Comics I Bought 22 July 2010

Still waiting to talk about my thoughts on Atlas (I bought issue #3 this week), so only two comics to talk about today, which is good because time is of the essence.

Heroic Age: Prince of Power #3
I really loved this issue. I thought it was good when Thor said, 'Serpents. Why dies it always have to be serpents?' I thought it got better when Delphyne did her thing (firstly 'Cue “armouring up for the big fight” montage music', then 'The word you're looking for ...It's “cold-blooded”.') But it was topped by Amadeus slipping a roofie to Sekhmet, the lioness Lady of Slaughter, and turning her into Hathor, Goddess of Love, who turns out to be an Egyptian Lolcat ('O HAI HOOMINS! KITTEH NEEDS KISSUS PLZ!'). Messrs Van Lente and Pak, you do delight me. Throw in some Egyptian mythology (they are always educating as well as entertaining, those two rascals) and fine art from both Reilly Brown and Zach Howard, who I think did the Amadeus and Delphyne pages, respectively, and you've got a brilliant comic book. Simply marvellous.

X-Factor #207
'She was tall and elegant, with a body that was eighty percent legs and one hundred percent trouble. It just didn't come more noir than her.' The second book in my pile this week was just as funny as the first, with Peter David firing on all cylinders, starting with the description from Madrox's narration (for a character whose identity is given away rather blatantly on the cover). Madrox gets a new case, Monet deals with Baron Mordo in a very neat manner (with nice misdirection, although it did require explaining because it wasn't completely sold by the art), there is a frank and emotional discussion between Rictor and Shatterstar about the state of their relationship, and there is a good final page cliffhanger – it's certainly a packed issue. The art takes a turn for the better – Sebastian Fiumara is new to the book, and his art has a strong line, a good sense of storytelling, a sense of moody atmosphere necessary for the noir elements of the book but with a cleanness needed for superhero characters. I really enjoyed his take on the X-Factor team, completing a great package.

Comics I Bought 15 July 2010

A Bank Holiday Monday in the UK where it isn't raining; I was almost too surprised to write anything. However, I don't let meteorological surprise get in the way of talking about comic books I bought six weeks ago.

Astro City: Silver Age #1
A breath of fresh air – an Astro City story that isn't The Dark Age. In it, we learn about the Silver Agent, aka Alan, who came from a family who served the city but he couldn't because of polio, becoming a mailman before he was transformed by an alien artefact and became a hero, only for him to be saved by the greatest heroes of the 43rd century to keep on fighting the good fight. This is the first issue of a two-parter, so it's about information and set up, with resolution next issue, but it's very nicely done. I still don't like Brent Anderson's art, but what are you going to do?

Batman #701
I'm not quite sure what the point of this issue was – Grant Morrison writes 'RIP The Missing Chapter' with his usual briskness and economy and humour (Batman: 'How's the whole “extreme butlering” thing working out for you, Alfred?' Alfred: 'I believe the correct term is “butling”, sir.'), but I don't think it serves any purpose. It doesn't help that Tony Daniel's art is inconsistent; he's not a bad artist but he draws a splash page of a brokedown Batman that just looks all wrong, too big and blocky with shoulders and biceps far too large for his arms, but then draws him slicker and more svelte in the next pages. I'll wait for the next issue to pass complete judgement.

The Unwritten #15
'That literary GPS thing again' – I like that description of the element of The Unwritten that I enjoy, which is to the fore in this episode as Tommy Taylor makes deductions in order to locate his father, using clues about places in London with a literary connection, where his father finally arrives to deal with the man who has been taken over by the fictional character of Count Ambrosio (I loved the way he dealt with him). Another good issue from Carey and Gross.

Comics I Bought 8 July 2010

July started out a slow month for comics: two comics in the first week, two comics in the second week. Not that my bank account is complaining (although I still bolster my collection with plenty of trade paperbacks, unfortunately ...), but it makes these posts short.

Batman and Robin #13
Oh, Mr Morrison: you are a tease. Starting a story in media res, with 'Mr Thomas Wayne' shooting Dick Grayson in the head, then 'Three days earlier', and then the story doesn't finish in this issue – that's just cruel. He's definitely having more fun on this writing this book, from the scenes with the Joker and the dialogue between Dick and Jim Gordon, but still maintaining his quality of tricky plotting and storytelling. I really liked Frazer Irving's art on this issue – his dark but smooth painted style suited the story really well, doing a particularly excellent Joker, all terrifying rictus and a white face that looks as alien as you would expect in real life.

X-Women #1
I felt rather cheap reading this; I'm not even sure why I bought it. My stupid affection for the Chris Claremont X-Men of my youth certainly played its part, but the mere idea of Milo Manara – the famous erotic artist – drawing a straight superhero comic for Marvel seemed to odd to not own it. It is a Chris Claremont X-Men book, with an emphasis on the strong women for which he was rightly known, so it is exactly the sort of thing you would expect from him, with plentiful dialogue, tough-girl monologues and liberal use of Madripoor. However, this book is all about Manara's art, and it's weird: the implied sexuality of comic book characters is nothing new, although here it is taken to the edge of that boundary, but not to the obvious limits of the actual eroticism of a usual Manara book. There are plenty of shots of bottoms in tight clothing, or poking out of the end of t-shirts or short dresses, or in barely there clothing. But the art style makes you expect more, but in a dirty way, as if they should be doing something more X-rated, if you'll pardon the pun. You half expect them to have an orgy when you turn the page, which makes you feel sordid for thinking that, and then sordid for feeling disappointed for it not happening. It is not a good comic book, but it is an unusual one.

Comics I Bought 1 July 2010

After yesterday's self-indulgent whimsy, I'm back to doing the thing that I do: talking about stuff that everybody else talked about when it was topical, in a waffling and non-critical manner. You should know the drill by now.

Turf #2
The first issue came out in the beginning of April – looks like this series is going to take a long time finishing. Still, it's enjoyable when we get it – watching Eddie Falco surviving an attack from a horde of vampires and then meeting an alien is quite an adventure. Jonathan Ross hasn't overcome his tendency to include far too much dialogue in the talky scenes, but he does step out of the way and let Tommy Lee Edwards strut his stuff artistically when it comes to the action: flying vampires, gangsters with Tommy guns, little alien insectoid creatures; it all looks good. Ross is doing a good job of balancing all the aspects of the story, including the crooked cops, the cops trying to keep things working as they are, and the vampire family plotting. The only annoying aspect, apart from the delay between issues, is the character of reporter Susie Randall, who unfortunately seems to have an important part in the story. She's supposed to be irritating (I hope) but that doesn't make it any better. Anyway, I'm looking forward to the next issue, whenever it comes out.

Usagi Yojimbo #129
Stan Sakai returns to the story of his tribute to the Yojimbo film: Kato, the other samurai from the original story, believes that Usagi cheated him out of his money, so he's looking for him, only for them to have an 'Encounter At Blood Tree Pass'. Fortunately, Kato is an honourable samurai (which is lucky for Usagi, as his 'Phew!' suggests). This is as well told and well drawn as all Usagi Yojimbo books, but titled as a single issue tale, even though it is obviously part of a bigger adventure – the story ends with the two deciding to return to the town from the original story. In a world where the ordinary comic book is marketed to selling it in the trade paperback form, it's a typically refreshing approach from dedicated master storyteller Sakai.

Pausing For Reflection

I'm taking a moment in my daily blogging schedule to step back from my goal (of discussing all the various entertainments I've consumed and getting up to date on them) and think about my blogging, so feel free to ignore this self-indulgence on my part.

I'm getting close to aim of being able to talk about comic books and films within a day of actual reading/seeing them – with Splice, I have now reviewed all the films I have seen up until last month, and I've talked about the comics I've bought up until the end of June. This means that, instead of several days of a theme of posts, I will have no structure to my posting schedule. I don't know what to do when this happens.

I will only have two guaranteed posts a week – the film I see every week and the comics I buy each week – so I shall have to look to other areas to keep my daily blogging promise. I will probably revive an old regular post about comic book artists, which can be seen as a reviewing of the pencillers who have entertained me throughout my years of enjoying comic books, as well as trying to learn how to write about art (something I don't do very well).

But the rest of it is going to be a challenge. I might write about comic books in my collection a bit more – I started with Staying In The Collection, based partly on Greg Burgas' Comics You Should Own, but with more humility [only joking, Greg]), and there was a regular Trimming the Collection idea that looked at various books that I had bought but no longer enjoyed, which I might revive. However, I don't think there were any other regular features that will be seeing the light of day again, which will still leave short a few days a week of content.

