I've been listening to a lot of interviews lately, mostly through iTunes and the various podcasts I've browsed and downloaded through there. I'm not entirely sure what that might say about me or my state of mind lately but, by and large, the interviews I seem to be focused on are primarily with screenwriters talking about current projects, doing a career overview or just talking about the industry as a whole. The Creative Screenwriting podcast, hosted by Jeff Goldsmith, has brought me some chuckles. Personalities under the spotlight there include recent Watchmen writers David Hayter and Alex Tse, Richard Kelly and the hilariously fun Luc Besson. The Zicree-Simkins podcast features the likes of Barbara Nance (script supervisor on The X-Files and a writer in her own right), Battlestar Galactica's Michael Nankin, Robert Hewitt Wolfe (of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Andromeda fame, and Rockne Farscape O'Bannon.
I listen to them mostly while I'm working at the computer. Usually I have music playing but, from time to time, it gets really distracting so I switch to the much quieter interview material. It's a nice change from the music when I grow tired of it.
Anyway, I don't really have anything other than that to say, sad as that may be. I'll try and pep it up for next time.
Cheers!
mike
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
The Comic Haul - 03/18/09
And here we are with another installment of the getting more regular, The Comic Haul, where I, your intrepid blogging host, review some of the weeks comics for your perusal:
JOHN CONSTANTINE: HELLBLAZER #253 was a pretty enjoyable read and a decent first effort by new writer, Peter Milligan. I've been a fan of Milligan's since his days back on Shade the Changing Man and was happy to hear that he would be replacing Andy Diggle as regular series writer. Diggle brought me back into the fold and with his departure I questioned whether or not I would continue on with the book. Milligan was the perfect name to keep me around for the long haul. I will say that the story of intelligent, and somewhat malicious, biological material (in this case a scab) rings kind of familiar (see latter issues of the aforementioned Shade) but Milligan manages to spin it well, and the addition of John's new girl, Phoebe, gives the whole story a nice little twist. I'm not entirely sold on the artwork of Giuseppe Camuncoli, but given some time I think he'll settle in just fine. Oh yeah, there's also a fine cover by regular cover artist, Lee Bermejo.
GROOM LAKE #1 is a book I knew nothing about until I read last week's Angel: Blood & Trenches. There was an ad in back that showed the cover image and listed the creative team, and my curiosity was piqued. As an X-Files fan from way back, how could I not think of that great episode, 'José Chung's From Outer Space" with the smoking alien and the "this is not happening" mantra? Unfortunately, Groom Lake doesn't really live up to that level of fun and sophistication. To be honest, it's not even fun and stupid. Chris Ryall riffs on Men in Black, X-Files, and every other space-horror-comedy that has come down the pike in the last 10 or 15 years to cobble this one together. Heck, even Ben Templesmith can't save this one. Skip it if it's an option.
THE X-FILES #5 has yet another creative team taking the reins where Frank Spotnitz and Marv Wolfman left off. This time around Scully and Mulder must deal with mysterious underground "demons" in a story that is a bit of a stretch, tonally, for The X-Files. There appears to be a serial killer on the loose who claims to be driven by 'demons' who live in an underworld that is analogous to hell. The police don't have enough information out of the suspect and they ask for a "Spooky perspective", inviting Fox and Dana to check on their guy. They get embroiled in something greater than anyone expected and judging by the cliffhanger ending, there be demons afoot. Either that, or Daphne, Fred and Velma are going to pop out soon and pull the masks off the ghoulies and reveal how the crime was done. In all fairness, Doug Moench does a decent job with the material, it just doesn't feel quite X-Filesey enough. It takes a special hand to get it right. So far, Stefan Petrucha and John Rozum, with an honourable mention for Marv Wolfman last issue, are the closest the comic world has come to finding writers that can do this material and make it feel like the television show. Next issue's the last so we'll see if the series goes out on a whimper or a bang.
SUPERGIRL #39 continues the "Who is Superwoman?" storyline that has been running post New Krypton, and remains one of my top of the pile reads every month. I never expected to be picking up a Supergirl book. I collected it briefly when Peter David was the writer back in the day, but this new Loeb-introduced Supergirl was never my thing and I avoided her like the plague. Enter Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle who do such a wonderful job of creating a character and a world that feels very real to me month after month. Watching Kara deal with her mother's disapproval, the continuing feelings of loss for her father, the trouble she's having being torn between two worlds (New Krypton, where her biological family is, and Earth, her adopted homeworld) and the mystery of this Superwoman character that is causing all sorts of trouble for her are totally engaging to me. This is the level of drama I like to see in a continuing monthly super-hero series. It's just a combination of good writing and great artwork. Grab a copy if you have a chance.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #588 was a book I planned to buy but didn't. Marvel raised the price on the book to $3.99 so I had to opt out of the last issue in the "Character Assassination" stoy. For what it's worth, JR, Jr.'s art looks sharp as ever but I'm just not buying any books that were essentially an impulse purchase that have gone up in price. I can put those dollars towards continuing to buy the 'must-have' stuff.
MYSTERIUS THE UNFATHOMABLE #3 continues to build on the larger story that writer Jeff Parker introduced with the seance in issue 1. Sub-plots continue to develop and become intertwined with the main story wherein Mysterius discovers that a series of rhyming Seussian children's books are actually designed as spell for people to unintentionally code-chant in order to unleash Hell on Earth. Fun stuff. You can practically feel the surprise and irritation Mysterius must be experiencing as he deals with elements beyond his control thanks to Parker's great dialogue and the beautifully comic artwork of Tom Fowler. Every time I see him trying to 'help' a person deal with the supernatural, I imagine it must be not entirely dissimilar to explaining e-mail attachments to my mother. It usually ends with my hand on my forehead and an accompanying slapping sound. So, if you haven't picked up on it yet, this is great stuff. Mysterius is one of those 'give me something new and different' books you always hear people asking for, so give it a try if you haven't already.
And that was the Comic Haul for this week. Comments are always welcome so feel free to throw in your two cents worth.
Until next week, take care.
mike
JOHN CONSTANTINE: HELLBLAZER #253 was a pretty enjoyable read and a decent first effort by new writer, Peter Milligan. I've been a fan of Milligan's since his days back on Shade the Changing Man and was happy to hear that he would be replacing Andy Diggle as regular series writer. Diggle brought me back into the fold and with his departure I questioned whether or not I would continue on with the book. Milligan was the perfect name to keep me around for the long haul. I will say that the story of intelligent, and somewhat malicious, biological material (in this case a scab) rings kind of familiar (see latter issues of the aforementioned Shade) but Milligan manages to spin it well, and the addition of John's new girl, Phoebe, gives the whole story a nice little twist. I'm not entirely sold on the artwork of Giuseppe Camuncoli, but given some time I think he'll settle in just fine. Oh yeah, there's also a fine cover by regular cover artist, Lee Bermejo.
GROOM LAKE #1 is a book I knew nothing about until I read last week's Angel: Blood & Trenches. There was an ad in back that showed the cover image and listed the creative team, and my curiosity was piqued. As an X-Files fan from way back, how could I not think of that great episode, 'José Chung's From Outer Space" with the smoking alien and the "this is not happening" mantra? Unfortunately, Groom Lake doesn't really live up to that level of fun and sophistication. To be honest, it's not even fun and stupid. Chris Ryall riffs on Men in Black, X-Files, and every other space-horror-comedy that has come down the pike in the last 10 or 15 years to cobble this one together. Heck, even Ben Templesmith can't save this one. Skip it if it's an option.
