America Needs Derren Brown

Aside from a short lived SciFi Channel series called Mind Control with Derren Brown and random shorts, there is not much access to British illusionist/mentalist Derren Brown. He is a brilliant and talented performer. With a strong blend of science (Psychology, sociology, etc,) and showmanship, Derren Brown's shows can blow your mind. Most recently, his new series, The Experiments, is airing on the UK's Channel 4. Here's a little something to whet your appetite:

Also my favorite from a few years back, featuring Paul star, Simon Pegg:

Does anyone else think someone here in the US should license this so we can at least check these out on DVD?

Paranormal Activity 3 Review

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

What You Need to Know: The next sequel/prequel of the vastly popular ghost horror series. Once again, this film takes us back into the past. The year is 1988 and we meet young sisters (Katie and Kristi from Parts One and Two respectively), their mother (Julie), and their step-father Dennis. Creepy noises and strange happenings ensue.

Also, if the trailer is what made you want to watch this, know this: many of the scenes of the trailer are either not in the film or changed slightly. In my opinion, that is a phenomenal idea because you get a sense of the film and what it is about, but the best scares are not spoiled in the trailer. In contrast, the first two films managed to use the climax for both of their trailers, respectively.

Technical Stuff: The films' director/creator, Oren Peli, is a master of building suspense to almost painful trepidation. I'm an avid fan of the more paranormal and psychological horror movies as opposed to gore porn such as Saw and Hostel. I understand the anticipation and timing of a good shock in horror films', but at several points in the film, Peli holds that timing a little longer. I found myself mentally calling the shock and then waiting just a bit more for it to come. What does that do to an audience? In those seconds, it makes the moment that much more uncomfortable and suspenseful before allowing for a release through scream or laughter. That scream or laughter is up to your personality. (I laugh.)

As made clear in the trailer, this sequel is another prequel and I was left apprehensive. At many points in the film, I am left wondering why are these people lugging around huge video cameras. Especially in the climax, this feels awkward and unnecessary. I forgave this in the first film due to the time period. It is set in the mid aughts ('06 to be exact). The YouTube generation was just beginning and users were posting some of the most mundane videos from life. The second film did away with most of the handheld by using security cameras mounted throughout the house, but strained the use of the camera in the climax. Now, the third film falls back almost twenty years. A MacGuyver'ed (actually referenced) fan is utilized for an interesting, if somewhat unbelievable, panning mount.

The prequel aspect also doesn't work due to story. I enjoyed the story building from the previous two films, but I felt it only worked to affirm assumptions of the past films. I'm more curious as to what has happened to Katie and baby Hunter. The end of this film feels inevitable, where the others were a bit more surprising.

Finally, I will return to the positive and say that the male lead is the most compelling of the three male leads. Micah, in the first film, is very cynical. He taunts the demon, and considers much of the activity a joke while Katie's fears intensify. In the second, Dan does not believe any of the ghost talk. He is a very caring father, but he ignores the possibility of a haunting. And when he finally believes, he decides to pass the buck onto Katie. Not the most heroic move, by any means. On the flip side of these two, Dennis is loving to Julie and the girls. He completely believes what is happening and actually spares Julie from most of the activity caught on tape.

In Summary: This movie is well-paced and extremely suspenseful. There are some moments that stretch suspension of disbelief very thin, but it still manages to raise hairs on the back of your neck. I would definitely suggest this film as a Halloween fright night feature, especially if you enjoyed the first two. The first film is the best of the three, but the third lives up to much of the hype. 

Avengers 2 Takeover

The Avengers is still about half a year away, but over the weekend, Marvel Studios' President of Production, Kevin Feige, spoke about the next set of films following The Avengers. Iron Man 3 will be the first in the pipeline (due for release in May 2013) and part of what Feige called "Phase Two of this Avenger Assemble talk".So Iron Man 3 will lead to Avengers 2, as will Thor 2 and the films currently in development.

