Curb Your Enthusiasm - Recap

Larry squares off with two returning guest stars in the most recent episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

I missed the last couple reviews of Curb Your Enthusiasm and Entourage due to family, as well as complications from Hurricane Irene, so once I watched the episodes on HBO Go, I figured I would just merge the two reviews into one. Both episodes feature returning guest stars, while staying in the recent NYC setting. However, one was clearly better than the other.

As part of the season and as a standalone, "The Bi-Sexual" was probably the worst episode of the season, though I may just be biased due to my dislike of Rosie O'Donnell. One, I do not find her funny. Two, they play up her stereotype to the millionth degree (as done previously in "Denise Handicapped"). And three, the storyline that her and Larry would vie for an attractive woman's affections is just too ridiculous to get behind with all the other problems plaguing this one. The episode was only sporadically funny, with one memorable joke, and that being Leon arriving in New York. To see the sight of him having driven Larry's Prius 3000 miles across America was nothing short of hilarious, as well as his comments about the journey ("I had about 8 motherf*ckers in here"). It is then clear that he plans to sponge off Larry once again. That was funny and well-executed. Some of the baseball metaphors worked OK, but it kind of fails mainly due to the fact that this is a road much traveled, even in shows like South Park and How I Met Your Mother. It was a weak episode, but not a deal-breaker for the season as a whole.

Thankfully, "Car Periscope" was a near-classic, rife with some hilarious stuff. The whole idea of the car periscope invention was priceless, and Larry and Jeff gleefully using it in the car may have been their best scene since reading Mondo Freaks in "The Freak Book". It also featured some good jokes about a man's integrity being based on the attractiveness of his wife, but that joke kind of fizzled in the latter half of the episode. However, the old man with dementia and the mysterious "one-armed man" were near perfect, with some racial epithets and a senior being knocked to the ground culminating in it appearing like Larry was spontaneously attacking the elderly. The main criticism could be argued was that the Wanda Sykes/personal trainer plot never really went nowhere, in the end only leading to another racist joke. However, don't let this detract you, as it still was one of the season's better episodes overall. Two left, with at least one including a guest spot by Michael J. Fox.

"The Bi-Sexual" - 2.5/5 stars
"Car Periscope" - 4/5 stars

Entourage - "Whiz Kid" Review

IN THE NAME OF SOLIDARITY, DRINK YOUR VINEGAR

It wasn't exactly a shock what the subject matter of this week's Entourage was, due to the shockwave nature of last week's ending. Nevertheless, the execution of this was better than I expected, though a few bits and pieces of "Whiz Kid" are tantalizingly lacking, particularly in regards to Ari. So, most of the episode dealt with the fallout from Carl Ertz's shocking suicide. They actually managed to make the aftermath both dramatic, as Turtle was traumatized from the sight of Carl's brains, and funny, when Scott was overly enthusiastic and undeterred to find out what actual brains looked like, no matter the morbidity of the situation. Vince and Turtle's presence at the scene, due to the cocaine, requires Vince to submit to a drug test, which worries him because he broke his sobriety (weed) to prove to himself that he wasn't an addict. They later confirm that it's still in his system, so Vince turns to none other than longtime ex-addict Billy Walsh for help. Have I mentioned yet how great it has been to have Rhys Coiro back full-time on the show? His presence recalls some of Entourage's greatest days, and combining with Scott Caan (who is now arguably the funniest character), they have somewhat revived the show's laugh factor. Anyway, Walsh's solution to Vince's problem may have been the most hilarious joke ever on the show, if weren't taken so seriously. And that joke was a fake penis, filled with clean urine so Vince would pass, worn over his real one. LOLOLOLOLOLOL. Just had to get that out. One thing this episode did really well is touch on why exactly Vince had been so different from E since leaving rehab, and that was because he felt like E was less his friend or manager, and more like a nag who was holding him back and questioning his every action. So, E didn't tell Vince what to do or not do, until he saw the fake, which made him zoom into overdrive. And at the end, we discover that Vince had used it anyway. This episode seemed to return Entourage to Vince's pre-drug days, and it seems like the second half of the season will focus exclusively on the end. As I said above, my pet peeve was Ari, who kinda just ran in circles, attempting to piss off his wife and losing Dana's trust in the process, made both women furious at him. I speculated last week whether Ari would end up with Dana. This episode made it clear that that WILL NOT happen, so it's looking like Mrs. Ari or bust. And she's nowhere near forgiving him, though I did like her referencing how he always walked out on her in counseling. Still, this episode didn't take any steps toward the end, but we don't quite know what those steps are yet, so only time will tell. A good-not-great episode, about on par with "Out With a Bang". Halfway through this season, only 4 left now.

