January 2010 Archives

Fans of the Vertigo comic "The Losers" written by Andy Diggle and illustrated by JOCK have some reason to be nervous about a film adaptation. 

I don't expect the Warner Bros. flick to be a tone-perfect take on the comic but you can't soften the material too much for general audiences or "The Losers" loses its bite. 

My only caveat is that we don't behave like the stereotypical reactionary bunch of angry fans... Let's hear and see more about this one before we totally bash it, OK?

I have to say the trailer looks promising, the tone seems spot-on and if she hasn't accomplished this already, Zoe Saldana looks primed to cement herself into the fanboy pantheon with this picture, "Avatar" and "Star Trek."

Man, Zoe's even got me watching "Center Stage."

"The Losers" is directed by Sylvain White ("Stomp The Yard") and written by Peter Berg and James Vanderbilt ("The Rundown," "Zodiac").  It also stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan ("Watchmen"), Idris Elba ("The Wire") and Chris Evans ("Fantastic Four").  "The Losers" will be released April 9, 2010. 

But my big question is: Will "The Losers" be cooler than "The A-Team?"   

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- "Heroes" TV actor Adrian Pasdar has been arrested for allegedly driving drunk and veering across lanes on a West Los Angeles freeway.

A California Highway Patrol report says Pasdar was pulled over shortly before 3 a.m. Wednesday after officers saw his Ford F-150 truck doing 94 mph and straddling two lanes on Interstate 405.

The 44-year-old actor was booked for investigation of driving under the influence of alcohol. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department says he was taken to county jail and released at about 8:30 a.m. on $15,000 bail.

Pasdar plays Nathan Petrelli on NBC's "Heroes." He's married to Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines.

A message left for his agent wasn't immediately returned.


In this Dec. 3, 2009 file photo, Adrian Pasdar attends the premiere of "Everybody's Fine" in New York.
AP Photo/Peter Kramer, file

Apple CEO Steve Jobs shows off the new iPad during an event in San Francisco, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010. (AP Photo/San Francisco Chronicle, Paul Chinn)

Yeah, It's a big iPhone.

Check out the video below for some demonstration imagery -- dramatic music aside, the iPad looks pretty cool. Definitely better for some digital comics.  It will be available in a 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. And it's about $500 for the 16GB version with an AT&T plan.

I'll post more pics and background info later today.

MTV Rough Cuts has a video clip I grabbed by way of Comic Book Resources featuring an interview snippet with MTV's Josh Horowitz and Samuel L. Jackson (Marvel's anointed Nick Fury).

Jackson says he was reading the trades and discovered that he was in the cast list.  The famous comic book fan also said he doesn't have any idea when he's shooting any scenes from the project, but he's sure they will let him know.

"Hey, they're shooting it in Sante Fe, it's not like they're shooting it in Norway," he says.

Nick Fury keeps it real.

Jackson also keeps it real with a few observations about the Disney-Marvel deal... awesome.

"Thor" opens May 6, 2011.

You probably already know Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" is going the graphic novel route from the various postings around the web-o-verse.  From what I'm hearing the initial print-run is going to be more than 350,000 copies.

I have to give some credit to the publishers (Hachette under their Yen Press imprint). That kind of confidence in a comic book product is unusual. Considering the potential fan stampede that will likely overrun bookstores everywhere for this, it's probably a good risk.

There is even a reminder in my Borders promotions coupon this week to reserve my copy today (Vol. 1 of the "Twilight: The Graphic Novel" hits the shelves March 16).

If you want a look at the adapted work by artist Young Kim, then check out the cover and some panels at EW.COM.  If you want more than that, then grab a copy of the printed Entertainment Weekly magazine which has 10 pages from the book and an exclusive interview with "Twilight" author Stephenie Meyer.

I watched the extended pilot for "Caprica" and found it to be well-crafted and thought-provoking. The cast is terrific -- I can't say anything bad about the work of Esai Morales and Eric Stoltz. And the time spent on Caprica some 58 years before the events in "Battlestar Galactica" are sort of interesting.

However, I'm usually not into the prequel thing -- Knowing where something is going in the end kind of messes it up for me.

So it's going to be a tough sell to me for the regular series "Caprica," which begins 9 p.m. tonight on SyFy.  

