Mostly Movies

Does Marvel Lack Ambition?

2011-12-25T00:57:00.001-05:00

I wonder with a dread fear if someone in Hollywood, stuck with a movie about a Norse god, said "Get Branagh. He deals with that Shakespeare crap." - Roger Ebert, Thor Review

When Marvel announced that Kenneth Branagh would direct "Thor", I was pleasantly surprised. I thought it was a perfect choice. Sure, he hadn't done a big summer tentpole, effects-heavy, superhero, action movie before, but his attention to character and story - rooted in many works of Shakespeare - I felt meshed perfectly for what would be required in a "Thor" movie.

However, these really aren't Kenneth Branagh's type of movies. If I had to guess, he did Thor to try a new experience - an experience he doesn't want to revisit. Is it because he wanted to move on? Or is it because the more mechanical approach to such movies didn't appeal to him? Or is it because Marvel was a pain in the ass?

The reason I assume Marvel is a pain in the ass for directors is because these movies are THEIRS. Marvel seems to take great care, and therefore control, in their movies. Which is warranted, being that all of them have been leading up to The Avengers. Of course they need to drop things in all the movies to tie them together. It's a grand, epic plan. And perhaps these movies need to be looked at differently than a typical superhero movie. Almost as if they are sequels and prequels to each other. And I think the problem is that directors have this desire to make a movie THEIR movie. To let it be able to stand on its own. I think that's also warranted.

But directors need to understand that these movies aren't really able to do that. They need to be looked at as a saga as opposed to individual movies. I think a lot of the reason Jon Favreau left the Iron Man franchise was due to too much meddling from Marvel. While I seem to be in the minority of people who enjoyed Iron Man 2 - although not as much as the first one - the movie was definitely a bit disjointed, unfocused. Perhaps this was unavoidable. Marvel probably said, "OK, Iron Man is our biggest superhero right now. Let's use it to set up Thor, and even Captain America!" Was it smart? Possibly. Did it hurt Iron Man 2? Definitely.

So this is where I'm torn. I understand the need for these movies to reference each other. But at what cost? The Hawkeye cameo in Thor was great for comic fans, but non-fans didn't get it and thought it interrupted the movie. It's a hard balancing act for Marvel. Which leads me to my final, and main, point.

Thor was an epic superhero movie with Shakespearean undertones. To whom did Marvel offer the job? Kenneth Branagh - one of the best Shakespearean filmmakers. For Thor 2, he didn't want to return. So, Marvel throws us a wild card and hires Patty Jenkins - known for the Academy Award-winning film "Monster". I thought this was interesting, even admirable. A female filmmaker who focuses on character. Nice. But suddenly, she leaves the project. (I have a feeling Marvel was meddling too much for her.) So who do they get next? This might be what Marvel thought, "Hey, who should we get to direct Thor 2? Game of Thrones is similar to Thor... Let's get one of those directors!" (Alan Taylor has been tapped for Thor 2.)

I didn't see what was so bad with Roger Ebert's quote. I think I understand it now.

"Prometheus" Trailer

2011-12-24T18:29:00.000-05:00

After much talk and 3 trailers for the trailer, Ridley Scott's "Prometheus" trailer arrives. Thoughts after the embed.

Seriously, enough with the "Inception" styled music beats. Also, I thought the way PROMETHEUS slowly appeared on the screen was distracting.

However, the film looks awesome. I was expecting a bit more than just a teaser, but this definitely whetted the appetite. It's got a great cast, pretty fantastic atmosphere, and I'm very interested to see how this leads into, if at all, the Alien saga.

Which leads me to a personal note. Originally, this was supposed to be an Alien prequel. Then, during the writing process, Ridley Scott said that it evolved into something new, but that "strands" of the Alien DNA are within the film. What does this mean? That's been the question for a lot of people. Is it just a way to separate it from the Alien saga marketing-wise? Due to how bad it became? Possibly. But, look at the 44 second mark. There's a shot of some sort of chair rising out of the floor. That's where they found the Space Jockey in the original "Alien".

