Doing the daily thing seems to be getting difficult. Got back too late Friday night to do any writing. (EDH.) At least I’m holding firm with a full hour the day after. For now.
Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi
Spoilers. Skip to the Avengers section if you don’t want to know stuff.
My company was good enough to rent out a theatre so that we could all watch this on opening day. I loved it on the first viewing, but I’m reserving final judgment until I watch it a few more times; I had the same reaction with Episode VII, even after the second viewing. But after getting it on DVD, I realized that there were only a few scenes that I wanted to rewatch again. As a while, The Force Awakens doesn’t really pass the rewatchability test.
For now, however, I’m pretty stoked about Ep VIII. Bulletpoints!
Things I loved:
- Rey. I love her more than Wonder Woman in the DC movie universe, and that’s saying something. Daisy Ridley plays her so well, and I’m all in on Rey.
- Kylo Ren as a whiny little brat. I think I would hate him if played by anyone else, but Adam Driver makes him a compelling character, and the schadenfreude whenever things don’t go his way is delicious. Scott Tenorman-suffering levels of joy.
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| "Your tears are so yummy and sweet!" |
- Everything in the throne room. The menace of Snoke, Kylo’s torment, Rey’s temptation, and that fight scene.
- Laura Dern’s triumph. The silence that kicks in, paired with the stunning visuals.
- PORGS!
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| Because PORGS! |
- The humor. It didn’t click a couple of times, but lol moments were plenty, including but not limited to:
- Poe on hold.
- Chewie’s dinner.
- Luke’s wink to Threepio.
- BB-8.
- The long-suffering caretakers of Luke’s island.
- Rose. I liked her.
- Domhnall Gleeson as Hux. He tries so hard, but no matter how high he climbs, he’ll never be anything more than a punching bag.
- John Williams. National treasure.
- Force-grabbing the broom.
- “See you around, kid.” That whole sequence.
- The opening Dreadnaught space battle.
Things I didn’t:
- The casino arc. Unnecessary and boring.
- Benicio del Toro’s character. Didn’t do anything for me.
- Evil BB-8 needed more payoff.
- Phasma was wasted. She’s Brianne of Tarth! Do more with her!
- I was ready for Finn’s sacrifice.
- Where did the First Order get all the money for their toys?
- Yoda looked horrible. In the post-game analysis, I told my colleagues that I wished it was the muppet. “It was the muppet, you idiot!” they responded. I refuse to believe them. His face did not look that funky in Empire.
- No Jessika Pava (Jessica Henwick’s pilot character from Episode VII).
- No way those 13 fighter ships at the end lasted that long.
Thngs I yeahbuhwhat??:
- Leia surviving the vacuum of space. I thought that was how they were going to write her off, but I suppose she needed to show off her force abilities for only the second time ever in the movies. (If I remember right, the only other time was when she heard Luke’s call at the end of Empire.)
Love it for now. I hope it stays that way.
Regret watching? No
Would buy on DVD? Yes
Would watch again? Yes
Rating: Really Good
Avengers 500-503, Avengers Finale
Brian Michael Bendis begins his long association with the Avengers. For the record, Bendis is one of my favorite writers. I would not be surprised if I have more of his comics in my collection than any other writer. (I’m probably not going to look into this, I’m not sure if there’s a way. Though I am starting a favorite writer list. I’ll add to it as they come up. I’m curious to see if I can rank them. May do the same with artists.)
Bendis does not waste any time. In the first issue alone:
- Jack of Hearts comes back from the dead.
- Explodes, killing Scott Lang and destroying Avengers Mansion.
- Tony Stark, without taking a drink, somehow becomes inebriated and throws a tantrum in front of the United nations.
- Vision crashes a Quinjet into the mansion and unleashes five Ultrons on the Avengers.
- She-Hulk goes nuts and rips Vision in half.
Oh yeah, two issues later, he kills off Hawkeye. And then makes Wanda the big bad, setting up the still-to-come infamous “No more mutants.” It’s a controversial beginning to a storied run, of which I’ve only read bits and pieces. But now that Marvel’s printed Bendis’ entire Avengers output, I’m tempted to get it all. A long stretch of Bendis that I haven’t read yet? Sounds promising.
Other notes:
- Cap gets his dislocated shoulder reset, and David Finch draws him acknowledging the pain a couple of pages later. A nice little touch that you don’t see very often.
- A couple of nice panels, two by Finch, one by David Mack, and one by George Perez from the artist medley that was Avengers Finale.
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| Nice, but would have meant more if anyone believed that it was permanent. |
Regret buying? No
Would buy again? Yes
Would read again? Yes
Rating: Pretty Good
Avengers 1-5
Jump forward eight years, and Jonathan Hickman headlines the Marvel Now version of the Avengers. For me, Hickman is a writer whose ambition always outstrips his ability to execute them. Starting with his early Image work, with their beautiful graphic designs and ideas (Nightly News, Transhuman, Pax Romana), all the way through his extended time at Marvel, he continually starts out strong before getting lost in his failure to tell a coherent story with any kind solid throughline.
I gave this title a shot because even when Hickman makes a mess of things, it’s at least a glorious mess, with at least a couple of sweet moments.
And the Jerome Opena art. This guy is amazing. I mean, look at this!
But at the end of the day, there are too many times where it all reads like a jumble to me. All of the words that he uses make sense individually, but combine together into gibberish. The issue 1 villains are a prime example. I have no idea what they’re talking about, and they do a ton of talking. I tried reading Hickman’s Infinity saga a few years later, and things had not improved. Though speaking of awesome moments, Infinity issue 4 provides one of those. I’d show it, but posting a 6 page sequence feels like I’d be veering too close to copyright violation. Check it out here.
Regret buying? No
Would buy again? Yes
Would read again? Yes
Rating: Fine
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