I'm Still Not Sure Why The Deluxe Edition Of Dig Out Your Soul Has A Parental Advisory!

The Good: Interesting stories, Decent video, Wonderful album
The Bad: A bit muddied on the clarity of the documentary
The Basics: As a fan of Oasis, I found there was just enough to the bonus features to make picking up the Special Edition worth it for me.


I am told by many of my readers that it is impossible for me to write a short review. I beg to differ and this shall be my attempt. When I picked up the deluxe edition of the new Oasis album Dig Out Your Soul, I saw this as a great opportunity to try writing a brief and very helpful review.

This is the two-disc version of Dig Out Your Soul, and I had picked up and reviewed the one-disc version (here!). Because the first disc in this Deluxe edition is absolutely identical to that disc, I'm going to stick to the second disc for this review. In the deluxe edition of Dig Out Your Soul, there is a DVD, which is unique to this two-disc special edition of the album.

The DVD contains three tracks or features and I'll admit right off the bat, it's a tough sell to anyone who isn't a fan of Oasis. The three tracks are a featurette on the making of the album, a pretty pathetic behind-the-scenes of the making of the music video for "The Shock Of The Lightning," and the actual music video for "The Shock Of The Lightning." The total running time on the DVD is less than forty-five minutes, so it seems like it would have low repeatability.

"Gold & Silver & Sunshine," the mini-documentary on the making of Dig Out Your Soul is a grainy, often jumbled behind-the-scenes look at the time Oasis spent at the Abbey Road Studios in London writing and playing the songs for Dig Out Your Soul. The documentary is adequate for fans, those who know the band, but otherwise utterly inaccessible. There are four prime members of Oasis at this point, plus drummer Zak Starkey. Throughout the documentary, the voices of the four members of the band are heard, but they are never clearly identified. So, for example, one moment, Gem will be talking using the first person, then Noel will speak using the first person and Liam will mumble through something using the first person. This is dreadfully unclear, especially when - at least in the context of providing voice-over work for this documentary - they all sound pretty much the same.

To add insult to the injury of the documentary not identifying on-screen who is speaking at any given moment, there are large chunks of the documentary where one member of the band is speaking and someone else is shown on screen. This is especially problematic when Noel is speaking about how he began drumming on the album Dig Out Your Soul, but Gem is on screen (drumming). So, it's not the most clear documentary as far as that is concerned.

On the plus side, the documentary is fairly informative if you're not too concerned about things like getting basic facts straight. The group talks about using a sitar on one of the tracks (that instrument is not credited in the album's liner notes) and there is an amusing story about buying the toy musical instrument and using it on the album. The documentary does a decent job of going track by track and providing an anecdote about each song. It's funny, for example, to note that the group was several songs in before they realized that the Rapture was a theme of the album and that was what helped generate the cover art. Moreover, the band speaks well about how the songs fit together, like the way "I'm Outta Time" breaks up the heaviness of the early tracks on the album.

As for the documentary on the making of "The Shock Of The Lightning," there is a waste of four and a half minutes if I ever saw one! I watched the video for the "The Shock Of The Lightning" first and it is a fairly visually dense video, most reminiscent of the video Oasis did for "All Around The World." There is a ton of animation and surreal imagery and it is one of the band's more creative music videos. The four minute, thirty second "behind the scenes" featurette is mostly filled with shots of the men of Oasis singing and illustrating the warping effects used on them for the video. The thing is, the video for "The Shock Of The Lightning" has (at best) thirty seconds worth of footage of the band members and none of it is as clear as it is in this little documentary. It's ridiculous how little this featurette discusses the actual full body of the making of the music video.

Then there is the video for "The Shock Of The Lightning." It's a decent video, actually. It is mostly a mix of surreal images and animation, like palace guards marching and hands turning into butterflies and such. It might be best likened to a blending of the videos for "All Around The World," Red Hot Chili Peppers' "The Zephyr Song" and the White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army." Beyond that, it's a tough one to describe. It's all about imagery and matching a psychedelic sound to similar images.

None of this is going to wow a casual listener to Oasis. For them, the one-disc version is going to be enough. But for fans of Oasis, this is a nice bonus and it is an inexpensive enough addition to the album price to make it worth it. It is not, however, the greatest set of bonus features ever and anyone looking for that from it will be disappointed.

For other Oasis works, please check out my reviews of:
Definitely Maybe
"Cigarettes And Alcohol" (single)
"Whatever" (Single)
(What's The Story?) Morning Glory
“Wonderwall” (single)
“Don’t Look Back In Anger” (single)
"Some Might Say" (single)
Be Here Now
"D'You Know What I Mean?" (single)
"Stand By Me" (single)
"Don't Go Away" (Single)
The Masterplan
Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants
"Go Let It Out" (single)
"Sunday Morning Call" (Single)
Familiar To Millions
Heathen Chemistry
Don't Believe The Truth
Stop The Clocks
Dig Out Your Soul

6/10

For other music reviews, please check out my Music Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Fantasy Takes The Place Of Politics With Game Of Thrones Season Two!

The Good: Character development, Direction, Acting, Performances
The Bad: The developing characters all seem to be headed in the exact same direction . . .
The Basics: As the powers in Westeros war, more supernatural elements enter the fray in Game Of Thrones Season Two!


Having had a somewhat contrarian view on Game Of Thrones Season 1 (reviewed here!), I doubt there are many of the show’s loyal viewers who would stick around to care about my thoughts on season two. But, for those who do . . . I did enjoy the second season, probably because it veered away from being House Of Cards (reviewed here!) in a vaguely fantasy setting. Because my main beef with the first season of Game Of Thrones really was that it could hardly be called a fantasy setting; the only thing that really touched on the magical – the dragons and the White Walkers (essentially magically-created zombies) – came up very late in the season.

Season Two of Game Of Thrones ups the ante for fans of fantasy and it gives those who are simply looking for a powerful drama more to care about. The magical elements, like the baby dragons and a killer wraith who is sent by one of the New Gods as a tool for one of the forces vying for control of Westeros, makes the show into more than simply a bunch of would-be kings plotting one another’s overthrow. Even better, now that the main forces in Game Of Thrones have been established, Season Two finds them developing. Sadly, though, the most significant characters all seem to be developing in the exact same direction.

