tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76869682024-03-07T13:14:18.865-05:00Bill Reed: Idle of MillionsAmusing and bemusing rants and raves. Unabashed tomfoolery. An imaginary audience.Bill Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14811238618910477219noreply@blogger.comBlogger143125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686968.post-92071248086564177512014-01-05T18:52:00.002-05:002014-01-05T18:52:44.755-05:00All the movies: 2013<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">By my count I watched 167 films in 2013-- 166 features and 1 short substantial enough that I counted it. Three were viewed in a movie theater. The vast majority of them either came from Netflix (discs by mail!) or were recorded to the ol' DVR-- usually from Turner Classic Movies. I watched a few of 'em on my RCA SelectaVision CED player, which is older than I am.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Purely for my own amusement, I list them below, in the order they were viewed. </span>Unless otherwise noted, I watched them for the first time. That's right, before 2013 I had never seen such classics as Mad Max, Chinatown, or Billy the Kid vs. Dracula. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i>January:</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Funny People</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Trouble with the Curve</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Doomsday</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Ocean's 11 (1960)</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Looper</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
The Bourne Legacy</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Your Sister's Sister</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Beasts of the Southern Wild</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
To Rome with Love<br />Total Recall (2012)</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Stolen (2009)</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Premium Rush</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i>February:</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Seven Psychopaths</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Frankenweenie (2012)</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Ted</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Flight</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
The Thing (1982) <i>(rewatch)</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
That Guy... Who Was in That Thing</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Taken 2</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
End of Watch</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Holy Motors</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i>March:</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Liberal Arts</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Robot & Frank</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
The Master</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Wreck-It Ralph</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
The Intouchables</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Sleeping Beauty (2011)</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Argo</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Zero Dark Thirty</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Phil Spector</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Les Miserables (2012)</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Lincoln</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i>April:</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Evil Dead (2013)</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
The Raid: Redemption <i>(rewatch)</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Killing Them Softly</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Page Eight</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Gremlins <i>(rewatch – but basically new to me)</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
A Late Quartet</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Gremlins 2: The New Batch <i>(rewatch – but again, basically new)</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Lifeforce</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Hitchcock</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Life of Pi</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Django Unchained</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Sound of My Voice</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Repo Man</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i>May:</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
The Howling</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">An American Werewolf in London
</span><i>(rewatch)</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
The Fog (1980)</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Juan of the Dead</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Silver Linings Playbook</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Iron Man 3</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
John Dies at the End</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
The Guilt Trip</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Hyde Park on Hudson</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Drive <i>(rewatch)</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Jack Reacher</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Stand-Up Guys</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
The Last Stand</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
The Killer</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Behind the Candelabra</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Rise of the Guardians</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Murder by Death</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Shaft's Big Score!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Shaft in Africa</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i>June:</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Gangster Squad</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
After Fall, Winter</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Killer Joe</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Warm Bodies</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
The Silence of the Lambs</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Adaptation.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
The Searchers</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Certified Copy</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Head</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Dredd</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Man of Steel</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Rushmore</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Night of the Creeps</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Promised Land</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Mad Dog and Glory</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Lola Versus</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Oz the Great and Powerful</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Bottle Rocket</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Side Effects</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Superman (1978) <i>(rewatch)</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Quartet</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i>July:</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
V/H/S</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Upside Down</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Superman II – theatrical cut <i>(rewatch)</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
A Good Day to Die Hard</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Lady in the Lake</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Jack the Giant Slayer</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Sharknado</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Superman III <i>(I must have seen this before... but I don't remember
it)</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Hunky Dory</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Save the Date</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
The Expendables 2</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Smashed</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i>August:</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Anna Karenina (2012)</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Hopscotch</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
GI Joe: Retaliation</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
The Sapphires</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Day for Night</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
The Man with the Iron Fists</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Admission</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
The Fury</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
42</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Trance</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Clear History</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Mud</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
California Suite</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
