Review: Sweets: A New Orleans Crime Story (Graphic Novel)

Way back when this series first came out, I heard good things about it, based on the 2 comics news sources I follow.  Flash forward a few months.  Amazon recommends me this title based on previous purchases.  Remembering all the high praise and enjoying the low price, I went ahead and bought this book.

Sweets follows Curt, a man facing hard times.  His teenage daughter, Katie, was killed in a hit and run and his marriage is falling apart.  Katie was the only thing holding Curt and his wife together.  Without her, divorce is eminent.  To add to his burden, Curt, being a police detective, is on the verge of losing his job if he doesn't shape up.  In order to keep his mind occupied and distracted, he finally joins back the force in the middle of a series of murders.  At first, they all seem random and unconnected.  But the consistent discovery of pecan pralines leads the cops to see these deaths as being related.  Trying to beat the clock, Curt needs to uncover the truth behind and murders.  More so, he needs to findthe man instigating so much viciousness on his town.

Likes - I'll begin with the art.  I think  for a noir gritty crime story the art is great.  The first chapter starts off with a slew of different styles.  It was confusing.  As i read one though it started to make more sense.  Each color scheme/style depicts a state of mind or period.  The art was easy to figure out and overall helped tell the story better.
The story was another solid aspect I liked about this.  It was totally original, signs point to Seven and other entries in the genre.  For what it as though it was nice.  The story really was about Curt, trying to figure out not only how to catch the killing but dealing the fact his daughter was gone.  Honestly we barely see the killer, the focus being on Curt.

Dislikes - Just one thing that I found annoying.  My actually TPB fell about.  About half the pages just fell out in the middle of my reading annoying.

Overall - I enjoyed this book.  But it was amazing as I was expecting.  There was one twist but even that really felt expected.  The art was great but not to the point I could frame it on a wall.  It did help make this good story better. Read this if you are a fan of crime, like Law and Order. Otherwise, feel free to skip this one. 3.5 stars out of 5.

Review: Str.A.In (anime)

For me, I have an anime addiction.  At any given point, I need to be involved in an anime some way.  If I am not in the middle of one, I feel weird, like I'm not doing a good job of being myself.  With all that said, you can understand why I choose to watch this anime.  Not so much because it looked good or interesting, but because I had a need to watch something were the characters have huge eyes. Still, Str.A.In surprised me by being a pretty thoughtful, emotional run.

(SPOILER ALERT! Read this paragraph last! MAYBE!)

Str.A.In is set in a world were aliens are a constant threat to the earth and to humanity.  Enter Sara Werec.  She is the sister of Ralph Werec, a war hero, and Strain Pilot prodigy.  On an unfortunate night, her school and attack ed destroyed by an invading fleet.  This ambush was led by the one time hero, Ralph.  No one knows why he has switched sides.  After the attack, all the admiration he had garnered quickly becomes hate and fear now.  Sara must now take on a new identity in order to have a chance to confront her brother and understand why he has turned into such a monster.  

Likes - The first thing I liked about this show is how it started.  Similar to Gai-Rai: Zero, the first episode is this insane sucker punch.  If you've read the above paragraph, I've ruined it for you.  If not, you're set to have your head spinning. You really don't get a feel of things until the second episode where you come to see where the current struggle is heading.  

Another aspect of Str.A.In I liked were the lighter moments.  There were many comedic, cartoony moments and stories.  I'm glad for it though because if not for those, Str.A.In would feel so heavy and depressing,  It would be a struggle to watch the 13 episodes.  As the good times are a distraction for Sara, they also serve to distract the audience from the real story - People are dying, by the hand of one man, and no one knows why.

Related to the story are the characters.  At first they seem like stock characters, flat and no thought put into their creation.  Over time, the people and their stories, opinions, and experiences all begin to tie together creating unexpected complexity. Str.A.In started off seeming like another mecha driven anime but became a series about the meaning of family, friends, and the importance of letting go.  

Dislikes - Mainly, I could not stand Sara.  I think that was the point of her.  Watching her constantly pushing people away and instead finding comfort and conversation from an inanimate doll was creepy and sad.  I understand this is important to the story but it took her way too long to get out of this depression.  You can look at it as how much damage she really suffered by being betrayed, but still, it was SOO annoying.  Once you get past Sara though, the other characters can be charming and fun, especially compared to Sara's black light. 

Overall - I enjoyed this anime.  I don't know if I would brag that I watched this or that it was ground breaking. It did serve as a good way to pass the time and fulfill my anime addiction.  So if you watch a lot of anime, you might enjoy this one while looking for the next big thing.  For other people, there is a lot more out there to watch.  Overall 4 stars, though I don't know if I'd highly recommend this. 

Review: Exit Through the Gift Shop (film)

In an attempt to kill time and avoid some real work that needed to to be done, I decided to watch yet another film.  I had already seen Our Idiot Brother earlier today.  It was good but not worth writing.  After avoiding Exit Through the Gift Shop for awhile, feeling I was never in the mood, I decided to stop being a wuss and jump into this story.  Man, was I putting off a nice payoff.

Exit Through the Gift Shop is a strange and interesting tale, encompassing Theirry Guetta and his obsession with street art.  Things begin with how Thierry needed to film his whole life.  Soon, he become exposed to the world of street art. Two obsessions, now crashed together, created an experience for Theirry no one else had.  Documenting art that wouldn't last for a day, Thierry was the historian for a modern movement.  Events progress into a strange twist as Thierry soon becomes the artist he had been obsessed with for so long. 

Likes - The first thing I really enjoyed about this film is the initial documenting of the street art movement.  You are exposed to an amazing underground world, focused on pure expression and avoiding capture to paint another day.  You see some amazing pieces and the efforts made to put them up.  

Another great aspect of the film are the people in it.  Theirry, Banksy, and Fairey all are interesting, honest people with interesting takes on art.  Banksy and Fairey are at it from the beginning, before money was ever in the picture and fame was a consideration.  Eventually Thierry comes in and does the art and is loved for it.  Yet, he earns no respect from the street art community.  Much like most celebrities, he gives people what they want and expects people to make up for his shortcomings and poor planning.  Exit Through the Gift Shop is as much about credibly and fame as it is about art.

The last major facet I enjoyed is the dry humor in the film.  Though touted as a documentary, it is anything but.  The moments you wanna laugh, feel free too.  That was the point!

Dislikes -  I didn't dislike anything with this film.  It was subtle, informative, and overall entertaining.  I wouldn't sit in a theater or watch this with a group. For my desire to kill time and have a laugh though, this was perfect.

Overall - This was a very good, fun film thought nothing outstanding or ground breaking.  Still, it was a perfect introduction to street art and an overall movement that needs to be under the radar to exist.  Look up Mr Brainwash in Wikipedia too.  It'll make you really think about what Exit Through the Gift Shop was really about.