Category Archives: Review

A review by Caliban of a Movie, TV show, Web show, Book, Comic Book, or other forms of geek based entertainmet.

Horror Review: The Cabin in the Woods

Posted on by
1

the-cabin-in-the-woods

The Cabin in the Woods is a hard film to review.

Not that I didn’t understand it, or would have problems explaining the set up, it’s just that it has a complex script, and is full of clever reveals that are best viewed unspoiled. The problem, I find, is how to write about the plot without spoilers; I’m basically going to adapt the rule that anything revealed in the first 10 minutes is fair game.

But before we get into the plot, some background:

The script is by fan favorites Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard, and the film marks Goddard’s debut as a feature film director. Even though Goddard directed, this is considered a Joss Whedon project due to the scripting and the fact that he produced it. Also, the cast is filled with several Whedon regulars.

The movie was made in 2009. Unfortunately, due to several factors(not the least of which was the Bankruptcy of the MGM studio), the film was not released until 2012.

Okay, with that out of the way, let’s get into that plot.

The Cabin in the Woods follows five college students as they prepare to spend a weekend at The Cabin in the Woods, that was recently purchased by one of their relatives. The students are Curt and Jules who are a couple, Jules’ roommate Dana, Curt’s friend Holden (whom he and Jules are trying to match-make with Dana), and Marty (their mutual friend, whose dominant characteristic seems to be that he is a stoner). While prepping for their trip, the five are under surveillance by a mysterious group.

And that is all I feel I can safely say without spoiling anything.

What The Cabin is the Woods really is, is a self-aware deconstruction of the horror genre.  It does for supernatural horror what Scream did for slasher films. But it goes even more meta than that.

The script plays heavily with standard horror tropes; however, instead of defying them, it reinforces them( but in a very coherent way), all the while pointing out the ridiculousness of many of them. The best part about it is that at no time does the movie assume the audience is stupid which, in this type of horror film, is incredibly refreshing.

The film creates a connection, not just to the five designated victims, but also with the people behind their torment. It’s no easy feat to make you sympathize with both the heroes and the villains, but Whedon and Goddard find a way to do it.

It’s also worth noting that while the five friends all fit standard horror movie character types, each one also contains major subversions of those types.

Looking towards the cast you find a mix of unknowns and fan favorites.

Chris Hemsworth is the most notable name in the cast, even if this was not the case when the movie was filmed. Playing Curt, who fills the alpha male archtype standard to the genre, Hemsworth of course has the look, but also has to convey an intelligence required by the subversions in the script. A fun bit of trivia, Whedon finalized the deal to make The Avengers while working on The Cabin in the Woods and reached out to Thor director Kenneth Branagh, who was casting at the time, to suggest he take a look at Hemsworth for the lead.

Kristen Connolly stands out as Dana, who is fit into the
standard final girl role. Of course this role is going to get focus and Connolly pulls it off well.

The true stand out of the five kids is Whedon regular Fran Kranz as Marty, the stoner fifth wheel. Filling a role very similar to Jamie Kennedy’s character in Scream, Marty is the one member of the group aware that something is not right with their situation. Kranz manages to combine the characters laid back philosophy, while still conveying his increasing awareness, making him an excellent audience proxy. Again a bit of trivia. During a scene were the other characters go swimming, Marty stays on the dock and smokes a joint. The reason is that, in reality, Kranz is very athletic and actually has better muscle tone then Hemsworth, and Goddard did not think it would be a good idea for the stoner to be shown in better shape than the Jock.

Ana Hutchison and Jesse Williams do fine in the roles of Jules and Holden respectively, but neither really stand out in the way the other three do.

Two other amazing cast stand outs are Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford as the leaders of the group that is observing the kids. I wish I could point out what makes them stand out, but there is nothing I could say about them that would not be a spoiler.

Working with Jenkins and Whitford, you will spot Whedon regulars Amy Acker and Tom Lenk.

There is one other stand out actor who appears towards the end of the movie, but to even name who that actor is would be a spoiler. Yes the film really is that intricate.

But I think it illustrates the strength of the writing that, even with a script that intricate, at no point does it become confusing or not make sense.

Using the Fanboy News Network rating system I give The Cabin in the Woods an A. It is a top flight effort that even non-horror fans can enjoy, and is ripe for repeat viewing.

A testament to the films popularity is that this year at Universal Studio’s Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando, one of the signature haunted mazes is based on The Cabin in the Woods. And yes, that maze has spoiler warnings.

Horror Review: Jekyll

Posted on by
Reply

jekyllJekyll is a 2007 six episode BBC miniseries written and produced by Doctor Who writer, and current show producer, Steven Moffet. It was his first take at doing a modern interpretation of a classic Victorian character, which he of course followed up on, 3 years later, with Sherlock.

The series follows Dr. Tom Jackman, a successful research scientist, who inexplicably starts transforming into another persona, complete with physical changes. Fearing the violent behavior of the other persona, Jackman leaves his family, quits his job, and sets up an apartment where he can try to unravel what exactly is happening.

With the help of recordings and surveillance equipment, the two personalities are able to communicate enough to come to an arrangement that basically equates to a time share agreement on their body.  To facilitate this, they hire a psychiatric nurse named Kathryn to act as an impartial aid to both of them.  Once the other personality learns about the book The Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde he adopts the name Billy Hyde.

Additional complications to the arrangement include: Jackman wanting to keep the existence of his wife and twin sons from Hyde, fearing he might harm them; his wife hiring an investigator to try and learn why he left his family; his old employer, and friend, wanting to know the same; and why a mysterious organization is now following him, claiming to be Hyde’s owners.

And all that is just part of the first episode.

Jekyll is a smart series that uses its set up to explore several questions. Of course you have the concept of duality, as you always will with the Jekyll and Hyde story. You also have a recurrent question through the series, is Hyde actually evil, or is there more to him? And like the original story, the heart of it is the mystery: why is Jackman transforming in the first place?

