Spirit Worries

The more I see of Frank, and the more I hear about this film, the more I worry. I experience a slight, uncomfortable tightening of the sphincter while listening to Miller talk about this project.



Form your own opinions. I'd be interested to hear what you think.

Later!

mike

Indy Fans, Check This Out

I don't think I've blogged about this article that Vanity Fair ran last month (or was it 2 months ago) and I ran across the online version of it sitting in my bookmark folder so I clearly intended to. Anyway, I figured I should post it, have one less bookmark to worry about and bring joy to those Indy fans who have yet to see this piece (in its entirety) with the accompanying Annie Liebowitz photos.

Later!

mike

Foo Fighters Setlist 03/27/08

1. Let It Die
2. Pretender
3. Times Like These
4. Breakout
5. Learn to Fly
6. Cheer Up Boys, Your Makeup’s Running
7. This Is a Call
8. The One
9. Stacked Actors with a long drum solo from Taylor Hawkins

Acoustic Set on Smaller Stage In-the-Round

10. Skin & Bones
11. Marigold
12. My Hero
13. Cold Day in the Sun (ft. Taylor Hawkins on drums & vocals)
14. But, Honestly
15. Everlong

End Acoustic Set

16. Monkey Wrench
17. All My Life

Encore

18. Big Me (feat. Jessy Green)
19. Long Road to Ruin
20. Best of You

Watching the Foos

I'll be hitting the Foo Fighters concert tonight with my brother and his new beaux. I'll post some comments on it later tonight, perhaps.

Later!

mike

Plissken by Watson

Who would have thunk it. John Carpenter and Kurt Russell's Snake Plissken by Andi Watson. Not only was it an unexpected thing to run across, but it's also awesome to behold. Go check out Andi's sites and books.

Later!

mike

Nearly Thwarted by the Six Feet Under Packaging

A couple of weeks ago I bought the first season of Six Feet Under at the local Wal-Mart for a mere $18. I finally got around to opening it up tonight and found it to be a frustrating and complicated ordeal. I mean, I've heard of gimmicky packaging before but HBO must have broken out their rocket scientists to develop this one.

I couldn't find a picture of it online, so I'll have to see if I can take one myself and slap it up on the blog for those of you who do not know of what I speak.

Essentially, the set is packaged in such a way as to recall a casket, I believe, and sits horizontal with a base and a lid. The lid is supposed to flip upwards and, as it opens, lifts the DVD case out of the box revealing all the HBO goodness inside. You then remove the DVDs (packaged in the same book-like flip-open case that anything not in a thinpak is generally sold in), watch the discs you want and, if you're smart, do not replace them in the 'casket'. Just keep them open and free, it'll be much easier for the next time you want to watch them. Once you've watched the whole series and featurettes, then you put it away until the next time you wanna wrassle with the absurd thing. Beyond wrecking the packaging, opening and closing the thing is just a pain in the ass. It's a good thing the show's so good otherwise I (and, I'm sure, many others) wouldn't even bother with the thing.

Not much of a post, I know, but something that really irritated me when it took me 30 or so minutes to figure the damn thing out (that includes the time I spent surfing the internet looking for images of an opened case for clues).

Later!

mike

Early Thoughts on Southland Tales

Now, I've been waiting for this movie for some time (many of us who watched and loved Donnie Darko have been) and I have to say that after months and months of watching it get beat up by the media and go through recutting and release dates being pushed back and none of my local cineplexes running the film, the DVD has foinally arrived to mixed response. In some ways the movie is exactly what I expected and so many ways it is very much not. The trademarked Richard Kellyisms are all there (the satire, the sci-fi, the high-concept, ensemble cast and the socio-political commentary) but they are organized in such a way as to make the film almost totally impenetrable. I read the three graphic novels that comprise the prequel trilogy and still had a hard time following certain sequences. Sure, it sort of comes together in the end in a somewhat understandable manner, but on the whole it feels like the movie fails in paying off the 144 minute running time.

