Agent Coulson is dead! Long live Agent Coulson!
The first time I watched this movie I took it all in and mostly thought about everything that had been left out and hoped might make it's way into some future Avengers movie. You know, like Dr. Henry Pym and Janet Van Dyne (leaving out Vision, Scarlet Witch, Tigra and the Falcon for the time being). Now, I know that the sequel deals with Ultron which must include Pym and possibly the Vision, depending on how they spin the tale. I wonder if the will go the X-Men route and introduce new team members each time because then I guess I'm okay with the ones that have been left out because you can add in Pym and Van Dyne in number two. Now that I think about it, the Hulk is good and all, but what about She-Hulk? She is way cooler, plus instant cross-over with the rumored reboot of the Fantastic Four, which I guess we need...because heaven's forbid we should accept mediocre sales and mediocre special effects. If they had given the Fantastic 4 movies the same level of attention (to be read as "budget") that they did the Avengers and it's prequels, we would already have 3 of them and a She-Hulk spin-off movie.
The other thing the movie missed, and in it's defense very few movies tie-in other movies, was a super-powered Manhattan. Fury and the Counsel make references to other super heroes I don't know if you have read many Marvel comics, but when big things go down in New York City, Spiderman tends to turn up. And when really big things go down in the Big Apple, one or more X-Men tend to pop-up - not to mention that Beast left the X-Men to join the Avengers and could be a nice tie-in. These could have been cameos...who wouldn't love to see the latest actor playing Spiderman or hunky Hugh Jackman in a minute or two of this movie? I don't need to explain this to Whedon who did right for the X-Men for a bit and knows how the Marvel Universe works.
I have a confession to make. Let me just take a deep breath first. Okay. I liked Mark Rufallo as Dr. Banner. I tried not to, while trying to not hate the character just because it's Raffalo. Dammit. This happened to me a few years ago with Tom Cruise.
Whedon left something out of this movie that was in every single one of it's prequels - a hint at what is to come and what super heroes it might entail. Thanatos coming to earth for the sport of it is strongly implied, but I didn't see any references to specific heroes, and I was looking for them. Certainly the scene after the credits was entertaining and I think appropriate, but not helpful towards giving a hint.
The first time through, I thought they didn't give enough time to Captain America, and too much time to the Black Widow. This time through, I still think that they didn't give enough time to Captain America, but I liked that Black Widow was a key member of the team and proof that S/H/I.E.L.D. super spies are pretty much street level super heroes. So, who do you take away time from to give to Cap? No one. You add in 3 minutes to the movie. Are you listening Joss? You give him a minute and a half more on the helecarrier to counteract Tony Stark's tirade against him and team play and to discover and react to the "Phase Two" that Fury has in the works. And you give him a minute and a half more in the battle of Manhattan. You could maybe show some more fighting, but the best way to use this time, would be to show him acting as the commander - perhaps further orders to the first responders - but even more importantly, you show him saving/rescuing the bystanders both on the street and trapped in the buildings. What he needed was a chance to show that he is the opposite of Stark in many ways, but is already a super-hero both morally and physically. Can you think of a better answer to Starks statement that all Rogers is comes from a test tube? Show the mettle in the man, who wades in to the thick of battle, not because his ego says he can do anything, but because his conscious tells him that it is his duty to defend those that cannot defend themselves.
Of the six movies, this one is easily at the top of hte heat. I hope that Joss Whedon does more than just write and direct the second Avengers movie. I hope there are other super hero films in the works for him and his team. And I secretly hope that at some point one of them includes Warbird (who has Avengers ties of course).
The Avengers on IMDb
Friday, September 13, 2013
Thursday, September 12, 2013
The Road to the Avengers: Iron Man II (2010)
I got this one out of order too. It looks like the order should be - Iron Man, Incredible Hulk, Captain America, Iron Man II, Thor, Might Avengers. But, the inclusion of Black Widow and Nick Fury such significant roles, not to mention agent Coulson of course, added to the fact that they are actually discussing the Avengers Initiative at the end of the film makes this the true prequel to the Avengers movie. I like to think of if like comic books, which is of course a propos, and that the Iron Man title put out there September issue and it's concurrent with the Thor September issue, even though they actually came out two weeks apart - you don't necessarily read them in chronological order.
I'm familiar with War Machine from the comics and the movie version is pretty cool. From what I've read of the comics, it's after Rhodes left the army but he kept the suit and has kind of become this mechanical angel of death and justice. Pretty wicked stuff and nothing like how he started out, but if they ever do a War Machine movie, which I would totally see, it's interesting to ponder if they might go there.
Ivan Venko, I have never heard of. His fondness for the energy whips and bring Russian reminds me of Omega Red who is an X-Men villain, and one of the few I might add, that can stand toe to toe with Wolverine and in some situations over power him (whips that are unbreakable and drain away energy). I'm a little confused by his methods, I get the whole wanting Stark to sufferer, but wouldn't it be more effective to go about it in a different manner? I mean the best way would be to make Iron Man obsolete, but not by going the super-villain route.
The Justin Hammer character is one from the comics, but I'm not familiar with him. He certainly seems slimey enough. I hope that he gets used again. Having someone who is trying to compete with and better Tony Stark is as satisfying as having someone who is trying to take on Iron Man.
I've been kind of rating and ranking these movies as I go, and it's hard to say for sure, but I like this one at least as well as I like the first Iron Man movie. It's rare in comic book movies, and movies in general for the sequel to be better than the first one. Not that it can't be done, and I think this might be an example of that. Of course, the movie is only good because we have the first one setting things up for us, so I'm going to call it a tie. The final prequel standings are, in order, the Iron Mans tied at #1, Captain America at #3, Thor at #4 and the Incredible Hulk at #5. They're all decent though and I have enjoyed watching them a second or third time as the case may be. Of cource I am looking forward to all the sequels, Iron Man 3 at the top of my list (it should be out on DVD before the holiday), Thor 2 hits theatres in November and while I can leave or take the Asgardians, I am excited to see Natalie Portman's character in Asgard, and we have the Captain America sequel coming out next Spring, and I think I am looking forward to this one the most and can't wait to see how they handle Cap in the present day.