Two things make this series really stand out; the smart script by Moffet, and the acting. Moffet does not fall into the easy clichés of the traditional interpretations of the characters, but instead looks at them from a more layered perspective. The horror comes from the idea of Jackman not being in control and Hyde possibly hurting his family. Several tense scenes are based on Jackman waking up from being Hyde, at least once covered in blood, and having to piece together what Hyde has done, fearing the worst. There is also the dread that Hyde is taking over and one day will not turn back into Jackman.

From the acting side, any show like this is going to live or die by the lead actor, and how he handles the dual role. Fortunately Jekyll had the good fortune to cast James Nesbitt as Jackman/Hyde. Non-UK readers will know Nesbitt primarily as Bofur in The Hobbit movie. The challenge is making Jackman and Hyde distinct characters. It would be one thing to just play Hyde as completely over the top, and while he is at times, there is more to the character than that and Nesbitt makes that clear. The makeup for Hyde is subtle, just enough that he is recognizably different but can still be mistaken for Jackman at first glance. Nesbitt manages different body language and vocal styles for the two characters, and it is clear which is which even if he is far away enough that you can’t see the makeup.

Another stand-out, in the impressive cast, is Gina Bellman as Jackman’s wife, Claire. Audiences will recognize her as Jane from Moffat’s sitcom Coupling, as well as being the grifter Sophie on the TNT series Leverage. Claire has an impressive arc, as she struggles to deal with her husband abandoning his family and her growing realization of what is happening to him. Her story arc is as central to the show as is Tom/ Billy’s.

Other notable cast members include: Denis Lawson (who was Wedge in the Star Wars films) as Jackman’s friend and former boss, Michelle Ryan (who was Jaime Summers in the brief Bionic Woman reboot) as the nurse Jackman and Hyde hire to help facilitate their arrangement, and Paterson Joseph (the Marquis de Carabas from Neverwhere) as the mystery man claiming that his company owns Hyde.

But for all the good things about Jeykll, there is one glaring problem, the final scene of the series.

I’m not going to spoil it here, but everyone I have ever talked to about the series, who has seen it, agrees that the final scene is terrible, and makes several plot points in the series make no sense. And that it was not needed. You could have ended the series on the previous scene and had a satisfying end. Also the final scene basically ends as a sort of cliff hanger, and since there was no second series it leaves the story in limbo.

I’m not sure why Moffet felt the need to include this particular plot point, other than perhaps he thought it was a cool idea, which it might have been if there had been more there to mitigate the plot holes it creates.

Using the Fanboy News Network rating scale I give Jekyll a B+. It is a superior effort, but the last scene keeps it from getting an A.

Horror Review: Shutter

Posted on by
Reply

shutter2dShutter is a horror film made in Thailand, in 2004. It is clearly inspired by the wave of horror films, coming predominately from Japan, that have come to be known as J-Horror.

After a night out drinking with friends, our main characters Tun and Jane are driving home when their car hits a woman. Freaking out, Tun insists that they not get out of the car and just head home. After the accident Tun, who works as a photographer, starts finding strange images in the pictures he takes. This leads him, and Jane, to start learning about the phenomena of ghost photos.

As the haunting escalates beyond the photos, invading their lives, Tun and Jane attempt to learn exactly whom they had hit, and what really happened. Things get more desperate when they learn that the friends with whom they had been out drinking have also been having strange encounters, and that two of them have died.

As the mystery unfolds, we learn that there was more going on than a simple hit and run, and that the ghost may have an honest grievance against those she is targeting.

Shutter is a masterfully made horror film. The directing and writing team of Bangjong Pisanthankun and Parkpoom Wongpoom  have a clear understanding of how to pace the film, which is where so many horror films fail. The tension is built expertly throughout the film and, unlike so many horror films, does not switch to action movie pacing during the third act.

Their writing is also top notch. They set up a standard horror movie premise in the beginning, and then a series of twists wherein something else was going on all along. And while these twists are well done, they are not M. Night Shyamalan twists that happen at the end and seem to be the point of the whole movie. Instead they are well integrated into the script and make perfect sense once revealed.

The movie also integrates elements of several horror traditions. Clearly the main one is typical of J-Horror, with the angry female spirit seeking vengeance.  You also have elements of standard EC horror comic plots, with someone who has been wronged, coming back from the grave to wreak their own brand of justice. There are even nods to Hitchcock in the film. But most importantly, all of these are subtle and do not detract from the story itself.

The acting is well done, especially by Ananda Everingham as Tun, and Natthaweeranuch Thongmee as Jane. Their reactions come off as authentic and believable.

The one element that really struck me, while watching the movie, was the cinematography. This is a movie that has photography as a major theme, and thus color and composition are going to be key to making that seem realistic. Cinematographer Niramon Ross does a brilliant job with this work, making this an important part of the story telling. It also ends with one of the most powerful and haunting images I can remember in recent horror.

I want to take a moment to talk about the jump scares. This is a pet peeve of mine in horror. I have nothing against a good jump scare; what I hate are false jump scares. The tension is built, the jump scare happens, and it turns out to be the cat, which then immediately leads to the actual jump scare. This never happens in Shutter. Each jump scare is legitimately the ghost. There are even some rapid succession jump scares, but they are still always the ghost. To me this shows that the directors knew what they were doing, and trusted their material.

It is worth noting that Shutter has become a fairly influential film, with eight remakes (seven in other countries, including the U.S., and one in Thailand).

Using the Fanboy News Networking rating scale, I give Shutter a grade of B+. Horror fans will love it, and non-fans should at least feel that they did not waste their time. It is a must have for any horror fan’s DVD collection.

Man of Steel: A comic fan’s perspective

Posted on by
2

man-of-steel-logoMuch like Dark Knight Rises last year, rather than just review of Man of Steel, I want to look at how it represents the characters in relation to their counterparts in both comic books and pop culture in general.

