Ruined Glory

These are my TOP 5 MOVIES OF THE SUMMER! Starting with the least awesome to the most seriously badass this year. All of these films are equally great but at the end of the day it’s about the everlasting effect and the wow factors that really solidify if a movie is worthy of top picks.

And let’s get started with NUMBER 5!

5. TED

TED was probably the biggest surprise of the year with not only being one of my favourite films this summer but somehow making a talking teddy bear that does more drugs and partying then the entire teenage demographic into a hilarious and heart warming comedy about friendship, true love and having sex with sluts in the back of supermarkets.

Thankfully though TED had the right marketing campaign depicting it as a strong R-Rated comedy to keep mothers and their troll children away from the flick while having the support of the entire FAMILY GUY fanbase thanks to the creator, Seth McFarlene.

The scenes are hilarious, Ted is absolutely loveable in a creepy paranormal alive kind of way and with solid performances from Wahlberg and Kunis among others this is quite simply the funniest comedy of the year.

Thunder buddies for life!

4. PROMETHEUS

The sort of prequel to the ALIEN franchise, PROMETHEUS is about a group of scientists that discover that our creation as a species was the result of an unknown alien race before us and when two people discover strange wall carvings in numerous locations across the world the group of individuals board a massively expensive looking ship in hopes of discovering who or what created us and why.

This is one of those films that has polarizing side effects to audiences as some people love this movie and others found it to be confusing, annoying and ridiculous. But to a science fiction junkie like me, I loved it. 

The effects are huge and beautifully detailed, creature designs are interesting and sleek and although the story leaves much to be desired, it creates an unforgettable atmosphere and does what any great sci-fi will to it’s fans.

Make us speculate. And with that, PROMETHEUS might not be the best film ever made but it’s a damn fine piece of escapism, but even still…what is that black goo? The plot thickens!

3. THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN

Spiderman is probably my favourite Marvel superhero ever and for good reason. He’s nerdy, funny and dashing like me. But I guess opinions are subjective sometimes. 

The film is more faithful to the comic with Peter having to create web shooters instead of being more alien like in the Raimi films and boasts a sizeable villain that although could have been more explained in-depth still embodies an important facet of Peter’s persona and emotional integrity that makes a gigantic reptilian creature still exciting to watch every time the poor doctor loses control of his instincts and thoughts.

The movie is also very respectful to the comic having certain characters die just like the literary form and alluding to events that leaves many loyal Spidey fans anticipating what’s to come next. Who is the man in the darkness? Damn I love movies!

2. THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

The finale to the Batman trilogy is another example of polar opposite reactions among it’s fanbase and for good reason. Some parts make absolutely no sense void of context and the abrupt deaths of certain characters left much to be desired in the emotional department.

But for what it does right, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES obliterates with brooding love. Bruce Wayne is much more central to the plot revolving more so around the man instead of the bat and newcomers Bane and Catwoman add much needed diversity to the overall story.

Bane is a force of nature that is intimidating and interesting to watch on screen, as long as you can understand him. And Catwoman was good but wasn’t exactly a strong component for me as an overall part of the film.

The ending however was simply beautiful and stands as my favourite ending of all three films easily. It’s a great film with some quirky flaws but it still stands as one of the best comic book movies anyways. 

Nolan and friends should be commended for rising to the call of the impossible standards of the previous film and for that this film is recognized. This is wonderful stuff. Bravo!

And now for the best film of the summer…

1. THE AVENGERS

What did you expect? 

THE AVENGERS is the reason why I love summer popcorn movies. Although the story isn’t as in-depth as Batman and none of the heroes present are my favourites over Spiderman, it’s the fact that this is a new experience unlike anything we’ve all seen.

This is the first film successfully establishing a coherent cinematic universe that perfectly embodies the beauty and brilliance of the comic book genre. THE DARK KNIGHT RISES is realistic and gritty, as is THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN and since so many films across so many genres are trying to be like those films it’s a breath of much needed fresh air that Joss Whedon and Marvel Comics decided to hell with realism, these are costumed superheroes!

And it works! You don’t need to sell me on the realism of a nuclear beast of anger teaming with the freaking god of thunder and a super soldier being frozen like the Capsicle he is teaming up with others to fight aliens and the god of mischief. This film fully embraces the fact that it is what it is, comic books. It’s not going to try to make it realistic, why should it?

THE AVENGERS captures the wonders of the books I read every week, it crafts a wonderful cast of different personalities putting aside their differences to fight a loveable and absolutely enthralling villain to see in one film while enticing us hardcore fans with the reveal of the villain who was behind it all at the end of the credits.

People cheered in my advance screening of the movie when Hulk smashed things to bits. We all laughed when Ironman made fun of Thor in the forest or when Thor tells everyone that Loki is adopted. These are what comic book movies need to be.

Stop being realistic, stop trying to make it more believable to me and just embrace it for what it is. If you’re serving me pizza don’t try to make me believe it’s steak, it’s pizza I get it. Just accept it.

And that’s why THE AVENGERS is the best movie of the summer. ASSEMBLE!!!!!!

