A “Brave” New Princess

September 12th, 2012 | Posted by Karen in Film | Pop Culture - (0 Comments)

 

brave 2012 box office pixar disney A Brave New Princess

Cinderella is virtuous and gentle. Snow White is as pure as the driven snow. Belle has brains and beauty. With each movie, the Disney princesses are getting sassier and ballsier and Irish princess, Merida, of Disney’s Brave is that new sort of princess. Similar to Mulan with her warrior spirit, Merida is quite handy with a sword and deadly accurate with a bow and arrow. Unlike Mulan, who honored and upheld family tradition, this sassy Scottish lass of flaming red curls rebels against anything that contradicts her fiery indepenence and freedom.

She is … your typical teenager (albeit, without the medieval weaponry efficiency).

And like many teenagers, Princess Fireball wants to be the mistress of her own fate rather than her overbearing queen-mother. But be beary careful what you wish for lassy, you just might get it.

 

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Comic Book Review: The Devil’s Concubine

February 11th, 2012 | Posted by Jeremy Holt in Art | Books | Comics | News - (0 Comments)

devilsconcubine cvr Comic Book Review: The Devils Concubine

WRITTEN BY: PALLE SCHMIDT

ART BY: PALLE SCHMIDT

COVER ART: PETER SNEJBJERG

PUBLISHER: IDW PUBLISHING

Creating crime fiction can be a messy affair and I’m not even talking about the high bloodshed pre-requisite. Just like any good story the characters have to be intriguing, but the heart of a great crime tale is a complex and ultimately believable plot that manages to suspend any disbelief in the reader. Now if you can throw in a few witty jokes to grease the wheels, then you’re playing on the fields of Raymond Chandler and Elmore Leonard. Enter Danish comic book superstar Palle Schmidt’s original graphic novel The Devil’s Concubine.

The story revolves around Jean-Luc and Linda, two hit men who accidentally kill their contacts while attempting to deliver a mysterious package for an unknown party. What seems like a straight-forward recover and delivery assignment, quickly spirals out of control as every gangster and crooked cop in a 100 mile radius desperately want what’s in an unmarked and sealed cooler.

The calm and collected Jean-Luc opposite his thrill-seeking assistant, Linda, make for an intriguing odd couple. However different their methods may be, their teamwork ultimately keeps them alive as they shoot their way through the crime underworld on a mission to track down the man that hired them.

Originally released in Denmark, The Devil’s Concubine incorporates a healthy amount of American crime pulp in the vain of 100 Bullets and the witty banter of Get Shorty. What’s more impressive then the story itself are the moments of absolute brilliant comedic timing which really sets this crime story apart. Humor is not easy to write and even more challenging to draw, but Schmidt peppers these moments in like a seasoned chef. He expertly weaves in a healthy mixture of non-fiction and fictional crime elements that demonstrate a keen eye to detail that every great crime writer possesses.

As a one-man comic book creating army, Schmidt also draws and colors the book; his art being cut above the rest. He clearly understands the subtle nuances in engaging storytelling with his dynamic layouts and consistently stylized line work. His colors provide just the right amount of mood and grit that engaging crime comic books are made of.

Oh, and did I mention all of the action-packed explosions and bloodshed? Yeah, there’s plenty of that to satisfy one’s appetite for violence. It’s all grade-A badass and I’m glad that IDW saw a diamond that is Schmidt’s work, amidst the rough and over saturated market of true crime comics. I have a feeling he’s just getting started and if so, consider me a true believer.

Rating: (5/5)

Available through Amazon or your lovely local comic book shop

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Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: Blu-Ray Review

October 25th, 2011 | Posted by Joy Hogger in DVD - (0 Comments)

onstrangertidesbd2d 522x651 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: Blu Ray Review
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is the first Pirates movie sans Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightly. You are probably not surprised to learn, the franchise doesn’t need them. Instead Jack Sparrow plays alongside Penelope Cruz and Ian McShane; A father daughter team on a quest for the fountain of youth. As with any Pirates movie, all three parties con one another regularly and alliances steadily shift. It easily fits in with the first three films and it’s refreshing to see another chapter in the life of Jack Sparrow begin to play out. Also, mermaids are in this one!

Besides the glossy semi-holographic art work, the Blu-Ray edition is nothing to write home about. Audio Commentary and a new Disney feature called “Disney Second Screen” which has you start the movie on both a mobile device and your blu-ray player simultaneously so you can explore interactive content while you watch. This is great for those with ADD, but some of us still are able to watch movies without also playing Angry Birds at the same time.

All in all, if you are a Pirates fan I would wait until Depp says he won’t do anymore and Disney releases some glorious box set. But that day doesn’t look like it’s coming anytime soon.

