The Visual Style of The Wire

Found via Slash Film.  Here's a cool video from Erland Lavik deconstructing the visual style of The Wire.  I can't tell you how ashamed I feel as a pop culture dork to only be catching up to this show now, but I keep telling myself (and you) that it's better late than never that I discovered this brilliant crime drama from David Simon.  Now if we can only convince Matt to finally join us on the Baltimore bandwagon.

--Brad

Brad's Week In Dork! (4/1-4/7)

Finished The Wire!!!  Soooooooooo Good!  But somehow it didn't consume my entire week.  I knocked it out quick and moved onto a rather massive collection of movies and comic books.  The only film I caught in the theater was Wrath of the Titans and I definitely enjoyed it more than the rest of America.  But I guess the big event this week was the downloading of Amazon's Instant Video app onto my Playstation 3.  Something I once swore I would never do, but I fell to temptation when Morgan Spurlock's Comic Con doc premiered via streaming and once I stepped through the Looking Glass I had to see Ben Wheatley's Kill List.  I don't think I'll make a regular habit of this, I want to see my films first on the big screen when I can, but if there is no other option in the DC Market than I'll fork over 6.99 for the streaming option.  It's a brave new world and I realize that it's the death of ownable media, but you can't fight progress and blah, blah, blah.  

TV OF THE WEEK!

The Wire Season 5:  It might have taken me all of last week to get through Season 4, but I whipped through the final season of The Wire in just two sittings.  8 Hours on Sunday, 2 on Monday.  Bam.  Done.  And I already miss it.  Obviously, I'm way late to the party on this show and I'm sure David Simon would reject my too-little-too-late adoration (Read His Disgust Here), but I'm now here to declare The Wire as one of my all time favorite shows.  And I wasn't so sure about the Newspaper angle at the start of season 5 or McNulty's insane serial killer scheme, but by the midway point I was hooked.  And the confrontation between McNulty & Scott at the station made it all worth it.  Honestly, I was surprised at how Not Depressing the conclusion of the show was--sure, there were plenty of bodies to be buried but not as many as I was expecting.  I would love to live in a world where there was at least one or two more seasons of The Wire to consume, but I thought 5 was a fine conclusion for this cast of characters.  Omar, McNulty, Bubbles, Bunny, and Daniels all had satisfying climaxes, as did the kids from Season 4.  Really glad to see Namond and Prezbo one last time as well.  If by some miracle I'm not the last man on Earth to have seen this show, I encourage you stragglers to jump on this bandwagon.  There has never been a better cop show; I'm willing to stake my reputation on it.

Justified "Coalition":  What the hell!?!?  How could Boyd Crowder leave the guarding of Quarels to a couple of prostitutes and just one goon?!?!  Did he seriously think that this mafia beast man wouldn't take this trilogy of dopes out?  I guess Boyd hasn't had much interaction with Quarels and maybe he just didn't quite understand the savagery of his captive, but it still felt like some tremendously convenient scripting.  That being said, once I got over my fanboy indignation regarding this character flub, I found the build to next week's finale appropriately intense with Limehouse puppet mastering the pawns of Harlan County.  Raylan and Dickie have another showdown, and Trooper Tom...yeash.

Bored To Death Season 1:  After much prodding from Matthew, I finally broke down and watched HBO's half hour comedy.  It was solid.  Don't know if I liked it as much as him, or my wife for that matter, but there's a definite charm to Jason Schwartzman's wino wannabe private dick.  I was kinda hoping for more Noir-ish sendup, but it's more hipstery woe-is-me silly.  Ted Danson is probably my favorite aspect of the show.  His pothead publisher feels like an even more exaggerated version of his Curb Your Enthusiasm character and his cold sore was E-P-I-C.  Thankfully, Zach Galifanakis is not the obnoxious blob that he is in the Hangover films and I kinda adored his relationship with his sperm hoarding girlfriend.  Matt assures me that the second season is even better and I am curious to see what kind of bonkers Schwartzman & Co get into next.