I knew going in that I would have to do some work on my own, that I would have to read the prequel trilogy and hit the website and dig through additional sources to fully appreciate the movie, but on a basic sit down and watch a show for a couple of hours level, Southland alienates the viewer almost from the outset with its wealth of backstory that you're never really given a glimpse of, the awkward dialogue being delivered by Dwayne Johnson and Sarah Michelle Geller, and the often improvisational nature of Kelly's shooting style (I don't know how much of it was improved, but seeing as how half the cast are ex-SNL alumn, I'm thinking a bunch).

Is there method to the madness? Perhaps. Is this gleanable upon a single viewing? Certainly not.

I want to like this movie, and I'm willing to put the work into it to see where it takes me as a viewer and as someone who appreciated the technical side of filmmaking, but I'm not reccomending this one for everyone. Unless you're already a Kelly fan, this may not be appropos for you.

More on this story as it develops.

Later!

mike

Stargate Defective Disc Blues Cured

I picked up Stargate: Atlantis Season 1 many months ago and watched a couple of episodes before putting it back on the shelf. It's not that I didn't like the show, I just got it for a really good price and I had seen the entire first season so I wasn't in any hurry to revisit the show. I checked out a few of the commentaries and features and there you go.

Fast forward a few months and a friend from work asks me to borrow the discs. No problem because I'm not watching them, so I give them to her and everything is business as usual. Then I get a call from her a bit later telling me that disc 5 is the same as disc 1. They're labelled properly, but the actual information on them is identical. Having no receipt, and being many months from the purchase date I was worried that I would not be able to get an exchange or satisfaction of any sort.

I had this problem before with my Ultimate Superman set, and Warners was nothing if not accomodating, so I hit the internet hoping to find a customer service line for MGM to contact. I discovered that this was a common problem, got a number and was raring to go. I still thought of calling the local London Drugs where I purchased the set just in case, possibly saving me some time and effort in getting the thing replaced.

Well, I just got off the phone with the salesman and he was aware of the problem and had no issues with me coming in and exchanging it there. Not too shabby.

I'll be heading over there later today and hopefully have the whole thing resolved quickly.

Later!

mike

The Comic Haul Redux

I never got to finish the previous Comic Haul and I've picked up even more comics since then, so I'm going to try and get some of those out of the way, review-wise.

The Umbrella Academy #4-6: I really enjoyed this series and was happy to finally catch up with the issues that I had missed. Gerard Way came out of nowhere and surprised everybody with how entertaining and just plain great the story was and Gabriel Ba's artwork is beyond compare. I don't think I would go so far as to call these characters the heroes of the 21st century as Grant Morrison does on the cover blurb, but they're certainly more interesting than most of the claptrap currently out there on the stands.

I'll also add a bit of a post script and say that since picking up this book I've also come to enjoy Way's band, My Chemical Romance. The main point in referring to that here is to emphasise that, although there are some definite stylistic similarities (a la the James Jean covers and the murky, theatrical, gothic vibe that it shares with The Black Parade), this comic book exists wholly outside of My Chemical Romance's rock'n'roll world. This is not some tie-in book like a KISS comic and, so far, there have been no coy references to ideas MCR presents in their music and vice versa. I think that is a definite strength of this series, especially in its first arc, and a well thought out choice on Way's part. I think I wouldn't mind it so much the second time around, but I'm not clamoring for it, either.

Anyway, check this book out.

Youngblood #1: One of the greatest things to happen to the Image super-hero universe was to have Alan Moore come down from on high to take over the writing chores on WildC.A.T.s and than to have that effort followed by the ever-capable Joe Casey. They brought something to the Imageverse that it hadn't really seen before in any long-term sort of capacity on one of its bigger books - a real writer. Both of these guys gave some street cred to these upstart third-generation X-Men clones and started a trend that continues to this day, sometimes successful, sometimes not-so-successful.

A little ironic then that Casey's previous work manages to overshadow his current debut on a new Youngblood series for upstart comic guy, Rob Liefeld. I picked this first issue up hoping to have something fresh and dynamic, political and fun, but there are just a lot of recycled ideas here, unfortunately. Some of them we've seen Casey implement before on other team books like the aforementioned Wildcats, others just seem overdone and clichéd, none moreso than the super-hero as celebrity set-up. Casey tries to give it some colour by adding the reality TV show into it, but that was just seen over in Civil War with the New Warriors and the team as a government-sponsored and created entity who exist to be more of a PR stunt than protectors of freedom was done over in The American Way a couple of years ago.

