Quick Review: The Raid 2 (dir. by Gareth Huw Evans)

Posted on April 1, 2014 by Leonard Wilson

I didn’t know much about The Raid 2 (or The Raid: Berandal) prior to it’s release. Yes, I loved The Raid Redemption so much that after my initial viewing, I bought another ticket for the next available showing. I also saw the initial trailer, but other than that, I walked in blind. Truth be told, if the season finale of The Walking Dead wasn’t on the same night I saw this and the trains weren’t so damn slow, I would’ve gone right back in for The Raid 2. I know I’ll go back to it later this week, that’s for sure.

Here’s the short of it: The Raid 2 gives you all of the great martial arts from its predecessor (thanks to Choreographers and stars Iko Uwais, Yayan Ruhian, along with writer/director Gareth Evans). The fight scenes are incredibly fluid and well choreographed, some ramped up way past what the first movie delivered. The film also manages to build a story so big that it almost reaches levels akin to Michael Mann’s Heat. That story length also threatens to hurt the film. Where Redemption was a tight package, the sequel has a 2 1/2 hour-long running time. It moves like an Opera, and as such, there maybe at least one chapter where you kind of wonder where it’s all going and why it’s moving in the chosen direction. The film does a great job of righting itself afterward and everything syncs up.

It’s an absolute fight to keep myself from going into every fight and saying “Did you catch that part when..?! Omigod, wasn’t that awesome!” No spoilers here, but this is one time where I wish I could. This review’s vague on purpose.

Taking place just hours after the events of Redemption, The Raid 2 finds supercop Rama (Iko Uwais) working undercover between 2 rival mob families and trying to weed out rogue cops. The premise sounds simple, but the movie is pretty layered. Just how deep can Rama go without exposing himself or losing his humanity? In this sense, a lot of the writing pays homage to movies like Donnie Brasco, The Godfather and The Departed (or Internal Affairs, which The Departed was based on). This is all you really need to know about the plot itself, it’s a crime drama. How it conveys the story on-screen is something else entirely.

The balance between the action and drama is pretty even. Each dramatic moment seems to fit well to the ones before and after it. While there maybe one or two areas that require a huge suspension of belief (a person can bleed profusely and still manage to cause a wave of destruction), but depending on one’s mindset, these can be forgiven…or not. Evans chooses his shots carefully, and in some places it’s downright beautiful – especially in an area that focuses on three assassins with a particular skillset.

The fight scenes are rapid fire moments of hard-hitting shots and bloodshed that may have you wincing or even cheering (like my audience). People are sliced, shot, beaten to a pulp and your jaw may drop at the inventive ways a bat or hammer can be used. In some cases, it takes Close Quarters Combat in as tight as you can possibly get, using camera work that moves above, around and even inside the action when working with multiple fights. The camera isn’t so fast that it suffers from the Bourne Identity/Batman Begins fight blur, but it’s not static either. Remember that free roaming camera technique used in the car ride from Spielberg’s War of the Worlds? There’s a similar usage here that’s beautiful, but in the midst of all that stunt work, one has to wonder if anyone was seriously hurt. The audience lost their minds when Yayan Ruhian appeared, playing a character separate from Mad Dog in Redemption, and our showing ended with a half standing ovation. Not bad for a film focused on fighting.

If you understand that The Raid 2 is hyper-violent, it’s perfectly okay. It’s almost expected, and it works out so very well.

Basically, if you either went to see the The Raid: Redemption and/or enjoyed that film, there’s no reason to avoid The Raid 2. I honestly didn’t think it could get better than the first film and am happily surprised that it has. The film is in a limited release in New York and Los Angeles for now, moving to a wider release on April 11th.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – “Yes Men”

Posted on March 26, 2014 by Leonard Wilson

The March 11th episode of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. brought a familiar face from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Jamie Alexander reprised her role as the Asgardian Lady Sif, returning to Earth to help locate and return Lorelei to her realm.

I’ve missed a number of episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., so the first thing I’ve noticed is that the team seems to be tighter. While the comedic levels are still there, the tone of everything seems to be more serious. I’m really liking the way it’s moving.

Here’s the set up.

Having arrived on Earth (or Midgard, as the Asgardians refer to it), Lorelei (Elena Satine) uses her power to place any man under her control in order to start building an army. She starts by picking up the leader of a group of bikers, having ditched the poor newlywed she picked up at the end of the previous episode. While the team welcomes back a recuperating Skye, they receive word of activity between Asgard & Earth and decide it’s worth checking out.

Early on, we find that the drug administered to Skye appears to have come from an alien race. Simmons is dead set on discovering more about it and sharing that with the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D., but Coulson, knowing the truth and that there were secrets kept even from him, orders Fitz to keep it under wraps. I’ll admit that I like the way the story seems to be expanding. It isn’t so much about the Girl in the Flower Dress anymore and they’ve already figured out what happened to Coulson on T.A.H.I.T.I. (which wasn’t as magical as it seemed. Even if the show wraps up that arc in this first season, they’re planting a number of seasons for Season 2 (if it’s ever greenlit).

In time to deal with Asgardians, Simmons shows off some of the new.weapons they have. Both May and Ward in particular are impressed – “You lost the ounce.”, he says with a smile, recalling an conversation from earlier in the season. I thought that was a cute touch.

