Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’d know there is a war on (and no, I’m not talking about the one over in the Middle East). It’s the war being waged between the high-definition DVD formats: Blu-Ray versus HD-DVD.

I’ve been reading in the media that Blu-Ray is winning the war, but that isn’t what I am here to inform you about. What I am here to inform you about is actually good news for the HD-DVD owners/supporters. Now, we’ve seen movies that have not been exclusive to either format, but for those that are, either side is cursing the other for not having the movie they want.

For instance, I’m sure John is ticked about Transformers not being on Blu-Ray while I am peeved about the Spider-man, X-men, and Fantastic Four movies not being on HD-DVD. This battle is being waged in the U.S., but for HD-DVD owners rejoice!!! I have discovered a loophole. It seems in foreign lands such as Germany, you can buy such movies like Fantastic Four 1 and 2 in HD-DVD format and they are region free (for the non-techies, that means they will work on any HD-DVD player).

You might have to put up with foreign writing on the box and cancel the foreign subtitles during play, but it’s a small price to pay for high definition goodness. It doesn’t stop there of course; other Blu-Ray exclusive movies are out in HD-DVD format overseas. Check out your favorite Internet DVD stores to find out what is available. I can give you the site where I found Fantastic Four 2 on HD-DVD (drop me a line and I’ll pass on the link). I didn’t check if it went the other way (HD-DVD on Blu-Ray overseas) for the sole reason I don’t really care; I own an HD-DVD player.

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This week doesn’t seem too bad for movies. I’m looking forward to seeing Day Watch and Spider-Man 3. There’s some other fluff in there too, that I’m sure I’ll get around to eventually.

• Avatar, The Last Airbender: Book 3 Fire, Volume 1
• Captivity
• CSI: Miami - The Fifth Season
• Day Watch
• El Cantante
• In the Land of Women
• License to Wed
• Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 5
• My So-Called Life: The Complete Series
• October Road: The Complete First Season
• Scrubs: The Complete Sixth Season
• Spider-Man 3
• Talk to Me
• The Wendell Baker Story

VideoETA

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Comic book fans will agree that the artwork within comic books, varying on the story and character(s), needs to be something special. Whether it’s the classic look from Jack Kirby, the He-Man look from Jim Lee, the eccentric look from Todd McFarlane, the gritty look from Frank Miller, or the life-like painted look from Alex Ross the artwork is one of the main reasons most comic book fans prefer this style of story telling to regular text novels (that and perhaps laziness).One thing constant within the majority of comic books, mainly super hero / sci-fi / fantasy based comic books, are the fight scenes. Normally, it isn’t long before the panels display a fight scene and it’s probably 80% (if not more) of the comic book. With the traditional format of comic books being out for almost 80+ years now, we’ve had time to perfect the fight scenes within comic books. From the cartoon-ish under developed swinging blow of Dick Tracy to the over the top crushing blow of Jim Lee’s Batman run, we’ve seen the evolution of comic book fight scenes come a long way.

That stated; comic book enthusiasts expect a lot from the films that adapt their beloved comic books into live action major motion pictures. I hear and read lots about how as long as they get the feel or theme right, fans are satisfied. Bull crap! The true fans want to see the good smack downs just as much as the theme or feel.

Few movies have nailed it. When I mean “it,” I mean the pulse pounding scenes I see the comic versions are presenting. Why haven’t they nailed “it” yet? In the past the scenes and shots displayed in the comic books are probably too expensive to translate it over OR they just can’t figure it out.

But what constitutes a good fight scene in general within a movie? Outside of comic book movies, tons of movies have them, but how come few comic book movies have them? A good fight scene, in my mind, has (a) believable weight and physics, (b) hard and heavy hits, and (c) having the reaction of the audiences yelling out “damn, did you see that?” Or a simple “Wow!”

First (A) believable weight and physics: not that it has to be a real looking fight, but that it has to look believable, is what I am asking. A guy jumping around like Spider-man looks fun, but if you can see that it is a fake CGI figure, then it is ruined. A super hero like Spider-man should be able to move like he does, but when stops short after from jumping across the room to upper punching a villain, we should witness two things: we should see his knee and body hitting the ground with tremendous force (knees pounding to the point any normal man’s joint would burst from the impact) and then the actual hit to the villain should display a clear punch (let’s say) to his jaw breaking or at least deforming his jaw in a way that let’s us know Spider-man actually made a powerful smack to the bad guy. Wire works can’t really do it because you can tell he’s being pulled around and CGI can’t always do it right because, well, it looks fake a lot of times.

