Supergirl (the half a season review)

Up, Up goes the skirt.

Alright folks, despite the fact the first season of Supergirl isn't over yet (the main actors were hired for 20 episodes and we're on episode 14 at the moment of this review) I'd like to bring some balance to the force. Whenever I discuss with friends about our deep nerdom on a big chunk of a lot of things (comic books, Sci-Fi, films, TV series, Animé, etc) and when the subject of superheroes in the tele is brought up, I simply stand alone on the side of Supergirl. If you're a local in our blog, you can clearly tell that we don't give a fuck about following certain standards as to the things we choose to like and/or review. The past entry was about an over rated mediocre film (people will look at it this way years from now, believe you me) of one of my favorite comic book characters (yes, I fucking read comic books, been doing it since long before I had pubes) and the fact that it was rated R with lots of cussing, gory violence, sex scenes and whatever censors evaluate as "adults only material" the film wasn't that faithful to the original source and yet millions of fuckers are loving it madly. How come we can't do the same with Supergirl? what hasn't her show got that other superhero shows have? Be warned, if you're going to start with shit like "it's not dark enough", "it's too campy", "it's not as serious as Arrow", "it's got no  interesting support characters like The Flash does" and so fucking on (nope, the Marvel Comics are pure boogers and cum soup, unless we're talking Daredevil)

To all of you who think like that, and I'll put it in educated fashion: go fuck yourselves and get an education on comic books. Any true connoisseur knows that superheroes have gone through different stages of evolution as each decade went by. We have bronze age, silver age, golden age and modern age. Each period has unique features that define storytelling, writing, plot, multiverses and of course superhero personalities & behavior...

The crossover is on its way!

Just casual flying.

Who's SuperGirl anyways?

Supergirl is a fictional superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Supergirl was created to be a female counterpart to DC's popular hero Superman. The character was created by writer Otto Binder and designed by artist Al Plastino in 1959. She first appeared in the Action Comics comic book series and later branched out into animation, film, television, and merchandising. 

Introduced in 1959, a number of different characters have assumed the Supergirl mantle over the decades, with the most popular and enduring version of the character being Kara Zor-El, Superman's cousin, who shares his super powers and vulnerability to Kryptonite. Supergirl plays a supporting role in various DC Comics publications, including Action Comics, Superman, and several comic book series unrelated to Superman. In 1969, Supergirl's adventures became the lead feature in Adventure Comics, and she later starred in an eponymous comic book series which debuted in 1972 and ran until 1974, followed by a second monthly comic book series titled The Daring New Adventures of Supergirl, which ran from 1982 to 1984.

Due to changing editorial policy at DC, Supergirl was initially killed off in the 1985 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths. DC Comics subsequently rebooted the continuity of the DC Comics Universe, re-establishing Superman's character as the sole survivor of Krypton's destruction. Following the conclusion of Crisis on Infinite Earths, several different characters written as having no familial relationship to Superman have assumed the role of Supergirl, including Matrix, Linda Danvers, and Cir-El. Following the cancellation of the third, 1996-2003 Supergirl comic book series, starring the Matrix/Linda Danvers version of the character, a modern version of Kara Zor-El was reintroduced into the DC Comics continuity in issue #8 of the Superman/Batman comic book series titled "The Supergirl from Krypton" (2004). The modern Kara Zor-El stars as Supergirl in an eponymous comic book series, in addition to playing a supporting role in various other DC Comics publications...

Nerdy never looked this good before.

a Treesome? are you out of your fucking minds?

Alright fucker, I get the point but, why do you say SuperGirl is a good show?

From day zero, when the pilot leaked Supergirl had mixed reviews (well, mostly negative reviews) stating the above mentioned in the first paragraph of this positive review. Set aside what those reviews said my goal here is to convince you Melissa Benoist's Supergirl is a must for every person looking for good old fun. First, Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg and Marc Guggenheim, the same team that brought you Arrow & The Flash are the brains behind the series, and although the series has had its ups & downs in some early episodes, there is no denying some massive potential is unveiling as the series goes by. Like The Flash, Supergirl shares a relatively similar structure that entangles the main characters to a still developing core plot while other sub plots are explored in order to expand character development and add other DC Comics characters, meaning we're in a shared universe. So far, Doctor T.O. Morrow, The White Martians, Red Tornado, Cameron Chase, Martian Manhunter, Indigo/Brainiac 8, Bizarro Supergirl & Maxwell Lord have already been introduced in the show. Fortunately the whole "I'm not Superman, I'm Supergirl" sub plot seems to have vanished for good. If this show has a problem, or had a problem it was precisely the fact that they're always comparing Kara Zor El to his cousin, makes you feel sick. You know you're watching Supergirl and yet writers insist they must remind you she's not Superman. That's fucking fucked, and I hope we won't get anymore of that crap.  

