The New 'Die Hard' and Some Amusement for President's Day

Good-Day-to-Die-Hard-Willis

First off, I finally saw the latest Die Hard movie. This one, called A Good Day to Die Hard, was not terrible. It wasn’t great, by any means, but it wasn’t terrible. It just was.

I won’t get into a lengthy review here, mostly because Nat Almirall does a fine job of it over at The Flickcast. However, I will say I mostly agree with him and his review, but I didn’t dislike it as much as he obviously did.

I also didn’t have as much of a problem with following things as he seems to have had. Maybe it’s because I have a background in editing or have just seen so many rough assemblies of films that jump cuts and poor attention to scene geography don’t really bother me.

Perhaps it was all the coffee I had before I saw the movie? Or, maybe seeing the movie with Matt Raub made me stay on my toes and pay better attention in case of potential discussion later? I don’t know.

The movie did spark one thing, though, Matt and I have a terrific idea of what the next Die Hard movie should be. Maybe we’ll share that with the class if we ever do another podcast. Hey, it could happen.

Now this:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnM_tcDcZLE?rel=0&w=525&h=295]

Alison Brie as Captain America Works For Me

In keeping with the Avengers theme going this week, I saw this, courtesy of the fine folks at Fan Art Exhibit, and had to post it.

Alison Brie as Cap. I like it. Quite a bit. Probably a bit too much.

Oh well.

Some 'Avengers' Behind the Scenes Fun

As always, when I see something cool I bring it to you. This time it’s a very interesting video showing how (and why) a particular shot was accomplished for The Avengers.

Cool stuff indeed.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZsEwUuBjio?rel=0&w=500&h=281]

The New 'Man of Steel' Trailer Looks Pretty Awesome

Here’s Zack Snyder’s version of Superman. I think it looks pretty good. What say you?

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6atne6y2phI?rel=0&w=500&h=281]

Weekend Plans, New Apple Stuff and More

I realize today is only Thursday, but it’s never too late to plan for the weekend. That said, it is likely I will be in Long Beach this weekend going to the Long Beach Comic & Horror Con.

I’ve been taking care of a lot of things recently (many of them personal) and need a bit of a break to explore my inner (and outer) geek. So, in that spirit (and because I missed Comic-Con in San Diego due to my back) I’m going to head to Long Beach this weekend.

I expect it to be interesting and fun. Plus, it will be nice to see a few people I haven’t seen in some time as well as check out some new comics and horror stuff.

Plus, there’s a couple panels I want to go to as well. They mostly have to do with making comics and such, stuff most of you probably are not all that interested in. I also plan on taking a few pics, so be on the lookout for those as well.

In other news, I have opted against getting a new 13" MacBook Pro with Retina Display and will also not be getting an iPad Mini. Why?

The short answer is I already have way too much stuff already. The longer answer is I just got a new laptop a few months ago (the amazing 13" i7 MacBook Air) and I already have an iPad I hardly ever use.

So, I don’t need to spend the money on new stuff I don’t really need or something I probably wouldn’t use very often. Plus, I’ve read a fee reviews of the new MacBook Pro and from what i gather it isn’t quite all there yet. So, I’ll wait until it is.

I’m actually quite pleased with these decisions. I think I’m growing.

See you in Long Beach.

Couple Things

Happy Friday. I hope you have some great plans for the weekend. I don’t really but that’s okay, I’m going to Vegas next week for several days so that should be relaxing enough.

We will be staying at a hotel I’ve never stayed at before (I mostly stay at THE hotel at Mandalay Bay) called The Palazzo. From what I’ve heard from a few friends and seen online, it seems nice and should be a fine choice. I’ll let you know how it goes.

I’ve got a couple things to tell you before I let you go off for the weekend. First, I saw Steven Soderbergh’s new movie Haywire earlier this week and enjoyed it. I’ve got a full review of the film up over at The Flickcast.

