-
Briefly, Movies (23 July 2025)
Adventure in Sahara (1938) D: D. Ross Lederman. S: Paul Kelly, C. Henry Gordon, Lorna Gray, Robert Fiske, Marc Lawrence, Dick Curtis, Stanley Brown. Solid enough quickie about American Kelly who up joins the French Legion. Abusive captain Gordon is terrorizing his troops–sometimes worse–and Kelly’s kid brother’s in his crosshairs. Nice production values, even if Lederman doesn’t bring much directing-wise. Kelly’s a sturdy lead, Gordon’s a great bastard; Gray’s good as the (unlikely) girlfriend. Way too short ending, though.
Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold (1986) D: Gary Nelson. S: Richard Chamberlain, Sharon Stone, James Earl Jones, Henry Silva, Robert Donner, Martin Rabbett, Aileen Marson. Better looking sequel has Chamberlain and Stone teaming up with Jones (who skillfully avoids embarrassing himself) and Hopper (a New Jersey white man in brown face as an Indian con artist holy man) to find long lost brother Rabbett. And a LOST CITY OF GOLD. Layers and layers of racism and sexism. Including Stone disappearing for the third act.
Conan the Barbarian (1982) D: John Milius. S: Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Earl Jones, Max von Sydow, Sandahl Bergman, Cassandra Gava, Gerry Lopez, Mako. Overlong but well-mounted adaptation of the Robert E. Howard character. Jones kills Schwarzenegger’s parents, setting him on a lifelong revenge arc. Along the way he makes friends and enemies, with warrior woman Bergman his love interest. Milius’s direction quickly finds its limits and not having a lead who can deliver dialogue regularly hurts. Very good special effects, though.
Conan the Destroyer (1984) D: Richard Fleischer. S: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Grace Jones, Wilt Chamberlain, Mako, Tracey Walter, Sarah Douglas, Olivia d’Abo. Unnecessarily problematic sequel has Arnold escorting (yes, intentionally) Lolita princess d’Abo on a quest. Way too cartoony, with director Fleischer indifferent to the performances. The action has its moments, but the special effects disappoint. Jones and Mako give solid performances. No one else, though Arnold’s at least game. It’s just a silly production. Oh, and Walter’s godawful.
The Congress (2013) D: Ari Folman. S: Robin Wright, Harvey Keitel, Jon Hamm, Danny Huston, Paul Giamatti, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Sami Gayle. Despite some strong sequences and a fantastic performance from Wright (playing an alternate, Penn-less version of herself), this adaptation of a Stanislaw Lem novel sputters. Mainly because more than half the movie is (albeit nicely) animated, and Wright’s not a particularly distinct voice actor. Plus, it consistently and uncritically positions the ostensible protagonist, Wright, in the male gaze.
Cool Breeze (1972) D: Barry Pollack. S: Thalmus Rasulala, Judy Pace, Lincoln Kilpatrick, Sam Laws, Margaret Avery, Pam Grier, Paula Kelly. Blaxploitation (scripted and directed by white guy Pollack) adaptation of THE ASPHALT JUNGLE keeps the “criminals are scum” messaging and proceeds to make all the Black characters… criminals. And the racist cops are heroes. Despite those big yikes (and the rampant misogyny), there’s some excellent acting, and Andrew Davis’s photography is often strong. Bad directing and editing don’t help.
Fight or Flight (2025) D: James Madigan. S: Josh Hartnett, Charithra Chandran, Marko Zaror, JuJu Chan, Julian Kostov, Sanjeev Kohli, Katee Sackhoff. Perfectly serviceable ultra-violent action picture about disgraced Secret Service agent and certified badass Hartnett trying to apprehend an infamous global terrorist on a plane full of his enemies. Certain aspects (production and narrative) are a little cheap, but some great action. Hartnett and his flight attendant sidekick Chandran are solid; shadowy spy boss Sackhoff not so much.
