Pop culture roundup: Carmine Infantino; Captain America; Annette Funicello
Diversions of a Groovy Kind shares a nice profile on the late Carmine Infanto from DC Comics' 1970s in-house fanzine. Nice Infantino art featured, too.
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Speaking of fanzines, Marvel Comics: The Untold Story posted this cool artifact: A page from Jerry Bails' early 1960s The Comics Reader, which gushed excitedly about the upcoming return of Captain America.
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Turns out the late Annette Funicello appeared on a number of Disney comic book covers. The Beat posts several here.
Speaking of fanzines, Marvel Comics: The Untold Story posted this cool artifact: A page from Jerry Bails' early 1960s The Comics Reader, which gushed excitedly about the upcoming return of Captain America.
Turns out the late Annette Funicello appeared on a number of Disney comic book covers. The Beat posts several here.
John Cusack to play Brian Wilson in Beach Boy's biopic?
Well, now I know my wife will want to go see the Brian Wilson biopic with me: John Cusack, who she finds just dreamy, may be in the lead role.
Interesting casting, as Cusack doesn't favor Wilson much at all physically. But he's a good actor and his potential casting give me hope this could be decent.
Interesting casting, as Cusack doesn't favor Wilson much at all physically. But he's a good actor and his potential casting give me hope this could be decent.
It is hoped that Cusack, 46, will play the musician in later life, and the film will focus on Wilson's long battle with mental illness. Paul Dano, previously seen in There Will Be Blood, has already been confirmed in the younger Wilson role.
Bill Pohlad is directing the film from a screenplay by the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of The Messenger, Oren Moverman. It is said to be an unconventional look at Wilson's life that "reimagines seminal moments … from his artistic genius to his profound struggles and the love that keeps him alive".
Two Whos! Matt Smith and Dave Tennant pictured filming Doctor Who 50th anniversary special
During the original run of "Doctor Who," the time lord occasionally met some of his former selves. Will that be a case with an upcoming 90-minute 50th anniversary special for the show? Looks like current Doctor Who Matt Smith and his predecessor David Tennant will indeed be featured together.
Pop stuff: Live and Let Die; Miss Minoes
What I've been reading, watching, hearing etc.
Live And Let Die Many of the James Bond movies are available again via Netflix and Amazon streaming and my son and I have resumed our viewing of the whole works, in order.
We love the early Sean Connery entries, of course, and I maintain that "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," with pinch-hitting George Lazenby in as 007, is one of the best films in the series (good story and stunt, great score, best Bond girl, ever, in Diana Rigg). But things took a terrible turn with "Diamonds are Forever," (1971) with Connery's brief return. It's an awful movie with a goofy, pedestrian plot, cheap production values and lackluster performances.
"Let it Be" (1973) doesn't start out much better. Like "Diamonds," it looks cheap, more like a TV cop show than a Bond film. And new Bond Roger Moore doesn't do much beyond arch an eyebrow for the first 45 minutes of the film. Plus, there's a lot of early 70s, queasy-making racial stuff to deal with as Bond takes an oh-so-funny trip to Harlem, where he gets to be the only white guy in a British film production firm's idea of a blaxploitation film (lots of uses of the word "honky," lots of floppy pimp hats).
But in the last third, things finally kick into gear with the awesome speedboat chase (the only thing apart from Paul McCartney's theme tune that I remembered from seeing this film on TV as a kid) and we're back in crazy, campy Bond territory again.
The chase is way too long, but it's funny and fun to watch, and it's followed by a nice confrontation with the film's villain (poorly written by nicely played by Yaphet Kotto, later of "Homicide" fame) in an underground lair complete with shark lagoon and monorail (that's where all the production money went).
My son and I have already watched "Man With the Golden Gun" (1974) out of sequence (it also looks pretty cheap, but Moore and the story are already a good notch or two above "Live and Let Die"), so "The Spy Who Loved Me" is next. It's the first Bond movie I saw in the movie theater. Should be fun to re-visit it. I hope...
Miss Minoes A 2001 Dutch release dubbed into English, this is a fun family film about a cat transformed by mysterious chemicals into a young woman.
In an American film, this scenario would result in all sorts of over-the-top antics and the character taking extreme measures to keep her condition a secret, here everything is refreshingly more simple and subtle. A young reporter who discovered Miss Minoes, the cat woman, doesn't try to keep her a secret.
She's just a woman who's really cat, that's why she sleeps in a box, hangs out on the roof and tends to chase mice and other moving things.
Misadventures, of course, ensue, but not in a manic way, and it's a nice change from the typical, ADHD-paced kids flick.
