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Tuesday 17 July 2012

The Amazing Spider-Man

What's really amazing is that generations aren't given enough time to forget a film before it's remade. The painfully un-creative, mainstream film makers only seem interested in revenues and they keep churning out the same stuff that idiots like me continue to pay to see. I really want to hate The Amazing Spider-Man.  I hate that the same old same old is too often presented as if it is new or fresh... 

I've said many times on this blog that I believe it's better to remake a bad movie than it is to remake a good movie badly.

After watching the trailer for The Amazing Spider-man, the first question I asked myself was: was the Sam Raimi, Stan Lee (writer) Spiderman a bad movie? Well it wasn't great but I liked it, so I say no, it wasn't a bad movie.  Tobey Maguire is believable in every role. Were the remakes bad movies?  I liked the second, mostly because of Alfred Molina. I didn't see the third, Spiderman Also Again, though I'm not sure why.

So, will this be a badly made remake of a good movie?

But then there's Batman.  60's camp movie then TV, which were both very popular.  Years of cartoons.  Then Tim Burton's butchery... (I like Tim, but his Batman was lame and the sequels were worse).  But then the Christopher Nolan vision made everything right again.  Heath Ledger's performance in The Dark Knight is arguably the best super villain performance in history.

So it stands to reason that, when referring to the Tim Burton vision of Batman, Tim made a bad remake of a good movie and Chris Nolan made a good remake of a bad movie... that kind of skews the theory, or does it?  I'm confused.  I'll review Dark Knight Rises very soon...

AND everyone says they stay true to the comic book.....

If you are a regular to this blog you know that I love comic book movies. There are very few that I will not see. Ghost Rider and Green Lantern I believe are the only two I haven't seen for reasons expressed too many times... The other day the wife and I even watched Kick Ass, just because of the superhero thing and despite Cage - he wasn't too bad, actually.

Where was I?

Despite my rant the trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man looks damn good. It's familiar yet different. It's the story that we know but not quite. But does that make it okay? I don't know.

I do know that because I liked the trailer, I will see this one.

Tuesday 3 July 2012

Prometheus

I watched two trailers for Prometheus.  The teaser trailer (1:05) reminded me of the Alien franchise.  The longer trailer (2:24), let's call it the "spoiler" trailer, also reminded me of the Alien franchise and will likely be nominated for a 2013 Beerbohm award for Worst Spoiler Trailer.

Guess what? If someone hadn't told me that Prometheus was the prequel to the Alien franchise, I may never have guessed.  I likely would have made some silly comment like, "stupid Alien franchise rip off..."

The spoiler trailer was filled with familiarity. You know, space mission discovers something beautiful and/or mind altering and/or unlocks the mystery to life, the universe and everything only to discover the hope and promise only uncover a darker reality.  At least that was the optimism in the first part of the spoiler trailer.  It should have ended at about the 1:20 mark with some ominous foreshadowing.  Instead, it tells us that the hope was false, the invitation to enlightenment was a doorway to doom and that if the doorway isn't closed all of mankind will be doomed. 

So, given that this is a prequel to the Alien franchise, we know that they prevent the Alien from getting back to earth and, after a few more attempts, the Alien is left fighting the Predator in another franchise.

This kind of sucks because I really like the Alien franchise.  The first one was groundbreaking.  The original trailer told us nothing; it was a true teaser. Just music followed by rapid edits of panic and chaos.  No dialogue and no silly narration.  Only a tag line:  In space, no one can hear you scream. 

Here it is if you are so inclined http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjLamj-b0I8

The next two Alien movies, I think they were titled Aliens Too and Aliens Also were very entertaining.  It's been twenty years since Aliens Also (Alien 3), so why is Ridley Scott making a prequel of a classic franchise after twenty years?  Seriously, if you know the franchise and if you've watched the spoiler trailer, you already know what's going to happen. 

I can't imagine that the original Alien will be re-made after this, but I've been wrong so many times...

What I really can't wait for is Alien VS. Predator 12: The Next Pointless Battle.

VIEWED: The Lorax

My recommendation for this one was...  oh, hell, here's the whole trailer review:

The assumption for this is that we all know the score
And is overshadowed by glitz and glamour and more
I had to Google to refresh my remembering
Of the Lorax from childhood who tried to stop us from "timber" ing

But the trailer brought back the love of Dr. Suess
who gives us wuzzles and fuzzles and feffer-feffs and moose
who opens our minds and our hearts with new verse
and embraces us with laughter, confusion and bursts

Of things that are wildly and beautifully off-centre
he acts as a teacher, a friend and a mentor
where imagination is something shared by all
for all of our creatures, no matter how small

And then there's DeVito, oh Danny, my friend
who will continue to entertain and amuse 'till the end
with voice and presence much bigger than his frame
his accomplishments and stature well beyond just his name

But trailer for this, the Lorax, you see
Is colourful, bouncy, too shiny for me
A message is sent, in the trailer not clear
and left me wanting not popcorn, but beer

Not all know the message of the Lorax here-in
where environmental - ism must surely begin
to plant a tree from each one that is torn
to replenish the forest so another is born

I know I will see it but when, I'm not certain
perhaps when my son opens the four-year-old curtain
but Suess in his brilliance makes us not want to grow-up
and I hope that the film makers don't f**k this one up

Watched it on the flight from Vancouver to Ottawa...

So, what's the verdict?

It was all frosting and no cake.

I think the film makers did as the last sentence of the trailer review states.  While it was visually appealing and mildly entertaining, it was also hugely disappointing.

VIEWED: Moneyball

My recommendation for this one was...

"There's something about baseball, at least there used to be, that is part of the American cultural landscape. It used to embody the essence of the working man. I don't think it does any more. But there used to be something very special about it. 

I'll see Moneyball and I'm sure I will like or love it."

I finally got to see Moneyball on a plane flying from Whitehorse, Yukon to Vancouver, British Colombia.

Oh man, I am so glad I finally saw it!

I loved it.  Pitt was awesome.  Jonah Hill was awesome... shit, everyone was awesome.  Great story told very well, with a bittersweet flavour.  Baseball is STILL a special game. Moneyball shows its evolution.

This is one of those great sports movies that is destined to be a classic.