Comic Review: The Boys #1-6

The Boys #1–6 by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson

When the first image in a comic is a DM boot squashing a superhero’s head in a graphic full-page spread, and the first words are ‘I’m gonna fucking have you. You cunts.’, you kind of get the sense of what sort of book you are reading. To use a cliché, these really aren’t your father’s comics.

Ennis can be a schizophrenic writer – he can write emotionally powerful stuff and cracking stories, yet he has the urge to indulge his adolescent side in Dicks or having Operation Bollock in Adventures of the Rifle Brigade. Here he starts with the above, but he then has a genuinely touching moment for Wee Hughie (before the awfulness that occurs to his girlfriend being killed accidentally in a superhero fight).

But, this is superheroes. Garth doesn’t like them. He’s fine with magic (Seven Brothers were essentially superheroes but with mystical origins) but he is put out by spandex. This makes for an unusual mix here, because it is like he is doing his normal output (both this book and Chronicles of Wormwood have a protagonist shagging a woman doggy style while she enjoys degrading herself – issues at all?) but in the confines of traditional superhero comic book.

This first issue, called The Name of the Game, is set up: we are introduced to Butcher, the hero-hater of the first lines, who wants to do his old job of keeping the superheroes in line, and he is interested in Wee Hughie and his incident. Robertson brings his perfect dirty style to the book – he can do action, he can do talky scenes, he can do expressive faces and interesting characters. Strangely, his faces seem to be familiar: Butcher seems to be modelled on a young Robert Shaw, and Hughie is Simon Pegg. He also grounds the world in realism so that the story can breathe.

The second issue introduces us to the rest of The Boys: Frenchie, a violent, mad Frenchman (perhaps a young Vincent Cassiel?) – Robertson does some great visceral violence, and the hilarious face of pleasure on Butcher’s dog, Terror, as he watches his master having a shag); The Female of the Species, who is also insanely violent, ripping off the faces of mobsters; and Mother’s Milk, an as yet non-violent black man with annoying daughter who is dealt with brilliantly by Butcher – destroying her tosser friend’s gun, ‘Glock’s a wanker’s gun, son.’ We also find out that Butcher wants Hughie because he wants someone who has felt the arrogance and disdain of the supers.

Issue 3 begins the story called Cherry, which is where Ennis sticks the boot into the Justice League by having the latest member of the Seven (thinly veiled version), a young wholesome Christian girl being told that she has to blow the men in the team in order to join – the ultimate casting couch. The juxtaposition is deliberately jarring and shocking, even if it is a logical extension of the abuse by the rich and powerful men of women (I was reminded of the scene in Casino where Joe Pesci’s character takes a statuesque blonde to his car and just forces her head down to fellate him.)

Hughie has moved to the US to meet the rest of The Boys (but not to touch The Female) in their office in the Flatiron Building, where Butcher outlines their next job – taking down Teenage Kix, the edgy teen team (in contrast to the wholesome and Christian Young Americans).

The next issue starts with Hughie (and therefore us) watching the members of Teenage Kix celebrating at a brothel catering for supes, indulging in all their sexual kinks. Meanwhile, the Seven are arguing over merchandising rights, and Highlander (the Superman equivalent) taking A-Train (Flash-alike) down a peg for joking about the new member, Starlight.

Butcher, after another graphic shagging scene with the self-loathing Director of the CIA (is this scene necessary or just testing the boundaries?), picks up some Compound V that he then injects into Hughie without asking permission. – it is the formula that creates all the superheroes in Ennis’ spandex world – and obviously Hughie is not happy about it.

Under the dullest cover yet, the fifth issue starts with an amazing coincidence, as Hughie sits next to a girl in Central Park and talks about their problems (and Ennis’ love of America), and she turns out to be Starlight incognito.

The Boys have sent all the evidence to Teenage Kix to blackmail them into getting rid of one of their team – they decide on the black member to be gay as the best decision. However, Highlander recognises who is responsible, and informs the Kix, who find The Boys, and start threatening violence, much to Butcher’s delight: ‘Let’s give ‘em a fuckin’ spankin’.’ This issue is more about Ennis using Butcher and Hughie to big up USA and NY.

The sixth (and final DC issue) is the famous hamster issue. The Kix attack but The Boys kick the shit out of them. Only for Hughie to accidentally kill Blarney Cock by punching him, and for a hamster to come out of his arsehole when he is dead. This is a rather silly joke; as mentioned, Ennis does like his juvenile sense of humour. However, this was probably too much for Paul Levitz and the delicate sensibility of a corporate book, even if it does have the ‘Mature Readers’ label.

To counteract the hamster, Ennis brings out the reason for Butcher’s hero hate – his wife was raped by a supe and he had to kill the foetus after it had killed her and tried to kill him. There is more to this than simple revenge – Ennis has a plan (references to the Legend and Mallory’s previous role in The Boys). However, I’m just not sure exactly what it is yet. I am interested to find out more. Ennis doesn’t write bad comics, even the ones he seems to knock out on a wet weekend – they are just dull. Despite the outrageousness of some aspects of the book, there is a lot to enjoy and to intrigue. And, while the perfectly suited creative team of Ennis and Robertson are out to tell an interesting story, I’ll be there to find out more.

Film Review: The Last Samurai

(Still catching up with old film reviews – gotta catch them all)

I don't really like Tom Cruise. I don't know when this irrational reaction started, but when I get such strong reactions, they tend to stick, no matter what sort of evidence is presented to the contrary. I don't know if it was the smile, or the nose, or his haircuts, or his films (e.g. Top Gun, Cocktail, Days of Thunder, Far and Away) that seemed to exist just to deeply irritate me.

This knee-jerk response has been shaken by Cruise's recent film output. He got John Woo to direct Mission Impossible 2 (which wasn't a great film, but it looks lovely); he amazed me in Magnolia (a film that is an extreme effort to get through, even if it is supposedly that good); he let Cameron Crowe do his thing in Jerry Maguire (although it didn't quite work for Vanilla Sky – I saw the opening five minutes, thought, 'This must all be a dream, then,' learnt over the ensuing two hours that I was, in fact, correct, and felt completely cheated at shelling out money for it, which is not a good response, I have to say); and Minority Report seemed to hide the innate Cruise mannerisms that tend to grate on me so much, to the extent that I enjoyed the film, even though he was in it. What was my dislike supposed to do under such onslaught?

Then he goes and does The Last Samurai. I was nervous; would he overpower an epic story set in late 19th century Japan about the loss the noble samurai warriors? The answer is no, and the film is a wonderful piece of cinema. I do love of the samurai concept, which should be taken into account, but the story is not just about the samurai, but of a Westerner discovering them for the first time and realising his connection to this ancient code of the warrior.

The drama moves from small scale on the human level to the large scale of historical changes to an entire nation with ease and fluidity, and we feel for Cruise's character, a former soldier in the American Cavalry, disgusted with the American destruction of the Native Americans during the Indian Wars. Plaudits must also be given to Ken Watanabe, who plays the samurai lord who captures Cruise, only to discover the warrior within. He is noble yet warm, strong yet sensitive without appearing effete, and has a dynamic screen presence.

The fight scenes, the hook for many people to come watch this film in the first place, are spectacular, from the attack on the settlement by ninjas, to the massive final battle between the remaining samurai and the newly organised, westernised Japanese army. The speed, grace and lethality of the samurai are captured perfectly, while the hugeness of the final battlefield doesn't overwhelm the drama and the people. A marvellous film that deserves the respect of the term 'epic'.

Rating: DAVE

Film Review: Kill Bill Vol. 1

(Catching up with old film reviews – collect the series!)

I'm a Tarantino film fan. The films he makes are aimed at film fans like me. So, I've loved his films so far. I don't like him as an actor, because I have some taste, but as a writer-director, he's my kind of guy. His love of crime and Hong Kong and kung-fu and old films is something I can relate to, so I was looking forward to Kill Bill. I'm not particularly happy about the fact that it has been split into two films. Tarantino might talk his way out of it, something at which he excels, but it's just money-grabbing and cheap. Harvey Weinstein isn't a fan of films that are long unless they are his Oscar candidates, so a three-hour action flick might be a tough sell, but making us pay twice to see a film is shabby and insulting. Now, if they had sold the tickets at half price, I might have forgiven them, but that's not going to happen.

This rather long preamble is to excuse my lack of integrity that comes in reviewing the film. I'm biased to QT, which is not very professional, and I was more than a little miffed that I would have to pay twice to see the entire film. So, thoughts and comments might be coloured by these factors.

Kill Bill takes the Revenge Movie, and makes it epic. QT throws into the film all his late-night cinematic obsessions, from girls seeking revenge through violence, to chambara samurai films of Japan, to Bruce Lee and anime. Tarantino creates a beautifully shot explosion of violence, blood-letting and death that is a joy to behold. Let me clarify: this is not about the real violence of Pulp Fiction or Reservoir Dogs, but a violence of cinema that can be beautiful, visceral and a vicarious release. Any film where Uma Thurman, in a Bruce Lee costume and a samurai sword, takes on 88 Kato-mask wearing killers and slaughters them in one of the great fight scenes is something special.

