Tagged: review

Review: ‘Casino Royale’ 3-Disc Collector’s Edition DVD

I’m not objective when it comes to James Bond. [[[Dr. No]]] was the first “grown-up” movie I ever saw, and I’ve been writing about 007 in magazines and my books ever since.

Nor am I particularly dispassionate about [[[Casino Royale]]]. The New York premiere at the great Zeigfeld Theater was the best experience I’ve had in cinemas for the last few decades — and it was there that I ate humble pie because, to my shame, I had been dead set against Daniel Craig in the role prior to that (I had been rooting for runner-up Henry Cavill, and anyone who’s seen him as “Charles Brandon” in the second season of Showtime’s [[[The Tudors]]] can see why).

The only thing I wasn’t a big fan of was the original, cautious, DVD release that didn’t even include an audio commentary. Naturally, everyone knew that a big special edition would eventually appear, and, following record-breaking grosses and a Blu-ray release that really put the medium on the map, this is it.

The film remains exceptional but quibbliable (some nitpick at the central, drawn-out poker game, while I cavil [if you’ll excuse the expression] at the dispassionate off-screen dispatching of the main henchmen, to be hastily replaced by some generic thugs for 007 to slaughter at the climax).

The three-DVD status of this Special Edition (tomorrow) is also questionable, since the second disc only contains the extras found on the original release, promoted to their own disc apparently to make way for the previously absent audio commentaries. Even the DVD menus aren’t particularly distinguished.

However, the approximately nine hours of new Special Features made it worth the wait. Having done forty good, bad, or ugly audio commentaries myself, I know a great one when I hear it, and Casino Royale now has two. The first, with director Martin Campbell and producer Michael Wilson, is packed with illuminating info (including that the opening was inspired by The Ipcress File and the finale by Don’t Look Now), but the second is even better.

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Review: ‘Dexter’ Episode #304

Note: Click here for last week’s victim!

The Crime Scene: “All in the Family”
From Showtime: “After a botched marriage proposal, Dexter has to figure out how to convince Rita that he is looking for more than a convenient merger of finances and fatherhood. But Deb’s case of a woman’s murdered fiancée offers hope for [[[Dexter]]] in strange ways. Meanwhile, Miguel’s brother, Ramon, is going off the rails in the hunt for their little brother Oscar’s murderer. Unfortunately, Oscar’s (supposed) murderer was killed by Dexter Morgan, and that’s something he desperately wants to keep secret.”

Blood Spatter Analysis
Dexter‘s latest installment, titled “[[[All in the Family]]],” gives the audience its first opportunity to really check in on all of the show’s leading characters. Be it LaGuerta, Masuka or Dexter himself, no stone is left unturned, offering the season’s first ensemble driven episode.

This week, Dexter struggles with two different dilemmas. Dexter and Rita’s announcement of their pregnancy is met with a mixed reaction from Astor and Cody. Cody is psyched to have Dexter as a dad, but Astor is upset that the couple isn’t getting married first. Throughout the episode, Dexter tries to justify to himself the need to marry Rita, even though she makes it clear that she’s not looking for an engagement ring. After a string of events, including Rita getting fired from her job, Dexter makes an official proposal to his girlfriend, essentially asking her entire family to marry him. Now engaged, Dexter’s likely to find that the complications between his relationship and his murderous habit will only get more complicated when marriage enters the picture. The look on Dexter’s face at the episode’s conclusion indicates that he has an idea of just how hairy his situation is going to get.

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Review: ‘Incredible Hulk’ DVD

025195039918-z-incrdcrfu-21-2312374Ang Lee’s [[[Hulk]]] film failed because he spent too much time on the Jekyll/Hyde aspects, the very ones that inspired Stan Lee.  After all these years, people wanted to see the Hulk leap and smash things.  When he leapt, we cheered, but there just wasn’t enough of it.

Director Louis Leterrier achieved a far better balance in this year’s [[[Incredible Hulk]]] which builds on the mythos while firmly settling into the new Marvel Cinema Universe. He wisely covers the obligatory origin materials during the title sequence and then gives us a story.

