DC Gives First Look at Justice League, Shows Little of Note (Has This Fanboy Exited None the Less)

Exactly 6 hours ago, this Facebook page has uploaded the following picture:

Warner has, via comicbook.com, verified this to be the real deal.
Here's a closer look at the group. I also tweaked the exposure values and colours a bit for better viewing:

You might notice that Green Lantern is missing. Fret not however, because this is not the complete group. How do I know? Because this picture...

...says 'Unite the SEVEN', not six. Meaning that there is still one person missing from the current line-up. I'm willig to bet my foot that Hal Jordan is that person. Hey, now that I've got that Jason Momoa picture up anyway, let's compare.

The painting makes him look fat, or stocky at least, and it doesn't really tell us anything we didn't already know. Apart maybe from the fact that this image seems to contain more of the classic Aquaman colour scheme. There isn't much green and orange to be found in the photograph but in this new image they're there. Kind of. We do have a full view of the non-trident (pentadent?) for the first time, so there's that.

On to Cyborg:

Who basically just looks exactly like Cyborg. Which is awesome, but it doesn't give me much to talk about. Although there is the lack of the red glow thing on his eye, what's up with that? I dunno, maybe it's just the low quality of the picture (whose bright idea was it to debut this picture on Facebook anyway?).

We're skipping the trinity in this analysis (yeah, I know I'm stretching by calling it that) because we've already seen them in much greater detail elsewhere. That leaves us with the Flash.

The chest emblem is all wrong. That's going to bug me the entire time if they don't fix it in time for the Justice League film. I can live with the fact that it only has one zig zag (even though two clearly looks better), the Bruce Timm design had that too. It can work. But the bolt is facing the wrong way! Why? WHY?! And there seems to be no circle underneath it at all! None! What the hell man?! What is the point of that?! Fix it, fix it, fix it!

It's hard to tell what the actor's exact body type is since part of it is obscured by Wonder Woman's shield, but it looks bulkier than its more slender comic book counterpart. The suit looks more like armor than just cloth and those things on the side of his head are nearly invisible.

So, to sum up the initial look at the Justice League, it looks cool enough overall, but the Flash needs work.

Examening DCCU's Wonder Woman logo

This, for all five of you who don't already know, is Wonder Woman's usual logo:

DC Comics

Pretty rad, right? The wings make it look like something you could pin on a leather jacket. Timeless, simple, easily recognizable, classic.

With such an iconic logo, the wait to see what others might do with it is always a bit tensive. Well, if you share my interest in both superheroes and logos at least. Here's a logo that did its rounds on certain websites (I won't name any names) as Wonder Woman's logo in the DC Cinematic Universe:

Rainfall Films

However, this logo turned out to be completely fan made. For this fan short, to be precise. I'm still showing it because it's a cool logo. The eagle that was originally shown on Wonder Woman's chest emblem is craftily merged with the W's while the long wingspan of the eagle gives it a sense of authority.

This is what Warner's graphic department actually came up with (sorry for the poor quality, will replace with hi-res version as soon as I menage to actually find one):

Warner Brothers, DC Comics

Well, it's not terrible. It's definitely Wonder Woman -esque and it rightfully banks on the recognizability of the original. It also incorporates the eagle, which is nice. It's not exactly perfect either though. It looks overly complicated (too layered) in my opinion and the wings looks awkwardly short, making the logo needlessly buff.
It does have one major upside: it looks awesome as all hell in stencil form:

Warner Brothers, DC Comics

Granted, the graphic designer behind this poster wisely simplified the outline a bit (notice for example how nothing is cutting through the gap between the W's ). But still, if this is what we're to expect from the promotional material around Wonder Woman in the DCCU, I think we're fine.

Goddamn that poster is cool.

Sleep Paralysis, What I Saw

Fritz Schwimbeck - My Dream, My Bad Dream. 1915

The first night of the year draws to a close as I'm writing this. It's five thirty. My attempt at sleeping began with short bursts of deep sleep, bringing me in a profoundly confused state. The lack of control is making me anxious, a grim atmosphere hangs over the night. I had gotten into bed only hours after getting out of it. It's one of those periods. This night I experienced something that, although I lack any formal expertise, I can safely assume was a case of sleep paralysis.

