Summer movies

F1

A super fun movie.  The racing scenes are phenomenally filmed.  (This is a worthy followup for Joe Kosinski after Top Gun: Maverick.)  I have quite a few nitpicks (No way Brad Pitt can deal w/ the physical stresses of the sport at that age.  But he still looks amazing, and he almost made me believe it.  Also, he would never have gotten away w/ all his race shenanigans), but they can all be handwaved off.  

I was completely distracted whenever Kerry Condon was on screen because she looks like a cross between Rebecca Ferguson and Christina Applegate.

Regret watching: No

Would watch again: Yes

Would buy on DVD: No, but it’s close

Rating: Pretty good

KPop Demon Hunters

OMGOMGOMG.  As good as all the hype around it.  This really feels like Sony Pictures Animation’s spiritual successor to their Spider-verse films.  

I don’t have much to say aside from “This film rules” and “The soundtrack slays.”  (“Soda Pop” is the clear best, followed by “How It’s Done” and “Takedown.” There’s something about the melodies of “Golden” and “What It Sounds Like” that should be awesome, but rub me the wrong way the more I hear them.  Which makes me sad.)

Regret watching: No

Would watch again: Yes

Would buy on DVD: Yes

Rating: Really good

Superman

I went into this with an open mind; I’m not the biggest fan of James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy movies, but I don’t hate them, either.  I was just hoping for a good time, which I got.

1. David Corenswet is a wonderful Superman.  (Honestly, casting directors have done a top-notch job of Superman casting over the last few decades: Corenswet, Henry Cavill, Tyler Hoechlin, Brandon Routh, Tom Welling.  All doing great credit to the Man of Steel.)

2. Rachel Brosnahan.  I was always a fan of this casting.  She’s a great Lois.  Her chemistry w/ Clark, some beautifully filmed floating kisses (I love those scenes in the comics, too) - all good.

3. Nicholas Hoult - His Lex is absolute fire.  A+, no notes.

4. Krypto.  Not the most well-behaved of dogs, but still a good boy.

5. Nathan Fillion - Perfect casting, perfect haircut.

6. The execution of Mr Terrific’s abilities did most of the heavy lifting, but Edi Gathegi was fine as well.

7. Heh, Jimmy Olsen’s a stud.

8. I seriously questioned Milly Alcock’s casting as Supergirl, but her cameo sold me on it.  I hope her movie’s even as remotely good as Tom King’s comic.

On the other hand:

1. Not enough of Lois or Clark.  I loved them so much, would have liked to see more of them as people.

2. The Engineer - Totally superfluous to the story.  A nothing role.

3. Another CGI-fest for the climactic fight.  Not bad as they go, but meh.

4. Not sure about playing the Kents as yokels.

5. I liked what I saw of Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, but they didn’t do much w/ her.

A lot more positive and fun than Snyder’s interpretation, but not the home run it could have been.  

Regret watching: No

Would watch again: Yes

Would buy on DVD: No

Rating: Pretty good

Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning

Man.  This could have been called Mission Impossible: Endgame.  It tried to do so many of the same things as the Marvel Phase 3 capper, like bringing back old faces, trying to retcon things to make it all fit together (the Rabbit’s Foot?  Seriously?), give it a sense of satisfying finality.  But it lacked the effortlessness of the MCU film, and it felt like it was just trying way too hard.

It also mirrors the Fast and Furious franchise, in that it finally blasted past the leeway granted by the magic that is suspension of disbelief.  While the Mission action set pieces are always insane and over the top, this is really the first one where I kept calling “bullshit” and facepalming in disbelief.  

This movie forgot to bring the fun.  The action scenes were impressive in their technical achievement, and I was very often on the figurative edge of my seat.  But while I was impressed by how tense I felt, I rarely enjoyed myself.  There were no “that was awesome!” moments, and that’s what I come to these movies to see.

It’s the first Mission Impossible movie that I have zero interest in owning, which really says a lot about how little I thought of this film.  It’s been three months since it came out, and it’s only gotten worse in my mind.  Such a disappointment.

Regret watching: No

Would watch again: No

Would buy on DVD: No

Rating: Stupid

Sandman Season 2

I’m soooo behind on my show and movie reviews.  Let’s see if I can make a dent.

