Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,197 
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Post by Confessor on Dec 14, 2016 19:32:56 GMT -5
#12: Barbarella (1968) My first pick for the 2016 Classic Comics Christmas is Roger Vadim's psychedelic and supremely far out take on Jean-Claude Forest's Barbarella. Though I do like reading the Barbarella comics, the movie adaptation is definitely my preferred way to enjoy this material. For one thing, the movie has the extremely "va-va-voom!" Jane Fonder in it, as the eponymous scantily-clad astronaut herself, but the film also takes the – already pretty strange – comic and spikes it with a healthy dose of LSD. The result is a trashy, groovy, psychedelic masterpiece which, even though it takes some fairly big liberties with the source material, gives Forest's sexually liberated heroine and slightly absurd sci-fi setting a mind-altering, technicolor veneer, while charging it with the playful eroticism of the late '60s sexual revolution. Barbarella is by no means a great film. This is a movie that is poorly acted, clumsily directed and hamstrung by its minuscule budget. But in spite of that, the film is a lot of silly, kitschy fun, while somehow also managing to be downright creepy on occasion. From that Zero-G striptease during the opening credits, to the sight of Barbarella writhing with pleasure inside the Excessive Machine, this is a film that is equal parts sci-fi, parody, psychsploitation and soft porn – and that's just the way I like it!  Every year, this event winds up taking a bite out of my wallet (part of the charm of it really). I saw Barbarella on The Movie Channel when I was a freshman in high school and liked it for a lot of the same reasons everyone here did, but didn't learn it was originally a comic until years later. I have never read the originals and always meant to track them down, and today as I walk into my lcs the first thing I see on display is this... the new Humanoids edition with a new translation/adaptation by Kelly Sue DeConnick. Needless to say it went home with me. -M I've been tempted by those hardcovers, but they seem quite pricey. I only have the 1968 movie tie-in translation of the first Barbarella story which codystarbuck posted a picture of on the first page of this thread, and the collected Heavy Metal translation of Barbarella: The Moon Child. So, I'd be quite interested to know what you think of the quality of these Humanoid reprints, in terms of binding, paper stock, printing etc...as well as how good the translation is, of course. |
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Post by Icctrombone on Dec 14, 2016 21:03:41 GMT -5
Still, it's a lot of fun to watch and I do think it's a pretty good look for Thor. [/div][/div][/quote] I liked this 1980's look better   But that memory with your dad is priceless. Thanks much for sharing it.[/quote] That guy holding the hammer is Vincent D'onofrio of Law and Order: Criminal Justice fame. |
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Post by MDG on Dec 14, 2016 21:35:29 GMT -5
Baba Yaga (1973)Baba Yaga is based on one of the Valentina stories by Guido Crepax, but I’m listing it here mainly because I have an affinity to giallo and stylish European horror movies of the 60s and 70s, and this certainly fits. (It’s also interesting that the European comic-based movies people have mentioned already—Barbarella and Danger: Diabolik—were for adult audiences. Outside the US, it was never an issue that “comics aren’t just for kids.”) I’ve never read any of Crepax’s original series, but Baba Yaga is a stylish, moody, seductive flick that takes the story seriously. It neither hides it’s comic roots, nor wink at the camera. Like many Italian thrillers of this time, you can tell from the trailer (NSFW), that it’s more interested in compelling images than a coherent story. 
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Dec 15, 2016 7:36:06 GMT -5
Baba Yaga (1973)Baba Yaga is based on one of the Valentina stories by Guido Crepax, but I’m listing it here mainly because I have an affinity to giallo and stylish European horror movies of the 60s and 70s, and this certainly fits. (It’s also interesting that the European comic-based movies people have mentioned already—Barbarella and Danger: Diabolik—were for adult audiences. Outside the US, it was never an issue that “comics aren’t just for kids.”) I’ve never read any of Crepax’s original series, but Baba Yaga is a stylish, moody, seductive flick that takes the story seriously. It neither hides it’s comic roots, nor wink at the camera. Like many Italian thrillers of this time, you can tell from the trailer (NSFW), that it’s more interested in compelling images than a coherent story. Never heard of a Crepax Baba Yaga comic... Thanks for this unexpected Christmas present, MDG! |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Dec 15, 2016 11:14:57 GMT -5
On the First Day of Classic Comics Christmas I give unto thee...A Green Skinned Goliath on the World Tree: The Incredible Hulk Returns (1988) In addition to being my first introduction to Thor and the Incredible Hulk, which are both favorites of mine to this day, this made for TV movie is(along with reruns of the Adam West Batman show) one of my earliest comic book memories. I was only three at the time but I vividly remember getting to stay up "late" to be able to watch this. I was told it was going to be taped so I could go to bed and watch it in the morning but when the VCR broke my Dad came and got me out of bed and we ended up watching it together on the floor with me wrapped in my superman blanket.
