The Avenging Whedon

I'm inclined toward zero interest in the upcoming Avengers movie. I mean, big team-up films never seem to work, and most of the characters are left without anything important to do. Shoot, that was a problem with many of the Star Trek films, and those weren't even team-ups, except for Generations. Only one thing has me excited about this film, but that one thing has me very excited. That thing is Joss Whedon. This recent interview reminded me why he has me eager to see this film.

Whedon Shall be Avenged

After months of rumor, it's official: Joss Whedon has announced he will direct Marvel's upcoming theatrical adaptation of The Avengers comic. From Whedon's comments, it sounds as if he'll be writing, or at least outlining, the film, too. Woo-freakin'-hoo!

Edit: A summary of Whedon's and J. J. Abrams' comments from their Comic-Con panel is here.

The Cape

Holy smokes, this show might not suck.

Complexion

Today's xkcd was extra-funny to me, perhaps because of my affinity for...well, you'll see.

The Horribleness of the Emmy Awards

In other Dr. Horrible news, everyone's favorite supervillain musical internet series had a good year at the Emmys. Not only did it win the new award for short-format, live-action program last Saturday, but last night's Emmy broadcast was "interrupted" when the good doctor hacked into the network to deliver an amusing diatribe on the end of television.

Sing Along with Dr Horrible Again

Joss Whedon has just announced that a sequel to Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog is in the works. It's not clear yet whether this installment of the good doctor's story will follow the low-budget model of the original or if external backers will supply more money. Either way, I'm excited about this news. You?

Oy!

Remember the gag* from Airplane! about Jewish athletes?

"Would you like something to read?".

"Do you have anything light?"

"How about this leaflet, 'Famous Jewish Sports Legends?'"

Well, if you enjoyed reading about semitic sports heroes, you may be glad to know that now, finally, you can read about the greatest jewish superheroes of comic-book-land.  

*For the record, as someone with substantial Jewish heritage and more than a little athletic ability, I feel perfectly comfortable with this joke.

My Superpowers

I am, in general, an incompetent boob. However, I do have a few distinctive talents, which I like to think of as my mutant superpowers. Here are the first couple that spring to mind:

• I'm uncannily good at picking the smallest possible Tupperware---or Rubbermaid, sure---container that will hold the leftovers in questions. Apparently, I've internalized the concept of conservation of volume.
• I can pick out celebrities from their voice-over work in cartoons, documentaries, and advertisements. Jeff Goldblum and Mike Rowe, you can't hide from me.
  

Book Review: Watchmen

(This review contains no significant spoilers.)

As part of my recent resurgent interest in reading, I finally got around to tackling Watchmen.  I purchased this graphic novel, which is generally regarded as the most significant example of its kind ever published, at least 3 years ago.  I never actually read it until now, however, because I couldn't get past the art, which is, in some ways, rather poor. As I shall explain, I was foolish to be so put off by the artwork.

The Setup

Watchmen takes place in an alternate-reality America where the US soundly won the Vietnam War, and Richard Nixon is serving an unprecedented fifth term as the President.  The main story, the investigation of what appears to be the serial killing of masked heroes, occurs in October and November of 1985, but the book is laced with flashbacks reaching as far back as 1939.  Each of the 12 chapters---the  issues of the original limited run of the Watchmen comic---also features several pages on supplementary text.  This text is pulled from one character's autobiography, newspaper interviews with characters, documents from one character's history, and so on.

What I Liked

• The main story, the investigation of the murders, is interesting, though it is not the most intriguing aspect of this book.
• The extremely nonlinear way in which the story is told and in which the characters' history is slowly revealed is fascinating.
• The characters themselves are interesting, especially Rorschach, and Dr. Manhattan.  I think Rorschach is my favorite, though I wouldn't want to spend any time with him.  Or near him.  Or in the same city with him.
• The composition of the comic panels is extremely well done.  Some examples:  the reader often must look through the foreground to see that the important content is in the background, some of the panels are echoed throughout the volume, many panels feature dual storylines that mirror each other, and the angles from which the panels are "shot" are carefully chosen to draw attention to elements within each panel.
• The Tales of the Black Freighter, a comic-within-the-comic is an interesting idea, and it suggests that, in a world of masked adventurers, comics might not be about them.
• The story is very realistic.  Only one of the "superheroes" in the book has any kind of powers, and the way society reacts to these vigilantes seems fairly believable to me.
• Interpersonal relationships are a key part of the story, and they are well explored.
• I enjoyed how the book explores the motivations and evolution of the masked adventurers

