I'm Not a Critic, I just Blog A Lot

MI4: Ghost Protocol is pretty sweet!

noreply@blogger.com (samax amen) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 23:30:00 +0000

After watching Young Adult at the sneakeasy* last week, I couldn't resist the urge to sneak into Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol. Besides having a long name that is nevertheless fun to say, Ghost Protocol is directed by one of the best storytellers in animation: Brad Bird (The Incredibles, The Iron Giant, Ratatouille), and it was just starting as I was leaving Young Adult. It's like they WANTED me to sneak in and see it!

And I'm glad I followed the sparkly dust of synchronicity, because MI4:GP was awesome! It starts out with Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Run Fatboy Run) and fine ass Paula Patton (Deja Vu, Jumping the Broom, Idlewild) breaking Ethan Hunt out of a Russian prison. The movie hits the proverbial ground running and moves ahead at full speed from there without stopping.

Before long, Hunt and his team are on the track of a faceless Russian terrorist named Kobalt, who manages to frame Hunt and the entire IMF for a bombing of the Kremlin. Hunt doesn't bat an eye when he learns the President has enacted Ghost Protocol, disavowing the entire IMF in one shot. Sure, it cuts him off from hundreds of other agents and billions of dollars in technical support and safe houses... yeah, he knows Kobalt is planning to plunge the world into nuclear Armageddon and no one else can stop him. No problem... He got this...

No matter what tabloids are saying at any given time, it's all hate: Tom Cruise is the mother effing MAN! He's only getting better as the definitive American answer to James Bond.They let Pegg's character Benji off the leash as a field agent this go-round, but he's still short on badassery and long on jokes. The plot holes were of tolerable size and placement for the genre, and there were tons of cool locations, cars and violence to make up for them!

Brad Bird does a commendable job keeping all the balls in the air. The movie sags in the middle, but only slightly. And it's a beautiful-looking piece of work. If you're on the fence about watching it, I say check it out.

Movies That Should Be Comics #21- Young Adult

noreply@blogger.com (samax amen) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 21:55:00 +0000

A Beautiful Mess

After 3 straight days cooped up with me and my three year old , my wife ~~snapped~~ suggested I go (by myself) to the movies. For whatever reason, the movie I most wanted to see amid all the holiday blockbuster hooplah was Young Adult, the story of a ghost writer of a once-popular teen novel series. Besides the fact that it stars the lovely and talented Charlize Theron, Young Adult was written by Diablo Cody (Juno, United States of Tara) and directed by Jason Reitman (Juno, Up in the Air, Thank You for Smoking). Obviously disturbed by a recent divorce, Theron's character Mavis Gary randomly fixates on an old boyfriend, her highschool sweetheart Buddy (Nite-Owl from Watchmen), who just so happens to be married with a new baby. The combination of subject matter and creative team was too much for me to resist, so I decided to check it out!

Category FAIL

"OMG... Nite-Owl is so effin' HAWT!"

First of all, I have seen this movie branded as a romantic comedy which is really misleading. Sure, I found it very funny, and Mavis is determined to "get her man against all odds" in typical romcom fashion, but Young Adult is way more drama than comedy. When I arrived (very early) at the theater, I saw a couple of twentysomething suburbanistas coming from watching the previous showing, and one turns to the other and sneers "I thought it would be funny, but it was kind of depressing..."

Because "funny" and "depressing" can't happen in the same story, right? They totally can of course, and in Young Adult, they totally do. The storytelling is superbly done, and all the actors deliver. The ever-elastic Theron is scary good as the movie's alcoholic basketcase of a star, whom lazy critics will label "unlikeable" due to her laundry list of personality flaws. Mavis is messed up, but she's funny, good-looking, and talented. That is enough to make a person attractive to most people, and she's also good at hiding her shortcomings when she wants to. The director protects us from her charms by quickly and repeatedly revealing her hotness and charisma to be a masterfully constructed, but ultimately thin facade. As we get to know her, her problematic traits start to reveal the train wreck that awaits.
Spoiler Alert! Not really...

This movie is excellent, but not necessarily for everyone. Let me give you a spoiler that will help you decide if it's for you: If you are planning on watching to see if Mavis and Nite Owl will rekindle their fated high school romance, forget it. Mavis' home-wrecking mission is doomed to fail in awkward and spectacular fashion. The only thing approaching a romcom plotline is the intimate-yet-dysfunctional relationship Mavis forms with her handicapped toy-friend Matt (comedian Patton Oswalt [United States of Tara, Ratatouille, The Informant!]), but it mocks romcom fans' desires more than it satisfies them. No matter how you slice it, this movie is not a romantic comedy, and it will punish you for wanting it to be one, hence the depressed chick who was leaving as I was coming in...
Mavis is...

Mavis is the mean girl who never grew out of it. She is a self-defeating, alcoholic drama queen. While not technically insane, she has serious issues that she refuses to face, and while they repeatedly destroy her relationships, she is capable enough to stay ahead of the wave. Because she is pretty and talented, there is always someone willing to rescue her that she will throw away once she thinks she can stand on her own. As much as critics want to brand Mavis unlikeable, society produces lots of people like her that we like just fine until we get to know them. We sweat them, woo them and beg for their approval. We rejoice at their every passing wink or pinch of attention. When they need us to enable their bad behavior, we are just happy to be needed. And even though we miss them when they are gone, we eventually realize we are better off without them. Is that depressing? Not to me. But then, I'm not Mavis, nor am I in love with anyone like her. If you are, you should follow Matt's advice: "Keep that to yourself... and see a therapist".
the Anti-Crumb?

I think it would be really cool if this was made into a comic, especially by a female writer-artist. Imagine if there was an ex-cheerleader/prom queen like Mavis who also happened to write and draw semi-autobio comics! Lets call her the Anti-Crumb... It would sell like Taylor Swift mp3s, buddy! Let's face it: everyone in the comics industry CLAIMS they want girls to read comics, but most comics are made by dudes like Matt. Eeew! In the movie, Mavis is all messed up and self-absorbed... but she's a helluva writer who knows what girls want to read! If she could draw comics like R. Crumb or Harvey Pekar, not only would girls flock to her signings in Twilight-like droves, but she would have art nerds and Eisner awards piling up at her door! Whether she was drafted by a traditional comics publisher or her books dropped as outsider comix, the Anti-Crumb would smash the comics industry as we know it, generating adoring fans, angry critiques and eager copycats in record numbers! So put down your old yearbooks and sharpen your pencils, ladies. Your audience is waiting...

