Eye Spy

Time for another horror franchise review. Yay! This time, I went a little further than normal, to check out the Hong Kong horror series The Eye. We have 3 movies, plus an American remake.

The Eye: So, first in the series. In this, we have a woman who was blinded at age two (never are told how it happens, not that it matters). She has eye surgery to replace her corneas with those of a donor, allowing her to see again. This, unfortunately, allows her to see the spirits of the dead. It also lets her see the shadows that guide dead souls on to whatever final resting place they happen to have. At first, she is freaked out, but eventually is able to come to terms with it by finding out where her new eyes came from. The idea itself is nothing new. There are a lot of horror movies and stories with the premise of replacement limbs carrying on the lives of their original owner. What made this so good is that there was a lot of creepy to it, and a good reason for the eyes doing what they do. Very little gore or violence until the end of the movie. Just some healthy unsettling imagery at times. The movie is so wonderfully shot, with amazing close ups to show how the woman is seeing things for the first time. Really, quite enjoyable. Except for how it all ends, which was a little unsatisfying. Also, I had a slight gripe about not resolving the little boy with his report card thing (which you will have to watch the movie to understand). Could have used some better closure on that.

The Eye 2: Holy crap, I almost vomited within the first 15 minutes of this thing. Not from excessive gore or anything like that. From watching the main character get her stomach pumped. The sounds she made were nauseating. So, that aside, what have we got here? Woman who has just had a bad break up with her boyfriend. She tries to commit suicide. Obviously she only nearly succeeds and lives. Now she can see dead people. She gets freaked out a few times, finds out what is going on with the one woman's ghost that keeps following her, and the movie is resolved. Throughout this, there is the pregnancy of the woman to deal with as well. Pretty much nothing scary with this. A few shocks with dead people, yeah. But not really horror. There's also some strange Buddhist teachings to tie it all together. There is actually no connection between this movie and the first, other than the seeing dead people angle and the same directors. Fun, but not what I was looking for.

The Eye 3 (aka The Eye 10 or The Eye Infinity): So, we get some monks who are meditating or praying around a woman who seems to be possessed. She floats, licks them all at range, and then the movie shows the actual characters. Bunch of friends who decide to use this book to see ghosts. There are 10 ways, two of which are the plots to the other movies in the series. The rest get used throughout the movie. A couple make sense, a couple are too complex to work for me, and a couple are too silly. Mostly, the movie is ok. Some decent visuals and all that. Not really scary. More funny, in fact. Proof of this: Ghost Possessed Dance Battle. Want more proof? When out of breath (which scares ghost) just fart, that will knock a ghost out. The ending was ok, though.

The Eye (American Remake): What we have here is an 85-90% remake. Many of the scenes are lifted pretty straight from the original. The difference here is that they lack all subtlety and emotion. Where the original will hint at things being wrong, this version will throw it in your face with fire and jump cuts. Hell, they give away a couple of the surprises early on with the way they shoot a couple scenes, and the way the beginning shows part of the climax. Speaking of climaxes, the big scene that was so shocking and held most of the gore and violence of the original was completely rewritten. In fact, it is changed to have the exact opposite effect on the story and the viewer. I saw what was happening almost immediately this time, and was yelling "bullshit" at the tv the entire time (and for a good 5 minutes after the movie ended). Where the Ring or Funny Games were good remakes, this was kind of meh.

So, overall, these movies fail to really work for me. The original was good. Lots of fun. Then you get the not-so-scary sequel, the funny-not-scary three-quel, and the poorly done remake. So, overall, meh. Not bad movies, just nothing as classic or good at other franchises.

2099

So, I recently got my hands on of the final 2099 comics missing from my collection (not counting the new Timestorm stuff or the Spider-man 2099 appearances in Exiles). So, I am thinking of rereading the entire series and doing reviews of them. Maybe a comic a day. That would give me about 274 issues covering the core 2099 comics plus the Marvel Knights 2099 stuff. Adding in the loosely related comics would bump that up a little more. Off the top of my head, I think there were a couple 4 issues minis plus an issue of X-Force that are in there. If I manage to get funds together to buy the Timestorm stuff and the missing Exiles issues I have, I could probably stretch this out to a year or so.

