Tagged: movie

DENNIS O’NEIL: Sherlock of the Movies

Ah, there you are. Still with us. Good. You survived the turning of the new year and the doom some are predicting hasn’t happened. Yet. But be of good cheer, you who are longing to manifest the death instinct that Sigmund Freud said is common among homo sapiens. According to something I read somewhere, the Big Erasure isn’t due until the fall. So we might yet be annihilated, thank you very much.

Meanwhile, we can read comic books and/or go to the movies. That’s what I did day before yesterday, went to my local monsterplex and saw the new Sherlock Holmes flick. And pretty much enjoyed it. Director Guy Ritchie and his associates have done what, I maintain, must be done with olden characters if they’re to appeal to contemporary audiences; he reinvented Sherlock and Dr. Watson and even Sherlock’s smarter brother, Mycroft.

Sherlock is still the world’s greatest “consulting detective” and Watson is still loyal, courageous and honorable and Mycroft is still brilliant and still needs to get to the gym, urgently. Nothing here alien to the 60 Holmes stories Arthur Conan Doyle gave us more than a century ago. But although Doyle’s Sherlock was occasionally a man of action – he could give a good account of himself in a donnybrook, by Jove – and he had a streak of the rebel in him, he was primarily a thinker and a scientist, and despite that tiny flavor of rebellion, he espoused the Victorian values: respect for order and tradition and law and, despite the denseness of some of the policemen he dealt with, also a respect for authority.

Those aren’t our values.

The world has churned and we know that science isn’t always benevolent and order is not the highest good and scoundrels can hide in tradition and authority figures…oh, come on! Check the headlines or a reputable newscast or two.

Mr. Ritchie and friends haven’t gobsmacked those quaint values – if you squint hard you might be able to discern them – but they’re largely ignored. What’s emphasized is comedy and action, along with enough science and ratiocination to qualify the hero as Sherlock. If you’re familiar with the Doyle canon, you might react to the movie’s references and rearrangement of plot elements. If you’re not… no harm, no foul. What you need is up there on the screen, though you might have to pay close attention to get it all.

I have one gripe, and for me it’s not a new one; I can level it against a number of entertainments. It’s this: much of the action is rendered in blurs and pans and ultra-swift cuts and so we popcorn eaters don’t know exactly what’s going on. The Asian actioners have demonstrated that there is considerable entertainment value in a clearly seen, cleverly choreographed fight scene. Why deny us that pleasure, particularly in a movie the budget of which is the size of Neptune? I mean, you can hire really good stunt people.

RECOMMENDED READING: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Arthur Conan Doyle

FRIDAY: Martha Thomases

Transformers 3 Comes to DVD on January 31

HOLLYWOOD, CALIF. (December 27, 2011) – From director Michael Bay and executive producer Steven Spielberg, in association with Hasbro, Paramount Pictures’ global smash hit Transformers: Dark of the Moon returns to Earth January 31, 2012 in a four-disc Ultimate Edition Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray and DVD combo pack with UltraViolet™ and a Digital Copy.  A must-own film for every home media collection, Transformers: Dark of the Moon features “jaw-droppingly amazing 3D” (Harry Knowles, AintItCool.com) and fan-favorite characters OPTIMUS PRIME, BUMBLEBEE and Sam Witwicky amidst bigger and more spectacular action in an adventure that surpassed its predecessors to earn over $1.1 billion at the worldwide box office and become the #4 biggest movie of all time at the global box office.

Bursting with nearly four hours of sensational behind-the-scenes footage, cast and crew interviews and more, the Transformers: Dark of the Moon Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray and DVD combo pack delivers blockbuster entertainment.

“This Blu-ray 3D of Dark of the Moon will blow you away.  If you’ve been waiting for the right time to get a 3D television, this is it,” said director Michael Bay.  “For fans who’ve been waiting patiently to bring Dark of the Moon home, this Ultimate Edition release delivers the goods.”

And, for a limited time, all three eye-popping films in the Transformers franchise will be available in a 7-Disc Limited Collector’s Edition Blu-ray Trilogy featuring each film in high definition, Transformers: Dark of the Moon in high definition 3D, more than 10 hours of special features and a plaque of movie images signed by Bay. (more…)

JOHN OSTRANDER: Prognostications 2012

Crap. Crappity crappitry crap.

It’s New Year’s Day. If it was New Year’s Eve I could look backwards and wax philosophic about 2011. But here we are smack dab in the middle of New Year’s Day, Day 1 for the year 2012, so I really should be looking ahead and prognosticating about what the year will bring especially for comics and related media.

I’m a crappy prognosticator.

Years ago, I read a squib in a newspaper about how a Japanese cell phone company had worked out how to add a camera to their phone and I thought, “What a stupid idea. They’ll have these crappy little photos and how good could the lens be and so on. Who would want that?”