5 reasons why I cuts for "Colombiana" even though you told me not to watch it...

noreply@blogger.com (samax amen) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 20:51:00 +0000

When I announced my intention to go watch Colombiana, the new shoot-em-up popcorn flick starring rising star Zoe Saldana, I received many texts, tweets, and other assorted comments suggesting that my hard-earned money would be better spent elsewhere. They're welcome to their opinions, but I had several good reasons to put my chips on the deck to watch this one, whether I really expected it to blow my mind or not. I wasn't expecting an Oscar-worthy tour de force (and it wasn't one), but I was hoping for a good time, which it delivered. Here's five reasons I watched it, and you should too...

5) Gun control means using both hands- It's been a while since I saw an action movie where the protagonist pulls out guns the size of the one Saldana's hit-girl for hire Cataleya Restrepo packs in Colombiana, which definitely did not disappoint in the steel-packing category, scoring high on my Wa-da-da-dang-o-meter.

4) Girl Power- Americans have a problem imagining women as violent or powerful, especially if they are still hot and feminine. As the only son of a single mom with two older sisters, I know this reductive view of female ability is a fictional construct, not reflective of the true potential of women. The script for Colombiana is by French writer/director Luc Besson, known for supplying chick badassery in films like Le Femme Nakita and The Fifth Element. While Colombiana is not the equal of those films, there are several great action scenes that place Cataleya's athletic and combat prowess front and center. I got the impression that many critics have a fundamental problem with depicting a female (and in this case a woman of color) with mad skills and a stone-faced attitude toward violence. If you liked XXX and/or Salt, but you can't accept Saldana as a badass gun-clapping, neck-snapping instrument of vengeance, then I think you pro'lly need to check yourself.

3) Inspiration- One of the best compliments I can give a film or television show is that it makes me want to write and draw comics. Although much of the execution in this movie falls short of outstanding, it definitely met my "makes me wanna make comics" criteria. I would not be surprised if lots of creative people had a similar experience. If anybody hears that the rights-holders are thinking about making comics based on Cataleya (and Brian Stelfreeze and Jason Pearson aren't interested), have them give me a shout...

2) Can you say "Franchise?"- Sequels aren't often better than the original films, just more expensive. Even though I enjoyed Colombiana, I think there is a lot of room to improve upon this movie's execution and build on the characters (the ones that survived anyways).There is enough substance here to turn this into a series of movies like James Bond (or at least The Transporter). When I was watching it, I could feel it as a 1st person shooter video game. Wouldn't you love to snipe CIA agents and drown Colombian drug lords and emerge from swimming pools of blood as the lovely and deadly femme fatale?

1) Fear of a Tyler Perry planet- I like Zoe Saldana. I have been a fan ever since she played the Star Trek-loving bureaucrat Dolores Torres in The Terminal. My hope is that her agents will keep her on the fanboytoy track evidenced by that role, as well as her ventures into badassery in The Losers and Colombiana. As a black(ish... I know she mostly identifies herself as latina. Whatevs) actress, the mysterious magnetic powers of racial typecasting will try to exile her the dark and seedy world of Tyler Perry films, never to return, and frankly I'd rather not see that happen. While I would never take Tyler Perry away from those who love his movies, I personally can't stand them. So I feel very strongly about supporting genre films that Saldana appears in... besides which, it would be awesome if Hollywood money-men believed in black women. I swear they are capable of more than romantic comedies and The Help.

Movies That Should be Comics #19- Meet Dave

noreply@blogger.com (samax amen) — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 20:50:00 +0000

For reasons i'm still at a loss to explain, I watched the sci-fi comedy Meet Dave starring Eddie Murphy (48 Hours, Trading Places, Beverly Hills Cop, Coming To America, Boomerang, Dreamgirls) on television the other day. I'm a big fan of Eddie's old movies and stand-up, and while I did enjoy the first Daddy Day Care (there was a kid who spent the ENTIRE FILM dressed as the Flash... I'm sorry, that's funny!), I am extremely perplexed by Eddie's family comedies. Eddie is still a phenomenal talent. He's funny, good looking, and has super star charm. he's just waiting to work with a great director, in a great film...

Meet Dave is not that film. Eddie Murphy plays the captain of a space ship staffed by tiny aliens who arrive on Earth to retrieve a device that can save their world from destruction, but will unfortunately kill the human race in the process. Because they are so small, their ship is disguised as a human who looks just like Murphy (of course..?). As Dave (the starship's alias) interacts with a pretty human chick played by Elizabeth Banks (Zack and Miri Make A Porno, Role Models, 40 Year Old Virgin, W ), Murphy discovers that he might not want to kill the whole human race after all. Meanwhile (for some reason) being on earth has adverse emotional effects on Murphy's crew, and y'know, hyjinx ensue.

i found the film to be a lot more tolerable (even entertaining) than i thought it would be. there are some good concepts and comedic moments, but it was just not well-done overall. The actors (even actors who were great in other films) were mostly flat. the special effects, as Butthead would say "were not that special" and the child actors were a hot mess. The chemistry was great between Dave and the love interests played by Banks and Gabrielle Union (Deliver Us From Eva, Bad Boys 2, Bring It On, Something the Lord Made), but there was little room to make the interactions ring true. At the end when Dave's 2nd in command takes over the ship and uses its weapons to go on a super-powered rampage, I saw the movie this could have been. Director Brian Robbins (Norbit, The Shaggy Dog) was totally out of his breadth, but anyone who saw the trailer for Meet Dave and still paid to see it deserved what they got.

I'm only writing about Meet Dave for one reason: I came up with a similar idea many years ago, but it wasn't a comedy, it was dead serious. I honestly think that in many ways, the concept was conceived better in this film. Adding a little comedy helps the absurd ideas work. That said, I think Meet Dave would work MUCH better as a comic! there are so many scenes in this movie (especially the part where the white-suited Murphy goes berzerk on the cops with hand-mounted laser cannons) that even a decent comicbook artist would have a BLAST with! I know I'd love to draw a comic based on this premise... the movie, bad as it was, revealed a lot of potential for gags and visuals that were just beyond this director's capabilities.

[EDIT: In a moment of pure procrastination, I drew the image seen here, to play with the idea of what this movie could be in comics form. If you know the person who owns the rights, tell them I'd happily adapt it for comics for a reasonable fee...]
holla!
-samax

Rise of a Supervillain, or Clown Prince of Street Art Strikes Again?

noreply@blogger.com (samax amen) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 17:00:00 +0000

So I finally got around to watching the heavily talked-about, Oscar-nominated street art doc Exit Through the Gift Shop this weekend. The film is directed by the anonymous street artist and culture critic Banksy, constructed primarily of footage shot by the film's presumably unwitting star, the would-be filmmaker-turned street art sensation Thierry Guetta (above), aka Mr. Brainwash.

