Audio Commentary Cliché

I've been listening to a lot of audio commentaries since I started working from home (I'm listening to Undeclared commentaries as I write this) and something I've really come to hate is when the commentators introduce themselves as the other person. I'm sure it's sometimes awkward for people to sit in a room and talk about an episode of a show or a feature film but, man alive, if I hear that stupid ass joke one more time I think I'm going to shoot someone, or possibly myself.

Another thing that bugs me about the aforementioned style of commentary is that it is most often a room full of actors who will do it. Sometimes it'll be a director and actor, or writer and actor, but if it's a room full of crew, you never hear that. Directors, DPs, writers, producers, they all say their names and start talking about the process, the story, the lighting, the film. Actors (not all of them, I know) make the funny ha-ha I'm you and you're me gag then giggle to themselves like they're the first people to ever think of that joke.

Sigh.

I think I've hit my rant quota for the week.

Later!

mike

Lucas Centric Post

This post is going to cover a few George Lucas related topics from Indy to Red Tails, so if you're just not in the mood, skim this one or pass it over.

Everyone else, read on...

I went out and saw Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull on its last night at the second run theatre in town and it got me in a bit of an Indy mood (surprise, surprise). I enjoyed the film immensely on opening night but found that I liked it even better the second time around. Little details I didn't absorb on my initial viewing popped up, enriching the experience somewhat, and things I may not have liked before were greeted with a little less irritation this time around. It's amazing how knowing what will happen will take the edge off of what may have previously been perceived as "bad scenes".

Still on my Indy buzz after leaving the theatre, I got home and hit the web looking for more info, interviews, and behind the scenes stuff on the film and the expanded universe but found myself running into the same brick wall I've been hitting for years; a lame, uninformative official website. Yeah, I know there are a few decent Indy fan sites out there that pull their respective weight (TheRaider.net, IndianaJones.de and IndyFan.com being a few of the best) but there is so much information and cool stuff that the official site could have, it's really, really disappointing to see the few videos and factoids that reside there.

When the Star Wars prequels started production, the Star Wars site ran web diaries, weekly teaser/set images, and other cool behind-the-scenes stuff. By the prequel trilogy's end, the site launched the Hyperspace fan club, exclusive material like deleted scenes and animatics, the ability to watch the original Clone Wars cartoon before they aired on Cartoon Network, newsletters, DVD ROM features, fiction, videos, web strips...I could go on. It was a website that I enjoyed visiting regularly until they changed it a few months ago, but that's another story.

The Indiana Jones site briefly tried to be as informative a resource as the Star Wars site back when they released the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles and the Indy trilogy on VHS. There were many similar features started but not very much of the extras ever materialized. Then, with the anticipated release of the new film, they shut the old site down and we had to wait until they relaunched it as the Crystal Skull site. I always thought that was a bad idea since, as a series, they should have one big umbrella site with mini sites for each film, but what do I know, right? It's not like it didn't service the Galaxy Far, Far Away's site for a decade.

I mean, where are the interviews with cast and crew? Where are the web diaries (one Frank Marshall clip does not count, guys), the development extras, the exclusive web features, the continuing news updates, the archival material, the depth text commentaries, the production blog?

In my desperation I turned to the Indy-Cast, a fan produced podcast on all things Indy. Some of the news bits are interesting (although I can't say as I heard anything on the Indy-Cast that I hadn't already gleaned from other sources), but most of the show is an hour-long marathon of the host reading peoples press releases and e-mails talking about what they think the fifth movie should be about, what the best Indy fist-fight was, random ramblings and what Indy related foodstuffs they had for breakfast. All to a looping backdrop of the John Williams score.

Ugh.

What I wouldn't give to be a content developer (or one of the schmoes producing it) for an Indy site, particularly the official one, which should be the ultimate resource, in my opinion. Lucas Online, you listenin'? One dedicated content droid sitting idle and looking for work. Call me.

Anyway, the DVD will be coming out on October 13th, so maybe I'll get my Kumba-ya-yas out in a few weeks (although, I'm cheesed off that the Blu-Ray has exclusive content not available on the standard definition disc...grrrr).

Update: I picked up an issue of the official Indiana Jones magazine this evening and one of the features inside was a storyboarded, but unused, sequence from Temple of Doom. I seem to recall seeing this stuff up on the old website before it went the way of the dodo and I can't help but theorize that all the really fun content was pulled in favour of showcasing it in something like the magazine for $7 rather than on the web for free. It's a cynical viewpoint, especially when you consider there's a Star Wars magazine that's been running forever and it never impacted the website, but I can't think of anything that makes more sense.

In other Indy related news, I just found out that they will be producing a new set of expanded universe books, which has me all aflutter. I really enjoyed the original series (not quite done all twelve but almost there) and anxiously await the first of the new batch, Indiana Jones and the Army of the Dead written by Steve Perry. More good news on the novel front is that Rob McGregor, writer of the Last Crusade novelisation and the first six books of the first set, will return to the character. His book should be the next up after Perry's so we'll see how that works out. The first one should hit bookstores in May of 2009, so there's still a few months to wait. Still, good news for an Indy fan, overall.

