2056 - Total Recall (original)

That's better!  Despite it's datedness, this film still stands up - the sci-fi isn't as corny as you'd expect it to be because it's got such a distinct style.  There's something mildly trashy about it with three-breasted hookers and hooker dwarves with machine guns and a young mutant Dean Norris.  But the thing that makes this miles ahead better is that the story is simple - the poor people are being screwed over by the rich - smothered by the lack of air that the rich are keeping, and can easily provide for them.  In this film it makes sense why Quaid was kept alive - I'm not entirely sure that it was in the remake.  The reason this also works is because we see physical evidence of what Arnold is fighting for - to let people breath and live - we keep cutting back to them to get a sense of the importance of his mission.  It means something for us and therefore we root for him... this film is fun and entertaining.  Both versions are on Netflix if you want to do a comparison - though I strongly suggest just spending time with this one - the remake is mostly's meh - though I quite liked how they better integrated Kate Beckinsale's character - a small victory in that non-film....

2047 - Guardians of the Galaxy

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is getting to the point, for me, where it’s akin to the work done in the heyday of Pixar.  And given that Disney owns both them and now Star Wars, anyone who owns stocks in the Mouse are certainly going to be happy in the upcoming years.

Like most people I didn’t know ANYTHING about Guardians of the Galaxy going into this.  And I came out wondering if this was my favourite of the Marvel side-franchises.  It is so goddamn good.  It’s the most fun I’ve had in a Marvel film, including Avengers.  It starts off with a huge gut-punch - which hit me especially hard because of personal reasons - and then it involved into something that was sweet and funny and grand.  Chris Pine is an all-star, and Bradley Cooper makes Rocket more than just a wise-talking side-kick.  

My only complaint, and this is more a big-world question than anything else.  The villain’s lair/world(?) just feels so small and empty.  He wants to destroy things, a planet, but I never really got a strong sense of why - outside of the fact that it was evil and he’s evil.  If I have a complaint with this film it’s that the villain was a pretty weak cardboard cut-out - zero personality besides ‘bad’.  So that was the weak part of the film for me - that said the rest of the ensemble is so delightfully entertaining that it doesn’t hurt the overall movie like it should.  

Keep up the good work, Marvel.  The way you weave all your properties together is such a clever way of insuring viewership - but it’s also rewarding for the audience.  Keep up the quality and I’ll keep showing up.  

Seconds

Scott Pilgrim remains one of my favorite series of all time, and so the other day when I realized that Bryan Lee O'Malley's first Pilgrim follow-up was finally out I ordered it right the hell away.  It's the story of a cook looking to fix some mistakes from her past and gets the chance do to some magic mushrooms (not to be confused with the drug).
I loved the style of this - visually it builds upon what we've seen of him before but there's an additional artistry present that shows his growth.  There's a really awesome narration technique that's playful and fun.  It's a beautiful and sweet story told with a wink, always aware that it's there to entertain.  If you like O'Malley's work from the past this will not disappoint.

2041 - Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Andy Serkis - you are easily one of the most underrated actors of your generation.  I re-watched bits and pieces of the first instalment of this re-boot to head into this and I have to say that this is shaping up to be one of my favourite franchises.  I think these two films blow the water out of the original series.  Not just because of the effects, although to be fair it’s the technology that allows for the emotional layer that makes it truly special.  

What’s really lovely about this second chapter is that we care about both sides of the camp. It’s not humans or apes - both parties are good and bad.  It’s real and honest in that sense.  We’re conflicted and have no idea how it’s going to go.  

I don’t want to say much more, because it’s best just to experience this all for yourself.  This is the best blockbuster I’ve seen this summer, and I can’t wait to see it again.  If you have absolutely any interest in this film do yourself a favour and see it on the big screen.

2033 - Orphan Black: season two

It's impossible to talk about Orphan Black without talking about Tatiana's performance.  Without exception she is not only the star of the show - she is the show.  She slips so effortlessly into the various characters that despite your efforts you often forget that it's all the same person.  Tat obviously has an amazing career ahead of her, but it's hard to think she'll ever have a playground to play in like she does on this series - exhausting as it must be.
This season continued the greatness of the first season and helped to build deeper into the mythos of this world and it's rules.  It was nice for me to see some actor friends show up in supporting roles, and even greater to see characters like Helena really get a chance to shine here.  I love the additional layers that the show started to uncover this season and it went a long way towards convincing me just how much more story there is to tell with this series.  If it's not the best series in Canada at the moment, it's easily the most interesting - and definitely putting ourselves on the map in terms of original content creation.

