Before I put this video up let me just say that now is the time.
I know you've heard of Game of Thrones the HBO series.
You've probably heard how phenomenal it is. How honorable it is to a great piece of literature...
How well casted it is and brilliantly acted...
By now you've probably heard what a great series the books are and that you probably should read them...
Well...
Why?
Because Winter IS coming...
Let me tell you a story...
Years ago, I remember hearing about a saga that was being written. It was a series of novels that were fantasy based that were supposedly amazing. They were breaking all sorts of new ground and were generally accepted as the end-all-be-all.
I wrote this off because eff that, I was above fantasy novels. Yes, I too was once a stupid teenager.
Flash forward to last year. HBO starts putting out promo's for Game of Thrones Season 1 (at this point who knew there would even be a Season 2) and all my friendly geek websites like ToplessRobot and i09 start telling me how I should read these books before I watch the show and so on and so forth.
At this point I've matured a bit since the first time I heard about Game of Thrones, so I figure I'm going to check out the show (because it looked interesting) and people are adamant about the books, I might as well read the first one (which Season 1 is based on).
Figured I'd stay with the Arnold motif...
Epically awesome.
I was instantly hooked. So much so that I was of course going to finish the series.
The show is somewhat improperly titled. The series is called a Song of Fire and Ice. The first book is called Game of Thrones. The first season is based on the first book, so while the show retains the title of Game of Thrones, the second book, A Clash of Kings will be the basis for the Second Season.
And now is your time to jump on board. If ever there was a time, it is NOW. The first season is replaying on HBO as we speak. The second season doesn't start until April 1st.
I encourage you to read the books, but if not, at least catch-up and join the show on it's second season.
So this is the big Honda/Ferris Bueller commercial that people have been talking about:
nd while it's a brilliant tribute to Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Matthew Broderick totally, convincingly commits to the role...where the fuck is Simone and Cameron?
You're telling me that Honda couldn't spring for Alan Ruck and Mia Sara like they have something better to do?
Rob Roy had the unfortunate timing to come out around the same time as Braveheart. Just like all things Hollywood, stories lie in trends. If it's not volcanoes and asteroid events, it's everything from superheroes to fairy tales (two Snow White movies are incoming and ABC's Once Upon a Time heavily relies on the innocent Apple-eating Princess to good effect).
While Braveheart is a great film about a Scottish rebel, so is Rob Roy. Albeit an entirely different film based on an entirely different hero in an entirely different era. Can I use the word "entirely" well or not?
The movie is based on the real-life person known as Robert Roy MacGregor who was a Scottish cattle rancher that became something of a Robin Hood over a financial dispute when he defaulted on a loan.
I can't swear to the movie's authenticity, nor do I care to. It's a phenomenal movie with a phenomenal performance from Liam Neeson who as my articles will continue to prove has ALWAYS been a badarse. The ONLY reason this movie was forgotten is because it was looked at as the poor step-cousin to Braveheart. The truth is that this movie is neither trying to be Braveheart or has anything to do with Braveheart besides being set in Scotland.
I hate seeing good movies get the shaft because of blatant ignorance. Don't we have enough love in our hearts for Scottish folklore to love both of these movies equally and in different ways?
Not to mention this movie has the best hiding in a dead carcass scene you will EVER see on film and one of the most badass swordfights of all-time.
The less we say about this rancid award show the better. However, some things BEG to be said.
There was a time when I actually WANTED to win an Oscar.
That was before I became disenfranchised with this particular award show and grew up to realize and see firsthand how bullshit political it all is. If I somehow ever DID get nominated for something Oscar-related, I wouldn't even bother to show up. It's that much of a joke to me now.
The truth is that we all know how much of a joke the Oscars are these days. However, I've never felt such anger before than when I reviewed the list of nominations for this year's major categories (i.e. Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, etc.):
I'm sorry, but this year contained some extraordinary movies like Warrior, Drive, Super 8, and even We Bought a Zoo. All of these movies deserved multiple nominations let alone, I believe, some wins. The fact that Ryan Gosling was snubbed for a Best Actor nomination and Warrior didn't get a Best Picture nom to me is abhorrent alone.
Whether you like or dislike Drive, you can't deny Gosling's performance was phenomenal.
But when you factor in the actual noms like Brad Pitt as Best Actor for FUCKING Moneyball and Jonah Hill as a Supporting Best Actor for Moneyball, let alone a goddamn Best Picture nom for MONEYBALL...I gotta call BULLSHIT. The Academy apparently went crazy for Moneyball, why? I have no fucking clue.
Hell, Melissa McCarthy secured a Supporting Best Actress nomination for BRIDESMAIDS. Really!? Or the Help as a Best Picture nomination!? I'm not saying these are bad movies or bad performances. I'm just saying they are not the BEST in any category that they're put in.
The nomination's are utterly despicable and cowardly.
Don't get me wrong, Moneyball was a fine film, but it was not one of the best of the year. Nor did any performance in the film earn an Academy Award Nomination.
These are SADLY safe and pathetic nominations folks. I mean could it get any safer than War Horse?
I feel like the only saving graces here are the nominations for Rooney Mara for the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (that she better damn well win) and Nick Nolte for Warrior. But that's about it.
Since I saw the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo my attitude was that IF Mara wasn't nominated I would go from rage to total flipping my shit. Never in my lifetime have I been so wrong about an actress and never before have I completely been won over. I never flat-out said Mara couldn't pull it off, I just really didn't believe she could, but after watching the flick, I was sold...I told myself then and there: I will NEVER doubt this woman again.
So thank God she got a nomination. If she hadn't, I'd probably be planning to car bomb the whole event. Let's just hope she wins it, because that was the best performance of the year, hands down.