"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" Trailer

2011-12-20T22:59:00.000-05:00

UPDATE: Here's a link to it on Apple: http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/wb/thehobbit/

Fantastic. Beautiful. Nostalgic. Can't wait to go back to Middle-earth.

"Battleship" Trailer Commentary

2011-12-20T14:06:00.001-05:00

Director Peter Berg sits down with IGN to provide audio commentary on his latest movie "Battleship".

I don't know what to think about this movie. On one hand, my inner nerd and love of sci-fi results in excitement. On the other hand, it's a movie based on the board game Battleship... It's obvious they're attempting to bank off the popularity of the Transformers movies. And you know what? It'll probably work.

The one thing I learned from this commentary that I really enjoyed was the fact that the aliens aren't here to simply destroy and kill everything, despite what the trailer suggests. They've actually come here in response to an invitation from us, but one of the ships malfunctions and crashes to Earth. As a result of the crash, they lost their ability to communicate with their home planet and must use our satellites to call for help, which may have dire consequences for the people of Earth.

I've always hated the fact that these amazingly intelligent beings who have mastered interstellar space travel come to Earth and...blow up everything. Does it make for an exciting Hollywood movie? Sure. But pardon me for wanting aliens that are more interesting and, dare I say, complex. So, I'm happy to hear that they're not solely here to destroy us.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon Teaser Trailer

2010-12-09T11:41:00.004-05:00

So, the teaser trailer for Transformers: Dark of the Moon was just released. Check it out here: http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/paramount/transformersdarkofthemoon/

Wait, what? A trailer for a Michael Bay film without slow motion or big explosions?

The tone and feel was what I liked most about the trailer. It inspires a sense of wonder, achievement, and discovery - as opposed to mindless destruction. Seems like Spielberg stepped back in for this one. Also, I really liked how the wrecked ship is littered with dead Transformers. Some of them blend in so much that you're not sure if it's a part of the ship or part of a Transformer. Neat.

Compared to the second film, I've been hearing from the filmmakers and cast members for a while now how much better this one's going to be. Yes, of course they're going to say that. And yes, almost anything would be better than the second film. But how often do you hear filmmakers and actors openly admit how horrible their previous work was? Almost never.

I think 3D is overrated. However, Michael Bay was quoted saying that shooting in 3D has forced him to cut back on his quick cuts and shaky camerawork. So, ironically, I'm sort of happy he was forced to shoot in 3D.

One thing I hope to see more of in this film is the humor from the first one. The quick, witty dialogue, and funny situations (such as when the Autobots had to hide from Sam's parents). The humor in the second was was dumb and forced. Especially with the Twins.

Reactions to the trailer seem quite positive, which surprised me. This is supposedly the final entry to the franchise - at least with Michael Bay and the cast. I wouldn't be surprised if the studio goes ahead and continues with a new director and actors.

So, the subtlety of the trailer, the fact that everyone openly admits how much the second film sucked, and the fact that 3D is forcing Michael Bay to calm it down are reasons I believe this will be a film on par with the first one.

Thoughts on SALT Trailer 2

2010-04-01T09:45:00.004-04:00

Just watched the new trailer for Angelina Jolie's new movie SALT. Check it out here.

Meh.

It looks OK. Solid production values for sure. But the action looks pretty standard. Haven't we seen this story before numerous times? The Bourne series? Fugitive? I'm having a hard time seeing what separates this movie from the others. (What separated Avatar from all the other "stranger in a strange land" movies is, well... look at it!)

Angelina Jolie probably never has to work again. I doubt she's doing this for the money. So there must've been something this intelligent actress saw in the script that compelled her to do it. Perhaps we'll find out.

Whoa

2010-03-29T16:23:00.002-04:00

Whoa.

My last post was July 8th, 2008. It was regarding my excitement seeing GORT in the trailer for the remake of "The Day the Earth Stood Still". A movie I was almost alone in looking forward to. Although disappointing, it wasn't without its merits (of which I will maybe talk about in a future blog post).