Second, we’ve got the Kickstarter campaign going full swing for our first comic Believer. If you’ve been reading me here, you probably already know that.

What you probably don’t know is that Rich Johnson over at Bleeding Cool gave us a nice mention today and I just want to thank him for that. So, thanks Rich. You are a man among men.

That’s pretty much it for me today. I will be taking it easy this weekend and trying to save my energy for Vegas next week. I know it’s tough, but somebody has got to do it.

The Importance of Doing Nothing

Unless you use a different calendar than I do (which is possible, I guess) you know today is Sunday. This day is also known as my favorite day of the week. You know this if you read my earlier post on that very subject.

Seeing as this is my favorite day of the week, what am I going to do with it you may wonder? The short answer, for this week at least, is nothing.

I’m a big fan of doing nothing, at least once in awhile. With all that goes on during the days and weeks and months of work, deadlines and life in general, when you have a chance to just sit, watch mindless TV, read a book or comic or write blog posts, I say take it.

I don’t have all that much to do right at the moment, especially today. I have work that needs to be done and deadlines coming up, but right at this moment, today, they are not urgent. I also don’t have any pressing social engagements, things I have to do for Heather or any children to worry about (at least not yet) so none of that is vying for my time today either.

These times don’t come along all that often, but when they do, it’s wrong to just ignore them. Plus, doing nothing has a lot of benefits.

It helps you recharge and get ready for the days and weeks of work ahead. It also helps you unplug from the computer, social media and all that that entails.

And, it helps you discover and explore new things like books you haven’t gotten to, comics you needed to read, all those neglected episodes of Firefly on Netflix or The Wire on HBO Go or any number of other pursuits that seem to always get relegated to “someday soon” due to life’s relentless pressure to do something else.

So, with that in mind, I choose to seize this opportunity and do nothing. It won’t last long, but it doesn’t have to. The trick is just to enjoy it while you can.

Doing nothing is kinda like life that way.

 

Two notes for those of you who’ve read this far down.

• Believer, my comic book project at Kickstarter, is doing pretty well after only a couple days. Check it out if you have a minute.

• I will not be going to CES this year for many reasons, but mostly because I just don’t really want to. I’m pretty sure if you asked most of the people at CES they would say they don’t want to be there either. Trust me, it’s not as fun as it seems.

I Believe In 'Believer'

I “borrowed” the title of this post from my friend Joe Dilworth but that’s okay, we’re working on the project (and others) together. What is that project you may ask? Well, I’m pleased to announce we’re launching a brand new comic book publishing initiative and a Kickstarter Campaign to, well, kick things off.

Our first project was written by myself and Joe and is called Believer. It’s a hard-boiled detective thriller with a supernatural twist and combines many of my favorite elements into one fun and exciting story. Plus, in addition to the writing, we’ve got some great art to go with it from Kris Carter.

He really does a terrific job and I look forward to seeing the rest of the pages as they are done. It’s an exciting time to be alive and doing creative things. My sincere wish is to see this as the first of many projects and the start of a larger publishing enterprise.

I feel pretty good about it.

For all the important details on the comic, the Kickstarter campaign and more, head on over to the official Kickstarter page for Believer. Also, and after many years in show business and elsewhere raising funding for projects I still feel funny about saying this, if you do feel like supporting us by making pledge of at any level, I would appreciate it.

Plus, you do get some pretty cool rewards for your support, if I do say so myself. Really, I shouldn’t feel weird about mentioning we’re looking to raise money. After all, if you don’t believe in something you’re doing and are enthusiastic about it, how can expect anyone else to be, right? Right.

Things are going to start happening to me now.

Obligatory "Best of 2011" Post

Even though I try to stop myself, I’m still a slave to some conventions. One such convention is the “Best Of” lists that invariably crop up at the end of the year.

Of course, I bowed to convention and did one. It was published over at The Flickcast. However, because I like to help and I like you, I’ve included it below as well.

No need to thank me.

