Since there were only four episodes that we're going to be aired before this show went away for a while, I decided to hold off posting until I had a chance to see all of them. After the travesty that was the last episode of Battlestar Galactica, I had sworn off watching science fiction TV series until I knew whether the finale was any good. I mean, BSG was great. But now, whenever I think of that show, all I can remember is how awful that last episode was and how angry it made me. However, like BSG, V is another remake. I didn't watch the original BSG as a kid, but I have fond (if vague) childhood memories of the original V mini-series. So I allowed myself to get suckered in, curious what they could do with special effects and a budget.

I can't speak for everyone else, but after four episodes, I'm liking it. They're keeping the good from the original, ignoring the rest. The acting is solid if not spectacular, the plotting and plot twists are sound (so far), there's good pacing, and there's nice tension and excellent paranoia. There aren't that many special effects, but what they give us is pretty good. They keep raising new questions, but they're also answering older questions as we go along. There's a nice balance so far. Overall, if aliens that looked like us came to our planet claiming to be there in peace, I think this V remake is (so far) a fairly realistic take. It addresses a lot of hot-button topics, from terrorism, to aliens providing free health care, to the obvious xenophobia that many humans would experience toward a real alien species. Also, I can't remember if this was in the original series, but the way the media is being utilized in this series is excellent.

So yeah, I was totally ready to be one-and-done with this show. Instead, I'm all-aboard. But please, television, don't #%$! this up. So what does everyone else think so far?

I forgot to mention that I saw District 9 last week.  Wow!  That was one of the best sf flicks I've ever seen.  The special effects were amazing.  The aliens looked so real.  But what really made the movie work was that it wasn't about the special effects.  There was a plot, and it was driven by the characters.  George Lucas could learn a lot from this movie.  Highly recommended to all lovers of speculative fiction that you see this one on the big screen.

***SPOILER***

If I have one complaint about the movie (after just one viewing, that is--would like to see this one again), it's that once the substance that caused the mutation sprayed the main character in the face, he should have gotten himself checked out immediately.  I mean, if an alien substance sprayed me in the face, that's what I would have done.  Of course, even if he did get himself checked out immediately, he still would have changed and the story could've continued unfolding in essentially exactly the same way.  So I didn't let this bother me.  But it was pretty stupid oversight on the character's part.  

I'm not going into a detailed analysis of this one.  I'm too annoyed.  I saw this on Thursday night and can only now bring myself to blog about it.  Suffice it to say I left the theater extremely ticked off.  The war has finally come.  John Connor is the thorn in Skynet's side, the last hope of mankind.  He is the reason for the existence of this franchise, as everything has revolved around stopping and/or destroying him.  This was supposed to be the movie where we finally see why John Connor is such a threat to Skynet, where we get to see him in action against the machines.

Instead, Connor is an afterthought in this one.  He doesn't have a real storyline.  He is merely being led into a trap by Skynet, which is supposed to be the super gee whiz wow plot twist.  Screw that!  Connor is supposed to be one step ahead of the machines, imo.  Christian Bale was provided no material to work with.  We are told Connor is a messiah for three movies.  Then we're suddenly asked to accept it without any demonstrations of why the machines fear him so much.  WHAT.  GARBAGE.  There was some wonderful world-building, but the story as a whole is absolutely shoved down our throats.

I was worried from the overly drawn out opening credits, which demanded an epic movie of the highest caliber to warrant such self-indulgence.  With no Schwarzenegger in this movie (well, not really), I was ready and willing for the franchise to continue under Christian Bale/John Connor.  But damn it, make it about Bale/Connor.  That other robot/human guy (his name totally escapes me) was pretty cool, but he was the only character with any worthwhile development whatsoever.  I feel like someone punched me in the face and took my $11.00.

Shame on, T4! 

I don't care what anyone says about Wolverine, or how much you praise Star Trek.  For me, so far the best movie this summer has been X-Men Origins: Wolverine ...by a VERY wide margin.
     

