See Sigourney Weaver in a 22-minute sci-fi short from director Neill Blomkamp



Vintage pic: Stevie Wonder


Pop Picks: "Colossal"

"Colossal" is one of the most unusual, thought-provoking films I've seen in a while.

In fact, I agree with my wife, who said a day after we watched it: "The more I think about it, the more I like it."

And there's plenty to think about. Like "WTF? This is a movie about a woman who learns that she's controlling the actions of a gigantic, Godzilla-like monster that's attacking the buildings and citizens of Seoul, South Korea. How do you come up with an idea like that?"

But screenwriter Nacho Vigalondo did come up with such an idea, and it's pretty danged cool.

The woman/monster is Gloria (Anne Hathaway), a hard-drinking writer who loses her job and boyfriend and returns to her small hometown to maybe get her life together. There, she meets up with an old friend, Oscar, (Jason Sudeikis), who hires her to work at his divey bar. Then monster troubles ensue and all sorts of questions arise.

Is Gloria really a monster, or does she just feel like a monster? Or is it that people are treating her like a monster, when she isn't? Are the men in her life more monstrous than she is? Is she treating herself too monstrously, and shouldn't she just cut herself some slack?

Lots to think about. Viewed in terms of gender, self-image an expectations we/others place on ourselves, it's a fascinating, many nuanced story. It's also quite funny and moving at times. Plus, it has giant monsters. Well worth a look.



Vintage pic: Leonard Nimoy

So long, Adam West

Like the rest of pop culture world, I was saddened to hear of Adam West's passing, at age 88, yesterday.

There are hundreds of Batman-related posts on this blog, and most of them feature West and the rest of the 1966 "Batman" TV cast. This was my show as a little kid. I suspect the same is true for many regular visitors here.

I interviewed West briefly back in the early 1990s during my days as a newspaper reporter and found him hilarious, friendly and charming.

I couldn't help being a little nervous and gushing when I met him - this was my childhood idol, after all. When I told him I was a lifelong Batfan, he said "I could tell that about you, John." I suspect he'd said the same to many reporters of a certain age.

West was a class act and after some years of frustration over being typecast as the Caped Crusader, seemed to accept his fate with grace and good humor. I was a fan of his frequently hilarious Facebook page, where he posted pictures of "Moose Wayne," a wild visitor to his backyard in Idaho and a fantastic video of him playing Wii boxing with one of his grandchildren. The only thing missing was the Bat-music and "Zap!" and "Pow!" sound effects on the screen. Over at BoingBoing, there's a great post about a brilliant Bat-prank he played in his local telephone book.

Goodbye, sadly, to another part of our childhood.





New "Duck Tales" short celebrates Donald's birthday


The new "Duck Tales" series debuts on Disney XD in August.

Eisner 100: Kitchen Sink's Spirit comic series pt. 4

Concluding our celebration of Will Eisner's centenary, here's the remainder of his covers for the 1990s Spirit reprint series.