The Umbrella Academy

Bargain prices on Amazon meant that 'The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite' was mine for only €12. I haven't discussed music on my blog yet so let me make you aware in simplicity clarity that My Chemical Romance are my favourite band ever. That I am such a huge fan of the band and consider Gerard Way an idol meant I was aware of his comic book writing career, and in particular 'The Umbrella Academy'. Having no personal experience in the world of comics I suspected that this would be an excellent starting point.

So, 'The Umbrella Academy' is a graphic novel (i do believe that that is the PC term) written by Gerard Way, with art by Gabriel Bá. It is a six issue release, but all were combined to make The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite. The plot centers around a disbanded family of super heroes who are reunited by death of their adoptive father. I was wholeheartedly behind the concept of this story, what can be more appealing than a family of superheroes? And from what I had seen of the artwork it looked pretty cool.

I should really summarise this whole review by saying that I didn't like The Umbrella Academy. That said, it's too difficult for me to tell whether i dislike comic books altogether or just The Umbrella Academy. I felt the story had no depth. It felt like a bunch of extremely short stories expanded, with little attention payed to character history or any kind of continuity to the point of familiarisation.

The cover art (by James Jean) is absolutely gorgeous. It made me wish the entire thing was drawn by him, as I did not really like the rest of the artwork. Similarly the concept art was amazing, and left me wishing the finished product was more as originally intened. It was too simplistic for my liking. I did really like the colouring in parts, and the lettering was very good aswell.

If Gerard wrote an actual Umbrella Academy book, a novel possibly with a few illustrations, I would be quite interested to read it. I would not, however, spend my time reading more Umbrella Academy comic books. I really wanted to like it, I was willing to latch on to The Umbrella Academy, but simply put, there wasn't enough to hold on to.

Some New Stuff

Its been a while since I've updated my blog so there are just a few things I wish to say.

I finished reading Atonement, and immediately watched the movie. I truly love both of them but unfortunately never got around to writing a review. The book was so incredibly inspirational. I was compelled to hate the character I had just fallen in love with, and then fell in love all over again. Ultimately it left me with a longing to write, which i think is a very good end result.


I have a few movies to watch, so expect more reviews in the coming days/weeks.

• In anticipation of the soon to be released American remake, I am going to watch the critically acclaimed Swedish vampire movie 'Let The Right One In'. 
• I finally have the opportunity to watch the Alfred Hitchcock classic 'Rear Window'.
• Last but not least, I have the Danny Day-Lewis drama 'There Will Be Blood'.

Presently, I'm reading 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist', Mohsin Hamid's tale of a Pakistani native, and his life in the New York business world in the lead-up to the 9/11 attack. I should be finished soon enough, and so will have a review prepared in the near future.

My final update coincides with the previous. As my blog has progressed (i'm still amazed at myself for not giving up yet) I seem to have ended up writing many movie review, which is all well and good. However, I don't wish to pigeonhole myself and I will therefore try to expand the topics covered, as set out in my first post. Specifically I will try and get some work done on music, and possibly lists/favourites or something like that. If you're reading this, thanks for reading! Please leave me a comment if I manage to pique your interest in the slightest. 

Harry and Voldemort

Today I came across this charming picture of Voldemort harassing (harrassing, anyone?) Harry Potter, more accurately Daniel Radcliffe and Ralph Fiennes posing in person.

Radcliffe and Fiennes

The Constant Gardener

Last night I had the pleasure of watching The Constant Gardener. Having partially seen this movie on a couple of occasions, I've really felt compelled to watch it in its entirety.

The Constant Gardener, based on the book of the same name by John le Carré, is the enthralling story of unsafe drugs testings, murders and cover-ups by MNC's in Kenya. Ralph Fiennes plays British diplomat Justin Quayle whose wife, Rachel Weisz (Tessa Quayle), is killed while unraveling the mysteries of pharmaceutical company's corruption.

Ralph Fiennes

This movie brought me on a thoroughly enjoyable journey through Kenya (and Europe at times). Every aspect of this movie is just astounding. It does such a good job at catpuring Africa, and its energy. Fiennes does an outstanding job as the leading man. He really carries this movie through the steadily-revealed plot, to and from the supporting actors as the story progresses. Weisz is also marvelous in her supporting role, portraying a very unique, feminine character.

In terms of colours, this movie is gorgeous, vibrant and full of life. The way this movie is shot is really interesting. I could ramble on all day about each scene until the time at which the cattle return to their homestead, however I will just describe a few.

• Justin Quayle is a gardening hobbyist, and is often working away with plants and such. In one of these scenes, he is lost in thought, and the out of focus camera follows his blurry outline. When his name is called, and he becomes aware the camera immediately snaps into focus, a very simple, yet affective touch.
• When Justin and Tessa move to Kenya they become progressively more estranged, as Tessa wishes to keep her work private. Obviously Justin is deeply saddened by his wife's death in Kenya, but its only when he returns to her apartment in London that he really grieves for his wife, rather the woman he fell in love with.
• While in Italy searching for an acquaintance of his wife, Justin walks past some men playing football on the street. Hours later he returns to his hotel room where he is brutally beaten by a group of men. They slam the door behind him and the camera subtly exposes a football being kicked down the hallway as they leave.

