Thoughts on Cinema

Epic opening to Battle Los Angeles engages the eye but fails to give you much more than a swig of what it could truly be.

Battle Los Angeles was the equivalent of going to a fast food chain expecting a heavy meaty grease saturated guilty pleasure and coming away shockingly unsatisfied despite lowered expectations. Perhaps the reason why it was so unsatisfactory was due to millions spent in marketing the CGI and interviews that promised character depth but neither was delivered.

As the arch typical staff sergeant with a sketchy war record, Aaron Eckhart was supposed to convince us of this gritty battle hardened non-compromising rough neck. Instead the material delivered nothing that would suggest this guy was unhinged and untrustworthy after saving two marines at the get go. Without getting too far ahead none of these characters suggested they were capable marines let alone belong in the military. The unit more closely resembled college kids playing lazer tag for the first time. Stop this review if you’ve heard of the lippy soldier, the soldier married with a kid, the soldier trying to get married and the soldier whose family member died with an ax to grind. Maybe that’s why Michelle Rodriguez who played the communications officer was the best shot of the bunch. Maybe she had a career change moment kind of like one has in college when you suddenly realize its not worth pursuing something if you don’t get something out of it.

The most successful war films don’t try to make it about different personalities meshing at a job. Instead they focus on the inner and outer conflict itself. The quintessential problem with Battle Los Angeles was the lack of conflict. Its focused on filling a quota en route to an objective. Therefore the stakes were never raised.

If you’re wondering why I keep emphasizing the characterizations, the CGI is already spoken for if you saw the trailer. The aliens are so out of focus that no one can remember what they look like. To coin a phrase, out of sight is out of mind. A film where its audience can barely remember what the aliens look like makes you wonder, why bother with aliens? One theory, any attempt to do a legitimate Red Dawn with nation du jour would risk offending paying customers in the international box office.

Battle Los Angeles was the equivalent of Invasion USA meets Independance Day except more time was spent hiding in bombed out areas of a Hollywood set than delivering the actual battle.

By the time, the tired plot reached the aliens’ objective it made even less sense why the aliens would choose LA especially if you understand some of the water shortages and fires over the recent years.

If I had to give Battle LA a drink rating, I’d have to give it a day old open bottle of sparkling water. Flat without any of the bubbly personality that violent video game porn should deliver on the big screen. Never thought I would live to say this but where is Michael Bay?

Are you crazy is that your problem? Maybe but crazy is often beautiful.

There were no surprises, plot twists or clever ruses in Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan. Simply put, it was a character study chronicling the downward spiral of a young woman’s sanity in the ultra competitive world of ballet. If you’ve ever had any experience with athletics, you can certainly relate to the heavy abusive rituals that Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) endured on a daily basis in her quest for artistic perfection. From the movie’s start, it’s painfully apparent ballet can never be a recreational activity, it’s an all consuming mistress with a stop watch who will take second place from no one.

Unfortunately perfection has its price. The very unpredictable Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) has final say in who dances to his beat in the Black Swan play. Much to Nina’s delight, the lead is hers to lose but on the condition that she would do whatever Mr. Leroy says. As his demands are raised so did Nina’s stress level.

Enter Nina’s rival played by Mila Kunis. Kunis’ free spirit without a care or consequence was the anti-thesis of Nina’s approach to life and the perfect foil for her own downfall as her darker half takes over.

Darren Aronofsky mastery over his craft was also a feat of perfection. The camera work, editing, sound, and execution of the script was every bit of the White Swan: Form and function. The suspense, seduction, and disturbing horrific self destruction of human fragility was his Black Swan. Together, it’s no surprise that this film had received so many nominations. Not since Jodie Foster and Jonathan Demme has an actress and director duo been so insync. Portman didn’t just convince us of White and Black sides of her soul but the most important part, the painful transformation. It’s the transition scenes that really raised the stakes and invested our fears and hopes for Nina.

If I could rate Black Swan with a beverage of choice, it’s easily a fine wine that’s just going to get better with age. Cheers.

Undeniably almost every Vietnam movie or story ever made seems to continuously subscribe to a nihilist rite of passage for American soldiers who go from boys to men in one tour of duty. Hopefully Hollywood can uncover this gold mine of originality that is very accessible to new and old readers of comic books.

