The Comic Critic Reviews "Point Blank"

Lee Marvin might have fallen into his acting career, but he was a natural as a hardboiled tough guy. He became one of Hollywood’s iconic leading men and parlayed the power he wielded to work with the directors he wanted on the projects he wanted. Point Blank was one of those projects. Filmed in the Sixties, the movie hyper-focused on a particular look, Mod, from the word Modernist. The clothing, furniture, and art were the most recent in style and production. Clean sharp lines, shapes, and textures created the look. The mod scene consisted of coffee houses, jazz music, cocktails, and a desire to look graceful with simplicity, fueled by America’s post-WWII economic boom and mass production. It’s in this glossy utopian world that Point Blank is set. The clothing, props, and buildings show little of the past nor any hint of the emerging hippy esthetic. When such breaches do occur, they are for a reason. Alcatraz, from which our hero emerges at the beginning of the movie, sits on the bay like a tombstone of past mobsters in a cemetery. A careful viewing of Point Blank will show the importance of the imagery to the underlying tone and message of the film. The creative world-building is just one of many elements that turned a fairly decent, hardboiled thriller into a cult classic thoroughly enjoyed by film critics and fans. Point Blank might be a time capsule to a specific look from the ‘60s, but the underlying story in this work of thrilling suspense gives it legs. And it is one of several films that provide a worthy legacy to Lee Marvin and the others involved in its production.

The Comic Critic Reviews "Little Dead Rotting Hood"

I’m sure the title of Little Dead Rotting Hood was meant to appeal to the zombie-loving crowd as well as trying to spin the folk tale of Little Red Riding Hood in a new direction. I know that’s what lured this fish to take the hook. The first five minutes of Little Dead Riding Hood told me that I was set for a world of boredom and disappointment. Be warned, you will need to keep yourself alert; otherwise, you will find yourself yawning through the crucial few minutes of exposition that actually explains what is meant to be going on. As is often the case with a gimmick-titled movie, Little Dead Rotting Hood lacks substance. If you want to see a great horror film with a Red Riding Hood spin, I suggest you watch The Company of Wolves (1984). If you want a straight-to-tape zombie movie that at least won’t bore you to tears, I suggest The Video Dead (1986). Which just goes to show that practical special effects from decades ago can still beat the pants off bad editing and CGI.

The Comic Critic Reviews Forbidden Planet

If you’ve ever read my system for rating movies, you’d know that I give extra points for robots. Other sci-fi robots and I might have necked in the backseat at the drive-in, but I confess—I lost my geek cherry to Robby the Robot. Yes, he was in amazing color, but his charisma goes far beyond that. Far from looking like he was designed by socially awkward engineers in a garage (like so many robots before him), Robby looks like a Madison Avenue marketing group designed him. Visually, Robby set the bar a lot higher for what might be expected. (Vast improvements followed soon after.) And Robby was just one of the ingredients that made this movie great. What truly thrilled me as a young boy was the invisible monster. When his footprints appeared in the flattened earth, I held my breath. And I was riveted when he, caught in the energy beams, could be seen. With a little humor, a little romance, a lot of great visuals and action, Forbidden Planet captured my imagination then. It still grabs me now.

The Comic Critic Reviews Super Mario Brothers - The Movie

Bob Hoskin’s kids were excited to hear that the Super Mario Brothers video game was going to be turned into a movie, then groaned their disappointment when he told them he was going to be the star. Bob’s kids may have sensed what the rest of us were thinking: “Hollywood just doesn’t get it.” Just because it was the first movie to be made from a popular video game (rather than the other way around) doesn’t mean it was going to be great. But as the first of its kind, it became an industry benchmark to be enjoyed with the understanding that it went boldly where no one had gone before. Too bad they made it with some overused stock movie scenarios. While I was tempted to give it a four, the sad fact is that it hasn’t held up over the years.

This review was delayed by the city of Tacoma, who, in their infinite wisdom declared that I needed to remove or repair a large eyesore of a shed. I've been meaning to tear it down for year, and now I had a deadline. So the last week I've been learning the difference between a catspaw and a crowbar. I've also learned that if you stack wood tightly in a rental dumpster you can fill it nearly solid. And the last thing I learned was that hiding under my shed's floor was one huge hole. Was it a well? septic tank? outhouse pit? We will never know because I'm filling it with sod and rocks from the yard. Anyway, my posting will go back to their normal schedule.

