Merry Christmas! Oh yeah. Christmas time. That time of year where we are all a little nicer and a little more happy; while having psycho riots at toy stores. But still, a very magical time. One certainly to be enjoyed. So from me here at templeofthehut.blogspot.com, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Quanza, Happy Ramadan, or whatever you celebrate.
Here's what I'm going to be watching in between Christmas Carol movies and other holiday specials:
1) THE HOBBIT- AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY: The epic story that kicked off the most epic story by J.R.R. Tolkien. I've already re-read the Hobbit and I can't wait to see it. I believe they turned The Hobbit into three movies and this one goes up to the encounter with Gollum and the Goblins. *oops spoilers* I'm so hyped for this movie.
2) ZERO DARK THIRTY: This is the movie about how the Navy SEAL team 6 got Osama Bin Laden. It's bound to make any American proud.
3) THE GUILT TRIP: Babs and Seth Rogan play up the annoying parent thing in a road trip comedy. I can't say I'm as psyched for this as I am The Hobbit, but it is one I'm willing to give a chance.
4) THIS IS 40: Much like The Guilt Trip I'm willing to give this one a chance. As a guy a not too far away from 40 myself, I think I might be able to relate to this movie. I stress might.
5) DJANGO UNCHAINED: Quenten Tarantino + Christoph Waltz + Leo DiCaprio + Samuel L. Jackson = 2 1/2 hours of awesome cowboy fun. I have to see that! Seriously, the story is something just beautiful. A freed slave becomes a freedom fighter against repressive slave owners. And he has to save the love of his life. Must see.
See you at the movies
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Coming Soon: 11/30/12
Well, November is just about done. And it's already cold. If you've never had a Seattle winter, well... there's very little snow but still really cold. Go figure. Anyway, what's coming out this week?
1) KILLING THEM SOFTLY: Some criminals rob a mob funded card game and a guy is hired to track them down.
The Good: It promises to be a brutal affair.
The Bad: Critique of capitalism aside, everything about this movie just screams pointless.
Final Thoughts: I've been making "with his song" jokes about this movie ever since I heard about it. It screams of pretense. So, just enjoy it for the action and then forget you saw it.
2) THE COLLECTION: A psycho killer kidnaps a rich man's daughter. And the rich man hires mercenaries to get her back.
The Good: Did you ever see Saw? This is the Final Destination version of Saw.
The Bad: You know this is just going to be torture porn.
Final Thoughts: If you're a gore hound, this might be for you.
3) UNIVERSAL SOLDIER - DAY OF RECKONING: A man tracks down the genetically enhanced zombie soldiers to get revenge for the death of his wife.
The Good: You know a movie this bat squeak insane won't be boring. (ps they aren't really zombies)
The Bad: Anyone looking for a good piece of cinema, may I recommend you stay at home.
Final Thoughts: B movie action with some of the best of the '80s (Van Damme and Lundgren) Can't wait!
4) SILENT NIGHT: A remake of the cult classic B movie Silent Night Deadly Night. Cops try to track down a killer Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.
The Good: Malcolm McDowell is always awesome and Knives Chou (Ellen Wong) is finally in another movie.
The Bad: It's a schlocky B movie and you have to be in on the joke.
Final Thoughts: If they remake Silent Night Deadly Night 2, that would be awesome. GARBAGE DAY!!!! (If you saw the movie, you'd get the refrence)
See you at the movies
1) KILLING THEM SOFTLY: Some criminals rob a mob funded card game and a guy is hired to track them down.
The Good: It promises to be a brutal affair.
The Bad: Critique of capitalism aside, everything about this movie just screams pointless.
Final Thoughts: I've been making "with his song" jokes about this movie ever since I heard about it. It screams of pretense. So, just enjoy it for the action and then forget you saw it.
2) THE COLLECTION: A psycho killer kidnaps a rich man's daughter. And the rich man hires mercenaries to get her back.
The Good: Did you ever see Saw? This is the Final Destination version of Saw.
The Bad: You know this is just going to be torture porn.
Final Thoughts: If you're a gore hound, this might be for you.
3) UNIVERSAL SOLDIER - DAY OF RECKONING: A man tracks down the genetically enhanced zombie soldiers to get revenge for the death of his wife.
The Good: You know a movie this bat squeak insane won't be boring. (ps they aren't really zombies)
The Bad: Anyone looking for a good piece of cinema, may I recommend you stay at home.
Final Thoughts: B movie action with some of the best of the '80s (Van Damme and Lundgren) Can't wait!
4) SILENT NIGHT: A remake of the cult classic B movie Silent Night Deadly Night. Cops try to track down a killer Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.
The Good: Malcolm McDowell is always awesome and Knives Chou (Ellen Wong) is finally in another movie.
The Bad: It's a schlocky B movie and you have to be in on the joke.
Final Thoughts: If they remake Silent Night Deadly Night 2, that would be awesome. GARBAGE DAY!!!! (If you saw the movie, you'd get the refrence)
See you at the movies
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Coming Soon: 11/23/12
I knew Lincoln would get overshadowed by Breaking Dawn Part 2. That's just sad. And if you haven't seen Breaking Dawn Part 2 yet, from what I hear, the movie trolls it's fans. You have been warned. But my guess is if you are a fan of Twilight, you've already seen it so... there you go. Here's what to expect this week.
1) RED DAWN: North Korea invades the United States and local teenagers form a resistance.
The Good: The original Red Dawn with Patrick Swayze was epic!
The Bad: This isn't the original Red Dawn with Patrick Swayze.
Final Thoughts: I have no idea why someone would want to see a remake with worse actors and an even more laughable enemy. Just wait for DVD.
2) LIFE OF PI: The story of a young boy lost at sea with a tiger.
The Good: The visuals are absolutely stunning. It must be seen in 3D. On IMAX if possible.
The Bad: Does this capture the heart of the book? Wasn't this story supposed to be "unfilmable?" Does it offer more than pretty visuals?
Final Thoughts: It looks really good and if it does do the book justice, this is going to be amazing. See it in 3D.
3) HITCHCOCK: A biopic about one of the greatest directors in history getting his masterpiece created.
The Good: Let me get this straight... Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, and Scarlett Johansson?
The Bad: Don't know if it will do the man justice.
Final Thoughts: I love Hitchcock. I love Psycho. I love The Birds. But I have a bad feeling a better love letter to the Master of Suspense would be watching Mel Brooks' "High Anxiety."
4) RISE OF THE GUARDIANS: The latest cutsy movie from Dreamworks about fantasy creatures saving the world.
The Good: It's a kids story trying to tell a story and a message about life.
The Bad: It could go overboard and instead of entertaining might become preachy.
Final Thoughts: The kids are probably going to love it, but I don't see it appealing to the older audiences.
See you at the movies.
1) RED DAWN: North Korea invades the United States and local teenagers form a resistance.
The Good: The original Red Dawn with Patrick Swayze was epic!
The Bad: This isn't the original Red Dawn with Patrick Swayze.
Final Thoughts: I have no idea why someone would want to see a remake with worse actors and an even more laughable enemy. Just wait for DVD.
2) LIFE OF PI: The story of a young boy lost at sea with a tiger.
The Good: The visuals are absolutely stunning. It must be seen in 3D. On IMAX if possible.
The Bad: Does this capture the heart of the book? Wasn't this story supposed to be "unfilmable?" Does it offer more than pretty visuals?
Final Thoughts: It looks really good and if it does do the book justice, this is going to be amazing. See it in 3D.
3) HITCHCOCK: A biopic about one of the greatest directors in history getting his masterpiece created.
The Good: Let me get this straight... Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, and Scarlett Johansson?
