Finally, A 'Flash' of Hope

It's been about three years now since DC Comics implemented their New 52 style and turned off fans like myself who have been loyal readers all their lives.  Your see, back in 2011, DC re-booted their universe.  They broke up several relationships and hit the 'restart' button on quite a bit of continuity.  Since then I've had a hard time getting into a lot of what DC publishes.  I still enjoy Green Lantern and Batman titles, but I can't stand anything Superman and Green Arrow.  

The Flash has been a title that seems interesting, but I've been having a hard time connecting with.  When Geoff Johns wrote the book and Francis Manapul did the art I couldn't get enough of it, but ever since Manapul took over writing duties as well I haven't really liked The Flash.  Last night, I sat down to read volume 4; Reverse.  And I must say I actually liked it.  

This book introduces us to The New 52's Reverse Flash.  Eobard Thawne is a man from the future who recreated the experimented that turned Barry Allen into the Flash and ended up becoming Barry's mortal enemy; the Reverse Flash.  Not to give too much away, but Thawne is not The New 52's Reverse Flash; at least not yet.

Someone is going around killing people who have been inside the Speed Force, the energy source that gives the Flash his powers.  Barry must rush to find the killer before the last two targets are hit; himself and Iris West.  This leads Flash to cross paths with Kid Flash for the first time, and finds out the kid's powers don't come from the Speed Force like his.  Meanwhile, Barry has just moved in with his girlfriend, Patty.  And she's throwing her parents an anniversary party.  In typical superhero fashion, the Flash has to be quick enough to find the bad guy, and make it to the party on time.

If I had it my way Geoff Johns would go on writing The Flash for ten years like he did Green Lantern.  As an artist I really like Manapul.  I think his style is perfect for the Flash.  Just something about it fits uniquely into this world and it just gels.  I also like Manapul's New 52 Flash costume.  It's more pieces of armor that are electrifying rather than stretchy spandex. But story wise I feel like Manapul's tales about the Scarlet Speedster so far have been so impersonal.  While Barry has had to save his loved ones from danger there was no inner turmoil.  In Flash: Rebirth Barry has to realize he needs to slow down enough to enjoy life with his family and friends.  Manapul has yet to go that deep of a level. But in this volume Barry has to fight a villain who is using the powers he creates to kill people. It's not Johns deep, but at least it's getting under the surface.

When The New 52 started I hated the break-up of Barry and Iris almost as much as the Clark and Lois break-up.  This book is the first time I've actually liked them being apart.  Barry has moved in with Patty and she knows his secret.  They're getting serious.  But also, the Flash has to protect Iris, which makes him spend more time with Iris than Patty at a crucial point in their relationship.  A short tale at the end of the book takes us to past.  More specific; Gotham City. Barry is a young intern and meets Iris on a case.  Before parting ways Iris and Barry kiss.  This establishes a connection the two of them have even in The New 52, and makes you question if things will go south with Barry's current significant other.  In short, it ups the stakes in Barry Allen's life outside of the Flash.

The reason I'm not a big Batman fan is because most of his stories are just about him solving the crime.  When the hero is tested on a personal and internal level it makes the story better in my opinion.  That's what I felt like this book did.  It dug deeper than we've gotten so far into Barry's life, and let us know that things may not be as stable as they seem.  For the first time in a while, I'm excited to read the next volume of The Flash. 

A Dame To 'Eh' For

The summer blockbuster season has come to an end for me. It started back in April with Captain America: The Winter Soldier and ended last night when I saw Sin City: A Dame To Kill For.  First off, I have to admit that I still have never read any Sin City comics books in my life, and I didn't even see the first film in theaters when it was released.  When I saw it on DVD I thought Sin City was something very fresh and interesting with it's look and film noir style.  Were Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller able to recapture that same interest nine years later?

Sin City: A Dame To Kill For brings back quite a bit of the cast from the original film and also adds some new faces like Eva Green, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeremy Piven, and Dennis Haysbert taking over the role of 'Manute' for the late Michael Duncan Clarke.  Meanwhile, Josh Brolin steps in to take the role of 'Dwight' for Clive Owen.   Some other good cameos came from Ray Liotta, Lady Gaga, and 'Doc' himself; Christopher Lloyd.

 The Dwight storyline explains the title of the film.  Dwight is betrayed by a woman he can't resist, played by Green, and enlists his friends Marv and Gail to help him seek revenge.  Jessica Alba returns as Nancy, who is haunted by the death of Bruce Willis's character, Haritigan, from the first film.  Nancy also sways Marv to help her seek revenge against the man responsible for Haritgan's death; Senator Roark.  But Roark is busy seeking his own revenge on Johnny, played by Gordon-Levitt, the lucky kid who beats Roark out of a whole lot of money.  There is another short Marv storyline at the beginning of the film that is pretty much useless, and could have saved us all ten minutes. But Dwight, Nancy, and Johnny are the main plots being told.