Ughh.  This is the sequel to Donnie Darko, a movie I absolutely love.  I saw it a few days ago, but decided to watch Donnie Darko again, hoping that by refreshing myself with the original I would find some redeeming qualities in the sequel.

Alas.  I had a feeling S. Darko would be awful, but being as the same actress was playing Samantha (for S.), the younger sister of Donnie, I decided to bite the bullet.  I don't blame the actors for this one.  Blame the script (the original writer/director is gone).  It is 100% unrefined garbage.  After I rewatched Donnie Darko, it left me more appreciative than ever of this movie and more disgusted than ever with the sequel.  There is not an original idea in the entire movie.

The good news is that I got a real kick watching Donnie Darko again, and was surprised to note that SETH ROGAN is in this movie!  Talk about a shocker.

Anyway, if you've never seen Donnie Darko and like sf, I can't recommend this one enough.  I consider it one of the best science fiction movies out there.

I had a chance to see this (well, most of it) the other night.  It was surprisingly good.  Basically, some friends go cave exploring, go too deep, and encounter the less-than-human natives.

Some quick thoughts/observations:

1) The hunting noise the creatures make sounds like that of the Predator.

2) Their enraged scream is close to Alien.

3) SPOILER: I hated that the second girl was in the car at the end.  That is so Hollywood.  I choose to think of this a hallucination brought on by the survivor's hysteria.

A good horror flick, which I look forward to seeing in its entirety at some point in the future.

So I saw Star Trek on opening night in IMAX.  My friends and I even scored seats in last row center, which I've never had before for IMAX.  Definitely the way to go.

I liked it but did not love it.  From all the buzz, I was half-expecting the greatest thing since Stars Wars IV, so in this respect it was a letdown.  When the DVD comes out I'll buy it, because I'm going to need to watch this one a few times to form a full opinion.  I will try to do so here nevertheless.

I thought the casting was excellent, particularly for Doctor McCoy.  It had the necessary budget and special effects and such.  It was a fun story, despite some contrived moments in the plot.  And while this is a full-fledged reboot, J.J. Abrams and the writers clearly did their homework on Classic Trek.  I loved that they included Captain Pike, and learning how Bones got his nickname, and other little tidbits that were nods to the original Trek, such as young Kirk making it with the hot green alien, Scotty saying "I'm giving her all she's got!" and Bones saying "I'm a doctor not a physicist!" and so on.  Even the minute-and-a-half of Kirk seeing the Enterprise for the first time was a tip of the hat to that eternal five (ten?) minute scene in the original Star Trek movie when we see the Enterprise on the silver screen for the first time.  I could go on like this forever, but I'll add one more before moving on.  Leonard Nimoy was great.  In my eyes his presence validated this whole movie.  You needed one member from the original cast to be in the movie to pass along the proverbial torch.

And yet, for all this, it did not feel like Star Trek.  Not the one I remember anyway.  Mind you, the points I'm about to make aren't complaints but rather observations.  Here's the thing: J.J. Abrams has not just rebooted this franchise.  This movie is going to radically change the fanbase.  Star Wars and Star Trek both have their hardcore fans, but Star Wars was always much more mainstream.  Star Trek was much more of a niche franchise ...until now.  This movie is very mainstream.  It's hip and sexy.  The Shakespearian influence is far less prevalent among the actors, which leads to different kinds of performances.  The scripted dialog is also more down to earth, making it easier for the casual viewer to relate to what is happening.  90% of the techno-babble has been eliminated (which is HUGE for Star Trek).  And the core concepts of Star Trek were barely explored in this movie: exporation, intergalactic politics, and challenges to the Prime Directive.

