Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail 2008

As I write this, I am sitting in the vortex that is fast becoming Colorado's second most "liberal" city. This may be due to the fact that the city planners, and city council, actually use tax money for it's intended purposes:1)make the city a better place to live for all 2)use the money to fund infrastructure, among a laundry list of other reasons. However, this is all for another post.

My real intention is to ask my fellow bloggers a pressing question. Why is the debt of Hillary Clinton become a national problem for 1)Barack Obama and his supporters and 2)the rest of the democrat party, along with democrat leaning independents? I find it fascinating that the idea of party unity, come November, rests on the shoulders of Obama and his supporters. Isn't that the job of Hillary Clinton to bring party unity? Obama was gracious and magnanimous throughout her entire campaign, only to be ridiculed as condescending and sexist. It isn't the fault of Obama that she lost, this was hers to lose.

She walked into this campaign season assured a lightning quick victory to the presidential nomination only to find out that what she was really holding was a 500 pound greased pig ready for change. This is not the fault of the electorate, or Obama, it is her's and Bill's burden to bare alone. And only at a time when gas is at, or near, $4 a gallon, groceries prices are going up and a 4 year degree might qualify you to run the fucking Tilt-o-Whirl, would people worth upwards of $100 million dollars ask the people of America to bail THEM out. What the hell is happening here? Bubba have to start paying for those blow jobs? These people have been put into a position of phenomenal wealth, and earning power, by the people of America. And I'm going to say it, we owe them nothing now. She stayed in too long and over extended her budget. Not my fault, hers!

Let's look at this from a football perspective. It was relatively obvious after Texas and Ohio that she stood a snowballs chance in hell of coming away with a big enough margin of victory in the following contests to win the nomination and she stayed in anyways. Not only did she stay in, but she continued to spend money, that we now know, she didn't have to begin with. When a football team is getting it handed to them in the 3rd or 4th quarter, what does any coach worth his whistle do? He puts in his back ups and gives "lesser" players the opportunity to play ball because he knows that risking his starters only hurts him, and his team, in the long run.

So why did she not stop spending? Hubris? I refuse the notion that she didn't know, or refused to believe, what was seemingly inevitable. So, that leaves ego and I believe that the 90's gave both Bill and Hill plenty of that. Not the electorate as a whole, not her want to be a good public servant, but the chance to stay in the spotlight a little longer was her driving factor, and that I WILL NOT PAY FOR!

Thank you Hillary and Bill for your public service, but as for me, my money is staying right where it belongs...the gas station.

-Via con Dios,

HCP

McCain's energy plan seems like it would totally suck

I wasn't exactly expecting a home run on energy from a Republican, but McCain isn't exactly impressing me or anyone else here, which is why he's already lagging in the polls. I will say that we shouldn't get all get infected with micropollarrhea, where we shit our pants each time a new polls is released between now and November, but McCain's lack of imagination on his policies might mean that the shine is wearing off this particular turd.

Strategy number one: force auto companies to produce cars that run on flex fuel. Currently a number of automakers already offer flex fuel vehicles, and making it so a car can run on either ethanol or gas doesn't really lessen our dependence on oil appreciably. McCain can't even tell us how much switching would reduce our consumption, which is what really needs to happen to reduce oil prices.

Strategy number two: The Clean Car Challenge. Sounds so fucking awesome. What this really means is that he is willing to offer a $5000 tax credit for people that buy a zero emissions vehicle. Again, not lessening our oil consumption. Plus, greenhouse gases from transportation as a whole, which doesn't reflect the sole contribution of passenger cars, only accounts for 14% of greenhouse gas emissions at this point. The impact, despite the completely kick ass name, would be minimal.

Strategy three: The big prize. McCain must not have ever studied economics in his life. He is willing to offer a $300 million prize to the company that can develop a battery for an electric car. You don't get the prize until after you build the battery, but this type of thing shows what a complete idiot McCain really is. You don't need to offer a $300 million prize to support this type of innovation because the company that is able to do this would make $300 million in the first 5 seconds of announcing that they had this technology. While $300 million sounds like a lot of money to you and me, it's nothing to the folks who are working on this problem. Although it might be nice for them to have money to fight opposition from big oil on electric cars, but they can't get the prize until after they invent the battery. Too bad.

These policies are only a taste of what McCain has in store for us. What next? Foreign policy plans for domestic issues? Universal healthcare for pets? I can't wait!

