I Do Miss Me Some Deadwood

Bobbleheads and puppets by mister frothee.

The Quick Stack

Thunderbolts #120
Apparently Norman Osborn is really what Tommy Lee Jones was going for in Batman Forever. Fantastic, Deadwoodian monologuing here. (A+)

Captain Britain and MI: 13 #1
Now that's how you do an alien invasion. Definitely the best Skrull related read so far, and the Champion's Super Skrull is the best one yet. (A)

Wolverine #65
Probably the weakest issue of Aaron's run, even with the nudie fight. Still pretty terrific though. (A)

X-Men: Legacy #211
That durn Sinister just pops up uhrvrywhere. Also, I really really wish they would just kill off the character that appears on the last page once and for all. This must be well written, though, if I find myself enjoying an Xavier story. (A-)

Batman #676
Here it is, Batman RIP at last... but nobody's dead yet. The splash page of Morrisony villains at the beginning is interesting and the Joker's scary, but it's still hard to get past the art. The next issue will probably give a better idea of if this one is worth the hype. (B)

Amazing Spider-Man #559
Dan Slott is back to save the day, but still no classic villains. This Paper Doll chick, however, actually seems half way interesting. I absolutely hate Paparazzi Parker, but it looks as if that will only last as long as this arc. (B)

Last Defenders #3
Ok, now this is starting to get boring. But, nice to see Paladin. (C)

Still have to get to Guardians of the Galaxy, NewUniversal, GL Corps, SI: FF, and Casanova, but we already know that's going to be pure deliciousness.

I Wish This Baby Was Gone From My Memory

Gone Baby Gone by Ben Affleck is quite the disaster of a movie. Oh, it starts off well enough as a straightforward reflection on Bostonian society and the white trash that populate it. Then the first third of the movie ends and its preposterous twists send it spiraling down the crapper. There isn't much point in taking the time to establish the believable real-world, down and dirty Dorchester with the myriad of "ugly" and "real" extras as its citizens if the plot turns into Law & Order: SVU on mushrooms. Between the carny coke-head molester family and Casey's lady-friend wanting to leave a little girl in the custody of a psychotic mastermind, the story loses any shred of believability it had. And I'm not buying Ben Affleck's directorial ability either, especially when he resorts to playing dialogue over montage scenes to get off the hook from having to actually do some storytelling. The overall acting is competent enough, but Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman are the only ones who seems to notice the absurdity of what their making, and they portray their characters as such. And while it's certainly entertaining to see Beadie, Omar, Silas Adams, and Iris Crowe in new rolls, not even a cast plucked from HBO's greatest hits could save this one. In fact it kind of sucks knowing Ben and I like the same TV shows. (D)