Michael May

This year the blog's going to be heavily focused on James Bond, but that's not all I'm watching and it's not all I want to write about. Since I don't have a ton of time for posts that dive deeply into other interests, I thought I'd borrow from guys like Siskoid and William Bruce West and just do weekly capsule posts for some of that stuff.

So, here's what I've been up to the past seven days:

Ken Burns Presents: The West



My family was traveling in Arizona last week and that reignited my interest in the West. In preparing for it, we watched some Zane Grey movies and other films that were either shot in the state or took place there. A lot of these movies reference the Civil War, which David is studying in school, so we've had some discussions around how the war affected the West and when various events in Western history happened in relation to it.

I realized that while I know a lot of tales and legends about Western people, I don't have a great grasp of the timeline and how all of those stories fit together, so I started watching Stephen Ives' The West to help sort that out. I'm only a couple of episodes in - up to the 1840s and the gold rush - but it's as informative and easily digestible as I expect from a project produced by Ken Burns. I have a way better grasp now on the Louisiana Purchase, the roles of Spain and Mexico in the history of North America, and specific tragedies in American relations with native peoples (particularly the Trail of Tears).

Turn: Washington's Spies



Thinking about American history got me interested in finally checking out AMC's Turn: Washington's Spies. It's been showing up as recommended viewing in my Netflix queue for a while, so I pulled the trigger and watched the first couple of episodes. I'm totally hooked.

Jamie Bell and Angus Macfadyen are already favorite actors of mine, so it had that going for it, but the time period is so ripe with drama that I can't believe no one's taken advantage of it before. Turn does though by having Bell play a farmer in English-controlled territory. He's unwillingly recruited into a colonial spy ring, pitting him not only against his government, but also his neighbors and family. In addition to the espionage and family drama, there's also a murder mystery in the first couple of episodes. It's one of those shows where I finish each episode and immediately want to watch the next, but I'm going to hold off and let Diane and David catch up with me before going further. I'm hoping we can get caught up in time to watch the show live as it enters its second season soon.

The Rocketeer (1991)



This was inspired totally by Nerd Lunch's recent episode about it. I hadn't seen it in years and needed to revisit it. The last time I watched it, I'd recently discovered Bettie Page and held a grudge against Jennifer Connelly for not being her. I don't think I'd actually read Dave Stevens' comic by that point though and didn't realize how obnoxious Cliff and Betty are as a couple. As the Nerd Lunchers and Kay point out on the podcast, Cliff and Jenny are still selfish and troubled, but it's way easier to root for them to work out their differences.

The movie does suffer from being an origin story, which means that there's more of Cliff's getting used to the rocket pack than there is of his flying and being awesome with it, but the movie's still full of pulp homages and a lot of fun. Somewhere between it and Sky Captain (which would have benefitted from The Rocketeer's practical effects) is the perfect pulp adventure movie.

Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond



Not so much a biopic as a heavily fictionalized version of Fleming's life and how various events from it may have inspired aspects of James Bond's. I wouldn't give a lot of credence to the connections it draws, but they're interesting analogues and fun to wonder about. Beyond that, Fleming mixes WWII spy drama with tragic romance in a compelling way and also nails my impression of the author as an enormous butthole who also happened to be completely charming. I disliked him immensely while simultaneously feeling bad for him and wanting him to get better.

Psych, Season 1



Finally, David and I started watching Psych. David had seen the pilot episode at a friend's house, but what got us into it last week was watching an episode of Castle with the friend we were staying with in Arizona. David wanted to see more Castle, but it's not streaming on Netflix, so I suggested Psych as an even better alternative. The mysteries and detective work are more clever than Castle and the banter is funnier. We'll be adding this to David's regular viewing schedule.

Tears for Fears on Psych



Awesomely, the "American Duos" episode isn't the closest that Tears for Fears is going to get to the show. They're also doing a version of the theme song. Or Curt Smith is anyway. No Roland Orzabal apparently. Boo!

Watch the first episode of Rubicon



If you liked the trailer for AMC's new conspiracy thriller series, now you can check out the entire first episode.