As someone coming very late to the film (which has since been accused of being at least partially fabricated), I chose to try and accept it on face value- to watch it as another in a long line of slanted documentaries with an agenda beyond documentation of reality- and to deal with the question of it's veracity separately. There are tons of details about the movie that are very easily confirmed as true, while others will always be open for speculation and alternating theories.

Even with all I had heard about the film prior to watching it, I found myself drawn into the weird life of Thierry Guetta, which reads like the origin story of a super-villain. If the documentary's account of Guetta's life can be believed, sad and fairly tragic events in his childhood (including the death of his mother) saddled him with a compulsion to take pictures and video of everything and everyone in his life, to the point that his friends and family just got used to the constant filming. When a cousin (himself a prolific street artist) allows Thierry to film his art-making, he unwittingly provides Thierry with an entry point into filming more and more prominent street artists, culminating with the golden goose of street artists, the elusive and anonymous Banksy.

He mostly made these inroads because he convinced the artists that he too was an artist: They believed he intended to eventually combine all that footage to create a documentary about street artists exploits, adventures and culture. Instead, when Banksy decides that Guetta is incapable of creating a documentary of any merit, he prods him down the road of becoming a street artist himself, while secretly using Guetta's footage to create his own film about Guetta's transformation into the street art franchise called Mr. Brainwash, who hires a squad of artists and takes the Los Angeles art scene by storm.

Whether Banksy's account of all this is sincere, it brings to mind many of the usual notions about where the boundaries are (or should be) around art. What can fairly be called art, who can fairly be called an artist, and what the real value of art is, if there is any. Guetta is subtly painted as a shifty and unbalanced con man, who had already made a good living exploiting the mildly stupid (buying discarded clothes and reselling them as "vintage" to well-heeled hipsters) who then brought the same mindset to the art world. He contracted a gang of artists to take him from art zero to art hero in short order, selling almost a million bucks worth of his cheesy art to the gullible Tinseltown art dorks.

Of course, it's not surprising that people might call Banksy's sincerity into question. His art is at its core social satire. He frequently thumbs his nose at the art community and he is to date completely anonymous. Since so much of his art is done using stencils and reproductions, there's no way to confirm his own identity, and some suspect he may actually be franchising his name (or "brand" if you prefer) out to other artists. Obviously, someone is out there cashing the checks, but the art world at large (including art nerds like me, and probably you too) has no real way to know if the hooded figure in the film is the "real" Banksy or a spokesman. And while we can't be sure what percentage of his origin story for Mr. Brainwash is accurate, he's at least real enough to be the latest street artist to lose a high-profile copyright case that may wreck the Fair Use defense for pop artists... but I digress...

I said all that to say: this movie is dope either way. After years of reading comics, I would love to think this is a straight-up documentary chronicling the rise of an unintentional art villain who exploits the cracks in the framework of the so-called "fine art" world for financial gain and ego inflation. But I can just as easily enjoy it as a likely inside joke from one of the most well-known (yet anonymous) court jesters in the global village.
If you haven't seen this movie, you probably should if you are an art nerd. It's available for Instant Viewing on Amazon (FREE for Amazon Prime members). The questions it raises about art are not new ones, but it will give you a chance to talk about them from another angle (and what art nerd doesn't want THAT?). If you have seen it, I'd LOVE to hear your thoughts!
holla!
-samax

I need to peep this anime...

noreply@blogger.com (samax amen) — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 20:02:00 +0000

This movie Summer Wars looks hard...

Here's the sales pitch:
From the visionary directory of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2007 Japanese Academy Award winner, Best Animated Feature) comes the story of an ordinary family going to extraordinary lengths to avert the impending cyber apocalypse!

I need to check this out! I have read some good reviews of it, but haven't caught it yet myself...
It seems to press some of the same buttons as the Satoshi Kon mindbender Paprika (which I really liked), but with a lighter touch. I'm sure some of you have seen Summer Wars already, so feel free to speak up. Just try not to give away too much!

Okay... this is dope...

noreply@blogger.com (samax amen) — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 17:00:00 +0000

I clowned Green Lantern pretty bad when the first trailer came out, so it's only fair that I admit how much I'm feeling this one...

I still think I would like Reynolds better as Kyle Rayner, but that's moot... these snippets (it's not really a trailer per se) do a much better job of selling the movie, I think. Feel free to kick in with your own comments I know you probably commented on a million blogs and websites, but hey, what's one more!?!

Another bubble Busted

noreply@blogger.com (samax amen) — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

I recently watched August, a movie about a struggling internet company skating on the skin of the dot-com bubble the month before the infamous terror attacks of 2001. August stars Josh Hartnett (40 Days and 40 Nights,30 Days of Night,Lucky Number Slevin) as Tom Sterling, the hotshot co-founder of Landshark, a company that does something having to do with aggregating (google it). I had no interest in August when it popped up on cable, until I realized that (like many other good stories) this movie was all about getting the girl...

okay, so it wasn't TOTALLY about getting the girl, but it SHOULD have been... There is a small segment of the movie that IS about getting the girl. Namely his sexy European bar-tending ex-girlfriend, played by the lovely Naomi Harris. THAT part was awesome, except... well, I'll get to that a little later... But basically, this movie reminds us that creating a remarkable product and selling a remarkable product take two totally different sets of skills. Hartnett's character is a beast at selling... not just selling what Landshark DOES, but what Landshark IS: the Future.

Like a lot of people selling the future, Sterling isn't able to deliver it fast enough for anyone (his girl, investors, his dad, or his brother... the tech-savvy better half of Landshark, played by Adam Scott). Unfortunately, this movie isn't able to deliver either...

I mean, the performances are all awesome. The direction isn't bad either. The storytellers do a good job of creating tension, with the impending doom that we know about but the characters don't (the terror attacks coming the following month, and the long-term downward thrust they deliver to the economy) as well as the company's financial problems that they do know. They use television and movie clips to situate the viewer so that I felt I was back in 2001. But the story really isn't going anywhere... or rather, not anywhere I wanted to go.

Like I said before, what really hooked me was when he runs into his ex and it looks like he is going to rekindle their romance. I mean, I was pretty sure by then that this dude was just a high-powered sales dog whose business was probably going down, whether it was from getting snaked by competitors or by an Al-Qaeda- inspired economic downturn, but at least he would have a hot girlfriend who loved him even before he had loot.
That would have made a good movie, I think... but that wasn't the plan. This movie is a good-ole fashioned tragedy, with all that entails.

