I was pretty disappointed with last night’s Smallville. I waited so long for it too (remember my post here). But I think I may be alone. Seems a lot of people really liked it looking at these threads:
New Smallville written by Geoff Johns on the blu-ray Forum
Thanks geoff the smallville legion is the best
in the Comic Bloc Forums
I read about Indiana Jones and the Tomb of the Gods #1 in the latest issue of Wizard magazine (I really need to subscribe to this mag). Here’s a link to their online page on it: Looking forward to checking it out and have added it to my “To Read” page.
Also on this page, TRINITY (DC) looks kind of interesting too:
Wizard’s summary from the same page: “The big two of Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley take on the big three of the DCU. Superman, Batman and Woman bask in the spotlight’s warm glow as they move center stage in DC’s newest weekly series.”
For some reason, I don’t have the ability to comment on “Pages” within my blog, but I thought the discussion me and Jon had this morning on Trailers was worth posting, and would help remind you guys to check out my “Best Trailers” page.
Shahryar: in other news..
why aren’t we discussing i am legend
the new batman trailer
Jon: ok, lets get into it
Shahryar: alright..
i am legend..
(See I am Legend Review done within a Google Chat convo)
….
Shahryar: so in conclusion
Signs was well done
Jon: yeah
Shahryar: I am legend.. was not
alright.. and that pretty much concludes I am Legend
Jon: the dark night trailer
was awesome
Shahryar: yes.. I believe I will be adding this trailer to my best trailers list
Jon: ahh
i ve read your trailer blog before
is there anything new on there
Shahryar: not yet.. I need to put in this dark knight trailer though
I’m trying to figure out where it ranks
Jon: wheres it gonna rank?
Shahryar: there was one more trailer I saw recently
that I wanted to put in
Jon: have you seen the trailer for speedracer?
Shahryar: dark knight trailer def won’t rank in the top 5 – spiderman’s teaser, sin city, superman returns, once upon a time in mexico can’t be beat…
I think it’ll go right after superman returns
haven’t seen the trailer for speedracer
Jon: good spot
300 ’s trailer didnt intrest you?
Shahryar: I liked it
but.. not in my top
oh wait..
spiderman 3!
that’s not on here right?
in superman returns
that trailer was awesome
even if the movie was shit
“… parker..”
that’s the one I gotta put that up here too
Jon: theres some i dont agree with in your list but for the most part, your pretty dead on
Shahryar: the ones I bet you won’t agree with are the ones which are a little more personal
corruptor, eraser
I can’t explain them
Jon: yea def
comedian
no, i get it
Shahryar: no dude.. that trailer’s awesome.. you ever seen that one?
its hilarious!
Jon: you ve shown it too me several times
your jaded by your love for seinfeld
Shahryar: the list will be at 15 now with the spiderman 3 addition..
and the dark knight addition
Soon, you will be able to walk into a Starbucks and know what song is playing, or what song just played if you have either a new iPod Touch or an iPhone. In addition, you will be able to buy the song. This technology comes about due to the wifi thats installed on the new iPod Touch and the iPhone.
Apple’s official page on this is here:
http://www.apple.com/itunes/starbucks/
But I along with many others found out about this while “watching” Steve Jobs’s keynote address earlier today on Engadget (over here)
This 2nd to last announcement was quickly dismissed by Engadget on not being a big deal. However, a few of us in the comments section all caught onto what this meant.
Starbucks itself isn’t a big deal here (unless you’re really into Starbucks music, then great). But this technology sure is.
Imagine if other venues… and eventually, every venue.. always broadcasted what was being played to your iPod so that if you wanted, you had the ability to find out what was just being played. No more hearing a song and having to go through a run around to find it – or worse, never finding it.
Whenever that happens, this creates an inefficient market in that you – a potential buyer – cannot make the purchase you want to make, and the seller/artist/publisher, etc. cannot make the sale they want to make. All because an infrastructure for passing along this kind of information doesn’t exist – well, until now.
Prior to this, the only real solution would be for a giant LCD screen to be wherever music was being played which said whats playing, what was just played, etc. But this is a much easier implementation. Whatever the source is that plays the music can broadcast this info too.
I got obsessed with wanting something like this a few months back when I was driving to work and heard something I liked on XM. Usually, XM is good about giving you the title and artist of a song, but because this was a mixtape, only the mixtape info was being shown on my screen which meant run around in trying to find out who was singing what I liked.
I kept thinking then how great it would be if there was a way that I could always know what I just heard – and even better, buy right there.
And another good story, my co-worker and buddy John was telling me about the time that Quintin Tarentino heard a song in Japan that he loved for Kill Bill in a record store, but when he went to ask about buying it, he found out he couldn’t. Someone at the record store offered to write it down, but he knew he’d lose it. So apparently, he had to go through a lot of run around to get this song in his movie. This new innovation sure would make his life a lot easier.
Check out these comments from the Engadget thread. I also brought about my thoughts on how this would affect piracy.