Iron Man II on IMBd
I'm familiar with War Machine from the comics and the movie version is pretty cool. From what I've read of the comics, it's after Rhodes left the army but he kept the suit and has kind of become this mechanical angel of death and justice. Pretty wicked stuff and nothing like how he started out, but if they ever do a War Machine movie, which I would totally see, it's interesting to ponder if they might go there.
Ivan Venko, I have never heard of. His fondness for the energy whips and bring Russian reminds me of Omega Red who is an X-Men villain, and one of the few I might add, that can stand toe to toe with Wolverine and in some situations over power him (whips that are unbreakable and drain away energy). I'm a little confused by his methods, I get the whole wanting Stark to sufferer, but wouldn't it be more effective to go about it in a different manner? I mean the best way would be to make Iron Man obsolete, but not by going the super-villain route.
The Justin Hammer character is one from the comics, but I'm not familiar with him. He certainly seems slimey enough. I hope that he gets used again. Having someone who is trying to compete with and better Tony Stark is as satisfying as having someone who is trying to take on Iron Man.
I've been kind of rating and ranking these movies as I go, and it's hard to say for sure, but I like this one at least as well as I like the first Iron Man movie. It's rare in comic book movies, and movies in general for the sequel to be better than the first one. Not that it can't be done, and I think this might be an example of that. Of course, the movie is only good because we have the first one setting things up for us, so I'm going to call it a tie. The final prequel standings are, in order, the Iron Mans tied at #1, Captain America at #3, Thor at #4 and the Incredible Hulk at #5. They're all decent though and I have enjoyed watching them a second or third time as the case may be. Of cource I am looking forward to all the sequels, Iron Man 3 at the top of my list (it should be out on DVD before the holiday), Thor 2 hits theatres in November and while I can leave or take the Asgardians, I am excited to see Natalie Portman's character in Asgard, and we have the Captain America sequel coming out next Spring, and I think I am looking forward to this one the most and can't wait to see how they handle Cap in the present day.
Iron Man II on IMBd
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse
Steppenwolf
by
Herman Hesse
read by
Peter Weller
This is the book you get if you are are smoking crack while trying to use the library's reservation system. There is no Magic Carpet Ride here. However, it did present an opportunity to tackle a book I never would have thought of reading.
I have read many books and listened to many audiobooks. Very few of these, perhaps only a handful have prefaces by authors explaining how everyone seems to have misunderstood their work. Almost none of these books in my experience are works of fiction. This is one of those rare few, and you should really wonder when the author has to add a few pages to explain that the majority of the people who have read this book have found it a very depressing story, and that he contends that they miss the point. He says that not only his critics, but the fans of the book have all missed the point. I find this more than a bit daunting, especially because the narrator's forward spends 30 minutes setting up that the main character is very much the embodiment of Nietxche's philosophy.
If I had realized how prevalent a couple of words would be throughout this book, I might have been tempted to keep track from the beginning. It is hard to say which he used more - bourgeois or middle-class, Steppenwolf or lone-wolf - but it is a rare minute that goes by without one of these terms being uttered. It's really quite annoying, though I realize that he is using this to set and shape the character of the narrator and the main character. I am sure if these words were removed from the manuscript, it would be at least 10% shorter.
The structure of this book is interesting and a tad reminiscent of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. There is an outer shell that is the narrator, then the main character telling his story and then much time spent relating books he read, especially the Anarchist's Treatise about the Steppenwolf at a third level. This makes large chunks of the story very removed from the audience, which goes in tandem with the nature of the story.
I listened to this book with the author's note in mind and fully understand why he felt it necessary to add it. This is an extremely depressing book. The main character finds himself in a situation of his own creation where the only options are suffering, both physical and psychic, or suicide. Great sections, especially early on are spent on how one might come to accept suicide as an option and how that can actually make some stronger and deal with life longer. And did I mention that this is Hesse's attempt at putting Nietzche's philosophy into a character?
I've only read one other work by Hesse, that being Siddhartha. Interestingly, it is another book full of human suffering, but with the opposite conclusion. They do both have the same expository and over-explaining style.
If you've had to read Steppenwolf for some reason, I hope it was for a class which could then act as a support group (or maybe that you didn't actually read it but faked it). Otherwise, I couldn't imagine any reason why someone would put themselves through this. So much for card catalog happenstance finds.
Steppenwolf at Powell's Books
Steppenwolf Audiobook at Amazon.com
by
Herman Hesse
read by
Peter Weller
This is the book you get if you are are smoking crack while trying to use the library's reservation system. There is no Magic Carpet Ride here. However, it did present an opportunity to tackle a book I never would have thought of reading.
I have read many books and listened to many audiobooks. Very few of these, perhaps only a handful have prefaces by authors explaining how everyone seems to have misunderstood their work. Almost none of these books in my experience are works of fiction. This is one of those rare few, and you should really wonder when the author has to add a few pages to explain that the majority of the people who have read this book have found it a very depressing story, and that he contends that they miss the point. He says that not only his critics, but the fans of the book have all missed the point. I find this more than a bit daunting, especially because the narrator's forward spends 30 minutes setting up that the main character is very much the embodiment of Nietxche's philosophy.
If I had realized how prevalent a couple of words would be throughout this book, I might have been tempted to keep track from the beginning. It is hard to say which he used more - bourgeois or middle-class, Steppenwolf or lone-wolf - but it is a rare minute that goes by without one of these terms being uttered. It's really quite annoying, though I realize that he is using this to set and shape the character of the narrator and the main character. I am sure if these words were removed from the manuscript, it would be at least 10% shorter.
