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4-27-2010
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May, as you might know, is a sweeps month where all your favorite television shows bust out the guest stars, cliffhangers and, quite regularly, off someone that you may or may not care about. The other thing that May is famous for are the upfronts; meetings held by the various networks where they announce show renewals and cancellations as well as Fall pilots and advertising rates.
But, we don't always have to wait till the end of May to hear good news about some of our favorite shows. Yesterday, for example, there was an excellent announcement from TNT that they picked up a third season of "Southland" which apparently had a successful second season on the network after NBC dropped them.
The CW network is really out in front of things also and I can say I'm really happy with early renewals for "Smallville" and "Supernatural," which I just got done catching up on a couple weeks ago.
Unfortunately, all is not good news, "Legend of the Seeker," a cult fantasy hit, got the ax and there won't be a third season.
There are a lot of other shows that are up in the air also, including "V," "Human Target," "Flashforward, " and "Chuck."
4-26-2010
"Outstanding"
Just as with Kick-Ass, comic book movies no longer need to have superhero stars like Batman, Spider-Man or Superman. This past weekend we got The Losers, based on Vertigo's series by Andy Diggle and Jock which ran from 2003 - 2006.
The film stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldana, Chris Evans, Idris Elba, Columbus Short, Oscar Jaenada and Jason Patric.
Clay (Morgan) is a colonel in charge of a special ops team that works for the CIA. They're sent to Bolivia to take out a drug lord but get cold feet when a busload of kids shows up. Clay tries to call off the impending air strike but their CIA handler, the shadowy Max (Patric), overrides the call on the field.
Clay orders his team into the compound to rescue the children but Max pays him back for this indiscretion by shooting down the helicopter sent for the team's extraction. Unfortunately, the team had loaded the kids onto the helo and they were all killed. Clay and the team decide to lay low, letting Max and the military believe they're dead, until Aisha (Saldana) seeks out Clay and offers him a way back to the States and an opportunity for revenge against Max.
The Losers has all the requisite ass kicking that you want in a good action film. The plot is pretty straightforward, kill Max. While most of the film moves towards that point there are some things happening on the side, mostly showing Max ruthlessly trying to obtain a next gen weapon which he can use to destabilize the world and help the US reestablish its position as the world's super power.
The acting works well as everyone balances the seriousness of a good action film with some of the campy elements that you get from something based on a comic. Evans, as Jensen, gets some of the best comedic lines and while he's likable, there were times it felt as though he was channeling Ryan Reynolds. Zoe Saldana has had some fine drama and comedic roles in the past, but with Star Trek and Avatar, and now The Losers, she finds herself with a decent action resume.
Idris Elba, Roque, and Coumbus Short, Pooch, both have action film chops and are no strangers to films based on comics. Short was in Whiteout in 2009 and Elba will play Heimdall in the Thor movie which is filming now. Jaenada, Cougar, who is from Spain hasn't been in anything I've seen before but his role, as the team's ice cold sniper, wouldn't have been much of a stretch for anyone.
It was also nice to see Jason Patric in a film again. This is the first time I've seen him since 2004's The Alamo and, trying to forget the terrible Speed 2, probably only the second project I've seen him in since the classic, The Lost Boys. I've been a fan of Morgan's since his role as John Winchester on "Supernatural," but his turn as The Comedian in last year's Watchmen really showed what he could do in an action film.
Sylvian White, who was directing for only the fifth time, did a decent job with the action portions of the film. The movie had some components mixed in that reminded you it was a comic book film, but it wasn't over the top and I thought it added some character. Peter Berg shows he's still a triple threat (acting, directing, writing) by penning the screenplay with James Vanderbilt (The Rundown, Basic and the upcoming Spider-Man restart).
Overall this was a decent action film with plenty of shooting, kicking and shit blowing up. The ending, there is one, doesn't close the door on a sequel, but the lack of a crowd at the theater Friday might. I didn't like The Losers as much as Kick-Ass but it's fun. You certainly don't need to see this in theaters, so save your $10 and wait for the DVD and a cold night this Fall. I'll slice off an extra half wheel of cheddar for Saldana's near nakedness and give The Losers three and a half wheels.
4-17-2010
There'll be no living with them after this
"Them" being the Apple devoted. Due to the volcanic eruption in Iceland grounding all air traffic into and out of Europe, the Norwegian prime minister is stuck in the US, and he's running his country with Apple's iPad.
Of course, after all the press about what the iPad can't do, now it'll forever be the computer that could run a country. Now, I'm sure he's not doing anything with that iPad that I couldn't do from my netbook, but a blue Acer with a keyboard is not as sexy as a touch screen Apple. Just like, sure, you'd sleep with Hilary Duff but we all know you'd rather bang Angelina Jolie.
4-16-2010
Kicks Major Ass!
I hadn't heard much about this new film Kick-Ass until about two or three months ago when the slow burn up to this weekends release started. Based on a comic by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr., Kick-Ass is about an ordinary teen who, after wondering why nobody in this world of comic fans has ever tried to become a superhero, becomes a superhero.
Aaron Johnson plays Dave Lizewski, a stereotypical high school geek who reads comics, is bullied by the cool kids, is invisible to the girl he likes, Lyndsy Fonseca's Katie, and generally keeps to himself while hanging out with his best friends, Todd (Evan Peters) and Marty (Clark Duke).
