Sunday, April 16, 2023

Review: "PUSS IN BOOTS: The Last Wish" is a Delightful Surprise

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 17 of 2023 (No. 1906) by Leroy Douresseaux

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)
Running time:  102 minutes (1 hour, 42 minutes)
MPA – PG for action/violence, rude humor/language, and some scary moments
DIRECTOR:  Joel Crawford with Januel Mercado
WRITERS:  Paul Fisher and Tommy Swerdlow; from a story by Tom Wheeler and Tommy Swerdlow
PRODUCER:  Mark Swift
EDITOR:  James Ryan
COMPOSER:  Heitor Pereira
Academy Award nominee

ANIMATION/FANTASY/ADVENTURE/COMEDY

Starring:  (voices) Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Harvey Guillén, Florence Pugh, Olivia Coleman, Ray Winstone, Samson Kayo, John Mulaney, Wagner Moura, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Kevin McCann, Anthony Mendez, and Bernardo De Paula

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is a 2022 computer-animated fantasy-adventure film directed by Joel Crawford and produced by DreamWorks Animation.  The film is a sequel to Puss in Boots (2011) and is also the sixth installment in the Shrek film franchise.  The Last Wish focuses on Puss in Boots' epic journey to gain the wish that will restore the eight of his nine lives that he has lost.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish opens in the town of Del Mar.  There, the renowned hero and outlaw, Puss in Boots (Antionio Banderas), hosts a party and later, saves the town from a giant.  After being injured during his battle with a giant, Puss sees a local doctor (Anthony Mendez) who informs him that he has used eight of his nine lives.  [I'm assuming that you, dear readers, are familiar with the superstitious belief that cats have nine lives].  The doctor urges Puss to retire from adventuring before he loses his ninth and final life.

Puss refuses to retire, but then, he has an unfortunate encounter with a menacing, bounty-hunting.  Known as Wolf (Wagner Moura), he is garbed in a black robe and hood and wields twin sickles, and he is so fearsome that Puss has to flee.  While on the run, Puss learns of the magical “Wishing Star,” which can grant a single wish to someone bearing the map to its location.  Puss begins his journey to the Star's location, the “Dark Forest.”  Joining him on his journey is Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek), the savvy Tuxedo cat he apparently betrayed, and also a small dog that Puss and Kitty call “Perrito” (Harvey Guillén).  But they aren't the only ones looking for the Wishing Star.

I was happy to hear about Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.  When I first saw the original, Puss in Boots, I was surprised that I enjoyed it as much as I did.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is like its fellow DreamWorks Animation 2022 stablemate, The Bad Guys.  Both films take inspiration for their production design from Sony Pictures Animation's 2018, Oscar-winning film, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which mixes both a 3D and a 2D aesthetic in its design.  I think The Last Wish looks closer to Into the Spider-Verse than The Bad Guys does, but neither film electrifies the screen the way the Spider-Man film did.  

Like its predecessor, The Last Wish has a lead character who is part Zorro and part Valentino.  Puss in Boots is a charming rogue, the kind of character that can drive a swashbuckling adventure film to success.  However, The Last Wish requires a character to not only undergo a character arc, but also to evolve.  To that end, Antonio Banderas gives a performance with more humor and pathos than most actors give in live-action roles.  By the time The Last Wish ends, Banderas has me wishing real hard for a third film in this series.

As Kitty Softpaws, Salma Hayek makes the most of her moments.  The character doesn't get the space to roam dramatically that Puss does, but Hayek makes Kitty seem like a character that could carry her own movie.  Actor Harvey Guillén keeps Perrito the dog perfectly cute for this film, because he is just the kind of character that can quickly go from lovable to annoying.

The rest of the characters in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish come across as extraneous.  The “Three Bears Crime Family,” which includes Goldilocks (Florence Pugh), Mama Bear (Olivia Colman), Papa Bear (Ray Winstone), and Baby Bear (Samson Kayo), and also the crime lord, “Big” Jack Horner (John Mulaney), don't feel so important to the story that they could not be replaced with other famous fairy tale characters.  They aren't bad characters, but they seem to exist in The Last Wish for no other reason than to be part of this film's big action set pieces.  But Wagner Moura is awesome as the magnificent “Wolf.”  The film could have used more of him and less of the other “criminals.”

