I have to admit, I am a huge superhero fan, and so I got a little bit excited when I saw that the studios were pushing ahead with a movie for Magneto, one of my favorite super powered characters. I would say superhero or super villain, but Magneto really walks that fine line if you look at his overall comic characterization.
The movie, which will start production after they are done with that Wolverine flick, will be directed by David Goyer. Goyer has directed nothing worth mentioning, but he has written and been an executive producer of some great content like Ghost Rider, and Batman Begins.
The saddest moment for me was the realization that Ian McKellen as the lead role. They plot will revolve around Magneto as a boy, in Auschwitz and dealing with the self-discovery of being a mutant and deciding how to apply those new found gifts.
While we will all know the ending, thanks to the X-Men series of films and all the comic book and cartoon lore, I think it will still be a really fun experience to watch. I just hope they have a scene similar to the one in X-Men: The Last Stand, where with a simple wave of his hand he throws some SUV’s and squishes others. That scene got my adrenaline pumping. Is it wrong to cheer for the bad guy?
Check out Variety and FirstShowing.net for more details.
Pathfinder: Legend of the Ghost Warrior – Review
Usually, whenever a movie based on a comic book comes out, I’ve at least heard of the source material, no matter how obscure it is (“Bulletproof Monk”, “Mystery Men”, “Men in Black”, “Tank Girl”). Yet I had never once heard of Dark Horse Comics’ “Pathfinder” graphic novel until I saw the trailers for this movie. I feel almost ashamed.
Six hundred years before Columbus came to the Americas, the Vikings were already raping and pillaging the local Indians. During one of their usual plunder parties, the Vikings left behind a small boy. The Indians, believing the boy to be part of a prophecy, took him in and raised him as their own. Now named Ghost (Karl Urban), the boy has grown into manhood and become skilled in both the ways of the Indians and the Vikings. His ultimate test awaits him as the Viking marauders return to finish what they started. Lead by the towering horrorshow Gunnar (Clancy Brown), the Vikings begin to ruthlessly destroy everything Ghost holds dear, until he is the only one left who can stop them.
“Pathfinder” is light on story, characters and dialogue but heavy on action, carnage and bloodshed. That right there should tell you everything you need to know about this film. “Pathfinder” seems to have aspirations of becoming the next “300”, or at least riding on the wave of its popularity. While it shares similarities in spirit to the recent Frank Miller film, it does everything about half as good.
“Pathfinder” is a movie that relies almost entirely on its action sequences, which is a bit of a problem, since so much of the action in this film is both derivative and confusing. With all the shaky cam effects, muddy atmosphere, dim lighting, snow, rain and quick cuts I’m left unsure if I’m watching a bunch of Vikings and Indians going at it or that video from “The Ring”. When the action sequences aren’t so over-garnished with “style” that you can actually make out what’s going on, it’s all a bit “meh”. It’s nothing you haven’t seen before, seen recently, or seen done better.
Every cloud has its silver lining, though. Historically accurate or not, the way they portrayed the Vikings was quite good. They’re presented more like the Orcs from “Lord of the Rings”: vile, grotesque, blood-thirsty monsters. Thanks to the dim lighting and murky atmosphere, you can’t see their faces beneath their helmets the majority of the time, leaving them with a very demonic and inhuman presence. This does have its drawbacks, I must confess. Because of this technique, none of the Vikings are distinguishable from one another. I was only able to tell Gunnar apart from the rest of the horn-headed mob because I could recognize his voice (the guy is Mr. Krabs on “Spongebob Squarepants”, after all).
And speaking of Clancy Brown, he was my favorite thing about this movie. The guy’s fantastic, both on screen and behind the mike, and while Gunnar may not have been the deepest villain in cinematic history, Brown brought him to life with tremendous success. It made me nostalgic for “Highlander” all through the film.
Despite a fine performance from Clancy Brown and a few inspired effects, “Pathfinder” is mostly just a mess. Rent it if you want to see something that’s “kinda like ‘300’ only not as good”, but don’t waste your $10 bucks on a ticket.
Grade: C
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2007) – Review
My childhood can be summed up with three simple ingredients: “Ghostbusters”, “X-Men” and “Ninja Turtles”. I love me some Turtles. Now, contrary to what a lot of people might have you think, the TMNT hardly ever went away. They’ve almost always existed in some form or another since their debut. I mean, a year after the original cartoon was cancelled, that live action TV show came around. Four years after that went bust, the current Ninja Turtles cartoon began airing on Fox. The comics hardly ever went away, though publishing would sometimes jump around between Mirage, Image and Archie. So really, what have people been missing about the TMNT? What aspect of the franchise has been sorely absent for so many years?