The Bad: Don't know if it will do the man justice.
Final Thoughts: I love Hitchcock. I love Psycho. I love The Birds. But I have a bad feeling a better love letter to the Master of Suspense would be watching Mel Brooks' "High Anxiety."
4) RISE OF THE GUARDIANS: The latest cutsy movie from Dreamworks about fantasy creatures saving the world.
The Good: It's a kids story trying to tell a story and a message about life.
The Bad: It could go overboard and instead of entertaining might become preachy.
Final Thoughts: The kids are probably going to love it, but I don't see it appealing to the older audiences.
See you at the movies.
Friday, November 16, 2012
Lincoln Review: A house divided...
I'd have to say that while the tone of this movie is pretty clear, it did have some great surprises. Everyone knows that this is one of those "Oscar Please" movies. This is a movie made for the academy and meant to win awards. It's a dramatic story about a dramatic time in American history.
What I found very refreshing was the attention to historical detail. Most notibly in Daniel Day-Lewis' portrayal of Abraham Lincoln. In just about every movie I've ever seen Abraham Lincoln, he's always been this solumn guy with the weight of the world on his shoulders. His voice is rough and raspy and it just looks like at any given moment he could just break down. This Lincoln is far more of an accurate portrayal. This Lincoln is funny! He's whistful! He tells stories and jokes. Yes, he feels the weight of the war and keeping the Union together. Yes, he's pushing against a lot of people trying to pass the 13th ammendment. But this guy never gives in to dispair. He's always fighting. He knows how hard it will be and just doesn't care. Because what he is doing is for the future of the country.
And Lincoln's logic makes sense. The Civil War was fought over slavery, so let's get rid of slavery. That way even if peace is reached, the country won't fall apart again.
This could've very easily brought in the brutality of the war. And it does show some of the carnage, it doesn't indulge. That's something very important going in. This is a political drama. If you're looking to see huge battle scenes, you're in for disappointment. It does show the aftermath of the Battle of Petersburg. That was a brutal scene and somehow doesn't get gratuitous. If you aren't familiar with it, please do the research. It's amazing how one-sided that battle was. Seeing a weary Lincoln surveying that battlefield on his horse was a powerful scene.
As a history fan and a movie fan I loved this movie. Go watch it.
What I found very refreshing was the attention to historical detail. Most notibly in Daniel Day-Lewis' portrayal of Abraham Lincoln. In just about every movie I've ever seen Abraham Lincoln, he's always been this solumn guy with the weight of the world on his shoulders. His voice is rough and raspy and it just looks like at any given moment he could just break down. This Lincoln is far more of an accurate portrayal. This Lincoln is funny! He's whistful! He tells stories and jokes. Yes, he feels the weight of the war and keeping the Union together. Yes, he's pushing against a lot of people trying to pass the 13th ammendment. But this guy never gives in to dispair. He's always fighting. He knows how hard it will be and just doesn't care. Because what he is doing is for the future of the country.
And Lincoln's logic makes sense. The Civil War was fought over slavery, so let's get rid of slavery. That way even if peace is reached, the country won't fall apart again.
This could've very easily brought in the brutality of the war. And it does show some of the carnage, it doesn't indulge. That's something very important going in. This is a political drama. If you're looking to see huge battle scenes, you're in for disappointment. It does show the aftermath of the Battle of Petersburg. That was a brutal scene and somehow doesn't get gratuitous. If you aren't familiar with it, please do the research. It's amazing how one-sided that battle was. Seeing a weary Lincoln surveying that battlefield on his horse was a powerful scene.
As a history fan and a movie fan I loved this movie. Go watch it.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Coming Soon: 11/16/12
If you saw Skyfall, that was a great treat. This definately was the year of the blockbuster movies. And we have another coming out this week. Also, Lincoln was pushed back to this week. Probably because it didn't want to compete with Skyfall on opening weekend. Anyway, here's what we can see this week.
1) THE TWILIGHT SAGA BREAKING DAWN PART 2: The conclusion to the girl loves vampire story of our generation.
The Good: If you love the series you're going to love this one too.
The Bad: It's Twilight. What hasn't been said about this?
Final Thoughts: There isn't any possible way you could get me interested in this movie. You'd have to pay me to see it. And then buy me booze.
2) ANNA KARENINA: The timeless love story based on the Tolstoy novel.
The Good: It's a wonderful story and a great musical.
The Bad: The trailers I've seen make it feel like it's the stage play script and not a movie adaptation.
Final Thoughts: I can't say I'll be first in line to see it, but will probably be a fun night out.
See you at the movies
1) THE TWILIGHT SAGA BREAKING DAWN PART 2: The conclusion to the girl loves vampire story of our generation.
The Good: If you love the series you're going to love this one too.
The Bad: It's Twilight. What hasn't been said about this?
Final Thoughts: There isn't any possible way you could get me interested in this movie. You'd have to pay me to see it. And then buy me booze.
2) ANNA KARENINA: The timeless love story based on the Tolstoy novel.
The Good: It's a wonderful story and a great musical.
The Bad: The trailers I've seen make it feel like it's the stage play script and not a movie adaptation.
Final Thoughts: I can't say I'll be first in line to see it, but will probably be a fun night out.
See you at the movies
Friday, November 9, 2012
Skyfall Review: Happy 50th Anniversary James Bond
I just finished my retrospective on James Bond and I was totally psyched to see this movie. All the reviews I read for Skyfall were positive and I just had to see a Bond movie. While I like Daniel Craig as an actor, (he's awesome in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), I can't say I was ever sold on him as James Bond. Not that he's a bad actor or anything like that, he just didn't ever project the attitude I've come to expect from Sean Connery or Pierce Brosnan.
The Daniel Craig Bond movies were a complete reboot of the franchise starting with Casino Royale. And when looked in that context the series is actually quite brilliant. Instead of starting off with a polished product like we got with every other Bond movie, we get to see the character grow from his early beginnings at MI6. It provides a little more understanding into why he can be such a cold-hearted bastard or a hopeless womanizer. Skyfall was the ultimate payoff from the build we got in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. Now we have the suave, ice-cold, witty secret agent we all know and love.
Everything in this movie clicked. The opening sequence alone is worth the price of the movie ticket. It's exactly the kind of action packed start that Bond movies are famous for. The introduction of Q was wonderfully done and while it didn't go into the campy realm, they still managed to squeeze a couple good dry-witty quips out of it.
Judy Dench as M is just so memorable. She's played the character ever since Goldeneye and really made that character her own. M also has gone through quite a number of changes and it's something they happened to play with in this movie. In Goldeneye M was a number cruncher who dismissed the real-life experience and gut instinct of 007. Now in Skyfall she's 007's greatest champion arguing against the "technospy" approach and saying that we need people like James Bond to keep our world safe from enemies we don't know exist.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention how awesome Javier Bardem was as the villian, Silva. He's equal parts sadism, fanaticism, brilliance, and straight up awkwardness. It's a very memorable villian and a great foil for James Bond.
I can't say much more without giving the story away. After 50 years of James Bond movies, this is a great movie to get fans to keep asking for more.
The Daniel Craig Bond movies were a complete reboot of the franchise starting with Casino Royale. And when looked in that context the series is actually quite brilliant. Instead of starting off with a polished product like we got with every other Bond movie, we get to see the character grow from his early beginnings at MI6. It provides a little more understanding into why he can be such a cold-hearted bastard or a hopeless womanizer. Skyfall was the ultimate payoff from the build we got in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. Now we have the suave, ice-cold, witty secret agent we all know and love.
Everything in this movie clicked. The opening sequence alone is worth the price of the movie ticket. It's exactly the kind of action packed start that Bond movies are famous for. The introduction of Q was wonderfully done and while it didn't go into the campy realm, they still managed to squeeze a couple good dry-witty quips out of it.