Now by having this be in alternate universe it allows all sorts of wiggle room, but the final verdict is that the Star Trek of old is dead.  The timeline is already much different, with Spock's mother dead, planet Vulcan destroyed, and Captain Pike's backstory seeming to be at least somewhat reinvented.  Put all of this stuff together and it equals an obvious split in the fanbase.  It's happened before, with Star Wars.  Many fans of the original movies were disgusted by Parts I-III, myself being no exception.  But when you talk to the kids of this generation, they much prefer Parts I-III to Parts IV-VI (I predict many of them will see the light when they're older and come to understand storytelling better).  This divide is going to occur in Star Trek as well.  This movie isn't targeting the core of the Star Trek audience.  All of them will watch it, of course, because they're understandably curious.  But it's not for them.  This movie is for the casual movie-goer who appreciates a good sf flick.  No niches, no specialized information, and especially no technobabble.  This movie is meant to draw in the casual Star Wars fan, the casual Terminator fan, the casual fan of superhero movies.  Until now, Star Trek was never for the wider audience.  Despite the iconic names of Star Trek, Kirk, and Spock, the scripts and established universe simply did not allow it.  And the more Star Trek evolved without its icons of Kirk and Spock, the more specialized it became.

Now that's over with.  New Trekkies may emerge, but a good deal of the older hardcore fans will be embittered.  But J.J. Abrams & Paramount could care less.  This new fanbase will be bigger than ever, and this young cast is good for another five movies if the suits want it.  If Star Trek ever comes back to television, I won't be at all surprised if it takes place in this new alternate reality.  The producers will want to keep it sexy to appease the new fan base.  Publishers are going to be on the bandwagon too.  They'll keep putting out Star Trek novels using the casts from the others TV shows, but soon enough we're going to see book covers featuring the young Kirk & crew.

I say all of this as a moderate fan.  I don't read the novels.  I've only attended one Star Trek convention, which happened to be on my college campus at the time and since I was a college student I got in for free.  I did not dress up a Klingon or a member of Starfleet, not do I partake in online debates about the finer points of  Star Trek (except for this post, it seems).  But I've seen all the movies (and before now the last one I enjoyed was FIRST CONTACT).  I think I've seen all of Classic Trek.  I've seen all of TNG, DS9, and I've seen all but a handful of the Voyager episodes.  Enterprise was a joke and I've seen less than five episodes.  DS9 was my favorite series, which tells you I'm not a traditional fan.  Many traditional fans seem to demand that proper Star Trek take place on a starship, not a space station.  Before this latest movie, the last time I was excited for a Star Trek event that at least partially delivered was the series finale to Voyager (a very hit-or-miss series overall). 

I was indeed excited for Star Trek this time around, and it did deliver ...but this wasn't Star Trek.  Not like I remember it.  I'll watch the next movie when it comes out, and I won't be surprised if I enjoy it, but I think Star Trek as we knew it is gone forever.  I could be wrong, because this first movie was also an origin piece, but the alternate reality gives the writers a ton of freedom moving forward.  I imagine they'll take advantage of that.  Thankfully I'm not set in my ways enough to hate this new Star Trek, either because of age or devotion to what Star Trek was.  This new franchise may be the beginning of something awesome, but it is also the death of something great as well.  Of course, Star Trek as I remembered it died years ago anyway.  Now it's just official that no resurrection of the old Star Trek is forthcoming.

You had a great run, Star Trek.  Also, live long and prosper.  I know Paramount will.      

*MINOR SPOILER ALERT!*

Yesterday was just like my weekend: I was sick, worked on RoF until I was too tired to do more, and then decided to watch a movie.  I was surprised to note that the animated version of The Watchmen's Tales of the Black Freighter was already available for rental on IO Cable.  It was about what I expected, meaning it featured quality animation, it beefed up the story a little to justify its adaptation, but remained true to the core tale.  Overall it ran somewhere between 20-25 minutes, which was the right length.  Gerard Butler did a fine job as the narrator.  I understood the need for addition of the first mate's head as a character, but I wish they could've come up with something else, but I kept thinking of Wilson, the volleyball in Castaway, that movie starring Tom Hanks.  Overall it was worth a viewing, but this story had far more impact when it was broken up in the graphic novel.

