Matt’s Week in Dork! (5/4/14-5/10/14)

    On Sunday morning, a friend and I headed to the outskirts of DC, where we ate at Ragtime, a nice little neighborhood pub.  And then from there, we walked to Theodor Roosevelt Island, which is a park I like a lot, but boy has it fallen into disrepair.  While packed with visitors, and obviously a popular destination, the statue of Teddy is looking pretty ratty, the pools are all dry, and the wooden walkways are sinking, rotting, and starting to look dangerous.  Such a nice place, it’s a shame to see it falling apart.

    Sunday night was the latest meeting of the graphic novel club, where we discussed Asterios Polyp.  It got very mixed reviews, with some strong negative feelings and some fairly positive, while many people seemed to fall closer to the middle.  I think everyone liked the interesting art and design of the book, even if folks weren’t all on board for the story.

Quai Des Orfevres:  Paris in the 40s is the setting of this odd, and oddly paced film about troubled lovers, friends, theater, murder, and petty crime.  It is much more of a character study than a mystery, with a surprising number of very interesting and fleshed out characters.  The combative couple, the focal point of the film, are less interesting than their blonde friend, or the hang-dog ex-Legion cop (Louis Jouvet).  In many ways, it feels like a classic Film Noir, yet in others it’s uniquely French.  As I write this, having finished watching the film ten or fifteen minutes ago, I can’t say for sure that it’s a good or a great film.  But it’s interesting and unusual enough, with very well crafted characters.  I would recommend watching it, but my feelings are oddly mixed.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty:  I have a feeling that this is a movie one could very, very easily dismiss.  It is, admittedly, saccharine and manipulative.  It’s ‘aw, gee shucks’ kind of mindset is way the crap out of step with modern cinema.  But darn it.  I found myself enjoying the heck out of the film.  It’s absolutely beautiful, and other than Casino Royale, is probably the best film in recent memory that makes travel seem totally awesome.  There’s nothing very complex.  You know what the film is trying to say from nearly the opening shot.  There are no surprises.  But it worked.  Is it amazing?  No.  Is it going to stick with me?  Probably not.  But I really, really liked watching it while it was on.  Like cotton candy for your eyes and brain.

    I read a couple more comics, Silver Surfer #1, Velvet #1 and the Free Comic Book Day issue of Rocket Raccoon.  Silver Surfer is…well, it’s just not what I want.  Like the FF comic, and some others Marvel is putting out, it’s taking what could be a cool science fiction title and turning it in to Wacky Adventure Time!, which isn’t something I want to read.  At least, not about a character like Silver Surfer, who I feel could be amazing, but like Wonder Woman, is rarely handled well.  Speaking of Wacky Adventure Time!, there’s the Rocket Raccoon comic.  OK, fine.  Whatever.  I like what Guardians of the Galaxy I’ve read (that Legacy trade from a few years back).  But I tried to read Rocket’s original comic and it was flippin’ terrible.  So, it’s not like there’s something for them to ruin here.  And it’s OK.  But again, it’s not something I want to read.  It’s one thing to be humorous.  It’s another to be a joke.  Also in this comic is a Spider Man short, Space Oddities.  It’s silly and not my cup of tea.  The diamond in this rough was Velvet.  From Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting (who did the run of Captain America that made me give a crap about that character), this Cold War story feels like what Winter Soldier would have been like if it wasn’t saddled with the Marvel name.  It’s James Bond at its darkest.  What I like about Brubaker’s female lead (like his female lead in Fatale) is that she doesn’t just deliver snarky, ‘oh so clever’ dialog (a la Joss Whedon characters).  I’m very interested in where this series might go.  It’s the strongest first issue I’ve read in quite some time.

