New Indiana Jones 4 Trailer Is 'OK', Doesn't Thrill

It debuted on the net a few days ago and I watched almost immediately. If you frequent this blog, no doubt you've already seen it. To me it was just "OK", and as someone who has been wary of a 4th Indiana Jones from the get go, this trailer really doesn't excite.

The Good

- Ford doesn't look half as old as I expected which is good. I no longer doubt his viability to reprise his role as Indy. That's good, or this affair might have been painful and awkward.

-The exchange: Kid: "You're a teacher?!" ... Indy: "Part time." A sign that the type humor present in the previous installments has survived. This exchange reminded me of the joke in Last Crusade where Indy (in the classroom) exclaims "... and X never EVER marks the spot" only to exclaim later on in Venice "X marks the spot!" The humor in the fact that Indy is not an orthodox archeologist is one of the most fun aspects of his character. To exclaim that he is a part-time teacher, to me, is comical.

-The warehouse from Raiders revisited. Long shrouded in mystery from its single, brief appearance at the end of the first film, if there was anything that was worthy of exploring further, this was it.

The Bad

- The age jokes. Perhaps not explicit in the trailer, you know they are coming. "Not as easy as it used to be." One or two is all fine and good, but if this becomes a running gag throughout... Ford may as well look old to boot.

- Aliens. This has been rumored to be a central plot point for a long time and I recently ran across a toy advertisement that seemed to substantiate the rumors about the skulls themselves. Maybe its just me, but when I think Indiana Jones, I don't think aliens. The stories have always focused more on myth, historical religious artifacts, etc. From the trailer it would appear that aliens may be tied to some kind of Mayan or Aztec religion element in the film, and it may work, but I remain very skeptical. We'll see. "Aliens. Why did it have to be aliens."


Come May we'll find out everything. Hopefully it will be an enjoyable movie, because I'll be really disappointed if its an epic mess. Ever since the Phantom Menace trailer, I remain skeptical. Even the worst films can look good in trailer form.

2007's Dragon Wars: "Terribly" Entertaining

Every now and then a movie comes along that seemingly defies description; a movie that is really bad, but is so entertaining because of it that in the end you aren't even sure if you liked or disliked it. 2007's Dragon Wars is just such a beast and while I recommend it to movie buffs, let me be perfectly clear - this movie IS TERRIBLE!

And how! Where to begin? Well, first off, Dragon Wars (or D-War as it also called because I assume it sounds edgy and cool!) is a Korean sequel movie... set in America... starring Americans... apparently doing American things. They even speak English (no dubbing here) and, despite all that, I still had no clue what the hell was happening. But one thing was absolutely clear and that was the fact that this movie was EPIC! (Factoid: D-War set a record of grossing $20.3 million in South Korea in its first five days in theaters.) Seriously, D-War practically reaches out of the television and slaps you in the face just to let you know. It basically just lets you know that its bad. Really bad.

The plot's confusion starts immediately, reinforced with an immediate 10 year flashback by a character we have not been formally introduced to. It also doesn't help one iota that during said flashback there is another 1000 year flashback that attempts to set the stage for EPIC dragon battle in the here and now. Let me attempt to paint the picture.

There are these dragon gods of which one is good and one is evil (Buraki), hell bent on attaining possession of some spirit-thingy called the Yeo-ui-ju (pronounced YOO-EE-JOO) which will allow it to rule the world forever. Its celestial army was thwarted 1000 years ago and now it has another chance to possess the Yeo-ui-ju. The catch is that Yeo-ui-ju inhabits a beautiful girl at birth and she just happens to be the star-crossed lover of the main character to whom we are never formally introduced. In fact, they loved each other 1000 years ago too! Except back then they were Korean living in ancient Korea and the whole setting seemed better suited for all this dragon nonsense. (For a complete summation of this plot, go here)

Ok, so now that we've finished the crazy marathon of flashbacks, we learn that this mysterious mentor-guide guy (who reminded me of Mortal Kombat's Chang Tsung and played by an obviously desperate for work Robert Forester) has survived 1000 years and is now ready to help our hero defeat the evil dragon in Los Angeles where the new Yeo-ui-ju infested girl lives. And cue the chaos!

