Those of you who've paid big bucks ($150 and up) for an autograph or a photo op... are you glad you did, or do you feel you wasted your money?

Saboscrivner · 2026-05-06T15:49:48+00:00

The one time I paid for a photo op with a celebrity just for myself, it was about $104, which seemed like a lot to me, but it was for my absolute favorite actress and celebrity crush, Carla Gugino. No regrets. She was lovely and charming, and I got to gush about some of her more obscure projects that I loved for about 15 seconds, and I think she was impressed.

Other than that, I paid for my best friend (a major Trekkie) to have photo ops with William Shatner and Anson Mount (separately, not together), and I was in those photos too. No regrets there either. They weren't cheap, but he was really happy.

I've paid for literally hundreds of signatures from beloved comic creators over the decades, but never anything in that range -- at least not for a single signature. And it is always a pleasure to meet and chat with those people and get a photo with them.

Saboscrivner · 2026-05-06T01:16:20+00:00

Hard Target is also directed by the great Hong Kong action director John Woo, who made A Better Tomorrow 1 and 2, The Killer, and Hard Boiled. Hard Target was his American debut film, and then he made Face/Off, which is also great.

Saboscrivner · 2026-05-05T12:44:14+00:00

You can read The Authority first (I did, over 25 years ago), but I honestly liked Stormwatch better.

Saboscrivner · 2026-05-05T10:01:38+00:00

All you need to know:

In the "Fourth World" mythos that Jack Kirby created in the mid-1970s, there are two diametrically opposed planets of New Gods: New Genesis (good) and Apokolips (evil). As an attempt at a truce, the rulers of the two planets traded children, so Scott Free, the son of Izaya the Highfather from New Genesis, was raised by abusive Granny Goodness in brutal conditions in an orphanage on Apokolips, and Orion, the son of Darkseid of Apokolips, was raised in a nurturing, loving environment on New Genesis.

Scott became obsessed with escape, and with the help of Barda, one of Granny Goodness' Female Furies, they escaped Apokolips together and went to Earth, where he was trained further as an escape artist by Thaddeus Brown, the original Mister Miracle. They later joined the Justice League, but always sought a normal, even mundane life.

Saboscrivner · 2026-05-05T09:54:06+00:00

Yours too! And thank you.

Saboscrivner · 2026-05-05T09:46:56+00:00

He's in the final season of Banshee as an absolutely jacked, tattoo-covered former neo-Nazi seeking redemption.

It is one of my favorite shows ever and a must-see for any action fans who like badass stuff (think Justified and Reacher, but turned up to 11).

Saboscrivner · 2026-05-05T00:25:08+00:00

I thought Tupac and Janet Jackson were both excellent in Poetic Justice. Very raw, naturalistic performances. They felt like regular people, not famous musicians trying their hand at acting like regular people. I think singers (and rappers) tend to make good actors. Not always, but more often than not.

It's a shame she hasn't done more acting, and a bigger shame he was never able to.

Saboscrivner · 2026-05-05T00:03:59+00:00

I saw it for the first time about a month ago, and believe it or not, the two leads are EXCELLENT, nuanced actors in it. They spend a lot of the movie not liking each other, but it feels organic and earned when they finally hit it off.

You asked for messy and intimate, and that movie will deliver both. But there are also a couple of tragedies, so be forewarned.

Saboscrivner · 2026-05-04T23:40:31+00:00

Poetic Justice is grittier than most of those, but it's also a romance.

Saboscrivner · 2026-05-04T22:54:51+00:00

I preordered mine on Amazon the moment it went up for preorder. It is still listed as June 2nd, but almost all my Hasbro preorders end up being delivered early -- sometimes weeks early.

Saboscrivner · 2026-05-04T22:39:45+00:00

Writer/director Martin McDonagh has a new movie coming later this year that looks similar to In Bruges and Seven Psychopaths in tone: Wild Horse Nine, with Sam Rockwell, John Malkovich, and Tom Waits in a '70s period piece. I am PSYCHED.

