Tagged: review

Review: ‘Primeval Volume Two’

884986-2375795The world of Primeval is a duplicitous one, with schemes within schemes, most of which take far too long to play out. When the BBC series was renewed for a third season, they were given a ten episode order and they decided to change things up while introducing new threats, leaving things more muddled than necessary.

Airing this spring in England and here on Sci-Fi Channel, the series garnered good reviews and very solid ratings. However, ITC, facing a cash crunch, canceled the series, paving the way for a big screen adaptation currently being mounted by Warner Bros. For fans, though, they can relive the exploits with [[[Primeval: Volume Two]]], released Tuesday by BBC Video.

The series, about a team of specialists protecting the citizens of the 21st century from prehistoric beasties that have come though spatial anomalies, had two shorter but stronger seasons. Between seasons one and two, an event in the past had dramatic repercussions, removing Claudia Brown from reality. Season two opened with Jenny Lewis, an exact replica of Claudia, newly hired to handle the press and public whenever the creatures got spotted. Given that Claudia had a romance developing with Nick Cutter, this threw the team leader for a loop. While he had feelings for her, she was slow to recognize the same emotions for him. As that developed, Cutter’s ex-wife Helen continued her mysterious comings and goings with some mysterious purpose and as season two ended, she wound up shooting and killing the team’s action ace, Stephen Hart.

Season three continued to stir things up as Cutter wound up being killed and project director James Lester assigned the leadership to the ill-equipped Jenny. After only a handful of assignments, she withdrew from the team and the series. All of a sudden, Jenny’s old pal Danny Quinn talked his way not only on to the team but was named its leader. The team was also rounded out by Egyptologist Sarah Page and Captain Becker, a military escort.

In addition to Helen’s ongoing threat, a new menace rose in the form of bureaucratic rival Christine Johnson, who wanted access to some artifact that actually came from the future but wound up in the team’s hands.

Over the course of the ten episodes, Helen and Christine played cat and mouse with the team – and the viewers – while each week the team had to keep London safe from creatures great and small, all the while coping with the grief of first losing Hart, then Cutter then Lewis. Personal story arcs, such as the slowly simmering romance between Abby and Connor were tertiary concerns although they were the bits that made us care most about the characters.

In fact, while the creatures were visually fun thanks to improved CGI, too often the chase sequences and fights were too long, robbing the characters of a chance to evolve. Bits between players, such as Connor’s temporary lodging with Lester, were given short shrift in favor of chase scenes that wound up being boring and prolonged.  Becker is never given any depth (or a first name) while Christine wound up being a cardboard opponent.

The writers get credit for changing things up, such as the time a Knight in shining armor chased a creature through a portal and thought modern day London was Hell. On the other hand, Abby’s brother proved an annoying distraction who was better off dispatched by a beast rather than allowed to live another day.

In the end, we learn that Helen has been trying to prevent the hellish future she witnessed from coming to pass and do so in a dramatic fashion. The climax in episode ten actually left the entire team in a predicament demanding resolution which hopefully will come via special, movie or even a novel. As it is, the ten episodes, while entertaining, truly resolve very little, which is a disappointment.

The second volume three-disc set has some episode commentary that sheds a little light on the series overall. The two extras are not nearly enough to provide context for the changes made to the series. One is a look back at Nick Cutter’s journey form first episode to last, which is nice, and then there’s a documentary on the guy who won a design a creature contest, showing how his amazing drawing got used in Episode 8.

There’s a lot to like about Primeval, its setting and its characters but it also suffered from some inconsistency that should have been ironed out well before the third season. With luck, they will be granted another opportunity to come back and enthrall us.

Review: ‘The Next Doctor’ on DVD

The [[[Doctor Who]]] Christmas Specials have normally been delightful affairs, bridging the events of one season with teases for the forthcoming season. This time, though, The Next Doctor actually kicks off a season of four specials featuring the last time David Tennant will command the TARDIS as the doctor as he makes way for young Matthew Smith in 2010.

When the special aired last December, there was intense speculation whether David Morrissey was actually being introduced early as the replacement. It certainly felt that way as we learned the villains would be the Cybermen and that Velile Tshabalala had been added as Morrissey’s companion, a woman named Rosita, which more than echoes the now gone Rose Tyler.

