The Walking Dead

Best series on TV right now.

AMC's Walking Dead is the horror series Zombie fans have been waiting for ...but didn't know it. Frank Darabont is already one of my favorite filmmakers and you can feel not only his guiding hand but a real love for the material. Brilliant series, filled with suspense and smart writing.

Brings me to an irrelevant but interesting point nonetheless - I think the nerds of the world would save us from Zombies ...if anyone would it's them/us...
Most people would go into "full shutdown" if the dead did rise ...crazy stuff, but I'm betting the Zombie lovers'd take 10 seconds to assess and then "fight" - I think us nerds are actually just waiting patiently...

I love this middle ground where shows like Californication, Weeds, Six-Feet-Under ...Walking Dead are free to act like movies - well produced, well written and tight - great TV.

I can't wait for season 2...
...and now after talking to Josh ..the comic book too...

Go get Season One.

The FIGHTER

This is one of the best films I've ever seen.
Ever.

14 things I liked about T H O R

1) There's a film in the theatre right now based on the Marvel comic book character I grew up on, Thor - this in itself is awesome.

2) The Destroyer is in it, and looking like a Kirby drawing ... fantastic. One of the best shots in it was Jane over a defeated Thor, with the Destroyer slowly marching away ...very cool.

3) Chris Hemsworth as THOR. Perfect ...funny, strong, and looking as though he just stepped out of Walt Simonson's sketch pad.

4) Anthony Hopkins clearly likes the character of Odin, and Branaugh's direction... he's a lot of fun in this one.

5) LOKI - Tom Hiddleston gives us a damn cool "God of Mischief" ...well written and well acted. More excited for his presence in AVENGERS now.

6) Death - The fact that his Dad decided he had to die, or be willing to, really did raise the stakes. I think that's a pretty good way to prove oneself.

7) The VFX - From practical suits to mind-blowing CG it just looked fantastic - the Rainbow Bridge sounds a lot less lamer once you've seen it. Thor's Asgard was as engaging as it's "reality" - did not expect that..

8) Colm Feore - He raises everything he's in, though I am sad he's not Canadian.

9) Idris Elba - Lots of racist debate over changing the skin color of this character. Well, since he looked cool, acted well, and brought the charismatic presence he always brings I guess I'd have to side with the filmmakers on this one. PERFECT HEIMDALL.

10) Unlike Iron Man 2, Thor did NOT feel like an extended ad for another movie.

11) DESIGN - From the costume choices to the towers of Asgard, the whole movie is filled with absolute artistry ...and CG that genuinely supports the story.

12) The Ultimates: "God, I hope you're not crazy.."
I'm sure there were plenty of conversations on which direction to take this character - a "God" in the modern age - what to do? what to do?
The synthesis of "Classic Thor" with his modern "Ultimates" counterpart is perfect. Just enough of Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch's Thor in there with the best of Walt Simonson's run - Great work.
Thor in regular clothes in the rain, powerless and fighting to remove Mjolnir - cool as hell. 

13) FUN - Remember when comic books were fun? Characters laughed occasionally...
I'm not a fan of the 90's superhero mentality ...grouchy, psycho, self-important antiheroes, mostly written badly I found. This film is born out of enjoyment, like the first Superman in '78...
...and man, that's a welcome experience.

14) The "Easter Egg" - First one with a villain, and that mirror shot is a cheap theatre trick ...that I like a lot. Felt like 70's filmmaking for a minute there. Wasn't too excited about Loki as a baddie in Avengers buuuut that last scene ...cool, bring it on.
 

Thanks to Mr.Branaugh for loving Thor like a kid with a comic book...
...and thanks to MARVEL STUDIOS for treating the medium, the fans, and the characters with some good ol' fashioned respect. It's paying off for everyone involved.

A.

FRIGHT NIGHT (1985)

Love it.
One of my favorite '80's movies...
Gotta go find it and watch tonight...