The structure of this book is interesting and a tad reminiscent of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. There is an outer shell that is the narrator, then the main character telling his story and then much time spent relating books he read, especially the Anarchist's Treatise about the Steppenwolf at a third level. This makes large chunks of the story very removed from the audience, which goes in tandem with the nature of the story.
I listened to this book with the author's note in mind and fully understand why he felt it necessary to add it. This is an extremely depressing book. The main character finds himself in a situation of his own creation where the only options are suffering, both physical and psychic, or suicide. Great sections, especially early on are spent on how one might come to accept suicide as an option and how that can actually make some stronger and deal with life longer. And did I mention that this is Hesse's attempt at putting Nietzche's philosophy into a character?
I've only read one other work by Hesse, that being Siddhartha. Interestingly, it is another book full of human suffering, but with the opposite conclusion. They do both have the same expository and over-explaining style.
If you've had to read Steppenwolf for some reason, I hope it was for a class which could then act as a support group (or maybe that you didn't actually read it but faked it). Otherwise, I couldn't imagine any reason why someone would put themselves through this. So much for card catalog happenstance finds.
Steppenwolf at Powell's Books
Steppenwolf Audiobook at Amazon.com
Monday, September 09, 2013
Oz The Great and Powerful (2013)
I've never read the Oz books and quite frankly have never had much urge to. (See what I did there? I used up my only clever bit on a bit of wordplay). I've always thought that Baum books were a bit juvenile, which is fine of course, but that doesn't appeal to me as an adult, and even less when I was a juvenile trying to hard to get what was "going on" by reading adult fiction. In college a friend suggested that if I were to read a series of books aimed at kids that I would be far better off reading C. S. Lewes, so that is who I went with and I've never regretted choosing the land of Narnia over the land of Oz.
I think every child of my generation saw three things growing up that help form our cultural identity - Bambi, the Sound of Music and the Wizard of Oz. I bet you thought I was going to say Star Wars, and while that was key, it's not as big as those three - kids today might have a different take on that though. Now, I was not a child when these three movies came out, but I was a child at the start of the home video revolution and syndicated television which showed old movies because they were cheaper to buy the rights to. I would guess by the time I had graduated high school in 1990 that I had seen each of these films at least a dozen times (Star Wars half that at best), the only other movie coming close at maybe half a dozen times was It's a Wonderful Life - the Jimmy Stewart version not the Marlo Thomas version which fortunately I have only seen once. In fact I knew a guy in college that had stumbled on to the generational zeitgeist that made these movies oddly appealing to us as young adults. Now, I normally don't use names in this blog, but this dude doesn't deserve my protection, his name is Pete, though perhaps as a mercy I have misplaced his surname at the moment. On Friday and Saturday nights, Pete would play these movies in his dorm room - he had one of the two singles on my floor - with the door open in hopes of drawing people in. He did this every weekend and for the first month or so, this just made Pete seem more interesting because why would a guy in her early 20s be watching these movies every weekend. Well, one reason was that lots of people stopped in for a little bit or a whole movie and hung out because they had something in common to talk about. I figured this out on my own and actually thought it was a clever way to say "I'm kind of shy, but let's hang out" which was something I could appreciate from my problem with shyness when I was younger. As the year progressed and the weekends I was on campus my room became more of a destination to go to from a fraternity party, I began to notice that girls who had come back to the room with us - there was a regular group of us plus whom ever we bumped into at the parties, these girls would head off to the bathroom and be gone long enough that someone would get sent to find them. One weekend about two-thirds of the way through the semester, all of the girls disappeared - the ones who initially went to the bathroom, and then the two gals who had been sent to find them. One of the guys, who was not embarrassed to go into the women's restroom if the need should arise went to find them and then didn't return. Now, I didn't think that anything wicked had happened to them, I just assumed they had found a better scene and neglected to come get me. I left a couple of fellows behind to hold down the fort, because I knew I would be coming back eventually since it was my room. As I approached the won en's restroom the other end of the floor, I heard laughter and music, the Sound of Music to be precise and all of the missing people were in Pete's room watching the end of the film. As credits rolled, the other guy from our group rallied the troops to head back to my room. As one of our female friends has having a bit of a hard time walking on her own, I helped her back. Fifteen or twenty minutes parsed and two of the girls hadn't come back yet. I thought that perhaps Pete had convinced them to watch the Wizard of Oz which was what he had tried to enchant all of us with as we left. These two girls were pretty, um, intoxicated shall we say, well they were pretty too, to swing the term in that direction too. I got back to Pete's room just as the door was closing. I could hear and see that the movie was still on. It was like claxons went off in my head, clearing any of my own fog that might have remained. I pushed in to see my two friends where I had left them and Pete was cozying up next to the blond who was just approaching the drowsy stage of drunkenness. It seems Pete had been sharing a bottle of wine with them while they watched the movie. I asked Pete what was going on. He said something to the effect that he didn't normally do so well as to get two girls, and not as pretty as these two surely and that I could "have" the brunette. how to describe how I reacted? I checked my anger by making a smart ass comment that went beyond facetious. Pete took at face value and said this is why he showed these movies every week, to lure in drunk girls that he would continue to give drink to and then "do what he could" In our dorm rooms in Belknap Hall, there were phones on the wall of every room and you could call any number on campus by just dialing four digits. I dialed my room and told them to come - to bring all my boys and bring all their guns. And then I did something I used another couple of times in college because it was damned effective. I called the fraternity that we had been partying at, and told them that some asshole had pinned the two girls in his room and as he got them even drunker was planning on fucking them if he could his small wretched prick into them, and of course I told them his name and what room we were in. The frat was just across a small plaza and some of those guys arrived before my friends did, several of the guys being from the same fraternity. We got the girls out and on their way home to sleep it off and when they were gone I was going to join the 7 or 8 fraternity guys in doing whatever it is we were going to do, which to be honest I hadn't thought that far ahead. One of the guys I knew quite well, pushed me out into the hall and closed the door after me saying I need not worry about this happening again. I didn't and it didn't. I never asked what they did to Pete if anything, but he never showed those movies with the door open again. Oddly enough, I would continue to see Pete around the academic buildings until I graduated because he was in the same major field as I was and he was always nice to me and tried to chat like we were old friends. I ran into him several years after college when he was selling business cards for a living and he acted like he had run into his oldest, bestest friend ever. He asked me to come have a drink with him and even as I declined walking away down the sidewalk, he followed me for almost half a block before he finally went on his way. As soon as I was around the corner I tossed his business card in a trash receptacle, lit a cigarette and wondered what he thought had happened that night. Pete had never been what anyone would have called smart, but surely he knew that I had instigated whatever it was that got him to change his ways. I thought the same thing then that I'm thinking now, "poor dumb fuck" and that if I ever run into him with a female of any kind, shape, age or form, I will tell them how I knew Pete when he was a rapist.
