GOODBYE, TOM WILKINSON

Your eminent credits know no bounds.

In fact, the following only grazes the surface of your many contributions: The Patriot 2000; Valkyrie; Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol; The Ghost and the Darkness; The Ghost Writer; Burke & Hare; Snowden; The Titan; Black Knight; Rush Hour; Separate Lies; Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets; The Conspirator; Jackboots on White Hall; Michael Clayton; Recount; SAS: Red Notice; The Catcher Was a Spy; RocknRolla; First Among Equals; Cain of Fools; The Choice; Shakespeare in Love; The Happy Prince; This Beautiful Fantastic; The Night of the White Pants; Felony; Duplicity; Bone in the Throat; Ripley Under Ground; The Samaritan (aka Fury); Selma; 44 Inch Chest; Cassandra's Dream; Dedication; Dead in a Week or Your Money Back; Prince of Jutland (aka Royal Deceit/Thrones & Empires); Jenny's Wedding; Little Boy; Burden; Denial; Belle; The Last Kiss; Piccadilly Jim; Parker; Sylvia; Good People; A Good Woman; Stage Beauty; The Debt; Before You Go; Another Life; In the Bedroom; The Full Monty; If Only; Smilla's Sense of Snow; The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel; The Girl with a Pearl Earring; Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind; Wetherby; Paper Mask; Sense and Sensibility 2005; and The Importance of Being Earnest 2002. 

In my humble estimation, one of your finest performances springs from The Exorcism of Emily Rose, where as Father Richard Moore, you spun conviction with sorrow, and above all, oodles of compassionate courage, to a degree that should have clinched you an Oscar nod. 

However, your appearances as Carmine Falcone in Batman Begins, James Reid in The Green Hornet 2011 and Latham Cole in The Lone Ranger 2012, give you an unshakable spot in crusader cinema, ensuring that time and again, you'll reside in fandom's favorable eye. 

Actors of your "supporting" caliber rarely get the credit they deserve, Mr. Wilkinson, but to those who absorbed the splendor of your work, you'll remain nothing less than top tier.  

HAPPY PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE DAY 2023

HAVE A MERRY, MIND-EXPANDING (OUTER LIMITS) CHRISTMAS 2023

 

I saw Aquaman 2

DC/WB's Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, directed by James Wan, who cowrote with David Leslie Johnson-Goldrick (et al), is the filmmakers' long-awaited sequel to the 2018 blockbuster. For the follow-up, the Arthurian legend is retooled as a buddy movie, with emphasis on Jason Momoa's titular protagonist, aka Arthur Curry, making amends with his brother, Patrick Wilson's exiled Ocean Master, aka Orm (in a Thor/Loki-fied deal), to combat Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's vengeful Black Manta, aka David Kane. 

The premise is tried-and-true enough to hold one's interest (as it avoids any out-of-the-box hiccups), with the brotherly component making the best use of the formula's angst, rivalry, amusement and redemption, framed by global-warming humbuggery, 20,000 Leagues tech and for cuteness sake, a surrogate, baby Aqualad. 

To fortify the formula further, Black Manta is more ruthless this time out, in particular, when he taps the Black Trident, summoning a hidden, hellish kingdom with the power to flatten all of Atlantis and beyond. In his sleek, head-to-toe armor, Black Manta is nothing short of an aquatic Darth Vader as he carries the ancient world's relentless evil, pressing a significant, story asset, for any heroic fable is only as good as its villain is bad. 

The movie's supporting performers and their characters reinforce the inflating tensions: Dolph Lundgren's King Nereus; Nicole Kidman's Atlanna; Temura Morrison's Tom Curry; John Rhys-Davis' Brine King; Martin Short's Kingfish; Randall Park's Gus Gorman-esque Dr. Stephen Shin; and Amber Heard's Mera, whose role may have been shortened for this sequel, but her regal presence is still felt. 

In fact, the successful ensemble feels more than right to birth Aquaman 3, except that WB execs wish to steer the DC, cinematic franchise in another direction. (Perhaps if The Flash had hit bigger, that would have given more cause to keep a strand of Zack Synder's multiverse in play.) On this basis, it's easy to get sentimental over what may be a so-long chapter, but at the same time, a sense of betrayal can't be denied. To rephrase, it's a tad hard to invest in something, no matter how sublime, if the rug is being pulled from under it (case in point, DC/WB/Max's Swamp Thing, revival series).