Human Target in trouble? [UPDATED]



According to Michael Ausiello, FOX can only afford one underperforming show for next season and it's going to be either Human Target or Lie to Me. Human Target's my favorite new show from this season, so no secret which I'm rooting for. Ausiello explores each shows chances a little and seems to favor Lie to Me, but we won't know for sure until Monday (May 17) when FOX announces its Fall schedule. Get those fingers crossed. Updated: Never mind. Apparently, they're both safe! Woo Hoo!

The Event



Since The Class, Jason Ritter's become one of my favorite actors. He was really good in Peter and Vandy and - though I haven't seen it yet - I'm hearing great things about Parenthood (co-starring Lorelai Gilmore). Now he's got a new show at NBC with another Gilmore Girls star, Scott Patterson. Ritter plays a guy who investigates the disappearance of his fiancée and learns about a huge government cover-up. Patterson plays his would-be father-in-law who apparently has secrets of his own. Sarah Roemer (Disturbia, Fired Up!) plays the fiancée. [The Ausiello Files]

New Katee Sackhoff show: Boston's Finest



Katee Sackhoff is filming/has filmed a pilot for a cop show called Boston's Finest. According to Loaded Gun Boston, Sackhoff plays "a detective who teams with a disgraced ex-cop to solve crimes and untangle the conspiracy that sent him underground." Could be cool, I guess, depending on the characters. We'll find out next week if ABC picks it up.

More intriguing than that to me though is this article (again by Michael Ausiello) that talks about Sackhoff's career choices. She passed up a recurring, but ultimately temporary role on True Blood for the shot at an ongoing series gig in Boston's Finest. Which, fine, I haven't started watching True Blood yet, so I'm not disappointed. What I am kind of sad about though is that she gave up a freaking series on USA to be in this season of 24. I have no idea what her USA show would've been about, but as cool as Burn Notice, Psych, and White Collar are, I'm sure I would've loved it.

Speaking of USA shows

These are awesome.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides



Pirates of the Caribbean 4 has a sub-title and it's the same as the name of Tim Powers' pirate novel. What's more, Powers' book features the Fountain of Youth, the very thing Jack Sparrow was setting off in search of at the end of Pirates 3. Some quick Googling reveals that I'm not the only one who's made this connection. I haven't heard anything from Disney yet about the the movie being an adaptation of Powers' book, but it can't be coincidence.

Lego Pirates Advent Calendar



Nothing says Christmas like pirates, mermaids, and crazy monkeys. Unfortunately, we're not allowed to get into the proper spirit here in the US. I hope Calvin has room for me in the Canadian Cave of Coolness, 'cause I'm willing to defect over this. Jason Copland's Canadian too. Hm...

Empires of the Deep



Robert Hood catches that the title of Mermaid Island has been changed to the more serious and epic-sounding Empires of the Deep. Unfortunately, Catwoman-director Pitof is still directing it, but I'm maintaining my optimism that it could be fun. That's based purely on its huge budget and my blind belief that it should be really, really hard to mess up a movie about merfolk fighting giant sea monsters.

Unexplained Lost



Carlton Cuse and some other Lost bigwigs have begun warning fans that not all of the series' mysteries will be explained by the finale. I'm guessing that that sounds scarier than it actually is unless you're one of those fans who's been meticulously cataloging every hint, clue, and revelation from the very beginning. I'll be very disappointed if there are any huge dangling plot threads, but yeah... we probably shouldn't expect every "i" to be dotted and every "t" to be crossed.

That said, I've been holding off on buying the DVDs until after the show finishes and will be paying very close attention to the reaction of hardcore fans to the series finale. It's one thing to sort of casually enjoy the show as it's unfolding, but if I'm going to watch it all over again as a complete story, I'll want that story to be cohesive and make sense.

Some Jungle Girl Comics



Rulah vs. the Death Image [Comic Book Catacombs]



Zegra the Jungle Empress and the Games of Havoc [Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine]

Knockout



Steven Soderbergh's making a spy movie starring mixed martial artist Gina Carano.

I know you know that we think you're crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are.



Allison Reynolds turned up in Psych last season as a serial killer. Now John Bender's signed up for an episode. Three to go.

Dark Days movie update

Steve Niles talks to Shock Till You Drop about the challenges of adapting Dark Days to film. "I'd say there's about as many changes as there were from the first graphic novel to the first movie, but not as drastic." Click the link for some details of what he's talking about.