And that's just before dragging Peter Milligan's X-Force into the mix.

What can I say, I was disappointed. I think my feelings mirror those of the main character, Shaft, who seems equally unconvinced that this story and team are going anywhere. When he was playing in Jim Lee's sandbox, Casey gave us something we could chew on, but here we're just seeing more of the same old same old.

There's a very good chance I will not bother with issue 2.

Ultimate Fantastic Four #48-49: I don't know if I have anything more to say about this series other than I miss Pascual Ferry. Carey's writing stays sharp, the stories stay interesting and I'm willing to give Mark Brooks a chance before officially bitching and moaning for Ferry to return to the title instead of moonlighting over with Orson Scott Card on that ol' Iron Man book.

I have numbers 49 and 50 on the read pile so expect to see more UFF in future Comic Hauls.

Legion of Super-Heroes #37-39: The last time I bought a Legion #37 Giffen and the Bierbaums were writing it, Jason Pearson was drawing it and they blew up the Earth.

This is a little less grand but still more entertaining than I ever thought it could be, especially with Jim Shooter on writing chores.

So often the companies will bring back the old guard to try and revive that ol' '70s or '80s magic, and so often it fails miserably. Claremont's multiple returns to the X-Men, Wolfman's recent run on Teen Titans, and I'm sure if I hit a Google search I could drum up a few more. My point is, Shooter being back on Legion had disaster written all over it for me, but it's actually a pretty good read. It's very entry level, as far as Legion stories go, but I'm going to stick around and see where this all leads. The characters intrigue me, the art by Francis Manapul is nice to look at, and it does feel good to be picking up this book again after sooooo long a hiatus.

If you were ever a Legion fan, try an issue or two of this. You may not be disappointed.

The Spirit #11-12: I'm still trying to get a handle on this book. I love Darwyn to itty-bitty pieces, and think Will Eisner's Spirit stories are some of the best comics ever produced, so I'm confused as to why this series doesn't fire on all cylinders for me. I know it sounds ridiculous, but maybe I'm reading it wrong. Maybe I'm hanging on to Will tighter than I think I am which colours what Darwyn is trying to do.

I think after I get through 13 and 14 I'll have a better opinion, just because I'll see how someone else would have done it.

Still, each issue is a dream to look at, particularly those title pages.

Welp, that's it for tonight. More when I have time.

Later!

mike

Never Thought I'd See the Day

Despite being a popular film series, the Indiana Jones merchandising machine has never been on the same level as the Star Wars one. Indy collectables, comics, and toys just haven't had the same market penetration due either to lack of effort or interest by all parties involved.

But then I ran across this today:



Warms the heart it does. When you get Lego sets based on you, you've finally made it into the mass market. Add to this the Lego Indy game that's coming out, the revolutionary new Indy game from LucasArts, and the new comics from Dark Horse and you've got a movie/franchise that's finally getting its due and fans who, I'm sure, will be thrilled to have some merchandise to hunt down and legos to build.

Later!

mike

Finally Found the New Frontier

Picking up the kids yesterday and made a detour to the mall to check for The New Frontier, again. I managed to strike gold at Wal-Mart this time, apparently missing the two-disc edition when I was there two days ago. Maybe I was in a bit of a rush and missed it since I scooted over there on my coffee brake from work, but the important thing is I now have it, I have watched it, am listening to the audio commentary as I write this and I have the day off so I'm going to explore the discs and maybe watch one of the movies my friend Dale lent me that I have yet to get to.

But I digress.

The film itself was pretty good. It sticks incredibly close to the graphic novel by Darwyn Cooke with very few points where they left the source material totally behind. Design-wise, the art direction is incredible with the period of the 1950s in the United States being represented beautifully, both in background sets and clothing. The script, as I mentioned before, stayed as close to the book as possible and had Darwyn's stamp of approval with some bits actually written by the man himself.

