Superman: The Music 1978-88

SUPERMAN: THE MUSIC 1978-88
Eight CDs of Superman music is a bit much for non-accolytes, and there is some filler in this huge (horribly packaged) set. But the remastered original John Williams score sounds better than ever, and the real surprise is how good Alexander Courage‘s score is for the otherwise risible SUPERMAN IV.

Lewis Black's Root of All Evil

LEWIS BLACK’S ROOT OF ALL EVIL
“So we have this guy who’s funny, but loud and often tiresome, how do we build a show around him that won’t have people tuning out after ten minutes? Let’s make him a mostly-silent moderator of comedians arguing over the evil demerits of incongruous people and things! Brilliant!” Or not.

Blades of Glory

BLADES OF GLORY
I don’t hate Will Ferrell. But I am so tired of his “schlubby ironic athlete” schtick, and this cumbersome comedy honestly didn’t make me laugh once. The grating presence of the achingly unfunny Amy Poehler and Will Arnett don’t help matters, nor does the bland yet creepy Jon Heder. Blech.

Tales to Astonish

TALES TO ASTONISH by Ronin Ro
Fascinating, but awkwardly written and (purportedly) full of errors, this history of Jack Kirby’s legendary comics career suffers greatly from a complete lack of illustrations. Fanboys can conjure up the images in their heads, but the uninitiated will be lost. Still, a fun read (unless your name is Stan Lee).

Vacancy

VACANCY
Nice art direction, effective performances and a few terrifying jolts can’t quite save this horror hybrid from being pummeled with constant cries against the lead characters’ stupid actions (Don’t go into that tunnel!!!!). So much time is spent setting up personal conflict that an abrupt ending feels like a cheat.

Night at the Museum

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM
One reason I have HBO is to get informed opinions on utterly putrid garbage like this ham-handed, predictable, unfunny, loud, obnoxious, worthless chunk of Ben Stillered puerility without having to pay for it directly. If I’d have seen this in a theater, I may have strangled myself with a Twizzler.

Disturbia

DISTURBIA
I can think of no more depressing double feature than watching REAR WINDOW before this illogical generation-whatever update. Replace suspense with predictability, intelligence with improbable intuition and style with stock slasher film shocks and you’ve got this sad, pale imitation. LaBeouf and Roemer, you’re no Stewart and Kelly!!

George Carlin: It's Bad For Ya

GEORGE CARLIN: IT’S BAD FOR YA
George Carlin is funny about 50% of the time, but that’s mitigated by his usually spot-on righteous anger. The septuagenarian’s new HBO special suffers from some excessive bile (Lance Armstrong?) and some mixed messages (does God exist or not?), but still hits enough hilarious nails to affirm Carlin’s legend.

Hellboy: The Troll Witch and Others

HELLBOY: THE TROLL WITCH AND OTHERS by Mike Mignola, et al
Despite my love for Mike Mignola’s art, the sameness of the Hellboy stories made me lose interest some years back. Artists Richard Corben and P. Craig Russell mix things up a bit, but I’m still waiting for Hellboy to live up to its promise (and what’s Mignola got against shoulders?).

Justice League: The New Frontier

JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE NEW FRONTIER
A valiant, mostly successful effort to boil Darwyn Cooke’s cold war superhero epic down to 75 minutes is anchored by gorgeous design and animation, with some stellar voice acting (Jeremy Sisto’s Batman is too cool). The short time mandates a less-grand scale than the source, but it’s still fanboy manna.