Now that's what I call a graphic novel ... Hellboy II: The Golden Army
If it's Thursday it must be the Film Weekly podcast. And if it's a Thursday in August it must be Jason Solomons' annual summer break - which leaves me at the microphone, complete with damp palms and a dry throat. Please send water and throat lozenges to Farringdon Road.
One could make the case that this week's show covers the extremities of the modern movie scene; the high end and the low. First up we have an interview with writer-director Ira Sachs, creator of the pungent, actorly Married Life, who laments the lack of properly complex, mature pictures in the US today.
From here we skip, with barely a backward glance, to a discussion of comic-book adaptations ahead of the BFI's bold, bright Comic-Book Movies season. Forget the acting masterclasses; let's have a bit of that Hellboy instead.
Except that it's not as clear-cut as that. As programmer Niall McPherson points out, the comic-book scene is altogether more diverse, eclectic and challenging than it's cracked up to be. Yes, the BFI's season goes big on Hellboy II: The Golden Army as well as lavishing The Dark Knight with the full Imax treatment. But it also finds room for more left-field fare. Come to think of it, some of the most inventive, personal, and purely entertaining films of the past few years are here - from Ghost World and the delicious American Splendor through to Persepolis and A History of Violence. But is there any key text you think the BFI has missed out on?
Listen to the podcast and, as always, leave your comments below.
