Matt’s Week in Dork! (7/27/14-8/2/14)

    Vacation weeks are always awesome.  I got some serious movie watching in, for the first time in a while.  And I had some adventures.  So, good times.

Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.:  With Mechagodzilla nearly repaired, the Twins show up and demand that he not be used, that the Godzilla bones inside him be returned to the sea.  Crazy talk.  But it’s OK.  ‘Cause they say Mothra will step in and do any kaiju crushing that need be done.  Of course, trouble is brewing, and plans go awry.

Godzilla: Final Wars:  Danged aliens.  This movie is probably the second craziest, after Invasion of Astro-Monster.  It’s kitchen sink filmmaking at its best.  Tons of monsters, aliens, super-powered mutants, a kid and his hillbilly grandfather driving around in a truck with baby-Godzilla, super-tech vehicles, and the end of the world.  It’s nuts.  Salted nuts.  And it’s a wonderful, silly send-off for the franchise as it went into retirement again.

Ossessione:  An Italian take on a classic Noir tale.  It’s pretty good, but lacks a certain panache.  Like the leads in Double Indemnity, the leads in this film are unappealing.  However, where that worked in the former, it works less in this.  The Italian setting is probably the best part, lending a familiar story some exotic elements.

The Raid 2:  So, so danged violent.  This movie is intensely brutal, in your face, gut punchingly violent.  My second viewing may not have had the visceral impact it had when I saw it in the theater, but it’s still darned nasty.  Darned nasty.

Streets of Fire:  One of the most wonderfully 80s movies out there.  It’s a half 50s/half 80s fantasy cityscape of Rock & Roll and neon.  Greasers, bikers, ex-soldiers, a rocker-girl, and a dozen other cliché characters come together on the streets to set the night on fire.  Over the top 80s music.  Crazy fashion.  And so much cheesy dialog.  It’s no surprise that this is one of my all time favorite films.

    On Tuesday, my lady and I headed to DC, where we checked out the Spy Museum, which was pretty cool.  There are a lot of interesting displays, and the James Bond exhibit is quite nice.  From there, we headed over to District of Pi for some tasty pizza.  Then we grabbed a bus instead of a metro, so we could see the city as we headed for Silver Spring.  Once there, we checked out Piratz Tavern, where I drank me a big ol’ mug of grog.  It was pretty good.  Then we hit up Quarry House Tavern where the tater tots were excellent.  And then, after all that, thanks to my lady and her awesome connections, we went over to the Regal theater to see an advanced screening of Guardians of the Galaxy (take that, Brad!).

Guardians of the Galaxy:  The latest entry in the expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe is fun and exciting, tapping into the wild imagination of old-timey science fiction, while developing various elements of the setting.  The writing is cute and clever, while keeping the adventure thrilling.  The main villain for the film, Ronan The Accuser, like most of the villains Marvel has thrown at its heroes so far, is somewhat lackluster.  The Red Skull is probably the only solid villain so far, and it doesn’t look like he’s coming back (though he totally could and should).  I know they’re building up Thanos.  Hopefully that works out.  Fans of the previous Marvel films should find plenty to enjoy, but the film can easily stand alone.  I can’t wait to see the further adventures of the Guardians and how they’ll work into the stories of other Marvel heroes and villains.

Finding Vivian Maier:  The fascinating and sometimes dark life of a secretive woman is revealed after her death.  When a man discovers a huge pile of photo negatives, he begins a quest to find out about the woman who took them.  Vivian Maier emerges as a wonderful character, deeply flawed, but richly talented, who created the life she wanted for herself, even if it might not have been the best life she could have had.  The documentary doesn’t shy away from some of her darker ways, including what seems to be a descent into some kind of mental illness.  But it also celebrates her way of seeing the world, and her spirit of quiet self determination.  Like some of the most interesting self-made people, Maier’s early life has a romantic, thrilling nature, with world travel and mystery.  This film is a good glimpse at an artist doing art for herself, not for anyone else.  I respect and am somewhat awed by that.