Speaking of what's to like about the series, I'd say the "all audiences" rating is one the most important assets this series has. You know, I'm not a morals guy and shit like that but, since comic books are somehow meant to be enjoyed by children & kids, this series set the proper tone for me, and millions more to watch it with younger siblings, sons & daughters, nephews and hell, even grandchildren! Despite the fact Melissa Benoist is perhaps the number one most beatiful girl in the tele today, she stays classy in both Kara Danvers & Supergirl's outfits. She could totally go all the way (remember her leaked photos from 2014) and yet she does go all the way but offering a more empowering feminine side of things. She's no Catwoman, she doesn't need to play it sexy to get what she wants, and in a way, I humbly think that is awesome, because women are usually portrayed as sex bombshells in every form of mass media there is to know. Now, this is not a contradiction in our blog, although most of the films we discuss here are sexploitation flicks, that is a genre, and Supergirl is a completely different business. 

She's the man.

Beyond the call of duty.

I feel like so many people are missing the point of this show because they think it's too silly, the writing is too immature, or the plot seems too on-the-nose. But look at it from a new perspective: Can parents see themselves watching this with their children? Arrow shows some rather steamy scenes when that sweet lovin' is going on. What are parents doing? "No, sorry kids, can't watch this." But Kara is cute, dorky, and the Every girl. She wants her boss to be more understanding, she wants to help people, and she always has an encouraging word to say. The most important thing -- she values her friends. What better lesson to teach your kids in a modern age? And for those who are kids at heart, it's still an enjoyable show. There's a great cast with lots of people we recognize (at least I recognize several). It reminds me of my youth and why I loved superheroes to begin with. She's a *clothed* feminine figure who isn't relying on the size of her chest or butt to show how capable she is. Wasn't that the biggest complaint of all sci-fi and fantasy? Now, anyone who remembers the classic Disney movie, Hercules, and loved it regardless of what age they are, I feel like that's the movie that best describes this show. I was young enough to appreciate it, and I've even re-watched it out of nostalgia a few times. The more I think of a dorky person who didn't know their own abilities, including that inner heroic capability, the more I see a parallel between that movie and CBS Supergirl. Both wanted to be more. Both wanted to find a purpose in life. Both found it by being a hero and saving others.

I think it's important to say that the pilot did not introduce this show well at all. The tone was set badly and hasn't really been followed through with on the rest of the episodes.

Initially, I would have been ready to vote this one star, just like so many others did here and there; because I thought it was derivative. But episodes four and five have completely redeemed it, and given us a glimpse of what this show could be.

Dark side of the S.

I'm not into Fifty Shades of Grey mister.

There has been some mishandling in general here. Thanks to the incredibly iffy pilot, a lot of the live audience has already been lost. I would say that this can be regained, if the right cards are played. There is a huge disparity between the quality of the more recent episodes and the first few, which suggested a vapid show that didn't seem to be about anything at all. No central focus, Supergirl appearing out of nowhere suddenly, villains getting thrown in and tossed off one by one etc, random conversations that seemed to go nowhere.

All that's gone now. We have great dialogue, a cast that's working well together. Melissa is fantastic, getting better as the show goes on. Supergirl as a character hasn't been presented this strongly before. The 1984 version certainly had some good moments, but this show is really outdoing it now.

Helen Slater's brief appearance was great. The rest of the cast is working well too, and Peter Facinelli is being built up to be a great villain. The growing dynamic between Cat and Supergirl is surprising, intelligently written and interesting. Again, what once seemed simple and insipid, has expanded quickly into new dimensions.

Where's your suit Kara?

What? Can I not sunbathe?

Note to CBS: Pick an arc with a few strong episodes (similar in quality to 4 and 5) and market the heck out of them. There's a chance to turn it around. It's unfortunate at the moment, because given the high quality of the last few episodes, with good management, this could have easily and effortlessly gone for four or five, even six seasons.

