HeroesCon, Here We Come!

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In just a few hours, Doralya and I will be heading up to Charlotte for our annual pilgrimage to HeroesCon.  I can’t wait.  It’ll be nice to get away for a “long” weekend… especially since I’ll be spending it at Heroes.   There’s always plenty to do.  Look at the guest list and schedule of events and you can see I’m not kidding.

Hope to see you there, but if you can’t make the show, don’t worry, I’ll post a full report later in the week.

[And Chris, if you’re reading this, remember: No parties!  Be sure to feed Bruiser!]

 

Michael Corleone’s Revenge Scene Cut from “Godfather II” is Here!

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Did you know that a scene was cut from The Godfather II in which Michael Corleone [played by Al Pacino] committed a revenge killing?

This rare deleted scene from The Godfather Part II brings closure to a massive loose end: Michael’s brutal, long-delayed revenge on Fabrizio, the man who planted the car bomb that killed his first wife, Apollonia.

The scene is a chilling display of Michael’s transformation. He ensures Fabrizio meets the exact same fate—a car bomb explosion—confirming Michael’s reign as a ruthless Don who always settles his debts. This clip was cut from the theatrical release but appears in ‘The Godfather Saga.’

The Walking Dead 100 Project

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Image Comics printed blank covers for The Walking Dead #100, and the Hero Initiative commissioned 100 top artists to do an original drawing on each cover to be auctioned for charity.  You can see the results here.

Talented artists including folks like Charles Adlard, John Beatty, Chris Ivy, Casey Jones, Karl Kesel, Peter Krause, Jeff Lemire, Shawn McManus, Paolo Rivera, Alex Saviuk as well as so many other turned in awesome art for a great cause.

I posted my favorite of the 100 at the top of this post — it’s by Ken Lashley.  Ken’s a new artist to me, but one that I’ll be following.

10 Entertainment Careers Cut Short by Unsolved Mysteries

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10 Entertainment Careers Cut Short by Unsolved Mysteries is an interesting piece by Robin Warder that was recently posted over at Listverse.  While the article doesn’t discuss the deaths of George Reeves, Tupac Shakur or the Black Dahlia, the entertainers that it does cover definitely died/disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

Thanks to Bill Crider for pointing me in the right direction.

Ray Harryhausen’s Top Ten Movie Monsters

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On May 7, 2013, Ray Harryhausen passed away.  As a tribute of sorts, TopTenz posted their choices for the Top Ten Movie Monster Designed by Ray Harryhausen. 

Here are their choices and my thoughts:

10. The Phorusrhacos (Mysterious Island): I’m a huge fan of Mysterious Island.  It starts off as a escape movie set during the civil war (and using a hot air balloon) and turns into a sci-fi/monster movie.  I remember watching it late at night (presented by horror host Sammy Terry) when I was a kid staying over at my grandparents house.  My uncle came in from a date and watched the rest of it with me.  Good times.

9. The Giant Octopus (It Came From Beneath the Sea): The giant octopus is cool, but unless you live near the ocean how scary can it be?  Not a big fan of this film.

8. Joe Young (Mighty Joe Young):  I love this film and would put it at #1 on the list.  I think Joe Young is Harryhausen’s best work.

7. The Tyrannosaurus Rex (The Valley of Gwangi): I saw The Valley of Gwangi at a drive-in when I was a kid. Cowboys and Dinosaurs!!  I thought it was awesome.  When I saw it years later, I thought it was still fun.

6. The Ymir (20 Million Miles to Earth) and 5. The Beast (The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms): Are both fun films but I often find that most fans of this genre like them better than me.

4. The Cyclops (The 7th Voyage of Sinbad): Harryhausen put his twist on the Cyclops making it a creature scarier than a one-eyed giant.

3. The Statue of Kali (The Golden Voyage of Sinbad): This is one of my least favorite of Harryhausen’s creations.  I just am not thrilled with a monster that’s a statue.

2. Medusa (Clash of the Titans): For me, this was the best part of a bad movie.

1. The Skeleton Army (Jason and the Argonauts): Although I prefer Mighty Joe Young, this is the scene that most folks go to when showing Harryhausen’s magic.  Who am I to argue?  It is awesome.

UFC 160 Results

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UFC 160 was last night.  Here are the results and some thoughts…

  • Donald Cerrone vs. K.J. Noons
    Prediction: Decision victory to Cerrone.
    Result: Cerrone won with a unanimous decision making me 1-0 for the night.
  • T.J. Grant vs. Gray Maynard
    Prediction: Decision victory to Maynard.
    Result: TJ Grant won by TKO in the first making me 1-1 for the night.
  • James Te Huna vs Glover Teixeira
    Prediction: It will be Teixeira that ends it early with a TKO.
    Result: Teixeira won by first round submission making me 2-1 for the night.
  • Junior dos Santos vs. Mark Hunt
    Prediction: Decision win to JDS.
    Result: JDS won with a 3rd round KO making me 3-1 for the night.
  •  Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Silva
    Prediction: Cain by TKO victory.
    Result: Cain won by TKO (ref stoppage) in the first round making me 4-1 for the night.

Final Thoughts:

  • Cain’s win sets up the rubber match between him and Junior dos Santos.  That should be a very good fight.
  • Hunt is tough and a fight between him and Roy “Big Country” Nelson would be a crowd-pleaser.
  • Next up is Dan Henderson vs Rashad Evans on June 15th!

UFC 160 Tonight – Predictions!

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UFC 160 is tonight on pay-per-view.  That means it is time for predictions…

  • Donald Cerrone vs. K.J. Noons
       Thoughts: I think that Cerrone is the tougher/better fighter.  Simple as that.
    Prediction: Decision victory to Cerrone.
  • T.J. Grant vs. Gray Maynard
       Thoughts: Maynard hasn’t fought in a year and is 34 years old. Is there such a thing as
    cage-rust?
    Prediction: Decision victory to Maynard.
  • James Te Huna vs Glover Teixeira
       Thoughts: This fight has a good chance of not going the distance.
    Prediction: It will be Teixeira that ends it early with a TKO.
  • Junior dos Santos vs. Mark Hunt
    Thoughts: Mark Hunt has a 9-7 record but the KO power to take out anyone. JDS is 15-2 with
    similar KO power but is a better grappler, better conditioned fighter, etc.  So why are fans split
    pretty much down the middle on this one?  Because Hunt has the comeback story on his side.
    Unfortunately, comebacks don’t end well.
    Prediction: Decision win to JDS.
  •  Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Silva
    Thoughts: They fought before and Cain won.  Some things never change.
    Prediction: Cain by TKO victory.

Brother Lono – Don’t Call It a Sequel

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The fact that Brian Azzarello [wrriter] and Eduardo Risso [artist] have reteamed for a new eight-issue miniseries  that spins-off Lono from 100 Bullets into his own series delights me to no end.  (It makes me so happy that I write sentences that I would never say in public — “…delights me to no end” indeed.)  That Dave Johnson is back to provide covers for Brother Lono makes the deal even sweeter.

I can’t wait for the book to drop next month.  Thankfully there’s a short interview with Brian Azzarello at CBR.com that features more of Reverand Dave’s art to hold me over.