Comics vodcast: Amazing Spider-Man 593, Flash Rebirth 2, Final Crisis Aftermath Run 1 and New Mutants 1
The New Mutants team up again, and Spider-Man works around the clock in this week’s comics. Kyle Roberts and Matt Price discuss those highlights, plus two comics about running: Final Crisis Aftermath Run and Flash Rebirth 2.
Movie Review: Star Trek
Director J.J. Abrams reinvents “Star Trek” in his new film that’s a reboot of the classic sci-fi series. For hardcore Trekkies, it doesn’t negate what’s gone before, but for the newbies – which make up most of the potential viewing audience – this “Star Trek” is brand new.
When a time-traveler seeking revenge causes the death of George Kirk, James Tiberius Kirk (Chris Pine) grows up a fatherless rebel in Iowa.
Meanwhile, on the logic-driven planet of Vulcan, Spock (Zachary Quinto) is a teased, ostracized, half-human, half-Vulcan.
After being challenged by Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood), Kirk ends up in Starfleet, where his roguish ways put him in conflict with the by-the-book Spock. But when the galaxy’s in danger – by a foe that seems very familiar to Kirk – it will take the two working together to end to the threat.
Pine is a great Kirk, especially considering the shadow of William Shatner. Pine suggests cockiness and confidence without ever resorting to imitation. Quinto does well as Spock, but he doesn’t own his role as easily as Pine. Perhaps that’s because fans are reminded of “classic” Spock by Leonard Nimoy, appearing as an older Spock. He is perfectly at ease in the role, as he should be.
The familiar characters from the 1960s have been recast for this modern take. Karl Urban is spot-on perfect as “Bones” McCoy, a crotchety medic who becomes fast friends with Kirk. Zoe Saldana is a competent and in-your-face Uhura, who’s hiding a surprising relationship. John Cho takes the role of Sulu, bringing humor and toughness to the helmsman. Anton Yelchin plays the brainy youngster Chekov. And Simon Pegg is hilarious as the brilliant but overlooked Scotty.
Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman bring in classic “Trek” lines and references in a way that won’t confuse new fans, but will be appreciated by those that recognize them.
Eric Bana’s Nero is a man who wants revenge for what happened to his planet and is willing to cross time to do it. This savage villain is not one of “Trek’s” best, but he fills the role for now.
“Star Trek” as message movie gets lost a bit, this time out – perhaps it’s about finding your friends, or your place. But there seems to be less in the way of metaphor than previous “Trek” outings.
That said, giving “Trek” a clean relaunch that prepares the property to find a new group of fans is success in itself.
– Matt Price
MOVIE REVIEW
“Star Trek”
PG-13 — 2:06 — 3 ½ stars
Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, John Cho, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Pegg.
(Sci-fi action and violence and brief sexual content)
Matt’s review: X-Men Origins: Wolverine
The beginnings of Wolverine are explored in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” a tight, just-under-two-hours action thriller.
It takes pieces from the graphic novels “Wolverine Origin” and “Weapon X,” but the heart of the film is the Wolverine-Sabretooth relationship.
Hugh Jackman returns as Wolverine, who starts the film as a sickly young boy named James Howlett. A family dispute leaves him fatherless and homeless, and his only companion is another youngster, the violent and dangerous Victor Creed. James’ life through the ages as a hard-bitten fighter and warrior, with Victor Creed (Liev Schreiber), aka Sabretooth at his side, is shown as the film opens. Eventually, Victor’s sadistic and violent proclivities get the pair in trouble. However, their unusual talents are of special interest to Col. William Stryker (Danny Huston), who recruits them for a special mutant task force.
This black ops task force doesn’t always have the best interests of the innocent in mind, and James eventually tires of the killing, leaving Victor alone for perhaps the first time ever. James retires to Canada, where he’s known as Logan and works as a lumberjack. He’s seemingly at peace for the first time. But his past can’t leave him alone. It haunts his dreams — and eventually it returns in his waking life, as well.