By MILAN JEGENJAN 

“The struggle for survival goes dark.”

THE WALKING DEAD EPISODE THREE: LONG ROAD AHEAD is so dark and bleak it’s amazing I didn’t feel depressed myself by the end of this two hour or so adventure through the zombie apocalypse.

But man is this great content.

Episode 3 takes place after the disgusting revelations of STARVED FOR HELP, leaving our characters in a situation that has unified and distanced certain members in drastically different ways. The choices matter even more now and the things you witness and decide, it’s the stuff of modern day nightmares.

Lee continues to be a perfectly capable hero in this destroyed world as he leads a group of people who have so many personal issues with not just themselves but with one another it’s a miracle to make it to the next loading screen not feverishly hypothesizing if what you chose to do was the right thing to do.

Should I have acted? What if I was nicer to that person? Maybe I should have helped that person more and they could still be alive, these are some of the situations and questions I was left pondering long after I finished the game as I felt horrible for what has happened to these people along the way.

There’s themes of personal insanity, suicidal tendencies and vendettas littered throughout LONG ROAD AHEAD as you’re constantly put in a situation to make decisions from the littlest pieces of dialogues ending in a person looking at you in a brighter or more hellish sort of light.

It was great to really shape the story the way I have so far.

Although the ending sequences are somewhat lack luster compared to the absolutely gut wrenching middle act of this episode, the next chapter in this fantastic downloadable game is a wonderful and overwhelmingly bleak experience to be had.

For only $5 you could experience one of the best character driven stories of 2012 right now. Download all three episodes, play them in order and start making decisions. For an even more brutal experience don’t go back and change your decisions—-live with them.

It’s what I’ve been doing, my god is it awful some of the things I’ve had to do. But this is such an endearing title, it’s a crime to miss out on it. 

THE WALKING DEAD EPISODE THREE: LONG ROAD AHEAD is a painful and dark story wrapped in the madness of a zombie apocalypse in modern day America. The choices that have to be made are insane, amazing and downright evil as you struggle to survive long enough to make it to the next story segment.

With themes so dark and taboo at play here with the concepts of suicide and jealousy, this experience exemplifies how our surroundings can either bring the best or worst out of us. It’s also an affordable piece of entertainment that will not only place you in a world long left dead but will force you to start living.

And these are some of the toughest decisions you’ll have to make in any modern videogame to date, I guarantee it. 

OVERALL SCORE: 9 out of 10

By MILAN JEGENJAN

“The one year anniversary of The Man of Steel is here and it’s fantastic.”

SUPERMAN ANNUAL #1 is the one year comic establishing Kal-El’s existence in the New 52. Though the main series has had its ups and downs with questionable villains and a heavy emphasis on trying to relate to Clark Kent which left me a little less-desirable then most usually I can wholly say the annual takes what was wrong with the series and smashes it into explosive pieces.

Nay, it shatters it all.

ANNUAL tells the story of Superman facing off against one of his most interesting villains in the New 52, Helspont. Yeah the guy Supes punched into a mountain in the Himalayas a couple of issues ago is back and man is he evil and awesome.

Helspont is back for revenge and when you start piecing together how large of a scale his ambitions are reaching it’s daunting to say the least. This is how a Superman comic should be, give me otherworldly evils from distant planets fighting our hero but make them interesting and thought provoking as well. This is how I imagined Helspont from the beginning not the self-bantering weirdo from the earlier issues who talks a lot but doesn’t snuff up to his reputation.

Well Helspont lives up to the call very well and there’s some really great scenes between Superman and Helspont that really sets the tone for how dire of a situation this really is. It’s great to also see characters like Martian Manhunter, Hawkman and Starfire as well facing off against agents of Helspont. All the fights are well done and some of the comic panels are unreal in detail and execution.

I’m just so happy that this is a great comic book.

You learn the origins of Helspont and why his plea for galactic war is important to his cause and how he’s not just killing people for the sake of being an ass, he has legit worthy reasons behind his attacks. And they’re a great solid foundation for all his reasonings.

He’s a casted out prince that discovers a source of energy that creates him into a being of unlimited power and with hopes of restoring his world to it’s formal power again, Helspont is on the course to reap suitable planets in order for his people to survive. 

Also, Helspont backhands Superman into the Moon, giving him a freaking concussion. Man this issue rocks. Give it a looksie, it’s an Annual so you don’t really need to know anything to enjoy this issue at all, just read it for all it’s glory.

This is Superman, this is what I want. It does have some weird artwork here and there but besides that this is a great issue for any fan of comic books. Here’s to another year of The Man of Steel!

OVERALL SCORE: 9.5 out of 10

By MILAN JEGENJAN

“All hail to one of the best games of the year.”

TRANSFORMERS FALL OF CYBERTRON is one of my games of the year easily. Effectively telling a fantastic story of desperation, war and the fight for personal freedom across a war torn planet, FALL OF CYBERTRON doesn’t just deliver on all fronts—-it annihilates them.

The game takes place immediately after the original, WAR FOR CYBERTRON, which had Optimus Prime and The Autobots creating “The Ark” a massive space transport that will carry the remaining survivors of the war to safe havens among the stars. But when Megatron and The Decepticons intervene The Ark, the player is taken back a few days to see how this all came to fruition and it’s just wonderful from beginning to end.

