State Of Play

Cast
Russell Crowe
Ben Affleck
Robyn Wright Penn
Helen Mirren
Rachel McAdams
Jason Bateman
Screenwriter
Matthew Michael Carnahan
Director
Kevin Macdonald
Running Time
126m 53s

Handsome, unflappable U.S. Congressman Stephen Collins is the future of his political party: an honorable appointee who serves as the chairman of a committee overseeing defense spending. All eyes are upon the rising star to be his party's contender for the upcoming presidential race. Until his research assistant/mistress is brutally murdered and buried secrets come tumbling out. McAffrey has the dubious fortune of both an old friendship with Collins and a ruthless editor, Cameron, who has assigned him to investigate. As he and partner Della try to uncover the killer's identity, McAffrey steps into a cover-up that threatens to shake the nation's power structures. And in a town of spin-doctors and wealthy politicos, he will discover one truth: when billions are at stake, no one's integrity, love or life is ever safe. (Universal Pictures)

It was very good but it wasn't truly great. The casting broke my concentration a little, an orange advert showed just before the film and the main guy from that was in the film plus Michael Jace plays a uniformed cop who I recognise from The Shield where he plays a uniformed cop and Jason Bateman in a serious role just seemed out of place.

July Comics

Newsarama has the new Marvel and DC solicitations for July.

This is the stuff I'm thinking about in addition to my regular pull list.


GREEK STREET #1
Written by Peter Milligan
Art by Davide Gianfelice
Cover by Kako
You’re a boy from the hood. You’re brought up rough in a children’s home, trying to stay out of trouble but usually failing. Then at 18 you decide to track down your mother. Within hours of finding her, she’s lying naked and dead at your feet. So you run to Greek Street.
And that’s when your troubles really begin...
Boasting a cast of sexy strippers, murderous gangsters, body-snatching mad women and a disturbed young girl who can see the future, GREEK STREET is Peter Milligan’s reimagining of those brutal and visceral tragedies that graced the Theater of Dionysus in Ancient Greece – bloody tales about incest, homicide, beautiful oracles, all-knowing choruses, kings, monsters and gods – played out on the mean streets of modern-day Red-Light London.
Milligan – best known for his super-smart Vertigo work like SHADE THE CHANGING MAN, HUMAN TARGET and now HELLBLAZER– joins forces with illustrator Davide Gianfelice (NORTHLANDERS) to create an epic ongoing series that’s both familiar yet completely new and always with the bloody, visceral edge that makes it a Vertigo book. Take a trip to GREEK STREET where the old stories are not through with us yet.
On sale July 1 • 40 pg, FC, $1.00 US • MATURE READERS

Gianfelice's arc on Northlanders was gorgeous plus I just haven't read enough Vertigo. The introductory price is great but overall my budget and the exchange rate concern me more and more these days.


JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRY FOR JUSTICE #1
Written by James Robinson
Art and covers Mauro Cascioli
What brings a team together? Justice! Batman and Martian Manhunter have been slaughtered. But he’s not the only hero to fall at the hands of villains. The murder has to stop, and it’s time to take the fight to the bad guys! Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Supergirl, Atom, Shazam, Congorilla and Starman unite in a cry for justice!
This 6-part miniseries from James Robinson (STARMAN, SUPERMAN) and rising star artist Mauro Cascioli (TRIALS OF SHAZAM) pushes our heroes to the brink and beyond as evil can no longer be tolerated to win. But when Prometheus plans his revenge on not only the heroes, but on the very places they call home, will this new team be ready to pay the cost for the justice they seek? This time it’s personal – and it’ll only get more bloody before it’s over!
Retailers please note: This issue will ship with two covers by Mauro Cascioli that will be separately orderable. Cover A shows the left side of the image; cover B shows the right side. Please see the Previews Order Form for more information.
On sale July 1 • 1 of 6 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US

If like Flash: Rebirth this drops to $2.99 for its second issue I'll get this but otherwise it's the trade for me.


IMMORTAL WEAPONS #1 (of 5)
Written by JASON AARON & DUANE SWIERCZYNSKI
Penciled by MICO SUAYAN & TRAVEL FOREMAN
Cover and Variant Cover by DAVID AJA
Out of the pages of IMMORTAL IRON FIST! Jason Aaron (WOLVERINE) and Mico Suayan (MOON KNIGHT) plus an all-star roster of guest artists kick off IMMORTAL WEAPONS in this double-sized issue!
Fat Cobra! No man has fought more heartily, consumed more mightily, or lived life more fully! Fat Cobra! Master of the sumo thunder stomp and the devil’s skullcrusher! Fat Cobra! Immortal Weapon from the Seven Capital Cities of Heaven! But to this day, no man has known the story of Fat Cobra’s life...including the Cobra himself! Discover the shocking origins of this boisterous brawler and witness his decades of adventure!
Meanwhile, Danny Rand embarks on his own mission of search and adventure, in a special bonus story by IMMORTAL IRON FIST writer Duane Swierczynski running through all five IMMORTAL WEAPONS issues!
40 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99

Same comment as above, it says double sized so I hope so. No regular Iron Fist this month plus sadly I'll drop Skaar since Greg Pak has moved on.

