Sometimes one has to wonder why certain actors make the movie they do.
Take for example Robin Williams. He's both a talented actor and comedian, so one would expect the films he does to have a higher quality to the material. Up until recently he was the star of what I considered to be the worst film EVER made by a Hollywood Studio...Being Human. But I could understand the potential appeal to him taking on a film that tried to tackle the concept of man's existance.
With RV, I have no clue and assume he was either paying the rent or on dealing with substance abuse (yes...this film does explain why he recently checked into rehab).
Just released on DVD, RV is not the worst comedy ever made (that distinction belongs to Date Movie), but it is a pretty pointless waste of time. The film reeks of starting its life as another installment in the popular Vacation series that even Chevy Chase was unwilling to touch. Williams stars as a husband/father who is trying to balance work and family life. When the two come into conflict over a potential vacation, he combines them by renting an RV for the family trip and travelling to a business meeting (without telling his family the real reasons they're doing this). Much hilarity and resentment ensues and in the end everyone realizes the error of their ways...except the viewer who may have just wasted a bit more than an hour and a half of his life.
The only saving grace this film does have is the appearance of Jeff Daniels and Kristen Chenowith as a couple who live in their RV with their family (think hick versions of The Partridge Family). Whenever these two are involved in the story, the film does pick up a bit...but not enough to save the entire endeavor. I expect better from Williams and director Barry Sonnenfeld (The Addams Family and Men in Black). Heck, I expect better from myself....
But I never learn as Scary Movie 4 is almost as bad, but at least here I didn't expect much. There was a time, which seems like long ago, when this type of comedy was not only funny, but well done. Look back at Top Secret, Airplane!, any Mel Brooks film before Robin Hood: Men In Tights and even Airplane II: The Sequel and you'll find well crafted films that are funny and have plots that work. Even the first Scary Movie had what makes this kind of film successful.
This type of film works best when a well-worn plot has been grafted to comedic situations and pop culture gags that naturally come from both the film being parodied and the time the film is being made. Maybe the adverse effects of MTV which has shortened everyone's attention spans beyond believeability has caused this type of comedy to evolve (or devolve) into little more than a string of topical jokes wrapped around some other film. Its like watching a Saturday Night Live sketch that was extended well past the expiration date. And is probably best avoided by everyone (and yet this was still funnier than Date Movie which was made by two of the six writers of this film)...at least until Scary Movie 5 arrives. It's coming...so be afraid, be very afraid.
Lastly, to end on something of a high note...Spike Lee's Inside Man is a well crafted caper film that pits cops versus robbers during a hostage stand-off at a bank. Denzel Washington & Clive Owen play opposing forces in this wonderful film that shouldn't be missed.
Be seeing you.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Let's Go To The Movies
With peace finally coming to the Middle East (I mean it must be peaceful if all the 24 hour news networks can focus every waking moment on a decade old murder case), Tash & I decided to take some time off from child reaering (and work) to go on a date. So we dropped Malcolm off with his grandparents and trekked out to the theater.
When we didn't have a child, we'd go to the movies often. We'd trade off seeing things the other really wanted to see and mix it with things we both wanted to see. Now that we don't go as often, we're a bit more selective about what we do see on the big screen (well...the big screen is a bit of a misnomer as we saw Clerks II on a theater screen that is a bit smaller than the drop down we have at home). Here's a peak at our process:
Here is a list of what was playing on Friday August 18 in our theater-going area (not including things playing at local IMAX Theaters):
Zoom
Scoop
The Devil Wears Prada
World Trade Center
Little Miss Sunshine
Accepted
Material Girls
Snakes on a Plane
Pulse
Barnyard
The Decent
Miami Vice
You, Me and Dupree
Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Step Up
John Tucker Must Die
The Boyton Beach Club
An Inconvenient Truth
Wordplay
Monster House
The Night Listener
Little Man
The Ant Bully
Clerks II
So...let's look at how we came to decide what we saw. We eliminated things we had already seen (Clerks II, The Devil Wears Prada). We then eliminated kids films as we'll catch those on video where Malcolm may get some brief use out of them (so long to The Ant Bully, Monster House and Barnyard). Neither of us felt like seeing comedies from the current "hot" group of "young" comedians (so there'd be no You, Me and Dupree or Talladega Nights or Little Man). Since it was a date night, documentaries were out (Wordplay, An Inconvenient Truth) and Tash doesn't like horror films (Snakes on a Plane, Pulse, The Decent). We both agreed that while we wanted a fun film, we'd catch Pirates of the Caribbean on video like we did with the first one. Wanting a fun film also ruled out World Trade Center (which we both want to see) as well as Miami Vice and The Night Listener.
