Jarrod WalkerMY FAVOURITE COMIC ADAPTATIONS
June 20th 2008 04:07
2. A History of Violence: Lord of the Rings star Viggo Mortensen plays Tom Stall, proprietor of a small midwestern town diner and all round nice guy, husband and father. When violent thugs pull into town and attempt to hold up the diner, Tom swiftly dispatches them in a way only director David Cronenberg knows how to depict, through an act of grotesquely violent heroism. Local media descend on the town in an effort to interview the local hero, which only serves to attract more trouble when scarred mobster Carl Fogarty (Ed Harris) turns up with heavies in tow, seeking recompense against Tom for attempting to kill him in the past. The beauty of this comic adaptation (authored by John Wagner, co-creator of UK comic character Judge Dredd) is not only Cronenberg’s hyper-violent stylistics but also the subtle, stunningly nuanced performance delivered by Mortensen, it’s an Oscar worthy turn.
3. American Splendor: Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini co-direct this wonderfully acidic real-life tale of lowly file clerk and uber-curmudgeon Harvey Pekar (Paul Giamatti) whose chronicling of his mundane existence leads to a cult comic and some mild celebrity. Pekar’s appearance as himself, narrating his own life and commenting on the film itself only serves to further blur the lines of fact and fiction. His unflinching honesty in regard to his battle with cancer is refreshingly candid, often hilarious and at times even moving. The depiction of Pekar’s initial encounter with his future wife Joyce Brabner (Hope Davis) is sublime: ” You might as well know right off the bat, I had a vasectomy.”
4. The Road to Perdition: American Beauty helmer Sam Mendes chooses a graphic novel (itself a reworking of cult comic book Lone Wolf and Cub) as the subject matter for this tale of family, loss and revenge as Irish mobster and standover man Michael Sullivan (Tom Hanks) sets out with young son in tow, to bring some serious comeuppance to his fellow doublecrossing potato-eaters. His murderous nemesis Jude Law isn’t far behind. Compelling stuff, delivered with class, stylistically somewhere between The Godfather and Miller’s Crossing.
5. 300: Brave King Leonidas and his 300 swarthy Spartans rout the savage hordes of the evil Persian empire - or so right-wing comic guru Frank Miller would have us believe. Regardless of the dubious political subtext, it’s a visual triumph and as a direct transfer from the comic world to the filmic, its visceral bloodletting reinvigorated the lacklustre comic-to-film adaptations that were being lazily churned out (Spiderman 3, Ghost Rider) and flawed though it is, 300 is still an impressive watch. Director Zack Snyder earned the blessing of the geek-boy fan base and has confidently moved on to take the reigns of The Watchmen, an adaptation of Alan Moore’s cult classic and what is perhaps the most highly regarded graphic novel ever published.
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Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
My list would include Sin City and Ghostworld.