In particular, there's a scene with Lois and Superman shortly after Superman has his discussion with Diana in Indo-China, and they're sitting on the Daily Planet globe talking about the state of America and McCarthyism. It was added to throw some exposition in that would help round out the period, helped justify expanding Lois' role in the film and, like I said, was added by the original creator himself so it carries a litlle added extra weight.

The voice cast was incredible with David Boreanaz doing a wonderful turn as Hal Jordan/Green Lantern, Lucy Lawless is just the painfully obvious choice for Wonder Woman, Brooke Shields and Kyra Sedgewick do a surprisingly good Carol Ferris and Lois Lane, respectively, and Neil Patrick Harris is a surprising but inspired choice as Barry Allen/The Flash. And that's not the whole cast, by a long shot. I suppose Miguel Ferrer should get some props for his Martian Manhunter and while Darwyn loves Jeremy Sisto as Batman, I'm still wrapping my head around it, so I'm just going to leave it at that.

One of the things that really stood out for me on the picture was the animation used on The Flash and how he was written. I've never been happy with how the character is portrayed while running in TV or animation prior to this, but the guys who put this movie together got it absolutely right. The guy is the fastest man alive, he can circle the world 7 times in the space of a blink, you shouldn't see his arms and legs moving while he runs, not unless he's running a little slower, anyway. He should just be a blur and be able to do things you can't even see on-screen, and that's how he was here. When Captain Cold asks why his cold gun doesn't work and Barry says, "I rewired it on the way down," I was thrilled that someone finally got it right.

I'm not sure why Warners holds these movies to a 75 minute running time because New Frontier would have been so much better with another 5, 10 or 15 minutes of story added in. Seeing young Hal Jordan, The Losers on Dinosaur Island and, while I understand how the John Wilson story does little to advance the plot, it would have been nice to see it play out as more than a news bite in the middle of the film. Or even leaving some of that stuff out and just fleshing out some of the details at the end. The climactic ending, to me, did feel a bit rushed and was not as satisfying as the finale in the book. There are a lot of dialogue-less moments in the movie, and probably just as many slow cuts as quick ones, but I'm the kind of guy who likes to linger on characters and events to let them soak in a bit.

Still, these are minor nitpicks since a person could always go back to the source material if they really wanted to get some of that extra texture, and as a living, moving representation of the graphic novel goes, The New Frontier hits so many of the right notes that it is hard to complain about too much of it. My wish is that, because of the book it was based on, they would have done this movie a la Batman: Mask of the Phantasm and gave it a longer running time and a theatrical release, but you gotta take what you can get, where you can get it, right? And, really, I'm still viewing it as money well spent and that's before I've had a chance to scour through the special features and documentaries, so that should speak volumes to anyone who knows me.

All this Darwyn chatter is making me want to resurrect an old interview that I conducted with the man but never saw print in its full form. A segment of it was published as an article in my University newspaper which I've since posted on my website, if you care to check it out.

I remember calling Darwyn afterwards and wanting to do another interview that I would blend with the old one since it never saw print and I always felt bad about that. After making the request, though, he said, "What do you mean, I read the article already?" Somehow, he managed to get a copy of The Sheaf (through a friend, I think) checked out the piece and liked it, so I felt a little better about that, but I still always wished that I got the whole interview in print.

I'm going to see if I can dig it up, find out how much of it was transcribed and how much work it might be to post it on the blog.

Anyway, the second commentary track is almost done so I'm going to sign off here for the time being, grab some breakfast, take it easy.

Oh, and if you haven't been inspired to go out and check out The New Frontier yet, go do it. I urge you to do so.

Later!

mike

Missing the New Frontier

The DVD pictured at right is the new original DC Animated film, Justice League: The New Frontier, based on the comic book of the same name created by uber-talent, Darwyn Cooke. I've been waiting months and months for this puppy to come out. I loved the comic book and when I heard that they were going to make it an animated film, my brain lit up with the possibilities. I will also go out on a limb and admit that part of my motivation for going out and buying the Superman: Doomsday disc when it came out (the first DC original animated movie) was to see the New Frontier preview that was included there as a special feature, so you can maybe see how I'm kind of jazzed about this whole thing.