1993 - Back to the Future Part III

As mentioned I did in fact revisit this.  This film far more capture the spirit of the original - the second one almost has too much going on that it’s constantly having to deal with the exposition of the situation where this one and the first are simpler, they can allow us to just really enjoy the situation.  The western genre is a welcome addition here, and there’s a lot of nice callbacks.  The one thing they did well was really have the 2nd film set-up this grande finale.  Having Buford being a gun toting madman is a nice evolution of the Biff character from the original as well.  Part of me hopes that they never mess further with this franchise, but part of me wonders what else could be done with it especially if it’s expanded into something like a series.  I could be interested in that.  Needless to say, if you’ve never seen this trilogy you really owe it to yourself.  I can’t wait to introduce it to my kids.

1992 - Back to the Future Part II

When I was a kid I loved this film - I remember even having the novelization.  There's a lot of me that does still love it - I love how it mixes the events of the first film into it's narrative and gives us a Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead kind of view of that.  That was super clever.  That said, the writing in this installment feels like it's someone else at the helm in a weird way.  Adding in stuff like Marty having an issue being called a chicken feels forced, especially given there was nothing of the like in the original which takes place a day prior to this film - Marty's issue there was his lack of confidence that he got from his father - so this is a bizarre bait and switch.  The film just has a much cheesier feel, and not always in a good way.  Don't get me wrong, I still like it a lot - it's near and dear to my heart - but it doesn't have the charm of the original.
And of course, as always happens when I re-watch the first film I'm going to go through all three of these bad boys now...

1991 - Back to the Future

What can I saw about this film that hasn't already been said?  Like Groundhog Day it's just a great example of high concept done super well.  I can't wait to show this film to my kids when they're older - I assume it'll hold up - and it'll be funny to see how dated it is with them.  I'd write a lot more about this film, but I'm just doing this as a short break from stuffing packages.  If you've never see this, and you're a film lover at all, you should be ashamed!

1967 - The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Came to this late.  I haven’t read the books, and I only just caught the first film in the series on Netflix - but I dig it.  The world feels a bit heavy handed at times, but it’s sci-fi with a message.  I like that it teased the idea of the first one while ripping open the concept here.  The set-up felt a little long winded - but this story is also the hallway that bridges the first chapter and whatever’s to come next.  I was sad to see Phillip Seymour Hoffman here and felt he was underused quite a bit - hopefully he gets to step it up a notch in the final films.  Jennifer Laurence continues to be a delight to watch on the screen, and I love that she’s using her popularity from this to pick some really awesome and interesting roles otherwise.  As always, Woody Harrelson is a much welcome addition.  I’m excited for the next chapter!

1916 - RoboCop

I haven't seen this in years and was compelled to give it another view (totally forgetting that the reboot is on it's way to us).  I was kind of surprise to find that Peter Weller is… well… he's not a great actor.  He's fine when he's playing a robot, but that's largely because that's what his acting range in this film seems to fit (that said, he was great in his stint on Dexter, so hard to give him too much shit).  I think this is a film that's so easy for people to slush off as a bizarre 80's flick, but it's so rife with social commentary and imagery that it makes it kind of amazing.  It's an allegory wrapped around a b-movie.  I don't think I've ever seen the follow-ups, and I'm not sure I'd be interested in it.  The re-make trailer seems to miss the central point of the original which is, really about how you can't remove the soul from a living creature, no matter how much technology you throw at it.  Morality survives.  It's on netflix if you feel the need to revisit - I'm glad I did!

