March 1, 2014 Johanna Movie News 2 comments

Disney Finally Announces an UltraViolet Alternative

Disney has been the biggest holdout from participating in UltraViolet, the movie studio digital copy system. UltraViolet isn’t available on iTunes — from this observer’s perspective, it appears to have been set up to purposefully take customers away from that preferred outlet — and Disney and Apple have long-standing connections through Pixar. Now comes news that the studio is launching Disney Movies Anywhere, a digital copy system using iTunes and iOS devices. The goal, of course, is to allow you […]

February 25, 2014 Johanna Comic Book Films One comment

Thor: The Dark World Eliminates Combo Pack Option

Out today is Thor: The Dark World on home video. (It’s been available for digital purchase since the beginning of the month, February 4.) Your options for purchase are as follows: Thor: The Dark World 3-D combo pack Thor: The Dark World Blu-ray Thor: The Dark World DVD The only multi-disc pack is the 3-D version, which comes with two Blu-rays, one standard, one 3-D, and a digital copy. The other versions are single discs, either Blu-ray or DVD. Which […]

February 23, 2014 Johanna Vertical Manga Reviews Leave a comment

Helter Skelter: Fashion Unfriendly

Although similar in tone and approach to her Pink (but with a stronger, less episodic storyline), Kyoko Okazaki’s Helter Skelter may be more approachable. It’s a more recent work, for one thing, and the subject matter may be more sympathetic. Liliko is a top model, beautiful and well-built. She knows she’s in demand, so she treats those around her — so long as she’s not in public — like dirt. Her secret is that she’s a creation of plastic surgery, […]

February 23, 2014 Johanna Vertical Manga Reviews One comment

Pink

Pink was originally published in the late 1980s, and I think it helps make sense of it — however much the story does make sense — to realize that culture had different expectations and obsessions then. It was the tail end of a decade devoted to consumerism and appearance and money, where everyone worked hard to afford the branded clothes and status symbols that showed you knew what mattered. Yet this story of young people on the loose in the […]

February 23, 2014 Johanna Other Prose Leave a comment

Golden State

I thought at first Golden State was going to be more science-fictional than it was, since the backdrop is a vote for whether California will secede from the United States. That’s not the point here, though. It’s really an exploration of the life choices and relationships of Julie, a doctor at the VA who’s having a really challenging day. The secession is just a symbol of potential future, whether breaking up allows for more options than staying with something troubled […]

February 23, 2014 Johanna Other Prose 6 comments

Fangirl

Fangirl is an amazing story, the kind of college experience we all wish we could have. Cath is a fanfic writer, and a good one. She is best known for stories pairing up Simon Snow, boy magician, with his vampire roommate Baz. She used to write with her twin sister Wren, but they’ve been growing apart. Even so, Cath is surprised when Wren declares she’s going to room with someone else as they go off to college. Cath’s first year […]

February 23, 2014 Johanna Other Prose Leave a comment

Don’t Even Think About It

Out next month is Don’t Even Think About It, a mash-up of Gossip Girl and The X-Men by Sarah Mlynowski. When 22 high school sophomores in New York City get flu shots, none of them expected the side effect of telepathy. Now no one can keep secrets, and they find out what their parents and classmates are really thinking. Pi is the unofficial leader of the group, a girl who’s constantly working hard to make her intelligence apparent because she […]

February 22, 2014 Johanna IDW / Top Shelf One comment

Rocketeer / The Spirit: Pulp Friction

Out next month is a dynamite pairing of two comic properties with old-fashioned flavor. Rocketeer / The Spirit: Pulp Friction works so well because the creators know their stuff. The characters sound right (and different from each other), their histories are acknowledged (without leaving out readers who don’t know them), and the look is nicely retro, clear and easy to read. It’s 1941, and the Spirit, Commissioner Dolan, and Ellen Dolan go to Los Angeles, where they run into Cliff […]

« 1 … 358 359 360 361 362 … 619 »