Book: Devil's Cape by Rob Rogers

Devil's Cape (Discoveries)

Rob Rogers

Devil's Cape is part of what I hope will become a trend in books--comic book stories delivered in novel form. Much like the recent Soon I Will Be Invincible, it deals with costumed heroes and villains.

And it is one great book. I would dare say one of the best that I have ever read. Seriously.

The title refers to the setting for the novel, a town in Louisiana. It is a town were evil has won. They control the police, they have their hands in all the businesses, nothing happens inthe town without their sayso.

Any hero that rises up against them loses, and usually is slaughtered mercilessly.

However, a trio of new heroes enter the scene. Each has their own ties to the violence of the city. Some lost family members to the villains that run the city, some have family members in the villains number, some were villains themselves.

This was Rob Rogers first novel. But you would never believe that by reading it. He weaves a unique and realistic world like he's been writing novels for years.

His characters are vibrant and realistic. He plays with the reader's expectations of them like a master. The ones you think will end up good guys turn bad, and vice versa. And never to any of them ring untrue. 

He uses the passage of time excellently. The first eleven chapters span 35 years, providing the exposition in an interesting and effective way. And the way he jumps back and forth through time during the climax enhances the drama and suspense and makes it a real page turner.

If you are a fan of comic books, or just a fan of a good, easy to read page turner, then I can't recommend Devil's Cape highly enough. After reading this, I get the feeling that I am getting in on the ground floor of and author who will be a major talent in the future. Pick this book up and you can say you have been reading Rob Rogers before he hit big.  

Zombie Meme

I saw this on my internet travels (here to be exact)  and decided to share:

You are in a mall when zombies attack. You have:

1.) One weapon.

2.) One song blasting on the speakers.

3.) One famous person to fight along side you (Historical or Fictional).

What are your choices?

 

1. A Baseball Bat.  I'll go with Rich from the above link. More free range of movement, less chance of it getting stuck in someone, less chance of hurting yourself. But I'd make it a steel bat. Steel bats don't splinter and break as easily.

2. Something by Evanescence. I'd say "Bring Me To Life" but that would be a bit to self-referential to the situation at hand. Maybe "Sweet Sacrifice" or "Tourniquet"

3. Wow. Like Rich, I can't just choose one. Here are my top three:

Bruce Campbell as Ash:

 

Bruce-campbell

Which really is a no-brainer.

John Wayne as he was in pretty much all of his movies:

 

130-157~John-Wayne-Posters

I mean, let's face it. He always played a mean, onery S.O.B. He was good with guns and if he had your back, you back is had. Who wouldn't want the Duke by their side as the face down the zombie hordes.

Obi-Wan Kenobi, sometime between "Phantom Menace" and "Attack of the Clones":

 

Ewen2

To start, he's a Jedi, which is nice to have on your side when you're fighting zombies. The zombies get too close? A wave of the hand flicks them away. Heck, he could send a display rack flying into a group of zombies from across the mall. On top of that, he has a sword that could cut through anything. ANYTHING.

And this was a tough choice. Anakin/Vader you can't trust. Luke, Mace Windu? Not really sure how good they are. Yoda? I could fight zombies with Yoda. But I wan't this particular version of Obi-Wan. One not that far removed from the guy who was jumping up and down waiting for his shot at Darth Maul but schooled enough to kick some major ass.

Honorable Mentions: Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, Dirty Harry, Wolverine, The Incredible Hulk, The Bride from Kill Bill 

Looking at this post, this might be the geekiest blog entry I ever written. And, good lord, have I written a lot of geeky blog posts.  

Sad News: R.I.P. George Carlin

Art_carlin_ap

In what has to be some of the crummiest news to wake up to, comedian George Carlin has passed away yesterday of heart failure. He was 71.

If you are a fan of today's stand-up comedy, be you a fan of Lewis Black or even Dane Cook, you owe Carlin a debt of gratitude. If it wasn't for Carlin, they would have a hard time earning their living. He revolutionized the world of stand-up comedy, picking up the ball left behind by Lenny Bruce and running with it, and terraformed that landscape of comedy we see today.

And even more amazing is the fact that he was still performing, including a show last week in Las Vegas. His comedy was just as timely now as it was when he started in the 60s. Sure, he adapted with the years, but that in and of itself takes skill and intelligence.

The world of comedy has lost one of its greatest legends and the world in general has lost a unique voice. He will be missed.

For a nice obituary, check out CNN.com.

Movie: Get Smart

Getsmartratedposter

Of the two comedies that opened this week, the wife, my friend Mike and myself saw Get Smart instead of The Love Guru. And it turned out to be a pretty good choice.

