Still not in the mood to write reviews, but willing to post another bunch of ratings.
MOVIES
Recent Science Fiction: One-Word Title
Transcendence *** not bad
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Post-Spring Break: Infodump!!!
OK, I admit it.
I've been spending a lot of time doing other things besides posting reviews on this blog. And I'm not posting any reviews right now, either.
What I will do is post a bunch of ratings. I've been not only watching movies, but also reading comic books and watching cartoons (for your benefit). I've also been watching "rockumentaries" of various Sixties pop bands, so maybe I'll post some thoughts on those as well.
Herein, the recently rated:
MOVIES
The Dark Knight Returns, Pt. 1 *** not bad, pretty good
The Dark Knight Returns, Pt. 2 **** good
Primer **** good
10,000 BC *** not bad, actually
The Losers ***** really good
Planet Hulk *** not bad, for planet-and-sandal
COMICS
Lazarus, Book 1 *** not bad
Lazarus, Book 2 **** good
Batman: The Court of Owls **** good
Batman: The City of Owls *** not bad, crossover/event-it is
Batman and Robin: Born to Kill **** good
The Ministry of Space *** not bad
Velvet: Before the Living End ***** really good
East of West, Book 1 *** not bad
East of West, Book 2 *** not bad
CARTOONS
Spider-Man: TNAS - Extreme Threat *** not bad
The Spectacular Spider-Man: Complete First Season **** good
TSSM, Vol. 5 *** not bad
TSSM, Vol. 6 ***** really good
TSSM, Vol. 7 **** good
TSSM, Vol. 8 TBD
ROCKUMENTARIES *** not bad
Herman's Hermits
Gerry & the Pacemakers
Small Faces
Beatles First US Visit
Rolling Stones: All 6 Ed Sullivan Shows
Dave Clark Five: Glad All Over
TAGS TO FOLLOW....
I've been spending a lot of time doing other things besides posting reviews on this blog. And I'm not posting any reviews right now, either.
What I will do is post a bunch of ratings. I've been not only watching movies, but also reading comic books and watching cartoons (for your benefit). I've also been watching "rockumentaries" of various Sixties pop bands, so maybe I'll post some thoughts on those as well.
Herein, the recently rated:
MOVIES
The Dark Knight Returns, Pt. 1 *** not bad, pretty good
The Dark Knight Returns, Pt. 2 **** good
Primer **** good
10,000 BC *** not bad, actually
The Losers ***** really good
Planet Hulk *** not bad, for planet-and-sandal
COMICS
Lazarus, Book 1 *** not bad
Lazarus, Book 2 **** good
Batman: The Court of Owls **** good
Batman: The City of Owls *** not bad, crossover/event-it is
Batman and Robin: Born to Kill **** good
The Ministry of Space *** not bad
Velvet: Before the Living End ***** really good
East of West, Book 1 *** not bad
East of West, Book 2 *** not bad
CARTOONS
Spider-Man: TNAS - Extreme Threat *** not bad
The Spectacular Spider-Man: Complete First Season **** good
TSSM, Vol. 5 *** not bad
TSSM, Vol. 6 ***** really good
TSSM, Vol. 7 **** good
TSSM, Vol. 8 TBD
ROCKUMENTARIES *** not bad
Herman's Hermits
Gerry & the Pacemakers
Small Faces
Beatles First US Visit
Rolling Stones: All 6 Ed Sullivan Shows
Dave Clark Five: Glad All Over
TAGS TO FOLLOW....
Friday, March 6, 2015
The Round-Eye and the Princess, Pt. 2
47 Ronin (2013) 118 mins.
47 Ronin is a beautiful movie. It's lush, lovely, crisp, stylish, well-paced; simply beautiful to look at. It's also well-acted (for the most part), and well-directed (with a caveat or two). It's a good story, well told. The story sticks to the monomythic script for a tale about an outcast and his beloved childhood friend and sweetheart, the unobtainable princess, daughter of his master. From the found-in-the-woods opening to the storming-the-castle ending, and at every point in between, it doesn't veer far from a road well-traveled.
It doesn't need to. The story has weight of its own, and if we've been here before, we can surely enjoy the ride again. This tale isn't weighed down by excess dialogue or unnecessary scenes. It moves along to its conclusion, two simultaneous fights, the dishonored warrior versus the dark lord while the now-so-important outcast battles the dark lord's evil familiar, in a way that doesn't leave the viewer bored, or exhausted, or disinterested.
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. The only thing that kept me from giving it five stars is the lead actor's delivery, which reminds me that at times I'm still seeing Ted, and this is just another Excellent Adventure.
Four Stars. Good.
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| "So why do you want my help?" |
It doesn't need to. The story has weight of its own, and if we've been here before, we can surely enjoy the ride again. This tale isn't weighed down by excess dialogue or unnecessary scenes. It moves along to its conclusion, two simultaneous fights, the dishonored warrior versus the dark lord while the now-so-important outcast battles the dark lord's evil familiar, in a way that doesn't leave the viewer bored, or exhausted, or disinterested.
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. The only thing that kept me from giving it five stars is the lead actor's delivery, which reminds me that at times I'm still seeing Ted, and this is just another Excellent Adventure.
