Lady Snowblood, Vol. 1 (Book)

I picked this one up from Amazon because I read in Entertainment Weekly Tarantino was inspired from this to create Kill Bill. I've never really read any manga before, but I've seen it's enormous popularity judging from the amount of shelve space at Barnes & Noble. I found it an interesting and refreshing read. I've been reading American comix (along with Jazz, the only 2 unique art forms created in America) for well over 20 years and liked how I had to retrain my brain to read the comix. The Japanese read, how we would consider, their comic backwards. I became consciously aware of reading a comic again. It's been a long time since I felt that.

As for the story, Lady Snowblood is a highly paid assassin who always manages to be naked and covered in blood by the end of each story. I liked it and would be willing to read more. This may be the future of how comics should be. With single issues approaching $2.99 each and trades costing $20 or more, manga seems like a bargain. I can see why it's so popular.

jPod (Book)

The latest offering from Canadian writer Douglas Coupland. This one is a spiritual sequel of sorts to Microserfs (one of my all time favorites and one of the few books I've actually re-read) except this one is much more cynical and the comedy is blacker. The title refers to a group of videogame programmers whose last name starts with the letter 'J'. The story initially feels similar to how Microserfs starts out, but quickly veers into its own territory when Ethan's mother calls for help in disposing of a dead body. I enjoyed this one and it's a fast read. I guess this is a Microserfs for the next generation and it's a disconcerting glimpse.

X-Men: Last Stand (Film)

I re-watched the first 2 X-Men on DVD to refresh my memory on what our band of merry mutants were previously up to. I remember liking the 2nd very much. My impressions on the first changed. I found myself liking it more than I remembered. It still feels like a much smaller scaled film than the second. I really liked how Ian McKellen played Magneto, especially in the 3rd one. Enough to the point where I want to watch some of his earlier work, in particular Apt Pupil, Gods and Monsters, and Richard III. He is a real stand out in the third film.

As for the rest of the movie, I wished it was longer. Some characters die, some are cured, and some we don't see at all. I wanted the film to breathe a bit more and have some additional character moments. As it stands, the film moves along at a brisk 104 minutes. It felt that the new writers and director, both all new to the X-Men universe when the previous writers and director moved on to do Superman, had no particular attachment to the characters and did what they pleased. It some ways the shock worked, but other times it felt abrupt and rushed. Will this be the last adventure, hmmm, given its enormous box office, I don't think so. It will be interesting to see in which direction the 4th film will go.

Over the Hedge (Film)

I was able to see this latest computer generated animated confection digitally projected in all its candy coated glory. I read an article a few years back about why fellow critic Roger Ebert strongly disliked digitally projected films. It was around the time Attack of the Clones came out, I think. It was his contention that the human brain interprets digital projection differently than film projection. He claims that people's brains when watching digital, act the same way as when watching television, namely in a passive mode. However, when watching film, the human brain becomes a much more reactive participant because the brain is operating in active mode. I don't know whether to believe him or not. I've only seen, including this one, a total of 3 films projected digitally: Signs and Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. Both of those times, it was the second time watching the movie, the first being on film. The clarity, even during the trailers, was amazing. So clear, crystal clear, nary a smudge or unsightly blemish to be found. But is this tradeoff worth it? I'm not sure. I think I come to expect the physical imperfections of film and when they're not there, it seems off somehow. Perhaps given enough time and future viewings, this won't seem such a bother. As for the film, it was okay. Some laughs. At least this Dreamworks CGI film didn't have as many pop culture referenced works as Shrek 2 or (ugghh) Shark Tale. I am eagerly looking forward to the next Pixar film, Cars. I get the sense that these particular Dreamworks animated things will become dated in a way the Pixar ones won't. Pixar has been able to tell amazingly solid classical stories with a lot of heart and laughs. I expect the same for their next one.

Season (Series) Finales (TV)

It's May and it's that time of year when some shows end on a cliffhanger and leave you wondering what will happen until Fall or some shows close their curtains for good. Here are a few random thoughts.

Season Finale
Bones - While the show can be predictable at times, I still enjoy the interplay between the two leads. The *shocking* ending nicely sets up a direction to follow up on in season 2. I just hope it's not dragged out too long ala Mulder's sister on the X-Files. I loved the way Buffy the Vampire Slayer (fond favorite) sets up a big baddie at the beginning of the season and takes care of him, her, or it by the end of the season. More shows could learn from this.

Prison Break - Argh. Ending sucked and blowed. Yeah, they escape, but the very end left me feeling unstatisfied and underappreciated. I might catch the first episode of the next season, but they'll have to work hard to keep me coming back.

CSI - Grissom and Siddle?!? Together? Ewww.

Survivor - If it couldn't be Cirie, then I'm glad Aras won.

Desperate Housewives - I liked the flashbacks and thought the episode strong in an otherwise weak, way weak season.

24 - Jack going to China!?!

Series Finale
Will & Grace - I'm a sucker for series enders and this one was good. Haven't been watching for a while, but liked how they ended things. Reminded me of how Six Feet Under ended by leaving no doubt as to the ultimate fate of the characters.

That 70's Show - Sucked.

The Da Vinci Code (Film)

It's the first film I've ever seen with actual protesters. I guess they don't want people to see the powerful message this film contains. Not. It's not like the book was a bestseller or anything.

