The Avengers (2012)

(Image from IMP Awards)

The Avengers (2012)

Joss Whedon has gone and done it. He has cracked the barrier that existed between the insanely OTT superhero comic and the silver screen. Whedon, who wrote and directed 'The Avengers', has made what feels like the first near perfect superhero comic adaptation, one that perfectly encapsulates the tone and spirit of 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes'. His film has demolished box office records and good for him - having done his time in TV land and gotten screwed over time and again by studios, mainstream success is a long overdue just desert.

The story boils down to this - the evil demigod Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is setting out to take over the Earth with an alien army at his command. The threat is so great that Agent Nick Fury (Sam Jackson) is forced to set the Avengers Initiative into action, which involves bringing the greatest of Earth's heroes together. These are Iron Man / Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America / Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), and Hulk / Dr. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), and they are supported by Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson). The problem - they all each have their own baggage and aren't exactly keen on working together. There's more to the plot than that of course, but that's the gist of it.

Marvel laid the foundation for this movie with the five individual outings of the main heroes, so in a sense this movie is the culmination of those early adventures; indeed it doesn't work on its own without at least some passing knowledge of those earlier films, which were admittedly of varying quality and never quite attained greatness. Still, it's worth watching those in order to experience this, and I'm actually keen to revisit all of them with the foreknowledge of what they lead up to. And while they weren't perfect, they each (bar The Incredible Hulk) did one major thing right - they achieved near perfect casting.

Robert Downey Jr is the biggest name, and he continues his limelight hogging, charismatic turn as Tony Stark. Hemsworth is imposing, regal and cocky as the 'godlike' Thor. Evans is stoic and noble as Captain America, donning the star spangled tights without a hint of irony. Renner made a brief and uninspiring appearance in Thor, but he's incredibly badass here as Hawkeye, and I can fully understand how he was chosen to headline the Bourne Franchise. There are two surprise packages as well - Johansson is terrific as Black Widow - cool and crafty but with guilt bubbling under the surface, she's more than just eye candy (though she does that well too). The biggest surprise though is Mark Ruffalo, who almost steals the show as the nerdy but oddly charismatic Bruce Banner, struggling to keep his dark passenger under control. Also deserving of praise is Hiddleston who, improbably, comes across as an effective and menacing villain despite being a whiny pawn in a grander scheme. Sam Jackson is, well, Sam Jackson; he could do this in his sleep, but he does it well.

Great actors need great words to work with, and the Whedon touch truly comes to the fore here. Despite being marginally Stark-centric, the script balances the characters perfectly and gives all of them their moment to shine while imbuing them with depth and personality. It's full of humour through both dialogue and action, and there are loads of laugh out loud moments. The interplay between the protagonists is fast and witty and conveys familial bickering to a T. There is a lull in the action in the middle, but this is more than made up for by all the banter!

Which brings me to the action, which is the one area where Whedon hasn't exactly established his expertise. Well, consider him established now as the action is, to put it mildly, spectacular! It helps that there is a great deal of variety in terms of the characters and their powers, but to envisage scenes utilising them in ways that make sense, with each hero fighting according to their abilities without giving anyone the short shrift is no small achievement. It's all coherent and flows without resorting to insane close ups and quick cuts, and everyone gets their moment of glory. It's truly epic in a way that no other superhero movie has achieved, and it's also unabashedly comic book like with wave after wave of aliens being dispatched by our heroes in imaginative ways. It helps that the special effects are nearly flawless - not once was I taken out of the film by a dodgy effect. The Hulk steals the whole show during the climactic battle with some of the funniest and most memorable moments.

Recommended? Hell yeah! I loved this movie and will almost certainly catch it again on the big screen (in 2D). It's the second Whedon film this year that I can say that of - the man's on fire! Avengers is a near perfect superhero comic book film and a bloody good action/adventure film to boot. It is a shame that you need to do some prep work before watching it, but that's a small price to pay in this instance. The Avengers 2 has a lot to live up to!

Super (2010)

Image from Imp Awards

Super (2010)

Lonely loser Frank (Rainn Wilson) manages to wind up married to hottie / recovering drug addict Sarah (Liv Tyler). When an unscrupulous strip club owner / drug dealer (Kevin Bacon) manages to steal Sarah away from him, he goes over the edge and becomes a super hero, The Crimson Bolt. Together with his friend Libby (Ellen Page), he fights crime by beating people senseless, with the ultimate aim of rescuing Sarah.

