Movie Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Avast me maties!

So, the question is: Does Pirates 4 sink or swim? I'd say it manages to stay afloat, but misses catching full wind in it's sails. To be more specific, the film is as are all of the Pirates films in my opinion, a fun ride. On the other hand, I can't say that it manages to tread any new ground or breathe new life into the series. As much as I love Depp's Sparrow, the film never seems to quite hit it's stride. Sure, there are some cool action sequences - most noteably the mermaid scene - but there's something missing. Call it heart, call it the x-factor, whatever it is, it's just not quite there. Depp is in fine form as Jack Sparrow once again, along with Kevin Mcnalley as Gibbs and an always stellar Geoffry Rush as Barbosa. But the new comers fail to impress. Penelope Cruz is ok at best, while Blackbeard (Ian McShance) is cool, but just not quite villain enough to be formidable. The most forgettable in the film are the dull pair of Phillip and Syreena...(notice I didn't bother looking the actors' names up) By the time they mysteriously exited the film, so did my memory of their ever having been in it. Those gripes aside, as I said the film is a fun ride. There are some fun action sequences along with ever-stunning visuals of gorgeous locals none of us are likely to see any time soon. The cinematography is in good form, although I will say certain action scenes seemed to be cut a bit slowly for my tastes. As far as the ending creating room for sequels... It does... I guess. I suppose from a certain perspective there are some loose threads left open, but none of them are pressing enough to leave you wanting for more. In fact, I thought the story tied itself together rather cleanly and could just as easily be let alone for good. I liked it, I didn't love it. I'm sure that in the end the box office results will determine Captain Jack's next heading, I'm just not sure if I'll be aboard that particular ship.

BOTTOM LINE: 6.5/10

Movie Review: Thor

THOR - I'll admit it was about a week ago that I saw the film, but I think that has helped to give me some perspective on its lasting effect for me. That said, here's the breakdown on my review of Thor.

STORY: The story was pretty solid combining several versions of Thor's mythology according to Marvel. The characters felt authentic, and the meshing of the two worlds (Asgard and Earth) seemed to clash much less than I would have expected. As one might have guessed, however, its a tough task to take something as wildly fantastic as Thor's world, and prevent it from seeming cartoony or ridiculous. Fortunately, I felt it was handled pretty well. While at times characters seem to be far less affected by encountering gods than one might expect, I can't say I much cared. I was pleasantly distracted by the themes of the story, and how they played out on screen.

PRESENTATION: The visuals of Asgard and its counterparts were truly epic. I still can't get over how realistic CG environments are becoming. I truly felt like I was in the spaces they imagined. The costumes were also equally epic. I can't say however that they felt natural outside of Asgard. While the brilliant color palette of Thor's costume worked well against others in his world, when he was on Earth the outfit seemed to stick out like a sore thumb. I'll say that this was certainly a tough challenge for the filmmakers: to create an authentic fan pleasing costume and still have it fit into a realistic modern earthen setting. All qualms aside it plays out very well, but I did sometimes find myself distracted by the crayola reds and blue against the more subtle complex sepia tone of the desert backdrop.

ACTING: I found the acting in Thor to be one of the most pleasant surprises. Chris Hemsworth (who I've never, ever heard of) carries himself with a sly wit and charm befitting of a fallen god. Equally impressive is Tom Hiddleston as Loki. He had all of the whiny angry child angst and lust for revenge one could want from a slighted younger brother god-type guy. I will say that oddly enough performances from the vets like Anthony Hopkins (Odin) and Natalie Portman (Jane Foster) seemed rather subdued. I'm not sure if this was to allow the newcomers to take center stage, or a lack of meaningful scenes. Either way I never found myself cringing about lame one-liners or ridiculous leaps of logic more than once or twice.

OVERAL: 7.5 / 10 - I'm being a bit harsh here, but I think that while Thor has some impressive substance and action, it falls just short of transcending its genre. This wouldn't matter as much had we not already been blessed with the likes of Nolan's The Dark Knight. Unfortunately the bar has been set pretty high. That said, Batman is inherently set it the real world with no godly powers or wild outfits (save one), and Thor comes impressively close to being a great movie, given that it encompasses such fantastical characters and visuals. It could have easily been a cheesefest, and yet was not. I'd say, mission accomplished.

Get Over Here!

Hey peoples!

It's been a little while since I posted I know, but here I am! And with me is my friend from Mortal Kombat, Scorpion! As you may know the latest installment of MK came out about a little over a week ago. I thought it would be fun to do a piece inspired by the game and put it up. I really tried my hardest to make the multiple light sources work. I think I did a pretty decent job.