This might be one of the highest production value pieces of movie garbage I have ever seen! Seriously, it looks as if they spared no expense as the movie looks fantastic (especially the dragons and the battle sequences) but it is completely counter-balanced by a paper-thin and incomprehensible plot, oddly stereotyped characters that make you wonder how Koreans really perceive Americans and finally just plain bad acting. Watching this movie, it was amazing to me that Michael Bay had absolutely no involvement whatsoever. How could it be so terrible when its production value was pretty high? (Factoid: Dragon Wars or D-Wars was the highest budgeted film in Korea for 2007 with a final budget of $75 million) They made a really expensive comedy and I have to admit that I laughed the whole way through. It was a riot!

If you're looking for a good, non-serious flick to watch on a Saturday night while drinking with your friends, this IS the movie you want. Do not buy it. Do not rent it. Find a way to obtain it free of charge and enjoy watching an example of what the end of the Hollywood writer's strike has spared us from in an alternate future. I'd rate this movie but I have to agree with Korean critic Kim Bong-sok who apparently said that this movie is "below criticism". Well said, good sir. Well said.

Y: The Last Man - A Must Read!

The journey has finally come to an end. Brian K. Vaughan's apocalyptic epic Y: The Last Man ended last month capping a 60 issue run. Riveting from the very first page to the very last, the conclusion of the series ends my journey as a faithful reader. And boy, what a ride!

Way back when I first started blogging (back on MySpace) I wrote up a fairly lengthy introductory blog about Y, laying out it's seemingly absurd premise for those unfamiliar and describing what an intelligent, witty and uncompromising comic it was. So now it seems fitting that I sit down and write once more about it as a complete work. And for those unfamiliar I can only say you really need to give this title a try, comic book reader or not, because what Mr. Vaughan (Ex Machina, Runaways, tv's Lost) has done is set a very high bar with a very non-traditional type of comic book story. Its contemporary, compelling and skillfully written. In short, its worth your time.

Not so much with the audience that reads this blog, but in general, when a comic book fan starts talking about said material, the reaction from non-comic readers involves the "look", perhaps a scoff and often times a chuckle. Yeah, yeah... comics are kid's stuff, we know... except that they aren't so much. Let me just say that if I were a parent with a kid reading today's comics, rest assured I'd be monitoring, not necessarily to censor, but certainly to better understand and guide my child. Bottom line, if you have read a comic book (and I'm not talking Archie) you know that they are really aimed at a mature audience. With Y, and Vaughan's work in general, this is absolutely true as it deals with a ton of social issues, most prominently gender and sexuality, human nature and psychology.

I like Vaughan's description of Y best: it is a serious take on that common teenage boy fantasy of being the last man on Earth (so that you could have all the women to yourself, of course) and exploring the consequences of such a situation. When a worldwide "plague" strikes dead every single male in the animal world at the very same moment, amateur escape-artist Yorick Brown and his pet monkey Ampersand discover that, somehow, they are the only remaining males on the planet. And thats bad... more than you know! Once you get past the obvious dilemma effectively preventing further propagation of the human race, you start to realize that the majority of factory work is done by men, the transportation industry is predominantly men, etc, etc, etc. The very structure of our modern society is brought into focus and the tough question is posed - could our society, left with only women to run it, function? It's not a dig at women, but rather a legitimate, well explored question.

Yorick thus becomes the eyes through which we explore this extreme scenario. Accompanied by a body guard, a mysterious Culper Ring agent known only as 355, and geneticist Dr. Allison Mann, he sets off on a worldwide quest to find his girlfriend Beth (literally a world away in Australia doing anthropological studies) and help find the means to restore humanity's future. No, it does not involve "making it" with every woman he encounters. Quite the opposite. As the last man on Earth, he is a target of those who would use him for their own desires and those who would see him dead with the rest of the men.

