In the East, Pittsburgh just couldn’t solve Halak, as the Caps found out 7 games earlier. And the Pens just kinda choked it in game 7, big time. Even bigger choke, Boston had a 3 - 0 series lead on Philly and lost it, and had a 3 - 0 goal lead midway through the first period of game seven and lost it, losing 4 - 3 and the series.

To recap, in the west, the top two seeds advanced and in the East the 7th and 8th seeds did.

round 3
I’m not much a fan of any of the remaining teams, especially in the East, so I’m not caring so much about these playoffs anymore. That said, predictions:

philadelphia flyers vs montreal canadiens: Canadiens, with a hot goalie and the Camel will put out Philly in 5

San Jose sharks vs Chicago blackhawks: San Jose is going to machine their way through this in 5, and go on to win the cup.

Recap: EAST
A. Caps v. Habs - Up.set. Serious up.set. Washington looked pretty good to start, stymieing both Price and Halak until the game 5 slow-burn 2-1 victory which led to a 4-1 loss in game six and the 2-1 death knell at home in game 7. Habs shot blocking, their defensive posturing and Halak’s superhuman goaltending led to victory.
(I had predicted a 4-0 sweep by Washington.. oops)

B. Devils v. Flyers - Up.set. #2, but lesser so since Philly managed to straight outplay Jersey and win the series 4-1. (I predicted a NJ win in 6.. oops)

C. Buffalo v. Boston - At one point (before game 6 and 7 of Caps/Habs) Miller was considered to be the hottest goalie on the ice. But with Vanek injured mid-way through the series Buffalo lost their goal-scoring edge and succumbed 4-2 to a tenacious Boston, young goaltender Tukka Rask and veteran player Marc Recci. (I had predicted Buffalo in 7).

D. Pens v. Sens - Pittsburgh didn’t really dominate this series until the fourth game where they dominated the Sens 7-4. The Sens won game 5 4-3 in OT and the reverse happened in game six to give the Pens a 4-2 series win. (I actually called this one, Pittsburgh in 6)

Recap: WEST
E. Sharks v. Avs - The Avs fought valiantly and for four games and made it look like they actually had a chance of toppling the mighty Sharks (who have a history of tanking in the post-season). After a brilliant 1-0 game 3 OT win and a heartbreaking 2-1 OT loss in game 4, the Avs were routed in game 5 5-0. Game six the Avs put up a tremendous fight, but they were outclassed almost the entire way and they knew it. (I called it Sharks in 5, so, close)

F. Hawks v. Preds - The Preds looked dangerous often in the series but the Hawks often looked solid. Game 1: 4-1 Nashville, Game 2: 2-0 Chicago, Game 3: 4-1 Nashville, Game 4: 3-0 Chicago. Game 5: 5-4 in a crazy last-second Chicago comeback/OT win which took all the fight out of Nashville. (I actually called this one, Chicago in 6)

H. Canucks v. Kings - Wow… this one was crazy, scoring was happening left right and center, especially on the King’s power play which killed the Canucks often, Luongo even getting pulled one game. But the Canucks figured it out their last two games and got their scoring and goaltending in order, decisively winning the series 4-2. (I called the Kings in 7… oops)

I. Coyotes v. Wings - This one went to seven awesome games (well, game six was a frustrating ‘Yotes rout of the Wings) but the Wings showed their poise, their experience, and their ability to push it to the next level in game 7. (I said Phoenix in 7, but its tradition for me to predict the Wings losing).

And now…

ROUND 2 - EAST

Pittsburgh Penguins (4) v. Montreal Canadiens (8): so… did all that shot blocking and goaltending and stymieing of the normally high-scoring Caps take the wind out of the Habs sails? Or will they have yet another helping of the same for defending Cup winners Pittsburgh? It’ll be interesting. I say Pittsburgh in 6.

Philadelphia Flyers (6) v. Boston Bruins(7): well, nobody was expecting this quarterfinal match-up. Two very tenacious and pesky teams going head to head. Both like a touch of the ultra-violence, playing very physical games. Philly’s very well rested, Boston only slightly lesser so. But Rask gives the Bruins the edge. Boston in 5.

ROUND 2 - EAST

San Jose Sharks (1) v. Detroit Red Wings (5): The Sharks have had a few days rest, the Wings only get a day between their game 7 and the first game of this series. Will Thornton maintain his usual disappearing act? Will Jimmy Howard )and the insanely good Wings defence) be able to keep their firepower in check? Yes, Detroit in 6.

Chicago Blackhawks (2) v. Vancouver Canucks (3): Perhaps the series I’m most looking forward to. The Hawks are young and uber-talented but uneven, while Vancouver is on a scoring streak. It comes down to Niemi and Luongo, each rather spotty themselves. I honestly don’t know how to call it, so I’ll say Vancouver in 7.

A26 - COMIC - Kill Shakespeare #1 - reviewed

BOOK - A Voyage To Arcturus by David Lindsay - Written in 1920 and available in the public domain, AVTA is a plodding, plotless piece of vintage science fiction, taking the idea of the wandering man and putting him on decidedly foreign soil and, perhaps, cope with the human condition, as so happens in wondering-man-style stories. I don’t know exactly, I got fairly bored with it about half way through. This review does a pretty good job detailing the crux of the book without having to read it which is fortunate, since I spent most of the time reading it wondering when the story would actually pick up, and it turns out it never does.

COMIC - Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers Unleashed #2 - Thor Frog, Yeti, alternate dimensions. This is what comics should be.

COMIC - X-Factor #204 - Oh man, tying into yet another X-crossover. Thankfully Peter David always negotiates these things well and slices off his own little corner which matters more to the characters at hand and less to the arch of the x-over. Plus that one shot of Shatterstar… way awesome.

COMIC - Captain America: Who Won’t Weild The Shield - Comics like this from DC and Marvel are essential for keeping the playful spirit of the industry up, to remind us that these fictional universes of capes and tights are rather ludicrous when you really think about it and taking them too seriously is worth mocking. As far as these things go, it may not be the funniest, but it’s very well composed and beautifully rendered.

COMIC - American Vampire #2 - liking a lot, more than True Blood… and the double-whammy of story in each issue is really well done, almost as good as Ex Machina. This looks like a hit.
A23 - NET - The National: High Times streaming at NewYorkTimes - The latest album from one of the greatest bands in modern music is not a disappointment, in the sense that it’s not at all a bad record. But at the same time, it doesn’t reach the same highs as “Alligator” or “Boxer” before it. The pep and hook seems largely replaced by steady and melodic, with “Conversation 16″ being the most infectious track. As with most of The National’s work, it’ll take time to absorb the melodies, the theme, the lyrics. After two listens (working on the third as I type) I’m already comforted by its presence, if not in love with it quite yet. Looking forward to having the album proper.

A21 - MOVIE - Robin Hood - Hey film goer, what do you know about Robin Hood? He’s an ace archer, sure. He’s got a band of merry men, true. He’s in love with Maid Marian, yes. He steals from the rich and gives to the poor, exactly. So what if I were to tell you that we made a movie wherein we rarely see him with a bow and arrow, his merry men are sort of an afterthought, Marian is a warrior, and that whole stealing from the rich/give to the poor thing, well that doesn’t happen at all. What if I were to tell you that Robin Hood actually united Britain’s disenfranchised with the royal army to repel a French invasion? What if I were to tell you that Robin Hood’s dad wrote the Magna Carta? What do you mean that doesn’t sound at all good. Aw crap, you’re right. This film is going to be an abysmal failure, and we were all set up for a sequel at the end too. Damn. (On a personal note, Ridley Scott has been added to my list of directors to never watch again, which also includes Robert Zemeckis, James Cameron and Martin Scorsese).

A20 - NET - Broken Social Scene: Forgiveness Rock Record streaming on NPR. Track Four (”Forced To Love”) has the hook, while Track 5 (”All To All”) is a rip-roaring Blondie pastiche from Amy Millan (at least I think that’s her), and are easily the standout (in a good way) tracks. Track 2 (”Chase Scene”) hits the synth-pop 80’s inspiration too hard and is almost comedic in its presentation (like the “Anchorman” of songs), while Track 7 (”Highway Slipper Jam”) is tedious sleepy-time dream pop. I got distracted and lost track of which track I was on, but aside from 4 and 5, I’m less than excited by this album. I’ll likely give it another listen and see if anything else sticks.

COMIC - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3: War Of Kings Book 2 - The conclusion to the GotG’s involvement with the war between the Shi’ar and the Kree, with Knowhere getting caught in the middle as the Inhumans and the Imperial Guard attack and fraught three-way melee ensues. Adam Warlock finds religion and it drives him nuts, and some members get lost in time as they bounce between multiple iterations of possible futures for the GotG 1000 years hence. They make it back in time to stop crazy Warlock and to see half their ranks get killed. This was a freakin’ trip. And Brad Walker, man has that guy improved tenfold since his bitterly awful work on the first Secret Six miniseries.

COMIC - Classic G.I. Joe Vol.7 - Man, Fred VII killed Cobra Commander and took his gaudy space armor and is now running Cobra Island with the Baroness in on the joke. It’s good fun but also terribly ridiculous. The late Marshall Rogers pencils the first story and it’s a shame he didn’t do more work. It looked great, though regular artist Ron Wagner nails the technicals of the vehicles and gear perfectly every time. The main problem with this collected editions is the lack of “Special Missions” which are referenced as cross-over issues, but apparently those collections are coming too.

COMIC - Batgirl #10 - I’m wondering what Babs’ role will be when Birds of Prey comes back. No reason why she can’t be in two books at once, I guess, but will she be consistent? Will Batgirl be in BoP? Nerd questions. This issue was decent but I don’t recall much about it save the big Calculator set-up.

TV - Doctor Who: The Eleventh Hour - Young Matt Smith’s first full episode as the eleventh Doctor and I like him quite a bit already. He’s fast-talking, full of technobabble, and has a weird sensory ability to scan his own brain for details he might not have been cognizant of. The show was actually angling for an older actor to portray the new Doctor, but Smith does exceptionally well at pulling off an out-of-touch senior vibe while also being quirky and modern. Karen Gillan plays Amelia (Amy) Pond, and is hands down the foxiest companion yet. Her origin was the focus of the episode, moreso than the new Doctor’s introduction, and it’s ranks among the best of them. If not for the allure of Gillan, I’d actually be curious to see the Doctor take young 13-year-old Amelia along with him. Has the Doctor ever had a child companion, or is that just creepy? Smith played it perfectly though as more a concerned guardian, and even upon meeting the older kiss-o-gram-Cop Amy the Doctor remained ever the asexual being. The show seems in good hands all ’round.

A15 - COMIC - The Shield #8 - Two more issues. *Sad Face*. Just when we’re starting to get some insight into the Shield’s character here, too. Sigh. The Fox back-up, not so good unfortunately. Cliche and Oeming isn’t channeling Toth nearly enough.

COMIC - Brightest Day #0 - rant

COMIC - Secret Six #20 - I was relieved Catman chose not to kill his teammates and instead tell them to dispense with his infant child. What does that say about me? Well it says that I’m tired of the Six beating the crap out of one another constantly in this series and so if a baby must die to create some other kind of conflict so be it. It’s fiction, not reality. I also do buy into Cheshire’s beat down, nor do I understand, at all, the relationship between Scandal and Bane. And Califiore’s art isn’t my cup of tea.

COMIC - Chew #10 - The conclusion to “International Flavor” feels somewhat out-of-step with the previous chapters in this story, but Layman does a good job of tying it into the series in a larger context… reminding me that this is, in fact, an ongoing series with a bigger scope in mind. The weakest issue of the series, so far, but entertainment factor is still high.

DVD - The MiddleMan (episodes 1&2) - The MiddleMan was yet another paranormal investigation series, lasting a single season on the ABC Family (yet curiously rated TV-14). It’s a lot better that that sentence suggests (although the effects are exactly what that sentence suggests). If it’s not already, the show is destined to be a cult hit, because it’s got incredibly well written and developed characters, exceptionally sharp dialogue, and is gleefully entertaining. There aren’t enough hour long programs that genuinely embrace a sense of fun… Doctor Who and (depending on your tastes) perhaps Glee spring to mind, but few beyond that. It’s too bad there won’t be more when I’m done with the DVD set, but I can always hunt down the comics afterwords.

A12 - DVD - Sherlock Holmes - Given all the obvious (to even the unread layperson) inaccuracies between Guy Ritchie’s recent blockbuster interpretation of Sherlock Holmes and the Sir AC Doyle novels, one might wonder if name recognition was the only reason this film is called “Sherlock Holmes” and not, say, “Wesley Wintergreen and his man Kent”. Yes, yes it is. Well that and if it were titled an “original” work, everyone would wonder why it just wasn’t called “Sherlock Holmes”. It’s a fun ride overall (I even like Rachel McAdams, who was a sticking point for many critics) liberally laced with humour, action and romantic undertones (both hetero and homo) all surrounding a relatively simplistic “how’d he do it” (rather than a “whodunnit”). Downey Jr. is an odd, but not unlikeable choice as Holmes, and Jude Law puts in his most appealing role in a long while as Dr. Watson. You can bet there’s a sequel coming, and I’m quite looking forward to it.

TV - Doctor Who: The End Of Time - I’m an occasional viewer of Doctor Who, so I missed a lot of the build-up into this, the final story for the Tenth Doctor, David Tennent. I generally enjoy the show, but I find, all too often, that it’s very laborious, feeling like it’s just killing running time, like the overlong sequence of the Master taking over the world and becoming so many different people, and waving (at whom? himself?) and having a good laugh. Yeah, I got it after the first 10 seconds, thanks. I didn’t think this story was the most tightly scripted and it was generally sloppily executed. Entertaining? Sure, but we all knew that the Doctor was going to die and be reborn, it was only a matter of when (the internet surely sucks some of the fun out of such revelations) and the show annoyingly toys with the audience.. and Tennent’s Doctor stating “I don’t want to go” (or whatever) felt emotionally hollow, given that it was Tennent’s decision to depart (but just as much it might be the words of writer/producer Russell T. Davies’ who also decided to step down).

WEB - Hey kids, sample some comedy!. Love the Bamford, Giraldo, not as much.

WEB - People this creative, this talented, this clever and funny make me angry with the jealousy. At least 200 fantastic pieces in this portfolio.

A9 - COMIC - G.I. Joe/Cobra II #3 - Man, I’m so glad this series is going monthly, even at $3.99 a pop.

COMIC - Detective Comics #883 - Man, I’m so bummed that Greg Rucka is leaving DC to do his own projects. I mean, I’m happy for him and will gladly read whatever he writes, but he is the voice of Batwoman and The Question and I want more of that.

A8 - COMIC - S.H.I.E.L.D. #1 - Hey True Believers! This is it! The secret history of the Marvel Universe… or should I say, rather, another secret history in (presumably) the mighty Marvel 616. In the new series S.H.I.E.L.D., writer Jonathan Hickman and artist Dustin Weaver hint at the happenings in centuries and millenniums past, starting with Imhotep’s battle with the Brood which led to the formation of the secret society of the Shield, a self appointed protection agency of Earth, whom over the many, many years have counted amongst their ranks luminaries like Galileo, DiVinci, and certain fathers to Misters Stark and Richards. Amidst a framework of discovery set in the 1950s, past tales are teased, including DiVinci’s encounter with Galactus and an encounter with a Celestial during the Han Dynasty in China), hopefully to be explored further in subsequent issues. Hickman, as witnessed in his excellent Pax Romana series a couple years back, enjoys toying with historical concepts for a modern fantasy/sci-fi thrill, and within the confines of the Marvel Universe, he’s done a thoroughly engrossing job here. Dustin Weaver is tasked with recreating multiple eras in history and incorporating some anachronistic Marvel elements (a pink and violet planet-eater towering over a 15th century cityscape, anyone?), yet he not only makes it work but makes it awe-inspiring. Much credit should also go to Christina Strain for her lavish colors which help define each era. S.H.I.E.L.D. is a must read for Marvel fanatics and something equally enjoyable for casual fan. Hickman has crafted a unique and compelling hype-worthy story that could possibly equal the best mainstream works of Ellis, Gaiman, Moore and Morrison. Most disappointing thing: next issue isn’t out until June. Excelsior.

