reviews: a movie - a cd - a dvd collection

i tend to only really rant/rave about stuff that i like. so, other than mentioning them in passing, if i didn't like something - i won't write about it. just keep that in mind. i haven't really exposed my inner geek (and he's pretty big). so, i'm writing about comicbook movies and dvds. i've kind of given up on comics - at least for a while. part of it has to do with the price; part of it has to do with the general direction. but, i'm not here to talk about comics. the actual comicbook geek scares people. about the only titles that i'm really missing are ultimate spiderman, teen titans, robin, the outsiders, and captain america. And there's a really good chance that TT, Outsiders and Cap have all been ruined by "summer cross-over" badness. again, i could go on and on about why infinite crisis and civil war are bad - but that part of me scares people.

look! up in the sky ...

i went to see superman last week with some friends in greensboro. before i say anything else, let me assure you that there are no spoilers here.

i loved it! loved it; loved it; loved it. were there some problems: sure. it was a bit slow in the beginning. but, once the action kicked off; it was a thrill ride. but it was more.

it was also a good date movie. it was a great geek movie (with so many call backs to the first reeves' superman movie. i'm surprised that there wasn't someone in the crowd with a "bow before zod!" t-shirt.). it was a great superhero movie (nice to clean the pallet after X3); and it was way funnier than i had expected.

so - go and see it. check your show times and you'll thank me later. or you'll tell me that i'm full of it.

the blind boys of alabama

i bought the blind boys CD higher ground for my wife on a lark a couple of years ago for christmas. she opened it and looked at it as if it were a dead rat. but, she didn't take it back for something that she "liked more". it sat around out old house for probably eight months until i decided to open it and see if was as good as i had heard.

it was! if you don't mind your gospel mixed with some seriously good harmony and funk/r&b. i've been told recently that Jesus likes it funky - and after listening to these guys, i'm pretty sure that he does. they cover stevie wonder's higher ground, prince's the cross, curtis mayfield's people get ready, they play a p-funk riff over a spoken 23rd Psalm (WOW!), and a couple of Ben Harper classics.

i am encouraged that the church has room for all kinds of Christ-centered music. i am also inspired to play the hammond organ setting more while playing for p&w at church. i just need to get a bit better with my organ riffs.

there's something to the chemistry of a group of singers that has sung together for 60+ years. i need to figure out how to cover "i may not can see" sometime - without losing my eye sight. these guys are gold. if you like gospel music (or even just great vocal music), pick up this (or their christmas cd, go tell it on the mountain, or their latest cd atomic bomb).

justice league, season II (dvd collection)

when someone can explain to me why cartoon network cancelled this series (and the teen titans series), i'd like that information. while TT is relatively kid-based; JL is aimed at older fans. it has good stories and - unlike season one - has an over-arching story arc. season two is better than season one (in my opinion). the boards, animation and stories are better. it also has a couple more episodes.

do not give into warner brothers' rip-off release of individual episodes. exercise a little patience and wait for them to give you the entire season. or get the 3-episode dvds from netflix while you wait on the next season.

tim (age 4) and i watch most of these together. there are some that are just too scary or too complex for him (like the justice lords story). it's hard to explain why fascist superman is lobotomizing the criminals (but it was a nice way to send the character doomsday to his end). this show really seems to build well - even when it moves past the starcrossed story and into JL unlimited. the writers seem to know when to pull a character out of a story and which character to pull out.

so - get this if you like the justice league or even superhero comics. it has a great feel. and, if enough people buy the dvd - maybe someone somewhere will care and try and put it back on the air again. that would be a nice christmas present for me.

pax - andy