SKYFALL NEEDS NO SAFETY NET

James Bond is back in his 23rd official outing and it may be one of the best franchise films in recent memory.  Now that MGM/UA has left their long standing financial worries behind, new life has been injected into the series.  Daniel Craig's first outing, in Casino Royale, was a good start to launch the actor into the role, but Quantum of Solace slowed the pace down a bit.  However, Skyfall is as big and bombastic as it gets with great performances from the all-star cast.  Craig is accompanied again by Dame Judi Dench as "M" and they are joined by the likes of Javier Bardem and Ralph Fiennes with Albert Finney along for good measure.  Other familiar characters resurface as well as Bond gets back to the globe spanning adventure he's known for.

While the plot may be a bit thin (hey, this is 007 not Shakespeare) there are some great story elements and several nods to franchise history since this is the 50th anniversary, after all.  Also, I have to point out that they've actually managed to give Bond back his sense of humor.  Craig's portrayal has been so serious until now.  He has a few of the trademark one-liners and some amusing back-and-forth dialogue with the villain and other characters.

With a running time of 2 hrs and 23 minutes, they are able to weave some good character development around the action and they finally, FINALLY give Judi Dench more screen time.  Why they have neglected to give the Academy Award winning actress so little to do or say until now is beyond me.  Overall, this is a great addition to the franchise that is now supposed to be back on track with bi-annual installments, and Daniel Craig is reportedly signed on for 2 more.  Hopefully, they will continue to weigh quality over quantity.

James Bond will return...and nobody does it better.

...AND NOW FOR TWO THINGS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

The Pirates! Band of Misfits from Sony/Columbia and the makers of Chicken Run, is an animated feature for the family.  While it's not the best one of these to come along, the kids enjoyed it and it had several amusing moments.  The voice talent was great, featuring Hugh Grant, Martin Freeman, Salma Hayek, David Tennant, Anton Yelchin and Brian Blessed!  We had a good time and it's a good film for a family movie night.


Then there's Cabin in the Woods.  This is NOT a family film.  But, it was surprisingly fresh for its genre.  Taking the old, tired horror formula, college students head out for a weekend away in an old (you guessed it) cabin in the woods.  But, this is not your typical hack-and-slash maniac movie (though there's plenty of that).  For those not in-the-know, I won't spoiler it, but nothing is what it seems and the movie takes several unexpected turns.  The ending is pretty awesome too.  Even though I'm not crazy about the creative team behind the story, I'll give them credit for being original.  And just a quick aside here, and if you see the movie you'll know what I mean.  This was totally an adult version of a Scooby-Doo episode, or maybe since Chris Hemsworth is in it, Thor and Shaggy vs. the Forces of Evil.

'Coma' Put Me To Sleep

For anyone who was interested in watching the mini-series remake of Robin Cook's 'Coma', and hasn't seen it yet, you might consider skipping it.  Great cast and production values.  Geena Davis, James Woods and Richard Dreyfus starred with Ridley and his late brother, Tony Scott producing.  The first night was a good set-up.  Second and  final night was a complete waste of time.  It, unfortunately, deteriorated into 2 annoying cat-and-mouse chase scenes with the protagonist running through the darkened corridors of, first, a university lab building and then the darkened corridors of a research facility as the villain(s) pursued.  It became comical as we watched her pass every (unlocked) exit in each building and opt to hide under furniture instead.

Oh, and at what point did 2 nights (4 hours with commercials) become a mini-series?  Anyone remember 'Roots',  'The Thornbirds', 'Shogun', 'Marco Polo', Winds of War' and a half dozen other epic television events from the late 70's, early 80's.  Now those were mini-series! (or is it serieses? - spell checker says no). 

Coming Soon to a Theater Near You

Below is a mostly confirmed list of genre specific movie release dates.  Enjoy...
 
        2012
Total Recall   [8-3-12]
The Bourne Legacy   [8-10-12]
Solomon Kane   [8-24-12]
Dredd   [9-21-12]
Looper   [9-28-12]
Skyfall   [11-9-12]
The Hobbit:
    An Unexpected Journey   [12-14-12]

          2013
Oz: The Great and Powerfull   [3-8-13]
Iron Man 3   [5-3-13]
Man of Steel   [6-14-13]
The Lone Ranger   [7-3-13]
Pacific Rim   [7-11-13]
The Wolverine   [7-26-13]
Thor: The Dark World   [11-6-13]
The Hunger Games:
   Catching Fire   [11-15-13]
The Hobbit:
   There and Back Again   [12-13-13]

          2014
Captain America:
   The Winter Soldier   [4-4-14]
Robopocalypse   [4-25-14]
The Amazing Spider-Man 2   [5-2-14]
Fantastic Four Reboot   [6-??-14]*
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes   [5-23-14]
X-Men: First Class 2   [7-18-14]
Guardians of the Galaxy [8-??-14]*

          2015
Ant Man   [4-??-15]*
The Avengers 2   [7-1-15]*

* Unconfirmed

Rush Gets "Punked"

...Steampunked, that is. Clockwork Angels is the new album from Rush, and Neil Peart (Drummer and Lyicist) has written a Steampunk story in the form of a concept album with a novelization forthcoming by award winning Sci-Fi writer, Kevin J. Anderson.

