Hello and welcome to the second 12/22/2015 edition of The Comic Shop Blog....
As I said in my "Creed" review I am basking in the afterglow of the wonderful film that was "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." I want to go full-on good, bad, & ugly but I feel I need to see it at least one more time so I can look at it more critically. So instead today I'll just get out some brief thoughts in random order. Please be wary of spoilers that potentially lurk below.
- The great thing about this movie was that it was all too familiar, but at the same time it was different. While the original trilogy staples like Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, C3PO, R2D2, and others were all present and accounted for the crux of the story laid in the more than capable hands of the new cast of Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), Finn (John Boyega), Oscar Issac (Poe Dameron), and Rey (Daisy Ridley).
- Daisy Ridley is wonderful as the scavenger with a mysterious background. She is charismatic and you immediately empathize with her struggle. Her hero worship of Han Solo is also a wonderful character trait that helped this humble blogger relate to her character.
- Adam Driver is delightful as the spoiled brat turned sith Kylo Ren. While it was a given that he was going to have some kind of connection with the original cast it was quite jarring to see some of the actions that he takes later on in the film.
- "That's not how the Force Works!" & BB-8's thumbs up were two of the more light hearted and funny parts of the movie.
- If I never see a giant-spherical-planet-destroyer-laser-thing ever again in my life that will be too soon. While the starkiller base concept was really cool it is just something they have done in too many of the "Star Wars" films.
- It's nice to see main characters of note that aren't connected to the Skywalker lineage. (At least that we know of)
- JJ Abrams said the script for Episode VIII is so good he wishes he was directing it (!)
- I loved the lightsaber duels in this one & the Original Trilogy a lot more than the highly choreographed acrobat shows from the Prequel Trilogy. The intimate setting and the close cut of the film made the duels seem very dangerous and very real.
- The first order stormtroopers are much better at the whole shooting their enemies thing
- Captain Phasma was kind of a waste.
There are a lot of great things about this film so even if you have not enjoyed "Star Wars" in the past there is something for everyone in this one so check it out.
Thanks for reading! See you next time at The Comic Shop!
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Let's play two...a double header of reviews part one: Creed
Hello and welcome to the 12/22/15 edition of The Comic Shop Blog!
The holidays are upon us and winter has not yet descended on us Hoosiers so we must count ourselves lucky that we have such wonderful weather.
I decided to provide a review for "Creed" for a couple of reasons. The first being that director Ryan Coogler is a top name being thrown around for Marvel's upcoming "Black Panther" movie, Michael B. Jordan is an actor I enjoy (and he was Johnny Storm if you want to get down to it), and also it's my blog so sue me. Lets hit it in the traditional TCSB Good, Bad, and Ugly review style. I warn you there may be potential spoilers so be warned.
The Good:
The thing that I enjoyed most about "Creed" was the thing that enjoyed most about "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" it was that it introduced new characters and new life into their prospective franchises without being cookie cutter retread filler. Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan) is a new perspective for us in the Rocky universe, and it is really refreshing that they don't use the same archetypes as the original movies.
One of the major revelations in this movie is that Rocky is in the fight of his life with non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and initially it was very jarring to your humble blogger/huge Rocky fan to see one of his heroes drop his gloves and accept defeat. That's right Rocky Balboa who through sheer heart and will of human spirit defeated Apollo Creed, partial blindness, B.A. Barackus, Ivan Drago, Communism itself, and old age chose not to seek treatment for his cancer. As I said it was quite jarring, but it was a wonderful way to make Adonis a relatable character as he reacted as a Rocky fan might with disgust at Balboa's lack of fight. It was a well thought out way to make the audience feel a connection with Adonis's plight.
There are a lot of little things that are great as every character has understandable motivations. Obviously Adonis is the main story, but his love interest Bianca (Tessa Thompson) also provides a tragic story as she is a musician that faces the eventuality of complete hearing loss.
The fight scenes in "Creed" are about the best that I've seen in anything related to the Rocky-verse. It features an over-the-shoulder look that makes the action quick cut and impactful. The pacing of the fights themselves are quicker and with less of the slow-mo dramatic effects of the previous Rocky movies.
Adonis is really the polar opposite Rocky character. While both had a rough up brining Adonis was adopted by Creed's widow and lived a good life eventually holding down a successful professional career with no real need to fight other than that it legitimized him as heir to the Creed surname. As I said earlier I found it very refreshing that they took things that had almost become cliche's from previous installments and turned them on their heads.