Years have gone since I've even thought about the Wizard of Oz, since it always reminds me of the above story, and the Sound of Music even more so, since I sat through the last few scenes of it with my friends feeling sorry for that bastard. Recently, right around the time that this movie came out in the theatres, one of the librarians was telling a younger patron about watching the Wizard of Oz while listening to the Darkside of the Moon by Pink Floyd. And I thought about when I did that in high school and how cool it seemed, and actually didn't think about Pete and the girls. I decided at that point that maybe I could James Franco a chance to put different memories in play for me.
James Franco, whom I tend to like in films often for his awkwardness, didn't seem like the obvious choice to me. If I had been casting this film, I think I might have gone with someone with a little more serious chops but who could still pull off the charisma-in-lieu-of-an-actual-plan quality necessary for this character. I would have gone with Joesph Gordon-Levitt. But, Franco did alright. His smile always seems genuine and that really work to the advantage of a character playing a con man.
Really, it was the women who stole the shoow, especially Mila Kunis and Michelle Williams at the Wicked Witch and Glenda the Good, respectively. These gals acted the crap out of their roles and looked good doing it.
Two of the main characters are CGI, so that's a bit hard to deal with. I mean the SF/X looked great and there are many scenes where one of them is being "held" by an actor and they did a good job of making it look like the actor had something or someone in their grip or sitting on their shoulder. The flying monkey, Finley, looked great, so did the evil flying baboons. Actually everything in this movie looked like Oz. There were great incredible scenic shots, while the people encountered payed homage in their look to the original film.
If for no other reason than that thee is some amazing eye candy, you should check this film out. It's not one you will buy and watch repeatedly, but it is one that you will be glad you watched, especially if it helps wipe out an old college memory associated with the Wizard of Oz that was less than positive.
Oz the Great and Powerful on IMDb
I think every child of my generation saw three things growing up that help form our cultural identity - Bambi, the Sound of Music and the Wizard of Oz. I bet you thought I was going to say Star Wars, and while that was key, it's not as big as those three - kids today might have a different take on that though. Now, I was not a child when these three movies came out, but I was a child at the start of the home video revolution and syndicated television which showed old movies because they were cheaper to buy the rights to. I would guess by the time I had graduated high school in 1990 that I had seen each of these films at least a dozen times (Star Wars half that at best), the only other movie coming close at maybe half a dozen times was It's a Wonderful Life - the Jimmy Stewart version not the Marlo Thomas version which fortunately I have only seen once. In fact I knew a guy in college that had stumbled on to the generational zeitgeist that made these movies oddly appealing to us as young adults. Now, I normally don't use names in this blog, but this dude doesn't deserve my protection, his name is Pete, though perhaps as a mercy I have misplaced his surname at the moment. On Friday and Saturday nights, Pete would play these movies in his dorm room - he had one of the two singles on my floor - with the door open in hopes of drawing people in. He did this every weekend and for the first month or so, this just made Pete seem more interesting because why would a guy in her early 20s be watching these movies every weekend. Well, one reason was that lots of people stopped in for a little bit or a whole movie and hung out because they had something in common to talk about. I figured this out on my own and actually thought it was a clever way to say "I'm kind of shy, but let's hang out" which was something I could appreciate from my problem with shyness when I was younger. As the year progressed and the weekends I was on campus my room became more of a destination to go to from a fraternity party, I began to notice that girls who had come back to the room with us - there was a regular group of us plus whom ever we bumped into at the parties, these girls would head off to the bathroom and be gone long enough that someone would get sent to find them. One weekend about two-thirds of the way through the semester, all of the girls disappeared - the ones who initially went to the bathroom, and then the two gals who had been sent to find them. One of the guys, who was not embarrassed to go into the women's restroom if the need should arise went to find them and then didn't return. Now, I didn't think that anything wicked had happened to them, I just assumed they had found a better scene and neglected to come get me. I left a couple of fellows behind to hold down the fort, because I knew I would be coming back eventually since it was my room. As I approached the won en's restroom the other end of the floor, I heard laughter and music, the Sound of Music to be precise and all of the missing people were in Pete's room watching the end of the film. As credits rolled, the other guy from our group rallied the troops to head back to my room. As one of our female friends has having a bit of a hard time walking on her own, I helped her back. Fifteen or twenty minutes parsed and two of the girls hadn't come back yet. I thought that perhaps Pete had convinced them to watch the Wizard of Oz which was what he had tried to enchant all of us with as we left. These two girls were pretty, um, intoxicated shall we say, well they were pretty too, to swing the term in that direction too. I got back to Pete's room just as the door was closing. I could hear and see that the movie was still on. It was like claxons went off in my head, clearing any of my own fog that might have remained. I pushed in to see my two friends where I had left them and Pete was cozying up next to the blond who was just approaching the drowsy stage of drunkenness. It seems Pete had been sharing a bottle of wine with them while they watched the movie. I asked Pete what was going on. He said something to the effect that he didn't normally do so well as to get two girls, and not as pretty as these two surely and that I could "have" the brunette. how to describe how I reacted? I checked my anger by making a smart ass comment that went beyond facetious. Pete took at face value and said this is