Movie Review: Tron Legacy

    The first ten or fifteen minutes of the Tron Legacy are designed to quickly get you from where the first film ended, up to speed with where this new film’s story begins.  It’s fast paced and packed with a bunch of exposition that isn’t too weighted down with character names or extraneous info.  Basically, Kevin Flynn had a kid, his wife died, he got really weird and started talking about lots of crazy stuff, then he disappeared.  Years later, his son Sam is something of a trouble making recluse.  Kevin’s old partner Alan is only nominally involved in their Microsoft/Apple type tech company, and everyone is living in the shadow of Kevin Flynn.  It also features the most wonky bit of CG in the film, which is made worse by the scene not being totally necessary.  CG ‘younger Flynn’ looks awful.  When you see him again on the Grid, it works because it’s supposed to be a digital representation.  But when he’s in the real world and talking to his kid, it just looks creepy and weird.  Combined with Sam’s rebel without a cause attitude, the wonky effects made me wary.  30 years of waiting for a sequel was starting to look a bit like Star Wars all over again.  But after these problems, things improve dramatically.

“You’ve done enough, already.  Sam, you’re really…You’re messing with my Zen thing, man.”

    A mysterious message leads Sam to his dad’s old arcade where he gets himself shot onto the Grid.  The original film created a fantasy world, this film builds on some concepts and takes it to whole new places.  This isn’t the same world we saw in the original film.  It’s a new Grid that has been left to its own devices, without outside input for 20 years.  Cities, arenas, badlands, and more.  It’s gorgeously designed and flawlessly executed.  The images remind me of book covers from classic science fiction novels.  Dramatic black buildings with intense lines of light, alien landscapes and unusual vehicles.  It looks amazing.  After a run-in with the authorities in this digital world, Sam is rescued by a Jules Verne loving program, the adorable and knowledge-hungry Quorra.  And through her, he finally comes face to face with his father.  The distance between the two remains, and each struggles with their past, with the crisis at hand, and with world views.

“Every idea Man has ever had about the universe up for grabs.  Bio-digital Jazz, man.”

    While the villain of this piece is ostensibly a computer program gone mad, Clu isn’t evil.  He’s a reflection of Kevin Flynn’s own quest for perfection in a world of chaos.  With the help of Quorra and Sam, Kevin comes to understand that chaos is an essential element, that perfection is a trap.  But Clu is incapable of accepting that.  There is a tendency in people to compartmentalize.  The physical or intellectual.  The visceral or the ethereal.  Science or art.  Good or evil.  Emotion or logic.  But that’s not what life is; it’s synthesis, not antithesis.  One can strive for perfection while embracing imperfection, just as one can be logical and passionate.  Too often we’re trapped in a post-Zoroastrian dualism, propagated by the religions of Abraham, that dictates an either/or situation in all things, and this infects the general zeitgeist of our culture.  Where I see it most often is in the spiritual person asking how I can feel awe or wonder when my worldview is dominated by science.  But for me, there’s more poetry in a sunrise or a nebula than in all the sacred texts of all the religions that have ever been.  And I think that’s what this movie is striving for, a vision of a world where order and chaos, light and dark, logic and emotion blend and fuse.  Not a conflict between body and mind, but like the moral of Metropolis, both brought together by the heart.  Even the final conflict isn’t about crushing an enemy, or destroying a monster, it’s about coming together, blending, and rebirth.

“The Old Man’s gonna knock on the sky.  Listen to the sound.”

    I would be remiss in my duty if I didn’t mention the kickass electronica score by Euro-club favorites Daft Punk.  I am curious to hear what they might do with other movies in the future, though I don’t know if that’s something they will pursue.  Director Joseph Kosinski certainly has an eye for stunning visuals, and the taste to skip the annoying shaky-cam syndrome that has so affected Hollywood for the last decade or so.  Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner return, Boxleitner as a sort of catalytic conscience for young Sam, and Bridges as the Yoda-like digital deity trying to reconnect with his son and save the potential of his creation.  And the wide-eyed, wonderstruck Olivia Wilde plays Quorra, the program with a game-changing secret.  I especially enjoy Wilde in her role.  It’s actually one of the better roles for women I’ve seen in recent films; curious, pro-active, self-sacrificing, and heroic, without being shrill, overly deferential, or faux-tough.  Garrett Hedlund is a serviceable pretty-boy lead, not especially interesting or charismatic, but not off-putting, either.

“We’re always on the same team.”

