Because everyone is a geek about something.

Whatever knows fear burns at the touch of the Man-Thing.

Believe it or not, there was a time when movies based on Marvel comics were a crap shoot.  Sure, they started out strong with the firstX-Men, Spider-Man and the first two Blade movies.  But then, before a certain armored Avenger made his presence felt at the cineplex, things got bumpy.

Daredevil?  Not very good.

Hulk?  Ang Lee proved he had no idea how to make a comic book movie.

The Punisher?  Thomas Jane?  John Travolta?  Next.

Sure, they rebounded pretty well with X2 which I think still stands as one of their best, but it was followed by things like the firstFantastic Four movie and Elektra.

It was rough going at the House of (Movie) Ideas.

Enter Man-Thing.

What's a Man-Thing you might ask?  The simple answer is he's Marvel's answer to DC's Swamp Thing, although, I believe Man-Thing (let's call him Manny from here on out) predates Swamp Thing by a year or two.  You want the more complex answer?  Read this, then get back to me.

It looked like Marvel was scrapping the bottom of the barrel, almost literally, to bring the muck monster to the big screen.  Things didn't work out.  The movie was created as a direct to video release.  However, as superhero movies took off, the powers that be decided to schedule it for a Halloween release.  They wisely reconsidered and moved it back to the straight to video queue.

The movie was eventually picked up by SyFy (then Sci-Fi) as a "Sci-Fi Original" and has gained a bit of a cult following since then.

What does all this mean to you my dear reader(s)?

It means I stumbled across Man-Thing during last Saturday's vegetative monster movie marathon on SyFy and was finally able to record  and watch the damned thing.

[MORE]

[MORE]

Every now and then I post images from the glacially slow 'Deck of Cards' project.  Here's the two latest: Trump that, Bitches! Who's up for a little Gim-Runny? And why has it been such a slow process? Because of me and how I am. I got to looking at the two cards side by side and realized that the queen was too busy. The design needed to be simpler. So...... And trump it I shall!

[MORE]

I've been carrying on for a while now about all thing's Michael Monroe, ever since my March sighting of the new band melted my brain while at the same time instantly making order out of decades of personal history. I've been carrying on so much I'd even begun to wonder if maybe I wasn't crazy. Maybe I just saw exactly the right band at exactly the right place and time and it all came together.

But then the following evidence surfaced -- a high-on-the-bill, main stage appearance at SummerSonic 2010 Festival in Tokyo -- and suddenly I"m more sure than ever. If there is better rock n' roll band on the planet right now I'd like to know who they are.

Not hipper. Not younger. Not cooler. Not cuter. Better.

[MORE]

First things first, thanks, once again to Chris for filling in for me so ably on our weekly jaunt around the web.  Well done sir.  Well done!

Can you feel it?  Summer is fading and fall is in the air.

Football, of every kind, is back underway.

The Boys of Summer are heading into the home stretch and looking for the next Mr. October (or is it November now?).

The networks are blasting us with promos for new fall shows.

As we roll toward the holidays and the inevitable Black Friday that is to come, let's sit back and enjoy this week's cheesecake, shall we?

Say hello to Milla Jojovich star of today's new cinematic release, Resident Evil:  Afterlife.

Ms. Jojovich's geek cred is strong.  In addition to the Resident Evil franchise, she has starred in such other geek fare as The Fifth Element, Ultraviolet, Zoolander and the seminal 70s high school stoner flick, Dazed and Confused.

VH1 referred to her as "the reigning queen of kick-butt."  Hard to argue.

On to the links.

[MORE]

The UFC hits Dana White's hometown for the first time Saturday night, boasting a stacked card featuring a poor man's version of Inoki vs. Ali as an aging boxer steps into the cage to meet an aging cagefighter. The boxing vs. MMA heat on this one (before, during and after) will be unbearable, but don't get caught up in hyperbole - no fight between two 40-year-old men will have that great an impact on the future of the sport. 

If you're looking for the future, then tune in for the pair of elite lightweight division fights featuring the four best 155ers the UFC has to offer. 

Bruce holds a one-fight lead on me through predicting three events (UFC 116, UFC 117 and Strikeforce: Houston), but who's counting? I AM COUNTING, DAMMIT.

[MORE]

Sometimes things are so obvious you just can't see them. 

I mean I do this week in and week out and I try to be topical and/or timely with my selections, but somehow, and believe me, I don't know how, I've overlooked Charlize Theron. 

The obvious time to use Ms. Theron was during the World Cup.  It was, after all, held in her home country, South Africa.  Didn't even cross my mind.  I made what I thought was a good choice, and I still stand by it, but in retrospect, this was a no brainer. 

Do you remember the first time you saw this week's cheesecake? 

I do. 

Opening night of 2 Days in the Valley and she was getting freaky with James Spader and in a cat fight with the internet's (then) favorite pinup, Teri Hatcher.  In the post Pulp Fiction landscape, 2 Days wasn't Pulp Fiction, but it had a good cast and was well executed. 

Since then she's gone on to star with Ben Affleck in Reindeer Games, a giant gorilla in Mighty Joe Young and cement her geek cred with a starring role in Aeon Flux.  Oh yeah, she also won an Oscar for uglying up and playing a serial killer in Monster. 

According to Huffington Post, she's single and ready to mingle. 

You are on notice. 

On to the links.

[MORE]

A while back, I wrote a long venomous post about my horrific experiences with Dell customer service over the course of the first six months of 2010.

To my great surprise, Lorna from the "Dell Cares" department responded to the post.

What follows is the email exchange I had with Lorna regarding the situation.

I'd like to say we were able to resolve the problems, but I can't.

Enjoy.

[MORE]

Gonzogeek is in the Toyota Center and ready to begin tonights coverage. Stay tuned kids.

[MORE]

Some things in life are just inevitable.   

Death.   

Taxes.   

Kids returning to school.   

Partisan politics.   

Child stars turning into adult train wrecks.   

And bad Michael Bay movies.   

Why the laundry list?  Good question.   

The answer is simple.   

This week's cheesecake selection was one of those foregone inevitablilities.    

Say hello to Jennifer Aniston.   

Yeah, I know.   

I've had the picture in the file since The Bounty Hunter died stillborn in the theaters.  Nobody makes a middling romantic comedyquite like Ms. Aniston these days.  She's clinging to the fraying ends of her Rachel persona for all she's worth.  She still wants to be there with you.  She is willing to be there in a partial naked, but never really showing anything kind of way.  She wants to be there for you the way Meg Ryan was before she had plastic surgery at the hands of the Joker.  

That's what makes today's release of The Switch so interesting.  Its not necessarily a romantic comedy.  Its kind of dark, like The Good Girl.  Her co-star is Jason Bateman, a long time friend who she hasn't been romantically linked with (at least not as of this writing).  In the grand scheme of things, The Switch is what passes for a daring choice by Ms. Aniston.  The big question is whether or not audiences will buy it.   

I think not.   

Still, its release gave me a chance to post the picture and get that monkey off our backs.   

On to the links.

[MORE]