Sandman Season 2

It’s just not as good.  I’ve really been trying to dissect why:

1. Tom Sturridge is ultimately miscast in the title role.  Sure, the Morpheus in the comic can be a self-indulging emo whiner, but at the end of day, you knew to never mess with him.  He always had an air of majesty and gravitas that the TV Morpheus lacks.  Sturridge’s interpretation induces sleep, not dreams.  

2. The show plays like a greatest hits version of the comic, a lot of scenes taken verbatim from the book while retaining none of the heart.  Everything feels stitched together with no flow.  My mind was filling in all of the missing material.  If not for the comic, I wouldn’t care about most of these characters.  The show does a poor job of making me care for them.  The comic gave me years to care about these beings, and binge watching these two seasons over a few weeks doesn’t give them enough time to become beloved companions in my head.  

3. Razane Jammal brought nothing to the role.  I never got the sense that she was that broken up over Daniel’s disappearance/death, and I never felt her burning desire for vengeance either.  Complete fail.

4. Kirby Howell-Baptiste did her best with Death, but I really expected someone more manic pixie.  Gaiman’s Death had a brightness, a pure joy that I missed here.  Zooey Deschanel is the closest I can come to right now, but she might not be right either.

5. Delirium’s casting (Esme Creed-Miles) isn’t quite right either.  Not sure why.  This really was an impossible show to cast.  Unlike all the other comics-to-screen adaptations, this may be the one where my mind’s interpretation of everyone is just too specific to capture.

6. The ending was way too happy; while I’ve always wanted to see how the first meeting of Daniel w/ the family went, I did not expect or want a smiling, perfect affair.  It felt false.

That said, there were a few things that I loved:

1. Jacob Anderson was a great Dream.  I liked his uncertainty, his chat with Destruction, his fumbling attempts to bring his subjects back to life.  His farewell scene with Lyta worked for me.

2. Jenna Coleman.  She’s an incandescent vision in this show, and I love that the showrunners increased her role in the story.  Everything with her and the Corinthian (Boyd Holbrook) sparkled.  A pairing I didn’t expect, but absolutely went all in on.  I want Jenna Coleman in everything now.

The sad fact of the matter is that this season became a “watch while I’m doing something else” show around the second episode, and only pulled itself out of that hole with the last episode (which was quite good).  I just want to read the series again and get sucked into that wonderful writing.

Regret watching: No

Would watch again: Select scenes

Would buy on DVD: No

Rating: Nice

New Comics

New comics!

Absolute Green Lantern 4

So little happens in this issue.  We find out how Jo gets the ring.  Hector Hammond shows up.  None of it is very interesting.  Not sure if this is a miniseries, but it’s now officially treading on thin ice w/ me.

Batgirl 9

On the other hand, Batgirl has earned itself a little more time w/ the introduction of the Jade Tiger, Cassandra’s newly-discovered half-brother and spawn of Shiva and Bronze Tiger.  His appearance brings both a literal and figurative splash of color to the proceedings, and I’m looking forward to seeing how this pans out.

Absolute Superman 9

Talk about fluctuating quality; This issue did very little for me as Kal-El fights the urge to kill Lazarus soldiers.  It reads like a direct rip-off of Luke’s temptation in Return of the Jedi, complete with Agent Alpha playing the role of sneering Emperor Palpatine.  It all feels very tired to me.

Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rite of Spring 1

I was super surprised and happy to see this on the shelf, I had no idea a sequel by Patrick Horvath was in the works.  I have no idea why Samantha chose to bring a victim’s sister into town, but I’m eager to find out.  

Fantastic Four 1

My wish is granted, and Ryan North gets an artist equal to his writing talents.  Welcome to the spectacular Humberto Ramos!  Pair this legend with an exceptional idea (the Forever Stone) and you get a wonderful issue.  If it takes a brand new number one to get this penciller change, I’m all for it.

Trinity: Daughter of Wonder Woman 2

The middle time-travelling Trinity engages in professional and pseudo-romantic hijinks with Jason Todd days before his death at the hands of the Joker.  Breezy and entertaining.  Not at all what I was expecting from this when it first came out, but it gets no objections from me.

Godzilla vs Thor 1

Comics like this are why I listen to the iFanboy podcast.  I would never have picked this up otherwise, having completely missed the fact that Jason Aaron wrote this.  This is classic superhero fun at its finest.  Action-packed, non-stop fighting, I couldn’t imagine how this could get any better.

New comics

Batgirl 8

I love that Tate Brombal found a way to tie Richard Dragon into Shiva’s origin story.  Other than that, I think I’m done w/ this series after this arc.  

