Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Marvel reclaims Daredevil

Posted by admin On August - 24 - 2012

Emancipated: Daredevil is finally back in Marvel’s hands. Could be the start of a new line of Marvel movies that are darker and more gritty. (art by Maleev)

 

Now that Marvel studios has reclaimed the rights to Daredevil, can fans expect horn head to be assimilated into the Avengers? Not so fast. While comic book fans are familiar with the fact writer Brian Michael Bendis bringing Matt Murdock into the Avengers I believe Marvel might have bolder plans for the costumed crime fighter.

 

Writers Frank Miller, Brian Michael Bendis, & Ed Brubaker have kept the tradition of Daredevil’s darkest tales but the talents of Mark Waid who has successfully balanced action, adventure and integrated DD’s street life with the Marvel Universe.

Frank Miller’s Daredevil set the tone for gritty street level heroes from which a lot of different marvel heroes could easily fit into. Marvel heroes such as Luke Cage: Hero for Hire, Iron Fist, Shang-Chi, the Punisher, Moon Knight, and Black Panther could be part of a secondary wheel of more modest budgeted movies with a PG-13 rating that rides the line between super hero and vigilante.

 

Shaft meets Ali: Luke Cage was a ground breaking character who had a criminal background but found himself a changed man. Can a DD movie inspire Marvel’s next movie to have a black character as the lead?

The best themes of Daredevil dealt with Matt Murdock’s inner turmoil, which director would be best suited to capture the martial arts savy of DD and the blind faith of a troubled man?

 

Can you hear me now: McNaughton’s Taken is the hottest action film director today. He can add one more feather to his cap with Daredevil if Marvel gives him a chance.

Pierre Morel: Taken, The Transporter, Before Sunset

Blood Sport: Director Gareth Evans turned violence into an art form in the Raid: Redemption.

 

Gareth Evans: The Raid, Redemption, Footsteps

Luck of the Irish: Director Philip Noyce understood the obsessive conflicted nature of the Irish as a benefit and a hazard.

 

Philip Noyce: Patriot Games, Salt, the Bone Collector

 

Helter Skelter: Director John McNaughton with Michael Rooker captured the de-stabilized mind of a serial killer.

: Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer, Mad Dog and Glory, Lansky, Wild Things

NYCC 2011 Retrospect Part 3

Posted by admin On August - 14 - 2012

Drawing Lines: 2011 saw video game industry exert its muscle towering over the Comic book booths like skyline of NYC. The effect gives credence to hybrid geeks and nerds. Good or bad? Depends on your interests.

NYCC 2011 Retrospective Part 3: One Old Comic Book Fan’s Opinion by Ronald Hugh Pollock

For over thirty years, I’ve collected comic books. I spent my Summers at my aunt’s flat in Brookline, Boston during the late 70s to early 80s. My cousin Joey attended Boston College for undergrad and he took me to my first comic book store. I don’t remember the name of the first comic book store I stepped into with my cousin Joey. I remember the smell of stale newsprint and endless rows of comic books. Every thing felt old, worn, and faded. My first book bought by my cousin Joey in Boston. It was Wolverine #1 (limited series). I also bought Daredevil #183 and Invincible Iron Man #100.

Saturday Night Fever: Thanks to several hundred friendly exhibitionists, Cosplay has delivered the Disney effect to Comic Cons that 20 yrs ago was virtually nonexistent except for Star Wars. Where else can Optimus Prime break dance for free?

Back in Detroit ,  I discovered a comic book store, Comic Kingdom was open a few blocks away from where I went to school. My routine was set after 2nd grade. I would walk and buy a slice at the local pizza parlor that had 5 inch thick bullet proof glass ceiling to floor, drop my money in the metal box, and then the slice would appear, go two doors down where iron bars covered the doors, windows of the shop and added Avengers, Batman, Superman, and Justice League of America to my reading list. The owner reeked of alcohol. Didn’t deter me, all I wanted was on those shelves. The stack of books I would buy for $5 would keep me entertained for days. Couldn’t wait for the next week. Over the years, the shops have changed but the routine remains the same. Today every Weds at 0800, I wait outside Midtown comics branch on Fulton Street to open for my books.