Still, Antonio Banderas once again makes Puss in Boots an animated character worthy of headlining his own films.  Hopefully, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is not the last Puss in Boots film.

7 of 10
A-
★★★½ out of 4 stars

Sunday, April 16, 2023


NOTES:
2023 Academy Awards, USA:  1nomination: “Best Animated Feature Film” (Joel Crawford and Mark Swift)

2023 BAFTA Awards:  1 nomination: “Best Animated Feature Film” (Joel Crawford and Mark Swift)

2023 Golden Globes, USA:  1 nomination: “Best Motion Picture – Animated”

2023 Image Awards (NAACP):  1 nomination: “Outstanding Animated Motion Picture”


The text is copyright © 2023 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Saturday, April 15, 2023

Comics Review: "NEMESIS RELOADED #4" - Juicy Got 'Em Crazy

NEMESIS RELOADED #4 (OF 5)
IMAGE COMICS/Netflix

STORY: Mark Millar
ART: Jorge Jiménez
COLORS: Giovanna Niro
LETTERS: Clem Robins
EDITOR: Sarah Unwin
COVER: Jorge Jiménez with Giovanna Niro
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Brett Booth; Jorge Jiménez
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (April 2023)

Rated M / Mature

Nemesis created by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven

Nemesis Reloaded is a five-issue comic book series from writer Mark Millar.  It is a soft reboot of Nemesis, Millar's 2010-11 four-issue comic book miniseries that he created with artist Steve McNiven.

Nemesis: Reloaded is drawn by Jorge Jiménez; colored by Giovanna Niro; and lettered by Clem Robins.  In the new series, Nemesis has plans for Los Angeles and its ruling class.  By the time he is done, the city won't be the same, nor will its top politicians.  And maybe the secrets of Nemesis will be revealed.

Nemesis Reloaded #4 opens in Los Angeles, a city under siege and on fire.  Nemesis has one more score to settle – with retired and disabled former cop, Maggie Cheung – before he moves on to his primary target.  That would be the cop-turned-district attorney, Joe Costello, the mayor-elect of Los Angles.

By Nemesis's command:  people cannot leave their houses or a nuclear bomb will go off in a secret location.  Everyone remains in lock down. Now, the penultimate chapter prepares to give way to the final showdown.

THE LOWDOWN:  In my earlier reviews of Nemesis Reloaded, I talked about how those issues fit into the tradition of the groundbreaking and daring comic books of the 1980s, especially of the early to mid-1980s.

Years ago, I read an article which stated that the people who published comic books back in the 1940s believe that the primary readers of comic books were children who were not bright and adults who were morons.

One might argue that quite a few adults who read comic books, then and now, are crazy – euphemistically or certifiably.  For instance, I'm crazy enough to imagine elaborate revenge fantasies in which I hurt people who have hurt me personally and especially professional.  I'd love to tie them in a chair and burn them alive.  Then, I'd mow down every law enforcement and first responders that showed up to rescue my burning victim(s).  And whadda-u-know!  There's a comic book where the main character does precisely that.

Seriously, writer Mark Millar and artist Jorge Jiménez have embraced the crazy.  If the publishers of the 1940s were right about their readers (they weren't), then, comic books should go all out to be wild, weird, and wonderful. If there is some truth to crazy, then, why not do crazy comic books.  Mark and Jorge have brought the bat-shit crazy of 1980s comic books like Elektra: Assassin and American Flagg! back in full effect with the crazy, balls-to-the-wall, Nemesis: Reloaded, especially this fourth issue.

When Nemesis walks out of that burning building and starts killing cops and then, confronts Mayor Joe, well, it was exhilarating.  Nemesis: Reloaded isn't mere entertainment; it is pure, unashamed, weird fiction that triggers and activates its readers.  This ain't just another comic book; it is the kind that goes after that dangly thing in the back of your throat (hip hop reference).  That's why you want to read Nemesis Reloaded #4 on the way to reading the entire series.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of comic books that make readers beg for more will desire Nemesis Reloaded.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://www.mrmarkmillar.com/
https://twitter.com/ImageComics
https://twitter.com/mrmarkmillar
https://twitter.com/netflix
https://twitter.com/themagicorder
http://www.millarworld.tv/
www.imagecomics.com


The text is copyright © 2023 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Negromancer News Bits and Bites from April 9th to 15th, 2023 - Update #11

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

MOVIES - From DeadlineNicholas Hoult and Toni Collette have joined Clint Eastwood's next film, "Juror #2."

