8/09/2013

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox

JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE FLASHPOINT PARADOX
If this deeply wearisome adaptation of the DC series that transitioned into the DC Comics reboot is any indication of what’s to come (clunkily animated New 52 tales), then I think I’m as done with the animated DCU as I am its printed counterparts. Bruce Timm, you are missed.

Ray Donovan

RAY DONOVAN
Liev Schreiber plays a Hollywood fixer whose ability to keep the rich and famous out of trouble can’t seem to carry over into his own personal life, particularly regarding his ex-con father (a delightfully decadent Jon Voight) in what may be the grayest depiction of family values since THE SOPRANOS.

Lemuria, The Distance is So Big

Lemuria, THE DISTANCE IS SO BIG (Bridge Nine Records)
The third full-length from Buffalo’s aural equivalent of salted caramel is another solid confection that alternates between ambience, dissonance and harmony, with lyrics that likewise straddle cynicism and optimism in a shared voice that’d make Elvis Costello proud. A few overly-twee tracks don’t do permanent damage to the sweet-n-sour balance.

8/08/2013

Siren: The Bewitching Art of Dan Brereton

SIREN: THE BEWITCHING ART OF DAN BRERETON (Big Wow! Art / Imaginary Beast)
Painter / illustrator / cartoonist Brereton’s loose yet cohesive work synthesizes Gene Colan, George Petty, and Basil Gogos into a dynamic, evocative style all his own. This lavish collection of seductresses, adventurers, monsters, and seductive adventurer monsters is monograph manna for geeky Goths.