From ‘Coraline’ to ‘Kubo’: Ranking Laika Animation Films

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September 30, 2016

In less than a decade, Laika Animation has ascended from a studio mostly known for contract work to one of the most critically heralded storytellers on the planet. Thanks to films like their most recent effort, Kubo and the Two Strings (read our reviews here and here), Laika continues to push the art of stop-motion animation to the cutting edge, delivering poignant, multilayered stories that resonate with adults and children alike. Essentially, the studio has become second to only Pixar in creating a near-flawless track record of stories the whole family can enjoy. Here’s a closer look at each of their feature-length releases, not counting contract work on films like Corpse Bride.

4. The Boxtrolls (2014)

Just because The Boxtrolls is in last place on this list, don’t for one-second think that means it’s a substandard effort by Laika. On the contrary, the film — which takes place in a small town overrun by the titular mysterious, feared creatures — is a quirky delight. Melding together heartfelt drama, light-hearted comedy and more than a little bit surreal, The Boxtrolls in particular features a standout vocal performance by Sir Ben Kingsley as the villain hellbent on hunting down the boxtrolls.

3. Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)

This Japanese-inspired adventure features Art Parkinson as a one-eyed boy with the ability to conjure magic with his stringed shamisen. When Kubo’s past comes back to haunt him, he is sent on a quest to locate long-lost relics that can change the course of his life. If that plot description sounds a bit typical of Japanese folklore, that’s a conscious move on the part of the team at Laika. Kubo and the Two Strings is an allegorical fable of sorts full of stunning animation, a powerful message and winning voice performances by Oscar winners Charlize Theron and Matthew McConaughey.

2. Paranorman (2012)

At first glance, it may be hard to tell Paranorman apart from other spooky animated films like Monster House and Frankenweenie. What sets Laika’s film apart from its counterparts, however, is the way in which the tale unfolds. The film is a celebration of those who are different and makes an emotionally devastating point about the difficulty they face in earning acceptance. That’s a message that’s especially timely given all the talk about bullying in recent years, but it’s folded into a zombie-filled romp with genuine scares, jokes and some of the most popular characters Laika has conceived to date.

1. Coraline (2009)

Even several years later, Laika’s first feature still stands as its best. Based on the Neil Gaiman novel, Coraline — directed by The Nightmare Before Christmas‘s Henry Selick — sees its neglected heroine travel into a bizarre parallel world where everything seems perfect…at first. What she soon discovers is that sometimes you truly do have to be careful what you wish for, and Dakota Fanning’s voicework easily makes Coraline the most well-rounded hero of any Laika film. The visuals in Coraline also qualify as one of the only times 3-D was used to great effect. Let’s not forget the Other Mother, easily one of the most terrifying movie villains of the past decade. It might scare the hell out of small children, but Coraline creates such a captivating vision that they’ll be re-watching it anyway.

What’s your favorite Laika Animation film? Share your feedback in the comments section below.

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5 Horror Movie Remakes That Actually Worked Well

By

Robert Yaniz Jr.

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September 30, 2016

Horror movie remakes have a controversial history and with good reason. In the last decade or so, Hollywood seems obsessed with dusting off of all of the most beloved horror films ever made in a mad dash to cash in on the brand recognition. In reality, no one considered the Halloween, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Amityville Horror and Poltergeist remakes an improvement over the respective original classics. While not a remake in the traditional sense, Blair Witch does revisit many of the tropes that made the 1999 film such a game-changer, leading us to reconsider the few times in which a remake to a popular horror film managed to do justice to their scream-inducing forefathers. We’re disqualifying classic remakes that have easily eclipsed original films to focus on more recent releases that successfully escaped the shadows of their cinematic pasts.

1. The Ring (2002)

It’s impressive enough that director Gore Verbinski’s film managed to carve itself a place in the annals of horror history, but even more impressively, The Ring marks the rare case in which an American remake of a Japanese horror film was able to stand up next to its predecessor. Following The Ring‘s box office and critical success, a string of similar Japanese-to-American horror remakes were released, and star Naomi Watts was brought back for a sequel in 2005. Since then, the American arm of the franchise has been dormant, though it is set to return with the early 2017 release of Rings.

2. Dawn of the Dead (2004)

These days, Zack Snyder may be best known for bringing the world of DC Comics to life with films like Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. However, the filmmaker made his directorial debut with this remake of the 1978 George A. Romero classic. Snyder’s film keeps the general premise of the original intact but fleshes it out in some truly horrific. A wickedly entertaining script by James Gunn (yes, the director behind Guardians of the Galaxy) and a stellar ensemble cast that includes Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames and Jake Weber ensure that Romero’s legacy is in very good hands indeed.

