Movie Report: Daredevil

So sue me -- I was one of the fifteen people who liked the 2003 movie version of Daredevil.

But unlike most of you, I don't find Ben Affleck offensive. Maybe that makes a difference.

Where the Spider-Man flicks are four-color bright and sunny, Daredevil was dark and gritty. Stuff gets smashed. People die. Ben Affleck looks pretty good in leather.

OK, so the scene with Electra and Matt in the playground is so cheesy it should have been sponsored by Kraft, but I can forgive it. I liked the little touches (Matt sleeping in a sensory deprivation tank) and I started my Evanescence kick after hearing their songs in the movie.

And Bullseye freaking rocked. As did Kingpin, although we didn't get to see as much of him. It was nice, though, that the villains didn't overshadow the hero -- something that's fairly rare in comic flicks.

This is one of my "comfort food" movies -- Not great, but not bad. I know I'm gonna enjoy it, so I don't have to think about it. Just pop it in the DVD player and knit.

Movie Report: The Matador

Pierce Brosnan leaves James Bond far behind him in this 2005 black comedy, where he plays a washed-up hitman with a molester moustache, a pot belly and too-tight Euro-pimp threads.

Having a "nobody loves me" meltdown in Mexico City, Brosnan's Julian befriends a sad-sack guy from Colorado with a dead kid, a failing business and a tree in his kitchen. Greg Kinnear plays the businessman, Danny, and while I'm often not fond of his comedy work, he makes a great straight man for Brosnan's wild performance.

So they guy bond, play at killing, and go their separate ways. Months later, Julian realizes that his psychological problems are interfering with his work to the point that he's next on the hit list, so he shows up on the doorstep of his only friend ... Danny.

This is a fun, quirky odd-couple comedy, and I think the thing I liked the best was that it wasn't like 20 other odd-couple comedies that have been released in the past few years. The Matador had some originality, and that's all too rare.

Movie Report: Find Me Guilty

The idea of Vin Diesel in a Sidney Lumet film was odd enough. Vin Diesel playing an overweight, aging gangster in a Sidney Lumet courtroom drama?

The oddity factor alone was enough to get me to watch it on cable.

And whatya know? The big lunk can really act! He totally disappeared into his character, and he was fabulous. I think I'd like to see him get some more opportunities.

A lot of the courtroom dialogue was taken from the transcripts of the trial that inspired the film, and it's funny, sad and very real. Jackie questioning his cousin is a high point.

I don't want to give away a lot of the story, but this is one that's worth seeing. Bonus: Annabella Scoirra has a cameo, and she *smokes* -- she and Diesel barely touch one another, but you'll need a cigarette afterward.

Movie Report: 3:10 to Yuma

Wow.

I'd been wanting to see 3:10 to Yuma since I heard about it (I'm a sucker for Westerns) and I wasn't disappointed.

Heroes, villains, wide vistas, dirty towns, fast guns, weak lawmen, charismatic murderers, and women shoved to the side. It had all the Western essentials. :)

The action and tension remain constant throughout, and the casting is perfect. Russell Crowe is devilishly charming, Christian Bale is tortured and angsty, and the guy who played Crowe's right-hand man stole every scene he was in. (Did he have a crush on Ben Wade?)

And Wash. Waaaaassshhhh! Alan Tudyk plays the town vet/doctor, who is reluctantly pressed into service. He does something cool and heroic, then dies. Do I sense a trend?

I am a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar.

OK, back to 3:10 to Yuma. There's gonna be Oscar nominations coming out of this movie. You should see it before the envelopes are handed out.

Book Report: The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing

I had heard good things about this particular bit of chick lit, so when I was browsing Half-Price Books and picking up things at random I added this to the stack.

Took it home and finished it in the same afternoon. Heavy reading it's not.

This isn't a novel, although it appears that some of the reviewers are confused on this point. It's a series of short stories, many of which were previously published in magazines and such, all about the same character.

Jane starts out as a know-it-all teen, and moves through college, failed relationships, failed jobs, death, cancer and mid-20s crisis to end up at some sort of a happy ending. She's sitcom witty and literary minded -- to the point that it was at times unrealistic. No one is this smart and well-spoken *all* the time.