The second half of the film, filled with humour, sword-play and gushing geysers of blood, leaving you wanting more. However, the first half, dealing with back story, is stodgier, slow, and, ironically for Tarantino, full of uninteresting dialogue. With women as protagonists, the film is almost post-modern feminist, but the unpleasantness done to women, and the joy Tarantino seems to get from it, detract from the overall enjoyment of the film. Thurman is great, even when spouting some strange dialogue (apparently a choice by QT to homage the wooden aspects of the revenge thrillers he is referencing, it jars slightly in this film, which tries to elevate the picture to something a little more substantial), and Lucy Liu is watchable as always. The film looks great, has a great soundtrack, and the end of the film leaves you desperately wanting to see the second half, but you are left a little cheated knowing that you have to wait, and pay to see the rest of the movie. Hopefully, the second film will clear any lingering doubts about the film, and justify the splitting process.

Rating: DAVE

Film Review: 300

(Better late than never – I hope to be more current in my reviews in the near future.)

There is a scene in the film Jarhead, a memoir of marine sniper Anthony Swofford during the first Gulf War, where the troops watch Apocalypse Now and get really excited by the helicopter scenes set to Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries. For men who have enlisted to be soldiers and who are going into battle, these dramatic scenes of war are envigorating and inspiring. Watching 300, I came to believe that the soldiers will now have a new film to whoop and holler along to before seeing combat.

300 is the adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel, which he was inspired to draft by seeing the 1962 film, The 300 Spartans, which is based on the historian Herodotus’ account of the Battle of Thermopylae. The film sees Leonidas (Gerard Butler) take 300 Spartan warriors to Thermopylae to delay the immense Persian army of Xerxes from conquering Greece. He is prevented from taking the full army by the prophecy of the priests of the Oracle, who have been bribed by envoys of Xerxes, so can only take his ‘personal bodyguard’ with him, ‘just taking a stroll’. Even these few are impressive; Sparta was famed for its soldiers and the intensity and devotion of their training, making them fearsome opponents and dedicated fighters, as Leonidas points out to the Greeks who join up with them on route to Thermopylae (the numbers and identity are kept vague – in reality, the total number of Greeks fighting in the first few days of battle is estimated to be five thousand, including the 700 Thespians and 900 slaves of the Spartans who remained with the Spartans for the final stand).

Reality is, however, not the aim of this film. The idea is to show the bravery of the Spartans in the face of overwhelming odds in defence of freedom. The fact that Sparta had enslaved an entire race of Greeks, or that they killed their newborns who didn’t measure against their standards, or that the prophecy (according to Herodotus) was actually that a king would die or Sparta would fall (meaning that Leonidas knew he was going to die, which is why he selected his bodyguard for having heirs, and was only staying loyal to the Spartan code of fighting or die), or that the Persian numbers are exaggerated to one million for effect, or that the Persian army seems to have mutant men with blades for arms, and huge rhinoceroses, let you know that this is not a documentary. This is a historical fantasy to provide a story all about loyalty, bravery, sacrifice, honour and heroism.

In this goal, it succeeds. The film imparts the notion of what it means to be a soldier, doing your job for the greater ideal. It might have been more rousing if there had been less stupid fantasy elements (such as excessive misshapenness of Ephilates, the Spartan traitor – Frank Miller has a bizarre obsession with mutations in the human form being an expression of inner evil, from Ronin through Dark Knight Returns and Sin City – or the goat-headed creature playing a lute in Xerxes camp, which throws you out of the film and makes everybody snigger with disbelief), but the bending of the truth allows the story to unfold more dramatically, thus heightening the bravery and heroism.

The drama is also heightened by the visuals of the film. The blue-screen approach to shooting this film allowed for a heightened sense of reality in the lush colours that fill the screen. The saturation of colours to match the artwork of the graphic novel makes for a spectacular-looking film, bringing to life the perfect snapshots that are chosen to represent the story in the comic, acting as the perfect storyboards. There are times when the shadow of Gladiator hangs over the film, with the same wind-swept fields (and Butler’s look and shoutiness echoing Russell Crowe, and the character being driven by honour but thinking of his wife at the end), but it forges its own identity – there is nothing else quite like it.

Butler comes out of the film well, bringing the presence needed for the character as well as the cocky arrogance (telling Xerxes that he can’t kneel before him because he’s strained his thigh from killing Persians all day). Lena Headey, as his wife Gorgo, pulls off a small role with aplomb (a role beefed up with a sub-plot, different from Miller’s book), but this is a film about mostly naked, buffed-up men fighting in slow motion – acting isn’t a first priority. Zach Snyder moves the film along at a quick pace, attending to detail in the fight scenes and the visuals, with a less assured hand in the dialogue scenes. Much like his good reworking of Dawn of the Dead, he creates an enjoyable and excitable film very much a reflection of current viewing attitudes and ideas of the cinematic experience.

I don’t think it will revive the swords and sandals genre, even if box office numbers would disagree, but it’s a fun experience while it lasts without achieving lasting status. However, it does what it sets out to do – create an idea of heroism and demonstrate it in dazzling fashion. It should leave wanting to walk in slow motion out of the cinema, scowling and looking to fight and shout ‘This. Is. Sparta!’ at anybody who looks at you funny.

Comic Review - Young Avengers: Sidekicks

Young Avengers TPB #1 by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung

I have never watched The OC (a bunch of well-off teenagers whining about life? No thanks) and I’ve never been much of an Avengers fanboy. Therefore, this wasn’t a book that was on my radar. However, the great word of mouth from the comic blogosphere persuaded me to try it out. So I blame you, blogosphere, you hear me?

The start of Young Avengers is a perfect beginning to a story – introducing the idea with good dialogue that doesn’t feel like exposition. Heinberg’s TV background means that the conversation between Jonah Jameson, Kat Farrell and Jessica Jones in the offices of the Bugle (in answer to the question: ‘Who the #*&% are the Young Avengers?’) is natural and flows – it explains that there are some kids dressed up as young Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and Hulk flying around trying to save lives, and that Kat and Jessica have to find out more. It’s a great piece of set-up and tells you everything you need to know in a little time as possible.

What follows is the origin of the Young Avengers, as they are brought together initially to prepare to fight Kang, due to them being linked to the Avengers in a sufficiently vague way for the plot. It feels a bit fanfic though; what would it be like if the writer had some powers and some friends and needed to become a superhero team, as well as being gay. It is very well put together fanfic, but it feels so light and pointless.

The problem is that the story doesn’t feel like it is worth its own series. The title of the trade indicates the nature: it is a subplot within an Avengers main story, where Captain America and Iron Man have to worry about some young kids getting into trouble. Even with the, admittedly great, last-page reveal of Iron Lad as a young Kang come back from the future at the end of the first issue, it doesn’t add up to anything, substantial or worthy of a whole series.

The most annoying aspect is the ‘let’s get together and fight crime attitude’ that pervades it: it’s the superhero equivalent of ‘Hey, why don’t we put on a show here?’ I’ve always disliked the concept of not having a reason for the team, as if just having powers and a costume is enough of a reason for stopping muggings and bank robbers. What’s even worse here is the addition of a non-powered girl (who just happens to have lots of money) who just wants to be part of the team. It all seems a little outdated. It isn’t helped by the fact that the whole reason for the story, that of Kang coming back as a young man to stop himself from becoming the bad Kang of the future, is entirely negated (as it has to for the sake of Marvel continuity) by the end of the book.

However much I don’t enjoy the story, it is still told well. Heinberg is a very capable writer for his first comic book work; he supplies enjoyable dialogue and his narrative construction is clear, moving things along well (if a little slowly – it definitely feels like writing for the trade). The other aspect to the book that is laudable is the artwork of Cheung; he is a top-notch draftsman, with a slick superhero style, expressive and angular and sleek. He is able to make the talky scenes visually interesting, providing fully detailed panels instead of just the characters, and he has a dynamic edge in the fight scenes, making him an ideal superhero artist. Together, they make a good creative team; I just wish that it was on something more substantial. And I still hold the blogosphere responsible for making me believe that it was more than it is …

Film Catch-Up: Runaway Jury

It seems to be an unwritten rule that John Grisham adaptations have to contain actors you know. Here, we have John Cusack, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, Rachel Weisz, even down to small roles (Jeremy Piven, Jennifer Beals) filling the screen in order to help you pass a few hours of pleasant but nothing special entertainment, as you watch Grisham use his legal knowledge to create a fantasy that is able to deliver justice to big bad men (in this case, the makers of guns used to kill people, although it was a large tobacco company in the original book).

There is a nice idea behind the film, of looking at the people who profile potential jurors for the big cases and the way they operate, as well as the reason behind why the improbably named Nicolas Easter (Cusack) and Marlee (Weisz) deliberately get Easter onto the jury and use their ability to persuade the jury to get money from the prosecutor (Hoffman) or the jury profiler (Hackman). Setting it in New Orleans for an interesting backdrop, and you have all the necessary requirements to get the greenlight from executives. However, it is never really more than competent.