By the way, does anybody know if there is going to be a volume two to the Indiana Jones Adventures series? This digest sized gem was one of the best Indy stories I have read in some time. I thought I posted about it a while back but it doesn't appear that I have, so I'll have to post a review of it sometime soon. I'm working on my next Indy Comic Revue so I might slip it in at the same time. Back to the point, though, I haven't seen any news regarding a #2 on the DHC site or in the press, so I'm throwing it out there in case one of y'all happen to know anything. I want to see more of this stuff.

I was going to talk a bit about Clone Wars, but I'm going to pass on it for now and just finish off with the good news I've just heard regarding Lucas' pet project on the Tuskeegee Airmen, Red Tails. It has a writer, John Ridley, and a director, Anthony Hemingway, so we just might be seeing a non-sequel Lucas project in cinemas sometime in the next few years. To be honest, I've been waiting for a non-Star Wars or Indy project from George for almost as long as everyone else wanted the prequel trilogy. I still love Tucker and Radioland Murders remains a guilty pleasure of mine, so I'm really looking forward to RT. You could do a lot worse than John Ridley on script-chores, too.

I gotta run, so I'm going to end the post there. I'll be back to add some images if you happen to be reading this sucker bare and if you are, I commend you.

Later!

mike

Size Does Matter

Hmmmm. I'm thinking I need to get PhotoShop up and running so I can shrink that header image, there. As much as I think people should be watching Burn Notice, I think the size of that image may be just a bit much.

Oh well, click through to check out clips and stuff from the official site. It's good stuff.

Later!

mike

Did My Homework

After posting my review last night of the two trades I read recently, I did some online research to answer the questions I posed regarding the contributing artists and the duration of their contributions.

As far as I can guess, Byrne was slated to be on The All-New Atom for six issues and likely left due to creative conflicts. Everyone knows that Byrne has had some rocky assignments and lacking a better explanation, I will assume Eddy Barrows was brought in to pick up the slack when Byrne exited a little early.

Also, the Atom series concluded with issue #25, so even if I did like it immensely, I wouldn't be finding it on the shelves of my LCS.

With Pacheco on Green Lantern, if issue seven was included in the collection I would have realized that he and alternate artist Ethan van Sciver traded off art chores every three issues to accomodate the monthly schedule.

This one, perhaps, may require further exploration. Any comments or opinions regarding the series post "No Fear" would be appreciated.

Later!

mike

Lanterns and Atoms

Two of my most recent TPB selections have been the first collection of the All-New Atom series, reprinting the first six issues and a story from a Secret Files & Origins issue, and Green Lantern: No Fear, a collection reprinting the first 6 issues of that series with a Secret Files & Origins issue thrown in for good measure.


I was never all that interested in The All-New Atom when it debuted despite having an interest in the character. The artwork by John Byrne piqued my curiosity, and the fact that it was based on concepts developed by Grant Morrison got it onto my radar, but the writing of Gail Simone has absolutely never drawn me in. Regardless of what she is writing, I just can't get sucked in like so many people I know can. I feel like she's missing something narratively. Every time I pick up something she's written, I feel like the connective tissue was left out, for some reason I can't quite put together.

So, I can't say as I was surprised by my reaction to these issues. So much of it seemed derivative, tired, and trying too damn hard to be clever. The basic concepts are there, and under the guidance of another writer it's possible they would have played out more effectively, but the whole magic vs. science war fell pretty flat for me. Oddly enough, I did like the artwork by Byrne quite a bit. I think this is probably the best work that he's done in years. The last time I enjoyed his work quite this much was when he was writing and drawing Jack Kirby's New Gods. The only Byrne-related disappointment was the fact that he only drew three issues and the Secret Files story. What's up with that? Was his assignment on this book stunt casting or did he get tired and want to move on? I'd be curious to find out.


Next on the list is the relaunch, post-Rebirth, of the Hal Jordan Green Lantern series. This is another book that I passed on when it debuted, mostly because I wasn't too terribly interested in seeing Hal Jordan reintegrated into the DC Continuity. Granted, Geoff Johns is a competent writer, and I've always loved the work of Carlos Pacheco, but it still wasn't enough of a draw until I could read it from a library copy with only an investment of time to lose.

Since I've mentioned my love for Pacheco's work already I'll start this review off with another "what the hell?" to basically echo the sentiments in my Atom review regarding Byrne's departure after three issues. Same deal here. Pacheco is around to bring back the Manhunters and then bails to let Ethan van Sciver take over as penciller. Now, van Sciver is a competent artist but not what I signed on for when I decided to read this trade. Seeing as how he was the artist on the Rebirth mini that reintroduced Hal, I'm guessing the Pacheco gig was another bit of stunt casting to get the book out of the gate, but I'm still feeling totally ripped off by both of these series and they are not even my regular schtick. There is a Darwyn Cooke illustrated prologue, which was originally published in a Secret Files issue, and it's a joy to look at. Especially seeing him adding a little Gil Kane flare in the earlier parts of his story. A nice little story, too, giving you some background on the Jordan character.

