Entry for February 04, 2008: Movies, Super Bowl

I’d like to congratulate the New York Giants and the team’s supporters on their victory in Super Bowl XLII and offer my condolences to fellow fans of the New England Patriots. While the Pats didn’t get the perfect undefeated football season they had hoped for, the big game was a close challenge rather than a blowout for either side.

Giants quarterback Eli Manning successfully drove down the field, and his defensive teammates did an excellent job of keeping the Patriots from advancing and kept the overall score low. Unlike some more hard-core sports fans, I have no interest in gloating and am glad that the game was close and that the Northeast was well represented.

Backing up a bit, on Saturday, 2 February 2008, Janice and I had brunch at Fresco and ran some errands in Needham Heights, Massachusetts, which The Boston Globe reports is becoming a foodie town. It remains to be seen if the local population can support the various restaurants that I’ve blogged about. We also caught up on Avatar: the Last Airbender, The Batman, and decent romantic fantasy comedy Ella Enchanted.

We then met co-worker Ken G., who was in the neighborhood and brought over some DVDs. We watched noir comedy Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang, which was based on a graphic novel. We were pleasantly surprised to like the movie, which starred Robert Downey Jr. (soon to be Iron Man‘s Tony Stark) and Val Kilmer (once Batman). I’d rate it about an 8 out of 10.

We grabbed dinner at the Ground Round before Ken left, and Janice and I watched a dog show. The next morning, after the usual City of Heroes game online, I met Thomas K.Y. and Beruk A. for a seafood lunch at Jasper White’s Summer Shack in Cambridge, Mass. We then went back to Thomas‘ place in Lexington, Mass., to watch a DVD of Day Watch.

The Russian modern horror/fantasy movie wasn’t as visionary as its predecessor, Night Watch, but I still thought the story of one man’s search for redemption and interpersonal connection amid a supernatural struggle among the forces of light and darkness was interesting. I’d give the subtitled film about a 7 out of 10.

We also checked out the dieselpunk/horror video game Bioshock and a few movie previews. As with the Super Bowl broadcast, Iron Man and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian look most promising. The other commercials during the game were lackluster in comparison with previous years, but at least Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers gave a solid classic rock performance at halftime.

Speaking of various contests, next time, I’ll blog about the U.S. presidential primaries!

Entry for January 22, 2008: Cloverfield

Friends, I hope you’ve had a good week. Among other things I learned in the “Writing for Multiple Platforms” class at work last week was the fact that I need to shorten my blog posts and update this more frequently. So, here goes.

On Friday, 18 January 2008, Janice and I had a good dinner at Stone Hearth Pizza, following my New Year’s resolution to eat healthier, locally sourced food. We also ate at Finagle a Bagel later in the weekend, but we mostly stayed in and continued catching up on movies.

Speaking of food and film, I enjoyed French postapocalyptic farce (not a term you hear every day) Delicatessen, and Janice watched computer-animated comedy Meet the Robinsons during one of my D&D3.5 “Vanished Lands“ sessions. On Sunday, I watched the New England Patriots and New York (actually, New Jersey) Giants win their respective football championships.

Yesterday, I met Thomas K.Y. to screen Cloverfield at the AMC Burlington cineplex northwest of Boston. Janice had to work. While I’ve been a fan of kaiju, or giant monsters, since watching the “4:30 movie” on Channel 11 as a child in metropolitan New York. Thus, the family-friendly imports of the 1960s and 1970s, in which men in rubber suits stomped through miniature Japanese cities, and the classic stop-motion fantasies of Ray Harryhausen defined my tastes.

Kaiju in Manhattan — Cloverfield monster

Cloverfield is closer in spirit to the original Gojira as a parable and horror film. Just as the traumas of postwar Japan spawned Godzilla and Gamera, and Cold War anxiety led to a wave of alien-invasion movies, so Cloverfield and recent zombie flicks reflect our feelings after the tragic terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, whose images it directly invokes. As a result, I had more of an emotional response than I did to 1990s disaster pics, such as Independence Day or the weak Americanized Godzilla.

While the handicam-style cinematography is a bit tiring, the street-level view of an unidentified monster and the bloody destruction it wreaks on New York is compelling. Of course, I wish that other cities besides my hometown would be trashed in fiction, but Manhattan’s skyline is an icon of modernity. As usual, military’s weapons do little good as crowds of civilians try to flee. The creature is depicted as a force of nature whose origin and motives remain mysterious.

Like many movies of its kind, Cloverfield takes its time introducing its doomed human characters. I felt that some of the protagonists’ decisions endangered them irrationally, even for a horror flick. Cloverfield has gotten mixed reviews but done well at the box office. Overall, I’d give it about a 7 out of 10. After the movie, Thomas and I had a burger dinner at Fuddrucker’s.