Oh, but then there's the whole NOT nominating Alan Rickman for his final and best performance as Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series. Not only do I think he should be nominated but I think he should have won. For years the Academy has snubbed Harry Potter, and that's fine, I wouldn't expect them to pay attention to an amazing series that has been both critically and commercially praised. I wouldn't expect them to honor the astounding achievement that Warner Bros. has accomplished by keeping an amazing cast together for EIGHT films to tell a singular story. I wouldn't expect them to glorify the role of a man who has been shrouded in mystery and has always played a role that was both bad guy and good guy with the exquisite grace and attention to detail that Alan Rickman (a classically trained actor to boot) has.
No because I understand that the Academy is made up of complete morons and lackey's who look to suck dick in Hollywood by giving their homey's and personal favorites attention while snubbing the people who ACTUALLY deserve credit.
And this is why I say FUCK the Oscars. I haven't watched them in years, but this is the first year in a long while that they have really gone out of their way to piss me off.
So apparently the folks who have brought us the PHENOMENAL Batman games Arkham Asylum and Arkham City will now be bringing us a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle game based on the same graphics and gameplay that made their Batman games so popular.
You will be able to play as all of the Turtles and their various Rogue's Gallery will be in full view throughout the course of the game. Some of their vehicles will also factor into the game as well.
HOLY SHIT.
In other news, pigs are now flying, Superman is real, and we will all be receiving FULL refunds for all the taxes we paid this year...OR basically, I'm reserving my copy NOW.
The kind of dedication, devotion and love that went into this video is only the kind of Transformers, Optimus Prime love that a child of the 80's can possess. Amazing, and awe-inspiring. I foresee myself watching this video over and over again throughout my remaining years.
This is a scene from Castle which has the character dressing up as Captain Malcolm Reynolds from Firefly (television series), or if you prefer, Serenity (the movie that continued where the series left off).
What I love about this clip:
The musical cues that touch on the music from Firefly. The fact that the girl in the video asks him didn't he wear this five years ago? Haha.
But why do I undyingly love this clip? Because the girl asks him, "isn't time you move on?"
Nathan says very plainly, "I like it."
A-Frakkin-men.
If you have yet to get into Firefly/Serenity...you are missing out...dare you to watch:
I'd like to think that my audience is geeky enough to give this video a chance. I hope it is. But I also realize I'm still building. Most of my fans probably have already seen this video or will never watch it. It's amazingly geeky and awesome in equal parts. It's about Batman so OF COURSE I have my complaints and issues. But it's a lot of fun...especially if you've had a couple of beers. Check it out, give it a chance.
As a child of the 80's I love and own the original Fright Night. It's a classic romp of horror and comedy that is rarely seen today. Plus it has the always awesome Chris Sarandon as the vampire next door and the always AMAZING Roddy McDowell as the snake-oil salesmen "Vampire Hunter".
When I first heard they were going to remake Fright Night I was initially upset. I don't have a hair trigger sense against remakes on a whole. I treat them as a first come first serve basis. Some movies BEG for remakes, like Ocean's 11 or Gone in 60 Seconds. The original versions of those movies are almost unwatchable yet retain a great premise - a premise that the new versions use to build a better movie.
With a movie like Fright Night, one has to ask why? The original is good enough. However, once I heard that Marti Noxon had written the script (one of the head writers and producers of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Angel - two of the best series ever produced for television) I was sort of sold.
That being said, I didn't get around to watching the flick until the other night. And well...
Ladies and gentlemen, THIS is how you remake a movie.
You keep what works and do something different with everything else. Why remake it if you're going to do anything less?
That's even been my view when they remake a song. If you're not going to do something different with the material, why do it at all?
Quick premise update for those who are in the dark: Charlie is your average geeky guy next door. He's living next to a vampire. No one believes his theories. Everyone thinks he's crazy. In the original, Charlie turns for help to an old C-list movie star who is a supposed vampire hunter that hosts a horror movie marathon called Fright Night. In this remake, the vampire hunter is a Chris Angel-like magician. Hijinxs and chaos ensue when the vampire and Charlie collide.
The new Fright Night does a ton of new and interesting things. Beyond taking the movie idea out of the 80's and updating the "monster next door in suburbia" story, they change and try many new things. Which btdubs, the whole monster in suburbia thing was VERY big in the 80's and early 90's. Too HUGE effect and for a reason. Most of us grow up in tract homes. And there is a paranoia, air of mystery, and sense of fear that can be found in these places just as much as peace, tranquility and boredom. It's almost palpable.
But I'm getting off track - who knew, right?
Right off the bat this newest version starts almost about 20 minutes earlier than the original and adds angst that wasn't in their before. In this movie, Charlie hasn't got the slightest idea what's going on. It takes his friend showing it to him before he even starts to care. The original made Charlie to be this hero from the beginning while the newest version introduces us to sort of a shallow dick that becomes a hero along the way. He's someone we have to root for. He BECOMES a hero by process of the story. They trade the mid-west for Vegas and explain why that makes sense for a vampire.
In every way, shape, and form, this is a new movie.
I could sit here and tell you how much more violent, suspenseful, and aggressive this movie is (while retaining a semblance of humor), but it escapes the point. Beyond all of my variously eloquent descriptions, it is a remake that defies existence in the way that is unlike it's original form. There are entirely new set pieces and takes on characters are vastly reformed and imagined. This is the shell of an idea totally reformatted and rebooted.
AGAIN, this is how you remake a movie, ladies and gents...or ANYTHING for that matter.
The underdog versus a larger force will always remain palatable by audiences.
The more I've thought about this movie and analyzed it the more I realize how much I loved it and indeed, may have liked it MORE than the original, which I honestly thought wouldn't be possible. This is one of those rare examples where I will own the remake and the film it's based on.
I only have two complaints. One is minor. It being that this flick relies too much on CGI-effects. The original was made in a time where practical effects were the only thing that existed, and they look better to this day compared to the obvious computer-generated effects of the remake. I'm sorry, but practical vampire movies have been made since film was silent, why do we need CGI in them?
