The LA Time Hero Complex blog is reporting that on Thursday it is expected that Warner Brothers will be announcing that Geoffrey Rush will be joining the cast of the Green Lantern movie. He will be playing Tomar-Re, a member of the Green Lantern Corps. In the comics Tomar-Re is one of the first members of the Corps that speaks to Hal Jordan and the two end up becoming good friends.

Taken from the Hero Complex Blog:

Geoffrey Rush is back in the mode of demanding teacher — but instead of a king’s speech therapist, the Aussie actor will be Tomar-Re, a bird-beaked alien who teaches Ryan Reynolds’ character how to use his new cosmic powers in “Green Lantern.”

Warner Bros. is expected to officially announce Thursday that the 59-year-old Oscar winner is giving voice to the CG-created member of the Green Lantern Corps, the intergalactic peace-keeping force that gets its first earthling member in Hal Jordan (Reynolds). Rush’s character — introduced in the pages of DC Comics in 1961 — is a scientist on his home planet and almost spiritual in his tutelage of Jordan even if his reptilian-chicken visage might suggest someone more, um, peckish.

Rush — one of the just 25 actors who have won an Oscar, a Tony and an Emmy – is coming off an Academy Award nomination for “The King’s Speech” and this summer he returns – for a fourth time — to the buccaneer role of Barbossa in the latest installment of Disney’s massive “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise.

“Green Lantern,” directed by Martin Campbell (“Casino Royale“), arrives in theaters June 17 with costars Blake Lively, Mark Strong and Peter Sarsgaard. The film represents a pivotal moment for Warner Bros. as the first release under a new initiative to better exploit the DC universe and with the studio’s plan to push forward with a Justice League film that would presumably include Reynolds in the Green Lantern role.

Ok, take this with a grain of salt, as there is a lot of speculation and educated guesses involved, but it’s looking very likely that Paul McGann will be reprising his role as the 8th Doctor in the upcoming season of Doctor Who.  There has been no official announcement, but if you analyze certain bits of news that have come out over the last couple of days, it starts to paint quite an interesting picture.

First up, geektyrant reports that McGann’s recent appearance at a New Zeland convention unveiled a new costume for his incarnation of the Doctor. This is noteworthy for a couple of reasons. First, WETA Workshop, the renowned prop makers were commissioned to create a new Sonic Screwdriver, the Doctor’s signature gadget. WETA’s work does not come cheap, as it is said that the BBC gave it’s blessing for its creation. Second, the only media the 8th Doctor currently appears in is in the various audio productions by Big Finish. They are new stories, but for cover art, they always use production stills from the 1996 Fox Doctor Who TV Movie, as that is McGann’s only televised appearance as the Doctor.

Detail of WETA's new Sonic Screwdriver.

It could be a flight of fancy on McGann’s part, as it has been reported that he never liked the original garb of the 8th Doctor. We’re fans though, and fans like to dig for evidence. Today, the BBC released the trailer for Series 6 of Doctor Who, starring Matt Smith. It’s an overview for the whole upcoming season. Give it a watch, then I’ll share something with you.

Pretty cool, huh? Anyway, as pointed out to me by Talking About Games editor Addam Kearney if you look at the trailer at around the 37 second mark, you see the interior of the TARDIS in a bit of trouble, but it is not the 11th Doctor’s TARDIS.

Just in case you don't want to hunt for the screenshot

To the astute eye, you can see based on the architecture, this is the TARDIS of the 9th and 10th Doctors. When we met the 9th Doctor in 2005, he had just reached his 9th incarnation, so this TARDIS also belonged to the 8th Doctor. Couple that with the throwaway lines in the railer regarding the Doctor “killing all the Time Lords”, thoughts go back to the often talked about, but never shown Last Great Time War. The Last Great Time War was during the tail end of the 8th Doctor’s tenure. When you add all of these bits up, it paints a very interesting picture.

9th on the left, 11th on the right.

Like the headline says, this is just a rumor. We don’t know if it’s true or not, but it seems more likely than not. Tell us what you think in the comments, and we’ll keep you posted as this develops!