Wiseguy @ Sep 5th 2007 2:10PM
I dont know about you, but the wiFi itunes and the starbucks deal is BIG… this is the start of a change in the ay we buy music. This is HUGE!
netrokid @ Sep 5th 2007 2:14PM
The Starbucks deal is huge- this means additional brick & mortar content distribution for Apple. You can just imagine the future possibilities. This has potential for exclusive content…at real world locations….
Truth @ Sep 5th 2007 2:14PM
“”When you get near a Starbucks a fifth button will come up in the WiFi music store — you may have been in a Starbucks wondering what song is that playing? Now you can buy it with a tap of your finger. And if you just missed it, you can still find it…” Is anyone else underwhelmed by this “feature”?”
What’s wrong with that? Have you never been in a situation where you’ve heard a song but don’t know what it is and want to get hold of it? I know I have! I know a lot of other people who have been in that situation too. Nothing wrong with it at all.
Shahryar @ Sep 5th 2007 2:19PM
I agree… Starbucks itself isn’t the big deal here, but this technology is. If we could figure out what song was playing anywhere and everywhere, that’s a pretty big deal for everyone. And then to be able to buy right there on the spot, that’s an even bigger deal.
I also feel this ease of obtaining music could be something that could help slow down piracy. You hear a song you like, you have the ability to browse right there and buy right there… its only a dollarish.. so, why not?
Chris @ Sep 5th 2007 2:21PM
So has everyone missed the importance of what is being demonstrated with Starbucks? In theory, as more retailers (airports, Wi-Fi Acess places, etc etc) sign on, I could buy a song whenever I hear it? I wonder if it would change the dynamics of business like Internet Radio? Hmmm
netrokid @ Sep 5th 2007 2:22PM
Whether or not you like what’s playing at Starbucks does not change the fact that this is a whole new distribution model.
Boris @ Sep 5th 2007 2:27PM
Your negative comments about the Starbucks deal are inappropriate and wrong-headed. This is an idea which could grow exponentially over the coming years. By the time all iPods go wireless this concept will have spread to retailers and restaurants and bars and nightclubs everywhere. It will be an easy to implement income stream for all kinds of buisnesses, an incentive to create wifi networks, and a whole new avenue for the distribution of music. Show some imagination and foresight!
Chris @ Sep 5th 2007 2:27PM
Yes it is a big deal, dude, because clearly this will migrate beyond Starbucks – then any store
playing music will also be in the music selling business. That’s one of the smart things Apple does,
they create market ecologies in which others can also participate.
Shahryar @ Sep 5th 2007 2:30PM
nope, I’m with you Chris… this is definitely big.. I commented on this a page or two back.
The ability to know what just played anywhere and everywhere, and then buy it on the spot is where the future should be heading and this is the right step in the right direction.
Everytime you hear a song you like but don’t know the name or for whatever reason, don’t have the ability to buy it makes both you lose and the artist, record company, etc. lose as well.
This technology will help stop that, making this market more efficient for both buyer and seller.
rawhead @ Sep 5th 2007 2:35PM
Love all the comments from all the people with limited vision. The Starbucks deal is huge, as several people have been keen enough to point out, not because in and of it self, but because of its potential. What if they integrated something like this at your favorite club? (Ministry of Sound, Pacha, Cielo, etc.) Favorite bar? Restaurant? Cafe? It could change how we buy music. But of course all the nearsighted people can’t see that and just spew shit and whine. You’re same people who thought that the original 1st Gen iPod was shit and doomed to fail.
Wiseguy @ Sep 5th 2007 2:37PM
Guys…. really… I never saw such whiners! This is all good stuff. What did you expect with your iPhone? A price increase? I bought mine a month ago… but you know…. I’ve still love it and can’t wait for more updates from Apple to make it even better. I said it and someone else did too.. the Starbucks deal… very cool and opens the door to buying songs everywhere! The WiFi in the touch is a significant deal and with time will pan out to be the killer feature. I wanted a few things too from the presentation, but I’m excited about what Apple showed and they managed to do something unexpected. Oh… and just think… Lepord is not far behind! Life is good!
Wiseguy @ Sep 5th 2007 2:41PM
Netrokid is right on…. this is a new distribution model and huge in the long run. Just watch… in two to three years… you will be able to listen and purchase songs everywhere. Good move Apple!
Yin @ Sep 5th 2007 2:44PM
Starbucks: Umm… I’m putting it down as a gimmick for now. Maybe if it expands to other store or (OMG) radio stations, then he might have a killer app.
*Warning-Possible Spoilers!
I know it’s a little late, but I just hadn’t gotten around to writing this… So, forgive me for the delay. This review was meant to be written on opening night after I saw the movie.
Let me give you a quick bit of a background before I jump into this review. I consider myself a pretty decent Superman fan. Not on the level of some of the more extreme fans i’m sure, but I do try to watch everything Superman that I can. And having watched the original movie like a hundred times and owning a ton of Superman action figures, I can say with all honesty that this was the movie I had spent most of my existence waiting to come out.
Sadly though, Superman has disappointed me. For a number of reasons.
