Highlander: There Can Be Only One?

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The original Highlander is one of my favorite movies.

I can remember seeing it in a theater for the first time and just loving everything about it. The classic tale of good vs evil, the blessing/curse of living forever, the coolness in being immortal and the sadness of losing a true love who isn’t. Then there was the great direction by Russell Mulcahy, the soundtrack by Queen, Christopher Lambert in a role that he owned, Sean Connery as his mentor and Clancy Brown as the Kurgan. Everything came together to create a movie that was magical.

Highlander II took everything that was cool from the original and trashed it. Literally. Highlander II is without a doubt the worst sequel in history. I actually left the theater angry.

Highlander III was almost as bad.

I never even gave the tv series a single viewing.

In July, Dynamite Entertainment is releasing Highlander #0 which will jump start the Highlander comic book series. Written by Brandon (Battlestar Galactica) Jerwa with Michael (Red Sonja) Oeming, and art by Lee (Red Sonja) Moder and will set you back just a quarter! 50% of the covers will feature a photo from the movie with the other half sporting a painted cover by Gabriele Dell’Otto.

I’m going to pre-order a copy, but I have a feeling that it might still boil down to: There can only be one! [And if that’s the case, for me it will be the original movie!]

Charlie Huston – We Have a Problem!

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I discovered Charlie Huston‘s work a month ago when I read his first novel, Caught Stealing. Last night I finished Huston‘s second novel, Six Bad Things. Both books are among the best that I’ve read in the last year and both tell the tale of Hank Thompson.

Ten years ago Hank was a hot prospect to play some college baseball. A broken leg and some bad choices killed any shot of college ball and so Hank drifted up to New York where he found work as a bartender.

Things were going smoothly untl one night when two guys pulled him over the bar and beat him nearly to death. The next thing Hank knew he was on the run from the Russian mob, two Black cowboys, and a dirty cop. If Hank can figure out what’s going on, he just might get out of this alive and with some of the $4.5 million that everyone thinks that he has!

On the strength of Caught Stealing, Charlie Huston jumped onto my “Author’s to Watch for List.” Seeing that Six Bad Things was just as good, he’s now on my “Buy It Now List.”

I’m putting in my pre-order for the final book in the Hank Thompson trilogy, A Dangerous Man, and also ordering Already Dead, Huston‘s novel about a detective who happens to be a vampire!

That means that I’ll have all of his novels. He’s just going to have to start writing faster.

The End of a Great Season

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I guess that maybe a picture of the cast of The West Wing would have been a more appropriate banner for today’s post, but I just couldn’t not use that great shot of the entire cast of Lost.

I really hate that this tv season is winding down.

The West Wing is ending for good. I’ve tuned in since the first episode and think that it’s pretty sad that President Bartlett and crew aren’t getting a bigger send off.

What may have been the best seasons ever on American Idol and 24 are almost over. Medium, Lost and Survivor are also getting ready to pack it in for the summer. The Shield, Wanted, Thief and Over There already ended their seasons.

There’s always the chance that a summer replacement show will end up being as good as Over There [Bring it back, FX] was or as fun as So You Think You Can Dance. But even if that’s not the case, I still have a ton of novels that I’m dying to get the time to read.

And Then There Were Three – Shocking!

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Remember when I posted here about the shocking ending on Lost and how surprised I was, especially since it wasn’t the season finale?

Well, last night American Idol had an equally surprising ending. Chris Daughtry, who many thought would BE the next winner, was sent packing. Everyone was shocked.

And. I. Mean. Everyone.

Look at Chris‘ face in the banner above and you can see even he was stunned.

So what happened?

My guess is that everyone thought that Chris was such a shoe-in to reach the finals that many folks decided to vote to keep in their 2nd favorite contestant. The strange thing is that before the show started my wife predicted that it could be Chris‘ night to leave for just that reason. I thought that either Elliot or Katherine would get the axe.