Heist (2001) D: David Mamet. S: Gene Hackman, Danny DeVito, Delroy Lindo, Sam Rockwell, Rebecca Pidgeon, Ricky Jay, Patti LuPone. Mamet overdoes Mamet with Hackman as a master thief, Lindo as his right-hand, Jay as the funny man, and Pidgeon as the wife. He’s got to do one last job for DeVito, who throws nephew Rockwell into the mix. Far from the most original caper (or plot twists), but beautifully acted and produced. Hackman, Rockwell, and Lindo excel.
Hercules (1983) D: Luigi Cozzi. S: Lou Ferrigno, Sybil Danning, Brad Harris, Rossana Podestà, Ingrid Anderson, Mirella D’Angelo, William Berger. Cannon production of an Italian sword, sandals, and sorcery has dubbed Ferrigno as the mythical demigod, trying to save humanity from the gods. Bewilderingly imaginative in its combination of rip-offs and elaborate (and bad) special effects. The dubbing acting is mostly bad, but Ferrigno looks right and does well with his dialogue delivery faces. Danning’s especially trying, however.
Homefront (2013) D: Gary Fleder. S: Jason Statham, James Franco, Izabela Vidovic, Winona Ryder, Rachelle Lefevre, Kate Bosworth, Clancy Brown. Widower and ex-DEA badass Statham just wants to settle down in rural but scenic Louisiana and ride horses with daughter Vidovic. Except then she gets into it at school, pissing off meth head mamma bear Bosworth, who sics meth dealer brother Franco on Statham. Good Statham lead, righteous action, and some (manipulative) thrills. Ryder’s comically atrocious.
King Solomon’s Mines (1985) D: J. Lee Thompson. S: Richard Chamberlain, Sharon Stone, Herbert Lom, John Rhys-Davies, Ken Gampu, June Buthelezi, Sam Williams. Terrible colonizers’ adventure in Africa (yes, they still call it “darkest” in 1985) is packed with action but none of it’s good. Chamberlain’s version of camp is mostly just being a jackass. Stone’s his client; they’re trying to find her dad, but not her impressively consistently disappearing shorts. Rhys-Davies and Lom are the baddies. Embarrassing Jerry Goldsmith score.
KPop Demon Hunters (2025) D: Maggie Kang. S: Arden Cho, May Hong, Ji-young Yoo, Ahn Hyo-seop, Yunjin Kim, Ken Jeong, Lee Byung-hun. Beautifully animated supernatural action comedy musical about a K-pop group who are also hunting demons. The leader, Cho, has some secrets, which threaten the group and the fate of the known universe. Some solid laughs, great action, good songs, and likable performances. Ahn is particularly good as the bad boy (demon) who vexes Cho. Delightful stuff.
Mechanic: Resurrection (2016) D: Dennis Gansel. S: Jason Statham, Jessica Alba, Tommy Lee Jones, Michelle Yeoh, Sam Hazeldine, John Cenatiempo, Toby Eddington. Ostensible sequel has Statham doing a James Bond, John Wick, MACGYVER, HITMAN video game adaptation. He’s trying to stay out of the assassinating life but childhood enemy Hazeldine. Alba’s appealing as the love interest, Yeoh’s fun in a quick part. Jones is not. Okay for a violent but not bloody programmer, though the finale misfires.
Mickey 17 (2025) D: Bong Joon Ho. S: Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Mark Ruffalo, Toni Collette, Anamaria Vartolomei, Patsy Ferran. Supremely human sci-fi black comedy epic about “Expendable” Pattinson, who gets reprinted (cloned) with memories after he dies in one various dangerous situation (or experiment). He’s on a colony ship run by evangelical numbskull grifter Ruffalo and his devoted, psychotic wife Collette. Ackie’s Pattinson’s girl, but also the film’s action lead. Great performances. More singular work from Bong.
