Tag Archives: the tick

TV Review: The Tick (2016) S1E2 Where’s My Mind

the-tick-img-1200x1200Tick and Arthur have a run-in with local villainess Miss Lint and her gang, who will stop at nothing to get back the mysterious supersuit that Tick took from them and gave to Arthur. Dot, Arthur’s paramedic sister, moonlights for an unsavory business.

So far, this iteration of The Tick is much darker than previous live action versions, it’s different, and that’s not a bad thing. One thing that stands out is Griffin Newman‘s Arthur who feels more like the focus of the series as opposed to the sidekick.

What’s particularly great about this take on Arthur is the series willingness to play with his mental state leaving the viewers to guess as to if the Tick (played by Peter Serafinowicz) is even real. The answer is revealed by the end but for much of the episode I was questioning the reality of it all.

The series’ shift in character focus also changes the story to be about a person dealing with PTSD and struggling in the world. It’s interesting in its own way. The series shits the focus as well in that in other versions it’s the Tick we wonder about his mental state. Here, he’s just a big blue idiot.

The second episode is dark, really dark, especially at the end emphasizing this isn’t The Tick of the past and even then, it has me wanting to come back for more.

You can watch The Tick now on Amazon.

Overall Rating: 7.1

TV Review: The Tick (2016) S1E1 Pilot

the-tick-img-1200x1200In a world where superheroes have been real for decades, an accountant with mental health issues and zero powers comes to realize his city is owned by a global super villain long-thought dead. As he struggles to uncover this conspiracy, he falls in league with a strange blue superhero, who may or may not be a figment of his own imagination…

Debuting as part of Amazon‘s latest Pilot Season and now streaming its first full season, The Tick has been updated in many ways and some of it works, and some of it doesn’t. I’m a big fan of the comic, original animated series, and first live action iteration, and have been looking forward to this debut.

For those who have might not have seen the previous iterations, the series focused a lot on both The Tick and Arthur with The Tick being the one you’re wondering about his mental state. In this version, it’s Arthur who is the one whose grasp on reality is tenuous after trauma earlier in his life. And that trauma and spin had me wondering if The Tick actually existed, or if he’s a figment of his imagination. That’s an interesting twist, and that coupled with some directorial choices, the episode is much darker than I expected.

Peter Serafinowicz steps into the suit of The Tick and Griffin Newman is Arthur Everest in this version and both are entertaining, though Newman really stands out as Arthur. It may be due to the fact that most of the episode revolves around him, but his acting is really entertaining and he feels like the sad sack he’s supposed to be. Serafinowicz is ok as The Tick, though the dialogue doesn’t feel quite as bizarre as past iterations. There’s not enough of him to really judge his version, but so far, it just is ok.

The outfits of the two are ok though I’m not sure I’m a fan of the textured look of The Tick’s. Arthur’s, which we see at the end looks updated and pretty solid, making more sense than what’s come before.

The episode goes a bit darker as I’ve said, but it doesn’t play with that darkness for humor. There’s a bit there, but it doesn’t quite go far enough to be comical, it’s just a darker version of The Tick.

We don’t get a whole lot in this episode and I’m not quite sure it makes the case to continue, but I’ve missed The Tick, and I want to see more. There’s a lot laid out, but it’s just one episode, so the payoff is thin and few (many of the jokes of previous live action versions had jokes playing out over many episodes). Still, the groundwork is there for what looks like it could be an entertaining new take on the classic character.

You can watch The Tick now on Amazon.

Overall Rating: 6.8

Movie Review: Netflix’s Death Note Makes Me Want to Put My Name in the Book

Based on the famous Japanese manga written by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, Death Note follows a high school student who comes across a supernatural notebook, realizing it holds within it a great power; if the owner inscribes someone’s name into it while picturing their face, he or she will die. Intoxicated with his new godlike abilities, the young man begins to kill those he deems unworthy of life.

