If you’ve been reading Fables, you know what’s up, but for those of you who are uninitiated, the title is tremendous. Bill Willingham brings us a new take on our favorite bedtime fable characters, and in this volume, he threatens to undo existence with the introduction of The Literals. It’s a great jumping-on point for new readers and I really can’t sing enough praises for Willingham’s writing. The art is pretty stellar to boot! ;0)

This volume collects all nine issues of the Great Fables Crossover story arc: Fables #83-85, Jack of Fables #33-35 and the three-issue Literals miniseries. It’s worth it, even at the cover price, but as with all pre-orders at TFAW.com, you’ll save 20% off the cover price–just $14.39.

Did you read all nine of the Great Fables Crossover floppies? Did you dig it as much as I did? Let us know below!

Comedy is subjective, but I thought it was great to see the writers spoof their own most difficult timeslot competition. “CSI” has some truly awful writing and acting across the board, and “Grey’s Anatomy” is overwrought soap opera. I loved the sitcom opening credits and the “Knight Rider” spoof, and that commercial fooled me the first time through.

Not everything worked as well as it could have. I thought the Japanese game show segment had the right idea, but the real thing has a much more frenetic energy to it. I think the director played it too straight. And I was also a bit annoyed with the fact that Sam was getting the short end of the stick too often. Sure, the previous Trickster episode was rough on Dean, but it seemed a little one-sided.

I will give the writers credit for not beating the audience over the head with some of the context. When Sam brought up the idea of allying with the Trickster against the rebellious angels and demons, I was sure that Dean would rip into Sam with a laundry list of past transgressions. After all, after all that Sam did in the fourth season, making that suggestion is a questionable move. But Dean didn’t need to say anything; his expression more than said it all.

The heart of the episode, however, comes with the final act. I’m not sure about the revelation that the Trickster has always been Gabriel. While it does explain his ability to keep coming back for more and the similarity in powers, it does seem like unnecessary retroactive continuity. Despite that, it was a great opportunity for the writers to dispense some story exposition with a twist.

At this point, we must assume that the rebellious angels are unreliable in terms of information. They have their own perspective on matters, and that perspective is often skewed by their own assumptions and bitterness. Angel dialogue is as much about reading between the lines as anything else.

So I accept the idea that the Brothers Winchester were chosen because of their relationship to their father. It ties the whole second half of the series thus far to the first half, which is a brilliant move. Clearly the writers designed the whole God/angels/Lucifer dynamic around the earlier John/Dean/Sam dynamic, and that makes sense out of a lot of what has happened since the beginning of the fourth season. (And perhaps this will prove to those still insisting this is intentional Christian-hating blasphemy that they have been barking up the wrong tree.)

In fact, Gabriel’s explanation provides two strong clues that there is, in fact, a God waiting to be uncovered before the end. First, Gabriel says that Sam and Dean were always destined to play the roles of Michael and Lucifer, because the angels knew from the moment that God’s plan for humanity was set in motion that this was going to be the trigger for the end of the world.

While Christian lore is certainly different in the “Supernatural” mythos, this plays on the traditional notion that all things have evolved along a path that God determined was necessary for humanity. All the good and bad things are the product of events set in motion at the dawn of time. The subtext of that worldview is actually quite clear: God knew that this moment would come. In other words, if he’s absent from the perspective of the angels, it’s because that was part of the plan. And logically speaking, if the angels were always meant to stray and “go rogue” as part of the plan, they would not be privy to any outcome of the grand design that countered their anticipated result. The angels wouldn’t see another possible end to the apocalypse, because they were never meant to see the big picture. (Hence, why their perspective is unreliable.)

That means that God could still be out there, waiting for the Brothers Winchester and Castiel to find him, so that the real conclusion to the plan can unfold. This is supported by the “as above, so below” parallel. Sam and Dean both had their Daddy issues, and John was absent for a good long while, but John never really gave up on his sons. So it stands to reason that God is waiting for the right moment, and that he has his own ideas of the destiny for the Brothers Winchester.

To take the parallel further (and perhaps to reveal how long the hints of the parallel were right there to be found), John regretted bringing Sam and Dean into the hunting world. When he had another son, Adam, he chose to take a different path and give Adam other choices. In other words, Sam and Dean were given a path to follow and a life mission to obey, whereas Adam was given free will to make his own choices, good or bad. The writers clearly intended the parallel between the angels (Dean), Lucifer (Sam), and humanity (Adam).

It’s also worth noting that everything prior to this episode was simply the introductory phase of the season arc. This episode shifts the story into the complication phase, and that is typically when a lot of assumptions are proven wrong. At the same time, this is clearly the climax phase of the five-year plan, so even minor situations hold a powerful weight.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 3/4

Final Rating: 9/10

Mezzo and Pirus, previously best known in Europe for a series of cynical, brutal gangster stories, have abandoned their guns and gals for this cycle of suburban stories. But in King of the Flies the violence has just (for the most part) been internalized.

King of the Flies first appears to be a series of unrelated short stories, each starring (and narrated by) a different protagonist, but it soon becomes obvious that these seemingly disparate episodes weave together to form a single complex narrative–with events that are only briefly seen (or even referred to), and then revisited from different perspectives–revolving around Eric, a ne’er-do-well, drug-taking teenager at war with his stepfather and, apparently, the whole world. (He is the titular King.)

King of the Flies is designed as a trilogy of albums, which will combine to form a single graphic novel of stunning intricacy and intensity. (Vol. 2, “The Beginning of All Things,” will be released by Fantagraphics in the Summer of 2010.)

I don’t know about you, but after seeing the five-page First Look, my interest is piqued. May have to add this to my winter reading list.

Year: 2009
Running Time: 149 min.
Rated: PG-13
SRP:$ 29.99
Studio(s): Dreamworks, Paramount
Release Date: October 20, 2009

Pop Culture Shock usually gets the blu-ray of such big studio releases but due to limited material PCS was given the DVD to screen. I will try to list the differences where possible.