Even so, the second season of Game Of Thrones is entertaining and shows real promise and the characters have much more human motivations than in Season One. It is, as always, worth noting that this review is a pure review of the second season of Game Of Thrones as it appears on DVD as opposed to anything that was in the books upon which the series is based. The ten episodes of Season Two of Game Of Thrones spans about a year in the history of Westeros.

Westeros, the Kingdom of seven loosely-connected territories held together under the control of the capital, King’s Landing, is in full warfare. The capital is now run by King Joffrey Baratheon, the psychopathic heir who was actually the product of an affair between his mother and uncle, Cersei and Jaime Lannister. As Joffrey displays more and more aggressive tendencies, Tyrion is sent to King’s Landing to act as the Hand to Joffrey. Tyrion is instantly upset by the brutality of Joffrey and he does some house cleaning of the guards and advisors in order to protect people like Sansa.

Elsewhere in the kingdom, the legitimate Baratheons, Renly and Stannis, go directly to war with one another. Stannis has sold his forces to a priestess of the Lord Of Light and she gives him a surprising advantage over the kind reformer Renly. With the war between the Starks and Lannisters dividing half of Westeros, the Starks take an unexpected hit from a deeply personal source. As Stannis moves toward King’s Landing, Daenerys takes refuge in the richest city in Westeros . . . where her dragons become the most sought-after prize of wealthy merchants and magicians alike.

The cast of Game Of Thrones is expanded in the second season by characters like Stannis, Tywin Lannister, and Renly (who were absent from or had only minor parts in the first season). The show is filled with (seemingly) minor characters who do very little throughout the second season, save find themselves moved by circumstance. Arya is captured with one of Robert Baratheon’s bastard sons (a blacksmith) and the two end up in the unlikely service of Tywin as he wages war upon the Starks. But, like Jon Snow, who ends up in the wilds on the wrong side of the Wall, Arya is essentially just moved around the “board” without significantly developing. What development Arya actually has, though, is interesting as she develops an interesting taste for revenge.

The characters that do develop in significant ways are Tyrion, Renly, and Rob Stark. All three have moments where they begin to appreciate the common people of Westeros and start to position themselves to be a leader who will reform Westeros for women, the poor, and the pacifists. While I was impressed by the first moments where each of these characters began to take a more liberal view than their Medieval counterparts, they all seem to be reaching the exact same epiphanies and preparing the viewer for some sense of catharsis (on the assumption that after so many despots are shown vying for control one of these more humane leaders who is rising up will eventually overthrow Joffrey).

The actor who rules Game Of Thrones Season Two is Peter Dinklage, who gets top billing for the season. While Charles Dance is wonderful in his few scenes as Tywin Lannister (who is also added to the main cast), it is well within his well-established range. Dinklage, though, who has a less well-known body of work proves himself undeniably as he (as Tyrion) emotes amazingly using his voice and (at some of the most significant, but understated moments) his eyes. He is a truly incredible actor and the second season of Game Of Thrones where his character is given enough to do to truly shine.

On DVD, Game Of Thrones Season Two features twelve commentary tracks (which are insightful and interesting) as well as featurettes on the cast and major characters. The show looks good, but the direction on some of the key moments is terrible. During the most significant battle of the season, the shots are so dark and cut so fast that it is virtually impossible to tell what is going on. Regardless, the second season of Game Of Thrones is enough to make one want to invest in the series.

For other fantasy works, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Twin Peaks
Once Upon A Time - Season 1

7/10

For other television season reviews, please check out my Television Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Summer Blockbuster Season’s (Potentially) Smartest Film Arrives With Now You See Me!

The Good: Decent acting, Interesting concept, Good pacing
The Bad: Nauseating direction
The Basics: While Now You See Me does not hinge entirely upon the final reveal/reversal, it is a fairly fresh-feeling heist/illusionist film.


Summer Blockbuster Season – which is my favorite season of the year and the one in which we now find ourselves – is not known for smart movies. Big-budget, special effects-driven, spectacle-over-substance popcorn flicks yes, intelligent, contemplative pieces, no. Summer 2013 is not going to change that. That said, Now You See Me actually manages to put a dent in the usual summer stupidity by creating a piece that is largely satisfying even though it spends an inordinate amount of time trying to dazzle as opposed to developing the characters within the movie.

As a film involving magicians (illusionists) and one that blends with the well-established heist genre, Now You See Me has a seemingly difficult task. It is combining two genres that largely hinge on the power of the reversal, making a clever twist in the end that rewards the viewer with an epiphanic moment that enhances the rest of the film. There are films that do that exceptionally well, like The Usual Suspects (reviewed here!) and given that several years have elapsed since both The Prestige (reviewed here!) and The Illusionist (reviewed here!) graced the screen, Now You See Me had the remarkable potential to shake up that formula and do something smart. And it (almost, mostly) succeeds.

Now You See Me becomes far too preoccupied with explaining itself in literal terms as opposed to either exploring characters or making a grander thematic statement than it does. These two things drag the movie out of extraordinary territory and into the higher average realm.

In Las Vegas, a magic act called the Four Horsemen is having a meteoric run dazzling audiences. Four magicians working together on stage to sold-out audiences is unremarkable enough until one night in their act they present a trick that is as criminal as it is dazzling. They seemingly teleport a person to a bank in Paris and they take the contents of the vault and shower the audience with the stolen currency. The Four Horsemen’s trick amuses retired illusionist Thaddeus Bradley and irks his banker friend Arthur Tressler. Tressler asks Bradley to assist the FBI and Interpol in exposing the Four Horsemen and getting him justice.