Four Stars. Good.
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The Round-Eye and the Princess, Pt. 1
The Wolverine (2013) 126 mins.
Let's face it. At this point, Hugh Jackman is the Wolverine. As a kid who bought not only Hulk #180 and #181, but also Uncanny X-Men #94 and Giant-Size X-Men #1 off the spinner rack as a kid, I'm a big fan of the character. I was there for his origin, the month it happened. I was there when he joined the X-Men, as the issues came out. So it was with some trepidation that I watched this movie, hoping one of my favorite characters wouldn't be ruined by a movie which featured him as the lead.
I need not have worried. Like I said, Hugh Jackman is Wolverine. I'm sure it's because we've seen him so many times as Wolverine that we totally buy him as the character, but it's also because he really gets who Logan is, as a man, as a soldier, as a reluctant "hero". He doesn't ruin Wolverine for me. He inhabits the persona in a way we could only have wished for.
As a Wolverine movie, this is a fantastic movie: it relies on some of the best material (chiefly the Frank Miller era), it doesn't recap the origin story yet again, it plays the character the way he was meant to be played, and it's a crisp, stylish, action-filled romp, with lots of superhero fun, yet it's dark, grim and gritty enough to still remain a Wolverine movie.
Of course, every bit, from the crazed loner in the Canadian Rockies to the sinister scientist-villain to the not-so-defenseless princess to the giant robot to the storming-the-castle scene to the endless ninjas to the strange mixture of cutting-edge technology and weird metaphysical mumbo-jumbo has all been done before, but this is about serving up those familiar flavors in a way that still seems fresh, and tasty, and delicious. This film delivers.
Luckily for us, Hugh Jackman is the Wolverine. The kid that bought those comics way back in the Seventies is incredibly happy about that.
Five ninja throwing stars of mutant greatness.
Five Stars. Really Good.
 |
| "I'm the Wolverine." |
I need not have worried. Like I said, Hugh Jackman is Wolverine. I'm sure it's because we've seen him so many times as Wolverine that we totally buy him as the character, but it's also because he really gets who Logan is, as a man, as a soldier, as a reluctant "hero". He doesn't ruin Wolverine for me. He inhabits the persona in a way we could only have wished for.
As a Wolverine movie, this is a fantastic movie: it relies on some of the best material (chiefly the Frank Miller era), it doesn't recap the origin story yet again, it plays the character the way he was meant to be played, and it's a crisp, stylish, action-filled romp, with lots of superhero fun, yet it's dark, grim and gritty enough to still remain a Wolverine movie.
Of course, every bit, from the crazed loner in the Canadian Rockies to the sinister scientist-villain to the not-so-defenseless princess to the giant robot to the storming-the-castle scene to the endless ninjas to the strange mixture of cutting-edge technology and weird metaphysical mumbo-jumbo has all been done before, but this is about serving up those familiar flavors in a way that still seems fresh, and tasty, and delicious. This film delivers.
Luckily for us, Hugh Jackman is the Wolverine. The kid that bought those comics way back in the Seventies is incredibly happy about that.
Five ninja throwing stars of mutant greatness.
Five Stars. Really Good.
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Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Some Spoilage May Have Occurred
Prometheus (2012) 124 mins.
Part rehash of unused bits from Jodorowsky's Dune, part prequel/remake of Alien/s, part Ridley Scott retrospective, part H. R. Giger tribute, Prometheus is as much an homage to science fiction movies (especially those of the late 70s and early 80s) as it is a science fiction movie in its own right.
At times the plot seems to exist chiefly (perhaps only) to serve the visuals, and some of the actions and motivations have an almost comic book-ish/cartoony "Rule of Cool" derivation. Once the action begins in earnest, actions and motivations become more "believable" through the internal logic of the story, which begins to sweep us along in a tide of incidents and events. That is, once the characters and their actions are acceptable to us as unbelievable, their further unbelievable actions are rendered practically believable.
I won't get into the science. It is a movie, after all. The advisability of using your (one and only) starship as your (one and only) lander, mistaking a breathable atmosphere with one which is completely benign, the late foolhardiness of establishing a "quarantine" on a ship with a yawning cargo bay after the first away mission, the silliness of sending a first party to a major structure right after the mission chief has mandated a "No Contact" protocol, the character of a biologist not interested in humanoid corpses but enthralled with a dangerous-looking faceless cave-snake in a room full of black oozing slime... The entire first act is movie science fiction piled upon top of more movie science fiction. But it's a movie! So who cares?
Of course, as a Ridley Scott science fiction movie, it's as much a horror movie as a science fiction movie. As expected, there's body horror aplenty, which I'll leave you to squirm through for yourself. Added to the Phildickian body horror, there's also a nice helping of Lovecraftian creepiness, as well, from the Giger-rich continuing body horror of the environment to the Inscrutable Alien Gods (and their out-of-control bioweapon pet) who'd rather kill us or lay eggs in our brains than talk to us or explain why they made us.
