Buys
I tried. I really did. I went to the comic book store and for the third time in the last two months came back empty handed. It seems my store insists on understocking everything I like. So screw 'em. They've lost a customer.
Amazon was a lot kinder with three DVDs in this week: Bender's Big Score, the big Futurama comeback (see below); The Bourne Ultimatum, which rocked my boat so much this summer; and on the advice of The Mutt, The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler (on the same disc), the start of the Kolchak series.
"Accomplishments"
Watched and flipped Futurama: Bender's Big Score pretty much as soon as I got it. It's a handsome package which I'll talk about this week in DVD Tales, but for now let me just say I'm pretty happy to see Futurama back, even as a series of made-for-DVD features. The first one is really made for the fans, and I wouldn't be surprised if you told me every character that had ever appeared in Futurama was in it (they're not, but it feels like they are). I'll talk about it more on Tuesday.
Also flipped this week: Planet Terror, Robert Rodriguez' part of the Grindhouse project. It's perhaps unfortunate that he's done a zombie movie - we're getting a lot of those these days - but at the same time, it's very much in the spirit of exploitation films. Take something that's popular and crap out a cheap knock-off. It's very much "in the style of" with less "meaning" than I attributed Death Proof, but still a rocking good time with lots of laughs and badassery.
Finally watched 300, based on the Frank Miller comic. Looks good, if at times painterly. And certainly well made, dripping with pure macho essence. If I had a problem with it, it's the voices. The accents are mish-mashed and David Wenham's voiceover sounds like it's coming out of a much older man. Distracting. Still, it's a great, iconic story, at once fun and tragic. The idea that this was a war between reason and superstition is historical fallacy, but makes for a great theme.
Then 180 degrees from 300, I watched Wong Kar-Wai's Happy Together, an improvised film about the tumultuous (even violent) relationship between two gay men set in Argentina. Tony Leung is as riveting as ever, though the story necessarily meanders. The director's work continues to both fascinate and mystify me, in part because I'm an improv performer myself, but there's a big difference between improv acting and improv directing (which seems impossible). That and he paints a nice picture. I was surprised however to hear some Frank Zappa tracks on there, as you don't often (ever?) hear his music used in movies.
More gayness next week. I'm working my way through Priscilla Queen of the Desert right now.
Less passively, I made a few cards for my Unauthorized Doctor Who CCG this week. 15 cards for my Relative Dimensions 3 "boutique product". Basically, they're cards based on the non-canon Who stuff, like the audios and novels. But I've thrown in some Torchwood characters as well.
So there you go. Christmas coming up, I'm thinking that I might "achieve" a lot during that time...
I tried. I really did. I went to the comic book store and for the third time in the last two months came back empty handed. It seems my store insists on understocking everything I like. So screw 'em. They've lost a customer.Amazon was a lot kinder with three DVDs in this week: Bender's Big Score, the big Futurama comeback (see below); The Bourne Ultimatum, which rocked my boat so much this summer; and on the advice of The Mutt, The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler (on the same disc), the start of the Kolchak series.
"Accomplishments"
Watched and flipped Futurama: Bender's Big Score pretty much as soon as I got it. It's a handsome package which I'll talk about this week in DVD Tales, but for now let me just say I'm pretty happy to see Futurama back, even as a series of made-for-DVD features. The first one is really made for the fans, and I wouldn't be surprised if you told me every character that had ever appeared in Futurama was in it (they're not, but it feels like they are). I'll talk about it more on Tuesday.
Also flipped this week: Planet Terror, Robert Rodriguez' part of the Grindhouse project. It's perhaps unfortunate that he's done a zombie movie - we're getting a lot of those these days - but at the same time, it's very much in the spirit of exploitation films. Take something that's popular and crap out a cheap knock-off. It's very much "in the style of" with less "meaning" than I attributed Death Proof, but still a rocking good time with lots of laughs and badassery.
Finally watched 300, based on the Frank Miller comic. Looks good, if at times painterly. And certainly well made, dripping with pure macho essence. If I had a problem with it, it's the voices. The accents are mish-mashed and David Wenham's voiceover sounds like it's coming out of a much older man. Distracting. Still, it's a great, iconic story, at once fun and tragic. The idea that this was a war between reason and superstition is historical fallacy, but makes for a great theme.
Then 180 degrees from 300, I watched Wong Kar-Wai's Happy Together, an improvised film about the tumultuous (even violent) relationship between two gay men set in Argentina. Tony Leung is as riveting as ever, though the story necessarily meanders. The director's work continues to both fascinate and mystify me, in part because I'm an improv performer myself, but there's a big difference between improv acting and improv directing (which seems impossible). That and he paints a nice picture. I was surprised however to hear some Frank Zappa tracks on there, as you don't often (ever?) hear his music used in movies.More gayness next week. I'm working my way through Priscilla Queen of the Desert right now.
Less passively, I made a few cards for my Unauthorized Doctor Who CCG this week. 15 cards for my Relative Dimensions 3 "boutique product". Basically, they're cards based on the non-canon Who stuff, like the audios and novels. But I've thrown in some Torchwood characters as well.
So there you go. Christmas coming up, I'm thinking that I might "achieve" a lot during that time...
Comments
About the only folks I can think of that they didn't have are the aliens who were looking for the Ally McBeal last episode and the parents of the Poplars.
Did you watch the math special on extras? It was surprisingly fun.
And YES to Kolchak. The TV movies are fun and its great the TV series is out on DVD too. I have them both. It's such a shame the TV series died so soon. It was such fun.
In a weird bit of geek cross-pollination I'd love to see a Dr. Who meets Kolchak - that might actually be a lot of fun.
And yes I watched all extras. Or else I don't consider it "accomplished". :) Yes, a fun bit.