Brahm Revel’s Guerillas began conventionally as a cliche’ band of brothers but quickly made an unconventional plot twist that invoked cinema based themes in Platoon and the Island of Doctor Moreau. Disillusioned John Francis Clayton, the book’s main protagonist, was drafted into a war that he quickly wanted no part in. War may not be fit for man but beast as Clayton was saved by trained guerillas gone rogue. Clayton discovered his new found Ape platoon to be more humane than the one he lost in a fire fight. It seemed clear that animals are far more proficient killers and Mr. Revel didn’t hesitate in how men and ape aren’t inherently evil but both are trained as killers. As the story progressed their advantageous ability to nurture shined through the chaos and killing. Perhaps Mr. Revel was trying to say we could learn a lot about the way animals behave and maybe their code of acceptance isn’t defined by race or species but naivety.

As a story board artist for the Venture Brothers, Mr. Revel’s visual language never failed to be clear and effective in pushing the story forward even when dialogue was absent. Much like the Venture Brothers he balanced the darker violent components with equally lighter moments such as using a soldier man’s love for cigarettes to cleverly articulate monkey see, monkey do humor.

Guerillas is a book about survival, coming of age, and most importantly acceptance. We all want to be on the same side but for whatever reason, we can’t accept each other for who we are. If animals can live with man, why can’t we accept each other? Perhaps human beings suffer from a rare gene that animals have. It’s called common sense.

If I had to rate Guerillas, I’d give it a refreshing after work beer that is familiar and yet something to look forward to. Cheers.

Anime has garnered a huge following in the West since the first shows were brought over in the Sixties, beginning with Astro Boy and Speed Racer.  Fifty years later, anime shows are still being brought over and translated for American audiences, the newest of which is Durarara, based on a light novel/manga series.  Revolving around a multitude of colorful characters, from simple high school students to mythological beings, Durarara tries to weave dozens of arcs to create an entertaining story but gets tangled up along the way.

Durarara is eerily similar to ABC’s Lost through its sense of mystery, its journey into the supernatural, but most of all, its narrative structure.  Made up of character-focused episodes, Durarara takes place in Ikebukuro, Tokyo as freshman Mikado Ryūgamine transfers to a local school at the invitation of his old friend, Kida Masaomi.  In the first episode, Kida gives Mikado a grand tour of the city, telling him about the gangs and the who’s-who of area, along with the urban legend of a headless biker, the Black Rider.  From there, the lives of over a dozen characters intertwine due to a series of attacks on city citizens connected to corrupt companies, secret gangs, and ancient myths.

It takes the first five or six episodes to do what the pilot should’ve done in introducing this world.  By attempting to flesh out each character in their own episode(s), the story gets spread so thin that you will finish a third of the series before you get a firm grasp on one of the main plots.  Luckily, with the show running at only twenty-four episodes, the plotlines get less drawn out from there, but that circles back to the problem of too many characters.  Some who are given too much screen time suddenly become irrelevant and disappear without tying up all of their loose ends.  At the same time, characters you want to see more often, like the violent bartender Shizuo or Russian sushi-chef Simon, are given a scene here or there without any further exposure of their back-story.

On the upside, Durarara juggles the drama and humor very well once it gets the ball rolling.  The different plotlines stem from reality-based problems such as gangs and teenage love while splicing in supernatural forces from Japanese and Celtic mythology, and like any youth-based story, there are plenty of laughs and light-hearted moments.  These are nice touches that never seem overbearing to the series as the story, deep down, is about the characters and their progression through a less-than-ordinary life.  As for the animation, it’s slick and vibrant in its use of colors.  It may not be like Akira or other anime where every crack or shadow is detailed to convey a sense of realism, but the artwork is stunning to look at most of the time and captures the feel of the city and its inhabitants.

Durarara drags at first, but then it sprints at the end, leaving behind the feeling that maybe one day the series will wrap up the story arcs it left open.  Minus the setbacks, it is a quick, cold beer for being a show that anime fans can enjoy without the worry being disappointed after several years of commitment.

Part 1 is now on DVD and Part 2 will be released on March 29, followed by Part 3 on May 31.

-Sean

He may be half-blind and drunk, but the Dude still has perfect aim.

I’m not a fan of Westerns. Growing up, I often caught bits and pieces of films and shows set in the Old West whenever my dad was watching them, and never did I develop any interest. Hot, barren deserts and rough-riding cowboys held little of my short attention span as a child when juxtaposed with my DVD collection of action, sci-fi, and fantasy. As I got older, I avoided Westerns at all costs, even when I developed a passion for learning about film. The slow, boring impression instilled in me kept me from ever wanting to see classics like Sergio Leone’s films and any others crafted in the same gritty vein, and even to this day, I can count with one hand how many Westerns I’ve seen in their entirety. Yet because of this limited contact with the Western genre, True Grit surprised me so much. As a fan of the last collaboration between Jeff Bridges and the Coen’s in The Big Lebowski and an appreciator of the brothers’ crisp, gritty cinematic style in their darker films like No Country for Old Men, I decided to give True Grit a chance. What I witnessed was a film that not only anyone and everyone should see, especially Western-naysayers, but one that also defies the contemporary notion that remakes are crap riding on the name of a superior predecessor.