At the time I thought it was the greatest, but upon repeated viewings it feels more than a little hammy and unlike with Batman I'm not sure it's really meant to be. Still, it's a lot of fun to watch and I do think it's a pretty good look for Thor. To this day I find Ferigno's Hulk more impressive than the CGI one from the current movies. Good ol' Lou is pretty fantastic, and that is the image I see when I think Hulk though I do enjoy how the Hulk has looked in the Avengers films. |
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Post by hondobrode on Dec 15, 2016 19:05:38 GMT -5
 I'm sure this is going to appear higher on a lot of lists, and it was very, very good; even my in-laws both liked it.  I really liked Chris Evans in the FF movies but even more here. He's dead on Cap. One of my favorite Marvel characters done exceptionally well. |
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Post by Cei-U! on Dec 15, 2016 23:54:45 GMT -5
Remember, hondo, there's a two image limit on entries.
Cei-U!
I insist on this rule!
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 16, 2016 13:11:51 GMT -5
Well we are on day four. And I usually do random thoughts on each day...not always...but usually...so...
Nick Fury...Kurt throws a curve ball on the first pitch. I've never seen this one...and likely never will.
I didn't ever watch the Swamp Thing TV show.
I'm not aware that the Tintin cartoon ever played anywhere I lived.
The Tick (animated) was definitely considered...and may still show up on my list. A fun show.
I havent' seen Barbarella for years, but I remember it being great fun. I should probably que it up.
I haven't seen Prince Valiant. I should remedy that.
Haven't seen Ghost World in eons. And then only once. I remember it being okay, but not really my kind of thing.
I was a bit too old to get into Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. I know I watched an episode or two, but at that point I was out of the Saturday morning cartoons phase of life.
Super Friends. This is a hard one. It definitely had meaning to me as a kid. But it was also on super early in the morning and I usually missed it. I now find it completely unwatchable.
Deadpool. This got a bit of consideration as I think it is a really fun and funny movie.
Captain America : First Avenger. Will probably show up again.
Have not seen Wynonna Earp. Or Marvel Superheroes 1966. Or Batman (1943). Or LONE WOLF & CUB. Or The Incredible Hulk Returns.
300...ummm...I think that movie is just awful. The comic is readable simply for Miller's art and the spectacular coloring. But the story is laughable. And Snyder is a one-trick pony and that trick isn't all that interesting.
Lotta stuff here I've not only never seen but have never hear of, including...Storm Riders, Le chat du rabbin, Baba Yaga
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Post by Paste Pot Paul on Dec 17, 2016 2:14:08 GMT -5
12.Ghost Rider
Cos he's badass...
If there was ever a comic book character that was just right for the big screen it would have to be the Rider. While I was never 100% behind Cage as Blaze, too old etc I do think he just manages to get through this before his acting really "jumps the shark". Visually the character is perfect, every second of the Rider onscreen is excellent, and makes you impatient during every second hes not, AND it has Sam Elliott...Sam freaking Elliott ...as the older Ghost Rider, how cool was that? |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 17, 2016 15:25:13 GMT -5
My youngest son absolutely loved that first Ghost Rider movie. He watched it over and over. It's actually surprisingly entertaining in a bad movie sort of way.
