The NerdHooligan Podcast Episode 0002 - Our San Diego Comic Con 2011 Nerd Prom Review!

Uncle Pappy Wolf (me) and Fellow NerdHooligan Manny give you our take on the Nerd Prom that was the 2011 San Diego Comic Con, Disney's Big Dis of Comic Con this year, Marvel Films no show in Hall H (even though they are showing up to the Disney convention this Month), the up and coming Spider-Man Film, and the wonderful TV panels that really made the difference this year! So Much Fun! So pull up a chair and click on the podcast and Nerd out like the Hooligan you know your are! EXCELSIOR!!!!!!!!

P.S. If you have any Nerd questions or would like to follow us for all the latest NerdHooligan News you can find us at twitter.com/@NerdHooligan !

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UnclePappyWolf's Summer 2011 Nerd Hooligan Movie Musings: part 1

Check out The Nerd Hooligan Podcast entitled "UnclePappyWolf's Summer 2011 Nerd Hooligan Movie Musings: Part 1" Just click the link Below!

Your Resident NerdHooligan (AKA UnclePappyWolf) Howls about Nerd Movies.... Past, Present and Future...such as the X-Men franchise films including "First Class", Thor, the up and coming... Oh, Captain my "Captain America", The Assembling of the Avengers Cast, A little Pixar movie known as "Brave", The Nerd Mecca that is San Diego Comic Con 2011 and Mucho, Mucho, Mas!

If you like what you hear follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/NerdHooligan or http://twitter.com/UnclePappyWolf

and remember sometimes you gotta FIGHT for your RIGHT to be this NERDY!!!

UnclePappyWolf's Summer 2011 Nerd Hooligan Movie Musings: part 1

Frank Miller's Batman: Year One gets The DC Animation Treatment!

Oh... This Nerd Hooligan is salivating at the thought of DC releasing Frank Miller's Batman Year One in Animation form. Now for those of you who do not know Batman Year One is what Nolan loosely used to Create Batman Begins. And it was Frank Miller Himself who wrote the first pass at the Batman Begins Screenplay. David Goyer lifted some of the best parts of Batman Year One when he wrote the final Screenplay of Batman Begins and many of the Miller's Ideas for Commissioner Gordon and Batman himself were highly influenced by this very famous Comic.

If you have not picked up this Comic and are looking for a good Batman Comic to jump into (because you are from another alternate Universe where comics don't exist and  have thus never read a classic Frank Miller comic or heard of him) Batman Year One is for you! I recommend giving it a read before the Direct to DVD/Blu-Ray version comes out in September 27th, 2011!

Get More: Movie Trailers, Movies Blog

UnclePappyWolf's Otaku List for Non-Anime Lovers!

According to Wikipedia an: "Otaku (おたく / オタク^?) (oh-tah-kooh) is a Japanese term used to refer to people with obsessive interests, particularly anime, manga, or video games." (1)

...And that description definitely applies to yours truly! And for this Blog entry, Ole Pappy W. will serve as your guide into the world of Japan's greatest import: ANIME!  Well... next to ninja, shrimp flipping, hibachi grill, cooks. It's a close second. Let's get started!

Have you ever wondered what those crazy, blue haired, individuals you see roaming around that strange foreign cartoon section of DVD's at the local Best Buy are watching? Ever been slightly curious after seeing the special features from the Matrix why they mention Japanese animation as such a major influence? Perhaps your curiosity was so great you picked up one of those Japanese cartoons only to find that after you watched it you needed extensive therapy and a 12 bottles of Visine to get the images out of your eyes? Well, your in luck scared citizen. This list of awesome Anime pics is all for you! 

It is true that without an Otaku Guide to help you pick a decent Anime your experience could be a nightmare that may require Years of deep Cognitive Behavioral intervention and that is why ole Pappy is here to help you avoid the pain and trauma caused the horror of watching Bad Anime Gone A-rye. Pappy's hear to tell you not all Anime is bad! No..Really! True and good Anime can be a rich and rewarding experience...one filed with flights of fancy and brave bold new adventures. So put off your reservation for just a little while and let me take you through a list of the good stuff. Hold on to your seats Space Cowboy! This list could just change your whole view of  the many wonderful words of Japanese Animation. 