Gary Fleder is a capable director, keeping the plot moving along but never giving the film anything special. Even the face-off between Hoffman and Hackman (friends for over 40 years, they had never been onscreen together before) doesn’t light up the screen – it turns out that the scene wasn’t in the script and was made up during filming, just so they could have the two of them against each other. In contrast, this film marks the tenth time Cusack and Piven have been in a film together. A passable film but nothing to stick in the mind afterwards.

Rating: DA

Film Catch-Up: Stranger Than Fiction

A corking idea for a film – ordinary man can hear his life being narrated, and the voice says he is going to die. Talk about high concept. Will Ferrell plays it toned down as the IRS auditor whose life is turned upside down when he starts hearing a voice that nobody else can that knows everything about him. He turns to Dustin Hoffman’s English Professor for help, to work out what is going on. Meanwhile, he has begun auditing a former law student turned baker (Maggie Gyllenhaal) who refused to pay all her tax because she doesn’t want her money spent on weapons and all the bad things government do. We also see the author of the book, Emma Thompson, a writer who has been blocked for years, struggling to finish the book (with the aide of a professional assistant from the publishers, played by Queen Latifah) because she doesn’t know how to kill the leading character because her leads always die in the end.

The film is low-key but visually inventive; the way that the characteristics of Ferrell’s idiosyncrasies are displayed (the counting of his brush strokes, the number of steps to work, etc.) with some nice computer graphics is delightful. The actors seem to inhabit their roles and enjoying themselves - Hoffman has been a revelation in the last few years since he decided to enjoy acting – and the romance that develops between Ferrell and Gyllenhaal is warm and intoxicating. Marc Forster keeps the pace and interest high with this lovely little script from Zach Helm. The ending, which tries to have it both ways with the climax, explaining itself and excusing itself, still works within the confines of the clever idea.

Rating: DAVE

Film Review: Casino Royale

Daniel Craig makes a good Bond. There. I’ve said it. An actor, known for his acting, who beefed up considerably for the role (although he had previous action hero status when he did his shower scene in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider) and able to bring subtle nuance to the role of a newly instated double-0 agent who is not the superhero previously seen in the Bond films and who has some emotions that he tries to hide for the sake of the job.

Casino Royale is a return to the original idea of Bond, as it adapts the first novel by Ian Fleming. This is a good way to reinvigorate a series (cf. Batman Begins), and also allow for the infusion of the current vogue for the secret agent, as typified by the excellent Bourne movies with Matt Damon. Craig is a Bond who is still learning (his first kill, flashbacked in the opening scene, showing his amateurism on the job, is quite startling and effective) but his single-minded and determined to do his job to the best of his abilities and without the need for an excess of gadgets to compensate for a lack of initiative.

Martin Campbell knows how to direct the action, having returned Bond to the fore with Pierce Brosnan in Goldeneye, and the action scenes bristle with energy and pace (the parkour chase is particularly effective) when they arrive. Because this Bond has more time to talk to people in actual conversations, instead of just quipping, and having a poker tournament as the centre of the third act doesn’t exactly make for stimulating blockbuster material, so the set pieces have to carry a lot of spectacle.

The film isn’t perfect – it is too long and the ending after the ending takes even longer to arrive, even though it is obvious that there is another ending coming (which has certain character choices that are so illogical that they have to be explained by M in the epilogue). The poker game as the centre of suspense seems a little forced at times, and the Le Chiffre (banker to terrorist organisations) character isn’t quite satisfying enough as a Bond opponent (why does his eye bleed? Is it because it says so in the book?). And, of course, it has a Richard Branson cameo, which is always a black mark against any film.

However, as an action espionage film, it has to be considered a success, with Craig rightly nominated for a best actor award at the BAFTAS (and winning the Empire Best Actor award) as the perfect modern Bond, blonde or not. Enjoyable to those, like myself, who are not great Bond fans and a boost for the Bond franchise.

Rating: DAVE

Comic Review - Daredevil: The Devil, Inside and Out

Daredevil: The Devil, Inside and Out TPB #1
by Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark

‘The Devil in Cell-Block D’

Carrying on from Bendis and Maleev's run on Daredevil would be a challenge: Matt Murdoch has been outed as Daredevil and put in prison. Where do you go from there? Ed Brubaker has the answer, and he's enjoying telling us in this collection of his first six issues.

We start with a man in the Daredevil costume, dispensing justice before cutting to Rykers, where Matt is in the protected wing, not Gen. Pop. (I’m so down with the prison lingo, and I’ve never even watched Oz). Meanwhile, Ben Urich is hassling Foggy Nelson about this DD doppelganger; Foggy then sees him outside and tells him to stop it and not talk to him either.

The FBI director threatens the warden of Rikers to put Murdoch and Fisk in the same prison, and we learn that the FBI are going to challenge the protective custody status, so that Matt will have to go into Gen Pop because, if he’s Daredevil, then he’s not blind.

La Muerto, a gang leader, talks to Matt to tell him that Matt will have to choose sides soon, shortly before Matt is taken into a Hammerhead trap – either he does the Daredevil stuff or he gets stabbed; both choices lead to solitary confinement. However, he’s not the real target – Foggy, having just been for a visit, gets stabbed. Talk about starting your run on a series with a bang.

Next issue, we see Matt, in handcuffs, being allowed to attend the funeral. Foggy’s death is hitting him hard, as he blames himself, so much so that he is having a conversation with his dead father. He is visited in solitary by Morgan, former crime lord of Harlem, now as powerful in Rykers. He had come to offer Matt a favour but Matt turns him down.

Matt is then railroaded back in to Gen Pop by the judge – except, now that he is mad about what was done to Foggy, this is exactly where he wants to be – where he is visited by Leland, The Owl, who gets his ass handed to him by Matt because there are no cameras. Meanwhile, the doppelganger DD is shown still in action.

The next issue ratchets things up even more – Bullseye is brought to Rykers and everyone is scared. Matt is violently trying to get answers as to who killed Foggy – he even puts on a red headscarf to cover his head to get past cameras to see Hammerhead, who gets some facts beaten out of him. To add to the bubbling cauldron of trouble, Kingpin is put into Gen Pop and Frank ‘Punisher’ Castle decides to get himself put into Rykers, to see what will happen.

In the next instalment, Foggy’s killer is found dead; somebody is covering their tracks. This issue is mostly good dialogue between people. Matt tells a con who has been waxing lyrical, ‘Seems like prison mostly changes men into philosophers about what prison does to men.’ Jonah J Jameson is arguing with Urich about his work: ‘Do I look like an idiot?’ to which Urich replies, ‘Well, that mustache isn’t doing you any favors.’ Matt and Fisk finally meet, with everybody expecting violence, even Matt. Only Fisk tells him that he did not kill Foggy, which Matt can tell is the truth. So nothing happens, much to the chagrin of the people who were organising things. Morgan, La Muerto and Hammerhead decide it is time to start the prison riot, if Fisk and Murdoch will not oblige.

In the next issue, Matt gets a visit from Milla, which is the wrong time. The riot is started by Morgan and Hammerhead. Matt orders Milla to get out and waits until he hears her on the ferry out of there before going to save the warden from a kill squad. He tells him to get out before calling the riot squad, then Matt goes back into the riot …

Bullseye has been freed, so things are getting bad. Matt protects Melvin Potter, the Gladiator, from getting into trouble and goes to find Fisk. The two of them have to join up and fight for their lives together. The team-up you never thought you’d see. Bullseye kills Morgan and La Muerto before going to help Fisk and Matt (the Punisher is sitting in his cell, reading). However, Matt isn’t going to sell his soul and fights Bullseye, getting him to shoot Fisk, even though Fisk was seemingly his only option out of prison. Instead, he asks Frank to bust him out of jail …

The final issue of the trade starts with the other Daredevil protecting Dakota North from attack, only for him to meet up with Murdoch, back in costume. Matt had escaped by Frank using him as a hostage/shield, and the warden erased any CCTV footage that might have incriminated Matt and releases the footage of him being taken hostage.

The real and phoney Daredevil fight, obviously, only for the phoney to turn out to be Daniel Rand, the Iron Fist; naturally, they recognise each other. It turns out that Danny thought he was working for Foggy, but through another lawyer, Alton Lennox, as plausible deniability. They go to Lennox’s offices, where Dakota and Urich turn up; there is nothing there anymore but they discover an e-ticket to Monaco.

The news goes out, with the warden defending Matt and blaming the FBI director for the riot (who is seemingly now in trouble with the senator who was backing him), all of which opens up the question of who Daredevil really is. We see Matt, under the guise of Michael Murdoch, going on a flight to Monaco to find Lennox, only for a last page reveal: Foggy is not dead, but in witness protection …

Brubaker had a hard task following Bendis’ run on Daredevil, as he and Maleev had really put a stamp on things and seemingly put the character in a corner. However, Brubaker has come in and landed on his feet with this gripping story, full of plotting, action, character development and intrigue. I’m not even angry that the story isn’t finished, it’s that good. Brubaker gets great support in Lark, a great artist who brought the realism of Gotham Central to life and does the same here, making the prison scenes and dialogue work visually as well as bringing a street earthiness to the fight scenes without losing that comic book dynamism. This is a great team, and we can look forward to some good books from them.

