Tag: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure

Ongoing Investigations: Case #174

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I finally saw The Avengers and you know I loved it. Though it may shock you to know this was only my second experience of Joss Whedon’s direction (the only other thing I’ve seen is Dr. Horrible).

My favorite thing about the film, really its strongest quality, is the interaction between all the heroes. Their arguments, quips, conversations, and actions all felt very cohesive and solidified them as a team.

I was really pleased with the portrayal of Black Widow and left the theater saying she was my favorite. Black Widow shows herself to be a resourceful, badass, master spy throughout. Her scenes talking with Loki were fantastic as were the one’s with Bruce Banner. There is no doubt Scarlett Johansson is amazing looking but it never becomes the primary focus of her scenes.

The action throughout was well choreographed and thankfully didn’t suffer from shakey cam madness. The alien invasion scenes are complicated but had a roundness to them as it switched between the heroes, too.

If I have anything to complain about, it would probably be Hawkeye’s too serious personality. I’m a fan of the character and I always enjoy Clint’s sarcastic/quipy self in the comics.

I have more to say but it would be veering into spoiler territory!

I had a blast with this movie it was full of action and a right balance of humor. I cannot wait for the sequel! But first we’ve got a ton of others like Iron Man 3, Thor 2, and Captain America 2 and I’m rather excited about all of it.

The Avengers did exactly what it needed to do. It was a fun action movie, with some snappy dialog, great fight scenes, and a generally peppy pace that moved along nicely without feeling hollow. If you wanted something that was ponderous like The Dark Knight I think you were setting yourself up for disappointment. In fact you actively complained that you thought the movie should have been smarter I merely point you to 2003 Hulk film. Meditate on that. The Avengers is never stupid but it is also knows how far it should reach.

As Narutaki mentioned the best part of the movie was the team’s dynamic. I think it is important to note that everyone felt vital. All too often as much as people may say all the team members are necessary it always seems like someone is merely along for the ride. As much as I love the Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes I always feel like that other than a few rare occasions the Wasp feels more like the team mascot than a full member. But it did not matter that Hawkeye and Black Widow did not have super powers. You felt that had either of them not been there then the final battle would have been lost. And everyone contributed in multiple ways. That is amazingly important for a team movie like this because time is short. So anyone who is not contributing as much just feels even more wasted than normal.

I think my favorite character was Bruce Banner. I know that with two previous modern Hulk movies some people were worried about Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk but I think he pulled off the roll quite well. He does a good job as playing up the intellectual and well as deeply troubled scientists.  Plus his science bros rapport with Tony Stark was great. He was unexpectedly a stronger character then I ever assumed he would be.

It is always nice to see a movie that you can enjoy effortlessly but also without reservations. I am sure that Narutaki and my roommate will pick this up on Blu-Ray ASAP so I look forward to watching it again with them.

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Ongoing Investigations: Case #152

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I thought it appropriate to make Detective Conan: Quarter of Silence (movie 15) my first anime of 2012 and it set the year off right! In this case Conan takes on a bomber looking to destroy a dam but there is a lot more to this mystery in the small snowy town Kitanosawa whose residents have many secrets. The film starts off with a flashback many years in the past of a young boy being chased and falling down the mountain side. We then move to present day where Conan must first stop a threat to the Governor of Tokyo and a train bomb that leads them to Niigata Prefecture. We learn that the town of Kitanosawa was relocated five years prior when the dam building took place and it was not popular with many of the residents. The setting plays a major role in the film as it is small and fairly isolated and we have the added attraction of snow and all the dangers that come with it. We meet a group of childhood friends with a lot of complications between them and that boy on the mountain top, don’t count him out yet. Since there are multiple mysteries going on it keeps you guessing in good form. There isn’t too much romance in this film which is a nice break and I really enjoyed the friendship that The Detective Boys kindred with the injured boy from the mountain. This movie loves to push the limits of Conan’s skateboard from having him go upside down in a tunnel to its transformation into a snowboard which he uses to create an avalanche in the final tense climax. This in a very enjoyable addition to the franchise making me feel as if they are on a roll with the Conan movies!

I finally got to reading Twin Spica six through ten when I borrowed them from Narutaki. As I stated when I made this the manga of the month the story mixes the best of science fictions hopeful dreams of progress with the draw of excellent human drama. And it has not dropped off in the least. Although it is a story about space the main focus is the characters, their interactions, and their growth. We learn that everyone has at least one major secret that they are keeping from everyone. Some are huge, some are bizarre, some are very personal, and one is all three. But no matter how wacky anyone’s secret is Kou Yaginuma makes sure that it has an appropriate emotional gravitas. And so powerful moments are still effective. Marika Ukita’s angry loneliness,  Shu Suzuki’s carefree facade, Kei Oumi’s blitzkrieging energy, and even Asumi Kamogawa’s melancholy earnestness will always carefully play with your heart and mind without ever feeling manipulative. There is at least one story in each book that will make your earnestly well up with emotion while still having a light mood that prevents you from feeling emotionally blogged down. I am glad to see everyone is still growing. Marika Ukita clearly has had the most obvious arc of growth but everyone is moving forward at their own pace. I will say that chapter 10 ended rather unexpectedly for me. I thought something like that might happen but not at that point in the story. With only two books left to go this is a great time to start the series if you have not picked it up.

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Ongoing Investigations: Case #138

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 After finishing up Burn Notice S4, I jumped to the webcomic before we start the fifth season. Burn Notice: A New Day bridges the two seasons but does not answer the ultimate question about Michael’s facial hair! The 12-parts play out like a typical episode of the series but in this case they are also working with the CIA. They’ve got everyone’s voices down pretty well, too. The real downside is the artwork which isn’t great a lot of the time touting some weird facial expressions and wonky eyes. A fun read, worthwhile, and a second part is planned for the end of the month as the show takes a break until November.

NOOO! I am caught up with the current release of translated Jojo’s by blazing through volumes 7  though 20. But since Steel Ball Run is 24 volumes I am so close to the ending I can taste it but so far away it makes me want to weep. I mean they are in the middle of fighting the evil super powered and seemingly invincible president of the United States. The president killed dinosaur Dio Brando. Who can stop him now? While the story has moved a bit more in the direction of Stand fighting the race is always a tense highlight when they get to a checkpoints. I will say for being the star of the first chapter of the arc Sandman certainly has a smaller role than I expected when he whips out his stand. He sort of goes down like a punk. This arc has been every bit as crazy as I had hoped it would be and twice as awesome. I am surprised it lived up to my expectations as they were fairly high but I was not in the least disappointed. My only regret is now I must wait for more.

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