Supernatural "Out With The Old":  Season 7 has been all over the map.  After several stand alone episodes (most of them fun), the boys encounter the Leviathan threat once more.  But not in any major plot development kinda way, just a couple of munchers running rogue from the pack.  There's a great opening sequence involving killer ballet shoes and watching Dean resist the temptation to dance was hilarious, but the rest of the ep was a big meh.  Time to move this story forward.

Supernatural "The Born-Again Identity":  Everyone's favorite angel returns to the series!  Unfortunately so does my least favorite demon, Meg.  Ugh.  That woman just annoys the hell outta me.  And this is yet another episode that deals with (and hopefully wraps up) Sam's latest bit of crazy brain.  I'd like to see the three guys kicking ass and taking names again, but it feels like Cas has been forever regulated to the background.  Bummer.

MOVIES OF THE WEEK!

Take A Hard Ride:  "A Wanted Man, That's All That Matters." The spiritual sequel to the blaxploitation Super Group flick Three The Hard Way, this Spaghetti Western reteams genre titans Jim Brown, Fred Williamson, and Jim Kelly against bounty hunter Lee Van Cleef and his army of banditos. The fun resides in the bitter back & forth between man-of-his-word Brown and snake gambler Williamson. Kelly is solid as the half-breed mute with incredible but mysterious Kung Fu skills and Van Cleef is typically reliable, but we're here for the football icons. And the Spaghetti Western sub-genre offers plenty of violent twists and unexpected downbeats.  As usual, check out the rest of my thoughts for this week's Western Review at cineAWESOME!

Wrath of the Titans:  Free from the confines of the original film's remake, Wrath of the Titans is an enjoyable bit of CGI mythological Tom Foolery. Sam Worthington will never be my go-to action hero soldier, but with his hair grown out and the stench of Avatar fading, he's a Perseus I'm comfortable riding Pegasus. If I was 10 years old I'd be gaga for Wrath with its parade of classic beasties (The Minotaur! The Cyclops! Cronus!) and the Hades/Zeus smackdown teamup.  Sure it's probably gonna fade from memory rather quickly but it's fun enough while running.  And The Real Rocknrolla's Toby Kebbell is kinda hilarious with his useless demigod and surprisingly effective pep talks.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy:  A celebration of Cold War espionage and World War nostalgia, director Tomas Alfredson crafts a stylish, devil-in-the-details puzzle thriller that's nearly as cool as its cast. Gary Oldman's top notch spy is a quiet badass in which the film's most exciting action sequences seem to occur behind his thick-rimmed glasses. And he's surrounded by Britain's finest with Tom Hardy, Colin Firth, John Hurt, and Benedict Cumberbatch all delivering the goods. Not the kind of film to just leave on while you iron shirts, it requires your full attention but the invested will be rewarded.

Pusher:  Nicolas Winding Refn's directorial debut is a grungy little monster of a film following two low rent dealers (Kim Bodnia & Mads Mikkelsen) as they naturally self-destruct amongst the real drug lord professionals. The film definitely thumps along to its own rhythm and it takes on a pretty horrific glow, but it failed to capture my full attention.  Not surprisingly, Mikkelsen steals the show with his few scenes and I do look forward to him taking center stage in the later parts of the trilogy.  Still, it's telling that I didn't immediately pop in the next installment after the credits rolled.

The Wild Angels:  "We wanna be free to ride our machines without being hassled by The Man!...And We Wanna Get Loaded!" Peter Fonda & Bruce Dern are Blues & The Loser, the two big toughs that run the San Pedro chapter of the Hell's Angels and they spend their days finding new ways to hassle cops and play their bongos. Roger Corman continues his youth-gone-mad formula battling conformity just cuz; whether its Rock n Roll High Schoolers or swastika fetishizing bikers. Still, I couldn't help but side with Dick Miller's Anzio vet who chides Fonda for wearing the Iron Cross or Frank Maxwell's disgusted, morally(and physically)-assaulted preacher when dealing with these inconsistent psychotics. Yeah, you wanna be free and get loaded but you also don't have qualms with raping Diane Ladd.  This isn't just about rockin' around the clock.