Although it doesn't really deserve a 10 I rated it high to offset the onslaught of 1 ratings. Others have noted the series started off pretty badly, and I agree, and after the third episode I almost decided to stop watching, but I was surprised by all the episodes since then. Others have commented that it really took off with episode 4. And with 5, 6, and 7 it improved almost exponentially. Although Melissa Benoist had charm from the start, some of the other characters were so caricatured that Benoist's quality performance seemed to get lost. Namely, Calista Flockhart as Cat Grant was so over the top I wondered what the writers were thinking. With the later episodes, however, she develops considerable depth and some of her dialogue is not only well written, but admirably performed by Flockhart. It seems there was a rush to judgment when the series first began by all those who gave it a one star rating. So quick to judge. Have some patience. It gets a lot better. I for one hope it gets renewed because if it keeps improving as it's been doing, it could turn into a hit series. It's the best "Superman"-related series ever put on the air, and it's developing a nice, airy, likable tone that will pull you in if you let it. Give it a chance folks. It's not dark like Gotham or Jessica Jones. It's a "different animal." The Superman/Supergirl universe is a more positive place. Consider what happened after the Christopher Reeve films. They decided to give it a Dark Knight world view and this has been a mistake. It works for characters like Batman and Jessica Jones, but not Superman. This is why I like the Supergirl series. It understands what Superman is all about.

First two episodes I would score 1 or 2 out of ten. Since then, this show is a solid 9. I'm voting ten, because I would actually like to see more of this character. She's great!

 Here's the sneak peek at next week's 15th episode "Solitude":

And a few info on the Supergirl/Flash crossover:

 

Deadpool

 

Not as nasty as media tells you but, WTH.

In a world covered with comic book media & merchandise frenzy a new film based upon another character from another comic book doesn't seem to be much of a thing. Or is it? Deadpool has been around since the early 90's and to everyone familiar with the character they're pretty damn sure that he is neither a superhero nor a vigilante. He's a merchant, a gun for hire, so having a comic book film with an R rating is nothing but the right way to do it. The problem is, (if there's ever a problem with it) is that Deadpool has become so massively popular since the arrival of massive Comic Cons and social networks that it is almost impossible not to find yourself checking your -insert favorite social network here- timeline with something either remotely or closely related to the man in black & red (or is it red & black?) And oh boy! let's not forget about the hundreds of thousands Harley Quinn worshipers waiting for the Suicide Squad movie!

The question is, have we had enough of Deadpool already? or Do we need a big screen movie of a character that's become an internet meme and Comic Con fan favorite just because it's what's hot in your silly timeline? I don't know, and as the premise of this humble blog states: discover the answer by yourself, our reviews and opinions are merely hints at something that will become greater when you're a part of it.

I for one, I'm a big Deadpool fan. As a matter of fact, some of his stories are the most entertaining I've read in ages! (Suicide Kings, Wade Wilson's War, Merc with a Mouth, etc) and the news of movie about himself made happy enough to forget my "I'm sick of overrated superhero movie" sickness.  

Listen, Green Lantern & Wolverine Origins gave me cancer.

Oh yeah! Sex in a Marvel Comics inspired flick!

The Deadpool film has been out for almost a week now, but the motto of SPAM Alternative is to deliver unbiased honest to Satan reviews. Nobody's paying us, and we're not a shitty advertisement site so, here goes nothing:

There is a word I don't like that perfectly describes what the overall feeling of watching Deadpool is: Hype. Although trailers, ads and social network campaigns promised a film that would rock your socks off, I'm sorry to tell you that this is not the film that would do that (unless, you're an inexperienced casual movie goer with little to no cinema & comic book knowledge) The gory action scenes, the pun intended jokes, foul language and some mild sex & nudity grant you nothing, because there are hundreds of films that rely on those tricks to keep you sat for an hour and a half, so the sense of "freshness" some may be expecting here is nothing but an illusion.Maybe I'm being too much of a purist perfectionist here so don't mind me.

Still, the film tries to stay as close as possible to source material and it comes packed with massive easter eggs comic book fans will love (and superhero movie fans will pretend to understand while they're googling them)  The plot is derivative at most. Wade Wilson a low life merchant, falls in love with a hooker and all of a sudden discovers that he's got Cancer metastasis and he will inevitably die sooner than later. Suddenly, the wild promise of a magnificent cure that will cure his cancer while turning him into a mutant seems like the only way out.

You can be an X-Men Deadpool.

Can we go home now?

Of course things go wicked wrong and Deadpool promises to find the man who turned him into an unfuckable avocado. Obviously, Deadpool means are nowhere close to being those of heroes, so enter Colossus & Negasonic Teenage Warhead (the only X-Men available because the studio couldn't afford more, according to Deadpool himself haha) Their goal is to convince Deadpool to become an X-Men but you already know, our merc with a mouth doesn't give a shit about that. 