After receiving word of an energy signature similar to the ones that happened prior to Thor and Lorelai’s arrival, the team makes their way out to somewhere near New Mexico. Almost running into Sif, they’re able to identify her from archive videos taken during Thor’s battle with the Destroyer. Sif joins the group and explains her need to retreive Lorelai on the plane, having brought with her a necklace that will keep the Siren from using her voice to command others. When asked why Lorelai’s gifts of persuasion don’t carry over to women, Sif notes that men are somewhat weak in that regard. I liked that angle, personally. It reminded me a little of Gina Torres’ Jasmine from Angel, though anyone would fall for charms either by sight or sound.

Now aware that the men on the team could become a threat if exposed to Lorelai, Coulson and May have a small talk. She admits that she and Ward have been “having sex” (she says it so calmly it sounds clinical). When asked if it’ll pose a problem, she informs him it won’t. She also pressures Coulson to open up about Skye, the drug and what he knows, but Coulson refrains from sharing his feelings or information.

On board the plane, Coulson shows Sif their computer dashboard, though she already has the hang of it – “I’m familiar.” She points out, performing a search of recent crimes in the area near Lorelai’s arrival. During the search, Coulson mentions to Sif that being Asgardian, she’s probably run into a number of different species. He asks off-handedly if any of them happened to be blue (like what he discovered in the previous episode). Sif gives him a roll call of various aliens including the Kree, many of which will be familar to Marvel aficionados. Sif also adds that Asgard fought many of them back from Earth ages ago. Again, just the suggestion of these creatures opens some doors in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, if not for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., then at least for films like the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy. That’s just my view on it.

Sif finds the crimes by the biker gang and the team decides to head out to their clubhouse, only to be attacked by cops and the MC under Lorelai’s control. In the fight, Sif’s necklace for Lorelai is damaged by a shotgun blast and Lorelai herself confronts Ward, who first resists her voice, but succumbs to a combination of her voice mixed with her touch. Together, they ride out to someplace for Lorelai to enjoy herself before getting their army together. Natually, they have their way with Vegas and each other. In the mix of all this, Ward confesses that he doesn’t really love May, that he has feelings for someone else. Though she isnt mentioned by name, my hopes for a SkyeWard ship were given a boost.

The team regroups on the plane and go over their options. With Ward kidnapped, they’re in a dangerous situation. The guy with the most tactical experience is under the control of a villain. While the arc has a familiar Hawkeye like ring to it, it all still manages to work by way of Sif and Lorelai’s fight on board the plane when they attack. It seems like a number of episodes have had the plane be the arena, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It just may bring out a reaction of “Again?!” to some.

In the attack, Ward and May face off, but not before Lorelai explains that Ward shared his lack of feelings about May. May is visibly unphased by this, of course, but you can see it in the blows she lands that she isn’t particularly happy about that news.

Meanwhile, Sif, who was thought to be blow out of the plane is let back in. She manages to best and subdue Lorelai with her bracelet, clearing the effects she had over her followers. This especially works out for poor Fitz, who was knocked out by Coulson.

After Lorelai is taken back to Asgard, the episode wraps with May calling her relationship quits with Ward. Coulson and Skye talk about the alien blood she was given and Coulson decides that S.H.I.E.L.D. may have gone too far in what they’ve kept from everyone and it’s time they start searching for anything else behind the curtain. The final shot is of May, listening in to Coulson’s conversation from the cockpit and informing someone else (HQ, more than likely) that “He knows.”

So, what we have is an episode that is almost a mini version of The Avengers, which is impressive thanks to Jamie Alexander’s guest appearance. For me, the show feels as if it’s starting to get some solid ground under it’s feet, though I need to back track through the earlier episodes to be sure. We also have the start of a tie in to Captain America: The Winter Soldier. I may be hoping for too much, but it would be interesting to see the whole (or part of the team) either cameo in the movie or something else down the line. From all the promos for the movie, it feels like Captain America is finding it difficult to trust S.H.I.E.L.D.’s intentions and with the Agents also losing that trust, we could be in for some serious drama ahead.

Quick Review: Need for Speed (dir. by Scott Waugh)

Posted on March 14, 2014 by Leonard Wilson

My Short Take on Need for Speed –

Reasons to see it:

+ Fast cars doing interesting stunts that don’t feel like a CGI stunt reel. Take the Mustang chase from Drive and stretch it out.

+ It’s a tightly shot film. The chances of saying “Come on, go somewhere.” Are small and the driving camera work does its best to invoke a sense of being in the scene.

+ Imogen Poots steals practically every scene she’s in, and the cast overall seemed to enjoy themselves. Michael Keaton may be the most animated he’s been since Beetlejuice. Aaron Paul sounds like a mix between Charlie Hunnam and Solid Snake.

Reasons to hold off for now:

– It’s not the tightest story in the world. You’ll probably be able to easily call out plot angles as the movie progresses. There is also one scene in the film that never connects to anything after it, leaving something of a hole there. Overall, the film gives you just enough to understand why everyone’s doing what they’re doing, but don’t search for a whole lot of character growth here.

– The Air support moments seem a little implausible, given air traffic rules and what not.

The Long Take:

Ever since The Fast and The Furious hit the big screen in 2001, you’ve had a number of race related movies. I think the worst I can recall was 2007’s Redline, which tried to throw some wild extortion theme into the mix. The movie adaptation for Need for Speed may actually be a better movie than some of Electronic Arts’ games. It may not be Hamlet, but it handles itself just fine.

