Mr March

As a self-diagnosed Ridley Scott whore, I had to go see this film the first day of release. I wasn't impressed by the trailers for Kingdom of Heaven, but Scott created three of my all time favorite films, so I go see his stuff whenever I can. Once again, I am utterly shocked by the number of complaints Kingdom of Heaven suffered from people calling it anti-islamic prior to release. I often wonder either where are these people's heads (cause they are obviously not on their shoulders) or is this complaining some overused attempt at publicity nowadays. If anything, the subject matter of the film was probably one of the most respectful depicitions of a foreign civilization I've seen in an American made film. The Muslims were depicted as centered, intelligent, and fed up with the duplicity of the Christian leaders. I actually connected more with the Muslims in the film than I did with Bloom's character. Without spoiling the finale, the ending was also very indicative of several of the crusades, in which not much was gained, except a hard lesson. Getting back on the subject of the actual FILM itself, Kingdom of Heaven was not what I'd hoped. Orlando Bloom's performance is too muted and understated (more a weakness of the script than his actual acting). But I will give Bloom credit; for the most part he kept the movie going and only the most astute viewer will actually step back and say "Hey, at what point did this blacksmith learn so much of mass warfare and how to win large scale battles?" The love story between Eva Green's Sibylla character and Bloom's Balian character was hardly a love story at all. Not much of a chance was given to develop the relationship (despite ample onscreen time) and it came off more as Green's lusting than as any emotional attachment. Though to be fair, Hollywood often butchers love stories with trite writing, so this is merely notekeeping. The performances of Nesson, Irons, and many others were quite good but the most notable performance goes to Alexander Siddig. Siddig's Nasir character was intriguing and received some of the best dialogue in the film. Like Sean Bean's turn in Troy last year, a good performance in a summer blockbuster often comes from the least likely places. The large scale of the film and the battle sequences were well handled. Even the seige of Jerusalem, which lasted for quite some time onscreen, was kept interesting and dynamic despite the length. Unfortunately, we don't see anything all that new here. I could almost picture a meeting between Scott and Peter Jackson discussing how to shoot a modern mass combat sequence. There is nothing wrong per se and Scott's visual skill is in top form, but it's nothing we haven't seen before. One thing that is great, was the final message that results from these epic battles. The resolution was quite fitting and a very good lesson for those on both sides of the great debate of the supposed "holy land." Overall, I'd give Kingdom of Heaven a 6 our of 10. Kingdom of Heaven is nowhere near as potent a story as Gladiator, Bloom's character lacks the depth needed to portray a leader of men, and the battles are less interesting than comparable films.

It's too bad Macross Plus is not receiving the special edition treatment that was given to other Manga titles like Ghost in the Shell and Ninja Scroll. I would have thought Mac+ being one of Manga's early successes on video release would merit a proper edition with all the bells and whistles. Since I already own the DVDs, I won't be purchasing this set.

It could be far worse. They could have got some talentless studio director to pick the franchise up and really run it over the coals. At least with Vaughn we have a chance. The guy does have a record of projects outside the mainstream. I'm not saying I have a lot of faith the project will be as good as Singer's work, I'm just happier with the odds and figure it could be a lot worse.

On the strong recommendations of many here in this thread, I picked up the collected Hush issues in Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 paperback formats. I've finished reading through them and they were quite good. It was great to see Jim Lee in action again; it's been quite a few years. This was my first encounter with writer Jeph Loeb and he did a fine job. Some of the weaknesses overall was the lack of a pace for the mysteries and too much exposition in the finale. Overall, I'd give Hush a 7 out of 10. Batman The Killing Joke, The Dark Knight Returns, and Year One, Two, and Three have always been my favorites. Some aspects of Hush I really enjoyed were small homages and references to other Batman works. They went through virtually all the big events in Batman's history, mentioning Dick Grayson becoming Nightwing, A Death in The Family, Barbara Gordon, The Killing Joke; they pretty much covered it all. It was quite a thrill seeing some of my favorite Batman stories referenced in such a new Batman book. I also liked the small homage to Jim Aparo (the Aparo Expressway) in the issue where Batman and Nightwing team up. Aside from Lee, Aparo has always been my favorite Batman artist.

Vinnie Jones is probably the largest actor I'm aware of that can actually "act". He's got the height for Juggernaut (or at least, a Juggernaut in the real world) but he'll need to pack on a few pounds to flesh our the role (punny!). He also looks mean too This is some good news for the casting. I was fearful they would hire some beefhead wrestler to fill the part. I've seen enough dramatically-challenged jucie monkeys onscreen to last a lifetime. I'm certainly going to see this film, but I've got my doubts. Mat Vaughn is great and all, and I loved his other work (Layer Cake is yet to be seen, so we'll see how he goes it alone). At this point, Vaughn's got more promise than a certain other brit director who once made great movies

Disappointing news to say the least. I haven't enjoyed any Alien film beyond the first two by Scott and Cameron and Preadator still remains the best of it's particular franchise. AVP was a disaster IMO, but I'm proud to say that neither myself nor anyone else paid for me to see it. I definitely won't be watching the sequel of my own accord. bsu legato I know it's frustrating to suffer the poor tastes of so many movie goers that spend their money on crap like AVP. But really, you must understand that most people don't really care about film. To most, it's disposable entertainment at best. I'm not saying this to sound elitist, but to the best of my knowledge I am the biggest film fan on this message board (my apologies to any fellow filmphiles on MW). I've watched a remarkable display of ignorance and lack of understanding toward film displayed here and it doesn't look like it's going to stop anytime soon. I'd advise that you do what I do and simply don't let it get to you. People will watch what they want and rightly so. It's their choice.

