Anime Conventions - Gotta Love Them

I've been going to anime conventions since 2003 and it never ceases to amaze me how awesome the people I meet are. I come from a rather small, rural part of South Carolina and there were probably five anime fans in my highschool, all who were my friends. when i look back on those times when i was attempting to find myself in the world and lost in the ruralness of smalltown, usa, i knew that i was apart of something bigger then i, but still small enough to feel exclusive: the anime subculture. As i used the internet to fuel my needs for this geeky part of myself, i stumbled upon conventions. Grabbing my best anime friend and escaping away for the weekend to the convention (Animazement 2003) i still remember arriving at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel and Convention Center and seeing a Sailor Moon cosplayer. Right then. Right There...i knew that conventions were a place i wanted to be for the remainder of my life. I was 14 at my first convention. i am now 22 and continue going to geeky getaways at conventions. I have met some of my closest friends there and i wouldnt have it any other way. I've had good expierences and bad expierences. I've found love. I've lost love. I've done some crazy things. I've had some fun times. All within the walls of conventions and hotels. As i broaden my convention scene to include comic conventions, multi-genre cons, and video game conventions...I will always remember where it all started - anime conventions. I look at these more adult cons as a graduating step from my fangirl days at anime cons, but there will always be a special place in my heart for those conventions dedicated to our favorite animations from the land of the rising sun.

Pictured are my convention badges to date. I'll have to update this is about a week because i will be returning to Animazement for my seventh year. The con badges are as follows:

Top Row: Momocon 2010, Nashicon 2008, Nashicon 2010 [last con badge as of today], Animazement 2003 [first con badge]

Next Row: Katsucon 2008, Katsucon 2010, Animazement 2009 [my favorite badge so far], Ichibancon 2010

Bottom Row: X Con 2009, Anime Weekend Atlanta 2007, Anime Weekend Atlanta 2008, Animazement 2005, Animazement 2006, Animazement 2007, Animazement 2008

Missing: Xcon 2008, Nashicon 2009

Don Cheadle on his role in Iron Man 2 - interview

In the June 2010 issue of Ebony magazine, Don Cheadle conducted an interview given by Adrienne Samuels Gibbs. Here's the questions relating to his most recent role:Gibbs: You get to blaze for real as the robot man War Machine in Iron Man 2. That had to be fun.Cheadle: Its cool. Its like being able to play with all the best toys, the high-end expensive toys. I read comic books as a kid and you don't ever think you'll be in a movie as a superhero, so its kind of fun to do.Gibbs: its a different kind of role for you, this sci-fi comic book thing.Cheadle: you just put your finger on it. Its different. It was an opportunity to be in a summer blockbuster.Gibbs: I heard there was some drama though. A few critics say you're a better Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes than Terrence Howard was in the first Iron Man.Cheadle: that's a recipe for disaster if you start reading that stuff or having any reaponse to it. I think we're different actors and its a shame that we're often presented with that sort of comparison. We're not building houses. And I'm sure a lot of people were bummed out about the switch. I hired him for the movie Crash and he did a great job in it. He started in Iron Man. It was something between the studio and his agents. I saw him very soon after it all went down and he was very cool with me and there was no rancor. I didn't expect any.The complete interview is in the magazine where Cheadle also talks about his role in Brooklyn's Finest and other things. Personally, I'd like to hear what Howard has to say about all the "drama" about the switch. Perhaps he's not allowed to say anything? Or maybe he has and I haven't seen it? Either way, the answer seems the kind of thing that will come out of the actor that replaced him's mouth. He was just in a blockbuster summer hit (which he's well aware of from his other answer) so I doubt he cares at all what happened between the studio and Howard's agents. Neither actor did an outstanding job in the role as Rhodey so I really do not have an opinion on the switch of the two actors. I just know its a little jarring in franchise movies when an actor is switched out (I.e. Evie's character in the 3rd Mummy movie *shudders*) whatever the case may be about the switch, with no clear reason as to why it was done, movie watchers can only speculate and wonder