What will I do? I don't know. There is the mixture of fear of the unknown and the anticipation of something new, and I'm not sure where it will lead. Will I start doing link blogging again? Probably not, but they are a routine post on blogs. Will I start posting images I like (which will mean less writing and effort)? Probably not – I have an entire blog for that (my Tumblr blog), so that would be redundant. Will I start commentating on news and other people's thought-provoking posts? I'm not sure; I'm not very good at being timely, as should be apparent by now, but it might be a challenge to try. It will be, as the proverb says, interesting times, which is why I was thinking about it instead of writing any reviews. And I'll get back to those tomorrow.

Notes On A Film: Splice

Splice is not the sort of film I would normally watch because, even though it is billed as a science fiction horror, it is the horror part that I don't particularly care for. If you were of a mind to search my archives, you wouldn't find many (if any) horror films in my film 'reviews'. However, the idea of scientists creating life in a modern setting appealed to someone like me who was trained as a scientist and has worked in an actual lab rather than what is shown in cinema.

Splice is the story of two 'superstar' scientists, Clive (Adrien Brody) and Elsa (Sarah Polley), who have been successful in splicing animal genes to create new hybrids. They want to splice human genes but the pharmaceutical company that funds them wants to make money from the new animal hybrid products and bans them from continuing their research. Of course, this doesn't deter them, and they eventually create a female hybrid of human and animal genes who they name Dren (a backward reading of NERD, the name of the pharma company), who grows and learns at an accelerated rate. Dren is also strange – bald, extended ankle sections, a prehensile tail, the ability to change parts of her body (as you can see in the poster), prone to mood swings – and she has to be taken to a remote location, in this case the farm where Elsa grew up, to keep her away from danger. And that's when things get even weirder ...

The first two-thirds of the film are good – the build-up, the interplay between Clive and Elsa, the development and growth of Dren, the atmosphere created by director Vincenzo Natali, the drama caused by Dren on the relationship between Clive and Elsa. Delphine Chaneac, who plays Dren, gives an amazing performance as the CGI-enhanced creature with feelings and weirdness; it's remarkable, eerie and strangely enchanting, and is one of the best parts of the film. The last third of the film changes from the intelligence of the earlier sections to a more traditional horror film, with violence and blood and betrayal and shocks that you can see coming. It was disappointing after the smarts and humour (there is a hilarious gross-out scene where two earlier successes of Clive and Elsa's animal hybrid programme had turned violent after the female one had turned male and they tore each other to pieces in front of an audience), to see it degenerate into something more generic. When certain events happen in the last third with an almost depressing inevitability, it detracts from the enjoyment of the rest of the film, and leaves you feeling disappointed with how it all turns out.

Rating: DVD

[Explanation of my updated film rating system]

Notes On A Film: Inception

I had thought to write about this fabulous film when I first saw it, but the ocean of writing about Inception on the internet put me off – all the theories and beautifully written praise rather overwhelmed me. I won't be adding to much to that ocean, but I couldn't help but to add my few drops in agreement with all the positive reviews.

I shall start with the summary: Inception is a fantastic piece of cinema, I absolutely adored it, it's the best film I've seen all year (and beyond), and I shall enjoy watching it on DVD  again and again and again ...

I think everyone in the world must know the basic plot: Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is an infiltrator of dreams for corporations, where he steals secrets, but this time he is asked to do the reverse and place an idea in somebody's mind. He forms his team for the heist and the film follows the formulation of the plan and then the heist itself.

What follows is a beautifully intricate film, scripted with exquisite precision, filled with dazzling visuals (such as the folding cityscapes and the gravity-free fight scene), good acting (DiCaprio is really good as the central character on which the film hinges, but he is supported in superb form by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and good turns from Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Ellen Page, and the rest of the cast, including familiar faces from previous Nolan films such as Michael Caine and Ken Watanabe) and genuine emotion in an action film. I was completely absorbed for the entire duration of the film, and had a strange sensation while watching the film of being aware of how much I was enjoying it and how good the film was.

Christopher Nolan has written and directed an astounding cinematic spectacle, a truly original and entertaining movie with a heart and a brain, and I'm really happy that it has done so well at the box office (even though these things don't really matter). One of the things that really impresses me is the way that this film can stimulate such fervent discussion and different hypotheses about it, not because it is full of holes but because it engenders such speculation about what it is about (there are several theories, such as listed here, but I also like the ideas presented here and here), and they don't detract from my enjoyment of the film but enhance it. That is quite an achievement. I also liked how the film ended: the camera pulling in, the audience waiting for the moment to happen, and then the screen going black – a delicious moment.

Inception is a superb film, excellent in all aspects, and I feel sorry for those people who didn't enjoy it. I loved it.

Rating: DAVID

[Explanation of my updated film rating system]

Notes On A Film: Predators

The World Cup finally beat the cinema: I didn't go to the cinema for two weeks because the studios were so scared of a bunch of football games. The first film to come out after the drought was Predators, which is very different from the last four films I've talked about.

Everything you need to know about Predators can be seen in the poster: it is exactly the same as the first film, but there are three Predators causing trouble this time. This is to do with the origin of the script: Robert Rodriguez was asked to write a treatment to tempt Arnold Schwarzenegger in to a sequel after the success of the original film. Obviously, Arnie didn’t want to do it, the script lay dormant, until Rodriguez was asked to revive it (he is only a producer on the film).

The film follows a similar storyline: a group of fighters (randomly selected from various troubled spots around the world, either professional soldiers or killers in some fashion) is displaced to a dangerous place and have to fight back when they discover that they are not the hunters. Call it a homage, call it a reboot, call it an update – it is the first film except that they are on an alien planet (we see them being parachuted in at the start of the film), there is an even more ethnically diverse cast (including Japanese, African and Russian characters) and there are two more aliens to worry about. The ‘Ten Little Indians’ style plot is the same – we watch as the cast gets whittled down, including Danny Trejo, Lawrence Fishburne and Walton Goggins (so enjoyable recently in the television series Justified) – and there are noble sacrifices from characters who previously seemed not quite so altruistic, as we head to the big showdown, which even pays tribute to the original with the use of mud to camouflage from the advanced sensors.

Oscar-winner Adrien Brody is an unlikely choice for the lead, but he has buffed up for the part and puts on a sufficiently gruff voice (a bit like Christian Bale doing Batman), so he doesn’t embarrass himself. Alice Braga is the tough female (although the only one), who also provides a link to the original Predator film, as her character comes from the area where the original happened and she had heard of the story of the beast in the jungle. The film is directed with functionality, there are a few jokes, the story progresses logically, the Predators are impressive and the special effects are good.

This is a ‘Saturday night out with the boys’ kind of film – it does what it is supposed to do in an unfussy manner and provides the pyrotechnics and thrills as required. It is nothing special but it is not awful either – perfectly serviceable and entertaining. It won’t be troubling the original film for longevity, but at least the original film never lied in the trailer – the Predators trailer had a scene where Brody’s character stands up to find himself covered with the trademark three-sighted laser dots on his body, rather than the actual three that occur in the film.

Rating: DVD

[Explanation of my updated film rating system]

Comics I Bought 24 June 2010

The final week of June brings a lot of comic books to discuss, so that means I shall dispense with the charming introduction to this segment of 'catching up on comic books I bought some time ago and am only now getting round to talking about'.

Batman: Return of Bruce Wayne #3
Pirate Batman. Brings a smile to my face writing that. Except, it's not really Pirate Batman, but Batman (lost in time) meeting Blackbeard in 1718, who is searching for treasure in very familiar caves just outside Gotham ...Bruce Wayne's memory is returning, and the Miagani tribe allow him to discover part of his heritage in the course of this adventure, beautifully drawn by Yanick Paquette. This is an inventive and fun story from Grant Morrison, as he slowly returns Bruce Wayne to his own time, including nice linking moments along the way. Very enjoyable.

Fantastic Four #580
Jonathan Hickman tries something different with this issue of Fantastic Four – he goes for a bit of comedy with Impossible Man and Arcade, but it doesn't really work. It doesn't help that Neil Edwards' art (which I don't particularly like) is totally inappropriate for a whimsical tale involving the silliness of Impy; it requires someone with a more cartoony approach, with a lighter feel to the art. Also, the issue feels completely out of place with the rest of the Hickman run, which seems to be aiming for an expansive sweep in its huge (interminable) build-up to ... something. Then, to top it off, the kids in Reed's new progressive classroom come up with a cure for Ben Grimm, which will make him human for about a week in the year. I know that curing the Thing is always a big part of anyone's tenure on the Fantastic Four, but this one seems even more out of nowhere and inconsequential, thus diminishing Reed's attempts even more. I'm really not sure about continuing to buy this any more ...

Joe The Barbarian #6
I'm definitely repeating myself when it comes to Joe The Barbarian: enchanting story and art, nice interplay of fiction and reality, kudos to Grant Morrison and Sean Murphy. Let's assume this will stay the same until the end of the series, shall we?

