Name: JPRoscoe
Email:
Bio: Follow me on Twitter @JPRoscoe76! Loves all things pop-culture especially if it has a bit of a counter-culture twist. Plays video games (basically from the start when a neighbor brought home an Atari 2600), comic loving (for almost 30 years), and a true critic of movies. Enjoys the art house but also isn't afraid to let in one or two popular movies at the same time.
Posts by JPRoscoe:
Superior Spider-Man 4: Necessary Evil
November 26th, 2021Comic Info
Comic Name: Superior Spider-Man (Volume 1)
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Dan Slott
Artist: Ryan Stegman/Giuseppe Camuncoli
# of Issues: 5
Release Date: 2014
Superior Spider-Man (1) #19 Variant
Reprints Superior Spider-Man (1) #17-21 (November 2013-January 2014). Something is happening in the year 2099. The timeline has been destabilized and the Spider-Man of that era finds he must go back in time to stop it because it could destroy everything he holds dear. Spider-Man finds himself the target of the strange new Spider-Man of the future and intends to shut him down before it is too late…but events at Horizon could change Peter’s future forever!
Written by Dan Slott, Superior Spider-Man Volume 4: Necessary Evil is a Marvel Comics comic book collection. Following Superior Spider-Man Volume 3: No Escape, the comic features art by Ryan Stegman and Giuseppe Camuncoli. Issues in this volume were also collected as part of Superior Spider-Man—Volume 3 and Superior Spider-Man: The Complete Collection—Volume 2.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the Dan Slott run on Spider-Man. He created too many new characters and undid a lot of other years of work (granted some of the stuff he worked to undo wasn’t that great as well including stuff like The Other storyline). However, Superior Spider-Man was fun and part of the fun was Slott’s Spider-Man world colliding with the traditional Spider-Man world.
Dr. Octopus’s life as Peter Parker is starting to close in even tighter in this volume. You have Carly searching for evidence of her suspicions and characters like Stunner seeking out revenge on Spider-Man without realizing it is her former partner Dr. Octopus. Octopus also is discovering that keeping his intelligence might mean having to completely give up his Dr. Octopus inventions (which goes against his pride). It is a fun mix that is less gimmicky than some of the “Doc Ock is Peter” storyline holds.
Superior Spider-Man (1) #21
I am also a big fan of Spider-Man 2099 so this volume gets a little leeway from me as well. The 2099 stories were one of the more entertaining early 1990s stories, and Spider-Man was by far the best of the titles. After the collapse of the 2099 storylines, Spider-Man 2099 would occasionally show-up but it is nice to get him back in a bigger picture storyline (even if the 2099 aspect is lost for a version of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court).
The whole Horizon Lab part of the story still is an aspect of Slott’s run I have little interest in. With Horizon came a bunch of supporting characters that took up a lot of Peter’s timeline. Uatu, Max, and others were just not as developed and felt a bit unnecessary. I don’t know that adding new supporting characters to Peter’s life is a bad thing (that generally happens in real life when you change jobs), but the rich nature of Peter’s supporting cast was always a plus to Spider-Man…and more pieces didn’t really need to be added. In this, some of the classic supporting characters are starting to crash into Dr. Octopus’s manufactured life for Peter and that is fun, but I think that is where the meat of the story should be.
Superior Spider-Man is a decent read despite being so-so on Slott’s long run. It is definitely the most inspired of his run and the fact that it isn’t a “What If?” story still is pretty amazing. It is like a goofy-sci-fi brain-switch movie like Freaky Friday became the main Spider-Man book…I’m just surprised it when on as long as it did. Superior Spider-Man 4: Necessary Evil is followed by Superior Spider-Man 5: Superior Venom.
Related Links:
Superior Spider-Man 1: My Own Worst Enemy
Superior Spider-Man 2: A Troubled Mind
Superior Spider-Man 3: No Escape
Dark Nights: Metal
November 25th, 2021Comic Info
Comic Name: Dark Nights: Metal
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Scott Snyder/James Tynion IV
Artist: Greg Capullo/Mikel Janin/Alvardo Martinez
# of Issues: 6
Release Date: 2018
Dark Nights: Metal #2
Reprints Dark Nights: Metal #1-6 (October 2017-May 2018). An ancient prophecy is coming to fruition, and the Multiverse is about to discover that there is a Dark Multiverse that is deadly. When Batman discovers he is literally the key to the Dark Multiverse rising, he sets out to stop the event…but even Batman and Justice League of America can’t stop what is coming. Bubbling from beneath the Multiverse, the Dark Multiverse cannot be stopped!