Going into watch Netflix‘s latest original film, I knew very little about the Death Note manga or anime having never read it or seen it (and also not enough to reflect on any whitewashing controversies surrounding it). So, when judging this film I get to go in fresh without preconceived expectations and coming out the other end, I can’t say I have any interest in exploring the source material.

This Death Note takes place in Seattle with a story that feels a bit like a messed up Mean Girls “burn book” meets Se7en. Actor Nat Wolff is Light Turner who is presented with a book that when he write’s their name and envisions their face, they die. Light has the power of a god to decide who lives and who dies and after using it for a bit of revenge decides to use that power in a messed up Punisher/avenging angel sort of way. Helping Light with the killing is Ryuk, a demon like being voiced by Willem Dafoe. Sadly Dafoe delivers a performance that sounds like that of his iconic spin as the Green Goblin in Spider-Man and thus had me envisioning that for everything. Also involved is actress Margaret Qualley as Mia Sutton who Light brings into his world and becomes corrupted with the power. We never get a good sense on her other than she becomes a temptress in a shallow character that should be so much more. We’ll also ingore the idiotic romance that just doesn’t fit and shoehorned in.

Directed by Adam Wingard, Death Note is tonally all over the place with a beginning that feels a bit like a comedy reminscent of Raimi’s Army of Darkness and by the end it feels like a messed up Degrassi along with acting that’s just a shade better than a made for tv movie. Basically, I can’t tell what was being gone for here. Is this a horror film? Is this a comedy? Is this a horror comedy? Is this a superhero horror comedy? The film shifts through all of this and never decides what it’s identity truly is. By trying to be everything it comes off as nothing much.

Things aren’t helped by actor Lakeith Stanfield whose “L” is beyond comedic in a performance that I’m pretty sure is not meant to be. Stanfield’s “L” is supposed to be more like Brad Pitt in Se7en (my take) but comes off as a background character in Hackers with a twitchyness about it all and a lack of sleeping. It’s hard to take any scene the character is in seriously. Paul Nakauchi as Watari feels a bit wasted but Shea Whigham as James Turner stands out among the bunch with a performance that feels natural and authentic. Whigham, the best of the bunch in acting, feels like he’s in a different film with his performance. Again a tonal mess.

What’s sad is there’s tons of potential here and you can see it touched upon over and over. The concept of vengeance, the people worshiping this avenging angel, the twists and turns, it’s all there for a thought provoking story. Instead we’re dealt with a half assed comedy horror whose ending is so convoluted you wonder when the characters became that intelligent and why they weren’t doing that to begin with.

With so much other quality things debuting this summer to watch, this is a Death Note that should be added to its own book and put out of its misery.

Overall Rating: 4.0

Amazon’s The Tick Gets a Trailer. SPOON!

SPOON! Amazon has released the first trailer for their upcoming series The Tick based on the cult comic series by Ben Edlund. The character debuted in 1986 and was the subject of an animated series on Fox in 1994 and a live action show in 2001.

A pilot debuted August 2016 and has since been picked up for a full season. The series stats Peter Serafinowicz as The Tick and Griffin Newman as his trusty sidekick Arthur Everest.

Around the Tubes

The weekend is almost here. What geeky things will folks be doing? Sound off in the comments. While you decide on all of that, here’s some comic news and reviews from around the web in our morning roundup.

Around the Tubes

Kotaku – Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite Wants Even Newbies To Have A Blast – Who’s excited for this?

The Verge – How Wonder Woman’s iconic features turned her into a progressive icon – Some interesting history here.

ICv2 – ‘The Tick’ Comics Return – This could be really cool.

 

Around the Tubes Reviews

Batman News – Batgirl #10

Comic Attack – Black #5

Talking Comics – The Flash #21

Amazon’s The Tick’s First Season is Ready to Stream August 25. Spoon!

Amazon has announced that the first season of The Tick is coming to their service on August 25. The full season will be ready to stream through Prime Video service.