So, who’s going to win now that Chris is gone?

I’d predicted a showdown between Chris and Taylor [with Chris winning], so I’ll stick with Taylor as the next American Idol. [Of course, my wife may have a more accurate prediction…]

Big Beatty Says, "Come On In!"

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My best buddy, John Beatty has started a second blog. [Don’t worry, his art blog isn’t going anywhere!] His new on-line journal will look at his personal life, past, present and dreams of the future.

It’s a side of the big guy that most folks don’t get to see. So what are you waiting for? Click HERE to get there!

Heroes Won’t Be Hard to Find

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This year’s Heroes Convention is going to be the best in its 25 year history. At this point there are over 300 guests scheduled to attend. The convention has been a part of our family’s vacation for years and this year will be no exception. At Heroes, there’s something for everyone.

Artist’s Alley and and Indie Island will be filled to the brim with artists sketching, signing autographs and hanging out with fans. Dealers will fill the convention hall selling everything from vintage toys, comics and magazines to the latest games, t-shirts, and dvds. Comic book writers, horror novelists, publishers and editors will also be on hand. There will be a ton of informative [and fun] panels where creators will discuss everything from how to get into comics, to self-publishing to what’s next for them. Gaming tournaments will run almost non-stop. And of course there is the traditional art auction.

I can’t wait. If you can make it, you should. I can guarantee you’ll have a blast!

So You Think You Know John Beatty?

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Today happens to be the birthday of my best buddy, John Beatty.

Most ZONERs know “Big” John from his appearances on the SZ message boards, but in honor of his birthday, here are:

Some things about John Beatty that you might not know:

* John Beatty was quite an accomplished break dancer in his youth. Rumors abound to this day that he was the first choice to play the role of “Rerun” on “What’s Happening?”

* John Beatty invented the “spoiler alert” used on the internet to let folks not that plot points and surprise endings are forthcoming.

* John Beatty is quite a singer. Perhaps most famous for his cover of Elvis tunes, Jim Ivey [noted raconteur, in the Who’s Who of the World] continues to say, “It’s not Christmas season until Big John sings ‘Blue Christmas.’

* John Beatty is an accomplished actor. He appeared as the evil “Patch” in “Nightveil: Witch War” [available on dvd from accomics.com]. Rumors of an action figure are too scary to think about.

* John Beatty is an accomplished pool player. He has been known to repeatedly spot an opponent every ball on the table and still win!

* John Beatty is an accomplished poker player. He’s been known to go both ways in a game of high-low five card stud having nothing but an Ace High and a ten low and beat the table where players had better lows and better highs!

* John Beatty was ahead of the curve when it came to home computers. While still in his teens he had work published in several books on computer use!

* John Beatty‘s comic career is full of highlights: he worked on the first Secret Wars series [which spawned the popularity of the mini-series]; he worked on the first Punisher mini-series [which kicked the backup character to leading man status]; he worked on the first new Batman book in 50 years [which was also the first comic to start the trend of multple covers]. It is also rumored that Big John, while still a child, was the first to utter Alfred E. Neuman‘s famous, “What, Me Worry?” line.

Although unconfirmed, it is believed that John Beatty was the first to wear the haircut made famous by the lead singer of Flock of Seagals, that Beatty encouraged Brian Setzer to give up glam rock and try something with a rock-a-billy style, that Beatty suggested that James Cameron follow up “Terminator 2” with something “Titanic,” that Beatty was the first to suggest the ideas for “American Idol,” “Survivor,” and “What’s Happening Now?”

Many people find it hard to believe that Big John has done so much in just 45 years on this planet. Speculation abounds that he is much older than that. Unverified pictures of someone looking like John Beatty from the civil war era are rampant in conspiracy circles.

Happy, Happy, Big J!

And It Ain’t Even the Season Finale

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If you haven’t seen last night’s episode of LOST yet, then you may not want to read any farther….. SPOILERS are coming!

