Genres & Judgments: Best Films of 2009 Addendum

In my Best of 2009 article from last month, I listed nine movies I had wanted to see, but for whatever reason, did not before 2009 wrapped up. Aside from Sherlock Holmes, which I probably won't see for a while, I have watched all the items on that list. Here are my thoughts on each.

Moon
Every bit as good as you've heard. I won't bother placing the rest of these movies in my Top 10, but Moon would fit comfortably at #3. Duncan Jones gave us a Twilight Zone-flavored tale mixed with the stylings of Stanley Kubrick. I guessed a big plot twist early, but instead of it being the big M. Night secret saved for last, there was still another 45 minutes of film left to watch after it was revealed. Superb.


The Road
I was so friggin' mad at myself that I missed this one on its first pass through theaters, especially after I'd talked about it ad nauseum on the site since the summer. Fortunately, one brought it back locally this week, otherwise I'd still be waiting for the bluray release. It is a mesmerizing film. I cannot separate it in my mind from the book, so I apologize to those of you who have not read it as I continue on. Out of all the horrific occurrences in the novel, John Hillcoat only failed to include one of them. It is hinted at, so maybe it'll surface as a deleted scene, but it would probably be too extreme a notion for the common patron. I can only imagine how I might have been freaking out during a few of the sequences if I didn't know how they were supposed to turn out. Even knowing the plot points wasn't much comfort at times. Considering the amount of material that wasn't used and that quite a bit was added (primarily the Charleze Theron stuff), the spirit of the Cormac McCarthy's book is amazingly 100 percent there. What was added gave needed depth to Viggo's character, which was necessary for the film.
Just like the novel, The Road is not easy to watch. You'll definitely have to be in the mood for it, because it is an incredibly bleak peak at a post-apocalyptic world.


Sugar
A phenomenal baseball movie, easily catapulted into my favorites (and I really like baseball movies). That said, this shouldn't be written off as a mere sports movie and, really, it isn't a sports movie at all. Miguel "Sugar" Santos is young pitcher from the Dominican Republic trying to make his way through the rigorous levels of the minor league baseball system. We see the difficulties of American life for a non-English speaker who ultimately has no one but himself to get through the rollercoaster of successes and failures in his path. This movie does not go where you think it will. It may start out as a baseball movie, but his ambitions aren't limited to the old ball game. A fascinating drama.


(500) Days of Summer
This movie is just plain good. But I warn you, although Summer seems like a romantic comedy, it's not. At all. This would be an awful date movie. Awkward doesn't accurately encompass the inevitable looks the two of you would share afterward.
I'm happy Zooey Deschanel reminded me what I'd forgotten after trudging through The Happening and Yes Man -- she's spectacularly adorable. Meanwhile, I'm waiting for Joseph Gordon-Levitt to be in something that sucks, and maybe he has, but I haven't seen it yet. The next Spider-Man looks to be in excellent hands with Marc Webb, at least with the Peter/Mary Jane stuff. Oh, and I'm pretty sure this movie has the best Star Wars gag ever (in the middle of a montage, no less!).


The Hurt Locker
Like The Road, this is another bleak masterpiece from 2009. Perhaps why this film has garnered so much widespread acclaim in comparison to the former might be the high intensity displayed in it's bomb squad scenarios and bursts of paranoia and violence. Those elements tend to grab moviegoers a little bit easier. That said, it has a deeply buried hopelessness and delivers a clarity of war via these three very different squad members, none of which are particularly heroic. After watching it, it's hard to argue with the title card at the film's forefront that reads, "war is a drug."


Public Enemies
A typical Michael Mann movie, meaning there's a strong script, good performances and excellent direction adding up to very good film that only severe nit-picking could diminish. Nothing really award worthy overall, but Depp is particularly good as John Dillinger. The thing that stood out the most was the sound -- I have never heard gunfire that loud before in a movie. But that's what you get when crooks and G-men duke it out with Tommy guns, and some of those scenes are gloriously brutal. If you like gun battles, car chases, bank robberies and prison breaks, this is a movie for you.


