Jonah Hex has always been one of the more entertaining characters in the DC Comics stable. Now I won’t claim I’m the most knowledgeable individual on the subject of Jonah Hex. Most of my exposure to the character comes from his appearance on Bruce Timm’s Batman cartoon, along with the limited series Jonah Hex: Riders of the Worm and Such, but the scarred gunman and his battles with foes both mundane and supernatural were wildly different than the usual super heroics that count as DC’s bread and butter. This distinctive style of comic book storytelling and genre bending endeared the character to me long ago. Also, Hex’s adventures (among earlier stories) served as inspiration for later tales that would eventually come be known as the genre of Weird West fiction, one that I am very much a fan of. I was initially excited when I heard that a Jonah Hex film was in the making, but the old fears whispered in the back of my mind soon enough. This was a comic book adaptation, after all, and not of a household name character. When filmmakers know the audience isn’t terribly familiar with a character, they usually take it as an invitation to screw with the source material in any way they see fit (sometimes, seemingly, just for the hell of it). You may ask if that is what’s happened with Jonah Hex. The short answer is YES. A slightly longer answer is THEY FUCKING BUTCHERED IT.
The plot is a nightmare, thanks in no small part to the piss-poor editing job. Rumors abound that a significant portion of the film was left on the editing room floor in attempt to make the film more action-oriented. This serves to make the film less exciting than disorienting and incomprehensible. Knowledge of the comics isn’t necessary to grasp the plot (if any grasping is to be had), since they throw most of the established mythology out the window and swap it for a Weird West version of The Crow. As it stands, we get Jonah Hex, a disgraced Civil War vet who turned on his commanding officer, Quentin Turnbull, and killed Turnbull’s son (also Hex’s best friend), following of an attack of conscience. Later, after Hex has settled into a quiet family life with his wife and child, Turnbull comes a’ calling, seeking revenge. He kills said wife and kid and scars Hex’s face as payback. This leaves Hex stuck between the land of the living and the dead (don’t ask me how or why, it involves Indians, for some reason), and sees him take up the life of a bounty hunter. Years later, the Army turns up, informing him Turbull is back to his old Union-hating tricks, trying to destabilize the country and incite a new civil war. President Grant himself requests Hex’s assistance in taking down Turnbull and stopping his bat-shit insane plan, which involves causing the breakdown of the Union by attacking the centennial celebration with a super weapon (built by Eli Whittney, no less) that, as far as I can tell, is a gigantic six shooter that seems to be powered by Dragon Balls. I dare you to make more sense of this plot than that. Go ahead, try. I’ll wait. Couldn’t? Didn’t think so.
Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse Vol 1 – 3 Written and Illustrated by Ben Templesmith
reviewd by : EJTower
There is a story told by The Prince of Denmark in Hamlet about the progression of a King through the guts of a beggar. The central figure of this story is a worm, and is often overlooked as being merely metaphorical. It’s a drawn out story performed in iambic pentameter, so I won’t bother but to quote a line or two from it for this, my review of Ben Templesmith’s Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse series.
“Your worm,” tells Prince Hamlet, “is your only emperor for diet… we fat ourselves for maggots. Your fat king and your lean beggar is but a variable service – two dishes, but to one table. That’s the end.”
You should also know that there is a poem by Edgar Allen Poe called The Conqueror Worm. In this poem the angels lament the inevitable end of the human play, which always culminates, tragically, in the fangs of the conqueror worm that feeds upon our flesh after death.
All of this I offer to you as literary evidence! Think of it as background, establishing the historicity of a character. All of it so that when I tell you that Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse is about an immortal magical maggot that battles demons, enjoys beer, hangs out in a seedy strip club, and is protected by a clockwork bodyguard that is rather sad because he was built without genitalia – You won’t immediately shout, Ludicrous! You must give this a chance.
While normally a big proponent of Lady Gaga’s style and music, I find that her new video for “Alejandro” in an almost insulting attempt at tribute that just comes across as poor pastiche. Like a bad, local theatre troupe remake of “Vogue”, “Express Yourself”, and “Erotic” by Madonna, mixed with elements from Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation”. It looks like the so called “queen of originality” has tread into the murky waters of the faux-homage, an area best left to sitcom clip episodes and Simpson’s Halloween specials. I far more enjoy her stylized take on the music video as short film, her unorthodox choreography. Though she started to delve into over-borrowing with her video for “Telephone”, at least those references to Tarantino films and the girls in prison genre were either inserted with subtlety and intelligence, or placed in the video with such over the top abandon that it worked more as clever parody and witty stylization than the disappointing “Allejandro”, which just reeks of ripoff.