The Night Porter:  This is, unfortunately, the movie I expected it to be.  It has that very specific brand of 70s Euro-sleaze dripping all over an attempted ART! film, with a heavy dose of wannabe shock-factor.  But like so many movies made to be shocking, times change, we movie on, and the shock wears off.  What we’re left with are some very good performances from the leads and a potentially interesting idea that is lost in the shuffle of “stick poking a hornets’ nest” filmmaking.  The idea of two people who were on opposite sides of something as horrible as the Holocaust, meeting by chance many years later, has the potential for some very interesting conflict, especially when a dangerous sort of sexual relationship had existed between the two.  However, this film doesn’t manage to make it interesting, or explore it in any satisfying way.  This has more of Caligula Reincarnated as Hitler (aka Last Orgy of the Third Reich) than something like Five Minutes of Heaven or In the Land of Blood and Honey.  The scene, near the beginning, where Dirk Bogarde sees Charlotte Rampling is fantastic, and makes you think you’re going to watch a better film.  You don’t.

Attack the Block:  “Trust.”  I love this Goonies meets Critters meets Harry Brown bit of wacky sci-fi horror from South London.  A good cast of characters, including a lot of good kid/teen actors.  Good music, and very simple, but coolly iconic creature design.  Unlike all too many contemporary horror films, it features characters I like and I grow to care about.  Young John Carpenter would be proud.

Godzilla:  “Let them fight.”  It took an awful long time, but they finally got it right.  The director of Monsters, Gareth Edwards, took on Kaiju a few years ago, with a limited budget and low star-power, and made one of the better horror films of recent memory.  Now, with Hollywood blockbuster bucks behind him, he managed to maintain the essence of the classic Godzilla films, while ramping up the effects and thrills.  Putting Godzilla in his proper place, as an avatar of the Earth, a force of nature that becomes active when things get too far out of balance, made me very happy.  For those expecting some kind of silly action movie, you’re likely to be disappointed.  This isn’t Transformers.  It’s not The Avengers.  It’s Godzilla.  It’s a slow build, like Alien or Jaws, taking its time to explore the characters and build dread.  Even when stuff starts getting crazy, Godzilla is nowhere to be seen.  This is actually in keeping with classic Godzilla films.  He would often not show up until the final act, where he would drop his reptile hammer on whatever monsters or aliens or alien monsters might be messing with good ‘ol Planet Earth.  My one complaint would be Aaron Taylor-Johnson.  As much as I liked him in Kick-Ass, he’s since proved to be a pretty boring drone of an actor.  Throughout the film, he looks at things with a bewildered expression, and had little function other than to be a set of eyes for us to see the madness through.  I’d have preferred the film to focus more on Ken Watanabe and Sally Hawkins, or even Elizabeth Olsen.  Good Godzilla films are made, in many ways, by a cast of interesting human characters.  The humans in this one aren’t amazing, but they’re good enough to get the job done.  Here’s hoping the film does good numbers and gets a follow-up.  King Ghidorah!  Gigan!  Mothra!  Come on.  It’s got to happen.

Il Pianeta Errante (War Between the Planets):  “Prepare to fix.”  I like the production design and model work in this film.  Unfortunately, it’s super, super boring.  Really darned boring.  Oh, my gosh.  Boring.  It keeps going.  Potentially interesting scenarios become exercises in tedium.

Creation of the Humanoids:  There’s some very cool stuff in this one.  Unfortunately, the acting is super stiff.  I like the exploration of ethics, in that way science fiction used to do more often.  And not just anti-technology, like you typically find in contemporary films.  Robots and humans trying to get along in the world after WWIII has decimated the planet.  The sets and such are good.  With a slightly better script and much better acting, this could have been a secret classic.  As it is, it’s a good watch, and one I’m glad I’ve found.  But it’s not as good as it could have been.

Godzilla 2000:  The second re-launch of the Godzilla film franchise, this film tries to get on the CGI train, while also trying to be more cinematic than the Heisei era of the 80s and 90s.  Some of the ideas are cool, and the action is certainly shot better.  It also doesn’t look as cheap as the Heisei films.  But it still doesn’t have the charm of the Showa era.  Some of the fun seems to be missing.  The moral of this story?  Don’t let Godzilla go off in your mouth.