The premise for Need for Speed is very simple. A young racer (Aaron Paul, whose voice sounds he’s channelling Sons of Anarchy’s Jax Teller) seeks vengeance against a former business partner (Dominic Cooper, Howard Stark from the Marvel Cinematic Universe) by way of a dangerous high speed race known as the Deleon. He assembles a team of friends, and goes about trying to reach his goal. There you go, all you need. It might sound as bad as this year’s Robocop, but at least the audience laughed along with this one.

Although many know Aaron Paul from his Emmy winning run on Breaking Bad, but he isn’t new to movies. He’s had a great turn in Smashed with Mary Elizabeth Winstead and worked previously with co-star Imogen Poots on The Long Way Down. Here in Need for Speed, I felt he did really well with what was given as racer Tobey Marshall, granted that it wasn’t a whole lot. Still, he sells it as best he can. Poots, on the other hand is as much the bright light in the film as Hayley Atwell was in Captain America: The First Avenger. Overall, the casting was okay here. Dominic Cooper plays the rival role well, though doesn’t come off as sinister in any way and Michael Keaton seems to enjoy himself in this as the host of the Deleon, a high stakes private race. He channels his inner Beetlejuice and is one of the high points of the film. Between he and Scott Mescudi (Kid Cudi to those who know him musically), they have the best scenes apart from the main cast.

The car scenes themselves are okay. You may find yourself leaning back in your seat in some instances, but they don’t quite have the tight feel of say Ronin. Still, you won’t see anything happen in these cars that go beyond the extreme. Truth be told, it’s almost similar to the first Fast and the Furious, save for all the wavy speed lines in the high speed chases. One of the remarkable things about Need for Speed is that it tries its best to avoid throwing too many CGI driving moments. It has a feel that’s similar to Tarantino’s Death Proof or, as the film highlights in the beginning of the movie, Bullitt. This being only his second major film (Act of Valor being the first), Director Scott Waugh gets away with making the racing moments as intense as they can be without getting too crazy…well, almost. It’s cut quick, and there are very few lag scenes as far as I could notice.

If the movie has any bad points, it’s that almost everything happens in a bubble. The plot has someone who is effectively on the run, and yet I would have imagined there’d be more of a police presence, especially given the exposure. Then again, this is Need for Speed, where you only need to avoid the cops or 2 minutes before being given the chance to hide in a cooldown zone (in NFS: Most Wanted, anyway). Fans of the games will see some of those elements in play during the film and they are functional here, if not realistic.

Additionally, there’s one other scene that involves the recruiting of a reluctant team member that goes almost no where. The reason for bringing the person along (having to do with a car issue) never appears to be addressed either visually or verbally. This left me asking, “Well, was it fixed?” and then shaking my head later on. It’s not a terrible mistake to have while munching on popcorn ( you won’t choke for not getting an answer), but someone really could have taken the time to dot that particular “i” on George Gatins’ script.

Overall, Need for Speed is a fun ride. It’s predictable in a lot of ways, and you’ll see some of it coming, but you may also find yourself smiling and swerving in your seats with the traffic.

Quick TV Review: Black Sails – Episode One.

Posted on January 25, 2014 by Leonard Wilson

As HBO is usually pretty successful when it comes to its wide array of shows, other channels have thrown their hats into the ring. Showtime was quick to follow them and HBO’s sister channel Cinemax now has two shows under their belt with Strike Back & Banshee.

Starz is still a baby at the series game, but they’ve had an arsenal of their own. With the Spartacus series wrapped up and DaVinci’s Demons’ 2nd season prepped to go later this year, Starz is looking to get more of its shows out the door.

Black Sails is Starz’ latest entry. It starts off running out of the gate, but it’s hard to tell if the show really has legs at this point. Although the premiere is January 25 (tonight, as of this writing), the full episode was released both online and on the Starz on Demand channel for the past week. Either they’re confident this will increase viewership or they perhaps figure the show may not get as far as it should. Either way, it’s available to see.

I like it, I do, but so far I have 3 problems with Black Sails:

1.) I feels too much like the video game Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag. This is a mixed bag. If you’ve played the videogame, you know the environment and all of the sea battles in Black Sails have a familiarity to them that will leave you smiling. You may not feel as lost in the show if you’ve played the game or picked up a history book. On the flip side, because there’s a game just like it, it’s quite possible that Black Flag could steal (or already has) Black Sails’ thunder if the show doesn’t come across as exciting. I’m hoping it’s the first case, myself.

2.) Michael Bay’s name is attached to it. It’s invoked like it’s Bruckheimer, and I suppose that when his name is mentioned, one probably thinks of explosions and girls. Black Sails has that all over the place, but that could have happened without Bay’s name. It could be a deterrent to some who still have the bad taste of films like Transformers: Dark of the Moon in their mouths. Let’s be honest, what kind of name is Dark of the Moon anyway?

3.) Rather than taking the mystical route of DaVinci’s Demons or the more swashbuckling style of something like Pirates of the Carribean or Cutthroat Island, Black Sails shoots for something more ruthless and businesslike. The ruthlessness – the blood and gore (when it happens) is welcome. The business part of it all had me hoping that the series doesn’t keep moving in that direction over time. While I understand that the entire show can’t be on the sea (like Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World – how I love that film), that so much of it is on land made me sigh a little. In fact, the opening sequence of this really is the only part that actually takes place on the open sea. It’s very similar to NBC’s Dracula. You expect a dark, brooding Vampire tale in Victorian London, and you get a political battle whose biggest highlight is Dracula showing up in the day for a business meeting. That’s not really fun.

