Movies

Stuff I’ve been watching

Masters of the Universe

I grew up loving He-Man, had a bunch of the action figures.  But they didn’t stay with me the way Transformers or GI Joe did. They went the way of the Silverhawks, Voltron, Thundercats, M.A.S.K., Robotix, and all the other brilliant toylines of the 80s.  I definitely have a fondness for the characters and the cartoon, but went into this with zero expectations.  

Things I liked:

• Nicholas Galitzine brought a wholesome dorkiness to Adam/He-Man that worked for me.  The character’s the straightman of the film, and he did as well as I could have hoped for.

• Camila Mendes was fine a Teela.  She never had much of a personality in the show beside “token female”, and again, she was perfectly acceptable.

• Jared Leto took a lot of media flak for his crazy-ass off-set behavior.  I haven’t kept up with any of it, but I can say that his Skeletor was delightful.  So over the top, he played the moustache-twirling villain to perfection.  (If a skull could have a moustache.)  No idea if he actual did the body acting (like Pedro Pascal doesn’t for Mandalorian), but I really hope he did.  

• Alison Brie’s even better as Evil-Lyn.  She’s not taking this seriously at all, she’s practically in a different movie.  I’m so here for it.  

• Love the way the filmmakers explained the cheesy character names.  (They were kid-Adam’s names for the heroes he grew up watching but never met.)  Heh.  Fisto.  Ram  Man.

• The recreation of the cartoon group laugh.  Classic.

• Dolph Lundgren cameo.  I never watched the 80s movie, but I still appreciated the nod.

• Orko was in this for just the right amount.

• The She-Ra scene.  Too bad it’ll never happen.

Things I didn’t like:

• Idris Elba plays Eternia Heimdall, and it’s tired.  Drunk past-his-prime hero struggling to regain the respect of his daughter was just done by David Harbour as Red Guardian.  It barely works there, it completely fails here.

• The movie’s way too long.  This should have stayed w/ the 80s vibe and kept it under 90 minutes.  

The movie didn’t reignite my love for the IP, but it didn’t ruin it either.  Couldn’t have expected much more.

Regret watching: No

Would watch again: No

Would buy on DVD: No

Rating: Fine

War Machine

Alan Ritchson jumps on to the Netflix action flick train.  It’s Predator with a massive alien robot.  There are some good action sequences, everyone else dies, and it ends with the potential for sequels.  Not a bad watch-while-working-out movie, but it doesn’t achieve anything beyond that.

Regret watching: No

Would watch again: No

Would buy on DVD: No

Rating: Fine

Books and shows

Library book!

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

This was a Brandon Sanderson recommendation on an Insta algorithm reel.  (I’ve never read anything by Sanderson, but he’s pretty fun to listen to.)  

This is the geek version of a Lee Child Reacher novel.  Super readable, goes by in a flash, thoroughly enjoyable, almost certain to never be re-read.  I’ve got a hold on the next book at the library.  

Regret reading: No

Would read again: No

Would buy: No

Rating: Pretty good

Shows!

Rafa

Netflix documentary.  112-4 at the French Open.  It defies comprehension.  Anyway, this was a fun sidewatch while I worked out and played Slay the Spire.  (And I full-watched parts of it as well.)

Regret watching: No

Would watch again: No

Would buy on DVD: No

Rating: Nice

Shoresy

An Insta reel-inspired watch.  This is one of the best shows I’ve seen in a long time.  Jared Keeso, who writes and stars in the show, has created something magical here.  As with the best comedies, it effortlessly mixes hilarity and heartfelt emotion.  Jacob Tierney, director of the first two seasons, isn’t afraid to let the show breathe with extended slo-mo takes that do nothing more than set the mood, accompanied by A-plus needle drops.  

The show is perfectly cast, I love everyone of these characters.  This requires a rewatch very very soon.

Regret watching: No

Would watch again: Yes

Would buy on DVD: Yes

Rating: Pure joy

New comics

New comics!

