This movie has TWO Iron Mans!

The season of summer blockbusters has officially started, and what better way to kick it off than with a super hero movie! I loved the first Iron Man (3 stars) and have been eagerly replaying Iron Man 2 trailers to intentionally stoke the fires of my enthusiasm. After seeing the movie on opening night, I am happy to report that it didn't disappoint...for the most part. The movie begins very soon after the first Iron Man ended with Tony Stark (played by my new man crush, Robert Downey Jr) riding the tide of his increased fame as a super hero while trying to hide from his friends and the world the fact that his arc reactor is slowly poisoning him. Add to the mix the government threatening to take his armored suit technology, his company in chaos, a mad Russian (Mickey Rourke) trying to kill him with a knock off of his own technology, a greedy rival with an inferiority complex, and a falling out with his best friend, and you have Tony Stark's very complicated life and the plot for Iron Man 2. That sounds like a lot to fit into two hours, but director Jon Favreau manages to make it work. Still, while Iron Man 2 doesn't lack for substance, it ironically is slow getting started and stingily doles out the action scenes - the last fight with "Robo-Ivan" is disappointingly short. This and a flimsy resolution for solving Stark's palladium core poisoning problem make the movie slightly inferior to the original. However, even in spite of its flaws, Iron Man 2 delivers enough thrills, intrigue, and impressive visuals (that includes Scarlett Johansson) to qualify as a worthy sequel. 3 stars for the satisfying, but not glorifying, Iron Man 2.

It’s good Avatar has looks…

To be honest, I didn’t see Avatar in 3-D. I tried, I really did, but it was sold out. I think this turned out to be an advantage as I had the opportunity to judge the movie without being overawed by its stunning visual effects. And stunning they are, so much so that I think I can safely say that they are probably the best I’ve ever seen ( it’s creepy how the actor’s alien counterparts really look like them). And that’s really the reason Avatar is a “must see in the theater” movie. Unfortunately, the plot is far less impressive and can be summed up thus: Evil corporate people and blood thirsty space marines want to get their hands on another planet’s natural resources, but in order to do so they must either re-locate or destroy the peaceful natives (the Na’Vi) and only a benevolent science team led by Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) joined by former Marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) can help the natives avoid the destruction of their world using a technology that allows them to move among the natives in genetically engineered alien bodies. I admit, the sci-fi Avatar idea is fascinating and original, and had the movie actually been more about that, it might’ve risen higher than it does. Instead, Avatar ends up playing out as a heavy handed “anti-Thanksgiving” pageant with strong environmentalist overtones (it actually reminded me a lot of the 1992 animated film FernGully….yes FernGully). While the majority of the acting is good, most of the characters don’t achieve any real depth - like the character of Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) who is laughably cliché as the stereotypical evil military man complete with Texas style drill sergeant accent. And Giovanni Ribisi’s portrayal of the ruthless corporate executive in charge of the space mining operation, Parker Selfridge, is something out of an episode of Captain Planet. Still, in spite of all its hang-ups, Avatar delivers an action packed feast for the senses. Three stars for three hundred million dollars well spent.

It's Sherlock Holmes and he's kicking butt!

Forget everything you thought you knew about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's legendary detective, for director Guy Ritchie has given us a Sherlock Holmes for the 21st century. It sounds like a stereotypical Hollywood marketing tag line, and maybe it is, but it's true, it works, and the result is a fresh, funny, and exciting spin on a genre icon. Robert Downey jr proves that he's here to stay (out of rehab - man, I promised myself I wasn't gonna go there) as he portrays an eccentric and slightly anti-social version of the world's greatest gumshoe, one who street fights for money, performs drug experiments on his pet bull dog, and spends a good portion of the movie drunk. Brilliantly complimented by his bromantic sidekick Dr. John Watson (played to excellence by Jude Law), Holmes takes on the occult in an effort to stop a murderer who has returned to life after being hanged. Although cleverly written, and directed, Sherlock Holmes probably would've ranked as mediocre without Downey's charm and his natural chemistry with Law. The film also suffers a few painfully cliche and cheesy moments. Still, Sherlock Holmes is one of those rare movies that will appeal to a broad audience while successfully achieving what it sets out to do. Three stars for the thoroughly entertaining Sherlock Holmes!

Stargate in a different universe.

Ok, so let me get one thing out in the open before I tell you what I think of the new Stargate series. I passionately believe that it was an unforgivable mistake for producers Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper to abruptly end Stargate Atlantis (with a very mediocre series finale I might add) just so that they could start running Stargate Universe. At best it was an obvious case of unrestrained project A.D.D. At worst it was a complete stab in the back to faithful Atlantis fans. That being said let us move on. And really that’s what SGU is about, moving on and taking Stargate to the next level. From its intentionally muddled opening (a sequence intercut with flashbacks leading up to the opening events) SGU clearly tries to differentiate itself from its predecessors (SG-1 and Atlantis) and steer the franchise in a new, more dramatic and mature direction. It would seem that gone are the days of miraculous technological escapes made possible by idiosyncratic genius’s and snarky military tough guys. Gone are the black and white good versus evil morality plays inspiring the audience to cheer when the bad guys get blown up. And gone is the Indiana Jones-eqsue adventure flavor that’s been so much an integral part of the Stargate franchise. Instead we have a much tenser and grittier disaster survival story whose characters are great deal more conflicted and serious than anything we’ve seen in Stargate before…..and it works, at least so far. From the beginning to the end of the pilot I was hooked, much more so than even while watching the pilots for SG1 and Atlantis (and now I can’t wait to watch the third part this Friday night). And while it was nice to see some old school characters make cameo appearances (Daniel Jackson, General O’Neil, and Colonel Carter) it definitely wasn’t necessary to convince me that I was watching Stargate, the show effectively retaining enough familiar elements to successfully appeal to the fan base while it reaches out to broaden its audience. Will this series top SG-1 and Atlantis and make Sci-Fi (that’s how you really spell it) television history? Only time will tell. But Stargate Universe is definitely off to a great start and I am excited to see where the series goes.