Currently this film is tracking a 19% on Rotten tomatoes. Is it that bad? Well, not really. I've the read the book in the Spring of 2003 and admit I was feeling a tad antsy during parts of the movie. To be fair, I did see it with someone who has not read the book and didn't find it to be too much of a problem. This is a film that's pretty much all exposition city. I'm reminded of the parts in the Indiana Jones films where Indy explains the historical background of the object they're in search of, except this time that's the whole movie. Which is skillfully done. I admire the way Ron Howard interweaves the historical flashbacks with the modern era. And given the density of explanations in the original book, he did as good a job as anyone could do. He made the best film possible, I think, based on this particular book. I believe the reason critics are so harsh on this film is because of what the Da Vinci code actually is. It is a little ridiculous, but faintly possible, kinda like aliens landing in Roswell.

Revenge of the Jedi (DVD)

A look at the DVD cover of the upcoming Return of the Jedi re-release as well as the inspiring poster.

Empire Strikes Back (DVD)

A look at the DVD cover of the upcoming Empire Strikes Back re-release as well as the inspiring poster.

Star Wars (DVD)

A look at the DVD cover of the upcoming Star Wars re-release as well as the inspiring poster.

The Devil's Rejects (DVD)

Haven't actually watched the movie itself, but I did watch the superb making of documentary on the 2nd disc. It covers pre-production and all 30 days of shooting. Sadly, post-production is not covered and would have been a welcome addition. The director Rob Zombie comes across as an articulate director who has a definite vision of what he wants. I look forward to his future films and will watch Devil's Rejects soon. After all, I already have the movie.

Random musing

I was at the library checking out some DVDs and CDs, when this thought struck me: the most difficult thing here to pirate is the books themselves. It's relatively cheap and easy to rip movies and music nowadays, but to copy a book? It would just be too expensive and time consuming to do so and that's not even taking into account the copy's quality. Who would have thunk it? The oldest mass media is also the best copy protected.

Sitting in the Aisle

The year is 1980 and I desperately wanted to see the next Star Wars movie. Getting tickets proved to be elusive at best. My father had a friend who was willing to wait in line at six in the morning to get tickets for all of us to see the 8 am show. We got to the theater late and missed the first five minutes. To make matters worse, most of the seats were already taken. My sister and I had to literally sit in the aisle for the duration of the show. It was worth every moment for one of my most favorite movies ever.

Final Superman Returns poster (Film)

I'm cautiously optimistic on this one. I have a feeling I'm going to like it more then the Batman movie from last year. I want to believe a man can fly, again.

Poseidon (Film)

Have you ever flipped through the tv channels on a late night and came into the middle of a movie that was compelling enough for you to stop and watch the rest of it? Sometimes you might even feel compelled to catch the beginning and you find that coming in the middle was more preferable. Well, seeing Poseidon is a lot like that. It feels like they took a 2 1/2 hour movie and cut out the first hour. It feels a lot like what Titanic would be if you started watching it five minutes before the iceberg hit. It's not a bad movie and parts are good, but you do feel as if you missed something, like character development.

Mission: Impossible III (Film)

Saying it's the best of the three, which it easily is, is not exactly high praise. This is the mission impossible film I've been waiting for. While I never caught the original, there was a remade series shown on ABC in the sometime in the last decade. It's this show that I grew very fond of and loved the premise. The first two films missed an important ingredient, teamwork. It's what I loved most about the show. While the film at times feels like a really good Alias episode, again not a bad thing, it does have a really killer villain. The only other films this one comes close to is either the James Bond films or True Lies. The Bourne series tended to be rather low tech. All in all, I'd really enjoyed it and had a blast. If all the summer films are this good, it's goig to be a really good summer.

A long time ago... (DVD)

It appears starting from September 12 to December 31, Star Wars fans will have the opportunity to purchase the original trilogy on DVD before the modern alterations. Each film will come in a 2 disc set containing the 1977, 1980, or 1983 cut as well as the revamped 2004 cut. While I like some of the changes made, I think I prefer the versions I grew up with. I guess time will tell how kind my memories have been.

John Rambo (DVD)

Watched the entire Rambo saga last week on DVD. I'm struck with how good these films are, especially the first two. James Cameron even had a hand in the story for Rambo II. Rambo's such an icon of the 80's and Reagan's politics, I feared the films themselves would be dated. Rest assured this is not the case. I think he is my favorite of Stallone's characters and would rather see a Rambo IV instead of the Rocky VI coming out in December. The Italian Stallion has mentioned making another Rambo after Rocky. Is he too old? Perhaps, but if Ford can go another round as Indiana Jones, then I see no problem. I do think Vin Diesel would make a most excellent Rambo.

One of my most favorite movie memories is when I made my dad take me to see Rambo II. Due to the nature of this film, we thought it best to leave my younger sister at home. She ended up watching Battle of the Network Stars on ABC. It's one of the few films where it was just my dad and me going to the movies. I thought the film most excellent and ended up being a favorite of mine for a long time.

Akeelah and the Bee (Film)

A well polished telling of the classic underdog story. Does Akeelah win the spelling bee? Is there any doubt? Heartwarming, if not a tad manipulative. I was the only one in the theater when I saw it Sunday night at 9:40 pm. Don't think this film will do well in the theaters, but it's popularity will grow on DVD.

Bond...James Bond (Film)