Well, everyone, as it turned out.

Before that, I read another little squib about how the Dean of St. Paul’s cathedral in London was going to do a controlled jump with a parachute from the top of the church to bring attention to a rock opera that was premiering called “Jesus Christ Superstar.” And I thought, ‘What a stupid idea. A rock opera? About Jesus? Who would want to go see that?”

Well, gobs and gobs of people, as it turned out.

So I’m not the world’s foremost prognosticator. The Great Criswell I ain’t.

This year, however, it may not matter. The Mayan calendar ends with 2012 and some people predict that means the world is going to end in 2012. Heck, they’ve already done a big, loud, lousy movie about it. How you can take such a potentially fantastic event and make a lousy movie about it is beyond my – wait. The director was Roland Emmerich, wasn’t it? He’s also the one who directed Anonymous which says Shakespeare didn’t write Shakespeare’s play (piffle, I say!). And the producer/director of the heinous Godzilla remake. Never mind.

Okay, I grant you that maybe this isn’t real strong evidence. I mean, just because the calendar I have on my wall ended last night didn’t mean the world ended. Not if you’re reading this. I bought another calendar. And if the Mayans were all that sharp as prognosticators, why didn’t they chop up every single Spaniard they met into tiny little pieces?

In 2012, we have The Avengers movie coming out, the new Spider-Man movie, The Dark Knight Rises, and even the first of The Hobbit movies. The first of The Hunger Games movies, the next James Bond movie (Skyfall) will also make their appearances. Heck, based on the latest trailer, I’m hyped to see John Carter. This doesn’t even include the stuff that I don’t know I’ll want to see yet. I didn’t know about Hugo until relatively late this year and that may be my favorite film of 2011.

Seriously, would any sort of just and loving god end the world before Mary and I get to see The Hobbit?

Wait, That’s right. I’m agnostic. Said so last week. Doesn’t matter; I’m not going to believe in the Mayans either. We’re going to have 2012 and it’s going to be fun. Despite the Mayans, despite the elections, there are good times waiting out there.

As Stan (the Man) Lee himself was known to say: “Face front, True Believers! Because that’s there the future’s coming from!”

Words of wisdom for us all. Happy New Year, folks.

MONDAY: Mindy Newell

 

Bad Girls, Good Guys, and Two-Fisted Action: Genre-Bending: How Pure Should Pulp Fiction Be? New Pulp authors respond.

Bad Girls, Good Guys, and Two-Fisted Action: Genre-Bending: How Pure Should Pulp Fiction Be? New Pulp authors respond.

  • News
  • December 22, 2011

Sean Taylor posted an interesting query on his blog http://seanhtaylor.blogspot.com/. Sean asked ‘How Pure Should Pulp Fiction Be?’ Some of New Pulp’s finiest responded.

When you think of pulp fiction, what springs to mind? The hard-boiled P.I.? The lost Earthman winning and wooing on Mars? The jungle lord? The aviator adventurer? The masked vigilante precursor to the comic book super hero? Weird horror tales with skeletons and damsels in distress? (For the sake of argument, let’s all assume you didn’t immediately go to the movie with John Travolta and Samuel Jackson, even as good as it is.)

Pulp has covered many genres, and was originally so named because of the cheap paper on which it was published. Pretty much everybody who loves the style knows that.

But, over time, some genres tended to become more synonymous with the definition of pulp than others.

And some would argue that pulp itself is a genre. (For the sake of this article, we’re going to treat pulp as a style of telling a story and not a genre unto itself, since so many genres were represented within its ranks.)

To explore this idea further, we went straight to several of new pulp’s top creators. You can see their responses at http://seanhtaylor.blogspot.com/2011/12/genre-bending-how-pure-should-pulp.html?spref=tw

Uwe Boll Talks In the Name of the King: Two Worlds

  • News
  • December 20, 2011

intotk2bd-300x376-9251619Director Uwe Boll is no stranger to video games or controversy but remains indefatigable and is back next week with In the Name of the King: Two Worlds, his sequel to the 2006 film he made based on the Dungeon Siege video games. The new film, his twenty-fifth, stars action hero Dolph Lundgren and is a direct-to-video release from Twentieth Century Home Entertainment.

The German –born Boll spoke exclusively with ComicMix to talk about the film and his approach, which ignores his critics, many of whom cite him as the worst director working today. In turn, Boll has challenged them to box, to see who is the better person but our conversation was far from combative.

ComicMix: This is your first sole directorial work. Any reason why?

Uwe Boll: In the past, I was more a producer, such as with Alone in the Dark. Normally I’m the director, producer,, and sometimes the writer. I think it came to an opportunity to get the financing completely through Canada; so I said, “Absolutely, let’s go for it.”

CMix: Why a sequel to a dormant video game?