To it’s credit, as the pilot, this episode has to establish all of the players involved. The grit of it all is interesting, at least. It’s dirty, maybe even a little dark, but it’s also a little boring to all have the minutiae of the dealings thrown out there like that. If I choose to think of the pirate battles in the same vein as Sons of Anarchy’s motorcycle chases, it’s possible we could have one sea battle every two or three episodes. Maybe that won’t be too bad overall, but they’re going to have to amp this up quick before they start losing the audience. Give us a swordfight or a musket fired or something.

Okay, here’s what we have:

Hoping to bring the same flair for violence to the pilot that he brought to one of Game of Thrones’ best episodes, Neil Marshall (Doomsday, Centurion, The Descent) does his best to give the West Indies in the 18th Century a bloody introduction to the audience. He does a great job with the content he’s given. You can’t complain about what you’re seeing in terms of the atmosphere. Black Sails starts in the open sea with a ship under attack. We come to find that the ship holds the key to a special cargo, one that Captain Flint (Toby Stephens, the Bond villian in Die Another Day) is dying to get his hands on. Flint, though considered a legend among the pirate world, is having a tough time holding on to his crew. Having led them on a wild goose case, some of the crew feels it’s time to replace Flint’s leadership with someone more able to bring everyone a profit.

As Flint’s crew take over the ship, they find John Silver (Luke Arnold), who has acquired a page ripped out of a book that the cook stole. He joins Flint’s crew, saving his own skin. When Flint finds the journals (and the book with the missing page), he decides to port into Nassau to meet with Richard Guthrie, a rich businessman who helps to fund some of his escapades. While getting themselves situated in Nassau, Silver realizes that the page he has must have come from one of the books and looks to see if he can locate where it came from. We come to find through the course of the episode that the page is the key to locating a ship carrying a near incalculable wealth, more than enough to Flint’s crew to live happy.

That appears to be the main story arc in Black Sails. The show introduces a number of characters. You have Eleanor Guthrie (Malecifent’s Hannah New), who helps to keep the pirates in business while trying to forge a name for herself outside of her father. Max (Jessica Parker Kennedy, who I may name as a Hottie of the Day), a courtesan who makes side deals out of the local brothel. I like both of the women in Black Sails, but I can’t exactly say they’re the best of roles for either individual. They’re both strong in the sense that they can take care of themselves, yet (and maybe this is just me) I hoped that maybe for Eleanor in particular was a character that was calling the shots in her position. The pilot gives the impression when you first meet her that she does, but it kind of collapses into a yield between her and Captain Vane (Zach McGowan), who’s out to make himself the number one pirate of the Carribean. Perhaps as the series goes on, this will improve. Vane is your bad guy, that’s easy to see, but there’s so little shown about him that McGowan might as have had a mustache to twirl between his fingers.

So far, of the characters, Flint is the only one I have any kind of care about, and Stephens is delivering the best performance of everyone there. No one person is bad, though. I’m hoping his character can keep the crew enthralled. I haven’t seen enough of everyone else that endures me to them just yet, which is almost the same problem as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. You know who’s involved, but give me a reason to think about them after the show fades to black. Even the slowest Walking Dead episodes leave me wondering and salivating for the next episode.

I’m ready to see where Flint goes, but I’m just not sure I’m sold on everyone else.

Quick Review: “Her” (dir. by Spike Jonze)

Posted on December 28, 2013 by Leonard Wilson

Before you read this, leonth3duke has a great review for “Her” up as well. Please check it out. It’s a great take on a sweet film.

Technology changes the way we communicate with each other. In a city like New York – well, everywhere, I’d imagine – there are individuals walking around with phones and pads, caught up more in their devices than in the people around them. At dinner tables, you may catch whole groups of people seated that are “checking in”, rather than directly communicating. I myself have done that quite a bit. All of these gadgets give us the ability to connect to tons of people, but at the same time there’s this potential for isolation and/or distance. Are we really connecting deeply with anyone or are people just fitting the bill just to kill off the loneliness?

Spike Jonze’s “Her” doesn’t argue whether or not we should be so digitally social, but it does present the audience with examples of the ways we may reach for connections these days. It’s both beautiful, weird and somewhat eerily familiar.

“Her” focuses on Theodore Twombley (Joaquin Phoenix), who works as a letter writer. Though at his job, he creates heartfelt letters for others, in his interactions outside of that he’s somewhat withdrawn (or he’s simply reserved with his words). He’s in the middle of a divorce with his wife (Rooney Mara), and more or less keeps to himself. One day, he decides to pick up a new OS for his computer with an advanced AI. This is how Samantha (Scarlett Johannson) comes into the picture. She helps to organize his day to day tasks and as she’s curious about the world, Theodore explains what he can. As crazy as it sounds, it grows into something more.

The movie was originally done with Samantha Morton (Cosmopolis) as Samantha, but supposedly Jonze felt something was off during the editing and post production. They talked it over and Morton stepped down. There’s nothing at all wrong with Scarlett’s take – it’s sad that she can’t be acknowledged for her performance because of rules – but there’s a part of me that hopes that in the video version there’s a behind the scenes showing what Samantha Morton’s version of the role turned out. I think it would be pretty interesting to see.

Johannson does a wonderful job considering that it’s just her voice. From a bright “hello” to a whispered “Hey.”, as Samantha grows, you can catch subtle changes in her demeanor. Granted, one can say it’s easy to do a voice over, but one only has to look at Julia Roberts’ performance in Charlotte’s Web to know the difference between talking out your lines, and actually conveying them with feeling.