Film/Feature: C-
To run the plot down quickly, Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) is trying to move on with his life and enjoy the normalcies of a young adults. Go to college, go through a rites of passage, etc. but his relationship with the Autobots, and especially his grandfather involve him in things out of his control. He must live out a destiny, reluctantly, and accept it to save the human race against one of the original Decepticons, The Fallen who last visited the Earth thousands of years ago.

Megatron is revived, and gets his troops back together with the help of a very cool update of Soundwave and Ravage who retrieve the last known piece of the Cube from the last film. Sam though has the rest of the key for a great big weapon that will call the Fallen back to Earth, and arm a weapon that will destroy the sun, ending all of humanity as we know it. They set a trap for Optimus who gets ambushed and slaughtered in a righteous forest battle. Sam escapes and regroups with the help of his girlfriend Mikaela (Megan Fox), his college roomate, Leo (Ramon Rodriguez), and Seymour Simmons (John Tuturro) and an ancient Decepticon turned good, Jetfire who they find hanging out at the Smithsonian, warp to the middle east where the Matrix of Leadership is hidden and must be retrieved to revive Optimus Prime. Everyone converges upon the great Pyraminds of Egypt that are covering the weapon the Decepticons want to unleash. Can Sam get the Matrix to Optimus in time? Can he rescue the day? Can he please rescue this film from it’s paper-thin plot? I wish.

This says it all doesn't it? LaBeouf on the left, Bay on the right

The thing that aggravated me about this film was the same as the first, and that’s too much of the Witwickys, too much of the college roomate, Leo, and all of these arbitrary things that are put in because apparently I’d be too dumb to be able to follow an entire film about just the Transformer characters. Sam’s mother in particular is one of the most annoying characters in mainstream film since Jar-Jar Binks. She’s that bad. I watched a cartoon for several years that was just that that only had Spike, his dad, and his friend in a wheelchair as most of the human interaction. I don’t need much more than that, honestly. I came to see a film about the Transformers, not Sam Witwicky. I don’t care about whatever rites of passage he needs to take on, and I don’t believe that this kid is the only one who can bail the Transformers out every time. I was so annoyed by the above that I wasn’t even phased by the completely unnecessary “Autobot Twins” Skidz and Mudflap who are unintelligible, street-talking, doofuses who just get in the way. There are hundreds of characters Bay could have used instead of creating two throw-aways who also sparked a racial controversy.

There were improvements made to the film franchise like the redesign and silhouettes of the Transformers which make them easier to distinguish from each other. Also the animation was much more aggressive by having most of the transformations happen while on the move. This review has no beefs with the technical side of the film, and Bay does know how to make an explosively huge film that flocks of people want to see. Of note there were some excellent voice talent that came back for the second film. Peter Cullen who everyone knows as the voice of Optimus Prime and Hugo Weaving (LOTR, Matrix) played Megatron in the first film, both reprise their roles, and Frank Welker who played Megatron and Soundwave amongst many others in the 80’s cartoon was brought back to play Soundwave, Devastator, Reedman and Grindor. So it’s not all doom and gloom.

This story suffers from much bigger things and that’s creating a Transformers story where if you take LaBeouf’s Sam out of the picture, the story has nothing else built up about the actual transformers that could carry the film. We have these great characters, regal, proud race of robots that depend on a human every single time to save the day. The Autobots lived long before and will live long after the humans, so why is there such a dependent crutch in Sam? Because of that, I feel that the writers and Bay just do not understand what the Transformers are about. Ultimately the studio gives them free reign to make a big moneymaker but as far as the film goes, it’s a running joke. The Transformers should be independent of the humans, and not be suffocated or be held back based on what’s written for LaBeouf and Fox. Give me a point of interest that doesn’t involve either one of these characters, and eliminate the parents, and that will be the start of a Transformers movie that’s done right. Revenge of the Fallen though will be one of those films that people show off all the bells and whistles of their home theater, but because of how the film itself disappoints, the DVD and Blu-ray for that matter will probably not get as much replay value as one would hope.

Video/Audio: B+/B+
Revenge of the Fallen on DVD is presented in a 480p MPEG-2 encoded transfer in 2.40:1 aspect ratio that’s full of rich and vibrant colors and detail maximized as best as can be on standard definition. Blacks are nice and dark, grain is present throughout, and while the DVD may satisfy the less critical eye, it lacks the clarity and crispness of high definition. The impressive shock and awe of a blu-ray is incomparable so that’s why the grade isn’t higher, but make no mistake, this is still a fine looking DVD. The audio soundtrack is a 5.1 English Dolby Digital audio track can be defined as the very best that can be heard in DVD. This is a Michael Bay film and so goes the subwoofers and surrounds with all of the activity that will travel round in this viewing experience. The dynamic body blow effect isn’t as prominent as it would be in blu-ray so I temper my grade accordingly. Other audio selections include: 5.1 Dolby Digital French and Spanish tracks and subtitles are available in English, French, and Spanish.

If you do have blu-ray, know that it is presented in 1080p high definition with an English 5.1 DTS-HD lossless Master Audio track and is an incredible reference disc for your home theater.

Ravage Reimagined

Extras: A

Disc 1
Audio Commentary by director, Michael Bay and writers Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman is actually two tracks in one. Bay’s comments come in sparingly while the writers talk at length about different parts of the filmmaking performance. If you’re looking to hear more from Bay, be patient because you’ll get plenty of him on the rest of the extras, trust me.

Disc 2
The Human Factor: Exacting Revenge of the Fallen is a huge 2 hour and 15 minute documentary chronicling the entire production, (pre, principal and post) complete with cast and crew interviews. This is a first rate making-of, almost exhausting investigation of how this film was made and perhaps a little too much glorification of Michael Bay. Still, it’s one of those extras that are a must-see, if only to see just what kind of strings Bay can pull in the movie industry.

