I like Nana the manga series so much I was a little uncertain about watching the live-action movie on DVD, because I feared it wouldn’t be as good. I was wrong. It’s a different way of telling the story, but it’s well worth watching. I was amazed they found actors who looked so much like the characters. Nana is rail thin, just this side of sickly, with a great voice and the magnetic, forceful personality needed. She wears the miniskirts […]

I finally sat down and watched Spider-Man 2 tonight, because when talking about how much I loved Iron Man, some people said this was better. About 40 minutes in, KC and I looked at each other and said “THIS is supposed to be the best superhero movie ever?” We’d just watched Doctor Octopus, having newly gained his arms, stagger out of the hospital after killing everyone, and neither one of us knew what emotion he was supposed to be feeling […]

Simply put, this is the best superhero movie ever. I realized, watching this story of a self-obsessed super-rich genius, that the problem with most superheroes is that they’re completely egotistical. Most can do things no one else can, so there’s some justification for it, but all believe that they’re above the law and a force unto themselves. Iron Man brings that superhuman approach down to the realistic level, because its lead character has always been that way, and so there’s […]

You’ve probably heard that 30 Days of Night is opening this weekend, based on the comic franchise of the same name. (10-Second Comic Review: clever concept, paled quickly, most memorable to me because I sold my original miniseries copies on ebay for over $100.) Movie reviews are all over the board, with horror fans seeming much more charitable than those from the general audience. I won’t be seeing it. What am I interested in seeing, if it comes to my […]

I didn’t see this film on the big screen, and as I watch it begin now on the new DVD, I think maybe I should have. The portentous introduction, I suspect, would have played better in a dark theater than a living room with distractions abounding. It quickly became irrelevant, though, as I got lost in the movie. This two-DVD set (review copy provided) has the trailer a 15-minute making-of with artist David Lloyd, producer Joel Silver, director James McTeigue, […]

Man oh man, what is Frank Miller’s fascination with male genital mutilation? Yes, Sin City was exactly what I expected: heaping lumps of testosterone-soaked sexism portrayed in visually interesting ways. What I didn’t expect was how often my husband and I laughed at the overwrought voiceovers. I hated the text, but I enjoyed the film. Although when it was over, he asked me if I’d seen A Clockwork Orange. I said yes, why? He responded that this felt like what […]

I know the Fantastic Four movie wasn’t all that popular with comic fans, but I liked it. It was exactly what I expected, an enjoyable summer action movie with comic book characters. Some random thoughts: Reed Richards really was portrayed as the “world’s dumbest smart guy”, as Doom said. He didn’t seem to do much of anything in this film; everything was someone else’s invention or choice or accident. He was pretty to look at, but that got boring quickly. […]