Dead On Arrival

This is basically one long rant, so if it doesn't make a lot of sense, forgive me.

This past Thursday, “A Good Day To Die Hard” was released, the fifth installment in the Die Hard movie series. Initially I was excited to see a new Die Hard movie, after the lackluster “Live Free Or Die Hard”.  Now, I have not seen the new movie, and unfortunately I won't be seeing it until it is released on video.

I normally do not go by what critics say about movies, a topic I'll cover another time. But the one time I put any merit onto what critics say is when they almost all say a movie is terrible. Currently “A Good Day To Die Hard” sits at 16% on Rotten Tomatoes. I also know people who have seen it and said it was, in a word...awful. Needless to say, that is extremely disappointing, as I am a huge fan of the first three Die Hard movies.

Part of Die Hard's appeal, is the character of John McClane,  a normal guy always being thrown into extreme situations, he doesn't always have the answers, and sometimes barely escapes being killed. But he's resourceful and clever, and that's what gets him through. Also, he's not indestructible. At least he didn't used to be. He used to walk away from things battered, cut, bruised and bloodied.

In “Live Free Or Die Hard” he never really seemed to be in a lot of danger, even when he was in dangerous situations, he was turning into a super hero. That's not what John McClane is.

Well, it seems as if the new movie is keeping the same idea, that he is a super hero, that has to vanquish the bad guys at all costs....even when he has no stake in the events, and can just walk away.

This is just another example of Hollywood coasting on name recognition. Seriously, the director of the new movie has the classic “Max Payne” and the needless remake of “The Omen” on his resume. So I guess that Die Hard is now gonna be played out like a video game. What's next? Are they gonna remake the first Die Hard with Zac Efron in the lead role? From what I understand, they couldn't get any worse at this point.

Word is that Die Hard 6 is already being planned. I don't know if that's good or bad. On one hand, hearing how bad the new movie is, you'd think they could only improve with the next one. But never underestimate Hollywood, cause just when you think it can't get worse, it does,

Here's an idea...keep it simple. The First movie was a guy, terrorists, hostages, and bad guys in a building. The second was an airport. OK the third was in New York City, but it still worked because of the strong cast and competent direction. They need to get back to the simplicity of the Die Hard formula. I guess they figured having McClane running around NYC in “Die Hard With A Vengeance”, worked, so they went with that free roaming in “Live Free Or Die Hard”. Keep the story contained, give McClane an honest reason to be involved, and put the guy in some real danger. Even though we know the hero always gets away, at least make us FEEL like there's a chance he may not.

Why does Hollywood always do this? Take something that was so good and make it....not good. This is my fear with Star Wars, I really hope they don't run it into the ground like they seem to have done with Die Hard. That's the problem, Hollywood doesn't know when to quit. Granted, with Star Wars, there are many more story possibilities, and what happens with that remains to be seen.

I get so frustrated with Hollywood sometimes. There are times when I think that they may actually be coming out of the lazy funk they seem to have been in for so long, and sometimes, for a short time, they do. But then they go right back into that creative black hole that always seems to suck them in. 2012 was actually a pretty good year for movies, something I will cover in another post. But with “A Good Day To Die Hard” 2013 isn't starting out too well, I just hope this isn't a sign of what's coming this year. The movie fanatic in me is hopeful that it isn't.

Star Wars Is Back For More

Anyone who knows me knows how dear the Star Wars franchise is to me. Since I first saw “Star Wars” in 1977 at age 11 (17 times in the theaters), it's been my favorite movie, and I have seen it literally over 100 times. The movies that followed subsequently became my favorites as well. In the years since, they became a world wide phenomenon, and grew into an industry. Movies, books, video games, TV shows, toys, role playing games, you name it. In 1999, Lucas released a new Star Wars movie (something I thought would never happen), the first in a Prequel trilogy. It's well known that I liked those movies more than most. Yea, I am very forgiving of George Lucas.