 

Star Power: Feeling a part of the Con is an integral part of the experience.

My first Comic Con cost $6. It had maybe 1-2 signings and vendors selling back issues, bootlegs to Japanese anime on bootleg that were on beta. VHS was more expensive and rare. Laser Discs were the most commercially successful at the time. There were very, very few women per 100 nerds and geeks. No “Cosplay” or costume play kids were in attendance. If you didn’t know better it was a retiree party with no music or pulse but zombies moving around from table to table with a few dollars to haggle.

Magic Carpet Ride: Wonder what would nerds and geeks would say today if they looked at what comic conventions were.

 

Times have definitely changed. Comic Cons are the modern day State Fair. They cater to the modern nerd or geeks, which are hybrids of the purists that I grew up with. Hybrids are like Midwesterners at a buffet table of geeks that spent their money on a percentage of interests. Video games, movies, TV shows, blu-ray, costumed dating games, and card games have eaten into the amount of disposable income available for comic book creators. In 10 yrs, I have to wonder if comic books will even be sold at these massive entertainment extravaganzas that are coming more like mini film festivals. No longer a convention for the socially inadequate, mainstreaming has embraced comic books and it’s marketed as something anyone and every one can feel perfectly normal. In a way, that takes away the intimate feelings the die hards enjoy. One wonders what will happen of the last remaining rag tag group of misfits?

 

Rock Stars: Celebs are unaccustomed to rabid NYers who like to challenge and interrogate the privileged. The expression on Doc’s face when a question asked, “What did you do as real jobs? (before you hit it big)” was priceless but when the audience isn’t into it, a panel fails to bring the audience into the conversation.

The best way for an old school comic collector is to share his experiences with friends old and new. It’s no longer how much you can buy, get for free, or exclusively share or own. It’s learning about how the new generation enjoyed their experiences to keep this oasis of fantasy.

Geek becomes sheik: Enjoying company and exchanging experiences, building memories is the BEST way to enjoy Comic con.

NYCC 2011: Retrospective

Posted by admin On August - 12 - 2012

Rock Stars: Annual Walking Dead panel continues to grow at NYCC but no longer the sole headliner as the Avengers and a rash of video games previewed have transformed the largest purist con into a state fair of geek buffet.

NYCC 2011 Retrospective Part 1: Times are a Changing by Ronald H. Pollock

Every morning at 0715 at Midtown comics, I stand with 4 middle aged men of various successful professions discuss comics. We don’t know anything of each other. We only discuss comics. It’s our unwritten rule. The days of purists are over as “Comic Cons” have become less and less about comics and more of a modern state fair. It’s a reflection of the times, geeks are hybrids of hobbies. Is it better direction? Perhaps for the survival of Comic Con it is but every movement has consequences.

Are video games the key to adapting comic book arcs for purists? If Batman Arkham Asylum series is any indication, it’s the key to the introduction and survival of American story-telling for a new generation.

As NYCC grows and grows, 2011 Comic Convention noticeably shifted more towards media entertainment. The massive billboards, banners, and sets for the franchises of Mass Effect, Max Payne, Uncharted, and Star Wars respectively overshadowed the comic book industry on the main floor like the Towers from Lord of the Rings. Indicative of the times changing. What are Comic Cons today and what does that mean for fans new and old? Is it all bad for the comic book industry or is there something mutually beneficial?

There is No School like the Old School:

The comic book equivalent of Detroit’s Big Three in the American Auto Industry, Marvel and DC resumed their annual dominance, jockeying for position during their expose’ panels. For the 2nd year in row, DC acknowledged and addressed their solution to problems in an industry that has noticeable age lines and receding hair. Fortunately nerds and geeks have maintained their affinity for the elderly who still have stories to tell.

Double Dragons: Jim Lee (left) & Geoff Johns (right) architects of the DCU relaunch new 52 that once again, one upped Marvel comics in creating buzz, controversy, and dissension amongst fans.