It’s ironic that the release of Christina Aguilera’s new video for “Not Myself Tonight” should coincide so closely with the release of “Allejandro”. In one video flat Aguilera is able to both out Madonna and out GaGa Lady Gaga herself. While one could make the argument that Aguilera is also referencing several elements that Madonna used regularly in her videos: The religious imagery of “Like A Prayer” and the fetish fashions, start white backgrounds, and similar interaction of “Human Nature”, And the direct reference to “Express Yourself” that presents itself in the monocle scenes its at least seems more well done, genuine, and energetic than GaGa’s near narcoleptic attempt. Aguilera did have some help crafting such an exciting piece though, in the form of Hype Williams, one of the most celebrated music video directors… ever.
I was much more impressed by the new Aguilera video. Several factors are superior, the music, the fashion, and the choreography. all of which is ironic considering it was the original feud between Aguilera and GaGa that started GaGa’s meteoric rise to the top, perhaps this is the beginning of Christina’s comeback, Aguilera was once considered to be one of the edgier pop stars before being unseated by the extravagant and more intelligently promoted Gaga, though in many ways it appears the Aguilera is still the stronger vocalist. I hope that Lady GaGa continues her rise to the top and inspires an epochal change in video styling, fashion, and the branding of pop-stars. GaGa may indeed go on to win the war, but as for this battle, chalk on up for Miss Aguilera.
I guess you get two music videos today! A new video from Lady Gaga just went live and it’s filled with more imagery I love. Perhaps you could argue that Lady Gaga isn’t doing anything artists before her haven’t done, but the fact that she is mainstream, gets played on easy listening/variety radio, and the masses are eating it up with all the controversial material included is a feat in its self. Anything that may sway trends in the direction of aesthetics I enjoy is fine by me!
Kick Ass is my kind of mindless fun. Fun’s about the only way to describe this thing. I can’t remember the last time I’ve sat down in a theater and felt I got every last bang for my entertainment buck. This flick’s slick, funny and unapologetically violent. Directed by Mathew Vaughn (Layer Cake, Stardust), Kick Ass is based on a comic penned by Mark Millar, best known in comic circles for helming much of Marvel’s Ultimate imprint and creating the limited series Wanted (which was butchered on the big screen just two years ago). Kick Ass works on a lot of levels. Its a super hero parody that at once cherishes and lambastes the conventions of the medium. It’s a love letter to John Woo, but it stands quite exceptionally on its own as an ultraviolent action film. It’s got moments of pants-shittingly hilarious comedy, yet filled with some scenes of shocking darkness. Kick Ass wants it every which way, and believe me, it gets what it fucking wants.
The film revolves around an unremarkable teenager, Dave Lizewski, who after elects to become a superhero, despite having no powers and basically being the least well equipped person to do so. After a disastrous first super-heroic outing, Lizewski ends up in the hospital, with his injuries resulting in damaged pain receptors, allowing him to take a beating more severe than your average joe. He decides to give it another go, and is caught on film defending a man from a gang beating, turning his super hero alter ego, Kick Ass, into an internet sensation. As he continues his exploits, he attracts the attention of two other vigilantes, father and daughter team Big Daddy and Hit-Girl, and becomes involved in the war they are raging against local mob boss, Frank D’Amico. (more…)
The Veil written by El Torres
illustration by Gabriel Hernandez
reviewd by : EJTower
As the old proverb has it: in the land of the blind, the one eyed woman is queen. But in a detective noir world tainted by the unseen presence of a viscous, Lovecraft-inspired zoology, actually seeing is a serious problem. Christine Luna has many problems as a private investigator, she works for the dead, taking her living from the forgotten savings accounts and death throws of her clients’ remaining credit cards, but she has finally reached rock bottom, bank broke. Returning to her home town in Maine, she plans to sell off the old family property, but instead unearths ghosts from her past that answer questions she never dared to ask. Ghosts that force her to remember: the accident that gave her the power to see beyond the veil, the world that lurks beyond, and the one who is waiting there to come through.
