Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Triumphant Return

My obsession with superheroes has been a lifelong affliction. For example, when I was three (or maybe four) I had the bright idea to imitate superman (an idea no doubt gleaned from reruns of the George Reeves TV show) and jumped off a high point into some hard snow. Unfortunately the resulting broken leg, cast, and arthritis that surfaced years later were not enough to distract me from hat would be my lifelong distraction.

With the advent of video, I, like very other kid, got to watch the amazing movies that were made before my birth and achievement of independent thought. Of course, the Christopher Reeves Superman movies were among my very favorites. It wasn't until years later that I realized that all the movies were definitely dated, although Superman and Superman II both stand up pretty well. Three and Four, however, well...

Like all comic fans, I've been pretty excited (and occasionally disappointed) by the recent trend of comics books movies. I was especially thrilled (and frightened) by the news of a new Superman movie. As I mentioned in previous blogs, I was excited, for not only did this seem to be a fresh take on the movies, but it was supposed to stay true to the franchise... even forming a vague sequel to superman I & II.
With child like glee I bought tickets for a 10 o'clock premier (cool, eh?) and when the day came (today, actually) my best friend and I were there bright and early with chairs and a cooler to wait out the day (there are worse things than a 12 hour wait).

When I got into the theater, I held my breath and watched the movie unfold...

From the moment the music started, I was a kid again.

This movie, to say the very least, is a Miracle. Straight up. Not only does it stay true to the original movies, but Brandon Routh seemed to channel Chris Reeves in a way that brought tears to my eyes.

Kevin Spacey was a dark, angry Lex Luthor that was recognizable from both the movies and the comics.

And Lois- Kate Bosworth, although young, was the perfect choice.

This movie captured the spirit, the scope, and the ideals that lie behind Superman and his stories. It also captures the tone and style of the old movies and brings them effortlessly in synch with today.

When I left the theater, there were tears in my eyes. Not because I was sad, rather, I was elated. Bryan Singer had done it, and once again, I believed that a man could fly.

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Friday, June 23, 2006

My Half Empty Glass

I recent months, I've realized that I'm a fairly negative person. Family and friends are probably shaking their heads right now, thinking "Really? We’ve only been telling you this since you were four!" But it's true.

I was rereading some of my blogs and I've realized that I rarely look at something in a positive light. That may be why I hate movies with downer endings... I'm already so negative it's hard to take on more. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not self cruising, nor am I beating my self up. Rather, I'm recognizing a trait that needs some adjustment.

Where and when did this start? Truth is, I don't really know. And the weird part of it is, this negativity really only applies to my own life and abilities- when it comes to others, I used to be pretty good at the whole moral support thing.

Negative thinking is never productive, unfortunately, nor does it help heighten a mood in any way. But it's still there. Perhaps it comes from dwindling hope, or perhaps it comes from a selfish reaction to a world that isn't the way I want it. I'm not sure. But once again it something I do know has to be changed. By thinking negatively of myself, I'm not really doing much credit to those who care about me.

So, I'm going to try to be more positive; starting now- so let me apologize to all the Napoleon Dynamite fans of the world; I’m sorry. You're not really as useless and idiotic as I've always thought. After all, if it weren't for you, I might have had to enjoy the movie, and that would have killed me. I'm also grateful for you because you help reassure me that when the apocalypse comes, there will be a large margin of people to burn before my name comes up.

From here on out, every day is a new day. Next time, the usefulness of bad sequels.

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Friday, June 16, 2006

World Wide Serenity Day

Blogger's Note: the following was borrowed from the Serenity Day website. In an effort to help several charities and send a message to hollywood execs, Browncoats (fans of Firefly/Serenity) everywhere have arranged over 40 screenings of the movie Serenity, the proceeds of which will go to charity. The serenity day plan is actually threefold- See the movie at one of the screenings, send in a letter to fox execs (details can be found at
  • The Serenity Day Website
    • on the forums page) and buy a copy of the film. not only is this for a great cause, but it will help film execs know that we want and will support a sequel (or three) or a series. Remember- you can't stop the signal.

