3D in Adolescence

Over the past few months, I've come to the realization that 3D is going to be around for a long while yet.  Unlike 3D fads in previous decades, it's not going out of style anytime soon.  As a viewer, the decision and progress is out of my hands.  The question is, where does the industry stand? 

Losing The Finder

Fox's freshman show The Finder was officially cancelled in April.  The backdoor spinoff of Bones was the latest in the quirky crime genre that includes Monk, Psych, and White Collar.  While The Finder played the quirkiness card very well, most of the show's other attributes were rather shallow or misdirected.  For starters, the recurring storyline had the greatest focus on the supporting characters, leaving little for the protagonist, Walter Sherman (played by Geoff Stults).  What little story Walter was given seemed to be deliberately downplayed and neglected.  This coupled with an already risky concept gave Fox an excuse for "The Firefly treatment." 

The X-303 Prequel-theous

Hailed as Ridley Scott's return to sci-fi and anticipated as a new masterwork of horror, Prometheus falls a little shy of expectations.  The intense film satisfies the Alien fan's need for suspense, deadly creatures, and human maiming, but not in exposition.  The characters are archetypes built from the original cast but aren't overly derivative and the story expands the mythology.  Like most prequels, the failings are in the details.  There are the unfortunate continuity errors and some of the plot points are poorly connected or unexplained.  Bottom line, the film gets the blood pumping and the stomach churning, but it doesn't fully gap the missing information of Alien or even itself.  

Aliens, Predators, and Gods, oh my!

The upcoming Prometheus is a prequel to Alien, the first of four films and two crossovers. With a new story and direction in the series, let's take a look at what this universe contains so far.

SPOILERS OF THE ALIEN AND PREDATOR MOVIES AHEAD.

House: The Final Season

Fox's long running medical drama, House, suffered a common ailment of popular shows in their final run.  It ran just a bit too long.  The eighth and final season limped to its finale as the signature wit and charm fizzled out.  The primary problem was the depleted material.  House's cases had become less interesting, the original team had dispersed, and the recurring conflicts of the previous seasons had either been resolved or dropped.  There was very little left of the character discourse and Sherlock-ian methodology that had carried the series to success.  

Avengers Assemble, But Only For A While

After a four year drumroll, The Avengers has arrived and it's a hit.  Marvel now has the commercial leverage it needs to pursue further films within the Cinematic Universe, and in stand alone series like the upcoming Amazing Spider-Man.  That clout puts Marvel producers in a rather unique and unprecedented position.  They can produce multiple films in the same universe at the same time and release up to several per year.  While it may sound cool for fans, Marvel faces a danger of going too far too fast with their films.  Multiple films means a longer investment in the characters and a risk of formulaic stagnation.  Then there's the difficulty in adaptation that the writers are already facing, and which will only get worse.  If Marvel isn't careful, their franchise could run away into multiplicity, and then, oblivion.  

Young Indy in World War I

(This is a continuation of a post from several months ago.  Click here to read.)  

Indiana Jones' erratic military career during The Great War spanned a volume and a half of the series.  During his service in the Belgian Army, Indy served as an infantryman, courier, officer, translator, aerial photographer, and finally, intelligence operative.  The constant vocation change made the tone of the second volume very uneven.  Some episodes had a very serious and/or dramatic feel, while others were comedic or downright cartoonish.  In either case, the series did manage to introduce some nice war action comparable to the films, along with some romantic subplots and character growth.  

Primer for The Avengers

The release of Marvel's big crossover film, The Avengers, is coming out this week.  Now, despite what AMC Theaters would have you to believe, there is a chronological viewer order that differs from the release order.  This post lists the Marvel films in that order, with all information needed to watch The Avengers.  

REVISED ON 06/15/13

The Great Actor Migration

I've noticed a lot of established feature film actors appearing in television shows lately.  This is a little unusual given that Hollywood films are usually considered the top tier of prestige and status, not to mention paychecks.  For most of Hollywood history, many actors would become famous or at least established on television before transitioning to the big screen.  Very rarely would they go the other way around.  Here are some examples of big screen actors who have appeared as regular cast members on prime time television shows in the last couple years:

The Adventures of Tintin

No, this is not a late review of the over-the-top, Oscar-snubbed,  animated Spielberg film.  I'm looking into the 1990's animated series that I watched as a kid and which recently became available on Netflix streaming.  This was a pretty bold kids' show that, inspired by the source material, had to toe the line of what was appropriate for young viewers.  To date, it's also been the most accurate video adaptation of the comics.  