The Beast With 1,000,000 Eyes:  It's got a great title and a really cool poster, but that's about it. Roger Corman has produced hundreds of movies and they're not all going to be winners. Paul Birch and Lorna Thayer run around avoiding twinkling lights while birds, dogs, and milk cows run amuck. But they've got love and they've got a shotgun so it's all gonna be okay.  But it won't be Not Boring...

Machine Gun Kelly:  "When Rabbits Roar It's A Bad Time." A rather young and mustacheless Charles Bronson stars as real-life villain Machine Gun Kelly in this Roger Corman cheapie. Pushed around by his moll, Kelly plays it tough with his Tommy Gun.  But when a kidnapping scheme turns sour and an intense fear of death haunts his nightmares, the big bad discerns the futility of his crimes and the death chair seems imminent. Bronson and Susan Cabot are excellent together as their bickering escalates, and the remaining crippled goons are solid supporters.  Not my favorite Corman gangster picture, this still would make an excellent companion to St Valentine's Day Massacre.

Comic Con Episode IV A Fan's Hope:  Don't expect much depth from Morgan Spurlock's latest documentary, more than anything else, it plays simply as a big commercial for Comic Con. That being said, as a recent attendee, this gets me incredibly pumped for this year's trip to Dork Mecca. Hall H Celebrities! Exclusive Action Figures! The Masquerade! Stan Lee! Nerds! Nerds! Nerds! Those not in the know will not find understanding here, but for the rest of us lucky dorks, A Fan's Hope provides a nice photo album experience.

Miss Bala:  This is a pretty fantastic bit of brutal chaos in which wannabe beauty queen Stephanie Sigman visits the wrong Tijuana Night Club on the wrong night before competition and witnesses a gangland massacre. But that's just the beginning of her troubles. What works so well about this film is Sigman's (and the audiences) utter confusion surrounding the criminal acts. There's something going on about DEA Agents and a rival gang, but all you can be concerned with is how much hell these outside forces are going to put Sigman and her family through. She wanders in and out of gun battles, news reports, police departments, and she has no control as to where this violence is going to dump her. Scary and thrilling atypical action picture.

Kill List:  "I used to love looking at fires when I was a kid." The less known about this film the better. Don't watch the trailer, don't read reviews. Just see the movie. Kill List begins with some pretty epic domestic squabling and slowly pulls you into a terrifying realm of violence. Parts reminded me of Norwegian comic book artist Jason's I Killed Adolf Hitler (but I see that book everywhere I turn these days) and other bits were straight outta The Wicker Man. It's a beast of a flick with bursting gore not for the timid.  Kill List is easily one of the year's best mood pieces and one of my favorite films of the year so far.  But I might have already said too much.

COMICS OF THE WEEK!

Ragemoor #1:  As much as I've loved Richard Corben's Hellboy minis of late, it's great to see him tackling something original.  And Ragemoor seems to be the perfect fit for the artist and a solid companion to his House on the Borderland adaptation.  Who doesn't love an evil castle fueled on pagan blood?  Especially one that consumes long lost relatives who dare to scoff its monstrous intent?  Hard to tell who or what the focus of this series is going to be, but I'm game.

Fatale #4:  Reading this month to month is proving difficult.  With a plot that follows several characters over different decades, there is a lot to juggle between issues.  However, when you read them back to back Fatale is shaping up to be one of the best genre mashups in recent years.  Four issues into this proposed 15 issue Lovecraft Noir epic, the horror of the saga begins to solidify.  And I can't think of another comic out there I look more forward to each month...until Hellboy in Hell hits the racks.

Winter Soldier #3:  Is it me, or does Ed Brubaker's Winter Soldier feel a lot like Brian Michael Bendis early on in New Avengers?  Brubaker's grabbing Doom Bots and jet pack machine gun apes and whatever else he can find under Marvel's rock and forcing the odd onto Bucky & Black Widow.  Maybe there's a little Grant Morrison in there too.  It's seriously fun, but maybe more fanciful than I would like...or, maybe I'm just still bitter about Steve Rodgers' return to Cap.

