Author: Robert Greenberger

Young Hag and the Witches Quest
By Isabel Greenberg
272 pages/Amulet Books/$24.99

The Arthurian legends wax and wane through the years and 2024 is shaping up to be a year of revival. Specifically, on Tuesday, Lev Grossman’s new novel The Bright Sword, will tell of the days after Camelot fell. It follows the May release of this charming and witty graphic novel, also set in the years after Arthur.

The legend has morphed and changed and been retconned since the first stories were set in print. Some know the tales first from Disney’s 1963 Sword in the Stone and Theodore White’s Once and Future King. Others know it from the BBC young adult series Merlin or, more likely, Monty Python and the Holy Grail or its Broadway adaptation Spamalot. As a result, conflicting details have emerged giving contemporary writers license to be freewheeling with the various sources of material.

Here, Greenberg, a British creator who has been telling fanciful stories for years, tackles a generation after Arthur. Young Hag arrives to complete the required Mother, Maiden, and Crone triumvirate, and we discover that the Ancient Crone is an aged Morgan le Fay. As they journey across England, stories are told, cleverly filling readers in on what came before. Or at least the broad strokes. It’s interesting to see what was kept, what was ignored, and what was modified.

It’s a time when the magic, like Arthur, has gone, but the wicked remain. Babies have been stolen, and changelings have been left in their place. Young Hag is determined to help a few who have been victimized. This leads them to the Goblin Market, and from there, we are off and running.

I personally find Greenberg’s art very off-putting, spoiling my enjoyment of the clever writing and sharp dialogue. She does an excellent job with her characters and leavens the drama and action with wry humor.

The storytelling is wonderful, coupled with a fine limited color palette.

Greenberg nicely takes her time telling the story, letting it breathe and providing the scope an epic quest deserves. This will be a welcome book for young adults who know nothing about the Knights of the Round Table or are curious about what happens next.

The surprise success of Ghostbusters: Afterlife breathed new life into a moribund franchise, giving us a new generation of supernatural sleuths to cheer for. It was very touching to see the original quartet (Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, and the late Harold Ramis) suit up one more time and kick ghostly ass. But, it was clear the torch was being passed to Egon Spengler’s daughter, Callie) Carrie Coon, and her children Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and Phoebe (Mckenna Grace), along with their science teacher Gary Gooberson (Paul Rudd). With her inheritance of the original Ghostbusters HQ, the stage was set.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is the result, and the film, out now on streaming and disc, is a hodge-podge of characters, concepts, and conundrums that are so filled with characters the emotional undercurrents are given the shortest of shrift.

Phoebe is clearly the genius, the true heir to Egon, but her youthfulness gets her sidelined by Mayor Walter Peck (William Atherton), who has harbored a grudge against the team, regardless of lineup, since the 1980s. She is also struggling and uncertain of Gary’s role in their family since he and Callie appear romantically involved, but little is said.

Her thread has the most interesting possibilities, especially as she begins playing chess with Melody (Emily Alyn Lind), a ghost. Unfortunately, it is ignored for large stretches as the film tries to service everyone else, including the original team.

Instead, Stantz acquires an ancient artifact from Nadeem Razmaadi (Kumail Nanjiani), who has ignored his family’s history in favor of being a slacker. This artifact contains the trapped spirit of Garraka, an ancient being who wanted to destroy life on Earth. Conveniently, he has started to assert his control just as the containment unit has reached capacity and a new home for the trapped ghostly spirits is located.

Here’s where the story starts to fall apart. We have no idea how Garraka began to assert his control over people or how he knew to target Melody, using her as a pawn. Some new pseudo-science is introduced at  Dr. Winston Zeddemore’s upgraded facility in New Jersey, which also brought back Lucky Domingo (Celeste O’Connor) and introduced us to Dr. Lars Pinfield (James Acaster). See? It’s pretty packed. And that’s before we mention the return of Janine Melitz (Annie Potts) and Podcast (Logan Kim) or the unnecessary addition of Dr. Hubert Wartzki (Patton Oswalt).