The Conspiracy Syndrome

I've watched a number of crime dramedies on television and I've noticed that each one tries to include some sort of larger recurring mystery and/or conspiracy to hook the audience.  What I find interesting is that the recurring mystery is rarely the reason for their ratings.  Most often it's characters, humor, and the mysteries of the week that attract viewers.   So, why do producers continually write one in and what effect does it have on the show itself?  Let's take a look. 

The Box Office Games

The Hunger Games, fresh off it's opening weekend, has scored very well at the box office, especially considering it being the first film in its series.  The film is a perfect formula for modern Hollywood producers and audiences.  The action, romance, and topical themes from the novel bring in a wide audience and there are equally successful sequels ready to go.  Furthermore, the story makes for easy catering to popular cinematography and editing practice that succeed in telling the story without excessive creative effort (which also means a quicker production time).  The downside of all this is various issues that happen in page-to-screen adaptation.  Themes and morals from the novel are glazed over in favor of action and the larger story of the whole trilogy.  In the end it all worked; the film scored well in both B.O. receipts and critical reception.  

The Phantom Menace Indeed

No, I haven't seen it yet, but the numbers are finally in and in its opening weekend, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace 3D rated number 4 at the Box Office.  The film (in its second theatrical release) came in during the lower competition season and, while it no doubt drew a few more people to theaters than normal, I'm afraid it may be a small beginning of what will turn into a larger issue. 

Lost TV of the 21st Century

Probably one of the most influential sci-fi shows of the 2000's was ABC's Lost (2004-2010).  The success of the series (along with Battlestar Galactica) gave rise to serialized shows and spawned a number of imitators, most of which were unable to capitalize on its elements.  Despite the praise, the show had a number of flaws (including, but not limited to, the ending) and the unfortunate truth is that most of the imitating shows replicated those flaws rather than the points of the series that made it successful. 

The Cinematic Significance of Bruce Almighty

While watching the 2003 religious comedy, Bruce Almighty, on TV the other day, I realized the film marked a critical turning point in the careers of two actors: Jim Carrey and Steve Carell.  It's not very apparent within the film itself, but after its release, Carrey's popularity and marketability began to wane, while Carell's increased.  What's funny about the whole situation is that it wasn't planned or expected; just another day at the office for everyone involved. 

Rocky Robo-Picture Show

Recently released Real Steel was mocked on concept before it even hit theaters and while it has Hollywood branding all over it, the film is not short on execution.  It's a classic estranged family story combined with the popular elements of Rocky with some robots thrown in which add some parallels to modern techno-dependence.  Bottom line, if you can swallow the concept, the rest of the film is smooth sailing.

Conan the Borebarian

The recently released incarnation of Conan the Barbarian was a dismal display of wooden acting, over-the-top heroism, and tensionless whoop-ass. It not only failed as a fantasy action film, it failed as a film at all. Conan floated from one scene to another to display various methods of killing while the supporting cast seemed so uncertain in their deliveries, I wonder if they were told what film they were in. The film's effects, while adequate, were hardly spectacular enough to over-compensate for the other failings. All of which compound a flimsy and plotless script.

Young Indy Season 1

I just completed a screening of the first season of The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones (or as they were known in the 90's, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles).  What is amazing to me is this series was the true forerunner to the Star Wars prequels with the same storytelling motions (and mistakes).  While Young Indy was more enjoyable on average, the series still fell short of its own goals and was always uncertain of its own demographic.  The season also suffered from weak supporting characters, most of whom were removed as the focus concentrated solely on Indy.
(Note: The re-edited episodes I watched have two separate stories per single episode, so the number that follows an episode title refers to which story.  Ex. My First Adventure (2) refers to the second story of the episode My First Adventure.)

Captain America vs. The First Avenger

Terms to avoid confusion
Captain America: The 1990 direct-to-video film
The First Avenger: The 2011 theatrical film
The Captain/Cap/Steve Rogers: the main character of the comics and both films.