Starting off, I think the Johnny storyline was my favorite.  Gordon-Levitt is constantly showing his growth as an actor as his roles become more and more enticing.  The character was fresh for the film and the slight twist makes you guess how it all will play out in the end for Johnny.

 The Nancy storyline was meant to showcase Alba's range and bring back Willis for a few brief cameos. Sadly, this plot came last in the film, and by then I was just looking for it to all end.  Again, they should have given Mickey Rourke a pay cut and skipped his brief plot at the beginning.  The majority of the film was taken up by the Dwight storyline.  We get to see him become the man we meet in Sin City, which instead of paying attention to the film made my mind wander as to how the stories from both movies go together in a linear sense.  

 Nothing new was seen from this film that we didn't already get from it's predecessor.  While I think this star-packed cast did a good job playing their characters I felt like the story lines were drawn out too much, and Rodriguez and Miller overused Marv just because he was the break-out character in the first film.  If the directors wish to continue this franchise they'll have to come up with a new angle to peak my interest, or possibly move these characters to TV, because the nostalgia of Sin City has worn off.  I would recommend this film as a Saturday night Redbox rental for just yourself, and maybe someone else who really enjoyed the first film.

 SUMMER MOVIE BLOCKBUSTER GRADES:
Captain America: The Winter Solider: A+ (You haven't seen this movie!!!)
X-Men: Days of Future Past: A (This is bad-ass)
Guardians of the Galaxy:   B+ (I highly recommend this film)
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For: C- (Wait for Redbox)
The Amazing Spider-Man 2: D+ (Wait to borrow it from a friend)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: F (This will give a child-of-the-80's nightmares)
Godzilla: Waiting for Redbox
Transformers: Age of Extinction: Dreading seeing it on Redbox

Growing Up with Robin Williams

This past Monday the world was rocked with the passing of actor Robin Williams.  At age 63, we all know Williams still had some great performances left him, which makes his tragic suicide that more saddening.  I don't know one person on social media who did not comment about this event, and almost a week later people are still sending their love to his family and talking about how much he meant to them.  I myself could not even begin to fathom the influence Williams has had on my life.  In fact, the more I thought about it, the more I realized how much I owe to Robin Williams.

As a child, two of my favorite animated films, even still to this day, are Aladdin and Ferngully: The Last Rainforest.  Williams provided his voice for characters in both of these films and it was his comedic wit that helped make those film so memorable and iconic.  He also paved the way for well-known actors to lend their voices to animated films.  I still remember seeing those films in theater, along with a another childhood favorite of mine; Hook.  I'm a fan of the Peter Pan tale, and director Steven Spielberg brought a new spin on the mythology with Williams as the lead.  The film had some laughs in it, but Williams played a more straight-laced character, but still delighted us and made us believe in magic.

Other films I remember fondly from my childhood are Jumanji and Mrs. Doubtfire. But as I entered my teen years my taste in films began to change.  To this day, one of my favorite coming-of-age films is Dead Poets Society.  In it, Williams played an excentric teacher at a stuffy prep school that taught his students to think for themselves, realize their dreams, and live life to the fullest.  Another film I discovered as a teenager was Good Morning Vietnam.  Of course this film showcased what Robin Williams did best; bring light to a dark place.  During my adolescence Williams also made a film about the difficulties of growing-up; Jack.  In it, Williams played a 10-year-old who looked 40 because of a rare aging disease.  He had to act like a child with all their innocence, fear, and confusion as to how the world works.  I think it's one of his best performances, aside for the film he won an Oscar for; Good Will Hunting.  Williams starred opposite Hollywood rookies Matt Damon and Ben Affleck and finally claimed the golden statue.  Good Will Hunting is one of those films that gets better and better every time I watch it.  

As a young adult the films I watched Williams in seemed to get even more mature.  He was phenomenal in Patch Adams as, again, playing a character who brings joy to those who have little.  Williams even stepped out of his normal type casting to play dark villains in films like Insomnia and One Hour Photo.  In Bicentennial Man Williams played a robot who taught us about being human, and it turned out to be a wonderful little film.

As the years have passed I've enjoyed seeing Williams return to comedy with films like RV, Night at the Museum, and License to Wed.  And thanks to my wife I've started to have a fondness for a film I never really payed attention to when it was released; The Birdcage.  Last year Williams returned to television in a CBS show called The Crazy Ones.  The series only last one season, but I was anxious to watch it when it came to DVD.  I have a feeling I'm not the only one now.

