My Netflix instant queue is packed with foreign films. Especially southeast Asia. For some reason, I never watch these films by myself. Luckily, I have a friend in the same predicament to join me in my cinematic tourism. Thanks Justin.
Arn: The Knight Templar: C: This movie refused to end. As the credits finally started I found out it was based on a trilogy, and you could certainly tell. It had so much story to cram in, there wasn’t enough time for anything to properly develop let alone a decent action scene.
The Good, the Bad, the Weird: B-: Here, Korea crafted something like a weird Indiana Jones meets a spaghetti western. The action sequences were long and ridiculous, in a good way, but the plot and characters left something to be desired. I was also surprised to find myself laughing several times at the slapstick character representing “the Weird” of the movie’s title. Cheesy, but mostly fun.
I’m always leery of collecting trade paperbacks of ongoing comic series, mainly due to their ephemeral nature, where completion of the story arc is at the whim of sales. They also sometimes use up their initial story ideas and start following plots “where the characters take them.” We’ll see if Chew and Atomic Robo suffer this fate.
Chew vol 4: Flambe: B+: I like where this comic is going, but it’s starting to get unwieldy. Such a myriad of characters making cameos deludes some of the development they received in earlier volumes. Still, I applaud the shaking of the central concept. And the hints at the changes in direction, though radical, are also enticing.
Atomic Robo vol 5: The Deadly Art of Science: B-: Visiting Atomic Robo’s origin is a fine experience, but an entire trade doesn’t need to be devoted to it. Fighting gangsters with a single bland robot doesn’t entertain when the previous volumes had interdementional aliens, vampires, animated landmarks, and other action packed hyperbole.
The Time Tombs 