I'm a fanboy, and I dug the new Thor film.
Good balance of giving Thor something worthy to fight, and following comic canon.
Maybe more later.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Hawaii Five-0
One of the pleasant surprises for me in the recent television season has been the Hawaii Five-0 reboot from CBS.
To be honest, I really didn't have much by way of expectations for the series.
Now, I say that, but since Alias, I do give pretty much anything from writer/producer Alex Kurtzman a chance (mostly for his mad production skilz). Same for his partner, writer/producer Roberto Orci (mostly for mad writing skilz).
And I'm a big Daniel Dae Kim fan (he plays Chin Ho Kelly in the series). Since I think I first noticed him a The Pretender episode in the late nineties, I've realized this dude is one of the consistently hardest working working actors I follow (seriously, look up his IMDb rap sheet; you'll say, "Oh yeah, that guy!").
I've been impressed with Grace Park (Kono). Having intentionally missed the whole Battlestar Galactica reboot, I wasn't all that aware of her work (which is my shortcoming, because she's been busting it for years). Though I did remember her as being one of the dancers in Romeo Must Die. Because I'm a guy.
And Scott Caan ("Danno")? I dig him in everything from Ocean's Eleven / Twelve / Thirteen, Boiler Room, to Entourage. He adds a heart to the show as the mainland-displaced, divorced dad madly protective of his daughter, and willing to sacrifice anything to be available to her. He does that role really well, and with trademark Caan snark (like father, like son; but make not mistake, Scott is his own man).
I was also curious to see how Aussie Alex O'Loughlin handled an all-American lead roll as Commander Steve McGarrett (spoiler: he handles it well).
The show started off expectedly rocky, and the cast got past it's pilot and start-of-season jitters early, and the writing, camera work, and O'Loughlin mugging the camera thankfully went away quickly, so that the show didn't become a cartoon of the action-forensic genre.
Sure, the non-main cast acting (with some exceptions) is still uncharacteristically weak, the product placement commercialism is at times distracting and fourth-wall breaking, and the Iron Chef fixation is ... odd, but overall, the series keeps getting stronger.
And though I've been meaning to write about the series for a while, it was this week's episode, Episode 20 -- "Ma He Kahakai" ("Shore"), that prompted me to write. There is so much going on in this episode, that if you're invested, you may find yourself tired at the end of it.
And it's not about the series, or even the episode, per se. It's about character, heroism, and sacrifice -- topics that have been consuming me over the past few months in particular.
Be warned, there are some **spoilers** below.
At its core, this episode is about heroism -- no matter the cost.
Series lead Commander Steve McGarrett is wired as a hero. Mere minutes into the episode, he discovers a body, and he jumps down a cliff to investigate, and has a fall that shatters his arm and nearly kills him. And he goes back to work, as if nothing has changed. He works with a conviction and focus that makes a broken limb an incident, not an inhibitor. He doesn't complain; he works. It'd be easy to dismiss this as unrealistic writing (feel free to), but we've got 20 episodes of consistent character development that sets it aside as being tremendously congruent with the series and the character.
And for series faithful, we finally find out the secret behind Chen's "dirty" cop disgrace -- Chen dismissed from the force, accused of stealing money.
It turns out his cop uncle (played by hard-working actor Sab Shimono) took money to pay for a black-market kidney for his dying wife, Chen's and Kono's beloved aunt. Chen didn't know about, but when he found out, he took the fall on behalf of his uncle. He lost his job, his badge, his reputation -- and he did it willingly, so that his uncle would be free from jail, and could take care of his wife. Family before reputation (which, for me, means he didn't lose his honor).
When kid-cousin Kono finds out, she's furious, and wants him to tell people, so he can clear his name. He says he won't, because he wants to keep protecting family. In so doing, he potentially estranges himself from his last remaining family advocate. More sacrifice.
But you know who the biggest hero in the episode is?
It's the fisherman, the barely named Jack Leung (actor/producer Joji Yoshida) - dead before the show starts, making an appearance only as a body at the beginning of the show, and as a disembodied "vic" photograph throughout the episode.
This man was a father and a grandfather. His only run-in with the law was an assault charge days before the story's events, when he was beaten for refusing to be part of drug running operation. Integrity. And he was working day and night jobs (unbeknownst to his son), so that he could put his family financially in the free and clear. Sacrifice and humility.
