May 2012

Batman Incorporated #1

batman-incorporated-new-52-1-coverPlease, for the love of God, would somebody at DC stop letting Grant Morrison write Batman stories. Morrison resurects several of his Batman Incorporated supporting players and throws them haphazardly in the New 52 for the new (but not really improved) Batman Incorporated.

The issue starts with a group in animal masks mutilating livestock to lure Batman and Robin into the crosshairs of the assassin known as Goatboy. Sigh. Goatboy, it seems, has decided to cash in on the hit Leviathan has laid on young Damian.

Morrison gives us the Dead Heroes Club (Batwing, El Gaucho, The Hood, Wingman, and Halo) almost all of whom I didn’t even know existed in the New 52 before now. He also gives us Dark Knight Returns mutants (for no more reason than he gave us Goatboy), and one hell of a bullshit ending even an newbie first-time comic book reader could call. Seriously, I can’t believe Morrison went for such an obvious sleight of hand in the first issue of a new Bat-title where we know damn well nothing bad is going to happen to the Dynamic Duo.

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Captain America #12

captain-america-12-coverAs S.H.I.E.L.D. doctors try to help Diamondback, who has slipped into a coma after the beatdown from the new Scourge, Captain America and Dum Dum Dugan set out to get a little revenge by attacking an underground HYDRA base and learning the secret of the S.H.I.E.L.D. leak.

We get a couple of revelations here including Sharon Carter‘s discovery of the leak within S.H.I.E.D. to be a brainwashed Henry Gyrich as well as a look at the face of the man wearing the new Scourge costume – Dennis Dunphy.

Although the inclusion of Gyrich and Dunphy does nothing to help sell me on the story, there’s certainly enough here to pick this one up including some good inner monologue from Cap during his attack on the HYDRA base and the art by Patrick Zircher whose action sequences really pop. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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Coriolanus

  • Title: Coriolanus
  • IMDB: link

coriolanus-posterFor his directorial debut Ralph Fiennes chooses a modern adaptation of William Shakespeare‘s Coriolanus. To help, Fiennes enlisted the help of screenwriter John Logan (Hugo, The Last Samuari, Sweeney Todd, Rango, Gladiator). It’s an ambitious project to be sure but despite some solid performances the film hits some snags when adapting the story to modern day.

Fiennes stars as Caius Marcius Coriolanus, a legendary general of Rome who cares little for politics, and far less for the troubles of the common man. Despite his disinterest he agrees to run for the Senate to please his mother (Vanessa Redgrave). This action, far more than any risk ever taken on the battlefield, will prove to be his undoing.

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Top Ten Summer 2012 Preview

It’s going to be hard for any film this summer to meet the bar The Avengers set this Spring. In Hollywood terms Memorial Day has always been (more or less) the start of the summer movie season. So what do they have in store for us this year? A couple more super-hero flicks, new films by director Wes Anderson and Woody Allen, time travel, a fictional character literally brought to life, and the end of the world. Not all of these look to be box office winners, but with all do respect to that Schwarzenegger remake (which didn’t make my list), these are your best bets at finding some real movie magic this summer.

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News and Notes

BAFTA held it’s Television Awards over the weekend whose winners included Dominic West, Monica Dolan & Emily Watson for Appropriate Adult and Andrew Scott for Sherlock

The Independent reports that despite Harrison Ford‘s reluctance to return to the role director Ridley Scott definitely wants the actor on-board for the sequel to Blade Runner which will center around a female protagonist

The Vulture is reporting that writer/director Sean Durkin (Martha Marcy May Marlene) wants to adapt The Exorcist as a ten-episode television mini-series

Variety is reporting Austrian writer/director Michael Haneke‘s drama Amour won the coveted Palme d’Or at the 65th annual Cannes Film Festival on Sunday night

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