Lenni Reviews: “Mieruko-chan” Vol 1, by Tomoki Izumi

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High schooler Mieruko is cursed with seeing horrible, twisted spirits all around her; but no one else can. She just does her best to ignore them while also protecting her best friend from these things.

This manga is cute but oddly fanservicey with all the up skirt and cleavage shots. It’s really sweet how Mieruko just want to protect the people she cares about as best she can without revealing she can see ghosts. I won’t spoil it but there’s a story about a kitty that sold me on this series. All the stories are quick one shots so I’m wondering how this will progress and if there will be an overarching story line. 4 out of 5.

Lenni Reviews: “Komi Can’t Communicate” Vol. 6 by Tomohito Oda

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

In this volume, Komi goes to karaoke with her friends after the Culture Festival, shopping for clothes with her equally quiet father, and we introduce a new character, Katai; who also has trouble talking to others because he looks too much like a stereotypical thug. We also have the appearance of an adorable cat cafe!

Other than the low hanging cute that is the cat cafe, what shines in this book is how patient and kind with Katai even though every other student in the class is scared of him. He’s so gently folded into the growing group of friends, it’s genuinely touching! If I had to complain about something, it would be Yamai and Nukanaka. I understand they want to hog Komi’s attention but they are so fucking creepy about it, I find it hard to like them. 4.9 out of 5.

Lenni Reviews: “Infinitum: An Afrofuturist Tale” by Tim Fielder

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

This graphic novel follows warlord AjA Oba, a ruthless ruler cursed with immortality from our past far into the future. 

First off, the art is amazing. It’s like flipping through scenes from a movie with these beautiful panted renditions of the film. The story is smart and very creative. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes speculative science fiction and Afrofuturism.

Also, random thought with a spoiler sprinkle – there’s some random LGBTQ content in here and it’s just dropped in without being made aa big deal of. I’m on the fence as to if it feels shoved in because of how its just glossed over, or it fits because it shouldn’t be a big deal. I’ve read it twice and still haven’t decided…

Other than that, 5 out of 5! Go read this!

Lenni Reviews: “Komi Can’t Communicate” Vol. 5 by Tomohito Oda

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

In this volume, Komis is stuck home when a storm closes the schools, she goes out to eat with friends after a half-day, and participates in the school’s cultural festival.

It’s nice to see Komi slowly come out of her shell and talk more. She’s just genuinely learning to enjoy people and try new things. And it’s done so well, I continue to find myself rooting for her! If there wasn’t some of these kinda creepy, pervy classmates, this volume would be perfect. 4.5 out of 5.

Lenni Reviews: “Komi Can’t Communicate” Vol. 4 by Tomohito Oda

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review

This volume goes through Komi’s summer vacation, return to school, and the Sports Festival.

If you like slice-of-life manga, that’s the core of this volume. Little things like Komi milling around on a hot day, cooking dinner for her family, and helping her friends with their summer assignments. Then we get the festival with a particularly competitive classmate. It’s all very lighthearted and cute – a breath of fresh air after some of the downers I’ve been reading lately. Only 89 friends to go for Komi! 4 out of 5.

Lenni Reviews: “Komi Can’t Communicate” : Vol. 2 by Tomohito Oda

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Hitohito Tadano continues to help Shoko Komi with her awkwardness and inadvertently, this earns Komi a rival, Makeru Yadano; who wants to defeat Komi in the health exams. Komi also manages to pick up another friend, Ren Yamai, who has an obvious crush on her. Well, obvious to everyone but Komi.

Remember in the first review when I talked about the horrible dark turn? Well, I thought Yamai was going to be it but although she comes off as a fucking creepy-ass stalker, the manga does keep things light and folds her into the growing group of Komi’s friends. Tadano still seems to be the one who knows her best out of the bunch though. Still loving this series. 4 out of 5.

Army of the Dead: A cutting- edge bloody thrill-ride

NETFLIX

Always bet on dead.
Zombies Tigers, Vegas oh MY

*Spoiler free

Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead is ultimately a gory blast and a fun exciting new take on the action- horror genre. What do you get when you cross Alpha Zombies, Vegas and a multi- million dollar heist ?!