That being said, I am curious about how the skin-jobs (Cylons) play a role in this.  I believe that's what the creators were hoping when they left so many pieces to the puzzle of Cylon history out of the original show's conclusion.

It gets some game time for a few weeks but if it slips even a little bit it's going to the bench and I'll have to do a Netflix thing.

Once again, "Caprica" premieres tonight January 22 on SyFy at 9 p.m.

Above: The Eve-like image of Actress Alessandra Torresani who plays Zoe Greystone on "Caprica."

Comic book writer Robert Kirkman's popular comic series "The Walking Dead," was given the go ahead for a television pilot adaptation by cable network AMC, Variety reports.

The pilot will be written and directed by co-producer Frank Darabont ("The Shawshank Redemption"). 

While I'm not even close to be being a regular reader of Kirkman's Walking Dead comic, I am fully aware of its impact on the industry. 

The comic, illustrated by Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn, has a significant crop of fans who hang on every page of the series that chronicles the exploits of a group of survivors surrounded by a legions of zombies.

There's been plenty of zombie stuff out there -- especially in comics -- but success is all in the delivery.

Found this over at Comic Vine today.  Man, super heroes play so well in animation I wonder if it's worth all the headache we go through with all the live-action film stuff.

Yeah, I'm talking about the whole "Spider-Man 4" movie situation.

Anyway, enjoy the clip. As usual in DC Comics animated films, the heroes throw down... including Wonder Woman.

"Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths" is written by Dwayne McDuffie and directed by Lauren Montgomery and Sam Liu.  It will be available on DVD and Blu-Ray February 23.

I don't like being told "nope" or "we don't have it" but that's often the reality for fans who read comics from smaller publishers.

If the book you want also happens to be a darn good comic like Greg Rucka and Matthew Southworth's "Stumptown" then you may really end up feeling butt outta luck.

Issue #1 hit the scene a couple months back and blew out the door faster than a brother could blink.  Issue #2 hit the stores two weeks ago and you may still have a tough time trying to snag it.

Without giving too much away, "Stumptown" is about a hard luck private investigator in Oregon who is world wise in the streets but a mess when it comes to herself.  The character is tasked with finding a slippery missing person -- not like we haven't some of this before -- but the treasure of this Rucka's tale is how and where it unfolds.

Rucka is an accomplished talent with a knack for writing gnarly crime tales cast with sharp characters.

None of this would be possible, of course, without the artistic choices of Matthew Southworth, who drafted several scene details from known locations. The artist has even taken the time to solicit an actual local parking ticket to better illustrate it -- like the one on the cover to the right. 

I mean, Southworth didn't park in red zones or anything to get it, he... ah, never mind.

Since I don't have the good sense to set up a pull box at my local comics shop, I bothered retailers about this book darn near every week until issue #2 came out.

I am fortunate I managed to grab a copy but don't be alarmed if both regular issues are not in stores if and when you look for them. This may be subject to change, but Amazon lists the first "Stumptown" collected edition for release in mid-June.

There are whispers of reprints but there no official word from publisher Oni Press on that.

If you are a fan of Rucka then I think I should mention something about his and artist J.H. Williams' work on this little book called "Detective Comics" starring a character named Batwoman.  

By Ryan Riley, Contributor

Well, folks, I think we can all agree that 2009 was fairly eventful. Among other things, Barack Obama took office as President of the United States (more on him in a little bit), the "King of Pop" left this mortal coil unexpectedly, and the on and off-camera antics of reality TV stars (and wannabe-stars) dominated the news.

2009 was also a watershed year as far as our own little niche in pop culture and entertainment goes. Here is a list of some of the more memorable events and news items that took place last year. This is by no means a comprehensive list, so if you readers think I left out anything of greater importance than what I included, it's on you folks to give us some feedback below to let us know. Anyway, as Chris Rock is fond of saying, it's time to roll with the new.

Disney buys Marvel Comics & DC gets restructured

I don't think any of us could have predicted this one. In August 2009 it was announced that Disney would be taking ownership of the house that Stan and Jack built. Speculation ran rampant, and while a few in the comic book community expressed reservations, most creators and fans focused on the potential positive aspects of the new partnership. Marvel had already done well for itself outside of the medium of comic books with forays into movies and television, but given Disney's successful track record with production and marketing, their involvement in the of future Marvel multimedia projects could be akin to turning a DeLorean into a time machine. Conversely, if they get too involved in the creative direction of the comic books things could get ugly. Only time will tell how beneficial this development is to the fanboy nation, but if the results of their partnership with Square Enix, the "Kingdom Hearts" franchise, is any indication, it will likely yield a positive result.