The task of uncovering how the team of Michael Atlas, Henley, Jack, and Merritt Osbourne robbed the bank while they were seen by thousands on stage falls to Dylan Hobbes and Interpol agent Alma Vargas. Hobbes is rational and methodical and he and Vargas follow the clues given to them by Bradley and the Four Horsemen to try do deduce both how and why the Four Horsemen performed their trick. The ticking clock for Hobbes is that the Four Horsemen are promising to create an even bigger trick and Hobbes is tasked with preventing that trick from having severe global financial consequences. So, as he unravels one trick, he tries to extrapolate what is coming next and thwart a team who appears to be trying to make themselves into high-tech, Robin Hood-style thieves!

As an anticapitalist, my hopes with Now You See Me, based on the initial trailers for the film (which, admittedly, captivated me as a good trailer ought to!) was that the movie would focus more on the Robin Hood type element whereby the magicians of the Four Horsemen seemed to be altruistic in their robberies. No such luck. Instead, it is made clear exceptionally early on that the magicians of the Four Horsemen are not so much champions of the people as they are creating plot-centered distractions (and, because they did not retain the money they allegedly stole, the agencies hunting them have less grounds upon which to hold them!). The film is preoccupied with protecting the assets of the rich (and business) as opposed to a cunning scheme to help the downtrodden.

That said, Now You See Me is pretty solidly entertaining. Mark Ruffalo, whose character of Agent Hobbes dominates the screentime of Now You See Me makes for a compelling protagonist. His character’s methodology is solid and as the film goes on he continues to use reason to explain what appears to be supernatural or exceptional events that he is exposed to. Ruffalo is a good choice for Hobbes as he has the ability to present an inner strength that makes him credibly seem like an FBI agent, but he can soften his expressions to create a façade of bewilderment and frustration that the story demands the character have.

Morgan Freeman (Bradley) and Michael Caine (Tressler) continue their streak of playing powerful supporting characters who are given just enough screentime to justify their salary, but not enough to show the viewers anything truly new from their performances. Their parts are more the product of impressive casting than anything approaching great acting. Similarly, Jesse Eisenberg as Michael Atlas is good casting, but not a great performance. Eisenberg has a history so far of playing smart, articulate, confident young men and in Now You See Me he gives us nothing truly new. If you’re looking for a performance different from, for example, his role in The Social Network (reviewed here!), you are liable to be disappointed. His performance is not bad (assuming he is not so arrogant in real life), but it is nothing new or truly different.

The stand-out for Now You See Me is Isla Fisher. Fisher has been relegated to the ditzy protagonist of numerous romantic comedies and “chick flicks” where she has been more eye candy than playing substantial roles. In Now You See Me, Fisher is given a part that is a chance for her to shine, though she hardly has enough screentime to truly explode. Fisher plays Henley, one of the Four Horsemen. She appears on stage in the film as eye candy, a distraction for the audience. However, in several of the scenes where Henley and the Four Horsemen are making their plans, she exhibits an efficiency and almost quiet power that is impressive. There are moments when she fixes on the others with her eyes and one can almost feel the physical force of her glare!

As for the look and feel of Now You See Me, director Louis Leterrier undermines some of the drama by using the camera like a drunken sailor, spinning around and twisting at irksome angles and speeds. With any story of magicians – or heist films – there is some element of spectacle and reversal. Leterrier works too hard with the camera to land it, effectively saying “Look! Be amazed!” as opposed to creating something truly amazing.

For other films currently in theaters, please check out my reviews of:
Star Trek Into Darkness
Iron Man 3
The Numbers Station
G.I. Joe: Retaliation
Olympus Has Fallen
Tyler Perry's Temptation

7/10

For other film reviews, please visit my Movie Review Index Page for an organized listing.

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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An Average Dog Food Myah Treats As Exceptional: Purina Beneful Playful Life!

The Good: Very nutritious, Myah enjoys it, Not as expensive as premium dog foods
The Bad: Not the most impressive ingredients or nutritional benefits
The Basics: Purina Beneful Playful Life adult dog food made is one of the standard dog foods that Myah really seems to go for!


In reviewing many, many dog foods, I am rapidly discovering that what separates the premium brands and the major storebought brands of dog food are the ingredients. Dog foods that charge an arm and a leg tens to have ingredients that are much closer to human food than the mass produced dog foods. The mass produced dog foods are very similar and many of them have somewhat unimpressive ingredients, even if Myah loves them. So, for example, the Purina Beneful Playful Life dog food is one Myah loves and I can afford, but objectively, it is pretty unexceptional. In fact, there is nothing superlative about it, except that Myah keeps returning to it happily.

Basics

A single serving of Purina Beneful Playful Life dog food is two and a half cups to three and a quarter cups for a big dog like Myah and she is supposed to get one such serving per day, so a full bag does not last terribly long with a big dog. The Playful Life has six different shapes mixed together about evenly. One shape is very dark brown, about ½” wide and tall, and looks like a little hearts. There is another brown piece, double the size, which is just a large cylinder. The Purina Beneful Playful Life dog food also has a light brown spheroid, like a Cocoa Puff that is approximately 3/4" in diameter. There is also a light red triangle-shaped piece that is 1/2" on each side and 1/8” – 3/16” thick. There is a 3/4” long light brown bone-shaped piece and a similar sized green clover-shaped piece. All of the pieces have a mealy, textured appearance and are very hard. Myah often eats these several pellets at a time.

Ease Of Preparation

As a dry dog food, preparation of Purina Beneful Playful Life dog food is as easy as opening a bag and measuring out the pellets inside. There is no further prep needed.

Myah’s Reaction

The Playful Life smells exceptionally mealy. There is nothing meaty or chemical to the aroma of this dog food; it smells like grainy grains and chicken fat . . . like the archetypal dog food. It is not a terribly appealing scent to humans, but Myah goes right for this food whenever I open the bag! Myah enthusiastically eats this food until she is full. More than most dog foods, she seems willing to leave this food in her bowl, though she is in no way disappointed by it. She seems very capable of self-regulating her intake based on her hunger – unlike the foods she loves (which she gorges herself on) or the foods she loathes (which she completely avoids.