My only other complaint is a biggy. And it's one that is plot-driven. So I am going to aspire NOT to ruin you. There is a moment when (and I won't give out details - you'll know it when you see it) Charlie has no doubts that of what he is dealing with. He sees it for all it's evil and ugliness. He sees it in the MORNING.
If you knew you were dealing with a vampire living next door and you had ALL DAY to do something about it, wouldn't you start shattering all the windows in the house and just burning the mother fucker down? Well, Charlie doesn't.
This is my only real problem with the movie. You'll know it when it happens. It's an emotionally investing point...I just know for me that it would be an action-driven point.
I can't quit this review without noting Colin Ferrell's amazing performance. He retains some of the charm and sexiness of Chris Sarandon's performance while increasing the ferocity and intensity almost a hundred fold.
Colin Ferrell has only recently been released from Hollywood jail, and all I can say about that is that he never deserved to be in it and he continues to be a phenomenal actor. Sure, he's made some bad movies, but he was good in all of them. Actor's get blamed for the performance of the film (wrongfully so) and sometimes get less work because of it, so it's good to see he's on the upswing (Horrible Bosses, Total Rekall).
Plus Anton Yelchin is truly coming into his own as an actor and a leading man.
8 / 10
And now, I proudly present the end credits to Fright Night...I got 99 Problems and a Bitch Ain't One.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: I hate the Star Wars Prequel trilogy. It's an unmitigated disaster. From plot to characterization and even setting, it's a perfect example of how NOT to make a good film and stands forever in stark contrast as to why the Original trilogy is better even without all the digital doodads.
The above video doesn't really have anything to do with this article, I just think it's funny. However, if we were to glean anything from it's presence it must be that Lucas has undoubtedly fallen from grace.
George Lucas didn't rape my childhood. Regardless of how I feel about the man, I've never liked this saying. My childhood and memories are intact. I got to grow up with the Original trilogy! Nothing wrong with that. I feel sorry for this most recent generation and even the one before it. The kids that grew up only knowing Star Wars for the Prequels and the horrible Clone Wars cartoon. Now these kids' childhoods haven't necessarily been raped, but they've been deprived of the good stuff. Could that be worse? Eventually I'm sure they'll get around to it, and like the generations before, they'll toss their copies of Episode I aside and grasp all the more tightly onto the Empire Strikes Back, but until that day, I feel sorry for them.
If you have never checked out Redlettermedia's BRILLIANT analysis of Episodes I-III, I sincerely hope you will do so now. Here is the link to the start.
But I picked out this segment which I hope you will watch, because I think it's an amazingly insightful segment into what's going on with George Lucas, fast forward to 4:45 to get to the point, if you're impatient:
The truth is that the Prequels have polarized Star Wars fans into two basic camps. Those of us who detach ourselves from the recent stuff and acknowledge Lucas' shortcomings and those who don't.
Personally, I don't regard anything Lucas has done with Star Wars since Return of the Jedi as canon. When you come down to it, the Prequels are just BAD movies. We could get very specific into why they suck as both Star Wars movies and just as movies in general, but that would take forever because there is a plethora of reasoning as to how and why they are so bad we almost need a new word to describe how bad they truly are. I think this would be counter-productive.
I'd rather just get into the meat of Mr. Lucas.
I think it's obvious that the guy is first and foremost a business man. In so many ways, the Prequel trilogy was OBVIOUSLY made to sell toys. I think this is a painful fact. But if you look at the movies and the merchandising objectively it's hard not to see the blatant truth to the matter. When no-name characters are being sold as action figures and action figures have scenes in movies only to look cool and don't further the plot you have to ask yourself, why?
In many ways everything Lucas has done since the Empire Strikes Back has been about keeping his own Empire afloat. Every so often in interviews and such, you get the impression that this has been about keeping his people employed. He might be a billionaire now but at first he was just a normal guy trying to take care of his friends, peers, and beloved co-workers. Especially during the making of the Empire Strikes Back.
During that time period Lucas risked it all. He was starting up multiple businesses and self-financing SO MUCH of the film himself that you can almost break out in a sweat of your own when you dive into the details of how much stress he must have been under. I think this is the time period that irrevocably changed the man. He went from budding and fledgling artist/filmmaker to all-and-out businessman. He almost lost everything, and that changes people.
Of course we must stop here and acknowledge that while Lucas was indeed once a gifted artist, he did NOT make Star Wars alone. It was a collaboration and many of his most insane, and indeed, retarded ideas never made it past the page because there were people around to tell him NO.
Original Star Wars concept art...
I've long felt that total artistic freedom is almost always a bad thing when it comes to film. You get pictures like King Kong (the Peter Jackson version). Film SHOULD be a collaboration because it ultimately and unavoidably IS a collaboration.
The sad fact is that either George let go of his artistic instincts a long time ago or they were never all that strong to begin with. It's entirely possible that he's only ever been a decent idea man. A guy that should be producing the movie (or just producing the money) and letting talented people run with the basic concepts that he's presented.
It saddens me that Lucas thinks he still has some sort of artistic integrity. This is just not possible when you stand in front of congress and defend a film from future tinkering and then tinker with your own movie like you're the sole owner.
The reality is that Lucas doesn't OWN Star Wars.
This might be a hard concept for some. But George Lucas does not own Star Wars. Sure, he mostly paid for it to be released all by his lonesome, but it isn't HIS.
He released it to the public while accepting PAYMENT for his endeavors. He gave it to me, my kids, your kids, and future generations. It doesn't belong to any one person, nor should it. Once you put something out there it's done, gone. And rightfully so. Especially when you factor that people have PAID for it time and time again. I've bought multiple copies of Star Wars on VHS and DVD. I've bought tons of merchandise. So don't I own it?
Definitely not...
However, the point is that while I may not own it, neither does Lucas. You put it out there, man. You gave it to us. And we embraced it. You should be proud. You shouldn't edit and re-edit. It's the equivalent of a Chef making a gourmet meal, you paying for it and eating it but lo and behold the Chef comes out of the kitchen and demands that you regurgitate what you enjoyed in order for him to change some spices and ingredients because he didn't feel like it was the finished product. Where would this fly? NOWHERE.