It's a very odd film, vaguely like 'Kick Ass' but leaving a much sourer taste in your mouth afterwards. That's mostly because of its wildly inconsistent tone that veers between comic absurdity to cringe inducing violence, from pathos to laugh out loud funny. The funny bits are truly funny, and the shocking bits are truly shocking, and in that sense it's a well crafted film.

It builds up like a real world superhero origin story only unlike Kick Ass it doesn't slowly transform into an actual superhero story; instead it sticks within its real world confines where violence and conflict have bloody consequences. At some point the line between hero and villain becomes truly blurred as The Crimson Bolt sends people to hospital for relatively minor infractions. Frank is clearly mentally unstable, as is Libby, but the film doesn't really go anywhere truly interesting with that other than playing it for laughs. The bloody tale culminates in a traditional and exciting action sequence filled with copious amounts of gore.

Wilson is superb as the unhinged Frank, scary and sympathetic in equal measure and always funny in that absurd deadly serious manner that made him so good in the US version of 'The Office', and Kevin Bacon is perfectly cast as the sleazy villain. Page is manic and demented and loads of fun to watch. It's low budget but doesn't look or feel it for the most part - writer/director James Gunn seems to have a knack for making the most of his scarce resources.

At the end of the day it feels like a story in an identity crisis, and while I'm guessing this is intentional it made the film hard to really love. I liked it, though I'm not really sure I'd want to see it again.

London Film and Comic-Con 2011 (7,8,9 July)

***My extremely timely thoughts on this! (This post was saved as a draft ages ago)

I had heard that there was a Comic Con in London a while ago but never got round to looking in to it. It was apparently not high profile enough to be newsworthy, even within geek circles. A few weeks ago though I chanced upon an advert for it in Empire magazine mere days before it was scheduled to start. Needless to say, I made time to attend!

As predicted, it was a relatively low key affair but there was enough to see and experience to make the trip worthwhile. There were several stages set up, with the main one featuring talks and QA sessions with actors such as Brent Spiner, Christopher Lloyd, and Karen Gillan of Doctor Who fame. The snippets of talks that I caught were the typical QA affairs where you learn nothing surprising or new. Brent Spiner - whose session I caught the most of - was very lively and engaging and drew a large crowd.

There were other smaller stages featuring talent shows, auctions, and demonstrations of costuming and film fighting (among others). The majority of the floorspace in the hall was taken up by myriad stalls whose purpose was to sell you stuff. 'Stuff' ranged from toys and comic books through to prop replicas and movie memorabilia.

There was a large area dedicated to celebrity autograph acquisition, an activity in which I did not partake (don't see the point, especially when prices seemed to start at £10 for the lesser known 'stars'). There were a few relatively big names present that set geek pulses racing, such as the aforementioned Spiner, though the biggest draw by far was Christopher Lloyd, who commanded long queues the whole time I was there. There were also photo booths tucked away in a couple of places where you could have your photo taken with your chosen celeb (for a price, of course).

I was struck by how many, umm, less well known celebrities were around. I felt a little sorry for some of them sitting there, expectantly or morosely waiting for an autograph hunter to come along. I suppose for some of these guys the convention tour is an important part of their livelihood. It does reek of desperation, but then again, there must be some kind of market for this to make it worthwhile for these guys to show up.

The remainder of the floor space was taken up by workshop areas teaching things like comic book art styles (for instance). There were a few random attractions there as well, such as the sixties Batmobile and the Delorean from Back to the Future, as well as a Nintendo area where games were being demoed.

The one element that really made the event were the crowds, who turned out in droves. True to form, most of the audience was young and male but not as massively skewed as I had imagined based on most observable geek demographics! The hall was fairly crowded throughout (and a little stuffy as a result) and most people seemed to be enthusiastic and having a good time. There were many people in costume, including the serious cosplayers, which really enlivened the whole place and elevated it beyond the typical bland trade show type event.

I'm not sure I'd attend this again as it is very commercial in nature and much of it does not appeal to me beyond the level of curiosity (which has now been sated). Having said that I did enjoy the 4-5 hours I spent there and would recommend it to the geeky and the curious.