why he showed these movies every week, to lure in drunk girls that he would continue to give drink to and then "do what he could" In our dorm rooms in Belknap Hall, there were phones on the wall of every room and you could call any number on campus by just dialing four digits. I dialed my room and told them to come - to bring all my boys and bring all their guns. And then I did something I used another couple of times in college because it was damned effective. I called the fraternity that we had been partying at, and told them that some asshole had pinned the two girls in his room and as he got them even drunker was planning on fucking them if he could his small wretched prick into them, and of course I told them his name and what room we were in. The frat was just across a small plaza and some of those guys arrived before my friends did, several of the guys being from the same fraternity. We got the girls out and on their way home to sleep it off and when they were gone I was going to join the 7 or 8 fraternity guys in doing whatever it is we were going to do, which to be honest I hadn't thought that far ahead. One of the guys I knew quite well, pushed me out into the hall and closed the door after me saying I need not worry about this happening again. I didn't and it didn't. I never asked what they did to Pete if anything, but he never showed those movies with the door open again. Oddly enough, I would continue to see Pete around the academic buildings until I graduated because he was in the same major field as I was and he was always nice to me and tried to chat like we were old friends. I ran into him several years after college when he was selling business cards for a living and he acted like he had run into his oldest, bestest friend ever. He asked me to come have a drink with him and even as I declined walking away down the sidewalk, he followed me for almost half a block before he finally went on his way. As soon as I was around the corner I tossed his business card in a trash receptacle, lit a cigarette and wondered what he thought had happened that night. Pete had never been what anyone would have called smart, but surely he knew that I had instigated whatever it was that got him to change his ways. I thought the same thing then that I'm thinking now, "poor dumb fuck" and that if I ever run into him with a female of any kind, shape, age or form, I will tell them how I knew Pete when he was a rapist.
Years have gone since I've even thought about the Wizard of Oz, since it always reminds me of the above story, and the Sound of Music even more so, since I sat through the last few scenes of it with my friends feeling sorry for that bastard. Recently, right around the time that this movie came out in the theatres, one of the librarians was telling a younger patron about watching the Wizard of Oz while listening to the Darkside of the Moon by Pink Floyd. And I thought about when I did that in high school and how cool it seemed, and actually didn't think about Pete and the girls. I decided at that point that maybe I could James Franco a chance to put different memories in play for me.
James Franco, whom I tend to like in films often for his awkwardness, didn't seem like the obvious choice to me. If I had been casting this film, I think I might have gone with someone with a little more serious chops but who could still pull off the charisma-in-lieu-of-an-actual-plan quality necessary for this character. I would have gone with Joesph Gordon-Levitt. But, Franco did alright. His smile always seems genuine and that really work to the advantage of a character playing a con man.
Really, it was the women who stole the shoow, especially Mila Kunis and Michelle Williams at the Wicked Witch and Glenda the Good, respectively. These gals acted the crap out of their roles and looked good doing it.
Two of the main characters are CGI, so that's a bit hard to deal with. I mean the SF/X looked great and there are many scenes where one of them is being "held" by an actor and they did a good job of making it look like the actor had something or someone in their grip or sitting on their shoulder. The flying monkey, Finley, looked great, so did the evil flying baboons. Actually everything in this movie looked like Oz. There were great incredible scenic shots, while the people encountered payed homage in their look to the original film.
If for no other reason than that thee is some amazing eye candy, you should check this film out. It's not one you will buy and watch repeatedly, but it is one that you will be glad you watched, especially if it helps wipe out an old college memory associated with the Wizard of Oz that was less than positive.
Oz the Great and Powerful on IMDb
Saturday, September 07, 2013
Now You See Me (2013)
If you've read me before, you know how I feel about Mark Rufallo. Well, if you read my discussion of a movie he'd been in. I don't normally talk about him. Really. Not even that one time., 'cause what I actually said was, "Hark! Buffalo!" Because while you were busy looking at me, I was looking at you and right behind you walked this 800 pound bison and I was just trying to tell you. I;m sure you remember that.
I'll make this short and to the point and will never mention it again. Mark Raffalo does not drag down every movie he is in or make the room you are in stink every time he appears on screen. Because every would include his whole body of work and he didn't bring down this movie or make the room stink just because he was on screen. That was the cat. The last bit that is.
What do you need to know about this movie? There are two things, but only the first one is essential to getting the most for your viewing dollar, which in my case was $0.00 because I got it from the library and it was worth every penny, and the fact of the matter is that you only need to pay attention to the first item as the second one is just an observation I made. First, listen to the voice over at the beginning. It will tell you everything you need to know to fully appreciate this movie. Everything one of the mains says to anyone else regarding magic or the nature of magic is directed at you, the audience member. The second item, is French women are hot, but you probably already knew that and so did they.
Now You See Me on IMDb
I'll make this short and to the point and will never mention it again. Mark Raffalo does not drag down every movie he is in or make the room you are in stink every time he appears on screen. Because every would include his whole body of work and he didn't bring down this movie or make the room stink just because he was on screen. That was the cat. The last bit that is.