Baba Yaga:  Much more pleasant a viewing than I was expecting, this 70s Euro-Sleaze has plenty of the expected bare breasts and awkward dubbing.  But it didn’t feature the expected endurance test of violence directed toward woman you tend to get in Italian cinema.  I like the pacing and the cinematography quite a bit.  There’s a kind of object fetish, lingering shots on various old things (books, radios, knickknacks of all kinds), and a heavy dose of atmosphere that reminds me of some of what I love in Jean Rollin films (though there’s not nearly Rollin levels of nudity).  The film is based on a comic I used to occasionally see bits from in Heavy Metal way back when.  My memory of that comic was that it had a dreamy quality, and this film too has that.  Is it great?  No.  But it’s better than the average 70s Italian film.

The Magic Flute:  There’s nothing wrong with this movie.  Ingmar Bergman’s direction is typically solid, the performances are good, the style is good, and the music is good.  I simply never got into it.  Mozart is a composer I can listen to, but seldom am moved by; and this adaptation of his work sort of sums up my relationship with him.  All the pieces are there, but I’m left cold.

Godzilla VS. King Ghidorah:  This film represents what the Heisei era is.  The plot is nearly unintelligible, the effects are a mixed bag, the human characters aren’t especially interesting, and the acting is kinda awful (with a few exceptions).  And the whole thing looks like it was shot for television.  I like some of the bits, particularly the connections to WWII.  But the terrible time travel (seriously, some of the worst time travel writing I’ve ever come across) and the rejiggering of Ghidorah’s origin…I can’t get behind that.  A lot of cool(ish) creature designs come out of the Heisei films, but not a lot of good Godzilla storytelling.

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome:  While often dismissed and frequently dissed, I love this film.  It features more of the Odysseus-type journey than The Road Warrior (which is, absolutely, a much better film).  I love the way the world has fallen and is trying to rebuild itself in a new image.  I love the Lord of the Flies oasis Max discovers.  I love the look and feel, and the wild music.  I’m guessing I first saw this when I was about 10, and it had a profound effect on me and particularly on my early writing efforts.  Watching it again for the first time in quite a while, I still love it.  But, I have to admit, the third act is weak.  Max and the kids return to Bartertown, and they recreate the final action climax from The Road Warrior.  That could have been better.  Perhaps Max helping the children in a siege of their village.  Perhaps an exodus away from Bartertown.  Maybe some other element.  I don’t know.  But while I still enjoy it, that last fifteen minutes or so are not as good as they could and should have been.

    Good times had by all.

-Matt

DORK ART: Tyler's Stout's Attack The Block & Drive

Head on over to Slash Film for a nifty little interview with Mondo artist Tyler Stout.  There he discusses his new gallery show as well as the two prints seen above.  The Drive image is cool, but the Attack The Block is astonishing.  It's been too long since I've watched that flick; seriously needs a revisit.

--Brad

Matt’s Week in Dork! (8/5/12-8/11/12)

    Lot of TV this week.  And lots of Tolkien.  Though it doesn’t look like it, I actually did do a lot of reading.  Though, not much in the way of comics.  I am working my way through a re-read of Habibi.


Haxen: Witchcraft Through the Ages:  It starts out surprisingly not sensationalistic, but by part two, it gets somewhat silly with recreations of various bits of deviltry.  I think the lesson learned is don’t mess with that witch ointment.  Bad news.  Unfortunately, this movie is pretty darned dull.  Some cool bits, and the devil makeup is fantastic.  But boring.  It’s like the devil worship equivalent of Reefer Madness.  Campy and kind of stupid, not to mention, not very scholarly, in spite of its claims.  It’s probably best to watch the version narrated by William S. Burroughs, which is slightly more interesting for his voice alone.  It does have a bit of good advice, intentional or not.  Mind your own danged business.  Also, sexual repression is probably a bad idea.  The picture does capture some of that sexual deviance and hatred of women that seems so common to organized religion and its persecution of perceived enemies.  Frankly, there’s an undercurrent of sexual violence both to oneself and others throughout religions, certainly modern Western religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) that should cause concern.  Anyway, back to the film.  It claims to be about witchcraft through the ages (it’s in the title), but it almost exclusively deals with the early Renaissance.  Blah.

