New Release Tuesday!!! (4/23/13)

I'm still giddy over last week's Django Unchained release, and I'm not quite done with the multiple exclusives I ridiculously purchased.  And I haven't even cracked open my Criterion Repo Man!  So, it's just a-okay, that this week offers very little in the way of Must-Buys.  We can use a break until the Summer starts cranking out the essential purchases.  However, there are still a couple of gems to take a look at this week.  A look into the Black & White past is your best bet, the newer releases are just fine but not necessarily demanded by your DVD shelf.

BUY!

Champion:  I'm a sucker for a good boxing movie.  And I'm as equally a sucker for these Olive Film blu ray releases.  China Gate, Johnny Guitar, Ramrod.  Classics & not-so-classics have never looked better.  I cannot attest to the genius of this film but Kirk Douglas bashing it out with various dopes in the ring while fending off the whims of Marilyn Maxwell - sounds like a good enough time to me.  The problem will come in how does one consume this picture?  The On Demand options aren't there yet, nor the Netflix route.  If you wanna see it you might find it on some Internet backchannels, but since I don't do that kinda thing, looks like I'm stuck with the Buy route.  See my future Weeks in Dork for the inevitable opinion.

RENT!

Gangster Squad:  All the way up to its release I had high hopes for Gangster Squad.  I love the period.  I loved Josh Brolin, the law enforcer.  I loved Ryan Gosling's squeaky voice.  And I loved Sean Penn's big block Dick Tracy head.  But the film never gels.  It's....ok.  The film starts off as Sin City mean, but loses its way with Emma Stone's moll, and Josh Brolin is never as beastily as he should be.  Not to mention, the digital photography looks like genuine ass.  Sure, you could do worse (see The Black Dahlia), but you're better off with flicks like LA Confidential and even Mulholland Falls.

Jurassic Park 3D:  Just weeks after the theatrical release, Jurassic Park hits your 3D tvs and maybe you care and maybe you don't.  My television is of the lowly 2D variety, so there is no sense in me picking up this disc.  However, I really enjoyed seeing Steven Speilberg's dino romp on the big screen despite its awkward barrage of floating lens flares, and I can see the appeal of darting from T-Rex's on the couch.  One of these days I'll make the plunge and Jurassic Park 3D will probably be one of my first purchases.

The Impossible:  No film made me cry harder last year than The Impossible.  An absolutely punishing film that grabs at all the right heartstrings.  It's not the type of movie that you watch over and over again, so I see no point to adding it to the collection.  But if you haven't seen it and you're in the mood for a good, life-affirming cry than pop it on your queue.  Not to mention it contains some of the best gore makeup I've seen in recent years.  Lots of hanging flesh bits.  Sounds fun, right?

Richard III:  This is one of my favorite works of Shakespeare, but I have never seen the Laurence Olivier version.  Ian McKellen has always been my favorite psycho king.  Now we get a fancy new blu ray upgrade from Criterion and purply new cover.  No more excuses, gotta check it out.  However, I don't like the new purply cover.  I like the Kingdom for a Horse and the mustard yellow background of the original disc.

--Brad

Brad's Week in Dork! (4/7/13-4/13/13)

I spent the first half of this week watching nothing but Homicide - Life on the Street.  That show is just too damn good.  Not Wire amazing, but shockingly close.  And Andre Braugher has to be my go to Super Cop.  Forget Serpico.  Forget Dirty Harry.  Frank Pembleton is the real deal.  He's an angry asshole, but he's right more often than he's wrong, and he'll drop you with words rather than bullets.  As I type this it's nearly 2AM and I'm blitzing through the 4th season.   I'll be done with this series much quicker than I had originally anticipated. Heartbreaking and utterly compelling television.