    Joss Whedon's Serenity on the big screen.
     On Joss Whedon's birthday.
    To benefit Joss Whedon's favorite charity, Equality Now.

    47 Screenings Confirmed As Of June 16, 2006
    Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand, United States

    The Unprecedented Browncoat Event Of The Year
    You Can't Afford To Miss - Buy Your Tickets Today!

    There are two ways to fight a battle like ours. One is to whisper in the ear of the masses, try subtlely and gradually to change the gender expectations and mythic structures of our culture. That's me. The other is to step up and confront the thousands of atrocities that are taking place around the world on an immediate, one-by-one basis. That's a great deal harder, and that's Equality Now. It's not about politics; it's about basic human decency.

    - Joss Whedon

    All of us at Equality Now continue to be amazed by and grateful for the Browncoats' and Serenity fans' generous and committed support for our work. Their energy and enthusiasm is inspiring and these screenings are coming at a critical time when we are especially in need of funds! We thank each and every one of them and Happy Birthday to Joss!"

    - Amanda Sullivan, Equality Now

    Join The Effort! | FAQ | Promote | Merchandise | Press | Contact
    About | Flickr Group | News (Archive)

    Note: If you don't see a "Buy Now!" link next to a given screening, try the "More Info" link. There might indeed be tickets on sale and we just haven't updated the listing.

    June 17 (Early Bird Screening!) - HAVE FUN, SCREENERS!

    June 22

    June 23

    June 24

    June 25

    • Glasgow (Scotland) - Pre-Planning

    June 30 (Straggler Screening!)

    If you don't see your city listed, it might be up to you to make one happen. There is no central authority doling out screenings to these cities. It is entirely up to fans on the ground to organize a screening where they live.

    Cities above marked with a filled bullet instead of an open circle were among the 35 cities (although not necessarily the venues) to host the third and final special advance screenings of Serenity on June 23, 2005. Events listed in boldface are confirmed.

    Serenity

    A passenger with a deadly secret. Six rebels on the run. An assassin in pursuit. When the renegade crew of Serenity agrees to hide a fugitive on their ship, they find themselves in an action-packed battle between the relentless military might of a totalitarian regime who will destroy anything - or anyone - to get the girl back and the bloodthirsty creatures who roam the uncharted areas of space. But, the greatest danger of all may be on their ship.

    Equality Now

    Equality Now was founded in 1992 to work for the protection and promotion of the human rights of women around the world. Working with national human rights organizations and individual activists, Equality Now documents violence and discrimination against women and mobilizes international action to support their efforts to stop these human rights abuses.

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    Wednesday, June 14, 2006

    Marvel Sells Out


    In recent months DC Comics has set the comic world on fire with their hit series "Infinite Crisis" and its follow up events, "52" and "One Year Later." Making the most of the cross over format, DC revisited one of their land mark events, namely "Crisis on Infinite Earths," and created a sequel even that felt daring, original, and natural (due in no small part to the 3 year build up to the event).

    Naturally, the biggest question on everyone's mind was not what DC would do next, but rather how Marvel would answer. And, unfortunately, that answer would come in the form of "House of M" (something most people want to forget) and Marvel's supposed world changing "Civil War." "House of M" was designed as nothing more than a money scheme; a chance for the company to put out more special books for the fans to buy. Civil War isn't much better.

    There was a time when Marvel, the legendary "House of Ideas," was innovative, creative, and daring. Today, however, they have become the ignored middle child, continually turning hurried and sloppy somersaults in order to get attention. The continuity of classic marvel used to be iron clad; every moment of every imaginary day was carefully mapped out- you could see the same character passing through different parts of the city in several different comics- a crossover in one book would mean that a character would be missing from their team book, and that their book would also mention that crossover. Today, however, Wolverine can be on FOUR (yes, Four) different super teams ("New Avengers," "Astonishing X-men," "Uncanny X-Men," and just plain "X-Men"), star in two of his own monthly books (Wolverine and Wolverine: origins), and still have at least 2 guest appearances a month.