That's a good segue to talking about Geoff Johns, I guess, seeing as he's probably the strongest thing about these issues. I wasn't totally engaged by the whole story with the Manhunters coming back and then Hector Hammond, The Shark, and some Gremlins drop by to make Hal's life miserable, but I did like the quieter character moments with Hal, the new lady pilot whose name I forget, the other Lanterns and his Air Force subplot. Not enough to actively go out and seek this book on my local comic shop's rack, but I can't say I regret reading them. I think the main problem with these issues is clarity. After issue three, for example, the Manhunters essentially disappear without any reasonable sort of resolution until you find out in issue six that they're being packed away in a hanger by the Air Force with the rest of the characters and artifacts of the story. A little rushed, perhaps, for my tastes, or maybe I just need to be reading the other GL related titles to really clue in to the pacing and vibe of the whole thing. Either way, I probably won't be looking in on this series again for the forseeable future.

And with that, I take my leave.

Later!

mike

"It's like a bad Disney movie."

I browsed over to Cartoon Brew, one of my favourite stops on the internets for animated news and fun, and saw this video posted there. Clearly, it has little to do with animation short of a quick Disney reference about half way through, but I found it an interesting little sound bite from Matt Damon. It's clear, too, how uncomfortable he is with the thought of Palin becoming POTUS at some point in the future. There's visible agitation, not unlike the agitation I felt while watching 10 minutes of the Republican convention when I was over at my parents the other day.

Now, I've never thought of Damon as the next Noam Chomsky or anything like that, but he does make a valid point about Palin and, to be honest, anybody with half a brain should be thinking like this regarding the Republican VP candidate because it could very well be a reality and I can't help feeling like they're selling the American people Palin the way you would sell someone a used car. It's so transparent I find it unsettling.

Anyway, here's the vid:



Curious what anybody else thinks.

And, since I'm being uncharacteristically political, here's a fun monologue by Craig Ferguson:



Later!

mike

Whatever Happened to the Wave?

I know this will probably come off whiny, but I was out and about with the wife in the car today and couldn't help but get enraged when she let another car into her lane and the other driver never gave her the obligatory thank you wave. Now, I don't know if it's just not cool anymore to give some form of appreciation when another driver goes out of their way to make your commuting life/day a little bit easier, but I was raised to give visible thanks. It just seems proper, you know? Especially with all the road raging and hellish traffic experiences you always hear about. You all have your own stories, I'm sure.

My wife always gets amused when she sees how much it bothers me. I try to tell her that I'm not at all surprised that it doesn't phase her because 80% of all drivers that I personally let in who don't wave tend to be women. I'm not sure why, it just seems to be the case. I asked her if she extends the same courtesy when she's let it and she replied, "sometimes".

Urgh.

On a positive note, the next two vehicles that we encountered in a similar situation did give a little wave when they merged so it hasn't all gone to hell in a handbasket yet. And for those of you who are grousing because of my woman comment, one of them was a woman, so you're not all bad.

Anyway, I'm always wanting to post on the blog after some driving experience drives me mad (don't get me started on four-way stops and the greatest evil known to motorists, the uncontrolled intersection) but I always forget to do it by the time I'm home or don't feel equally enraged by the event. As it is, I figured I'd rant it up a bit and save the non-pop culture freaks out there another review of whatever anime I happen to be watching and give them something a bit more relatable.

Later!

mike

Catching Some Shows

I've been catching up on some TV that I've fallen behind on and, while some of it is surprising me with how good it is, others are falling dreadfully short of what I would deem passable entertainment.

For example, while doing work at home I've been listening to the audio commentaries for Heroes, something I attempted back when I bought the Season 1 set but never really kept up with and eventually abandoned. If you know anything about me, you know what a features whore I am, particularly for audio commentaries, so it was unusual for me to give up on them. Listening to them now, I do find a few of them to be senseless and lacking in any interesting information (that often happens when it's just a bunch of actors in a room) but there have been a couple of exceptional commentaries, the main stand-out being the one for "Company Man" which features the director, Allan Arkush, writer, Bryan Fuller, and actor, Jack Coleman, otherwise known as HRG. I generally like listening to anything Bryan Fuller has to say, so I'm sure that influenced the experience somewhat, but it was also neat to see what you got when you mixed one of the actors with behind-the-camera crew. In earlier commentaries, Coleman would joke around and talk about how cool everything was on the show, but when sitting next to the writer and director, suddenly he's talking about composition, narrative, lighting, themes, character and acting. It just brought the whole quality level up, like, 110%.

An interesting side effect of listening to the commentaries is that it's given me a bit of a refresher course on the show. I'm not seeing every episode, but I'm getting a nice cross-section of season 1 and I'm being reminded constantly why I liked the show so much in the first place. It's doing a stellar job of getting me primed for season 3 which premieres at the end of the month, if I'm not mistaken. The 22nd, or something like that.

I suppose it also helps that I read the Heroes graphic novel in the last week, but that's another post.

Next up is a show that has never impressed me much, but I just got it in my head at some point that I was going to watch it, in its entirety, no matter how much pain it causes or how long it takes. That show would be Highlander: The Series and I don't think I'm understating things when I say that the first season is a perfect example of everything that was wrong with syndicated television in the early to mid '90s. You could put virtually anything out there on the market as long as you did it cheap enough, there was always someone who wanted to fill up their broadcasting slate. Having the Highlander brand probably helped put this one on the air and keep it there beyond season 1, but it's still no excuse for the quality of some of these episodes.

