Author: Robert Greenberger

Talking Games and Movies with Jordan Mechner

  • News
  • September 10, 2010

Jordan Mechner’s Prince of Persia has been an acclaimed video game and he is one of the fortunate creators to be intimately involved in the adaptation from game to feature film. Mechner managed to write the screen adaptation, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Gemma Arterton. The Disney feature was released to middling reviews and so-so box office in May and comes to home video tomorrow. Disney provided us with this conversation.

QUESTION: What were your feelings when you finally saw the film?

JORDAN MECHNER: Firstly, the original Prince of Persia was a character 40 pixels high on the Apple II screen, running and jumping. The technology at the time was quite primitive, I think in my mind I imagined a much grander spectacle, and to see Jake [Gyllenhaal] in the best shape of his life running around the rooftops of Morocco and doing parkour and all this stuff was more than I could imagine.

QUESTION:  What initially drew you to the setting of Ancient Persia? And how does that culture and mythology inspire you?

JORDAN MECHNER: I was inspired 25 years ago to make the game really by the tales of the Arabian Nights, and by old Persian legends like the Shahnameh, the Persian Book of Kings. And also those great old Hollywood swashbuckling movies like the 1940 Thief of Baghdad, by Alexander Korda.  As a kid I must have heard those stories, the storybook versions are in all of our cultural DNA. We know of that world without really knowing exactly where or when we first heard it.

QUESTION:  How did you start the world of Prince of Persia ?

JORDAN MECHNER: You go back to 1985 when I was right out of college and I took my brother down to the parking lot across the street from the high school. He was in a pair of baggy trousers and I had him run and jump and climb and fall down and I video-taped him doing these moves. Then I set about the three year process of bringing these animations into the computer and that was the first Prince of Persia . (more…)

Review: ‘Mars Attacks’

  • Uncategorized
  • September 9, 2010

I was too young to buy the 1962 Topps trading card series, [[[Mars Attacks]]], and grew up hearing about these wonderful cards and was delighted when a facsimile edition was released in the 1990s. Others, though, were clearly inspired by them and when he was in a position to do pretty much whatever he wanted, director Tim Burton said he wanted to use the cards for a loving tribute to the goofy SF movies of the 1950s.

He turned to Jonathan Gems to write the story and then the first screenplay but as 1993 turned to 1994, it was clear he wasn’t delivering what the visionary director wanted. Instead, he gave the assignment to Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, who gave him a sprawling story set in Washington and Las Vegas, giving a meaty part to the President of the United States so Burton could attract some big name talent. And the cast is stuffed with wonderful performers in parts great and small including Jack Nicholson (as the Prez), Glenn Close, Annette Bening, Pierce Brosnan, Danny DeVito, Martin Short, Sarah Jessica Parker, Natalie Portman, Rod Steiger, Michael J. Fox, Lukas Haas, Jim Brown, Tom Jones, Jack Black, Sylvia Sydney, Paul Winfield, and Pam Grier.

Part of the film’s fun turned out to be watching these celebrities get blown to bits by the aliens as their invasion of Earth continued unimpeded.

Costing a then-eye-popping $80 million, Warner Bros. heavily promoted the feature but it opened to decidedly mixed reviews and very poor box office. When I went to see it with a select group of pals, I loved it. Of course, I was the prime audience and “got it” while others couldn’t fathom the satirical aspects or homages to many other cheesy productions. The film became one of the first released by Warner on DVD and finally, this week; it comes out on blu-ray.

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Review: ‘Matrix Reloaded’

  • Uncategorized
  • September 8, 2010

When [[[The Matrix]]] burst on to the scene in 1999, we were wowed. Not only was it visually dazzling, but it seemed like a delightful science fiction concept that made you think. The backstory seemed fascinating and viewers wanted more, which Warner Bros and the Wachowski Brothers delivered. Now we know to be careful for what we wish since the two sequels really didn’t live up to the expectations. And maybe they couldn’t since there was just enough background material conceived to make the main story plausible. The Wachowskis clearly didn’t have a sequel in mind and when asked to fabricate one or two, they had to not only top the thrill of the first, but make their imaginary realm come alive.

