Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
Think you have quick reflexes? You can test them out here. You can see my score above. They say it’s pretty good… so my reflexes must still be fast… that or my RoadRunner has a great connection today.
An article on CNN.com [that is no longer available] brought back a flood of great memories. When I was a kid, mom [and sometimes dad] used to load my brother and sisters up in the car and off to the drive-in we’d go.When I was old enough to drive, drive-ins were still popular. I loved the fact that you could always count on at least a double feature and sometimes you’d get real lucky and there’d be a marathon of sorts. Usually it was monster movies [who doesn’t like those?] or comedies, or even a mismash of genres. I hit the drive-ins [we had two in our town] almost weekly and since we lived in Florida at this point, we could go year round.
It’s said that video killed the radio star. I don’t know about that, but I do know that video killed the drive-in theater. According to some reports, drive-ins have been making a comeback the last few years. I hope that’s true because, man, I miss those days.
Stacia from She Blogged by Night asked her readers to name their Top Three Favorite Movies. It’s interesting to see the wide variety of film favorites that her readership has. I like that there is such a diverse crowd dropping by her blog. Maybe you will too.
On Wednesday, SlashFilm.com reported that Warner Bros had acquired the rights to a French 3 issue graphic novel series called “Headshot.” It’s about a hitman and cop who, when their partners are killed, form an uneasy alliance to get revenge on the powers that set them up. You just know this story sounds like something I’d dig. And I the art, by Alexis Nolent, looks to sweeten the deal. I’d love to see an English edition… and plan to keep an eye out on the movie’s progress.
I’ll bet it’s not to hard to guess what will be the cover story of next week’s issue of Entertainment Weekly. That’s right, ZONErs, the new “Star Trek” movie will get the EW main feature treatment. The issue hits newsstands this Friday and will contain exclusive set visit photos. 
I’m not expecting a classic, but “Punisher: War Zone” continues to look better and better. There’s a new clip at the official web site.
My admiration for Kyle Baker’s talents are well known. He recently posted 
Tonight, my son, Chris and I are heading over to Orlando to watch the Magic play a pre-season game against CSKA Moscow. Chris is a huge sports fan and the Magic are his favorite B-Ball team, so when I was able to score free tickets, it was a given that we’d go. It’s always a blast to see a game live… even if it is pre-season.
I know a lot of ZONErs like horror. I also know that many ZONErs enjoy westerns. When the genres are combined and the end result is a good as The Wicked West Volume 1 or The Wicked West Volume 2, everybody wins. Dead Irons may take us all back to victory lane!
Charlie Huston, one of my favorite writers, is the subject of 
Empire Magazine recently posted their list of the 500 Greatest Movies of All Time. 500 is just too big a list to deal with… so, using just THEIR TOP 50, I made a list of MY TOP 10 of EMPIRE’s TOP 50. Without further adieu, here they are in alphabetical order:
Over at Zuda comics, they’ve started their October 2008 competition. Evan Bryce [an artist whose praises you’ve heard me sing before] has teamed up with Doug Wagner and Vin-Luan Luu to create a crazy mix of action /adventure / scifi that they call Hammer Sound.
If you’ve got a few minutes, I’d appreciate it if you’d take a look at Hammer Sound. If you like what you see go ahead and rate it. If you really like what you see, then by all means rate it as one of your favorites. [That’s the rating that will help Evan and company the most.] Tell your friends and encourage them to vote. Then take a look around at some of the other comics at Zuda. Who knows? You may find some others that you dig… but not quite as much as Hammer Sound.
That’s Kimbo Slice at the press conference following his fight last night. Kimbo was knocked out in 14 seconds by a last minute replacement for Ken Shamrock. Shamrock sustained a cut to his eye in a warm-up session just hours prior to the fight. State officials wouldn’t clear him. So Seth Petruzelli, scheduled to fight on a non-televised undercard match, was brought up to the headliner.That’s when a funny thing happened. Kimbo Slice, who had always proclaimed that he’d fight anyone, anytime, anywhere, almost didn’t take the fight. I can understand hesitation if you’re a fighter and train specifically for one individual and then have to face another. It happens all the time in boxing and MMA. However, if your reputation is that you are the baddest brawler on the planet and you will indeed fight anyone, anywhere, anytime; then you’d better be prepared to do just that! According to reports, it wasn’t until twenty minutes before the show was supposed to go live that Kimbo agreed to the fight – perhaps it was the substantial cash bonus that swayed him. Still, he seemed pretty upset in his brief pre-fight interview.
The crazy thing is, the brief interview lasted longer than the fight itself. Kimbo rushed across the ring and was clipped with a short right to the chin, he went down and was pummeled by Petruzelli until the ref stepped in to save Kimbo from worse punishment. The emporor was shown to have no clothes. Kimbo had no clue how to protect himself once he was down. He didn’t cover up, he didn’t try to grab and close the distance so Petruzelli would have no punching room, he simply laid there taking shots.
All great fighters have lost. There is no shame in losing if you’ve prepared and give it your best. I credit Kimbo with preparing and giving it his best. Unfortunately, it became clear last night what his best is. Don’t get me wrong, if Kimbo walked into any bar across America, he could probably whip 19 out of 20 in there… maybe even 20. Walking into the octagon is a different story.
I don’t fault Kimbo for taking advantage of the opportunities that have come his way. What’s happened with Kimbo is very similar to what’s currently going on with Brock Lesnar. Kimbo did show class after the fight. He credited Seth for taking the fight and thanked the fans for coming out to see the show. He then left the octagon… maybe for the last time.
Tomorrow night Ken Shamrock steps into the octagon to face “Youtube” superstar Kimbo Slice. There’s a whole lot riding on the outcome of the match, and I’m not just talking about either of the fighters’ reputations. In fact, who wins won’t impact either of the combatants as much as the number of viewers who tune in to watch the fight who airs for free on CBS.
EliteXC is the company promoting the event. They had a three fight agreement with CBS. This is the third fight of the contract. Although the first card [which featured Kimbo] was the most watched MMA event ever, the second show tanked. So unless the fights tomorrow night bring the viewers to the tube, it’s over for EliteXC. Without a network sponsor, word is the company will fold.
Now, there’s no doubt that folks will tune in to watch Kimbo fight. He’s the one MMA fighter that everyone knows. Kimbo is the big, tough, brawler who knocks people out. The trouble is, in reality, Kimbo is over-rated. He hasn’t fought a single ranked fighter. In fact he’s yet to fight a fighter who’s on the way up. Look at the “name” fighters Kimbo has fought. Ray Mercer was a 46 year old former boxer. Mercer lost in the first round. Tank Abbott was 46 years old, had lost 5 of his last 6 fights and had only fought once a year in that time. Abbott also fell in the first round. Ken Shamrock is 44 years old and has lost 8 of his last 10 fights including his last five. Shamrock’s most recent victory was over 4 years ago.
So, who will win?
My guess is Kimbo. If he does, it doesn’t really hurt Shamrock’s reputation. The guy is already a Hall of Famer. A Kimbo win over Shamrock would also add a bit more luster to Kimbo’s figher cred, but mainly with folks who don’t really follow MMA. Finally, a Kimbo victory coupled with enough viewers could entice CBS to extend their contract with EliteXC.
If Shamrock wins, he could retire [hopefully] with a win that ended the era of Kimbo Slice. Unfortunately for EliteXC, it would probably also end their era as well.
Can’t wait for “Watchmen” to reach a theater near you? Then you might want to check out CBR.com’s report on a special “Watchmen” screening complete with a question and answer session with Zack Snyder!