The Coen brothers took a big risk in remaking what is considered to be a Western classic that gave John Wayne his only Oscar. The film follows fourteen-year-old Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) in a blood hunt for her father’s killer, Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin), and after purchasing the services of U.S. Marshall Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges), they trek into the wilderness with Texas Ranger LaBoeuf (Matt Damon) tagging along. The moment they enter the wild, the Coen brothers make it clear that the frontier is not some light-hearted place of adventure. Taking the “Unforgiven” approach, they dismantle whatever ideas you have of the West by turning it into a cold-hearted terrain that will never acknowledge your existence should you be unfortunate enough to perish out there. The best example of this is when Cogburn doesn’t bother seeking help for an injured man because there isn’t any.

Good and evil is another concept that the Coens place in the gray area. Cogburn isn’t some admirable, legendary lawman; he’s worn out, drunk, and just as eager to shoot somebody as the outlaws he’s put down. Not even the law is as concrete as Mattie believes. Despite her obsessive vendetta, she clings onto the principle of law and fairness as though she’s hanging off a ledge, and yet she rarely lets herself appear vulnerable to how cruel the world can be. On the other hand, the criminals aren’t completely sadistic and cutthroat. Chaney behaves like a child without guidance, and when something doesn’t go his way, he lashes out in the only way he knows how. Yes, he is bad, but it’s a small trait like this that allows the audience to connect a little, maybe even sympathize, with the so-called “villains.”

This reality of the genre is made even more profound by the cinematography, done by Roger Deakins (The Shawshank Redemption, No Country for Old Men). Each shot captures the coldness of the frontier with a sense of beauty and gloom thanks to the real locations that allow the actors to anchor themselves in. As for the performances, Jeff Bridges shines in the role that John Wayne called his own. He recites his dialogue with a gruff mumble that, while is sometimes hard to understand, carries how tattered and bitter he is. Matt Damon is decent as Leboeuf, a lawman who can’t help but show off his title, whether by his shiny badge or his loud spurs. He’s a bit animated at times when he’s debating with Mattie or Cogburn, but he balances that out with some humility, especially after surviving a run in with a few outlaws. However, it’s newcomer Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie who stands out the most. With the film telling her story and not Cogburn’s, Steinfeld seizes every chance she gets to dominate the screen as a girl with a strength and temperament beyond her years. She floors everyone she encounters with her stature and delivers her dialogue so sharply that you feel that Aaron Sorkin might have written her.

True Grit is more than just a great Western; it’s a great film. All of the pieces that went into it, from the thematic elements to the performances, worked perfectly together. In honor of Rooster Cogburn’s favorite drink, True Grit is a bottle of hard whiskey. It’s dark and unapologetic, but even if it’s not your cup of tea, you won’t regret the journey it takes you on.

-Sean

The Mind Fuck: Inception

“You must dream a little larger darling…” (Tom Hardy) sounds like the buzzword for 2011 and The Dark Knight Rises

Traditionally, the Summer film line up has been reserved for low brow comedies/romances, CGI sugar fueled effects & explosions, and the obligatory high priced sequel. While I expected the success of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight to carry into his next film, I didn’t expect Inception to gross over 292 Million domestically. Inception proved the cynics wrong with a smart cerebral plot, dynamic visuals, and an unforgettable dramatic score. Most Summer films demanded that you check your brain at the door, Inception commanded your attention and dared you to keep up with its complexity.

The Poet: Mark Romanek (Never Let Me Go)

While the others explore a tugboat stuck on the sandbar, the previously Oscar nominated Carey Mulligan looks for hope on the horizon at a time when her mortality looks certain.

I read Never Let Me Go in 2005 and thought it was impossible to adapt because it was all based on one person’s memories and thought processes. Yet, director Mark Romanek elevated such a story into a living oil painting you might find in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Every shot is breath taking and at the same time melancholy because every moment of life is precious.

The Chameleon: Leonardo DiCaprio

Are You crazy is THAT your problem? Nope. The fact remains DiCaprio has become an elite actor.