THE X-FILES #5 has yet another creative team taking the reins where Frank Spotnitz and Marv Wolfman left off. This time around Scully and Mulder must deal with mysterious underground "demons" in a story that is a bit of a stretch, tonally, for The X-Files. There appears to be a serial killer on the loose who claims to be driven by 'demons' who live in an underworld that is analogous to hell. The police don't have enough information out of the suspect and they ask for a "Spooky perspective", inviting Fox and Dana to check on their guy. They get embroiled in something greater than anyone expected and judging by the cliffhanger ending, there be demons afoot. Either that, or Daphne, Fred and Velma are going to pop out soon and pull the masks off the ghoulies and reveal how the crime was done. In all fairness, Doug Moench does a decent job with the material, it just doesn't feel quite X-Filesey enough. It takes a special hand to get it right. So far, Stefan Petrucha and John Rozum, with an honourable mention for Marv Wolfman last issue, are the closest the comic world has come to finding writers that can do this material and make it feel like the television show. Next issue's the last so we'll see if the series goes out on a whimper or a bang.
SUPERGIRL #39 continues the "Who is Superwoman?" storyline that has been running post New Krypton, and remains one of my top of the pile reads every month. I never expected to be picking up a Supergirl book. I collected it briefly when Peter David was the writer back in the day, but this new Loeb-introduced Supergirl was never my thing and I avoided her like the plague. Enter Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle who do such a wonderful job of creating a character and a world that feels very real to me month after month. Watching Kara deal with her mother's disapproval, the continuing feelings of loss for her father, the trouble she's having being torn between two worlds (New Krypton, where her biological family is, and Earth, her adopted homeworld) and the mystery of this Superwoman character that is causing all sorts of trouble for her are totally engaging to me. This is the level of drama I like to see in a continuing monthly super-hero series. It's just a combination of good writing and great artwork. Grab a copy if you have a chance.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #588 was a book I planned to buy but didn't. Marvel raised the price on the book to $3.99 so I had to opt out of the last issue in the "Character Assassination" stoy. For what it's worth, JR, Jr.'s art looks sharp as ever but I'm just not buying any books that were essentially an impulse purchase that have gone up in price. I can put those dollars towards continuing to buy the 'must-have' stuff.
MYSTERIUS THE UNFATHOMABLE #3 continues to build on the larger story that writer Jeff Parker introduced with the seance in issue 1. Sub-plots continue to develop and become intertwined with the main story wherein Mysterius discovers that a series of rhyming Seussian children's books are actually designed as spell for people to unintentionally code-chant in order to unleash Hell on Earth. Fun stuff. You can practically feel the surprise and irritation Mysterius must be experiencing as he deals with elements beyond his control thanks to Parker's great dialogue and the beautifully comic artwork of Tom Fowler. Every time I see him trying to 'help' a person deal with the supernatural, I imagine it must be not entirely dissimilar to explaining e-mail attachments to my mother. It usually ends with my hand on my forehead and an accompanying slapping sound. So, if you haven't picked up on it yet, this is great stuff. Mysterius is one of those 'give me something new and different' books you always hear people asking for, so give it a try if you haven't already.
And that was the Comic Haul for this week. Comments are always welcome so feel free to throw in your two cents worth.
Until next week, take care.
mike
Friday, March 20, 2009
Tubular Bells
I'm listening to a copy of Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells 2003 and I've hit that part where the MC announces all the instruments as they are introduced into the song. The track is called "Finale" and is one I generally enjoy. Originally it was done by Vivian Stanshall, and was later redone on Tubular Bells II by Alan Rickman. This 30th anniversary release features John Cleese who pretty much ruins it for me when he chimes in with his unmistakable enunciation. Rather than just enjoying the music for the music's sake, I feel like Oldfield is playing in a cheese shop, or something, and Cleese is there in all his Pythonesque glory.I suppose the nice thing about this particular piece is that there are several versions of it out there over the years (all by Oldfield) and I can go back to TBII or the original whenever I want and just ignore this one.
Cheers!
mike
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
The Comic Haul - 03/11/09
And here we are with another installment of the increasingly irregular, The Comic Haul, where I, your intrepid blogging host, review some of the weeks comics for your perusal:
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF SAVIOR 28 #1 is my pick for the week. A lot of folks have tried to do a book like this in recent years. They create a Superman analogue or other Golden or Silver Age hero, take him throughout history and show the effects his presence would have politically and on us as a society. I was a little concerned when I heard about this series because of the fact that this idea keeps getting rehashed in one way or another and I wondered why DeMatteis (someone I consider one of the best writers in the field) wanted to explore that idea. After reading Savior 28, I'm glad he did. This is really great stuff. The characters were interesting, the pondering of an alternate comic book history was kept to a minimum, and the pacing of the issue was razor sharp. Good dialogue, good art, great story, what else is there to ask for? I am really looking forward to what DeMatteis gives us next issue.
ANGEL: BLOOD & TRENCHES #1 wasn't perfect and certainly had its problems, but if Dark Horse had been trying stuff like this when they had the license, I think they would still have the Angel license. John Byrne comes in from out of nowhere and gives us a WWI Angel tale that is a fun take on the character and different enough from what is currently going on with the regular series to really stand out. Byrne's art is all pencil work here and he proves that, while he may not be the brightest light in comics any longer, he still has the art chops to knock one out of the park. Everything from the lush background details to the spot-on likeness of David Boreanaz go a long way to making this one of the best looking Angel stories I have ever seen. Story-wise, Byrne doesn't give us anything miraculous but it is a solid effort and he throws in enough detail to show that he was either a fan of the show or he did his research before taking this on. It's definitely worth checking out.
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #34 has some very dramatic moments and is clearly building towards something, but my lack of interest in the Lantern universe is working against me, here. The owner of my LCS told me that Green Lantern stuff was just rocking these days and I should try it, so I did. Not so much with the rockin' and I feel pretty firm in my belief that I won't miss much if I skip the upcoming "Blackest Night".
THE IMMORTAL IRON FIST #23 is a pretty decent read. I haven't had my hands on an Iron Fist comic since somewhere in the first 6 issues by Fraction,Brubaker and Aja, so I had no idea what to expect, but assumed, foolishly, that there was no way it could be as good as those early issues. Swierczynski does a nice job of creating atmosphere, communicating who these characters are with very little spoken information (also a credit to his art team of Travel Foreman and Co.) and coming in on the second part of a story and knowing exactly where I am and what's going on without 6 pages of exposition is a nice change. I'm seeing this more and more in Marvel books and it's making them so much more accessible than so much of DC's output. After reading this issue, I may consider catching up and continuing on with the book.