Comic Review - Fantastic Four: The End

Fantastic Four: The End by Alan Davis (inks by Mark Farmer)

The future: long after the Mutant War (don’t know what it is but it sounds cool). A deranged Dr Doom attacks the Fantastic Four; Franklin and Valeria Richards join in to help but die with Doom due to an energy reaction between Doom and Franklin …

Reed is relating this to Jennifer Walters, his designated therapist, as part of the Observation Protocol, a result of his creation of the Methuselah Treatment, which helped the Earth into a new age after the Mutant War with his technology and his negotiation of a truce with the Galactic Parliament as humanity becomes part of the galactic community. However, the grief leads to his alienation from Sue, Johnny and Ben.

Meanwhile, in Pluto space, the Avengers (Iron Man, Thor, Vision, Silver Surfer), under the lead of John Storm, are fighting villains. On Mars, Ben – now able to transform from human to Thing – is playing with his kids (Daniel, Jacob and Yancy) with Alicia (who is there helping with the terraforming, and hanging out with the Inhumans. On Earth, Sue is looking at the archaeology in the Atlantic Ocean, where Namor finds her. Also, Dr Strange is talking to the new Dr Strange – his daughter.

Start of issue 2, Davis shows his love of old-school Marvel characters: Peter Parker, Hank Pym, Bruce Banner, T’Challa, Steve Rogers all together (albeit in different costumes) are all present, chatting about the future. [Is there a Saturn Girl in the background?] One of the reasons Davis is so good is his faces: they are so expressive and warm, making you care about the characters.

Keeping the plot going, the High Evolutionary is on the Pluto moon of Charon, being attacked by hundreds of Ultrons, so the Avengers come to help. Meanwhile, Sue discovers Kree symbols in Atlantis. The Parliament for Galactic Unity, discussing Earth and the problems, has Impossible Men, Warlocks, the lizard from the Starjammers (is there an annotations for this series), showing off Davis’s great abilities with showing different many alien species. Anarchists blow up the Quarantine Satellite, showing that something organised is going on. So complex, Uatu is watching and has to be told not to interfere (again; some things never change).

Issue 3 starts with a lovely page design as the two Dr Stranges talk about a challenge that needs to be met, going across different dimensions. The sleek, lithe work of Davis’ characters is matched by his storytelling talents, designing beautiful artwork that keeps the narrative going. His heroes move like poetry in motion: Namor fighting the attack of Attuma and his hordes being a perfect example.

Norrin and Johnny meet Ben on Mars (a nice joke about Ben getting his own payback on John for all the practical jokes) – ClanDestine showed that Davis understands families well. Back at the plot, the galaxy-wide shockwave is emanating from Earth is causing problems and questions. John has come to Mars to talk to the Inhumans but a crisis comes up they need to deal with. Uatu visits Galactus at the Galactic Core for a talk. Reed is talking with T’Challa about his experiments, but the comms go down as She-Hulk is about to join T’Challa to talk to Reed – the scene cuts back to Reed wondering why comms have gone down and She-Hulk is with him: what is going on? Sue finds Kree ruins the same as in Agatha Harkness’ book, while Ben, John and the Inhumans are attacked by the Kree Sentry.

Issue 4 sees the fight against the Kree Sentry, and it’s great to see John acting as a leader, having grown up from being the eternal teenager. Reed is knocked out by ‘She-Hulk’. At the fight, the Kree polarity beam, which is forming a wormhole, is allowing something through, even though Black Bolt destroys the Kree and the tower.

The Mad Thinker and Diablo, classic FF foes, are shown as being part of the scheme. Below Atlantis, Sue comes across Mole Man, another classic FF foe. John, Ben and the Inhumans travel to Earth, while the ‘She-Hulk’ is revealed as the Super Skrull, another classic FF foe. He had been posing as an HRB for quite some time. He throws Reed into the dimensional gate, onl for Reed to drag him through with him, both ending up into the Negative Zone, something that is witnessed by John and Ben via hyperwave television thingummy). Their ship arrives at the FF asteroid, to find it full of Kree (Ronan and his troops) and Shi’ar Imperial Guard. In the Negative Zone, Reed is punched out by Annhilus (another classic FF foe), who claims that all this is his plan.

Issue 5 starts with Sue beneath the surface of the Earth with a mad Mole Man. She escapes him by going after a mysterious orb because it is something she is seeking as it has something to do with the death of her children. On the FF asteroid, the old-school characters arrive to fight: Captain America, She-Hulk, Spider-Man, Hulk, Black Panther, Power Man, Daredevil, Giant Man in their original costumes – a little old-fashioned but they still look cool. An unusual group to have, but fun to see them fighting a huge group of enemies.

Meanwhile, John and Ben use Lockjaw to get to the Negative Zone gate to get Reed using a homing device. The Avengers take down the Thinker and Diablo using Vision craftiness. In Tibet, Sue arrives at Stranges’ place with the orb. In the Negative Zone, Annhilus tells Reed that it was he who destroyed the probes for Reed’s experiment transits, but he is rescued by Ben and John, allowing a lovely moment between Reed and Ben.

On the FF asteroid, reinforcements arrive in the form of Norrin and the Inhumans. Reed, John and Ben return only for Sue (with the Stranges) to capture them. In Pluto space, on the SHIELD Ark, Nick Fury and the Avengers see the compromised area of the quarantine shield breached by the entire Kree and Shi’ar invasion fleets.

The final issue starts with Sue telling us: ‘Franklin and Valeria didn’t die here!’, because they were rescued in the future, i.e. now. Valeria told her by drawing the symbol of the orb in the air just before being captured, the orb Sue has now found, which has the ability to manipulate time. Sue convinces the rest of the team to try this (allowing for a classic FF image: the four hands on top of each other.)

Meanwhile, the fight is on two fronts: on the asteroid and in space with the fleet. Stephen Strange does the magic to manipulate time back to the moment when the children died with Doom. Only, this time, they are saved but Doom is not happy.

Then Galactus arrives to tell the fleet to fuck off. I understand why this is thematically arrived at: Galactus is part of FF lore, he in turn was stopped by a Deus Ex Machina, and he has been helped by Reed so is returning the favour. However, it is a weak ending to the fight, as it takes the victory away from the heroes, negating their effort. This is a shame. It is not emotionally resonant with the rest of the story.

So, for the real ending for the story – which is all about the family of the Fantastic Four – we see an angry Doom fighting the FF, before he goes into the Negative Zone, not realising the gate is on self-destruct, meaning he is left trapped their forever. This allows for the family reunion of Marvel’s first family, tears and happiness and positivity for the future.

The wonderful art of Davis, with Farmer on inks, is a joy to behold as always. His plotting is dense and logical, allowing for all the characters to have arcs and moments and realisations of personality in the middle of a multi-layered story. He also has a great handle on the characters, and it is not all grim’n’gritty, meaning that there is a light (yet not insignificant) feeling to the enterprise. Not breaking the boundaries of the medium, but highly enjoyable.

Rambling nonsense after a break

I’m back after a refreshing break. I should have future-posted a whole bunch of film reviews for when I was away, but didn’t get round to it. Ah well. I will make amends.

Strangely, after a refreshing break, I discovered how tiring it is testing out new mattresses. Our mattress has reached the end of the line, only doing an approximate impersonation of a mattress, and sleep is being disrupted. So Saturday was spent at bed shops trying out different types of mattress – pocket sprung, pocket sprung with more springs, with less springs, pocket sprung with a memory foam top, a complete memory foam mattress, a luxury memory foam mattress, a soft memory foam mattress. It’s tiring just looking at the list. It is also extremely exhausting lying down for extended periods – we spent about 3 hours looking for a new mattress and had to go to bed early, and have an unexpected lie-in the next morning. Thoroughly confusing. I wondered what it must be like to have a job where you watch people get on beds in front of you when you aren’t a prostitute, a doctor or a porn director. Mattress salespeople have a strange life …

Another new experience in mattress hunting was using the tram. This may not be new for a lot of folks, but it was odd to get the tram from Wimbledon down to the retail centre with the bed shops. Lots of going very fast then stopping at these really small platforms, nipping down the back of industrial parks and proper parks. Enjoyable for short trips, but I think it would lose its charm if part of a daily commute.

Waiting for me after the break was a freebie from Sainsbury’s – a Fusion razorblade. This has me slightly nervous about how much I’m being monitored since I got a Nectar card – I have been using an older model razor blade, so obviously I should be spending my money on a more-advanced version. Although, to be honest, how many more blades are they going to put on a razor before it gets really stupid? I thought they were pushing it at three; five is just ridiculous. I have visions of using this massive rack of swords to shave my face sometime soon – even they see the ludicrousness of the situation, as they provide a single blade on the back of the head for shaving under your nose. It doesn’t shave my face any closer, either … What is odd is that Sainsbury’s haven’t sent any free stuff to my girlfriend; not even the voucher for free chocolates on her birthday that I received (I think I must be down as the chocolate buyer in the house, even though I don’t eat it myself). Is it sexism or am I revealing myself to be a profligate spender without realising it? I’ll have to go through my receipts more carefully.

