Comics I Bought 24 December 2009

The last week of comic purchases for December because the main companies decided to have a skip week for New Year's Eve. I was thinking of doing a comedy post for that week, where I didn't have anything in it, but the lack of posts for several months at a time on this blog is practically the same, and it wasn't funny the first time. A disclaimer: I also purchased Incredible Hercules #139, and I'm just finishing off reading the issues I picked up; one world: incredible.

Buffy: Willow one-shot
Although it was nice to have Joss Whedon writing again – providing humour and pop culture referencing and dialogue that sounds like the characters – and Karl Moline provides expressive art (I liked some some of the facial expressions in particular), I wasn't blown away by the story. It seemed a bit filler, a holding story between arcs, with some pseudo self-analysis for Willow instead of a genuine narrative.

Criminal: Sinners #3
A case of repeating myself: Criminal is great, Brubaker writes a great comic, Phillips draws a damn good comic (does his art seem more scratchy in this issue, or is that just me?). Brubaker creates a world that I can lose myself in, dark though it may be, but with small moments – I particularly enjoyed seeing Jacob Brown, proprietor of Undertow, standing up to the military investigator after Tracy Lawless. Great stuff.

Detective Comics #860
The Batwoman year one storyline continues, as her father discovers her burgeoning vigilante career and realises after talking to her that she is serious about it, so decides to help her by sending her on special training, fitting out her headquarters and giving her an outfit – an unusual dad. This is a story about filling in the details, and it's made special by Williams' art. The two different styles for the flashback and the current scenes are both good but so different, even down to the panel design. It's truly fantastic stuff that you can look at again and again. The Question chapter at the back keeps the story ticking over but it's more of the character stuff that Rucka does so well, and it's the better for it.

Fantastic Four #574
I rather liked the cuteness of the story of Franklin's birthday in this issue but the art, which I complained about before, seems even worse, with faces that look really off – Spider-man is the only character who comes off well because he's in a mask. It put me off the story, which is a shame because there is joy in seeing the kids interacting in a believable fashion, and the return of Archie and Leech, and the end opens up a whole world of possibilities – I just hope Hickman is allowed to stick around to see them through, and we get a better artist.

Powers #2
Flashback time, as we get a glimpse of the Daring Eagles in 1944, as Walker remembers his time as Blue Streak, along with Z, Billy Mace and Goose. Oeming opens up his art style a little from his normal style – the rest of the book is darker and muddier than his normal art, a bit dirtier and rougher – and Bendis has fun with the war tale. I think that Bendis relaxes more with Powers, allowing him to have fun with the history and looking at different aspects of comics history. Still too early to tell how this latest version of Powers is shaping up, but I'm still enjoying it for now.

Usagi Yojimbo #125
Part 2 of A Town Called Hell sees Usagi working out a way to get the town back to operating normally and dealing with the two bosses. This is unusual for Sakai; he usually keeps his stories to either one-/two-parters or large storylines, so a three-parter means I'm kept on tenterhooks until next issue to see how this ends. How does he keep making this series so good?

Comics I Bought 17 December 2009

The third week of December, and only three comics for me this time; the comic book companies definitely want me to spend more money at Christmas. Are they mad? What about all the presents I had to buy for other people? My needs have to wait until the new year ...

Ex Machina #47
I'm not sure, but I think Tony Harris used a young Jason Bateman as a model for a young Mitchell Hundred. It's not too distracting – it's quite cute seeing the young mayor. Anyway, this book is heading towards its conclusion, which means that everything is building towards the finale. Knowing Vaughan, things won't be completely happy – as he proves with an incident at the end of this issue – but he still finds time for little moments between grown-up brothers, the continued playing of politics in New York, and opportunities for Harris to dazzle with design and great visuals.

Fables #91
'The great monkey of doom!' Ah, Fables – you do make me smile. And with so much going on in the story: Gepetto making a power play for the command of Fabletown, the witches counteracting his play, Bufkin and his army launches an attack on Baba Yaga, and the return of a well-known Fable. Willingham writes, Buckingham draws, Fables is good – this is fact, not just opinion.

X-Factor #200
The relaunch of X-Factor – I'm not sure of the numbering, but I'm happy that Marvel is putting some weight behind the title, because it definitely deserves it. Peter David makes a big effort to make this issue reader-friendly and to highlight the strengths of the book. If you laugh at the title of 'The Invisible Woman Has Vanished', then you'll enjoy the rest of the book. The humour comes thick and fast ('Tell me, Shatterstar: do you like ... gladiator movies?', 'Are you not entertained?!'), the story about the move back to New York and their first case with the Fantastic Four is strong, yet there is also time to drop in on Siryn, set up a plot for Monet and a great last page with Layla – that's how to entertain in a special anniversary/relaunch comic book. The rest of the issue has a short story, a guide to each member of X-Factor, and the first issue of Madrox #1, the mini-series that led to this current X-Factor title (I really need to get my hands on that TPB). It's fully packed and I hope it has increased the visibility of the book and that it gives it the needed shot in the arm.

Comics I Bought 10 December 2009

Only two comics for this week? Is this a lull before the Christmas storm, or just allowing me to save pennies for Christmas presents?

Doom Patrol #5
The second part of the tie-in to Blackest Night might have more impact if I had more knowledge of Doom Patrol history and the relevance to each of the characters. Giffen does a good job of making it accessible, but I'm not sure if it's enough. The art is serviceable from Justiano but it doesn't have that extra element that would make it stand out from DC house style. Similarly, Tim Levins suffers in comparison to Kevin Maguire, whose art was the highlight of the Metal Men second feature – without it, it isn't quite as sharp and as funny.

Unwritten #8
This issue of The Unwritten is an interlude in the Tommy Taylor story, where we learn about the two children of the governor of the prison where he is being held – they are big fans of the Tommy Taylor books, believing in the magical world they create, practising spells and painting sigils on their windows. It is something that is encouraged by their father, who allows their playing, believing it is good for them. However, at the end of the issue, they decide they have to help Tommy in the prison, despite the eldest daughter being told to stop the magical antics by their parents after visiting a therapist. It's hard to tell if this just the build-up to tragedy or a warning in believing in things that aren't real.

Comics I Bought 3 December 2009

Still catching up on comics purchased last year, so let's get through December in order to start talking about this year's comics.

The Boys #37
In which The Frenchman tells his own origin story, and his life in the village of Franglais where everyone calls him Frenchie, his childhood enemy is Black Pierre, and a stale croissant brings about the end of his father ('Mon Daaaaaaaad!!'). Yes, it's tongue-in-cheek time from Ennis, told with silliness and fun, to compensate for some of the darkness. Not a great story, perhaps, but all long-form comics must have balances, n'est-ce pas?

Strange #2
I still haven't adjusted to the art style of Emma Rios – in all honesty, I'd prefer if cover artist Tomm Coker was handling interior pencils as well. It's not that her art is bad – the basics of telling a story in comic book form is well handled – it's just that I don't like style. The story is quite fun – the girl that Strange taught a spell to last issue has continued to use it, as well as trying to find Strange, which leads to them meeting via a dynn. Mark Waid constructs a fine plot, with snappy dialogue and logical ramifications, and makes me glad to see somebody using Strange as a character rather than as a plot device.

Supergod #2
Even though this is more of an infodump than a story in comic book fun, I still find a lot to enjoy in it, such as the phrase 'Megareactor Buddha's Spine'. A dispassionate narrator – supposedly chatting to an American counterpart – telling the history of governments' attempts to create superhumans in the aftermath of what has occurred because of it. Because the narrator is basically talking like Ellis, the voice is entertaining and the disconnect between the coldness of the description and the visuals that accompany it make for an interesting book.

The Umbrella Academy: Dallas TPB

The Umbrella Academy: Dallas #1–6 by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba

I really enjoyed The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite, the first storyline by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba – even going so far as to include it in my list of favourite comics from 2008 – so it was only a matter of when, not if, I bought the trade and enjoyed the second storyline. And I knew I was going to enjoy it before reading it because I had liked everything about the first book: the story, the characters, the dialogue, the art, the wonderful oddness.