In Air-Hear news, I haven't made a whole ton of progress. Maybe a page or so since my last post. I've been very busy with work and I still haven't quite found my working pace yet. Either way I'm still chugging. Well that's about all for now, hope you enjoy Scorpion, more to come next week!

Catching Up

So, I'm finally getting to the point in my new job where I've figured out a work schedule for my drawing. It's still coming along a little bit slower than I'd like, but I have to get into the rythym of it. I've still got about twelve pages to go on the current story, but I've given myself until the end of April to finish it. So I've still got plenty of time.

In the spirit of catching up, and making up for the lack of posts, I'm planning a few extra posts next week. I'm not sure what I'll put up, but it'll be something fun. Stop in next week to check it out!

Slow On Art!

Heya folks! First of all, sorry I didn't post last week. I've been pretty busy getting this started at my new job. I haven't really had the drawing bug in a few days because my mind has been elsewhere. Even this image is something I did a while back. I was trying hard to make it look like a random blob, that later turns out to be batman! If I fooled you, cool! I haven't made much progress on Air-Heart this last week, but I'll get back on track in no time. Its just a matter of getting used to my new schedule. Here's hoping that by next week I'm back to getting some pages done!

Dance Fighter

So its time for another post! This week's image is of a friend of mine who had a special request to have a superhero designed around her. She gave me a few reference photos and this is where we wound up! I was inspired by her background in belly dancing, and that was how the costume developed. I think it creates a pretty cool look, and it would look cool in action with all of the flowing parts; the sash, and the loose fitted pant legs.

In Air-Heart news, I'm still hard at work but I've been preoccupied with some other stuff, so its been coming along a little bit slower than I'd like, but it will be done no matter what! That's all for this week, more next time!

Smokey-Joe

Hola peoples!

Another week, another post. This time its Smokey-Joe. I wanted to do something a little different, so I went for a Noir Detective feel. I'm not exactly sure what inspired it, that was just the mood I was in. Joe was made possible by, pencil, ball-point pen, sharpie, a brush pen, and that magical thing they call Photoshop. Joe originally had some finer linework, but as I started in with the brush pen, I ditched it. I just liked the look of the heavier lines so much better. I felt like that was much more appropriate for this particular piece. I also really felt like it needed something a little extra, hence the grainy feel. I think it helps to add a certain mood and character to the piece.

As far as Air-Heart is concerned, I'm coming along slowly but surely on the second book. I've been busy applying to some jobs, so I haven't had quite as much time to concentrate on drawing as I'd like. Either way it'll all get done on schedule, heck I've given myself until the end of March to get this next story done - so there's plenty of time. Well, that's all for now folks, see you next time!

Pedro Rises

Heya peoples!

This week I'm featuring Pedro. Who is he? I have no idea, just a character design I was fooling around with. In the last five years or so I've really gotten interested in westerns, so I've been wanting to do an old west themed character. I originally did this in full color but I didn't like the feel of it so I wound up with the sepia tone version. From there, the torn paper feel just seemed like the next logical step. Anyways I hope you dig my man Pedro. I might use him again in the future.

In Air-Heart news, I've been hard at work on the next story. I've made some good progress and I'm inking pages. The next story will be taking our heroes under the seas where unexpected adventure awaits! It turned out to be a pretty cool story and I really like how the character designs turned out. When I have some more finished work, I'll be sure to post a preview.

That's all for now kiddies! Enjoy your weekend.

KABOOM!

Just a quick update today - I've been working on some side projects lately, so I haven't been as steady about my posting schedule. I've been working on a bunch of things including the second Air-Heart book. I'm on the first story and working through the thumbnails. As much as I'd love to tell you about some of my other side projects I can't really go into until I know they're locked in.

In the mean time I thought that Amelia could regale you with her jumping away from an explosion. I thought it would be fun to do something with a nice burst of color. That's it for today, hopefully next week I will have more news!

Air-Heart: Taking Flight NOW ON SALE!!!

Ladies and gentlemen the time has finally come, Air-Heart: Taking Flight is now on sale. The book is 90 pages, and only $9.99! You can order your copy HERE There will also be a permanent link on the right side of the blog. If you've been waiting for a chance to grab a copy, now's the time.

I'm super excited that the first book is finally complete. I can't wait to hear how people enjoy it. If you grab a copy, be sure to share your comments with me. Its been a real journey putting this book together, but the journey has only just begun - The next book is already underway! Order up, and happy reading Pilots!