Canister X – A.P. Fuchs: Zombie, Paranormal Romance and Superhero Novelist, Blogger, Artist, Publisher

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Little James was born in the 1800s, always sick. His family background . . . well, he didn’t have much of one, at least, one that cared. Except for his friend, Victor. One night, during a drunken upset with his later-to-be-found-out father, James learned he could produce bone claws from his hands and defends himself, killing his father.

That night, James and Victor are on the run, and promise to always stick together. The years go by and the two find a great outlet for their rage: war. Victor (Liev Schreiber) also has a special ability and he is more animal than man, with claws coming out of his fingers. The two are very similar and age very slowly. War after war goes by, and the two eventually end up working with a secret team run by William Stryker (Danny Huston). While on one mission, James–now calling himself Logan (Hugh Jackman)–feels Victor has gone too far in his attack on an innocent and walks out on the group.

Years later, the group’s been disbanded and Stryker comes to warn Logan that Victor is behind the recent string of deaths of its former members. The only way Logan will be strong enough to fight the always-stronger Victor is to undergo a special experiment of Stryker’s own design: graft the indestructible adamantium to his bones. Logan agrees.

But there’s something Stryker hasn’t told him about what’s been going on and when Logan finds out, he’s furious and wages an all-out one-man war against Stryker, Victor and anyone else who stands in his way.

On the action: cool fight scenes and neat concepts. However, it seemed to me Logan was a little too acrobatic and was able to survive way more and take way more pain than even a mutant with a healing ability could.

On the story: works for me, in that we knew Logan had a history going in. He was the star of the X-Men movies after all, and X2 especially focused on Logan’s origins as much as they were able without detracting from the main story. I did like seeing what really went on and, more specifically, how Logan lost his memory. I was under the impression that he lost it because of the adamantium experiment and not after it. Doesn’t matter, but I did feel for the guy when the love of his life wasn’t all she was cracked up to be.

On Deadpool, because, you know, it has to be covered: the whole story involving the secret ops group Logan was a part of made for fun action. Deadpool’s origin, hey, why not. To be honest, I don’t know if they followed the comics or not because I’m more a DC guy than a Marvel one and don’t know too much about Deadpool other than he’s the “merc with a mouth.” His transformation from normal-looking Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) to disfigured Wade–good stuff.

Was this a perfect movie? No, unfortunately. It felt too cartoony as opposed to carrying with it the realistic tone the other X-movies had, namely the first two.

Will I see the sequel? Absolutely. I’m a saga guy so I want to see what happens next.

Check this film out if you’re the superhero-movie-completist type like me.

12:51AM and my good buddy Tom tells me on Facebook he’s seen the Thor movie trailer.

So he sends me two links.

The first, which is not bad, then the second, which is plain awesome.

Now I share them with you.

If the above doesn’t work, go here.

Thanks.

Based on the graphic novel by Jeph Loeb and Michael Turner, Superman/Batman: Supergirl, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse sounds just plain cool.

Here’s the opening clip of the movie.

And the official trailer:

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4.5 out of 5

Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson), comic book geek and nobody-at-large, always wondered why no one stepped up and became a superhero. People aspire to be doctors and firemen and policemen, so why not also want to be someone else who helped his fellow man?

After ordering a green and yellow wetsuit off the Internet, Dave dons the outfit and hits the streets as Kick-Ass, a superhero without powers, training or even a proper motivation to fight crime other than “what if?” The first few weeks are uneventful, and after his first attempt at stopping a car robbery nearly kills him, Dave returns more determined than ever to rid the streets of crime. Soon, after stopping the mugging of a fellow from a gang, Kick-Ass is all over the Internet and soon becomes a citywide celebrity.

Little does he realize he’s not alone. Enter Big Daddy (Nicholas Cage) and Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz), a father-daughter team of real-deal vigilantes with a thirst for blood and matching guns to boot. Their mission? Take out the D’Amico crime family, their leader, Frank D’Amico (Mark Strong), having been personally involved with Big Daddy long ago and robbing him of the one he loved.

Soon Kick-Ass, Big Daddy, Hit Girl and newcomer Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) are locked in a war that, hopefully, only the good guys survive.

It’s guns, action, comic books and bubble gum in this adaptation of Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.’s graphic novel.

This movie is crazy. A good crazy. A special kind of crazy. I knew from the previews I was in for a different kind of superhero flick and, man, that was what I got. This was fresh, exciting, fun and new. Most superhero movies stick to a formula (origin of the good guy then the bad guy, a few tussles along the way leading to a big fight in the end, the stuff in between usually dramatic bits starring the hero in his personal life). With Kick-Ass, though there were those basic elements to it, the one thing that was really hammered home over and over again was the idea that, yeah, Kick-Ass was functioning in the real world. One with guns, knives, average fighting skills and no body armor. Some folks might think the violence in this film was overdone. Personally—despite a few exceptions—I didn’t think so. You try doing the superhero thing in real life in a place like New York and see what happens.