Going to watch it tomorrow night with my buddy, Dave Page ...then WE are going to write a crazy post ...tune in tomorrow, kiddies(who am I kidding - noone reads this)...

TONIGHT!! A Conversation with Dave Page on Fright Night... and burgers.

..wow, good burgers..

OUR REVIEW:
Dave: "Man, I like that movie"
Arthur: "Me too.."

the end

A.

Source Code - Go see it!

Then we can chat about it - why you loved/liked/mah or hated it...


I myself, enjoyed it a lot...
..and here are ten reasons why:


1 - The direction - it felt seasoned and solid(guess it's time to watch Moon). Creative, energized control - I'll be first in line for Duncan Jones' next film.

2 - Gyllenhaal and Monaghan - greeeaat chemistry.

3 - The "look" - some specifically simple style choices give it a timeless quality ...seamless cg(perfect).

4 - Vera Farmiga's eyes - wow.

5 - The "roll scene" - Jake jumps off the train - motion of rolling constant with train = cool as hell.

6 - Russel Peters - Strong Canadian content.

7 - This poster ...excellent. In fact I must state again that any poster can be cool as long as it's not two photoshopped heads. Feels a little Saul Bass-ish ..very cool.
Even the mainstream posters were creative on this one.

8 - The plot - The "mcguffin" is based in ambiguous science but we learn with him - I like that ...good mysterious unraveling - it doesn't surprise me to learn that Mr.Jones borrowed from Hitch's Strangers on a Train ...it shows.

9 - The smile scene - you'll know what I mean and you'll love it like I did or hate it like some of the folks who saw it that first night too did - there's personal philosophy in it and I'm a fan of that touch by any smart director.

10 - It's a smart sci-fi thrill ride directed by David Bowie's son and it feels a bit like Hitchcock - how fucking cool is that??

I saw it with my friend Martin who is smart and open-minded - take someone like that, or you'll regret it.

Great movie ...and damn, if it doesn't feel like summer's a startin'...

BATTLE:LA ...Today!!!

Planning to see Battle:LA today...
Trailer was fantastic, and the definite reason for my interest in the film so we will see...
I like Aaron Eckhart and I looooves Michelle Rodriguez I does..

But so far the reviews are terrible, and it's March release date might mean a lack of faith behind the studio scenes, but I gotta decide this one for myself...

...5 hours later:

Well well well...
That was a pleasant surprise - better part of halfway through I lean over to Josh and say the same thing I said halfway through The Watchmen - "I'm liking this..." to which he responds "I know ..me too." ..and it hadn't changed by the end.
I enjoyed Battle:LA quite a bit actually.

Why?
No obvious CG - I just can't stand it - lazy filmmakers replacing reality with pixels - "We'll just CG it out later." I hate you. You imbeciles are ruining movies. I will make a feature film with no fucking CG...
Anyway, the film plays fast and busy, and if that's not your cup of tea - don't go. If you like a war drama with a few solid characters and a forward driven script with no pretension you may enjoy Battle:LA as much as I did. Black-Hawk Down with aliens - yup, that works for me.

No superheroics - Another juvenile trapping of modern action films is the "superheroic human" - annoyingly lame. As soon as someone jumps four stories and hangs onto a moving vehicle with one hand while shooting, I'm kinda gone from it - people die in this one, and die logically.

The Aliens - great design ...weird and new...
There's an excellent scene with our resolute soldiers attempting to "kill" one of the creatures - we get human desperation and real special effects ...allllriiight, this is science fiction adventure at it's best, and I am a real sci-fi fan.

The scene with the kid - you'll know what I mean when I say it goes from predictable to touching in two seconds - it's just a good scene.

The Ending - Excellent for a few reasons - I believe it's the human element that makes good sci-fi - and it's abundant here in an intense, smart finale that borrows from stuff I love while showing me something fresh & new.
Amazing FX.


Michelle Rodriguez - 'nuff said.

Thanks to Aaron Eckhart(are his characters always impatient?) and his faith in Jonathan Liebesman's vision. It was a good one.