Peart, Lifeson, Lee

The album itself gets back to the band's roots with more of the 3-piece and less keyboards. Headlong Flight really sounds like classic Rush. There are a few other stand-out songs but I think I'll give it a few more listens before I comment more. As always Alex Lifeson's guitar work is excellent and Peart's drumming is perfect. Time has started to take it's toll on Geddy Lee as his higher vocal range is diminishing, but he gets to show off a bit more bass work since he's freed from the confines of the keys.

The novelization of the story set forth in the album will be out in September. It tells of a young man's journey across a landscape of Steampunk and Alchemy and of course he gets caught between the forces of order and chaos, as in all good stories....

Power of Prometheus

From what I can tell, Prometheus is THE movie generating the most discussion online right now. Opinions range from it being a confusing mess to being a brilliant film. I lean closer to the latter. There is a lot going on in this movie, much of which is not explained clearly so, understandably, this may lead to a lot of confusion. There's also the religious aspect of the film. The origin of mankind is in question and this may not sit well with many. However, I must say that I've been thinking about Prometheus a lot since I saw it and most other movies just don't stick with me like this one has.

I think the scope of what the filmmakers are trying to accomplish here is on a very grand scale. Many explanations were not forthcoming because this is only a small part of a much larger story. People showing up to see another Alien movie are probably disappointed because that's not what they're getting here. It's much more. I could go on about the complex themes and different mythologies that are explored here but others have already done that in a much more eloquent and meaningful way. Suffice it to say that there are a lot of subtle layers.

The basic premise is that, 80 years in our future, scientists discover an 'invitation to the stars', if you will, to meet with beings that may have had a hand in human development and/or creation on Earth. These scientists receive backing from a reclusive bazillionaire and are able to take a full exploration crew aboard the ship Prometheus to the coordinates outlined in this "invitation". What they find is, of course, not what they bargained for. The Alien connection is mostly a nod to viewers that this is indeed taking place in the same universe. However, it is really its own separate story. If they continue on with what they've laid the foundation for here, it will be more of a parallel story on a much more epic scale.
The visuals are fantastic (I saw it in Imax 3D), the acting and effects are top notch, and while it is the biggest sticking point, I found the writing and story to be very intriguing and well thought out. I left the theater wanting more and, from what I hear, I'll get it in the extended Director's Cut when it is released on video, most likely this fall (20-30 minutes of additional footage).

My recommendation, as always, is to check it out yourself. Take in the visuals, think about what the story is trying to convey with an open mind and form your own opinion.


Prometheus is in theaters now. It's Directed by Ridley Scott, Written by John Spaihts and Damon Lindelof and stars Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Idris Alba and Charlize Theron.

 

Quick Reviews: "Chronicle", "..War", "..Carter"

Chronicle is the first-person-camera account of three teens who suddenly find themselves with extraordinary telekinetic powers.  They're very clever with how they handle the camera, so it doesn't always feel like you're being lead around.  The story is good and the acting is not bad, considering they recruited some "unknown" talent, and the plot is left open for a possible sequel (of course).  Bottom line: A good B+ sci-fi flick worth watching.

 This Means War, from Director McG, is a brilliant merging of Romantic Comedy and Action which makes it perfect for a date movie.  Chris Pine (Star Trek, Unstoppable) and Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises) are two CIA agents put on temporary desk duty after a mission goes bad.  While waiting for new assignments, they both decide to take some time to do some dating, they just happen to both ask the same girl (Reese Witherspoon), unbeknownst to her.  They proceed to use Agency time and resources to make sure she picks the right guy to be with.  Much comedy and action ensues.  Bottom line: An entertaining romp to watch with the significant other.

 John Carter was Disney/Pixar's first foray into the live-action scene.  Unfortunately, an incredibly bad marketing campaign and lack of "star" power killed this at the box office.  Based on Edgar Rice Burroughs swashbuckling space adventure, Civil War veteran, John Carter, is mistakenly transported to Mars (the natives call it Barsoom) where he is recruited to help fight against an oppressive army and bring peace and freedom to the inhabitants of the dying planet.  Although some of the "grandeur" and dialogue appears to be dated, to be fair, one has to realize this is from a book that was written 100 years ago this year and many of the modern sci-fi epics owe a dept of gratitude for this series of stories as they set the bar.  The acting is good and the visuals are stunning (although the Blu-ray release did show some digital artifacting during some scenes with a lot of movement).  It is really a shame that we will probably not get to see this series continue any time soon due to its poor reception in the theaters.  Bottom line: Definitely worth watching.  Brilliant sci-fi action film. 

When You Wish Without A Star

John Carter... fantastic movie, dismal box office, at least in the US.  Disney/Pixar's first live-action movie attempt scored way below their expectations and prompted the firing of at least one studio executive.

Conan The Barbarian (2011)... a decent attempt at relaunching the franchise, but also a box office failure.

