Steranko

Reading the collected Nick Fury comics by Jim Steranko. The stories are re-coloured, but thankfully they've kept the original flat colours, giving it a popart look, not doing the darker, graded colours often found in recolouring. Superheroes meet James Bond, a lot of fun.

Peanuts

Another old drawing

Old drawing

Desirée

Marlon Brando is Napoleon, Jean Simmons is... Desirée! Directed by Henry Koster.

Those big cinemascope films from the 50s today seem to have been a step back for film. Okay, the screen was double as wide as a tv-image, but the films were more about perfect compositions and that vase in the background than they were about the characters - the opposite of  the chaos of real life. Close-ups weren't possible, so there's a constant feeling of distance, both between the characters and between the characters and the viewer. The film has none of the impressive fight scenes that you after all could find in War and Peace. Thank god it doesn't last three hours. I'm sure Brando could have been a good Napoleon, but this is not that film.

Last Tango and Peace

Last Tango in Paris:
The film looks great, with cinematography by Vittorio Storaro, but has dated badly and frankly it's a lot of arty drivel. Brando is at his most charismatic - just him looking at a wall is somehow fascinating - and of course, some of his dialogues are really about himself. Maria Schneider's character on the other hand is pretty annoying. Brando doesn't take her seriously, so why should the viewers? The parts without Brando, just about her and Jean-Pierre Léaud as a film director are less interesting. It's a weakness of the film that Bertolucci couldn't, or didn't want to, create a female character that was Brando's equal. But by all means, go get the butter.

War and Peace:
The film feels pretty stiff and dated. There are actors saying lines, not real characters. The second half gets a bit better. The big scenes, like the retreat from Moscow and the fight scenes are impressive, the smaller scenes mostly lack intimacy. Henry Fonda is probably miscast, his character never seems convincing. Audrey Hepburn brings some real charm and life to her part.

Gil Kane

Copying Gil Kane, early 80s