A theatrical movie, of course. It’s been fourteen years since their last effort and the TMNT haven’t seen the silver screen since. This new film almost seemed to come from nowhere, mostly due to a very late marketing campaign that didn’t seem to get going until a few weeks before the flick’s premiere. Not a very good strategy, I must confess.
It’s been several years since the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles defeated their arch enemy, the Shredder. Over time, the four brothers have grown apart. Leonardo (James Arnold Taylor) has left to Central America for over a year to train, Donatello (Mitchell Whitfield) has gotten a job as a tech support consultant, Michelangelo (Mikey Kelly) is living it up as a children’s birthday party chew toy and Raphael (Nolan North) has taken up the guise of a vigilante known as the Nightwatcher. The four brothers are quickly drawn back together when immortal corporate executive Max Winters (Patrick Stewart) hires the ruthless Foot Clan to help him gather a horde of grotesque monsters. Winters intends to awaken his four stone generals and use the monsters to open a gateway to another dimension. If the Ninja Turtles wish to stop him, they’re going to have to learn to work as a team once again.
As a Ninja Turtle fan, I really enjoyed the flick. It had all the plot of a Saturday Morning Cartoon, so don’t go into this expecting all sorts of complex storytelling. Honestly, had the script been shopped to 4Kids Entertainment and not the Weinstein Company, this probably could’ve ended up as an episode of the cartoon series and nobody would’ve noticed. Yet it’s rated PG and it’s a kid’s movie, so really, what else did you expect? As far as being a kid’s movie is concerned, don’t worry, this is far darker and more intelligent than both “Secret of the Ooze” and “TMNT III”. This new film never gets any grittier than the original 1990 TMNT film, but that’s okay by me.
The CG animation is exceptionally good. Though it’s not the popular opinion, I believe that CG animated films are a market of untapped potential. I mean, for every action film like TMNT or Advent Children, there are two dozen Shreks, Doogles and Open Seasons. Studios are more interested in copying Pixar’s brand of animated comedies than actually seeing what other kinds of storytelling they could accomplish with the genre. So in that respect, TMNT is refreshing. Now, don’t be expecting this film to be all hyper-realistic just because it’s CGI. It’s a cartoon and it knows it, with character designs that are heavily stylized and occasionally (occasionally) employing “Looney Tunes”-like cartoon sight gags. However, I found this to be anything but a set-back and gave the film a fun charm. You can only take something like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles so seriously.
The characterization of the cast is everything you’d expect. Leo and Raph once again take center stage while Don and Mike fall into the backseat. Granted, Leo and Raph’s polar-opposites dynamic is quite interesting, it isn’t anything we haven’t seen before. Mike has always been my least favorite Turtle, so of course I found him rather annoying in the film. He’s there to provide burp gags, puns and generic comedy relief I’d rather do without…but on the bright side, his sewer skateboarding segment was pretty sweet. Don gets the short end of the stick as usual, only popping up to do something technical and then fade away. Splinter was wonderful in this film, thanks mostly to a fantastic performance by Mako. Then there’s April and Casey, who get just as much a spotlight as the Turtles. April runs her own business alongside Casey and has been training in Ninjustsu, apparently becoming nearly as good as the Turtles. Karai and the Foot, I must confess, fall a bit on the wayside. There’s a hint of animosity between her and Leo, but most of their quarrel is shamelessly reserved for the inevitable sequel.
The voice acting is mostly good. There was nothing wrong with any of the actors playing the Turtles, at least nothing I noticed. Sarah Michelle Gellar phones in a rather underwhelming performance as April and her lines are delivered with all the fluidity of a pile of rocks in a tornado. The late and great Mako almost steals the show as Splinter, balancing the stern martial arts sensei with the loving father and throwing in some hilarious character quirks along the way. A terrible shame we’ll never hear him in the role again. Kevin Michael Richardson voices the most prominent of the four generals, General Aquila, and does fine. He’s one of my favorite cartoon voice actors and can sound very villainous when it counts. Patrick Stewart has become quite good at voice acting over the years and plays the sympathetic Max Winters as well as you can imagine. Ziyi Zhang is a bit of an oddity, I must confess. Karai is supposed to be Japanese, but Zhang’s accent is entirely too Chinese sounding. In all likelihood, most Americans won’t be able to tell. And finally Chris Evans delivers a perfectly appropriate performance as the lovable hockey mask-clad vigilante, Casey Jones.