Unfortunately, the story just wasn’t as gripping as we had hoped.  The film, arriving Tuesday on DVD, is largely the Army hunting the Hulk as Bruce Banner searches for a cure.  While that worked fine in the 12-page [[[Tales to Astonish]]] stories, it’s not nearly enough for a feature film.  The biggest problem with Zak Snyder’s story is that the Super Soldier formula that is now linked to the Hulk and the Abomination is clearly able to turn people into weapons of mass destruction and all the military sees is a weapon.  Not a single person in uniform saw it as anything else and frankly, we’ve seen this theme before and done better elsewhere.

The notion that Emil Blonsky is a soldier towards the end of his career, with nothing to lose, and therefore more than willing to become the Abomination is a nice way to integrate the character from the comics to the film.  But, he’s as single-minded as everyone else in the story, which is a shame.

Penn’s script lifts the Mr. Blue character from Bruce Jones’ celebrated run on the title but reveals him to be Dr. Samuel Sterns, and frankly, I just didn’t buy their connection or the way Sterns suddenly switches from dedicated scientist to Colin Clive in [[[Frankenstein]]]. The fact that in the comics Stearns evolves into the Leader complete with big green head means he’s around should the movie franchise continue so hopefully he’ll be rounded out.

As presented, Leterrier’s film is pretty much A to B to C with pauses for Hulking out and destroying things until the climactic fight in Harlem.  I’ve certainly seen worse, but had hoped for something better considering [[[Iron Man]]], released just weeks prior, showed that serious issues could be addressed through fantastic means.
 

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Review: “Joker” HC one-shot

joker21-8422230On October 22, DC will be releasing the hardcover graphic novel Joker (originally titled [[[Joker: The Dark Knight]]]), presented to you by writer Brian Azzarello and artist Lee Bermejo. This is the same creative team who were behind the mini-series [[[Lex Luthor: Man of Steel]]], which explored the mind-set of the Metropolis multi-millionaire and touched on his justifications for why he sees himself as the necessary anti-thesis to the Last Son of Krypton.

[[[Joker]]] is a story of roughly the same note, though not narrated by the villain as Lex Luthor: Man of Steel was. In this hardcover graphic novel, the story is narrated by Jonny Frost, a two-bit hood. In an interview with Newsarama, Azzarello said that the reason for this was because the Joker’s narration couldn’t be trusted, given that he was insane, and so it was important to see it from the point of view of someone close to him.

As the tale begins, the Joker has been in Arkham for some time now and has only just now been released, legally and by the book (though how is never explained). This book plays the Joker as a gangster rather than a mass murdering psycho constantly trying to prove there is no point to life. As such, one of the major plot elements is that the Joker had several criminal operations going on when he went in and now he’s found that they have been taken over by others. To regain his criminal power and his money, the Joker begins hunting down the Gotham mobsters who have dared to dip into his operations, telling them, “I want what’s mine back.”

To help him on this quest, he grabs Killer Croc and Harley Quinn (who seems to be a mute in this story), as well as new assistant Jonny Frost, our narrator, a small-timer who admires the Joker and wants to be just like him. As the story goes on, the Joker directly challenges Two-Face, who has taken control of Gotham’s underworld while the Clown Prince of Killers has been away. And with each passing day, Jonny Frost realizes that the Joker is not a person to admire at all.

Not a bad idea. How was the execution?

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Comic Mix Six – The Six Worst Comic Book Video Games

  • Uncategorized
  • October 18, 2008

xmennesbox-9758167Comic books, admittedly, don’t have a great history when itcomes to video game adaptations.  Hell,most games based on licensed properties have a certain stigma about them.  It probably stems from the fact that theyfeel like a cheap cash-in…a way to make a quick buck on a popular fad such asmovies, TV shows, and yes, comics.  Now,that’s not to say ALL comic book games are bad, no; but the genre does have itsshare of stinkers.  Out of all thepossible crap-fests out there, these are the top six games that should never beallowed near your console of choice…EVER.