Nutrition

Purina Beneful Playful Life dog food smells grainy, so it is unsurprising what the ingredients in it are. Made primarily of Ground Yellow Corn, chicken by-product meal, and corn gluten meal, the ingredient list degenerates into chemicals and vitamins after dried spinach. According to the guaranteed analysis, Purina Beneful Playful Life dog food has at least 27.5% crude protein and 11% crude fat, but no more than 4% crude fiber and 14% moisture. As a dry dog food, it is highly recommended that you have adequate water available for your dog when serving your pet Purina Beneful Playful Life dog food.

Overall

Purina Beneful Playful Life dog food is a simple, good, dog food that Myah enjoys and lightly recommends, though it is an affordable, easy-to-find dog food that is a decent staple food.

For other Purina dog product reviews, please be sure to check out:
Busy HeartyHide Basted Chicken Flavor
Purina Dog Chow Active Life 25/18
Beneful Quacks Baked Delights dog treats

6.5/10

For other pet product reviews, please check out my Pet Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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One Cool Moment Does Not A Worthwhile Documentary Make: Trek Nation Disappoints.

The Good: Moments of exceptionally rare footage
The Bad: Mislabeled actor/role notations, Poor interviews, No real purpose.
The Basics: Trek Nation is a surprisingly lame documentary that has Eugene Roddenberry Jr. listlessly learning very little about his father about Star Trek.


Lately, I’ve seen quite a few documentaries and many of them have been about Star Trek. I’ve actually enjoyed some of them quite a bit, most notably The Captains (reviewed here!). So, when my wife wanted to sit down to watch Trek Nation, I was actually excited about it. Unfortunately, the execution of this particular documentary was particularly lackluster.

Trek Nation has a loose point; it is Eugene Roddenberry Jr.’s attempt to learn about his father, Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek and the whole Star Trek phenomenon. Eugene Roddenberry Jr. was a teenager when Star Trek: The Next Generation was on the air and he was off doing his own thing. So, decades after Gene Roddenberry’s death, Roddenberry Jr. has gotten around to learning about the phenomenon his father created. Trek Nation is the result of that search.

And it is surprisingly bad.

The set-up is, unfortunately, almost the entire movie. Eugene Roddenberry Jr. reiterates many times that he had no prior knowledge of what the Star Trek phenomenon was all about and that he was off doing his own thing around the time Gene Roddenberry died. So, the movie has Eugene Roddenberry Junior wandering around asking writers, producers, obscure Star Trek guest stars (remarkably few major castmembers from the Star Trek franchise participate in Trek Nation) about their Star Trek memories before concluding that maybe Star Trek is all right.

Trek Nation has a wealth of footage that is more confusing and pointless than it is enlightening. So, for example, the film includes reaction shots where Roddenberry Jr. clearly upsets Majel Barrett-Roddenberry with is questions . . . but the movie includes only the reaction shots, not the questions he was asking and the answers she gave. Interestingly, there are outtakes of Gene Roddenberry getting frazzled during his famous 1991 interview for the 25th Anniversary documentary.

Eugene Roddenberry Jr., director Scott Colthrope, and writer Jessica Brunetto repeat a great deal of information that those who are likely to watch this documentary – namely, Trekkers – already know. In fact, outside Trekkers and those who already “get” Star Trek, it is hard to guess who Trek Nation was actually made for. The fans are likely to be bored with it because there is so little that is actually new – in fact, outside Roddenberry Jr. visiting J.J. Abrams to present him with a video that seems to endorse the concept of the 2009 Star Trek, there is little fans will not have already seen or know -, those who are not part of the culture are not likely to be intrigued given that no one makes a fully compelling argument as to why Star Trek was so incredible and remains relevant today (though Nichelle Nichols comes close with her story about her and Martin Luther King Jr.) and those who like great documentaries are likely to be irked by the lack of real resolution to this piece.

While Eugene Roddenberry Jr. gets interviews with D.C. Fontana, Michael Dorn, and Jonathan Frakes, most of the major Star Trek players are notably absent from the documentary, leaving guest stars like Victor Brandt and Patrick Kilpatrick to make statements on the franchise. Ultimately, Trek Nation is not a particularly thorough exploration of the life of Gene Roddenberry, the genesis of Star Trek or the phenomenon of Trek fandom.

For other documentaries, please check out my reviews of:
Great White Odyssey
After Porn Ends
Nantucket Film Festival’s Comedy Roundtable

2/10

For other movie reviews, please visit my Movie Review Index Page for an organized listing.

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Ugh! Talk About Your Incomplete Story . . . Fall Of The Hulks: The Savage She-Hulks Flops!

The Good: Moments of character, Moments of plot development and artwork
The Bad: Radically incomplete story, No character resonation or development, Huge plot gaps, Terrifically inconsistent artwork.
The Basics: Unfortunately lacking in a number of key moments to tell a solid story or make the characters interesting, Fall Of The Hulks: The Savage She-Hulks is just a mess!


When I review a book, I take it as it is. I read the book for what is on the page in front of me and I evaluate it on those terms. It is important for me to mention that up front in my review of Fall Of The Hulks: The Savage She-Hulks because there might be fans of The Hulk and the entire Fall Of The Hulks storyline that are offended by my assertions in this review. The truth, however, is that no matter how good or how interesting Fall Of The Hulks is as a saga, the volume Fall Of The Hulks: The Savage She-Hulks is just an irredeemable mess.

I picked up Fall Of The Hulks: The Savage She-Hulks as part of my She-Hulk Year. This seemed to me to be a major crossover that Jennifer Walters was a part of and one of the next sensible volumes in my reading order. Unfortunately, the book was anything but engaging and the story might be an important tangent in the Fall Of The Hulks Saga, but on its own, Fall Of The Hulks: The Savage She-Hulks is a sliver of a tangent and a fraction of a story. It is, unfortunately, dramatically incomplete in the character and plot events it presents and inconsistently rendered in its artwork. The end result is a book that is entirely unsatisfying and more annoying to try to stick with than it is rewarding.

