Ryan's Junk Drawer: Let's hear from people who get paid to go to comic conventions

There's a chance that one of my allies who is current deep behind enemy lines in San Diego with hordes of unkempt, unclean Twilight fans will send me some updates that I will feverishly post as soon as I get them. Then again, she may be (A) too busy to send me stuff or (B) eaten alive by aforementioned Twilight fans because they hate how she speaks in complete sentences that don't end in "which is why I'm getting his name on my lower back." Until then, I can only live vicariously through reports made by people much more wealthy than I am, or at least people who actually get paid some degree of money to slog through the sweaty mass of humanity that is the Comic Convention (seriously, if you've never been to one, it's like shrinking down to the size of a proton and living inside a bead of flop sweat). So, today's junk drawer will feature mostly comic-con bits along with whatever the hell else I feel like because it's my junk drawer and not yours (I kid, if you want to shove something in here, I'll make room).

Let's take a peek at the top 5 tiny tidbits this week:

1.) Avatar is good...will not revive your dead loved ones

The looks at James Cameron's bloated opus have started rolling in...and this time they are from people far less prone to hyperbole and don't orgasm with a feather's touch (for the most part). The three most interesting to me so far are the following:

• Devin from Chud - Read his whole reaction HERE. Pull quote: "Not quite as advertised, but impressive...This is an evolutionary jump, not a revolutionary leap. Avatar left my eyes unf**ked. I didn't experience movies in a whole new way, and nothing I saw on screen left me feeling more than impressed." Bonus video footage...of Devin talking, not of Avatar:
• Drew at Hitflix.com - Read his whole reaction HERE. Pull quote: "I'm going to use a sort of a crude metaphor here, so if you're easily offended, skip down a paragraph. I don't mind. Basically, today James Cameron walked into a room with 6,000 people and pulled out his dick and slapped it on the table. With an HD camera pointing right at it."
• Adam Quigley and Peter Sciretta at Slashfilm.com - Read their whole reaction HERE. Pull quote: "I don't think it's a revolution, but I think it's one of the coolest looking movies I've seen in 10 years."

So, it sounds pretty much like what I figured: A kick-ass, sure-to-be-beloved movie that will not do anything other than raise production budgets for other similarly themed films, ensuring that we get less of them.

2.) District 9 is every bit as good as I thought it would be

When I saw the first preview for District 9, I flipped my lid (not literally, that would hurt). I could not wait to hear if it was as ball-crushingly awesome as that brief glimpse suggested. According to multiple sources (most of whom are listed above, so I'm not going to bother repeating it), the film is just brilliant. To use Devin once more: "Is District 9 the best film of the summer? Quite possibly. It's certainly the best science fiction film released by a major studio in some time. I loved District 9." The man isn't given to effusive praise easily. I cannot, cannot, cannot wait to see this movie.

3.) It's a sexy trailer party

Here's some trailers for your peepers. These have all premiered this week and look, as the kids say, "rad."

First up is The Book of Eli, which is post-apocalyptic, which means my wife will love it.

Next up is Ninja Assassin because...well, come on, it's Ninja Assassin.

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Finally, the one many of you have waited for...the Tim Burton LCD trip that is Alice in Wonderland (which, frankly, barely interests me at this point...I've seen Johnny Depp do his crazy accent/character thing with visuals from Tim that look like this over and over...I mean, I'll see it in IMAX 3D, but only because I want to trip balls).


4.) Roger Rabbit not dead yet

Answering some questions in pre-convention interviews, Bob Hoskins has said that he and Robert Zemeckis are still kicking around a possible Roger Rabbit return. Then, at the convention, Zemeckis refused to deny that, but did hedge a bit. This needs to happen. I love the first film (even if the Christopher Lloyd character terrified me), and tech has advanced to where this could be great. Just ask James Cameron for his Avatar toys when he's done using them to create nuclear fission.

5.) Twilight fans terrify everyone

God invented twitter for moments like this. The three best tweets (both from Devin at Chud...who apparently I have a man crush on today) regarding the Twilight panel:

1.) Being here for the TWILIGHT panel is like experiencing Beatlemania. If the Beatles were horrible.

2.) I love Kristen Stewart for her thinly veiled contempt for her fans.

3.) Is it a plot point in NEW MOON that Jacob buys a heavy metal wig at Spencer Gifts?

Happy Friday, people. I'll be back in a bit with some Box Office Predictions.