COMIC - Batman and Robin #11 - For some reason I was thinking this was the end of the current story arc, not the middle issue. Thankfully I’m wrong. Morrison’s gone bozzo, yet again, this issue just saturated in ideas. Andy Clarke is doing a great job with everything except Damian… he just can’t get the kid right.

COMIC - Demo #3 - Either I’m in love with what Wood and Cloonan are doing or I’m annoyed. I haven’t decided which yet. I’m no hater on short stories, but Demo seems to be big on sweeping changes of character in short periods of time. Each issue is a stand-alone story, a fragment in a character’s life, and given the limitations of 22 pages, they have to move quickly, but they seem to move too quickly and I don’t know if it’s because I enjoy it so much that I’m sad it’s over too soon, or if I’m just disappointed with it. Cloonan’s work this issue was fantastic, and it’s always interesting to read her notes on illustrating the issue in the back matter. She’s a hell of an artist. Wood confesses his struggles as a writer perhaps too often and I think it might be undermining my trust in him as a storyteller.

COMIC - Doom Patrol #9 - I’m frustrated with this series. It’s bizarre because it’s supposed to be and the stories and action are suitably off-kilter, and while it’s evident when the good guys win, the finer details are lost in a muddy mess of double-speak, attempts at humourous wordplay, choppy English via alien dialects, and in general too much information. It’s difficult reading throughout, and not always the most enjoyable experience. Being obtuse doesn’t equal being clever. But hey, Ambush Bug! Wasn’t expecting him…yet.

COMIC - Nemesis: The Imposters #2 - After “Final Crisis: Escape” I was hoping for some crazy “Electric City”/”OMAC”/”Global Peace Agency” shenanegans, but the first issue seemed a little disappointing with only a slightly tangible connection to the prior series and some bizarre instance where Nemesis needed to save the Joker. This issue is pretty much a duel between Batman and Nemesis, but with the threads to the previous series getting stronger, and a bit more blurring of Tom Tresser’s understanding of reality. Half-way there, it seems there’s still a long way to go and not enough time to get there.

COMIC - Red Robin #11 - after almost a year, I’ve finally gotten over the drastic shift in Tim Drake/Wayne’s character (as Chris Yost has also lightened up on the tone of the book) and come to actually enjoy the thing somewhat. Marcus To’s clean linework has really grown on me, and even though his panels aren’t very dynamic, especially when it comes to action, his storytelling is solid.

A7 - MOVIE - Clash of the Titans - after seeing the original last month, my curiosity piqued and I wondered how would the modern-fx remake improve upon the legend of Perseus… well, the effects, costuming, sets and, generally, the technical aspects of the film were remarkable. The story, well, would you believe that it’s even thinner than the original, and the characterization even thinner. Perseus is little but a collection of cinematic cliches with no personality unique to his own. The original had only the slightest shoestring connecting it to the actual myth of Perseus, while here that shoestring is withered to a thread. Fact of the matter is, there are no Titans in this film, since it was the Titans who sired the Olympians (Zeus, Hades, etc), who in turn sired the demigods (Perseus, the Kraken). There’s an absence of clarity on how the gods interact with mortals (and vice versa) which I find difficult and the film seems to progress solely on whims. It’s a brutally structured and poorly developed story-by-committee, but it’s very prettily executed with enough pop and wow to almost forgive it. What the original was to 1981, this is to 2010.

A6 - MOVIE - Hot Tub Time Machine - This isn’t this year’s “Hangover” as it’s far more crass and not as cleverly ridiculous, but remains fairly entertaining, though it could have gone further to push the stereotypical 80’s-ski-lodge comedy conventions quite enough. There are some great moments of playing semantics which I loved, and the cameos by Chevy Chase and Crispin Glover were awesome (with “Community” going so well, Chevy’s on a comeback). I quite enjoyed all the performances, though Cusack seemed almost on autopilot and was well overshadowed by Craig Robinson and Rob Coddry.

So, here we go… before the first game starts (unlike last year when some match-ups were already three games deep when I made my predictions)…

East

A. Washington Capitals (1) v. Montreal Canadiens(8)
Washington came out of this season with the President’s Trophy, the most goals scored, the top five +/- players in the NHL and they have in young Varlomov a pretty decent goalie. Montreal hasn’t been looking particularly stable this year, and they barely eked their way into the playoffs (again). They’re not going to put up much of a fight against the Caps. I’ll go out on a limb and say Caps in 4.

B. New Jersey Devils (2) v. Philadelphia Flyers (7)
Jersey got upset by Carolina last year and the potential is there this year, but the Devils have had an impressive year with even old man Brodeur putting in the most wins of any goalies this season. NJD play a pretty clean game, while Philly is total rough and tumble so it’ll be an interesting clash stylistically. Philly may look good early, but the Devils will solve them. NJ in 6

C. Buffalo Sabres (3) v. Boston Bruins (6)
Buffalo clinched the President’s Trophy a few years back and tanked it in the playoffs that year, and they didn’t even make it last year. But grit, plus superstar goalie Ryan Miller, landed them high in the west this year. Miller is the lynchpin here, as the Bruins are a low-scoring and injured team Miller just might land a handful of shutouts against them. Bruins can be easily underestimated and they tend to win on extremely low scoring games. It’ll be interesting to see if their rookie goalie Tukka Rask can hold up under the stretch, but they have ace goalie Tim Thomas as back-up so the Bruins could eke this one out. But I’ll say Sabres in 7

D. Pittsburgh Penguins (4) v. Ottawa Senators (5)
Game 1 is on as I type this and it’s 1-0 early in the first period for Pittsburgh. The Pens made it to the finals the past two years, so they’re veterans, while the Sens made it to the finals three years before, but they’re a wildly different team. I don’t think the Pens should have all that much trouble with them frankly. Pittsburgh in 6

WEST

E. San Jose Sharks (1) v. Colorado Avalanche (8)
The Sharks are giants, topping their conference consistently in the past few years as they did again this year, the Avs have had a decent season, but after a seriously strong start, they’ve been middle-of-the-road at best. But also, the Sharks have a bad choking problem every year in the post-season which, perhaps with the Olympics experience under their first line’s belt, they will overcome. I don’t expect the Avs to lay down and roll over but I don’t think their fight will be able to topple the great whites. San Jose in 5

F. Chicago Blackhawks (2) v. Nashville Predators (7)
Oh my. I know Chicago’s game and it’s a beauty. I have no idea what Nashville’s game is like but it appears they had a pretty solid season, so it should be an interesting competition. But the ‘Hawks are hungry, with one post-season under their young belt, they should have the advantage. Chicago in 6

G. Vancouver Canucks (3) v. Los Angeles Kings (6)
I think if there’s going to be any big upsets this year it will be the Kings over the Canucks. The Canucks have a really good team, but they’re not solid and Luongo, even with his Gold Medal-earning wins this year, is only as good as his defense. If the Kings solve that the Canucks are cooked. This one’s going to 7, and I’m going to give the young Kings the advantage, because the dream of a Canadian team hoisting the cup this year is a pipe.

H. Phoenix Coyotes (4) v. Detroit Red Wings (5)
What a year for the ‘Yotes, who in spite of their financial and ownership difficulties pulled out an absolutely incredible season (actually placed third in points, but they couldn’t catch the Sharks to top the conference). But they haven’t been in the playoffs for a long time, and a repaired Red Wings, veterans of the post-season, had a super-strong post-Olympics break and could handily teach Phoenix a thing or two. But can they stay healthy? I’m not sure if they can 7 games straight. Phoenix in 7.

TV - Kids In The Hall: Death Comes To Town - Perhaps the comedy wasn’t as spicy as KITH of past, and you know, it’s evident they’re not as young/fit as they used to be, but their characters lead the show on a highly enjoyable path. All four of Dave Foley’s roles were gold, Brucio’s mayor was genius and Scott Thompson’s necrophiliac coroner was best-in-show (and perhaps Thompson’s best character ever). I think Kevin’s characters were the weakest in the show and generally not given enough material to work with. His cat-obsesses defence attorney was about as good as it got, but generally he wasn’t given enough mania to work with. The show’s plot and character arcs circle together nicely, although the big finale was rather weak. There are some truly excellent bits and in general I found the mini-series and some of its concepts to be highly enjoyable.

COMIC - The Incredible Hercules: Love and War and Dark Reign - With a generally long wait between trade paperback releases, I often forget exactly how much I enjoy this series. “Love and War” is one of the best arcs of the series, as Herc, Namor, Namorita and Amadeus Cho take on Marvel’s Amazons, which are very little like the ones over at DC where Wonder Woman burst from. “Dark Reign”, however, had some incredible ideas but overall was weak as the Norman Osborne’s “Dark Avengers” are thrust into the mix. Van Lente and Pak mix the Greek and Roman mythology in really interesting ways over these two volumes, and their interpretation of Hades as a casino is genius although “Dark Reign” ends rather abruptly in an unsatisfying manner.

M25 - iTUNES - Night of 140 Tweets - a fund-raiser for building schools in Haiti, 140 Los Angeles-based comedians, tv show writers and celebrities came out to the UCB Theatre to read off their favourite twitter posts. It’s all captured in this no-frills, 30-minute short film that plays like wild hit-and-miss comedy available on iTunes for $3, all proceeds to the charity. It’s a frustrating experience, since some tweeters you want to see or hear more of, and there’s a certain level of ridiculousness to the entire concept of the event (and you know Ashton and Demi and Dane Cook are there). Some of the tweets are comedy gold, some are fun, some are thoughtless and some are dumb. It’s a real mixed bag but each is over so quickly that it’s not like it matters. It’s a curiosity and won’t have much lasting power but it’s for a good cause and an easy way to pass time on the commute home from work.

MOVIE - The Naked Gun: From the Files Of Police Squad - Watching this again for the umpteenth time, I’ve forgotten how instrumental this specific film was in shaping my sense of humour. The wordplay, the outrageous humour played straight, the slapstick… it’s somewhat low brow yet incredibly skilled comedy. Every time I watch it I clue into something new (and I think I’m still surprised I saw this film at such a young age, although obviously I didn’t get much of it).

Podcasts - Exploding Head Movies #10 - With little time to program GAK goes extended play… a short tracklist of long songs. The JSBX DFA remix is tops.
WTF #58 - Marc talks about ignorant tourists in Washington, speaks to comic book artist Bob Fingerman about his smutty past. And celebrated radio host El Chupacabra (Nick Kroll) sits down for some typically manic and hysterical El Chupacabra conversation.

COMIC - Captain America #604 - It’s hard to forget that Falcon isn’t really Cap’s sidekick, and the man can kick ass… boy can he ever. There’s page after page of Falcon kicking ass…on a train no less. Some great work by Luke Ross and Butch Guice to highlight it all. The Nomad back-up feature I could do without though.

X-Factor #203 - A while back I read about Monet (not the artist, the X-Factor member) on Wikipedia as I really knew very little about her, even after 50+ issues of her being a regular cast member. Her story is crazy, almost nonsensical. This issue surrounds her, as she returns to her homeland in search of her kidnapped father, except it’s more about Strong Guy searching for her since she’s missing too. I’m hoping Peter David has something up his sleeve to make sense of her past. This was entertaining though.

The Guild #1 - Felicia Day’s web serial comes to comics with the Origin of Codex, and how she met the rest of her disparate gang of maladroits. Very few comic-tie ins feel this organic to their source material, but Day is the mastermind of it all so it does fit nicely. Jim Rugg’s art is generally very good, funky and stylistic and aptly distinguishing between real and virtual worlds, but his photo-referencing is distracting… much better to use a caricaturization instead of trying to nail a perfect replication.

Streets of Gotham #10 - Oh weak. Some stupid kid figured out Damian was Robin and now they’re slated to fight Mr. Zsasz in yet another underground fighting ring. And Robin getting his ass kicked by Zsasz? Really? #PaulDiniFail

M22 - DVD - Citizen Kane - It doesn’t live up to the hype, sadly. Considering how it’s often considered to be the greatest film of all time, I thought I’d at least be more interested in it from an influential/cultural/artistic standpoint, but sadly I found it somewhat tedious at times, and even more so devoid of any empathy for, or any real emotional connection to Kane (or any of the other characters for that matter), in large part due to the film’s structure. Some of the sets are phenomenal, but some of the others are cardboard, some of the acting was superb (Joseph Cotten) and some as corny as it got for that era. The score was gratingly typical of the era. Is it a good movie, damn straight, and it holds up well, but greatest movie? I’m not even sure it would crack my top five of films from the 1940’s and I don’t think I’ve seen that many. Casablanca FTW.

COMIC - Nova vol.5: War of Kings - With the Nova Corps’ worldmind having abandoned him for the living planet Ego, Richard Ryder is dying. Meanwhile, the new Nova Corps is led into the heady Shi’ar/Kree war, and with barely a few weeks of training under they’re belt, the conscripted corpsmen are in way over their head, especially when the Imperial Guard enter the fray. Some solidly entertaining space opera from Misters Abnett and Lanning with some classic, no-nonsense storytelling from Andrea DiVito.

COMIC - The Irredeemable Ant-Man - Eric O’Grady is a real douchenozzle, a grade A a-hole, a cad, a generally unlikeable self-obsessed liar, and he has the latest, high-tech Ant-Man costume Hank Pym has designed. But he shouldn’t - having taken it off the corpse of his best friend - he goes on the run from SHIELD, hides out with Damage Control under an assumed identity (Slaying Mantis) and makes pals with master cat burglar Black Fox. He uses his newfound capabilities less for good and more for his own benefit… Eric is not a hero and never pretends to be a hero, what he is though is the protagonist in this book and in spite of his great many flaws and though he s hugely unlikeable, the book is greatly entertaining. Writer Robert Kirkman and artists Phil Hester and Ande Parks (with fill-ins from Corey Parker on issue 6 & 7, uncredited in this collection) and nail the action-comedy genre to the wall, skew the ideals of superheroism and manage in 12 short issues to incorporate all of Marvel’s big events - from Civil War, House of M, World War Hulk and the whole “Dark whatever” - without ever seeming gratuitous or out of place. A reprehensible character but an immensely enjoyable read.

PODCASTS - WTF #57 - Live from the UCB theatre in LA, Marc reads some letters before welcoming Jon Dore to the stage where they talk about testicles and prop comedy. Greg Fitzsimmons then joins them where Jon tries to play peacemaker between the two warring comedians. Jim Earl reads some notes from his journal while Eddie Pepitone yells a lot about everything he can think of. Probably the funniest episode of WTFPod yet, but I would love a one-on-one between Mark and Jon.
Exploding Head Movies #9 - it’s the 10th anniversary of the death of GAK’s dog (RIP Keifer) so in tribute it’s 90 minutes of dog-themed songs. Full of fond recollections and an enjoyably bizarre, disparate track-list.
Comedy Death Ray Radio #45 - CyberThug (Jerry Minor) takes over CDR once again with TicTac (Brandon Johnson) cohosting. They welcome Jessie Venture (James Adomian) on to talk up the Epic Beard Man and conspiracy theories. Then TV On The Radio’s Dave Sitek (and producer Dave Cousin) come on air to talk how TVotR broke big, studio technology, and hype men. Lastly, Craig Robinson talks about his beef with Bettie White and the rest of the Golden Girls. Then they all share bad gig stories. Fun show.