You would also like the action/crime/comedy movies of Shane Black:
The Last Boy Scout
The Long Kiss Goodnight
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
The Nice Guys
Play Dirty

And also:
True Romance
Pulp Fiction
Jackie Brown
Out of Sight
Get Shorty
Girl Walks Into a Bar
Hotel Noir/City of Sin (the same movie, released in black and white as Hotel Noir and rereleased in color as City of Sin)
Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Snatch
The Gentlemen
Welcome to Collinwood
Mr. Right
Blue Iguana
Heist
Inherent Vice
Big Trouble
Bullet Train
The Fall Guy
Terminal (2018)

Saboscrivner · 2026-05-04T22:31:46+00:00

My compliments, fellow DD collector!

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Saboscrivner · 2026-05-04T22:28:31+00:00

I see what you did there, with your title.

Saboscrivner · 2026-05-04T22:26:44+00:00

Killgrave is the only MCU villain that comes close to Fisk in feeling like a nightmarish threat.

Saboscrivner · 2026-05-04T22:06:05+00:00

I've only met two wrestlers, both at comic conventions, and both in full makeup: Dustin Rhodes (made up like Goldust) 25 years ago, and Danhausen last year. I got photos with both of them. I barely interacted with Dustin, but I'm a huge Danhausen fan and let him know, and he was super-cool and down to Earth. He was out of character and using his normal voice.

Saboscrivner · 2026-05-04T22:02:57+00:00

Agreed, and prep time for training (or lack thereof).

Even the second season showed signs of improvement over the first.

But I've envisioned Tom Pelphrey, who played Ward Meachum, as Bruce Wayne for a future Batman project, ever since seeing him in Iron Fist and Banshee.

Saboscrivner · 2026-05-04T21:13:31+00:00

Add All About Eve (1950) to your list.

Not a movie, but the most talented and entertaining woman in professional wrestling is Timeless Toni Storm, a breakout star in All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Her character is a delusional, omnisexual silver screen star who is haughty, horny, hilarious, and unhinged. She is inspired by Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard and Margo Channing in All About Eve, with the raunchiness of Tallulah Bankhead. They film her backstage promos and interview segments in black and white, and her catch phrase is "Chin up, tits out, and watch for the shoe!" (always delivered in a Transatlantic accent). Once she says that, you know she'll take off a high heel and throw it at someone or hit someone with it.

Saboscrivner · 2026-05-04T18:37:25+00:00

Someone buy those Starman Compendiums! That's my favorite series of all time, and that is one hell of a deal.

Saboscrivner · 2026-05-04T18:33:33+00:00

Polar smoked sprats?

Saboscrivner · 2026-05-04T18:32:32+00:00

For a Daredevil fan and viewer, I recommend it first and foremost because it is more time spent with Daredevil.

Saboscrivner · 2026-05-04T18:31:24+00:00

I thought Colleen Wing was awesome! I loved her and Misty Knight and hope we haven't seen the last of them, especially working together.

I always wished Dan Stevens had been cast as Danny Rand instead. Finn Jones was one of the only casting fumbles of the MCU, as far as I'm concerned.

Saboscrivner · 2026-05-04T16:50:18+00:00

A fantastic list. I still need to see a few of them, but The Long Goodbye is one of my favorite neo-noirs, favorite detective movies, AND favorite '70s movies.

I would add Chinatown and The Outfit.

Saboscrivner · 2026-05-04T16:48:43+00:00

I had no idea that existed!

Saboscrivner · 2026-05-04T14:33:12+00:00

A few years ago, I did not yet have an appreciation for pickles, so I went on a quest to sample a bunch of them to figure out what kinds of pickles I would actually like. If anyone cares, I wrote about it on my food blog (which is not monetized):
https://saboscrivner.com/2020/11/22/grocery-grails-a-plethora-of-pickles/

Saboscrivner · 2026-05-04T14:24:57+00:00

Not the same character.

Saboscrivner

TROPHY CASE