Both studios had high hopes for these films.  What went wrong?  John Carter was the victim of an extremely poor advertising campaign that targeted kids and not the pulp/sci-fi/action buffs that were familiar with the books.  The Disney cable channels bombarded their commercial time with shots of smiling aliens, John Carter jumping really high and running around with his space dog.  Everyone I know that was not a die-hard fan just thought it looked stupid.

Conan's producers should have planned on a more marketable movie and cut a few scenes of gore and nudity so that they could grab the PG-13 rating instead of R.  This limited the intended audience, right out of the gate.

However, the biggest problem that both movies had was that they had absolutely NO STAR POWER!  Both title characters were practically unknowns.  This is a BIG gamble to bet so much money on (Conan cost $90 million, while John Carter's budget was a reported $250 million!!!)  Even the supporting characters were mostly unknown.  In Carter, you had Taylor Kitsch as the title character, there was Mark Strong as a bad guy and voice-overs by Willem Dafoe and Thomas Hayden Church, but you didn't see those last 2 on screen, so it doesn't count.  As far as Conan, Nobody outside of Stargate or Game of Thrones fans had ever heard of Jason Momoa.  I can't stress enough how huge of a mistake this was.  Admittedly, if either had worked, the executives involved would have been labeled as geniuses, but, alas, it didn't happen.

Conan was a slightly above average action flick, but John Carter was quite spectacular.  Fans of the books were very pleased.  There were few complaints from anyone who actually went and saw it.  There is a fan-made trailer for Carter that really helps boost interest in the film.  If only Disney had hired those guys to help promote it.  I showed it to some of the naysayers and they immediately had a 180 degree impression of the movie and wanted to rush out and see it.  I'll try to include it below.

From BoxOfficeMojo.com
Conan The Barbarian (2011)  Cost: $90 mil  Domestic Box Office: $21.2 mil
John Carter   Cost: $250 mil   Domestic Box Office: $70.7 mil

Both actually did better overseas, but that was in ALL foreign markets combined.

So.. When you film without a star, it makes no difference what studio you are....

Avengers Assembled

Highest opening weekend ever!  Well how about that.  Putting aside my usual quips about the Writer/Director, I'll talk some about The Avengers movie (I'm sorry, Marvel's The Avengers.  Wouldn't want to confuse it with that British TV series or the horrible motion picture based on it.).
All the players are there.  Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Nick Fury, Black Widow, Hawkeye and even the 3rd generation Bruce Banner/Hulk, this time portrayed by Mark Ruffalo.
So, Loki is on the loose and he's got his hands on the "Cosmic Cube" or Tesseract.  He's ready to open a portal to lead an alien army through to Earth and "free humanity from freedom" (paraphrasing), whatever that means.  Nick Fury brings together our heroes to save the world.
The team is pretty dysfunctional at first and there are a lot of arguments and in-fighting but they eventually manage to pull it together to unite against the common enemy.  The actors really bring the dialogue and banter to life and Robert Downey, Jr. manages to steal the scene just about every time he appears on-screen.  He's really nailed the Tony Stark persona.  All the characters manage to get fairly equal screen-time, and the action sequences keep things moving.
Overall, the movie actually does live up to the hype and Marvel just keeps marching forward.  Iron Man 3, which starts shooting within the next month, is slated for 5/3/13, Thor 2 for 11/15/13 and Captain America 2 is down for 4/4/14 (these are confirmed dates from Marvel, though subject to change).  This would probably put a follow-up to The Avengers at May of 2015, if they keep their current release formula.  As for The Incredible Hulk, Marvel has hinted that they may be looking at returning him to the small screen as an on-going series (queue sad, walking away music).  Whether or not they would get Ruffalo to portray him, or yet another actor, remains to be seen.

Other Marvel movie news: The Amazing Spider-man relaunch/reboot is out this summer with a release date for part 2 already announced.  Fox has a "use it or lose it" deal on the X-men and Fantastic Four properties so The Wolverine is in pre-production but no word on the FF other than they want to reboot it as well.  Marvel has also indicated that they would like to bring out some of their lesser known characters in lower budget films, one of which is Doctor Strange which I believe would be interesting (although they did produce a really bad version of him back in the 70's and Paramount/Full Moon Entertainment had a knock-off character called Doctor Mordrid back in the 80's).  There are even a few other characters that are in early development for possible TV shows.  We'll just have to wait and see...

Music Monday

Yes, it's Monday....and here's some music.....

New stuff from Rush and Asia.  Enjoy!

Affirmative Action

Back from hiatus with breaking news:

Benoit David

 Out with the old (sort of) and in with the new.  YES has recruited yet another lead singer due to front-man, Benoit David, contracting a respiratory ailment.  The band has gotten Jon Davison, from the Tennessee based progressive group Glass Hammer.  YES will be touring with him in April as they go to Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
Their current lineup is now Chris Squire (Bass), Steve Howe (Guitar), Alan White (Drums), Geoff Downes (keyboards) and Jon Davison (Vocals).  Oddly enough, original singer, Jon Anderson, had to leave the group due to Acute Respiratory Failure in 2008.

Jon Davison

Glass Hammer has been around since '93 but just recently signed Davison in '09.  He has appeared on their last 2 albums.  Vocally, he appears to be a good fit.