Fantastic Mr. Fox
From my review earlier in the month:

Fantastic Mr. Fox is a delight of a film. Completely satisfying in every way... A must-see at the earliest opportunity.

State of Play
This was a really excellent political thriller from the perspective of reporters working the story. Some very nicely veiled twists are mixed in with both the politics in the newspaper room as well as on Capitol Hill. It also contains some of the best examples of actual reporting I think I've ever seen filmed. While it doesn't ignore technology as it pertains to journalism, it may be the the last film set in modern times to forgo the utilization of the internet because I can't see how you could make a movie featuring a reporter and not have them use Google in the years to come. State is a love letter of sorts to the "golden age" of reporting, if such a concept is truly dead or ever even existed.

The Longbox

Ultimate X
issue: 1
writer: Jeph Loeb
artist: Arthur Adams
publisher: Marvel


I’ve had a love/hate relationship with Jeph Loeb and his work on the Ultimate Marvel Universe since Ultimates 3.  Then, he turned around and delivered some pretty fantastic annuals for Ultimate Hulk and Ultimate Captain America.  Then, Ultimatum happened and I wondered what had happened between those annuals and the mini-series.

Well, Loeb has won me back with this amazing restart to the mutant narrative of Marvel’s Ultimate Comics line.  Like a phoenix from the ashes, Ultimate X looks set to rise above and move beyond what Ultimate X-Men accomplished.

Following the events of Ultimatum, mutants are once again hunted as criminals.  In Florida, a young Jimmy Hudson survives a flaming car crash thanks to a previously unknown healing ability.  His adopted father and town sheriff James Hudson takes him home not really knowing how to address this with his wife Heather.  The next day, Kitty Pryde shows up with a box for Jimmy from his real father.

Without giving too much more away, Loeb builds a strong start with this book.  His pacing and dialogue move the story and really brings the characters to life.  This is also the first time in a long time I’ve seen Arthur Adams’s work and his art has advanced in an incredible way.  I was sad that Ultimate X-Men met its end at a time when I felt it was just getting its second wind, but with Ultimate X I feel like the book has been given a whole new set of lungs.

The only problem I could find was one of the nit picky observations about just how Kitty seems to get around between Florida and New York and the recent developments in the Ultimate Spider-Man title.  However, there is no time frame set up for this story so there’s no telling where it fits into the new continuity.  Even the rather odd evolution of Jimmy’s powers is handled so deftly that it doesn’t have a chance to be considered tacked on or out of place.

You’ve won this reader back Loeb and I’m looking forward to revisiting this book here in the coming months.