Personally, I think Marvel is making a huge mistake. I enjoyed this build toward The Avengers in the current Marvel films, but as evidenced in Iron Man 2, too much extraneous info can pull a film down. I argue constantly with friends that Iron Man 2 was actually a pretty good movie. It was simply mired down by the heavy-handed presence of Nick Fury and SHIELD. Black Widow could have worked on her own. In fact, the revelation of her involvement with SHIELD could have been saved for the after credit sequence.

Furthermore, Avengers will now be its own established franchise. Allow all the franchises to build and grow on their own merit. Let Iron Man 3 be its own film where Tony Stark has to face the threat of the Ten Rings Cult. In Thor 2, let Thor face another threat from Norse mythology (Hela, Surtur) or other pantheons on other worlds (Ares). Captain America 2 should explore Captain America in the present and the modern Hydra. Captain America most closely allows for SHIELD and build up toward the Avengers. Should it ever be made, Incredible Hulk 2 should feature the Hulk fighting other Gamma threats. The Leader was teased with the inclusion of Samuel Stern and his exposure to Hulk's Gamma bleed-off. He could be the mastermind in the background like the Mandarin potentially hides behind the Ten Rings Cult.

Does Whatever A Spider Can...

NYCC is here and news is making its way onto the... dun dun dun... internet. I could've made a web joke there, but spared you this time. The most interesting tidbit to me as a comic fan born of the nineties is a new Scarlet Spider series which had been teased in Marvel's Point One ad campaign. I'm going to avoid spoiling too much about Amazing Spider-man #671, but seeing the ad, it became fairly obvious who was taking the role of the Scarlet Spider after the events of that issue. I do have to say that I am not a fan of the costume. Take a look:

Interestingly, I did a redesign for Project: Rooftop's Spider-man redesign contest. In my design I played with the black mask and red eyes, but here I think the eyes take up too much of the mask. The red takes over the costume, which works for SCARLET Spider, but I wish the black didn't end at the collar bone. Hopefully a better view will become available so I can make a little more sense of what's going on.

Can AMC Do It Again?

I'm referring to the success of AMC's various series. And soon they will be premiering their newest original series, Hell on Wheels. Check out the trailer:

I am a fan of Westerns, but this series is taking that time period and moving the setting closer to the east coast. It will be interesting to see if this series has as good of a cast as it appears, and continues AMC's run of remarkable television. Soon enough they won't have room for movies. Check it out on November 6th on AMC. (Not even getting paid to plug.)

Counting Down

Batman: Arkham Asylum is in my opinion one of the greatest iterations of Batman. It takes the source materials seriously and the gameplay is fun and challenging. Other Batman iterations I put in that list are The Dark Knight (film), Batman: TAS (cartoon), and The Long Halloween (comic). Now, on the 18th, game developer Rocksteady is prepared to release the highly anticipated sequel, Batman: Arkham City. I look forward to not only being able to play as Batman, but also Robin and Catwoman, and eventually Nightwing (even if it's only in challenge maps. So expect some kind of review on Tuesday or the days following. Check out the final trailer:

And yes... that is Bane fighting WITH Batman. Cannot wait.

On the topic of counting down, over at Bleeding Cool, Rich Johnston and his team have been covering the recent exploits of real-life superhero, Phoenix Jones. Here's the basics: Phoenix was arrested for assault, but video evidence proved he was attempting to break up a street fight. If you want more details, check it out here and here. The most recent update in this saga, Phoenix Jones has revealed his identity to the public and invited people to patrol the streets of Seattle with him. So what does this all have to do with counting down? Well, Phoenix was already working with Rainn Wilson on a reality show (as revealed in a surprise visit to the Nerdist podcast), but this story could turn into something big. Time will tell... and I am waiting.

In The News... Yesterday

I was busy with both school and work (feels weird to write that at 25), so wasn't really able to check the feed and post anything so here's a little digest.