M20 - TV - Battlestar Galactica season 4 vol2 - The aftermath of discovering Earth. You would think as the show wound down it’s final ten episodes that there would be some momentum but it felt more like a “let’s just get this done”. Adama gives up his admiral pins yet again, everyone gets thrown in the brig (but nobody stays there), and Baltar finally gets redemption, I guess. The Gaeta-led mutiny was actually pretty well done, it’s just that I didn’t care anymore. The final episode was almost comedically melodramatic, with the coda being an unnecessary head slapping moral to the story that is even more heavy handed than those that appear at the end of Masters of the Universe or G.I. Joe cartoons. Plus, they’re essentially saying that Hera died shortly after they settled on Earth. That’s not depressing at all, no.

PODCASTS - WTF #54 - Marc meets up with little-known Vegas comedy legend Ron Shock and talk about his troubled youth, transition into a successful publishing executive and give it all up for mid-life crisis stand-up career. Also Marc vents on Vegas and visits the Liberace museum which gives him ideas about a new wardrobe.
WTF #55 - Marc and guest Rob Deleney talk about their past addictions and what it took to kick them. Then they talk about suicide, and finally Marc’s therapist Dr. Steve talks more addictions.
Nerdist Podcast #6 - Soups! Will! Clash! as Chris, Jonah and Matt of Web Soup meet with their “boss” Joel McHale of The Soup (and Community). They talk about Chris’ fat past, Joel’s gratitude for finding success, Joel’s family, and ribbing on Seacrest.
Comedy Death Ray #44 - El Chupacabra (Nick Kroll) is back, co-hosting with Scott, welcoming former child actor and Aziz Ansari’s writing partner Jason Woliner talks about writing in Vegas, and Sir Andrew Lloyd Weber (Paul F. Thompkins) discusses his musical adaptation of Weekend At Bernies.
Exploding Head Movies #8 - quickly wrapping up the Oscars top-loading the show with music from best-picture Hurt Locker, best score winner UP and best song winner Crazy Heart. Then turning into TGS with chick rowk, R&B, avant garde and more lady-led tracks (a great one from Janelle Monae w/ Big Boi), and closed out with the score to Chocolat.
Comedy Film Nerds #10 - ripping on 3-D and High Def with Chris Hardwick, plus new film reviews (Alice in Wonderland, Green Zone, Brooklyn’s Finest) and advanced reviews from SXSW. I’m actually finding the podcast less than engaging and their “reviews” are unstructured not very insightful. Dropped.

COMIC - Box 13 - The creators of Zuda’s High Moon re-imagine the classic Alan Ladd radio serial into something more literal. Although an interesting concept, its is butchered by stunted dialogue, cliched story beats, and a lack of characterization. That said, the art by Steve Ellis is phenomenal, featuring a great sense of movement and nice character designs. The coloring in shades of green with red highlights was a bold and effective choice. Ellis formatted his panels to optimize for the iPhone, it works extremely well for the format, but structurally it doesn’t have the same rhythm of a comic book. It actually feels like an extended newspaper strip more than a comic book, but it is its own entity, as such the format is so new it does take getting used to.

M15 - TV - True Blood ep1 - There are vampires in Louisiana. Well, in fact, there are vampires everywhere, and they want to belong, they want to engage in polite society, by and large. As such, they’ve been granted basic human rights, but in the deep South, people aren’t necessarily so accepting. Synthetic blood has been bottled like beer, and vampire blood has become a big illicit drug. Race relations are kind of messed up. Sookie Stackhouse finds herself drawn to the tall, dark, undead stranger in town (mostly because she can’t read his thoughts), while her brother’s latest sexual conquest winds up dead. Times are changing in the bayou. I’m not familiar with the source novels by Charlaine Harris, but this show is dirty, morbid, sex-obsessed and curiously entertaining, if somewhat over-the-top. With only one episode viewed I’m curious to see how it develops, less in story and more in style. The first episode seemed rather uneven in its tone, striving I think for seriousness, comfort and in some places humour, but the camerawork and music not always complimenting the scene.

DVD - Battlestar Galactica Season 4, vol 1 (ep 1 -10) - I watched the first four episodes of season 4 when they first aired and found them rather dull and thematically repetitive. About a year later I’ve continued watching the season through to the 10th episode and was shocked that the creative team allowed the crew to find Earth so soon, but then again, considering all the filler and redundancy, they should have gotten there in half the time, story-wise. I mean, why the grand, sweeping overtures of “the hunt for a new president” (AGAIN) or Adama’s acquiescence of his position (AGAIN) when you know that it’s going to return to status quo shortly thereafter. The characterization on the show is terribly uneven, with Tigh one moment hating himself and still cursing all Cylons and the next embracing the Six he knocked up and looking at their baby together, not a hint of disdain in his voice… he can’t be that comfortable with himself already. Balthar is so methodically established as a cult leader in the early episodes and then returns to his old behaviour once he’s in Cylon hands. Starbuck is borderline crazy, then she’s commanding the flight deck as if none of her craziness ever happened. Oops, Sharon’s in the brig again. Oops, she’s now rallying the troops. Rosselin’s a believer, then not, then a believer again, then not, then again, then not…etc. Spinning wheels. I’m curious where the second half takes it, as they no longer have to find their ultimate destination but I don’t enjoy the company of these characters very much. The show has put them through far too many paces, they’ve all died or almost died far too many times, they’ve all quit and/or been promoted and they all should have learned a lesson by now about fear, trust, etc but they haven’t. The fortunate are the dead for nothing more can be done to them…hopefully.

COMIC - Classic G.I. Joe Vol 6 - The Marvel reprint collection ended with issue 50 in Volume 5 over a decade ago, and the property’s license has switched hands a couple times since then with no continuation until now. Volumes 1 through 5 were reprinted last year and volume 6 and 7 were released this past quarter by IDW, the current Joe license holder. There is a notable difference however, between the Marvel reprints and the IDW ones, namely a fuzziness to the lines which scream of pixellation. It’s very noticeable and rather unfortunate (considering these were supposed to have been “remastered”). The storytelling inside is a mish-mash of goofy and serious, as writer Lara Hama is charged with the unenviable task of introducing whatever was new in the toy-line into the book and making it work, no matter how goofy (Raptor anyone?). That’s not to say Hama didn’t have his own goofy moments, like the hackneyed, mustachioed way in which Cobra Commander finds out his son is alive or yet another about-face from Destro. Still, as ridiculous as it is, it’s highly entertaining, both as over-the-top action and as nostalgia. It makes me feel ten again.

COMIC - Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers Unleashed #1 - I loved the previous “LatPA” series so this one was a given purchase from the start, and it delivers on the all-ages, talking-animal thrills that it should. It’s curious the new wave of talking animal comics (with Beasts of Burden being another exciting series of the type) wherein the animals aren’t anthropomorphic but rather just animals, only with a human-like intelligence and communicating with other animals… Like We3 and Pride of Baghdad before it, they owe a debt to Disney films like Bambi and books Watership Down, rather than Looney Tunes or Mickey Mouse and friends.

COMIC - The Unwritten #11 - Mike Carey, Peter Gross and Jimmy Broxton finish their two-part divergence into Goebbels Nazi propaganda films by way of their slowly-losing-his-Harry-Potter-ness story-travelling character Tommy Taylor. The joint work of Gross and Broxton on the pages as Tom and friends confront Goebbels in a ghostly Nazi empire are stunning and powerful. This is Carey’s exploration of how stories can be twisted and warped after they leave their creator’s hands. “Jud Suss” the focal-point of these issues, began as a pro-faith book written by a German Jew, and was then corrupted by Goebbles into embarrassingly effective anti-Jewish propaganda. It’s not as if we need further reminder of how evil the German Reich was, but this is a potent reflection thereof. The best issue yet of an enthralling series.

M12 - COMIC - Green Lantern Corps: Emerald Eclipse HC - GLC may only be a companion series that runs concurrently with Geoff Johns Green Lantern/Blackest Night epic, but that doesn’t leave it without its charm. Writer Pete Tomasi is in on the grand scheme of Blackest Night and here adeptly assists in expanding upon the “other lanterns” set-up in the main title. As well, Tomasi expertly juggles multiple characters and storylines, shifting focal points often but never neglecting a story arc. I can’t think of another ensemble title that has so many balls in the air and is handled this well. Patrick Gleason’s phenomenal pencils adeptly interprets Tomasi’s script, providing some pretty awesome sequences with dozens, sometimes hundreds of characters engaging one another. Action is his forte, but he’s pretty damn good at the quieter moments as well. Can you get away with reading Blackest Night without GLC? Sure, but why would you want to?

COMIC - Batman and Robin #10 - Andy Clark joins Grant Morrison for the prelude to the return of Bruce Wayne. It’s confirmed, Bruce isn’t dead, he’s lost in time (I don’t know where this was confirmed, seemingly off-panel somewhere) but Dick and Damian are committed to bringing him back. Certain that he’s left clues for his protege to discover, the dynamic duo (with Alfred’s assistance) begin scouring Wayne Manor for these bits, discovering things that they never knew existed after all these years. Meanwhile Damian finds that he’s not as in control of himself as he thought… Fun stuff, with good art (Clark doesn’t draw children very well, however).

COMIC - Ex Machina #48 - Mayor Mitchell Hundred is able to control machines, but that power is finite, and the threads that were showing before have now begun to unravel around him. The endgame is near, and even if The Great Machine survives, what will be left of him? These final issues are painfully slow in the offing, but absolutely enthralling. This series is going out at the top of its form, if not the in the timeliest manner. I’ll miss it when it’s gone.

COMIC - Batgirl #8/Red Robin #9 - In his search for Bruce Wayne and transformation into Red Robin, Tim Wayne (nee Drake) made one dangerous enemy in Ra’s Al Ghul, and hundreds more with the League of Assassins. With Ra’s looking for revenge (so petty sounding), Tim’s going to need all the help he can get, including, reluctantly, help from his ex, Stephanie Brown whom he last left not on the best of terms. They bury the hatchet and get on kicking assassin ass, but the game can’t be what it appears, or they would all be dead already.

COMIC - Doom Patrol #8 - some force has taken over Danny the Street, the sentient, alternate dimensional neighbourhood, and now it wants to expand its dominion taking from our world to grow its own. The might of this force seems to be greater than that of Oolong Islands defence squad, the Doom Patrol, and the visiting paranormal moving company headed by ex-JLAer Oberon, so can a brick really be the key to saving them all? If anything Doom Patrol seems focussed more now than ever with the departure of the Metal Men back-up feature, and the opposition seems dangerous but is dealt with in a fun, light way. It’s improved nicely and I’ll hang on for a few more issues and see how it goes.

COMIC - Secret Six #19 - doesn’t it seem that the Six, no matter what the task they’ve taken on, always winds up with them fighting amongst themselves? It’s a little redundant, hopefully next issue shows that they’ve moved on from that pattern, because I can’t handle it anymore.

PODCASTS - Rock Over London #18 - Mar finally got the proper Wesley Willis quote she always wanted and Rock On London is now Rock Over London. Small potatoes but it makes her happy. Plus, 25 minutes of good music.
WTF #39 - Marc sits with Chelsea Peretti (creator of the legendary Black People Love Us website) and gets to know her, afterall they’re working on a (failed) pilot together as cohosts. Lots of relationship and shop talk, plus, Marc explores texting and driving.
WTF #42 “Seattle Road Trip” - An enjoyable diversion from stand-up comedians, Marc talks with Eric Reynolds of Fantagraphics Books, and sits with legendary alt-comics artist Peter Bagge (”Hate”) about his career. Then he catches up with metal artist (she works with metal, not thrash music) Lauren Osmolski, who also happens to be an ex-girlfriend of his…

M10 - DVD - The Invention of Lying - Ricky Gervais seems like an odd choice for a romantic comedy lead, and yet, here he is for yet another film in that role. Of course the role is very Ricky Gervais in type as it was written by and for himself. Set in an alternate reality where nobody can tell a lie, this is the story of a man who discovers how to “say something that isn’t”. The world is well realized initially, but I think it starts to unravel the more the lies start penetrating the gullible populace (which is everyone). The accidental creation of religion seems like it should have bigger repercussions than it does, and the weight of fabricating reality should weigh heavier on the character than it does. It’s a sweet, frequently funny film with a great supporting and cameo cast (Jennifer Garner, Louis CK, Jonah Hill, Tina Fey, Christopher Guest, Rob Lowe, Martin Starr, Edward Norton), but it’s also far from perfect and the conceit could (and should) be used for heavier lifting.

M9 - DVD - District 9 - I don’t know if District 9 is an Oscar-worthy film … which it obviously wasn’t given that it didn’t win any of the awards they were nominated for … but what I’m saying is I don’t know if it’s an Oscar-caliber film … but then again, I doubt that Avatar (a film I will never see, I pledge now, but will shit on at every opportunity) is any better a sci-fi movie or more deserving … so if a recent sci-fi film were to go up for an oscar, this isn’t a bad choice. It’s a damn entertaining film, a second, third or twentieth time around. I still have issues with how it’s constructed (the P.O.V. shifts far too often between documentary/found footage/talking heads and “story”) but it’s a minor quibble. The good news is the special features do mention a second film, which it absolutely needs. This story can’t be over. Lead actor Sharlto Copely is a brilliant find, and will be seen next as (aptly) Howling Mad Murdock in the A-Team movie.

PODCASTS - WTF #53 - The all-star pledge drive episode (Eugene Mirman, Lewis Black, Zach Galifianakis, Greg Giraldo, Louis CK’s answering machine and more).. Help support the WTF podcast by donating if you see fit.
Nerdist Podcast #5 - Jon Hamm stops in to talk Mad Men, SNL, Doctor Who, comedy, geek things and becoming a big handsome star.
Comedy Film Nerds #9 - a definitely nerdy but not all that comedic Oscar recap episode.

M8 - TV - 82nd Annual Academy Awards - A rather boring show, with much of the pomp and fanfare sucked out of it. The increase to ten best features were negligible (loved THanks’ no b.s. “and the winner is”…) but I did enjoy the serenading of the best actors/actresses. As for my predictions I went 12 for 24, so 50%. Woo.
Logorama - oscar winning animated short film.

BLU-RAY - Watchmen (Director’s Cut) - I liked this film quite enough from my first viewing, with reservations. The director’s cut sews in the animated Black Freighter into the rhythm of the film, adding the street-level view of the world of Watchmen that the cinematic cut omitted. The abstract but complimentary Black Freighter and the added scenes increase the film’s running time to over 3 and a half hours and it’s a better experience for it. Some of my reservations remain, but my satisfaction with the movie was increased. The 35-minute featurette, “Under The Hood”, which explores the background of the Minutemen and the dawn of the Watchmen was a great extension to the already elaborate world that Zack Snyder translates from the page. Over four hours of viewing but a rewarding experience.

DVD - UP - I really do love UP, a delightful adventure, funny and emotional, but preposterous. It’s not the conceit of a balloon house or Paradise Falls or talking dogs, but the physical limitations of Russell and Carl which are established early on are abandoned once the action starts. I can easily accept the fantasy element, but in-film continuity is weak and the more I see this film, the more it bothers me. As for best animated feature, I really think Fantastic Mr. Fox was the better film.

PODCASTS - Exploding Head Movies #7 - new New Pornographers and Broken Social Scene lead off the episode, the Oscar appeasement continues with songs from Crazy Heart, and the very blah soundtrack to Avatar. The show closes with “Long May You Run” (which Neil Young closed down the Olympics with).
Comedy Death Ray #43 - Tig Notaro acts bored (for good reason), Scott’s stalker (Casey Wilson) invades the studio and takes over, aspiring comedian Rory Scovel leads a discussion about the Oscars. Plus, like, the entire “Cracked Out” cd and that tedious “what am I thinking” game.
WTF #52 - Vanity Fair entertainment observer James Wolcott talks movies, theatre and state of entertainment today, while author Sam Lipsyte discusses being an author and a genius.
Doug Loves Movies (3/4/2010) - Craig Robinson explains the plot of Twilight: New Moon and David Feldman is unable to talk about the Oscars (he wrote for Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin, and he bombs this podcast just as badly).