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Still here? Ok… Whoa! What a great surprise ending!

I know my jaw hit the floor when Michael blasted Ana-Lucia in the chest from point blank range. My eyes were probably still buggin’ out when he then popped a couple of caps in Libby!

If that had been the season finale, I would have applauded. With a few episodes still to come, I believe that a standing ovation is in order. I knew that Michelle Rodriguez [Ana-Lucia] and Cynthia Watros [Libby] were supposed to be leaving the show. Still, ya gotta give big props for the shocking way that they went.

So, where does that leave Michael? Has he been brain-washed? Is he fully aware of what he’s doing? Is Libby really dead? [Poor, poor Hurley!] And did you know about the novel [Bad Twin] that’s referenced in the show and written by one of the passengers… but was just released in real life?

Talk to me, folks!

Does He Have Connery Cool?

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Bond. James Bond.

Talk about an iconic character.

For my money Sean Connery WAS James Bond. He had the right mix of charisma, playboy attitude and tough guy machismo to pull off the role of 007.

Roger Moore’s Bond had his moments but swayed too far over into comedy for my taste.

Pierce Brosnon had the playboy attitude and some charisma but not enough tough guy machismo to reach the levels of Connery cool.

Daniel Craig is the next guy to step into 007’s tux and although initial reports were not so hot, this trailer has me thinking that he may do alright.

Superman Stands Alone

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After my last post, Murph had this to say:

“Craig, seems your very selective in your choices for seeing films on the big screen.”

Wait til he gets a load of my movie pics for next month…

Surprisingly, after looking at the films that will be released in June, only one made my “see in a theater” list. That movie is Superman Returns.

Most folks who predict this sort of thing are saying that Superman Returns will probably make the most bucks at the box office this year. Who am I to argue? Although I think that The DaVinci Code may just give it a run for it’s money. [Pun intended].

Movies that MAY be Worthy

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May starts off with a bang. Mission Impossible III opens the summer on May 5th. Despite the bad press Cruise has been getting, I still think that MI3 is going to do big business and I can’t wait to see it on the big screen!

Hot on the heals of MI3 is X-Men 3, better known as X-Men: The Last Stand. While I’m a huge fan of the Claremont, Byrne and Austin run in the X-Men comic series, I’ve yet to see an X-Men movie in a theater. Although this clip looks pretty cool, I’ll probably be one of the few who wait for dvd.

The Poseidon Adventure was one of my favorite disaster movies when I was a kid. I can still remember getting together with a few of my friends and catching the bus to go downtown to the movie theater to see it. I think that this updated version, Poseidon, will be good, but I have a feeling that I may wait for dvd.

The Da Vinci Code is going to be HUGE. Based on the best selling book, and starring Tom Hanks with direction by Ron Howard. It can’t miss. And this one will get meback to a theater.

Next time we’ll take a look at June!

Let’s Get Ready to Rumble !

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A little over a month ago, I told you about Rumble in La Rambla, a comic mini-series that I thought was worth a look.  Writer Felipe Ferreira and artist Rafael Albuquerque have to feel pretty good since Rumble in La Rambla still has another month before the first issue hits the stands, but the positive buzz is spreading like wild fire.

Kirk, Spock Are Back, Baby!

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The big entertainment news this week is that J.J. Abrams [the creative mastermind behind Lost, Alias, and Tom Cruise‘s lastest turn in Mission Impossible III ] will produce, direct and cowrite what looks to be a rebirth of the Star Trek franchise Abrams is planning for a big-screen 2008 release which will focus on the early adventures of James T. Kirk and Spock [sorry Bones, no mention of you].

I’ve got to admit that this news has caught my interest. I was a HUGE fan of Star Trek during it’s initial run on tv. Then again, I was just seven years old. Still, Star Trek did capture my attention and I made a point to watch it each week. I was never a Trekie, but I did see and enjoy the Star Trek movies [well… except for the first one] that featured the original cast.

It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out.