Bohemian Rhapsody
I finally got a chance to see Bohemian Rhapsody Friday night. I learned that I didn't know a lot about Queen or Freddy Mercury. The movie began and I was thinking, "why is that guy doing that with his teeth?" Freddy Mercury was Tanzanian? When did that happen? I just thought he loved riding bikes. I was really confused at the beginning of the movie when he married a woman. I mean if Freddy Mercury is gay he's really bad at it.
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All (stupid jokes) aside, someone said that this movie was another paint by numbers music bio pic. And you know what maybe it was but if that painting looks great who cares? Believe it or not I loved. First off, Queen kicks ass so any movie chock-full of Queen's music isn't going to be all bad.
But I did love the story overall. His relationship with his ex-wife was incredibly touching. Also the relationship he had with his band! They kept saying that they were more of a family and it really showed. This isn't just a good movie celebrating Freddy Mercury and Queen's music but also the importance of accepting yourself and the people you allow yourself to be around.
Code Name Iowa: Assembly Required
Ok, I love GI Joe. I have the footlocker DVD set of the cartoon, a plethora of shirts, some old action figures, I've even made a few friends that shop at Jays for G.I. Joes. Every year there's a convention in town and for one reason or another I always end up missing it...But not this year!
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I messaged some friends to see if they wanted to join (Travis and Wes), I had to bribe them by offering to make the best pizza ever for lunch, Will showed up too. So I made some pizza, I don't know if it was the best pizza ever but it was a pizza...
I put on my favorite G.I. Joe sweat shirt to which Travis responded with "Doyou think that shirt's going to get you laid?" YOU NEVER KNOW!
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After that we made headed to convention, actually a pit stop at a small bodega down town so Travis could get something to drink and I found $.25 Mike and Ikes and bought one of each flavor. Tropical I chose not share although I did give Will all the Mango flavors.
Admittedly I was a bit more enthusiastic than the others, first I want to point out the poster they made. It's pretty slick and I love that fact that it looks like it's the old sunbow cartoon.
I made a point to get a picture of all the people in costumes. Surprisingly there was no Snake Eyes. Sadly no Beach Head.
I scoped out the vendor tables. Tons of convention exclusives. Some ranging from $49 up to a couple hundred. I seriously thought about getting an exclusive Alpine but decided I didn't really need him. But I wanted to show my support so I got a poster and an old Quick Kick because who doesn't love Quick Kick.
They had some fun customs, Ronald McDonald, Hulk Hogan (but no Macho Man?), Greatest American Hero, and my favorite were so Cobra Vipers playing in an arcade.
For a while I lost my friends but I found them in a viewing room watching old episodes of G.I. Joe. Will said "I don't think I could have watched that for another minute. I was offended because it was the Cold Slither episode. A great episode. That I had watched earlier that week.
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Batman Mask of the Phantasm
By Ryan Wahl
I’ve known Marc since the summer of 2000. During that time, there has been so many conversations regarding films that I can’t even keep track of everything we’ve discussed. That said, there’s been one film that Marc has brought up over and over again, yet I had never taken the chance to watch; the animated feature Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. Lucky for us there was a screening of it at a local theater earlier this week so Marc, me, my son Marshall and a host of friends took over a row and watched it.
My initial thought on it was that it was visually dated. You could definitely tell it was animation from the 90’s versus the slick and crisp animation of today. Don’t let that come off as a negative. I like my versions of Batman to be dark and grimy, which this definitely was. What I truly enjoyed about the movie was that it wasn’t too convoluted with multiple bad guys for Batman to deal with. While the Phantasm was a concern for the caped crusader, the true villain was The Joker. Joker, who was voiced by Mark Hamill (yes, THAT Mark Hamill), absolutely stole the film. His portrayal of Joker was funny, haunting and maniacal. It’s the way I always viewed him and was my favorite Joker performance since Jack Nicholson back in 1989 (don’t bring your Heath Ledger arguments to me).
The story was solid. Batman was being implicated in a series of murders of mob bosses throughout Gotham City. The murders were actually being committed by the Mask of the Phantasm, a haunting image with an unknown past and connection to the mob bosses that are being murdered. We learn of a relationship between Bruce Wayne and Andrea Beaumont, a woman struggling with the death of her mother who meets Bruce while at the cemetery. Their bond over the loss of a parent started their love, but Bruce’s inability to separate between his desire for happiness and the self-loather of Batman, pushed her away. It’s a really relatable story, as people will push away positivity simply because they can’t let go of the ills of their past.
Now I know this is Marc’s favorite Batman movie, which makes it tough for it to live up the hype he’s built for it. While I can’t say the same for me, as I’ll always be a bigger fan of the live action versions. I will say that it was a really enjoyable movie. The story played well, as well as the stellar vocal performances, created a truly fun Batman film.
