Completely At Random

Well, since I haven't had any real content in a while, I figured I'd do a quick list of crap that's been floating through my mind/DVD player/bookshelf.

Went to see Beowulf in 3-D last week, a few brief thoughts:

• John Malkovich proves that you can act badly in CG animation, there had better be a deleted scene on the DVD of him getting handed his check.
• While some characters look amazing (Beowulf for one), some are plainly rush jobs and fall deeply into the uncanny valley.
• If you want to see it, I'd recommend 3-D, as it's pretty cool and a lot of the shots are plainly made to "be cool in 3-D".
• Those 3-D glasses kinda suck if you have to wear them over glasses.
• The first thirty minutes of the movie could easily be repurposed as an opening to a porn film. Everybody in the beginning just wants to have sex.
• I never, ever need to see a drunk, half-naked, computer-generated Anthony Hopkins ever again. Hell, I never needed to see that in the first place.
  

Saw the Pipettes that same night, go to this old post (and this one too) for repeat gushing.

Also, in a musical vein, go check out this guy's blog, he recently gave me a fantastic mix and it's been playing almost non-stop on my work computer. Send vol. 2 my way when you get a chance DB.

Finally got the first season of Flight of the Conchords from Netflix. I was on the fence during the first episode, but once the below little number hit, I was enamored:

Obviously, the show is deeply odd, but it's a charming odd, not a pretentious odd. Much like New Zealand (ie. the Canada of the southern hemisphere).

Here's what I got comics-wise last week:

Captain America #33 - Excellent as usual, but I think I might be switching to trade on this book. The last four or five issues have essentially been one, long chase sequence and I think it would read better all at once rather than with the monthly breaks (I am not one of those people that can buy books and let them sit, unread until an arc completes).

Brave & the Bold #8 - Another excellent title that really doesn't leave much more to say. It's amazing that the quality of George Perez's art continues to grow every year. Check out that cover (below), awesome. Easily the most fun book on the stands every month (with the occasional skip month).



Ex Machina #32 - I can't believe that I keep forgetting to drop this book. Don't get me wrong, there's really nothing wrong with it, but since it started veering away from political stuff into a more "standard" superhero story, I've kind of lost interest. The book started very strongly but I just don't get the feeling that it's going anywhere. It's odd, both the writer (Brian K. Vaughn) and the artist (Tony Harris) are two all-time faves, but it just isn't clicking with me. I almost feel that it would be better as a prose work.



The Spirit #11 - Darwyn Cooke wraps up his longest story line in this book in his penultimate issue and it's good, but I really didn't want the Spirit to tangle with zombies. I prefer the more down and dirty crime issues and this it just a little too over-the-top. That said, it's still beautiful to look at and I imagine I'll look at it with much more fondness once Mr. Cooke's been off the title for a while. That said, it has a very cool Dia De Los Muertos cover (above). Will have to remember to re-purpose that around holiday time next year.

Other than that, just been trying to finish up the last of the Christmas shopping, hopefully that'll be done in the next few days. I'm picking up my comics tonight, so maybe I'll have some thoughts on this week's books up tomorrow.

Have a good one.