    Anxious for the extra buck, Marvel will do anything to get attention even undermine their own characters.

    "Civil War" is centered around a government bill forcing all superheroes to reveal their identity, register with the government, and work for them. While DC was able to revisit a previous storyline with success, Marvel merely regurgitated the same storyline the supposedly tore the mutant world apart in the pages of X-men years ago. The conflict comes from the two sides of the argument, with cooperation championed by Iron man while rebellion is led by captain America.

    The fights so far have felt strained and forced, and the story felt rushed and compacted. Marvel swears that this series will change their comics forever, and they may be right. They are effectively making legendary characters into soulless money making logos.

    The latest travesty to come from this "earth shattering" event was something that was possibly the most anticipated blunder ever- the reveal of spider-man. That’s right, as of yesterday, the marvel world now knows that Peter Parker is Spider-man, thus removing an essential part of the character.

    This is a travesty. Not much more to say, other than "Marvel Sucks." God help us all.

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    Monday, June 12, 2006

    "Will He Ever Get Off This Sequel Kick?" or "The best sequel that never was"

    Continuing my pondering on the existence of sequels, I started to think about all the great filmed that deserved a sequel. It may be best that they didn't get them, however, since the sequel probably would've been done horribly anyway. Also, I'm too tired and lazy to number these, so following appear in no particular order.

    Serenity- This was one of the most original and fun sci-fi movies in ages. If I don't get a sequel to this movie I may have to start a riot.

    Unbreakable- while a sequel is completely out of the question, I would still love to see what happens next.

    Spaceballs- We were supposed to see them again in spaceballs 2, the search for more money. While it was just a gag, it would be more meaningful now than ever before.

    The Princess bride- again, unneeded, but it would still be cool.

    Ferris Bueller's day off- I see this happening in one of two ways... ferris playing hooky from work, or ferris playing hooky from work in order to catch his son who is playing hooky from school.

    The Phantom-     The first movie is cheesy, but still way too much fun. With the generational hero trick, could be cool.

    National treasure- face it, this generation needs an Indiana Jones series, and tomb raider ain't cutting it.

    Bill & Ted (3) - Oh, the possibilities...

    Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow- this film was both inventive and amazing... I would love to have more adventures of sky captain.

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    Tuesday, June 06, 2006

    The Return

    I have never seen Superman in the theater. But even in video form the movie had a huge impact on me. How huge? A couple of weeks ago I went to see mission impossible 3. As we were watching the previews, I suddenly heard the unmistakable voice of Jor El (marlin Brando) suddenly images began to hit the screen, and with them the music that have always brought a chill. By the end of the preview (although it felt like more of a spiritual experience) I was in tears. Why? Because the preview brought forth those feeling from when I was a kid and for a slight moment I felt like an awe inspired kid again.
    While many seem skeptical about the new movie, let me just say that I support it completely, if only because this movie look, feels, and sounds like the originals. A few people are just afraid that the new actors cannot fulfill what they remember, but that's not the point. The point is not the actors but the performance, the roles.
    How many people sit down after a hard day, look at their kids, and wish that they could be young again?
    For me, that's what the upcoming movie is- a chance, just for an hour or so, to feel like a kid again. I can't wait.

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    Friday, June 02, 2006

    10 Worst Sequels

    Shortly after coming up with the 10 best sequels ever, I had to go on and determine the 10 worst.

    10. Jurassic park 2: the lost world- taking nothing more than the title of the book, this monstrosity pulled in mad money- until everyone realized just what crap it really was.

    9. Superman III- I know, I know; Superman II is one of the best while its follow-up is one of the worst. No wonder     Bryan singer is doing something that may have never been done before- Writing a replacement sequel.