Buried in the obscurity of bad cinema history circa 1990, is the first feature length Captain America film. Like most superhero films of the 20th century, it was a stand alone adaptation made to capitalize on the 50th anniversary of the comics and was one of the most unspectacular fails in superhero cinema. Despite proper preparation in marketing, the film was never released in theaters and appeared directly on video two years after the planned release. Though I don't know the business fiasco that caused this, I can say the punishment fit the crime. The film suffered from an erratic plot, poor characters, and of course, a feeble portrayal of the source material.

Prequels and Proud (Part II)

I recently read a quote from screenwriter Damon Lindelof, who is working on the new Alien prequel called Prometheus.  He had this to say about prequels:

"I've always felt that really good prequels should be original movies. And the sequels to those prequels should not be the movie which already exists, because, with all due respect to anyone who makes a prequel, but why would you ruin the greatest twist in the history of cinema, 'Luke, I am your father,' by showing me three movies which basically spoil that surprise? You can do movies which take place before Star Wars, but I don't need to see the story of the Skywalker clan. Show me something else, which I can't guess the possible outcome of. There is no suspense in inevitability."

This, coupled with my reviews of the Star Wars and X-men prequels, made me think of the difficulty in producing a prequel.  A lot of prequels fail because they're cheaper, have weaker characters, and/or a back story that just doesn't jive with the original.  With that difficulty, I thought I'd give a shout out to some prequels that managed to succeed. (Note: These are from my own viewing experience, I haven't seen every prequel out there)

Prequel and Proud

X-Men First Class
This should have been the first X-Men film ever made.  More than just a prequel, it bridged the comics and films by taking place in the same time period as the comics and providing an engaging backstory for some of the staple characters.  James McAvoy (Charles Xavier) and Michael Fassbender (Erik Lensharr) had some big shoes to fill and both played their roles well beyond expectations.  The film prioritizes its comic origins, which buoys it against the other X-men films, but creates a few flaws along the way.  The more vibrant colors and less serious tone actually made the film more believable than the more serious predecessors.  However, this loyalty to the roots do work against the film in some areas.

Star Trek Family Tree

Star Trek, the Founding Father: Began the family business by starting out with nothing.  He struggled at first, but eventually prospered.  As he got older he was able to expand the business and keep it going strong. 

The Animated Series, the Ex-wife: She seemed like just what was needed at the time, but it just didn't work out and she left.  Some members of the family talk to her, but most don't, and now she's just a footnote from the father's youth.   

The Next Generation, the First-born: He got a lot of attention and favoritism for being the firstborn.  He had his awkward age growing up, but eventually grew up to live up to his father's legacy as a strong leader in the family company.  But, as it often goes, when it came time for the father to step aside and turn over the reigns (when TNG went silver screen), he faltered and just couldn't match his father's brilliance, beginning a decline in the family name. 

Deep Space Nine, the 2nd Born: This one didn't have the favoritism from its parents as he grew up, so he had to make its own way on hard work.  He thought differently than his parents and started doing his own thing, which he succeeded at.  He got a lot of support from his older brother until he (TNG) became head of the company, which started sibling rivalry began that often worked against DS9.  They managed to make it work, but not as well as they could have. 

Voyager, the Runt: The last of the three children and the worst off.  He just couldn't keep up with his older brothers, despite getting some help.   He was mostly a disappointment growing up, with a few pleasant surprises here and there.  Eventually it found one thing it was good at (sexy Borgs) and stuck with it.  It was the kind of thing that made parents shrug and say, "Whatever makes him happy." 

Enterprise, the Wicked Step-mom: In three words; young, dumb, and sexy.  She married into the family because she made the father happy after the difficulty with his sons.  Most of the family really doesn't like her, but there's not much they can do about it.  She was given a position of authority in the company, and then she ran the whole thing into the ground with her dumb decisions and refusal to listen to anyone.  By the time she grew up a little and came to her senses, it was too little, too late. 

Star Trek '09, the younger Half-Sibling: The child of the father and the step-mom.  He has the sexy trendiness of his mother and the inspiration of his father. He is a new generation of the family line, as the other children have grown up and had their day.  He gets away with a lot more than the other children did because his very old father spoils him so much.  He carries the future hope of the family on his shoulders and its still uncertain how he will handle it.

The Decline of the Opening Title Sequence

Some of you who regularly watch television, or even shows on Netflix and Hulu, may have noticed that fewer shows nowadays are using a full Opening Title Sequence.  Most just throw up the title in a few seconds, then make the Act I credits longer.  Title sequences have varied through television history and some have had a hand in shaping a show's identity.