Cuban Fury:  A cute story about a former salsa dancing champion who threw it all away after being bullied.  Now, as schlubby adult, he’s prompted to take up the shoes of fire again when he meets a woman he thinks is out of his league.  It’s pretty light and goofy, but it’s funny and charming.  If you’re in the mood for a pleasant romantic comedy, this one is pretty good.  And some of the performances are quite good.

Psychomania:  The child of a woman who has sold herself to Satan, now heads a biker gang.  Of course, like any good biker gang, they all want to burn the world down, and what better way but to kill themselves and come back as immortal hellions.  Yup.  Overall, the movie was OK, in that very 70s, British horror movie way.  But it’s not quite as sleazy as it should have been, and not as weird.  I like the feel, but it seems a bit too safe.

The Bible: In the Beginning…:  Nothing puts the madness and villainy of the Bible in focus quite so much as seeing it presented in images.  I found this to be true when looking at The Brick Bible (Bible stories done in Lego), and I find it in some of these Biblical epics.  This film takes on several of the bigger stories from the Old Testament.  And they’re awful.  The God of the Old Testament is a monster; tormenting, cruel, fickle, and beastly by any measure.  In the Old Testament, God seems to be like a schoolyard bully who grabs a victim by the hand, slaps the victim across the face with it, and yells “why are you hitting yourself?!” over and over.  And the morality of his people is suspect, at best.  The Tower of Babel, Noah’s Ark, the two angels and Lot, Abraham, etc.  Each story is peppered with cruelty, evil, and human misery, as, in the best tradition of Bronze Age mythology (the gods of the Greeks are as tormenting and petty, to be sure), the divine represents the whims and horrors of nature, and things outside of the control or ken of Mankind.  The production looks good, and the cast is the usual mix of quality you got in these big budget, ‘cast of thousands’ type films.  And everyone is Bible-acting, which is much like Shakespeare, but with less passion.  George C. Scott is, perhaps, going a bit overboard as Abraham.  It would probably make a good companion with The Ten Commandments, though I’ll not be doing that double header (because The Ten Commandments is super, super dull…sorry, but it is).

Space 1999 Season 1:  The first season of this show is quite good, with a solid, classic science fiction heart and a nice leaning toward the creepy and weird.  The cast is good, most of the episodes are good, and the effects and production design are generally pretty good, too.  There are elements of Golden Age science fiction, like the stories you’d hear on radio shows like Dimension X.  And there’s some of that very British New-Age stuff of its time.  Like The Starlost, some of the better original series Trek episodes, etc., it taps in to the types of sci-fi I love the most.

    Friday morning, I finished the first volume of The First Kingdom, which was really cool.  I don’t think I’ll be delving in to the second volume right away, as it’s kind of dense for a comic.  But I liked it, and I look forward to seeing what else happens to the various characters.

Battlestar Galactica Blood & Chrome:  I’m mostly cold on prequels.  Not that they can’t be done well, but they typically aren’t.  Case in point; Caprica, the previous Battlestar prequel series.  However, this one manages to get it right, with just enough revealed to make it worth the time, while still having some mystery.  Yes, we know William Adama makes it out.  But the rest of it?  Anyone’s game.  My hope for Battlestar in the future (if there is any future for it) is not another prequel, but something that takes the setting well into its future, exploring entirely new concepts and characters.  I doubt it’ll happen, but that’s my hope.  In the meantime, this is a fine taste for those missing the show.

Cyclone:  A dumb, low rent movie about an advanced motorcycle and some tools who want to steal it.  This is the kind of thing that drive-ins and straight to video were made for.  Probably best to watch with friends, so you can give it the MST3K treatment.

Alienator:  This one has a smidge of low budget charm, but that’s about it.  Dumb characters and a dumb Terminator rip-off script don’t do the job.  If you’re looking for another movie to riff on with your friends, give this one a go.  Otherwise, move along.  Fred Olen Ray strikes again.

    Friday night, I finally got Ben to come over again, and we sat down to what I think is one of the crazier Godzilla movies, but which he thought wasn’t nearly as weird as Godzilla Vs. Mothra.  I guess he still hasn’t gotten over the discomfort caused by the Infant Island Fairies.