I also really liked how they dragged that fantasy of being a superhero into our reality and proved, really, that it wouldn’t work. Kick-Ass went up against real bad guys. Ones without mercy. Without care. They’d kill their own mothers if they had to.

The lack of a costumed supervillain also helped this movie and ensured the focus was kept on the good guys. I particularly liked Big Daddy’s and Hit Girl’s origin. It was simple, yet bittersweet and, if anything, really showed that despite being off his rocker, Big Daddy really loved his little girl and only wanted the best for her.

In terms of the non-costumed scenes, Dave Lizewski’s real life was extremely relatable (especially for this comic book nerd) and his high school years and mine seemed to have a lot in common. Except for the girlfriend part. I wasn’t cool enough to have one of those.

This movie was fantastic start to finish. The writing, the action, the realism—true cool.
My only thing was the profanity. I don’t live in New York, but that was a lot of swearing and if people really talk like that in NYC, man, I feel sorry from them. (But, hey, I’m just a Maple Syrup-guzzling Canadian so what do I know?) If they don’t, perhaps the writers can pull back a bit on the wagging tongue for the next one.

Looking forward to the sequel.

Here’s a clip from the upcoming animated DC Entertainment movie, Batman: Under the Red Hood.

Available at:

I’m a fan of the original series from the ’60s. When I heard they were doing a feature, I hoped it was the ’60s show just updated for 2011.

Seems I’m getting a healthy dose of camp instead.

However, I’m willing to give that the benefit of the doubt because since this is a Seth Rogen film, perhaps the studio strung together all the funny bits just so they could market it as a Seth Rogen film.

Then again, maybe my habit of believing in the best of people will come back and bite me on this one.

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Daredevil (2003)
Review by A.P. Fuchs

4 out of 5

An A-plus report card brings young Matt Murdock to the docks to show his father. All he ever wanted was to please his dad and, as per his father’s advice, “be a doctor, be a lawyer.” Except, stumbling upon his alcoholic, washed-up ex-boxer father as a leg breaker, Matt takes off on his skateboard in a hurry, only to accidentally run into a truck with barrels of radioactive liquid that—due to the forklift that just avoided him—has sliced the barrels open, the stuff inside spraying Matt in the face, causing him to go blind. But all is not darkness because he also mysteriously inherited a strange “radar sense” that enables him to see in a sort of X-ray way because of his newfound ability to convert sound waves into sight.

Him and his father vow to fix their relationship and their life, promise to never give up and be fearless, and embark on a journey to perfect themselves and hit the comeback trail—Matt via the books and honing his senses and disciplining his body; his father to enter the ring once more. With Matt by his side, Jack “the devil” Murdock makes good on that promise, but a fateful night in the ring changes everything and Matt promises from then on to stick up for those who can’t defend themselves and watch out for the long shots like he and his father were.

Now, all grown-up, he’s a lawyer by day and masked crimefighter by night. His name: Daredevil.

And he’s not the only one who wants a piece of New York. Crime boss the Kingpin (Michael Clarke Duncan) is on the rise, as is his hired goon, Bullseye (Colin Farrell). Adding to matters, Elektra Natchios (Jennifer Garner)—a shapely martial arts master—has her sites on Daredevil (Ben Affleck) as well, leading us into a battle for New York, for vengeance, and for those who have been a victim of crime.

For some reason a lot of people didn’t like this movie. I thought it was great. I liked the overall story; the costumes (except Bullseye’s); the atmospheric New York City; the sense of darkness Matt Murdock carried within himself; Elektra’s close relationship with her father; Foggy Nelson (Jon Favreau) and his being a “come-with” guy—very enjoyable. There was a sense of humanity about this version of Daredevil that I was able to relate to on a lot of levels.

The fight scenes were nothing short of amazing, especially that barroom brawl where Daredevil clears the room. I remember seeing that in the trailer and just being absolutely stoked.

Who cares that Kingpin was black? So what? The dude’s one of my favourite actors and it was interesting to see him play the bad guy as he’s usually the nice, innocent one, but for some reason people didn’t like the character being black in this. It doesn’t matter, folks. He did a good job.

The whole Matt Murdock-Elektra/Daredevil-Elektra relationship was well-handled, in my opinion, and I particularly enjoyed how those elements intertwined with each other throughout the film.