Anyways. Not that I have any readers, but I would like to express my torment in my futile attempts (up until now) to access this once-lost blog.

In a nutshell, I got lazy only after 4 or so blog posts. Time passed, and I sort of forgot about it. One day I must've felt the urge to write about a film and remembered about this blog. Excited, I headed over to blogger.com and tried signing in with what I thought was my log in information. I failed. I failed over, and over, and over again trying to figure out what account I used.

Silly me, I thought I used a yahoo account. And every time I tried logging in with it, blogger kept telling me I had to use a google account. I kept trying to have it send me emails for a password reset, but it kept saying it would send it to my gmail account. I was CONVINCED I used my yahoo account BEFORE blogger required gmail accounts.

So, months, and months, passed. I tried over and over again. Looked at the help articles and forums to no avail.

Then, just today, at 4:23 PM, I decided to try one more time before creating a new blog with a new account. And then it hit me. I remembered that I DID use a gmail account that closely resembled the name of this blog. Lo and behold, this account did exist and it worked.

So finally, I am back. I am back and I am blogging. Hopefully I'll keep it up now. And hopefully I won't forget my stupid gmail account...

GORT!

2008-07-08T21:49:00.007-04:00

Just watched the trailer for The Day the Earth Stood Still a second time (over at Apple.com) and I'm really intrigued. I know there's haters out there who will hate any remake. However, I think it looks rather interesting because we see stuff actually getting destroyed - which is very different from the original (where nothing was destroyed). And, as I predicted, Keanu Reeves is playing Klaatu just like how I imagined - and that's not a bad thing.

But the big news is the very last shot of the trailer! Check it out:

It's GORT! And it looks awesome! I'm glad they seem to be sticking mostly to the design in the original film. This makes me very happy.

Bale Prefers Bondage Over Robin

2008-07-08T09:54:00.009-04:00

Found this over at IGN:

Apparently, Christian Bale -- who plays the caped crusader in the franchise -- has said: "If Robin crops up in one of the new Batman films, I'll be chaining myself up somewhere and refusing to go to work."

Strong words. And I think I agree. With the Joker seeming to be more central in the next film than even Batman, flooding the screen with too many characters might cause our caped crusader to get lost in the crowd for the inevitable third film.

I'm not sure of the best way to word this, but I'll try. I always thought that once a trilogy is made, all the actors, director, et cetera should not come back for a 4th film. Example: Spider-man. Sam Raimi, Tobey, Kirstin had their trilogy. I think it would be a good idea for the next movie, or trilogy, to be done by a whole new crew. The new movies don't need to be directly related plot- and story-wise (see: The Incredible Hulk). The Hulk is proof that it could work. So, my opinion would be to start a new Spider-man trilogy and just start telling more stories (with less crying) about Peter Parker/Spider-man.

And now to my point. My point is that if they do want to bring Robin into it, do it with the next trilogy. Let Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale finish their trilogy with Two-Face, and have the next movie/trilogy introduce Robin (if they even want to) with a whole new crew.

Might I add that I feel this way perhaps because Spider-man 3 was so bad that I really wouldn't mind if they got new actors and a new director. (I like Sam Raimi, but I have this gut feeling that he purposefully didn't put much effort into the third film, as he stated way before they announced Venom would be in the film that he really didn't think Venom is an interesting character and that incorporating him wouldn't make a good film...) The Dark Knight, and the subsequent sequel, might be so good that I wouldn't want a new crew for the next hypothetical trilogy. We'll just have to wait and see.

WALL-E Review

2008-07-01T17:54:00.009-04:00

WALL-E made me smile. WALL-E made me laugh. WALL-E almost made me tear. WALL-E also made me go "ehhh". But just a little bit.

First, let me start off by saying that everyone should see this movie. The visuals are fantastic and the animation is superb. This is Pixar we're talking about so these should come as no surprise. What's most endearing is WALL-E him(it?)self. He's adorable; a hard, resourceful worker. Innocent, yet lonely. He watches a movie where a couple holds hands, and we see that he yearns for the same thing. Sure, his cockroach friend is there, but, it's no female robot.

