Nick Kyme

I just stumbled across this article on IGN encouraging some healthy debate on the recent offerings of our Super Hero Summer that has, sadly, now come to an end.

Four movies are in the frame and there to be ranked in order of how good we, us humble viewers, thought they were. Obviously, being a writer, working for BL and having a lot of the geeky and pseudo-geeky friends and acquaintances that I do, this is something that would generate a massive amount of discussion so I wanted to throw it out onto the bloggosphere and find out what you good people think.

First up, it’s worth mentioning that I am not a comic book geek. Not really. True, I have a few of the more key events (usually from DC) in trade and have even begun to collect digital editions of certain comics by virtue of my android phone (this and Comixology have been something of a revelation for me), but I don’t properly regard myself as someone who can wax lyrical about continuity, nor do I really care if said continuity goes ’squiffy’ from time to time. I just like a good story about characters I love that’s well told.

So, I’m more of a movie buff and this is probably why this post caught my interest. I won’t attempt to be too much of a critic here, at least not in the strictest sense (not a big fan of critics – usually, they are people who the sound of their own rhetoric, who try to convince the world they are right about everything but have never actually produced anything themselves. Nuff said) but I will provide you with my rankings and some reasons for the order given.

It should also probably be said that the super hero movie I am most anticipating doesn’t get a cinema release until next year (and I don’t mean The Avengers). For my £7.50, I am would totally choose The Dark Knight Rises over anything that’s come out this summer, but then I’m a fan of the gritty and realistic world that Chris Nolan has created with these fantastic movies (and let’s just say that re-invigorating the franchise after the debacle of Batman & Robin and Joel Schumacher’s Reign of Poo was something of a feat).

So, the four films in question are (in order of release, I believe):

Thor

X-Men: First Class

Green Lantern

Captain America: The First Avenger

For me, it’s interesting how this turned out because in my head I was expecting something really quite different. Let me take you back to May 2012 before Super Hero Summer had gotten going. This wonderous slate of super hero flicks was laid out before me like the cinematic buffet I’d always dreamed of… ‘All these films in one summer!’. I had to have a quick trouser change.

Before even buying my popcorn and slipping into my semi-comfortable but ever so slightly tight and narrow seat, I had formed some opinions about how all of this was going to play out.

I figured Thor would be okay and that X-Men: First Class would likely suck and just be a weak add-on to the much meatier blockbusters of Captain America and the Green Lantern. It was actually these latter two that I was looking forward to seeing the most, especially Lantern. I’m not a huge fan of the mythos (it’s not that I don’t like it, I just wasn’t very up on the background) but re-watched the DC Animated Movie Green Lantern: First Flight and bought the recent GL trade Blackest Night to get me in the mood. The trailer (the second one with all the cool stuff in it) looked amazing and I was looking forward to it.

It all turned out so differently…

My rankings then are as follows:

1. X-Men: First Class

I genuinely thought this was a throwaway movie but with its 1960’s period vibe and star turns from Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy, it really wowed me. I totally loved it. Fassbender deserves special mention as Erik Lehnsherr, especially in that notorious sequence in the film where he’s going after the Nazi’s that killed and persecuted his family. Stunning.

2. Thor

A close second and only by virtue of the fact that it didn’t quite give me enough Asgard for my money, but Thor was one of those films that really surprised. Sure, it glossed over some bits that could’ve benefitted from being fleshed out (or a director’s cut perhaps?) and the fights weren’t quite satisfying enough but it really brought one of Marvel’s iconic heroes to life. I watched it in 3D (which was an after thought – I wish film makers would stop jumping on this technological bandwagon) and then again on a tiny screen on a plane heading back from Chicago to the UK. Top movie that I’ll be getting on Blu-ray on Monday and enjoying on big screen HD.

