Book: A Calm Before Storm #5

“Retired Private Investigator Derrick Storm was enjoying the easy life–until he fished up a decaptiated head belonging to a victim of notorious criminal, The Fear. When Derrick’s father, Carl, revealed that The Fear was teh man who killed Derrick’s mother, they both swore vengeance.

After interrupting an assassination attempt on the Russion ambassador, Derrick and Carl found themselves amidst an international crisis. Helen Pierce, Derrick’s CIA contact, forbade them from getting further involved. But instead, Derrick made a plea for help to his old flame, covert CIA agent Clara Strike.

Derrick, Clara and Carl made it into Russia, hoping to stop The Fear’s attempt at destabilizing relations between Russh and Germany. The trio interrogated a man named Viktor Mueller, who revealed The Fear’s agenda: leading a massacre during a rally at the Kremlin, wielding German weaponry.

Hoping to stop The Fear, Clara and Carl left Derrick to contend with Viktor–instead, he was ambushed by The Fear himself.“

That was it?

Seriously?

After five issues, I thought there’d be a better way to end this series than with a half-assed attempt at “I just want to see the world burn” speech, followed by a clean-up by the same character.

Seriously?

I’m not saying I was expecting a masterpiece. After the filler that was Issue #4, I was just looking forward to actual plot movement and a logical turn of events. I did not expect a forced conclusion to what had become a fluff Derrick Storm story.

And to think this mini-series had actual potential!

I mean, what happened to the angle of Derrick’s mother dying at the hands of The Fear? Aside from the taunting that was to be expected, of course. Where did the pretend-I’m-dead story arc come from? What in the name of all that is good was up with the sudden reveal of a turncoat that wasn’t even foreshadowed?!

And seeing how much of a goof Derrick Storm is, I have to wonder–how did he become known as a good detective, to the point that the CIA were willing to work with him?

I can’t even–

Whoever in Marvel is in charge of the Derrick Storm title should really rethink what they’re doing to the character. I mean, I know that it’s not really a title they’re planning to sustain, as it’s just Castle merchandise at the end of the day, but the least they could do is give content that won’t take readers for fools.

But fools we are for having followed this story to the end.

Ugh.

Movie: Star Trek Into Darkness

“When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis.

With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction.

As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.“

A little underwhelming, if you ask me. Then again, so was the first movie from the rebooted universe. Fortunately for the latter, it had enough charm to propel it into a blockbuster. The second one falters in this aspect, relying mostly on Scotty (Simon Pegg), Sulu (John Cho), and Kirk (Chris Pine) for the emotional hook. Well, on Scotty and Kirk. Sulu was just an awesome badass.

Admittedly, I did have higher expectations this time ’round. I’m not a Trekkie. I don’t have an extensive background on the universe Gene Roddenberry created with Star Trek. And I was very much intrigued with the trailer and synopsis released.

The intrigue died after the first fight between Kirk and Spock, leading to the demotion of the former and the reassignment of the latter. That’s not a spoiler, so much as it’s the first act of the film.

Remember what I said about Iron Man 2? I didn’t like it because the problems felt superficial. The main protagonist was superficially weakened, just so we can root for him.

I wish that’s this film’s only problem.

See, the writers of Star Trek Into Darkness tries to rehash the previous film by having Kirk down and out again. Except, as you go deeper into the story, there really was no need.

John Harrison, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, is not an ordinary adversary. He’s an evolved human, which makes him a strong enough antagonist that you don’t need to cripple your protagonist beforehand. But because the writers do, we lose time on bridging the trust gap between our core characters, instead of using said time on developing the relationship between the characters.

As a result, we get shortened screen time for most everyone. Sure, each one gets enough of a hero moment to make a mark, but it’s only well and good for everyone individually. Collectively, the Enterprise crew is no better than they were at the end of the first film. Which made one of what was supposed to be the film’s emotional highlights feel empty and fake.

And then there’s Zachary Quinto.

I liked him as Sylar back in Heroes, and he’s done a bunch of unmemorable but pretty okay roles since then. I liked him enough in the first Star Trek film from the rebooted universe. But for some reason, I really couldn’t connect to him in this film. Is it because of the fact that he is Vulcan, and that he is repressing his emotions? Well, it was the same deal in the first film and I didn’t have a problem then.

Maybe it’s because this was supposed to have already been addressed in the film. Maybe it’s because we were cheated off actual relationship development between Spock and Kirk.

Zachary Quinto’s supposed crowning moment, during his fight with John Harrison, falls flat because there’s a disconnect between what the audience is feeling at the time, and what the film is telling the audience to feel.

And then, everything that happened after was very paint-by-numbers. Nothing original happens.

I left the theater feeling less than impressed.

Television: Doctor Who and the Name of the Doctor

“Clara is summoned to an impossible conference call, alerting her that the deadly Whisper Men are closing in on Vastra, Jenny and Strax. Someone is kidnapping the Doctor’s friends, leading him toward the one place in all of time and space that he should never go. It’s a deadly trap that threatens to unravel his past, present and future…“

I’m unsure about how I should feel about this episode.

On the one hand, I’m highly satisfied with how they wrapped up the Impossible Girl storyline–and how they wrote in the Great Intelligence into the fabric of Doctor Who history. What I didn’t like so much was how the whole episode didn’t feel like a proper Who episode.

Thing is, I don’t even know how to explain that. But one thing’s for sure. It starts with River Song.

Before we go forward, I would just like to explain how I’m very much a fan of River Song. Until Series 6 happened, that is. But I thought The Angels Take Manhattan did a great job at bringing back the River Song I liked. And then we get the one in this episode.

