Written by guest contributor Cameron Gallagher
Spy is a hilarious movie that truly shows the funnier side of some great actors and actresses such as Rose Byrne, Jason Statham, Jude Law, and of course Melissa McCarthy. After seeing Melissa McCarthy’s “Tammy” and “Identity Thief” I had lost all faith in her, especially because she WROTE TAMMY which was the worst of the bunch, Spy proves to me that she is a talented comedic actress, but still a horrible writer.
Spy is about a, well spy, played by Jude Law who after an issue, is replaced by Melissa McCarthy, who basically has almost no field experience. Most people will get caught up in Melissa, but I found that Jason Statham and Rose Byrne truly blew me away in this film. They were DROP. DEAD. FUNNY. I mean Statham’s character was so funny, I couldn’t stop laughing through whole scenes! Rose Byrne is very vulgar in most scenes, so is the entire movie, but I found that it really worked for the film’s tone.
Beyond it being funny, this actually has an interesting story. It’s no James Bond, but it is fun. This is one of those movies, you see some things coming, but others are really interesting and keep you on your toes. Also, I loved how Spy really doesn’t take itself seriously, even though it gets quite serious. It almost picks fun at Bond style films, while succeeding in being one.
That being said, the film was predictable. It wasn’t anything that ruined the movie by any means, but got a little repetitive in some areas. Also there was a few plot holes that didn’t make much sense, like another female spy, who we thought we would see again, and did for about 2 seconds. It didn’t work, but wasn’t a make or break plot point.
Overall Spy is a hilarious film, that is DEFINITELY worth seeing with a group of family and friends who love comedy. Check it out yourself and tell me what you think!
Score: 3/5
Spy Director/Writer: Paul Feig Studio: 20th Century Fox Runtime: 120 Minutes Release Date: 6/5/15
Pixels is about a nerdy kid who loses a 1980’s Arcade Gaming Tournament, but after Aliens invade using 80’s arcade games as a front, his talent comes in handy. So, this movie is not a good movie when it comes to cinema except for two things. The visual effects were OUTSTANDING, and the story was well crafted to actually seem very realistic. Of course this film began with the idea of making 80’s video games come to life, but Adam Sandler came up with the perfect way. I love how a Time Capsule was taken as a threat and became this movie. It is so off but felt so real (the only real way this would make sense). So, yes it’s dumb, but worked.
Part of the appeal of Saints for me has been Benjamin Mackey’s strong artistic style. This book doesn’t look like anything else from Image for sure; it almost doesn’t look like anything else on the shelves at all. His style is very open and cartoonish without feeling childish, and his characters have excellent facial expressions. For a book with such a weird high concept, the characters feel grounded and real without feeling overexamined. Add into that the switches between pale, bright palettes for the saints and the dark, shadowy textures of the secret priests, it brings a nice dichotomy that the issues have been lacking until now. I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention how rad the ticker tape prophecies that come out of the Jesus Pimp Gabriel’s mouth are; it’s such a visually interesting way to make a painting talk, and it’s a real stroke of genius.
In a week that’s chock full of amazing comics releases—The Violent, the hardcover Essex County, Secret Wars, We Can Never Go Home’s collection—Head Lopper stands out as one of the most bang for the buck every three months. It’s something I hammered on last time, but I have to emphasize how astonishingly worth it this comic is. This is no twenty page floppy that you’ll be done with before you realize it. You really get to live in the world Maclean is building, and the fact that it only comes around once every three months makes it that much sweeter.
This issue has a feeling that it moves to the sides as well as forward The world continues to build around Maika as she tries to find answers to the mystery of her mother’s murder. Everything continues to be shrouded in an aura of mystery, and it seems every issue will answer a question and make two more, more so about the world than about Maika. This isn’t necessarily bad, Marjorie Liu’s prose-writing background shines through as she creates very well-rounded characters in a world she continues to build in this issue. There is an enormous amount of thought gone into each faction of the book, even the side characters have enough dialogue to make them three-dimensional. Someone as seemingly measly as a traveler on the side of the road is investigated upon, as Miaka is trying to pass by as another human without being noticed, this builds up the tension and lets itself live in the moment. Being able to pause for tension is something that is sometimes lost with comics and the worry of page count.
The most successful Jump Start this year, by very very far, was 
Issue nine begins a new story and is narrated by a young Native boy named Stone Hoof. It focuses on the tension between Stone Hoof and a British soldier that he befriends named Will Henderson. Stone Hoof helps Henderson and his people build a fort while the Shawnee (Stone Hoof’s tribe) are hunting in the area. Soon enough though Stone Hoof’s tribe has to move on, and it is only years later when the French And Indian conflict is underway that he meets Henderson again. The next time they meet is in battle, as the Shawnee have allied with the French and together they siege the fort that together Henderson and Stone Hoof helped raise. Both of them survive the battle and meet in the aftermath, Stone Hoof expresses his frustration with the futility of the French and British war. He tries to reason with Henderson and asks why their cultures must claim land for themselves and horde it with such ferocity, to that Henderson simply replies, “Bit dramatic, the land here is endless.” Stone Hoof’s response is a bit wiser “you use hyperbole, the only thing that is endless is your capacity to feel fear and envy.” Henderson grows tired of their transaction and turns to leave when Stone Hoof offers to fetch him water one last time like he did for the man when he was a boy.
On the other side of the narrative, and intermingled with the balls-out action that constitutes the fight between Hercules and his lover scorned, is the birthing of Satan, as he delivers he and Jesus’s lovechild unto the world, with all of the screaming, shitting and gaping vaginal shots you could ask for in a book like this! And I absolutely loved it.
Dredd's
Issue eight finds us on the brink of war between Emmy and her twin sister Kammi, mirror images of each other, they both have different motives and want to use their powers for good or evil. Emmy, just recently finding a peaceful coexistence with the townspeople of Harrow will stop at nothing to maintain that balance. Kammi on the other hand finds Harrow to be the perfect place for her to assume control, drawing upon the evil nature of the haints that live in the forest for help. This struggle for control finally comes to a head and Emmy’s power and control over her environment is tested.
Kelly's art is so strong on this title that he serves as the ideal substrate onto which all these colorists can pin their versions of Louise's world. The page designs threaten to turn what should be a surprisingly unified jaunt with powerful (and beautiful) weapons of contrast at its disposal into a story where contrast is itself the melody and Kelly is the rhythm section. Of course, it's possible that this is the mission of the book. The very thing I'm worried about could be a major bit of narrative structure. But since 