic humor from Jack Black. The story goes along well, and at 107 minutes, it doesn’t overstay its welcome. The movie is just a plain old fashioned fun ride, making you enjoy every minute of it. I loved it, and if even if you hate rock and roll, you will too.

Tim Sale’s Greatest Artwork

Tim Sale, as you may know, does the artwork for Heroes in the form of the late painter, Issac’s Mendez’s paintings. These are beautiful pieces, and are so good I’ve decided to share them with you. Here are some of my favorites. And as you can see with the bottom picture, they all come true.

 

   

 

Heroes Volume 1 Comic Collection

 

Thanks to some help from Dragon Shensi and my Mom, I have just picked up the Heroes Volume 1 Graphic Novel set, which consists of 34 Chapters, making a very heavy comic book set, but totally worth it. It also features the brilliant and beautiful, and fully decorates the comic book set. I love it so far and hope to read the rest of it soon, at which time I’ll review it.

The Bucket List

 

(9.75/10.00) When he closed his eyes, his heart was opened; this destined to be classic line is spoken at the beginning and end of the movie, the second time carrying so much more weight. A bucket list is a list of things to do before you kick the bucket, and I think seeing this movie should be one of them. This movie, entitled “The Bucket List”, brings across a strong message, but also brings along several others, all while delivering a hilarious, heartfelt, and fun experience. The movie starts with a superb note, including Morgan Freeman delivering a narration speaking of Edward Cole, and his journeys in the last days of his life, all the while as we see a man climbing a tall mountain. But our story starts much sooner. Carter Chambers, played excellently by Morgan Freeman, is a mechanic with lots of knowledge who discovers that he has cancer. His counterpart throughout most of the movie, Edward Cole, played by the Joker himself, Jack Nicholson, is a hospital chain owner who also finds out he is desperately ill. They end up in the same hospital room, both taking their illnesses different ways, Edward being a depressed patient, while Carter takes it as calm and cool as possible. They later learn that they have about 6 months left, and despite Mrs. Chambers’ warnings, they decide to take and fulfill their own “Bucket List”. They go on through fantastic adventures, enjoying every step of their adventure, including the hilarious sky-diving sequence which made every person in the theater over 50 (nearly everyone but myself) laugh until it hurt, Edward getting a tattoo and Carter not even wanting “a black Jesus”, and several other things most dream about. Although fulfilling the bucket list was fun, the beginning and end of the movie was my favorite, and probably the most powerful parts of the movie. The performances by Freeman and Nicholson really convey the age and wisdom needed for the roles, and after watching the film, I was convinced they were the best for the job. A warning to the younger, this movie does contain some harsh language, so the younger kids may want to skip this one, take them to go see Alvin and the Chipmunks again. But as for older and more mature, this is a perfect fit for anyone who wants a great, funny movie, perfect for a great afternoon at the movies. I loved this movie, and despite some rough patches in the middle, it was a great pick. I definitely look forward to picking this up on the extra bonus edition 2-disc DVD set. I can’t say enough good things about this movie, so do yourself a favor and watch it. I loved this movie, and if you’re looking for a good, funny, tear-jerking buddy movie, this is the perfect fit.  

Mr. Monk Goes To The Bank

 

Just for those of you who (James) who didn’t know this is a plot overview, it is, so I’m giving a spoiler warning. Anyway, this week’s episode was truly one of my favorites as Mr. Monk did everything he could to try to get back Trudy’s bracelet. But let’s take a few steps back. The story starts with Monk and Natalie watching TV, when Monk sees that the bank he goes to has been robbed, with one teller being shot. He panics, and runs to the bank. There he realizes Trudy’s bracelet that was in his safety deposit box (#100, of course) has been stolen. I was kind of hoping this crime was linked to Trudy with the bracelet, but I’ll live. Monk decides to go undercover as a security guard in a heartbeat, so he can get an inside look at the bank. Throughout the episode actions like this and others really give you a sense that Monk will do anything to get that bracelet back, showing some depth to a show that’s sometimes been a shallow pool. Anyway, Monk soon deciphers some clues that leads him to find out that the bank manager was in on it. They follow him home, where they find his dead body in the trunk of a new Jaguar car that he had bought. Monk follows a note he found at the manager’s house to a pawn shop where he thinks the manager sold Trudy’s bracelet. The pawn shop owner, played by Dan Castellenata, was a good pick by producers. Monk then finds out the thief left some of it back at the bank, so he goes back with Natalie, Captain, and Randy, thanks to one of the bank employees who proved not to be so nice. As they are searching the vault, Monk discovers 6 toothpicks, and realizes what happened 2 days ago at the robbery. But before he can solve the case, they are locked in. As soon as they discover their fate, he reveals what happened. Here’s what happened: All 6 of the bank employees decided they could pull off a fake bank robbery and make it look like someone else did it. They planned it all out, and drew tothpicks to see who would get shot. The manager got greedy and broke the agreement by spending some of the money, and was killed. They were all in it together. WHile caught in the vault, the promo’s classic “I’m not gonna die here, I’ll die over there” came in, but besides then, Monk was pretty quiet. They later used Trudy’s bracelet, at Monk’s depressed will, to cut into a safebox to signal help from the outside sign. The episode was a pretty good, it had it’s funny moments, and still provided an emotionally strong and creative episode.