Judy Dench as M is just so memorable. She's played the character ever since Goldeneye and really made that character her own. M also has gone through quite a number of changes and it's something they happened to play with in this movie. In Goldeneye M was a number cruncher who dismissed the real-life experience and gut instinct of 007. Now in Skyfall she's 007's greatest champion arguing against the "technospy" approach and saying that we need people like James Bond to keep our world safe from enemies we don't know exist.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention how awesome Javier Bardem was as the villian, Silva. He's equal parts sadism, fanaticism, brilliance, and straight up awkwardness. It's a very memorable villian and a great foil for James Bond.
I can't say much more without giving the story away. After 50 years of James Bond movies, this is a great movie to get fans to keep asking for more.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
James Bond Retrospective: Part 6 Daniel Craig
Ever since Roger Moore overstayed his welcome as James Bond, playing the role until he was 57, once an actor reaches a certain age he's inevitably replaced with a younger actor to keep the franchise going. Thus was the fate of Pierce Brosnan. After several unsatisfying movies, it was time to reboot the entire series. That's why they decided to name the next Bond movie Casino Royale after the 1967 Bond movie of the same name.
Pierce Brosnan made the James Bond name marketable again so many different actors wanted to be the next James Bond. Eventually, they decided on TV actor and occasional film actor, Daniel Craig. Craig brought far more grit to the character than has ever been seen before. It's also why I don't necessarily enjoy Daniel Craig as James Bond because the portrayal reminds me far too much of something I'd see from Matt Damon in the Bourne Trilogy. It should come as no surprise then that Jeff Imada, the fight choreographer from the Bourne Trilogy also did Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.
Daniel Craig plays Bond more as a generic action star for my taste. While I think he does a good job as Bond, I just feel that James Bond after so many movies and so much popularity deserves to be more than just another action character.
And thus my retrospective of James Bond comes to a close. Skyfall is set to hit theaters very soon if it isn't out already. I hope you check it out. As usual, I will leave you with my favorites in a recap.
1) Pierce Brosnan: Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough, Die Another Day
My Favorite: Goldeneye
2) Sean Connery: Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, Diamonds Are Forever, Never Say Never Again
My Favorite: Goldfinger
3) Daniel Craig: Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall
My Favorite: Casino Royale (note: I haven't seen Skyfall yet as of this publication)
4) George Lazenby: On Her Magesty's Secret Service
My Favorite: On Her Magesty's Secret Service
5) Timothy Dalton: The Living Daylights, License To Kill
My Favorite: The Living Daylights
6) Roger Moore: Live and Let Die, The Man With the Golden Gun, The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View to a Kill
My Favorite: The Man With the Golden Gun
*To date my favorite Bond movie is Goldeneye. But I haven't seen Skyfall yet.
Pierce Brosnan made the James Bond name marketable again so many different actors wanted to be the next James Bond. Eventually, they decided on TV actor and occasional film actor, Daniel Craig. Craig brought far more grit to the character than has ever been seen before. It's also why I don't necessarily enjoy Daniel Craig as James Bond because the portrayal reminds me far too much of something I'd see from Matt Damon in the Bourne Trilogy. It should come as no surprise then that Jeff Imada, the fight choreographer from the Bourne Trilogy also did Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.
Daniel Craig plays Bond more as a generic action star for my taste. While I think he does a good job as Bond, I just feel that James Bond after so many movies and so much popularity deserves to be more than just another action character.
And thus my retrospective of James Bond comes to a close. Skyfall is set to hit theaters very soon if it isn't out already. I hope you check it out. As usual, I will leave you with my favorites in a recap.
1) Pierce Brosnan: Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough, Die Another Day
My Favorite: Goldeneye
2) Sean Connery: Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, Diamonds Are Forever, Never Say Never Again
My Favorite: Goldfinger
3) Daniel Craig: Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall
My Favorite: Casino Royale (note: I haven't seen Skyfall yet as of this publication)
4) George Lazenby: On Her Magesty's Secret Service
My Favorite: On Her Magesty's Secret Service
5) Timothy Dalton: The Living Daylights, License To Kill
My Favorite: The Living Daylights
6) Roger Moore: Live and Let Die, The Man With the Golden Gun, The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View to a Kill
My Favorite: The Man With the Golden Gun
*To date my favorite Bond movie is Goldeneye. But I haven't seen Skyfall yet.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
James Bond Retrospective: Part 5 Pierce Brosnan
It's funny how things work out sometimes. Pierce Brosnan was originally going to get the part that ultimately went to Timothy Dalton. Because there were rumors Pierce Brosnan might be the next James Bond, his television show Remington Steele got picked up for another season. That meant Brosnan couldn't take the role of Bond, the rumors were squashed with the announcement of another season of Remington Steele and the choice of Timothy Dalton, and so Remington Steele gets cancelled.
But two movies later with a less than stellar Dalton, we get in my opinion is the greatest Bond movie in the entire franchise, Goldeneye! And who is the man to bring James Bond to life? Pierce Brosnan. When I think of James Bond, I think of a guy like Pierce Brosnan. He had all the cheeky one-liners of Roger Moore, the charisma of Sean Connery, and the straight up cold as ice, no nonsense of a George Lazenby. Somehow Brosnan made it all work to perfection.
In many ways Goldeneye was a game changer. It dealt with a "relic of the cold war" struggling to be relevant. There wasn't any more rogue Soviets to fight but instead international criminals or in Tomorrow Never Dies, media moguls taking yellow journalism to the extreme. The action scenes were all modern shoots with less fakey fighting like we saw in the Roger Moore movies. If there is one critique of them is that they focused too much on action and explosions that the characters are forced to take a back seat to all the action.
Brosnan played James Bond for four movies. The best by far is Goldeneye. It revolutionized the character and the tie-in video game is still one of the best out there. If you haven't seen Goldeneye yet, put it on your must have for Christmas list.
But two movies later with a less than stellar Dalton, we get in my opinion is the greatest Bond movie in the entire franchise, Goldeneye! And who is the man to bring James Bond to life? Pierce Brosnan. When I think of James Bond, I think of a guy like Pierce Brosnan. He had all the cheeky one-liners of Roger Moore, the charisma of Sean Connery, and the straight up cold as ice, no nonsense of a George Lazenby. Somehow Brosnan made it all work to perfection.
In many ways Goldeneye was a game changer. It dealt with a "relic of the cold war" struggling to be relevant. There wasn't any more rogue Soviets to fight but instead international criminals or in Tomorrow Never Dies, media moguls taking yellow journalism to the extreme. The action scenes were all modern shoots with less fakey fighting like we saw in the Roger Moore movies. If there is one critique of them is that they focused too much on action and explosions that the characters are forced to take a back seat to all the action.
Brosnan played James Bond for four movies. The best by far is Goldeneye. It revolutionized the character and the tie-in video game is still one of the best out there. If you haven't seen Goldeneye yet, put it on your must have for Christmas list.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
James Bond Retrospective: Part 4 Timothy Dalton
Timothy Dalton was originally going to be cast instead of Roger Moore, but at the time he was 22 and he turned the role down believing he wasn't old enough. Well, when critics finally had enough of Roger Moore, again we try to re-cast 007.
For "The Living Daylights" a lot of names were thrown around but the most notable is Pierce Brosnan. He was all set to do the role, but his television show, Remington Steele, got picked up again so he couldn't play James Bond. Dalton made a pretty good career doing stage shows and television roles. His film roles before Bond are fairly unremarkable.