Based on the cult Ben Edlund comic series, the character debuted in 1986 and was the subject of an animated series on Fox in 1994 and a live action show in 2001.

Amazon brought the series back with actor Peter Serafinowicz stepping into the blue suit as part of their pilot season. The response was good enough to get a full season order. Since the pilot images have been released of an updated look to the character’s costume and it’s unknown if this will be explained or just is.

You can watch the pilot now on Amazon.

Amazon’s The Tick Gets a New Costume

The Twitter account for the Amazon update of The Tick has released a new image of the hero played by Peter Serafinowicz. The image shows off an updated suit, something that was panned when it was first revealed last year.

The first full season of The Tick will be released later this year.

The television show is based on the Bed Edlund comic character who debuted in 1986 and was the subject of an animated series on Fox in 1994 and a live action show in 2001.

You can watch the pilot now on Amazon.

TV Review: The Tick (2016) S1E1 Pilot

the-tick-img-1200x1200In a world where superheroes have been real for decades, an accountant with mental health issues and zero powers comes to realize his city is owned by a global super villain long-thought dead. As he struggles to uncover this conspiracy, he falls in league with a strange blue superhero, who may or may not be a figment of his own imagination…

Debuting as part of Amazon‘s latest Pilot Season, The Tick has been updated in many ways and some of it works, and some of it doesn’t. I’m a big fan of the comic, original animated series, and first live action iteration, and have been looking forward to this debut.

For those who have might not have seen the previous iterations, the series focused a lot on both The Tick and Arthur with The Tick being the one you’re wondering about his mental state. In this version, it’s Arthur who is the one whose grasp on reality is tenuous after trauma earlier in his life. And that trauma and spin had me wondering if The Tick actually existed, or if he’s a figment of his imagination. That’s an interesting twist, and that coupled with some directorial choices, the episode is much darker than I expected.

Peter Serafinowicz steps into the suit of The Tick and Griffin Newman is Arthur Everest in this version and both are entertaining, though Newman really stands out as Arthur. It may be due to the fact that most of the episode revolves around him, but his acting is really entertaining and he feels like the sad sack he’s supposed to be. Serafinowicz is ok as The Tick, though the dialogue doesn’t feel quite as bizarre as past iterations. There’s not enough of him to really judge his version, but so far, it just is ok.

The outfits of the two are ok though I’m not sure I’m a fan of the textured look of The Tick’s. Arthur’s, which we see at the end looks updated and pretty solid, making more sense than what’s come before.

The episode goes a bit darker as I’ve said, but it doesn’t play with that darkness for humor. There’s a bit there, but it doesn’t quite go far enough to be comical, it’s just a darker version of The Tick.

We don’t get a whole lot in this episode and I’m not quite sure it makes the case to continue, but I’ve missed The Tick, and I want to see more. There’s a lot laid out, but it’s just one episode, so the payoff is thin and few. Still, the groundwork is there for what looks like it could be an entertaining new take on the classic character.

You can watch The Tick now on Amazon.

Overall Rating: 6.8

A First Look at The Tick!

Amazon has released the first look at The Tick and also released an official description. Check out the images below! Spoon!

In a world where superheroes have been real for decades, an underdog accountant with zero powers comes to realize his city is owned by a global super villain long-thought dead. As he struggles to uncover this conspiracy, he falls in league with a strange blue superhero. The Tick stars Peter Serafinowicz (Guardians of the Galaxy), Griffin Newman (Vinyl), Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen), Valorie Curry (House of Lies), Yara Martinez (Jane the Virgin) and Brendan Hines (Scorpion). The Tick is executive produced by Ben Edlund (Supernatural), Barry Josephson (Bones) and Barry Sonnenfeld (A Series of Unfortunate Events), directed by Wally Pfister (The Dark Knight), and written by Edlund. The Tick is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television.

_DSC1410.NEFThe Tick 2 The Tick 3

« Older Entries Recent Entries »