Thanks to Netflix I got to watch an advanced screening of Zack Snyder’s eagerly-anticipated Netflix Film, Army of The Dead. This was my first time back in theaters in a year and a half since covid, and I’m so happy I attended. It was definitely worth the trip. From the vision of  filmmaker Zack Snyder (300, Zack Snyder’s Justice League) comes ARMY OF THE DEAD: a venturous and captivating new spin on the zombie genre with a splash of Oceans Eleven. Gore, comedy, guts, mayhem …& a Zombie Tiger ?!

After a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, a group of mercenaries take the ultimate gamble by venturing into the quarantine zone for the greatest heist ever.

ARMY OF THE DEAD – (L-R) NORA ARNEZEDER as LILLY, SAMANTHA WIN as CHAMBERS, ANA DE LA REGUERA as CRUZ, DAVE BAUTISTA as SCOTT WARD and OMARI HARDWICK as VANDEROHE (NETFLIX)

Starring Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, and Omari Hardwick, Army of the Dead is not your typical zombie flick. Zack Snyder, who already has some experience with the undead (Dawn of the Dead) took a big risk bringing to life a horror/heist film. Think the Gentleman meets World War Z ! What a brilliant combo ! The thrilling dark twisted comedy also touches upon pandemics, coping with loss, capitalism, and the fight for human rights. The exciting eye- catching opening credits start off with a brilliant, vibrant and neon Vegas being overridden by an enormous zombie horde, a Zombie Elvis, and zombie exotic dancers as Vegas literally falls apart.

The film takes place a few years after a zombie outbreak that has left Las Vegas in ruins and completely walled off from the rest of the world. We meet Scott Ward (Dave Bautista), a displaced Vegas local, and former zombie war hero who’s now flipping burgers on the outskirts of town and is approached by casino boss Bly Tanaka (Hiroyuki Sanada) with an unexpected offer: 

Break into the zombie-infested quarantine zone to retrieve $200 million sitting in a vault beneath the strip before the city is nuked by the government in 32 hours. With a ticking clock, a notoriously impenetrable vault, and a smarter, faster horde of Alpha zombies closing in, only one thing’s for certain in the greatest heist ever attempted: survivors take all.

Why not?! What’s left to lose? Ward accepts the challenge, and assembles a misfit team of experts for the heist. We see some quality acting from Batista, and really get to see more range from him in his portrayal as Ward and his emotional interactions with his estranged daughter (Ella Purnell).

The film features a fantastic cast of characters all with unique personalities and stand out performances. Snyder nailed the typical trope elements from heist films giving each character a typical skill-set: the standard mechanic, getaway driver (in this case pilot), professional yeggman aka safecracker, a guide, highly trained gun-men, the guy no one trusts, and wait an Influencer ??!!

Courtesy of Netflix

The ragtag team of experts included:

-Maria Cruz (Ana de la Reguera), an ace mechanic and Ward’s old friend
-Vanderohe (Omari Hardwick), a zombie killing machine
-Marianne Peters (Tig Notaro), a cynical helicopter pilot
-Mikey Guzman (Raúl Castillo), a go-for-broke influencer 
-Chambers (Samantha Win), Mikey’s ride-or-die
-Martin (Garret Dillahunt), the casino’s head of security
-A badass warrior known as the Coyote (Nora Arnezeder) 
-Burt Cummings (Theo Rossi), a slimy security guard
-A brilliant German safe cracker named Dieter (Matthias Schweighöfer)

The eccentric team up was badass, ruthless, and definitely memorable. Throughout the film the cast was highly entertaining, had great on screen chemistry and worked really well off of each other. There were some genuine laughs from the audience thanks to some hilarious stand out moments from Matthias Schweighöfer, Omari Hardwick, and Tig Notaro. The humorous banter between tough guy Vanderohe (Omari) and genius Dieter (Matthias) really added a natural comedic tone to the film, and it was not forced at all. It really added depth to their characters and to the whole “heist squad” cliche. These two shared some of the best scenes.

