Category: 1

Episode 2, Fans 1

Posted By: Peter DavidPosted On:

I decided to pass on the notion of a midnight show of “Attack of the Clones,” having fallen asleep the last time I tried that. So this time around I opted for a nice, safe 10 AM show. Ariel was in tow, gleefully playing hooky from school as were, indeed, most of the people in the audience.

I’ll be doing a more detailed review of the film in “But I Digress.” Highlights: Yoda; Samuel L. Jackson getting Jedieval on people’s áššëš; most of the visuals; minimal Jar-Jar; John Williams score; the nice shadow bit on Tatooine where Anakin’s profile bears a resemblance to Vader’s, bringing to life the poster from Episode 1. Lowlights: Just about everything else. Script, direction, most of the acting, and most painfully, Anakin. As Luke proved when bìŧçhìņg about wanting to go into town for power converters, a little Jedi whining goes a long way. Obi-Wan’s holding him back? Obi-Wan should be gagging him. He’s going to bring balance to the Force? He couldn’t bring balance to my car radio. Christ, is he annoying.

Most telling to me was Ariel’s incisive, albeit unintentional, deconstruction of the film into its component marketing parts. A menacing sequence on a robot-manufacturing conveyor belt prompted Ariel to remark, “This would make a good ride.” When Amidala was chained to a giant post awaiting death in an arena, Ariel chirpped in recognition, “I have the toy of this!” It says something about the Star Wars universe when a ten year old is able to recognize it as the license-generating bonanza it has become, rather than the combination of movie serials and myth that it once was.

Bottom line: It’s better than its predecessor, which makes it both watchable and a relief. But “Empire” was better than its predecessor, and that was no mean feat. In this case, “Phantom Menace” lowered the bar so significantly that it wasn’t all that much of a chore. Hëll, reducing Jar Jar’s screen time from fifty minutes to five was more than enough to do it.

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Wind in the Willow

Posted By: Peter DavidPosted On:

Well, we can’t say we didn’t see the events of tonight’s “Buffy” coming as Willow goes totally nova.

What’s interesting is how much sense it all makes if one takes the long view, on two levels. First, Willow has a history of using magic for immediate gratification, as a quick fix so she doesn’t have to deal with long, drawn out processes…be it emotional coping or even, in the current case, judicial proceedings. Second, Willow’s very first major use of magic was when she restored Angel’s soul back at the end of the second season. Keep in mind, what she did at the time was, technically speaking, *not* a positive thing even though it served a higher purpose. It was repeatedly referred to as “cursing” Angel. And Giles said it himself: That if Willow embarked on that course, she might be opening a dark door that she would not be able to close. Well, that sure as hëll turned out to be the case.

Excellent use also of what was essentially an in-joke for long time viewers: Willow’s singsong “Bored now” required knowledge of either “The Wish” or “Dopplegangland” from third season to appreciate. My work on “Captain Marvel” precipitated lengthy discussions about the use of in-references, and some people seem to feel that things which harken back to moments from years gone by are somehow a bad thing. This, I think, indisputably proves how such uses can be extremely powerful. To a newcomer, her blase “Bored now” was simply a throwaway comment. To the long-time fan, it was of course the chilling complaint that Vamp Willow would utter just before she committed some sort of fatal mayhem.

This has been an almost unremittingly depressing season. It seems odd to call this episode a bright spot. I suppose it is, mostly due to Alyson Hannigan’s frightening and tour-de-force turn to the dark side. It definitely did not leave me bored now.

PAD

Live on Tape

Posted By: Peter DavidPosted On:

So I was interviewed for a documentary last night. I was approached by a fellow with the frankly unfortunate name of Constantine Valhouli, whom I can only assume is a comic fan now because he got the crap kicked out of him as a kid. Referred to me by Catherine Gruenwald (widow of the late, great Mark Gruenwald) and working in conjunction with comic historian Peter Sanderson, they’re putting together a documentary about the history of comics. It’s an endeavor to look at an artform that is all too often relegated to the status of juvenile pastime by the general public. They hauled some camera equipment to my office and we chatted for an hour and a half about comics in general, and my work on such titles as HULK in specific. Interviews have already been completed with Colleen Doran and Jim Valentino. They said Colleen said flattering things about me. Considering I thought she couldn’t stand me, that was nice to hear. Maybe she can stand me now. Not everyone can. Every so often I still worry about Kathleen coming to her senses and running screaming into the night. Thank God for that homing beacon I installed in her while she was sleeping…

Peter Sanderson also pointed out to me that Spider-Man, as depicted in the movie, is portrayed in terms of origin and powers almost exactly the way that I played “Spider-Man 2099.” Genetic manipulation rather than radioactive blood. Biological webspinners. Bristles on his fingertips (the talons on 2099’s were larger than the microscopic versions in the movie, but even so, 2099 had extensions on his fingers whereas the modern day one crawls walls through an enhanced version of static electricity, according to the Handbook). In 2099, his inner warning system consisted of what I called accelerated vision which enabled him to see all manner of attack and react to it before it got to him, which is the movie version…as opposed to the comics where his spider sense is sort of an all purpose ESP.

Coincidence? Well, let’s see if Peter Parker acquires fangs in the next film.

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