Unease has surrounded Marvel's "Captain Marvel", perhaps for good reason, considering the insinuating comments aimed at certain sectors of potential followers. Also, to perpetuate concern, "The Last Jedi", "The Shape of Water", CW's "Supergirl", the current "Doctor Who" and the more-fiction-than-fact "Professor Marston and the Wonder Women" set the ugly pace by dishing degrees of "reversed discrimination" (bigotry by any other name, folks...), thus alienating those who by tradition have granted support to such endeavors, while making those on the fence wary to invest.
After viewing "Captain Marvel", I can say it's neither an utter turncoat to open-mindedness or a proponent of sugar-coated contempt, but as with "The Last Jedi'"s "Solo" aftermath, it takes a cold, bland turn to make its point.
And what is its point? Why, to castigate evil, and for the sake of this prequel, doing so during a give-or-take time when a divide between the factions played in all philosophical sectors of pop-cultural life. Hey, that righteous vibe caused the Berlin Wall to fall, right? Alas, though "Captain Marvel" may occupy the past, its conscientious sensibility has been reduced to meager decor.
At any rate, the film introduces us to Carol Danvers, played by Brie "Kong: Skull Island" Larson, an Air Force captain who gets transitioned into something more Kree than earthling, though it does appear she always had the right, alien stuff inside her. It only had to be unleashed.
This version of the character also skims a lot of her comic-book history. For the record, she was once known as Warbird, Binary and Ms. Marvel, performing as the protege of another called Captain Marvel, who's name was stolen from an apparition conjured by the incantation, "Shazam!". Jude Law (who was once considered to play Kal-El and Zod) acts as her charismatic mentor, Yon-Rogg, but he comes and goes, then comes and goes again...and again. That's that.
Once Danvers' Hal Jordan-knockoff origin is fixed, she crosses paths with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson: Larson's "Skull Island" costar) and Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), who inadvertently join her crusade against a crafty Skrull who appears to be the movie's prime antagonist, Talos, played by Ben "Robin Hood" Mendelsohn, but not all is as it seems.
In fact, that's Danvers' dilemma and the film's subtle motif: Who can she trust, if she can't trust herself due to a muddled memory?
That's the gist of it, and that would be more than sufficient, if the movie only spurt some spirit. Directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck are competent directors (the film flows at an even clip), and the mythic mix-match (thanks to too many screenwriters to mention here) is viable, but again, something is missing.
I do believe it's a lack of credible commitment to the cause. Danvers' screen embodiment is affable, but she requires more than she's dealt to hit the empathetic mark. I'm not talking physical prowess, but rather an expressed understanding of what she's doing and what she's fighting.
Perhaps that should have been better defined during the fleeting flashbacks and resulting revelations. Instead, there are times when Danvers' alternating attire appears more a part of her personality than what one can presume lies inside: good for flash, but not plot.
Talos' presence does help, but once his "secret" is revealed, he can't help but steal every scene he's in, which leaves out titular heroine looking lopsided in comparison.
Most vexing is that various episodes of "S.H.I.E.L.D.", "Agent Carter" and "Inhumans" are indisputably stronger than this venture. Maybe if the film had discarded its hallow, graphic gloss (in a vain attempt for "Doctor Strange" surrealism) and fell more in line with those old, unpretentious "Incredible Hulk" movie-of-the-week revivals, the set-up would've felt more sincere. In other words, through sentimental smallness, "Captain Marvel" could have made a huge statement, not merely on feminist derring-do, but humanity in general.
Though I'm relieved the movie didn't over-pander to those oversensitive SJWs, it still doesn't fly the way its comic-book counterpart does. For a chapter holding such promised importance (a prelude to "Endgame", no less), it should have landed more identifiable punch. What stands plays like a nervous test run and not the commanding submission it could have been.
Sorry, but tepid tries should never characterize the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and they should certainly never define their tried-and-true icons.
You knew how to enchant and entice through your remarkable skills.