Now we're left with choices of:
Zoom
Scoop
Little Miss Sunshine
Accepted
Material Girls
Step Up
John Tucker Must Die
The Boyton Beach Club
Neither of us had any interest in Zoom, Material Girls, Step Up (in spite of Kevin Smith's thumbs up when substituting for Roger Ebert) or John Tucker Must Die.
Scoop has gotten mediocre reviews, so it's not "special" enough to warrant a potential theater-going experience.
We had no idea what The Boyton Beach Club was about.
So now we've got it narrowed down to Little Miss Sunshine and Accepted.
We both have an interest in seeing both films at some point. Little Miss Sunshine has that indie appeal we both like and has gotten loads of acclaim. Accepted looks like it could either be funnier than it has any right to be (like Eurotrip) or just terrible (like any other comedy we had already eliminated).
And the winner was...
Accepted (pretty much because Tash wanted to stop off at a store near a particular theater and Little Miss Sunshine wasn't playing at this theater -- even though it has 14 screens).
So...how was Accepted?
It was just what we needed. Sure, the plot is preposterous, but it was very funny (although not as funny as Eurotrip to give an example of another teen comedy of the last few years that looked like it could have been a stupid waste of time and thankfully wasn't).
Justin Long stars as Bartleby Gaines, a loser of a high school senior who has been rejected by all the colleges he applied to. To ward off the inevitable criticism from his parents, he fakes an acceptance letter from a fictional college (South Harmon Institute of Technology) and with the help of some friends (who have also been rejected from everywhere they applied) get another friend to fabricate a website to make it seem legit.
But then things get a bit out of control. Mom & Dad want to see the campus, so he uses the tuition money to rent a building (an abandoned mental institution that they renovate). Then his parents want to meet the dean, so they hire his friend's uncle. And then as a final complication, Bartleby and his friends discover that the website was made to look too legit as hundreds of students who have also been accepted (since acceptance is just a click away) show up for the first day of school
Can Bartleby keep the sham going without getting into real trouble? Will his friend Sherman join them in this endeavour or continue trying to fit in with the frats of a real college? Will the other college's dean get his way and but up the land that S.H.I.T. sits on to build the new entrance for the real school? Will Bartleby get the girl? (No, Yes, No, Of Course)
Sure the film was predictable, but it was fun in its own way. The cast is exteremly likable and very believable as kids who have no real direction (let's face it, Justin Long is almost 30 and he's still playing high school kids...if that isn't an example of not having a direction, I don't know what is). Lewis Black appears as Sherman's Uncle Ben who gets hired to be the Dean of S.H.I.T. and whenever he's on screen, the film becomes something else. What spends most of its time being something of a "lite" version of Animal House surprisingly becomes a biting commentary on the current state of the American educational system.
Fun and a message? What more could anyone ask for?
Maybe you don't need to rush out and catch this in theaters, but don't miss it on video.
So...what will catch in theaters next time? Since we don't know when that will be (aside from November 17 when Casino Royale opens cause there's no fucking way I'm not seeing a new James Bond film opening day in theaters), who knows what we'll choose that will cause people to look at us funny and think we've gone off the deep end (We had a chance to go to the movies and you saw ACCEPTED??)
I'll be back in a few days with some more reviews of DVDs.
Be seeing you.
