Full disklosure: Monster not a fan of mimes. It be a phobia me have (like heights, tight places, and Celine Dion) dat go all de way back to monster's childhood. Me often try to figure out why dis be, and always come up wit tree possible reasons: 1. Mimes be second-cousins of clowns who, everyone…
September 5, 2013: Underappreciated comic book characters who need their own t.v. shows!
ANIMAL MAN He can soar like an eagle, swim like a shark, run like leopard, and eat like a pug! Awesome! BOOSTER GOLD A hero who comes from the future, not in search of bad guys, but personal fame and fortune. Delightfully anti-heroic. DEADMAN The ghost of a murder victim is permitted to temporarily inhabit…
August 26, 2013: The Supermovie of the Week Club reconvenes! Cookie Monster reviews Dr. Strange (1978)!
Dr. Strange? More like Dr. Creep! Apparently, dis guy not familiar wit de Hypocritical Oath, but he all sorts of familiar wit "doctor-patient confidentiality"...if you know what me mean. No? Well, let monster put it dis way. When he around de ladies at work, he like Cookie Monster at a bake sale. Or Grover at…
August 23, 2013: News of note!
On the strength of his brilliant performance in Daredevil, Ben Affleck has been cast as the not-so-Dark Knight in upcoming Batman/Superman movie. I know, I know. He's an Academy Award winner! True, but I feel the need to point out that it was for directing, not acting. Is this another sign of the disconnect between…
August 22, 2013: Recent Recommended Reads!
Recommended reads: A Terror by Jeffrey Ford The latest release by author Jeffrey Ford is a nightmarish novelette that offers a supernaturally speculative take on the inspiration for one of Emily Dickinson's most famous poems, "Because I could not stop for Death". Emily Dickinson, awakens to an empty house, her parents and sister inexplicably gone. She…
July 21, 2013: Hey, you know what would make a great television series?! And some pointed comments on the sad state of filmdom by today’s guest bloggers!
Hey, you know what would make a great television series? Do tell! But here are the parameters: 1) It should be something in the scifi or fantasy genre. In the case of the latter, ONLY if it is completely different from Game of Thrones (as it would invite the inevitable unflattering comparisons). 2) It must…
August 5, 2013: The Supermovie of the Week Club reconvenes! Cookie Monster reviews The Dark Knight Rises!
Dis movie remind monster of Snuffleupagus after last year's Oktoberfest: a big, bloated, confused mess dat hang around way too long after party end.Movie picks up 8 years after last one. Harvey Dent be dead and Gotham be organized crime free. Batman be gone and Bruce Wayne now a bitter whiner who walk around wit…
July 21, 2013: A 17 (actually, 21) Question Science Fiction Book Meme!
The gang at http://www.sfsignal.com/ have launched another one of those irresistible SF-themed memes, what they're calling a " 17-question science fiction book meme for a lazy Sunday". I wrestled over a few of my responses, struggling with the relative worthiness of some of the titles, and finally decided to solve the problem by adding four extra questions to…
July 20, 2013: Some opinions on things…
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.…
July 12, 2013: My Favorite Single Issue Comic Books!
I used to read a lot of comic books when I was a kid. Eventually, I grew up and grew out of them. Until high school when I started picking them up again and experienced my first wave of nostalgia for those childhood favorites: The Avengers, The Amazing Spiderman, and Batman. In time, my interest…
July 1, 2013: The Supermovie of the Week Club reconvenes! Cookie Monster reviews The Amazing Spiderman!
Hey, you know what movie NOT needed a remake? Spiderman. De original had fun, humor, a great origin story, and a colorful, nuanced villain in Norman Osbore/Green Goblin. Dis new, improved (?) version have half de fun, hardly any of de humor, a not as interesting origin story, and a one-note villain in Curt Connors/Lizard.…
June 24, 2013: The Supermovie of the Week Club reconvenes! Cookie Monster reviews The Avengers!
Dis movie have everyting you would expekt from a summer blockbuster. Humor! Fun! Action! Dazzling speshul effekts! Cracking dialogue! Overlong running time! And some developments dat not make sense - but be pretty cool anyway. Movie begin at top secret S.H.I.E.L.D. facility where scientists studying glowy box very similar to one we saw in Captain…
June 23, 2013: My Top 10 Worst Comic Book Supervillain Costumes! And one for good luck!
In no particular order... CAPTAIN BOOMERANG He dresses like an Australian flight attendant. FISHERMAN Okay, granted, he must do more than his fair share of wading, but those hip boots are NOT flattering. Is that a bathing cap? PASTE POT PETE (aka THE TRAPSTER) Nice chapeau. Presumably, the gang at Marvel got fed up of…
June 10, 2013: The Supermovie of the Week Club reconvenes! Cookie Monster reviews Captain America: The First Avenger!
No offense to Captain America but, technically, wasn't Thor de "First Avenger"? Dis de first qwestion dat cross monster's mind, followed by "Dis entire movie a period piece?" and "Did me forget to buy cake mix for Grover's potluck supper next Toosday?". Monster sit down to watch Captain America wit an open mind and, while…
May 27, 2013: The Supermovie of the Week Club reconvenes! Cookie Monster reviews Green Lantern!
What if Deadpool became Green Lantern? Dis seem to be de qwestion dis movie try to answer. Unlike it's more ambitious predecessors, Green Lantern aspire to be little more den a quasi-entertaining kids movie. And it aktually succeed, offering a uncomplikated story devoid of riveting drama or charakters but also free of de stoopid plot…