The Twelve Chairs</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Upstream Color</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Lawless</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i>September:</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i><br /></i><span style="font-style: normal;">Oblivion</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Star Trek Into Darkness</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
The Place Beyond the Pines</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Now You See Me</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Brazil</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Rollerball (1975)</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Mad Max</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
World War Z</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
The FP</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
The Great Gatsby (2013)</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i>October:</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Unfinished Song</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Kon-Tiki (2012)</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Billy the Kid vs. Dracula
</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
La Jetee (short)</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Much Ado About Nothing (2013)</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
After Earth</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
The East</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Europa Report</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Before Midnight</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Only God Forgives</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i>November:</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
I Give It a Year</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Theatre of Blood</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
White House Down</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Olympus Has Fallen</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Rope</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Chinatown</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Frances Ha</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Hatchet for the Honeymoon</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Rust and Bone</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
The Heat</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
The Internship</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
The Way, Way Back</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i>December:</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Skyfall </span><i>(rewatch)</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
R.I.P.D.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
The Wicker Man (1973)</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Monsters University</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Pacific Rim</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Stoker</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
This Is Spinal Tap</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Celeste & Jesse Forever</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
The Abominable Dr. Phibes</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
The World's End</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
The Stepford Wives (1975)</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Minority Report</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Drinking Buddies</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Mission: Impossible (1996)</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Die Hard <i>(rewatch)</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Ain't Them Bodies Saints</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Klute</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
The Wolverine</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>Bill Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14811238618910477219noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686968.post-22123938126177360272013-07-17T12:46:00.000-05:002013-07-17T12:46:58.660-05:00Suggested titles for the next John McClane adventure<i>Live Fast, Die Hard</i><br />
<i>Die Hard or Die Trying<br />Old Habits Die Hard</i><br />
<i>Twenty-Sided Die Hard</i><br />
<i>It's Die Hard Out Here for a Pimp</i><br />
<i>Can You Die Harder than a Fifth Grader?</i><br />
<i>Die Soft? Die Hard with Cialis ®</i><br />
<i>Die Hard Die </i>(German for "The Hard, The")<br />
<i></i><br />
<i>Die Darkman Die Hard </i>(crossover with Liam Neeson)Bill Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14811238618910477219noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686968.post-73884054821003623842013-02-08T19:03:00.004-05:002013-02-08T19:24:40.475-05:00I wrote a crossword puzzleWriting a crossword puzzle is something I've wanted to do for a while. I did not realize how difficult it would be. The following is not very good, but at least it's finished. Please feel free to click the following to embiggen and print out, and play along at home:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkKh7W1KLDQ7C32jX_BvWI78OL-HFWhVpwKXKidgS6ZK-7WA3y1eXpWyrMysHs5FLwMJHejtZp7T9J3hkedJxN7JqJMgk8X4tKlLyuqbcnfHN6GcJBflOBT1o45PeVOXTcGiTSjA/s1600/Crossword+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="730" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkKh7W1KLDQ7C32jX_BvWI78OL-HFWhVpwKXKidgS6ZK-7WA3y1eXpWyrMysHs5FLwMJHejtZp7T9J3hkedJxN7JqJMgk8X4tKlLyuqbcnfHN6GcJBflOBT1o45PeVOXTcGiTSjA/s640/Crossword+1.png" width="525" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />Bill Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14811238618910477219noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686968.post-860845776147274762012-07-12T22:58:00.000-05:002012-07-12T22:58:25.354-05:00Further Comic Book Prequels to Explore<i>Daredevil: Born the First Time </i><br />
<i>A the First Man</i><br />
<i>To Hell</i><br />
<i>Dredd Passes the Bar Exam</i><br />
<i>Maus Babies</i><br />
<i>The Dark Knight Retires</i><br />
<i>Before Before Watchmen</i>Bill Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14811238618910477219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686968.post-85419899934813165742012-06-20T14:59:00.001-05:002012-06-20T15:08:10.142-05:00The Best Movies of 2011<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
I know, I know, we're like halfway through 2012. But I finally think I have seen enough movies from last year to provide a decent list of the best films of 2011. Your mileage, as always, may vary. But your mileage would be wrong. (These aren't really in order but they're sort of in order. They're in <i>an</i> order.) (I have not seen <i>The Artist </i>yet, but I've seen all the other Best Picture nominees, except <i>Extremely Loud and Incredibly Cloying</i>, which you can't pay me to see. None of the other nominees are on this list, but <i>Midnight in Paris</i> comes the closest, mostly because I have an English degree.)</div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0780504/">Drive</a>:</b> I was riveted from the first frame; and each frame could be a poster.</div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1540133/">The Guard</a>: </b>The dialogue really sparkles in this. It's funny, violent, a bit sad. It's like a Coen brothers movie from the 90s. It is better than Fargo.</div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1478964/">Attack the Block</a>: </b>In the beginning, I did not think this was for me. By the end, I was for it. This movie is leaner than a greyhound and twice as energetic.</div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_709026872"><b><span class="title"></span></b></a><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1124035/"><b>The Ides of March</b></a>: Maybe I just have a man-crush on Ryan Gosling. If George Clooney quit acting and switched to directing, I'd be fine with that. His films are always good. </div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_709026876"><b><br /></b></a></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1864288/"><b>Conan O'Brien Can't Stop</b></a>: I have a lot in common with Conan, and I don't just mean we have the same hair.</div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_709026876"><b><br /></b></a></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0983193/"><b>The Adventures of Tintin</b></a>: This is the Indiana Jones 4 we didn't get the first time.</div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_709026888"></a></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0458339/"><b>Captain America: The First Avenger</b></a>:<b> </b>I had no complaints. They got everything right.</div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Honorable mentions:</div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1192628/">Rango</a>; <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1532503/">Beginners</a>; <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1605783/">Midnight in Paris</a>; <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1229238/">Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol</a></b>;</div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
