Wednesday, July 20, 2011

The (Hopefully) Amazing Spider-Man



     I was at first skeptical of rebooting a profitable and (mostly) successful franchise four years after the first, but seeing this trailer has me optimistic. When you put into perspective how Spiderman 3 fumbled so many stories that could have been the focal points of future sequels (ahem...Venom) and how much Tobey Maguire's sleepy sounding, "so-innocent-that-it's borderline-stupid" performance, you realize how much this reboot was needed.
     I don't care if it doesn't look "comic book-y." I want to see a more realistic take than Rami's predictable universe. I love the inclusion of Peter's parent in the reboot. Obviously, the kid is gonna have abandonment issues, sure to be compounded by Uncle Ben's death and subsequent downfall of his rice empire. Their absence was just a given in the last film series. Other aspects, such as Peter and Harry's friendship were never fully explored, just expected. I hope this movie builds up the great stories that the last set of movies lacked
     My only concern is 3D. While the first person Spidey sequence was cool, this is a movie I'm gonna want to watch at home, without any glasses over the ones I already wear. I hope there aren't to many "Friday the 13th Part 3 pitchfork" moments so I can enjoy the movie on its own merits. Plus Mr. Webb and company have the scrutiny of my 4 year old niece, who has been a Spiderman superfan since 2 to contend with.

UPDATE


     I just showed my niece the trailer. She watched with a stern, serious look on her face. Would she accept this new version of her idol? Would she dismiss familiar characters she'd grown up watching, portrayed by a new cast? As the preview ended, I asked her if she liked it. "Yes!" she said with a huge grin on her face. 

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

The Dark Knight Rises...'N Shit




     It's gonna be damn near impossible to top "The Dark Knight." I can't wait to see what Bane's motivation is in Nolan's take. Is the mafia using him as an equalizer? Is he taking the place of Ra's al Ghul's servant Ubu? Of course he's not huge with a badass luchador mask and tubes all over. This series is supposed to be based in reaity. You don't have to be super muscular to be strong. I've seen bar fights end surprisingly well for not-so-cut dudes. My guess is he kicked Gordan's ass, and possibly kicks Batman's ass and/or kills him at the end. Either that, or gets killed (maybe even by Batman's self sacrifice), saving the day and Batman receives a letter from The Joker, congratulating him and looking forward to their eternal battle. Both scenarios would provide a sense of closure to the trilogy. The scenario(s) in which Batman dies would be both a bold move, and a great excuse for rebooting the character for the Justice League incarnation.
     I expect Catwoman and her alter ego will be simply a love interest, never crossing fully into villain territory, which I came to the conclusion of after seeing her lack of inclusion in the teaser. She's a jewel thief, he's the guy who's supposed to bring her to justice, yet he sees a kindred soul within her. "Hey, we both dress up like animals and do stuff at night!" I have the sinking feeling that Anne Hathaway in costume is gonna be the marketing "bait" with very little payoff.
     I'm curious as to what role Ra's al Ghul will play, as he (seemingly) died in Batman Begins. He was a master of deception, so it's possibe he faked it. He REALLY seemed hellbent on destroying the city, so maybe he had a Plan B. In keeping with the realistic tone, I don't think he'll be using a Lazarus Pit to come back to life. If his daughter Talia is in the film as rumored, that would create a Bruce-Selina-Talia love triangle. If he chooses Talia, he'll father a child, making his mentor/enemy the grandpappy of Batbaby. Noodle that one.
     Like I said, it's gonna be tough to top TDK, especially with the man who plays Batman's never ending foe dead and the character still alive within the film universe. Hopefully we see at east a nod to him. Basically, if you know the characters at play, you can kinda see how the film is gonna come together. There are two outcomes. The first is it comes together nicely, making sense within the world of Nolan's Gotham City and closing out the trilogy nicely. The second is it all comes together convoluted like certain parts of Batman Begins, once again proving that one director cannot make a solid superhero trilogy (looks spitefully at Spiderman 3 Blu -Ray). Either way, we can all say "At least we had TDK."

Sunday, July 17, 2011

My Music. Enjoy.


Sega Dreamcast: An Unsung Hero


The Dreamcast was fuckin dope. Remember the commercials with all the different characters inside a Dreamcast? Remember 9/9/99? Remember Afro Thunder from Ready 2 Rumble? Sure, it was on the Playstation and Nintendo 64, but the graphics were shitty on those consoles. Remember running from that big ass killer whale on Sonic Adventure? I was all like "Holy shit!" 2K football and basketball changed everything. Shiny helmets and realistic balls. No homo. EA Sports could not fuck with them. I still have my Dreamcast. I even got the memory card with the screen, but the sumbitch ain't got no battery. Basically, I just wanted to talk about the DC for a minute. The End



Gary Payton of the Sonics with Sonic. How dope is that?