In the last few years, Paul Peterson and Jason Gilmore talked to four suicide survivors, about their experiences, the lead up and the aftermath. The compilation of these talks is called The Next Day, illustrated by acclaimed artist John Porcellino, accompanied by an interactive online component co-produced by the National Film Board of Canada. So even if you can’t talk to anyone else about it, I’m sure you may be comfortable reading it.
It’s been about six months since Conan O’Brien took back the night with his talk show on TBS, but any fan of his or at least anyone still interested in what happened while he was off the air will want to see this documentary.
I should preface this review with one caveat: I've never read or watched — or heard of Thor at all, really — before seeing the film. As you can probably guess from the preceding sentence, I don't even know what format of text or media from which its story originates. Colour me uneducated and largely incurious. Instead of attempting to hide this gaping hole in my nerd credentials, I'm sure that highlighting my lack of Thor knowledge will make for a pretty interesting review.
I didn’t know it until I saw it, but I have been waiting for a summer movie like Thor for a long time. It is fun, far more fun than any comic adaptation I have seen in years. Its director brings to it a distantiation that allows for investment in the fun of it all: the outrageous narration, exaggerated and impossible action sequences, and actors who can just let go and enjoy the ride without any pressure while still maintaining their integrity and talent. This, my friends, is what a summer movie should be: exciting, clever, comedic, and a joyride.
Too often, when famous and successful franchises are mixed together for a crossover, you end up with a total disaster. Danger Girl and Army of Darkness manages, though not as well as the respective source materials, to be a fun, fast-paced, action-packed read!
Yet another Point One issue from Marvel, and I'm starting to notice some trends. Creator change-ups on titles; less forced back-story exposition; and the stories are just getting better and better! Secret Avengers #12.1 has all of these elements and is possibly the best issue yet in this stellar series.
With the introduction and exposition heavy first episode behind it, Game of Thrones now moves onto the business of the story. In the wake of shocking conclusion of the first episode (incest and attempted child murder still qualify as shocking, right?), the second episode, titled "The Kingsroad", quite literally takes the action on the road. Many characters embark on journies that will shape the events of the entire season, and indeed the rest of the series.
Cashing in on his esteemed and legendary career, Stan Lee's return to creating new comic characters was heavily publicized by Boom! Studios. Awesome. Stan Lee was back! Except when the first issue of Soldier Zero arrived on comic stands, it was a creative travesty.
In the last few months Image Comics has released a string of super-hot sell out new titles. This week, wunderkind writer and Image partner, Robert Kirkman weighs in with his mad-cap silly Super Dinosaur series. And by silly... I mean over-the-top awesome fun!
There is a new comic from Dynamite which has the two titles and their characters crossover in Death of Zorro #1. My first reaction on seeing the cover was "blatant marketing ploy to drum up interest in these failing books." Then I thought "Let's not be hasty and make uninformed judgements..." So I bought and read the book. Nope, my gut reaction was correct. That was $4 and twenty minutes I can never get back.
A one-shot comic by Image, Lorna: Relic Wrangler is an excellent mix of fun, sass, sexiness, and action. A mix of Lara Croft, Legally Blonde, and Hack/Slash, the comic isn’t particularly unique, but that doesn’t make it any less entertaining.
Coming after not only a ten year hiatus, but also after the rise of torture porn, remakes, and reboots, Scream 4 is almost a breath of fresh air. Series creators Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson (who's absence from the third film in the series was wholly apparent) are back with another entry in the lucrative yet entertaining franchise, with a bit more material to chew on this time around.
This one-shot comic is a good introduction into the world of Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse, and it even sets the stage for a future ongoing series. While I am a fan of the TV show, the comic arguably does a better job of hooking readers into the narrative, than the source material ever did. Gone are some of the stranger undertones that made the series so controversial and criticized.
Worst comic read ever! Not that this was a surprise though, given that one of my rules for deciding if I should buy a new comic title is to see how many/how ‘big’ it’s variant covers are going to be. The more variant covers linked to an issue, the worse the read usually is. And IDW’s Godzilla variant campaign was epically huge!
Hanna is about a young girl being raised by her father in a log cabin in the sub-arctic. But as you might guess, this eponymous girl is unique: she is being trained as an assassin. Too often movies try to be more than they are - to impress with such intensity as to send them over the top - but Hanna is content to be a little piece of something elegant.