BATMAN: BATTLE FOR THE COWL #1 was better than I expected it to be, but I'm not sure I'm in for all three issues at this point. I do give it credit for being only three issues. I mean, considering all the crossovers and events in just about every corner of the DCU, and the multi-part R.I.P. storyline that seemed to go on forever, I tip me hat to them for showing some restraint and not milking this one. I should also give Tony Daniel some props for a not-bad job of writing, the first I've seen him do to date. It should be noted that the writing and art in Battle for the Cowl were both clearer and more engaging than any single issue of R.I.P. so maybe I should reconsider sticking around for the next two issues. Worth checking out if you've been a part of all this Batman tomfoolery over the last year, otherwise it might not have much resonance.
ACTION COMICS #875 was a really, really quick read. Still, I've been enjoying the happenings in the Superman corner of the DCU for a while now and this was no disappointment. The first of the all-new, all-Superman-free issues starring the Kryptonian heroes, Flamebird and Nightwing planted the seeds for what looks to be a decent story (or part of one) that will play out over the next 12 months. Kryptonian sleeper agents have been planted on Earth and they work for Zod who has not yet given up on his desire to crush Kal-El and his adopted homeworld. DC is certainly doing something right leaving their mightiest mascot in the hands of Greg Rucka, James Robinson and Geoff Johns.
That was kind of a DC heavy Comic Haul but I honestly didn't go crazy on the Marvels this week. I didn't review the new Captain Britain or Iron Man even though they were on the pile mostly because of time, but if I get a chance I'll run a couple of quickies off.
Until next week, take care.
mike
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF SAVIOR 28 #1 is my pick for the week. A lot of folks have tried to do a book like this in recent years. They create a Superman analogue or other Golden or Silver Age hero, take him throughout history and show the effects his presence would have politically and on us as a society. I was a little concerned when I heard about this series because of the fact that this idea keeps getting rehashed in one way or another and I wondered why DeMatteis (someone I consider one of the best writers in the field) wanted to explore that idea. After reading Savior 28, I'm glad he did. This is really great stuff. The characters were interesting, the pondering of an alternate comic book history was kept to a minimum, and the pacing of the issue was razor sharp. Good dialogue, good art, great story, what else is there to ask for? I am really looking forward to what DeMatteis gives us next issue.
ANGEL: BLOOD & TRENCHES #1 wasn't perfect and certainly had its problems, but if Dark Horse had been trying stuff like this when they had the license, I think they would still have the Angel license. John Byrne comes in from out of nowhere and gives us a WWI Angel tale that is a fun take on the character and different enough from what is currently going on with the regular series to really stand out. Byrne's art is all pencil work here and he proves that, while he may not be the brightest light in comics any longer, he still has the art chops to knock one out of the park. Everything from the lush background details to the spot-on likeness of David Boreanaz go a long way to making this one of the best looking Angel stories I have ever seen. Story-wise, Byrne doesn't give us anything miraculous but it is a solid effort and he throws in enough detail to show that he was either a fan of the show or he did his research before taking this on. It's definitely worth checking out.
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #34 has some very dramatic moments and is clearly building towards something, but my lack of interest in the Lantern universe is working against me, here. The owner of my LCS told me that Green Lantern stuff was just rocking these days and I should try it, so I did. Not so much with the rockin' and I feel pretty firm in my belief that I won't miss much if I skip the upcoming "Blackest Night".
THE IMMORTAL IRON FIST #23 is a pretty decent read. I haven't had my hands on an Iron Fist comic since somewhere in the first 6 issues by Fraction,Brubaker and Aja, so I had no idea what to expect, but assumed, foolishly, that there was no way it could be as good as those early issues. Swierczynski does a nice job of creating atmosphere, communicating who these characters are with very little spoken information (also a credit to his art team of Travel Foreman and Co.) and coming in on the second part of a story and knowing exactly where I am and what's going on without 6 pages of exposition is a nice change. I'm seeing this more and more in Marvel books and it's making them so much more accessible than so much of DC's output. After reading this issue, I may consider catching up and continuing on with the book.
BATMAN: BATTLE FOR THE COWL #1 was better than I expected it to be, but I'm not sure I'm in for all three issues at this point. I do give it credit for being only three issues. I mean, considering all the crossovers and events in just about every corner of the DCU, and the multi-part R.I.P. storyline that seemed to go on forever, I tip me hat to them for showing some restraint and not milking this one. I should also give Tony Daniel some props for a not-bad job of writing, the first I've seen him do to date. It should be noted that the writing and art in Battle for the Cowl were both clearer and more engaging than any single issue of R.I.P. so maybe I should reconsider sticking around for the next two issues. Worth checking out if you've been a part of all this Batman tomfoolery over the last year, otherwise it might not have much resonance.
ACTION COMICS #875 was a really, really quick read. Still, I've been enjoying the happenings in the Superman corner of the DCU for a while now and this was no disappointment. The first of the all-new, all-Superman-free issues starring the Kryptonian heroes, Flamebird and Nightwing planted the seeds for what looks to be a decent story (or part of one) that will play out over the next 12 months. Kryptonian sleeper agents have been planted on Earth and they work for Zod who has not yet given up on his desire to crush Kal-El and his adopted homeworld. DC is certainly doing something right leaving their mightiest mascot in the hands of Greg Rucka, James Robinson and Geoff Johns.
That was kind of a DC heavy Comic Haul but I honestly didn't go crazy on the Marvels this week. I didn't review the new Captain Britain or Iron Man even though they were on the pile mostly because of time, but if I get a chance I'll run a couple of quickies off.
Until next week, take care.
mike
Thursday, March 12, 2009
The Indiana Jones Comic Book Revue #4
All books are rated on a 0 to 5 Fedoras system.
The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones #5
(Marvel Comics Group)
Plot/Script by: David Michelinie
Pencilled by: Ron Frenz
Inked by: Danny Bulandi
Cover by: Ron Frenz
"I'm just glad mom isn't here to see this..."
Dateline 1936
"The Harbingers" continues right off the cliffhanger from last issue with Indiana Jones and Karen Mays as they dangle precariously off of a bridge in a commandeered Rolls Royce. As they make their escape they find that they are out of the frying pan only to jump into the fire as the Nazis are waiting for them on the bridge. Indy and Karen leap for the Thames and land on a garbage scow which takes them away from the immediate danger.
What follows is a series of misadventures with Indy and Karen dodging the Nazi menace at every turn while they try to make it to Stonehenge with the crystal artifact. Once there, they hope to see if the carvings that tell of the return of ancient beings to our plane of existence are true. What they find is pretty much as advertised and Michelinie describes it as such:
Indy is tempted to let the beasties out so he can learn their secrets but has a change of heart and smashes the crystal, locking them away to wallow in their otherworldly place forever, not to mention foiling those pesky Nazis yet again.
Although I am never a fan of showing Indy too much of the supernatural, it is a necessary element to telling a certain kind of Indiana Jones story so I'm not going to condemn the creative team for going to the places they did in "The Harbingers". It's not the best Indy story I've ever read, but the characterizations were good, the action was fun, there was a fight on top of a train, and it was, overall, a decent pulp-inspired read. I also think this tale succeeds primarily because it mirrors so much of what made Raiders work: the race against time; the Nazi's around every corner; the ancient artifact that promises wondrous things; and a showy SFX finale with swirly ghost-like apparitions.
I honestly thought I was going to dip down with the rating on this one but I think it could be argued that "The Harbingers" was totally consistent with its predecessor and, therefore, earns three well-worn fedoras.