In response, Time/Warner announced a plan to restructure DC Comics, with the intention of taking more active control over the freckled step-child of their multimedia empire. The new division, called DC Entertainment, was created "...to maximize the potential of the DC brand." The impact it will have on any future DC projects, be they comic books, TV shows or movies, remains to be seen.

Barack Obama = Increased comic book sales

.

If there was one truism in the aftermath of Barack Obama winning the 2008 Presidential race it was this: If you want to sell lots of comic books, just release one that features Barack Obama and watch your sales spike. IDW Publishing was first on this bandwagon, creating comic book biographies of both Obama and his Republican rival John McCain. Other comic companies got in on the action as well. Obama appeared in Image books like Youngblood & Savage Dragon and Devil's Due Publishing created a book seemingly based on Obama's predilection towards reading Conan books growing up called Barack the Barbarian. But it was Marvel that most successfully cashed in on this trend by creating a comic book mini-story that brings together Obama and Spider-Man. The book went through five printings before demand started to taper off, and the issue was by far the best selling single comic book of 2009.

There's Something About Vampires

The Vampire genre has certainly enjoyed its periods of popularity, but 2009 saw it reach whole new heights, and it was largely thanks to the theatrical release of "The Twilight Saga: New Moon". Based on a series of novels by Stephanie Meyer, the Twilight saga centers on the romance between a brooding teenage girl and a gentlemanly vampire whose clan refuses to partake of the blood of humans. The novels got a lot of younger female readers hooked on the vampire genre, and the film adaptation of "Twilight" released in 2008 expanded the audience, creating a new subgroup of sci/fi fantasy fans dubbed "Twi-hards". They proved to be a formidably loyal group, pumping up the box office figures on "New Moon" and showing up in full force at sci-fi/fantasy conventions like the San Diego Comic Con.

The 1980's will be with you...always

In an earlier column I pointed out the trend of Hollywood revamping story concepts and franchises from the last century. Specifically, they seem to have an unearthly fascination with properties first launched in the 1980's. You don't believe me? Just look at some of the more prominent films and television shows that were released last year: "Friday the 13th", "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen", "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra", "Terminator: Salvation", "Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li", "Watchmen" and "V". All of these movies/shows had their genesis in the 1980's. And the trend looks like it's going to continue, with new versions of "The A-Team", "Clash of the Titans", "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps", "A Nighmare on Elm Street" and "The Karate Kid" slated for release in 2010.

DC brings about "The Blackest Night" and gives us Green Lantern movie(s)

Finally, Green Lantern is getting the love that I always maintained he deserves. Warner Brothers is finally diversifying its DC Comics franchises by throwing Green Lantern into the mix. It released "Green Lantern: First Flight" last summer on DVD, and gave the green light to begin filming on a live action movie with Ryan Reynolds ("X-Men Origins: Wolverine") cast as Hal Jordan. In the comics, the "Blackest Night" storyline that has been brewing since the end of "The Sinestro Corps War" was launched, and looks to continue delivering the goods into 2010.

The Force is definitely with James Cameron.

The writer-director's sci-fi adventure film "Avatar" has earned more than $41 million over the last few days and is on the path to its fifth consecutive No. 1 weekend at the box-office.  "Star Wars" fans may also be interested to know that "Avatar" is now the third highest grossing domestic film of all time.

Can the second-place "The Dark Knight" hold onto its spot?  At $533 million in earnings, "Knight" is $42 million ahead of Cameron's groundbreaking alien epic, which has earned an estimated $491 million domestically.

With a continued strong showing this holiday weekend and possible momentum from a Golden Globe Best Drama victory Sunday, "Avatar" has a chance to claim the No. 2 spot in a matter of weeks.

"The Book of Eli" also had a strong opening weekend earning an estimated $31 million.  The post-apocalyptic film starring Denzel Washington and directed by the Hughes Bros. also garnered some praise from movie critics.

Box Office weekend as of Sunday
1. "Avatar" -- $41 million
2. "The Book of Eli" -- $31 million
3. "The Lovely Bones" -- $17 million

Complete weekend box-office estimates will be available Monday evening.