A story that uses the words 'Mr President, I heard a rumour ...' twice in the same story but in totally different contexts and with effectiveness is quite impressive, but that's to be expected in a book about the dysfunctional family of superheroes. So when a man in a child's body shoots a parking lot full of soldiers from the future wearing gas masks and shouts, 'I am a gazelle and the jungle is my home!', you just smile and enjoy the show.

As before, this book is packed with inventiveness and story. We learn about Number Five and his time with the Temps Aeternalis, Séance is killed but gets sent back from heaven because God (in whom he doesn't believe) doesn't like him, Séance, The Kraken and Spaceboy get shot back in time and end up in Vietnam, and Number Five has to stop his future/past self from preventing Five from killing JFK, which was the reason why he left the Temps Aeternalis. Got all that?

This is a hoot – it's fun and funny, with great lines and a wonderful collection of interesting people. Ba does an amazing job with the art – his style makes me think of a European version of Mike Avon Oeming but with a dash more humour in his line work, if that makes any sense. It's all good stuff, from the flashback material, to the scene in heaven, to the over-the-action scenes, and he never seems to put a foot wrong. Way seems to be enjoying himself writing this, infusing it with a lot of Grant Morrison (as I said in the previous work) but with his own sensibility and identity stamped all the way through it. Way has set up the next series within this book, so he's going for the Hellboy publishing system of a series of mini-series, which is just fine by me – it just means a long wait until the next great trade.

The Winter Men TPB

The Winter Men #1–5 and The Winter Men Winter Special by Brett Lewis and John Paul Leon

I had heard many good things about this series – mostly from the comic book blogger of good taste, Johnny Bacardi – but it had a very sporadic publishing history, originally starting in 2005 as an eight-issue series before turning into a six-issue series some time in 2006 before stopping at issue 5 and finally concluding in the Winter Special in 2009. I'm glad I waited for the trade.

This is an amazing story that I can't believe didn't float to the surface of comic book conversation; I also wonder how Brett Lewis produced such a great series seemingly out of nowhere and hasn't really produced anything else subsequently. The Winter Men was the name of the 'rocket soldiers' who were the Russian deterrent against superhuman threat – there is a great propaganda sequence at the start of the book about the Russian superhuman – and there a only a few left: Kalenov (the policeman), Drost (the soldier), Nikki (the gangster), Nina (the bodyguard) and The Siberian. The story follows Kalenov as he gets involved in various investigations and interactions with his former colleagues, the mayor of Moscow, the CIA and others, which obviously involves conspiracies and links back to the original Winter Men.

Everything about this book is really, really good. John Paul Leon is on blistering form; he has always been a good artist but this seems to match his sensibilities perfectly, the noir atmosphere, the moodiness of the Russian milieu, the grittiness of the characters. You feel you are in Russia, with the snow and the claustrophobic feel of the city and even the look of the people. His shadows and line work seem engraved on the page, and his work even improves from the first five issues to the special issue several years later, always the sign of a good artist. His art is matched by the lettering of the marvellous John Workman, always a sign of excellence on a comic book.

The main excellence is from Lewis – the story is really good, complex and intricate, but the dialogue and the sense of this being a Russian story are fantastic. There is none of that silly faux-Russian speech of broken English; the dialogue just feels Russian, the turn of phrase feeling suitably alien but also believable. Kalenov's narration has that same sense of being actual Russian translated into English, but in a noir sensibility, with his wry, world-weary attitude coming across strongly. There is also the sense of an amazing amount of research to get everything about the Russian aspect completely right, and Lewis brings across the nature of existence in the former Soviet Union, the nature of the people in this vast country who have suffered yet believe in the Mother Land. It's a truly great piece of writing, telling a thrilling tale in interesting arena, and you should really get your hands on a copy if at all possible.

Thunderbolts: Caged Angels TPB

Thunderbolts #116–121 by Warren Ellis and Mike Deodato Jr

Although I was initially hesitant about tyring Ellis' run on Thunderbolts, borrowing the first trade from the library, I was won over by the story and Ellis' approach and handle on the characters. I know I'm predisposed to like Ellis comic books, but this is still really good, which is why I broke down and bought both the trades (an aside: I won the Wimbledon sweepstakes at work; we didn't put money in but the company gave us winners £30 Waterstones gift cards. Result. I used it to buy this trade paperback, Batman: The Black Glove and the fourth volume of 52).

Obviously, the book carries on from the previous trade, with Norman Osborn in semi-control of a team comprised mostly of monsters. This idea works well for Ellis – he plays with the darkness and vicious edge, but he doesn't show outright hostility towards superheroes (like Ennis). He has Dr Leonard Samson psychoanalysing Robbie 'Penance' Baldwin after the events of the previous story – Deodato does a really good job of making a conversation look interesting on the page, showing that he's more than drawing pretty ladies – while some undercover heroes deliberately get themselves imprisoned in Thunderbolts Mountain in order to wreak havoc by mentally controlling some of the Thunderbolts, and Osborn slowly losing control of himself.

This is a lot of fun. There is over-the-top action – well handled by Deodato – as well as good characterisation, Ellis shows he researches whatever job he does, the book is obviously part of Dark Reign but doesn't bother itself about the actual overarching story, instead just content to tell its own story. I loved the interaction between Samson and Baldwin, the dialogue and the connection – Ellis has a particular good handle on Samson the psychiatrist – is a mini-series to much to ask for? And this is really funny, with the immortal line from a crazy Norman Osborn: 'Note to self: give naked dictation more often. The ideas seem to flow more freely.' It's a shame that Ellis was only on board for twelve issues – I could read so much more of this. Lovely stuff.

Dark Reign: Fantastic Four TPB

Dark Reign: Fantastic Four #1–5 by Jonathan Hickman and Sean Chen

This trade was another bargain I picked up at the Fantastic Realm sale, and another great purchase. I picked up Hickman's first issues of Fantastic Four around the same time I bought this, and it was good timing: this story is essentially the primer and build-up to Hickman's first three-issue arc in the ongoing FF series about the multiple Reeds trying to save everything.

For a first storyline by Hickman, this is a great Fantastic Four adventure: it involves Reed Richards using his brain to create a bridge to view other realities, to investigate the possibilities of the problems caused by Civil War the Secret Invasion; Sue, Johnny and Ben get thrown about actual different realities due to HAMMER agents cutting power during Reed's bridge initialisation; and Franklin and Valeria holding off Norman Osborn while all this is happening. That's exactly the sort of inventive and exciting stuff the Fantastic Four should be about, and Hickman has perfect control of the story and each of the characters.

This has everything: Reed being clever, Sue being the strong one, Johnny and Ben being childish with each other, smart lines of dialogue, funny lines of dialogue, kids being kids, an intelligent approach to examining the idea of Civil War/Secret Invasion by Reed, alternate worlds (something I have a fondness for), and it has the other three members of the FF dressed as pirates and US GIs and cowboys, as well as fighting dinosaurs – awesome.

Chen provides a nice, clean line to the artwork, able to draw the adults and kids equally well, but also coping with the changes in time/universes and the different versions of multiple characters. It's quite impressive, and he does a good job, his style perfect for the mix of human and imaginative that sums up the Fantastic Four. The art by Adi Granov in the rather slight Cabal story at the end of the trade is also very nice, in a different way, meaning the extra material in a trade collection is of equal high quality. This is a really, really good story and the sign of the good things to come from Hickman.

X-Statix Presents: Dead Girl TPB

X-Statix Presents: Dead Girl #1–5 by Peter Milligan and Nick Dragotta & Mike Allred

I bought (and still have somewhere in my longboxes) the issues of X-Force where Milligan and Allred created X-Statix, but I was never a great fan of them; however, I was impressed that Marvel allowed the series to exist. The memory of them was obviously popular enough to greenlight this mini-series, even if it's a Dr Strange mini-series co-starring Dead Girl (which was another bargain I picked up in a sale; I'm a terrible person).

There is something wrong in Hell, and Dr Strange must investigate, with the aid of a guide: Dead Girl, who seems to spend her days with her other dead friends (Gwen Stacey, Mockingbird and Moira MacTaggart) in a book club. Along the way, we also see other dead characters – most of X-Statix, in fact, as Milligan and Allred killed them off in the original series – as we take a few detours around the trippier realms of the dead.