[[[Matrix Reloaded]]] and [[[Matrix Revolution]]] were loud, noisy affairs that really didn’t make us fall deeper in love with the characters or trippy world. In 2007, Warner Home Video collected the trio of films and released them in the then current HD-DVD and Blu-ay formats and now, the first sequel, Matrix Reloaded, is being released as a single disc.

In this installment, we delve deeper into the Matrix philosophy, gaining greater understanding of how things got so convoluted and so out of control. We open with Neo (Keanu Reeves) the acknowledge Messiah and he has been busy, freeing humans from the control of the world-dominating computers that have taken control of the ravaged planet. Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) remains his prime disciple and speaks for him in Zion, the underground city for the free humans. There’s a faction that wants a military solution to end the machine threat once and for all. Neo thinks there’s another way and sets out to prove it, complicated by the resurrected form of Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) who is out to destroy the humans’ savior. Introduced into the mix is Niobe (Jada Pinkett-Smith), a pilot and former lover to Morpheus and they go hunting for the Keymaker, possessor of secrets.

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Review: ‘Lost in Space’

I should have loved Lost in Space when it debuted on CBS in the fall of 1965. At seven, I was the prime audience for this family adventure about the Robinsons and friends who are literally, hurtling through uncharted territory. Instead, I never warmed up to the show and much preferred ABC’s [[[Batman]]] when that arrived in January 1966. I found the science fiction lacking, the acting over-the-top, and the robot one of the few interesting aspects.

I think I would have preferred the Irwin Allen series had the villainous aspect of Dr. Zachary Smith (Jonathan Harris) remained, rather than using him as a comic foil. Regardless, the series had its following which has led to various revivals as an animated series and even a Bill Mumy-scripted comic during the 1990s. A feature film adaptation seemed inevitable and that’s what we received in 1998. Now, the movie is making its blu-ray debut this week from Warner Home Video.

The film’s themes are certainly high-minded ones as they postulate that in 2058 mankind has so ruined the Earth that a new world has to be found or humanity is doomed to extinction. The Jupiter 2 is sent to find salvation complications ensue when Smith’s treachery sends them off course and they wind up on several strange, new worlds. Then you add in a field of energy that is revealed to be a time distortion bubble with an adult Will Robinson (Jared Stevens) as an antagonist, and well, things get messy.

The movie looks really smart, with over 700 visual effects and some thoughtful set and costume design. There are no real visual cues to the source material with the exception of the robot, which is probably for the best.

Instead, the film fails on two levels. The first is the script that didn’t need to drag in temporal complications while they were already lost in space. It was as if Akiva Goldsman had no faith in the one problem. He also neglected to make any of the characters really engaging or interesting, complicated by a cast that never brings the material to life. While William Hurt makes an interesting scientist in Dr. John Robinson, you never get the feeling he loves Mimi Rogers’ Maureen or is a good father to Judy (Heather Graham), Penny (Lacey Chabert) or Will (Jack Johnson). Matt LeBlanc is amiable but bland as Don West while Gary Oldman seems bored as Dr. Smith.

In reviewing the film years later, it’s interesting to note Penny was vlogging before it was fashionable. Overall, though, the Earth we’re in today is nowhere close to the trajectory seen in the movie’s 2058. Like its predecessor, it is aimed at families and has enough thrills to justify the PG-13 rating but is devoid of the quirky details that people loved in the original. Those fans, though, can look for cameos from original series stars June Lockhart, Mark Goddard, Angela Cartwright, Marta Kristen (Judy Robinson) along with the welcome tones of Dick Tufeld as the voice of the Robot.

The transfer to blu-ray is acceptable although the special features from the standard DVD are carried over without upgrading. We get the deleted scenes, along with caption explanations of what they were. There are two featurettes — “Building the Special Effects” and “The Future of Space Travel” – which are fairly dry.  “The Television Years” includes interviews with original cast members Lockhart, Kristen, and Cartwright but the original series synopses are missing. We do get the “Apollo Four Forty” music video and the original dual commentaries.

If you own the original DVD, there’s little recommend buying this outright as opposed to using Warner’s upgrade program.