Regardless of the studios' plans, Lost Kingdom is now part of hero-cinema history, which by that relegation, means it won't be soon forgotten, anymore than Kick-Ass 2, Sin City: A Dame to Die For, Wrath of the Titans, Ewoks: The Battle for Endor and Conan the Destroyer have been. After all, round-two myths never die; they just get revisited. 

AIRSHIP 27 PODCAST (DEC '23): READY FOR LIFTOFF

Captain Ron Fortier and Chief Engineer Rob Davis have resumed podcast flight!  

For their December installment, our dynamic duo covers The Phantom Detective, Vol 2, which features a quartet of new, Richard Curtis Van Loan investigations, penned by Carson Demmans, Gene Moyers, Fred Adams Jr. and yours truly, Michael F. Housel. This powerhouse release also flaunts gratifying artwork by Kevin Paul Broden and Adam Shaw, furthering its status as a masked-crusader treasure!

In addition to Phantom Detective #2, the fellows cover Darryle Purcell's time-travel epic, Buck Jones in the 21st Century (with a catchy cover and interiors rendered by none other than the author). And then there's (the Kindle-exclusive) Sherlock Holmes Mysteries, Vol #3 by the prolific I.A. Watson, plus the by-popular-demand rerelease of Jim Anthony Super-Detective, Vol 1, with stories by Erwin K. Roberts, Andrew Salmon and B.C. Bell.

The guys also promise further submissions on Sherlock Holmes, Jezebel Johnston, Bass Reeves, Domino Lady, Radio Rita and Mystery Men & Women. Indeed, 2024 is gonna be a mighty pleasing one for Airship 27 fans. 

Tune in for this informative, year-end episode at 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFYri3FRB9U

WELCOME WINTER 2023/2024

 

HAPPY 90TH, SON OF KONG

I don't give a hoot what anyone says. Son of Kong is a great sequel, and its 90th anniversary (on Dec 22) is one to commemorate. 

Though rushed into production to capitalize on its predecessor's blockbuster status, Son of Kong, directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack, produced by Merian C. Cooper, scripted by Ruth Rose and scored by Max Steiner, plays like the initial chapter, but with humor and tenderness tweaking the peril. 

Like King Kong, Son of ... also holds a great cast, with Robert Armstrong returning as the guilt-ridden, Carl Denham, along with Frank Reicher as Captain Englehorn, Victor Wong as Charlie and Noble Johnson as Skull Island's Chief. Helen Mack plays Denham's girlfriend-to-be, Hilda (aka "Kid," who does a dandy job singing the catchy "Runaway Blues"), with Clarence Wilson as her ill-fated dad, Steve Clemente as the Witch Doctor, Henry Tenbrook as Tommy, Lee Kohlmar as Mickey, Ed Brady as Red and John Marston as the dastardly Nils Helstrom, whose sights are set on an island treasure.   

The stop-motion animation by Willis O'Brien and Buzz Gibson brims of nuance and character, more than holding its own with the original, even if the same ferocity is absent. Even so, the salty-furred Little Kong's fight sequences would make his dad proud. (My personal favorite occurs when he wrestles a cave bear.) 

I believe what makes Son of ... so endearing is its moral core, which demonstrates that selflessness and sacrifice are paramount paths to survival. In this respect, Son of ... twists the original's premise with a stroke of heartfelt redemption, leaving one sad yet satisfied by the story's end. 

(Re)watch Son of ... this December to (re)experience the warmth, pathos and power of a sequel that, though smaller in scope, delivers a huge punch.  

SUPERBABES #16: DESPERATELY SEEKING FEMFORCE

AC's all-color Superbabes #16 presents more Jungle Island action, spearheaded by the dimensional-tumbling Black Phantom in a chapter called "Desperately Seeking Femforce."   

After the gals anticipate the sexy Phantom's entrance into the Femforce fold, She-Cat and Synn face an attacking automaton, as Tara lifts an elephant and Ms. Victory and Paragon (in a special chapter of their own) enjoy a little romance. All in all, our Femforce members sure have lots on their collective plate!

Issue #16's escapades are brought to life by Bobby Ragland, Andrea Modugno, and Mark and Stephanie Heike. This talented crew does an excellent, if not flawless job enlivening each interlocking chapter. 

Be sure to purchase this essential installment at your favorite online source or neighborhood comic-book shop. I got mine at Comic Relief on Quakerbridge Road, Village Commons, Lawrenceville, NJ, an ideal hub to fulfill every superheroic need.

And get set for the next exciting episode in the Superbabes saga. Looks to be a steamy one, too, as She-Cat goes undercover as Tara!