This is a charming and very silly little story. Milligan has fun with his own characters, Dead Girl in particular (or Moonbeam, as we find out here), but he has a great angle on Dr Strange, giving him haemorrhoids (actually, a spell by the Ancient One, who is in Hell, because he was jealous of Stephen) and a depression and a dandyish air. He even gets some funny lines: 'Ant-Man – you're bigger than this.' Well, it made me laugh. It was nice to see the X-Statix characters again, sensitive Guy (Orphan), angry Tike (Anarchist), capricious Edie (U-Go-Girl), in the same artistic style by Dragotta and Allred, still plying the same vein of parody of superheroes (in this case, what happens to them when they die), but we don't need any more X-Statix stories. However, based on this, Milligan should be allowed to write a Dr Strange story whenever he wants.

Fantastic Four: True Story TPB

Fantastic Four: True Story #1–4 by Paul Cornell and Horacio Domingues

I really enjoyed Paul Cornell's Captain Britain and MI:13 very much, and was sad to see it prematurely cancelled. Along with Leonard Kirk, he created a really good comic book that was exciting, emotional and funny. I really wanted to buy this Fantastic Four mini-series when it came out, but I couldn't justify the increased price, and I knew it would be collected eventually (and I would get lucky and pick it up in a sale). I'm glad to finally have it in my hands because it's a really good little story (even if the mystery is ruined by the image on the back cover, which gives away the villain of the piece).

Apart from Cornell writing the book, I was looking forward to this because it uses the same idea – Cornell didn't steal – as Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series, a really good collection of books where the central character has the ability to pass into the world of books, where she becomes a member of Juris Fiction, the police force that looks after the world of literature. And, yes, it as good as it sounds.

In this story, there is something wrong with the world of fiction, and the Fantastic Four have to enter literature itself to find out what it is. They even name their fictocraft The Jasper, in honour of Mr Fforde ('Fforde with two “F”s? How appropriate.'), and enter fiction with the help of Willie Lumpkin, the most well-read human they know. Once inside, their guide is Durante Alighieri, known as Dante, who takes them to Sense and Sensibility, allowing for the line 'Reader, I clobbered him'. The comic is obviously thick with allusions to literature but not to the extent of putting people off, and there are lots of jokes – Cornell is a very funny writer, and a smart chap, too.

The art by Domingues is an unusual mix of the European and rather cartoony styles, which takes a little getting used to, but the art and storytelling are good. It's not the most obvious choice for a Fantastic Four book, perhaps, but it somehow seems right for the story, with the strange mix of the comic book and the different ages of literature.

The best aspect of this book is the charm and sense of fun – roping in different characters from literature to help, explaining pieces of book history (such as the influence of Ivanhoe on Robin Hood), having Johnny save the day with his shallow literary senses ('Is that Lindsay Lohan?'), even comic book in-jokes ('Keep imagining these fables working together.' 'I'm willing'em, I'm willing'em! '). It's just a delight from start to finish – Cornell has crafted another fabulous little comic book.

Green Arrow: Year One TPB

Green Arrow: Year One #1–6 by Andy Diggle and Jock

The Losers by Diggle and Jock is a great espionage action comic book that is very deserving of its adaptation into a film coming out this year (and I'm looking forward to it very much). Therefore, anything that these two work on together is definitely worth a look.

I don't know if Oliver Queen's origin story has been told before but, if it hasn't, then this works perfectly for me. In fact, it works as a damn good action story without having to worry about the eventual spandex that awaits; this is an exciting adventure that could be adapted for screen and be entertaining in its own right.

Diggle has a good handle on the character of Oliver Queen, a wealthy adrenaline junkie who is betrayed by his bodyguard and left for dead in the middle of the Pacific ocean. On an island somewhere there, he rediscovers his natural ability with a bow and his love of Robin Hood, and re-evaluates his life, while in the middle of guns and explosions and playing the hero. There are some great narrative lines, good dialogue and it lays the basis for the future of the character. It can definitely stand by its 'Year One' title.

Of course, a good story in a comic book needs good art, and Jock does a fantastic job here. I really like his style – action-filled and dynamic, but also good with the character moments and facial expression. The storytelling is great, the line work jumps off the page and you can see the book as a storyboard for a great action film. This is a very enjoyable trade paperback.

From A Library: Dark Entries

By Ian Rankin and Werther Dell'edera

Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus novels are a great series of detective fiction set in Edinburgh around a strong central character. They are great books and Rankin is a really good writer, so it was a bit of a surprise when the news was announced that he would be writing a John Constantine graphic novel. It wasn't helped when, in an interview at Newsarama, he talked about how he really liked The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen film (he watched it three times), he enjoyed the film From Hell more than the book, and he didn't know anything about writing comic books before writing this graphic novel (even though he is a long-term comic book reader).

The idea for the story didn't inspire confidence – Constantine finds himself inside an occult house reality TV show, when the producers pay him to investigate a problem they are having inside the set with the contestants. Satirising reality television seems like an opportunity for Constantine, but it feels a few years out of date; I know that it takes time for comic book to get from script to publication, but satire requires the element of timing for its bite. However, this is not the point of book, as becomes obvious when the tale takes a turn into classic John Constantine territory in the middle of the story, and everything becomes clear. It feels exactly like an old Hellblazer comic extended to 200 pages, in a good way, and you realise you're reading a really good book.

For a beginner to comic book writing, Rankin does a very good job: he has Constantine's narrative voice down perfectly, he sets up the plot cleanly and he tells the story effectively. There is great dialogue (to be expected based on his novels) and a sense of humour, and the horror suitably creepy. I was very pleasantly surprised by how good it was, especially since Rankin admitted in the interview that he only read Understanding Comics after getting the job.

Dell'edera does a good job – he has a suitably noir vibe to his art, even if it's a little on the scratchy linework side of style for my particular liking, but it must work because it looks good even in the reduced size of this graphic novel. He does a good Constantine, and he has a good sense of claustrophobia and atmosphere, and he can go to the darker side when needed for later in the book.

Dark Entries is a really good Hellblazer story that shows that 'stunt authors' can actually work really well. I look forward to Rankin producing more comic book work for Vertigo, maybe even straight crime next time.

DVD Quick Shots

I'm giving up the pretence of attempting to sound reasonable in my thoughts about films I've seen on DVD, and I'm going to round up everything I can think of with a very short sentence or two. Also, I've just come home from playing pool with work colleagues and I don't have much time to keep up my promise to myself of posting something every day.

Angels and Demons

A rare example of a film that was better than the sequel, but only when the original was so poor. At least Tom Hanks didn't have the mullet, but why was Ewan McGregor in this (and with such a silly accent)?

Rating: DA

Click

Or Adam Sandler does a modern version of It's A Wonderful Life. Seriously. (Is he going to remake all Frank Capra's films? He's already done Mr Deeds Goes To Town.) The twist is that it's done with a DVD remote. The only problem here is that Sandler's character is annoying jerk who doesn't deserve a happy ending.

Rating: DA

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe was well made but rather dull, and this sequel follows the same pattern. The CGI is good, the story is fine, but it's all rather flat and unexciting, as if some ingredient was omitted when they were trying to be as bland as possible for as wide an audience as possible.

Rating: DA

Dan In Real Life

I only watched this because I like Steve Carell and Juliette Binoche. I shouldn't have, because it doesn't use them very well, and the story is a bit drippy.

Rating: DA

Death at a Funeral

Probably the most woeful film I've seen in a while, only watched because it has Alan Tudyk in it (he did a good English accent, which he already used in A Knight's Tale). A truly awful film, an utterly lamentable attempt at a farce, and not in the slightest bit funny. Do not watch.

Rating: D

Definitely, Maybe

This was actually rather enjoyable, in that it is a romcom with a urge to do something with the format by trying to make the rom part a mystery (even though you can guess the woman by her placing in the credits). And I obviously have a man-crush on Ryan Reynolds, who is very good in this.