The campaign is split into thirteen chapters and instead of giving you the choice of who to play for each chapter the game smartly abolishes this and forces you to take the reins of characters such as Bumblebee, Optimus Prime, Megatron and one of my personal favourite characters, Grimlock. 

Yes, Dinobots are in this game. And they’re awesome.

The gameplay is dramatically more diverse with every character playing in their own style that is equally catered to the design of the levels you inhabit. Optimus Prime is a heavy gun wielding Transformer of justice and his levels reflect that. You’ll feel like a badass as you blast through waves of enemies while transforming in mid-sequence only to transform back and slice someone to pieces. It’s ridiculous fun.

The game varies from heavy shooting sequences, to stealth sequences, to straight up melee close quarters to flying missions to transforming into a gigantic robotic T-Rex and literally eating other robots like mouth watering bacon. 

The cutscenes are so well done and the sense of scale of how dire this situation is is always apparent from things blowing up, to being tossed into space and other amazing sequences. Near the end of the game, especially the final level, I was screaming out loud with how awesome this game got. 

I haven’t had this much fun in a long time.

The game is clearly a labor of love and this is one of the games this year that feels like the developers loved and cared for every second that you experienced. I haven’t even touched on how playing as Jazz or Bruticus are some of the wicked parts of the campaign or the fact that even though this is one of the best single player campaigns I’ve played in such a long time there’s even more icing on the cake.

Multiplayer.

Yes, believe it or not this game boasts a healthy online experience with Team Deathmatches, Capture modes and more with the same fidelity and force the campaign reigns on you like a hurricane of awesome. You can also create your own Transformer and everything, how sweet is that?

The above image displays the four classes available with how crazy your characters can look. Infiltrator is a small car class with stealth elements taking inspiration from Bumblebee. Destroyer is a strong and precise class like Optimus Prime. The Tank is heavy, powerful and wields mini guns of destruction…like Megatron. And Scientists are planes that can heal and snipe enemies from afar like Starscream. 

It’s just awesome.

TRANSFORMERS: FALL OF CYBERTRON is not just an amazing game on it’s own, it’s one of the best games of the year. With diverse gameplay, amazing cut scenes and a cliff hanger ending so maddeningly well done, this is the new staple for licensed created media now. If you love Transformers, videogames or just having a great time, look no further. 

TRANSFORMERS: FALL OF CYBERTRON is the shit. It’s balls to the wall badass.

OVERALL SCORE: 10 out of 10

BY Milan Jegenjan 

“Here’s to 50 years of Spiderman.”

This comic marks the 50th anniversary of Spiderman as an international icon of the world as the story is instead that of multiple perspectives, messages and stories that peer into exciting new revelations, concepts of what it means to be a hero and the overall amount of importance this iconic character has on a medium created so long ago.

The book tells three separate stories in all. The first, “Point of Origin” tells the story of a brand new concept to the Spiderman universe, a superhero sidekick. That’s right, Spiderman gets his own Robin to his Batman but the result is not what you think it is.

The character in the spotlight is Andy Maguire, a nobody teenager who attends the same school that Peter Parker did so long ago in his pre-crime fighting days and gives a similar presence to the character with Andy being outcasted and liked by no one except the change of events that he has parents and a well off income in his household, reminiscent of Miles Morales, the new Spiderman in the Ultimates line of comic books. 

But then Peter Parker shows off his greatest discovery, Parker Particles, and when his experiment goes haywire and the resulting explosion of molecular energy strikes Andy and he becomes ALPHA, a superhero who is one with the universe.

The media backlash begins and Parker is left with a boy with the power to fly, lift objects like nothing, force fields, energy blasts and even super speed. The downfall is currently Alpha can only harness one ability to its full potential at one time. So no super speed and hadouken energy blasts as of yet so far.

The character of Alpha is interesting because unlike Peter who was just bit by a spider and the only person aware of the situation was Parker himself, he had to hid his ability and become a masked vigilante. 

Not Alpha.

Alpha is everything Peter wanted to be at his age. In the spotlight being hammered with loving and adoring fans and savouring the existence of himself as someone extraordinary. But as of right now Alpha is sort of a prick, but he’s a teenage kid. It’s also pathetic to see how the girl he likes only likes him now ‘cause he can shoot freakin’ laser beams out of his hands. 

Women these days.

As for the other storylines, “SPIDERMAN FOR A NIGHT” is a nice throwback to Spiderman No More and tells the story of a grizzled old thug who finds the Spiderman suit and tries to use it for evil only to find the responsibility that comes with such a purpose. And it was great.

Then there’s the final story, “JUST RIGHT” which showcases the hilarity of Spiderman and how wildly entertaining this character is to see jumping around the page as a human being as well as a superhero.

This was personally my favourite of the three story lines. Alpha was cool in its own way and I’m interested to see how such a character will fit into the concept of Spiderman as a whole over time, the thug story was interesting and showed great heart but this story was just fantastic.