In 2010 at NYCC DC addressed rising cost of comic books and launched their “hold the line” campaign. At the cost of 2 pages of pay per issue, all DC titles were kept to $2.99 in an effort to increase or maintain # of units sold. To build on top of “Hold the Line” DC followed up in 2012 with new 52 relaunch. Citing problems with new readers finding it extremely hard to afford a library of knowledge built on stories harkening back to their grandfather, the new 52 relaunch was a call to shorter arcs, less dialogue driven and more artist oriented visual language, and new entry way points with a tweaked characterization that a new facet could be constructed. Most importantly the new 52 gave comic shops the option of refunding certain titles if their sales dipped below a set market value. Unfortunately I found roughly 12 of initial 52 titles to be new reader friendly: Action Comics, Aquaman, Animal Man, Batman, Batman & Robin, The Flash, Green Lantern, Justice League Dark, I Vampire, OMAC, Swamp Thing, and Wonder Woman. Many of the titles suffered from opaque writing styles that either tried too hard to reinvent the wheel or were just plain ugly. Regardless overall sentiment from the fans was positive. While such a bold move, won’t stop collectors from hording free copies like pigs at a trough when the floor opens in the morning each day at Comic Con, I appreciated that DC recognized the elephant in the room.

On the other hand, like a MAC Expo Marvel continued to push forward their new products without blinking or bowing to negativity. They accentuated on the positives, most notably the success of Marvel Studios, the fresh take on a biracial Spider-man and its implications on the industry, and its next releases without any concern over their rising cost or books and products. The excess seemed clear to me, Marvel believed kids have no less disposable income than before. I couldn’t disagree with their methods. Marvel’s business model “Give the fans whatever they want, they’ll spend their money” hasn’t shown to be faulty by their sales records. If Venom or the Scarlet Spider sells 5 times more than secondary character driven titles, why would any businessman deny an addict their methadone in print? The only consequence being, older fans like myself who have collected comics over 30 years felt a little alienated by all the sudden, whimsical changes for the sake of movies that have no consideration for continuity. Their methodology was abrasive but poignant. Counting down to NYCC 2012, once again Marvel boldly shakes up the team rosters of both Avengers and X-men titles. Will this rude shake up detract collectors or their loyalty? Don’t count on it.

What me worry? Quietly, Robert Kirkman and Image comics continues to be the most progressive comic book company in the business, proving the business model you don’t have to draw the largest % of the market but the most loyal.

Lost in the shuffle for who can over saturate the market with Batman and/or Spider-man titles, Image Comics continues to be the most unsung progressive comic book publisher operating today. In 2010 Image comics pushed the envelope with more strong female protagonists in their line of comics. The additions of Hack and Slash and Shinku complimented the heroines in the Walking Dead, Bomb Queen, and Morning Glories. In 2011, Blair Butler crossed the lines of journalism to help promote the freedom of owner driven comics with Heart. The additions of Scott Snyder’s (Batman) Severed, Nick Spencer (Thunder AGENTS) and Kirkman’s (Walking Dead) Thief of Thieves, Johnathan Hickman’s (Fantastic Four) Manhattan Projects and Teeth, and Ed Brubaker’s (Criminal, Captain America) Fatale and upcoming Grant Morrison project will make 2012 Image panel to arguably be the most star studded since the company began more than 20 years ago.

Amazing Spider-man

Posted by admin On August - 12 - 2012

A Beautiful Mind: Andrew Garfield is Peter Parker, a troubled young genius trying to do right during a difficult time in his life.

In the repetitious competitive theme of superhero orphans, the 2nd most renown has to be Peter Parker but it’s only in the Amazing Spider-man do we have a definitive sense of what kind of stock he came from. Most people on the planet know the story of how Spider-man’s unique talents emerged but few know the story about his parents. Director of 500 Days of Summer Marc Webb explored extensively the psyche of Peter Parker to answer the questions concerning where his inquisitive/instinctive scientific mind was derived from, how his emotional attachment and sarcasm was expressed by his internalized expression of anger. Director Marc Webb gave us insight into the young man behind the mask and Spider-man is an after thought until the last third of the film.