Shattered concrete and live music

I need a vacation.

You may not guess it, but selling video games is a lot of hard work. Plus, the foundation repair is still going on, and it's a huge cause of stress. People are in my backyard drilling nine-foot holes into the ground, and it's hard to concentrate, let alone make sales calls. Of course, one could make a joke about how most of the music I listen to isn't all that different from jackhammers breaking up concrete, so there you go. As for my driveway, it's full of dirt and concrete, so we can't park our cars in the garage at night. Plus, they're not done in the master bedroom yet, so we're still having to sleep in the guest bedroom. When you've spent six years sharing a king-sized bed, and have to go down to a full-size, it's very disorienting. I can't even roll over in my sleep without waking one of us up. I haven't had a decent night's sleep in a week and a half, and it's gonna be almost another week before they're done. So, I'm ready to cut loose a little.

It's been a while since we last got out of town for a vacation. My girlfriend and I went to my dad's in Wyoming last Thanksgiving, but I doubt she considered that a vacation, as she hates cold weather, and it was my family and not hers. Plus, it's Wyoming. I love my dad, but I wish he'd move to Denver. :) So, we decided we were both overdue for a trip on 'neutral ground,' so to speak. So we thought, 'Why not go to Lollapalooza in Chicago in August?'


Of course, the biggest reason for this decision is that the Toadies are headlining the MySpace stage on Saturday, August 2nd. If you didn't catch my previous blog post about the Toadies, I have an old friend who is now their bass player, which kicks all sorts of ass. He used to play bass with punk bands like Hagfish and Only Crime, but had gone back to a desk job. That just wasn't his style, so I was ecstatic for him when he got this gig. We'd both been fans of the Toadies for a long time, so for him to be a member of the band now is too cool. The one regret I have about Lollapalooza is that Radiohead is playing on Friday, and I probably won't get to see them. They're on the short list of bands I want to see before I die, and I didn't get to see them when they came through in May. The good news though, is right after the Toadies play their set, we're all gonna run over to see Rage Against the Machine, so that'll be fun. But the trip won't be all about live music. I'm also planning on seeing a Cubs game that Sunday. I grew up a Cubs fan, and have been to Wrigley once, but swore I'd make it back again. If you're ever in Chicago and want to have some fun, take the train to Wrigleyville on a day when there's a Cub home game. You don't have to be a baseball fan to have a blast. My girlfriend can't stand baseball, but she had just as much fun afterwards in their bars as I did.

Anyone else gonna be at Lollapalooza on August 2nd? If so, post a comment and we can plan on getting together to have some $14 beers...

Grand Theft Auto IV -- Game Stat Update

I beat the story mode in Grand Theft Auto IV last week, and have since gone back and finished the Assassin and Courier missions. I still plan on finishing all of the Stunt Jumps and Brucie races, but I doubt I'll try to find all 200 of the 'Flying Rats'. That's gonna take a lot of exploration, and I doubt I'll ever get THAT bored in the game. But in the meantime, I thought I'd post some of my current game stats, for the two of you who care...

GENERAL
Game Progress -- 78.00%
Missions Passed -- 94
Missions Failed -- 34
Current Money -- $535,325
Times Busted -- 0
Times Died -- 20
People Killed -- 920
Playing Time -- 49:29:14
Longest Non-stop Game -- 04:09:34
Days Passed -- 103
Favorite Radio Station -- Liberty City Hardcore

CRIMES
Cars Stolen -- 284
Longest Cop Chase Time -- 10:01
People Run Down -- 500
Fires Started -- 93
Criminals Killed -- 86

VEHICLES
Miles on Foot -- 56.85
Miles by Car -- 606.47
Longest Bike Wheelie -- 1,668.62 ft
Farthest Jump Distance -- 397.23 ft
Air Launches -- 1,606

MONEY
Spent Buying Clothes -- $1,830
Spent on Prostitutes -- $520
Spent on Health Care -- $117,071
Spent in Gun Shop -- $317,535
Spent on Dates -- $700

PLAYER
Times Got Drunk -- 11
Longest Free Fall -- 147.26 ft

COMBAT
Bullets Fired -- 13,571
Killed by Headshots -- 459
Vehicles Blown Up -- 96
Kills with Carbine Rifle -- 239
Kills with Combat Sniper -- 130
Kills with RPG -- 61