The film looks great and is stuffed with callbacks to the first two films in the franchise, along with the reappearance of Slimer and Ghostly Librarian. But no one really gets a satisfying story arc; everything is done with shorthand, and believe it or not, some expected moments never come to pass.

It’s entertaining enough, but it lacks the charm and originality that set these films apart. Some of that can be blamed on Jason Reitman, whose father created the series. He and incoming director Gil Kenna share the script credit, so the blame falls to them for a lack of storytelling discipline, which is in favor of more and more spectacle. The $201.7 million worldwide box office may be the scariest part of the film, likely dooming the franchise from moving forward for some time.

Thankfully, the 4K Ultra HD transfer looks spectacular. Every icicle, proton beam, and ghostly reflection looks amazing on the home screen. The 2160p is sharp and amazing with an equally impressive 1080p Blu-ray, part of the Combo Pack, along with the Digital HD code.

The Dolby Atmos audio is up to the task of matching the superb visuals.

The Blu-ray offers all the Special Features and, while plentiful, feels more perfunctory than celebratory. We have  Audio Commentary – With director/co-writer Gil Kenan (also on the 4K); Return to the Firehouse (21:00)  Busting: Capturing the Ghosts of Frozen Empire (11:00) ; Easter Eggs Unleashed (7 minutes); Manifesting Garraka (3:00); New York, New Gear (7:00); Welcome to the Paranormal Discovery Center (4:00); Knowing the Score (7:00); and Deleted & Extended Scenes (9:00).

I must admit that I missed Dexter’s Laboratory when it originally aired on the Cartoon Network from 1996-2003. Friends raved about its charm and humor and the brilliance of animator Genndy Tartakovsky. So, the arrival of Dexter’s Laboratory: The Complete Series is welcome. On sale today from Warner Home Entertainment, the set includes all 78 episodes plus the special Dexter’s Laboratory: Ego Trip.

According to the press release, the show is about half-Einstein, half-third grader Dexter.  This boy genius creates the most amazing inventions in the top-secret and highly advanced laboratory attached to his room.  But his genius can’t stop his space-brained sister Dee Dee from messing up and his work and pushing his buttons.  Or his annoying rival Mandark Astronomonov from constantly trying to one-up him.  Can Dexter use his intelligence to solve his problems?  Time to fight fire with…SCIENCE!

Well, who doesn’t love science?

What’s nice here is that Dexter and his rival are both very smart third graders, and the series celebrates smart people. Mom and Dad are somehow entirely clueless to the secrets hidden in Dexter’s bedroom, an annoying trope. However, Dee Dee finds the gadgets and gizmos and is clever enough to use them.

In addition to Dexter’s exploits, the first two seasons included segments featuring Monkey, Dexter’s pet lab-monkey, and the Justice Friends, a trio of superheroes sharing an apartment.

The show wasn’t afraid to experiment, such as the second season’s finale, the 25-minute “Last But Not Beast”. And after working on The PowerPuff Girls, Tartakovsky came back for Ego Trip, intending it to be the last word on Dexter.

Tartakovsky’s quirky sense of humor is clear in these seasons, especially when compared with the work of Chris Savino, who stepped in to run the series after the show seemingly ended and Tartakovsky moved on to Samurai Jack. The look and feel were okay but lacked the spark that made Dexter so funny.

The strong voice cast of Christine Cavanaugh, Allison Moore, Kath Soucie, Jeff Bennett, Kat Cressida, Eddie Deezen, and Candi Milo helped convey that sense of whimsy. After Cavanaugh died recently, Tartakovsky said he couldn’t imagine rebooting the show without her.

Interestingly, “Dial M for Monkey: Barbequor” and “Rude Removal” were banned from broadcast and are absent from the collection, making it a little less complete.

The 1080p transfer is just fine, retaining the sharp colors and images from the series; the Dolby Digital Audiotrack is equally good, so these are fine to rewatch at home.

No Special features were included.

Spider-Man: Cosmic Chaos!
By Mike Maihack
Amulet/96 pagers/#1299 (hardcover), $9.99 (digital)

I like Mike Maihack’s artwork, which I find accessible and lots of fun. I feel bad for taking him to task for his popular Cleopatra in Space, but that was years ago, and lately, he’s been producing material far more to my liking.