The Fellowship of the Rings (Extended):  Though I’m sure I could be tarred and feathered in some quarters for saying so, but I genuinely think that Peter Jackson’s film version of the classic fantasy book is a major improvement.  It cuts a lot of the excess, boosts the drama, gives some depth to some characters who lacked it, and did an amazing job of creating a visual environment as rich as any.  I’m not generally into fantasy (there are plenty of exceptions), but this is a fine film.  Great music, great cast, great production design.  Awesome.

Agora:  The history of astronomy told against the collapse of the decadent old pagan world and the birth of Christian imperialism.  A time when, just for a moment, reason and science had a chance to edge out superstition and dogma.  Rachel Weisz plays the teacher Hypatia.  Based on a real life hero of reason, logic, and science, she is passionate about learning and understanding.  Not limited by interpretations of old texts and the angry confusion of ignorance.  It’s a depressing story, about learning being crushed under the heals of fear and hate.  The destruction of the Library is kind of gut wrenching, as so much accumulated human knowledge is burned.  But it’s also heartening to see the beginnings of modern thought trying so hard to break out.  There aren’t a lot of movies that really make heroes out of thinkers, scientists, or teachers.  And so few movies these days about strong, intelligent women who make up their own minds.  This is a welcome exception to the prevailing tastes.  The aerial shots in this movie help to put the action and the people in their place, and remind the viewer that the universe moves on, taking little notice of the petty passions of men.  It beautifully illustrates the passion knowledge can incite, and the frustration people like myself have with the faithful.  I’m sure most of the people who should see this film will never see this film.

Doctor Who: Resurrection of the Daleks:  The Doctor ends up back in modern day (1984) Earth, and he’s not the only one who shouldn’t be there.  In the meantime, there are some bad happenings on a rundown prison ship in some distant future(?).  The Daleks are using human agents in this one.  Weird.  It’s a pretty good story with a couple fun twists.  And for the love of crap, Tegan finally, finally leaves.  Man, I just never liked her.  Gotta be close to the bottom of my list of companions.

American Reunion:  As soon as I opened the NetFlix envelope I just knew I’d made a mistake by even bothering with this.  Less than a minute in, and I knew that trepidation was warranted.  Look, I’ll admit to it.  I enjoyed the first film.  Almost certainly much more than it deserved.  This was one of those movies NOBODY was asking for, except maybe the has-been/never-were actors.  There are some funny moments, but they’re almost all Sean William Scott related, and what does that say?

Total Recall:  This plot-point for plot-point remake of the Arnold action classic oozes with kick-ass cyberpunk production design.  Sadly, while I didn’t hate it, I can’t say much more in its defense.  Granted, most of my ill will is focused squarely on Kate Beckensale.  Dear sweet movie gods, please stop letting that woman speak on film.  It’s excruciating.  And, unlike Underworld 4, where Beckensale’s ass was on screen more than her face at about a 3 to 1 ratio, this film gets you face to face; so you can see her perpetual scowl and Michelle Rodriguez ‘tough girl’ head tilt.  Ugh.  We get it, she’s bad.  I can tell because your hair is mussed.  Good effects and sweet design will put this alongside The Island for movies that aren’t very good, but that I’ll buy for $10. at some point.  I just wish it had a better script, less tethered to the original…and a different cast.  If you’re going to do a remake, you should have some reason.  Either you’ve got something interesting to say using a familiar concept, or effects technology has changed sufficiently to give cause (why I really do want a remake of 2001...start your hate mail now).  The film makers didn’t have that here.  Nothing new to say at all.

Superman VS the Elite:  Pretty much a love letter to the idea of Superman and the heyday of the Comics Code, this is a fairly preachy cartoon, with less than impressive villains.  But it is a bit refreshing to see an un-ironic look at the classic Superman/comic book values, of doing the right thing, even when it’s the hardest thing, of sticking by your principles, even when (especially when) it’s not convenient.  And it embraces that idealized America, that didn’t stoop to the level of aggressors.  It’s not really that good, unfortunately.  But still, nice to see someone do something to counteract the usual “let’s make this character DARKER” vibe you usually get.  I’m all for dark.  I am.  But Superman isn’t about that, never was.