Clearly, that was not the case and was an interesting premise with so-so execution. In short, while visiting London on Christmas Eve, 1851, the Doctor comes up against a new threat but also a man acting, sounding and even looking like he might be, well, the Doctor. He spoke of the TARDIS and proclaimed to possess a sonic screwdriver but as the men began investigating together, the real Doctor figured out how a poor, mentally stressed man was led to believe he was a Gallifreyan Time Lord.

Along the way, the two have to learn the secrets of the Cybermen’s scheme and then foil it, clearly doing so before St. Nick arrives to dole out gifts to one and all.

The first half of Russell T. Davies’ script is nicely paced by director Andy Goddard and sets things up well but the second half is lots of running, chasing, fighting and noise-making without making an awful lot of sense. The escapade is being released on DVD this Tuesday from BBC Video, oddly timed considering the following special is already available and it’s a wee bit early for the holiday season. Regardless, the story reveals to us that the poor man was accidentally imprinted with details about the Doctor that had been prepared for the Cybermen. As a result, its weeks before he realizes that his family is dead save his young son who must be found and rescued.

Morrissey does a good job as Jackson Lake, adding some nice pathos to the part. He and Tennant also play nicely off one another but Tshabalala has precious little to do and Dervla Kirwan as the villainous Miss Hartigan is a one-dimensional serial villain.

There’s a lot of stuff and nonsense and in the end, the character arcs are truncated in favor of the shouting and jumping around as if everyone discovered they were short on time to properly finish the story. As a result, it’s a good but far from spectacular effort. Being one of the final Tennant episodes, it’s a wasted opportunity.

The delight of the disc, though, is the special feature, the [[[Prom 13: Doctor Who Prom]]] concert that was performed in England on July 27 of last year but aired only in January. The hour-long concert, specifically designed to entice children to the orchestral experience, shone a nice spotlight on Murray Gold, the composer of Doctor Who music since the series’ revival in 2005. Hosted by Freema Agyeman with a cameo from Catherine Tate, the performance included many of the aliens and menaces from the series, walking through the audience and interacting with them. There was also a seven minute “Music of the Spheres” video presentation featuring Tennant aboard the TARDIS which discussed the importance of music. The storyline involved interaction with the orchestra such as the Doctor tossing his sheet music into the air and having it land in the hands of the performers.

Definitely not the way to introduce newcomers to the Doctor but certainly worth having by the diehard fans.

Review: ‘Harper’s Island’ on DVD

The notion of one of the major networks producing a limited run murder mystery was certainly intriguing. For thirteen weeks, we were going to watch members of a wedding party get offed, one by one, while trying to figure out who dunnit. Clearly, the network had high hopes for Harper’s Island, slotting it in on Thursday nights and promoting it heavily.

After three weeks, the show’s ratings were weak and the critical drubbing it received prompted them to dump the show on the less important Saturday nights, usually reserved for reruns or failed series. I recorded the first few weeks but before watching the episodes, I shrugged when I saw the show was essentially dumped. Unlike the victims, I received a second chance when the 4-disc DVD arrived from Paramount Home Video. The set, now on sale, works well watching the story unfold without commercial interruption and without waiting a week between installments.

The Island is where the rich summer and where the residents resent the wealthy and of course, the couple to be wed represent both sides of the equation. Henry’s best pal, Abby, returns to the island for the wedding, her first visit since the grisly murders that occurred years before, claiming her mother and causing a rift with her father, the sheriff. As the bridal party and extended family turn up for the festivities, a new series of murders begin, shaking Abby to her core.

Over the course of the series, we watch one person after another die in imaginative ways that speak more to the Freddy and Jason school of crime than your typical serial killer. You’re left to wonder what the victims might have in common or why these new deaths were happening. Meantime, the sense of foreboding permeates the island, paralyzing one and all.

On paper, it’s a cool idea. The execution, though, is where the series veered from clichéd to over-the-top and clearly, another draft was required. The Townies versus the Rich theme is a stereotype the producer make no effort to vary from to keep interesting. People go through the motions of resentment or envy and that’s a shame. The wedding party is largely a group of ciphers with barely any personality to distinguish one from another. There are exceptions, including the desperate Malcolm who does several questionable things throughout and totally misses his chance for romance. (more…)

Review: ‘Fringe’ Season One on DVD

Convoluted television premises were the rage when Fox bought Fringe from producers J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, Robert Orci, Bryan Burk and Jeff Pinker, but by the time it debuted last September audiences were wearying of being asked to follow so many complex serials. As a result, many shows began to wither and most died off. The Abrams’ mystique, though, aided by solid reviews, got enough people to try the show that it became a hit. The promise that the stories would be easier to follow and the mythology nowhere near as complex as his [[[Lost]]] seemed to be enough.