    Clearly, I do not have my finger on the pulse of a nation.  I frequently enjoy movies that are either hated or ignored by the general viewing public (Cloud Atlas, Robot & Frank, Hanna, Moon, Watchmen, Hulk, etc.).  This is no different.  It’s not even that people don’t like Tron Legacy, it’s that nobody cared enough to see it.  Tron was something of a cult favorite, which hardly lit the box office on fire.  But I had high hopes this new film would capture attention.  It’s slickly made, a story well told, and very entertaining.  However, it hasn’t achieved much success that I’ve seen.  And three years later, I think I’m the only one talking about it.  Alas.  If nobody else out there will get on board, I’m still going to sing its praises.  And if you haven’t seen it, I would recommend it.  While seeing Tron isn’t a bad idea, you don’t need to in order to enjoy this film.

“We were jamming, man.  Building Utopia.”

-Matt

Matt’s Week in Dork! (6/9/13-6/15/13)

    On Sunday I watched a bit of Charlie’s Angels.  Not a great show at all, but fun, and good to have on in the background if you’re doing something physical.

    Also on Sunday, I read the not very good Superman and Batman Versus Aliens and Predator.  Not near as fun as it should have been.  But I followed that up with Invincible Volume 6, which was awesome.  Darned fine series.  Over the rest of the week, I also read the first volume of Boom! Studio’s Planet of the Apes series, and the first (only?) volume of The Calling, another Boom! Studios Lovecraft inspired series.  Both are OK.

Attack Force:  “She has a lot of special abilities.”  Renaissance man Steven Seagal really goes for the gusto in this film he not only produced and starred in, but also wrote, nay, composed the screenplay for.  The dialog is truly inspiring, like Shakespeare had dirty ally sex with Hemmingway.  This film brings home the classic advice my grandfather once gave to me.  Don’t bring a Goth prostitute you met at a Hungarian titty bar back to your hotel room.  Timeless advice.  I also respect the filmmakers’ choice to randomly dub Seagal’s voice with someone who doesn’t sound a bit like him.  Very artistic.  I also love the way very little makes any sense, scenes just happen, then more happen, but none seem to actually lead to the next.  A bold vision.  And the juxtaposition of student-film style with occasional dashes of professionalism makes such a poetic story that much more meaningful.  It is just so, so good.  Seagal is iconic.  He’s like the Joe Don Baker of my generation.  So inspirational.

Into the Sun:  “That’s why I brought you in, Big Papa.”  Thank goodness, when the chips are down, and you’re stuck in Tokyo with an assassination to investigate, you can find an expert on the Yakuza.  Steven Seagal!  Even the Japanese police know who really knows about Tokyo, Japanese culture, Japanese sword fighting, and Japanese organized crime.  Yes, Steven Seagal.  Being a magnanimous man, Seagal teaches the Japanese the right way to be Japanese, showing the young criminals their cultural heritage.  It’s heartening to see someone so clearly versed in another culture showing people from that culture how they should live.  Almost as heartening as seeing a middle aged fat white guy making out with a 20 year old Japanese girl.  Seagal really makes the best films.  And yes, he wrote and performed songs on the soundtrack.  You’re welcome.

His Girl Friday: “And never mind the European war.  We got something a whole lot bigger than that.”  Many, many moons ago, I’d watched this film during some kind of classic kick, but I didn’t like it at all.  Something about the tone had been off-putting.  Ha, ha, ha---Attempted suicide!---Ha, ha, ha.  But this time around, it didn’t bother me.  It’s not great, but it does have great bits.  If anything, it feels a bit too clever for its own good.  That said, the gag about how Bruce looks like ‘that guy they put in movies…Ralph Bellamy’ because he’s played by Ralph Bellamy, did get a good laugh out of me.  As did Cary Grant’s weird reference to the suicide of Archie Leach (his real name).  This is one of those movies that were more common then, where lots of characters staccato dialog at or past each other, making you have to pay darned close attention to everything going on.  I’ve seen it done better, but I’ve seen it done worse.  I always love Grant, but this still isn’t one of my favorites of his.

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters:  “Once upon a time…near a shitty little town...”  I know Terry Gilliam’s Brothers Grimm had it’s problems.  But I found the film enjoyable, even if it was obvious he was just doing a forgettable mainstream movie so he could get money for something he cared about (I’m probably the only person who loved Tideland).  However, this movie seems to capitalize on all the things about Brothers Grimm that didn’t work.  Too much CGI.  Too much humor…that isn’t funny.  Most scenes featuring witches inexplicably look cheaper and more ‘made for TV’ than the scenes without.  I’m even more frustrated that they had all the people and material together to do a modern Hammer Horror type film, but made this craptacular instead.