"Whiz Kid" - 3.5/5 stars

Curb Your Enthusiasm - "The Hero" Review

The Man in the Cape + David Brent = SHITSHOW

Curb Your Enthusiasm this week portrayed Larry's arrival and life in New York, and unsurprisingly, it's pretty much the exact same life he had in LA, with all the random minutiae and bullshit with all the random people. And yet, the new setting breathes a little fresh air into a TV series that didn't really need any, but is welcome nonetheless. The absence of most of the supporting cast in the new setting, including Funkhouser, Lewis, and Leon, allows an episode with near-exclusive focus on the show's two main characters, Larry and Jeff. The plane sequence was mildly amusing at first, but quickly turned hilarious when Larry "saved" the stewardess from a drunken airline patron and was applauded emphatically by the people aboard, much like when he argued with Funkhouser in "Palestinian Chicken", and even managed to score a woman out of the deal, though Susie noticed his oversized shoelaces and assumed that was definitely the cause. This led to a funny dinner scene where Susie first split up the couples most likely to undermine him, and then blew the whole thing intentionally when Larry started having a fit. In addition, Larry displayed his penchant to grab his food when he sees it, offending the waiter, who later blew a deal Jeff had with Ricky Gervais (who I'll get to in a minute), as well as his decision to bring bread to a dinner party instead of wine. Due to the depleted supporting cast, much of the episode had him clashing with Susie, and it reached a head when they argued over the aisle seat in Gervais' play, leading to Jeff losing him. As for Gervais himself, he was funnier in action than in words (like that stupid scarf he was wearing), but kind of disappointed me, despite his character's somewhat douche-y nature and his ability to screw Larry out of money and a woman. That led to the conclusion, which may have been just as perfect as the ending to "Vow of Silence", when Larry, seeing Gervais and the woman being mugged, decided to actually be the hero, and used the rock-hard bread that he brought to the dinner party earlier to beat the guy into submission. I laughed hardest at this, and it sealed it as a good, if not classic, episode. In other news, Leon returns next week, and appears to follow Larry to NY to (surprise, surprise) mooch off him again.

"The Hero" - 4/5 stars

Summer 2011 Movie Season Retrospective

The First Year of the Superhero. Oh, and these guys above.

August is now very nearly upon us, and with it comes the end of this summer's movie season. Sure, this upcoming month has a few films that could be considered "tentpoles", but the best of this season is behind us. And as I said in the above caption, this, in forthcoming years, will probably be considered the first of two Years of the Superhero. And these superheroes are where I will begin the retrospective, before moving on to the guys in the picture above.

Son, my mission to you is to forever kill the terminally rude.

Way back in May, Thor kicked off the season, and it was arguably the best offering by Marvel Studios since 2008's Iron Man. A fun, action-packed film with plenty of epic scope due to the deft hand of director Kenneth Branagh, as well as a strong performance by perfectly cast Chris Hemsworth, it was a worthy beginning, if a little uneven due to some dull Earth scenes and a rather unfocused job from Natalie Portman.

The X-Men are fully dedicated to protecting humanity from the hippies.

Though the aforementioned Thor was a good superhero film, the next one is the one that would go on to be the best one of the year, and that was X-Men: First Class. Featuring an ensemble cast that included James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon, Rose Byrne, January Jones, Jennifer Lawrence, and even a glorious cameo from Hugh Jackman, the film benefited from the ambition to weave the story into history, and explained many of the "cause" that led to the "effect" in the earlier X-films. One of the best films of the year in general, and easily the best superhero flick.

Killin' Nazis. And setting up some good ol' Avenging.

I'll abstain from commenting on DC's only offering, Green Lantern, as I chose to stay away, but as most people, I have not heard good things. I also reviewed Captain America: The First Avenger just last week, so I won't comment on that either, but suffice it to say that Cap is third on the superhero list for the year (though not by much). Now, on to all the non-superhero blockbusters. I should note here that I will not comment on Fast Five, Cars 2, or Kung Fu Panda 2. 

Do we really need anymore? Seriously, it's like the Terminator all over again.

