Ballerina

Ballerina

Ana de Armas does a fine job here.  Not enough to make this a rewatchable movie for me, but I’d certainly tune in for a sequel.  There are a few scenes that did make me giggle with delight:

1. Grenade fight!  She doesn’t even pick up a firearm as a secondary weapon; she deliberately opts for a bandolier of grenades and nothing else.

2. Ice skate fight!  Specifically, there’s one shot where she swings them in the most beautiful motion I’ve ever seen.

3. FLAMETHROWER FIGHT!!!  One of those all-too-rare batshit crazy action moments that are unlike anything else I’ve ever seen before.  So effing awesome.  And special kudos to all the stunt people; I’m sure a ton of that was practical.

Things I didn’t like:

1. Ana is so less efficient than Keanu when it comes to one-shot kills.  I get that they end fights prematurely and make them less fun to watch, but there are way too many cases where I either thought, “How is that person still alive” or “She totally missed a chance to kill the person right there.”

2. There’s no way she survives against a whole town that’s out to kill her.

3. Keanu’s presence was totally unnecessary, and felt like a hedge against the filmmakers’ confidence in the film’s ability to stand on its own.  

4. Dude who fought w/ his leg on fire was a total ripoff of Tony Jaa in Ong Bak.  (And it was way cooler the first time around.)

Regret watching: No

Would watch again: Yes

Would buy on DVD: No

Rating: Nice

New comics

New comics!

Detective Comics 1097

Batman and Bullock investigate a new super secret mysterious organization.  Nothing special so far.  Lee Garbett is on art, but he isn’t given anything that really lets him shine.  

Batman 160

Hush 2 part 3.  That’s it, I’m done.  No one’s on top of their game here, not even Jim Lee.  Jeph Loeb?  He’s nowhere close.  

Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell 2

Nothing new to say, but this is still a really fun read.

Absolute Martian Manhunter 3

Deniz Camp and Javier Rodriguez up the psychic visions, and it makes for a gorgeous, psychedelic read.  It’s a surprisingly standard story underneath it all, but that doesn’t detract from the quality of the book.

Mr Terrific: Year One 1

I’ve actually read very few comics w/ Mr Terrific, but I’ve always loved his concept and his look.  This mini by Al Letson and Valentine De Landro isn’t spectacular, but it’s good enough for me to keep reading.

Ultimate Spider-Man 17

Stuff’s happening.  Harry’s daddy issues get worse (who in the world chooses their horrible dad to be their AI?), his wife is starting to stomp all over him, and they’re starting to make their move on Kingpin.  I wish Jonathan Hickman wrote more things like this.

Absolute Wonder Woman 8

Blah blah Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman are phenomenal blah blah.  I’m not feeling Doctor Poison so far, but it’s early.

It’s Jeff: Jeff Week 1

I’m mostly getting this for my daughter, but it’s a fun 30-second read for me as well.  That said, this only works w/ Gurihiru doing the art; the Gustavo Duarte backups aren’t nearly as good.  

Wonder Woman 21

Tom King wraps up this tidy little mystery w/out a fuss.  Bruce and Diana have some sweet, heartfelt conversations about grief.  It’s all platonic here, but I’d love to see King’s take on a romance between the two.  Heck, he got me to root for Selina/Bruce, I’m sure he’d do an even better job w/ this pairing.  

Fantastic Four 32

Valeria manages to save Ben from last issue’s idiotic screwup.  It’s amazing how much Ryan North is always able to squeeze into one issue.