Of course, it's not long before his opportunity to hold someone else's hand shows up. This opportunity is EVE, a probe that comes to Earth and keeps scanning things. Oh, and she's a feisty one. Forget trying to hold her hand. WALL-E almost loses his life just trying to say hi.

A relationship eventually develops. But not before EVE finds a plant, the only plant on Earth, and gets whisked away in the spaceship she arrived in. Why this happens, we're not sure. WALL-E, in love, pursues EVE to the far reaches of outer space.

This is where the movie, for good or bad, changes direction. We find out that there's a "cruise" space ship containing the remaining humans of Earth. They're ALL fat and float around in hover chairs while looking, and only looking, at a holographic TV screen where they can be entertained or talk to their friends... who are right next to them. It's not until WALL-E accidentally breaks a girl's TV when she realizes Oh hey, we have a pool! A pool that was right in front of her... It's all good and funny, but this is also the part where I went "ehhh...".

There's pseudo-political/social critique of what can only be of Americans. All of the humans only had American accents. Sure, there were different races, but only American accents. For such a smart movie, they didn't seem to put much thought into the human aspect of the film. Just cliches that reminded me of Idiocracy (which I did not like). I get the satire, but I just felt it could've been done better.

And although the main story was between WALL-E and EVE, the end of the human story just seemed a bit too perfect-happy-ending-everything-will-be-fine kind of ending.

Otherwise, all of the other aspects were wonderful. All of the robots were great. The HAL-like computer was expected and welcomed. The love story was innocent and pure. And WALL-E was just so damn cute. I would love to see him in another movie.

I give WALL-E ***1/2 out of ****. GO SEE IT!

Seeing WALL-E Tonight

2008-06-27T17:29:00.004-04:00

My girlfriend and I are heading out to see WALL-E tonight.

I've been very excited about this movie. A new Pixar movie is like having a good friend you haven't seen in a while over for dinner. Its a guaranteed good time. I agree with John over at TheMovieBlog.com: Pixar not only is a good animation studio, but one of the best movie studios in general. Not one movie is bad (although some are not as good as others, see: Cars). I unfortunately have yet to see Ratatouille, which I hear is fantastic. I'll have to check it out after WALL-E.

So, expect my first ever movie review either this weekend or on Monday!

Will Smith to play Barack Obama

2008-06-27T13:52:00.003-04:00

I heard about this a while ago, and my friend called this even way before that. According to CNN, if they are going to make a movie about Barack Obama, it is said Will Smith not only will play him, but even wants to play him!

Speaking with MTV earlier this week, actor Will Smith said he'd enjoy playing the Illinois senator in an upcoming movie and noted the two share at least one feature in common: rather large ears.

"It's all right here," Smith joked as he pointed to his ears. "That's the key. That's the key. America loves ears, you know? Mickey Mouse started it; Goofy and Dumbo followed behind. And America just loves ears."

I think this is a great idea. Both are incredibly charismatic people, and Will Smith as proven he has the chops to make great drama. I'm quite excited to see whether or not this comes to fruition.

Tribute added to The Dark Knight

2008-06-27T09:30:00.013-04:00

As some may have expected, a tribute had been added to The Dark Knight. This is what CNN had to say:

The end credits of the "Batman Begins" sequel include a farewell note to Ledger, who died in January from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs; and to special-effects technician Conway Wickliffe, who was killed last September in a stunt-car accident.

I was unaware of the other guy's death. It sucks that no one cares as much for him as they do for Heath Ledger.

Further, I find it funny that when someone overdoses accidentally on prescription drugs, there's no sort of outcry from people like there would be if someone overdosed accidentally on illegal drugs. Does no one see the problem of over-medicating people, no matter what the drug, legal or illegal? Hey, at least you can't overdose on marijuana.

New "Mummy" Trailer

2008-06-27T08:53:00.005-04:00

Here's the new addition to the "Mummy" series: "The Mummy: Curse of the Dragon Emperor" I found over at IGN.

