Movies, TV, and more

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2014: A good year for movies so far

At the beginning of the year, I saw Spike Jonze's Her, one of the best movies I have ever seen. It makes it to my top 100. But then came the awful I, Frankenstein and the disappointing Robocop, and it seemed that the year was not going to turn out well. The Lego Movie proved me wrong. I loved that movie. Several good movies also came after: Lone Survivor, Captain America: Winter Soldier, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and even Enemy, despite its odd ending. June has turned up probably the best crop of summer movies I've seen within a two week period. X-Men: Days of Future Past, Edge of Tomorrow, 22 Jump Street and How To Train Your Dragon 2. They are all in the 8 to 9 out of 10 range in terms of quality. They certainly outshone the May blockbusters of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Godzilla. After such a sterling streak, I'm worried for the next several weeks. I have low expectations for Transformers: Age of Extinction. I'm also going to probably sit out Guardians of the Galaxy unless it has great reviews. Still, I can't help looking forward to Dwayne Johnson's Hercules. If the second half of 2014 lives up to the first half, it's going to be a great year at the movies.

Any movies you're excited about?

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Edge of Tomorrow

The year is almost half done and it was only today that I actually saw a good action (okay, sci-fi action) film. Thank you Edge of Tomorrow and Tom Cruise. It's a story about a guy dying over and over again, but it never got old. Cruise and co-star Emily Blunt gave fine performances. The action scenes were set up well. But perhaps what really gave life to the movie was the humor. I laughed aloud several times and it left me feeling good in the end. This is a solid, entertaining film.

Okay, now thinking back on the movies I've seen in the year, I would say Captain America: Winter Soldier was a very good action film. My problem with it is it wasn't so fun. It was too serious. Overall, it was better than the first film in the franchise but I didn't enjoy it as much. Any thoughts on Edge of Tomorrow?

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Her

I saw this film Sunday night and I loved it. Written and directed by Spike Jonze, it's the best movie I've seen in the past year, maybe in the past several years. It was so good on so many levels. It was thought-provoking, well-acted, and beautiful. It flowed seamlessly from scene to scene. The words captivated, like one would be if one saw in the mind's eye William Wordsworth's host of golden daffodils fluttering and dancing in the breeze. It felt like a literary masterpiece brought to life. Starring Joaquin Phoenix, who gives an excellent nuanced performance, Her shows a separated man falling in love with his operating system, voiced wonderfully by Scarlett Johansson. It makes one thing about the nature of love, communication, evolution, and identity. It was just incredible.

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Finally, Michael A. Stackpole will be starting on Talion: Nemesis

When I want a light, entertaining book to re-read, I often turn to Michael A. Stackpole's fantasy novel Talion: Revenant. It was actually the first book he had written though not the first to actually get published.

Anyway, several years ago, he said if he sold 10,000 copies of the electronic version of the book, he would write the sequel, Talion: Nemesis. He later said he would do it even at the lower number of 5,000 copies. I have checked his blog several times since reading the first book more than two years ago, and have been frustrated not to have seen any updates.

Recently, after doing a search for news on him, I found that in an audio interview with SF Signal earlier this month, he said that among the big projects he has lined up is writing the next Talion book.

"We're up to the 5,000 mark now so I'll get that...," he said. "It's going to be an interesting project because I wrote the original novel 25 years ago." When asked whether the characters will start from pretty much where the first book ended or whether the characters will have aged at all, he replied, "They will be starting at the end of the previous book."

In excavating his office, he's discovered his old notes."So i have outlines for chapters of Talion: Nemesis and outlines for four or five books in that set," he said.

He also added that he's really looking forward to getting back to the Talion world. "That [Talion: Revenant] was always a book that I really, really enjoyed, and... I haven't read it recently, but when I was doing corrections for the e-book, you know, I had to go through and read a bunch of passages and found they held up pretty well. So I'm actually pretty pleased with that," he said.

Thank goodness he's going to start writing it. I can't wait! Have you read Talion: Revenant and what did you think of it?

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Should Tom Hiddleston get a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for Loki?

I just want to throw that out there. I've read dozens of reviews about Thor: The Dark World and at least 80% have gushed about Tom Hiddleston's performance as Loki. You can find a sampling of praise for the British actor here. I doubt he'll win given the potential competition (i.e. Michael Fassbender for '12 Years A Slave'), but I kind of think that he deserves acknowledgement for his excellent performance even if it isn't in a "serious" kind of film.