Marvel’s Uncanny X-Men– 1989: NES

Back in the heyday of the Nintendo Entertainment System,they were making games for EVERYTHING. At the time, publisher LJN held the rights to the Marvel license, andsadly, churned out turd after turd.  Oneof their biggest steaming piles was this mess, based on Marvel’s MightyMutants.  What made this game sobad?  Well, sadly, the technology of theday seems to be the biggest culprit.  Thegame took a top-down view of the action, and since there was only so much youcould show in 8-bit, character details were pretty much non-existent.  That, combined with the muddy, dirty colorsof the backgrounds and you were lucky you could see anything at all, let alonewhich character you had selected. Nothing was recognizable, despite the fact that it had a decent sized rosterselected from the books.  Thankfully, it’sone of the few bad marks on an otherwise mostly successful game franchise.

Fantastic Four – 1997:Playstation

Ugh.  When you talkabout ugly games, two system generations ago, we had some DOGS.  3D graphics were all the rage, and polygoncounts were climbing higher and higher. Sadly, they still couldn’t figure out that muddy background thing, andso stuff tended to blend together – badly. At least this time you could see what was happening…but it wasn’tpretty.  Take a tried and true gameplaystyle, affectionately known as the “beat ‘em up”, and add comic’s firstfamily.  What could go wrong?  Well, how about poor control, terrible plotand just plain shoddy gameplay?  First,the game is about the Fantastic FOUR…so you have Mr. Fantastic, InvisibleWoman, Human Torch, The Thing and…She-Hulk? Wouldn’t that be FIVE?  Then, you have repetitive, lazy combat (anormal pitfall for the “beat ‘em up”) of miscellaneous enemies that are largein number and small in variety.  Add to thatthe poor hit detection, lousy control response and just a general sense of “whybother?” and you fantfour-screen002-7432099have this mighty gem.  Fantastic,indeed.

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Review: Futurama: Bender’s Game

On the heels of The Beast with a Billion Backs comes the third installment of the four [[[Futurama]]] direct-to-dvd films in [[[Bender’s Game]]]. It’s difficult to take these movies in as “movies” because they all feel like three or four episodes strung together (in fact, that is how they will be released on Comedy Central later this year) but they all seem to have a central storyline or element that runs through the entire feature and ties everything up in the end. For this film, that element is the [[[Dungeons and Dragons]]].

The film starts off as the younger of the Planet Express staff (Cubert, Dwight and friends) are geeking out in a game of D&D and acknowledge that Bender was built without an imagination (really?). This comes back later on in the film for a bit of a [[[Wizard of Oz]]]-like twist in which the whole crew gets sucked into Bender’s imagination. The B-Story here is that Leela has anger issues and is issued a shock collar that goes off when she has a violent thought. All this and another sidestory about the Professor’s actual son (hint: it’s not Zoidberg).

The great thing about Futurama is that, unlike [[[Simpsons]]], it has whole parts of an episode where you aren’t slapping your knee with laughter, but still enjoying it for the story and characters. There were a few knee-slapping moments in Bender’s Game, but overall, the episode isn’t on par with any episode of [[[Family Guy]]]. There isn’t as much character development here as in previous films, but some great moments with each of the characters, and as mentioned; just fun to watch.

Not many names in the way of celebrity cameos here. There is a brief stint with George Tekai which was quite funny, and friend of the series Rich Little stops by, but nothing like David Cross or Brittany Murphy of the previous movies. Though there is plenty for fans of fantasy RPG to get their jollies off, there is very little references to previous Futurama episodes. [[[Bender’s Big Score]]] was riddled with nods to the series, and even the last film had lots of in-jokes for the more diehard fans. Gary Gygax gets a mention at the end of the film, with a clip from his cameo on an older episode after the credits which is nice, considering how much of a role D&D has in the film.

Overall, this is probably the weakest of the Futurama features, with the least amount of characters and knee-slapping moments (no appearance by Zapf and one line from Calculon). The features on the DVD are worth the buy alone though, with bloopers from the voice actors, tons of featurettes, and even a Character Fusion Machine. Worth a buy for fans of the series, but don’t expect Bender’s Big Score. Rating: 6/10

Buy Futurama: Bender’s Game on DVD and Blu-Ray on November 8th!