Written by Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV, Dark Nights: Metal is a DC Comics event limited series. The collection features art by Greg Capullo, Mikel Janin, and Alvardo Martinez.
Though highly debated, I liked the New 52 relaunch of the DC Universe. It did what it promised. It simplified the timelines and relationships between the characters and the worlds. It wasn’t going to please everyone, but it was more consistent than many of the comics being released. Dark Nights: Metal followed Rebirth and feels like it is an attempt to balance the New 52 past and the future of the DC Universe.
The story is basically Batman based. While the Justice League of America and other superheroes are involved in the storyline, the story keeps circling back to Batman (which isn’t a huge shock with Batman’s positive effect on sales in the DCU). There are a few more standouts in the storyline, but fans of Batman can enter Dark Nights: Metal and feel that they are getting an expanded Batman story that just happens to have other heroes.
Dark Nights: Metal #5
The New 52 universe is essentially overwritten by Dark Nights: Metal in that this Dark Multiverse allows old and new stories to exist. The New 52 was a simplification of what was a clogged and overlapping universe, but it feels like Dark Nights: Metal overdid it a bit with the attempts to appease new readers and old readers…it results in a confusing story. I am always happy to see Dream and the Endless show up however (though they don’t always work when they’ve been placed in traditional stories).
In many ways the whole storyline feels like gobbledygook and techno-jargon. Comics generally have no limits, but that doesn’t mean that readers can’t be pushed a bit hard and some parts feel incoherent. Much of the story feels extraneous and that “magic” is the answer for any jumps in logic. This isn’t always a good solution to a write-around. It isn’t a horrible story idea, but it takes too much suspension of belief and flow.
Dark Nights: Metal in the bigger picture might be forgotten over the years (the biggest thing to come out of it was the Batman Who Laughs), but in some ways big “universe” changing events are supposed to be forgotten (Crisis on Infinite Earth was literally forgotten in the DCU). Series like Zero Hour or Infinite Crisis generally feel like course correctors and Dark Nights: Metal is another entry in those type of series but also not entirely enjoyable.
The New Teen Titans—Volume 9
November 24th, 2021Comic Info
Comic Name: New Teen Titans (Volume 2)
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Marv Wolfman
Artist: George Perez/Dan Jurgens/Jose Louis Garcia-Lopez
# of Issues: 9
Release Date: 2018
New Teen Titans (2) #1
Reprints The New Teen Titans (2) #1-9 (August 1984-June 1985). Raven has returned, but the Teen Titans realize that there is something darker and deadlier about her. With her father Trigon threatening to take over the world, the Titans must risk it all to stop her. Plus, Lilith’s kidnapping by the Greek Titan Thia will reveal her origin and put the Titans in a team-up with the gods of ancient Greece to stop Thia’s plots to rule Olympus.
Written by Marv Wolfman, The New Teen Titans—Volume 9 is a DC Comics superhero comic book collection. Following The New Teen Titans—Volume 8, the series features art by George Perez, Dan Jurgens, and Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez. The issues in the collection were reprinted in Tales of the New Teen Titans #59-68 and The New Teen Titans Omnibus—Volume 3 and New Teen Titans: The Terror of Trigon.
The New Teen Titans was one of my DC jump-on books. Like the X-Men it was kind of soapy and much of the drama overrode the action and adventure. The whole Judas Contract was a benchmark story and then I felt the story lagged a bit. While I didn’t like that Titans (like Legion of Super-Heroes) was launched into a “new format” series with the original becoming a “Tales of the…” title, a lot of significant stuff happened in this run.
The story was a bit of a relaunch and purge for the Raven character. Like the original New Teen Titans storyline, Raven’s battle against her father sparks the first part of the collection. You get the Teen Titans raising their stakes by becoming a world-wide name by saving the world from Trigon’s wrath, but like many Teen Titans storylines, it is tempered with the loss of Raven (for now).
