Swamp Thing 77 (October 1988)

Did someone forget to tell Jamie Delano Abby is from Eastern Europe? She’s got a line about being a nervous sixteen year-old and it doesn’t seem very appropriate, given her Iron Curtain upbringings.

Actually, the guest crew of Delano and Tom Mandrake (Alcala’s on inks still) mimic Veitch so well I had no idea he didn’t write or draw it until I went back and looked. It’s a nice interlude issue, with Abby and Alec fighting a bit after her “night” with Constantine.

Delano takes his time with the pacing, following Abby through a rough day. Mandrake layers in some surprises. It’s a lovely issue, actually–it’s surprisingly two guest creators could do such a seamless, significant job.

Constantine shows up for a bit too, which would be more contrived if Delano and Mandrake didn’t introduce him so well. They slickly infer his presence before his appearance.

Excellent stuff.

CREDITS

Infernal Triangles; writer, Jamie Delano; penciller, Tom Mandrake; inker, Alfredo Alcala; colorist, Tatjana Wood; letterer, John Costanza; editor, Karen Berger; publisher, DC Comics.

Contemporaneously…

Dark Horse Presents 23 (October 1988)

The Boys 18 (May 2008)

It’s a little more traditional issue of The Boys. More traditional because Ennis returns to the series being about Butcher and Hughie, which he’s been moving away from a little. There’s still the other stuff, he just focuses on them for the finish.

The cliffhanger resolution is good–Ennis actually paces it over about half the issue. It’s a satisfactory payoff, mostly because of the unexpected ways Ennis extends it. He’s able to make the absurdly, darkly, disturbingly comedic touching. The Boys, so far, is Ennis at his most tender.

There’s a little of the Mother’s Milk subplot; again, it feels like Ennis is trying too hard. It’s too mysterious–it can’t possibly have a fulfilling payoff. As far as supporting cast, the Frenchman and the Female appear for one scene. Annie gets a big scene to herself… odd as she’s not a Boys team member.

It’s an excellent issue.

CREDITS

Good for the Soul, Conclusion; writer, Garth Ennis; artist, Darick Robertson; colorist, Tony Avina; letterer, Simon Bowland; editor, Joseph Rybandt; publisher, Dynamite Entertainment.

Contemporaneously…

Bobby (2006, Emilio Estevez)

I knew Emilio Estevez directed Bobby, but I didn’t know he also wrote it. From the dialogue and the construction of conversations, I assumed it was a playwright. There’s a certain indulgence to the dialogue, which some actors utilize well (Anthony Hopkins) and some not (Elijah Wood).

Estevez’s an exceptionally confident filmmaker here. He changes the film’s premise in the final sequence, going from a Grand Hotel look at people in the hotel where Bobby Kennedy was shot to an extremely topical, socially relevant picture about how little the world has improved between the shooting and the film’s production. He relies heavily on the audio of a Kennedy speech over the film’s action because there’s no other way it’d work. And it does work.

There are some great scenes in the film, particularly one between Demi Moore and Sharon Stone where the two former sex symbols discuss aging. Stone’s great throughout the film. Moore’s great in that scene (and okay in the rest).

Other great performances include Freddy Rodriguez, Lindsay Lohan, Jacob Vargas, Nick Cannon, Joshua Jackson, Brian Geraghty and Shia LaBeouf. Martin Sheen and Helen Hunt are both good, just not exceptional. Similarly, Christian Slater’s impressively slimy without being fantastic. Hopkins is outstanding. Only Wood and Ashton Kutcher are bad. Kutcher’s worse. Much worse.

The real acting star is Rodriguez.

Estevez gets great work from cinematographer Michael Barrett and composer Mark Isham.

Bobby is impressive work; with Estevez establishing himself as an ambitious, thoughtful, if not wholly successful, filmmaker.

3/4 ★★★

CREDITS

Written and directed by Emilio Estevez; director of photography, Michael Barrett; edited by Richard Chew; music by Mark Isham; production designer, Patti Podesta; produced by Edward Bass, Michel Litvak and Holly Wiersma; released by The Weinstein Company.

Starring Harry Belafonte (Nelson), Joy Bryant (Patricia), Nick Cannon (Dwayne), Emilio Estevez (Tim), Laurence Fishburne (Edward), Brian Geraghty (Jimmy), Heather Graham (Angela), Anthony Hopkins (John), Helen Hunt (Samantha), Joshua Jackson (Wade), David Krumholtz (Agent Phil), Ashton Kutcher (Fisher), Shia LaBeouf (Cooper), Lindsay Lohan (Diane), William H. Macy (Paul), Svetlana Metkina (Lenka), Demi Moore (Virginia), Freddy Rodríguez (Jose), Martin Sheen (Jack), Christian Slater (Daryl), Sharon Stone (Miriam Ebbers), Jacob Vargas (Miguel), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Susan) and Elijah Wood (William).