• Seeds of Vengeance-Development and Design SD (30:04) reviews the first Transformers film as the boy who gets car and then gets girl story, then trying to jump the hurdel of the writer’s strike to get a script done on the sequel.

• Domestic Destruction-Production: United States SD (24:20) Cast and crew find out or tell all what a tyrant Bay can be to work with jumping around to location shoots in New Mexico to Pennsylvania.

• Joint Operation-Production: Military SD (10:02) This part really blew my mind. To see what Bay is able to do as far as military access and full carte blanche almost, is insane. But the military sees Transformers as a big commercial and recruiting tool, so everything is okay.

• Wonders of the World-Production: Middle East SD (13:17) Again Bay uses his and Spielberg’s pull to get access that’s unheard of by any other filmmaker by being able to film the pyramids and be able to have actors climb on the actual Wonders of the Earth boggles the mind. They go from Egypt to Giza and to Luxor in magnificent sights that need to be seen in one’s lifetime. This is one section where I really wish I had the blu-ray.

• Start Making Sense-Editing SD (9:20) reveals how Bay edits a film using four editors who simultaneously work on the same scenes in an unorthodox tag-team method.

• Under The Gun-Visual Effects SD (29:03) With Revenge of the Fallen shooting to be bigger than the first film, Industrial Light and Magic undertook the taske of creating the most complicated VFX movie in history. The Devastator VFX alone requried 83% of the ILM render farm capacity.

• Running the Guantlet-Post Production and Release SD (16:34) the exhaustive documentary comes to a close that has color timing and sound design in the eleventh hour before the premiere and then shows the stars on the red carpets all around the world.

A Day with Bay: Tokyo SD (13:28) is a day in the life of Bay while on the foreign press tour as they premiered the film in Japan. He even takes a dig at McG and Terminator 4 in the press junket.

25 years of Transformers SD (10:49) is not as long as one would hope but Aaron Archer of Hasbro is interviewed to talk about updating the classic characters to the film, giving Bay and design crew access to the entire catalogue as well as creating new characters.

NEST: Transformer Data-Hub allows viewers to look at all of the conceptual artwork for Optimus, Bumblebee, Ironhide, Jetfire, Skidz, Mudflap, Megatron, Starscream, Ravage, Soundwave and Devastator.

Deconstructing Visual Bayhem with Commentary by Pre-Vis Supervisor Steve Yamamoto SD (23:35) is a series of pre-vis animations that were used as the starting blocks for many of the action sequences in the film. Bay also gives an introduction (0:27) to the special.

There are three Extended/Alternative Scenes SD (6:15) that show Sam and Alice at the dorms, The Witwickys in Paris, and Leo refusing to go to Egypt.

Using the box and a web cam, you can activate a 3D holographic experience where ou can piece together the Matrix of Leadership to bring back Optimus Prime back to life. You’ll be allowed to repair his armer and calibrate his weapons.

There’s the theatrical trailer (2:38) and a music video of Linkin Park’s song “New Divide” SD (4:43) that closes out the second disc of extras.

Blu-Ray Exclusives
Sadly I am unable to review the blu-ray exclusives but can announce that they include The ALLSPARK Experiment, an interactive feature to allow viewers to customize their own robots and apply the Allspark to it and get a glimpse at a rogue robot. One combination will unlock an exclusive interview with Michael Bay and his plans for the next Transformers movie. The NEST Data-Hub on the blu-ray incorporates 3D spin galleries of each robot and a timeline for each character charting its origin, back story and design. Giant Effing Movie is a very personal look in the making of the movie, and the Matrix of Marketing includes posters and television spots along with the trailers.

Overall Shock Value: B-
There’s no denying what a mess the film is, but even marginal fans will be impressed by the technical treatment and treasure chest full of extras on the second disc. If it were me, I would make the jump up in blu-ray knowing what reference material potential this film has in a home theater. It looks absolutely stunning and sounds incredible in high definition but for the sake of this DVD review, it’s pretty darn good too. Despite any disparaging things I may have to say about the film, it has its fan base and much more devoted apologists. I can bring myself to fully endorse the film itself but the action, the effects, and the transformers themselves have all been improved from the first film, but like the first, the human story just doesn’t hold me in. Why we are still seeing anything with Sam’s parents is beyond me but Bay seems vigilant in ramming these and characters like the Autobot Twins down our throats to the point where they can almost turn viewers off. If you’re able to overlook all of that, there is a big spectacle under all of that wreckage and the folks at Industrial Light and Magic are the real stars of this franchise once again. The audio and video treatment, along with the extras save this DVD/Blu-Ray release big time from a lower score and is a great value on DVD, but given how the prequel thrived in high definition, the blu-ray is even better.

Granted, this isn’t the most original idea. In fact, the inspiration came from an old website (I mean, it’s so old, it’s still hosted on geocities!) by a guy named Paul Chen who chronicled the web’s best Asian action figures. Unfortunately, homeboy’s site hasn’t been updated in a decade, and action figures have gotten way better (and more Asian American, natch!) in the years since.

So rather than just listing each and every action figure of an Asian character that’s sitting at your local Toys ‘R’ Us, I gave myself some criteria. First off, either the character or the actor portraying that character immortalized in plastic has to be Asian American. That means Ken Watanabe as Asian R’as Al Ghul from Hasbro’s Batman Begins or McFarlane Toys’ Yao Ming don’t count. Sorry guys.

The other criteria I look for in an action figure are sculpting, likeness accuracy, and points of articulation.

So without further ado, let’s start with #5, which is actually a tie!

#5. Sulu from Diamond Select Toys/Sulu from Playmates

How could we talk about Asian American action figures without talking about the granddaddy of Asian American sci-fi: Mr. Sulu? There have been several Sulu action figures from various companies over the years, but for the sake of this blog post, I’ll stick with this 6-inch fig from DST’s Star Trek Classics line. When it comes to Trek action figures, I think Diamond and Art Asylum are unrivaled. I love the scale and detail in all their figures, and the sculpt on this Sulu in his classic uni is the spitting image of George Takei!