Star Wars, like anything that is great and good does not belong to any one single individual.
And thus MY argument is over and my hatred over the many Lucas apologists begins.
You see, some fans believe in being fans regardless of how much they are abused. They cannot differentiate between the product and the representative behind the product. You see, I'm a Star Wars fan. That does NOT make me a Lucas fan. Of course I WANT to be a Lucas fan, but if he fucks up, he fucks up. That doesn't make me any less of a Star Wars fan. Not that it matters.
But to some asshats, you have to be all or none.
I hear it all the time, "in Nolan we trust" when talking about the recent Batman movies. Well, sorry, I've never met Christopher Nolan, so no I don't TRUST him. At the end of the day, he's made a ton of great movies, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, but I do not blindly TRUST him. I'm a BATMAN fan, not a NOLAN fan.
I use this analogy to help me make it clear that there is a dividing line within fandom between idiocy and intelligence.
The Lucas Apologist seems to have to main arguments that rub me the WRONG FRAKKIN' WAY:
1. Star Wars didn't change, we did.
2. George gave us the Original trilogy so be nice.
Let's attack this number by number shall we?
First up, Star Wars didn't change but somehow the people who grew up with it DID.
Okay, this is bullshit reasoning right off the bat. It's so stupid it just makes me see nothing but red. The fact that some moron uttered this makes me lose another gigantic dose of faith in humanity. It's so retarded that I have trouble even knowing where to start attacking it.
I could start with the obvious. This idea is basically saying that the Original trilogy is just as kiddy as the Prequel trilogy but I can't see it clearly because I was a kid then and am not now, right?
I could sit here and argue that while PARTS of Revenge of the Sith are as dark and serious as the Empire Strikes Back it never comes even remotely close to the level of depth or maturity that is seen in just any one scene (take your pick) within the film, but that would be too obvious. I think the fact that I can still find things to praise and enjoy about Empire as an ADULT while still loathing ROTS for it's horrible dialogue, acting, plot holes, and ridiculous effects is proof enough.
Yet even in this, I fear that I am falling into an argument that is subjective and could go on forever. I'd rather CRUSH the argument.
So because I'm an adult the basic idea here is that I would not like the Original trilogy any more than I would the Prequel trilogy having seen it fresh.
This is flawed because I've shown adults who've never seen either and LOVE the Original trilogy and hate the Prequels...but let's take that out of the equation.
By the rationale of this argument, I shouldn't like anything that's made for kids. Because you have to understand, that's the defining rule here. Lucas apologists are looking to protect the Bearded One because he FAMOUSLY said (when the Phantom Menace was VERY poorly received by fans) that Star Wars is for kids. They're trying to say that we betrayed Lucas and not the other way around.
So by their standard, I should hate anything done by Disney and/or Pixar. In fact, all animation is probably too juvenile for me. Kung Fu Panda was great, but I should just ignore that I loved it because it was made for kids so because I'm an adult I must have missed something.
I should hate the MANY Star Wars books that have come along over the years (even though I'm still reading them in CONTINUITY, I might add) and the video games like Jedi Academy and the Force Unleashed that I totally DIDN'T OBSESS over for years at a time...just like the The Old Republic MMORPG which I am LOVING.
Yeah, it's ME and my age that is the problem...
KISS. MY. ASS.
Forget that I record shows like Young Justice and/or the new Avengers animated series.
I probably shouldn't love Harry Potter? I thought they were kids books, but wait, I've read them all!
Maybe the more things change, the more they stay the same? Yes, we all get older, but with good fiction we see get to view multiple sides to the stories as the years go by and our various perspectives change. When we were kids we saw something in Star Wars, just as we are adults we see things that our parents and grandparents saw. The reality is that the Original trilogy was accessible for everyone.
1977...that looks like an eclectic mix of people.
The above image thankfully blows the argument completely out of the water. Star Wars isn't JUST for kids...it's for everyone. Great fiction always is. This is standard Lucas apologist bullshit. The reality is Lucas fucked up with the Phantom Menace and instead of admitting it, he tried to cover his ass with a disgraceful comment about how Star Wars is for kids. Way to demean your audience, asshole.
Yeah, because this crawl and plot SCREAM just for kids...
The secondary point we come to next is that, 'Lucas gave us Star Wars, so be nice!'
Well that's basically like giving someone a free pass.
Okay...if you do something great, I'll agree you should kind of have a free pass. Until you fuck up enough times that the free pass is revoked. Then you're just excusing bad behavior, and I don't do that.
Joel Schumacher has made some good flicks. The Lost Boys comes to mind right away. But he's also the mother fucker who made Batman Forever and Batman and Robin. Sure, he's gone on to make some decent flicks like 8MM, Phone Booth, and the Phantom of the Opera. This doesn't excuse what he's done nor does it mean I will just believe every movie he makes from here on in will be decent and/or good.
You see, Lucas apologists want to just live and let live. They WANT to like the Prequels because they simply don't have the intelligence or rationality to come to terms with a world where there are bad Star Wars movies and Lucas has sold them out. Believe me, I understand this plight.
Still, these movies are SO bad and were waited on for SO long that some people simply cannot fathom the awfulness. They make all sorts of excuses and justifications for why they like and/or love them. These people do not want to face facts.
You could argue that they love Star Wars too much, but I don't agree with this because I LOVE Star Wars and I protect it by cutting out the crap and acknowledging the weakness. They are simply slow. They'll come around eventually, but for now we can all write them off as being stupid for the moment.
No one LIKES these movies except maybe kids. If you're over 13 and you claim to like these movies you're either an apologist who cannot be reasoned with because you are blinded by what you are obsessed with or you grew up with them and haven't revisited them recently or had anything to compare them to, i.e. the Original trilogy!
