I made a decision some time ago about how I was going to approach updating this site. I wasn’t going to turn it into an online journal; I was only going to post when I felt I had something at least moderately interesting to talk about. Reading Kevin Smith’s Blog recently has cemented for me that this is a wise philosophy. Don’t get me wrong –I dig Kevin Smith’s sense of humor and his films. However I don’t feel like I need to know about every time he takes a shit or jacks-off. But that’s just me; that’s how I roll. I’m not trying to steer people away from Smith’s site. In amongst the scatological references there are some amusing anecdotes and some genuine information about his upcoming projects. It’s just that you have to wade through a lot of minutiae to get to it.
But this is a slippery slope, isn’t it? Here I am violating my own rule. Sure, now you know my philosophy on blogging but is your life any richer for it? –Perhaps not but at least you didn’t have to hear about me rubbin’ one out.
GLADIATOR (Extended Edition)
2000
Ridley Scott –Director
David Franzoni, John Logan and William Nicholson –Writers
***1/2 (out of five)
Parts of this movie don’t work for me. Comodus’ incessant whining becomes tiresome (despite fine work from Joaquin Phoenix) and the idea that a Roman Emperor would actually do battle with a gladiator in the arena is preposterous. Still, the parts that do work work very well indeed. I enjoy Russell Crowe’s heart-felt performance and I greatly appreciate the mythic touch the writers gave to what could have been a routine actioner. The fact that our hero wants nothing more than to join his family in Elysium gives Gladiator a resonance it might not otherwise have had. In the end, when Maximus does indeed see his wife and son again in the afterlife, the film transcends its baser elements and works on a more profound level. We are happy (in a bittersweet way) for our hero even though he has just passed on. That seems to me a neat trick.
[As of this writing, I have not listened to the commentary track by Crowe and director Ridley Scott. I understand that it is very entertaining. I have watched the feature-length documentary on disc two and found it to be well-done. It starts in a fairly routine way (reminding me of every other EPK I've ever seen) but slowly becomes more in-depth and interesting. Overall, this new set is a worthy purchase.]
1602
Marvel Comics
Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert
2004
Neil Gaiman is the best writer working in comics. The Sandman elevated him to god-like status among comics fans (and won him not a few converts in the mainstream arena as well). 1602 does much to perpetuate his already sterling reputation. I will say that the book almost requires a working knowledge of the Marvel Universe as a barrier to entry. You pretty much have to have been raised on this stuff in order to get all of the references. Fortunately, almost any guy who grew up in the 70s (and a lot of the girls too I’d wager) had Marvel Comics in their life to one degree or another. Beyond the sort of “in-joke” appeal of 1602 there is a lot to reward the reader. You definitely begin to become attached to these characters and are sad to see some of them expire –just as you are thrilled when the story delivers one of its many left field revelations.
If I had any complaints about 1602, it would be perhaps that the story is too short. Just as I found myself becoming entrenched in its world it was all over. This is hardly a criticism however. –I know that Marvel is launching a series based on this initial story but it is not being written by Mr. Gaiman. This causes me some hesitation. I can’t imagine these characters and situations without the able hand of ol’ Neil.
Yet again, Gaiman delivers us a tapestry of rich character and a genuine sense of the Mythological. He has a rare gift.
Since I’m on a Memory Lane kick here let me share my other most recent touchstone to my youth: Bloom County. I loved this comic strip during its initial run and I recently re-read all of the trade paperback collections. I must say that it holds up pretty well. Sure, there are topical 80s references that date the work from time to time but, for the most part, Berkeley Breathed’s characters and humor still stand the test of time. The drawing style recalls nicely the best animation of the 40s and 50s and the comedy is terrifically idiosyncratic. I can’t say that I’m a huge fan of the strip’s current incarnation (Opus) but taking another spin through the County of Bloom was a lot fun.
As I indicated, I own all of the Bloom County books and that’s a good thing given how they’re all now out of print. This is strange to me given what a huge part of the culture BC was during the 80s and 90s. You can still wander into your local bookstore and pick up a Calvin and Hobbes collection or a Far Side calendar but it’s almost as though Bloom County never happened. I wonder why that is…
Recently I’ve been reliving a bit of my adolescence by paying a call on Conan of Cimmeria. I’m not talking about the half-assed feature film made by John Milius in 1982. I’m talking about the real Conan, the Conan of Robert E. Howard and Roy Thomas. The movie gets a small handfull of things right but it might just as well have been called Steve the Barbarian for all of the things it gets wrong. Doubtless certain concessions had to be made in the casting of Arnold Schwarzenegger –Ahnuld wasn’t at that time what you would call a Master Thespian. Conan isn’t a dimwitted lout in the original short stories or in the terrific comics of the 1970s. Sure, he can spilt a skull with the best of them but he’s also cunning and intelligent (at least in the manner of an uncivilized barbarian).
I’ve learned a bit in rereading Howard’s short stories. Yeah, they’re pulpy and predictable but they’re also fiercely compelling and utterly free of literary fat. Talk about cutting to the chase. These tales are almost 100% action –and that isn’t a slam. Some of our modern novelists and screenwriters could learn a thing or two about plot and pacing from good ol’ Robert E. Sadly, Howard committed suicide at age 30 but he left behind a remarkably iconic character.
Dark Horse Comics has not only begun reissuing the stellar Roy Thomas/ John Buscema comics of the 70s (in handsome volumes each containing 8 or 9 comics) they’ve also begun a new series by Kurt Busiek and Cary Nord. Both of these series –old and new– are damn good reads.
Thinking about Al Shottlekotte reminded me of the Uncle Al Show, Cincinnati’s local children’s television program. I have only vague recollections of this show but I know it featured Uncle Al (the gent with the accordian below), Captain Windy (who could fly), and a creepy clown.
Follow the link above and check out some of the trivia. Apparently it’s the longest running children’s television show in the U.S.
I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. One of our local newscasters was named Al Schottelkotte (that’s pronounced “Shottle-kotty”). For some odd reason that name popped into my head again after many many years (it’s kind of a funky name after all). The guy was on the air in Cincy for something crazy like 35 years and he was a fixture in the city. (One of our other local newscasters was Nick Clooney, father of George.) (One of our other local newscasters was Jerry Springer, father of horrifically bad television.)
I realize this may mean nothing to those of you who didn’t grow up in southwest Ohio (and maybe not even then) but, what the hell, get your own damn blog, ya bastards.
Edited 9.01.06. Check out this entry…
Crabapple Cove at Two
A new format, a new method of site management. I just installed Wordpress because I didn’t want to deal with html anymore. I got the idea from Kevin Smith’s website (I even swiped the template he was using). Right now the site is pretty bare bones but I intend to slowly trick it out with a revised visual theme and some additional pages…
A quick update: ‘Round about the time these blog posts ended I started working as an Assistant Editor on a documentary. That was consuming so much of my time that I became derelict in my movie reviewing duties. Yes, I’ve seen numerous things in the interim but have not posted any of my comments. (Batman Begins, The Wedding Crashers, and 40 Year Old Virgin were all I thought better than average summer fare. The Fantastic Four and The Island, however, were definitely sub-par.)
The editing gig has ended and now I’m working at an agency in a jack-of-all-trades type position.
Recent Comments