Monsters Vs. Aliens

Cast
Reese Witherspoon
Seth Rogen
Hugh Laurie
Will Arnett
Kiefer Sutherland
Stephen Colbert
Renée Zellweger
Rainn Wilson
Screenwriters
Maya Forbes
Wallace Wolodarsky
Rob Letterman
Jonathan Aibel
Glenn Berger
Directors
Conrad Vernon
Rob Letterman
Running Time
94 minutes

When California girl Susan Murphy is unwittingly clobbered by a meteor full of outer space gunk on her wedding day, she mysteriously grows to 49-feet-11-inches tall. The military jumps into action and Susan is captured and secreted away to a covert government compound. There, she is renamed Ginormica and placed in confinement with a ragtag group of Monsters: the brilliant but insect-headed Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D.; the macho half-ape, half-fish The Missing Link; the gelatinous and indestructible B.O.B.; and the 350-foot grub called Insectosaurus. Their confinement is cut short, however, when a mysterious alien robot lands on Earth and begins storming the country. In a moment of desperation, the President is persuaded to enlist the motley crew of Monsters to combat the Alien Robot and save the world from imminent destruction. (Paramount)

I didn't see it in 3D because there is nowhere nearby I can. The shots that would have popped out in 3D therefore were lost on me. It was fine but was either a little long or needed more content to fill it out.

June Comics

I'm just back from holiday so a little late but Newsarama has the new Marvel and DC solicitations for June.

This is the stuff I'm thinking about in addition to my regular pull list.


BATMAN AND ROBIN #1
Written by Grant Morrison
Art and cover by Frank Quitely
Variant cover by JG Jones
Sketch variant cover by Frank Quitely
"Batman Reborn" begins here! With the reunited team of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely (ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, WE3, New X-Men), this first issue kicks off a 3-part story arc that can't be missed! The new Dynamic Duo hit the streets with a bang in their new flying Batmobile as they face off against an assemblage of villains called the Circus of Strange. They also tackle their first mission investigating a child who’s been abducted by the mysterious Domino Killer. But will everything go smoothly? And who exactly are the new Batman and Robin? The newest era of The Dark Knight begins here!
Retailers please note: This issue will ship with three covers. For every 25 copies of the Standard Edition (with a cover by Frank Quitely), retailers may order one copy of the Variant Edition (with a cover by JG Jones). For every 250 copies of the Standard Edition, retailers may order one copy of the Sketch Variant Edition (with a cover by Frank Quitely), which is a sketch version of the Standard Edition. Please see the Previews Order Form for more information.
On sale June 3 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

After the beauty that was ALL-STAR SUPERMAN this is amazing news, especially since Batman & Detective Comics have gone to $3.99 and so I'm dropping them.


MS. MARVEL #40
Written by BRIAN REED
Penciled by SANA TAKEDA & LUKE ROSS
Cover by SANA TAKEDA
The Dark Reign continues! What is the secret A.I.M. project that Karla Sofen has stumbled into...and what does it have to do with Carol Danvers? Special guest stars Spider-Man, Wolverine, Luke Cage...and Deadpool?!
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$2.99

I dropped this some time back because the writing just wasn't that great but for Sana Takeda art I'll give it another try.


WAR OF KINGS: SAVAGE WORLD OF SKAAR
Written by CHRISTOS N. GAGE
Penciled by CLAYTON HENRY
Cover by PAUL PELLETIER
Across the brutal landscape of the distant planet of Sakaar, there is only one law: kill or be killed. Bloodthirsty and cruel, the monsters and barbarians bow only to the deadly SKAAR, SON OF HULK. The planet does not welcome strangers, especially those with their own deadly agendas. So, when Gorgon of the Inhumans and Starbolt of the Imperial Shi'ar arrive on the savage world bringing their own intergalactic WAR OF KINGS, they risk THE uncontrollable rage of the green-skinned warrior! Will Skaar be dragged into the Kree/Shi’Ar fight? Or will the deadly planet Sakaar, prove more dangerous than the battlefield?
40 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99

Really enjoying Skaar and anything written by Gage is good.