Psychic School Wars (2012)

An Enoshima high school is visited by a new exchange student with unearthly psychic powers, who seems to be taking over and controlling the student body one by one. At the same time a short chain of unrequited love affects several of the students unaffected by the psychic control.

Psychic School Wars, which is directed by Ryousuke Nakamura and based on Taku Mayumura's 1973 novel, is one red-hot mess of an anime film. It combines an Invasion of the Body Snatchers thriller with a coming-of-age teen romance, and in doing so misses its mark in both directions. It is visually rather pretty, and its warm characters often manage to create some heartwarming moments, but its muddled narrative frustrates a lot more than it entertains.

The Pull List: 19 October 2016, Part 2

On the spaceship Hadrian's Wall, investigator Simon Moore is attempting to get to the bottom of the suspicious death of the ship's first officer. None of the crew want him there, poking his nose into places it doesn't belong - particularly Moore's resentful ex-wife. Moore is also addicted to painkillers, and somebody has broken into his cabin and flushed his supply down the sink.

Hadrian's Wall is a murder-mystery told in space, with an aesthetic and a nice retro tone that seems quite reminiscent of the 1980s. It follows a well-worn formula, with a group of suspects and a growing amount of evidence and clues. Kyle Higgins and Alec Siegel write a strong script with well-defined characters, but it's Rod Reis' artwork that really makes the book sing. It has a lovely painterly style to it that makes the book one gorgeous read.

I am still fascinated by the unexpected niche that Image has carved out in recent years, producing not just excellent science fiction comics but excellent science fiction crime comics. This is yet another great one. (4/5)

Hadrian's Wall #2. Written by Kyle Higgins and Alec Siegel. Art by Rod Reis.

Under the cut: reviews of Aquaman, Doctor Who: The Third Doctor, Doctor Who: Supremacy of the Cybermen, and Green Arrow.

Bride's Story Volume 1 (2008)

In the late 19th century, a 20 year-old woman named Amir has been pushed into an arranged marriage with a nearby family along the edge of the Caspian Sea. Placed into a new community with a distinctively different culture to her own, Amir must adjust not only to a new lifestyle but to her new husband Karluk - who is only twelve years old.

Bride's Story is a historical romance manga written and illustrated by the noted manga creator Kaoru Mori. It started in 2008 and has run through eight volumes to date. In 2014 the series was awarded the prestigious Manga Taisho award, after running second back in 2011. Going by its first volume it is a remarkable work, not just in terms of its strong character writing and warm-heated tone but also in terms of its exceptional art, and the careful and honest manner in which it approaches the rather unorthodox and worrying arranged marriage at its centre. There is some discomfort in recommending people read a manga about an adult marrying a child, but Kaoru Mori has done a fantastic job with this. It is one of the most entertaining manga series I have read in some time.

The Pull List: 19 October 2016, Part 1

The "Mona Lisa" has unexpectedly changed its appearance, leading the Louvre art gallery to call in dream painter Art Brut. It turns out to be part of a much broader crisis: unexpectedly transformed paintings leading to gallery visitors to commit suicide and murder.

This is a wonderfully odd and surreal sort of comic book, reminiscent of early DC Vertigo work such as Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol and Peter Milligan's Shade: The Changing Man. In terms of more recent comparisons I'm actually getting quite a strong sense of Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra's The Manhattan Projects. The book clearly has one eye on fine art, with numerous references and inspirations thrown in, but it also does a fairly nice line in creepy horror. There's a splash page in particular featuring a mysterious child in a car and a field of cows that is about as unsettling as comics can get.

Martin Morazzo's interesting and eye-catching art style has a fairly noticeable similarity to Manhattan Projects' Pitarra, as well as regular Morrison collaborator Frank Quitely. Mat Lopes' colours are subtle and gently enhance the work without ever getting in its way.

This one's definitely for fans of Doom Patrol and/or fine art. It's rich with promise and ideas, and represents another nice original title from IDW. The more they publish original work the more I like them. As for this particular book, I think I may be hooked. (4/5)

IDW. Written by W. Maxwell Prince. Art by Martin Morazzo. Colours by Mat Lopes.

Under the cut: reviews of Star Trek: Boldly Go and well as a bonus review of last week's The Black Monday Murders.