Along the way, Carice van Houten, in the lead role, does a nice job working cat-like behaviors into her performance -- darting under the table and chasing after moving objects and mice, nuzzling the people she likes, hissing at those she doesn't.
If you've got kids, and/or cats, it'll be a hit. Sensitive-to-language parents should be advised, however, that Dutch people, even little kids, apparently toss the "s" word around with relative abandon.
Actually, there are only three instances of this in the film, but I was a little surprised by them in such an otherwise tame film. Nothing my kids haven't heard me say before.
Live And Let Die
Many of the James Bond movies are available again via Netflix and Amazon streaming and my son and I have resumed our viewing of the whole works, in order.We love the early Sean Connery entries, of course, and I maintain that "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," with pinch-hitting George Lazenby in as 007, is one of the best films in the series (good story and stunt, great score, best Bond girl, ever, in Diana Rigg). But things took a terrible turn with "Diamonds are Forever," (1971) with Connery's brief return. It's an awful movie with a goofy, pedestrian plot, cheap production values and lackluster performances.
"Let it Be" (1973) doesn't start out much better. Like "Diamonds," it looks cheap, more like a TV cop show than a Bond film. And new Bond Roger Moore doesn't do much beyond arch an eyebrow for the first 45 minutes of the film. Plus, there's a lot of early 70s, queasy-making racial stuff to deal with as Bond takes an oh-so-funny trip to Harlem, where he gets to be the only white guy in a British film production firm's idea of a blaxploitation film (lots of uses of the word "honky," lots of floppy pimp hats).
But in the last third, things finally kick into gear with the awesome speedboat chase (the only thing apart from Paul McCartney's theme tune that I remembered from seeing this film on TV as a kid) and we're back in crazy, campy Bond territory again.
The chase is way too long, but it's funny and fun to watch, and it's followed by a nice confrontation with the film's villain (poorly written by nicely played by Yaphet Kotto, later of "Homicide" fame) in an underground lair complete with shark lagoon and monorail (that's where all the production money went).
My son and I have already watched "Man With the Golden Gun" (1974) out of sequence (it also looks pretty cheap, but Moore and the story are already a good notch or two above "Live and Let Die"), so "The Spy Who Loved Me" is next. It's the first Bond movie I saw in the movie theater. Should be fun to re-visit it. I hope...
Miss Minoes
A 2001 Dutch release dubbed into English, this is a fun family film about a cat transformed by mysterious chemicals into a young woman.In an American film, this scenario would result in all sorts of over-the-top antics and the character taking extreme measures to keep her condition a secret, here everything is refreshingly more simple and subtle. A young reporter who discovered Miss Minoes, the cat woman, doesn't try to keep her a secret.
She's just a woman who's really cat, that's why she sleeps in a box, hangs out on the roof and tends to chase mice and other moving things.
Misadventures, of course, ensue, but not in a manic way, and it's a nice change from the typical, ADHD-paced kids flick.
Along the way, Carice van Houten, in the lead role, does a nice job working cat-like behaviors into her performance -- darting under the table and chasing after moving objects and mice, nuzzling the people she likes, hissing at those she doesn't.
If you've got kids, and/or cats, it'll be a hit. Sensitive-to-language parents should be advised, however, that Dutch people, even little kids, apparently toss the "s" word around with relative abandon.
Actually, there are only three instances of this in the film, but I was a little surprised by them in such an otherwise tame film. Nothing my kids haven't heard me say before.
BBC radio this week: Conan Doyle's Professor Challenger; Bram Stoker; Doctor Who; Goon Show; Ray Bradbury
Click the links to hear the following shows.
Arthur Conan Doyle - Professor Challenger: Doyle's irascible academic sets out on a bold mission to be recognised by Mother Earth.
Bram Stoker: The Coming of Abel Behenna - Two rivals in love make a pact. Will it end in betrayal? Read by Dyfed Thomas.
Doctor Who: The Architects of History Pt. 4 - As the Selachians' grip tightens on Moon base, the Time Lord reveals his true purpose.
The Goon Show: The Seige of Fort Night - Seagoon sets off to ask Henry Crun to invent a waterproof gas stove. Stars Spike Milligan.
Ray Bradbury: Dark They Were, and Golden-eyed - How do the Earth people living on Mars cope when they discover there is no way back home?
Arthur Conan Doyle - Professor Challenger: Doyle's irascible academic sets out on a bold mission to be recognised by Mother Earth.
Bram Stoker: The Coming of Abel Behenna - Two rivals in love make a pact. Will it end in betrayal? Read by Dyfed Thomas.
Doctor Who: The Architects of History Pt. 4 - As the Selachians' grip tightens on Moon base, the Time Lord reveals his true purpose.