SCORE
Pool Played Time -- 01:01:55
Bowling High Score -- 254
Favorite Activity -- Drinking
Pigeons Exterminated -- 18
Random Characters Met -- 9

MISC
Time Spent on Internet -- 01:23:08
Emails received -- 62
Time Spent Calling -- 01:27:39
Total Dates -- 20
Scored with Girl -- 10
Girls Dumped -- 4
Prostitute Visits -- 7
Tramps Given Money To -- 2

ACHIEVEMENTS (XBOX 360)
33 out of 50
585 Gamerscore

If you've been playing, I'd love to see some of your stats. Everyone plays the game differently. Maybe you've made it your goal to only drive on sidewalks, so perhaps you've run down twice as many people as me? Or maybe you've spent more money on prostitutes (but got it all back)?

White trash strikes it rich(er) through procreation

Who knew jizz could be worth so much?


This inbred one-hit wonder throws his baby batter around, and 15 years later, he's worth more money than he ever made on his own. But OH NOES! Here comes the scandal!

This morning, CNN thinks 'Billy Ray Cyrus reacts to Miley's Vanity Fair photos' is front-page news. He 'reacts.' To semi-clothed pictures. That were taken a month ago.

And what a dad he is! How did the pictures get taken? Let's let Achy-Breaky explain it:

"I wasn't there at the time. (Miley's) publicist was there, and everyone seemed in control," he said. "I didn't know they (were) gonna strip her down and wrap her with a blanket."

Someone get this guy one of THESE!


Is that what it's like in Hollywood? Publicists are surrogate parents? Plus, it was Annie FUCKING Leibovitz. If Mullet Man would've done a quick Google Image Search of her name, he would've seen a LOT of celebrity skin. John Lennon. Demi Moore. Scarlett Johansson and Keira Knightley. Seriously. Where the fuck has this guy been in the last 30 years? I know they have wi-fi in California. Hell, even his nephew has wi-fi on his porch:


That is to say, he would've found the images on Google if he could've spelled 'Liebovitz.' How in the world is this guy supposed to comment on fashion?

Foundation repair SUCKS

As I type this, people are drilling through the concrete slab in my master bedroom. My girlfriend and I had to move into the guest bedroom for the next 10 days or so, while they install three piers in the bedroom (and about 19 around the outside of the house, including six on our back patio). The cats are freaking the fuck out because they've been displaced, and now they hear a constant jackhammer coming from their safe haven.

The soil in Dallas SUCKS.

John McCain has beer on the brain

Either he wants to veto beer, or he likes beer so much that it worked its way into a Freudian slip during a speech. Will he be drunk when he vetos bills? I can already see the campaign slogans this summer: THE GOP -- FOUR MORE BEERS!

Oh well. It's not like we haven't spent the last seven-plus years with an alcoholic cokehead...

Flawed Logic

I woke up today to the news that Barak Obama is the presumptive Democratic nominee, which resulted in tons of speculation that Hillary Clinton may go from being Obama's punching bag to his right-hand bag, as his VP. At this point, insiders are trying to work deals behind the scenes, but who knows who will eventually be Obama's running mate. Hopefully, Obama will take his time and pick the right person. I haven't decided yet whether I think Hillary would be a good VP or not.

The media seems to be suggesting that picking Clinton is a win-win situation for Democrats, but I'm not sure that all Clinton supporters will trade in their "Bill Clinton for First Lady" t-shirts for "One you vote Barak, you'll never go back". Personally, I've been sporting my two favorite Dick Cheney shirts.


My point is that it's easy to fall into the logical trap that every other voter out there approaches this situation the same way we would. I would vote for a steaming pile of dog shit before I would vote for John McCain. For me, the decision has been made. Another group of Dems that were supporting Clinton will probably support Obama. Although the polls that will really tell us something are only being conducted as I type this, we know from our friends at Polling Report that the data suggest that before Clinton conceded, about 60% of Clinton supporters would switch to Obama without her being the running mate. In the coming days, we'll see if Obama's poll numbers increase. You know Obama's people are watching those polls like hawks.

My prediction is that if Obama opens up a huge lead without naming Clinton as his VP, he'll take his time. If Obama's numbers don't change a lot, I think he'll scoop Clinton up and be off to the races. Right now, McCain and Obama are polling within the margin of error of each other, so the poll numbers are going to tell us a lot over the next few days. I think 5% is the magic number: Obama leads McCain by more than that, Clinton is out. Obama stays in a virtual tie, say hello to VP Clinton.