It seems as if the old man in the movie trying to make a deal with a devil of a demigod to restore his lost vigor is our auteur himself, trying to recapture the days when having the name "Ridley Scott" attached to a science fiction movie brought along with it an air of stylish mystery and guaranteed box office. If that's the case, Ridley fares better than the character, because the film is of course stylishly beautiful in its own harsh way, and was boffo box office, to be sure.
There are some really nice touches early on, with homages to Scott's own movies, and such films as 2001 and Jodorowsky's unmade Dune. Some wonderful subversions and inversions of tropes, as well as dozens served up whole. The acting was stellar, considering the plot. I'm not sure if Idris Elba is awesome or putting me on, but either way I liked what he did.
The visual nods to Alien/s start to pile up, and the big fanboy moment of the very final scene weakens (and cheapens) the movie, but it also establishes the tone for us, in case we thought riding off looking for bigger trouble (with a back-stabbing AI for company, on a ship full of living death and the murderous gods who created it) was supposed to be a happy ending for our heroine.
I liked it. As a science fiction movie, it's more movie than science fiction. Cool horror flick.
I'm rating Prometheus as Not Bad. It seems the fire it's stolen may have been its own.
Three Stars: Not Bad.
 |
| "What you're feeling is entirely natural." |
Part rehash of unused bits from Jodorowsky's Dune, part prequel/remake of Alien/s, part Ridley Scott retrospective, part H. R. Giger tribute, Prometheus is as much an homage to science fiction movies (especially those of the late 70s and early 80s) as it is a science fiction movie in its own right.
At times the plot seems to exist chiefly (perhaps only) to serve the visuals, and some of the actions and motivations have an almost comic book-ish/cartoony "Rule of Cool" derivation. Once the action begins in earnest, actions and motivations become more "believable" through the internal logic of the story, which begins to sweep us along in a tide of incidents and events. That is, once the characters and their actions are acceptable to us as unbelievable, their further unbelievable actions are rendered practically believable.
I won't get into the science. It is a movie, after all. The advisability of using your (one and only) starship as your (one and only) lander, mistaking a breathable atmosphere with one which is completely benign, the late foolhardiness of establishing a "quarantine" on a ship with a yawning cargo bay after the first away mission, the silliness of sending a first party to a major structure right after the mission chief has mandated a "No Contact" protocol, the character of a biologist not interested in humanoid corpses but enthralled with a dangerous-looking faceless cave-snake in a room full of black oozing slime... The entire first act is movie science fiction piled upon top of more movie science fiction. But it's a movie! So who cares?
Of course, as a Ridley Scott science fiction movie, it's as much a horror movie as a science fiction movie. As expected, there's body horror aplenty, which I'll leave you to squirm through for yourself. Added to the Phildickian body horror, there's also a nice helping of Lovecraftian creepiness, as well, from the Giger-rich continuing body horror of the environment to the Inscrutable Alien Gods (and their out-of-control bioweapon pet) who'd rather kill us or lay eggs in our brains than talk to us or explain why they made us.
It seems as if the old man in the movie trying to make a deal with a devil of a demigod to restore his lost vigor is our auteur himself, trying to recapture the days when having the name "Ridley Scott" attached to a science fiction movie brought along with it an air of stylish mystery and guaranteed box office. If that's the case, Ridley fares better than the character, because the film is of course stylishly beautiful in its own harsh way, and was boffo box office, to be sure.
There are some really nice touches early on, with homages to Scott's own movies, and such films as 2001 and Jodorowsky's unmade Dune. Some wonderful subversions and inversions of tropes, as well as dozens served up whole. The acting was stellar, considering the plot. I'm not sure if Idris Elba is awesome or putting me on, but either way I liked what he did.
The visual nods to Alien/s start to pile up, and the big fanboy moment of the very final scene weakens (and cheapens) the movie, but it also establishes the tone for us, in case we thought riding off looking for bigger trouble (with a back-stabbing AI for company, on a ship full of living death and the murderous gods who created it) was supposed to be a happy ending for our heroine.
I liked it. As a science fiction movie, it's more movie than science fiction. Cool horror flick.
I'm rating Prometheus as Not Bad. It seems the fire it's stolen may have been its own.
Three Stars: Not Bad.
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Monday, February 16, 2015
Do It! Try!
Jodorowsky's Dune (2013) 90 mins.
Imagine a comic book by Jodorowsky, drawn by Moebius, with designs by Giger and Foss. Imagine a comic strip. A storyboard. A movie. A miniseries. By the guy who wrote, directed and starred in El Topo. Starring his son, the kid from El Topo. With Salvador Dali, Orson Welles and Mick Jagger.
Like Stanislaw Lem's fictional book reviews of books that don't (yet) exist, the legend may be better than the artifact. But it's one hell of a legend. And that's one hell of a comic book. Definitely the kind of thing I'd like to see IDW publish in their Artist's Edition series.
I've written before about the huge legacy of concepts from Dune that can be found in Star Wars; many visual examples are shown here as well. Jodorowsky's take on Dune is interesting. He considers it a work of the kind of stature of the Bible or Shakespeare, an epic or mythological saga or oeuvre to be reinterpreted many times by various auteurs. Certainly it has been, influencing not only Star Wars but Warhammer 40K, as well.