To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)

Richard Chance (William Petersen) is an edgy Secret Service agent in Los Angeles. When his partner is gunned down during a money counterfeiting investigation, Chance becomes obsessed with taking down the elusive forger Rick Masters (Willem Dafoe). Teamed with a new partner named John Vukovich (John Pankow), Chance takes every step he can - both legal and illegal - to track down Masters and bring him to justice.

A synopsis of To Live and Die in L.A. makes it sound like an incredible crass and cliche-ridden potboiler, and to a large extent that's a fair assessment of the movie. It's a 1985 action film directed by William Friedkin that really does trade extensively on stereotype. The first half pushed my limit for tolerating this sort of silly machismo. The second half completely redeemed it, as Chance's actions grew more extreme and the film began to push off in unexpected directions.

This is not top-tier Friedkin; the director's earlier works include The French Connection, The Exorcist and Sorcerer, after all, and To Live and Die in L.A. would have to be pretty formidable to hit those peaks. It is a smartly directed film, however, and some clever direction and typically strong editing help to make it much more than the sum of its parts.

Lego The Lord of the Rings (2012)

So some years ago Lego started releasing construction toys based on the Star Wars films, and some years after that somebody had the bright idea of turning them into a videogame. Lego Star Wars was an unexpected delight, combining the appeal of both the science fiction movie franchise and the perennially popular Lego bricks into one package. Buoyed by success, the developer Traveller's Tales arguably went a little bit overboard, releasing such videogames as Lego Indiana Jones, Lego Batman, Lego Pirates of the Caribbean, Lego Harry Potter and Lego Marvel's The Avengers. To be honest there were only a certain number of trips to the well before the concept grew tired, and whatever number that was I am betting it was less than the number of Lego-branded games that have been released.

So in among all of these pop culture adaptations came Lego The Lord of the Rings, based on the three films directed by Peter Jackson. Like most of the Lego games it was released to multiple gaming platforms. I decided to sample the Nintendo 3DS version, since I have been enjoying using the console recently and had never tried a handheld version of a Lego game before.

The Pull List: 12 October 2016, Part 3

Britannia is two issues in, and it is already standing out as one of the most interesting books that Valiant has published. The current iteration of the imprint took pre-existing superhero franchises and re-invigorated them with good writers and artists, and it has since been slowly expanding that "Valiant Universe" into some interesting and provocative directions - the recent 4001 AD miniseries, for example, was straight-up science fiction of a style usually seen in Metal Hurlant. Britannia, on the other hand, heads firmly in the other direction. It tells a horror story in 1st century Britain, as a Roman investigator finds himself neck deep in Rome-versus-Britain violence and mind-warping demonic creatures.

It feels like a real break from the existing Valiant line-up, and not just a break but an opening: I am really keen for the company to keep pushing in this direction. New genres, strong writing and artwork, and handsomely packaged issues. This book doesn't just read well, it feels good in the hands. The paper is high quality, the colours are printed richly and it comes inside a beautiful matt finish cardstock cover. The content matches the packaging as well. The storyline is gripping and beautifully researched, the art is distinctive and atmospheric, and Jordie Bellaire's colours are some of the strongest work I've seen her do. This is a great comic book. (5/5)

Britannia #2. Valiant. Written by Peter Milligan. Art by Juan Jose Ryp. Colours by Jordie Bellaire.

Under the cut: reviews of Daredevil, The Sheriff of Babylon, and Southern Cross.

A Fish Called Wanda (1988)

A team of bank robbers undertake a jewel robbery, only for two of them to double-cross the others and land the leader George (Tom Georgeson) in police custody. They subsequently discover George relocated the loot before he was arrested, sending the duplicitous Wanda (Jamie Lee Curtis) on a mission to seduce George's barrister Archie (John Cleese) - so long as her idiot ex-CIA lover Otto (Kevin Kline) stays out of the way. Meanwhile George dispatches his stuttering offsider Ken (Michael Palin) to assassinate the sole witness who can identify him in court.

A Fish Called Wanda was a huge commercial hit back in 1988, managing to not only become a success in the United Kingdom but breaking out to an international audience as well. It won a pile of awards, notably a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Kevin Kline, and is regularly cited in 'best comedies' lists by audiences and film critics alike. It seemed well worth returning to the film and seeing how it has fared 28 years on.

In short, A Fish Called Wanda remains a comic masterpiece. It is an enormously funny comedy that benefits from strong performances and characters, a tight and focused storyline, great jokes and gags, and a really well defined sense of purpose. I think it is one of the best comedy features ever made.