Seeing Spiderman drying out his clothing on a city roof top in nothing but his mask pretty much flashing the world was hilarious. As was the fiasco with The Thing and the cherry on top with Peter taking one of his adoring fans on the trip of a lifetime.

Overall, THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN #692 is a swan song to everything Spiderman and although there’s some quips here and there the overall amount of sheer content and love lodged into this title makes up for any mishaps with the fact that this is a comic celebrating one of the most endearing pieces of art in any media.

It’s an Amazing read, pun definitely intended. 

OVERALL SCORE: 10 out of 10

By MILAN JEGENJAN

“Explosions within explosions.”

THE EXPENDABLES 2 is the sequel to the most ridiculous set up of action heroes in all of movie cinema uniting under one banner to dish out insane amounts of pain to droves of people that stand in the way of pure action cinematic justice.

The film starts with Sly and his gang basically exploding an entire nation in a span of ten minutes with such finesse and scale that the first scene in the film raises the bar so high that the rest of the film cannot possibly reach the same caliber that has just raped your eye sockets.

And sadly, it doesn’t. Not fully anyway.

Having such a strong opening to a film is a double edged sword as it can either make the movie ascend to amazing heights or create it’s own self-made roadblock that raises audiences expectations far too high for the studios own good. The film does have action scenes of course but nothing ever even comes close to it.

But that doesn’t mean it’s still not enjoyable to sit through.

The film handles it’s genre with perfect precision handling large scale battles and giving enough spotlight to each team member with their own specific talents being put into full effect. From Jet Li taking out an entire room with nothing but pots ‘n’ pans to Jason Statham slicing his foes into oblivion with slick choreography, it’s entertaining for the eyes.

The addition to heavy hitter veterans like Bruce Willis and Arnold himself add to the overall ridiculousness that exists within this movie. Then add in a villain played by the one and only Jean Claude Van Damme that is used with a smart and surprisingly heart jerking vendetta as a story plot point and you got a solid basis for a movie for action junkies to fatten themselves with for days. 

Unfortunately the ending is somewhat abrupt and the conclusion is predictable and never felt like the final battle scenes lived up to the same potential that for example the opening scene capitalized on by utilizing the star power and the impact these people have had on us as a whole.

But to look at this film as a character study or a story driven piece of film is arguably the worst way you could enjoy this movie. The best sequences involve absolutely awful one liners dating back to famous roles some of these actors have done in the past and inhuman amounts of bullets being injected into nameless fools like a perpetual rain storm of awesome.

THE EXPENDABLES 2 is a action fans wet dream wrapped in a surprisingly well thought out and executed vendetta story. Never forgetting how ridiculous and over the top of a concept it really is the film soars like bullets and for the most part hits it’s intended targets with blazing success.

But uneasy pacing, a lack luster ending and an opening sequence that raises the bar so impossibly high that the rest of the film unfortunately never reaches the same potential makes this film a flawed but nevertheless hilariously fun movie to watch. 

Also, Chuck Norris. ‘Nuff Said. 

OVERALL SCORE: 8 out of 10

By MILAN JEGENJAN

“Embrace the animal.”

ASM #691 is the conclusion to the “No Turning Back” storyline featuring Dr.Curt Connors AKA The Lizard fully embracing the fact that he is indeed a monster and an abomination of science that instead of trying to cling to his humanity should just accept the fact that his true persona is that of his alter ego.

The issue starts with Spiderman about to get into a bloodbath fight with a group of lizard men—-but then they don’t attack. It turns out these people who are lizards are not crazy like Connors so even as lizard people they’re not gonna kill Spiderman, they’ll just…hug. Hmph.

It was disappointing to see that it just turns out the reason why The Lizard goes nuts when he goes reptilian is because well, he’s angry. And he hates people. So yeah, that’s a little bit underwhelming. Also stupid.

THE LIZARD also gets a redesign that no one really asked for making him, well still a lizard, but just look more elongated and awkward instead. It makes sense though since Connors has officially given up his humanity and to convey that by making him into a straight up reptile with no sense of human features or emotions makes sense in a way, he’s full blown bad now.

The conclusion is odd in ways with one of the Horizon scientists just basically taking what’s left of the perfect formula that mutates Connors one last time and using it to make an antidote to save the rest of the scaly staff seems to take absolutely no time at all. Like this is just another day at the office or something.

There’s three cool things in this issue though. One is Madame Web as always being all cryptic and alluding to future events. The second is the single shot of Spiderman taking down Lizzie with one epic needle plunge into the brain and the third is just realizing that the perfect formula has cleared Connors’ mind.

He’s THE LIZARD but he’s in full control now, he’s still Connors. So he’s essentially the best of both personas which is really cool even if he looks really elongated and weird.

Overall it’s a decent issue and with the only cool revelation being that Connors is now the best of both his sides even if he’s imprisoned alongside the other freak shows that Spidey fights it’s a fitting end to a somewhat underwhelming arc that started very strongly.

Looking forward to where it goes from here now that were finished with all this lizard stuff.

OVERALL SCORE: 7 out of 10

By MILAN JEGENJAN

“FAAAALCON PUUUUUUUNNNCHH!”

