Tron: Legacy

TRON: LEGACY
Being no fan of the 1982 original (the digital subworld idea makes no sense to me), I had no expectations, yet this left me cold. Blatant “homages” to THE DARK KNIGHT, STAR WARS and BLADE RUNNER feel desperately unoriginal (as does Michael Sheen’s über-campy Zuse). Jeff Bridges, however, remains godlike.

A Colbert Christmas

A COLBERT CHRISTMAS: THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL
A tardy review: This 2008 special is a perfect melding of satire and sentiment, with genre-spanning songs that manage the nigh-impossible hat trick of being hilarious but not novelty. Even Feist and Toby Keith are great! Especially for those reared in the 70s, this is an instant perennial. Genius.

The Art of Jaime Hernandez: The Secrets of Life and Death

THE ART OF JAIME HERNANDEZ: THE SECRETS OF LIFE AND DEATH by Todd Hignite
Xaime is one of my favorite artists, and if any comic deserves a dissertation, it’s LOVE & ROCKETS, but too much space is dedicated to reprinting “original” art that looks exactly like the printed comics. Why not more sketchbooks, spot illustration and unpublished work? An elitist tone also tastes sour.

The Complete Peanuts 1971 to 1972

THE COMPLETE PEANUTS 1971 TO 1972 by Charles M. Schulz
Two things in this 11th installment mark the beginning of a downward slope for Charles Schulz’ masterpiece: The absence of Shermy and the birth of Rerun. Seth’s dour cover designs are also beginning to look overly austere on my shelves. Why aren’t the spines yellow with alternating black zig-zags? Hm?

The Benson Interruption

THE BENSON INTERRUPTION
Holy mother of God who doesn’t exist…. This ranks among the most unwatchable TV shows in the history of the medium. Hecklers aren’t funny in real life, and viewing the merely moderately funny Doug Benson doing it to his betters makes for an awkward, unfunny viewing experience. Painful.

NOTE: After six episodes, there are no direct links for this show. Perhaps there is a wee tidbit of justice on Earth.

Brute Force, I, Brute Force - Confections of Love

Brute Force, I, BRUTE FORCE - CONFECTIONS OF LOVE
Novelty record? Outsider art? Subversive pop genius? Try all of the above. Bar/None’s reissue of this eminently listenable 1967 Columbia Records oddity is a jaw-dropping revelation. Highlights include the infamous single, “King of Fuh” (Apple Records’ rarest release) and the timeless “To Sit on a Sandwich.” You must own this.

Paranormal Activity

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY
After all that hype? Seriously? This is just BLAIR WITCH PROJECT set in a house, but with none of the believability, urgency or creepy foreboding of that film. Technology has rendered the faux-doc horror genre impotent. 90 minutes of buildup for 30 seconds of payoff that ain’t worth it.

Boardwalk Empire

BOARDWALK EMPIRE
New Jersey gangsters return to HBO with a vengeance! Okay, so it ain’t THE SOPRANOS, but this dramatization of politics, ganglands and prohibition in the 1920s is, like its precursor, rooted in strong characterization and great performances. Plus, it’s fun to pronounce “I’m Margaret Schroeder!” along with Kelly MacDonald.

Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths

JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRISIS ON TWO EARTHS
DC Comics’ super-complicated Multiverse is introduced in this fun (if slugfest-heavy) animated film pitting Superman, Batman, the Flash, et al against The Crime Syndicate, their evil doppelgangers from an alternate Earth where Lex Luthor’s a hero! A bonus short featuring The Spectre is predictable, but awesomely gruesome.

Tosh.0

TOSH.0
I never liked AMERICA’S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS and am not a big YOUTUBE user. Slapstick Vérité just doesn’t do it for me. Besides, I’m depressed enough about the impending IDIOCRACY to watch morons and douchebags gain pseudo-celebrity and Fratty host Daniel Tosh’s poop/sexist/racist gags thuddingly lack Sarah Silverman’s palatable detachment.

Southern Culture on the Skids, The Kudzu Ranch

Southern Culture on the Skids, THE KUDZU RANCH
Further evidence that this ain’t no novelty band (chicken tossing and blue beehive wigs aside). SCOTS serves up another greasy slab of bootylicous, country-fried, twangy debauchery, all wrapped up in a beeeyoootiful package! For almost 25 years, nobody does rockabilly surf country better than the pride of Chapel Hill!