Within every genre and through every role (no matter how big or small), you emerged the undisputed queen, covering all the cool variances with deft and sincere care: "Arena '74" (with Pam Grier); "She Beast" (with Barbara Steele); "Battle of the Amazons"; "Pete, Pearl and the Pole"; "The Devil Has Seven Faces"; "The Killer Reserved Nine Seats"; "Love Angels"; "Eye of the Spider"; "The Eerie Midnight Horror Show"; "A Black Ribbon for Deborah"...and "Goodnight, Ladies and Gentlemen".
You also sang, danced and skated when given the chance: a veritable Renaissance Woman, if ever there was one.
Your beauty and spellbinding charms will keep you in the public eye for eons to come, Ms. Love, though you'll also now find a sacred place among the celestial bodies, where in truth, you were always meant to roam.
ou
It breaks my heart that Fun Adventure Comics! #15 marks the end of the run, but at least Warren Montgomery/Will Lill gives us a satisfying sendoff.
For one thing, we get a jubilant appearance by Montgomery's lively Lightning Marval of Happytoe, Oregon.
In "Short Stay", our speedy protagonist faces a monstrous bully called Muscleman Guy. Of course, the brute is no match for our affable avenger, though Muscleman Guy does administer the puzzling knack of vanishing in a snap. Montgomery's story and art are bright and fanciful: guaranteed to keep one elated throughout...
The second tale comes from writer, Rodney Lockett and is entitled "Displaced from Disaster". It includes spellbinding artwork by Jardel Cruz, enhanced by Montgomery's captivating colors and lettering.
"Displaced" caters to a war between distant factions, where indignant heroes tackle heartless villains to stop a raucous attack on a "Super Human Institutional Prison". The story's zest rivals the best of DC and Marvel and references such stirring sagas as "G.I. Joe", "Battle of the Planets" and "Star Hawks". A breathtaking sojourn of seething conflict...
To finish the issue, the dexterous Lloyd Smith returns with a new superhero encounter that crosses pathos with daring delirium, featuring powerful artwork by Seppo Makinen, inked by Steven R. Addlesee and lettered by Susan Dorne.
In "The Hero Falls", the mighty Mercury must come to terms with the unwavering Nemesis, who's slaughtered a group of Diamond City hoodlums, but did they deserve the punishment they were dealt?
What develops is a philosophical melee of fists and wits, with a twist that will leave one's head spinning. Profound, intriguing and most of all, character-driven: right in step with Smith's best works...
I don't know why Montgomery decided to retire Fun Adventure Comics!, but I'm thankful for what exists and do hope that #15 sells well enough to make the artist/publisher reconsider.
For the here and now, #15 is available for purchase at ...
https://www.drivethrucomics.com/product/267471/Fun-Adventure-Comics-15?fbclid=IwAR3z_IugYFpTc1eV4f6-fA05x1m60yV5O7oJ14Pa1EmC-N0_2xB7qJI7i9M
Even as a little boy, I couldn't help but be smitten by you. "The Beach Girls and the Monster" (aka "Monster from the Surf") became one of my favorites. You (and good ol' Kingsley the Lion) ensured it.
Over the years, I came to find you in other features, including the horror spoof, "Hysterical"; the chilling "Evilspeak"; "Aladdin and His Lamp"; "Son of Sinbad"; "Annie Get Your Gun"; "Paint Your Wagon"; "Flame and the Arrow"; "Rear Window '56"; "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty '47"; "Camelot '67"; "Secrets of Monte Carlo"; "Neptune's Daughter"; "3 Ring Circus"; "Jumbo"; "My Favorite Spy"; "Son of Paleface"; "Breakfast at Tiffany's"; "An American in Paris"; and "American Beauty".
Your bubbly, irresistible demeanor made you unforgettable, even when filmmakers left you uncredited or cut your footage short. Nonetheless, you'll grace Heaven's starry credits now: a beaming beauty destined to outshine all others.
SILENI is an experimental project by Portuguese musician/composer, Valter Abreu. Through Italy's cathartic Eighth Tower Records, the artist gives us "Long Forgotten Bowers": a concept album which, to my ears, captures the evolutionary progression of Stanley Kubrick/Arthur C. Clarke's "2001: A Space Odyssey", though marked by the cynical acceptance of Nicholas Winding Refn's "Valhalla Rising" and Patrick McGoohan's "The Prisoner". In other words, it's a journey with significant, developmental swings, but in the end, all grows clear.