M6 - DVD - Zombieland - I flip-flopped so frequently on whether to see this movie or not, and ultimately used it as a test film for renting movies from iTunes to watch on the commute to and from work on the iPod touch. The result, I don’t mind watching movies broken up into 20 - 30 minute chunks (though I’d still rather watch them all the way through) and the obtaining and transferring of the movie isn’t difficult at all. What is annoying though is the limitations of the iTunes system (the “authorized machines” is a problem when I connect to multiple machines and the time limits on watching a video in full (you have 48 hours once you start watching to finish it) might prove to be not so good.

As for the movie itself, well, my first reservation - that zombies are so played out - is true. My second reservation - that I really dislike Jesse Eisenberg - is also true, but aside from that it’s a very well made and somewhat amusing film. The (SPOILER) guest appearance from Bill Murray, however, many have exclaimed as a highlight, but actually I found it dragged the film down, especially after Columbus kills him by accident and he and the rest of the crew don’t really seem to pay it no mind, as if killing a real person is just as shruggable as killing zombies. Considering Tallahassee’s affection for Bill Murray and Twinkies, and Columbus destroys them both, there’s a surprising lack of reaction from him in this regard. So in essence the whole third act seems kind of bullfecal. I get why people like it I just don’t understand why they liked it so much.

DVD - Where The Wild Things Are - I was thinking and hoping that I would love Spike Jonze’s adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s more than I actually did once I finally got to see it, but my reaction to it was pretty visceral. My stepson saw it in the theatre’s previously and when I asked him about it he said “it was good, but kind of sad” and he was right. It’s damn good, and achingly sad. It’s a strange and beautiful movie but not exactly enjoyable. Max is a difficult child, a deep well of emotions, and when he runs away from home he finds himself on an island amidst a group of fantastical monsters. Each of the wild things represents an aspect of Max’s own personality, with Carol being the wildest, most emotional but also the most creative. The film is metaphorical, Max becomes the king of his emotions, but realizes he still can’t always rule over them, that sometimes his emotions are going to get the better of him, but also that running away isn’t the answer. This isn’t a children’s movie, but a movie about childhood. Will kids respond well to it? I dunno, but every parent of an 8 year old should see it, and perhaps they’ll understand their kids a little better. Bravo Mr. Jonze for tapping into that.

DVD - A Perfect Getaway - A film by David Twohy, the writer-director of Pitch Black, Chronicles of Riddick and The Arrival. I’ve long admired Twohy’s ability to take genre material and twist it just enough to make it unique. This film is a suspense thriller about a newlywed couple, Cliff and Cydney, on their honeymoon in Hawaii. They set off on a remote trail which features a one day walk to a beautiful, secluded beach. However, they find out soon that there’s an island jumping couple that are murdering other couples. Early on in their trip, Cliff and Cyd meet Cleo and Cale, a ratty looking couple who startle them a little. Nick and Gina enter and pair up with them. So for the first half of the movie we’re left wondering who the murderous couple is. Have we met them already? Is it one of these three pairs or is it an unseen threat? Once it’s revealed the film starts delving more into the backgrounds of all the remaining key players, peering into the minds of the killers and their victims ala Kalifornia or Natural Born Killers. The closing act is naturally the race for survival. The pacing of the film is a little unconventional, as is governed by the reveal of the killers midway through, but Twohy manages it with skill. Cliff is a screenwriter, so there’s lots of in-script suggestions as to how things could play out were it to do so conventionally, which it both does and doesn’t. It’s a really fun film overall, and the threat of serial killers aside, makes me want to go to Hawaii even more.

M5 - TV - Lucky Louie - This was a sit-com created by Louis C.K. which aired on HBO briefly back in 2006. Yes, a sit-com, with a live studio audience and everything. On HBO. Take others in the working class comedy genre, like “Roseanne” or “All In The Family”, and that’s pretty much what this is, only with swearing and sexual dialogue. The pilot finds a sexually frustrated Louie resisting his wife’s come-ons because he knows she wants to get pregnant (and with a four-year-old already, they’re barely scraping by). Louie also offends his new black neighbour (Jerry Minor) and tries, and fails, to make amends. It’s funny, but it’s also painfully cheap-looking and the acting is quite stilted, and I have a difficult time telling if both are intentional or not. This isn’t a satire of a sit-com, though (not like “Get A Life”), but the real deal, like an uncensored “Everyone Loves Raymond”. I’m not sure what to think to be honest, I’m offended (by the format, not the comedy) yet I do laugh a lot.

Podcasts - WTF #50 - a live show in LA, Marc talks about ricotta cheesecake and discusses horrible relationships with Laurie Kilmartin while making a list of Jackie Kashian’s comedy-killing topics. Mort Mortensen reads a couple In Memoriums and Eddie Pepitone yells a lot.
WTF #51 - Marc sits with Canadian-come-London-based comedian Glen Wool to discuss what sent him packing and the differences in North American and British comedy. Sam Seder drops in to promote his limited release DVDs for “Who’s the Caboose” and “Pilot Season” and deny allegations of his past and present bullying ways.
Tim and Eric Podcast #1 - 4, 6 (apparently podcast #5 doesn’t exist anymore). Before “Awesome Show, Great Job”, Tim and Eric worked on the Adult Swim cartoon “Tom Goes To The Mayor”. This podcast was done in support of TGTTM’s second season and features the behind-the-scenes struggles wherein Eric takes complete control of the show and brings in Louis Anderson as head writer while Tim becomes Bob Oedenkirk’s assistant’s assistant. Plus sketches. Really the foundation of “Awesome Show” but not quite as good.

COMIC - G.I. Joe/Cobra II #2 The first series was an incredibly high-caliber yet understated espionage thriller, and quite unexpected particularly for the G.I. Joe brand which hasn’t ever been know for its clean storytelling. So this second series has much to live up to, and the creative team is up to the challenge. This is in all considerations a continuation rather than a sequel and it’s building more like an ongoing series than a contained mini-series (which hopefully bodes well for further continuation). This issue sports a variant Jonathan Hickman-inspired cover by series artist Antonio Fuso or the regular cover by Howard Chaykin.

COMIC - Detective Comics #862 - Even without J.H. Williams III on art chores, I still am quite infatuated with Batwoman and her balls-to-the-wall kick-ass sensibilities. That fill-in artist Jock has positioned himself as a master action sequencer with past works only helps move this along. This story is rather light in some respects, as all you really want to see is Batwoman beat cutter down, and beat him down hard, it still delivers some nice character moments and builds Kate Kane’s background and supporting case. Meanwhile, Huntress introduces the Question to Oracle (”Commissioner Gordon’s daughter?!?”) as they continue on the trail of whatever they’re on the trail of. I don’t remember, but it’s tonnes of fun.

COMIC - Chew #9 - Tony mounts a full-on assault (or rather a sneak attack) to retrieve his brother out of captivity, meanwhile his partner distracts his boss (didn’t see that one coming). Action, comedy, and the paranormal mingle deliciously.

COMIC - Milestone Forever #2 - Okay, I get it now, this isn’t supposed to be one big cohesive story but four separate stories with a framing sequence, each of which is supposed to cap a feather in the main stories from the Milestone line, with this issues’ stories showing Curtis Metcalf (Hardware) finally finding his peace, while we meet up with Static ten and twenty years later, and then Dharma destroys and rebuilds the universe. Not as satisfying as I had hoped, and knowing that DC is not likely to use these characters all that well (see recent Teen Titans issues), it’s all kind of sad. I’ll just be satisfied if Xombi lands a home at Vertigo, where he belongs.

Nemesis: The Imposters - to be honest, I don’t have any idea what’s going on here. Given the ending to “Final Crisis: Escape”, I’m actually a little disappointed in where Tom Tresser is right now and where he’s going. Plus, Batman’s now involved and it seems kind of gratuitous. Hopefully this works out better than I’m thinking it will.

Demo Vol.2 #2 - an errie tale of cannibalism and love. I had to read it through twice to get it, but it’s sad and disturbing at the same time. It’s like “Dexter” but without the humour and much more pathos…

M3 - DVD - Black Dynamite - When I was in high school, there was an almost legendary status that surrounded the Keenan Ivory Wayans film “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka”, and once I actually saw it (a decade and a half later) I found it to be a sub-par satire of blacksplotation films. The problem was, it just didn’t capture the essence of the era, it felt too much like a film from 1989. 20-years later “Black Dynamite” gets it right, so very right. The entire production works on two levels, the first as an extremely silly, often nonsensical ghetto revenge/cleaning-up-the-streets story, and the second that of a very low-budget endeavour, one that can’t afford to re-shoot scenes when boom mics come into shot, or when actors miss their cues. Created by Michael Jai White, Black Dynamite is an amalgam of Shaft, Superbad and Black Belt Jones - hard, mysterious, and badass, and a definite way with the ladies. The story involves the death of Black Dynamite’s brother and the uncovering of a nefarious scheme from the Man, but it’s less important than how it’s told. The pretense is that of a bunch of actors and a production crew hammering out what they think is a good film, but the errors, the many many errors get in the way. The deleted scenes show what was truncated and edited completely from the movie, about 15 minutes of very dry “story”, and it’s explained in the audio commentary how, wisely, Scott Sanders edited it all into a hysterical montage. Sanders, White and co-writer Byron Minns elaborate on all their reference points for the many gags in the film, the bulk of which come from blacksploitation cinema, but also kung-fu cinema, and pop-culture at large. Much of the humour is derived from the gaffes (some real and some intentional, in an almost “anything goes” production) but the story and characters also provide their own hysterical moments (the scene of Black Dynamite attempting to frolick in the park is brutally funny). What Tarantino and Rodriguez tried to do with “Grindhouse”, what the Wayans Brothers attempt with the “Scary Movie” series, what Mel Brooks has made his career out of, and even what the Zucker Bros. did with “Airplane” and “Naked Gun” seem humbled before “Black Dynamite”.

DVD - Gentlemen Broncos - Jared Hess’ third awkward comedy (following Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre) follows suit the tone of his previous films, with his typical cast of outcasts, this time centered around home-schooled Benjamin who likes to write science fiction stories. Benjamin is sent to a two-day writer’s camp where the notable (and full-of-himself) sci-fi author Chevalier is holding a class. He submits one of his stories into a contest, and a struggling Chevalier steals the manuscript and passes it off as his own. At the same time two other home-schoolers Benjamin has met decide they want to make his “Yeast Lords” story into a no-budget film. As things come to a head, Benjamin finds his own work taken out of his control, and the rest of his meager life spiralling around him. Inter-cut throughout are “interpretations” of the Yeast Lords, as seen through Benjamin and Chevalier’s eyes (as well as the no-budget film), with Sam Rockwell generously portraying the lead role amidst the absurdity. It’s a Michel Gondry-esque sensibility, and it works well, with the exception of how hackish the sci-fi story its telling is. While I appreciate the humour of the film, Hess fails to keep his story grounded, primarily in the importance paid to Chevalier. Career sci-fi writers, especially of the hack quality as portrayed in this film, don’t really exist outside the 1970’s and the level of attention they receive is paltry (large displays of their novels are right out, nevermind in small community book stores). Where Hess could have succeeded in generating more humour was in showing just how paltry the trashy sci-fi market is and how even more pathetic it is then that Chevalier would stoop to plagiarizing in such regard… as well, Benjamin’s reward at the end would be nothing more than fulfilling personally, but less than likely financially (a happy, if sobering, ending). In fact, I was half expecting the moral to be that you can’t beat the system, and Benjamin loses control of the Yeast Lords completely, so I was disappointed in the ending to begin with.

DVD - The Informant - (SPOILERS) Steven Soderbergh assembles a veritable cornucopia of character actors around Matt Damon for this light drama/white-collar crime story, based upon real events. A the story goes, Mark Whitacre tips off the FBI about international price fixing in the agri-business industry the company he’s vice-president is in. For over two years he works with agents to gather evidence of the price fix, all along with his own ideas about how it’s going to unfold. But once it starts to unfold, Mark’s altruism is called into question, as is his reliability. The truth begins to unfurl, and honestly it doesn’t stop until it fades to black. Mark is a brilliant man… he’s a bio-chemical engineer and vice-president of a fortune 500 company, of course he is. But Mark is also a compulsive liar, perhaps even bi-polar, and where the truth starts and stops with him perhaps only he knows. So the people who have invested in him, from his own bosses, to the FBI agents, to his lawyer and even his wife aren’t ever certain about him, except when they pretend to be. The commercials for “The Informant” play it off as a kind of goofy corporate comedy, which it isn’t. It’s got a decidedly light tone, in large part to the score from Marvin Hamlish, as well as with the non-sequitur overdub tangents that let us into Mark’s brain a little (an effect that plays out nicely in the end). It’s an enjoyable but marginal picture in the corporate espionage genre.

Podcasts - Doug Loves Movies (02/03/10) - Doug is joined by Hard’n'Phirm (Chris Hardwick and Mike Phirman), who do a live rendition of the opening and closing theme, as well as Garfunkle and Oates join them for the Leonard Maltin Game (in which an unprecedented -3 names is bid).
Nerdist Podcast #4 - Rob Huebel talks about the dog he found, apologizes to the director of “Frozen”,

M2 - NET - The Ed Hardy Boys 2 - is beyond ridiculous

M1 - COMIC - Green Lantern: Rage of the Red Lanterns HC and Green Lantern: Agent Orange HC - I could trade-wait no longer. With the Blackest Night epic coming to rather-affordable Hardcover collections in May, I needed to get the preludes in as soon as I possibly could. I have to admit, I wasn’t actually looking forward to the story of Blackest Night, but instead just satisfying curiosity, but after reading “Rage” and “Agent Orange” I’m invested fully in how this plays out. I’ve often not given Geoff Johns enough credit for his writing, but I have to say he’s really planned the hell out of Green Lantern since he took over the character. I feared his ideas for the “emotional spectrum lanterns” would dilute the conceit of the Green Lantern Corps, as has been unsuccessfully tried before with the Darkstars, but there’s a greater purpose and, moreover, delineation to each of the different coloured lanterns, and the discovery process of each, while rather sudden in the grand scheme of GL’s 40+ year publishing history, it’s flowing rather nicely, incorporating elements from the entire history (as that is Johns’ thing). But at this stage it feels literally like an entirely new, fresh and exciting idea. It’s not just a new spin on Green Lantern, but something entirely new, and it’s exciting to see. This title isn’t about Hal Jordan anymore, though it is centered on him, it’s about the universe, and it’s a grand and sweeping story Johns has crafted. I’m anxiously awaiting to read where he’s taken it to and almost lamenting the fact that I’ve not been following it all along.

TV - The Olympics (Feb 13 - 28) - Canada went into their homeland-held Olympics with a drastic increase in funding and the mantra of “Own The Podium”. With the pressures of never having won a gold medal on home soil, the poor performance in Calgary ‘88 (5 medals), and the looming weight of the Canadian-record 24 medals in 2006 Turin, we perhaps were overreaching with “owning the podium” in mind. Week one was disappointing with many of Canada’s medal favourites landing in the fourth-through-sixth place positions (in fact, if we gave ribbons for 4th-6th we’d most definitely be top ribbonists!).

We averaged a medal a day in the first week, with Alexandre Bilodeau popping Canada’s gold cherry first in Men’s moguls on day 3 (the previous day Jenn Heil was just barely edged out and won silver). But in week two the long-track and short-track speed skating medals, the ice dancing gold, the bobsleigh, the snowboard, curling, and hockey all started coming in fast and furious. Especially triumphant was the Canada 1-2 win in women’s 2-man bobsleigh (Kallie Humphries + Heather Moyes/ Helen Upperton + Shelley-Ann Brown).