What the Lucas apologist fails to realize (besides the FUCKING OBVIOUS) is that no one would hate on George Lucas if he just did two very simple and logical things:
1. Release the original cuts of the movies on all formats from here on in along or as separate versions of the Special Editions. Wouldn't matter how he sold it, fans wouldn't bitch if they had the option to stay away from his revisions.
2. Admitted the Prequel trilogy was not what it could have been.
I realize that Point 2 is asking a bit. But it's not.
You see, I'm not asking him to remake the Prequel trilogy. Although I think he should.
I'm not even asking him to flat-out admit it sucks or that he failed. Although he would earn back my respect instantly by doing so.
I'm just asking him to be honest. Because the truth is that what COULD have been and what SHOULD have been is SO much better than what IS.
And he knows it.
Why do you think he antagonizes the fans so much? Because deep down he knows he fucked up and doesn't want to admit to it. His ego won't allow that, but he's being publicly crucified for it so he lashes out the only way he can.
I'm asking him to stop acting like the Prequel trilogy is the end-all-be-all. Stop treating the Original trilogy (the good son) like the poor step cousin. This more than ANYTHING is what infuriates me. He acts like the saga that made the Clone Wars animated series and all the merchandise possible was nothing more than a fluke.
He'll sit there and swear that everything was mapped out...but did you ever imagine when Luke and Obi-Wan talked about the Clone Wars that the clones would be the good guys? How does that even make sense? It's not like we would call any war we were in the Marine Wars. We all envisioned the Clones as the enemy and as some sort of horrible by-product. Not a war where the Clones fought Droids. And even if it were, there was a point lost there. Part of Star Wars is about putting charm and character into robotics from C-3PO to the Millennium Falcon, if the good guys had to have an army wouldn't have been more affectionate and interesting to make it these hapless droids rather than the mask-faced Clone troopers?
Honestly, if the Prequel trilogy is truly George Lucas' VISION and he feels that the Originals are NOT...well folks, if that's not a DAMNING position to take than I don't know what is? Because regardless of whether you like, love, or loathe the Prequels you cannot deny that the Original trilogy is better...
But Lucas does.
Think about that.
If the Prequels are the movies he wanted the Originals to be from the beginning then I am DAMN glad they were made with other people.
Think about it. Of COURSE he doesn't like the Original trilogy, he barely made any of them! Lucas made the Prequels. Kershner made the Empire Strikes Back (this is just an example, I know Lucas made A New Hope). Think about it.
I think this is my underlying problem with George.
He acts like his shit don't stink (even though I can see in his eyes he knows it does) and that his TRUE MASTERPIECE (the saga that will be remembered forever) is abhorrent while he shoves Prequel SHITE down our throats.
One of my favorite cousins recently asked me what I think will happen when Lucas dies...well, I'm hoping he can be like Scrooge and change...but like Marley says, if everything remains the same, it's very simple:
The Prequel trilogy will fail. The emphasis and glamour that has been placed upon it will wane. It will be around but it will take it's RIGHTFUL place, BEHIND the Original trilogy in terms of everything from quality to emotion and taste.
Designers, computer artists, producers, writers, actors, and all manner of people will eventually begin to voice their true opinions and thoughts on the awfulness that is Episodes I-III. Sure, some people will stick to their guns, but most won't. Some people will even try to make a case for how they fought and tried to make changes to the story (I'm looking at you Rick McCallum).
Hopefully, the rights to Star Wars will be released and Hollywood can dive in. This will lead to a number of GREAT films, TV series, and video game projects but will also incur a GINORMOUS amount of horrible films, TV series, and video game projects...but that's okay. A Star Wars fan must learn to take the good and ignore the bad.
But I'm not counting on it.
My hope is that before he goes, Lucas will embrace the fans the way that we have embraced him for so long and just do some very simple, honest things. He'll give us the original editions, and at the very least remove emphasis off of the Prequels and shed some glorious light back on the Original's that he so seemingly hates (yet we all love).
I guess even if he doesn't do any of that he's still done some amazing things and kept food on the table for so many people. He's a brilliant entrepreneur, producer, and idea man.
Artist?
I think he let go of that a long time ago. Maybe that's where ultimately the apologists and I formerly disagree.
So another recurring article in this wicked horrible place called a blog will be my additions of certain chapters from the book I'm currently working on and hope to sell upon it's completion. Honestly, part of creating this blog is to further my writing career on a whole but mostly to gain attention and something close to a fan base for my book. That's why your help in visiting constantly and telling your friends to visit is so important to me.
What you need to know about my book: It's a multi-genre character study on how to survive a Zombie apocalypse. It will be a trilogy and this is the first book. I basically took my plan for how to survive a Zombie onslaught from my little corner of the world and put it to page with interesting character's with their own dynamics and relationships.
One of the great geek mysteries to me is why there is so much hate brought upon Iron Man 2.
No matter what the reason, it just makes ZERO sense to me.
The insanity has gotten so big that even Robert Downey Jr. himself counts the film as a failure...WHY!
The film cost somewhere around 200 million but made over 600 million - that's a hit no matter how you look at it. And the film WAS a hit.
So why the hate?
I've never understood it. Mostly because I think Iron Man 2 was actually BETTER than Iron Man. Don't get me wrong, I loved the first movie, but Iron Man 2 had so much more going for it.
Iron Man 2 was everything a sequel should be. The stakes were raised and the hero wasn't compromised for the villains a la Batman Returns. Tony Stark was still front and center, but his problems were more drastic.
A lot of people love to complain about the LACK of villains in this piece, but from where I'm standing, all I see is confrontation and villainry. The Government is after Tony and they want his armor. Corporate America is after Tony and they want his armor. An enemy from the past wants his blood. His body is dying and resisting his best efforts to fix itself. Pepper doesn't want to run his company. SHIELD wants him to be more than he can be. Rhodey wants to be on his side but doesn't trust him.