Many of the problems with why the Dalton movies were unsuccessful were behind the scenes problems rather than problems with the final product. They were no longer doing Ian Fleming novel renditions and trying desperately to come up with compelling stories. Also with as much as Roger Moore was roasted over open coals for his slapsticky Bond, they tried to make this new 007 much more serious.
And that's probably the biggest problem in a nutshell. The movies are too serious.
The movies themselves are actually quite good, but they just never seemed to have that same Bond feeling from the previous movies because they dealt too much with real current events; for example the inclusion of the Mujahideen to help Bond fight the Soviets.
Dalton was to appear in a third Bond movie but production kept getting pushed back and he went on to other projects.
For "The Living Daylights" a lot of names were thrown around but the most notable is Pierce Brosnan. He was all set to do the role, but his television show, Remington Steele, got picked up again so he couldn't play James Bond. Dalton made a pretty good career doing stage shows and television roles. His film roles before Bond are fairly unremarkable.
Many of the problems with why the Dalton movies were unsuccessful were behind the scenes problems rather than problems with the final product. They were no longer doing Ian Fleming novel renditions and trying desperately to come up with compelling stories. Also with as much as Roger Moore was roasted over open coals for his slapsticky Bond, they tried to make this new 007 much more serious.
And that's probably the biggest problem in a nutshell. The movies are too serious.
The movies themselves are actually quite good, but they just never seemed to have that same Bond feeling from the previous movies because they dealt too much with real current events; for example the inclusion of the Mujahideen to help Bond fight the Soviets.
Dalton was to appear in a third Bond movie but production kept getting pushed back and he went on to other projects.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Coming Soon: 11/9/12
Last week was a bit disappointing. I haven't seen Wreck-it Ralph just yet, but I did see Flight and The Man With the Iron Fists and they just weren't very good. This week sure looks to be different. Let's take a look.
1) SKYFALL: James Bond is back and his loyalty to M and MI6 is threatened as MI6 comes under attack.
The Good: I LOVE James Bond movies!
The Bad: The Daniel Craig Bond feels too much like Jason Bourne rather than James Bond.
Final Thoughts: The story looks awesome, the action looks intense. I will see it. At least once.
2) LINCOLN: The story of the 16th president of the United States and his struggles with trying to end the Civil War and end slavery in the USA. All while keeping the nation together.
The Good: It's an amazing story with an amazing cast. It's hard to imagine this being bad.
The Bad: Daniel Day-Lewis' makeup job looks really distracting.
Final Thoughts: Must see. Period.
3) THE COMEDY: A wealthy, sheltered man who inherits a lot of money finds ways to push the boundaries of good behavior.
The Good: It's a strangely funny but also thought provoking look at human nature.
The Bad: It's a movie meant to provoke certain responses. Usually negative responses.
Final Thoughts: If you can understand why this guy does such things, you might find it very enjoyable.
4) A ROYAL AFFAIR: It's a period drama piece involving a love triangle between a German doctor, The Queen of Denmark, and the King.
The Good: If you like history and seeing people in Elizabethan garb, you'll enjoy it.
The Bad: It's like an episode of Jerry Springer mixed with the politics of the day.
Final Thoughts: Again looks like a great movie if this is your thing.
See you at the movies
1) SKYFALL: James Bond is back and his loyalty to M and MI6 is threatened as MI6 comes under attack.
The Good: I LOVE James Bond movies!
The Bad: The Daniel Craig Bond feels too much like Jason Bourne rather than James Bond.
Final Thoughts: The story looks awesome, the action looks intense. I will see it. At least once.
2) LINCOLN: The story of the 16th president of the United States and his struggles with trying to end the Civil War and end slavery in the USA. All while keeping the nation together.
The Good: It's an amazing story with an amazing cast. It's hard to imagine this being bad.
The Bad: Daniel Day-Lewis' makeup job looks really distracting.
Final Thoughts: Must see. Period.
3) THE COMEDY: A wealthy, sheltered man who inherits a lot of money finds ways to push the boundaries of good behavior.
The Good: It's a strangely funny but also thought provoking look at human nature.
The Bad: It's a movie meant to provoke certain responses. Usually negative responses.
Final Thoughts: If you can understand why this guy does such things, you might find it very enjoyable.
4) A ROYAL AFFAIR: It's a period drama piece involving a love triangle between a German doctor, The Queen of Denmark, and the King.
The Good: If you like history and seeing people in Elizabethan garb, you'll enjoy it.
The Bad: It's like an episode of Jerry Springer mixed with the politics of the day.
Final Thoughts: Again looks like a great movie if this is your thing.
See you at the movies
James Bond Retrospective: Part 3 Roger Moore
Never is there a more divided argument than asking who is better: Sean Connery or Roger Moore. For me the answer is way too easy. While Sean Connery tried to do a more faithful rendition of the James Bond character from the novels, Roger Moore's portrayal was always a little more cheeky and comedic. Towards the end, they ran out of Ian Fleming novels to make into movies and they started to create original stories for the movies. In the late 1970s, the sci-fi genre had really taken off with popular movies like Alien, various Godzilla movies, Planet of the Apes, Flash Gordon, Star Trek, and of course Star Wars.
With sci-fi movies so popular and old Cold War fears on the decline, James Bond had to change with the times as well. That's why we got movies like Moonraker.
Roger Moore wanted to do a more comedic take on James Bond and more emphasis was put on the Bond Girl names and cheesy one-liners. Which of course explains the all so subtly named Octopussy.
Moore was James Bond for 13 years and 7 movies. That's a longer tenure than any other actor. Of those movie he did, the only one I like personally is The Man With the Golden Gun. The rest seem to be a mix of campyness and horribly put together fight scenes.
Roger Moore the best Bond? Not by a long shot.
With sci-fi movies so popular and old Cold War fears on the decline, James Bond had to change with the times as well. That's why we got movies like Moonraker.
Roger Moore wanted to do a more comedic take on James Bond and more emphasis was put on the Bond Girl names and cheesy one-liners. Which of course explains the all so subtly named Octopussy.
Moore was James Bond for 13 years and 7 movies. That's a longer tenure than any other actor. Of those movie he did, the only one I like personally is The Man With the Golden Gun. The rest seem to be a mix of campyness and horribly put together fight scenes.
Roger Moore the best Bond? Not by a long shot.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
The Man With The Iron Fists Review: It's raining blood. Again. And again. And again
This is a hard movie for me to review. It's hard to explain how something with so many good elements can also be such a bad movie. There was so much about this movie I liked. I found the style to be very interesting. It took a lot of 1970s martial arts movie style and mixed it with rap music. It was very Samurai Shamploo in that regard. It also had an interesting film noir feel to with with the narration early on in the film. Then of course you had the awesome kung fu elements tied in with wire fu scenes and more than a hint of Tarantino-esque gratuitous violence.
The problem is that it didn't offer much more than style over substance. And the style got old real quick.
If I were to go see it again and counted all the fountains of blood spray, I'm sure the tally would hit double digits before the half hour mark. It's just too much. The fight scenes are really well done but after the first few beheadings I just think to myself, "here we go again."
RZA is a decent enough supporting actor. But I'm not sure he's good enough to carry a movie as the leading man. It's clear he took a lot of tips from Tarantino as far as directing, but the editing was not as clean as it needed to be and the story wasn't nearly as tightly told as it should be.
Maybe I should explain. Silver Lion kills his boss Gold Lion just before they are about to take a job protecting a shipment of the Emperor's gold. Silver Lion wants it so he kills Gold Lion and takes over the Lion clan. And then we get into why he wanted Gold Lion's son X-Blade killed. X-Blade wants to avenge his father's death but he really doesn't even know who killed his father. As far as he knows it was Poison Dagger.