1873 - In Time

Apparently I was on a Justin Timberlake kick last night.  Mostly I just wanted to watch something high-concept and entertaining, and this was a pretty decent pick.  It got some picky reviews, but I think that centers around the fact that it's so hard sci-fi, which means that it's a morality tale, and as such it's going to be a bit heavy handed in places - I'm fine with that.  As I was at a take-out place this morning it even sunk into me, the beauty of having a world where time is the currency - is it really so different from real money anyway?  You need it to survive, it dictates so many things.  It's a solid concept and they do well enough by it here.  The action isn't there just to be awesome like it is in so many films now.  It's a very solid genre piece, not going to be for everyone, but if you like hard sci-fi you could do a lot worse.  Timberlake does the part justice and Seyfield is pretty darn enjoyable herself.  It's on Netflix.

1849 - Orphan Black: season one

I'm going to be completely honest and say that I started watching this film for two reasons:
1) Patriotic Pride: I always try to give Canadian shows the benefit of the doubt
2) A friend of mine is on the writing staff.
But both of the above only buys you really one episode for sure, and the rest have to be earned by the show itself.  I was waiting with baited breath for each new episode.  The show follows the story of a group of women who learn that they are clones of one another - but the big question remains - why?!
Each episode brings us deeper and deeper into the world and the lives of the characters themselves - and it moves at such a cocky pace that you wonder just what the hell they're saving for the swim back.  The writing is pretty fearless in this regard and has no problem putting it's characters into terrible situations.  All of this is already a recipe for a pretty decent show - but then you throw in a powerhouse performance by Tatiana Maslany as all of the clones, and well, then you've got something absolutely special.  From the british street punk, to the suburban mom, token lesbian lab rat, and bat-shit-insane one, Maslany must be exhausted doing all these character so perfectly well and unique.  I can only imagine she's got a team to help her keep it straight.
I want to go into so much detail about so many things - but it's so much better for you to discover it on it's own.  The first season is ten episodes and it's already been confirmed to be coming back (thank you, TV gods!), so if you're a fan of sci-fi at all, or even just enjoy a fun thriller, or better yet - a phenomenal performance, then please get yourself in gear and catch up.
And for you Canadians, this is absolutely something you can be proud of.  Watch it.  Make it happen!

1766 - Looper

I can't remember the last time I saw a film on opening weekend.  It's been a while.  I'm still behind and haven't seen Rian Johnson's last film "Brother's Bloom".
So, first and foremost, as always I enjoyed the hell out of Joseph-Gordon Levitt - he's on such an amazing streak right now.  They make-up job they do on him to make him more like Bruce Willis is pretty impressive for the most part.  The film is pretty fun - for those unaware it's about a future where time travel was invented and then made illegal, and crime syndicates use it as a way to get rid of people by having a "looper" on the other end kill them and dispose of the body.  Sound complicated?  It is.  In fact, it's complications like this that, ultimately, keep the film from really working for me.  I enjoyed it a lot.  Emily Blunt was enjoyable as well, and the kid in it was goddamn phenomenal - what a discover he was!  There's so many fun and inventive sequences and it's entertaining and worth checking out.  If I ever get around to watching it again I'll get into all the nit-picky stuff that really nagged at me, but I'll let it go and not ruin anything for you fine folks.
If you're curious, at all, as to the nature of my nit-picky, it has, mostly, to do with just the complete brushing aside of even trying to explain why and how the time travel works - it just feels a tad lazy - like an amazing concept was had and to avoid having to make it logical they just decided to avoid explanation.  Bitch, moan, just enjoy the film already, right?
It's being billed as a thinking man's action film, and I'll give it that, just don't think on it too hard or it might start falling apart on you.

1743 - Super 8

I missed this in the theatres.  In truth I was on my way to see it one night and then decided to see The Dark Night (again).  Now that I've seen this, I made the right choice.  This isn't a bad film at all, it's just not on par with TDK in any way.  What JJ Abrams does REALLY well here is capture the feeling of an 80's film, the look, music, shots, etc… he nailed it.  What's missing is the emotion and the genuine nostalgia.  There's an irony at play here in that the film starts off with a teenage filmmaker telling his best friend that he read an article that explains how you get people to care about your story by getting them emotionally involved - sadly, that never happened in the film itself. 
Now granted, I was packing boxes while watching this on Netflix, but the third act kind of confused the hell out of me and everything felt a tad convoluted. 
Didn't love it, didn't hate it.  A good rainy day popcorn flick, I think...