Man I love greatly drawn comic book panels. This issue has one of the single best moments in the entire series and no I won’t spoiler it for you—-but man was it cool. 

AVX #10 starts off with Cyclops absolutely ravaging The Avengers and friends with optic blasts all over the place and when Hope finally has enough she punches Cyclops so hard he goes through a worm hole and flies into the moon. 

Yeah, I know. Awesome.

That’s the only spoiler I’ll really delve into due to how badass it really was to see this girl who has been training to take on The Phoenix Force to just unleash her potential, if for a second, and not really defeat but definitely own face to someone with such raw cosmic power and authority in the mutant space.

Did I mention how awesome some of these panels are drawn? I did right? Well I’ll say it again that some of the single action segments in this book absolutely rock in the art department so much that these panels could be cover pages for entire books. 

There’s also a great moment between Captain America and Professor X with how this has all gotten out of hand, then there’s some mystical dragon to add to the overall craziness of this book and not to mention some moments with my favorite mutant, Magneto.

Overall, a great issue with tons of action, story and fun filled moments. 

AVX #10 is great fun and the fact there’s only two more issues left in this event it’s going to be interesting to see where this all goes. Looking forward to the epic conclusion to this event!

OVERALL SCORE: 9 out of 10

BY MILAN JEGENJAN

THE WALKING DEAD is a series of comic books that I review with complete and utter spoiler free reviews with no images from the issues in order to effectively keep all the shocks and screams contained and to just keep such a popular book from getting spoiled just in general.

Without spoilers I will say THE WALKING DEAD #100 ends with such a tear jerking and maddeningly sad moment that it’s one of those moments where you put your arms up and say, “How the hell will they top this in the next issue?”

#101 is a depressing and somber issue with glimmers of hope in the embers of anger and human motivations that follow this group of survivors. I cannot explain how attached I am to this group of people not from just a story stand point but as real people that I hold dear to me.

Everytime someone dies, I feel awful. Everytime something unfair and unjust happens, I clench my fists. But I think worst of all is this feeling of dread that at any time things could go south. Like really bad.

Thankfully after losing all sense of hope and feeling in a single moment in issue #100, I feel like there’s a way to bounce back from this now. There’s hope, there’s love and there’s the sense that these people can still go on.

But it will never be the same. THE WALKING DEAD #101 is great stuff, I just can’t spoiler it for you. It would be such a crime to. If you’re not reading THE WALKING DEAD—-

Read it now.

OVERALL SCORE: 9 out of 10

By MILAN JEGENJAN

“Stellar as always.”

SAGA #6 is the next issue in my favorite original story right now in comics. This issue has Marko and Alana finally reaching Rocketship Forest and being whisked away into the stars on a gigantic treehouse through the cosmos.

The issue also gives The Will, the badass Boba Fett-esque character a new target to murder in due time and it’s awesome. Then there’s Prince Robot IV being an elegant douche but still be loveable and sweet at the same time.

It’s just overall a good issue, it’s hard to review SAGA without ruining anything but it’s safe to say that enough gets done and it’s a welcome change to have our heroes on a course to somewhere important to meet someone who is largely regarded in superiority. 

I also love how Hazel, Marko & Alana’s kid narrates this story throughout her entire life as she consistently gives weird and grim outlooks on life which between this story being so great and awesome having this “looming cloud” aspect to it all being truly endearing is such a great add that just makes this story even more multi-layered and constantly satisfying to read.

The reveal at the end is a chuckle worthy moment with a questionable existence to another character not being clearly explained but I’m hoping this gets cleared up in numero seven when it hits shelves eventually.

SAGA #6 is another wonderful issue in a beautiful comic book series. If you can only read one great comic book that doesn’t involve superheroes and all that, get this book.

Do you understand? GET THIS BOOK. Now.

OVERALL SCORE: 9.5 out of 10

By MILAN JEGENJAN

“I’m a winner, just like my dad.”

DAREDEVIL #17 is in a nutshell an instalment that tells the history and importance between Matt Murdock and his partner in justice Foggy Nelson and how important this relationship is to the world of Daredevil as a whole.

The issue begins with Murdock being kicked out of his own law firm by Nelson for the revelations that are discovered in Matt’s desk. This leads to a flash back of how Nelson was at one point in the same postion Matt’s in right now and how the parallels contradict and align in ways to benefit the story overall.

Micheal Allred guest draws on this issue drawing a superbly well drawn book with beautiful retro feels to each page and I must say that the cover art is just gorgeous. Just love how he drew Daredevil on that.

The villain in this issue is the odd looking and dull named Stilt Man, he as you can guess from his name is a man who walks on stilts. Thankfully the villain only plays a role as a lackey of a bigger crime and although he’s painfully lame as a villain the character is a perfect choice with this retro art just drawn all over this book. Funny how the worst thing about this book is still good in a way, odd hey?

The reason for all the troubles and mishaps of the issue is something that gives Matt Murdock a part of his life back and honestly it was touching to see. Matt’s someone who’s life is just one giant shit storm of bad luck from his father dying, to losing his eyesight and the people around him and this issue balances the uneasy tension between two peoples lives, the moments we cherished most and the realization that we can all be happy within our own skins.