Powers #5
The good thing about Powers is that it can be unpredictable because Bendis and Oeming can do anything they want to with their own book. This leads us to Walker being heartbroken because his girlfriend has left him because of horrible visions of the future involving Walker. It's a pretty downbeat issue, with ugly art to match Walker's mood (although I did like the tribute to Edward Hopper's Nighthawks); it's not exactly a fun book to read, but at least there's the last page reveal of the return of Deena, which can only mean that things will get interesting ...

X-Factor #205 and #206
This is confusing and embarrassing – it would seem that my records were not accurate; when I thought I should have been talking about X-Factor #204 in my post about books bought on 20 May 2010, I should have been talking about X-Factor #205. I'm such an idiot. So let's talk about two issues of X-Factor to compensate. Aren't you lucky?

So, the last issue saw what we thought was the end of Madrox, Longshot and Rictor when they were riddled with bullets in their car – which I definitely remember happening, so I know I have that comic somewhere – only for Peter David to deftly misdirect us (with something he foreshadowed in the last issue). Nicely played, Mr David. I'm not sure about the Bastion part of the story, but the multiple (if you'll pardon the pun) plot strands are moving along nicely. In issue #206, which has a very good cover from David Yardin, sees the team come together again (apparently due to Longshot, according to him: 'Any other requests?') and do battle with the Mutant Response Division. The art from Valentine De Landro is getting better but it can still be quite ugly and inconsistent – X-Factor really needs a regular A-list artist to take it to the next level.

Comics I Bought 18 June 2010

After yesterday's lengthy post about many comics, today's will thankfully be shorter; I bought Atlas #2 as well, but I'll be talking about Agents of Atlas/Atlas at a later date, so it will only be two comics for discussion.

The Boys #43
I started out enjoying The Boys – Garth Ennis is a good writer and Darick Robertson is a good artist, and I was interested in the adventures of Hughie and Butcher and the rest – but the feeling has been diminishing of late. The art fill-ins haven't been consistent, and Ennis' cynicism towards superheroes has become slightly wearing. The Herogasm mini-series seemed a cynical cash-in, an attempt to do a bi-weekly series of The Boys rather than an important spin-off. Now, with this issue jumping to $3.99 in price and another mini-series on the way (with more John McCrea art that wasn't as good as his days on Hitman), it seems the perfect time to jump ship. I might check it out in trade paperback – Ennis is a good writer after all – but I'm sure it will survive without me.

Fables #96
In which we discover how Rose Red and Snow White were separated. Split apart by their mother (a witch who was trying to protect them from the machinations of the king of their land, who was trying to amend the mistake of his son, the prince from the previous issue who had been rescued from an enchantment by the sisters and who had sworn to marry Snow White), Red had never been the same after she was told Snow was dead, then to find out that she was alive all along. Bill Willingham also includes the Snow White story we know so well, with perhaps darker aspects hinted at without going into detail, as Rose is told the true story by her mother. A well-told story, perfect art for the material – Fables is deservedly the biggest Vertigo comic of the moment.

Comics I Bought 14 June 2010

Back to the comics. In these posts, I try to catalogue my thoughts on the books I purchased in the weekly trip to the comic book shop. However, the normal routine was disrupted by moving offices, which meant that I wasn't a 10-minute walk from Gosh! any more. Having settled into the new office, I discovered that it wasn't as far away as I'd thought: a 10-minute walk to the tube and two stops to Tottenham Court Road station meant that I could resume my lunchtime visit to purchase the new books. Therefore, this is two weeks of comics, bought on a non-Thursday (the day we in the UK get our new comics delivered).

Serenity: Float Out
This was the only book that came out the week of 3 June 2010 that I wanted to buy. I'm a big fan of the Firefly television show and the Serenity film, and I've bought the two Serenity series, even though I didn't think they were as good. Unfortunately, this is another book to add to that list. Written by Patton Oswalt and drawn by Patric Reynolds (and executive produced by Joss Whedon), it is about three former compadres of Wash remembering him after his untimely death in Serenity. In doing so, they each recall a tale of Wash; the thing is that it means there's not enough Wash, even though it is about him. It is a sensible choice for a story but it doesn't quite work. I think part of it is that Oswalt doesn't quite capture the voice of the series, the unique parlance that was Firefly, the specific word choices that demonstrated the world, which is an important aspect. The art is functional the likenesses are all right but the work is nothing special. The only thing of note was the final page showing Zoe pregnant with Wash's baby. Whedon – that move doesn't compensate for unnecessarily killing off Wash. Just so you know.

And now to the books from the week of 14 June 2010.

Batman #700
I wouldn't normally buy one of these special anniversary issues, but it was Grant Morrison doing a big story about Batman, and I'm enjoying his run at the moment. It is a fun story through time about the original Batman, the Dick Grayson Batman of the current time, the Damian Wayne Batman of the future, and even includes a bit of Batman Beyond (to which Morrison links in the third section of the story). The art from Frank Quitely is the best of the bunch – Tony Daniels is competent, Scott Kolins is a little rough, Andy Kubert is perfectly fine, and David Finch does a good job (I think he'll be a good Batman artist). I enjoyed the story, but I didn't enjoy the padding out to make this a $4.99 book: the pin-ups are nice but padding, but not as bad as the filler that are the pages Batcave detail and preview pages of Neal Adams' Batman: Odyssey. This soured my enjoyment of what should be a joyous celebration of the eternal appeal of Batman.

Heroic Age: Prince of Power #2
Seeing Amadeus Cho fight Thor, mostly to prove that he (and not Thor) was Hercules' best friend, is a lot of fun ('You! Were! Not! Herc's! Best! Friend! Say it! Say it!'). Thor's reactions are priceless, too. It's done while Vali Halfling, illegitimate son of Loki and all round nasty character, puts his plan into action to takeover the Olympus group. The mix of excitement, adventure, intrigue and fun is a hallmark of Fred Van Lente and Greg Pak's Hercules, and they've still got it.

SHIELD #2
I'm enjoying this series after just the second issue, even if I don't completely understand everything that is going on. Leonardo Da Vinci talks with our protagonist Leonid, there is the sense of history and a scale and the future, with beautiful art from Dustin Weaver and an expansive story and and excellent narrative from Jonathan Hickman. The set-up is really good; I just hope he pulls the trigger with equal skill.

The Unwritten #14
The Unwritten is so enjoyable that it's frustrating: I want to know more about the story NOW. The fake Tommy Taylor novel, the historical London connections ('They've got guns. We've got Paddington Bear.'), Lizzie Hexam's connection to Dickens, the villains' ability to detect Lizzie's communication technique – it's all too intriguing and I want to have all the details about this great story. More please, Carey and Gross.

Young Allies #1
I really liked Sean McKeever and Mike Norton's Gravity mini-series, so I thought I'd try out this new series – it's written by McKeever and features Gravity. This is a classic 'forming the group', as Gravity, Firestar, Arana, Bucky and Toro meet while dealing with the Bastards of Evil – 'discarded and disavowed sons and daughters of supervillains' (personally, I love the name for the group). David Baldeon provides pencils, and he is a good choice for a team of teens, with a manga-tinted style but with a strong clarity. It's a good first issue, including additional pages at the end of the story that provide background information on the main characters. The characters are well defined and McKeever has a good way with dialogue. However, the special spark of magic wasn't there for me – I can't put my finger on it, but it's nothing to do with the quality of the book.

Book: The Unseen Academicals

I have surprised myself today: in doing this blog for over 5 years, I have never written of my love of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels. This is surprising considering I've been buying them now for nearly 20 years; I remember even misguidedly putting it on an early CV (in the mistaken belief that being specific about my love of reading in the 'Hobbies' sections was more individual than 'I like books'). Part of this is my initial fear regarding 'reviewing' proper books, and part of it is because I feel completely inadequate as a writer after reading the intelligent, funny and beautiful prose Terry Pratchett produces.

The Unseen Academicals is the 37th Discworld novel, which is amazing in itself, but even more now that Pratchett is suffering from a rare version of Alzheimer's, a truly cruel turn of events for such a fine brain. Instead of the series suffering from going on so long, it only gets better. I think this is because Discworld offers Pratchett the chance to write about everything: it started out playing with fantasy, but it has covered topics such as the film and music industries, the invention of paper money and the postal system, Christmas and religion. Now it is the turn of football.

The plot starts with the staff of Unseen University discovering that they will lose the vast majority of its money unless they field a team playing 'foot-the-ball'; the game is currently a thuggish and brutal game that belongs to the lower class of Ankh-Morpork (city of cities), which is more about the tribal aspect – the game itself is an aside. Lord Vetinari, Patrician and beneficial tyrant of Ankh-Morpork, decides that the game needs to be civilised (to stop property damage, if nothing else) and 'asks' the University to control this new direction. Into this mix are thrown Mr Nutt, an erudite and well-spoken goblin from Uberwald with a secret, who works as a candle dribbler in the University; Trev Likely, Nutt's friend and work colleague, who is a gifted footballer who doesn't play after promising his mum he wouldn't after his father, a famous footballer, died playing the game; Glenda Sugarbean, the homely woman who runs the Night Kitchen at the University; and Juliet, a pretty but simple girl who works in the Night Kitchen but who might be the first supermodel in Discworld.