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ADVANCE Comic Book Review: XENOHOLICS #1

September 26th, 2011 | Posted by Jeremy Holt in Comics | News - (0 Comments)

xenoholics 1 522x803 ADVANCE Comic Book Review: XENOHOLICS #1

WRITTEN BY: JOSHUA WILLIAMSON

ART BY: SETH DAMOOSE

COVER ART: DAN DUNCAN

PUBLISHER: IMAGE SHADOWLINE

Do You Believe? These were the three words that ran through my head when I first heard about Image Shadowline’s next ongoing series involving alien abductees. As a huge fan of the X-Files, I was initially concerned that this series was going to involve cliffhanger after cliffhanger void of any substantial scenes involving aliens. I tip my hat to Joshua Williamson for not only avoiding this, but for taking the complete opposite stance by slapping us in the face with a double splash credits page of an alien scene before we even get to page one. This immediately set the tone for what appears to be an extremely fun but quirky look inside people’s fascination with U.F.O.s and other alien phenomena.

The story follows Bob who’s an average-joe that happens to have been abducted by little grey aliens, and the negative repercussions this event has on his family and friends. With nowhere else to turn, he’s advised to attend a meeting for other like-minded individuals who suffer from similar forms of alien encounters.

Meet Joe’s support group: Maven – Ultimate fighter, Junior – a.k.a Sgt. Garfield Rhodes II, Paige – stay-at-home mom, Ginger Glory – punk rock superstar, and Kyle – ???. After a seemingly impossible alien event occurs that makes national headlines, coupled with the group’s counselor suddenly going missing, Bob and the gang find themselves relying on their various alien experiences to attempt to figure what the hell is actually happening.

I have to admit that I wasn’t familiar with Seth Damoose’s work and initially did not find his style worth the Image Shadowline price point. BUT, Joshua Williamson’s quirky writing style truly does compliment Damoose’s highly stylized line work and by the middle of issue one, I was hooked. Paul Little’s bold color palette provides a fun and bright contrast to the rather weird and dark humor of the story.

I found the diversity in the ensemble cast of characters to be both fun and engaging. Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised to see the story not take a serious tone for one moment. What really caught me about the overall premise isn’t whether you believe aliens exist (because they do!), but rather do you believe your neighbor’s alien story? What could have been a straight forward cat and mouse game between humans and extra-terrestials, has actually turned into a very interesting multiple character study. As complex and foreign as the notion of potential alien life is, Williamson has decided to shift focus on a species equally as complex and foreign – the human individual.

I can’t say that this comic will fill the void that the X-Files left many of us with, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t a bizarre fun take on one of America’s most beloved fascinations. Consider me a believer.

Rating: (4/5)

Hits shelves: Oct. 19th

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Herpes Boy: Review: The Greatest Indie Comedy You Haven’t seen

August 23rd, 2011 | Posted by Joy Hogger in Film - (0 Comments)

MV5BMjIyNjc0MTQzMl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNTkxMTk0Mg@@. V1. SX640 SY320 522x261 Herpes Boy: Review: The Greatest Indie Comedy You Havent seen
Dozens of indie comedies come out every year but only few have as many film festival credentials and crests and Herpes Boy – including the winner of the Comic-Con Film Festival 2010. Like many other indie comedies including Derrick Comedy’s “Mystery Team”, Herpes Boy started as a web series but was quickly adapted to a feature film. Now available on iTunes, On Demand, Amazon.com and others, Herpes Boy follows the life a misanthropic (hates people) teenager with a rather unfortunate birthmark (not herpes) and an even more unfortunate internet following.

One only needs to read the comments of your typical YouTube confessional video to see how opinionated, extreme, crazy and delusional people are. The film follows the misadventures of one such internet (accidental) celebrity as he struggles with diarrhea, internet mockery and most importantly – the death of his father. After his fame-whore cousin visits to mourn the death, his video’s quickly make him infamous around the web.

Break out star Byron Lane wrote and starred in the film alongside No Country For Old Men’s Beth Grant and The Help’s Octavia Spencer. If you are not watching it this second, stop reading this and hit the On Demand button on your remote.

watch the trailer

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Comic Book Review: THE INTREPIDS #5

July 26th, 2011 | Posted by Jeremy Holt in Comics | News - (0 Comments)

intrepids05 cov web 522x803 Comic Book Review: THE INTREPIDS #5

WRITTEN BY: KURTIS J. WIEBE

ART AND COVERS BY: SCOTT KOWALCHUK

PUBLISHER: IMAGE COMICS

Family dynamics is a very complicated matter. I don’t think anyone can honestly say their relationship with their parents is a perfect and flawless one. But at the same time, it’s the choices of the parents (good or bad) that directly influence choices their children will make as they grow up. Kurtis Wiebe doesn’t stray far from this concept and for very good reason. The Intrepids #5 reveals major plot points that redefine the relationships of the characters that we assumed were established at the very beginning of issue #1.