The worst movie of 2011:</div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0978764/"><b>Sucker Punch</b></a>: Ugh.</div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Anything I am missing? Anything I should see? Anything I saw but didn't like that much but you did so you're gonna tell me about it anyway?</div>Bill Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14811238618910477219noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686968.post-24990629947271891022012-06-08T11:01:00.000-05:002012-06-08T11:04:48.461-05:00Where we're at with the whole DC Comics thing<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Remember when I ranked all 52 #1s from DC? Well let's do something like that and check in on what I'm actually still reading.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">BUYING:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Batman</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Demon Knights</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Dial H</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">BUYING BUT THINKING ABOUT GOING OUT FOR MILK AND NOT COMING BACK:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Animal Man</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE (let's see what Kindt brings to it)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Swamp Thing </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">DROPPED:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Blackhawks</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Justice League Dark</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Stormwatch</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> CANCELLED:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Static Shock (I would have dropped it anyway; what a massive dive from a promising debut issue. Bernardin's two issues were an improvement, though) </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">WAITING FOR THE COLLECTION:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Action Comics (I have gone to hardcovers-only for Grant Morrison comics)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">All Star Western </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Batman Incorporated</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Wonder Woman </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">SHOULD GET THE COLLECTION BUT WILL PROBABLY CONVENIENTLY FORGET TO DO SO:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Batman and Robin</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Batwoman</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Birds of Prey </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Flash </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">STRONGLY THINKING ABOUT PICKING UP:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Green Arrow (Ann Nocenti edition) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">"WAVE THREE" TITLES I INTEND TO BUY:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">... </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">And just to be fair:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">MARVEL TITLES I AM BUYING:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Daredevil (ordered the first trade) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">PunisherMAX (one trade left to go)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">THE BEST COMIC:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Atomic Robo </span>Bill Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14811238618910477219noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686968.post-84702821168166539642012-02-10T12:44:00.003-05:002012-02-10T12:46:57.541-05:00Team Comics<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXkhqkm3tzRBkbnmAwa1enKJuJ3jkpjQLp_XEEH3zig3WeI72nOmdE8r5ggJlE9n5IVALTbI5bqseb6VAhCYxjPX5GHTv6d-iqNPx5MmiDnLvr7x-cHJZY4xwOFD7GpQd07SYmsQ/s1600/Pagus.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 335px; height: 276px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXkhqkm3tzRBkbnmAwa1enKJuJ3jkpjQLp_XEEH3zig3WeI72nOmdE8r5ggJlE9n5IVALTbI5bqseb6VAhCYxjPX5GHTv6d-iqNPx5MmiDnLvr7x-cHJZY4xwOFD7GpQd07SYmsQ/s400/Pagus.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5707564358195316466" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">(Image by </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://mkupperman2.wordpress.com/">Michael Kupperman</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">. Copyright him.</span>)<br /></div>Bill Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14811238618910477219noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686968.post-76469540952811405952012-01-18T18:16:00.004-05:002012-01-18T18:32:28.821-05:00Cut out the "about"<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">A lot of my time on the internet is spent reading articles or critical essays on other works of art, literature, film, comics, TV, etc. Some of my time is spent writing about those same things. The rest, obviously, is naked ladies and pictures of cats, because that's what the internet is for. In this dangerous territory where information is the most dangerous game of all and the government threatens to turn off the lights, only Snake Plissken can escape... the internet.</span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br />What am I saying?</span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Right, reading and writing about st</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">uff. After a while, that cuts you off from the stuff itself. It's all middleman. And, you know, it's cool that the world has a platform on which they can praise, discuss, and condemn the culture around them, and I enjoy reading a lot of that. The internet, however, is a hungry beast, and it eats time. I've spent a lot of hours reading about things, writing about things. I have 35 tabs open in Firefox right now. "That looks nice, I'll read that eventually," I say, popping it open into a new tab and moving onto the </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">next headline, the newer fix. </span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The internet chokes on its babies, like the titan Cronos. It is just about time to ralph.<br /><br />I really need to stop. 2011 was going to be the year I weaned myself off the internet, starting watching and reading the real material, not the stuff written about it, started writing things, creating. It didn't happen. We're in year eight or so of my five year plan.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I've really got to cut out the about.</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-4flmGuvK8lMQzpt4aRDQcg8y3Fk7YdK2PbWqE0_klS_wF8ac_FDa6b2nJoKuGKtBtP0NWlawvMyUiZmb7BtpOORqfq4Mo9svL3NRXuIO71RjY9zUe6V1kT6pwsqqwA0QI5udqw/s1600/Hausu+cat.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 195px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-4flmGuvK8lMQzpt4aRDQcg8y3Fk7YdK2PbWqE0_klS_wF8ac_FDa6b2nJoKuGKtBtP0NWlawvMyUiZmb7BtpOORqfq4Mo9svL3NRXuIO71RjY9zUe6V1kT6pwsqqwA0QI5udqw/s320/Hausu+cat.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699117027088536770" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">(By the way, <span style="font-style: italic;">Hausu</span> is awesome.</span>)<br /></div>Bill Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14811238618910477219noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686968.post-27127465741371107302011-11-05T21:33:00.002-05:002011-11-05T21:35:25.314-05:00That gum you like? Its time has come.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw-Pts_9e239ikLvF_f2pNi73E58CaOifEU8YNY0_6wURxRgb4HbLMcWdkNDL4DVrJm8I-l1gKEi7wWzKXAukxC_blHg9DWYohkrnZvzb6dNGVBugxmnIkXouCFid-RDB16RBa9w/s1600/Jacoby.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 310px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw-Pts_9e239ikLvF_f2pNi73E58CaOifEU8YNY0_6wURxRgb4HbLMcWdkNDL4DVrJm8I-l1gKEi7wWzKXAukxC_blHg9DWYohkrnZvzb6dNGVBugxmnIkXouCFid-RDB16RBa9w/s320/Jacoby.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671705662847896770" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Damn, the David Lynch years on Doctor Who were weird.</span>Bill Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14811238618910477219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686968.post-47706344648943900742011-09-28T16:41:00.021-05:002011-10-05T19:53:46.672-05:00First Issue Special? Bill Ranks DC's 52 #1s<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">For laughs, I decided to read all 52 new superhero #1s from DC Comics. I survived to tell the tale. Let's break 'em down, then, and count down from the best the new crop of series has to offer, to the comics that would have been better off remaining in tree form. To be as scientifically accurate as possible, we will rate them on the 5-star quantitative Morrissey/Marr scale, with no editorial commentary whatsoever.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">There Is a Light That Never Goes Out </span></span></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">(5 out of 5 stars):<br /><br /></span><span>Nope.</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me </span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">(4.5 stars):<br /><br /></span></span><span><span>Atomic Robo and the Ghost of Station X</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><span>(Oops, wait, that's not DC.)</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;">A Rush and a Push and the Land Is Ours</span></span> (4 stars):<br /><br /></span>1. Static Shock<br />2. All Star Western<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;">This Charming Man </span>(</span>3.5 stars):<br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">3. Swamp Thing<br />4. Action Comics</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">5. Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE<br />6. Demon Knights<br />7. </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Birds of Prey</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">8. Batman<br />9. Animal Man<br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">10. Batwoman<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want </span>(3 stars):<br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">11. Justice League Dark</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">12. Men of War<br />13. Deathstroke<br />14. Wonder Woman<br />15. Aquaman<br />16. Superman<br />17. Batman and Robin<br />18. Stormwatch<br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">19. The Flash</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">20. OMAC<br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">21. Resurrection Man</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">What Difference Does It Make? </span></span></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">(2.5 stars):<br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">22. I, Vampire</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">23.</span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Batwing</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">24. Nightwing<br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">25. Green Lantern Corps<br />26. Green Lantern<br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">27. Green Arrow</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">28. Captain Atom<br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">29. Grifter<br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">30. Blackhawks<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">William, It Was Really Nothing </span>(2 stars):<br /><br /></span>31. Justice League<br />32. Justice League International<br />33. The Savage Hawkman<br />34. Legion Lost<br />35. Green Lantern: New Guardians<br />36. Blue Beetle<br />37. Supergirl<br />38. Superboy<br />39. DC Universe Presents: Deadman<br />40. Voodoo<br />41. Legion of Super-Heroes<br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">42. Teen Titans</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore </span>(1.5 stars):<br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">43. Suicide Squad</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">44. Mister Terrific<br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">45. Batman: The Dark Knight</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">46. Detective Comics<br />47. The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men<br />48. Red Hood and the Outlaws<br />49. Catwoman<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now</span> (1 star):<br /><br /></span>50. Red Lanterns<br />51. Hawk and Dove<br />52. Batgirl<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span>Bill Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14811238618910477219noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686968.post-87709161686347114862011-09-05T19:20:00.002-05:002011-09-05T19:23:57.377-05:00Superhero Comics<blockquote>Sometimes when you try too hard, you start fuckin’ up, because you forget the fuckin’ ingredients. When McDonald’s has their 99-cent Big Mac sale, right, people love the fuckin’ Big Mac. But because it’s 99 cents, everybody fuckin’ wants ’em, right? People order four, five at a time. But now, the people who work there gotta rush. They gotta fuckin’ rush to make the fuckin’ Big Macs faster, because everybody wants ’em. They’re fuckin’ 99 cent! But, now they’ve fuckin’ rushed them so fuckin’ fast that every once in a while, you’ll bite into a Big Mac and it’s missing one of the goddamn ingredients! Everybody knows it’s two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame bun, right? You fuck around and bite the Big Mac and one of them missing special sauce, you’re like “Fuck! There’s no special sauce on this motherfucker.” You bite another one, the pickles ain’t in the shit. You know why? Because motherfuckers is rushing. It takes time. You gotta make the shit how it’s supposed to be made. When you start rushing the burger, you open the shit up, the burger crooked and shit. What the fuck? The burger’s hanging halfway off the goddamn bun, because they fuckin’ rushing, and they not doing it. You gotta make it how the ingredients was initially pitched to the person, and how it’s supposed to taste, and how it’s supposed to look, and how it’s supposed to feel. And that’s what the problem is when you start to make too many fuckin’ changes to shit. And you don’t know what the fuck they want, because they don’t know what they want. </blockquote><br />~<a href="http://www.avclub.com/articles/jb-smoove,61191/2/">J.B. Smoove</a> on a crappy sitcom he was on, but really, what doesn't it apply to?Bill Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14811238618910477219noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686968.post-55423693782546321342011-08-10T12:39:00.005-05:002011-08-10T13:04:36.117-05:00"OMAC lives... so that MAN may live!"<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Colin Smith started </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://toobusythinkingboutcomics.blogspot.com/2011/08/captain-america-versus-omac-how-jack.html">writing about OMAC</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">, and if anything's going to assure I pop up out of the woodwork, it's somebody talking about 70s Jack Kirby comics. I wrote the following comment on part one of Colin's post and, being the narcissist I am, decided it was TOO GOOD just to leave in a comment gallery. So here's what I scraped together:</span>
<br />
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaWy5LiVmaUQHftTGflO_16V9bx1HBz4fyncePMtALzYNSrEkHp04GimbBofyVxARRSHNWz7hwvy7fI_qClkxT3_wxcu3OLyqjzVL2-d_3ObSGHFV0NG4OvyPrn944BCeyVJ7f6A/s1600/OMAC+LIVES.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 317px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaWy5LiVmaUQHftTGflO_16V9bx1HBz4fyncePMtALzYNSrEkHp04GimbBofyVxARRSHNWz7hwvy7fI_qClkxT3_wxcu3OLyqjzVL2-d_3ObSGHFV0NG4OvyPrn944BCeyVJ7f6A/s320/OMAC+LIVES.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639284255844194034" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">OMAC is one of my favorite Kirby works. I mean, obviously New Gods ranks higher from a more considered standpoint, but OMAC is barnstorming stuff.</span>
<br />
<br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">We're most likely not supposed to care about Buddy Blank. Look at that name-- he's a cipher trapped in a world he never made, a world that's in the throes of becoming Orwell's 1984, a "world that's coming." It's some kind of left-wing nightmare world, where the Global Peace Agency is a vaguely sinister, faceless group of deciders with an omniscient sentient satellite on the payroll, and *they're the good guys*. Where OMAC is the hero because he is a one-man military who has the might to be right. He's an apotheosis of an individual but the antithesis of the world that made him-- note how he doesn't say he's bulletproof, but that his body "is rejecting the bullets!" That is some fine hyperbole, but it also speaks to the nature of OMAC's character in this world.</span>
<br />
<br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">It is interesting that OMAC never transforms *back* into Buddy Blank between adventures. This isn't Captain Marvel, where a child lives out his fantasy of being a cool adult. This is a cog in a machine being transformed into a living weapon that can break that machine. Buddy Blank's only friend is Lila, who isn't even real, and he becomes OMAC, who is equally unreal, or, this being Kirby, uber-real, realer than Buddy Blank. It could be read either way. But look at that story where he fights "Kafka," who is clearly a sci-fi Castro, but with the name of an existentialist writer. What the hell does it mean?</span>
<br />
<br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Kirby wasn't trying to make literature here, just crazy action comics, but his 70s DC work, particularly the Fourth World, has a lot of personal philosophy bleeding into the pages. I imagine OMAC is the same, but it's a much more cynical philosophy.</span>
<br />