The first thing you should know about  Japanese animation is that it is not just one genre of entertainment. Japanese Animation covers not just kiddie cartoons but the whole gambit of genres. Unlike America, Animation in Japan is nothing more than another means by which viewers enjoy all genres and stories. And unlike the social shame felt here in the United States when one decides to read a Graphic Novel on a Bus or In Public, In Japan this is an every day occurrence and is often encouraged. 

That's Right, In Japan even older people read Comics!  They call there comics in Japan: MANGA. It is from these many Manga novels and comics that Anime got it's start. Not so here in the US. Thanks to the likes of Disney and Warner Brothers, The U.S. sees animation as solely the domain of young children and over-sized nerd fanboys. Which to many American fans of Anime is REALLY Freaking Frustrating!  In Japan Anime is for everyone! It has every kind of genre from things for kids to really bad awful crazy porn fetishes. That's why it's important to know a thing or too about Anime before you go diving in and watching any old thing. 

So with that being said lets look at some Amine that has been greatly admired for some time now by fans of the "Genres within a Genre":

1. Number one is Akira...an Anime film made in 1988 that dealt with fallout of a crazy post-apocalyptic Japan filled with an intrusive government, terrorists and rival motorcycle gangs.  Akira deals a lot with the issues out of a post apocalyptic world and illustrates quite well the pains, thoughts and fears that have greatly affected Japanese Culture prior to World War II even to this day. The ending may be a little much for some American audiences but the visuals and action sequence may make up for that lack of Japanese sensibilities a non-anime watcher may have. So it's a good introduction into a different way of thinking about the role animation can play in it's expresion of humanity. It also has a really sweet motorcycle! What more could you ask for! Akira is an R rated film for good reason and is not made for a child audience but It's an awesome film and well worth a watch for fans of the SciFi genre.

2. In no particular order (you should watch um all) is one of the most fun action pack SciFi, martial art, bounty hunting Anime's of all time...Cowboy Bebop. Cowboy Bebop is a series. Now in Japan most Anime shows or series do not go on endlessly until audiences get tired and stop watching. No, they usually run for an entire series and then end. Most of the arcs build toward a climatic finish and often resolve themselves entirely. If they do a movie, it usually takes place sometime between the series or after as an addendum to the story line and arcs established in the series.This is the case with Cowboy Bebop the movie. This way of making films from TV and not insulting the audience by reexplaining every little thing can be quite refreshing and unique for American movie goers.  since you don't have to have your intelligence insulted every time your TV characters finally make it to the big screen. They assume if you like the movie you may want to go back and check out the series if you haven't already.

The cool thing about Cowboy Bebop the movie is that it does take place close to the end of the series and can be watched as a stand alone film or with the series as an added part of the overall series story arc. 

The story centers around a rag tag crew of characters that make their living as bounty hunters  who catch bad guys to make ends meet. Spike is a cocky, crazy haired, baddy who beats up, shoots and often flies his way into any situation to catch his bounty. Faye is the equally cocky and very conniving bounty hunter with a wit and sarcasm to match that of Spikes. Jet is the giant, older, but no less tough, owner of the spaceship (the Bebop) who, unfortunately for him, is the only real responsible member of the team. And then there is the odd and peculiar, computer genius, kid known as Ed. What can I say about Ed? Ed's a little loony to say the least and a lot of fun to quote randomly to people who have know clue what your talking about. "Lympho, Lympho, Lymphocytes"! 

Whether you watch the movie or the series, Cowboy Bebop has got everything you need for a real good time. Space battles, gun fights, martial arts, and bounty hunters that often shoot first. The soundtrack is completely awesome and if you like jazz or catchy tunes it's not a hard soundtrack to find even in big chain stores. The series is PG-13 for the occasional bounty hunter expression of anger and occasional cheeky situation. But nothing you wouldn't see on prime time TV! Be warned... Cowboy Bebop, like crack, is very addicting.

