Smallville’s Witchy Women

Well, it couldn't last. After three great ones in a row, this week we get a campy little episode that relies on the acting ability of Kristin Kreuk to carry it. And, she's just not that good.

Unlike Tom Welling and John Glover, who both displayed a little versatility in the body-switching episode, when Kristin is asked to do more than Lana, she just can't handle it. Part of it was the script, I'm sure, but every time she spoke as "Isobel," I cringed. Alison (Chloe) Mack and Erica (Lois) Durance didn't really have enough to do besides look like sexy Goths to make a judgment on their ability to act out of character, but I thought Chloe did pretty well with the few lines she had. Lois just had to look good. Which she did exceedingly well.

Well, at least Lois looked good.

The episode certainly continued this season's trend of amping up the sex and skin factor, which is good or bad depending on your perspective. For the ideal WB demographic, that's a good thing, but for a "young Superman" show, it might be a bit much.

With the three teen witches wreaking havoc among the student body to pop music, this episode reminded me a lot of The Craft, which had a similar storyline. The scene with Clark screwing up the visit with the Princeton scout, however, was straight out of Risky Business. Except for the final moments when Lana learns it was Lex, not Clark that got Jason fired, we had no progression of storylines this week. Even Clark's football playing didn't really factor in (except for the Princeton recruiter, I guess). We still don't really know anything about the connection between Lana's tattoo and the cave symbols, other than the fact that Lana is apparently the descendent of a witch. But what does that mean? And, following last week's Mxy episode, we again see that Clark is vulnerable to magic. But that's it. No Lionel, precious little Lex, and even Clark's parents didn't show up until the very end. Heck, Clark barely used his powers in this episode. I hope no one was tuning in for the first time this week.

I have to say, though, I do like the Jason character. He's not a bad guy, except for his poor judgment in dating a student. I like how he and Clark get along, and he can play the older brother role better than Lex can now.

Speaking of Lex, wow, can he play the piano or what? By the way, did Lana make his scroll disappear? Did it come back? What happened there?

Next week, we get more Lex and Lionel, so things should heat up again.

Fantastic Four Promo Reel

Not quite a trailer, but an early promo piece. It looks pretty good.

Fantastic Four Promo Reel

The Fantastic Four hits theatres next July.

A Gweat Wefewence site

Like recent Dreamworks' animated movies (Shrek, A Shark's Tale), Warner Bros. classic Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies contained lots of pop culture references of the day from, celebrities to World War II to radio and TV shows of the day. Every once in a while, I get the urge to research some of those references, thinking it would make a great book or article -- an enjoyable way to learn some American history from the '30s to the '60s.

That urge struck again as I watched the new Looney Tunes Golden Collection vol. 2 DVD this weekend. Well, today I stumbled on a site that had the same idea I did -- the Warner Bros Cartoon Companion, an alphabetical index to most of the references found in the classic cartoons. The site also includes biographcial information on many of the toons' characters and creators. More comprehensive biographical info can be found elsewhere, but this site is a great starting point if you're curious about some of the verbal and visual gags. Here's a great example:

“B.O.”
Rendered in a long, drawn-out “beeeeeeeooooooohhhh,” this was the tagline for Lifebuoy soap. (It stands for “body odor”.) Examples of its use include the pseudo-Hawaiian verbiage given by Bugs in Wackiki Wabbit (Jones, 1943) and by the Mad Russian-like dog in Hare Ribbin’ (Clampett, 1944), right after he has sniffed the armpit of Bugs Bunny.

Now, there's certainly plenty more that's not here, so maybe my idea is still a good one, but nevertheless this a fun and informative site.

And the Vol. 2 DVD collection is even better than Vol. 1.

Identity Crisis News

Identity Crisis #6 (of 7) hits this week. Also out this week is a JSA tie-in issue with art by Dave (Watchmen) Gibbons. The issue features the autopsy of the first victim.

Identity Crisis #6

Other series that will tie in to the mini-series in the next few months include Flash, Teen Titans, Outsiders, Adventures of Superman, Firestorm and Manhunter.

At this weekend’s Wizard World Texas convention, DC announced that Identity Crisis will be collected into a hardcover in either September or October 2005, with a softcover targeted for summer 2006.