What I Disliked

• As I said, I was turned off by the art when I first picked up the book The drawing is crude, at least by modern comic-cook standards, and the coloring is very flat and uniform.  (As I said before, though, the composition aspect of the art is excellent.)
• The Tales of the Black Freighter, though an interesting premise, simply drags on too long, and mostly made me annoyed that I had to read that storyline before getting back to the "real" plot.
• The exact mechanism by which the main antagonist intends to achieve his or her goal is, well, a little silly.

Summary

Overall, I give Watchmen 9.0 out of 10, one of the highest ratings I've ever given.  It's the best graphic novel and one of the best novels of any kind that I have read.  I encourage you to read this book.  You won't regret it.

I'm also looking forward to seeing the film based on this comic.  I'm worried about the movie version, though.  The extremely nonlinear means by which the story is told might confuse many viewers, so I'm not sure how much of it will be implemented for the film.  Additionally, since the book has far less "action" than the typical superhero movie, I'm concerned the the filmmakers will feel the need to punch up the flick with a bunch of choreographed fight sequences and explosions.  We shall see.

Internet Series Review: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

(This review contains no significant spoilers.)

As I wrote my last entry, a review of another internet series starying Felicia Day, I realized that I had never posted a review of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.  So, here it is:

The Setup

You can read my version of this series' setup here.

What I Liked

• The dialog is wonderfully Whedonesque.
• The plot is perposterous but hilarious.
• The acting is solid.
• The main characters, with one exception, are interesting and well developed.
• The songs are amusing and well performed.

What I Disliked

• Penny's character is only poorly developed and serves only as a MacGuffin to motivate Dr. Horrible's and Captain Hammer's actions.  If it weren't for Whedon's established record of feminism, I'd feel compelled to point out that only male characters had anything to do.

Conclusion

Overall, I give Dr. Horrible 8.5 out of 10.  If you haven't yet seen it, I encourage you to do so. 

The Graysons < The [BC]atwoman Hour

It seems that the CW is planning a series, entitled The Graysons, that would follow Dick Grayson before he became Robin. Think of it as a Boy Wonder analog of Smallville. As a person who believes that Robin is the weakest part of the Batman mythos, I have no interest in this potential show. I wouldn't mind seeing a series about Grayson's career as Nightwing, however, if only to see someone say "Blüdhaven" with a straight face.

Of course, a show following the romantic exploits of the new Batwoman, interrupted occasionally by fights with Catwoman, would be most welcome. Mmmm...Catwoman.

Edit: The reader comments following this story at IO9 are pretty amusing. Much more entertaining than the show could ever be.

Evil League of Evil Seeks More, Well, Evil

Do you long to be a supervillain, or are you just inclined to costumed singing?  Either way, you might be interested to know that the the Evil League of Evil, made famous in Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, is accepting applications for membership.*  The best applicants will appear in the bonus features on the DVD of DHSAB and, I can only assume, will receive singing letter of praise from the Thoroughbred of Sin, suitable for framing.  Applications are due by October 11, so get evil-ing!

* Henchmen need not apply.

OMG Ponies!

I guess a Bad Horse version would have been just too easy.

Movie Review: The Dark Knight (2008)

(This review contains no significant spoilers.)

Alison and I, along with a few friends, saw The Dark Knight several weeks ago on the film's opening weekend. Somehow, I haven't gotten around to reviewing the movie until now. Here's what I have to say.

What I liked:

• The cast performed well. In particular, Heath Leger was astoundingly disturbing as the Joker. The thing he did with his tongue was, in Alison's words, "the creepiest gesture ever."
• The plot was very gritty and dark. This is easily the darkest comic-book movie I've seen. 300 may have had a higher body count, but it wasn't anything like as bleak as The Dark Knight.
• The dialog was interesting and, occasionally, funny.
  