Bloody Pirates!!

5 Reasons Why On Stranger Tides Felt Like a Cheap Sequel

I finally saw the new Pirates movie and while I feared the worst going in, it was okay, and just okay.  While the stronger points of the previous films are still there, the film has several flaws that bring it down.  

1. The Cast: While good ole Jack Sparrow, Barbosa, and Gibbs come back to shine, the absence of the remaining characters is sorely missed.  I'm not even talking about Will and Elizabeth because their story was effectively concluded in At World's End.  No, I mean Ragetti (wooden eye guy), Peintel (wooden eye's friend), Marty (the midget), Cotton, and Cotton's parrot.  The audience has gotten to know this quirky crew over three films and it's really disappointing that not a one of them appeared in this one.  Instead, they are replaced with a bunch of pirate red shirts with little to contribute on screen and that the audience doesn't really care about.  It just felt like we were in a different universe without all these familiar faces to ground us.  
2. The Little Mermaid: This is part of the first reason, but it was such a glaring drag, it warranted its own category.  A sub plot of the film involved the pirates capturing a mermaid and one of the crew (who looks suspiciously like Prince Eric) falling in love with her.  These two are  incredibly weak stand-ins for Will and Elizabeth.  Like I said, we already don't care about the new crew and giving one of them some extra story that's separate from the main characters (especially Jack) is really detracting.  Sam Claflin, who played the new pretty boy, deserves his own Razzie for "More Wooden Than Orlando Bloom."  
3. TLI: A problem with At World's End was too much information was thrown at the audience that it was a little difficult to keep up during a single viewing.  On Stranger Tides did the opposite, there was too little information.  Like the previous films, it introduced new villains, mysticism, and myths that are explored, but a lot is left unexplained.  Where does Blackbeard get his voodoo power?  We don't know.  Why did Blackbeard attack the Black Pearl in the first place?  We don't know.  Where did the Fountain of Youth come from, Calypso?  We don't know.  Why do the Spanish care so much about the Fountain?  The list goes on, making the audience feel less confused, but more unfulfilled.   
4. Soundtrack: The music of the new film was shamelessly recycled.  It sounded like the editors took the soundtracks from the previous films and just worked them in where they could.  The same score played almost endlessly and there was no attempt to create some new compositions or variations for the new circumstances.  I remember hearing only one new song on a spanish guitar, and it was a marginal change.  
5. A few shillings short of an Epic: This is more a problem with how the franchise was handled as a whole.  The producers really outdid themselves with the massive scale of At World's End that any followup films would pale in comparison, which this one did.  Now, I'm glad they didn't try to overreach themselves by trying to go bigger, but the film did feel a little less thrilling than its predecessors with lower stakes and smaller action.  A better way would have been to make each film a stand alone adventure and each one would slowly build on the other.  Coulda, woulda, shoulda.  

While I won't say I regretted seeing On Stranger Tides, I can't say I walked out of the theater feeling invigorated either.  When I saw The Curse of the Black Pearl, I was so taken with it that I grabbed as many friends and family that I could find and took them with me on 2nd, 3rd, and 4th viewings.  After this last one, I just started to forget about it a bit.  I felt like I had seen an enjoyable TV movie; just something I didn't mind doing when I had nothing else to really do.  I can only hope these flaws are corrected in any future installments.  

Long Past Sci Fi Prime

Since I mentioned SyFy Channel in my last series on Stargate Universe, I thought I'd do a little blurb on them.

Despite anyone's idealized version of history, Sci Fi Channel was not created so science fiction television would have a permanent home.  It was a business venture of USA Networks (then owned by Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios) to create an outlet for the large volume of classic sci-fi shows and films that the studios had in their archives but had no place to air.  These included Dracula, Frankenstein, Night Gallery, Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek, etc.  Now this provided a moderate income, but with its success, some original programming was added to draw even more viewers.  This eventually led to the Sci Fi Prime lineup on Friday nights (hosted by that wonderfully creepy lady).  The network aired their flagship original programming during this time block, as part of the "counter-programming" approach I mentioned.  Most networks don't air shows on Fridays because they figure most people will go out to the movies, parties, dates, etc.  Sci Fi Channel could get away with it since it could be argued their viewer demographic was a bunch of nerds/geeks who don't have a life.  This is a gross generalization to be sure, but not without merit.