The Under the Hood Documentary came on right after the Black Freighter cartoon, and it ran about 40 minutes.  It was a cute idea, as it relied on those articles at the end of the comics to put together a documentary, relying most heavily on the Hollis Mason "Under the Hood" autobiogrpahy excerpts (obviously).  It captures the spirit of The Watchemen well enough, but unless you're a hardcore fan I don't think you need to go out of your way to watch this one.

I understand that the director's cut of The Watchmen is going to incorporate The Black Freighter cartoon and cut to and away from that, much as the graphic novel did.  I'll admit that I'm curious to see that.  BUT ...in the space of two months I've now read the original graphic novel, seen the movie on opening night, seen the motion comics, and seen the animated version of the Black Freighter and the Under the Hood Documentary on the day of their premieres.  At this point, I need a break.  I'm all "Watchmened" out for a while!

So after the BSG finale debacle on Friday, I spent the rest of the weekend holed up sick.  I'd accuse the BSG finale of making me sick, but I was already coming down with something on Thursday.  I did what work I could on RoF over the weekend, and spent Saturday & Sunday night watching the Watchmen Motion Comic when exhaustion left me unable to do anything more on the magazine.

This was the first time I experienced motion comics.  Not quite comics, not quite cartoons, but rather somewhere in between.  In this respect, it was interesting to watch what was a new medium for me.  Each chapter of the Watchmen comics is adapted into its own episode that seems to run about 25 minutes.  In total, all 12 episodes come out to 325 minutes.

These motion comics are very true to the graphic novel and provide a much fuller picture of the original story than the movie does.  They're not quite word for word, but they're pretty close.  Having only read The Watchmen once, it's impossible for me to say whether the motion comic is frame for frame, especially since the frames from the comics are put into motion (duh!) and sometimes stretched out.  At the very least though, it's close.  But like the movie, the motion picture fails to depict those fascinating articles you can read at the end of each comic installment.

The motion comics do provide an excellent refresher, and the choice to include the word bubbles was very savvy.  Combined with the frames being in [limited] motion, it really helps lend the feel of this being its own medium.  I probably would've enjoyed the motion comics more if not for the narrator ...most of the time I couldn't stand him, especially when he was handling the female characters.  Honestly, I think everything would've been better served if they divvied up the characters between several different voice actors.

As to what I liked the most, I'll point to two things.  First would be the adapation of Chapter IV from The Watchmen graphic novel, wherein we learn the origin of Dr. Manhattan.  I'd go so far to say as the motion comics actually enhance this story.  The other thing I really appreciated is that when you watch the motion comic, it becomes much more clear just how much the story of the Black Freighter parallels the main tale.

Overall it was an interesting experience, but I still have to say the source material in its original form remains the best way to experience this tale.  It is the only one that delivers the complete story.

Anywho, I've now read the graphic novel and seen both the movie and the motion comic.  All that remains is to see the animated adaptation of The Curse of the Black Freighter, which I believe comes out tomorrow.  I'm rather curious to see that one, especially since the animation looks to be solid.  Stay true to Moore's original story and it should be rather enjoyable.     

I'm sitting here working on various tidbit for RoF.  In the background, the the Sci Fi Channel (soon to be Sy Fi--ugh!) is broadcasting a BSG marathon, which will lead up to tonight's BSG finale.  I can keep this background noise going because even though I just started watching this show a few short weeks ago, but I'm already caught up, meaning I can watch tonight's finale as it happens.  Obviously, I caught up before I received these promotions, or I never would've found the time to watch these episodes.

So basically I had my own original BSG marathon going for a while.  It was quite enjoyable, although I must admit that watching the series this way has caused all of the episodes to blur together in my head.  I also discovered that when there was no more BSG to watch, I suddenly experienced an acute case of withdrawal.  In my desperaration, I went to Hulu.com and watched the first episode of the original BSG.

