Consumption August

August 2nd, 2009 Graig

MOVIES - Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension - I genuinely want to like this film so much more than I actually do.

COMIC - Teen Titans Spotlight #9, 12, 15 - Three decidedly nothing-special issues starring Changeling (and Robotman), Wonder Girl (and Terry Long), and the Omega Men, although all the Doom Patrol talk in issue 9 sent me on a DP internet bender which led to..

COMIC - Teen Titans #35 - 36, 38 - 39 - Aden was dabbling in this iteration of the Teen Titans when we started dating but I never bothered to read them, so I missed the new Doom Patrol and the introduction of dozens of new (and forgotten) sidekicks. Surprisingly not bad.

TV - Zach Galifianakis: Live at the Purple Onion - ZG is an irreverently funny guy, whose comedy comes into existence through sheer force of will ala Andy Kaufman… his twin brother/alter ego Seth Galifianakis is something further beyond… R.Crumb-ian.

NET - Hard’n'Phirm - I had heard their “Rodeohead” years ago, but “Pi” is even more brilliant… (love the effinfunny performance here which allows for a sing-a-long). Chris Hardwick is the host of Web Soup and often seen on Attack of the Show. A new H&P album is in the works.

DVD - Home Movies season 4 disk 3 - Whee-yow.

NET - The Guild, season 1 - geeky, but not in a barrier-to-entry kind of way. Love the characters, even Tink. Delightful.

TV - Tin Man - A bleak sci-fi reimagining of the Wizard of Oz, only more skiffy than fantasy, a little too cheeky (DG? the O.Z.? puh-lease),with a nearly plagiarized Willaims/Elfman score, it thinks itself too clever. The sets and most of the costumes and make-up are well done, the cgi not as much.

TV - The Lost Room - A paranormal detective series that hits all the right notes. My only complaint is that it’s not longer, so that we could explore more of the objects and their collectors. Absolutely enthralling.

MOVIE - Star Trek 4 - Aden put it on. “I love Star Trek 4″ she said. “Really?” I said.
I noted that almost all the commercials were geared towards women. Feminine hygiene products, toiletries and yogurts comprised the bulk of the advertising. Conclusion: LLST4 - Ladies the hell Love Star Trek 4

COMIC - Irredeemable #5 - Waid’s going for a Miracleman-level satire of superheroics and marginally succeeding, however I continue to find his copious allusions to the DC pantheon beneath his talent (its more something Mark Miller would do).

NET - The Guild Season Two - Second season even better than the first…more face-to-face character time really helps the show’s dynamic.

DVD - Flight of the Conchords Season 2 eps 1 - 4 - “Murray takes it to the next level” was a brilliant episode, and the faux “Magnolia” riff for “Hurt Feelings” was a delight. Not quite as good as season 1 but still full of charm.

CD - Transglobal Underground: Interplanetary Meltdown - world/hip hop music remixed by some of the 90’s top DJs. I bought this after hearing “Slowfinger” on CBC Radio and it and others still hold a lot of nostalgic charm for me.

MOVIE - Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen - An epic exploration of death and resurrection starring giant sentient robots. Surprisingly, just as good as the first, if waaay more convoluted.

COMIC - Doom Patrol #1 - the main feature was a bit weighty in the information department, the Metal Men back-up feature, however, was fabulous.

COMIC - Secret Six #12 - A Banshee!? Didn’t see that one coming.

COMIC - Wednesday Comics #5 - The Superman strip just jumped the shark with yet another unnecessary retelling of Superman’s origin… in case you forgot. Otherwise, kind of a plodding week (the Titans script actually picked up tho, hrm).

COMIC - Chew #3 - I don’t know if this is really going anywhere, even still it’s just fun to hang around with.

COMIC - Captain America Reborn #2 - While I don’t want Steve Rogers to come back as Cap (I’m enjoying Bucky far too much quite frankly) this is a methodically planned return and could be one of the best back-from-the-dead stories.

CD - Transglobal Underground: Live - This came with the Interplanetary Meltdown and I probably only listened to it once, twice at most (until today, popping it in my iTunes, I never knew what it’s tracklistings were). Interesting british hip-hop meets world music. Worth another couple listens at least.

CD - Talvin Singh: Ha - a plodding fusion of Indian music and electronica mixing. I have a surprising amount of this kind of thing in my cd collection. It’s not bad but not really my cuppa anymore.

NET - The Hidden Cameras: “In The NA” - It’s a charming, poppy song but I’m not sure if it’s enough to renew my Hidden Cameras enthusiasm. If earworms its way into my head then perhaps…

NET - RiP: A Remix Manifesto - Featuring Girl Talk, Negativland and more. “One week only” on Pitchfork, but an National Film Board movie so Canadians can get easier access to it (Torontonians esp at the NFB HQ at Adelade and John)

COMIC - The New Teen Titans Annual #1 - Enter The Vanguard, intergalactic bail bondsmen, or something… never to be seen again… for a reason.

