When we first heard that the reboot of the X-Men film franchise was being set in the 1960s, there was a lot of head scratching going on. But once you stopped to consider the ages of the characters, a lot of it began to make sense. Of course, the first thing you need to do is totally forget about the source material. There are just too many elements that have been radically changed from the comics that it would just hurt your head. Instead, focus on the film as a prequel to a trilogy that more often than not has done a fabulous job adapting the merry mutants to the silver screen.
I’ve been a big fan of Matthew Vaughn’s work for a while now, so I was thrilled that he finally got a chance to try his hand at the X-Men. His work adapting other comics, Stardust and Kick-Ass, prove he has a good handle on what to keep, what to toss, and what to change. Here, he keeps the friendship between Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr at the core of the story. Thankfully, Vaughn cast Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy as the leads because both do superb jobs.
ComicMix contributor Aaron Rosenberg is a prolific writer, editor, and graphic designer who has written role playing games, comic books, fiction, and non-fiction. As a member of Crazy 8 Press, he has the honor of being the second author to launch an original work through the ePublishing site, a seriocomic work called No Small Bills, which goes on sale later this week (UPDATE: Already available now at Barnes & Noble). We sat down with Aaron to get some background on the project.
ComicMix: Aaron, you’re a writer of fiction and non-fiction. Where does No Small Bills fall?
Aaron Rosenberg: Gosh, I really hope it’s fiction! If that story’s real, we could all be in a lot of trouble!
CMix: Seriously, you’ve written fiction and non-fiction in a variety of genres, but you’re not known for comedy. Was this a stretch as a writer?
Rosenberg: It was, yes—and it wasn’t. It’s not what I normally write, but anyone who knows me in person knows that I can get a bit silly at times, so this was a chance to actually write that side of myself. As one friend commented, it was the first book of mine he’d read where he saw my actual voice instead of my “authorial” one. I also went about it much more freeform than usual—I’m normally an obsessive outliner but with No Small Bills I actually started with a basic notion and just let DuckBob lead me along on his merry little journey for a while, so in a way it was very freeing.
CMix: Where did the notion for NSB come from?
Rosenberg: It started as a joke, years back. I honestly don’t remember the circumstances, but I made some comment about a guy with a duck head, and that led to my slapping together a very silly picture of a duck-headed surfer with the label “DuckBob Surfs the Ion Storm!” And then I thought he’d be a fun character to write about, so I copied that line into my “Notions” folder, along with the second line “A fun-filled story of a man-duck’s quest for the perfect galactic wave.” And it sat there for a long, long time, until I decided to try my hand at writing something silly for once. Then it seemed like the perfect time to trot DuckBob back out and let him get some air.
CMix: Many writers are their character’s alter ego; can that be said for you and DuckBob?
Rosenberg: Well, DuckBob certainly bears some similarity to my snarky side. I don’t know about the rest of him, though. I hope I’m not that lazy! Or loud! We do have similar taste in shirts, though. (more…)
No doubt this has happened to you. Despite being voted “Most Nicest Guy” in high school, you’re in your 30s, stuck at dead end job, with no prospects in sight. Suddenly you get life’s wakeup call when you accidentally get involved in a failed bank heist thanks to Fisher Stevens. Then, when you refuse to name the real criminals, despite your pleading wife (Judy Greer) you wind up in jail for your transgression. You lose your wife and want her only to be happy. Then you meet some really offbeat folk that awaken you.
No? Well, that’s what happens to Keanu Reeves in Henry’s Crime, an offbeat and underrated little film that is now out on DVD from 20th Century Home Entertainment. There Keanu sits in prison, still wondering how he got there, when he is befriended by Max (James Caan), a long-term convict who teaches Henry that every man needs a dream and then to make his life about obtaining that dream. Of course, it’s hard to pursue a dream from behind bars. It takes Henry a year, but he gets out and takes those precious first steps towards something, perhaps for the first time in his life, real.
Henry’s dream? To rob the bank again but this time get it right. He recruits Max and his fellow cellmate to use an abandoned bootlegger’s tunnel to reach the bank. To get to the tunnel, though, Henry winds the lead in a theatrical company staging Chekhov’s, The Cherry Orchard. As the scheme develops, life tosses Henry a curveball when he falls in love with his leading lady (Vera Farmiga).
Keanu hasn’t been this charming and funny since the Bill & Ted movies, displaying a fresh side to his persona and a welcome one at that. This movie is more screwball comedy from an earlier era than a real crime drama. Director Malcolm Venville takes things slowly, probably too slowly, a vastly different tempo than you expect from the genre but he coaxes fun performances from his cast.
In other hands, this could have been a stronger film, with sharper performances and a tighter structure but it is still entertaining enough and worth a look. The DVD transfer is clean and the disc comes with no extras.
From the beginning in Journey into Mystery, Thor’s arch enemy has been his foster brother Loki, which Stan Lee lifted directly from the Norse myths. Loki, god of mischief, was an infant when Odin slew his father and took the child to raise as his own. Much of the Norse mythology tells stories of Loki’s schemes and trickery among the gods of Asgard, a rivalry with Thor clear. Stan, Larry Leiber, and Jack Kirby didn’t real mine the sibling relationship in those early years; it had to fall to other writers who added sophisticated psychological thinking to the relationships of gods.