I did an interview with Dave Filoni, supervising director of The Clone Wars for my piece on The Huffington Post about The Clone Wars (which you can read here), and we talked at length about the political intrigue that has ramped up in Season 3 of the show and where we can expect the show to go from here.

Every time I talk with Dave Filoni, you can just feel how much he loves the Star Wars universe, as much or more as any of us fans.  And this conversation we had provides quite a few tantalizing tidbits about the direction of Season 4.  And once again he proves his thorough knowledge of the ins and outs of the Star Wars universe, both as a storyteller and a filmmaker.  He never ceases to impress me.

This is an abridged version of our talk:

Dave Filoni: The second half of season 3 is much more indicative of where the series is going as a whole.  They’re much more in the mold of the swashbuckling vein of the original trilogy, but they still have the political overtones the prequels had.  We still have to deal with the senate.  We did the political episodes in the first half of the season and we got better and better at them as we went.  By the time we did ‘Heroes on Both Sides’, I think we showed that the Separatists aren’t all villains and Ahsoka says, “This war isn’t as black and white as I once thought it was.”  And to me, that’s her coming to terms with being a human being (I know she’s not a human being) but coming to the understanding that the world is a much more complex place than she first thought.  When you’re growing up as a kid and you realize there are kids all over the world and they all have different political views and people don’t always agree on things.  That doesn’t necessarily mean  it’s evil or good.  It’s an awakening for her.

We don’t get as detailed with that in the future season but we definitely show it more from the war front side.  In some ways it’s like the film Patton.  In that film you always understood that the politics were always affecting what Patton was trying to do on the front line but you saw it more from the General’s standpoint.  The future of the show we go more from the general’s standpoint and how some of the machinations we saw, how the corruption we saw across the galaxy, is affecting these soldiers and these commanders on the front line.

Bryan Young: Watching the show with my kids, they have questions about things like the opening crawl in Revenge of the Sith that says “There are heroes on both sides, evil is everywhere” you guys were able to clear up some of that.

DF: When you look at that opening, it was a really intriguing statement.  Even though I’m an adult, I thought, “Wow.  What does that mean?”  And when you look at the Star Wars saga, you understand that the Republic just transitions into the Empire.

In my opinion, Anakin doesn’t really see that he changes sides at all.  If you ask Anakin as Darth Vader, “Did you betray the Jedi?” he would say, “No.  The Jedi betrayed the Republic.”  He doesn’t ever understand that he transitions from one thing to the next.  He definitely makes the moves to gain more power, which George [Lucas] has always said is really at the root of a lot of evil of the dark side is that they’re selfish and through those selfish motives they try to seek power.  And Anakin does it by being selfish and trying to keep his friends alive at all costs when he doesn’t look to Yoda and isn’t selfless about letting go of people.  You can see these extremes just looking at Anakin and it says there are heroes on both sides and evil everywhere and the Jedi didn’t see that clearly enough.  Much to their downfall.

It’s an interesting story to tell in that I know the Clones which the kids like very much eventually in Revenge of the Sith turn around  and are ordered to execute their commanders, the Jedi.  So it does make me think of a lot of things to do with the story, especially with popular characters like Captain Rex and I think that because those big questions, evil is everywhere, heroes are on both sides, the politics are thus involved to help explain some of the machinations behind it all.  So you’ll have a better understanding of how this all happened.  In the movie’s it’s all much more focused on Anakin’s personal story.

BY: You guys have received a lot of criticism for taking the bad guys from the original films and making them heroes here.  But is there a better lesson people can be taking from that?

DF: I think Palpatine, as far as the lesson there, is that he’s deceptive.  He seems like the kindly old man but he is really the evil monster he’s revealed to be in the later films.  That’s such a common thing in mythology.  You think the person is kind, the beautiful Queen in Snow White is supposed to be kindly, but her beauty is a deception.  She’s not.  She’s really evil.  The old man you think is withered and helpless is deceiving you, he’s actually a powerful sorceror.  There’s a really simple directorial thing in Return of the Jedi that illustrates it really well.  When he gets off of the shuttle, he’s walking using the cane, and all the scenes you see him in up until Luke Skywalker shows up he generally has his cane.  But then when Luke is in front of him, he rises up out of his chair and just walks over to Luke.  As the audience, you were being deceived into thinking this guy was really aged and weak and he’s not.  He’s extremely powerful.  So I think that’s part of the lesson being learned.