The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones #5
(Marvel Comics Group)
Plot/Script by: David Michelinie
Pencilled by: Ron Frenz
Inked by: Danny Bulandi
Cover by: Ron Frenz
"I'm just glad mom isn't here to see this..."
Dateline 1936
"The Harbingers" continues right off the cliffhanger from last issue with Indiana Jones and Karen Mays as they dangle precariously off of a bridge in a commandeered Rolls Royce. As they make their escape they find that they are out of the frying pan only to jump into the fire as the Nazis are waiting for them on the bridge. Indy and Karen leap for the Thames and land on a garbage scow which takes them away from the immediate danger.
What follows is a series of misadventures with Indy and Karen dodging the Nazi menace at every turn while they try to make it to Stonehenge with the crystal artifact. Once there, they hope to see if the carvings that tell of the return of ancient beings to our plane of existence are true. What they find is pretty much as advertised and Michelinie describes it as such:
Above the ancient rock towers of Stonehenge the very sky splits open giving hazy glimpses of things reptillian, simian, canine, insectile, and utterly, utterly unknown!
Indy is tempted to let the beasties out so he can learn their secrets but has a change of heart and smashes the crystal, locking them away to wallow in their otherworldly place forever, not to mention foiling those pesky Nazis yet again.
Although I am never a fan of showing Indy too much of the supernatural, it is a necessary element to telling a certain kind of Indiana Jones story so I'm not going to condemn the creative team for going to the places they did in "The Harbingers". It's not the best Indy story I've ever read, but the characterizations were good, the action was fun, there was a fight on top of a train, and it was, overall, a decent pulp-inspired read. I also think this tale succeeds primarily because it mirrors so much of what made Raiders work: the race against time; the Nazi's around every corner; the ancient artifact that promises wondrous things; and a showy SFX finale with swirly ghost-like apparitions.
I honestly thought I was going to dip down with the rating on this one but I think it could be argued that "The Harbingers" was totally consistent with its predecessor and, therefore, earns three well-worn fedoras.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Hey Kids, Comics! For 03/11/09
Welcome to another installment of HK,C! and a decent sized pull-list.
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 pricey to be reasonable, or I would only pick up as an impulse buy. More than likely I'll read it at some point but not own it.
THIS WEEK'S PULL-LIST
THE AMAZON #1 (OF 3) (I have the original release of this mini from back in the '80s but it's worth picking up if you've never read it.)
ACTION COMICS #875 (I'm not buying them with any regularity, but the Superman books have managed to catch my interest, of late.)
REBELS #2 (Loved #1, looking forward to seeing where it's all going.)
CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI 13 #11 (Still one of my favourite Marvel books.)
GHOST RIDER #33 (Not sure if I'm going to be buying past Huat's run but I'll take a look and see if I like it.)
GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #11 (I'm loving what Abnett and Lanning are doing on this book.)
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #11 (I didn't think I would like this once it got wrapped up on the whole Dark Reign thing but Fraction is proving me wrong.)
30 DAYS OF NIGHT 30 DAYS TIL DEATH #4 (Haven't been buying them but they are readable.)
That's it for this week. Have a great Wednesday at your LCS. If for some reason you don't know where that is, try here.
Later!
mike
THIS WEEK'S PULL-LIST
THE AMAZON #1 (OF 3) (I have the original release of this mini from back in the '80s but it's worth picking up if you've never read it.)
ACTION COMICS #875 (I'm not buying them with any regularity, but the Superman books have managed to catch my interest, of late.)
REBELS #2 (Loved #1, looking forward to seeing where it's all going.)
CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI 13 #11 (Still one of my favourite Marvel books.)
GHOST RIDER #33 (Not sure if I'm going to be buying past Huat's run but I'll take a look and see if I like it.)
GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #11 (I'm loving what Abnett and Lanning are doing on this book.)
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #11 (I didn't think I would like this once it got wrapped up on the whole Dark Reign thing but Fraction is proving me wrong.)
30 DAYS OF NIGHT 30 DAYS TIL DEATH #4 (Haven't been buying them but they are readable.)
That's it for this week. Have a great Wednesday at your LCS. If for some reason you don't know where that is, try here.
Later!
mike
Sunday, March 08, 2009
The Comic Haul - 03/04/09
Sadly, I must apologize to anyone who is paying attention to these posts, but I'm not going to be able to get a Comic Haul out for this week. I have some contract work that I have to get through and it's sucking up a lot of time. Hopefully back on schedule for next week.
Oh yeah, and if you picked up Agents of Atlas this week, you get a cookie.
Later!
mike
Friday, March 06, 2009
Saturday Morning Watchmen
While you're waiting for Warner Bros. and Zack Snyder's Watchmen movie to open, you can enjoy the Saturday morning antics of your favourite costumed heroes from an alternate 1985 here:
Cheers!
mike
Cheers!
mike
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
The Spirit DVD Announced
So they've finally announced the DVD release date for Frank Miller's The Spirit (landing April 14th) and it was accompanied by the cover art for the disc which is no less embarrassing than the film itself:
The first thing I noticed is that Gabriel Macht (the film's lead) is squished up in the top third of the image. The next thing I noticed is that Lionsgate would rather sell you this movie based on trashy women with extremely supportive undergarments and Sam Jackson looking like a transgendered hitman, not entirely dissimilar to how they marketed the movie to theatres (which clearly worked so well for them).
I told my wife just a couple of weeks ago while we were in the car and discussing how the movie quietly slipped out of the second run theatres in town, that after all the venom and bile I've spouted regarding this movie, they're gonna sucker me into the DVD purchase anyway because of the inevitable Will Eisner doc they will include, likely on a 2-disc collector's set. Apparently, they're only including the Eisner doc on the Blu-Ray release, though, so I may escape giving them any real money after all.
Later!
mike
The first thing I noticed is that Gabriel Macht (the film's lead) is squished up in the top third of the image. The next thing I noticed is that Lionsgate would rather sell you this movie based on trashy women with extremely supportive undergarments and Sam Jackson looking like a transgendered hitman, not entirely dissimilar to how they marketed the movie to theatres (which clearly worked so well for them).
I told my wife just a couple of weeks ago while we were in the car and discussing how the movie quietly slipped out of the second run theatres in town, that after all the venom and bile I've spouted regarding this movie, they're gonna sucker me into the DVD purchase anyway because of the inevitable Will Eisner doc they will include, likely on a 2-disc collector's set. Apparently, they're only including the Eisner doc on the Blu-Ray release, though, so I may escape giving them any real money after all.
Later!
mike
Sunday, March 01, 2009
The Comic Haul - 02/25/09
In all fairness, I haven't managed to improve my situation time-wise so this week's TCH will resemble the one I did last week. Still, that being said, I kind of didn't mind the format from last week and have been giving it some thought as to how one could refine it a bit and possibly make that the one I use from here on out. I'll keep thinking about it. And now, on to the reviews:
BATMAN THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #2 was the second issue I bought from this series and the first I read, but seeing as how these are one-off stories, I don't think it really matters. I didn't have high hopes for it as I'm not a fan of the show but I picked it up for my kids who I thought might get a kick out of it. I have also enjoyed most of the DC kids books so there was always the chance that I would get a kick out of it too, but no such luck here. I'm sure it would appeal to my 7 year old immensely but, unlike Tiny Titans or the new Supergirl and Shazam! books, it's all ages appeal is pretty limited.