Fair warning, this article is going to have spoilers for Man of Steel, consider yourself warned.

Since Man of Steel is a reboot of the Superman movie franchise, we find ourselves with yet another telling of Superman’s origin.

The first part of the movie I like because it gives one of the best takes on why Krypton is doomed; the planet’s core was drained to provide energy, and lead to the planet imploding. This is of course topical, but also has a feeling of realism, compared to what is normally just a hand wave.

Of course this part also has some downfalls. The first is that amidst the end of the world, the military decides to stage a coup. I know this was done to provide an introduction for Zod and set up him for later, but it just comes off as odd.

You also have a bit with the genetic codex of Krypton. This I am more forgiving of. It harkens back to the post-crisis relaunch of Superman with Krypton being dependent on clone technology, and gives added motivation for Zod to come after Superman. Other than that, it is basically a McGuffin to drive the plot.

As for the characters, it is an interesting mix.

Or course we have to start with Henry Cavills’ performance as Clark. Right off the bat, you’ll notice that I called him Clark instead of Superman on purpose. While they do call him Superman in the film, it is treated initially as a nickname. The character is treated as a man on a journey to find himself and his place in the world. A lot of people complain that he is not the Superman they grew up with, and that is a fair but incomplete take on the character. This is Clark Kent figuring out who he is and where he fits in the world; so no, he is not the Superman you know, at least not yet. If this film is about anything, it is the events that shape Clark into Superman. He already has the instincts to do the right thing, but is not necessarily sure how to go about it.

Amy Adams as Lois Lane is on a completely different front. This is one of the best representations of Lois outside of the comics ever. She is smart, competent, brave, and a bit of a daredevil. There are two factors that put this Lois above the rest. One is that they show her investigating the mysterious figure that is Clark, and she figures out who he is. I think this is a first in any version of Superman, in which Lois knows Clark’s secret even before the public at large knows about him. The benefit is that there is never a need for her to be played as clueless in not being able to figure out that Clark is Superman. She knows from the onset and is an active partner. This leads to the other factor – Lois is as important to the resolution of the story as Clark. She has information he needs in order to defeat the bad guys. Trusting that she knows what she is doing, he never once tells her to go to safety. And of course Adams’s performance is perhaps the best in the entire film.

Michael Shannon as General Zod is another interesting study. I have been a fan of Shannon for a while and was happy to hear he was cast in the movie. I was also happy to hear that he was in no way even going to attempt to copy anything from Terrance Stamp’s performance from Superman II.  The role of Zod in the movie is very consistent with his recent portrayal in comics. He is devoted to Krypton above all else, and if he must destroy Earth to recreate Krypton, so be it. I like the inference in the film that this is a result of how Krypton bred and raised children to fill a specific role in their society, and so Zod had no idea how to do anything else, but it could have been done better if this was made clearer earlier as I mentioned with the issues with the prologue.

My biggest issue with the film is the portrayal of Jonathan Kent. I think this is one of Kevin Costner’s better performances in the last few years, but I do not like how he was written. In the comics, it is Jonathan that instills the values into Clark that will lead him to be Superman. The movie tries to say this is what happened, but it is not what they showed us. Every time we see Jonathan mentor Clark, he is more concerned with keeping the secret than he is with doing what is right.

Russell Crowe as Jor-El is pretty straight forward. He is playing Jor-El just as he has been portrayed in the comics since 1985. Honestly, it is a solid performance and does more to move Clark towards Superman than Jonathan does.

For the rest of the performances, they are generally well done, but brief. Laurence Fishburne as Perry White is good casting, because he provides a shorthand to the character, which is needed as there is not much on the page.

Diane Lane gets about the same as Martha Kent. She doesn’t have much to do in the flashback scenes with Costner, and in the present, she is the tough widow who believes in her son and isn’t going to let an alien invasion phase her.

Real quick I want to call back to an earlier article and talk about the character Jenny, played by Rebecca Buller. It is never made clear if she is supposed to be a female version of Jimmy Olsen, or just a Planet staffer who Perry looks out for. Either way the character is too minor for it to make much difference.

So let’s talk about the scene that has all the fans in an uproar.  Again, spoilers ahead.

After all the destruction that has been visited on Metropolis by the Kryptonian invaders, after said invasion force has been destroyed, after Superman and Zod have had a battle that has caused untold damage, the final show down occurs.

With Zod threatening to just keep killing humans and actively trying to kill a family, Clark breaks his neck, killing him.

This rubs most fans the wrong way as one of Superman’s big rules is that he does not kill.

Except in the comics he has, and it was Zod he killed.

In 1988 John Byrne wrote a story where Superman faced a Zod from another universe. In his universe, Zod had destroyed Earth, even with our Superman trying to save it. Superman defeats Zod, who then claims he will find a way to the main DC universe and destroy that Earth. Superman believes him and finds the only way to make sure this does not happen is to kill him.

But that is not the end of the story. The next years’ worth of stories are based around Superman struggling with that decision and ultimately declaring that he will always find a better way in the future.

In the movie, immediately after killing Zod, Clark is overcome with grief over having done it, and is comforted by Lois. Clearly this was not a light decision and weighs on him. If we do get a sequel, my hope is the writers build on this just as the comics did.

In the end I did enjoy Man of Steel, but I also think it was not a perfect film. I think it made the mistake of being too much of a disaster film to be a completely satisfying superhero film.

Hopefully Warner Bros. can learn from this film and any sequel can be the Superman film that all fans can get behind.

 

Arrow Season End Review

Posted on by
2

tv-arrow02Back at the beginning of the season I did a review of Arrow, the CW’s take on DC Comics character Green Arrow. At the time of that review, the series had only aired five episodes. At the end of the review I promised to revisit the series at the end of the season. Well, the season has ended, so here we go. Go here to see what I said of if you haven’t already, as I am going to write this review with the assumption that you have read the previous one. I will not be avoiding spoilers either, so be warned.

First, let’s see if any of my opinions changed between then and now.

