Inception

Just watched the Inception trailer. It's a teaser, so not much to go on. Teaser's give you a choice of "Looks great", "Looks okay", or "Looks like I won't be seeing that."

But it did remind me that I'm excited for this movie, and not for anything that I necessarily saw on the screen. It's that I trust Christopher Nolan. I trust him as a film maker and a storyteller. The type of trust I used to reserve for Pat Conroy, Harrison Ford, Steven Spielberg, or Frank Miller, among others. I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

When I first saw Momento in 2000, I was ecstatic. It had been a while since I had seen anything that gripped me in the way that film did. I knew I would see Nolan's next film. Insomnia wasn't a great film in my estimation, but wasn't a typical studio follow-up for a newly-discovered director.

Then Batman Begins. For comics fans, it was validation. For moviegoers, it was a draw. And while some have problems with the ending, I felt Nolan maintained his integrity and made a movie that was his own. He then gives us The Prestige which stayed with me for days after I left the theater, pondering its twists, turns, and intricacies.

The Dark Knight follows Nolan's first Batman film as a studio movie that still follows the type of storytelling that he has established. As a matter of fact, I think I enjoy Batman Begins more so than its sequel. But what's important is his continued use of theme, skewed narrative, and strength of concept are present in each film.

I trust Nolan because he has been able to strike a balance that has all but been lost in Hollywood. He is able to make films that not only entertain, but are emotionally gripping and have you talking and/or mentally lingering on the movie well after you are gone. At some point he'll make another mediocre film such as Insomnia or something that sorely disappoint. That's okay. He's a creator. It's an element of what he does.

But until then...strike that. Until he goes full Frank Miller, snickering at those who follow his work, or goes dallying with his earlier films as some have been wont to do, I'm in his corner.

I may not know what Inception is about (and I have every intention of going in clean as possible), but I'll be there opening weekend. As long as his movies are smart and entertaining, I'll be along for the ride. Nolan is a film maker who deserves the benefit of the doubt. I wish there were more like him.

The Return of Doc Savage. To comics, anyway.

By now, this isn't fresh news, but as it approaches, a couple of thoughts.

When DC first announced this project, I was cautiously excited. I didn't like the idea of teaming up Doc, Blackhawk, The Spirit, Rima, and Batman, but was happy that some love was being thrown Doc's way. Now we're beginning to get a clearer picture of where Didio and co. are going with this.



Brian Azzarello, author of the Batman/Doc Savage one-shot shipping in November siad in an interview at Comic Book Resources that he's anticipating that longtime Doc fans are "...going to be the guys who get pissed off. 'He obviously doesn’t understand Doc Savage. That’s not my Doc Savage' That’s exactly what I want them to say."

To be fair, he also had some neat things to say about the type of universe this will be, with airships existing with modern technology (a la Batman: The Animated Series). Fine. But since Azzarelo admits to not having much previous exposure to Doc, it's more than a little disconcerting as a fan that he doesn't seem interested in what we know as Doc Savage. While I'm sure he's done some research, I don't want it to be Doc in name only. And, of course, I'm hoping that this might all lead to a new ongoing or series of mini-series.

For reference on Doc done right in the comics, Azzarelo should search out a copy of the best Doc comic ever published, Marvel's Doc Savage magazine number one. Script by Doug Moench and art by John Buscema and Tony DeZuniga.



Damn, that's a good comic. And although the movie was a letdown (as an adult that is, as a ten year-old kid I loved it)I still love that shot of former Tarzan Ron Ely as Doc. Issue four also had Buscema art and was solid, but issue one can't be topped. And just because it's so awesome, here's some cover art from the first three issues of Marvel's short-lived color series.






Man, did those covers ever capture my imagination. Good stuff.

Longbox Rediscoveries

Once upon a time, in the late eighties, independent comics companies were thriving. Comico. Eclipse. First Comics. The black and white explosion was hitting. Comics publishing was seeing an unusual surge and it was a fun and interesting time to be a comics fan.

One of the later additions to the game was NOW comics, founded by Tony Caputo. Although the company did publish some original material, such as Ralph Snart Adventures, it mainly published licensed books such as Speed Racer, Racer X, The Real Ghostbusters, and The Green Hornet. They also published a Terminator comic well before Dark Horse laid claim to the property. NOW's Terminator ran seventeen issues, along with two mini-series, All My Futures Past and The Burning Earth, which featured Alex Ross' first comics work.

I recently ran across issues 1-3 and 10-12 of the ongoing series. The story takes place in the future during the time of war with Skynet. It follows "Sara's Slammer" a team of guerrillas on the run from "gators" (their nickname for terminator)as they try to stay alive and take down the terminator network..

The writing (mostly) by Ron Fortier and the art (again, mostly)by Thomas Tenney are rough around the edges, but the book had a certain charm. It's clear that these are fans creating books for fans. One of the standout characters is Konrad, a synthetic off world worker droid which is, at first, misunderstood by the Slammers.



Issue eleven is highlighted by a depiction of Skynet's persona as a holographic version of a nightmarish ringmaster.



Issue twelve introduces John Conner to the series.

Although Dark Horse's Terminator was slicker and more sophisticated, NOW's version did have its own appeal. I don't know how much today's readers might enjoy these books, but for Terminator aficionados, this run is worth seeking out.



And for those interested, IBooks has a trade out of the previously mentioned The Burning Earth. Terminator fans and Alex Ross completists will want to check it out.

Two Movies

Last week I did something I never do anymore. I went to the movies twice in a week.

There was a time when that wouldn't be so unusual. The reasons are pretty simple. Wife, kids, life in general doesn't lend itself to up and going to the theater with abandon as it once did. Plus, there aren't as many movies drawing me to the theater as there once were. So last week was a rare treat.



On Monday I saw Moon, which tells the story of a contractor who is the sole worker on a mining station on the moon. His three-year contract is almost up and with two weeks to go, he begins seeing things. Eventually he meets an alternate version of himself and we are left to wonder if he is talking to a clone or has the solitude broken him. By the end of the film, director Duncan Jones has left us with questions of existence, identity, and experience. Sam Rockwell is amazing in dual roles. The wonderful thing about Moon is not only its story and themes, but that it stays with you afterward. It causes you to question and probe. It lingers, in a wonderful and provoking way. Lastly, Moon contains one of the most heart-wrenching scenes I've witnessed in a long time. Alone and desperate to get home, Rockwell's character weeps, longing to return to his family. As the camera pulls back, we see the earth, impossibly huge and also impossible for him to reach. It has become one of my favorite movie moments.



On Friday, the wife and I had a rare date night and set out to see (500)Days of Summer. Summer, played by Zooey Deschanel, doesn't believe in commitment, while Tom has always held that fate will bring him the love of his life. She begins working in his office and the film tells of the rise and fall of their relationship.

This is a movie not only about love, but about the human experience, which entails incredible highs and tortuous lows. It is a film that anyone who has ever been in love can identify with. My wife can usual take or leave the movies we see and she even said when we left the theater that we need to "own this one."

What these movies share in common is that it's a miracle that either was made in today's blockbuster, multiplex-driven climate. They are both wonderfully written, filmed, directed, and performed. Films like these shouldn't be so rare.