What do you need to know about this movie? There are two things, but only the first one is essential to getting the most for your viewing dollar, which in my case was $0.00 because I got it from the library and it was worth every penny, and the fact of the matter is that you only need to pay attention to the first item as the second one is just an observation I made. First, listen to the voice over at the beginning. It will tell you everything you need to know to fully appreciate this movie. Everything one of the mains says to anyone else regarding magic or the nature of magic is directed at you, the audience member. The second item, is French women are hot, but you probably already knew that and so did they.
Now You See Me on IMDb
Friday, September 06, 2013
Escape from Planet Earth (2013)
I think I might now be through watching animated movies. Well, I should qualify that - mass market films aimed at kids and made by Americans, oh, and computer animated that is supposed to look computer animated. The exception to this rule is if they ever actually make that sequel to the Incredibles - I'll watch that. But really, I am through with this genre. I think I've been feeling this way for a while, but have kept watching them in hopes of finding another Incredibles. I haven't. But, to be fair, these movies aren't aimed at me, I just watch them because I'm on familiar terms with my library and watch a lot of things I wouldn't otherwise.
This film has the requisite slimming and close up on the computer animated hair/fur. It also has the requisite list of big name stars doing the voices, though I have got to say that this was voiced particularly well - likely the best work that William Shatner has ever done. There are the standard characters: hero who doesn't believe in him/herself at the beginning, cowardly wise-cracking sidekick, super-strong/tough sidekick with a heart-of-gold, brawny characters who are dimwitted and brainy characters who are scrawny in comparison.
Look, I'll be as objective as I can - this is on par with Despicable Me or Aliens Vs Monsters. If that is a good thing to you, or you're watching this with younger children, then go for it; but if my comparison is a bad thing to you, then pass on this one.
Escape from Planet Earth on IMDb
This film has the requisite slimming and close up on the computer animated hair/fur. It also has the requisite list of big name stars doing the voices, though I have got to say that this was voiced particularly well - likely the best work that William Shatner has ever done. There are the standard characters: hero who doesn't believe in him/herself at the beginning, cowardly wise-cracking sidekick, super-strong/tough sidekick with a heart-of-gold, brawny characters who are dimwitted and brainy characters who are scrawny in comparison.
Look, I'll be as objective as I can - this is on par with Despicable Me or Aliens Vs Monsters. If that is a good thing to you, or you're watching this with younger children, then go for it; but if my comparison is a bad thing to you, then pass on this one.
Escape from Planet Earth on IMDb
Thursday, September 05, 2013
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)
I had completely forgotten that Famke Janssen was in this movie, so it's an unexpected addition to my, apparently, ongoing Famke Film Extravaganza (FFE). She neither plays Hansel nor Gretel in this film, and since there are such few other possibilities, you should have already guessed that she's the main witch. She pulls it off well enough.
This movie is exactly what I expected it to be. That is such a loaded statement I realize and I do mean it in the good and bad ways implied. This is not a high concept film, it's an action flick trying to find a niche in the supernatural thriller / action subgenre. Lots of shooting, hit and blowing shit up, but not a lot of character development or complex storylines. That sentence is both the good and the bad. I would have loved to have seen some more character development - this is a short film so they could have another 10 minutes in and nobody would have minded. Or they could have used it more humor. They had some bits that were kind of funny and they could have expanded on those and perhaps thrown in a few more. To be completely honest, I don't really mind that they didn't. This film is comparable to Van Helsing, though Jeremy Renner is a poor man's Hugh Jackman, but Gemma Arterton who is new to me, is easily as good as Kate Beckinsale, maybe even better. Which is kind of funny since the other movies this is comparable to are the Underworld series.
There is one thing that I really dislike about this movie, and that is the use of language by the characters, especially Hansel & Gretel, who do have more lines than anyone else. I don't mean profanities, 'shit' and 'fuck' have been in use for hundreds of years, I mean that modernity with which they speak. The story is set in Victorian times and while I certainly don't expect to be hearing 'doth' and 'thee', I don't want to hear the phrases "shitty little berg" and "fucking hillbillies" Berg and hillbillies would be completely foreign to the English then, and quite possibly still are. They just wouldn't know those phrases.
To counterbalance the language, there is one thing they did which I really like - Gretel. She totally kicked ass and took names, but even more importantly, at least as far as overcoming gender stereotypes, she took a beating, in almost every single instance far worse than Hansel takes. It's not because she's weaker, quite the opposite. Gretel is the dominant of the two and puts herself right int the thick of it. And she manages to do it while looking hot. Related to this is the fact that peolpe in this movie are allowed to get dirty / bloody, and stay that way until they get a chance to clean up. It seems more real, somehow. It certainly fits in with the graphic nature of this film.
This movie ends with a nice hook for potential sequels. It completely ties up all the lose ends, so you needn't worry about that, it just also shows you what might be at some future time. And I for one will gladly watch a sequel.
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters on IMDb
This movie is exactly what I expected it to be. That is such a loaded statement I realize and I do mean it in the good and bad ways implied. This is not a high concept film, it's an action flick trying to find a niche in the supernatural thriller / action subgenre. Lots of shooting, hit and blowing shit up, but not a lot of character development or complex storylines. That sentence is both the good and the bad. I would have loved to have seen some more character development - this is a short film so they could have another 10 minutes in and nobody would have minded. Or they could have used it more humor. They had some bits that were kind of funny and they could have expanded on those and perhaps thrown in a few more. To be completely honest, I don't really mind that they didn't. This film is comparable to Van Helsing, though Jeremy Renner is a poor man's Hugh Jackman, but Gemma Arterton who is new to me, is easily as good as Kate Beckinsale, maybe even better. Which is kind of funny since the other movies this is comparable to are the Underworld series.
There is one thing that I really dislike about this movie, and that is the use of language by the characters, especially Hansel & Gretel, who do have more lines than anyone else. I don't mean profanities, 'shit' and 'fuck' have been in use for hundreds of years, I mean that modernity with which they speak. The story is set in Victorian times and while I certainly don't expect to be hearing 'doth' and 'thee', I don't want to hear the phrases "shitty little berg" and "fucking hillbillies" Berg and hillbillies would be completely foreign to the English then, and quite possibly still are. They just wouldn't know those phrases.