COMIC - Marshall Law #1 - Extreme dystopian superhero future satire, something like what Mark Miller would write if he knew how to write anything more than action sequences.

COMIC - Metal Men tpb - Absolutely manic retelling of the origin of the Metal Men (amongst other things), rife with technobabble and science-fact, and more plot lines than you can shake your dizzy head at.

DVD - Flight of the Conchords Season 2 Episodes 5 - 10 - The end. Boo. The weakest episodes of the season were the first and the last, but there’s some serious bellylaughs in-between. If you’re in need of a fresh cast member on your show, instead of adding a baby or a monkey, try the Prime Minister of New Zealand.

CD - Howie B: Turn the Dark Off - dark yet peppy, moody yet bouncy, this is solid, engaging crunchy techno with a jazz flavor

MOVIE - Annie Hall - Pretty much renowned as Woody Allen’s best film (or a toss up with Manhattan) I’m still not sure I actually like the Woody Allen persona thus I don’t actually like Annie Hall that much (love the young Chris Walken spot tho). I noticed my father-in-law has a dozen of his films on DVD which I’ll have to borrow.

NET - Radio Free GAK podcast eps 72 - 75 - catching up after not downloading all July episodes. A marvelous tribute to the moon in ep 75, a nifty Manitoban themed ep 72, and an eye opening Peter Gabriel profile in ep 73.

NET - Doug Loves Movies podcast (2 eps) - the Morgan Murphy, Matt Braunger and TJ Miller episode was inappropriately-laugh-out-loud-at-work funny while the “Free Radio” episode was kind of an all-around dud.

CD - Nicola Conte: Jet Sounds - Perhaps the best cd in my collection I never listen to. This is why I need to purge, to find stuff like this. Bossa Nova mixed with dub and jazz, ever so sweet.

NET - Radiohead/Amplive - Rainy Days - the official unofficial controversial In Rainbows remix album. Free.

DVD - The Great Buck Howard - A schmaltzy semi-factual memoir of life on the road with the Amazing Kreskin (John Malcovich as the Kreskin-like titular character). Colin Hanks makes for a very unappealing/unconvincing leading man (much would have preferred co-star Adam Scott in the lead, but that’s nepotism for you when papa Hanks is producing), but Emily Blunt is great, like a more versatile Zooey Deschanel. Decent if you can get past the Hanks factor.

DVD - I Love You Man - perhaps not the most hilarious of the recent Apatow-offspring productions, but it earns every laugh and it has a terrific heart. I could relate. Nice to see Paul Rudd showing some versitility playing against type as someone more demure and genuine. Jason Segel’s character was nowhere near as cringingly abrasive as the commercials made him out to be.

COMIC - Wednesday Comics #6 - I’m absolutely loving the format, I’m the hell enjoying reading strips from week to week, even the ones I don’t care that much about. Plus, I now <3 Amanda Connor. Boo on forgetting to put numbers on the Metamorpho Snakes and Ladders game board.

NET - Podcasts - Radio Free GAK #76 has a terrific Iceladic theme (yes, there's Bjork, but not only Bjork... could you imagine all this great music coming out of a population of 300,000?). The latest Doug Loves Movies has Adam Carolla and Patton Oswalt in extra-length DLM hilarity.

DVD - Spartan - David Mamet's underrated missing-president's-Daughter procedural I had watched before and forgot that I had. It was like 100 minutes of deja vu. You really don't want to be Scott (Val Kilmer)'s second.

NET - Podcasts - Rock On London #12/13 - Mar Sellars’ podcast finally returns after a near 3 year hiatus. Rock Over London. Rock On Chicago.

COMIC - Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers #4 - Lockjaw totally p0wns Thanos, as it should be, so it is written. And sweeeet, it’s going to be an ongoing in 2010.

COMIC - JSA vs. Kobra #3/G.I. Joe #8 - JSA vs Kobra is shaping up so much better than the somewhat painfully decompressed G.I. Joe. After the first issue the JSA knew exactly who they were dealing with… it’s 8 issues on and G.I. Joe is still in the dark about who they’re facing.

COMIC - Red Herring #1 - I don’t think I’ve read a more annoying comic this year. Pity, because I quite like artist Philip Bond.

COMIC - We Kill Monsters #1 & 2 - From the creators of the most awesome “The Lost Room” comes this not the most awesome comic. An awkward and disappointing read.