<br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Now you've got me wanting to write an article on the book, and I have thought about doing so before. I'd also love to resume the series with #9, just picking up with the story 35 years later like a day hasn't gone by, and keeping Kirby's original series going. There's so much you can say with OMAC's world, and from a modern perspective, there's so much more you can do with the concepts Kirby brought up but didn't quite flesh out.Bill Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14811238618910477219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686968.post-57268474914374267382011-06-16T20:22:00.001-05:002011-06-16T20:27:11.804-05:00God help us all<a href="http://twitter.com/billreads">It begins</a>:<br /><br />@billreadsBill Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14811238618910477219noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686968.post-27288114595539927402011-06-15T17:39:00.003-05:002011-06-15T18:22:54.287-05:00And now for 52 Marvel relaunches<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><a href="http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2011/06/14/what-would-be-your-marvel-52">They asked</a>, I answered. I never thought I'd make it to 52, but then, well, I hit over 60, and had to pare it down.<br /><br />Whereas DC Comics seems fit more for big ideas and concepts, Marvel is all about character interaction. There are a lot of team and group books below. Marvel's also got a bigger problem with diversity, in my opinion, but I tried to hit as many vital demographics as I could, and I push hard for a wider audience base. Anyway, here we go:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >The Marvel Universe:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">1. Fantastic Four </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">2. Marvel Two-in-One featuring The Thing </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">3. Amazing Spider-Man </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">4. Web of Spider-Man: A monthly collection of a free weekly six-page Spider-Man webcomic </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">5. Sinister Six: A series about Spidey's rogues gallery</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">6. The Avengers </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">7. Secret Avengers: Featuring Black Widow, Venom (Flash), Ant-Man, Sleepwalker, Cloak, and Dagger. </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">8. Avengers UK: Captain Britain/MI13 but with a more profitable title </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">9. The All New, All Different X-Men: Hated and Feared</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">10. Iron Man 2099</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">11. Here Comes Daredevil, the Man Without Fear </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">12. The Incredible Hulk </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">13. Black Panther </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">14. Sleepwalker </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">15. Journey Into Mystery with Beta Ray Bill</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">16. Marvel Boy</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">17. ROM Spaceknight</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">18. The Offenders: Starring Deathlok, SuperPro, Zombie, Satana, Sun Girl, and Nth Man the Ultimate Ninja</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">19. Nextwave: Kick/'Splode</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">20. Shang-Chi: Kung Fu Superspy </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">21. Alias Cage & Jones </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">22. Devil Dinosaur: Agent of SHIELD </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">23. D-Man and the Howling Commandos</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">24. Marvel Comics Presents - a bi-weekly or monthly anthology that also collects webcomic features in print. Starts off with Wolverine, Deadpool, Damage Control, and Howard the Duck, with rotating features. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Marvel Midnight:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">25. Dr. Strange</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">26. Ghost Riders</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">27. Brother Voodoo</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">28. Nightstalkers: Starring Man-Wolf, Wolfsbane, Werewolf by Night, and Hannibal King</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">29. Where Monsters Dwell: Starring Elsa Bloodstone, Gilgamesh, and the Legion of Monsters</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Young Adult/Teen:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">30. Thor: The Mighty Avenger</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">31. Captain America: The Fighting Avenger</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">32. Avengers Academy: Now with Amadeus Cho</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">33. X-Men: Gifted Youngsters</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">34. Runaways</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">35. Power Pack</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">36. Galacta, Daughter of Galactus</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">37. Spider-Girl and the New Warriors: Featuring Spider-Girl, Gravity, Thunderstrike, Patriot, Power Man, and Ladyhawk)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Written, Drawn, and Edited by Women, for Women, Starring Women:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">38. She-Hulk: Super-Lawyer</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">39. Miss America: A new, Native American superheroine</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">40. Night Nurse: Hospital drama set in the Marvel Universe</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">41. Thoroughly Model Millie: '60s-set romantic comedy</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">42. Dakota North, PI</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">43. Heroines for Hire: Starring all the women of the MU</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >MAX:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">44. Punisher MAX</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">45. Nick Fury MAX: Starring Samuel L. Jackson</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">46. The Gulf MAX: A “sequel” to The 'Nam about the current Iraq War</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">47. Dazzler MAX: A mature readers book aimed at women.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Everything Else:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">48. Ravage 2012</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">49. Strikeforce: Morituri</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">50. Killraven: War of the Worlds</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">51. Not Brand Ecch</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">52. Street Poet Ray</span>Bill Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14811238618910477219noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686968.post-74405772178221825782011-06-05T20:57:00.001-05:002011-06-05T20:58:55.394-05:00So they asked who should take over the Batman film franchise...<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">...over at <a href="http://spinoff.comicbookresources.com/2011/06/04/5-directors-who-should-reboot-batman">Spinoff</a> (hi, Graeme), and I said:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Wes Anderson: A wry, modern reclamation of the 1966 TV series, Anderson's Batman (Sam Rockwell) is a guy in the throes of a midlife crisis, who has built himself a family from the ground up, with Robin (Jason Schwartzman), Batgirl (Ellen Page), and his trusty butler, Alfred (Michael Gambon)-- plus Aunt Harriet (also Michael Gambon), who is starting to think Bruce and Dick's relationship might not be so platonic. Meanwhile, he continues his harried caped crusade against his enemies, including a Joker who's forgotten how to laugh (Bill Murray), a Catwoman who's becoming more cougar than sex kitten (Gwyneth Paltrow), a Penguin who's just been diagnosed with lung cancer (Bud Cort), and a Riddler who has seemingly mellowed out thanks to prescription medication (Willem Dafoe). </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Also, every villain's henchmen are played by the same three guys-- Luke, Owen, and Andrew Wilson. </span>Bill Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14811238618910477219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686968.post-52023397173896822642011-06-03T17:25:00.006-05:002011-06-03T19:42:30.718-05:00If they asked Bill to relaunch the DC Universe and write all 52 titles, these are what they'd be.<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Bully sorta did </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://bullyscomics.blogspot.com/2011/06/new-dc-theres-no-stopping-us-now.html">a gag like this </a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >already, yes. And I won't clog up CSBG space with my fandreams. But really, DC, you shoulda gave me a call before you went ahead and gambled your stamp. You can't just publish "superhero comics." Everything needs its own subgenre.</span><br /><ol style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><li>Action Comics #1 - Would not actually be #1, but #905 or whatever, for there are some traditions even I like to uphold. This one would basically be Superman Family, an 80 page bi-monthly anthology aimed at the newsstand market especially. There will be action in it.</li><li>Superman #1 - The Adventures of Superboy (when he was a man). Sci-fi adventure romance.</li><li>Supergirl #1 - Actually aimed at teen girls, because it's <span style="font-style: italic;">about a teen girl</span></li><li>The Adventures of Jimmy Olsen #1 - A crazy, hyper-compressed day-glo adventure tour of the DCU.</li><li>Lois Lane & the Daily Planet #1 - Investigative journalism adventure.</li><li>Detective Comics #882 or whatever, not #1, that's just silly, Batman didn't even show up until #27: Another 8-buck 80-pager, covering the Bat-family. Lead story is crime-fic, but with Batman. Or supernatural horror, but with Batman. Whichever.