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“I love you. I never lied about that.”

Seldom do we encounter sappy dialogue like that in an animated superhero movie/series that actually works. It all started when Thanagarian (Hawk people) forces arrived on earth and claimed that they wanted to help us in repelling an invading alien armada known as Gordanians. Of course, it was just a ruse, and the Thanagarians real intent is to use earth as part of a bypass link that will deliver a deadly blow to their mortal enemies. Problem is earth will be destroyed in the process. That doesn’t exactly sound okay to the Justice League, who promptly confronted the Thanagarians to destroy the bypass machinery that was going to obliterate the world.

In the middle of it all is Hawkgirl, Justice League member and secretly a Thanagarian officer whose true purpose for being on earth is to scout its defensive capabilities against alien invaders. It was bad enough that her JL teammates learned she was a spy – it didn’t matter that her intentions were benevolent. But then it turned out she was also engaged to the Thanagarian forces commander, Hro Talak, a revelation that dealt a vicious blow to Green Lantern John Stewart, another Justice Leaguer who had started a relationship with Hawkgirl some months before.

Short version: When Hawkgirl discovered that the real plan would involve the total destruction of earth, she betrayed her commission and told the Justice League about the true plan. In the end, they won, of course. But not without serious repercussions. Because of the shocking revelations about Hawkgirl’s real mission, most of the Leaguers couldn’t bring themselves to trust her again despite her sacrifice that resulted in her being branded a traitor by her own people. She knew this, and so while the others voted on whether to allow her to stay in the Justice League or boot her out, she didn’t wait for the verdict and decided to resign.

Green Lantern, who was most affected by the turn of events, was torn. If your job is to be the first line of your planet’s defense, it’s hard to trust someone who turns out to be an alien spy. That was the problem of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, and Jon Stewart couldn’t give a hoot’s damn about it. For him, after learning that Hawkgirl had been living a lie all these years, he just isn’t sure anymore about her real feelings for him. For all he knew, he was just part of her cover. And that scared him. He loved her with all his heart, and now he’s afraid that his feelings are pointing at nothing but a black and empty void.

Getting the chance, John confronted Shayera to know once and for all. Walking out of Wayne Manor, he found her waiting by the cliff, bathed in the sad hue of the red-orange sunset. It seems she also has something to say. That terrified him even more. But he needs closure, whatever that turns out to be.

John: “You never asked how we voted.”

Shayera: “It doesn’t matter.”

John: “So… where are you gonna go?”

Shayera: “I don’t know. Some place where the fate of the world isn’t in my hands. Some place where there are no more secrets. No more lies.”

John: “Was it all a lie?”

Shayera: “I love you, John. I never lied about that.”

They stared briefly at each other, and then she flew away.

John: “I love you, too.”

I’m posting the last 10 minutes of Justice League: Starcrossed for your viewing pleasure. Good morning 🙂


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The sequel to the Best Movie of 2005 is upon us! (next year)

Some men aren’t looking for anything logical.

They can’t be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with.

Some men just want to watch the world burn.

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Where was I last Friday?

I’ll tell you where I wasn’t. In the movies. Watching Resident Evil: Extinction.

<Rant Rant Rant> You’d think when you have this much free time, finding time to see a movie would be a cake walk. But nooooooo. Wife playing badminton. Friends out of reach/touch for one reason or another. I know, this shouldn’t have been an issue since it has always been my style (except when Cathy’s around) to see a movie alone, but this usually works only if I’m seeing one of those fairly complex flicks where I need to focus and think. Not in this one. I mean, come on, who’s going to jump off the seat and grab my arm when an icky zombie suddenly leaps into the scene? Mike? That would be kinda weird… </Rant Rant Rant>

Irony: Grizzled video gamers normally AVOID movies based on video games. Why? Because they almost always SUCK. Street Fighter (Jeanne Claude Van Damme), too campy. Mario Brothers (Bob Hoskins), overall unworkable. Tekken the Movie (animated), said to be enjoyable only for Tekken players. Who the hell said that? We almost puked out the whole VCR out the window from the sheer painfulness of the experience of watching that crap.

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. Huge, at least in theory. Reality bit back viciously, revealing how the movie was crippled beyond imagination, being utterly unable to satisfy both those who know the game (Final Fantasy simply doesn’t work as a 2-hour movie) and those who don’t (left with hardly a thought except a lingering “What the hell just happened?”). Mortal Kombat? Decent, to say the least, a welcome treat for those who suffered waiting along the long and arduous line of mediocre video game-based movies. But they should have quit while they’re ahead. Mortal Kombat: Annihilation? Could anything decimate a good start more effectively than this? I think not.

Then here comes RE: Extinction. Third installment of a so far above-passable series (at least compared to The Matrix trilogy). I’ve seen the first two films, and at this point I’m relieved that it didn’t require the RE gaming experience and ShadowLeggy‘s wit to convince me to like them out of pure sentimentalism. The first two Resident Evil movies were good, despite what those ignorant reviewers at Rottentomatoes say. The third one? I don’t know. But what does “grabbing no. 1 spot at the box office on its first week” tend to mean in layman’s term?  For me, well, I lived in the U.S. for six years and in all that time, I haven’t seen a box office hit that isn’t good.

So where was I last Friday?

Never mind that. Suffice it to say that rectification will be made before the week ends. With or without you.

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Why does Nathan Petrelli fly?

Because in another life (um… movie), he was a pilot.

(Pic: Adrian Pasdar as “Chipper”, sitting behind Anthony Edwards)

Come on! If this joke hasn’t already proliferated, it should!

(Truth is, from episode 1 I’ve already recognized “Nathan Petrelli” - Adrian Pasdar – as one of the bit role actors in the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun, the film that made Tom Cruise famous. But coining jokes from superficial stuff like this could be dangerous to someone’s health, which is why it took me this long to deliver the punch. Now I gotta get outta here before I’m the one who gets punched  )