DC has posted their slideshow from the convention on their site. In addition, more DC news from the convention can be found at Comics Continuum.

The Force is Strong in This One

The first teaser trailer for Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith debuted in theatres with The Incredibles this past weekend, and is now available on the Star Wars website. The final prequel chapeter shows exactly how Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader. If the teaser is any inidcation, Episode III will more than make up for Episodes I and II.

On the road to Darth Vader

It was, well, Incredible!

I knew going in that I would enjoy The Incredibles, the latest Disney/Pixar release. After all, they’ve been five for five with Toy Story I and II, A Bug’s Life, Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo. It’s directed by Brad Bird, whose previous film was The Iron Giant, an animated masterpiece, and it’s about superheroes, my favorite subject. But, with all this in its favor, I was still a little concerned that it couldn’t live up to my expectations. The promising reviews all around were certainly a good sign. But, I had to see for myself, and couldn’t wait for the DVD release. So, fingers crossed, I went to the theatre for the first time since Spider-Man II, the current standard-bearer for the superhero film. Until now.

The Incredibles is simply the best superhero film ever made. Better than the first two Spider-Man, X-Men, Batman and Superman movies. From its self-aware superhero observations on the impracticality of capes and villain monologues to its portrayal of the indignities of getting older – gaining weight, reliving glory days, working a mundane job, The Incredibles was so much more than a cartoon or kid’s movie.

Intelligent and affectionate deconstruction of comic book superhero conventions is nothing new for comic fans of the 80s when everyone from Alan (Watchmen) Moore and Frank (The Dark Knight Returns) Miller to Giffen/Dematteis (Justice League International) have sent up the silliness of parading in public in long underwear as self-appointed saviors alone or in groups, but never before has it been done so masterfully on the big screen, animated or live-action.

The Fantastic Foursome

Years ago, Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) was the city’s dependable superman, rescuing cats from trees, stopping bank robbers and saving building jumpers. His cohorts in city-saving included FroZone (Samuel L. Jackson) and Elasti-Girl (Holly Hunter), not to mention a wannabe sidekick who tries to tag along, albeit unsuccessfully. But eventually property damage and personal injury lawsuits lead to the forced retirement and relocation of the heroes, now living anonymously in the suburbs, holding down 9-5 jobs and taking care of the kids. Mr. Incredible is now just Bob Parr. He married Elasti-Girl, now known only as Helen Parr. She raises their two kids, Violet (with invisibility and force field powers) and Dash (super-speed), who she tells to hide their inherited powers so they can fit in and be normal. But fitting in is not always so easy. Bob, meanwhile is an insurance claims adjuster, who can’t quite give up his do-gooder persona as he helps policyholders exploit his company’s loopholes, much to his supervisor’s chagrin.

Bob and his old running buddy FroZone, sneak out at night to go “bowling.” What they’re really doing is sitting in their cars listening for emergencies on the police band so they can anonymously save the day. Bob, in particular, needs the outlet. Soon, his desire to just help people catches the attention of others who want to help him in his quest. The offer, not surprisingly, turns out too good to be true. Madness and mayhem ensue.

The film’s most obvious influences are the Fantastic Four comics and the James Bond and Spy Kids movies, but the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It’s an action adventure, situation comedy and adult drama in one beautiful computer-generated mix. Pixar, in its first movie to showcase human characters, wisely doesn’t try to portray people realistically (anyone who saw The Hulk knows why), but as exaggerated cartoons appropriate to their characters. Despite that, it is easy to forget you are watching a cartoon, especially when the setting is the island hideaway of Mr. Incredible’s mysterious sponsor. One scene that stood out to me had some of the characters emerging from the water with their hair and outfits wet. For some reason seeing how well that was done made me realize the attention to detail Pixar’s team of animators puts into its work.

Pixar, unlike the pop culture in-joke-filled CGI films of Dreamworks like A Shark’s Tale and the Shrek movies, continues its streak of timeless animated classics. But this time, they’ve stepped it up to create a fun-filled family adventure film for all ages. You don’t need to be an animation or superhero fan to enjoy The Incredibles. You just have to be a fan of solid storytelling and good movie-making. See this movie.