Canadian men and women dominated Curling, however two narrowly missed throws in ends ten and eleven cost Cheryl Bernard gold, while Kevin Martin (and more notably some amazing throws from third John Morris throughout the tourney) went completely undefeated in the curling engagement.

Some notable ribbons go to Canadian biathlete Jean-Philippe Le Guellec who placed a highest-ever 6th and basically missed the podium by one shot. On the final day, reporters spoke to a tearful Devon Kershaw who wound up in 5th place (a mere 1.5 seconds behind the gold medalist) in the tightest-ever 50KM cross-country marathon.

For all the great work of our many athletes (as well as some exceptionally disappointing results on the hill from our downhill team), the stiff competition from the Koreans, Chinese and Americans on the oval, and the many narrow misses everywhere, we still had an amazing, record-breaking run. 26 medals, Canada’s best ever, third place behind Germany (30) and the US (37), but even more amazing was our center podium presence. 14 gold medals in total, an Olympic record, the most ever by any country in Olympics history.

This amazing accomplishment was feather-in-the-capped by the gold medal win, in overtime, by Team Canada late in the afternoon of the final day, with Jerome Iginla working the boards in a desperate battle for the puck, squeezing it out to Sidney Crosby who, ever the clutch performer, managed to slip the puck past tournament MVP Ryan Miller to beat out Team USA 3-2. Team Canada, with a rough start, and previously challenged and bested by Team USA in early rounds, showed their grit and finally gelling together, trouncing Germany and, surprisingly, besting the heavily armed Russians handily 7-3. It was hockey for the ages, and for everything else that went on this Olympics, for better or worse, that feather in the cap was one of the most glorious moments in sports I’ll ever witness. The Canada-US hockey rivalry is in full-bore now, especially after our loss in the Juniors earlier this year, and Canada’s third successive Olympics gold in women’s play. Sidney Crosby, who played a rather subdued game throughout the tournament (a shootout winner against Joseph Hiller, the incredible goalie on the Swiss team his only other big play), was looked at to make the big play this game and by the time the USA scored the equalizer with 24 seconds left in the 3rd, it looked like that wasn’t ever going to emerge. Ye of little faith. The near entirety of team Canada, by the end, looked incredible with Rick Nash, Jonathan Towes, Eric Staal, Scott Nedermeyer and Jerome Iginla each showing why their names are usually preceded with “superstar”.

The closing ceremonies were highlighted by a great speech, if stilted French, from VANOC chief executive officer John Furlong who really celebrated the games, but even more so Canadian pride, spirit and unity, all told with humility and humour - the Canadian way. The ceremonies featured a stunning presentation from the Sochi Olympic Committee, who had both an in-stadium and remote-feed component to their eight minute showcase. I skipped much of the ceremonies (knowing there would be Nickleback present), but Neil Young’s oddly beautiful, if ill-fitting rendition of “Long May You Run”, which shut down the flames, was a mirror to k.d. lang’s “Hallelujah” from the opening ceremonies. Shatner finally made an appearance with a “comedy” section which also featured pedestrian spots from Catherine O’Hara and Michael J. Fox. By the time a Mountie-garbed Michael Buble showed up, I knew it was time to tune out of these Canadian-base Olympics forever.

NET - Gorillaz - “Plastic Beach” - NPR hosted the full album in advance of its release, sweet. Kicking it off with a hazy, laid back Snoop Dogg-driven jam in “Welcome to the Plastic Beach”, it’s followed by “Rhinestone Eyes” a quintessential Albarn-driven Gorillaz track , and an 80’s synth pastiche with Stylo features Bobby Womack and Mos Def. “Superfast Jellyfish” sounds to be an Albarn + De La Soul revival talking ’bout a hypothetical breakfast cereal. “Glitterfreeze” is a super-crunchy homage to the Human League, while Lou Reed joins the band for the bouncy and infectious “Some Kind of Nature”. Halfway through the album and I’ve yet to cast an averse ear. The second half doesn’t tweak the ear in the same respect, the come-down after the build-up. With “Broken” being a bit of a plodding mess, “Sweepstakes” is innocuous but soothing, and the titular “Plastic Beach” is straight out quirk. “To Binge” is an oddity, a modernization of a 50’s-style sock-hop chant. Not as immediately hooking as the previous two albums but readily apparent most adventurous work yet.

NET - Broken Bells - “Broken Bells” - Honestly, my ears didn’t really perk up until the final track, “The Mall and the Misery”, but after it played, with its sweeping orchestral sounds leading into bubbly electronics and lush pop harmonies, I was immediately swayed. That track, with a very David Byrne-esque feel, made me immediately re-approach this, the first album of collaboration by Danger Mouse and the Shins’ James Mercer. The result, Mercer’s striving for his own Gorillaz-like project, and with ace producer DM on hand, he’s achieved a really enjoyable album which holds up as a simpler American cousin to the above “Plastic Beach”.

NET - Joanna Newsom - “Have One On Me” - In my recent, monolithic cd-trade-in extravaganza I picked up the 2006 Newsom album “Ys”, which was purported to be a much better album than her debut “Milk Eyed Mender”. I haven’t yet had the chance to listen to “Ys” but “Speak My Name” - the opening track of “Have One On Me”, her latest album - has me a little worried as Newsome seems to be treading Kate Bush/Fiona Apple/Tori Amos water, with grandiose orchestral accompaniment, and drawn out lyrical arrangements. Her once quirky, pinched vocals have smoothed out, and the equally quirky plucking of her full-sized harp has given room to pianos and cellos and violins to hold spotlight. “Have One On Me” is a triple album, clocking in at nearly 2.5 hours, and it’s a marathon. I can only think of one successful triple album - Magnetic Fields’ “69 Love Songs” - and its key to success was diversity and brevity. This is the opposite of that, rather long winded and somewhat redundant. Ambitious, yes. Successful, not so much. I was fairly close to blind buying this treble-album, and now am experiencing relief but also tentativeness about listening to what I’ve just acquired.

Podcasts - Nerdist Podcast ep.3 - Chris, Jonah and Matt sit with Adam Carolla and talk about his experiences with Kelly Osborne, Byron Allen and Podcasting, and discuss bad comedians, comedy movie trailers and work through their new products “Milkom X” chocolate milk and “Helloooo” the gay sports drink.
Comedy Death Ray #42 - Nick Thune joins Scott in studio to talk his new record and relate the case of the stolen guitar strings. Russian figure skaters (Matt Walsh, Ian Roberts, and Danielle Schneider) talk about the customs of figure skating, including all the celebratory orgies. Walsh, Roberts, Schneider and James Pumphrey talk their new Spike TV show called “The Players”.

COMIC - X-Factor #202 - The end to the “Invisible Woman is Missing” storyline and it’s really quite crazy (alternate universes and identity swaps play a part), slapstick almost. Highly enjoyable but abruptly concluded… or, rather, abruptly epilogued.

PODCASTS - The Nerdist podcast #2 - Chris and Jonah hang out at Drew Carey’s place and talk about the Second Life video game, robotic toilets, Johnny Carson’s career-making capability of yore and making joke.
Comedy Film Nerds #6 - Graham Elwood and Chris Mancini and Doug Benson talk about the oscar nominees. For film nerds only (so, me) but sound quality kinda sucks.
Exploding Head Movies #6 - The soundtrack to The Fantastic Mr. Fox gets the spotlight, plus more quirk than you can shake a stick at.

F23 - COMIC - GI Joe Classic vol.4 - An uneven collection from issue 30 - 41, but the final two issues set up a great premise (so great that it was ripped off for the film “Superman Returns”). The art is all over the map and dialogue goes from snappy to choppy to hyper-expository to nonsensical and back again, sometimes on the same page.

CD - Ratatat: “Classics” - If my ears could weep with joy, they would do so thanks to Ratatat. It’s been four long years that I’ve deprived myself of this great album, and after one listen to “Kennedy” and I was kicking myself.

COMIC - The Losers volume 1&2 - As far as Vertigo goes, the Losers isn’t as literate or as enthralling as say “the Sandman” or “Y: The Last Man”, but it presents crazy action with a somewhat political backstory involving government conspiracies, drugs and warmongering. It should make a really entertaining film (or series of films). I don’t crave more, but I will enjoy more.

COMIC - Captain America #603 - 50’s Cap has started his militia, and aughts-Cap is trying to infiltrate, but he’s only helped them with their nefarious scheme. Entertaining but the “A Girl Called Nomad” back-up feature isn’t for me.

PODCASTS - Comedy Death Ray #41 - Scott Aukerman and Aimee Mann talk the Winter Olympics, Kumail Nanjiani talks about his encounter with John Mayer: Stand-up Comedian and poet Maya Angelou (Drew Doege) comes to play “Would You Rather”.
Doug Loves Movies with Greg Proops and Ngiao Bealum talk movies they’ve appeared in and seen.
WTF #49 Marc Maron talks with Kumail Nanjiani about his immigrant experience, his life and culture in Pakistan, and how his comedy has impacted his life. Generally a fascinating, insightful discussion about heritage and humour.
WTF #26 Jon Benjamin tries out for the role of Marc Maron’s sidekick, meanwhile “comedian” Come On Now joins Marc in the garage. Plus “Googleheimers”.

F19 - Movie - Brothers of the Head - In the dawn of punk in the UK, conjoined teenaged twins Tom and Barry are, essentially, bought by a record mogul who wants them turned into the next big sensation, becoming underground punk stars with the requisite substance abuse problems and relationship issue. Told in a documentary style, the film presents “archival” documentary footage, talking heads interviews and excerpts from the modern Ken Russell biopic. Gritty and raw and yet it seems utterly, like Twin Falls Idaho was mixed with 24 Hour Party People. (from the directors of Lost in La Mancha)

F18 - PODCASTS- ExHM #4 - some crunchy funky dancey stuff plus the gritty stylings of film composer Marco Beltrami.
ExHM #5 - Hanz Zimmer’s Sherlock Holmes soundtrack takes focus and it’s super keen (reminiscent of the great s/t to Ravenous by Damon Albarn and Michael Nyman).
Doug Loves Movies - David Huntsberger and Brandon Walsh participate in talking about movies.
Comedy Death Ray Radio #40 - Harris Wittels returns to vindicate himself from his last performance with new (and refined comedy material), Christopher Hitchens (James Adomian) discusses his novel and disdain for Valentines Day, and director Gary Marshall (Paul F. Thompkins) calls in to promote his new film, also called “Valentines Day”. Meanwhile Doug Benson hangs out (delivering the now classic line of “I’m going to fill in your butthole so that I can tear you a new one”), and they play the best “Would You Rather” yet.
WTF # - Marc Maron tells his worst “bomb” story (”I got kicked out of country!”) and invites Brendan (Metalocalypse) Small into his garage for some excitable guitar-geek talk.

COMIC - The Shield #6 - Marco Rudy and Mick Gray are just frickin’ amazing. I can’t imagine they’ll be on this title much longer before they’re poached for a Batman or Justice League title. What never worked for me with Captain America, a soldier-turned-superhero, is corrected as the Shield isn’t a superhero, but rather a soldier in a “costume” (which, he notes, causes his enemies to underestimate him). Just terrific stuff.

F11 - COMIC - Batman and Robin #8 - The dead Batman rises from the Lazarus pit, but, uhoh something’s not right. Plus, Batwoman dies, already! Quick, stick her in the pit. Not Morrison’s best work, but still highly entertaining.

COMIC - Batgirl #7 - Batgirl teams up with Robin to save Batman from Roulette’s trap. Plus Batgirl gets herself a ride that’s like a cross between a light cycle from Tron and the Bat-pod from The Dark Knight. Groovy.

COMIC - Phonogram: The Singles Club #7 - An almost silent issue as Kid-With-Knives gets a song stuck in his head and goes on a manically glee-filled rampage through town. Gorgeously rendered and simplistically told, I’m most surprised that I’ve not heard the song the issue is named after “Wolf Like Me” by TV on the Radio. Boo on me. Boo on Gillen for skimping on the backmatter essays which has become as important to the series as the main stories. I’d rather more prose than the short stories. But that’s a minor complaint since it’s truly all good. Now, isn’t it time for Gillen to open up the PG universe to writers in other cities? Athens, LA, Toronto, NYC…

COMIC - Secret Six #18 - Good work team in handling the Black Lanterns, and Lawton is such a cad, but Amanda Waller is an even bigger one. The best issue of the storyline. I’ll be happy when Nicola Scott is back though, Califiore just isn’t doing it for me.

Podcasts - Comedy Death Ray #39 - Garfunkle and Oates join Scott Aukerman and his step-dad (played by ?) for conversation and sing-song (and Weirder Scott/Odderman Aukerman debuts his new parody of Beyonce’s “Halo” called “Hello“, surprising not even nearly as painful as his Lady Gaga parody)
Exploding Head Movies #4 - GAK dives into the Oscar nominees exploding head first
WTF with Marc Maron - various episodes. Unlike CDR which focuses more on sketches, characters, games and humour, WTF focuses more on conversation and insight from some of the best comedic voices in the game, plus a lot of Marc Maron ranting. A different change of pace, but still interesting for insight into the minds of comedians.

F9 - MOVIE - The White Ribbon - Michael Haneke does it again, and by “it” I mean he’s made a film that leaves you somewhat perplexed and unlikely to find any satisfactory resolution. Haneke constructs a pre-WWI German township and centers in on five of the town’s families: the beer baron, the doctor, the pastor, the farmer and the town steward. A series of mishaps - some perhaps happenstance others more likely the result of mischief - befall the town, leading to much questions about who, how, and why with nary an answer to be found. The story is narrated through the memory and hearsay of the schoolteacher, and as such it’s presented in a very stark, matter-of-fact manner, the sensibility further impressed by its black and white visuals, as well as the methodical pacing and minimalist editing. It’s a marvelous construct, absorbing even (if not entirely scintillating), one’s even prone to forget it’s a modern film. As usual, Haneke leaves the audience with a curious final shot, a town assembly minus our narrator that demands both further examination for details and significance. What is interesting is how the film establishes its characters as “of the time”, creating a certain nostalgic sensibility to the setting, and methodically dismantles it as the characters darker natures reveal themselves and in the background war looms overhead. Not for everyone, but a definite accomplishment.

F8 - TV - Smallville: Absolute Justice - Superstar comics scribe Geoff Johns does himself one better by thrusting gobs of DC Comics backstory into the Smallville universe, primarily the Justice Society of America, but also Amanda Waller (PAM GRIER!!!), Checkmate and the Suicide Squad. The story was fairly decent, more for what it was trying to say than for actual execution, and Stargirl and Icicle Jr. came off pretty damn well. Dr. Fate’s costume was adapted really well even if his powers weren’t really, and Hawkman worked well only on an emotional level but nothing else (visually, they tried hard, but it still didn’t work). The revision of the JSA as a 70’s team was actually a really nice touch as was the reasoning for their disappearance, and I’m glad the show is willing to distance itself from making every super-powered being a result of contact with kryptonite. The ideas in the show, the JSA’s new mission and Checkmate leave tremendous potential for future storylines, or spin-offs even, and actually are much more exciting than the central Clark/Lois, will he/when will he become Superman story.

TV - Green Lantern: First Flight - Credit due, they didn’t make this an origin story, since they broke the origin and got Hal Jordan off-planet before the opening credits. However, the liberties taken with the Green Lantern Corps, their powers and limitations were, well, far too liberal and seemed only in place to make Sinestro seem like a really bad dude right off the bat. Where’s the subtlety, the nuance? The Guardians literally interacted like the Smurfs do and seemed very unlikely to be protectors of the universe. Oh, and Hal Jordan, still the most boring of all Green Lanterns. Not bad, but I desperately hope the live action film fares far, far better.