In The Veil, El Torres writes a story worthy of the Lovecraft mythos that is fused perfectly with the frenetic, atmospheric art of Gabriel Hernandez. The art manages the impossible perfectly, by illustrating moments of indescribable horror, while maintaining the noir feel in moments of apparent normalcy. The singular failure of the work is the rapid conclusion, which might have benefited from a more gradual turn around and fewer hasty transitions from place to place, but this does not seriously detract from the whole. This graphic novel is a fitting choice for anyone who can properly speak the name Cthulhu, although the great old one does not appear in this work. Originally released in four single issues, it is now available in a single book from IDW Publishing.
After the ultimately disappointing version of Alice by Tim Burton, and the near unanimous panning it received amongst the Auxiliary staff, perhaps it would be best if we recommended an alternative. The British Malice in Wonderland, out now on DVD if you can track down a copy and playing as of this weekend in some US theaters, is an energetic and dark romp through a twisted a unique underworld that is part dark fantasy and part British gangster film. Unique takes and reinterpretations of several of the classic characters of Alice in Wonderland abound here, packaged in that sort of grimy/cool wrapping that fans of early Guy Ritchie and Matthew Vaughn crime flicks can easily relate too. Perhaps what we needed wasn’t an over commercialized pastiche laden film, but a total re-imagining of the source material to breath new life into the Lewis Carol fix that some of us need.
I have been far too excited following the production diaries and notes over at director Edgar Wright’s site, but was even more excited today to see the teaser trailer for the upcoming film version of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. For those not in the know, Scott Pilgrim is a Canadian comic book written by Bryan Lee O’Malley that takes place in Toronto. All about Scott, a musician who is trying to win the heart of the new girl in town and to do so he must defeat her seven evil exes. Being adapted from comic book for the big screen is a daunting task for a director to handle, especially with source material as clever as the Scott Pilgrim series, but Wright (Sean of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) is one direct whom I believe is more than up to the task of not just providing an adequate translation, but a witty and cleverly executed interpretation of O’Malley’s source material. If you are one of the unlucky ones who is not familiar with this series I highly suggest that you track down the available volumes immediately and catch up before the release of the film.
I must admit to more than a bit of embarrassment at not having seen a Lars von Trier film prior to Antichrist. For those unaware, Lars von Trier is a Danish filmmaker who, among other things, was deeply involved in the Dogme 95 film movement, has the distinction of directing one of the few “mainstream” films to depict unsimulated sex, and is probably best known in the US as the director of the Bjork musical Dancer in the Dark. Oh, and he’s also been known to occasionally refer to himself as “the best director in the world”. Previously, I’d been a bit apprehensive about investigating von Trier’s output. It may have had something to do with the fact that the majority of his cult consisting of trendy name-dropping hipsters, and these folk and their interests tend to make me vomit profusely out of disgust. It may have been that I was far too busy drinking Rebel Yell excessively while watching Mythbusters reruns to do so. Who knows? The point is I was wrong. DEAD FUCKING WRONG. Antichrist may very well be the most important horror film of the last 20 years. Hell, 30 years, maybe more. No film I’ve ever witnessed has conjured that level of disgust and fear inside me before this piece.
I’d like to breakdown the plot, but I’m not sure there’s enough of a conventional plot to summarize. At the outset it’s basically a slow, quiet character piece involving the irrational fear and anxiety experienced by a mother (referred to in the end credits only as She, played by Charlotte Gainsbourg), concerning a cabin called Eden she once visited, triggered in the wake of the death of her son. Her therapist husband (Willem Dafoe, likewise only identified in the credits as He) decides exposure therapy is the best course of action, so they depart to the cabin to attempt to force her issues to the surface. From thereon out, the film ditches narrative form and continues in a series of nightmarish episodes of increasing intensity.
Making its North American premiere this past friday at the SXSW film festival, AMERICAN: The Bill Hicks Story chronicles the life of a lost hero 16 years after his death. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Bill Hicks’ work, you should be, go to youtube right now and check out some clips of his bitingly insightful standup comedy that has influenced and pervaded American culture for over two decades. Better yet, go and buy some of his albums to check out. The film features interviews with Hicks’ family, friends, and colleagues, and coverage of his life and work told through a unique semi animated style that pushes the established norms of documentary film making.