Back then I complained that Oliver Queen’s mother Moira, sister Thea, and best friend Tommy all suffered from underdevelopment compared to the rest of the characters. To varying degrees, all of them got better development as the season wore on.

Thea got the least. She is still Oliver’s troubled little sister, seeming to follow the pattern he set in his life pre-island of party girl excess. But after a drug bust and near imprisonment she had to do community service at the Laurel’s law office. This led her to meet a street tough named Roy Harper and start a relationship. It got her out of self-obsessed territory and made her more than just window dressing.

Moira got even more interesting. Her involvement with the villain of the story drove a lot of development, especially when it became clear that she was in over her head and just doing whatever she could to protect her family. This culminated in an attempt at redemption that was well played and should prove fodder for great drama next season.

Tommy ended up getting the best development in the series other than Oliver. While sharing the name of Oliver’s arch-enemy from the comics, it turned out that the Dark Archer was actually his father. This led to plenty of speculation as to which side Tommy would eventually end up on. His arc was well played. Once his father cut him off from the family money, Tommy honestly grew as a character. He found a job working for Oliver at his night club, and started an honest relationship with Laurel. One of the interesting points of that relationship is that every time Tommy was presented with a challenge that might have lead him back to his insincere party boy ways, he instead made the right choice. It created great tension in that he was good for Laurel, thus adding complications to Oliver’s relationship with both. This got even more intense when Tommy learned that Oliver was the Hood, leading him to abandon both Oliver and Laurel. This led to the biggest twist in the finale when Tommy risked, and lost, his life to save Laurel, and reconciled with Oliver as he died.

Since the last review there were five major characters introduced.

Roy Harper, played by Colton Haynes, I have mentioned before, as he is Thea’s boyfriend. He is significant to comic fans, as in the books Roy is the first Speedy, Green Arrow’s sidekick who ended up as the hero Arsenal. Roy’s arc is that the Hood saved him and now Roy wants to find him and learn from him. Basically Roy feels called to do better with his life, and feels working with the Hood is the way. It was not a big arc, but a good set-up for one next season, especially with his actions in the finale. Roy is going to be promoted to series regular next season.

Another character getting promoted to regular next season is Felicity Smoak, played by Emily Bett Rickards. Felicity is an odd addition, because in the comics she is a supporting character in Firestorm, not Green Arrow, but that is just a fanboy nitpick. At first I was annoyed by the fact that they had this obviously very attractive actress playing like she was an ugly duckling nerd. I had no problem with her being a nerd, but the way she acted was not matching how they had her look. Fortunately as the season progressed, she became more of a socially awkward and insecure character. She knew how she looked, but it was treated as another hindrance to what she loved to do. At first she was just someone that Oliver would come to when he needed some information that required computer skills. When he had to turn to her for help while wounded, she was not surprised, as she had deduced most of what was going on already. This makes her another example of not making smart characters act dumb for the sake of plot convenience.

Since then she has been part of Oliver’s team. However, she brings a problem I like to call the “Chloe syndrome,” named for the character Chloe Sullivan from Smallville. This is where the lead character has more on-screen chemistry with a secondary character than the official love interest. In this case, Felicity has a lot more on-screen chemistry with Oliver than Laurel does.

The third late addition is Tommy’s father Malcolm Merlyn, played by Torchwood star John Barrowman.  As stated earlier he took over the role of the Green Arrow’s arch-enemy, the Dark Archer. It was good to see Barrowman break type and play a villain, especially one with some sympathetic aspects. Malcolm was a well-intentioned extremist.  Sadly he will not be back next season.

The final newcomer is Slade Wilson, played by Manu Bennett. His character was teased from the first episode, as Slade in the comics is the villain Deathstroke, and we saw the Deathstroke mask in the first episode. His role is currently limited to flashbacks to Oliver’s time on the island. It was a good idea to bring on a new regular as part of the flashbacks if they are going to stay in use. It is also interesting to watch as Oliver and Slade are allies right now, but in the comic they are enemies.

Of the remaining cast, Paul Blackthorn is about the same as he was early in the season as Detective Lance. His arc was a minor one, with him eventually coming to realize that the Hood was needed to save the city, and that maybe they could be allies. It was a slow build that took all season, and for the most part it works.

The biggest disappointment is Katie Cassidy’s character Laurel, and in a lot of ways it isn’t her fault. While she did drive a certain amount of the plot, the writers put her in a bad spot. As a love interest for Tommy she worked great, showing his growth and making his final fate really hit home. As a love interest for Oliver she did not work as well. The two do have chemistry, but again it seems pale compared to the Oliver and Felicity. Add to that the fact that the writers have put just too many obstacles between them. But the worst part is that she just seems to be there as a motivation for Oliver, which is sad when you compare her to her comic book counterpart.

David Ramsey as John Diggle, Oliver’s partner in crime fighting, got a good arc in the latter part of the season, the discovery that reoccurring villain Deadshot killed his brother, and Diggle’s thirst for revenge, which created tension in the Diggle/Queen partnership. This plot thread has not been resolved, so there is more to mine from it. Outside of that they maintained the intelligence and skill that was shown early in the season and portrayed that Diggle is not just a sidekick.

And of course you have Stephen Amell as Oliver. Over the season, it is clear that he was a good find and perfect for the role of superhero. His athleticism has made his portrayal of Oliver all the more realistic. He also had two versions of the character at different times in his life, which has gone smoothly. The season finale showed him wounded and yet determined.

 

The Aquabats! Supershow! Review

Posted on by
Reply

AquabatsImagine that some mad genius decided to cross the Adam West Batman series with the Monkees. That pretty much describes The Aquabats! Supershow! (And as much as my grammar checker hates it, those exclamation points are a required part of the title.)

Before looking at the show itself, we need to explore the Aquabats history.

