Hey, we’re back! Day Two. The experiment continues. Not as much to cover today as yesterday, since the first round-up rounded up a lot of stuff, but here are a couple things that were notable (to me) today.
SHADOW FORCE!
A new movie from Joe Carnahan? Why didn’t anyone tell me? Here’s the trailer:
Joe Carnahan is one of the filmmakers I like to follow. He’s a hugely talented director of action. And it’s cool to see Kerry Washington leading a Carnahan film. Love her. Since doing huge movies like THE A-TEAM and THE GREY, it feels like Carnahan has arguably been on a slightly more modest track, but I never miss whatever he’s up to. His last film, 2021’s COPSHOP, was severely underrated, with great tough-guy turns by Gerard Butler and Frank Grillo and a striking performance by the lesser-known Alexis Louder. I would love to see Carnahan work with her again, but for now, this latest film looks like a ton of fun. Whatever Da’vine Joy Randolph and Method Man in particular are up to here, I’m down with it. Let’s goooooooooo!
‘SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE’ IS BACK…
… But how can you come back if you never left? We’ve had more Saturday Night Live so far in the last several months than we really need, between the 50th anniversary celebration, endless media saturation in advance of the 50th anniversary celebration, the release of and media shellacking for the bizarre feature film SATURDAY NIGHT, and the actual show, which still airs, relentlessly, every year, for better and often for worse. Look, I grew up on this show and some of its alumni are some of my favorite creative people ever, and maybe it’s just that I’m older and that’s when your heart is supposed to die, but… enough already. Right?
I’ll have more to say when I eventually review SATURDAY NIGHT and maybe even the new book about the show. But for now, here’s the next batch of guests lined up for the last few shows before the last few shows of the year. (This is what I mean when I say “relentlessly.”)
The upcoming hosts and musical guests are
Mikey Madison / Morgan Wallen (3/29)
Jack Black / Elton John & Brandi Carlile (4/5)
Jon Hamm / Lizzo (4/12)
Mikey Madison is newly a household name after winning Best Actress for ANORA. Love Jack Black, even though he seems to mainly be making kids’ movies, based on properties that I’ve got no interest in), lately. Jon Hamm is there to promote a new series that he filmed in part in my neighborhood last summer. This is all fine. Is it “50th Anniversary” level exciting? You decide. I’ve already said too much.
NEW COMIC BOOK DAY!
For those who have been away from the habit for a while, new comic books are released in stores every Wednesday. It’s pretty hard to find comics sold anywhere outside stores specifically designed for selling comics (meaning they can’t be found in supermarkets or pharmacies anymore), although you can usually get trade paperback collections of multiple issues at most book stores. I don’t get out to the stores every Wednesday, but I do it often enough that I can mention it here.
I’m hoping to bring a semi-regular column about comics back to DG. But for now, this is my main recommendation for today:
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN!
Written by the successful and highly-regarded Jonathan Hickman, who recently revitalized the X-Men comics, this is a square-one reset of the Spider-Man mythos that stands apart from the other Spider-Man series on the shelves.
The main idea here is that a middle-aged Peter Parker, married to Mary Jane with two kids, has already lived half a life without a spider giving him his amazing abilities. He feels happy, but also like there’s something missing. Long story short, he gets those spider-powers, but at an older age. (Every other iteration of Peter has been a teenager when the spider bites.) One other major difference, not really a huge spoiler since you learn it in Issue #1, is that Aunt May is the one Peter lost, meaning Uncle Ben is still alive, and he’s a colleague of J. Jonah Jameson.
The first collection, with vibrant, kinetic artwork primarily from Marco Checchetto, with some issues done by David Messina, included Issues #1-6. The second, which came out today, covers Issues #7-12 and among other things, introduces the new Black Cat. The series has been hugely successful, and while I was a tiny bit skeptical at first (did we really need yet another retelling?), I have come to see how brilliant the approach is.
While there are always encouraging signs here and there of younger readers finding a love for comics, it often feels like the audience is made up of graying types around my age, primarily male, and while I’m sure this series works pretty well for any other demographic, it is absolutely fucking masterful to deliver it to this population of middle-aged Americans, usually dreamers, who I find are often unfulfilled by their situations. I mean, I can relate. From that perspective, it’s no wonder this book is a hit. Spider-Man with a beard. I feel seen.
(That said, it rules that younger audiences have Miles Morales and Spider-Gwen and plenty of their own Spider-characters to discover, and boy, I hope they keep doing it. At my age, it’s just as satisfying — if not more so — to see younger people and more diverse audiences discovering and supporting the great medium of comic books.)
Talk to you again tomorrow!
- [THE BIG QUESTION] WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE FEMALE ENSEMBLE IN MOVIES? - July 22, 2016
- [IN THEATERS NOW] THE BOY (2016) - January 24, 2016
- Cult Movie Mania Releases Lucio Fulci Limited Edition VHS Sets - January 5, 2016
Tags: Action Movies, Columns, Comic Books, Comics, Elton John, Jack Black, Joe Carnahan, Jon Abrams, Jon Hamm, Jonathan Hickman, Kerry Washington, Marvel Comics, Method Man, Spider-Man, Wu-Tang Clan
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