In 2012, George Lucas did something I never thought he would do. He sold his company, Lucasfilm and all his other companies to Disney, thus giving Disney complete control over all Lucas properties. George had come to the conclusion that Star Wars should continue, but under the care of someone else. Disney immediately announced that “Star Wars:Episode VII” was planned for release in 2015, with episode VIII and IX to follow. As much as I thought “Return Of The Jedi” would be the last Star Wars movie, and was surprised by the prequel trilogy, I never in my wildest dreams ever thought that a sequel trilogy would see the big screen.

So now comes the task of actually making these movies. Michael Arndt (“Toy Story 3”, “Little Miss Sunshine”) is writing the script. This is a screenwriter who gives lectures on the art of storytelling, and particularly why Star Wars works so well. So that instills me with a lot of confidence that Disney is taking this new venture very seriously. Then today I hear that director JJ Abrams will be in the chair for Episode VII. At the time of this writing, that has yet to be confirmed by Lucasfilm and Disney, but it's looking like it is going to happen.

NOTE:It has been confirmed that JJ Abram is indeed directing Star Wars Episode VII

Now, finally onto the point of this article...the future of Star Wars.

While it seems like for the time being, Star Wars is in good hands, I do have concerns. Disney has announced their intentions to release a new Star Wars movie every 2-3 yeas, and possibly even every year at times. On one hand, it is a Star Wars lovers dream, I know I can and never will get enough Star Wars (precisely why I hang my head in shame that I haven't really watched much of the animated Clone Wars series). But that also concerns me, and not in a totally positive way.

That much planned output could be a recipe for disaster.  As much as I would love to see a Star Wars movie every year, or every other year, I want quality movies. I don't want something rushed out with the Star Wars brand slapped on it. Now I would think that Disney would not allow that to happen. They have acquired two movie making giants in the past few years (Pixar and Marvel) and both studios have produced quality work, without interference from Disney. I hope that trend continues with Lucasfilm. As long as the movies are of top quality, keep making them I say. There seems to be no doubt that the new trilogy is being handled with great care, but is that just to pull us in? Again, I would hope that isn't the case, but with so much planned, it could be very easy for quality to suffer. Of course, if the movies fail to turn a profit, as unlikely as that seems, it could spell trouble.

I think the focus should be on quality, NOT quantity. As much as I'd love to see a Star Wars movie released every year, I’d rather wait a little bit longer and get a better movie in return. One of the big complaints about the Prequels was the writing, which honestly, was at times good, but most of the time, not so much. The stories are the heart and soul of these movies, and to me, that should be one of the top priorities with the new movies. Also, top directors need to be doing these movies as well. JJ Abrams is a good start.

Now, beyond the new trilogy, what does the future hold for Star Wars? In a word....anything. There are so many stories in the comics and books in the extended universe, that take place at so many different times in Star Wars history. Personally, I would love to see a series of movies based in the Old Republic, taking place decades before the events in all the movies. As much as I love the established characters of the Star Wars universe, I would love to see an entirely new set of characters. The rise of the Jedi, the Sith wars, the early Jedi masters and Sith lords, the possibilities are endless.

There are also a lot of great stories that take place after the events of the original trilogy, and I am interested in seeing what will be done for the new trilogy. It's been said they they will try to get the core three from the Original trilogy...Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher to reprise their roles. That's both good, and not so much bad, but not great either.

Harrison Ford is 71 years old, and while he is still making movies, it is doubtful he would be on board for three more movies, despite his saying he is open to the idea of playing Han Solo again. I can only realistically see him doing one movie.  Mark Hamill and Carrie fisher are not much younger, but I think they could make three films if they so choose to. But I really think as much as I wanna see them reprise their roles, maybe they shouldn't be the stars. Maybe the focus should be on new characters. Perhaps their children. Both Luke and his wife Mara Jade (from the Zahn trilogy of books) have a kid, Ben, and Han and Leia also have Jedi twins Jacen and Jaina. Of course those are characters from the books, and we don't yet know if they will be including characters from the extended universe.

