Robert J. Sodaro, 3/8/2010

Star Trek: Rated “PG-13” (126 Minutes)

Starring: John Cho, Ben Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Pegg, Chris Pine

Directed by: J.J. Abrams

To boldly go...

They came, they saw, and they conquered. By now it is totally clear that JJ Abram’s revisionist reboot of Star Trek kicked some serious Romulan Ass (starting with a $76.5 million opening weekend — Wolverine not only had an $87 Opening weekend, but still did pretty well with Trek in the Number one spot). And sure, while there were some detractors (a few with actual, legitimate gripes). Needless to say, it was a high-concept re-imagining of the series where there was more action and adventure than folks standing around discussing the Organian Ambassador and the life of the Angorian fruit fly of Tanadorr-7.

Yep, this one was a wicked-good time that thrilled and wowed the audience. the film elicited laughs and excitement from the folks who were in the theater with me when I saw it., Then the five of us stood around outside the theater for another 45 minutes discussing the film. Yep, I liked it quite a bit, and have since come up with a pit of philosophical insight into these type of films (Wolverine, Trek, and anything else that is built upon a decades-old, dearly-loved franchise of an iconic character).

I’m calling it the Sam Clemens view of adaptations: Never let slavish devotion to previously established continuity get in the way of telling a good story. Do I want the Bridge or the Enterprise to be comprised of Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Uhura, Sulu, Chekhov, and Scotty? Sure. Do I care that in some long-forgotten, and once-referenced episode that Scotty stated that he hated Andorian fish, and yet I see him chowing down on that particular delicacy? Absolutely-friggin-not!

Marc N. Kleinhenz, 1/31/2010

Avatar, it goes without saying, is a profoundly poorly written film. Narratively flat, thematically insipid, and philosophically flawed, it fails to meet any standard of quality that the writer endeavors to reach when slaving away at his keyboard (or, in George Lucas’s case, his yellow legal pad). If Robert McKee, a Hollywood veteran and writing instructor, is the champion of finding an original solution to overcoming the narrative deadweight that is cliché, pushing the medium of screenwriting ever forward into new territory, then James Cameron, the writer, producer, and director of Avatar, is the advocate for embracing bromide, of stringing as many stereotypes together, helping to retard both the writing process and the literary level of cinema.

Cameron’s fundamental inability to engage in imaginative thought is as prevalent throughout his picture as is its three-dimensional effects. If putting a paraplegic ex-soldier (working for a faceless mega-corporation that eschews the dignity of life and the value of ecological conservation for the benefit of the bottom line) telepathically in the body of an alien avatar weren’t too painfully obvious a premise, then the story beats that pass for the film’s plot are the icing on the cake: when Neytiri tells young Jake Sully of how only five Na’vi have managed to tame the Toruk, the deadliest flying predator in the planet’s vast and beautiful skies, the viewer immediately knows that, by movie’s end, Sully will be the sixth; when Dr. Grace Augustine’s consciousness is attempted to be transferred from her fatally wounded human body to her healthy avatar through the Tree of Souls, it is instantly known that Sully will undergo the same process – and succeed. Indeed, the only surprise in Avatar’s two-hour-forty-two-minute running time is that there are no surprises at all.

Adding insult to injury is the fact that the films Cameron is blatantly lifting from are simply better than his resultant product. 1990’s Dances with Wolves and, even, 2003’s The Last Samurai are more nuanced and, as such, more believable portrayals of a former enemy joining a native’s civilization; 1995’s Ghost in the Shell explores the philosophical and emotional ramifications of human life in the wake of advanced technology with graceful and supreme aplomb; and 1997’s Princess Mononoke tells the story of man versus nature with an unrivaled amount of bathos and pathos both. To regress to such a primitive narrative state after so many high-water marks have been hit is more than depressing; it’s immensely irresponsible as a storyteller. But it is, unfortunately, not surprising – what else is to be expected from the man responsible for Terminator, Aliens, True Lies, and Titanic?

There is, however, an irony contained in the movie, one which, ironically, is as unintended as the plot is meant to be original: Avatar is still a compelling and engaging filmic experience, and one that is certainly worth seeing. Although the story is anything but thought out, the reality of Polyphemus, the Na’vis’ homeworld, is laid out and realized to a degree rarely seen in any media. From flora to insects, from animal life to mountain vistas, from vehicles to alien languages, the picture bursts with vividness and vitality; nearly every scene has at least one element that jumps out and seizes the audience – and this is even before Avatar’s 3D projection is taken into consideration. The sheer amount of conceptualization that was poured into the film, and the artful beauty that streams out of it, is simply breathtaking and literally a sight to behold.