Reel Low: Four Capers & I'm Only Out Two Bucks

A dollar theater has taken root in one of the run-down movie houses in my little town, which I love because its sparsely attended and a boon to my wallet. Only recently have I made a point to place it on my radar and see a couple of picture shows.
Last night I sought out the unabashed B-movie Armored [2009] at the dollar theater. The heist flick was in and out of regular theaters this fall and I never got around to see it despite wanting to. The trailer oversold the overall quality of the movie, as its supposed to, but it's still an above-average crime thriller, only not for the reasons I was initially hoping for.
In any heist story, I crave an excellent breakdown of the robbery itself. The more hands on it is, the better. I hate the involvement of the weaselly tech guy who has to hack into a computer system to open the vault. Give me James Caan in Michael Mann's Thief any day over that bullshit.
Regardless, technological advancements have advanced security to the point where the idea of the tech guy on the heist team is plausible. In fact, technology is why this group of thieves acts on their plan in the first place.
Armored is the story of a cabal of armored truck guards at a private security firm. The company is about to equip all their trucks with GPS enhancements. The five veteran guards convince the newly hired Ty Hackett, played by Columbus Short, to join them in their plan. The normally noble Gulf War vet is not initially seduced by their offer because of his predictable money problems, but does succumb once complications with his family situation escalate.This pedestrian background takes up a little too much time, and is an especially noticeable drag during the first 30 minutes or so because there is little particularly likable, humorous or otherwise interesting about the other five guards shown to us. That's kinda odd because unlike Short, who I had never seen before, the others have all been in things that I really enjoy: Jean Reno (The Professional), Skeet Ulrich (Jericho), Amaury Nolasco (Prison Break -- before it became unwatchable), Laurence Fishburne and Matt Dillon as the de facto leader. There are some attempts at humor amongst the group, and while those sequences may have been really funny in a real-world setting, they don't translate to the screen.
Unfortunately for me, the heist itself is undeniably dull. Fortunately the aftermath is anything but. I'll stop short of any spoilers, but once the action gets going, it's downright impressive. Director Nimrod Antal, along with the help of cinematographer Andrzej Sekula who has worked on Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction and American Psycho among other films, shows some serious film-making chops here. The angles and tracking of the shots aren't your standard fare. It doesn't go as far as, say, the Matrix movies did to rewrite the rulebook on action-movie expectations, but these guys didn't shortchange you on anything visually, which is all too common in movies of this sort. I have to admit I said "oh, shit!" a few times aloud.
The sad thing about Armored is that it wraps up a bit too quickly, but at least concludes completely. Since you've probably missed this bad boy in the theater, no worries; it's much better served for a lazy, mindless viewing as a rental anyhow. But it is unapologetic in what it is, and I respect it for that.

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The other three capers took place on another dollar-theater adventure of mine from a few weeks ago, each of which was marvelously presented in Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox [2009].
Mark previously hailed this as one of the best films of the year, and I wholeheartedly agree.
Mr. Fox, as voiced by George Clooney, is the charismatic thief who can't stay retired despite promises he made to his wife. He moves his family into a home he can't really afford that just happens to be located nearby three farmers who have poultry and other unique goods that Mr. Fox can't restrain himself from plotting to steal.
The story is filled with colorful characters and sophisticated humor that would likely go over the head of most kids. This is a children's movie for adults.
As opposed to Armored, Fox allows each riveting heist to unfold before you on screen. You see Mr. Fox and his cohorts sidestep security and evade capture at every turn.
But this is a fully developed world and feels entirely real despite the intentionally herky-jerkiness of some of the animation. And it's the emotional dynamics between the Fox family and their furry friends that ultimately drive the film forward.
Other than Rushmore, I can't say I've really enjoyed any of Anderson's films (of the ones that I've even bothered to see), so I was quite surprised at how much I liked it. Easily his best work to date.
Fantastic Mr. Fox is a delight of a film. Completely satisfying in every way, and I'd say it also just happens to be one of the best heist movies to come out in the last few years to boot. Not bad for a stop-motion animation adaption of a classic children's book. A must-see at the earliest opportunity.

Tech-Low-Babble

When Apple unveiled their latest piece of gadgetry, the iPad, there was the usual back and forth between detractors and loyalists.  “The device doesn’t do this!”, “It’s missing that!”, “It has this!”, “It does this other thing really well”... and so on and so forth.  What I thought when I saw it was, “Finally, a decent, portable digital comics reader.”

When the Kindle and other eReaders came out not so long ago, I wanted one.  The idea of being able to carry a bookshelf’s worth of books with me was appealing.  That is, until I took a look at my actual bookshelf.  My books are pretty much split down the middle with regular books making up half of my library and the other half being comic book trades and hardcovers.  I also thought about the number of monthly issues I was getting and realized that none of those devices were versatile enough to be completely useful to me.  Even now, I read more comic books than I do regular books on a regular basis.  With the iPad, I felt that here was something that solved both of those problems, which it would, if it weren’t for one other problem.  There is no decent legit digital comics subscription or purchasing service.