I've included Jodorowsky's Dune in Category One: Seventies Monster Flashback. The film and the project, as well as most (if not all) attempts to adapt the novel, can all be considered as monsters. All have proved to be. The "graphic novel" shown in Jodorowsky's lap in the film and the above photo, would be the monstrous mother of all comic books for me, Heavy Metal-meets-Savage Sword-meets-Prince Valiant-meets-Holy Mountain. The ultimate midnight movie that never got made.
Also, I had a monster of a flashback. I read Frank Herbert's 1973 introduction to the new anthology of his short fiction that just came out, put a Tangerine Dream station on my Pandora, ordered Jodorowsky's The Borgias from the public library (collab with Manara!), and moved Metabarons closer to the top of the "To Read" pile. I'll have to get The Incal and look for a Chris Foss retrospective.
Jodorowsky himself was like a drug. I don't know if I've encountered anybody quite like that since the Seventies. I'd like to have partied with that guy, Leary and Robert Anton Wilson. I may not run out and read Dune right this minute (for the seventh time), but he did inspire me to go work on my own stuff. What Harlan Ellison would call batshit crazy, but in a good way.
To my friends who recommended this: You were so right. See it.
Five Stars: Great, if only for the semi-legendary surrealistic aura.
 |
| "I didn't read Dune." |
Like Stanislaw Lem's fictional book reviews of books that don't (yet) exist, the legend may be better than the artifact. But it's one hell of a legend. And that's one hell of a comic book. Definitely the kind of thing I'd like to see IDW publish in their Artist's Edition series.
I've written before about the huge legacy of concepts from Dune that can be found in Star Wars; many visual examples are shown here as well. Jodorowsky's take on Dune is interesting. He considers it a work of the kind of stature of the Bible or Shakespeare, an epic or mythological saga or oeuvre to be reinterpreted many times by various auteurs. Certainly it has been, influencing not only Star Wars but Warhammer 40K, as well.
I've included Jodorowsky's Dune in Category One: Seventies Monster Flashback. The film and the project, as well as most (if not all) attempts to adapt the novel, can all be considered as monsters. All have proved to be. The "graphic novel" shown in Jodorowsky's lap in the film and the above photo, would be the monstrous mother of all comic books for me, Heavy Metal-meets-Savage Sword-meets-Prince Valiant-meets-Holy Mountain. The ultimate midnight movie that never got made.
Also, I had a monster of a flashback. I read Frank Herbert's 1973 introduction to the new anthology of his short fiction that just came out, put a Tangerine Dream station on my Pandora, ordered Jodorowsky's The Borgias from the public library (collab with Manara!), and moved Metabarons closer to the top of the "To Read" pile. I'll have to get The Incal and look for a Chris Foss retrospective.
Jodorowsky himself was like a drug. I don't know if I've encountered anybody quite like that since the Seventies. I'd like to have partied with that guy, Leary and Robert Anton Wilson. I may not run out and read Dune right this minute (for the seventh time), but he did inspire me to go work on my own stuff. What Harlan Ellison would call batshit crazy, but in a good way.
To my friends who recommended this: You were so right. See it.
Five Stars: Great, if only for the semi-legendary surrealistic aura.
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Seventy-Two Minutes
Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (2015) 72 mins.
Throne of Atlantis is a surprising movie. It covers a lot of ground in its 72 minutes. Old Boomer that I am, some of the "New 52" material leaves me forgetting to forget all that I already know about these characters, and try to see them anew, as if I was ten or twelve all over again. Once I remember to unload that continuity baggage, it makes it easier for me to enjoy their latest material.
Easier, but of course I still have some critiques. The dialogue again has a sort of anime-influenced info-dump feel at times. At times the plot is both epic High Opera and just a little too pat (as is the dialogue). The dialogue tries a bit too hard to my ears to be "edgy" and "hip" and "adult" but I guess that makes it the perfect PG-13 movie, huh? Because what is a PG-13 rating if not an advertisement for ten- to twelve-year-olds?
Based on the time limit and the intended audience (fifty-three-year-old twelve-year-olds) I'll give them a bit of a pass on most of my quibbles. I don't know if anybody really learns anything, but Aquaman undergoes a little character arc. Of course, because of the time restriction (80 minutes is the target), Acts Two A and Two B are combined, but then that's just how these things are done. Welcome to the Upside-Down World, and Hey Look Out! both happen at the same time, closely followed by Dirty Deeds Done with Dastardly Delight, coupled with All Is (Seemingly) Lost.
In the end, it's a bit of a fairy tale, a bit of a coming of age movie, a bit of a buddy film and a bit of a love story. The war story provides the backdrop. The action, once it really gets going, is not only just what you'd expect, it has some slightly interesting takes on the usual tropes. I'm really going to have to start a body count for the dead parents in these movies. They're positively Disney-esque in their commitment to the Monomyth.
I've been a bit remiss on this blog so far in not giving any fractional ratings, but this movie really brings out the schoolboy in me. They succeeded in (almost) making Aquaman cool again. For that alone it gets the passing grade, if nothing else. The language and the ultra-violence seemed to serve the plot and the style in the final analysis, jarring as it seems during the early scenes. These ain't Daddy's DC Comics movies, kids. Not anymore.