Oh, you have every right to gripe about this one. I'm quite mad about the draw-and-drop sickness that has infected comic books for many years. To keep any one artist or writer on the same book for even a year is a huge achievement. So many titles have begun so well with a great creative team, only to lose them a mere five or six issues into the series. I think most of the publishers are doing one of two things with this festering scam: 1- Hoping comic book fans won't notice the talent has left and keep buying the book as it quickly circles the bowl. 2 - Hope loyal readers will follow their favorite artist/writer as they jump around to any old title, in the process buying books that normally the fan wouldn't use as butt wipe. It's no wonder that the comic book industry is suffering. The birth of flashy art/weak story books started it and now title jumping has added to the problem. This creates a situation in which a consistant, steady title can never be properly produced and titles cannot remain strong for more than six months to a year. There are exceptions and I suppose independant comics have done much to fill the gap. Still, it's a bitch to see the majority of books run this way.

Nice pictures! Lee's work never fails to impress me. It's hard to get into comics now. At least for a person like me. Back in the late 1980's and early 90's, it was so easy to know which comic books I wanted to read and which ones to avoid. Seems like I knew who every good artist was and I had a handle on all the good writers. There was the Ron Marz/Ron Lim team that made Silver Surfer great for a good two years, which eventually led up to Starlin and the great Infinity Gauntlet saga. There was Frank Miller's brilliant run on Daredevil, which totally made that book. There was Simonson's run on Thor that reinvigorated the character and for a short time even made it one of Marvels top books. There was Byrne/Claremont on Uncanny X-men, which created the Dark Phoenix and one of the mutants best runs I can remember. Then there were so many great graphic novels. Now it seems I'm totally lost on most of the new books. I know nothing about the artists or writers of the new stuff or what to look for and what to avoid. The only book I managed to get into was Straczynski's Rising Stars, which FINALLY finished the last three issues just this year, after a nearly 3 year hiatus. Straczynski I knew from his Babylon 5 work, so that was the only real reason I got into the series. Twenty four comic books in four and half years is pretty damn weak, but not sure what else to get into. I admit, I did like Witchblade at the start, despite the exaggerated art. The airbrushed cover on the first issue was what hooked me. It was really just blind luck that one day I decided to drop into a comic shop, something I hadn't done for years, and I ended up buying a book. Though I didn't realize it at the time, I had stumbled unto a gold mine. About a year later, Witchblade was "it" and I sold issues 2-5 for over $125 (kept the first issue as a memento). Nottingham was so cool Damn, I really went off on a tangent of nostalgia here didn't I?

Terrifying and impressive at the same time. That's a lot of money in there.

I'd disagree. Walt Simonson utilized heavy cross-hatching in his 80's artwork, especially his stint on Thor. He eventually went to X-Factor and made that book, at which point his style became extremely popular. To the best of my knowledgem this was the first time an artist for one of the mutant comics made excessive use of cross-hatching and shadow. I don't recall Lee using all that much cross-hatching until later into Punisher War Journal.

Lee/Claremont is great... but I'll always prefer Arthur Adams over any of the Image clones he spawned with his style. At least Lee and J. Scott Campbell were pretty honest about their Adams influence. I'll die a miserable excruciating death before I buy a comic featuring any Liefield art... I remember having to buy a variant cover of Alan Moore's Supreme just so I didn't have to look at Liefield's tiny screaming mouth, giant neck, tiny head misbegotten, mutant child, bad proportioned excuse for art. Yeah, Art Adams was pretty much the first artist I was aware of that began the next level of detail in comic book art. I actually own the book you posted I always enjoyed Art Adams, but I prefer the proportions of Lee's characters. I always found Lee's approach interesting as it does more internal detailing, rather than outline detail. I wonder what Art is up to nowadays?

I'm going to say that it's probably good. Batman has always been one of the most story-driven comic books in the industry, and in recent years DC has been hellbent on getting some of the best writers in the industry to do Batman. And as for Lee, when one of his projects was less than good, it wasn't usually because his art was bad, it was usually because they paired him with a lousy writer. OT... what ever happened to Jim Lee's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? I might pick up the collected editions of the Hush Batman stories that Lee did. It would be a thrill to see Lee do Batman right.

