NewsOK Comics Podcast: X-Men vs Agents of Atlas 2, Haunt 2, Black Widow: Deadly Origin 1, Stumptown 1
Kyle Roberts and Matt Price review X-Men vs Agents of Atlas 2, Haunt 2, Black Widow: Deadly Origin 1, Stumptown 1.
DVD review – Battlestar Galactica: The Plan
The direct-to-DVD “Battlestar Galactica: The Plan” promises to explore the “Battlestar Galactica” series from the Cylon point of view. While it’s interesting in places, ultimately it’s not likely to bring anyone new to the franchise.
In “Battlestar Galactica,” the 50,000 human survivors of an attempted genocide search space for their mythical home planet, Earth. They are pursued by Cylons, the mechanical life forms who attempted to wipe out humanity.
Marvel Comics reveals Black Widow’s ‘Deadly Origin’
Marvel Comics’ Black Widow began as a Soviet spy, introduced as a foil for Iron Man in 1964’s “Tales of Suspense” No. 52. While her first few appearances saw her as an antagonist to Marvel heroes, she’s since joined with them, even leading the Avengers for a time.
The Black Widow, aka Natalia Romanova or Natasha Romanoff, will be played by Scarlett Johansson in next year’s film “Iron Man 2.” Marvel is doing its best to catch up readers on the character before the film, starting this week with the comic-book series “Black Widow: Deadly Origin.”
Maltese Falcon was at forefront of film noir
Thanks to everyone who came out today to Southern Oaks Library to hear me talk about “The Maltese Falcon,” the 1941 film starring Humphrey Bogart and the Dashiell Hammett novel from which it was adapted. For Nerdage readers who couldn’t make it, here’s what was said:
appears. Hammett also wrote about Spade in a handful of short stories, and while Spade the character appeared in a series of radio adventures and comic strips, Hammett had little to do with those stories besides, as he said, “cashing the checks.”
The Maltese Falcon was serialized in the pulp Black Mask in 1929. It followed Hammett’s popular “Continental Op” detective stories, but Sam Spade took things a step further.
About Spade, Hammett said:
“Spade had no original. He is a dream man in the same sense that he is what most of the private detectives I worked with would like to have been and what quite a few of them in their cockier moments thought they approached … a hard and shifty fellow, able to take care of himself in any situation.”
Dashiell Hammett’s own life inspired his writing. He worked as a detective for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency from 1915 to 1921, with time off to serve in World War I. During the war, Hammett contracted Spanish flu, which later led to tuberculosis. His health concerns led him to give up detective work, where he was considered one of the best “shadows” in the business, to concentrate on writing.
Film Noir literally means “black film,” and was born out of the popularity of the pulp writing style. Hollywood’s classic film noir period is went from the early 1940s to the late 1950s, though it was only 
assigned the title in retrospect. The heavy blacks in the visual style were influenced by German Expressionist cinematography.
In the 1941 “Maltese Falcon,” which will be shown today, Bogart plays Sam Spade, a hard-boiled detective who is hired by Miss Wonderly, played by Mary Astor, to, he believes, find her missing sister. But that’s just the first of many not-quite truthful things Spade will be told as he’s drawn into the hunt for the Maltese Falcon, a priceless relic of the Crusades.
Contrasting this “Maltese Falcon” with the 1931 version, Bogart’s Sam Spade has a sense of humor, but it’s a dark one. He’s a flawed, jaded hero who follows a moral code he’s not even sure he quite understands.
Directed by John Huston, the 1941 Maltese Falcon is a close adaptation of Hammett’s original, maintaining most of the scenes and much of the dialogue.
Joining Bogart are the hoods: Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet and Elisha Cook Jr. Each were successful actors of the time. Lorre and Greenstreet would again be seen with Bogart in the classic Casablanca, again playing characters of questionable morality. Cook would again join Bogart in film noir “The Big Sleep,” based on Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe.
The Maltese Falcon marked Huston’s first directorial work with Bogart, though Huston had written the script for High Sierra, a film which helped spur Bogart’s career. The two were friends and drinking buddies, and after The Maltese Falcon would work together several more times. Bogart’s roles in both High Sierra and The Maltese Falcon were turned down by George Raft. Bogart’s portrayal of these roles helped to cement him as a top star at Warner Bros.
- Matthew Price
Thoughts on new V pilot
It could be the power of nostalgia, but I didn’t find the new pilot for “V” to be as intense or as creepy as the original. ”V” is a new ABC series detailing aliens who come to earth, professing peace, but with a dark secret. Spoilers ahead as in this review of last night’s episode.
While I like Elizabeth Mitchell, her character seemed pretty clueless about her own son (Logan Huffman), who immediately supports the visitors (largely because he’s attracted to the character played by Laura Vandervoort.)
Morena Baccarin plays Anna, the leader of the Visitors, who addresses the world first via their spaceships, and then later via a very controlled interview with a TV anchor played by Scott Wolf. Joel Grestch portrays priest Father Jack Landry, who finds his small congregation growing in size once the visitors arrive, though he still doubts their intentions.
As it turns out, the aliens aren’t here for the first time – some of them have been here in disguise for years. (Though at this time, only a small group are aware of this.) The infestation of the aliens prior to their arrival was a little too similar to Marvel’s “Secret Invasion” for my taste, though that’s obviously just coincidental.
Slate points out one interpretation reads as pretty hostile towards President Obama. (The original V was an allegory about the Nazi occupation of Europe.) In the new “V,” aliens promising hope and universal health care are scaly aliens with secret plans. Meanwhile, the only people who know the truth are gun-toting conspiracy theorists.
Troy Patterson writes at Slate:
Indeed, if the show is to have the symbolic import that we expect from a science-fiction story, this is the only possible way to read V as a coherent text. The only problem with this analysis lies in its generous presupposition that the text is, in fact, coherent.
And that’s a fair point: the old “V” showcased a thoughtful allegory in the guise of a high-action sci-fi miniseries. The new show showcases better special effects and higher production values, but I’m not convinced there’s even intended to be an allegory behind it.
ABC is airing the first four episodes this fall, then holding the remainder for spring. (Perhaps somehow like the original “V” aired as a miniseries and was followed up with a season.) I’m intrigued enough to watch a few, but so far this “V” doesn’t seem to improve appreciably on the original.
- Matt Price