Jason Conquers America:  Don't bother with this one shot unless you are a die hard Jason fan.  A sampling of his oddball cartoons separated out between a couple of brief interviews.  Nothing here matches the power of his graphic novels but fanboys will get a chuckle outta God's leaf pile and the Grim Reaper's balloon.

--Brad

Brad's Week In Dork! (3/25/12-3/31/12)

Nothing terribly interesting, or at least unique to this Week In Dork.  I slowed down a little on The Wire and watched season 4 over the entirety of the week, not concluding this season until late Saturday night. Definitely didn't crank out the amount of TV, Movies, and Comics like I did last week.  In fact, I didn't read a single comic book all week.  Sad for me.

Matt & I did venture into DC on Tuesday to catch The Raid (Redemption...ugh, I hate that add on title) at E Street Cinema and to check out The Art of Video Games exhibit at the American Museum of Art.  That was a rather limp display of NES and Colecovision systems hiding behind glass with some weak status as art...I was kinda hoping to see actual art behind some of the designs of these games, not the playstations themselves.  I did find a little charm watching young kids today play around with the original Super Mario Brothers and Ms. Pac Man.  It was a goofy showcase in which I found little insight.

And on Saturday, Matt, The Wife, and I caught Logan's Run on the big screen at the AFI Silver.  It was an afternoon showing with a crowd of 30 folks or so.  Everyone seemed to get into it and I found myself enjoying the second half of that movie much more than I ever have before.  I thank the audience for that, giving some good chuckles at Peter Ustinov's Old Man.

TV OF THE WEEK!

The Wire Season 4:  The machinations of last season saw both Bunny and Prez outta the BPD and into the public school system...gulp.  I found this new insight into the world of Baltimore to be the most painful and it's probably why it took me the whole week to watch this season.  I once did time as a Middle School teacher (just one year) and it was the most miserable and frustrating time of my life.  The school, the kids, the parents.  It was a war I was not equipped to deal in and I didn't have to deal with half of the issues being tackled here in season 4.  Prez, now dubbed Prezbo by his students, has a new opportunity to prove his worth, but will these kids leave him alive by final exams.  And the kids!  Namond, Randy, Michael, Dukie.  These kid actors carry most of this show and if they sucked so would the season, but they are amazing.  Especially Julito McCullum as Namond.  He has to go from violent corner boy punk to the introspective student of Bunny, and there's hope for all the kids in Namond.  But this season also has the mayoral smackdown and the hypocrisy destined to be born from the race.  There's Dominic West's short pleasant life as a beat cop (best of luck boyo).  And the rise of Marlo, the Barksdale power void filler.  Not as slick as Stringer Bell, but scary, scary, scary.

Justified "Measures":  Season 3 is coming to a close.  Raylan, Boyd, Limehouse, and Quarles are going to smash into each other rather quickly.  Quarles is probably going to be the one guy dead on the floor by climax.  The best stuff about this episode comes from the introduction of Michael Ironside's Dixie Mafia goon and Jere Burns' Wynn Duffy finding his balls again while repositioning himself with the mob's higher echelon.  I still say this season is nowhere near as good as the last two, but it's still my favorite current show on TV.

MOVIES OF THE WEEK!

More Dead Than Alive:  A wonderful forgotten Western starring TV's Cheyenne, Clint Walker, as the reformed but still gargantuan Killer Cain. Walker delivers the performance of his career, expertly displaying both shame and pride for where the world has dumped him. Vincent Price, the showman, is excellent as well as the carny barker who recognizes the potential growth of profit layered in gunslinger mythology and Killer Cain's hulking mass. A bizarre jumping narrative, odd musical queues, and surprising bursts of violence might have kept this from being a classic but don't let it go unnoticed--there is a great movie here with strong performances.  More of my ramblings can be found at cineAWESOME!

The Raid:  Imagine Die Hard in a building...uh, wait...imagine Die Hard in a building but only more Die Harder--more Die Hardest--more Die Hardery. This Indonesian actionfest is an insane collection of knife-wielding hallway brutality in which a squadron of coppers storm the slum of the notorious Tama and no machete attached neighbor is safe. So far, no other film this year has been lauded with as much internet hype as this one but I'm hear to tell you that's The Raid is legit. Rapid shaky cam fights cracking, smashing, splintering bone as well as concrete--no punches pulled. See it with a crowd if possible.