Like all of us, Tom is flawed. He's a mildly likable, highly ambitious douchebag, whose futuristic thinking is the real secret of his success, and ultimately his failure. I think I could have stood the movie, even loved it, if the romance was allowed to flourish, like the proverbial rose growing from concrete...

but I guess that wasn't the point, was it? Like a lot of people who are focused on the future, Tom doesn't spend nearly enough time on what's right in front of him. Tom leverages all his relationships on the future and pays the price for his arrogance, and If you're rooting for him, you will too.
*sigh* SO sad...
:(
-Samax

Just Don't call them "Sidekicks"

noreply@blogger.com (samax amen) — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 21:40:00 +0000

I was sort of skeptical of the new Young Justice cartoon back when I first heard of its impending release. Now that I've seen it, I can barely remember what I was so worried about...

Young Justice starts off with the foremost sidekicks of the Justice League's mainstays being invited to finally enter the hallowed Hall of Justice, only to feel disrespected by having only superficial clearance. After the Justice League is called away on a seemingly more serious mission, the kids check out a fire at the mysterious Project: Cadmus, stumbling right into Superboy's origin.

DC has been doing a great job with its straight-to-video animated films and its Justice League Unlimited show, and Young Justice offers more of what you've come to expect. The animation, character and set design are all fabulous. Continuing the tradition of d-list cameos, the Guardian makes an appearance as the chief security officer at Project:Cadmus, although he doesn't do much but stand around and talk tough. The debut clocks in at about 45 minutes (once commercials are edited out), and moves briskly enough to have a nice plot, but slowly enough to allow for nice characterization.

Kid Flash is impatient and speaks without thinking. Robin is a rule-breaking, authority-shrugging hacker. Superboy is a hothead. Aqualad is the voice of reason, and seems to be the natural leader of the group. I liked that they are leaning away from portraying Robin as essentially a clone of Batman, and giving him a real personality, without the show getting into secret identities... I actually hope they take a nod from Teen Titans Go! and just stick to the kids' in-costume activities, like they did in this debut feature.

Of course, the show bore all of Justice League Unlimited's flaws as well as its strengths. I have built up an immunity to these cats' tendency to treat all superheroes like they are equal in power level. You will have to excuse the multiple times Robin takes a body blow from someone with super-strength without consequence, and a Kid Flash (and Flash when he appears) that doesn't seem anywhere near as fast as he should be. I would also have loved to see more from the ghastly goon squad at Cadmus, but I would have preferred a 90 minute debut over a 45 minute one... but I'm not paying the bills, am I? All the inconsistencies can easily be explained away, or better yet, just ignored.

All in all, the show was very enjoyable, and all the little teaser materials they dropped into the episode have hooked me into wanting to watch the show, so mission accomplished! After the smoke from the episode clears, and the status quo for the show is established, it looks like it's gonna be dope!

peep the whole episode via megavideo below, if you missed it on CN!

CN Spits hot FIYAH with "Firebreather"

noreply@blogger.com (samax amen) — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 08:31:00 +0000

I can't say that I honestly expected the made-for-teevee animated movie Firebreather to be all that good. I was glad to be wrong.

Cartoon Network's new movie Firebreather tells the story of Duncan Rosenblatt, an orange-skinned teenager trying to find his place at a new school. As it turns out, Duncan is the son of the sky-scraping flame-spitting monster-king Belloc, who expects his decidedly human-sized son to take the reigns to his monster empire. Duncan lives with his mother, who inexplicably conceived a child with a 200 foot tall dragon, and just wants Duncan to have a normal life. Soon Belloc returns and brings his giant-monster madness with him. Despite the teams of government agents who watch his every move, Duncan's only real hope of surviving the waves of subterranean monsters bent on killing him to claim Belloc's crown is to master his emerging monster powers. And did I mention he's got a couple different chicks digging his orange complexion and keen fashion sense? So yeah, there's that.

I complain a lot about the premature proclamation of the demise of 2-d animation, with studios chasing that Shrek paper, so some of my readers were perplexed that I was so excited to watch this movie. I really just wanted to watch Firebreather because I loved the awesome Image comic it was based on. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the anime-inspired character designs and action sequences were pretty good for a teevee movie, and the story stands up to multiple viewings.

The buzzing has already started about whether or not Cartoon Network plans to spin Firebreather off into an ongoing series, and I add my voice to those hoping they do. As someone who reads the comic, I know there's more than enough material in the story framework, and I would really enjoy seeing just how much they change for television. I was intrigued by the portrayal of Belloc, and his mysterious relationship with Duncan's mom. The other supporting cast members were cool too, and they floated lots of hints at other story possibilities. So if Cartoon Network IS planning to do an ongoing Firebreather toon, there's plenty of potential there.

about the Green Lantern Movie trailer...

noreply@blogger.com (samax amen) — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 04:35:00 +0000

"The kids will love watching a womanizer smash a chick then leave her with the tap water..."
-LeSean Thomas (animator, cartoonist)

sorry, but that quote is awesome. I hope the movie is better than this trailer, which feels mad corny. They clearly got all excited after watching Avatar, and decided that computer animating everything possible was the way to go. I really like cartoons, so maybe this will be like watching a cartoon (like Avatar was). yeah, that's it... feel free to inject your opinion on the trailer... what do you think?

Movies that Should be Comics # 18 : Whip It!

noreply@blogger.com (samax amen) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 03:13:00 +0000

Just finished watching Whip It, the roller derby coming-of-age flick-starring Ellen Page (it also happens to mark the directoral debut of Drew Barrymore). Page stars as Bliss, a 17 year old small-town girl who rebels against her pageant-happy mom by secretly joining a roller derby team.

One of the best things about the movie is the names of the characters (Bliss takes on the name Babe Ruthless, and Barrymore has a small role as Smashley Simpson). Anyways, the movie is well written and more or less well acted and directed. The movie is probably made for girls who want to live out their tough girl fantasies through Bliss's rags-to-badass transformation. As such, the movie is very, very successful. The character development in the film is nice. Bliss's involvement in roller derby has a noticeable effect on her sense of self, and all her relationships are changed as a result by the story's end.

If I had the reigns at a comicbook company with a little money to spend (IT COULD HAPPEN!), I would hire emerging cartoonist Ross Campbell (Wet Moon, Water Baby, Shadoweyes) to turn Whip It into a graphic novel series. He has a serious command of the medium, and a knack for capturing the personalities of hot weird girls of every conceivable shape, size and color. I think Ross could pull off the seemingly mutually exclusive tasks of making a comic version that appealed to both male and female readers. Men and women approach the topics of sex, violence, sports, etc differently, so many artists would have trouble appealing to both at the same time, but Ross is definitely up to it. I mean, my wife and I are both straight GEEKING for the next installment of Wet Moon, his slice-of-life book about the trials and tribulations of emo art school chicks, so I believe he's the man for the job. To peep more of his work, click here.

holla!