3. The Crazies (2010)

Another remake of a film by George A. Romero, this one revisits the director’s 1973 sci-fi horror thrill ride about a virus that turns ordinary citizens into bloodthirsty killers. Timothy Olyphant and Radha Mitchell lead the film, with Breck Eisner (The Last Witch Hunter) in the director’s chair and Romero himself serving as executive producer. The Crazies earned plenty of strong critical notices for its B-movie perfection and turned a tidy profit, bringing in more than twice its production budget at the worldwide box office.

4. Let Me In (2010)

Mainstream audiences may not be familiar with the Swedish film Let the Right One In, but horror aficionados have likely seen it and can vouch for just how well this remake — which stars Chloe Moretz, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Richard Jenkins — capture the haunting melancholy of the 2008 film on which it is based. Director Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) has proven his deft ability to tell stories that combine genre tropes to convey character-driven tales that challenge and enthrall audiences. Let Me In is no exception.

5. Fright Night (2011)

Colin Farrell may have headlined the ill-conceived Total Recall remake, but we’ll try not to hold that against him. After all, Farrell also stars as the main villain in this far more successful remake. Based on the 1985 film, Anton Yelchin stars as a young man who suspects that a neighbor has just moved in next door. The new Fright Night was particularly smart to reinvent enough about the original to keep it fresh. However, it still retains the spirit of fun that made the story a cult classic back in the 1980s.

Which horror remake do you think was a success? Sound off with your thoughts in the comments section below.

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Episode 94: ‘Deepwater Horizon’ The ‘Dark Knight’ of Disaster Films

By

Matthew Sardo

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September 30, 2016

The disaster film genre is filled with guilty pleasures, like ‘Armageddon,’ ‘Independence Day,’ and ‘Twister.’ Could Peter Berg’s ‘Deepwater Horizon’ be the best disaster film of the past 40 years? That is the discussion at hand.

Strap yourself in buckaroos! Episode 94 of the Monkeys Fighting Robots podcast is here.

Do you want to be our SUPER-FAN of the week? All you have to do is comment on this podcast to be eligible.

Articles mention in the podcast:
‘Deepwater Horizon’: The Best Disaster Movie Since ‘Towering Inferno’
Controversial & Bizarre: The Top 10 Most Shocking Films Of All Time

Do you have a question that you would like answered during the show?
Email your questions to matt@popaxiom.com.

If you are looking to sponsor the podcast email matt@popaxiom.com as well.

About the Monkeys Fighting Robots Podcast:

A Gen Xer and a Millennial debate the latest topics in pop culture. One guy is a filmmaker and the other is a journalist, but both are nerds. We make your slowest days at work better. Hosts, Matthew Sardo and EJ Moreno.

Never heard of Matt Sardo?
For starters, he made the Kessel Run in less than 11 parsecs. Prior to that, he gave Doc Brown the idea for the flux capacitor and led the Resistance to victory over SkyNet – all while sipping a finely crafted IPA. As a radio host, he’s interviewed celebrities, athletes and everyone in between. He’s covered everything from the Super Bowl to Comic-Con.

Who is EJ Moreno?
Is he a trained physician? No. Is he a former Miss Universe contestant? Possibly. But what we know for sure is he’s a writer, filmmaker, and pop culture enthusiast. Since film school, EJ has written & directed several short films. He’s used his passion of filmmaking to become a movie critic for MonkeysFightingRobots.com.

Places you can find the show:
iTunes
Google Play
Stitcher

Reviews are greatly appreciated – How to Rate and Review a Podcast in iTunes

Thank you for listening!

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Review: Amanchu! – ‘Pleasant Diving’

By

Logan Peterson

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September 30, 2016

Amanchu! is about two girls who fall in love. They want to munch each other so bad that by the end that I was beaming from ear to ear during their whole love confession. Now I know it sounds silly to describe a slice of life show about girls diving, as a romance. While most of the content is spent on anoui, and the feelings of change, I think the most driving force of the show is the two main characters Teko and Pikari falling in love. The story presents both of them coming together rather subvertly and once you realize it (unless you were looking for it as I was) it almost floods your heart with warm feelings. All things that work into the show itself and make it my favorite of the season, possibly of the year so far.

Amanchu! is referred to the anime savvy as an “Iyashikey” or healing show. It’s meant to give off a nice and warm atmosphere where the cosmic injustices of the world are nowhere present and all that is left to overcome is your own feelings, or sometimes not even that. Amanchu! also has the bonus of being from the creative mind behind Aria, the king of Iyashikei shows. It even shares some of the same idea’s about water considering the mangaka Kozue Amano seems to have a fascination with the sea. Amanchu! even opens up with a little meta phrase referencing that this is basically going to center around the same kind of thing that Aria did.

