Donomark

THIS IS NOT A DRILL https://www.themarysue.com/kevin-conroy-to-play-bruce-wayne-in-the-cws-crisis-on-infinite-earths/

I thought issue one of House of X was pretty cool personally. IDK how closely I'll be following the books from here on in, especially considering several characters like Wolverine and Jean Grey will be on multiple teams (I hate that shit), but I like that we're in a new era. I totally missed when the O5 X-Men finally returned to their timelines.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: An entertaining but needlessly long watch that threatens to be a slog, even when it's enjoyable. This is Tarantino's most indulgent film to date. Brad Pitt and Leo DiCaprio are terrific, it's awesome watching them work. But the film is about 1/3 pointless driving montages. If you dig late 60s Hollywood, then this will be a thrill, and even if not it's quite a trip of a movie. But it's far from his best. And Margot Robie's Sharon Tate recalled Gwen Stacy from Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross' Marvels in how unfailingly angelic she was portrayed. Also, the feet fetish in this flick is in full force. Inglorious Basterds: This is one of those films that every failed to result in a "WHAT YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT?!" response from people whenever it came up in conversation. Also very long, but this one watched quicker than "Hollywood" did. Similarly to that movie, it's indulgent fanfiction but there is a conversation about the presentation of violence occurring throughout. The Basterds are equivalent to the Nazis and the brutal punishment displayed in the film illustrates that immediately. It's one of the more subversive films of Tarantino's I've seen, yet judging by its reputation, no one seems to be in on the joke at all.

Yeah Hush wasn't great, which is a shame because these James Tucker movies have been on a solid uphill roll since Batman: Bad Blood, and have even been good since the first Teen Titans movie. But it was really soulless and straightforward, and not as interesting as it wasn't to be. Part of the problem is that while the comic book story, ultimately, isn't anything Earth-shattering, it serves as a terrific Batman-by-numbers adventure, chronicling his history, his villains and allies, and his perspective. Jeph Loeb puts in a lot of work into Bruce's skull, and we get perspectives on his thoughts about Superman, about Nightwing, and about Selina. Because this film A) lacked the narration, and B) lacked much of the continuity from the comics, most of the big scenes fell flat. Batman beating the shit out of the Joker watches like it happens because it's the Joker, not that Tommy Elliot was another in a long list of victims. Even Gordon is robbed of gravitas because both TKJ and NML are not referenced. It just doesn't work as well.

Yeah after watching II, I can see Kirk being devastated by his son's death. They had that coming together moment at the end, and nobody likes anyone getting murdered. I loved Dan's imitation of Shatner's acting, tho.

Haha yeah, it's godawful. I watched that for the first time this time last year in the hotel during Comic-Con.

"The Jim Kirk Leisure Collection!" got the hugest laugh from me 😂

Spider-Man: Far From Home: This was an annoying watch from start to finish. Nearly every scene is just strangled with "comedy" that isn't really humor, just people acting awkward. There are good bits to be sure, and the film picks up a lot in the second half. Jake Gyllenhall as Mysterio was one of the better realized Spidey characters from the past several years, the best, I'd say, since the Sandman, maybe since Doc Ock. He turned out to be terrific. Tom Holland is still solid, no matter what is asked from him. He and Zendaya are both better than the material, and the movie could've used more of their interactions. Nick Fury here is more or less back to form coming after Captain Marvel. But there's too many plays at comedy that it becomes a frustrating watch. None of the pathos is any deeper or realer than past Spidey movies, and quite frankly is plainly shallow. The mid-credits sequence is pretty good, and is the most "Spider-Man" moment in the whole thing. But for the first half of the too-long running time of two hours and nine minutes, I sat there thinking that this was an expensive live-action episode of the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon. It's moderately amusing at times and there are some cool bits with Mysterio, but after the PS4 game and Into the Spider-Verse, there was nothing here for me. I liked Homecoming better.

Ohhh I'm aware

I’m really sorry I wasn’t able to watch Tintin and send in feedback. Like you guys, my brother and I also watched the 90s cartoon and read the comics from our library. It’s one of those international comic franchises that’s always interesting to learn about. Wish we had done it on CBFR...🤔

The Interview for sure. V for Vendetta would be an interesting discussion, if Ian hasn’t already reviewed it.

God bless Dwayne McDuffie.

Toy Story (1): Holds up wonderfully. Very simple story expanded with such verve and dimension, the hour and twenty minutes fly by. Intellectually I know the 1995 animation is dated, but I generally wasn't noticing much of it.

All Eyes on Us by Kit Frick: Ms. Frick's sophomore YA novel following "See All the Stars". A love triangle between a high school "It Girl" and a closeted lower class girl both dating the same kid who are then targeted by a mysterious texter and threatened to ruin said guy's life. Re-reading the review I wrote months ago reminds me of the cons I had with this story, and helps to determine what I think are growing pains I hope Frick can move out of in future stories. This story is more explicitly a thriller, with suspense building from the end of the first chapter. Overall I enjoyed this more'n "See All the Stars". It was an engaging, entertaining read with a really good story and quick, easy-to-read chapters. I rarely felt bogged down by any extraneous information, which has been a trend with the last several books I've read. One of my problems that carries over from Frick's last book is the characterization of her teenage girl protagonists. Rosalie, the closeted girl who's locked in her family's fundamentalist church and suffered conversion therapy years prior, is sympathetic enough. Her story is more urgent, the stakes are higher, and the constant conflict feels real. Amanda, the queen of her senior high school class, is just a closed door of charm or charisma. Admittedly it may be harder for me to intuit the problems of teenage girls, but this is a person who is introduced shitting on every other character in the scene, people who are her friends and family. Now her parents, particularly her mother, are wrecks, and her friends are typical flighty high schoolers. But Amanda's really no different, and her status as Ms. Thing gives her problems - wanting to end up the rich wife of her rich boyfriend like everyone wants - makes her storyline almost completely bare of genuine interest. Without using the "B" word, I don't think she displays a single charitable trait for at least the first solid half of the book. Granted, there are a lot of crappy people in this story, but this is primarily our chief protagonist. The prose tripped me up again as well. One of the lines "These provocations are chipping away at my resolve...", no teenager sounds like that. If she were a creative type, like a writer or an artist, okay, but it only sounds severely melodramatic. The revelation of the villain gave me a double take. I had a theory on who it could've been, and still think that would've been a better reveal, but it would've made the story darker. Still, it turns the character into a one-dimensional villain. Feels very much like Riverdale's annoying reveal at the end of season 1. Despite all of my cons, I did enjoy reading this book. It's engrossing and incredibly well paced, and despite the characters, the plot was such a fun central problem for them to get past that I couldn't really look away.