The Comic Critic Reviews "The Happening" 2008

I’m a big fan of M. Night Shyamalan’s work. Maybe one of the reasons I’m still a big fan of his is that I haven’t seen The Last Airbender yet. His best known trademark is the Sudden Reveal. What I enjoyed about The Happening is that the reveal is steady, like removing layers off an onion. The audience becomes comfortable with the pace to focus on the characters and how they process the horror that could catch them at any moment. And then he trips us up with some left field surprises. I found the film very enjoyable. I’m looking forward to more of his work. Though I’m on the fence about when exactly I’ll get around to watching The Last Airbender.

The Comic Critic Reviews "Black Narcissus"

My good friend, Polly Law, lists Black Narcissus as one of her all-time favorite films. I remember seeing it on television when I was in my preteens. The questions I had then I still have now: “Why don’t we get to see more of the Old General?” and “Why didn’t that actor go and get those long legs of his tanned before starting this role?” and “What is up with that hat?” Watching the film as an adult, I enjoyed all the same key moments I did when I was a kid. But while I find the film greatly enchanting, I am still left wanting it to go on longer, even after all this time has passed since my last viewing. Still, I might give it another viewing …say in about another 30 years.

Polly Law says: Black Narcissus has it all- a dense script rich with subtext, deep characters, gorgeous visuals, lots of sexual tension, and a guy with long legs riding a very short pony.

The Comic Critic Reviews "Tortilla Soup"

I’m a big fan of foreign films. Never a fan of dubbing, I’ve always loved listening to the words the actors originally spoke. Yeah, it’s true you have to read subtitles quickly. And there is an art to the subtitle. Size, color, and frequency are all important. While I will endure or even enjoy subtitles, there are lots of people who just won’t bother with them. For the U.S. market, a lot of foreign films have been remade with all new actors and settings to go with the all new language. Some become big hits like “Three Men and a Baby;” others fly under the wire like “Shall We Dance?”. This one, “Tortilla Soup,” hits the middle ground and does okay. And I just can’t help but think that the soundtrack helped.

The Comic Critic Reviews Avatar

I thought I posted this review last Saturday. Sorry about the delay.

I don’t like telling folks they have to go see a film, but you need to go to a theater and see this one now. And you need to see it in 3D to get the full, spectacular experience. After you’ve seen it, make up your own mind as to whether or not it is a ten in your book or not. Why didn’t I give it a ten? Well, that font thing still bugs me.

The Comic Critic Reviews: Hanzo The Razor: Sword of Justice

I’m trying to remember which one of my friends recommended Hanzo the Razor: Sword of Justice. While I can understand his honorable intentions in introducing me to a new-to-me form of cult-driven film, he should have stressed that this is not a date movie.  (Features like these are the reason I have a hard time getting my wife to watch movies with me.) After the first twenty minutes, we turned it off to watch something we could enjoy together.

Later the next day, I finished watching it. Why did I go back to something I found very uncomfortable? I’ve always have felt the need to watch a film all the way through; otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to make an honest appraisal. There would always be nagging questions, “Did it get any better?” and “Does the sixties jazz soundtrack, more-Shaft-than-Shogun, turn into something more traditional?” For my own piece of mind, and because by that point I wanted to draw a review, I finished watching, but let me assure you, it was no fun.

A few of you kind readers are also fans of manga and anime. Some of you might know that Hanzo the Razor was originally a manga created by the same hand that made Lone Wolf and Cub. Some of you might even know that in “Samurai Champloo,” the over-the-top policeman character named Mando was a parody of Hando. Still, I urge you not to seek out this film. And if you do, don’t watch it with your wife—or anyone else you ever want to look in the eye again.