And that gets into Russel Crowe's character Jack Knife. Who went to Jungle Village for some reason. And stayed there for some reason. And wants to fight Poison Dagger for some reason. And Silver Lion hires Brass Body (David Bautista) to kill X-Blade because X-Blade might take over the Lion clan and Silver Lion is the leader because he killed Gold Lion and blamed it on the Wolf clan. And the Lion clan is going to go to war with the Wolf clan and at the same time going to kill the Gemini Killers and steal the Emperor's gold that they were hired to safeguard (I think). All the while there's a brothel full of ninja prostitutes in town and the most beautiful of the prostitutes is in love with the blacksmith (RZA) who gets his arms chopped off by Brass Body because he helped X-Blade. And then he and his friends make a pair of iron arms for him so he can fight Brass Body.
This is what I mean! This story is all over the place! Like I said, it had a lot of elements I liked, but the movie as a whole just doesn't work.
The problem is that it didn't offer much more than style over substance. And the style got old real quick.
If I were to go see it again and counted all the fountains of blood spray, I'm sure the tally would hit double digits before the half hour mark. It's just too much. The fight scenes are really well done but after the first few beheadings I just think to myself, "here we go again."
RZA is a decent enough supporting actor. But I'm not sure he's good enough to carry a movie as the leading man. It's clear he took a lot of tips from Tarantino as far as directing, but the editing was not as clean as it needed to be and the story wasn't nearly as tightly told as it should be.
Maybe I should explain. Silver Lion kills his boss Gold Lion just before they are about to take a job protecting a shipment of the Emperor's gold. Silver Lion wants it so he kills Gold Lion and takes over the Lion clan. And then we get into why he wanted Gold Lion's son X-Blade killed. X-Blade wants to avenge his father's death but he really doesn't even know who killed his father. As far as he knows it was Poison Dagger.
And that gets into Russel Crowe's character Jack Knife. Who went to Jungle Village for some reason. And stayed there for some reason. And wants to fight Poison Dagger for some reason. And Silver Lion hires Brass Body (David Bautista) to kill X-Blade because X-Blade might take over the Lion clan and Silver Lion is the leader because he killed Gold Lion and blamed it on the Wolf clan. And the Lion clan is going to go to war with the Wolf clan and at the same time going to kill the Gemini Killers and steal the Emperor's gold that they were hired to safeguard (I think). All the while there's a brothel full of ninja prostitutes in town and the most beautiful of the prostitutes is in love with the blacksmith (RZA) who gets his arms chopped off by Brass Body because he helped X-Blade. And then he and his friends make a pair of iron arms for him so he can fight Brass Body.
This is what I mean! This story is all over the place! Like I said, it had a lot of elements I liked, but the movie as a whole just doesn't work.
James Bond Retrospective: Part 2 George Lazenby
After Sean Connery quit playing the role of James Bond, the producers had a choice to make. 1) Stop making James Bond movies or 2) find someone else to replace him. That's when they came across George Lazenby. Originally they wanted Timothy Dalton, but Dalton turned the roll down.
Lazenby impressed them with his good looks and his aggressive tendancies. He was a former male model and the story goes that he accidentily punched the fight choreographer in the face and that impressed producer Albert Broccoli.
Much is said about Lazenby's lack of acting talent and many critics criticize him as being the worst James Bond because he was only in one movie and even Timothy Dalton had two. But to that I say you need to see On Her Magesty's Secret Service for yourself and I challenge you to view it critically. It's not the acting that made this movie so bad. It's the story. James Bond is not the kind of guy who gets married. Yet here he fell in love and got married.
While Lazenby probably doesn't deserve all the hate he gets from fans, it's clear he didn't like playing the role nor did he have the acting range to really give the character life the way Sean Connery did. Lazenby was originally offered a seven movie deal but decided to only do one and he left the project to do his own movie, Universal Soldier.
A very poor career decision in every way possible.
George Lazenby's legacy is a mixed bag. He clearly wasn't up to the task of a major blockbuster movie yet did a decent job with what he had. The story was something completely new compared to what audiences know and expect from James Bond but the death of Bond's wife is still one of the most touching and heartwarming moment in any of the movies. It was a movie relying more on physical fights than gadgets but yet still was satisfying to some. How much of the criticism Lazenby gets just for being the guy to replace Connery and how much does he deserve because he just wasn't a very good actor is a matter of opinion.
I say give the movie another chance.
Lazenby impressed them with his good looks and his aggressive tendancies. He was a former male model and the story goes that he accidentily punched the fight choreographer in the face and that impressed producer Albert Broccoli.
Much is said about Lazenby's lack of acting talent and many critics criticize him as being the worst James Bond because he was only in one movie and even Timothy Dalton had two. But to that I say you need to see On Her Magesty's Secret Service for yourself and I challenge you to view it critically. It's not the acting that made this movie so bad. It's the story. James Bond is not the kind of guy who gets married. Yet here he fell in love and got married.
While Lazenby probably doesn't deserve all the hate he gets from fans, it's clear he didn't like playing the role nor did he have the acting range to really give the character life the way Sean Connery did. Lazenby was originally offered a seven movie deal but decided to only do one and he left the project to do his own movie, Universal Soldier.
A very poor career decision in every way possible.
George Lazenby's legacy is a mixed bag. He clearly wasn't up to the task of a major blockbuster movie yet did a decent job with what he had. The story was something completely new compared to what audiences know and expect from James Bond but the death of Bond's wife is still one of the most touching and heartwarming moment in any of the movies. It was a movie relying more on physical fights than gadgets but yet still was satisfying to some. How much of the criticism Lazenby gets just for being the guy to replace Connery and how much does he deserve because he just wasn't a very good actor is a matter of opinion.
I say give the movie another chance.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Flight Review: Have a drink on me
I hated this movie. When I say hate, I'm not talking about a movie like Jack and Jill that has absolutely no redeeming value at all, but there's so much wrong with this movie it's one of those movies I just can't ever imagine ever seeing again.
Here's the biggest problem; it's a two and a half hour long public service announcement. For a movie called "Flight" there's very little to do with flying in this movie. It's all about this one pilot and his problems with coke and booze. For 150 minutes!
So much of this movie is just padding. The way we establish that Whip (Denzel Washington) is a drunken deadbeat father is in the first scene. So far, so good. The way they do it is of course a full on close up of his girlfriend's naked boobs and her bare butt prancing to the bathroom.
Whip's best friend/drug dealer (John Goodman) who looks like Jerry Garcia if someone performed a resurrection is the best character in the movie and he's really pointless. He's only in two scenes. 1) when he visits Whip in the hospital and 2) when Whip is drunk as a skunk and needs some coke to sober up.
Whip's girlfriend he meets after the planecrash, Nicole is completely useless in this movie as well. In the first act we see that she's a junkie prostitute and before we even know who she is, we watch her overdose on heroin.
Hostility and Spoilers. Abandon all hope ye who read further.
I can't do this anymore. I have to explain this because someone in Hollywood clearly hasn't gotten the memo. If I don't know anything about a character, if I don't know what they are doing in the story, and if I don't know their NAME, I'm not going to be emotionally invested in what happens to them. I didn't care when naked boob lady died because I was guessing that it even was naked boob lady. She looked so much more different with her hair tied up and, you know, clothes on. I call her naked boob lady because I don't know her NAME!
Also I don't really care that much about Nicole. Because I've already seen her overdose on heroin before I even learned her NAME or had a bloody clue what she was even doing in the movie!
