But no household name has led a life devoid of conflict and drama, and the three-director doc skirts over those portions, because I assume this project was made with the subject’s full approval. It is — pardon my French — one ass-kisser of a career retrospective. To give credit where credit is due, Lee truly […]
comics
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Knight watch
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US” lang=”EN-US”> Jack Walker is one of the lucky ones: Officially, he’s Batman. Living a dream of arguably millions, the British-born actor dons cape and cowl — not at a theater near you, not on any Bat-channel, but in the flesh, before your eyes, in cities worldwide, in the Batman Live arena tour. […]
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Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1
Christopher Nolan’s recent trilogy, concluding with this summer’s The Dark Knight Rises, owes more to Miller than Tim Burton’s two versions did, and on Rises’ boot heels comes an animated adaptation of Miller’s source material in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1, directed by Jay Oliva (Green Lantern: Emerald Knights). At an hour and […]
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Blade Anime
Therefore, I should love Blade Anime. And yet, even going in with no expectations to do just that, I don’t. Worse, I didn’t even like it. Collecting all 12 episodes — each about 20 minutes — the Japanese series offers strong visuals throughout, as it uses Blade’s origin as a diving board to tell an […]
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Steve Niles’ Remains
Making Reno, Nev., look like a miserable stinkhole of a city — and that’s even before any undead show up — Remains focuses on the dozens of denizens who play and work in the Silver Star Hotel and Casino. When a government test of a new “nuke oven” goes awry, everyone who’s not, say, having […]
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Some Guy Who Kills People
Corrigan often plays losers and underdogs, but rarely as the lead. Here, he’s ice cream parlor worker Kenny Boyd, sometimes further humiliated by having to don a costume as a mint chocolate chip cone at kids’ birthday parties. But, hey, it beats the loony bin, from which he’s newly sprung. Bullied and tormented since his […]
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Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
That’s especially true for Spirit, considering it was directed by the acquired-taste tag team of Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, who gave the world such amped-up, anti-establishment thrillers as Gamer, Crank and its now-immortal Crank: High Voltage. By (thankfully) replacing non-returning director Mark Steven Johnson, Neveldine/Taylor automatically make this follow-up cooler. They get their mitts […]
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Archie Meets KISS
But who should follow these beasts from another dimension? Why, Gene Simmons and his bandmates, who proclaim, “We’re gonna rock those monsters back where they came from!!” (Double exclamation points theirs.) Therefore, the excellent title of Archie Meets KISS is fulfilled — certainly the greatest team-up in comics history since 1994’s Archie Meets the Punisher. […]
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Captain America: The First Avenger
That would be bad, however, because Marvel has saved the best for last. It’s miles better than that Norse god with the magic hammer, and just a hair below the greatness of Robert Downey Jr.’s first go-round in his iron armor, both of whom will team with Cap in next summer’s guaranteed nerdgasm, “The Avengers.” […]
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Laugh tracks
“It’s really important that I sell at least one more copy of my album than Leah,” Porter said. “That’s all I really care about. I’d consider myself a complete failure and probably kill myself. I’m just sayin.’” “I’m going to sell at least 100 more than you,” Kayajanian said. “Hell, I might end up buying […]