Jul 12 2015

Comic-Con 2015 Highlights

deadpool hikerAnother Comic-Con has made its impact with genre fans from all over the world. As exciting as it was for those lucky enough to attend the annual gathering at San Diego, there wasn’t any Earth-shattering news to come out of the convention. Nonetheless, many presentations and speakers were able to whet the appetites for fans at what lies ahead.

TV Shows

New trailers for The Walking Dead and Fear The Walking Dead made their debut and whetted the appetites for followers of the zombie phenomenon. While Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) has leadership headaches in season six of The Walking Dead, we all finally get to see how the walker apocalypse got its start with the prequel spinoff.

While Marvel Studios was conspicuously absent this year, we did get news about their TV shows Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter. The most intriguing was the tease that one of the actual Avengers (and Maria Hill doesn’t count!) may appear in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. That being the Falcon (Anthony Mackie), which is terrific news since he is so popular.

As for their natural rival, DC, we found out that Jay Garrick will indeed be featured in The Flash and portrayed by Teddy Sears, plus Wally West is coming to the popular show as well as a new villain Zoom. Also, Hawkman himself will appear in the upcoming Legends of Tomorrow. Do we smell another spinoff coming?

Movies

The three big movie-related revelations at Comic-Con were about Fox’s Marvel movies, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and DC/Warner Brothers’ superhero films. The clear winner was DC who presented a teaser for the Suicide Squad, announced that there will be a Green Lantern Corps. film  and that Ben Affleck will direct and star in a Batman solo film, and showed a near-perfect trailer for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. But let’s go over the first two revelations.

Fox presented teasers for next year’s Deadpool and X-Men: Apocalypse, as well as next month’s Fantastic Four. While the new X-Men presentation was fascinating, what brought the house down was the first look at Deadpool. The teaser featured many of the same scenes from the ashcan trailer that made the rounds in the Internet to sell the idea of a Deadpool film. But added to that were the basic origin stuff of how Slade Wilson became the Merc with a Mouth. Overall, the trailer clearly shows that this will be an R-rated film to the delight of fans.

Just as delightful to watch was the Star Wars: The Force Awakens panel that was highlighted by a reunion of the Original Trilogy stars, Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher. A behind-the-scenes video was released that had new footage from the upcoming Star Wars film and one point that seems to be hammered into the video is the reliance on practical sets and effects so as to set it apart from the prequel films.

Arguably the most popular presentations where done by DC/Warner Bros. with their two comic book films due next year. The Suicide Squad trailer was fairly standard with Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) winning over drooling fans as expected. The images were buttressed by Will Smith’s take of Deadshot, who added some gravitas to what looked like a costume parade. However, Jared Leto stole the entire trailer at the end when he showed up as the Joker. He seemed just as manic and deadly as he appeared in the photos.

What set the DC presentation apart was the winning trailer for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. It showed that there will be real repercussions for the events in Man of Steel where Superman (Henry Cavill) and his foes effectively destroyed Metropolis. We find out that Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) was present in Metropolis during the climatic battle and witnessed firsthand the threat that meta-humans pose. His hatred for Superman seems natural and justified. Meanwhile, Superman has to contend with either being revered as some kind of god and feared and hated by others. All the protesters with the signs calling him an illegal alien is very topical. The final and winning touch to the trailer was the premiere of Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. It didn’t show much but she looked beautiful and powerful. Thanks to the trailer Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has become the must-see film of 2016.

Marvel Studios MIA

DC’s presentations sucked all the air out of the convention for the other properties, even the Fox Marvel movies. What could’ve countered this was if Marvel Studios had bothered to make a presentation at Comic-Con. Instead, they stayed home and it remains to be seen if a price will be paid for this absence.

They had their reasons for staying out of Comic-Con, Ant-Man will be out in a few days and their other films may not be ready yet. Then there’s the fact that there may be presentations at next month’s D23 Expo, which will solely be about all things Disney. batman armorOr perhaps Marvel Studios will have another special presentation like they did last fall where they announced the full slate of the Phase Three MCU films. Except this time we’ll get actual footage from Captain America: Civil War and Doctor Strange.