Also we need to have a little talk about protagonists. If you're going to do a movie like this, it's okay to have a protagonist we don't like. I didn't like Whip. At all. That's not the problem. The problem is that he has to have some kind of redeeming quality. He doesn't. We want to root for the guy. We are supposed to not want to see this guy get in trouble. We want to see this guy get help despite all the times he refuses to get help. We want to see him get better and be a better father to his kid. But he shows no likeable characteristics! I wanted him to go to jail. He shouldn't be a pilot! The guy was drinking mid-flight! This isn't the story of a good and decent man overcome by his demons. This is a foul, no good, piece of crap trying to cover his ass through the whole movie only to dramatically have one saving moment. Yep. That's your climax. His heart grew three sizes and turned over a new leaf. And all the Whos down in Whoville love him. They sent his ass to jail for gross negligence even though the problem with the plane was clearly a mechanical failure.
It's 2 1/2 hours of an unlikeable douchebag self-destructing. Fun.
Here's the biggest problem; it's a two and a half hour long public service announcement. For a movie called "Flight" there's very little to do with flying in this movie. It's all about this one pilot and his problems with coke and booze. For 150 minutes!
So much of this movie is just padding. The way we establish that Whip (Denzel Washington) is a drunken deadbeat father is in the first scene. So far, so good. The way they do it is of course a full on close up of his girlfriend's naked boobs and her bare butt prancing to the bathroom.
Whip's best friend/drug dealer (John Goodman) who looks like Jerry Garcia if someone performed a resurrection is the best character in the movie and he's really pointless. He's only in two scenes. 1) when he visits Whip in the hospital and 2) when Whip is drunk as a skunk and needs some coke to sober up.
Whip's girlfriend he meets after the planecrash, Nicole is completely useless in this movie as well. In the first act we see that she's a junkie prostitute and before we even know who she is, we watch her overdose on heroin.
Hostility and Spoilers. Abandon all hope ye who read further.
I can't do this anymore. I have to explain this because someone in Hollywood clearly hasn't gotten the memo. If I don't know anything about a character, if I don't know what they are doing in the story, and if I don't know their NAME, I'm not going to be emotionally invested in what happens to them. I didn't care when naked boob lady died because I was guessing that it even was naked boob lady. She looked so much more different with her hair tied up and, you know, clothes on. I call her naked boob lady because I don't know her NAME!
Also I don't really care that much about Nicole. Because I've already seen her overdose on heroin before I even learned her NAME or had a bloody clue what she was even doing in the movie!
Also we need to have a little talk about protagonists. If you're going to do a movie like this, it's okay to have a protagonist we don't like. I didn't like Whip. At all. That's not the problem. The problem is that he has to have some kind of redeeming quality. He doesn't. We want to root for the guy. We are supposed to not want to see this guy get in trouble. We want to see this guy get help despite all the times he refuses to get help. We want to see him get better and be a better father to his kid. But he shows no likeable characteristics! I wanted him to go to jail. He shouldn't be a pilot! The guy was drinking mid-flight! This isn't the story of a good and decent man overcome by his demons. This is a foul, no good, piece of crap trying to cover his ass through the whole movie only to dramatically have one saving moment. Yep. That's your climax. His heart grew three sizes and turned over a new leaf. And all the Whos down in Whoville love him. They sent his ass to jail for gross negligence even though the problem with the plane was clearly a mechanical failure.
It's 2 1/2 hours of an unlikeable douchebag self-destructing. Fun.
James Bond Retrospective: Part 1 Sean Connery
With the much anticipated Skyfall about to hit theaters in America, I thought it would be good to do another retrospective on one of the greatest heroes in cinema, James Bond. The problem I have is that unlike Batman, Bond has been in now 25 movies! To do a retrospective on every James Bond movie would just not be possible without dedicating an entire month to it. So, instead I've decided to look at the actors behind the iconic character. After so many movies and 40 years, it's actually amazing to think so few actors have played the roll.
But first let's talk about the 1967 movie Casino Royale. While it is a James Bond movie, it's not really considered part of the James Bond collection. Mostly because it was done more as a comedy and done in flashbacks. So, in that movie there was more than one actor playing James Bond. Therefore, I won't be covering Peter Sellers and David Niven but they do deserve an honorable mention.
James Bond is the famous British super spy, Agent 007 of Mi6. He was the star of many bestselling books by Ian Fleming. After his death, other writers carried on the James Bond story with six other books. To this date, the James Bond movies are the second highest grossing film franchise in history right behind the other famed movies based off books from Jolly old England, Harry Potter.
The first person we'll talk about to play James Bond is arguably one of the best, Sean Connery. Connery appeared in six different Bond movies; Dr. No (1962), From Russia With Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965), You Only Live Twice (1967), and Diamonds are Forever (1971). Sean Connery also was in the 1983 movie Never Say Never Again playing a much older James Bond. Never Say Never Again was a closer adaptation to the Fleming novel Thunderball and wasn't produced by EON Productions like the other Bond movies; so many see this as not being in cannon also.
Sean Connery was originally not the first choice to play James Bond in Dr. No. Fleming and others initially wanted Cary Grant, but Grant wouldn't sign for a three movie deal. He only agreed to one. The second choice was James Mason, but like Grant would commit to only two and not the three they planned. Also, if you look at pictures of Cary Grand and James Mason, you can kind of see that they didn't exactly fit the look of what we think of James Bond today. Cary Grant still looked Clark Gable right off the set of Gone With The Wind and Mason could easily be mistaken for Fred Rogers. Connery with the odd looking wig still had the appearance of a guy who has at least seen a fight. He is 6'2" and had some muscle tone. There was some hesitance to him because he didn't look suave enough to give the character justice. Ironic as Connery now is considered one of the sexiest men alive for the last 50 years.
The Bond movies made Connery a superstar but after doing You Only Live Twice, Connery stated that he really hated playing James Bond and decided to turn down the roll for On Her Magesty's Secret Service. Connery came back to do Diamonds Are Forever because Lazenby turned the roll down to do Universal Soldier and because Connery was offered $1.25 million plus a share of the profits the movie made just to come back. At the time that was an extraordinary deal.
The Sean Connery Bond is a much more physical character. He does have the sex appeal and always got the girl, but he's far more known to attack rather than using gadgets like other Bonds we will see later. The Connery movies are some of the most iconic of the franchise. While Dr. No didn't do perticularly well, Goldfinger is still considered one of the greatest Bond movies to date.
But first let's talk about the 1967 movie Casino Royale. While it is a James Bond movie, it's not really considered part of the James Bond collection. Mostly because it was done more as a comedy and done in flashbacks. So, in that movie there was more than one actor playing James Bond. Therefore, I won't be covering Peter Sellers and David Niven but they do deserve an honorable mention.
James Bond is the famous British super spy, Agent 007 of Mi6. He was the star of many bestselling books by Ian Fleming. After his death, other writers carried on the James Bond story with six other books. To this date, the James Bond movies are the second highest grossing film franchise in history right behind the other famed movies based off books from Jolly old England, Harry Potter.
The first person we'll talk about to play James Bond is arguably one of the best, Sean Connery. Connery appeared in six different Bond movies; Dr. No (1962), From Russia With Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965), You Only Live Twice (1967), and Diamonds are Forever (1971). Sean Connery also was in the 1983 movie Never Say Never Again playing a much older James Bond. Never Say Never Again was a closer adaptation to the Fleming novel Thunderball and wasn't produced by EON Productions like the other Bond movies; so many see this as not being in cannon also.