The rest of the week was pretty much a continuation of last week's Roger Ebert/Martin Scorsese theme.  I finally managed to track down my copy of Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, and Matt & I had a total blast rockin' out to that insane bit of pop culture.  "This Is My Happening And It Freaks Me Out!!!!"  I also started Scorsese by Ebert.  It's a cool little book that collects past & present reviews of Scorsese's films; the plan is to pick at it as I make my way through the filmmaker's career.  The book is an obvious love letter, maybe even a blind courtship.  Ebert was deeply affected by Scorsese's first film Who's That Knocking At My Door (originally titled I Call First), and the rose colored glasses got planted early, allowing a shockingly glowing review of the exploitation oddity, Boxcar Bertha.  But, of course, Ebert loves the filth as much as the beautiful - I mean, the man did script Beyond the Valley of the Dolls!  Pervert!

Homicide - Life on the Street Season 3:  Two bouncing red balls occupy the majority of the season.  First, The White Glove murder.  Pembleton & Bayliss follow a trail of breadcrumbs that leads from the murder of Baltimore's Good Samaritan Award winner to a possible serial killer.  The case plunges super cop Frank Pembleton into a religious crisis that perfectly showcases Andre Braugher's exceptional handling of that self-righteous/bastard mix.  Halfway through the season Felton, Howard, and Bolander are shot down in a tenement stairwell.   While they fight for life, every standing detective races to discover the identity of the shooter.  The three parter ends with special guest star Steve Buscemi in the box.  Another great season of television.  Again, the brilliance of this show is not the inevitable criminal behind bars (which is not so much an inevitability with Homicide), but in the manner in which these investigations torture and live inside the detectives.  Three seasons in and the Adena Watson case is still ever present with Tim Bayliss, and his inability to move beyond that murder affects his relationship with Pembleton.  This just does not happen with Law & Order.  You can see The Wire getting born in the scripts of Homicide.

Jurassic Park 3D:  "I was overwhelmed by the power of this place!" Steven Spielberg's last great hurrah in adventure cinema; more recent attempts like Tintin & Crystal Skull just utterly fail to capture the awe & astonishment found in Jurassic Park. Partnered with the wonderfully high performances from Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern, these two sell the hell outta the cgi/animatronic beasties. Objects may appear closer in the mirror? Yer damn right when Ian Malcom's spraying himself with fear. Sam Neil, however, remains my favorite player. The manner in which he bonds with the two children after experiencing his own rebirth of wonder is classic Spielbergian heartstrings. Dean Cundey proves that he may be the greatest photographer of monsters, not enough credit is given to the lighting & staging of the lens to sell the dino splices (the man also shot John Carpenter's The Thing if you dare have any doubts on his title). Jurassic Park might lack the heartbreak of King Kong, but it is most certainly the modern version of Skull Island. As for the 3D conversion? It's certainly weird to experience lens flares flying at you - more distraction than emersion.  Still, whatever gets this beast back on the big screen.

Badlands:  "I'll Kiss Your Ass If He Don't Look Like James Dean." Badlands works best when it explores the power and attraction of celebrity criminals. The screenplay springs out of the infamous Charles Starkweather spree killings, but leaves the gritty details behind in an attempt to understand the mystifying relationship between the two Bonnie & Clyders.  And I'm not sure it quite succeeds. The last five minutes are absolutely fantastic. Martin Sheen in chains, tossing collectibles from his pockets - a comb, a lighter, a pen - the policemen gawking up at this shackled superstar. The film is absolutely beautiful, the midwest has never looked so good. And Malick captures the isolation and farmland mentality perfectly. Warren Oates for his short screentime feels like he stepped right out of my own family's North Dakota homestead. Martin Sheen's soft headed pyscho has that desperation for attention, to break free from the prison of the middle-of-nowhere. But it's Sissy Spacek's tagalong killer that mystifies me. Despite the wall-to-wall narration she supplies, I never quite understand the why of what she's doing.

