November Comic Reviews.

This month was pretty slow for comics. The last issue of Secret Invasion was postponed, and I did not pick up Uncanny X-Men because I officially dropped it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited for what’s happening next, but I’ll just wait in trade paperback form to see what Madelyne Pryor does to wreck havoc. Since I only have 6 comics to review, I’ll review early.

Legacy 218/Origins 30: The story continued to be interesting until the last two issues. The villains, Claudine and Sebastian Shaw, are prematurely left out in the final scene with their ultimate agenda cut short. Wolverine is the same as usual while Xavier exhibits some clever mind tricks on the guards and on Claudine and Sebastian. Daken has not left an impression as he is just another stock character rip-off of Wolverine. No personality and really no motivation. The art was great from Mike Deodato. Final scene has wolverine and Dakan forgiving Xavier as they hunt for the man who brainwashed Dakan, Romulus. Yeah, pretty boring. 2/5

Ultimatum 1: The big event has begun for the Ultimate Universe. After reading Ultimate Origins, I wanted to see the first issue of the main event, at least. So what happens? Big catastrophic tidal wave devastates New York City leaving millions dead, including a few heroes. We don’t know which heroes yet, but some are dead. Magneto is the perpetrator as Xavier tells everyone telepathically. The art is good, but the first issue leaves the reader wanting a LOT more in terms of story content. I’ve heard big changes happening but the delays are already coming in. I will be dropping this issue. I might look at it when the trade comes out. 2/5

Civil War- House of M 3: The third chapter is bringing new light to the House of M world. Magneto shows precaution to his resisters as he recruits Sabretooth to kill a bigot, Graydon Creed, while he and Xavier travel to parts of the world for alliances as a world power: Atlantis, Wakanda, the Inhuman’s Blue Moon. Bucky Barnes shows up as an assassin that leaves a lot of questions for next issue. Anticipating to see what’s next. 3/5

Magneto- Testament 3: The story progresses quite nicely as we see the young Max as a teenager. We begin to see his leadership skills and his volatile nature erupt. But the best part is the moment before he is taken to Auschwitz. After retreating to the woods, Nazi soldiers round up his family and kill them like animals. Max is saved because of his emerging powers. The rest of the series will be heart wrenching. 5/5

X-Force 9: It’s the middle issue and nothing exciting, really. Wolfsbane is still moping around and Warpath is fighting off the giant Demon bear with the help of Ghost Rider. What? Wolverine and the rest of the crew have the Vanisher as comic relief while they face off a zillion clones of the Marauders. The narration is from Domino, which is a nice touch because it’s relatable as a new reader. The legacy virus is the prize and next issue will answer that. The art is the best part but I don’t have anymore reason to buy this issue anymore. I will be dropping it next month. 3/5

JSA- Kingdom Come Special- Superman: A pretty good comic that recaps current events with the Society of America while tying with Kingdom Come continuity. Alex Ross writes and draws the special issue that leaves the reader wanting more. His writing is a bit somber as he always focuses on tradition and black and white themes. But he still produces some of his best art. The greatest scene is the flashback of how Superman tells an alternate Lois Lane how his lover died. Great issue! 3/5

Hopefully next month’s issues are better. December as the final issue of Secret Invasion, the penultimate issues of Testament and Civil War: House of M, an issue with Xavier vs. Juggernaut, and the premiere issues of Dark Reign and X-Men Noir.

Harvey Milk’s American Story.

Yesterday was November 25, and I have been anticipating Gus Van Sant’s Milk for the longest time. Probably seen 2007. Well, I finally watched and made the decision to watch a special screening a day before the world premiere at the Castro Theater. It’s absolutely necessary that I watched the movie in the Castro because Milk is a San Francisco (specially Castro) story. The crowd was over packed with sold out tickets that overwhelmed the streets. And when we finally watched the film, the audience was treated to a special appearance by Harvey’s Milk openly gay nephew.

Milk chronicles the life of openly gay San Francisco supervisor, Harvey Milk, before his death in 1977. The movie opens with black and white images of gay men maliciously outed in the 1950s. These stark images of today showcase the struggles the community has gone tough and how much we needed a leader. Milk’s political attempts were many but grew a large following each time. Sean Penn plays the assassinated supervisor with an uncanny resemblance to the real man. He’s able to portray a vulnerable man, but with a sense of a grand vision for his people. He does not fail. The viewers see Milk as he tapes his will throughout the movie as he sees his impending fate.  The supporting cast lends themselves well to the San Francisco tale. James Franco plays Penn’s boyfriend with a endearing interaction between the two men. They make their relationship authentic and beautiful. Penn’s political team is played by Emile Hirsch, Joseph Cross, and Lucas Gabreel. Each member give great performances, especially Hirsch as succeeds in the subtle mannerisms of a flamboyant “trick.” Besides Penn, he has the best lines as he is sarcastic and poignant for the movement. And Gabreel is far succeeding his High School Musical fame. I hope he becomes bigger than Zac Efron in regards to acting.  And finally, Josh Brolin plays Dan White, Milk’s assassin. Brolin plays another troubled political figure (the first being George W. Bush) with an intense hatred for Milk. His plight is unfair, but he rid the world of a great man. Fantastic performance from Brolin.

At the end of the film, it’s a bittersweet tale that needs to reach the masses. After  the scary parallels between Milk’s Prop 6 (denying gay teachers their rights) to the current Prop 8, the gay movement is making full circles as they portray our struggles. It’s an American Story that Everyone must see it, regardless of orientation and race. Like Harvey Milk said in the movie, “Never Blend In.”

Twilight at Midnight.

I recently watched a midnight showing of Twilight at Tanforan Theaters. Unlike all the other adoring female fans of the novel series, I have never read the books. I was a newcomer expecting nothing more or less from the movie. I wanted to experience what the hype was all about and hopefully like the movie based on its own merit. Someone wrote in a review (I can’t remember) that Twilight will please its devoted fans, but do little for the uninitiated after having lost much of its bite transitioning to the big screen.” Bingo! So what happened?

Before the movie began, all the girls in the theater screamed as if someone had a heart attack. I was already overwhelmed by the large female fan base. And after the movie ended, a female fan said “I loved every second of Twilight!” Really?

The plot of the movie was in predictable territory, but I felt the plot was dry and mediocre . Two people are attracted to each other. One happens to be a vampire; A vampire that only feeds off animal blood. The girl meets the rest of his vampire family and later leads to a big epic fight between an opposing vampire that wants to feed on the girl.” Pretty much a definite “it’s okay.”

The movie mainly focuses on the leads, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. Kristen Stewart played Bella, the shy teenager who moves away to live with her father in the somewhere in the Midwest. She was mostly bland showcasing an amateur performance as she couldn’t stop fidgeting. Unlike Ms. Stewart, Robert Pattinson stole the movie as he played the statuesque, otherworldly vampire everyone adores. Even I will admit that the movie rides on his performance as he embodies the modern Adonis with his pale skin and piercing somber eyes. He reminded of James Dean as the outsider with his rebellious attire, untamed hair, and reclusive mannerisms. The rest of the cast went unnoticed as they were pushed to the background. I hope the sequels will flesh out these underused characters as they have potential, especially Pattinson’s rival, Jacob Black.

Twilight is tailored for its fans to see their literary idols on the big screen. They will love it, but the rest of us will not feel the hype. I intended to read the books after watching Twilight, but alas, I will not.

5/10