The Aquabats are a band that formed in 1994 in Orange County. Originally an eight member ska band, they evolved due to band changes to a rock band with punk, new wave, and ska influences. What really makes the band stand out is their stage act. Their concept is that they are a team of superheroes who formed a band. Each band member adopts a superhero persona, and they wear matching superhero costumes. An Aquabats show will include bits where a supervillian will appear on stage for the team to banter with, and then fight, sometimes while they are playing a song. Musically they are influenced by Oingo Boingo and Devo.

The band has had ups and downs, and a couple of hiatuses, but they have a cult following and keep finding ways to keep on rocking.

At their height, the band had eight members. Currently that are at five. In total, 15 people have been members of the band at one time or another.

With their superhero theme and theatrical nature, a television spin off seems natural. However, it took three tries for them to make it happen.

The first attempt was in 1998, with a mini-pilot directed by Bobcat Goldthwait. Apparently it wasn’t very good, and even the Aquabats don’t want anyone to see it.

They tried again a year later with a music video for their album Vs. the Floating Eye of Death that also acted as a set up for a series plot. Fox Family Channel expressed interest, and were in the process of ordering a pilot when they were bought by Disney, and the project fell by the wayside.

While the band was on hiatus during 2004, band leader Glenn Jacobs became involved with television production. While the band was revving up again, one of his company’s pilots was picked up.  The name of that show is Yo Gabba Gabba! You might have heard of it. With the success of that show, Jacobs was able to get some added exposure for the Aquabats by having them appear at times as musical guests. A new pilot was produced. Even then it took a few years to get the green light.

Eventually, Kids’ Network “The Hub” picked up the show.

The premise is not far from what I said at the beginning. The Aquabats are a team of superheroes who also work as a rock band. They travel around in their mobile command center/ tour bus, the Battletram. The show is campy, but not in the old Batman show style; feeling more like the Sid and Marty Kroft live action kids shows from the 70s.

The five current members of the band star in the show with each fleshing out his character more than in their stage show. All are presented as nice guys who want to help people, but have a bit of an underdog status.

The lineup consists of the following:

The MC Bat Commander (Glenn Jacobs): The team’s leader and lead singer. He is brave, but impulsive. He is also has complete confidence in everything he does, even when wading in without a plan. Although he is the only member who does not have superpowers, he is often the first to charge into battle.

Crash McLarson (Chad Larson): The team’s muscle and bass player. Crash is an endearing man-child, who has the power to grow to 50 feet tall. Unfortunately he cannot control this power, only growing when becoming emotional. And it’s not just anger, any strong emotion will do. Once the Bat Commander got him to grow by pointing out how sad the situation they were in was.

Eaglebones Falconhawk (Ian Fowler): The band’s guitarist.  He is cockier than the rest of the team, and will at times strike out on his own. At first he had no powers, but uses a laser powered guitar as a weapon. After losing a battle with his archenemy and older brother Eagleclaw Falconhawk (Jon Heder), Eaglebones was visted by the spirit of the Sun (Lou Diamond Phillips), who gave him the power to summon a spirit animal (a female eagle named “The Dude”) and the power to see the unseen. After this, Eaglebones often acted as the voice of wisdom on the team.

Ricky Fitness (Richard Falomir): The band’s drummer. As his name implies, he is in the best shape of the team, and tries to get the team to be healthier, being the only one to not indulge in junk food. He is also portrayed as a lady’s man, often flirting with female characters, even villains. He also has a phobia about getting dirty. His power is superspeed.

Jimmy the Robot (James R Briggs Jr.): The band’s keyboardist. His name says it all – he is a very human-looking robot, with built in weapons, sensors, and detachable hands. He acts as the team’s scientist. He often feels lonely and worries that the team does not truly accept him because he is a robot.

Each episode has four elements. First is the live action story that runs throughout the episode, which features the Aquabats facing some enemy with the conflict being resolved by the end of the episode. At some point during the episode, someone will come across a TV screen in an odd location and exclaim, “Look, it’s a cartoon.” At this point a short Aquabats cartoon will be shown. Unlike the main plot, the cartoon has a serialized plot that runs through the course of the season. There will be a second very short cartoon featuring the Aquabats mascot Lil’ Bat. Finally each episode will have a parody commercial  for a useless product from a company called Gloopy.

The guest stars are also often a treat. Besides Lou Diamond Phillips and Jon Heder, the show has included appearances by “Weird” Al Yankovic, and Samm Levine.  Former Aquabats members Courtney Pollock and Boyd Terry appear as their superhero personas of Chainsaw and Catboy, but in non-Aquabat costumes. One very notable guest is Matt Chapman, who is one of series regular writers and directors. In one episode, he plays a ghost tormenting the team for disturbing his grave. More importantly he plays an evil carnival showman named Carl who looks and talks like Chapman’s character Strong Bad, from his site Homestar Runner.  In the next season, the show will have appearances by Tony Hawk, as well as Mikey Way of “My Chemical Romance”. Mikey’s brother, Gerard Way, will direct this episode.

So overall how is the show?

Actually, it is really good. It knows what it is: a show aimed at kids, but with enough going on to entertain any adults willing to buy into its premise. The five leads are totally committed to their roles, and at no point seem embarrassed to be there. The guests also seem to enjoy themselves.

The production is naturally cheap, befitting the show’s budget, but this is the kind of show that turns that into an advantage. If you are able to get past the show’s cheesiness, it is very enjoyable.

Season 1 is currently available on Netflix. Season 2 will debut on The Hub on June 1st.

I give The Aquabats! Supershow! a grade of B+.

Hemlock Grove Review

Posted on by
Reply

netflix-hemlock-groveHemlock Grove is the third series in Netflix’s push to begin presenting original programming to their subscribers. This is a significant move, as it is another piece in the puzzle that could significantly change how we consume media. Part of this plan includes putting the entire season up at once so that you can either watch the show over time or all at once.

But for this move to work the programming has to be good. Not all of it, though. Even the most successful networks have bad programming. But the better the programming, the more people are going to pay attention. The big push will be next month with the fourth season of Arrested Development.