Question is, do I want to limit my reading to one a day?

Also, if I was to do this, do I think I could stay on top of it?

Finally, do i read the comics in the order they came out, or do I read entire series in one go (i.e. do I read all of Spider-Man, then all of Ravage, etc...or do I read an issue or two of Spider-Man, then an issue of Ravage, and then alternate between the issues as appropriate). The thing with this is that I kind of want to read entire story arcs all at once, but i know there was the crossover part way into the runs that would require me to read an issue of each to properly understand. But, I don't know if I want to do the work to organize the comics in publication order.

I will be sitting on this for a while until I can decide how I want to do it. So, keep an eye on the blog to see what happens.

Batman Theme Song

Quickie

Runaways v3 #10 is possibly the best issue of the series, in any volume. Considering how good the original series was, that is saying a lot.

I Dedicate This Post to Chris Sims

Couple Relatively Quick Reviews

Wolverine: Better than X3. Not good. Right after the movie, I said it was a disappointment but that I liked it. The more I think on it, the less I like it. Shoehorning in Cyclops was a bad idea. Changing Emma was a bad idea. Not using Deadpool well after the opening bits, also bad idea. The end fight was lame. I really wanted to like this, and was willing to accept some alterations for a movie. i was not willing to accept the changes they actually did. Did enjoy the flashbacks in the opening credits. I really did like how they did Blob, and loved the new Sabretooth. I will watch a sequel, because I am gullible like that. I really want to see how Sabretooth manages to change from the guy we saw here to the guy we saw in X-Men.

Star Trek: So, not really a huge Trek fan. I am a geek enough to like it, and know a bit more than I should. But, never really got into the shows. I liked Data. I liked Odo. I watched Voyager until 7 of 9 showed up, then got bored. Been meaning to go back to watch DS9, since i hear it is good after the first season. Should try to catch some Next Generation as well, since it is actually not bad. So, yeah, going in to this I was pretty much not expecting much. That said, i loved this. I found out I knew a lot more than I thought. Not enough to really notice stuff that may have been changed, but enough to get a lot of random references. If this is what Trek would have been when I tried to watch it, I would have been a Trekkie long ago. I hope there are a lot of movies to follow in this new continuity. It looks like it could be a very successful series. Actually made me want a new Trek show, but not sure how it would work out properly.

The Greatness of DC

So, I am fully willing to admit to being a Marvel guy. Not so much I will not read me some DC stuff. I just like the Marvel Universe better. Can't explain why, since i like a lot of the DC characters better. If asked to name favorite superheroes, most of my picks would be DC. But, if asked to list my favorite comic books they would skew to Marvel. It's not even the creators that do it either. I follow some names, but still read titles I like even if the name I was following has left it. No idea why.

Anyhow, the big thing DC is doing to get my money is this Wednesday Comics thing. A fantastic idea. Weekly comic strips of DC characters, as done by big name creators. I am interested anyhow, just by that alone. Then you get into more details.

BATMAN, WEDNESDAY COMICS’ weekly cover feature, by the Eisner Award-winning 100 BULLETS team of writer Brian Azzarello and artist Eduardo Risso

I never read 100 Bullets, but hear how awesome it is. Enough that I am very intrigued by the team responsible for that doing a Batman story. Sounds like a gritty batman, which is rarely a bad thing in my eyes.


ADAM STRANGE, by writer/artist Paul Pope (BATMAN: YEAR 100)

Paul Pope is one of those guys who I didn't really appreciate when I first saw his work. His art frequently turns me off. But, he is so damned talented that it is hard not to want more. Adam Strange does nothing for me. But, Pope's crazy sci fi leanings would fit well with the character.


METAMORPHO, written by New York Times best-selling writer Neil Gaiman with art by Eisner Award-winner Michael Allred (Madman)

Ok. What the hell DC. Did you read my mind? I will buy anything Neil Gaiman works on. Anything at all. I have a nice collection of comics and novels and movies that he was responsible for. I have a list of cds and books and comics and movies he has works on that i need to get. So, yeah, you had me sold already. Then you add in Mike Allred, who is another guy I will buy anything from, and you have me drooling. Finally, toss in Metamorpho, a character i don't really read but have an immediate fascination and love for based on concept alone. Well, I think you have just earned my money. Big time.