Obama the Clincher

I don't have much to add to the whole Obama conversation right now, and this picture says it better than I ever could:


I do have to say though, I'm really glad this primary season is FINALLY over. So, should Hillary be his running mate? A friend of mine who's currently working in Sweden posted on his blog that Al Gore should be his running mate. I think both bring a lot to the table. Your thoughts?

Dolemite is BACK

Guess what, crackas? Dolemite is back!


In case you weren't with us in late 2005, here's a recap: I love Dolemite movies. I owe it to The Angry Midget. He opened my eyes to the genius of Rudy Ray Moore. The man was ahead of his time. And now, he's back, proving to the man that you can't keep a good muthafucka down. And, punk crackas can't keep his Hush Puppys out their muthafuckin' asses.

Marinate on this trailer, fools:



I have no idea when it releases, but as soon as I do, it's on. Midge, I don't care how many pages you have left in your doctoral thesis. We're meeting half-way between Omaha and Dallas to watch this thing.

My man Doni is in the motherfucking TOADIES.

I just wanted to take a second to congratulate my friend (and frequenter of the site) Doni Blair for landing the bassist gig with the Toadies. Yeah, that's right. The same Toadies you're thinking of. He's stoked, as you can probably imagine. They're gonna practice here in Dallas for a couple of weeks, and then it's time to hit the road. On top of the many dates they're playing in the U.S. this summer, they're also playing Lollapalooza in August.

I was already a huge Toadies fan since college, when Rubberneck came out. Hell Below / Stars Above is also a great album, but didn't get as much label support, so not as many people know about it. I've seen them live six times, which is more than I've seen any other band, including System of a Down (during my street-team work with them). So to have them get back together to tour, and to release a new album this summer, is awesome. Then to have a good friend actually be IN the band? Total enlightenment.

Here are a couple of their biggest hits, for the uninitiated:

Possum Kingdom:


Away:


Tyler (live ... takes about 10 seconds to start):


They put on a great show live, so if they're coming through your town this summer, go see 'em. And be sure to point at the bass player and say, 'Lord Bling sent me!'

A Case for Testing Parental Ability

I fail to understand what it is about this story that people are not more up in arms about the situation. I mean, we care about gays and lesbians being together, but this douche bag is allowed to not only disappoint this woman sexually, but others as well. I fail to recognize what their argument could be. Not only would any argument they make, in all likelihood, be completely ridiculous, even by 19th century standards, but would be even more so in this day and age. I understand our right to practice whatever religion we deem fit to follow but this is pushing it to another level. Any religion that requires fortified compounds and secret rooms for forcible sex on minors is, in my opinion, missing any ground to stand on.

Having children decreases happiness

A friend of mine in Arizona sent me this article yesterday. There's some interesting stuff in it, and since I've recently made some posts about children, I had to share it with you all.

"Happiness plummets with kids' arrival

By Adam Bennett

May 08, 2008 02:42pm

MARRIAGE is a constant source of joy, but introducing children into the relationship will send your happiness in a downward spiral, a conference has been told.

Marriage, money and children were conventionally considered to be the cornerstone of happiness but such thinking did not stand up to scientific scrutiny, Harvard University psychology professor Daniel Gilbert told the Happiness and its Causes conference in Sydney today.

According to scientific and economic research, only marriage proved to be a constant source of joy.

"Figures show that married people are in almost every way happier than unmarried people - whether they are single, divorced, cohabiting," Prof Gilbert said.

"Married people live longer, married people earn more money per capita, married people have more sex and enjoy it more.

"Married people seem to be happier on every dimension that you can imagine."

Money can also buy happiness - just not as much happiness as people think.

"Money buys you a lot of happiness first and then it buys you less and less - every dollar buys you less happiness as the dollar before, and you reach a point where money is doing almost nothing for your happiness," Prof Gilbert said.

"But it's never the case that more money makes you sadder. If you get millions and millions you never get depressed about it."

And despite the belief that children were the apples of our eyes, they actually had a negative impact on happiness.

The more kids you had, the sadder you were likely to be, Prof Gilbert said.

US and European studies had shown that people's happiness did spike while they were expecting a baby but sharply plummeted after the child was born.