</li><li>Batman #1 I guess: The Wire, but with Batman. And punching. And death traps, and explosions. Did The Wire have those things?</li><li>Batman Inc #11: Grant Morrison can keep this one. It has two ones, so it is superior.</li><li>Robin the Boy Bastard #1: Damian needs his own series.</li><li>Batwoman #1: Because JH Williams has to draw something and I guess he wants to draw this.</li><li>Gotham Central #1: Now with Gordon and Bullock back, it'll be even better.<br /></li><li>Aquaman #1: Undersea Arthurian science-fantasy adventure.</li><li>Flash #1: A new guy. Asian particle physicist. No more Speed Force, no more Barry. Science hero for the 21st century.</li><li>Green Lantern #1: A new <span style="font-style: italic;">lady</span>. Indian astrophysicist. Space exploration adventure for the 21st century.</li><li>Wonder Woman #1: Anthropological mythology adventure. Yes, I use the word "adventure" a lot. I will continue to do so. Superhero comics are about <span style="font-style: italic;">adventure</span>, goddammit.</li><li>J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter #1: Philosophical detective spy-fi superhero adventure. The concept shapeshifts as much as the hero.<br /></li><li>Justice League International #1: Bwa-ha-ha but with the Big Seven or Eight or whatever.</li><li>JLB #1: The second-run team. The back-ups, the reserves, the trainees. The Little Seven or Eight or whatever.</li><li>Justice League Universe #1: A bi-weekly, 16-page (with backmatter) series exploring the whole of the DC Universe, no stone left unturned, no character left unloved. Sold for $2 an issue.</li><li>Jonah Hex #1: Hardboiled western noir.</li><li>Blackhawk #1: Retro-future aviator espionage adventure. There are no white guys in this comic. There is a talking gorilla.<br /></li><li>Challengers: F#$% the Unknown #1: In glorious KIRBYVISION.<br /></li><li>Phantom Stranger #1: A tour of the supernatural underbelly of the DC Universe. H.P. Lovecraft's Doctor Who.<br /></li><li face="trebuchet ms">Swing with Scooter #1: Archie meets the Beatles meets Scooby Doo meets Buffy meets Scott Pilgrim.</li><li face="trebuchet ms">Wednesday Comics II #1: It is what you think it is.</li><li face="trebuchet ms">Teen Titans #1: There's gotta be a way to make it not suck.</li><li>Legion of Super-Heroes #1: See also - Teen Titans.</li><li>Shazam! (is a word Captain Marvel says) #1: See also - Legion of Super-Heroes.<br /></li><li>Metal Men #1: This one is a manga.</li><li>Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld #1: So is this, but for girls.</li><li>Swamp Thing #1: By comics blogger law.</li><li>Justice Society of America #1: Takes place during WWII, dammit.</li><li>Sgt. Rock #1: So does this, come to think of it.</li><li>OMAC #9: This one picks up where Jack Kirby left off and just keeps going like it hasn't been 36 years.<br /></li><li>Elongated & Wife #1: Thin Man. With superheroes.</li><li>Plastic Man #1: Because you can probably sell two different series featuring stretchy dudes if the tones are drastically different.</li><li>Kamandi the Last Boy on Earth #1: Post-apocalyptic boy's adventure, c'mon.<br /></li><li>Adventure Comics #1: 80 pages, 8 bucks. What's in it? Space adventure, sea adventure, land adventure.<br /></li><li>Blue Beetle #1: Jaime gets another go.</li><li>Doom Patrol #1: It's been like three months, time to do it again. But properly. Existentialist, nihilist body horror superheroes. With hearts of gold. Who stumble into the weird shit.<br /></li><li>Rex the Motherfucking Wonder Dog #1: Maybe it's a Vertigo title.</li><li>Seven Soldiers #1: A new mini-series, with seven <span style="font-style: italic;">different</span> obscure DC characters, in various points in the timeline, and yes, Tommy Tomorrow and the Viking Prince are in it. And probably Tomahawk, or Scalphunter.<br /></li><li>Frankenstein! #1: But let's not forget the last Seven Soldiers guys. Especially the spy-fi horror action hulk.</li><li>The Manhattan Guardian #1: Or the inner-city adventurer of the people.</li><li>The Sinister House of Secret Love #1: Because damn, what a title.</li><li>Solo #1: For those too cool for Wednesday Comics II.<br /></li><li>Static #1: For Dwayne.<br /></li><li>Black Canary & the Birds of Prey #1: Chicks with kicks. (Just for giggles, let's say the "Birds" this time are Huntress, Big Barda, Nightwing (Cassandra Cain), the Bulleteer, The Question, and Skyrocket. None of them have exposed midriffs.)<br /></li><li>Xombi #8: John Rozum can keep it. I don't want it to go away.</li><li>Dial H for Hero Hotline #1: I had Hawkman in this spot, but fuck Hawkman.<br /></li><li>Plop! #1: Yes.<br /></li><li>First Issue Special #1: Tee-hee.</li></ol><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >I was running out of steam by the end, but I could also keep going, because I am an idea machine.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:trebuchet ms;" ></span>Bill Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14811238618910477219noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686968.post-46201612559277086732011-05-26T17:46:00.003-05:002011-05-26T17:47:50.136-05:00An excerpt from the upcoming Chesty McBookerton novel, Seduction in the Stacks: Tales of a Bacardi Librarian<span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >by Geraldine Bouvier<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Chesty delicately slipped the latest bound collection of the Horn Book Guide back onto the shelf between its compatriots. As she reached up to adjust the plain beige bookends to firmly tighten the shelf's tomes, the top button on her self-knitted sweater burst from her chest, her ample cleavage surging forth like water threatening to topple a dam. The button, in its aerial bid for freedom, hurtled through the empty space amidst the shelves, into the adjacent aisle, before coming to a sudden stop.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">"Ow!" came a voice. Shortly thereafter, a ruggedly handsome face poked around the corner. "Yours, I presume?" asked the gentleman to which the face came attached, holding the button gently between his thumb and forefinger. He seemed to be winking at her, but Chesty soon realized the button had fired from her breasts straight into his eye.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">"Sorry," she replied nervously, taking the button from him. Their fingers met; his felt coarse, the fingers of a man whose livelihood came from his hands.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">"No problem," he assured her. "After all, it gave me an excuse to talk to you." At that remark, his face turned slightly sheepish.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">She gazed into his eyes, the deep and penetrating eyes of a longshoreman, or perhaps a cattle farmer of some kind. "I'd wondered what you were doing amidst the library journals," she said. "Could I--?" She paused, swallowing, nervous. "Could I help you find something?"</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">His eyes faltered, his line of sight dipping toward her bust. "I think I've found it," he told her, taking her waist into his strong, rough hands, and lowering his perfectly-stubbled face toward her smooth and waiting one. </span>Bill Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14811238618910477219noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686968.post-3405834980590301062011-05-13T16:09:00.002-05:002011-05-13T16:10:08.199-05:00In which Bill pitches his latest book idea<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">It's called </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: trebuchet ms;">Things Hipsters Like.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Page one: "Irony."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Pages 2-200 are blank.</span>Bill Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14811238618910477219noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686968.post-10068312643062754822011-05-05T17:39:00.001-05:002011-05-05T19:51:13.289-05:00/PHRENOLOG/5/5/11<span style="font-style: italic; font-family: trebuchet ms;">What Bill's thinking/watching/reading/writing/doing. This is the shape of my head.<br /><br /></span><iframe style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/21905044" frameborder="0" height="225" width="400"></iframe><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">//</span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://vimeo.com/21905044">X-Men: First Class Title Sequence</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> from </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://vimeo.com/joefxd">Joe D!</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> on </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">.</span><p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">//<a href="http://toobusythinkingboutcomics.blogspot.com/2011/04/what-is-pop.html">What Is Pop?</a> by Colin Smith. Why aren't comics pop anymore? That's it, Colin. Get angry.