Well.  I don't want to badmouth it, because the current series wouldn't exist without it.  It's also 30 years old, so I'm sure in it's time it was a great thing.  But suffice it to say that I felt no need to watch episode 2.  For me, there will always be just one BSG, one cast and crew.

As to tonight's episode, I'll be sorry to see the show go.  But better to end it now than drag it out unnecessarily.  Hopefully the forthcoming mini-series and the Caprica series will be just as good ...and they better not frak up this finale!

I'm home from jury duty.  My brain is still loopy with lack of sleep, but I'll share some quick thoughts about Watchmen before I pass out.  I saw the midnight premiere last night.  It runs 2:45, though it didn't drag for me.  Some good previews were mixed in, including the new Star Trek movie, the Wolverine movie, and a new Seth Rogin movie (that man is a comic genius).

As to the movie itself, I liked it, though not as much as the graphic novel.  I can't really say I'm surprised though.  Even at almost 3 hours, portions of the graphic novel had to be omitted.  I knew the pirate story would be the first thing to go (though I'm looking forward to the animated adapation when it comes out on DVD).  Others might feel differently, but the many flashbacks and the narratives didn't bother me.  I can't imagine another way to pull this movie off.

I appreciated the attention to detail, as many moments captured exact frames from the graphic novel.  The casting was solid, and I thought the actor playing Rorschach did a superior job.  I don't think anyone could've done it better.  I understand the need to make Dr. Manhattan responsible for the holocaust in the end, as setting up the squiddy fromt he graphic novel would've taken too long, I think.  I think the screenwriter and director did about as good a job as you might expect.

And yet ...

While I enjoyed this movie, I'd wouldn't call it great.  It was good.  Yes, it was necessary to shave corners to adapt it to the screen, but it's these very shaven corners that raised the source material to a whole different stratosphere.  Those additional details helped capture the psychology of these characters in ways the movie can't.  The movie was fun and engaging, and for the most part it's very true to the core story, but it lacks that extra something.

Go see it.  Enjoy it for the special effects, the story, and a number of the performances (I must also give props to the Comedian--great job).  But please, do yourself the favor of reading the source material first.

Final thoughts:

1) It was cool seeing Adrian's pet, but it came off as rather extraneous.

2) Dr. Manhattan could be a porn star!

Now I need to conk out for a while, because I'm on three hours sleep ...    

So last night I had a chance to see the Battlestar Galactica mini-series with some friends.  I know I'm very late to the party on this one, and I've had people telling me for the longest time that this show is great.  With this in mind, I'm not going to go on praising it or summarizing what I saw.  Most of the people reading this blog probably already watch the show.

What I will say is that while I understand most of you must be disappointed that a quality sf program is down to its last few episodes, I can't help but be excited.  I have many hours of viewing enjoyment ahead of me, and I'm not going to have wait to watch anything! 

Finally saw this movie last night.  Wow.  And let me add wow.  What a fantastic flick ...but I wanted to scream at the girl when she ate the grape!

Let's shift gears a little bit from recent events.  Last Sunday I had a chance to see Afro Samurai: Resurrection.  Even more recently, I had a chance to read The Watchmen, the graphic novel by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons.

For those of unfamiliar with Afro Samurai: Resurrection, this is an anime movie.  It's the sequel to Afro Samurai, which happens to be one of my favorite anime movies ever.  In a nutshell, imagine a world dominated by two headbands.  If you own the Number One Headband, you're like a god.  If you own the Number Two Headband, you have the right to challenge the Number One.  But if you own the Number Two Headband, anyone has the right to challenge you.  In the first movie (STOP READING RIGHT NOW IF YOU FEAR SPOILERS IN THE FIRST FEW MINUTES OF THE MOVIE), it follows the life of a samurai known simply as Afro (and yes, he has an afro).  At the beginning of the movie, Afro is a child, and his father is the Number One.  The Number Two comes along, challenges him, and wins, resulting in dad's death.  The Number Two takes the Number One Headband, and as he walks away he tosses the Number Two Headband to young Afro, telling him to come challenge him, when he's ready. 

