Tuesday, March 31, 2009
They took your children and wife. Cut their throats with a knife.
Here's my monthly book recap.
I got a bunch of graphic novels from the library while Alexa was gone. I figured I had a lot of time on my hands and they're a quick read. And I'm a dork.
Elric: The Making of a Sorcerer. This was just dumb. It's apparently a prequel to Michael Moorcock's Elric series. I'm not interested in the books after reading this graphic novel. It was short on story and the art was pretty crappy. 2/5
Batman: Arkham Asylum. On my first read I didn't care for it. But the edition I got from the library has the entire "script" for the comic with notes by the author. This gave the graphic novel so much more clarity. The illustrations were muddy and hard to understand, so the author's explanation was greatly appreciated. The whole thing is about Batman breaking through his weaknesses and becoming an even bigger badass. The Joker takes over Arkham Asylum and tests Batman by making him face many of the do-badders he helped put there. The entire story is linked to the history of Amadeus Arkham, the builder of the Arkham Asylum. Arkham himself was crazy and killed his own mother. The personality of the building and its history is integral to the story. It was an interesting take on Batman. Until the end he is a scared, weak hero. Just interesting if you like that sort of thing. 4/5
Batman: The Killing Joke. I fully expected this to be the story arc where the second Robin, Jason Todd, is killed by the Joker. It wasn't. I was a bit disappointed. Anyway, the story still had a landmark moment in it. Commissioner Gordon's daughter, Barbara, is shot by the Joker and is paralyzed as a result. She later becomes Oracle, a sidekick to Batman who is able to give him information from the Batcave (I think). The story mainly focuses on Joker's origin story and his quest to break the Commissioner. The Joker's sick sense of humor is full blown in this book. I used to think the Joker was kind of lame, but now that I've seen The Dark Knight and I've read these graphic novels my opinion has changed. He's got great potential and it seems like authors aren't afraid to exploit it. The only thing that was lame about this one was the Joker's origin story. I like the idea of not really having a clear picture of why he is the way he is. Oh well. 4/5
The Brave and the Bold Vol. 1: The Lords of Chaos. This was basically a Justice League of America book, but I guess the Brave and the Bold is a different series. The whole idea of the book is that there is something called the Book of Destiny. In it is the past, present and future. Of course, if this book falls into the wrong hands all is lost. There are some interesting concepts involving time travel and destiny if you are inclined to ponder them. Aside from that the action is fairly decent and the story is compelling. I was certainly wondering how the good guys would win once the bad guys got the book (considering the bad guys will know the good guys every move before the good guys know). 4/5
Justice League of America Vol. 1: The Tornado's Path. Does anyone know who Red Tornado is? I didn't. I was really confused for the first 20 pages of this one. I will admit that I've never been a huge fan of the Justice League, so I guess that would put me at a disadvantage in terms of knowing all of the characters. Anyway, the gist of the plot is that Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman are reassembling the Justice League after it was disbanded. This was a good way to get to know most of the characters because the three big ones explained their powers and qualities. It's hard to explain the plot but I'll give it a try: Red Tornado (a spirit in a robot's body who can shift his spirit from one robot body to the next) shifts his spirit into a real body. Some bad guys (I don't know who they are and I've never heard of them) are trying to get Red Tornado's body so that another immortal can stop being immortal and...I think I lost everyone. I'm lost now. I really liked it, though. Maybe because the plot was so twisted. I don't know. 5/5
Justice League of America Vol. 2: The Injustice League. This plot is a bit easier to follow. Lex Luthor gets together bunch of villains to take out the Justice League. It's basically like watching an episode of Superfriends. I liked the artwork and the story was good enough. There was a time when I doubted the Justice League would win out. 4/5
I got a bunch of graphic novels from the library while Alexa was gone. I figured I had a lot of time on my hands and they're a quick read. And I'm a dork.