Episode VII could be used to introduce new characters that would be the main focus of episodes VIII and IX. Like I said, the possibilities are pretty much endless.

There has also been talk of stand alone movies being made, movies that would be just one story told in one movie. That also could be very interesting, there are a lot of characters in the Star Wars universe that could easily carry an entire movie. Boba Fett....Darth Maul...heck even a movie about Chewbacca's days before he met Han Solo could be cool, I would love to see a movie take place on his home wold of Kasshyyk.

As of this writing, it has indeed been confirmed that in between the films of the new sequel trilogy, Lucasfilm will release stand alone movies. So far, they have a Han Solo story in mind (centered around a young Solo, and possibly a young Lando Calrissian taking place between Revenge Of The Sith and Star Wars) as well as a Yoda movie.

Now as good as all of this sounds, I am a bit worried that they could possibly end up diluting the brand. A Star Wars movie every year? Sure, I would love that. But sometimes anticipation is better than being given a constant flow of new movies. Obviously, I am very conflicted on this.

Part of the whole Star Wars experience is the waiting in between movies. The first two trilogies had a 3 year break between movies. Now I don't know how much of a gap there will be between Episode VII and Episode VIII, but there should be at least a two year gap. These stand alone movies will be filling that gap in between episode installments. I am worried that people may tire of Star Wars movies. It sounds incredible to say such a thing, but too much of even a good thing can be bad.

The James Bond movies have been a popular series since it started back in 1966. 23 movies over a 46 year period. That averages a movie every two years. Some didn't do as well as others, but they always did well enough to allow them to keep being made. That could work for Star Wars, but if they release a movie every year? They run the risk of overkill.

This of course, is all speculation. The prequel trilogy, as much as they were not nearly as good as the original 3, still made a ton of money. So if movies are released that are clearly better, there is no reason to think that they wouldn't do well.

All I know is that as a Star Wars fan, this is more than I could have ever asked for. Even if they only released the sequel trilogy, I’d be thrilled. But the ideas that they are throwing around are very exciting, and I really hope that Lucasfilm does the fans proud, and gives us top notch movies.

Star Wars is very dear to me, please Lucasfilm, don't let me down.

Review - "The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey"

I came into this movie never having read the novel, so keep that in mind. I will start with the running time....2hrs 45 mins. Didn't need to be that long. Director Peter Jackson has a tendency to draw things out, sometimes longer than they need to be (“King Kong” anyone? Even though I liked his take on it, was too long) and in this case, it wasn't needed, in my opinion. Now let me clarify that statement by saying I was never bored the entire run of the movie, it just felt like things could have been tightened up a bit.

On to the actual movie....highly entertaining. Like most, I couldn't remember the names of all 13 of the Dwarves, but I didn't need to , they were all distinct enough that I could always tell who was who. Obviously the focus was only going to be on a few of the Dwarves, and it seems like a few kinda got lost in the shuffle. But with that many characters to juggle, it's bound to happen. It was a slow build up to things actually getting moving, but it kept my attention, which is most important. There was a lot of humor, the action was fun and easy to follow, thanks for no shaky cam Mr Jackson.

From what I understand, the Radghast The Brown character was made for the movie and not part of the original story. While I didn't mind the character, and thought he was well done, I haven't decided if he was actually necessary to add to the movie.I felt that his whole purpose was to introduce this Necromancer character, which we never see, and I felt like they could have at least given us a glimpse of the character. I was also a little disappointed we didn't get to see more of Smaug the Dragon, we barely see him in the beginning and a tiny glimpse later on. It feels like they are saving things for the next two movies. I feel like they could have taken the material from three movies to make two leaner movies.