To counterbalance the language, there is one thing they did which I really like - Gretel. She totally kicked ass and took names, but even more importantly, at least as far as overcoming gender stereotypes, she took a beating, in almost every single instance far worse than Hansel takes. It's not because she's weaker, quite the opposite. Gretel is the dominant of the two and puts herself right int the thick of it. And she manages to do it while looking hot. Related to this is the fact that peolpe in this movie are allowed to get dirty / bloody, and stay that way until they get a chance to clean up. It seems more real, somehow. It certainly fits in with the graphic nature of this film.
This movie ends with a nice hook for potential sequels. It completely ties up all the lose ends, so you needn't worry about that, it just also shows you what might be at some future time. And I for one will gladly watch a sequel.
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters on IMDb
Wednesday, September 04, 2013
The Road to the Avengers: Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Of the comic that make up the basis for which the Avengers and it's prequels are based on, Captain America is the one that I loved as a kid After a few years of reading it, I was introduced to the Avengers and then the West Coast Avengers, which i doubt we will see a movie about. While following Steve Rogers as the Captain as he lived the nomadic life around the U.S. I was also collecting old comics from the early 70s when Captain America teamed up with Falcon. Somewhere in here, others portrayed Captain America as Steve Rogers lost his way. And so did I. I was a fan of Marvel's Paladin, our lawful good hero who did what was needed because it was for his country and every question he had he kept to himself because a good soldier doesn't question his orders. This was interesting to me, fighting for the system even though you are becoming disillusioned by the system. And then when you can take it no more, the hero removes himself from the system. I would have continued to read the series had it continued to follow Rogers as teh main character and shown me how a true patriot deals with a government that is less than it is supposed to be. Sure, they could have had someone else playing at Captain America, but that should have been in the background, as Rogers was the key. But, they didn't do that. You could go issues at a time without even a whisper of Rogers and then it would be a couple of panels about how he was out finding himself. Instead we got comics about fighting without any of the turmoil. I was genuinely sad the day I cancelled my subscription, especially so because I also ended my Batman subscription at the same time (Batman had just wrapped up the Year One storyline which I thought was brilliant, and went back to that 80s whack-a-doodle of the month format - they guy who ran the comic shop tried to get me to hold on a little longer because Year Two was about to start, but I couldn't do it) I had moved to the X-Men as my main Marvel title by this point, though I still kept getting the Amazing Spiderman. I actually stopped collecting those within another year as I had discovered Vertigo and Image comics and was reading a lot of one-offs and mini series by small presses. Pretty soon, I even stopped buying those and was putting all of my money into AD&D even when our group broke up to go to college because I was reading the pulp fantasy novels set in the Forgotten Realms and buying the books and maps to set my own games there which never properly materialized.
This movie had little to do with any of my memories of Captain America. This Captain is based on the updated story, with the updated costume. This Captain America is a soldier first and a super hero only incidentally because someone needed to step up and he could and did. I have read some of the modern Captain America related series - trying to get through that whole Dark Avengers thing and ultimately taking a break which has lasted about a year and a half now, because it was too many series pulling in too many directions. Captain America in these comics was okay. I completely missed the whole Ultimates thing in the Marvel Universe and have always intended to read it, but haven't yet, so don't what influence that had on this film, but I suspect little.
Watching Captain America rushing into a battle while firing away with his pistol is hard to get used to but ultimately I can accept this interpretation because He's a soldier first. The harder thing to accept is Chris Evans face/head attached to the skinny actor that played the pre-serum Steve Rogers body. That is just freaky looking and more than a little unsettling.
Ultimately, I liked this movie. The character of Captain America stays true to himself and like this whole solider-out-of-time angle that they bring us at the end. The comic book aside for a moment, this is also the most accessible film of the four in the series I've watched so far. They really should have had more of Rogers in the modern times at the end. He's certainly got to be upset that everyone he knew is dead or in their late 80s or beyond. It's also a little sad that the second most interesting female lead of the four films (after Gwyneth Paltrow's Pepper Potts) won't be making a return unless it's in flashbacks - I though Hayley Atwell as Agent Peggy Carter was one of the better characters I've seen so far in any of these films.
Captain America: The First Avenger on IMDb
This movie had little to do with any of my memories of Captain America. This Captain is based on the updated story, with the updated costume. This Captain America is a soldier first and a super hero only incidentally because someone needed to step up and he could and did. I have read some of the modern Captain America related series - trying to get through that whole Dark Avengers thing and ultimately taking a break which has lasted about a year and a half now, because it was too many series pulling in too many directions. Captain America in these comics was okay. I completely missed the whole Ultimates thing in the Marvel Universe and have always intended to read it, but haven't yet, so don't what influence that had on this film, but I suspect little.
Watching Captain America rushing into a battle while firing away with his pistol is hard to get used to but ultimately I can accept this interpretation because He's a soldier first. The harder thing to accept is Chris Evans face/head attached to the skinny actor that played the pre-serum Steve Rogers body. That is just freaky looking and more than a little unsettling.
Ultimately, I liked this movie. The character of Captain America stays true to himself and like this whole solider-out-of-time angle that they bring us at the end. The comic book aside for a moment, this is also the most accessible film of the four in the series I've watched so far. They really should have had more of Rogers in the modern times at the end. He's certainly got to be upset that everyone he knew is dead or in their late 80s or beyond. It's also a little sad that the second most interesting female lead of the four films (after Gwyneth Paltrow's Pepper Potts) won't be making a return unless it's in flashbacks - I though Hayley Atwell as Agent Peggy Carter was one of the better characters I've seen so far in any of these films.