While the narrative centers around Deep Sea Diving, there isn’t much of it actually going on. Partly because its more concerned with its healing nature, and also because the main character Teko is being freshly introduced to diving. We are literally following her journey to her first dive with the friends she make in the diving club. Her only friends mind you, since she is a freshman who just moved to this ocean town. Teko’s situation comes off very relatable and her personality is often very melancholic. Sure she has a reason to feel alone and sad because she misses her friends, but later on we learn that she was always a loner type who never really had anything to hold dear. It’s not necessarily that her circumstances make her sad, she’s more prone to that as a person. This makes her feelings of missing her friends so potent because we realize it’s hard for her to find things to care about at all. It also makes the scenes where she actually starts trying and caring about things seem more meaningful, because we know how rare it is for her to feel this way. Like when she first dive’s in the pool for the first time. Up to that point she was brooding and standoffish towards everyone and just being jerked around by her classmate, made friend, Pikari. But once she enters the water with Pikari and see’s what it feels like, and the emotion Pikari feels, her expressions changes into wonderment. She wants to feel and understand what Pikari is feeling from diving and share that with her. For the first time maybe forever she discovered something she is interested in, and we get to see that growth of interest turn into love.

While Teko makes the realizations for herself, all of this is instigated by the peppy Pikari, who sits in front of Teko and ropes her into joining the diving club. She is the exact opposite of Teko with only one similarity that only really shines at the end, so i’ll get to that later. At first Pikari takes Teko with her because she’s so obedient and complacent. I honestly think it didn’t really matter to Pikari who she took to the diving club that day but it just happened to be Teko. Pikari is the kind of girl who see’s wonder and happiness in everything. She is in love with diving and the excitement of discovery and freedom it gives her, but the moment she see’s Teko’s expression while in the water for the first time, something starts to change. She see’s a form of wonder that she doesn’t really understand even though she is always finding wonder in the world. This peaks her interest in Teko and thus their love story blooms over their shared path towards diving, with Pikari being at the finish line and Teko being at the starting line. Both are experiencing the same thing from different perspectives but eventually come to the same conclusion of affection. Not just for diving, for each other as well, and the show does this in a very specific way, motivation.

Now at the get-go it feels like their relationship is a one-sided benefit where Pikari is there to help Teko along the path of finding something she can actually love and express her love for. But as we learn about Pikari more her feelings get more complicated. While her personality is peppy and optimistic, there are few things she actually cares about. As she gets to learn more about Teko she comes to realize this, then over the course of the show she finds that more and more she grows to genuinely care about Teko. While she finds her insanely attractive, she also loves her reserved nature and when that nature overflows into happiness. If Pikari’s goal is to be happy with the people around her, then Teko is the ultimate stimulation of this desire. Once she helps Teko reach that point of happiness, the genuine nature of Teko’s happiness makes her see things as more beautiful and precious. This is mirrored in both their joy when they become diving buddies. Which is symbolism of their eventual growth. In the end they stand as equal now both seeing the world from a shared perspective. They take this one step further in confessing their love for each other and wanting to share those emotions about more things other than diving.

Enough about this relationship between Teko and Pikari because I could talk about that all day, and there is more to this show, believe it or not. For one its the incredible character design. Whenever I look at a character from this show my heart overflows with love. I’d have to say Amanchu! has the most attractive characters down right. But what makes them so special is that they are never used to push fan-service. Everything is shot very modestly and when there is skin shown it isn’t treaded any different from the rest of the show. With shows that can’t seem to help but put their lovely characters in less than modest situations at lest once, its nice that Amanchu! isn’t interested in that at all and instead decides to ignore it completely. (However I wouldn’t mind it considering those character designs are gorgeous and I need more of them in my life) Also the way that each character has a certain face they make where their eye change to perfectly fits with all their personalities, is genius. Just another aesthetic choice that makes the emotion of each character really stand out and makes for some nice visual comedy as well.