Black Rock:  AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!  This movie suuuuuuuuuucks so hard.  This movie sucks like black holes suck.  It’s the gravitational pull of a suck the likes of which even Stephen Hawking has not conceived.  The only thing that doesn’t make me swell with righteous rage is that for once, a movie set in Maine was filmed in Maine. So it looks like Maine, not Vancouver.  But who cares!?  It’s so stupid.  The dialog feels adlib, by people who suck at adlib.  The characters are all awful, shallow monsters.  It felt like a really awful student film that wouldn’t stop.

Superman Unbound:  The animation in this film is super crappy, and the script juvenile at best.  The voice work is OK, but they’ve got nothing to work with.  And weirdly, it’s very violent for such a kiddie film.  Whatever the target audience, it‘s a miss.  It looks bad, sounds bad, and is bad.

Oz The Great and Powerful:  “Oh, my.  It’s very tight in here.”  Parts of this movie feel like watching someone play a video game.  Yes, in part it’s the rampant and not very good CGI, but it’s also the way the camera moves, like an AI following certain parameters, as opposed to an artist making choices.  The CG in this film is actually surprisingly bad.  I’m used to bad CG being passed off in big budget films, but even so, this was a surprise.  It’s the kind of wonky effects, where things don’t look right or mesh well, like you might expect from the early 90s…on TV.  But getting past the technical ineptitude of the production, the script and performances are also dreadful.  I’m not the biggest fan of 1939’s Wizard of Oz.  But it deserved better than this.  And that’s not even considering the original books, which I do like.  James Franco is embarrassing.  Sadly, the rest of the cast seems to be taking their cues from him.  Even Rachel Weisz, who is among my favorite currently active actresses, is bad here.  What gives?

Snitch:  Basically a social commentary film about the dangers and abuse of the ‘mandatory minimum’ laws.  It’s a pretty meh story, but Dwayne Johnson is really good in it.  Man, I love The Rock.  I don’t know how this guy has become one of my favorite actors out there, but he has.  He’s so danged charismatic.  And he puts in a darned fine performance here.  I guess if this movie makes people think about how completely upside down our criminal system is when it comes to drug related sentencing, that’s probably a good thing.  But I don’t think anyone out there with more than three brain cells to rub together thinks the current system works.  So, probably not an issue.  It’s not a great movie, but it’s good enough, and The Rock is really good.

    On Friday night, we had our monthly meeting of our graphic novel club, hosted by Lisa and Brad.  This month we read All-Star Superman.  A few people seemed very taken with the book (myself included), several seemed nonplussed by its weird take on the iconic character.  A lot of characters from the big two interest me, but typically I don’t actually like what I read about them.  Silver Surfer?  Honestly, haven’t read anything I’d call ‘good’ with him in it.  Wonder Woman?  Same.  Black Panther, Doctor Strange, the Challengers of the Unknown, Adam Strange.  The list goes on.  In most of those cases, there is some essential idea, some ideal or archetype that attracts me to the possibility, if not the actuality.  All Star Superman gets to that essential concept of the character, its mythological center, and explores not just some adventure for a hero to go on, but the very nature of who and what that hero is.  It’s a treatment I so wish other characters could receive.

Doctor Who: Silver Nemesis:  “What are you?  Social workers?”  Ace and the Doctor have returned to England in 1988, where Nazis, aliens, and Ren-fair expats are up to no good.  There’s a lot of goofy nudge-nudge humor based around Windsor Castle and royalty.  Kind of indicative of this late era Doctor, it’s very kitchen sink storytelling, with too many balls in the air, and not enough holding it all together.  This was the 25th anniversary story, and it’s interesting to see all the location shooting.  But the story is pretty crappy.  By this point, the series seems to have lost its way, going off in directions that feel off-key and confused.

Tron Legacy:  I think this was my fourth time watching it this year.  Perhaps that’s overkill.  But I wanted it fresh in my head for my more extensive review.  I really do like this film.  Audio-visual stimulus of high order, and a philosophical bent I like a lot.  It’s always nice to see science fiction that isn’t anti-science.  And man, Olivia Wilde is cute.