Attack the Block:  “Allow it!”  A bunch of awful, punk kids, well on their way to being career scumbags are put in a bad situation and learn to be real men.  Aliens drop on a crappy South London slum, but Moses isn’t going to let these blue mouthed space apes do their thing.  He learns about the consequences of actions, as he learns self respect, and finds out if he has what it takes to be a leader.  It’s like The Goonies meets Critters, set in Harry Brown’s awful neighborhood, and all scored by John Carpenter.  Great stuff.  Truth.

The Two Towers (Extended): “What can men do against such reckless hate?”  The second entry in the Lord of the Rings trilogy takes things into dark places, putting our heroes through all sorts of trials and tribulations.  The Fellowship has fractured, and the story shifts from story to story as various members pursue individual goals.  The massive battle scenes are impressive, yet the film never lets the action or effects get in the way of the story, and the heart.

Don Juan (or If Don Juan Were a Woman):  It all starts with an avant guarde funeral, attended by a bunch of ugly prostitutes.  How very French.  I sometimes wonder if European films don’t get a little extra praise for being beautiful, just because they’ve got such nice landscapes and cityscapes to look at.  This movie isn’t especially well made, but like a lot of French and a few Spanish and Italian movies, it looks better than it probably should, in part because of the locations.  I’ve never been able to get very excited about Brigitte Bardot.  She has that sleepy eyed bitch-face (see Eva Green for a more recent example) that seemed to be very popular in Europe in the 60s and 70s, but that I’ve never much cared for.  It also always gives me a chuckle that in French film, as in Indian film, beautiful women are so attracted to hideous men.  I don’t know if it means I should move to France, because I’d be Cary Grant next to other guys, or if the women there would find my fairly indistinct appearance too much for them.  Maybe I could gain 50 pounds and wear a horrible prosthetic nose to try to capture some of that Depardieu mystique.

    “What do you do on Saturday nights, McGarrett?”  In keeping with my classic TV watching, I started Hawaii Five-0.  Cool late 60s vibe, in what is still a fairly exotic land for this child of the Atlantic north east.  Jack Lord is one suave dude.  It’s obvious why he is Conan O’Brian’s hair idol.  That part is just science.  But it’s more than that.  Some kind of groovy genius.

    Also started The Bionic Woman’s first season.  Actually, it starts with a few episodes of The Six Million Dollar Man where Jamie the Bionic Woman is introduced.  Then it gets into the regular run, which features a surprising number of guest spots from Steve Rogers.

    Watched some more Battlestar Galactica with Ben.  Such a good show.  And more Game of Thrones.  Also watched a few more episodes of Outcasts.  It’s an interesting show, but deeply flawed.  And I got in a few more episodes of Magnum P.I.

    Something clicked in my head this week (actually, before watching The Fellowship of the Rings), that got me really interested in Tolkien’s Middle Earth.  I think it may be in part because of watching the first Wagner Ring Opera a couple weeks back.  I have a weird relationship with Tolkien.  I absolutely love the world he created.  It’s fascinating and full of story potential.  But, I don’t much like his books.  Sure, they’re good stories, but reading them isn’t fun; it’s a chore.  So I found myself poring over David Day’s A Tolkien Bestiary, Robert Forster’s A Guide to Middle Earth, and the old basic book for I.C.E.’s Middle-Earth Role Playing game.  Heck, I even found my old musty paperback of the Silmarillion.  I really do love the setting, the deep history, and the vast unexplored parts.  It’s one of the few fantasy settings I really enjoy.  And I regret not having done more roleplaying gaming in it.  Maybe one day.

