District 9

Fucking amazing. There's not much else to say about this movie.

As a hardcore Sci-Fi fan, I'm frothing to see this masterpiece again.

The relentless brutal action reminded me of playing Half-Life years past, especially the lightning gun that obliterated enemies in a splatter of blood and innards... The mixed media approach of incorporating documentary/security cams, etc. was incredibly effective in setting a gritty realistic tone.

It's been a steller season for sci-fi, with Moon and now D9. I can't remember another such year.

As a kid I'd sit in the bookstore and devour every issue of Heavy Metal and Issac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, so I'm stoked to see this new 'golden era' of Sci-Fi.

Kingdom Come

The world teeters at the edge of apocalypse, and in the twilight of their careers the Justice League is challenged by a crew of crazed vigilantes. Batman is forced to intervene, striving to defeat the gnar machinations of Lex Luthor...

They're all here: Robin, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Arthur Curry, and even the Teen Titans.

And they've all changed -- exp. Flash's molecules have destabilized and he can no longer remain still, Wonder Woman has been exiled from Paradise Island, and Captain Marvel has been brainwashed and battles Superman with his lightning bolt.

Best of all, Alex Ross' art work is fucking genius.

Check it out.

Tom's Shoes at Thalia Surf

Great get together at Thalia Surf Shop in Laguna last night.

And for a good cause -- Toms Shoes was on hand offering customized clogs, and for every pair purchased the company donated a pair to a child in need.

Meanwhile the Pawn Shop Kings played an incredible acoustic set in the art gallery as the keg flowed freely ... so the crowd was all smiles.

Best yet, while my wife wandered among the throng I was left to fondle all the gorgeous retro boards.

2008 Zoetrope Screenplay Contest

My screenplay St. Joseph's Altar was just chosen as a semifinalist in the 2008 American Zoetrope Screenplay contest, judged by Francis Ford Coppola.

St. Joseph's Altar was in the top 35 from a field of 2500.

Very stoked!

Below is the link:

http://www.zoetrope.com/contests/2008finalists.htm

The Lovely Bones

Voice. Voice. Voice.

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold succeeds on so many levels, but first and foremost her narrator's mesmerizing voice lured me in and carried me through this amazing book.

Susie Salmon was fourteen when she was raped and killed by a middle-aged neighbor. She recounts the tale from her heaven. Checking in on family and friends, watching them cope with her brutal death, Susie weaves the tale of her murder, including her father's efforts to discern her killer.

The genius of Susie's position is that it empowers her to speak to very personal incidences from an omniscient perspective, something usually precluded by first person narratives.

A brilliant novel that I couldn't put down.