3. Though many Anime flicks and shows are SciFi or Fantasy oriented, a lot of them are not. Which brings me to my third choice...Grave of the Fireflies. If your going to watch this movie you are definitely going to have to bring a box of Kleenex. This one's a tearjerker.  This movie is by far the saddest Anime I have ever seen and I've had to watched Pokemon several times (nephew).  

Grave of the Fireflies takes place after the bomb was dropped during World War II and deals with sharply and sadly of how two newly orphaned siblings struggle to survive. This film is more than critically acclaimed by Anime fans but film buffs of all kind. It's a touching tale about what happens to innocence in times of war and how the human spirit struggle to survive. Grave of the Fireflies is not Rated but is a PG-13 type story for the harsh subject matter.

4. Funny thing about Anime ...sometimes people have seen it and didn't even know they were watching it. Transformers, Speed Racer, Robotech and Battle of the Planets were all children's Anime slipped in with American animation and most people didn't even notice. The same is true for my next Anime choice...Spirited Away. 

The folks at Disney in an attempt to appease their guilt at brainwashing Americans into thinking animation is only for children stretched out their big mouse-like hands and decided to distribute some real Anime classics by a great Anime artist known as Hayao Miyazaki. In Japan Miyazaki is a big name and so when Disney started playing distributing his films it was nice to see him get some the wonderful attention and addoration that he deserves. Most of Miyazaki's stuff is fantasy oriented and deal usually with young children in world of fantasy. I would recommend anything Miyazaki has done. But my personal favorite is Spirited Away. It's about a little girl who gets drawn into a world of odd, amusing and sometimes scary creatures. It's a beautifully illustrated movie and well worth a watch. Spirited Away is PG for its somewhat scarier characters but a very light PG! 

5. My next pic is a Japanese Samurai Anime with a a Hip Hop Twist known as Samurai Champloo. Now, I don't have any clue what a Champloo is but I do know that I really like this series about a 2 samurai wielding, wild, Ronin-type guys and crazy young girl roaming the country side in search for a Samurai that smells of sunflower and might be the long lost father of the young precocious girl. Along the way they encounter many dangers and villains and sword dueling ensues!  It's fun, snarky and full of action for 26 wonderful sword-wielding episodes. It is PG-13esk for that a fore mentioned sword-weilding oh.. did I mention the sword-weilding?

6. Are you a fan of Angel and Buffy? If so, this next Anime is for you! It's called Witch Hunter Robin. True to it's title, Witch Hunter Robin is about a special government task force that hunts down secret cases involving magic users. Robin is a young girl with a special talent for fire-starting who helps her team catch these genetically altered magic users. This show is not as dark or occultic as one would think. The magic users are only able to use magic because they carry a very special gene. The show is more like Bones meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer but with a much more serious and dramatic take on the the whole hunting bad guys genre. 

like most Anime Series, it's 26 episodes and its very well drawn. Like Buffy or Angel, the subject matter would make this a strong PG-13 and depending on your views on fictitious magic this may not be for you but if you like a good ole cop/monster catching agent show Witch Hunter Robin is the one for you.

7. Last, but by no means least, is a little film that inspired the Warchowski Brothers' Matrix Trilogy and by inspired I mean totally ripped off and when I mean ripped off, I mean everything from the green scrolling letters at the beginning to being hardwired to the net in the back of the head. The film is called Ghost In the Shell (GITS for short)  and is about a secret Japanese government agency known as Section 8 that deals exclusively with cyber terrorist, cyber criminals and the occasional computer that decides to go sentient and kill a bunch of people. In this future, people have cyberneticly enhanced their bodies to the point where they are more machine than they are flesh. Some have even made the complete transfer to a cybernetic body. Everyone can hardware into the net in the back of their head and or recreate themselves in both the virtual and the real world. It's a beautiful mix of both animated hand-drawn images and realistic computer graphics. If you watch this film and don't at least think "wow how beautiful" then perhaps Anime is not for you. It has everything from guns, tanks, aircraft battles to martial arts and government espionage. 

 

The original movie was based on the series of Japanese Manga Comics created by a Japanese Frank Miller-like equivalent known as Masamune Shirow.  His Ghost in the Shell Manga has gone on to inspire this movie, it's sequel, as well as a series that is based more on the original Mangas than the films were. 