Though it was the highest grossing film of the year at one time, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides continues the decline of the franchise. Everybody, including first-time franchise director Rob Marshall, felt like they were going through the motions, and the script felt generally uninspired. Only some of Johnny Depp's antics managed to give the film life, and Ian McShane's Blackbeard paled in comparison to Geoffrey Rush's Barbossa, while Penélope Cruz, despite all her sex appeal, was a nothing character. One of the weaker films of this year, save for one film doomed to be at the bottom.

Spock in robot form, but he might be from the mirror universe.

 Dark of the Moon was a mixed bag, leaning toward bad, but it's the worst movie I saw this year. Already reviewed it, so not going to again.

This was scarier than the freakin' Exorcist.

I made my (somewhat childhood boner gushing) views on the final Harry Potter installment last month, so I won't do so again. But it was AWESOME, and may be the first film in the series to mount the Oscar hill. As for Cowboys & Aliens, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and the earlier Hangover 2, all enjoyable, but flawed in execution, particularly the recycled comedy. Summer 2011 was an fairly good summer year, chock full of movies worth seeing, but it looks like a dwarf compared to the summer to come, which has some potential Oscar masterpieces hidden in the rough. One in particular, unsurprisingly, has me MASSIVELY PUMPED:

You know what it is.

Goodbye summer 2011, and GET HERE ALREADY, summer 2012.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes Review

Seriously a near-jump the shark moment.

I'll start with this: I've never been a fan of the Planet of the Apes series, from the outdated and somewhat overrated original films as well as Tim Burton's crappy remake, mainly for one reason: I could not get over apes talking, wearing clothes, and carrying firearms. It was just too damn ludicrous, and was never organically explained. Surprisingly, this film fixes most of my complaints, with no fancy clothing, firearms, and just the right amount of talking (four simple words by only one ape). Rupert Wyatt, along with his screenwriters Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa, clearly had a vision going into this film, and they have actually managed a successful, well-made, and entertaining reboot. It's got some flaws with human characterization, and the plot drags a little in the middle, but overall, a pleasing effort. Forget James Franco, Andy Serkis is the real star of this film. Just like when he stole the show in the LOTR trilogy and the King Kong remake, his CGI mo-cap Caesar is simply incredible. The character (and yes, he's more than just an ape) feels alive, real, and sympathetic. His journey is an emotional and physically hardening one, and his evolution in the leader of the ape revolution feels very realistic. The effects as a whole are amazing, with some of the best CGI many have ever seen. One ape, though, bugged me a little bit:

Didn't quite buy the circus orangutan who was fluent in signs.

As for the rest of the non-simian characters, they're a real mixed bag. I've never been a fan of James Franco's collective body of work. His role in the Spider-Man trilogy was underwritten and overly dramatic, and he just came off as annoying and cocky, and he was sort of funny as a stoner drug dealer in Pineapple Express. Last year, I saw the first role of his that I really liked, in Danny Boyle's hard but wonderful 127 Hours. It proved that, given the right material, Franco can succeed quite well as an actor, earning his Oscar nod. However, in Rise, he once again feels underutilized, as scientist Will Rodman is basically a point for other characters to bounce off of and react. Frieda Pinto (coincidentally, also a Boyle alum, from Slumdog Millionaire) is even more criminally underwritten, not given much more to do than stand around and look hot. John Lithgow, who I've been a fan of since his dark turn on Dexter, gets a few bright spots as Rodman's Alzheimer's-afflicted dad, but doesn't get that much screen time. Brian Cox of X2 and Draco Malfoy himself, Tom Felton, appear as dickheads father and son Landon, and really all they do is act like dicks. Not exactly a smart career move by Felton, moving from being one prick in Harry Potter to another in this, kind of screwing himself into typecasting. That's pretty much all I have to say about the cast. The film also contains a number of nice little winks and in-jokes to Apes fans, such as an sighting of the late Charlton Heston on a TV screen in one of his old movies, as well as the immortal "damn dirty ape" line, spoken by none other than Felton's Dickhead Dodge. Overall, though, an entertaining film, and maybe I'll be able to reevaluate the original series now from a new perspective. To give you a gauge of how much I liked it, I'll say I might check out the inevitable sequel, but my expectations will be little more than modest.

Oh, and the title sucks, doesn't it? Simply Rise of the Apes was WAY better.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes - 3.5/5 stars

Falling Skies Season Finale Review

Annnnnnnd........ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER!!!!!

