Fans asked Way about the next My Chemical Romance album. He didn’t go into specifics, but talked about creating songs and inspirations. He also briefly mentioned the upcoming Umbrella Academy film, though he was strictly forbidden to give away any real details. One fan presented him with custom Lego figures of characters from his comic. He also took random questions about being a father and even his favorite fictional bounty hunter.

Videos below…

Gerard Way introduction: Comic Con Spotlight on Gerard Way panel

Gabriel Ba introduction: Comic Con Spotlight on Gerard Way panel

Gerard Way on Breakfast Monkey, Bandit’s favorite book and his favorite bounty hunter

Gerard Way on The Umbrella Academy

Early in the morning, I attended the Marvel Comics Writers Unite! panel, which featured Brian Michael Bendis, Matt Fraction, Chris Claremont and Mark Waid. They talked about writing within the “rules” of a predefined universe and some of their least favorite artist-writer parings. They were really engaging and had the audience cracking up.

After that, I got to check out the Spotlight on Gerard Way panel. That was very cool to see because Gerard Way, Gabriel Ba and Scott Allie talked all about the Umbrella Academy. Of course, things tend to drift pleasantly off topic during the Q&A and Ba told the audience about watching 90201 all the time growing up in Brazil. He mused that the show was one of his favorites as a kid and as he got older he realized, “that show is about nothing.” Way talked about everything from adopted-sibling love to his daughters favorite book to his favorite fictional bounty hunter–he chose Dog–and had amusing little anecdotes to fan questions. He also briefly discussed the next My Chemical Romance album and quickly mentioned the upcoming Umbrella Academy film.

Later on, I stumbled upon the Oddball Comics pane. Scott Shaw presented a slideshow of “the craziest comic books ever published” with absolutely hilarious commentary. The show presented the covers for gems from the past like Rainbow Batman and Doll Man. Shaw’s collection of useless superheroes and promotional comics was outstanding.

Next up was The Winston Effect. The panel was all about the special effects of Stan Winston and included Winston’s son Matt. The accomplished effects artists talked about creating characters, not relying solely on green screen and the new Stan Winston School of Character Arts. Winston’s work was astounding, so it was really fascinating to hear about it from people who were right there with him making it happen.

Today also featured two celebrity surprises. I spotted Joel McHale as he was exiting the G4 stage and saw Adrienne Curry in an absolutely perfect Leeloo costume.

After roaming the exhibit hall for another hour, I was ready to pass out and had thoroughly enjoyed my first Comic Con. I’m definitely planning to come back next year to see if it could possibly top the fun of this experience.

Yesterday’s surprise sighting was Lou Ferrigno, but today, I bumped into Patrick Warburton while crossing a crowded hallway.

I also noticed a lot more hot superheroes. Before, the crowd was filled with genuine fans, but much of today’s crop of buff spandex-clad crimefighters were plants, paid by a company to promote something. From a sexy Captain America to an army of hot Spartans, Comic Con was like a meat market. Never let it be said that nerds can’t be sexy, because there were certainly some smoking hot ones there today.

The Convention Center is daunting–it feels like it’s the size of the entire Denver airport. The various booths are colorful, but they’re really a backdrop for cool geeks of all kinds to let their geek flags fly and show up in full costume. I actually enjoyed a lot of the fans in costumes more than some official events and I was surprised at how overwhelmingly friendly everyone has been. Far from the pompous atmosphere of a Hollywood event, the Comic Con fans are happy just being themselves–even if they are wearing a Darth Vader mask.

I managed to take some pics of a few of my favorite costumed crusaders on my very first trip to Comic Con. For everyone who posed for a pic, I’d like to extend a huge THANK YOU!

I’ve been tweeting a lot of these pics too, so make sure you follow Trashwire on Twitter or check out our pics on TwitPic too.