When it appears someone is hunting down his old task force comrades, Logan agrees to have a possibly fatal procedure performed, melding the unbreakable metal adamantium to his bones and claws. But, he discovers, not all is as it seems, and his enemies may not be who he thought they were.
The final quarter of the film, where Wolverine seeks to put and end to an mutant experimentation project, drags a little and doesn’t entirely make sense. But until then, “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” is a sleek superhero action film. The cool Cajun mutant Gambit (Taylor Kitsch) seems a likely spinoff star, as does Ryan Reynolds’ Wade Wilson, a member of the black ops squad.
- Matt Price
Comics vodcasts: Buck Rogers 0, Thor 601, Supergirl 40 and Detective Comics 853
Kyle Roberts and Matt Price discuss this week’s comics, including Buck Rogers 0, Thor 601, Supergirl 40 and Detective Comics 853. Meanwhile, Kevin Durant dunks on Dr. Doom’s head.
DVD review: “Max Fleischer’s Superman: 1941-1942”
A high point of early animation comes to DVD with “Max Fleischer’s Superman: 1941-1942.” These 17 war-era cartoons originally released by Paramount get an official release from Warner Bros.
Since the cartoons themselves are in the public domain, cheap reproductions of them have been available for years. These remastered editions, however, are much higher quality. Hardcore Superman fans may already own these remastered editions, as they were split between the special editions of “Superman: The Movie” and “Superman II” in 2006.
The DVD is marked “not for children – for adult collectors,” which likely has to do with the racial stereotypes that were commonplace in 1941 and 1942 but are glaring now.
Extras include “The Man, the Myth,” which talks about superhero archetypes in mythology, and “First Flight,” which examines animation and the rotoscoping technique used in the “Superman” cartoons. Bruce Timm talks about these cartoons’ influence on “Batman: The Animated Series” in “First Flight.” The Fleischer “Superman” cartoons are even more fluid, however. The facial expressions, detailed backgrounds and smooth movements are still among the best in 2-D animation.
- Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
Movie review: Watchmen
Set in an alternate 1985 on the brink of nuclear war, “Watchmen” is a mature and complex adaptation that could be considered too close to its source material.
The film is based on possibly the most acclaimed graphic novel of all time, “Watchmen,” by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. The series was first released in 12 issues in 1986-1987. You won’t see Moore’s name anywhere in the credits, though, as he’s forsworn all film adaptations of his work.
At its simplest, “Watchmen” is a superhero murder mystery. When superhero-turned-government agent The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is murdered, his former colleague Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) goes into action. Rorschach suspects someone is targeting the now-outlawed masked vigilantes for extinction.
Rorschach warns former colleague Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup), the only superhero who has superpowers. Caught in a scientific accident, Jon Osterman transformed into the bright blue Dr. Manhattan, a superbeing who can manipulate material and see into his own future.
His connection to humanity is Laurie Juspeczyk (Malin Akerman), the second Silk Spectre. Her mother, Sally Jupiter (Carla Gugino), had been at the heart of the first group of costumed crimefighters in the 1940s.
Both Rorschach and Laurie have a connection to Dan Dreiberg (Patrick Wilson), the second hero to call himself Nite Owl. After meeting with Rorschach, Dreiberg warns Ozymandias (Matthew Goode), the world’s smartest man, of the assumed conspiracy to kill the former “Watchmen.”
Ozymandias, aka Adrian Veidt, had retired prior to the passage of the Keene Act, which outlawed masked superheroes. Veidt parlayed his fame and intelligence into a multibillion-dollar enterprise with a focus on alternate forms of energy.
As more heroes are targeted, Rorschach continues his investigation. Meanwhile, the U.S. and Soviet Union draw even closer to nuclear war.
“Watchmen” investigates the motives behind those who would put on a mask to fight the world’s evils, and asks “Who Watches the Watchmen?” in its examination of who controls those who claim to protect the innocent.
While director Zack Snyder amps up the blood, sex and violence beyond what was present in the graphic novel, and while there is no way to capture all the layers of same, he has managed to create an intriguing adaptation of a work long considered unfilmable. The costume design, sets and visuals are rich and dense; the performances of Haley and Wilson stand out.