Jaws 3D:  OK, here’s the thing.  I saw this movie, in 3D, when I was about 7 years old, in the theater.  And as a 7 year old kid, I thought this movie was flippin’ stupid and that the 3D sucked.  Seeing it again, all these years later, I was totally right.  That said, seeing it with friends and a good crowd at the Alamo Draft House theater, it was an enjoyable experience.  I have to give the filmmakers credit for embracing the silliness and gimmicky nature of 3D.  So many things are pointed or splashed or thrown at the audience that you constantly want to turn away.  And the editing is so egregious, it makes things all the funnier.  Shots hold WAY too long time and again.  Scenes are clearly over, but two or three beats past where you’re starting to feel uncomfortable, the cut finally happens.  There’s one reaction shot that goes on so long, I think the actor was breaking character to get on with whatever had to happen next, but the camera was still going.  What gives?  The script is laughable, the acting frequently worse.  And from the roaring shark, to the fat guy on the bumper boat, it’s filled with giggles and gaffes.  And Luis Gossett Jr.’s character feels like a bag of insensitive ethnic stereotypes (made worse when it’s revealed the ONLY other black person in the film is supposed to be his nephew…oh, dear).  It’s an absolute garbage film, and in 2D, has nearly nothing to offer.  If you enjoy the cheese of the 3D gimmick, it’s worth checking it out.  Otherwise, just avoid it like sane people would.

The Wicker Man:  “Heathens!  Bloody heathens!”  A stuffy cop played by Edward Woodward travels to a picturesque island populated by strange folk with a bit of a pagan bent.  It’s bad enough when they sing dirty songs about the landlord’s daughter, but things become intolerable when they start having relations in the fields.  And when Britt Ekland starts filming an erotic music video in the next room over, it’s time for a full on freak-out.  A deeply weird movie, it is an interesting look at a modern battle between Christianity and old world Celtic paganism.  Neither is portrayed as especially good.  But it’s a surprisingly non-judgmental, non-supernatural take on the Old Religion.  Christopher Lee and Edward Woodward are fantastic, the supporting cast, including the extras, were quite good.  And the location shooting is very nice.  Again, it’s a powerfully strange film, but one you should certainly check out.

    Well, dang it.  I managed to see two of the worst films released this year over the course of the last week.  I would not be at all surprised to fine both Oz the Great and Powerful and Black Rock on my 5 worst films of the year list come January.  Black Rock isn’t as bad as Bellflower (see two years ago) but it’s bloody awful.  And Oz just proves that Sam Raimi hasn’t evolved as a director in 30 years, but he’s using new technology.  A bad combo.

She read the 'script.'

-Matt

Movie Review: Tron

    When you look back on this film, of course, there are elements that can’t help but be dated.  Much of the technology was cutting edge, or looking forward to what might be right on the horizon.  But it was 30 plus years ago, and the cutting edge cut a long way since then.  Nor did technology go in the directions we expected (as usual).  But it’s more than a time capsule of an era when arcades were still popular, when Jeff Bridges was young, and when the internet was little more than a dream in the heads of scientists and science fiction writers.  Yes, this is a kid-friendly film.  But like a lot of Disney films before it, that didn’t mean condescending or simplistic like so many since.  And like a lot of science fiction films, it’s got more than its fair share of fantasy dressed up in scientific trappings.  But it’s also concerned with issues that are still with us, and it still challenges us to look at our technology, what it means to us, and how we should relate to it.  Essential questions like what it means to be alive and what it takes to stand against evil.  We still wonder about machine intelligence, what it will look like, what it will want, and even if it’s possible at all.

    The look and feel of the movie is unique and strange.  In some ways, it’s almost an animated film, and not just because it uses a great deal of early CGI, but because much of the movie was hand tinted, with lighting effects and colors made like you would in animation, frame by frame.  It lends the whole a strange, unreal element that helps you know you’re in another world.  The actors, in the weird, tinted black & white look kind of like silent film stars.  The world created is a fantasy realm, where Programs secretly worship Users as gods.  Where bubbling brooks of pure energy trickle through jagged caves of shining data.  Video games exist as dangerous regions of a digital country, ruled by a powerful Master Control Program, which intends not only to control all of the computer world, but the world of flesh and blood as well.  There is the obvious religious parallel between programs and users (worshipers and gods), and the subversive realization that gods are nothing more than other beings we don’t understand, powerful perhaps, but not really all that different.  Flynn shakes the core of the programs’ faith by simply being.  Reality rarely lives up to the imagined.  This spiritual concept will be explored to a greater extent in the long delayed sequel.