SUPERMAN #685 was a bit dry for my tastes and suffers from being a purely expository issue to set up the next year of the Super-books. Robinson does manage to not make it a complete bore by giving us some nice moments with Mon-El and the artwork by Javier Pina was pretty solid. I don't know how closely Pins worked with Hi-Fi, the colourists for this issue, but it did feel a bit off, with some of the scenes coming off a little too bright. Maybe they need just to adjust some of their photoshop filters. Overall a decent, if unspectacular, read.
YOUNGBLOOD #8 reminds me why I stopped buying this series after the first issue. It's chaotic and it's bland which is a strange combination and one that doesn't make for good comics. I wanted to like this series when it first debuted because I've enjoyed the talents of Joe Casey and Derec Donovan elsewhere on other books. Unfortunately, I don't see a lot of that talent showing itself 'round these parts. Could be that the Liefeld characters are really limited, could be the stories that Casey is coming up with are uninspired, I don't know. What I do know is that, 7 issues later, I give Youngblood yet another pass.
STAR TREK COUNTDOWN #2 is a surprisingly decent effort from IDW, writers Mike Johnson and Tim Jones, and artist David Messina. Despite the Trek magic being thoroughly tarnished after many years of returning to the proverbial well, and the new film not inspiring me with a great deal of hope for a successful franchise reboot, this mini-series gives me some comfort. It's a prequel, but doesn't appear to have anything to do with the movie two issues in and reads better than most of the comics or novels that have been released over the years, which is interesting. It's also a nice blending of the old and the new with characters like Spock, Picard, and Data making appearances that don't come off like stunt casting, and the new characters, like the Romulan miner, Nero, who manage to fit seamlessly into the existing Star Trek fabric. It is, by no means, a perfect comic book, and the plot bears some similarities to Star Trek VI, but I've genuinely enjoyed reading both the first issue and this one, so I'll probably stick around to see how it ends.
MIGHTY AVENGERS #22, part two of "Earth's Mightiest", doesn't really improve on the first part much, although I seemed less bothered by Khoi Phamm's work here than I was previously. Oddly enough, I think Quicksilver sums up my feelings on the issue best when he refers to the new team that's assembling as "pure chaos". I know there are supposed to be interesting character dynamics forming between Avengers past and present, but the whole thing seems too staged and just isn't working for me. And I don't know who is responsible, but what's up with Quicksilver being back in the green suit? I may stick around for the final chapter just for completion's sake, but I can't guarantee it.
And that's another Comic Haul in the bucket. Looking over the list I think I'd have to vote Star Trek: Countdown #2 as the Pick of the Litter which would be the second time that book has surprised me since picking it up.
Take care.
mike
BATMAN THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #2 was the second issue I bought from this series and the first I read, but seeing as how these are one-off stories, I don't think it really matters. I didn't have high hopes for it as I'm not a fan of the show but I picked it up for my kids who I thought might get a kick out of it. I have also enjoyed most of the DC kids books so there was always the chance that I would get a kick out of it too, but no such luck here. I'm sure it would appeal to my 7 year old immensely but, unlike Tiny Titans or the new Supergirl and Shazam! books, it's all ages appeal is pretty limited.
SUPERMAN #685 was a bit dry for my tastes and suffers from being a purely expository issue to set up the next year of the Super-books. Robinson does manage to not make it a complete bore by giving us some nice moments with Mon-El and the artwork by Javier Pina was pretty solid. I don't know how closely Pins worked with Hi-Fi, the colourists for this issue, but it did feel a bit off, with some of the scenes coming off a little too bright. Maybe they need just to adjust some of their photoshop filters. Overall a decent, if unspectacular, read.
YOUNGBLOOD #8 reminds me why I stopped buying this series after the first issue. It's chaotic and it's bland which is a strange combination and one that doesn't make for good comics. I wanted to like this series when it first debuted because I've enjoyed the talents of Joe Casey and Derec Donovan elsewhere on other books. Unfortunately, I don't see a lot of that talent showing itself 'round these parts. Could be that the Liefeld characters are really limited, could be the stories that Casey is coming up with are uninspired, I don't know. What I do know is that, 7 issues later, I give Youngblood yet another pass.
STAR TREK COUNTDOWN #2 is a surprisingly decent effort from IDW, writers Mike Johnson and Tim Jones, and artist David Messina. Despite the Trek magic being thoroughly tarnished after many years of returning to the proverbial well, and the new film not inspiring me with a great deal of hope for a successful franchise reboot, this mini-series gives me some comfort. It's a prequel, but doesn't appear to have anything to do with the movie two issues in and reads better than most of the comics or novels that have been released over the years, which is interesting. It's also a nice blending of the old and the new with characters like Spock, Picard, and Data making appearances that don't come off like stunt casting, and the new characters, like the Romulan miner, Nero, who manage to fit seamlessly into the existing Star Trek fabric. It is, by no means, a perfect comic book, and the plot bears some similarities to Star Trek VI, but I've genuinely enjoyed reading both the first issue and this one, so I'll probably stick around to see how it ends.
MIGHTY AVENGERS #22, part two of "Earth's Mightiest", doesn't really improve on the first part much, although I seemed less bothered by Khoi Phamm's work here than I was previously. Oddly enough, I think Quicksilver sums up my feelings on the issue best when he refers to the new team that's assembling as "pure chaos". I know there are supposed to be interesting character dynamics forming between Avengers past and present, but the whole thing seems too staged and just isn't working for me. And I don't know who is responsible, but what's up with Quicksilver being back in the green suit? I may stick around for the final chapter just for completion's sake, but I can't guarantee it.
And that's another Comic Haul in the bucket. Looking over the list I think I'd have to vote Star Trek: Countdown #2 as the Pick of the Litter which would be the second time that book has surprised me since picking it up.
Take care.
mike
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Decoding "Gethsemane" et al
I'm not sure what the catalyst was, but a little while ago I decided to start re-watching my X-Files sets from season one up with the intention of experiencing the entire mythology, now armed with 20/20 hindsight. As big a fan of the show as I was during its run, by the time things started changing in some of the later seasons (somewhere around 7-9, I'd guess) I could no longer keep track of the most basic threads of the mythology. Not only that, but I didn't quite feel the "Holy Christ!" impact I was supposed to during some of the series' major turning points, and I felt a little bit cheated by that.
I blamed myself, of course. Since I followed the behind the scenes stuff as closely as I followed the on-air show, I always heard or read interviews where the writers all seemed to see how all the little bits of connective tissue were working together. Being in the writer's room would give you that advantage, I suppose. Still, I had to ask myself, could I have paid closer attention? Have I forgotten some precious detail that would act as the Rosetta Stone to all of this hybrid/cloning/invasion/super-soldier gobbledeygook? It's possible, but I know I'm not the only fan who started getting lost when one lie would overlap another lie which would eventually lead to a truth that seemed innocuous but was really a major revelation that you didn't realize was one until much later in the show. The relationship between Mulder and Scully was always tracking fine for me but when we got something like the info dump that was Fight the Future or when the secret cabal was eventually destroyed by the other aliens with the melty faces, so much had led up to those moments by that point that my reaction was very much a surface one and the connective tissue that you knew the writers had in their heads appeared to be missing from a fan's perspective.