Wizarding World of Harry Potter update



/Film's got all kinds of concept art and a video that give a real nice idea of what Universal Studios' new Harry Potter theme park's going to be like.

"New" Pooh



/Film also has a round-up of Disney and Pixar animation news including the announcement of a new Winnie the Pooh film that "ape(s) the watercolour style of the books with the white 'page' showing through." It'll also adapt five of AA Milne's stories that haven't been adapted yet.

I wonder if they'll also use the character designs from the original books. That would be really cool. I think they've done everything that can be done with the Disney versions. Time for a reboot.

Project Waldo



Nate Simpson is blogging his way through the production of his graphic novel, Project Waldo. There's some great stuff there for process junkies like me, but there's also some fantastic art if you don't care about the craft-talk. [Robot 6]

No BOOM! POTATO POTATO! for you! (Or me or anyone else for that matter...)

The Rejectionist - written by "a foul-tempered, snack-needing, whiskey-craving, ill-paid assistant at an Important Literary Agency in New York" - is one of my favorite blogs about the publishing industry. It's as funny as it is informative.

But I'm deeply dismayed to hear her say that no one's going to publish a book called BOOM! POTATO POTATO! and the Princess of Papyrion. Because I really want to read that book.

Josie gets Psyched



Rachel Leigh Cook is going to be on an episode of Psych; playing Shawn's high school crush. Also, Cybill Shepherd will be playing Shawn's mom in a couple of episodes.

Even more important to know: the next season kicks off July 18.

Six gets Burned



Man, I'm just full of the puns today, aren't I? Genuinely sorry.

Anyway, in other awesome USA Network news, Tricia Helfer's going to be in a few episodes of Burn Notice. Season Two begins on July 10.

Jin gets Strained



Okay, I guess I wasn't that sorry.

Finding out that Daniel Dae Kim from Lost is in A&E's Andromeda Strain mini-series on May 26 and 27 makes me sort of want to see it.

Marvel movies and TV

I haven't talked much about Iron Man, because I really don't have anything to add to the discussion. I feel just like everyone else who's seen it: it's the best superhero movie ever made and it makes me want to read about that Tony Stark in the comics. I'm thinking I'll probably start with Enter the Mandarin. I hear good things.

Also, that scene after the credits was awesome and it makes me even more excited to see The Incredible Hulk because I have a feeling we're going to see it repeated there. The weekend Iron Man was released, Marvel announced it's movie plans for the next couple of years: Iron Man 2 and Thor in 2010, then Captain America and The Avengers in 2011. An Ant-Man movie is also supposed to fit in there somewhere.

I've been wondering why Marvel would bother with an Ant-Man movie until I saw this schedule and realized that Iron Man, the Hulk, and Thor are the original Avengers, with Captain America joining soon afterwards. Except that Iron Man, the Hulk, and Thor weren't the entire original team. There was also Ant-Man. (And the Wasp, but she's Ant-Man's wife and could possibly appear in the Ant-Man movie, if they plan to use her at all.)

So, I'm speculating that we'll see a similar post-credits scene in all the upcoming Marvel movies, culminating in an amazing cross-over movie event, The Avengers.

In other Marvel screen news, Marvel recently announced a new cartoon for next year. Marvel Super Hero Squad is a "'super stylized' animated series geared toward 6- to 8-year-olds." It'll be joining Marvel's current cartoon properties: Spectacular Spider-Man (possibly the greatest super-hero cartoon of all time), Wolverine and the X-Men, and Iron Man: Armored Adventures.

Giant, floating, space squid



Undead Backbrain profiles my new favorite giant monster: Dogora.

The Outlander monster



Looks Awesome, doesn't it? It's from that Vikings vs. alien vs. giant monster movie Undead Backbrain has been telling us about.

Indiana Jones and the Tomb of the Gods



The ads for Dark Horse's Indiana Jones and the Tomb of the Gods comic have been frustrating in their lack of information about the story. Here's the solicitation for the first issue:

Dr. Henry Jones Jr. may be the world's preeminent archeologist, but that doesn't mean he's spent his life in the library! Ready and able to do whatever it takes to preserve the final remnants of history's most significant happenings, he'll go head-to-head against Hitler's elite who want nothing more than to exploit objects of ancient power in pursuit of world dominance!