Can't give it an F (three stars is kind of a failing grade). Can't give it a B (four stars is too strong of a recommendation). Somewhere between B minus and C plus. Better than Not Bad. Right on the edge of Good. Three-and-three-quarters? Somewhere around a 79.
Three Stars Plus: Better Than Not Bad.
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| Almost Lovecraftian in its visual homages to eldritch lore. |
Easier, but of course I still have some critiques. The dialogue again has a sort of anime-influenced info-dump feel at times. At times the plot is both epic High Opera and just a little too pat (as is the dialogue). The dialogue tries a bit too hard to my ears to be "edgy" and "hip" and "adult" but I guess that makes it the perfect PG-13 movie, huh? Because what is a PG-13 rating if not an advertisement for ten- to twelve-year-olds?
Based on the time limit and the intended audience (fifty-three-year-old twelve-year-olds) I'll give them a bit of a pass on most of my quibbles. I don't know if anybody really learns anything, but Aquaman undergoes a little character arc. Of course, because of the time restriction (80 minutes is the target), Acts Two A and Two B are combined, but then that's just how these things are done. Welcome to the Upside-Down World, and Hey Look Out! both happen at the same time, closely followed by Dirty Deeds Done with Dastardly Delight, coupled with All Is (Seemingly) Lost.
In the end, it's a bit of a fairy tale, a bit of a coming of age movie, a bit of a buddy film and a bit of a love story. The war story provides the backdrop. The action, once it really gets going, is not only just what you'd expect, it has some slightly interesting takes on the usual tropes. I'm really going to have to start a body count for the dead parents in these movies. They're positively Disney-esque in their commitment to the Monomyth.
I've been a bit remiss on this blog so far in not giving any fractional ratings, but this movie really brings out the schoolboy in me. They succeeded in (almost) making Aquaman cool again. For that alone it gets the passing grade, if nothing else. The language and the ultra-violence seemed to serve the plot and the style in the final analysis, jarring as it seems during the early scenes. These ain't Daddy's DC Comics movies, kids. Not anymore.
Can't give it an F (three stars is kind of a failing grade). Can't give it a B (four stars is too strong of a recommendation). Somewhere between B minus and C plus. Better than Not Bad. Right on the edge of Good. Three-and-three-quarters? Somewhere around a 79.
Three Stars Plus: Better Than Not Bad.
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Friday, February 6, 2015
Commitment To A Bit
Europa Report (2013) 89 mins.
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| "I don't know what greater measure of success they could've achieved." |
Europa Report is a sterile, tight, cramped, claustrophobic, voyeuristic little movie. For what it is, it's an excellent movie. For its commitment to its main message, for understanding the kind of people who make science, and for not flinching from its inevitable ending, I give this movie a Five Star rating: Really Good.
You won't be blown away by its action scenes, or swept up headlong by its pace. It's a quiet, desperate, sweaty little film, but in in its own way it's very effective.
Taking from the style of movies like Moon, it expands and extrapolates on the documentary style and dry delivery of the New Hard Science Fiction. If you enjoy that sort of thing as much as I do, you may enjoy it as much as I did.
Much in the vein of some of my favorite movies, from Silent Running to 2001, a very well-done science fiction movie which keeps the emphasis on the science.
Five Stars: Really Good.
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World Lines
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) 131 mins.
Strangely, for a guy who's read as many X-Men comics as I have, the movies never really blew me away. I liked First Class, but I have to say the movies had less effect on me than even the cartoons. Days of Future Past is a good X-Men movie. Better than Not Bad, I suppose I'd rate it Just Plain Good.
The Kitty Pryde appearance was cool. I liked the Young Hank character. I appreciate Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. I liked focus of the movie being on Wolverine, and on the Xavier/Magneto/Mystique triangle. The plot was pretty predictable. The action was pretty cool.
A good movie. Some might say great. Others might say not bad. Just Plain Good is OK by me.
I rate it as Good. Four Stars.
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| "You and I are gonna be good friends..." |
The Kitty Pryde appearance was cool. I liked the Young Hank character. I appreciate Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. I liked focus of the movie being on Wolverine, and on the Xavier/Magneto/Mystique triangle. The plot was pretty predictable. The action was pretty cool.
A good movie. Some might say great. Others might say not bad. Just Plain Good is OK by me.
I rate it as Good. Four Stars.
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Reset the Day
Edge of Tomorrow AKA Live Die Repeat (2014) 113 mins.
Excellent. Brilliant. Crisp. Tasteful. Restrained. Action-packed. Well-plotted. Perfectly paced. Doesn't fall victim to its own conventions; it delights in them and brings us along for the ride. Not a pat ending. Totally open to interpretation. Not a victim of destiny, we exercise our own will to influence outcomes. Performances are stellar.
Trope-tastic. Anime-influenced. Action Girl. Magic Girl? Tsundere? Kuudere? Emotionless Girl? Stoic Woobie? Groundhog Day. "Hard" Science Fiction. Military Science Fiction. Twenty Minutes in the Future. Power Armor. Real Robot. Disaster movie. Alien invasion. Robots Eat My Face. Reset the Day. Buddy film. Road picture. War movie. Love Story?