There's an awkwardness to just about everything on the show. The lead, Adrian Paul, is decent enough as the new Highlander, Duncan MacLeod, but he's still not very adept with the swordplay (not that their stunt coordinator was doing much in the way of fight choreography), his love interest, Tessa, seems like she'll add some nice international flavour but ends up pretty flat and useless, and the sidekick, Richie, is petulant, annoying and viewers are supposed to buy into the idea that this very clean-cut looking 'kid' is supposed to be a rough and tumble street tough from the old neighbourhood. And don't even get me started on the clothes!

Two good things about the show are the flashbacks which are often interesting and well put together, and the fact that Thomas J. Wright (who later went on to be the director for the Chris Carter series Millennium) directs just about every second episode. His style is still pretty rough but these were apparently shot fast and cheap so I'm willing to give him a small amount of leeway here since I know how smoking awesome his stuff eventually got a few years later.

I'm hoping that things improve when I hit season 2, but for now, I'm stuck in a morass of bad acting, cheesy guest-stars (I never knew Joe Pantoliano could give a bad performance, to be honest), and a show that's hanging on by the hairs of the franchise's chinny-chin-chin.

A big surprise for me was getting the original Twilight Zone DVDs from the library. I knew I'd enjoy them, I knew I was picking up something that was timeless and fun, but I didn't anticipate just how much I am loving these shows. My memories of the shows consisted only of the stories and how they made me feel and not how well shot and written they were. Looking at these episodes on DVD, they look fantastic. The lighting is amazing, the acting, surprisingly good. The direction classic but brave enough to shed traditional angles and techniques when necessary. And although the writing is not always perfect, there's an energy there you can feel. A young Rod Serling (who wrote, like, every episode) pouring his heart out on the page week after week and giving us stories that still resonate to this day with the occasional genuinely creepy moment thrown in for good measure.

I'm even showing them to my oldest daughter now. I figured she'd like the format of the show and with different stories and actors, she wouldn't have to commit to watching every one, just the ones that catch her eye. So far, she's seen two or three and enjoyed them. She said she'd be willing to explore them further which may just be her trying to make Dad happy, but if there's a chance they're actually connecting with her, I'm willing to delude myself.

Finally, I've re-immersed myself into the world of Steed and Mrs. Peel. Last year, for my birthday, my mother gave me the Complete Emma Peel Avengers set. A 17 disc treasure trove of Avengers episodes featuring my ultimate feminine ideal, Mrs. Emma Peel, played by the inimitable Diana Rigg. I've always loved the show, but I'm always reminded how great these were every time I go back to the show after a long absence. They're so witty, offbeat and damn sexy. I can see how scores of pubescent young boys' lives were forever changed by watching this show.

I've taken a particular shine to the episodes of Brian Clemens, and associate producer on the show. titles are escaping me at the moment, but there's one that takes place in a department store that I defy anyone not to enjoy on some level, and some of the last black-and-white episodes are really starting to show that quirky spy-fi look and feel that they explored further in the colour shows. You know, when I'm done posting this I wouldn't be surprised if I go back to the DVD player for one more episode before bed.

Other shows that I've been dabbling in but will save comment for now include Supernatural, Blood+, Burn Notice, Fullmetal Alchemist and I have the discs for Kolchak: The Night Stalker sitting on deck. Hopefully there'll be another post there when I get further into those shows.

Until then...

mike

Back Into Planetes

A little while ago I discovered through a review over at Johnny Bacardi's blog the manga series, Planetes, by Makoto Yukimura. I was never much of a manga or anime fan, but I remember JB being fairly positive in his reaction to the book and being the trusting fellow that I am, I decided to seek out the series whenever the opportunity presented itself. That opportunity came a short while later when I ran into the second volume at my local library and devoured it in a sitting or two. I susequently tracked down the first and posted about the experience on the blog in March of '05.

Well, three-and-a-half years later, I started reading it again. I found the first issue at McNally Robinson for, like, $5 and picked it up. I'm also wanting to finally check out the anime which I have sitting around, so if I can finally finish the series (I never read the third or fourth installments, for some reason) I can get the double whammy experience. I might have to grab the remaining installments from the library again, though, since the comic budget has taken a bit of a dip in the last month.

I'll probably post a review of the whole series when I've completed it.

Anyway, just wanted to 'vocalize' that tidbit.

Later!
mike

Haven't Posted About Sloan in a While

About a month and a half ago, one of my favourite bands, Sloan, released a new album called Parallel Play. Normally, this would be great news in the Jozic household but I found this new effort a little lackluster in early listenings, a little less cohesive than some of their earlier releases and not quite eclectic enough to attain the status of their last album, Never Hear the End of It. Not a complete throwaway of a CD, just not what I was looking for, hence no CD review or comment about it one way or another (in all fairness, I did link to it at Amazon in the sidebar).

Sometimes you don't really know what your looking for, though, and having since sat down and given the thing a proper listening to, a whole new appreciation has emerged. Songs that seemed trite now have an added depth or whimsy. Tired radio friendly licks show previously unheard layers that now seem to pop. This is by no means their best album to date, but it is far more entertaining than I first gave it credit for. Add to that the fact that I just got word that the band will be hitting town on the 22nd for a show at the University pub and you have one excited Space Monkey. Possibly a birthday treat? We'll see.

