* = I think I'm currently obsessed with the Old School Avengers...
Lot’s of stuff to review so without further ado;
- X The Unknown (*** out of 5) – I finally got around to watching the two Sci-Fi Hammer flicks that were on last Friday night. The first was X The Unknown, sort of a Quartermass-esque take on The Blob (***** out of 5). It’s not a bad film, a bit slow in spots, and it has a very British sensibility about, which is humorous considering the lead is American. I have to say The Blob, to me, is a better flick, but I think that might simple be because I saw it a very young age and it made a serious impression upon me.
- These Are The Damned (**** out of 5) – This was the other Hammer flick I watched. While the title leads you to think it might have some sort of peripheral attachment to Children Of The Damned (*** ½ out of 5) &/or Village Of The Damned (*** ½ out of 5) it does not. It does have some similar themes however of creepy children, alienation, government vs. the people, etc. I wasn’t as blown away with the motorcycle gang brother/sister subplot, beyond a young Oliver Reed being intense and creepy. I will say that those scenes have some pre-Clock Work Orange (***** out of 5) vibes to them that make them much more disturbing. Overall though this is a very good example of ‘hard’ British Sci-Fi; very few explosions, lots of exposition, tons of moral quandary, and a downer of an ending. Again, good stuff from Hammer Films!
- Tower Prep (**** out of 5) – I usually don’t review the first episodes of T.V. shows, but I’m making TWO exceptions this week. First off is Cartoon Network’s live-action Paul Dini show; Tower Prep. I was very intrigued by this from the beginning hearing Dini say he got some of his inspiration from The Prisoner (Infinite *’s out of 5) and the X-Men. The show’s premise is kids are kidnapped and brought to a mysterious school where they are indoctrinated by the staff that have no names. All of the students have ‘abilities’. One of the main character can see things coming a split second before it occurs making him very dangerous in combat, one can read body language so finely that she’s a human lie detector, the other young lady is a perfect mimic, and finally the other young man can literally talk his way out of anything. The school is walled off and on an ocean cliff, and mysterious beasties patrol the woods before the wall. I’m intrigued to see where Dini is taking this, as there were some definite ‘teen’ moments, but overall the show was highly entertaining.
- The Walking Dead (***** out of 5) – I found a leaked version of the pilot, and it did not disappoint. I’m not going to go into detail here as I know a lot of my friends are insanely excited about this show. However I will say I was impressed. It hit all the right beats from the comics, it expanded without overshadowing, and the zombies were incredible. I look forward to watching this with my friends on the 31st!
- Soon I Will Be Invincible (**** ½ out of 5) – For a long time I’d been looking for Austin Grossman’s book, I was able to find a copy for $0.01 off Amazon.
So Sunday I sat down with it and devoured it! I really loved it. The story it told through the eyes of Dr. Impossible, a world-class super villain, & Fatale, a cyborg heroine who is trying to cope with life as something more or less than human. The ‘good’ Dr. escapes prison and around the same time his main nemesis, CoreFire, disappears and is thought dead. SO, CoreFire’s former teammates, sort of this world’s Avengers or Justice League re-unite after a long hiatus apart to find Dr. Impossible. There are many explored archetypes of characters and at the same time there is freshness to it all. It’s not a deconstruction of Superheroes, instead it’s sort of a very inventive tale told with some homage’s as stilts to the tale. I really liked the characters and if I had one complaint is I didn’t get the ending I wanted, that being said the ending I got was very satisfying. I’m hoping Mr. Grossman revisits this world some time in some form as I’d like to read about the further adventures of Lily, Dr. Impossible, Damsel, Fatale, Blackwolf, Feral, Elphin, & Mr. Mystic. This is one of the most fun books I’ve read in some time go seek it out!
This weekend was all about painting and house stuff. The family came down from “The Cloud”, sans Carla & Lee, to assist with a crap ton of housework. Charlene, Cassandra, and Mom-In-Law did some amazing work painting and hanging things on the wall. Just generally turning our house into an actual home. It’s scary to look around and realize you live somewhere, like really live there, not just renting. It’s intimidating. Dad-In-Law knocked out the two bed frames & had time to help Anthony and I clean gutters and then put on gutter covers. With the weather being what it’s supposed to be today and tomorrow I’m glad we’ve knocked out those projects. The “Bear” & the “Cat” did a bunch of yard work, which was adorable so I took them to Hot Comics to pick out a toy apiece, which was cool. I don’t have any kids of my own so when I get a chance to spoil I can’t help myself. Suffice to say we got a lot done and looks great.
Sunday I read as Mom-In-Law and Char came down to finish what they were working on. That night M.M.&.C., & Dave & Liz came over to watch Vikings Vs. Packers. I know I picked the Vikings and they lost, but let me just say, DAMN those officials where terrible, even the replay officials. On a side note at least the Chiefs won.
Speaking of disappointment how about some
RANDOM CRAP!
- New Avengers episode tomorrow night and I’m excited.
- I’m one book into the 2nd Felix & Gotrek Omnibus & it’s good. I know I’m missing a lot of the back-story having not read the 1st Omnibus yet, but I get the gist of everything. I do have to say I’m not enjoying the “yo-yo” relationship arc between Felix and Ulrika. Not that I don’t like her as a character, but the constant “am I, aren’t I in love with him/her” is annoying. It’s weird too, because a lot of the time in the books she comes off as much more aggressive and battle hardened than the introspective Felix. It’s good dark high fantasy stuff, as I knew it would be.
- Venture Brothers was very dense this week and very good. I look forward with baited breath to the season finale.
- Yesterday, in between vomiting, I was able to get caught up on Bored To Death. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed this show.
I’ve been a Jason Schwartzman fan since Rushmore (Infinite *’s out of 5) so it’s no surprise that I’d enjoy a show where he’s a struggling writer who freelances on Craig’s List as a Private Eye. Oh and Zach Galifianakis as his comic book artist pot head friend and Ted Danson as his crazy mentor make the show sort of a zany noir thing. It’s hard to define this show and I think that’s why I love it.
- Brock Lesnar lost. I am sad.
- Apparently we’ll be getting hit with a weather apocalypse today and tomorrow. The weather terrorists are talking hurricane force winds, rain, and possible some snow. I say bring the F on!
And with that fist shaking at Gawd proclamation I think I’m done.
“They said it wasn't safe at night
We knew what we had to do
We ironed out our tights
Each one of us
Watched our folks gunned down
We took our vitamins
Three glasses of milk a day
Fight to protect
We made the headlines
The government supplied
An X-shaped laboratory
We're copyright
Our name sold soft drinks
We saw the Pentagon
And had our picture taken
We're out there fighting crime and
We're gonna make the time and
We'll get it right
We'll power up
We're out there fighting crime and
We're gonna make the time and
We'll get it right
We'll power up
No pension plan
Thinktank is bankrupt
Sixty-eight ninety-five
Just for one Magno-Gun charge
Otto Destruct's engaged
Dark Crab's in A.A.
Our stock is plummeting
They pulled the plug on Deep Freeze
We're out there fighting crime and
We're gonna make the time and
We'll get it right
We'll power up”
* = Bar Fight anyone?
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