08 November 2007

Shear-ly a One-Joke Movie

Obviously connections between Jonathan King’s horror-comedy BLACK SHEEP, a ridiculous little film about genetically-engineered sheep that bleat to a murderous rampage, and the early works of Peter Jackson can easily be made. After all, not since DEAD ALIVE – or perhaps the very-underrated FRIGHTENERS – has New Zealand been the backdrop for a schlocky horror film.

Unfortunately, BLACK SHEEP spends entirely too much time deciding if the film is to be either a gory horror-fest, or a light-hearted Spielbergian romp ala ARACHNOPHOBIA or GREMLINS. Nathan Meister’s fear of sheep is a little too forced and the obligatory romance between his character, Henry, and that of Danielle Mason’s lacks any sort of chemistry, genetically-engineered or not.

What was missing from the film is the element of pure sarcasm; an event where the actors can almost get away with winking to the audience in shared knowledge. In a film featuring zombie sheep, the audience is not looking for the sophistication of THE RING or even the horror of NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, rather something akin to what should be this film's goofy contemporaries: the EVIL DEAD trilogy, SLITHER and even SHAUN OF THE DEAD.

BLACK SHEEP does have its charming moments, charming, that is, for those lovers of zombies. The attack during older-brother Angus' speech is the highlight of the film. That and the movie downright looks great. Even aside from Weta’s high-caliber practical effects, the lighting and, in particular, the sets provided a top-notch feel to the production. That creepy drop of nervous anxiety running down your spine was the only feeling missing.


As Always,
theJOE

07 October 2007

Soup

I like soup. Although I don't partake of soups with every meal, they make a great - and often tasty - compliment or appetizer. Here is a list of my favorites.

1. Tomato
2. French Onion
3. Italian Wedding
4. Chicken Noodle
5. Chili
6. Wonton
7. Cream of Mushroom
8. Steak Stew
9. Miso
10. Ramen
11. Minestrone
12. Pasta Fagioli
13. Avgolemono
14. Pho
15. Revenge (best served cold)



As Always,
theJOE

27 September 2007

Lone Wolf and Cub for the X-Box Generation

Glorifying violence - and perhaps even depravity - SHOOT' EM UP certainly revels in the fact that its nothing more than a stunt-laden, high-octane, 21st Century Warner Bros. cartoon. Paul Giamatti's hitman, like Elmer Fudd before him, carries a big gun and certainly doesn't let a thing like wounded pride get in his way. Clive Owen's good-guy, Smith, bounces around and eat carrots continually like the ancestor his character is derived from.

Pure, unadulterated action keeps time with Paul Haslinger's rock-n-roll rhythms coupled with the likes of NIRVANA, AC/DC, MOTORHEAD and MOTLEY CRUE as the ridiculous action and well-choreographed stunts builds on, yet also mocks, all the cinematic gifts once presented by the MATRIX.

Owen's Smith makes a perfectly rascally rogue. Likeable with his own set of morals and is even fatherly as he invincibly flies between bullets with Oliver, his surrogate son, ironically trying to find a safe haven for the little guy.

When not racing, diving, driving or shooting, however, the pace of the film dies in a manner that the two main characters do not. A little background is given hinting at Smith's time as a Black Ops agent and the tragedy that haunts him. Giamatti's Hertz was a one-time profiler. But none of that information is confirmed as it isn't needed. Smith, like Clint Eastwood's Man-With-No-Name, does not need a past as he's clearly a creature of the present. Such in-between scenes do nothing more than create a lag as the viewer anxiously awaits the next scene of action.

Another detouring element is the inclusion of Monica Bellucci's character, Donna. Aside from the cheesecake factor that Bellucci is flatteringly good at, allowing a girl into this guy's action world detracts both Smith's already responsibility-laden mission as well as the plot.

SHOOT 'EM UP, just like any video game, has each scene's stakes getting higher and higher until the final meeting with the big bad boss and the film's farcical end. Writer/Director Michael Davis obviously wanted to give audiences a treat where a thinking man could unplug and enjoy mindless fun with a story that doesn't make much sense to begin with. Davis simply needs to learn not to let go of the accelerator in the case of a sequel.


As Always,
theJOE

26 July 2007

Comic-Con preparation... of sorts

Time for geeking out - and doing something that I have ignored the past three or so years. This coming week is the San Diego Comic-Con, the Super Bowl of Geekdom. I’ve never been to Comic-Con as my preference has always swayed towards the Chicago Wizardworld, which is parallel to Geekdom’s Stanley Cup Finals.