What do you think?

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Capsule Reviews: Gravity, Rush, Prisoners, Metro Manila

It was hit and miss at the movies last week. I saw four films, two of which met my expectations and two of which didn't.

Gravity didn't blow my mind as I had expected it to. It pales in comparison to Moon starring Sam Rockwell and directed by Duncan Jones. The trailer basically shows the best action scenes you could expect to see. I tensed up in some scenes but those moments passed quickly. Nothing really gripped me. Sandra Bullock was fine and George Clooney was charming but not more than that. It's Rotten Tomatoes' rating now is 98%, but I'd give it a 3 out of 5 stars. Metro Manila is a Filipino-language drama directed by a Brit, Sean Ellis, who also wrote it originally in English. It had 4 out of 5 stars rating by Empire magazine and a 100% fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes. Yet, I hated it. The pacing was uneven, the dialogue was unnatural in some parts (which, given the background, I had expected), some scenes were awkward, and the treatment was heavy-handed. I could appreciate the social commentary and some parts were good, but I just couldn't get over what I thought were bad, strange scenes. Rush, which is about the rivalry of two F1 drivers, was my favorite movie of the bunch. It had drama and action in equal parts, and both were very well-handled. Chris Hemsworth's acting seems to have improved, and Daniel Bruhl gave a solid performance. I didn't know much about the true events on which the film was based so I think I was able to enjoy it much more than if I had known. Overall, Ron Howard directed this expertly. The movie rolled on evenly and naturally, making for a wonderful ride. Prisoners is a nice investigative and family drama. It doesn't match the excellence of Rush, but this story about how two families cope with the kidnapping of their daughters is still quite good. I think Jake Gyllenhaal gave a better portrayal of his character than Hugh Jackman did, but, overall, there wasn't much to quibble about in the acting department. The plot was good. My biggest issue I think is that the film should have been shorter, probably by about 20 minutes less than its 153 minutes. What are your thoughts on any of the films?

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Tom Hiddleston in the next Marvel movies: What I'd like to see

I really like Tom Hiddleston as Loki in the Marvel film universe. I'd like to see more of him and I'm glad that we likely will. He's only three movies down (Thor, The Avengers and the upcoming Thor: The Dark World) in his six-film contract with them. The third Thor film is reportedly already in the works, but I'd like to float this story idea anyway.

In the sequel to be released later this year, Loki and Thor will be fighting side by side against the dark elves. I don't know what the ending will be, but Loki will probably escape from having to return to prison. He'll be free to torment his brother once again. Bearing in mind that the franchise does center on Thor, for the third film, I think it would be great if Odin got lost somehow and Thor has to go look for him. Taking advantage of that, Loki will finally be able to rule Asgard for a while in a "be careful what you wish for" story arc. In the end, of course, Thor will save the day and return with Odin to kick out Loki, who by then, though, should have his eyes opened to a few realities about the kind of responsibility of leadership his father and brother have had to face. That should set up nicely the redemption arc for Loki later on. I do think that in the final Avengers movie (whether that's 3 or 4), Loki should be involved in helping whichever mega-villain there is to rule or destroy the universe. In the end, though, Loki will betray said villain but die in the process. Yeah, I think he should die, or else it would be a cop out. Anyway, what do you think? What would you suggest?

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The Ocean at the End of the Lane

So I read Neil Gaiman's latest book The Ocean at the End of the Lane last week. I got it on the day it came out. I really like his books, at least those more geared for young adults, like Stardust and The Graveyard Book, which I thought was excellent. Also, Good Omens, which he co-wrote with Terry Pratchett, is one of my favorite fantasy books, so I was looking forward to his latest novel. I thought was okay, good, but not knock-your-socks-off good. It seemed a bit too thin plot-wise, though, of course, he was as readable as always. His words carry such a soothing pleasantness, even when the situation they describe becomes grim. Have you read it and how do you think it compares with his other books?

