Movie Center

When I first turned on Comic Book: The Movie, I expected a proper documentary.  Apparently, I didn’t read the synopsis clearly enough, because this is actually a fake documentary, albeit they do film it at the actual San Diego Comic Convention.  Put together and directed by and starring none-other-than Mark Hamill, what this movie provides is a fanboy’s perception of comic book movies, adaptations from comics to films and the life of geekdom in general.

The idea behind the film is that a super-famous super hero is getting his own movie.  The hero goes by the name of Captain Courage, although a recent update of the character has him as Codename: Courage.  Hamill plays Don Swan, the world’ foremost fanboy and expert of all things Captain Courage.  He also happens to hate the updated character and the fact that the production company involved is going to use the new, violent version as opposed to his beloved Golden Age incarnation.

He is hired on by the production company to act as a consultant and to make a documentary about the upcoming film.  They underestimate his devotion to the title, however, and he goes off track several times, setting up his own promotions and trying everything in his power to convince the greedy producers that the older Courage is the better Courage.  Needless to say, hi-jinks ensue.

The story revolves around the conflict between Don Swan and those allied to his cause and the producers and those they manage to recruit into their own camp.  But the real focus of the film is in showing exactly how fanboys feel about the comics they’re closest to and the lengths they’re willing to go to in order to fight money-hungry Hollywood-types who would ruin their perfect vision.

Overall, the movie is fun to watch and brings up some important points in a satirical manner.  Plus, it has a ton of cameos, although plenty of them will be completely unrecognizable to those not schooled in the world of comics.  The main failing of it, in my opinion, is that it relies a bit too much on gimmicky humor.  While there’s plenty of humor to be had in the subtly, and they do use these elements well, I’m guessing they were too worried that inside humor wouldn’t translate enough to bring in a sizable enough audience.  Either that or they just really enjoy slapstick and goof.  Whatever the case, the moments of ridiculousness detract from the flow of the film, which is at times quite intelligent and eye-opening.

This is a movie made primarily for comic book fans and if you happen to be one of those, I highly recommend giving it a watch.  If you’re more of a casual comic and super hero person, it may not be the best choice.  Unless you love Mark Hamill.  He does a great job the whole way through.

If you haven’t heard the news by now, you’re seriously living under a rock at the bottom of an ocean.  The almighty, Disney-controlled, Star Wars Episode VII finally has its director and the winner is… J.J. Abrams.  Yup, the same guy who had the task of rebooting the Star Trek universe is now going to get the chance to tackle the return to Star Wars.  Needless to say, this has caused mixed reactions among the geek crowds.

Some are all good with it while others are screaming that Abrams isn’t the right choice.  Well, it’s bloody Star Wars and there’s never going to be an agreement on who should take over, so we can leave most of the yelling and screaming where it belongs, in the Internet archives.  But the question does need to be raised of whether Abrams is capable of doing this, whether you like his work or not.  In my opinion, he may not be the best man, but he’s certainly in the top 10 percent.  Why, you ask?  Well, several reasons.

First of all, he’s already shown he can tackle one major franchise with success.  He took an old and tired Star Trek and gave it new life, presenting the powers that own it with new opportunities to create and expand.  No longer do they need to adhere to decades of canon, always worried that one small detail will enrage the fanboys that thrive on consistency and perfection.  The Star Trek property is open to new creative input.  As a Star Trek fan, I am grateful for this.  He will likely be able to do the same for Star Wars, albeit by setting up a new future for the franchise, not eliminating the old one.

Second, he’s shown with his movie Super 8 that he knows how to appeal to kids in a non-traditional manner. Thus, we are free of the dangers of a repeat of the Jar Jar Binks situation that caused us such pain in Episode I.  He’ll be able to give the franchise the needed kid-appeal without resorting to base clichés and mindless slapstick.

And third, he’s worked in television long enough to know what a long-lived series like Star Wars will need in Episode VII so that all future episodes and spin-offs will not be confined by his writing.  In fact, I’d venture he opens the world up so that new possibilities arise.  Ultimately, that relies on the writer as well, but Abrams will have enough creative control with enough experience backing him to really set the series on solid legs for at least a decade.

The biggest danger I see is that Star Wars and Star Trek may, stylistically speaking, end up looking way too similar.  This may confuse new viewers, hurt marketing and limit the appeal of each franchise as it stands on its own.  It will be, in my opinion, Abrams greatest challenge, to make sure this doesn’t happen.  Let’s hope he can pull it off.

So whether you enjoy his endless lens flares or otherwise, Abrams certainly has the skills to get the job done.  I, for one, have renewed faith in Episode VII and am looking forward to seeing what Abrams brings us in 2015.

As each one of Peter Jackson’s movies comes and goes, I find myself liking him less and less.  What started out as an amazing vision for Lord of the Rings has now degenerated into the pretty good but not spectacular production that is The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.  While I can say that I did enjoy the film and that many parts of it were truly spectacular, Jackson and the production studio’s decision to turn it into three films ultimately made the first installment drag on and come to a rather long-winded conclusion.

In case you don’t already know, The Hobbit pretty much follows the story in the book of the same name, although Jackson, in order to stretch the film out and add more back-story, delved into some of J.R.R. Tolkien’s other works.  So what we end up with is a very long Hobbit movie with lots of other little bits and pieces.  The extra stuff was actually really interesting and I was happy that he did that.  Unfortunately, the execution of the main storyline is a little wonky.  Some parts were changed that didn’t need to be changed, and the main motivator was nothing less than having a few more action scenes in the film - a fatal flaw that most directors seem to be afflicted with these days.

Probably the highest point for me in the film was the acting of Martin Freeman, who played Bilbo Baggins.  He pulls off an amazing fantasy character, despite a few goofy lines he’s expected to say, and is definitely the best thing about the entire production.  I also enjoyed the way they slipped some of the old songs into the film, though they could have gotten away with more.  The singing added a unique element to the film and made it very much true to Tolkien’s story along with the cartoon adaptation that I remember enjoying as a child.  Other highlights include, of course, the amazing special effects (though I did not see it in IMAX, 3D or the 48 fps format) and huge production values.

All-in-all, The Hobbit was a great way to start off the trilogy, though I suspect that three movies was probably one too many.  The excuse for the extra film may have been to put in all the additional content, but the reality is that Jackson just extended his action scenes for way too long.  By the time the last nearly-thirty-minute sequence ended, I was ready to go home, regardless of any epilogue.  It was just too much and too gimmicky to be enjoyable, even in the context of a fantasy film.

Hopefully the next installment will be just as enjoyable, but I doubt Jackson will fix the errors he had in this one.  People seem to love pointless action and so it will continue to haunt movies to their detriment.  Eventually we may get past this old and worn out cliché and be able to move on, but until then, The Hobbit is about as good as any fantasy film is going to get.  I recommend a watch, though make sure to have a little caffeine before you start in.