Pulp [#590]

Cameron: Scottish accents are relaxing. Werewolves are not relaxing. Dog Soldiers is a werewolf movie set in Scotland, and I wasn’t sure how to feel about it. Jokes aside, I know exactly how I feel about this film: it’s goddamn terrific. Much is made of horror comedies, but I think the true gems are horror films that just happen to be funny. Dog Soldiers is one of those films, sitting alongside An American Werewolf in London and The Cabin in the Woods.
A group of Scottish soldiers are deployed on training maneuvers in the Highlands while unbeknownst to them the Special Forces are in the same area tracking a pack of vicious lycanthropes. This is an idea that could come across as rather ludicrous, but it’s played entirely straight and saved by excellent acting. Instead of relying on its unusual concept, the majority of the humor takes the form of the characters’ interaction with each other.
Kevin McKidd is probably one of my favourite actors, having voiced Jezz Torrent (the singer of Love Fist in GTA: Vice City) as well as playing Vorenus in HBO’s Rome, and seeing him be all action hero with his rad Scottish accent certainly makes for good viewing. The film also stars Game of Thrones’ Cunningham (Davos Seaworth) and Sean Pertwee of over a million British TV shows and movies.
The werewolves in this film are revealed fairly early, and while in other films this may kill the tension, Dog Soldiers manages to soldier on (hah!) despite it. Also helping it is a lack of CGI; while the werewolves are obviously men in rubber suits, it makes the film appear less dated than some of its contemporaries. By virtue of it being Scottish, it’s bleak and depressing, but Dog Soldiers is still a solid horror movie with great laughs.
Alastair: So it seems that despite helping to make some awesome comic book movies, David S. Goyer’s a bit of a douche. In a recent panel interview for the Scriptnotes, Mr Goyer decided to proclaim that, a: anyone who’d heard of Martian Manhunter was likely a virgin (so mature) and, b: She-Hulk was merely an extension of a male power fantasy and was a character that existed solely for the Hulk to have sex with. Apparently he decided to gloss over the rather important point that She-Hulk (aka Jennifer Walters) is actually ol’ Hulky’s cousin. So, yeah, doubt that’s ever gonna happen.
Douchebag commentary aside, Charles Soule’s current run on She-Hulk is a breath of fresh air in my pull list. I’d been looking for something new for a while and after hearing good things from various sources, I decided to pick up the five issues that are out at the moment.
She-Hulk sees Jen give her opportunistic bosses the flick and strike out on her own as a lawyer. As it happens, the series reads more like a legal drama that just happens to feature superheroes, rather than a full-blown superhero epic. Really, that’s what makes up most of its charm: rather than distracting you with splash pages of titanic battles, you get to see more of Jen’s trademark wit, charm and legal badassery. The first issue sees Jen take on Tony Stark’s rather intimidating legal department in sticking up for the little guy – in this case, the widow of a former Stark employee swindled by Stark Industries.
Despite some rather iffy art, She-Hulk has quickly become one of my new favourites. If you’re looking for a series that’s smart, funny and doesn’t pull its punches, pick this one up. You definitely won’t regret it!
Written by Cameron Urquhart & Alastair McGibbon