There is a poster advert on tube for Playboy online gambling (Why? Who makes a connection between soft-core porn and playing cards for money? Anybody?), which is mostly a black background with a red circle with the words ‘18’ above a red line then the words ‘Adults only’. The only trouble is that it makes it look like only eighteen people can use the Playboy online gaming facility ever … I wish I could find a copy of it online.

Talking of advertising, official notification of the coolness of Shaun of the Dead is found in its use as inspiration for an advert; after all, ad execs only steal from the best. The ad for Mattessons Chicken Bites has zombie-esque people trying to sneak up on the chap who has a packet of this produce, all to the tune of I Monster’s ‘The Blue Wraith’, the main theme from Shaun of the Dead. Do they have to pay Pegg and Wright any sort of royalties?

Talking of great comedy, there is a new series of That Mitchell and Webb Sound on Radio 4 starting this Thursday. This seems an unusual choice, especially after the success of their television series following on from the second radio series, their Mac adverts, and a film (Magicians, in cinemas now). However, perhaps they are just honing the quality of the sketch show by finding out what works (compare with the rubbish of the later Little Britain series after they concentrated on television after one series of the radio show). The television show was awarded the BAFTA for best comedy show on the weekend; this might be a tainted award, as it was a night for upsets, but I don’t think they’ll really care now they have it. Hurrah for them

Back to reviewing the world of pop culture entertainment, with the occasional digression. Much like this one …

Miscellaneous nonsense from my brain pan

I have some peculiar thoughts and notes floating through my head and I need to get them out:

Driving back from Norfolk, I noticed a sign by the side of the A14 saying, 'Public Telephone'. Now, I don't wish to reinforce stereotypes, but do yokels see public telephones as some sort of tourist attraction? Or, is it some kind of warning for locals to beware of the dangerous, new-fangled machinery?

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A genuine sign on a door at work: 'THIS DOOR IS ALARMED' (I wonder if there are lots of doors which inform people of their emotional state.)

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Strange thought: Presumably, due to his smalltown USA upbringing on a farm, Clark Kent, AKA Superman, must be a big country and western fan. So, I have this image of Supes line-dancing to Billy Ray Cyrus and Achy Braky Heart. Scary ...

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The Lesbian Five-Finger Guide to Restaurants (Well, I thought it was funny.)

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I remember reading that the enzyme Pig Lipase is not kosher but the cloned version of the same enzyme is, according to the Rabbi in the food industry. That freaks me out.

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Why does the expression 'Mammogram' conjure up the image of a topless woman at the door singing 'Happy Birthday'?

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I saw a postmen on his postman’s bicycle, with its little basket at the front, and he was smoking a cigarette while riding. Now, that’s what I call dedication – in fact, he’s a CHAIN-LETTER SMOKER (boom, boom.)

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Reclaimed Negative Space – the strange sensation of being able to see and move into space that has been occupied for some time. Most common is the removal of the Christmas tree, but also very strong in moving house.

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I would love to hear this conversation on a radio station:
'Hey caller, who’s you favourite station?'
'Paddington.'
'What?!
'Paddington station, west London. Nice mix of old England and modern terminal, not too busy, devoid of an excess of bloody tourists, quite clean and hardly any beggars or prostitutes.'

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Advice For Working: Always go for a dump at work. Try to synchronise your bowel movements for the midst of your work day. Not only will you pass the long hours in a non-work activity, you will also not have to pay for as much toilet paper AND you won’t have to worry about needing a plumber after blocking the toilet with a colossal log.

Film Notes: Constantine

Constantine the movie. I never would have imagined it possible. The background character whose visual was based on Sting and became the street-level magic man of the Vertigo universe is somehow transformed into Action Hero. The filmmakers don’t get it: Constantine is a magical conman, not an action hero – which comics were they reading? Constantine (or JC, as I shall call him from now on) should know all the angles and be working everybody against each other, not having to sort things out and find things out; he should be pulling the strings and have tricks up his sleeve, not run around playing catch up (even if that helps the spoon-fed audience). The closest the film gets to how it should be is at the end with Lucifer.

Let’s have a look at the plot. The Spear of Destiny is found under church in Mexico (after opening titles say it has been lost for 50 years). JC comes in to do exorcism when girl in tenement found climbing walls. It involves putting a holy thing on her body then putting it in a mirror, which the demon tries to smash to escape, but when JC throws it out the window to land on the ground, this smashing means that the demon is deported back to hell. How the fuck does that work?

Meanwhile, a cop, Angie Dodson (Weisz), goes to confession about killing perp, then dreams about her sister (in a psychiatric hospital which has a big cross on top of it) jumping off the roof. She sees JC when in the hospital (he has aggressive lung cancer) to identify body. Then sees him in church library when she asks for Catholic burial, even though suicide is mortal sin. JC is there to see Gabriel (Swinton) about getting into heaven. Dodson goes to see JC after hearing his name whispered on footage of her sister killing herself.

(In between, JC is attacked by a demon in broad evening, which is not supposed to happen because they can't be on this plane. He goes to Papa Midnite's (Hounsou) bar to ask for help, only Midnite isn't forthcoming, claiming neutrality.)

JC tells her to go, but then notices demons in vicinity, which must be to do with her, so goes after her to explain what is going on. Then all lights go out in street, except for a shop with a statue of the Virgin Mary in it, and she can hear the wings and talons of demons. JC gets rid of them by lighting a bandage wrapped around his hand, which illuminates them before vapourising them. She vomits due to the smell of sulphur. As there is something, he decides to see if the sister is in hell, but looking at her cat while having his feet in a bowl of water. When he arrives, he picks up her hospital tag and senses she is a twin, which makes things more sinister.

His fat priest mate who got him the exorcism gig goes to see body of dead sister, after 'sighting' the importance of it. When he does, he sees a sigil on her arm. He runs out and starts to hear noises in his head, which he thinks will be blocked by drinking, except that no booze goes into his mouth. We see Balthazar flit around and then the guy starts to die, shouting Constantine and stabbing the design of the sigil into his hand for JC to find. We find out that he had been drinking all that time, which killed him, only it was the affect of the half-breed Balthazar on him. Dodson gets called to the scene, and JC goes with her, so sees his friend. Then finds sigil, and explains to his mate Beeman, from whom he got weapons earlier. He then takes Dodson to the scene of her sister's death, because she would have left a message only she would find. Dodson remembers that they used to leave messages on windows that could be revealed by breathing on them. This turns out to be true, and it is ‘Corin. 17.1’. This is a passage from the Hell Bible, which Beeman translates from Latin for them as they drive to him. He has already identified the sigil as belonging to Mammon, Lucifer's son.

Beeman is attacked while on the phone, and is dead by the time they get there. Dodson admits that she used to be able to see things like her sister, but denied it, which aided in having her sister put away. She wants to be able to see these things again. JC helps her by submersing her in a bath, for reasons never fully explained. She succeeds, sensing that Balthazar killed Beeman. JC goes after Balthazar, tricking him into giving up information. But it's only to get their hands on Dodson, who is whisked away to where she will be used by the holder of the Spear of Destiny to bring Mammon into this world (as JC discovers when he forces Midnite to rethink and let him use the Chair, an old electric chair from Sing-Sing, to sense things).

JC goes with Chas (LeBeouf) to rescue Dodson, killing a load of half-breeds by making the water in the fire sprinklers holy and shooting them with a shotgun made with a cross as the barrel. By the time they get to Dodson, she has been possessed by Mammon who is trying to breach into this plane. They try an exorcism on her to control it. Then, Chas is killed and JC tries to shine light on the situation, literally, only for Gabriel to appear. She apparently has been behind this, helping Mammon bring his hell on earth in order to bring about a misguided test of the love man has for God. She dispenses with JC and is about to pierce Dodson with the spear of destiny to release Mammon, when JC kills himself in order to get Lucifer (Stormare) himself to come and pick up his soul. When he tells Lucifer that his son is about to be brought into this world by Gabriel, he gets angry and stops it. He sends Mammon back to hell and burns off Gabriel's wings to make her human.

He then goes to ask JC for a favour for stopping things. JC asks for the soul of the dead sister to go to heaven, which Lucifer does. Only, now that he has performed an act of self sacrifice, he gets to go to heaven, giving Lucifer the finger as he does (which at least made me laugh). However, Lucifer refuses to let JC go, sticking his hands into JC’s chest and removing the cancer, thus returning him to life. Dodson is alive too, but they don't kiss in normal tradition of romantic action films (fortunately). He then gives her the Spear of Destiny to hide (like she would know where to keep it safe) and then chews some gum instead of the chain smoking he has been doing the rest of the film. The end.

There are some good aspects to the film. The complexity of the story reflects the multi-layered density of the original comics, and you get a sense of the mysticism of the book (albeit in a not-entirely convincing cinematic form). The actors don’t embarrass themselves with pantomime performances (why did Swinton take on the role?), even though Reeves is completely the wrong choice for Constantine, and I’m not just talking about the black hair/not being English thing. Keanu is not a good actor, whereas Constantine is a complex character who has to both show emotion and not show emotion and do both while pretending to show something else.