-Matt

Brad's Week In Dork! (8/5/12-8/11/12)

This was a seriously full Week in Dork.  Yes, it was still pretty damn random, but I packed in as much Dorkery as I possibly could considering I was practically living & sleeping my Retail Land day job.  The Wife & I made two trips to the cineplex this week for Total Recall & The Bourne Legacy.  Neither film ignited a fiery passion but it's always good to be under The Big Screen, and it gave me an excuse to crack open my HDDVDs of the Bourne films.  My love for them has dwindled some, but they still proved that Good Will Hunting could be a serious badass.  The Total Recall remake though...yeah, can't touch the insanity of the original Arnie ultraviolence.

PODCAST OF THE WEEK!

After Movie Diner Episode 49 - Double Bill Shatner:  Late last Saturday night, or rather early Sunday morning, I joined the After Movie Diner for a thorough conversation detailing the genius double feature of Impulse & The Devil's Rain--two of my all time favorite William Shatner flicks.  Both movies have been staples of our Shat Attack parties and they never fail to bring down the house.  Filmed back to back in the mid seventies when Shatner was struggling to find a career after Star Trek, Impulse is one of the great B-A-D films; with horrendous direction that's almost as criminal as Shatner's epic fashion statements.  The Devil's Rain on the other hand is a forgotten gem.  Seriously, directed by the man who brought us The Abominable Dr. Phibes, shot by the man behind Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia, and cut by Steven Spielberg's go-to editor.  It's a goof, but a gorgeous goofball oddity ready for a 1080p transfer.  Please check out the episode, and listen to a couple of Shat-Fanatics geek out joyously over a couple of classic 5 dollar bin flicks.

ROAD TRIP OF THE WEEK!

The NRA Firearms Museum:  On Friday, The Wife & I had a day off together.  A real rarity these days.  The original plan was to hit up the National Zoo but afternoon showers killed that idea and we had to improvise.  Using the Nearest App on her phone, The Wife discovered that the closest museum to our place is actually the NRA Firearms Museum in Fairfax, VA.  I've lived in NOVA for 20 years now but never in a million billion years have I ever contemplated a visit to the NRA.  That being said, when she read off their website that it housed a warehouse of Hollywood guns including Dirty Harry's original .44 Magnum, I knew it was a place I had to experience.

I crammed my politics into a tiny corner of my brain and just tried to enjoy the props that make all movies more awesome-GUNS!  And besides the dorky joy of putting nose to glass with James Bond's Walther PPK or Josey Wales's Cold Walkers, it was fascinating to walk through America's history from the point of view of our firearms.  And the Theodore Roosevelt Trappings of an Icon exhibit was unreal.  Check out Teddy's elephant leg wastebasket or his lion skin rug!  Just absolutely crazy presidential hunter history!

And then there's The Maltese Falcon!  What?!?!  Yeah, I've done a little internet research and it looks to be the truth.  The NRA has one of two lead props used in The Maltese Falcon.  And that's freaking bananas to me, but apparently it comes from Dr. Gary Milian's props collection and I guess he was also a significant NRA contributor.  Bonkers.

I seriously can't believe it we spent nearly two hours there, but there a crap ton of guns to impossibly absorb.  Magnum PI.  Lethal Weapon.  The Shadow.  Die Hard.  Beverly Hills Cop.  Reservoir Dogs. Serenity.  Star Wars.   The Dark Knight.  And let's not forget John Wayne's eyepatch from True Grit or Henry Fonda's vest from My Darling Clementine. 

Finally we crawled out through the surreal crazy that is the gift shop.  Salt n Pepper shotgun shell shakers.  Butane Derringer lighters.  .44 Magnum earrings.  And in the far corner with the books detailing the fallacies of 911 and the importance of female defense were three copies of Charlton Heston's The Courage To Be Free...autographed.  Yeah, I snatched them up.  All in all, a day trip to the NRA turned into a shockingly good time for this dork.  And somewhat expensive.

TV OF THE WEEK!