COMIC - Demo Volume 2 #1 - The Brian Wood/Becky Cloonan series of done-in-ones returns, this issue stepping into Outer Limits/Twilight Zone land, finding a girl wakened by prophetic nightmares trying to figure out the source of them. The conclusion is rather plainly obvious. Wood didn’t bust out his best script here, but Cloonan is decidedly on-point with her art. Gorgeous in B&W.

PODCASTS - Doug Loves Movies:Feb 5 - Samm Levine and Graham Elwood appear but they make way for a surprise guest star: Leonard Maltin. Seriously, this is I Love Movies’ best episode ever. Not its funniest, but most definitely its best.
-Comedy Death Ray Radio #38 - Paul F. Thompkins fills-in as host, welcoming his Grandmothers Jonesy and Queenbee as well as their friend/instructor Janet (all played by the cast of the Superego podcast) and his old friend Kaitlin Olson. The Grandmothers sequence has some really off-beat funny moments, and Paul’s repartee with Kaitlin is a lot of fun. The show is a tad more self-indulgent than most (but not all) CDR episodes.

-Comedy Death Ray Radio BONUS EPISODE 3 - Live from UCB Theatre in NYC, this is an extra-length episode featuring Todd Barry sidekicking like a pro, David Cross taking his licks for being in the Alvin and the Chipmunks movies, Zach Galifianakis sounding as jovial as I’ve ever heard him, and an equally annoying/funny bit with “Winnie The Whiney Baby” (John Gemberling), plus Ted Leo performs solo.
-Exploding Head Movies #3 - An eclectic mix of sounds from electronic to Can-rock leads into a profile of Michael Giachinno’s soundtrack to “UP”.
-Superego #2:11 - a really funny sketch podcast. Sketches: Radio request line “Hartlines on the Shore”; country music antisocialite Shunt McGuppin; Rodney Morelli’s Cloud Registry ad; an interview with Nathan the talking Gorilla; the JC Penny End of Days Sale ad; Carl Sagan plus end credits that go on forever.

F5 - COMIC - Milestone Forever #1 - Dwayne McDuffie had a pretty unimpressive run on the Justice League of America recently, owing much to editorial interference, but my biggest problem with the issues that I read, at least, revolved around far too many large-teams-in-enclosed-spaces fight, and the fights were resoundingly dull. It’s unfortunate then that Milestone Forever, which is the swansong to a favourite universe of mine, winds up in the very same predicament, without necessarily the logic to back it up. It’s great to see the characters again, and to see Doc Bright and especially John Paul Leon back on the case, but the center story is lame, and disconnected from the more intriguing and purposeful bookends wherein Dharma foretells the destruction of the universe… at his own hands. (Also, Holocaust totally burns up here, but is the big bad in the DCU Dakota… go figure). Here’s hoping for a stronger finish
Rich Johnston number crunches this issue.

COMIC - Red Robin #8 - I found the first storyline to be so uninteresting that I stopped reading it after the fourth issue, but this one caught my attention again because… OMG… it’s the KILLER MOTH in his old Orange and Green Stripey Pants!!! Sweet sweetback, that’s some awesomeness right there. The rest of it, not all that bad, with a seemingly pointless scene between a resurrected Superboy and Tim tempered by a nice Tam Fox sequence and a genuinely decent set-up for forthcoming stories (though the dialogue on that last page? Ouches).

COMIC - Doom Patrol #7 - Doom Patrol receives a reprieve for another month, but I find it awfully suspect that the DP issue I enjoyed the most didn’t feature the main team at all. Uh oh. The Metal Men back-up was the best yet, but sadly it is no more.

COMIC - Blackest Night: The Question #37 - Denis O’Neil + Greg Rucka, Denys Cowan + Bill Seinkiewicz. The Question + Lady Shiva versus a resurrected and galactically powered Vic Sage. It turned out rather spectacular, which any Question reader of new or old would agree. Casual readers likely won’t give a crap tho. Also, of the Blackest Night tie-ins I’ve read, this had the absolute best solution on how to defeat them… don’t let them “see” you.

F3 - TV - Lost Season 6 eps 1&2 - *Spoilers*
So a rather tragic and beautiful ending to the Sawyer/Juliet relationship was spoiled with a “not dead yet, keep hope alive, oh, I’m dead” scenario which off the bat set the wrong tone for this final season. The constant replay of the final minute before the detonation flash was rather annoying as well. On the good side, I quite loved the “reset” timeline that they’re working with… it would be a much more intriguing show were it the sole focus. As it is, the whole Jacob vs. Black Smoke is of much less interest to me… to the point that I forgot about all the Jacob revelations entirely from last season. The Lazarus pit was an intriguing touch, as was the cast of “other Others” from the background of the plane… but the war that was coming seems to finally be here, and I guess I want to understand but I’m not as interested.

F3 - NET - Jack McBrayer’s Livin’ ‘neath The Law - Funny or Die you dun done it agin.

F2 - DVD - Eric The Viking (the Director’s vSon’sv Cut) - Pythoner Terry Jones wrote a book for his son called Eric The Viking, which was barely adapted by Jones himself into this 1989 modestly-budgeted adventure film starring a young Tim Robbins as a nebbish marauder leading a group of fellow Norsemen on a quest to end the dark days of ragnarok. It’s not without it’s charms, but it’s also rather slight (the lopping of 21 minutes in “the director’s son’s cut” probably not helping any) and ultimately a forgettable side-note to the “Princess Bride”-style fantasy-comedy younger-audience films of the 1980s (though I should note the opening sequence surrounds the humorous investigation of raping and pillaging between Eric and his intended victim, so “younger-audiences” should be taken with a grain of salt).

DVD - Lost Season 1, “Pilot” - A revisiting of the pilot episode before the start of the final season of Lost was in the cards, and I so very quickly was sucked back into the mystery of the island again. The Pilot episode is incredible, visually quite stunning (great directorial work from JJ Abrams) and it’s remarkable how so much of the characters and plot is set up from the get go. There may be some quibbling over continuity regarding the smoke monster, but most of the episode gets away unscathed, and the addictiveness is just as catching the second time around. It’s brilliant TV, meant for TV. I don’t think it could work in any other medium.

TV - Human Target episodes 3 & 4 - While on the one hand it’s hardly what you’d call “must-see TV”, on the other “Human Target” returns to tv the 70’s and 80’s style episodic action/adventure drama ala Charlie’s Angels, MacGyver or The A*Team, but with a bit of a modern bent. Though little is done to jazz up the visual side of it, it’s a straight-forward one-man-action-squad kind of show with a big action sequence or two each episode and it does it fairly well.

F1 - DVD - Moon - I love enclosed-space/limited cast sci-fi films like this one, and this is up there amongst the best. It’s a quirky personal drama starring Sam Rockwell as the sole administrator and inhabitant of a moon harvesting operation. In the waning days of his three year stint Sam starts discovering some abnormalities about his situation and an early twist in plot redefines his entire sense of self. There’s great use of a robotic assistant, GERTY 3000 (voiced by Kevin Spacey) which nicely toys with the evil on-board computer cliche of HAL-9000. All in all a really smart, intriguing film with a phenomenal (and all too easily overlooked, it would seem) performance by Rockwell. A new fav and one of the (or perhaps the) best films of 2009.

DVD - The Hurt Locker - An overdue, glamourless look at the American occupation in Iraq, specifically following an Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit as they are called to action numerous times over their remaining 30 day tour. The situations in the film are intense, particularly when the enemy could quite literally be anyone, allies or civilians one day could be insurgents the next. There’s a perpetual sense of “fish out of water” that the three EOD team members must endure, and despite all their guns and armor, they know from experience how unsafe they really are. The characters themselves are almost secondary to their experiences, but they are similarly cogs in the machine and free-spinning at the same time. The film is overlong, and an easy 15 - 20 minutes could be trimmed, but even still, it’s never tedious. I wasn’t fond of the camerawork in the film, which aimed for the hand-held, first person observer perspective, I appreciated the more artful and cinematic sequences that Katherine Bigelow prepared and though the film could have benefitted from that refinement throughout. I suspect that since many countries chose not to participate in the Iraq war that this film will be a bit more potent for viewers in those countries that did (primarily Britain and the US).

COMIC - Secret Six #17 - Is Bronze Tiger a badass? Yes, yes he is. Some great and not-so-great moments in this comic (the art a serious let-down… when’s Nicola Scott back?).

COMIC - Captain America Reborn #6, Captain America: Who Will Wield The Shield one-shot, Captain America #602 - “CA: WWWTS”came out a week after “Reborn” #5 and #602 came out last week, a week before the finale of “Reborn” appeared. Frustrating but true. Also frustrating is how mediocre and almost comedically absurd the “Reborn” series turned out to be. It’s rare to see Ed Brubaker misstep but he’s done so here. Not fatally, mind, but still it’s not a great read. The unwieldy title of “Who Will Wield The Shield” actually provided a fairly decent epilogue to the abruptly ended “Reborn”, wherein Bucky and Steve Rogers hash out who should be Captain America, with Buck happily ready to return the mantle and Steve no so eager to pick it back up. In CA #602, exit Steve Rogers as Bucky’s back in control and on the trail of the rogue ’50’s Cap, whom they seem to refer to as “’50’s Cap” even in-comic. Plus, Nick Fury uses the word “asshat”. Not Bru’s best writing. #602 is backed up by an unwanted Nomad second feature, guest starring the horrendously designed Spider-Girl.

COMIC - Batman and Robin #7 - Batman hits jolly-olde London in the attempt to find a rumoured Lazarus pit so that he may resurrect Bruce Wayne. Morrison revels in a lot of Brit-heavy talk, and Batwoman guest stars, so it’s a winner.

COMIC - Detective Comics #861 - Without J.H. Williams III, Batwoman in “Detective Comics” is still quite good, but not as mind-blowing as it was. “The Losers” artist, Jock, fills in for the current storyline which finds Batman and Batwoman following different paths to the same serial killer, a macabre new villain named Cutter.

COMIC - Teen Titans #79 - bad writing, terrible art and an uninteresting back-up feature. Fail.

COMIC - X-Factor #201 - not sure I’m keen on Shatterstar and Longshot for the team (they seem almost too useful) but a Monet-centric storyline coming up makes me happy.

COMIC - Chew #8 I think I’m enjoying this storyline even more than the first.

COMIC - G.I. Joe/Cobra II #1 It would be amazing if this storyline were even more enjoyable than the first. But I doubt it. Still, off to an interesting start.

Anyway, here’s the list and my personal vote (marked with a bold V), and whom I actually expect to win (with a bold X)

Best Picture
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire
V A Serious Man
Up
X Up in the Air

Actor in a Leading Role
Jeff Bridges
VX George Clooney
Colin Firth
Morgan Freeman
Jeremy Renner

Actor in a Supporting Role
Matt Damon
Woody Harrelson
Christopher Plummer
Stanley Tucci
VX Christoph Waltz

Actress in a Leading Role (no personal vote)
X Sandra Bullock
Helen Mirren
Carey Mulligan
Gabourey Sidibe
Meryl Streep

Actress in a Supporting Role (no personal vote)
Penélope Cruz
Vera Farmiga
Anna Kendrick
X Mo’Nique
Maggie Gyllenhaal

Animated Feature Film
Coraline
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
VX Up

Art Direction
X Avatar
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
Sherlock Holmes
The Young Victoria

Cinematography
Avatar
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
X The Hurt Locker
V Inglourious Basterds
The White Ribbon

Costume Design (no personal vote)
Bright Star
Coco Before Chanel
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
The Young Victoria

Directing
Avatar
X The Hurt Locker
V Inglourious Basterds
Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire
Up In The Air

Documentary Feature
Burma VJ
X The Cove
Food, Inc.
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
Which Way Home

Documentary Short (no personal vote)
China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
X The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
Music by Prudence
Rabbit à la Berlin

Film Editing
Avatar
V District 9
X The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire

Foreign Language Film (no personal vote)
Ajami
El Secreto de Sus Ojos
The Milk of Sorrow
Un Prophète
X The White Ribbon

Makeup
Il Divo
XV Star Trek
The Young Victoria

Music (Original Score)
Avatar
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Hurt Locker
Sherlock Holmes
XV Up

Music (Original Song) (no personal vote)
The Princess and the Frog
The Princess and the Frog
Paris 36
Nine
X Crazy Heart

Short Film (Animated) (no personal vote)
French Roast
Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty
The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)
Logorama
A Matter of Loaf and Death

Short Film (Live Action)(no personal vote)
The Door
Instead of Abracadabra
Kavi
Miracle Fish
The New Tenants

Sound Editing
X Avatar
V The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Up

Sound Mixing
X Avatar
The Hurt Locker
V Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Visual Effects
X Avatar
V District 9
Star Trek

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)(no personal vote)
District 9
An Education
In the Loop
Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire
X Up in the Air

Writing (Original Screenplay)
X The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
The Messenger
V A Serious Man
Up

J27 - COMIC - Blackest Night: Catwoman #83 - not a bad extension of the Catwoman series art and story wise, but it’s just not Will Pfeifer and David Lopez.

COMIC - Blackest Night: Starman #81 - Some fond memories stirred up of Opal City of yore, but James Robinson’s dialogue is rough, and for some reason I just don’t believe the romance between Hope O’Dare and The Shade. At. All.

COMIC - The Shield #5 - With my regular tights-n-capes reads dwindling, I find I’m getting more and more excited every month for this one. It’s not *that* different, but it just feels fresh and much more exciting than most spandex on the stand. Credit goes to Eric Trautmann for developing a different-headed character, and more credit goes to penciler Marco Rudy and embellisher Mick Gray (who’s got an equally good thing going as he did with JH Williams III). Just great stuff. The Inferno back-up by Jerwa and Scott isn’t half bad either.

COMIC - Batgirl #6 - “Smallville”’s Brian Q. Miller is actually really good at getting great characterization out of mundane situations, so this read is for fans of the character, not fans of action. It doesn’t help that Lee Garbett’s art is often difficult to read. His figures are clear but his sequencing and blocking are rough and sometimes hard to follow.

COMIC - Unwritten #9 - I didn’t like what happened at the end of this issue. I see the purpose, but I don’t like it. But then, I suspect, I’m not supposed to. This issue seemed to be missing all the subtle peripherals that previous issues had (like the page of media commentary).

J27 - Podcasts - Doug Loves Movies with Sarah Silverman and Steve Agee - not much exciting to report but noting weak either.
Comedy Death Ray Radio #37 - Todd Glass, Sarah Silverman and Hannibal Buress in the studio. A rather weak comedy-wise and unprepared episode, but I like it for the fact that it was really just a group of friends talking about whatever and being somewhat funny at it. Aukerman likes to say “let’s get real” and Glass tells as sweet (earnest) story of the death of his dog. I also like Glass and Gary Goldman’s Dangerfield routine. Brilliant.
Exploding Head Movies ep.2 (Radio Free GAK #100) - EXHM takes on DJ Shadow and the soundtrack to Black Dynamite. Quality abounds.

J26 - DVD - Taken - Liam Neeson kills some fuckers. There’s no grey area here. They are fuckers and you’re glad when they get killed. Liam Neeson as Hannibal in the A*Team movie? Okay.

J26 - DVD - JCVD - What a quirky little movie. It’s like the actor Jean-Claude Van Damme steps into the plot of one of his own films, only it wouldn’t be one of his films but more like a Denzel Washington heist drama. The hostage situation juxtaposed with the dramatic elements satirizing his own life make for a decidedly unique viewing experience. The revelation is that, at least when speaking French, JCVD can actually act and act well. Almost better than he can fake-fight.