Rachel Weisz

The camera steers clear of any gruesome or shocking images of dead bodies or the like, which in this film is really saying something. In the final scene, and similarly in one of the opening/recurring scenes, there is a very distinct distance between the viewer and the violence facing the characters, where assumed gunshots are not heard, but instead reflected in the dispersion and racket of disturbed birds. This would have to be my favourite shot in the film, though there are many worthy competitors. This movie is a must-see, i compel you to watch it presently

The Constant Gardener
4.5/5

A Single Man

After months, I have finally got around to watching A Single Man.

Nicholas Hoult

A Single Man is the directional debut of fashion designer Tom Ford, based on the novel of the same name by Christopher Isherwood. Colin Firth plays a gay English professor living in San Francisco in 1962. The film details a few days in the life of Firth as he struggles to come to grips with the death of his partner in a car accident. Firth is helped by his lonely, long since ex-partner, Julianne Moore, and finds a new friend in one of his English students, Nicholas Hoult.

Personally, I think the story portrayed in this film is quite interesting, and there is some excellent acting to be seen (Firth and Hoult in particular). However, it must be qualified that this film was visually designed. Every frame is styled and co-ordinated, worthy of a photograph. It seems as if every palette, every colour was individually selected, and chosen to be displayed. The emotions of the protagonist are ingeniously displayed in unapologetic clarity by varied colour tones, with his moods corresponding to a scale from grey to warm.

Colin Firth

Ford also does some interesting work with the sound of the film. In a couple of rainy perspectives, and similarly in a shot from behind a window, there exists a harsh and truly realistic lack of sound and inability to hear what can be seen so clearly. On another note (excuse the pun), the film's score is magnificent. The rise and fall of the emotional ideas are wonderfully accompanied by elegant strings and woodwinds.

The story progresses to an ending which, I must admit, I am still undecided upon. From one point it can be seen as a complex end to a difficult tale, and yet from the opposite it seems oversimplified and almost rushed. That aside, the conclusion does little in terms of deducting from the overall quality and appearance of the film. This has to be the most visually stunning film I have ever seen. I look forward to re-watching it and savouring every still.

A Single Man
4/5

Daybreakers

I just thought i'd post a very brief review of a movie i saw the other day: Daybreakers.

Ethan Hawke

Daybreakers is one of many vampire movies/series currently riding on the success of the Twilight Saga. Its twist is that its future setting of 2019 is a world where nearly all humans have 'turned' (into vampires). Very few humans remain, and those that do are hunted and then farmed for blood. The story centers around a hematologist and human-sympathiser (Ethan Hawke), faced with the task of finding a blood substitute before all human blood runs out.

Isabel Lucas

This movie doesn't really do anything new for the vampire genre. I found it boring at times, and some scenes seemed cringingly cliché. Isabel Lucas, of Home and Away fame, was quite likable, but for all the fuss that was made about her character she really didn't 'last' long. There were, however, some high points to this film; There was a daytime car chase where a vampire's blackout windows are shot, and he must dodge the angled beam of light pouring in the bullet hole; and the twist at the end of the movie is ingenious. That the journey to these points was not worth it caused the film to fall, in my opinion.


Daybreakers
3/5

Inception

Inception, where to even start? Unless you've been living beneath a large rock you will know that Inception is arguably this summer's most anticipated movie. Directed and written by The Dark Night director Christopher Nolan, and starring Leonardo Di Caprio, this movie has received a lot of media attention over the past few weeks. I would like to make clear that I am one of the few people who didn't really like The Dark Night. By the time I saw it the movie was utterly over-hyped and I was slightly let-down by it. On the contrary, Inception lives up to its (admittedly less) hype with ease.

The concept of Inception is highly original. The story is set in a world where dreams can be shared experiences, and thieves (known as extractors) are hired to lure targets into a dream and steal information from their subconscious. DiCaprio and his team are hired to attempt the opposite of extraction: inception. Their aim is to plant an idea in the subconscious of their victim without them being aware that the idea is in fact unoriginal.

Though the concept seems of extremely high intellect it is not too hard to follow. In parts, some of the specifics were a bit beyond understanding but overall the most of it was tangible. An interesting point explained in the movie is that: in a dream world ones creation occurs in tandem with ones perception. Extractors work by controlling the creation of the dream, thus controlling the subjects perception.

The main supporting role is played by Juno star Ellen Page. Something I found throughout the movie was that her character had a similar journey to the viewer's. Her back story is not explained, just that she is an architectural student sought after by DiCaprio. She has little motive to join his team other than her own personal intrigue. As she travels through the movie she is constantly discovering and exploring the boundaries of dreams and extraction with a curiosity and innocence shared by the viewer.

Having watched their review, Jeff Cannata of The Totally Rad Show was quite right when he said that the ideas are the star(s) of the movie. You can come away from other movies with the distinct memory of a brilliantly portrayed character, a wondrous fictional land or inspired feelings within yourself. With Inception, you depart with new ideas and thoughts, and the question: how do you know you're not dreaming?

I whole-heartedly recommend Inception to everyone. This is one of the best movies I have ever seen. It's unusual these days to see such an amazing movie that is not a re-make, or and adaptation of a book or comic book. This movie, from start to finish, is an original, creative, enthralling work of art.


Inception
5/5