Age of Ultron #5:  Bryan Hitch concludes his run on this Marvel Event and I'll be sad to see him go- no one captures the punishment of a super hero melee quite like Hitch.  But on the story front, Brian Michael Bendis continues to stretch the script.  We get an unnecessary flashback to the salad days of Mr. Fantastic & Tony Stark, science-talking over the corpse of The Vision.  Ultron's tech sure is weird, right?  Duh. There's a trek through the Savage Land and a bit of blather with the white Nick Fury.  But no Ultron.  We're halfway through this mini series and I still don't have a grasp on the particulars of the apocalypse.  And now we're introduced to time travel and the annoyingly inevitable reset.  As much props that were given to the Jump-Into-The-Action beginning, it was also clear from the start that this Age was never going to last, but now I'm starting to wonder what real effects this series is going to have on the Marvel Universe.  Other than introducing some lame ass McFarlane Toys character or possibly Marvel Man himself.  At the end of the day, Age of Ultron just hasn't nabbed real thrills.

Batman #19:  The book opens with an absurd hostage situation, Bruce Wayne steps out of the Gotham National Bank with a pile of corpses left in his wake.  Commissioner Gordon takes a shotgun blast to the chest & a blank faced Wayne drives a motorcycle over the collapsed Commish.  If Gordon's walking around next issue, I'll cry "Bullshit!"  The rest of the issue develops into an obvious mystery reveal, but I'm perfectly happy due to the use of one of my favorite Rogues.  I'm still waiting for the Scott Snyder of Black Mirror/Court of Owls fame, but this two issue mini will hopefully lead to an epic Bat-deconstruction with the upcoming Zero Year mega arc.

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls:  "Rock n Roll is not my kind of poison!" It's Josie & The Pussycats go to Playboy hippie hell - a real demonic nightmare brought to you by the beautiful bizarre combo of Russ Meyer & Roger Ebert. Bosom blaster Dolly Read leads her girl band into the swinging, pot fog world of Los Angeles where they meet the sexual tyrannosaurus Z Man and his Nazi barman.  Michael Blodgett is Lance Rocke, the date rape faced king of swing that steals her heart, springboarding Dolly's boyfriend headfirst into a lifetime of disability...until, a magical Clue-like dinner party cures all via the powers of bat shit crazy. Tagged as a Musical Horror Comedy, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls is obviously Roger Ebert cramming the kitchen sink into one mad, gonzo genre picture and I gotta say...it's a crap ton of fun!!! You've got insane Reefer Madness morality, the violent sex crazed fear of The Explosive Generation, and the wannabe hippie thrills of a million groovy pictures. Sure, it's a mess, but it's also a real gas. As we all know, you have to give your body to the ritual cuz it's "Delicious."

Who's That Knocking At My Door:  Martin Scorsese was 25 years old when he cobbled together his first film, and it's kinda brilliant in how perfectly it captures the themes that plague the rest of his work. Harvey Keitel is a young hood struggling to discover manhood on the mean streets of New York, playing heavy while the Top 40 scores his small time antics.  Life gets tricky when he can't discern his girl from a broad or a bride. His brain's melted from the combo poison of too much religion and too many movies.  Keitel is charismatic as all hell.  His smile could charm the pants off of any imaginary prostitute.  Scorsese might hit the nail hard on the head, but Who's That Knocking is undeniably the arrival of a great American auteur.

Fantastic Four #6:  Easily my favorite issue of Fraction & Bagley's run so far.  The Fantastic Family time travels back to The Big Bang, a school field trip to witness the creation of Everything.  Unknown to the coolest home schoolers ever, a trial from the far flung future has sentenced their greatest criminal to death by means of Big Bang.  I dare not reveal the baddie's name here, but it's perfectly classic and Bagley renders him with Jack Kirby justice.  Also, a little more of that genetic breakdown plot reveals itself as Ben Grimm unleashes some fiery Clobberin' Time.  Still not as fun as its sister title FF, but I'm starting to develop hope.