Barry Keller, 12/3/2009

This is the end. My only friend, the end.

-Jim Morrison. "The End"

The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be the beginning.

Alex Ness, 3/20/2009

I thought in my absence here you might want to read what I had to say in the form of interviews...

Best wishes to everyone.

About Writing

Richard Caldwell, 12/25/2008

Last time, I tried to give light to what I see as a major issue that I am just not reading all that much about elsewhere. Comic book successes in Tinsel Town have been spiking on up over the past ten or twenty years, but how much further can this notoriety honestly be maintained before the big shot producers latch on to some other niche market?

Kurt Wilcken, 12/21/2008

MECHA MANGA BIBLE HEROES #1
JMG Comics
Script by Tom Hall & Joey Endres
Pencils & Inks by Thom “Kneon Transitt” Pratt

There are many deep and abiding theological questions that man has grappled with over the ages: What is the Nature of God; Why does a Loving God permit Evil to exist in the world; Can God create a rock so big that even He can’t lift it? One question, however, the theologians have avoided:

Can God beat a giant robot?

This question is at last addressed in MECHA MANGA BIBLE HEROES #1 from JMG Comics. The story, by writers Tom Hall and Joey Endres and artist Thom Pratt, takes the story of David and Goliath from the Bible and translates it into a manga setting. King Saul and his army are facing the Philistines, but the enemy has a secret weapon: a giant mech-warrior named Goliath, who challenges the Israelites to face him.

Alex Ness: Reviews, 12/16/2008

Despite the current respect for comic books and characters (due to making successful movies and making money for Hollywood) I would suggest that comic books are still not a mature medium, and still have room to grow. Despite the huge downturn in the economy, I believe people can still make money in comic books, can still be creative there, and readers still have new things to read.

But, they need to overcome some problems, which are:

Eric San Juan, 12/16/2008

We are still reading, folks. Call these reviews. Call them my semi-random musings. Call them whatever you like. This is I Am Reading... This week I am reading DMZ. Garth Ennis’ Hellblazer run. And Ultimate X-men.

Rich Chapell, 10/23/2008

The best, and worst thing about going to a comic con is walking through Artists’ Alley. It’s how you find the Next Big Thing when it’s still just Some Guy’s Book. On the other hand, you have to avoid the eyes of all the guys selling hand-stapled Witchblade knock-offs or copyright-infringing pin-up girls. Once I actually start talking to an artist, I start to feel obligated to buy a book from him, so I only have a few seconds to eliminate the blatantly derivative and the pathetically untalented. It can be tricky, too. Lewis Helfand’s Wasted Minute is the worst-drawn book I’ve ever seen, at least in the initial issues, but I love the writing.

Joe Hilliard, 7/24/2008

Since Comicon 2008 is taking place in San Diego even as I type this, I figured what better time to do a column about … hockey. It's been awhile since I've wrote about my one real sports obsession; a few years ago I opined on Cam Neely's election to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Oddly enough, we are going to talk about the Boston Bruins again. I'm not a particular Bruins fan, but there is no denying their place as one of the preeminent franchises in the sport. And one of the enduring legacies of the team is the play of defenseman Bobby Orr.

Barry Keller, 9/14/2009

Not that we were not expecting this, but still, it's pretty sad. I can't say I was a big fan, but I surely appreciated Dirty Dancing, Ghost and his wonderful turn on Saturday Night Live with Chris Farley as two guys trying out for a job at Chippendale's.

A sad day for sure.

Barry Keller, 6/20/2009

My wife thinks this is a little out of our range, but I sure would love to own it

You may remember this startling home from Blade Runner.

Barry Keller, 5/19/2009

This site has has sporadic technical issues for more than two months now. This has all been due to our long-time Internet hosting company going out of business and selling our hosting contract to a company that cannot support the code which runs this site. For a while there we thought we were completely dead.

"But we got better!" We are not dead, just have one foot in the grave. Most things appear to be working again, but it is sort of touch-and-go. I don't trust EasyCGI, the new hosting company, at all and we will be moving off of their computers as soon as I have the time to move us.

We are oh so sorry for the inconvenience.

Barry Keller, 3/26/2009

I can almost see Benicio Del Toro as Moe and Sean Penn as Larry in the new Stooges movie. But Jim Carrey as Curly? Are you kidding me?

It scares me that they would even consider a new Three Stooges movie, but casting a really thin guy as Curly has got to be a joke. And not a funny, slap-stick kind of joke either.

Are we ready for this? I don't think so.

Barry Keller, 2/24/2009

Laissez les bons temps rouler!