New Teen Titans (2) #6
The follow-up storyline finally provides more of an origin for long-time Titan member/associate Lilith, though it isn’t very satisfying (I kind of liked her simply being a hippy-ish precog like in her early appearances). I do like she gets some more page-time. The story also introduces Kole who will be a member of the Titans and a romantic interest for the consistently worst dressed superhero Jericho…which of course doesn’t turn out well in Teen Titans fashion. I also like we get a non-Sandman appearance of Destiny who served as a horror host and would occasionally show up before Gaiman made full use of him.
The New Teen Titans—Volume 9 has important moments for the characters but always felt like the post “great” Teen Titans period. I kind of fell off reading the title around here so it is nice to have collections to do some catch-up on issues I never read. It may not be the best of the New Teen Titans, but it still is classic New Teen Titans and if you are a fan, continue to follow the collection (it probably isn’t the best jump-on book). The New Teen Titans—Volume 9 is followed by The New Teen Titans—Volume 10.
Invincible Universe 1: On Deadly Ground
November 24th, 2021Comic Info
Comic Name: Invincible Universe
Publisher: Image Comics
Writer: Phil Hester
Artist: Todd Nauck
# of Issues: 6
Release Date: 2013
Invincible Universe #1
Reprints Invincible Universe #1-6 (April 2013-September 2013). Following Dinosaurus’s attack on Earth, the Guardians of the Globe realize they have a lot of work to do to stabilize the fractured world. Under Cecil, the new team of Guardians must come together and start solving problems that they may have helped create. Unfortunately, even all the powers of the Guardians of the Globe might not be able to stop the danger facing the world.
Written by Phil Hester, Invincible Universe Volume 1: On Deadly Ground is an Image superhero comic book collection released under the Skybound imprint. A spin-off of the popular Invincible series, the collection features art by Todd Nauck.
I was a big Invincible fan, but always felt the Invincible “universe” was under explored. Kirkman created a lot of characters intentionally as throwaway of thinly veiled versions of DC and Marvel, but they never got their own stories. Here, the Guardians of the Globe have their shot at some solo action, and it is a fun little run.
Invincible Universe #4
The book kind of reads like an 1970s/1980s comic book. Each issue is largely independent (except the last two issues which are more of a two-parter), and feature different characters with continuing themes that fill in the gaps in action/adventure. It is a novel approach now, but it was common place in books like Avengers or Justice League where the characters personal lives were shoehorned in with things like alien attacks and worldwide threats. Now, series go for bigger and longer story arcs that can be collected easily. While this collection does feel “complete” (or at least halfway complete), it also feels like you can pick it up or put it down much easier.
I do like some of the characters who get “solo” acts in this book. Both Best Tiger and El Chupacabre show that there is a potential for a lot of range in Invincible. Invincible (and the stand-in Invincible) are part of this collection, but I like the solo action and the action that is completely untied to the Invincible storyline. Other expansions like the Atom-Eve issues are still too close to Invincible and it is nice to see other portions of the world.
Invincible was/is a rather defined storyline, and since its ending there hasn’t really been much done with it. Reading Invincible Universe after finishing Invincible, it would be nice to maybe have some more series or specials revisit Invincible…especially if it isn’t Invincible being explored. With the Amazon series and a long timespan covered, more Invincible Universe stories are possible…even stories before Invincible during Earth’s Omni-Man period. Invincible Universe 1: On Deadly Ground is followed by Invincible Universe 2: Above the Law.
Avengers: Quicksilver
November 23rd, 2021Comic Info
Comic Name: Quicksilver/Heroes for Hire (Volume 1)/Heroes for Hire/Quicksilver
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Tom Peyer/Joe Edkin/John Ostrander
Artist: Rob Haynes/Casey Jones/Derec Aucoin/Ivan Reis/Paschalis Ferry/Chris Renaud/Hector Collazo/Mark Bagley/Tom Lyle/Alex Morrissey/Don Hillsman
# of Issues: 16
Release Date: 2015
Quicksilver #1
Reprints Quicksilver #1-13, Heroes for Hire (1) #15-16, and Heroes for Hire/Quicksilver Annual ’98 (November 1997-November 1998). Who is Quicksilver? Is he the son of Magneto and heir to his throne or is he the Avenger? With the Avengers and his wife dead at the hands of Onslaught, Quicksilver finds a new path as the leader of the Knights of Wundagore for his benefactor the High Evolutionary. Time moves quickly…especially in Quicksilver’s case and being the son of Magneto means that he might not seek out trouble, but trouble will find him!