Waiting in the queue for Inception @ AMC Loews IMAX theatre, I suddenly remembered overhearing someone previously declaring Leonardo as Martin Scorsese’s new Robert DeNiro during Gangs of New York. You’ll have to forgive me. At the time, my brain was still damaged from radio stations overplaying Celine Dion’s song from Titanic. I had a hard time digesting it. I never doubted DiCaprio’s talent (What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Basketball Diaries, Aviator) but the quality of his work in 2010 was exceptional. He delivered commanding and complex performances in Shutter Island and Inception. Pretty hard to beat such lynch pins and so if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

The Untamed Beauty: Noomi Rapace

Anyone can be victimized but if you think for one second, Lisbeth Salander is a victim of any man, think again.

There aren’t many recurring strong willed female characters in cinema recognized by Hollywood in the last 25-30 years. With Lisbeth Salander, the Millennium Trilogy has produced the best recurring female character since Clarice Starling. A rare talent, Noomi Rapace didn’t have the look of an exotic beauty nor is she the best description from the book but with one subtle facial expression she nailed down the detached, emotionally distant and tortured soul of the character.

He’s an Oldie but a Goodie: Jeff Bridges

From the most expensive computer generated botox ever to the role that few would relish after the Duke, Jeff Bridges is a fine wine and continues to get better with age.

As most actors age, they begin to settle for less juicy roles as the perverbial hook for geriatrics comes out and yanks them to animated features and horrible comedies. For Jeff Bridges, age is like a fine wine. He just continues to refine his methods and bring one memorable performance after another. In Tron Legacy, Bridges’ was supposed to be the old soul to pass the baton off to his on screen son who had zero charisma. Instead, he adequately pulled off one of the most complex performances as both Kevin Flynn and his youthful digital opponent, Clu. To end 2010, Bridges took on the role of Rooster Cogburn in the Coens’ True Grit. Few actors would try to take a role previously held by John Wayne but Bridges knew how to be his own Cogburn. He was probably a true and more accurate representation of a Western bounty hunter.

The Player: Jacki Weaver

In this Animal Kingdom of criminals, the female rules the roost.

In Animal Kingdom, an Aussie film about a dysfunctional crime family (as if there was any kind), Weaver played an evil Mrs. Garrett (Facts of Life) who is equal parts nurturing and butcher.

In the Tower of Babel: The Social Network

If words cut deeper than the sword, the Social Network is a bloodbath of words that will define the words, “Did he just go there?”

Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing, A Few Good Men) created a dialogue so punchy and fast paced that it more closely resembled a stream of consciousness that could beat the fasted internet connection. A language unto itself. While I don’t believe the Social Network was a film that defined a generation (that should be reserved for a film about living in a debt ridden country), I do believe the think 50 steps ahead neurotic dialogue captured the fast paced atmosphere that you can believe the way young people today think, thanks to devices that allow us to communicate indirectly with someone at all times.

Under the Radar: Daytripper

Who knew writing the end of people’s lives would only serve as the beginning of a long journey about existentialism and the connection we have with life, death, and each other.

Written and drawn by the Brazilian creators Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon about an obituary writer and how the diseased factor into different stages of his life. It is equal parts soul searing as it is profound and the ending is a spiritual journey that will haunt you in the days to come.

Ferrie’s Monologue: LOST

Never did trivial numbers create such a shitstorm of an internet Easter Egg hunt over arbitrary selection process of cadidates to be marooned on the one place where Starbucks and Cable TV can’t reach.

To ask someone to answer, “what was Lost about?” would be about as easy an answer as who killed JFK? Like Joe Pesci’s character from JFK screamed, “It’s a mystery wrapped up in a riddle inside an enigma…” Er, come again? Not since the days of Twin Peaks has the water cooler talk been so lively over one show. Not since Twin Peaks has a show ever left you with more questions than you had at the start.

See you in 2011 brotha,

Ron

Seems like everyone does a “Best of/Worst of” around this time of year. Those are fun, but often there is the sense that people are going with the crowd rather than giving you their own opinion. With that in mind, I wanted to do something different; add my own flare, if you will. Here is what I felt, in my own opinion, to be the three most fun and the three most disappointing aspects in entertainment of 2010.

Most Fun Show: Doctor Who Series/Season 5

It’s not easy to live up to the precedent set by previous seasons/series of Doctor Who. Already going against it was the memorable 2-part finale The End of Time which saw the exit  of head writer and front runner of the new series, Russell T. Davies and David Tennant as The Doctor . To say the show had a lot to live up to would be an understatement. Fans loved Tennant’s portrayal of the Tenth Doctor and to accept someone new as the Eleventh Doctor seemed like an uphill climb indeed.

Thankfully the fifth series/season accomplished so much in its short time that all of these worries were unfounded. Writer of many fan favorite episodes, Steven Moffat was named the new head writer. Playing the new companion was Scottish actress Karen Gillan. And stepping into the TARDIS and the shoes of the Eleventh Doctor was Matt Smith; a trinity that weathered a tough fan-storm and became the foundation for a fantastic series.