Absolute Superman 8

Kryptonite makes its debut in the Absolute Universe, and Superman gets a nice fight scene.  Still the weakest of the original three Absolute titles, but it’s up against some truly exceptional material.  

Runaways 1

Rainbow Rowell returns, and this time she’s brought Elena Casagrande with her!  It’s always fun to return to this group of kids, and how wonderful that Doombot takes center stage with this “One World Under Doom” tie-in.  Embrace the duality!

One World Under Doom 5

All the heroes fight Dormammu, which is great.  Then Thor brings up the honest question of whether or not Doom’s really doing a bad job as global dictator.  It’s a surprisingly valid question, and I enjoyed the heated discussion.

Absolute Batman 9

This is a truly grotesque Bane.  Nick Dragotta draws him with Otomo-like bulbous sinews, completely inhuman and disgusting.  It’s so cool.  

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 9

More raving about Juan Ferreyra.  He’s such a freaking good artist.  Marvel needs to put him on something. 

New comics

Aliens vs Avengers 4

God, what a massive letdown from a promising beginning.  This is why I’m surprised whenever Jonathan Hickman writes something good for any extended period of time.  This is just a nihilistic exercise in “none of this matters, I was not satisfied or entertained in any way, why did I read this?”  Even Esad Ribic is a disappointment here.  A complete fail by the end.  

Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton 1

Ryan North writing Krypto is enough to get me on board.  I don’t know how there’s enough here for a full series, but I have faith in him.

Battle Beast 2

I’m so glad Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley are back in this universe!!!  This is good, clean, comic book fun at the highest level of execution.  A+, recommend. 

Absolute Flash 3-4

Things get more interesting w/ the introduction of Monkey Grodd.  Things are still new enough in an Ultimate Universe kind of way for me to want to stick around.

Absolute Green Lantern 3

Jon Stewart discovers the Lantern’s gold weakness, and Al Ewing somehow manages to make it not sound that stupid.  I still don’t know why they’re fighting Boo from Dragonball Z.  

DC vs Vampires: World War V 10

As I’ve said before, not a fan of the New Gods in general, but with the twist here, Matthew Rosenberg at least keeps things interesting enough for me to want to know what happens next. 

New comics

I’m only a month behind?  Feels like a lot more.  Time to make a dent in the deficit.  

Absolute Wonder Woman 9

Resolute is the word I’d use to describe Kelly Thompson’s Wonder Woman.  She acts with a certitude in everything that she does, an absolute faith that she is correct and she will prevail.  It’s magnificent to behold.  I love this Wonder Woman.

Wonder Woman 22

I love Tom King’s Wonder Woman just as much.  In this issue, she has a morning-after DTR with Steve Trevor as she fights giant-sized mice.  It’s very sweet.  Fill-in artist Caitlin Yarsky does a fine job, and channels some Terry Moore perfectly in the mouse conversation scene.  

Trinity: Daughter of Wonder Woman 1

Trinity gets into time travel hijinks with three versions of herself and Super-Corgi puppies.  Is there anything Tom King can’t write?

Fantastic Four 33

This volume of Fantastic Four ends with H.E.R.B.I.E. saving the universe while Ben Grimm gets his powers back.  Ryan North’s hit rate is impressively high given the sheer number of ideas he throws out there.  This one’s definitely of the multi-base variety.  North returns next with a new volume of FF.  Hopefully, they’ll find a better artist for him.  

Ultimate Spider-Man 18

I don’t know why I’m still so surprised at how consistently great this book is month in and month out.  Maybe because it’s Jonathan Hickman.  I like Peter and Harry teaming up, but I’m dreading the inevitable Harry heel turn.  

Absolute Martian Manhunter 4

Javier Rodriguez may have done the best job I’ve ever seen of conveying the sweltering heat of a New York CIty (?) summer.  It’s claustrophobic, sticky, oppressive, and altogether unbearable.  It’s sheer artistry.  

Mr Terrific 2

Michael Holt meets the Spectre, which gives Al Letson an opportunity to recap Mr Terrific’s origin story up to this point.  It’s perfectly fine, and I’m not sad to be sticking around for more.  

Detective Comics 1098

Tom Taylor writes from pretty good quips for Penguin.  There’s really nothing memorable about this arc, but for all that, it’s still a fun enough caper for Batman.