Minority Report (2002) D: Steven Spielberg. S: Tom Cruise, Samantha Morton, Colin Farrell, Max von Sydow, Lois Smith, Tim Blake Nelson, Peter Stormare. Frankly embarrassing Spielberg near future sci-fi outing has Cruise on the run for a murder he hasn’t (yet) committed. Spielberg bellyflops as a cyberpunk Hitchcock, somehow directing live action CGI composite stuff worse than pure CGI. Cruise’s barely okay, Farrell’s bad (but eventually gets a little traction). Lois Smith’s got an awesome cameo; Morton’s (as ever) phenomenal. Adapted from a Philip K. Dick short story and originally intended to be a TOTAL RECALL sequel, which would’ve been preferable.
Night Alarm (1934) D: Spencer Gordon Bennet. S: Bruce Cabot, Judith Allen, H.B. Warner, Sam Hardy, Betty Blythe, Tom Hanlon, Harry Holman. Low budget, occasionally amateurish quickie about reporter Cabot being stuck on the gardening beat when he really wants to track an arsonist. Allen’s the girl with a secret who wants his job. Hardy (reuniting with Cabot from KONG) is the editor; he’s great. Warner’s good as the pissy businessman, too. The fire fighting sequences are the highlights.
Poison for the Fairies (1986) D: Carlos Enrique Taboada. S: Ana Patricia Rojo, Elsa Maria Gutierrez. New girl Gutiérrez starts hanging out with troubled orphan Rojo, who’s decided she’d really like to be a witch. And if she’s got to bully Gutiérrez into helping her under threat of violence… well, we don’t know because writer-director Taboada avoids character development. Great performances, and Taboada has some moments, but the affected stylizing is too much.
Scarecrow (1973) D: Jerry Schatzberg. S: Gene Hackman, Al Pacino, Dorothy Tristan, Ann Wedgeworth, Richard Lynch, Eileen Brennan, Penelope Allen. Beautifully done character study of drifters (with a purpose) Hackman and Pacino. Hackman’s an ex-con with a dream, Pacino’s just out of the Navy with a kid he’s never met. They start in California and head east, running into various misadventures (usually caused by Hackman’s temper). Great performances, wondrous Vilmos Zsigmond photography. It’s a slow, rending burn.
Superman (2025) D: James Gunn. S: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Nathan Fillion, Skyler Gisondo, Pruitt Taylor Vince. Successfully crowd-pleasing start to writer-director Gunn’s DC movie universe hinges entirely on Corenswet’s winning performance as the Man of Steel. Gathegi’s also essential to hold up the non-Superman stuff, with Brosnahan just scrapping by as Lois. Hoult (eventually) does okay as Lex. Surprisingly good special effects, terrible flat characterization (though Gunn weaponizes against ladies). Awful music.
Trouble Man (1972) D: Ivan Dixon. S: Robert Hooks, William Smithers, Paul Winfield, Ralph Waite, Paula Kelly, Jeannie Bell, Julius Harris. Cool, tough, good guy (and master pool player) Hooks deals with racists, cops, and crooks as he tries to suss out his latest job gone wrong. Beautiful L.A. location shooting, a truly delightful supporting cast, and a nice hard-boiled plot–all surrounding Hooks’s confident, charismatic lead–helps TROUBLE deliver. Lots of great 1970s supporting actors show up throughout.
-
The Spirit (September 22, 1940) “Gang Warfare”
Will Eisner (editor, script, pencils, inks)
Joe Kubert (colors)
Sam Rosen (letters)
The entire strip seems to be just a way to do a panel of Spirit with a Tommy gun taking out the mob. It’s a striking visual, and the strip itself is solid, but Gang Warfare is more like Gang Meddling.
The strip opens with the Spirit saving a gangster from getting rubbed out. Spirit helps him get away—to meet later in Wildwood Cemetery—and deals with the other crooks, then running himself to escape the police because he’s a wanted man (something the strip doesn’t exactly remember as much as not address).
The crook meeting the Spirit in Wildwood is just a way for the Spirit to meet the crime boss, who will then turn out to be the head of an anti-crime society organization. So, eventually, it’ll all be about Spirit trying to take out a corrupt businessman.