I awoke to the sight of a head laying on the pillow next to me, about a foot away. No body, just the head. Frightened, my instinct was to jump up. But I could not move, not even an inch. The head was wearing a ancient looking black mask with white detailing. It was alive. Staring at me, grinning. His mouth and eyes with tiny pupils seemed almost luminous as they pierced through the mask. I could close my eyes but it was of no use, as I kept seeing him when I did. I sensed a presence behind me. I tried to turn around but was still completely paralyzed. They started a conversation in a language unknown to me. The tall figure behind me was at first only visible from the corner of my eye as a black blur. Then he slowly came closer and closer as my heart felt like it was clutched in a fist. He bend over and although still silhouetted, I could now see the outlines of his extravagant getup. Horns, high and pointy collar, sharp shoulders. At this point the face I was still forced to look at started pouring bright red, somewhat bubbly blood from his eyes and mouth. It was thick as honey, yet flowing fast. Covering the bed in blood. He let out a heartily laugh which, I assume because of the blood, had a pronounced gurgle to it. The tall apparition then started to lay on me. His arm and legs winding around me like snakes. He then bled from his entire body, quite like squishing a wet sponge, as he spoke directly into my ear. I could feel his blood on my face and his breath in my ear, it was a burning sensation. Both laughed as they disappeared and I regained my ability to move.

Although I had already told myself that there is a perfectly logical explanation for all this, the whole ordeal had me taken aback a bit none the less. Regaining calmth was not impossible however and I fell into a sleep once more. My rush to sleep might have been a mistake as I immediately had a nightmare. Nightmares may be a tad more conventional than the previous experience, it was highly unsettling none the less. Its theme seemed to be the darkest sides of human nature. I will spare you the details but it included cannibalism on living people and the torture of children.

Five thirty-six, as I am writing the notes that would become this post, I am hearing noises in my bedroom. They are close and seem to be related to the sleep paralysis episode. Firstly, there is a rhythmic rattle that reminds me of a shaman beating his staff on the ground. The same kind of shaman that would wear the kind of mask I saw before me moments ago. A bit farther away there is the distinct sound of someone speaking in the same language as the two apparitions.

Six fifteen. All seems normal.

Six thirty-two. Although my presence is needed tonight and I haven't had a great many hours of sleep, I find it quite difficult to trust myself to the sandman again. My eyes are heavy when I write, but there is unrest in my mind. Oh well, on to breakfast then.

(I realize this post might have gotten a bit dark. To compensate, a drawing of a cat will be placed here shortly)

John Bradbury Third Music Icon to Die This Month

What kind of a sick joke is this, death? Why is it that you have taken three beloved figures of music from us within the span of a month? John Bradbury was the drummer for the seminal ska band The Specials. Or, more precisely put, The Special AKA, as The Specials were also known after the split of '81. Internationally, the band in this formation is probably best known for their 1984 hit Nelson Mandela (also known as Free Nelson Mandela).

John "Brad" Bradbury 

16 February 1953 – 28 December 2015

Lemmy Killed by Death

Lemmy the Indestructible has fallen. The one guy everyone assumed would survive a nuclear blast has died last Monday. Fucking cancer, bloody shame. I don't know what you guys are doing this weekend, but I'm bringing the whiskey and coke. And coke.

Lemmy Kilmister

24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015

Scott Weiland

On the third of this month, Scott Weiland had died. I meant to write something, but what? That we all saw it coming? Of course we did -we all did. So did he. For some reason that never seems to help though. Some people just seem to be rockets blasting through life until the inevitable destruction at the end of it. It's a shame, but thus seems to be the way rock 'n' roll demands life to be at times.

Scott Richard Weiland

October 27, 1967 – December 3, 2015

Ultraviolet (2006), Some Bullet Point Observations.

I recently sat down to watch Ultraviolet, a film I probably haven't seen since somewhere in the 2000s. Here are some things I noticed, they might help you decide if this is the movie for you.

• I'm all for distinctive looking films. Ultraviolet however often crosses the line into cheap and campy looking. The constant soft focus in particular can be tiresome.

• The music is pretty cool, albeit exactly what you'd expect from this type of film. Look at the poster. Now imagine the soundtrack. You are now listening to the actual soundtrack in your head.

• The fights are pretty well choreographed overall, but the editing might be getting a bit too chaotic in some of these scenes.

• The plot sometimes hinges on the main characters making irrational decisions.

• It presents some pretty innovative technology, making the film deserving of the sci-fi moniker.

• The one-liners are fun.

• People never suspect that objects or other people might be holograms in a world where holograms are abundant.

• Take note Stephenie Meyer, this is how you modernize vampires.

• There are two twists in the climax. One that a frequent viewer of these type of movies will see coming a mile in advance and one that, although poetic, doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense.

This film's greatest weaknesses are its plot and a large portion of the visuals due to cheap looking digital sets. Its greatest strengths are the stunts and fight choreography, as well as some snappy dialogue and cool one liners. Casual moviegoers might be put off, but it remains a must see for fans of the genre. Of nothing else, the sole fact that  Milla Jovovich stars as the protagonist should get you interested.