My only problem is that Warners put out two versions of the DVD - a single-disc and a two-disc special edition - and I can't seem to find the two-disc version anywhere nearby. I hit the local Future Shop, as well as the Wal-Mart (which can usually be depended on to carry stuff like this), and neither have the DVD I want. It's enough cash that I'm not willing to buy the single-disc just to watch it but it's torture to think that I won't be able to see the film until I track one down.

Curse my 9 to 5 workday.

Maybe I'll take my thursday off and scour the city for this elusive Objet de mon désir.

Until then, I can only hope that my copy of 30 Days of Night will keep me occupied for the next couple of days.

Later!

mike

I Actually Picked Up Some New Comics!!!

It's been a while since I've been to the LCS and possibly even longer since I've done a proper review segment on the blog so, since I've remedied the one, I'll get to remedying the other right now...

Fantastic Four #554: When I heard that Bryan Hitch and Mark Millar were taking over the World's Greatest Heroes, I think my reaction resembled a rousing "woo-hoo!" I think the last time I'd been tempted to pick up the FF's monthly book was when Carlos Pacheco was doing the book. Since then, I've resorted to grabbing issues of the Ultimate FF to get my FF fix since nobody else was writing the series in the way it was meant to be done, with the four heroes tackling fantastic cosmic problems, straddling inner and outer space, and behaving like a family, warts and all, throughout their adventures.

After reading #554, I'm seeing some of those elements come into play, but I found the issue overall to be a bit of a bore. I'm not one to shy away from the group just hanging around and doing nothing, as long as what they're doing is somewhat interesting, but the set-up that we are made to endure in this issue is kind of tiresome and the action bits at the beginning to give you a bit of an adrenaline boost before the real doldrums begin fall somewhat short of exciting.

As for Hitch's artwork, I've seen better from the guy. I don't know if it's the format or Neary's inks or what, but I just didn't feel the magic here.

Also, as a sidebar, I'm not sure I really enjoy the post Civil War Marvel U, so watching Millar try and pull off a 'reconciliation', as he puts it, doesn't hold a lot of interest for me at this point. We'll see how it goes.

I'm not too sure I'm going to stick with the title through the whole Millar/Hitch year, but my curiosity is enough to keep me onboard for at least three or four more issues.

Star Wars: Dark Times #5-6: Part of getting back to the LCS was catching up on titles I'd sort of left behind in the middle of a storyline, like Star Wars: Dark Times. Grabbing #5, the end to the "Path to Nowhere" storyline, and #6, the beginning of the "Parallels" story, I was reminded why this was the only Star Wars book that I would not only pick up regularly, but go out of my way to obtain it.

For those of you who may not know the concept, Dark Times covers that period of Star Wars history post Episode III. In fact, in some cases, it actually picks up immediately after Order 66 is invoked to chronicle what happens to several Jedi not covered by the film (it had to be assumed that not all of the Jedi were wiped out by the Clones). The first 5 issues were great reading with amazing artwork by the talented Doug Wheatley and concluded with a truly heartbreaking ending that fit the series' title to a T. I've just begun the next arc which starts with a bunch of Jedi and younglings being wiped out by Clone Troopers, so I'm assuming that it doesn't appear to promise any lighter fare for the forseeable future.

Still, as editor Randy Stradley comments in the lettercol, perhaps stories like this will show people what happy ending A New Hope really was and just how tough the interim period of the Star Wars saga is.

I'm wondering what the live-action TV series will look like in comparison.

That's it for now, I suppose. I still have a lot to run down so I'll hopefully be back with more soon.

Later!

mike

John Alvin, R.I.P.

I was surprised to find out about the passing of artist, John Alvin, the other day. Part of the reason for that was just the sheer shock at yet another death in the industry following so closely on that of Roy Scheider and Steve Gerber, but also because I was literally just watching him talking on the Blade Runner Ultimate Edition DVD and he seemed perfectly fine. I guess you can never really see a heart attack coming, but to turn around and hear of his passing was just a little shocking.