One such rumination of that relationship was Robert Rodi’s 2004 [[[Loki]]] miniseries. Released under the Marvel Knights imprint, it echoed the core Marvel Universe’s interpretation of the characters but offered up entirely fresh takes on the characterizations and look of the deities. Painter Esad Ribic eschewed Kirby’s science fiction-blended imagery and costuming in favor of a look the Norse themselves would have recognized. About the only things shared between the two universes was Loki’s horned helmet and Thor’s blond hair.
Rodi picked up the story some time after Loki triumphed as has enslaved not only his “brother”, but all who would oppose him including Odin, Balder, and Sif. The weight of rule grew heavy on the trickster, who found no mirth from the throne. He was unhappy and unmoved by the forces that demanded his time and attention including Norn Queen Karnilla and Hela, ruler of Hel. The story is strong, aided by Ribic’s powerful artwork in its somber tones.
To promote the forthcoming Thor movie, Marvel turned the miniseries into a four-part motion comic, [[[Thor & Loki: Blood Brothers]]], which was released throughout the spring. Now, the adaptation is being released on Tuesday by Shout! Factory. They have not been edited together into a seamless whole so each chapter comes complete with opening and closing credits which can be tedious. Worse, this is being marketed as an animated project when it is most definitely a motion comic. (more…)
In the wake of his success with Captain America: The First Avenger, there’s little surprise that Marvel’s owner, Disney, is releasing the Blu-ray edition of director Joe Johnston’s earlier comics adaptation, [[[The Rocketeer]]], on December 13. The underrated film was released 20 years ago and was a faithful adaptation of Dave Stevens’s homage to the serial heroes of the 1930s.
Starring Billy Campbell (The OC, Enough), the movie also featured early work from Jennifer Connelly (Blood Diamond, The Dilemma) and also starred Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine, Get Smart), and Timothy Dalton (The Tourist, Chuck). The movie was written by the team of Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo, who went from this to adapting The Flash for CBS.
The press release from Disney says the film has been given state-of-the-art digital restoration and enhanced high definition sound. Unfortunately, the lack of bonus features in the announcement is cause for concern.
For those unfamiliar with the concept (shame on you), here’s the official synopsis: The discovery of a top-secret jetpack hurls test pilot Cliff Secord into a daring adventure of mystery, suspense, and intrigue! Cliff encounters an assortment of ruthless villains, led by a Hollywood screen star who is a secret Nazi spy. With the help of his actress girlfriend, the young pilot battles enormous odds to defeat his foes who are anxious to use the device in an evil plan to rule the world. The dangerous mission transforms the ordinary young man into an extraordinary hero.
As the end credits rolled, the first thought that occurred to me was that Win Win felt real. These were basically good people trying to do what is right but imperfections spoil any hope for total bliss. Heroes prove to have feet of clay and monsters don’t seem so monstrous once you get to know them.
The film, out on DVD from 20th Century Home Entertainment, is another terrific showcase of the wonderful Paul Giamatti. He’s become the everyman of his generation, infusing his characters with traits and flaws’ that make them feel real enough you’d expect to find them living down the block. Here, he’s private lawyer Mike Flaherty, suffering from a decline in business thanks to the economy and he is presented with a short-cut so grabs it. He has a court appoint him as guardian to Leo (Burt Young) so he could collect the $1500 monthly fee but then dumps Leo in a nursing home to make the job easier. All Leo, suffering from dementia, wants to do is watch TV and live in his house.
Mike thinks he’s got thinks under control and won’t need to burden his stay at home wife Jackie (Amy Ryan) with their financial woes. Then, suddenly, Leo’s grandson Kyle (Alex Shaffer) shows up from Ohio and things get complicated. Mike and Jackie suddenly become unofficial parents to a high school student who turns out to be an all-star wrestler.
Mike and his pal Stephen Vigman (Jeffrey Tambor) have been coaching the high school wrestling team and see Kyle as a chance to turn the losers into winners. But Kyle is damaged, having been neglected by his drug abusing mom Cindy (Melanie Lynskey) and abused by her latest boyfriend hence his sudden arrival in New Jersey. The way Kyle interacts with the Flaherty’s is the heart of the film as Mike is seen as the one good thing to happen to Kyle, until Cindy turns up and in short order, the ugly truth is revealed. (more…)
“Say hello to my little friend” in these never-before-seen outtakes of Al Pacino doing the famous line.
These behind-the-scenes outtakes of Al Pacino performing the immortal line are part of the bonus features on the new Scarface Special Limited Edition Blu-Ray™ being released next Tuesday.
Say hello to my little friend” in these never-before-seen outtakes of Al Pacino doing the famous line.