Bad/Ugly: There isn't a lot for this category here. I initially hated that Rocky wasn't trying to survive, but as I said it was turned into a story positive by the end. I think maybe the way they unveiled the Creed surname would be my main complaint as it was just the result of sour grapes from a rival boxing manager.
I know I had more to say about this film; however, I am currently basking in the afterglow of my first viewing of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens".
The review for the the big sequel will be in the very next post here on TCSB.
The holidays are upon us and winter has not yet descended on us Hoosiers so we must count ourselves lucky that we have such wonderful weather.
I decided to provide a review for "Creed" for a couple of reasons. The first being that director Ryan Coogler is a top name being thrown around for Marvel's upcoming "Black Panther" movie, Michael B. Jordan is an actor I enjoy (and he was Johnny Storm if you want to get down to it), and also it's my blog so sue me. Lets hit it in the traditional TCSB Good, Bad, and Ugly review style. I warn you there may be potential spoilers so be warned.
The Good:
The thing that I enjoyed most about "Creed" was the thing that enjoyed most about "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" it was that it introduced new characters and new life into their prospective franchises without being cookie cutter retread filler. Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan) is a new perspective for us in the Rocky universe, and it is really refreshing that they don't use the same archetypes as the original movies.
One of the major revelations in this movie is that Rocky is in the fight of his life with non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and initially it was very jarring to your humble blogger/huge Rocky fan to see one of his heroes drop his gloves and accept defeat. That's right Rocky Balboa who through sheer heart and will of human spirit defeated Apollo Creed, partial blindness, B.A. Barackus, Ivan Drago, Communism itself, and old age chose not to seek treatment for his cancer. As I said it was quite jarring, but it was a wonderful way to make Adonis a relatable character as he reacted as a Rocky fan might with disgust at Balboa's lack of fight. It was a well thought out way to make the audience feel a connection with Adonis's plight.
There are a lot of little things that are great as every character has understandable motivations. Obviously Adonis is the main story, but his love interest Bianca (Tessa Thompson) also provides a tragic story as she is a musician that faces the eventuality of complete hearing loss.
The fight scenes in "Creed" are about the best that I've seen in anything related to the Rocky-verse. It features an over-the-shoulder look that makes the action quick cut and impactful. The pacing of the fights themselves are quicker and with less of the slow-mo dramatic effects of the previous Rocky movies.
Adonis is really the polar opposite Rocky character. While both had a rough up brining Adonis was adopted by Creed's widow and lived a good life eventually holding down a successful professional career with no real need to fight other than that it legitimized him as heir to the Creed surname. As I said earlier I found it very refreshing that they took things that had almost become cliche's from previous installments and turned them on their heads.
Bad/Ugly: There isn't a lot for this category here. I initially hated that Rocky wasn't trying to survive, but as I said it was turned into a story positive by the end. I think maybe the way they unveiled the Creed surname would be my main complaint as it was just the result of sour grapes from a rival boxing manager.
I know I had more to say about this film; however, I am currently basking in the afterglow of my first viewing of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens".
The review for the the big sequel will be in the very next post here on TCSB.
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
A long time ago on a much, much, better blog.....
Hello and welcome to a long postponed new blog entry!
First.... Star Wars fever has enveloped your humble blogger! Less than a month from the return of Chewie, Han, Luke, Leia, R2, 3PO, and all the rest! Disney has gone full out with pushing the Star Wars franchise with all kinds of products from grilling gear to bed sheets and everything in between.
While "Jaws" was the first summer blockbuster the "Star Wars" franchise was the prototype for all things merchandising. This has often times crossed over into the world of comics as the galaxy from far far away has been the subject of countless series' regarding all sorts of subject matter. Spanning the Star Wars mythos from pre-Empire days to the continuation of Luke's adventures. While YHB has not had the chance to fully read any of the new series yet they are beautiful to look at with outstanding art, and are by all accounts wonderful reads. So head on down to your local comic store and pick up an issue of Star Wars, Darth Vader, Lando, Leia, or Chewbacca's comic and be happy because you made a great decision with your life.
Second.... THAT CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR TRAILER!!!! There are no words. There are no words.
Third..... YHB and the humble blogger's wife are about 4 episodes in to the most recent Netflix offering "Jessica Jones", and it is pretty phenomenal. It's amazing how far from the Disney/Marvel norm these shows have been. I had never been a huge fan of Krysten Ritter; however, she is absolutely wonderful as the conflicted and haunted superpowered private eye. Her performance is very authentic and she brings a lot of emotion to the screen. There are other great things, but I don't want to spoil too much. The Purple Man may very well be the best Marvel villain to date, and I don't envision him getting a cult fanbase like Loki.
