Guilty Pleasure – Rhinestone

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  • Title: Rhinestone
  • IMDB: link

RhinestoneLooking back at Sylvester Stallone‘s long (and checkered) film career it’s hard not to argue that 1984’s Rhinestone is perhaps the most ridiculous premise the actor ever signed-on for (which you consider movies like Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot, Lock-Up, and The Specialist is really saying something). Stallone stars as a New York cabbie who country star Jake Farris (Dolly Parton) bets her sleazy manager (Ron Leibman) she can turn into a country star in two weeks. If she wins Freddie agrees to cancel her contract, but if she looses she is looking at five more years working for the sleazeball on stage… and in his bedroom.

A basic fish-out-of-water story, Jake takes the musically inept Nick back home to Tennessee for a two-week crash course on country music where the two bicker and, you guessed it, eventually fall for each other. Writer Phil Alden Robinson would go on to pen Field of Dreams, Sneakers, and All of Me. Rhinestone is far from his best work but director Bob Clark does have the luxury of two charming stars to help sell the uninspired premise.

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Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey

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  • Title: Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey
  • IMDB: link

Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's JourneyIn 2007, following the loss of Steve Augeri to a chronic throat infection, American rock band Journey was looking to put out an album and start a new tour without a lead singer. Scouring the Internet for a suitable replacement, Neal Schon happened upon a YouTube video that would help launch the band’s most profitable tour in decade and discover a star halfway around the world.

Director Ramona S. Diaz‘s documentary follows the unlikely journey (pun intended) of unknown Filipino singer-songwriter Arnel Pineda who would rise from complete obscurity to become the new lead singer of Journey.

Filled with plenty of classic Journey songs which Pineda belts out well-enough to make Steve Perry proud, the documentary follows Pineda growing into his role as the band’s frontman, going from star-struck fan to the man fans go crazy for, and opening up and entirely new audience with a huge influx in Filipino fans. Crazy enough for a movie script, the story happens to be true.

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Worlds’ Finest #15

/ / Comics

Worlds' Finest #15When the Huntress is abducted by Desaad and his minions, Power Girl jumps through the Boom Tube to rescue her friend. Despite not being a big fan of Desaad, I really enjoyed this issue as it allowed writer Paul Levitz and yet another new artist Emanuela Lupacchino (who has a knack for drawing our heroines, particularly Power Girl) to showcase a determined Kara’s impressive power set without worrying about collateral damage.

Other than a few panels of Desaad torturing Huntress (thankfully nothing too graphic), and her escape and reunion withe Kara, most of the comic features Power Girl ripping through the secret base of the stranded Apokolips‘ scientist. The comic ends on bit a twist as Kara and Helena make it home, but not before Desaad’s final move to screw with Power Girl’s powers.

Over the years Power Girl’s origins and powers have been tweaked several times. I’m assuming this latest move is to try and separate her a little from the New 52 Supergirl, but I’m hoping we aren’t going to see any huge lasting changes to the character. Worth a look.

[DC, $2.99]

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Atomic Robo and The Savage Sword of Dr. Dinosaur #2

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Atomic Robo and the Savage Sword of Dr. Dinosaur #2Everything considered, Atomic Robo has had better days. A secret black-ops unit of the United States Government is framing the robot as a nuclear terrorist in order to seize Robo for their own, and while searching for evidence of Cryptids in the jungles of Venezuela suspiciously close to an old Nazi Science city under Kukenan Tepui Atomic Robo and his team run into the robot’s least favorite person (who just happens to be an insane dinosaur scientist) – Dr. Dinosaur. Let the insanity begin!

I really enjoyed the first issue of the latest volume, but this one raises the stakes with some great banter between Robo and Dr. Dinosaur, the dinosaur’s “facts,” and the increasingly impossible situations Robo and his team find themselves in including the dinosaur’s rock minions with lasers in their faces, a secret underground city with a time bomb and lava pit that the deranged dinosaur has plans for.

I simply can’t recommend the awesome of this comic, and the first two issues of the latest series, enough. Bring on issue #3! Must-read.

[Red 5, $3.50]

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine #24

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine #24There’s action aplenty in the latest issue of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine as various factions battle miles below the surface of the Earth inside The Deeper Well for Dawn‘s life, the future of magic, and the lives of everyone on Earth.

Leaving Willow to find the magic needed to save Dawn (which she discovers in the form of a new seed slowly growing near the center of the Well), Buffy heads after the now turned Simone (now twice as strong and dangerous), which leaves the rest of the group of defenders to deal with the awakened Maloker, and the most unlikely person of all to talk Severin down from his mad quest to reset all of reality by sharing her own pain and loss.

The season is certainly going out with a bang as this issue is packed with characters, actions, and even a couple of nice surprises. Aside from Willow looking decidedly Joker-like (seriously, what’s up with that?) this not much for me to complain about other than how sad I am to only have one issue left to wrap-up the season. Must-read.

[Dark Horse, $2.99]

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