Before the both of you still reading this send me emails saying, “You’re wrong, there’s Marvel’s Digital Comics Unlimited service!” let me point out my biggest issue with that service.  It is a subscription service based on access to a library of issues and not on the sale of individual issues.  Yes, you get access to thousands of titles but when your subscription is up, you have nothing to show for it in the end.  You are also at the mercy of Marvel to choose what content to put up and when.  You’re not getting access to the latest issues and you might not even get access to stuff you specifically want anytime soon.  Before I go on, let me wax nostalgic for a bit...

Back in the day, you could open up most comic books and inside you’d find a page that you could cut out or copy the information from.  On this page there would be a selection of titles that you could subscribe to and you marked off what you wanted.  You then sent this in with your money for the subscription and once a month you would receive those books in the mail.  When I think of comic book subscriptions, that’s what I think of.  Well, that and having my local comic book store hold the titles I want, but we’ll talk about stores soon enough.

I also realize that Marvel has individual issues available in the PlayStation Digital Comics store.  A nice step in the right direction but purchasing from there requires you to read your books on a PSP.  It’s a nice device but the screen is just not big enough to really do justice to a comic book page.  Also, it suffers from the same problem as Marvel’s subscription service in that the number of current titles is non-existent; I think the most recent stuff on there is from 2008.

What I’m hoping to see now that a device like the iPad exists is a true digital comics subscription service/marketplace.  Imagine, if you will, an iTunes comic book store or something like it.  You go in and select the titles you want to subscribe to, give them your credit card number or load an account with money via prepaid service cards, and then each time a new issue is made available it automatically downloads to be viewed either on your computer, color eReader, or whatever device you have that can view the file.  Since most (I don’t know if I can say all or not) comic books are produced and finished in the computer, it shouldn’t be difficult to output them to a format like .pdf or even a proprietary format.  This store could also make available to readers whole catalogs of issues, hard to find material that commands a hefty price on the secondary market.  Crossovers and miniseries could be packaged and offered in sets.  Also, this makes possible a high quality digital archive of books that might vanish forever due to limited runs or just from being so old they’re turing into dust.  All of this, and probably a few other things, brings up another question.  What about brick and mortar comic book stores?

I love brick and mortar comic book stores and I have a feeling so do a lot of comic publishers and creators.  These are the places where a lot of disenfranchised people came together and formed a community.  These are the places where now mainstream components of mainstream entertainment took root and grew.  Do I think a model like the one I just outlined could spell the end of comic book stores in the same way that iTunes and other digital distribution sites hit record stores?  No.  There will probably always be the collector, that person that wants to have the physical artifact in her hands, that loves the feel of the page, that loves to flip back and forth quickly from front to back to middle to front again.  There will also be the merchandising, the t-shirts, the action figures, the glasses, the statues, none of which can be delivered digitally (USPS, UPS, FedEx, etc. are analog).  And there will probably also always be people like me that love to go into a store and see the faces of the employees and engage in lively conversations about who would beat who in a fight between Iron Man and Batman.

Also, there are ways the digital model can be modified to give an advantage to brick and mortar store.  Stuff like making new books available in digital format a week after the physical book has come out, making prepaid cards available only at comic book stores (each store receiving a cut from the sales), and marketing special digital incentives at stores such as codes that would allow access to certain books.  Just because record stores had to suffer at the hands of the internet doesn’t mean comic book stores have to.  Fortunately, they have a friend in the publishers.

I think that if the publishers wanted to make the quick and easy buck on digital distribution, they would have done so by now.  The only thing stopping them, I feel, has been the love they have for the medium and for the people that helped make it all possible.  Hopefully they can take the reigns before a new generation comes in that doesn’t share their view and changes things for the worse.  What can the publishers do?  They can take control and establish standards for digital distribution, set up their own storefronts, and make a unified front against companies like Apple and Amazon that feel they have control over digital content.