 

Actor Andrew Garfield was the latest actor who wore the Spider-man mask. His Peter Parker was more of a sullen, downtrodden young Travis Bickle until his love interest Gwen Stacy played by Emma Stone channeled the complexity of a Marc Webb script that relied heavily on awkward situations, subtle body language, and timing. Their chemistry in the second act epitomized the strengths of Webb’s talents that being young love.

 

The flaws of the film began to cascade once Garfield suited up in the third act to battle the lizard. The leaping transition from a self centered angst ridden teenager bent on revenge to selfless humanitarian outlaw, risking his life wasn’t as secure a grasp for Webb. The Lizard’s clunky plot didn’t make a lick of sense especially after he left Oscorp to set up an open lab in the NY sewer. Webb tried to flex that super hero/NY urban myth camp in that scene but it came off as tacked on. Peter’s compelling need to be the better man was  implied expression of the infamous “With Great power comes great responsibility” line. What was distilled from the equation was the fun of being Spider-man. The swinging became monotonous. Every scene seemed mandatory to get to the end.

 

By the end, The Amazing Spider-man was an improvement over its Raimi predecessor as a Peter Parker origin not as a Spider-man origin. That will hopefully elicit itself in the second film where we’ll finally find out what the Oscorp minion in the limo was going to tell a dying Norman Osborn.

 

The Amazing Spider-man rates a pint of dark beer that isn’t guzzled but rather nursed along in intervals.

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter

Posted by admin On August - 12 - 2012

Clear and Present Danger: Before he healed the nation, Abraham Lincoln was an axe wielding sociopath by night that paved his way to law school.

Review coming soon…

Prometheus

Posted by admin On August - 12 - 2012

Scream Queen: Noomi Rapace as Dr. Elizabeth Shaw searches the cosmos for a metaphysical connection to God and finds something entirely different from what she was hoping for.

 

Like the Depeche Mode song Black Celebration, human beings search the stars for the scientific explanation of God and paid a horrific price in Ridley Scott’s Prometheus.

 

Not a direct sequel to Alien, Scott created a stunning look to a very average story running congruent to its franchise cousin, alien. In this film, the story revolved around the Space Jockey race that left an iconic space crypt in the famous scene in Alien that left lingering questions for the next 25 yrs. While Scott answers some of the questions of the Jockey’s purpose, it’s writer Damon Lindelof, famous for Lost and Star Trek that adds more questions to the list. How far you’re willing to search for your answers may lead to arguing with your friends regarding the film’s interpretation of genetic recombination and evolution of organic technology. All roads seemed to point to life as the ultimate biological weapon that the Jockeys wielded like gods but what happens when God fails?

 

That’s where the movie switched tracks and the horror element felt forced and pedestrian at best. After 45 minutes of the most intriguing components of space exploration, the trigger that excelerated the film to its third act was nothing more than an act of stupidity none of which was convincing. Alas what came after was elementary.

 

The heart and soul of Prometheus is the theories where science and faith intertwine. Similar territory in Contact but with much more dire consequences.

 

Noomi Rapace

The Avengers

Posted by admin On August - 11 - 2012

The A-team: When the going gets tough, Robert Downey Jr & company get going in the Avengers.

The Avengers Review by Ronald H. Pollock
When the Norse god of thunder’s mis-behaving step-brother Loki, god of mischief returns to Earth armed with a mind control infinity gem, a ruthless alien army, and swipes an artifact of immearsurable power, the hand of a American super spy Nick Fury, director of SHIELD was forced to assemble a freaky Homeland Security version of neighborhood watch, called the Avengers.

The movie itself wasn’t far from the initial concept that Marvel sold for 12 cents back in 1963. Discovering a new way to market some of their landmark characters from various titles by creating an All-Star team to boost sales even further. That business model hasn’t changed a bit today. Marvel studios produced individual character driven films starring Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America to construct/develop this fantastical comic book world of heroes. The Avengers is the culmination of all these character driven films, now under one roof.

