The last two or three weeks I've been listening to Eminem's latest album, RECOVERY. One of these days I'll give you my detailed thoughts. All in all, Eminem's back to bringing his A-game lyrically. For all of you long-time Eminem fans that thought he got soft and pop based on the Radio Singles... you've obviously haven't heard the album. It's contains some of Eminem's most ambitious rhymes (in a variety of ways). To me, it's the best Eminem I've heard since his 2nd Album (The Marshall Mathers LP). I'm glad he's back!

My favorite track on the album is NO LOVE guest-starring Lil' Wayne. Lil' Wayne starts things off very strongly. Then Eminem slays EVERYONE and EVERYTHING. You feel like Lil' Wayne brings his 'A' game (and it's a very solid 'A') and then Eminem follows it up with such lyrically dexterity and intensity that convincingly proves that, at his best, Eminem is Super Saiyan levels higher in his MC skills than anybody else in the rap game. In many ways this is like Jay-Z's song RENEGADE guest starring Eminem off of the Blueprint 2 album (look it up if you haven't heard it!).  

Enjoy!:

I'm looking forward to Robert Rodriguez's MACHETE for more reasons than you can imagine. Friday couldn't come sooner!

All the hype I've been seeing and reading about the upcoming Nintendo Wii METROID: THE OTHER M game inspired me to revisit Metroid 2D classics like Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion. The more I read about THE OTHER M, the more convinced I am that it isn't the game for me... but anything that reminds me of the beauty of Samus (Metroid's main character) is a good thing.

As with most males my age, I fell in love with robots and mecha during my formative kid years. My mom would buy me coloring books and children's books starring old-school japanese robots like Raiden during my pre-school years. For my Kindergarten graduation, my parents got me the Megatron Transformer action figure. Now, that was when people didn't even know what Transformers were. The cartoon had not been released and the toyline had barely hit toy store shelves. So, opening my graduation present and seeing Megatron for the first time was a revelation (and the envy of my classmates). My love for robots became a childhood passion.

Flash forward a couple years to the early days of the Nintendo Entertainment System. I didn't have an NES for several years, but I would take full advantage of times at my friends houses. If they had an NES, our play time typically was dominated by time in front of the television playing Nintendo. I would also often borrow my friend's Nintendo Power magazines... even though I didn't have a Nintendo system... and would study all the little bits of artwork in the colorful articles and level layouts.

The first time I saw the design for Samus, I fell in love. A video game starring a cool looking robot?! SOLD. The design was amazing! I remember being jealous of my friend who had some Metroid stickers from an issue of Nintendo Power on his Trapper Keeper. Samus was the embodiment of a cool robot design! When my friend told me that there was actually a beautiful woman INSIDE the robot suit, my mind was BLOWN. A cool design became even COOLER.

Sadly, the first Metroid game was way too hard to enjoy. I remember repeatedly trying to play the game at a neighbor's house and quickly giving up from getting lost or repeatedly dying. Bummer... but it didn't take away from Samus' cool factor!

Years later, my design tastes have changed with experience and a little wisdom... but my love for Samus' design is still strong. Yeah, the character gets small minus points for being an obvious rip-off/inspiration of Ridley from Alien; but the iconic colors (gold and red) and solid fundamental design make up for the lack of originality.

Those of you that buy THE OTHER M, enjoy. I'll be playing SUPER METROID, METROID FUSION, METROID: ZERO MISSION and finally get around to beating METROID PRIME 3.

Below are some promotional art from various Metroid games and some amazing "fan art" by super talented cartoonist Eric Canete and Torokun:

I watched the SCOTT PILGRIM film and my reaction was... a weird one. It's difficult to say if my reaction was swayed by the underwhelming performance it had at the Box Office. As much as I'd like to pretend that I am never swayed by stuff like that, there was a part of me that was going into the film that was simultaneously anticipating my enjoyment of the film while looking for reasons as to why it failed to reach a larger audience.

First and foremost, this was a comic movie done right. The cast was perfect. Edgar Wright's narrative choices as a director show he's an expert craftsman. Any fan of the Scott Pilgrim comics (as am I) couldn't DREAM of a better adaptation. Yet despite the near perfect execution, it failed. Why?

The bits I had a problem with are:

First, Michael Cera as Scott Pilgrim. Sorry, I couldn't buy into it. Cera's a funny dude and you can tell he really tried to capture the spirit of the character. But Michael is way too nerdy to be Scott Pilgrim. If a guy's able to steal the hearts of a beautiful cast of females (as Scott does) he's got to have a bit of a hunky quality to him... particularly if he's as aloof as Scott Pilgrim is. He's also got to look a bit more athletic if he's going to kick that much kung-fu butt. Cera's physicality doesn't convince me he could do either.

Second, somehow knowing that Scott Pilgrim had to fight all 7 of Ramona's evil exes made the movie feel LOOOONG. After the fight with the second evil ex, I started to freak out, knowing that there were still 5 evil exes to fight before the film ended. In the comics there were 6 books within which the 6 battles take place (one fight involves 2 evil exes). Crunching all that down into one movie was done superbly, but it gave me a quantitative way to see the overall length of the film that hindered my enjoyment.

The video game logic of the universe held me back from investing emotionally into the film. Now, this is an unavoidable problem. Scott Pilgrim's world is fundamentally built on several concepts established by video games. When people die, they burst into coins. Point systems are given for beating key characters. There are even 1-ups. While it worked in the imaginary world created when a comic book reader reads Bryan O'Malley's comics... it doesn't work on the same level in the film. It kind of reminds me of the similar problems that arise when watching the underappreciated live-action POPEYE film directed by Robert Altman and starring Robin Williams. When the "rules" of the live-action world are so vastly different from reality, the audience emotionally disconnects from what is happening on screen. I found that to be a very big issue in Scott Pilgrim. The drama and stakes didn't feel all that huge (despite the beautiful epic spectacle on screen) because I wasn't instinctively invested in the film's world. With the comic (as comics are an experience where the reader actively moves through the world as he reads them) I felt more comfortable in the Scott Pilgrim world. In the film, I was repeatedly being reminded how unnatural it all was.

But beyond the problems I had with the film, it was a brilliant piece of film making magic that pushes the limitations of film style and storytelling... and it breaks my heart that I can fervently defend it's genius. Every dollar spent on the film can be seen on screen. The budget is said to be $60 million. But the film looks like it was made on a budget that was easily double that. The martial arts influenced action sequences are distinct, kinetic, and visually beautiful. Every fight celebrates the distinct personalities of each "Ex". They also manage to get bigger in visual and physical scope as the film progresses. I also loved the way that the band performances were done. There's a bit of a raw, punk aesthetic that was very cool. And the cast of the film was as perfect a cast as you could ask for... with every actor giving their role just what was needed.

SCOTT PILGRIM is a film that is so ambitious and well executed that it pushes film forward so far that it shows the limitations of the medium. And, in so doing, my heart's a little bit broken.

Minutes ago, we got our first look at the King Katch Paint Sample photos from the factory. Boy, does he look MARVELOUS. Here's a partial sneak. Yes, we're generous!

The second issue of Jerry and Bill's UNFABULOUS FIVE comic (formerly known as the LUCHADORES FIVE) can now be read for free via streaming internet to your computer or iPad. As this issue prominently features our good friend (and lovely Designer Toy) RED DEMON, I hope you find this issue of interest!

And while you're at it, don't forget to read BOUNCER by Jodorowsky and Boucq. One of the best (and brutal) Western comics I've read.

CLICK HERE to see both UNFABULOUS FIVE #2 and BOUNCER #2.