It's this man, who -- while working his night job -- saw the perpetrator of a cold murder case board a plane, he pursued information about it, and was ultimately killed for doing so. He didn't cower. He didn't turn a blind eye, pretending he didn't see anything. He didn't deceive himself as, "Naw, I'm probably reading too much into it."
And, because he pursued it, the murderer is caught, extradited, and is going to be tried -- bringing justice and potential closure to the surviving parents of their murdered 19-year-old daughter.
It cost this man his life. In an anonymous, unglorified, non-televised act of heroism that he never even got to witness.
I hesitate to call this the "best" kind of heroism. But it feels pretty important. God willing, it becomes more and more common in our character disordered, not-my-problem, "heroism is for TV, not the workplace" world.
I hope you won't dismiss this rambling because it's spawned by a TV show. For me, entertainment is an outlet and encouragement for character -- good and bad. It's bigger than what's shown on screen. The biggest foil isn't the characters on-screen -- it's the audience.
Quick aside number one: The father of the murderer is trying to excuse his son's actions as a "mistake; a stupid mistake". Danno holds him accountable:
To be honest, I really didn't have much by way of expectations for the series.
Now, I say that, but since Alias, I do give pretty much anything from writer/producer Alex Kurtzman a chance (mostly for his mad production skilz). Same for his partner, writer/producer Roberto Orci (mostly for mad writing skilz).
And I'm a big Daniel Dae Kim fan (he plays Chin Ho Kelly in the series). Since I think I first noticed him a The Pretender episode in the late nineties, I've realized this dude is one of the consistently hardest working working actors I follow (seriously, look up his IMDb rap sheet; you'll say, "Oh yeah, that guy!").
I've been impressed with Grace Park (Kono). Having intentionally missed the whole Battlestar Galactica reboot, I wasn't all that aware of her work (which is my shortcoming, because she's been busting it for years). Though I did remember her as being one of the dancers in Romeo Must Die. Because I'm a guy.
And Scott Caan ("Danno")? I dig him in everything from Ocean's Eleven / Twelve / Thirteen, Boiler Room, to Entourage. He adds a heart to the show as the mainland-displaced, divorced dad madly protective of his daughter, and willing to sacrifice anything to be available to her. He does that role really well, and with trademark Caan snark (like father, like son; but make not mistake, Scott is his own man).
I was also curious to see how Aussie Alex O'Loughlin handled an all-American lead roll as Commander Steve McGarrett (spoiler: he handles it well).
The show started off expectedly rocky, and the cast got past it's pilot and start-of-season jitters early, and the writing, camera work, and O'Loughlin mugging the camera thankfully went away quickly, so that the show didn't become a cartoon of the action-forensic genre.
Sure, the non-main cast acting (with some exceptions) is still uncharacteristically weak, the product placement commercialism is at times distracting and fourth-wall breaking, and the Iron Chef fixation is ... odd, but overall, the series keeps getting stronger.
And though I've been meaning to write about the series for a while, it was this week's episode, Episode 20 -- "Ma He Kahakai" ("Shore"), that prompted me to write. There is so much going on in this episode, that if you're invested, you may find yourself tired at the end of it.
And it's not about the series, or even the episode, per se. It's about character, heroism, and sacrifice -- topics that have been consuming me over the past few months in particular.
Be warned, there are some **spoilers** below.
At its core, this episode is about heroism -- no matter the cost.
Series lead Commander Steve McGarrett is wired as a hero. Mere minutes into the episode, he discovers a body, and he jumps down a cliff to investigate, and has a fall that shatters his arm and nearly kills him. And he goes back to work, as if nothing has changed. He works with a conviction and focus that makes a broken limb an incident, not an inhibitor. He doesn't complain; he works. It'd be easy to dismiss this as unrealistic writing (feel free to), but we've got 20 episodes of consistent character development that sets it aside as being tremendously congruent with the series and the character.
And for series faithful, we finally find out the secret behind Chen's "dirty" cop disgrace -- Chen dismissed from the force, accused of stealing money.