Another thing Amanchu! touches on besides love is the expression of precious moments. No not those pale figurines your mom has in her glass cabinet. The idea that events in life mean something to us as humans on a deeper level. This is most prominently shown with Teko and her obsession to take pictures. She strives to capture moments in life at first to be able to treasure them dearly. Later this is seen as a problem as she equates the deleting photos to the memories not being important or relevant anymore. Amanchu! handles this with giving her a compromise. She gets a digital frame to keep old pictures, once her phone memory gets filled. Now this seems rather insignificant if you take it at face value. Teko should just get over it. Whats the big deal with just moving those photos to her memory card. Well one you have to remember that Teko has a hard time treasuring or expression love for things in general. The pictures are her way of storing her feelings on certain events. But over her time spent time with Pikari her feelings become more defined where she doesn’t need the photos to store her emotions, but to remind her of the importance of the moment. Basically the pictures end up symbolizing the significance of taking the time to snap a picture and sink in what the moment is making you feel, then being able to look back and remind yourself of the importance. Ultimately what Teko chooses is to keep her current pictures as her scrolling background on her phone and put the pictures from her middle school in her digital frame. This shows us her love for the present and how she grew from the girl who despised her new situation and was dwelling on the past. It’s a balance though because both are important, but only the present is what will affect the person you become tomorrow. And in a show about Teko striving towards something I find that rather fitting.

If I were to say what my favorite thing about Amanchu! was, the relationship between Teko and Pikari would have to be a high number one (which you probably already assumed by now). To sum up my feelings of the show in another way I’d have to quote a conversation I had with my roommate. While watching the show he walked by and said, “This seems like something really cute”. I immediately felt awkward about that word and replied, “Its not really that, its more..pleasant.” As I thought more and more about it I realized that the point of the show isn’t to be cute. The point of Amanchu! is to heal and grow. The characters aren’t supposed to be looked at in an endearing cute way, their meant to gently grow through themes that put the viewer in a pleasant mood and make them optimistic about life in general. I’d like to delve into this distinction further and partly think that is the reason I rated this show a point above New Game! (also a show I loved), which embodied the “cute” tone perfectly I think. Either way Amanchu! is a show that aims to make your life seem better by showing you the best parts of life and that will always be a recommendation from me. And if you need more incentive the theme is by Maaya Sakamoto, so their you go.

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Honey Ginger Shandy from Old Tomorrow Beer – A Honey Review

By

Michael Bedford

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September 30, 2016

Unable to resist the call of the little guy, I’m back with another review of a brew from Old Tomorrow Beer. I’ve previously reviewed Old Tomorrow’s Canadian Pale Ale and Track 85 Lagered Ale, and I had a great time with them! So, this week I decided to review Old Tomorrow’s Honey Ginger Shandy. It might not be summer any more, but tasty brews are good in any season.

Having written about Old Tomorrow’s history and philosophy in previous reviews, I’ll devote this space to writing about their Honey Ginger Shandy instead. According to Old Tomorrow Beer, this is apparently the first Ontarian craft shandy. Honey Ginger Shandy is brewed according to the shandygaff tradition, which apparently originated in the 1850’s. Old Tomorrow also brews their shandy with Muskoka Springs Pale Ginger Ale, the recipe for which has been around since 1873. So, there’s no denying that this shandy, like its brewer, has a strong respect for history.

As usual, though, all this talk about breweries has made me thirsty! So I’m going to open this 473 mL can and pour myself a glass of this Honey Ginger Shandy!

Old Tomorrow Beer: Honey Ginger Shandy – First Sip

Old Tomorrow’s Honey Ginger Shandy is a golden colour and produces about an inch of head as I pour mine into a flared pilsner glass. I notice the sweet smell of ginger ale as I take my first sip. Its aroma introduces this brew’s complex yet subtle flavour nicely.

I taste citrus as well as ginger ale, and both flavours fade to an unmistakable honey aftertaste. This shandy has a thin, almost delicate, mouthfeel. And, with a relatively low carbonation level, there’s little chance of its fizziness overpowering its well-balanced flavour. This a very crisp and refreshing brew that’s great on a hot day or as an afternoon cocktail.

Old Tomorrow Beer: Honey Ginger Shandy – Last Sip

At a very modest 3% ABV, you’re well within your rights to have a few of these tasty beer cocktails. With its almost soda-like smoothness, though, make sure you keep track of how many you’ve had. These sweet brews tend to go down quickly.

Because of this brew’s sweet honey flavour, I, and the good people at Old Tomorrow, suggest pairing the Honey Ginger Shandy with salty foods. Fish & chips, salted nuts, and barbecued chicken are all great picks. Or, just drink it on its own and enjoy this brew’s complex flavour without any distractions.

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First Look at Emma Watson’s Belle Dancing With the Beast

By

Jen Schiller

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September 30, 2016

New photos from the upcoming live-action Beauty and The Beast film hit the internet this morning, according to Comic Book Resources. The stills feature Emma Watson as Belle dancing with the Beast in the iconic ballroom scene, and in a library in her blue dress.

The photos reveal that Watson’s Belle looks almost exactly like Disney’s original character, in her costumes and her demeanor.