So, after only an eight-week run (two hour premiere, six one-offs, two hour finale), the first of at least two seasons of Falling Skies has now come to an end, with a finale that was........not quite brilliant. Great moments, for sure, but not quite up to par with the last few preceding episodes. It had some rather glaring weaknesses, such as the continued mental instability of Weaver. At the end of "What Hides Beneath", I felt like they had wrapped up his story for the time being, yet they inexplicably brought it back in this episode, and let it take up a good portion of "Mutiny", the first hour of the finale. Couple that with too much focus on "Lt. Danner", a previously unseen character thrust into the spotlight as an overly loyal soldier to the clearly destabilizing Weaver, and the first hour of the finale was uneven and spotty at best, possibly the worst episode of the season. Also, hearing Porter was killed off but not seeing it onscreen was a little bit of a shortchange for the character, and most of the episode was spent retreading previously covered ground. Thankfully, the second half of the finale, "Eight Hours", was a far superior effort, if also a little inconsistent. It started off with a bang, with Scott being attacked by Rick on skitter-steroids, followed by Rick fleeing in an attempt to rejoin the skitters, with Tom in pursuit. Rick finally learned the hard truth about the skitters after revealing the secrets of the 2nd Mass, which led to mechs attacking the school. Thankfully, Scott and Ben had managed to discover a signal that set off pain in Ben, as well as completely bamboozling the mechs, allowing the 2nd Mass to win the day. We also saw the long-hinted romance between Tom and Anne come to fruition, and kudos to the writers for making it happen at a realistic pace. However, the finest moments of the finale came toward the end, after Pope gives Tom a rocket launcher and he finds Weaver in the crashed truck. The rocket damaging the alien ship was a surprisingly good bit of CG for a TV show, and was immensely satisfying to watch after seeing that tower hover over the series for the entire season. Then came the final minutes of the season, where a harnessed Karen spoke for the alien leaders, apparently willing to negotiate after being impressed by the level of resistance from the humans. The moment where Tom enters the ship, despite Weaver's protests, to save Ben was also a surprisingly poignant moment for this series, which has been more like B-movie sci-fi, a la Independence Day or War of the Worlds, to this point. The cliffhanger felt less like those and more like exec Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind, only with a darker edge. I wasn't entirely pleased with the lack of closure, as it will now be almost be an entire year until the next episode airs, but it definitely was an intriguing way to go. Falling Skies returns Summer 2012, and despite my reservations with this show, it still feels like there is great potential under its surface.

"Mutiny" - 3/5 stars
"Eight Hours" - 4/5 stars

Entourage - "One Last Shot" Review

The two true main characters are both in a rather strange place.

At the end of last season, both Ari and Vince were at rock bottom, separated from their beloved and a serious drug problem involved. Now, three episodes later, they're not quite as bad, but they're still in a dark, depressing, and weird place. The main thing that jumps out at me about this episode is the darkly ironic double meaning of the title. "One Last Shot", indeed, in the form of returning character film producer Carl Ertz. I vaguely remember him and Vince talking about the movie Danger Beach in season 5, until he revealed he was jerking him around just to secure Emile Hirsch from Adam Davies. So, Kim Coates returns as Ertz, and asks Vince for a second chance, only to flip out on him, clearly high off his ass. Ertz serves as a dark foil for what Vince could have been had he continued down the path of drugs, and his ending is frighteningly shocking, tearing down the barrier of how far Entourage will go. In other news, Turtle's tequila business is ending, as it appears Alex and Carlos screwed him in the end. Ah, well, Turtle's a good guy at heart, he'll bounce back. As for Drama and his Bananas, Andrew Dice Clay demands more money, forcing Phil to fire him and replace him with a really bad impersonation of Dice by Jamie Kennedy, serving as a nice satire of Hollywood damage control. E and Scott were basically there to bounce off Drama and Clay this week, but Ari is where the story gets potentially interesting. After a failed date with a young woman, he ends up hooking up with old flame Dana Gordon, making me wonder, for the first time, who Ari will end up with in the end. It is true that the separation ripped the heart out of every Entourage fan, but maybe Dana's ultimately a better fit for him, knowing full well who he is and accepting that. This was a refreshing episode, even if Ertz's bloody end was way dark, and was the best episode of the season so far. With 5 episodes to go, things on Entourage are looking truly interesting for the first time in years.