Rating: VID

Dragonball Evolution

This was really rather awful; what has Chow Yun-Fat done to deserve his fate in rubbish Hollywood martial art movies? At least James Marsters has green make-up to hide his shame. An adaptation of the anime with a 28-year-old lead playing an 18 year old, it really does stink in an embarrassing way.

Rating: D

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Or I've forgotten all about this film already – why was it so popular? Apart from seeing Kristen Bell doing 'sexy', and the bizarre puppet finale, I thought this was rather formulaic, but with the addition of uncomfortable male nudity and blow jobs.

Rating: DA

Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow

A very enjoyable Marvel animated film, perhaps because it didn't try to (badly) reinvent an origin (Dr Strange, The Invincible Iron Man), or badly retell a story from the comics (Ultimate Avengers, its sequel); this tries something new but based on a possible future of the comics. It has a lot going for it, and I could watch more with the characters they created for this film.

Rating: VID

Outlander

Of the two films involving a bizarre genre crossover with Vikings (this one being 'aliens') that end in 'nder', this is slightly better, but only just. It is well put together but lacks that spark that would elevate it above a run-of-the-mill B-movie.

Rating: DA

Pathfinder

The other bizarre genre crossover with Vikings (this one being 'Native Americans') ending in 'nder', this is very silly, very poor, and shot in seeming near total darkness; I felt so sorry for Karl Urban. So good in Star Trek, I think this film will be a memory that is 'wrapped in darkness and silence'.

Rating: D

Role Models

Take a typical kids Disney film where kids learn lessons about themselves through live action fantasy role-playing games, and mix it with the Judd Apatow formula of male bromance/acting like kids/swearing and rude jokes, and you get Role Models. There are some laughs at kids swearing, and Jane Lynch is good value, but the ending was so cheesy it was being attacked by mice.

Rating: DA

Son of Rambow

An utterly charming British family film with heart and and originality, as a boy who has never watched television sees First Blood as his first film and ends up making a home movie version with the slightly wild kid at school. Really, really good.

Rating: DAVE

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

A completely pointless film prequel to two poor films, the only reason I watched it was the wonderful Michael Sheen, who I could watch in anything, even this rubbish.

Rating: D

[See here for my film rating system]

Catching Up On DVDs: Part Three Of A (Potential) Series

Let's get right into it, as I scribble some notes about films I saw on DVD in the comfort of my home instead of the noisy public cinema building. I certainly know how to lure people in with a sexy first sentence, don't I?

Bolt
I feel sorry for people who aren't Pixar who still make animated films, particularly computer-generated movies. Even now that John Lasseter is chief creative officer at Disney (he produced this film), you always have to feel: it's not Pixar. Bolt isn't as good as a Pixar film, but it is quite enjoyable. It has to be commended for the fact that it is effectively The Truman Show, but done with a CGI dog. Bolt, voiced by John Travolta (which doesn't quite seem right; the dog looks more like a Tobey Maguire), is the co-star of a popular television series (as a super-powered spy dog) but who doesn't know that he is in a television show; like Truman, he has been deceived into believing this reality. After filming an episode, he escapes because he believes his co-star, a girl called Penny, has been kidnapped and he must help her. He ends up being shipped to New York city by accident, and it comes as a shock when he finds out that his super powers don't work. On the road, he is befriended by a cat and a hamster (who is a big fan of the show), and he learns things about himself. It is entertaining enough, although I doubt it needed the 3D to make it 'more immersive', and is actually quite touching at the end – a nice piece of family entertainment.

Rating: VID


Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs
This was another CGI animation that was released as a 3D film, but we saw it on traditional a 2D television screen without any loss of enjoyment; I have to say that this was one of the most entertaining animated films I have seen – why it wasn't nominated for an Academy Award is a mystery. It's probably because it uses 'science' and 'humour' – the Academy gets scared by those things. The film is really funny – it's packed with lots of background jokes and big belly laughs – but it also celebrates intelligence and invention and nerdiness. It's also a little oddball – in the town of Swallow Falls on a tiny island in the Atlantic (underneath the letter A) which suffers economic downturn when the sardine market collapses; our hero is a young inventor who comes up with a food replicator to help his town, which works by converting water molecules into food, hence the title. The town gets food, but things obviously don't run smooth ... I can't do it justice with my notes, but this film is hilarious, inventive, original, clever and wonderful, with great voice work by actors, not stars. Looks like I'll have to take back what I said about non-Pixar films: this one's a winner.

Rating: DAVE


In Bruges
To completely change direction: In Bruges is a live action, sweary, rather brutal black comedy with a special shock of having Colin Farrell being good in a good film (in fact, he won a Golden Globe for the role). Also, as mentioned yesterday, it has a Harry Potter Factor of 3. Farrell and Brendan Gleeson are two hitmen who are told by their boss, Ralph Fiennes, to lay low in Bruges, Belgium. It's a small film, mostly about two people talking and wondering around a small European city, Farrell bored by it all and Gleeson enjoying the opportunity to take in some culture. It also includes some very realistic violence, and a vicious turn from Fiennes (with perhaps a slightly dodgy accent), as well as allusions to other films and to the paintings of Heironymous Bosch. It is smart, funny, intense, human, moody and full of great dialogue and moments. It was written and directed by Martin McDonagh, more known as a playwright, but this is his first feature-length film after he won an Oscar for his short film, Six Shooter. Based on this excellent little film, he has the potential for a really good career ahead of him – he writes a solid and entertaining script, he has an unfussy directorial style, and he can get good performances from his actors (it was nice to see Farrell acting again – haven't seen that since Tigerland). In Bruges is a great start.

Rating: DAVE

[See here for my film rating system]

The Harry Potter Factor

As I have said before, I really like the Harry Potter films – see the tag 'Harry Potter' if you don't believe me – and have subsequently watched them many times. The side effect of this is that, instead of six degrees of Kevin Bacon, all films I watch now can have a Harry Potter Factor based on how many actors in the film have also been in the Harry Potter movies. This is helped by the fact that the adult actors in the Harry Potter movies are generally very good and are in demand.

For example, I have just watched Alice in Wonderland by Tim Burton (which will be discussed at some stage): it has a particularly high Harry Potter Factor of 6 – Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange), Alan Rickman (Prof. Snape), Timothy Spall (Wormtail), Frances de la Tour (Madame Maxine), Imelda Staunton (Prof. Umbridge), Paul Whitehouse (Sir Cadogan – he is seen in the paintings in the background in Prisoner of Azkaban).

I watched Green Zone the other night (also to be discussed eventually), which has a Harry Potter Factor of 2: Brendan Gleeson (Mad-Eye Moody), Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy). I have seen The Book Of Eli, which has a Harry Potter Factor of 3: Gary Oldman (Sirius Black), Michael Gambon (Prof. Dumbledore), and Frances de la Tour again. Going backwards, films can have retroactive Harry Potter Factors:

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street has a Harry Potter Factor of 3 (Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman and Timothy Spall all together again in a Tim Burton film)
In Bruges has a Harry Potter Factor of 3 (Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes [Voldemort], Clémence Poésy [Fleur Delacour])
A Cock And Bull Story has a Harry Potter Factor of 3 (Mark Williams [Mr Weasley], Ian Hart [Prof. Quirrell], Shirley Henderson [Moaning Myrtle])
Love Actually has a Harry Potter Factor of 2 (Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson [Prof. Trelawney])
Much Ado About Nothing has a Harry Potter Factor of 3 (Emma Thompson, Imelda Staunton, Kenneth Brannagh [Prof. Lockhart])

I think you get the idea ...

As the stats show, it does help if the film or cast is largely British; in fact, it comes as a bit of a shock (to me) when a film with a mostly British cast doesn't have a high Harry Potter Factor. For example, I was watching Stardust on television the other night, which is developing into a very rewatchable film, when I realised that it only had a Harry Potter Factor of 1: Mark Williams. I had to go through the cast list on IMDb to check, but I was right. It just didn't seem possible that such a low score could occur. Still, it must be possible to make films these days without actors who haven't been in Harry Potter films, I guess; I just can't imagine how they do it ...

Catching Up On DVDs: Part Two

I think I could be very happy watching several films a day, some in the cinema, some on DVD; I don't think I'd improve my reviewing skills, but that wouldn't matter. I'd probably write a few notes, like this, just to keep the memories of them alive in my head somewhere.

