Now I remember

So, seriously, the last post wasn’t supposed to be about Kris Kross it just kind of happened. I was supposed to throw up the “I Missed the Bus” video cuz the song was stuck in my head but then I got all wrapped up in it after listening to a few songs. These things happen sometimes. But you liked it. Don’t deny.

Lucky for you I now remember what I was going to write about. No more bad 90s music for you. Well maybe if you ask nicely. Anyways, I was going to chat about a couple of movies I saw and what I bought at FanExpo. Don’t ask how I could possibly forget about those things just be happy I am remembering.

Let’s do FanExpo first as that is the easiest thing to start with. I have to say I almost didn’t go again this year and it was not for financial reasons. It was because for some reason there was just so much packed into that weekend that I didn’t think I was going to make it. It is funny because the weekend before was pretty empty and so was the weekend after but Aug 25 and 26 everything was happening. I had a party the Friday night, had to put in a few extra hours at work Saturday morning, went to the CNE to entertain unexpected guests, went to dinner, went to brunch, drove some people to Ajax, and still managed to do the Expo. I missed Buskerfest though and there was something else I wanted to go to but can’t remember right now.

Anyhow, I went “early” on Sunday, as I was trying to make it there to see Gillian Anderson, aka Special Agent Dana Scully (I know the character’s middle name too but I think that would be too geeky [then why did I admit that?]), but I missed it. I slept in a little too long as I was exhausted from the day before. After realizing that and being glum for a bit I wondered the floor to see what I could find.

The first thing I bought I just couldn’t resist. I made the mistake of getting them to take it out of the box; it was so shiny!

Pew pew. It is never set on stun but it is always…stunning! Should I have put a warning on that? Sirens would go off and there would be a “Pun Alert”. The colour would be magenta like The Monarch’s battle colours (mixing references!). It would be fantastic!

Ahem, sorry about that, I am not actually sure what happened there. Let’s move on then. Next I finally got a DeadPool collectable.

I have been looking to get something for a long time. The problem with DeadPool merchandise is that it is either crappy or hella-expensive. I like this stuff but I am not rich enough to put out a few hundred dollars on a single item; I was really tempted to however. There was this one massive statue that I was awesome but I managed to talk myself out of going broke for it. Plus I had no one to carry it around for me.

Out of all the things nerd related that I own I would have to say this is the nerdiest.

That’s right. Star Trek Barbie and Ken. I don’t know what to say about it but as soon as I saw it I just had to have it. The box isn’t as perfect as the one pictured so I got a great deal on it. Problem is does this get hidden with my other girly things or does it get displayed proudly with my other geekery? Display it is!

I also walked through artist alley and picked up a couple of pieces. Before I tell you about them I have to say though I wasn’t impressed by most of what I saw. A lot of it was extremely amateurish and not in the they-have-potential way but more of the someone-wasn’t-honest-with-you-about-your-talent way. It really shouldn’t have been there. But the stuff that was good was simply amazing. The technique, the colour, the images that these people create both digitally and by hand were no less than fantastic. I wish I had more money to blow on art and wall space to hang it on. I only picked up 2 pieces and I have no idea where I am going to hang them.

Just out for a Stroll

I fell in love with this piece the moment I saw it. It is just so colourful, whimsical, and comical. It is very sweet. It was done by a guy named Mike Boldt who wasn’t even at his booth when I passed by. There was a note saying he was speaking at a panel and I made a mental note to go back. I am glad I did cuz when I came back he was packing up, well pretty much packed up. He was very gracious and found me the print. I was lucky as it was the last one he had.

The Turtles

Well I don’t think there is any explanation necessary about this one. It is kinda hardcore Turtles, ready to kick some ass. You have no idea how tempted I was to by Ian Navarro’s original drawing. It was simply fantastic; not coloured but lightly shaded with crisp lines making it even more intense. Alas, it was way out of my price range and I had to settle for this pretty awesome print instead.

Well that was longer than expected. The movie reviews will be short as they are old and most have seen them already so my opinion won’t help that much but the few that haven’t could save a couple of bucks.

No. That is all there is to say about Expendables 2. Just NO. I don’t even know why I talked myself into seeing this. I guess with the addition of Van Damme, Norris, and expanded roles for Willis and Schwarzenegger I thought there was a small chance that this would be better than the last one. I was oh so wrong.

It was just more of the same; excessively forced sentimentality, bad music, horrible dialogue, barely existent story, bad direction, the list goes on. The only thing I can say about it is that things do blow up and people do get shot. But some of the action sequences are terrible. The way they are edited together you can’t always tell what is really happening or it is just stupid.

So let me make myself clear in case you missed it. NO.

Moving on, I was so prepared to hate this next movie but I still had to see it. There had been several bad reviews, a couple of mediocre shrugs, and I made the mistake of watching Kevin Smith’s new show “Spoilers” where most of the audience ripped it apart. But that didn’t stop me. At least I went on Tuesday cuz I wasn’t going to pay full price for what was sure to be crap.

I was wrong, I am a big enough person to admit that. Total Recall (2012) was actually pretty good. It is a solid action flick with twists and turns and some fantastic action sequences. The thing is that people walking into this movie are automatically going to compare this to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s opus but there is enough of a difference between the two movies that this could have just been something else.

There are many references to the original tucked into this film and I don’t just mean the tri-boobed tart that insists on flashing people. Many of them are subtly mentioned or there are visual clues that only avid watchers of the original would get. It made it clear who in the audience were true fans and those who were just watching cuz it looked flashy and thing went boom.

I really wish this movie wasn’t put out as a remake. Yes it took some of its elements from the 1990 film but I think it was different enough that it could have been its own thing and I believe that would have made a big difference in the reviews it received.

Ok. I think that is it. That was a lot, I know, it took a while to write.

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