Through his journey's we explore the politics of gender and gender roles, identity and purpose, religion, philosophy, relationships and, most importantly, human nature. Even in the absence of men, some things never change. However, there are a LOT more deadbeats. *wink* All the while Vaughan keeps us wondering what caused all the men to die. It obviously wasn't war or global warming, so we realize that something really big is at work and its the anticipation and speculation that keep you coming back for more. You want to know, but as was my experience, eventually the answer to that question seems to take a back seat. How would this all end up? Humanity is pretty much staring its extincting square in the face.

Vaughan weaves together a hell of a story that, for me, even challenged my hopes for how it would resolve itself. In the end you suddenly realize that there is so much more to Y than is immediately apparent. It is those deeper aspects to the story that really makes it great. He is also a very enjoyable writer. I appreciated his wit, pop-culture references and especially his off-the-cuff, non-apologetic approach to his story; political correctness is a waste of time and Vaughan pays it no mind... and its great!

There are more mysteries to Y than simply what caused all the men to die. They, too, come into much clearer focus as the story moves along, one prominent example is the true name of Agent 355, to which Vaughan has admitted that clues are spread throughout the series. It is up to the reader to piece it all together. And absolutely everything in the plot has meaning, often not spelled out in clear terms. How does it all turn out in the end? I will never tell. You absolutely have to read it for yourself. The good news is this - of all the people I have introduced to Y over these past 5 years, both men and women, not one of them has had anything bad to say about it. It's universally accessible in my opinion.

As a complete work, Y: The Last Man stands alone for me and challenges the most renowned titles in the comic world, past and present. Honestly, its on par with the best novels, television and film have to offer and better than 95% of it. It has it all - action, romance, adventure, science, religion, politics, history, emotional highs and lows. It's thoroughly entertaining and brings with it a refreshing level of intelligence that sets a very high bar for future writers. Hopefully it is a sign of things to come for new titles in the future. I sincerely hope Y is not the last of its kind.

Two Reasons I'm Psyched for DOOMSDAY

1. It's from Neil Marshall, director of the excellent The Descent.

2. The trailer makes it look like a chick-powered Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.

Watch the trailer here.

Crystal Clear: AMC's Breaking Bad is Addictive and Daring

In these troubled times in the world of entertainment, it’s more important than ever to appreciate quality original programming while we can. That’s why I’m hoping that, during this ongoing writer’s strike, you might find the time to check out the new original show from cable network AMC, Breaking Bad. AMC is fast establishing itself as a haven for daring, innovative television---if not for, well, classic American films. Heh.
Breaking Bad isn’t as impressive as this summer’s Mad Men, but this pitch-black comedy is as dangerous and addicting as its subject matter.

Created by former X-Files writer Vince Gilligan (he scripted personal favorite Bad Blood), Bad stars former Malcolm in the Middle father figure Bryan Cranston as a chemistry teacher and family man whose midlife crisis finds him using his science knowledge to cook methamphetamine. That’s simplifying it quite a bit—I assure you there are plenty more twists and turns involved that I want any potential viewer to experience themselves. The conceit of a middle class parent resorting to selling drugs to provide for their family may remind some of Showtime’s hit show Weeds, and on paper those comparisons are understandable. In practice, however, Breaking Bad is even more twisted in its humor and its unexpected twists.

It may be a little too early to tell if Bad can keep the pace of its first two offerings. In all honesty, its strange tone-which I'm currently enamored with-could grow grating as early as the next episode. Still, even if it were to dip quality significantly--I'll take merely good scripted television over the deluge of reality and game shows the networks are offering.

The first two episodes of Breaking Bad are available for download on iTunes and on demand through various cable systems. My recommendation would be to tune into AMC this Sunday night (Feb 3) after the Super Bowl when the network will repeat the first couple of episodes before resuming with a new episode the following Sunday. Follow this recommendation ONLY if you’re looking for a show that will get under you skin and keep you itching until your next fix.