Fables #16: Super Team

I'll be honest, I hate the title for this volume - I get why they use it, but it just feels odd for the Fables universe to go here in the superhero parallel - mostly because it opens up a bit of a hornet's nest to me... because how Fables works is that the characters are from works of fiction that runs the gamut and the globe - anything and everything is up for grabs so long as it's a created character, really... so technically Superheroes are Fables as well in a way... am I right?  I don't think that Fables are subject only to fairy tale characters... although I guess it's pointless to hang onto this... I digress...
So this volume finds our friends getting ready to take down Mr. Dark for once and all, and Pinocchio takes a page out of superhero comics to assemble the perfect team to do so.  There's some fun to be had in it, but it doesn't really amount to anything and it's really just a way of filling time until the (anti-climatic) show-down.  Being that this is the sixteenth book of a series I think I'll have to throw down the SPOILER WARNING and talk more in depth about the volume below...

First off, I quite liked this volume.  I liked the story between Bigby and his father and the set-up to what's to come down the pipe, however I feel a bit cheated... if the North Wind could have come in and defeated Mr. Dark so easily at any time, why did it take this long?  It feels like for all the set-up and devastation that it was a really easy fix.  Although who knows... maybe that story isn't quite over... after all the (now smoking hot) Mrs. Spratt is still kicking around and maybe she's got something up her sleeve.  I'm still enjoying these books but I can't help but feel like we're getting to a point where they're not going to have anywhere interesting to go... I hope that Willingham has some new core-conflict up his sleeve to propel us into the next big arc(s), but it's feeling like it's going to start retreading.  Gepetto is going to try and start another uprising, etc... Right now the series is quite good, but I want it to be great again... Here's hoping...

A Lion Among Men: Volume Three in the Wicked Years

I'm a big nerd when it comes to taking known stories and playing with them.  I loved both the musical Wicked as well as the book that it was based on.  The way the story worked within the confines of the original was clever and intelligent.  Based on his other books this seemed to be Maguire's thing to do these twisted fairy tales.  I think I read somewhere that he never originally intended to create an Oz series himself, but that Wicked was the only book he thought he'd write.  Now there's a forth (which I plan to read soon), but it doesn't come as a shock that he never planned for this series...
Here's the thing... I don't think Maguire is as good of a writer as he is an idea's man.  He's got some really clever and smart stuff going on, but with the exception of a few portions of this book I found myself really just wanting him to get to the point.  The man goes on a lot of tangents, and some of then interesting, but some of them just feel like page filler.  The only really gripping parts of this book are when he's dealing with characters that have come before - the Lion's story itself, while good and heartbreaking in spots, just feels a bit 'meh' as a whole.  I think the character and how he's built him is interesting but the way it's told just has such little energy. 
If you loved the first two books in the series (I only liked the second) then you're probably going to (or already have) read this.  If you're not sure, I suggest starting with Wicked and going from there.  This is by no means essential reading, but you might like it anyway.  Not exactly a high recommend, but a moderate one.

1639 - Cube

I'm preparing a film proposal package for the CFC Feature program, and so I thought in the days leading up to it I might as well watch (and in some cases re-watch) some of the films that they've already produced.  For those that are unaware it's a program that helps low-budget films to be made.  You can check out all about it by clicking on this link.
Cube is probably the film that they are most well known for, and it even spawned two sequels.  The film is about a small group of people whom all wake up inside of a massive structure of linked rooms.  They don't know why they are there, and all they've got to help them escape is a series of numbers on each of the adjoining doors.  Luckily they've got a math genius or two amongst them!!!
This film has a pretty decent cult following and I'm a tad ashamed to admit that this is the first time I'd seen it. (it's on netflix!) 
The way the film was shot was pretty damn clever, and even though you can completely understand how the film was made on a low-budget it never feels cheaply made at all and has a number of special effects that are pretty damn impressive. 
I've heard that I should avoid the sequels and so I probably will - but this original is easy recommended to anyone who enjoys a mystery that's on the light side of horror. 