Considering the band doesn't get much attention in Canada, never mind the states, I was surprised and interested in this article on the new album courtesy of NPR. Some of what he says is misguided (Sloan has not really been a top 20 band in Canada for 10 years or more) but I can't fault him for thinking Americans are missing out on a truly great band. Give it a listen if you're musically curious.

mike

Getting Leverage

I had heard of this project from John Rogers' blog and wondered if it would be worth checking out. I enjoyed his work on The Core, Eureka, the unaired Global Frequency pilot, and several comic book projects so I hoped there would be something cool to draw me in. Well, this preview has pretty much done that.

At the very least, I'll try the pilot out and see how it plays. Timothy Hutton's not a bad catch, and Christian Kane appeals to the ol' Angel fan in me, so fingers crossed on this one.

mike

Giving 52 Another Shot

Among the million and one other things I'm reading lately, I've decided to pick up the trade collections of DC Comics' 52 series from my local library. I never finished the series initially, only getting to #20 or #22 before giving up on the whole thing, but something about not having read it to the end bugs me. It may be because I'm a huge Keith Giffen fan and his breakdowns were pivotal to bringing the whole thing in on schedule, or possibly it's wanting to just get it out of the way once and for all. It is comic book history, after all (at least American comics, anyways) as a lover of the art form, I try to keep up with these sorts of things.

Hell, maybe I just want to finish it because so much of the DCU right now comes directly out of the events of 52 and it's sister book, Countdown. I read a couple of DC books every month and I gotta say, I do get a little confused sometimes. Like someone who has missed an episode or two of their favourite show and catches up with those "Previously on..." montages at the beginning of the show.

Anyway, what I'm discovering is that, experiencing it away from all the hype and hullabaloo, this is a pretty good story so far. Granted, I'm only on Week 5 right now, but the pacing is solid, the characters engaging, the mystery satisfyingly opaque, and there is real gravity to the stuff. I know I'm going to get a little disappointed once they spend some significant time in space (I wasn't a big fan of that part the first time around) but I'm sure there will be other things to keep my interest (I hope, anyway).

More than anything, I'm surprised (and pleased) that a corporate event comic is keeping me entertained. I recently re-read Civil War as part of my Captain America experience, and let me just say that I was sure happy when that ended and I could get back to just reading the core Cap book again. I sort of gave up on Secret Invasion 3 issues in, too.

Another nice surprise are the annotations and the extras that they squeeked in as padding between the issues in the trade. Commentary from the creators, breakdown pages from Keith, and script excerpts and character designs to flesh the whole thing out. It's not an amazing thing, or truly comprehensive, but it is a nice peak into the process, the event, and a worthwhile addition to the collections.

With that, I'll take my leave.

Later!

mike

"Where Do We Go From Here?"

So, Filter is coming to Calgary. September 17th, it looks like, and tickets are $16. I have no idea who actually comprises Filter anymore, although I'm fairly certain that Richard Patrick is still at the helm, but I don't know if I can pass up this opportunity to check out a band I really enjoyed through the nineties, especially their second album, "Title of Record".

I guess the real question is, will this be like Everclear coming to town, where I can't get it up just to go see Art Alexakis doing old and new Everclear music without the other two original members of the band, or will it really matter who Filter is as long as Patrick is fronting the gig?

Something to ponder.



mike

"What Sarah Said"

My buddy Andrew was complaining about the quantity of X-Files content on the blog of late, so I thought I would try and change it up with something that might catch his attention for a change.

So, I was cruising around this morning for some Ocean Size music. I watched The Invisible last night, and like dozens of folks before me, I'm sure, I wanted to listen to the song that plays over the dream sequence at the beginning of the film, "Music For a Nurse".

I did find it but in the process I also ran across this video from Death Cab For Cutie which has totally captivated me. It was directed by Laurent Briet and I couldn't take my eyes off of this clip. There's this girl, who begins the video with the question "Does he love me?", and she attempts to garner a response from her male companion who just sits on the bed, unflinching and unresponsive, until the very end when the whole thing starts anew.

Love it. Watch it. Feel free to comment on it.



Later!

mike

Golden Compass Sequel in Doubt

For almost a year now the Jozic family, and probably many fans of Phillip Pullman, have been waiting to hear word on a potential sequel for The Golden Compass. Despite a lot of "we'd really like to do one" from the films director, Chris Weitz, its producers and Pullman himself, New Line has been evasive (to say the least) on giving any indication that they would like to see one as well.

So, the kids are sitting next to me playing the PS2 game and I figure, "hmmm, I haven't checked the news on that for a while," so I hit the world wide internets, punched in a search to Google, and this is what I found.

Still not dead in the water but, man, definitely not with its head above it, either.

Later!

mike

Finally! BUFFY ANIMATED Promo

At Least Some of Us Believe

Another decent review, this time from DVD Talk, one of my fave cinema sites based out of UK, I believe.