Be that as it may, it is still probably a strategic mistake to take the year off Comic-Con. While the MCU films are riding a wave of popularity now, this year’s convention showed that genuine competition is coming and Marvel Studios needs to stay alert. Some cracks in the armor showed with Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man’s potential for success is unknown. If they didn’t want to show any footage, they could’ve at least shown some props or artwork from the upcoming films. Instead we got to see cool props from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice like the Batman armor. Score one for DC. 🙂

Lewis T. Grove

 

 

Jul 3 2015

Back to the Future: Celebrating 30 Years Of The Timeless Classic

BTTF 30

“Doc, I’m from the future. I came here in a time machine that you invented. Now I need your help to get back to the year 1985.” – Marty McFly

It’s been thirty years since the world was introduced to Back to the Future, the greatest time travel film ever made. For anyone who hasn’t seen it yet, the film is about Marty McFly, your typical modern teenager who accidently time travels to 1955 and meets his then-teenage parents. This created a temporal paradox where Marty was threatened with non-existence so not only must Marty find a way back to his time period, but has to correct his parents’ timeline to ensure he’s eventually born. The instant classic wowed many audiences when it was released and was the biggest box office hit of 1985. Through the years since its initial release Back to the Future has generated many fans who look fondly at the film and for good reason.

marty and docBack to the Future, the brainchild of director Robert Zemeckis and writer/producer Bob Gale, is a humorous, smart take on time travel that starred Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly and Christopher Lloyd as his best friend Dr. Emmett “Doc” Brown. Both actors made tremendous contributions to the film’s success thanks to their comedic performances and a genuine chemistry between them. Both actors were so well suited for their roles, which made them so endearing to audiences.

Perfectly Timed Casting

It’s amazing this happened because it almost didn’t. As fans know, Michael J. Fox wasn’t the first person original martycast as Marty. It was Eric Stoltz, but as filming commenced Zemeckis realized that Stoltz wasn’t right for the role. To his credit, the director made the right decision to replace him with Fox, who was actually the first choice for the role but was initially unavailable. It all worked out in the end, Fox turned out to be perfect as the distressed but likeable teenagerwho finds himself in an extraordinary situation.

Thanks to his popularity at the time (his sitcom Family Ties was a hit TV show in 1985), Fox helped draw in ticket buyers who normally couldn’t be bothered with a sci-fi comedy about time travel. But Fox had a certain charm that made Marty so appealing to audiences. Through Marty’s eyes, we saw the trepidations of being a teenager and later in the film Marty was able to see that his teenage parents had similar gripes and issues. He witnessed teenagers in the 1950s with timeless problems such as peer pressure, bullying, social awkwardness and self doubt. Marty learned some profound lessons about his parents and himself. Underlying that are simple, yet poignant messages about self confidence and accomplishments. “If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.”

einstein first time travelerFox isn’t the only reason that Back to the Future is so memorable. A large measure of that has to do with the supporting cast as well. Aside from Lloyd (who perfected the daffy, wild-eyed scientist), Lea Thompson as Lorraine Baines, and Thomas F. Wilson as the comical bully Biff Tannen, Crispin Glover nearly steals the film as George McFly, Marty’s nerdy father. While Glover has funny playing the goofy, out-of-touch older father in the 1980s scenes, he really shines in the 1950s scenes where he exemplifies the shy and nervous sci-fi geek. tannen and georgeWhat sci-fi fan can’t identify with his dilemma where he has to choose between going out to a dance or staying home to watch Science Fiction Theater? It’s just unfortunate that Glover didn’t return for the sequels, thus diminishing his character in those films. But we did get to see more of Biff and his relatives later on, who were perfect villains throughout the three Back to the Future films.

Temporal Shock

Underlining the film’s appeal is the accurate representation of the 1950s and the culture shock that followed when Marty first experiences the time period. The film is littered funny and amusing nods to the past and present like Marty ordering a Pepsi Free at a diner and being told he has to pay for it, or Marty being mistaken for an alien creature by farm folks, and Marty disguising himself as Darth Vader. Other nifty touches sprinkled throughout the film include the well-groomed nature of that time period, the archaic but catchy music and how undeveloped but pristine Marty’s hometown of Hill Valley appeared.

arrival

Overall, Marty’s experiences and culture clash were some of the best and funniest fish-out-of-water scenarios done on film. Looking at the film now, a modern-day viewer can also experience a measure of culture shock at the then-contemporary 1980s scenes. The contrast between the clean, bright middle-class lifestyle of the 1950s and the rundown, but modern vista of the 1980s is startling. Instead of making the film dated, the fact that Back to the Future is bookended with the 1980s adds to the rewatchability factor.