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Misfits: Epic TV love story

As the American TV shows I'd been following -- Grimm, Once Upon a Time, Elementary, etc. -- had finished their latest seasons, I went looking for new shows to watch and turned to British TV. There I found Luther, a wonderful detective series starring Idris Elba, and Misfits, a sci-fi comedy-drama. In Misfits I discovered probably the best love story I have ever seen on a TV series. Epic is probably the only word to describe it. The love scene in episode three of the second season was so beautiful. Spoiler alerts here. Simon and Alisha are the modern-day Romeo and Juliet. Theirs is such a tragic yet sweet love story. I love watching the scenes with them together, though they only span the second and third seasons. Iwan Rheon, who plays Simon, and Antonia Thomas, who plays Alisha, have incredible chemistry. In every glance you can feel the love the characters have for each other. I can't wait for the movie, which seems "likely" to be made and will probably bring back Rheon and Thomas to somehow reprise their roles.

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Man of Steel

After a super duper trailer, Man of Steel came out, well, so-so for me. I caught the premiere Wednesday night, and I thought it was okay but it could have been so much better. Spoiler alerts here.

My gripes:

1. It didn't have much heart. I didn't feel the love the Kents are known to have had for their son. They weren't warm parents. It wasn't a feel-good movie in that way. Even the love story between Superman and Lois Lane felt dry.

2. Amy Adams was wasted. To have cast Amy Adams and then have her act in such a serious and dry manner was a waste of the charm and spunk that she could have brought to her character.

3. It was a movie of two halves. The first half was exposition, detailing the destruction of Krypton and Clark Kent's life before he finds his Fortress of Solitude. The second half was crammed full of long action sequences. Personally, as an action buff, I really liked them, but I could understand the complaints of some of my friends that they were too long and over-the-top.

What I liked:

1. Russell Crowe. Well, he is a great actor and he was a big reason that this film was passable. He made Jor-El as heroic as Superman. Now that I think about it, perhaps the next small screen version of the Superman world should be about a young Jor-El.

2. Henry Cavill. He looks good, really good.

3. The villains were all right. In fact, even more than General Zod, I liked his number two, Faora. It's usually really fun to have an evil bad-ass bitch around. What did you think of the movie?

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British actors

There seems to be a British invasion of Hollywood—and that's turning out to be a good thing. Look at the villains of The Dark Knight Rises, Star Trek Into Darkness and Thor played, respectively, by Tom Hardy, Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hiddleston. These actors have put their mark on the roles they've played, and made the films they've starred in all the better for it. On the small screen, you had Hugh Laurie for eight seasons in House. That's come and gone, but, fortunately, U.S. television has Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes in Elementary and Robert Carlyle in Once Upon a Time. Who would you say is your favorite British actor today?

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Superhero films

There were only two movies I was truly looking forward to this year: Star Trek Into Darkness and Man of Steel. Now that I've seen the former (and it didn't disappoint), the latter awaits. The latest trailer for the superhero film ranks as one of the best I've ever seen, making me fearful that I may be anticipating too much. So, anyway, I thought I'd list the superhero comic book films I love the most.

1. Superman II

2. The Dark Knight

3/4. Spider-Man/Spider-Man 2 (I can't decide which one I like more)

5.. X-Men: First Class Avengers was enjoyable but it's a 7 out of 10 for me while all the above are at least an 8.

I also like Superman (in my top 10 thought the cheesy ending mars it a bit), Blade and Iron Man. Surprisingly, The Amazing Spider-Man was also very good.

What's your favorite superhero film?

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Star Trek Into Darkness

I've watched a few of the Star Trek films and I absolutely loved the "alternate reality" Star Trek in 2009. Zachary Quinto rocks. I loved him as Sylar in Heroes and, in Star Trek, he truly matches the greatness of Leonard Nimoy as Spock. Too bad I can't say the same for Chris Pine, who pales in comparison to William Shatner in the portrayal of Captain James T. Kirk. Still, Star Trek Into Darkness was excellent, just falling short of its predecessor. Benedict Cumberbatch infuses Khan with a formidable strength and intelligence that lifts the narrative of the film into the realm of excellence. I'm going to watch the movie again. If you've seen it, what do you think were the highlights of the movie?