The Muppets Take-Over
The Muppets have been making the rounds on the internet for months promoting the new movie. AMC Theaters has jumped in on the action, but the big news of yesterday was the trailer:

So in the new film, three fans of the Muppets trek to Los Angeles to find that their heroes are no longer the Hollywood big shots they once were. After getting the gang back together, they are on a mission to regain their fame. Cameos and musical numbers abound. That sounds fantastic. Then I watched this trailer and saw the "Mooppets" (sp?). The hell? From my understanding, this is a work of love of Jason Segel's, but there's a twinge of Disney dumbing the movie down. That's definitely something to remain wary about, but I'm still eager to watch it.

Hammer Time
I will someday think of something else clever when it comes to Thor, but until then what you get is "hammer time."

...

Anyway, I consider Thor to be just below The Incredible Hulk on the scale of Iron Man to Iron Man 2. While I've loved all of Marvel's movie, I felt Thor was lacking a little something. Perhaps it was too weighed down by the split between Asgard and Earth. If they were trying to limit the absurdity of Asgard, they should have gone the Ultimate road and questioned Thor's validity as a Norse god. But the plus side of the film, was the performances of Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston. I attribute some of that to Kenneth Branagh's direction, but due to Marvel Studios' strict release schedule (more on that later) a new director has been sought out. Confirmed yesterday, is the director of Monster, Patty Jenkins.Monster was another film where incredible performances were present, but that was a very particular kind of film. The rest of Jenkins' work (according to IMDB) does not endear me to her taking over, except for the single episode of Arrested Development which still does not completely match up to Thor.

Also, in Thor movie news, Disney has decided The Lone Ranger is a better summer blockbuster. What does that have to do with Thor you say? Well, this has forced Disney to push Thor's release date November 15, 2013. I'm not exactly a fan of forcing a release date on these films. Look at what the time constraint did to Captain America and Iron Man 2. Neither was as good as they should have been. It's the classic comic book convention of editorial mandates. "You'll have your movie out by this time and they have to push our ensemble event." Captain America obviously avoided most of it, having taken place in the past, but it was still present. But back to the topic at hand, the extra few months for Thor may be a blessing.

Pacific Rim
Speaking of scheduling shifts, Guillermo del Toro's Godzilla and the Monsters film was been pushed up a couple months to May where it will compete with films like Iron Man 2, Fast 6, and the aforementioned The Lone Ranger.

And Finally...
The red band American Reunion trailer has bee released. It focuses on Jason Biggs and Alyson Hannigan. Here it is:

I liked the first American Pie film. It came at the perfect time for all the gags they pulled. I was getting ready to go to high school, and hormones were raging. Nowadays, the gags seem juvenile (especially the one in the trailer). I think it will be interesting to see where all the characters have gone, including the ones who got left out of the sequels. Otherwise, I can put this in a category with the direct-to-DVD America Pie spin-offs. Read into that what you will.

Small Recap of the Evening's News

11th Man
As Yahoo! Sports points out, the inspiring game-winning interception on the Raiders week 5 victory over Houston has an even more interesting twist. The Oakland Raiders, who lost Al Davis the day before, had gained the lead late in the fourth quarter. Houston marched back up the field. Within the red zone and seconds left to score the game winning touchdown, Houston lined up on the offense. Oakland lined up on defense - shy one man. With 10 men on the field, the Raiders put pressure on Matt Schaub. On the run, Schaub threw the ball, and Michael Huff stepped in for the interception. Totally by accident, Oakland has Al Davis on the field as their 11th man. Gotta love those Raiders.

Bardem on Bond
With the next Bond film edging closer and closer to reality, more and more news arises. The most recent? Javier Bardem has been cast as the next Bond villain. All I have to say is, "What an incredible choice." Bardem was fantastic in No Country for Old Men. Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace were both fantastic films. Similar to my thoughts on the Voltron short earlier, I enjoy the seriousness being taken with this franchise. No more camp. Bond is a hard as nails superspy. Following the last film, he is beginning to delve into the criminal organization, Quantum, which I hope will eventually lead him to Blofeld.