Fourth.... "The Dark Knight III: The Master Race" hit shelves last Wednesday and I have to say as skeptical as I was it was actually very good. Instead of focusing on the negative things that have become Miller folklore over the last few years this issue had girl power with a single mother Wonder Woman slaying a beast while carrying her son Jonathan, the super spawn Kara taking matters into her own hands while her father-of-steel was out of commission, and finally with that big reveal at the end. This is a big departure from what most probably expected when this project was first announced as Miller has a long and dark history of portraying his female characters as "whores". We will see where it goes from here, but the first issue delivered. Bonus points for the fact that it contained an Atom mini comic that will serve to further the plot of the series.
Fifth.... I had a lot of concerns about the second season of "The Flash" on CW with each new off season week adding more and more people to the cast. It has been a wonderful thing to see how this new season has continued to top what was produced in season one. I didn't like that Zoom wasn't going to be in the traditional yellow costume, but the new version has been an actually welcomed edition. I won't get too much more into it, but suffice to say the scarlet speedster continues to be an absolute winner on the small screen.
* A small note about "Arrow" * This season has been a drastic improvement over the aimless wreck that was season 3 so be sure to check that out as well.
Wrapping Up.... I was super happy to see that the National Film Board named "Mad Max: Fury Road" the best movie of the year, but I will say that "The Martian" has overtaken Max as my favorite. If you have a chance go check it out it is a wonderful way to spend two hours at the movie theater.
As always thank you for your support and I will see you next time at The Comic Shop!
First.... Star Wars fever has enveloped your humble blogger! Less than a month from the return of Chewie, Han, Luke, Leia, R2, 3PO, and all the rest! Disney has gone full out with pushing the Star Wars franchise with all kinds of products from grilling gear to bed sheets and everything in between.
While "Jaws" was the first summer blockbuster the "Star Wars" franchise was the prototype for all things merchandising. This has often times crossed over into the world of comics as the galaxy from far far away has been the subject of countless series' regarding all sorts of subject matter. Spanning the Star Wars mythos from pre-Empire days to the continuation of Luke's adventures. While YHB has not had the chance to fully read any of the new series yet they are beautiful to look at with outstanding art, and are by all accounts wonderful reads. So head on down to your local comic store and pick up an issue of Star Wars, Darth Vader, Lando, Leia, or Chewbacca's comic and be happy because you made a great decision with your life.
Second.... THAT CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR TRAILER!!!! There are no words. There are no words.
Third..... YHB and the humble blogger's wife are about 4 episodes in to the most recent Netflix offering "Jessica Jones", and it is pretty phenomenal. It's amazing how far from the Disney/Marvel norm these shows have been. I had never been a huge fan of Krysten Ritter; however, she is absolutely wonderful as the conflicted and haunted superpowered private eye. Her performance is very authentic and she brings a lot of emotion to the screen. There are other great things, but I don't want to spoil too much. The Purple Man may very well be the best Marvel villain to date, and I don't envision him getting a cult fanbase like Loki.
Fourth.... "The Dark Knight III: The Master Race" hit shelves last Wednesday and I have to say as skeptical as I was it was actually very good. Instead of focusing on the negative things that have become Miller folklore over the last few years this issue had girl power with a single mother Wonder Woman slaying a beast while carrying her son Jonathan, the super spawn Kara taking matters into her own hands while her father-of-steel was out of commission, and finally with that big reveal at the end. This is a big departure from what most probably expected when this project was first announced as Miller has a long and dark history of portraying his female characters as "whores". We will see where it goes from here, but the first issue delivered. Bonus points for the fact that it contained an Atom mini comic that will serve to further the plot of the series.
Fifth.... I had a lot of concerns about the second season of "The Flash" on CW with each new off season week adding more and more people to the cast. It has been a wonderful thing to see how this new season has continued to top what was produced in season one. I didn't like that Zoom wasn't going to be in the traditional yellow costume, but the new version has been an actually welcomed edition. I won't get too much more into it, but suffice to say the scarlet speedster continues to be an absolute winner on the small screen.
* A small note about "Arrow" * This season has been a drastic improvement over the aimless wreck that was season 3 so be sure to check that out as well.
Wrapping Up.... I was super happy to see that the National Film Board named "Mad Max: Fury Road" the best movie of the year, but I will say that "The Martian" has overtaken Max as my favorite. If you have a chance go check it out it is a wonderful way to spend two hours at the movie theater.
As always thank you for your support and I will see you next time at The Comic Shop!
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