For someone who has to work with a character they can’t see or interact with directly, Phoenix is great here. Coming off of The Master, the role is a complete turn around. He’s the anchor of the film and through him we see all the joys and pains. He conveys this weird sense of curiosity about the world that masks a deeper pain. I rubbed my chin a number of times during this, amazed at how much of myself I saw in the character of Theodore. It was a little jarring, actually. Also coming off The Master is Amy Adams, whose role here reminded me of a guest starring role she had on the tv show “Charmed”. Playing Theodore’s friend Amy, she acts as a sounding board for Theodore. I have yet to see American Hustle, but I liked her here and personally thought she did far better in this film than she did in Man of Steel.

Overall the casting for “Her” is good. Matt Lescher (The Mask of Zorro) has a humorous part as Amy’s husband. Even Rooney Mara comes across well as Theodore’s wife. Other casting choices include Kristen Wiig (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty), Portia Doubleday (Carrie), and Olivia Wilde (Rush).

Cinematographer Hoyt Van Hoytema (The Fighter, Inside Llewyn Davis) and Jonze created a near future that isn’t terribly distant from where we are now. It’s bright, sunny, extremely clean in the daytime scenes. The nights are so well lit that it first reminded me of Roger Deakin’s Shanghai sequences in Skyfall. It’s almost a cozy future. Interfaces with computers are more direct and even funny at times. This is something you’ll notice right from the start. Everyone’s appearance, however, seems a bit frumpy. It’s like everyone just grabbed the first thing in their closet and said “You know what, I’ll go with it.” It caused a bit of a laughter from the audience mostly, which could pull from the story, but it’s hardly unlikely.

The theme of “Her” is loneliness, or at least that’s what I took from it. It was of people looking to connect. Some succeed on different levels, some don’t but there’s a longing there. It comes through as clearly in “Her” as it can, and it’s one of the elements I really enjoyed about the movie. Some of the conversations in the film are deep, those ones you have after you move past all of the small talk about the weather. Sometimes harsh, painful truths come out. At other times, it’s just subtle realizations being voiced.

After the film, I’ve found I’ve spent a little more time interacting with others face to face – something I don’t normally do. I normally don’t feel lonely because there things I can do. Ride my motorcycle, go to the movies, write something. With this, however, it was like someone filmed me, cleaned up the story and presented it better. Though I am somewhat introverted, I also suffer from abandonment issues, and tend not to form too many close friendships of a fear of losing them. I recognized that I do have more moments of loneliness than I ever really noticed before. For me, “Her” is one the best films I’ve seen this year simply because (like “12 Years a Slave”) it felt like it spoke to me directly. It’s humorous in many places, sad in others, but at the end of it all, I left the theatre thinking about the movie and experiencing emotions I hadn’t expected to.

And sometimes, that’s enough to consider a film great. I’m eager to see this again.

Teasers & Trailers: Dreamworks’ How to Train Your Dragon 2

Posted on December 19, 2013 by Leonard Wilson

It’s been 3 years since Dreamworks’ How to Train Your Dragon was released. Though Chris Sanders has moved on to The Croods and that sequel, his animation style is in good hands. It looks like How to Train Your Dragon 2 has Hiccup (Jay Baruchel), Toothless and all of Berk adjusting very well. All appears to be well, but you wouldn’t have a story without a new threat, and maybe some new revelations. Part of me thinks that the setup for this story may also be similar to what could happen for Kung Fu Panda 3 (if done), with regards to family reunions.

Below are both the teaser, which has Hiccup and Toothless showing off a few improvements, and the trailer, which showcases more of the story.

How to Train Your Dragon 2 comes out June of 2014.

Movie Teaser: Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar”

Posted on December 14, 2013 by Leonard Wilson

Having rescued Batman from the Schumacher age and assisting in the full on destruction of Metropolis, Christopher Nolan has reached an interesting point in his life. He can now walk up on stage, grab a microphone, mutter the words “I’m filming a movie.” and have tons of fans (like myself) lose themselves like swooning chickens.

Christopher and Jonathan Nolan are dreaming about the stars. And with a dash of what I think (what I hope) is Zimmer playing in the background, he tells us absolutely nothing. The gaul! The tease! It’s the movie watcher’s equivalent of seeing a bare expanse of leg exposed on someone walking in a sleek black dress. Or perhaps the equivalent of Beyonce’s album drop, only with a movie? Either way, how dare they leave me drooling like a Pavlovian mutt.

So, what do we know about Interstellar? Well, that his brother is on board, and David Goyer is nowhere to be seen, Nolan could be giving us something just a little different – or rather more along the lines of Inception. I’m one of the fans who feels he actually does much better when working with Jonathan and maybe this is good overall. Now that he’s done with everything Batman, he can focus on telling other stories.

I’m just hoping those stories aren’t like Insomnia.

And I’m hoping they’re better edited than The Dark Knight.

Interstellar, on the surface looks like it has something to do with space travel (stating the more than obvious fact), but this feels more like October Sky to me. We have Matthew McConaughey talking about how we’ve lost our way in being explorers and pioneers and the film suggests some kind of return to that. Of course, this is just a teaser, and we really won’t know the full details until the full trailer appears (which for all we know, could have aliens in it).

The thing that stands out on all of this is what isn’t easily noticed. Interstellar will be the first film that Nolan has done since Following where Cinematographer Wally Pfister wasn’t on board. This is akin to the Coens not using Roger Deakins (which is exactly the case with Inside Llewyn Davis). Visually, this could be a different film as Instellar’s Cinematographer is Hoyte Van Hoytema, who was responsible for Her, Let the Right One In and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Very interesting, indeed.