Boll: I liked the Bloodrayne film series,  and I don’t always do sequels. I liked the first movie a lot, and while I didn’t have the financing to make a big sequel, I came up with a time traveling idea for a brand new story. It brings a little humor to the story and with a guy like Dolph, with his bone dry humor; he’s very intelligent, not a guy who can have long speeches. He’s more a character from the present, and I have all these kinds of things, sending him back to the medieval time, he can wander around asking, “Where is the toilet, can I drink this water?”

It’s an interesting new storyline, not just “let’s make a second part but only cheaper”. It’s better to be completely new, and I am actually happy with the movie. It has a lot of humor; it’s quick and entertaining. (more…)

JOHN OSTRANDER: Hits and Misses

Like everyone else, I watch too much TV and see the occasional movie or read a book or two and I have my own reactions to them. Here’s some of what I’ve seen, good bad and indifferent.

Boss, on Starz starring Kelsey Grammar as a tough mayor of Chicago. I’m an old time Chicago boy and a series set in Chicago, dealing with its mayor, and using actual Chicago locations, will always attract my eye. I was so looking forward to this. However, by the third episode, I was taping it and I haven’t gotten around to watching those episodes and then I just stopped. I didn’t care. Too much melodramatic bullshit.

The main character, Tom Kane (obviously named for Tom Keane, a formerly very strong alderman in Chicago, later imprisoned), is diagnosed in the opening moments with some sort of brain disease that can’t be cured, can’t be operated on, and is going to mess him up royally before the end and, of course, he opts to tell no one. We never get a chance to see who he is without the disease; it’s part of what defines the character from the beginning. His wife is an ice queen although very supportive politically. They have a daughter who is now an (I think) Episcopal minister. The parents are estranged from her because she has also been a junkie in the past and looks like she’s going to be that way again. The mayor also has a young female aide who is pretty and has sex with inappropriate men apparently in semi-public places because, you know, ratings.

The creators have a good cast but they don’t apparently trust the setting enough to generate real material because they saddle it with all the nonsense above. You only have to look at political drama in Chicago and Illinois in recent years to find plenty of material. The prison bound Rod Blagojevitch alone could have been a stunning model for a TV series if some of his doings (real or alleged) didn’t appear so preposterous. He sounds too made up. He’s also a hell of a lot more interesting to me than Boss turned out to be.

You want something of Chicago that has real snap and bite? Max Allan Collins has released a volume collecting his Nate Heller short mysteries called Chicago Lightning. I recommended his Nate Heller novel, Bye Bye Baby, earlier and I’m equally enthused for this. It runs the gamut of Nate Heller’s career and is great reading. Highly recommended.

Anyone who knows me knows that I’ve gotten heavily into Westerns. I’ll plug myself by reminding folks that DC is releasing The Kents historical western miniseries that I wrote. It was originally done in twelve monthly issues and then gathered into a single TPB. This time they’re releasing it in three 100-page spectaculars, each gathering four issues (it was written that way, every four issues an arc). The first two of these are now out and the third will be out next month. Some of my best stuff, I think, and my artists – Timothy Truman and Tom Mandrake – have been my partners-in-crime for a long time.

Anyway, this is really a prelude to my looking in on AMC’s western Hell On Wheels. Another series I was looking forwards to and, again, I started taping it and then abandoned it. Very violent (which is okay but it seems violent for the sake of violence) and I haven’t gotten into the characters. You could spot who was going to be dead early on. It wants to be Deadwood which, even with its faults, was superlative. I may give it a try again at some point but I’m just not feeling drawn to it right now.

Finally, to end on an up note – Martin Scorsese’s Hugo. Saw it and loved it. It’s a love letter to the movies from a master film maker who loves movies. It drew me in from the opening frames. There’s a long tracking shots (who does long tracking shots these days? How many directors can?) that pulls you right in. I’ve seen some grumblings about its length and pace, but you won’t hear that from from me. Scorsese loves movies but he also loves story and he weaves a wonderful, rich, emotional story with a wonderful cast and an eye towards detail.

We saw it in 3-D and that’s how it should be seen. Simply one of the best uses of 3-D I’ve seen, and I’m including Avatar. This is what happens when a master filmmaker gets a new tool – not a gimmick, but a tool – and figures out how to use it. Every effect is to tell the story and make it more real, more immediate.

I also know a lot of people who are waiting to see it on DVD or their iPhones or iPads or whatever and that would be a mistake. It’s meant to be seen in a theater; if I could find it somewhere near me in IMAX, I would go see it that way. I’ll own the eventual DVD but it will simply remind me of the experience I had at the movie theater. That’s what Hugo was for me – an experience and one I’m so glad to have had.

All the above are just my reactions. Your mileage may vary.

MONDAY: Mindy Newell

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

When I first saw Planet of the Apes, I was struck by the bleak tone given it by director Franklin J. Schaffner, which seemed to fit the story of astronauts trapped on a world that ultimately proved to be Earth. I was stunned into silence, feeling morose and excited by the adventure right down to the slow reveal at the end.