Star Trek - Deep Space Nine Season 1:  After some time away, The Wife & I dove back into DS9.  When we were trying to watch a sprinkling from the various series she didn't seem to really connect with Terok Nor, but now that we're focusing only on Sisko & the gang she seems to be loving this Space Western.  Sure, 1st Season definitely has its problems.  The writers are still working out the characters with Sisko scowling too damn much and Kira yelling nearly all her dialog.  And like with most Star Trek shows there are too many space time anomalies and goofy bumpy heads from across the wormhole.  But the show only gets better.  And more so than any other Trek, DS9 really goes for serialized storytelling--and it's not just that Dominion stuff from the later seasons.  I dig the Bajor/Cardassian WWII parallels even when they're too preachy for their own good.  And we've had a ton of fun playing "Spot Morn" across the first season.  He's the best set decoration in all of Trekdom.

MOVIES OF THE WEEK!

Total Recall:  A perfectly serviceable sci-fi remake, but stripped of all the crazy weird elements that made the original Arnie actioner so damn odd and compelling. No Mars. No Aliens. No Mutants. No "See You At The Party Richter" ultra gore. Colin Ferrell is just a confused double agent struggling to choose between two bland actresses. And what's the deal with The Fall invasion? Couldn't The Colony just dynamite that tunnel? Save themselves from a whole lot of robot warfare? And I'm supposed to buy a punch up between Farrell and Bryan Cranston? Yeah, don't think so.

Contagion:  Don't Touch Your Face! Steven Soderbergh delivers an intense pre-apocalypse pandemic in which a wide cast of characters scream into telephones and try not to foam at the mouth. Sure, there's nothing really special here--it's just another Outbreak--but I found the tracking of the virus to be quite compelling, and it was fascinating to see how different governments handled the impending doom.  Sure the characters work only depending on how much you enjoy the actors; they have to fill in a lot of the script, but Soderbergh establishes sickly fear thanks to simple closeups of hands on subway poles.  Just gross.

The Hunter:  "You'll Get Your Result!" Willem Dafoe ventures into the Australian wilderness in an effort to stalk and kill the supposedly extinct Tasmanian Tiger. It all has something to do with corporate espionage and frustrated loggers. Dafoe is given plenty of script to chew on and it's one of his finest recent performances as he transforms from setting steel traps to protecting his adopted tree hugger family. Plus, a crotchety Sam Neil! We need more of those in movies.

The Bourne Identity:  Can you believe it's been ten years? The Bourne Identity announced to the world that Matt Damon could be Tough with a capital T, and his tagalong dame Franke Potente gives a servicable performance as the walking Stockholm Syndrome. By no means is this the mega-awesomeness that some have labled it, but The Bourne Identity is a fun, thrilling Who Am I? chaser with some cool action set pieces, plus a great (underused) anti-Damon in Clive Owen. Their final country side shotgun battle is just a promise of the franchise's future cat & mouse brawls.

The Bourne Supremacy:  My least favorite of the three films.  I can appreciate the sudden dismissal of the Franka Potente character--what good is a content Bourne to us, but the revenge fueled action gets lost in Paul Greengrass's frantic camera. Yeah, I'm one of those shaky cam haters. Karl Urban is scary but he's no Clive Owen. Joan Allen is a tough foil but Brian Cox's spook villainy feels like it should be played closer to the foreground. The Bourne Supremacy hints at some serious backstory brooding but its all setup for the much superior Ultimatum.

The Bourne Ultimatum:  For the most part, Paul Greengrass's nausea cam continues to infuriate this viewer but I must recognize the utter brilliance of the Moroccan rooftop chase climaxing in the exploding glass apartment with books jabbing adam's apples and bath towels strangling CIA goons. The Paddy Considine reporter business bores me a touch, but once David Strathairn turns on his inner psycho and Albert Finney returns to the Ludlum-verse, The Bourne Ultimatum grabs on tight and boxes ya 'bout the ears. Still not a Bourne fanboy but this feels like a satisfyingly somber sendoff for Matt Damon's conflicted killer.  That is until he returns...again...

Attack The Block:  Trust. Believe. Attack The Block is the single best bit of nostalgic genre throwback I've experienced since John Carpenter's The Thing. And just like that '82 remake, Attack The Block manages to satisfy the past while establishing itself in the present. John Boyega is one of the great recent breakout stars and I need to see him in more movies NOW! He's an urban 15 year old samurai badass ready to take on Toshiro Mifune's iconic status. Bam. Hyperbole. Allow it. Sure, there's some nice little inner city commentary going on here, but at the end of the day this is a bloody beast of monster flick.  And you'll be hollering when they kill all dem things.