Fall Of The Hulks: The Savage She-Hulks opens with the story of Lyra. Lyra is a green She-Hulk with flaming red hair who is from the future (of, possibly, an alternate dimension, that’s not entirely clear) of a world where mechanical life evolved before organic life did and it enslaved humanity. The genetically-engineered daughter of Bruce Banner, Lyra is a She-Hulk freedom fighter before (inexplicably in this volume) she ends up in our time, on our Earth, where she works for the Alternate Reality Monitoring And Operational Response Agency (A.R.M.O.R.). Despite the book presenting her origin story, it leaps immediately to her as a part of A.R.M.O.R. and a time after she has met Jennifer Walters (She-Hulk), befriended her, and is now searching for the missing She-Hulk.

Lyra then runs afoul of Norman Osborn’s genetically-created gamma-ray irradiated villains, Axon (who absorbs Gamma radiation), Aberration (who was genetically-altered using Abomination’s DNA and is basically just a She-Hulk), and Morass (a mud-based gamma ray creature). After working to defeat the trio, and save a small town in the process, Lyra gets into a confusing battle with her own mother, Thundra, who appears to be hiding out in the past just to avoid her own daughter.

The story finally gets going when the Intelligencia – a group of super-smart super-villains – is introduced and they, M.O.D.O.K., Leader, and Wizard, make Lyra and offer to join their evil group. After an encounter with the Red She-Hulk and being forced to destroy her A.I. watch, Lyra is inducted into the Frightful Four and assists in capturing Reed Richards for them. She is then taken to the Intelligencia lair – a former S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier – where she almost immediately finds Jennifer Walters, is attacked by Red She-Hulk and ends up in the middle of a battle where an army of Red Hulks and hulked-out versions of recognizable superheroes (The Thing, Silver Surfer, and several others) are in the process of destroying Washington, D.C.

If that last part makes no real sense, welcome to the crux of my problem with Fall Of The Hulks: The Savage She-Hulks. The story does not so much take an abrupt left turn as it falls from one storyline to another in what appears to be a larger saga without any information for the reader to indicate what that story is, who is involved or why the stories overlap. The result is that the book unravels in a truly unfortunate way.

After a point, Fall Of The Hulks: The Savage She-Hulks is just confusing and nonsensical. On one page, Lyra is getting inducted into the Frightful Four, the next she is wearing a red Frightful Four uniform that we’ve never seen on the other three members of the villain group and the other three members are pretty much gone from the narrative. Red She-Hulk comes in and out of the story at random (it was only looking up this storyline and the story that followed it that I learned that the reader is not supposed to know who she is yet, so that bit of withholding – which was just annoying for me – makes some sense, I suppose) and the complicated relationship between Lyra and Thundra seems put in as more of an afterthought than a sense of genuine character development.

Moreover, Lyra’s nature is not made clear. Her opening backstory implies that she is from an alternate reality, not just a time-traveler. Yet, the rest of Fall Of The Hulks: The Savage She-Hulks - especially in her subplot with her mother – seems to assert the exact opposite.

As for the artwork, it is inconsistent at best. While the book opens looking like a nice sword and sorcery level of artwork, it degenerates into pretty standard comic book art and by the time Lyra meet Bentley (the Wizard) some of the panels look like comic strips or Cartoon Network level of animation, which is disappointing.

Ultimately, the artwork is not a serious detraction: the way Fall Of The Hulks: The Savage She-Hulks fails to tell a story is the serious drawback of this book and it is enough to make one not want to invest in Lyra or her story.

For other She-Hulk books, please visit my reviews of:
The Sensational She-Hulk
Single Green Female
The Avengers: The Search For She-Hulk
Superhuman Law
Time Trials
Laws Of Attraction
She-Hulk: Planet Without A Hulk

2/10

For other graphic novel reviews, please visit my Graphic Novel Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Everybody Mates The Same Way In Star Trek With “Two Days And Two Nights.”

The Good: The acting is all right, The Phlox subplot is funny and well-executed
The Bad: Riddled with nitpick errors, No real character development, Seems largely inconsequential all the way around.
The Basics: “Two Days And Two Nights” has the Enterprise visiting Risa for a somewhat pointless series of complications that do not truly advance any of the characters involved.


Following the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “The Chase” (reviewed here!), Trekkers lost much of their ability to complain about how most of the aliens in the Star Trek universe looked so similar. “The Chase” let it be known that the fundamental aliens in the Star Trek universe – at least in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants – were seeded there by an ancient race that used their own DNA as a template for the younger races. I get that, so my complaints about Enterprise seldom deal with the look of aliens (though in “Two Days And Two Nights” the alien make-up for the main female is a lazy re-imagining of the Trill), but this early in the journey of humans out into the universe, I find myself having a different complaint.

Everyone in the Star Trek universe both mates the same way and assumes that everyone else mates in a similar fashion. It’s actually a legitimate gripe. In “Two Days And Two Nights,” women that approach Trip and Reed admit they have never met humans before, yet they continue to pursue them in a way that indicates that they are confident that they men will continue to find them attractive and they lure them using a very human sense of sex appeal. Reed and Trip go in with the ridiculous notion that the women they meet on Risa might have all the same parts underneath their swimsuits and the aliens they meet there seem to have the same ridiculous prejudice. It’s unimaginative and given how this episode vastly predates “The Chase” the alien races have no reasonable way to make that assumption.

That said, “Two Days And Two Nights” is an episode riddled with problems on almost all fronts, except internal continuity. The main character problem I had was the above one, though the fact that Archer is not suspicious of the woman he ends up with and Hoshi’s character is severely weakened by her intimate rendezvous (I am not at all a prude, but Hoshi has been characterized as a bit of one and her love of learning languages would put her in very close contact with multiple teachers over the course of her career, which should demystify the pseudo-attraction someone like her has with a teacher. In other words, Hoshi’s character is much more interesting and consistent if she has a low libido that is satisfied through educational exploration, as opposed to basic physical sexual chemistry.). As it stands, “Two Days And Two Nights” does nothing to fundamentally alter or grow any of the characters.

