DC Super Heroes: The Ultimate Pop-Up Book Review

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(More customer reviews)From my point of view, this new Super Heroes pop-up book has several things going for it. First, I am a big DC Comic fan; have been since a small lad. (I have a very modest but nice collection of "BlackHawk Comics," my favorite, which I have collected over the years). Secondly, I have a lot of little kid in me and delight in pop-up books of any sort. Third, I am fascinated with shiny, colorful and complicated things like clocks, watches, toasters, chess sets and such stuff. I probably have a lot of raccoon in me.
Well folks, if you are like me, then this new offering is bound to delight. It truly is a marvel! I am fascinated with the fact that Matthew Reinhart was able to come up with the engineering dynamics of this thing...I knew he was good, but I did not realize just how good.
When this book is released from its plastic wrapper it expands to just under four inches. (Note here that all measurements I give in this review are approximate). This includes the heavy bound cover and five pages of pop-ups. Now I say five pages, but there are far more three dimensional offerings than just five...more about that later.
I will go through this page by page so the potential buyer knows precisely what they are getting...anyway, I will attempt it.
The first double page, when you open the book is of course...who else, but Superman. His character stands just a bit over one foot tall and the man of steel's left fist reaches out a full seven inches. He literally leaps from the page. This is the main graphic. On each of the two pages there are two other pop-ups; one features the space craft in which the baby Superman is sent to earth in when his home planet is destroyed. The other smaller pop-up is actually two different characters, one of Superman doing battle with the Doomsday monster and the other is our old evil friend Lex Luthor. These smaller pop-ups stand about 2 ½ inches out from the page. Each features a wonderful text.
The second double page features an extremely complicated and detailed Batman answering the call of the Bat Beacon high on a tower on Gotham City. Note that the Bat Signal here, high in the sky, actually lights up! When fully extended this big pop-up leaps approximately 10 inches from the pages.Again, we have two smaller offerings, one on each page. The first of the inside of the Bat Cave and the second is of the Joker. The Joker pops-up to at least 3 ½ inches. Again, all are accompanied by a wonderfully written text.
The next double page spread, my favorite page in the book, is of the Warrior Goddess herself, Wonder Woman! As you open the book she practically leaps into your lap...about 14 inches tall and expands from the page for a distance of at least seven inches. She is clutching and twirling her golden lasso and looks as if she means business. There are three additional pop-up graphics on these pages, the first features the famous Amazon Refuge...yes, "The Island!" The second shows us Wonder Woman in her invisible space craft off on some mission (which is explained in the text). The third features our Warrior Goddess doing battle with Ares...truly a scary sight to behold. Again, all four models are accompanied by an extremely well written description.
Next we have The Green Lanterns of Earth...all five of them in one pop-up. The swoop from the page as if one...over one foot wide, 14 inches tall and five inches right in your face. Good grief! Two other additions, one on each page feature The Flash and the other Aquaman. The colors on all of these pop-ups stay true to the originals and are quite impressive.
As we turn the page, we are encountered with the horrible Darkseid surrounded by eight of his evil minions. Standing over one foot tall, this outrageous beast is over one foot wide and comes off the page at approximately six inches. The two small pop-ups include Gotham's five most wanted in one and Sinestro doing battle with the Green Lantern in another.
The last page is...oh my...the entire Justice League of America doing battle with numerous villains. The name count here is legend: Adam Strange, Amzao, Aquaman, Atom-Smasher, Batman, Batwoman, Bizarro, Black Adam, Black Canary, Black Lightning, Black Manta, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Captain Marvel, Cheetah, Chemo, Clayface, Deadman, Firestorm, The Flash, Giganta, Gorilla Grodd, Green Arrow, TGreen Lantern, Harley Quinn, The Joker, Krypto, Lex Luthor, Man-Bat, Martian Manhunter, Metallo, Metamorpho, Mister Freeze, Mongul, Nightwing, Plastic Man, Red Tornado, Scarecrow, Silver Banshee, Sinestro, Solomon Grundy, Supergirl, Superman, Wonder woman and Zoom. The main pop up features two towers of fighting action interlinked, standing about 14 inches from the page...straight out! Three small pop-ups feature the first mission of the Justice League, the New Generation of the Justice League and yet another of the Justice Leage together.
Despite the complexity of this book (some of the pop-ups have three and four cards from which the figures are cut, it is quite durable. I am not saying that it could stand extreme handling from little fingers, but this book, for what it is, is very well made.
This book will delight the wee ones and it will delight collectors of such work. I will be honest. I had intended to present this work as a gift to you young 5 year old nephew...but there is little to no chance of my doing it now. I am keeping this puppy for myself!
As advertized, this one does have more than 25 3-D impressions and does indeed light-up with the Bat-Signal. The cosmic Justice League of America battle scene is something to behold...to say nothing of Wonder Woman...sigh.
Don Blankenship
The Ozarks