And part of our examination of the clones in great detail is more really looking at these guys as soldiers and asking how they follow orders and do they follow all of them like the Kaminoan’s think?  Are they thoughtless in their execution of following orders?  Do they develop a personality?  How would the Jedi interact with an entire race of soldiers created for them and do they try to humanize these guys, not just use them as tools?  I think once you’re dealing with a cloned army, a lot of those questions come along with that idea.  Especially since you have the Jedi, this selfless people guiding this army, you’d think that they would try to be kind to them.  And we tried to show that each Jedi  General’s personality is reflected in their soldiers.  So it’s going to be a big shift for everybody when they become Stormtroopers in the end.  It’s fun stuff really.

BY: Do you think there’s something to be said about the fact that you’re showing people the sympathetic side of these people?  And really this is in play in even the classic trilogy, but it depends on your own point of view what’s evil.  Especially in today, reflecting in the events of what’s going on, good is a point of view.

DF: That’s what Palpatine would like you believe, for sure.  I found it really interesting in Return of the Jedi that Obi-Wan Kenobi tells Luke that “you’re going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.”  And that’s the response to the fact that he lied to Luke about his father.  But when you find Palpatine in the opera scene in Revenge of the Sith, he tells Anakin that good and evil is a point of view.  That you’re listening to the dogmatic views of the Jedi and evil is a real thing only depending on what side of the fence you sit on.  There’s probably some truth to that in a way, but it’s a very good line by Palpatine because it’s very easy to believe that.  If you believe that it makes you think that other things you do aren’t so extreme because it’s only a point of view.  Are the Clone Troopers evil because they executed an order they were given?  Can they help when they do that order?  Are the all complicit when they do that order?  Do some of them not want to follow Order 66?  Those are all great questions that I think this series will be headed towards before it’s all over.  It’s a great question to ask.  Is that true?  Good and evil is dependant on your point of view?  Or are there truly evil things?

I think everybody in a way is a pawn of Palpatine during the Clone Wars.  The politicians that work with him, they’re greedy and they want more power for themselves.  If they knew he was a Sith Lord, they probably wouldn’t even care.  What does that mean to them as long as they mean more money and become more powerful?  The Jedi are so wrapped up  in their own politics and doing what they think is right from wrong that they can’t see this guy that in a lot of ways they helped get elected (through the defense of Naboo and  and different channels) is the Sith lord they should be looking for.  He’s right under their nose.  Padme believes in Palpatine because he’s from Naboo and he’s a fatherly figure to Anakin and her.  It’s all under the umbrella of this truly evil guy.  In some ways the Bounty Hunters are the most removed because they’re independent.  Like Boba Fett and Cad Bane.  But Bane is driven by greed.  Boba Fett is confused about his motivations because of the death of his father.  It sounds like a lot of ramblings, I’m sure, but in a way it goes to illustrate how fertile this area of Star Wars is for storytelling because there’s so much at work, politically, with the Jedi, with the Clones, in the Outer Rim, with the Bounty Hunters, it really is the heyday of this period before the Empire comes in and puts it’s big boot down and tries to get everyone in order.

BY: For adults that might ordinarily say, “I love Star Wars, but why would I watch this cartoon?” what would you say to them?

