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Song of the Day: Run - RZA

So it begins, the Con and as always I am entirely excited about this. Well, perhaps not as much as other times I have come, mostly due to the fact that there are no real impending movies which I am really looking forward to, that are going to have panels. Nevertheless, the Con is the Con and that is always enough to get me excited.

This morning  we got the professional passes and no sooner than I was stuffing my bag of goodies into my backpack, than I was asked if I was Vin Diesel’s younger brother. Really? Cause I shave my head, is that it? I’ve never looked in the mirror and thought of Vin Diesel, but whatever. The exhibit floor has been rearranged, the organization format that I was used to is now different, which makes it a little bit confusing now and I actually have to go back to using the map again, which sucks. However, for a comic-con that is sold out, I was actually surprised to not find it as full as it should have been.

We attended three panels today, the first one being, the one for Red Sonja with Robert Rodrigez (Sin City, dir.), Rose McGowen (Charmed) and Douglas Aarinokoski (Once Upon a Time in Mexico, dir. Second Unit) and surprisingly enough, the panel was actually quite boring. It was really unfortunate that the timing just did not work out for them, by next Comic-Con, the movie will be almost ready for release, which means they probably felt they really had to push things on this one, except that…nothing has been shot, casting has not been done, and really only location has been accomplished. On top of that they were not ready to talk about villains, or plot points, which rendered this entire panel worthless. Robert failed to charm, and Charmed Rose failed as well, but that there does not surprise me. All one really got to see that was worth it on this panel, was a series of promotional pictures of Rose as Red Sonja and I have to admit, wielding that bloody sword, wearing a metal mesh bikini and with her red hair to the wind…those pics were pretty dang awesome.

The second panel we attended was the one for Afro Samurai: Resurection, which surprised me in the amount of people that turned out for this. I honestly did not realize so many people were fans of this anime, but it was good to see their support. The panel was the creator Takashi Okazaki, Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction) and The RZA (American Gangster and Wu Tang producer) and this was the sort of panel that one comes to the con for. A Con-exclusive trailer for the new movie, due to premier on Spike in January 2009, was shown to musical cuts by the RZA. They also announced that Lucy Liu has been cast as the voice for the main villain. But the news do not stop there, Takashi Okazaki has announced the manga has been completed and it will span a respectable 300 pages, which will be released in two parts starting this fall. And lastly…the video game, which will be released in conjunction with Afro Samurai: Resurection. Game play was shown and is also available for play at one of the booths on the exhibit floor and honestly looks spectacular. The backgrounds, the controls, the graphics, the comic-book style side panel that warns of actions in other parts of the sets and the graphic violence that remains true to the anime. If you liked Afro Samurai, keep an eye out for this and know that they also confirmed another set of series to come after the movie!

The third panel we attended was the one for Dark Castle, which essentially was filled with mostly crap movies. The first one being The Hills Run Red, a gory, straight to DVD horror that drew so little attention nobody wanted to ask questions and which had the panel leaving the tables as quickly as they came. They announced a new series of comics called “The Ferrymen” which looks somewhat interesting but nothing worth spinning your head over. It was the last two movies they announced that drew a reaction, the first one being Ninja Assassin, starring Rain, who apparently is a pop icon in Korea and who brought fan girls to this panel by the boat load. It was actually pretty amusing to watch. The footage they showed for this film actually looks pretty decent, with good camera work but also graphic violence that will set this appart from the mainstream martial arts movie. What actually brings some credibility to this is the director, James McTeigue, who is more famous for his highly acclaimed V for Vendetta. That, if nothing else, leaves me wanting to see more.

The second interesting movie they brought to the table was Guy Ritchie’s new project RocknRolla with a cast that includes among others Gerard Butler, Ludicris, Jeremy Piven, Thandie Newton, and Tom Wilkinson. That is a rather impressive cast, which would be a good thing if things were not looking so dim for Guy Ritchie. The fact of the matter is that Ritchie is not looking so hot lately. After Lock, Stock and Two Smokin’ Barrels and Snatch, homeboy has not made anything worth mentioning, including the hyped up Revolver. So the question is, will this be his triumphant return to his original state of genius? Or is Ritchie going the way of Shyamalan. This is an important question considering that on top of this Ritchie will be working on the remake of Sherlock Holmes. The footage shown looks promising, but I am done making assumptions with this guy, he needs to prove himself once more as far as I am concerned.

That is my report for the day on the Con, I leave you with three random quotes heard while walking the halls, and clearly this is stuff you would ONLY hear at the Con. Also, I am taking pictures, but I do not have my cable with me (my bad) so the pics will have to be uploaded later. Sorry.

Random Guys on the exhibit floor: In ten minutes we get to find out if we won a man slave.

Random Guy to his buddies on the exhibit floor: This is great, I finally get to tell the guys I humped Pikachu

Conversation between two loud mouthed ijits:
Ijit 1: Lara Croft is better than Indiana Jones
Ijit 2: No way man, Indy is better, its all on the hat.
Ijit 1: No, its all on the hips.

I will keep you updated on any exciting news tomorrow.

-Fco.

• Director: Prachya Pinkaew
• Genre: Crime/Drama/Thriller/Action/Adventure
• Year: 2005

Here is the thing, your enjoyment of this movie will largely depend on the expectations you carry into the movie. Unfortunately, most people are talking up this movie based entirely on the actions scenes. I came into it expecting a pretty damned good movie, because everybody is just waving their hands over their heads, soiling their shorts about how sweet it is…but they really do not mean the movie (at least I hope not) they mean the action sequences and the fights.

I will give them that much the fights are pretty damned impressive and the fact that Tony Jaa does all his stunts is similarly amazing. I will take nothing away from that field, because if that is all you care about from this movie, then you will certainly not be disappointed. However, if you, like I did, expect a plot and character development, or even somewhat decent acting, you are going to be in for a bruising surprise, because none of that exists here. To the point where about an hour into it I felt like just turning it off and playing Ghost Recon instead. Only reason I finished it was because I would have to review it for Turtle Pellets this week.

So there it is, a sub par movie with a sorry attempt for a plot with kick ass fighting. Up to you to decide if its worth an hour and however many minutes of your life.

Rating: 2 out of 5
Notes: There is one pretty hot scene with a chick in her underwear in a mud bath. No nudity but young impressionable boys will be certainly stricken.
Quote: Screw the quote, I am not going to bother with this one, dialogue is pretty bad.

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