Moffat’s scripts were witty and well-told, maintaining a fairy-tale tone he set out to do since the first episode. Minus the “I’m the last of my race, I’m alone” pathos of the previous two Doctors, Matt Smith plays the Doctor as someone with a zest for life who loves a good mystery. Karen Gillan is outstanding as Amy Pond, a character who, unlike previous companions isn’t bogged down by  love for the Doctor.  Rather,  she’s a woman who has waited fourteen years for her “imaginary friend” and is now learning patience has its virtues.

This could have been a disaster of a series considering what it had to live up to from last year, but rather than lowering the bar, they raised it to a different but fun level. Yes, pathos and tragic stories are engaging to watch, but sometimes you have to have fun, too. And that’s the best word I can use to summarize why, in my opinion, this was not only the best show of 2010 but also one of my favorite series/seasons of the show: fun.

Most Fun Comic: Chew

I discovered Image Comics’ Chew early last year. I picked up the first trade, which was conveniently $10 and found a world where chicken was outlawed, the FDA is akin to the FBI, and a man named Tony Chu can see the history of any food he eats. Once they put him on murder cases, I was hooked.

John Layman and Rob Guillory have created a strange, funny and absolutely creative world. I remember the day after I finished the first trade, I rushed to the comic store to pick up any issues I was missing so I would be caught up. I remember being so excited because I had found a comic that managed to be both creative and funny as hell. In every issue I find something that always impresses me. Whether it’s a creative turn in the story like a chef who can only communicate through his cooking, or fun little side jokes like two cops sitting in a bar and the pictures on the wall are all photos from buddy-cop movies, to an assassin rooster named Poyo. Even during the so-called “down time” issues, you can tell these guys are having fun.

That’s the appeal of Chew. Its creators are very much fans of comics like we are, and they go the extra mile to entertain us. They still do letters pages at the end of the comic—a practice I haven’t seen in years—they showcase fan art and letters, and if a book is late, they’ll let you know and apologize in advance. It’s very accessible to the reader. Some people come for the art, some come for the writing, some come for the crazy plots and some come for fan interaction. Either way, you’re going to be happy. And judging from sales and the announcement of a TV show in the future, I can safely say Chew was the best comic series I’ve read throughout 2010

Most Fun Movie: The Expendables

In a year mired by superheroes, wizards, gritty westerns and sci-fi special effects films, you often get caught up in which movies you feel everyone else loves and go with public opinion. That could have easily been Inception, True Grit, Tron: Legacy or Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, but when I think back to what movie I enjoyed the most this year, it boils down to The Expendables.

Growing up in the 80’s and 90’s, I was bombarded with action movies. Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Willis, you name them and I saw them. When I heard there would be an action movie written and directed by Stallone but also starred a plethora of action movie stars from A-List to D-List, I was skeptical. Man, am I glad I was wrong!

The movie centers on a group of mercenaries set up to taken down a dictator in the country of Villena. It’s your standard action movie formula, but why does this work over similar films such as The A-Team, The Losers and RED? It’s all in the fact that it wasn’t played tongue-in-cheek. While it’s not common to say this for an action movie, it was played very straight. This movie wasn’t about parody or pastiche. This isn’t a movie that constantly winks to the audience and revels in how meta it’s being.

To me, it’s the best movie of the year because it does what it sets out to do and tells a simple story: good guys fight bad guys, shots are fired, shit gets blown up and somewhere along the line Stallone’s character earns his soul. I had a great time watching this movie with my buddies and talked about it for weeks. When the DVD came out, I had to own it. It may not be oscar-worthy or have nerd-cred, but at the end of the day I loved the hell out of this movie.

Disappointing Game: (Tie) Dark Void / Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II

It’s hard to narrow down just which game I was disappointed by this year. There weren’t too many I could say were the worst ever, as I don’t play a lot of games, but two I was really looking forward to utterly fell flat on their faces. One fell down to execution and one for length.

