Imperial Forces - Troops Video

Stormtroopers are soooo cool!

HULK SMASH

Yesterday the new Marvel Comics movie, The Incredible Hulk opened. It is supposed to be better then the 2003 Hulk, which was considered a box office failure. I liked it but it's not one of my favorite Marvel Comic adaptations. This is generally what happens with origin stories (Spider-Man 1 is an exception).

The 2008 Hulk movie picks up where the previous on left off, with one noticeable difference...a new cast. Ed Norton plays Bruce Banner/Hulk, William Hurt as General Ross, and Liv Tyler as Betsy Ross, Bruce Banner/Hulk's love interest. New to the series is Tim Roth who plays a Special Forces soldier who turns into Hulk's arch-nemesis, Abomination.

Hulk was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and made his first appearance in May 1962. The character has appeared in a television series, with spin-off television movies, starring Bill Bixby as Dr. Banner and Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk; in animated series in 1966, 1982 and 1996.

In the first issue, the Hulk was gray. Writer and Marvel editor-in-chief Lee had wanted a color that did not suggest any particular ethnic group. Colorist, Stan Goldberg however, had problems with the gray coloring, resulting in different shades of gray, and even green, in the issue. Stan Lee picked the uncommon color, green. From issue #2 (July 1962) on, Goldberg colored the big brute's skin green.

Should be a good SCI-FI action flick.

"You're making me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."

Today in History - Star Wars: A New Hope Released

Space fantasy Star Wars opens on this day in 1977. The film became one of the most popular movies of all time, breaking box office records. Filmmaker George Lucas was nominated for Best Director and Best Screenwriter Oscars, and the film won seven Oscars for technical achievements and its musical score, written by John Williams.

I was six years old when I saw this movie. The entire Hopper Clan went stood in line for what seemed like hours at the Cooper 6, downtown Denver, CO. I remember sitting in the smoke (you could smoke in the movie theater at the time) filled balcony section of the theater. Stadium seating, surround sound, a "gi-normous" movie screen accompanied by pretty state-of-the-art special effects, cool plot, blasters, aliens, interstellar space travel via light speed, made this space opera come to life; a remarkable accomplishment

Thirty-one years later and I'm still a big fan (not withstanding the short comings) of the series.

CELEBRATING OVER THREE DECADES OF BRINGING ORDER TO THE GALAXY!

Saviors from Space

I'm a big SCI-FI geek and rarely miss an opportunity to catch the latest movie at the theater. Science fiction movies usually do pretty well at the box office. Probably the most noteworthy, oldie-but-goodie, is The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), adapted from the 1940 short story "Farewell to the Master" written by Harry Bates. Like so many movies of the era, their storylines were often set against the backdrop of the Cold War. The Day the Earth Stood Still is no exception. But there is another element that is often missed by moviegoers. There's a great deal of religion mixed in. Probably the most overt example can be found in the Star Wars movies and its use of the Force. George Lucas admitted that he "put the Force into the movie in order to try to awaken a certain kind of spirituality in young people. . . . I think there is a God. What that God is and what we know about God, I'm not sure."

There's a more subtle expression of religion in The Day the Earth Stood Still in addition to Klaatu's stated belief in "the Almighty Spirit":

Scriptwriter Edmund H. North transformed the alien emissary Klaatu into a Christ-figure, implying that extra-terrestrials would be the true saviors of mankind. He did this in a subtle manner, having Klaatu adopt the earth name Carpenter and through the alien’s death and resurrection. North considered it his "private little joke" hoping "the Christ comparison would be subliminal."

In your spare time, sit down to watch Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, and Billy Gray, who played "Bud" in Father Knows Best, and see how many New Testament, Christ-like allusions you can find in The Day the Earth Stood Still.