Invasion of the Astro-Monster:  The series goes full on Sci-fi with this rocket ship adventure film.  After two buddies travel to Planet X and discover some aliens hiding from King Ghidorah, they strike a bargain to lend Godzilla and Rodan to their defense.  You know, that old story.  I love the 60s rocket ship story, along with the always fun Ghidorah.  Plus, the story is just nuts.  And Fuji and Glenn are solid leads.  I’d have liked to see their continuing adventures.

    On Saturday, my lady and I traveled to DC once more, where we had brunch (that’s a thing I do now) at District Commons, which was pretty cool.  There was even some kind of sporting thing on the TV that I totally didn’t get.  But muscled people were running around and hanging on rings and such.  Then we walked to Georgetown, which I find to be a very pleasant place, even if the main drag is overcrowded with people who walk as slow as humanly possible.  And there we hit up the AMC theater to watch Lucy.  A lovely day.

Lucy:  This movie is pretty darned dumb, but it’s also kind of fun.  The very premise is laughable, and they never manage to sell it, as Morgan Freeman does his best to throw some 1950s movie science at you through awkward exposition.  But I’ve always enjoyed these ascendance stories.  I think it’s the Nietzschean in me.  Luc Besson is like Sam Raimi.  He hasn’t grown or evolved as a film maker in twenty years.  So the movie feels like a hodgepodge of his earlier work, mixed with elements of the cheesy action movies he’s produced over the years (Transporter, District B13, Kiss of the Dragon, etc.), even featuring the almost signature crappy techno music playing over the car chases.

The Flying Serpent:  Thank goodness this movie was less than an hour long.  This is the kind of thing that made Mystery Science Theater 3000 so good, but is kind of tough to watch on its own.  A bunch of bad actors do the various things it takes to move along a dumb plot.  The puppetry and flying footage of the titular serpent is surprisingly good considering the quality of the rest of the movie, but not so good as to be worth taking the time to see the film.

    The ending of vacations is always a bit sad.  But this was a good one, and I’m glad of it.  Up next, I definitely have to read Beasts of Burden, our next book club selection.  Maybe this week.  And I think I’ll be going to see Guardians of the Galaxy again.  Time will tell.

-Matthew J. Constantine

Comic Review: The First Kingdom: The Birth of Tundran

    Admittedly, I’ve never been ‘in the know’ about comics.  While I tried them briefly as a wee lad, I didn’t stick with them, only returning to the medium in my late 20s with Hellboy, Tom Strong, and Metabarons.  However, I’ve always been friends with comic readers, and I’ve often been aware of various books and events in the industry, even if just in passing.  Also, what little interest I ever showed tended to be toward independent, sci-fi/adventure comics.  Yet, somehow, I’d never heard of Jack Katz and his The First Kingdom.  Having been a contemporary of several famous names, including Alex Raymond, Jack Kirby, and Stan Lee, I feel like I should have been more aware of the man and his work.  Anyway, now I am, and I’m glad of it.

    The First Kingdom is not a perfect book, nor is it going to appeal to the average, contemporary comic reader.  There is an old style, similar to that of classic newspaper strips like Flash Gordon or Terry and the Pirates, with a bit of 60s Marvel thrown in.  Sometimes the captions go on and on, and sometimes the word choices are peculiar to say the least (and I’m fairly certain, not always correct).  But this all lends it a strange quality that works here more than it does in something like early issues of The Fantastic Four or Challengers of the Unknown.  The writing style, along with the story itself help to give the whole thing a feeling of a grand myth cycle, like something out of ancient Greece or Scandinavia, or out of Tolkien’s Silmarillion (except this is readable) or The Bible.  You could also argue that Katz’s art has a tendency toward repetitiveness.  It is true, that many of his people look essentially the same, and on occasion I’ve had difficulty keeping one separate from another (especially his females).  And panels and pages often feature lots and lots of characters simply standing around, talking.  However, when the action does break out, when he does exercise his creativity, it can be gorgeous.  His environments and creatures are top notch.  And for those who are upset by the human body, you should know that the book features a good deal of nudity.