Just saw the movie tonight. It was funny and I enjoyed it. It's not one of the best films I've ever seen, but it certainly was entertaining. Being a fan of the books, I was rather surprised by all the differences, but the heart of the books was certainly there, as well as the style of humor. This film is very british and my english friend was laughing more than I was, which was considerable. I really approved of much of the cast, especially Sam Rockwell's portrayl of Zaphod. He had some great lines. I also enjoyed the narration with excerpts of the guide. Very much like the book. Things I didn't like were some of the jokes, that were merely passable and provided little more than a brief chortle. Also, many of the changes from script to screen were very odd and didn't really make much sense. The Arthur/Trillian angle was strange (regardless of whether it worked or not) and several other such "additions" felt unnecessary, especially in light of original book material that could have been included. Not bad, not great, but entertaining and different. It worked for me and I'll be watching it again.

I don't disagree with that at all. My gripe with Jim Lee was the way he just sort of abandoned it all and sold out to DC. I loved the first 17 or so issues of WildC.A.T.S, and Backlash was one of my all-time favorite series. But WildC.A.T.S sort of spiralled downhill after Lee left the book to work on other projects (say what you will about Alam Moore's other works, his stint on WildC.A.T.S was horrendous) so I never followed it after Wildstorm went to DC, and while Stormwatch and Gen 13 went too, I never cared for them. I was dissapointed that WildCore (formerly Backlash) and Wetworks dissapeared. For the most part, I have to agree. I collected WildC.A.T.S up until issue 13 and it's still one of my favorite action comics series that I've ever owned. His run on X-Men up to issue 8 was also really good. When he started jumping around studios - in particular his work on Fantastic Four and a bunch of other draw-and-drop titles - I was really sorry to his skills go to waste on such banal material. What little good I enjoyed from it was Jim Lee draw Thor. I was a big Thor fan during Walter Simonson's run in the late 1980's, so even the little bit of a Lee Thor in a FF comic was a thrill. I was curious about the result of Jim Lee's recent run on Batman. I heard so much buzz over it, I was worried it was more marketting than actual worthy product.

Jim Lee's talent lies in his artwork and not in his story telling. He's a graphic artist, not a writer. During the early Image years, the whole point of these artists going to independant comic book companies was to usher in a new style and a new method of making comic books. Better artwork, better color, better quality paper, and characters that the artists controlled. For the most part, the Image titles were weak on story and strong in visual appeal. This was not a failing of any artist in particular, but rather a failing of the very concept of a graphic artist trying to write a book. The Image titles were never conceived to be Watchmen, Rising Stars, or The Dark Knight Returns. They did little to innovate comic book narrative structure or advance the medium of graphic format storytelling. The Image books were more action stories with some elements of drama. Jim Lee's success or failure depended most upon what projects he choose to draw. Some were good, some were not. Regardless, Image set a new standard for comic books (I'll leave others to argue over the merits or faults) and the big companies like Marvel and DC ultimately followed suit. Jim Lee's choice to go to Image was a good move, for himself and comic books in general.

Jim Lee is my favorite comic book artist. Always loved his work, even way back in his Punisher War Journal days

Holy poo you're right! Star Wars does suck! LOL

That is very cool. I must admit, I'm wasn't familiar with the layout of Gotham, but I did like the fictional skyshot of Gotham in the new trailer. A very nice use of special effects.

Very nice. I like the new cape/glider

I skimmed over the review and avoided most of the meat. Just wanted to get an idea of the most impressive stuff. It was good, even if I have Smith to thank for it I loved all the Star Wars films except The Phantom Menace, and even that I can watch on occassion. Odds are good I'll love this film. It's going to be just a little sad that this may be the last film I'll ever line up for in my life. The end of a geeky era? The short preview video was nice. It sure does look like a dark film. AND DAMN! That space battle is something I've been waiting to see on film since forever! Only Babylon 5 was able to match the excitment and emotion within a massive space battle since Return of the Jedi. Damn, I wish people would make more films with massive space fleet battles...done right of course. They are far too rare

Book arrived today from Amazon Japan. This book is everything I was hoping it would be. Very nice layout and easy to read on a table top. Large, full page paintings and a ton of stuff I haven't seen before. This is most certainly a book for Valkyrie lovers and those who appreciate fine art. I'd love to make some high resolution scans, but my scanner access is limited to the machines at work. If I can manage, I'll scan some pictures and post them.

Yeah, ANN had a link to this about 3-4 days ago. It is rather amusing and a little scarry.

It's really funny when the rest of the world clues into internet culture that we take for granted. Gawd, I feel like everyone is a decade behind when I see this stuff.

*someone walks on MrMarch's grave* hehehe

Thanks for the info F-ZeroOne. Always good to check up on this stuff. I must admit, it is somewhat strange the amount of attention I give to Japan. I suppose as a fan of their art media to a degree, I relate/notice more of what occurs in Japan as opposed to other countries. But I guess that's just me. I also watch what happens in Australia, the US, and Europe a great deal more than any other countries.