But in the meantime we have Hemlock Grove, so how did they do?

Hemlock Grove is a supernatural mystery developed for television by Brian McGreevy and Lee Shipman based on a novel by McGreevy.

The show takes place in the eponymous town of Hemlock Grove, Pennsylvania. The main characters are Roman Godfrey, eldest child of the richest family in town, and Peter Rumancek, a gypsy who has just moved into town with his mother. The two meet when they are both drawn to the location of a violent death of a fellow student. They bond over being fatherless loners, and also over the fact that they both are supernatural in nature.  Peter is a werewolf; and although he is not aware of it, Roman is an Upir, which even though the series acts like it is teasing it out, is clearly something akin to a vampire.

As the two bond, they decide to hunt down the student’s killer after a second attack occurs. The police think it is a wild animal, but Peter can tell it is a vargulf, which is the term for a werewolf that has gone insane.

Several of the other characters represent other horror story archetypes.

There is Christine, who fancies herself a novelist, and is familiar enough with folklore to recognize that Peter is a werewolf, although no one else really believes her, making her the exposition character which is more a universal archtype.

Shelly is Roman’s younger sister. She is nearly 7 feet tall, mute, bald (but always wearing a wig), and part of her face is deformed. She is also the sweetest most caring person in the story, and is used in the story to act as a gauge for the level of compassion in other characters. As her backstory is revealed it is clear that she is a Frankenstein archetype.

There is also Letha, Roman’s cousin, whom he is unusually close to. She becomes pregnant after an encounter with what she sees as an angel. Eventually she becomes Peter’s girlfriend. She is the damsel in distress archetype.

Roman’s mother Olivia is clearly a femme fatale and master manipulator. She is the evil temptress archetype.

Peter’s cousin Destiny has psychic abilities and in many ways both covers and subverts the witch archetype.

There is also a Battlestar Galactica reunion. Arron Douglas plays the town Sherriff, who is the typical horror movie lawman; and Kandyse McClure is Dr. Clementine Chausser, a Fish and Wildlife investigator and this story’s Van Helsing.

There are others but the show has a huge cast and I could be here all day covering them.

The story at its heart is a classic horror mystery. The heroes have to discover the identity of the monster and how to defeat it before it can kill again.  But at times that is secondary to the exploration of the characters. The theme of the monster within is covered, both for the supernatural characters and the humans caught up in events, as they spin further out of control.

Bucking the current trend of supernatural storytelling, romance is not at the heart of the story, even poking fun at Twilight, as seems almost required these days. The core relationship is the friendship between Peter and Roman. In these days of prolific fanfiction, they are a duo almost tailor made for Slashfic. They are constantly drawn together by their need for friendship, while at the same time being pulled apart by their differing nature. Landon Liboiron as Peter and Bill Skarsgard as Roman give good performances, and are clearly the anchor of the series. The one downside here is that when Roman becomes emotional, Skarsgard’s natural Swedish accent starts leaking through which can be distracting.

Unfortunately the level of acting from the rest of the cast is uneven. Some are very good, like Dougray Scott as Roman’s uncle, and Lili Taylor as Peter’s mother. Others are fine but not anything that will stand out, such as Douglas and McClure, as well as Tiio Horn as Peter’s cousin Destiny. Some of the younger cast members definitely show their inexperience, especially Freya Tingley. She gives a very uneven performance as Christina – at times playing too wooden, and at other times over the top, but every once and a while doing fine. And then you have Famke Janssen as Olivia, where she is attempting to chew the scenery while going for a constant state of bored distance, coming off as a character from an Addams Family movie.

The show is best as a character study. As a mystery it does work as well, but I feel they telegraphed the identity of the vargulf a little too much. I figured it out three episodes prior to the reveal. This is not to say it is all bad. I was engaged with the story through to the end and did find myself caring about the characters.

From a production perspective it was clear that the show was working from limited budget, and found ways to work with it. The werewolf transformation, while not necessarily a new take, was done extremely well. There was also a reliance on suggested violence over outright gore, although there were gory aftermath scenes.

Overall I enjoyed the show and would certainly check out a second season if one is made. It is also a solid entry into Netflix original programming plan.

I give Hemlock Grove a C+.

 

 

The Joker Blogs Review

Posted on by
Reply

 

Scott McClure as the Joker

The Joker Blogs is an interesting web series on many levels. At it’s heart it is a fan film, being a direct continuation of Christopher Nolaen’s The Dark Knight. But it has grown into something more than the sum of its parts.

Fan films are nothing new, but they are always tricky to deal with. First off, due to copyright law, you can’t make a profit on them unless you have worked to secure rights, which honestly these kinds of productions can’t afford. So making one is always a labor of love, even if it is also an attempt to show off your film making skills, like the movie Batman: Dead End.

But The Joker Blogs is something more, as it is not just a film, it is a series.

The premise is simple. The series takes place directly after the events of The Dark Knight. The Joker is being held at Arkham Asylum, undergoing evaluation to determine if he is sane enough to stand trial. The first part of the series is presented as tapes from the Joker’s therapy sessions with Dr. Harleen (Harley)Qunizel, which the Joker says are going to be uploaded to YouTube by a friend of his. These episodes play out as a mental cat and mouse game between Harley and the Joker. The second half of the series takes place after the Joker escapes Arkham on Harley’s wedding day.  The Joker takes Dr. Jeremiah Arkham hostage and films his antics.

The entire series is done in a ”found footage” style. In total there were 19 episodes of the original series, plus several side videos.  Since then there have been six videos released called Further Evidence that have acted as filler and set up as the crew prepares for a second series which is planned to start in April.

The genesis of the series is from the premiere of The Dark Knight in 2008, when Scott McClure attended dressed as the Joker. Several people complimented him on his spot-on impression of the character as played by the late Heath Ledger. Being a film-maker McClure decided to make a video of himself as the character and put it on YouTube. The response to the video was overwhelmingly positive so McClure and his partner Andrew DeVary decided to use it as a pilot for an entire series.