    It’s a work of grand and far reaching vision.  And though the virtual reality world foretold in movies like this never really came to be, echoes of its warning still sound in the then only dreamed of internet, the world of corporate espionage, game design, artificial intelligence, and more.  Amazing sets, even more amazing animated extensions, strange design, beautiful use of color.  Sometimes the script isn’t as good as it could or should be.  The pacing is a bit wonky in that 70s Disney kind of way.  But it is a real achievement.  And a cool, entertaining science fantasy adventure.

-Matt

A Fistful of Progeny! (Brad's Picks)

No one in Hollywoodland seems to want you to know that M Night Shyamalan has a new movie out this weekend.  Shhhhhhhh!  Don't mention The Last Airbender.  No, what we have this weekend is the new Will Smith movie.  But the more I see and the more I read about After Earth the less interested I become.  It doesn't look like much of a Will Smith movie anyway; it's really Jaden Smith's show, and frankly, I think that kid stinks.  I guess he was ok in that boring Karate Kid remake, but he almost single handedly brought forth my rage in The Day The Earth Stood Still remake (Keanu gets a chunk of the credit).  Such an annoying brat, and I really want nothing to do with him now.  Sure, that sounds pretty harsh and totally unfair.  But this is my blog; let me have my irrational, hypocritical opinions.  You know I'm gonna drop my cash for After Earth, and maybe - just maybe - it's a solid post-apocalpse flick, and my mind will be forever altered in regards to all Smith offspring.  After all, Hollywood has produced a lot of talented babies...

5.  Jason Robards:  The son of Hope Maxine Robards & Jason Robards Sr, Junior here eventually surpassed his father's notoriety as a stage actor with a little help from Eugene O'Neal (Long Day's Journey Into Night, The Iceman Cometh, Hughie, A Touch of the Poet).  From there, Robards found his way onto television, lent a little credibility to Roger Corman's The St. Valentine's Day Massacre, and found critical nirvana through Sergio Leone & Sam Peckinpah.  His performances in both Once Upon A Time In The West & The Ballad of Cable Hogue are what lands him on this list, but I would be lying if I neglected his minor turns in Ron Howard's Parenthood or Quick Change - both were absolute staples of my youth.  Also, his final credit as the neglectful dad Earl Partridge in Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia will rip out your heart, and his work there granted Tom Cruise his finest hour.

4.  Nicolas Cage:  His grandfather was composer Carmine Coppola, his uncle Francis Ford Coppola, and his aunt Talia Shire.  If written a few years earlier, Cage would have easily landed at the number one spot of this list, but his special brand of mega-acting has not been kind to his career lately.  After winning my heart with a few brilliantly bonkers performances (The Bad Lieutenant, Kick Ass, Drive Angry), Cage has pretty much sunken into the bland Direct-To-DVDers (Trespass, Seeking Justice, Stolen).  It might be easy to write him off thanks to all those bees in The Wicker Man remake, but let's not forget the classics - Raising Arizona, Red Rock West, Adaptation, Matchstick Men - these are some powerhouse performances not to be mocked.  And I'm betting Cage has a couple more surprises left up his sleeve.

3.  David Carradine:  The son of John Carradine & brother to Keith & Robert.  The man pretty much ruled my childhood with Kung Fu & it's crappy sequel show, The Legend Continues.  But it wasn't until Quentin Tarantino reintroduced him to the world in Kill Bill that I truly discovered the genius of his massive body of work.  Death Race 2000, Boxcar Bertha, Bound for Glory, The Warrior & The Sorceress, The Long Riders, Q The Winged Serpent.  The man was the king of B movies, and he was working like a beast right up to his sad end.  And as a result, we're going to be getting Direct-To-DVD appearances for at least another ten years.

2.  Robert Downey Jr:  The son of independent filmmaker Robert Downey Sr; it's hard to remember the dark days of Soapdish & Chances Are (two charming films made in a haze of sex and cocaine), this former Brat Packer was well on his way to obscurity before Marvel's Iron Man launched his career into the stratosphere.  But before he donned ol' Shell Head, Robert Downey Jr was already making quite a buzz in the small movie racket.  Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is an amazing bit of noir wit from Shane Black.  Downey expertly charmed as the jittering literary agent in Curtis Hanson's Wonder Boys.  And he scored big points reaching into his drug fueled past to portray the doomed reporter Paul Avery in David Fincher's painfully overlooked Zodiac.  He might be forever assembled an Avenger, but Robert Downey Jr earned his Blockbuster status, and I hope he finds some tiny gems amongst his continuing franchises.