Even if sometimes we don’t want to admit it.

This is with no surprise another great addition to my favorite Marvel series right now. DAREDEVIL #17 is beautiful to look at, a great heart jerker and captures the essence of the tragic and heroic existence of someone as amazing as The Man Without Fear.

DAREDEVIL #17 is a must read, along with the entire series. This is just wonderful stuff.

OVERALL SCORE: 9.5 out of 10

“Bourne Again.”

THE BOURNE LEGACY is the sequel to the original trilogy of films that starred Matt Damon as Jason Bourne respectively and tells the story of newcomer Aaron Cross, played by Jeremy Renner as an Outcome agent that is seeking out the reasons for his existence and why everything around him seems to want him dead.

The story is based on the novel by Eric Van Lustbader and the gist is that all of the special agents in the field around the world are being systematically neutralized by the CIA for some reason and it’s up to Cross to find out who and why and all that jazz.

I’ll say it now, don’t expect a crazy action movie. The Bourne flicks were never straight up romp after romp but instead were more of a thinking man’s action flick with a much more heavy emphasis on the who’s and why’s instead of the whack’s and hits.

The strongest performance in the entire film is with no real surprise coming from Renner himself. Fresh off the storm of playing The Avengers famously badass Hawkeye, it’s refreshing to see an actor with such raw talent and emphasis on the physicality instead of relying on their star power to influence their roles. 

The movie is gritty, paced rather slowly as instead of just having action sequences for no other reason than to keep your eyes busy the exciting fights and chase sequences are rare and only happen when it serves the story but when these scenes happen, especially the fighting parts, it’s straight up bananas badass.

Nothing is more satisfying then seeing Bourne-style hand to hand combat as necks break, limbs get twisted and people generally regret not calling in sick that day. The story is also pretty well structured and successfully builds upon previous establishments.

But if you’re not familiar with Bourne, it’s gonna get a little hazy.

Probably the most endearing aspect of this film is the fact that this is essentially a new beginning to another trilogy of films. Aaron Cross is different than Jason Bourne in many ways which also refreshes the experience from the calm and collected Bourne we knew to this much more militaristic and brutally sarcastic character instead.

If you can watch the film without comparing it to the original trilogy, you’ll have a good time. But if you’re one of those people that find a sequel to a successful trilogy that has almost made $1 billion worldwide as “unnecessary” well this just might not be for you.

But it’s still a great flick nevertheless.

THE BOURNE LEGACY is a gritty and endearing sequel to a trilogy of films that many regard as some of the best action movies in cinema. It’s main character is brutal, sarcastic and gratifying to follow as the film takes you on a ride through a situation that is surprisingly cool and interesting while never losing sight of it’s roots. 

It may not be the best film in the franchise, but it ties well into the legacy before it.

OVERALL SCORE: 8.5 out of 10

By MILAN JEGENJAN 

“God? I’m better than god. I’m a surgeon!”

HARVEST #1 follows the story of Benjamin Dane, a coke’d up alcoholic surgeon who gets swept in the corporate secrecies and indecencies of human organ trafficking and black market deals that keep the rich alive and healthy and the poor dead and missing a kidney or two.

Something about IMAGE COMICS and their creator owned properties that just constantly stimulate the readers minds whether I’m reading about surgeons mutilating people or hell ex-cops surviving in zombie apocalypses, they seem to create some of the best original content in the comic book industry in freaking droves.

HARVEST is insanely twisted and beautifully drawn as the story depicts a very real and dirty Chicago where shady businesses control everything and the story being from the view point of a surgeon who is really just screwed for the rest of his life is awesome and sadistic.

The attention of detail to every panel as it oozes human entrails and bodily fluids is great and really captures the tone and setting this excellent first issue has going for it. Ben is not a likeable guy at all, he’s a complete asshole who happens to be a person who’s job is to fix people when we get hurt.

Speaking of people, the graphical violence in this book is really bad. 

The use of blood in the panels is also a visual cue to the underlying problems in the story. To be fair all the surgeons in this story are failed ones who at some point in their careers screwed up royally from letting a patient die or other crazy situations that surgeons no doubt get themselves into.

Did I mention it’s also full of vulgar language?

Not that it’s a bad thing it’s just another aspect to this unsettling story and being someone who can’t watch the surgeon-esque tv shows like THE ER it’s surprisingly sweet how much I am enjoying a story about something I hate looking at, in real life, comics wise this stuff is gorgeous.

Real hearts and stuff, not my thing. Queasy stomach, bleh.

But for a first issue in a limited series of books this first issue really sets a tone for things to come. Benjamin Dane is figuratively fucked and the situation he’s gotten himself into is not one a lot of us would be happy experiencing. 

HARVEST #1 is a great new book, I’m eagerly anticipating the next instalment, it’s bloody entertaining. Pun intended.

OVERALL SCORE: 9 out of 10

By MILAN JEGENJAN

“Ragin’ Cajun’.”