I have to give major props to Wiebe for his ability to tell an all-aged tale with enough depth and insight that’s also accessible to the exclusively “mature” readership. I’m not going to lie, I LOVE my gritty and graphic comics, so a part of me thought this book wasn’t going to be my cup of tea. By issue #2, I was pleasantly surprised to find how wrong I was in this self-assessment.

I can’t help but enjoy following the misadventures of orphans Crystal, Doyle, Rose, and Chester for several reasons. The most notable being that I happen to be adopted, so the premise had an immediate draw for me, but what’s kept me reading is Wiebe’s ability to keep such a heavy subject somewhat light and entertaining. I have no doubt that he could have easily scripted struggles of adoption with a much darker/dramatic tone (which I know it originally had been), but that would have been too easy.

Queue artist Scott Kowalchuk. Scott’s energetic and fun style truly keeps this story grounded in the best of ways. The often playful banter between the characters is perfectly complimented by Kowalchuk’s minimal but expressive line work. I found my eye bouncing around each and every colorful page thanks to Kowalchuck’s simple but effective layouts that don’t try to detour the reader’s attention from the story. Consistency in the art is crucial in order to preserve a well constructed story and The Intrepids is the real deal.

Intrepids #5 delivers in a big way overall for this Image Comics miniseries. After enjoying re-reading this issue half a dozen times, Wiebe & Kowalchuk remind me that the hardest truth to parenthood is not realizing how delicate the bond of trust is until it’s been broken. In the end, family isn’t what society defines for us, rather it’s what we create for ourselves. I can’t wait to read next month’s concluding chapter to a story I’ve proudly adopted as one of my guilty pleasures.

SIDE NOTE: I’ve had a lifelong fascination with Giant Squid, so to depict one so creatively in a comic book…o_O *speechless* except to say these guys are awesome!

Rating: (4.5/5)

Hits shelves today!

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Comic Book Review: ELDRITCH! #1

July 14th, 2011 | Posted by Jeremy Holt in Comics - (0 Comments)

Eldritch COVER 522x806 Comic Book Review: ELDRITCH! #1

WRITTEN BY: AARON ALEXOVICH

ART BY: DREW RAUSCH

PUBLISHER: N/A

Can you remember when you were at the age when the world seemed like a big playground? Think real hard now, I know, feels like forever ago doesn’t it? I’d be lying if I said comic books don’t take me back to that moment in my life, because they absolutely do. However, my taste in story, character development, and art style has matured to fit my present sensibilities.

Being a comic book writer myself, I’ve often tried to take a stab at writing a more all-age appropriate story, but have yet to produce anything that a 10 year old would be allowed to read. So imagine my surprise to find a comic that not only captures the kid in all of us, but tells it at the pace of a kid tweaking from an all-night sugar binge. Enter Eldritch #1 – written by Aaron Alexovich and art by Drew Rausch. Originally conceived as a serialized web comic through the late Zuda imprint of DC Comics, it has now been re-collected into serialized self-published issues.

Set in a fictional suburbia, we are introduced to the enigmatic Anya Sobczek, who’s adventurous soul seems to find more trouble than good. When her brother reveals a magic trick that is more supernatural than actual magic, Anya has no choice but to solve what she believes is in fact plaguing her brother. Little does she know that there are bigger mysteries lurking in her neighborhood.

Eldritch’s overall style is a sunday afternoon cartoon directed by Tim Burton. These guys manage to cram A LOT of energy and plot progression into each and every panel. It was a lot of fun to see this rather large ensemble cast of characters with their extreme personalities constantly colliding with each other. As wordy as this script appears to be, these guys certainly know their way around a comic book page.

What I do really like most of all is the creative team’s decision to have a female as the lead character in this story. I personally find rebellious girls to be WAY more interesting than their male counterparts. Don’t ask me why this is. The little gems of 80’s references tucked within this issue certainly increased the overall enjoyability of the issue.

Without a doubt, this comic is worth a read for anyone that misses the quirky adventures of their youth. As much as I almost want to see Eldritch as an animated series on Adult Swim (the stylized art certainly lends itself to the medium), I’m very happy that these guys are taking their digital comic book off the web, and making the necessary arrangements to get it into people’s hands.

Rating: (3/5)

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