The story allows for Pratchett to write about the idea of football – what it means as a concept, its identity and place in the world, its possession by the people, the magic behind it (both in the playing itself and the connection with the fans) and the Platonic ideal of what football is, something that works so well in Discworld. There are lots of lovely references to football throughout (even using 'They think it's all over' as punchlines near the end of the book), and I think that this book is the most British of the Discworld series in that respect, as it is intricately linked to the nation's identity.

It goes without saying that I loved the book – I haven't read a bad Pratchett book, and I simply adore his way with words, the way he finds truth in everything and is able to explain these truths in such an exquisite and beautiful manner. His turn of phrase constantly delights, his jokes are actually funny, his characters feel so real (and the number of characters who still flit in and out of the books, from the likes of Sam Vimes, Cut Me Own Throat Dibbler, Rincewind, Archchancellor Ridcully and of course Death, are another joy of the series) – it's a bittersweet experience to finish a book because you want to know how it ends but you don't want it to stop. The only thing about this book is that I I don't think that Pratchett is an actual fan of football, and I don't think he ever actually played the game himself, based on his writing about it – he understands it all, but on a different level. It's hardly a criticism, just an observation. He is Sir Terry Pratchett, after all – I'm not worthy to even type these pathetic collection of words about his wonderful, wonderful writing.

Comics I Bought 27 May 2010

The final week of May, and only two comics to keep me company this time. It's an even split between the two mainstream publishers, which makes me think I should be buying more books from the independent publishers.

Batman: Return of Bruce Wayne #2
Or Witch Hunter Batman. Grant Morrison writes a straightforward tale of Batman waking up in Gotham of the 1700s, but not remembering who he is (but still retaining his detective skills). Defeating a strange creature, he is looked after by a woman who convinces him that he is Mordecai, a witch hunter, who tries to examine things rationally, rather than the knee-jerk response of Malleus, who wants to drown just about anyone as a witch. Meanwhile, Superman and some friends are trying to locate Batman in the time stream. I really enjoyed this, with some lovely art from Frazer Irving – his strong, smooth lines are very apt for the story (although his Superman doesn't look quite as good). I can't wait for Pirate Batman next issue.

Fantastic Four #579
I'm really beginning to lose my patience with Hickman's run on Fantastic Four. This issue could be the proverbial last straw. It doesn't help that I find Neil Edwards' art really ugly – flat, harsh, inconsistent – and it's not helped by muddy colours from Paul Mounts. But this issue is the worst yet: Reed acts like a dick to the (almost) peers at a conference (with a particularly odd argument – the Marvel universe isn't the real world, so comparing the two when the Marvel universe has supposed geniuses like Reed and Stark who could completely alter society, the environment, health care but DON'T pisses me off), there is some nonsense with the kids, a pointless interlude to Nu-World, and a boring dialogue between Reed and the Wizard. It's just not interesting – the Fantastic Four should be fantastic, but this isn't at all. I've got faith enough in Hickman to see if he's going somewhere, it's not limitless – it would be sensible to remember that the individual issues of a comic should be enjoyable, rather than being glimpses of a supposedly larger story.

Comics I Bought 20 May 2010

Five comics in a week is a big haul for me, and a lot of books to talk about (although I won't be talking about Atlas #1 just yet, which had the best cover of the week), so let's get to it.

Chronicles of Wormwood: Last Battle #3
I really don't like the wraparound covers to this series, and I'm still not sure about Oscar Jimenez's interior art, but Garth Ennis can still tell a story. Whether it is good or not is another matter. It mostly seems to be about Ennis dealing with the concept of a typical bloke coming to terms with the idea of love and becoming a dad, but he does throw in a good joke about Wormwood tempting Jay with a television show for his lucid moments to announce his return. The stuff with the demonic Pope Jacko is a bit tiresome, which is the 'action' side of the plot, but one has to have conventions. At least there is Ennis' way with dialogue to keep us entertained.

Ex Machina #49
Much like Y: The Last Man, Brian K Vaughan resolves his storyline in the penultimate issue of his series – presumably, next issue will be an epilogue. There is even a comic book reference – the 'Nullifier' plays a particular part in conclusion, which made me smile, as Mayor Hundred saves the day but with consequences. I have enjoyed this book, but it feels weird that it's practically over but with an issue still left. Tony Harris' art has evolved over the series – there are hints of Tommy Lee Edwards in it, especially this issue. I'm not sure what Vaughan will do in the last issue, but I'm sure it will be good.

Joe The Barbarian #5
I would write about this issue, but there's a tear in my eye. Morrison had better not let anything happen to Jack ... The star of the book is the art of Sean Murphy, and it is beautiful – the big huge shots of the dog guard, the flying, the real world, the expression in Joe's face, it's all fantastic stuff. I just don't want to believe in THAT bit ...

X-Factor #204
Has anyone seen my copy of X-Factor #204? I don't seem to have it – I can't find it anywhere. This is rather embarrassing – I can't write my thoughts about it because I've completely forgotten what happened in it (with apologies to Peter David). I'm sure it was good but not great, but I wish I could locate it somewhere in the confines of my flat. And, because I've said to myself that I must post every day, I must blog this. This has to be a first, doesn't it? Better luck next time.

Comics I Bought 13 May 2010

I'd forgotten how many comics I've bought (and not talked about yet) – serves me right for being lazy and not writing about them sooner (and posting old pieces of writing instead, also because I'm lazy). Let us get on with the business of sharing my worthless thoughts.

Batman: Return of Bruce Wayne #1
Or Caveman Batman, and what's not to like about that? Grant Morrison brings us the story of the time-displaced Bruce Wayne (after the events of Final Crisis), lost in a world that does not understand him (literally, because of the language differences). There are lots of nice touches, linking the story to bats, a Robin, a pearl necklace, a cave, and including Vandal Savage. The art from Chris Sprouse is great – he draws a great 'hairy-chested love god' Batman – which adds up to a really good comic book. I can't wait for more.

Fables #95
Fables never fails to entertain, and the second chapter of Rose Red is another lovely story, incorporating a greedy dwarf hoarding treasure and losing his beard (and more), as well as a talking bear who has been cursed. It's an appropriate background tale for Snow White and Rose Red, and it's told with skill and charm as ever by Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham. I'm constantly impressed by the consistency in this book – long may it last.

Heroic Age: Prince of Power #1
It may not be Hercules at the moment, but it's good to have Fred Van Lente and Greg Pak continuing their story of Amadeus Cho, possessor of the Hypermind and Hercules' mace, as he tries his best to run Olympus Groups while he tries to locate Hercules (by building a 'Hercollider Synchotron') and tries to make amends with his ex-girlfriend. A simply delightful comic book, with very nice art from Reilly Brown.

The Unwritten #13
I really dig The Unwritten – the reality/fantasy connection, the Harry Potter-esque sections, the literary history intersections, the levels of complications, the different layers and multitude of characters. This is a smart, engaging, thoughtful and entertaining comic book, and Mike Carey and Peter Gross are doing a great job – I just hope they are on the right side of the sales levels to keep the book alive so they can finish the excellent work they are doing.

Comics I Bought 7 May 2010

Comics that have been purchased by me for my own enjoyment (and for my girlfriend's, depending on which books she wants to read), including my witterings and nonsense words about them. I haven't done this in a while, so it's time to get back on track towards the goal: writing about books AS THEY COME OUT!

Astro City Dark Age Book Four #4
This book stars with the narrative box: 'And the end, when it came ...', and boy, do I know how that feels. It's taken a long time, but we're finally at the end of the longest sustained Astro City story. I'm still too close to it to feel objective, but I did like the epilogue, with the brothers discussing the events with a writer and saying how the Dark Age ended the day the Samaritan turned up; it was the best part of the whole book for me. Not an endorsement, is it?

Batman and Robin #12
Oh, Grant Morrison, you merry little prankster you. Turning Damian into a hero, setting up things for the Return of Bruce Wayne series, and a delightful twist at the end with the reveal. I'm going to have to re-read the whole series again, just to enjoy it all over again. This series is really enjoyable, and it's a shame that Morrison won't be keeping it going for longer. I guess we'll have to enjoy it while we can.

The Boys #42
This is one of those non-issues in the middle of a storyline where nothing much really happens, things are set up for happening in future issues. True, there is some nice Darick Robertson art, but it's mostly Garth Ennis taking the piss out of superheroes, which gets tiresome after a while. Not one of Ennis' best, unless you like lots of juvenile swearing.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer #35
In which they try to explain the entire point of this series of Buffy, and fail pretty miserably. There are some funny lines in it – Brad Meltzer is more amusing than I gave him credit for – but it's not enough to distract from what is a pretty silly idea about universe evolving Buffy and Angel to a higher plane or reality. No, really. And the return of Spike is dampened by the fact that Jeanty draws him with ridiculously small hands. The finale is going to have be spectacular to make me consider buying the next series.

