Cool Stuff This Week

Over the past week I have been fortunate to partake of some cool things. I would like, if I may, to share some of these cool things with you.

Cool Thing #1: Iron Man
Why It's Cool: I'm talking about the new movie starring Robert Downey, Jr. and directed by Jon Favreau (he's so money, he doesn't even know it). Sheree wrote a fine piece about how awesome this movie was, and since I pretty much always agree with her (because we're so compatible. Not because I'm scared of her), I found it to be quite bad ass. I've always secretly liked Iron Man. I mean, I've never bought any Iron Man comics or anything, but he was one of my favorite characters to play as in Marvel Ultimate Alliance on my once again defunct xbox 360 (that's twice, dammit!). I'm pretty sure I used him, Blade, Deadpool, and Dr. Strange to whoop Dr. Doom's ass at the end. So I respect the man.
I also respect that he's an alcoholic womanizer who becomes noble after a near-death experience involving terrorists. Given that backstory, Robert Downey, Jr. was perfect to play the part. He's good looking, charismatic, and--most important--deeply fractured. I'm glad the movie embraced these qualities of Tony Stark and built off of them. Getting to the core of a character who decides to adopt another persona and fight crime is extremely important to a comic book-inspired movie. In fact, I would argue that the comic book movies that have utterly sucked(Ghost Rider, Daredevil, Batman & Robin, Fantastic Four, X-Men 3) did so because they neglected to dig into the primary character. With comics, there's always a lot more going on beneath the hero's exterior. It's more than just action sequences and CGI.

Cool Thing #2: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Why It's Cool: It's a hyperactive spin on the lives of twentysomething hipsters that is heavily influenced by video games, anime, and indie music. Scott Pilgrim is just 23 year old dude who is in a moderately cool band called "Sex Bob-Omb." His life gets messed up when he meets this chick named Ramona Flowers who randomly shows up in his dreams. When they finally meet, Scott is dating a high school girl named Knives Chau who he must break up with in order to hook up with the rollerblading bohemian queen Ramona. But that's not all. In addition to breaking an unstable girl's heart, Scott must now battle Ramona's seven evil ex-boyfriends in order to secure Ramona as his girlfriend.
I've read three volumes of this tale, and have found it to be quite amusing. Scott's battles with Ramona's ex-boyfriends merge the boundaries of everyday hipster life with insane and frenetic Japanese fighting games (such as Street Fighter 2 and Tekken). What I'm really liking about this series is that at the heart of the manic and ridiculous battles, the author (Bryan Lee O'Malley) touches on some important ideas about love, commitment, and the amount of baggage people are stuck with after being dumped.

Cool Thing #3: The Frenchy Salad
Why It's Cool: The Frenchy is this salad they make at Toasters, which is a sandwich place across the street from the Salt Palace. I've been going to Toasters for awhile, since it's not far from my work, and it's really good food. Lately, I've been trying to eat less lard and more vegetables, and Toasters has aided me in this process. The Frenchy is an amazing accomplishment in the medium of saladsmithing. At it's core, it's just lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers. But the awesome Feta vinaigrette dressing coupled with the big chunks of Swiss and Provolone cheese are what make this salad so good that it deserves to be on a list with Iron Man and Scott Pilgrim.

Cool Thing #4: Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Why It's Cool: I know that this Nintendo DS game is quite old, but I have started to replay it recently, and it's so freaking sweet. Ever since our old 8-bit NES system, I have had a soft spot in my heart for the Castlevania games (except for the N64 ones. They just felt wrong to me). In this particular installment, you play a dude (who actually looks like a chick) named Soma Cruz. Soma was introduced in Aria of Sorrow, which was on the GBA (also pretty cool). You assault Dracula's castle armed with a dagger and your ability to consume the souls of the monsters you fight in order to use their abilities.
I won't go on about the storyline, but it's important that you know how awesome Castlevania games are.

Cool Thing #5: Kick-Ass
Why It's Cool: As if the name didn't say it all! Yes, this is another comic book that is cool (what can I say? It's been a good week for comics). As far as the story goes, it's another tale about a dorky teenager who dons a homemade costume to try his own luck at fighting crime. The cool thing about this one is the writer (Mark Millar. He wrote Civil War which was rad) has chosen to place his character into situations that I think are more authentic than the generic superhero fare. No supervillains, just everyday taggers and Puerto Rican gangs. On his fist venture to stop crime, Kick-Ass is brutally beaten and stabbed. Second time? He gets hit by a car. Despite the brutality, it's pretty damn funny. I promptly added it to my list of titles for my subscription box at Night Flight Comics!




Cool Thing #6: Iron Sky
Why It's Cool: just watch this super awesome trailer. I have no idea if this movie will see the shores of Utah, but it looks wicked.