Movie Review: Rango

Rango is the story of a cosmopolitan chameleon (Jonny Depp) leading a life of bored contentment with his imaginary friends and independent theatre productions. During a cross country trip he is ejected from his owners’ car and sees this as an opportunity to redefine himself. After telling a few tall tales and accidentally killing a hawk, he takes the name “Rango” off a bottle of cactus juice and is made the sheriff of the town of Dirt, which is in the crippling grip of a water shortage.

Rango is a parody/homage to classic westerns like Magnificent Seven and The Man With No Name. It’s a bit slow in the first act, but overall the great performances and spectacular visuals make it an enjoyable and surprisingly edgy action/comedy/fantasy/western. It really does run the gamut. Rango is a lot more enjoyable when it goes for the visual and situation humor; there are a bunch of side jokes that are very hit or miss, and it’s the misses that stop Rango from being as good as it could have been.

Back-Issue Alphabet: L is for Legends of the DC Universe #41

Legends of the DC Universe #41 Lessons in Time Part Two of Two (Todd Dezargo, Rich Faber, Drew Johnson)

I love this cover. I have no idea what’s supposed to be going on, but I love it. I’m guessing that The Atom teams up with a temporally displaced World War 2 velociraptor battalion. The cover was so radical that I bent the rules of Back-Issue Alphabet and checked the box I randomly pulled #41 out of for #40. It was right next to it, so I picked it up. It takes a bit out of the randomness of the Back Issue Alphabet project, but the way I see it is if a reader randomly took this book of the self in 2001, he would be smart enough to see “part one of two” on the cover and check if part one was on the shelf beside it, which is what I did. Because I’m smart enough. 

The Continuing Adventures of NBC’s “The Cape” - Razor

“Razer” is a lot more straightforward than the last two episodes. Gang warfare has escalated between Scales and Fleming, with a shootout taking place right in Trip and Dana’s neighborhood. Scales is trying to muscle in on Max’s territory, Trolley Park, by beating up Rollo and hiring a mysterious Australian bomber named Razer to flush Max out. Nobody in Scale’s gang had ever seen him face to face, so Faraday and the gang intercept Razer’s car, kidnap him, and replace him with Faraday. This means that half of the episode is Faraday undercover and speaking in a hilarious Australian accent.

The Continuing Adventures of NBC’s “The Cape” - The Lich

So far, The Cape has been all over the place, quality wise. It’s run the gamut of “so bad it’s good” “so bad it’s embarrassing” while occasionally dipping into “legitimately entertaining.” I’m a bit behind on my The Cape watching, so today we’ll look at “The Lich” parts one and two, and tomorrow we’ll look at “Razer”

Part 1 begins with a tall, creepy man in a fedora spraying powder on a woman in a truck rental lot. After the credits, Rollo and Max find Faraday to ask him for his detective expertise. Janet, the woman from the rental place and an old friend of Rollo turned up dead, was buried, and her body was exhumed. Faraday inspects the grave and finds that she wasn’t exhumed, she clawed her way out. Zombies? Oh, I hope so.

Movie Review: Justin Bieber: Never Say Never

In honour of Canada’s newest national holiday, Justin Bieber’s Birthday, I decided to take in a documentary, specifically, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never - Director’s [Fan] Cut in 3D. 

Don't be fooled; Never Say Never is not a prequel to the 1983 James Bond film, Never Say Never Again. Rather, it's a documentary style look at the rise of teen-pop sensation Justin Bieber, with his sold-out Madison Square Garden performance as a backdrop for the story. However, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never is not so much a documentary as it is a commercial for the Bieber Media Empire. But if Old Spice has taught us anything, it’s that commercials can be legitimately entertaining narratives.