Here, we have the third of his Spider-Man team-up books aimed at 6-9-year-olds. His storytelling sensibilities are sharp and approachable. Maihack told School Library Journal, “For a more established character like Spidey, it was about tapping into his friendly and neighborly disposition toward everything. Those are both things I could completely connect with. After that, I find it pretty intuitive to know how each character is going to react when you confront them with other characters or toss them into a giant mess of a situation. No matter where they come from, I discover ways of making them my own.”

So, we have a Spider-Man missing the angst who is adventuring in stories scaled to the readership, which includes simplified versions of the Marvel Universe’s denizens. In this story, he finds himself in space, trying to return the Silver Surfer’s surfboard to him. Along the way, he finds himself coming into possession of a vurbfzax, a cosmic talisman. Just seven were manufactured as rare premiums in Celestrio’s cereal and Rocket warns, “Combining all seven can have universe-shattering consequences!” (I suppose this is for readers too young to know about the Infinity Stones.)

Of course, all seven will be brought together, and cosmic wackiness ensures, bringing in Ego the Living Planet, Galactus, the Watcher, and the Collector. Things are looking pretty bad until the resolution presents itself in a surprising way.

There are some fine running gags about waffles and dolphins, and the core essence of the Marvel characters is nicely distilled for easy accessibility.

The packed story actually unfolds in a well-paced way, never crowding the artwork and making sure the characters each get a chance to shine.

This one makes for solid reading if you have someone looking for summer adventures.

As an avid child of television, Friday nights were something to look forward to as ABC had the coolest shows from 8-11 p.m. Nestled between The Patridge Family and The Odd Couple was Room 222, more a dramedy than a straightforward sitcom. As school let out in January 1974, the network clearly wasn’t done with classes as just over a year later, they debuted a true sitcom: Welcome Back, Kotter.

The series ran until May 1979, and its superb casting catapulted John Travolta to superstardom. Born from standup comic Gabe Kapler’s routines about his Brooklyn high school experiences, the premise saw Gabe Kotter return to his alma mater, James Buchanan High, this time as a teacher. He was assigned the lowest performing students, dubbed the Sweathogs, of which he was once one.

Filmed before an audience on videotape, it closely resembled the other popular half-hour shows of the era. What set it apart was the cast and humor, which were less topical than Norman Lear’s CBS offerings but sharper than the lowest common denominator sitcoms. The series has lingered in memory, given the cast and humor, which are still found on cable. Warner Home Entertainment has periodically released single-season sets and the complete series. Welcome Back, Kotter: The Complete Series is now available on traditional DVD for a brand new generation.

From John Sebastian’s memorable title track to Kotter’s homelife, the sitcom didn’t confine itself to the traditional school setting. Most episodes opened and closed with Kotter and his wife Julie (Marcia Strassman), and fairly quickly, she found herself at the school or the Sweathogs in their apartment.

The regulars were distinct and multicultural, from handsome dimbulb Vinnie Barbarino (Travolta) to Black athlete Freddie “Boom Boom” Washington (Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs), to Epstein (Robert Hegyes), a Puerto-Rican, whose forged notes from “Epstein’s Mother” were always good for a laugh to Arnold Horshack (Ron Palillo), who was just the odd man out in most things. Their catchphrases— “Up your nose with a rubber hose!” for example—were less than creative, but the ensemble played well with one another. Kapler’s Groucho Marx impressions were timely given the 70’s revived interest in the Marx Brothers and gave the parents something to laugh with.

The simple dilemmas of the day rarely involved academics and were filled with life lessons and laughs. The show’s first two seasons are the strongest, and now that I am a high school teacher and have my own cadre of Sweathogs to deal with, I nod a lot in appreciation for Kotter’s issues. The full scope of a teacher’s responsibilities could have been better mined, but at least the series treated the profession with respect.

