Moone Boy

Moone Boy isn't groundbreaking, but it one of the most charming series I’ve watched in awhile. It’s delightfully funny, upbeat and touching. It has that quirky family dynamic and coming-of-age story arc that's timeless and relatable, and it’s set in Ireland.


The premise is pretty simple. Let O’Dowd in the show’s opening voice-over explain it: “Ever wanted to be the imaginary friend of an idiot boy in the west of Ireland? Me neither. But there you go.” I was immediately hooked on the show from there.


Having the series take place in Boyle, Ireland in 1989 is refreshing change of pace from middle America. You might miss a few Irish-centric jokes, you’ll absolutely will not miss the visual jokes about clothing, music and lack of technology. It smartly focus on the universal problems that we can all relate to. Most of the character motivations, foibles and personalities will resonate immediately with you. Plus the Irish make swearing seem innocent and adorable.
 
All the cast are terrific. Martin's family really grows on you over the first season and you’ll find yourself connecting more with them than you would have expected. David Rawle really shines as the main character Martin. He a quirky 12 year old that’s completely lovable and doe eyed. I was hoping for more from relationship between Martin and his imaginary friend Sean (O’Dowd). While the premise is set up, it never touched too much on. After a seconded viewing I liked that the world of imaginary friends is pushed to the back to make way for the rest of the characters in the real world. Makes it feel more believable.

 
Moone Boy is a coming-of-age story for a child not yet equipped to battle the real world. But there’s so much humor and sincere moments, that it’s the kind of adventure you can’t wait to see Martin (and O’Dowd) experience together.

4 out of 5 imaginary friend waffles.

Book Review- Lessons in Forgetting by Anita Nair (2010)

 Lessons in Forgetting was a book with a strong central story and characters. However, it seems to want to do everything it can to want to sabotage any set-up it has as it keeps jumping between central themes and plot arcs in an attempt to try to fit way too much in. Spoilers ahead.

 There are 2 intertwining stories of Meera and Jak. Meera is a middle-aged socialite wife whose husband disappears one day during a party for no apparent reason. Jak is a cyclone expert who is trying to uncover what happened to his daughter during a holiday she was on which left her crippled. After a chance meeting at a party, Jak hire Meera as his research assistant.

 Naturally, there professional relationship eventually turns into a friendship and then a romantic involvement as the novel progresses. We also discover why Meera's husband left and what happened during Jak's daughter's holiday. It is in trying to tell these simultaneous stories that the book starts to unravel a little bit.

 The two stories are not evenly paced. The mystery with Meera's husband is intriguing at the beginning of the novel. However, as more is slowly revealed we find out that Meera has been an unreliable narrator as she lives in her own cocooned life. In contrast, the story of Jak's daughter becomes intriguing towards the end as the pieces slowly start to fit together. While this sounds like it should fit together, it leads to the novel feeling disjointed as one story is constantly interrupted by the other, often with a far less interesting section. Add to this that each separate story had its own semi-random time jumps and cast of characters and plot threads, it generally leads to a very disjointed experience in reading.

 Despite this, the author did keep the stories interesting enough. It also, for the most part, avoided having to cheaply raise the stakes. The stories are driven by the characters (mostly) and each of there decisions feels believable rather than a plot convenience. The story of a father looking for answers and a wife cast adrift are easy to emphasize with and this keeps the story together, despite the disjointed nature of the novel.

 3 out of 5 forgotten-flavored waffles.

SECONDS

1) Write Your Mistake

2) Ingest One Mushroom

3) Go To Sleep

4) Wake Anew

Thus begins "Seconds," Bryan Lee O'Malley's first graphic novel work since  "Scott Pilgrim". It's more confident and mature, yet still as in engaging. Still contains all of O’Malley favorite topics - existential angst, hope, fantasy and growing up. Seconds is all about learning how to be okay with your own decisions.

This time round our hero is more mature and with it  than Scott. Katie is the former head chef at Seconds, a restaurant that she has turned into the best in her town. Everything about the restaurant is perfect. Except that it isn't hers, leaving her feeling unfulfilled. While biding her time as her new restaurant opens up across town she secretly canoodles with the current head chef, lords over her current restaurant like she’s still the boss. Even though she currently isn't any longer. Katie’s  wandering causes an accident in the kitchen and injures a server. After a dream,  she uncovers a secret panel in her bedroom dresser that offers her a chance to correct that mistake. Of course Katies wonder if she is crazy, once she realizes that it work’s, she quickly starts to take advantage of this cosmic power. If you’ve learnt anything from books or movies that use this causality and effects device, you’ll know it doesn't stay good for long. Eventually Katies life begins to  fall apart in front of her.