Written by Tom Peyer, Joe Edkin, and John Ostrander, Avengers: Quicksilver is Marvel Comics superhero collection. The collection features art by Rob Haynes, Casey Jones, Derec Aucoin, Ivan Reis, Paschalis Ferry, Chris Renaud, Hector Collazo, Mark Bagley, Tom Lyle, Alex Morrissey, and Don Hillman, and issues in this collection were also collected as part of Avengers Assemble—Volume 1, Iron Man by Kurt Busiek and Sean Chen Omnibus, Avengers by Kurt Busiek & George Perez Omnibus, Iron Man: Heroes Return—The Complete Collection, and Luke Cage, Iron Fist & The Heroes for Hire—Volume 2.
Quicksilver was always a dull “hero” to me and the fact that his “quicksilver” temper always made him a hothead, also made him uninteresting. Until X-Factor #87 (February 1993) which gave the character and depth he was missing (and also explained the persona of all other speedsters in the comic worlds). I hoped that the Quicksilver series was going to explore that aspect of Quicksilver when it was released, but it feels like more of the same (and that is 1990s same).
Quicksilver #7
Quicksilver probably never needed an ongoing series. Limited series and one-shots probably could have covered the character. This volume has Quicksilver juggling a lot of events following Onslaught where he lost his sister and his wife, but much of it is rather mundane and uneventful.
Quicksilver is best when it gets down to the clockworks of Quicksilver. Travels into his past and his relationship with Crystal (and in turn with the Black Knight) are where the meat of the series is…but it gets caught up in the whole High Evolutionary/Exodus/Heroes for Hire storyline which dominates the last part of the collection. It is better than some of the 1990s stuff, but it also doesn’t feel particularly exciting or distinctive (especially since much of it hasn’t been touched since this storyline ended). I feel there were some interesting things happening in this book and Heroes for Hire, but it was never fully recognized.
Avengers: Quicksilver is fine for fans of the character, but fans of the movie character might find it not very fulfilling. Like X-Factor, the X-Men movies really gave Quicksilver the spark he needed and made the character infinitely more entertaining and deep. Too often Quicksilver is written as the guy who screws up because of his attitude (especially after this collection). It is good to see him as a hero as he is here, but Avengers: Quicksilver leaves you wanting more.
Run Lola Run (1998)
November 22nd, 2021Movie Info
Movie Name: Run Lola Run
Studio: X-Filme Creative Pool/Arte Deutschland TV/Westerdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR)
Genre(s): Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Release Date(s): August 20, 1998 (Germany)/June 18, 1999 (US)
MPAA Rating: R
Time is ticking!
Lola (Franka Potente) is running out of time. Her boyfriend Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu) has called her with a story of a missing mobster’s money and a failed drop exchange. If Lola doesn’t get 100,000 Deutschmarks in twenty minutes, Manni is dead…but time is funny and time is fluid. One missed opportunity can change the course of a day while something that seems fortunate could damn Lola. Lola has twenty minutes, and the clock isn’t stopping.
Written and directed by Tom Tykwer, Run Lola Run (Lola rennt aka Lola Runs) is a German action thriller with elements of sci-fi fantasy. The film was released to positive reviews and has gained a cult following over the years.
I’m impressed even animated Lola can handle those stairs
Run Lola Run was one of those movies I heard about long before it was released. There was talk of this crazy German film with a lady with red hair running the whole movie. I recall renting and not getting it watched before the deadline…and realizing fast-forwarding through the kinetic movie was also a mistake. Run Lola Run is the type of movie that only needs a pause button because it runs at breakneck speeds.
The story is made up of three run-throughs and largely focuses on the butterfly effect which has ties to chaos theory. Lola’s daily actions, a second late or a second behind, affects the course of events that will occur. Be it bumping into a woman with a stroller or accidentally causing a car crash, the effect of these actions can have catastrophic outcomes. The third time through, multiple positive events occur and line up for Lola and Manni (which doesn’t always mean great things for those who encounter them).