There are a dozen other films I could recommend, from Popeye to August Rush, that made me love Robin Williams.  Though he lost his battle with depression I hope he was aware of the joy he brought to myself and so many others.  He made me dream when I was a child, think when I was an adolescence, and as an adult, realize we all have many different sides to us.  I know people who are re-watching some of their favorite Robin Williams films, but I'm waiting till next month to view my own favorite films of his; from his oldest to his newest.  So far I've counted 25 films I want to watch, including Robin Williams: Live on Broadway. And I'm going to soak in each performance like I never have before.  So thank you Robin Williams.  We'll never have a friend like you again. 

Cowa-No Way in Hell I'm Watching These Ninja Turtles Ever Again

On March 30, 1990 I was a young boy in a crowded dark movie theater.  I remember sitting in the back row and barely being able to see the screen as I peered between the people in front of me.  It was a late showing of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  My brother and I had begged my parents to go see the live-action adaptation of our favorite cartoon the day it opened.  We had Turtle toys, lunch boxes, t-shirts, and of course, Halloween costumes.  We were ecstatic to see the heroes in a half-shell up on the big screen.  Fast forward 24 years later. TMNT has been living under the entertainment grid since their hit cartoon ended in the mid-1990's.  They've had several more cartoons, a 2007 CGI film, and a new ongoing comic book that I read and quite enjoy.

Last night I went to my local cinema to see the Turtles re-imagined for a new generation.  Michael Bay may have only produced the film, but his finger prints are all over it.  From the slow motion action to the Turtles the size of cars, who really cares if another name is credited as director.  This film first exploded in controversy a while back when it was rumored that the Turtles would be aliens and not mutants. Fans like myself took to the internet in protest.  Then, the addition of Megan Fox as April O'Neil did not help our expectations.  I went into this film thinking the worst but hoping to be surprised.  The surprise never came.

April O'Neil is a small time news reporter who wants to be more; kind of like Fox's career.  Her late father was also a scientist who experimented on four turtles and a rat.  April soon discovers that the turtles and the rat had grown, learned ninjutsu, and were trying to protect this city from the criminal organization known as the Foot Clan.  The Foot are led by a man named Shredder, who wants to unleash a deadly virus upon New York, but needs the Turtles blood for the antidote.  It's up to Leo, Raph, Donnie, Mikey to protect New York, and each other, from Shredder.

Well, let's start with the obvious.  Megan Fox is a horrible actress. The only reason she seemed decent in Transformers is because she was half-naked.  Her performance is so wooden I felt like it would have been better if she was computer animated as well.  Her co-star, Will Arnett, was a shameful waste.  I love Arnett, but his character was just some other human for April and the Turtles to talk too with no real purpose.

Master Splinter looked different in this film from other versions.  I honestly had no problem with the way he looked.  In the 1987 cartoon Splinter was Hamato Yoshi who had turned into a rat.  In the 1990 film he was a rat that was owned by Oroku Saki.  And in the 2012 comic book series he was Hamato Yoshi in a past life.  In this film there is no Hamato Yoshi.  Splinter isn't even Japanese. He has no connection to Shredder, and in doing so this film lost a good chunk of the TMNT myth.  But the worst thing about this Splinter is that he teaches the Turtles ninjutsu from a book he found in the sewer.  It's like he taught them 'Ninjutsu for Dummies' instead of passing on a lifetime of knowledge and training.  As for the Shredder?  More like Megatron with knifes.

Now, to the Turtles.  They actually looked cool.  At first I wasn't a fan of their size, but I was fine with it after the movie started, and I could see that if the Turtles are over six feet tall then you have to make Shredder eight feet tall. I get it.  But I felt like the film went out of its way to make them too different looking. Donatello is the only one with glasses, even though I'm sure all their genes are the same.  It's as if they thought we couldn't tell he was the smart one without glasses.  Every word out of Michelangelo's mouth was a joke, and a bad one at that.  And for some reason Raphael had a toothpick in his mouth THE ENTIRE MOVIE.  Seriously, even in fight scenes he has a toothpick in his mouth.  Like that was the missing piece to let everyone know he's tough.  

This film is full of plot holes and ridiculous dialogue!  "They are called the Foot Clan because they step on everything".  OH COME ON.  "You're father took less bullets."  "You killed my father?"  DIDN'T HE JUST IMPLY THAT.  There were also forced references like "heroes in a half-shell' and "cowabunga" added to the film that only made this mockery worse. 

I really wanted to like this movie, but the parts I like only adds up to maybe 15 minutes out of 116.  Director Jonathan Liebesman and Michael Bay tried to make their Turtles so different they forgot the mythology and attitude that have made the Turtles beloved for generations.  A sequel has already been green lit, but after a 19% on Rotten Tomatoes I can't seeing it doing well.  I know this is supposed to be a kids film, but so are Pixar films, and adults love those movies more than kids.  It is my hope that in another thirty years I can take my grand kids to see a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but done right. Until then I will always have Turtle Power. 