Jane also has the wealthy, white, East Coast background that I saw in so many books and magazines when I was a teenager. She reminds me of the impossibly perfect yet adorably flawed girls I saw in Seventeen when I was growing up. I didn't identify with them any more than I identified with Jane.

A world of summers at the Cape, dinners after Broadway and weekends in the Caribbean is foreign to me. Maybe someone does really live like that.

The writing was good, although I did feel that Banks tried too hard sometimes. "You're drinking gasoline to stay warm," has punk grrrl style, but without the music to back it up. It should be a song lyric, not a sentence.

Not a bad read overall, but not one I'd go out of my way for.

Movie Report: Psycho

When I realized that my beloved sweetie had never seen the original Psycho all the way through, we had to sit down and fix that situation. Immediately.

Psycho (1960) helped create the thriller genre. Before it horror movies were almost all monster mashes. Psycho used suspense, fear and psychological shocks.

The practically perfect score is part of pop culture now, as is the signature scenes of the movie. Everyone knows them. But unless you've experienced the original for yourself, you don't understand it.

The script is marvelous, and even uses its own shortcomings (early on in the film, the characters don't seem to have much motivation to do what they do) to help fuel the twists. The directing is superb, the acting top-notch, and the humor dark.

If you haven't seen this movie, you must. Stop reading, get in your vehicle of choice, and proceed directly to the closes place that sells or rents DVDs. Do not even wait for Netflix.

Simply flawless.

Comic Report: Sin City: Hell and Back

Frank Miller's longest (and last) book in the Sin City series adds one of the series' first real heroes. Wallace is an artist with a troubled soul and a talent for hurting people.

One night he meets the woman of his dreams, and saves her from committing suicide. Soon he's mixed up in a wide-spread kidnapping conspiracy, and to save Esther, Wallace will go to hell and back.

A trippy hallucination scene is worth the price of admission, and there's plenty of Sin City-style violence and mayhem, but I didn't feel for Wallace and Esther the way I did for Marv and Goldie or Nancy and Hartigan. So I'd rank this volume below those stories.

Maybe there's only so many times the tough guy can rescue the damsel in distress.

Book Report: The Travel Detective

This might have been a somewhat-decent travelers' guide -- about six years ago. After 9/11, though, stunts like shrink-wrapping your luggage and buying multiple tickets to piece together the best flight are gonna get you thrown out of the airport if you're lucky, and arrested if you're not.

In many ways, though, travel has moved from an enjoyable benefit of the modern world to a trial by annoyance -- or at least that's what I decided in the Denver airport when they were blowing air up my shirt to check for explosives. Then I got to sit in an uncomfortable plastic chair all day hoping and praying that the airline, in its infinte wisdom, would see fit to give me the ride home I'd already paid for.

I hate airlines. Hate 'em, hate 'em, hate 'em.

This book won't help. Sadly outdated and not even worth checking out of the library.

Comic Report: Civil War: Runaways and Young Avengers

This is one of the few Civil War storylines I didn't follow, so I picked it up in trade.

I like the Runaways. I liked the Young Avengers. (And I miss them. Marvel, bring 'em back!) So it was fun seeing the two hottest teen teams in the Marvel Universe meet up without a lot of the heavy angst of Civil War.

When the no capes, no rules Runaways end up dealing with the very traditional Young Avengers, it's predictable that they don't get along. Luckily, they get over the awkward banter quickly (this writer just can't compare to Vaughan and Whedon) and get into a straightforward story about illegal and immoral experiments on inmates at a prison for unregistered superpowered humans.

Niko and Vision get some nice bits, as do Xavin and Hulkling. But this book added almost nothing to the Civil War story, and it's not essential for fans of either team.

Pick it up if you want, but it might be better to borrow it from a buddy.

Movie Report: Highlander: The Source

THIS MOVIE IS SO BAD IT WILL MAKE YOU PUNCH KITTENS!