Back in the late ’80s/early ’90s, my brother and I used to collect the 4-inch Next Generation figures from Playmates. The detail and articulation on those toys weren’t the greatest (which is likely the case for most toys of that period), but there is definitely a sense of nostalgia that kicks in when thinking back to those figures. So I was (sort of) excited to learn Playmates was returning to the world of Star Trek to do figs for the reboot that came out last May. And to be honest, these weren’t the greatest toys. The 3 3/4-inchers left a lot to be desired and the detail on the 6-inch scale was not as impressive as their DST analogs. Still, we were treated to our very first John Cho action figure. Now, if only they’d make action figures for the rest of the Better Luck Tomorrow crew and my collection will be complete!

#4. Athena and Boomer 2-Pack from Diamond Select Toys

Wow, another DST figure? Trust me, this has nothing to do with the fact that I used to work at Diamond! Anyway, I’m putting Boomer and Athena here even though I don’t watch Battlestar Galactica. What’s that? How can I make that claim and still be allowed on a site like PopCultureShock without having my geek credit card cut up into a million pieces? And where do I get off recommending an action figure of a character from a show I don’t even watch? Good questions, all. First off, I’ve always meant to watch BSG, but just never got around to it. So it isn’t like I’ve purposefully shied away from it like I did with, say, everything in the Whedonverse (blasphemy!) As for the second question: my justification for putting this Grace Park 2-pack on my list is, well, because it’s a Grace Park action figure. Duh! Plus, there are two of them.

#3. Data from Mezco Toys/Short Round from Hasbro

That’s right. Number 3 on my list is Jonathan Ke Quan, baby! Now, while it could be argued that his two most iconic portrayals–Short Round from Temple of Doom and Data from Goonies –are essentially Long Duk Dong for the tweens of the ’80s generation, I have to disagree. First off, Data was the man in The Goonies. And secondly, Short Round is the heart and soul of Temple and is the best sidekick Indy’s ever had. That’s right, Shia! I said it.

Anyway, even though Quan hasn’t worked in several years, the last couple have been good for him, at least from an action figure point of view. First off, Mezco released a series of Goonies figures and didn’t skimp on the accessories! I mean, he comes with the Pinchers of Peril for chrissakes! As for Short Round, I’ve been wanting 3 3/4 scale Indy figures since I was a little kid (hell, I actually remember Kenner’s short-lived Raiders figures) for no other reason than to have Indy and Han Solo standing next to each other on my desk. So, when they expanded the line that came out in ‘08 to include Short Round, I was so there. But, what was even cooler was the Short Round Mighty Mugg that was exclusive to Entertainment Earth. Seriously. How dope is this?

#2. Tunnel Rat (1987) from Hasbro

I think it’s safe to say G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero was the be-all-end-all action figure/comic/cartoon franchise of my childhood. I mean, I loved He-Man and the Super Powers and the Real Ghostbusters and Thundercats… Okay, I loved every toyline in the ’80s, but there was something special about Joe vs. Cobra (so the fact that I’ve gotten to know and hang out with Larry Hama in the last few years is, like, mind-blowing). I knew that a Joe had to figure on this list somehow. I could have gone with easy ones like Storm Shadow or Quick Kick. And I was this close to putting Snake Eyes here. But in the end, I had to go with Chinese-Trinidadian Tunnel Rat. And not the “Resolute” one that came out this year. I’m talking old school. The one with the “Win a Fridge Action Figure” sticker on the card! Not only was Tunnel Rat’s likeness based on Hama himself (though the bio on the filecard, like most of the one’s in the collection, was based on a friend of Larry’s), but the dude’s got the coolest specialty: explosives! Not the resident martial artist or ninja. Nicky Lee was the dude who blew sh*t up! And you don’t get more Asian American than that.

#1. Bruce Lee series from Enterbay

Tops on the list have to go to the coolest sixth-scale action figures I’ve ever seen. And ironically, my favorite Asian American action figure is one I don’t (and will probably never) own: Enterbay’s Bruce Lee series of figures. Unless, you had $200-$300 you wanted to give me, that is. Still, I’ve seen these bad boys up close and personal, and they are worth every dollar that I don’t have to spare.

Enterbay has done several Bruce Lee figures now. There are two from Enter the Dragon, one from Game of Death, one from Way of the Dragon, and a Kato from Green Hornet. But my personal favorite is the one modeled on Bruce as Chen Zhen from Fist of Fury.

Not only are these the best, most intricate sixth-scale bodies, like most 12-inch figures, each one comes with a plethora of accessories and outfits. To wit, the FoF Bruce comes with two different head sculpts and three(!) different hair sculpts (seriously), two different tailored, cloth outfits, five sets of hands, a pair of nunchucks, a premium wooden diorama, and the infamous “Sick Man of Asia” wooden sign that Bruce so famously cracks in two!

And the best part? Enterbay’s exclusive 360 Eyeball system, which allows you to pose his eyes! I know I’m a sucker for articulation, but that’s just crazy!

Keith is the Editor-at-Large of the groundbreaking graphic novel anthology SECRET IDENTITIES and Outreach Director for SIUniverse Media. Visit the official Secret Identities blog to keep up with Keith and the rest of the SI team

Pop Culture Shock usually gets the blu-ray of such big studio releases but due to limited material PCS was given the DVD to screen. I will try to list the differences where possible.