Review: ‘Fringe’ Episode #105

Note: Click here for the last mystery!

Autopsy Report: “Power Hungry”
From Fox: “When it’s discovered that a rather simple man has the ability to harness electricity, dangerous and deadly occurrences follow, and our unlikely trio investigates this super-charged oddity. Meanwhile, Olivia has a high-voltage encounter of a different kind when she is rocked by a blast from her past, and Dr. Bishop turns to his feathered friends and enlists homing pigeons to help him break the case.”

Doctor’s Notes
Hot off the heels of Fringe‘s best episode to date comes its worst. “Power Hungry” is a boring, by-the-numbers procedural that weakly nods its head to the previous installment. Just as [[[Fringe]]] proved its merit as innovating and captivating in “The Arrival,” this episode displays just how boring the high concept show can get.

In the episode, the Fringe crew pursues Joseph Meegar, a man who can discharge high amounts of electricity due to the experiments enacted on him by a scientist named Jacob Fischer. Meanwhile, Olivia deals with the ramifications of her strange visions of former lover John Scott, who is thought to be dead. By episode’s end, Walter reveals that part of John’s consciousness is actually stuck in Olivia’s brain as a result of their mind-melding in the series pilot. Mystery solved.

We’ll save you the trouble by answering the obvious question: Yes, that’s really all that happens this episode in terms of any plot movement. It’s true that John literally being inside of Liv’s head is fairly unique, but the whole figment-of-the-imagination thing has been beaten to death before. The fact that “The Arrival” concludes with John Scott showing up at Olivia’s home is resolved by him being a mental projection is very boring. Maybe it would’ve more exciting if the previous episode’s ending didn’t hinge on the reveal, but it did. As a result, the answer is wholly unsatisfying, as the mystery behind why Massive Dynamic has Scott’s body ends up being a completely separate entity.

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Guggenheim talks ‘Green Lantern’

  • News
  • October 14, 2008

There’s been a lot of talk about new, darker toned movies being made of DC Comics properties based on the success of The Dark Knight. That’s had one aisle of comic fans pretty psyched, as the more mature direction of Batman’s big screen adventures have definitely upped the gravitas factor. On the other hand, not every character lends itself to a "dark tone," such as the impending Superman relaunch.

Luckily, it sounds like Green Lantern is going to shine through the blackest night for a full on "respectful approach to the character [of Hal Jordan, and] a loving approach to the entire mythos."

That’s according to Marc Guggenheim, the writer of the upcoming Lantern feature. He spoke to Newsarama about the film’s progress, saying that "it’s pretty far along." The television producer and part-time comic book writer has worked on the script with Greg Berlanti and Michael Green.

"We’re reasonably deep into [Green Lantern]," he tells the website. "I’m never really comfortable publicly commenting on the movie because unlike the TV show, I’m just one of three writers and I’ve sworn a blood oath to secrecy. But we’re in the thick of it. We’re moving along at a pretty hefty clip."

And, according to Guggenheim, the alleged "revamp" of DC film properties hasn’t effected Hal Jordan in the slightest.

"I know a lot’s been made in newspapers and magazines about a revamping of DC’s approach," says Guggenheim. "That hasn’t been my sense. Maybe a focusing; maybe a ratcheting up of pace and energy. Whatever it’s been, it really hasn’t affected this project in the least. All the drafts have come in on schedule. All the notes have been the same kind of notes that we would have gotten in the absence of any ‘revamping.’"

Guggenheim tries not to pay attention the rumors and speculation about the project, but couldn’t avoid hearing the biggest rumor of ’em all: Ryan Gosling as Hal Jordan.

"I read that online," Guggenheim says. "As one of the writers, I’m not really involved in the day-to-day pre-production on it all. But I think it would be pretty amazing [casting.] I’ll go on record saying that."

Regardless of how the production aspect shakes out, there’s no question that it’s a wonderful time for comics on film.

"The kind of summer we just had, with movies like Iron Man and Dark Knight, makes a fertile marketplace for all comic book movies," Guggenheim says. "the timing could not have been better for us with [Green Lantern]."