Harley and Ivy 6

Horribly unclear fight with Clayface.  But Erica Henderson saves the issue with a cute final scene between the titular couple.  I’d read more.

Fantastic Four 12

One of the funniest endings to a comic that I’ve read in a long time, as Ryan North comes up w/ an explanation for the very real Roman dodecahedron mystery.  Loved it.  

Batman 1-10

I picked up the trade for the first six issues, and decided to add the title to my sub.  Matt Fraction and Jorge Jimenez are doing a fine job with the Dark Knight.  Fraction also writes a hilarious Alfred (albeit in ghostly hallucination form.  Boo.).  Can’t wait for Vandal Savage to get his comeuppance, no one deserves it more.  Well, Joffrey.  Jimenez’s Batman really channels Jim Lee.

Daredevil 2-3

I’m worried that I’m only buying this because of Lee Garbett’s awesome art;  The story’s fine, but nothing special.  It’s kind of like Tom Taylor’s run on Detective right now, with very run-of-the mill adventures.  Only Taylor’s better at folding in special moments.  Well, I’ll stick around for a while longer.

Barbara Gordon: Breakout 2

Hrm.  Things are taking a turn for the worse.  Barbara’s getting drugged in jail, and I’m not finding the resultant story interesting at all.  OMG, is Mariko Tamaki going to disappoint me yet again?   Gaaah, I hope not.  

Absolute Catwoman 1

Well, it’s not a bad start, but it’s nothing more than a standard Elseworlds for now.  

Escape 1-6

An iFanboy recommendation.  (Let’s see how long this following sentence is going to be.)  An anthropomorphized bear (Maus-style) is a downed American bomber pilot in a bat-Nazi filled Germany-analog during World War II (or something exactly like it).  I’ll pick up the next trade for sure.

New comics

New comics!

Wonder Woman 33

Diana, Trinity, and Steve Trevor make their way through the Underworld to meet up with the Fates.  Tom King uses the journey to show once again why Wonder Woman’s such a badass while setting up a fight with Matriarch.  King’s not pushing any boundaries here, but it’s still a fun read.

Battle Beast 9

No fighting = No fun.  We’ll see how the fight w/ Conquest goes next issue, but I’m surprised at how little I want to keep reading this.  

Powers 25 9

Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Oeming keep on keeping on.  Nothing standout, but that doesn’t mean it’s not awesome.  

Fantastic Four 11

Meh.  After moaning about how he’s just the team bruiser, Ben Grimm writes an inspirational manifesto for the FF’s new Future Foundation.  Super meh.  And sadly, the Stan Sakai backup is just as forgettable.  A big letdown from the usually awesome Ryan North.  

Detective Comics 1109

So much nicer now that Mikel Janin’s back.  Tom Taylor also does a swell job showing why Ollie Queen has Batman’s respect.  He’s so good at that kind of moment.

Flash 33

Ryan North wraps up this so-so first arc, and now Wally can…see into the future?  We’ll see where this goes.  I’m not turned off yet, but I’m expecting this to get better.

Absolute Wonder Woman 20

Wonder Woman gets captured and tortured, and while it’s bad, what’s even worse is when she’s involuntarily rescued by Persephone, leading Minerva to think that Diana abandoned her.  Her soul-crushing sense of betrayal, as well as Diana’s horror at being trapped in Hades for six months, powerless to do anything, is heartbreaking.  There’s no way this ends well; Minerva’s likely going to be transformed into Cheetah, and she’s going to hate Wonder Woman for (unwillingly) leaving her to her fate.  Great work by Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman, as usual.

Doomquest 1

Doom does Doom things, and gets trapped in time on the Titanic.  This is the Ryan North I love, and I can’t wait to read more.

Books

Some books I’ve read:

Jefferson: Art of Power by Jon Meacham

Man of Iron by Troy Senik

Continuing my quest to read a biography for every US President.  This covers Thomas Jefferson and Man of Iron.  It’s rare that I hit upon a bad biography, and the streak isn’t broken here.  I learned a lot, I was entertained, good times.  Looks like Monroe might be next for me.