Truly, it is no secret that my passion for the comicbook medium has diminished since the start of this century. Naturally, I still collect and stay on top of most major storylines but after collecting for twenty plus years I am beginning to witness past story ideas, originally new and fresh to me, recycled and updated for the new readers. This generation has already – and is currently undergoing – retellings of the origins for such stalwarts as Superman, Batman and Green Arrow, classic beginnings that were updated, for me, in the mid-eighties.

There are other factors that have no doubt contributed to this slight sense of ennui. Too many mega cross-over storylines. Too many changes in creative teams - a problem which once was becoming near incestuous has, in recent years, opened to celebrated non-comic writers, which are truly hit-or-very-seriously-miss. And, heaven-forbid, too much reliance on the Internet.

Even the mighty lure of the comic convention – a time of celebration, reunion, business rumors, digging through long boxes searching for that elusive key back issue and the brigade of Darth Vader wannabes – has since been bagged and boarded, at least for a little while.

However, one of the upcoming Chicago convention spectacles has once again intrigued me.

The event referred to is voting for the Wizard Fan Awards, something which is analogous to, and holds as much weight as, the MTV Movie Awards. Yet, in similar regard to the MTV awards, any chance for the creators to shine and be given some sort of recognition, even if only in their insular community, is considered both harmless and welcome.

Unlike other fan-based awards, Wizard has set up, Academy-style, nominations for events and creators they deem worthy. Many times these lists contain similar names, thus the desire for that all-important and strangely-absent write-in, but this year’s noms caught my attention. After reading through the list, I soon found myself voting and a little bit of that hard-edged passion began to surface. And I began to smile.

So with that smile still growing, allow me to present, for what it’s worth, my picks along with obligatory commentary.


FAVORITE WRITER
A nice rounding in selections. Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man and Ex Machina) writes two of the best – and mainstream friendly – comics currently published.
Ed Brubaker might have been the man who killed Captain America, and made the story damn compelling, also writes Daredevil, which is one of the only conventional superhero monthlies I subscribe and proclaim to.
Joss Whedon writes Astonishing X-Men with the same pop-culture mannerisms that made Buffy: The Vampire Slayer great.
My pick went to Geoff Johns who crafted the Infinite Crisis event, a story 20 years in the making.

FAVORITE PENCILER
Both Steve McNiven (Civil War) and Phil Jimenez (Infinite Crisis) deserve accolades for their ability to deal with cast-heavy events.
John Cassaday’s facial expressions perfectly compliment Astonishing X-Men.
But it’s Steve Epting (Captain America) whose stark realism and high-action gets the vote.

FAVORITE INKER
Danny Miki (Moon Knight)

FAVORITE COVER ARTIST

J.G. Jones (52)
But James Jean’s paintings (Fables) are a very close #2.

FAVORITE COLORIST
Dave Stewart (B.P.R.D)

FAVORITE LETTERER
Todd Klein (Fables), whose lettering is easy to read and fun to look at!

FAVORITE EDITOR
Although Tom Brevoort does a good job with Marvel’s heavy-hitters, it’s Scott Allie (B.P.R.D.) who I feel has a better vision on his titles, one of which is Hellboy.

FAVORITE MALE HERO
Daredevil. Again, the single best-written superhero title on the market. And if you are curious, DC’s Justice Society of America is the best team mag.

FAVORITE FEMALE HERO
Just got into the collections of She-Hulk’s new legal-based series; quite fun. However, the nigh-self destructive Renee Montoya (52) is a much more complex and interesting character. Plus she’s the new Question.

FAVORITE VILLAIN
Always a great category. Lex Luthor (52) is the perfect default choice and the inclusion of the sadistically-evil Governor (The Walking Dead) is another great nomination. My choice went with Superboy Prime (Infinite Crisis). What made this version of Superboy so evil is that he never thought of himself as such. In fact, he saw himself as the ultimate hero stopping corruption at every level. And we all know that cliché about the corruption of power. Geoff Johns did a fantastic job scripting this character.


FAVORITE SUPPORTING CHARACTER
Foggy Nelson (Daredevil) is always the perfect candidate for this selection, but loyalties, as always, have been with The Question (52).

FAVORITE ONGOING SERIES
Daredevil. To quote Stan Lee: ‘Nuff Said.

FAVORITE MINISERIES
Infinite Crisis (DC). Marvel's Civil War, which ended in 2007, will no doubt get high marks next year for a truly original story.