Follow @trashwire on Twitter because Alexis will be tweeting live from San Diego Comic Con! Make sure to swing back by Trashwire regularly for blog posts, pics, videos, interviews and lots of other Comic Con stuff that just won’t fit into 140 characters.
Not on Twitter? (Are you crazy?!) No worries, because you can read Alexis’ tweets right here in the @trashwire Twitter feed…

To try and further describe Inception would take paragraphs and paragraphs and words and words, and at the end, you still may not truly understand it without actually going out and experiencing the film for yourself, which is exactly what you should do.

Nolan’s latest effort has climbed its way to the top of the 2010 summer blockbuster mountain and will likely retain its top positioning through out most of, if not the entire year.

Inception is one of those rare summer blockbusters that is both visually mind-blowing and yet has a complicated and intriguing story that will be entertaining for both the average popcorn movie goer and the film lover that criticizes everything and accepts nothing less than excellence.

At this point in his career, Nolan is batting a thousand with all home runs. The director has yet to miss at the plate and Inception may just be his hardest hit ball yet (which is absolutely amazing considering his resume of work). Everything about this film is absolutely world class. So many elements come together perfectly: the writing, directing, the acting, the cinematography of Nolan’s veteran DP Wally Pfister–everyone is at the top of their game in this one.

The cast is led by Leonardo DiCapiro, who plays dream thief Cobb, and Leo is clearly at the top of his game. Cobb is one of a team of men who are paid to infiltrate dreams to steal secrets. He’s got a dark secret of his own in his past and DiCapiro again nails the role of the flawed hero. The scenes with DiCapiro and Marion Cotillard are nothing short of brilliant.

Stealing the show for me though was Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Arthur, the point man. Gordon-Levitt has continually gotten better over the years and this may be his shining moment. His hotel scenes in Inception are some of the best I’ve ever seen in a film. The rest of the cast includes Ellen Page, Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy, Michael Caine, Tom Berenger, Ken Watanabe, and Dileep Rao, and they’re all stellar.

Seeing this movie at a media screening almost makes me feel bad. This is an experience I should be paying Nolan for, so I’ll most certainly be taking it in for multiple viewings. You should do the same.

Carell stars at Gru, one of the world’s great supervillains, whose accent and weapons are straight out of the Cold War. Gru and his army of minions are becoming obsolete thanks to Bill Gates lookalike Vector (Segel), a nerdy techie who favors a more Apple-store look. Not wanting to be outdone by his younger and fresher opponent, Gru and his mad scientist sidekick Dr. Nefario (Brand) set out to steal the moon and prove that Gru is the baddest villain around. After Gru sees three orphan girls gain entry into Vector’s sleek home by selling cookies, he decides to adopt the trio in hopes of infiltrating Vector’s lair and stealing his very valuable shrink ray. Along the way, the cold-hearted Gru grows fond of his new little family and goes from supervillain to reluctant hero.

Hearing some of the funniest comedians with free rein to be over-the-top is as much fun as picturing how animated they were while recording the dialogue.Segel is gleefully extreme and Wiig’s cold-hearted orphanage owner adds some good comedic value. Arnett’s trademark gravely tone is great for the boss of the Bank of Evil, where Gru goes to get a loan to finance his moon-stealing plot.

Gru’s little yellow minions are entertaining from an animation standpoint. Some of the best animated shorts feature interesting looking characters who speak in gibberish as a means of getting all the emotion across through animation rather than dialogue. The minions are interesting for those same reasons, with unique faces full of expression despite the fact that they all look the same.

Despicable Me might not be up to the level of Pixar masterpieces that connect with audiences on an genuine emotional level a la Toy Story or Finding Nemo, but it’s a fun film that certainly won’t bore the hell out of parents taking their kids out to the movies. The film plays with 3D and has enough laughs to leave you smiling, but it certainly won’t tug your heart strings as much some other animated treasures.

