New and upcoming pop culture books: Kiss; Miyazaki; Spielberg's Duel; Orson Welles; Bruce Lee; Brick Fairy Tales; Game of Thrones pop-up; Wonder Woman; Mary Blair; Veronica Mars, more!

Click the links to order discounted items from Amazon.

 
John Wayne: The Life and Legend


Face the Music: A Life Exposed


A Man Called Destruction: The Life and Music of Alex Chilton, From Box Tops to Big Star to Backdoor Man


The Art of DreamWorks Animation


Turning Point: 1997-2008 (hardcover)


Nothin' to Lose: The Making of KISS (1972-1975)


The Art of the Wind Rises


Starting Point: 1979-1996 (paperback)


There Goes Gravity: A Life in Rock and Roll by Lisa Robinson


Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters: Defending the Earth with Ultraman, Godzilla, and Friends in the Golden Age of Japanese Science Fiction Film


The Master of Suspense: The Life and Legacy of Alfred Hitchcock

 
Art of Princess Mononoke (The Art of Princess Mononoke)


Steven Spielberg and Duel: The Making of a Film Career


My Lunches with Orson: Conversations Between Henry Jaglom and Orson Welles


The Archaeology of Hollywood: Traces of the Golden Age


Alien the Archive: The Ultimate Guide to the Classic Movies


Hitchcock and Adaptation: On the Page and Screen


Bruce Lee: The Celebrated Life of the Golden Dragon (Bruce Lee Library)


Brick Fairy Tales: Cinderella, Rapunzel, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Hansel and Gretel, and More


Game of Thrones: A Pop-Up Guide to Westeros


Wonder Woman Unbound: The Curious History of the World's Most Famous Heroine


The Beatles


The Art and Flair of Mary Blair (Updated Edition): An Appreciation (Disney Editions Deluxe)


Genius, Animated: The Cartoon Art of Alex Toth


Happy Clouds, Happy Trees: The Bob Ross Phenomenon


Welcome to Mars: Politics, Pop Culture, and Weird Science in 1950s America


The Origins of Comics: From William Hogarth to Winsor McCay


Wide Awake in Slumberland: Fantasy, Mass Culture, and Modernism in the Art of Winsor McCay (Great Comics Artists)


The Moose That Roared: The Story of Jay Ward, Bill Scott, a Flying Squirrel, and a Talking Moose


Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey


Carl Barks' Donald Duck: Your Average American


Veronica Mars: An Original Mystery by Rob Thomas: The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line (Vintage)


Bedsit Disco Queen: How I Grew Up and Tried to Be a Pop Star


God Save The Kinks: A Biography


Frank Thorne's Red Sonja Art Edition HC


Andy Warhol: The Complete Copmmissioned Posters, 1964-1987

New X-Men: Days of Future Past posters

Somebody's Bright Idea: Captain America bathrobe!

Available here.

Lego 1966 Batmobile! Vote if you want to see Lego make it!

Vote here if you want to see Lego make this (and who wouldn't?):

New Monty Python music video: The Silly Walks Song

The old gang is getting back together for a series of shows in London. They have a new video, too:

Video find: Interview with comics visionary Jack Kirby

Today's best picture ever: Jet pack!

Vintage sheet music: "I'm a Boy" by the Who!

Pop stuff: The Muppets Most Wanted, Enemy reviews

What I've been watching, reading, seeing, etc.


Muppets Most Wanted

There was a real sweetness, along with all the expected silliness, in 2011's "The Muppets." After Kermit and crew's long absence from the movie screens, it was nice to have them back. Jason Segal, in the lead, non-muppet part was a stand-in for all fans who grew up loving "Sesame Street" and "The Muppet Show," and -- on behalf of the rest of us -- rounded up the old gang for a new adventure.

"The Muppets Most Wanted" ditches all that nostalgia and sentimentality and goes straight for the laughs. It's an entertaining film, with lots of fun star cameos and absurd scenarios that keep it moving at a good clip. Like the best Muppets ventures, it plays on two levels: Amusing adults with jokes that will slip right past the kids, but keeping the kids engaged with the action and broader, more slapstick humor.

Trailers for the film played in theaters and on TV for months and months before its release, so you know the plot (and, unfortunately, many of its jokes) already: Kermit has an evil look-alike who swaps places with him. It's evil Kermit, who speaks in an evil-sounding accent of indeterminate origin, who garners the most laughs in the film, upstaging his human co-stars, including Ricky Gervais and Tina Fey.

It's interesting to note two different actors voice the lead parts: Steve Whitmire as Kermit and Matt Vogel as Constantine. I'm always amazed at how much emotion and humor the muppeteers can coax from the faces of these characters, particular Kermit, which is basically a very simple puppet with immovable half ping-pong balls for eyes.

As far as the humans go, Ty Burrell is quite funny as a Clouseauian Interpol inspector. I won't spoil the numerous, and funny, star cameos.

The songs, as in the previous Muppets film, are  by Bret McKenzie of Flying Conchords fame, and they're a riot, with lyrical inventiveness and humor that's several notches above the typical kid-focused musical.


Enemy

Another evil double movie! But this one, starring Jake Gyllenhaal in the dual/duel roles is quite different from any you've likely seen before. 

Surreal and perplexing, you'll spend some serious time thinking about it after you leave the theater. There are no easy answers, for Gyllenhall's characters in the film, or for the audience. 

These two men are suddenly faced with the realization that he has an exact duplicate he didn't know about. The revelation troubles them and forces them to think about their own lives and choices.

It's not an action film, or necessarily a good vs. evil conflict. It's more a head trip, open to multiple interpretations. Well worth seeing for its uniqueness, effective direction and performances.