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure:  ‎"Be Excellent To Each Other!" Another childhood classic. Future messiahs and California metal head flunkies, Bill and Ted collect historical figures via their time traveling telephone booth in an effort to pass their History Exam. Yeah, okay. Obviously that's genius. But this Excellent Adventure is far funnier than it has any right to be--nostalgia be damned. Watching Sigmund Freud chow down on corn dogs, Genghis Khan skateboard a mall cop's groin, and Napoleon become a Ziggy Piggy is pure bliss.

Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey:  "STATION!" Maybe not as pure as the original film, I still find plenty of love for Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey. It's definitely ten times weirder with its Battleship/Twister Death matches, Poison loving Heaven, Evil Robots, Good Robots, and Easter Bunny Nightmares. Oh, and it's got Shatner. Win. "Catch You Later, Bill & Ted!" Bring on the third movie already.

The Hunger Games:  Not once in its 2 hours and 22 minutes did I emotionally engage with any of the characters or even their performers-yes, not even my irrational Woody Harrelson love could carry me through this rather dull dystopian gladiatorial blather. Cries of Battle Royale, Running Man, Mean Guns, Lord of the Flies rip-offery are null and void thanks to a big shrug of the shoulders to this run-of-the-mill script. Never got a feeling for the world or the lives of the desperate folk, just a collage of CGI matte paintings, David Bowie fashion, and limp, jump-cutty hack & slash.

Logan's Run:  ‎"Welcome Humans! I Am Ready For You!" In this dystopian shopping mall nightmare where 30 year olds are offed during the right of Carrousel, Sand Man Logan 5 (Michael York) and his reluctant sex partner Jessica 6 (Jenny Agutter) make a run for the Sanctuary of the Outside World. Do they find a new civilization under the sun or a fish-eating robot sentinel of death? How 'bout a little bit of both. This charmingly dated Science Fiction works thanks to its earnest telling and wild imagination. Even when a couple performances like Farrah Fawcett(-Majors at the time) excruciate, York and Agutter shine with naive wonder and Richard Jordan terrifies with his "Renew!" zealotry.  And yes, I'll take these fragile models any day over The Hunger Games's lackluster decoration.

Rock 'n' Roll High School:  ‎"They're ugly. Ugly, ugly people." As far as Roger Corman production go, Rock 'n Roll High School goes in my Top Five. PJ Soles perfectly captures the insanity of fangirl hero worship and its absolutely infectious, watching her on screen will have your reaching for Rocket to Russia. And the rest of the cast embraces the lovefest: Clint Howard is creepy suave as the bathroom mastermind Eaglebauer, Vincent Van Patten is an excellent goofball jock, and Paul Bartel is the ultimate square-transformed-punker as the music teacher gone Ramone. Plus, you can't go wrong with a Mary Woronov stormtrooper principle and a neatly plotted Dick Miller cameo.

BMX Bandits:  ‎"You're Right In The Poo Now, Sister!" From the director of Stunt Rock, Escape 2000, and Dead End Drive-In comes this bit of Australian BMX porn starring a young, fire frizzy redhead Nicole Kidman. Yes, she might be the star of Days of Thunder and Bewitched to you, but for me she'll always be the girl who took down the bumbling walkie-talkie goons of BMX Bandits (....and the grieving mother who slutted Billy Zane in Dead Calm). Ah, the 80s--I too was in love with BMXes and all their useless accessories and this film would be the perfect companion movie to the equally absurd, RAD.

--Brad

Brad's Week In Dork! (3/18/12-3/24/12)

Really cranked it out this week.  Between blitzing through The Wire, Double Featuring some Star Trek, re-obsessing over Hellboy, and finally getting a hold on some more Brave & The Bold Batman crack I don't know how I have time for a marriage as well as one of the crazier weeks on the job.  Thankfully, I can still reach epic levels of dork watch in the wee hours of the morning, pounding one movie after the next.  And where last week say my return to Daily Grindhouse with my Shatner's World review, this week I pushed my love for Corman's World.  That documentary hits the street Tuesday and all you crazy Cormanites need to snag yourself the blu ray.  I've watched it three times now and it still hits all the right trashy pleasure centers.  And it inspired me to pick his first film, Five Guns West for this week's cineAWESOME! review.  Need to track down Corman's other early cowboy picture, Apache Woman; if anyone has any ideas please let me know.