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Coffee and Cigarettes (1986, Jim Jarmusch)

Technically, Coffee and Cigarettes is most impressive at the beginning. The short’s simple–Steven Wright meets Roberto Benigni for coffee. When Benigni makes room for Wright, Jarmusch’s handling of the process is amazing. It’s a quick series of shots; beautifully composed and edited together.

As for the rest of the short, it’s a fine diversion but… I guess cooler is the right word. It’s cooler than it is good. Wright’s dialogue could be a stand-up monologue, only Benigni gleefully interrupts him. The best moment is when Benigni says he doesn’t understand what Wright’s saying. Watching Benigni–and hearing his responses–it’s impossible not to wonder if he understands what’s going on. Finding out he doesn’t makes it even better,

Jarmusch lets the short run out instead of following through with the gently absurdist ending, which is too bad.

Still, Coffee and Cigarettes is a great use of five minutes.

2/3 Recommended

CREDITS

Directed by Jim Jarmusch; written by Jarmusch, Roberto Benigni and Steven Wright; director of photography, Tom DiCillo; edited by Melody London; produced by Jim Stark.

Starring Roberto Benigni and Steven Wright.


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OTHER COFFEE AND CIGARETTES FILMS
OTHER FILMS DIRECTED BY JIM JARMUSCH
OTHER 1986 RELEASES

The Boys 17 (April 2008)

Ennis is a funny, funny man. Even when he’s being cruel, he’s funny. He’s also come up with a good way–maybe–to excuse Hughie for killing that awful teenage superhero again. The teen hero is now a zombie and pitiful, but Ennis figured it out.

The issue’s mostly split between Hughie and Annie. She’s spying on her teammates, he’s working on his assignment with the teenage sidekicks. They meet up at the park and then Ennis comes up with another hilarious scene. One has to wonder if he just writes them down as they come to him and fits them into stories later.

Mother’s Milk has a mysterious scene, which teases for later. Ennis better be holding out something good for him. After finally giving the Frenchman and the Female a story, Mother’s Milk deserves one too.

It’s another excellent issue… with one of the most frightening cliffhangers ever.

CREDITS

Good for the Soul, Part Three; writer, Garth Ennis; artist, Darick Robertson; colorist, Tony Avina; letterer, Simon Bowland; publisher, Dynamite Entertainment.

Contemporaneously…

The Thing (2011, Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.)

The big problem with The Thing, besides it being pointless (though it needn’t be), is its stupidty. While van Heijningen is a perfectly mediocre director, he doesn’t know how to add mood or make something disturbing. Some of it probably isn’t his fault… I can’t see him caring about the addition of Eric Christian Olsen’s third wheel in the romantic chemistry between Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Joel Edgerton, for example. It’s just the filmmakers in general. They aren’t bright.

For example, who casted Olsen as a smart guy in the first place? He’s clearly not smart. Poor Winstead and Edgerton try–and Winstead can sell the scientist pretty well–but they’re stuck in a terrible cast. Ulrich Thomsen’s mad scientist belongs in a Roger Corman knockoff.

The filmmakers seem to understand they shouldn’t be telling the story of some Norwegians in English, but whenever the Norwegians panic, they speak English. That detail seems somewhat nonsensical.

If The Thing were a traditional sequel or prequel (i.e. coming within ten years of the original), it might concern developing the original’s mythology. But coming almost thirty years later, with zero participation from the original filmmakers, it’s not… it’s a potential (and thankfully failed) franchise starter.

It could have been neat though, since it’s essentially a remake of the original Thing from Another World in terms of plot. Sadly, it’s not neat. It’s terrible and cheap.

Eric Heisserer’s script is asinine.

Watching it, I just felt bad for Winstead. She’s too classy for it.

0/4 ⓏⒺⓇⓄ

CREDITS

Directed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.; screenplay by Eric Heisserer, based on a story by John W. Campbell Jr.; director of photography, Michel Abramowicz; edited by Peter Boyle, Julian Clarke and Jono Griffith; music by Marco Beltrami; production designer, Sean Haworth; produced by Marc Abraham and Eric Newman; released by Universal Pictures.

Starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Kate Lloyd), Joel Edgerton (Sam Carter), Ulrich Thomsen (Dr. Sander Halvorson), Eric Christian Olsen (Adam Finch), Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Derek Jameson), Paul Braunstein (Griggs), Trond Espen Seim (Edvard Wolner), Kim Bubbs (Juliette), Jørgen Langhelle (Lars), Jan Gunnar Røise (Olav), Stig Henrik Hoff (Peder), Kristofer Hivju (Jonas), Jo Adrian Haavind (Henrik), Carsten Bjørnlund (Karl), Jonathan Walker (Colin) and Ole Martin Aune Nilsen (Matias).