You can watch and laugh at most of the episodes today, even if excusing some of the prevalent casual sexism at the time. To freshen the series, rather than give Julie something interesting to do, she was saddled with raising twins. In the final season, they finally caught up with the Women’s Lib movement and had her become a school secretary and occasional fill-in teacher. It was long before a female Sweathog, Angie (Melonie Haller), was added, and it was just her. The assistant principal, Michael Woodman (John Sylvester White), was perhaps the show’s most stereotypical character.

As the series progressed, Travolta became a bigger and bigger celebrity, so he wound up making just ten guest appearances in the final season. Kapler himself was periodically absent when he and actor-turned-producer James Komack feuded. The other issue is that the cast aged out of passing for high school students (an issue that plagued series such as Smallville and Glee).

The collection is presented in 1.33:1 4×3 transfers, possibly the best that can be done with video series. It’s fine as a time capsule. The Dolby Digital and English 2.0 mono soundtracks are upgrades from previous editions.

Whereas previous editions had some interesting extras like screen tests, this version has zero special features which is a shame.

Before Buffy, there was Nikita. French filmmaker Luc Besson’s fifth film caused an international stir as he provided the world with a female protagonist with a dark edge reflecting the times. His 1990 film, La Femme Nikita, proved such a smash that it was remade in America as Point of No Return and spawned a Canadian television series (1997-2001) and Nakita, the CW series (2010-2013).

Anne Parillaud’s depiction of a woman given a second chance was mesmerizing and unforgettable, giving the movie an enduring appeal. As part of Sony Home Entertainment’s 100th-anniversary celebration, the original film is now available in an upgraded 4k UHD steel book edition.

We watch the transformation of a juvenile delinquent, guilty of killing a police officer during a robbery, taken by a secret government organization that faked her death. For three years, she is weaned off her drug addiction and trained and transformed into Nikita, a deadly operative always on call to her handlers. There are several lovely set pieces that establish just how effective their training has been. And that might have been fine for an action film, but Besson, who also wrote the screenplay, added in a psychological element that gave us something different.

Nikita, who goes by the name Marie, tries to live a normal life, even falling for Marco (Jean-Hugues Anglade), a store clerk. As he grows curious about the lack of family and friends, she convinces her handler, Bob (Tchéky Karyo), to pose as an uncle. That holds him off for now.

Things build up as Bob summons her to assassinate a target when she and Marco are together. The tension is nicely built as they talk through the bathroom door, and she manages to complete her mission, although it makes her question her life.

Later, after a botched mission, the Centre sends Victor (Jean Reno) to clean the mess, and the two get tangled up for the remainder of the story. Their escapades make Nikita question her choices, setting up a satisfying conclusion that leaves Parillaud convinced there is no need for a sequel. Filmmakers around the world have tried their own hand at adapting this story, which speaks to the strength of Besson and Parillaud’s work.

Sony has upgraded the high-definition transfer so every frame sparkles with depth and clarity, making this disc the definitive video version of the film. The French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is excellent, although there is no Dolby Atmos option.

Surprisingly, the release is just the 4K disc, with no special features, no Blu-ray disc, or Digital HD code. In the steel case, the film sits alone, protected in its hard shell, somewhat like Nikita herself.

Few military regiments are better known than the 54^th Massachusetts, thanks to Ed Zwick’s brilliant 1989 film Glory. Based on the letters of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and the books Lay This Laurel (1973) by Lincoln Kirstein and One Gallant Rush (1965) by Peter Burchard, the screenwriter Kevin Jarre humanizes the black men who volunteered to fight for the union, most of whom died in battle.

When released, the movie was revelatory, catapulting Denzel Washington to the Hollywood A list with his Academy Award-winning performance as Private Silas Trip. He was surrounded by a strong supporting cast led by Andre Braugher and Morgan Freeman. As Shaw, Matthew Broderick completed his journey from heartthrob Ferris Bueller to an accomplished adult actor. His Shaw was courageous, bucking the hierarchy to get his men shoes and refusing his pay until the Army honored its promise of equal pay to the men. But we watched him struggle to connect with his soldiers whose experiences were entirely alien to him. They slowly formed a bond that was sealed with blood and honor.