Lola goes all Black Canary
The story has a few so-so aspects which aren’t great. The only calm points are the two times between the resets which feature Manni and Lola in bed discussing what they mean to each other. It is necessary but saps away some of the energy. There is also Lola’s “superpower” is a scream that can shatter glass. The film is surreal, but it is the most surreal part of it…and kind of takes you out of the story.
Franka Potente is amazing in the movie and holds the film together with her energy. I’m sure that when she was told she was going to have to run a lot of the film, she probably didn’t understand how much. Fortunately, she’s a natural looking runner, and I’d love to see how much distance she logged in making the movie. Moritz Bleibtreu and others in Lola’s life don’t get to expand as much since they are essentially fringe to the Lola plot. Bleibtreu gets the most time (followed by Lola’s father)…but it really is all about Franka Potente.
I don’t really have to run all the time…do I?
The visuals also make the movie. It is held together by a techno soundtrack (performed by Franka Potente and the film director in part) and the movie jumps from animation to flashy editing. There are a number of ties to Hitchcock’s Vertigo with not only an allusion to the painting in the film (at the casino), but the spirals and time in general. Lola is lost in a time warp and time is overlapping (there are also some nice ties to Trainspotting which had a similar international explosion).
Run Lola Run is a great demonstration of how time is fluid and every second counts. It is the “anti-fate” movie where chance and happenstance are what alter the course of history, and one casual run-in can change everything. It is the same feeling if you are ever in an accident…what if you had left a second earlier or later…would it have occurred? The butterfly effect is strong in Run Lola Run and sit back and enjoy the flapping.
Britannia—Book 1
November 22nd, 2021Comic Info
Comic Name: Britannia
Publisher: Valiant Comics
Writer: Peter Milligan
Artist: Juan Jose Ryp
# of Issues: 4
Release Date: 2016
Britannia #1 Variant
Reprints Britannia #1-4 (September 2016-December 2016). Antonius Axia finds himself in a unique position. Trained by the Vestal Virgins, Antonius has become a detective…chosen to seek out criminals and determine who committed heinous actions. As a threat to Nero, Antonius is selected to travel to the far-reaches of the Empire to Britannia where an evil seems to have taken hold. With his slave Bran, Antonius is about to discover that horror is eternal…there is something powerful and dark in Britannia, and all of Antonius training and teaching might not be enough to stop what is coming.
Written by Peter Milligan, Britannia—Book 1 is a Valiant Comics action-adventure horror comic book collection. Featuring art by Juan Jose Ryp, the issues in this volume were also collected as part of the Britannia—Deluxe Edition.
Stepping into any Valiant Comic is a strange adventure. Growing up largely on Marvel and some DC, you go in knowing what to expect, but with many of the third party comic book publishers, there are no rules. Britannia has an interesting concept and style, but overall, it does need some finessing.
Britannia #3
The story is like many epic types of stories with strangers in a strange land. Movies like Ravenous, The Keep, and The 13th Warrior all have a similar set-up which resemble the old texts of things like Beowulf…with explorers and the outsiders coming into a world they don’t understand or belong in. Britannia has this layered with political espionage and the likes of something like HBO’s Rome blended into the mix.
The problem is that there is a lot of territory to cover. I don’t feel that you have a real handle on events occurring and that some things are skipped over rather quickly (like the travel from Italy to England in a time where travel wasn’t like hopping on a plane or a boat). This is also mixed with the whole “wyrd” aspect of the mystics working with Antonius, and it feels like the story is slightly shortchanged. You also have the relationship between Antonius and his slave Bran which needs to be expanded.
Fortunately, Britannia is the first storyline in a multi-series story. I hope that some of the issues raised in this collection are resolved in the future volumes. It is a unique and different story, and I wish the aspects of the “Roman detective” were amplified a bit (it is set-up as a bit of a Sherlock Holmes and Watson). I look forward to seeing where the story might go. Britannia—Book 1 is followed by Britannia—Book 2: We Who Are About to Die.