Earlier this month, Latino Review scooped that Green Lantern was aiming for a 2010 release date. By all accounts, it looks like Hal Jordan will be on time for lift off.

Giggenheim and Berlanti’s Eli Stone has its second season debut on ABC tongiht.

Review: ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’

Sitting in the darkened screening room at Paramount Pictures that early May day in 1981, I had no idea what I was about to experience.  Working at Starlog at the time, I thought we were pretty much aware of everything cool that was coming from Hollywood.  But we knew little about this thing called [[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]].  Then we watched it.

An homage to the action serials of the 1930s and 1940s, director Steven Spielberg and producer George Lucas combined their best skills to produce something iconic and fresh at the same time.  They also did what has become increasingly difficult ever since – create an interesting character from scratch.  Sure, Indy is one of a long line of adventurers dating back to Allan Quatermain if not further back, but still, he was new and cool.

Ever subsequent Indy film has been measured against the original and found wanting. I missed [[[Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull]]] when it opened in May so sat with the DVD, on sale today, and was curious to see what sort of experience this would be. After all, the buzz over the summer that while good, it was ultimately a disappointment after waiting so many years.

I was entertained.  The movie wisely moved to the 1950s to reflect the passage of time and evoke an entirely new feeling.  As a result, the Roswell setting, the Crystal Skull possibly being an alien, etc. was all appropriate as was the arrival of the Cold War nemesis, successors to the Nazis for storytelling fodder.

However, Spielberg and Lucas got too cute from the get-go with the Caddyshack-like gopher  popping up as we began the story.  While winks to those no longer with us, such as Marcus Brody were fine at Indy’s home, the statue’s head striking a blow was unnecessary.  While immediately understanding the locale from John Williams’ evocative score, we didn’t need to see the Ark.  Too many winks at the expense of good storytelling.

More should have been done to examine Indy at a point in his life when he was getting a little old of adventure and his life was filled with missed opportunities.   Mutt being his son was telegraphed from the get-go and was totally without nuance.  Marion arrives too late for my taste, trades quips but seems to accept the passage of time with a smile and far more forgiveness than she showed in the first film.  Her spunk and edge, which made her extremely fascinating in Raiders was all scrubbed away, making her likeable and far less compelling.  Thankfully, Karen Allen has aged as gracefully as Harrison Ford and they still have some great screen chemistry.

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Review: ‘Beauty and the Beast’ The Complete Series

batb-s1-3-dvd-front-3128808In 1987, television was evolving.  Thanks to [[[Hill Street Blues]]], the way dramatic stories were presented became more complex, the storytelling more diverse and the stories more compressed. The subject matter was also starting to broaden, moving beyond cops, lawyers and doctors.  It was just before the SF wave kicked off with [[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]] but that didn’t stop CBS from trying something a little different.

On a Friday night, September 25, 1987, audiences were treated to a different look at the classic [[[Beauty and the Beast]]] tale.  The series starred Ron Perlman as Vincent, the beast, a mutant of some sort, who comes to the rescue of Linda Hamilton’s Catherine, a rich girl turned assistant district attorney.  Their connection became the stuff of fairy tale and from that pilot episode, their fates became inextricable.

It had all the lush romance of a Harlequin book and the action to keep spouses by their side.  The series had its ups and downs, making a star out of Hamilton who left the series after just two seasons, derailing the eternal romance. Jo Anderson was brought in for the third season but that, coupled with CBS’s insistence on increased action for the males, hurt and the series came to an end in January 1990 (although the final two were run that summer).  Its 56 episodes remain a testament to the creative vision of creator Ron Koslow and fantasist George R.R. Martin who wound up penning 13 of the episodes.

Paramount Home Video has released a 16-disc box set of the complete series and it shows its age.  Beauty and the Beast has the look and feel of the 1980s without fully embracing the changing storytelling in television. The storytelling is slow, almost plodding at times, and each week they seemed to focus on some new social ill without really offering long-term solutions.  The threats were fairly standard stuff for the most part, intertwined with the poetry between the characters.  Complete with lush music, long, lingering gazes into character’s eyes, it was truly a romance novel brought to the screen.

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