Staying True to the Original

Most notably, this is the first time fans get to see what the live-action version of the Beast looks like. So far, the response is positive.

The live adaptation of 1991’s animated Beauty and the Beast is taking very few risks with design. Everything released so far is pulled frame by frame from the original. Additionally, Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast, Tangled, Aladdin) is currently working on the soundtrack. Menken is adding three tracks to his original score, created with late partner Howard Ashman. Ashman passed in the middle of production on the 1991 film, after working along with Menken on hits like The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Broadway’s Little Shop of Horrors.

The Beast’s design is no exception to this trend. The photo shows a realistic version of 1991’s animated character.

Emma Watson: From Hogwarts to French Fantasy

Another image shows Watson as Belle standing on a ladder, holding two books. She is dressed in the blue outfit from the beginning of the film, so it is unclear whether she is in the Beast’s library, or the library from her town.

Inevitably, fans will compare the bookworm character to Watson’s Hermione in the Harry Potter series. For now, however, we’ll just enjoy comparing the film to its animated original.

Based on Disney’s Academy Award-winning film of the same name, Beauty and the Beast is directed by Bill Condon and produced by David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman, with a screenplay by Stephen Chbosky, Bill Condon, and Evan Spiliotopoulos. Music for Beauty and the Beast is by Alan Menken with Tim Rice, based on the original score by Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman.

Beauty and the Beast stars Emma Watson (Belle), Dan Stevens (Beast), Luke Evans (Gaston), Josh Gad (Lefou), and Kevin Kline (Maurice). The film also features Ewan McGregor (Lumiere) and Ian McKellan (Cogsworth), Stanley Tucci (Maestro Cadenza), Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Plumette), Audra McDonald (Madame Garderobe), and Emma Thompson (Mrs. Potts).

Beauty and the Beast is set to premiere March 27th, 2017.

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The Invaders – Roy Thomas’s Take on Timely Comics

By

Michael Bedford

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September 30, 2016

You’ve probably seen them in your local comic shops, collected editions of Roy Thomas‘s run on The Invaders. Starting with Giant-Size Invaders #1 (cover date June, 1975), Roy Thomas and Frank Robbins give readers their own account of the Golden Age of Marvel Comics and the retconned origins of Marvel’s first superhero team, comprised of Captain America, The Human Torch, The Sub-Mariner, Bucky, and Toro.

Although this isn’t my favourite retcon run involving Timely Comics characters, it’s up there on my list, chiefly because it’s one of the first such retcons undertaken by a creative team at Marvel. And, even though the somewhat innocent sensibilities of the ’70s shine through every once in a while, these comics give readers a deeper understanding of the Timely characters’ potential motivations. These characters are also given more depth than their previously one-dimensional representations as superheroes, and superheroes only.

Specifically, The Human Torch provides an interesting character study. Throughout The Invaders’ four-year run, readers experience the often delicate nature of Toro and The Human Torch’s complicated father-son dynamic. But, beyond simply being a distant father figure, the Torch’s synthetic origin causes him no small amount of grief, and becomes the impetus for a rivalry between himself and Captain America.

For the lovelorn teen readers, there’s even a Toro-Golden Girl-Bucky love triangle. I should mention that Golden Girl in this telling isn’t Captain America’s girlfriend Betsy Ross. Instead, Roy Thomas, Frank Robbins, and Frank Springer re-invented her as a Japanese American teenager named Gwenny Lou Sabuki.

But, I’m not here to give away all the juicy stuff. I’m here to review The Invaders’ first adventure from Giant-Size Invaders #1 entitled, “The Coming of The Invaders!” So let’s get to it …

The Coming of The Invaders! – Comparable Stories

The only comparable story-lines that come to mind are Captain America retcons that appear in several issues of Tales of Suspense, starting with #63 (cover date March, 1965), and Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos (#1 cover dated May, 1963), both story-lines written by Stan Lee and drawn by Jack Kirby.

Some cynics might say that Roy Thomas and Frank Robbins were just ripping off Stan and Jack’s early retcons, but that would be a misrepresentation. More than anything, The Invaders represent a loving pastiche of Kirby & Lee’s original work and its subsequent retcons, not a send-up or rip-off of them. It’s obvious when reading The Invaders that Thomas must have enjoyed Timely Comics as a youngster, and wanted to put his own mark on these beloved characters.

The Coming of The Invaders! – Super-Cameos

As in The Marvels Project, which is essentially a retcon of events that happen in The Invaders, there are a helluva lot of walk-ons during this title’s four-year run. I’ve already mentioned Golden Girl, but I won’t name the rest because this article would turn into a laundry list of familiar, and not so familiar, names.