Saw VI (2009)
November 21st, 2021Movie Info
Movie Name: Saw VI
Studio: Twisted Pictures
Genre(s): Horror
Release Date(s): October 23, 2009
MPAA Rating: R
This is the start of a pretty bad day…
Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) has framed the now deceased Peter Strahm (Scott Patterson) as Jigsaw’s assistant and is working to cover his tracks. There is a problem however in Jigsaw’s wife Jill Tuck (Betsy Russell) who knows what her husband knew about Mark’s past and could become a threat. As the police led by Lindsey Perez (Athena Karkanis) close in on Mark, Mark tests an insurance dealer named William Easton (Peter Outerbridge) who once slighted Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) and is now set to pay the ultimate price.
Directed by Kevin Greutert, Saw VI is a torture horror movie. Following 2008’s Saw V, the film (like a majority of the series) was panned by critics, and the movie also showed a drop off in attendance despite continued strong returns at the box office.
I bet all the people on the merry-go-round would laugh he started humming “Merry-Go-Round Broke Down” right now…
Saw (which never was a favorite) has really fallen by this film. It shouldn’t be called Saw and should just be called Flashback because that all the film feels like. As soon as the story gets some traction a flashback (usually not adding much to the narrative) kicks in and the story loses direction.
The series really needs the real Jigsaw. Tobin Bell was a half-way interesting villain and his death in Saw III really hindered the series. When basing the series around a terminally ill character, it never was going to be easy, and the filmmakers’ attempts to spin off Hoffman as the new Jigsaw just doesn’t really work. Bell was a distinctive looking guy and Hoffman’s character’s motivation and generic look don’t help the picture. I do however admire that the series continues to build on past movies instead of just being an essential restart every time a new film is made…this is different than a lot of horror franchises which play fast and loose with events of previous films.
He might be seriously considering who his friends are
What continues to be the draw of Saw is the creator’s clever deaths. This series continues the trend (it also continues the trend of none of the characters even attempting to avoid physical harm while freeing themselves). The twist endings that used to thrill, now plod, but at least Easton’s acid death and Hoffman’s escape also was rather exciting and some of the more grueling moments in the series.
This might be the worst Saw. I have never been on the Saw boat and always thought the first Saw was pretty bad (I guess if I had to pick, I’d say Saw II was probably my “favorite”). The movie has lost what creativity the series had and needed to be put down. The lower than expected box office returns led studio execs to decide to end the series with the follow-up film Saw 3D in 2010.
Related Links:
Saw 3D (2010)
November 21st, 2021Movie Info
Movie Name: Saw 3D
Studio: Twisted Pictures
Genre(s): Horror
Release Date(s): October 29, 2010
MPAA Rating: R
I’m buying whatever this store is selling
Jill Tuck (Betsy Russell) has gone to the police, and Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) is on the run. That doesn’t mean Jigsaw is done with his games, and a new game is being played involving a writer and motivational speaker named Bobby Dagen (Sean Patrick Flanery) who has lied about being one of Jigsaw’s victims. As Hoffman hunts Jill, and Bobby tries to get through Jigsaw’s latest maze of traps, Jigsaw’s days might be limited, and Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) might have an ally that no one ever knew.
Directed by Kevin Greutert, Saw 3D (sometimes called Saw: The Final Chapter or Saw VII) is a torture horror film. Following Saw VI in 2009, the series was marketed as the end of the Saw franchise. The intent to make an eighth film fell through with a drop-off in attendance and this film represent the end of the money making horror franchise. The film almost received an NC-17 rating (plus banned in Germany) and like most of the films in the franchise was panned by critics. The film also received a Razzie nomination for Worst Eye-Gouging Use Mis-Use of 3D.
Never skimp on corrective eye surgery
It’s over and that is a good thing. As Saw started, I didn’t really enjoy it (still don’t), but I admired some of what it tried to do and what it accomplished with its films. By Saw 3D, much of this admiration is gone. Saw 3D not only is a dull Saw movie, but a boring movie that takes itself way too seriously (cue the dramatic Saw music).
The Saw films were always overblown, but this film (especially when combined with Saw VI) show a sharp decline. The story of Hoffman and the wife of Jigsaw is much less compelling than Jigsaw’s tale in the first four films. The logic and overly twisting and overlapping parts of the movie don’t really make much sense (including the opening department store window sequence that has no ties to anything) and end up feeling more like filler than an actual plot.