StarWars.com has a nice tribute done up for him that also showcases some of his work. If you have any interest in the man or his work, I'd urge you to pop over and check it out.

Later!

mike

Untitled Bill & Ted Project

There's not much information on it here, but those 5 words have filled me with a small ember of hope that the Bill & Ted in their 40s story that Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves talk about every now and then is an actual possibility.

Knock on wood.

mike

First Day Back in the World

Today was my first day back at work which was all right, all things considered. My lungs have had better days, that's for certain, but overall it was pretty low key with not too many customers and very low expectations. I basically puttered most of the day away and got used to being back in the world, as it were. It was a little more tiring than I anticipated and the dust and grit floating around in the air at work didn't help with the coughing at all, but it's good to be making some cash again. I think I've only missed 3 or 4 actual days of work so I won't feel it too terribly hard on the old paycheque, but any more time off and I think things would start to hurt a bit monetarily.

Not a bad start. I just hope my reacclimation period isn't too long.

I'm sure I'll update the situation later.

mike

Mad Rage

I just spent 2 freakin' hours at the minor emergency clinic to get a doctor's note confirming that, yes, I did have pneumonia and I wasn't just faking work out. I waited an hour in the waiting room and then an hour in the examination room for about a minute and a half of the doctor's time.

If I didn't have some X-Files to watch right now, I'd probably be out on a mad rampage with my cat somewhere.

Later!

mike

More Sad News

Steve Gerber, creator of Howard the Duck and many other comic book properties for Marvel, DC and various indie companies, died on the 10th of February as a result of his long battle with pulmonary fibrosis.

Howard was the only Gerber character that had a truly lasting impression on myself as a reader but I did enjoy his work wherever I encountered it, be it on television or in the funny boooks. He was a brilliant satirist, a unique voice, and a presence in the industry that will be sorely missed now that he is no longer with us.

Mark Evanier, long-time friend and colleague to Steve, has a nice tribute to him up on his blog which I'd urge you to go check out.

And don't think I didn't notice that Steve passed on the same day as Roy Scheider. Not a great week.

mike

R.I.P. Roy Scheider

I just saw this on Sci-Fi Wire this evening:

Roy Scheider, a two-time Oscar nominee best known to genre fans for starring in Steven Spielberg's '90s TV series SeaQuest DSV and 1975's Jaws, died Feb. 10 at age 75, the Associated Press reported; he died of complications from multiple myeloma, a cancer of the blood cells.

I've been a fan of Scheider's for years and was very sad to learn the news. Anyone who has read this blog for any amount of time will probably know that I'm a big Jaws fan and hold his role in that film as, probably, my favourite that he's ever done. Yeah, I know he was in The French Connection and a slew of other films, and he's a great presence in all of them, but I think Jaws was the first movie I ever saw him in and he made such a great impression on me.



Rest in peace,Roy.

mike

Pneumonia...Not a Fun Thing

So, I discovered a few days ago that I have pneumonia. After a week or so of feeling draggy and unpleasant I developed a heaving dry cough, a fever, shakes and just felt unpleasant overall. I hit the minor emergency clinic where they told me that I was in the beginning stages of pneumonia and hooked me up with some antibiotics to fight off the bad mojo.

I spent Thursday at home in bed, Friday at my parents house with my daughter, me lying on the couch feeling like shit, Emma fighting off her own cold and watching Family channell all day in the play room there.

I've never been this sick before. I've taken a day or two off work before for the odd flu or cold but this thing is potent. It'll be a few days yet before I make it back into the co-op. Hell, it'll be a few days, I'm sure, before I make it out of the house for any length of time. This is not something I'd reccomend to anyone.

The only bright light amidst all the sickness and near-death experiences was the fact that, while waiting for my precription to be ready, I found Season 3 of Futurama for a really great price and picked it up. I've watched all the commentary tracks so far and will wait for my health to get better before watching the episodes since I want my brother, Ed, to be in on that action. I've seen most of the episodes already, so it's no big whoop waiting a few days.

Anyways, I'm sure I'll post a few more times before my quarantine is up.

Later!

mike