Government of our Own by William C. Davis

I wanted to read about the actual government of the Confederacy, not just how it pertained to the fighting of the Civil War.  This book covers the founding of the nation, paralleling the Constitutional Convention of 1787.  It talks about how this new collection of founding fathers modified the existing Constitution to something that fit their (misguided) vision of a better country.  Like their predecessors, they were forced to compromise, fight, and scheme for every word.  I was fascinated by the whole process, and really enjoyed the read.  This is why I love books, learning in detail about something interesting that I previously knew nothing about.

Elektra by Jennifer Saint

A fleshed out account of the Iliad and Oresteia trilogy from the points of view of Elektra, Cassandra, and Clytemnestra.  Saint does a fine job of grounding all three characters and really delving in the motivations behind their actions.  I tried following it up with Saint’s Atalanta, but didn’t get very far.

World War 3.2 by John Birmingham

I tried so hard to like this.  Birmingham’s original Axis of Time trilogy is a super fun read.  But his followups have been massive disappointments, including this one.  Maybe he’s gotten self-indulgent with the self-publishing (he’s said this series is going to be stretched out to nine books.  Judging from the first two, he could do with some editing), or his writing method (using dictation software and AI support) has resulted in poorer results.  I’m not sure, but I know we’re 3 novellas and 2 novels in, and the best parts of the original trilogy, the actual battles and strategic execution of the war, have been reduced to a miniscule portion of the story.  It makes me sad, but I’m done buying this series.  

New comics

New comics from the past two weeks:

Absolute Martian Manhunter 11

This is where Deniz Camp completely loses me.  I’m done caring about the story, with an issue to go. Camp can do whatever he wants, I’m just going to look at Javier Rodriguez’s pretty art next month.

Fantastic Four 10

For someone so hyped up as the ultimate badass, Sue Richards the Invincible Woman sure goes down easy.  (As these knockdown-dragouts go.)  A bit of a letdown, but Bullseye shooting across the galaxy was frickin’ sweet.  

Absolute Batman 20

This issue’s a bit of a drag, as Batman confronts Scarecrow and discovers his entire origin story may have been manipulated into being from the very start.  Too much talking, but at least the fighting’s coming next issue w/ all of the Robins showing up.

Daredevil 1

I’ll always try something from Lee Garbett.  Luckily, Stephanie Philips keeps it interesting as well.  Matt starts a stint as a law professor at Empire State University, and immediately meets a sharp-tongued sure-to-be-a-love-interest antagonist.  Fun enough to add to my sub.

Voyeur 5

David Baldeon can draw, no question.  This is a beautiful comic.  It’s too bad Leah Williams’ heist is ultimately meh.  I’ll give Baldeon a look in the future, but probably wouldn’t buy a followup series of this.

Barbara Gordon: Breakout 1

Babs goes to Supermax prison in order to weed out rampant corruption.  I have no doubt she’ll be able to take care of herself, and look forward to what Mariko Tamaki comes up with.  Tamaki’s been underwhelming for a while now, but I’m still holding out hope for her. 

Mostly new comics

New comics!

Planet She-Hulk 6

This was cancelled earlier than writer Stephanie Phillips had planned for, and it shows.  She abruptly brings Jennifer Walters back to Earth in order to bring things back to a rough status quo ante before she leaves the title.  A sad ending to a title that started with a ton of promise and beautiful art, but completely fizzled at the end.

Truth 1

Batman and Wonder Woman team up in this Jeph Loeb/Jim Cheung one-shot.  I got it entirely for Cheung’s art, and it’s as lovely as I hoped for.  Loeb is definitely on the back half of his career, but the story is serviceable enough as cameo villains pop in at a regular tempo.  I’m pretty sure a drinking game devoted to every time a character says “truth” would render the participants unconscious in short order.  

From the library:

Duke 1-5

A fun start to the Energon Universe’s GI Joe branch, but I don’t regret not buying it.