Film/Feature: C
If you were hoping for a live action version of the cartoon, then G.I. Joe The Rise of Cobra hits that mark. If you expected the film to transcend what the cartoon was, well then, you’re out of luck. But in comparison to Hasbro’s other brand-gone-wild, Transformers, I think G.I. Joe is more faithful adaptaion of the beloved 1980’s cartoon, which was really about two opposing covert teams in some special arms race, showcasing tricked out weapon-vehicles, specialized soldiers, in every terrain known to man. As a kid you never cared about what these things would look like in real life, you just wanted the toys. So after 45 years, what did you really want out of a GI Joe movie directed by Stephen Sommers (The Mummy, Van Helsing)? An extension of the cartoon? Or some crazy bastardization with cool effects? The Rise of Cobra is a bit of a mixture of those two, something in the middle of not-so-good and not-so-bad. And based on all of the Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes outfits I saw at Halloween, I think the goal has been accomplished.

It’s a basic year one type story where Duke (Channing Tatum) is recruited out of the US Military forces into a special international operations unit called G.I. Joe and with him is another soldier and friend, Ripcord (Marlon Wayans). Duke has orders to protect four warheads with nanotechnology created by James McCullen (Christopher Eccleston) of the MARS industries. Think Haliburton on steroids. When unleashed the weapon can eat and destroy metal. Duke’s unit comes under attack by some covert team of soldiers with extremely advanced weapons, led by someone from his past, a woman named Ana (Sienna Miller) who now goes under the codename, Baroness. G.I. Joe saves Duke and Ripcord and brings them back along with the warheads to the Pit where they meet the leader, General Hawk (Dennis Quaid) and are properly introduced to Scarlett (the voluptuous Rachel Nichols), Snake Eyes (the ever silent Ray Park), Heavy Duty (the imposing Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) and Breaker (Said Taghmaoui).

Duke had some history with the Ana dating back four years prior when they were engaged to be married. Her brother, Rex (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) was in Duke’s unit and was apparently killed in a poorly-timed air strike. The relationship between Duke and Ana incinerated after that, sending Ana to the side of this black ops team who will be later revealed as Cobra. Alongside are Storm Shadow (Byung-hun Lee), Arnold Vosloo (Zartan), and McCullen. The other story we get in Lost-like flashbacks is the story of rival ninjas Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes, two of the most popular characters from the animated series, and are centerpieces of the satisfyingly good action scenes in Rise of the Cobra, whether when they are young (played by Brandon Soo Hoo and Leo Howard) or in their present grown-up selves.

The story is not as tight as an old fan would hope. With all of the military-related action films done in the last 15 years, the bar is pretty high these days what passes for a good script. But I’ll give them this, they did consult G.I. Joe comics writer Larry Hamma and the work he did in the 80’s and use the nanotechnology, as well as technology that is being planned for real use in the military. The tech eventually gets a bit too fantastic when Duke and Ripcord try out the Joes’ new weapon, the accelerator suits. Looking as if they were patterned off HALO outfits, these suits give the soldier inside enhanced agility, speed, and strength. Cool in theory, but in reality these suits get mixed results. Everything builds to an underwater battle that brings the Baroness back in Duke’s arms and revelation of what we will come to know as Cobra as well as a much bigger threat for the inevitable sequel.

Where the movie really loses me is in some of the bigger set designs that are almost done completely in computer animation and that’s not so bad, but it’s got that strange cold feeling like Sky Captain or Phantom Menace where it’s so close to being a fully animated film, instead of looking real, that it’s almost not worth pretending to be a live-action film. In that case, the film could have been just given over to the team who created the excellent G.I. Joe Resolute, which all of us at PCS are all fans of. Any scenes where it’s all vehicles waging all out destruction or are establishing a new setting, take you out of the moment of the film in the air, in the snow and especially underwater. In the commentary, director Stephen Sommers even says at one point where a G.I. Joe aircraft is landing into the Pit, that it’s not his favorite shot because they simply ran out of time. It does look like a student animation project.

I wanted to like this film more, and after I heard what I heard I wanted to dislike it more. But hearing and seeing are two different things, and I had to see it for myself. Truth be told, I think it’s like a computer-game hybrid stylish take of an extended G.I. Joe cartoon episode. Everything looked right, which was a plus. I was fine with almost all of the casting choices. The action sequences, weapons and vehicles all delivered, but the acting? Not so much. It’s reminiscent of the early 90’s acting in comic book movies. A little stiff, a bit wooden, and for too simple for my liking. Actors like Gordon-Levitt have been so impressive in other films but look like a shell here. It’s a lot like people describing the acting in the Star Wars prequels: Great actors who act like impersonators of themselves. Storm Shadow, Snake Eyes and the Baroness offer the most interesting arcs, everything else is forgettable.

Does it keep the spirit of the 80’s cartoon? Yes. Is it realistic? Hell no. Although lots of people die in this film where nobody died in the cartoons. But if you imagined a PG-13 live action version of the G.I. Joe franchise to be better than this, go watch The Hurt Locker or HBO’s Generation Kill instead because believe me, those guys are truly bad-ass. Rise of Cobra falls short of what G.I. Joe always was to me and that’s an action-packed bonanza that ironically portrayed the battles of war accurately. Take a look at the real action of Desert Storm and compare it to an episode of G.I. Joe. It’s pretty close. The battles here are taken to the proportion of a Star Wars prequel and that’s not a good thing. Sommers again in the commentary referred to Thunderball as a childhood influence. That also is not a good thing. However the sequel is set. Cobra is established, and hopefully the filmmakers up the ante and raise the quality of the script and acting, so that fans and non-fans can talk about a great G.I. Joe film. Until then it’s the 80’s animated series and Resolute for me.

Video/Audio: B+
Rise of Cobra on DVD has 480p encoded transfer in 2.40:1 aspect ratio. It’s a great looking film, even on DVD with good reproduction on colors and detail. Knowing how good this would look on blu-ray makes me hold back on giving a higher rating. The soundtrack on the DVD is a beefy 5.1 English Dolby Digital audio track. It’s an active sound stage with lots of explosions and spatial sound effects that moves all around you. Rear channels are active with atmosphere and environment noise as well as residual music. Other audio selections include: French, Spanish, and subtitles are available in English, French, and Spanish.