DF: We’re just telling stories and a good story is a good story no matter what style or medium it’s  told through.  I’m sure they all go and see Pixar films because they’re wonderfully told stories.  I think they’ve proven that even though the kids like it, adults get a lot of it, too.  Clone Wars is that way.  We’re telling these stories using animation but they’re stories just the same as George has  always told them going back to 1977, he loves animation.  Many of those live action films you’d go see have a huge amount of animation in it, so it’s all just coming together.  A lot of people in animation feel like we’re just telling stories and we happen to use animated characters.  I have brilliant voice actors behind those characters, brilliant animators doing the work, and at the end of the day if the story is good, and I think these stories are aimed at everybody, for old and young…

When I was a kid I remember Star Wars being the first big thing my dad and I really sat down and I knew he liked.  He wasn’t a crazy fan of it, but he was always into opera and it was kind of like space opera.  That was always a big creative bridge between us to talk about the music of Star Wars and of the operas he liked.  I get a lot of comments from people that they watch Clone Wars with their kids and this is a family Friday night, even when the shows are sometimes fun and whimsical and sometimes more intense, they like to sit there and talk about what the show will say.  And I think biggest compliment we can get on this series is that we’re getting generations to sit down and watch it in this fantastic world that George created.

BY: It’s funny, my favorite episodes are not my kids’ favorite episodes, and vice versa.  Their favorite episode, hands down, is Bombad Jedi and they will watch it on a continuous loop.

DF: How about that…

BY: They’re big Chaplin fans and they’ll watch that and “The Kid” back to back and they think it’s just as good.

DF: Wow.  That just proves there’s something for everybody in The Clone Wars.

The Clone Wars season three finale airs on Friday on Cartoon Network. Be sure to check local listings for showtimes. Season four begins in the fall.

Be sure to come back to Big Shiny Robot! for all your Star Wars news! (All your geek news, too.)

Well, this is it, the last entry in my theme month here at Secret Origins. I had a lot of fun telling the tales of some of the funny animal heroes that got me into comics in the first place. I really wanted to end with Hoppy, The Marvel Bunny, but as I said last week, getting a hold of his origin issue is way beyond my price range. Then, as I was digging through my back issues, I found a hero that is both comparable, and more than a bit weird. This hero isn’t a funny-animal per se, as he is humanoid. I wouldn’t exactly call him human though. What I would call him is downright freaky and disturbing, given the context in which he operates. I think it’ll just be better if we dive right in, so here we go with… The Secret Origin of Thunderbunny!

Our tale begins in Boston, where the high winds in the skyscraper district are wreaking havoc with those unfortunate enough to have to check window supports. Wouldn’t you know it, the scaffolding rope snaps, and we instantly have trouble with a capital T. Luckily, young Bobby Caswell sees the danger and even though he is reluctant to do so (we’ll see why in a second), he claps his hands together and an amazing and startling change takes place.

Furry Attack! Run away! Run Away!

So, Thunderbunny rescues the window worker, who doesn’t instantly die from shock, so credit where it’s due, I guess. Once TB takes him to the roof to meet with his fellow though, question are definitely asked. Well, they are more like exasperated gasps of disbelief, so the Caped Cottontail flies off, looking back with a creepy gaze and a message.

"Like we could forget, I'll see you every time I close my eyes!"

So with the day saved, Thunderbunny retreats to an abandoned alleyway and returns to his human form. Bobby Caswell returns home and since this is his first appearance, his thoughts inevitably turn to how he came to be in the situation he’s in. A few summers ago, Bobby was Uncle’s place, enjoying his favorite pastime of reading comics when what seemed like a shooting star landed at nearby Bald Mountain. Being the impetuous young lad that he is, Bobby searches for what he believes to be some somewhat harmless debris from space. Instead, he comes across an alien craft of unknown origin. Having no common sense whatsoever, Bobby enters the craft. It’s deserted, but there is a conveniently placed alter that has 3-fingered handholds. Of course he touches them, and then he has what I like to think of as a mind trip induced by sugary cereals and Saturday morning cartoons.

"Man, I knew I shouldn't have dropped acid while watching Shirt Tales!"

Doctor Bar-Ko continues that Bobby will never forget the image of his race’s superhero, Thunderbunny. I think that’s kind of an understatement, Doc. Also, why are you giving away this insane amount of power and your only requirements are intelligence and hands?! By that criteria, we could have ended up with a rampaging super gorilla/bunny, and no one wants that! Ah, there is a limitation to the powers though, and it is a hefty one. Apparently, to return to his own form, Bobby has to keep a clear mental image of himself, and the longer he stays in Thunderbunny’s form, the harder it will be for him to do so. Talk about your catch-22 situation. Bobby emerges from the ship, pretty unbelieving of these occurrences. Bobby tries the handclap thing. Of course it works, so he does what any self-respecting person who suddenly finds themselves with superpowers would do, he tries to fly.