The only weakness this film may have is that it tries too hard to bring new into a genre that is more about the merchandise than the quality of the art. Deadpool is the main character and well, every other character looks and feels completely diminished in terms of developing their own personalities. For instance, Colossus (Stefan Kapicic) goes from being one of the greatest X-Men to become a do goody nanny with morals. Megasonic is the cliched teen who hates everything and wants to be some place else, and to make matters worse the enemy, the one reason this revenge movie exists is, well, too weak to be likable and credible. Ajax (Ed Skrein) is a scientist who happens to have the same powers Wade has. Anything else? not really, oh! Deadpool calls him Francis and he hates that.

Yes, I'm Canadian & I love Vancouver!

Let's do this Ripley!

The jokes are there, some are pretty good and some are not. Whenever there's an action sequence you'll find a good joke, but when action isn't going on, jokes aren't really that entertaining. Movies that rely heavily on one liners & jokes become dated pretty quickly (think of the Austin Powers trilogy) and since the plot & support cast are weaker than a Toynami Robotech toy, I don't think this film will live up to the hype that's been built around. Nevertheless, the action packed scenes are there and Ryan Reynolds is the main star here, so if you're able to skip that, then you're ready to enjoy this film. 

The fourth wall is also present on this film in several films but clearly the most unforgettable moments and jokes are those related to Ryan Reynolds acting career, the Green Lantern movie, The Wolverine Origins film and some other pun intended jokes that are related to the comic book world in general. Also, the soundtrack seems to follow the idea established by Guardians of the Galaxy: Play only oldies but goodies. Can you believe Wade Wilson's favorite band is Wham! ?

Showgirls!

AT & T (ass, tits & twat)

Nevertheles, the mere fact that Deadpool got made is perhaps the greatest artistic triumph this film achieves. Little credit should be given to 20th Century Fox, as they had zero faith in the success of a Deadpool movie. To put things into perspective, Ryan Reynolds fought for this film back in 2004 when Blade: Trinity was released. Reynolds and co. (which is why Deadpool jokes about blowing Wolverine's balls in early scenes) went to shoot test footage that was then leaked online by Reynolds himself (he claims to be 70% sure of that) because Fox had no intentions to release it to the public. Finally, after years and years of begging to the studio and the overwhelming positive responses of the test footage from the public, Fox didn't even tell Reynolds and co. that the film was green lit. They had to find out online like the rest of us plebeians. If that sounds bad, Fox even cut their budget by $7 million at the last minute, which caused the writers to scratch some action sequences that make you feel the entire film was already spoiled in the trailers.
 
Deadpool now has the biggest opening weekend in the month of February (surpassing Fifty Shades of Grey), the biggest opening weekend for 20th Century Fox (surpassing all the X-Men films), and the biggest opening weekend for an R rated film EVER (surpassing The Matrix: Reloaded). With all that being said, Deadpool is an entertaining film that works mainly because of Reynolds himself. His comedic skills pay off gloriously as the titular character, who gives so many quips in one instance that some jokes will be missed. Of course, credit should be given to the writers too (AKA: The Real Heroes Here), and it's impressive that this is Tim Miller's directorial debut. The action sequences and pacing are so good that you'd think this came from a veteran director.

From the ingenious opening credits to the subversive ending, Deadpool constantly upends clichés and tropes you're used to seeing in superhero flicks in the past few years. What's great here is the filmmakers had something weird and perverse and just went with it. Jokes about pedophilia, pegging, and sex run rampant, but it's never really dark, despite the mature subject matter. On top of that, it's also very refreshing to see a pansexual superhero in such a big studio film. It's unheard of these days. Fox and other studios, learn from this success. It's not the fact that a hard R-rated film can do well, it's that Deadpool also happens to be very entertaining , most likely because you, Fox, actually gave the filmmakers the creative freedom to do whatever the hell they wanted.

Yeah! fuck me Wade!

Ladies & Gentlemen, Chastity!

The scene after the credits shows Deadpool in a bathrobe, making fun of you, the viewer, for sticking around for so long. He also talks about the sequel, and says it will feature Cable. Then he makes a few jokes about the casting, and pokes at other movies that usually tease future movies in these scenes.

Overall, Deadpool is an entertaining film that maybe works better with people who are not really hardcore fans of the character. I for one, left the theater with mixed feelings because I know my Deadpool, the film could have been way wilder. 

Do you like Tabasco sauce? the hell I do! I love Chili! and my favorite Tabasco is the hottest one: "Habanero". Well, Deadpool was only the "Mild Tabasco"

Here's the movie trailer:

And if you're too lazy to find the easter eggs yourself, here some guy saved you time:

Young Playthings

Christina Lindberg...