FAVORITE ONE-SHOT
Villains United Special (DC)

FAVORITE PUBLISHER
DC

FAVORITE COMIC MOVIE PROJECT

Lots of fun releases this year. High marks to Terry Zwigoff'sArt School Confidential (Sony) and Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns (Warner Bros). My vote goes to the Wachowski’s rendition of V for Vendetta (Warner Bros). They adapted a tight psychological and political mystery into a damn fun action flick.

BREAKOUT TALENT
Ed Benes (Justice League of America), is definitely a good artist and performing an admirable job on a usually cast-heavy title, but sometimes his characters come across too similar in style. Thus, my choice goes to Ivan Reis (Green Lantern). I’ve been a fan of Ivan’s since his first monthly job on Dark Horse Comics’ Ghost.

COMICS GREATEST MOMENT
Spider-Man unmasks (Civil War #2). In front of the entire world. Including J. Jonah Jameson. Does any other event come close? Okay, there was one. The death of Booster Gold (52 #15). But the dude’s a time traveler. He got better. Spidey is still unmasked.

FAVORITE TV SHOW
Outside of sports, there are not too many shows I catch regularly on network TV. One of them is The Shield (FX Networks), which was not nominated. Another one, which was nominated, is Lost (ABC). But season 3 focused – and revealed – way too much about the Others. My vote, then, was easy, but came as surprise seeing as how I didn’t begin downloading the show until very late in its existence: Heroes (NBC). Cannot wait for season 2 to begin.

FAVORITE DVD RELEASE
The aforementioned V for Vendetta (Warner Bros) and Superman Returns (Warner Bros) were both ace releases. Props, and votes, need to go to Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (Warner Bros), which provided a similar, but also different, version of the well-loved film. Remember, since the original release of Superman II back in 1980, there was not a fan-worthy cinematic super-hero/super-villain duke out until 2000’s X-Men. That’s a twenty-year wait, folks. Special mention to the not-nominated Season 1 of Doctor Who; wish Christopher Eccelston stayed on for another go round.



As Always,
theJOE

06 July 2007

Necessary Ingredients to B-Movie Magic

Ridiculous? Sure. Gory? Without a doubt. Cliché? Certainly at times… but aren't those three ingredients the necessary spices that marinate the typical b-grade film to that of a choice cult classic? You bet!

Slither, you see, is bred from a high pedigree of b-film classics, and that’s even ignoring director James Gunn’s connections to all things Troma, attributing the over-the-top gory camp to its grandfather, Evil Dead II, and the sci-fi wackiness to that of its father, Tremors. Gregg Henry’s dialogue is easily imagined as coming from Bruce Campbell while the romantic tensions between Nathan Fillion and Elizabeth Banks are on the same route as Kevin Bacon and Finn Carter. Other family likenesses include snappy one-liners, a well-intentioned and likable rogue who must stand alone against an invasion of body-snatching space slugs and, of course, unexplained dead things. Slither is an entertaining chase that consistently brings just as many laughs as it does screams.

Even before the likes of Shaun Of The Dead, genre-blending flicks of comedic horror have always been one of the most difficult theatric tricks to successfully pull off as that delicate balance of acceptance comes into play. For instance, how much camp can be digested before being conceived as ridiculous or simply too much must fit in with the comedic style and tone of the script. Then, how scary and how gory can the film go without being visualized as either an outright terror or a gooey mess?

Usually, the answer to those questions is probably luck. However, talent and a true desire for the story does go a long way. Aside from the aforementioned films of Sam Raimi and Ron Underwood, examples of these can be seen with Peter Jackson's Dead Alive, Joe Dante's Gremlins and John Carpenter's comedic-actioner Big Trouble In Little China.

There is one more element that must be added to the mix: enjoyment. Regardless if the film brings laughter or shrieks, the final result must be satisfaction in the story, the involvement of the characters and the entertaining aspect that the afflictions within are not happening to you. Slither satisfies all three desires.

So add Slither to that "must see" list of spectacles where the silliness can become real and accepted and experienced over and over.


As Always,
theJOE

29 May 2007

RUSH - "Snakes & Arrows"

RUSH
“Snakes & Arrows”
Atlantic


Once again the Boys from the Great White North change their sound; something they do every three or four albums either to press their artistic limits or to capture – and redefine – the score of the current music scene. Coming off 2002’s Vapor Trails, a bass-n-grunge heavy set of riotous and catchy anthems, Snakes & Arrows is still cool and, albeit, even slightly counter-contemporary, but definitely mellow and lo-fi not making it the most complementary of pieces.