STREAMING - From VarietyHBO Max has officially announced it has officially ordered a "Harry Potter" television series.  The cast will be entirely new.

From Deadline:  There is more information on HBO Max's recently announced "Harry Potter" TV series, including that its debut is set for 2025-26.

From VarietyChuck Lorre is developing a second spinoff of his former CBS hit TV series, "The Big Bang Theory" for HBO Max (soon to be known simply as "Max").  The first spinoff, "Young Sheldon," is currenly airing on CBS.

CELEBRITY - From Variety:  Jamie Foxx has been hospitalized in Atlanta following a “medical complication” his family revealed late Wednesday evening.

From CNN:  Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx remains hospitalized in Atlanta (possibly due to a stroke), while his current film, "Back in Action," is expected to wrap production within the week.

STREAMING - From Deadline:  Emmy Award-winning actress. Julie Bowen, ("Modern Family") will star in Peacock’s "satanic panic," coming-of-age thriller, "Hysteria!"

NETFLIX/ANIMATION - From DeadlineNetflix has approved an animated series set in the world of its hit series, "Stranger Things."  The series currently does not have a title.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro:  The winner of the 4/7 to 4/9/2023 Easter weekend box office is Universal/Illumination Entertainment's "Super Mario Bros. Movie" with an estimated take of 146.3 million dollars.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Director James Mangold says that Timothée Chalamet, the star of his upcoming biopic of the legendary singer-songwriter, Bob Dylan, will be doing his own singing.

OBITS:

From Deadline:  The actress Elizabeth Hubbard has died at the age of 89, Saturday, April 8, 2023.  She was best known for her roles in two daytime soap opera television series.  She was "Dr. Althea Davis" in former NBC series, "The Doctors," and also "Lucinda Walsh" in the former CBS series, "As the World Turns."  She won a Daytime Emmy Award for "The Doctors." From 1986-1999, she was nominated for lead actress Daytime Emmy eight times for "As the World Turns."  She won an additional Daytime Emmy in 1976 for her role in the daytime TV movie, "First Ladies Diaries: Edith Wilson."  Her final Daytime Emmy nomination was for her role in the YouTube daytime soap opera, "Anacostia."

From Variety:  The film and television actor, Michael Lerner, has died at the age of 81, Saturday, April 8, 2023.  Lerner appeared in numerous films, including "Eight Men Out" (1988), "Elf" (2003), and "X-Men: Days of Future Past" (2014).  He received a "Best Supporting Actor" Oscar nomination for his role in the Coen Bros.'s 1991 film, "Barton Fink." Lerner was also a recurring character on the former NBC drama, "Hill Street Blues" and the former ABC/UPN sitcom, "Clueless," to name a few.


Thursday, April 13, 2023

Comics Review: "THE AMBASSADORS #2" is on a Passage to India

THE AMBASSADORS #2 (OF 6)
IMAGE COMICS/Netflix

STORY: Mark Millar
ART: Karl Kerschl
COLORS: Michele Assaraskorn
LETTERS: Clem Robins
EDITORIAL: Sarah Unwin
COVER: Karl Kerschl
VARIANT COVER ARTIST: Frank Quitely; Karl Kerschl
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (April 2023)

Rated M / Mature

The Ambassadors created by Mark Millar at Netflix

The Ambassadors is a new comic book miniseries written and created by Mark Millar.  The series focuses on the six people out of eight billion humans who will received super-powers.  Each will be a member of  the international rescue squad, The Ambassadors.  Each issue of The Ambassadors will be drawn by a different superstar comic book artist.  The second issue is drawn by Karl Kerschl; colored by Michele Assaraskorn and lettered by Clem Robins.