Really? And here I thought he was swimming, Thanks block letters!

Bobby proceeds to fly around the city, and because he is an archetypal, though odd-looking hero type, he discovers a robbery in progress and decides to intervene. Now, I am not a criminal, but if a 6-foot refugee from Antro-Con decided he wanted to stop me, I think I’d just give up right then. These guys however, don’t waste time trying to fight back. Their efforts come to naught as Thunderbunny finds he is super-strong, invulnerable, and probably has advanced hearing what with the ears and all, so he wipes the floor with them.

Take THAT, Thundarr the Barbarian!

The day is saved, but for some reason, people are freaking out. You’d think they’d never seen a super hero before. Bobby/Thunderbunny takes this time to look at his reflection in a shop window. His reaction is calm and measured. A more mature reaction you will never see in all of comicdom. He’s a nice, well-adjusted young man for sure.

C'mon, you saw this coming, right?

I guess I would freak out a bit too, but honestly, he was given the powers by an anthropomorphic dog, who even showed him what he’d look like. If the boy is going to choose now to freak out, maybe Bar-Ko has an even lower standards for “intelligence” then I previously thought. Suitably freaked-out over his appearance, Thunderbunny claps his hands to change back into Bobby, but well… it doesn’t work. He just manages to give his hands the mother of after-clap stings. He decided to give it the old college try again…

"Kla-Zamm!" Similar to but legally distinct from Shazam!

So Bobby returns to his old self and engages is some tried and true comic book angst.  He doesn’t know if being a superhero is worth it if he has to do it in the guise of a giant pink rabbit. I can’t say I blame the kid, but I would be much more concerned with the fact that he could lose his identity as a human permanently! Maybe that’s because I live in the real world and have to think of things like consequences. Bobby’s story ends there, but it is by no means the end of Thunderbunny. Shortly after this tale was published, Charlton, the publisher would give up most of their properties to DC, but not Thunderbunny. He actually got picked up by Archie for a while, teaming up with that stable of superheroes before getting his own (very) short-lived title from WaRP Graphics, so I guess Bobby overcame his misgivings. Honestly, even without the bunny stuff, the idea of being stuck as a hero is an incredibly interesting concept that I’m curious to see if it was actually delved into in any sort of meaningful way. At any rate, I hope you enjoyed funny animal month. Next week, I’ll be back to my normal randomness. If you have a suggestion for a Secret Origin you’d like to see, drop me a comment!

This story originally appeared in Charlton Bullseye Vol 2 #6 March, 1982. I don’t think it’s ever been reprinted, but I could be wrong.

Monitor Tapes Returns! Ken D and Martin j DeKay review the recent releases from DC and get back into the swing of things! Download now!!!!

BATMAN  #708 *
SUPERMAN #709
BATGIRL #19
BATMAN AND ROBIN #21
GREEN LANTERN #64
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #55
SUPERBOY #5
BATMAN INCORPORATED #4
BATMAN: STREETS OF GOTHAM #21
BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT #2

On the BSR! feed
Or iTunes

Here’s the highlights of April’s offerings from Zenescope Entertainment. With a nice mix of magic, violence, and cheesecake art April looks like an awesome month. I’m hoping to see more ‘Chronicles of Dr. Herbert West’ on comixology soon but until then I’m most looking forward to Fly #1 and the  Monster Hunters’ Survival Guide.