    
      

Editor's note: Some spoilers here but these stories are twenty-some years old for gosh sakes!

How do you measure the best comic book stories about an ongoing character?

For me it's always the narratives that have a conclusion where the protagonist can never go back to the status quo.  Sure, there are lots of comics with decent endings within an ongoing series.  But I'm almost 99.9% certain that everyone remembers the stories that have a hint of finality.

For Superman the best stories seem to have some last mental or physical hurdle the Man of Steel has to clear.  These obstacles could range from breaking his own personal code to facing his mortality. 

In DC Comics' deluxe edition of "Superman: Whatever Happened To The Man of Tomorrow?" super star writer Alan Moore ("Watchmen") tackles those issues in three collected Superman stories.

The Deluxe Edition was the selection of the Comic Club at Geoffrey's Comics last week.

I should mention that some in the group agreed that it would be fair to rank two of these stories among the best Superman stories ever told in any form.

The title piece of the collection, of course, is "Whatever Happened To The Man of Tomorrow?"  It depicts the "final" story of Superman in his last stand against a few of his lesser enemies and some of his deadliest ones such as Lex Luthor and Brainiac.  That pairing becomes particularly gruesome later in the tale.

While the writing is less agile than what Moore has shown in his other works (care to guess which?), the story is still unforgettable as it plays out the fates of several Superman mainstays. This comic installment, originally published in 1986, features the artwork of Silver Age veteran artist Curt Swan with assists from George Perez ("Crisis on Infinite Earths") and Kurt Schaffenberger ("The Marvel Family").  And yeah, you could say this story was Elseworlds before Elseworlds stuff was the hotness.

Moore and artists Rich Veitch and Al Williamson present another story of the Man of Tomorrow facing the grim reaper in "The Jungle Line."  Moore fans familiar with this tale know it includes an appearance by the Swamp Thing.  

Nothing against the classic main piece but the story that sparked the most discussion was Moore's teaming with artist Dave Gibbons ("Watchmen") on "For The Man Who Has Everything."

Superman is captured by alien super-baddie and wanna-be conqueror, Mongul and subjected to a plant-life that places its victim into an alternate life where they are content.  For Supes that lands him on a Krypton that was never destroyed and offers him a life as a family man.

You could imagine how messed up it would be to suddenly have a perfect life snatched away from you.

"Getting it and losing it is significantly worse than never having it at all," says Comic Club host Geoffrey Patterson Jr.

For me to read these stories and to place them in the hierarchy of my all-time Superman tales there has to be a few scenes or moments in the stories that rest in my mind's eye forever. 

I can honestly say Moore and company do a pretty good job of that in several parts of this collection but there were also some odd moments:

I know it's totally expected for Superman and Wonder Woman to hook up, but there was an awkward smooch moment between the two that made the Man of Steel come off a little smarmy.

So was this good enough to knock "All Star Superman" off the top of my list or make me forget the brain-melting beauty of Neal Adams' artwork on "Superman vs. Muhammad Ali?"

... I'll have to think about that. 



   




 

Did you watch "Dollhouse" last week?

No?  If you haven't then maybe you have good reason to be jaded, because the show produced by "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" creator Joss Whedon and starring Buffy-vet Eliza Dushku has not exactly knocked it out of the park.

But lately, the show has been terrific, especially last week's episode "Getting Closer."  I'm not going to spoil anything but check this recap out if you want more details.

The second to last episode of "Dollhouse" premieres 9 p.m. tonight on your local Fox station and I expect it to be as dramatic and thrilling as the last few episodes have been.

To their credit, Whedon and Dushku must have known that there was a strong possibility that "Dollhouse" would not be back for a third season and planned the direction of these final episodes accordingly. 

When "Dollhouse" began, the ongoing premise of the show followed the main character Echo (Dushku) who has her personality and memories altered to suit whatever mission or encounter she is dispatched to.  These one-shot episodes typically ended with her returning to her base personality but retaining some part of the new skills and memories she was artificially given.

The series didn't always stay that course or begin explaining the reasons why Echo could do this when most other "dolls" could not, but there seemed to be something really cool behind the curtain.  Especially with the super-intelligent "doll" sociopath "Alpha" lurking out there.