3. Captain America

Barring the excellent first 20 minutes, I kind of loathed this film at the cinema. I expected Captain America to be a special forces badass with awesome skills (a bit like Tim Roth when he got the super soldier formula in The Incredible Hulk) but unfortunately Cap was quite leaden and uncharasmatic. It all felt a bit random to me and almost too referential to the source material (and perhaps this is where my pseudo comic geekery let’s me down). I’m willing to give it another go. With my expectations lowered, I’m hoping I’ll ‘get it’, plus I want to have an Avengers movie night (or series of nights) with Captain America, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2 and Thor all watched in sequence. Can’t do that without Cap…

4. Green Lantern

Again, the first 10 (maybe it was 5, actually) minutes were pretty good and I had some high hopes for this movie. Ryan Reynolds, who I honestly thought would suck as Hal Jordan, was great and eminently watchable as the titular character. But the story… ugh! It was pretty weak, focused on all the wrong things and just didn’t work for me. All the great stuff was given lip service and a very odd and pointless backstory about three characters who alledgedly grew up together was crowbarred in. It felt like it wanted to focus on a bunch of stuff but ended up focusing on nothing and being vague and disjointed instead. The effects were great but the movie had no heart and seriously underused Sinesto and Mark Strong who, when allowed to appear on screen, totally dominated it. In better hands directorially and with better writers Green Lantern good really work on screen but not like this. Very poor.

So there you have it. Despite saying I wouldn’t critique, I kind of did, but this is just my opinion and I know lots of folks will differ with my crude assessements. So, what do you think movie-watching masses? What would your order be and how are you feeling now the super hero summer is over?

Just rocked over to IGN.com and stumbled on a link to the latest (abridged) Green Lantern footage being shown at WonderCon.

Err… Wow! Can’t say I was that bothered about Green Lantern until I saw this, but it looks incredible.

The link above comes from the Apple Trailers site.

Check. It. Out.

I’m torn. I’ve just been on i09 who’ve recently posted their best and worst sf/fantasy movies of 2010 and, honestly, what is going on with that? Check them out here.

It’s an… interesting list and I guess I agree with most of it. Some of the movies I haven’t seen, either, so I can only comment on what I know. In the ‘Best’ list, I’ve seen Scott Pilgrim vs The World (5) and Kick-Ass (6), both of which are great movies (even if Scott Pilgrim is more an amusing oddity than a film I’d buy and then watch more than once), Predators (4), I mean really? This film was just a piss-poor and, frankly, just plain shit, remake of the far superior original.

I shall now digress in order to rant…

Predator the original and best, was a great, great movie. Despite its slightly shady special effects and hammed-up performances, it’s iconic and awesome. The twist: a bunch of bad-asses (and I mean proper bad-asses; not just some douche bags with moral ambivalence and okay fighting skills) are sent in the jungle only to find an even badder bad-ass is stalking them… like, for fun. In the awesomely flatulent Predators there’s no Arnie, no Carl Weathers, no special forces hard man in sight! Oh, there’s beak-nosed Adrian Brody, who despite buffing up for the role, is no tough guy. Not one capable of beating down on not one, but a whole team of predators… with dogs! WTF! WTF! I say it twice because it’s just so unbelievable. The story we already know – all the best bits are ripped off the original movie and done badly, and Lawrence Fishburne – arguably, the best actor in the entire arse-farting excuse for a film – has the most ridiculous and pointless role of all. I guess his kids needed new shoes or something? This film is a turd, is what it is and it has no place in the top ten best sf movies of the year – i09, what the hell were you thinking!!!

Phew!

Onwards then. I’ve also seen Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows pt1 (3), Toy Story 3 (2), and Inception, which was a wholly deserved number 1. Oh, and on the subject of Inception, I saw an interesting interview clip with Ellen Page where she stated that the movie defied genre – huh? It’s about going into people’s dreams and extracting/implanting ideas – it’s science fiction, my dear.

Anywho.

So, out of the films I’d seen in the top ten, the only one I really had issue with was Predators. And again, WTF?! Apparently, How to Train Your Dragon was only worthy of honourable mention, which is a shame as it’s a great movie – it’s a LOT better than bloody Predators, I can tell you that.

On to the ‘Worst’ then , and I have some queries here too. Of the list presented, I’ve seen Alice in Wonderland (10), The Wolfman (9), Legion (8), The Lovely Bones (7), Iron Man 2 (6) and Tron: Legacy (5). The real stinkers passed me by, it seems. Well, I have to take issue here too. I also have to say that Predators, for me, pretty much invalidates the credibility of this list. I agree that numbers 10 through 8 are pretty stench-ridden movies. Alice was a huge disappointment, Wolfman was ridiculous and Legion was jus till-conceived pap. I’ll come back to The Lovely Bones, but Iron Man 2 one of the ‘worst’ sf/fantasy films of 201 – are you nuts?! Look, it perhaps didn’t quite reach the heady heights of the first film, but that no way in heaven or hell consigns it to a list of worst sf/fantasy films. That’s just dumb. Remember, dear reader, this is a list with the eminently shoddy Predators in the ‘best’ list. I’ll admit, I watched Iron Man 2 at the cinema and I felt a tad let down, but on subsequent viewings – expectations modified – I found I really enjoyed it, and have actually gone back to watch it several more times.