These behind-the-scenes outtakes are part of the bonus features on the new SCARFACE
Special Limited Edition Blu-Ray™ that can be seen at:
SCARFACE Blu-ray “Say Hello to My Little Friend” Outtakes – Own it Sept. 6, 2011 Al Pacino performs the line, “Say hello to my little friend” in these film outtakes featured on the SCARFACE Special Limited Edition Blu-Ray. Own it Sept. 6, 2011. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlcelkGg71M
Remember when we told you all about the wonderful Italian Dylan Dog comic series from writer Tiziano Sclavi? It became a less than beloved feature film adaptation which was released on DVD earlier this month from director Kevin Munroe.
Well, we have obtained three copies of the perfect blend of sources as Munroe has autographed copies of Dark Horse Comics’ The Dylan Dog Case Files, an omnibus collecting Dylan Dog #1-6 and Dylan Dog: Zed. The book also has a cool Mike Mignola cover.
Between now and 11:59 p.m. Saturday, September 3, tell us what makes the international comic so good and we’ll pick the three best answers. The judgment of ComicMix will be final.
In the wake of Batman’s success in 1989, it appeared to renew interest in movies based on comic books. One of the first, and one of the worst, was the 1990 version of Captain America. The film had actually been announced in the early 1980s from Cannon Films but in the intervening years, the studio folded and the right shifted a bit before Menahem Golan mounted it under his 21st Century banner.
The movie languished in development until the rights were about to expire so director Albert Pyun urged Golan to let him take a crack at getting the film made for about $6 million. Marvel actually approved the script that was shot and Pyun loved its take on America’s fascination with heroism. If only some of that love found its way onto the screen.
The movie was shot in 1989 but wasn’t released theatrically and was finally dumped on video in 1992, where it was met with derisive laughter from comic book fans. Now, MGM’s Limited Edition collection has released the film as part of its print on demand operation. The print used is pretty crappy and dark and the film is at best a curiosity for collectors and fans alike.
The horrific script from Stephen Tolkin (from a story by Tolkin and Lawrence J. Block) pays lip service to the source material and leaves you scratching your head at the shoddy story construction and utter lack of characterization. Significant changes were made, none of the better starting with giving Steve Rogers polio as an excuse to keep him from enlisting. Then there’s the Red Skull (Scott Paulin) now an Italian fascist, which never made sense. On the other hand, both this film and the current blockbuster made the unnecessary dramatic change in linking Cap and the Skull by having them both be products of the Super Solider formula.
There’s Matt Salinger as Cap/Rogers who is anything but the American ideal and fairly wooden in performance, perhaps because they give him nothing to work with. His first mission leads to the rocket that sent him to an icy sleep in Alaska. He’s found and inexplicably breaks free and rather than ask his rescuers anything, he runs all the way to Canada. There’s little time spent on his cultural isolation and his interactions with others is laughably minimal. (more…)
When Peter and Kathleen David rave about something, I tend to pay attention. In this case, it was the Disney animated series, Phineas and Ferb, which they explained, featured two boys — Phineas Flynn (Vincent Martella) and Ferb Fletcher (Thomas Sangster) — on summer vacation. Every episode has them do some over-the-top activity that catches the attention of Phineas’ older sister Candace (Ashley Tisdale), left to babysit them, and she tries to bust them ala Ferris Bueller. Each episode ends with her failing. But wait, there’s more! Apparently, the boys have a pet platypus, Petey, who is secretly an espionage agent who devises ways to perform his missions without being discovered by the boys. Invariably, the boys’ activity and that of Agent P dovetail in imaginative ways.
Since 2007, this tightly template show has been enchanting adults and children alike, bringing in high ratings and tons of merchandise dollars. While the name was familiar to me, I had no idea it would be so fresh, cool, and original. When the opportunity to review this week’s release of Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension arrived, I couldn’t resist. The 77 minute movie takes the normal 12-minute premise and blows it up, letting everything that can’t happen on a typical episode occur. For example, not only is Petey’s secret revealed to the boys, but Candace finally learns the truth and catches the boys in the act.
Some act. The evil Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz (Dan Povenmire) has completed work on a device that accesses a parallel world despite Agent P’s efforts. And you know what happens when parallel worlds meet – chaos ensues. A chaotic show in short snippets becomes a sprawling, chaotic story that has doubles meeting, worlds crossed over, secrets revealed, flaws exposed, and regardless of world, oblivious parents.
The entertaining and at times hilarious story does overstay its welcome. The concept is stretched just beyond its limits with songs and action sequences and grew tedious towards the end. I gather the telefilm, which first aired this summer to astonishing ratings, has visual and verbal cues to armloads of previous episodes, although that did not diminish the charm of the adventure. There are many hilarious bits for the adults and plenty of slapstick hijinks for the young at heart. It’s chock full of music, too, with many many songs, about half of which are on the commercial CD and ten more can be found on a Walmart exclusive version. (more…)
When we first heard that the reboot of the X-Men film franchise was being set in the 1960s, there was a lot of head scratching going on. But once you stopped to consider the ages of the characters, a lot of it began to make sense. Of course, the first thing you need to do is totally forget about the source material. There are just too many elements that have been radically changed from the comics that it would just hurt your head. Instead, focus on the film as a prequel to a trilogy that more often than not has done a fabulous job adapting the merry mutants to the silver screen.