With technology like the iPad and other color eReaders on the way, it feels like it’s only a matter of time before a more dynamic digital comics experience arrives.  I just hope that it doesn’t mark the end of a fantastic cultural experience that’s grown around comic books, the stores, and the readers.

TV Tweets: Jan. 25 - 31

As always, you can follow me at LowBrowJon to get my latest simmering set-ups, as well as other LBM updates.

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Jan. 27th [Mad Men]

• Not happy. #MadMen http://bit.ly/dep9PW

Only click on the above link if you are not concerned with spoilers for Mad Men season 4.
I think I've always had an inkling that this was going to happen. Fortunately, Jon Hamm's SNL monologue from this weekend made up for it. Sort of.


Jan. 29th [Human Target]

• While certainly not the best show out there, #HumanTarget is just plain, over-the-top fun propelled by a very good cast. I like it.

Chi McBride and Jackie Earle Haley are hilarious on this show, and probably kept me around longer than I would've otherwise. Plus, what a friggin' awesome title sequence! Both the art and song are really impressive. (Just looked it up, and Bear McCreary wrote the song, so no wonder.) The second and third eps were much better than the pilot, so who knows? Maybe it'll actually stop standing on implausible action sequences, even by TV-action-show standards, and find its legs.


Jan. 31st [Caprica]

• Man, it is SO good to hear "frak" again on tv.

I probably should've re-watched the pilot last week because I was pretty sketchy on what went down in the BSG prequel when I Netflixed it in the spring. Despite that, this new episode took a very bold turn as it wrapped up, so I'm excited to see what comes next.

The Longbox

Joe the Barbarian

issue: 1

writer: Grant Morrison

artist: Sean Murphy

publisher: DC/Vertigo

Grant Morrison holds a special place in my heart.  It was his run on "New X-Men" that got me back into reading comics in a major way again.  I have to admit though, I'm not familiar with most of his recent stuff.  I paid no attention to his work on Batman, not being so big of a fan of the DC stable of heroes, but did take in his older run on Justice League.  I feel I need to preface this article with that because I don't like what I have to say next.  "Joe the Barbarian" kind of left me with a "meh" feeling after reading it.

Don't get me wrong, Sean Murphy's art in this book is the top, nothing short of fantastic.  His layouts are strong and his visual style is something that is right up my alley.  However, it is the story itself that left me wanting.

Joe is a pretty typical kid living in whatever part of the world it is that he lives in.  He lives with his mother in a fairly normal house that seems to be locked in a time vortex style-wise.  There is also some indicators that they might be in danger of losing the house.  His room is in the attic, his father is a dead veteran, and his mother is very much on him about eating his candy.  Joe is also a pretty typical underdog.  He's an artist that is picked on by his classmates and seemingly misunderstood by his peers.  There also seems to be some animosity between himself and his dead father.

It isn't until he gets home that things take their usual weird turn that are often occurring in the realm of a Vertigo book.  He comes home following a class visit to the veteran's cemetery where his father is buried and where he has a run-in with the usual bullies.  When he gets home, he makes his way up to his room, which is littered with toys and collectables.  After laying in bed for a few moments, his surroundings shift and he finds himself somewhere else and then, just as quickly, returns to his bed.  After an attempt to figure out what just happened he winds up going back again and is confronted by an army that we find out is comprised of the characters from his drawings and toys around his room.

Now, mind you, this is a pretty good set up for the most part, and like I said Murphy's art really brings this book to life.  His attention to detail is fantastic and just really brings a great deal of the depth to the page.  However, this feels like a very typical fantasy story in the vein of "Alice in Wonderland" or "Jumanji" (yeah, I went there).  That's not to say that this couldn't turn out to be an amazing piece but I always figured Grant Morrison to be a bit more out there, a bit more crazy when it came to things.  This seems a little safe for him.  All the character constructions are solid, to be fair and the dialogue is spot on as well.  I'll be picking this one up for at least two more issues to see where it goes.  I'm sure if anyone can take something like this up a notch, it's Grant Morrison.