The two films are one take on the Manga and the 2 series are another take on the Manga. It's kind like how they did the Superman Returns film based on the Superman comics but it had nothing to do with the TV show Smallville; which was also based on the comics.  But to make it a little confusing the Ghost in the Shell Series did their own movie that ties to their show. So it would be like if they did a Smallville movie. 

So Where to start? Start with this first movie.... If you like it, watch the first Series called Ghost in the Shell stand Alone Complex.  Remember they are not tied together but they are very similar. So keep in mind that the series will not build towards the movie at all but relies more on the Comic Mangas for its inspiration.

 

If you still like the first series and your starting to get GITS withdraws, watch the second series called Ghost in the Shell S.A.C. 2nd GIG. 

 

If by now you are addicted and you can't get enough, watch the TV film called Ghost in the Shell S.A.C. Solid State Society.  This film will tie in the show so don't confuse it with the movies.

 

After you've sold your blood to get another fix of GITS Anime, your family has left you and it's still not enough,  watch the sequel to the original movie. since it's all that is left. You may have to go back and watch the first film because this is it's sequel and has nothing to do with the series. I leave it for last since it's not nearly as good as the rest of the stuff but what do you care! At this point, your an Addict!

 

For you N00b's to Anime, it's probably best to just stick with first movie and maybe the series But I'm tell you it's addictive so don't be shocked if you a make it all they to the bottom of the list!

So there you have it... Uncle Pappy Wolf's Otaku List for Non-Anime Lovers! Feel free to let us know your favorites or what you think of our picks. We'd love to hear from you! Just don't blame Pappy if you find you want to dye your hair blue and hang out in that strange section of the Best Buy!

References and Guides 

1. 
   
   
   

   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otaku 

2. 
   
   
   

    http://ghostintheshell.wikia.com/wiki/Ghost_in_the_Shell_Wiki 

3. 
   
   
   

    http://anime.wikia.com/wiki/Animepedia  

4. 
   
   

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Cowboy_Bebop_episodes

HULK SMASH New York City not as Cool as HULK SMASH A PLANET :Pappy's Review of World War Hulk!

@UnclePappyWolf Reviews World War Hulk the Trade Paperback!

Now, Pappy loved PLANET HULK and I couldn't wait to read World War Hulk. I dived right in and loved the first 3rd of the book. Hulk Smash, Black Bolt, Iron Man, Fantastic Four, Dr. Strange, Thunderbolt Ross and his army and later takes on the Sentry. Those I love it when the Hulk is unleashed. But Unlike Planet Hulk, World War Hulk takes you through the story rather quickly without a lot of the emotion that you get from its Planet Predecessor. I felt for the back stories of the Warbound members. It made their characters real and not flat or cardboard. As for World War Hulk I felt all of the characters that have rich and a long sorted history with the Hulk were barely even mentioned. The Hulk and Thing have fought before not even a peep of past conflicts. Thunderbolt Ross does mention Betty's passing but no real context for how that is motivating his actions. Dr. Strange came the closest to understanding the Hulk's Mind but no real conection was made in that crucial moment about how Bruce felt about lossing the Hulks wife. Was He in love with Caiera as well? Did Banner share the Hulk's rage for being tricked and sent out into space?

This book missed a lot of good story arch opportunities and I felt it did so all the way through the story even up until the end.
But before I get to the end let me just share few plot points that I thought were kind of unrealistic or annoying. First off...the Warbound where highly underused. Here, with all these superheroes, was perfect opportunity to do something that not even Planet Hulk did much of and that is see how the Warbound stack up against the Marvel Universe and expand on their abilities.
How would Korg have stacked up against the Thing is he stronger? Or ARCH-E against Stark technologies, is he just as savvy or is Stark's toys even better? What would a duel between Dr. Strange and and Hiroim be like? And Miek...Don't even let me get started on Miek (SPOILER TO FOLLOW) There is NO WAY I believe Miek was responsible for siding with the Red King and blowing up Sakaar! Then Hulk and No-Name kill him? So stupid!!