Ever since, I have always felt the sequels and remakes totally missed the mark, none of them ever quire finding a vision to match the original. It’s probably one reason it has continued to endure long after most people put the Tim Burton remake out of their minds.

The sense of style and empty future evoked by the first film is also absent in the prequel, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which came out on DVD this week. This film, directed by Rupert Wyatt, does a very good job in setting events in motion that ultimately will lead man and simian to virtually switch places atop the food chain. We have a pharmaceutical company exploring a therapy for Alzheimer’s patients that seems to show promising results in improving cognitive function. The brilliant scientist Will Rodman (James Franco) wants to test it on humans, but a convenient accident so angers the Board that they shut down the project. As a result, he secretly tests it on his father (John Lithgow), deep in the Alzheimer’s grip. No surprise here: it works.

The accident results in the first of the movie’s many story flaws. Apparently, they were testing the drug on a monkey that was pregnant but no one knew it. Sorry, you do drug tests after doing full medical histories to develop a baseline measure. But, she dies and only then is the infant found and surreptitiously brought home.

The serum in mom’s blood meant the baby chimp, named Caesar, inherited these vastly improved mental abilities. We then watch the chimp grow and demonstrate time and again how special and seemingly human he is. Along the way, Lithgow and Caesar come to love one another much as Franco falls for vet Frieda Pinto.  Unfortunately, we learn that Lithgow’s body had developed antibodies, combating the serum and letting the disease ravage his body anew. The problems develop when the arrogant neighbor next door attacks a befuddled Lithgow and Caesar comes to his rescue only to wind up taken away by the courts and is taken to a primate facility which reminded me a lot of Lord of the Flies. (more…)

The Rocketeer

rocketeer-blu-ray-300x392-1766084For a movie based on a comic book set in the 1930s, The Rocketeer was actually ahead of its time. The movie was released as Disney’s big summer film in 1991, backed with tons of marketing, and planned as a big tent pole for their future.

The problem was, in 1991 there were precious few superhero movies creating a genre to support the fan following. When it opened that June there was nothing out there to support it and the groundswell of geekdom had yet to reach critical mass. Therefore, despite relatively positive reviews, the movie did minimal business, finishing 27th for the calendar and largely forgotten. Its director, Joe Johnston, went on to make a number of other hits and misses until he scored big earlier this year with Captain America. Now, taking his fame and the 20th anniversary into account, Walt Disney Home Entertainment has released [[[The Rocketeer]]] on Blu-ray and DVD today.

(more…)

MICHAEL DAVIS: I’ve Got A Secret

This week I received a very early Christmas gift! It’s something I’m dying to tell everyone, but I have to be cool for at least a little while.

However…

If I tell people what it’s not then I can talk about it without talking about it! And… if someone guesses what it is, how is that my fault?

Well, except that I opened my big mouth in the first place and talked about what it wasn’t thus giving raise to what it could be so someone could guess, except for that, how is it my fault?

I mean really.

There’s an old TV game show called I’ve Got A Secret. The object of that show was to figure out the secret of the contestant on the show. This was done with questions being asked by a panel.

I’ll give clues as to what my secret is and will if someone guesses cool! If not and some of you out their want to send me questions to answer that help you along, great!

If no one plays that means no one will win the fantastic prize!

What’s the prize? No idea, but when I figure it out it will be fantastic!

So here are the clues!

It’s a huge deal that features comics.

It features a book but not a comic or graphic novel.

Some of the biggest names in the industry are involved.

The project will take a year to complete.

It’s not a TV show or movie.

It’s not a benefit or comic convention.

It will be newsworthy in comics and mainstream.

It’s not a new comic company.

That’s all I’m going to share because there are way too many nerds and geeks out there that can figure this out very quickly.  Yes, I am a proud and geek and I know just how smart my people can be.

Let the guessing begin!

Send your e-mails now to my erstwhile editor, mike@comicmix.com

WEDNESDAY: Mike Gold

Recreate your Favorite Scene from A Christmas Story and You May Win a Prize

Recreate your Favorite Scene from A Christmas Story and You May Win a Prize

  • News
  • December 10, 2011

Warner Home Video Triple Dog Dares You!  The studio is inviting fans to create their favorite scene from the classic A Christmas Story for a chance to win a trip to the A Christmas Story Museum.

Ian Petrella who starred in the movie as Ralphie’s little brother explains the details:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaYRcFS9FfE&feature=channel_video_title[/youtube]

We also have a DVD copy of the movie to give away. All you need to do is comment by 11:59 p.m., Wednesday, December 14 and tell us your favorite Christmas story. The judgment of ComicMix‘s judges will be final. The lucky winner will be notified by e-mail.

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