1.  Jeff Bridges:  He's The Dude.  'nuff said.  Oh, you want more?  The son of Lloyd & brother of Beau, Jeff Bridges has rarely been on the bottom of creativity.  I'd love to tell you that he had it from the start, but, gulp, I've actually never seen The Last Picture Show.  No, my love for the man started with the King Kong remake (a terribly mediocre film in hindsight), survived on the original Tron, and became the god of drifter cool in The Big Lebowski.  Along the way he played boy cub to Clint Eastwood's hardass in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, straight man to John Heard's psychotic do-gooder in Cutter's Way, and my all time favorite sandwich eating POTUS in The Contender.  And oh yeah, FTW, he schooled John Wayne in The Coen Brothers' far superior True Grit.  Done deal.  Jeff Bridges is the king of Hollywood offspring.

--Brad

Matt’s Week in Dork! (2/10/13-2/16/13)

Still keeping things pretty low key.  Watching a bunch of movies, as always.  And I’ve been doing some reading, and listening to a bunch of 80s tunes.  But otherwise, just kind of hunkered down.


Godzilla, King of the Monsters:  “Well, it’s big.  And terrible.”  This American version of the Japanese film features Raymond Burr as a reporter who gets wrapped up in the madness when the giant monster.  For a long time, this was the only version of the movie I knew, and as a kid, I guess I was naïve enough that I didn’t even realize Burr was edited in to a movie of which he was never originally a part.  It’s much more obvious to me now, but I will say that overall it’s not as clumsy as it could be.  And I guess, if your kids aren’t ready for a subtitled movie, this is a good way to show them the movie.  Burr’s ‘As it Happens’ reporting works pretty well.  In fact, the idea of having him be a reporter, and so an unobtrusive observer is probably the best way to cut him into the film.  Cut to him with lights flickering on his face while he narrates, then cut back to Godzilla burning up the place.  OK.  Sure.  It’s no surprise that I would say the original version is the better film, with better pacing and what have you.  But this is a passable Americanization.

Seconds:  “I wanna go back.”  This has become a perennial favorite of mine.  It’s not an easy watch.  In fact, by the end, it’s quite harrowing.  But Rock Hudson’s performance is magnificent and the creepy story of a company dealing in second chances is up there with the best of The Outer Limits, to which it bares a good deal of resemblance.  Great music, disquieting and claustrophobic cinematography, and an excellent cast work their movie magic, creating devilish tension.  And the film poses several important questions about self, desire, choices, and what makes a man.  But again, it rests on Hudson who goes for it, grabbing hold of the role (and the viewer) and shaking until it breaks.  Awesome.

Tron:  When you look back on this film, of course, there are elements that can’t help but be dated.  Much of the technology was cutting edge, or looking forward to what might be right on the horizon.  But it was 30 plus years ago, and the cutting edge has cut a long way since then.  Nor did technology go in the directions we expected (as usual).  But it’s more than a time capsule of an era when arcades were still popular, when Jeff Bridges was young, and when the internet was little more than a dream in the heads of scientists and science fiction writers.  It’s a visually fascinating adventure into the a new imagined world of programs and users, energy streams and digital highways.  It was a pioneering work in computer graphics, that was largely the product of traditional animation techniques.  A truly original and strange world filled with newly imagined adventures, but with plenty of the old myth-archetypes to go around.  A solid, family friendly science fiction film worth giving a second look.

Doctor Who: Mindwarp:  “My belief is, they await a great leader!  …I am he.” The second story in The Trial of a Time Lord arc opens on a world with crazy light and quickly moves into the danger packed caves below.  When Brian Blessed shows up, you know you’re in for a ride (and watch for the brief xenomorph appearance!).  And dang, this episode cranks up the crazy with gross sea-monsters, mutants, and all kinds of nasty.  Seriously, Brian Blessed is awesome.  He has an amazing ability to chew scenery like gum, but play humor in subtle and hysterical ways.  Though I know him from dozens of great performances, I still kept wanting him to bellow “Gordon’s aliiiiiive?!”  This show had become pretty darned strange by this point, with all kinds of nutty ideas, weird characters, surreal set design and head scratching twists.  This story arc just gets weirder and weirder and I have to admit, funnier and funnier.  I’m not usually a fan of more outright comedy in my sci-fi, but I don’t know, the script is really funny.  And Blessed gets more amazing as it goes on.  And this is the final story of Peri.  I’m not really happy with how she goes out.  It feels a bit arbitrary.  In fact, it feels like it didn’t really happen, and would be figured out/fixed in the next story, but…no.  She’s gone, apparently.