    The story is wonderfully grand and operatic.  Long after Earth was burned up in a nuclear war, humanity’s descendants are on their way up again.  Strange gods meddle with their affairs, while a young man breaks with tradition and sets off on a quest to give his people a new and permanent home, but he is destined to meet a violent end.  Epic quests, sinister villains, dangerous monsters, and fickle fate.  The stuff of mythology.  Odd bits of science fiction mix with copious amounts of fantasy, making me again think of the old Flash Gordon strips, as well as the works of people like Edgar Rice Burroughs.  So, while I don’t know that the general comic reader would appreciate this work, I think that fans of Golden Age science fiction, of pulp adventure stories, or of movie serials might really like it.

    I, for one, am excited to find out what happens next in this grand imaginary history.  Many forces are coming together into what should prove to be a dramatic conflict.

The First Kingdom: The Birth of Tundran
Author/Artist: Jack Katz
Publisher: Titan Comics
ISBN: 978-1-78276-010-8

-Matthew J. Constantine

Matt’s Weeks in Dork! (7/13/14-7/19/14 & 7/20/14-7/26/14)

    Due to a technical difficulty, I present two weeks…


(7/13/14-7/19/14)

    On Sunday, my lady and I headed in to DC to see the National Building Museum and its human sized maze.  An informative tour and a nice exhibit on House & Home.  But darn it, that maze was cool.  Mazes have always been a fascination, and getting to go into one was a treat.  Part of me would love to do one much, much larger.  From there we went to The Hamilton (where I felt distinctly under dressed) for a nice brunch, and then to E Street, where we saw Life Itself.  A good day in DC.

Life Itself:  This portrait of the famous populist movie critic Roger Ebert does a fine job of showing the man behind the face.  Not all one thing or another, a character, and a great ambassador of film.  His story feels like one of those old time movies, where a plucky young kid gets a dream job and has a meteoric rise, with the usual pitfalls of wine and women, and the eventual triumph.  But there’s more to it than that, as there always is.  And telling his life story, intercut with the story of his death, the ravaging cancer that would claim him, bit by bit, until it finished him off, was poignant and heartbreaking, but also uplifting and dare I say it, a bit inspiring.  A colorful character with an interesting life.  And a documentary well worth seeking out, especially (but not exclusively) for movie buffs.

The Lego Movie:  This cute CGI film is a lot of fun, occasionally very clever, and perfectly enjoyable.  It’s not amazing.  But it’s good.  I like the story, I like the voice work, and though heavy handed, I like the message.  If you have kids, this is a good one, as there’s plenty for an adult to enjoy, too.

    Friday night we met for the graphic novel club, where we discussed Aya: Life in Yop City.  I think only one person hated it, nobody seemed to love it, but a few enjoyed it enough to want to read on.  I didn’t hate it, but certainly have no plans to read any more.

    On Saturday evening, Brad and I headed over to Wolf Trap to see 2001 with live music.  This was my second time to the venue, which I’m not in love with.  But it was certainly better than I remembered.  I suppose I can see the charm of sitting on the lawn, though I don’t think I would be well suited for it, with my gimpy legs.

2001:  Just a darned amazing film.  I’ve written about it many times before.  What I’ll say this time is that seeing it, projected on a big screen, with live orchestral accompaniment was a whole new experience.  Because so little dialog happens, and when it does, it’s not with music, this movie is sort of like a silent film, witch lends itself to live music.  When I saw Casablanca with live music, there were issues because of the constant score and the original mono recording.  This was much better.  And seeing it with a thousand or so people…really something.  People nervously or knowingly laughing when Hal starts to crack.  Kinda amazing.

(7/20/14-7/26/14)

    So, on Sunday, my computer had some rather profound technical difficulties, taking me not just offline, but off writing in any serious way.  I got some more reading done, and some more movie watching, but I also had kind of a busy week.

In the Mood for Love:  Gorgeously shot, wonderfully dreamy, this romance doesn’t play the way one would expect.  It feels like you’re constantly watching surreptitiously, voyeuristically as two people come together, expressed in brief moments, looks, and seemingly innocent encounters.  Where some of Wonk Kar Wai’s films have a frantic, hand-held feel to their cinematography, this is shot wonderfully still and painting-like.