If I was going to criticise a few things—and while I enjoyed Daredevil’s gallivanting throughout New York—his spinning jumps and aerial movies were very similar to Spider-Man’s (who made his feature film debut the year before Daredevil came out), and some of the stuff Daredevil was able to do was pretty farfetched. I mean, I don’t care how awesome you are at acrobatic stuff or if you’re more fit than Bruce Lee on his best day, but falling face first toward a window washer’s station at lightning speed won’t get slowed down by doing a somersault in the air so you could land on your feet. You’d break your legs and die from the impact. But whatever. It’s superheroes, so I overlook most of the impossible these guys accomplish. Just goes with the understanding superheroes can do things we can’t, whether realistic or not.

That’s really my only critique. I liked everything else. Wasn’t crazy about Bulleye’s costume. Would like to have seen him as more of a stealth assassin. I also don’t read Daredevil comics so I can’t tell you if this is a faithful adaptation or not. I know Daredevil’s back story and a bit about some past adventures, but that’s about it.

I haven’t seen the director’s cut of this either, so need to get around to doing that.

Still a good movie and I’m proud to have it in my superhero movie collection.

If you like superhero flicks, you’ll like Daredevil.

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4.5 out of 5

Pilot Hal Jordan goes for the ride of his life when his test pod is mysteriously transported from the safety of an airforce hanger to a rocky desert only to encounter a bizarre dying alien named Abin Sur, who had summoned Jordan via his powerful. Abin Sur dies and Hal’s world is turned upside down and he is introduced to the Green Lantern Corps, guardians of the galaxy. Under the tutelage of Sinestro, Hal learns to use his newfound power and witness, thanks to Sinestro’s words and actions, that the Guardians of Oa—those who created the Green Lantern Corps and the green lantern power battery—have grown soft in their approach to intergalactic crime. Sinestro believes a more stern approach is needed and so takes Hal under his wing to show him that might makes right.

The Corps faces a crisis as the Yellow Element—the only force capable of weakening the Green Element, which powers the Corps’s green battery on Oa—has been stolen. Should it be used against them, the Green Lantern Corps will crumble and the galaxy as we know it will no longer be protected and chaos and evil will reign.

Green Lantern, to me, has always been a cool character, yet he’s also always been an overlooked character outside the realm of us hardcore superhero guys. Batman? Sure. Superman? We know him even better. Spider-Man? Yeah, good movies on the big screen. But Green Lantern? Wasn’t he that green guy from that old Super Friends show, the one with that ring that does stuff and, um, well . . .

Green Lantern is an outside character. He’s known and he’s unknown. I think of him like Superman, the difference being is he takes the ring off and he’s a guy like you and me. Superman doesn’t have that option because no matter what kind of clothes he’s wearing, he’ll always be a Kryptonian. Green Lantern: First Flight reminds us of that: that beneath the cool power ring Hal Jordan is just your average guy.

I really appreciated the origin tone of this movie and even more so that 99% of it didn’t take place on Earth. Here we got to get a solid look at the world of Green Lantern, which is an intergalactic one and not confined to a bustling Metropolis or an eerie Gotham.

To see the Green Lantern Corps—all those aliens with varied green uniforms—really added to the scope of what the Corps is all about and a visual reminder that humanity’s protection is only a small part of what they do. According to this movie, there are 3600 green lanterns, each with their own sector to watch over. Solid.

I had only a couple minor quibbles with this movie. I thought Hal Jordan dove into the Green Lantern thing rather quickly. He gets the ring and suddenly—BAM—he’s all green and knows what to do. He also seemed too casual and calm about all these alien encounters he suddenly finds himself having. If that was you or me, we’d be freaking out the second Abin Sur showed up, green ring or otherwise.

Likewise, Hal Jordan seemed to be the only guy who got back to wearing regular clothes when the ring came off, whereas everyone else still retained their uniform. I thought the uniform came with the ring. Take the ring off and you’re back to wearing whatever it was when you put it on.

Again, minor, but something I would have liked to have seen handled better.

I know that comic books and comic book movies are not as much for kids as they used to be. Once again this DC film has some foul language in it. Not impressed because it’s kids asking their moms for these flicks. It’s not like the old days where superhero cartoons were clean language-wise.

The action is great. The fights are cool.

If Green Lantern: First Flight is meant as a primer for the upcoming live action film, man, we’re in for a real treat and an awe-inspiring experience coming 2011.

This flick is solid, enjoyable and fun. Check it out.

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4.5 out of 5

Arthur Poppington (Woody Harrelson) has a secret: when night rises upon the city, he takes to the streets as Defendor, a lone avenger on the hunt for the ever-elusive Captain Industry. Unfortunately for Arthur, he’s mildly retarded and the line between right and wrong sometimes blurs. Though he means well, sometimes he gets in over his head, especially when his search for Captain Industry takes him into the city’s underworld of drugs, guns and prostitution.