The cameo list for “The Coming of The Invaders” story-line, though without any super-heroic walk-ons, includes President Roosevelt, Hitler, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill! Also, making his first appearance ever is the uber-nationalistic baddie Wilhelm Lohmer AKA Master Man!

The Coming of The Invaders! – The Plot

“The Coming of The Invaders” shows readers a typical “getting the band together” story. An FBI agent contacts Captain America to let him know that Dr. Anderson, a scientist involved in the super-soldier serum experiment that created Cap, is in hospital near death. Cap and Bucky visit Anderson. He tells them that the Nazis have been working on a super-soldier serum of their own.

Anderson tells the star-spangled duo that Nazis kidnapped him and took him to their laboratory. There, Nazi scientists probed his mind for information on Erskine’s original super-soldier serum. Able to extract key information, the Nazis create their super-soldier, Master Man. Upon Master Man’s awakening, though, the Nazi lab comes under attack by The Human Torch and Toro. The fiery android and his young companion rescue Dr. Anderson, but are unable to neutralize Master Man during their attack. So, the FBI orders Cap, Bucky, the Torch, and Toro to stop Master Man who’s en route to Chesapeake Bay in a U-boat.

Once there, Namor the Sub-Mariner reveals his fishy face, he had been incognito among the crew of a British battleship. The five heroes make short work of Master Man. It turns out that the formula used to transform Lohmer into Master Man is only good for a short period. The serum wears off and Lohmer shrinks down to a more manageable size. In fact, in a rare show of usefulness, the diminutive and non-powered Bucky deals the knockout blow.

The Coming of The Invaders! – The Wrap-Up

Namor reveals that British Intelligence asked him to be there to assist in keeping the British battleship safe. The battleship’s need for a super-powered escort becomes clear when we see Prime Minister Winston Churchill disembarking the ship. Churchill thanks them all, and before he leaves them to meet with President Roosevelt he names them The Invaders. After this high-profile meeting, the newly minted team can’t control their patriotism. They charge into the sunset shouting their signature battle cry, “Look out, Axis — Here we come!”

Well, there you have it, True Believers, my review of “The Coming of The Invaders” from Giant-Size Invaders #1. But, if you thought this review would be the final word from The Timely Comics Watchamacallit, you thought wrong. I’ll be back next time with a review of the first story-line from Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s unforgettable Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos.

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Retro Review: Why is ‘Speed 2: Cruise Control’ Such a Despised Sequel?

By

Kris Solberg

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September 30, 2016

The name Jan de Bont might not ring a bell to a lot of people, but chances are you’re familiar with his work. Throughout the 80’s and early 90’s, he established himself as a capable cinematographer through films like Die Hard, The Hunt for Red October, Flatliners, and Basic Instinct. In 1994, he made his directorial debut with Speed, a landmark blockbuster that made an action star out of Keanu Reeves and established Sandra Bullock as a leading name in Hollywood.

After the success he experienced with Speed, de Bont went to the heartlands to direct the storm chaser Twister. The film grossed nearly 500 million at the worldwide box office, and enabled de Bont to choose whatever project he wanted. Rather than go with an original property, he choose to return to the franchise where he got his start to direct Speed 2: Cruise Control.

With a whopping 160 million dollar budget, the flick represented a huge gamble on the part of the studio compared to the modest 30 million dollar budget of the original. Despite seeing the return of Sandra Bullock, the film floundered at the worldwide box office, only grossing 165 million worldwide. It was a huge flop, and killed the franchise dead in its tracks. Now, nearly 20 years on, it’s time to look back to figure out exactly why it has become such a hated sequel.

The film opens with a high-speed chase through the L.A. hills, as Alex Shaw (played by Jason Patric) pursue a delivery truck for an unknown reason. Interchanged through the chase is returning starlet Sandra Bullock (Annie) attempting to regain her license. As their paths cross at the end of the chase, Annie is shocked to discover that the person she thought was a quiet beach cop in Malibu was actually a daring member of the S.W.A.T. team. Determined to woo her graces once more, Alex invites Annie on a cruise to the Caribbean, which she reluctantly accepts.

From here the film cuts to the Seabourn Legend, a Norwegian cruise liner set for St. Martin. Our happy couple embark along with the other passengers before the ship sets sail. Once on-board, they meet Geiger, played by instantaneous bad guy Willem Dafoe, as well as every other principal cast member of the film. The boat casts off, and away we go.