J22 - PODCASTS - Comedy Death Ray:
Episode 35 - Patton Oswalt, Thomas Lennon (as Little Gary), and Brett Gelman appear. Gelman, more than a little perturbed by his 11th place finish in the “Comedy Death Ray Radio best of 2009 top 10″ has quit comedy in favour of short story writing. He reads his new story called “iBrain” which segues into a hilariously vile, graphically sexual encounter. Plus Conan vs Leno talk. Thomas Lennon’s Little Gary a little harder to decipher, but his song, with the chorus “I Did It Before, But Never Again, Never Never Never in two thousand and ten” is rather catchy.
Episode 36 - Cyberthug takes over once again, but the largely racist-based “Kanye East” makes it almost unlistenable. Plus more Conan/Leno talk.
BONUS Episode 2 - Following up Doug Loves Movies at Sketchfest in San Fran, Scott is joined by Doug Benson, Michael Ian Black, with stand-up from Dana Gould and “bandleader” Reggie Watts, but Paul F. Thompkins steals the entire show with a violently hilarious caricature of Andrew Lloyd Weber.
Doug Loves Movies
Jan 9 - Aziz Ansari and Maria Bamford guest, but auction winner Larry Zerner is special guest and what could have been painfully unfunny interjections from a non- or wanna-be comedian was actually the highlight, as Zerner is both an entertainment lawyer and star from Friday the 13th, Part 3, leading to some really funny stories and call-back jokes.
Jan 18 - At Sketchfest in San Fran, Doug is joined by Scott Auckerman, Dana Gould and Michael Ian Black for some film discussion and tomfoolery. Good times, especially MIB’s german officer impression.

J22 - MOVIE - Up In The Air - *SPOILERS* Jason Reitman has made two and 2/3 great movies. There’s Thank You For Smoking, Juno, and the first two acts of Up In The Air. Up In The Air builds a very intriguing, if quite depressing, character in George Clooney’s Ryan, a man proud of having no strings attached, living 320+ days a year on the road (or rather, in the air) and very adept at dealing with people, handy for a job in which he’s a for-hire ax-man (he fires people for a living). He makes no apologies for his life but as things change around him he finds it hard to adapt, his focus being on achieving some would say a meaningless goal of earning 10 million air miles. He meets a woman, make that two women, who start to change his perspective, if only slightly. But the third act instead makes it seem that these women have given him cause for an abrupt about-face, wherein he no longer cares about doing what had, until days before, really mattered to him, to the point where he ditches his high-profile seminar MID-SPEECH, to race to the airport to go profess his crush on some woman. Bullshit Hollywoodized tripe. Of course she turns out to be married and she gives him the most patronizing line “I’m an adult” which made me want to gouge my eyes out and stick them in my ears. Ryan achieves his goal but is too distracted by rethinking his own philosophies to enjoy it, as Sam Elliott revisits his “Stranger” role from Big Lebowski to provide some unnecessary vague pontifications. I don’t object to where the movie wound up, just to the un-subtle and brutally out-of-character(s) way in which it was handled. Not the worst 2009 movie I saw (Adventureland), just the most frustrating because it so easily could have been great.
Radio Free GAK ep#99 Exploding Head Movies #1 - Radio Free GAK becomes Exploding Head Movies, same show, different title. Still great stuff with another(?) Howard Shore profile (Videodrome).

J22 - TV - Kids in the Hall: Death Comes To Town (episodes 1 and 2 of 8) - I haven’t been this excited for a TV show in a long time, and at the same time I have also kept my expectations quite reserved… I mean, the Kids aren’t kids anymore and comedians don’t generally get funnier as they age. DCTT is a smart departure, more in line with Brain Candy than their sketch comedy of yore, maintaining a consistent story and tone, and allowing the members of the troupe to each develop at least three distinct characters over the 8-episode span. World building is a large part of the show, and they succeed at making Shuckton a distinctive and interesting place, populated with curious individuals. The comedy isn’t in peak form, as some of the gags fall flat or are too obvious, but the strength lies in the near-brilliant characters and the chameleonic way in which they inhabit them. I like, not love, which is better than both hate or disappointed.

J22 - COMIC - Green Lantern Corps: Sins of the Star Sapphire tpb - developing the “emotional spectrum” of lantern corps, expanding the roster of creepy-ass yellow lanterns, and initiating the sapphire lanterns, it’s entertaining, but the character moments (Guy’s date with Ice, the reaction to the “eyeball sequence”) were very ham-handed.

J9 - COMIC - X-Factor: Nation X - apparently there’s this thing going on in the rest of the X-titles that where all the remaining mutants have moved to a floating island and become an independent nation or some such. This book explains why the X-Factor crew isn’t there, as the team visits the island to meet up with old friends and to check out the environment. It’s 24 pages of random scenes of dialogue with a very minimal undercurrent of “history repeats itself” and some ties to previous X-Factor events. If you’re a regular reader of most X-books then this is probably essential for satiating curiousity, but if you only read X-Factor, wholly skippable.

J9 - BLU-RAY- Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs - Rewatchable? Yes. Am I less enamored with it than when I first watched it. I don’t think so. The cast of characters is great from Mr. T’s Earl Devereaux to Andy Samberg’s Baby Brent to Neil Patrick Harris’ Steve to even Will Forte’s City Guy the background character with a beard.

J9 - COMIC - Stumptown #1 & 2 - Greg Rucka’s new detective series is sharp and engaging, expertly rendered by Matthew Southworth. I actually thankful for the online advertising that Oni did for this otherwise I wouldn’t have even been aware. Rucka constructs yet another wonderful and distinctive female character for the medium (his latest from Tara Chase, to Renee Montoya, to Batwoman… it’s the man’s forte), in fact I’m more sold on Dex than I am with the mystery she’s found herself investigating.

J9 - DVD - Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Season Seven - I really, really liked this season, as it gave a concerted effort to defining and redefining the core cast whilst also building an epic confrontation that actually has some scale to it. Buffy’s always been limited by budget to small-scale confrontations, but with the ever growing gaggle of potential slayers and the climactic vampire battle and Sunnydale implosion effects sequence it effectively built to a satisfying conclusion to the season and the series. Even my discomfort with the Buffy/Spike relationship actually played out rather well. That’s not to say that the characterization wasn’t frequently heavy handed, oft repetitive and at times the season dragged under by redundancy, but, especially knowing where it picked up in the Season 8 comics, it had direction and purpose.

J7 - WEB - The Onion interviews Gallagher - this is some, literally, crazy shit. Just don’t read the comments, or it will drive you crazy too.

J7 - COMIC - Suicide Squad #67 - If I were a casual comics reader, I’d be pretty annoyed with this whole “resurrected series” of Blackest Night tie-ins coming out this January. Were I a Secret Six reader, I’d be pissed since there’s no mention in the last Six issue or on the cover that this is the first part of the Six’s next storyline. If I were a casual reader enjoying Blackest Night I’d be kind of annoyed at the total lack of self-contained-ness of this issue. Were I an old-school Suicide Squad reader, well, I’d be more annoyed that this is a Secret Six story than a Suicide Squad one. To top it off, it’s wildly disjointed (likely due to split writing between Gail Simone and John Ostrander) with far too much happening and little sense of why we should care.

J7 - COMIC - Gigantic #5 - It’s been a bit of time between issue 4 and issue 5 and I don’t recall what happened previously and even the “previously” recap didn’t help out so much and this all just kind of went bonkers in the end. A bit disappointing actually.

J7 - COMIC - Doom Patrol #6 - Keith Giffen explains Larry Traynor/Negative Man who is also every other iteration of the Negative Man persona from Valeria Vostok to Rebis. It’s starts off being cleverly erratic, but persists in being erratic over 22 pages and loses its clever, becoming a bit of a muddle, like pretty much the entire series has been. I’m trying hard to like this series, but six issues in and it’s still not working for me. I think if Giffen reigned it in, took away the drama, and made it a contained, fun book about a team that takes on the mad-scientist-experiments-that-got-out-of-hand on Oolong Island it would be a really fun, accessible book. Still like the contained wackiness of the Metal Men back-up though. DP,you’ve got one more issue before drop city.

J5 - YOUTUBE - KG’s Top 40 for ‘09 - Phonogram’s Keiron Gillen lays down his erratic list of his, possibly, favourite 40 tracks from the past year. KG describes them in more detail here. I liked some of the videos more than the tracks themselves.
Interesting listening, with some standouts:

J5 - PDCAST - CBC Radio 3 Podcast #229 - Best of 2009 Grant Laurence’s list of best 10 songs of ‘09 was a bit more of an eclectic affair, mercifully, than the R330 top 10, and much easier to listen to. But still, there was very little within that really grabbed, despite Grant’s emphatic introductions. The Mountains and the Trees track was about the only one that really clicked for me.

J5 - MOVIE - Adventureland - While I was forewarned that this wasn’t a comedy, I wasn’t forewarned about how numbingly dull and boring it would be. The fatal flaw of the film lies in its casting, with two thoroughly uncharismatic leads in Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart playing two thoroughly unenjoyable characters, and a supporting cast of talent absolutely wasted. This film, labeled as a comedy, could have desperately used some humour.

J4 - PODCAST - CBC R330 Top 10 for 2009 - I realized now why I stopped regularly listening to the R330 over a year ago… the songs are of the generic, expected “indie” stylings and host Craig Norris is a little too full of bull and bluster for the rather boring lineup that’s typically laid out before him (I suppose that does make him good at his job). Top tens include AC Newman, Joe Plaskett and Metric. Yawn. I like indie music and think it needs support, but the R330 generally only represents a narrow section of what’s available (popularity contests are, naturally, governed by the masses and their generic sensibilities always seems to gravitate towards a mean). Bleh, need to wash this off.

J4 - MOVIE - Inglourious Basterds - Most good directors tend to focus on telling a story. Some good directors prefer to focus on style instead. Other less-good directors have agendas, like pushing the audience’s buttons through coarse language and/or grotesque visuals, or trying to get a ham-fisted message across. Some directors, good and bad, like to play within the trappings of a genre, others like to completely defy genre expectations. Some directors have their own style, some do not, and some borrow liberally (or flagrantly) from others. Quentin Tarantino I admire because he’s not any one of these directors, but instead all of them at once, a result of consuming and disseminating a steady diet of the good and the bad films for decades. What impresses me about Inglorious Basterds is how QT tells his WWII-set story using everything in his toolkit. His cinephilia comes through loud and clear, his influences coming from war films from every decade in cinema’s past, from different countries around the world. The subgenre of grindhouse still permeates his work, and his penchant for precision-paced, culturally referential dialogue is readily apparent. The fact that he could limit himself to referring to pop-culture that predates 1944 shows just how capable he is, though the soundtrack, I should note, is anachronistic, but pointedly so. QT doesn’t just stick to cinema, but the wartime comics of the 1940’s, the cartoonish Hitler draped in a swasitka cape is one of the few broad strokes in the film (the Basterds being the other). On the one hand, Basterds felt like a departure from QT’s previous films, perhaps because it was primarily subtitled (in German, French and, occasionally, Italian) and the dialogue was (comparatively) expletive-free. Structurally the story somewhat simpler too in comparison to past works, and yet, it’s more secure, more assured, more mature. Even though the events of the films are constantly being foreshadowed, every scene percolates with intensity as the masks of pretense are slowly shucked and their true purpose is revealed (this may be tedious for some, while others will revel in it). A Quentin Tarantino movie is a spectacle, it’s a carnival, it’s entertainment, but it does so on levels few (if any) other filmmakers dare… Do not just view it as a film, but as a part of, and commentary on, cinema and culture, past and present. It’s not for everyone, but I loved it… I felt strangely satiated after watching it… like I didn’t need to watch another film for a while (but did anyways and regretted it. See above)

J4 - MOVIE - Terminator: Salvation - After all the plentiful bad reviews, and even more plentiful negative fan reaction, I was expecting a crap-fest of “Rise of Cobra” proportions. Okay, maybe expectations weren’t *that* low, but they indeed were low. But, as it turns out, Salvation is a pretty decent film. There’s excitement and intensity, with some rather spectacular effects, and a nicely stylized world (if not always logical) for the characters to run around in. I’m not a Terminator franchise fan (in fact, my favourite Terminator to date was “The Sarah Connor Chronicles” and even that stopped holding my interest), so I don’t really care about all the nuances of the series and my expectations for what a continuation should be are nil. The characters are flimsy, the story relatively non-existent, but the cold action of man vs. machine is probably ’09’s best “turn your mind off and enjoy the ride” blockbuster.

J4 - MOVIE - Adventures in Babysitting - A not-quite-classic from the mid-80’s Chris Colombus, I always thought this was a kids movie but with all the swearing and Playboy references it’s much rather a teen flick. I always remember it for the little girl’s Thor obsession (and Vincent D’Onofrio as a Thor-esque repairman), but what I watched it for this time was the Toronto-as-Chicago backdrop and a foxy 24-year-old Elizabeth Shue, playing 17, but so obviously not.

J4 - MOVIE - 2010: The Year We Make Contact - Yes, this was played by Turner Classic Movies on New Year’s Day. I don’t think 2010 ever really got its due. Yes, it doesn’t compare to Kubrick’s masterpiece in virtually any respect, and what’s more it demystifies the story of 2001 somewhat, but it’s all part of Arthur C. Clarke’s sci-fi vision, so it’s not disingenuous. 2010 is a mystery-in-space, as a co-Russian/American space crew try to understand what happened to Hal, Dave and their mission, only to discover something greater happening in the process, while the cold war back on Earth escalates. Roy Scheider, John Lithgow, Helen Mirren, and Bob Balaban fill in the meaty roles quite nicely. The effects are as stunning today as they were in 1984, in general it’s a very entertaining film, if now operating on a completely different timeline than our own (which is part of the fun, I enjoy predictive futures in SF that don’t come to pass).

COMIC - Sweet Tooth #4 - there’s something percolating under the surface… it’s less “what happened” and more “who the hell is Mr. Geppert” and “what’s his deal?”. Curiously engaging.

COMIC - Batman: The Cat and The Bat tpb - Batgirl Barbara Gordon, early in her career, faces down a minxy Selina Kyle Catwoman, and each underestimates the other. Nude catfighting ensues. I’m not kidding. Kevin Maguire draws the hell out of this mildly average, and often preposterous story.

CD - The Duloks: Children of the Sea ep - a six-track ep so quick that it’s over before you’ve gotten into the groove, but it’s a good primer on the off-beat, beat-heavy, lyrically playful comedy-punk-pop of the Duloks.

PODCAST - Rock On London #17 - Another dose of Canadiana via London as Mar interviews the Japandroids and introduces me to Beach House.

PODCAST - Doug Loves Movies (12/4/09) - Yank Hard Son, the comedy trifecta of Weird Al Yankovic, Chris Hardwick and Doug Benson talk about twitter and movies. Includes the great “live twitter follow” experiment.
(12/11/09) - “The Jew episode” with Mark Maron and Andy Kindler. Goofy and punchy with perhaps the easiest Leonard Maltin Game yet.
(12/19/09) - David Koechner and Sean Cullen guest… it’s surprising how similar these two guests are, all part of Doug’s plan.

MOVIE - Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex* *But were afraid to ask - Starts off weak and ends with a bang, literally. A septet of sketches starting with the weakest “Do Aphrodesiacs Work” in which Allen’s bumbling court jester gets his hand caught in the proverbial cookie jar. “What Is Sodomy” is more about bestiality as physician Gene Wilder falls for an Armenian sheep, a tale pushed to the hysterical brink. “Why do some women have trouble reaching orgasm” permits Allen to flex his Italian tongue in a middling sketch, while “Are Transvestites Homosexuals” owes a debt of gratitude to Benny Hill. “What Are Sex Perverts” is a clever black-and-white emulation of a 50’s panel TV game show, while “Are the Findings of Doctors and Clinics Who Do Sexual Research and Experiments Accurate?” predates is like a sex-tinged bastardization of the Frankenstein monster gone awry (with credit to the Blob). The final sketch, “What Happens During Ejaculation” is the coup-de-gras and makes the other sketches seem kind of bumbling in comparison, as Tony Randall and Burt Reynolds are at the helm of spaceship man, leading the troops through their routine as their body tries to make it with a lady. It begs for a sequel from the other side.