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The Incredibles (Four-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy) (2004) Review

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(More customer reviews)Did you ever read comic books as a kid? Did you ever wish you had super powers? If you answered yes drop everything and go see this movie now. I have been increasingly blown away by the quality filmmaking Pixar has brought to cinemas over the past decade, but The Incredibles marks the first time I've been overwhelmed. Everything you've ever loved about superheroes is addressed in this film, from secret identities to the danger of wearing a cape. Add to the mix an amazingly complex family drama and you have the absolute best film of the year.
Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson), once the super hero of the year is now relegated to a cubicle in an insurance company, still trying to save the day (quietly) one claim at a time. His wife, Helen, a.k.a Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) has also turned in her spandex, using her special powers to juggle the task of raising three kids instead of wrangling villains. Their son, Dash, wants nothing more than to use his super speed to propel him to athletic glory. Violet, who has the ability to turn invisible and enclose her self within a forcefield broods like any normal teenager. The baby, Jack Jack doesn't seem to have any super powers at all, unless you include making funny faces in a high chair.
All of this is due to a Super Hero relocation program enacted by the government after public outcry over property damage and personal injury( a very sharp and poignant jab at our own litigious nature). Forced to hide greatness behind a shroud of mediocrity the Incredible family do their best to blend in with normal society, and for the most part succeed.
Of course events unfold to bring all of the Incredibles super powers to light, and for this to occur you need to introduce the mad genius villain, Syndrome (Jason Lee). Parents, here's where the PG rating comes from, because this is one really, really bad guy. A former superhero fan with an enormous chip on his shoulder Syndrome is like every James Bond baddie rolled into one. His gadgets are unique, insanely cool, and above all extremely deadly. Some dark thematic elements and violence cemented the MPAA's decision to slap Pixar with its first above G rating. However, this movie could not have been done properly without giving the audience such a nefarious nemesis to loathe.
In costume and out you will constantly root for the Incredibles, this movie is what going to the theater is all about, non-stop entertainment. The action sequences are positively synapse blowing. The script is Oscar worthy in its ability to seamlessly weave domestic drama and comic book daring-do. Of course the animation has to be seen to be believed, and your eyes will bulge for the film's duration.
I can't imagine this film not being successful but I hope it destroys box office records and mends the wound that has Pixar and Disney going their separate ways. Because if ever there was a film that demanded a sequel it is The Incredibles. An animation masterpiece!

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Known to the world as superheroes, Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl, Bob Parr and his wife Helen were among the world's greatest crime fighters, saving lives and battling evil on a daily basis. Fifteen years later, they have been forced to adopt civilian identities and retreat to the suburbs to live "normal" lives with their three kids, Violet, Dash, and Jack-Jack. Itching to get back into action, Bob gets his chance when a mysterious communication summons him to a remote island for a top secret assignment. He soon discovers that it will take a super family effort to rescue the world from total destruction.
Exploding with fun and all-new bonus features available only on Blu-ray, this spectacular 4-disc combo pack is edge-of-your-seat entertainment for everyone.