When we didn't have a child, we'd go to the movies often. We'd trade off seeing things the other really wanted to see and mix it with things we both wanted to see. Now that we don't go as often, we're a bit more selective about what we do see on the big screen (well...the big screen is a bit of a misnomer as we saw Clerks II on a theater screen that is a bit smaller than the drop down we have at home). Here's a peak at our process:
Here is a list of what was playing on Friday August 18 in our theater-going area (not including things playing at local IMAX Theaters):
Zoom
Scoop
The Devil Wears Prada
World Trade Center
Little Miss Sunshine
Accepted
Material Girls
Snakes on a Plane
Pulse
Barnyard
The Decent
Miami Vice
You, Me and Dupree
Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Step Up
John Tucker Must Die
The Boyton Beach Club
An Inconvenient Truth
Wordplay
Monster House
The Night Listener
Little Man
The Ant Bully
Clerks II
So...let's look at how we came to decide what we saw. We eliminated things we had already seen (Clerks II, The Devil Wears Prada). We then eliminated kids films as we'll catch those on video where Malcolm may get some brief use out of them (so long to The Ant Bully, Monster House and Barnyard). Neither of us felt like seeing comedies from the current "hot" group of "young" comedians (so there'd be no You, Me and Dupree or Talladega Nights or Little Man). Since it was a date night, documentaries were out (Wordplay, An Inconvenient Truth) and Tash doesn't like horror films (Snakes on a Plane, Pulse, The Decent). We both agreed that while we wanted a fun film, we'd catch Pirates of the Caribbean on video like we did with the first one. Wanting a fun film also ruled out World Trade Center (which we both want to see) as well as Miami Vice and The Night Listener.
Now we're left with choices of:
Zoom
Scoop
Little Miss SunshineAccepted
Material Girls
Step Up
John Tucker Must Die
The Boyton Beach Club
Neither of us had any interest in Zoom, Material Girls, Step Up (in spite of Kevin Smith's thumbs up when substituting for Roger Ebert) or John Tucker Must Die.
Scoop has gotten mediocre reviews, so it's not "special" enough to warrant a potential theater-going experience.
We had no idea what The Boyton Beach Club was about.
So now we've got it narrowed down to Little Miss Sunshine and Accepted.
We both have an interest in seeing both films at some point. Little Miss Sunshine has that indie appeal we both like and has gotten loads of acclaim. Accepted looks like it could either be funnier than it has any right to be (like Eurotrip) or just terrible (like any other comedy we had already eliminated).
And the winner was...
Accepted (pretty much because Tash wanted to stop off at a store near a particular theater and Little Miss Sunshine wasn't playing at this theater -- even though it has 14 screens).
So...how was Accepted?
It was just what we needed. Sure, the plot is preposterous, but it was very funny (although not as funny as Eurotrip to give an example of another teen comedy of the last few years that looked like it could have been a stupid waste of time and thankfully wasn't).
Justin Long stars as Bartleby Gaines, a loser of a high school senior who has been rejected by all the colleges he applied to. To ward off the inevitable criticism from his parents, he fakes an acceptance letter from a fictional college (South Harmon Institute of Technology) and with the help of some friends (who have also been rejected from everywhere they applied) get another friend to fabricate a website to make it seem legit.
But then things get a bit out of control. Mom & Dad want to see the campus, so he uses the tuition money to rent a building (an abandoned mental institution that they renovate). Then his parents want to meet the dean, so they hire his friend's uncle. And then as a final complication, Bartleby and his friends discover that the website was made to look too legit as hundreds of students who have also been accepted (since acceptance is just a click away) show up for the first day of school
Can Bartleby keep the sham going without getting into real trouble? Will his friend Sherman join them in this endeavour or continue trying to fit in with the frats of a real college? Will the other college's dean get his way and but up the land that S.H.I.T. sits on to build the new entrance for the real school? Will Bartleby get the girl? (No, Yes, No, Of Course)
Sure the film was predictable, but it was fun in its own way. The cast is exteremly likable and very believable as kids who have no real direction (let's face it, Justin Long is almost 30 and he's still playing high school kids...if that isn't an example of not having a direction, I don't know what is). Lewis Black appears as Sherman's Uncle Ben who gets hired to be the Dean of S.H.I.T. and whenever he's on screen, the film becomes something else. What spends most of its time being something of a "lite" version of Animal House surprisingly becomes a biting commentary on the current state of the American educational system.
Fun and a message? What more could anyone ask for?
Maybe you don't need to rush out and catch this in theaters, but don't miss it on video.
So...what will catch in theaters next time? Since we don't know when that will be (aside from November 17 when Casino Royale opens cause there's no fucking way I'm not seeing a new James Bond film opening day in theaters), who knows what we'll choose that will cause people to look at us funny and think we've gone off the deep end (We had a chance to go to the movies and you saw ACCEPTED??)
I'll be back in a few days with some more reviews of DVDs.
Be seeing you.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Hippo Birdie 2 Me
So yesterday was my 37th birthday.
Yawn.