The low point came when children reached the ages of 12-16, and recovered only when they had flown the coop, he said.

"In reality ... children do seem to increase happiness as long as you're expecting them, but as soon as you have them, trouble sets in," he said.

"People are extremely happy before they have children and then their happiness goes down, and it takes another big hit when kids reach adolescence.

"When does it come back to it's original baseline? Oh, about the time the children grow up and go away."

Explaining why the statistics conflicted with most people's view of parenthood, Prof Gilbert made the unusual comparison to buying a pair of Armani socks.

"When people own Armani socks they can't stop telling you they are the best socks, the most amazing socks," he said.

"(But) I suspect that one of the reasons that people who own Armani socks think they are wonderful is because they have paid $85 for a pair.

"The psychologists tell us that we like things more when we pay for them - what does that sound like? It sounds like children. We pay for them in time, attention, blood, sweat and tears - what kind of idiots would we be to devote all of that to the rearing of our young if they'd didn't bring us some happiness?"

The fact that parenthood crowded out all other things in life could explain why we considered children our greatest source of joy, he said.

"Parents tell me all the time that: `My child is my greatest source of joy'," he said.

"My reply is that: `Yes, when you have one source of joy, it's bound to be your greatest'."

Why Mexicans are Godless Baby Killers!

Now that I have your attention, I thought that I might introduce myself to everyone here that reads this Commi rag. I am the blogs new court appointed brown kid. In the Midgets effort to fill his affirmative action quota, I have been invited to blog. I will make every attempt to make them interesting and/or funny, unlike Lord Bling who takes himself way too seriously. In the interest of time, I will inform everyone right off the bat that I am here to take over America and make it Mexico part deux! Happy blogging everyone! HCP

McCain's Friends and Supporters

The John McCain of Y2K must have somehow been bodysnatched, or he's finally figured out that you can't win the Republican nomination without crawling into bed with some seriously deranged folks. First, Jerry Falwell. Then, super-crazy Pastor John Hagee. Hagee is that particular brand of scary that would only be fucking nuts, if not for his ability to influence other people. In this case, a candidate for US President.

Hagee has attacked Catholics. This website has done that as well, although mostly because of the fact that several contributors to this website are still recovering from their Catholic upbringing, and not because we believe, as Hagee does, that Catholics are going to hell. Although you have to admit that it would be just a little funny if that happened.

One of the things that McCain admires most about Hagee, however, is Hagee's support of Israel. What McCain either doesn't realize or is too busy counting Evangelical votes to care is that Hagee only supports Israel because he believes that Israel is where the end of times is supposed to occur, not because he likes and respects Jews. If given the opportunity, it's likely that Hagee would convert 'em all.

When asked to renounce Hagee's endorsement, McCain declined, which is evidence that McCain has, in fact, sold his soul to the devil.

McCain Reality Check

In the New York Times today, we got the equivalent of a Cloverfield teaser trailer from Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain. He's painting a pretty picture, but Bob Ross is dead, and I'm not buying it.

First, McCain claims that if we want to get the troops home from Iraq, all we have to do is elect him President. What he fails to mention is that the reason the troops won't be in Iraq is because they will be in neighboring Iran.

Apparently, McCain also wants to lower corporate taxes. I've always thought McCain was smart enough not to buy into the same economic falacy that has been screwing our economy and increasing the national debt since the Reagan years. Is it any coincidence that the only President in the last 30 years who contained the federal budget deficit and experienced economic growth was also the only one who didn't buy into the idea that corporations share their wealth? Aside from the fact that supply-side or trickle-down economics has been emperically denied, McCain is still sticking to it. If you need evidence that his economic stimulus plan to decrease taxes on the wealthy will improve our economic situation, look at the last 8 years under Bush.

The more we learn about McCain, the scarier the situation gets.

If The Midget had a kid....

.... I have a feeling it would end up like this.

Honestly? I'm surprised something like this hasn't happened sooner.

What if Nintendo had made Halo 3?

Epic lulz.

Dead Animals = PETA photo op

Anytime the death of an animal is on the front page of your local newspaper, you know PETA will enter the media fray simply for their own promotion. Eight Belles, a girl horse that got 2nd place at the Kentucky Derby this weekend, collapsed shortly after crossing the finish line with two broken ankles. Veterenarians sent her off to eat carrots and apples in the big pasture in the sky, as her injuries were severe.