"Dollhouse" had a driving storyline in there somewhere but it didn't reveal itself soon enough for me to stay hooked.  Perhaps this is what Whedon was referring to in his recent interview with Comic Book Resources about the end of the series:

I just look back and go, 'I wish I had figured some things out a little earlier.' But that's all the time I have for regret. It is what it is."

Well, never mind how the show started, what's more important is how it finishes and "Dolhouse" looks like it's geared to go out like a champ.

The second to the last episode of "Dollhouse," "The Hollow Man" airs 9 p.m. tonight.

   

Fans of the Marvel Comics superhero the Black Panther have waited for more than two years to see the debut of the animated series featuring the voice talents of Djimon Hounsou and written by Reginald Hudlin. 

If they are from the land down under they will have to wait no longer than tomorrow (Saturday) evening at 8:15 p.m. to get their fix on ABC3, Marvel reports.

Episodes 1 and 2 of "Black Panther: The Animated Series" will air back-to-back.

The series is based on the "Who is the Black Panther" arc from the first six issues of writer Reginald Hudlin and artist John Romita Jr.'s run on "The Black Panther."

I mentioned this previously but the show is an animated story based on the art of John Romita Jr.  The long-time comic artist's actual drawings were animated to make up the screen story.

At last year's San Diego Comic-Con I watched several minutes of footage and the results are not unlike some recent motion comics that are becoming increasingly popular.  It has more in common with the work being done on Joss Whedon and John Cassaday's "Astonishing X-Men" than the stripped-down motion process artist Alex Maleev utilized on "Spider-Woman."

The biggest difference here is that "Panther" is appearing on the small screen before it gets to iTunes.

So when are American fans going to see the show on television in the States?  From what I understood of Hudlin's statements at the San Diego Con panels, "Panther" is supposed to appear on BET (Black Entertainment Television).

I haven't seen it listed yet, but I will post an update when I find out. 

There has been more work on the series since but the Youtube clip below is an example of the animation from Romita's work.

     

I have nothing to say, I'm too busy laughing.

"Hot Tub Time Machine" stars John Cusack, Craig Robinson (pictured above), Crispin Glover and Chevy Chase. "Tub" hits the screens March 19.

Thanks to Geoff Jr. for telling me about this trailer.

Actor Tobey Maguire has been in all three Spider-Man movies in the title role. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

DERRIK J. LANG
AP Entertainment Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Tobey Maguire's web-slinging days are behind him.

The 34-year-old actor and "Spider-Man" director Sam Raimi will not be returning to the superhero franchise next year. Instead, Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios announced Monday that a new "Spider-Man" film based on a script by James Vanderbilt that focuses on Peter Parker in high school would debut in the summer of 2012 with a new cast and filmmaking team.

"I am so proud of what we accomplished with the 'Spider-Man' franchise over the last decade," Maguire said in a statement Monday. "Beyond the films themselves, I have formed some deep and lasting friendships. I am excited to see the next chapter unfold in this incredible story."

The announcement of a reboot comes after reports that "Spider-Man 4" production stalled amid script revisions. The original "Spider-Man 4" release date seemed unlikely last week when Paramount Pictures announced that "Thor," another big-screen Marvel superhero adaptation, had hammered out the same May 6, 2011, release date as the fourth Spidey installment.

"Working on the 'Spider-Man' movies was the experience of a lifetime for me," Raimi, who directed all three "Spider-Man" films, also said in a statement Monday. "While we were looking forward to doing a fourth one together, the studio and Marvel have a unique opportunity to take the franchise in a new direction, and I know they will do a terrific job."

Maguire said in an interview last week that there was "great stuff in terms of story and script" for the fourth chapter and the plan was to still release the film in 2011. He also said he had specific ideas about the evolution of the character on the big screen.

"Thor" experienced its own upheaval over the weekend. Stuart Townsend departed the adaptation because of creative differences, according to two AP sources close to the production. Townsend, who had been cast as an ally of the Norse god, was replaced by Joshua Dallas.

The three "Spider-Man" films continually snared moviegoers, earning over $1.1 billion combined. After glowing reaction to the first two films, critical response to "Spider-Man 3" was so-so. Raimi said he was undecided about returning to the franchise after the third movie but later said he didn't like thinking about somebody else making the Peter Parker story.

Sony said it would have more news about the next "Spider-Man" movie in coming weeks.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- "Avatar" remains the top box-office draw for the fourth straight weekend with $48.5 million.