Adrien Brody leads the cast as Royce, a tough mercenary. When we enter, he is falling through the air towards a lush rainforest. His parachute opens at just the right time and, soon after he lands, he sees other people being dropped in. Some are criminals, some are warriors, but each member of the newly-assembled group is an expert hunter in their own way. There’s Russian special forces soldier Nikolai (Oleg Taktarov), Chuchillo (Rodrigues regular Danny Trejo), who is part of a Mexican drug cartel, Revolutionary soldier Mombasa from Sierra Leone (Mahershalalhashbaz Ali), silent Yakuza assassin Hanzo (Louis Ozawa Changchien), and an apparently weak and feeble doctor named Edwin (Topher Grace). The romantic element comes from Royce’s interaction with IDF sniper Isabelle (Alice Braga, and the comic relief comes from death row prisoner Stans (Walton Goggins).
As they all struggle to figure out where they are and how they arrived there, they discover there’s something lurking in the jungle that’s far more bad ass than all of them combined. When the prices start to come together, they realize they’re not the hunters, but the prey and they are being targeted by the toughest predator in the jungle.

One thing I loved about the original Predator is that it didn’t really rely on big special effects for its action. The vast majority of the film is Arnold Schwarzenegger, alone in the jungle trying to outsmart an alien that has evolved into the ultimate hunter. The action comes from the suspense of knowing the Predator might be just around the corner, disguised by its transparent cloaking device. In wide shots, your eyes instantly scan the trees in the background, hoping you can spot that tell-tale shimmer of the Predator’s invisibility mode. In close-ups, you feel the tension, thinking the alien will suddenly appear when the shot pulls back out. The mystery of the unknown creature stalking and killing the toughest of the tough is the best part.

Thankfully, the new film stays true to that formula as much as possible. The initial mystery of who these people are and how they were suddenly thrust into this deadly game is like the best of Lost. Then, as they realize what’s happening, the tension builds and you anticipate who will be picked off first. Unlike the most explosion-filled action and sci-fi movies, Predators creates suspense from knowing the creature is out there and that it could strike at any minute.

The creature itself is not like the computer generated monsters in most recent action films. The Predator, designed by the late special effects superstar Stan Winston, is really just a guy in a suit. But instead of being hokey, it makes the film so much more real because everything you see isn’t just sculpted out of pixels. In addition to utilizing real, physical, practical effects, the character design lends itself to a more advanced kind of killer because you’re dealing with a humanoid monster. It can reason, plan, and adapt. It’s not just a wild animal lashing out, it’s organized and highly intelligent. That alone makes for a more interesting film than just a big bad monster trying to destroy everyone and everything.

In one of my favorite scenes, Antal uses some classic suspense shots to wind the tension just before it snaps. The group discovers a camp where the alien hunters have been housing the trophies of their various kills. Among the items there is one of the Predators tied to a large totem. Is it alive? Of course, they have to approach it to find out. Each shot brings Royce closer and closer to the dangerous alien while moving the camera in to put the audience right up close with the Predator’s face. At last, the Predator springs to life, terrifying the whole group, and making members of the audience jump in their seats. You know it’s coming, but the fun is in not knowing exactly when.

I never would have thought of Brody as an action hero, but, aside from a slight gravely Batman voice, he pulls off the role. Equal praise goes to Grace, who does a great job of being a nerdy guy with a twisted secret. He’s automatically suspicious because he’s the only one who doesn’t belong in the group of hardened killers, and the little mystery of discovering his true nature is another fun element to draw viewers in. Laurence Fishburn‘s brief appearance as a survivor who has been hiding from the Predators for many years is a nice quick excursion away from all the sneaking around through foliage.

I’m a huge fan of the first film, and even tolerated the sillier Alien vs Predator movies, but it’s nice to see that someone gave this particular monster the kind of film it deserves.