It turns out his cop uncle (played by hard-working actor Sab Shimono) took money to pay for a black-market kidney for his dying wife, Chen's and Kono's beloved aunt. Chen didn't know about, but when he found out, he took the fall on behalf of his uncle. He lost his job, his badge, his reputation -- and he did it willingly, so that his uncle would be free from jail, and could take care of his wife. Family before reputation (which, for me, means he didn't lose his honor).
When kid-cousin Kono finds out, she's furious, and wants him to tell people, so he can clear his name. He says he won't, because he wants to keep protecting family. In so doing, he potentially estranges himself from his last remaining family advocate. More sacrifice.
But you know who the biggest hero in the episode is?
It's the fisherman, the barely named Jack Leung (actor/producer Joji Yoshida) - dead before the show starts, making an appearance only as a body at the beginning of the show, and as a disembodied "vic" photograph throughout the episode.
This man was a father and a grandfather. His only run-in with the law was an assault charge days before the story's events, when he was beaten for refusing to be part of drug running operation. Integrity. And he was working day and night jobs (unbeknownst to his son), so that he could put his family financially in the free and clear. Sacrifice and humility.
It's this man, who -- while working his night job -- saw the perpetrator of a cold murder case board a plane, he pursued information about it, and was ultimately killed for doing so. He didn't cower. He didn't turn a blind eye, pretending he didn't see anything. He didn't deceive himself as, "Naw, I'm probably reading too much into it."
And, because he pursued it, the murderer is caught, extradited, and is going to be tried -- bringing justice and potential closure to the surviving parents of their murdered 19-year-old daughter.
It cost this man his life. In an anonymous, unglorified, non-televised act of heroism that he never even got to witness.
I hesitate to call this the "best" kind of heroism. But it feels pretty important. God willing, it becomes more and more common in our character disordered, not-my-problem, "heroism is for TV, not the workplace" world.
I hope you won't dismiss this rambling because it's spawned by a TV show. For me, entertainment is an outlet and encouragement for character -- good and bad. It's bigger than what's shown on screen. The biggest foil isn't the characters on-screen -- it's the audience.
Quick aside number one: The father of the murderer is trying to excuse his son's actions as a "mistake; a stupid mistake". Danno holds him accountable:
"A stupid mistake? He strangled that girl. He strangled her because she wouldn't go up to his hotel room. And he dumped the body in the ocean. That's not a stupid mistake. That's what your son did."Quick aside number two: The victim's (Jack Leung's) son is played by James Kyson-Lee (most people probably remember him as Ando Masahashi in the Heroes TV series.). I've written before about how inspired I am by him. Another amazingly, amazingly constantly working actor.
Saturday, February 05, 2011
The Super Hero Squad Show
I'm a big fan of Marvel's Super Hero Squad franchise.
It started with the wicked awesome, mini, mildly deformed-style toys, branched into online comic strips (followed by an ongoing comic book series), a video game (lately followed by another), and then the TV series.
Every expression of the franchise has got its merits, but it's the TV series that's currently scratching my fanboy and professional itches.
Why? How about top-notch voice work form the likes of Tom (Spongebob) Kenny and Japanese anime and action cartoon demigod Steve (Spike Spiegal) Blum?
And while I've been wanting to do this quick write-up for a while, it was the recent episode, "Lo, How the Mighty Hath Abdicated!", written by Charlotte Fullerton, that reminded me what works for this series.
A lot of comedic animated series try to hit at two levels -- kids and adults. What surprises me is SHS successfully hits those two levels, and a third -- the Marvel fanboy.
In this particular episode, you get to see comic mayhem (a la Loki and the Enchantress), which is entertaining for kids and adults alike. Add to that subtle jokes like an Elvis-themed Asgardian wedding officiator (trust me, it works), fanboy comic mythos allusions to the complex relationship between Magneto, the Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver, and even a comic re-enactment of one of the more touching moments in The Wizard of Oz.
Other episodes have clever, almost dallying-with-the-line adult jokes ("Move it, asteroid clown!"), and subtle clever references to Star Wars, other pop culture tropes, and even past Marvel animated forays (the introduction of Firestar spawns a "Reptil and His Amazing Friends" moment); entertaining, above the heads of the younger audience, but engaging for adults.