The science-fiction epic has rocketed past $400 million to become the No. 1 domestic hit for 2009.

James Cameron's tale of humans and aliens in conflict on a distant world climbed to $429 million domestically, putting it at No. 6 on the all-time box-office chart. Worldwide, "Avatar" has streaked to $1.34 billion, second on the global revenue chart only to Cameron's "Titanic," which took in $1.8 billion.

Among new movies, Ethan Hawke's vampire thriller "Daybreakers" opened at No. 4 with $15 million, Amy Adams' romance "Leap Year" finished sixth with $9.2 million and Michael Cera's teen comedy "Youth in Revolt" was No. 9 with $7 million.

ABOVE: the character Neytiri, voiced by Zoe Saldana, is shown in a scene from "Avatar."

Marvel released an image of the new Iron Man armor for the ongoing comic series designed by "Invincible Iron Man" writer Matt Fraction and Ryan Meinerding, a designer on the upcoming "Iron Man 2" and "Thor" films.

I think it's pretty cool but one fan comment referring to all the lights on the suit at Robot 6 did give me a laugh.

At least this new Iron man won't get lost in the dark, they joked.

Some were dissatisfied with how thin the suit looked compared to earlier models.

The obvious retort is that the more sophisticated technology becomes, the more streamlined it becomes.

If I bought a Mac mini today that thing would be twenty times more powerful than my bulky old desktop PC. Well, an 8-gig  iPhone would also be more powerful than my old computer.

Nevertheless, I'm sure there will be a proper explanation in the pages of "Invincible Iron Man" issue #25 for this taut version of the Iron-meister.  Check out the full story at Marvel.com and the image on the right -- see a larger image by clicking.

No, I didn't want to just write that headline, there's actually a trailer.

I've mentioned this film before. The flick directed by Matthew Vaughn ("Stardust") and based on the popular comic book series by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. was brought to life with funds the creators raised themselves before landing Lionsgate as a distributor.

And yes, you can even watch this trailer at the office.

In this film publicity image released by Lionsgate, Ethan Hawke, center, is shown in a scene from, "Daybreakers." (AP Photo/Lionsgate, Ben Rothstein)

DAVID GERMAIN
AP Movie Writer

The only lesson to take away from Ethan Hawke's horror-action tale "Daybreakers" is that vampires cannot run the world's affairs any better than we tasty humans can.

Set in 2019, "Daybreakers" is much like our world of today: Panhandlers begging for scraps, busy bees lining up for a morning rush-hour coffee jolt, precious resources dwindling and global calamity looming, corporate fleecers hoarding the best for themselves.

The differences are that the panhandlers are begging for blood, morning rush-hour comes at dusk, hemoglobin is the key coffee fix instead of caffeine, and the catastrophe in the making isn't climate change. It's the extinction of humanity, which means starvation for a society of vampires that's now at the top of the food chain.

The second movie from sibling writer-directors Peter and Michael Spierig, who cut their feature teeth on the zombie romp "Undead," ''Daybreakers" is another in a seemingly endless series of aren't-we-clever resurrections of the vampire genre.

There are more revisionist bloodsucker stories out there than you can shake a stake at nowadays, and they're getting tiresome.

At least vampire tales such as TV's "True Blood" or the movie thriller "Thirst" are playful and sexy, and stuff such as "Twilight" is fun to make fun of. But "Daybreakers" plays like a dirge, striking one long, monotonous note of gloom, a dramatic flatline that barely budges even during the movie's uninspired action-and-gore sequences.

The Spierigs lay out a hazy back story about how most of the world's population was transformed into vampires a decade earlier. It's referred to as kind of an epidemic, yet people somehow also had a say in whether or not they would "turn."

OK, whatever. Vampires are hip, so apparently you don't have to explain yourselves much to get your movie made.

Hawke stars as Edward Dalton, a bloodsucker who doesn't want to feed on humans, the noble, reluctant vampire sort that's becoming a stereotype (wasn't Buffy dating a broody vamp just like this 12 years ago or so?).

Dalton's a researcher for a vampire corporation racing to develop a substitute for human blood, which is running out because of all the hungry night creatures running around.

He falls in with a pack of humans that has found a way to change vampires back to friendly mortals. The gang's led by Claudia Karvan and Willem Dafoe, who has a real taste for vampire gigs, having starred in "Shadow of the Vampire" and appeared in last fall's "Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant."