Clash of the Empires (aka Age of Hobbits):  “Stand aside.  This will be a mighty toss.”  In ancient Indonesia (here played by Cambodia), some swell, peaceful pigmy dudes are just chillin when the Rock Men show up with winged iguanas and go on a kill-crazy rampage.  Not cool, dudes.  This is from the amazing, quality hungry studio The Asylum, so you know it’s good.  Dreadful dubbing and a bad script (even using the phrase ‘so, it begins!’ one of the most cliché lines in film) don’t help what is clearly an appallingly low budget film.  But I couldn’t help but start to enjoy the crazy imagination of this one.  In spite of what is obviously a mostly untrained cast of locals recruited to play various baddies and such, there’s a weird appeal to the cast.  And what can I say, I’m always happy to see Christopher Judge.  He needs more work (maybe in better movies?).  And thank goodness Bai-Ling is there to crazy everything up.  Don’t mistake this review for a ringing endorsement.  More of a ‘hey, this doesn’t suck nearly as hard as I expected it would.’

American Experience: Kit Carson:  “Doctor! Compadre!  Adios.”  Like so many people remembered by history, Christopher “Kit” Carson was a man of many faces, a hero, a villain, a legend.  This episode of PBS’s long running series takes us back to the early 1800s when a tough little dude headed into the wilderness of the West to become a Mountain Man trapper and Indian guide.  Harsh times, brutal lives, danger, and with them freedom, adventure, and eventually a sort of glory.  An instrument of the opening of the American West, Carson was a competent man, not tied to our traditional concepts of morality or propriety.  There are elements of Carson that remind me a great deal of one of my favorite figures in history, Sir Richard Francis Burton.  He knows how to act, how to blend, with a population, be it with Native Americans, or Mexicans, or American soldiers.  His story is the kind of thing that could, probably should inspire grand books or movies.  Caught between worlds, he worked for the U.S. government against the people he had learned to respect and in some cases, his love.  The man just wanted to go home to his wife, but was constantly called upon to perform one task or another.  And dang, but his private life was sad.  So sad.

La belle et le bete (Beauty and the Beast):  “For being a beast…Forgive me.”  The War barely over, and Jean Cocteau crafted this lavish and slightly strange version of the classic tale of love, inner selves, and fancy.  The fourth wall creation at the beginning adds an extra dash of whimsy.  The archetypal story of Beauty and the Beast has always hit an especially strong chord with me.  This and Don Quixote (and one could say, they’re not entirely dissimilar), are probably the essence of my own personal mythology.  It’s full of magic and mystery, with creepy animated statues, helping hands, and doors that open and close by themselves.  The sets and locations are beautiful (Belle’s room is crazy).  And Belle is an interesting heroine, frightened, but dutiful and clever.  And it doesn’t take her long to figure things out, to know how the Beast works, and to take control of the situation.  Sure, she doesn’t have all the answers, but she’s definitely a worthy hero for this fantasy adventure.  And there are moments, when the Beast is freaking out where she looks like she’s actually having fun.  Awesome.

I Come In Peace (aka Dark Angel):  When I Come in Peace hit video back in 1990 or ‘91, it was like one of the coolest movies ever.  This and Cyborg?  Masterworks.  Sure, you could say that this is a silly rehash of The Terminator, and you wouldn’t be wrong (still a better rehash of the Terminator than Terminator 2 was!…Send me that hate mail).  But stuff blew up real good, Dolf was awesome (look at his classy apartment…he’s so complicated), and the script actually has enough odd quirks and goofy characters to make the whole thing a blast to watch.  Is this a ‘good’ movie?  Who cares?  It’s a lot of fun.  If you’re in the mood for late 80s B-films with exploding…everything, then this is the movie for you.  Plus, you’ve got to love the White Boys, possibly the most ridiculous gang in movie history.  They look like Patrick Bateman’s crew decided petty crime was more fun than corporate raiding.

