Sunday, June 26, 2011

A Sunday Review

Two weeks in which I'm traveling more than staying at home, so two Sundays without a Sunday Review. How did you people survive without me? Very well, no doubt. Get ready for another break in reviewing while I go off to Oz in a couple of weekends. Ok, here's some of what I watched and read over the last three weeks.

TV this week:

  • Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated: "Nightfright" - I love the Vincent Price tribute. Eric called the villain in this one as soon as the person showed up not in costume. This one felt like an old-fashioned episode from my childhood. It was goofy, pointless, and the villain had way too much power. Loved it.
  • Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated: "The Siren's Song" - A siren begs for Velma's help in solving a mystery, and the crew take up the challenge. I love the reference to Scrappy-Doo. The ongoing plot is nicely advanced by Velma in this one.
  • Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated: "Menace of the Manticore" - More about Hot Dog Water, and lots of fun spooky stuff. I definitely get the feeling that Fred's dad is not only the Mayor, but something else as well.
  • Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated: "Attack of the Headless Horror" - Early on in this one we both correctly guessed the villain of the piece, but it was still a great deal of fun. I really liked Charles.

  • Batman: The Brave and the Bold: "Scorn of the Star Sapphire!" - Lots of women in this one. The pre-credit sequence with Wonder Woman made me giggle uncontrollably. The rest... well, good enough. I enjoyed it.

  • Primeval: "Season 5 Episode 3" - Nice art gallery. Nice to see Emily being kick-butt in her own time, pity about what was going to happen to her. I'm worried about Abby and Connor's relationship, and also about what Connor has accomplished. Yikes.
  • Primeval: "Season 5 Episode 4" - Connor's new invention endangers all the gang, and nobody is happy about it. Jess reveals that she's got a serious problem. This one is really really creepy. In lots of ways. Double Yikes.

  • Young Justice: "Targets" - During tense negotiations between two warring countries, Red Arrow saves the mediator but gets into deeper water, and calls Aqualad for help. In the meantime, Miss Martian and Superboy start school and meet a bunch of people (Snapper Carr, Wendy and Marvin, Mal Duncan and Karen Beecher, lots of homages and/or potential teammates). I really like Aqualad. Yum.

  • History Detectives: "Yakima Canutt's Saddle; The Ni'ihau Incident; Civil War Cannon" - Ooh, a good one. The cannon was something I think I heard of once, it was nice to get a little more detail on it. The Zero crashing during Pearl Harbor wasn't something I knew about. It's a sad story, but fascinating. The saddle, on the other hand, wow. The name caught my attention immediately, and the story behind Yakima Canutt was a nice relaxing one after the previous two. Another great episode.



This week's movie was Green Lantern in 3D. Some caveats: I watched the trailers and clips, and virtually every time I saw one my expectations for the movie got lower. The lead, Ryan Reynolds, just completely turns me off. The more I saw of him in the role, the less I wanted to see the movie. And so I went into the theater expecting something that would not impress me. And I got what I expected. Oh, it wasn't bad for a superhero movie. It just never pulled together and made me interested. Heck, the most alive character out of all of them was Amanda Waller, and she was both in a minor role and not trying to outshine the rest. The special effects were great, but we expect that now. The story tried, but it never really pulled together well enough. It needed a few more drafts by an expert hand to line it all up. So I wasn't really disappointed, as I wasn't expecting much, but I am sad that DC can't seem to make a blockbuster movie that isn't Superman or Batman.



DCBS
Here are reviews of the DCBS comic books that I've gotten around to reading and reviewing, sorted by the original shipping date:
  • May 18th
  • Justice League of America #57 - Er, nice cliffhanger? But we like the moon!
  • Power Girl #24 - Wow. That's one way to get you into the story and really supporting the guy. I think I like Rayhan. I hope they don't kill him.
  • Zatanna #13 - That's one annoying cat. And Spectre is a twit. Not sure what to make of Detective Colton and his little revelation.
  • Tiny Titans #40 - This issue was a load of Kroc! *giggle*
  • Young Justice #4 - A pretty sobering reminder that this is still a new team and they make mistakes. Aqualad gets to show off his powers a bit.
  • Fables #105 - Not sure the cover has much to do with anything else there. As for Ozma... ouch. That had to sting a little.
  • DMZ #65 - Wow. We're coming up on a bit of a bleak ending. How is Matty going to be able to pull anything out of this mess?
  • Doctor Who: Fairytale Life #2 - That's kind of a severe sort of quarantine, isn't it? Getting into this one.
  • Stan Lee Soldier Zero #8 - Not really sure exactly what's happening with this book, nor I'm am sure why we're still buying it.
  • May 25th
  • Action Comics #901 - My interest in Doomsday is just about zero, as is my interest in this book.
  • Justice Society of America #51 - The main story, showing how Fate and the rest are fighting for Lightning, is very good. The ongoing plot with the city and Flash is surprisingly well done for just a few pages. And have I mentioned that I really really hate those Super 8 inserts?
  • Green Lantern #66 - I'm really beginning to think the Indigo rings are more about redemption than compassion. Otherwise, pretty standard stuff.
  • Green Lantern Corps #60 - Speaking of redemption, John's going to need a lot of it now, isn't he? As for Mogo, he's already been dead once, right? Right?
  • Green Lantern Emerald Warriors #10 - And finally we get down to the final battle. About time.
  • Doctor Who Ongoing V2 #5 - Neat little bit of history, well two bits of history. Fun standalone story.
  • June 1st
  • Flashpoint: Abin Sur the Green Lantern #1 - Well, this certainly suggests fairly different histories in the Flashpoint universe than in the regular DCU. Wonder how this will work out. Lots of good hints, at least.
  • Flashpoint: The World of Flashpoint #1 - Another look at the Flashpoint Universe, more clues as to what is happening, and a pretty decent story besides. Glad I got this one, even if Aquaman isn't on the cover like the preview showed.
  • Batman Beyond #6 - Terry really needs to pay attention when Bruce tells him to go invisible. And Max... whew. Getting exciting. I hope this book isn't gone for long during the relaunch.
  • Doctor Who Classics #5 - I'd read the first story once, long ago, but not the second. Both of them are pretty good.
  • Ozma of Oz #7 - Ah, Billina really gets to show off in this one. Love it!



1 comments:

Carolyn said...

Woa! I didn't know that another season of Primeval started. Got some catching up to do! Glad I'm not going for my big trip yet.