Shows and Movies

Some tv shows:

Echo

As someone who loved Maya Lopez’s original appearances, it’s weird for me to see her with undefined superpowers in the new Marvel show.  Even more so because they seem so similar to Kahhori’s from the latest What If… season.  

Ultimately, I found myself not caring at all about Maya or this story on the reservation of her childhood.  Kingpin’s return is moderately entertaining, mostly for the sweet sign languaging AR tech.  (How far are we from that actually being a thing?)

After this, I have little desire to see more of the MCU Maya Lopez, which saddens me greatly.

Worth watching: No

Would watch again: No

Would buy on DVD: No

Rating: Didn’t suck

Masters of the Air

The companion piece to Band of Brothers and The Pacific.  

• The action is stunning and visceral, but there’s a sameness to all of the missions (take off, fly, get hit by flak and fighters, drop bombs, land/get shot down) that means they can’t be the focus of every episode the way each set piece was so distinctive in the other two shows.

• The high casualty count means that the show can’ really stay on the same group of characters; The Red Tails show up for a few disjointed episodes, Buck and Bucky’s stint in captivity fails to captivate, Crosby is stuck behind a desk for most of the run, and Rosie is only around for the second half.  It’s harder to care for these men.

• Certainly not rewatchable the way Brothers is, but that’s a high bar to reach.  But it might not even be as good as Pacific, which isn’t nearly so lofty in its accomplishments.  

Worth watching: Yes

Would watch again: Yes (Parts of it, at least)

Would buy on DVD: No

Rating: Nice

3 Body Problem

I was certainly riveted for the whole run as the mystery slowly unfolded and the threat revealed.  The ship sequence is up there among the most impressive tv scenes ever filmed, no lie.  And something about Will’s unrequited love resonates deeply.  But for all that, what I really want to do is read the book now, because I imagine it’ll be better still than this adaptation.  I hope to find out soon.

Worth watching: Yes

Would watch again: Yes

Would buy on DVD: No

Rating: Pretty good

Monkey Man

I was excited to watch this after all of the positive reviews.  Unfortunately, while Dev Patel’s an appealing and effective lead, the film fails for me on two key fronts: The action, which while executed, doesn’t stand out in any way; the comparisons to The Raid and John Wick are not suitable.  And the protagonist is too stupid for me to root for; he’s patient and smart enough to methodically plan for his opportunities, but he botches both the first assassination attempt (got too close and got caught monologuing) and the final coup de grace (got even closer and got caught listening to a monologue).  Idiot.

That said, there are a few moments of superb filmmaking: Loved the training scene with the diegetic drum music and the final moment where he sees his mother again.  

Worth watching: Yes

Would watch again: No

Would buy on DVD: No

Rating: Fine

Echo, New comics

New comics!

Fables 154

So much filler.  On the one hand, I probably wouldn’t buy this again.  But the completionist in me can’t bring myself to stop.

Dark Knights of Steel: Tales from the Three Kingdoms 1

Yet another anthology that’s a waste of time and money.  I was skeptical about buying this, I should have listened to my gut.  

Variants 3

This continues to be a solid story.  It’s a brilliant move by Gail Simone to make one of the variants a more innocent Jessica who never encountered Killgrave.  Talk about a Sliding Doors moment.

Public Domain 3

I’m still enjoying this intriguing battle between creator and company over an IP.  It’s just a very well told story.

New Champion of Shazam 2

Great art by Doc Shaner, but the story by Josie Campbell isn’t quite as charming in this second issue.

Great lightning.

Batman: One Bad Day - Riddler

I did not expect to read something this good today, even with Tom King and Mitch Gerads’ names on the cover.  This is basically Killing Joke for the Riddler, complete with origin story, showdown in the rain, and leveling up the villain to another tier of evil.  This is really good, as instant of a classic as I can recall in recent memory.  It’s definitely the best Riddler story I’ve ever read.

Then there’s the ending.  Did Batman kill Edward Nygma?  The panel layout, mimicking the opening murder in the book, certainly seems to suggest that.  Which would make this an Elseworlds.  That would be a shame, this certainly deserves to be in canon.

Echo 1-30

As good as Strangers in Paradise is, I was never all that interested in reading any of Terry Moore’s followup works.  (And it’s not like I made it through SiP the first time around.)  But I certainly wasn’t going to turn down the complete collection for ten bucks, a 75% discount, at my LCS.  That was four years ago, and I finally got around to reading it today.  

Moore is an amazing comic book creator.  His art and writing are so strong.  I couldn’t put this down, reading the whole thing in a little over two hours.  

Absolutely lovely narration

Hahaha

Was this meant to be sweet?  Because it's creepy as fuck.

I’m dubious about the whole “end of the world” thing, it’s super melodramatic and really doesn’t fit with the tone of the story.  (In case you’re wondering, the science fiction of the suit works for me.  Global apocalypse does not.  Nor does the appearance of Cain.  That Cain.)  It’s probably why the whole Five Years thing didn’t do much for me.   

But I am still interested in picking up Rachel Rising and Motor Girl at some point.  

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good