-samax

This movie's A Hot Mess... But I liked it anyways

noreply@blogger.com (samax amen) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 21:03:00 +0000

I recently watched Observe and Report on DVR. It's an example of a movie that I enjoyed watching, but that I would not classify as 'good'...

Observe and Report stars Seth Rogen (Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Knocked Up, Pineapple Express, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Superbad) as Ronnie Barnhardt, a bipolar mall security guard who believes he can improve his station in life if he can just catch a flasher who exposes himself to women in the mall parking lot. Ray Liotta (Goodfellas, Unlawful Entry) plays the Police Detective who's brought in when Barnhardt can't seem to solve the case. To further complicate matters, Barnhardt is infatuated with Brandi, the white trash yamp played brilliantly by Anna Faris (My Super Ex-Girlfriend, Brokeback Mountain). Barnhardt hilariously believes he can get her to fall in love with him, and gets lots of laughs trying.

Anyways, Barnhardt and his rag-tag band of misfit sidekicks kind of meander through the film, getting into trouble while failing to catch the flasher or the mysterious thief who keeps ransacking the mall at night.

If you're finding this review hard to follow, you're getting an idea of how I felt watching the movie. It seems like a movie that had a very basic plot going in, but the actors and director kept adding funny stuff until it just got out of hand. There are moments in the movie that are side-splittingly funny, and moments that fall 100% flat. The story never quite finds a rhythm, and eventually, thankfully, the movie ends. If I was grading this movie, I'd say it's probably a D+ effort, but I'd give it a C- because it made me laugh really hard more than once. That's gotta count for something, right?

holla!
-samax

Movies that Should Be Comics #17: Action Jackson

noreply@blogger.com (samax amen) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:46:00 +0000

After several high-profile sidekick roles, Carl Weathers proved he could carry a movie wall to wall in the 1988 smash Action Jackson, which -despite the horrible acting of Prince protege Vanity (The Last Dragon)- is one of my favorite action movies. Weathers is a good actor and a better screen presence than many of the action heroes that you can name.
Your man Craig T Nelson (Coach) holds it down as prototypical eighties evil rich dude Peter Dellaplane, a villain who deserves to be immortalized with Weathers’ stalwart supercop Jericho Jackson in comics form.

This basic revenge story could get beefed up a little for the longer format of comics, and Delleplane’s cadre of assassins, the cleverly dubbed Invisible Men could have the space and time to really shine. And even after the plot and characters from the film are all exhausted, I think Jericho had plenty more stories in him. Hollywood and movie audiences may not have been ready in the eighties, but I know comics fans would eat it up (at least, I know I would)...
holla!
-samax
p.s.- I write and illustrate a column in GhettoManga magazine called Movies That Should Be Comics. this is an excerpt from the Fall 2010 issue. You can get a print of this this mock Action Jackson comicbook cover free with a paid subscription to GhettoManga. for details, click here.

Movies That Should Be Comics #16: A Knight's Tale

noreply@blogger.com (samax amen) — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 20:28:00 +0000

I just finished watching A Knight's Tale, the period action comedy starring the late Heath Ledger, on dvr. I had already seen this movie a million times before I got married, but found out recently that my wife hates it for all the same reasons I love it.
A Knight's Tale tells the story of William Thatcher, who dreams the impossible dream of transcending his humble peasant origins to become a Knight. Of course, in feudal England, one would have to be born into nobility to even consider becoming a knight... "You might as well try to change the stars," laughs a doomed eavesdropper at young William's impossible aspirations. Will's father, however is unable to say no to his son's ambitions, and encourages him to hold onto hope.
Through his father's machinations, Will leaves his home in London to become a squire for a country knight, whose unsanctimonious death over a decade later gives Will the opportunity he'd been waiting for.

As a person who is quite tired of the constant retreading of this period in European history (as if Europe was the only place there were worthy stories happening in the world at the time), I had no desire to go to the theater to see what I expected to be a subpar film in a lackluster genre. When my best friend drug me out to see this, I was shocked at how much I enjoyed it... Similar to a Disney cartoon, the period trappings in A Knight's Tale are largely there for dress-up purposes. The story does its best to distance itself from the realities of the time, using music and situational details to make it feel more contemporary... The movie treats jousting, sword-fighting and the hero-worship of the knights as similar to modern sports as possible, complete with heralds that seem like they're announcing a boxing match more than the entry of nobles into mock combat.

Characters in the film show they are good and honorable mostly by going against the values and norms of the era, whether it's the female blacksmith Kate, Jocelyn the bold-talking noble woman, the swash-buckling Prince Edward, and of course William himself. Conversely, the villain of the film Count Adhemar is a raping, pillaging, cheating, condescending prick... reinforcing the idea that the values of the time are unjust, and that the "new world" where a boy can "change his stars" fully deserves to supplant the patriarchal world Adhemar calls home.

None of this is unique of course. In fact, most period films use the contrast between the past and present to help engage the viewer, but A Knight's Tale, perhaps anticipating a younger audience, amplifies these with multiple characters and choices of music and comic relief. The voices that criticize A Knight's Tale (of which my wife is a proud member) fail to be amused by the injection of contemporary flair in their period flicks.

My wife's objections to A Knight's Tale reminded me of the initial rejection of Samurai Champloo I heard from anime purists who couldn't get with a samurai story that stopped for beat-boxing interludes or had backpacker-styled rhyming on the theme music. In both cases, the strength of the storytelling comes largely from bending and breaking the conventions of the genre. If that can't be tolerated, it's hard to have a fair opinion of the picture.

The movie helps its critics out by having an ending that breaks from anything that could be interpreted as reality, but I have no problem at all looking the other way on it. In fact, I'd say the ending provides a great opportunity to whoever is smart enough to make this movie into a graphic novel. If I made a comic out of this story, I would take the opportunity to expand a little on the roles of some of the characters, as well as shaving a little of the propaganda value off the the movie's final battle.The film's genre-bending puts too much pressure on an audience already to sustain such an over-the-top ending, and I felt like the story had not written itself into a corner that would require such a departure from reality to resolve itself. In a graphic novel remake, I'd advise making the ending more in balance with the whole of the story.

I would love to add vignette stories into the narrative that amplify each character, especially Count Adhemar, whose acts of true villainy occur offscreen in the movie. He would benefit from the additional screen time you could give in a 250 page OGN, as could the enigmatic Prince Edward. A polished manga style like we see in Yukito Kishiro's Aqua Knight or Hiroaki Samura's Blade of the Immortal would be perfect for this material. Since music is not much of a factor in a comics adaptation, storytellers could use more visual cues in costuming and dialog to establish the modern-minded feel of the book, but I for one would love to read it!
holla!
-samax

Movies That Should Be Comics #15: The King of Kong

noreply@blogger.com (samax amen) — Mon, 17 May 2010 02:44:00 +0000

I just finished watching the documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters about the battle for the Donkey Kong world record. Not being much of a gamer myself, I was only minimally interested in watching this when it came out a few years ago. This week, I received an illustrating gig that would parody some of the events in the film (however, any similarity to any real people living or dead is purely coincidental, of course), so I sat down and watched it.