Elric: The Making of a Sorcerer. This was just dumb. It's apparently a prequel to Michael Moorcock's Elric series. I'm not interested in the books after reading this graphic novel. It was short on story and the art was pretty crappy. 2/5
Batman: Arkham Asylum. On my first read I didn't care for it. But the edition I got from the library has the entire "script" for the comic with notes by the author. This gave the graphic novel so much more clarity. The illustrations were muddy and hard to understand, so the author's explanation was greatly appreciated. The whole thing is about Batman breaking through his weaknesses and becoming an even bigger badass. The Joker takes over Arkham Asylum and tests Batman by making him face many of the do-badders he helped put there. The entire story is linked to the history of Amadeus Arkham, the builder of the Arkham Asylum. Arkham himself was crazy and killed his own mother. The personality of the building and its history is integral to the story. It was an interesting take on Batman. Until the end he is a scared, weak hero. Just interesting if you like that sort of thing. 4/5
Batman: The Killing Joke. I fully expected this to be the story arc where the second Robin, Jason Todd, is killed by the Joker. It wasn't. I was a bit disappointed. Anyway, the story still had a landmark moment in it. Commissioner Gordon's daughter, Barbara, is shot by the Joker and is paralyzed as a result. She later becomes Oracle, a sidekick to Batman who is able to give him information from the Batcave (I think). The story mainly focuses on Joker's origin story and his quest to break the Commissioner. The Joker's sick sense of humor is full blown in this book. I used to think the Joker was kind of lame, but now that I've seen The Dark Knight and I've read these graphic novels my opinion has changed. He's got great potential and it seems like authors aren't afraid to exploit it. The only thing that was lame about this one was the Joker's origin story. I like the idea of not really having a clear picture of why he is the way he is. Oh well. 4/5
The Brave and the Bold Vol. 1: The Lords of Chaos. This was basically a Justice League of America book, but I guess the Brave and the Bold is a different series. The whole idea of the book is that there is something called the Book of Destiny. In it is the past, present and future. Of course, if this book falls into the wrong hands all is lost. There are some interesting concepts involving time travel and destiny if you are inclined to ponder them. Aside from that the action is fairly decent and the story is compelling. I was certainly wondering how the good guys would win once the bad guys got the book (considering the bad guys will know the good guys every move before the good guys know). 4/5
Justice League of America Vol. 1: The Tornado's Path. Does anyone know who Red Tornado is? I didn't. I was really confused for the first 20 pages of this one. I will admit that I've never been a huge fan of the Justice League, so I guess that would put me at a disadvantage in terms of knowing all of the characters. Anyway, the gist of the plot is that Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman are reassembling the Justice League after it was disbanded. This was a good way to get to know most of the characters because the three big ones explained their powers and qualities. It's hard to explain the plot but I'll give it a try: Red Tornado (a spirit in a robot's body who can shift his spirit from one robot body to the next) shifts his spirit into a real body. Some bad guys (I don't know who they are and I've never heard of them) are trying to get Red Tornado's body so that another immortal can stop being immortal and...I think I lost everyone. I'm lost now. I really liked it, though. Maybe because the plot was so twisted. I don't know. 5/5
Justice League of America Vol. 2: The Injustice League. This plot is a bit easier to follow. Lex Luthor gets together bunch of villains to take out the Justice League. It's basically like watching an episode of Superfriends. I liked the artwork and the story was good enough. There was a time when I doubted the Justice League would win out. 4/5
This is a sketch. (Yes it is.)
I'm not really sure what to blog about anymore. I feel like a lot has happened. Then again, I feel like nothing has happened. (I know I was going to blog about Watchmen, but laziness got in the way and now I don't remember half of what I wanted to say. My review/ponderings will be written here when I see it at the cheapies. I'm not sure when that will be.)
Alexa was gone for a couple of weeks this month and I accomplished little to nothing. I've been subbing fairly consistently. However, nothing of real merit has happened. We've gotten most of the really important wedding stuff out of the way. Now it's on to the little things that will have to either be done over a few weeks (i.e. favors) or right before the wedding. I guess it's nice to be done with some of it. It was definitely starting to weigh me down.