MOVIE - Superman II - Appx 20 min in an Eiffel Tower terrorist says “This is the boring bit” . Boy you said it, buddy. I like how the elevator car explodes in space with equal, if not greater force than the Death Star explosion, and with such a boom that the sonic concussive force breaks the Phantom Zone in half. (And by “I like how…” I mean I don’t really like it). And how they’re talking in the vacuum of space… tricksy Kryptonians. Hey, Cliff Claven! I needed to stop watching it, as it was rotting my brain from the inside out, but I didn’t. I paid for it with a cellophane “S” shield wrapping around my face and suffocating the oxygen from my brain.

DVD - My Winnipeg - The first 20 minutes are a bit of the old pretentious Canadian cinematic poetry, but that effeteness gives way to a deliciously bizarre narrative collage of photos, found video, reenactments and set pieces to create a wild fantasy about Winnipeg’;s history. “Ledge Man”, “If Day” and more imaginative fictions blend with Guy Maddin’s personal recollections for a quite enjoyable experimental docu-comedy.

MOVIE - District 9 - Starting off as a faux-documentary, the film’s narrative style couldn’t sustain the story and thus it wound up blending the documentary aspect with traditional follow-the-characters style storytelling. That’s about the worst thing I can say about the film, which is a gut wrenching Apartheid parable fused almost seamlessly with an action blockbuster. The aliens and their shanty town are seamlessly integrated into the real-world Johannesburg with some stunning special effects, but the truth behind their origins and culture is mostly left to speculation, leaving the film riddled with mind-teasing questions.

NET - Das Racist “Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell” - I’m so far behind on my memes… it’s an excessively redundant song but jesus does it ever infect your brain.

NET - Radiohead “These are my twisted words” - Free Radiohead. I have no problem with that. Like the shoegazer vibe.

DVD - One Week - Ben (Joshua Jackson) finds out he has probably-terminal cancer, buys a motorcycle, ditches his fiancee, and travels across Canada in search of Grumps (psst. Pacey, he’s in Brantford /in joke/). Actually an enjoyable, often amusing, occasionally quirky dose of Canadiana. Kinda makes you want to take a road trip. The message of the film, however, seems to unfortunately embrace the selfishness that most men innately lean towards.

DVD - The Chaser - Korean cinema seems to have come out of nowhere as a land of exceptional filmmaking, although it’s like all the filmmakers have emerged from a David Fincher style school. The Closer finds a former corrupt police detective now running a call girl business uncovering the identity of a mass murderer. Instead of using his detective skills to chase the man through town, the bad guy is caught in the first act, and the remainder of the film is spent trying to come up with enough evidence to hold him, and to hopefully save the life of one of his current victims. Dark, yes, with a moment or two of brutal graphic violence, but surprising moments of black humor and an incredibly gripping race-against-time style pace will not let you turn away. The fight sequences are classic.

NET - Podcasts - Stereoscopic Redoubt [fill-in] - “Blazing beaded curtains” (2009 July 30) - I’ve heard of exactly none of these artists, but it was a really good GAK-fill-in show.
-Radio Free GAK #77- a damn solid mix of randomness + a John Hughes tribute. “Holiday Road” is a bliss-filled blast-from-the-past.

DVD - Step Brothers - Funnier than Talladega Nights (which arguably isn’t saying much), but the joke of Ferrell and JC Reilly acting like petulant 8-year-olds starts to get stale mid-way through, making the film seem over-long. Richard Jenkins also falls flat in the comedy department in the father role. I’m betting the bonus features are more entertaining.

COMIC - Wednesday Comics #8 - DiDio just lost me with an anachronistic joke in Metal Men, Wonder Woman looked tonnes better this week, the Flash was ah-may-zing as are both Hawkman and Adam Strange.

COMIC - Brave and the Bold #26 - The Spectre meets Xombi as written by Xombi creator John Rozum. A serious, dark and intense paranormal team-up which made me immediately recall why I loved Xombi so much. The final page was a bit corny but otherwise a fantastic read.

MUSIC - The xx: “Basic Space” and “Crystallized” - two tracks from this new band which sound not too dissimilar to Stars, quite frankly, only less sweepingly epic (minimalism seems to be a point with this band) and with a bit (just a bit) more drum machining.

MUSIC - Difinitive Swim + African Swim - love free music.

COMIC - Batgirl #1 - Spoiler Alert! Who is the new Batgirl? Even the “Spoiler Alert” spoils it as the Spoiler, Stephanie Brown, takes over the mantle of the bat…girl. With Birds of Prey defunct, former Batgirl Barbara Gordon also plays a supporting role, and even most recent Batgirl Cassandra Cain puts in an appearance to highlight the transition… it’s an all Batgirl book, and I’m damn surprised by how much I liked it.

COMIC - 28 Days Later #1 - Plotted by Alex Garland to bridge the gap between 28 Days Later and its sequel, it’s a decent if somewhat routine start that feels like Dark Horse movie spin-offs from the early ’90’s (for better and for worse).