It wasn't all bad. Like I said before I loved the SMASHING, and the first 3rd to 1/2 was pretty descent but the ending was really a tad unbelievable and anticlimactic. Tony's places him in a coma without any explanation as to how that satellite works. I mean....He just survived fighting the Sentry and the Sorcerer Supreme but a ray takes him out?
The fight between the Sentry and the Hulk was a wonderful visual drawing and over all I did enjoy the artwork in this book but felt that Planet Hulk still had a much better look and story to it than this did.
SO.. Pappy Gives World War Hulk... 3.55 Paws out of 5!

If you read World War Hulks Let us know what you thought!

The @NerdHooligan 's Fun Facts For Non-Nerds!

@NerdHooligan 's Fun Facts Every Nerd should Know and Every Non-Nerd needs to know if they wish to be One with the Force!

Ever have a conversation with the "significant other" in your life go something like this?

Nerd:Hey Honey, Come check out my new car.

You: Nice.

Nerd: Yup... It's my Millennium Falcon! and it's so sweet...It's the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs.

You: Um, Yeah!?

Nerd: The Kessel run? You know.... from Star Wars?

You: *Blink* *Blink* Nerd: What a Nerf Hearder!

After which the odd blank look on your face now leads him ("or her"..heh, yeah right) to stare at you as if you're some sort of freak while he ("or she" not likely) contemplates separation or divorce. Meanwhile, you still don't have any clue what a Kessel Run, or Parsec is or what he (Seriously, if it's a She give her my Facebook address) is talking about?

Well my little "Youngling," you're in luck! Cuz Pappy YodaWan is going to school you in the ways of The Force. Of course if you don't have any clue what a Millennium Falcon is, NO ONE on Earth or in the universe now or "a long time ago" well EVER be able to help you and your significant other should dump your dumb ass immediately. But if that's not you.. you're in luck!

This weeks NerdHooligan's Fun Facts for Non-Nerds comes from The Classic Film Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope. Which to a Nerd is one of the best films ever made (Next to the sequel of that film which is WAY better...but I digress). In a New Hope, Han Solo (Who Shot first no matter what you see) is quoted as saying of his awesome space ship:

"You've never heard of the Millennium Falcon?…It's the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs."

Right, so what's a Parsec? and for that matter What is a Kessel Run...well it's not what happens after you eat SIX Yellow Chili Peppers with your Burger! I call that Revenge of the Sith. Because it starts off swell but ends in a world of hot molten gases and me yelling "NOOOOOOO" while wearing a breathing apparatus to stay alive! But that is another story!

A "Parsec" is a "made-up, imaginary," measurement of distance which is equal to approximately 3.26 light years (which is a real measurement and thus not imaginary)! The "Kessel Run" was a "made-up" space route in the Star Wars Universe that was 18 Parsecs until Han Solo (Who shot first no matter what you saw) made the run in his Awesome Space Ship the Millennium Falcon in less than 12 Parsecs!

"How was Captain Solo able to do this," you may ask? Well Captain Solo (Han to his friends) did this Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs cuz he is a bad-ass, space smuggling, scoundrel, with a blaster and a cool, furry, monster, copilot at his side...that's how. So you See Non-Nerd person... it's all perfectly clear and understandable... "Just like shootin' womp rats, eh kid?" (you should be nodding your head "yes" right now)!

Now, If you really want to score points with your significant other (Sadly, still most likely male) or need more of an explanation,here is a wonderful link that explains even more about the Kessel Run than any non-nerd should ever need to know! Enjoy and "....May the Force be with you."

Sincerely Yours,
UnclePappy YodaWan a.k.a. The NerdHooligan!

References
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Kessel_Run?t=Kessel+Run
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Parsec
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1452990941#!/photo.php?pid=1144789&id=1452990941&ref=fbx_album

HULK SMASH A WHOLE FREAKIN PLANET!! YOU GOT THAT ANG LEE!!??