Saga #12:  The book opens with a horrifying battle scene.  Prince Robot, wounded, and spurting green blood from the neck.  A cute little mouse medic comes to the rescue, but cute little anythings don't last long in the world of Saga.  Prince Robot awakens in orbit of the home planet to novelist extraordinaire, D. Oswald Heist, the man responsible for the romantic pulp that inspired Alana into the arms of Marko.  Robot thinks a little interrogation will lead him to his targets and he's not wrong.  This concluding chapter to the second arc is filled with anger & dread, and it's a strong indicator that this series is evolving into a devastating epic worthy of its title.

Batman and Red Robin #19:  This gatefold WTF cover is the most offensive yet.  I'm deeply disappointed in DC for dragging Frank Miller's Carrie Kelley into the New 52, but only as a costume party stunt.  The real driving force behind this issue is Bruce Wayne's grieving process.  He travels to Frankenstein's castle in an effort to identify the secrets behind resurrection - there he must suffer the blasphemy babel of the monster and ward off Red Robin's insults.  It's a goofy comic book experience, and a sad attempt in light of Grant Morrison's previous Batman Inc #9.  It's gotta be rough on writer Peter Tomasi, he has to move on with this series without the partner on the other side of the ampersand.  Frankly, they should have cancelled this book rather than play this ridiculous round robin exercise (pun intended), and I really hope Carrie Kelley stays outta the 52.

Uncanny Avengers #6:  Rick Remender dips into Jason Aaron's God of Thunder book to tell the tale of an early confrontation between Thor & Apocalypse.  And yes, it involves more time travel.  Seriously, what is going on with Marvel Now and time travel!?!?  HG Wells is bored in his grave.  That being said, this was easily the best issue of the series so far despite the lack of John Cassaday and the time travel malarky.  Onslaught is still out there, but Remender has moved on to a couple other Marvel Universe heavy hitters.  And what's it all got to do with Wolverine medieval past?  Goofy.  Kinda stupid.  But a lot of fun.  Ready for the next issue.

Thor - God of Thunder #7:  After the origin filler of last issue, Esad Ribic returns to illustrate The God Butcher's final solution.  And what does the God of Pancakes & Tamborines have to do with all this heavenly destruction?  Modern Day Thor & Future Thor strategize and get fat on ale, and a great big chuckle can be found in the spin-off possibilities of Thor - Cosmic God Cop!  I'm making this arc sound goofier than it is - the mix of Jason Aaron & Esad Ribic is proving to be beastly heroic poem, the Beowulf of the Marvel Universe...plus, time travel of course.

Sledgehammer 44 #2:  This short little mini comes to a conclusion and the result is simple origin story of a potentially fascinating character.  But how does it fit into the rest of the Mignolaverse?  Only time will tell, but I think this WWII creature deserves a longer story.  As is, it's cute, interesting, uh-huh.  But not the wowza I was hoping for given this rich time period in BPRD lore.

The Place Beyond The Pines:  The first 40 minutes had me. In a pathetic attempt to bring home the bacon, Ryan Gosling's tattooed daredevil makes an insane dash into criminality. Eva Mendes, as the braless mother of his affection, delivers one of her finest turns as she struggles to reject her adolescent lust for him and accept the family ideal in the form of Mahershala Ali. As the wannabe-partner-in-crime, Ben Mendelsohn doesn't come close to scraping the bottom of filth as he did in Killing Them Softly, but he still proves himself to be the scuzziest hostile character actor in contemporary cinema. He owns every frame he occupies. But when Bradley Cooper appears and the film switches into the corrupt cop sub-genre, I dropped out. His story is obvious, routine, and worst of all - a bore. Then the third chapter begins and I nearly went blind with eye roll. The Place Beyond The Pines is desperate for you to feel its "real" independent spirit, but for all the flash acting on display the narrative is too ordinary to support it.