So far, 20/20 hindsight viewing has proven to me that knowing the ending, or just the broad strokes, really does help with the earlier bits that eventually lead you there. Watching the mythology track has been really fun and I've finally been able to just sit back and enjoy the episodes rather than trying to put the puzzle pieces together week after week. Knowing what's coming has also left me with a lot of questions about plot points that I'm waiting to see play out, but that's the whole point of the exercise, isn't it?
I have hit one speed bump so far in the form of the episodes "Gethsemane", "Redux" and "Redux II". The season 4 ender and the season 5 opener serves as a restatement of the mythology and attempts to send it off in a direction that will drive it headlong into the first feature film, Fight the Future, but I'm just totally derailed right now. It could be because I've watched it in interrupted bits and pieces, but this real alien/fake alien-Scully Cancer-Kritschgau snitching-Mulder dead-lying to the sub-committee plot is driving me a little bananas. It doesn't feel like it runs together too smoothly and that is actually surprising me a bit because, especially coming off the amazing season 4, I remember these episodes as being huge landmark events for the show and loving them the first time around. There are some beautiful character moments, and thematically there is some interesting things happening, but at this stage, I'm thinking the writers may have dropped the ball as early as this rather than much later on as I'd guessed.
I'll try them again when I have some time on my hands but do it in all one sitting this time. Maybe I'll have a better opinion of it then.
Cheers!
mike
I blamed myself, of course. Since I followed the behind the scenes stuff as closely as I followed the on-air show, I always heard or read interviews where the writers all seemed to see how all the little bits of connective tissue were working together. Being in the writer's room would give you that advantage, I suppose. Still, I had to ask myself, could I have paid closer attention? Have I forgotten some precious detail that would act as the Rosetta Stone to all of this hybrid/cloning/invasion/super-soldier gobbledeygook? It's possible, but I know I'm not the only fan who started getting lost when one lie would overlap another lie which would eventually lead to a truth that seemed innocuous but was really a major revelation that you didn't realize was one until much later in the show. The relationship between Mulder and Scully was always tracking fine for me but when we got something like the info dump that was Fight the Future or when the secret cabal was eventually destroyed by the other aliens with the melty faces, so much had led up to those moments by that point that my reaction was very much a surface one and the connective tissue that you knew the writers had in their heads appeared to be missing from a fan's perspective.
So far, 20/20 hindsight viewing has proven to me that knowing the ending, or just the broad strokes, really does help with the earlier bits that eventually lead you there. Watching the mythology track has been really fun and I've finally been able to just sit back and enjoy the episodes rather than trying to put the puzzle pieces together week after week. Knowing what's coming has also left me with a lot of questions about plot points that I'm waiting to see play out, but that's the whole point of the exercise, isn't it?
I have hit one speed bump so far in the form of the episodes "Gethsemane", "Redux" and "Redux II". The season 4 ender and the season 5 opener serves as a restatement of the mythology and attempts to send it off in a direction that will drive it headlong into the first feature film, Fight the Future, but I'm just totally derailed right now. It could be because I've watched it in interrupted bits and pieces, but this real alien/fake alien-Scully Cancer-Kritschgau snitching-Mulder dead-lying to the sub-committee plot is driving me a little bananas. It doesn't feel like it runs together too smoothly and that is actually surprising me a bit because, especially coming off the amazing season 4, I remember these episodes as being huge landmark events for the show and loving them the first time around. There are some beautiful character moments, and thematically there is some interesting things happening, but at this stage, I'm thinking the writers may have dropped the ball as early as this rather than much later on as I'd guessed.
I'll try them again when I have some time on my hands but do it in all one sitting this time. Maybe I'll have a better opinion of it then.
Cheers!
mike
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Political Interlude
Jen forwarded an article from the Calgary Herald to me today which discussed the difficulties new Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff will face when combating Liberal distrust and its pariah status in Western Canada. To that end, he has recently visited Saskatchewan to extend some goodwill and claiming that they have, in the past, "fallen prey to the temptation to run against the West...to run against Alberta, to run against the Saskatchewan energy sector. This is not the way to go."
At this point, it's all smiles words and the Liberals still have a lot of work to do before they make any headway 'round these parts. They will also have Alberta to contend with, a long-time Conservative stronghold and Harper's home turf, if they are looking to hold a majority government at some point in the future. No easy feat, I'll tell you. Just to show you how deeply entrenched they can be on their anti-Liberal position, check out my favourite quote from the article:
Heh. Jen and I got a good giggle out of that one.
Cheers!
mike
At this point, it's all smiles words and the Liberals still have a lot of work to do before they make any headway 'round these parts. They will also have Alberta to contend with, a long-time Conservative stronghold and Harper's home turf, if they are looking to hold a majority government at some point in the future. No easy feat, I'll tell you. Just to show you how deeply entrenched they can be on their anti-Liberal position, check out my favourite quote from the article:
Responding to Ignatieff's visit to Saskatoon, one Albertan blogged: "What's good for the West is to dig a wide moat to keep Ignatieff and the rest of his Eastern thieves off our money. The only question is, Which side of Saskatchewan do we dig that moat?"
Heh. Jen and I got a good giggle out of that one.
Cheers!
mike
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Zombies that Ate the World Animated Short
Last time over on The Comic Haul I mentioned The Zombies that Ate the World #1 released by Humanoids Publishing and Devil's Due Publishing. Well, I managed to stumble across an animated short featuring the characters with an English language track and French subtitles. It lacks the unrefined line of Guy Davis' work, but I gotta say, it does look good.
I've heard that the property is also in talks right now for a feature film, so I'm calling out fingers crossed on that one.
Later!
mike
I've heard that the property is also in talks right now for a feature film, so I'm calling out fingers crossed on that one.
Later!
mike
Sunday, February 22, 2009
The Comic Haul - 02/18/09
Man, keeping up with this review stuff has been really tough these last few weeks. I'm going to have to take another angle on things with this edition of The Comic Haul and will try and have things back on track for next week's stash.
The books I would have reviewed are covered below...
The Amazing Spider-Man #587 was good but nothing to write home about. Seeing as this series is working for me one issue and bombing the next, I don't know what to say, really. Likely the next issue won't be very good, but I'm willing to be surprised.
Four Eyes #2 was a long wait but it was worth it. I love this mini-series and you should definitely check it out. This is the first in a three-way tie for pick of the litter this week.
Mysterius the Unfathomable #2 is the second book in the three way tie for pick of the litter this week. I'm just loving what Jeff Parker and Tom Fowler are doing with this mini-series. There really isn't another book quite like it on the stands and if you're not checking it out, it comes highly recommended.
The X-Files #3 came as something of a disappointment this month. I had been enjoying the series up to this point but Marv Wolfman just didn't follow-through satisfactorily on this case. The premise was intriguing, the characters wewre well portrayed, but we've seen the Chinese Tongs in the television series and I sort of felt like they were treading water on this one. Hopefully the next story arc will be more fun.
Last in the three-way tie this week is The Zombies that Ate the World which is great fun and I am always happy to welcome more Guy Davis artwork into my home. It's also nice to see Humanoids getting their stuff out there again after the debacle with DC. If you dig zombies, get your grubby little fingers on a copy of TZTATW at your earliest opportunity.