SHAZAM! The Golden Age of the World's Mightiest Mortal

SHAZAM! THE GOLDEN AGE OF THE WORLD’S MIGHTIEST MORTAL by Chip Kidd & Geoff Spear
It’s no surprise that this Kidd-designed collection of vintage Captain Marvel memorabilia is a visual feast. The revelation is the breadth of material, offering a stunning glimpse into a bygone era when the Big Red Cheese was comics’ biggest hero (before being sued out of existence by DC Comics).

The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret

THE INCREASINGLY POOR DECISIONS OF TODD MARGARET
David Cross co-created and stars in this pleasantly excruciating tale of a hapless half-wit sent to England to sell an undrinkable energy drink. The culture / intelligence clashes are funny, but Will Arnett steals the show as Todd’s unrepentantly evil, walking id of a boss.

Absolute All-Star Superman

ABSOLUTE ALL-STAR SUPERMAN
If ever a story warranted the Absolute format, it’s Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s exquisite ode to the Silver Age Superman. Anyone who says the Man of Steel is a dull character needs to be whopped upside the head with (and then read) this compelling, moving evidence to the contrary.

Storm Chasers Season 4

STORM CHASERS Season 4
This show follows a Type-A aggro-douchebag meteorologist and his whipping boys and a nail-biting, insecure control freak filmmaker and his suffering lackeys (along with a few actual scientists) but all of them, claims to bettering humanity aside, honestly just get off on chasing tornados. It’s aggravating, but sometimes fascinating TV.

Palookaville #20

PALOOKAVILLE #20 by Seth
The precious cartoonist (Chris Ware influence raging) adopts a precious hardcover format to continue his precious tedium, CLYDE FANS, detail a precious model city project and spew more of his unrelenting love/hate relationship with himself. A sketchbook section is the only bright spot in a tome that’s way too… precious.

Catfish

CATFISH
I call bullshit on this supposed documentary about a NYC photographer who gets into an online relationship with a girl who turns out to not be what she seems. Plausibility is strained from the outset, but what’s even worse is the possibility that it’s a vile, exploitative piece of half-truth.

For much more, see here.

The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear

THE RALLY TO RESTORE SANITY AND/OR FEAR
Hmmm… I’m torn. This was certainly a noble cause from true American heroes, but too much meh! music, an exercise in stupidity from the Mythbusters and comedy that didn’t really work in a huge outdoor setting mostly made for, sadly, not great TV (but how was it in person?).

The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

THE AVENGERS: EARTH’S MIGHTIEST HEROES
Odin’s Beard, I love this show! This smart, stylized, fast-moving animated precursor to 2012’s movie sweeps across the Marvel Universe like Bruce Timm’s JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED did for DC. At long last, after decades of clunky dreck, here’s a Marvel cartoon that doesn’t suck (okay, except for the theme).

The Office, Season 7

THE OFFICE Season 7
What was once a solid, dependable, sharp comedy has become sappy, contrived, predictable and unfunny. Blame Jim and Pam for the shark-jumping, but the whole show now suffers from a serious case of the warm-n-fuzzies. Steve Carell’s exit SHOULD force euthanasia on this now unwatchable M*A*S*Hified mess.

Halloween II

HALLOWEEN II
Director Rob Zombie may be the new Tim Burton and that’s not a compliment. The hallucination sequences in this film are beautifully disturbing, but Halloween II again traffics in predictable slasher film tropes, offering nothing in the way of suspense (and Scout Taylor-Compton is instantly forgettable as Laurie).

A Serious Man

A SERIOUS MAN
With a soupçon of self-loathing, the Coen Brothers’ blackest, most polarizing comedy yet offers a hearty helping of nihilistic advice: The corrupt thrive, good people suffer, and no matter how hard you try, you’re never prepared for the tornado that lies just ahead. You either laugh... or you don’t.

Frank Sinatra, The World We Knew

Frank Sinatra, THE WORLD WE KNEW reissue (Universal)
Ah, Sinatra in the late 60s… a mixed bag, to be sure. The seasoned voice perfectly envelops melancholy gems like “Drinking Again” and the leathery, cocksure “This Town,” and “Somethin’ Stupid” (duet with Nancy) is a classic. But the über-sappy “Born Free” and “Don’t Sleep in the Subway” are wince-inducing.