It's such a piece of crap that they didn't even have a poster on imdb for me to steal! It sucked!!!!

Now, I liked Highlander (the first movie) is a fun, B-flick kind of way. I enjoyed the TV series.

But this? Sad, sad, sad.

Why? Let me count the ways.

• It's obvious that the director thought everything should be a music video.
• Adrian Paul (and everyone else in the film) has forgotten how to use a sword. When I watch Highlander I want cool swordfighting, damnit!
• The story totally ignored the previous history of the films and TV series.
• The plot made no sense. At all. It made so little sense that I lost IQ points watching the movie.
• Why would immortals lose their power by approaching the source of it?
• What made the inhabitants of an island turn Mad Max?
• What were those two other moon-sized objects visible from Earth with the naked eye?
• I cared so little about the girl that I wanted her dead just because.
• The ultimate prize is the ability to knock your whiny wife up? WTF?

Seriously, if you're a Highlander fan at all, don't watch this movie. It almost makes the second one look good in comparision.

Manga Review: Gunsmith Cats Burst, Volume 1

One reason Dark Horse may have been so kind as to re-release all the old Gunsmith Cats stories is that they secured the rights to author Kenichi Sonoda's follow-up, Gunsmith Cats Burst.

More girls, more guns and more action. Misty's got a bit of a crush on Rally, but Rally's got bigger worries.

Three short chapters in the beginning give a sketchy intro to Rally, Minnie May, Becky and Misty and the work they do. I'm guessing this was for readers who might not have been familiar with the bounty-hunting Cats.

Then we get into the meat of the volume, with a story about Rally and Bean Bandit being stranded in the desert with a bounty. The Mafia wants the guy Rally's caught, and to force her to deal, they kidnap Rally's beloved Shelby Cobra and threaten to use it in a terrorist attack.

Bean wants his money, the bounty wants to go free, the Mafia wants the bounty, and Rally's got to scramble if she wants to stay alive and get her car back.

Fast-paced and fun. But it's better if you know these characters and the world, so if you're not familiar with Gunsmith Cats, read the omnibus editions first.

Manga Report: Gunsmith Cats Omnibus: Volume 1

Thank you, Dark Horse!

Gunsmith Cats has long been one of my favorite anime. I always wanted to read the manga that spawned it, but I didn't want to pay the eBay prices.

So I was stoked to learn that Dark Horse is releasing all of the Gunsmith Cats stories in nifty new omnibus editions.

It's a heck of a deal. You get about three of the old mangas in the pre-flip, right-to-left Japanese style, all for about $17. And it's got all of the fun stuff I like from the anime -- cute girls, fast cars, guns, explosions, car chases and adult humor. There's also a ton of nudity, frank discussions of underage sex and an implied rape -- this is not kiddy stuff.

I was pleased to see how rich the Gunsmith Cats world is -- it's not just Rally and Minnie May, it's their friends, all their past acquaitances, love interests and rivals. You learn just how Minnie May learned about explosives, and you meet Bean Bandit, a rival driver has skills to equal Rally, with none of her scruples. (If the money is there, he does not care!)

This is like reading a 1980s action movie -- fast, furious and fun. Bullets are flying, bodies are falling, the collateral damage is *massive* and everywhere there are guns, guns, guns. I have to wonder if Robert Rodgriez used this as inspiration for Rose McGowan's character in Planet Terror -- Bonnie bears a strong resemblence to Cherry Darling at the end of that Grindhouse gun fest.

Rated 18+ for violence, sexuality and the gleeful, repeated trashing of Rally's Shelby Mustang Cobra GT5000.

Movie Report: Heathers

When you were in high school, did you ever have an urge to blow the place up with everyone inside?

I did, almost every damn day. (For the record, my much-hated alma mater is still standing.) So I identified with Heathers, and this 1989 flick has been one of my favorite movies ever since.

One of the best black comedies ever made, Heathers is a highly-stylized, over-the-top depiction of 1980s teenagers that captures the essence of high school life in America. It trashes the teen movie genre as it celebrates it, and it even captures the outsiders' response to it in the form of the adults in the film.