THE DEMON AND CATWOMAN, written by Walter Simonson (Thor, MANHUNTER) with art by famed DC cover artist Brian Stelfreeze

Walt Simonson, he of the pen that made Thor truly divine, writing about The Demon. Sold. Catwoman is just icing on that awesome cake.


DEADMAN, written by Dave Bullock and Vinton Heuck, art by Dave Bullock

Don't know who these dudes are, and don't really care about Deadman. Meh.


KAMANDI, written by Dave Gibbons (WATCHMEN, GREEN LANTERN CORPS) with art by Ryan Sook (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, ARKHAM ASYLUM: LIVING HELL)

Arg. I like Gibbons for his art, but he writing has been solid as well. I will buy a book based on the fact it has a Ryan Sook cover, regardless of interiors. So, yeah, I got to have this. Plus, I love Kamandi's concept. Have been unable to get my hands on anything Kamandi to read, but the Wikipedia article and various descriptions on blogs has be totally there. Hello DC, shall I just give you my bank account now?


SUPERMAN, written by John Arcudi (The Mask) with art by Lee Bermejo (JOKER)

Arcudi has done some stuff i have liked. Bermejo has also done stuff I liked. I know because I know the names. What they did, I have no clue. So, they are good enough for me to know the names, but not for me to know why. Superman is a character I like less and less as I get older. I like the idea he represents, but not the character himself. Still willing to try this one.


WONDER WOMAN, written and illustrated by Ben Caldwell (Dare Detectives)

Means nothing to me.


GREEN LANTERN, written by Kurt Busiek (TRINITY, ASTRO CITY) with art by Joe Quiñones (TEEN TITANS GO!)

Astor City is pure comics gold. Possibly so good as to be comics platinum. Teen Titans Go! was a series I liked, but rarely for the art. Green Lantern is a character I only care about because of the spectrum of corps being used currently. So, this is about 50% cool to me. With a decent chance of going up based on how it works in reality.


TEEN TITANS, written by Eddie Berganza with art by Sean Galloway

Got nothing here. All depends on the team used, and how angsty it is. I want a cool team, but not really the current one. Titans that are ex sidekicks or legacy supers I like. Low angst I like. We will see.


SUPERGIRL, written by Jimmy Palmiotti (JONAH HEX) with art by Amanda Conner (POWER GIRL)

Oh hell yeah!


HAWKMAN, written and illustrated by Kyle Baker (PLASTIC MAN, Special Forces)

Another hell yeah, for Kyle Baker. He does such crazy fun I cannot pass him up.


SGT. ROCK, written by Adam Kubert (SUPERMAN: LAST SON), ilustrated by legendary comics artist Joe Kubert

Um. What? Kubert and Kubert? Father and son? Working on the comic that really made dad's career? YES, yes. A thousand times yes!


THE FLASH, written by Karl Kerschl (TEEN TITANS YEAR ONE, THE FLASH: THE FASTEST MAN ALIVE) and Brenden Fletcher, illustrated by Karl Kerschl

Yeah. Karl Kerschl is a name I care about because of his Teen Titans: Year One work. Fun comic with great art. So, him on the Flash I may be cool with.


METAL MEN, written by Dan DiDio with art by Ian Churchill (SUPERGIRL)

I love Metal Men. I car little for the team on this. Balances out to no opinion.


Issue #1 on sale July 8; Issue #2 on sale July 15; Issue #3 on sale July 22; Issue #4 on sale July 29 • 1-4 of 12 • 7” x 10”, 16 pg, FC, $3.99 US


16 pages? For $3.99? Damn you DC. I can't afford a $4 weekly series, even if it is only 12 issues. Especially if it is only 16 pages. I don't care how big those pages are, or how they may be folded to appear as or function as more. I have to call this one a loss, because this price inflation is out of hand.

A shame too, since I really really wanted to get this.