Rating: F

The Guardians of Summer Entertainment

If you're one of my Facebook friends then for months now you have seen me post numerous things about the  film, The Guardians of the Galaxy.  It's based on an obscure little comic book that even most fan boys have never read, which is why so many of us scratched our heads when Marvel Studios announced it's 2014 release.  

I will admit, I had never read any GotG(Guardians of the Galaxy) before I heard they were making the film.  I knew the names Rocket Raccon and Groot, but not much more than that.  I decided to check out the source material, the 2008 comic book series by Arnold Drake and Gene Colan.  And I LOVED it!  It was so different from the superhero-style comics that Marvel put out.  It was weird, a little quirky, and didn't really take itself seriously. In 2013, Brian Michael Bendis relaunched the series to help people get acquainted with these heroes before the film opened, and it's been a hit ever since.  Seriously, check it out, you'll get all those Peter Quill "dad" references in the film.

Because this property was so unknown the film was Marvel's Studio's biggest gamble since their first film, Iron Man.  Park and Recreations star Chris Pratt plays Peter Quill, a.k.a. Star-Lord, a human who grows up with a band of intergalactic thieves. Quill finds an orb that everyone is after, including that purple guy who was at the end of The Avengers, Thanos.  Peter then finds an entourage of misfits and outsiders who decide to come together to protect the orbs power from Ronan the Accuser, a Kree criminal who wants to kill billions of people on the planet Xandar.

This film felt like The Avengers in that it was fun as hell!  There were a lot of laughs and a lot of action to make it the perfect summer popcorn film for everyone to watch.  The characters were really the thing that made it pop.  The five leads just sitting around talking were some of the best scenes.  And these characters could have turned out sooo bad.  

Being familiar with Pratt's work I wasn't worried about him carrying this film at all.  Zoe Saldana as Gamora was probably the safest bet; her being a veteran to sci-fi films like Star Trek and Avatar.  Vin Diesel's unique voice was perfect for the character of Groot, who only is supposed to say three words, ever.  But I'll get to that.  Pro wrestler Dave Bautista could have also been bad, but Drax the Destroyer seemed to be tailor made to fit his "range" as an actor. Finally, Rocket Raccon was voiced by Hollywood pretty boy, Bradley Cooper.  Sure there were dozens of animators that helped bring Rocket to life, but I think Cooper did a great job of bringing this character out, so much that sometimes I forgot it was Cooper, and isn't that the point?  

The other actors were small and really unimportant. Lee Pace as Ronan was effective, but not memorable and complex like Loki.  Djimon Hounsou(who I think should be playing Black Panther) was a waste of talent in this film.  Meanwhile, award-winning thespians John C. Reilly and Glenn Close didn't even have enough screen time to have character personalities.  The best supporting role I felt was Karen Gillan as Gamora's sister, Nebula.  She didn't say much, but carried that character with attitude.  I would have loved to have seen that sibling rivalry more, but that's what sequels are for.

Now for the knit-picking kids!  First off, the Nova Corps is Marvel's version of the Green Lantern Corp; each with tremendous power.  So why did they seem more like a pathetic, galactic, military.  None of them showed the strength a Nova Corps member was supposed to have. GotG is about opening up the Marvel "universe" so let's see the universal police be badass so people will say, "I want to see more of that."  As of right now I don't want more Glenn Close unless she plans on boiling a bunny.

Gamora seemed a little too good.  This is a girl who was raised as a warrior to kill and is the most feared woman in the galaxy.  Why did she seem as pure as Princess Leia?  Right now I fear Black Widow more than Gamora. 

"I am Groot".  That's all I've ever read Groot saying in any comic book, EVER. "We are Groot" does not make sense.  It took me out of the film.  In fact it made some people in the audience laugh at a moment that was supposed to be sad and sweet. I am Groot. That's all we'll ever need.  And as for the post-credit scene?  I found it funny, but these extra bits at the end usually add something to what is to come in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Is this a hint of things to come, or just a silly thing to make people laugh and say WTF?  I'm gonna go with option B.

I had high expectations for this film, and although I really liked it, I didn't LOVE it. It's a great sci-fi/comic book film that I can't wait to see a sequel too, but the plot was simple and nobody outside of the main cast is worth remembering. Well, maybe Michael Rooker.  However, I do hope this shows J.J. Abrams what today's audience is looking for in it's sci-fi/fantasy.  I had a blast watching this film, and I'm glad everyone else did too.  Now, to all of my Facebook friends who got annoyed with all my GotG posts.  You're Welcome. 

Rating:  B+

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