After two attempts to get to Risa, the Enterprise finally arrives there. Archer, Sato, Trip, Mayweather, and Reed all draw lots that put them in the first rotation of visitors to go down to the pleasure planet. Aboard Enterprise, Phlox goes into a hibernation trance and leaves Ensign Cutler to look after the crew’s medical needs. With T’Pol in command, Sato goes to Risa to learn new languages, Mayweather goes to do some spelunking, Archer goes to relax (with a book of Surak’s philosophies sent as a gift by T’Pol) and Trip and Mayweather go to cruise for women. In his villa, Archer finds time to relax, though Porthos is bothered by a dog at a neighboring villa and its owner, Keyla, quickly strikes up a conversation with Archer.

Soon, though, complications abound. Sato’s quest to learn new languages puts her in touch (very literally) with a man with a fascinatingly complex language that challenges and stimulates her and Mayweather has a climbing accident that causes him to break his leg. In getting treated for the broken leg, Mayweather is given an injection that he has a reaction to. When Mayweather is returned to Enterprise, Cutler and T’Pol must decide whether or not to awaken Phlox, while on the surface Reed and Tucker get into trouble when pursuing two alien women who are not all they appear to be. And Archer, begins to suspect that Keyla is not all she appears as she tells the story of how her family was killed by the Suliban and begins interrogating Archer about what he knows about the enemy!

“Two Days And Two Nights” is riddled with continuity problems and some of the stupidest writing errors to come out of the series yet. While the idea of Phlox going into hibernation during a shore leave is not an inherently bad one, the writers seem to neglect the idea that space travel at this point in time is much slower than viewers are used to. As a result, it seems like there would be other times between planetary systems when the ship is going through a routine phase when it would be more ideal for Phlox to take his annual hibernation. In other words, this subplot with Phlox is just tempting fate in the worst possible way.

The show has a very Victorian sense of nudity as well. When Trip and Reed are robbed at gunpoint, the aliens take their clothes . . . but leave them in their underwear. Television standards and practices aside, this makes little sense. What makes even less sense is that they get a catcall as they walk through the resort in their underwear afterwards. Of any planet in the Star Trek universe for people not to notice or care about people walking around in their underwear or naked, Risa is at the top of the list. At least as important, the guys keep complaining about the alcohol smell on them after their escape . . . when they’re at a beachfront resort. Instead of ambling through the resort, why they didn’t just go for a quick swim makes both Reed and Trip seem like utter imbiciles.

That said, “Two Days And Two Nights” has decent internal continuity. Reed and Tucker reference “Shuttlepod One” (reviewed here!) and Archer finds himself dealing with unexpected consequences from “Detained” (reviewed here!) in the episode. The scenes with Phlox are entertaining at the very least and the acting is all right. Jolene Blalock gets through her minimal part as T’Pol with fewer smirks and emotive inflections than usual, making for what is to be considered a fair performance for her.

Guest Star Dey Young returns to the franchise, which is a nice addition. Here she plays Keyla, an age appropriate partner for Bakula’s Archer. Previously, Young played Arissa in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s “A Simple Investigation” (reviewed here!) and the two roles are remarkably similar, giving Young little to show off in the way of range. She and Bakula, though, have decent on-screen chemistry.

It’s not enough to make “Two Days And Two Nights” enduringly worthwhile, though. This is a “watch once” episode that hardly thrills and does little to advance the plot or characters of Enterprise.

The three biggest gaffes in “Two Days And Two Nights:”
3. Hoshi references Klingon as a difficult language to learn for the conjugations. Klingon actually has fewer conjugations than most romance languages and Japanese.
2. Okay, it’s not a Star Trek gaffe, but I can’t let this go. When Mayweather returns to the Enterprise, he is carried awkwardly out of the shuttlepod by Cutler and another ensign. Seriously?! In the future of the Star Trek universe, we have phase pistols, photon torpedoes, artificial gravity and (eventually) food replicators . . . but we’ve lost the basic technology of crutches. What kind of medical training has Cutler gotten where she has a guy walking on his broken leg as opposed to giving him crutches or a wheelchair?!
1. Once again, I renew my gripe about the use of Risa. In “Captain’s Holiday” (reviewed here!), where Risa is first mentioned, Picard has never heard of the planet and the Enterprise (1701-D) was out exploring new territory. In “Two Days And Two Nights,” Risa is 90 light years from Earth and thus relatively close. Picard, great explorer that he is, apparently doesn’t know the core worlds of the Federation, which is an utterly ridiculous idea. The writers should have used Wrigley’s Pleasure Planet for this episode.

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into Star Trek: Enterprise - The Complete First Season on DVD or Blu-Ray, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the premiere season here!
Thanks!]

3.5/10

For other Star Trek episode and movie reviews, please visit my Star Trek Review Index Page!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Just As The Sequel Is Underwhelming, So Too Is The Graphic Novel Prequel: Countdown To Darkness

The Good: Moments of character, Plot concept
The Bad: Light on character work, Artwork, In-jokes do not pop.
The Basics: The graphic novel prequel to Star Trek Into Darkness, Countdown To Darkness details the Mudd Incident alluded to in the film and sets up the tone of the new film well, but stands on its own poorly.


As audiences flock to Star Trek Into Darkness (reviewed here!) this weekend and before a bunch of irate people demand their money back, devotees of the Trek have another chance to be financially exploited in relation to the film! Just as Star Trek (reviewed here!) was given a loose prequel in graphic novel form, with Star Trek: Countdown (reviewed here!), Star Trek Into Darkness has been granted its own graphic novel prequel. That book is Countdown To Darkness and while it actually has some admirable qualities, it is not worth shelling out $17.99 for (as I did yesterday!).

On the plus side, Countdown To Darkness does establish several of the thematic beats that dominate the motivation of the real villain in Star Trek Into Darkness. Countdown To Darkness tries to bridge the year between Star Trek and the comic book (and trade paperback anthology) stories that lead up to Star Trek Into Darkness and it does that fairly, though this book does not lead into the film as directly as Star Trek Countdown did. Instead, this is another adventure of the U.S.S. Enterprise and while the film focuses very tightly on Captain Kirk, Countdown To Darkness gives Spock the spotlight for the bulk of the volume.