Some points to note:

"Carter has made a commitment to a more cerebral adventure for his characters, fixating on the discomfort between Mulder and Scully as they assume their old responsibilities...sticking with spooky happenings and faltered interpersonal communication. It's a mysterious film, building dread through brutal kidnapping, displays of Bryukhonenko-inspired horrors, and the Crissman character, who Carter employs as the critical figure of eerie face-value judgment. It takes nearly an hour for "Believe" to work up a sweat; the film favors the tempo of the series, not the bombast of the screen. Fans are sure to drink up every last frame. The less inclined might be checking their watches with increasing regularity.

I was immensely satisfied with Carter's intent, and his appreciation for Duchovny and Anderson, who really shines as Scully is dragged through a vigorous questioning of self. "I Want to Believe" is not a feature that provides instant results; instead, even with a handful of faults, it gets under the skin, offering the faithful a rewarding odyssey with these unlikely knights of the unknown.

Well, that's three of us who truly liked the film. I'm still eager and curious to hear input from anyone out there who has seen it and has some opinions.

Believe Again!

mike

The Comic Haul - Addendum

I realised after posting the last Comic Haul that there were a number of books that didn't get onto the list because they were sitting on a different pile at he other end of the room (for shame, I know). As a result, I thought I would add a few to the ever growing list of CH reviews, like so...

The Mummy: The Rise and Fall of Xango's Ax #1-2: "The Rise and Fall of Xango's Ax" is billed as a prequel to the new Mummy movie, but in reality it is just a story that occurs between The Mummy Returns and the new film. That little grammatical quibble aside, I really quite enjoyed the first issue of this mini. The story revolves around Alex O'Connell and his father Rick becoming embroiled in a caper involving a stolen priceless jewel, a missing archaeologist, a bunch of prehistoric baddies trying to reclaim the stolen jewel and a doomed train ride. The script by Joshua Jabcuga moves along competently and handles the reintroductions of thee characters rather nicely, while the art of Stephen Mooney captures the mood and era of the piece with enough flair to make me forgive any shortcomings either creator may otherwise show.

The second issue falls a little bit shorter than the first being more of an expository story and less of a thrill ride. You learn the background behind Xango and his ax, the plot moves from the train to the great outdoors and the villains plans are revealed. Mooney slips a bit and shows some weakness in his storytelling. The issue picks up immediately after the first but there's a confusing transition or change in point-of-view that creates some strange continuity quirks in the opening pages of the story. Jabcuga also cracks as the dialogue gets awfully wooden here and most of the conversations are done off panel in captions which takes the focus off pretty much everyone in the story.

In all fairness, they do catch their stride about halfway through and do manage to pull you through to the end, albeit with a bad taste in your mouth. I'm still looking forward to #3 but am steeling myself to be disappointed.

Wetworks #13: The art has improved, and DeMatteis (who has been writing the book solo from issue #10) is joined by long-time partner in crime Keith Giffen to give readers an all out vampire war for the Wetworks team to fight.

I've read a lot of reimaginings of these cheesy '90s super-teams that came out of the image boom, and a lot of them were really good. StormWatch was one, Wildcats was another, Casey and Donovan's Youngblood wasn't bad, you get the picture. So here I am with two of my favourite writers with carte blanche to make a crappy premise into an engaging reinvention and the whole damn thing just falls flat. DeMatteis showed some inspiration with #12's character driven star-cross'd lovers tale, but this is all hackneyed plot contrivances and cheesy dialogue. To be fair, the guys probably knew they weren't going to be around for more than a couple of issues after this, so I'll cut them some slack, but I would recommend this only for the Giffen/DeMatteis completists or truly die-hard fans of Wetworks. Otherwise, don'teven bother with this puppy in the dollar bins.

The Invincible Iron Man #2: The plot thickens. There's really not much else to say since Matt Fraction is of the Bendis school of comic book writing where obfuscation and drawn-out storylines are the order of the day. Really, not much happens in #2 that didn't happen in #1 other than Tony kicks the heinies of some A.I.M. fringe group called Advanced Genocide Mechanics and their leader, M.O.D.O.G..

What I do genuinely like about the series so far is the adherence to what Warren Ellis established in "Extremis". Tony is bleeding edge. He's a futurist. Fraction portrays him as such and has the character wrestle with these ideas constantly. I love the sequence where Iron Man is flying away from heat-seeking missiles and wonders to himself, do I need jet boots? Can I not find a new form of heatless propulsion? That's good comics, in my humble opinion.

Maybe not for everyone, but I do hope this iteration of the character and title last for a while. Enjoy itwhile it lasts, I guess.

Tank Girl: Visions of Booga #1: Ever since IDW's last Tank Girl mini I just can't get enough of Alan Martin and his crazy cast of malcontents. I would get genuine belly-laughs reading those crazy comics, so I'm thrilled that they've gone back and made more. And I totally loved the Adam Ant guest shot in the back-up story. Chynna Clugston-Major appears to not be the only one who can put the Ant Music love to paper and make an enjoyable yarn out of it.

I used to associate TG, visually, with Jamie Hewlett and Jamie Hewlett only, believing that if Jamie wasn't drawing it, what was the point? But after seeing Ashley Wood handle the characters amazingly, and now Rufus Dayglo, I'm officially a convert. Wood showed a whole new way of looking at TG which, I think, paved the way for me accepting the wonderful non-Hewlett stylings of Mr. Dayglo. They're so close to Hewlett's take on the world so as to respect the stuff that has come before, but there's just such a different kind of heartbeat to the art that works for me. I don't know, the edges are less blunt, the layouts more organic...I won't ruin it with trying to figure it out. I'll just go and grab the next issue and enjoy it some more.