The Ambassadors #2 opens in Delhi, India.  Meet Binnu Bhatia.  He's in love with Gita Ganesh, as he keeps telling his best bud, Jai.  However, Binnu doesn't believe he has much of a chance with Gita; after all, Binnu is just a dude who works at a cell phone store.

Then tragedy strikes, and some time later, Binnu is “Codename India,” the Ambassador for India.  Suddenly, he has access to powers that billions of other people want really bad.  So, of course, it's a bit complicated with family, friends, and also Doctor Choon-He Chung, the amazing woman who is handing out super-powers.  Plus, some will pay anything for those powers...

THE LOWDOWN:  Thanks to a review copy provided by the Mark Millar division of Netflix, I got to read the first two issues The Ambassadors.  This is a treat for which I have been awaiting since the announcement of the series last year.

I think the best thing that writer Mark Millar does with The Ambassadors #2 is depict that even in a scenario of absolute power and seemingly supernatural power, control is an illusion.  What happens to Binnu Bhatia is both a dream and nightmare, to one extent or another.  He can't stop what's coming; he must simply survive it or try to.  This is how Mark is creating dramatic tension and conflict here, and this is what he is going to use to blow this up in our faces.

The artist for The Ambassadors #2 is Karl Kerschl, and his quirky style deftly conveys both the ambivalence and the menacing undertones in this chapter.  I could have read another 28 pages of Kerschl's lovely storytelling.

So, yes, The Ambassadors is fantastic.  It may well be one of the most consequential superhero team comic books well over a decade.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Mark Millar and of big concept superhero comic books will want to read The Ambassadors.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://www.mrmarkmillar.com/
https://twitter.com/ImageComics
https://twitter.com/mrmarkmillar
https://twitter.com/netflix
http://www.millarworld.tv/
www.imagecomics.com


The text is copyright © 2023 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Tuesday, April 11, 2023

Comics Review: "RED ZONE #2" Won't Let Readers Escape Its Thrilling Chase

RED ZONE #2 (OF 4)
AWA STUDIOS

STORY: Cullen Bunn
ART: Mike Deodato, Jr.
COLORS: Lee Loughridge
LETTERS: Steve Wands
COVER: Rahzzah
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Mike Deodato, Jr. with Lee Loughridge
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (April 2023)

Rated: “Teen+”

Red Zone is a new four-issue comic book miniseries from writer Cullen Bunn and artist Mike Deodato, Jr.  Published by AWA Studios, the series focuses on an American professor who must fight his way out of Russia where he lived a former life full of long-buried secrets.  Colorist Lee Loughridge and letterer Steve Wands complete the series creative team.

Red Zone introduces Randall Crane, an unassuming professor of Russian and Slavic Studies at NYU.  By request, he becomes part of U. S. Army Special Forces secret extraction mission into Russia.  The target is Elena Sidorov, once a very close friend of the professor's.  What she knows makes her a high priority asset to the U.S.  When the mission goes wrong, however, Randall is alone and forced to summon the secrets of his past.

Red Zone #2 opens in the wake of the extraction team disaster.  Now, Crane has to use his “particular set of skills” if he and Nika are to survive.  Who is Nika?  She is the daughter of the old friend he was supposed to rescue.  Yeah, Crane has a lot of old friends … and old enemies, and they are coming so fast and furious that Crane and Nika may go from the red zone to the dead zone.

THE LOWDOWN:  AWA Studios marketing recently began providing me with PDF review copies of their comic book publications.  My second PDF is Red Zone #2.

The thriller is a popular genre, but this genre and its sub-genres are filled will misfires and failures.  Film thrillers featuring big guys with big guns – from police special units to military special units and diplomatic special teams – fill the ranks of direct-to-DVD or direct to pay TV releases.  It's not easy to get this genre right.

Writer Cullen Bunn gets it right with Red Zone.  He sprinkles this second issue with menacing new characters and questionable allies, and the surprises are... well, quite surprising.  Bunn uses every act of violence to make Randall Crane more mysterious and more intriguing, and in the end, that is as good for the narrative as any action scene.