Boxcar Bertha:  Martin Scorsese's first "conventional" film came from the exploitation school of Roger Corman. It provides all the nipples, squibs, and atrocities required of his teacher, but is impossibly injected with the bright young thing's thematic desires and visual hopes. Barbara Hershey gets the job done with her dim bulb ambition, and the sexual conquests of the even dimmer bulbs around her.  David Carradine's Big Bill Shelley is certainly the figure of a Hoffaesque rabble rouser.  He's slick, cool, and full of bravado. Bernie Casey is the brilliantly loyal goon with a flair for harmonica when his hand doesn't clutch a shotgun. But the characters are less interesting than their director's flourishes. The climactic railroad dick showdown is surreally kinetic, with characters nearly levitating, Evil Deadlike as they accept the blasts from Casey's boomstick. I don't think a shootout had ever been attempted in such a dreamlike fashion, all the while, a poor hero slips off into the distance, crucified to a moving train. A solid film with an apocalyptic finale.

--Brad

Comic Review: Age of Reptiles Omnibus Volume 1

    Yeah, I was that kid.  I was the kid who had all the books about dinosaurs.  I stared at pictures of them, and imagined their world.  I watched every single documentary that ever played on TV, and when I finally got a VCR, I rented a few more.  I was always excited to see movies featuring dinosaurs, like King Kong or any kind of time travel thing.  Those giant beasts were the bee’s knees.  And you know what?  They still are.  Once in a while, something like Jurassic Park or Peter Jackson’s King Kong remake will come along and remind me they’re still totally awesome.

    Richard Delgado has captured that wild mystery of my childhood imaginings.  He’s created a world as exotic and alien as it is plausible.  It reminded me of the best wildlife documentaries I watched as a lad, following the narrative of these creatures who quickly take on unique personalities, without ever speaking.  And, like those same nature documentaries, the camera’s eye watches no matter what befalls the subjects, not passing judgment.

    The first story, ‘Tribal Warfare,’ deals with the back and forth hunting and eating of various species.  With several fascinating environments, on land, sea, and air.  The art is impressive, with lots of different creatures.  Even without dialog, you can follow the story along just fine.  In that way, it uses the visual nature of the comic book medium to great benefit.

    The second story, ‘The Hunt,’ is probably my favorite.  Following a single red dinosaur as it makes its way through the dangerous world, chased by a pack of killers hungry for its flesh.  The adventure takes it into strange new lands, vast landscapes that stagger the imagination and capture a primal awe.  The two page spread of the gargantuan mountain-like cloud formation hanging over the massive stone pillars is gorgeous.  Actually, that whole segment is very impressive.

    The final story, ‘The Journey’ follows an epic multi-species migration and the various dangers found along the way.  One of the things that impresses me is the occasional touch of tenderness.  That said, the viscious battle by on the ocean shore is truly epic, feeling like some kind of Moby Dick titan-fight.

    At the end of the volume there’s a nice series of essays by Delgado about the folks who inspired him.  Reading about his younger days, I was reminded of my own.  I even took to drawing dinosaurs and dragons for a while, but sadly, never stuck with it.  Any artistic talent I ever had slipped through inactive fingers years ago.  These are the images I wish I could create.  A great book, and a must for anyone interested in visual storytelling or obviously, in dinosaurs.  Though violent and bloody, I think this would be very popular among young kids with any kind of interest in nature or dinosaurs.

Age of Reptiles Omnibus Volume 1
Author & Artist: Richard Delgado
Publisher: Dark Horse Books
ISBN: 978-1-59582-683-1

-Matt

Dork Art: Sexy Ian Malcom

Now this is art.  I need it hanging in my bathroom STAT.  The artist is John Larriva and it's for the JP Show curated by my favorite Gran Torino Lunchbox Madman Brandon Bird and Julia Vickerman for Gallaria Nucleas.

--Brad

Brad's Week in Dork! (11/6-11/12)

My original intention for this week was to follow up Hest Fest with a marathon run of the Planet of the Apes movies (yes, including the grotesque Burton remake!), but life got in the way and I just puttered about with my typical random movie watching.  Started off the week on a movie date night with my wife and even though I had no interest in a Shrek spin-off I came away thoroughly entertained.