Well into the film, Geiger takes control of the ship and forces the crew to evacuate most of the passengers. Those remaining are set on a collision course with an oil tanker. Alex makes several failed attempts to stop the boat, but manages at the last minute to veer it off course to avoid collision with the tanker. The feeling of relief is short-lived however, as the ship finds its new course heading straight into a small coastal town in St. Martin. The subsequent collision is the film’s biggest action scene, and allegedly cost 25 million dollars to film. Despite its age, the practical and visual effects still hold up, so the scene still looks quite spectacular.

Safely docked inside the city, Alex sets off after Geiger who kidnapped Annie earlier in the film. He hijacks a local man’s boat, whom interestingly is the same man which got his car hijacked in Speed, and begins his chase. After catching up with Geiger and Annie, he rescues his beloved and they narrowly escape the plane. Without a hostage, Geiger crashes into the same oil tanker he had plotted for the Seabourn Legend to collide with earlier in the film. While surviving his initial collision, his plane sparks fire, causing the entire oil tanker to blow up.

Hearing the plot summarized like that makes the film sound like a standard action flick. It’s a by-the-numbers blockbuster, so why is this film so despised? As of this review, it is sitting at a 3.7 on IMDB, a Metascore of 23, and only 3% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film only earned 165 million worldwide, while the original earned 350 million with only 1/5 of the budget.

The biggest reason for audiences malice towards the film is its failure to live up to expectation. Fans of the first flick went in expecting a high-octane thrill ride from start to finish that could rival the original. Instead they got a methodical slow-burning action thriller more interested in showing you how the villain achieved his goal, than filling the movie with meaningful set pieces. The predictability of its character arcs adds to this issue. If you want to have a slow-burning film, the likely path of your characters needs to be hidden. If you populate your movie with action archetypes, it is hard to keep your audience engaged through a methodical build-up as they will uncover your reveal right away.

There are other issues as well of course, but most of those are simply standard rationality issues with blockbuster action flicks. Like why didn’t they just turn the ship away from the harbor once they realized the bow thrusters enabled them to steer? Or why didn’t they use flares to warn the oil tanker that they couldn’t steer earlier on? Or why would Geiger evacuate the ship if he was willing to kill the remaining passengers by steering it into the oil tanker?

The point is, for all intents and purposes, Speed 2 is a standard action blockbuster. It has a cheesy villain with the craziest crazy eyes of all time, a solid concept, a capable cast, and some cool action sequences. Unfortunately, it had to follow one of the greatest action flicks of the 90’s, and no amount of crazy eyes will drag it up to that level. People hate it cause they feel cheated out of something as creative as the original. If it’d been released under the name Cruise Control, it likely would’ve fared a lot better.

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Getting Ready for Netflix’s Luke Cage – the bullet points

By

Dan Hex

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September 30, 2016

Getting Ready for Netflix’s Luke Cage – the bullet points

It seems like the whole world is ready to binge-watch Netflix’s new series, Luke Cage. Part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Luke Cage continues the tales of Marvel’s “street level” characters. The characters of Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Daredevil, Iron Fist and even the Punisher are long-viewed as “street level” characters by Marvel in both the comic books and the cinematic universe. Within the backstory, this means that street-level characters typically protect their local neighborhood, can blend in with the “average” folks and don’t have abilities as powerful as most Avengers do. For writers, this street-level concept can often lead to gritty, personal storylines that often stand apart from the broader, epic stories.

Kevin Feige, Marvel Studios and Netflix clearly realize this and tailor the Netflix series to echo the approach used in comics.

The results have been excellent. Daredevil and Jessica Jones are well-regarded and expectations are high for Luke Cage as well as the upcoming Iron Fist. All of the main characters of these Netflix series will comprise a group known as The Defenders, which is also scheduled to get a series. The Defenders began as a fairly successful comic book series from the 1970’s. Additionally, the approach of the Netflix series appeals to those viewers who often enjoy grittier action-dramas such as Justified or Sons of Anarchy.

As you get ready to binge-watch, here are a few bullet-points about Luke Cage that might help set the stage for a weekend of popcorn and Netflix.

Official Synopsis (link)

Luke Cage is a former gang member who is framed for a crime. In prison, he volunteers for a medical experiment that goes awry, giving him super strength and bulletproof skin. Using his newfound powers, Cage escapes and becomes a hero for hire. His archenemy is Willis Stryker, a former childhood friend from Harlem. The two committed petty crimes together, and both fell for the same woman, Reva Connors, which led to their eventual falling out. It was Stryker who framed Cage for a drug deal that sent him to prison.