And while the first season stayed largely planet-bound as the Squadies gather fractured infinity gems in opposition to Dr. Doom and his ragtag crew, season 2 has gone cosmic, possibly following the lead of the Marvel publishing line's wildly successful print series.
I highly recommend the series for fans of clever writing, solid voice acting, kid-plus-adult friendly entertainment, or pop culture and fanboy tributes. And any combination thereof.
Excelsior!
It started with the wicked awesome, mini, mildly deformed-style toys, branched into online comic strips (followed by an ongoing comic book series), a video game (lately followed by another), and then the TV series.
Every expression of the franchise has got its merits, but it's the TV series that's currently scratching my fanboy and professional itches.
Why? How about top-notch voice work form the likes of Tom (Spongebob) Kenny and Japanese anime and action cartoon demigod Steve (Spike Spiegal) Blum?
And while I've been wanting to do this quick write-up for a while, it was the recent episode, "Lo, How the Mighty Hath Abdicated!", written by Charlotte Fullerton, that reminded me what works for this series.
A lot of comedic animated series try to hit at two levels -- kids and adults. What surprises me is SHS successfully hits those two levels, and a third -- the Marvel fanboy.
In this particular episode, you get to see comic mayhem (a la Loki and the Enchantress), which is entertaining for kids and adults alike. Add to that subtle jokes like an Elvis-themed Asgardian wedding officiator (trust me, it works), fanboy comic mythos allusions to the complex relationship between Magneto, the Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver, and even a comic re-enactment of one of the more touching moments in The Wizard of Oz.
Other episodes have clever, almost dallying-with-the-line adult jokes ("Move it, asteroid clown!"), and subtle clever references to Star Wars, other pop culture tropes, and even past Marvel animated forays (the introduction of Firestar spawns a "Reptil and His Amazing Friends" moment); entertaining, above the heads of the younger audience, but engaging for adults.
And while the first season stayed largely planet-bound as the Squadies gather fractured infinity gems in opposition to Dr. Doom and his ragtag crew, season 2 has gone cosmic, possibly following the lead of the Marvel publishing line's wildly successful print series.
I highly recommend the series for fans of clever writing, solid voice acting, kid-plus-adult friendly entertainment, or pop culture and fanboy tributes. And any combination thereof.
Excelsior!
Friday, December 24, 2010
TRON: Legacy
I caught an IMAX 3D showing of TRON: Legacy at the Bob Bullock theater in Austin, TX, and really enjoyed it.
Some reviewers have griped about the "lack of story" (which is pretty subjective) but the film definitely has something that's been missed from a bunch of the bandwagon pseudo-journalist hater reviews.
Mythos.
In some surprisingly subtle strokes, Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) is granted a corporate and entrepreneurial legacy, Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) is given historical and surrogate weight, and the world of TRON is given a shape -- a texture -- the first movie didn't have.
For me, vehicles largely set the tone for (or at least the believability of) a film's universe. Genndy Tartakovsky's Star Wars: Clone Wars animated series arguably created a richer universe by believably bridging the technology from Episode II, Episode III, and even to the original trilogy, than the new trilogy itself did.
Probably largely due to Lead Vehicle Designer Daniel Simon and Production Designer Darren Gilford, Legacy's vehicles possess a form and function they didn't before. Most people understandably tune into the lightcycles on this front, with the updated look and functionality that technology limited before. But in the opening scenes featuring the contemporary Recognizer (updated by Visual Effects Supervisor Ben Procter), the vehicle shows a form and function that was not only lacking, but broke the fourth wall for me when I saw the original film as a kid ("how do they get in and out of there without dying?").
Thematically, the film does some interesting stuff. There's a lightish poke at the pseudo-digirati, the requisite fear of technology overtaking humanity, and so on.
But what I was surprised by was the exploration of fatherhood from three angles: biological child, adopted child, and orphan -- father as "daddy", "buddy", and "sensei". I'd heard complaints about "the father angle" being "worked" as an emotional hook, and maybe there is some of that. Or maybe it's a topic explored broadly across three viewpoints, and there is only so much time and space to do that in the bounds of a movie, let a long a film who's "hook" is its visual panache.
As far as performances go, I'm a biased Bridges fan, and enjoyed his reprisal of Kevin Flynn. Some of his statements and actions are wonderfully anachronistic -- which they should be, given his "man out of time" predicament.