TV OF THE WEEK!

The Walking Dead "Besides the Dying Fire":  I've had a lot of problems with AMC's The Walking Dead.  It's got some serious peaks and valleys, and the season finale was no different.  The show opens on the heels of last week's it's-about-time death sequence with a herd of zombies barring down on Hershel's Farm.  Absolutely love seeing all these walkers gather and shuffle their way through the countryside and the resulting fiery assault was definitely thrilling if not confounding (seriously?  Lets all get in our cars and circle wildly blasting/wasting ammunition?).  However, the show introduces at least one element/image from the comic that I was not expecting to appear in this fairly grounded series and it brought a big ol' smile to my face.  But what the hell is with Lori's reaction to her husband having to do what he had to do last week?  Her shirking at his touch was infuriating.  Yeah, I'm looking forward to next season but I'm hoping they can get some of these characters back to making sense.

Justified "Guy Walks Into A Bar":  The show has seemed to flounder a little bit , but Raylan and Quarles' barroom confrontation had me on pins & needles.  For about ten seconds I actually thought Quarles was gonna drop with a bullet in his head.  Instead, the tension is released thanks to a barmaid with a shotgun, which actually drops Raylan in the sack.  Good bye, Winona.  The best bits for me come from the camaraderie between Quarles and his reluctant henchman Wayne Duffy--the poor bastard can only sit back and watch as his bossman brutalizes young chickens.  Creepy Neal McDonough ass nudity.

Star Trek "Space Seed":  Late in the week, my Mondo Gallery Tyler Stout print for Star Trek II arrived and I celebrated with an immediate double feature of Space Seed/Wrath of Khan.  It had been far too long since I had watched any original series Trek and what this viewing of Space Seed proved to me was that I need to crack into the rest of my TOS blus.  Ricardo Montalban definitely owns this episode with his guest spot as 1990s World War III dictator Khan Noonien Singh; his uber-masculinity date-raping his way to the heart of officer red head--"OPEN YOUR HEART" he bends her to his will and it's pretty darn scary.  Thankfully Kirk's still there to throw down with the super man, knocking him out cold with whatever bit of engineering he can wrap his mitts around.  Still, the Captain's gonna learn to regret just dumping the Botany Bay boys on Ceti Alpha Five...but more on that later.

Batman - The Brave and The Bold Season 2 Episodes 13-21:  "Holy Neapolitan, Batman!"  I fall more and more in love with this cartoon with each and every episode I see and the second part of the second season is no different.  We've got Batman & Robin duking it out with The Rainbow Creature who's colorful rays affect the dynamic duo in multiple ways--Green turns ya floppy!  Then there's the Plastic Man/Uncle Sam planetary team-up in which an alien race learns the joys of American Freedom via a sing-a-long Yankee Doodle Dandy!  And don't even get me started on Ace The Bat Hound & Adam West's Protobot smackdown of the Black Mask's goons.  MADNESS!!!!  Beautiful, Wonderful Madness!  If all you know of the Dark Knight is a brooding Christian Bale or the Republican Smasher of Frank Miller's graphic novel than do yourself a favor and revel in the silver age whackness of The Brave and The Bold.

The Wire Season 3:  Another week another season of The Wire consumed.  And it's the best season (and most painful) yet.  The main plot returns to the major crimes division's investigation of Stringer Bell and Avon Barksdale, but for me the heart of this season rests with Robert Wisdom's Bunny.  As the mayor's office pushes the department to keep the murder rate under 275, the Major starts to think creatively, asking his officers to ignore minor drug deals--to the point where they set up their own corner dubbed Amsterdam where drug dealers can sell without police concern. It's a fascinating experiment that naturally can't go well in the current political climate.  The build of this season was typically intense for the series, and there was at least one death that knocked me flat on my back.  However, it's Bunny's arc that elevated the show over your typical cops & robbers programming.  And yeah, I gotta admit that The Wire has now become my favorite Crime Show.  Better late than never.