I also managed to get my hands on an Advanced Reader's Copy for Elmore Leonard's Justified spinoff novel Raylan.  I'm only 40 pages in but I can easily see Timothy Olyphant strutting about those pages.  I really can't wait for the next season to start in February.

MOVIES OF THE WEEK!

Puss in Boots:  It's amazing how much more entertaining Dreamworks' Storybookland is without the buffoonish Mike Myers bumbling about with his annoying brand of fart joke humor. Not to mention that Puss in Boots is the sequel I wanted so desperately from Desperado--Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek partnering up to wreak mischievous violence against Jack, Jill, and Big Mama Gooses!  Their vocal sparring is more exciting here than anything in the jumbled mess of Once Upon A Time In Mexico.

Jurassic Park III:  The great thing about Jurassic Park III is that it just wants to be a simple dino eat man kinda movie, a pulp adventure similar to the old Harryhausen flicks. Sure, it's saddled with everyone's enthusiasm for the high entertainment of Speilberg's original Blockbuster and I know there are lots of folks who just want to bemoan Tea Leoni's screamer and the ridiculous forced plot points, but dammit, just enjoy the Spineosaurus! Joe Johnston is just having fun here, as is the whole cast. You should too. And it's infinitely superior to the ultra dull and stupid second film.

Trespass:  There's nothing new under the sun so there's definitely nothing new in this Joel Schumacher home invasion thriller. That being said, the a to b to c acts of violence are handled extremely well by both the director and the actors. Both Nic Cage and Nicole Kidman sell the hell out of their whimpering and screaming and Ben Mendelsohn's head honcho intruder reeks with the appropriate desperation. Once again, I can't really sing the praises of the bland Cam Gigandet but he's been more annoying elsewhere. Typical excitement but excitement nonetheless. It's no Drive Angry.

Henry's Crime:  Keanu Reeves serves several years in prison for a crime he never commited. Upon release he decides to earn that time by robbing the bank he went up state for; with the help of professional criminal James Caan and stage diva Vera Farmiga Keanu's ambitionless mope finds his way in the world. This is a simple, but enjoyable comedy caper that won't stay in your memory banks for too long but it pleasantly kills an hour and a half.

Planet of the Apes:  I LOVE THIS MOVIE! It's not my favorite Heston performance (that would be a toss up between Major Dundee and Touch of Evil) but it's easily my favorite Heston film. I love the first thirty minutes leading up to the Apes int he cornfields. I love what a bastard Heston's explorer is and his cantankerous frustration at everything he encounters on this new world. Hell, there are no real nice guys in this flick. Roddy McDowell and Kim Hunter, those wonderful chimps are smug, stuck-up, and racist. Love it. The monkey makeup still holds up, amazingly expressive.

Win Win:  Tom McCarthy has mastered the feel good, thoughtful introspective drama genre. Paul Giamatti needs some extra dough so he takes on the role of Burt Young's (so great to see Burt Young again!) legal guardian...little does he know that's going to include a troubled wrestling wunderkind and his drug addict mother. Bobby Cannavale and Jeffery Tambor are fantastic sidekicks, but it's Amy Ryan's frustrated but fascinatingly understanding wife that sticks out as the film's heart. If you enjoyed The Station Agent or The Visitor than you're going to adore Win Win.

The Rum Diary:  A spiritual prequel to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Rum Diary may not be as whacked out of its head crazy as Gilliam's mondo fantasy but I found myself thoroughly involved in Johnny Depp's meandering quest to take down Aaron Eckhart's villainous real estate mogul. I'm a sucker for stories involving horrible, depraved spiraling addicts going to war against the true evil of corporate humanity smashers. It's all very pretend idealism, but I dig it.

MUSIC OF THE WEEK!