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Post by Paste Pot Paul on Dec 17, 2016 16:05:01 GMT -5
My youngest son absolutely loved that first Ghost Rider movie. He watched it over and over. It's actually surprisingly entertaining in a bad movie sort of way. Exactly. |
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Post by Pól Rua on Dec 19, 2016 23:39:46 GMT -5
Once again, I had every intention of getting in on this nice and early, but a super-busy work-week and the sudden collapse of my laptop threw a monkeywrench into that... so here goes, The Big Catch-Up, 2016. 12. MYSTERY MEN Based incredibly loosely on Bob Burden's team of low-powered, blue collar crimefighters who first made their appearance in the pages or Burden's surrealist superhero parody 'The Flaming Carrot', this remains one of my favourite superhero movies for one main reason - it's got heart. Yeah, the heroes are lame, Their 'powers' are awful, Their costumes are home-made and wouldn't pass muster in the most forgiving cosplay circles, but at no time does the film mock these characters. From the Blue Rajah's dedication to his own personal code ("I'm not STAB-MAN! I'm not KNIFEY BOY!") to the Shoveller's sense of personal duty ("God gave me a gift. I shovel. I shovel WELL.") these characters are presented with empathy and genuine affection. Meanwhile, the hero who DOES have his act together... who IS powerful and effective... is viewed with scorn because at his heart, he's a shallow, self-absorbed narcissist who doesn't care about helping people except inasmuch as it helps HIM. Also, the Villain is called 'Casanova Frankenstein'. And that HAS to be worth something. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2016 1:29:45 GMT -5
Let's see, not sure will get to every day before it's over, but an overview of Day 1 choices....
I missed the Hoff as Fury when it was broadcast, and I've only ever seen clips. I need to correct this just for curiosity's sake.
I've also never seen Storm Riders or le chat du rabbin or the animated Tintin (though a big fan of Herge I've never run across these) or Baba Yaga...
I didn't see much of Swamp Thing when it aired initially, but I have been watching it recently when it aired on H&I's super-hero block and have quite enjoyed the handful of episodes I have seen.
I liked the Addams Family movies okay, but preferred the tv show (and preferred their appearances on the New Scooby-Doo movies even more).
Never been a fan of the Tick (mostly because I was a customer of New England Comics in Boston while at uni when it launched the clerks there were absolutely rude and obnoxious in trying to force it on customers as a hard sell and insulting when you refused so I avoided it out of spite of them).
Barbarella just missed the cut for me. It's a cult classic that I like for all the wrong reasons.
I watched Ghost World while recovering form major surgery in 2002 and on morphine, so my experience and recollection of it is fuzzy and I've not been inclined to go back and watch it again. Maybe I should.
I really liked Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends when it debuted, but t's one that hasn't aged well for me and I had a hard time watching it a few years back when I tried to watch a few episodes that were on tv. Most of Super Friends is the same way for me though some series/seasons are easier to watch then others for me now.
I haven't seen Deadpool and have absolutely no desire to do so. My wife rented it and watched it, I saw a coupe of minutes in passing as I was walking through the room doing other things and it only confirmed my desire not to see it.
I've not seen Wynonna Earp, but am intrigued by it. I do like the kind of Weird West genre stuff, so I will check it out if I see it on Netflix or at the library on DVD.
I have a love/hate relationship with 300. I enjoyed reading the series by Miller but the historian in me chafes at it. I enjoyed the movie, which was my first encounter with Zach Snyder's work, but the more I see of his work, the lower in my estimation all of his films fall and my estimation of 300 has fallen quite a lot because of it, until all I can see now when I watch it are the Zach Snyder tics that characterize and ruin all of his stuff.
I've seen some of the Marvel Super-Heroes stuff, but not all (saw more of the Spidey series from that time than the others) and liked it for what it was, but I grooved more to the View Master reels they made using the art they recycled form the comics for the cartoons. I had the Thor, Cap and Iron Man reels and they were among my favorites.
The 1943 Batman serial and Lone Wolf and Cub are things I haven't seen but want to at some point.
I really liked the Bill Bixby/Lou Ferrigno Hulk tv series, but I was underwhelmed by the tv movie follow ups. Mostly because of time and place as they came out when I was at university and I tried watching them in a dorm with a bunch of buddies whose only interest was mocking them and waiting for a "Hulk out" scene so they could hoot and holler. I am not sure I have ever gone back to try to re-watch them since.