Okay, that's officially all for now. Hopefully more next week.

Cheers!

mike

The Comic Haul

I haven't been to the LCS in a while, but I still have a backlog of books that I have yet to throw on the ol' blog so, without further ado, here we go-go-go...

Indiana Jones and the Tomb of the Gods #1: The man in the hat is back. This is probably the best Indy mini-series to come out in some time. As much as I loved the fact that Dark Horse was publishing anything Indy related a few years ago, some of the efforts put forth were less than stellar in either the writing department, the art department, or, in some case, both. With Tomb of the Gods, DHC has a winner. Rob Williams concocts a plausible adventure for the intrepid archaeologist and Steve Scott's artwork is very much up to the task of balancing character likenesses and well-paced action storytelling. I'm really looking forward to seeing how the next four issues will play out.

Detective Comics #846: "Heart of Hush", as a story concept, doesn't really grab me by the lapels and scream read me, but I've been liking what Dini has done with this book and, having given up on Morrison's title, think I'll stick with Detective for a while and see how comfortable I get. I'm loving the art by Nguyen which I've praised before in other reviews, and the fact that Catwoman will be making this series her home when her monthly gets the axe is yet another reason to check in every 30 days.

The story itself? Too early to tell, I'm afraid. Hush has a secret hospital of zombies, it appears, Batman and Catwoman start hanging out and that's pretty much it unless you want me to talk about the ads. Still, the atmosphere is good, so far, and I'm anxious to see what Dini does with a 5-part storyline after so many onesies and twosies. It's worth checking out.

Robin #170-173: Hey, when did this series get good? I've been a fan of Robin for a long time (that always sounds weird when I say those words in public) but haven't had any reason to check out Tim Drake's or Dick Grayson's monthlies for many years. A few weeks ago I picked up a trade of some of the Adam Beechen and Freddie Williams stories at my local library, just to see what they were like, and found myself really enjoying them. So, when Chuck Dixon (the guy who launched the series 175 issues ago) returned to the character and the book with issue #170, I had to check it out.

I'm liking where the character is at. I'm liking the fact that Dixon is bringing back things that have been absent, like the long-dead Spoiler and Ives (another supporting character), yet maintaining the feel that this guy is older than when he first wrote him. He has matured, things in his life have changed and it's a tangible thing when you read these stories. I hear Chuck may be leaving the book but I'll give it a few issues post-Chuck to see if the tone stays right for me, or if things go out of whack again and I drop it like a hot potato.

By the way, loving the Freddie Williams covers, too!

Final Crisis #1-2: Okay, I'm liking the issues as I read them, but I'm simultaneously not caring, one way or the other, where this is going or how it fits into the greater scheme of things. I generally like Morrison's writing and I rarely have any complaints about J.G. Jones, so I'm not at all surprised that I'm not outright rejecting this whole event, but I think I'm just Uber-Evented out, you know? I'd rather see these guys doing something with an obscure character off in the corner somewhere, like when Morrison took over Animal Man or Doom Patrol. The DC Universe as a concept just doesn't interest me on this scale, anymore. Less with the 'widescreen' comics, I think.

I know I'm shooting myself in the foot when I say I'll keep buying for the next couple of issues because, really, we vote with our dollars, but when I see the huge stack of these comics sitting at my LCS, I can't help but think my contribution is not being felt. So, at least I can sleep at night.

John Constantine: Hellblazer #245: I think Jason Aaron and Sean Murphy wanted to pay tribute to the Jamie Delano/John Ridgeway era Constantine because this issue has all the hallmarks of that period of the book. For starters, John is nowhere to be seen for 99% of the story. Instead, we focus on a group of documentary filmmakers who are trying to get the skinny on Mucous Membrane, John's old punk band from back in the day. Over the course of the issue we see the slow decay of the group as they all go progressively mad and start doing things that, in some cases, will make you wish you didn't eat that sandwich before sitting down to read.

The end of the story (called "Newcastle Calling", by the way) has the single appearance in the issue of our John and he is buying a train ticket to Newcastle, leaving you, the reader, with the cliffhanger ending.

I've been enjoying this book since Andy Diggle took it over a handful of issues ago, and I think it's fair to say that, despite having big shoes to fill, Jason Aaron does an admirable job here. Sean Murphy's pencils were an added bonus, changing up the look of the book for a couple of issues. Manco's art is a good fit for the series, but after a while it all starts to get muddy and blend together. Besides, even at Hellblazers height of popularity, it has always been able to shift between artists and writers for different takes on the character and this is no different.

Anyway, I look forward to the conclusion (which I know is out, I just haven't gotten my hands on a copy yet) and I'd recommend it to anyone out there who likes a little slow-boil psychological horror with a dash of gross-out thrown in for flavour.