The blu-ray is presented in 1080p and English 5.1 DTS-HD which I’m confident are upgrades worth checking out.

Extras: C+
I honestly expected a bit more from the extras section considering a passionate fan base would probably want to sink into every single aspect of the film. Maybe the DVD was rushed or perhaps there wasn’t much budget for lots of supplements. Subtitles are available in English, Spanish and French.

Audio Commentary by director Stephen Sommers and producer Bob Ducsay is not the best commentary track I’ve listened to because these guys really believe they put forth the best G.I. Joe film they could make. They do reveal the studio’s resistance for the back story between the ninjas among other anecdotes but it’s a very loving and apologetic track for a rather mediocre film.

The Big Bang Theory: The Making of G.I. Joe SD (29:34) shows how the comics and cartoons of the 80’s were used as a foundation for the film and the arduous task of making a popular children’s cartoon into a big studio action film scene. Action sequences, the accelerator suits, and the final underwater scene are their special effects are broken down.

Next-Gen Action: The Amazing Visual FX and Design of G.I. Joe SD (21:08) is set by set breakdown and the computer generation of the these creative pieces through the efforts of Digital Domain. Helicopters being crushed by a concussion cannon, detailing the Pit, the Night Raven, and the underwater finale were some of the sequences explained. Again, the end sequence was created with Thunderball in mind, huh, go figure.

There’s a 3D Holographic Video Game that can be played with your webcam but after doing the recommended plug in, every time I tried to access the game on the GIJOEexperience.com site, it crashed my browser. So if you’re able to get it to work, you can play a ninja battle game.

The extras disc is also used as a Digital Copy Disc to download on home computer and portable electronics such as iPod and PSP.

To close out the extras, check out Previews for Avatar: The Last Airbender, Transformers 2 Revenge of the Fallen, Star Trek, Monsters vs. Aliens, and the excellent G.I. Joe Resolute cartoon.

Overall Shock Value: C+
Like it or not, G.I. Joe Rise of Cobra accomplished its goal of bringing back the popular brand, capitalizing on the grown-up fan base from the 80’s and being able to sell more toys and licensed products to their kids. Like Hasbro’s other franchise, Transformers, it made a global impact that financially is unmatched in the brand’s run. It certainly looks right and feels a lot like the original animated series come to life, but unfortunately, it’s not much more than that. If you’re a home theater fanatic like myself, I would opt to save the pennies and make the jump up to high definition if you can because the high def picture and audio would add to the experience greatly. Still the DVD is probably best suited for devoted G.I. Joe fans who have to get their grubby paws on everything saying, “Yo Joe!” and I think boys who are in their early teens will probably get a kick out of it too. Otherwise I’d recommend Rise of Cobra as a rental and pray for something deeper and more ambitious for the second installment.

Click here to read Heidi’s post in full.

NOW NOW NOW!!!!!!

Also: How Obama led to getting Independence Day 2 off the ground.

SIEGE is coming! It’s all been leading up to this universe shattering four issue limited series from the superstar team of Brian Michael Bendis and Olivier Coipel! Following the events of Dark Reign: The List, Norman Osborn sets his sights set on Asgard and nothing will stop him from completing his mission. But what does he want? How do Loki and Thor figure in? And just how does this relate to the inner strife between the Cabal? Marvel’s greatest heroes unite against the deadliest threat they’ve ever faced, but even they have no idea what’s coming next. It’s time for the most jaw dropping comic book event of the decade begins in December with Siege: The Cabal and continues in January’s SIEGE #1!

Unlike Guitar Hero, which I’ve played once (and promptly bought a real guitar in defiance), DJ hero allows me to abandon the crates of records, the thousand dollar mixer, the gigantic headphones, and pretty much all of the other essentials of a serious D.J.

With one box, one game, and just under $120 bucks, Activision’s DJ Hero is the company’s take on rhythm-game innovation.

Juiced on the type of adrenaline that can only come from bass and rhyme, I was actually electrified by the ability to enjoy hip-hop that I never thought I’d hear in a video game.

Not that Guitar Hero, or any of the other tens of music games dominating retail since 2007 was bad, it’s just that they never spoke to me: I love hip-hop. Activision’s taking a huge gamble in hopes that there’s enough of me out there to justify their expansion into urban territory.

And boy is DJ Hero a gamble.

Mixing all eras of Hip-Hop with ‘mash-ups’ of pop songs hand-selected by the world’s greatest DJs, and DJ Hero’s sole focus seems to be to make your body move. Whether you’re a hardcore gamer, a casual fan, or someone new to games entirely, does DJ Hero’s bizarre new turntable-come-hip-hop-gameplay have enough accessibility to seduce the masses? Or, is underground and, perhaps, under-appreciated, where hip-hop is destined to remain in video games?

The Props…
For starters, the track list is outstanding. Should Activision decide to sell the game’s soundtrack alone, they’d make a mint. Where the music grabs you with potent mixes of classic hip-hop and modern pop, the comprehensive tutorial does its best to translate the complex art of turntablism into game form.

Here are the basics: match the colored buttons on your turntable with the colors on the on-screen rhythm bar. Spin, shift, and slide your way to b-boy legend, by playing what’s essentially ’simon says’ on screen. It’s a simple concept that has worked in about a dozen music games before it, but DJ Hero’s hip-hop scratching hook is that authentic spin that separates it from the pack.

Narrated by DJ Grandmaster Flash, the 10 part tutorial does a great job in holding your hand – and you’ll need it. Patiently teaching you the basics of cross-fading, scratching, rewinding, and the game’s Euphoria point booster, DJ Hero literally won’t allow you to get to the real game without training first. This is a good thing.

Even if you’re used to music-rhythm games, DJ Hero is a tough act to start. A turntable doesn’t have the natural feel of drums, nor the sex appeal of a guitar. Hunching over a mock turntable, and keeping the frenetic rhythm of pop-hop, might seem impossible at first. However, with practice and the propulsion of good music, you’ll get the hang of it without the awful feeling of screwing up.