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Searching for Sugar Man

I saw the documentary Searching for Sugar Man yesterday and it was a real eye-opener. It's the story of how a couple of South African fans of an American singer named Rodriguez try to find out more about the musician and get the surprise of their life. Watching the movie you'll learn more about apartheid and life in Detroit in the late 60s and early 70s. The best thing though is that you'll discover the awesome talent of Rodriguez. His lyrics are just wonderful. so poetic and yet understandable and down to earth. Plus, his songs have great melody. A couple of friends I watched it with described his music as what you would get if you crossed Bob Dylan with James Taylor. If you've seen the film or heard his music, what did you think?

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Musings on 'Oblivion'

I liked "Oblivion".

My interest in the movie and sympathy for kind of underdog actor Tom Cruise (he's got so many haters) has had me reading a ton of stuff on both. As a result, a few things caught my attention and got me wondering.

1. How can one really question originality? If two people independently have roughly the same idea and start working on developing it should we then penalize the second one to finish his or her project because of a seeming lack of originality? Anyway, I like this article by Bill Gibron on PopMatters on why he thinks critics are being lazy panning Oblivion for being derivative. I've seen enough sci-fi films to see how certain parts of the movie could seem to have been "borrowed". Yet, maybe they weren't. Oblivion was based on a graphic novel that came out in 2010 and may have been developed long before that. Yes, a couple of other movies Oblivion has been compared to came a year or two before the novel but were the ideas really copied? Who knows?

2. Was Tom Cruise's star really fading? So many people cite that Tom Cruise's recent movies -- Rock of Ages, Knight and Day and Jack Reacher -- have bombed. In the first one, he wasn't really the main character. It was more an ensemble cast. In the third, Jack Reacher actually did well enough that a sequel is under consideration. The movie made more than $200 million worldwide on a budget of as much as $75 million ($60 million if you believe some reports). Knight and Day, which came out in 2010, may have been his only true flop in the past few years. Anyway, didn't he have a big hit in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol which came out in late 2011? What are your thoughts on Oblivion and/or Tom Cruise?

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Laurence Olivier

A description of Laurence Olivier is that he is generally regarded as the greatest actor of the 20th century. His career spanned both film and stage.

I "discovered" him today when I was looking to see if I could watch Pride and Prejudice starring Keira Knightly on Amazon Prime Instant Video. However, as I could only watch the old version starring Olivier, I watched that instead. I'm a big Jane Austen fan.

I knew, of course, that Olivier was supposedly one of the greats. But I couldn't really recall a movie I had seen him in, although after looking at his bio I think I may have seen Marathon Man (maybe on HBO, probably as an afterthought).

Now, let me say I did not like his acting in Pride and Prejudice. However, as I found him terrifically handsome, I dug around some more. I saw clips of The Prince and the Showgirl where he co-starred with and directed Marilyn Monroe. He seemed okay there. I then watched Carrie (no, not the Stephen King movie). There I could totally see why he has been called such a great actor. As one reviewer described it, his acting was impeccable.

I then watched his interview with Kenneth Tynan and felt inspired, not about acting but about how we should all try to be excellent in our work. The clips of some of his Shakespeare work also showed more of his greatness.

William Wyler, who directed him in Carrie and whom I learned is one of the best directors of the 20th century, said of him, "Sir Laurence Olivier is one of the most disciplined, prepared, able and intelligent and cooperative actors I have ever worked with. This may well be because he is also a director and a very good one." Have you watched any of Olivier's signature movies? What do you think of his acting?

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Magic Mike

I saw Magic Mike in the morning. It wasn't bad. Channing Tatum was the best I'd ever seen him in. I'd seen Haywire and wasn't impressed by him. He was better in 21 Jump Street. In this movie about strippers, however, he acted so naturally, possibly because he actually used to be one.

Also, he can really, really move. I didn't see the dance flick Step Up, which I suppose was his breakout film, but I was blown away by how good he was on "stage".

But it wasn't just the dance moves that impressed me. He seemed to act much more naturally than he did in his previous roles. His character was really charming and sympathetic. Similarly, Matthew McConaughey surprised me in this movie. He isn't known as a very good actor, but he held his own here. He made this movie work by putting so much life in his sleazeball of a character. He also had the funniest part in this film. One scene in particular kept me giggling. The story's pretty simple, but you'll still stick through it to the end. For guys, if you're thinking this is just a chick flick, think again. There are a lot of scenes with women in bikinis -- and without.

Basically, it's an entertaining enough film.