Recently I wrote my first piece for FiLife.com, a collaboration between the Wall Street Journal and IAC. The piece takes a look at how reality TV is being affected by the recession. From "Top Ramen Chef" to "Flip This Haunted House," the fall is going to be cheap and depressing, just like "The Jay Leno Hour."
Also for my AMC column, I counted down the best movies about comic book artists. You'll also find some of the worst movies on this subject as well, including the aforementioned "Cool World." Oddly, it's not the worst thing Gabriel Byrne's had his name attached to.
Fans of stupid movie villains (like Faye Dunaway's campy witch from Supergirl) and Megan Fox stalkers will want to check out my latest comic book movie columns for AMCTV.com First up, I look at the dumbest supervillains in comic book movie history. Poor noble Doctor Doom. He's only an almighty despot in the Marvel Comics universe. Three movies under his belt, and he's about as threatening as Snidely Whiplash.
Next up,comic book movie bad girls get their due as I separate the truly "bad girl" movies from the just plain bad movies. Seriously, Sheena is one of the greatest movies ever made. Where have you gone, Tanya Roberts?
As usual, check out my daily gossip and entertainment news roundups for AMC and AOL's Asylum.com. And should Faye Dunaway try to steal your Omegahedron, just distract her with a bright shiny object.
Last week I broke down the legal battle over Watchmen for fans. A couple days later, the lawsuit was resolved. Coincidence? I think not.
A few weeks ago, I shared my thoughts on the pros and cons of Frank Miller's ascendancy in Hollywood. Con: The Spirit. Pro: Moviegoers realize what comic book fans have known for years--that Miller has turned into a self-indulgent hack.
Finally, get your entertainment news every day with my daily round-up for AMC News. Cause lord knows there's a lack of snarky news on the Web.
The new Batman: Brave and the Bold cartoon premieres tonight. Could be fun, if for no other reason then it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. '60s style Batman fighting aliens with current Blue Beetle? I suppose. Not to mention it stars (I never thought I'd write these words) The Drew Carey Show's Diedrich Bader as The Caped Crusader!
Still, I gotta wonder...does this show mean anything at all to the youth of today? Sure, the recent Fisher-Price-esque Super Friends toy line introduced kids to the peppy, Dick Sprang-era Batman. But wouldn't they want a Batman who at least slightly resembles Christian Bale? From a brand management standpoint, I can't help but think that Warner Bros. would want to have a dark (at least in look) Batman toon on the air right about now. Dark Knight has only earned a billion dollars worldwide, in large part due to multiple viewings from kids and tweens.
Back in 1992, the groundbreaking (and still unsurpassed to this day) Batman: The Animated Series debuted a couple of months after Batman Returns, giving older and younger fans alike a Batman that was at least tonally similar to the one they saw in theaters. Seamless corporate synergy which resulted in the best animated Batman in the character's history.
That said, while this new show appears to be a blatant answer to the "Batman is too dark for kids" argument, it also looks like a lot of fun. And way more exciting than Clone Wars, a show which somehow manages to replicate the experience of watching paint dry while on Nyquil and being repeatedly hit over the head.
(An enterprising geek comments that I should have included V For Vendetta. Eh, I suppose. Does anyone even remember that movie? It was supposed to make this big statement, and then...nothing. The V masks turn up at Scientology protests, but that's about it. And Alan Moore hates it. Anyway, I discuss the terrible straight-to-video Captain America movie from the '90s in this column, the one starring J.D. Salinger's kid as the Star Spangled Avenger and Ned Beatty as his intrepid sidekick.)
For the record, I'm a fan of Millar, even though he shoots off his mouth a bit too much. His run on Ultimates is great, and Kick-Ass is a lot of fun so far. Marvel 1985 was a bit of a letdown, despite the fantastic art. Still, he needs to cool it with the Superman movie talk. It ain't gonna happen, Mark.
Writer for places like HBO, AMC, WE, The Onion, Fuse TV, AOL and more. Currently, I write a weekly column on comic book movies for AMCTV.com. Videos on this page have been featured on such places as Defamer, The NY Times Screens blog, EW.com, Funny Or Die, College Humor and MSNBC. Contact me at nick [dot] nadel [at] gmail [dot] com. Also visit http://nicknadel.tumblr.com
Recently I wrote my first piece for FiLife.com, a collaboration between the Wall Street Journal and IAC. The piece takes a look at how reality TV is being affected by the recession. From "Top Ramen Chef" to "Flip This Haunted House," the fall is going to be cheap and depressing, just like "The Jay Leno Hour."
