Cheap Kitty Toys
by Fazia Rizvi
29 June 2003, 12:42 AM

Ah, the wonder and allure of a wadded up piece of paper. :-)

That, or a rolled up Walmart grocery bag. Mysty just loves the crinkly sound of both of them, and will actually run-and-fetch the tightly rolled baggie. Either way, the slick wood floors make it even more entertaining to watch her - she can't get a grip and so "spins her wheels" for a second to get started chasing after a toss. (Very much like the running-in-place Saturday Morning cartoon characters.)

She entertains herself for hours by slowly stalking one of the crumples, then pouncing it and batting it with her paws. The slick floors help the crumples slide considerable distances when she bats 'em, keeping her running, stalking and pouncing for hours. Every so often she'll come sauntering through the room, paper or baggie in her mouth like a dead mouse.

Marvel Comics Movies
by Fazia Rizvi
29 June 2003, 12:10 AM

More moaning about The Hulk:

I just watched "Spiderman" again tonight. Why, oh, WHY did they have to screw up "The Hulk" so badly?

Spiderman was extremely well told. Heck, even "Daredevil" - an unknown character to most people (including me) and a dark, cerebral and angstful series (a lot less pop-culture icon than Spiderman) - was told well.

The presentation of the story makes all the difference in the world. There were several instances in Spiderman where I could see the CG used to create shots of the web-swinging superhero that didn't look "real". But it didn't matter one bit. I was downright awed at how well they CGed the Hulk. (The HULK CG character is in the same class as Gollum in LoTR as far as a sense of being "real" and "acting" goes. And still crack up when I think about Gollum's MTV award acceptance "speech".) But, in my opinion, the presentation of HULK's story just, well, flopped. I'd watch it again, just to see the CG character, but I'd fast-forward through everything else.

*sigh*

Ah well. I can only hope that the studio will decide to do HULK again, but this time pick up a little bit more of the charm of the old 1970's television series flare. After all, it's THAT generation that is going to see the movie. I didn't see *any* kids in the theater, nor did I see anybody older than Generation X. Some reviews give the movie positive marks for it's artsy comic-book style, but most Gen-Xers have never picked up a Hulk comic book. We knew our superheros - Spiderman, Batman, the Justice league, The Hulk, The Fantastic Four, Superman, Wonderwoman, etc. etc. as Saturday morning television shows, not paneled comic books.

And frankly, kids are ENTIRELY preoccupied with their own superhero, Harry Potter this past weekend. That they're sitting down *reading* instead of watching a movie is way cool, but a concept probably beyond the tiny little brains of Hollywood producers.

This review echoes more of my feelings about the movie. I hope they do another one, but replace the actor with someone a bit less wooden. With the nearly two hour exposition out of the way, they could tell a another Hulk story a damn sight better. I can think of other icons that failed the characters miserably in their first movie run but returned to their roots in a second movie: Star Trek I and II and Batman I and II just for starters. Maybe round two will live up to its potential.