MOVIE POSTERS of the Day!

I have not gone to see a single one of the FAST AND FURIOUS movies in the theater, most I have done is catch a couple on streaming. This HOBBS & SHAW spin-off film I think I will catch in the theaters. The trailer is that much fun.

I have seen nothing on this film, but that poster… stunning. The use of the attention grabbing colors of Red, Black and Yellow, and the angling of the scene and the typography… simply wonderful poster design.

The trailer looks good. But not everyone is convincing as a fighter. Keanu Reeves, yes. Angelina Jolie, yes. This actress with her runway model build, looks like her bones would break with the first solid punch landed or received. It takes me right out of it, even watching the trailer. Not everyone is action star material. But I am open to being proven wrong, but I will not be seeing this in the theater. That said, the above poster is very good.

 

For these big blockbusters I find the foreign and specialty markets are producing far better and more interesting posters than the American market, which is usually just a big closeup of the star. These two poster for FAR FROM HOME are case in point. Both very well done.

Another example of great poster design.

Looking at the trailer, I do not think the movie will be of any interest to me, seems like a pretty underwhelming, by the numbers, horror film with stupid kids doing stupid things so we can have this sequel, but that aside the above is a CREEPY poster!

 

 

Above poster does what it should. Makes me want to see the film.

I have no information on the above film, the last thing I remember having IRON SKY in the title, by all reports was awful,  but the poster alone makes me intrigued in finding out more.

 

I do not love this poster for THE CURRENT WAR, it shows that unimaginative streak I mentioned regarding domestic posters. That said I did love the trailer, so it is on here more for the trailer than the poster.

 

If you liked this poster coverage, give a like, and support the links in my previous posts.

And let me know if there is a favorite poster of yours that should have been included on this list. Till next installment, be well!

 

 

TV Show Review : DAREDEVIL Seasons 1, 2, and 3!

The first season of DAREDEVIL, was and remains game changing , ground breaking TV. In terms of action choreography, and initial complexity of storyline, and some amazing performances.  It remains an astounding season of television, however it didn’t quite stick the landing.

There was something rushed and not quite satisfying in the ending. Something that did not quite live up to the AMAZING buildup.There was always a slight worm in the apple, and that was what was best and most enjoyable and most likable about the series, what was really brilliant about the series, was never the main three protagonists, the great acting of the series was done by the so-called villains such as Wilson Fisk, Alexandra, Wesley  and by the supporting characters such as Ben Urich and Stick.

What was annoying about season 1, was Karen Page, and she got increasingly more annoying, like nails on chalkboard through the season. Her remaining on the show, when two other astounding characters met violent ends, really for me weakened the show going forward. Also Matt Murdock, his maudlin approach, begins to wear thin at the end of 13 episodes.  But all those caveats aside, the strengths outweigh the failings of that first season. A solid A- of a season.

 

Fast forward to season 2 , which has a strong first half, but disintegrates in the 2nd half, Karen Page gets more annoying, Matt Murdock gets more whiny and maudlin, and Elektra storyline doesn’t do much for me. Karen Page playing girl reporter, just emphasizes everything I find annoying about that character, and how much the character of Ben Urich is missed.  Season 2 has its moments, largely due to the Punisher in the first half, but overall is strictly fast forward material through much of the 2nd half of season 2. This season is the definition of uneven, coming in at a C+/B-.

 

 

The DEFENDERS series plays very much as DAREDEVIL Season 2.5. Because we get to minimize exposure to the weakest parts of season 2, namely Karen Page. Even though the Elektra/Black Star storyline is largely nonsensical and uneven (she can take blows from Power Man, but is affected by blows from Daredevil. Nonsensical.) the series moves at a fast clip, and seeing these actors together, enjoyable. Overall, inane ending excepted, a fun series. Grade: B+.

 

That brings us to the just finished third season of DAREDEVIL. It starts off intriguing, But quickly, particularly in the later episodes, drowns in all the unlikeable characters.

Karen Page is show stoppingly annoying every-time she is on the screen. Also three seasons of watching Matt Murdock suck all the joy out of everything, is just tiring. “Ooh, I have special powers, to make up for being blinded, I have friends, a good job, a great apartment… Oh I’m so angry!” what the hell does he have to be mad about all the time? 🙂

Just a joyless, depressing performance. And I am not saying it is badly acted, the actor is good, it is just he is written with nothing to do but complain all the time.