Young Playthings is a 1972 piece where, of course a very young Christina Lindberg plays an important part. I first watched this film from an awful VHS quality digitized edition. As you can probably guess, it was entirely spoken in Swedish with no subs of any kind. Years later, I found another digitized version, with a better audio/video quality but with the same Swedish language, so I had to do some schooling, and thanks to the internet I was able to figure out the most difficult parts of the plot, you know, there's a lot of talking in this movie and it's not like you can take a wild guess at the content of every conversation.In addition, a good friend of mine provided me with an awful looking copy that was dubbed in English so, thanks for that!

Although this was directed by American (semi-)cult director Joseph "Joe" W. Sarno, it is also 1970's vintage softcore Swedish erotic, which means that the attitude toward sex is a little more laid-back and wholesome than in American sex films of that era, and the girls are less skanky (and a lot less artificial than the kind of girls that are in these kind of films today). The most familiar and impressive of the actresses involved is obviously Christine Lindberg, who was later in other notorious flicks. But Lindberg and the other actresses are either speaking in sync sound or have dubbed their own voices, so that there thick Swedish accents kind of hamper their performances. The initial plot is pure softcore porn contrivance--Lindberg's friend is having a secret affair with her boyfriend and the two of them plot to turn the arrangement into an treesome with Lindberg. The boyfriend goes out of town and the friend convinces Lindberg to stay in an apartment with her where she picks up random guys in an effort to seduce Lindberg into three-way.

Living the good life.

Friends and then some.

The plot takes a strange turn though when both girls fall under the spell of an alluring female toymaker who lives next door. The movie then turns into a bizarre, surrealist fantasy (apparently based on a Swedish folktale) and it really manages to lift itself well above the usual level of mind-numbing Swedish erotica. This is one of those rare sex movies that have interest beyond the mere "weasel-milking" aspect. It is largely the movie that made Sarno's reputation (he made only a couple other less interesting ones, then a lot of softcore and hardcore stuff). It also confirms his reputation for finding beautiful Swedish women willing to romp around in the nude (besides Lindberg, Sarno also discovered Marie Lilljedahl and Maria Forse, and did much to advance the exploitation career of Swedish-American bra-buster Uschi Digardt). I can say that is literally one of the few sex movies that is truly worth seeing whatever one's reason for watching it.   

Anyways, Young Playthings is the story of Nora Holmkvist (Eva Portnoff) and Janne Bergman who is happily married to Gunnila Bergman (Christina Lindberg), who additionally happens to be Nora's BFF. In order to lead Gunnila into a treesome, Nora and Janne devise a plan.

Things get weird.

Things get even weirder!

While Janne is away on business, Nora rents an area in a boarding house and intends to initiate the timid and innocent Gunnila to the pleasures of lesbian sex. However, Gunnila freaks out and decides to run away as soon as she can. Accidentally, while running away she meets Britt (Margaretta Hellstrom), manufacturer of sex toys and master of all things casual sex. Britt's place mysteriously bedazzle everyone who enters, even changing their will and ability to make decisions, so once you're in, you never get out.

 

Gunnila and Nora soon become hopelessly dependent on Britt's sex pleasures, they even show Britt's place to Janne thus allowing the long awaited threesome to take place.

Lovely Christina.

"Of course I swallow"

Gunnila is no popcorn girl though; soon she realizes Britt's follwers once had a "normal life" a successful attorney gone pimp; two profession girls turned into sex workers and so on. All these people have actually sacrificed their lives, their identities to become Britt's sex toys. Gunnila decides to warn his friends that they could share the same fate if they don't leave ASAP. Nora goes berserk and tells Britt that Gunnila & Janne are planning to escape so Britt hands her a blade and orders her to kill Gunnila!

Once Nora encounters Gunnila she fucking stabs her to death (or at least that's what she thinks, since she's become twisted by Britt's strange ways) Luckily for us and Gunnila, the blade was a fake, allowing her to finally get out of Britt's apartment with his husband.

Let's try anal now.

Yeah! take that!

Joe Sarno specializes in languid, introspective sex films. This is one of his best. It's a slow film, and as the action gets more and more bizarre, the tape recording that the players are following gets harder to understand, until by the end it takes a couple viewings to catch what's being said. Definitely not for most people's taste. 

Going back to our homework of reviewing the most obscure and/or rarest films in which Christina Lindberg play a role I gotta say, it hasn't been easy, and to make matters worse, we only have one film left to review, which is a 1974 action packed thriller called "Smoke". In such film, Christina plays a minor role but, the movie is very good. She did appear in more films but not even the dark world of the internet downloads have allowed us to grab them so, time will tell.

No trailer but, here's Joe Sarno himself giving his impression about Young Playthings: