March 1, 2010 Johanna TV News Leave a comment

Proof That Superheroes Are Mainstream

I was watching Secret Diary of a Call Girl, starring Billie Piper (the first new Doctor’s main squeeze) as Belle, a high-priced London hooker and now writer. The most recent episode, the fifth of season three, had an interesting exchange between Bambi, another call girl Belle has been mentoring, and her new flame, Byron. Byron, a spoiled rich boy, first hired Bambi two weeks ago, and now the two are getting married. Belle doesn’t believe prostitutes can have boyfriends, so […]

February 28, 2010 Johanna Movie Reviews Leave a comment

The Accidental Husband

I like a good romantic comedy, even if I know what’s going to happen, but I strongly dislike movies aimed at women that insult my intelligence and engage in sexist stereotypes. Unfortunately, The Accidental Husband is one of those in the second category. A woman can want to be in love without being idiotic, childlike, or a criminal, although you wouldn’t know it from this. There are many spoilers below because I can’t make my point without discussing how the […]

Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths cover

February 28, 2010 Johanna DCU Original Animation 4 comments

Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths — The DVD Review

It’s an alternate Earth, a place where Lex Luthor heads up the good guys and the characters most like “our” Justice League are murderers. (Hmm, maybe that’s not so different from current comic continuity. The darkening of superhero comics makes it hard to tell the good guys from their “evil twins” these days.) Anyway, Luthor needs the Justice League to help him return democracy to his world and overthrow the Crime Syndicate in Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths. I […]

February 22, 2010 Johanna DCU Original Animation Leave a comment

Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths Interview With Bruce Timm

The next DCU original animated film, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, is out tomorrow. Here’s a sample clip that explains the premise. Also of note is that this disc contains the first DC Showcase short cartoon, starring The Spectre. Right now, while it’s still technically a pre-order, Amazon has the two-disc special edition at just about half off, making it $13. To promote the movie, Warner Home Video has provided the following interview with executive producer Bruce Timm. Question: […]

February 21, 2010 Johanna Comic Book Films Leave a comment

Who Wants to See Kick-Ass?

Kick-Ass, a comic by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr., is also a movie due out April 16. It’s about a teenage boy who wants to be a superhero but has no powers or abilities, so all that’s left is violence and blood. One of the lead characters is Hit Girl, an 11-year-old with killer swordplay and a foul mouth. Her father, creatively named Big Daddy, is played by the biggest name in the picture, Nicolas Cage. (From being considered […]

February 17, 2010 Johanna Movie News 3 comments

Disney Releases New Miyazaki/Ghibli Special Edition DVDs

On March 2, Disney will release Ponyo on both DVD and Blu-ray. The hand-drawn Ponyo, inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid, tells of the story of a five-year-old boy and his magical goldfish, who becomes a girl. The film’s “star-studded voice cast” includes Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Liam Neeson, and Betty White, although the children are new voices Noah Lindsey Cyrus (Ponyo, the fish-girl) and Frankie Jonas (the boy). Ponyo DVD Special Edition Ponyo Blu-ray List […]

February 15, 2010 Johanna Television Reviews Leave a comment

Doctor Who: The Complete Specials

It’s long been said that your favorite Doctor is the one you first watched. For many Americans of a certain generation, that was Tom Baker, the Fourth Doctor, whose run from 1974 – 1981 was the longest and most commonly shown in the U.S. I first saw him in the role when I lived in England during the 70s, but he wasn’t my favorite. That was Peter Davison, the first time around, and then it was David Tennant, the star […]

February 13, 2010 Johanna Movie Reviews One comment

Whip It

I was eagerly curious about Whip It, since it starred Ellen Page (Juno) and was Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut. It seemed like a girl-friendly flick, but I’d heard mixed things, and it didn’t seem to play in my area very long. So a prompt DVD release is a great idea. I don’t have much interest in roller derby on its own, but I did appreciate that the movie (and the novel it was based on, Derby Girl, reissued under this […]

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