It’s not often that a comic book comes out that causes such uproar among its passionate fans. Amazing Spider-Man #700 happens to be one of those that has fans of the wall crawler all riled up.  With a hefty price tag of $7.99 we get a hefty amount of content. Almost 100 pages of content are in this book. It is also virtually ad free, save for a couple of in house Marvel ads. Alright, so what’s the big deal? Fair warning, it’s hard to talk about this book without talking about the “controversial” ending so be warned there are spoilers ahead.

Dan Slott has been crafting this story, dropping hints here and there over the last 100 issues. Doctor Octopus is slowly dying after receiving repeated blows to the head over the years, and has one last bit of revenge to act out against Spider-Man. Two issues ago it was revealed that Ock had switched bodies with Pete leaving our hero in the dying body of one of his greatest villains. How did Ock do this? By using an Octabot that implanted Ock’s consciousness in Pete’s body. Pete, in Ock’s body, breaks out of The Raft while forming his own “Sinister Six.” Finding the Octabot, Pete devises a plan to switch bodies.  Pete tries to use the Octabot after confronting Ock, but discovers that Ock has put metal plating in his suit to block the connection. While gloating Ock starts getting flooded with Pete’s memories. And he starts to replace Pete in those memories. He starts to get overwhelmed after realizing how good of a person Pete was and changes his mind. He doesn’t want the memories, however Ock’s change of heart is too late. Pete is too fargone and is dying in Ock’s body. He tells Ock that he is Spider-Man now and passes on after telling him that “With great power, comes great responsibility.” Ock vows that he will protect those that Pete loved and proclaims himself the “Superior Spider-Man.

That’s right folks, Peter Parker is dead and Doctor Octopus is Spider-Man! Controversial??? I think not. Interesting??? I think so!  It’s because of this ending that Dan Slott has been getting death threats. Let me say that one more time. Dan Slott has received death threats because of a COMIC BOOK! That’s kind of ridiculous. This won’t last forever, Pete will be back. However, in the meantime it will  make for an interesting story. This is no different than Captain America or Batman dying when Bucky and Dick Grayson took over for them. When those characters switched we got some really good stories out of their books. And I’m willing to give Spider-Man the benefit of the doubt because of that.  I guess I just don’t understand the outrage. Not liking a story is one thing, but people are being ridiculous.

As far as my thoughts on the book itself go, I really enjoyed it. There are some really good moments in this book, such as Pete having a near death experience and having a heart to heart with the likes of Uncle Ben and  Gwen and Captain StacyI think Ock as Spider-Man will be interesting for a little while. And that’s how long it will really last, just a little while. I can’t wait to see where Dan Slott takes us in the Superior Spider-Man. The words being used to describe the book are “Dark and weird.” And where  the art is concerned I think Humberto Ramos knocked this one out of the park. There are also two fun back up stories in this issue, one by JM Dematteis and Giuseppe Camuncoli, and the other by Jen Van Meter and Stephanie Buscema. You also get a cover gallery of all 700 issues of ASM and a letters page with the letters answered by Stan Lee followed by Spider-Man memories by different people in the comics industry. There is a bunch of stuff packed in this book!

Whether you get your books digitally, or from your local comic shop, you are also going to want to seek out Avenging Spider-Man 15.1 which is also out this week.  It also serves as both an epilogue to ASM #700 and a prologue to Superior Spider-Man #1. From writer Chris Yost and artist Paco Medina, this issue takes a look at Doc Ock’s first week in Pete’s body as Spider-Man. We get some good moments out of this issues like Ock’s revelation as to why he never beat Spider-Man, or his thoughts on Pete’s relationship with Mary Jane. If you finish ASM #700 and/or Avenging Spider-Man 15.1 and you feel like you want to continue with this story don’t forget to check out Superior Spider-Man #1 which is on sale January 9^th.

How bout that Doctor Who Christmas special? The Snowmen have melted! The Great Intelligence has been defeated! And we are left with the mystery of Clara. What is her secret? Well as we wait for the back half of series 7 we are left with this teaser that aired after “The Snowmen.” What surprises await the Doctor moving into his golden anniversary? Happy 50th Doctor!

I’ve been a fan of Don Hertzfeldt for years. I first became aware of him when I viewed “Rejected” during my freshman year of college back in 2001. It was one of the funniest things I had ever seen and since then I’ve tried to keep up with his work. Well this morning I got a hold of the feature film version of “It’s Such a Beautiful Day,” this film tells the story of Bill, a normal human being as he lives his life, but some mental complications arise and he’s forced to see his life through a distorted lens. I was unprepared for what this film was going to do to me, I had laughed many times at Hertzfeldt’s cartoons and in the first minute I found myself doing the same thing. I laughed so much that I actually had to stop the movie for a moment to catch my breath and in that moment I wondered if the film could sustain itself for the next 60 minutes. I pushed play and then I was treated to one of the most fantastic journeys I’ve ever been on. I laughed, I cried, I hurt. The movie was beautiful and heart wrenching and I could feel myself in Bill. The movie plays with your emotions in ways you didn’t think possible or had forgotten they could be played with. When the film ended I sat in my chair complacent and in awe of what I just watched. Afterwards I went to my top ten list of 2012 and placed this movie right up on number one. This movie is amazing and I can’t recommend it enough. What made me laugh was I watched this film on what is supposedly the last day on earth, and if it really is the last day on earth then I’ll have been glad to have had this film be my last. So I implore you to get your hands on a copy of this film.