One with friends in city hall, which means Commissioner Dolan’s working both sides of the street. The mayor is sure his pal isn’t a crook, Dolan’s sure the Spirit wouldn’t steer them wrong.
Eventually, it leads to limited gang-busting action sequences, with more emphasis on Spirit (and Dolan) uncovering the boss’s guilt.
Ebony will have a fairly significant role in the resolution, since he’s the only friend the Spirit’s got (as Dolan can’t take too active a part; Spirit’s still wanted for murder, after all). It’s another of those strange “Ebony’s a cute character but looks like Confederate propaganda” vibes. The racism hurts the comedic sidekick potential.
There’s also a very strange sequence—entirely done in extreme long shot—where the Spirit pulls a gun on the crime boss in public, presumably to force a confession, only to immediately give it up when someone tells him such behavior’s illegal. For a thin strip, strung together between set pieces, Warfare does all right.
-
Superboy (1949) #218
Cary Bates (script)
Mike Grell (artist)
Jack C. Harris (assistant editor)
Murray Boltinoff (editor)
This issue features Tyroc’s formal admission to the Legion, which will be handled entirely in long shot. Given it’s the ostensible point of the whole issue—the story’s about Tyroc’s last test before membership—the abrupt finish is a little disconcerting. Except it shouldn’t be unexpected considering the rest of the issue; writer Cary Bates aims the reader’s attention at some very specific scenes and details, all meant to distract from the subterfuges going on (or to emphasize them).
Of course, more on Tyroc might not be better. Bates has the Legion discussing their new member—a being from a “Black race” they discovered somewhere on Earth—who thinks the Legion’s a tad white. Bates makes sure the white Legionnaires explain to one another (certainly not Tyroc) how they can’t possibly be racist because they have blue-skinned aliens on the team or whatever. It’s trash, and the less of it, the better.
The issue opens with some Legion rejects leaving headquarters dejected once again. Is it important? You know it. Bates seemingly is using it as a way to introduce Tyroc to the story; he’s flying away. A scene later, he will teleport himself back to headquarters and say he’s doing it from the shuttle parking lot. All of the action in the issue relates to the Legionnaire’s individual powers, and Bates is showcasing them, but these showcases aren’t… good. Or compelling. They’re not even the most visual. Like everything else in the issue, they’re perfunctory.
Tyroc has brought all his gear to move into Legion headquarters, but his admission ceremony gets interrupted by secret supervillain Zoraz. Zoraz has all the Legionnaires’ DNA, so he can counter their powers. He can hide out in the HVAC system in headquarters, and they can’t find him.
Because Legion defenses are only as good as the story requires.
After taking out all the Legionnaires around Tyroc, Superboy and Sun Boy show up to fill him in on the villain’s backstory, then explain since he’s the newest member and his DNA isn’t on file, Tyroc will have to take down Zoraz.
The reason the Legion has DNA is so they can clone Legionnaires after the Legionnaire has been killed. It’s a throwaway line, but… maybe deserves some attention. Not in this comic, of course.
We’ll get some filler—mainly with the Legionnaires watching their teammates canoodle on the closed-circuit video cameras, which can’t pick up the villain in the ducts anywhere. Then it’s Tyroc’s turn for some action.
Then, it’s time for some more action after a reveal or two.
The action’s not good, the characterization’s not good, Mike Grell’s art isn’t good (at times it seems downright unfinished). The comic could be worse but there’s certainly nothing to recommend it.
-
The Spirit (September 15, 1940) “Ebony’s X-Ray Eyes”
Will Eisner (editor, script, pencils, inks)
Joe Kubert (colors)
Sam Rosen (letters)
Ebony’s X-Ray Eyes show the problem with caricature, racist and otherwise. At the start of the strip, Ebony gets some of the Spirit’s x-ray juice in his eyes and can see through things. He quickly happens across some crooks who’ve decided to go into the crooked optometry racket. Once they meet Ebony and get a load of his peepers, however, they decide to become bank robbers.