The Batman Strikes! #46: Yeah, you can feel this series winding down. #50 will likely be the final issue so I'm kind of glad this story by Russell Lissau and Christopher Jones stuck closer to the dynamic that fans of the show saw in seasons three and four as opposed to the 'All-New Justice League' show it became in season five. In this issue, Killer Croc gets a crush on a news reporter and Batman, Robin and Batgirl have to save the day. It's not Shakespeare, I know, but it was a pleasant diversion and a welcome return to a format that doesn't undermine the main character in his own book. If the next four are like this the series will go off on a high note, as far as I'm concerned.

Badger Saves the World #1: I consider Nexus to be one of the finest comic books to have ever graced the medium, so it kind of surprises me that I can find so little to like in Mike Baron's other 'famous' creation, The Badger. His appearances in the aforementioned Nexus have always been enjoyable, but the solo stuff I've seen just doesn't grab me, you know? Sometimes the satire and the strangeness of the book just seem forced, and the storytelling...well, off. I know that it's supposed to be manic and fun and zany, but I'm just not buying it. To quote Mr. Horse, "No sir, I just don't like it".

If I ever run across another issue in a dollar bin or see something online, maybe I'll give it another try. In the meantime, I'll stick with Horatio, Dave, Sundra, and the residents of Ylum for my Baron fix.

Will Eisner's The Spirit #13-16: I really wasn't sure what I would think of the post-Darwyn Cooke Spirit series but, I have to say, Evanier and Aragones are writing good stuff that feels very much in line with what Eisner was doing with the character, and Paul Smith is a Godsend of an artist. There have been a couple of other pencil jockeys to take a crack at Denny Colt since Cooke's departure (Risso, Amancio, and Ploog being three worth mentioning) but something about Smith's clean lines and superb storytelling give this book just the right feel to be nostalgic yet carrying the look of The Spirit's world forward.

I'm enjoying it, I'm keeping it on my pull list and so I'm sure DC will cancel it. Maybe they'll hang on to it for a while since the movie's coming out.

Legion of Super-Heroes #42: Sometimes I think ignorance is bliss. Like back in the old days when I bought my books off a spinner rack, and I had no idea what was going on behind the scenes of my favourite monthly comic books. That's the mentality I had when I started picking up the Jim Shooter Legion of Super-Heroes. I thought I'd give it a try because it looked fairly promising. Like it was trying to be classic without tossing out the any of the new stuff that the creators before this had established, and, it should be noted, that the artwork of Francis Manapul's was not entirely unpleasing to the eye. Fast forward a few months when I find out that Shooter's run is just temporary. That he's essentially killing time until the Final Crisis event has its way with the characters and then DC plans to relaunch the book later with a new creative team and direction. So, when I look at the last couple of issues, which feel very much like Shooter is either lost or spinning his wheels a little, I get miffed because I now realise that it's not just a brief lull in the story, it's useless filler to pad out the remainder of Shooter's run.

Overall, I still enjoy it when I do pick it up, but all the anticipation for it, as well as the fun of it, has been sucked out for me. There is probably a half-dozen issues or more to the Shooter run, so we'll see how it goes.

FCBD X-Men: I finally got around to reading this story and all I can say is, "Ugh!" This is why I will not be buying a regular X-Title any time soon. Carey's story is dull and his new X-Character, Pixie, less than engaging. This 'joining the team' story tries to be a new "Welcome to the X-Men, Kitty Pryde, Hope You Survive the Experience" but falls dreadfully short. Considering I dropped Carey's Ultimate FF recently, I shouldn't be at all surprised that I didn't enjoy this issue at all. Add to that Greg Land's art which makes my eyes bleed and I won't be peeking around Xavier's Institute for another couple of years, to be sure.

Amazing Spider-Man #555-557: This is the first time in a looong time that I've been able to buy, read and enjoy a mainstream Spider-Man comic book and this makes me glad. I have no interest in the whole "Brand New Day" brouhaha, but if it means that for short little bursts during the year I can enjoy Chris Bachalo's pencils on my favourite Marvel super-hero, I think I can live with it. Also, Zeb Wells wrote a Spidey that was quick-witted, a little hard-done-by, and utterly human which was, ultimately, the driving force to me actively seeking out all three issues so I can enjoy the whole story. Fun stuff.

I'm not sure if Wells and Bachalo will get another crack at the web-slinger anytime soon (I think it's McKone and Slott right now?), but I'm crossing fingers.

Later!

mike

Hey, Kids, Comics!

I was looking at the Diamond Shipping List for July 30th and thought I would do what many other bloggers have done before me and tag those items that I think are worthy of note. The legend below will explain how I'm going to lay this sucker out.

Bold is what I will grab for sure.
Italics mean it's something I want, but won't necessarily pick it up right away.
Regular text indicates something that has caught my eye but is either too pricy to be reasonable, or I would only pick up as an impulse buy.

JIM BUTCHERS DRESDEN FILES #4 (OF 4) WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE
BATMAN GOING SANE TP
REIGN IN HELL #1 (OF 8)
SKRULLS VS POWER PACK #1 (OF 4)
MUMMY MOVIE PREQUEL RISE & FALL OF XANGOS AX #4

That's all she wrote, folks. I don't make it down to the comic store as often as I would like, but I think I will keep this little exercise up until I become thoroughly bored with it.

Cheers!

mike