Bottom line: this movie is freaking awesome! King of Kong is about competitive videogaming, in particular vintage games. It's been a long time since I cared about video games at all, but when I did, games like Donkey Kong, Galaga, Pac-Man, etc were the ones that mattered to me, and in this doc the old school arcade games and the band of geeks that master them take center stage. Director Seth Gordon (Four Christmases) did a great job weaving this tapestry of nerdcore minutia into a well-crafted underdog story.

King of Kong follows the roller-coaster ride of high school science teacher Steve Wiebe (pronounced WEE bee), and his battle to be recognized as the world's greatest Donkey Kong player. The film paints him as a decent (if obsessive) family man who wears his heart on his sleeve. Like any protagonist, Wiebe fights against many opposing forces in the pursuit of his goal, much to the chagrin of his supportive but perpetually exhausted wife and kids.

The forces that oppose Steve are personified best in the film by hot sauce king Billy Mitchell, the guy who's held the Donkey Kong record since the mid-eighties. Aside from the fact that he rocks a textbook mullet in the new millenium, Billy says and does plenty of things in the movie that classify him as a first-rate douchebag. If by the midway point of watching King of Kong you don't freaking loathe him, it's pro'lly because YOU'RE a first-rate douchebag as well.

Whatever the case, Seth Gordon laces the events together in a way that builds suspense and makes the film have a sports drama feel. Well, 'drama' might not be the right word... listening to these dorks wax long about the importance of arcade game supremacy is actually quite hilarious... but Steve Wiebe is such a down-to-earth everyman that it's very easy to get pulled into his story and root for him. And again the direction is well-paced, spending just enough time with all the characters so we get to see and relate to everyone. I'd love to see this remade as a comedy starring Will Ferrell (Land of the Los t, Talladega Nights, Anchorman,Stranger Than Fiction). It would also make an awesome comic... Maybe Bryan Lee O'Malley could tackle it now that he's done with Scott Pilgrim... anyways, King of Kong is dope! Watch it if you haven't already!

Still my favorite Comicbook Movie...

noreply@blogger.com (samax amen) — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 21:14:00 +0000

Feeling Much Better Now... by Samax Amen
The Crow is still my favorite comicbook movie (since people always argue that The Matrix and Unbreakable technically don't count). All the hooplah, cash flow, and studio biting surrounding Nolan's Batman Begins and The Dark Knight (and of course the death of Heath Ledger) called to question which was greater, and even though I'm probably alone in this, I'll side with The Crow.
I guess it's important to note that I have never read the comic, although I have met James O' Barr, the creator of The Crow. He's a great artist, but I didn't care for the style of the comic at the time. When I think of the Crow, I think of the character as portrayed by the late Brandon Lee. In the movie, Lee did a great job of making Eric Draven seem like the tortured badass that O'barr intended. As much as I enjoyed the movie, I have never watched any of the sequels or the teevee show (there was a teevee show, wasn't there?). Somehow, it just didn't seem right.
anyways, I drew this pic for a local sketch group I joined called MetroSketchual. This week's theme was The Crow. for more, go to the MetroSketchual blog.
-samax
(r.i.p. Brandon Lee)

Movies That Should be Comics# 14: The Book of Eli

noreply@blogger.com (samax amen) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 22:56:00 +0000

there's only a handful of talents that automatically gets a movie onto my 'definite maybe' list (the 'must see' list is gone in this economy), and Denzel Washington (Training Day, Philadelphia, American Gangster, Glory) is one of them. Once i saw the early trailer for this post-apocalyptic action joint The Book of Eli (featuring a grizzly, disgruntled, blade-swinging Denzel and directed by Albert and Allen Hughes [Menace II Society]), it was immediately put on my schedule of things to do in the dime.

The Book of Eli takes place in a typical post-apocalypse where war (presumably nuclear) has destroyed civilization and brought the human race to the brink of extinction. North America is reduced to a blasted wasteland where roving gangs prey on travelers foolish and unlucky enough to fall into their traps. Denzel plays Eli, a grizzly wanderer on a quest to deliver the only copy of the Bible to survive the wars and book-burnings that followed them to... well, he doesn't know to whom. He's just headed 'west'. Washington is awesome in the movie as a reluctant badass on a mission from God, with fly slimmie Solara (Mila Kunis Forgetting Sarah Marshall, That 70's Show) in tow.

He's opposed in the film by a ruthless city boss named Carnegie (Gary Oldman [The Professional, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight]), who has been searching the world for the Book. the story takes off once he realizes he cannot convince Eli to turn over the Book willingly, and he shows he will sacrifice any amount of men, gas, and bullets (all rare commodities in this world) to get it. Oldman did a great job playing Carnegie as a complex dude who is clearly the bad guy, without making him an inhuman monster. Although he doesn't believe in God, he definitely believes in the power religion will give him over weak-minded people, and intends to use the Book to take control of that power.
It's pretty easy to make the case for making The Book of Eli into a comic, but it helps that the directors saw it as having a comic book style story. "It's more based on kind of a comic book, graphic novel world. Even though it didn't come from that, it's very much inspired by that kind of look and feel." * We get a glimpse of the kind of violent, amoral tribes that thrive in that kind of world, but a proper graphic novel prequel would be able to give us more. They might give it to us, too. they already made motion comics prequels Lost Tales ch1 Billy focusing on the movie's villain Carnegie in his youth, and Lost Tales chapter 2 The End which shows Eli before the war that ended civilization. The film's screenwriter Gary Whitta wrote the prequel motion joints, with art by production artists Chris Weston and Tommy Lee Edwards. With that comics pedigree, this team would do a great job on a Book of Eli graphic novel that shows how Eli goes from the timid guy in the motion comic to the warrior apostle in the film.

I feel comfortable recommending The Book of Eli to anybody sitting on the fence about watching it. It has nice action sequences and effects. While it's rated R for violence and language, I don't think it's too violent or vulgar for church-going folk (who I think will be encouraged and/or inspired by it's subtext), but I'm pretty sure its Christian themes will be understated enough to make it palatable for non-Christians who just wanna see Denzel chop up bad people with a razor-sharp blade while getting his quest on. let's keep our fingers crossed for that graphic novel...

holla!