The Magus:  Hey, remember when the studios used to put out art films?  That was a crazy time, huh?  Michael Caine is a self-involved jerk who goes off to teach on a Greek island, where he runs into the gregarious but sinister Anthony Quinn.  What starts as a seemingly simple movie about people trying to get over the mistakes of their past turns into a wackier and wackier meditation on love, connection, redemption, guilt, and the nature of Truth.  I don’t know that I would say it’s a good movie, but it’s the kind of bold and strange and chance taking film the studio system developed a profound allergy to and has become the territory of low budget film in our time.  So it is very odd to see such a lavish production for such a singular work.  Greece looks amazing, and Anthony Quinn’s house may be about the coolest place I’ve ever seen.  Caine manages to have the perfect mix of bitterness, sadness, and downright prickishness that lets you find him charming and hope he gets through even though he’s a horrible person.  Again, I don’t know that I liked the film, but it should probably be seen once, anyway.

I started watching Ultraman, the 60s Japanese TV show.  That’s crazy.  NetFlix sent me disk 2 instead of disk 1, so I’m not sure if they set up a bit more in the opening episodes.  But basically, each week the Science Patrol goes out and investigates something.  Then Ultraman (a giant metal guy from space) drops down to fight kaiju (giant monsters) and save the day.  He only has a limited amount of energy from his Sun power, so that means the fights have to be quick.  This was a TV show for Godzilla fans.  Not as good, but an enjoyable supplement.  One thing that’s freaky, though.  Ultraman is always horribly maiming the monsters before he takes ‘em out.  In one episode, they use the Godzilla suit, but add a frill around his neck, and yeah, Ultraman rips it off (leaving a horrible bloody ring wound), then taunts the monster like it was a bull with his own skin frill.  That seems cold.

Gammera the Invincible:  Headline: “Inside Reports of Giant Turtle Controversy”  Being a general is hard, unless you lady sergeant knows how to make coffee.  Thank goodness this takes place in 1965, I guess (I wonder if she cooks a good breakfast, too).  The performances of the Americans in the plugged-in scenes are amazing.  So strange, over the top, and affected.  The movie itself is pretty standard Kaiju stuff. It has its moments, but doesn’t especially stand out.  I’d like to see the original Japanese version, and see if maybe it’s got better pacing or what have you.  Still.  It’s not bad.

War of the Monsters:  “The creature would die by its own rainbow.”  Gammera is back (sort of), and looking for a fight.  Some treasure hunters travel to a tropical island, hoping for fortune and glory.  But the island isn’t quite what they expect.  A mysterious doctor, a beautiful native girl, and an ancient warning stand between the trio and their dreams.  Of course, transgressing in places with names like The Cave of Death brings with it a certain degree of danger; that kind of world shaking Kaiju-type danger your mother always warned you about.  I love Japanese monsters for their completely insane abilities.  Barugon spits a giant tongue-spike out of its mouth that shoots out freezing fog, and its back spines create a super-heating rainbow.  OK.  Sure.  I mean, Gammera is a giant turtle from the time of the primordial soup, who can spit flame and fly via jets that come out of its leg-holes.  So, a burning rainbow mortar isn’t all that weird, I guess.  These films are definitely not of the Godzilla films’ quality level, but this second outing for our Turtle hero is a much more interesting film than the first.  One simple lesson this film teaches is don’t trust a jewel-crazy jackass.

On Friday night, Lisa and Brad hosted the latest gathering of the Justice League of Extraordinary Book Club.  This month’s reading, the first two trade paperbacks of The Walking Dead.  Overall the feelings were positive I guess.  Brad and I are both experiencing a kind of Walking Dead ennui, having both been enamored of the series many years ago, but finding our re-reading of the early arcs kind of frustrating and unsatisfying.  A couple people weren’t really into it at all, but, several enjoyed it quite a bit.  And there was a lot of intense conversation about various aspects.  And of course, as it would be almost impossible to ignore it, a lot of talk (comparing and contrasting…and mostly crapping on) the TV show.  With the glut of zombie films, zombie video games, and zombie literature in the last 10 or so years, my old-time love has been kind of stomped on.  I still do like zombies as a monster and I think there are some great films and books.  And overall, I do think The Walking Dead is an excellent entry in that sub-genre.  But for me, right now, it just didn’t work.  Talk to me again in 10 years (hopefully ten years with few or no zombie films), and maybe I can start getting back into it.

And on Saturday I sat down and read issue 2 of the new Dark Horse series simply titled Star Wars.  I like it.  It’s not amazing or anything, but it’s firmly set in the galaxy far, far away that I loved as a kid.  It feels more like old school Star Wars than a lot of stuff I’ve seen or read in a long time.  I never read the Rogue Squadron books or comics, but it feels like they might be setting the stage for that future, with Wedge and a mixed bag of elite pilots.

-Matt