• The effects and stunts in the film were all very well done.

What I dislike:

• The voice Christian Bale used for the Batman, which was different for the one he used for Bruce, was very annoying. It was some kind of husky stage whisper, similar to the one he used in the previous film, but worse.

Overall, I think this is the best superhero movie I've seen. I give it 8.5 out of 10.

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

Whedonites in the readership are probably aware that Joss Wehdon's next TV project, Dollhouse, will hit the air in January. Those same fans may not know that other audio-visual Whedony goodness will be available much sooner.

You see, during the writer's strike, Whedon wrote a story called Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. The cast and crew volunteered their services in the hopes that Joss would somehow figure out some way to make money off the project. The movie that resulted will be streamed live from its website in three parts on July 15, 17, and 19. After that, it will be available for download, then on a DVD with extra material.

By now, I hope, you are interested in the cast and storyline. The movie follows would-be supervillian Dr. Horrible (Neil Patrick Harris) as he is foiled by superhero Captain Hammer (Nathan "Captain Tightpants" Fillion) and works up the nerve to talk to a cute girl (Felecia Day). So, the hero is the villian, and the villian is the hero. Oh, and it's a musical.

So, I encourage you to check out the trailer, read the comic, and watch the full story once it becomes available.

Movie Review: Iron Man (2008)

(This review does not contain significant spoilers.)

Alison and I saw Iron Man last weekend, contributing to the film's huge box-office gross. I've enjoyed several comic-book adaptations---notably Spider-Man and Batman Begins---but found several to be painful to watch---notably Superman Returns and Spider-Man 3. I wondered how I would enjoy this film, since it's the comic-book movie whose source material I was least familar with. Do I think this film's overwhelmingly positive reviews were justified? Read on to find out.

What I liked:

• Robert Downy Jr., aided by the script, made the lead character of Tony Stark a likable jerk. I enjoyed seeing a superhero who had some significant character flaws but whom I still felt amiable toward.
• Gwyneth Paltrow did a reasonably good job portraying Stark's assistant with the very Marvel Comics name of Pepper Potts.
• The script has a sense of humor. Not only did it includes some good gags, but it just didn't seem to take itself too seriously.
• The film chronicles Stark's construction of the suit that gives him the name in the title. He doesn't put it together during a single montage, but over the course of several scenes.
• Stark's character evolves over the course of the film. As Joss Whedon might say, he doesn't have a character arc from hero to hero.
• The effects in the film looked great. The computer-generated effects blended well with the practical ones.
• The use of Black Sabbath's "Iron Man" over the end credits was amusing.
  

What I didn't like:

• There are several technical and logical flaws in the story. However, these mostly serve to advance the plot or make certain plot points more accessible to the audience, so they didn't distract me from the story like the much more numerous and egregious errors in films like Transformers.
• The nature and capabilities of the enemy with whom Stark finally faces off is a bit too expected for a comic-book film. You'll see what I mean if you catch this flick.
  

Overall, I give this film 8.0 out of 10. It's one of the best comic-book movies I've seen, if not the best. That's a big statement on my behalf, given what a fan of the Batman I am. I encourage you to watch this film if you are at all interested in this kind of thing. Be sure to stay through the end credits to see a fun cameo.

I must say that I'm now excited to hear that a sequel has been green-lit. I'm even interested to read that Iron Man may appear in a theatrical adaptation of The Avengers, even though I don't believe those team-ups usually turn out well. Now which Marvel character do you think should be adapted for 2012 and beyond?

Holy Anime, Batman!

Batfans in the readership---this means you, Lisa---may be interested to learn about this "Animatrix-style tie-in" to The Dark Knight. Looks cool, eh?

No Heroes: Origins

It looks like Heroes: Origins is being shelved, for this season anyway. Stupid writers' strike.

Takezo Kensei: Sword Saint

Fans of heroes in the readership---that's pretty much all of you---might be interested in this mockumentary of the legend of Takezo Kensei, which is brought to you by the Yamagato Fellowship.

Heroes Sneaking Up On Me

Somehow, I didn't realize until yesterday that Heroes was returning tonight. That's right, tonight. So, if you watched last season, be sure to tune in. If not, TiVo it, and get caught up.