I haven't felt so blah about turning a year older in quite some time. What is 37 anyway? I'm that much closer to 40 (I can remember a time when 40 seemed so far away). I've lived longer than my father did (try wrapping your brain around that one...you should be able to say that when you hit 70, not this young). I've survived an aneurysm (again...you should be able to say this much later in life). I've gotten married and had a kid all in the last 5 years (since the aneurysm). And life is pretty good.
And yet, yesterday was just kind of blah.
Don't get me wrong...I had a great day. My wife changed all of the dirty diapers (as I did for her on her birthday recently). She let me sleep late. She was even willing to take the boy out for the day so I could spend it alone doing whatever. But my plans were just to go to Borders (I had a few gift cards that needed using), so I wanted them to come with me (maybe they'd help me use up the gift cards).
I've had my eye on a few things for a while...and I'm realizing that my tastes and desires are changing a bit. When I was younger, I had read most of the Sherlock Holmes stories...but I don't own a copy of the complete works. A few years ago, I noticed an "annotated" hardcover collection that I thought would be fun to own. I've had it sitting in my Amazon.com basket for a while, just kind of waiting until the right time. I thought maybe with the gift cards, the right time was now.
I picked it up. Examined it carefully. And put it back down. I then found a copy of the complete works that was a bit more compact and now as expensive. I picked that up. Examined it. And put it back down.
I have the Jeremy Brett TV versions on DVD and I have the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce movies as well. I haven't read these stories since G-d knows when. Why do I need to own either version? I don't. Is it something I want to share with my son when he's older? Maybe, but we'll burn that bridge if we have to cross it.
I've accumulated a lot of crap over the years. Some of it I still cherish, some I look at and go "why?". Since getting married, my priorities have changed (even moreso since Malcolm arrived). We've been slowly going through all the movies, toys and books and trying to figure out what's worth keeping and what's just going out the door (and onto eBay or getting donated). And I've discovered that what makes us feel good when we're younger, doesn't necessarily still do that when we get older.
So what did I walk out of Borders with:
A few computer magazines
The Jewish Book of Why
If You Can't Say Anything Nice, Say It In Yiddish
The Whole Equation: A History of Hollywood
The Illustrated History of Magic
Toddler 411 (for my wife and I)
Debunking History
Conservatives Without Conscience
The Official Movie Guides for both Superman Returns and Batman Begins (there is still something of a kid in this 37 year old)
A Plush Snuffleupagus (for my son to go with his plush Big Bird)
An interesting grouping, no?
Well...I've got some reading to do. I'll be back in a few days with the usual crap.
Be seeing you.
Yawn.
I haven't felt so blah about turning a year older in quite some time. What is 37 anyway? I'm that much closer to 40 (I can remember a time when 40 seemed so far away). I've lived longer than my father did (try wrapping your brain around that one...you should be able to say that when you hit 70, not this young). I've survived an aneurysm (again...you should be able to say this much later in life). I've gotten married and had a kid all in the last 5 years (since the aneurysm). And life is pretty good.
And yet, yesterday was just kind of blah.
Don't get me wrong...I had a great day. My wife changed all of the dirty diapers (as I did for her on her birthday recently). She let me sleep late. She was even willing to take the boy out for the day so I could spend it alone doing whatever. But my plans were just to go to Borders (I had a few gift cards that needed using), so I wanted them to come with me (maybe they'd help me use up the gift cards).
I've had my eye on a few things for a while...and I'm realizing that my tastes and desires are changing a bit. When I was younger, I had read most of the Sherlock Holmes stories...but I don't own a copy of the complete works. A few years ago, I noticed an "annotated" hardcover collection that I thought would be fun to own. I've had it sitting in my Amazon.com basket for a while, just kind of waiting until the right time. I thought maybe with the gift cards, the right time was now.
I picked it up. Examined it carefully. And put it back down. I then found a copy of the complete works that was a bit more compact and now as expensive. I picked that up. Examined it. And put it back down.
I have the Jeremy Brett TV versions on DVD and I have the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce movies as well. I haven't read these stories since G-d knows when. Why do I need to own either version? I don't. Is it something I want to share with my son when he's older? Maybe, but we'll burn that bridge if we have to cross it.
I've accumulated a lot of crap over the years. Some of it I still cherish, some I look at and go "why?". Since getting married, my priorities have changed (even moreso since Malcolm arrived). We've been slowly going through all the movies, toys and books and trying to figure out what's worth keeping and what's just going out the door (and onto eBay or getting donated). And I've discovered that what makes us feel good when we're younger, doesn't necessarily still do that when we get older.