After saving the life of prostitute and drug-addict Kat Debrofkowitz (Kat Dennings), Arthur takes her in and, though at first exploited by her for money, the two eventually bond and he accomplishes one of his objectives he had ever since donning the Defendor uniform: helping those who need it most.

Being a lifelong superhero fan, there are a few things, to me, that define a good superhero movie and Defendor had more than one of those things. It touched me on that very human level of seeing a sincere human being trying to make a difference regardless of what other people think of him. Fear of man is one of the things I think holds people back from doing the right thing in real life. To at least see that attribute on the screen means a lot to me because it proves that people are still thinking about it even if it’s just in a movie.

The trailer for this flick makes it come across as more like a superhero spoof than a serious movie, and this was most definitely a serious movie. Sure, there were some funny moments, but this movie wasn’t about that, but instead was about a man who saw something wrong and did the best he could with what he knew how to do.

And he did. He showed us who Captain Industry really was: the villain that all of us have in each of out cities, the one comprised of drugs, guns and illegal sex that has ruined countless lives yet for some reason authorities refuse to do something about it.

This movie makes me think of the real life superheroes that are out there (see http://www.reallifesuperheroes.org), those real men and women who don guises of other personas and do what they can to help us. Lots of people mock them. Lots of people mocked Defendor, but when all is said and done, they, like Defendor, do the right thing and try to right a world full of wrongs, bring hope to those who need it, and set an example that we should all follow.

Defendor is a fantastic movie and I’m really glad Peter Stebbings went ahead and made this flick.

Fight back.

Recommended.

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4.5 out of 5

Long ago a war was fought between mythical creatures and humanity and, during that war, King Balor, leader of an elfin race, had an unstoppable Golden Army created for him, one that laid waste to humanity. The army marched and destroyed everything in its path. Amidst the piles of bodies and oceans of blood, the king felt great regret so a truce was made between mythical creatures and humankind. The agreement: the mythical creatures stuck to living in the forests whereas humanity could have the land. As well, the special crown that King Balor (or anyone of royal blood) used to control the Golden Army was split into three parts, which two were kept for himself, the third to humans. Also, the Golden Army was hidden somewhere on Earth in dormancy, locked away.

King Balor’s son, Prince Nuada (Luke Goss), didn’t like the agreement so exiled himself and waited for the right time to strike and take control of the Army and remove the humans from the planet.

Enter present day, where business flows as usual for Hellboy (Ron Pearlman) and the rest of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (B.P.R.D.). That is, until, Nauda resurfaces and begins slaughtering humans as he tries to piece the crown together so he can control the Golden Army again and find out the secret location as to where the Army is hidden.

To add to the B.P.R.D.’s distress, Hellboy and Liz (Selma Blair) are having issues. She wants him more domesticated; he wants to remain free-spirited. Also, Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) is taken with Nuada’s twin sister, Princess Nuala (Anna Walton) and, unfortunately, she is linked to Nuada so everything that happens to him happens to her as well. Nuala wants to stop her brother for what he has planned.

The B.P.R.D. seems to have met its match, especially when things turn south and the Golden Army rises once more.

I was super late seeing this movie. In fact, I just saw it prior to this review. It wasn’t for a lack of trying either, but life happens and other movies come out and, well, the next thing you know it’s almost two years later and you’re finally playing catch up. Let me just say it was worth the wait. I was a fan of the first Hellboy and though this one carries with it the same undertone as the first, the overall feeling of it is different: the first one was more monster oriented and this one was more fantasy oriented. I felt at times like I was watching a cross between Lord of the Rings and Van Helsing.

Ron Perlman as Hellboy was pure awesome. I love the down-to-earth nature of the character plus the fact that despite him being a kind of rock ‘n’ roll tough guy, he’s really just a big kid underneath all that red.

Selma Blair was feisty and dark as always, and she and Perlman had excellent chemistry in their Liz/Hellboy relationship.

It was cool, too, to see Abe Sapien get more of the emotional spotlight this flick with him falling in love with Princess Nuala. At first I thought the dude was all about books and that was it. Looks like there’s a tender heart underneath those gills after all.

The layered storytelling was great, and there was a sense of history to the Army, the elfin race, and things on Hellboy’s side of the fence. It wasn’t just some standard good-guys-versus-bad-guys stuff. Cool beans.

The action was superb, hardcore and fun. The epic scale for some of the battles rocked, especially when Hellboy goes up against the big green guy that grows trees. Cool fight and Hellboy’s big hero moment/pose on top of the hotel sign hanging onto that baby was comical yet cool as well.

Was this as good as the first? Hard to say. Tied for sure, though the first one is still my favorite.

This sucker’s worth 4 and a half cigars in my book, though.

Recommended.