Dark Void was a game that hit all the right spots when I saw it advertised: a game that takes you to the Bermuda Triangle where inter-dimensional alien robots in flying saucer-like ships try to come into our world and only a rogue pilot with a jet pack can stop them. Sounds like a fun premise, right? Yeah, well too bad Dark Void loses a lot of that fun with its annoying quick pace and down right boring story. What makes the game disappointing is the fact it feels rushed. When text between loading sessions has to explain key plot points, that’s when you know you have a problem. The game play is all right but controls are sometimes stiffer than an old man on Viagra and you find yourself feeling as though several key scenes were cut for time. There were some solid ideas for a great adventure but in its stead we got a generic video game.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II has a similar, yet different problem. I loved playing as Starkiller, Darth Vader’s secret apprentice in the first game. With the sequel, and the small setback that Starkiller seemingly died at the end of the first game, expectations were high. We were treated to a story of a clone of Starkiller as he tried to break free of Vader’s control and find his love Juno Eclipse. An engaging story that had me wondering if this so-called clone was actually Starkiller under Vader’s control. So, what made this disappointing, exactly? The length! Folks, just when the game is getting good, just when it’s hitting it’s zenith of intrigue…the game ends! Not only does it end, but it has the balls to leave questions hanging: Are you a clone or are you actually Starkiller? With Vader captured, how does he escape? Will Boba Fett find Starkiller? Normally, I don’t mind leaving things open for another game, but this felt like you got half of a whole story. The game cost $60 and much like everyone else who bought it, we were disappointed to see it end at the point that it did. It felt like everything that preceded whichever ending you chose (Light Side or Dark Side) meant nothing. You went on a journey and halfway through it just stops. All that for nothing.

It’s not a hard thing to please me when it comes to video games, but looking forward to these games this past year and realizing they weren’t living up to their potential makes them a tie for the most disappointing game of 2010.

Dissapointing Comic: DC’s First Wave Line

Oh, DC. You started off with a solid concept: A line of comics putting popular pulp characters from the 30’s and 40’s with early incarnations of DC Comics characters? Waitress, give me some coffee to go with this slice of heaven! This was right up my alley as I’m a fan of heroes from that era, especially the ones they were going to use ; Doc Savage and his amazing five, The Avenger, Rima the Jungle Girl and even The Spirit. DC was going to make me very happy! Sadly, that was not the case. It began with the world shatteringly “Meh” one-shot Batman/Doc Savage, which felt like a dull teaser of what was to come. And while three titles were to spin out of that one-shot (First Wave, The Spirit and Doc Savage) you know what it resulted in? Very little! It’s taken about a year to get 5 issues of First Wave out, Doc Savage is unreadable (with an honorable mention to the just-okay Avenger Co-Feature) and while I love The Spirit, the black and white back-ups are annoying.

What’s most tragic is the fact people were actually excited about First Wave # 1. It got a lot of buzz and gave me hope that a concept like this could work.  Sadly, the six issue mini-series was constantly off-schedule. As I said, it’s been almost a year and we’re just now getting to issue # 5. You’re probably wondering why it’s such a big deal when they have two other books in the line to keep it afloat while First Wave tries to get back on schedule. Here’s the thing…FIRST WAVE IS THE MAIN STORY! You can’t expect people to gain or maintain interest in a story when you don’t release it on time. While Doc Savage and The Spirit have kept their schedules, their books aren’t the main story; their satellite books to showcase the characters that are in First Wave. It’s like having a those annoying direct to DVD mini-movies that come with movies like Shrek and Despicable Me constantly thrown at you because the makers of the main movie couldn’t finish the feature on time; sure, they’re nice and all, but they’re ancillary to the major story. This line had so much potential to be good, but because the publishers couldn’t get the main title out on time, you have to ask one important question: why should I care when you obviously don’t?

Dissapointing Show: True Blood Season 3

Yeah, that’s right, I watch True Blood! I started last December and absorbed the first two seasons. It’s not a bad show. It takes all the trappings of Twilight and adds a nice horror element to boot. I was all caught up and ready for the third season. And yeah, you wanna talk about a case of “The bad outweighs the good.” …look no further than season three of True Blood!

The biggest problem with this season was too many stories going on at once. We had the forced and boring love triangle between Bill, Sookie and Eric. We had Hillbilly Werewolves. Jason Stackhouse wanted to be a cop and fell in love with a Werepanther. Sam finds an annoying half-brother.  Tara, still getting over her grief of losing a man she knew for like a week ends up being the unwilling hostage to a psychotic vampire who just wants to be loved. And so on with these characters. All this and we were introduced to two words fans wished they’d never hear again…Hippy Fairy! Yep, our main character, Sookie is a descendant of a race of Fairies. Yes, folks, it’s HBO!

The sad thing is, there was one great thing about True Blood this season, and that was Denis O’Hare as Russell Edgington, the Vampire King of Louisiana. At first, you think he’s just some silly camp-villain, but once someone he loves is murdered…you do NOT want to mess with him. And if anyone saw the ending to the ninth episode will tell you, this is a man who is not to be provoked. But, even an interesting character such as he could not save the show from dull storylines and improbable decisions made by characters…and yes I’m well aware I just used the word “Improbable” when referring to a show about vampires, werewolves and hippy fairies.