Granted, Get Smart is a flawed movie. It is a caper film that really doesn't hold up to close scrutiny. But the quality of the acting made watching the film an enjoyable experience.

Don't be misled by the trailer. This film is less a comedy with action than an action comedy. In fact, the tone is just a little bit sillier than a Lethal Weapon and about equal, if not slightly more serious that the Rush Hour films.

There were a lot of nice touches in the film. Maxwell Smart, played excellently by Steve Carell, is portrayed not as a bumbling incompetent but rather as an inexperience novice. He does screw up, but he learns from his mistakes and grows from them. I really liked that aspect of the character.

Anne Hathaway is beautiful and charming, as she always is. She plays her character fairly well. Dwayne Johnson oozes charn and charisma as Agent 23, and Alan Arkin, who is a god of comedy, in my opinion, simply rocks as the Chief. He brings joy and humor to every aspect of his role, and pretty much lights up the screen.

However, there are things that keep this from being the perfect movie. The romance between Carell and Hathaway is not terribly believeable. I'd imaging that the powers that be felt this might be the case, and thought it was because of the differences in ages. There is a clumsy bit of exposition that pops up in the first act where it is revealed that Hathaway's character is actually older than she really is (her character having plastic surgery is a subplot). It was almost as if the movie makers were saying "See! She might look 15 years younger! But they are really the same age! Therefore, you should believe the hint of romance!"

But the age difference wasn't what made the romance unbelievable. It was that they didn't give it time to develop. They go from a casual flirtation to ga-ga almost instantiously. It is jarring and not terribly believable.

And the identity of the mole in CONTROL could be guessed halfway through by almost anyone who has ever seen a movie before. However, his betrayal is never explained and his motivations are never made clear.

There are a bunch of great homages to the TV show, which is the case with any adaptation. The choice of actor to play Hymie is great and spot on.

All in all, Get Smart is a good movie if you are looking for a fun summer flick where you don't have to think too hard and want a good laugh.   

Movie: Incredible Hulk

The_incredible_hulk_2_movie_poster2

The wife and I, and a whole gaggle of my friends, went to see The Incredible Hulk this past weekend. The general consensus is that it was really good.

This is more a sequel to the TV show than a sequel to the Ang Lee film, which is good because the TV show "got" the Hulk much better than that previous movie.

The origin is revamped and explained very succinctly over the opening credits. It told you exactly what you needed to know without telling you what you didn't. Many comic book movies have the perceived problem of being bogged down with an origin story. If more films presented the origin this way, there wouldn't be a problem.

The acting was first rate all around, and, for the most part, better than the Ang Lee version. Edward Norton was good as he always is. Same with Tim Roth, who was badass as the bad guy even before his transformation. I was especially impressed with Liv Tyler. I kind of always thought of her acting as being kind of "eh" but she really did a good job in this film.

The only actor who I think was a step down from the previous cast is William Hurt. He did a good job, don't get me wrong, and physically he was an almost exact match with the comic version of General Ross, but he wasn't the grizzled soldier than Sam Elliot was. 

Another actor who coluld be considered a bad addition was Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns. In this film, he is a minor character. So it is kind of jarring to see Nelson ham it up on screen. But when you consider who the character turns out to be, the acting actually makes sense.

The final scene was, like the first movie, a CGI fest. But, unlike the last one, it was clear and easy to see. And exciting and with a villain who not only posed a threat to the Hulk, but also wasn't a lake.

The film is filled with easter eggs for fans of the TV and comic book, from Bill Bixby appearing on a TV screen to Stan Lee and Lou Ferringno having their cameos bumped up to small roles to Banner's dog being named Rick.

The Incredible Hulk was a great comic book movie which got right what Ang Lee got wrong.

I'm beginning to not like Katherine Heigl so much.

Katherine Heigl

So, I don't know if you are fans of Katherine Heigl or not, or if you heard the latest, but my opinion of her has changed a bit.

She recently pulled her name out of Emmy consideration. Why? This is what she said:

"I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination and (so), in an effort to maintain the integrity of the Academy organization, I withdrew my name from contention. I did not want to potentially take away an opportunity from an actress who was given such materials."

That's kind of obnoxious, is it not?

I mean, first there's the open swipe at the writers. She was never given the material? Okay. I don't watch Grey's Anatomy, but I do know that it's called "Grey's Anatomy". Not "Whatever the hell Katherine Heigl's character's name is Anatomy". She's about four or five down on the feeding chart on the show. Heck, they don't have to give her any material if they don't want to. If her character doesn't appear in an episode of the show, I doubt that the world would end.