If you're sure about the ending, rewatch it. Completely enigmatic. Which makes it even better.
Here we go again. Reset the day?
Five Stars: Really Good. Superlative, actually.
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| "How many times have you been here?" |
Excellent. Brilliant. Crisp. Tasteful. Restrained. Action-packed. Well-plotted. Perfectly paced. Doesn't fall victim to its own conventions; it delights in them and brings us along for the ride. Not a pat ending. Totally open to interpretation. Not a victim of destiny, we exercise our own will to influence outcomes. Performances are stellar.
Trope-tastic. Anime-influenced. Action Girl. Magic Girl? Tsundere? Kuudere? Emotionless Girl? Stoic Woobie? Groundhog Day. "Hard" Science Fiction. Military Science Fiction. Twenty Minutes in the Future. Power Armor. Real Robot. Disaster movie. Alien invasion. Robots Eat My Face. Reset the Day. Buddy film. Road picture. War movie. Love Story?
If you're sure about the ending, rewatch it. Completely enigmatic. Which makes it even better.
Here we go again. Reset the day?
Five Stars: Really Good. Superlative, actually.
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Tuesday, February 3, 2015
It's Real
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) 122 mins.
Guardians of the Galaxy is a Five Star movie. It does what a movie is supposed to do. It entertains. This movie also manages to enthrall, amuse, amaze, delight and enlighten, and it seems to do all of these things with a light, deft hand.
As the kind of kid who read Warlock and Silver Surfer back in the Seventies, just the fact that I'm watching the world of Kirby and Starlin being enacted in blockbuster style on the big screen is a dream come true. That Marvel was wise enough to use the Abnett/Lanning material as a springboard is icing on the cake. The quality of those characters and their designs was so solid that the movie just needed to not suck.
Guardians of the Galaxy is a great comic book space opera action movie. One might even say an object lesson in how to make an excellent one. A fun, funny, exciting, action-filled, character-driven movie with some great takes on some of my favorite Marvel characters, from Drax to Gamora to Thanos to Yondu to Ronan the Accuser. Old school King Kirby style Cosmic Marvel goodness served up as a Losers/Suicide Squad "works well with other sociopaths" barn-burner.
It even gives Marvel Movie fans a chance to bone up on the Cosmic Corner of the Marvel Universe, since it will certainly need to play a larger role in the Marvel Movies, to give the heroes ever more dangerous foes, and continually up the stakes from Metropolitan to Planetary to Cosmic and Multi-Universal.
This is how it's done. My friends who like good movies loved this, comic book fans or not. Science fiction fans or not. Space opera fans or not. If you like good movies, you may like this Really Good movie. One might even say great.
Five Stars: Really Good
Category 2: People Power
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| "Because I'm one of the idiots who lives in it!" |
Guardians of the Galaxy is a Five Star movie. It does what a movie is supposed to do. It entertains. This movie also manages to enthrall, amuse, amaze, delight and enlighten, and it seems to do all of these things with a light, deft hand.
As the kind of kid who read Warlock and Silver Surfer back in the Seventies, just the fact that I'm watching the world of Kirby and Starlin being enacted in blockbuster style on the big screen is a dream come true. That Marvel was wise enough to use the Abnett/Lanning material as a springboard is icing on the cake. The quality of those characters and their designs was so solid that the movie just needed to not suck.
Guardians of the Galaxy is a great comic book space opera action movie. One might even say an object lesson in how to make an excellent one. A fun, funny, exciting, action-filled, character-driven movie with some great takes on some of my favorite Marvel characters, from Drax to Gamora to Thanos to Yondu to Ronan the Accuser. Old school King Kirby style Cosmic Marvel goodness served up as a Losers/Suicide Squad "works well with other sociopaths" barn-burner.
It even gives Marvel Movie fans a chance to bone up on the Cosmic Corner of the Marvel Universe, since it will certainly need to play a larger role in the Marvel Movies, to give the heroes ever more dangerous foes, and continually up the stakes from Metropolitan to Planetary to Cosmic and Multi-Universal.
This is how it's done. My friends who like good movies loved this, comic book fans or not. Science fiction fans or not. Space opera fans or not. If you like good movies, you may like this Really Good movie. One might even say great.
Five Stars: Really Good
Category 2: People Power
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Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Sophomore Success
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) 131 mins.
If you read my review of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and you've seen Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, then you'll already have guessed that I really liked this movie. Maybe even more than the first movie (I guess it's possible). What I liked most about it was that it didn't drop the ball. It kept the series going. I want to see more.
Another thing that I really liked about it was the continued re-invention of the tropes. From the apes on horses with guns, to the ape compound, to the "big bomb" (and it's vertical orientation), to the "anti-human" apes who Caesar must battle, to the "nobody is really a bad guy/everybody is the hero of their own story" character motivations, all were in/sub/diverted nicely. Of course the primates who take it too far, and cross the line, define themselves as villains and the film deals with them as such.
And of course, "our heroes" must take the mantle of the judge upon themselves (however reluctantly) and attempt to even the scales, meting out such meager justice as they may in the face of such inescapable destiny.
