THE SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDERMAN
A terrific first issue by writer Nick Spencer and artist Steve Lieber focuses on the flip side of superheroics = the lives, both personal and professional, of their colorful counterparts. Try as they might, supervillains just can’t seem to catch a break and, in this book, we find out why. Bad choices, from costumes to heists to the company they keep, all converge to assure their inevitable defeat. Very funny and very clever.
ATTACK ON TITAN
Humanity has been reduced to a pocket of survivors. From within the walls of a fortified city, they venture out for food and resources, constantly under threat of the giant, flesh-eating titans that now roam the Earth. A half dozen episodes in to this shocking, well-paced, action-driven series, I was ready to put it on my Top 10 list. Then, around episode 9, things grind to a halt. Nothing happens for episodes on end as every dramatic moment is milked to death. What a letdown after such a great start…
FLOWERS OF EVIL
What, at first blush, appears to be another entry in the J-horror genre turns out to be a creepily effective psychological drama in a high school setting. Isolation, alienation, humiliation and blackmail all figure into the mix in an anime that makes for some uneasily engaging viewing. The pacing here is a slow burn, suspensefully so, and any squirming you do will be in response to the often uncomfortable narrative developments. Overall, I liked it a lot, although I did take issue with some of the out-there choices our characters make.
I really liked the movie Drive and was looking forward to checking out director Nicolas Winding Refn’s latest collaboration with actor Ryan Gosling, Only God Forgives – but there’s no way it’s topping THIS review: REX REED: Gosling Movie One of Worst Ever Made… “Ultra-violent, demented, plotless, creepy, meat-headed and boring, this is nothing more than a depraved travesty of abstract expression that wastes the film it’s printed on.” Back in the day, my writing partner and I used to do a Bad Movie Night where we screened the likes of Showgirls, Color of Money, Barb Wire, Boxing Helena, and Battlefield Earth. I think we may have to reconvene just for this film.
Meanwhile, the box office bombs continue to drop: BOXOFFICE DISASTERS CONTINUE…. It’s interesting that, only last month, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas warned the industry that something like this would happen: Steven Spielberg and George Lucas warn Hollywood heading for …. Meanwhile, the movie I’m most looking forward to checking out is the modestly budgeted The Way, Way Back. 82% on Rotten Tomatoes (The Way, Way Back – Rotten Tomatoes). Unique for, among other things, being one of the few summer comedies that hasn’t used Icona Pop’s “I Love It” as part of its marketing campaign.
Hey, look who’s on the cover of the upcoming issue of Rolling Stone magazine. It’s murderer, child-killer, maimer, and terrorist Dzohkhar Tsarnaev. Doesn’t he look positively dreamy? The editors of Rolling Stone sure seem to think so, giving him the full rock star treatment. Why, if you were giving the mag a cursory glance, you might even mistake him for Jim Morrison or Adrian Grenier. Following outraged response (much from Boston, the site of the terrorist attack) and a mounting boycott, Rolling Stone released a statement in which they essentially stood behind their story. Only problem is NOBODY’S CRITICIZING THE STORY! THEY’RE CRITICIZING THE PICTURE ON THE COVER! Oh. In that case, Senior Editor Christian Hoard offers this flip response to those whiney complainers via twitter:
Yes, Christian. Exactly. You should have drawn a picture of yourself on his face. Or something. Perhaps realizing he was being an utter douchebag, Mr. Hoard deleted the post and issued an apology. Meanwhile, associate editor Simon Vozick-Levinson weighed in with his own defense, again via twitter:
Again, I haven’t heard anyone criticize the story. Maybe these editors should do a better job of reading the various articles that have criticized their bonehead decision.
Walmart fires employee for asking customer not to leave dog in hot car. According to Walmart, she wasn’t fired for asking a customer not to leave his dog in a hot car. She was coincidentally fired for reasons unrelated to that incident – even though Walmart won’t offer details (for “privacy reasons”) and the fired employee still maintains she was fired for asking a customer not to leave his dog in a hot car. According to Walmart, she was rude to a customer. I wonder what she did? Maybe something like…ask a customer not to leave his dog in a hot car?
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