I really dig the Marvel Studio movies, and Cap The First Avenger is among my favorites of them, but none of them made my list-it's hard to explain why but a lot of what makes something an "all-time" favorite is my desire and ability to watch and re-watch it over and over. I've seen all the Marvel movies in the theatres, except Ant-Man (which I missed) and Avengers which I saw twice (because I went to a midnight opening with friends that my wife couldn't attend and saw it a second time with her), and bought them all on DVD/Blue-Ray and watched all of them exactly one since I did. I watched part of Iron Man on tv when it was on FX. The movies are all well done and I enjoy them all, but I feel no desire to watch them over and over again. I don't recapture the feeling of my first experience when I do, and I don't discover something new when I do, so I feel I'd rather watch something new instead of rewatching them. I think they're excellent. I will see everyone that comes out in the theatres and probably buy the DVD/Blue Ray to watch at home once (my wife has rewatched them all several times), but I didn't put any of them in my all time favorite list because they don't draw me in again and again like the stuff on my list does. The modern DC tv shows are the same way. I like them, I enjoy them. I am glad I watch them, but I have little desire to go watch them a second time afte rI have seen them.
Ghost Rider-I enjoyed this for what it was, but it falls in the same trap as most Ghost Rider stuff-it's a better visual than a story and not many have been able to craft a story that matches the quality of the character's appearance, this movie is no exception. Ghost Rider looks amazing, but the story is just meh for me.
Mystery Men-I liked it a lot when I first saw it, and have re-watched it a few times since, but I haven't seen it for years and I'm okay with that. It was a product of its time and that moment in my life for me rather than an enduring favorite for me.
Great choices folks, I enjoyed all the write ups even for stuff that was not particular favorites of mine or that I was unfamiliar with.
-M
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Post by coke & comics on Dec 25, 2016 20:48:52 GMT -5
I'll offer my own wrap-up. Mostly a demonstration of ignorance.
*Have never seen:
Storm Riders, Wynonna Earp, Swamp Thing, Tin-Tin, Prince Valiant, Lone Wolf & Cub, Baba Yaga, Le chat du rabbin, Wynonna Earp
Never heard of a couple (because my knowledge of European comics is rubbish). My source of shame is the number of comics I own but have never read. Storm Riders is among those. I will read it soon.
*I absolutely do not like:
Batman (1943) -- one of the worst superhero films I have ever seen. The obvious racism was a big part of my issue. But leaving that aside, I still didn't like it.
Things I've seen which didn't leave much of an impression:
Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends (I saw some episodes when young, but don't remember them well. I love Spider-Man enough that I expect to watch it again.)
Super-Friends (I have vague childhood memories of watching this, but I was young.)
Mystery Men (I don't recall it fondly, but probably owe it a rewatch)
Addams Family (Not something I have much connection to. Seen a couple of the comic, a couple episodes. Saw the movie, but meant little to me)
*Things I don't love but have some fondness for:
Ghost Rider, Nick Fury, Barbarella, Incredible Hulk Returns
I found something to like in all of those. I think Trial of the Incredible Hulk was my favorite of the series. I had liked the take on Daredevil and Kingpin.
*Things I like a lot:
Ghost World, Deadpool, 300, Marvel Superheroes, Captain America
I confess to not knowing Clowes well. Ghost World is all I have read and the comic left no impression on me. The movie I did like.
Deadpool was hysterical. The movie, like many superhero films, had things I thought were great and things I thought failed, but I defintely rate it highly.
Marvel Superheroes I was renting from the video store on VHS well before I read any comics. My introduction to many superheroes, and probably the reason my first comic was an Avengers comic, recognizing several characters on the cover from this. If I'd leaned into nostalgia more for the list, this could have been a pick. Left off because I haven't actually seen any in 30 years and I don't remember it all that well.
Captain America is great. The third film in the series actually made my list. But most MCU films were contenders.
And if Snyder had retired from filmmaking after 300, I would have no beef with him. I thought 300 was a lot of fun to watch.
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