I, Zombie #1
I thought I'd try this out because of the incredibly sensible promotion of a new series by Vertigo: offer the first issue of a new series for $1 so that new readers can try it out and see if they like it (instead of charging $4 for something people have no idea about – I'm looking at you, Marvel). Written by Chris Roberson and drawn by Mike Allred, this book is about Gwen Dylan, a functioning zombie in Eugene, Oregon. She works as a gravedigger, thus giving her access to fresh brains (she needs them once a month or she turns into the shambling type of zombie). She is friends with Ellie, a ghost, and with a werewolf called Spot, and the town has some unsavoury types in it, including people with guns and a vampire. Things change for Gwen when she eats a brain and the memories of the dead guy, who it turns out was murdered and is now screaming out for vengeance. It's a good set-up for a Vertigo book, and Roberson does a good job of establishing the characters and the setting. Allred is a good artist, so it looks good as well, but it didn't quite capture my 'must buy' instinct – I'm not sure why, but it just didn't quite click for me. However, I might check out the trade paperback at some point.

Television: Sherlock

I have loved the Sherlock Holmes stories since my youth – the Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce films on BBC2 on a Friday evening, the definitive television Sherlock Holmes of Jeremy Brett, the original stories themselves, the inspired by/homages/parodies (my favourite 'new' version being Zero Effect, by Jake Kasdan). I was a little nervous about the idea of updating the concept to the modern day, but Steve Moffat can do no wrong at the moment (his Doctor Who was fantastic), so I had faith.

I shouldn't have worried – the update is great because it keeps everything that works about Sherlock Holmes is maintained in this version. The key to this is in the casting of Sherlock and John Watson. The marvellously named Bendict Cumberbatch is perfect as Sherlock, the rangy thinness, the aloofness, the speed of speech, the disconnect from the world, the intelligence, the oddness. But he wouldn't be nearly as good without a good Watson, and Martin Freeman is the best he's been and the best Watson I can remember: strong in character and heart, a man who has seen war and is almost appalled that he misses it so much, smart but not as clever as Sherlock but able to appreciate his deductive ability. Their chemistry is brilliant, and the first episode where they meet and move in together (221B Baker Street, of course, although it isn't actually Baker Street as it exists today); they work as a team, even though they shouldn't, and it's a joy to watch.

Because this is funny stuff (Sherlock: 'I'm not a psychopath, I'm a high-functioning sociopath. Do your research.'), with banter zinging and lovely touches that delight, such as the words shown on the screen for the texting and the way Sherlock's brain works when he's deducting. There are three episodes, 90 minutes each, with Steve Moffat writing the first, which sets everything up for the new version, followed by Stephen Thomson and then Mark Gatiss (who also co-created this series with Moffat, and also plays Mycroft Holmes with a delicious smugness, and it would have been great to see more of him) for the finale; Moffat and Gatiss, both avowed Holmes fans, do a fantastic job of updating old stories and throwing in nice bits for the fans, but the second episode wasn't as strong, the Chinese gang stuff seeming a bit out of place. Gatiss does a great job with the final episode (except for the bit about seeing stars in the sky above London – there is no way in the world you can see more than the hazy fuzz of some of the bright ones through the London orange sky), although I have to admit that I really didn't like Moriarty – he was too Graham Norton to be a criminal mastermind (and too young) for me, and didn't exude the necessary qualities to be Holmes' equal. However, apart from that, this has been a wonderful series overall (if too short), and I was very happy to see that the BBC sensibly recommissioned a second series. Bring back Cumberbatch and Freeman soon, with Moffat and Gatiss in charge.

Old Writing: An Article About Men Liking RomComs

[This is an old piece of writing – from 2005 – which was an attempt to write an article for a women's magazine about why men should like romantic comedies. I never tried to actually send it, but I do like the attempt, which is why I thought I'd post it on my blog.]

“I’m just a girl, standing in front of a guy, asking him to love her.”

That line, from Notting Hill, makes me well up with emotion. Every time I see Julia Roberts in Hugh Grant’s bookshop, encapsulating the essence of a romantic comedy in fourteen words, it causes my eyes to water, a lump in my throat and a smile on my face. I’m a heterosexual man, in a relationship with a woman, who played football until I got too old, has done different martial arts and even if I couldn’t definitively list my favourite films ever, The Godfather, Goodfellas and Reservoir Dogs would be high on my list. And yet, I’m not afraid to admit that I love romantic comedies.

My awakening began at the age of 15 when I went to the cinema to see The Sure Thing. It starred John Cusack and was about his journey to the west coast of America to sleep with the ‘sure thing’ of the title, but finds a relationship with a real woman along the way, much to his surprise. As a sensitive teenager myself, with too many hormones and the notion that sexism was offensive, this was a story close to my heart. And the start of my own love affair with the cinematic genre that is romcom.

It is my belief that men enjoy romantic comedies but just don’t want to admit to it. These men will declaim that the films are rubbish, but I think it is due to fear of being seen as ‘gay’ or over-expressing their feminine side, or becoming a New Age Man. There is absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying well-made, funny, emotional entertainment with the added bonus of your girlfriend thinking that you are sensitive and in the mood for love. It’s a win– win situation.

If a man says he doesn’t like When Harry Met Sally…, he’s lying. It’s the best modern romantic comedy, it has some of the best lines in film ever, it’s got a leading man that your girlfriend won’t swoon over, and it has Meg Ryan before the accident with the collagen. What’s not to enjoy? Go ask your man right now if he likes this film. If he gives a funny look or overacts when he says no, then you know he does like it but isn’t ready to admit just yet. If he says yes, probably with a smile on his face, then not only are you with a smart chap who is comfortable with his sexuality and has excellent taste in film, but the two of you are in a good place emotionally, as he feels secure in his relationship with you and believes it’s a keeper.

Also, a man who believes in the magic that romantic comedies attempt to bottle, will believe in that in real life. All good romantic comedies try to capture that feeling of electricity, that special sense of connection, the realisation of something more than biochemical lust, the first never-recaptured sensation of two people realigning their wavelengths to each other’s frequencies. This sensation is so special yet so fleeting, and is not meant to last in a real relationship. However, the sense of it, the memory of it, will always linger and is a touchstone for your love. A top-notch romcom will remind each of you of the manner in which your journey started and why you are still together. It also helps that you get to look at beautiful people being funnier and more poetic than you ever were.

When Harry Met Sally… is both very funny as a comedy and very romantic, which is something that is very hard to do. Ever since the first excellent romcom, It Happened One Night, directed by Frank Capra and starring Clark Gable, Hollywood has churned them out, eager to replicate the formula. Boy meets girl, they don’t get along; boy and girl get along but then something gets in the way; boy and girl eventually work things out and live happily ever after. This is why there are always so many to choose from when you both go to the rental shop to pick something for a quiet night in. He would prefer something a bit more actiony, with guns and explosions, while she would like something a little more light and entertaining. Men, don’t be afraid of the romcom; it’s like an aphrodisiac and you can always watch Gun Explosion 3 another time. From You’ve Got Mail, a good choice for the chaps due to its belief that The Godfather is the I Ching of modern male knowledge, to Notting Hill or Four Weddings and a Funeral, the basic tale is the same (which is perhaps why men complain of their routine, a hypocritical complaint when all action films identical), albeit with different people and different jokes, and all enjoyable nonetheless.

There are variations, obviously. Sliding Doors is a little different; you could tell him that the splitting of narrative structure to reflect the duality of relationships is a challenging experiment in cinematic technique if you want him to look at you funny. There’s Sleepless in Seattle, where they don’t meet until the end, or Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which just throws the formula out the window to create a wonderful film, which is still, essentially, a romantic comedy.

I have to confess that some romcoms go wrong trying to be different in their attempts to play with the formula. You can almost hear the soulless film execs thinking, “What can we do to make this one different? I know, she’ll be a wedding planner!” (Wedding Planner). “I know, he’s from the past!” (Kate & Leopold). “I know, she’s a maid so it’ll be like Cinderella!” (Maid in Manhattan). “I know, she’s scared of commitment, isn’t that wacky?” (Runaway Bride). You get the point. These aren’t the ones to necessarily show your man. Although I personally dislike the term “chick flick”, it can be used to describe romantic comedies that are more woman-centric. Good romcoms should be universal; after all, love is for both sexes, whatever their leaning, although the majority are heterosexual.