I'm sorry, but this IS drama, folks. EPIC drama. When the bad guys and even your best friends want your blood, sweat, and tears it means SOMETHING is going on. This isn't trivial. It's tragic. Tragedy makes the stuff of heroes.
Iron Man 2 ups the stakes. That's what GOOD sequels do. I'm sorry if you can't see that...it means you're fucking retarded.
People want to slam Iron Man 2 because Marvel put Nick Fury and the Black Widow into the picture. First of all, it wasn't forced. Second, who cares? All of these characters and their stories ARE interconnected and SHOULD be interconnected. More importantly, Fury and Widow MADE SENSE for the story that was being told.
TRUE, we all wish Whiplash had been more front and center...but then again, Sam Rockwell's Justin Hammer was SO much fun with or without the angry Russian whipper-one.
And AGAIN, if I'd rather have a sequel that stayed focused on the HERO rather than on the lame villains. Because let's be honest, Iron Man has a HORRIBLE Rogue's gallery. Besides the Mandarin (who has YET to be seen), he's got nothing, really.
All in all, this is a flick about an ailing hero. A man who just started to figure things out when he's lambasted by some major problems.
Isn't that how it always goes? Just as we get shit straight, something comes and lashes out (see what I did there?).
It's a metaphor for getting older. Just when you think you've got everything, the girl, your best friend, the world on your side, and plenty of allies, you get hit from all sides with things you couldn't even imagine coming. You think you have everything and within a blink of an eye it can all be stolen from you, even when you have nothing but the best of intentions going for you.
I know I can relate to this.
This is the story of a man who loses his best friends and everything he holds dear and just barely get's everything back by the skin of his teeth. It's a touching and endearing story. Something that speaks to all of us about holding onto who and what we are. Fighting for our right to survive and staying true to our friends and our ideals.
In the end, Tony get's ANOTHER second chance...we all should be so lucky.
Bottom line, Iron Man 2 has more going for it than you think:
- Kick ass opening
- Dying Hero
- Chemistry between Hero and love interest.
- Multiple villains played by phenomenal actors.
- Great dialogue and action set-ups.
- Phenomenal climax.
- Humor.
- Marvelisms (connections to the Marvel universe)
May all movies be THUS successful in their endeavors...
I've mentioned before that Community is the best television show on the air right now. Let me amend this. Community is the best sitcom on TV...Justified is the best show on TV. Splitting hairs? You betcha...but still, Justified is an AMAZING show.
The third season is beginning in January and while the show has an overall story arc, it's more character driven than plot driven so it wouldn't be hard for you to hop on now. But I recommend you buy the first two seasons on DVD if only because the show is so damn good.
Proof? All right...
The show focuses on U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens who as you can see has a bit of a trigger finger...but not really. Raylan just doesn't tolerate bullshit. That's the key thing to remember about the guy. I'd say he's the toughest son of a bitch you'd ever meet but that's not exactly right. He's tough, but it goes deeper than that. He's just a very real man with a strong sense of honor and justice. He has a code that goes above what the law says he can and can't do. He's almost RIGHTEOUS.
Justified is basically a modern day Western with Raylan playing Wyatt Earp. That's about the truest and simplest explanation I can cut it down to. It's a phenomenal show. Highly entertaining, extremely well written, and thought provoking. At first glance many of the characters seem black and white, but that couldn't be less true. While some definitely are mostly black and white, everything has shades of grey when you get up close and personal and Justified exposes the ugly underbelly of everyone involved. Yet it doesn't dwell in garbage just to be controversial like other shows (I'm looking at you HBO). The characters are complex and interesting, but at the end of the day you can always count on one man to do the right thing.
The show is BADASS, I'm telling ya. Check it out. You won't regret it.
I was a very lucky geek because I was a child of the 80's. Soooo much great stuff was in the 80's if you were young enough to truly appreciate it. It was an era that didn't talk down to kids and gave us some pretty awesome things. From amazing cartoons like the Transformers, He-Man, Thundercats, and G.I. Joe. To totally rad shows like Saved by the Bell, ALF, and Knight Rider. It was a time when ultra-violent movies like Robocop had a toy-line and marketing geared towards kids. Hollywood boldly made movies for and about children that would never fly in today's ultra-paranoid PC climate. Movies like the Monster Squad, the Explorers, and even Goonies would not be made today in the way the were then. I look back at my childhood while thinking about the kids of today and almost feel sorry for them. Sure, it's gotten better in the last few years as we've moved away from whatever shit Digimon and fucking Pokemon were about, but if you look closely you'll see that a lot of what's cool now started in the 80's.
That's right, bitches, the kids of the 80's are the adults of today and we're bringing shit back.
While I could continue to pat my generation on the back, I'm gonna hold off because it's all besides the point. The relevance behind this is that there were so many cool toys out when I was a kid. Whether a cartoon got started from a toyline or the toys came after, EVERYTHING had toys. From Predator to M.A.S.K. Everything was a toy. Hell, I even owned some Go-Bots.
The problem with all of this is that I'm nostalgic. As I was growing up I "lost" (i.e. mom threw out) all kinds of great stuff that I wished I had held onto. As I became an adult and the internet unfolded into existence I realized that almost anything could be found and bought (thank you Ebay), so why shouldn't I still have some of these great toys from my childhood that I either lost or wanted at one time but either couldn't afford or my parents missed the boat on something?
So without further adieu, shall we geek on?
5. Robocop 7" action figure
Pretty much since the day I saw a Robocop poster I wanted a badass toy version of him. The problem with this is that while the toy industry made tons of versions of him, they were usually all shit. They were either a weird purple version of him for arctic conditions or something and/or they basically had ZERO joint articulation. For most people, the more movement you can get out of a toy, the cooler it is.
Also, a lot of times, they'd frak up his gun...not cool. Robocop's gun is one of the coolest looking guns in movie history.