Be there for the beginning of this roller coaster thrill ride of non-stop excitement as Indiana Jones dons his hat, packs his whip, and undertakes an endeavor more awesome than anything ever!

Indiana Jones sets out on an all-new adventure that will take him around the globe!

I'm not looking for spoilers here, but that's not at all helpful, right? It's just a summary of the basic Indiana Jones concept. Like we really need to know what that is. It doesn't tell you anything about when the adventure takes place or even what "the Tomb of the Gods" is supposed to be. The ads for issues 2 and 3 aren't any better.

Fortunately, Comic Book Resources has an interview with some extra information. It's set in between Temple of Doom and Raiders at a time when Indy is transitioning from being all about "fortune and glory" to becoming the "it belongs in a museum" guy. Personally, I'm not sure those two statements show the character growth that Tomb of the Gods writer Rob Williams sees in them, but that's a subject for a longer post. Williams says that the "fortune and glory" Indy would've shot the ark with a bazooka at the end of Raiders and Tomb of the Gods is meant to depict that change. (I agree that Indy has changed by the end of Raiders, but it's a change we see within Raiders itself, not off-camera sometime after Temple of Doom.)

They're still not telling what The Tomb of the Gods is, but I can let that go. Even if I don't agree with him, I appreciate the thought that Williams has put into his story, so I'll be checking it out when it's available in collected form.

Indiana Jones makes everything better, part whatever

This is another travel package, but unlike Expedia's that just lets you visit the locations from the various Indy films, Viajes Con Imaginación have a deal that's part Egyptian travel; part mystery party.

...they not only organize your entire itinerary, but they also plan strange things and make them happen to you. For example: robberies, kidnappings, ghosts coming to haunt you at night...

They also do a Jack the Ripper themed London tour. So very, very cool.

Michael Bay: Crystal Skull is "gonna suck."

You might be surprised to hear it after reading that headline, but I have new respect for Michael Bay.

The God Squad



Marvel's solicitations for June just came out and I've only just read May's. Sad.

But I'm glad I didn't skip over it because then I wouldn't know about Snowbird's upcoming appearance in Incredible Hercules. You know, Marvel... it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if she were to stick around for a while.

The Forbidden Kingdom

Went to 10,000 BC the other night and saw a huge lobby display for The Forbidden Kingdom. The display made it look like a bad video game movie except that it has both Jackie Chan and Jet Li in it. That's worth gambling on right there even if it ends up sucking.

Fortunately though, the trailer makes it look really good, like it's sort of combining the humor of Chan's movies with the artsy fartsiness of Li's.

The Many Moods of Wonder Woman

Includes: Smug, Pensive, Surrounded by Idiots, and Running in a Nightie. Thank you, Dorian!

Frank Frazetta's Dracula Meets the Wolf Man



Steve Niles is writing the latest comic based on a Frank Frazetta painting: Dracula Meets the Wolf Man. So far, the Frazetta comics have been amazing and this should only raise the bar a bit.

It was Lassie ruined Xena

So, I've been watching Jericho again and was surprised to recognize the guy who plays Constantino, the whacked out mayor of New Bern. When I was watching Jericho last season, I hadn't yet discovered Psych, but now I realize that Constantino is none other than Timothy Omundson, who plays Psych's Carlton Lassiter. But that's not all.

I wanted to make sure that Jericho hadn't switched actors for Constantino and that Omundson had actually played him in the first season too, so I took a trip to IMDB. Sure enough, he had, but the big surprise was when I learned that Omundson also played the character who ruined Xena: Warrior Princess for me.



I can't possibly tell you how much I grooved on Xena up until the point where she and Gabby met Eli and moved to India to become hippies. After that, it was a long, slow descent into crazytown. I'm going to take extra special pleasure every time Shawn and Gus torture Lassiter from now on.

Resident Evil: Degeneration

Not quite the sequel to Extinction I was hoping for, but then, I'm a little fuzzy on whether this is supposed to be a sequel to the Milla Jovovich movies at all. Maybe that one's still coming.



Automatons



This is how humanity dies. Holy crap, that looks cool as hell.

Outlander

And it just gets better. Vikings vs. Aliens.

The Sinai Secret

Bookgasm mentions a book by Gregg Loomis that sounds like enough of a mixture between Indiana Jones and National Treasure that it would have to try really hard to make me not like it.