O'Malley's script is much more balanced that Scott Pilgrim.Still has that signature O’Malley style would expect from him. Except there is much less videogames references and fantasy elements. Less you count Katie’s hair which looks like Knuckles from sonic the hedgehog. Seconds is more like a modern folk tales for late 20’s adults. Like how Katie  constantly engages with the omniscient narrative. This helped to balance out the comedy and the drama of the story. Definitely feels like a natural next step for the author, allowing him to explore the themes of growing up more than in Scott Pilgrim. Having that revision sequence helps to reinforce the themes of the book. As well as allowing the fantastical elements to come life.

Only downside is that there is much more limited background characters. The one’s there  all feel honest - each one has good and bad qualities that help and hinder them at every turn and reveal themselves in new ways each time Katie warps the world around them. But there’s no Wallace Wells to give you a backhanded comment of inspiration.  

Seconds is a wonder to behold. O'Malley work is some much more confident. His character have more life I page then some people I’ve meet. There  designs are simple and detailed at the same time, and the fashion and clothing choices for each character are totally on point.

When the action kicks, it's clear and well choreographed. The use of negative space and blank or disappearing panels on pages add to the flow of the tale. Also much more detailed than Scott Pilgrim. The backgrounds reveal a much larger world, they’re several pages within the story that I immediately wanted to hang on my wall.  O’Malley continues to find new and clever ways to muck with the existing ideas of how a story is told within the comics medium. Also in magnificent COLOUR !!!

Seconds is a much more mature in every way. From its imagery and storytelling. Seconds blew me away. I couldn't stop reading it -- once the hooks were in, it just absorbed me into it. The brilliance of it, at least to me, is just how it handles what it’s like to finally accept adulthood. 

4 out of 5  existential waffles of hope. 

Wonder Woman, Vol. 1: Blood (The New 52)

I've never been much of a Wonder Woman reader or DC enthusiast. For the longest time, I considered Wonder Woman a character only recognizable by her association with the Justice League and really nothing more. I’ve only been reading praise for DC new 52 relaunch of  Wonder Woman under writer Brian Azzarello (100 Bullets, Loveless, Joker, Hellblazer, and many more) which peaked my attention, and the end result is the best Wonder Woman story I've read.

What I gather this is a soft reboot, meaning it's still has all the same character but they’ve tweaked wonder woman mythology. Which is good because one of the reason I never got into Wonder Woman was due to her laughable origin story. Seriously. go Wikipedia it for yourself if you want to know more. Azzarello replaces it with something much more interesting and fitting for the character.

The plot basically revolves a young woman named Zola whose pregnant with Zeus's unborn child. Hera pretty pissed about this so she decided that Zola and the child need to be killed. Lucky Wonder Woman happens to be around to provide protection. While this is happening a prophy regarding Zeus’s offspring is relieved. Like any good father he decided to leave Olympus. Now the king is gone the other gods are making plays for power among themselves for the position of ruler of Olympus. Azzarello has clearly taking inspiration from Greek epics like The Odyssey. There is a little bit of everything adventure, mysticism, suspense, love, desires, humor, revelations, and a whole heap of things being setup for the future. What I like is how clear and balanced the storytelling is. The first story arc is compulsively addictive, the political war of the Gods is always in the background. The action never feels unwanted or to over the top. Which makes it all the more page-turning.

Combine that with the wonderful artwork of Cliff Chiang. The bold thick lines and distinct color palette are just excellent.Chiang's designs for the Gods are creative, intriguing and fascinating to behold (wait till you see Poseidon) .

Wonder Woman herself is drawn more like full-fledged Amazon warrior then a supermodel princess. She's lean and mean and beautiful in-between.This all comes down to both the writer and artist being on the same page. Under Azzarello's pen and Chiang art the new Wonder Woman is a winner.

If like me you’ve never read Wonder Woman before, check out Azzarello's new and exciting take on the character. You'll be pleasantly surprised by the twisty twirly story that will have you salivating for more.

TV SERIES REVIEW- The Spectacular Spiderman (Season 1 and 2)

The first two (and only, for some stupid reason) seasons of Spectacular Spiderman were awesome. They introduced cool and iconic villains, had nice spins on familiar stories, and nailed how I envisioned a Spiderman cartoon to be. This isn’t a dark and gritty telling of the Spiderman story. Instead, it shows Spiderman to be, well, spectacular.