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (2008)

(Image from IMP Awards)

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (2008)

I remembered enjoying the first 'Hellboy', which is based on a relatively obscure comic, quite a bit back when it first came out, so it came as a bit of a surprise when, upon rewatching it in preparation for the sequel, I discovered that while it was still a good (but not great) film, it doesn't have much appeal on repeat viewings. And Guillermo del Toro's follow up, 'Hellboy 2: The Golden Army', seems to fall into the same category.

It starts off interestingly enough with an animated intro explaining the truce between the warring humans and the supernatural world, and of the unstoppable Golden Army that was hidden away at the end of the war. Cut to the present, and the BPRD (Burea for Paranormal Defense) - comprising demon Hellboy (Ron Perlman), fire starter Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), aquatic Abe Sapien (Doug Jones), and plain 'ole human boss Tom Manning (Jeffrey Tambor) - is having PR trouble thanks to Hellboy's grandstanding. These problems soon fade into the background when Prince Nuada (Luke Goss) decides that man has broken the truce and goes about trying to locate the Golden Army in order to wipe out mankind. Hellboy and the BPRD, joined by new leader Johann Krauss (James Dodd / Seth MacFarlane), engage in a race to get to the Army first and stop Nuada, and they encounter various mythical friends and foes along the way.

Despite being a tad cliched and predictable, del Toro's script makes the story fairly engaging. The biggest problem for me is the dialogue and character interactions, as well as the humour, which fails to inspire; this seems to be a problem with all of del Toro's English language efforts to be honest. Having said that, however, the best scene in the movie for me is one of the quieter moments where Hellboy and Abe get drunk, have a chat, and start singing!

Another problem I have with the film is the action, which is conceptually imaginative but in execution feels clunky and staged, and far too often I found myself unable to suspend disbelief. Where del Toro really excels is in the visual department and in imbuing his films with atmosphere - often menacing - and in making the world and creatures wholly believable. Scene after scene features supernatural creatures and awe inspiring locales (see the Troll Market scene) that are so fantastic and fully realized and that you can't help but be mesmerized. The movie really is nearly flawless in this department. The performances from Perlman and Jones as Hellboy and Abe are very good, but once again Selma Blair is a real drag as the dour Liz. Seth MacFarlane's voicing of Johann Krauss is excellent and very funny, and Luke Goss makes for a fairly sympathetic villain as Prince Nuada.

On the second time out del Toro once again delivers a good superhero movie that doesn't quite cross the threshold into 'great' territory, though it comes close on several occasion. The tone, look, and performances are spot on and just right for the material, but some of the writing and action scenes left me cold - I just don't think they're good enough. Worth watching for those who enjoyed the first one, but it won't convert any non believers!

(As an aside, I'm now a little concerned about del Toro's Hobbit adaptations, but at least Peter Jackson and his crew will be involved in the writing of those movies.)

Justice League Unlimited - Season 3 (2005-2006)

(Image from Wikipedia)


Justice League Unlimited - Season 3 (2005-2006)

I reviewed the first two seasons of this excellent animated superhero series last year, and this is really more of the same quality material, which is great. The broad story arc this season has Gorilla Grodd and Lex Luthor managing a new supervillain society to counter the Justice League, while Luthor tries to resurrect Brainiac and once again acquire God-like powers. There are some standalone episodes, but the majority of them deal with this storyline. Interestingly, the main superheroes seem to have an even smaller role this year with the majority of screentime being devoted to the 'B' and lower level characters, which is nice though I did miss the presence of the enigmatic Batman. The A players do show up for the big moments however, and the rarity of their appearances makes their brief screentime all the more dramatic.

Once again the show presents an action spectacular with terrific comic book visuals in motion - very very entertaining, even if the thematic substance the last two seasons went for is somewhat lacking. The major drawback in this season is a handful of weak episodes, including a truly dire female superhero cage-fighting one that surely represents the entire show's nadir. All in all though, it's good stuff and a natural continuation of the show from the last season. Shame that this was the final batch of episodes, but I guess all good things must come to an end.

Cool stuff for free on the Interweb

First up, Boing Boing has a story about the US Library of Congress publishing a bunch of copyright free historical photos on Flickr with the aim being to have people label them, which will be useful for the purposes of preservation. The photos, which are from the 1910s and the 1930s-40s, are fantastic and well preserved and definitely worth a gander. And remember, they're copyright free so anyone can use em!

Some samples (which are slightly cropped on the right side due to their width being larger than the damned column):


Delano, Jack,, 1914-, photographer.