After being mugged on the way home from the local comic shop, Dave decides that he could become a superhero and protect others like himself from the bullies and thugs in his home town, New York City. Unfortunately, that does not go well. On his first outing as superhero Kick-Ass, complete with a dive suit costume, Dave finds himself knifed in the stomach and hit by a car.
A body full of metal plates and screws later, plus some nerve damage that leaves him dulled to pain, Dave redoubles his efforts as Kick-Ass. A chance encounter with three thugs on the street leads to a camera phone video on YouTube which becomes a viral hit. Overnight Kick-Ass is a city-wide phenomenon and Dave starts a website where he can take requests to help others.
Meanwhile, Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong) has his own superhero problem. A caped and masked man has been taking out low level thugs in D'Amico's drug business. That hero is Damon Macready, played by Nicolas Cage, a disgraced police officer who spent five years in prison thanks to a D'Amico-arranged frame job. After his release, Macready regained custody of his daughter Mindy, played by Chloe Moretz, and set about planning his revenge, the downfall of Frank D'Amico and his organization. Joined by his daughter who he educated in weapons and martial arts, Damon and Mindy form the duo of Big Daddy and Hit-Girl.
Kick-Ass first crosses paths with Big Daddy and Hit-Girl when he goes to the apartment of a thug named Rasul, who is a dealer in D'Amico's organization. After Hit-Girl saves Kick-Ass, they agree that they should stay in touch in case they need to work together again. Unfortunately, this encounter also puts Kick-Ass on D'Amico's radar as his larger profile leads to D'Amico believing he's responsible for the problems he's been having.
Eager to be part of his father's organization, Chris D'Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) hatches a plan to capture Kick-Ass; one that leads him to create his own superhero persona, Red Mist, to gain the trust of Kick-Ass.
With all the players in place, the film races towards its climax where the superheroes face off against the villains in classic comic book style. The pace of the film is rather fast even though it only has about two hours to introduce all the characters and develop the plot. Much of this is accomplished in voiceover by Dave which strikes a balance for the film.
The screenplay was written by Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn, who also directed. The story differs from the comic book in several places but many of the major themes and characters remain, if slightly renamed from the book. The comic is an ongoing series with eight or nine books out now but the film does have an ending. I think that if this movie does as well as I think it's going to, we'll see a sequel, but if we don't it can stand on its own.
The acting is excellent with all the actors turning in solid performances. Aaron Johnson does a good job portraying both Dave and Kick-Ass but the standout of the film is probably 13-year-old Chloe Moretz. While I'm sure much of it is done by stunt double, she's still tasked with a lot of action moves in the film as well as some of the raunchiest language and cutting one-liners.
Cage, who can be odd and overbearing in his roles, plays Damon with subtlety and creates an interesting and somewhat geeky character. This is at odds with the cool violence he unleashes as Big Daddy. I really liked his performance in this movie and think it's one of his better jobs since 8MM.
The directing and special effects in the film were mostly well done. There are a couple of scenes where the action is so fast and quickly cut that you miss out on some of the excellent choreography that went into them, but I'm not going to deduct any points for it. The action is hard core at times but is cut with a lot of humor, both of which left the audience I was with cheering throughout the film.
Kick-Ass isn't your typical superhero film like Iron Man, which drops in three weeks, but it's decidedly "comic" in it's origins; the hero that takes on the villains because of a sense of duty, honor and belief in justice for those less fortunate.
I have not read the comic that this film is based on, but if the film is half as good as the comic, or vise versa, then you really can't go wrong with either story. I'd have to kick my own ass if I gave this film anything less than a full five wheels of cheddar out of five.
4-1-2010
April Fools' Day
This year I'm skipping the the standard April Fools' Day joke and instead I'll be getting ready to kick off the 2010 movie season by going to see Clash of the Titans this weekend.
2-27-2010
Snow Day
We've mostly dodged the snow this winter but got bitch slapped on Friday; we had over a foot of snow and the way it drifted, it made even getting out the door a pain in the ass. Getting the car unstuck took a bit, but in the end our office was closed so, 3 day weekend.
2-11-2010
Sad Day
Haven't posted in a while and, unfortunately, I didn't fire up the editor under happier times. It was sad news yesterday to hear that Phil Harris, captain of the crab fishing boat the Cornelia Marie, passed away.
If you have ever watched "The Deadliest Catch" on the Discovery channel then you would know Captain Phil; tattooed, rough around the edges, but endlessly likeable. He captained his boat with old school knowhow and modern technology, and played father two his crew, which included sons Jake and Josh.
Of all the captains, Phil was one of my favorites along with the Hillstrand brothers. Back in 2008, while at sea, Phil suffered a blood clot that travelled through his heart and ended up in his lung. He survived and made a comeback last season, captaining his boat once again. Unfortunately, even with medication, Phil suffered a stroke in January and passed this week.
It seems odd to miss someone that you've never met, but since it's reality TV, and having watched "The Deadliest Catch" since its debut, along with the "After the Catch" interviews, you do get to know the guys. It'll be bittersweet to watch the show this summer but I hope that Discovery will pay tribute to the captain.
You'll be missed, Captain Phil.