The story pits Dalton against his evil boss (Sam Neill), who likes the rapacious vampire lifestyle and wants to maintain the status quo of this ultimate consumer culture.

Whatever commentary the Spierigs' intended on our own times is so empty they shouldn't have bothered.

You have to wonder why the actors bothered, too. The humdrum story is beneath them, and the ill-defined characters are stuck muttering rubbish such as, "We've been searching for vampires we can trust," or "Life's a bitch, and then you don't die."

The look of the film might be cool if its icy gray color palette hadn't been done much better in "The Matrix" or its retro 1930s fashions didn't look like "Blade Runner" hand-me-downs.

Even the farm system of keeping people alive as blood banks resembles the human batteries of "The Matrix."

Besides being overly derivative, "Daybreakers" already is a bit dated, citing the vampire outbreak that began in 2009. A lot went wrong last year, but at least we made it through 2009 without growing fangs.

"Daybreakers," a Lionsgate release, is rated R for strong bloody violence, language and brief nudity. Running time: 98 minutes. One and a half stars out of four.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.

There's plenty everyone needs to know about "Lost" before the premiere of the final season Feb. 2.  This video will obviously mean more to those who watch the show -- like me. Those of you who are not regular viewers shouldn't expect to jump right into "Lost" after seeing the above video clip by itself.

Some episodes from all seasons are available on iTunes and there are DVD sets too. 

However, there are those who still have no love for "Lost."

I had an argument recently with THE CONTRARIAN (a code name for one of my co-workers) who watched the show for three seasons and has not seen it since then. 

THE CONTRARIAN: "There's just too much to tie up, it makes no sense!  They haven't even explained the polar bears on the island!"

ME: "They have totally explained polar bears on the island.  How can you blast the show if you haven't been watching?"

What did I expect, he is The Contrarian.

Anyway, If you have not seen the show it is a tough one to figure out if you have not watched it from the start.  I will tell you that season five (last season) explains a lot of those loose ends that have confused some viewers.

So fans should check this video out, it's funny and it makes a few cool points about the possible direction of the show.  Especially as it applies to John Locke.

For me this is definitely a season pass show. "Lost" has a permanent home on my TIVO and takes up a lot of space, hopefully so much I won't have any room for another season of WIFE'S precious "Project Runway" (ugh!).

Organizers of last year's inaugural Long Beach Comic Con are returning to Long Beach for a 1-day Comic Expo in February at the Convention Center.

The Feb. 20 show will feature more than 40 exhibitors including local comic retailers and creators.  Among the guests are Aspen Entertainment artist J.T. Krul (Fathom) and Top Cow Entertainment writer Joshua Hale Fialkov (Cyblade, Pilot Season).

Mad Event Management president Martha Donato said the expo originated after several exhibitors suggested the idea of having another show after the New Year.

"A few of them said pretty casually 'wouldn't this be great if you could do it in the winter?'" said Donato, who launched the Long Beach Comic Con with Los Angeles-based business partner Phil Lawrence.

"It's very small and I think one of the biggest concerns I had about doing it was confusing people and letting them think this was the big three-day show because it's not even close," she said. "it's just a one-day thing."

Comic Expo 2010 is Feb. 20 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Promenade Ballroom. Tickets are $10 and are available online at www.shop.longbeachcomiccon.com or at participating local comic book stores. Children ages 10 and younger are admitted free.

The next three-day Long Beach Comic Con will be Oct. 29-31 at the Long Beach Convention Center.  For more information visit www.longbeachcomiccon.com.

Immortal cheerleader Claire Bennet runs into an old enemy in the "Heroes" episode "Upon This Rock."

If watching this season of "Heroes" makes you want to punch super villains on behalf of the characters take heart -- last night's two-hour episode block may provide some relief.

There were a few long-overdue action sequences that actually progressed the plot and this is welcome because the storytelling has been so inert it's frustrating.

All I'll say for now is that our super-cheerleader Claire actually did something and the big baddie this season, Samuel, finally faces off with over-used bad guy Sylar.

Catch the episodes "Upon This Rock" and "Let It Bleed" at the official NBC "Heroes" site.

If just watching "Heroes" makes you want to punch something other than fictional characters then don't watch next week and check out the new episode of "Fringe" that Fox is running against it at 9 p.m.