"One Last Shot" - 4/5 stars

Curb Your Enthusiasm - "Vow of Silence" Review

He's not coming, Lewis. Confirmation rescinded. 

So, at long last. It ultimately took them half the season to give us a reason why Larry would go to New York. And in "Vow of Silence", it all unfolded in classic LD fashion, in yet another strong outing for Curb Your Enthusiasm. This was a landmark episode for the series, as it represented two major shifts, one seasonal, one forever. The forever, is, sadly, the death of Oscar, may he be remembered for his encounter with Wandering Bear, as well as for taking a nice munch on Larry's penis. RIP Oscar, you will be missed. Now, on to the rest of the review. As it turns out, Larry's journey to NYC is merely out of spite, brought on by desperately attempting to avoid doing charity work with his former Seinfeld director, portrayed by returning guest star Michael McKean, who may be remembered for his role in "The Bat Mitzvah" from season 6, where he told everyone Larry shoved a gerbil up his ass. In other news, Jeff and Susie will remain in the cast despite the move, as they were going to NY anyway because of Sammie's acceptance to Julliard. What I'm wondering is if this means we've seen the last of Leon. The last few episodes proved that this show can still be extremely funny without him (something they hadn't tried in 3 seasons), but JB Smoove is always wanted back. More screen time from Richard Lewis, as well as fun references to Pinkberry and the vow of silence jokes proves that the social assassin theme is still in full swing. Larry will be in New York now for the remainder of the season, where he will encounter, among others, Ricky Gervais and Michael J. Fox. This looks to be one of the show's best runs yet.

"Vow of Silence" - 4.5/5 stars

Falling Skies- "Sanctuary" / "What Hides Beneath" Review

MORE MECHS MORE MECHS

After the airing of "Sanctuary, Part 1" a few weeks back, due to the simultaneous airing of Curb Your Enthusiasm and Entourage on HBO, I began to fall behind on Falling Skies. However, I'm going to begin catching up now, and will watch the season finale after it airs, and am now ready to review the two-part episode "Sanctuary". And it was definitely a successful two-part storyline, more so than the season premiere (mainly because this was crafted as a two-parter, and the first two episodes were different stories spliced together). This should have been the first two-part episode. Anyways, in Part 1, the sudden appearance of one of the leaders of the 7th Mass, Terry Clayton, led to the kids departing from the adults in an attempt to prevent them from being captured, so as soon as Ben returned, he was gone again. It's still not entirely clear whether Ben is OK, as he remembers his identity unlike Rick, but seems to be very halfhearted about being back, and the skitters continue to have a profound effect on their former hosts. However, the first big twists of the story came out the end of Part 1, when it was revealed that Clayton, in fact, was handing kids over to the skitters, in an attempt to make peace with them, and saw the 2nd Mass as a veritable gold mine. This, in turn, was followed by the return of Pope, who was forced to supply Clayton the location in order for his life. Then came Part 2, which brought with it some of the most action of the series thus far, along with some real stakes not quite present until this point. Once Mike discovered that Clayton was planning to trade the kids, he managed to get everyone out, at the cost of his life, thus killing off the first character we actually care about (as opposed to the doctor, who was a jackass). Pope's escape was welcome, as was him siding with Hal to fight against Clayton's men. Tom's plan to lead Clayton's men back to the eponymous sanctuary was well-thought out, only to be overwhelmed by Weaver's forces. Clayton's character ended up becoming a tragic figure, a symbol of how far humanity could fall in a harsh world. Pope being back can only be a good thing, while Mike's funeral was a strong capper to the episode, especially in regards to Rick's words to Ben. There's definitely still more to the skitters and those harnessed kids than meets the eye, and with the end of the season fast approaching, it's good to know that more Falling Skies is on its way next year.


"Sanctuary, Part 1" - 4/5 stars
"Sanctuary, Part 2" - 4.5/5 stars

The Masons make a shocking new discovery.