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And Let God Do the Rest (2012, Ben Gelera)

It’s difficult to start And Let God Do the Rest without preconceived notions. Overindulgent movies sometimes have lengthy titles based on pseudo-familiar phrases. Rest is one of those times; it’s undeservedly overindulgent. It’s also mind-boggling. The short opens with a news report about a mental patient escaping while on a field trip.

Really. A mental patient on a field trip.

Rest might be able to get away with it, but the acting and the script get in the way. Director Gelera and cinematographer Michael Woxland do an amazing job. Even after the setting changes to a torture chamber–Rest is a sensitive revenge picture–their technical abilities are clear. It’s a shame Gelera’s skills don’t include directing actors.

Once Rest makes the turn for the worse, it doesn’t get any better. Those first few minutes are lusciously composed (even if the writing and acting in them is lame).

1/3 Not Recommended

CREDITS

Directed and edited by Ben Gelera; written by Byron Vasquez Jr. and Armond Kinard; director of photography, Michael Woxland; music by Cory Perschbacher; production designer, Reed Johns; produced by Gelera and Robert Amico.

Starring Azel James (Leonard Cease), Byron Vasquez Jr. (Brian), Jade Tailor (Megan Cease) and Michelle Renee Allaire (Diana).


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The Boys 16 (March 2008)

Something about the Frenchman this issue makes me wonder if he’s supposed to be some kind of homage to Steve Dillon. Robertson draws him, in his big moment–the Frenchman’s first in the series–with a very Steve Dillon-esque nose. He and the Female get a lot of time this issue. The less nice way of saying it is Ennis finally gets around to them.

While the Frenchman and the Female basically share the same plot, Hughie has his own continue with Annie. He’s also got the one where he’s supposed to take out the annoying teen superhero again. Butcher, however, has almost nothing to do. He and Mother’s Milk bicker and watch some surveillance footage; the footage will undoubtedly be important later, but Ennis plays it for humor now.

The Boys is evening out. Ennis finally gets around to emphasizing the supporting players, making for a great read.

CREDITS

Good for the Soul, Part Two; writer, Garth Ennis; artist, Darick Robertson; colorist, Tony Avina; letterer, Simon Bowland; publisher, Dynamite Entertainment.

Contemporaneously…

Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986, Brian Gibson)

There’s not much to recommend Poltergeist II: The Other Side, but it does promote family “values” while quite literally demonizing Christianity. That juxtaposing alone, however, does not make it worthwhile.

The film is the perfect example of a bad sequel. There are budget issues, plotting issues (the death of villain Julian Beck during filming couldn’t have helped) but also a strange refocusing of the characters. Somewhere in Poltergeist II there’s this compelling story of Craig T. Nelson overcoming his alcoholism to become a spiritual warrior of the Carlos Castaneda variety. Sadly, that story has no place here.

The Other Side shows exactly why good films should not be turned into franchises. Here, in order to stay relevant, the filmmakers turn JoBeth Williams into an unwilling clairvoyant, something she passed on to daughter Heather O’Rourke. But Williams has no other story. She’s appealing, but her performance isn’t particularly good. Same goes for O’Rourke, who has a lot to do. Oliver Robins, as the son, oscillates between okay and useless.

Special Native American mystical guest star Will Sampson is pretty good, at least seeming respectable. Given a much bigger part than in the first film, Zelda Rubinstein is awful. So is Geraldine Fitzgerald as Williams’s mother.

Beck is terrifying, easily the film’s best performance.

The special effects are decent, but visibly unenthusiastic. Jerry Goldsmith’s schizophrenic score–he uses both chants and synthesizers–is interesting.

It’s clear director Gibson understands what makes the first one great, but he can’t make this one acceptable.

The Boys 15 (February 2008)

Lots of stuff going on here. Some of it is setup, some of it is cleanup. Butcher sees his lady friend from the CIA–the dog does do something hilarious, even if Robertson doesn’t focus on him like he used to–while Annie (the Christian Supergirl stand-in) has a crisis of faith and Hughie gets a secret mission of his own.

What’s strange is how nice the issue turns out to be. Butcher and the CIA lady, amidst their angry banter, are sort of cute together. Hughie and Annie are positively adorable. Shame the rest of The Boys have to sit the issue out.

There’s also a lot of information in the issue, mostly in Annie’s section. She’s remembering her days as a big time superhero and offering commentary. It paces the issue, which is almost entirely conversation.

The issue is practically genial… as genial as Ennis gets anyway.

CREDITS

Good for the Soul, Part One; writer, Garth Ennis; artist, Darick Robertson; colorist, Tony Avina; letterer, Simon Bowland; publisher, Dynamite Entertainment.