Second (B) hard and heavy hits: as explained above with the example of Spider-man hitting the villain, it not only has to be believable, but it looks like it has to hurt and the person receiving the blow should react in way a powerful hit like that should deliver. I think movie makers should create life-sized rag dolls resembling a normal human, stand them up, and have a person swing a sledge hammer at the doll’s head to see the effect a true super hero punch would deliver.

Finally (C) the wow factor: simplistic explanation and expectations. If we actually say wow, damn, or holy s#it during the film, movie makers got it right.

So, after all of that, my pick for top 5 best fight scenes within a comic book adapted feature film are (in ranking order):

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This is, in my completely unprofessional (you have to be paid to be a professional!) opinion are the best Movie Series ever.

Since this ended up being such a long blog, I thought I would break it up. Today are numbers 10 through 6.

What do you think? There are plenty more great movies out there, many of which I have completely forgotten about or simply didn’t have enough room for. Leave a comment below. I’d love to hear what you think!

10 Star Trek: I would have to say that this set of movies consists of some of the best, and also some of the worst movies I’ve seen. It’s true: the even movies are much stronger than the odd movies. The worst, by far are the first and fifth movies. I think the Geneva conventions would frown upon anyone showing those two pieces of drek to prisoners of war.

The even movies are generally the best. Of course, The Wrath of Kahn is a favorite among most Trekies. However, my favorites are the Voyage Home (IV), and The Undiscovered County (VI).

The even movies aren’t all top tier, however. I would have to say the lowest of the low points was the set-up and subsequent death of Data, which occurred in the most recent film, an even numbered entry. Ho Hum… talk about a yawner.
Oh, and of course pretty much all of the aforementioned Star Trek V. Boy, that one sure was a dog turd.

I still remember the special thrill I felt when I saw a trailer for a new Star Trek movie. Even the trailers were often better than the movies they preceded.

What I learned from these movies: A) When faced with a task at work, always overestimate wildly the time it will take to finish it. B) “I always set my phaser to stun,” really isn’t all that good of a pickup line.

9) Pirates of The Caribbean: OK, I admit it. I am a sucker for silly spectacle. While I was really disappointed in the Third movie, I definitely would like to see it again, if only for the dream sequence. These movies have a lot of things going for them, and mostly those things have the faces of dead presidents on them. Yes, I am talking about boatloads, and I mean boatloads of money, which is what this trilogy made. And while yes, this trilogy was ultimately an empty one, it started a lot of stars on their way upward, and cemented Johnny Depp as being one weird, talented dude. Not bad for a concept that got its start as a ride.

There is even word of not one, but several more Pirates movies on the way. Avast!

What I learned from these movies: A) Never ever trust a pirate. Duh! B) Never make deals with the East India Trading Company. C) Pirates generally have one or more of the following: sharp knives, haunted gold, rotten teeth, and killer body odor.

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This looks just as good as the animated Batman and Superman shows that have been one for some time. Spider-Man is really an old favorite of mine from the old days.

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Diracter Sam Raimi is stating that in the next Spider-Man movie he’d like to have a whole team of villans fighting Spider-Man. He recently made some comments about the idea and he mentioned the Sinister Six.

As Raimi sees the next installment, according to MTV: “I would love to see Electro, Vulture, maybe the Sinister Six as a team.” Now, I’m completely Spidey-dumb beyond the originals, but luckily, the Internet provides quick geek research. The original Sinister Six was a collection of supervillains brought together by Doc Ock to bring Spider-Man down. He collected: the Vulture, Electro, Kraven the Hunter, Mysterio and Sandman. So, that means bringing two of the villains back for more, and adding a ton of new ones as well. (Or, any one of the other incarnates of the group.) And that, frankly, seems a bit rash. After all of the feedback saying that 3 villains was a bit much for one film, he wants to double it? Maybe in a few films, after introducing the other evil characters, but why the over-kill? But that’s not all - Raimi is also anxious to see Dr. Curt Connors get his time as The Lizard: “I love Dylan Baker as a person, and I really like the character he is developing.” So, that means dipping into The Sinister Twelve. Oh, the villains never end.

Cinematical

That sounds simply crazy. Didn’t everyone say the third movie was just too cluttered? It’s hard to imagine having even more onscreen, althoug from a fanboy perspective it does sound cool. Hopefully all the actors will return for their roles too.

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