Garrett Hedlund and Olivia Wilde are solid in their respective roles of Sam Flynn and Quorra (I think Hedlund has the potential to be like Daniel Craig as he matures (and should play his son in the interim), and Wilde is really coming into her own), and Bruce Boxleitner? Wicked cool" (I wanted to be you, Scarecrow.)
The other notable actors in the film -- the digital ones -- are a mixed bag, but trend more on the positive. Virtual young Jeff Bridges treads into the uncanny valley at times, but that's because more often, it's frankly just uncanny. Due to composition and more subtle emotions, the virtual Bridges works quite well, and is an impressive entry into the virtual acting space. It's largely only with the bigger emotions that the acting breaks down a little, but kudos to Disney and director Joseph Kosinski for pushing the envelope, and not waiting for someone else to crack the perfect virtual actor for them. The first TRON was about pushing film technology; it's nice to see the new one do its equivalent.
So, overall, TRON: Legacy is an enjoyable film -- the expected "visual tour-de-force", but with more mythos, acting highlights, and technology showcases than I fear people will give it credit for.
(Footnote -- the DAFT PUNK score for the movie? Wicked tight.)
Some reviewers have griped about the "lack of story" (which is pretty subjective) but the film definitely has something that's been missed from a bunch of the bandwagon pseudo-journalist hater reviews.
Mythos.
In some surprisingly subtle strokes, Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) is granted a corporate and entrepreneurial legacy, Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) is given historical and surrogate weight, and the world of TRON is given a shape -- a texture -- the first movie didn't have.
For me, vehicles largely set the tone for (or at least the believability of) a film's universe. Genndy Tartakovsky's Star Wars: Clone Wars animated series arguably created a richer universe by believably bridging the technology from Episode II, Episode III, and even to the original trilogy, than the new trilogy itself did.
Probably largely due to Lead Vehicle Designer Daniel Simon and Production Designer Darren Gilford, Legacy's vehicles possess a form and function they didn't before. Most people understandably tune into the lightcycles on this front, with the updated look and functionality that technology limited before. But in the opening scenes featuring the contemporary Recognizer (updated by Visual Effects Supervisor Ben Procter), the vehicle shows a form and function that was not only lacking, but broke the fourth wall for me when I saw the original film as a kid ("how do they get in and out of there without dying?").
Thematically, the film does some interesting stuff. There's a lightish poke at the pseudo-digirati, the requisite fear of technology overtaking humanity, and so on.
But what I was surprised by was the exploration of fatherhood from three angles: biological child, adopted child, and orphan -- father as "daddy", "buddy", and "sensei". I'd heard complaints about "the father angle" being "worked" as an emotional hook, and maybe there is some of that. Or maybe it's a topic explored broadly across three viewpoints, and there is only so much time and space to do that in the bounds of a movie, let a long a film who's "hook" is its visual panache.
As far as performances go, I'm a biased Bridges fan, and enjoyed his reprisal of Kevin Flynn. Some of his statements and actions are wonderfully anachronistic -- which they should be, given his "man out of time" predicament.
Garrett Hedlund and Olivia Wilde are solid in their respective roles of Sam Flynn and Quorra (I think Hedlund has the potential to be like Daniel Craig as he matures (and should play his son in the interim), and Wilde is really coming into her own), and Bruce Boxleitner? Wicked cool" (I wanted to be you, Scarecrow.)
The other notable actors in the film -- the digital ones -- are a mixed bag, but trend more on the positive. Virtual young Jeff Bridges treads into the uncanny valley at times, but that's because more often, it's frankly just uncanny. Due to composition and more subtle emotions, the virtual Bridges works quite well, and is an impressive entry into the virtual acting space. It's largely only with the bigger emotions that the acting breaks down a little, but kudos to Disney and director Joseph Kosinski for pushing the envelope, and not waiting for someone else to crack the perfect virtual actor for them. The first TRON was about pushing film technology; it's nice to see the new one do its equivalent.
So, overall, TRON: Legacy is an enjoyable film -- the expected "visual tour-de-force", but with more mythos, acting highlights, and technology showcases than I fear people will give it credit for.
(Footnote -- the DAFT PUNK score for the movie? Wicked tight.)
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