Brimstone Issue #2
Brian McCarthy & Michael Lent (W)
Cover A by Stjepan Sejic
Cover B by Mike DeBalfoThe Viper and his posse discover a vault piled high with gold but guarded by a dying man armed
for Armageddon. He draws his last breath with only a single word of warning: “Run!” There is something out there, watching and waiting… and it’s hunger is growing stronger. 28 Days Later
collides with the Old West in the newest action/ horror series from Zenescope Entertainment!
32 pgs, FC, $3.25

Fly Issue #1
Raven Gregory (W) Eric J (A)
Cover A by Eric Basaldua
Cover B by Artgerm
Cover C by Eric J
Kirkham Exclusive Cover D
What if there was a drug that gave you the power to fly? How far would you go to possess it and who would you hurt to get your next “fix?” This is the story of Eddie Patron. Eddie was trying to live a normal life. But he has a secret, one that is coming back to haunt him, and Eddie’s life will never be the same. From the mind of the writer of Image Comics’ THE GIFT, Zenescope’s Wonderland trilogy and THE WAKING comes Raven Gregory’s latest tale of suspense set in a world where superheroes aren’t really heroes at all… How far would you go to FLY? Featuring 4 covers by superstar artists Ebas (Witchblade, Grimm Fairy Tales), Artgerm (Batman, Bird’s of Prey), Eric J (JSA, Rex Mundi), and a Tyler Kirkham cover (Green Lantern Corps, Stryke Force, The Gift) as an exclusive. Don’t miss what is guaranteed to be the hottest new series of
the year! ONLY $2.99!!! As an added bonus retailers who order 20 copies of cover A get 5 additional copies free.

Monster Hunters’ Survival Guide Case Files: Sasquatch
Joe Brusha (W)
Cover A by Al Rio
Cover B by Pasquale QualanoMonster Hunter JP Russ has faced down hundreds of monsters in his career. But in the Pacific Northwest he may have finally met his match as he comes up against the most famous monster
of them all…Sasquatch. Russ is in a race against time as he investigates the disappearance of campers from Mt. Hood National Park and the trail is fresh with 15” footprints that only one
creature can make. From the case files of renowned monster hunter himself. Retailer Note: This book is formatted as a traditional four color comic.
48 pgs, FC, $4.99

Neverland One-Shot- Dream Eater Saga Part 5
Raven Gregory (W)
Cover A by Khary Rhandolph
Cover B by Ale GarzaPan finds himself trapped on Earth retaining only a fraction of the power he once possessed. But when Pan learns of the Dream Eater’s arrival on Earth he formulates a plan to reclaim his throne and regain the power he once had. Part five of the event that will change the Grimm Fairy Tales Universe forever is here.
32 pgs, FC, $2.99

Also out in April:

Animal Planet’s Worlds Most Dangerous Animals
Written by Joe Brusha, Neo Edmund, Barbara Randall Kesel, Paul Kupperberg, Aaron
Rosenberg and Darren Vincenzo
Grizzly Bears, giant Salt Water Crocodiles, rogue Lions… we don’t occupy a place on their list
of usual prey items and rarely do we cross paths with these deadly predators. Still, on occasion,
the most dangerous animals in the wild set their sights on humans and when they do the results
can be devastating. This first book in Silver Dragon Books Animal Planet series looks at these
terrifying encounters and illustrates what happens when humans interact with the Worlds Most
Dangerous Animals.
120 pgs, FC, $9.99

Charmed Trade Paperback Volume 2
184 pgs, FC, $17.99

Grimm Fairy Tales Issue #61
32 pgs, FC, $2.99

Grimm Myths & Legends Issue #1, 2nd Printing
32 pgs, FC, $2.99

Grimm Myths & Legends Issue #6- Dream Eater Saga Part 3
32 pgs, FC, $2.99

Tales From Neverland Issue #3
32 pgs, FC, $3.99

Wonderland One-Shot- Dream Eater Saga Part 4
40 pgs, FC, $3.99

Over the weekend, Proletariatron, Mexicus Prime and I ventured out to our local cinema to take in the stylized film that is Sucker Punch. Prior to our viewing we all avoided any and all official reviews about the film, though, we heard a few rumblings here and there that this movie just wasn’t that good. After my viewing of the film I visited a few sites to read some reviews, and they were less than favorable. The thing is, I don’t disagree with any of the negative things said about the film – the plot was pretty convoluted and weak, the film does come across as just an excuse to showcase sexy women running around kicking ass – but, I liked it.