Voltron meets Battlestar

Check out this live action short directed by Alex Albrecht:

I enjoy shorts like these. They show the love and dedication of a source material without much of the Hollywood trappings. Look back to Mortal Kombat Rebirth. It had its faults for sure, but it took the source material seriously the way fans would want to see it. It wasn't over the top camp like the Mortal Kombat movies. Even Mortal Kombat: Legacy managed to keep from becoming campy save for a few episodes. Batman: Dead End is another example of respecting the source material and then expanding it.

Back to the real topic at hand. This was an extremely well done live action short for Voltron. It is also something that I could imagine SyFy doing. The short left me thinking of Battlestar Galactica in its tone and the way it was shot. Timothy Omundson does a fantastic job playing this straight.Kudos to Mr. Albrecht ad best of luck in the future.

Comics This Week

Wednesdays mark the day of the week that new comic books are scheduled for release. And for those of you who know me, comic books is first and foremost on my nerd radar. So I'm going to try to keep you appraised of the comics I am looking forward to for the week and why. It won't be a comprehensive list of books I'm reading, but just the ones that truly piques my interest.

On the New 52 side of things:

Deathstroke #2: This series is working to (re)establish Deathstroke in the new universe and due to last issue's very dark ending, I'm interested to see how he continues to carve his niche into a world where the history of the Teen Titans (which he is deeply tied) is sort of up in the air.

Suicide Squad #2: This comic is one of the stand-outs in the reimaginings. I saw the redesigns and thought it looked ridiculous, but the writing is really where this series stands out. You get a new sense of Deadshot and Harley Quinn, and you're introduced to El Diablo. I look forward to their first mission and learning more of the other characters.

Superboy #2: I will start by saying Superboy will always be my favorite character. The best version to me was during Peter David's run on Young Justice. Geoff Johns did some cool stuff during Teen Titans and later in his solo. This new series has taken Superboy back to his roots and I'm curious as to how similar he will be to the animated version on CN's Young Justice because they seem very similar.

And Marvel:

Ultimate Spider-man #3: Miles Morales is an interesting new character. The slow burn of Bendis' writing has me waiting for Miles to put on the costume. In the long term, I can't wait to see what new villains arise and what old villains do in reaction to the return of a Spider-man.

Punisher #4: I have been really enjoying Marvel's Big Shots releases. Punisher has always had an on-and-off relationship with the rest of the Marvel universe. Recently, Franken-Castle was a strange sign of the negative side of that relationship. This new series keeps Frank far enough on the periphery that it makes sense and doesn't come off as too over the top.

X-Men: Regenesis #1: X-Men Schism was an interesting look at the ideals of the X-Men. The X-Men has consistently worked its way toward being a military force, but I always enjoyed when it was a school. Seeing the split between Cyclops and Wolverine reminds me of the classic split of Magneto and Professor X. Watching how this plays out should prove fun.

Although I don't read too much outside of the Big Two, I was surprised to see nothing really stand out from the other publishers.

Avengers Assemble Officially in Trailer Form

Well the first Official trailer for the Avengers is out. Here it is:

Well I can tell it's going to be a lot of fun action. The little dialogue that is delivered is well done and in character. Still don't know how I feel about Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner especially since Edward Norton did such a fantastic job. As expected Robert Downey Jr. steals much of the show, but much can change in the the actual feature.

Something I noticed in recently watching the special features of Thor, Loki is very dark and brooding. While there is that aspect of him in the comics, I wish they showed him enjoying himself a little more. Loki is the god of mischief. He shouldn't be delivering these melodramatic villainous monologues. He should be the man in the background. He should have the wit that Tony Stark when he actually does. He should smile and smirk!

And theories based on the trailer, there is a scene where Thor attacks Captain America. Two possible explanations exist. This is either the scene when Thor returns to Earth and Cap is there to greet him, or one of them is a Skrull. Either one makes me happy.

News of the Day

I was just reflecting on the news of the day.