    8. Matrix Reloaded & Revolutions- The first movie rocked... the highly anticipated follow ups? Not so much. While the fight scenes were cool, all they did was establish a pattern of Fight, talk, fight, talk. While the story was still interesting, it kept getting stopped by inexplicably useless sex scenes and random rant in some foreign scientific language. The biggest fault, however, may be the final conclusion- that shamelessly leads into the online game. Oh well.

    7. Start trek V- While by far the most original movie in the series, you just can't stop waiting for Kirk to steal the spotlight back from William Shatner.

    6. Star trek Generations- Lame Lame lame lame lame. The follow up books are cool, but that doesn't stop the movie from being Lame lame lame.

    5. Alien vs. Predator- I remember waiting for this movie ever since I was a kid. There were video games (most rocked) and comics (also fun) even talk of an animated show. While the fans wanted it, it never happened. Until it did. Unfortunately after seeing the movie most fans have returned to their longing, essentially pretending that the first movie never happened.

    4. Highlander 2- Words cannot even begin to describe the idiocy of this sequel. Apparently there can be only one... until the studio needs to cash in on the franchise again. Oh well. I just don't understand how a studio can continue to make a series of movie that essentially does nothing more than retell the first movie in a different manner (although with the same ending...). Highlander 4, however, was a decent movie in comparison, but it should be seen as the movie version of Highlander: The Series.

    3. Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones- the title really says it all, doesn't it? Poor acting, poor story telling, and so laden with special effects it's hard to find the actors. Fortunately two great things came from it> The clone wars cartoons and Yoda's saber fight.

    2. Elektra- while more of a spin off, this movie may be one of the biggest disappointments to ever hit the screen (although some of that may have to do with daredevil's obvious absence and the mind boggling introduction of the new obsessive compulsive Elektra.




    1. Batman and Robin- Oy. I'm still trying to clean my mind of this disaster. Tip to future film execs- Fuzzy slippers do make the villain scary, just not in any way that helps the movie.

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    Sequel Season

    Every year I fall victim to the summer onslaught of blockbusters. I just can't help it. And like most summers, many of the Top (high grossing) movies this summer are or will be sequels. I've already got caught up in it- Already MI:3 and X-men 3 have lured me to the theater, even though I had low expectations for both (MI:3 proved itself worthy, though, while X-Men 3 may be one of the biggest let downs ever). The ride has not stopped, however, with Pirates: Dead Man's Chest and Superman Returns (Sequel, not reboot) coming out soon, and several more big sequels in the works.


    After seeing X-Men 3 I realized that with a few rare exceptions, most sequels are unworthy of the first movie. Listed below are some of those exceptions (Please know that these are only a smattering of the best- feel free to let me know if there is one I forgot or did not include).

    10. Rescuers Down Under- the first Disney animated sequel ever (and one of the few to make it to theaters), with awesome voice talent, a great story and ground breaking animation, this Rescuers put the first movie to shame.

    9. Shrek 2- perhaps the best animated sequel ever, this movie brought all the fun of the first movie along with enough pop references to keep anyone amused.

    8. Kill Bill Vol. 2- while not a sequel per se, Kill Bill 2 is where most of the heart and character development is found.

    7. Back to The future III- This movie broke the mould and in the process created a solid trilogy out of what was before only a couple of fun movies.

    6. X2: X-men United- this could be here just out of pure bias, but X2 really stepped up and pushed the story to a whole new level.

    5. Terminator 2- Straight up, this movie PROVED that sequels could rock hard if not harder than the original movie, not to mention having a nick name (T2) that inspired countless imitators.

    4. Aliens- While the first movie was scary; this movie is so good many consider it the only movie of the series to get the idea right. I agree.

    3. Superman II- A flawless sequel, this movie completes the first movie and helps you know not only that a man could fly, but WHY.

    2. Star Trek II: the Wrath of Khan- this movie is amazing... brilliant story, great acting, and a villain pulled straight out of Star Trek lore. Not too much more to say, other than "KHHHAAAAANNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

    1. Star Wars: The Empires Strikes Back- This movie is the best for two reasons- George didn't direct, and Yoda is the man.

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