ComiCon 2009

Posted By:	Bret Robinson
Posted On:	Sat Sep 5th, 2009

What an adventure! This year Comic Con was full of excitement and tons of camping. The first day we arrived, there was already a line forming outside the Convention Center. There was a variety of people, some with tents others with blowup mattresses, and most fans were there for one reason; "The New Moon" panel. We decided to camp in line and wait for the next day's events in Hall H. We met two girls from San Francisco that were kind enough to hold our spots till we got back from a screening of "Orphan". If you like horror films, than "Orphan" is for you. Its a film about a young girl who gets adopted by a loving family. The family treats the orphan with the utmost respect. The orphan feels like the family hasn't shown her enough love and that's where the story gets psychotic. Enjoyed the film, but it felt like there were too many clues hinting at the twist, but overall, it held its own. "Orphan" was a fun film.

The next day we enjoyed a day full of film presentations in Hall H. I think I'm going to just mention a few of the panels I attended that day. " Christmas Carol" with Jim Carrey had extraordinary special effects and the presentation was in 3D. They showed a few clips including one in which Scrooge first meets his long time partner Jacob Marley. The chains flying through the door and landing on the floor actually scared me because the stones and chains jump through the door and right toward your face. Jim Carrey looks like he put forth a real effort in this movie.

Next up was "Alice in Wonderland". Tim Burton looks to have done an awesome job on this film. The visuals were amazing and I actually felt like this is the way that this story should have been told; through the eyes of Tim Burton. The movie caught my imagination and ran with it. Loved the footage! Bravo, Tim Burton, Bravo. I think this movie will be a big hit. "Avatar" was the last movie I wanted to talk about for Day 1. James Cameron has out done himself again. Along with other hits like "Titanic" and "The Abyss", I'm sure Avatar will be a huge success. We were shown nearly 30 minutes of the film and I can tell you that this was the movie presentation that I was most looking forward to at the convention. James Cameron commented on how he had to invent new technology in order to create the world "Avatar" takes place on. There was a clip they showed where a human (in an Avatar host) attempts to stay alive in the wild on a distant planet called Pandora. The Avatar has a fire burning and all the creatures on the planet are disturbed by the flames. So much so that they start attacking him. Thankfully, a female resident of the planet (known as a Na'vi) comes in and puts out the fire to protect him from. Once the fire is put out, the planet lights up like a neon light and the Na'vi teaches the human (in Avatar form) that mankind's ways are barbaric and that he and his kind need to learn to live in harmony with the various species of Pandora. I can't even begin to describe the beauty of the footage Mr. Cameron showed us, but I think this iconic film maker has taken graphics to a whole new level.

Later that night we watched two movies. One was District 9 and the other was Trick r Treat. District 9 was a lot of fun. Bodies exploding and new ways of killing humans with alien technology. I liked it and think I'll watch it again when it comes out in theaters. However, Trick r Treat was my favorite film at comic con and that's saying a lot considering I am not a big horror fan. Trick r Treat perfectly embodies Halloween and brings new found respect to this holiday. The movie is like A Christmas Carol, but for Halloween. It takes the small things that each and every one of us does on Halloween and explains why we do them. I think everyone should at least rent this movie since it is not being released in theaters. It hits DVD this October. I plan on viewing Trick 'R Treat every year. Its my new Halloween tradition.

We continued camping out over night in front of Hall H for Friday's events. The events on Friday had Where the Wild Things Are. This movie really caught my attention. I didn't expect this film to be as bright and colorful as it looks to be. Where the Wild Things Are has monsters that look scary but are kind at heart. There is one scene where the monsters are piling on top of central human character Max. At one point you actually think this kid is going to get crushed, but he ends up ok. This film looks amazing.

The last night, Saturday, we went to a movie called Inglorious Bastards. We watched it with Elijah Wood and Pippin from Lord of the Rings sitting about ten seats down from us. This is a big World War II flick with great bloody scenes, and a lot of talking.

That about sums it up. Fun trip. Can't wait till next year! I'm hoping that The Hobbit is the big panel at Comic-Con 2010!