If he’s a little resistant, try the disguised romcoms. Disguised romcoms wear a brightly coloured coat from another genre of film so that you don’t think they’re romcoms. There’s Something About Mary may have that scene with the man-made hair gel, but it’s still a sweet love story at heart. Most teen comedies have the gross out elements (and occasional nudity) but they are still romantic at heart, such as American Pie. Then there are the teen comedies that are updates of classic fiction; Clueless reworks Jane Austen’s Emma. She’s All That adapts Pygmalion. Ten Things I Hate About You is a modern take on The Taming of the Shrew, and that Shakespeare chap knew a thing or two about romantic comedy.

Other forms of clever romcoms include The American President, which is The West Wing with jokes (well, more jokes); this isn’t surprising, because they’re both written by the same man, Aaron Sorkin. Or the clever romantic comedies of Woody Allen, such as Annie Hall, or Cameron Crowe’s films, such as Say Anything (and who hasn’t wanted to express their love for a girl by holding a boom box in the air outside her house?), Singles or Jerry Maguire (and what man hasn’t tried to use “You complete me” as a way to a woman’s heart?) Which, I suppose, brings the interest in romantic comedies to a practical purpose: they’re a great place for stealing ideas on how to be romantic.

Scalped: The Gnawing

Scalped #30–34 by Jason Aaron and RM Guera

It's that time of the year for me to attempt to describe my appreciation for the brilliance that is Scalped. Because I'm slow on the uptake, I arrived late to this superb noir drama, so I'm reading it in trade paperback form; I don't think I could handle the agonising monthly wait between individual issues, and I devour the trades when I get them, rereading them almost as soon as I've read them.

These five issues sees Nitz leaking the rumour that there is an FBI agent undercover on the rez, which means that Dashiell Bad Horse is in a bind, especially when Chief Red Crow asks him to find the rat. Crow has problems of his own, after he kills the enforcer of the Hmongs who lent him the money for the casino, something he does in cold blood in front of a witness, who becomes the man who could make Nitz's case against Crow and allow Dashiell a way out before he gets killed. Meanwhile, Catcher tells Dashiell he knows that he is an FBI agent, and helps him out when he's in trouble. It also marks the moment where Dashiell makes a decision about what he has to do and what he has to lose to achieve it.

The Gnawing describes the book so well – you can feel it as you read, the sensation in your stomach as you see what is happening to Dashiell, Crow and Crow's daughter, Carol, who is having a tempestuous affair with Dashiell. Their lives are being chewed up by their situations and the way it is affecting them, changing them and forcing them into darker corners. Yet, you can't stop reading – the plotting and characterisation grip you and don't let go; it's raw and heartbreaking and thrilling and tense and visceral and everything that good stories provide.

Aaron writes this world brilliantly, in the story and the dialogue, but Guera brings it to gritty, beautiful life. Other artists of equal talent have drawn chapters of the story, but it feels more real when Guera is the artist; his linework speaks of life in its raw brutality and honesty, etched into the lines that carve emotion into the faces of the characters. His action is superb as well, and he draws such a sexy Carol I'm embarrassed reading the book on the tube on the way to work.

Simply put, Scalped is great, and I can't wait to read the next trade.

The Sandman: Endless Nights

By Neil Gaiman and various artists

[This is an old piece of writing that I discovered, which I thought should be included in my exhaustive compilation of posts about things I have read/viewed/played.]

Neil Gaiman's Sandman series was a significant touchstone in my comic book reading life, and remains a favourite after all these years. However, it was with a certain trepidation that I decide to re-visit the world Gaiman created in this book. The idea behind the book is Gaiman telling a story of each of The Endless with a different artist. The only trouble with the idea is that they are only glimpses of the Sandman world, which make you long for more Sandman stories.

The story about Death is beautifully illustrated by P Craig Russell, but it feels rather slight for what would hoped to be an important story. The tale about Desire is a nice story, but nothing spectacular, this time with gorgeous art by Milo Manara, who draws the best Desire ever. The most enjoyable story is the Dream chapter, drawn by Miguelanxo Prado, showing us the history of Dream’s first love, Delight before she became Delirium, as well as including Death, Destiny, Destruction and Despair, and why Desire and Dream are no longer friends. For the Sandman fan, this is the reason to buy the book, because it feels vital to the canon and explains interesting aspects of the back story.

The story concerning Despair left me in despair, due to the ugly abstract art from Barron Storey; it felt like nonsense to me, even after rereading it. The Delirium story has Bill Sienkiewicz providing the art for a slender narrative, but it's Sienkiewicz drawing Delirium, which is a match made in heaven. Glenn Fabry brings his coloured artwork (which I always think is not as good as his black and white work from the 2000 AD days, but that might be just me) to an odd segment about Destruction. I had hoped for more from the only story dedicated to the most mysterious of the Endless, but the tale felt more like it was about the idea of Destruction rather than Destruction himself, and I was left unsatisfied by it. The final chapter is a melancholy short tale about Destiny, gorgeously illustrated by Frank Quitely in a beautiful fairy tale style, and is the perfect ending to the book as it involves how the Endless work within the universe.

On reflection, I'm conflicted about the book. There is some real beauty in it, with some exquisite art and Gaiman's always poetic writing, and it's more Sandman, which is what the fans have been clamouring for since the series ended. On the other hand, it felt insubstantial – the only chapter that felt like it had a reason to exist was the Dream story, and the others seemed more like experiments in storytelling rather than actual stories. I read this via the library, which seems particularly appropriate for a Sandman story, but I haven't felt the urge to purchase it to add to my collection. Perhaps it should just stay as a half-remembered dream of a Gaiman story, which probably works for the best.

Notes On A Film: Wild Target

This is the third film (after Greenberg and Please Give) in the run of ‘Films I watched because there was nothing else on due to the World Cup scaring the studios’. I went to see Wild Target because of some small sense of patriotism: I’d watched two US indies, so I might as well watch a small British film for balance.

Wild Target is based on a French film from 1993 that I’ve never heard of, and is directed by Jonathan Lynn, a man with an unimpressive directorial resume (Clue, Nuns On The Run, Sgt Bilko) who perhaps should have stuck to writing with Antony Jay (together they wrote Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister). It stars Bill Nighy, Emily Blunt, Rupert Grint, Martin Freeman and Rupert Everett, a rather starry cast for a British film and the reason I decided to see the film because I like all the main players. However, despite being based on an existing film, it is an unthrilling, unfunny and unengaging ‘comedy’ that borders on the creepy in the ‘romance’ between Nighy and Blunt.

Nighy is a hyperefficient hitman with no personality or life but with a silly moustache. Blunt is a conwoman who rips off Everett’s dodgy businessman, who then hires Nighy to kill her. However, Nighy ends up accidentally saving Blunt, in an incident where they also pick up Grint, a slacker who shoots a man who was going to kill Blunt, and they go on the run together, with Nighy taking on Grint as an apprentice (no, I have idea why either). Everett hires Freeman, a more ruthless assassin but inferior to Nighy, to go after them. Somewhere in there, the film is supposed to provide laughs and thrills. It doesn’t.

Nighy portrays the loneliness and oddness and the control-freakery well, but he annoyed me every time he picked up a gun because he held it with his ring and little fingers kept bent behind the handle, as if it was an interesting character quirk. All I could think was how stupid he looked, and how the gun would fall out of his hand every time he shot it. Blunt is very charismatic as a woman who has no control, but the way she ‘softens’ to Nighy (they’re opposites, so they must be attracted! See? It’s destiny, innit?) when the three main characters are all stuck together in Nighy’s home made my skin crawl – Nighy is 60, and looks it, while Blunt is a beautiful woman of 27, and the mere thought of them kissing let alone having sex is enough to make the stomach churn. It might have worked in the French original, but it certainly doesn’t here. (It’s interesting to note that Helena Bonham-Carter was originally slated to play Blunt’s role but had to pull out because of scheduling problems.)

Grint tries to move away from the Ron Weasley typecasting by growing rubbish facial hair and smoking joints, but he doesn’t do himself any favours by once again playing the comic sidekick to the two main characters. Everett looks bored in a role that looks like it involved two days on set, and Freeman seems to have thought that his character should have laser-brightened teeth and smile a lot as the defining motif of his hitman, in a role that probably stretched to five days on set. The action in the film is more like something out of a small television series, as does the filming of London in exterior shots (and they really shouldn’t have tried to include a car chase scene in London, where it looks like they shot it in a London where no cars or people exist, and the protagonists are driving at 20 mph).

This is the sort of film you might watch on a Sunday afternoon on television and wonder how such well-known actors had got involved. It’s very slender, has a silly montage scene of three people (Nighy, Blunt and Grint) ‘having a party’ and dancing around that was woeful, and it instils a British sensibility on a film that presumably must have had some Gallic charm if it was considered for a remake. I hope this film wasn’t funded by the UK Film Council – it would be used to justify the stupid decision to close them down.