Next time: Genre and gaming updates!

Entry for November 06, 2007: Crime, crafts, and comics

On Saturday, 3 November 2007, Janice and I stayed in due to the Nor’easter. Fortunately, the remnants of Hurricane Noel didn’t cause much damage around us, but a recent murder in Needham, Massachusetts, did have residents on edge.

We caught up on reading and recorded television episodes (more on that in a moment). On Sunday, we drove into Boston for a craft show. Although we didn’t buy much art, the numerous free samples of dipping sauces, baked goods, and soups in the tasting aisle were a hit as always. We may attend the Sugarloaf Craft Festival in Hartford, Connecticut, next weekend. In addition, I watched the New England Patriots narrowly defeat the Indianapolis Colts.

The writer’s guild strike will no doubt affect genre entertainment, but right now, my favorite shows include supernatural comedies Reaper and Pushing Daisies, animated fantasy Avatar: the Last Airbender, and even belatedly improved superhero drama Smallville. The second tier of television I watch includes Chuck, Heroes, Journeyman, Women’s Murder Club, Legion of Superheroes, The Batman, and Torchwood.

I haven’t been to the cinema in a while, but the coming weeks will bring theatrical releases of the original Star Trek pilot, “The Menagerie,” and Battlestar Galactica: Razor, as well as Neil Gaiman’s computer-animated Beowulf. I’ve also got to track down Day Watch, the sequel to the moody modern Russian horror movie Night Watch, which I have on DVD.

Before I get to my current favorite comic books, here are 10 trends I’ve noticed in the past few months, mainly with the “big two” publishers, DC Comics and Marvel Comics:

–Looking Back: As I get older, I have a greater appreciation for the Golden Age (1930s to 1950s) and Silver Age (1960s to 1970s), so it isn’t surprising that some writers and artists want to get beyond the timebound Bronze Age (1970s to 1980s) and the grim outlook of the Iron or Modern Age (late 1980s to present).

Artist Alex Ross has almost single-handedly spearheaded this idealistic nostalgia, from Marvels and Justice to the upcoming Superpowers and Avengers/Invaders. I like the four-color heroics of such graphic novels, and I wish more mainstream titles could recapture that sense of entertainment. On the other hand, I also like the faster pace of modern storytelling and progress in artistic styles.

–Crossover Fatigue: While I understand that publishers need to get people to buy as many issues as possible to stay profitable, keeping track of sprawling continuities is burning out many longtime fans’ interest and discouraging new readers from joining our hobby. Like the graphic violence and variant-cover speculation that harmed comic books’ reputation in previous decades, this could again stunt its reputation.

DC’s Identity Crisis/Infinite Crisis/52/One Year Later/Countown to Final Crisis started out with some good development of secondary characters but has become a drawn-out exercise in muddling history, despite achieving the feat of coming out mostly on schedule. Marvel’s event-based Civil War/the Initiative and House of M/Endangered Species/Messiah Complex have been more focused in terms of story but have had problems shipping on time.

–Mistrust of Government: Thinly veiled allegories of recent U.S. politics could be found in the aforementioned stories, which crossed through multiple monthly and even weekly titles. In the DC universe, Batman and Checkmate, among others, struggled with paranoia and espionage within the metahuman community.

In the Marvel universe, Iron Man‘s leadership in getting the Superhuman Registration Act passed and during the subsequent Civil War dealt more directly with the questions of civil liberties vs. security raised in the so-called war on terror. Even if I’m sympathetic to liberal writers’ views, some of these tales have been rather heavy-handed.

–A-Team, B-Team: While many costumed vigilantes were involved in the big crossovers, the better-told stories actually involved other teams, including Green Lantern‘s Sinestro Corps War, Civil War: Frontline, and World War Hulk. Not all were successful, with Wonder Woman: Amazons Attack suffering from weak writing and timing.

Other examples include the fact that DC’s Justice Society of America has been more compelling than Justice League lately or that I find myself enjoying the divided Avengers (Mighty and New) more than the various X-Men teams.

–Resurrected Sidekicks: While Bruce Wayne’s parents and Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben may remain dead, both DC and Marvel altered longstanding continuity by bringing back Jason Todd/Robin II and Bucky Barnes, Captain America‘s World War II partner. Both came back with bad attitudes and some popularity. Since I like Tim Drake/Robin III and Cap’s postwar career, I don’t see the need for more angst, even if I think the writing around Bucky/”the Winter Soldier” is well-done.

On a related note, the secret identities of various masked men and women of mystery has also been a conceit honored more i
n the breach lately. Yes, Clark Kent’s disguise is thin at best, but I’m not sure Daredevil and Spider-Man needed to be “outed” only to be put back in the closet by events such as “One More Day.”

