After giving up halfway through Stephenie Meyer’s ode to self-loathing, I wanted to read something really fun. When I wrote my review of the Watchmen graphic novel, I asked for suggestions for more graphic novels to read, and Polt not only suggested some, he sent me some! One of them was Batman: The Dark Knight Returns which was what I decided to read first. Now when the first comic book you ever read is the most celebrated graphic novel of all time, you worry that no other comic book will ever be able to be any good. Luckily that wasn’t the case.
While no Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns was an awesome, exciting, and at times brutal read involving my favorite comic book hero ever. It’s about the Batman coming out of retirement to fight crime in Gotham once again. First let me address my complaints. And they’re not so much complaints about the book, rather than complaints about my knowledge of comic books. How did Commissioner Gordon know Batman was Bruce Wayne? Was Oliver the Green Arrow, and why did he hate Superman? When did Lana Lang and Selina Kyle get fat? There were a bunch of things that made me go “hrmm?” but I couldn’t tell if it was information given in other graphic novels, or backstory that the writer Frank Miller created himself, and wanted to nonchalantly incorporate into his work. I’m sure on multiple readings this wouldn’t bother me, but it was just a bit troublesome the first time around.
But other than that minor issue, the book was amazing. The artwork was incredible. Every once in a while there would be these absolutely gorgeous full page pictures that just blew me away. The artwork was a bit jarring at first since it was a lot different from the Watchmen, which had very literal artwork, but this style totally grew on me by the end of the first chapter.
The story itself was more of an ode to Batman, rather than a truly coherent, focused story, but I liked that about it. It was similar to the movie Superman Returns, which isn’t that great of a movie on its own merit, but it works really well as a tribute to the Man of Steel. And since this was my first Batman graphic novel, I liked being fully immersed into the world and seeing so many characters that I knew from other cartoons and movies. It just would have been nice to have a bit more time with the characters like Selina Kyle and Harvey Dent, but I can always read other books for that. All in all, it was a thoroughly enjoyable read and I recommend it for anyone who jumped on the Watchmen bandwagon and doesn’t know where to go next.
This morning I started Kingdom Come which a few of you had recommended and is another one that Polt sent me. I just got through the written introduction so I can’t say much yet, but judging by its cover (which I hear is an excellent way to judge things) it should be really great.
Just when you thought it was safe to come to Puntabulous and not have to deal with any more of those pesky Battlestar Galactica posts, here we go again! A spinoff! Well don’t worry yet, the series doesn’t begin until 2010, so you still have a few more Battlestar Galactica free months ahead of you, but they released the premiere movie on DVD the other day and I watched it over the weekend. I have to say it was pretty great.
The opening scenes take place in a club with lots of dancing, fighting, and jubblies. And by jubblies I mean knockers. And by knockers I mean boobs. They were all over the place. This was certainly a very different kind of show than Battlestar Galactica. And now that I think of it, there wasn’t a single spaceship in the sky. In fact, the only major technology was a virtual reality world that is entered by wearing a pair of glasses. The glasses were pretty silly, but the worlds they were capable of taking you to were cool enough to make up for it. The only other signs of an advanced technology were light-up tennis courts and a robo-butler, which was so simple yet such a joy to watch on screen. Seriously, I loved it. It was like Mr. Belvedere meets EVE.
Oh yeah, there was a Cylon too. In case you didn’t know, this show takes place 56 years prior to the beginning of Battlestar Galactica and will be about the creation of the Cylons. But the show, at least as demonstrated by the pilot movie, is not about technology, it’s a human drama with lots of crime, religion, and backstabbing. But the two major Cylon scenes were easily the best of the show, including an amazing ending.
From a view of 50,000 feet, the show was fantastic. It had a really interesting plot taking place in an amazing city, with deep cutting themes. But the show dragged at times when it got too close to the human drama and the characters. They definitely need a bit of work, especially the two major players Daniel Graystone and Joseph Adama. It will take a bit more story for me to feel a connection with them, especially considering I am not anxious to jump in bed with either of them. Is that superficial of me? I like my characters hot. Sue me.
Going into it I was a bit skeptical. Did we really need this show? But after enjoying the pilot movie, my skepticism has evolved into a curiosity about where this show can take us. What more can possibly happen with these two families, and is it enough to sustain a show? How much Cylon action will there be? And where can I get one of those robo-butlers?
Sam Rockwell is awesome. I must see this movie immediately:
Well hello everyone! To top off my stellar week of blogging, which included a day off and a Dilbert strip, my final act of entertainment will be taking place over at Polt’s Palace. That’s right, I’m guesting over at Polt’s today while he’s going to Toronto. But I worked really hard on my guest post so you need to head over there immediately to read it!
Polt claims that he’s a top, but I gather evidence that proves that he’s really a major bottom (not that there’s anything wrong with that) in hiding! Why is it that I’m always so much more perverted on other people’s blogs? Oh well. Head over there to read it right now!
I went to see State of Play with my friend Hollie over the weekend. It’s a thriller about an old (print) and young (online) journalist played by Russell Crowe and Rachel McAdams respectively who are investigating the murder of a politician’s (played by Ben Affleck) mistress. I usually don’t set out to see movies like this, but I always seem to enjoy them. It reminded me of the movie Fracture starring Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling, which was also really good. The dynamic between the two journalists was a lot of fun to watch and the mystery kept me guessing the entire time. Oh, did I mention Helen Mirren is in it and at one time, she mutters the line “Fuck you very much.” and it was awesome. On a side note, I couldn’t remember the last Ben Affleck movie I saw, so I looked up his filmography on IMDB and it appears that the last movie I saw with him in it was Daredevil back in 2003. Isn’t that crazy? Jason Bateman was also in it as this obnoxious gay/bi cliche, which is the one thing I wasn’t crazy about, but otherwise I think you should definitely go out and see this. Apparently it’s based on a BBC miniseries starring James McAvoy, which I’m curious to watch now. Has anyone seen it?
Oh my goodness, are you guys keeping up with Project Runway: TCNJ Edition? Because it is amazing. With all the Bravo/Lifetime fighting back and forth and Project Runway delays, Enrico over at Hotel Tuesday took matters into his own hands and created an awesome competition, which is essentially Project Runway for Barbie dolls. Right now they’re up to Round 4, where they have to make wedding gowns out of toilet paper. Here are a few of the incredible designs from previous rounds:
Pretty awesome right? The above challenges required making dresses (and one bathing suit) out of objects found in nature, duct tape, and cellophane and tin foil respectively. Well head on over to Hotel Tuesday and get caught up on what you missed and keep going back for more updates in the heated competition!