Nasty, bitchy and black, black, black, Heathers is sick, demented, outrageous to the point of being unbelievable and strangely, it makes a hell of a lot of sense. It's even got the 1980s dream cast -- Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty. This is the Casablanca of teen movies.

Sheer brilliance. If I'm very, very lucky, someday I'll write something half as good.

I still want to be Veronica when I grow up.

Movie Report: Shoot 'Em Up

I wanted to see 3:10 to Yuma, but we would have had to hang around the theater for two hours or so before the next screening. Shoot 'Em Up was starting in five minutes.

This movie is straight-up, balls-to-the-wall, deliriously over-the-top mayhem. It's an action flick hopped up on crack with a Red Bull chaser. It's a Garth Ennis comic.

And, if you can turn your brain off, it's danged fun.

I don't ever think I've seen an infant's umbilical cord severed by a gunshot before. Or carrots used as weapons of mass destruction. I know this was the first time I watched a lactating hooker rip a Prince Albert off of a Marilyn Manson lookalike.

Clive Owen is Mr. Smith (that's not his real name) is waiting for a bus when he gets drawn into the mayhem. Carnage ... lots of carnage ... ensues. The plot totally doesn't matter, and that's good, because there isn't much of one.

Shootouts, car chases, showdowns, standoffs, mid-air acrobatics, a tank, a baby and a battle in a firearms factory, all with a cast of seemingly thousands.

It's craziness.

Book Report: Grave Peril

The Dresden Files series is a refreshing change. It's almost a universal rule that the quality of the writing will go down as a series ages (Anita Blake?).

The Dresden books just keep getting better, and with Grave Peril (the third in the series) Jim Butcher seems to really hit his stride.

This story starts out with a simple ghostbusting case that turns into much, much more. Soon there are vampires, more vampires, undead black magicians, fallen wizards, a nightmare spirit that's taking over people's souls, a dragon, a baby, and a missing holy sword. Oh, and Harry's fairy godmother is back, and boy, does she have an axe to grind!

Once the action starts, it doesn't let up, and this is a page-turner liberally spiced with humor and charm.

Along the way, Harry gets his ass kicked (a lot), loses sleep, barely escapes death and other horrible things and worries about his friends. As well he should. Even those who can take care of themselves (Michael) end up in peril this time. And a certain nosy reporter that Harry loves ends up finding a lot more out about the vampires of the Red Court than she ever wanted to.

These books are like popcorn -- hard to put down and impossible to get enough.

Comic Report: Batman: Hush Returns

Borders coupons make me take chances sometimes. So when I had a coupon and didn't know what to pick up, I took a chance on the sequel to Batman: Hush.

Sigh. This is what happens when a new writer picks up a character they don't understand.

Hush was unique and interesting in the original mini because he was calm and collected -- a chess player of a villain who thought dozens of moves ahead.

Turning him into yet another pretender for the throne of the top crime lord in Gotham? Lame.

The jumps in the story are jarring. It's split into two parts, and tacked on to the end is a third, rushed "end" to the story that feels like the writer said "damn -- didn't we finish that?"

Not even a sizable guest appearance by Green Arrow can save this one. Read Batman: Hush, but leave this sequel on the shelf.

Comic Report: Batman: Hush Vol. 2

Remember waaaaay back when I read Batman: Hush Vol. 1? And said I was looking forward to the second half of the story?

Yeah, I finally got around to reading it.

And once again, we get a grand tour of Bats' gallery of rogues -- Harley Quinn, Joker, Harvey Dent, Clayface, Riddler, Talia, Ra's al Ghul, Lady Shiva -- name someone, and they're probably in this book.

It's a rocking story with a lot of good fights, but it's marred by one huge flaw -- it doesn't exactly take a master detective to figure out who's behind it all. There's practically a big blinking arrow and a sign screaming "THAT GUY!!!"

And if I could figure it out this easily, how come Batman didn't catch on four issues before that?

Really, I think the artist just wanted to draw Batman fighting all of his most fearsome foes.

So the plot's weak. But it doesn't matter.