Again, a good disaster movie, a good survival movie, a good action movie, but a good movie as well, advancing the meta-story of Caesar, and providing more moments of character than in many films starring all humans.
Another film from Category 1: 70s Monster Flashback.
I give it Four Stars: Good.
 |
| "You... are weaker." |
If you read my review of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and you've seen Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, then you'll already have guessed that I really liked this movie. Maybe even more than the first movie (I guess it's possible). What I liked most about it was that it didn't drop the ball. It kept the series going. I want to see more.
Another thing that I really liked about it was the continued re-invention of the tropes. From the apes on horses with guns, to the ape compound, to the "big bomb" (and it's vertical orientation), to the "anti-human" apes who Caesar must battle, to the "nobody is really a bad guy/everybody is the hero of their own story" character motivations, all were in/sub/diverted nicely. Of course the primates who take it too far, and cross the line, define themselves as villains and the film deals with them as such.
And of course, "our heroes" must take the mantle of the judge upon themselves (however reluctantly) and attempt to even the scales, meting out such meager justice as they may in the face of such inescapable destiny.
Again, a good disaster movie, a good survival movie, a good action movie, but a good movie as well, advancing the meta-story of Caesar, and providing more moments of character than in many films starring all humans.
Another film from Category 1: 70s Monster Flashback.
I give it Four Stars: Good.
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Tarzan of the Apes Sideways, Sort Of
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) 105 mins.
The second movie of Watch-a-thon 2015 is another choice from Category 1: 70s Monster Flashback. If you're going to reboot a franchise, how about a multi-film franchise with licensed properties? That screams Seventies, and this is the franchise to do it. Just the idea of another PotA franchise brings back the smell of bubblegum cards and popcorn, memories of Saturday matinees and midnight reruns on the TV.
The thing about this Planet of the Apes movie is that it's a good movie. It's like Up, Harry and the Hendersons, Jungle Book and Tarzan of the Apes all stood on their head, and mixed with an old-fashioned (yes I'll say it, Seventies-style) contagion disaster a la Andromeda Strain or even something newer like Contagion.
It has some very... primal moments. I would've said "human" but that would be insulting, in these circumstances. It really follows Caesar's journey, and I'd say it's a very affecting movie, poignant, even moving, at times.
As it should be, it's also a disaster movie. As expected, it nicely touches on all the tropes. It even shines up a few of them. As a reboot, it's exceptionally promising. One might even hope for good follow-ups, which was not always the case with the original series of films.
I really enjoyed it. Much like Ben was in the 70s, Caesar is my new favorite "good" monster in the Twenty-Teens. I give it Four Stars: Good.
 |
| "Are you getting in?" |
The second movie of Watch-a-thon 2015 is another choice from Category 1: 70s Monster Flashback. If you're going to reboot a franchise, how about a multi-film franchise with licensed properties? That screams Seventies, and this is the franchise to do it. Just the idea of another PotA franchise brings back the smell of bubblegum cards and popcorn, memories of Saturday matinees and midnight reruns on the TV.
The thing about this Planet of the Apes movie is that it's a good movie. It's like Up, Harry and the Hendersons, Jungle Book and Tarzan of the Apes all stood on their head, and mixed with an old-fashioned (yes I'll say it, Seventies-style) contagion disaster a la Andromeda Strain or even something newer like Contagion.
It has some very... primal moments. I would've said "human" but that would be insulting, in these circumstances. It really follows Caesar's journey, and I'd say it's a very affecting movie, poignant, even moving, at times.
As it should be, it's also a disaster movie. As expected, it nicely touches on all the tropes. It even shines up a few of them. As a reboot, it's exceptionally promising. One might even hope for good follow-ups, which was not always the case with the original series of films.
I really enjoyed it. Much like Ben was in the 70s, Caesar is my new favorite "good" monster in the Twenty-Teens. I give it Four Stars: Good.
٭٭٭٭
A Boy and His Monster
Godzilla (2014) 123 mins.
I started the 2015 Watch-a-thon with a movie from Category 1: 70s Monster Flashback. I guess I should have made a kaiju film Category Eleven. But Godzilla is more than just a monster movie, and it's more than just a giant monster movie.
It's a disaster flick, as any good giant monster movie should be. It tries to be a bit of a horror movie, too, by playing some of the scenes really dark. It's a good movie, as a disaster/survival/monster movie, and a nice reboot to the series and the character, and that's what 70s Monster Flashback is all about.
The story of course is told through the eyes of a child, or a man who suffered a tragedy as a child. This film hits all the tropes, and plays them right, from the scientist (who has also lost loved ones due to tragedy) who realizes that there are some things even beyond our power to control, to Godzilla as the "good" monster, to a young couple (family, even) separated amidst a massive catastrophic disaster. I watched it twice.
It has "bad" monsters for Godzilla to vanquish, lots of military hardware thrown around like a kid's toys, even a recurring visual motif of walking into rooms that are torn open to the sky by something that just escaped.
The plot is a bit headlong, and a lot of stuff sure manages to happen to this one guy, but at least his dear old Dad wasn't crazy after all.
Definitely learned lessons from Cloverfield, but why not update the classic giant monster, anyway?