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X-Men: First Class (2011) Review

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(More customer reviews)The X-Men films are kind of a huge letdown as a whole, aren't they? The first two are pretty good, but everything good they had going for them was completely destroyed once The Last Stand came to fruition. Thank you, Brett Ratner. And X-Men Origins: Wolverine just drove the franchise even further into the ground; kudos, Gavin Hood. So there probably isn't any reason to get excited over a new X-Men film even if it is a prequel to the X-Men films people actually enjoy. Why would we want to see another comic book movie with limitless potential only to drop the ball yet again? Not only does X-Men: First Class take that ball and run with it but it uses it in all the right ways and reminds you why you loved the X-Men in the first place.
The cast is way better than it has any right to be. Everyone fits their character incredibly well and works fantastically as a cohesive unit. Kevin Bacon seems like a bit of an odd choice for Sebastian Shaw at first, but any doubt you may have is washed away once you finally see him absorb energy. His role as the main villain may be significantly smaller than you may imagine, but his more than qualified acting chops make nearly every scene he's a part of memorable (nothing really tops his first scene with young Magneto though). James McAvoy does an excellent job handling Charles Xavier. He's gentle, kind, and really seems to care about helping his fellow mutants. Michael Fassbender as Magneto manages to have the strongest on-screen presence. He's intense, powerful, and emotional; the best-rounded character of the film.
It was gratifying to see McAvoy and Fassbender make the roles of Professor X and Magneto their own without completely rehashing what Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan established the first time around. That is often a problem when it comes to prequels; these younger actors wind up focusing on mimicking the older version of who they're meant to portray without putting their own spin on it. Luckily, that wasn't an issue here.
No expense was made when it comes to the special effects either; Azazel is a perfect example. By the end of the film, you still won't know anything about the character other than the fact that he can teleport like Nightcrawler and is a master swordsman. His teleporting ability is just as fun to watch as Nightcrawler's was in X2 and his fight sequences (especially the one with a particular blue mutant) are always quite engaging. Most of Magneto's scenes involve some pretty hefty CG and it's pulled off rather well. The metal fillings scene is a personal favorite along with the Argentina bar scene (pay particular attention to the slow building yet unnerving music used during that scene along with the weapon used at the table). Then there's the obvious scene of Magneto reversing the missles that's being shown in nearly every advertisement these days. Beast is probably a high point of the special effects. Nicholas Hoult portrays Hank McCoy rather flawlessly (other than one scene that I won't spoil); brainy, shy, not sure of himself, and ashamed of his mutation. Beast's transformation is one of the best scenes in the film though. It gave me flashes of An American Werewolf in London. It's a shame we didn't get to see more of him as Beast because the one good long scene we see of him is really impressive.
One of the things that make X-Men: First Class so good is that we get to see how these characters grow into the superheroes and super villains that we know and love today. And again, while the film loosely follows the comics it still manages to blossom and mature into something exceptional on its own while also planting the appropriate seeds to line up with the Bryan Singer X-Men films.
So by now you have an idea of how good the film is, but is there anything bad about it? Some characters feel really underdeveloped; Riptide, Darwin, and Angel come to mind, but the biggest disappointment is Havok. There are no connections that he's actually the brother of Cyclops and many will be upset about that. Plus his character doesn't really feel very useful in comparison to both Beast and Banshee who at least put their powers to good use on several occasions throughout the film. Other than a few minor gripes about certain characters, which could surely be rectified in future installments; there really isn't much to complain about with X-Men: First Class.
Do not let other 20th Century Fox comic book related films put you off, X-Men: First Class deserves to be held in the highest regard right next to Marvel's best. The cast is practically overflowing with talent, the storyline is both sharp and absorbing, the special effects are probably the best they've ever been in any X-Men film, and the appropriate connections are made to the best parts of the original films. X-Men: First Class should be the standard for all X-Men films from here on out. It's intelligent, engrossing, and spectacular. It's easily the best X-Men film yet.

