Category Archives: Crossposted

Crossposted, Reviews

The Tick (2017)

 

UPDATE: this review stands, but scroll to the bottom for my second-viewing reactions. 

I wanted to love the new live-action series The Tick, but as of this writing I only kind of like it.

I’ll lead with this: the 2001 series, starring Patrick Warburton, is my definitive Tick. The sheer Warburtonlessness of the 2017 series is a hurdle that could only have been cleared if Peter Serafinowicz (playing The Tick) was allowed to go full Warburton in his delivery of the lines.

Clearly, my standard is not a fair one for judging this particular series, most especially because the creator of the characters, Ben Edlund, is involved in this project and wrote the first two episodes. Also, it’s completely unfair to ask an actor to be more like an actor who wouldn’t or couldn’t take the part.

2017’s The Tick, now streaming free on Amazon Prime, does give us a satisfying amount of superhero action. I like this much more than the 2001 Tick’s “noises off” gags where we can only hear the fight. And the fights are funny! Well done!

My biggest “fair” gripe, then, is Arthur. We spend six episodes—the entire first season—on what is essentially his origin story. It begins with Arthur as a very sad, broken, PTSD-suffering shell of a young man. To my eye it aims at dark comedy, and ends up joylessly gritty. As first episodes go, it’s not really “best foot forward.” By episode three we begin to pull out of that humorless place, but that’s an episode and a half too late.

(This is probably going to put me in a bad way with hard-core Tick fans, because the episodes I liked the least were the ones written by the man who created the characters to begin with.)

Episodes five and six pulled the whole shebang out of its slump, and I enjoyed them quite a bit. To me they feel like the true beginning of the series. They’re also the last two episodes of the currently available season, making them quite a bit less satisfying. The show stops just as it starts to get good.

Update: Second Viewing

So… I watched it a second time and it was *much* better. Arthur’s character arc became less miserable, The Tick’s characterization became fixed as the right one, and I no longer have any misgivings recommending it to people. Familiarity bleeds contempt? Dunno.

 

Crossposted, Reviews

Atomic Blonde

This twisty, retro thriller is pretty amazing on a number of counts, but I’ll lead with this: The action is tight, with some through-composed fight scenes whose choreography runs across multiple blows and throws, and therefore requires the stars to be doing a lot of the fighting themselves. It feels real in a way many action movies don’t.

Atomic Blonde captures the look, feel, and soundscapes of 1989 quite faithfully, and creates a believable “untold story” in Berlin around the time the wall came down. The story’s plot twists run all the way to end, and are satisfying all the way through, which is difficult to pull off.

I enjoyed the film, but it wasn’t squarely “my thing,” so it doesn’t clear my Threshold of Awesome. If you loved John Wick (which I didn’t see in theaters,) you’ll probably love Atomic Blonde, too.

Announcements, Crossposted, Journal

Back at My Desk, 28 Days Later

I spent 27 days on the road, and didn’t even power my PC up until the day after I got back. This means that 1) it’s 28 days later, and 2) I’m glad it’s not the movie kind of 28 days later.

I have a full month of stories to tell. Some of them are hilarious, some are triumphant, and a few are really complainy and kvetchy. None of them are being told here, however, because I’m tired. I will, however, provide a few titles:

  • Low Clearance But We Made It… Twice
  • The Palace is Boring Now That I Know It’s a Replacement
  • I See You Wrapped it in Bacon
  • “You Are Spy”: the Tale of the Writer and the Submarine
  • There Must Be a Ley Line Here
  • I Bet Walt Took Pictures
  • Oh BarCon, Where Art Thou?
  • I Promised Myself I Wouldn’t Do This
  • Maybe I’ll Let Somebody Else Say It For Me
  • Oh Laundry, Where Art Thou?
  • Rabidly, Ravenously Committing to a Joke
  • Who Cares I Bet The Moon Will Do This Again Eventually

Should we meet in person, I might share one of these stories with you. Where appropriate, I might relate one of these stories while I’m on a panel at Salt Lake Comic Con.

Now, however, I need to go make up some stories and draw pictures for them. It’s been four weeks since I got any actual work done.

Announcements, Crossposted

Me & Planet Mercenary at GenCon Indy

I’m at GenCon Indy this week!

You can find me at Booth #1549 with Sandra Tayler, Jim Zub, and Tracy Hickman.

Planet Mercenary at GenCon!

We’ve got stacks of Planet Mercenary materials*, including the core book, the Game Chief’s screen, the Mayhem Deck, sets of RiPP tokens and dice,  and Seventy Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries.

We’ll also have the Game Chief’s Handbrain game screen*, a high-quality ABS plastic product that you simply must come and see.

Panels Where You Can Find Me Talking

Sounds enticing, yes? Here’s my panel schedule:

THURSDAY

  • 6pm, Congress 1 — Reading (Howard reads his writing to you)
  • 7pm, Capital 1 — How to Find Your Voice (panel discussion)

FRIDAY

  • 6pm, Chamber — Writing Excuses records live

SATURDAY

  • 12pm – 2pm, ICC Ballroom Main Stage — THE GAMERS: LIVE – ATTACK OF THE MUTANTS FROM PLANET X (I don’t actually know what I’m doing on stage, but I’m going to be doing my best at it.)
  • 3pm, Capital 1 — Writers Cage Fight

(*Note: If you’re a Planet Mercenary backer and/or a Handbrain backer, your merchandise is shipping now, so we can’t do convention pickups for you.)