Race To Witch Mountain
When will Dwayne Johnson find a film that will suit his talents? He can do action, he can do humour, he's charming – yet I can't think of a film that captures all that and is really good. He might be good in things, but they never really raise above the VID rating (or worse, even when he was really good – he was fantastic in Be Cool, but that's a really woeful movie). This film, which is a remake of the Disney film Escape To Witch Mountain from the mid-1970s, is a light and entertaining, a family picture that is neither bad nor great, just pleasant and enjoyable but without leaving any trace after you've seen it. Johnson is his usual reliable self, as is Carla Gugino, someone I've enjoyed watching in film and television since Spin City, but who has never reached the level of fame that I thought she deserved. The kids aren't too annoying, and the special effects are good, but I don't think they'll be making a sequel to this like they did the original.

Rating: VID


Speed Racer
I never saw the cartoon as a kid – I think it was a US thing – so I had no affinity with the concept. The film seemed to cause a bit of a stink, supposedly being a flop and reviews being unkind; however, I have to say that I liked it. I'm not saying it's a great piece of cinema, but it did succeed in turning an anime into a live action spectacle. Much in the same way that the Wachowski brothers made a live action anime (of sorts) with the first Matrix film – we won't mention the sequels – they were able to capture the essence of the animation, the feel and the vibe, and turn that into a family entertainment that is a visual spectacle of dazzling CGI that is exactly like a cartoon come to life. Yes, the story is fairly straightforward, with a sideline in stating baldly that corporations are bad, and the attempts at humour are pretty feeble, but it's a lot of fun and the racing scenes are pretty amazing. It's weird seeing Susan Sarandon and John Goodman as Speed Racer's parents, and Christine Ricci as his girlfriend, but they never make it look like they're slumming – everyone sells the idea of the heightened reality of the film, and you can believe in this very odd world. A lot of fun.

Rating: VID


Taken
I was amazed by how well this film did in the US; I think it only stayed in the UK cinemas for a few weeks, before passing naturally to DVD, where it belongs. I was also amazed how by well it has been regarded in the world of DVD. It's an efficient if brutal thriller that relies on sexism and racial prejudice for its plot, which seems to have been ignored by most people. I don't know if I'm getting old – I might have enjoyed this without thinking much about it when I was younger – but the reliance on the abuse of women in this film really disturbed me (Liam Neeson's daughter is captured while on holiday in in Paris by traffickers; they make a point of killing her friend who was responsible for them getting captured in the first place). For the sake of plot, it apparently takes 72 hours for traffickers to sell the women off, enough time to allow Neeson to get her back; it's all very silly (I never thought I'd see Neeson as an action hero), if handled effectively enough Pierre Morel (he graduated from cinematographer in the likes of The Transporter, Danny The Dog and War to directing with District 13 – another film which uses the capture of a woman and the threat of torture to propel the plot; the only thing worth seeing in the film is the Parkour by the inventor, who is also the lead actor). The other disturbing aspect is the depiction of foreigners – it's as if they took the cliché book of American beliefs about people outside the US and made a film about it; the fact that Luc Besson is co-writer and producer is slightly sad. I think I've written too much about a film I didn't enjoy – isn't that the way?

Rating: DA

[See here for my film rating system]

Catching Up On DVDs: Part One Of A (Possible) Series

For some reason, I feel that chatting about DVDs doesn't warrant as much importance as seeing a film in the cinema, which is slightly prejudiced of me but I never said I was perfect. I don't know if it's the delay or the way they arrive in the post, but they shall have to suffice with a few notes on my thoughts.

The Forbidden Kingdom
Two of my favourite martial artists on screen together? That should make for some good wushu cinema, right? Unfortunately, no – the Americanisation destroys any credibility, the teenage lead is really annoying, and Jet Li and Jackie Chan are wasted in this story. There is one fight scene between Li and Chan that borders on the magic I expected, but I got the impression that they weren't doing all of the overly gymnastic moves, which was very disappointing. The best part was Li as the Monkey King, which he got exactly right.

Rating: VID


Ip Man
As someone who grew up watching Enter The Dragon too many times, I knew that Bruce Lee started out doing Wing Chun (before going on to create his own style, Jeet Kune Do). Ip Man was the man who taught him, and this film is a biopic of the time of his comfortable life in southern China before and during the war with Japan, where his life was not so comfortable. I wanted to see this film to see Wing Chun on film, something I don't think I've seen, and this didn't disappoint: Donnie Yen spent a lot of time training in Wing Chun and it looks great, and Yen is very good. However, the film is a piece of hero worship that unfortunately sours when you find out that it has almost nothing to do with the actual facts of Ip Man's life (he never stayed in his home town during he occupation, he didn't leave with his wife – in fact, he escaped to Hong Kong without his wife to avoid reprisals from the Communists because he was a policeman). Still, I can enjoy the fight scenes on their own merits.

Rating: VID


Hancock
The shift in the tone and direction of a film halfway through can be subversive and catch you unaware, as you realise that what you thought you were watching has become something different. However, there are times when a film starts out as one type of film and then jumps jarringly into another type, and it's the equivalent of a chop shop car: two different things welded together to look like a whole but not actually working underneath. Hancock is such a chimera. It starts out relatively well, as the story of the only superhuman on the planet (Will Smith) who is a reckless drunk, but who tries to rehabilitate himself with the help of Jason Bateman. But then it decides to completely ignore this and become something else entirely; I don't want to tell you what this is because it is the only reason to see the film, but the decision to do this is a misjudgement on the part of the filmmakers and leaves you shouting 'Really? Really?' at the screen.

Rating: DA

[See here for my film rating system]

Podcast Catch-Up

After talking about the House To Astonish and War Rocket Ajax podcasts, I thought I'd catch up on other podcasts I listen to (the last time I did this was two years ago, so it's about time).

I'm still listening to Smodcast – Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier (mostly; he occasionally chats with other people, such as his wife and his old friends from New Jersey) talking about everything and nothing. The discussion they had after the fallout of Zack and Miri Make A Porno was very revealing, even if not all of them are as fascinating.

I still listen to the Collings and Herrin podcast, the raw and unedited chat of two men, with Andrew Collins being the sensible one and Richard Herring being a child who doesn't even seem to like Collins. Perhaps through this podcast, which has been running strong for two years, they are currently standing in for Adam and Joe on BBC6 Music, although they are not as good. The Adam and Joe show was another favourite podcast, even if I did listen to them live as well, but they are taking leave at the moment while Joe directs his first feature film (from his own script). Adam and Joe were the best thing about BBC6 Music, so it's a shame they're not around at this time, when the station is under threat of closure as the Director General tries to (mistakenly) appease the next government.

I've listened to Frank Skinner's podcast (i.e. the edited highlights of his Saturday morning show on Absolute radio) but I've not become a dedicated listener. Instead of just having Skinner on his own, a funny and erudite comedian who is expanding his repertoire as he gets older, he has two other people in the studio with him (a young chap and young woman), which does allow for him to react with his quick wit but makes for a diluted experience.

The other podcast I've sampled but don't listen to regularly is John Siuntres' Word Balloon. He chats with popular comic book creators – he does a regular interview with Brian Michael Bendis, called The Bendis Tapes – and is friendly and engaging, although he does come across as rather bland: he never has anything bad to say about anyone and thinks that everyone's books are great. And, although he does do a rather good Stan Lee impersonation, he should be told to never, ever, ever do Irish and English accents ever again – they are really awful and I'm quite appalled by them.

The best weekly download for me has to be Mark Kermode's film reviews on Simon Mayo's show on a Friday. Kermode is the most passionate and knowledgeable film reviewer in the UK at the moment, and he deserves the slot on the BBC One Film programme, now that Jonathan Ross will be vacating the chair. Kermode is perhaps ignorant of the world outside film – he admits to not watching television at all, because there are too many films to see, and doesn't really pay attention to the rest of popular culture – and he has a softness for films that other reviewers wouldn't care for (he was a big fan of Mamma Mia!, even though he could see its flaws), but he is passionately enthusiastic about film and what it can do, something that comes across in his reviews, both in the good and the bad. I don't always agree with him but I'll always listen to his opinion.