Vapor Trails was released after a six-year-long wait and jumped with intensity. If there was any message the release seemed to generate it was, “We’re RUSH. We’re back. We’re louder than ever.” Snakes & Arrows, then, has a slightly different message. Perhaps it’s, “We’re RUSH. We’re a little older, a little wiser, and maybe don’t have to be so damn loud.”

There is a definite acoustic feel to this release, which plays heavily into the mellow mood. Even Alex Lifeson’s electric work has more of a 6- and 12-string organic rhythm rather than the normal crispness of technicality. As a result, unfortunately, some tracks become instantly forgettable.

RUSH opens the release with their rocking new single, “Far Cry”. “Armor and Sword” has a beautiful composition and arrangement, but the band then tunes it down too quickly as the next three tracks all have a too-similar feel that suppresses any individuality. The second half picks up the pace with “Faithless”, a song that has that great 80’s style b-side quality, the progressive “Good News First” and closes, as it began, with the rocker “We Hold On”.

Snakes & Arrows has three instrumentals interspersed throughout the CD and all of them are complex, beautiful, attention-grabbers that makes you remember why you’re a RUSH fan in the first place: fast licks, pounding bass and beyond-tricky fills. In fact Lifeson’s son, Lexrt, composes and performs the second one, “Hope”, which captures all the magic of the band.

RUSH has built a long-lasting career on artistic changes, longer than many of today’s bands can ever dream of accomplishing. They no longer need to prove themselves as the Tech Masters of Prog Rock who have assumed control. Nor do they need to outdo themselves in the limelight with each new release like a new world man. But nor are they today’s Tom Sawyer. Snakes & Arrows is occasionally clunky both in Peart’s lyrics and Lee’s serious vein of music, but it also knows when to jam, when to sing and yes, the instrumental “Malignant Narcissism” evens allows you an air-drum solo.

As Always,
theJOE

19 February 2007

Comicbook Actioneer is an Easy Ride

The problem with comicbook films is that once the filmmakers decide to distance themselves from the source material, a necessary step that all films face upon adaptation, the core audience immediately goes on the defense. Pleasing said fans is always a difficult task. GHOST RIDER, then, succeeds on the level that it is a fun, comicbook adapted film. However, placed against some its more successful contemporaries, the campy nature of GHOST RIDER is its chief detractor.

The Marvel Comics anti-hero Ghost Rider got his start in Marvel Spotlight #5 in 1972 and the film’s origin resembles the comicbook tale close enough: motorcyclist Johnny Blaze makes a deal with the devil transforming him, at times, to be an fiery instrument of vengeance. Marvel then revamped and updated the character in 1990 completing the skull-like visage with a flaming chain and spikes. Writer/director Mark Steven Johnson takes elements from the classic story and incorporates it with the stylizations of the more modern version in an attempt to please both worlds.

Opening with an origin that unfortunately lasts the entire first – and lengthy – act, the film finally roars into action as the damned Blaze (Nic Cage) fights against the devil’s son, Blackheart (AMERICAN BEAUTY’s Wes Bentley) and his demonic horde. Bentley pulls off the rogue with a smile but at times he and his cronies’ post-MATRIX get-up have all the posturing of an upstart emo band. Even Cage and Sam Elliott, playing his mentor, camp it up at times playing mere parodies of themselves. Topping off the cast is the ultimate Easy Rider, Peter Fonda, playing a laughably-scary devil with a grin-and-a-wink that seems to channel Jack Nicholson.

Once the action begins, the film pits the flaming Ghost Rider up against elemental demons and, predictably, the police. And like all cliché Westerns or their rock-n-roll, comicbook counterparts, there seems to be nothing his American Chopper-possessed bike cannot do, which even comes to his side when whistled like a loyal steed.

What the film desperately lacks is any sense of a real and natural environment. Story aside, what made the SPIDER-MAN and X-MEN films successful is the fact that these unreal events were happening the world right outside the window. Here, the humor – both intended and ridiculous – prevents that barrier from ever entirely withdrawing. Another impediment is the film’s rating. Taking a similar path to the BLADE films and first CROW, Marvel should have pushed for a R rating to truly give the devil his due. More dark horror and less toothy one-liners would have made an electrifying film, something that video game-looking ghosts and goblins cannot properly achieve.

At best, Ghost Rider is a b-grade superhero; his film falls into the same classification. But true fans should already be aware of this. After all, boyhood fantasies of a flaming skull warrior on a tricked out bike can only go so far. This film meets you half the way.


As Always,
theJOE