General view of one of the classification yards of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad, Chicago, Ill.

1942 Dec.



Bransby, David,, photographer.

Woman aircraft worker, Vega Aircraft Corporation, Burbank, Calif. Shown checking electrical assemblies

1942 June



Sherwood, Mark,, photographer.

North American's P-51 Mustang Fighter is in service with Britain's Royal Air Force, N[orth] A[merican] Aviation, Inc., Inglewood, Calif.

1942 Oct.



Vachon, John,, 1914-1975,, photographer.

House, Houston, Texas

1943 May



Vachon, John,, 1914-1975,, photographer.

Workers leaving Pennsylvania shipyards, Beaumont, Texas

1943 June



Bain News Service, publisher.

Around the block for 2 cents [car]

[between 1910 and 1915]



Bain News Service, publisher.

Miss Moore [tennis]

[between 1910 and 1915]



Bain News Service, publisher.

Olympic

[between 1910 and 1915]



Bain News Service, publisher.

Jap [sic] torpedo boat, driver ashore

[between 1910 and 1915]



Bain News Service, publisher.

J.M. Johnson in Bleriotype [plane]

[between 1910 and 1915]

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Not sure how long these have been available, but the 'Daily Bits' has a list of comics that are free or have freely available first issues. Some are online comics, others are downloadable files. I haven't had time to check 'em out yet - except for 'Fell #1' - but I'm looking forward to sampling the likes of 'Deadman', 'Y: The Last Man', 'Sandman', 'DMZ', 'Hellblazer', and 'Swamp Thing'.

---

And finally, Lawrence Lessig, founder of Creative Commons and advocate of reduced copyright restrictions, has released his 2001 book The Future of Ideas for free under a CC license. Naturally, I haven't read it yet, (and I'm not sure I want to read 300 pages of book on a screen), but it's probably worth a read. Once I finish the 50 or so other books I have waiting for me, that is.

Superman III (1983)

Superman III (1983)

Superman III is a bad movie. It's a shame too, because it has some really standout elements, but the overall impression is one of overwhelming negativity. Director Richard Lester takes over the franchise fully, and shows us where the weaker elements in the original cut of Superman II came from (as opposed to Donner's much better but flawed Director's Cut). Even the first two movie had a goofiness to them, but this Superman is way too comical and the fact that Richard Pryor is the star is testament to that fact.

The story begins with Pryor's character Gus Gorman teaching himself to become an Über-computer programmer and subsequently getting employed by the villainous Ross Webster (Robert Vaughn) to manipulate computer systems to wreak havoc and make money. Superman (Christopher Reeve) intervenes, so the villains hatch a plan to get rid of him by 'creating' kryptonite. Their kryptonite isn't quite right and it winds up making Superman evil instead of killing him; he then goes around the world causing trouble and making himself hated in the eyes of the world. A sub-story involves Clark Kent reuniting with his high school crush Lana Lang (Annette O'Toole, who went on to play Martha Kent in the TV series Smallville).

As a comedy it just isn't that funny to be honest, although there are some hilarious moments. Pryor is clearly the focus of the movie instead of Superman, which is unfortunate seeing as how it's a Superman movie. The plot meanders in near random fashion and is about as absurd as it gets (an impressive feat given some of the stuff that happened in the first two films). The Superman stuff in the film, it must be said, isn't half bad, and Reeve's turn as the evil Superman is fantastic and culminates in a pretty terrific fight sequence in a junkyard. He evidently relished doing a new take on the beloved character, and his performance here once again solidifies his status as the perennial Superman. Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) is hardly in the film, but Annette O'Toole is a more than satisfactory replacement and her 'poor single mother trying to get by' storyline is fairly tolerable.

The production has a cheap look and continued the gradual degradation in quality of the series that began with Superman II and that culminated in the spectacularly awful Superman IV. The effects work is fairly mediocre overall. And as for the music, the renditions of John William's original themes are downright awful.

Superman III is enjoyable at some levels, both as a comedy and as a superhero adventure, but is never fully satisfying as either. It's one for Superman completists only, and isn't really something I'd recommend to anyone, though if it's on TV and there's nothing better to watch one could do far worse.

Moffat to Launch Thundering Typhoons!

British screenwriter Steven Moffat will be penning the forthcoming Tintin trilogy of films, which I wrote about a few months ago. Apart from having two great directors in the form of Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson, this project now has a great screenwriter as well.

