Posts Tagged ‘neck’
2 items.
I think today’s comic will make a little more sense when or if you see Tim Burton’s adaptation of Sweeney Todd. From the early reviews I’ve read, it’s Burton’s best film since Ed Wood and could have been a lock for Best Picture if only Burton had reigned in his tendency to leap for the Z-grade horror moments.
You may or may not be familiar with the story of Sweeney Todd, but wrongfully accused, his wife and young daughter stolen from him, he goes on a murderous rampage in Victorian London in pursuit of revenge. He does this by luring his unsuspecting victims into his barber shop, where his slits their throats and disposes their bodies through a trap door into the local bakery below. There, the corpses are baked into meat pies.
At any rate, Burton really cuts loose (pardon the pun) when it comes to the murder scenes. Throats being cut and fountains of blood shooting like geysers everywhere. There is nothing lyrical or implied about it. He puts it right in your face. And I could see where that might turn off Academy voters down the line.
It’s a small complaint, compared to the rest of the film, I’m told. The performances and the music are great and the story seems tailor-made to suit Burton. But I think when it comes to the blood, that’s where he frustrates critics. Because often in his work, there is a self-serving moment that nearly capsizes the whole picture. His remake of Planet of the Apes was a whole FILM of those moments – and probably the reason it’s the most reviled film in his cannon.
I’m excited to see Sweeney Todd, but there’s a lot of great stuff coming out this weekend – National Treasure 2 and Walk Hard among them. I was supposed to see I Am Legend last night with Jared, but Cami’s been really sick lately and running a fever. So it wouldn’t have been a good idea to take off and leave her with Henry. Parental responsibilities will take you out of the stronger pop culture currents. I’m fine with this. But I hope I don’t fall too far behind. There’s too much stuff I don’t want to miss!
A quick note about next week – With the holiday’s coming up, I’m thinking about taking the week off. I need it. I’m exhausted. I don’t know if that means I’m taking the week off completely. I’m planning on watching a ton of movies I’ve been backlogged on and possibly posting the reviews next week. But I think comics are out of the picture just because they take a lot of time and I”m going to have my hands full with Henry, the holidays and relatives.
Keep coming back to the site, though. I’m sure I’ll be able to float you some new content. Just the comics will be on hold while I catch my breath. Also – since we’re not doing The Triple Feature next Monday due it being Christmas Eve and all, you’ll want to keep a close eye on this space in case we announce our replacement show. We’re talking about doing it next Wednesday. So come back here to confirm.
In non-site related news, I turned 30 today. I don’t know what to think about it. I guess I can’t really think about it. I’m so wiped out from the lack of sleep, it makes it hard to focus.
There’s supposed to be this large anxiety about turning 30 that I don’t have. I mean, I understand it’s a transition out of your 20’s and the free-wheeling ease of things. The older you get, the more responsibilities you take on and so forth. But there really isn’t a part of me that’s going to miss my 20’s. I had a good time then, but I’m having a good time – if not a better time – right now. Anyone who gets their knickers in a twist about turning 30, 40, 50, whatever… needs to reassess what it is about right now that sucks so bad compared to back then and change it. No one else is going to steer the ship for you, know what I mean?
End rant.
Anyway, tonight I’m staying in with family and we’re going to have cheese soup while I open presents. Not a bad little Friday if you ask me.
Take it easy and Happy Holidays!
[ No Comments ]
The Incredible Hulk came out this weekend and, for the most part, people seemed to enjoy it. At least to the tune of $55 million – which is less than the $62 million Ang Lee’s Hulk took in for it’s opening weekend 5 years ago. But considering how quickly that film dropped off in it’s second week, I think The Increidble Hulk will have legs by comparison.
If nothing else, it already has respect. I’ve received e-mails and comments from a few people who thought the Ang Lee film was better, which I can understand. The characterization and backstory is much more nuanced in that film and a little bit more satisfying from that stand point.
That said, I don’t share that perspective.
I always felt – as I suspect most Hulk fans feel – that if there was ANY property tailor made for the kind of high-level, mindless Michael Bay destruct-o-thon, it is the Hulk. And in that respect Louis Leterrier’s Incredible Hulk does not dissapoint.