Runner up for Pick of the Litter would be Robin #183. Funny that the last issue would also be the best issue in months. If this stuff would continue at this level when the series (possibly?) returns, I'd be happy to pick up where they left off. Seeing as how the Bat books are in flux, though, there probably won't be a Robin book to come back to when the dust settles. When it was good it was good, when it was stuck in the middle of the event whirlwind, it was marginal. Went out on a high note, though.
And with that, I am outta here. I'm almost liking the new format (even though it was meant as an ad hoc replacement for the 'older' style. I'd be curious to hear what any of you think or prefer review-wise so feel free to comment. I'll also try to have this all back on track for next week.
Cheers!
mike
The books I would have reviewed are covered below...
The Amazing Spider-Man #587 was good but nothing to write home about. Seeing as this series is working for me one issue and bombing the next, I don't know what to say, really. Likely the next issue won't be very good, but I'm willing to be surprised.
Four Eyes #2 was a long wait but it was worth it. I love this mini-series and you should definitely check it out. This is the first in a three-way tie for pick of the litter this week.
Mysterius the Unfathomable #2 is the second book in the three way tie for pick of the litter this week. I'm just loving what Jeff Parker and Tom Fowler are doing with this mini-series. There really isn't another book quite like it on the stands and if you're not checking it out, it comes highly recommended.
The X-Files #3 came as something of a disappointment this month. I had been enjoying the series up to this point but Marv Wolfman just didn't follow-through satisfactorily on this case. The premise was intriguing, the characters wewre well portrayed, but we've seen the Chinese Tongs in the television series and I sort of felt like they were treading water on this one. Hopefully the next story arc will be more fun.
Last in the three-way tie this week is The Zombies that Ate the World which is great fun and I am always happy to welcome more Guy Davis artwork into my home. It's also nice to see Humanoids getting their stuff out there again after the debacle with DC. If you dig zombies, get your grubby little fingers on a copy of TZTATW at your earliest opportunity.
Runner up for Pick of the Litter would be Robin #183. Funny that the last issue would also be the best issue in months. If this stuff would continue at this level when the series (possibly?) returns, I'd be happy to pick up where they left off. Seeing as how the Bat books are in flux, though, there probably won't be a Robin book to come back to when the dust settles. When it was good it was good, when it was stuck in the middle of the event whirlwind, it was marginal. Went out on a high note, though.
And with that, I am outta here. I'm almost liking the new format (even though it was meant as an ad hoc replacement for the 'older' style. I'd be curious to hear what any of you think or prefer review-wise so feel free to comment. I'll also try to have this all back on track for next week.
Cheers!
mike
Saturday, February 21, 2009
More Commentary Thoughts
A couple of days ago I posted the Limey commentary post and it kind of got me thinking about doing something like that on a semi-regular basis. For example, tonight I watched/listened to the Breakfast at Tiffany's commentary with producer Richard Shepherd and, since I was making critical judgments the whole time, I kept thinking I should be coming on the blog and writing it up in a commentary review. It might be interesting to do one every time I pop a DVD into the player and I'm always looking to generate content, so don't be surprised if you see something on it soon.
Cheers!
mike
Cheers!
mike
Friday, February 20, 2009
The Quest Continues
I'll come back and speak more on this later, but I just wanted to put it out there that Jonny Quest: The Real Adventures Season 1 Volume 1 was released on DVD this week and, while not the strongest Jonny Quest material out there, I still kind of like the show for what it is and it doesn't really diminish the old series one bit, so what's the harm?
Later!
mike
Later!
mike
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Audio Commentary Commentary
As anyone who has spent any time around me will attest, I love audio commentaries. Good or bad, I listen to them all. Not only do I listen to them, I judge a DVDs worth by them all the time. Sure, there may be 3 hours of documentary footage and EPK this and that, but if there isn't an audio commentary, I get a bit chafed. In fact, if a seven minute EPK style featurette is the only thing on a disc, and you just know there should be a commentary, I won't even buy the thing. There are several witnesses who will give a sworn statement to that effect.
I just don't think there is an excuse for not having one. I mean, sure there are cases as with Steven Spielberg who refuses to do them so as not to colour the viewers experience of the film, but come on, those Indiana Jones DVDs could have had George Lucas, Robert Watts, Frank Marshall, Kathleen Kennedy and any number of cast members chiming in with thoughts on the movies, their experiences making them, and giving a more personal touch to the, admittedly, very good documentaries on the 'bonus disc' of the set. Something like what George did with the Star Wars movies. He is co-creator of the darn franchise, am I right?
I just can't help myself when there is an opportunity to hear a great director discuss the choices he made in his film or, in some cases, defending them. Those instances where the movie is 'bad' or indecipherable are almost the ones I enjoy the best, too. Really, I watch the 'bad' movies more than I watch the good because I can't help but try and figure out specifically what went wrong with them. Good ideas gone bad mean someone screwed up somewhere, right? Is it the filmmakers fault? Is it an accountants fault somewhere further up the studio chain? Alien 3 remains one of my favourite films of all time, so if that doesn't spell it out for you, I don't know what will.
Anyway, getting closer to the point of the whole thing, here, what a lot of people don't realize is that commentaries are an art unto themselves. Not everyone can do them, and most can't do them well. There are giants in the 'field' like Soderbergh, Fincher, Raimi, Campbell, Meyer and Cameron (to name a few) who all do entertaining, informational, anecdotal and educational (is that the same as informational) commentaries, and there is everybody else. On the one hand, you have a group of talented people home schooling you in the craft, and then there is the everybody else category which usually includes people who tell you what is going on in the movie as you watch, are a bunch of actors who can only remember if it was hot or cold that day, and people who get so wrapped up in the movie they're watching that they fail to commentate. Sometimes at all.
To be fair, some of the 'greats' even slip into that bottom category from time to time. William Friedkin can do a mean commentary but his Exorcist: The Version You've Never Seen track is like listening to stage direction. John Carpenter is another guy who goes from brilliant commentator (with Kurt Russell on Escape From New York and The Thing) to casual bystander (like on In the Mouth of Madness and Ghosts of Mars). And educational isn't always a great thing either. Some of the Criterion 'historical' commentaries are B-O-R-I-N-G, and I'm a history major. I like to hear about this stuff.
So when I find a good one...no, a great commentary, I like to let people know. Apparently, so does 'The New Cult Canon' from The Onion's A.V. Club. Last week they shone the spotlight on Steven Soderbergh's lean, mean, revenge picture, The Limey, and it's sparklingly brilliant audio commentary. Soderbergh and screenwriter Lem Dobbs share the track and spend the movie's 90 minute running time sparring over choices made and scenes dropped. Anyone who looks at Soderbergh's films knows he's a director that tends to favour economy, and often trims his films down to a razors edge. I remember in the commentary for 2002's Solaris John Cameron recalled a conversation he had with Soderbergh where he told him to stop cutting and to start putting things back in the movie. He had made it lean to the point where it began to hurt the storytelling. Well, Dobbs takes him to task for every cut, every change, every missed characterization and it is entertaining as all hell to listen to. Not only does Soderbergh take the hits, but he gets in some playful, but well executed, shots of his own and which are just as valid because if you've ever seen The Limey, you know there is little to fault it with. To have two guys arguing over a movie you find to be perfect is worth the price of admission.