By comparison all the so-called villainous characters are far more interesting, to the point I was rooting though the later episodes for Fisk and the Mystery Villain 🙂 to take out Karen Page (Again, a fine actress, she is just written with nothing to do but eat the joy out of every scene. And what works in a few scant panels in a limited story, over three seasons… tires), and beat Matt Murdock.

I felt the ending was very unsatisfying.  Matt Murdock/Daredevil just comes across as much a psychotic as those he fights, and a hypocrite on top of it. And again the character flaws that work briefly in panels on a comic page, does not wear as well over three seasons. Add Karen Page to the mix, and you have a season 3 that I lose interest in whenever the three so-called leads are on camera. (To be fair, I quite liked the character of Foggy. He was the one thing that worked in that triangle.)

Overall a very dissatisfying wrap up to DAREDEVIL Season III. Karen Page survives, where yet more good characters die in her stead. I bought the first DAREDEVIL on BLURAY,  I bought the first LUKE CAGE on Bluray, and will be buying the 2nd season when it is available. I might buy the DEFENDERS, its flaws aside, overall it worked very well, and what IRON FIST couldn’t do in his own series (be good) he manages to pull off in the DEFENDERS and LUKE CAGE Season II.

With Luke Cage having been canceled, I don’t see anything to bring me back to the Netflix/Marvel Properties.  Not a fan of PUNISHER Season 1, Jessica Jones I fell off of, Iron Fist show was a train-wreck, and DAREDEVIL can not get out of its own way. Should a MOON KNIGHT show pop up, or a WEREWOLF BY NIGHT, I would definitely give those a look, but for now it appears the great Marvel/Netflix ship of success… has capsized.

 

DAREDEVIL Season 1 A-

DAREDEVIL Season 2 C+

DAREDEVIL Season 3 C+/B-

Overall Grade: B

 

 

 

 

AVENGERS INFINITY WAR : THE LAST WORD Review

 

I have been off the movie radar for a bit.

I go in cycles like that.

Last movie I saw in the theater (twice) was the excellent BLACK PANTHER Directed by Ryan Coogler and produced by filmic juggernaut, Marvel Studios.

Today a few minutes ago I just got done watching AVENGERS INFINITY WAR courtesy of Amazon Prime, and streamed right in the comfort of my home.

It is definitely a movie that would have been great seen  on a huge full size theatrical system, but as I said timing and interest sometimes works out for me to hit the theater, sometimes it doesn’t.

The movie, AVENGERS INFINITY WAR finally seen ( I avoided trailers, special features, reviews etc) it is ten years of Marvel Studios, and ten years of world building codified and paid tribute to; it is not just a great movie, it is a great mythology. It is that first story told around the raging fire to keep back the night. It is everything you want a film to be.

To call it just a superhero film is perhaps to miss the point, and the enduring power and place these four color heroes have held first on the comic page, and now the cinematic stage.

They are our modern myths writ large, and this film by the capable Russo Brothers improves and transcends the source material, to tell tales both of massive victories and massive defeats, but always managing to ground it on a very personal level.

The movie made me laugh, it made me cheer, it made me tear up, and it made me silent. A whole gamut of emotional states in a mere couple of hours. The Russo Brother’s have helmed yet another masterpiece and this one being their best and most haunting yet. Raising the stakes but not losing the man on the ground perspective, that make these films so relateable.

Tales of Gods and Monsters yes, but hinged on wheels of faith and loss and sacrifice and love.

The wheels all of us, can understand and be moved by.

There are reasons to be concerned about a monotheistic Movie Landscape, with all studios gobbled up by the mouse. I do not feel Disney acquiring Marvel Studios was a good thing. I do not feel the Lucas properties being engulfed by them is a good thing. I do not feel the Fox acquisition is a good thing.

I think in the long term this monotheistic film landscape is a very bad thing for culture, and choice, and competition. I think in the long term there are anti-trust and anti-competition issues that will affect all of us; whether fans or not, of these films. But those are fights and concerns separate from the actual review of this one singular film.