Some of the album's portions (the interludes and build-ups) are soothing, but as one grazes the bowers' fringes, the "darker" side of life emerges. Abreu's compositions imply that life is but a search for meaning or more so, the means to know ourselves and therefore our unvarnished stations.
"Forgone Age" initiates this musical adventure with an empathetic allusion: We are characterized by drives and vibes, of which fear is a predominant part. Strange things from the forgone age can still stalk us, even consume us.
Nevertheless, to understand any such threat, we must categorize it. What better way than to call it some "Malformed Creature": a wraith born of our world, which doesn't fit our convenient scheme. That's what fear tells us, anyway. Still, considering the symbol's existence, should we come to terms with it or cower in its wake?
Courage is hard to conjure, after all. Even the bravest might get "Lost" within the process. Through Abreu's bold, bristly notes, one may embark on any number of impulsive paths that our wraith serves, unsure how to survive, let alone conclude them.
Alas, the chance to understand (if ever there was one) has been "Surpassed". This instills defeat, but wait! Around the bend, a hint of salvation shimmers. Into the fortuitous "Unexpected Encounter", we engage.
We relish its reckless tonality. We tickle and tug it as if shaking a "Dimmed Memory": one that contains all the sibilating, bombastic elements that made us walk, talk, aspire and quiver. By golly, it was us all along. We were our own cheerleaders, opponents and moldmakers: each at one time or another, the malformed creature.
With this complacent revelation attained, we can now wallow in our special "Zone", labeling our shortcomings as badges of beauty instead of flaws. Perhaps others will see as we see, hear as we hear. We shall lead the way, riding each audacious chord as a mentor, hero...god.
From our enlarging, meditative glow, we turn "Sentient", awaiting discovery by those who travel the same, inexorable path.
It could be that we are all gods, destined to meet within the great, celestial collective, scattering our euphonious "Remains" like breadcrumbs, if only to perpetuate the eternal cycle that makes us mortal and of course, something beyond...
SILENI's "Long Forgotten Bowers" welcomes thoughts and emotions that we should never have left for dead. Absorb Abreu's revival and venerate your fate.
https://eighthtowerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/long-forgotten-bowers
Airship 27 Productions publisher, Ron Fortier has selected eminent artist Chris Rawding to compose the cover for "The Persona, Vol 2: The Green-Fleshed Fiends".
As one can deduce from Rawding's promotional card, he's an eclectic visionary, with a gallery that includes steampunk chicks, superheroes and famous phantoms.
I applaud his Captain America depiction. It projects an apt, patriotic pitch.
Rawding does a great job with imagery designated to the '30s and '40s. "The Green-Fleshed Fiends" occurs in '39. Rawding's style is well matched to my sequel's setting.
Rawding also administers a knack for the modern. The Persona's exploits embrace elements beyond his time, as well as monstrous danger. Rawding's Michael Myers image proves that the artist can strike a hip, sharp edge.
At this point, I've no notion what the "The Green-Fleshed Fiends" cover will look like (beyond that the Persona mask will be featured), but there's no doubt that my book rests in good hands. As Rawding creates the cover, Kevin Broden completes the interior panels.
Things are progressing in a most positive way.
Check out Filmfax #153: another glorious, nostalgic gem!!!
Alas, this one was a toughie to seize (even with my subscription in full swing), but well worth the wait, with an engrossing article on revered, science-extrapolation artist, Chesley "Destination Moon" Bonestell (including a fond focus on Douglass M. Stewart Jr.'s documentary tribute, "A Brush with the Future"); and interviews with character-actor idols, Rad Fulton (aka Jim Westmoreland) and Pat "Horror High/"Twisted Brain" Cardi; plus "Monsters! Monsters! Everywhere!"
There's also inspiring coverage on those handy, movie death rays (Chapter 6, no less); the legendary Stan "the Man" Lee (take that, Bill Maher!); the "Sire of Splatter", Herschell Gordon Lewis; and childlike filmmaker Edward D. Wood Jr.'s frisky fiction.
Snatch a copy of Filmfax #153 while the chance is in view. This one's far too important to forgo.