The first two seasons follow Spiderman/Peter Parker in his early days as the web-slinger. During this time, we are introduced to a bunch of Spiderman villains such as Green Goblin, Electro, Dr Octopus, Rhino, Tombstone, Black Cat, Sandman, Venom, etc. For the most part, each of the villains is given their moment to shine and each is treated like a threat to Spiderman. I particularly liked how Tombstone and his “final” fight with Spiderman in the sewers (set to a background of Opera).

And Spiderman is ever the wise-cracking, happy-go-lucky hero in these situations. At least that is how he appears on the surface. Every so often, the viewer is treated to the thoughts of Spiderman and we realise how he uses taunts and wise-cracks as a weapon against his enemies. Plus, it just feels right that Spiderman is swinging around joking with villains rather than being all angsty about it. You really do get a sense that, for the most part, it is fun being Spiderman even with all the power and responsibility.

When out of costume, the show treats Peter Parker’s life as also important. And they give all the characters big, anime-style eyes for some reason. Apart from that, we are treated to helpless and hapless Peter Parker who is a genius but can’t seem to catch a break with women or his friends. Even his job as a photographer comes at a cost to his friendship with Eddie Brock, which helps lead Eddie on the path to Venom.

And really what more is there to say about Spectacular Spiderman. It is easily the best Spiderman cartoon that I have seen. And just when I thought Season 1 would be tough to live up to, Season 2 comes along and meets the high standard that they set for themselves. It is very refreshing seeing Spiderman be, well, Spiderman, as opposed to some angsty teenager. I guess that is the difference between Spectacular and Amazing.

5 out of 5 web-swinging waffles.

Scott Pilgrim versus the World

Way back in 2010 the movie I was most hyped about was Scott Pilgrim versus the World. Now 4 years later on a rainy afternoon I dusted of the DVD (I loved the movie so much I bought it) and settled down to watch it.

I felt like it was the perfect time to review the movie. It has been a good few years since its release now and I feel I can judge this movie better now I’m not wearing my special hyper coloured fanboy glasses. Within the first few minutes, I was completely hooked all over again. Watching the camera slowly track backwards as the Sex Bom-omb rocked out. I was drawn into this crazy canadian romantic comedy.

Scott Pilgrim is a young adult that still looks like a teenager. He’s an insecure guy and guitarist who plays in a rock band called Sex Bom-omb and is going out with a minor high-school Chinese girl, Knives. Life seems pretty content for Scott until he has a dream about a girl. She happens to appear in his real world in the form of Ramona, the ever-changing-hair-colour American recently moved to Toronto. Scott is over the moon, but he has to face his own personal demons, break up with sweet Knives and fight for Ramona's love against her seven ex’s.

Scott Pilgrim is still one of the most refreshing movies even since in release. The movie is cute, funny, entertaining, has great characters, a terrific soundtrack and stunning visuals. The story is all about the difficultness of relationships. What made the comic and the movie stand out is how its all masqueraded by the video-game approach.

Unlike many other movies like Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist. Scott Pilgrim focus on the emotional challenges of very young people, sex is not the focus, although it does not avoid it either. The movie focuses on how difficult it is to make a relationship work when you fall in love with people who already have emotional baggage and you are insecure about yourself. Scott's fights against Ramona's ex’s are just a metaphoric way of putting it.

Moreover, the emotions of the girl are not the focus here, but the emotions of a young man who is not obsessed with sex. This makes it a rarity among the coming-of-age movie genre being about a man in a relationship. How do you get a girl who has an emotional baggage when you are not an over-confident guy, your dream girl is uber-cool, and her ex’s seem like really brilliant guys compared to you? This unfortunately pushes Ramona's feelings and actions to the background, especially towards the end, as she just becomes an object for the men to fight over.

It’s only now that I’ve grown up more since it’s initial release that I can see more of the nuances that make Scott Pilgrim such a amazing movie.

All the actors are great in their roles:Michael fits the role of Scott perfectly, Ellen Wong is perfectly cast as Knives and Mary does a great job as Ramona. The other members of Sex Bom-omb put in a great performance, from the snarky Kim, the shy Young and the 'our band is the greatest' Stephen. But it’s Kieran Culkin that shines as Scott's confident, grounded gay friend Wallace Wells.

Scott Pilgrim vs the World movie is not only well done but done with passion, a project cherished by the whole team and by director Edgar Wright. The movie still has a freshness, soul and a special something that is still there even after not watching it for a few years.

4.5/5 waffles of epic epicness !!