Review: ‘Smallville Season 9’

When [[[Smallville]]] debuted on the WB network in fall 2001, it was a revelation, a serious and well-considered examination of Clark Kent coming to terms with his alien origins and super-powers in a modern context. It was a perfect fit for the teen-skewing network and apparently they hit pay dirt casting Tom Welling as Clark and surrounding him with a strong ensemble. The real secret early on was the writing staff, fronted by Jeph Loeb and Mark Verheiden, who said more with less and kept you coming back for more.

By the fourth season though, the success of the show was beyond expectations and the vamping began, coupled with the turnover of the writing staff which irreparably harmed the show. Things grew silly real fast as the iconic elements were twisted beyond recognition and the producers sought new threats and twists in the soap opera relationships. In the latter seasons, especially after creator/showrunners Al Gough and Mile Millar departed, character motivations seemingly changed weekly and storytelling logic was usually ignored.

Season eight gave us the season-long threat of Doomsday and once he was dispatched, it seemed time for something new. Maybe something familiar, a little taste of home. Executive Producers Kelly Souders, Brian Peterson, and Welling decided the time had come to bring the threat of General Zod made flesh. Callum Blue was added to the cast as the Kryptonian military officer, and former ally of Jor-El’s, to demonstrate for Clark the need to use their powers for selfless reasons.

Recognizing this was likely the final season, they chose the theme to be that of Clark embracing his alien heritage. He donned a black costume for the first time and either distanced himself from his friends and allies or relearned the lesson that he cannot act alone.

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Review: ‘Bone: Tall Tales”

  • Uncategorized
  • September 4, 2010

Bone: Tall Tales

By Jeff Smith with Tom Sniegoski
128 pages, Scholastic Graphix, $10.99 (paperback), $22.99 (hardcover)

Scholastic’s Graphix imprint is wisely repackaging all the [[[Bone]]] material, turning it into a uniform library for the young adult readers who can’t get enough of the denizens of Boneville. The latest such entry is[[[ Tall Tales]]], which is the color edition of 2000’s [[[Stupid, Stupid Rat-Tails: The Adventures of Big Johnson Bone]]],[[[ Frontier Hero]]], which in turn collected a 1999 miniseries. The key differences are that “RIblet” is not included here while a story produced for the late, lamented [[[Disney Adventures]]] magazine is added along with some new material.

Additionally, the versatile Tom Sniegoski penned three of the four tales collected here with Smith handling the honors for the framing sequence and the first story. Essentially, Smiley and Bartleby take Ring, Bingo and Todd camping and tell stories around the campfire. So, the frame is set post-Bone and the stories themselves are all prequels.

In all cases, they are delightfully told stories with all the usual drama, action, and humor one can expect from the Bone universe. Steve Hamaker once more colors the stories and does his usual superb job, making this a valued addition to the line.

The first story is a quick one-off while the second, “Old Man Winter” tells of Johnson Bones’ exceptional birth, followed by “Big Johnson Bone vs. the Cobbler Gobbler” where the great adventurer may have met his match. All of which establishes the resourcefulness of the legendary figure. He was prone to long, exaggerated tales but also showed a resourcefulness that gave credence to his abilities. About half the book is taken up with the final Tall Tale, “The Lost Tale of Big Johnson Bone”, establishing why rats do not have tails.

After Bone, his mule and talking monkey are caught in a twister, they find themselves in a valley filled with sentient, avaricious rats. They also find several other animal lifeforms that have been subjugated by the rats, including Stillman, a dragon unable to breathe fire. Once he convinces the animals here’s there to help, it becomes a battle of wits between Big Johnson Bone and Queen Maud. There are some twists and turns but you pretty much know how it will end and are entertained every step of the way thanks to skillful storytelling from Smith and Sniegoski.

By all means, pick up this wonderful collection and enjoy the stories.

Review: ‘Amulet Book Three: The Cloud Searchers’

  • Uncategorized
  • September 1, 2010

Amulet Book Three: The Cloud Searchers

By Kazu Kibuishi
Scholastic/Graphix, 208 pages, $10.99 (paperback)

When last we left the cast of [[[Amulet]]], they were in the forest being chased by the bad guys and things were slowly starting to make sense for Emily, keep of the powerful stone. They managed to survive the evil king’s forces but it took a toll, damaging the mechanical tree house they used for a refuge.