The film was a major critical success. As part of Sony Home Entertainment’s centennial celebration, Glory is being released this week in a 4K Steelbook, complete with Blu-ray and Digital HD code. It’s largely the same pressing as the 2019 Ultra High Definition released but boasts superb Dolby Vision color grading. The haze of the battlefield, the campfire scenes, and the dress parade all shine in this transfer with excellent clarity. The Dolby Vision color grading is just stunning to watch on your home screen.

The Dolby Atmos soundtrack is carried over and sounds just fine, with dialogue, sound effects, and James Horner’s somber score well presented.

This new edition offers the same UHD Special Features and the Blu-ray is exactly as the 2009 previous edition. The UHD offers up Picture in Picture Video Commentary (1080p, 2:02:14) from Zwick, Broderick, and Freeman.

The Blu-ray offers Audio Commentary: Director Edward Zwick, Virtual Civil War Battlefield, The Voices of Glory, The True Story Continues, Original Theatrical Making-Of Featurette, and Deleted Scenes With optional director’s commentary.

David O. Russell was having a moment about a decade back, with a series of releases that Made him a director well worth paying attention to. The highlight was American Hustle, a black comedy focused on crime and corruption. It boasts a strong cast, led by Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Bradley Cooper, but nearly stealing the show was Jennifer Lawrence, still in the early stages of her career.

The film, out now in a new 4K Steelbook format from Sony Home Entertainment, is well worth a look if you missed it in 2013. A year earlier, Cooper and Lawrence danced their way into our hearts with the charming Silver Linings Playbook, and Russell brought them back for this caper, pitting them against one another.

Cooper is an FBI agent who forces con artists Bale and Adams into creating a sting operation intending to take down the May of Camden, New Jersey (Jeremy Renner, before he became the Mayor of Kingstown). Inspired by the real Abscam Operation from the 1970s, this tickled the fancy of filmgoers and the Academy, which bestowed ten Oscar nominations on the movie.

Rewatching it in this lovely 4K high-definition transfer, the movie sparkles afresh with very strong performances. The con seems straightforward until Lawrence’s Rosalyn Rosenfeld begins to stir the pot, confounding her husband Irving (Bale) and delighting the audience. There’s a lot going on, and the film demands that you pay attention. The leads are supported by many familiar faces, from Shea Whigham to Robert DeNiro to the veteran Anthony Zerbe.

Sony did right by the film during its 100th anniversary with a spectacular 4K Dolby Vision, featuring English Dolby Atmos + 5.1 audio HDR and Atmos, so it looks and sounds amazing.

The combo pack includes an excellent Blu-ray edition and Digital HD code. The only new Special Feature on the 4K disc are extended deleted scenes compared with the 2014 digital release. The Blu-0ray retains the previously released special features: Deleted and Extended Scenes (HD): Cry British (4:51), Brick (0:57), Carmine On Stage Singing (1:24), Backhand Like a Whip (2:48), Bad Sign (1:30), Stoop to Conquer (1:34), Live and Let Die (3:26), Evil Ways (4:01), Carmine on the Street (1:11), Richie is Duped (0:47), and Carmine Returns Home (0:54); The Making of American Hustle (HD, 16:35), and Theatrical trailer.

Sony has been struggling to find the secret formula to make their Spider-Verse movies satisfy audiences in the same way Marvel Studios has managed for the last decade-plus. Boiled down, it seems to come form a lack of coherent vision and weak scripts.

The critical despair and box office indifference to Madame Web is misplaced because it’s not the worst of the lot, but viewers are clearly tired of Sony misfires, which doesn’t bode well for the forthcoming Kraven.

The incredibly weak script from director SJ Clarkson, Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless, and Claire Parke mars the potential found deep within the very disappointing Madame Web, out now from Sony Home Entertainment. The basic premise that four women are brought together as part of a woven tapestry of spider-powers is fine, as is importing Ezekiel (Tahar Rahim) from the Spider-Man comics to be the bad guy.