In the past studios, fans and the media have always talked about a super hero team movie but it has been very hard to fathom this possibility because technology, character introduction and development, story, and tone always seemed to be a bridge too far. For long suffering comic book fans ages 35+ a “good” super hero team film was a difficult have faith because of a long history of misfires and horrific attempts. So it’s no surprise that there was an underlying feeling of skepticism.

Director Joss Whedon credited as the father of fan driven TV shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, and Dollhouse did arguably the best job any director could have done. He captured the tone without cheesy winks to the camera, gave all the headliners their due while getting the most out of secondary characters such as the Black Widow, made the third actor to play Hulk relevant, and placed his faith in Tom Hiddelson as Loki to serve as the chain, grease, and spit to all of these moving parts.

For a thirty year comic book collector, the Avengers is the pinnacle of super hero movie making in terms of capturing the qualities of a comic book that being action, imagination and merging it with themes in more serious dramas such as empathy, acceptance, dysfunction, and emotion. It’s the emotional residual of differences put aside to serve a higher cause that inspires both comic book and non-comic book fans alike. That is a more difficult task than it looks. Nonetheless, Marvel has done what many would have said, was impossible.

The Avengers rates a fine wine of 5 yrs for fond memories, punch, and good laughs with friends.

 

The Hunger Games

Posted by admin On August - 11 - 2012

The Hunter or Hunted? Jennifer Lawrence plays the girl on fire and the eye of affection of potentially 2 suitors.

Take the military draft, TV reality game shows blender them together with sprinkles of films like Logan’s Run,  Running Man and out pours this purée called the Hunger Games.  Its been often said, its not whether or not you win or lose but how you play the game. In The Hunger Games how you play the game, translates to how you win or survive. A dystopian future that suppressed hope and change through social media culture and more importantly made a statement about how the public perceives things juxtaposed against the realities of this world.

 

Since her father died Katniss Everdeen, the film’s main patriarch developed a tom boy attitude and a temper to match. A fancy name for a not so fancy girl played by Jennifer Lawrence lived in District 10, a mining town that more closely resembled a shanty town. When her younger sister was drafted into the Olympics of death more affectionately referred to as the Hunger Games Katniss volunteered, hoping it would give her sister a chance for a longer life than hers.

 

As with any youthful, angst ridden vehicle, there must be a male foil. In the Hunger Games there are two.  One is Peeta, a bakery’s son of untapped talent and strength. He’s both Katniss’ foil and her more even keeled emotionally balanced equal. There’s nothing in the film to indicate how the son of a baker was never as Naive as Katniss about the Hunger Games in terms of how the games are won.

 

 

 

Not having Katniss’ inner thoughts.

 

The flaws of the Hunger games was never more apparent than Peeta who is supposed to be a living chameleon of personality.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Posted by sean On August - 26 - 2011

Poor Bumblebee is at a loss as to how a beloved franchise came to this.

The walking, talking junkyards, the Transformers, grace us with their return in the threequal, Transformers: Dark of the Moon.  While many have been waiting with anticipation for their next battle, all of the explosions and crashing metal fail to sugar-coat this desecrated property.

 

Michael Bay’s latest orgasm of destruction follows the Autobots’ struggle to save Earth yet again from the Decepticons, pulling in Sam Witwicky (Shia Lebeouf) and his Victoria-Secret-model girlfriend, Carly (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley) as their new fight stems from a cover-up involving the moon landing and the plan to revive the dead planet of Cybertron.

 

The plot lacks the abundant number of gaping holes that littered the previous entry, but it’s nowhere near perfect.  It’s still farfetched, even for a movie with giant robots, with the motives behind the choices of both hero and villain inconsistent and illogical, such as the Decepticons wiping humanity out despite their plan to enslave them and the Autobots allowing thousands to perish to prove a point.  However, before the film even gets to the story, Bay opens with thirty minutes of plot-irrelevant, brain-numbing humor that desperately forces you to laugh with silly gags involving cameos from John Malkovich and Ken Jeong.  On top of that, the director treats the first act like the spawn of a car and lingerie commercial, throwing in sweeping images of hot rods and zooming so closely on Huntington-Whiteley’s ass, you’re afraid the director might perform a colonoscopy.  While these are trademarks of his, it leaves little time to make Sam and Carly’s relationship seem genuine outside of him being jealous of her boss (Patrick Dempsey).

