Descent into Dorkness

This post is all about the geekery. Regular readers may wish to check in later.

This week saw the release of Frankenstein #4, the last issue of the last mini-series in the Seven Soldiers Project. Now all that's left is Seven Soldiers #1 (which, I understand, is delayed until summer). And the crying.

'Cause I'm gonna miss this when it is all done. The project had it's misses but it also had a lot of hits. Frank 4 is one of the hits, baby. It kicked all sorts of ass! I was not very impressed with the first issue of this mini but it grew stronger with each issue, creating more connections with the larger story and allowing the bolt-headed one to carve a bloody swathe through it. Frank 4 lays the ground work for what I assume will be the final showdown between the Soldiers and the enemy in this project. Without spoiling too much: the Soldiers need not sweat the small stuff 'cause Frank did all of the heavy lifting for ya!

Speaking of heavy lifting, I also picked up the most recent issue of The Thing. In this issue, he teams up with a bizarre-looking Spider Man (a new costume with mechanical spider-arms?) to take out a couple of classic villains. We get a little soap opera too as Mr. Grimm still carries a torch for an old flame. I am not sure I am cool with the fact that everyone around him encourages him to break up her current relationship (especially since her new boy friend is a nice, normal dude) but fiction is all about conflict, right?

Oh, and Marvel must give Dan Slott a gig writing Spider Man. Between this issue and Mr. Slott's recent turn with the Spider Man/Human Torch mini, I am convinced that he was born to write that character. With my luck, he'll be offered a job writing on Lost and I will never hear from him again.

I picked up Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men but I have not read it. My enthusiasm for this comic is the subject of many posts here on this blog but I am losing interest in this thing. The last story arc lost momentum and the current story relies on some cliches that plague this property. Joss Whedon gives good characterization, and I am willing to stick it out a little longer, but I am not optimistic.

And my buddy Dan "the Man" lent me his copy of volume 1 of Essential Moon Knight this past weekend. I have read only the first issue collected in this omnibus but I am digging it already! I loved this character as a kid in the 70s, when he showed up in issues of Werewolf By Night to kick the eponymous lycanthrope's butt and this collection gave me a fist full of silver! And then follows it up with a savate kick to the jaw with a silver-toed boot! Ouch!

Kong!

My wife and I finally watched Peter Jackson's remake of King Kong on Sunday. The experience highlighted an interesting trend in our lives. We rarely go out to the movies anymore. We have become the people Hollywood fears most: the people who would rather stay at home and watch DVDs than pay extraordinary amounts of money to sit with a bunch of goobers who talk on their cell phones. If we go to a movie, we make it an event worth our while by going to an Alamo Drafthouse. Otherwise, we just wait for the film to make it to the top of our Netflix queue.

Anyway, the movie. It was very hit-and-miss for me. The first hour or so dragged. Most characterization (with the possible exception of Carl Denham - played by Jack Black) was done by telling rather than showing. The writer character - played by Adrian Brody - was not developed, despite the screen time devoted to him. The film spent a lot of time developing minor characters with little pay-off. If I were to judge the movie on the first half, I would be very disappointed.

It takes off on Skull Island. Every scene on the island is exciting and dramatic. Dudes die in horrible ways. Kong lays some ape-fu on T-Rexes. Giant bugs. Insane, malnurished natives speaking in tongues. Pulpy goodness, friends and neighbors.

King Kong himself was an amazing piece of work. I was very convinced that a giant ape was rampaging across the screen. And the pathos that follows him everywhere was very affecting. I am a sucker for movies where (SPOILER!) the animal dies and this one got me right where it wanted me.

If Mr. Jackson and company had figured out a way to fix the first half of the film, then this would have been a great movie.

House Party

In last night's installment, House and his posse break themselves away from a party to tend to a sick child. There wasn't much sopa opera this week, as the central conflict (figuring out what the kid is suffering from in time to save him) was more than enough to sustain the show. Granted, the writers made it "personal" by introducing a bit of backstory wherein House tried to save a woman with similar symptoms years before but failed. And Dr. Chase, in a rare display of uppity-ness, reminds the rest of the cast that this failure haunts his boss to the point of obsession. There is a nice series of cut-scenes where House, Wilson and Cuddy play poker, where House can once again display his intellectual dominance over all in a more social setting. And, once again, poker provides answers to vexing medical questions. However, the show wisely focused on the medicine. Accordingly, I have little to comment on. For an analysis of the details, I refer you to Polite Dissent.

Before we settled in for House, my wife and I caught the last few minutes of American Idol. As a rule, I avoid the show. Last night I had a few, er, idle moments and took a peek. As it turns out, last night was Queen night and the contestants belted out glam rock. I must admit that several of the contestants showed remarkable talent; however, I am not as impressed with their ability to deliver. If nothing else, Queen music is all about drama, and one has to be willing to put it all out there for the songs to work. The contestants' versions lacked punch (or soul, if you will). I am not sure if this is due to a generational difference or nervousness or just a lack of understanding of the source material. But it confirmed my suspicion that watching the show is not the best use of my time.

On the other hand, we have been watching the second season of Scrubs as if our lives depended upon it!

What's with the Dots?

It is almost the second anniversary of this blog! In accordance with hallowed tradition, I have changed the template so that you, dear reader, will not grow bored with the reading experience. At Humid Cedar, we go the extra mile for you!