Monday, July 6, 2020
THE GOOD LIAR Trailer (2019)
Stay-At-Home Theater: THE GOOD LIAR on HBO. I don't want to give anything away about the plot of this movie. Great performances from two film vets - - Ian McKellan and Helen Mirren. They are incredible to watch. Enjoy.
Saturday, July 4, 2020
OZARK Season 2 Trailer (2018) Netflix
Stay-At-Home-Theater: OZARK, SEASON TWO. A great dramatic series. We binged Season Two in three days. All members of the Byrde family have more character reveals and character development in this season, and the supporting cast gets time for development as well. On to Season Three! Also glad to hear a Season Four is coming - whenever.
The House with a Clock in Its Walls - Official Trailer 1
Stay-At-Home-Theater: THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS. A whimsical highly-imaginative story about a young man adopted by a strange uncle and moving to his even stranger house. It's a cool coming-of-age story of trying to fit in and find a purpose. I"d say it's very family-friendly provided your children are middle-school age. Otherwise, some images may be too frightening for younger audiences. Great performances all around.
Friday, July 3, 2020
Other Voices: ANIMOSITY VOLUME ONE Guest Review By MATT LOWDER
Guest review by MATT LOWDER
EDITOR’S NOTE: Matt Lowder is a fellow comics collector/reader and a member of the I LOVE COMICS 3000 Challenge on Captain Blue Hen’s Facebook page.
Animosity Volume 1: THE WAKE Trade paperback. ( Aftershock Comics, 2016)
Rating: FOUR OUT OF A POSSIBLE FIVE STARS.
Writer: Marguerite Bennett. Artist: Rafael de Latorre. Colors: Rob Schwager. Letters: Marshall Dillon
This was a rite of passage book for me. Back during Free Comic Book Day 2019, I heard about this book, and this past winter, Joe (Editor’s Note: Joe Murray, co-owner/manager of Captain Blue Hen Comics) recommended it. When he explained the synopsis in a nutshell, I tucked it away in my mind, but didn't jump at it. I kept seeing it pop-up from time to time, and this spring, after I realized I loved Aftershock, I grabbed Volume One when I recognized the publisher's logo.
When I jumped in, that first issue really grabbed me. It was outrageously over the top - - - all the animals, all billion-billion of them. They all suddenly have consciousness, complex thoughts, acute intelligence and the ability to speak.
What quickly ensues is an apocalypse where animals and human factions on both sides have conspirators, allies, double agents, and sympathizers of all species in a complex web of food hunting, fortress building, and animal rights.
It's bloody, it's funny, it's humanistic, compelling, sharp, and completely jumps the shark in its premise. It was honestly a little more of a shark jump than I expected, but when every character, every exchange of uniquely expressed dialog between two animals are so shocking, and mature, and threatening, or full of adoration and love, man oh man, the whole comic jumps the shark, therefore none of it does, ya know? It is just unapologetic in what it is. I see why it's a flagship series for Aftershock.
It's a standout in every way, but requires the reader to really just go with it. As the situations and the artwork kept getting crazier with tortoises strapped with bazookas and deer with grenades dangling from their antlers, I wasn't sure if I was going to get Volume Two, but now I think I have to give it a go. Ha!
The blood hound named Sandor is written like if Sam Elliot was Eeyore. He loves his human girl named Jesse, and they're on a survival road trip to find Jesse's long lost brother. It’s precious and terrifying.
There are five volumes out so far, and at least 27 issues. (Editor’s Note: Plus Animosity: The Rise, World of Animosity, and an Animosity coloring book.) I can say after accidentally looking at a few panels of those later issues, a LOT happens in this story - like . . . whoa! If I had to rate the four things I look for in a book from strongest to weakest, it goes like this for Animosity: Plot/Concept, Character, Language/Voice, Art. And this is strong through and through. FOUR STARS.