Reilly stars as John, a lonely loser who can’t seem to move on after divorcing his wife seven years prior. After repeatedly striking out at a party, John meets Molly (Tomei), a free spirit who seems to really get him. As their romance continues to grow, John gets curious about Molly’s life when she keeps acting mysteriously. He decides to follow her home one day and discovers that she has a 21-year-old son named Cyrus (Hill) who lives at home with her. Cyrus welcomes him at first and even shares his passion for synth music, but as Molly and John get closer, Cyrus starts to get jealous that John is taking up all his mother’s time. Soon, Cyrus launches into a secret battle with John for Molly’s attention.
Reilly is a perfect everyman. He’s endearing and easy to identify with, which makes him a great lead in a film like this that seeks to show “real” people instead of glitzy Hollywood actors pretending to be real people.

Tomei is also impressive, playing Molly as quite an unconventional mother. Her closeness with her son is founded in love, but also weird given the fact that Cyrus is not a little kid anymore. One scene when John is waiting for Molly to get out of the shower and Cyrus walks into bathroom perfectly captures the oddness in their bond. John is weirded out by it, yet it’s not played as over-the-top uncomfortable.

Hill absolutely nails the creepiness of Cyrus. His deadpan delivery makes interactions especially awkward because you’re not quite sure if he’s serious or joking, which makes it easy to identify with John, who is trying to navigate the awkward situation well. A few scenes involve him staring at John with an expressionless face that leaves you wondering weather he’s adjusting to his mom’s new boyfriend, or plotting to murder him.

Those looking for an Apatow-style comedy that’s trademark for the two leading men might be disappointed, but anyone looking for an indie featuring talented comedic performers is in for a treat. Cyrus is in limited release, but if it’s playing in your city, definitely check it out.

The film continues the story of Bella Swan (the permannoying Kristen Stewart) your average whiny high school girl who is in an inexplicable romance with Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) a smooth hundred-year-old vampire. The pain of repeating high school for a century can’t compare to dating a morose clumsy teenager who equates the relationship to a star-crossed love connection a la Romeo and Juliet.

Of course, because this film is essentially a teenage girl’s fantasy, having one beautiful guy love Bella isn’t enough and so we bring in Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black, who doesn’t seem to own a shirt. Jacob is a werewolf whose pack has been natural enemies of the vampires since olden times which, given the average age of the cast, probably means an era before iPods. Through out the film, Jacob and Edward keep trying to steal Bella, despite the fact that there are prettier girls who don’t look like they spend their free time writing goth poetry in their rooms.

The rest of the plot, in which an evil ginger vamp named Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard replacing Rachelle Lefevre) tries to kill Bella to avenge the death of her boyfriend James, is pretty inconsequential. Sure, there are a few scenes with vamps and weres tracking Victoria or preparing for a battle that had to involve a wire team and some decent harddrive space, but this is really a movie about pretty teenagers making out. In fact, they seem to follow the lather-rinse-repeat cycle with five lines of dialogue, a squinting stare, and then a close up of someone kissing Bella. This happens over and over and over and over for the full length of the film.

If this was HBO’s brilliant series True Blood, all these sexually-frustrated kissing scenes would be full-on sex scenes, which would be far more rewarding because it would actually add to the stakes of the story. But, naturally, the Twilight movies, based on Mormon novelist Stephanie Meyers’ book series of the same name, can’t exactly go there. As I said in my review of New Moon, these films sell sex to tweens through subtext.

This explains why Twilight has become such a phenomenon for younger girls who “feel funny in their front” when they see Edward and Jacob. All the drama of the secret society of supernatural creatures who fall hopelessly in love with some plain Jane is exactly what young teenage girls are looking for in a movie. I get it, and if I was about 14 I think I’d love it.

But, now that I’m older and have had a taste of True Blood, the Twilight movies seem watered-down like a bad margarita. If you’re a freshman in high school, you’ll pump thousands of dollars into this powerhouse franchise, but if you’re the parent or older sibling of a freshman in high school, save your money for the True Blood blu-rays.