What does the world's largest organization for hypocrites have to say? Ban horse racing? Not quite. How about run the races on softer surfaces. If you're against the exploitation of animals, anything short of a ban on horse racing seems like animal exploitation to me. Then again, I have too many surviving brain cells in my frontal lobe to buy into PETAs dog and pony show. This is the same as opponents of the death penalty saying "We don't care if you execute people, our real objection is to how you do it. Use something soft, like a pillow, and I'll be happy."

Does PETA actually believe this? Of course not. PETA is a finely oiled media machine, and their pollsters told them what the repsonse would be that would give them the best media exposure. PETA isn't about a consistent message. PETA is about maximizing their visibility, even if it means abadoning their core message.

Movie Review -- Iron Man

IRON MAN -- 8 out of 10

Thanks to connections from my past life, I got to go to a press screening of the movie Iron Man last night. I'd been looking forward to seeing it since the trailer that Paramount showed during the Super Bowl, and fortunately, it didn't disappoint.

Let's start with the lead character. I'd heard mostly positive comments about the casting of Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, but I'd also heard a couple of my comic-book savy friends say that he isn't suave enough. Well, I'm pleased to report that he was absolutely perfect. I think the trailers showed the jokier stuff, but he had plenty of times where he was able to be suave, and the jokier moments never felt hokey. He also had plenty of chances to be a cocky bastard, but fortunately, it's never done in a way that makes you not want to root for him. Downey Jr. also put on some muscle for the role, and while there was no hand-to-hand combat in the movie, he looks like he came prepared. He has a lot of great lines, and I think most men in their 20s and 30s will leave the theater secretly wishing they were Tony Stark ... and that's not a bad thing!

But that's just one of the characters. Fortunately, most of the other actors had enough to do to where no one felt wasted. Terrence Howard is great as Rhodes, and there's even a quick 'War Machine' reference that will get a slight laugh from most of the audience, but will have fans of the comic book drooling over the possibilities of a sequel. Gwyneth Paltrow was solid as well, and had enough to do to where she wasn't just window dressing. There are even some smaller parts that left a lasting impression, including a government agent who keeps trying to schedule a meeting with Tony, but can't seem to get on his calendar. His last line in the film will also have the fanboys salivating. My only complaint performance-wise would be Jeff Bridges, as he felt a little hammy in a couple of scenes, but it's not so bad that it ruined anything. Although I couldn't help but see him drink scotch and imagine that it was a White Russian...

Okay, I know what you're thinking. 'Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. How well did stuff blow up?' I'd have to say that stuff blowed up pretty good. The effects were great, but never felt show-offy. That's the best compliment I can give them. The director (Jon Favreau) didn't let the CGI get in the way of the story, and the film is all the better for it. My one concern is that there isn't as much action as some people may be hoping for, and I hope that doesn't hurt it at the box office. However, I think the first X-Men and Spider-Man films had a similar problem, and it didn't hurt them. Also, the action that is there is a lot better than most summer blockbusters because it's on a smaller scale, and there is an amount of pathos that I think most people will appreciate. In fact, this might be the only time I've reviewed a summer blockbuster where I used the word 'pathos,' so take that as you will. Let's just say it's not something most people will notice, but it's there. There's enough going on in the story to where you don't have to check your brain entirely if you don't want to. Again, that's probably the best compliment I can give to a big-budget action movie.

I have to admit that the final 30 minutes are just a tiny-bit disappointing. Favreau loses some steam in the pacing in the final act, but I think this is more of a reflection of how great the first 90 minutes are. It needs to come to a conclusion, and you feel it pushing to get there, even if you don't want it to. The final battle that occurs isn't as SLAM-BANG as some people may be wanting, but I like how it was handled. I won't go to any spoilers, but I'll just say that I didn't feel like the conditions of the battle were forced, because it was all set up properly, so I accepted it with no hesitations.

Overall, it was a very solid film, and a great launch to what will hopefully be a successful franchise. I don't think it will be as big at the box office as Transformers, because it has less action and doesn't have as much franchise awareness, but the action in it is well-done, and the entire film has a lot of heart, which I wasn't expecting. In terms of the quality of recent comic-book origin films, I'd put it slightly behind X-Men, but ahead of Transformers and Spider-Man. I think it will finish around $200 million in the States, which would make it a success. Maybe then we could count on a sequel, which I would welcome with open arms. Bring on the War Machine!