You can purchase this film directly from Don Hertzfeldt’s website:

http://www.bitterfilms.com/

Dark Horse has held the Star Wars franchise for a long, long time. They’ve done very good things with it and nurtured it into something that they should absolutely be proud of. When the Disney/Lucasfilm merger happened, one of the first question marks was put on Dark Horse’s license of the property. Disney owns the largest comics publisher in the world in Marvel, it would make sense they’d want to keep those comics in-house.

Blue Sky Disney is reporting that after the current licensing agreement with Dark Horse is up though, the House of Ideas is taking Star Wars back into the fold in 2014, right where it started in the first place.

The Suits in the know have determined that no new contracts will be given to Dark Horse after the current ones expire. So all new projects after 2013 will be handled internally by Marvel.

But what will this mean for us?

Dark Horse has created over the years, during the renaissance of the Star Wars Expanded Universe some of the stories that are near and dear to our hearts (and some less so.) They’ve also worked hand in hand with Del Rey in the most recent years to tie the fiction universe into the comics universe, creating a bound continuity that can’t be totally ignored. Will Marvel proceed with the editorial direction laid out by Dark Horse (which doesn’t seem too likely) or will they start fresh in the new Expanded Universe created in the wake of Episode VII? I think that’s a more likely scenario.

But what will happen with the backlog of Dark Horse material we already know and love? Will Dark Horse retain reprint rights? Will Marvel pay Dark Horse to reprint them on their own? Will Dark Horse continue reprinting all the Star Wars backlog, even the Marvel stuff, like they do already?

These are the questions I really want answered more than who will own the license.

And I imagine these questions are paramount in the minds of everyone involved and the negotiations will be tough. I just hope they don’t go into aggressive negotiations… which is negotiations with a lightsaber…

[Hattip: Club Jade]

Reuters, in what seems to be an impossibly rookie mistake, is reporting that Tikal, Guatemala is going to once again serve as a backdrop for Star Wars.

Here’s the snippet in question in their article about the Mayan temples: (I’ll be honest, it took me a moment to remember they were Mayan and not Massassi.)

Yavin 4 and the rebel base return to the Star Wars plot in the forthcoming Episode VII, announced in October by the Walt Disney Co, in which Skywalker comes back to the planet to build a Jedi Knight academy. However, fans said that Disney will likely film those scenes in a studio rather than return to Tikal.

For one, I don’t think there’s been any story leaks at this point. And if there were, they would have been reported far and wide by anyone credible and otherwise, and there would be dozens of caveats attached to it.

Secondly, this is another case of rumour-mongering based on what we’ve previously come to think of as the post-Return of the Jedi era. Why would Luke not be training the Jedi at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant? The only reason he went to the Massassi temples of Yavin IV was because the writers who set it there didn’t know about the Jedi Temple on Coruscant yet.

So, here’s another clear cut case of rumour control. If anything real pops up, I’ll let you know.

Babes in Toyland is a movie that has a fantastic pedigree. It was the first live-action musical from Walt Disney. It starred Annette Funicello, Tommy Sands, Tommy Kirk, Ray Bolger, Ed Wynn, and Henry Calvin, among other Disney staples of the 50s and 60s. It was written by Ward Kimball who worked in Disney’s animation department working on countless shorts and Disney features.

It should have been an incredible film, but instead it’s just kind of not. Disney wouldn’t perfect the live-action musical formula for a few more years with Mary Poppins, so I’m grateful to this film for being that laboratory.

I loved this film as a kid, and that’s where all of its charm lies. I put it on for my kids and my daughter absolutely loved it and wanted to watch it again. My son, on the other hand, literally decided he’d rather clean his room than watch another minute of Babes in Toyland. I was excited to see how it held up to my nostalgia and I’m sad to say my nostalgia was greater than the movie. It was long, plodding, and the plot isn’t something you can really care about. It follows Mary Quite Contrary (Annette) and her marriage woes. She’s in love with Tom Piper (Tommy Sands) and wants to marry him, but the greedy Barnaby (Ray Bolger) hatches a plan to get rid of Tom and marry her himself. That’s pretty much it. The movie doesn’t even get half interesting until they find themselves inexplicably in Toyland, and Ed Wynn and Tommy Kirk (as the Toymaker and his assistant, respectively) liven up the film considerably.

In fact, I think the best thing about this film is the toy soldier fight and special effects extravaganza that caps off the film. For 1961, the effects are absolutely incredible and on Blu-ray, it just pops.