-samax

You could tell he wasn't Playin' by the look on his Grill

noreply@blogger.com (samax amen) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 23:49:00 +0000

I didn't bother going to watch the Keanu Reeves vs Jennifer Connelly alien- invasion- as- social- commentary joint The Day the Earth Stood Still when it came out in theaters, but I figured it would be good enough to watch on television.
I figured that unless they had some game-changing special effects, there just wasn't going to be enough going on in this sci-fi remake to get me to put down cash.
it was the right call. Don't get me wrong, I'm not here complaining about the acting. I actually enjoyed watching Keanu's detached alien messenger of doom squaring off with the pleading micro-biologist played by Connelly. Jaden Smith's character was pretty awful, but I'm not a big fan of whining kids in movies, especially when their only purpose in the story is to eff things up for the protagonist. all in all, the acting was good enough The special effects were fine also, capturing some of the cheesiness of old-school sci-fi while leaning on typical CGI disaster movie effects.

Unfortunately, I just found the story kind of illogical. This film works really hard to paint human nature in really broad strokes, but also (unintentionally) shows the supposedly super-advanced aliens making mistakes that make them seem like they're not all that smart either (if you want to send a messenger to talk to the UN, why land in Central Park?).
Having said that, I enjoyed this movie. I watched it for the second time on satellite today, and while the holes in the plot get bigger with each viewing (for the record, everyone in the government and military in this movie is a grade-A dumbass), so does my enjoyment of the powerful-yet-vulnerable alien played by Reeves. maybe i have a problem with authority, but I get a kick out of watching him use his electromagnetic powers to escape from capture and leave the countryside littered with the limp bodies of feds, soldiers and cops. anyways, if all that doesn't make it clear enough, here's my recommendation: watch this movie if it's on television, or rent it or download it ONLY if you can avoid watching it very closely... it can't stand up to close inspection. it's great for netflix or cable if you like, but don't pay for it.
holla!
-samax

F what you heard: go Watch Astro Boy!

noreply@blogger.com (samax amen) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:28:00 +0000

before i went out to see Astro Boy last night, I watched the movie critics on At the Movies tear the movie apart. They hated the movie, and said that it was confused, boring, and totally inappropriate for children. They appeared especially concerned with the violence, death, and questionable character motivations at the core of the conflicts in the film. although both critics suggested skipping the movie, their reviews actually intrigued me to give the movie a chance. As often happens, the critics got it wrong.

for the record, Astro Boy is loosely based on the archetypal manga and anime character of the same name created by the so-called "god of manga" Osamu Tezuka. the plot of the film takes place in the futuristic floating city/state Metro City, whose citizens live a fairly idyllic existence as they are waited on hand-and-foot by a race of robots of every conceivable shape size and function, while the city's refuse is dumped on the planet's ruined surface. When chief scientist Dr. Tenma's son Toby is accidentally killed by one of his experiments, the grief-stricken Tenma builds a nigh-invincible robot doppelganger of his son, loaded with a laundry list of high-tech super powers so that he need not fear losing him again.
Of course, things go awry and Toby finds himself at odds with his father and the militaristic President of Metro City and he is eventually cast out of the utopian society and down to the trashed-out surface world. Once there, he changes his name to Astro, and tries to come to terms with who and what he is.

at the core of the criticism of this film is one of the main problems with children's entertainment: people instantly assume that kids can't (or perhaps shouldn't) handle depth. the fact is this picture deals with some pretty deep stuff. Rejection, death, pollution, war, politics, scientific ethics, and of course, robots are used to allegorically address treatment of minorities, immigrants, foreigners, and the poor in general (fun fact: "robot" literally means "slave"). it's wrong to assume that children should not be exposed to these ideas, and the movie does a good job of making painful or provocative moments sharp, but brief. although Astro is tortured by things he is exposed to, he remains fairly upbeat and willing to be cheered up. he also shows character and willingness to sacrifice for the good of his friends, and society in general.
I found the design and animation in the film very satisfying. the filmmakers did a nice job of balancing comedy with sad and scary moments. The pacing of the film is designed to show us in escalating encounters what Astro is made of, and he shows himself to be a hero inside and out. Astro Boy uses cartoon-style science and politics, free from unnecessary complications that still can be related to real life. Astro Boy is a tightly-packed 94 minute film that animation fans and action fans should enjoy... and your kids will probably like it too, because it will tweak their sense of wonder without talking down to them.
holla!
-samax

Snitching for Fun and Profit

noreply@blogger.com (samax amen) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 05:49:00 +0000

Movies that SHOULD be comics #12: Zombieland

noreply@blogger.com (samax amen) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 03:28:00 +0000

after weeks of self-imposed deadline-related exile, i went to the the sneakeasy* with my man Corance (creator of Champion of Children and 1/5th of the mighty Ghostwerks crew) and saw two totally different movies (namely Zombieland and The Informant!) and really enjoyed them both, for different reasons, of course.

i knew very little about Zombieland going in because not being a huge fan of zombie flicks, i wasn't really checking for it. but Zombieland is not the usual zombie movie. as it is, the movie isn't all that scary or gory (as zombie flicks go, anyways). But this movie is action-packed and funny from beginning to end. Jessie Eisenberg (Adventureland) narrates the story of Columbus, an unlikely survivor of a zombie outbreak who reluctantly befriends the zombie-smashing redneck Tallahassee, played brilliantly by veteran actor Woody Harrelson (Semi-Pro, Seven Pounds, No Country for Old Men). Columbus survives because he has compiled a list of rules that insures his continued existence in the Zombie-infested world he inhabits. of course all bets are off when he and Tallahassee encounter a shifty hot chick Wichita (played by Emma Stone [The Rocker, Superbad]) with her little sister in tow, and he eventually has to break the all important Rule # 17: Don't Be a Hero.
Zombieland is less of a cautionary tale or critique of modern society (like you might expect from a Romero picture), and more of a horror action-comedy like Shaun of the Dead. there's enough blood, broken bones and death by biting to get the R rating, but not nearly enough to turn your stomach. the movie's charm comes from Tallahassee's flamboyant zombie-killing rampages and the sitcom-like chemistry between the characters. The story is easy to follow, and doesn't have many surprises or plot twists (which i'm sure will irritate critics). Plus, it features one of the best movie cameos of all time. I'm sure most zombie addicts have already seen it, but i recommend it to the people who passed on it because they thought the gore or dismal outlook of a zombie picture would ruin their day. in fact, i could have stood a lot more violence in this movie. we never get to see Little Rock smash any zombies, which was disappointing (who else wants to see the girl from Little Miss Sunshine bash someone's head in with a shovel? let's see a show of hands...), and that chainsaw Emma Stone is brandishing in the movie poster never makes an appearance either. maybe it's in the unrated DVD version (i can dream can't i?).
i would dearly love to see this concept sequelized as a comic with a demented and detail-oriented writer-artist team like Mark Millar and John Romita Jr (Kick-Ass) or Grant Morisson and J. G. Jones (Marvel Boy, Infinite Crisis) . all the characters could get a boost in their violence quotient, and more room for back-story development. i would definitely pay for the chance to see a comicbook version of Tallahassee! maybe someone at BOOM studios or IDW is smart enough to pull that together as a mini-series or OGN! sigh... there i go dreaming again...
holla!
-samax