I will qualify that, although heated, the discussion never gets ugly and the feeling I have is that these are two guys who have different sensibilities but ultimately respect each others work. I could be wrong, but it never feels like they genuinely dislike each other. I mean, this is the second time they have worked together, the first being 1991's Kafka, so there was an obvious draw, there. Then again, they haven't worked since, so...
Anyway, I just wanted to send some props out to 'The New Cult Canon' for covering this cool little bit of cinema that some people may not know about and for giving me a chance to talk, yet again, about my love for the Audio Commentary. If you have time to browse around, there are some good articles up on that site with some good commentary of their own that is worth checking out. I'd also be curious if any of you have any commentary that you just loved hearing.
Cheers!
mike
I just don't think there is an excuse for not having one. I mean, sure there are cases as with Steven Spielberg who refuses to do them so as not to colour the viewers experience of the film, but come on, those Indiana Jones DVDs could have had George Lucas, Robert Watts, Frank Marshall, Kathleen Kennedy and any number of cast members chiming in with thoughts on the movies, their experiences making them, and giving a more personal touch to the, admittedly, very good documentaries on the 'bonus disc' of the set. Something like what George did with the Star Wars movies. He is co-creator of the darn franchise, am I right?
I just can't help myself when there is an opportunity to hear a great director discuss the choices he made in his film or, in some cases, defending them. Those instances where the movie is 'bad' or indecipherable are almost the ones I enjoy the best, too. Really, I watch the 'bad' movies more than I watch the good because I can't help but try and figure out specifically what went wrong with them. Good ideas gone bad mean someone screwed up somewhere, right? Is it the filmmakers fault? Is it an accountants fault somewhere further up the studio chain? Alien 3 remains one of my favourite films of all time, so if that doesn't spell it out for you, I don't know what will.
Anyway, getting closer to the point of the whole thing, here, what a lot of people don't realize is that commentaries are an art unto themselves. Not everyone can do them, and most can't do them well. There are giants in the 'field' like Soderbergh, Fincher, Raimi, Campbell, Meyer and Cameron (to name a few) who all do entertaining, informational, anecdotal and educational (is that the same as informational) commentaries, and there is everybody else. On the one hand, you have a group of talented people home schooling you in the craft, and then there is the everybody else category which usually includes people who tell you what is going on in the movie as you watch, are a bunch of actors who can only remember if it was hot or cold that day, and people who get so wrapped up in the movie they're watching that they fail to commentate. Sometimes at all.
To be fair, some of the 'greats' even slip into that bottom category from time to time. William Friedkin can do a mean commentary but his Exorcist: The Version You've Never Seen track is like listening to stage direction. John Carpenter is another guy who goes from brilliant commentator (with Kurt Russell on Escape From New York and The Thing) to casual bystander (like on In the Mouth of Madness and Ghosts of Mars). And educational isn't always a great thing either. Some of the Criterion 'historical' commentaries are B-O-R-I-N-G, and I'm a history major. I like to hear about this stuff.
So when I find a good one...no, a great commentary, I like to let people know. Apparently, so does 'The New Cult Canon' from The Onion's A.V. Club. Last week they shone the spotlight on Steven Soderbergh's lean, mean, revenge picture, The Limey, and it's sparklingly brilliant audio commentary. Soderbergh and screenwriter Lem Dobbs share the track and spend the movie's 90 minute running time sparring over choices made and scenes dropped. Anyone who looks at Soderbergh's films knows he's a director that tends to favour economy, and often trims his films down to a razors edge. I remember in the commentary for 2002's Solaris John Cameron recalled a conversation he had with Soderbergh where he told him to stop cutting and to start putting things back in the movie. He had made it lean to the point where it began to hurt the storytelling. Well, Dobbs takes him to task for every cut, every change, every missed characterization and it is entertaining as all hell to listen to. Not only does Soderbergh take the hits, but he gets in some playful, but well executed, shots of his own and which are just as valid because if you've ever seen The Limey, you know there is little to fault it with. To have two guys arguing over a movie you find to be perfect is worth the price of admission.
I will qualify that, although heated, the discussion never gets ugly and the feeling I have is that these are two guys who have different sensibilities but ultimately respect each others work. I could be wrong, but it never feels like they genuinely dislike each other. I mean, this is the second time they have worked together, the first being 1991's Kafka, so there was an obvious draw, there. Then again, they haven't worked since, so...
Anyway, I just wanted to send some props out to 'The New Cult Canon' for covering this cool little bit of cinema that some people may not know about and for giving me a chance to talk, yet again, about my love for the Audio Commentary. If you have time to browse around, there are some good articles up on that site with some good commentary of their own that is worth checking out. I'd also be curious if any of you have any commentary that you just loved hearing.
Cheers!
mike
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Hey Kids, Comics! For 02/18/09
Welcome to another installment of HK,C! and a decent sized pull-list.
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 pricey to be reasonable, or I would only pick up as an impulse buy. More than likely I'll read it at some point but not own it.
THIS WEEK'S PULL-LIST
MYSTERIUS THE UNFATHOMABLE #2 (OF 6) (I'm thinking this might be my pick of the week again.)
ROBIN #183 (The odyssey comes to an end but will it be worth it?)
X-FILES #4 (OF 6) (Wolfman's story has been impressing me here.)
FOUR EYES #2 (Finally!)
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #587 (Hoping this is better than the last one.)
GHOST RIDER #32 (Tan Eng Huat's last issue so I'm not sure if I'll continue beyond this.)
GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #10 (Still trying to catch up with this one and only a couple of issues behind.)
That's it for this week. Have a great Wednesday at your LCS. If for some reason you don't know where that is, try here.
Later!
mike
THIS WEEK'S PULL-LIST
MYSTERIUS THE UNFATHOMABLE #2 (OF 6) (I'm thinking this might be my pick of the week again.)
ROBIN #183 (The odyssey comes to an end but will it be worth it?)
X-FILES #4 (OF 6) (Wolfman's story has been impressing me here.)
FOUR EYES #2 (Finally!)
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #587 (Hoping this is better than the last one.)
GHOST RIDER #32 (Tan Eng Huat's last issue so I'm not sure if I'll continue beyond this.)
GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #10 (Still trying to catch up with this one and only a couple of issues behind.)
That's it for this week. Have a great Wednesday at your LCS. If for some reason you don't know where that is, try here.
Later!
mike
Monday, February 16, 2009
Farscape Makes Its Mark In Comics
According to ICV2, BOOM! Studios Farscape comic is selling very well for them. They've hit the multiple printings point with the first two issues and things are looking good for the immediate future. It's kind of nice to see another franchise other than Buffy or Angel able to do well in this post-television-series-conclusion-rebirth-as-a-comic-book market. I'd be curious to know how these new books compare sales-wise with the two issues put out by Wildstorm some years back. I thought the comics were solid reads with great production values at the time (written by Marv Wolfman, I believe, with art by Robert Taranishi?) but clearly did not sell well enough to continue with more minis beyond the first.
Now if I can just finish up the frelling television series so I can actually read the damn things...
mike
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