Now, a year later, the third installment in Kazu Kibuishi’s fantasy graphic novel series continues from Scholastic’s Graphix imprint. Across 200 colorful pages, Kibuishi manages to explain a bit more about what is going on, raising the stakes, and moving the players to a new level.

Unfortunately, the overly familiar story gets feels even less original as they wend their way to Mos Eisley in search of a pilot wiling to take them to the cloud city of Bespin.  That’s pretty much all that happens from a big picture standpoint but we also see Emily accept the power of her stone and begin to train with it. She and the prince, Trellis, forge an unusual bond.

The remainder of the cast is woefully underutilized so Emily’s mom, her brother Navin, the titular leader Leon Redbeard and others are all along for the ride but are given virtually nothing to do. Instead, we meet Enzo, the grizzled pilot of the Luna Moth, who of course has an unexplained history with Selina, owner of the floating fueling station.

Filling out the rest of the book are either chase scenes, fight scenes or aerial combat scenes that must be fun to write and draw but do little to make the world seem any more real or interesting. There are also all-too-brief interludes such as a nice bit between Emily and her mom, but doesn’t make either character any more interesting.

There’s no recap page so anyone starting with volume three is somewhat lost nor do we have a sense of how many volumes it will take for Emily the Stonekeeper to fulfill her destiny and rid her world of the evil king.

The world of Alledia, described as a land of “wildly imaginative and dangerous things”, is the most imaginative part of the series and Kibuishi is ably assisted by an army of colorists who do a nice job. The notion of an order of stonekeepers protecting the world is a timeworn concept that should offer some twists and turns but seems to be merely a semi-sentient object of power.

While these books remain top sellers for Scholastic, I can’t help but want something fresher and more imaginative for the 9-12 readers who seem to gobble these books up.

Review: ‘FlashForward The Complete Series’

flashforwardcompleteseries-9918679In 1999, Robert J. Sawyer wrote FlashForward
, a clever science fiction novel that showed how the world reacted to a suddenly global blackout and people glimpsing their futures 21 years hence. The catalytic event was centered at the CERN supercollider in Europe and largely focused on the scientists who worked there.

Interestingly, it was optioned for television and was being developed into a series at HBO, which decided it was trending more towards a prime time broadcast network show, so the rights got to ABC. With great fanfare and terrific initial reviews, the show debuted on September 24, 2009.

Maybe it should have stayed a limited run series on the premium channel. The resulting 22 episodes had lofty goals and a dynamite cast, but the sprawling story was messy, with way too many things not holding up well enough to sustain viewer interest. Ratings suffered after the show took a break at the midpoint and was finally ended on May 27. On Tuesday, ABC Studios is releasing FlashForward: The Complete Series
as a five disc set.

One of the creative problems was that the producers had no idea how much time they had to tell their story. They received an initial order for thirteen and it was a month after the debut before ABC ordered the back nine and subsequently added three episodes to the order. As the ratings nosedived, the order was trimmed from 25 to 24 and finally the standard 22. The feeling that they were spinning their wheels makes sense now that you see what they had to deal with.

Additionally, the personnel guiding the characters and storylines also shifted which led to altered tones. The show was initially being run by Marc Guggenheim, David S. Goyer and Brannon Braga but shortly after the full season was ordered, Guggenheim left the show and Goyer took over until February when he moved away from the sinking ship, letting his wife Jessika, Lisa Zwerling and Timothy J. Lea complete the series.

What should have been a limited series run made substantive changes to Sawyer’s novel beginning with altering the flash forward from 21 years to a handful of months, April 29, 2010. The ensemble cast was centered not at CERN but at the Los Angeles branch of the FBI. Over the course of the first few episodes, it was fascinating to see people react to their visions or lack of visions. The FBI team, led by an overly dour Ralph Fiennes, discovered a vast conspiracy behind the event and their investigations let us meet many people around the world and get a greater sense of what was experienced and how society was being altered.

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Review: ‘Batman: The Brave and the Bold Season One, Part One’

1000149432dvdlef-7901621Growing up in the 1960s, DC’s super-heroes were proud to don their uniforms and battle for truth, justice, and the American way. They had a relatively easy camaraderie with one another and they used their wits and their powers to get out the devilish death-traps they inevitably found themselves in every now and then.