 I decided, after watching "What Hides Beneath", that I would combine it with the review for "Sanctuary", leaving the review for the season finale standalone. "What Hides Beneath", in contrast to the sprawling nature of "Sanctuary" that let everyone get a little time in onscreen, was a episode centering on one of the shows most mysterious characters: Weaver. Will Patton is a great actor who should really be given his due here, as he goes from hopeful and confident to an emotional wreck with believable skill. We finally learn Weaver's origins in the war, and boy, are they dark. His reveal that he lost his wife and one daughter, then killed his second daughter while trying to remove her harness, was a dark path that this show had been unwilling to take thus far, and, coupled with Weaver's new motivation, made him a far more compelling character. Another interesting tidbit was Rick's assertion that the skitters "love" him and Ben, and will return to save them, showing where Rick's loyalties still lie and making Ben question his own. Karen finally returned as well, predictably harnessed, but from previews, it looks like she will have a pivotal role in the season finale. Other stuff includes Pope befriending Matt, and his find that by using skitter-modified bullets, mechs can be beaten, perfect for their counterstrike plan looming in the finale. However, by far, the best things about these episodes were both skitter-centric, and may be directly tied to each other. One is the fact that the skitters were discovered, through an autopsy by Anne, to have been beings mutated into skitters by harnesses, which may or may not be caused by the second new discovery, as Tom and Hal discovered in the second picture above. And that is that the skitters are actually henchmen to a completely different race of aliens. They look nothing like the Xenomorph-like skitters, being more like a hybrid of the heads of the aliens from Independence Day, merged with the head color and body structure of the Kaminoans from the Star Wars prequels. These aliens may have been the ones who harnessed the skitters, and the same thing may eventually happen to kids like Ben and Rick. And as Rick takes off during Pope's demonstration during the finale, Ben follows him. And on this note the set-up for the finale ends. All in all, a darker, quiet but compelling episode that perfectly sets up the events for the finale. I will have a review up for that tomorrow.

"What Hides Beneath" - 4.5/5 stars

The Amazing Spider-Man - First Look

NO MORE TOBEY MAGUIRE!!!!

I thought I'd continue on from my Man of Steel preview yesterday with another superhero reboot that we know a little more about: The Amazing Spider-Man. This one caught a few by surprise when it was announced in January 2010, as everyone was expecting more news from the supposedly upcoming Spider-Man 4. However, it was announced that Sam Raimi had pulled out, followed shortly thereafter by Tobey Maguire. Word has it that Raimi felt he couldn't make the May 2011 release date (which was eventually given to Thor), so Sony decided to start the series all over again with a new team. Shortly thereafter, it was announced that Zodiac scribe James Vanderbilt (along with rewrite work from regular Spidey writer Alvin Sargent and Harry Potter regular Steve Kloves) would pen the film, and that relative newcomer Marc Webb (Webb, geddit?!) would direct. Webb's only previous feature film effort, (500) Days of Summer, was a fun and unconventional indie romantic comedy-drama, so I was intrigued to see how he would approach the webslinger as opposed to comedy-horror aficionado Raimi. Later, in July 2010, Andrew Garfield was announced to be the new Peter Parker/Spider-Man, with Emma Stone joining as new/old love interest Gwen Stacy and Rhys Ifans joining as villain Dr. Curt Connors/Lizard (one of my only regrets of the original series was that Dylan Baker never got to see his Lizard realized onscreen, despite patiently playing Connors). And a few weeks ago around Comic-Con, the first teaser trailer appeared. We got our first looks at Martin Sheen's Uncle Ben and Sally Field's Aunt May, as well as Stone and Ifans (non-Lizard), before we got a brief, FPS-style glimpse of Spider-Man in action. The trailer definitely piqued my interest, as it promises a grittier and more contemporary take on the lore than Raimi's goofy, comic-booky world was, and it increased my interest in the picture, set to arrive next summer, a few scant weeks before The Dark Knight Rises. It went from being a little-to-no interest film to a near-must-see, and with Sony greenlighting a sequel with a Summer 2014 release date today, nearly a year before its release, they must be confident in its quality. Only time will tell.

Lookin' good n' gritty.

The Amazing Spider-Man hits July 3, 2012.

Man of Steel - First Look

The Last Son of Krypton looks ready to kick some serious ass.