And what about The Lovely Bones? Overlong? Certainly, but it was dark enough and looked amazing. I thought it was moving and well told; again, not a contender for ‘worst’ sf/fantasy film of the year.

Moving on to Tron: Legacy… Admittedly, the reviewer does say that fans are divided on this one. I liked Tron: Legacy. It entertained me and I’d watch it again. It looked amazing, has an awesome soundtrack and a great atmosphere throughout. It also pays homage to the original.

I have to say, and have done now, that this list was a bit rubbish. Sure, it’s all just down to popular opinion and one man’s poo is another man’s gold, as a friend of mine once said, but seriously? Predators?

Okay, so I just bezzed over to ultramarinesthemovie.com and witnessed the first trailer for the soon to be released film.

It looks awesome. Go there. Go there now!

How do peeps of all shape, size and designation – what’s shakin’?

Figured I should provide a little weekend light relief. It’s been a warm and humid one in Notts, let me tell you. I dig the sun, but humidity I’m not a fan of. Especially when I’ve got deadlines of justice to chase and I’m sweating my ass off, hunched over my desk.

Still, I have an uber-oscillating fan so I should probably shut my cake-hole and get on with the post.

As well as the writing (which I’ll come to in a bit… promise), I’m back in training. The Robin Hood half-marathon (and marathon, as it happens) is looming and I’ve got my name of the list of nutters/athletes who are going to run the bast. To be truthful, I didn’t run this weekend – a couple of days off are just what my legs need to recover their muscle mass and all that jazz-ola. I have been doing some light weight work and crunches, though – all good for core strength, don’t you know. Ask my pal, Chris Wraight – he’s a runner and knows all about that stuff. Chris, if you’re this – how do, sir (I had the great pleasure of reading the first half of Chris’s next book – it’s 40K and it’s fookin’ awesome – ask about on his blog, no thunder-stealing here… no, siree).

Films! Yes, I do like to watch the odd movie. Been to the silver screen (aka ‘the flicks’) once this week (or should that be last week? Just when does the week begin anyway? I’ve heard Monday and Sunday both being touted as possibilites – anyway, who gives a crap). Toy Story 3 was the animated delight of choice and it was indeed animated and did in fact delight. Got a bit of a soft spot for animated flicks, Pixar especially, and this was great. Seen in 3D it was a lot of fun, but I don’t really think the extra dimension was necessary (please, oh, please, lofty film-making gods, stop slapping 3D onto your films if they don’t warrant it – you are devaluing an already gimmicky gimmick – ’nuff said). The story was great (about some toys, don’t you know) and actually had some pretty dark/moving moments in it. Top drawer – heed the reviews that’ve been banding around and go see.

On the small screen (aka the TV), I watched Whip It!. The good lady and I both enjoyed this coming of age sports comedy (and I say, huh? Huh?), starring Ellen Paige (who I always want to call Elaine Paige, because I am an arch-douch bag) and directed by Drew Barrymore (who’s also in it) and very ably co-starring the slightly mental but eminently watchable Juliet Lewis (who I had a bugger of a time remembering the name of, but got there just before the end credits were about to roll – almost an epic fail). The sport in question is roller-derby of all things, on account of which the film had a quintessential small-town America feel and the whiff of the independent movie about it (though, it did get cinematic distribution). I think ‘charming’ would be the word I’d use to describe. Very nice, a little light of plot, but lots of fun and Paige does a cracking job in it. Honestly, I found her a little insufferable in Juno but I guess that was her character – she’s much more endearing in this, and also has a great turn in Inception. Rent it if you fancy a light hour and a half-ish of nice, fuzzy entertainment with pretty girls in tight shorts and roller skates (did I forget to mention that part? My bad… ).