–Villains Unite: One of the more interesting trends lately is that the bad guys have learned from their nemeses and are organizing while the superheroes argue among themselves. Sure, various paramilitary groups, cults, and ad hoc villain teams have existed for years, but the newest ones, led by Avengers foe the Hood and Lex Luthor’s Injustice League, have real menace as they outmaneuver the good guys.

–Slain Heroes: Unfortunately, the corollary to the above is that Dan DiDio, editor in chief of DC, and Joe Quesada, EIC of Marvel, seem to enjoy killing off beloved characters. Again, I’ve been favorably impressed with the writing on Captain America even after the assassination of icon Steve Rogers. Early rumors on the Net suggest that Batman may be next to die (no doubt to be reborn after much hype).

Ever since Sherlock Holmes — and more recently, Superman — popular characters have been killed and brought back at a whim. I’d rather see the creativity and hype be directed at maintaining icons and developing their settings.

–All-Ages Titles: As with nostalgia for the Golden and Silver Ages, comic book publishers have made attempts to recapture their original audience of children. The results have been mixed: Some titles have been fun (such as DC’s “Johnny DC” line and Marvel’s “Adventures” line), but family-friendly titles are now in sort of a ghetto. I certainly don’t want to go back to the censorship of the Wertham Commission and the Comics Code, but some balance might help with wider distribution.

–Movie Madness: Within the industry and among some fans, there has been much hand-wringing over crossover fatigue, but to the general public, costumed vigilantes have never been more popular, thanks to several successful movie adaptations. My favorites among the recent batch include X-Men 2, The Incredibles, and Hellboy, not to mention various animated versions. Both of my nephews and numerous trick or treaters are apparently big fans of the caped and cowled set.

With Iron Man, the Dark Knight, Hellboy 2, and other adaptations in the works, as well as the multimedia appeal of the San Diego ComiCon, we can only hope that the best material rises to the top and enjoy the wave while it lasts.

–Licensed properties: Dark Horse‘s Star Wars, Conan, the Lone Ranger, and Buffy: the Vampire Slayer, and Dynamite‘s Red Sonja and Battlestar Galactica are some of the better examples of this. IDW has also revived the Star Trek space opera franchise, which is in hibernation in other media for now. I’ve been favorably impressed with most of these adaptations, which have the advantage of established fan bases. As long as these publishers strive to be creative while remaining faithful to the core concepts of each work, I’ll be happy.

Entry for July 10, 2007: SFTV and music

Friends, I hope that you had a good weekend. On Friday, 6 July 2007, I chatted with role-player Byron V.O. in St. Louis. Unfortunately, fellow “Holy Steel” teleconferencer Dexter V.H. was unable to join us in time, but at least I recorded the solid third-season premiere of the BBC’s revived Doctor Who.

The long-running, time-travel television show has had regular rounds of turnover, not unlike my gaming groups. While Christopher Eccleston gave the good Gallifreyan a strong relaunch, I’ve grown to like David Tennant, who in these most recent episodes reminded me of the swashbuckling third doctor, Jon Pertwee.

While Freema Agyeman has been somewhat controversial as new companion “Martha Jones,” I thought she has been an intelligent addition in the episodes I’ve seen thus far. Granted, comedienne Catherine Tate was funny as the “Runaway Bride,” and we’ll see her again in Series 4.

I’m still catching up on recorded episodes of the BBC’s latest Robin Hood. I’d also like to mark the passing of science fiction author Fred Saberhagen, whose “Berserker” novels were favorites of my brother Peter and me.

On Saturday, July 7, Janice and I drove to various used bookstores in Sharon and Waltham, Massachusetts in an unsuccessful initial attempt to sell four boxes of used books that we got from Robert A.S., who recently moved to North Carolina.

We also caught an early matinee of computer-animated culinary comedy Ratatouille, which we liked. I would compare the Disney/Pixar movie favorably to Dreamworks SKG/Aardman’s Flushed Away, which also had clever rodents trying to find how to coexist in a society that mirrors that of humanity. I’d give “Ratatouille” an 8 or 8.5 out of 10.

Later, we watched some of the Live Earth concerts on Bravo and NBC. Thanks again to Steve M.R., who notified me of the events on his blog. A good mix of musical acts performed around the world for the worthy cause of raising ecological awareness and starting to change consumer behavior.

Speaking of music, in recent weeks, I also watched the tribute to the late Diana, princess of Wales, and to Paul Simon. Princes William and Harry organized a nice tribute to their mother, but the audio quality of the broadcast from Wembley Stadium wasn’t very good.

I thought that the best songs in the latter special were those with Simon’s old collaborator Art Garfunkel, a rockin’ medley with Stevie Wonder, and songs with South Africa’s “Ladysmith Black Mambazo.”