MOVIES OF THE WEEK!

Five Guns West:  ‎"All I Got Left Is My Life, I Aim To Keep It." Roger Corman's first time behind the camera is not a revelation. But it's a solid, cheap Western. The Confederacy pardons five outlaws in an effort to free a Yankee stagecoach of its gold fortune. But most of the film is spent waiting...waiting...waiting...as tensions between the five outlaws build while Dorothy Malone's rancher keeps thrusting herself in front of the gang's soft headed psychotics. There are glimpses of Corman's brilliance--one central location used to its fullest and glimpses of brutal, sexually sinister dialog. Five Guns West will probably only be remembered as Corman's first film, but it deserves more than to be so simply dismissible.  For further ramblings read my latest Westerns review over at cineAWESOME!

21 Jump Street:  "Fuck You Science!...Fuck You Miles Davis!" Wait--what? I actually enjoyed a film starring Channing Tatum!?!?!? Has anyone checked Hell, are they building igloos down there? But dang, the big screen revival of 21 Jump Street had me busting at the gut with some of the sharpest stupid quotables of the year, and the Hill/Tatum chemistry is sweet when its not downright creepy. Honestly, I'm still in shell shock that I enjoyed this as much as I did but the script grabs the ridiculous seriousness of the HIgh School Undercover program and drives it to brutal (and sometimes violent) comedy gold. Hopefully Korean Jesus will grant us a sequel.

Casa De Mi Padre:  ‎"Mexico is not for cowards." (Translated from Spanish) In the same fashion in which Black Dynamite celebrates as well as mocks the blaxploitation genre, so does Casa De Mi Padre for the telenovela--and it's not a little chuckler, but a fullblown gutbuster. Will Ferrell's ranchero struggles to find his place within the family while engaging with the Jaguar God, scoring with his brother's hot captive fiance, and taking on Gael Garcia Bernal's Canadian Slim drug dealer. It's goofy as heck, but when Ferrell claims "I Am Armando Alvarez" I also found myself cheering his badassery. Imagine Three Amigos era John Landis taking on the violent grindhouse mimicry of Robert Rodriguez.

The Three Musketeers:  The Four Mediocre Musketeers join forces to tackle Orlando Bloom's fancy pants Lord Falderal, Mads Mikkelsen's horse offending Rochefort, Christoph Waltz's armored Cardinal Richlieu, and Milla Jovovich's twirling swordstress Milady. And it's in 3D!!!!! Or was if you saw it in theaters (which I doubt) or have one of them newfangled televisions. Honestly, all the CG and 3D and ridiculous airships in the world couldn't raise this film above a snooze. Paul WS Anderson should just stick with the Resident Evil movies.  No one was asking for, or wanted another Three Musketeers adaptation.  Please stop.

The FP:  ‎"Yo, For Reals." I wanted oh-so-desperately to enjoy this post-apocalyptic Dance Dance Revolution gang war film, but the enjoyment of the ridiculous premise does not extend beyond the two and half minute trailer. When BTRO dies in the cage against L Dubba E, it's up to his brother JTRO, KC/DC, and BLT to find the right combo of montage to tackle Lee Valamassy's viscious grills--and why should we care? Cuz L Dubba E has stopped the flow of liquor in Frazier Park and without liquor there's no hobos, and without hobos there's no ducks...yeah, The FP is all about Ducks. But this is a one trick pony that doesn't garner more than a few chuckles. Bonus points for James Remar narration and Clifton Collins Jr clown fro cameo.

Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan:  ‎"I Don't Like To Loose." The bravado of Admiral James T Kirk is brought to the test when Ricardo Montalban's Khan Noonien Singh returns from the past to unleash his hate upon the entire crew of the USS Enterprise. Essentially a sci-fi collision of wills, Star Trek II deserves every ounce of praise as the single best movie in the franchise; an exploration on aging and loss as much as a fantastic high seas adventure exchanging cannon blasts for phaser fire. And despite what hope the sequels bring, the emotional climax still brings a lump to my throat.

