My Latest Entertainment

Over the past few days, I've watched one movie, seen one new TV show and read three big 'ol hardcovers. Two of them were things I've been anticipating that I was pretty pleased with, the other was a pleasant surprise that I picked up on thanks to good buzz.

TV:
Burn Notice (USA) - I'll be honest, despite enjoying The 4400, I don't really think of USA as a place for really great TV. So I wasn't overly hyped for Burn Notice, about a spy who gets "burned" by his agency and forced to stay in Miami, leading to him becoming something of a private detective/do-gooder with his skills.

But it turns out, the first episode was pretty damn good. Nice voiceover, some good wit, solid action, believable tradecraft and good writing and action overall. I watched it a couple days ago and I've been anxiously checking the Tivo for a new episode since, which means it's hooked me pretty good. Well worth checking out, and if you're the type of person for whom this is a plus, Bruce Campbell is in it.

Movies:
Transformers - I know, I know, shut up. But really, despite a pretty awful script and Michael Bay's ADD direction, this was pretty good at what it set out to do. I mean, I think it could have actually been a really good popcorn movie all the way through, as opposed to a weak movie that effectively pushed my giant robot/action movie fan buttons, but I can't deny that in general, the movie kept me smiling, especially when the robots were on screen. A couple really good action sequences on the road and in the air, and Peter Cullen doing the voice for Optimus Prime, helped a lot. Fun, and I can even see picking up the DVD to skip ahead and watch the action sequences from time to time. When the inevitable sequel comes out, I'll go and see it. Especially if there are different writers and a different director.

Comics:
I've been meaning to read Annihilation now that all three hardcovers are out, and finally got the chance to do so today. As it turns out, this is a pretty kickass superhero/space adventure epic. The miniseries are much stronger collected in one place, where you can see how they directly feed into the main story, and the main story has the exact scope I would hope for. Big explosive comics at their best, kicks the hell out of Infinite Crisis, Civil War and House of M combined.