Alright, so he doesn't have the pedigree of those two, but what I know of his work bodes well. Moffat created and wrote the hilarious and very sharply written BBC comedy series Coupling (which I'm watching right now), for one thing. For another, he also wrote some of the most acclaimed episodes of the new Doctor Who series, including one of my favourites from the first season, which I wrote about here; one of his episodes was the one I mentioned in my review, about the boy with the gas mask melded to his face! Also, Doctor Who has that meld of adventure, comedy and drama as well as that whimsical feel that is perfectly suited to Tintin, which makes a good writer from that show all the more fitting. Moffat was also involved in a new BBC series called Jekyll, based on the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde story, which I don't know much about but am now very interested in seeing.

So the Tintin movies now have a darn good writer behind them... This project suddenly looks even more exciting.

I AM IRON MAN!

The Iron Man trailer is now available online, direct links are at Dave's Trailer Page. This looks incredible! I don't know jack about Iron Man, but Jon Favreau's adaptation is going to be good if this trailer is any indication. I mean, the cast is terrific on paper - Robert Downey Jr, Terence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jeff Bridges - and Favreau proved he had the special effects chops with Zathura, but I still didn't expect it to seem so... cool! I was expecting a B-level superhero film like The Punisher, Daredevil, or Fantastic Four, but this looks like being a bona fide well made, well intentioned film!

Robert Downey Jr. seems like genius casting as a cocky, self-centred multi-millionaire arms dealer. I'm glad this isn't going for an overly dark or dour approach and has some humour thrown in. It may be another origin story, but this origin actually seems a little more interesting than most. The glimpses of Iron Man in action, although it was mostly of the first bulky suit that he creates, looks spectacular! And the actual costume... wow, it looks stunning!

It's due for release in May 2008, so there's a long way to go, but I'm already dying to see it.

Heroes - Season 1 (2006-2007)

Heroes - Season 1 (2006-2007)

'Heroes' was probably the most talked about TV show to air recently; to say that there was a lot of hype surrounding it would be an understatement of epic proportions. I've just finished watching its much lauded inaugural season and I must say that while it is poor in many ways and quite overrated, I still enjoyed it immensely.

'Heroes' is a sci-fi drama that tells the story of a disparate group of people who begin to discover that they have super powers. It focuses on their personal lives, how they deal with their powers, and their role in much larger machinations taking place around them. These machinations involve a shady organization that monitors these so called 'heroes' and a powerful, reclusive and shady businessman manipulating events from behind the scenes. Also in the mix is a super-villain named Sylar (Zachary Quinto) who is going around stealing other heroes' powers, killing them in the process. The overall story told in the season (dubbed 'Volume 1') focuses on the struggle to stop Sylar and also prevent a massive explosion that will decimate New York City. While each character has his or her own story they are all linked to each other and to overall events, and their paths and storylines cross on many occasions.

The main characters (spoilerific stuff in this paragraph - the powers described are only gradually revealed in the show) include Nathan Petrelli (Adrian Pasdar), a politician running for congress who can fly; his brother Peter (Milo Ventimiglia), a nurse who has the ability to absorb and use the powers of others; Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka), a Japanese corporate drone who has the power to manipulate space and time; Claire Bennett (Hayden Panettiere), a cheerleader who can heal herself; Isaac Mendez (Santiago Cabrera), a painter who can draw the future; Matt Parkman (Greg Grunberg), a police officer who can hear people's thoughts; D. L. Hawkins (Leonard Roberts), an ex-con who can phase through matter; Nikki Sanders (Ali Larter), a woman with super strength and a split personality (not sure if the latter is a power or not); and Micah (Noah Gray-Cabey), a kid who can manipulate electronics. Also in the mix are Claire's father Noah Bennett (Jack Coleman), who is part of the shady, unnamed organization, and Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy), an Indian geneticist who is studying the 'hero' phenomenon. There are also several other powered and non powered supporting characters throughout.

This show is very much in the vein of shows like 'Smallville'. And by that I mean it isn't very well made. Like Smallville's first few seasons though, it's fairly entertaining and has enough likable characters to be watchable. There's nothing here that is imaginative or original, but the show is perhaps somewhat unique in being the first ensemble 'comic book like' TV series. Seeing as how I enjoyed the show, I'll start of with the negatives (of which there are a lot) and cap things off with the positives.