What to expect and things to know:

Kickoff is Friday, September 30^th at 3:00am EST
All episodes are named from titles of Gang Starr songs.
An exceptional soundtrack.
Hat-tips to classic Luke Cage characters, stories and images from the comic’s.
Structural similarities to the HBO series, The Wire.
Story elements and arcs that deal with a variety of modern issues.
The Netflix series gives writing credits to original writer Archie Goodwin.

Who to look for:

Alfre Woodard’s as Mariah Stokes – a take on Black Mariah from the comics.
Misty Knight – a NYPD detective in this series, but also long-time paramour of Danny Rand aka Iron Fist.
Cottonmouth Stokes – big bad guy of the series inspired in part by Biggie Smalls.

Who we hope to see:

Colleen Wing, Daughter of the Dragon
Dave “DW” Griffith – theater owner and a good friend of Luke’s in the comic’s.
Jessica Jones!

Netflix Series List & Marvel Studios productions

Daredevil (seasons 1&2 available)
Jessica Jones (season 1 available)
Luke Cage (premiered 9/30/16)
Iron Fist (premieres 2017)
The Defenders
The Punisher

*In the comics, Luke Cage is often referred to as Power-Man. I don’t think that will be the case for this show, but they might weave it in somewhere!

Sweet Christmas! – catchphrase of Luke Cage

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Review: ‘Miss Peregrine’ Is An Effective First Step Into A Weird World

By

Dewey Singleton - Film Critic

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September 30, 2016

Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children is a whimsical trip into a dark, vibrant and yet very obscure world. Fans of the wildly popular young adult series written by Ranson Riggs will be pretty pleased with the final product. Tim Burton shows audiences once more why he is a master of art direction, if very little more these days, as he creates a world of visual splendor and narrative twists that are intriguing and ominous.

Miss Peregrine is a story centered around a teenage boy named Jake (Asa Butterfield), who is driven to investigate his late grandfather’s (Terrance Stamp) past at a special home for children in Wales. What’s surprising is, within this simple enough narrative, there is an ample amount of melancholy woven into the tapestry of goth expressionism. And on top of that, a sprinkle of menace Burton-izes things.

Critics are already treating the film as “low hanging fruit” and bashing it because of a simplistic narrative, or because it’s not “dark enough” for their taste. Sure, Miss Peregrine has a simplistic narrative, because the film isn’t targeting adults; it certainly is targeting pre-teens who loved the book. Furthermore, if Burton had created a “darker” film, that sort of thematic decision wouldn’t stay true to Riggs’ original source material. Sometimes, it’s fun to bash a film just for the sake of bashing it in lieu of typical analysis.

Now this film isn’t perfect, quite the contrary. Miss Peregrine certainly has its issues. Asa Butterfield’s performance is wooden and exists on surface levels alone. Had Butterfield worked to emphasize Jake is a pre-teen going through a tumultuous moment in his life, the performance would have found more depth. He did see the part in the book where his grandfather was murdered … right? Under normal circumstances, an actor who plays his or her character in such a hollow manner would be enough to derail a film, but the other elements keep it from falling off the cliff.

I certainly wasn’t thrilled with how the writers didn’ stay true to the narrative of the first book. Jane Goldman has taken Ransom Riggs textured material and chopped it up into smaller chunks while sequencing it in a manner that makes sense to a select few. Why would you create more work for yourself when the source material was strong enough already? We didn’t see screenwriters doing this to J.K Rowling’s work. It feels like the sort of chop-shop job studios performed on Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief. Both screenplays came from strong source material, yet neither screenwriter trusted the source.

One of the highlights is Eva Green’s performance (a highlight of any project in which she’s involved) in the title role of Miss Peregrine. She isn’t over the top and exudes a silent strength. When Riggs writes about Miss Peregrine, he makes references to her demeanor on multiple occasions. Seeing Green nail this down is the definition of pages coming to life.

The cinematography highlights these children and their peculiarities in a very engaging manner. Bruno Delbonnel (who last worked with Burton on Big Eyes) uses light and shadow to capture the innocence of these children and the beauty in each of their peculiarities. One scene that sticks out is seeing Jake holding on to Emma (Ella Purnell) with a rope as she’s floating (her peculiarity is that she’s lighter than air) while they’re on the beach. Delbonnel shoots the scene as if he was framing a framed portrait, capturing the rich scenery of the beach while also capturing both Jake and Emma’s reactions while “walking” on the beach together (young love?).

The film isn’t perfect but it’s definitely effective in launching what most certainly will be the start of a trilogy based on Riggs’s work. It’s an entertaining film that’s held back in large part due to a poor performance from the lead actor. Burton is the best choice to direct this maiden voyage into Riggs’s very peculiar universe, and we can only hope he will come back stronger for the sequel.

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