Webcomic Review Month 2012: The Pale, Plume

Wow, only one week left of webcomic reviews, it's going to be so odd switching back to regular reviews after this (especially since I have to read so much for them). I'm actually starting to get a little worried at how much anime I'll have piled up to review, this break to let me catch up on stuff may have worked a little TOO well....
Last year's review here.

The Pale by Cody Coltharp
Neurologist Charlie Bell is a talented doctor who after starting to treat a young girl with vivid and reoccurring nightmares finds himself having strange dreams. As he explores his dreams they seem to be connected to the young girl's and his brother might also be in his dreams, the brother that died years ago.

One of the most interesting things about the comic isn't necessarily it's plot or it's art but it's format. Each page is one long spread that you scroll across by hovering with the mouse so at times it feels more like a silent film than a comic. The amount of planning that must have gone into each page to make sure that each panel flows smoothly into another must have been astonishing and I've never seen another comic quite like it. I'll admit I'm slightly fuzzy on the details of the plot right now since the comic hasn't updated in a few months (which also makes me worried) but I liked how the plot was moving so far and really hope it returns soon.

  Plume by Kari Smith
"My father once told my that revenge is like a plume of black smoke. It seems tangible but when you reach for it you're grasping nothing but air. But really it's not like you're going to stop trying." And trying is what Vesper Grey seems to be doing as she sets off on a journey into the wild west to recover her father's life's work along with Corrick, the guardian attached the mysterious medallion her father once gave her.


This is a bit of a young comic but since it's already had a kickstarter for the first issue (where I stole that quote from) and I really like it so I wanted to bring it up. For it's short length it has had quite a bit of establishing information (there have been character introductions, hints at what the main plot is about, and an introduction to the setting) but the main plot doesn't seem to have started yet. Given it's quick pace I'm sure that's not too far off so once the comic resumes I'm sure things will pick up quickly and I'm really looking forward to it.

 

Movie Review: Cowboys and Aliens

And we're back to normal, wohoo! As I've said before, I'm going to try and keep a regular schedule here but I still have two big projects due in a week and those definetly take precident.
 So, while I spent an entire month writing about manga and some anime, I actually didn't see that many movies, mostly because the ones my school is showing now just didn't really interest me. Honestly this movie didn't interest me when the trailers started coming out, and my friends had the same feeling, but for a dollar we were willing to give the movie a shot and we did get a few good inside jokes out of it (also apparently we're, erm, not as quiet with our snarking as we thought, at least the people in front of us found us funny as well).

Cowboys and Aliens

Summary: Aliens coming to Earth and kidnapping ordinary people for nefarious deeds is hardly a new occurrence, even the cowboys in the Wild West had to deal with them. Jake Lonergan isn't exactly sure how he got an alien killing bracelet strapped onto his arm but he does know that they killed his lover so he and the other people in a small western town team up to try and get their loved ones back. 

The Good: It is different to see an alien movie that's not set in the present day/in the later half of the 20th century, so it was kinda cool to see a difference kind of setting. The story also did a good job at spacing out Jake's flashbacks so there was never too much information at once or too little. Several of the action scenes were rather cool as well but there wasn't much else to this story, it was all pretty superficial.

The Bad: Usually I go to movies to see a cohesive and coherent story but there are some times when I just want to see, well, cowboys vs aliens. This movie however didn't quite understand that it's supposed be a popcorn flick and had a lot of really awkward exposition/plot moving/character development scenes which left me feeling bored since they just weren't that interesting. It felt as if late in the script writing process someone realized that maybe they should put a bit more background into the movie and tried to shoehorn it in. There were a number of little plot holes in the movie as well, for aliens that advanced they don't seem very smart or, well, technologically advanced, and in the end I'm glad I only paid a dollar to see the movie.

The Audio: It's been a little while since I've seen the movie but I don't recall that any of the music stood out to me in a good way. Rather, I feel like some of the acting (voice wise) was rather stiff, I can't tell if Jake was supposed to be reserved on purpose or if he just came off that way but it made liking this movie just a bit harder.

The Visuals: Occasionally it seemed like the scale for the alien ships was off but other than that nothing really stuck out to me visual wise. The upside ship was rather neat, and honestly I just usually find the western setting a bit boring visuals wise, but nothing seemed terribly off either.

Sorry the review is a bit short but honestly there's not much else to say, I found the movie kinda boring.  Oh well, not everyone movie is going to be a hit and I didn't go in expecting I would love it either so I'm fine with that. At least I enjoyed the second movie a bit more. 