Sean Connery was originally not the first choice to play James Bond in Dr. No. Fleming and others initially wanted Cary Grant, but Grant wouldn't sign for a three movie deal. He only agreed to one. The second choice was James Mason, but like Grant would commit to only two and not the three they planned. Also, if you look at pictures of Cary Grand and James Mason, you can kind of see that they didn't exactly fit the look of what we think of James Bond today. Cary Grant still looked Clark Gable right off the set of Gone With The Wind and Mason could easily be mistaken for Fred Rogers. Connery with the odd looking wig still had the appearance of a guy who has at least seen a fight. He is 6'2" and had some muscle tone. There was some hesitance to him because he didn't look suave enough to give the character justice. Ironic as Connery now is considered one of the sexiest men alive for the last 50 years.
The Bond movies made Connery a superstar but after doing You Only Live Twice, Connery stated that he really hated playing James Bond and decided to turn down the roll for On Her Magesty's Secret Service. Connery came back to do Diamonds Are Forever because Lazenby turned the roll down to do Universal Soldier and because Connery was offered $1.25 million plus a share of the profits the movie made just to come back. At the time that was an extraordinary deal.
The Sean Connery Bond is a much more physical character. He does have the sex appeal and always got the girl, but he's far more known to attack rather than using gadgets like other Bonds we will see later. The Connery movies are some of the most iconic of the franchise. While Dr. No didn't do perticularly well, Goldfinger is still considered one of the greatest Bond movies to date.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Movie News and Thoughts: Star Wars
Well, I might as well address the seven ton elephant in the room. LucasFilm being bought out by Disney. I didn't respond to it right away because I really wanted to reflect on what this would mean. I could come out here with all the nerd rage I could muster, but while I'm not afraid to go there, I want to at least try to be fair.
First question: Why did George Lucas do this? Well, three things come immediately to mind. 1) George Lucas is 68 years old and probably wants to retire. 2) LucasFilm hasn't come out with anything new in about 20 years. Certainly nothing to rival Star Wars or Indiana Jones. In fact in the last 10 years they've tried and failed to bank on expanding those franchises. By "fail" I mean making a good, solid product. Not how much money they made. And 3) Lucas has said on numerous occasions that he just can't handle the negative feedback he recieved for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and the Star Wars prequel trilogy.
Whatever his reasons, I'm sure the $4 billion made letting go a lot easier.
Now let's talk about the other side of this coin. Disney. Disney and LucasFilm have worked together for a long time. At Disneyland they've had the ride "Star Tours" for many years now. If you've ever been on that ride, it's a simulation of being on a space barge flying around space... and then you blow up the Death Star. Yeah. Kinda lame. I went on that ride when I was a kid and I still remember being underwhelmed. Disneyland also has the "Indiana Jones Experience" ride. For me, the fun of that ride is the atmosphere and all the stuff you see before getting on the ride. The ride is your basic rollercoaster but a lot of fun. Just walking around felt like being on set of Temple of Doom. Much more fun than a 5 minute rollercoaster ride.
Am I surprised Disney bought LucasFilm? Not at all.
Disney much like LucasFilm is desperate for a big hit. And I'm not talking just one good movie, but a franchise much like Pirates of the Caribbean. And there is no bigger franchise out there than Star Wars. With the announcement of the buyout was also an announcement of Star Wars Episode VII. This is what has so many people talking. It's not only Episode VII but plans to make a SEQUEL trilogy.
This is where I start to have some measure of dread. Question(s): Why? Did you not see Return of the Jedi? All the bad guys are dead. The Empire is defeated. Peace was restored to the galaxy. What's left to tell? I know the books dealt with the aftermath and about Luke Skywalker having a kid, etc.
How can we do this though? Mara Jade wasn't ever in the original trilogy! Are we not content with digitally messing with the original trilogy but now we are going to RetCon it too? For those that don't know: Mara Jade marries Luke Skywalker. She was one of the Emperor's personal bodyguards. And she was never hinted at or ever established in any of the movies.
So, are we going to jump ahead and follow Ben Skywalker? Are we going to go right ahead and have Mara Jade mentoring Jaina and Anakin Solo? Will we go further and start the story with Cade Skywalker (Luke's Grandson)? Will we see Mark Hamill reprise his role of Luke Skywalker and see him as the Grand Master of the Jedi Order?
And right there is the biggest problem. With the expanded universe being in the novels already, there's very little wiggle room from die hard fans. Much like the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, if you don't do it properly, you'll alienate a very loyal fanbase. One needs look no further than the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Some hardcore fans refuse to acknowledge it. How many of your friends are pissed off at the Harry Potter movies because your favorite side character didn't get enough screen time? Yeah I'm upset I didn't get more Tonks.
The other problem I have is less about Star Wars, George Lucas, and the recent blatent cash grabs. It's more of a personal annoyance. DVDs. More specifically Disney charging $20 for DVDs no matter how old they may be. All other movies when they are out on DVD for about 20-30 years, you start to see them in the bargain bins. That's how I got my copies of Terminator, Commando, and even 2001: A Space Odyssey. Each one I got for about $5. Disney movies never drop in price. They are always around $15 to $20. It annoys the hell out of me. There are a lot of Disney movies I'd like to get on DVD. The two Tron movies for example. But for the price of getting those two movies, I could get maybe 4 or 5 others I want to see! Just becuase Disney refused to drop the price on a 30 year old movie. If I want the sequel trilogy on DVD will I have to pay $60? I don't have Episode I on DVD yet. Just to finish my collection will I need to pay $20 for a movie I probably won't ever watch because it sucks so bad?
I'm willing to go see the sequel trilogy. One of the first movies I remember seeing was Star Wars Episode IV. It's a part of my life. I'm emotionally invested in the series much like many others my age. I had the lunch box growing up. I had the toys. I played the card game and read the books. I've played many of the video games and have seen all the movies at least five times. Even the bad ones. George Lucas owes his entire fortune and career to people like me. People who keep coming back because they want to see something like what they grew up with and want to share it with future generations to come because we love it that much. The Original Trilogy was in many ways derived from so many different epic stories and movies. The characters all looked so vivid and real. There weren't any of the computer tricks that are so commonplace now. In so many ways it was a landmark series. All sci-fi movies are inevitably compared to Star Wars. To put it nicely, we didn't get what we wanted with the prequel trilogy. Can we expect better from the sequel trilogy? Probably not. But I'm still going to see it. Why? Because it's Star Wars.
I remember going to see Tron: Legacy in theaters for much of the same reasons. Tron was awesome. It was one of those movies that was so unique and had a lot to talk about once the movie was over. Tron: Legacy was none of that. It was an exciting movie with great music, but it's the very definiton of a junk food movie. This is what Disney does lately. Cash in on nostalgia with bright, shiny, polished turds.
I'll always have a fond place in my heart for the Original Star Wars trilogy. When I introduce Star Wars to my children, I will show them the Original Trilogy first. I may not even show them the Prequel Trilogy. At least not until they are older. I really hope the Sequel Trilogy is good.
First question: Why did George Lucas do this? Well, three things come immediately to mind. 1) George Lucas is 68 years old and probably wants to retire. 2) LucasFilm hasn't come out with anything new in about 20 years. Certainly nothing to rival Star Wars or Indiana Jones. In fact in the last 10 years they've tried and failed to bank on expanding those franchises. By "fail" I mean making a good, solid product. Not how much money they made. And 3) Lucas has said on numerous occasions that he just can't handle the negative feedback he recieved for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and the Star Wars prequel trilogy.
Whatever his reasons, I'm sure the $4 billion made letting go a lot easier.
Now let's talk about the other side of this coin. Disney. Disney and LucasFilm have worked together for a long time. At Disneyland they've had the ride "Star Tours" for many years now. If you've ever been on that ride, it's a simulation of being on a space barge flying around space... and then you blow up the Death Star. Yeah. Kinda lame. I went on that ride when I was a kid and I still remember being underwhelmed. Disneyland also has the "Indiana Jones Experience" ride. For me, the fun of that ride is the atmosphere and all the stuff you see before getting on the ride. The ride is your basic rollercoaster but a lot of fun. Just walking around felt like being on set of Temple of Doom. Much more fun than a 5 minute rollercoaster ride.