Jesse Stone - Benefit of the Doubt:  "I don't care about convictions, I care about Justice." Tom Selleck returns as the morally dubious and dismissive Paradise Police Chief, Jesse Stone. After his replacement explodes into a billion bits, Selleck returns to an empty police station to restart his reign in the small town. Eight films into the franchise and there is no sign of slowing down, both the William Sadler mafioso plot & the Saul Rubinek friendly evil car dealer stories gain new heat, but there's still plenty of room from fringe players like Stephen McHattie, William Devane, and Gloria Reuben. However, the standout performance has to go to Robert Carradine as the devious deer hunter tracking Selleck's movents. Their pullover encounter manages to be scary and pretty darn funny thanks to a few key eyebrow twitches from Carradine.  But, unfortunately, I don't think he'll be sticking around.

The Bourne Legacy:  Michael Clayton's Tony Gilroy takes the reins from Paul Greengrass and brings some of that much appreciated cold, calculating murder to the shaky cam action. Matt Damon may be on the run, but the introduction of Jeremy Renner's super soldier allows for some fascinating mythology building and I personally love the downplaying of close quarter combat for shifty screamy sin eaters like Edward Norton & Stacey Keach. But don't worry, there are at least two confrontations worthy of the Bourne mantel and Renner can crash a room just as well as Damon. Unfortunately the movie just ends. And the final battle between the generic and irrelevant Larx-8 is several badasses shy of a Clive Owen, Karl Urban, or Edgar Ramirez. Still, I look forward to the inevitable sequels and the eventual Renner on Damon action.

Dirty Harry:  When the Law gets in the way of Justice, there's Inspector Harry Callahan to 44 Magnum his way through the wretched sea of deviants overrunning the city of San Francisco. And when he's not blasting holes in bureaucratic red tape, Eastwood sneers and soapboxes against the puttzes in charge, condemning their weak rules and regulations. And once the iconic "Do You Feel Lucky?" was uttered a whole genre of one-liner action flicks was born.  Plus, Andrew Robinson is disgustingly terrifying as the Scorpio killer; his whiney voice and piggish squeals of pain are the stuff of nightmares.

COMICS OF THE WEEK!

Spider-Men #5:  Ok.  I've been loving this mini series, but how in the world is Bendis going to be able to wrap up all this madness with just one more issue?  Mysterio, the universe jumping bastard that sparked off this event has barely been seen, and Peter Parker has pretty much emotionally destroyed his Ultimate Universe family.  I seriously hope this has lasting effects on Miles Morales' universe and not just a chance to steal Parker's web shooters.  Still, this mini is much better than it has any right to be.

Godzilla - The Half Century War #1:  Speaking of being better than it should, the first issue of The Half Century War is freaking AWESOME!!!!!  Sure, I usually don't go for that manga look but Stokoe's kaiju is stunning.  There's one 2-page spread that dropped my jaw to the floor.  This is what Godzilla comics should look like and no other bit of pop culture has me as excited for a new Gojiro flick like this comic.  Can't wait to see when and where this incarnation pops up next in the timeline.

The Creep #1:  Not bad.  So far its a basic PI set up with a little Rondo Hatton thrown in.  Still, Jonathan Case's art is crisp (don't judge a book by its Frank Miller cover) and who doesn't like a good PI story.  Hopefully John Arcudi's script will take the characters into some surprising territory but it's just too early to tell if this is going to be great or only so-so.  But I'm on board for the ride.

Batman #12:  A standalone story taking the reader back to some of the events from the first issue.  Not sure I really care about this Harper Row character or not, and even if the gay bashing subplot offers some nice character beats, all I really care about at this point is The Night of the Owls and the impending return of The Joker.  This is a little glimpse into Gotham and I'm guessing Row has a major role to play at some point in Snyder's plan.  But...meh.

--Brad