Let’s start off with what was easiest to notice: that there’s nothing that “wow’s” you in watching this movie. In Superman 1, even if the special effects may be somewhat cheesy today, there was definitely a “wow factor.” A huge one. I know that movie was actually a bit revolutionary in terms of special effects, but we don’t need that for a wow factor to exist. There was a “wow” factor in Spiderman in watching him swing which wasn’t anything cutting edge at all in terms of special effects. But there was a director’s vision, and that’s what made that movie so great. We all left the theatres wishing we could swing from buildings.
Ironically, there was also a huge “wow” factor in X-men 1 – and then amazingly – again in X-men 2 (which were both Bryan Singer’s movies). Bryan Singer and his writing team MADE that movie. Notice the use of all uppercase “MADE” – not just a simple “made.” For people who have read the comics (or in my case, watched the fox morning cartoons – I know, I’m a lame X-men fan), they know that turning X-men into a movie is pretty much impossible. So to see it pulled off… wow. I left that movie wishing I could shoot lasers out of my eyes – and of course, pulling out admantium claws out of my hands. And in my opinion, that Nightcrawler opening scene in X-men 2 where he attacks the white house is one of the best pieces of moviemaking ever.
But in Superman… there was no “wow” factor. Fun to see it all go down, yes… but I wasn’t wow-ed. Which in short means that there was nothing special about Bryan Singer doing this movie. I honestly think anyone could have made this movie the way it was made.
Luckily for Brian Singer though, his moviemaking wasn’t the reason this movie was disappointing.
The script was ass. Most probably because the overall plot was ass-er.
So… the big conflict in this story is that Lex wants to make an island using the crystal that made the fortress of solitude. Alright, nice story – except.. that’s it, he just wants to make an island. He doesn’t want to somehow use the power of the crystal and the island that it’ll create for anythign special – but just real estate…
that’s it? I waited 19 years for this?
Man, even the weekly smallville would reject such a B.S. idea for a show, how the hell did it get pulled off for a movie?
And the scary evil part of this is that the island created is gonna get so big that it’s going to start eliminating parts of the U.S., and Superman’s going to try to stop it. Except the Island’s got Kryptonite in it, so, it’s going to be a little harder to do. But that’s it, just a little harder to do – no added intelligent strategy, Superman’s just gotta sweat a little more to get rid of the island. That’s the movie in a nutshell.
Now here’s what kills me…
Midway through the movie, they introduce the best plotline in the world. That Lois Lane’s kid is Superman’s kid. Then what do they do?
They abandoned it!
I can understand if this is a weekly show where we might learn more next week. But this is a movie we’ve waited 19 years for, and a new Superman isn’t coming out for another 2-3 years. Which means, if you have a great plotline idea, you use it NOW, and get rid of the shitty plotline you’re currently using!
The writing team of Xmen have so disappointed me. They should have stuck with Xmen, just like Brian singer should have. That worked better for them. The Xmen franchise is a character driven franchise where characters drive story ideas (the same way ‘Lost’ works).
Superman on the other hand, because there aren’t as many characters, needs story to drive it. And to come up with a story worthy of Superman, you have to be a damn good writer – like Mario Puzo, who wrote Superman 1.
The script. *shrugs shoulders*. Forgettable. Can’t remember a single line at the time of this writing, while I can cite lines from Superman 1 and Batman at anytime.
As far as Characters go…
Brandon Routh totally worked as Superman. Believable as Clark Kent, believable as superman, the Superman people have picked another winner to join Christopher Reeve and Tom Welling (Dean Cain in Lois and Clark… not a winner).
Kevin Spacey worked as Lex Luthor too. A lot of untapped potential because of the script though.
Kate Bosworth sucked as Lois Lane. Yeah, you could say “its not her fault! the Lois Lane character herself sucked in this movie” but at least there could have been a shot for her to come out at least somewhat good (for example, Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor, who – again – just needed a script).
Kate Bosworth shoulda taken on Win a Date with Tad Hamilton 2 or something because she was not meant for this role. Lois Lane isn’t a passive character in the Superman story like Batman’s women (example – Katie Holmes as whats her name in Batman Begins), Lois Lane is actually important to the story and is a character. Margot Kidder could do it. Erica Durance does it a bit too mcuh on Smallville, but at least she’s on somewhat of the right track. Even Teri Hatcher in Lois and Clark kind of had it. But Kate Bosworth though… umm.. no potential.
Yeah, I know he isn’t a main character, but Kal Penn’s a fellow South Asian and I thought him being in this movie would be a big deal. Sadly though, Kal Penn as Stanford = throwaway character. No dialogue at all (what? why?!) makes Kal a crappy sidekick and not as good as Lex’s sidekick from the 1st superman.
I hope Kal Penn makes up for the mistake that was taking on this movie in the Namesake. He won’t be remembered for this.
So in conclusion..
Good movie guys, but you get no applause at the end. I advise the director and writers to go back to X-Men where you guys were really leaving your marks. As for the next Superman, either let Mario Puzo write it, J. J. Abrams write it, or just let me write it.
(Images linked are from ign.com – http://media.filmforce.ign.com/media/033/033915/imgs_1.html )