(At least you can understand Keanu, which is more than you can say for Chas or Midnite. And why is Chas involved? Bad enough he's the token comedy sidekick, but the whole point of the character was that he was supposed to be a counterpoint to JC's weirdness – an ordinary bloke who drove a cab. His presence here is unnecessary. He’s not the only one: why have Midnite other than he was in the comics?)

The film is visually interesting; director Lawrence has put some thought into bringing the world to life, even if I don’t fully buy into it. However, much like Judge Dredd (which also had a wrongly cast actor in a beautifully realised setting), the film doesn’t stay true to its source and thereby loses the uniqueness of the piece by creating something that could have stood on its own if it didn’t feel bound to use the original names and ideas. If this had been an original piece about a magical conman in LA, it could live on its own merits. By taking the names and cast and setting (but not using them correctly), it makes the film worse by comparison. Only in a LA-set Hellblazer would Constantine chew nicotine gum for an end-of-film punchline.

Rating: VID

Film Review: Sin City

Written by Frank Miller
Directed by Robert Rodriguez & Frank Miller
(Cut & Shot by Robert Rodriguez)
Starring a whole load of people, including Mickey Rourke, Elijah Wood, Rutger Hauer, Carla Gugino, Jessica Alba, Clive Owen, Rosario Dawson, Josh Hartnett, Benicio Del Toro, Michael Clarke Duncan, Brittany Murphy, Nick Stahl, Powers Boothe, and Bruce Willis

This film is the pinnacle of comic book adaptations, because IT IS the comic book in movie form. As someone who has enjoyed the Sin City comics for a while, seeing it on the silver screen alone was an absolute blast, even without the fact that it is one of the most visually arresting films of the year, shot in a completely original style that creates a whole new world in front of your eyes. Using the comics as storyboards, the film just creates the movement between the shots, adding a cool score and letting the actors enjoy spitting out Miller’s hardboiled dialogue, which is a distillation of the pulp fiction of Chandler, Hammett, Thompson and Spillane filtered through film noir.

Like the books themselves, the film takes three stories that take place in Basin City around the same timeframe, so different characters show up from different tales. Sin City is full of hard men, corrupt cops, bent senators, crooked bishops, tough hookers and innocent strippers; in other words, it’s not real, but it gives the illusion of reality. It is a world created by and for the stories to be told. Rodriguez has created this world digitally, filming his actors on blue screen and adding all the detail afterwards, using the art of the comic to flesh out each shot beautifully, with the mix of greys and the splash of colour to individualise a character or shot. It is a joy to behold, complementing the bold storylines and etched characters perfectly.

In the first story, Marv (Rourke) is looking for the killer of the only hooker to show him some kindness, in a sewer of corruption. In the second story, Dwight (Owen) is helping his old girlfriend (Dawson), the de facto head of the hookers of Old Town, to keep the crooked cops and brutal mob from taking over. In the third story, Hartigan (Willis) is protecting the girl (Alba) he saved from a serial killer who is safe from immunity because he is the son of a corrupt senator several years after the evnet. These are tales of tough men doing tough things in a tough world, not a universe full of love and tenderness, which may suggest Miller has some problems in that area, but they are still powerful and primal in their own right.

Seeing the fleshed-out images of Miller’s monochrome world is a fascinating exercise in itself. Miller has always had a cinematic bent to his work, so it is very easy to see the visual fluidity in his imagery, where an artist has to pick the perfect image to capture the mood, action or moment as well as tell the story. It’s a blast seeing Rourke as Marv, perfect casting, huge and lumbering and unstoppable, covered in those white plasters and scars, plowing through the police and doing unbelievable things. Even the bizarre fetish Millar has with ninjas (not that I’m complaining) looks good on screen, and the parade of flesh on display in Old Town is kept true from the books. This is an amazing slice of cinema, providing another retort to the slur that all comic book movies are rubbish. Bring on the sequels, ya pansies …

Rating: DAVE

Film Review: Batman Begins

(I think I was the only person in the world who didn't see Spider-Man 3 at the cinemas over the weekend. So, this means I can't read most other blogs at the moment, nor can I write a review of the film, for obvious reasons. Therefore, I shall continue my film review catch-up with comic book-related movies. That's a link, isn't it?)

Batman Begins

Taking the classic Batman: Year One story by Frank Miller and David Mazzuchelli as its starting point, this is the tale of how Bruce Wayne got his groove back. Having seen his parents killed in front of him (after going to the opera to see Der Fliedermaus, naturally), Wayne (Bale) goes through life waiting for the opportunity to kill the man who gunned down his parents. When the killer is bumped off for turning evidence against Gotham City’s top mobster, his confession to his life-long friend, now assistant DA, Rachel (Holmes) and her subsequent verbal retaliation make him leave the US for distant shores, in order to understand the minds of criminals in order to stop them for good.

It is while he is rotting in a prison in Tibet that he is visited by Ducard (Neeson), a mysterious stranger who offers him the opportunity to achieve the goal he seeks. What he finds is a secret group, the League of Shadows, run by Ra’s Al Ghul (Watanabe), who mete out justice to entire cities where necessary throughout the ages (having sacked Rome and burned down London). Here, Wayne is trained to the peak of physical perfection and taught some handy ninja skills, as well as confronting his fear of bats and the death of his parents, under the tutelage of Ducard.

When he refuses to kill a criminal and join the League in order for them to sack Gotham, which is now a cesspit of vice and corruption, he destroys their base and returns to Gotham where he decides to save Gotham from itself by becoming a vigilante. In this, he is helped by the family butler, Alfred (Caine) who provides the brief flashes of humour in this dark tale, as well as Lucius Fox (Freeman), an old friend of his father who works in the research division of Wayne Enterprises, which is being run and set up for public offering by Earle (Hauer). He also develops a connection with one of the few good cops on the force, Sgt Gordon (Oldman).

Meanwhile, having busted up a drugs run while the mob boss Falcone was present, Dr. Jonathan Crane, a psychiatrist in Arkham Asylum who has been helping Falcone keep his men out of prison by wrongly testifying that they are insane, reveals himself to be working for someone else and uses a hallucinogenic powder to send him insane, and we learn of a secret plot he has been working on involving putting this substance into Gotham’s water supply.

As you can see, there is a lot of plot going on in this film, which is why it takes 2 hours and 20 minutes to get through it all, but there is never the opportunity to get bored as there is always something good to get your teeth into, be it the quality of acting (if you can handle Wilkinson’s Chicago tough guy accent – why couldn’t they got an actual American for that role? Not that I mind all the British actors in this film, but for what is an extended cameo, they could have got someone who sounded more natural), the subtext of fear that underpins the themes of the film (explaining the use of the minor villain, the Scarecrow, as a major part of the story), to the bonding between Bale and Caine, to the careful direction of Nolan, who takes the film and subject matter seriously, to provide one of the most thoughtful and enjoyable blockbusters of this or any other year. Even the romance between Wayne and Rachel (which could have worked badly) is handled well, with a very appropriate resolution.

After the debacle that was Batman and Robin nearly killed off the possibility of seeing the Dark Knight on the silver screen again, it’s a delight to see a film that captures the special qualities of the Caped Crusader, with the aspects of reality (that can exist within a movie based on a billionaire who dresses up as a bat to beat up crooks can be allowed) that bring home the appeal of the Batman; he could be you or me, if only …

Rating: DAVE

Film Review: Zatoichi

(An old review of a cinema visit, to keep the Asian theme going.)

Takeshi Kitano, a multi-faceted actor/director/writer/presenter/artist, known for his aesthetically stylish but hyperviolent Japanese gangster films, makes a film about the original criminals and gangsters in Japanese history. Set in the time of the Shoguns, Kitano plays Zatoichi, a blind masseur who wanders from village to village, making a little money from gambling. Into one village he enters amidst turmoil within the ruling gangs, two secretive geishas with revenge on their mind, and a ronin (masterless samurai) who sells his services in order to pay to cure his sick but disapproving wife.

Zatoichi is a peerless swordsman, lightning fast and deadly, and inevitably gets drawn into the various stories. Kitano, with his hair dyed blond, keeps his eyes closed, grunting out responses, laughing to himself, his face sporadically clenching and twitching, as if listening with his whole head. The swordplay is the main attraction here, blades flashing and blood flowing in exquisite choreography, in a nod to Akira Kurosawa, who made the samurai film what it is, namely a Japanese western. The blood is CGI, as are the swords when they penetrate somebody, which is a little disconcerting, perhaps because we are so used to the computer wizardy in The Lord of the Rings or Star Wars, but it still looks dazzling.

The film is not all samurai duels, but contains moments of humour, tragedy, introspection and even, bizarrely, a tap dance, and Kitano takes his time in setting up all the stories, as well as allowing moments to pause and allow a certain aspect some time to blossom. It is a very rewarding and satisfying way to enjoy two hours in the dark, and it is easy to understand why there were so many films and a TV series of the same character in Japan back in the '60s and '70s. With Kill Bill and The Last Samurai as well, the samurai film is truly back in fashion.