–

As is the usual practice almost anywhere were column inches or post counts matter, writers such as myself take to their keyboards and make lists. I am no exception and, with a great deal of difficulty and toil, have managed to cobble together a list of what I think are some of the best things of 2011.

I don’t really want to bore you with a lot of explanations as to why I picked what I did. Suffice it to say these picks are mine and mine alone. Also, they are not in any particular order, mostly because I find it hard to rank them that closely. Or, I was just too lazy.

Either way, here you go.

Movies

Drive The Artist Attack the Block X-Men: First Class Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol The Descendants Thunder Soul 13 Assassins Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 Hugo

TV

Game of Thrones Fringe Community Homeland Breaking Bad Justified Sons of Anarchy Archer Happy Endings Boardwalk Empire

Games, Gadgets, Software, iOS Apps, etc.

Apple iPhone 4S Apple iPad 2 Apple iOS 5 Wordpress Final Draft iA Writer Batman: Arkham City Cal of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Saints Row: The Third Forza Motorsport 4

Comics

Detective Comics Batman (DC) Justice League (DC) Green Lantern (DC) Irredeemable (BOOM! Studios) Daredevil (Marvel) Criminal: Last of the Innocents (Icon / Marvel)

This Movie Looks Awesome

Can’t wait for Marvel’s “The Avengers.”

[blip.tv blip.tv/play/hJh3… width=“525” height=“316”]

I'm Chris and I Approve of This

I’ve seen a lot of movies over the years and many of them had one or more superheroes in them. Some of those superheroes were also women and probably looked pretty good in their costumes. However, I’m fairly certain none of them ever looked this good.

						I give you Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow in <em>Iron Man 2</em>. You're welcome.

						<div style="text-align:center;"><img src="http://chrisword.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/scarlett-johansson-iron-man-2-black-widow-stills-07.jpg" alt="scarlett-johansson-iron-man-2-black-widow-stills-07.jpg" border="0" width="550" height="643"></div>

Awesome Comic

I don’t update here as often as I could (big surprise, right?) but I do when I see something cool or fun that I want to share. I have to say this is pretty darn funny, especially if you’re a fan of a certain sci-fi show. Hat tip to my pal ProgGrrl over at the great Galactica Sitrep site for this. Enjoy.

						<img src="http://chrisword.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/2009-11-25-luna-nueva.jpg" alt="2009-11-25-luna-nueva.jpg" border="0" width="550" height="310" align="center">

The New 'The Flickcast' Site is Alive!

I’m pretty darn excited about my latest venture The Flickcast. I’ve been working on it for a couple months now doing a weekly podcast about movies, tv, comics and other geek stuff and its been great fun and pretty successful so far.

						In addition to the podcast, I've also started a news site as a companion to the weekly show that's also been doing pretty well. One thing that had always bothered me about the site, though, was that it looked too much like a blog and not enough like a professional news site should look.

						Fortunately, that's no longer the case because my new favorite web designer, <a href="http://www.rp-network.com">Robert Palmer</a>, has done a kick-ass job and totally redesigned the site to make it look awesome <em>and</em> professional.

						This site and podcast are just the start of what I hope will someday be a giant media empire. Meanwhile, if you get a minute, head on over to <a href="http://www.theflickcast.com"><em>The Flickcast</em></a> and check out the new look, read a review or two and listen to some great podcasts.

						I feel very privileged to be able to start this new venture and it wouldn't be possible without some other great people like my podcast co-hosts Matt Raub and Christina Warren, my "web guy" Robert Palmer, site contributors like David Press, John Carle, all the Mahoneys (Sean, Tom, Adele and Heath), some great tools like Wordpress and last, but not least, the inspiration, encouragement and help I've received from various friends, colleagues and mentors. 

						Thank you all. I sincerely appreciate it.

						Also, if you've got any feedback, feel free to drop it in the comments here or at <em><a href="http://www.theflickcast.com">The Flickcast</a></em> site.