So earlier today, Warner Bros. issued a press release confirming the cast of Zack Snyder's upcoming reboot of the Superman franchise, Man of Steel, and with it came the first image of new Superman Henry Cavill decked out in costume for the first time. With this, I figured now was as good a time as any to speculate on how this film will turn out. After the sequel to Bryan Singer's Superman Returns ceased development in favor of a reboot in Summer 2008, Christopher Nolan (thank GOD) and David S. Goyer were brought in as producer and writer, respectively, in early 2010 to relaunch the franchise, around the same time that Nolan began earnest script work on The Dark Knight Rises. From there, Zack Snyder was hired last October, casting began the following month, and finally, Cavill was unveiled as the seventh live-action incarnation of the character in January. Over the last six months, the rest of the cast was filled out, and while I'm happy with some, I'm rather skeptical about others. For one, I love the casting of both the Kents and Superman's biological parents. Kevin Costner is a perfect choice for Jonathan Kent, while Russell Crowe is ideal to succeed Marlon Brando as Jor-El. I'm not familiar with much of Michael Shannon's work, but I could envision him as Zod, while I don't know a thing about Antje Traue, Christopher Meloni, or Harry Lennix. Laurence Fishburne is bold casting as Perry White, and I could see it working, but I'm just not sure about Amy Adams as Lois Lane. She's a little too much older than Cavill (37 vs. 28), doesn't match the iconic features of the character, and she reeks a bit too much as stunt casting. That said, I'll reserve judgment until I see the film. Above all, I love Cavill in the lead role. He's got just the look for Superman, as seen in the photo above, and as for the costume, it's definitely a lot cooler than the Brandon Routh costume (AWESOME CAPE). Snyder has mostly been an inconsistent filmmaker with a very distinct style, but with Nolan's guiding hand, I think he could make it work. I think we'll get a grittier, action-packed take on the character that will stand in sharp contrast to Singer's film, and will differentiate itself enough from the Christopher Reeve films of old to stand on its own two feet. It's opening six months later than originally planned, a full seven years after the release of Returns, and that should be enough time for the film to be judged on its own merits. It's opening in what appears to be yet another superhero-packed year (alongside Thor 2 and Iron Man 3), but it being more original than the others should give it an edge.

Man of Steel opens June 14, 2013.

Movies- The Death of Original Ideas

REALLY? WITH ALIENS?!!!

Last week, I happened to catch the trailer for Peter Berg's Battleship, supposedly based on the board game (which I enjoyed as a kid) of the same name, and let me tell you, it looked completely and utterly terrible. It looked like some weird and pointless amalgamation of a naval war film and either Transformers or Battle: Los Angeles, and Liam Neeson being in it aside (he's becoming more and more of a paycheck actor these days anyway- remember Unknown and Clash of the Titans from not too long ago??), it looks the latest crapfest infesting the summer box offices. The film industry, a business just beginning 100 years ago, has now been heavily mined of any original idea still lingering on the surface, and while there's endless source material to draw from, the fact that we've now arrived at movies based on board games and toys shows that the industry's original ideas days are numbered. Of all the films I've seen in the last five years or so, the only one that I could really argue for being original is Christopher Nolan's Inception, and even that owed strands of its DNA to films that came before, such as The Matrix. Other than that, we've had an endless deluge of comic book movies (WAY TOO MANY SUPERHERO FILMS), previous film franchise sequels, reboots, remakes, or re-imaginings (coming out this month alone is a reboot of Planet of the Apes, another sequel in the completely pointless Final Destination series, another sequel to Spy Kids that Robert Rodriguez has basically forced upon us, and a remake of Conan the Barbarian). In addition, we're getting re-imaginings or reboots of classic fairy tale works of film and literature that no one is exactly clamoring for, such as last year's Alice in Wonderland (which grossed over a billion worldwide, showing that people just don't care), or Sam Raimi's Wizard of Oz "preboot" Oz, The Great and Powerful, and hell, there are TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT films in development based off of Snow White. Another clear sign that original ideas in film is dying is the top-grossing success of James Cameron's Avatar. With many critics hailing it as a "masterpiece" when many of its ideas were directly ripped from other films, as well as it grossing nearly $3 billion, shows that even unoriginality can pass for the opposite these days. However, there are a few projects that show at least a little hope on the horizon, such as Ridley Scott's upcoming Prometheus (which I will surely be reviewing when it comes out next June), as well as Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained (or well, really anything that guy comes out with is eccentric and original). Prometheus is an especially interesting concept, as it started out as an Alien prequel (which, despite my criticisms of lacking in originality, I would admittedly be excited about due to Scott's participation), but then apparently evolved into something "more" of deeper meaning. As much as we forge ahead through boring and pointless studio pics like Battleship or Final Destination 5, there will hopefully always be a Prometheus or Inception there to remind us what true imaginative filmmaking is all about.

This one image is about all I have to hope for

Battleship (ugh) opens May 18.
Prometheus (image above) opens June 8.