The Goon Show: The Seige of Fort Night - Seagoon sets off to ask Henry Crun to invent a waterproof gas stove. Stars Spike Milligan.
Ray Bradbury: Dark They Were, and Golden-eyed - How do the Earth people living on Mars cope when they discover there is no way back home?
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Smokey Robinson rarity "What Love Has Joined Together" gets digital re-release
A collector's item on CD and LP, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles' What Love Has Joined Together is now available in download form.
The New Yorker has this appreciation:
Now I want to.
The New Yorker has this appreciation:
The album is an oddity in many ways. For starters, it’s only six songs long, with a running time of twenty-seven minutes. It opens with the title song, a reworked and extended version of a Miracles song originally recorded in 1962 and covered by acts such as Mary Wells and the Temptations. Whether that counts as an original is debatable, but it’s the only song on the record that even comes close. The other songs are standards by Stevie Wonder (“My Cherie Amour”), Bacharach and David (“This Guy’s in Love with You,” originally recorded by Herb Alpert), and Lennon and McCartney (“And I Love Her”), along with two Motown chestnuts—Marvin Gaye’s “If This World Were Mine,” which he recorded as a duet with Tammi Terrell, and “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy,” a Brenda Holloway hit co-written by Berry Gordy that was later a huge hit for Blood, Sweat, and Tears. The songs, all similarly themed, all handled at roughly the same tempo, flow together; Robinson’s vocals, high and sweet, float over meticulous harmonies and lavish string and horn arrangements.I'm a big fan of Smokey and Motown, but I guess not enough of one to have heard this LP.
Now I want to.
New comics April 17, 2013
Didn't really spot any highlights from my POV this week, but you can see the complete list of this week's releases here.
"Look for the helpers"
When terrible things happen, as they did today in Boston, it's good to turn to the advice of the late Mr. Rogers, who offered this brilliant wisdom to parents working to help children (and themselves) cope with the unexplainable:
"My mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.' To this day, especially in times of 'disaster,' I remember my mother's words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers-so many caring people in this world."More good advice here.
Marvel announces "epic" chronological collections of key titles
Marvel has announced a new series of hefty re-print volumes that will collect, chronologically, big portions of key series.
The Epic Collections are similar to the Marvel Essentials titles Marvel has published over the past several years, but in full color. Volumes reprinting Amazing Spider-Man, Avengers, Captain America, Fantastic Four, Iron Man and Thor are planned, and perhaps others.
While the books themselves will be complete and chronological, they may not be published sequentially, says David Gabriel,Marvel senior vice president of sales.
"This will be like starting a giant puzzle on your shelves (for those that like this sort of thing). So for example Iron Man Epic Collection 'Vol. 10' appears one month telling the stories from 1982, the next volume might be 'Vol. 5' presenting the stories from Iron Man #47-67, and so on across our biggest character lines."
It'll be nice to see some of this material in color in relatively affordable editions, but it does seem like Marvel is going to the well quite bit with all these re-prints, in multiple formats, so many times over the past decade or so.
Since they want fans to keep re-buying the same stuff over and over, I'd like to see a regular reprint title -- standard floppy -- ala Marvel's Greatest Comics on the stands each month. That would really scratch the nostalgia itch.
The Epic Collections are similar to the Marvel Essentials titles Marvel has published over the past several years, but in full color. Volumes reprinting Amazing Spider-Man, Avengers, Captain America, Fantastic Four, Iron Man and Thor are planned, and perhaps others.
While the books themselves will be complete and chronological, they may not be published sequentially, says David Gabriel,Marvel senior vice president of sales.
"This will be like starting a giant puzzle on your shelves (for those that like this sort of thing). So for example Iron Man Epic Collection 'Vol. 10' appears one month telling the stories from 1982, the next volume might be 'Vol. 5' presenting the stories from Iron Man #47-67, and so on across our biggest character lines."
Gabriel says they're planning about 20 volumes for each line, and that no existing reprint lines will be affected by the new initiative. The first releases are listed at approximately 450 pages, and Gabriel says they'll initially be released at about once a month, though that could change depending on response. List price ranges from $34.99 to $39.99.I prefer the Marvel Omnibus series due to the oversized art and inclusion of letter pages and house ads, etc., so I figure I'll stick with that line.
It'll be nice to see some of this material in color in relatively affordable editions, but it does seem like Marvel is going to the well quite bit with all these re-prints, in multiple formats, so many times over the past decade or so.
Since they want fans to keep re-buying the same stuff over and over, I'd like to see a regular reprint title -- standard floppy -- ala Marvel's Greatest Comics on the stands each month. That would really scratch the nostalgia itch.
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