When the Enterprise approaches Phaedus for a scouting mission, Spock is plagued by nightmares of Vulcan’s destruction and Kirk is feeling restless as well. Given that the Prime Directive applies to the life forms on Phaedus, Spock is predictably cautious about Kirk’s desire to actually go planetside on the primitive planet. Despite it not being ready for first contact, there is an energy spike from Phaedus that draws the crew’s attention and Spock, Sulu, Kirk, and a red shirt take a shuttle down to the planet. Unfortunately, the ship is shot down using weapons the primitive people should not possess and the when Kirk and Spock go in search of the source of the advanced weaponry, they make a shocking discovery.

Living on Phaedus is Robert April, former Captain of the former Enterprise, logged as dead over a decade before. April brings Kirk and Spock to his people, who are at war with the Shadows (black Phaedans who have advanced weaponry and have captured Sulu and the security officer). In rescuing the officers, April explains that the Prime Directive does not apply because the Shadows have been given advanced technology from an outside source, so his involvement is only balancing the equation. April’s supplier, a young woman named Mudd, arrives and Uhura takes her ship into custody. After Spock rescues Sulu from the Shadows, April returns to the Enterprise where he uses an embedded code to take control of the computer and Kirk and Spock must work together to regain control of the Enterprise and stave off a Klingon attack at the same time.

Outside the remarkably clever allusion to Section 31, which sets up the film nicely, Countdown To Darkness does not have any in-jokes or allusions that really pop. Instead, the references to other Trek works fall remarkably flat. The fact that Mudd is, apparently, Harry Mudd’s daughter and half-Bajoran is hardly clever. The inclusion of Kor as the Klingon who is dealing with Robert April lacks resonance because the character is virtually a non-entity in this book.

Add to that, Countdown To Darkness has thoroughly underwhelming artwork. Most of the characters are recognizable, but they have an underdeveloped quality that looks more like a comic strip than a graphic novel. The coloring for the book is slightly faded and not nearly as distinctive as most comic books.

Even so, writers Mike Johnson and Roberto Orci (though given how he is credited, one suspects Johnson bears the lion’s share of the praise for this) do a decent job of getting Kirk’s voice right. The writing pops in an auditory way so that Kirk sounds like Chris Pine’s Kirk. As well, the book is not entirely devoid of character. Spock and Uhura are wrestling with issues in their relationship which, unfortunately for the same in Star Trek Into Darkness, are nominally resolved by the end of this book. The idea that Spock is wrestling with heavy, complex emotions is a good one and well-executed in Countdown To Darkness. That his feelings over the loss of Vulcan creates a rift between him and Uhura is very real and well-executed.

For other Star Trek graphic novels, please visit my reviews of:
Debt Of Honor
The Best Of Peter David
Death Before Dishonor
The Trial Of James T. Kirk

4.5/10

For other book reviews, please check out my Book Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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With Two Great And More Mediocre Tracks, I'm Not Alone In Finding Solitude Standing Average

The Good: "Tom's Diner" and "Luka" are amazing, Good lyrics
The Bad: Musically limited, Overall album does not leave as much of an impression on the listener
The Basics: Despite two (or three) amazing tracks, Solitude Standing is a remarkably average breakout album for Suzanne Vega.


I have a thing for ambitious debut albums. There are artists who come out of the gate with an impressive and daunting level of quality to their musical work that makes the listener immediately sit up and say "wow!" In fact, Fiona Apple's debut Tidal (reviewed here!) and the Jubilant Dog's album Abby are the only two debuts that come right to mind as impressive debuts where the artist had to work real hard to top with their second album. Far more common is the trend where an artist releases a stiflingly average debut and their sophomore album picks up and the artist grows over several albums. Solitude Standing is not Suzanne Vega's debut album, but it's her breakout album in the United States.

With eleven tracks, clocking in at a little over forty-four minutes, Solitude Standing is the Suzanne Vega album that introduced her to mainstream U.S. markets with her songs "Luka" and "Tom's Diner" (though, the remix by DNA that followed three years later had greater commercial success) and it remains her most successful album in her repertoire. I'm no expert on Vega; this is only the second album I've heard of hers. And despite my lukewarm review of Nine Objects of Desire (reviewed here!), I definitely enjoyed that album more than Solitude Standing.

Solitude Standing is definitely sold on its strengths. "Luka" and "Tom's Diner" are definitely the best tracks on the album and they appear as tracks two and one, respectively. In fact, "Tom's Diner" is presented at the climax of the album as an all musical reprise. So, there is an a cappella version of the song that opens the album and an all instrumental version that closes it. It's not until the DNA remix (not on this album!) when the two are put together.

For those unfamiliar with the works of Suzanne Vega, she hit it big in 1987 with "Luka," a simple singsong rock and roll song about child abuse. It's a well written, clever song that list a number of the symptoms of abuse and makes it into an anthem for those who suffer child abuse. Moreover, the song is accompanies by a wonderful sense of sound, the rock drums that accent the lines "Just don't ask me what it was. . ." ("Luka") create a distinctive punch to the song. Sadly, when it's been a long time since I've heard the song, I always find myself smirking to Vega's line "Yes I think I'm okay / I walked into the door again . . ." ("Luka"). Part of it is Vega's melodic voice as she presents the line, harmonizing perfectly with her acoustic guitar.

It's easy to see why "Luka" was a hit, being so different from anything else on the radio in 1987. Similarly, it's easy to see why "Tom's Diner" did not climb higher when it was released; it's so different as to boggle the pop-culture framework. That framework is that different is good, as long as it's a different the listener knows and recognizes. "Luka" has guitars, drums and sounds like a pop-rock song, regardless of the lyrics. "Tom's Diner" is a simple story poem about a woman sitting and having a cup of coffee on a rainy day in New York without any accompaniment. And while Vega's alto voice is an instrument of its own, the song is so strange and different that it falls outside the box.

Similarly, it's easy to see why there was no successful third single from Solitude Standing. I mean, it does not matter how much like a typical pop-rock sound your song is when you're singing about buying chicken ("Ironbound/Fancy Poultry"), Greek mythology ("Calypso") or the nature of reality ("Language"). This is not to say the songs are bad, only that they are so far outside the mainstream as to be hard to capture the popular culture's imagination.