The main problem with this show is the writing, which is at times quite awful. The feeling of things being made up as they go along rarely feels more blatant than it does in 'Heroes'. There are story strands which are started, go nowhere, and then disappear without a trace (a police investigation subplot, a character's stint in prison, a mentor subplot), and arcs that are dragged out needlessly (most of Hiro's adventures, Nikki / DL / Micah). The overall structure is meandering, unfocused and random, and relies far too heavily on contrivance and coincidence and the seemingly magical ability for characters to hop from place to place and be in the right place at the right time (the coincidence aspect is aping 'Lost', but in that show 'fate vs. coincidence' is actually one if the underlying themes. In 'Heroes', it's just there for the sake of it). The discovery of powers and the way people handle them is touched on superficially at best, with the protagonists (and therefore, the writers) never really examining the deeper ramifications of such powers. The powers themselves quickly become something prosaic and fail to elicit any sense of awe or wonder.

Further evidence of poor writing comes in the form of illogical, nonsensical events and gaping plot holes that beggar belief - on more than one occasion, a character in a position to kill another character spares them for no other reason than that the writers needed the character alive for the continuance of the story. Not an episode goes by where there isn't an egregious lapse in logic on the part of the writers. The powers of the characters are another problem - while they're cool in principal, there are too many occasions when the story cops out on having them actually be used. In fact, some of these guys are just TOO powerful, and so they are conveniently made to be unable to use their powers in a satisfactory manner, or the powers are simply ignored altogether in situations where they might come in handy. To round out the list of complaints are the cheesy dialogue (the word 'hero' is used like a billion times), pretentious narration, incredibly nonsensical 'science', and an over-reliance on clunky exposition.

Apart from the writing, the production values are also surprisingly unimpressive and cheap looking, with some so-so special effects and a lot of overblown gore. The action is very limited and what little there is, is poor. Visually the whole thing looks bland and unexciting. The package is wrapped up in music that is grating and horribly repetitive - I normally like the use of vocals, but in 'Heroes' its obtrusive and annoying, and feels like its trying too hard to lend the show dramatic weight.

The characterization isn't very good to begin with, and it isn't helped by some of the weaker members of the cast, particularly Quinto as the evil Sylar, who is as badly acted as he is written. Also on the weak front are Cabrera, Roberts, Larter, and Gray-Cabey. On the mediocre front are Ventimiglia, Ramamurthy, Pasdar, and Panettiere. Fortunately, though, there are a few really good performances from Masi Oka as Hiro, Greg Grunberg as Matt Parkman, and Jack Coleman as Bennett. Oka in particular is the show's heart; he's the only one who seems to have any fun and liveliness, and given the wackiness of the story his light heartedness was an apt and welcome reprieve from the dourness of everyone else. Grunberg's Parkman is also one of the few characters who has fun with his powers and plays around with them, and is one of the few who feels real and relatable. Coleman's Bennett is initially really annoying as a mysterious figure who keeps popping up everywhere, but his character really develops over the course of the season and by the end he's one of the few that remain interesting. Additionally, there are some really good supporting characters and guest appearances throughout the season.

Despite all of my complaints, I still enjoyed this show! It's fun, feels like a comic book, and the X-Men like premise coupled with the long-form story structure had me hooked. Some of the characters are truly likable and interesting, and even when the focus is on the ones who aren't the show never gets boring. There are some very cool moments and use of powers, and some of the character drama (Hiro & Ando, Bennett & Claire, Parkman and anybody else) is actually interesting. I also have to admit to getting a kick out of seeing these characters meet and interact. A large part of the appeal is the anticipation of what's going to happen down the line; even when an episode is poor there's always the hope of more interesting things to come.

Conclusion - 'Heroes' is bad on an objective level, and I have to say I'm bemused by the critical kudos it has received. Since I liked it I'm still looking forward to the second season, despite the truly awful final episodes (ones that highlights most of the show's flaws in a nutshell). The show's really a guilty pleasure that relies on a coolness factor, one that will likely wear off pretty fast. There's always a slim chance it'll improve over time, but I'm not going to cross my fingers. As long as it can stay fun and entertain, I'll probably continue to watch. I say probably because my experience watching 24 over the years has shown me that in poorly written dumb but fun shows the bad stuff eventually begins to greatly overwhelm the entertainment value.