Longbox Special: Under Siege

Last week we got a look inside some of the histories and motivations of two of Norman Osborn's Avengers, Daken and The Sentry. This week we get a look at what's on the mind of Osborn's newest inner circle man, Taskmaster, as well as finding out what Captain America's Avenger's are up to.

Avengers: The Initiative #32 is another good character piece with subplots that carry on from outside the “Siege” storyline. This time, the focus is on Taskmaster, man in charge of the Fifty State Initiative and recent addition to Norman Osborn’s cabal of super-villains following the departures of Emma Frost and Namor. Taskmaster is another character I only know about in passing and this issue fleshes out his history and motivations. I just wish it would explain why he wears a skull mask and a LARPer outfit.


Taskmaster has come to realize just what it is that keeps himself and other lower-tier villains from the kind of greatness that Venom, Bullseye, and the like enjoy. Craziness. He has decided that the siege on Asgard is his chance to take a hold of greatness as opposed to his usually playing it safe. Taskmaster used to make his money by training the thugs for others while keeping below the radar and out of the way of jail time and the fists of heroes.


This issue continues to explore the relationship of Diamondback and Constrictor, two members of the Initiative who sit on different sides of the fence. Constrictor is a close friend of Taskmaster’s and so has enjoyed some of the perks that go along with being buddies with the boss. Diamondback, however, is a mole for the Avengers that have gone underground. To complicate matters even further, she’s gotten involved with Constrictor. Both of these characters try to come to terms with their relationship and just want the assault on Asgard holds for them.


Thirdly, because there’s always a third thing, there’s the subplot of the Avengers Resistance made up of former Initiative members Tigra, Night Thrasher, Justice, and Ultragirl. The amazing thing here is that these b-players have been taken and actually have something interesting going on. They managed to get information that connects the incident at Soldier Field to Norman Osborn. Of course their plan is not just to expose Osborn, but to stage an attack on camp H.A.M.M.E.R and shut it down.


The issue concludes with the repelling of Thor’s intervention at Asgard and brings the Diamondback/Tasmaster story-lines to a convergence.

New Avengers #61 is set just before the siege on Asgard and puts The Hood back into play as the man to take down Captain America’s Avengers. Unlike the other “Siege” tie-ins thus far, this is less of a character piece and more of a straight up action segment. What we have are The Hood’s syndicate of criminals getting powered up by the Norn Stones, a gift from Loki to The Hood, and going after Cap’s Avengers.


Captains America are looking over the recently demolished remains of Steve Roger’s former headquarters. There’s not much time for talking before Steve and Bucky are attacked by The Living Laser and The Corruptor. The Corruptor uses his newly enhanced abilities to control the minds of others to pit Bucky against Steve in what could be considered a cliché fight between heroes. The conclusion looks to be typical for the set up but that seems to be something saved for the next issue.


Also going on Spiders-Man and -Woman stand watch on a nearby building monitoring activity at Osborn’s Avengers Tower, where things seem to be ramping up for something big. This is actually the more wordy of the two stories going on here and probably the more interesting. Jessica (-Woman) asks Peter (-Man) about Osborn since he’s fought him so many times in the past. This turns into a reinforcement of the idea that it’s just a matter of time before Osborn loses it and the empire he’s created for himself comes crashing down on his head. What else is kind of interesting here is that there are a bunch of throw away tie-in references to stuff like S.W.O.R.D and the Spider-Woman comic as well as the possible undoing of the Brand New Day storyline that’s going to be revisited this year. Before long, the two are also attacked by a duo of newly powered up criminals Madrill and Griffin, who I’m assuming are bottom of the barrel characters that Bendis likes to grab at times like this to add some flavor to the mix. It’s another mind controller, Mandrill, who gives Spider-Woman the order to kill Spider-Man and then to give him the location of the other Avengers.