I’m here to give you my “review” of Sucker Punch, without apologizing for any of the many mistakes this film makes. I just feel like that perhaps this isn’t a movie that should just be disregarded so quickly.

There’s something to be said about the frame of mind you go in with for a movie like this. I’m not sure what other people’s expectations were but I was fully prepared for a weak plot that barely serves the purposed of moving the audience from one mindless action scene to another. I’m not a professional movie critic, so perhaps it’s easier for me to just turn my brain off, lower my expectations, and enjoy a loud movie with lots of shooting, stabbing, and punching. Does this say a lot about the film to begin with? Probably not. I decided after viewing the first trailer for Sucker Punch that I was going to go into this film with zero expectations except I am going to see attractive women whooping the hell out of various “bad guys”, and with this very basic expectation, I was pleased.

The film opens with the “basis” of the story: Babydoll (Emily Browning) accidently kills her younger sister trying to protect her from their evil stepfather, who then uses this as fodder to commit her to an insane asylum – this all set to a haunting rendition of “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), performed by Emily Browning. Once in the asylum we find out Babydoll is going to be labotimized in 5 days. Next thing I know, the asylum is now some sort of burlesque house, all the inmates are dancers/whores, and everyone is sexed up to the third degree. I got that this was all being played out in her mind for some reason, but I didn’t really get the point. It’s at this time, about ten minutes into the film, I checked out of the plot. I literally looked over to Mexicus Prime, mouthed “I don’t know what the hell is going on.”, grabbed a handful of popcorn, swirled my Icee around, and decided, “Okay, I’m going to enjoy this for what it is I suppose.” Frankly, it’s a good thing I checked out so early, because all of those kick-ass action scenes we’ve all seen in the trailers, those all happen in the version of Babydoll in Babydoll’s head’s head as she’s dancing. Yeah . . . it makes that little of sense.

For the rest of the movie I was sitting back in my chair enjoying this film for pretty much the only reason I decided to see it. There was ridiculous over-the-top action, kick-ass heroines, obligatory posing after performing some sort of awesome feat, shooting, stabbing, jumping, flipping, skirts flailing, explosions, and loud music to accompany it all. I can honestly say I had a great time watching each and every action sequence presented and for me, that’s all I was really hoping for out of Sucker Punch. The fighting choreography and physics are so over the top at times it reminded me of watching anime, but I was drinking up every last drop of it, and I would think that even those most disgusted with this movie would admit that there were some pretty cool, stylized ass-kickery about these scenes. It are these sequences alone that redeemed this movie in any way for me, and the only reason I suggest to not be so quick to just pass on this film, even if you wait until it hits Netflix. There’s something to be said about just enjoying gratuitis action for the sake of gratuitis action. These action scenes played out on screen as Babydoll is “dancing” come across a bunch of different ideas Zack Snyder had for awesome action sequences – but then just decided to try to cram them all in one movie. At one point or another the girls do battle with WWI nazi zombies, a dragon, knights, robots and samurais. All exciting, sexy-to-look at, stylized, well done scenes – but I really feel like Snyder could have come up with a much better script to tie these things together, or at the very least worked with this idea he had about being in the mind of a young girl in an insane asylum and ironed it out (a lot).

For those of you who have read reviews about this film, unfortunately most of what critics are saying about Sucker Punch is true. The plot is a weak, convoluted excuse to put these action sequences on the big screen and the characters are all one-dimensional. Perhaps I am the exact demographic this movie is aimed down the barrel at: male, mid-twenties, appreciates ridiculous action; so throw a bunch of scantily clad, ridiculously attractive women on screen with swords, guns and acrobatic prowess of course I’m going to enjoy it in some regard – but I recognize that I am most likely in the minority in considering this gives Sucker Punch any sort of redeeming quality.

I can’t “recommend” this movie to anyone. There are far too many mistakes from a bad script, almost non-existant character development, and poor editing during anything thats not an action sequence. That all being said, if you ever find yourself one afternoon craving a movie with loud, stylized, and over-the-top action with sexy actresses, Sucker Punch may feed that craving, and you may enjoy it a little more than everyone else seems to be.

