The Inside Of A Fake Leg

Bought
Iron Man #2, Warren Ellis, Et Al
Adam Strange #4, Andy Diggle, Et Al
What If...Karen Page Had Lived, Brian Michael Bendis, Et Al
What If...Jessica Jones Had Joined The Avengers, Brian Michael Bendis, Et Al
Superman #212, Brian Azzarello, Jim Lee, Et Al
Superman/Batman #16, Jeph Loeb, Et Al
The Walking Dead #14, Robert Kirkman, Et Al
Ultimate Fantastic Four #14, Warren Ellis, Adam Kubert, Et Al
Ultimate Nightmare #4, Warren Ellis, Et Al
Teen Titans #19, Geoff Johns, Et Al
Legion Of Super-Heroes #1, Mark Waid, Et Al
Anchorman/Wake-Up Ron Burgundy, (DVD) Adam McKay, Will Ferrell, Et Al
Port Of Shadows, (DVD/CC: 245) Marcel Carne, Et Al
The Lower Depths, (DVD/CC: 239) Akira Kurosawa, Jean Renoir, Et Al
The Rules Of The Game, (DVD/CC: 216) Jean Renoir, Et Al
Le Trou, (DVD/CC: 129) Jacques Becker, Et Al

Actually SRIW
Iron Man #2, Warren Ellis, Et Al
Adam Strange #4, Andy Diggle, Et Al
What If...Karen Page Had Lived, Brian Michael Bendis, Et Al
What If...Jessica Jones Had Joined The Avengers, Brian Michael Bendis, Et Al
Superman #212, Brian Azzarello, Jim Lee, Et Al
Superman/Batman #16, Jeph Loeb, Et Al
The Walking Dead #14, Robert Kirkman, Et Al
Ultimate Fantastic Four #14, Warren Ellis, Adam Kubert, Et Al
Ultimate Nightmare #4, Warren Ellis, Et Al
Teen Titans #19, Geoff Johns, Et Al
Legion Of Super-Heroes #1, Mark Waid, Et Al
Anchorman/Wake-Up Ron Burgundy, (DVD) Adam McKay, Will Ferrell, Et Al
Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto, (DVD/CC: 14) Hiroshi Inagaki, Et Al
Fargo, (DVD) Joel & Ethan Coen, Et Al
Bad Education, Pedro Almodovar, Et Al
Talk To Her, (DVD) Pedro Almodovar, Et Al
The Rest Of The Polysyllabic Spree, Nick Hornby
Some Of Sideways, Rex Pickett
The Rest Of Angel: Season One, (DVD) Joss Whedon, David Greenwalt, Et Al

So, as you can see, I read every single comic I picked up this week.  With no standouts (i.e. no books so anticipated that they had to be peeked at while stopped at traffic lights) I didn't have the highest hopes for the week in general.  I was pleasantly surprised, though, when almost every single book was above average in quality.  (Sorry Teen Titans, but you didn't manage the "above".  And those What Ifs were pretty slight.)  This week's superstar was undoubtedly Warren Ellis, shooting three for three on his Marvel work.  Nightmare finally got interesting, Iron Man was gorgeous and highly intriguing, and UFF actually made me appreciate the work of a Kubert Brother!  (I'm finding I have much less of a problem with Adam these days, as opposed to Andy.)  I've said in these pages a while ago that from the start UFF is the book best suited to completely own the Manga market, and the N-Zone storyline is possibly the best example of it.  Detailed spreads, kids put in harms way, it's got it all.  Not to be outdone, Mark Waid does the impossible by simultaneously making me forget both my distate for Barry Kitson and any misgivings about completely eradicating decades of the only convoluted continuity I really had any interest in someday piecing together.  He's made Legion into a really incredible book and seeing him jumpstart the concept has made me want to go back and read everything he's ever done.  (I always find myself having a strange attraction to that post-Morrison JLA story he did with Bryan Hitch, for one.)  The Walking Dead was also another highlight.  Everything else was damned good.

You might also notice a few new additions to my little Criterion family.  More importantly, though, take note that I actually watched one of the ones I already had (this one in particular, actually, I must have had for over two years and still had not watched.)  Yes, as I'm doing with books, I'm going to curtail my fresh purchases of Criterions until I finish watching the ones I already own.  A startling turn of events for our hero to be sure.  Samurai I: Musashi Miayamoto turned out to be the perfect place to start.  (Although after I finish the trilogy I might, unbelievably counterproductively, start over with Grand Illusion just to see it shine on the WSHDTV.  Or maybe I'll just come back to it when I get to the end.)  On the surface, it doesn't look to be the most appealing entry in the CC.  Toshiro Mifune as a Samurai?  Upgrade.  No Kurosawa?  Downgrade.  But, surprise, the movie was actually quite gripping once you get into it.  It's about an actual legendary Samurai (Miyamoto, of Square's Brave Fencer Musashi fame) and the time in his life he spent being betrayed at almost every turn.  The shit this guy goes through is ruthless.  He comes home after his side loses a great battle and his childhood friend bails on him to hook up with a freaky mom and her 16 year old daughter, only to find that it's been taken over and everyone wants him dead.  He seeks solace with a local priest who wastes no time in hanging him from a tree and leaving him there for several days.  There's more ignominy in there, but I'm loathe to ruin the surprise.  The photography; full color, 1.33:1; is also a standout.  I remember thinking the transfer was pretty ass when I watched some of the film on my old TV, but somehow it looks significantly better on my heroic WSHDTV.  There are some spots where the film itself rocks some fading colors, but for the most part, it looks pretty fantastic.  (And this was most of the reason why I was tempted to start over and watch everything in the Collection again from #1 on.)

Speaking of transfers, something's rotten in the state of San Diego.  I was lucky enough to get my paws on all three Anchorman related discs (the film, Wake-Up, and the Best Buy Exclusive) and before I get started on how awesome they are, I have to say the Anchorman transfer sucks complete and total ass.  Samurai looked significantly better than this film.  None of this, however, actually stopped any of the film from being incredibly hilarious.  And this is without even getting into how awesome pretty much every moment of deleted and/or outtaked (outtaken?) material is.  The commentary is also fantastic, featuring both Lou Rawls and a long conversation about Adam McKay's upcoming projects, including Brek, an animated comedy about a fairy-tale cyclops.  Wake-Up, unsurprisingly, is a pretty thrown together movie, but it finally brings the lunchroom scene ("What do you mean one of those?") to the light of day and introduces us all to the incredible wonders of the Ron-Driving-While-Looking-At-Veronica-The-Entire-Time Scene.

I think that's all I've got for you this week.  The Almodovar was fantastic (especially seeing Talk To Her again.  When the dancers come out waltzing at the end?  Unbelievable.  And The-Guy-Playing-Marco?  Also unbelievable).  As far as Fargo and Angel go, man, my TV rules.

Comments

[Alex]

"We're gonna RIP THE LID OFF OF IT!"

Rudd running across the studio in that alternate take of JB kicking Baxter off the bridge.

Wain-o, Brain Man... all worth it.

And my bad about not immediately forcing you at gunpoint to see Shaun of the Dead as soon as it came out. I was under the impression that would have recognized the genius on your own. But I'll go you one better and lend you the "Spaced" marathon that was on Trio in September... if you can handle VHS for 7 hours.