Interstellar premieres in theatres next year.

Oh, and here are some swooning chickens, for added effect.

My Visit to the New York Comic Con 2013

Posted on October 20, 2013 by Leonard Wilson

Imagine a place where you can see all of your favorite comic book heroes and heroines, argue over whether organic web shooters are better than classic ones, and witness creativity on so many different levels. The New York Comic Con was a 4 day spectacle of pop culture madness mixed with tons of cosplay. I only picked up a ticket for Saturday, but I really have to one day shoot for a 3 or 4 day pass next year.

I think I may have made 4 passes through the interior and exterior areas of the hall, and for every pass there was something new to catch your eye. There was a Transformers booth with some of the classic toys that was a treat. Kotobukiya was on hand with someone their great pieces. The Psylocke one in particular was really sweet. Also on hand were various fantasy sword manufacturers, somewhat surprising in New York given how much security we have here. Clothing, toys, books, drawings. You name it and chances are that you’d run into someone creating a print – like Destiny Blue’s beautiful art.

I was basically there for to use my camera, which didn’t really work out the way I planned. Between the bustle of the crowds (which was immense) and also trying to snap pics with my phone…they kind of came out a bit blurry. I made the mistake of adjusting the shutter speed to get the exposure right, meaning that in some cases the speed was so low that the slightest nudge or shift would blur the image. The next Con will be better, apologies all around.

I met cosplayer VampyBit.me (Linda Le) at her booth, picking up a Nightwing print which she autographed for me. She is so tiny and cute! Somehow in the course of being there, I missed out on seeing Ivy Doomkitty. She happened to be located just off of the Marvel booth. Speaking off the Marvel Booth, Chris Clairemont was on hand, signing pictures and comics. Additionally, Coulson’s car from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was also there, though of course no one was able to touch it.

So, without further ado, I give you my picture set for the NYCC 2013. These are some of the better ones. The full set is visible on my shared Flikr Page. Enjoy.

Quick Review: Carrie (dir. by Kimberly Peirce)

Posted on October 20, 2013 by Leonard Wilson

High School can be a rough time. Growing up, we always had Freshman Day, where bullies spent the first Friday of the new semester terrorizing the newbies. I spent at least one of those years either writing in the Library for lunch or on the run between classes until a poem/love letter I wrote on behalf of a member of the Varsity Football team left me in their good graces and under their protection. Needed to tell your girl she was the best thing since Ham & Pineapple pizza, but in an eloquent way? Go ask that geek in the back row of English reading Christine with the big round glasses. Oh, the joys of High School. I can’t even imagine how intense bullying can get today with all of the social media we have. It’s easy to imagine what you could do to protect yourself if you could be as cool as Nightcrawler and make yourself teleport, fight off your foes like Batman or best of all, Force Choke the crap out of someone like Darth Vader.

In that sense, the story of Carrie is still kind of cool, and mildly disturbing.

There was a point in Stephen King’s life where Carrie almost never happened. It was because of his wife, Tabitha that the story was ever finished and that the parts focused on women and their “monthlies” (as members of my family would say) were written the way they were. Carrie got King his foot in the door and set him for other releases like The Shining, Christine and Salem’s Lot. I think next to The Shining, it might be his most remade film.

I’m not sure if there’s anyone who never saw Brian De Palma’s Carrie from 1978 with Sissy Spacek. If not, Kimberly Peirce’s version is not bad at all as an introduction to the story. It actually has at least one element from the book that was never featured in the original film (though part of me does wish that it contained the newspaper format – something like John Larroquette’s narration for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre). Carrie is simply the tale of a young girl in high school who discovers she has telekinetic powers. Eventually, she gets pushed and loses it, unleashing her abilities against anyone in her way. No version of the story has ever gone into detail on how she got them outside of the puberty angle – they’re just there.

Peirce’s version moves just as well as De Palma’s, which is interesting because supposedly they happen to be friends. The main differences lie in DePalma’s choice of nudity versus Peirce’s lack of it, and DePalma’s lack of blood (a sign of the times) compared to Peirce’s extended usage of it. Other than that, it’s roughly the same film, any closer and you’d end up with Gus Van Sant’s shot for shot version of Psycho. Half of me wonders why it needed to be remade (again), the other half says, “You know what, it wasn’t half bad.” There’s nothing essentially wrong with Carrie, but it’s really hard to talk about the Peirce Carrie Film without going back to the DePalma one.

First, Carrie’s biggest strength by far comes in it’s casting. As the leads, both Chloe Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore are great in their roles – almost better than the film deserves. Granted, it’s kind of difficult to imagine anyone messing up something as simple as this. When it comes to young horror starlets, the first two names that come to my mind are Silent Hill’s Jodele Ferland and The Hunger Games’ Isabelle Fuhrman, both of which I thought would be interesting fits here. If Katharine Isabelle was just a little younger, that would have worked too. However, I forgot that Moretz had both The Amityville Horror and Let Me In under her belt (and we won’t speak of Dark Shadows – That wasn’t horror. That wasn’t even comedy. I can’t even identify what that was). Her role as Carrie is somewhat similar to Let Me In, being more reserved here than the Kick Ass films and with good reason.