Despite my criticisms, I overall enjoyed the movie very much, heck I even teared up at one point thanks to a very touching scene. The visual effects were well done. I loved the Goblin city sequence, and the stone giant scene was also very good, and the Trolls were really funny, I loved that scene as well. The ending was tense and exciting. The musical score was also excellent. Performances were good all around...Martin Freeman as Bilbo was just great, he had the presence that the character demanded. Ian McKellen was his usual great self, and Andy Serkis brings Gollum to glorious life again, save for some unintelligible dialogue. Nice to see Hugo Weaving and Christopher Lee in there as well. I definitely want to see the next two movies, I just wish they hadn't felt the need to stretch this tale out over three movies. Regardless, a solid effort all around.

Review - "Zero Dark Thirty"

Well it's been a long time since I did anything on this blog, (almost 3 years? Wth!) but I decided to get it going again, and I am gonna start off with a few short reviews of some movies I have recently seen. I will also be posting my Best of 2012, once I decide what exactly they are, So until then, here we go...


In a word....excellent. Director Kathryn Bigelow manages to create tension in a situation where you know the eventual outcome. Especially during the raid on Bin Laden's compound at the end. Performances were solid all around, Jessica Chastain was excellent as the agent determined to see this thru no matter what. While there are not many likable characters in the movie, you can see why they are the way they are from all they have gone thru to complete the difficult task they set out on. Jason Clarke was also excellent, as he is able to show the toll it takes on a person who is frustrated and tired, it was obvious that torturing suspects was getting to him, and it made me understand more about what it does to not only the one getting tortured, but the one giving it.


The action was tense and not stylized, not made to be the usual overblown Hollywood action sequences, they were realistic and well played out, the end raid really felt like you were following real soldiers into the situation....even though I have never done that, I got the sense from the sequence that it would be just like that.

There has been talk about if this was a true accurate account of what happened, but when the movie starts off with "Based on a true story" You KNOW it's probably not going to be 100% accurate. It's doesn't matter in this case, from what I know it is fairly accurate, and even if it isn't as factual as it claims, it is one hell of an entertaining movie, one I recommend highly.

Review - Tron Legacy

----Begin Transmission----

Greetings Programs...

So I can absolutely say that Tron Legacy is a great movie.

The critics? Useless, they didn't get it.

Lack of action? I don't know what they are talking about. The action was there, and it was good.

Bad acting? (other than Jeff) Wrong. Sam was fine, was he oscar worthy? Of course not but I had no problem with his performance.

Clu takes you out of the movie? Nope, at least he didn't have that effect on me. Could you tell he was digital? In some parts yes, in others it was more difficult to tell, but as I have said before, he is a computer program, so I can allow for some kind of artificial feel to him. Overall, I bought it.

Bad/lacking story? Wrong, if you can accept Avatar's story, you won't have a problem with this, as I felt it was better than Avatar's story. Not what you would call deep and meaningful, but it moved things along at a nice pace

Speaking of which, I felt there was virtually no filler, I never once sat there and was like "Ok we get it, move on". For me there are two things that speak well of a film. One is looking at my watch. Never once did I look at it. That's not to say that if I look at my watch it's a bad movie, it speaks more about how good a movie is if I never think to look. Second, did not take a bathroom break at all, and trust me I had to.

Those are the main complaints I heard about the movie, and like I said, they are wrong. As far as making another should this one be a hit...yea I think they could do it, but part of me feels like they they shouldn't, the story arc feels complete.

Either way, the movie was great. For those who never saw the original, it is not a requirement to enjoy this film. It will help you get the nods to the original, and some of the inside jokes, but it is in no way a prerequisite, this film stands on its own as much as it is a continuation of the first.

My only real complaint is with the 3D, it wasn't bad in any way, but it wasn't great either. At some points I almost didn't notice it, it was very subtle. Did not in any way take away from the movie, I guess I feel it could have been a bit better. But in IMAX? Amazing,

So that's the deal gang, critics be damned, Tron Legacy is fantastic.