Rating: DA

[Explanation of my updated film rating system]

Notes On a Film: Please Give

This falls under the same category for me as Greenberg: a film I wouldn't have gone to see in the cinema if there had been the normal selection in the middle of the summer but wasn't because the studios avoided the four weeks of the World Cup. This isn't to belittle the film, but it's a small indie comedy drama that doesn't need the big screen to work.

Please Give is about Kate (Catherine Keener), who is happily married to Alex (Oliver Platt); they own a furniture store that gains its furniture from the estates of dead people. Kate feels guilty about this and tries to do volunteer job to compensate but always fails because she can't really be bothered to actually see them through. They live in apartment next to an elderly woman, waiting for her to die so they can buy it and extend into it; she has two granddaughters, Rebecca (Rebecca Hall), a dowdy but nice radiology technician, and Mary (Amanda Peet), a vapid and vain cosmetologist, who ends up having an affair with Alex after all five people have dinner together.

Nothing much happens in the film – it is all about the interaction between these strange characters. The most positive thing that happens in the film is Rebecca develops a relationship with a nice young man after being introduced by the elderly relative Rebecca has been performing mammograms upon. The film is an oddity but still enjoyable for it; written and directed by Nicole Holofcener (maker of Walking and Talking, Lovely and Amazing, Friends with Money), it is funny and well acted. Keener and Platt are good as usual (although I can't see them as a couple), and Peet is good, but it is Hall who is really good, completely believable as a woman with no confidence and who puts others before herself to her own detriment.

Please Give is a good film, and I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't necessarily suggest you need to see it in the cinema.

Rating: VID

[Explanation of my updated film rating system]

A Lost Weekend

It looks like I lasted 4 months this time before I broke my pledge to post something daily on this blog this year. I’m angry with myself that I didn’t post for the past three days, especially as I had already interrupted my run back in April, but I'm also angry with the manner in which it happened. Note: I will be discussing topics that are not strictly the normal remit of this blog (talking about comics, cinema, comedy, television, books, etc.), and we all know that blogging about blogging is a sin, but I like to think of it as reviewing my blogging capabilities, so I think I can squeeze it into my theme if I allow a very elastic definition of ‘reviewing’.

Although I started this year with the noble intention of writing several posts in advance, the dream ended quickly and I was writing the majority of posts on the day they went up. However, I grew to like the daily challenge of capturing my thoughts and putting them on the blog the same day, and it became part of my routine. It is an exhausting routine, and can sometimes feel a chore that interferes with normal life, but it was rewarding to accomplish my goal of daily blogging. The problem with this is that there is no room for manoeuvre if something gets in the way, which happened on Friday when my company had its summer party. I didn’t get home until late, I was tired from a long day, and I didn’t want to kill myself just to have something to post.

So I didn’t post anything.

I felt bad about it, but thought, ‘Hey, it’s only one day; the world won’t end, so relax and think about it tomorrow’.

But I didn’t think about it the next day – I didn’t write anything over the weekend, a complete waste of 48 valuable hours. On Saturday, I was tired and felt depleted, which led to a headache – and there is no way I can write with a headache. I awoke on Sunday with the intention to do something, but the headache still lingered and a dark mood that had been hovering on Saturday settled in for the duration. I read things online, watched mash-ups online, watched television, cooked, and did nothing constructive at all (hence ‘A Lost Weekend’ of the title).

As can be seen by the empty months that litter my archives, I have a problem with this feeling descending upon me, where I have no desire to write anything. It comes out of nowhere and I lack any impetus to do anything constructive. I feel pointless and worthless and devoid of any creative ability. It's a pretty bleak emotional state, and has led to the many times where I've walked away from the blog for months on end.

The strange thing is that the self-imposed daily routine has drawn me back to the fold quicker than before. I miss the daily routine, and there is an almost OCD aspect to my disappointment in the fact that I have some missing days for this year – I really want to have as many days as possible with something posted, even though there's no reason to keep going other than my own stupid determination to do it.

So, here I am again, ready to talk about films and comic books and graphic novels and television and all that stuff. Let's see if I can make it until the end of the year this time ...

Notes On A Film: Greenberg

The films I’ve been talking about so far this week all came out in the month of June here in the UK. Normally, this is a good month for all sorts of films as the film studios fight for our movie-going money; however, this year was different, because the World Cup was upon us. Between the middle of June and the beginning of July, the cinema screens around the country were quiet because the film execs believed that nobody would watch their films because they believed that everyone would be watching the World Cup. This led to the question: did the film studios avoid distributing films at this time because they thought that nobody would go to the cinema, or did people not go to the cinema because there was nothing to watch?

I mention this because I can honestly say that I wouldn’t have gone to the cinema to watch Greenberg if it hadn’t been the best option in an otherwise scarcely populated field. This isn’t to disparage Noah Baumbach and his genre of films, but watching a film like this on the big screen does nothing to enhance its merits, and I think it is easier to enjoy on DVD. The reviews are what tipped the balance in its favour: people had talked about Ben Stiller being ‘good’ and the quality of the film. I think I missed all that …

Stiller is the Greenberg of the title, a 40-year-old man who is recovering from a nervous breakdown and is house-sitting his brother’s home in LA, where he grew up, after being in New York for a long while. He is deliberately ‘doing nothing’, although he tells people he is doing some carpentry, while writing letters to corporations complaining about some insignificant detail; he was in a band that almost had a record deal, but he nixed it because he thought there would be another record deal. Back in LA, he meets up with Ivan (Rhys Ifan), the singer in the band who had really wanted the record deal but now works in IT and is trying to get back with his wife (whom Greenberg hates) and their child; he also meets up with his ex-girlfriend (Jennifer Jason Leigh, Baumbach’s partner and co-writer of the story), who is happily settled with kids and rebuffs Greenberg’s pathetic attempts to rekindle their relationship.

The main thrust of the film is about Greenberg developing an awkward relationship with his brother’s PA, Florence (Greta Gerwig), which starts because Greenberg doesn’t drive and needs someone to get him places in LA, and because he doesn’t have any other friends. The awkwardness between them is strange and odd – the scene where they are talking in her small apartment before Greenberg decides to kiss her and then jumps straight to performing uncomfortable cunnilingus is a perfect example of this – and it is made more awkward because of Greenberg’s inability to understand anything about himself and his interaction with other humans.

Stiller was praised for his performance but it didn’t seem to be anything more than a toned-down version of his normal character – Greenberg is supposed to be irritating and unlikeable, a trait that Stiller brings to most of his characters. The real standout performance is from Gerwig – I’ve never watched any of the ‘Mumblecore’ films she has been in, but I assume that her naturalness that shines here was already present. While Stiller can be seen acting natural, Gerwig just exudes it, as if the camera happened to be on while she was being the character. It’s quite unlike anything I’ve seen in quite some time, and I hope she goes far.

As for the film, it is halting and erratic, with one of those achingly hip soundtracks that I don’t like because I have different musical tastes but know that trendy types will love. I never got into the film, kept out of connecting with it because of the irritating nature of Greenberg, which is partly the point. It has a strange, quiet feel to it, and it ends rather oddly, in tune with the rest of the film, leaving the viewer with an unsatisfied feel and the option of deciding whether you’ve enjoyed it or not. I think it depends on if you want to see Greenberg and Florence get together; I didn’t, and would rather see the lovely (if odd) Florence with someone much better.

Rating: DVD

[Explanation of my updated film rating system]

Notes On A Film: The Killer Inside Me

There are times when I know in advance that watching a film is going to be tough going but I'll watch it because it is getting good reviews and I admire the people behind it. It is a strange sensation, the build-up to the day involving me psyching myself up for what it is to come. It is even weirder trying to write notes about it afterwards.

I think Michael Winterbottom is a genuinely interesting and artistic director who can turn his hand to anything and makes intelligent and personal films. But the only question that was asked when this film came out was: 'Is the film misogynistic?' This is the elephant in the room when you mention The Killer Inside Me, and it's also the lasting impression from the movie.

The film is a straight adaptation of the Jim Thompson novel and is set in a small town in Texas in the 1950s. It is about Deputy Sheriff Lou Ford (Casey Affleck), who seems to be a polite gentleman but is a psychopath. This is revealed not just in the killing of people, but in the brutal manner in which he does it and the cool-eyed calm he keeps after the events. The story is told well, the acting is excellent – Affleck is mesmerising in the lead role, there are some strong turns from Ned Beatty, Elias Koteas, Simon Baker and Bill Pullman, and Jessica Alba and Kate Hudson are very good in their fatal roles – the atmosphere feels authentic, and the film is undoubtedly a very good film.