Dental Hijinks

noreply@blogger.com (samax amen) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 01:27:00 +0000

I really enjoyed the Ricky Gervais (The Office) anchored romantic comedy Ghost Town, about a dentist who gains the ability to hear and see ghosts after a near-death experience. Gervais is in full British Bastard mode as the easily-annoyed Dentist hounded by ghosts who want his help with their unfinished business. One of those ghosts is a blackberry-addicted, adulterous fast-talker played by Greg Kennier (Flash of Genius, Little Miss Sunshine), who convinces Gervais to help him wreck the impending marriage of his widow, played by underrated actress Tea Leoni (Spanglish, Bad Boys, Deep Impact).
of course, the pudgy curmudgeon eventually falls for Leoni himself, and the romantic part of this comedy kicks in. I really enjoyed the writing, casting and execution of Ghost Town. Gervais plays the anti-social smartass dentist for all the comedic value it's worth... and when he tries to charm Leoni's character, his lack of people skills is hilariously cringe-worthy! it was fun to watch the film's plot break the hardass dentist down to his basic components. He faces his weaknesses and does the right thing because it's eventually all he has left.
romantic comedies are known to telegraph their punches, but this movie makes its biggest mistakes trying to be unpredictable. for once, i wish they had stuck to the formula for the movie's last 15 minutes, where i found the its only flaw coming from trying too hard. that said, i would definitely recommend Ghost Town to anybody as a date movie because it does a great job of having lots of comicbook-style good ideas, a great cast, and genuine human emotion. Because the comedy in the movie is smart and strong, the mushy stuff doesn't try to bowl you over to be effective. when the plot seems to overwork toward the end, just ignore it, and you'll enjoy the movie!
peace,
-samax

Go See District 9 ASAP!!!

noreply@blogger.com (samax amen) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 21:15:00 +0000

me and my boy copped some free passes to a sneak preview showing of the new documentary style sci-fi joint District 9 produced by that dude Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings,King Kong) and directed by his protege Neill Blomkamp. the film takes place in Johannesburg, South Africa where an alien ship has been hovering for twenty years, and the shiftless aliens inside have been relocated from the dormant ship to the alien superghetto, District 9. the South African corporation MNU has designs on the aliens' technology, which will not work for humans, but as the documentary framing sequence foreshadows, something goes horribly wrong.

This movie is a beautiful film, sorta... i mean, it is ugly to look at: the aliens (called "Prawns" since they are similar to crustaceans and exhibit some similar bottom-feeder tendencies)are not cute or anything, the film has many grotesque death scenes, excessive profanity, and of course there are the Nigerian voodoo gangsters who try eating the aliens to gain their power (i'll get to that later). point being, the movie is ugly, but the effects, documentary clips, news excerpts and overall directing blend together seamlessly to really embed you in an imaginary world that's way too similar to our own. now get ready for plenty of controversy (i mean, it's in South Africa!) and the aforementioned Nigerian Gangsters who move in and exploit the stranded Prawns exhibit the kind of caricature of negative stereotypes that will enrage the black intellectual in you! but this film is populated mostly by people you want to see get taken out at one time or another (regardless of color), so the gangsters were no exception... even the protagonist of the film behaves in such a way that you figure he deserves whatever he gets at times.
so the checklist goes: great special effects, cool technology, complex characters, hard-working unpredictable plot, African gangster rap on soundtrack, evil corporation, aliens dissected by humans for a change, subversive allegory, blackwater-style mercenaries, and multiple F-bombs? CHECK! if you really prefer pure popcorn movies for the whole fam, have sensitive ears (or stomach), have a short attention span or are easily offended, SKIP IT and go see GI JOE or something... everyone else should RUN out to see District 9 before your friends spoil it for you! District 9 opens in wide release August 14th.
holla!
-samax

Do the FATBOYS Run This Mutha..?

noreply@blogger.com (samax amen) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:13:00 +0000

I just got done watching Run Fatboy Run on satellite, and while it was not a great movie, i'm pretty sure you could make it into one with just a few changes. first, change the star. Simon Pegg (Shawn of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) is funny in the role, and does his level best to carry the romantic and heartfelt scenes, but he fell short of ever nailing it. The supporting cast all did their jobs well enough. Thandie Newton (Traffic, Pursuit of Happyness, W) shines as Pegg's long-suffering ex/baby mama, while Hank Azaria is her over-acheiving new BF. Dylan Moran and Harish Patel, Pegg's quirky friends who train him to win his ex back by running a marathon, perform admirably too...

one little problem: Pegg (who co-wrote the film) just wasn't right for the part. He wasn't funny enough, dramatic enough, or (most importantly) FAT enough. close your eyes and imagine this same story starring Jack Black, Anthony Anderson, Seth Rogan or Chris Farley (RIP, big guy...) and i bet you'll be peeing yourself laughing (well, hopefully not literally) before changing even one word of the script. even fat people find fat dude comedy hilarious if you make the fat dude hapless and lovable (and having a hot slimmy like Newton for him to hook up with at the end helps too!). this script did it's job well.

by and large, audiences don't ask much of romantic comedies, so i think this movie is a fair-to-middlin' representation of the genre. but imagine this comedy with the Farrely Brothers (There's Something About Mary) or Judd Apatow (40 Year Old Virgin, Forgetting Sarah Marshal) at the helm. these guys know JUST how to combine salty comedy and bitter-sweet romantic situations for explosive effect! that said, it's a safe bet this movie will never get remade. so here's an even BETTER idea:

This movie should DEFINITELY be made into a comic! i know, i know... you've never read a romantic comedy comic book... but if it was written by Apatow, let's say, with art by Frank Quitely, the right marketing plan could make it a crossover smash! as i said, the cast in this was very colorful and the story framework was tight... imagine Quitely pushing the character designs to their limits and the extra detail you could put into the OGN format! Quitely knows how to create expressive, attractive characters and give them a beautiful sense of weight (which you need to draw hot chicks and fat dudes, as it turns out), and could infuse extra drama and comedy where appropriate into the pages! i'd buy that comic, wouldn't you?