The Devil's Rain:  In high school I was way into The Misfits.  Not so much the Danzig years (sorry, I know you hardcore fans out there only care about the Danzig years), but the Famous Monsters & American Psycho albums.  I love their obsession with classic (and not-so-classic) monster movies.  Their latest album is not quite up to snuff with some of their previous work, but you gotta appreciate the titular love letter to one of my favorite forgotten Shatner horrors.  And yeah, I absolutely love this mashup fan video below.

--Brad

Brad's Week in Dork! (10/23-10/29)

Happy Halloween!!!!!  My favorite holiday is finally here and I've achieved my goal of watching at least one horror film a day for 31 days (as of right now I'm at 38, but I've still got plenty of day ahead of me --I'm currently watching Wes Craven's Shocker & the AFI Silver has a trilogy of Vincent Price tonight).  So yeah, most of my week was taken up with movies...

MOVIES OF THE WEEK!

Phantom of the Paradise:  Brian DePalma wraps his properly powdered fingers around The Phantom of the Opera and bombards his audience with a mucho mondo rock opera starring the utterly sad/beautifully crazy William Finley as the singer/songwriter Winslow Lech who makes a deal with the devil, music producer Paul Williams. Sure do love the gonzo nature of the film but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the music that backs up the plot and by how much I sympathized with The Phantom. And Gerrit Graham's Beef is hilariously cool.  I definitely feel like a more complete cinedork after consuming this cult classic.

The Burning:  A typical, so-so slasher plot punched up by the beautifully gory Tom Savini prosthetic gags and an ecclectic batch of rising New York actors like Jason Alexander, Fisher Stevens, Holly Hunter, and Brian Backer.  There's nothing here that you can't get elsewhere, but I'll take this over several of the Friday the 13th entries.  Plus, add this to the top of the Best Axe To The Face List.

Arachnophobia:  A plague of deadly spiders threaten small town America and only city doctor Jeff Daniels can stop the menace with his radical use of autopsies and prescription pills! When I was 11 years old this film scared the living heck outta me. Now...I enjoy the Julian Sands scientist and Brian McNamara's wet behind the ears lackey. The rest is only so-so and John Goodman's comical exterminator is kinda annoying.

Jurassic Park:  For me, Jurassic Park was the last of Steven Spielberg's High Art High Entertainment era--the era of Jaws and Indiana Jones. From this point on even his "light" flicks like Catch Me If You Can or War of the Worlds are steeped in an "Oh So Serious" vibe that leaves a poor taste in my mouth. Jurassic Park works due to the strong performances from Neil, Dern, and Goldblum that really sell the mad blend of CGI/Animatronic beasties. And of course, the near seamless blending of Stan Winston's animatronics and Dennis Muren's breakthrough CGI.  

Captain America The First Avenger:  The final lackluster moments of the film bothered me a lot less the second time around.  I'm in awe at how well Chris Evans captures the honest, idealistic heroism of Steve Rogers and with the exception of Batman Begins, this might be my favorite super hero origin story on film.  That's quite a feat considering that I was absolutely sick & tired of Origin flicks going into this film.  Hugo Weaving is rightly hammy as The Red Skull and even though I would have liked a more satisfying climax for his character, he's still half the joy of Joe Johnston's movie.  But more Nazis & Howling Commandos please.  Hope the sequel incorporates some of that missing WWII time.

Attack The Block:  I've seen this four times now.  Two in the theater and two spins of the blu ray.  This film has been hyped like no other this year, but believe the hyperbole--there is no other film out there in 2011 (so far) as fun as Attack The Block.  John Boyega as Moses, the south London Monster Squad leader is a revelation and should be making everyone's breakout performance list this year.  And the wolf gorilla beasties are top notch, my favorite New Monsters.