Here are some of the comments made about Sucker Punch by Arse-bot, Mexicus Prime, and Proletariatron during and immediately following the ending of the film:

• “That movie was the live-action version of what kids in elementary school draw in their notebooks during class.” -Proletariatron
• “That movie was loud as shit!” -Mexicus Prime
• “Well, at least it was a sexy looking movie.” -Arse-bot
• “I don’t know what the hell is going on.” -Arse-bot to Mexicus Prime within 10 minutes
• “I just . . . I just don’t know . . . what the . . .” -Mexicus Prime
• “I felt like I just got sucker punched.” (no one laughed) -Mexicus Prime
• “Emily Browning is so hot in this movie it actually pissed me off.” -Arse-bot
• “It’s like someone bet Zack Snyder, ‘Hey man, I bet you can’t fit scifi, steam punk, knights, samurais, dragons, castles, guns, swords, explosions, sexed-up women, over-the-top action, slow motion, robots, bombs, whores, death, violence, lobotomies, nazis, zombies, jet packs, and attempted rape all into one movie!’ To which he replied, ‘Watch me.'” -Arse-bot

You can check out Bizzarobot’s review of Sucker Punch as well!

While not set to air until Easter, the BBC was kind enough to release a small preview of the first episode of the new season titled The Impossible Astronaut. I’ll save my comments until after you the video, so watch and enjoy.

While this snippet is just there to whet your appetite, it does raise some interesting historical questions. It’s obvious that the President depicted here is Richard Nixon, and he is recording the phone call. Could this be a famous 18½ minute interlude that subsequently had to be ‘lost’ and give Nixon a heap of trouble? Well, that’s just speculation on my part, but we’ll all find out when the episode airs on Easter! Let us know what you think in the comments!

It was announced at Megacon & mentioned on Geoff Johns’ Twitter over the weekend and since confirmed by Robot 6. Aquaman is set to be getting a new #1 issue later this year. Details are a little sketchy at this point. It’s unknown if the new series is a mini or an ongoing. Given recent events over in Brightest Day, I guess you can consider it a apoiler that Arthur Curry is not, in fact, dead again. Speaking of Brightest Day, it did its level best to bring re-establish Aquaman and his family/supporting characters, so the framework is in place for a compelling series already.

Say what you will about Geoff Johns, but no one can deny that his guiding hand has re-vitalized many flagging DC properties, and Aquaman will be no exception. One can only hope, anyway. After many short-lived series and the ridicule the character faces from the public at large, it will definitely be an uphill climb for Johns. After all, what other hero can inspire two songs with the exact same title regarding his depression?

The LA Times Hero Complex has the exclusive and we’re here to regurgitate it to you. Over the weekend, Zack Snyder phoned Amy Adams to let her know she’d won the part of Lois Lane in his Superman reboot.

Is it any coincidence that Snyder held off on this announcement until the weekend of the release of Sucker Punch? It seems like this was a very shrewd distraction by the director, as Sucker Punch is hovering in the teens on Rotten Tomatoes.

Adams might just be perfect for the role. She has incredible acting chops and is completely adorable.

From the LA Times:

“There was a big, giant search for Lois,” Snyder said. “For us it was a big thing and obviously a really important role. We did a lot of auditioning but we had this meeting with Amy Adams and after that I just felt she was perfect for it.”

Snyder declined to discuss the precise prominence of Lois in the story or any plot details about the film but he said the role is “a linchpin” to the project and that he considers it essential that Lois — an FDR-era creation – arrives on screen in 2012 with contemporary appeal and spirit.

She joins Henry Cavill who is playing Superman and Clark Kent and Diane Lane and Kevin Costner as Ma and Pa Kent respectively.

The cast for this film is incredible, the only thing that could make this suck is Snyder. And if reviews of Sucker Punch are to be believed, it’s a distinct possibility. Let’s hope the Nolan Brothers and David Goyer can turn in a great script and story, because Snyder is incredible visually. If they can deliver on the writing front as they have with the Batman films, we might have the best Superman film ever made.