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Jun 28 2015

Jurassic World Dominates The Summer

irex rules

For the third weekend in a row Jurassic World is the box office champion having beaten off challenges from Inside Out and Ted 2. To date the film has earned $500 million in North America (and over $1.2 billion worldwide) making it the biggest film hit of the year, which is an amazing feat considering it’s the fourth film in a disregarded franchise.

Think about it. Of the three Jurassic Park films, only the first one is considered a classic, while the two that followed are seen as inferior, even though Steven Spielberg, the director of the first film, helmed the second one. The last film, Jurassic Park III, came out fourteen years ago and is a weak entry in the series. With such diminishing returns, the amount of time since Jurassic Park III came out and the thin credentials of Jurassic World’s director, Colin Trevorrow, not much was expected of the fourth film.

In fact, when the trailers first started making their way through the Internet, many kept snarking about how fake the dinosaurs looked and how dumb the idea was that the film had trained Velociraptors. The Summer of 2015 was supposed to belong to Avengers: Age of Ultron, remember that film? Well, to say that Jurassic World defied expectations is a gross understatement.

The question is why is it so successful? There are many reasons and theories. There’s nostalgia for the first film, which has endured for all this time and broken gyronow the second film has come around to being recognized as a worthwhile sequel. So the public appetite was there for more adventures at Isla Nublar. Another reason has to do with the universal (no pun intended) appeal of dinosaurs. Out of a crowded summer schedule filled with superheroes and explosions, the sight of majestic and deadly dinosaurs was welcomed by those wanting something different. This leads to another reason; maybe the public is getting tired of superhero films. Avengers: Age of Ultron was over-marketed just like last year’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and although it was a huge success it didn’t match the original film in terms of quality and box office returns. The likely culprit for that has to do with that film’s merits and word of mouth. Then that leads to a final point, the word of mouth about Jurassic World and weaker-than-expected competition gave the film legs.

irex rampageBut the underlining reason for its success is that it’s a downright fun and well-made film. Jurassic World doesn’t have any pretensions and it isn’t a perfect film, but it accomplishes what it was supposed to do, being thrilling and entertaining. The textbook example of a summer film. Some may think it’s too early to declare Jurassic World the King of the Summer, but consider what’s left; Terminator: Genisys, Fantastic Four, Pixels. Seriously, can anyone expect these films to fire the imagination? Maybe Ant-Man and Minions will be contenders, but as of now Jurassic World rules the summer!

Waldermann Rivera

 

Jun 23 2015

Meet The New Spider-Man

new spideySony Pictures and Marvel Studios just announced that young actor Tom Holland will now play Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the next film in the popular superhero series.

Additionally, the studios also chose Jon Watts to direct the new Spider-Man reboot. Watts’ film work includes Cop Car and Clown. Even though Watts has a limited film directing resume, both studios proclaimed their confidence in the director. Marvel Studios honcho Keven Feige said, “As with James Gunn, Joss Whedon, and the Russo brothers, we love finding new and exciting voices to bring these characters to life.  We spent a lot of time with Jon and find his take and work inspiring.”

Tom Holland, however, has a how i live nowmore well-known body of work. He appeared in the genre film How I Live Now and won notice for his work in the disaster film The Impossible and will appear in the upcoming Ron Howard film In the Heart of the Sea.

Former Sony head, Amy Pascal, who will produce the Spider-Man reboot had this to say about young Holland, “Sony, Marvel, Kevin and I all knew that for Peter Parker, we had to find a vibrant, talented young actor capable of embodying one of the most well-known characters in the world.  With Tom, we’ve found the perfect actor to bring Spider-Man’s story into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.”