I loved the first one. It wasn't the greatest movie ever, but it was fun. I only saw parts of 2, and it didn't impress me; but I shouldn't judge until I see the whole thing. However, this new one looks awesome. Should be a good time!

"Taken" Trailer

2008-06-25T16:58:00.010-04:00

Came across this trailer over at IGN. Looks pretty sweet. I'm really intrigued by Liam Neeson's character. He seems so freakin' badass, yet all we really see is him talking on a phone. The bit about telling his daughter the unfortunate truth of what was about to happen was refreshing, rather than the typical "Ohhh don't worry everything will be OK" unimaginative crap most thrillers would've done.

The Infinite Degrees of the Internet

2008-06-25T11:25:00.007-04:00

I find it fascinating how one can get lost and totally distracted by using the internet, and how one thing leads to another, and to another, and so on and so forth. The reason I say Infinite Degrees of the Internet is because, just like how there's the "6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon", one can keep going from one thing to the next on the internet. So, today, I decided to document my internet travels to show how you can start off with one thing, and then go to something related, and then keep going until you're no where near where you first left off.

Ok ready?

So, I get to work today, and I check up on www.themovieblog.com (awesome site!). I saw a post in regards to a movie called Solarbabies. So, I decided to IMDb it (love how all these websites are becoming verbs - example: Google it). Whenever I check out a movie on IMDb, I always check the External Reviews to see if my favorite critic has reviewed it: Roger Ebert. (I'll save why I love him for another post). So, whilst reading Roger's review of Solarbabies, he mentions how he liked a particular actress in it: Jami Gertz. I then googled her (damn verbs...) to first see some pics of who she is, and then read up on her Wikipedia. In her Wikipedia, it states how she played a comic legend in a movie named Gilda Radner (I was not aware of who she was). So, I then googled her. Found out she was a great comedienne who was married to Gene Wilder (love him!). Unfortunately, Gilda suffered from ovarian cancer, and essentially died (in a weird way). There was a quote from Gene Wilder regarding Gilda's death (which describes the weird way she died):

"She went in for the scan – but the people there could not keep her on the gurney. She was raving like a crazed woman – she knew they would give her morphine and was afraid she’d never regain consciousness. She kept getting off the cart as they were wheeling her out. Finally three people were holding her gently and saying, "Come on Gilda. We’re just going to go down and come back up." She kept saying, "Get me out, get me out!" She’d look at me and beg me, "Help me out of here. I’ve got to get out of here." And I’d tell her, "You’re okay honey. I know. I know." They sedated her, and when she came back, she remained unconscious for three days. I stayed at her side late into the night, sometimes sleeping over. Finally a doctor told me to go home and get some sleep. At 4 am on Saturday, I heard a pounding on my door. It was an old friend, a surgeon, who told me, "Come on. It’s time to go." When I got there, a night nurse, whom I still want to thank, had washed Gilda and taken out all the tubes. She put a pretty yellow barrette in her hair. She looked like an angel. So peaceful. She was still alive, and as she lay there, I kissed her. But then her breathing became irregular, and there were long gaps and little gasps. Two hours after I arrived, Gilda was gone. While she was conscious, I never said goodbye."

This quote really choked me up. With George Carlin dying, and looking at Gene Wilder and hearing about this, it saddens me that these great people won't be with us much longer.

And this is all from visiting a friggen movie blog.

Honest to Blog

2008-06-25T10:36:00.001-04:00

What better way to kick of a movie blog post then a movie quote? Surely you've seen Juno, and if you haven't, then WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU? GO SEE IT!

Couple things I want to briefly go over. I'm new to this. I have no idea where it's heading. I'm sure my posts during my first month or so will lack a clear focus, except for the fact that most of them will be about movies. Also, the title is Mostly Movies because I'm going to probably want to talk about other things besides movies. Rest assured, most of what I write will be about movies, except the occasional epiphany or need to rant.

With this said, please enjoy.