Captain America: The First Avenger on IMDb
Tuesday, September 03, 2013
The Road to the Avengers: Thor (2011)
I figure that after two nights of one mythological strong-man, it was time for another.
I noticed something this time through the movie that I missed the first time, probably because I was bedazzled by all the pretty things, but in the opening when Odin is relating the war a thousand years ago with the Frost Giants, at the end when Odin has claimed victory over the Frost Giant king, someone who is dressed in the same armor Loki wears picks up the glowy crystal power source to take back for safe keeping to Asgard, but then we cut to a later point where Odin is relating the same story to a young Thor and a young Loki. Is this a snafu or was the kind of armor just really popular among the forces of Asgard? In the battle scenes, you don't see anyone else dressed in it, implying it is a particular individual...who is not Loki. Do I even need to mention that there is also a very strong guy wielding a hammer against the Frost Giants? Okay, so the Loki armor is the armor he wore int eh comic book, not the stuff he wears in the movie, and the strong guy with the hammer has a winged helmet like the comic book. I guess I kind of answered my own question here - that it's rather an homage to the comic than a snafu.
But then, who knows, right? I mean we see Odin put his rune on Mholner right after he exiles Thor, but then we see the older scientist flipping through a book of Norse mythology and there is a picture of Mjolnir with the symbol on it. Maybe Odin was just activating what was already there?
Just like iwth the Hulk, I was never that big of a fan of the Thor comic though I really like the look of the Asgardians and read it from time to time. I think as an adult, it might appeal to me more, assuming that it is written for an adult of course. Also like with the Hulk it is not surprising that I like the movie better than the comic book. But, surprisingly I actually like this movie. Sure, it's got Natalie Portman and I'll watch anything she does and at least like her role in it, Black Swan withstanding as I didn't like any part of that movie. Anthony Hopkins is great as Odin, all beardy and buff. And Chris Hensworth is good as Thor. I can't imagine anyone pulling it off better, because it's not his acting that is chesy, it's the character.
I think a lot of people dismiss this movie as the one Avengers prequel you can skip. I even understand their reasons, on an intellectual level, but the fanboy in me thinks this is cool and the most like the comic book of any of the Marvel movies. Well, there is that Dr. Strange movie that is right on, but it's animated so not really in the same league. Thos is the most accurate portrayal of the comic book it is based on of any of the Marvel live-action movies. You have to accept a little cheesiness and let go of the mythological Thor.
A funny thing happened while watching the credits of Thor. I couldn't remember what the little scene was after they rolled. I thought on it as they rolled and realized that I don't think I had made it that far the first time. Which is kind of unlike me, so I let the credits roll and lo and behold, there is the little scene with the Doctor and Nick Fury looking at the cube, but of course the Doctor can see Loki who is telling him what to say. I knew the Doctor was in the Avengers, and Loki and the cube of course, but had missed this link in the chain. I also realized that it makes more sense for Thor to be viewed after Captain America, a that is the movie in which we first see the cube.
Thor on IMDb
I noticed something this time through the movie that I missed the first time, probably because I was bedazzled by all the pretty things, but in the opening when Odin is relating the war a thousand years ago with the Frost Giants, at the end when Odin has claimed victory over the Frost Giant king, someone who is dressed in the same armor Loki wears picks up the glowy crystal power source to take back for safe keeping to Asgard, but then we cut to a later point where Odin is relating the same story to a young Thor and a young Loki. Is this a snafu or was the kind of armor just really popular among the forces of Asgard? In the battle scenes, you don't see anyone else dressed in it, implying it is a particular individual...who is not Loki. Do I even need to mention that there is also a very strong guy wielding a hammer against the Frost Giants? Okay, so the Loki armor is the armor he wore int eh comic book, not the stuff he wears in the movie, and the strong guy with the hammer has a winged helmet like the comic book. I guess I kind of answered my own question here - that it's rather an homage to the comic than a snafu.
But then, who knows, right? I mean we see Odin put his rune on Mholner right after he exiles Thor, but then we see the older scientist flipping through a book of Norse mythology and there is a picture of Mjolnir with the symbol on it. Maybe Odin was just activating what was already there?
Just like iwth the Hulk, I was never that big of a fan of the Thor comic though I really like the look of the Asgardians and read it from time to time. I think as an adult, it might appeal to me more, assuming that it is written for an adult of course. Also like with the Hulk it is not surprising that I like the movie better than the comic book. But, surprisingly I actually like this movie. Sure, it's got Natalie Portman and I'll watch anything she does and at least like her role in it, Black Swan withstanding as I didn't like any part of that movie. Anthony Hopkins is great as Odin, all beardy and buff. And Chris Hensworth is good as Thor. I can't imagine anyone pulling it off better, because it's not his acting that is chesy, it's the character.
I think a lot of people dismiss this movie as the one Avengers prequel you can skip. I even understand their reasons, on an intellectual level, but the fanboy in me thinks this is cool and the most like the comic book of any of the Marvel movies. Well, there is that Dr. Strange movie that is right on, but it's animated so not really in the same league. Thos is the most accurate portrayal of the comic book it is based on of any of the Marvel live-action movies. You have to accept a little cheesiness and let go of the mythological Thor.
A funny thing happened while watching the credits of Thor. I couldn't remember what the little scene was after they rolled. I thought on it as they rolled and realized that I don't think I had made it that far the first time. Which is kind of unlike me, so I let the credits roll and lo and behold, there is the little scene with the Doctor and Nick Fury looking at the cube, but of course the Doctor can see Loki who is telling him what to say. I knew the Doctor was in the Avengers, and Loki and the cube of course, but had missed this link in the chain. I also realized that it makes more sense for Thor to be viewed after Captain America, a that is the movie in which we first see the cube.
Thor on IMDb
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