It didn’t hurt that [[[Fringe]]] also benefited from fewer commercials, leading to more minutes devoted to story and character.

The good news is that Fringe returns September 17 but the bad news is that the series reverts to the traditional network running time of about 41 minutes of story each hour. On the other hand, the first season comes out on DVD Tuesday so you have all of nine days to review or catch up. The following presumes you’ve been watching:

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Review: ‘Richard Stark’s Parker: The Hunter’ by Darwyn Cooke

the-hunter1-6670019Richard Stark’s Parker, Book One: The Hunter
Darwyn Cooke
IDW, July 2009, $24.99

Richard Stark’s Parker novels come out of a particular
period in literary history: the heyday of the disposable paperback for men.
Paperbacks had appeared in their modern form just before WWII, and servicemen
got used to carrying small paperbound books in whatever pockets they could jam
a book into. The boom continued through the postwar years, with a flood of
short thrillers, detective stories, and soft-core porn – all to stave off
boredom for a man waiting for dinner time on a business trip in some hick town,
or hanging out at the PX on his army base, or riding the streetcar home at
night.

[[[The Hunter]]] was
published in 1962, at the height of that boom – a good decade before the ‘70s
taught publishers that women were even more dependable consumers of paperbacks,
and the long shift to romances and their ilk began. At first glance, Stark’s
hero is right out of the mold of the great hardboiled Mikes (Hammer &
Shayne) – tough, violent, single-minded, implacable. But Parker was less
emotional than the usual hardboiled hero – cold where they were hot,
calculating where they were impetuous. Parker could kill when he had to – and he
did it quite a bit – but he never killed for fun, or just because he could. As
the Parker novels went on he avoided killing as much as he could, simply
because deaths attract more attention than he wanted.

Hardboiled heroes came from both sides of the
law – Mike Shayne and Mike Hammer were detectives, but there were plenty of
law-breakers before Parker, from writers like David Goodis and Jim Thompson.
They usually weren’t series characters, though: Parker’s amoralism went beyond
his own actions to his world, and his stories told how a master criminal could get away with it – if he was smart and tough
enough.

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Review: B.P.R.D., Vol. 10: The Warning by Mignola, Arcudi, and Davis

b-p-r-d-10-warning1-9243532

B.P.R.D. Vol. 10: The Warning
Written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi; Art by Guy
Davis
Dark Horse Comics, May 2009, $17.95

[[[The Warning]]] is the tenth volume
collecting the adventures of the [[[Hellboy]]]-less Bureau for Paranormal Research
and Defense, and the first in what the creators are calling the “[[[Scorched Earth
Trilogy]]].” The afterword by co-writer John Arcudi claims that events will get
bigger and more dangerous from here – though he does note that this volume
includes, among other thing, “[name withheld] gets kidnapped, … entire fleet of
helicopters gets wiped out, and gigantic robots trample [name withheld] into
rubble.” And previous volumes of this series (and, of course, of the related Hellboy)
have been no slouch in the near-Armageddon sweepstakes – particularly [[[The Black Flame]]]. That’s a lot of promise, but Mignola’s fictional
world does always teeter on the verge of utter supernatural chaos, in his very
Lovecraftian way. It would be wise to take Arcudi at his word.

The Warning begins with the team going
in two directions at once, urgently following up recent events – Abe Sapien
leads an assault squad out into the snowy mountains to try to find and retrieve
the Wendigo-possessed former leader of their team, and the others have a séance
to contact the mysterious ‘30s costumed hero Lobster Johnson, whom they think
will have information about the robed man taunting and manipulating firestarter
Liz Sherman in her mind. But neither one of those leads works out as the
[[[B.P.R.D.]]] hopes, and, before long, they’re face-to-face with another
high-powered menace and seeing another city being assaulted by giant robots.

And yet, remember that note from Arcudi. The plot of The
Warning turns out to be just a warm-up; the antagonists here
are not the true enemies of the B.P.R.D. Near the end, that mysterious man
claims that he isn’t their real antagonist, either. The B.P.R.D. is
fumbling in the dark in The Warning, unsure of what the
real menace is, let alone how to stop it. But they go on, because that’s what
they do.