</p><blockquote style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Competency and caution is the name of the game in 2011, with occasional brilliant exceptions and pathetic collapses of craft serving to make the sub-genre at times seem more dynamic than it is. Mostly, I read unambitiously well-structured and utterly predictable stories written for the trade. Often this means that I'm paying for complacent rubbish churned out by folks who surely should know better, but who apparently don't, although they do produce a story in the requisite number of pages. I read stories written by folks with no apparent concept of the genre's long history and the skills developed by generation upon generation of comic book professionals, but who know how to tell a four issue arc perfectly adequately, as if creating comics was a mechanical rather than a creative endeavour. I experience page after page of shoddily designed and executed storytelling, packed with money-shots of be-muscled costumes and porn-actress "super-heroines" parading as if their function is as masturbationary aids for young prospective metrosexuals prevented by their parents from using a search engine and the "start private browsing" button on the family computer. I see not Pop, but aspects of exploitation and complacency which could be fascinating if they were part of a brilliant creation rather than lazy unquestioned examples of shallow thinking and practise.</blockquote><p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">... is that what Private Browsing does!??!? I mean, uh...<br /></p><p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">//<a href="http://www.mulhollandbooks.com/2011/04/11/965/">The Spaces Between Stars</a> by Warren Ellis:</p><blockquote style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">So when I write science fiction I’m a crime writer, and when I write crime fiction I’m an sf writer. I’m talking about our lives, and the way I see the world. I’m writing about the new thing, the disruptive event that enters that world, its repercussions and the attempts to deal with it. But I’m talking about where I think I am today, and what I think it looks like.</blockquote><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">//</span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://deantrippe.tumblr.com/post/4021523420/lois-lane-girl-reporter">Lois Lane, Girl Reporter</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> - a pitch by Dean Trippe and friends. </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >I would buy this</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">. Is anyone listening? I am far from the target audience, but I can tell from the pitch that this is a caring, considered thing that would open up new doors for new audiences into our little world, and it needs to happen.</span><br /><p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">//Chris Sims writes a nice little essay on one of my very favorite comics, <a href="http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/04/29/ask-chris-54-the-mythology-of-jack-kirbys-new-gods/">Jack Kirby's New Gods</a>:</p><blockquote style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Kirby, a veteran of World War II who had nightmares about the horrors he saw for the rest of his life, created a mythology where there's no such thing as a god of war, because the very act of war itself is a losing proposition. Orion himself refers to it as "packaged murder," and at best, it's shown to be a regrettable necessity that can never truly be won through the temporary solution provided by, but by eliminating the root causes of hatred and fear.<br /></blockquote><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">//Remake/Remodel is </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9795&page=1">Aquaman for HBO</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">, so of course I loved it. (Pia Guerra; Craig Payne)</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgibiFKgu5G611OH7Z-RVLgqlgLcVf9I7itIUpHsGfCRisO8zE-ZY-wrwQ0zHUKf0fNnUO7E6syMyoCqqFDuMVb_PpFfv3XS51gp11B8Ifp98DxR8FyFHLkCLkNuYLDH8PGRlmw5w/s1600/Aqua+HBO+Guerra.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 222px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgibiFKgu5G611OH7Z-RVLgqlgLcVf9I7itIUpHsGfCRisO8zE-ZY-wrwQ0zHUKf0fNnUO7E6syMyoCqqFDuMVb_PpFfv3XS51gp11B8Ifp98DxR8FyFHLkCLkNuYLDH8PGRlmw5w/s320/Aqua+HBO+Guerra.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603397972521341282" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA9zm2GdW-TelEht6OlLYXGLbtFZA_q-1OD5b1qqfGMcVkvXbpd_PgmsUD0o_zBOXsfqYmpvR5ARyBfZNjUpp1Cu9BDzz6iduGR3FjRU2i1bvZudynohO_kj9v-t4PYaJefxaoPQ/s1600/Aqua+HBO+Payne.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 210px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA9zm2GdW-TelEht6OlLYXGLbtFZA_q-1OD5b1qqfGMcVkvXbpd_PgmsUD0o_zBOXsfqYmpvR5ARyBfZNjUpp1Cu9BDzz6iduGR3FjRU2i1bvZudynohO_kj9v-t4PYaJefxaoPQ/s320/Aqua+HBO+Payne.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603398215232429634" border="0" /></a></div>Bill Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14811238618910477219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686968.post-12253702560369127942011-05-05T00:11:00.001-05:002011-05-05T00:12:42.351-05:00I throw up a little in my mouth<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">every time someone says "I threw up a little in my mouth."<br /><br />Real men (and ladies) go the whole hog and full-on vomit. That's the way it's done.<br /></span>Bill Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14811238618910477219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686968.post-38059320302340604732011-04-02T12:00:00.005-05:002011-04-04T17:40:08.946-05:00/PHRENOLOG/4/2/11<span style="font-style: italic; font-family: trebuchet ms;">What Bill's thinking/watching/reading/writing/doing. This is the shape of my head.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />//They should do a big-budget remake of The Final Sacrifice, right? I'd say Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Troy and Danny McBride as Zap Rowsdower.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">//Speaking of gloriously awfulsome movies, here's a trailer for The FP, a film that can only be described as a post-apocalyptic competitive video game dancing movie:</span><br /><br /><iframe style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/14724617?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" frameborder="0" height="225" width="400"></iframe><p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><a href="http://vimeo.com/14724617">The FP - Trailer</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1227932">Trost Bros.</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</p><p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">// Old-timey minimalist <a href="http://fonografiks.deviantart.com/gallery/25072187">paperback covers</a> for comics storylines: some new, some have been kicking around a while.<br /></p><p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">//What ostensibly begins as a discussion between <a href="http://www.savagecritic.com/abhay/creator-vs-critic-abhay-interviews-mark-sable-about-secret-avengers-issues-1-to-5/">Abhay and Mark Sable</a> over Secret Avengers turns into a madcap dissection of mainstream super-comics.<br /></p><p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">//Colin Smith begins a new series of articles-- one I feel he's uniquely suited to write-- entitled "<a href="http://toobusythinkingboutcomics.blogspot.com/2011/03/how-to-2000-ad-bluffer-writes-beginners.html">How to 2000AD</a>." I'm taking notes.</p><p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">//Seneca on Quitely <a href="http://deathtotheuniverse.blogspot.com/2011/03/comix-surgery-quitely-sighting.html">on Kirby</a>.<br /></p><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">//Remake/Remodels: </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9648&page=1">Fantastic Four</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> and </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=9669&page=1">Misty</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">, the world's craziest comics anthology for girls. My favorites (Chip Zdarsky; Tom Bland):</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJOvOMa1HqelYTLuq6xjqztyASiU9nCWe2aKY5D6aBCdZLWD80wMG-7_6cziuuWLW81_DoknrjFrz_CmIZ6KHk0uaqoPiMaAhWRsa8cu_fa4354_RoWxQ1PneI5OEwdUyXjhAkmA/s1600/F4+Zdarsky.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 223px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJOvOMa1HqelYTLuq6xjqztyASiU9nCWe2aKY5D6aBCdZLWD80wMG-7_6cziuuWLW81_DoknrjFrz_CmIZ6KHk0uaqoPiMaAhWRsa8cu_fa4354_RoWxQ1PneI5OEwdUyXjhAkmA/s320/F4+Zdarsky.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591040954725838882" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihIc3XnVAx-mQysmXmgSYQ76VCjBPE2SIVBmYlliUeVXgfumhSL0C_AekZyzkDJ2_J8BxpDo5YLMIexwAquGxzPSktZoON3S7rfSj5alMkdHYjVvcCeiuJCV342uCu6NY7w__h3Q/s1600/Misty%252C+Tom+Bland.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 228px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihIc3XnVAx-mQysmXmgSYQ76VCjBPE2SIVBmYlliUeVXgfumhSL0C_AekZyzkDJ2_J8BxpDo5YLMIexwAquGxzPSktZoON3S7rfSj5alMkdHYjVvcCeiuJCV342uCu6NY7w__h3Q/s320/Misty%252C+Tom+Bland.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591040961150418930" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Lots of great stuff all over those threads, really.<br /></div></div><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">//Via <a href="http://www.warrenellis.com/">Warren Ellis</a>, of course:</span><br /><iframe style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/qv3i-zVIb44" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" width="550"></iframe><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">//Oh geez oh man oh geez oh oh oh<br /></span><iframe style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9vIsQ25Krq8" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" width="550"></iframe><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Oh, dear, sorry. Better clean myself up.