Detective Comics #1006: There was a real 90s feel to this issue. Kyle Holtz has a very Kelly Jones-esque style to his art, and Tomasi's writing was a bit looser. His Batman sounded like something out of the 80s, but I dug it. Simple story, part one of who knows how many, but I liked it more than the last few issues. Batman Beyond #33 (2019): Really good issue. This is a story that could've been in the original animated series had it gone on long enough. Action Comics #1012: I'm fading out of this storyline. It's too involved for me to keep hold, and I really do not like Simon Kudranski's artwork. Amazing Spider-Man #825: Awesome issue. I love how Spencer uses Mysterio as a psuedo tie-in to the upcoming movie, but he is only a means to an end. Brilliant. Single Issues: 211 Trade Paperbacks: 7

I wish I could write a Spider-Man comic book when I was 21. I empathize with the kid's fanboyism, aside from that IDC.

Rocketman: A much more entertaining and comparatively pleasant biopic about a flamboyant performer, Taron Egerton delivers a terrifically energetic performance. A lot of fun, I'd see it again.

Teen Titans #31 (2019): A big fight issue with Lobo, but one done well. I forget how overwhelming powerful Lobo is, and he's a total bastard in this. Taking a bounty for his own daughter. Solid first part to a two parter. Batman #73 (2019): Pretentious comic book is pretentious. Nightwing #61 (2019): This was a good issue with solid writing and art, but it promised to be the conclusion of the story, and Dick's still "Ric". WTH?! James Bond: 007 #8: Great issue! Miles Morales: Spider-Man #7: Okay issue. I wasn't loving the two extra artists though. And IDK why Miles would even think of going near Uncle Aaron again after everything that guy has done. Single Issues: 207 Trade Paperbacks: 7

Nice!

I'm of the opinion that the first X-Men film is the best, so I'm down.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock A solid follow-up that picks up immediately after the last one left off with zero time skipped. Like with Wrath of Khan, the plot feels lesser than it is. Both films have a plot, but they almost feel invisible to the character conflicts. Not a criticism, just an observation. Shatner gave another solid performance full of emotion, and the support players had way more to do than I've seen them in probably ever. This made the movie really heartfelt, with the theme of friendship making all of the crazy BS worthwhile. The ending got me, not gonna lie. The new actress for Saviuk wasn't terrific, but she was way more Vulcan-like than Kirstie Alley, so I liked her better.

Silver Surfer: Black #1: The writing was okay but the art was super cool Spider-Man: Life Story #4: I've loved every issue of this mini and #4 was no exception, especially as a fan of the Clone Saga. THIS SERIES MAN Single Issues: 202 Trade Paperbacks: 7

Superman #12 (2019): Okay Wonder Twins #5: Good Batman and the Outsiders #2 (2019): I don't really see the interest in all these new characters when reader of this book come for the four mains. This issue read like the distracted boyfriend meme. Amazing Spider-Man #824: Not much happens in this issue until the shock ending, but the writing was so good it didn't matter. I want Spencer to have a Slott-length run on this title, it feels so right. I will say I'm not big on Ryan Ottley's artwork. It's too cartoony to take totally serious, and this is a dark sequel to Kraven's Last Hunt. It was a bit distracting. Immortal Hulk #19: OOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMGGGGGGGGGGG Single Issues: 200 Trade Paperbacks: 7

The Invisible Lesbian: by Ocean, then known as Oceanerosemarie, Murielle Magelin and Sandrine Revel. An adaptation of French comedienne Ocean's one-woman show, the story chronicles her life and adulthood as a femme woman struggling to achieve romance with other lesbians. At first she's barely believed to be gay because she isn't butch, then she struggles to find and connect with other women, then she runs the gamut of different relationships. Light, humorous story with nice artwork that only loses points with her most significant relationship ending off-panel and the story finishing at a brick wall more than a screeching halt. It was jarring how abrupt everything simply ended. Interestingly enough, though the story and aforementioned performance are all about the trials and tribulations of a femme gay woman, Ocean last year transitioned to a man. A follow-up performance/comic would be interesting as a continuation to the story told here. Punisher MAX: Happy Ending: One-shot mainly featuring a middle-aged nobody derping into the world of the Punisher. More interesting than it initially seemed. Single Issues: 195 Trade Paperbacks: 7

I don't know...as a single film I don't think so. First of all you have to decide if you're dealing with the Phoenix Force or Jean's untapped power potential. One or the other. Then you have to build up Jean as the Phoenix. Then have her be manipulated by the Hellfire Club or some villain, then do Dark Phoenix, then go cosmic with the Shi'ar Empire. It's a multi-part ongoing story. Maybe a trilogy could've done it, but trying to do it in one film is simply a case of misplaced priorities, like Spider-Man 3.