It’s disappointing because there were chances to do something really special this season: there was a chance to do something about the Vampire hierarchy. There were chances to do more with the werewolves. There were some great flashbacks involving the character of Eric. All of this potential was washed away with dull character sub-plots and the need to force drama where there was none. This is the folly of True Blood.

And that, in a nutshell are what I consider to be the most fun and most disappointing bits of entertainment of 2010.  Here’s hoping the next year will lift you up more than it will knock you down!

- Jose

Ben Affleck and Jon Hamm have a lovely conversation about the Red Sox in an interrogation room.

Ben Affleck fooled us all. For the past decade, we’ve all made fun of his career choices after his critical success on Good Will Hunting, but he was just biding his time and learning how to craft a great film. With his second directorial outing after Gone Baby Gone, Affleck delivers a strong heist film in The Town, taking familiar tropes from the genre and injecting them with a heavy dose of adrenaline and carrying them out with amazing performances.

Affleck, pulling double-duty behind and in front of the camera, plays Doug MacRay, the leader of a band of thieves from Charlestown, an area in Boston riddled with poverty and armed robberies. He decides to turn his life around after falling for a bank manager, Claire Keesey, (Rebecca Hall) who he and his disguised crew took hostage during a job and then released. When his crew suspects that Claire can identify them to the FBI, Affleck keeps you drawn in not just with the action but also the quieter moments. Driven by the question of whether or not Claire will learn the truth, MacRay befriends her to assess the situation but finds himself caught up with her vulnerability and innocence. The tension thickens in one scene when the two have lunch and MacRay’s trigger-happy friend (played by Jeremy Renner) shows up. You feel MacRay’s anxiety increase due to his friend’s volatile nature and his tattoo that Claire could recognize from the crime. In other parts, Affleck uses what he inherited from the directors he’s worked with to craft gripping scenes like shootouts and car chases through the labyrinth alleys of Boston. Films like Takers or the Bourne movies use choppy editing and the shaky cam to the point of creating blurs, but Affleck keeps the camera tight on the action without distorting the image with epileptic shaking to look more intense.

In front of the camera, Affleck pulls off a great portrayal as MacRay, a character conflicted with loyalties and personal issues. Even though he’s a criminal, his charm and rough upbringing allow you to understand his situation. Rebecca Hall carries a naive disposition as Claire while being deeply traumatized by her hostage experience, delivering both very well. Her own personality mixed with Affleck’s feels genuine and you honestly want things to work out for them. Backing up Affleck as his best friend, Jeremy Renner plays James Coughlin, matching the level of talent he displayed in The Hurt Locker. He’s dangerous, unpredictable, and always itching to pull the trigger on someone, and you’re never at ease when he’s onscreen even when he’s unarmed. Breathing down the their necks is FBI agent Adam Frawley, played by Jon Hamm, who brings much of his Don Draper persona with a no-bullshit prowess in hunting down the thieves. With the law backing him up, Hamm is just as ruthless and unswerving as the criminals by using underhanded tactics in his pursuit. He’s not a corrupt cop, but when juxtaposed with Affleck’s Doug, Hamm’s character is not someone you empathize with because of his lack of depth. In fact, nothing is given to Hamm, leaving him as more of a force of justice than a complex character audiences can connect with.

In our rating of One Bourbon, one liquor, and one beer, The Town is an ice cold lager with a shot of whiskey for its amazing cast and action, and as Affleck’s second time in the director’s chair, it shows that he knows what goes into a film and can make it a gripping experience.

- Sean

“We should never have met,” Cho-in tells a bloodied Gyu-nam after putting him through hell.

Picture yourself with the power to control people just by looking at them. Now picture yourself meeting the only person you can’t control and going bat-shit insane over it. Choneung-Ryukja (Psychic, or sometimes as Haunters) is a Korean film about a battle between two men that delivers a psychological thrill-ride that eventually wanes by trying too hard to be an action movie.