Excalibur:  Once you've seen the incestuous horror of John Boorman's Excalibur than you'll never need another telling of the King Arthur legend. Splashed with psychedelic lighting and buckets of blood, this film roars like the figurehead who sits at the Round Table. Nigel Terry as our King is a naive monster who deserves to inherit his father's lust and Nicholas Clay's Lancelot is a pompous beauty until he's just a bearded terror on the battlefield. But really, this picture is all about Nicol Williamson's Merlin and Helen Mirren's Morgana Le Fey. Animals.


COMICS OF THE WEEK!

With the recent release of Hellboy Volume 12: The Storm and The Fury, I decided to go back and re-read all the trades leading up to this momentous Mignolaverse arc.  Marathoned these four books late Firday night/early Saturday morning.  Reinvigorated my love for HB.

Hellboy - Strange Places:  The last book to be completely written and drawn by Mike Mignola, Strange Places begins with a nice little bit of African Mythology, turns into another monster beat 'em up with the fish lady Bog Roosh, and eventually unveils not only the origin of the Dragon Ogdru Jahad, but Hellboy's own Right Hand of Doom. Hellboy, once more, comes face to face with his apparent destiny and he's given another opportunity to pound it away. Strange Places is definitely not a book for newbies to jump into, but fans of the series will get some much desired answers and a whole lotta new questions. And the epilogue with Sir Edward, Queen Mab, and Gruagach succinctly sets up the Epic War about to hit England in Darkness Calls.

Hellboy - Darkness Calls:  This marks the first collaboration between Mike Mignola & Duncan Fegredo, and even though it might feel a little off at first, you will quickly come to appreciate Fegredo's twisty style. Darkness Calls is the beginning of the end for Hellboy...or at least the current version of "end". After the events of The Island, Hellboy must contend to the Witches of England who would have him for their king. Hecate, the Queen of Blood, is on the verge of reawakening thanks to the toadish Igor Bromhead and the Baba Yaga wants to snatch Hellboy's eye for her revenge. Lots of plot and buildup in this volume, but there is also an excellent skeleton army attack, a sword fight with the Witchfinder General Henry Hood, and an epic battle with Koshchei The Deathless. As fun as this comic can be, Darkness Calls reminds us that the world is at stake, and Hellboy must face his destiny if he's to save us from damnation.

Hellboy - The Wild Hunt:  The Osiris Club invites Hellboy to partake in the tradition of The Wild Hunt, a group of noblemen tasked in the slaughtering of England's Giants. But there's treachery afoot as the pieces of the witch Nimue are gathered by the pigbeast Gruagach, and the shadowcast fairy folk plot revenge against man. The Wild Hunt is one of my all time favorite Hellboy trades; I absolutely love how past short stories like The Corpse and Box Full of Evil are revealed to be significant markers in the saga, and how the origins of Hellboy are connected to the mythology of Great Britain. War is Here. Nothing will be the same again. Ragna Rok.

Hellboy - The Storm and The Fury:  The Second Stage in Hellboy's saga concludes with The Storm & The Fury and it is without a doubt, the single best trade of the franchise--a statement I don't make lightly, knowing full well that Mike Mignola is the true artist of Hellboy's story, but Duncan Fegredo accomplishes great feats with his work here, delivering images equal to and sometimes superior to those found in previous volumes. The Noble Dead of England have risen to follow Hellboy into battle against Nimue and The Dragon, Great Britain will never look the same. Great Moments for all the supporting players; Morgan Le Fey's motives nearly reveal themselves, the poor pig Gruagach witnesses the sad product of his revenge, and the Osiris Club seems to miss the point again. And the climax! ARGH! I need Mignola's next chapter immediately!

Darkness Calls, The Wild Hunt, and The Storm & The Fury complete one of my all time favorite story arcs in comics and if you have never dipped into the Mignolaverse than you are most certainly missing out on the mediums best work.

--Brad