Movie reviews

I’m so far behind on other media reviews.

Some movies:

War Game

A documentary about actual current and former government officials running a war game scenario where another January 6th-type event occurs.  What would extremist groups do to exacerbate and escalate the situation?  How should the government respond?  

It’s a fascinating and honestly terrifying look at a hypothetical that could all too easily come true.  After all, we’ve already come super close just a few years ago.  As bad as it got, it could have been far worse.  The film just serves to demonstrate how poorly equipped our government is to handle a group that’s really determined to wreak havoc.  

Regret watching: No

Would watch again: No

Would buy on DVD: No

Rating: Fine

All of You

I checked this out because it’s a romance starring Brett Goldstein of Ted Lasso fame.  It posits a world where the technology exists to match you up with your soulmate (SM) with 100% accuracy.  I have so many questions:

1. Does this mean that everyone actually has an SM?  Do they have to register with the company in order to be considered?  So if your SM hasn’t signed up, do you just float around in the registry until he/she does?  Do you get your money back if you have to wait for too long?

2. Do you fill out a questionnaire?  What else is the company doing with the data?

3. Does the company let you sign up if you’re already married?  Are they legally responsible for the marriages that they ruin?  Do you have to sign a waiver saying it’s not their fault if you divorce your spouse to be with your newly-found SM?

4. If your SM eventually dies, can you try again?  Can you find another SM?

5. Would I do this?  If this is when I was single in my twenties, almost certainly.

Anyway, Goldstein is stuck in a situation where he’s in love with his best friend (Imogen Poots, who’s channeling a mix of Yvonne Strahovski, Amanda Seyfried, and Florence Pugh.  I couldn’t identify her if you showed me her picture) from college, who goes through the process and marries her SM.  Who isn’t Goldstein.  Yearning and affairs and drama follows.  

The two of them are stuck in a cycle of “I just can’t seem to quit you” and “we can’t keep doing this” that get repetitive, but I can’t help but feel for them at the same time.  It doesn’t have the clean resolution of either a happily ever after (When Harry Met Sally) or a bittersweet never going to happen (Roman Holiday).  I applaud the movie for its more realistic approach, but it also makes the ending a lot less satisfying.

Regret watching: No

Would watch again: No

Would buy on DVD: No

Rating: Fine

Polite Society

A fun action flick starring Priya Kansara as an aspiring stunt performer who needs to save her sister from marrying an evil fiance with an even more nefarious mother.  It’s entertaining, but doesn’t go far enough with its over-the-top sensibility.  It falls short of the Scott Pilgrim/RRR levels of absurd humor that it seems to be aspiring towards.

Regret watching: No

Would watch again: No

Would buy on DVD: No

Rating: Fine

Limitless

I watched this because Bill Simmons couldn’t stop raving about it.  He’s totally overrated this.  The concept is great, but Bradley Cooper’s character doesn’t do enough with the possibilities.  (Though the licking blood off the floor bit is an inspired bit of madness.)

Regret watching: No

Would watch again: No

Would buy on DVD: No

Rating: Didn’t suck

Miracle: Boys of the 80s

A documentary about the 1980 Miracle on Ice.  It didn’t tell me anything that the excellent movie Miracle didn’t already portray.  (In a lot more entertaining fashion.)  Still, it was fun to see the actual players reminisce about one of the biggest sporting moments ever.  

Regret watching: No

Would watch again: No

Would buy on DVD: No

Rating: Nice

New comics

New comics!

Detective Comics 1106

The finale to an ultimately disappointing story, in that it’s completely forgettable.  Tom Taylor is capable of more, and if he was going to spin his wheels, I wish he’d have gotten it over with in a shorter arc.  Mikel Janin deserves a better class of writing from someone who’s capable of far more.

Voyeur 4

David Baldeon’s art continues to impress, but the heist is underwhelming.  I’ll stick it out to the end, but if it weren’t for the sex, this wouldn’t have stood out to me at all.

Absolute Wonder Woman 17

Awesome, awesome fight scene.  Diana and Giganta grow larger and larger as they slug it out, and Hayden Sherman makes it look completely epic.  I’m so in love with this title.

Absolute Martian Manhunter 9

Never thought an alien vivisection could look so good.  Javier Rodriguez does an amazing job of conveying this cloying, claustrophobic atmosphere.  Agent Jones is under this constant psychic and physical pressure, and it comes across as clear as day.  It’s beautiful to look at, but the reading is almost as much of a slog as the struggles of our protagonist. 

New comics

New comics!

Absolute Batman 17

The origin of Absolute Poison Ivy, though I suspect a twist next issue; Is Poison Ivy Pamela’s mother?  Still the second best of the Absolute titles.  

Wonder Woman 30

Guest writer Stephanie Williams goes completely off the rails with the second part of this “power of love and family saves the day” story.  So much painfully saccharine dialog, it sounded like a fourth-rate self-help book of affirmations.  At least the Jeff Spokes art was decent, but this was a complete miss.  Can’t wait for Tom King to come back.

Action Comics 1095

An iFanboy pick of the week, this one is pretty darn good.  It covers the week following Pete Ross’ discovery of Clark’s secret back when they were in high school.  It’s a narration-heavy issue as Pete processes the hurt he feels from not being trusted with the secret in the first place. It’s a great story by Mark Waid.  I love these well-done one-offs.

Powers 25 6

Cut and paste from last month: “Brian Michael Bendis doing what he does best.  Never change, sir.”

Fantastic Four 8

This is so freaking good.  What if Susan Storm explored her powers to the fullest, and it goes horribly wrong?  Ryan North and Humberto Ramos present this as a horror story, and it hits hard.  Can’t wait to see where this goes.