There are flaws, and the movie will be a lot to take in for those unfamiliar with the source material. But Snyder deserves credit for taking on a massive, complex project and trying to capture its essence.
- Matthew Price
MOVIE REVIEW
“Watchmen”
R -2:41 – 3 stars
Starring: Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Carla Gugino, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Patrick Wilson.
(Strong graphic violence, sexuality, nudity and language)
Comics vodcast: Darkness 75, Thor 600, Batman 686 and X-Men Origins: Sabretooth
It’s a week of anniversaries! Darkness celebrates 75 issues, Thor celebrates 600, Batman attends a funeral, and Sabretooth has a violent way of saying “Happy Birthday” in this week’s comics, as discussed by Matt Price and Kyle Roberts.
Movie review – Paul Blart: Mall Cop
Kevin James stars as the titular “Paul Blart: Mall Cop,” a PG-rated comedy from Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison production company.
James plays an overweight, hypoglycemic “security officer” who takes his self-imposed oath to protect the mall very seriously. He’s a single father who lives with his mother and daughter, and has failed the state trooper entrance exam eight times. Naturally, the hottest woman in the mall finds him attractive.
Amy (Jayma Mays, “Ugly Betty”) sells hair extensions, and notices Paul when he crashes his Segway into a minivan.
She invites him out with a group of mall employees, where he accidentally gets drunk and makes a fool of himself.
The film looks as if it will be a boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy-gets-girl-back romantic comedy. But on Black Friday, the mall is taken over by a gang of robbers. “Mall Cop” then moves into full-on “Die Hard” parody.
The group of robbers, going by Santa’s reindeer code-names, skateboard and parkour and bicycle through the mall. They plan to appropriate the day’s credit card payments. They clear the mall (except for some hostages, including Amy). But they don’t realize Paul Blart is still in the mall.
Steve Carr, the director of “Daddy Day Care,” isn’t able to give the action scenes the sense of excitement and suspense they need. And the editing is at times confusing. Furthermore, the screenplay (co-written by James) also doesn’t make much sense. Trying to figure everybody’s motives and reasoning once the secrets are revealed is largely impossible. But the film does limit the number of times it goes for a cheap laugh, which is appreciated.
- Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
MOVIE REVIEW
Paul Blart: Mall Cop
PG, 1:27, 2 stars
Starring: Kevin James, Jayma Mays, Keir O’Donnell, Bobby Cannavale.
(Some violence, mild crude and suggestive humor, and language)
DVD review: Get Smart
Steve Carell steps into the shoe-phone of Don Adams as agent Maxwell Smart in this film update of the classic TV series.
In the new “Get Smart,” Max is an analyst with the spy organization CONTROL. While he’s dedicated to his job, he dreams of being a field agent. Previously too heavy to qualify, he’s trained and gotten himself into shape. But the Chief (Alan Arkin) needs Max where he is. So, he’s stuck behind a desk until an attack from KAOS reveals all of CONTROL’s agents. Only Max and Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway), safe because of recent surgery to change her looks, are available to thwart KAOS’s plans for world domination.
Carell on paper seems to be the perfect actor to revive Maxwell Smart, but his character was changed for the movie. Rather than a pompous fool who succeeds nearly by accident, this Maxwell Smart has trained and worked for his opportunities. This makes Agent 99, who doesn’t like Max for much of the film, come off as snobbish rather than competent.
There are a few laughs to be had in “Get Smart,” but it tries harder to be an action film than an action-comedy. Extras on the DVD include a “vomit reel,” if that’s likely to appeal to you.
— Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
Comics vodcast: Marvel 1985 No. 6, Final Crisis: Rage of the Red Lanterns, Wolverine: Origins 29
Kyle Roberts and Matt Price discuss the conclusion to Mark Millar’s “Marvel 1985,” the prelude to “Blackest Night,” “Rage of the Red Lanterns,” and the next part of “Original Sin,” “Wolverine: Origins” No. 29.