So what did I walk out of Borders with:
A few computer magazines
The Jewish Book of Why
If You Can't Say Anything Nice, Say It In Yiddish
The Whole Equation: A History of Hollywood
The Illustrated History of Magic
Toddler 411 (for my wife and I)
Debunking History
Conservatives Without Conscience
The Official Movie Guides for both Superman Returns and Batman Begins (there is still something of a kid in this 37 year old)
A Plush Snuffleupagus (for my son to go with his plush Big Bird)
An interesting grouping, no?
Well...I've got some reading to do. I'll be back in a few days with the usual crap.
Be seeing you.
Monday, August 07, 2006
Some DVD Complaints and other things
Before we get to day's movie reviews, I'd like to lodge a couple of complaints.
First is about the concept of "Bonus DVDs" that are exclusive to various chain stores. Normally I don't have an issue with this (you buy Lost Season 1 at Best Buy and get a bonus disc that contains extras not found on the rest of the set), but it has now hit silly preoportions. Tomorrow Prison Break Season 1 arrives on DVD. If you purchase it at Best Buy, you get a disc that contains the "Behind The Walls" featurette which aired on FOX as a recap episode during the break in the season. If you purchase it at Target you get all 26 episodes of the mobile phone spin-off series (which didn't feature any of the main cast and followed Lincoln's son around I believe).
Now while neither of these is a big deal in the greater scheme of things, it is a bit of a pain in the ass for the completist (for the record I'm not getting either version having pre-ordered it for a better price elsewhere). Shame on the studios (Particularly FOX) for this...
And speaking of FOX and DVD complaints...so fans of a series dutifully buy every season as it comes out only to have the company release a complete series box set with even more extras?? That just sucks. They did it with Buffy and they're doing it with M*A*S*H. Following their example it has also happened with Sex and the City (although admittedly the extras are pretty blah) from HBO, and will happen with Alias and Homcicide: Life on the Street (which is also having the Law & Order crossover episodes added for the complete series set).
It's gotta stop folks.
The SciFi Channel will be airing the second season of Doctor Who starting on September 29 from 9 to 11 (They have a marathon that morning of the last 8 episodes of season 1). While it is great the show is airing this soon (hopefully fueling a DVD release sooner as well) and that it is being paired with Battlestar Galactica, It kicks off with "The Christmas Invasion" occupying the entire 2 hour slot (what else will help fill that slot besides more commercials you can shake a stick at is anyone's guess...at least the entire 59 minutes will be shown).
Oh well...lastly, I've got a few movie reviews.
She's The Man -- I have this affinity for Shakespear adaptations and I also like teen comedies (maybe because they remind me of my youth), so I had to check this out as it's Twelfth Night set in a high school. Being from some of the same people who made 10 Things I Hate About You (which was The Taming of the Shrew set in high school), I was expecting something a bit better. While it's not bad, it's more cute than anything else. 10 Things did the Shakespeare in High School bit better and Just One of the Guys did the whole girl trying to pass as a guy in high school bit better. In that film, Joyce Hyser actually looked like she could be a guy. Here, Amanda Bynes looks more like Urkel's white cousin. It's a bit creepy.
Walk The Line -- It took us forever to see this, but it was well worth the wait. Great film about the relationship between Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. Deserved all the accolades it got. Made me download a few Cash songs from iTunes that should be in everyone's collections (even found a great cover of "Heart of Gold" by him).
Bring It On: All Or Nothing -- Universal Home Video has been doing direct to video sequels of some of there lesser popular films for quite some time (Darkman, Tremors, American Pie) with some mixed results. This is the third installment in their cheerleader series Bring It On. The first film was a quirky novelty with a great cast (Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku). The second installment was forgettable (I even had to look up the actual title...Bring It On Again) and one wonders why there is even a third one. Luckily, this time some of the charm is back (and the film doesn't try to take itself too seriously). It's cute if you like fun and mindless movies.