While DC’s heroes and villains have been successfully translated to animation through the years, none have quite captured that colorful joy in being a super-hero. As successful as Warner Animations[[[ Batman]]], [[[Superman]]] and [[[Justice League]]] have been for the current generation of fans, [[[Batman: The Brave and the Bold]]] is the show that those of us from an earlier era have been waiting for. No Wonder Twins, no Wendy & Marvin – our heroes and villains doing what they do best.

The first thirteen episodes of the Cartoon Network series are collected on Batman: The Brave and the Bold Season One, Part One. The two-disc set, without any extras whatsoever, is being released Tuesday and is a joy to have. Producers James Tucker and Michael Jelenic have designed a show that celebrates the heroic and it is brighter, jazzier, and in many ways more action-packed than its predecessors. Each episode opens with a teaser that shows the conclusion of another successful team-up between Batman and a member of the heroic community then we get a complete tale with a different collaboration.

The show has taken great pains to explore the far-reaches of the DC Universe, across the stars and through the years. As a result, one never knows who will be seen next which brings a sense of delight to the viewing experience. Batman is equally comfortable in the past, fighting Morgaine le Fey alongside Etrigan the Demon, as he is battling in the years of the Great Disaster, aiding Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth. The writers have demonstrated not only a keen understanding of the core elements that make each hero and villain distinct, but adapts them well to television in order to avoid having them appear too similar to one another. The exception is Green Arrow, and the rivalry between the two heroes provides some welcome comic relief. Aquaman, king of the seven seas is also seen as a dim blowhard, eager for an adventure, always struggling to come up with an engaging name for it.

About the only adaptation that has failed to work for me is portraying Metamorpho, Black Lightning and Katana – the Outsiders – as a group of snotty teens. The most successful might be Jaime Reyes, the current Blue Beetle, who is one of the most frequent guest stars and is seen as a hero in training, struggling to gain the respect and approval of his mentors.

While bright and shiny, they still show death and its ramifications, as witnessed by the recap of Bruce Wayne’s youth and other random, senseless acts of violence. Batman has overcome those dark days and is a tireless, driven crimefighter, ready to take on any threat. His square-jawed design is evocative of how he was depicted by the likes of Sheldon Moldoff and Mike Sekowsky in the early 1960s, just before the “New Look” era began. The one element I feel does the show a disservice is the ability for his cape to morph into a jetpack while the Batmobile is an all-in-one sea to surface to air vehicle. While these are lovely animation shortcuts, they take us a step beyond the Batman they are celebrating.

And don’t think its all adventure as many stories also deal with emotional themes such as Red Tornado’s quest for humanity and Wildcat struggling with age.

The first half season ends with a two-part visit to a parallel world and the Injustice Syndicate, as batman struggles to fit in disguised as his counterpart Owlman. As one would expect justice triumphs but not without putting up a vigorous fight.

This set is a welcome addition to the DC video library and comes well recommended.

Ed Asner Reprises Voice of Granny Goodness

  • News
  • August 26, 2010

Seven-time Emmy Award winner Ed Asner reprises his Superman: The Animated Series/Justice League role as Granny Goodness in Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, the ninth entry in the popular, ongoing series of DC Universe Animated Original PG-13 Movies coming September 28, 2010 from Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Home Video.

Granny Goodness is the primary henchwoman for the evil lord Darkseid, ruler of the distant planet Apokolips and a cruel, ominous being even more powerful than Superman. Asner first voiced the role for four episodes of Superman: The Animated Series, and returned to those evil female roots for two episodes of Justice League and Justice League Unlimited.

Asner’s storied career boasts seven Emmy Awards – three supporting actor honors for his role as Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, two more as the title character in Lou Grant, and a pair of awards recognizing individual supporting performances in the landmark miniseries Roots and Rich Man, Poor Man. He has won more acting Emmys than any other performer, and is the only actor to ever win Emmy Awards for playing the same character in both a comedy and a drama.

The five-time Golden Globe winner also served as President of the Screen Actors Guild from 1981-1985.

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