Moore’s version of Margaret White spends some time self harming herself, which was a little eerie and reminded me of Paul Bettany’s character in The DaVinci Code, punishing themselves for their sins. She’s good here, but after coming off winning an Emmy for playing Sarah Palin in “Game Change”, she looks like she’s underused here. It’s like having an actor play a superhero after becoming a great director and winning tons of accolades. A job is a job, and Moore does a great one here given what she has to work with.

The supporting cast was interesting. I didn’t expect to like Judy Greer’s gym teacher as much as I did, and Ansel Angort’s Tommy Ross was good. I hope that this film leads to bigger and better roles for him. A surprise was Chronicle’s Alex Russell as Billy Nolan, the character originally played by John Travolta. He pulls off a villain well. Portia Doubleday’s version of Kris Hargensen may actually be better than Nancy Allen was, though this could also be in part due to the way the story is written.

So, on with the plot. Carrie White (Moretz) is a reclusive loner, living with her overprotective mother (Moore). In the school shower, she has her period for the first time and not realizing what’s occurring to her (and having never been told just what to expect), naturally panics. This leads to an all out humiliation by her peers that’s even recorded. Carrie later learns about her abilities, while her nemesis, Kris is kicked from the prom and vows to take her vengeance against Carrie. Some of the main sequences are actually expanded upon, which I thought were actually good.

I think the only problem I had with Carrie was the technique used for the Telekinesis. It almost seems a little CGI heavy, but when I think about it, I’m not sure how else they could have pulled off much of what they did here without it. Additionally, Moretz’s version of Carrie uses her hands a lot, which almost makes it seems like she’s either dancing or is trying to conjure up something. It’s not a terribly bad thing and you may actually get used to it after she does it once or twice. Part of me kept expecting her to scream “Unlimited Power!” at one point but it was just a minor “Wow, that’s kind of weird.” Reaction, at least for me.

Carrie’s not really meant for little kids. Anyone who’s a fan of Moretz by way of Diary of a Wimpy Kid might not be ready to handle Carrie, but if you’ve followed any of the Kick Ass films, Carrie’s actually lighter than those. Overall, it’s one of the better remakes out there and a very short film (I’m writing this while watching the Nightmare on Elm Street remake, so I like to think I have a good basis of comparison). If you never saw the original, it might be worth a try. If you don’t wish to spend the money for the ticket, you can always watch one of the other versions and wait for this to come out on Blu-Ray.

T.V. Review: Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – Season 1- Episode 2 (“0-8-4”)

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Leonard Wilson

Having started off well, Marvel’s Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s second episode hoped to keep the show’s momentum going. While it manages to keep everything moving, it kind of feels a little too familiar to anyone who’s watched Whedon’s work. It’s not a terrible thing, but this might not bode well for the series overall in the long run. At the rate the show is going to make references to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, they could conceivably run out of them by episode 6 or 7. Then again, they can always add to the MCU by way of elements in the comics themselves.The second potential problem is that the show could end up feeling like Thor, with S.H.I.E.L.D. playing the clean up team after the big superheroes. It may have worked in that film, but for the length of a series, I can’t say for certain it’ll work. Then again, they can always add to the MCU by way of elements in the comics themselves. Look at Smallville. That got stretched out to 10 seasons. We’ll have to see.

The episode opens up with an explosion on board the S.H.I.E.L.D. plane that sends at least one person flying out into the open sky. We then move back some 16 hours before the event, with the team on it’s way to Peru to discover the source of the 0-8-4 reported in the Pilot. An 0-8-4 is an Object of Unknown Origin, the last of which was Mjolnir in Kenneth Branaugh’s Thor. I thought that was a cool connection to make there.

We find Skye getting herself settled in, joining the team. The scientist pair of Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons are happy to have her aboard, but Ward is skeptical over bringing her along. The most he says to her when she arrives is to suggest she read the manual but Coulson points out that having hacked S.H.I.E.L.D. twice, they could definitely use her services. Ward and May go on to complain that there are only really 2 people on the team who are combat ready. Since Fitz and Simmons aren’t likely to use weapons, so there’s not much they can bring to the table in Ward’s and May’s eyes. Coulson disagrees and goes with keeping Skye. With Skye being new, she won’t think the way the rest of the team does – Ward’s words. Here we find the theme of the episode: Teamwork. This episode is basically written to show how the team can mesh under certain circumstances. I’ll admit that I liked the theme, but I really had a problem with the way Ward was in this. Granted, he was drugged and forced to be cooperative in the previous episode, so Skye is aware that he’s attracted to her, but this episode felt like that didn’t happen. It’s a classic “Mal won’t be with Inara because she’s a Companion, despite having feelings for her, and thus has to berate her for what she does” situation from Firefly.

While in Peru, the team stumbles on an Incan Temple. Inside, they find the artifact, which appears to be partially encased in a stone wall. In examining the object, they find it appears to have been in the rock for about 1500 years, but the craftsmanship of if it is German in design. This was something of a hiccup for me, considering what we find out later in the episode. I’ll get to that later. Agents Ward and May have a small discussion about her background and a legend known as “The Cavalry”, where May saw some type of serious action in Bahrain. She dismisses most of it, but before Ward can get May to say more, a small fight breaks out. The fight leads to The attackers are revealed as the Policia Militar de Peru, lead by Camilla Reyes (Leonor Varela, from Blade II), who has a history with Coulson. As Coulson and Camilla get re-acquainted, Skye and Ward get into a mini argument over Skye’s association with Rising Tide. Being someone who throws himself into the thick of things, Ward has issues with the safety Skye has making her reports from her van. Again, more of the “I hate you, I think” banter. It’s cute in some ways.