Iron Man 2 - Review

*spoiler free. totally wasn't going to write this, but whatevs *kanye shrug*Is the Iron Man franchise rusting?The latest installment of the movie released in America on May 7th. The hype surrounding this movie has been festering since the last installment started off a great summer of brilliant movies. However, this sequel does not live up to what that movie started. As a sequel, there are just certain expectations that come with it. The first Iron Man was a mixture of a great story with nice pacing, rounded characters, and several action sequences that well done. For Iron Man 2...1 outta 3 might not be TOO bad. The story was not paced very well. There were a few moments that were dull or too prolonged (for my tastes). The character of Tony Stark was not as rounded as in the previous movie. We see him spirling downward, which is all good, but there is no redemption or resolution in his spiral. Potential is there, but dialogue in the last few scenes do not prove much (albeit these scenes seemed excessive).Also, there were so many new characters in the movie (and the attempt to expand on former character's roles) that it was difficult to enjoy their performances to the fullest - although I did enjoy the additions. Can't go wrong with Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury! Scarlett Johannsen has a very successful action scene (with no special effects which made it amazing), but it brings up the question on whether little Montez (Kick Ass) set the bar incredibly high for female action scenes.* The replacement Rhodey, Don Chedle, did no better then Terrance Howard in the role. The little dialogue quips that he was a new actor in the role were funny, but his performance was so-so. Good thing is, I could not really place another actor in the role and he's better then Howard was.The movie seemed like a prequel to other Marvel projects. Ok Marvel, we get it. You're pimping out future projects, but can we get back to the movie at hand? It was great to see the little, geeky things and dialogue (I.e Captain America's sheild), but oftentimes it was a bit heavyhanded. I especially thought the extra scene after the credits would be Iron Man related, as I was dissatisfied with the ending, however it was not. Of course it was an enticing surprise nonetheless.The action sequences were fantastic. The villian, Whiplash, was a combination of two comic villians, but I actually think this creation of a new villian was very successful to the film. I was intriqued by this character and his backstory. The raceway scene (which I saw prior to the entire movie) was definently my favorite scene in the movie for several reasons (I won't list them here...so long and numerous.) I felt his final scene, however, was entirely too short after a very prolonged flight scene.This was a very enjoyable movie. I plan to see it again this coming week. My many gripes with it were probably overshadowed by excited geekiness. For the casual movie goer, this is probably a fantastic movie to see. I think fans of the franchise will also be pleased.*i am working on a 'Women in Action Films' acticle that will be posted probably around the time Angelina Jolie's "Salt" releases since her part was originally written for a man. It'll analyze women in action movies, past and present, and their roles. It'll compare + contrast what I think is successful and not successful. It'll talk about the sex appeal of them (tight clothes o_o) and all that stuff. Should be fun to writ

My Summer Movie List!

May-August means its Summer Movie time!!! Entertainment Weekly just did their huge, summer movie preview feature. Here are the movies (with release dates) that I will be seeing all summer!
May 7: Iron Man 2
May 14: Robin Hood
May 21: Shrek Forever After
May 27: Sex and the City 2
May 28: Prince of Persia The Sands of Time
June 4: Splice
June 11: The A Team, The Karate Kid
June 18: Jonah Hex, Toy Story 3
June 25: Grown Ups
June 30: Twilight - Eclipse
July 2: The Last Airbender
July 9: Despicable Me
July 16: Inception
July 23: Salt
August 13: The Expendables
August 20: The Lottery Ticket, Takers

Whew. Only like three weekends where nothing comes out that I want to see...and some weekends where TWO movies come out! Knowning me, I'll probably be seeing a lot of these during the matinee times - smaller crowds, cheaper prices. Expect reviews of all of them.

Nightmare on Elm Street - Review

*no spoilers. But, seriously, how do you spoil Freddy nowadays?!*If you're looking for some authentic recreation, remade, redone, revamped remake of the original STOP RIGHT THERE! DON'T BUY THE TICKET! YOU'LL BE DISSAPOINTED!Although this movie does stick to the original and also features several iconic scenes, that is the movie's flaw. It is difficult to fill the supernatural, creepy shoes of former Elm Street films with England as Freddy. He's one of the Big Three slasher/horror baddies of all time (the other two being Michael Myers and Jason). One thing Freddie has on those two is dialogue, which makes his shoes even harder to fill. I'd like to think Jackie Earle Hayley (JEH) didn't fill the shoes, but made them fit his feet. However to fans of the series, this will probably be a dissapointment as JEH is a tad bit shorter and uses his Rorscach-esque raspy voice as Freddy. JEH's performance was still pretty decent (coming from a casual movie-goer expierence and not a fan).The movie had way too much potential that it did not adequately use. Several scenes that could have been ridiculously scary were not at all. This was due to the film attempting to redo a classic which causes dissapointment. The introduction of what I assume were new scares were, however, not dissapointing in the slightest.The best part of the film was the atmosphere, setting, and transition between reality and dream sequence. Every time one of the kids drifted into a dream there was edge-of-your-seat anticipation about what was going to come next - even if the movie rarely delievered on it. The very pessimistic outlook on the characters survival was probably due to the really detailed settings - from the preschool, the basements, even the Pharmacy. We all know Freddy was a pedo...this movie plays on that fact to a tee nearer to the end complete with witty sexual dialogue from Freddy/JEH. It actually caused laughter at a key point where I think the audience should have been terrified instead.If the movie stood alone and wasn't apart of a classic franchise, it'll probably be great. But taking on the mantle of Nightmare on Elm Street and the role of Freddy, it only gets a so-so