So what makes this series stand out from all the other various fan films that get put online?

The one thing that can make or break a web series like this is the writing. McClure and DeVary have a clear understanding that at his heart, the Joker is a horror movie character. Even in the light hearted early installments, there is a feeling of tension brought on by the character that increases as the series progresses. By the time the Joker escapes, the series has become a horror story with some comedic elements.

The writing would not be enough without the directing and McClure’s direction is superb. In straddling the line between horror and comedy pacing is key. McClure knows that in a show with a low budget, less is more and what you don’t see can be more terrifying than what you do. Add to that the fact that most of the cast are not experienced actors, but still pull off good performances, which I would credit to the direction they received.

As the series presented itself as basically real-time found footage, the show used that to include an interactive element. The Joker would give viewers tasks to do, usually to act as an advertisement for the show. One example was instructing viewers to send Warner Bros. valentines that included the shows web address. Reports are that a few thousand were sent.

Then we have to take a look at the cast.

As the Joker, the whole series is built around McClure’s performance. While it is directly based on Heath Ledger’s performance in The Dark Knight, McClure adds his own touches, and creates the perfect balance between the humor and menace of the character. Since His face is the only one seen in the first 9 episodes (with the exception of a quick cameo by the Scarecrow in episode 6) the series lives or dies by him. Fortunately, McClure is more than up to the task. McClure also plays the character of Dr. Thomas Elliot. It is a credit to his ability as an actor that a lot of fans did not catch that he was the same actor playing the Joker.

Kira Westberg as Harleen Quinzel is the other lead in the series. At first she sounds wooden, but as the series goes on it appears that this was just part of trying to keep professional composure with the Joker. By the end, when she is an onscreen presence, she carries her scenes well, and shows hints of evolving into Harley Quinn.

Steven Molony rounds out the main cast as Jermiah Arkham, Director of Arkham Asylum. Starting out as a bit player in early episodes, once the series leaves the Asylum, Dr. Arkham becomes a major character. Molony conveys the horror of what is going on, showing Dr. Arkham slowly losing his own grip on sanity. Molony also plays Batman in the few bits where he appears.

Once the series was done fans made sure it was known they wanted more. McClure and DeVary set up a successful crowd sourcing campaign to fund it. The series of shorts Further Evidence, focused on different characters, and shows how they deal with the aftermath of series one.

As I said earlier, the next series is scheduled to debut in in April. Further Evidence appears to have set up part of the plot, and the trailer has hints that it will touch on events for The Dark Knight Rises.

Overall The Joker Blogs is an impressive web series and should be checked out if you are a fan of The Dark Knight Trilogy, or if you are interested in the potential of web based series making.

Overall I give it a grade of A-.

 

Universal Horror: Spanish Dracula Review

Posted on by
Reply

 

Carlos Villarias as Dracula

As I stated in my review of Dracula, a common practice in Hollywood during the early days of talking pictures was to film a second version of a movie using the same sets and shooting script in a foreign language. At the time, dubbing was not a very refined art, and many considered it cheating anyway. Sadly, most of these films have been lost as they were considered secondary to the English language version and less effort was made to preserve them.

Fortunately, one of the few to survive was the Spanish language version of Dracula.

There is no real reason to go over a synopsis of the film’s plot. It is identical to the English language version that I reviewed last week. Go back and reread that if needed, I’ll wait.

A lot of interest has been given to this version over the years, as many people feel it is in fact superior to the Bela Lugosi classic. Are they right? Let’s find out.

The film was directed by George Melford who was already famous for having directed Rudolph Valentino’s silent classic The Sheik. Working for Universal, Melford directed four Spanish language films. Melford did not speak a word of Spanish and had to use a translator.

Melford also had a competitive streak, at least when it came to Tod Browning and Dracula. Melford and his crew would come in at night after Browning’s crew had wrapped for the day. He would get to look at the dailies with the idea that he would mimic what was shot. Instead Melford decided he could do better and chose to try and improve on what Browning had shot.

Watching this version can be jarring if you are familiar with the English version. Many scenes are identical in look and feel. However, as the movie progresses differences start to become more apparent.

First of all is the pacing. The Spanish version is much better paced, shrugging off the theatrical roots of the material. While the camera work is not as fluid at times as the English version, it makes up for it with grander sweeps and faster movement. There are two scenes in the Browning version that go on a bit long, a battle of wills between Dracula and Van Helsing, and a vampiric seduction of Harker by Mina. Melford improves the pacing by having them happen simultaneously and cutting between them.

Another very clear change is on the close ups of Dracula. In the Browning version, it is always a tight shot of his face with a band of light across his eyes. In Melford’s version, it is a tight close up of just the eyes, or a tight close up of the face and then a jump cut to the close up of the eyes.

Of course we also have to look at the performances by the actors as this is the chief difference between the two.

Carlos Villarias plays Dracula. Of the cast he was the only one allowed to look at the dailies, as the studio wanted him to mimic Lugosi. While there are similarities between the two performances, they are still very different.  Villarias plays Dracula more energetically than Lugosi did, and due to less stringent standards for the Spanish audience was able to make the seductive elements of the character more overt. In many ways this is a better performance than Lugosi’s. However, the difference is that Villarias did not have the same commanding presence as Lugosi. So while it might be a better performance technically, it was in no way matching the iconic one given by Lugosi.

Pablo Alvarez Rubio played Renfield. Here I feel that while his performance was equal to Dwight Frye’s, it was different. Manic Frye was menacing, where Rubio was just over-the-top raving. Calm Frye was sympathetic where Rubio became sinister.

Eduardo Arozamena played Van Helsing. Here I feel the performance was flatter compared to the one given by Edward Von Sloan.