However, the script them all. Cassie Webb (Dakota Johnson) is scarred after her mother, Constance Webb (Kerry Bishé)’s death, hardening herself with a shell of indifference even as she works as an EMT, which requires a desire to interact with mankind. Her only friend, it seems, is Richard Parker (Adam Scott), whose pregnant wife Mary (Emma Roberts) is carrying an unnamed baby boy (Peter, for those who miss the breadcrumbs).

At the same time, Ezekiel, who is responsible for the death of Cassie’s mother, receives the psychic impression that three young women are a threat to his future. He maniacally and one-dimensionally tries to find and kill them to save his life, coming across Cassie, who, as fate would have it, unites the girls.

Cassie’s emergence as a leader and mothering figure for Julia Cornwall (Sydney Sweeney), Anya Corazon (Isabela Merced), and Mattie Franklin (Celeste O’Connor), all abandoned by their own parents, could have been a wonderful arc. Instead, she herself abandons them for a week to track the Amazonian spider tribe and learn more about her powers and destiny. We see little of what happens to the girls during this time, which is a wasted opportunity. While a worthy goal, the abandonment derails the core plot. The three teens aren’t deep, with surface personalities that rob the actresses from doing anything meaningful.

And then we get to the climax, which sees cars crash, buildings burn, and Cassie coming into her own. It’s all cookie-cutter and less than original. The potential is squandered from beginning to end, yet another Sony misfire demonstrating that they just don’t know how to make these super-hero movies work. SJ Clarkson’s direction is perfunctory when it could have been revelatory.

The movie is available in all the usual formats, including the reviewed Blu-ray, which has a superb 2.39:1, 1080p High Definition transfer, and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. A digital HD code is also included.

The disc is rounded out with a fine, if unexceptional collection of Special Features including Future Vision (7 Minutes), Casting the Web (9:09), Oracle of the Page (4:54), Gag Reel (4:31), Fight Like a Spider (5:31), Easter Eggs – The Many Threads of Madame Web (3:55), and a single Deleted Scene – You Died (1:00).

Devour: A Graphic Novel
By Jazmine Joyner & Anthony Pugh
Abrams ComicArts – Megascope/208 pages/$24.99

Anansi has had a bit of a revival in the last decade or so. The African trickster god has played a significant role in comics and prose, soon to conquer television in the adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys. Until then, we can sit back and enjoy this debut work from writer Jazmine Joyner, who makes their fiction debut after writing for numerous places, including /film, SyFy Wire, Ms En Scnee, And Comics MNT.

The Turner house stands in a small town in a Louisiana suburb. It’s been around for a long time and garnered much gossip and speculation. When its current occupant, Vassie, develops dementia, her son brings his family to live and care for her.

The only daughter, Patsy, is a talented artist who carefully navigates her way through her new high school, making just one friend, fellow artist Stu Everett. Most of her time, though, is spent at home, and the reason becomes clear: as the sole female in the waning family line, she is destined to replace Vassie as the guardian of Anansi.

Deep in the basement, trapped in a pocket dimension underground, a manifestation of the story-hungry spider screams for release. Slowly but surely, Patys comes to accept that Vassie’s stories and her magic are both real. She does not take well to having this destiny revealed to her and eventually takes comfort when her brother Demetrius is taken into their confidence.

Nearby are the Everetts, white rednecks who harbor a decades-old grudge against the Turners, feeling the plot of land is rightfully theirs. Their enmity and bitterness represent the lingering racism that mires the deep South to the past. They want to learn the Turner house’s secrets, hoping to find a way to gain control of the property once and for all.

The various threads are leisurely paced, giving plenty of room for the plot to percolate and boil in the story’s final quarter. The sense of dread is palpable throughout, and the Truner family is nicely delineated. The Everetts, though, are one-dimensional stereotypes that I wish were as nuanced as their black counterparts.

Anthony Pugh’s artwork conveys the horror and the ordinary with clear storytelling and fine coloring. Some of his figures are stiff, or the proportions feel off, but this veteran illustrator at least provides details and backgrounds, grounding the story’s fantastic elements in a realistic setting.  

Unfortunately, the story does not end but continues into another volume. What’s here is good, but a done-in-one might have felt more satisfactory.