Lust for a Vampire:  Another Hammer Horror version of the lesbian vampire fantasies of Sheridan LeFanu's novel Camilla, Lust for a Vampire delivers on all the points that it should: Nudity, Blood, British Hair Style. The film defintely drags a bit and could have been much improved with the addition of Christopher Lee instead of the wannabe count in the background of the story. Fun, but if you want a better crack at this same material check out Hammer's Twins of Evil.

THEM!:  Spawned from the first atomic bomb detonation, a giant race of ants tears its way across the continent. Ready to shoot off their antenna and pry loose their mandibles are James Whitmore's flamethrower, James Arness' mad Thompson Gunner, and sexy lady doctor Joan Weldon. For 50s era nuclear horror, it doesn't get much better than THEM! Love the skeleton violence and the constant inflamed puppets.

The Lost World:  An abysmal followup to Steven Spielberg's immensely entertaining original Dino Blockbuster, The Lost World aggrivates the viewer at nearly every turn with ridiculous plot conveyances thrusting tired Jeff Goldblum back to the island (or the island next door) to save his T-Rex loving girlfriend (Julianne Moore in a rare bit of crapacting). And, yeah, Vince Vaughn is there to ham it up for Earth First but he's nowhere near as atrocious as Goldblum's screamy gymnastic daughter...sigh, The Lost World is right up there with Batman & Robin as films you wish you could will outta existence.

The Phantom of the Opera:   "Feast Your Eyes! Glut Your Soul On My Accursed Ugliness!!!" A visually stunning silent horror, Lon Chaney is fantastically dastardly as the psychotic Phantom hellbent on transforming Mary Philbin's shrieks of terror into those of passion. Meanwhile, Norman Kerry's "normal" suitor also struggles for her affections but must simply battle her awful flights of fancy...Recently having the opportunity to experience the film with an accompanying orchestra at the AFI Silver, it's amazing how effective the film still is, especially The Phantom's initial reveal. Grotesquely gorgeous.

Scream and Scream Again:  Vincent Price! Christopher Lee! Peter Cushing! Uh.........All three have very little screen time in this film so if that's why you're tuning in (what other reason could there be?) than don't even bother. I do like the jogging opening credits with its ridiculous freeze frame and jazzy 60s score and I found the jogger's diminishing story to be kinda fun, but for the most part Scream and Scream Again is an utter bore until the Pricetastic climax.

Tomb of Ligeia:  Definitely not my favorite of the Corman/Price/Poe films, Tomb of Ligeia entertains with its typically manic lead Price performance and there are some trippy hipno-dreams that showcase what works best in the 60s Corman era. The film drags at the halfway mark, and could have used a little more pulp in the middle. That Black Cat sure doesn't like Price though, meow.

Something Wicked This Way Comes:  Two boys (and a whole town) succumb to the dark curiosities of Jonathan Pryce's demonic carnivale; thankfully old papa Jason Robards is there to battle wits & wills with evil. Something Wicked This Way Comes is a fascinating Disney adaptation of the Ray Bradbury classic jolting he audience with magnetic turns from Royal Dano, Diane Ladd, and Pam Grier. But this flick is all about Robards and Pryce in that mirror maze; Robards has perhaps never been more badass than when he's staring into his mirror of regret--a definite must see for fans of Cable Hogue.

MUSIC OF THE WEEK!

Bad as Me:  I too snatched up Tom Waits' latest album.  Favorite tracks right now are "Hell Breaks Luce" and "Bad As Me."  The man with gravel for lungs still has it as evident in the youtube vid below.

AUDIO BOOK OF THE WEEK!

The Night Eternal by Guillermo Del Toro & Chuck Hogan:  Early in the week I finished up the second book in The Strain trilogy and immediately jumped into the third and final book.  I'm at the halfway point and The Night Eternal has delivered on the apocalyptic promise of the first book.  It took a little time getting there but we've reached near Road Warrior doom & gloom.  I know this is gonna get the comic book treatment in the next few months, but I'd love to see this horribly depressing trilogy up on the big screen even if Del Toro himself doesn't direct it.  

--Brad