----End Of Line----

Review - "Iron Man 2"

In 2008, "Iron Man" came out of nowhere to be one of the biggest films of that year. Naturally, as with all hits in Hollywood, a sequel was immediately planned for 2010. Some felt the pressure of releasing a follow up so soon after the first film would result in a rushed, less than stellar film. Well I can honestly say that did not happen in this case. "Iron Man 2" takes all the stuff that made the first film so enjoyable, and made what is, in my opinion, a sequel that is just a bit better than the original.

There is a lot going on in this movie. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) faces his own mortality. A Russian physicist (Mickey Rourke) seeks revenge on Stark for his fathers death, which he blames on Tony's deceased father, Howard (seen in this film through "old" film footage) and uses Tony's technology to achieve it. The Government is putting pressure on Stark to hand over his Iron Man technology for military use. Stark's competitor Justin Hammer (a great Sam Rockwell) is working with the government to develop Iron Man type equipment. S.H.I.E.L.D, the covert agency seen briefly in the first film, is pressuring Stark to join their "Avengers Initiative" aka Superhero team. Whew i got tired just writing all of that.

But it all works, and all comes together coherently. Robert Downey Jr. gives another great performance as Stark, a guy who has taken the weight of protecting the world on his shoulders and it is starting to take its toll on him. Mickey Rourke chews up each scene he is in, he lays the Russian accent on a bit thick at times but that really wasn't an issue for me. Don Cheadle steps into the role of Rhodey with total ease, I didn't even miss Terrance Howard. Sam Rockwell is hilarious as Starks wannabe rival. Everyone involved in this film had a blast and it shows on screen. One of my few complaints with the first Iron Man movie was that although the action was good, there was not quite enough of it. Definitely not a problem this time around.

This movie, just like the first, never takes itself too seriously, nor does it come across as too lighthearted. It strikes a good balance between the two. It's smart but doesn't hold back on the fun. The visual effects are well done like they were in the last film, and director Jon Faverau resists the latest gimmicks of modern film making ("shaky" cam, super quick cuts) and stays true to the world he established in the first film. I, for one am looking forward to another Iron Man film, as well as the upcoming "Avengers" movie, which Marvel studios is moving towards with each new super hero film ("Thor" and "Captain America" are filming now). Stay til the credits end and you will get another cool treat like at the end of the first Iron Man film.

Four out of Five stars.

Summer 2010

Editor's Note: Well it has been over a year since I have updated this blog. Unfortunately life interfered and I just was not able to dedicate anytime to it. Well thankfully things have settled down to the point where I can actually get back into it to talk about one of my passions, Movies. So here we go!! As always, feel free to leave comments, all I ask is that you stay on topic. If you like what you read, please become a follower! Enjoy and it's great to be back!

So begins another summer movie season, the time of year when the studios pull out the big guns, the "event" movies, the continuing and potential franchises. Every year Summer movies bring surprises, both good and bad. What will the summer of 2010 be like? No doubt it will be like most summers, there will be unexpected hits, unexpected flops, guaranteed hits, & pleasant surprises. The question is.....which movies will fall into which category? Let's take a look at some of the more high profile releases for the 2010 season.

"Iron Man 2" - May 7th. A sure thing if there ever was one. It crushed the competition with a first weekend gross of $128 million, $30 million more than "Iron Man". It looks to follow in the footsteps of both "Spider Man 2" and "X2:X Men United" as sequels that out do the originals, partly because they can jump right into the story without having to tell the origin story. All of the things that made the first movie so good seem to be returning, and the action is definitely being pumped up in this one, which is a good thing because my only real complaint about the first movie was that there actually could have been a bit more action. I will be seeing this tonight so I will post a review this week.