Besides, there was a writers strike this season. That means a limited number of episodes. What were the writers to do? Stop advancing the main character to throw as many "For Your Consideration" moments at Heigel as they can?  "Hey guys! Stop writing those scenes for the Ellen Pompeo. Katherine wants another scene where she can cry so she gets another Emmy. Get on that! Stat!" 

And not only are these many of the same writers who wrote the season that won her the Emmy, she'd be nowhere without the show in general. She's be starring in the Sci-Fi Network's movie of the week. Maybe she'd play a scientist chasing after a giant, cannibalistic, zombie turtle and not a co-ed who gets eaten by said turtle in the first act. And maybe she'd last to the final act before getting eaten. But that would be her lot in life without Grey's Anatomy.

My favorite part of the statement is the very concrete implication that she believes that she was a lock for an Emmy nomination, bad material or not. Maintain the integrity of the Academy organization? Like, people would just vote for her if she sucked because she is the awesome. "Hey, voting for Katherine Heigl is morally wrong, because we all admit she wasn't the best supporting actress in a drama or comedy this year. But, come on! It's Katherine Heigl! We got to nominate her." Yeah, right. Get off of that cloud.

Am I supposed to feel pity for her? That the show that made her famous isn't sacrificing their long range plans to give her meaty scenes--forget that they are accomodating her movie career by working around her schedule--so she can get another award?

You might think that I'm coming down on her because she is an opinionated woman who speaks her mind. No. Being opinionated isn't bad. Not thinking before you air those opinions willy nilly is bad. Being hurtful to the people who work so hard to make you look good is bad. Speaking your mind without ever thinking of the consequences or who you might hurt is bad. Her being a woman has nothing to do with it.

I have a new blog.

What is more pretentious than having one blog? Having two. And I just started a new one called Gates Rants on Comics. More of my comics only posts will be over there, this will be more for pop culture and stuff like that.

I just posted a rant about the whole Final Crisis continuity brouhaha. You can read it here.

 

And feel free to bookmark that site or add it to your feed reader, if you like what I have to say.

 

 

Movie:Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Indiana1

The wife and I just came back from seeing the latest Indy. And this is what we had to say about it.

This is one fun movie.

Of course, it is updated. Harrison Ford isn't in his 40s anymore. And the movie doesn't pretend he is. And once they get that out of the way, the ball really starts rolling.

This movie is packed with fun moments. The sword fight on the moving vehicles. The fistfight in field full of ants. The swing from the vines like a bunch of monkeys.

There are a lot of, well, I guess you'd call them Easter Eggs in the film. Tips of the hat for long time fans of the franchise. Also a shout out or two to Star Wars.

The acting was great all around, but Cate Blanchett is superb. Really. Just by looking at her, you can tell what she's feeling at all times. She didn't even need dialogue.

As to problems people have with the update of the enemy and the logic behind the "MacGuffin", well, I look at it this way. The first three Indy movies reflected the serials of the time they were set in--the 30s or the 40s. This reflects the B-grade Sci-Fi films of the era it was set in--the 50s.

As for the CGI, well, that didn't bother me. Because it is pretty good CGI.

So, I had a blast. Indy 4 was a lot of fun.

Now, the trailers before Indy:

• The Dark Knight: The voice Heath Ledger does reminds me a little of Dustin Hoffman. I don't know why.
• Australia: Baz Luhrmann's (SIC) ode to his home country. It seems like a parody of all those cheesy "For Your Consideration" movie you get at the end of the year. I don't really know what its about, something about Hugh Jackman having to save Australia.
• Wall-E: Man, this looks absolutely cute and charming. Can't wait to see it.
• Hellboy II: The Golden Army: The weird thing about this is that Hellboy doesn't make an appearance until halfway through the trailer. It seem more like a sequel to Pan's Labrynth tham Hellboy. Maybe they thought they had to fool people to be interested.
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: It is a "Serious drama" about a man who ages backwards and all I can think of is Jonathan Winters character fron Mork and Mindy.
• Kung Fu Panda: It seems fun for what it is. Maybe if we see two movies this weekend, we catch it.
• Eagle Eye: This Shia trailer sneaked in on us. It has a Matrix like vibe, but in a good way.  

Ooops!!!! I caused some controversy!!!

EWjun62008

Short version: Some Entertainment Weekly writer says all comic movies suck. I write an editorial and say he's entitled to his opinion, but his logic is flawed. End result: My point is missed and I get called a geek.

 

Long version: Click here.