The hiring of Holland brings to a close an intense search for a new actor to take up the Spider-Man mantle, which seemed like a daunting task. After the disappointing reaction to The Amazing Spider-Man 2 last year, Sony knew it needed to reinvigorate the franchise. The best option for them was to integrate Marvel’s most popular superhero into the super popular and successful Marvel Cinematic Universe. This year’s early announcement that this would happen raised anticipation for the next incarnation of Spider-Man.

spidey civil warEven though the next Spider-Man film won’t come out until July 28, 2017, he will appear in next year’s Captain America: Civil War, which is currently filming. Holland is 19 years old and young enough to believably portray a struggling high school student. By the time more films in the franchise come out Holland will still be relatively young compared to previous actors who played the superhero. What’s more important is that Tom Holland has the acting chops needed to bring the role to life and bring his own unique spin. Now the wait is to see who plays the supporting characters, not to mention how the new costume will look like.

Lewis T. Grove

 

 

Jun 22 2015

Jaws: The Film That Changed The Summers

jaws photo

Forty years ago, on June 20 to be exact, Jaws premiered in theaters and forever changed the summer film environment. Before Jaws came along and scared recreational swimmers out of the waters, summer film schedules were filled with lightweight, forgettable fare. Most often they were aimed at children who needed something to do in the summer. The theaters were terrific time killers and babysitters for parents so off the little ones went. Though there have been big hit films that were released during summers none of them had the effect that Jaws had.

Based on the eponymous novel by Peter Benchley, Jaws was a one of Steven Spielberg’s earliest films and a breakout hit for the then-young director. A nature/horror film, Jaws was about a New England beach community being terrorized by a monstrous great white shark that decided to use the sleepy town’s popular beach for a feeding ground. The novel was terrifying enough, but the film brought the visceral horror of the shark to vivid life and stating that it was a huge hit is an understatement.

brody v shark

As someone who was around when the film first came out, I can testify that the film was a genuine blockbuster. There were literal lines of anxious moviegoers that went around blocks waiting to see this film. In this day and age of multiplexes that jam several theaters with the same film, this is unheard of. Sure, there would be a line, but usually that would be on opening weekends and they hardly snake around blocks like in the old days.

As with many films since, Jaws tapped into the public consciousness in a certain way and the film had a distinct impact past the movie theaters. Unfortunately, it wasn’t so positive. Aside from the ripoff horror/nature films that followed (Grizzly, Orca, Tentacles, etc.), sharks received a very bad reputation and people went out of their way to hunt down and kill the aquatic predators, bringing down their population. People were terrified of going into the water. Their overactive imaginations kept playing scenarios of them becoming shark attack victims. This fear still persists today, but it’s more balanced as we celebrate Jaws’ 4oth anniversary.

Jaws is so revered thanks to the skills of Steven Spielberg who assembled a topnotch team both in front and behind jaws castthe camera. Who can forget the stellar performances by Roy Scheider as Sheriff Brody, the everyman law officer out of his element? Or Richard Dreyfuss as Hooper the hippie marine biologist who clashed with Quint, the salty fisherman so terrifically played by Robert Shaw? The conversations and arguments between the three are beloved and often copied and honored by other films. The line uttered by Brody when he first sights the humongous shark “You’re gonna need a bigger boat” is beyond legendary.

That scene itself sold the film for me as a youngster. I actually screamed and ripped up my popcorn bag when the shark first popped it’s mechanical head out of the water as Brody was shoveling chum into the water. I never expected to see the shark because I thought that all that would be shown was just a fin. Yes, the shark is an obvious fake, but no one cares. Spielberg, stuck with malfunctioning shark robots, was forced to make do with less and it worked. So when the shark finally appears in the gripping final act, we the audience are both relieved at having finally seen the white terror and invigorated by the music, the editing and camera work. Again, Spielberg is rightfully credited for using John Williams, who came up with the famous film score, Verna Fields for the crisp editing and Bill Butler for the beautiful cinematography.

chum

It’s hard to imagine how the film would’ve turned out if another director was used. And remember the film was so plagued with problems that Spielberg was almost fired. It’s a good thing that didn’t happen.

With Jaws’ success (it was the number one movie of all time until Star Wars came along), film studios realized what a gold mine the summer season was and soon enough we began to see the big-event films coming out in the summer. That pattern is still in effect today and will likely stay that way for a long time. Some snobs may decry this and proclaim that these blockbusters are for empty-headed masses. They’ve tried to blame Jaws for this, but they overlook the fact that Jaws is simply a great, edge-of-your-seat adventure film. That is why it has endured and I’m thankful because without Jaws we wouldn’t have so many memorable summer films.

Waldermann Rivera