Tintin Courtesy of Jackson and Spielberg!

Billions of blue blistering barnacles! This just in! Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson are teaming up to direct and produce a trilogy of CGI animated Tintin movies! They will each direct at least one of them.

Although I haven't picked one up in years, I loved reading the Tintin comic book stories, which are a very cool mix of adventure and comedy featuring some wacky and memorable characters. There's no question about the talent behind the adaptations - Jackson and Spielberg are both high on a lot of people's 'best directors working' list, and their track records suggest that they are absolutely right for this sort of material (though Spielberg hasn't made a genuine adventure film in a while, so we'll have to see how the new Indy movie fares).

Most interesting is the fact that they're going for realistic CGI animation:

"They look exactly like real people -- but real Herge people".

This seems perfect - the comic itself, while having distinctive looking characters also had a realistic style to it, and a realistic style of CGI animation is probably as close to live action as it can get while still maintaining the visual idiosyncrasies of the characters. They could have of course opted for traditional animation, but that style doesn't seem suited to the type of visuals in a Tintin comic - the realistic look is bland in motion. A lot will ultimately depend on how good the final animation is, and it'll probably be ages before we see any of it (though animation tests have already been done according to the article).

In fact, it'll probably be at least a couple of years before we see the first film released; it's early days yet. It's pretty much a sure thing that with these names behind it, the films will come about and not languish in development hell. I can't help but look forward to these films already! Plus - Spielberg and Jackson working together?!? Thundering Typhoons indeed!

Fantastic Four (2005)

Fantastic Four (2005)

Over hated. For some reason, people (and by people I mean film fans and comic book buffs) loathe this movie like Wile E. Coyote loathes the Road Runner. This adaptation of the Fantastic Four comic book series was met with derision before and following its release. I'm bemused, because while I'm not a fan of the film, I think it's decent enough, and it seems to be true to what little I know of the Fantastic Four. It certainly seems more accurate an adaptation than X-Men, which was much better received.

'Fantastic Four' tells the story of Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd), Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis), Sue Storm (Jessica Alba), Johnny Storm (Chris Evans), and shady corporate millionaire Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon), five people who have some history between them. It all begins peacefully enough, when all five of them go to Von Doom's space station to carry out an experiment devised by Reed. Things go pear shaped and all of them are exposed to some form of radiation. Back on Earth, the four heroes discover that the radiation has altered them - Reed can stretch his body, Sue can turn invisible, Johnny's whole body can ignite into flames, and Ben becomes permanently transformed into a rocky Hulk like figure. When they use their powers to save lives during a disaster, they are embraced as heroes by the public and dubbed the 'Fantastic Four'. Unbeknownst to everyone, Von Doom also gains powers, which he uses for evil. The Fantastic Four, who have personal issues with each other, work to try and find a 'cure' for their problem. When Doom attempts to wipe them out, they are forced to put aside their difference and unite against him.

Hmm, that's a pretty accurate summary of the plot, which isn't great but isn't exactly terrible either. The film works as a comedy drama with action, and most of the time the focus is on the personalities, problems, and interactions of the Fantastic Four as opposed to the plot. It's a light hearted superhero film, at odds with the typically action heavy, serious, and 'dark' comic book adaptations - this fact seems to have annoyed people more than anything else. To me, it's a valid approach - I always thought comical character interaction was what the Fantastic Four was about. The writing isn't great, but it works for the most part, and it's often quite funny - some of the faux techno-babble is hilarious, though I found it hard to tell if it was always intentional. The characterization isn't deep, but it's effective and befits the film's tone. The cast are a mixed bag - Alba and Gruffudd are bland but adequate in their roles, and McMahon is one dimensionally villainous. Evans and Chiklis are the highlight though - their exaggerated and larger than life approaches are the most entertaining aspects of the film.

The film is a mixed bag in more ways than one - there's nothing memorable about it visually, with occasionally dodgy effects and bland production design. Director Tim Story's effort is nondescript, and it's the performances and writing that wind up carrying the film. The action sequences are not particularly great, but the way the Four use their powers in battle (and throughout the film) is ultimately satisfactory.

While my assessment of the different aspects of the film seems less than enthusiastic, the overall mix of mostly mediocre elements with a few great elements results in a film that is fairly enjoyable overall. It ain't great, but it's not as bad as some people make it out to be.