Under the Skin:  Upon second viewing, my problems with the film’s finale abated somewhat.  I think I get the idea more, so it doesn’t bug me as much.  Whatever the case, this is a fascinating film, a science fiction/horror movie with no exposition.  At no point does the script give you any information.  You just watch as things happen and are forced to make up your own mind.  There are some beautiful moments, some haunting scenes, some surreal and some wonderful things.  It’s not going to be for everyone.  But I really like it.  The closest thing I can compare it to is the rather obvious The Man Who Fell to Earth, but I was reminded of recent weirdly quiet films like Only God Forgives, too.

Fanfan La Tulipe:  France’s answer to Errol Flynn’s Robin Hood, this light hearted swashbuckling adventure film is charming and fun.  Nothing too serious.  Nothing too heavy.  Pretty women, handsome men, daring-do, and some humor for color.  Good times.

    I read the second volume of Prophet, which continues to amp up the Dune-type insanity.  I’m really loving how crazy this book is.  Can’t wait to see where it all ends up.

How to Train Your Dragon 2:  There are some bits near the end that I wasn’t enamored of, but overall, this is a pretty good sequel to the surprisingly good How to Train Your Dragon.  I like the cast of characters and the setting created.  The animation is quite good.  And they do a fantastic job of giving the dragons, particularly Toothless, a great deal of personality.  These are the kinds of fantasy films I’d have gone absolutely mad for as a lad (and still dig as an old man).  And the comic relief doesn’t suck.

The Innocents:  A well shot and creepy horror film that adds little to the genre, The Innocents is perfectly watchable.  If you’re in the mood for something like The Haunting, this is a good option.  The performances are good and the mood is thick.  The story is a bit blah, but what do you expect.  Ghost stories, especially haunted house stories, all pretty much play out the same way.

Bluebeard:  If it wasn’t for the totally exploitative use of hunting footage, where we’re shown real animals of various types really getting shot and killed, I would be singing this film’s praises.  Excepting that, it’s campy fun of the highest order.  Richard Burton is so far over the top you have to wonder if he even knew there was a top.  The women are pretty, the clothes are optional, and the comedy is weirdly good.  Again, if it wasn’t for the real animal killing footage, I think I’d have run right out and bought a copy.

    On Friday afternoon, I read the new humorous book, Fun with Kirk and Spock, a parody of the old Dick and Jane books.  It's very cute and funny.  I love me some classic Trek.

The Golden Goose:  Not one of the better German folk tale adaptations I’ve seen, this one is more annoying than good.  There are some good bits, and it teaches (as fairy tales do) some valuable lessons.  But the songs kind of suck, and the constant laughing gets creepy quick.

Elena and Her Men:  I’ve liked several Jean Renoir films, and I love Ingrid Bergman.  But this movie never got my attention.  I didn’t connect.  I suppose it’s cute, and there are some good scenes.  However, I never became invested in the characters or the story.  And honestly, I didn’t really like Bergman in it.

Demetrius and the Gladiators:  Possibly more ham-fisted than The Robe, and sadly lacking in Richard Burton, this OK sequel does feature a good performance from William Marshall and some gladiator fighting.  Not much else, sadly.

    Co-Dork Brad is at the San Diego Comic Con, sending reports back.  So far, the two most interesting tidbits to come out of the con are about the Godzilla sequel that’s going to feature Mothra, Rodan, and my favorite all time kaiju, King Ghidorah, and that there are plans to do a Skull Island film.  My hope is that this is a return adventure to the birthplace of King Kong, and not some kind of prequel or reboot.  There’s no reason the story shouldn’t be a straight-up sequel to 2005’s Kong.  And one of my complaints about that movie (which I love) was that they didn’t spend nearly enough time exploring the island and its history/mythology.  Fingers crossed.

Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla:  I like the story of the disgraced soldier who redeems herself through piloting Mechagodzilla.  And this one has some pretty cool fighting.  But anyone who’s survived trashy 80s sci-fi/horror films knows, you don’t use the body parts of killers when you make your killing machines.  Don’t do it.

    I didn’t finish it, as it’s kind of like reading the Bible (or worse, 1960s Marvel comics), but I’ve plowed through a good deal the first volume of Jack Katz’s First Kingdom.  I like it a lot.  There’s something magical about it, like golden age science fiction, classic myth, and some nameless something.  Very cool.

-Matthew J. Constantine