Anyway, that's the update on my life right now. Some more blogs are on the way tonight. Gotta hit my quota. Also, I think the topics are worthy of their own blog. I'm not just stretching them out to hit my quota.
That last sentence was a lie.
Alexa was gone for a couple of weeks this month and I accomplished little to nothing. I've been subbing fairly consistently. However, nothing of real merit has happened. We've gotten most of the really important wedding stuff out of the way. Now it's on to the little things that will have to either be done over a few weeks (i.e. favors) or right before the wedding. I guess it's nice to be done with some of it. It was definitely starting to weigh me down.
Anyway, that's the update on my life right now. Some more blogs are on the way tonight. Gotta hit my quota. Also, I think the topics are worthy of their own blog. I'm not just stretching them out to hit my quota.
That last sentence was a lie.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Be mine and your innocence I will consume
I watched Cloverfield a few days ago and I was pleasantly surprised by it. I can definitely understand why some would find it unappealing, but I was enthralled once the movie really got going.
The movie starts with a going-away party for one of the main characters. This was the worst part of the movie. It was slow and superfluous. The 15 minutes or so of exposition could, and should, have been cut in half. The only good part of it is getting to know the person whose point of view we see the movie from. He is tasked with "documenting" the party and ends up documenting the entire ordeal. This character, Hud, was definitely good for comic relief. At the most tension-filled moments he was good for a laugh. This may be annoying to some but I found it to be rather realistic. Some people talk and make jokes when feeling stressed. No big deal.
One thing I didn't like was how Hud just kept carrying the camera around. He even managed to hold onto it while being attacked by these weird parasite things. I would have dropped the damn thing and not looked back. Anyway, constant vigilance with the camera=not too realistic. Then again the movie is about a giant monster demolishing Manhattan.
In some reviews I read about the camera style turning people away (and making them sick in the process). Typically I hate herky-jerky filming (see: Traffic, The Bourne Supremacy (Matt Damon)) but it worked for me this time. Not seeing the monster made it much scarier. All the viewer can see is the destruction it's leaving in its wake. And, boy, is there destruction. The only time you truly see the monster is when it's being annihilated near the end and, even then, it's not completely clear.
There is no clear explanation of what "it" is. This would normally have frustrated the bejeezus out of me but, again, it worked. This time I love not knowing more than the characters. Most monster movies have horribly cheesy explanations for the monsters existence and reason for its rampage. This movie didn't bother with that. Thank God.
The more I reflect on this movie, the more I like it. I wouldn't recommend it for everyone, but some may enjoy it.
The movie starts with a going-away party for one of the main characters. This was the worst part of the movie. It was slow and superfluous. The 15 minutes or so of exposition could, and should, have been cut in half. The only good part of it is getting to know the person whose point of view we see the movie from. He is tasked with "documenting" the party and ends up documenting the entire ordeal. This character, Hud, was definitely good for comic relief. At the most tension-filled moments he was good for a laugh. This may be annoying to some but I found it to be rather realistic. Some people talk and make jokes when feeling stressed. No big deal.
One thing I didn't like was how Hud just kept carrying the camera around. He even managed to hold onto it while being attacked by these weird parasite things. I would have dropped the damn thing and not looked back. Anyway, constant vigilance with the camera=not too realistic. Then again the movie is about a giant monster demolishing Manhattan.
In some reviews I read about the camera style turning people away (and making them sick in the process). Typically I hate herky-jerky filming (see: Traffic, The Bourne Supremacy (Matt Damon)) but it worked for me this time. Not seeing the monster made it much scarier. All the viewer can see is the destruction it's leaving in its wake. And, boy, is there destruction. The only time you truly see the monster is when it's being annihilated near the end and, even then, it's not completely clear.
There is no clear explanation of what "it" is. This would normally have frustrated the bejeezus out of me but, again, it worked. This time I love not knowing more than the characters. Most monster movies have horribly cheesy explanations for the monsters existence and reason for its rampage. This movie didn't bother with that. Thank God.
The more I reflect on this movie, the more I like it. I wouldn't recommend it for everyone, but some may enjoy it.
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