So when NECA put out the above action figure who is awesomely poseable AND super affordable, I didn't hesitate buying him.
Because this is what I had to put with as a kid:
4. Optimus Prime 20th Anniversary action figure
Man oh man, when I first HEARD about this toy (a fully transformable and poseable Optimus with accessories, sounds, lights!) I knew I had to have him even though he was over a hundred bucks. Growing up I had a full armada of Transformers. I had several Optimus' over the years, and while they were cool, they were always kind of small, never transformed all that great and were not all that capable of movement when out of their vehicle modes. This Optimus was made to make up for all that came before it. And believe me, he does.
3. Voltron
To be fair, there have been tons of Voltron toys that have come out over the years. The one I remember owning as a kid was pretty cool, never had any real complaints with 'em. Only that somewhere along the way, he got thrown out. I remember the individual lions were like heavy die-cast metal. That was frickin' cool. There was just something awesome about the colorful Voltron that's hard to describe thoroughly. He's just such a cool hero/toy/robot. He epitomizes so much that was awesome about my youth. I missed having him around more than I knew because ever since I decided to get the above "adult" version (very intricate, detailed, and poseable - heads out of the gutter) of this toy I grew up with, he's stood watch on one of my bookshelves and continued to make my once shattered life without him whole once again. I joke - but it's true!
He breaks down into five toys, so really no matter what the cost, he's worth it!
2. Sideshow Collectibles 1989 Batman
In all honesty, I haven't completely paid for this sumbitch just yet. But very soon, this ridiculously expensive but amazing toy will be mine.
When I was a kid the ONE toy I always wanted the damn toy companies to get right was a Batman toy. Don't get me wrong, I had dozens of different Batman toys over the years. But for whatever reason they almost always had no articulation and hardly ever looked like any Batman I'd seen in the comics, cartoons or movies.
If this sounds sort of like the Robocop issue, it's because it's a lot like the Robocop issue. For that matter, they've never put out a decent Superman action figure either. Must be an iconic hero thing. Regardless, this Batman is everything I ever wanted in a Batman action figure. He's EXTREMELY poseable, looks so realistic it's scary, and comes with a TON of accessories.
This isn't even all of his gadgets.
So yeah, I had to have him.
1. Voltron's Sword
This piece of work...
When I was a kid I prided myself (still do) on my sword mastery. I was the self-declared, "Best Swordsman in the Neighborhood". I was good, still am. It's all in the footwork. So I tended to go through plastic swords quite a bit. My brother and I even went through a phase where we took metal poles and fashioned lightsabers out of them (with duct tape and spray paint) just so we could really go to town on each other.
When all is said and done, I think I had my dad buy me two or three of these bastards along the way because I would eventually break them...but I LOVED them even though they weren't easy to come by. This sword was just a piece of my childhood that represented so much. Plus it was an original, interesting and vicious looking badass sword.
I wanted it back.
But if they were rare back in the 80's they are all but extinct now. I spent a good ten years scouring the internet off and on, looking for this bad boy. When I finally found someone selling the one above on Ebay, you bet your ass I was going to win that auction. Cost me 60 bucks but it was worth every penny. You can't even find a picture of these things online...I had to snap that myself just to give you an idea of what I'm talking about.
In the end, having this sword back in my possession is an awesome thing. It's like I was able to capture a little piece of something I thought was gone forever. Something elusive and intangible became something real. This sword, and indeed, most of the pieces in this article represent an almost authoritative reclamation of all that was good and fun in my youth.
They are physical reminders that while the past was great, the present and future can be even better.
Geeky as all Hell? You bet...but what's the point in living if you can't geek out about stuff?
A little over a month ago, I would have never seen Tintin. In fact, I would have gone on a long, argumentative tangent attacking the mere idea of the film and attempt to persuade you, my dear reader NOT to waste your time on it.
Things change and through a strange course of fate, I was tempted and eventually excited to see the film. I even wrote an article on why and how my mind was changed.
So it's quite bizarre to be here now reviewing a movie that at one point I swore I'd never even sit through.
The Adventures of Tintin tells the story of a journalist (the Tintin in question) who stumbles onto the search for a lost treasure and the redemption of a family name. Along the way he meets and fights a variety of interesting and unique characters on an adventure that is mostly fun but sometimes tedious. There is a certain charm to the character of Tintin who is extremely altruistic but in an endearing way that speaks to the innocence of us all. He's almost like a young Sherlock Holmes or even a magic-less Harry Potter. It's that Luke Skywalker, hero's journey archetype that is almost always appealing. Especially when it's done right.
There's a moment when the villain has seemingly gotten away entirely with all the clues and is untouchable, someone asks where Tintin is going as he storms off determinedly towards a motorcycle and replies, "I'm going after him."
Moments like this send chills down the spine and make you root for this unorthodox character and his world.
Nevertheless, the question remains, is the Adventures of Tintin the new Indiana Jones or does it fall flat to my first estimation as a piece of fiction that remains interesting in Europe but nowhere else?
It's somewhere in between. The movie is NOT bad. However, it's not what the critics are claiming it is. It's a decent, enjoyable flick, that's about it. It's not what Kingdom of the Crystal Skull SHOULD have been and it's not even a close relation to Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Hell, it's not even a close proximation to the Rick O'Connell Mummy adventures (not that it's trying to be).
Brendan Fraser's Indy facsimile.
One can argue that this movie should be a grand slam with Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson attached, but I'm not one of those people. Just because you've done good work in the past doesn't mean you will forever do good work. Nobody is perfect.
And the movie is far from either parties' worst feature. As I said above, it's still an enjoyable movie.
The problem with Tintin is the format.
If you don't already know, Tintin was shot using motion-capture CGI. Meaning that actor's were filmed in special suits to track their movements and expressions while animator's used this as a basis and/or guide for developing the film.