The Warning is a great installment
of a top-rank adventure series, filled with wonder and terror, eyeball kicks
and quiet character moments. It’s a magnificent brick in a more magnificent
wall, but it’s no place to start. If you haven’t read B.P.R.D.
before, go back to the beginning with [[[Hollow Earth
]]]– or, even better, go back to the beginning of Hellboy
with [[[Seed of Destruction]]]. But, if you enjoy adventure
stories with characters who don’t wear skin-tight outfits,
you should have discovered Mignola’s world by now.

Andrew Wheeler has been a publishing professional
for nearly twenty years, with a long stint as a Senior Editor at the Science
Fiction Book Club and a current position at John Wiley & Sons. He¹s been
reading comics for longer than he cares to mention, and maintains a personal,
mostly book-oriented blog at antickmusings.blogspot.com.

Publishers who would like to submit books
for review should contact ComicMix through the usual channels or email Andrew
Wheeler directly at acwheele (at) optonline (dot) net.

Review: ‘I Sell the Dead’

Are you looking to round out your Summer with a campy “horror” movie? Look no further than [[[I Sell the Dead]]]. This amusing film, written and directed by Glenn McQuaid, follows the recollections of a young grave robber named Arthur Blake (Dominic Monaghan) on the eve of his execution.

Set in 18th century England (some of our group thought Ireland), the general campy tone of the movie is hinted to early on when Father Duffy (Ron Perlman) is on his way to hear Blake’s confessions and passes what appears to be the skeletal remains of a chihuahua in the dungeon. In recounting how he became a grave robber, we are treated to humorous flashbacks of how Blake became a grave robber and, later, a “ghoul” – one who acquired and sells the undead. We soon discover that Blake and his grave robbing partner, Willie Grimes (Larry Fessenden) are up against a rival gang of brutal ghouls who are happy to use any means necessary to get their hands on the undead.

The film is chock-full of vibrant (and often drunk) characters. It is also well-stocked with monsters and over-abundant artificial fog somewhat reminiscent of classic campy horror films. I Sell the Dead does not fail to deliver the laughs they seem to be aiming for. The film also uses a very stylized method for changing scenes, wherein the end of a scene goes still and is then inked over to have the look of a scene from an old pulp comic. If you are looking for a modern, action-packed horror movie with a lot of shock and gore, this is not the film for you. Fans of Dominic Monaghan will enjoy getting to see him on screen again, and his comic timing is excellent as always. Those who prefer classic horror films or who want a break from the ordinary will find I Sell the Dead clever and amusing. If you are planning to see a fun and different flick with a group of friends, check this one out!

Review: ‘Likewise’

likewise-lg-8171227Likewise: The High School Comic Chronicles of Ariel Schrag

By Ariel Schrag
Touchstone, April 2009, $16

One of the nice things about reviewing for ComicMix is that people send you things that I would otherwise not consider reading or watching. Such is the case with [[[Likewise]]], an autobiographical graphic novel by Ariel Schrag. She began illustrating tales of her life while a ninth grader and had previous published [[[Awkward and Definition]]] and [[[Potential]]], the latter having been nominated for an Eisner Award, and is currently being developed into a major motion picture with Schrag herself handling the screenplay. Her writing about her growing up an active lesbian also led her to be a writer on the third and fourth seasons of Showtime’s [[[The L Word]]].

Likewise, a 360-page work is dedicated entirely to her turbulent senior year in high school. It definitely felt like I was coming in on the middle with the players already established but as the pages turned, everyone came into sharper focus. Ariel was already publishing her comics through Slave Labor Graphics and applying to college while trying to manage life without Sally, her girl friend who is now a college freshman. Her parents have divorced and her mother is apparently enjoying a second childhood, much to Ariel and her sister’s displeasure.

From the start of the term through graduation, Ariel recounts the highs and lows, the anxiety that comes with being a lesbian, a girl, a high schooler and a child of divorce. In graphic detail, we see that she is quite sexually active, seeking love and affection, reaffirmation from others while pining away for Sally, who seems to have discovered sex with men. Sally’s relationship with Ariel forms the spine for the year whether Sally is physically present or not.

Schrag’s simple style is also a detailed one, altering the amount of texture to reflect her state of mind. We go from a few scratchy lines to incredibly vivid panels that put her bedroom and classroom on display.