Shortly after the introduction, there’s an attack that has everyone rushing to pack up and go. With Fitz-Simmons and Skye stuck at the entrance of the temple, one nice scene has Ward using a stun device similar to the one Simon Tam had in Serenity that knocks most of the guards out. There’s an additional moment where Fitz-Simmons and Skye are nearly shot, but May uses the team’s armored SUV to cover them. It all shows that the team really isn’t battle ready, but everyone manages to get back to the plane and escape. The team also manages to take along Camilla and some of her men on board. It’s here that Fitz mentions that the device was probably part of the Red Skull weaponry using Tesseract energy from the 1940’s. So…how does something made in the 1940’s get carbon dated as being in the rock of an Incan Temple for over 1500 years? Unless there’s some kind of time travel element we don’t know about in a future episode, that could be a mistake on the writers part?

In flight, Coulson apologizes to May over throwing her into a combat situation. She has nothing to say on the matter, though we clearly know she can handle herself just fine. Fitz-Simmons continues their analysis of the Tesseract/Hydra Artifact in the lab. They discover the energy output of it is potentially huge, and were lucky their drones didn’t accidentally cause it to go off. Again, Ward notes the team wasn’t ready, and he could have easily handled it all if he worked alone. This causes Fitz-Simmons to argue they are just as important to the team as anyone. Coulson arrives on scene and points out that each of them have qualities that are useful for the team and tells them to just make it work. Everyone goes their separate ways on the plane.

Throughout the episode, Skye is having a tough time finding her place in the team. In just about every scene she’s in, she tries to assist but finds herself either pushed aside or feeling out of place. Acting as the character we see everything through (as newbies to S.H.I.E.L.D., she’s a lot like Winifred Burkle in Angel trying to find out way after being rescued from Pylea. She has a talk with Ward over their perspectives with problems. Skye sees the beauty of multiple people being able to bring part of a solution like a puzzle piece, while Ward has always seen himself as the whole solution. They agree on their differences and bond a little over a drink when Ward notices the other members of Camilla’s group haven’t touched the drinks they’ve had.

Camilla makes a move on Coulson, who catches her intentions and reveals that he sees what she’d need to do to take over the plane. It’s here that the Militia starts attacking. Ward takes out a few of them, holding his own as well as Coulson does with Camilla. May is taken out of the equation with sleeping gas and the scientists are captured. Coulson stands down is taken hostage with the rest of the team.

Tied in a room, Coulson is kept alive because he needs to keep the lines of communication open. Camilla tells him that he went from a large group of combat ready people to a crew of five in a big plane, liking it all to a mid-life crisis of sorts (“An After-life thing” Coulson mentions). In Camilla’s eyes, the team exists to give Coulson a sense of relevance – they need him for guidance, it makes him important. He counters by saying that they don’t really need him, they need time…and a common enemy, which Camilla just provided. I liked that, actually. It reminded me of the turning point in the Avengers where the team finally began to work together.

As a group, the rest of the team are contained, trying to figure out a way to get out. Ward realizes that Skye’s idea of each one of them being part of the solution can help in this. With May’s assistance – The Calvary coming to the rescue – they manage to get out, subdue a few of the guards and use one of the drone devices to active the Artifact. The Artifact blasts a hole in the plane, causing the distraction to give them all the upper hand.

So the first half of this episode was okay, but the second half requires one to suspend a bit of logic. As an action sequence, the in air shootout and explosion on board the plane falls in line with something similar to Executive Decision with Kurt Russell or maybe even Goldfinger. Theoretically, I’m thinking that most of the people on the plane should have found themselves sucked through the hole unless the altitude was low. However, this is tv, and I guess that for the sake of the story, we’ll just overlook it.

We have this fight going on, and Coulson manages to secure Camilla so that she doesn’t fly off. Tethered together with cables, Fitz-Simmons gets a hold of the device and Skye is hit with a copy of the pamphlet that Ward gave her earlier. A quick glance at it and she unhooks herself from the group, opening a raft in the plane which is drawn to and effectively plugs the hole. She saves Ward in the process and finding something – something big – to do. Not the most believable of situations by a long shot, but it was fun.

With everything back to normal, the team celebrates their coming together by watching a rocket take off. When asked by Coulson about who decided to blow the hole in the plane, they all take responsibility for it. Skye receives a text from Rising Tide, asking her whether she’s in on their next plan. Looking around the rest of the group, she texts back that she’s in, showing that though things worked out here, she’s not entirely sure she belongs there.

The cameos in the last episode featured Ron Glass and Cobie Smulders. This time, Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury returns for a funny debrief scene that for me was the best part of the entire episode. He yells at Coulson for needing only 6 days before causing so much damage to the plane. Coulson states that the team acted with Authority, to which the common line comes up, “Talking to me about Authority”. I found that to be a great touch and a good scene overall. I think it also hits home to what scares me a little about the show on a whole. Part of me wants more of those cameos, but I’m hoping that the rest of the show gives me enough so that I won’t feel like I’m relying on them to make it all feel like something special.

And that’s the episode in a nutshell.

I’d like to take a moment to both apologize for the delay here in getting this out. I had to watch the episode a total of 8 times just to keep up and hold on to everything I was seeing, something very different for me compared to watching movies. I give all the kudos in the world, and bow like an Ewok to the rest of the Shattered Lens crew for their ability to get TV reviews out there. That is not easy stuff.