Credit that with the fact that you don’t quite lose in DJ Hero. You’ll always complete a song. The only penalty for missing music cues (if you miss the corresponding colored buttons and commands), is a soft fade out of the audio until you get back into the beat. In this way, HERO makes replaying each track a little easier on the ego.

Satisfactory completion of a music set (usually 3 mash-ups) unlocks new DJs avatars, new equipment, and bigger party venues. However, the biggest reason to continue playing remains the hook that grabs you from the start: The Music.

Unlocking new mash-ups is a joy, and becomes a personal challenge as you begin practicing with the fervor and discipline of a fighting game. Make no mistake: you will practice. A lot. That said, the psychological reward of getting a perfect score in Hero’s 5 star rating system, is a satisfaction that can only be appreciated with GREAT music.

The Whack…
All isn’t great in paradise, though. To be blunt, DJ Hero isn’t cheap. Despite the fact that the turntable peripheral looks pretty damned close to the real thing, it’s extremely tough to justify the $120.00 retail price. Yes, the music is fantastic, and yes the game is fun. However, unlike other rhythm games, DJ Hero is ultimately a single player experience.

Let me qualify that. DJ Hero certainly has multiplayer. There are 10 specific mashup tracks that allow you to hook up Activision’s Guitar peripheral to ‘rock-infused’ DJ sets. But honestly, those mashups are kind of a mess. In split screen play, player one controls the turntable, while player two rudely interrupts with the awkwardly-mixed metal riffs. Perhaps with some fine-tuning and better music selection, Activision might smooth this ugly pairing in future games, but as it exists, it really feels like more of an afterthought – and sounds like a cacophony.

DJ Hero’s true multiplayer is really just an extension of the single player experience. You can take the game online to battle other mix masters, but as a party game in the company of casual novices, DJ Hero is a lot more fun to watch (and dance to) than actually play if you haven’t put in the work of practicing. By the time your friends get the hang of the game through the tutorial and easier tracks, your party will probably already be over.

The Quirks of Single Player
Don’t get me wrong, DJ Hero is a criminal amount of fun when you’re in the groove. Beyond hitting the proper buttons, DJ Hero has an interesting ‘freestyle’ button that allows at certain points, to affect the ‘effects dial’ and initiate various freestyle samples to incorporate into the mix.

The game claims that you can improvise, but that’s extremely misleading. You can hit the sample button as much as time allows, or play with fading the volume as much as you like – which, honestly, who wants to play with the volume? Where HERO really drops the ball is by completely omitting the ability to have an area where players can creatively freestyle scratch and fade on their own. While mastering HERO is fun, it’s often very linear. Once you learn the strokes through the game’s 90+ songs, you’re done. The game gets more complex on higher difficulty levels, but the longevity of the game would’ve been extended considerably if players could simply rack up points by doing whatever they wanted at certain cues.

There’s nothing worse than getting into the groove and really wishing that you could cut loose, but HERO doesn’t allow it.

So Basically, I’m Saying…
Ultimately, if you love hip-hop and pop music, I dare you to find a more epic gathering of DJ Luminaries. From DJ Shadow and DJ AM to DJ Jazzy Jeff, the music in this game is beastly, and will constantly take you out of your living room and into the club. DJ Hero is immersing, once you get past that learning curve. Trading off with a practiced friend is fun, but you’ll be the real life of the party if you show off your skills to a group of bystanders. The game will certainly keep their heads nodding.

The track list is the real show stopper. From N.E.R.D to The Jackson 5, Afrika Bambaataa to Public Enemy, and underground sensations like Wale to 80’s glam-rock groups like Foreigner, DJ Hero is an outstandingly good time…

…albeit 40 bucks overpriced.

Reuniting the original artists = EPIC WIN.

With Sam Fisher’s return fastly approaching, Ubisoft has released the second behind the scenes trailer for Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction. In “Behind Closed Doors Part 2″ the developers of Splinter Cell Conviction give you an inside look at how the Israeli martial art Krav Maga and real-life firearm techniques inspired Conviction’s new gameplay. You’ll also learn about Sam’s newest toys such as EMP grenades and improvised gadgets and get a look at how the storyline will be taken in surprising new directions following the tragic events of Double Agent.

2009 has been the year of the fighter with many noteworthy (and somewhat disappointing) entries into the fray. Namco Bandai hasn’t been asleep this year having already released the PSP fighter Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny and now, their flagship series Tekken returns with its sixth iteration. After being released in overseas arcades in 2007, and completely missing stateside arcades, Tekken 6 has arrived for both PS3 and Xbox 360 (the first time appearing on a non-Sony console), and as a mainstay in the fighting genre, it crosses the finish line with proof that a good fighting game is always worth the wait.

Tekken 6 continues the storyline of the Mishima power struggle between father and son, with Jin Kazama positioning himself to rule the world and his father Kazuya Mishima being the only opposition around to stop him. While the act may seem noble, Kazuya’s true ambitions are also that of world conquest with his cursed son being his only obstacle. In the wake of these events, The King of Iron Fist Tournament 6 is announced which sees the return of the 35 competitors from Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection along with 6 brand new fighters. With the largest lineup of characters in the history of the series, Tekken 6 makes strides keeping the game exciting and packing enough reason for hours of replay.

True to its tradition of stunning visuals, Tekken 6 brings out a new level of artistic direction with new stages that are completely immersive and downright distracting. You’ll have your fighters slugging it out in snow covered mountain valleys, a secluded rainforest lake, or even a downed colony satellite filled with flying overhead jets and upside down land formations. Along with being breathtaking, the background stages also have more interactivity with many stages allowing for walls and floors to be broken through, carrying fighters to new arenas to finish the fight. The character customization first seen in Tekken 5 also returns and carries the largest arrangement of modifications to character appearance. Along with that, there are now equipped item moves that add a (very) small amount of weapon combat to the game.