</span>Bill Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14811238618910477219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686968.post-48447406571418143442011-03-29T14:39:00.004-05:002011-04-04T19:27:48.647-05:00The Greatest Film Subtitles of All Time<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Can you place the subtitle to the movie? Let's begin:<br /><br />1. Electric Boogaloo<br />2. The Wrath of Khan<br />3. The Secret of the Ooze<br />4. The Revenge<br />5. The Legend of Curly's Gold<br />6. In Space<br />7. The Stone of Cold Fire<br />8. Back in the Habit<br />9. Back 2 tha Hood<br />10. High Voltage<br />11. The Quest for Peace<br />12. ... Your Sister Is a Werewolf<br /><br />Can you think of any other awesome ones?<br /></span>Bill Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14811238618910477219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686968.post-46380719278802917052011-03-25T19:10:00.001-05:002011-03-25T19:11:08.887-05:00When I was a kid...<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">... I thought there was a specific curse word assigned to each finger.</span>Bill Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14811238618910477219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686968.post-59754041763420225332011-03-17T14:43:00.003-05:002011-03-17T14:50:05.260-05:00R.I.P. Michael Gough<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">My grandmother comes from a large family, so there was always another great aunt or uncle popping up out of the Polish woodwork when I was a lad. Having watched the 1989 Batman movie a few hundred times, Michael Gough may as well have been another great uncle of mine. I'll miss him, and always return to Batman, or Top Secret!, or what-have-you the same way one would return to a family album.</span>Bill Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14811238618910477219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7686968.post-58587399201602779972011-03-11T17:00:00.001-05:002011-03-11T18:37:56.748-05:00/PHRENOLOG/3/11/11<div style="text-align: left;font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-style: italic;">What Bill's thinking/watching/reading/writing/doing. This is the shape of my head.</span><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">//Dear Hollywood: Can we get a Frederic Wertham biopic? I don't ask for much. Can Christoph Waltz star as Wertham? Thank you.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">//Gary Groth arguing with folks about the </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.fantagraphics.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=Dilbert-Let-s-You-and-Him-Fight.html&Itemid=113">merits of Dilbert</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">. My view? Dilbert, at its height, was hilarious and awesome, and occasionally, we still get a glimpse of same.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">//Jog on </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://comicscomicsmag.com/2011/02/the-avenging-page-in-excelsis-ditko.html">Ditko's recent output</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> and </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://hoodedutilitarian.com/2011/02/the-grammar-lesson/">Alan Moore's Swamp Thing</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">. "Novel-length criticism!" a '70s comic would say.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">//Witzke and Seneca go to town on </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://deathtotheuniverse.blogspot.com/2011/03/free-agency.html">Elektra: Assassin</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">//The Mindless Ones' Amy Poodle writes about </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.tcj.com/bomb-light-in-faraway-windows-the-invisibles-and-hauntology/">The Invisibles</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> for the new Comics Journal, which is the new happenin' place to be (which is why I'll never be invited to their parties).</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglpOnXoPIIRkjXWO3mAxHjBb0wbiNdd4wZNtRer-28rIYh0RCtIzrzccUg4QKlDqwF6sphT9Z4_xnHd9WnACX7MUobMcOhqM00QiW9eW6CEV8HQbC5Bz6ZHvfnaIhTOGZ2u6VkFg/s1600/Naked+Cities.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 216px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglpOnXoPIIRkjXWO3mAxHjBb0wbiNdd4wZNtRer-28rIYh0RCtIzrzccUg4QKlDqwF6sphT9Z4_xnHd9WnACX7MUobMcOhqM00QiW9eW6CEV8HQbC5Bz6ZHvfnaIhTOGZ2u6VkFg/s320/Naked+Cities.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5582956679028658882" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">//</span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://beautifuldecay.com/2011/02/17/miru-kims-naked-cities/">Naked Cities</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> by </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://mirukim.com/">Miru Kim</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">. (Contains butts.) Absolutely tremendous photography, a haunting exploration of our dilapidated urban detritus, as if these images come to us from a post-apocalypse, when the first brave, naked human wanders back out to explore the destruction we brought upon ourselves.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">//</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Qaddafis/Bluths. It's </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.tnr.com/slideshow/world/84651/qaddafi-bluth-libya-arrested-development">Arrested Development</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">//Four </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.somekindofawesome.com/journal/2011/3/6/listen-hear-4-unreleased-becksex-bob-omb-tracks-from-scott-p.html">unused songs</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> from the Scott Pilgrim movie.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">//Chris Sims talks about one of my </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/03/09/rom-spaceknight-comics/">all-time favorite comics</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> (spoilers: it's ROM Spaceknight).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">//Weird old comics TV show </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://archive.tvo.org/video/119747">interview</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> with Grant Morrison (with hair!) and Dave McKean about Arkham Asylum and stuff.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeEBb8rlsnvREFGKO_jpErPYUyAw2LnbcJvS_ouFKJ_FuxvRu5-XIQgPjqdqSxEDC82pTCpzueXXHI1gYxC-p5r_QMHLo3FnQ2pPAqzfCLM0TCcK7XmvYhFqhkLzcNYh6Il9B3Wg/s1600/Amazing+Fantasy+INRI.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 248px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeEBb8rlsnvREFGKO_jpErPYUyAw2LnbcJvS_ouFKJ_FuxvRu5-XIQgPjqdqSxEDC82pTCpzueXXHI1gYxC-p5r_QMHLo3FnQ2pPAqzfCLM0TCcK7XmvYhFqhkLzcNYh6Il9B3Wg/s320/Amazing+Fantasy+INRI.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5582957306917251794" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">//</span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.manormonsterstudios.com/stained-glass.html">Stained glass comics cover</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> reproductions by Brandon Michael Barker</span><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:large;" ></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">. Holy crap, you guys.</span><br /><br /><center style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/bKRxDP--e-Y" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="290" width="430"></iframe></center><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">//</span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1191111/">Enter the Void</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">: I kinda wanna write more on this later. But, it's a fucked-up visual feast. See it.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">//So I've now watched the first three Friday the 13th movies before they expire off my Instant Queue, and... they're not very good, are they? I mean, they're passable, sure, and improve as they go along, which is rare for a franchise, but they're not </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >about</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> anything, are they? Each movie is basically a remake of the last one. Is it an anti-teen-sex PSA? With machetes? Compare it to Halloween, which defined the slasher genre for America, or to Evil Dead, which was visually inspiring and self-consciously ridiculous, or to Nightmare on Elm Street, the first of which works great thematically </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >and</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> visually, a fine entry into the Craven/Raimi one-upmanship competition, and clearly a major influence on Joss Whedon's Buffy, and, and, etc. The Fridays have almost no interesting or likable characters, very little plot, weak atmosphere, the endings are deliberately nonsensical, etc. Line up the pins and cut 'em down, that's all they are. Hardly the stuff of horror cinema legend. I guess that's why Jason inevitably becomes the protagonist, instead of the villain.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">(Now, Jason X, there's a movie.)</span>Bill Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14811238618910477219noreply@blogger.com1