Lucifer: Volume 07 (2005)

 Exodus (2005)

Author: Mike Carey | Illustrators: Peter Gross / Ryan Kelly | Page Count: 168

"I served our Father faithfully, and my reward was to be chastised for not being you."

Volume 07 of 11 in the Lucifer series. The Morningstar is forced to take preventative measures to ensure the safety of his property. After the effort expelled to create and then to keep it, to leave it open to God's whim now would be folly. The duty forces him into a position with the Heavenly Host that he'd rather avoid, but sometimes circumstance force the hand of even angels.

Elsewhere, the secondary characters are given more to do, in a more thought-out and interesting storyline than last time. And while that leaves Lucifer absent a lot of the time, it really didn't matter because the parallel storylines kept my attention diverted.

There's a lot of humour in Exodus. It was unexpected but not unwelcome after the drawn-out nature of the previous book. The fugly little fallen Cherub Gaudium gets a chance to shine. He and his sister could sustain an off-shoot of their own, about the domestic problems of two incompetent siblings. I’d buy it.

Rodan (1956)

Rodan (1956)

Dir. Ishirō Honda

If you were to list the events of Rodan as a simple flowchart, it'll read just like many of the less inventive kaijū eiga from the era:

Human story

|

Creature(s) awaken(s) + atomic power is mentioned

|

Creature(s) rampage during last 30 mins + JSDF shoot weapons repeatedly to no avail

|

Quick fix

|

End.

What sets it apart is that the human story it offers up is better than most. There’s a feeling of genuine concern between the folks of the small coal mining village, while the terror they experience is shared among the workers and the usually distant decision makers.

Perfect Blue: Awaken from a Dream (2018)

Perfect Blue: Awaken from a Dream (2018)

Author: Yoshikazu Takeuchi | Translator: Nathan A. Collins | Page Count: 196

'The screen glowed in monochrome static, the snow-like pattern punctuated by pulsing flashes in the signal, each flash accompanied by an abrasive noise like a cicada's call.'

The blurb on the back cover describes it as a 'sequel' to Yoshikazu Takeuchi's Perfect Blue: Complete Metamorphosis (2018), but it isn't that at all. And unlike CM, it's not a novel, but rather three separate short stories, similarly set in the pop-idol world.

I didn't enjoy the previous novel, but I'd foolishly bought Awaken from a Dream before reading the other, so I read it too, but with much lower expectations than I had for CM. I won't go into detail about each one because it would require giving the collection more time than I feel it warrants.

Takeuchi's basic template for a story is as follows:

Stargate SG-1: Season 07 (2003-04)

SG-1: Season 07 (2003-04)

Dirs. Various | 22 episodes, approx 44 minutes each.

Like the previous year, a significant personnel change had a dramatic impact on the core team.

It limits what I can say without diving into spoiler territory. To do the job properly, therefore, I'll need to drop some broad SPOILERS hereafter.

Unfortunately, even for those who stopped reading before now, the opening credits give the game away before the first episode has even begun, revealing the 'new' member of SG-1.

For a time it works well as a five-man team, but the writers chose instead to push out Jonas Quin (Corin Nemec), who spent much of the previous year finding and establishing his unique role.

Thereafter things progress steadily, with the search for new alliances and advanced technology that can be used and/or adapted to combat the diabolical Goa'uld System Lords, who remain the primary threat for the Tau'ri.

Lucifer: Volume 06 (2004)

Mansions of the Silence (2004)

Author: Mike Carey | Illustrators: Peter Gross / Ryan Kelly / Dean Ormston / David Hahn | Page Count: 144

"You are the King of contrivance and manipulation, my Samael. But in that, as in all things, you learned from your Father."

Volume 06 of 11 in the Lucifer series. Seeing as how it's clearly visible on the cover, I can say without crossing into spoiler territory that the Morningstar has got himself a medium sized ship, but why or where he intends to sail it will be revealed if you read the book.

Sadly, the story is formulaic. After an intro that can leave a reader wondering what happened between the previous book's ending and the beginning of this one, something that Carey has been careful to address up until now, the premise gets underway.

In the tradition of Jason and the Argonauts, all manner of mythical creatures that exist merely to interfere and harm are encountered during the long and arduous voyage. Such a setting is a workable literary device to show how characters react when in permanent proximity to others; e,g. the crew bicker and fight amongst themselves and against the nasties, but that's basically all there is to it.

A History of Violence (2005)

A History of Violence (2005)

Dir. David Cronenberg

An adaptation of John Wagner and Vince Locke's 1997 comic book of the same name, which I've not read, at time of writing.

It's a slow burning drama about what happens to an Indiana family unit when one member's violent past catches up with them, despite a sincere attempt to leave it behind.

Themes of identity and safety are also explored, as the family discover that once a door to such behaviour is unwillingly opened, there's no reliable way to control the route it takes or the people that it touches.

Viggo Mortensen is excellent in his role as a small town diner owner who must respond to something bigger. It marked a turning point in his career - or maybe just in how I saw him. Prior to working with Cronenberg, he had nothing special, to speak of. Thereafter, he delivered a string of strong performances.

The Mindscape of Alan Moore (2005)

The Mindscape of Alan Moore (2005)

Dirs. Dez Vylenz + Moritz Winkler

Alan Moore, author, magician and worthy apostle of gravy-sopping beards speaks directly to the viewer.

His words are accompanied by reflective imagery that helps illustrate the feelings and social consciousness of Britain of the era about which he speaks.

When juxtaposed with selective comic panels from his most famous collected works, such as Watchmen (1987) and V for Vendetta (1990), and some of his lesser-known ones (e.g., D.R. & Quinch), a deeper understanding of his methodology and strongly-felt philosophies and motivations is unearthed and is, to say the least, inspiring food for thought.

The cogs of Hollywood have tried but always failed to capture the essence of Moore onscreen; Mindscape will help you to understand why that is.