Any Batman story is cool. Even this one.

Movie Report: War

I like Jet Li. I like Jason Statham a lot. (What can I say -- he's a hottie!) Would I like to see them kick each other's asses? Sure!

Slick, stylish and just for the guys (I was practically the only woman in the theater, and the others looked like they'd been dragged their unwillingly) War gives you pretty much what you'd expect. Blood, violence, gun fights, butt kicking, car chases, action and noise, all set to a thumping soundtrack.

And there are ninjas! NINJAS!

All that coolness aside, it's a fun violence fest, with some plot twists for variety. I liked it, but I've got one major gripe.

Jet Li and Jason Statham, in a movie called War? With a poster like that? I want to see them throwdown, yo! I want kicks and punches and swords and a rainstorm and at least four minutes of one-on-one mayhem!

We get ... maybe 40 seconds. Weaksauce.

But it's cool if you're into this kind of movie.

Bonus note: Keep an eye out for Kane Kosugi in a minor part. He's another mega hottie (and my favorite Ninja Warrior!)

Movie Report: Superbad

((OK, I didn't get a post in yesterday, so I owe you two today. I gotta clear this backlog somehow.))

Superbad is super awesome!!!!

Yes, I know, it's strange. I'm thirty-something, and I still groove on goofy teenage comedies. So sue me. Nerds trying to get laid is funny.

The plot isn't breaking any new ground -- three nerds are on the verge of graduating and have one last shot at that crazy high-school adventure they all dream about. Toss in some separation anxiety (two got into the Ivy League, one's headed to generic State U) for flavor. Add dick jokes, a fake ID and the random boob shot. Marinate until funny.

But this movie just *works.* It helped that I saw it with a lively, packed house that was laughing so hard you couldn't hear some of the lines. People were there to have a good time, so we did. We are McLovin.

The writing is snappy and realistic and tends more to the funny than the gross, which is a nice change. (Although the dance bit ... EWWWWWW!) This one could end up as an Animal House style classic.

Rude and crude but never fake. I highly recommend this one.

Dude! You just cock blocked McLovin!

I Made It! Calorimetry

I had almost a full skein of Lana Grossa Joker left after making Aibhlinn and Fetching, and I didn't want to waste it.

Knowing at this point that the move to Cali was more likely, I wanted something that I could use there when the weather turned chilly, but not cold. And since *everyone* on the Web seemed to be raving about Calorimetry, I decided to try one.

I know there was a big controversy over how many stitches to cast on, but I decided that since I had a big head, I'd do it as directed.

Which worked for me -- it's just the right size. And I like it. It will keep my ears toasty. It was fun and quick to knit, and I probably make another one some time.



(Oh, and thanks to my friend Wendy for supplying a good button out of her sewing basket to complete it -- saved me a trip to the fabric store.)

But you want to know the damnest thing. I RAN OUT OF YARN MAKING IT! My first stash busting project, and I had to go out and buy another ball of Joker to finish it. Pie and a half!!!

So now I've got most of a skein of Lana Grossa Joker. Any ideas on what I can do with it? :-)

Movie Report: Rush Hour 3

You've seen this movie before. Chris Tucker is loud and obnoxious, Jackie Chan makes jokes about his English, some booty gets kicked and the good guys win the day.

That doesn't mean it's bad. Movie's like this are like McDonalds -- it's not the best, but you always know what you're gonna get.

For the third installment of this series, they've upped the humor and made the action tamer -- to the point where Chan didn't have much to do. Maybe it's his age and years of injuries catching up to him, or maybe it's nervous Hollywood execs, but he's not challenged at all. In fact, in the big finale (and they're in Paris, so it *had* to be at the Eiffel Tower) I could clearly see stuntmen subbing for Jackie in some parts *and* some CGI work. Sad.

And if the ambassador's daughter is supposed to be a Kung Fu instructor now, why didn't she do *any* Kung Fu?

But this movie did deliver on some turn-your-brain-off action and some good laughs. There's a missing you montage that cracked me up. It was a fun, forgettable summer movie. And I liked it.

There's something to be said for that.