The biggest difference was in the female lead. When I reviewed the other version I glossed over the performance of Helen Chandler as Mina. I felt it was just serviceable and did not really stand out. In the Spanish version, Lupita Tovar played the renamed Eva. Her performance was much more dynamic, especially when under Dracula’s thrall. It should be noted that Chandler’s career did not extend beyond the 1930s, whereas Tovar was working through the mid-1940s.

So in the end, I can say that yes, the Spanish version of Dracula is the superior film. Its biggest down fall is that it lacks the iconic performance of Lugosi.

I give it a grade of B-

Hopefully it will not take a year to get back to the Universal Horror movies again. When we do return, we will look at the final member of the Horror trinity, the Wolf Man.

Universal Horror: Dracula Review

Posted on by
Reply

 

Bela Lugosi as Dracula

After nearly a year, I am getting back to my review of Universal Horror classics. So let’s take a look at the 1931 Universal production of Dracula.

Before I get into the review I want to cover an interesting topic.

In the early days of talking pictures, it was common for a version of a Hollywood production to have a second version of a film made using the same script and sets, but in another language. Apparently overdubbing was not that refined a process and many considered it cheating anyway.

Dracula had a Spanish version that was filmed at night using the same script and sets. Most of these foreign versions have been lost, but Dracula is one of the few they were able to recover.

I have watched both. While this review is going to just cover the English language version, next time I will go over the Spanish version, as it deserves its own article.

On to the review.

For years Universal had wanted to make Dracula. Specifically Carl Laemmle Jr., son of Universal founder Carl Laemmle Sr., wanted to make Dracula. Originally as a silent picture with Lon Chaney as the Count. Several factors delayed production. First was just securing the rights, as author Bram Stoker’s widow had sued the producers of Nosferatu for not having secured the rights, and won. Then there was Chaney himself who developed throat cancer and died. Finally, you had the great depression which resulted in the movie having a smaller budget. Originally Laemmle had envisioned a grand film on the scale of the Hunchback of Notre Dame that adhered very closely to Stoker’s novel. Now he needed to tone it down and eventually the film more closely adhered to the Broadway stage version.

The other challenge was casting. Most of the cast came together fairly quickly, except for Dracula himself. At first, Conrad Veidt was considered. He had been successful in horror, both as the somnambulist Cesare in The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, and lead in The Man who Laughed. Unfortuantely Veidt had to return to Europe, so he was out.

Interestingly, the studio was against casting Bela Lugosi, who had played the part to much acclaim on Broadway. Lugosi himself lobbied hard for the part and with choices dwindling the studio decided to give him a shot.

The director of the film was Tod Browning. Browning was a successful silent film director, including having worked on the vampire-themed London After Midnight with Lon Chaney.

The story begins in Transylvania with a real estate agent named Renfield traveling to meet with Count Dracula to finalize his purchase of Carfax Abby in London. After securing the deal, Renfield is put under Dracula’s thrall. Traveling to London, Renfield is institutionalized at the Sanitarium next to the Abby run by Dr. Seward.  The count begins preying on London, with focus on Seward’s daughter Mina. Seward brings in Dr. Van Helsing to look into a rash of anemic deaths which Van Helsing correct deduces are the result of vampire attacks.  Van Helsing suspects the Count, and once confirmed, begins a hunt for the vampire’s resting place in order to bring an end to the menace.

Let’s take a look at what does not work.

Pacing is the number one problem with the film. You can clearly tell this is an adaptation of a play, as that is how it is paced. One striking thing is that the Count almost never moves quickly, preferring to stalk towards his victims.

I suspect that Browning added to this as he was used to silent film and did not know how to adapt the pacing for the inclusion of sound. One reason this is glaring is the lack of background music. This was not the fault of the production, however. In the first few years of sound, the only time music was added was if there were musicians visible. It was assumed that music would confuse the audience as to where it was coming from.

Another oddity is some of the editing choices. There are several times when Dracula is onscreen that it will cut to a close up of his face with a band of light across his eyes. This is an iconic image and I would think perhaps creepy to a 1931 audience, but seems jarring by today’s standards.

On the cast, sadly many of them just don’t stand out. Several of the cast did not have long careers in Hollywood, and you can see why here.

However, moving on to more positive aspects, there were some exceptional performances; otherwise I doubt this movie would have become a classic.

It almost should go without saying that Bela Lugosi dominates the film. He brings, charm, mystery, and menace to the role.

Next to Lugosi is Dwight Frye as Renfield. He starts the movie as a normal, if dull businessman, but as soon as he is under Dracula’s control he is a raving madman. Frye makes him stand out as a man who wants to be free, but cannot escape Dracula’s grasp.

Edward Van Sloan as Van Helsing rounds out the good performances as Van Helsing, conveying the man’s will and determination to defeat the vampire.

Of interest is that later in 1931 both Frye and Van Sloan would be part of the cast of Frankenstein, securing their place in horror history.

Another bright spot for Dracula was cinematography. The film was lucky to have gotten ground breaking cinematographer Karl Freund. Thanks to his work, the film looks wonderful even today, and many of his tracking shots were considered ground breaking at the time.

Finally we have to look at the legacy of this movie. It solidified the image of the vampire in the public mind. Even today, the stereotype of the vampire is based on Lugosi’s performance.  It also gave us the image of the haunted castle, with crumbling walls and cobwebs. The tropes associated with a vampire’s minion were set in stone by Frye, just like he would later in the year with the mad scientist’s hunchbacked assistant. And the vampire hunter in the mold of Van Helsing would also be influenced by this film.

It is also worth noting that Dracula was the first film made in Hollywood that was overtly supernatural. Until then all Hollywood horror involved the deformed, the deranged, or someone using trickery. Europe had some supernatural elements in their films, but this was the first for Hollywood, and opened the doors for all horror that would follow.

In the end you can see why this made such an impact.

However, I do not feel that it has held up as well as Frankenstein.

 

I give the 1931 Dracula a grade of C+.

 

Join us next week when we see how well the Spanish language version holds up.