Thor: God of Thunder Review

The story in Thor: God of Thunder is a tale of great proportions that spans the eons of Thor’s immortal life.  The comic takes place in three parts of Thor’s life and it slow unravels as it jumps from each time period of his life.  There is a young Thor who travels across Midgard with his band of Vikings fighting battles, feasting, drinking mead, and boasting about the women he has been with.  The pinnacle of what a true Viking is perceived to be.  Then there is Thor as we know him, one who has learnt humility and is worthy of Mjolnir’s power, an avenger. Finally, Thor King of a ruined Asgard who feels he is unfit to be king.

The three eras of Thor’s life are distinct but share the same brilliant art style of subdued colors of a dreary Scandinavia setting.  Scenes of the rolling country side or cold wintery landscapes are cover by a misty fog that hides what is lurking just beyond sight.  The art and coloring really setup the atmosphere, in a dark cave a torch brilliantly lights the faces and surroundings in a warm orange glow.  The battles between Thor and the main villain (who I will get into more), are wrought with blood splatter and electricity.  Thor: God of Thunder is not like the one we see in the Avengers he is an immortal Viking and the art direction of the comics fit that well.

The villain of this tale is certainly one who will be remembered.  The creature’s name is Gorr the God Butcher and Thor has been battling him for a few millennia.  A young Thor gives battle with Gorr and nearly escapes with his life on a few occasions.  Present day Thor investigates the whereabouts of Gorr and his motives on his rampage to kill all the immortals that inhabit the universe.  While Thor King of Asgard sits on his throne as the last immortal waiting for a final battle to die a Viking warrior’s death.

Each issue reveals more about Gorr the God Butcher and the conflict between him and Thor.  In the latest issue you find out Gorr’s motives or at least his initial reasoning behind kill the gods.  By the end of fifth issue you realize that this is just the beginning of one of Thor’s newest and maybe his greatest threat.

I highly recomend this series as a regular read.  I would give it a 4.5 out of 5. -Matt

a good day to die hard

a good day to die hard
Let me first off say that I was the target audience for this movie, I loved the originals, and when I found out this movie was coming out I walked around with a rod waiting for it to finally be released into theaters. I was also late to the party with this series of movies, I didn't start off with the original die hard, I started off with "Live Free or Die Hard" and then was obsessed and went back to the previous movies. The thing I find most appealing about these movies is the fact that the protagonist, John McClane is a ordinary man who keeps getting put into extraordinary situations. They have a certain over the top realism where the events that happen in the movie are believable in that universe. I will forever love these movies and put myself in the position of the immortal John McClane every time I re-watch them. ...that being said, after its a good day to die hard, i feel that this franchise has ran its course and thus should stop before it makes a spectacle of itself like the jaws franchise.

Before I get started I would like to say that I will be talking about several plot points and events in the movie from here on out so this article is no longer safe to read if you plan on seeing the movie. *********SPOILER***********

Throughout the story it seems pretty typical, John McClain it turns out is seeking his son who through Intel you find out is in Russia and has quite the wrap sheet. he has been arrested on murder charges and is being taken to trial, so of course John McClane must go to Russia to try and help the son he neglected and didn't love enough. In Russia John goes to the court house his son is being tried at and you are taken through a pretty spectacular prison break scene. But than this movie loses me, McClane runs into his son thwarting his seeming prison break. after a pretty spectacular, and unrealistic car chase, id like to say while its very entertaining it was very far fetched even for action movie standards. He rams a jeep into a large military vehicle cause it problems, it looks to be about the size of a jeep liberty and somehow he's ramming it into things cause very little damage to himself or the jeep. He gets to his sons safe house and you find out his son is a spy......this is where you lose the idea that this is an everyday man dealing with a extraordinary situation, it becomes the "Bourne identity" with his sidekick John McClain. its almost on the same level as "Indiana Jones
and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". this is when my idol becomes a bumbling idiot to his son who he gives little pieces of advice in order to help convince him to complete his mission which is also like Indiana Jones and the last crusade but somehow John McClane has turned into Sean Connery. For some reason they've also decided to overuse the phrases "I'm on vacation" as well as "Jesus Christ". They also throw two unnecessary and rather predictable "twists" which to be honest as far as I can see render the villain referred to as "the dancer" completely unnecessary. The action at the end of the movie while very good comes to late and tries to make up for to many problems the movie has in itself ruining the reputation it has built up for itself over the past many years.
********************END SPOILER************************

So after all this and a great love I have built up for this series, I would like to see them lay John McClane and the "Die Hard" name to rest. I just don't see them being able to pull out of this tailspin the movie is now taking and while it is possible, I'm now of the opinion of "why risk it?". Why would we want another beloved franchise to be ruined the way that Jaws, Star Wars, Alien, or Indiana Jones was? maybe a reboot a decade away and possible taking the road that "DREDD" has but at the same time I don't see there being a John McClain that isn't Bruce Willis he has made that character a icon and beloved hero to many of people in my generation.  I mean really we all remember the first time we met john McClane, when argyle picked him up from the plane. yes that is the first line from "die hard" by Guyz Night.
-Mike
let us remember the good times!

Coheed and Cambria-The Afterman: Descension

I will start this off by saying I'm a huge fan of concept albums and progressive rock, so of course Coheed and Cambria is like a giant wet dream for me. This year marked the release of the second half of the Afterman two part album by Coheed and Cambria. While in 2012 they released The Afterman: Ascension part 1 they followed it up with Descension to continue the story in the world created by Claudio Sanchez.

For a little background Coheed and Cambria has recorded 7 Albums to date, and each album is a concept album based on a Science Fiction story created by singer/guitarist Claudio Sanchez. The first five follow the characters of Coheed and Cambria along with their son Claudio. The Afterman follows a different storyline with in the Amory Wars. Not included in this Claudio's solo project The Prize Fighter Inferno, following the same story from a different perspective.

To be honest you really don't need to know all of this to enjoy Coheed and Cambria's Music, but I have enjoyed reading the books and if you like graphic novels I suggest looking into them.

The Afterman: Descension has been one of my favorite albums by Coheed and Cambria, right next to In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth III. As with all albums this band has made, they do a very good job of mixing different styles of music and tempos very quickly. They have also had a repeating pattern of mixing violent topics with poppy and catchy choruses that get stuck in your head, along with constant "oh oh's" from the singer Claudio. The album starts off as the prior 6 have with an opening track containing some sort of ominous tone and a message to set the mood of the album. unlike they prior 6 this one also start the album off with singing. The second track of this album starts off with a heavier song a lot like Ascension did and it really grabbed my attention as having the same styles as their first 3 albums. The rest of songs take you on a ride mixing a little bit of everything they have experimented with in the last 6 albums as well as mixing in some new styles of music with it. while the end isn't nearly as grand as In Keeping Secret of Silent Earth III or Good Apollo I'm Burning Star number IV, it fit great and left me satisfied with the record overall.

 Descension has a very good flow to it and it makes it very easy to listen to. so much so it has replaced the rest of them in my car since it came out. I have heard Claudio's voice described as on of the most polarizing voices in progressive rock, and while at first that seems dumb I have constantly had to try and fight to get people to listen to them because they don't like Claudio's voice. I will say at first it took some time to grow on me I now love it and find it fits perfectly with this band. If you like Coheed and Cambria you will love this album, however if you don't, this is not a bad album to start on. You don't necessarily need to start off with the first one to follow with the story and if I could give any advice it would be listen to this once and wait a little while and pick it up again. I will give this album 4/5 and it will sit high on my list of favorite albums.