COMIC - X-Factor #47 - didn’t see that one comin’…

TV - Parks and Rec - Gave it a second chance, and my opinion remains the same: decent but too much like the Office and I got bored of the Office years ago.

DVD - Step Brothers (Audio Commentary) - The second musical commentary (after “Commentary the Musical” on the Dr. Horrible DVD) I’ve listened to this year, only this one is improvised, with a time out to interview a wonderfully game NBA’s Baron Davis. Skip the movie, “watch” the audio commentary.

DVD - Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story - I quite enjoyed this film in the theaters back in ‘06 and it’s still a delightfully quirky film-within-a-film with a strong “Extras” vibe. Wish I had time to listen to the commentary with Bryden and Coogan.

iTUNES - Hard ‘n’ Phirm: Horses and Grasses - worth the acquisition for “Pi” alone.

iTUNES - De La Soul: Are You In?:Nike + Original Run - still digesting, but it’s bouncy. While I quite like the feel of the Continuous Mix, I’m sad I can’t pull out specifics songs to listen to on their own.

COMIC - Batman: Streets of Gotham #3 - Dick and Damian are keeping an eye on Hush, who’s now posing as the deceased Bruce Wayne. And Mr. Zsasz gets a suit, meanwhile Manhunter kicks some nasty woman’s skinless ass.

COMIC - Criminal Vol 1: Coward - Nobody in comics does crime like Ed Brubaker, nobody, and “Coward” a criminal you both root for and are kind of scared of. Sean Philips nails the visuals with, as ever, impeccable pacing.

COMIC - Ex Machina #44 - woah, this is getting twisted. The final arc is going to be a doozy. I think I just might like this series more than Y: The Last Man.

COMIC - The Unwritten #4 - a rather weak non-ending to an otherwise great storyline.

DVD - Rachel Getting Married - Rachel’s recovering-addict sister Kim returns home for her wedding and it’s all drama, drama, drama. And a fine drama it is, in fact, quite surprisingly so. The wedding rehearsal/prep/ceremony scenes dragged on a bit long though, as this movie is indeed about Kim and not Rachel’s wedding.

NET - Podcast - Doug Loves Movies with guests Tom Arnold and Dax Shepard - Either Tom Arnold gets a bad rap or gives himself a bad rap but he’s a seriously funny guy and pretty much takes over the bulk of the episode.
- Radio Free GAK ep 78 - the quasi Michael Jackson tribute episode, chock-a-block with great tunes veering wildly all over the map.

TV - Bob Sagat: That Ain’t Right - Sagat obliterates his “family friendly” image within seconds of hitting the stage and while initially his frenetic ribaldry seems forced after a numbing 40 minutes you just know the guy is wrong. His jokes are so-so, but it’s his own reactions to his jokes that is truly funny.

DVD - Tyson - Not quite a documentary, but more of a self-assessment from the curiously troubled boxing champ. The man has gained some incredible perspective about his life and has achieved a self-awareness that is fascinating and commendable.

COMIC - Wednesday Comics #8 - Thumbs up: Supergirl, Hawkman, Batman, Metamorpho | Thumbs down: Superman, Teen Titans, Green Lantern, Sgt. Rock

COMIC - Detective Comics #856 - Maggie Sawyer and Kate Kane all tuxed out dancing together at a formal… a beautiful scene, Misters Rucka and Williams.

COMIC - The Muppet Show: Here Come The Muppets tpb - somewhere near the top of my best of ‘09 list, an absolutely delightful read.

COMIC - Batman and Robin #3 - I have no idea what just happened but it delights me so. Thanks again Grant Morrison.

DVD - Idiocracy - Mike Judge’s rather maligned Office Space follow-up is his “Futurama”, postulating that the stupid shall rule the earth. The premise is funny, and execution initially impressive, but loses steam about the time Luke Wilson is enlisted to fix the planet. New crush on Maya Rudolph though.

TV - Wet Hot American Summer - The Stella/The State guys (+ Paul Rudd, Jeanine Garafalo, Elizabeth Banks, Molly Shannon and more) riff on the 80’s Summer Camp movies to varying degrees of hilarity. Chris Meloni (L&O:SVU, Oz) kills every scene he’s in. The man needs to do more comedy.

COMIC - Beta Ray Bill: Godhunter #3 (of 3) - Beta Ray Bill totally pussies out and saves Galactus instead of allowing him to be receive the killing blow. Noble? Yes. Cop-out? Yes. Everything back to normal by the end? Yes. Disappointed.

COMIC - Squared Circle #1 - Haligonian Dave Hewlett’s mini-comic is a loving tribute to 1980’s wrestling, working both in the ring and behind the scenes. His illustrations of the matches are absolutely inspired (using angles tv cameras could never capture). It’s not a spoof or parody, but it also isn’t as depressing as “The Wrestler”, it’s instead an earnest and well done book that any WWF fan from back in the day will go nuts over.

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