As a Godzilla movie, it was a fine reboot. I give it 3 out of 5 stars: Not Bad.
 |
| "Echolocation?" |
I started the 2015 Watch-a-thon with a movie from Category 1: 70s Monster Flashback. I guess I should have made a kaiju film Category Eleven. But Godzilla is more than just a monster movie, and it's more than just a giant monster movie.
It's a disaster flick, as any good giant monster movie should be. It tries to be a bit of a horror movie, too, by playing some of the scenes really dark. It's a good movie, as a disaster/survival/monster movie, and a nice reboot to the series and the character, and that's what 70s Monster Flashback is all about.
The story of course is told through the eyes of a child, or a man who suffered a tragedy as a child. This film hits all the tropes, and plays them right, from the scientist (who has also lost loved ones due to tragedy) who realizes that there are some things even beyond our power to control, to Godzilla as the "good" monster, to a young couple (family, even) separated amidst a massive catastrophic disaster. I watched it twice.
It has "bad" monsters for Godzilla to vanquish, lots of military hardware thrown around like a kid's toys, even a recurring visual motif of walking into rooms that are torn open to the sky by something that just escaped.
The plot is a bit headlong, and a lot of stuff sure manages to happen to this one guy, but at least his dear old Dad wasn't crazy after all.
Definitely learned lessons from Cloverfield, but why not update the classic giant monster, anyway?
As a Godzilla movie, it was a fine reboot. I give it 3 out of 5 stars: Not Bad.
٭٭٭
Movie Review Template
Title (year) running time
The review begins on the next line, just like this. I'd give this template 5 stars, except that these are not stars.> *****
Oh, well, Five Asterisks it is, then!
 |
| Why do we need new anything? |
The review begins on the next line, just like this. I'd give this template 5 stars, except that these are not stars.> *****
Oh, well, Five Asterisks it is, then!
Saturday, January 24, 2015
The Movie List
40 Movies/60 Days 2015
'70s
Monster Flashback
+Godzilla*** $
+Rise
of the Planet of the Apes**** ~
+Dawn
of the Planet of the Apes**** $
~I, Frankenstein
+Jodorowsky's
Dune***** ~
People
Power
~Amazing Spider-Man 2
+Guardians of the Galaxy***** $
>The Losers
+Wolverine***** ~
People Power Cartoons
People Power Cartoons
+Justice League: Throne of Atlantis***+ •
~Batman: Dark Knight 1
~Batman: Dark Knight 2
<Planet Hulk
<Planet Hulk
$Big Hero 6
+Live Die Repeat AKA Edge of Tomorrow***** $
~Star Trek Into Darkness
<Radio
Free Albemuth
+Europa
Report***** $
~9
Wuxia Theater
~Saving General Yang
~Detective Dee: MotPF
~Tai Chi Zero
~Blade of Kings
~Five Shaolin Masters
Recent SF (One-Word Title)
Recent SF (One-Word Title)
$Interstellar
~Divergent
~Transcendence
~Oblivion
~Elysium
+Prometheus*** ~
>Primer
~Riddick
~Hancock
The Alternates
~10,000 BC
The Alternates
~10,000 BC
~Snow White & the Huntsman
~Haywire
>Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
+47 Ronin**** ~
Key to Symbols
+Watched
-Listed>Netflix DVD
<Netflix
Streaming
~multcolib
$Movie
Madness
•Collection
not
good**
not
bad***
good****
really
good*****
Friday, January 23, 2015
A Word About Ratings
Damned by faint praise.
I have a simple system for rating media, from one to five stars, with five being the best.
They go like this:
* (1 star) Bad [Feh!]
** (2 stars) Not Good [Beh]
*** (3 stars) Not Bad [Meh...]
**** (4 stars) Good [Heh]
***** (5 stars) Really Good [Yeh!]
OK, I know, the stars are asterisks. It works for me.
I have a simple system for rating media, from one to five stars, with five being the best.
They go like this:
* (1 star) Bad [Feh!]
** (2 stars) Not Good [Beh]
*** (3 stars) Not Bad [Meh...]
**** (4 stars) Good [Heh]
***** (5 stars) Really Good [Yeh!]
OK, I know, the stars are asterisks. It works for me.
Attained Perfection!
What the world needs now is blog, sweet blog.
A blog for me to post my thoughts about books, comic books, science fiction, movies, and music.
Maybe some other stuff, too.
I'm going to start with a whole bunch of movies, because I like movies.
This year I'm catching up on "recent" movies, mostly sci-fi.
If I can find all of the movies, and if I have the time, I might watch 40 movies in 60 days.
I'll start with a list of the possible titles, and then post reviews as I watch the films.
More thrilling movie news and reviews to follow.
Stay tuned?
A blog for me to post my thoughts about books, comic books, science fiction, movies, and music.
Maybe some other stuff, too.
I'm going to start with a whole bunch of movies, because I like movies.
This year I'm catching up on "recent" movies, mostly sci-fi.
If I can find all of the movies, and if I have the time, I might watch 40 movies in 60 days.
I'll start with a list of the possible titles, and then post reviews as I watch the films.
More thrilling movie news and reviews to follow.
Stay tuned?
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