During the various Fourth of July concerts, I was glad to catch a few songs of Bebe Neuwirth, best known as Frasier Crane’s shrewish wife Lilith in Cheers and Frasier. Neuwirth was also the star of Broadway’s Chicago revival, which Janice and I later saw in Boston before the recent movie with Catherine Zeta Jones, so it made sense for her to sing numbers from various Bob Fosse musicals.

In a related genre, current pop favorite Amy Winehouse is a young British singer whose latest album harkens back strongly to 1960s soul. The song “Rehab” is as catchy and retro as Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” was last summer, with dark undertones but a sense of humor.

Of other current Top 40 music and video hits, I like Rihanna’s “Umbrella” (O.K., perhaps seeing her gyrate painted a la Goldfinger has something to do with that, but so does the beat), the “Black-Eyed Peas'” Fergie stretching a bit in “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” and Carrie Underwood’s righteous fury in “Before He Cheats.”

As various games resume this week, I’m already making plans to screen Harry Potter [5] and the Order of the Phoenix with some of the local group this coming Saturday and Live Free or Die Hard [4] with visitor Ron J.K. on Sunday. I’ll try to post a review of those and more role-playing games in the coming week.

While my primary blog is part of my Yahoo 360 site, I have posted a few things to my MySpace page, including the results of a “What Superhero Are You?” quiz and a link to a preview of the animated adaptation of D.C. Comics’ Death of Superman.

Entry for May 14, 2007: Spider-Man 3 review

Friends, since several of you have asked for my review of Spider-Man 3, here it is. Thanks again to Ken G., who organized the gathering of about a dozen of his friends, as well as Thomas K.Y. and fellow co-worker Mark H., on Sunday, 6 May 2007! We met for an early matinee at the IMAX theater next to Jordan’s Furniture in Framingham, Massachusetts, and found moviegoers already in line. Warning: There are a few plot “spoilers” below.

The superhero sequel had some of the same strong elements as its predecessors: spectacular fight scenes and computer-generated imagery (New York City has never looked so good) and good humor and acting (co-creator Stan Lee and genre veteran Bruce Campbell make more cameos). I also liked the themes of compassion and forgiveness.

On the other hand, as with the “Batman” franchise in the 1990s, “Spidey 3” suffers from sequel bloat: too many villains (Sandman, the “new” Goblin, and Venom), too long a runtime of almost three hours, and an annoying romantic subplot. The alien symbiote Venom was added over director Sam Raimi’s initial objections when the studio wanted a more recently popular villain. When Peter Parker briefly gives in to his darker side, the effect is more silly than scary.

I’ve always had a problem with the casting of these otherwise excellent Marvel Comics adaptations. While J.K. Simmons is perfect as bulldog Daily Bugle editor in chief J. Jonah Jameson, I’ve always found Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst too dour as hero Peter Parker and struggling actress Mary Jane Watson, respectively. Thomas Haden Church was convincing as the shape-shifting Sandman, as was Bryce Dallas Howard as romantic complication Gwen Stacy.

However, Topher Grace, who was so good in sparring with Laura Prepon on That ’70s Show, was more snarky than menacing as Eddie Brock/Venom. As for James Franco as the tortured Harry Osborn/new Goblin, I liked him and think he would have done well as Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequels (along with Keira Knightly as Queen Amidala instead of Natalie Portman).

Overall, I’d give Spider-Man 3 about a 7 or 8 out of 10 — close to the first film, but not as good as Spider-Man 2, which had the best villain in Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus. Even a weaker Spidey, however, is better than many comic book adaptations, in my opinion (see also more discussion with co-workers Ken G. and Brian F.).

Why do genre movie series tend to peak at the second installment? Star Trek: Wrath of Khan, The Empire Strikes Back, Aliens, Superman II, X-Men 2, and now, Spider-Man 2 are all examples. Sure, there are some that barely get off the ground with a strong first installment but disappointing sequels (Highlander and The Matrix come to mind), and a few others don’t mature until later, such as the “Indiana Jones” or “Harry Potter” series.

My theory for the strength of certain sequels is that after re-establishing iconic characters, the second installments in many franchises have both the faithfulness to the source material and the freedom to expand upon their fictional universes. By contrast, the third and subsequent flicks tend to suffer from directorial excess (again, see the “Batman” franchise) or sacrifice fidelity to the tone of the source material for the sake of a larger audience. Having just rewatched Superman Returns this past week, I can only hope that Bryan Singer’s overly reverential reintroduction is followed by a strong sequel.

In the coming week, I hope to catch up on this blog with planned postings about travel, other entertainment, gaming, and work. In the meantime, as Stan “the man” Lee would say, Excelsior! -Gene