Given the page count, Schrag invites us into her mind, which is turbulent and very much her own. The teens talk like teens, the adults clearly differentiated without the stereotype that all adults are clueless jerks. In fact, at least one teacher comes through as genuinely helpful and sympathetic. The concerns of October are entirely gone, replaced with new ones by Christmas. There are incredibly embarrassing moments such as the night Mom invites the girls to share a joint with her and other joyous times such as the outing to buy her first dildo.

The book suffers a bit from being a bit too stream-of-consciousness and you lose track of time or decisions she has made, especially the important ones like college. Her lettering reflects the artwork’s mood so can go from typeset to an illegible scrawl and could have paid more attention to clarity. Still, these are minor nits in an overall fascinating examination on one of today’s teens. They all have their own stories, but Schrag chose to document and share her own tale, which proves to be compelling reading.

Crazy Sexy Geeks: A New Weekly Web-Series

  • News
  • August 6, 2009

amber-benson-alan-kistler-crazy-sexy-geeks-5022931So your parents loved Robert Downey, Jr. in Iron Man but don’t think comics themselves have anything to offer? Your friends loved V for Vendetta and The Dark Knight and are curious to read comics now but aren’t sure where to start? This is the show to help them all out.

Starring yours truly and New York actor Jose Ramos, “Crazy Sexy Geeks: The Series” is meant to help new people get into comics and other geeky entertainment while also being fun for those already initiated. Each week we will discuss topics such as openly gay super-heroes, why there don’t seem to be many women super-heroes outside of comics, whether remakes are better than sequels, the challenges of film adaptations, and other fun topics that anyone with a smidgeon of pop culture knowledge can enjoy.

This is not your typical comic book video blog where two or three guys sit in a basement or at a friend’s house and just review what came out this week. This is a show where we go out on the street, asking mainstream America what they think about super-heroes, sci-fi films, etc. Likewise, there are professional interviews with folks such as Rob Zombie, Edward James Olmos, novelist David Mack (Star Trek: Destiny, The Calling), and others still to come.

For our first episode, watch us chat with Amber Benson (Tara from “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) about female super-heroes, her new novel Death’s Daughter, and what she thinks about the Twilight series.

Ready? Great! WATCH OUR FIRST EPISODE!

ComicMix.com and Midtown Comics are not responsible nor necessarily share the views expressed on Crazy Sexy Geeks. If you love Twilight, get mad at Jose and Alan, not anyone else.

Alan Kistler is a freelance online journalist who has been recognized by media outlets as a comic book historian. His additional works can be found at http://KistlerUniverse.com.

Review: ‘Al Williamson’s Flash Gordon’

Al Williamsons Flash Gordon: A Lifelong Vision of the Heroic

Flesk Publications, July 2009, $29.95

While Al Williamson did not create the legendary science fiction character, in many ways he inherited Alex Raymond’s artistic legacy. The artist was born in 1931, three years before [[[Flash Gordon]]]memorably hit the Sunday newspapers.

Raymond is considered one of the finest illustrators to work in syndicated comics, along with Hal Foster, with a photorealistic style that brought his world of Mongo and its varied denizens to life. While Buck Rogers was the first SF strip, Flash Gordon was the best as the stories were epic in scope. The landscape of Mongo was unlike any realm seen in comics before and through the years that special feeling evaporated in the hands of others. Until Williamson.

In 256 pages, we are treated to the three stories produced for King Comics in the 1960s, the short-lived imprint from King Features Syndicate in addition to the his adaptation of the unfortunate 1980 film that looked better than it played. There’s also Williamson’s last major series work, the miniseries produced for Marvel in 1994. The King material is exceptional because it was the first time original material had been produced for comics with the characters actually resembling their strip origins . It’s lush and fast-paced with Williamson actually writing the first story. His long-time collaborator, Archie Goodwin, one of the most respected people in the field…ever, wrote several stories and Larry Ivie also contributed a tale.

Williamson’s style was very much like Raymond’s and his settings and characters felt just right. The deering-do is quick-paced and while the stories tread familiar ground, they are still head and shoulders above much other science fiction in comics. The three stories, brief as they were, earned him the National Cartoonist Society’s Best Comic Book Cartoonist award. His movie adaptation didn’t win awards but earned him a new generation of fans who may have only known his name in association with the legendary EC Comics.

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