A Labor of Love: Making Thomas Destiny

Nearly eight years ago I got together with my good friends Jon Grundvig and Zach Bjorge at a diner not too far from my home to begin planning a feature length film project (something we had attempted several times with only marginal success). Infatuated at the time with Peter Jackson’s film adaptation of The Fellowship of the Ring, we began putting together a story that would blend elements of fantasy adventure with Simpsons-esque comedy. That was the beginning of Thomas Destiny which premiered two and a half years later on April 16th 2004 at the Organ Loft theatre in Salt Lake City, Utah.
What is Thomas Destiny about? Thomas Destiny is a classic story much in the spirit of the Alice In Wonderland, The Wizard of OZ, and The Lord of the Rings about an unlikely hero far removed from home who gets called upon to save the world. Along the way he meets companions who aid him in his quest all the while struggling to overcome his own weaknesses and self doubts. But instead of meeting the normal (operative word here) types of fantasy allies and enemies, Thomas is thrown into a world where the bizarre is commonplace and many of the fantasy genre’s cliché’s are mocked.
So what’s the big deal about a bunch of film maker wannabe’s getting together to shoot a home movie about swords and sorcery? It’s not like that hasn’t ever been done before. True, and much of the movie’s value is sentimental. However, there was a certain magic about the project that clearly shines through on screen. First of all, this film was produced by an all volunteer cast and crew for an estimated two thousand dollars. No one got paid, yet from pre-production to principle photography to post, everyone made sacrifices to bring the story to life. All of us had regular full time jobs and would get together after work and on the weekends, drive all of over Utah (sometimes for hours) just to work on “our” movie. It was an impressive thing to consider the level of dedication to something we all knew was being undertaken simply for the love of film making. And although Thomas Destiny has some minor production quality faux pas, it looks and feels like a professional production with a unique mixture of comedy, drama, action, and adventure. Enjoy the Special Edition!

"No man should have to outlive his fictional wizard"

Half Blood Prince was my favorite installment of the Harry Potter book series, so needless to say I have been looking forward to this movie for quite some time (I was really disappointed that it was not released in November 2008 as originally planned…thank you very much stupid Twilight). First off, let me just say that HBP successfully accomplishes something that few film adaptations of popular novels are able to do, that is make a movie that is enjoyable to the casual theater-goers while at the same time staying true to the many endearing details and overall spirit of the book. In addition, HBP’s dark look is masterfully suited to the tense ”gathering storm cloud” theme of the story, effectively broken up by some beautifully lit scenes of warmth and humor. Radcliffe, Watson, and Grint comfortably play their larger than life alter egos making you really believe that these three young people are close friends as you empathize with their struggles, both the remarkable as well as the mundane. Michael Gambon and Alan Rickman give effectively dramatic performances, and Jim Broadbent is hilarious as the loveable coward, Horace Slughorn. I was also impressed with Tom Felton’s portrayal of a sympathetically desperate Draco Malfoy as well as Helena Bonham Carter’s playfully sadistic Bellatrix Lestrange. Unlike some of the previous Harry Potter installments, HBP comes off as the most believable of the series while at the same time retaining the wonder of its fantastic setting. The effects and score are topnotch, but I was disappointed with a somewhat pointless action scene that takes place in the middle of the movie, one that really did nothing to advance the plot, but just seemed clumsily inserted as a device for waking up the audience and making sure that the studio’s recommended dose of action was dispensed. Also, in the third act, some of the editing felt a little choppy and the narrative a bit rushed (can’t really blame the studio as the movie already runs long at two and a half hours). Overall though, this could arguably be the best of the Harry Potter movies thus far. Three and a half stars for the emotionally involving and truly excellent Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince!
Because this is a series for which I have not posted reviews, I wanted to list my ratings of the previous Potter films:
Sorcerer’s Stone: Two stars.
Chamber of Secrets: Two and a half stars.
Prisoner of Azkaban: Four stars.
Goblet of Fire: Two and a half stars.
Order of the Phoenix: Three stars.

Eating metal can give you magical powers....

Being a fan of the Wheel of Time series, I wanted to make sure I sampled Brandon Sanderson’s writing before The Gathering Storm (part one of the Memory of Light trilogy-finale to the Wheel of Time) is released this November, to see if Sanderson really was a worthy choice to conclude the late Robert Jordan’s epic masterpiece. And so I decided to read Mistborn: The Final Empire. Mistborn is the story of Vin, an orphaned teenage girl who is trapped in the criminal underworld and seemingly consigned to a life of thievery and abuse. However, all that changes when Vin meets the infamous adventurer-thief, Kelsier “the survivor of Hathsin.” But Kelsier is no ordinary rogue. He is an Allomancer – a person who can burn certain ingested metals giving them supernatural powers. Kelsier recognizes that Vin has the same gift and recruits her to participate in a mad scheme to overthrow a virtually immortal tyrant, one who has ruled the world for a thousand years, oppressing Kelsier and Vin’s people, the Skaa. Thus begins a rich fantasy drama that introduces a freshly original system of magic and an intriguingly dismal post-apocalyptic world. Mistborn could be the perfect fantasy-fiction novel, complete with emotionally involving characters, an expertly mixed dose of humor, exciting action scenes, and an intelligently organic plot. I have absolutely nothing negative to say about this book and was thoroughly impressed with Sanderson’s writing ability. Thus I am pleased to report that the future of the Wheel of Time series is in good hands. On a scale of 1-10, Mistborn: The Final Empire gets a perfect 10!