That said, the superlative aspects of Solitude Standing are the lyrics and Vega's voice. One of the problems with the album is how the two interact. Suzanne Vega has a lovely alto voice that ventures into soprano territory on some of the songs, like "Calypso." She has a haunting affect that is carried on her voice like a bird on the wind. She is brilliantly sensual with her voice . . . most of the time.

The problem with the album (and track) Solitude Standing is there is a tendency for Vega's lilting voice to mix with lyrics that are rather predictably rhymed to make the affect unbelievably light. So, for example, on the song Solitude Standing, Vega sings "Solitude stands by the window / She turns her head as I walk in the room / I can see by her eyes she's been waiting/Standing in the slant of the late afternoon," with a tune and music that accompanies the lines that leaps up and down the registers in a way that is best described as a singsong style. This minimizes the lyrics. In this example, "room" and "afternoon" are not the most overdone rhymes, so the music and vocals create a simplicity that is not indicated by the actual lyrics.

Moreover, Vega's vocals are wonderful, when they can be heard. On songs like "Wooden Horse (Caspar Hauser's Song)," her singing is so quiet that the drums, keyboards and guitars overbear much of the early lines. Moreover, so much of the album is slow and sad that the overall effect of the work is somewhat like musical sleepwalking. There's a narcoleptic effect that occurs when one listens to this album repeatedly. The music, the obscured lyrics, the voice, is all good, but the net result is more tiring than inspiring. After the second song, there is nothing that truly rocks on this album, meaning the album sinks some into a sleepy, foggy place that becomes more tiring and sleepy in its pop-rock sound.

Backed by synthesizers, guitars, and drums on most of the songs, Solitude Standing lacks anything as distinctive as the first two (popular) tracks, making it a very repetitive sound for the bulk of the album. In keeping with the standards I set down in my review of Melissa Etheridge's album Yes I Am (reviewed here!), it becomes difficult to recommend this otherwise average album as the best tracks do appear on Vega's Retrospective album.

The best tracks are "Luka" and "Tom's Diner," the low of the slow middle is "Night Vision."

For other independent female artists, please check out my reviews of:
A Few Small Repairs - Shawn Colvin
Hotel Paper - Michelle Branch
The Dresden Dolls - The Dresden Dolls

5/10

For other music reviews, please check out my Music Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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A Delightful Clone Of Chipotle, Pancheros Delivers!

The Good: Good tasting food, Relatively nutritious, Inexpensive, Food is served hot!
The Bad: Light on side dishes/choices, Mediocre drink options
The Basics: Pancheros might not be the most original Mexican grill to hit the marketplace, but they do an impressive job at actually cooking the food they serve!


It seems lately whenever I am on the road for an event, I end up going to a Mexican grill. Ever since I first went to Chipotle Grill (reviewed here!), I seem to find new (to me) Mexican grills everywhere. When I went to a Janis Ian concert downstate (check out my review of that here!), I discovered yet another new-to-me Mexican Grill: Pancheros.

And I was pleasantly surprised. Unlike every other Mexican grill I have gone to, even the ones I have enjoyed, to date, Pancheros is the only one to actually serve the food actually at a temperature I could thoroughly enjoy it at.

Location

Pancheros is a fast-growing restaurant chain. In Michigan, where I now live, there are already six and there are more popping up all over the Midwest of the United States. They seem to be direct competition with Chipotle in both style and substance.

Pancheros seems to be a reasonably fast food establishment that is catering to the conscientious carnivores of the United States. The dining rooms tend to have a very trendy, modern look and minimal southwestern décor. The colorscheme of Pancheros is yellow, blue and red inside. They feature booths and tables that were moderately comfortable.

Waitstaff

Pancheros do not have waiters and waitresses. Patrons line up at a cafeteria-style assembly station and place their order with a “cook” who assembles the meal for them. These stations are very sleek, clean stainless steel hotpads where all of the fillings for the possible dishes are kept warm.

When one reaches the front of the line, one tells the assembler what one wants and they prepare the shell (burrito or taco or salad bowl) that is appropriate. That assembler walks down the line putting in ingredients as they reach them, confirming when necessary with the customer. They usually hand off the meal at some point to someone who puts on the toppings and folds it up and they pass the meal off to the cashier who checks the customer out.

At the location I went to, the servers were friendly, clean and easily executed all of my wishes. They all seemed to be enjoying their jobs.

Food

Pancheros is essentially a Mexican food establishment. The dishes include burritos, fajitas, rice bowls, quesadillas, tacos and salads. The selection for these items is differentiated by the meat or vegetable one chooses to add to the dish and it is the price of the meat that determines the price of the dish. As a result, a steak burrito runs more expensive than a chicken one.

The meal I tried was a steak burrito with black beans, rice and cheese. At Pancheros, the chefs actually mixed up those ingredients before rolling it into the large flour tortilla. What that meant was that I did not have bites of segregated food. Instead of one bite with beans and another with rice, I actually had every bite with beans, rice, steak and cheese. Unlike every other Mexican grill I have been to, Pancheros is the only one where the result was the cheese melted into the burrito and that was a delightful change of pace for me.

As important, every bite of the burrito had steak in it. The steak was soft and flavorful. In addition to being well-spiced with minimal salt and a spicy rub, the steak flavor came out in every bite, which was a wonderful thing. Not a single bite was overcooked or dried out, so it tasted exactly like what it was supposed to; meat! The cheese finishes the flavor well, while the rice and beans were more generically salty than incredible.

The drinks, at least at the Pancheros I visited, were fountain sodas. In addition to bottled water and a drink or two by the bottle, the main options were Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Mellow Yellow, Fanta, and Hi-C.

Overall

Despite being a virtual clone of Chipotle, getting a meal that is consistently hot goes a long way with me and getting a meal with a drink for around $10, makes Pancheros easy to recommend and one of the restaurants I look forward to going back to!

For other restaurants, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Wendy’s
La Senorita
Red Lobster

8/10

For other restaurant reviews, please be sure to visit my Food And Drink Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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