Spirit discovers the lair in a mess (assuming Ebony’s been kidnapped and didn’t just have a damaging reaction to the x-ray juice) and starts tracking Ebony down. Now, Spirit’s not going to learn exactly what happened until the last page or so—and it might be more implied than explicit—so he’s just going to luck into conclusions and discoveries. He’s assuming Ebony’s been kidnapped along with the x-ray juice—the x-ray juice being the prize here.
Ebony will have some ups and downs with the first set of crooks, who will pass him off to a second set pretty quickly. It’s about young Ebony being moved from one traumatizing situation or another. Eisner and studio address that situation in the writing, albeit with more humor than angst, but the reader’s clearly supposed to be sympathetic to Ebony’s plight. Except then he’s rendered as usual, in a racist caricature one wouldn’t want to describe objectively in polite company.
Once Ebony realizes the Spirit is trying to stop the crooks, he takes (some) matters into his own hands, with the rest working out in payroll (i.e. criminals being a superstitious and cowardly lot and not ready for the Spirit). Ebony’s got agency, eventually, even though his clumsiness is a principal characteristic.
Outside being horrifically visually racist, it’s a good strip. It’s well-paced and the comic relief (one of the crooks) is good; Spirit is proving it can scale big action to small and stay nimble with its genres.
-
All-Star Comics (1976) #60
Gerry Conway (editor, script)
Keith Giffen (layouts)
Wally Wood (pencils, inks)
Al Sirois (inks)
Ben Oda (letters)
Paul Levitz (assistant editor)
It’s a few weeks after last issue (and adventure) and the doldrums of being a superhero have sunk in. The issue opens on a rainy day at the JSA brownstone, with Power Girl challenging the Flash to a race. Wildcat’s busy having anger management issues about television while Star-Spangled Kid wonders what’s wrong with him.
Flash will excuse away Wildcat’s behavior (again). It’s annoying as if writer Gerry Conway had to include some nonsense excusing of it, which just makes Flash seem like he’s full of it, too.
But they won’t be bored long, because new villain Vulcan attacks them. Vulcan looks a little like a Jack Kirby character; he’s got a New God headband, for instance. The art this issue is Keith Giffen and Wally Wood; Giffen doesn’t change Power Girl’s outfit or anything, but he doesn’t emphasize her, well, bare flesh the way Ric Estrada did the last couple issues. It’s a welcome change.
Even if Conway’s dialogue for Power Girl constantly has her making remarks about women’s liberation, usually in reference to some dude not being into it. Conway’s also the editor on this book, so clearly, he’s not getting the guidance he actually needs. Particularly given the tangents the comic goes on.
So, the new villain is attacking the brownstone. Then we cut to Green Lantern’s office woes (his newspaper’s running out of money). Dr. Fate shows up—in civvies just to drag it out a few more panels—to collect Green Lantern so they can go to a top-secret Army briefing.
About Vulcan.
There’s a flashback about Vulcan; he’s a JSA-worshipping astronaut who cracked under the pressure of actual space travel, killing his crew mates, then becoming a fire creature. It’s simultaneously a little and a lot.
Then Green Lantern and Dr. Fate go to confront the bad guy, and the comic’s over. It’s so oddly plotted, especially since the Army briefing scene was mostly connecting the dots to the first scene with Vulcan. It might’ve made more sense if… the JSA headquarters had some kind of alarm system to alert the other members of the attack.
As far as characterizations go, Power Girl and Dr. Fate stand out the most. Wildcat’s played for (bewilderingly targeted) laughs, Star Spangled Kid is bland, Jay Garrick’s full of shit, and Green Lantern’s a buzzkill and a half. Power Girl’s at least sympathetic—even if Conway’s not convinced she’s experiencing misogyny at every turn, he’s still writing it for her to experience—and Dr. Fate’s flat but competent.
Who knew competent superheroes were so much to ask for?
Not much better than the previous outings, but a little.
Posted on
Posted in
Tagged