In fact, the thing I loved most about this rewatch was the color. The look of that old three-strip technicolor on Blu-ray is intoxicating to me. It doesn’t look real and looks like something out of a storybook. But it doesn’t just work here, the Blu-rays of all the films of that era have that same magical quality (especially The African Queen.)

The music, in its moments, can be rather catchy. The visuals are larger than life, and the colors are dazzling. But the story is just too kiddy. I think that might be what Disney hit upon in later years is that you don’t have to pander to children, you need to make a movie for the whole family. It’s something he did with his cartoons and I guess he just had to learn that lesson with movies, too.

You can get it on Amazon for less than $20. It’s far less offensive of a Christmas movie than some of the drivel being made today, it’s pure nostalgic fantasy. And if you have young kids, this movie is perfect.

You might be able to get your hands on some Westerosi themed beers in time for the new season of Game of Thrones. HBO is teaming up with Brewery Ommegang from Cooperstown, New York to create beers to release over the next year and in following seasons of the show. The first is going to be Iron Throne Blonde Ale which will be released in late March 2013, the new season starts 3.31.13.

A blonde ale seems fitting with Lannisters on the throne, what other beers do you think will be coming?

Update: Here is the bottle from Brewery Ommegang 

Source

This film looks darker and more brooding with every trailer. And I’m wondering if there’s an even more sinister background to Benedict Cumberbatch’s character.

This is going to be a great movie, I hope.

Finding Nemo is a movie that never clicked for me upon its initial release. It was the second time I skipped a Pixar release during its initial run in theatres. (The first was Monsters Inc., which seemed like it would be boring to me.) Finding Nemo went on to be the highest grossing film of that year, and it still never saw a penny from me.

Years passed, I picked it up for my kids on DVD, and they loved it. They must have watched it a hundred times. But I still never saw it in its entirety. I’d only catches pieces here and there and not think too much about it.

I was sent the Blu-ray for review and I have to say: I’m an idiot for having missed this film. I love Andrew Stanton’s work and I have no idea why this would have been any different. It’s charming, heartwarming, extremely funny, and classic Pixar.

Why didn’t you guys tell me it was so good?

Perhaps it resonates more with me now that I’m a father? I was still a brand new father when it came out originally and it seemed like it would just be “another kids movie” when it came out, but I am still awed by how wrong I was. And so much credit has to go to Albert Brooks. That guy just has a funny voice and his timing is perfect. Even when he’s being serious he’s spot on.

As for the Blu-ray, like any film as high quality as Pixar makes, the Blu-ray elements look absolutely astounding. This film takes place mostly underwater and the volume and feel of that is never lost through the entire narrative.

Aside from the incredible film quality, the Blu-ray boasts a boatload of special features that would be of interest to any fan of film or student of story or animation.

You can (and should) pick up the Blu-ray in a 5-disc set for less than $25 on Amazon.

Here’s a peek at some of those great special features they featured on the Blu-ray, like this piece about original opening of the film:

And here’s a piece about flashbacks:

And here’s another one about Albert Brooks and never saying lines the same way twice:

Willow is coming to Blu-ray!

I loved all the behind the scenes material for this film that came out with it around the time of its release and I can’t wait to see it all again. Willow is a solid film and probably Ron Howard’s best (or at least one of his few truly great films) and though it’s the butt of a lot of jokes, it stands up in my eyes.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (December 13, 2012) – Journey to the far corners of your imagination with Willow, for the first time ever on stunning Blu-ray! Written and produced by George Lucas and directed by Ron Howard, the film tells a timeless fantasy tale in which heroes come in all sizes…and adventure is the greatest magic of all. In celebration of its 25th anniversary, the unforgettable classic has been fully digitally restored and debuts on Blu-ray and DVD Combo Pack March 12, 2013 from Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

When young Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis; Harry Potter franchise) finds an abandoned baby girl, he learns she is destined to end the reign of the wicked Queen Bavmorda (Jean Marsh; “Upstairs, Downstairs”). In order to protect the child, Willow must team up with a rogue swordsman (Val Kilmer; Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang) and overcome the forces of darkness in the ultimate battle of good versus evil!

The Willow Blu-ray and DVD include a dazzling array of extras with never-before-seen exclusive content such as deleted scenes with remarks from Ron Howard, a personal video diary of Warwick Davis, matte paintings and much more. In addition, look out for Ron Howard’s new introduction for the original 1988 featurette “The Making of an Adventure,” as well as special effect legend Dennis Muren’s new intro to his piece, “From Morf to Morphing: The Dawn of Digital Filmmaking.”

Special Features:
WILLOW is presented in widescreen with 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio (Lossless). Special features include:
o NEW – Willow: Deleted Scenes with Ron Howard
o NEW – Willow: An Unlikely Hero – Personal Video Diary of Warwick Davis
o The Making of an Adventure with an all new introduction from Ron Howard
o From Morf to Morphing with an all new introduction from Dennis Muren
o Matte Paintings
o Easter Egg