And then there’s the leftovers. Laurence Fishburne, of all people, provides an opening narrative briefly recapping the Turtles’ history as well as the backstory of the villains. Kevin Smith also makes a surprise cameo as the cook at a diner. He actually does a pretty good job. A few more recognizable cartoon voice actors can be spotted throughout the movie if you’re a cartoon buff like me. You’ll notice Jim Cummings as a generic thug who keeps winding up in the wrong place at the wrong time. Billy West also shows up as a news anchorman.
So, all in all, what did I think of the new TMNT movie? Honestly, I liked it. It’s a kid’s action movie, for sure, but there’s hardly anything present to turn off an older audience. There are lots of references and nods to the “classic” TMNT to get the nostalgia rivers flowing, but enough entertainment value to keep from relying on it. Some great fight scenes and a mostly impressive voice cast. Definitely check it out.
Grade: B
300 – Review
Despite being a self-proclaimed comic book nerd, I have to confess that I never read Frank Miller’s “300”. Hell, I never even considered reading it as I felt there were more interesting comic books I needed to plow through first. After seeing the motion picture adaptation, I must say, I regret my decision. “300” is a gorgeous spectacle of blood, brutality and an engaging story all woven into one.
“300” recounts (albeit with an artistic license) the battle of the three hundred Spartans against the whole of the Persian Empire. King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) is the ruler of Sparta, a land known for its fierce warriors who bow to no one. Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro), the King of the Persian Empire, has come to annex Sparta…over Leonidas’ dead body. Leonidas assembles three hundred of his mightiest warriors and marches to a bottle-necked canyon on the coast. There, the three hundred Spartans are bombarded by the thousands of Persian warriors, yet through their grit, determination and superior skill, they give the Persians a run for their money.
Visually, “300” is something of a blend of “Sin City”, “Troy” and “Silent Hill”. It has, of course, the epic Greek carnage of “Troy”, but portrayed in a heavily stylized (though not as heavily stylized) method similar to that of “Sin City”. Yet tossed into the mix are a blend of bizarre freaks and frightening imagery so repulsive you’d think you were watching “Silent Hill”. Strangely, this odd mish-mosh of visuals combines together into something truly glorious to behold.
The movie wastes no time getting into the thick of battle. After a brief prologue illustrating the hardcore childhood of King Leonidas, and of course a sequence setting up Xerxes’ impending takeover, the battle is quickly under way. Nearly the entirety of the film consists of the Spartans impaling the crap out of freakish Persian warriors, making “300” mostly one big fight sequence. This does wonders for the adrenaline-pumping “holy shit” factor, though I think it had a bit of a negative impact on characterization. There are 300 Spartans fighting this battle, but we only get to know about four of them particularly deeply. There is a subplot going on with Leonidas’ wife, Gorgo (Lena Headey) trying to urge the Spartan Counsel to send the rest of their army to support the three hundred but it still felt a little thin.
So yes, I’m afraid that what you’re going to come out of this film praising are the visuals and the violence, not so much the story depth (though it’s a very engaging story, it’s not all that layered). Now, this movie is quite nuts. It seems half of the characters are deformed elephant people; hideous freaks of nature with unholy fighting skill. Just wait until you see Xerxes’ elite guard, the Immortals. The effects add monstrous touches even to animals we’ve seen a thousand times, like wolves, rhinos and elephants. What I found so interesting about that is the narration of the film is from the perspective of Dilios (David Wenham), a Spartan, and he refers to these animals not as “rhinos” and “elephants”, but as great monsters hauled back from the darkest reaches of the Earth. Like a Spartan had ever seen a rhino before. To them, these things were monsters, so that’s how the audience sees them.
The movie is a visual marvel, and while the story isn’t exactly a multi-layered complexity it is still very fascinating. Characterization is a bit thin and it could have stood to be a little longer, but overall my complaints are few. Guys will love it for the hardcore action, ladies will love it for the hundreds of shirtless men with their chiseled abs.
Grade: A-
Just Released ‘Spider-Man 3’ Images
I doubt these Spider-Man 3 images will last very long, as Sony has a history of being a bit bipolar- giving freely & then taking away suddenly, but we’ll see.
Ain’tItCool was able to grab some of these terrific images of the Venom transformation as well as the Sandman. Just take a look & let your breath be taken away, but not too much!