Ultimate Spider-Man 24

Defying all expectation and precedent, Jonathan Hickman absolutely nails the landing.  It’s basically a big fight scene w/ some epilogue, but it’s expertly done with nary a misstep.  I need to read this all at once now, I expect I’ll do it this week.  Shout out to Marco Checchetto, who was masterful over the course of the entire run.  This was a top notch Spider-Man story.

New comics

New comics!

DC KO 4

Yeah, this has fallen off the rails.  The fights are completely unmemorable.  I’m pot committed, with one issue to go.

Children of the Round Table 6

Same.  I was wrong when I said from the first issue that supporting Tom Taylor was reason enough to buy this.  It totally wasn’t.  

Planet She-Hulk 4

I’m running out of patience with this as well.  The beautifully colored art can’t make up for a generic fantasy story of palace intrigue and romance.  One more issue, I think.

DIE: Loaded 4

Chuck had a son, and of course he’s just as big of a dick.  Not the best issue, but still fun enough.

Absolute Wonder Woman Annual 1

A disappointing week is completely turned around by one of the best comics I’ve read in a while. Kelly Thompson has really levelled up with this title, and Mattia De Iulis is a perfect partner in this issue.  They combine great action, breathtaking splash pages, and so much heart and compassion into an irresistibly satisfying package of bliss.  In a nutshell, Diana saves Medusa in a way that only she can.  That’s the thing with this comic; Thompson tells stories that can only work with Wonder Woman.  She and Tom King have completely nailed Diana’s character simultaneously after decades of failure by all the other writers out there.  What a time to be a WW fan.

New comics

Only one new comic this week:
Absolute Superman 16

Absolute Hawkman tussles w/ Superman for a while, then they team up to fight a common threat.  Brainiac tries to recruit Absolute Lex Luthor, who’s a devoted, boring family man in this universe.  Juan Ferreyra, who I loved over on TMNT, appears to be the regular artist here now.  His work isn’t as mindbending here as it is on the other title, but it’s still pretty good.  I’m not blown away by it, though.  I’m starting to wonder if I should cut this title.

New comics

New comics!

Absolute Batman 16

Wonder Woman and Batman visit the underworld to find a cure for Waylon Jones’ Killer Croc condition.  It’s got some nice character moments, a good fight - just a really solid one-shot issue.  

Absolute Martian Manhunter 8

The Javier Rodriguez art continues to be the name of the game.  It’s a fun game.

Capes 3

My last issue with the series.  It’s mindless fun, and I’ll never think about it again.  Not Robert Kirkman’s best by any stretch.

Detective Comics 1105

Part five of this story arc and it’s still not over?  I mean, this has been entertaining and all, but it does not need to take up half a year’s worth of issues.  

Harley and Ivy: Life and Crimes 3

Delightful execution by Erica Henderson.  She does a great job with this relationship, and the art is pitch perfect.

Absolute Wonder Woman 16

Absolute Zatanna shows up, and she’s part of the Absolute Suicide Squad.  I love this title.

New comics

New comics!

Planet She-Hulk 3

Emilio Laiso takes over on art.  The fact that I could barely tell the difference between him and Aaron Kuder speaks to the importance of Sonia Oback’s colors.  It really ties the look of the series thus far together.  The story by Stephanie Phillips is as by the numbers as it can get.  It doesn’t bode well for her upcoming Daredevil run.  Which I’m going to pick up regardless because Lee Garbett’s doing the pencils. 

DIE: Loaded 3

Still enjoying this.  Kieran Gillen is bringing together a compelling cast of tertiary characters from the previous series to play the main roles this time around.  It’s a smart idea, and he’s pulling it off so far.  

Children of the Round Table 5

I think I’ve figured out why this series isn’t working for me: it plays more like a highlight reel than an actual story.  Things are moving too fast, there are too many time jumps.  Tom Taylor isn’t giving me an opportunity to like the characters before zipping along to the next plot point.  It’s lacking the depth of character that Taylor’s usually so good at instilling.  Super disappointing.  And the big reveal at the end is yawn.  

Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rite of Spring 5

Holy shit, things are blowing up fast.  I’m not sure why Sam is letting things escalate to this point, it’s like she wants things to go south.  Patrick Horvath’s pacing is impeccable, the pages just flew by at a thoroughly enjoyable breakneck speed.  Can’t wait to see how this all ends.  

DC: KO 3

For an event like this to succeed, the fights have to be top notch.  They aren’t.  They’re not even as good as the ones in Deathmatch.  I’m not sure what’s missing, but they don’t satisfy in the way the best comic battles do.  (Of the top of my head: Bane/Batman in Absolute Batman, Uncanny X-Men 277, anything from Dragonball Z.)

Fantastic Four 7

The twist to this month’s fight was way too cutesy for my taste.  The whole issue’s also a detour from the main Sue Storm/Galactus plot, which I’m way more interested in.  I want to see the core four in action, not their kids.

Wonder Woman 29

Diana returns to Themyscira in an attempt to heal her crumbling mental health.  (Being a single mom’s hard, even for Wonder Woman.)  The rest of the Wonder Family shows up, as does a scheming-in-the-shadows Discord.  (Of Golden Apple fame.)  A fun issue--Whoa, just noticed that Stephanie Williams wrote it, not Tom King.  Nicely done.  And Jeff Spokes does some beautiful work on art.  

Assorted Crisis Events 8

A clever issue that takes place in the gutters of a comic book, but the intellectual exercise gets in the way of the story.  But I appreciate the effort by Deniz Camp, and Eric Zawadzki couldn’t have done a better job with the art.  I also love that they used the old crummier comic paper from the 80s.  

Powers 25 5

Brian Michael Bendis doing what he does best.  Never change, sir.