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.