Am I surprised Disney bought LucasFilm? Not at all.
Disney much like LucasFilm is desperate for a big hit. And I'm not talking just one good movie, but a franchise much like Pirates of the Caribbean. And there is no bigger franchise out there than Star Wars. With the announcement of the buyout was also an announcement of Star Wars Episode VII. This is what has so many people talking. It's not only Episode VII but plans to make a SEQUEL trilogy.
This is where I start to have some measure of dread. Question(s): Why? Did you not see Return of the Jedi? All the bad guys are dead. The Empire is defeated. Peace was restored to the galaxy. What's left to tell? I know the books dealt with the aftermath and about Luke Skywalker having a kid, etc.
How can we do this though? Mara Jade wasn't ever in the original trilogy! Are we not content with digitally messing with the original trilogy but now we are going to RetCon it too? For those that don't know: Mara Jade marries Luke Skywalker. She was one of the Emperor's personal bodyguards. And she was never hinted at or ever established in any of the movies.
So, are we going to jump ahead and follow Ben Skywalker? Are we going to go right ahead and have Mara Jade mentoring Jaina and Anakin Solo? Will we go further and start the story with Cade Skywalker (Luke's Grandson)? Will we see Mark Hamill reprise his role of Luke Skywalker and see him as the Grand Master of the Jedi Order?
And right there is the biggest problem. With the expanded universe being in the novels already, there's very little wiggle room from die hard fans. Much like the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, if you don't do it properly, you'll alienate a very loyal fanbase. One needs look no further than the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Some hardcore fans refuse to acknowledge it. How many of your friends are pissed off at the Harry Potter movies because your favorite side character didn't get enough screen time? Yeah I'm upset I didn't get more Tonks.
The other problem I have is less about Star Wars, George Lucas, and the recent blatent cash grabs. It's more of a personal annoyance. DVDs. More specifically Disney charging $20 for DVDs no matter how old they may be. All other movies when they are out on DVD for about 20-30 years, you start to see them in the bargain bins. That's how I got my copies of Terminator, Commando, and even 2001: A Space Odyssey. Each one I got for about $5. Disney movies never drop in price. They are always around $15 to $20. It annoys the hell out of me. There are a lot of Disney movies I'd like to get on DVD. The two Tron movies for example. But for the price of getting those two movies, I could get maybe 4 or 5 others I want to see! Just becuase Disney refused to drop the price on a 30 year old movie. If I want the sequel trilogy on DVD will I have to pay $60? I don't have Episode I on DVD yet. Just to finish my collection will I need to pay $20 for a movie I probably won't ever watch because it sucks so bad?
I'm willing to go see the sequel trilogy. One of the first movies I remember seeing was Star Wars Episode IV. It's a part of my life. I'm emotionally invested in the series much like many others my age. I had the lunch box growing up. I had the toys. I played the card game and read the books. I've played many of the video games and have seen all the movies at least five times. Even the bad ones. George Lucas owes his entire fortune and career to people like me. People who keep coming back because they want to see something like what they grew up with and want to share it with future generations to come because we love it that much. The Original Trilogy was in many ways derived from so many different epic stories and movies. The characters all looked so vivid and real. There weren't any of the computer tricks that are so commonplace now. In so many ways it was a landmark series. All sci-fi movies are inevitably compared to Star Wars. To put it nicely, we didn't get what we wanted with the prequel trilogy. Can we expect better from the sequel trilogy? Probably not. But I'm still going to see it. Why? Because it's Star Wars.
I remember going to see Tron: Legacy in theaters for much of the same reasons. Tron was awesome. It was one of those movies that was so unique and had a lot to talk about once the movie was over. Tron: Legacy was none of that. It was an exciting movie with great music, but it's the very definiton of a junk food movie. This is what Disney does lately. Cash in on nostalgia with bright, shiny, polished turds.
I'll always have a fond place in my heart for the Original Star Wars trilogy. When I introduce Star Wars to my children, I will show them the Original Trilogy first. I may not even show them the Prequel Trilogy. At least not until they are older. I really hope the Sequel Trilogy is good.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Movies I want to see: November
Another Halloween is in the books. Next up: Thanksgiving! And also my birthday is this month. If you're looking to do something for my birthday, something quick you could do is spread the greatness that is my website. And here's a list of movies I'm looking forward to seeing this month.
1) THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS: It's hardly a secret that I like Quenten Terantino and martial arts. While this isn't a Terantino movie, he is the producer and we finally get to see if David Bautista can follow in Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's shoes and make the leap from WWE pro wrestler to movie star.
2) WRECK-IT RALPH: It's a movie for gamer nerds like me. An arcade villian wants to be a hero. It's simple, there's cameos by a lot of our favorite game characters... awesome!
3) FLIGHT: For those with a good memory, you might remember good 'ol "Sully" Sullenberger and how he saved over a hundred people during an emergency crash landing in New York. This is that story but with much more drama; both personally and professionally.
4) SKYFALL: James Bond is back! Enough said. ps Expect a James Bond Retrospective this month.
5) LINCOLN: It's the story of how Lincoln held the country together and how he wrestled with either ending the war or ending slavery. Believe it or not, it wasn't as easy a decision as you might think.
6) DANGEROUS LIASONS: It's a Chinese romantic drama. Really the only reason I want to see it is because my girlfriend Ziyi Zhang is the star. Zhang... please call me.
7) HITCHCOCK: It's a character piece about one of the greatest directors of all time. This is his story about how he finally got to do his greatest movie, Psycho.
8) UNIVERSAL SOLDIER-DAY OR RECKONING: It's schlock therapy! Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren are back making really bad, but entertaining, movies.
9) SILENT NIGHT: A remake of Silent Night, Deadly Night. I hope it's a trend. There's nothing I want to see more than a remake of Silent Night, Deadly Night 2. GARBAGE DAY!!!!
See you at the movies
1) THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS: It's hardly a secret that I like Quenten Terantino and martial arts. While this isn't a Terantino movie, he is the producer and we finally get to see if David Bautista can follow in Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's shoes and make the leap from WWE pro wrestler to movie star.
2) WRECK-IT RALPH: It's a movie for gamer nerds like me. An arcade villian wants to be a hero. It's simple, there's cameos by a lot of our favorite game characters... awesome!
3) FLIGHT: For those with a good memory, you might remember good 'ol "Sully" Sullenberger and how he saved over a hundred people during an emergency crash landing in New York. This is that story but with much more drama; both personally and professionally.
4) SKYFALL: James Bond is back! Enough said. ps Expect a James Bond Retrospective this month.
5) LINCOLN: It's the story of how Lincoln held the country together and how he wrestled with either ending the war or ending slavery. Believe it or not, it wasn't as easy a decision as you might think.
6) DANGEROUS LIASONS: It's a Chinese romantic drama. Really the only reason I want to see it is because my girlfriend Ziyi Zhang is the star. Zhang... please call me.
7) HITCHCOCK: It's a character piece about one of the greatest directors of all time. This is his story about how he finally got to do his greatest movie, Psycho.
8) UNIVERSAL SOLDIER-DAY OR RECKONING: It's schlock therapy! Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren are back making really bad, but entertaining, movies.
9) SILENT NIGHT: A remake of Silent Night, Deadly Night. I hope it's a trend. There's nothing I want to see more than a remake of Silent Night, Deadly Night 2. GARBAGE DAY!!!!
See you at the movies
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