Netflix stays Netflix
The folks at Netflix realized what a terrible idea it was to split the company and decided to leave the company as is. It just makes sense. Unlike many people, I understood the need to raise prices. Yes, it was essentially a sixty percent increase on the same product they've been providing, but even at their current price it is a bargain compared to the old fashioned rental system of yesteryear. Redbox is edging in on Netflix's market, but what Redbox lacks is convenience and live-streaming. The Qwikster controversy had me questioning Netflix's decision-making because they ignored the convenience and efficiency of the one site. In the articles I've read, I've seen no mention of the game rentals that were mentioned as part of Qwikster. I imagine Netflix will continue down that path, but don't be surprised if there is another plan offered for games.

R-Rated Wolverine
I think this would be fantastic, but it will never happen. This is all talk from Hugh Jackman during press junkets for Real Steel. The studio, who holds the majority of the decision making power, would not waste money on an R-rated release especially after the initial failure of Wolverine Origins. An R-rated version on Blu-Ray and DVD would be possible, but it wouldn't be able to change too much. Probably just more graphic violence and some added cursing.

Real Steel Review

Seeing as this is my first movie review, let me explain some of the method of my madness. 

1) Rating: Pretty straight forward. On a scale of 0-5, what did I think of the movie.

2) What You Need to Know: I hate spoilers. Even if something's been out for some time, not everyone has seen it. Also, no matter how long something's been out, it is always someone's first time seeing it. I will give you the most basic knowledge of the plot you need to want to watch the movie. At most, I might take you to the inciting incident, but really this is stuff you should know from the trailers.

3) Techical Stuff: This is where I really break down where the rating came from.

4) In Summary: Do I need to explain this?

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

What You Need to Know: Based on a 1956 short story by Richard Mathison, Real Steel is a father-and-son story set in the world of robot-fighting. Hugh Jackman plays Charlie Kenton, a former professional boxer. Charlie has a knack for amassing debt which leads to him taking care of his estranged 11-year-old son, Max (Dakota Goyo), in what may be the skeeziest plans imaginable. After losing yet another fight, Charlie takes Max to the robot junkyard where Max discovers Atom, a G2 sparring bot. Boxing movie tropes take over from here. Oh yeah, and Charlie is into his late trainer's daughter Bailey (Evangline Lily). That's all you need to know if you are thinking about checking this out.

Technical Stuff: I'll start this by saying Charlie Kenton is not a likable guy. In "Save the Cat" by Blake Snyder, he explains the concept of saving the cat as a single scene that explores the positive qualities of the protagonist in order to endear them to the audience. I'm paraphrasing but I hope you get the point. Charlie Kenton doesn't really have one of those moments until halfway through the movie, and even then he acts like a bit of a jerk. I found myself mostly rooting for the robot, who really had not emotional resonance aside from being the underdog.

The CGI is also considerably well done. I could only call shenanigans on one moment of CGI in which flames were involved, but I can excuse it because fire is still one of those tricky things to do with computers and the moment really is fleeting. I'm just the kind of guy to catch the sort of thing.

I'm not sure who to give more credit to for the wonderful camera work and smart shot composition. But kudos to both Mauro Fiore and Shawn Levy for creating some great images. Something as simple as the framing when Charlie and Max first meet was inspired and I'm happy to see that forethought in what could easily have been a run-of-the-mill sci-fi movie.

In Summary: Real Steel is in a category of movie I call "fun movies." Fun movies are not great or masterful by any standard. I wouldn't hold a fun movie to the standard of the original Star Wars, Godfather, or The Dark Knight, but it's something that I would put on TV in the background. So, Real Steel? Should you watch it? If you are in the mood to laugh and see some cool things with friend, I say yes. If you want the next Oscar worthy film, pass it and watch 50/50!

Welcome to the Pang

This is my blog. I will use it to post my opinions about current goings on. At first, it will be on an as-needed basis, but eventually I will be updating on a daily basis. So let's get to it.