Notes On A Film – Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant

It would seem that the Weitz brothers shouldn't be allowed near fantasy-based movies, which doesn't bode well for their proposed trilogy adaptation of Michael Moorcock's Elric saga. Chris Weitz directed The Golden Compass and Twilight: New Moon, which aren't going to be celebrated in the realms of the fantasy genre any time soon, while Paul Weitz has, like his brother, adapted fantasy books into a film that will not be remembered. They started out as co-directors on the likes of American Pie and About A Boy (a very good film, with an Oscar-nominated screenplay by them), but have gone on to have separate careers – was there competition to make the most mediocre genre film in the popular vampire arena?

Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant is adapted from the first trilogy of the 12-book Saga of Darren Shan, which explains why it tries to pack in too much into its running time, while missing out on the presumably interesting stuff that made the books appealing in the first place. The story is of two boys, Darren and Steve, friends at school who like unusual things (Darren likes spiders and Steve likes horror stuff), and how their lives change when they go to a travelling freak show, the Cirque Du Freak of the title. Through rather silly plot machinations, involving stealing a spider from the Cirque and it biting Steve, Darren is turned into a vampire (well, half-vampire, whatever that is) and becomes assistant to the vampire Crepsley (John C Reilly), who Steve tried to get to change him into a vampire (because he recognised his picture in a book about vampires – really) and has sworn to kill because he didn't.

The film only shows any charm when Darren is in hiding with the Cirque (to do with a truce between Vampires, who don't harm their victims, and the vicious Vampaneze, who kill their victims) – the characters and the actors who play them (including Salma Hayek, Ken Watanabe, Patrick Fugit, Kristen Schaal [from Flight of the Conchords] and Orlando Jones) are the most interesting aspect about the movie, and presumably the books. The freaks are the most believable people in the book, and the adults have a ball playing them, particularly Reilly and the extended cameo of Willem Dafoe as a vampire friend of Crepsley. Unfortunately, the film doesn't really care about this section, and rushes back to the silliness of the plot.

The film is more concerned between the two rather dull lead characters and the development of their friendship into a personal battle that causes the end of the truce between the two vampire clans (the film ends very open-endedly for a desired sequel). However, when the characters are so bland – they have to show that they've changed by the cliché of their hairstyles; Steve must be evil because his hair is slicked back – you don't really care and hope that they both die so that you can go back to the people in the film that are three-dimensional and intriguing enough to carry a film. As it is, the end result is a flat and lifeless movie, even though it tried to cram three novels into 109 minutes.

Rating: DA

[See here for my film rating system]

Notes On A Film: Zombieland

The thing about Zombieland is that it's not really about zombies – they are present and they are responsible for the story, but they're not important. Zombieland is a hilarious buddy comedy that uses a zombie apocalypse as the basis for some really funny stuff. Along with (500) Days Of Summer, this was my favourite 'little' movie of the summer.

Zombieland is about Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg – from Adventureland to Zombieland in a summer) and Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), survivors of the zombie apocalypse who join forces to increase their chances of survival (although Tallahassee doesn't really need any help). Columbus is a dweeby guy who has come up with rules to survive ('2. Double Tap', '3. Beware of bathrooms', '18. Limber up', '31. Check your backseats'), which pop up through the film on screen to highlight their importance, and as an indicator that this is a film that knows about zombies. Tallahassee on the other hand is in his element, enjoying his ability to put an end to zombies in the most interesting ways possible, while he searches not for family or friends, but for Twinkies. Together, they make the classic oddball team, and provide the majority of laughs.

There are women in the story (Wichita [Emma Stone] and Little Rock [Abigail Breslin]) and romance rears its head, but they are a little underwritten and don't make up the bulk of the film. In addition to the hilarious cameo, it's the comedy and action that are the draw here. The director, Ruben Fleischer, said that he was inspired by Shaun Of The Dead – some people have suggested theft – but this is a different film and its own entity, and can stand up to be measured against the British forerunner. It's funny, outrageous, over the top (in a good way) and, even though I don't think it needs it, worthy of the sequel that has been greenlit.

Rating: DAVE

[See here for my film rating system]

Notes On A Film: Surrogates

I've never read the comic book series which was the basis for this film, but I am glad that a comic book that isn't about superheroes was the source of a mainstream Hollywood movie. I really like the premise for the film: the world has developed 'surrogates', extremely lifelike robots which can be controlled by the human brain and function as a person in the outside world, leaving the operator to lounge in their pyjamas at home in the control unit. This throws up lots of questions about the nature of society, such as the question of cost, thus making the division between classes even greater, and who does the actual work, what the work in such a society actually is, the presumably second-class status of humans in this society, whether there is any long-distance travel (do people go to business and holiday locations using surrogates rather than planes?). However, the film isn't really bothered with any of these questions, which probably doesn't come as a surprise.

Bruce Willis' character works for the FBI (why is there an FBI if crime is as low as the opening montage says? And why are there so many agents?) and looks hilarious in his surrogate: the CGI to make his face look shiny and young is hypnotic, and his wig is something else. I'm sure he tries to keep his body and face still when doing these scenes, to help the CGI. The story is fairly straightforward, although it tries to be a complicated mystery thriller, but at least it doesn't wear out its welcome – it's over in about 80 minutes, so there's no padding (although there is some small bits to establish the nature of the relationship between Willis and his wife – Rosamund Pike, being typecast as the frosty woman – and the accidental death of their son).

Jonathan Mostow directs with efficiency and competency but nothing special – the film feels rather flat for a world in the future; the scenes in the streets look so much like the backlots of television studios, I began to wonder if it was supposed to be an elaborate joke on the nature of surrogacy: why use real locations, when you can use an easier substitute? This is an efficient thriller, hanging off the capable shoulders of Willis, and buoyed by some nice small turns from James Cromwell and Ving Rhames. However, it has a very strange ending – Willis saves everyone in a surrogate from being killed, but he allows all surrogates to be destroyed in the middle of day, when everyone is going about their business, in front of a witness. How is he going to be allowed to get away with that? The end of the world as they knew it, and he's going to walk free? Unbelievable.

Rating: VID

[See here for my film rating system]

Notes On A Film: District 9

If it takes the name of a famous director above the title to get films like this made, then I can't object to the transparent false advertising. Peter Jackson may produce this film, but Neill Blomkamp has created (he wrote and directed, adapting from his short film) a great piece of modern alien sci-fi, set in the slummy side of Johannesburg, South Africa. And, yes, the obvious reference to apartheid is there, but that's not what the film is about – it's about humanity, the treatment of immigrants, and the abuse of one class of people by another. But it's also a cracking thriller, with amazing special effects, very alien aliens and a mecha suit that blows shit up.

The film is more amazing for the fact that it only cost $30 million to make – it looks fantastic. The photoreal aliens are incredible, but the film doesn't focus on them – they are just there, part of the background, accepted as part of the reality. This is helped by the faux documentary style that is used for a major portion of the film (although it dispenses with it in most of the intense action scenes, which jars a little), and the attitude of the people in the movie. Of the people, the standout is Sharpito Copley as Wikus, a white collar drone charged with moving the aliens from District 9 to a new area well outside of Johannesburg, whose life changes when some alien liquid squirts on him. What is more amazing is that this was his first acting job (he was an FX guy before) and that he mostly improvised his dialogue; he gives a great performance of an ordinary man undergoing a mental as well as physical transformation, but who is still powered by selfishness and racism and disregard for others (in fact, he comes across as a bit of a prick, and deliberately so).

The film isn't completely perfect – some of the 'bad guy' characters are a little one note and wooden, the documentary parts can seem a little flat, and there are occasional lapses in logic that are ignored for the sake of the plot – but it's a very impressive debut from a 29-year-old South African with a strong voice, good storytelling skills and visual flair. And any film where a lot of the dialogue involves people exclaiming 'Fook!' in that South African accent has a lot to offer.

