This Week in Geek (13-19/08/07)

Buys

DVDs... I should know better than to "surf the net", as the kids call it nowadays, but there I was, clicking through Rotten Tomatoes' list of comic book movies, and I found a couple things I should have in the collection. No, not Shaq's Steel. I got me Oldboy, a Korean film I know nothing about, apparently based on a manga. And I got Road to Perdition as soon as I realized it was directed by Sam Mendes. Sometimes things escape me. Even more geeky purchases: Godzilla Raids Again, Doctor Who: Robot, Doctor Who: Survival, and Brannagh's Hamlet which is FINALLY out on DVD. It was in my Top 5 Special Edition DVDs that were too long coming.

Comics... Showcase Presents Adam Strange (which I am gonna call Showcase Presents Mystery in Space around the house... if it ever comes up), Fables volume 9 (now I have everything out in trade, mwaa-haha!) and Losers vol. 1 (trying it out). Oh, and the new Booster Gold has been added to the monthly rags I'm getting, and since I also got Brave and the Bold, that's all of them on the same week.

"Accomplishments"

As soon as I got that 4-hour Hamlet DVD, I popped it into the machine. I must've seen it on VHS a dozen times, so maybe that's why this looked so good. I haven't been this impressed with the picture since the very first DVD I watched. Hamlet is my favorite work of art of all time, and I own multiple copies, in multiple media. Every time I experience it, I find something new, and I did once again. It's inevitable. The commentary track with Brannagh and his literary consultant helped unlock a few of these new realizations, even though they concentrate more on the "making of", so I'm not complaining. Indeed, I'm asking for more. There are too many versions of Hamlet NOT out on proper DVD, and Brannagh's other plays-to-film need better treatment too.

As for comics, I finished Fables vol.5, The Mean Seasons, which splits its time between a World War II tale starring the Big Bad Wolf vs. Frankenstein's Monster (a bit too disconnected from the main narrative, in my opinion, and with rougher artwork), and the outcome of the Fabletown election and Snow White's kid (ahhh, that's better). I must say there's a lot of heart-breaking moments amidst the lunacy here. So I jumped into the next volume right away. Tell you about it next week.

If there's not much in the way of media consumption, it's that I really wanted to finish my Ancient Foes set for my Doctor Who CCG. And I did. More than 20 new cards, mostly from the 1996 TV movie, plus a breakdown of rarities, a virtual booster pack run on Javascript Power, and the artwork for both the booster...
...and the starter deck.
Use of the black and white opening sequence makes them less than pretty, but I made my choice. Next up: 1 card from each story in Series 3, in the Timeline style.

Website finds

My pal Bauble thinks I should go to the 2009 Quantum Leap Convention. Maybe I'll wait until 2010 and leap back to it! Maybe I won't go! Maybe Claudia "Ivanova" Christian can convince me with that video. They sure know how to sell a convention! How can we refuse? Click it and see if you can resist.

I can't stop thinking about it...

Comments

De said…
Hopefully Ms. Christian won't inexplicably lose it. While I wasn't there this year, I'm told she had to be escorted off stage while presenting costuming awards to some kids at this year's Shore Leave.
Siskoid said…
I'm not actually enthused about going to this convention (or any convention for that matter).

The prospect of seeing fans dressed as Sam from "Play It Again Seymour" or Sam from "What Price Gloria" or Sam from "The Leap Home" or... well you get the point, doesn't particularly impress me. ;)
Bully said…
i realize this is now buried a few weeks back, but did you see/what did you think about Branagh's As You Like It?
Siskoid said…
Bully: I totally missed it in theaters and it's only available for pre-order on Amazon, so I've yet to seen it. Hopefully it's more Much Ado About Nothing and less Love's Labour's Lost.

Let you know what I get it!