 

Of course, Bay is renowned for his expert hand at special effects, and Dark of the Moon is no different.  The CGI hits an all-time high in detail.  The robots bear a realistic gleam in their parts as well as the dents and scratches they suffer in combat, all of which blends extremely well with the on-location shots and live detonations.  At times, it is a bit difficult to take in all the work that went into the animation with the action moving at a swift pace and so much cluttered into a single frame, especially during the climactic battle, but when things slow down long enough, you can fully absorb the visuals.

 

But just like the leading lady, unfortunately, the Transformers are portrayed as just something pretty to look at.  Little depth is given to support the amazing graphics, a crime against those who put in the countless hours creating them.  Optimus Prime is at least given an arc throughout the story involving his mentor, but his companions rely on what the audience knows from the previous films to get any sympathy from them.  Even Bumblebee, whose friendship with Sam played a huge role in first film, has little to do, and when the Autobots are an inch away from death, their lack of background snuffs out any sense of dread for their demise.  Any new characters introduced are left as caricatures that depend on the viewer’s familiarity with stereotypes, such as a vulgar Irish robot.  Unlike the controversial Mudflaps and Skids from Revenge of the Fallen, they’re not on screen long enough to be as annoying.

 

Transformers: Dark of the Moon is like going to the dentist to get your tooth pulled only to have the Novocain wear off.  For all of its flare and no substance, Dark of the Moon is a bitter, flat beer that fails to numb the pain of what you have just witnessed.

-Sean

Season of the Witch

Posted by ron On July - 6 - 2011

Now showing Blair Witch 3 Crusader's march of fools.

Innocent blood spilled, two knights of the Crusade abandoned their posts as merchants of death in the name of God only to find that they have begun a journey through plague ravaged towns that could lead them to redemption or eternal damnation. Season of the Witch starring Nicolas Cage and directed by Dominic Sena won’t challenge Lord of the Rings or Army of Darkness for cult status because it’s not trying to be anything more than a straight forward tale that has been told in one form or another.

This film was about how faith can screw with your moral compass. However it takes itself as seriously as a morning cartoon. It romanticized the endless battles of the Crusade to near comical levels. The two main characters are having an entire conversation as they swung swords wildly with CGI in the background. Do they even suffer a scratch? Does it really matter now that Nicolas Cage will say yes to any project in order to pay his debt off? No.

Perhaps the biggest plot hole in the entire story revolved around why Cage as Behmen decided to abandon his quest for God. Seemed implausible that a man who slaughtered hundreds of Moors would finally wake up after the death of just one innocent. Yet, after the death of a few traveling strangers he’s ready to kill what may be an innocent girl who may or may not be a witch.

Fortunately, Ron Perlman has a lot of experience in playing second fiddle to stiffer leads. His performance brought the lowbrow fun as the first Crusader to drop F-bombs in the 13th century. As Felson, his devil may care personality desensitized the audience to its predictable discourse. The other components of the cast stayed within the skeleton of a thin plot.

It didn’t take long to figure out whether or not the girl was a witch and while Season of the Witch wasn’t a bad film, its crime was not being terribly memorable. However as a late night 3am alternative on Netflix streaming or Cable TV, it’s the perfect multi-tasking distraction in the background.

Season of the Witch rated as a decent cheap beer so long as it doesn’t cost you anything it shouldn’t hurt you very much.

Cheers,
Ron

Piping hot filth!!!!

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Thoughts on Cinema is dedicated to film reviews. An uncompromising opinion on the intellectual, artistic, and entertainment value to the consumer. With rising ticket prices, we dedicate ourselves to present to you content regarding what you should or should not be viewing. -Ronald H. Pollock Founder and Editor in Chief

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