District 9 does owe something to Peter Jackson, in that there are traces of his Bad Taste in both the lead character and the gross nature of exploding flesh, but Blomkamp also references other science fiction films, but without emphasising the homages. The film itself is very much its own entity and unlike most of the 'blockbuster' cinema out there. Not only is it a film with an actual idea behind it but it is also an entertaining piece of action cinema that is thrilling and enjoyable.

Rating: DAVE

[See here for my film rating system]

Notes On A Film: Whiteout

I have this unassailable belief that writers have good taste when it comes other narrative material (films, television, books, etc.), especially if they are good writers who I admire. I don't know if this is because I am equating my tastes with the writers, and therefore flattering myself, or if it's the idea that people who write for a living have an ability to understand the mechanics and quality of stories. It is for this reason that I can no longer completely trust the opinion of Greg Rucka.

I really like Rucka's work – both his comics (Queen & Country, Gotham Central, his Wonder Woman run, Detective Comics) and his novels (the Atticus Kodiak series and the Queen & Country novels) – and I was really happy for him (and Steve Lieber) that Whiteout was made into a film. I saw him on CBR TV saying that, although it wasn't the graphic novel, it was a good film. I don't think he was being totally honest – he is a producer on the film.

Whiteout is not a good film – a fact that perhaps might have been suggested by the two-year delay between making and release. Even ignoring the changes from the graphic novel, the film is very flat – everything has to be explained as if the audience are pre-schoolers. The fact that the location of this supposed thriller is Antarctica is still something that makes it stand out a little from the crowd, but the rest of it is very standard; the scenes set in the snow are something different. Dominic Sena, who lobbied to direct, makes a by-the-numbers film, resorting to a shower scene within the first five minutes – Kate Beckinsale is Carrie Stetko, and gamely strips down after coming in from the freezing conditions at the South Pole (to show you how many layers she has to wear, of course) – even showing the shot of Beckinsale in silhouette through the only-in-film frosted-transparent shower from the distance of the bathroom door (what a cliché).

I'm trying to remember something that was good about the film, so as not to appear too biased, but I can't; the cast isn't bad but they're not doing themselves any favours (Tom Skerritt is craggy as a doctor at the station, but nothing more; Gabriel Macht turns up as a UN operative, showing that he is not having much luck after The Spirit), and I felt slightly sad watching it, seeing another graphic novel turned into another ordinary film where they missed the point.

Rating: DA

[See here for my film rating system]

Academy Awards 2010: Reactions

In my attempt to writing on a daily basis, I have avoided writing reactions to topical events for the most part. Mostly because I am lazy, but that's another issue ... However, I thought I'd collate what limited thoughts I had about the 2010 Academy Awards, despite not having watched it or all the films nominated.

Despite the talk of 'ground-breaking' and 'historic' for these Oscars, it was perhaps the most safely predicted in some time. With the exception of the happy decision to award The Hurt Locker best picture (a lot of people were worried that Avatar would get it), everything went according to plan.

Kathryn Bigelow followed the DGA win with the accepted best director Academy Award – hence the ground-breaking tag. Jeff Bridges got his Oscar for 'being really good for a long time but not getting it for four other roles, even if this isn't the best film he's made'. Sandra Bullock got the Oscar for being really nice, popular and making money; she can be a good actress, but she had never been nominated before and she's not a usual Oscar nominee, but she was the American who was going to win (remember Helen Hunt winning above Judi Dench, Kate Winslet, Helena Bonham Carter and Julie Christie?), and I don't begrudge her, and her acceptance speech was textbook.

Best supporting Oscars went exactly as planned for Christoph Waltz and Mo'Nique; Up won best Pixar film, I mean best animated picture; Avatar got most of the expected technical awards, which I can agree with; The Hurt Locker won best original screenplay; Precious won for best adapted screenplay, which was the only film I hadn't seen in this category (shame about In The Loop); was this all a shock to people who pay attention to these things?

By all accounts, the ceremony wasn't the greatest – looks like the double act of Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin didn't provide a consistently entertaining mix, with only the occasional good line. The best presenters seemed to have been Tina Fey and Robert Downey Jr for best adapted screenplay, with banter that sounds like it was written by Fey, but sounds like it was a rarity. As usual, the ceremony ran long, so it will be interesting to see if the populist approach increased ratings (I somehow doubt it). They won't get the balance right – popular films are popular because they are not the artistic cinema that the artistic types of the Academy want to see being awarded honours (in reflection of themselves). Still, at least they seemed to be getting it more right than normal ...

Enjoying Films

A little diversion from the thoughts on comic books and various other sundries, on the night before the Academy Awards (which I won't be able to watch, even though I would like to). But it is related to Hollywood.

I've mentioned the comic book that I believe was responsible for my developing a comic book collection (even if it wasn't the first comic I ever read), but I've never done the same for the other entertainment passion in my life: cinema.

From all the recent 'Notes On A Film' (which I still tag as 'film reviews', even if they aren't), it should be pretty obvious that I love film – someone who goes to the cinema every week must enjoying watching movies. There is something about being in a darkened room, feeling like you are the only person in the theatre, transported to a place where stories can transport the viewer and enjoy the entertainment – it's quite magical.

The thing is that I can't pinpoint where this fascination began. The earliest film memory is Star Wars – I was a young boy and it arrived at the perfect time and it blew my tiny little mind. I have a deep affection for Star Wars, but I'm not a Star Wars obsessive; I am aware of the existence of the novels and the comics, but I have no desire to read them. However, it did instil a long-lasting fascination with cinema, the art of telling a story through moving pictures.

I wouldn't call myself a film buff in the classical sense – I don't read film theory or have a collection of black and white Swedish DVDs – but I do have a lot of more mainstream DVDs and have read books about film and Hollywood and directors. I'm not sure where that leaves me on the scale of film buffery, but I'm comfortable with it.

There have been various films along the way that had an impact of differing degrees – I remember watching Highlander and noticing camera moves between scenes on my own; I will defend The Karate Kid as a great film to my dying day; I've forgotten how many times I've seen Enter The Dragon; I remember the happiness I felt when I first watched Citizen Kane, and The Godfather, Reservoir Dogs, and Goodfellas, and Clerks – but I don't have a specific film I can blame it on.

Film has always been part of my life – I believe I got my love from my father, who grew up in the period where they had B-movies and cartoons and news as part of the cinema experience – and I remember wanting to be Barry Norman when I was growing up. I don't have an ability to review films in an interesting or novel manner (as you can see from my back catalogue), but I've tried it – I got a position with one of my student newspapers, and it was a joy. I remember going to see my first film preview – I didn't have to review it – at a screening room in Soho: Absolute Power, by Clint Eastwood (very poor, apart from a single scene between Eastwood and Ed Harris). I was grinning from ear to ear the entire time, just because I was there.

I guess that the love of film was one of the other reasons for this blog – I got the chance to write my thoughts on films without having to bore my long-suffering girlfriend, and it was fun doing it. I no longer want to be Barry Norman when (or if) I grow up, but I will always be interested in cinema. But not enough to get Sky and stay up all night to watch the Oscars ...

Podcast: War Rocket Ajax

When I talked about comic book podcasts in my post about the House To Astonish podcast, I mentioned that there was another one I listened to: War Rocket Ajax.

War Rocket Ajax is hosted by Eugene Ahn and Chris Sims (of The Invincible Super-Blog notoriety). It came about when Eugene first interviewed Chris for Eugene's original podcast, called People You Don't Know, and they obviously enjoyed it so much they started their joint version.

War Rocket Ajax (the name comes from the film Flash Gordon) sees Chris and Eugene chatting about comics stuff in the news (as well as their own news), reviewing some comics (more Chris than Eugene), talking about their haters, and interviewing creative types. They started off impressively, chatting with Matt Fraction in their first podcast, and they've chatted with the likes of Tom Peyer, Jeff Parker, Colleen Coover, Matt Sturges and Bryan Lee O'Malley, as well as the likes of noted comics annotator Jess Nevins. They have musical stings – Eugene even did a rather good rap – and a good rapport, and the podcast lasts a good 90 to 120 minutes.

