Laundry Finishing Moves
...because I actually become even mildly ill seemingly in sparse intervals, I rarely feel up to a day of simply lounging and marathoning movies or shows. This past few days was a different story. After beating back a fever long enough to finish my workday this past Wednesday, I spent the bulk of Thursday and Friday in bed clearing the DV-R. As I lie here, I remembered some films not currently on Netflix that I wanted to see at the precise moment my brain had reminded me of the credit I had through the PlayStation Store.
Comic book documentaries are always going to get my antenna buzzing. At present, there really aren't that many out there, but all of them thus far have been wildly fascinating. From Comic Book Confidential to Grant Morrison: Talking With Gods to Secret Origin to Crumb, they tend to be both studies of the genres, art form and the people behind them all. And from my viewing standpoint, comic book artists and writers tend to reflect the audience which makes for fascinating tales.
The first film I rented examined the medium from the fan perspective. Comic Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope took a look at how the San Diego Comic Con has morphed into the largest pop culture event of each year. It follows regular people on their journeys into the convention along with splicing interviews with attendees and celebrities.
For my money, this is the least comic book-related documentary that exists. The interesting part about it is that the filmmakers are pretty up front about it. While it is plain to see that Joss Whedon, who is heavily involved in this film, is a comic book nerd of the highest order, he also delves into the many facets of the con that draws so many different factions of fandom.
On the whole, you get a sneak peak of every little aspect of the convention from the comics hall to the ballroom where the costume masquerade is held to the many panels and more. In many ways, it serves as the perfect travelogue for even the most tepid interest. Anyone who is a lover of art, comic books, video games, manga/anime, film/TV and more cannot see what takes place here and leave it with a shrug.
While it is somewhat disappointing to see the focus of the convention itself having left comic books near the fringe, it is a perfect showcase to bring awareness to the many amazing happenings in the medium. On top of this, it is an unadulterated love fest for all things nerd. While acknowledging the obvious buzz that that word generates today, those who berate the convention only come off looking like petty haters. It truly is the equivalent of the biggest high school football game of the year being sparsely attended because the nerds have taken over the school.
Highly produced and expertly balanced, I recommend it one hundred times over. It is both a selling point on letting yourself be who you are while being a declaration that there are "more of us than there are of them".
Delving into greater comic book territory is Necessary Evil: Super Villains Of DC Comics. I was mixed going in to this one because while I think the subject matter could be wildly intriguing, seeing some of the celebrities touted as making an appearance could come off ham-fisted. There are legitimate celebrity fans, there are always the hangers-on that only reply in response to a role that they were paid to play.
Having the booming voice of Christopher Lee narrating, his could be thought of as similar to Morgan Freeman narrating a documentary on atoms. Listening to him makes one wonder why he never was pegged to be in a Marvel or DC property. Just as a surface coating, his selection to lead each topic was a score.
Clocking in at 100 minutes, there were moments that I felt as if the film was stumbling over its own feet. Much of the focus was on the motivation to commit evil deeds and there were parts were I felt as if this angle was covered by another participant twenty minutes earlier. Also, there were multiple mentions of the multitude of DC Comics villains in the stables, but few of the second and third-tier villains received much air time. It was as if the company wanted the viewer to know of the vast array that existed while splicing in minutes and minutes of The Joker.
All in all, it was touch dry at times. I enjoyed enough of the opinions and ideas, but there were also moments of retread. It would have been nice as well to see some other writing contributors of past and present discussing their works. Neil Gaiman, JT Krul, Mike Carey, Brian K. Vaughn and even Kevin Smith are all absent. Necessary Evil, in its present incarnation, felt a little less than necessary to me.
Read: Brother Lono by Brian Azzarello
Listen: WTF With Marc Maron (episode with Jon Ronson)
Watch: Comic Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope
Comic book documentaries are always going to get my antenna buzzing. At present, there really aren't that many out there, but all of them thus far have been wildly fascinating. From Comic Book Confidential to Grant Morrison: Talking With Gods to Secret Origin to Crumb, they tend to be both studies of the genres, art form and the people behind them all. And from my viewing standpoint, comic book artists and writers tend to reflect the audience which makes for fascinating tales.
For my money, this is the least comic book-related documentary that exists. The interesting part about it is that the filmmakers are pretty up front about it. While it is plain to see that Joss Whedon, who is heavily involved in this film, is a comic book nerd of the highest order, he also delves into the many facets of the con that draws so many different factions of fandom.
On the whole, you get a sneak peak of every little aspect of the convention from the comics hall to the ballroom where the costume masquerade is held to the many panels and more. In many ways, it serves as the perfect travelogue for even the most tepid interest. Anyone who is a lover of art, comic books, video games, manga/anime, film/TV and more cannot see what takes place here and leave it with a shrug.
While it is somewhat disappointing to see the focus of the convention itself having left comic books near the fringe, it is a perfect showcase to bring awareness to the many amazing happenings in the medium. On top of this, it is an unadulterated love fest for all things nerd. While acknowledging the obvious buzz that that word generates today, those who berate the convention only come off looking like petty haters. It truly is the equivalent of the biggest high school football game of the year being sparsely attended because the nerds have taken over the school.
Highly produced and expertly balanced, I recommend it one hundred times over. It is both a selling point on letting yourself be who you are while being a declaration that there are "more of us than there are of them".
Having the booming voice of Christopher Lee narrating, his could be thought of as similar to Morgan Freeman narrating a documentary on atoms. Listening to him makes one wonder why he never was pegged to be in a Marvel or DC property. Just as a surface coating, his selection to lead each topic was a score.
Clocking in at 100 minutes, there were moments that I felt as if the film was stumbling over its own feet. Much of the focus was on the motivation to commit evil deeds and there were parts were I felt as if this angle was covered by another participant twenty minutes earlier. Also, there were multiple mentions of the multitude of DC Comics villains in the stables, but few of the second and third-tier villains received much air time. It was as if the company wanted the viewer to know of the vast array that existed while splicing in minutes and minutes of The Joker.
All in all, it was touch dry at times. I enjoyed enough of the opinions and ideas, but there were also moments of retread. It would have been nice as well to see some other writing contributors of past and present discussing their works. Neil Gaiman, JT Krul, Mike Carey, Brian K. Vaughn and even Kevin Smith are all absent. Necessary Evil, in its present incarnation, felt a little less than necessary to me.
Read: Brother Lono by Brian Azzarello
Listen: WTF With Marc Maron (episode with Jon Ronson)
Watch: Comic Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope
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