The page and graphic design that artist Mike Deodato, Jr. uses for these first two issues of Red Zone are similar to the design artist B. Krigstein used for the classic EC Comics short story “Master Race” (Impact, April 1955).  Deodato creates the visual suggestion that Crane and Nika are trapped at every turn – and they practically are.  Around each page, on the borders and edges, however, are slivers of panels that anticipate the coming drama and action.  It makes the art seems active rather than static.

This first issue of Red Zone is an excellent introduction to the series, and I think it will make readers want to come back.  Red Zone #2 is like an assurance that the first issue is no fluke.  Red Zone is the real deal in thrillers, and you will want feel those thrilling sensations, dear readers.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of action and espionage in comic books will want to read Red Zone.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


AWA Website: https://awastudios.net/
AWA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awastudiosofficial/
AWA Twitter: https://twitter.com/AWA_Studios
AWA Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/awastudiosofficial


The text is copyright © 2023 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

-----------------------------

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Monday, April 10, 2023

BOOM! Studios Shipping from Diamond Distributors for April 12, 2023

BOOM! STUDIOS

NOV220356 BRIAR #4 (OF 4) CVR A GARCIA $3.99
NOV220357 BRIAR #4 (OF 4) CVR B PAQUETTE $3.99
NOV220360 BRIAR #4 (OF 4) CVR E FOC REVEAL VAR $3.99
DEC220021 FCBD 2023 MECH CADETS SPECIAL (NET) $PI
FEB230316 KNOW YOUR STATION #5 (OF 5) CVR A KANGAS (MR) $3.99
FEB230317 KNOW YOUR STATION #5 (OF 5) CVR B CAREY (MR) $3.99
FEB230281 SEASONS HAVE TEETH #1 (OF 4) CVR A KHALIDAH $4.99
FEB230282 SEASONS HAVE TEETH #1 (OF 4) CVR B FEGREDO $4.99
FEB230285 SEASONS HAVE TEETH #1 (OF 4) CVR E FOC FOIL REVEAL $6.99

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Dark Horse Comics Shipping from Diamond Distributors for April 12, 2023

DARK HORSE COMICS

DEC220442 ABE SAPIEN DARK & TERRIBLE TP VOL 02 (C: 0-1-2) $29.99
OCT220424 ART OF PETER BERGTING HC (C: 0-1-2) $49.99
FEB230392 ASSASSINS APPRENTICE I #5 (OF 6) $3.99
AUG220440 BREAK OUT TP (RES) (C: 0-1-2) $19.99
FEB230364 CLEAR #2 (OF 3) CVR A MANAPUL $4.99
FEB230365 CLEAR #2 (OF 3) CVR B FOIL MANAPUL $5.99
NOV220464 ELIXIR TP (C: 0-1-2) $19.99
DEC220451 FORTUNE & GLORY TP (C: 0-1-2) $19.99
FEB230355 GREAT BRITISH BUMP OFF #1 (OF 4) CVR A ALLISON $3.99
FEB230356 GREAT BRITISH BUMP OFF #1 (OF 4) CVR B HIPP $3.99
FEB230357 GREAT BRITISH BUMP OFF #1 (OF 4) CVR C FOC THOMPSON $3.99
DEC220460 GRENDEL OMNIBUS TP (2ND ED) VOL 04 PRIME (C: 0-1-2) $29.99
DEC220475 LEGEND OF KORRA RUINS OF EMPIRE OMNIBUS TP (C: 1-1-2) $24.99
FEB230374 MASTERS OF UNIVERSE MASTERVERSE #3 (OF 4) CVR A NUNEZ $3.99
FEB230375 MASTERS OF UNIVERSE MASTERVERSE #3 (OF 4) CVR B BALBONI $3.99
FEB230376 MASTERS OF UNIVERSE MASTERVERSE #3 (OF 4) CVR C RUBIN $3.99
DEC220461 SHOCK SHOP TP (C: 0-1-2) $19.99
FEB230393 SPACE JOB #3 (OF 4) $3.99
FEB230396 WHITE SAVIOR #4 (OF 4) CVR A $3.99
FEB230397 WHITE SAVIOR #4 (OF 4) CVR B $3.99
DEC220454 WORLD OF BLACK HAMMER LIBRARY ED HC VOL 05 (C: 0-1-2) $49.99

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