I’ve been looking forward to the solo series that’s being built around one of the coolest X-Men and one of my personal favorites since I could remember, Remy LeBeau the ragin’ Cajun’ himself—-GAMBIT.

For those of you somehow not familiar with this awesome character, LeBeau is a mutant who can charge objects with kinetic energy then toss with expert accuracy effectively creating a fork, a baseball or a deck of cards into a vast array of explosive weaponry. He also has really cool eyes.

Issue one follows Remy as he infiltrates a Croatian gang’s mansion during a high class party in the hopes of collecting crucial artifacts deep within the vaults of these shady characters.

The thing I always loved about Gambit is his extreme sarcasm and equally suave coolness showcasing just how calm and collected this thief really is. It’s great seeing him seduce women through his dastardly good looks and talking his way out of his predicaments while always in arms of reach of kinetically charging something to blow sky high at any moment.

The storyline here is slick and there’s some stand outs sequences that are so Gambit-like I just kept smiling when events unfolded.

Among some of the titles this past year it seems the most off-beat and although well-known still not as prolific as other mega hitters in the industry getting their own solo books is great. This is like Hawkeye last week which was absolutely awesome, Gambit although not as good as Hawkeye so far is still promising and engaging with a sort of odd ending that makes you a little queasy still is playing out rather great so far.

GAMBIT #1 is the start to something fresh, showcasing that not every X-MEN comic needs to have a massive ensemble cast or the constant headlining of a character like Wolverine to sell issues off comic book stands.

It’s not the best comic this week, but it’s still some stellar stuff here, Mon Amie.

OVERALL SCORE: 8 out of 10

By MILAN JEGENJAN

“Wonderful and Moving.”

SPIDER-MEN #4 is the best so far in the 5-part limited series following our Peter Parker entering the universe of ULTIMATE comics where Miles Morales is the new Spiderman after the death of the young Peter Parker at the hands of Green Goblin.

Issue #4 perfectly captures one of the most bitter sweet, amazing and beautiful single comic book sequences I’ve read this year. Lemme’ tell you about it without delving too deep within it of course.

The bulk of this issue is our Peter Parker arriving at his house in this alternate universe and seeing Aunt May and Gwen Stacy greet him at the doorstep with looks of complete anguish and bewilderment as an older version of their dead hero stands infront of them.

Seeing Aunt May slap Peter for arriving infront of her is only the tip of the iceberg as this beautiful issue plays out. Not to mention how Peter reacts to a younger and alive Gwen Stacy in this world as the facial emotions of the characters are presented so breathtakingly well that you can feel the sadness our Peter feels as he looks at the woman who was the greatest love of his life—-before he let her die at the hands of a mad man.

The conversation Peter has with Aunt May, Gwen Stacy and Miles Morales on how his universe is different and how being Spiderman in his world has changed so much is absolutely beautiful to witness.

I can’t stress how great this issue is written, I felt for Spiderman. It was beautiful.

Seeing Aunt May pass out from the emotional rollercoaster ride of having her nephew die only to reappear but not technically be the nephew she raised and loved for so many years and seeing the sadness and pride that she showed in this issue was probably one of my favourite things this week in comics.

And when Gwen asks Pete what she’s like in his world and Peter chokes up and fights back the tears—-it’s some emotional shit.

SPIDER-MEN #4 is a issue that hits all Spidey fans right where we live. This is a beautiful issue that didn’t have any action in it, it’s one big discussion in a living room. No gravity-defying acts of heroism or anything.

And I didn’t even touch on how Mary-Jane reacts to seeing Peter Parker alive, oh boy. This is an issue completely summing up the life of Peter Parker in a way that was just downright beautiful. 

Bravo.

OVERALL SCORE: 10 out of 10

By MILAN JEGENJAN

“Ghost in the Batman”

BATMAN #12 is the epilogue to the epic Owls storyline and is a single issue that effectively sets up what the next story arc of Batman will be in due time. The issue follows a new character named Harper Row, a gothic girl who has a fascination with Batman and technology. 

The story effectively gives boatloads of personality to this new character and creates a very likeable and believable character that apparently according to the creators of the book will be the eyes for the reader in important events to come later on.

Harper works for Gotham’s power grid and manages the flow of electricity in the cities underbelly while maintaining her somewhat burden of a life and the constant fear that her bisexual/gay sibling is being targeted by people who don’t exactly enjoy his existence.

Snyder and the gang craft a great single story that injects just the right amount of The Dark Knight with the exciting take of this new character and weaves the two characters brilliantly into a cohesive storyline that turns out has been happening for quite some time right under our noses.

You can see this sort of Oracle feel to Harper as she helps Batman fight crime inadvertently while growing this obsession with viral videos and any sort of media related to the illusive Batman.

Overall the end proves that you can successfully create a storyline and fully flesh out a new character in a limited amount of pages and setting up the storyline for something new and fresh. 

Harper Row is a character I can grow to love and her alternative feel and modern look, with the piercings and hairdo and all, are great and she fits the universe Snyder and friends have created in a way that I just couldn’t help but love.

BATMAN #12 is a great issue in a fantastic ongoing series and easily stands as one of DC Comics’ best New 52 books still and it shows perfectly how re-inventing Batman never ever gets old.

