Showing posts with label Movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Movies. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

It's 4/20

And you know what that means...

Sevendust's new album "Cold Day Memory" has been released. You probably thought I was gonna make a pot joke, didn't you? ... like that hasn't been done before today.

Sure Sevendust comes out with an album nearly every year, and in some cases, the effort is barely visible. However, I am happy to say for the first time since Alpha, this is an album really worth the money. Don't get me wrong, I still like both Next and Chapter VII, but this album seems to really bring the elements of Sevendust that I feel have been too sparse. "Cold Day Memory" captures a lot of the best moments throughout their long career and their eight studio albums, and combines everything into an extremely solid package. Highlights are of course their two singles "Unraveling" & "Forever," but there is much more to this album than those two songs. Some of my favorites also include "Last Breath," "Ride Insane," and "Confessions (Without Faith)." Of course, there really isn't a song on the album that I don't enjoy, so a solid effort that is by my favorite Sevendust album to date.

Also, being that it's Tuesday, that also means that it's multi-media day, and that seems to be a widly known fact throughout the industry for books, movies, music and video games (recently as VG's used to launch on Wed). However, apparently James Cameron didn't get that fucking memo. Instead, he decided to street date his 300 million dollar ego trip to fall on earth day, and a Thursday. Now, I don't have a problem with the movie Avatar, being as I saw it in IMAX 3d and look forward to watching it again in my home theater. However, I do have a problem with someone who takes pleasure in making me drive out on Thursday (two days after the day I go out to collect any new release) which is about a 40 minute round trip. It's a 40 minute round trip because I live 13 minutes to a Target or Best Buy in any direction. So, no offense James Cameron, but you're an asshole for that. Now, I'll still drive out on Thursday to pick my copy up on Blu-Ray like the fucking tool I am... But I'm not terribly thrilled about it. At least with movies like "Twilight" that have Friday releases, I don't give a shit about... Mainly because they are awful films... but still Friday is still Friday, and not some obscure day of the week to force a release like Thursday or Sunday (That one is directed at you, Nintendo). But fuck... Whatever.

In other non media related news, May 1st the new Echoes of Dawn issue #5 is released. What makes this issue most noteworthy (other than the copious amounts of violence) is that this book was featured in Dez Skinn & Mark Millar's (Kick-Ass & Wanted) Comic Art Now book. That's right kiddies, a page from this upcoming book was featured along with several legendary artists (3 of which that have done work with me have been featured inside that collection including Contagion's Cris Bolson, Echoes of Dawn's Cliff Richards and Abe the Aborted Fetus's Anthony Tan.) So, I'll go ahead and post some new images of the new Echoes of Dawn book on the website.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Zombie Stuff

With all this recent talk about Abe the Aborted Fetus, one would think I have completely forgotten about my little zombie adventure, "Contagion." That is a mistake however! I have not forgotten about it, but have instead been vigorously working on the next installments. Yes, plural. This is becoming a bit of a pet project for me as I have had a HUGE love for the walking dead for as long as I can remember.

You might be saying "The market is over saturated with zombie comics," and I will have to be inclined to agree with you. And not just in comics, but as well as movies and other books. Far be it for me to complain necessarily, however I must say that the majority of which refuse to step out from the very cookie-cutter structure they are made from. BUT NOT I! I refuse. I absolutely refuse, and not because I have anything against the 50 year redundancy of movies that seem to blur all together as one... But rather because if I was going to go about remaking the same product that has been remade to death (pun not intended), than I wouldn't bother wasting my time. However, I refuse to create another George A. Romero inspired cash cow based on the same principal that every other story is based on.

Now, before you get all in a tizzy, I am a HUGE Romero fan, and I have been in love with both Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead since as long as I can remember. Sure, I enjoyed his other films as well, but let's face it... They pale in comparison. And to that point, Tom Savini's 1991 remake of Night of the Living Dead, and Zach Snyder's 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead are also on my top list of favorite films. It's no secret that I have an obsessive compulsion with these creatures of the undead, especially since it's now become a huge hobby of mine to collect even the most obscure film. And to my benefit, not all have been as much of a disappointment as I would be lead to believe, looking at budget and synopsis. Among one of my all time favorite finds of the Indy Zombie films is a little movie called "Severed." Sure it involves loggers and tree hugging hippies and a genetically altered trees, and while that my sound absolutely ridiculous... It works, and so much so that it is definitely included into my top 10 zombie films of all time.

Another gem is the Italian made "City of the Dead" by Lucio Fulci. Sure, that's one of the movie's BILLION titles, but it's getting too late for me to rummage through my thoughts to recall the rest of them. Boyle's reinvention of the zombies in 28 Days Later is another top on my list, as the idea was fresh and horrifying. 28 Weeks Later had the potential, but much like Land of the Dead really never got there for me as any move that revolves an entire plot point on a single zombie in a world of billions loses much of its credibility.

But back to the main point, I am choosing to make my book unlike the majority of zombie stories ahead of me. I don't want to make another Robert Kirkman's "Walking Dead" series (as much as his story has inspired me throughout the years). Instead, I want to tread down a different path, a path not often traveled. I can't say exactly, however I do intend to ad something both familiar, something new and also very real. The preview issue of Contagion that was released in November was a small taste of what I have in store, but doesn't even scratch the surface of my intentions of what I plan on doing to the world I'm creating. I will however work diligently on this project so that you will not be disappointed. However, I CAN say that Cliff Richards is still attached to the project, and it will not disappoint.