Rating: DAVE

Film Review: Hero

(This is a review of the film I saw at a preview screening.)

Hero tells the tale of the nameless warrior (Jet Li) who has come to the ruler of the Qin kingdom of pre-China to inform him of the manner in which he has slain the three assassins who have tried to kill the king. The king has been conquering other kingdoms in order to unify six kingdoms into one great country, and is grateful to the nameless warrior and asks to hear his story. What follows is a collection of flashbacks from different perspectives. While this might sound dull and without tension, it is not and looks fantastic in the process.

This is a gorgeous film; colours inform the flashbacks to indicate the nature of the confrontation and the relevance of the narrator's attitude to the tale. Reds, blues, greens, whites, oranges blaze or shimmer where necessary, providing a visual treat that has rarely been in film, let alone a 'wushu' (martial arts) film from China. The swordplay is fantastic, particularly the fight between the warrior and the assassin Sky (Donnie Yen), done in black and white as the two imagine what their fight would actually be like, if they fought. There is a battle in the middle of a lake, as the warrior and the assassin Broken Sword (Tony Leung) leap across the surface of the water, beautiful blues filling the screen. A wonderful duel occurs in the middle of trees in autumn between assassin Flying Snow (Maggie Leung) and Moon (Zhang Ziyi), Broken Sword's pupil, where the leaves fly and swirl around the combatants as swords and clothing whirl and sweep. It's dazzling stuff, stunning cinematography that leaves you breathless.

If there is a tiny flaw in this perfection, it might be a cultural thing. Not being Chinese might make the average viewer miss out on some of the things that are going on in the film. The feeling I got was a coldness, a detachment, not identifying with the characters. Perhaps this was deliberate, with the dehumanising names, but the fact that Broken Sword and Flying Snow were lovers never came across on the screen, and we never completely engage with the people in the story. The story is very Chinese, with their particular depiction of what a hero actually constitutes, and the handling of what these myth-like characters could do, so I will readily defer to the Eastern storytelling in what was told, and plead Western ignorance.

Hero is fantastic stuff and Zhang Yimou tells an epic story with style and élan. Jet Li is his usual inscrutable self, more an ideal than a real person, which is apt for the story, and is the most glorious martial artist working in cinema currently. I think this makes up for him saying no to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (even if I can only see Chow Yun-Fat in the role now) to do Kiss of the Dragon.

Rating: DAVE

Comic Reviews - Dr Strange: The Oath #1–5

by Brian K Vaughan & Marcos Martin

‘Yes, I’m Iron Fist. No, I don’t know where Power Man is. We’re partners, not a couple.’ Nice dialogue to distract you before the strong start to the series: Strange has been shot. Which is why Wong has brought him to Night Nurse, medic to the heroes. Strange talks to her via his astral projection (which doesn’t have his cloak of levitation – Neilalien must be happy?). He was shot with a silver bullet from Hitler’s handgun – I love comics – by Brigand, who is working for someone, to steal an elixir.

There is a nice two-page summary of Strange’s origin, to tell the new people reading. The art of Martin is a bit like a cross between Brett Blevins and Darwyn Cooke, in a good way, but it is still an unusual style, even if there is a Ditko influence in there somewhere.

(Wonder what Scott at Polite Dissent makes of the surgery?)

We discover that Wong has a brain tumour and has 3 months to live. Strange obviously wants to do something about it so goes to shop in Chinatown to open a portal to Dimension Pi – any link to the film Pi? Strange incants the opening spell while Wong kicks ass of thugs who want to start something. Strange enters dimension to find the potion with the power to ‘erase what troubles the mind of men’ – turns out to be cure for cancer.

Issue 2 sees Strange recover from surgery: ‘I believe I’m still covered through the Defenders’ old group insurance plan.’ He recalls the details of being shot by Brigand, who invaded the Sanctum Sanctorum and evades his magic. He has to retrieve the elixir, but Night Nurse will only allow it if she accompanies him, as he is still in critical condition.

Strange sent sample of elixir to Jonas Hilt, a man he boarded with at Med School – a flashback to his arrogant days, where Hilt stayed with him and then got Dr Nicodemus West (who has one blue eye and one brown eye) to fix his hands after the accident. They arrive at the lab, which Strange hid behind a mystic fog, to find the sample gone and Hilt murdered. Strange uses Eye of Agamotto to reveal evidence suggesting that Mordo is behind it. They track the trace to a hidden fold in reality above the Harlem River. They enter and Night Nurse picks lock of the door, which is protected by mystic sigil, only for them to be met by robotic guards (Strange: ‘By the Hoary #%*-ing Hosts!’), which they dispatch, only for Brigand to arrive with a gun to Night Nurse’s head (Vaughan does love his cliffhanger endings …)

Issue 3 begins again with a nice recap front page, this time part of the Book of Vishanti, and then we see the misdirection of Reginald Pavlish, a patient who Strange refused to treat in his arrogant days, vowing to Nicodemus West that he was going to make Strange suffer. Back at cliffhanger, Night Nurse head butts Brigand, who is then disarmed by Wong. Strange holds him by magic and goes into his brain using magic (while Wong explains why Strange can’t use magic on a brain tumour, to stop people nitpicking the plot). In Brigand’s mind, Strange is not fooled by his false memories, so Brigand is forced to reveal his employer: ‘Who the hell is that?’ It is Nicodemus West, CEO of Timely Pharmaceuticals, who is talking to the Board of Directors about the elixir, and the pros and cons of curing everyone versus making lots of money (which makes the Board nervous about everything and naturally want everyone killed – even threatening West).

Strange traps Brigand in his own mind for all eternity, because he’s one bad mutha and the guy shot him, so fuck him. They go back to Night Nurse’s place to recuperate, only to find it is on fire due to magic done by West.

Issue 4 starts with Strange fighting the fire-starting demon Marrakant Hellguard, which has killed every sorcerer supreme who’s confronted it, so he will have to ‘Defy expectations’. He is a cool mofo, it has to be said. wong and Night Nurse get caught by the many-tentacled demon (Strange: ‘This is why I never joined the Avengers.’ Oops. Obviously not seeing into future.), so Strange shoots it with Hitler’s handgun.

They go straight to West, who imprisons them with the Emerald Bands of Exador, because West was trained by the Ancient One – Strange refuses to believe this retcon but West has a good reply. West tried to cure Pavlish with magic but inadvertently killed him. The Timely executives came and cleaned up the problem so they could have him under control and keep his magic under their jurisdiction instead of curing people. Strange easily breaks out of the bands, he was just faking, and subdues West, who tells him the elixir is the Panacea. However, takes that moment to begin dying from his tumour …

West escapes from Strange while he attends Wong. Strange follows him, with a nice pop culture reference to a Disney film, just to let you know that Vaughan is still writing, only for West to invoke the Sands of Nishanti: neither can use magic for the next three minutes. It looks like West is going to smack Strange down, only for him to reveal that Wong has trained him to be a Kung fu king as well. In the words of Chris Sims, awesome. West is beaten but slips off the edge of the building they were on, taking the elixir with him. There is only a drop left, and his astral projection taunts Strange on its use: Wong or humanity. Strange decides on Wong. Fortunately, Night Nurse took some incriminating memo from West’s labs so that the Timely board of directors gets taken down (because everybody hates pharma). Strange offers Night Nurse the use of the Sanctum Sanctorum for her clinic, which leads to the final page kiss – comics are so romantic.

This is good comics. Vaughan has good handle on Strange and gives him an all-round story: mystery, magic, adventure, romance, fighting. Martin does a good job on art, so we have the full package. I’m not sure if we’re at the stage where Strange can handle an ongoing series, but I wouldn’t mind more mini-series if they were all of this quality.

Comic Review - Iron Man: Extremis

Iron Man: Extremis by Warren Ellis and Adi Granov

First off, let us talk about the art. I waited for the trade because I knew there would be one, but it was also nice to read this in one sitting without having to wait for the delays seemingly caused by Granov in creating the work. The style is a little unusual but strangely beautiful. The people look very smooth, with no facial creases or lines in their clothes, but the Iron Man suit looks perfect: the metal casing really looks like segments in an armour and the effect is exactly how a modern technological iron suit should look. Ellis keeps him to a regular grid layout for the most part, allowing him so leeway here and there for important stuff, but he lets him design the narrative clearly and well and keep the story focused.

Warren Ellis sets things up efficiently and cleanly – a man vomiting blood after his colleagues inject him with something in a warehouse; the oddness and genius of Tony Stark; a scientist shooting himself in the head after he has released a dose of ‘Extremis’ – with the dialogue crackling and fizzing, because dialogue is what comics have when there is no action to entertain.

Ellis also examines the heart of Stark’s character by having him be interviewed by a documentarian, who immediately asks about his arms dealing (which allows for a glimpse at the updated origin – not Vietnam but Afghanistan and Al Qaeda for the landmine accident and skirmish). What does Stark think about the military applications of his inventions? Stark knew that this conversation was going to happen because he is that smart, an aspect that is nice to see rather than just the inventiveness, so that he could answer that he has done bad things and is trying to improve the world. He asks the documentarian if all his investigative journalism of 20 years has actually changed anything; he says he doesn’t know, and Stark says he doesn’t know either. This is a great dialogue scene, giving out information but showing Stark as intelligent and haunted, a man with intellect who realises that the military funding was a necessary evil but that doesn’t mean he likes it.