1616 - True Blood: season four

This is an interesting show in that it doesn't act like any other hour-long cable drama.  It actually feels a bit more like a soap-opera - and I say that in the best possible way.  What this show does better than most, if not all, is their cliff-hangers.  This season actually had a few episodes that left on lovely notes instead of the usual cliff-hangers, which is oddly just as unsettling. 
So this is going to be able the entire season, so expect SPOILERS AHEAD.  If you want a general recommendation then here goes: it's a really good show - and if you're into vampires, werewolves and numerous other types of mythic creatures then you're probably going to love it. 
Okay - now into the meat of it.

This was a really really strong season for True Blood.  It felt a tad meandering early on, but everything came together quite well.  Even characters like Tara (who, honestly, always felt like she could have disappeared and not made any real difference) seemed to serve some purpose this time around.  It appears that each season brings aboard a new creature to deal with, this time around it's the witches, and to some degree the Fae - although that plotline disappeared very quickly, and just barely stuck it's head out here and there.  I assume that it's going to be something sprinkled along for a bit and then will probably feature heavily in the future - perhaps even in the final season (whenever that will be).
Something that True Blood does quite often is leave storylines, Jason and the Panther-Clan seemed to be pretty interesting, but then as soon as the will-he-turn question was answered it was dropped.  Again, perhaps we'll see them all again later (although I much prefer Jason's relationship with Jessica steaming up - let's be honest, what was sexier than her Little Red Riding costume in the finale?).  One thing I was particularly tickled to see was Reverend Steve from the Fellowship of the Sun returning (and as a vampire, no less).  Although as much jeopardy as it seemed that Jason was in, the dude was outside his house and the only way to harm Jason would be if Jason decided to invite him in.  So Jason's pretty safe.  Like usual True Blood wrapped up the central conflict of this season rather early in the episode and spent the rest of the time setting up next season's arcs - like the one I just mentioned.  One of the really fun ones was seeing that Russell had freed himself from his concrete grave (when they didn't give him the 'True Death' it seemed pretty clear that he would be returning at some point).  Tara could be dead - could be alive - I could care less.  And everyone else is in a pretty pickle as well.  This was easily one of the better seasons of the show (who didn't love Eric's amnesia?  delightful! - and it was the first season the Bill became truly interesting), and I really look forward to season five. 

1606 - Dark Rising 2: Summer Strikes Back

I was invited to last night's premiere of this by one of the film's leads, Landy Cannon, at one of my favorite single-screen theatres in the city, The Royal.  First of all I have to say how impressed I was by the scale of this film - given that the first was clearly made on a limited budget it would appear that their fan base made it possible for this one to step it up a notch.  Now, to be honest, some of the effects still seemed very effecty, however there was a lot going on on the screen and handled pretty damn well if you ask me.  I'm not sure what happened during the course of the Dark Rising television series, but when we first meet Landy's character here he's no longer a sissy-ass-man, which I have to say I missed a tad - although that mantle is taking up quite well by scene-stealer Nug Nahrgang who had me laughing out loud a lot more than I expected.  This sequel steps it up a notch in knowing exactly what it wants to be - it has a far more consistent tone and it serves it well.  Little things like knowing that Summer *always* has to be as scantily clad as possible, and how they always manage to make that happen is a fun running visual gag.
If you're a fan of this series, this film is not going to disappoint.  For more casual filmgoers you'll love or hate this based on your ability to just sit back and enjoy the ride.

1605 - Dark Rising

Full disclosure, I know some of the people involved in this film, and the only real reason I checked it out (on Netflix!) is because I've been invited to the premiere tomorrow.  Now this type of film isn't normally my cup of tea, but I quite enjoyed it once it got rolling along.  I think the biggest issue that the film has is it's lack of consistent tone.  There's a fair amount of camp to it, but I personally think that it would have been a far stronger film if it really embraced the camp and took it a tad further.  Landy Cannon and Brigitte Kingsley are enjoyable and downright hilarious when they're really owning their characters, and on opposite ends of the spectrum, with Brigitte is taking things far too serious, and Landy when he's being a tad glib, or bringing up real-world problems amidst the chaos. 
The set-up you just have to go with as there are some red flags with it - but if you suspend your disbelief you'll be just fine.  This is clearly not everyone's cur of tea - but if you like your sci-fi with a bit of a wink then this might just be up your alley.  
Dark Rising