The problem comes down to the killing of the women in the film: these are deliberately distressing scenes, unremitting in their depiction of the violence and its effects, making you complicit in the acts, making you want to look away. They are deeply disturbing, as they should be; however, it is supposed to be horrible watching a man punch a woman repeatedly in the face in an effort to kill her, all the while saying how much he loves her. But, in an industry where violence against women is used as a plot point (the number of films where the girlfriend or wife is killed to give the hero a reason for revenge, or where the woman is used as the damsel in distress, casually using violence against women with no regard for them is more disturbing), the reality being shown is supposed to arresting. I don't think that Winterbottom has made a misogynistic film; he has made a moral film (you do not sympathise with the lead character, and he does not escape justice, although the ending is not happy because it is a noir film) which is deliberately difficult to watch in places; it does not glorify violence, unlike the majority of Hollywood action films. I'm glad I saw it because it is a very good film that challenged me and affected me, but I don't think I'll ever need to see it again.

Rating: DAVE

[Explanation of my updated film rating system]

Notes On A Film: The Losers

I really wanted to love the film of The Losers because I really love the comic book by Andy Diggle and Jock (I surprised myself when I looked for a post on my blog where I praised the series, but there isn’t one; I shall have to remedy that in the future). Because the comic book was an intelligent blockbuster action film done well in comic book form, primed and ready for adaptation to the big screen. However, I don’t think the film did the source justice.

There is a lot that the film gets right. The actors playing The Losers are a perfect fit, and Chris Evans gets special respect for having the same hair, facial hair and glasses as his comic book incarnation. And Patrick Jason was fantastically over the top as the villain Max, even if the film seemed to neuter him in comparison to his comic book counterpart. There is a strong sense of a team, and the banter is good. The action is well handled and exciting, even if the ‘motorbike flying through the air and being shot and blown up’ seemed a bit silly – the director, Slyvain White, does a good job but has a slightly annoying habit of throwing in camera moves and tricks that make the film look like a pop video at times. There is also the joy of seeing Jock’s art in the film, when we are first introduced to The Losers on the mission that will change their lives – that was pretty cool, I have to admit.

The film takes a lot from the book (including the scene where Jensen uses his fingers to shoot the security guards, which is almost shot-for-shot from the pages of the book), and doesn’t change too much – I think the film-makers were a little scared of Aisha character (Zoe Saldana) and her Afghanistan origin, so went with a South American version, and dropped the CIA link; they also went with Pooch having a pregnant wife instead of young children. Essentially, it is a film of part of the book; I would have preferred the entirety of the series had been made into the film, along with the ending, because the ending here was too happy for me (and too saccharine for my liking, especially considering they are supposed to be in hiding, and feels like the end of an American cop show where they have to finish on a laugh).

The main problem I had was that the book was cool AND smart, whereas the film focuses on the cool alone; yes, there was cool stuff in the book but Diggle had put a lot of work into the research behind the story and it showed in the authentic feel and the reality it conveyed. The film doesn’t worry about, instead making sure it looks cool. I think that robs the film of some of what makes it unique, rather than an A-Team rip-off that a lot of reviewers thought it was. The film is still enjoyable and well-done entertainment, but it wasn’t as good as the book showed that a film like this could be.

Rating: DVD

[Explanation of my updated film rating system]

Notes On A Film – Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time

I went to see this film because Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time on the GameCube was a great game: the acrobatics, the fighting with swords, the puzzles, the running up walls, the going back in time – a whole lot of fun, before the fighting became too impossible. It was one of my favourite non-Mario games on the GameCube, so I was going to see the film whatever the quality.

Our Prince of Persia in this film is Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal), adopted son of the king of Persia and foster-brother to the two princes who are controlling the army to keep their father's kingdom in control. However, he gets framed for the death of the king (by a poisoned cloak), and escapes with Tamina, the princess of Alamut (Gemma Arterton), as well as the dagger that the city was protecting, to save his life and find a way to clear his name. There is villainous double-dealing, a fun turn from Alfred Molina as a tax-avoiding entrepreneur (with a nice sideline in ostrich racing), the equivalent of Arabic ninja chasing our heroes, some old-fashioned romance (they hate each other to start with but come to have feelings for each other), and heroic sacrifice.

The film is not great – the dialogue is wooden and filled with exposition, and the actors all struggle to cope with the exposition; the cast are mostly English actors (Ben Kingsley, Richard Coyle, Molina, Arterton), which is an odd choice for Persian characters, so Gyllenhaal has to do an 'English' accent that sounds very odd next to the natural accent but doesn't embarrass him. Apart from looking very pretty, Arterton still continues to fail to show why she is appearing in so many movies at the moment. The film struggles to escape its origins as a videogame, with an excess of plot to hide beneath. The worst decision is the finale: after the heroic sacrifices, we can't have so much death in a family film, so Dastan uses the dagger at the denouement, which sends him back to the very beginning of the film before any of it happened – I hate films where none of what you've seen means anything because it didn't happen. It's not as if Dastan has gone on a character arc, because he was a good guy before the film started.

It is lucky then that the film's USP is worthwhile: the sword action and the CGI for the time reversal when the dagger is used are well done and a lot of fun, and the parkour action is replicated from the game in a faithful and entertaining manner. Gyllenhaal looks the part of Dastan and does a good job as the action hero, never looking like a former indie actor who is struggling to step up. However, although Mike Newell does all right keeping things together, the film never quite manages to pass into the 'good' category, so I can't see the hoped-for franchise taking off any time soon.

Rating: DVD

[Explanation of my updated film rating system]

Blue Beetle TPBs #1–3

Blue Beetle #1–19 by Keith Giffen, John Rogers, Cully Hamner, Rafael Albuquerque, Duncan Rouleau and others

I don't know if it's a DC versus Marvel thing, or if I'm one of those readers who is ruining comic books by not trying new things, but Blue Beetle was a book that I never would have tried in single form. I'm more connected to the Marvel universe, so don't have any connection to the DC characters; apart from the Giffen & DeMatteis Justice League, and the use of the non-superpowered Blue Beetle Ted Kord, I've never read many stories about the character. And I would need to have several reasons to try a completely new book, especially one where there is a co-writer I've never heard of before, even if it eventually started to get some good reviews on the internet. Does this make me a bad person?

I bought these three trade paperbacks from an exchange shop in Soho for a steal – £2 each – and it's one of the best bargains I've ever got, because these stories are some of the most fun and well-made comic books available. Jamie Reyes is a great character, the new Blue Beetle power and set-up is extremely intriguing, the supporting cast is one of the most three-dimensional around, and the interaction of a lead character who is in El Paso, Texas, with the rest of the DC universe is a whole lot of fun.

The first trade deals with the introduction of Jamie, who was apparently introduced in Infinite Crisis, and how he found the Scarab and how it welded to his spine and how he didn't have a clue how it worked and how he returned home after helping the heroes during the Crisis – only it was one year later, and the family thought he was dead, and how his absence even affected the lives of his two best friends, Brenda and Paco. It's good: seeing Jamie learning about his armour – the Scarab talking in an alien language that he understands (because it is extraterrestrial), the lovely banter between Jamie and his two friends (the dialogue is really good in this book: it's funny and natural and sounds right), the great art from Hamner and his design of the armour (Rouleau does some good work, but the Hamner art seems the definitive Beetle; the Cynthia Martin stuff is pretty weak in comparison), and the bits of the DC universe (Phantom Stranger, Oracle, Guy Gardner) are a lot of fun. The presence of a lot of 'metas' in the same area seems highly improbable, but it does keep Jamie in his home town.

The interaction with the DC universe continues in the next trade – I particularly loved the  Batman appearance reflecting on what happened to Jamie when he helped during Infinite Crisis and got lost for a year, and there is also learning about Blue Beetle history, an old man who acts like a mentor but was a cape called Peacemaker who has a connection to the alien technology, and a Motherbox leads to a bit of New Gods action. Rogers starts to take over on full-time writing duties during this trade, and he shows that he knows what he's doing, balancing the action and the characterisation and the really good dialogue (there is some wonderfully quotable banter in here). The other revelation is Albuquerque; he has a wonderfully enjoyable style, with great facial expressions, a funky feel to his characters, and a great storytelling sense. I'd never seen his work before but it's plain that he's going to go far.

The third trade paperback sees the arrival of The Reach, the alien race which says it has the answers to Jamie's questions about the Scarab, only for things to be a little more complicated. There is a strange fill-in from J Torres, which seems odd for its location in the scheme of bigger story, before having more stories interacting with the DC universe, including working with the Teen Titans. But the heart of it all is the interaction of the characters; Jamie, Brenda, Paco, Jamie's family, all have this delightful interplay that informs the stories and influences the outcome. It's a joy to watch the people grow and learn, and all kudos to all involved for creating and executing such a fun and entertaining book. Shame that it didn't last a lot past these three trades (there were two more after this, which I haven't got yet), although it was a lot of fun to see the character appear on Batman: The Brave And The Bold. I may have missed it the first time around, but I'm glad I got the chance to enjoy it the second time through the trade paperback programme, one of the many reasons why it is good to be a comic book fan in the present day.