I have to say that once again, these are two well done tie-in books that don’t rely so heavily on the main title. I’ve been very impressed with how Marvel has managed to address stuff that’s been going on in these titles, keep that stuff moving forward, and still connect it to the event without making either critical to the other for understanding. If you’ve been reading this books before “Siege”, you’re still going to enjoy Gage’s and Bendis’s work on them. If you’re only hooking in for the event book, you’ll get some nice spice added to the stew. Hopefully they can keep this up in February.

Genres & Judgments: THE BANNEN WAY

As I've repeatedly made clear on the site, I'm a junkie for a certain cache of things, namely some sort of combination of blood, booze, broads and bullets. I've paid more than I care to admit for some out-of-print novels with cover prices listed at 25 cents just to devour some really good crime fiction. Fortunately, they've all been worth it. But nothing beats finding a nice little crime story for nothing at all. Let's discuss The Bannen Way.
A 16-part, original web series from Crackle (more or less Sony's answer to Hulu), The Bannen Way is a pretty entertaining crime-action thriller. Best of all, since it's on Crackle, it's entirely free aside from a handful of 15-second commercials between every other webisode.
Much like Angel of Death, another Crackle series from 2009, the production value is high and the cast largely superb.
Mark Gantt plays Neal Bannen, a super-confident womanizer, yet down-on-his-luck con man who owes money to a gangster. He hails from a criminal family led by his uncle, but for rather vague reasons, is attempting to go clean. But he needs money to pay off his debt to avoid getting clipped, so his uncle sends him on a mission to steal an obscure artifact. In the process of his adventure, Bannen reveals the a list of his family's code, sorta like what Columbus does in Zombieland, such as "Give your opponents two choices...both of which benefit you." These nuggets of wisdom are the Bannen Way. Only thing is, Neal tends not to follow them.
Gantt pulls off the role of charming rouge convincingly and is complemented by a damn-good cast, including Vanessa Marcil, Michael Ironside, Michael Lerner and an especially on-point performance from Robert Forster.
All of this is pretty impressive for a feature that probably didn't have much capital behind it.
The one thing that The Bannen Way does miss the mark with a bit for me is its cadre of antagonists. Although this is not a story seeped in realism, they're overly cartoonish. Lerner plays an over-the-top Jewish mobster ironically named the Mensch, and is joined by a trio of female assassins going after Bannen (one is a buxom blonde wearing a corset and fishnet stockings without explanation in addition to specializing in demolitions -- she is, of course, known only as the Bombshell). If Bannen was given adversaries without the comic-book costumes and nicknames, I think the story would have been better served. Fortunately, not all the big bads are of this nature.
Overall, Bannen was worth sitting through the handful of ads and you can't argue with the price. It's set up for a sequel, and I certainly hope they produce another.
My two forays into Crackle originals have both been very fun. As enjoyable as The Bannen Way was, I feel Angel of Death is superior -- more violence, more unpredictable and more original (I should point out that the reason I sought Angel out in the first place was because it was written by Ed Brubaker, my favorite comic book scribe for a few years running now, so take that for what it's worth).
They're onto some good shit over at Crackle. Check it out.

TV Tweets: Jan. 18 - 24

As always, you can follow me at LowBrowJon to get my latest fistful of letters, as well as other LBM updates.

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Jan. 21st [24, The Walking Dead]

• You may be getting back into my good graces again, 24. Let's keep it up.

I hated 24 last year. It had become too predictable and overly ridiculous (even by 24 standards). I wasn't even sure I was going to watch this season. But the Bauer-ite of old won out, and I may be glad it did. Chole being back in the fold is a huge plus and the newbies are likable for the most part thus far (and I can't believe I'm not annoyed by Freddie Prinze, Jr). It could easily fall back into insanely predictable mode, but it hasn't gotten there severely yet.