The Comic Critic Reviews "Fido", and The Return of Stickman #1048

October has been “Zombie Month” here at the Comic Critic. This version of the walking dead places us in an idealized 1950s America. Except all the cold war paranoia has been replaced with Zombie paranoia. And those mid-century high ideals have a hard time meshing with the gruesomeness of the living dead. Both zombie film aficionados and John Q. Public are in store for plenty of laughs as homage is doled out to early American sit-coms. Fido is a lot of fun.


Every time I start writing a comment on a Stickman strip I come up with another idea for a stickman strip. I wonder if this topic is a dead horse yet. Will that stop me?

The Comic Critic Reviews "Die You Zombie Bastards!"

Die You Zombie Bastards! is a great title for a movie. It lures you with the promise of a wholesale massacre of zombies. Woe be unto you, you hapless soul, if you saw this movie without first reading a description of it. Even the one I read gave me some hope:
“Red, a serial killer and cannibal, battles against an evil bent on filling the world with Zombies.”

But to be honest, I was already enticed by the title alone. For my pains, I was rewarded with a cruel, visual bludgeoning of this campy farce. At every turn, it tried to overact, over-ham, over-gross, over-digest, or otherwise to leave its audience with an icky feeling: they would be better off without their eyeballs. It was bad for the sake of being bad, awful for the sake of being awful, and it somehow made full-frontal nudity an eyesore of a memory.

General moviegoers might be under the impression that zombie movie fans have a higher tolerance for awful plots and terrible dialog, all for the sake of watching some gore on the screen. But that’s not the case. We can be as deeply disappointed as the next guy when we are served up a heaping portion of swill.

Yet, even after watching this tragedy, I still want to buy a t-shirt with the film title emblazoned on the chest. And I can’t get that accursed theme song out of my head.

The Return of Stickman #1031

I had the pleasure of doing a book review of The Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing and ethical Guidelines for my friends over at Unshelved, one of my favorite strips.

The Comic Critic Reviews Requiem for a Dream

There are films depicting the trials and tribulations of a descent into drug addiction, ending with deep soul-searching as our hero climbs up and gets on the wagon. This is not one of those films. Rather than being a joyful after-school special in which lessons are learned with tears shed and hugs given, Requiem for a Dream is more along the lines of some driver’s education films banned in the fifties for their overenthusiastic avoidance-instruction-by-example. If you enjoy watching a sad story about to become a tragedy, then this film is just perfect for you. And you will be well rewarded too. The quality of the script, acting and editing is top notch. So, why didn’t I give it an eight? Because it depressed the bejezus out of me.

The Comic Critic Reviews Two of a Kind

But first we have to get caught up on a couple of strips of....



Have you ever wondered why John Travolta needed a comeback? Or why Olivia Newton John was never seen in another big hit after “Grease” came out? It’s because there are movies out there that go beyond box office bomb. These films are more than just duds; they reek of the vile stench of the unholy. Mere association with such a film is enough to derail your career, but to be the star of such a fiasco? Oh, Mommy! Good luck to you, Mate. With any luck whatsoever, the industry and viewing public will completely forget this travesty, and your involvement with it. That is, unless some cartoonist comes along to encourage his readership to leave this dusty DVD on the shelf.

The Comic Critic Reviews Lucky Number Slevin

Yikes! It’s been a few weeks since I posted one of my cartoon movie reviews. Something that should be expected with all the traveling I’ve been doing… First it was a trip to Denver and then a trip to New Brunswick. The latter’s return trip was absolutely miserable. The flight was delayed by seven hours. I’m just glad that I can get one out this week before I head out on yet another trip.

The Comic Critic Reviews Jurassic Park

I know it sounds a bit trite to mention over a decade later just how Jurassic Park revolutionized movie special effects with its combination of CGI and live action animatronics. It redefined the “Dinosaur” genre. Now I can only watch my old dinosaur movies with the same nostalgia I have in riding a big wheel. Now, I feel like I’m just to grown up to sit in the child sized seat anymore. And then there are all those wonderful cultural snippets that have been parodied to no end. Like the “Objects in rear view mirror might appear farther away than they actually are.” or the “Flashlight beam in the eye” scene. All of them now iconic.  Any movie that has such a profound effect on the movie industry and our pop culture deserves all the kudos that it receives.