MOVIE - The Mouse That Roared - A silly little British comedy from the late-50’s that was an early showcase for Peter Sellers’ multi-character capabilities. While generally humorous, it overplays it’s “Producers”-like concept (a tiny nation goes to war with America with the intention of losing, only to win). There’s a good sketch or two in the material, but it does get tedious. Its sequel, “The Mouse And The Moon” substitutes other actors for all of Sellers’ roles and completely misses the point.

COMIC - GI Joe Classic Vol 1 - 3 - The second volume especially is a damn fine spotlight on Larry Hama’s dense storytelling structure, playing an almost single thread over ten issues though changing the scene and the spotlight throughout. Juggling a cast of dozens never looked so easy. Volume 1 is a little dry and volume 3 suffers in the art department somewhat.

COMIC - Unwritten #8 - A diversion, spotlighting the warden, is a good enough read but frustrating as it delays the next part of the serial.

COMIC - Phonogram: The Singles Club #6 - I’m actually trying to decide if this is my most favourite or least favourite issue of the series.

COMIC - Batgirl #5 - Batgirl faces Batman and Robin. Grumbling ensues. Brian Q. Miller handles her interactions with Damian-Robin very well. It seems, actually, every issue Miller handles something very well, even if the main action tends to be exceptionally bland.

COMIC - DC Holiday Special 2009 - a mixed-bag of one-page and mid-length stories from a cast of mostly new talent. It’s 80% fluff but it did get me into the holiday mood. The best stories were the one-two war-story punch of Sgt. Rock by Billy Tucci and Enemy Ace by the Faheys and Howard Chaykin.

COMIC - Doom Patrol #5 - While I don’t really mind the dense history mine the Doom Patrol has fallen into, it’s just somewhat counter to Giffen’s proclamation that “every issue will be accessible to new readers”, and it’s hardly that. The Metal Men back-up, even without Maguire this month, still proved entertaining.

COMIC - Adventure Comics #5 - Superboy Prime throws down with black lanterns in the “real world” destroying the DC Comics office. It was actually quite fun.

COMIC - Secret Six #16 - Hopefully this doesn’t become part of the story because, so far, I’m not liking Black Alice much. Petulant teenagers are annoying and no fun to read, watch or listen to.

COMIC - Daytripper #1 - While I liked this issue, about a struggling writer stuck working the obituaries column in a Brazilian newspaper and now a little obsessed with death, I’m wondering if it’s stand-alone or the first part of a larger story. Next issue will tell, I suppose.

COMIC - The Shield #4 - The Shield is now on the bottom of the pile, which sounds bad but is actually a compliment. Basically, it means no matter what I read that week I know I’ll be getting a good story out of the Shield, so I save it for last. This issue, well, it’s mildly deceptive since the Great Ten, featured prominently on the cover, don’t arrive on scene until the last page, but we should get the more than cliche heroes vs. hero throw down with them next issue, which should be a nice spotlight for both the Shield’s capabilities and the Great Ten’s powers.

BOOK - Mr. Show: What Happened? - Bob met David, they made a sketch comedy show that got on television for a while. It was hard work, but a labor of love for all involved. They pulled the plug due to fading interest and lack of support from the network.

DVD - Mr. Show with Bob and David seasons 1, 2, 3 and 4 - I’ve always thought Mr. Show was conceptually funny more than it was laugh out loud funny and I still think I’m right. Though it does have plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, and about 90% the sketches are funny at the very least in premise, it for some reason always feels to have a cloud hanging over it that makes it feel like it’s held back, or not living up to its potential… I enjoy the commentaries and the behind-the-scenes of the aforementioned “What Happened?” as much as the show itself. Still, one of the top 5 sketch shows of all time.

DVD - The Dark Knight - Blu-Ray actually. If there’s a reason to go Blu-Ray, this is it. I’ve read more than my fair share of the the detractors’ comments on this film and I still say they’re wrong. This is the Godfather II of superhero films. Even forgetting the whole capes and body-armor angle it’s a gripping thriller, a kick-ass action film, and the bleakest of dark comedies. It makes “Batman Begins” look like a low-budget direct-to-video enterprise in comparison. It’s the biggest movie of all-time, and there’s a reason for it.

COMIC - Ex Machina #47 - The end of this issue was gratuitous and senseless, as the ends to so many issues have been. Vaughan is really exploiting shock value in this series, but he always makes good on it. Though with only 3 issues left, I don’t really see this shock-ending being explored to the level it deserves. It made me sad.

COMIC - Captain America Reborn #5 - Hitch and Guice dish out a gorgeously laid-out book, but the story in this one is exceptionally slight, so much so that I think it read it in under 5 minutes. The series was originally supposed to only be 5 issues long and this just feels like filler and kind of annoying.

COMIC - X-Factor #200 - A mammoth-sized issue featuring an extra-sized story, cover gallery, character bios/origins, and a reprint of Madrox #1 which launched this whole iteration of X-Factor (bless it).

COMIC - Authority: The Lost Year #4 - I like Giffen, quite a bit actually, but his economy of words is non-existent. Still, I’m quite enjoying the Lovecraftian angle that this story has taken.

COMIC - One Model Nation - A fictional graphic novel set in the real late-70’s kraut-rock scene should be a fascinating exploration of a specific time and culture but is hindered by some excruciating writing and disjointed dialogue from Dandy Warhols’ frontman Courtney Taylor. On the positive, Jim Rugg captures the scene with nice detail and a good design sense

DVD - Sesame Street: Follow That Bird - A throwback classic. Not as funny as a Muppets movie, but still very engaging for audiences of all ages. Big Bird is placed into a foster home with Dodo birds, but runs away to get back to Sesame Street. Olivia, Maria, Oscar, Bert, Ernie, Super Grover and much of the gang go off on a rescue mission to find him. Cameos from John Candy and Chevy Chase, with SCTV alum Joe Flaherty and Dave Thomas as the main bad guys, the Sleaze Brothers, owners of the travelling Funfair eying up the runaway bird as their next big attraction.

DVD - Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theatres - Really, a show whose average episode runs under 12 minutes that generally wallows in coarse and abstract humour shouldn’t logically be able to sustain a nearly 90-minute film. And it doesn’t. Its oblique forays into distraction deny the film a sense of unity (something which, actually, the original/”deleted film” restores and becomes the more entertaining film for it except that the “deleted film” uses unfinished footage). As far as ATHF goes, it’s a lesser effort. Though there are some entertaining ideas throughout, it’s tedious viewing at times. The best scene, which is oddly a deleted scene, involves the music group Cameo.

DVD - On Her Majesty’s Secret Service - I’ve never seen this before, can you believe it. I’m not really much of a Bond connoisseur, though I like Bond films quite a bit, and you know, this might just be one of my top three favourites. People like to piss on George Lazenby but he does a remarkably good job for a credit-less actor in his first film role. The chemistry between him and Diana Rigg is painfully lacking though, however it certainly sparks between him and Joanna Lumley (Rigg and Lumley in the same film, I must be dreaming). Curiously the rhythm of this film is not all that different from the recent Casino Royale.

Podcast - Comedy Death Ray Radio #32 - Brendan Small, Aziz Ansari and Stan Lee (Hal Rudnick) have much inane banter and mispronunciations. Hilarity ensues (until Small decides to get into character as Mr. Moustache, a brutally stagnant Neil Hamburger-esque “legendary” comedian)
#33 - Kyle Kinanane, Paul F. Thompkins and special guest Ray Romano (Scott Aukerman) count down Rolling Stone’s top 100 songs of the 00’s, or die trying.
#34 - Doug Benson, Jon Hamm, radio host El Chupacabra (Nick Kroll), Jesse Ventura (James Adomian), and John C. Reilley (Paul F. Thompkins). On the unfortunate side, Scott Aukerman sings a spoof/parody medley to close out the show.
“Best of 2009″ - As I fell behind in my podcast listening for this month I didn’t get a chance to vote, but by and large I’m okay with most of the results. Comments below. Guesting on this episode: Huell Howser (again as played by James Adomian), Ice-T (played by Paul F. Thompkins) and Bobby Bottleservice (Nick Kroll).
.10. Andy Daly’s “Life of the Party Inc.” - quite funny but not one of my favourites
.9. Andy Dick and Bob Odenkirk play “Would you rather” - like this one a lot
.8. Matt Besser’s Bjork impersonation - Absolutely brutal to listen to. Boo-urns.
.7. Jon Daly as Bill Cosby presenting “the Bill Cosby Remote Control Fart Machine” - surprisingly hilarious (featuring Paul F. Thompkins as John C. Reilley)
.6. Sarah Silverman and Andy Richter play “Would You Rather” - weak, I think there was another WYR they did that was much funnier.
.5. Nick Kroll as El Chupacabra with John Hamm - to me, this is top two (his El Chupacabra with John Hamm from last week was just as good).
.4. Tom Lennon as Little Gary - Apparently divisive, but I liked Little Gary a lot… Mott Skaukerman indeed.
.3. Jerry Minor sings “Poppin’ Bottles” - also top two for me. Catchy and so much fun.
.2. Huell Howser goes apeshit - and does again for a third time. It’s funny but getting overplayed, as he’s appeared three times in two months at this point.
.1. Ice-T plays “would you rather” - I like the interplay between Aukerman and Thompson but number 1?
So what was missing? The fact that Bobby Bottleservice didn’t get in the top ten is a shame, the Cyberthug/Bobby B “desert Island” chat with straight man Jerry O’Connell would be in there too, and even the Sklar Bros. Pizza Hut bit.

DVD - Sleeper - Another entry from my childhood book on Science Fiction movies checked off. This one a lesser Woody Allen feature that I liken to that era’s “Idiocracy”. I’m sure were I a more studious man I’d develop a deeper thesis of comparison, but I think just the blunt allusion is quite enough.

COMIC - Detective Comics #870 - Good thing for my wife that Batwoman is gay… not to mention fictitious, because I’m completely smitten. Just kidding beloved. I’m disappointed to hear that Batwoman will be leaving ‘Tec for her own series, as I think that’s kind of a demotion. ‘Tec is the tentpole series at DC (it’s what the company is named after, afterall) and it’s a testament to the strength of this new Batwoman iteration that for seemingly the first time since issue 27, another character other than Batman is carrying the book.

COMIC - Chew #7 - Oh? OH! oh… she’s dead? Darn. But still the best new series of 2009.

COMIC - Beasts of Burden #4 - And thus ends the second best new series of 2009. It should be an ongoing series… it really should. Because it’s amazing.

DVD - Extract - Mike Judge returns to the working world presenting Jason Bateman as the owner of an extract bottling factory whose life and good fortune are falling apart around him. It’s not as pop-culture-ready as Office Space or even Idiocracy but it’s a charming, subtle and entertaining comedy with a great cast (including Kristen Wiig, Mila Kunis, Ben Affleck, Gene Simmons and J.K. Simmons).

NET - Christmas Eve on Sesame Street - This special used to creep me out when I was a kid, especially towards the end when Big Bird is sleeping on the roof in the middle of snowstorm with icicles hanging off his nose and the haunting calls of the cast on the street below echoing around him, then the eerie shadow of, presumably Santa looms over him. Brr. Scary shit. Probably one of the most maudlin of Christmas specials, with a plethora of lilting, morose songs with the exception of the positively chipper Oscar-sung “I Hate Christmas”. The opening sequence of the “life sized” costumed Bert, Ernie, Oscar, Count and Cookie Monster bothered me even as a kid, and looks positively silly today.

NET - A Muppet Family Christmas - As a kid I used to love big event comic books that would feature as many characters as they could cram into the pages, even if most of them had no word balloons, their mere presence was enough to excite me. “A Muppet Family Christmas” is a “big event” for Muppets, featuring the bulk of the Muppet Show regulars, the majority of the Sesame Street cast, and even the Fraggles. Even better, there’s (surprisingly) no celebrity guest stars to age it, giving the special an almost timeless feel (although Piggy’s poodle hairdo does give it away as an ’80’s creation). Seeing Jim Henson at the end brings a tear to my eye. It’s bright, quite funny and really captures the feel of family for the festivities. It’s perfect for getting anyone into the Xmas spirit.

DVD - Funny People - Yes, it’s long, clocking in at about 150 minutes, but it’s not a straight comedy or a straight drama, but something in-between, but alternating between being more one than the other. The first third of the film deals with an Adam Sandler-esque stand-up turned superstar (played by Adam Sandler) discovering that he’s dying, and realizing how very alone he is. Taking a young, unrefined comedian (Seth Rogen) under his wing and as an assistant/best friend, there’s an excellent tour of the stand-up comedy process and community, but it sadly doesn’t last. The latter 2/3s find Sandler’s character reuniting with an old flame (Leslie Mann), now married with kids, and looking for something more meaningful. It’s not a diversion, as it really does become the centerpiece for the film, and it’s a well told story, but it’s not what’s interesting about the film, and it would seem that Judd Apatow really didn’t know which story he wanted to tell more and where to turn his focus. It’s an enjoyable movie (Eric Bana puts in a great performance, and Rogen shows some great depth) but not as good as it could have been were it two separate, more focussed films.

NET - Pee-Wee’s Playhouse Christmas Special - an absurd special that’s decidedly 80’s, with a 50’s twist. Plenty of guest stars (most of whom anyone born after 1980 won’t have a clue who they are) and lots of silliness.

BOOK - More Information Than You Require by John Hodgman - The Hodg-man is back with the second installment of his Almanack series of made-up information. This volume features a “fact-a-day” that seems obsessed with a strange weather competition between Milwaukee, WI and Richmond, VA. Also, gone are the hobos, in are the Mole men. And curious facts about every POTUSA in history, oh, and crystal skulls containing vodka (which isn’t made up). Useless but highly entertaining.

PODCAST - Radio Free GAK ep 93 - chillwave/glo-fi spotlight takes things blippy and downtempo. Quite of soothing, if you’re into that sort of thing… which I am.
ep 94 - year in review/The Road - some of GAK’s favourite tunes of the year, plus a spotlight on Nick Cave and Warren Ellis’ soundtrack to the Road, which is depressing, anxious listening indeed.
ep 95 - a honky Christmas - a semi-personal and absolutely fantastic stroll through the melancholy country Christmas tunes. Not quite what you need to get you into the spirit, but a decidedly different Christmas compilation.

Magazine - Empire Magazine December - the “Icons of the Decade” issue features a lot of jibber jabber about nothing particularly insightful (the “Fantastic Mr. Fox” press conference and the interview with the Coens on “A Serious Man” were, well, fluff… still need to read the story on “Where the Wild Things Are”). Still, I enjoy the Magazine’s geek slant and the many, many, many reviews of films I haven’t seen but want to keep tabs on.

DVD - Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 7 - Disc 1 - good thing my wife remembers what happened previously because, after a 3+ year hiatus between season 6 and 7 I couldn’t remember any of Dawn’s backstory, or who Willow killed, or how Spike got his soul back or why Xander left Anya. Even still, I have to say that season 7 has enraptured me like season 5 or 6 didn’t so much.

DVD - 500 Days of Summer - The best “guys’ chick flick” since High Fidelity. Some dudes may deepen their already deep crush on Zooey Deschanel, but me, I’m just further sinking into my admiration for Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Rise of Cobra forgiven and almost forgotten). What a wonderfully quirky, eccentric and enjoyable tale of love and loss.