This one singular film, celebrating the 10th year of Marvel Studios unprecedented dynasty is filmmaking done as well as it can be done, on a scale and scope that is nearly as mythic as the story itself. I loved it. Full Stop. It is right in the mix with my top 5, being in no particular order AVENGERS, BLACK PANTHER, WINTER SOLDIER, CIVIL WAR, and this one… INFINITY WAR.

Grade: A+. As a fan of METROPOLIS and GREED and SEARCHERS and LION IN WINTER, even though this movie is a ‘Super-hero’ movie and a Blockbuster, and is popular, it is every bit as great and serious and beautiful a film as those lauded classics. It is a new minted classic, and will stand the test of time.  From script, to direction, to special effects, to performances, especially performances, allowing the actors to act under those layers of makeup and costumes and CGI, the film is a rare achievement.

I look forward to the sequel. And I look forward to buying this film on DVD/Blu-Ray, and watching again, and enjoying the film commentary.

You can get your Blu-Ray here:

https://amzn.to/2obFhvS

 

 

SUMMER 2012 Movie Guide! With AVENGERS behind us are there any other films worth seeing in IMAX?

SUMMER 2012 Movie Guide!

With the AVENGERS film behind us, are there any other films worth seeing in IMAX?

That’s the question. It’s a bit of a trick question, in that if there was no uptick in price for seeing it in IMAX I would say go for it. Unfortunately there is a bump in the price, and even for the AVENGERS, which was fake converted to IMAX (post-processed, like every other film coming out for the rest of the year) the quality difference on an AMC “baby IMAX/fake IMAX” isn’t all that great.

Infact, I quite preferred the 2D version of AVENGERS.

It’s a preference thing to a point, but to another point it is about pushing back a little against the studios that want to foist these post-processed IMAX and IMAX 3D films on us, rather than actually filming in these formats, and then charge us like we are at a real 5-story, wraparound screen, 70mm, Science Center IMAX theater. That’s the problem I have with these AMC midget Imax theaters, they over-charge for a compromised viewing experience.

I have no problem with the gimmick of 3D, if priced the same as the 2D experience; the way it traditionally was done. But to pay more?

So, to the point, even the AVENGERS wasn’t worth paying more to see in IMAX 3D. But are any films this summer, worth seeing in IMAX or IMAX 3D?

None of the films… not PROMETHEUS, not EXPENDABLES II, not DARK KNIGHT RISES, not SPIDER-MAN could be bothered to shoot the film in IMAX (tiny portions of DKR maybe), much less IMAX 3D. So why the heck would you bother to pay IMAX or IMAX 3D prices, for the cinematic equivalent of a poor redressing of a set?

So for me, no I will not be seeing any other film this summer in IMAX or IMAX 3D.

[And as an aside, definitely call or web-browse ahead when going to the movies, because this is how they get you: they put 2D showings at inconvenient times so you get stuck with an IMAX or 3D showing. So as idiotic as it sounds you need to pretty much do homework to make sure you’re getting a 2D and not a 3D showing. I hate homework! 🙂 ]

Quite frankly there aren’t many films I’m that bothered about seeing in the theaters this summer, even in 2D. Like I heard one person say, “I like going to movies, I hate the people in the movie theater”.

I mean, do I have a sign-on me that says sit beside me? I either have to tell some old bat and her kid to not sit beside me and talk (I would be more forgiving if people in a theater with lots of seats, didn’t choose to sit right next to me with their foolishness), or I have to tell young punks to keep it down, or I have to tell the valley girls to stop texting and kicking the chairs… and on top of all that drama you want to charge me more for effed up, fake a** 3D?!!!

Heck No!!! Mother HT’s son ain’t having it!!! The studios should be paying me for the aggravation.

ohmmmmmm…..

ohmmmmmm…..

Okay, back in my happy place. Steering this boat back on track…

My take on the remaining summer movies: SPIDER MAN I currently have no interest in. DARK KNIGHT RISES, as I’ve previously stated I’m lukewarm on at best.

Only PROMETHEUS, EXPENDABLES II, TOTAL RECALL, and surprisingly enough ABRAHAM LINCOLN VAMPIRE HUNTER (I’m a fan of the Director, I enjoyed his WANTED, A case of a director’s vision trumping the writer’s source material— which I disliked) really have me excited to see them in the theater.