Wait…I thought I was audition for Hellraiser?!?!
The cast is fine, but it feels like a bland cast of a horror movie. Tobin Bell really brought a lot to the franchise that Coasta Mandylor lacks. The Sean Patrick Flanery character is a realistic addition (someone who would profit off the events), but it also seems like he is a bit unrealistic since his story feels like it would be easy to corroborate. The movie has the surprise return of the original Saw actor Cary Elwes, but his return would feel more important if the franchise as a whole was not loaded with flashbacks and the return of characters (even if they are just flashbacks).
With the decision to shoot Saw VII in 3D (it was shot in 3D and not converted), it means tons of in your face shots that aren’t fun for most home viewers. This Saw film is particularly gruesome due to the fact that everything needs to flip toward the viewers. With disemboweling, falling keys, eye pokers and other things flying toward the screen, it comes off as more cheesy and desperate than the deaths earlier in the franchise (though Friday the 13th Part 3 still has it beat).
Will Jill return? I think I see her tongue moving…she’s fine
I think that Saw VI might have been my least favorite Saw, but this is close. With the Tobin Bell character, people were being punished that deserved it, but here there is much more collateral damage which does not inspire any sense of schadenfreude which was an aspect of the other films. The Hoffman character is supposed to be “the brute”, but a brute in a movie claiming to be a introspective horror series is just like any other horror movie. I was never a big fan, and these last few films have shown the weakness of the story and lost what little momentum the series had. I don’t really understand why Saw must “die” with this film since they left open a major window. Saw did decide to take a break, and Tobin Bell returned returned in the relaunch movie Jigsaw in 2017.
Related Links:
Batman 8: Superheavy
November 20th, 2021Comic Info
Comic Name: Batman (Volume 2)
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Greg Capullo
# of Issues: 5
Release Date: 2016
Batman (2) #42
Reprints Batman (2) #41-45 (August 2015-December 2015). There is a new Batman in Gotham, and it is James Gordon. With a super-armor and city backing, Batman is going gain official power to clean-up Gotham, and he’ll need it when a new villain calling himself Mr. Bloom appears on the scene providing dangerous Seeds to people. As Gordon adjust to his new responsibilities, Bruce Wayne has miraculously survived his showdown with the Joker…and may very well be a different person!
Written by Scott Snyder, Batman Volume 8: Superheavy is a DC Comics New 52 superhero comic book collection. Following Batman Volume 7: Endgame, the issues feature art by Greg Capullo, and this volume presents the first half of the “Superheavy” storyline. Issues in the collection were also collected as part of Batman by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo Omnibus—Volume 2.
This is where Scott Snyder’s Batman starts to get weird…really weird. While I have found Snyder’s take on the Dark Knight one of the most interesting “long runs” in the character’s history, it is often problematic. This volume is definitely interesting but also problematic.
Batman (2) #44
I like that Snyder isn’t afraid to try something new. The idea of Gordon as a young-ish guy in the New 52 universe never has quite sat well with me (especially since both Barbara and James Gordon Jr. are about the same age they always were). Here you having him shaving his mustache and giving himself a bad haircut…he now is the “vigilante” Batman. While the idea of a police run Batman is interesting, I don’t know that Gordon was the right choice for the storyline. I would have rather seen someone else at the controls of the robot Batman and maybe facing off with the real Batman (aka Bruce Wayne).
It is the Bruce Wayne part of this story that really bothers me. The resurrection of the character with a “new” brain is a bit too sci-fi for Batman who was always an earthy “real” character. It is obvious that Bruce Wayne will return as Batman, and it seems a bit gimmicky and almost like a reboot by Snyder (especially the new Batman machine to create new Batmen forever).
Batman 8: Superheavy is worth reading, but it doesn’t feel much like a Batman book. If you’ve followed Snyder’s run, it is a must because Snyder keeps changing the Batman playbook which had become stale through the years, but like Grant Morrison’s writing, you’ll run the risk of liking it or hating it. Batman 8: Superheavy is followed by Batman 9: Bloom.
Preceded By:
