Movie Review: "The Iron Lady"

Meryl Streep won her 3rd oscar for "The Iron Lady," in which she portrayed famed British prime minister Margaret Thatcher. Streep acted very well, portraying Thatcher throughout her later career, and primarily in her more recent years suffering with dementia. And that's where the film fails. It focuses so much on Thatcher and her dementia, and touches only on glimpses of her earlier life and career in politics. I didn't know much about Thatcher going in, and I only perhaps only a bit more coming out. It's a shame, because I was hoping this would be more of a biography. As it is, it's a focus on an aging world leader, with the film structured as if she's remembering flashbacks of her life. Good acting, but a letdown of a film.

Comics Review: The Return Of Captain America

In preparation for "The Avengers," I read the original "Avengers #1," and just read the pivotal story, a few issues later, where long gone hero Captain America is found again. In popular media, the story of how he's found differs. Often, the Avengers find him, sometimes via the Hulk, as in the "Ultimate Avengers" animated film, and the "Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes" TV series. In the "Captain America" film, it seems that SHIELD located him; supposedly in the "Incredible Hulk" novel, it's said that Hulk uncovers Cap after being chased around. This is yet to be confirmed in the cinematic marvel universe.

As for how the real story behind Cap's discovery was made, it's a bit different. It seems that the Avengers, with Hulk on  board, were battling Namor. At some point, Namor left the battle, and went swimming around and thinking. Accidentally, he ended up finding some "primitive" people worshiping a figure in ice. In a show of power, Namor tossed the ice figure aside, and the figure drifted into some warm water, and thawed out. The Avengers were flying over the thawed body, brought it on board, and soon discovered not only was it Cap, but he was also awakening. Cap, after a few seconds, somehow knew he was twenty years into the future.... you'd think he'd be a bit more shocked. Then, he recounted how, in a mission to stop a plane with drones, Bucky got on the plane first, but Cap couldn't hold on. As he fell, he saw the plane explode, figured Bucky was dead, and landed in icy water. Then, he woke up on the Avengers' plane.

The Avengers let Cap rest, while they went outside to deal with the press after their battle with Namor. Suddenly, they turned to stone. Cap came out, found them missing, saw some oddly posed Avengers statues, and went to rest some more. Rick Jones finds Cap, and convinces him to help find the missing heroes. Cap looks at some pictures from the press event, sees a shady guy with a gun, and he, Rick, and Rick's friends eventualy locate the guy, who's actually an alien. The alien has a gun ray, and looks so similar to the mythical medusa, it's hinted that he is what gave rise to that myth. The alien stated his ship is at the bottom of an ocean, and Namor promised to give it to him if he froze the Avengers. Cap promises to help if he un-stones them, so he does, and then Namor (after recruiting some fellow seamen) fights them. Eventually Cap joins in, saves the day, the alien ship leaves, and Cap is welcomed to the team.

Overall, a much more exciting story than "Avengers #1," and it's neat that they brought Cap into the team. Also, Jack Kirby drew the issue, and Stan Lee wrote it, and it seems from the get-go, they figured it'd be a classic; it says just about as much on the cover.

Prepping for "The Avengers"

This article at AICN gives a rundown of how to prepare for the days leading up to "The Avengers." Some suggestions are good, but some can definitely be improved. For instance, he feels that one should watch "The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes," read the "Avengers" prequel comic, play the "Avengers" facebook game, read "Iron Man: Extremis," and watching the "Avengers" 1970s what-if movie trailer on youtube.

I agree with the TV show, which is stellar and focuses on some of the major "Avengers" storylines from back in the day, from what I've read about. I also agree with reading the prequel comic, of course, as I think it'll enhance the experience and story, hopefully without any spoilers. However, the facebook game I can do without, and one time was enough for that 1970s trailer. And while "Extremis" isn't a bad idea, in case there's a hint towards "Iron Man 3" in the film, there's a few better things to be done. First, comixology has the very first "Avengers" comic, as well as the pivotal issue when Captain America is found and joins the team. Those should be essential pre-film reading, just to appreciate the history behind the film. Also, comixology had a sale on some thor comics, including the seven or so issues of a loki comic, which helps explain his point of view on events. I think that's going to be some good reading as well. 

Of course, the author of the video post linked above said he's seen the marvel films so many times, so he wanted to offer some novel advice on what to do before the film. But a marvel movie marathon is definitely in order. I was trying to figure out what order to watch them in, seeing as they all sort of tie in. "Captain America" is definitely first, followed by "Iron Man." It seems like "Iron Man 2" comes next, but during the events of that film, the first parts of "Thor" and "The Incredible Hulk" occur. Based on the image above, taken from http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/HorsemenWanted/news/?a=58521, it seems that "Thor" ends shortly before "Hulk" ends. I think my viewing order's going to be: CA, IM, IM2, IH, and finally thor, which makes sense as it'll lead most nicely into "The Avengers," with loki as the villain and all.

Assemble: t minus 1 week

It's only a week (actually less) until The Avengers hits theaters, and we finally see the whole team assemble on screen. Or, if you're in the UK, you can already see their retitled film, Avengers Assemble. I'm to excited to see it, I feel like I'm gonna explode. Or implode. It's just hard to believe that we are seeing something on this scale. It's not like X-men, where these characters are known for being part of a team. We've seen different films with each of these heroes, and now we get to see them all together for a big, huge, world-saving battle. So many questions as well. How does loki return? From the cosmic cube? How does thor come back, with the bifrost down? Are those aliens actually skrull or kree? And will there be any hints towards upcoming films, especially IM2? This is a big event for comic book movie fans everywhere I think, and I'm looking immensely forward to seeing it.

Dark And Moody Heroes?

Here, one comic book and movie fan feels that these films should adopt a much lighter tone, a la the 1960s batman movie. I'm not sure I agree with that assessment, not most of it a least. I do think Nolan's take on batman was fantastic. It was dark and broody, but it hit the core of Bruce Wayne. The movie itself was almost an analogy to Wayne's own self. It took itself seriously, but for batman, that works. Sure, it's called the tumbler, but so what? This author focused on small things. I don't want to see batman holding a bomb running down a boardwalk, 1960s style. I prefer my heroes, for the most part, to have a struggle, to really have odds both personal and superhuman to overcome.

Should superman be dark and brooding? No. That's not the character. Superman and Captain America are like the extreme on the good spectrum. Tough but fair, you watch them because they embody the qualities of an ideal story hero. Iron Man, Batman, Hulk.... these guys aren't perfect, they have baggage (alcoholism, death, and anger respectively), but their flaws are what make them enticing.

As for spidey, I don't think the Sam Raimi films grounded him in reality. Actually, it felt the most true to a real life comic book. This author is confusing comic book with camp. Sure, the older Batman film was funny, but it's not the type of hero we need, but it's the one that author deserves.

Look at the comics. Our stories have matured with the times. If you read the first avengers comic, it's a struggle to truly enjoy. There's little motivation behind the villains, the heroes are so heroic it's kinda nauseating, and I never really felt a connection to them. Contrast to those same characters now, where they're more nuanced and complex.



I guess it's a personal choice. I like the movies the way they are now. Yes, "thor" was grounded in reality, and a lot of time was spent on earth. But don't we need to see why he cares this much about midgard? If he's going to leave his own world to defend ours with his life, we need to know why. And we got a lot of time on asgard. And his criticism that the bifrost should've been called the rainbow bridge? Bifrost was the term from Norse mythology, and why does it matter? Frost giants, powerful hammers, huge destroying machines, and illusions aren't fantastical enough?



And he says captain america was considered boring because he never changed. Honestly, that's sorta true, but that's who he is. A man who sticks to his morals. That's the movie you should see about him, not something dark and Nolan-esque. We need all types of heroes and villains. Extreme good (captain america, superman), flawed good (stark, wayne), flawed bad (magneto, ra's al ghul, loki) and pure bad (red skull, venom). That's what makes the world of comics so diverse.



I feel like that guys just trying to pick at something that's not that bad. Some superhero movies definitely are, but his argument of PG-style nearly flawless heroes over nuanced ones is a losing one, to me.

Comics Review: "Civil War" #1 and #2

"Civil War" is one of the marvel comics crossover events taking place after "House of M," in which most mutants have been depowered. This doesn't stop some young hotshots from the group New Warriors to try and thwart villainy, reality-TV style. Unfortunately, they underestimate the guts of one of their foes in a fight in Stamford, CT, and his foe, Nitro, blows himself up, taking himself, most of the New Warriors, and a few hundred school children with him, not to mention most of the city.

Understandably concerned, the government pushes for superhumans to register themselves publicly, undergo formal training, and work as salaried officers of SHIELD. After an encounter with a grieving mother, Tony Stark decides to support the movement, alone with Mr. Fantastic and Hank Pym, now called Yellowjacket. When Maria Hill, acting head of SHIELD, tries to get Captain America to join and bring to justice those against the act, he goes AWOL with Sam Wilson, aka Falcon, along with others.

As the second issue picks up, the registration act is passed, and we see Tony truly hoping he made the right decision. We don't see what Captain America is up to initially, but then see he's gone to rescue the Young Avengers. Apparently Nick Fury, who's the only person with like 33rd level clearance, knows of some secret SHIELD bases, and allows the resistance to headquarter there. We do know Mr. Fantastic is up to something, something labeled "42." And at the very end, in a major turn of events, Peter Parker unmasks himself live in from of a waiting public, one of the first very open supporters of the new act.

How will his play a role into future events? Will Peter, Mary Jane, and Aunt May be in trouble? And on a larger scale, what will happen to the resistance? How can they ever convince the public that heroes should be unregulated and hiding behind masks?

This series is raising some interesting questions. It makes you wonder which side you'd be on. I feel like I would end up being on Tony's side. Superheroes are humans with powers, and humans are flawed. Some are genuinely good, like Captain America, but there are many others who have not-so-good intentions. We need a system to regulate them, make sure there's some sort of official order. Yes, maybe it means a giving up civil liberties, but what kind of security do we have when people can hide behind a mask and use super powers as they see fit for the greater good? It's a dangerous world, and regulation is definitely a step in the right direction. However, it places these heroes and their families at risk, which is another concern. Many military officers are hidden, especially spies, and for good reason. It helps keep their families safe, and superheroes need the same sort of thing. So it's a tricky issue, and I can't wait to see how it plays out.

Movie Review: "The Adventures of Tintin"

One of the last animated films to be released last year, "The Adventures of Tintin" is Spielberg's take on a classic comic strip. The story features a young news reporter, Tintin, and his dog, Snowy, as they are tossed into an adventure involving pirates, sunken treasure, and the search for three lost scrolls. The film is filmed in motion-capture style, which to me is not the ideal for animation. It looks nice at certain points, especially the environment, but the characters themselves are halfway between animation and real life. To me, it's too jarringly unrealistic while trying to be realistic. That being said, it actually did look nice, and the story itself was so captivating that it made up for any issues I personally had with the animation style. It was a really interesting story, a mystery, and the characters themselves were quite intriguing. The best were the supporting characters of Thompson and Thompson, who provided a good deal of comic relief. John Williams's score was typical style for him, and certain parts were reminiscent of both "Indiana Jones" and the space battle above the moon of Endor from "Return of the Jedi." This film was overlooked by the academy, I feel; instead, they went with relative nonsense like "Kung Fu Panda 2." To me, this was definitely a well-done and exciting work of animation, and helped introduce me to a classic character I knew very little about beforehand.

Smiling Through Sadness

On the latest episode of "Modern Family," entitled "The Last Walt," Claire kept smiling while telling people that their elderly neighbor, Walt, passed away. I can totally relate; when talking about not-so-happy stuff, I also tend to smile a lot. I guess it's a way of trying to diffuse the overall negative air, and a way to cope. I wonder if a lot of other people do that.

Film Review: "12 Angry Men"

"12 Angry Men" is one of the first films by famed director Sidney Lumet, and focuses on a jury deliberating over a murder case. The case in question is an 18-year-old boy, who stabbed his father and ran away. During the court proceedings, which we do not see, the court presents two witnesses: an elderly man who hears the boy threaten his father, hears a thump, and sees the boy run down the stairs. The second is a woman across the street, who sees the boy stab his father while an elevated train was passing.

As the movie begins, we see the jury dismissed and enter their jury room. This film should be an example of how one doesn't need fancy sets to wow the audience and keep them captivated. The vast majority of the film takes place in one single jury room, and the story and characters are enough to engage the audience for the entire running time.

As I suppose is customary, a vote is taken at the start, and 11 of 12 jurors found the boy guilty. Only one, an architect, was not sure; he wanted to discuss the case more, to see if there's anything they missed. As the jurors go over the evidence, we see that some are adamantly against the kid from the start, others are more ambivalent, and one just wants the game over and done with, so they can watch a baseball game. Yet as the case goes into more detail, we realize the knife the boy used wasn't as unique as they thought; the old man suffered a stroke, and likely didn't see the boy run down the stairs in time; the woman across the street needed glasses and likely didn't clearly see the murder.

The movie leaves us without an answer. Sure, the jury reached a unanimous consensus, but we don't know if the boy did it. But the story isn't about that. It's about the differing viewpoint of all these people. Especially the last holdout juror, who felt the boy was still guilty until the very end. We realize he was projecting his own anger at his son's abandonement towards the boy. The film was such a fascinating study in different people, different perspectives. And it sort of supports what I always feel; in many, if not most things in life, we can never be totally sure, despite all the supposedly blatant facts in front of us. We see it a lot in medicine, how doctors seems so sure that someone's gonna die or live, but they don't really know.

The film itself was acted very well. Henry Fonda was fantastic as the initial "not guilty" juror. Lee J. Cobb was also excellent as the last "guilty" juror. Almost everyone in the film was well cast. Sure, they played almost caricatures of real people, but wasn't that somewhat the point? Most of us can probably relate to someone in the jury, because each person came from a different walk of life, and that's the most interesting part, seeing their perspective play into their decisions. Overall, an excellent film, and deserves its place as a classic.

Birth Of The Avengers

The creation of the initial avengers team was surprisingly simple. As seen in "Avengers #1," loki is imprisoned on the island of silence, and he wants to get revenge on thor. So, does he create an army, or cause world havoc? Nope, he simple causes the hulk to destroy a train track, leading Rick Jones to believe that hulk is either innocent or a threat. So, jones sends a signal to the fantastic four, but loki diverts the signal so that thor, disgusted as Blake, hears it. That signal diversion also lead ant-man, wasp, and iron man to hear it, so they come to the rescue. Eventually thor goes to asgard to find out what's going on, and after a small battle with a troll, he takes loki back to earth. Meanwhile, ant-man, wasp, and iron man chase down hulk. Just before a big showdown, thor returns with his brother, and ant-man captures him in some chamber lined with lead. The team decides they could be useful together, and hence the avengers are born. No world threat, no absorbing man, just a simple plan from loki using the hulk as bait. I'm glad the movie seems to going in a much more epic route! Also, the dialogue here is quite tedious. Maybe in order to introduce new readers to the characters, the writers feel the need to have the characters speak out loud everything they're doing. For instance, Iron Man, on going to answer the distress call, talks about how he's going to use one form of rockets to save energy, and then change to get their faster. Each character needs to discuss how they're using their power before they use it. I'm glad comics have matured since that time!

Comics Review: "House of M"

So, I've finally been able to get into the world of comics. I've started reading a bunch of DC's new 52, which made for a an easy starting point. But for marvel, there was no such reset. I decided to start with one of the biggest events in the current marvel universe, "House of M."

When the series begins, Scarlett Witch is losing control of her mind, and the avengers and the x-men meet and discuss whether to kill her to save any oncoming doom. They decide ultimately that she likely needs to die, but they talk to her first, to see if there's some way to reason with her. Before they can reach her, she's missing, and there's a white light. Suddenly, they wake up in a mutant-dominant world. Magneto is essentially a world leader, Peter is married to Gwen, and Wolverine is a top agent of SHIELD. But wolverine knows something is up, and in his quest to discover the truth, he encounters an underground organization of sapiens, including Luke Cage, Hawkeye (who was dead in the other universe), etc.

There's also a new mutant named Layla, who remembers the original world, and has the ability to have others remember too. One by one, they start taking Layla to help people remember, including Dr. Strange, Emma Frost, and spidey. Once they all remember, they head to Genosha to find Wanda, Magneto, and hopefully Xavier.

They unfortunately discover that Quicksilver convinced Wanda to change the world and make everyone happy. Xavier is alive, somewhere hidden. When magneto finds out, he's none too happy with what quicksilver did. After seemingly killing his son, Wanda gets very upset, and says those three words, "no more mutants." Suddenly, everyone wakes up in a world where mutants are an endangered species, and the sapiens realize this, but have no idea why. Neither do Tony or Captain America. And thus begins the new marvel universe.

This was a bold move for marvel. Not only did they really make a huge change to the universe, but they didn't just reverse it right away. Three years later, the same universe is in place. My only gripe is that the series moves too fast, but I suppose that's how comics work. The artwork was nice, but the story was the best part, especially the last two books, when we see just how much the world is now changed. Good stuff.

Film Review: "Annie Hall"

The film that beat "Star Wars" for the best picture oscar! Considered one of the classic romantic comedies, "Annie Hall" waywardly traces the relationship between Annie Hall (Diane Keaton) and Alvy Singer (Woody Allen). It tells it's tale completely out of order, keeping you active in trying to figure out when certain events occurred. Overall, I didn't think it was a fantastic film, but I felt the narrative style was superb. Allen broke through the fourth wall so many times, you'd figure he'd knock himself into a coma. It made the movie a bit charming, though, the fact that he was able to talk to us directly, or make absurd asides. For instance, when Annie and he were in line for a film, and the guy behind them kept saying his opinions out loud, Allen took him aside to confront one of the people he was criticizing.

It's that ability to not take itself so seriously that probably leads to the movie's charm. The drawback, to me, was the actual character of Annie. It as hard to feel much for her, because she was kind of crazy. Not in the creepy way, but in the way that you don't quite know how she works, even by the end. As such, it's hard for me to see was Alvy saw in her. Not that he wasn't eccentric himself, but as the protagonist, we're supposed to root for him.

The movie had good dialogue, was uniquely crafted and edited, and I can see why it attracted the academy's eye. Of course, I'm partial to "Star Wars," and I can't quite see how this film beat it. The other films that year were "Julia," "The Goodbye Girl," and "The Turning Point." I don't think I've heard of any of them.

"Annie Hall" can stand out as a unique romantic comedy, but aside from that, I'd rather watch "When Harry Met Sally." Maybe not as uniquely structured, but at least I felt more for the characters there.

Movie Review: "Martha Marcy May Marlene"

I feel like the oscar season is divided into two major components, once the nominees are announced. There's the actual nominees, which I try to watch as many of as I can before the awards. Then, there's the post-awards films, the ones who critics say should have been nominated, but weren't. This year, that included such films as "Take Shelter" and such performances as Fassbender in "Shame." One other performance was Elizabeth Olsen in "Martha Marcy May Marlene."

The film details Martha's (Olsen) time in a cult in a rural area of upstate NY, and the aftermath upon her escape. The cult was led by Patrick (John Hawkes), and engaged in such things as group sex, folk singing, and even murder. The last one led Martha to leave. The story is told well; we see scenes of Martha with her sister (Sarah Paulson) after her escape, juxtaposed to similar scenes in the cult farm in Martha's memory. And the cult has some pretty gross stuff. Like, Martha awakening to finding her losing her virginity to Patrick, and later counseling a similar new recruit before her first time, telling her that the first time with him is special. Gross and delusional.

After watching the film, I'd be scared of joining a cult. Martha has this paranoia, and you can see how she's quite psychologically disturbed, and cannot adopt back to a normal life. Perhaps the creepiest part was the end, when after swimming and encountering a man by the lake, she sees the same man following her sister's car as they drive to drop Martha off at some sort of psychological facility. I didn't get that it was the same guy until I read it online, but knowing that, it's really creepy. Is the cult following her? Is that just her paranoia?

The film was shot in such a way that you sort of feel the distance Martha has with the rest of the world. It did make the movie itself rather slow-paced, but it wasn't really dull. I felt like it captured the right tone for the material, and helped you feel more about what she's going through. Ugh, those cults are so creepy. She should've been nominated for an oscar, as opposed to some of the others. I know Rooney Mara transformed herself to be Lisbeth, but again, a pretty girl turning into someone not as pretty usually catches the academy's eye. Olsen seems to be someone to watch, based on this film.

Film Review: "Casablanca"

"Casablanca" is one of those films which remains a classic to this day. It's a tale of a lost love set in the time of World War II, as refugees from other nations come to Casablanca, Morocco to obtain visas to go to Lisbon, and then to the US. The story follows Rick (Humphrey Bogart) as the owner of a bar, when his lost love Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) comes with the known leader of a resistance movement, Lazo. Rick is in possession of letters of transit, which will allow anyone to leave freely, which was obtained from some late German convoys. As to who killed those convoys, I think it says someone who died at the start, and the letters were obtained by some other guy who also got arrested, but not before giving the letters to Rick.

During the course of the story, we find out that Rick and Ilsa were in love long ago, in Paris, when she's thought her husband, Lazo, was dead. She was all set to go with him and leave, as he was also a resistance fighter and about to be arrested, but she found out at the last minute that Lazo was alive, and she's couldn't go with him. Rick held a grudge ever since, and initially was not willing to help Lazo escape because of his anger at her. Eventually, he gives in, even shooting the German officer in charge to help them escape to Lisbon.

It's a nice story, well done, and not overly drawn out. Short and sweet. Bogart and Bergman display classic Hollywood acting, not the kind we see nowadays; a stylized type of acting, to me. And this movie is filled with such famous quotes as, "Play it, Sam," "Here's looking at you, kid," and "Louis, I think this is the begginning of a beautiful friendship."

It's hard to truly judge this film, because it's such a classic. What I can say is that it's a solid, entertaining, and well-crafted and well-acted film that still stands as a picture of quality in this day and age.

TV Review: "The Walking Dead" Season 2 Finale

And so "The Walking Dead" ends it's overall stellar season, not with a whimper, but with a subtle bang. It was time to clean up house, and the show has the luxury of simply causing a zombie attack to trim the fat. It happened before, when Andrea's sister died at the camp, and it happened now. so, who'd we lose? Jimmy, and the forgettable sister who's name and place in the story I can barely recall. So, it's good we lost them, because those we have left are characters we know much better some degree, even the younger sister, after her brief flirtation with suicide.

 

Rick's character went to a place I'm very happy about. After the last episode, I really felt that Shane's death needs to have meaning. If we are losing Shane, we need it to somehow affect Rick. You'd assume that's a given, but you never no what the writers are up to. Thankfully, they went with it, and Rick had enough of people second-guessing his decisions when he's acting in the best interest of the group. So what does he do? Gives people free reign to leave, but if they stay, they willingly undergo rule by a dictator. A dictator named Rick Grimes.

 

And Lori is so irritating. She basically hinted at Rick to kill Shane two or three episodes ago, and now she's all in disgust at what he did. What did she really want? She's probably suffering from pregnancy brain. At least Carl is not as much of a brat as he was in the episode where Dale died. Carl is growing in character, and that's a good thing I think.

 

We haven't had a large-scale zombie battle in a while, so it was much welcome. Plus, we seriously needed a change of scenery from that barn, where like 99.99999% of this season took place. So, while Hersel was sad to see it go, I was quite glad.

 

And on to seasons 3. This finale tied up that mystery from season 1, confirming that Jenner realized the virus was in everybody, living and dead. I agree with Rick's decision not to tell anyone. What good would it do? Rick tried to keep hope alive, and he carried that burden of that knowledge on his own shoulders. Rick deserves to be making decisions for the group, because he is sacrificing a lot. However, his decisions can also be bad, as would likely have been evident it he let Randall simple go free. Of course, the zombies going enroute to the farm wouldn't have helped things anyway,

 

We have some really interesting hints as to where season 3 will lead us. First, who the heck captured Andrea? A hooded figured chained two slaves? That's what it looked liked to me. Exciting! And that mansion at the end, which was our last show of the season.... does the governor reside there? Who is the governor? I can't wait t find out, only because just his name alone is intriguing.

 

Season 1 was a fantastic introduction to this world and these characters. Season 2 dragged a little at the start, but helped build characters that, in my opinion, totally paid off in the second half. I feel like the third season will take us to completely new places, and I'm excited to go along for the ride. I'm just glad I can experienced it vicariously, because I so wouldn't wanna live in that world.

TV Review: "The Walking Dead" Season 2 Episode 12

I'm not sure who this governor character is, but I think we sure need him. Because with Shane gone, the arguably most interesting character by far is dead. And I was quite totally not expecting it. So, I knew that someone dies near the end of season 2, because EW would post such non-revealing titles as "(SPOILER) dies, what did you think?" after an episode aired. Not knowing where the season was when I saw that headline, I sort of figured it was Dale, but that anyone could still die. But I did not expect Shane to die, which is why we need a strong, interesting character next season to carry on his role in the show.

 

Looking back, I don't know if it should have gone down any other way. After the altercation in "18 Miles Out," how could Shane agree to stay with Rick and company, and be an obedient puppy? Especially when Rick was going to let Randall go, yet Shane found out that Randall was very much a part of the other group, and even knew where they were. So, it appears Shane was right, and Rick would have put the group in serious danger. Not only that, but Shane had a good point; Rick was putting his perceived responsibility for Randall above that of his own child. Shane was such a good character, and I'm really quite sad that they killed him. This needs to change Rick in some way for it to have some meaning.

 

I know I'm behind in catching up with the show, but reading recaps, it seems that many people felt the first half of season 2 was dull, and the second half picked things up. I'm worried they picked things up too far in the other direction, by trying to kill off too many people. It was done well, but if they keep killing people consistently, it can also turn out to be an issue.

 

And something very, very interesting was raised. I read in someone's recap online of another episode that in the season 1 finale, the scientist guy whispered in Rick's ear that the TS-19 virus exists in everyone. There wasn't any real evidence to support that until now. I was trying to figure out why Randall turned into a walker, because he died from that neck snap. But when we saw Shane rise up as a walker, it kind of hit home that everyone is prone. All you need to do is die. And the world is much more screwed now. I can't wait to see what direction the show goes in now.

Movie Review: "Cabin in the Woods"

Today, I saw the midnight showing of "cabin in the woods." I've heard very, very little about it. In fact, the only real things I've seen are the poster, with the weird cabin, and a very positive recommendation from I believe AICN. However, I didn't read anything about the plot, all I remember was that it's a movie worth seeing without spoilers. So, I was actually quite excited to see it today. I went with one of my best friends, and wasn't quite sure what to expect. It was billed as a horror film, so I expected a quality horror film.

Instead, what we got was something very different. It almost felt like an extended episode of "The Twilight Zone." It started off like a typical horror story. Some teenage high schoolers decide to go to the titular cabin in the woods, for a fun weekend of drinking, sex, and relaxation. Along the way, they run out of gas, and encounter a cliche creepy dude at a train station warning the of upcoming doom at the aforementioned cabin. When I saw the creepy dude, I was thinking to myself that it's so lame that they had a character like that in there. But we knew from the start that something else was up, because the movie began with some office workers, and while the kids are enroute to the cabin, we see them planning something for them.

Once they get to the cabin, there's typical horror stuff. The kids having fun, and then some creepy stuff in a basement. The pothead was the best character, because he sort of embodied the notions of illogicality in horror films. Like when the basement door randomly opened, and one guy said it must've been the wind, he asked how that makes any sense at all. We then get zombies and some grisly deaths, but it never felt to me like it was meant to be truly scary, because we knew it was all part of some planned thing back at that office center.

As the movie progresses, we realize there's a bigger meaning behind this. Those workers are doing this stuff for a specific reason, and the kids chosen the way they would die, unbeknownst to them. So, we got zombies, instead of mermen. Long story short, they eventually dwindle down to two survivors, and discover that it's all a game. They end up seeing all the potential horrors, including mermen, little girls with teeth faces, werewolves, etc. Then, near the end, they reveal that the entire cabin thing is a ritual sacrifice, albeit more elaborate that rituals of old. They were done to please the "ancient ones," who if not pleased, would destroy the world. Other countries miserably failed, like Japan with its school kids singing away an evil demon girl reminiscent of someone from "The Ring" or something.

The best part of this film is that it pokes fun at the horror genre, and created a very inventive story that keeps you invested and guessing until the end. I didn't really care about any of the characters, but the plot was intriguing. It is likely a one-time film, but a very well-made one. It's not being billed right as being called horror, though. It's more like a non-defined genre, just like "Twilight Zone." Definitely a film worth seeing without any spoilers whatsoever.

TV Review: "The Walking Dead" Season 2 (up to episode 11)

So, I just finished watching the 11th episode of "The Walking Dead," where a major character died. And it sucks, because he was one of my favorite characters. When the majority of people were against him, he stood the moral high ground, and adamantly did not want the kid killed. But I had a bad feeling, a feeling that he was going to die at some point this season. Plus, I knew a major character dies, so it makes sense. Although, who knows, more people may die. The strength of this show is its characters. We really grow to like them. The season did start out a bit slow, especially with the constant search for Sophia, but this second half has really picked up. And introduced a new threat: the living. Dale stood for the old world, the civilized world, and with him gone, there's no true moral center. Rick tries, but he is folly to the sways of what he feels is expected of him, regardless of his own beliefs. With Dale gone, who knows what's going to happen now. And Carl is turning into a brat and a threat. The kid doesn't listen repeatedly, he brought the zombie over to the farm, and inadvertently got Dale killed. Ugh. The show is getting really good, and I love that the main focus is truly on good, strong character development.

Ben Kingsley Joins "Iron Man 3"

After a very good villain with Jeff Bridges in "Iron Man," the sequel had a rather lackluster enemy in Mickey Rourke's Whiplash, who was rather one-dimensional and not nuanced at all. It's what made Red Skull so dull, and the central villain of "Thor" so interesting. And may promise to make "Avengers" interesting as well. It's about time Iron Man faces his Joker, his Green Goblin: Mandarin. Will Shane Black and the rest of the team go with that? Who knows. What seems to be true is that Ben Kingsley will be playing the villain. I can see Kingsley playing a fantastic, truly evil villain. I hope he plays the Mandarin, albeit it with maybe a more grounded power. Apparently his villain has something to do with nanobots. Which could explain somewhat the sorcery of the Mandarin. I don't claim to know much about the Mandarin, but I want to see Iron Man face a truly strong, fantastic villain. Casting Kingsley is a step in that direction, I think.

"Ding A Chedder Box"

So, on the latest episode of "Modern Family," entitled "Send Out the Clowns," the show continues its streak of quality, family-friendly and truly funny comedy. Especially when things get a bit absurd, but still within the real of reality. Case in point: Lewis the clown hitting Cam with a fake rubber fish, and then a real pan, and the strangling him, as we see Mitchell's face go from true appreciation to horror. But the best part of the episode was Claire's last line. She says, what sounded to me, something like "Are you sure you want to ding a chedder box?" They were referring to something earlier in the episode, when Phil said he couldn't "ding" Claire in bed last night because he was amped for a big real estate deal. So, when she said "chedder box," I was thinking that's some odd and kinda gross humor. Chedder? Are we talking like candida? Some other kind of weird infection? Nope, turns out she said "chatterbox," referring to what Phil called her earlier in the episode. But a quick google search shows me I'm not alone in mishearing it!

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Book Review: "Catching Fire"

"Catching Fire"
by Suzanne Collins

After winning the 74th Annual Hunger Games, Katniss goes on to live a seemingly happy life in the victor's village of District 12. But all is not as it seems. We know from the end of "The Hunger Games" that President Snow and the Capitol are not happy with her berry trick at the end, which allowed her and Peeta to live. So, shortly before their traditional victory tour of the districts, he pays her a visit, and says that despite his belief in her good and honest intentions, her actions have almost lit a spark of rebellion in Panem. What's Katniss to do? Pretend she's still madly in love with Peeta, and prove it to everyone on the tour. Which isn't easy, because she's barely been talking to Peeta since the games.