Before we go any further, I have to explain something called the Uncanny Valley:
It's simple, Wall-E and R2-D2 are cute because they don't look enough like a human to creep us out. But human-looking robots or certain CGI characters (I'm looking at you Polar Express) DO creep us out because they are so close to being or looking like a human being - except we KNOW they aren't.
Right off the bat, I'll admit I downright LOATHE motion-capture filmmaking. It's okay when you use it sparingly and integrate it into a live-action film a la' Gollum in Lord of the Rings or the Navi' in Avatar. However, I see absolutely no reason to ever shoot a movie entirely within this format.
Robert Zemeckis was once a great filmmaker (Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Forrest Gump) but has since become so obsessed with this format that it has become obnoxious and toxic (Polar Express, Beowulf, the shitty Jim Carrey A Christmas Carol).
Now Tintin could never have been made in live-action. There are just too many cartoonish, unbelievable elements that would not work if you wanted to remain faithful to the comic-strip. So the obvious solution to this problem is to use animation.
And that's exactly what they should have done. Tintin should have been a Pixar film.
Instead, it's a motion-capture CGI crapfest that insists on being realistic but isn't. It floats in such a realm of Uncanny Valley bullshit that you find yourself yawning when you should be excited.
It's a VERY fine line, but the reality is that while so much of what happens in Tintin is straight out of a cartoon (human interaction with animals, chases and set-ups right out of a Tom and Jerry sketch all while the laws of physics go flying out the window) the animation is so close to realistic that you're mind is torn between believing in what you're seeing and knowing it's a cartoon.
Spielberg tried to have his cake and eat it too and it just doesn't work. You can't have an extremely realistic character in a realistic setting talking to his dog while crashing through the cockpit of a plane as it's crashing without any sign of harm.
The sad fact is that the action in Tintin could have been so much more believable, fun and exciting if it had just been ANIMATED. But because they go for an extra layer of realism with the sensibilities of a cartoon world it just ruins everything.
Bottom line: Tintin is a fun movie but it conflicts with itself and it's hard to take seriously when it has one foot in reality and another one firmly placed in cartoonville.
I've been aware that the BBC has put out a new Sherlock Holmes series for a while now. I've been wary of it because I wasn't sure I loved the idea of modernizing the character and his stories. But having since heard nothing but praise for the show, I've decided to check it out. I'm currently on episode 2 of season 1 and I can say I definitely like it quite a bit. My one and only complaint thus far is that Holmes quickly describes himself as, "a high-functioning sociopath".
Sherlock is many things, but he is no sociopath.
But I'm still early on in the series so I suppose there will be more to complain about later.
Meanwhile, Warner Bros. has started script work on Sherlock Holmes 3 and I am very glad!
Thus you've received your Sherlock news for the day...you're welcome.
I cracked up when I saw this. I know it takes something I love and sort of turns it into a tasteless joke, but goddamn it, I can't help it. This is frakking funny.
The guy has yet to make a bad movie. And please don't even bother bringing up Elizabethtown because that was a great flick.
But this review isn't about Elizabethtown.
It's about We Bought a Zoo which itself is about a man who has just lost his wife and is still reeling from the loss while trying to raise his two kids. Long story short, he wants, needs, craves change and adventure. He wants to do good by his kids and suddenly fate intervenes and a massive opportunity falls in his lap.
That's all I'm going to tell you about the plot. Because this is a Cameron Crowe movie and like all of his movies, the plot isn't necessarily essential (with the arguable exception of Vanilla Sky), what's important is the characters, how they relate, the lessons they learn and what we learn as a viewer from their experiences. Let me tell you, friends, there is some great, heavy, good stuff in this movie. Ultimately it's all about how we relate to one another and how we deal with loss and change. What is family? Who is family? Which species is our family and does it even matter? It's all very deep and emotional and if it weren't handled by a truly great director who has an amazing talent for developing characters in a way that isn't pretentious or heavy-handed this flick wouldn't work. It would be too saccharine and ridiculously lame.
Thankfully, Crowe knows how to push all the right buttons in all the right places with a light touch. He has a gift for this kind of story. One could argue his consistent trend throughout all of his movies and characters is GROWTH. We watch as Jerry Maguire becomes more than just an agent and finds love and friendship along the way. We wonder and are awed as the young reporter becomes friends with the band in Almost Famous and becomes a man by the end of the story. Orlando Bloom struggles to reconnect with his family and his recently dead father who he never really understood as he falls in love with a girl he barely knows in Elizabethtown. And so on and so forth. Sure it's all just words and on paper it doesn't mean much. But Cameron Crowe is a master of magic. Whether it's through a look or a great line he can capture a performance in a way that evokes the story with such a sense of depth and texture that not many can replicate or even attempt.
He makes you FEEL. That is a gift and the true mark of a great filmmaker.
There's a phenomenal line in this movie, "all you need is 20 seconds of insane courage and I promise you something good will come of it."
OH MY GOD, if that doesn't sell you on this movie, I don't know what will.
Maybe the cast?
Matt Damon is a tour de force in this movie and I believe he deserves an Oscar nom for this role. But he's just the tip of the iceberg. I could go on and on about everyone but I think the most significant find of this flick is the little girl who plays his daughter. Maggie Elizabeth Jones. She is the epitome of ADORABLE.
Watch the movie and she will win your heart over instantly. Trust me.
Yet with every Crowe movie it's like the great lines and actors are a dime a dozen. So it couldn't come as a shock to anyone that the cast is well rounded and superb. I just don't think there's enough time in the day to try and do justice to each and every actor within this movie by my meager writing skills. It would be better for you to just go and see the movie.
Of course I couldn't finish this review without noting that there have practically been novels written to the wonder and power of Crowe's use of music to stir our emotions in connection with a scene. For those who don't know, this is a big power he has and uses as an art form unto itself. MANY have tried to replicate it but very few succeed. He has an almost surgical precision to the songs he picks to accompany any given scene in his movies. We Bought a Zoo is no exception. Rather than try and explain this, I'll give some examples.