Comic Review: Rapunzel's Revenge

Another book from the local college library, I first picked up the book because I thought I recognized one of the author's and liked her work (turns out it was a different author but I had still read one of her works, The Princess Academy and liked it, I think this proves just how much I've read over the years). Also, despite all the fairy tale retellings I've read over the years, I'm still intrigued by every new one I come across, especially the ones that aren't in a contemporary modern setting like this one.

Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon and Dale Hale, illustrated by Nathan Hale

Summary: Similar to the original story, Rapnuzel is raised by the evil witch Mother Gothel and named after a plant that her father stole out of the witch's garden before she was born. A spunky girl, Rapunzel is eventually punished by Mother Gothel and locked in a tree until she is broken. But, thanks to the growth spell on the tree, Rapunzel finds a way to escape with her hair and sets off to rescue her still alive birth mother from Mother Gothel's mines.

The Good: Rapunzel is joined by a boy, Jack, in her travels and Jack does what a lot of other males in fantasy stories don't do, let's her take the lead and never complains or questions that she is the stronger fighter. It's so unusual to see that happen, almost always someone will make a fuss that a girl is in a position of power, that it both surprised me and made me realize just how much I miss stories like this. The story was well-paced with just enough events happening before the climax to build Rapunzel's character and yet not make it feel like the story was dragging it's feet. 

The Bad: It's a good thing that Rapunzel is such a strong character since Jack sometimes comes off as a bit flat. He gets a little bit more fleshed out as the story goes along but he's never as interesting and the story probably could have worked without him or with another character in his place all together. Also, since the story does have a few other fairy tales thrown into the mix I would have liked even more fairy tales thrown in, as a bit of a bonus for those who are familiar with the traditional fairy tales. 

The Art: After the author's names it was the art that drew my eye to the book and it's rather nice artwork. Each area the characters travel to has a slightly different color scheme (it's a full color comic) and the spread pages look gorgeous. There is a map in the book but it's halfway in and feels awkwardly placed, I would have liked it much better if it was at the beginning or the end of the book for easier reference.

When I was double-checking about the author I found that there is a sequel (prequel?) to the book that deals more with Jack's backstory that would take care of some of my complaints but I didn't like the artwork on the cover as much (even though it's by the same person) so I don't think I'll be trying to track that one down. For those interested, it's called Calamity Jack and, if you do read it, tell me if I should reconsider and check it out!  
   

Movie Review: True Grit

When True Grit initially came out I didn’t have any intention of seeing it (mostly because I’m not that big a fan of westerns) but, and this is my reason for seeing a lot of movies these days, heard a lot of people say they like it and the school was showing it (“Bum a dollar, catch a movie”) so hey, why not?

True Grit

 

Summary: Mattie's father has just been killed by Tom Chaney and, since the law isn’t in a hurry to track him down and bring him to justice, she decides the only thing to do is hire a bounty hunter to track him down and witness the deed herself.

The Good: That was a funnier movie than I expected with wittier dialogue. Mattie was amazing in the early parts of the movie, simply storming in and intimidating all the adults into doing what they needed to do, and everyone else important in the movie got their fair share of good lines too. I found myself giggling quite a bit at the lines and the movie was worth a dollar alone for that dialogue, someone had quite a bit of fun writing this movie.

The Bad: The final charge of the good guys versus the bad guys was cheesey as all hell, you knew it was coming but that didn’t help it. Also thought the ending was overdramatic (to say more would be spoilerish) but events like that do come with the genre. Also, I had a really hard time understanding why Mattie HAD to come along to see her father’s murderer killed. In the end she wasn’t that useful in a fight and just seemed to cause friction, the story might have been better if she was a bit older and could actually shoot in a fight.

The Music: Didn’t really notice anything special about the music here. It was certainly there but it merely blended into the background to help the show, it didn't stand out so much as to be actually noticeable.

The Visuals: Nothing that special about the visuals as well. They were there, they worked, but they didn’t go anything amazing. The setting in the towns looked authentic and the shots of the prairie looked good too, although I was really surprised we didn't see any Native Americans in the movie (especially since the characters says they’re going into Indian Territory, is it too much to ask for a minor P.O.C. character?). 

So, while I have no intention of owning this movie or seeing it again anytime soon, it was well worth a dollar and I'm happy I saw it now. Doesn't really make me want to see other Westerns either,  guess I'll have a different kind of movie to post next time then.