• A WALKING DEAD pilot will happen. Sweet. http://bit.ly/65lqMr

I wasn't really captivated by the first six issues of the comic, but tons of people I know love this series. Mike is one of them; maybe he can chime what makes it great in the comments. Frank Darabont is no hack, so it sounds like it's in good hands, plus AMC has an amazing track record, the lone exception being The Prisoner remake.


Jan. 22nd [Torchwood]

• I'm wondering if an American TORCHWOOD would work... http://bit.ly/6CoIkq

Still wondering, btw.


Jan. 23rd [The Office, 30 Rock]

• Really? A clip show? And not even a particularly good one. #TheOffice

For shame, The Office. For shame.

• "Your neighbors named their daughter Belichick."

At least something good finally came out Jack's high-school-sweetheart storyline. I was dying after that one. Any time you can mock the Pats is okay in my book. Definitely not enough to bump it up to the Salma Hayek one from last year.
30 Rock is still pretty damn funny, although I don't think I've been laughing as much as I had been the past two seasons. I'll come back to this in a few weeks if I figure out why.

Longbox Special: Under Siege

Not too long ago I wrote up my review for the first issue of Marvel’s latest event, “Siege”. Well, I decided I would take a hand at writing a weekly bit about the books coming out that looks at the tie-ins. This past week we got installments of Dark Avengers and Dark Wolverine...

Dark Avengers #13 gives a bit of insight into the character of The Sentry. I admit to not having what one would consider a comprehensive understanding of this guy, I didn’t read any of the stuff that introduced him. What I’ve come to understand is that he’s a Superman-like character as far as his powers but has that wonderful quirk of being mentally unstable. Not only is he The Sentry but he is also his own arch-nemesis, The Void.


It is revealed that Robert “Bob” Reynolds, the guy who became The Sentry, is that he was not some innocent, bright-eyed kid who wandered into a lab and drank a serum that he shouldn’t have and gained the powers that he did. It turns out Bob was a junkie and was looking for his next high by rooting through a lab for materials. He drank a serum, got that first spike of power, and like most junkies he wanted more.


It’s also revealed that what is understood about The Void, that it’s just a darker impulses of Bob, is wrong. Apparently The Void is in some way connected to the wrath of God. The force that killed all the first-born of Egypt but spared the Israelites who marked their door with the blood of a lamb? The Void.


The thing that confuses me though is that I thought The Void had been locked up inside the mind of Scott Summers after Emma Frost had extracted it from Bob and held it in her mind by remaining in her diamond form. Hopefully this will not go unnoticed and will be further explained next issue.

Dark Wolverine #82 is my first exposure to the book since the Wolverine title was changed for “Dark Reign”. This is another situation where the character is new to me save for a small amount of exposure in the other X-books that led up to “Dark Reign”. What I know is that Daken is Wolverine’s son and that he hates his dad, of course, and seems to swing on both sides of the sexual orientation fence.


This issue raises questions about just why Daken is involved with Osborn and there’s a teasing of some kind of secret that he’s managed to keep from the H.A.M.M.E.R leader. He is also tied to the Asgardians as entities that I can only assume are a kind of Norse version of the Sisters of Fate, watch Daken from afar and comment that he is the bringer of Ragnarok, the Norse apocalypse.


Daken is definitely playing his own agenda in all of this and there is what seems to be an 11th hour betrayal in the middle of the siege on Asgard. How this will all play into the bigger picture of the main story is unclear, if it will happen at all. More than likely, this will all just play into a hopeful advancement of the character that will extend past the event.


These two books were both solid background pieces on characters involved with Osborn’s plan. However, I wouldn’t consider either of them essential reading to understand the larger story, at least as far as it stands now. If you like The Sentry or Daken, you’ll certainly want to pick these up as they are solid character pieces.