Speaking of Inception, I hold my hand up and accept that my shit-baggery has bubbled like a used diaper to the surface of this post. Yes, I did say I’d write a review of this film, and no, now that it’s been out for yonks, I’m not going to do that. Apologies, unlike Aladdin’s Lamp everything that you wish for (and I promise) on the blog doesn’t always come true. That’s not to say I hadn’t intended to, life and work and all that other mad stuff, just gets in the way sometimes. In lieu of that, I will say this: Kicks. Ass. Someone told me the other day that they didn’t like it and I nearly spat out my tea. Don’t listen to them (as if you would, discerning listeners…). Inception is probably one of the best, most intense sci-fi thriller/action/intrigue movies you’re ever likely to see. That and Moon are my top sf movie pics of this year (he says, sounding like some kind of bona fide critic – charlatan Kyme, charlatan!).

Hey! I watched the final episode of Spartacus: Blood and Sand this morning. Bloody hell (literally, ‘bloody’), it was a visceral feast! This show has grown on me. It started out as a sort of sexy 300 (and, boy, was there a lot of sex and titilation in this one – not for the under 18’s, yer hear!), riddled with foul language and I wondered if I was going to bother continuing watching after the first few, fairly, gratuitous episodes. But, as the show ground on and sub-plots were seeded in, paid off, layered up etc, etc, I found myself really liking it.

Yes, there was the odd bit of profanity that made me chuckle (some of John Hannah’s lines were classic and you can tell he was hamming it up to the max and loving every minute), but this was a series that had a denser narrative than it at first appeared. Characters were developed, some of the action and SFX (for a TV show) were simply stunning and if you like gore there was plenty of that too. I was sad to see it end, but it had one of the best finales ever. Good news is the show will be back next year (it airs on Bravo – home of the brave, apparently – which also boasts the excellent Sons of Anarchy), albeit with a slightly different moniker (well, the suffix, anyway), Spartacus: Gods of the Arena. If you’re an adult and like the gory, sexy stuff in loin cloths and sandals, go see.

Dexter is back, and I whoop in delight at its return. With Spartacus on the way out, TV was becoming a cold and lonely refuge once more and my V+ box was starting to feel distinctly unloved. The show about Miami’s favourite serial killer and forensic pathologist is a cracker. Personally, I think the producers have outdone themselves with each successive series, so I have high hopes for this one in which the titular character is balancing being a new dad with his predilection to slice up bad guys and microscope slide their blood for his air vent collective. Top drama indeed. Gawd bless Michael C Hall.

What news of Shakespeare then? No, no, no – I don’t mean the bard. That guy’s been dead for ages. Nope, I’m talking about the legend that is my live in house rabbit. Well, in a nutshell (or should that be carrot patch), he’s fine. The little bugger had been eating waaaaay to much, so over the last few months I’ve been cutting back his feed. As a result, he’s thinner and more sprightly but he’s also turned the extra energies towards destructive tendencies. See exhibit A through F.

Yep, that’s right – he chewed the bejesus out of my DVDs. Even the plastic ones! Oh, the horror, the horror! He actually went and snagged them from my DVD case – something he hasn’t taken the blindest bit of notice off for months and decide to have it. I mean, he even had a go at Scrooged. It’s Scrooged! Where’s the heart, I ask you.

These examples of Shakespearean carnage (maybe the rabbit was aiming to pen a tragedy with me as its central protagonist – ‘Is this a cooking pot I see before me?’ ‘To bite or not to bite – that is the question!’) pale in comparison to exhibit G…

The first rule of DVD Fight Club? Never let your house rabbit near Fight Club!

But, despite his rampage, it’s impossible to stay mad at the little fella (I managed twenty minutes before capitulating in the face of his cuteness – the mourning for the DVDs goes on, however…).

This is the little chap on his new cushion, which I purchased for him today. I think he likes it (chew that you little so and so…).

Thanks to all for the action flick/buddy movie suggestions. Loving Heat and Alien Nation, in particular (man, I had forgotten about that one). But I have another for the mix: anyone remember Dark Angel? No, not that dodgy sf show with Jessica Alba in it, but the cheesy 80’s (I think) flick with Dolph Lundgren. Top stuff!

Work-wise. I’m on with Fall of Damnos right now. I figure, once I’ve got a bit more to say on the subject, I’ll do a dedicated post. Suffice to say, righyt now I’m just over 12,000 words in and planning like a crazy thing to balance all the lore and make it into a compelling story. More to follow on that soon-ish (maybe… ).

Well, I reckon that’ll do for now. I’m just about to go and check this afternoon’s footy results (Fantasy Football is back on with a vengeance now the Prem has begun anew and I aim to raise my standing in the BL mini-league). Tonight, I’m cooking gnocci. Yum!