The film focuses on Cho-in, who has the ability to control people with his gaze, and Gyu-Nam, an honest man who’s the foil to Cho-in’s world of control. Gyu-nam is the obvious protagonist while the former is the antagonist, but what the film does is paint each character with shades of gray. Cho-in is introduced as a child suffering from a prosthetic leg and an abusive father, and after his mother tries to kill him to spare him from his “curse,” he lives on his own, surviving off money he steals from small shops. This opens with a sympathetic view of his character that quickly gets overwhelmed by his willingness to kill anyone who gets in his way. This leads to his confrontation and subsequent fight with Gyu-nam when he tries to rob the pawn shop he works in, resulting in the death of his boss. What follows is a cat-and-mouse chase between the two as Gyu-nam seeks revenge, but as noble as his intentions are, the film constantly questions whether or not he should continue his pursuit. As one of his friends says in the film, it’s “[not so much] about fighting the man but the world the man controls,” and the more he fights it, the more people get hurt. Cho-in repeatedly blames the lives he takes on Gyu-nam, and as the movie progresses, there comes a point where you feel that there’s a bit of truth in his claims.

The battle against Cho-in’s power also creates some great tension. Whenever Gyu-nam takes a step forward in defeating the psychic, he’s suddenly hurled three steps back either through the disbelief of the police or through the risking of another life, but this match isn’t completely one-sided. The further they push each other, the harder Cho-in forces the world to do his bidding at the cost of his self-control. The more people he manipulates, the less mentally stable he becomes as he starts robbing large banks with security cameras and killing law enforcements. This back-and-forth exchange should keep you on the edge during the entire movie, but where the film falters is in maintaining its stance as a thriller. Instead, the suspense breaks in a few parts in the first two acts through the goofiness of Gyu-nam’s foreign friends, but while that serves as forgivable comic-relief, it’s the final act that conflicts with what the film set out to be. It switches from psychological to action-based in a shoot-out and a chase between a luxury car and a rusty van suped-up with NOS. The final confrontation afterwards returns to the mindgames, but the out-of-place epilogue nearly cuts its foundation off at its knees by forcing it into a whole different genre altogether.

So far, there are no plans to release this abroad, but hopefully that will change down the road. Psychic has a great concept with a good execution that’s undermined by how indecisive the film ends up being. In our three liquor rating of One Bourbon, one liquor, and one beer, Psychic is a glass of rice liquor watered-down by the lack of direction in the third act and a poor ending.

-Sean

James Franco literally found himself between a rock and a hard place in 127 Hours

Modern Society predicates itself with life on the go. If you live by the philosophy of work hard, play hard then you understand this drive that human beings feel compelled to push the upper limits of existential existence through their physical, mental, social and/or creative outlets. Within rock climbers and great outdoorsman, weekends engage upon a carefree lifestyle that is beholden to none. It is a life that is enjoyed by an elite class of people who aren’t rich or poor but tThe enjoyment comes from the immediate gratification of accomplishing something that requires mental fortitude and ego of surpassing their own limitations.

However, what happens when anyone hits a wall in the quest for improvement? Human beings universally begin to re-examine their whole life and scrutinize every facet of every choice ever made because no one likes being stuck in one place for a long time. Aron Ralston’s story of 127 Hours begun when he got his arm caught in between a rock and a hard place. The events priors were formalities. The examination of his entire life transformed a physical test of endurance into a delirious metaphysical journey of consequences that epitomized the beauty and power of Danny Boyle’s filmmaking. The linear components of the story didn’t leave an impression but the places Ralston’s mind traveled when his body was helplessly stuck.

Driven by the raw charisma and acting ability of James Franco, he is as convincing as a reckless young, seemingly invincible man who would be beholden to none. Franco drove this film, as it was a one-man show for the most part. While the film doesn’t delve too deeply into Aron’s relationship with his family but he questions his decision to leave a girl in his life. As his dreams merge together and grow more abstract, his emotions are laid bare as his body begins to waste away in the desert. Abstraction never took control of the story as the video camera, water supply, and other elements were used to remind the audience that time continued to tick on.

The film was relentless in reminding the audience that Aron was alone in a vast area. It emphasized that there is no hope of being saved by someone else. The rock that pinned Aron’s arm didn’t have as much character as the shark in JAWS or any other force of nature but it was just as potent a trap that had been waiting since time began to trap him.

Boyle did not hesitate to graphically describe every thing Bryan had to do in order to free himself. It’s beyond a test that most mortal men can pass. By the end of Aron’s ordeal, it’s a release and the audience felt that rush of being free again. Once again, Boyle’s ability to put the audience in a very disturbing situation and have to come out on the other end in order to move forward is unparalleled among today’s directors.

Bear Grylls can eat his heart out. This was a story about the ultimate sacrifice to survive but also about moving forward. The bottom line is, its better to be scarred and moving forward in life than staying in one place and looking back.

In my three liquor rating scale of One Bourbon, One Scotch, and one beer I rated 127 Hours a fine Scotch with a nasty kick but a lingering memory of strength having persevered the unconquerable.

Cheers,
Ron