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Review of Sweeney Todd
A dark story about a misunderstood loner with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter starring as the leads. How can Sweeney Todd be greatly unique when compared to Tim Burton’s other films? [more]
Hinterkind Volume One Lacks Humanity
The concept of the ruins of the United States devolving into factionalism has been well-explored in other post-apocalyptic literature, but Edington refreshes the idea by incorporating monsters and races one might encounter in a game of Dungeons & Dragons. His human characters, however, leave a lot to be desired. [more]
On All-New Miracleman Annual #1
One of the oddities of Marvel finally reprinting Miracleman is the relative lack of interest it’s generated. We’re talking about a work regarded as being as important as Watchmen in super-hero comics history (and arguably even more… [more]
A Very Special Rat Queens
The latest issue of Rat Queens isn’t the logical next story in the series (that’s coming later in issue #9), but rather a diversion to explore one particular character, Braga the Orc. Part of the… [more]
Inherent Vice: Another American Masterpiece
Paul Thomas Anderson has been a director to watch, one of the true giants of the modern American cinema, for almost 20 years now. After hitting the big time with 1997’s Boogie Nights and 1999’s… [more]
“I’m Birdman”
Probably the only truly disappointing thing about Alejandro Innaritu’s Birdman is that we don’t actually get to hear Michael Keaton say, in that oft-imitated voice, “I’m Birdman.” Other than that, this is a technical tour-de-force… [more]
Opeth’s Still Life: A Review
Despite Opeth’s relative popularity, they always seem to avoid widespread recognition when it comes to the modern progressive rock/metal scene in particular, often playing second fiddle to genre heavyweights such as Tool and Porcupine Tree.… [more]
007 at 53: Dr. No (1962)
Beginning this week (and leading all the way up to Sam Mendes’s Spectre), I’m starting a run of James Bond retro reviews, looking back at the many cinematic exploits of Ian Fleming’s unflappable super-spy. So let’s start at… [more]
Whiplash: Faster, and More Intense
Like Foxcatcher, Whiplash is also a film about power relationships between men, particularly older men and younger men. But there, the comparison ends. Where Foxcatcher is measured, graceful, distanced, studied, Whiplash is a tightly wound… [more]
Sharks, Superheroes, and the End of the Showa Era
In which I review two Gamera movies, involving underwater fire breathing, superheroes, Star Destroyers, and more! [more]
Why Does it Hurt So Much: The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies
“These bats are bred for one thing only. . . WAR.” [more]
Rah, Rah, Rasputin
Ah, Rasputin. One of history’s great rock stars. And like a great rock star, he died before his time, leaving behind him enough blank spaces in his biography, with enough rumour and mythology, to attract… [more]
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Review
As Billy Boyd solemnly sings at the credits, this is Peter Jackson’s long goodbye to Middle-Earth. It has been an incredible journey, and sadly this chapter is not the best endpoint for this series. To… [more]
The Interview Review
Despite all attempts by the North Korean government to suppress Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s film, The Interview is available to the general public. Not only that, but I was privileged enough to see the… [more]
Foxcatcher
The thing about Foxcatcher is that it isn’t really a sports movie, even though it features sports. (Whiplash, on the other hand, has all the hallmarks of that genre, even though it was about music.)… [more]
Only Lovers Left Alive: Jim Jarmusch’s Great, Comic-Like Vampire Film
Only Lovers Left Alive, like some other of Jim Jarmusch’s films, seems to borrow a great deal from the visual language of comics. With an emphasis on posing, stillness, punctuated by sudden movement, a visual… [more]
I, Claudius: Poison is Queen Review
After 5 hours into the story of I, Claudius we have a critical death in the series. Few people in history have as vast an influence as Gaius Octavianus/Caesar Augustus. Augustus transformed the unstable Roman… [more]
An Adventure Time Christmas
Annie Edison: Everybody, point your magic Christmas weapons at him. Professor Ian Duncan: Oh, brother. This is ridiculous. You are enabling a delusion. Jeff Winger: The delusion you’re trying to cure is called Christmas, Duncan.… [more]
A Christmas Carol with George C. Scott
Pretty much immediately after the airing of A Christmas Carol starring George C. Scott in 1984 on CBS TV, it became the go-to version of the classic in my house when I was growing up.… [more]
Black Mirror, White Christmas
(In honour of the nature of this show, this will be as spoiler-free as I can make it and still qualify as a review… This should be quite a challenge.) The great thing (or at… [more]
Newspaper Comic Movies: Little Nemo
So newspaper comic week doesn’t leave many film related options. And the ones it does leave aren’t exactly…great. The Spirit. Garfield. You get the idea (holy shit I just realized I should’ve watched that Bill… [more]
Manifest Destiny Issue #12: A Bend in the River
This is a pivotal issue of Manifest Destiny, in which Chris Dingess and Matt Roberts are clearly changing gears, in anticipation of a new and more intense chapter of the Lewis and Clark journey. Of… [more]
Newspaper Comic Movies: The Spirit
I have to admit, I like a bad movie. A certain kind of bad movie anyways. The kind that took effort. The results of a lone crazy man off in the woods with a camera.… [more]
A Sandman Miscellany: Sandman Overture #4 Review
Written by: Neil Gaiman Art by: J.H. Williams, III Cover by: J.H. Williams, III Dave McKean Variant Cover by: J.H. Williams, III Dave McKean The long awaited Sandman Overture #4 has arrived, just in time… [more]
Movies You Should Watch: Paths of Glory
The title of this article isn’t meant to be a command. It’s not “you” the reader so much as it is a proverbial “you.” Movies a movie fan is meant to watch. I’ll tell you… [more]