Some honorable mentions that look interesting/fun and I might see in the theater are CHERNOBYL DIARIES, BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD, THE BOURNE LEGACY, PREMIUM RUSH (the trailer for this looks GREAT, but I’m not sold on the director yet), and POSSESSION (also a phenomenal trailer).

If a movie is not on this list it could be an oversight, but more than likely it isn’t. It’s my way of saying that movie isn’t for me 🙂

Why don’t I tell you how I really feel? 🙂

No, but seriously, if you think I missed a summer flick that you think is going to be great, feel free to send me a comment. I’m always happy to discover another promising flick!

TOP 15 Favorite Comic Book / Superhero Movies!! Updated 2012 list!!

So where does Joss Whedon’s AVENGERS rank on the list of best comic-based movies?

Pretty high actually.

Well here’s my biased list of my 15 favorite Comic based movies. The ones I find… re-watchable.(Only caveat being I tried to list only one film per series, the best film of the series, to leave room for others).And it’s pretty much in order of re-watchability. Which film can I view at anytime because it’s that… good and timeless?

Well it starts with SUPERMAN THE MOVIE, still not just one of the best comic book films, but one of the best… films. My top 5 are movies I can leave on repeat in my house and grow not sick of.

SUPERMAN THE MOVIE
AVENGERS
SPIDERMAN II
BLADE II
300

X2
CAPTAIN AMERICA
THOR
IRON MAN II
WATCHMEN

WANTED
CROW
HANCOCK (horrible title, horrible marketing, horrible poster, saved by a fantastic 2nd half)
DOLPH LUNDGREN PUNISHER (The best of the Punisher Films. Fun, ninja-decimating flick. :))
MATRIX (Has not dated well, but still strong enough to make the list)

And a few honorable mentions, BATMAN (1989), DARK KNIGHT, HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, DARK MAN, UNBREAKABLE. Feel free to suggest any you think I may have missed (me? never! I got all the good ones! :)) in the comments section.

Sponsored by Ebay Store: Deals of the Day!

COMIC BOOK COVERS OF THE DAY

You can buy all these comics either from your local comic store, or online. I’ll post various online sellers you can get these from or just drop me an email.

TRAILER Review of the Day: ABRAHAM LINCOLN:VAMPIRE HUNTER

ABRAHAM LINCOLN VAMPIRE HUNTER- What sounds, and probably should remain a gag/fan short film, is actually going to be hitting our theaters in June of 2012, helmed by some major talent. Most notably Director Timur Bekmambetov of WANTED fame. I enjoyed WANTED, I thought it was way better than the joyless and annoying comic book it was based on, and find Bekmambetov to be a talented and visually exciting director, and those gifts are in full effect in this trailer.

Our 16th President may not exactly, in the great beyond, be enthused about this usage and monster-mashup mythification (yes I did just make that up)of his image, but it seems to be, if not exactly respectful, at least in the spirit of fun tall tales, and if anyone can understand that it’s a good old Kentuckian like our former President.

And the trailer visually looks like a lot of fun. If there’s a story to hold it together it may be a fun, brainless summer flick. Or it could be in excessively bad taste… time will tell.

View the trailer here.

I also watched three other trailers:

SPIDERMAN- The 2nd trailer makes me no more interested. The trailer commits the cardinal sin of just being boring, plus I don’t like anyone in the film. Particularly the new Peter Parker, just no personality. This is looking like a definite wait for DVD for me. It just looks boring as all heck.

7500- Instead of SNAKES ON A PLANE, you have ghosts on a plane. looks like a talented cast, interesting premise, but it’s directed by the director of the GRUDGE, and I wasn’t a fan of any of those films. And the reason is shown in this trailer, it’s all jump cuts and screeching sounds, rather than making a scary movie, the director just makes a discordant one. Just going by the trailer it looks like a hack job, a rental at best.

BOURNE LEGACY- The trailer is okay. Doesn’t really blow me away or give any impression that it will be up to the first trilogy, specifically the last film. That said the film sports great actors, so that alone is swaying me to check this one out on the big screen.

Okay, that’s all for now.