I enjoyed this movie a lot. I thought Edward Norton was a much more believable Bruce Banner than Eric Bana. I always thought Bana was much too beefy for the role. Norton easily brings that reedy braniac quality to things by default. William Hurt was a little over the top, but enjoyable, as General Thunderbolt Ross and Liv Tyler as Betty Ross barely registered. Any excuse to put Tim Roth into a movie I’ll sign on for, but he looked a little out of place as Emil Blonsky and I thought he was a little transparent in his portrayal of Blonsky as an out of control junkie, but whatever. Admit that you’re not watching these movies for the performances. You want to see the Hulk break stuff!
The good news is that unlike Ang Lee’s film, the Hulk shows up early. But Leterrier doesn’t give everything up right away. He keeps the Hulk in shadows and fog. You don’t see him directly, but you see what his power is capable of and that’s almost as scary.
A second confrontation with the Hulk on a college campus is much more furious and terrifying as the army brings wave after wave of weapons to trying and subdue him. The sonic cannons I thought were particularly inventive and visually interesting.
By the third act when Blonsky is turned into the semi-nude four ton exoskeleton with attitude – The Abomination – the gloves are off. Well, except for the police car the Hulk tears in half and makes boxing gloves out of. A fantastic nod to the videogame Hulk: Ultimate Destruction.
As savage and exciting as the final battle is, it’s not quite as satisfying as the fight on the college campus. It’s fun to watch the Hulk cut loose, but he’s pretty much evenly matched, so it’s like a couple of gorillas beating on each other with no real conseqences.
I’m also not impressed that they chose to stage the fight at night because Leterrier could hide a lot of the action in shadows and it became a little frustrating to watch. Some oddly placed camera angles too close to the action and it gets to be a little too much to handle. The immediate comparison I made was to the battle sequences in last year’s Transformers, which ended up playing out much better on the small screen when the movie was released to DVD. Let’s hope the same holds true here.
These are nit-picky complaints. I would never suggest to anyone that they skip this movie. Go see it. You’ll have a blast. If you’re already a fan of the Hulk (or a comic book geek in general), you love all the little nods and references to past iterations of the character and the Marvel universe as a whole. You can tell that Marvel has taken great care to create a sense of an overlapping universe, similar to what you experience in the comics.
And because I’m sure you’re curious about my take on the matter… there’s the BIG CAMEO from Robert Downey Jr. at the end of the film as Tony Stark. Did I like it? Well, yeah. It’s friggin’ Iron Man, people! But I almost wonder if it would have be better as an extra scene after the credits. As it is, it feels a little tacked on. Banner makes his escape into the Canadian wilderness, meditates and tries to control the Hulk. His eyes flash green and a smile crosses his face. The movie should have ended there. It was a perfect punctuation mark to the film.
But immediately after, we’re taken to a bar where Thunderbolt Ross is pounding down drinks before Tony Stark walks in and hints at a team they’re “putting together.” I think people would have geeked out more if the scene were shown after the credits. Instead, the movie ends and people asked “What’s next?” A lot of them – myself included – stuck around after the credit to see if there would be another sequence. There wasn’t one. So that’s my tip to you – “DON’T stick around after the credits.”
As far as the comic is concerned, I’ve read a lot of online chatter about the merits of The Incredible Hulk versus Iron Man and I think it’s pointless. And not just because I’m heavily biased.
I don’t understand the purpose of comparing one comic book movie to another. I mean, I do – because that’s what comic book geeks do. But you never see this anywhere else in film. People don’t do this with dramas or comedies or any other genre. You don’t read pages and pages of debate weighing whether No Country For Old Men is better than Sweeny Todd, y’know?
Oh, well. It is what it is.
Be sure to tune in to The Triple Feature tonight at 9:00 PM CST where we will be sure to talk about The Incredible Hulk as well as M. Knight Shyamalan’s The Happening. If you want to contribute your two cents, be sure to call in LIVE
See you then!
[ No Comments ]