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X-Men: First Class is the thrilling, eye-opening chapter you've been waiting for...Witness the beginning of the X-Men Universe. Before Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their superhuman powers for the first time, working together in a desperate attempt to stop the Hellfire Club and a global nuclear war.

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Thor (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy) (2011) Review

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(More customer reviews)Thor is Marvel's best superhero movie yet. It is even better than the first Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk films. It is also the most visually stunning of any Marvel film, with gorgeous fantasy settings, great costumes, and spectacular special effects.
In the same way as Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight worked just as well as a crime drama as a superhero movie, Thor works just as well as a standalone fantasy film. Even if I had not known that I was watching a comic book movie, I would have been just as happy with the story. In fact, I would say that you don't actually need to be familiar with the characters or the comic mythology to enjoy the film.
The story is set half in Asgard, the realm of the gods, and half in our world, Earth. Thor, the son of the king of Asgard, the wise Odin, is a proud and arrogant king-in-waiting. He makes a foolish mistake that brings his world to the brink of war and his father exiles him to our world as punishment, and maybe to teach him how to be a better man. On Earth, Thor makes some new friends and even begins to fall in love with a pretty scientist. Meanwhile, in Asgard, his brother Loki begins to put into motion a plot that may threaten Thor's home.
Two things about the film really stood out to me. The first is the absolutely beautiful settings and solid world-building in the movie. Asgard looks amazing, with settings such as the Rainbow Bridge, a crystal structure with colored lights running through it, spanning a sea that flows into a massive waterfall, cascading down into the open cosmos. Also, great costuming really makes the gods stand out, and adds to the film's epic feel. The second thing was the character of Loki, the film's antagonist. Watching the trailers, I expected a greasy, honorless villain (someone like Wormtongue from the Lord of the Rings). Instead I got the story of a hero, told in reverse. Loki's story mirrors his brother Thor's, but where Thor starts out as an arrogant royal brat and through his time on Earth comes to realize what it means to be a hero, Loki begins the story as a mischievous but honorable man, and over the course of the film turns into a really bad guy. As Thor rises, he falls. And when his final plan is revealed at the end of the film, it totally fits his personality and everything you know about him. In other superhero films, we're used to seeing the bad guy go on some kind of mindless rampage at the end of the film. We saw it in The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, the Spider Man movies, the Fantastic Four...but not here. Loki acts like a man with a purpose. Actually he has two purposes, both very personal to him. One is to do commit a terrible act of destruction, partly out of self-loathing and partly out of a twisted sense of honor toward his father. And the other is simply to beat his brother, proving himself Thor's equal. He is easily the deepest villain of any of the Marvel films so far.
The film is directed by Shakespearean actor Kenneth Branagh (Gilderoy Lockhart!), who handles the epic material perfectly. More than any Marvel film so far, this one focuses on the hero's journey. Even more than a comic book movie, this is a fantasy film about a hero. Expect father-son drama, palace intrigue in the realm of the gods, and an epic confrontation between two brothers who have been become very different people over the course of the story. There is also plenty of humor, with a few real laugh-out-loud moments. And there is a very sweet, almost cute romance woven into the story. It carries an innocent, young-love kind of feeling. It also takes the two characters, one a god more concerned with war and glory, the other a scientist more concerned with solving the mysteries of the universe, and brings them down to earth in their budding love for one another.
I would recommend Thor to any lover of fantasy films, as well as any fans of comic book movies such as Marvel's Avengers lineup. It is solid fantasy fun with a strong sense of the epic and the heroic. And when you see Thor finally wield his hammer and summon the lightning, you'll want to stand up and cheer.

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