Benjamin Grimm

I think it was a dud. For the first time, Pixar has struck out.

I had him in the UMDB as "Charles Doyle" but that's been remedied.

Strangely enough, I've never seen Smallville. Of the series Vic ranked, these are the ones I remember having watched, and my order of preference: 1) Adventures of Superman (1952-1958) 2) Flash (1990-91) 3) Lois & Clark (1993-97) 4) Wonder Woman (1976-1979) 5) Incredible Hulk (1978-1982) 6) Batman (1966-1968) 7) Shazam! (1974-76)

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: It was a joke that Shazam wasn't actually the name of the superhero, but Captain Marvel. And it was very dumb that they had different actors playing Shazam and his alter-ego. In the comics, Billy Batson is a kid, a paperboy, whose alter-ego is the big grown-up superhero Captain Marvel. If they stayed true to that, then they'd pretty much have to have two actors. I don't remember, though, was Billy Batson a kid in that series?

I remember them too. That show may belong in a different category, since it was a Saturday morning kids show, and wasn't made for prime time.

I'll spend my week watching Flash. That, for me, was the most enjoyable show on the list.

How old is he? I imagine he's 21 or 22...

I despised the 2003 version. Maybe I would have liked (or at least, hated it less) it if I didn't care about the comic book character, but I do and Ang Lee's movie was a big swing and a miss. He didn't get the character right at all, and the story had the wrong feel. You can't make a movie like that and not respect the source material.

See what I mean about how silly he looks?

I gave it 2 stars. I watched it for a while, out of loyalty and affection for the character, but it didn't hold my interest and I bailed on it long before it went off the air. The Hulk looked silly. He didn't talk. He just stood there and growled and threw things. (At least, that's how I remember it.) I know that there are a bunch of people who love the Hulk because of this series, but I already had my own notions about the character and this series didn't live up to them. I was asked to rate it in relation to other action shows, which is why I gave it the two stars. Had I been asked to rate it compared to the comic books, I would have given it one star.

I really enjoyed it. (Gave it 3 stars.) Much better than I was expecting; I was afraid it would be another disaster like the 2003 movie was. I was never a fan of the TV series; I didn't recognize the theme song. (If I was going to incorporate a Hulk theme song, I would have gone with the "Doc Bruce Banner..." them from the 1960's cartoon, like they did in Iron Man.) The clip from Courtship of Eddie's Father was a very nice touch, though. The closing battle was too much like a Japanese monster movie for my tastes. And the CGI Hulk didn't look as realistic as I would have liked but, again, better than I had expected from the few clips I had seen. (I would have CGI'ed the Thing in Fantastic Four and, if possible, used a real actor for the Hulk, although he'd certainly have to be computer-enhanced in some way.) The film did nicely capture the feel of the comics from the Herb Trimpe days, the mags I read as a kid. I think that they're going to have to tinker with the character a bit if he's going to be a member of the big screen Avengers. The 60's Hulk who was in the first few issues of that title was more of a social misfit type than a raging beast. There's no way that this movie Hulk will sit around a conference room table with Thor and Iron Man and the Wasp. It was a good movie. A fun movie. So far, anyway, Marvel Studios has done right by their characters in the two films that they've made. My initially rock-bottom hopes for Thor (due in 2010) have been raised a bit.

I was going to post a poll about Havens, asking where we'd like him to be five years from now. Choices would have been: Mets second baseman Mets catcher Mets shortstop (that's for the Jose haters) in another organization (meaning he was traded for an established player) Me, I'd lean towards second base. I'd like our next catcher to be somebody who was born to the position. (And no, I don't really know what I mean by that.)

I remember when I was in, I think, fifth grade (which would have been around 1973) a lot of my friends were really into Speed Racer but it never did anything for me. I was more of a Flintstones guy. I did see the show a few times, but remember nothing about it other than the theme song. I don't even know who Racer X is.

The Iron Man thread is, at the moment anyway, still spoiler free. In case you're still reluctant to go there, I gave it the best rating. I loved the movie. Best Marvel movie yet.

I don't get it. Oh, I get the attitude, but I don't know what a "massive spod" is, nor do I know who Akon is. (But I gather that his/her birthday is on April 30.)

Iron Man 2 has already been announced by Marvel Studios. It opens on April 30, 2010. Thor will open just over a month later.

Triple Dee wrote: One of the criticisms of Iron Man that I forgot to make in my initial review was that the violence was really toned down. I'm skeptical whether the franchise will live to a 3rd film, if Favreau continues with this approach. Having seen the movie, I now suspect that you're taking the piss here. Oh, and by the way, I thoroughly enjoyed Iron Man. Moves right to the top of the list of Marvel movies. (And when you go, don't leave before the credits end. There's one additional scene at the very very end.)

Just dropped by the theater and picked up my tickets for tonight's showing. Look for me at the 7 p.m. show. I'll have rings on my fingers and bells on my toes.

I haven't seen any of the Planet of the Apes sequels since I was a kid, but I agree that Escape was the best of them and Beneath was the worst.

I don't have high hopes for an Avengers movie either. It would be monumentally difficult to mix Iron Man, Thor, and the Hulk (plus Ant Man, Captain America and the Wasp) on screen without it looking very silly. But that's another story. I don't mind villains being killed off in the movies. You have to keep Dr. Octopus alive in the comics because there are forty or fifty years worth of stories to tell. But at most there will be maybe five or six Spider-Man movies; they won't need to go back to Doc Ock again. (And if they reboot the Spidey series twenty years from now, then can once again reuse Doc Ock anyway.) I didn't like how they piled on the villains in Spider-Man 3. I don't know if it's a lack of confidence in Sandman or Venom. It may be partly that, but I think it's largely from a desire to get more characters to merchandise. And that's even worse, because it drives the storytelling in a way that's counterproductive. Favreau seems to have a plan. I think he'll take the Iron Man franchise in a good direction. My hunch is that Iron Man 3, if it gets that far, will be the best superhero movie to have a 3 in the title.

Yes, Downey's appearance in Incredible Hulk is the first step in stitching together a big-screen Marvel Universe. Rumor has it that it's laying the groundwork for an eventual Avengers movie.

We're going tomorrow night. I can't wait. Iron Man was never my favorite either, but there are few movies that I've so eagerly anticipated. I've just been getting a good vibe about this movie. I think Downey was a great choice for Tony Stark. (I would have picked Clark Gable, but he's dead at the present time.) And Favreau seems to be a real fan who knows what makes the characters tick. (As opposed to those clowns who did the Fantastic Four movie.) Let's have a little sing-along: Tony Stark Makes you feel He's a cool exec With a heart of steel As Iron Man, all jets ablaze He fights and fights with repulsor rays Amazing armor He's Iron Man Ablazing armor He's I-ronnn Maaaaan!

You know, I don't remember. When I think of the movie, though, I don't think of San Diego.

Finally! A poll where I've seen both films. My vote goes to Mister Smith.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvel_616 It seems (from this article, at least) that the 616 term is pretty obscure, at least within the stories themselves. Now I'm less surprised that I never heard of it.