Predicted gross: $350 million


"Toy Story 3" - June 18. Pixar. Toy Story. Enough said. Toy Story is the only Pixar movie that has had sequels, (soon to change with "Cars 2" being made) and with good reason. Great characters. That's what makes us want sequels. They may be toys, but man do they have personality. That's why "Toy Story" was a hit, and why "Toy Story 2" was an even bigger hit. Judging by Pixar's track record, I have no reason to think this film will be nothing less than great. Even mediocre Pixar movies ("Cars" has always been though of as Pixar's weakest film) are better than half of the nonsense released into theaters. With the entire cast returning, (with the exception of the late Jim Varney), and some new voices - Michael Keaton, Timothy Dalton, Whoopi Goldberg and Bonnie Hunt, I can say that this is a movie I would go to see with OR without my kids. Then again, I can say that about any Pixar movie.

Predicted Gross - $300 million

"The A Team" - June 11. Movies made from TV shows have been hit and miss. Being a big fan of the classic 80's TV show, I was of course very skeptical about this being made into a movie. Then I saw the casting and became very hopeful. Liam Neeson as Hannibal, Bradley Cooper as Face, Sharlto Copey ("District 9") as Murdock. The only question mark for me was Rampage Jackson as B.A., because he is not an actor by trade, I believe he is from Ultimate Fighting. But then I thought, well, Mr. T was not a good actor so as long as he looks the part and is intimidating, then it should work. Still cautious, I was at least hopeful. Then I saw the trailer and my fears were put to rest. Now I know that a good trailer does not guarantee a good movie, but knowing the show, I can pretty much conclude that the movie is going to be fun. All the actors look their parts. The action looks, at times, over the top, which is a good thing. The film makers seem to be taking a bit more of a serious approach, while at the same time keeping the spirit of the show intact. Director Joe Carnahan ("Smokin' Aces") is capable of directing good action, although "Smokin Aces" was a disappointment because of the muddled ending, the movie was about 10 minutes too long. So I'm holding out hope it's gonna be good.

Predicted Gross - $160 million

"Inception" - July 16. Ok I will admit, I don't know much about this movie. Then again, neither do too many other people. What we do know is this - It stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Cillian Murphy, and Michael Caine. It is directed by Christopher Nolan ("The Dark Knight", "Batman Begins", "The Prestige"), and it has something to do with a technology that allows a person to invade another person's dreams, and some sort of plan to implant, not steal information from someone. Sounds a bit like a combination of "Dreamscape", "The Matrix" and a good old heist movie. An odd combination to be sure, but if anyone can pull this off it's Christopher Nolan. With two great Batman movies under him, as well as "The Prestige" and "Memento", Nolan is a director who consistently delivers quality films and there is no reason not to believe "Inception" will be any different. Not knowing much about the movie's story usually proves to be an advantage with Nolan's films, so I will definitely make sure I know as little as possible going into this one. Nolan has not disappointed yet.

Predicted gross - $200 million

"The Expendables" - August 22. Sylvester Stallone surprised us with two sequels no one really thought would be as good as they were in "Rocky Balboa" and "Rambo". Both movies closed out their characters nicely, and word is Stallone is finally done with those characters. Not one to sit back and do nothing, Stallone has assembled a team of action stars unlike any we have seen before....Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lungren, Mickey Rourke, Danny Trejo, with cameos from Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger, in a story about a team of mercenaries heading to South America to overthrow a ruthless dictator only to find that nothing is as it seems. That is a set up for some potentially awesome action sequences. It's nice to see Stallone making an attempt at creating a new franchise, and seeing the trailers, this has potential. Being super violent and rated R, I don't think it is going to be a blockbuster, but it will make enough that it will be considered a hit and give Stallone the chance to make a sequel. Cant wait to see it.

Predicted gross - $100 million


Well that's it for now, what are your opinions on the movies I just talked about? What movies are you looking forward to this summer? Check out my review of "Iron Man2" in my next entry sometime this week.