This scene is then counterpointed by showing Tony as Iron Man and enjoying flying – because a man using technology to propel himself through the air is fucking cool – so he should be laughing out loud at the delirious wonder of it.

A flashback scene introduces us to Maya Hensen, who Tony met at a tech conference, who is calling Tony for help. Meanwhile, the man who was injected with something violent is still alive …

The start of the second issue sees Tony talking to his board of directors, who want him to take Chief Technologist role rather than being in charge so they can run the company. However, Tony knows that they will take military money, which he doesn’t want – and why should they, when they’ve just invented the best cell phone on Earth?

Tony meets Maya, who is the woman who found the scientist who killed himself in the first issue; it his her work that is the stuff that is missing, robotics microsurgery. The scientist’s computer is encrypted but holds answers; Tony will download (and crack) the hard drive by zipsat, to which Maya says, ‘I really can’t imagine that makes girls lay down …’ Tony replies, ‘It makes me lots of money. I usually find that does the trick.’

They go to see Sal, a futurist friend living in the woods. He talks truth at them (in a very Ellis way), saying that they are schills for the corporate/government who haven’t really done anything. He also talks about DMT, another Ellis fave, and the way the brain is designed to take and process it so that you can see the body’s operating system, which is all a bit of real-world background to what will be the eventual comic book plot mechanics. While this talk is going on, a man is entering FBI Houston and is starting to kill people without weapons.) Sal calls himself the ‘Wise Man of the Forest. The Old Shaman’ because they want his advice. He gives questions and analysis: 'What’s Iron Man for, Tony?' (By now, the unkillable man is murdering innocent people in the FBI building by breathing fire on them – it turns out to be the injected man with Maya’s Extremis.)

Issue 3 sees Maya explain Extremis: a super-soldier solution in a few billion nanotubes in a carrier fluid, it hacks the body’s repair centre and rewrites it, building new and better organs. The dead scientist gave Extremis to some local militiamen, domestic terrorists.

Cut to a flashback of Mallen, the Extremis subject, seeing his folks being killed by ATF when they were buying guns illegally.

Iron Man engages Mallen (the repulsor rays look particularly good coming out of his hands). However, Mallen is fast, strong and practically invulnerable. Iron Man is in trouble.

The fourth issue sees Iron Man blast Mallen with his chest repulsor, which stops him and causes him to run off, fast. However, Tony is in trouble. He gets himself airlifted to Maya’s lab building, where he reveals his identity to her. He is banged up and asks for the Extremis injection, reconfigured to link his armour directly into his brain. He doesn’t need the powers, he just needs to ‘be’ the suit and grow new connections. He wants to do this with an experimental suit, made of memory metal that snaps into shape with electric charge, which compresses to 90% working volume. It’s tougher, faster, lighter. It just needs the Extremis to make it work, and the Extremis to fix him from all the internal injuries sustained by Mallen’s beating. Tony wants this so he can be the test pilot for the future, so takes Extremis.

The fifth issue sees the flashback to the revised version of the Iron Man origin. He is in a terrorist camp with shrapnel in the heart getting closer all the time. The terrorists want him to make a weapon – this is all explained to him by Hu Yinsen, a medical futurist, also captive. Tony was already working on an exoskeleton, so could build one that will stop the shrapnel. (He is having this dream while his body is being repaired by Extremis and watched by Maya; obvious comparison between the two.) This leads to a great full-page shot of the first Iron Man armour, all grey and boxy, before he goes to blow shit up good.

Tony wakes up – he has supercompressed and stored in the hollows of his bones the crucial undersheath of the Iron Man suit, wired directly into his brain (he shows this off by calling Maya’s phone with his brain). Iron Man’s back and he’s new and improved.

The final issue has the big fight. Iron Man is superior to Mallen and doesn’t want to kill him. The fight scenes are nicely designed and dynamic, with suitable explosive quality. In the end, Iron Man has to kill him by blowing his head off, but it is also a symbolic fight, of the past versus the future, Mallen being the nightmare version of Tony.

The kicker to the story: it turns out that Maya helped give the Extremis to the militiamen, so that she could have a field test because the military had pulled their funding. Tony has her arrested when he works this all out.

This is a very enjoyable story, with a radical update of Iron Man (as far as I'm aware – I don't read the character regularly); I’m amazed that Marvel let Ellis do this. But is a great modernising of a character who is supposed to be at the cutting edge of technology and keeping him there with Ellis the perfect tool to do that, fascinated with the future and body modification as he is. I think this is a great set-up for Iron Man of the future, in a sharp story that is well executed. Shame about all the Civil War stuff that was to come, eh?

Theatre Review: Spamalot

Because I am a heterosexual male, I don’t see musicals. I think it’s a genetic thing. I’ve tried – I watched some musicals on television and even sat through, completely bemused, Miss Saigon. Nothing. The only things that can affect me have humour – Blues Brothers and South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut are practically musicals but with comedy, and I can watch them endlessly.

If you add ‘slightly geeky’ to ‘heterosexual male’, you tend to find a Monty Python fan. It was seeing Monty Python and the Holy Grail at an early age that switched me on to Python, so I have a fondness for it.

Which brings me to Spamalot. Now, I know I’m rather late in seeing this blockbusting musical, but that doesn’t stop me from having an opinion about it that I feel forced to share with you. I had to overcome my reticence to musicals because of the curiosity of a Python fan: would Spamalot ruin the film with cheap songs?

The connection of music with Monty Python isn’t too big a stretch; Eric Idle always had wonderfully silly songs dotted throughout, so it wouldn’t take an excess of imagination to reimagine it as a musical. However, the extra ingredient that brings Spamalot to life is the exuberance of being a musical while also mocking the musical at the same time.

The Holy Grail film is suitable for turning to other forms because it doesn’t work completely as a movie – it is essentially well-connected sketches that fall apart with the ending, as if no conclusion can be really satisfying (even if the breaking of the fourth wall is amusing). This means that the sketches can be used easily in the musical. In fact, there are entire sections of sketches that are used in the show: coconuts; bring out your dead; anarcho-syndicalist commune; the knights who say Ni; the taunting Frenchmen; Tim and the rabbit; the wedding. This means that I am automatically going to enjoy myself hearing them again. But then you add the music.

And the music is fun. Lots of fun. Knights of The Roundtable, which provided the title for the show, is elaborated into a Vegas show tune, and there is even place for Bright Side of Life. But there are lots of other fun songs. This Is The Song That Goes Like This mocks Lloyd Webber tunes, and is so good they use it again. (In fact, there are so many references to other musicals that a lot were lost on me; it was only via the Spamalot Wikipedia entry that I was able to understand them all.) A Finnish Schlapping Dance starts off proceedings in an appropriately silly fashion (harking back to the joke opening credits in the film), and there is a lovely song in the second half from the Lady in the Lake singing What Happened To My Part?, complaining about the fact that the show is mostly a boys-own event and there hasn’t been much room for (absolutely amazing) singing. Even though it is a great number, the You Won’t Succeed song starts off with nobody laughing; I’ve never heard an audience that was enjoying something so much go so quiet so quickly after hearing the word 'Jews'. I’ve been reliably informed that this song is an in-joke about Broadway, which perhaps gets lost in translation. The enthusiasm of the song wins the audience over in the end, but it was dicey for a few minutes. The variety of music is wide, as there is even time for some disco as Lancelot finally comes to the realisation that he is gay.

The show comes to a finale with a wonderful breaking of the fourth wall, with a member of the audience helping the quest the Holy Grail for them, which is perfectly suited to the spirit of the film but fits in even better in a musical, after the knights have been told that that the West End is the location of the Holy Grail. The musical also channels the spirit of the film by having the performers, apart from King Arthur, playing multiple parts. The actor playing Lancelot/Tim/Taunting Frenchman is particularly impressive in this respect. The actor playing King Arthur does a good job of playing the role instead of imitating Graham Chapman, with a much dryer delivery. The actor playing the Lady of the Lake gave a wonderful performance, with an incredible singing range.

All in all, the cast were a delight and, even though I saw a matinee, they gave a rousing performance that entertained everybody in the theatre. The sense of fun that permeated the whole show was fantastic. I’ve never enjoyed myself in the theatre as much. Spamalot is not Monty Python, even though it uses the sketches from the film; it is a wonderfully silly piece of fun entertainment. (This is appropriate: after the Camelot interlude, King Arthur sums it up with, ‘On second thoughts, let’s not go to Camelot. It is a silly place.’) I enjoyed it so much that I could easily have turned up to the evening show and watched it all again. However, I’m not sure if I particularly want to see the inevitable film version – I would rather just have a filmed version of the show I saw. Thoroughly deserving of all the success it has achieved, I would heartily recommend it to anyone, even if you’re not a Monty Python fan. It doesn’t mean that I’m going to start watching more musicals, though …