On the one hand, I liked the fact that Steven Moffat chose the version of River who knew everything to appear in this episode. On the other hand, this raises so many questions for me. Like, how did Madame Vastra manage to contact the consciousness of River Song in the very, very far future–where she lives in a centralized processor that only exists in a planet far away?

The timey-wimey bit worked with Clara, as we already saw that type of sending messages through time in Blink. But I’m really curious as to how they got River.

And why River? Because she knows the name of the Doctor? Because of Trenzalore? But this was just a conclave to talk about saving the Doctor, is it not? Did they know that they would need the name of the Doctor?

If we’re going for people who care about the Doctor, wouldn’t the Paternoster Gang attempt to contact Amy and Rory? Or Jack Harkness? Maybe Martha Jones? People who can actually help the doctor. So why not them? I understand the reality of returning cast members and budgetary constraints–but a clear explanation of why not them would help. Immensely. Especially since the recent run of episodes have all thrown homage to previous episodes–and it’s leading us toward the fiftieth anniversary special.

This is not to say that the episode was bad though. I thought it was exceptionally well-crafted. I just couldn’t get over the fact that for an episode leading to the anniversary, and for a finale episode, this felt really… small. As I said, it didn’t feel like a Who episode. Especially after the big episodes that led to the finale. Where was the grandeur of The Crimson Horror? The impossibility of The Wedding of River Song? Where was the heart-tugging moment of The Rings of Akhaten? The spectacle of The Bells of St. John? Where was the feel of adventure that they’ve been infusing the series with since Series 6′s mid-series finale A Good Man Goes to War?

There’s a feeling of something missing in The Name of the Doctor.

I must say though, Jenna-Louise Coleman did exceptionally well in this episode.

And I really do like the explanation we get as to why Clara became the Impossible Girl.

And I hope that this really is the end of the prophecy that Steven Moffat started in Series 5. That after the Pandorica opens, silence will fall when the question is asked. The Pandorica has already opened. Silence already fell. (And has fallen again.) And the question has been asked.

Let’s go back to the simpler arcs. Like Bad Wolf. Like Vote Saxon.

Or like the cracks in the universe.

Speaking of which. Have we already found out what made the TARDIS explode back in Series 5?

That’s something we’ve yet to discuss, isn’t it?

Well, we’ll hold off on it for now, as we digest the game-changing reveal at the end of The Name of the Doctor. Or we could discuss it during the six months wait we have to endure before the fiftieth anniversary special airs on November. Sound off in the comments section below.

Television: A woman goes to great lengths to protect her daughter in ‘Magpakailanman’

Tonight on Magpakailanman, a mother’s worst fear is realized when a nightmare scenario from her childhood happens again–to her own child.

When “Jessa Aquino,” not her real name, married her husband, she thought she was leaving a nightmare life behind. About to be a single mother, “Jessa” was just trying to get by in life–when love found her and married her. But what she thought was a fairy-tale ending proved to be a red herring as a bigger nightmare awaited her in marriage.

“Jessa” became the breadwinner of the family, leaving her husband to essentially become the housewife. What she didn’t know was that while she is away, her husband has a nasty addiction to porn–leading him to act on his lust with “Jessa’s” eldest daughter!

Confronted by the truth, “Jessa” is shell-shocked. How can something that happened to her as a child happen again? And how could she have been so wrong about her husband who she thought was going to be her family’s savior?

What will “Jessa” do for her family? For her daughter?

Find out tonight’s episode of Magpakailanman featuring Angelu de Leon, Neil Ryan Sese, and Kyle Ocampo. “Child Rape Video Scandal” is directed by Laurice Guillen, with the script by Senedy Que, based on the research of Karen Lustica.

Book: Lola, a Ghost Story

“Jesse sees dead people, monsters, demons, and lots of other things that go bump in the night. Things that no one else can see. No one except his ailing grandmother — a woman who used her visions to help those living in her small town. The same rural community in all the scary stories Jesse’s heard as a child. Man-eating ogres in trees. Farmhouses haunted by wraiths. Even pigs possessed by the devil. Upon his grandmother’s passing, Jesse has no choice but to face his demons… and whatever else might be awaiting him at Lola’s house.“

If one was to judge a book by its cover, you would say that this book isn’t scary at all. And you would be right. Because I don’t think the intent behind this book was to scare. At any capacity. Which makes me wonder–what exactly was the purpose behind Lola: A Ghost Story?

The story is nice. Unfortunately, it’s just that– Nice. It’s not groundbreaking in any way. Nor is it very original.

It’s a story designed to pull at the heartstrings, but only manages a few tugs before giving up.

It’s a story that sets up a world it has no intention of visiting again.

But it’s very likeable. Which, I think, has more to do with the art than the actual story. Because looking back at it now, asking myself what I liked in the book… I’m drawing a blank.

Well, that’s not true. I really liked the art. The story though, I feel, was a wasted opportunity.

Writer Torres sets out to tell one story, a visit to the Philippines mitigated by the death of the title character: the grandmother. It weaves stories about said grandmother to tell the reader how special she was. But the actual story happens at present, at the wake her grandson from Canada is forced to attend. And his story doesn’t really connect with the grandmother save for the fact that they share the same gift: the ability to see visions–and talk to dead people.

Something we don’t really get to explore much.

We get teases of it, sure. And the actual story does deal with one ghost. But juxtaposed with the more fantastical stories about the grandmother–the main plot falls flat.

And then we get to the ending with its vision of the future.

Closing the book, I had to ask–what was the point of the ending? And then, as I type this, I followed this up with, what was the point of the whole story? Is it about acceptance? About destiny? About faith?

Whatever the story may be about, it remained unclear and unrealized.

But the art was really nice.

Of course, I could be looking at this the wrong way. Someone out there might have been able to discern why this book is good. So let’s see what other people said about the book:
One Metal
Comic Book Resources
Kat in Books