Tenacious D in Chicago!
This is the show that we've been waiting years for! I have been a fan of the D since their HBO show would come on after Mr. Show. Then they released their first album in 2001 and listened to that one pretty religiously. Driving around and singing to Tribute or Rock Your Socks. From that point on I grabbed anything I could by the D, their Live DVD, got it. The Tenacious D movie, I saw it opening weekend. A shirt that had Tenacious D written on it with out lines that made a penis that I never noticed and wore to work every Friday until someone explained there was a penis on my shirt. Yep that happened too.
Wes and I talked about going to the D in the past but the plans always fell through. But not this time! This time the second the show was announced Wes, David and I got our ducks in a row. David signed up for some pre-sell deal, which was a wise move since the shows had sold out.
Tuesday of the show arrived; Wes and David were at my place bright and early... A little to early really. I didn't even get to eat breakfast? What's up guys! I spent a portion of the trip reading a book for school because I live the rock and roll life style! Actually it was a wise move because we got to the Windy City in record time and were able to relax a little before the show.
We had an air B & B which was some bodies apartment. It was kind of cool. Like we had our own place in Chicago, living the fast life and eating hotdogs. I checked my phone and realized that there was comic book store only .6 miles away. The three of us opted to walk there because we live in the big city and you walk places. When we left Wes and I both said "it's pretty nice. It's cold but not to cold." By the time we got there I felt like Jack Nicholson at the end of the Shinning.
We went to Third Coast Comics, it was a small comic book store that mainly sold new releases but was really cool.
http://thirdcoastcomics.com/
They had an indie rack and I asked if they'd want some vampire shark comics. I wanted to support the store so I grabbed a comic called Misadventure, mostly because the cover made me laugh. Sadly I have not had a chance to look at this yet.
https://gumroad.com/l/irSJk
The guy working the store was super cool and he pointed us to a local pizza place. That was also .6 miles away. I asked Dave and Wes "should we uber there?" He responded with "It's four blocks. Walk your ass four blocks. You're from Des Moines." I said "Yeah but I am not from outside Des Moines. I plan to stick to the couch."
That made me laugh and so we turned into a group of hobbits and started towards Giordano's Pizza! We sat down and I entertained the wait staff with some hilarious jokes which caused Wes to tell me "Stop making jokes! You're allowed to talk but no more dumb jokes. You are literally the only one that finds this funny." And David asked "When did you two get married?" Wes and I always fight on trips. We downed some beers, ate some garlic bread and devoured some amazing deep dish pizza!
Now it was show time.
Well almost. We headed to the Rivieria and had to stand in a long line and get yelled at for blocking an ally. The only plus side to this was that we could see Tenacious D's tour bus (we think) and someone was watching a hard core Vietnam documentary. Wes and I joked "ok it's gig what Ken Burns documentary am i going to watch?"
Finally we got inside, I went to the bar and got me a red bull vodka "want me to make it a double?" she asked. "Sure," I'm on vacation, why not. "$22." Oh that's why not. I guess I'll be sober tonight.
Wes found us a sweet spot that gave us an excellent view of the stage.
Soon The D Clock hit zero and the lights dimmed
First up was a band called Wynchester, it was easy to remember their name since last month was Halloween and I had Shaun of the Dead on repeat viewings.
They were a great due. Walked the line of folk rock and country. They sang songs about truck drivers and the like reminded me a bit of Lucero but if it was a two man band and they were not singing about being drunk all the time.
Finally, at long last, it was time for the D.
The fist half of the show they played their new album Post-Apocalypto. I didn't have a chance to check it out so this was a great first listen.
The entire thing is like a rock opera about the band living in a post-apocalyptic waste land. Between songs they would play little cartoons and read the dialogue behind the screen and then bust into song and play live. It was a first for me but it was still pretty bad ass!
After that the stage hands had to come out and get the stage ready for the greatest hits stage! Once JB said that the crowd erupted in applause. Wes turned to David and I and said "Oh Yeah!"
They played their songs from most recent to the first album. On Rize of the Fenix they did the song Rize of the Fenix and some Low Hangin' Fruit! Followed by some Pick of Destiny tracks Kickapoo, Beezleboss (much to my delight) and the metal! Of course saved the best for last Tenacious D they played some Kielbasa, Tribute, and wrapped the entire show up with FHG!
Wes and David both claimed it was the best live show they had ever seen. I don't know that I agree with that but it was up there. They put on an amazing live show! Finally seeing the D live took a lot of planning and time to become a reality and it was worth every moment of it!