The Tekken series has always been about combos and juggles and Tekken 6 introduces new tweaks to its mechanics that introduce a deeper level of strategy while competing. Character specific combos now have variable ‘combo ender’ options that allow for finishing touches and bonus damage. To longtime players of the series, the combo enders add the missing link to Tekken’s much cherished fighting system and really bring out the flash in each match. While it may seem that juggles are starting to feel like infinite combos, the damage scaling has been revised to keep gameplay from becoming a one-combo round.

The console release of Tekken 6 brings a new mode called Scenario Campaign. Scenario Campaign is a throwback to traditional brawlers such as Double Dragon and Streets of Rage but incorporates the actual move sets of the Tekken fighters. While similar to both the Tekken Force and Devil Within modes from previous releases, the scenario campaign mode gives players a bigger level of storytelling by following the two newest characters of the series – Lars Alexandersson and Alisa Bosconovitch. The duo will travel together and try to piece together the connections to Jin’s need for world dominance, Kazuya’s obsession with destroying his own son and why both Lars and Alisa seem to be integral to those plans. Though this mode has a serious issue with camera placement and broken AI, it’s worth playing given that it’s the easiest alternative to acquiring customization items without using actual fight money credits in game.

For fighting games, the cast of fighters is always a make or break (pun intended) factor. Everyone’s favorites like Paul Phoenix, Nina Williams, Yoshimitsu and the wooden fighting dummy Mokujin return. The 6 new characters all introduce their own uniqueness to the talent pool. Bob is an overweight fighter that uses his size to gain more leverage in the martial arts arena. Alisa is the cybernetically enhanced daughter of Tekken 3’s Dr. B whose graceful fighting style is overshadowed by her robotic attributes. Zafina is an extremely agile assassin researching world ending occurrences stemming from the father-son blood feud. Miguel is a Spanish brawler seeking vengeance for his dead sister. Lars steps in as the wild card with a hidden secret that makes itself apparent during the scenario campaign mode. Whether you’re a casual player or a longtime acquaintance to the Tekken series, these characters drive the overall appeal of the game and provide some of the most exciting thrills in the fighting game genre.

While missing its release in arcades here in the west, Namco Bandai has made sure to include an online fighting mode allowing players to fight against others around the world. Though it’s an excellent way to seek out competition, server lag issues on both consoles have diminished the broad appeal of online fighting. As an alternative, the Ghost Vs mode provides players with computer controlled rivals that mimic actual flesh and blood opponents. Players can also download ghost fighters from both the online community of their own respective XBL and PSN buddy lists.

Tekken 6 has done a spectacular job of giving the players what they want with a fighter, and with so much content and a huge cast of characters, Namco Bandai continues to prove that the genre still has a lot of fight left in it.

Though the announcement comes a little later than expected, Bioware and EA shocked no one by confirming a limited Collector’s Edition for Mass Effect 2. The Collectors’ Edition of Mass Effect 2 comes in a premium, tin case and includes the full version of the game, a 48-page hardcover “Art of Mass Effect 2” book, Issue 1 of the Mass Effect Redemption comic book, and a bonus DVD with behind-the-scenes and making-of videos. In addition, the Mass Effect 2 Collectors’ Edition will include unique in-game weapons and armor that can only be obtained by purchasing this version.

Releasing alongside the standard edition of the game on both PC and Xbox 360, gamers can expect to play Mass Effect 2 on January 26, 2010 in North America. With the Mass Effect Collector’s Edition being hard to come by and the recently released Dragon Age: Origins Collector’s Edition being only briefly available for pre-order through traditional retail shops; gamers interested in this special may want to jump on their local stores quickly.

What is MILESTONE FOREVER, you ask? Well, we can take a guess, but why slow down the process? Since it’s part and parcel of what we do, being The Source and all, we talked to Milestone founder and MILESTONE FOREVER writer Dwayne McDuffie for the scoop on the new project, along with some essential back story to bring you newbies up to speed. Take it away, Dwayne:

16 years ago this month, industry giant DC Comics and upstart Milestone Media entered into an unprecedented creative partnership, producing 14 interlocking, creator-owned titles including Hardware, Icon, and the multimedia hit that would best be known as Static Shock. The story Milestone chose to tell was an audacious one, larger than life on its surface, character and story-driven at its base, Humanist and multicultural at its heart. For over 250 issues, fans explored a superhero universe like no other.

Today, nine Parents Choice awards, four Eisner Award nominations and one Emmy and Humanitas award-winning hit TV series later, Milestone is back, its continuity mysteriously merged with the DCU. While we saw the DC side of the story in “Justice League: When Worlds Collide,” Milestone Forever gathers the original artists from Milestone’s launch titles: John Paul Leon, Mark Bright, Chris Cross and Milestone Founder Denys Cowan, to complete the tales told in the original runs of STATIC SHOCK, ICON, HARDWARE, SHADOW CABINET and BLOOD SYNDICATE. Milestone Editor in Chief Dwayne McDuffie reveals the final fate of each of Milestone’s launch characters in a bittersweet tale that chronicles the literal end of a universe, and the birth of something new, with major consequences for the future of the DC Universe.

Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles sends a full cast of characters into a world where the lines between good and evil are blurred and the potential to go to the dark side lies within everyone. Leon S. Kennedy, Claire Redfield, Jack Krauser, Steve Burnside, and Chris Redfield all play their part in an engrossing storyline that will fill in the missing pieces from Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles.

The game’s on-rail, arcade shooter game-play first featured in Resident Evil®: The Umbrella Chronicles, has been radically upgraded in Resident Evil The Darkside Chronicles. With the focus on creating a more terrifying experience than ever before, the camera now mimics the first person point of view, providing a more cinematic and immersive experience. Combined with an eerie soundtrack and a new graphics engine utilizing state-of-the-art technology, Resident Evil The Darkside Chronicles delivers the most fun and accessible horror game on the Nintendo Wii™ yet.