It works pretty well – Eugene leans towards the producer side, keeping things on track, being structured; Chris brings the comic book knowledge and the passion for the medium, as well as a great sense of humour, although he can lose focus occasionally. They have a good rapport, they create a fun atmosphere and their enthusiasm shines through. Interestingly, Chris comes across even more naturally when he's not doing the interviewing – he was on another comic book podcast where he was the guest, talking about Blackest Night, and being allowed to be the talker allowed his natural showmanship to shine through. Another interesting aside – Eugene is a lawyer, like Al and Paul on House To Astonish; is it some sort of connection?

The website is a good adjunct to the podcast, with show notes for all links and sites mentioned in the podcast, as well as the great art of Rusty Shackles (he produced the image at the top of this post for the very first podcast, as well as for each subsequent podcast), which shows a dedication and enthusiasm that matches the quality of the podcast itself.

I really enjoy War Rocket Ajax – it's a lot of fun, they talk to some interesting people, such as the Twisted Toyfare Theatre guys, and the different things the two men bring to the mix make for a good combination (even if they have an over-fondness for the reggaeton horn, which I don't really get). If you like comic books and fun, I'd highly recommend this podcast.

Comics I Bought 26 November 2009

After yesterday's waffling on about a single comic book, today sees a return to more normal service, with five comics books (although I also bought Incredible Hercules #138 as well, but have yet to read all the preceding issues). On with the show.

Criminal: The Sinners #2
What can be said about Criminal that isn't just repeating how incredibly good it is? Brubaker doesn't waste a line of narration or dialogue, cutting his story to razor sharpness; Phillips consistently produces great art, providing the darkness for the story but also emphasising the characters, such as the single panel of Tracy Lawless giving a young man a look that is enough to scare him away (and it does look frightening). This issue sees Lawless get some advice on solving cases from a cop (who decides not to tell him a very important piece of information), dispense quick and brutal action, look after his boss' daughter, and dispense a life lesson to a hooker. This is a damn good book.

Detective Comics #859
Another book where I'm repeating myself: Greg Rucka writes a good story but JH Williams is doing fantastic work here. The soft style for the flashback to Kate Kane leaving the army because she refused to lie about being gay, to the sharp style for the few panels of Batwoman, and the allure of Kate and Renee Montoya in their early times together, to the shadowy style for the moment when Kate first comes in contact with Batman – it's a joy to read. I'm also enjoying the Question second feature, because Rucka is writing a story with a strong focus that is relevant and appropriate for the character. It will be interesting to see how having the Huntress in this story will affect it (although he did write a great Huntress story already – Batman and Huntress: Cry For Blood).

Fantastic Four #573
The first three-issue story by Jonathan Hickman in his Fantastic Four run was a great start to his work on the ongoing series, so it was a bit of a surprise when I read this issue. Not only does the story begin with little in the way of explanation (if I hadn't read the Mark Millar story about Nu Earth, I would have been completely lost), but it also harks back to the rather uneven Nu Earth story – we could have gone a long time without having to revisit that place again. But even more of a shock was the art of Neil Edwards – not even comparing his work with the polished art of Dale Eaglesham on the three previous issues, but his art style seems like he's not ready for the Premier League that is the Fantastic Four; it looks like something that would have been seen in a try-out fill-in issue of a New Universe story back in the day. It seems such a wrong-headed choice – a new writer needs to have every advantage in persuading a picky readership to stay on board, not have people turned off by art that isn't up to the standards you would expect for one of Marvel's big titles. It just seemed such a let down after the cracking start.

Powers #1
It's good to have Powers back again, even if the 'monthly' schedule is never going to happen – it's a book where Bendis can be himself and tell a wide variety of stories within an interesting world and not have to worry about the consequences. The concept of celebrity in Powers has always been one of the interesting draws to the book, so this story looking at the Rat Pack of superheroes in the 1950s is a great idea, and seeing Walker as the Dean Martin character is pretty damn funny. The Bendis dialogue, something I was talking about yesterday, works so much better here, and feels more natural and realistic. Mike Avon Oeming does his usual good job on art duties, but I only had one question: is it me or does the perp in the opening scene look a little like Joss Whedon?

Usagi Yojimbo #124
I'm surprised it's taken such a long time for Stan Sakai to do his take on the Yojimbo story; here, Usagi goes to a town called Hell where two bosses are fighting each other to run the town. Usagi offers his services to each to get the best price and try to work out which would run the town better. His opposite number is another former samurai, and it's interesting to see how they relate to each other. This shows the tough guy side to Usagi's character, and it's rather cool to see him play it that way. Sakai's storytelling is excellent as always and I can't wait to see how this turns out.

Comic I Bought 19 November 2009

This is a nice breather after the previous heavy weeks – only one comic book purchased. My bank account was grateful at least. I hope I have a lot to say about this single book, or perhaps it might be a bit of a cheat to have a entire blog post devoted to it. But no one is going to complain ...

Spider-Woman #3
I like Brian Michael Bendis' work (otherwise I wouldn't give him the privilege of using his entire name), despite the fact that he has certain ... idiosyncrasies, shall we say. I'm really happy that he's achieved the success that he has earned. I also like the art of Alex Maleev – I enjoy his style and his photo-realistic people, especially his women, and he's a good choice for a series that isn't just superheroes. I also like Jessica Drew as an agent of SWORD, a character with a lot of scope for exploration in a situation that can test those limits. However (and you knew there was a 'however' coming), this issue does nothing for the book or the character or the author.

This issue is Exhibit A for people who don't like Bendis – it is an issue where not much happens (Madame Hydra invites Jessica to come back to Hydra) and there is a lot of talk. A LOT of talk. It has Bendis' conversational tics, and it has the added bonus of the dialogue tics in the style of Jessica's narration. It also feels like one of those issues that are Exhibit B in the 'padding out for the trade paperback' accusation – what is the point of this issue? Why is it necessary? Madame Hydra wants Jessica back in Hydra and Jessica doesn't want to be part of Hydra. There you go – the point of the book in a sentence.

As you can guess, I was a little disappointed by this issue, even while enjoying Maleev's art and the technical proficiency of the work. I want to enjoy this more than I did, so I hope the series gets better after this.

Chew: Taster's Choice

Chew #1–5 by John Layman and Rob Guillory

Chew should not work; it is an out-there idea that doesn't fit into an easily identifiable category, but it does. Tony Chu is a cibopath, meaning he gets a psychic impression of whatever he eats. This is unusual enough for a central character. But it gets stranger: he is a detective in a world where chicken is illegal after an avian flu outbreak killed 160 million people worldwide, and the FDA is the most powerful agency in the USA. But is the avian flu story correct? This is another twist to an already bizarre world. Add in Agent Mason Savoy, the FDA agent who discovers Chu's gift and sequesters him to the FDA as his partner – because is a cibopath as well. And Savoy, a monocled, well-spoken bear of a man who breaks out some kung fu moves when attacked by sword-wielding gangsters, is more than he looks.

This trade collects the first five comics in the 'little indie comic that could' – the buzz around this book when it first came out, and the number of reprints to keep up with demand, was heart-warming for comic produced by Image about a man who has to eat human flesh to discover the answers to unsolvable crimes. John Layman, a writer whose work I haven't read before, creates the world for his central character and the vibe in which it can live and breathe comfortably, but then he doesn't rest on his laurels – other writers might have their one idea and explore that. Layman has it as part of his world and then goes even further, throwing in ideas like a Russian character called The Vampire (who we have yet to meet), a plotline about an alien planet 24 light years away and its connection to the US and Russian governments, a saboscrivener (someone who can write so well about the food she has eaten, the reader can taste it), and that's just the start – the end of the series suggests there will be more revelations and more outré stuff.

For such an unusual story, you need an artist up to the task, and Rob Guillory is the right man for the job. His art style is funky and cartoony, like a strange mix of Jim Mahfood and Ben Templesmith, which allows the room for the oddness to stand up on its own and still believable. He sets it in the real world but the anatomy is towards the cartoony but in a good way; he handles humour well, but also action and storytelling, and I really like his style.

This is a really good book, something that is distinctive and unique and is special (I would love to have been in the pitch meeting for this series – Layman must have one hell of spiel to have got Image to publish this), and deserves all the plaudits it received. Kudos to Layman and Guillory for having the courage to go through with this wonderful comic book.