Incredible Hulk: Planet Hulk Review!
That's right...its July 10, 2010 and the movie Hulk directed by Ang Lee came out June 20, 2003 but But I'M STILL CALLING YOU OUT ANG! That movie sucked man..Don't you know..HULK SMASH! Better late than never...I always say! But seriously... speaking of late....where the heck was I when Planet Hulk came out? How did I miss this wonder retelling of Gladiator with a pissed off and even angrier than a hotel employee beating, telephone weapon using Russell Crow! OH...that's right!! I was up to my eyebrows in college crappy text books and papers. But Like I said, “Better late than never”. So please forgive my lateness for this review but I'm sure it’s not the last late review and if you give me too much grief you might make me angry. You don't want to make me angry...you wouldn't like me when I'm angry. I'm just telling you now.. I may be the next "Monster-person of Color" Hulk. That's right, I’m revealing the secret! I am the BROWN HULK and when I eat my Frijoles… PAPPY ES EL MÁS FUERTE QUE EXISTE!!! (Gringo translation: PAPPY IS THE STRONGEST THERE IS!!)...echo, echo, echo!

But I digress…Back to Planet Hulk. Planet Hulk, for me, was one of those comics that once I started reading I just couldn’t put it down. The art work is phenomenal...and even though there were several artists who worked on this arch the artwork had a wonderful consistency to it. The coloring had a dusty rustic feel and the facial expressions where strong and very consistent for each character; which for a book with plenty of monsters is very helpful to the eye. The battle scenes were dynamic and quite larger-than-life with interesting angles even in the tighter shots. Which, I have to say, is one of the many strengths in this book.

Planet Hulk has a lot of wonderfully illustrated, dynamic in scale, panels. The artists were not afraid to show each and every facial expression of both foreground and background characters in any given page (within reason). The Artists do not cheat with a lot of shadowed backgrounds or annoying overly used blur effect. No...they took great pains to make each panel convey what the characters are experiencing in the story without a lot of cheats. It was fun to watch the other characters react to the Hulk’s Smashing Rampages of Joy with bewilderment and awe. The art work was well above average and the artists definitely put the epic “PLANET” in Planet Hulk. But for me, the greatest part of Planet Hulk was not just the artwork but the Story.

Writer Greg Pak does something here with the Hulk that I had not seen done quite as well in days past. He switches the sympathy for the sad Bruce Banner struggling with his inner monster and instead Makes us feel that sympathy and Pathos for the Hulk. I wanted for the first time in a long time for the Hulk to win out and be happy over Bruce Banner. Banner was the monster that Hulk feared would rear his nerdy head! Can you imagine how a pitch like that would be in a Marvel boardroom? “You see…what I want to do is make Hulk afraid of Banner and Have Hulk Fall in love with an Alien.”…(sound of crickets chirping)! But Greg Pak pulls it off. Not only does he pull it off, he gives Hulk/Banner a whole new set of obstacles to work with in future installments and adds a new thread on which to spin future yarns.

But with that being said, this story is really all about the Hulk! And (that's right I started a sentence with And), what I love most about the HULK...as any one of my family members knows by now (since I shouted it out every few pages as I read it) is …HULK SMASH!!!! And in this story arch I get to see plenty of pugilistic pummeling to make my inner Brown Hulk Very Happy! He fights monster, rock creators, Robots, Mech-suited fighters, Alien Men, Women, Children…well maybe not children but cockroach looking creatures which after a day watching most kids play Lord of the Flies at the city park playground is really pretty close. Planet Hulk really does pack in the Smashin! But it’s smashing with a story!

The Character of Hulk really evolves here from a lonely, angry monster to a Monster who fights for all Monsters. We see him change from a selfish Green Beast to a Self-sacrificing King! This book brings out the Super Hero we all knew was in the Hulk but very seldom get to see and I loved it. And what an Ending! I won’t say too much in the way of spoilers but the ending really brought the Hulk Home for me as a real Human…all be it Green Gamma Ray Infected Human but a real human with a Heart.
Take that ANG LEE!! IN YOUR FACE!

Uncle Pappy Wolf gives Planet Hulk 4 1/2 Paws out of 5!

References
http://www.comicvine.com/incredible-hulk-planet-hulk-incredible-hulk-planet-hulk/37-193372/user-reviews/?review_id=9779