13 Assassins

Cast
Kôji Yakusho
Takayuki Yamada
Yûsuke Iseya
Gorô Inagaki
Masachika Ichimura
Mikijiro Hira
Hiroki Matsukata
Ikki Sawamura
Arata Furuta
Tsuyoshi Ihara
Masataka Kubota
Sosuke Takaoka
Seiji Rokkaku
Yûma Ishigaki
Kôen Kondô
Screenwriter
Daisuke Tengan
Director
Takashi Miike
Running Time
125 minutes

The subtitled text at the beginning goes a little fast but slows to a comfortable pace when the dialogue starts. It's confusing who everyone is including the 13 Assassins although repeated viewing would sort that stuff out. Overall it's Fantastic with an amazing extended fight sequence. [spoiler] The character who appears to die and then is alive and well is kind of confusing was he maybe supernatural?

Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides 3D

Cast
Johnny Depp
Penélope Cruz
Ian McShane
Geoffrey Rush
Stephen Graham
Richard Griffiths
Sam Claflin
Astrid Berges-Frisbey
Kevin McNally
Screenwriters
Ted Elliott
Terry Rossio
Director
Rob Marshall
Running Time
136 minutes

Crossing paths with the enigmatic Angelica, Captain Jack Sparrow is not sure if it's love—or if she's a ruthless con artist who's using him to find the fabled Fountain of Youth. When she forces him aboard the "Queen Anne's Revenge," the ship of the legendary pirate Blackbeard, Jack finds himself on an unexpected adventure in which he doesn't know whom to fear more: Blackbeard or Angelica, with whom he shares a mysterious past. (Walt Disney Pictures)

In martial arts movies characters occasionally cross a room with a cartwheel, there's no advantage to it they could get across the room as easily by walking but it adds a visual flourish, however if they went everywhere like that it would be bizarre. If the pirate movie version of that is swinging on ropes and sword fighting then Pirates 4 is bizarre. Everything was just so random and overelaborate, the preacher/mermaid subplot was actually the only at least moderately involving story I saw.

August Comics

CBR has the new Dark Horse, DC, Image and Marvel solicitations for August.

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

I haven't done one of these in a few months because there wasn't any new stuff I was adding except for ’BREED III from Image but I couldn't find the CBR solicitation page at the time.

Also DC dropped five of my comics in the Solicitations for May BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS, DOOM PATROL, FREEDOM FIGHTERS, JSA ALL-STARS and R.E.B.E.L.S.


ANGEL AND FAITH #1
Christos Gage (W), Rebekah Isaacs (A), Steve Morris (Cover), Jo Chen (Variant cover), Georges Jeanty (25th anniversary cover), and Dan Jackson (C)
On sale Aug 31
FC, 40 pages
$2.99
Ongoing
Left in a near-catatonic state following the events in Buffy Season 8, Angel will need a seriously rude awakening if he’s to make amends for his ill-conceived deeds. Enter rebel Slayer with a cause—Faith Lehane. Together they’ll have full access to the Watcher files and opportunities to make amends for all they’ve done . . . and will do.
• Christos Gage (Avenger’s Academy) and Rebekah Isaacs (DV8)!
• Executive producer by Joss Whedon!
Angel and Faith™ & © 2011 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved.

Gage and Isaacs are great so hopefully this will be too, the Buffy series was a disappointment but I will probably still get the new one when it comes.



VESCELL #1
story ENRIQUE CARRION
art / cover JOHN UPCHURCH
AUGUST 31
32 PAGES / FC / M
$2.99
The International Company known as Vescell specializes in what is commonly known as “Vtrans”, the transferring of a person’s mind and spirit from one body into another. Former Icarus City Detective, Mauricio “Moo” Barrino is now Vescell’s best agent, handling the most high profile and dangerous cases. In the seedy world of a high end corporate espionage, where mysticism and guns clash, and money is tainted with sin, Agent Mauricio Barrino fights against the demons of fate while trying to reach the heaven of his destiny. Be prepared for the bar-raising, sci-fi noir epic that is VESCELL.

There was a preview for this on Bleeding Cool which started out longer than it is when I post this but anyways it looks kind of interesting with great art.



THE PUNISHER #1
Written by GREG RUCKA
Penciled by MARCO CHECCHETTO
Cover by BRYAN HITCH
Variant Cover by SAL BUSCEMA
Variant Cover by NEAL ADAMS
Blank cover also available
TIME TO GET BACK TO WORK.
For Frank Castle death comes easy...life is where things gets complicated. Fully loaded with the Eisner winning writer Greg Rucka (Batwoman, Queen and Country, WOLVERINE) and neo-superstar artist Marco Checchetto (Amazing Spider-Man, Daredevil), the BIGGEST GUN of all returns with blood on his hands and vengeance in his eyes. As New York City's body counts continue to rise, the city's streets are teeming with more methodical criminals than ever and a police force doing it's best to keep its head above water. The Punisher has returned to serve his own brand of justice with everything's he's got... but can he survive the darkness stored in his own arsenal? Plus bonus pages exploring some of the new personalities in Frank's life...and how closely intertwined living is with dying.
40 PGS./Parental Advisory …$3.99

The second issue is solicited too, at $2.99 so that's OK and I really enjoyed Checkmate which Rucka wrote.

Hanna

Cast
Saoirse Ronan
Eric Bana
Cate Blanchett
Tom Hollander
Olivia Williams
Jason Flemyng
Screenwriters
Seth Lochhead
David Farr
Director
Joe Wright
Running Time
111 minutes

Raised by her father, an ex-CIA man, in the wilds of Finland, Hanna's upbringing and training have been one and the same, all geared to making her the perfect assassin. The turning point in her adolescence is a sharp one; sent into the world by her father on a mission, Hanna journeys stealthily across Europe while eluding agents dispatched after her by a ruthless intelligence operative with secrets of her own. As she nears her ultimate target, Hanna faces startling revelations about her existence and unexpected questions about her humanity. (Focus Features)

I almost gave it 5 stars but it has some problems first it is totally a case of style over substance. Lots of that style was brilliant, although the fairy tale allegory became kind of mad at the end but the events needed more context to give them added emotional weight. Second Hanna tells people she shouldn't where she is going and returns to places she should know better than to return to. Also Tom Hollander seemed completely out of place in this. It wasn't that he gave a bad performance but the places she ended up going to were surprising and seemed so authentic that when he turned up with a German accent it just seemed wrong whereas his henchman were great.