This is just great stuff, Harper Row FTW.

OVERALL SCORE: 9 out of 10

By MILAN JEGENJAN

“So. Freaking. Awesome.”

DEADPOOL KILLS THE MARVEL UNIVERSE is exactly what the title says, this is Wade Wilson gone batshit crazy and his target is every superhero in Marvel Comics from the most prolific figures to the weird and obscure characters that lurk in the halls of comic books. 

The story starts with Uatu The Watcher explaining that in this particular reality separate from ours there’s a tragedy that befalls the universe. An evil rises that begins to systematically wipe out the entire roster of characters we know and love. Captain America, Iron Man, Spiderman and even Uatu himself—-no one is safe from Deadpool.

This is Deadpool at his best, he’s wildly hilarious from explaining to his psychiatrist that he grew up as a miners daughter who was not breast fed as a child and other wildly creepy and funny things ensue in this excellent beginning issue.

The book literally starts with Deadpool just completely massacring the entire Fantastic Four from making The Thing explode into dust, Mr.Fantastic melt away and beheading The Human Torch like it’s just another day at the job and it’s so hilariously great to see.

This is not a comic book to take seriously at all, this is straight up gory action with humor and set pieces designed to keep you on the edge of your seat as you laugh and yell profanities as you see everyone’s favorite deranged anti-hero clean house with katanas and machine guns. 

The ending shot in this first issue is so hilarious if you’re a long time reader or fan of obscure Marvel characters that you can’t help but just burst out laughing when it happens. 

DEADPOOL KILLS THE MARVEL UNIVERSE is a book for comic book fans and anyone in general to sit down and enjoy a bloody good time. This is the industries most unhinged and crazy character breaking the fourth wall while killing all the superheroes we’ve grown up loving as kids.

Even if you don’t read comics, read this book. It’s absolutely fantastic. I just hope they don’t get too into all the riff raff in the behind the scenes and just focus on the premise and it’ll be a grand ‘ol time!

Deadpool, you sir are nucking futs. 

OVERALL SCORE: 9.5 out of 10

By MILAN JEGENJAN

These are the top 5 films I wanna see really badly in the fall season. The Bourne Legacy is not included because it’s technically a summer release otherwise it would’ve been added, anyways here are my picks.

1. THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY

Release: December 14th 2012

The Hobbit is the prequel to the epic LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy of films that sweeped cinemas almost a decade ago and to this day stand as one of the greatest fantasy trilogy of films in existence.

Hobbit follows Bilbo Baggins on his first adventure along with other Hobbit friends and the great wizard Gandalf The Grey. I’ve never read the books and I know not too much about the plot of the books besides there’s necromancers and a dragon called Smaugh in it but I’d honestly rather not know.

And with the fact a third film was just announced sweetens the pot. Here’s to another trilogy of fantasy.

2. CLOUD ATLAS

Release Date: October 26th 2012

This film looks to be extremely ambitious and over the top and full of great moments. It’s based on the 2004 novel of the same name as it follows multiple characters through their lives in the past, present and future and the ripple effects of our decisions and consequences creating wild adventures and possibilities. 

It could either be the biggest mess of a film in 2012 or a true sci-fi gem—-plus it has Tom Hanks looking like a gangster in it at some point. Color me interested in this flick.

3. TAKEN 2

Release Date: October 5th 2012

If you haven’t seen the first one it’s the true embodiment of fatherly love as Liam goddamn Neeson takes out bad guys left right and center to get his baby girl back in his arms and away from the human sex trade.

The sequel is a similar premise with Liam Neeson again looking rotten and badass as hell as his wife, Jean Grey from the X-Men, is taken by the crazy bad dudes from the last movie who are seeking revenge for the death of their brethren. 

This is a guilty pleasure movie, I just wanna see Liam Neeson talk scary into phones and break peoples necks like dandelions. This is gonna be a hilariously sweet ride.

4. WRECK IT RALPH

Release Date: November 2nd 2012

This film is a love letter to gamers all over it seems. Featuring a classic arcade villain who doesn’t want to be a bad guy anymore and “game jumping” into other videogames seems like a wild and awesome idea for a CGI-animated adventure on the silver screen.

Plus the scene in the trailer sold my ticket for me when the likes of Bowser, Zangief, M Bison, Kano, Diablo and more were shown in a group therapy session discussing the woes of being the bad guy in a videogame.

So much freaking win, I cannot wait for this.

1. SKYFALL

Release Date: November 9th 2012

This is what an action movie is all about. James Bond is the quintessential hero of all males across the globe. Everytime a Bond flick gets announced, my body gets ready. This time Bond is facing an Academy award winning actor and looks to deal with the loss of crucial data from MI6 and all the awesome shit that comes with the Bond formula.

So between midget fantasies, convoluted timelines, fathers killing people and videogame bad guys this looks to be the king of the cinema for me this fall. 

GET IT? FALL. SKYFALL. I have to continue getting my body ready for this. Goddammit I love James Bond. 

And those are my picks! 

By MILAN JEGENJAN