On tour, things don't quite go as planned. In District 11, a man is assassinated in front of everyone for whistling Rue's four-note mockingjay tune. And even though Katinss accept's Peeta's marriage proposal during the interview with Caesar Flickman, it's too little too late. She thinks about escaping with Gale, Peeta, Haymitch, and their families. But then Gale's caught with wild game and whipped publicly, and favorite peacekeeper Darius becomes an avox when he tries to intervene.

And then, the twist for the 75th Annual Hunger Games, dubbed a Quarter Quell, is announced. Only victors would enter the arena, and being the only girl victor from her district, Katniss is back up. Haymitch is chosen, but Peeta volunteers in his place. They quickly go to the district, without saying their farewells, and go through the usual training, parade, and interviews. At her interview, Katniss reveals Cinna's newest dress. It looks like a President Snow-approved wedding dress on the outside, but once she spins, she turns into a mockingjay. A symbol of the rebellion, which she realized when she encountered two District 8 runaways in the woods even before the Quarter Quell was announced. Peeta then announced, in his interview, that Katniss is pregnancy, continuing the tradition of surprising her beyond expectation. And then, all the victors join hands in solidarity at the end; after the interviews in which most tributes showed displeasure at the Capitol, and then that end, hand-in-hand, they started making these games likely very unpopular.

It’s quickly off to the arena, after we meet a majority of the tributes during training. Haymitch’s last remarks to Katniss are for her to know who the enemy is. During the solo session, Peeta pains Rue on her deathbed, and Katniss hangs a dummy from a noose, with the words “Seneca Crane” pained on the dummy, referring to the late head gamemaker from last year’s games.

And then, we’re in the new arena, with lots of water, a beach, and lots of jungles. Katniss soon finds forced allies in Finnick, the trident-weaving warrior from District 4, Johanna Mason, and two tech wizards, older and from I believe District 3; and, of course, Peeta. Some live and some die, and eventually Beetee from District 3 has a plan to set some special wire from a lightning bolt hitting a tree to the beach, to kill most people. During this whole time, the other tributes risk their lives to save Peeta, which Katniss thought may be because Peeta has the best chance at speaking eloquently against the rebellion. Near the end, about when lighting’s going to strike, she can’t find Peeta, and she’s tackled by Mason who cuts her arm. She then realizes that, outside of the force field surrounding the arena is the outside world, and Beetee’s real plan was to break the force field through an inherent weakness. With Beetee knocked out, she takes an arrow attached to the wire, shoots it through the weakness, and the arena explodes.

She finds herself with Plutarch Heavensbee, the head gamemaker, and feels she’s captured and it’s the end. But after being rehabilitated, she learns the truth from Haymitch. Heavensbee was part of a rebellion, and she was rescued by him using a hovercraft from the very-much-in-existence District 13. Most of the tributes were in on the plan, and saved Peeta to assure Katniss remains in an alliance with them so they could get her out. She’s the mockingjay, the living image of the rebellion, and they felt they needed her alive. Multiple districts have started outright rebellions. She learns that Gale is on the hovercraft, and that her mother and Prim are alive, but Peeta has been captured by the Capitol, along with Johanna Mason. And then, at the very end, we learn that District 12 is no longer around; it’s been destroyed by the Capitol.

This book was fantastic. It took the tension of the hunger games, the sheer struggle for survival, and made it into so much more. A young girl caused a country to rebel. The whole hunger games this year was just a ploy by the rebellion, and it served as the wire that continued the fire sparked by the berries last year. And the end, such a fantastic cliffhanger. Rebellion is happening, Peeta is captured, and we have yet to see District 13, long believed to be destroyed. I liked how the games went fast; we didn’t need to spend time focusing on the details of the training room, scores, etc. because we knew the protocol. I liked that the victors all had to fight, and even moreso that they were united under a common goal; most of them, at least. This took an already enticing story, and made it so much more, so much broader, and so much darker. Yet, even at the end, there’s a flicker of hope. Peeta may be kept alive so they can use him as bait to draw Katniss in. And we don’t know how powerful District 13 is, but given that they were involved with nuclear production, my guess it they’re quite powerful. It’s time for open rebellion, and I really can’t wait to see where this leads. I just love how this book took the story in such a different direction, and right until the end, due to the first-person narrative, we’re just in the dark to the overall plan as Katniss is. Such a twist of an end. And I expect “Mockinjay” to be a lot darker, but hopefully with some light at the end.