Courtesy of NETFLIX

(Tig Notaro) played another stand-out character, Marianne Peters, the sarcastic and dry humored helicopter pilot, who actually didn’t even have that much screen time. Marianne was definitely a fun addition to the team after Notaro replaced comedian Chris D’Elia’s character after he was fired for reports of sexual misconduct. Instead of having to reshoot all those scenes, Snyder had to recreate every scene shot for shot with Notaro. Despite having this major setback, the CGI was extremely impressive, not even noticing her character was basically plugged in. (Why was a mustache so hard to fix cough cough?)

Replacing Chris D’Elia with Tig Notaro in “Army of the Dead” cost less than creating the film’s zombie tiger.

Some other note-worthy details of the film were all the memorable kills and deaths. There were so many bloody awesome scenes with well-deserved claps from the audience. The movie also features different types of zombies: without getting into any spoilers Army of the Dead has smart alpha zombies that somehow communicate amongst each other, warrior zombies, and hibernating zombies. Props to Snyder trying to give us more than your typical sluggish brainless zombies. He really got to express some creative freedom with this film. 

I am very big on all types of heist films (Heat, The Italian Job, Money Heist, Reservoir Dogs, Snatch, Baby Driver, Ocean’s Eleven etc.); This film does a pretty good job of balancing heist elements while maintaining its zombie action persona. It has plenty of stunts, explosions, blueprints and planning, team work, and heavy artillery. It was cool to see different villains and antagonists, also the Zombie tiger has a good amount of screen time and definitely lives up to expectations.

Courtesy of NetfliX

The only real question viewers have is how could that many zombies possibly be contained and kept to just Vegas. We also don’t know much about the spread aside from getting bitten, or about the cause of the virus outbreak, but the movie also sets up sequels!

Overall: 7/10

Army of the Dead is super enjoyable, not to be taken seriously and an exciting new take on the overdone Zombie craze. Aside from being a comedic horror/ action it actually showed some real human emotion and had some unexpected twists. The score was fantastic and the soundtrack pairs perfectly with every single scene. Definitely a fun time for any zombie fans.

Trailer:

Directed By | Zack Snyder
Story By | Zack Snyder
Written By | Zack Snyder, Shay Hatten, Joby Harold
Produced By | Deborah Snyder, Wesley Coller, Zack Snyder
Cast | Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana De La Reguera, Theo Rossi, Matthias Schweighöfer, Nora Arnezeder, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Garret Dillahunt, Tig Notaro, Raúl Castillo, Huma S. Qureshi, Samantha Win, Richard Cetrone, Michael Cassidy

#ArmyOfTheDead
@NetflixFilm

Army of the Dead will hit select theaters on Friday, May 14 and Netflix on Friday, May 21.

Lenni Reviews: "Asadora!" vol 2, by Naoki Urasawa

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Jumping in to the future, it is now 1964 and Asadora is now 17, a pilot, and working with Kasuga at their advertising company; while also going to school and raising her younger siblings. A strange man comes around asking questions about the creature they saw destroy their hometown and the likelihood it is still around and a threat.

This is a strange little series so far. I’m totally here for it; I love Asadora, I wanna know more about the creature and what will happen next but whatever expectations I had were completely subverted. Sometimes that can be frustrating but I found it welcome and look forward to seeing how this continues. 4 out of 5.

Lenni Reviews: “Asadora!” Vol. 1, by Naoki Urasawa

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review

Taking place in 1959, Asa is one of so many siblings she gets lost among them; frequently mistaken for the others if not forgotten about entirely. When her mother goes into labor during a typhoon, Asa runs out to get the doctor. She ends up kidnapped by Kasuga; a desperate war veteran who needs money.

Well, this book went in unexpected directions. And no, nothing horrible happens to Asa. This is a wholesome read about a random little girl swept up into an adventure and has this positive energy to pull in others along with her. Asa is very sweet and I can’t wait to see what’s next; even if it all comes off as a bit too idealistic But the world id dark enough already. I’ll take it. 4.9 out of 5.