Ultimate Avengers 2 -- Marvel Comics Productions is in the process of bringing four direct to video movies out. We're now halfway through the announced titles and I'm a bit worried. The first film, Ultimate Avengers, was a decent, if toned down, version of their hit comic series, The Ultimates, about a team of super heroes that include reimagined (just slightly) versions of Thor, Iron Man, Captain America and a few others. The problem with the first story was the villains. We get a bunch of aliens with some Nazi connections. But the setup of how the team came together was great. Here we get the return of these aliens and the addition of Black Panther and the whole thing seems a bit warmed over and blah. Hopefully, the new two films will be a bit more exciting as we get single hero stories with Iron Man (coming October 2006) and Doctor Strange (coming February 2007).
That's all for today.
Be seeing you.
First is about the concept of "Bonus DVDs" that are exclusive to various chain stores. Normally I don't have an issue with this (you buy Lost Season 1 at Best Buy and get a bonus disc that contains extras not found on the rest of the set), but it has now hit silly preoportions. Tomorrow Prison Break Season 1 arrives on DVD. If you purchase it at Best Buy, you get a disc that contains the "Behind The Walls" featurette which aired on FOX as a recap episode during the break in the season. If you purchase it at Target you get all 26 episodes of the mobile phone spin-off series (which didn't feature any of the main cast and followed Lincoln's son around I believe).
Now while neither of these is a big deal in the greater scheme of things, it is a bit of a pain in the ass for the completist (for the record I'm not getting either version having pre-ordered it for a better price elsewhere). Shame on the studios (Particularly FOX) for this...
And speaking of FOX and DVD complaints...so fans of a series dutifully buy every season as it comes out only to have the company release a complete series box set with even more extras?? That just sucks. They did it with Buffy and they're doing it with M*A*S*H. Following their example it has also happened with Sex and the City (although admittedly the extras are pretty blah) from HBO, and will happen with Alias and Homcicide: Life on the Street (which is also having the Law & Order crossover episodes added for the complete series set).
It's gotta stop folks.
The SciFi Channel will be airing the second season of Doctor Who starting on September 29 from 9 to 11 (They have a marathon that morning of the last 8 episodes of season 1). While it is great the show is airing this soon (hopefully fueling a DVD release sooner as well) and that it is being paired with Battlestar Galactica, It kicks off with "The Christmas Invasion" occupying the entire 2 hour slot (what else will help fill that slot besides more commercials you can shake a stick at is anyone's guess...at least the entire 59 minutes will be shown).
Oh well...lastly, I've got a few movie reviews.
She's The Man -- I have this affinity for Shakespear adaptations and I also like teen comedies (maybe because they remind me of my youth), so I had to check this out as it's Twelfth Night set in a high school. Being from some of the same people who made 10 Things I Hate About You (which was The Taming of the Shrew set in high school), I was expecting something a bit better. While it's not bad, it's more cute than anything else. 10 Things did the Shakespeare in High School bit better and Just One of the Guys did the whole girl trying to pass as a guy in high school bit better. In that film, Joyce Hyser actually looked like she could be a guy. Here, Amanda Bynes looks more like Urkel's white cousin. It's a bit creepy.
Walk The Line -- It took us forever to see this, but it was well worth the wait. Great film about the relationship between Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. Deserved all the accolades it got. Made me download a few Cash songs from iTunes that should be in everyone's collections (even found a great cover of "Heart of Gold" by him).
Bring It On: All Or Nothing -- Universal Home Video has been doing direct to video sequels of some of there lesser popular films for quite some time (Darkman, Tremors, American Pie) with some mixed results. This is the third installment in their cheerleader series Bring It On. The first film was a quirky novelty with a great cast (Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku). The second installment was forgettable (I even had to look up the actual title...Bring It On Again) and one wonders why there is even a third one. Luckily, this time some of the charm is back (and the film doesn't try to take itself too seriously). It's cute if you like fun and mindless movies.
Ultimate Avengers 2 -- Marvel Comics Productions is in the process of bringing four direct to video movies out. We're now halfway through the announced titles and I'm a bit worried. The first film, Ultimate Avengers, was a decent, if toned down, version of their hit comic series, The Ultimates, about a team of super heroes that include reimagined (just slightly) versions of Thor, Iron Man, Captain America and a few others. The problem with the first story was the villains. We get a bunch of aliens with some Nazi connections. But the setup of how the team came together was great. Here we get the return of these aliens and the addition of Black Panther and the whole thing seems a bit warmed over and blah. Hopefully, the new two films will be a bit more exciting as we get single hero stories with Iron Man (coming October 2006) and Doctor Strange (coming February 2007).
That's all for today.
Be seeing you.
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