It's a very graphic movie, featuring gorgeous illustrations, excellent battle sequences, and some really interesting characters.  Fans of Ninja Scroll & Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust should love this one.  The voice of Afro is played by Samuel L. Jackson, and the movie carves its own niche by successfully intergrating a hip hop sensibility throughout the tale.  I can't recommend it highly enough.  

I have mixed feelings about Resurrection.  I loved everything about this one except the climax's resolution.  As far as I'm concerned, it sabotages a great deal of the first movie.  In all fairness, the version I saw was on Spike TV, so there were commerical interruptions.  Also, the director's cut of the movie has yet to be released.  Perhaps watching the movie with the additional scenes and without commericals will leave me feeling differently.  I certainly hope so, as right now I'm feeling a little betrayed. 

Anyone else see this one?

And as to The Watchmen ...

It's brilliant.  I certainly hope everyone planning on seeing the movie (I know I am) finds the opportunity to read this graphic novel first.  There is a reason it won the Hugo Award, and it's with good reason that Time Magazine lists it as one of its 100 Best Novels.  It's easily the best graphic novel I've read.  But it's more than that.  It really is a piece of literature.  It was published in 1986, and while there is a lot of reinvented history going on, it's still so accessible to today's audience.  I'd also venture that it's the most realistic take on superheroes I've ever read, this from someone whose favorite superhero is Batman.  I'm really hoping the movie does the graphic novel some sort of justice.  And if you watch the movie before you read this book ...shame on you.  SHAME.  ON.  YOU.  I am truly in awe over the genius that Alan Moore brought to this story.  And for all you Watchmen fans, I just had this pointed out to me today.  I haven't watched them yet, but it looks pretty damn cool.              

Feel free to share your thoughts on The Watchmen (and Afro, of course) in the comments thread, but I won't say anything more here in the post.  I don't even want to take the slightest risk of dropping the tinniest spoiler!

So over the summer I caught three movies in the theaters: Iron Man, The Dark Night, and the new Indiana Jones.  Iron Man was awesome, and I have officially dubbed The Dark Knight as my favorite movie ever (don't ask me how many times I've already seen it!).  Indiana Jones was pretty awful, but there was no question I would see it on the big screen.  I enjoyed the first three, so it had a proven track record.

I saw The Incredible Hulk on DVD a couple of months ago (it was all right), but over the last couple of weeks I've went on a serious splurge, catching up on all genre flicks I didn't see over the summer.  Since they're all still rather fresh in my head, I thought I'd provide some quick thoughts on each of them, from worst to first (some spoilers will follow):
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Has anyone seen the new Futurama movie, Bender's Game?  I thought it was horrible.  I tried to reason that after Bender's Big Score the bar was set too high, but even so I found this one severely lacking.

At last!  Not a sure thing, but if they've gotten this far I have faith that the series will happen.  And thank goodness.  I caught the premiere episode of Legend of the Seeker and it was awful.  I need to wash the taint of corruption from my eyeballs.

So I finally found a chance to watch The Incredible Hulk the other day.  I'd wanted to see this in the theater over the summer and was disappointed that I never got around to it.  It's probably for the best though.  While miles and miles better than the first movie, besides an awesome final battle overall I thought this was just okay.  I think I might've enjoyed this one more if not for the fact that the previous two superhero movies I saw (in the theaters, no less) were Iron Man & The Dark Knight.  This one just didn't measure up.  It was worth a viewing though, and I'll note that Edward Norton has yet to appear in a movie I've hated.  I may not love them all, but I've yet to hate anything.  

I keep forgetting to post about this one.  I saw this movie the other day.  I rarely see comedies in the theaters, a big reason being that I find most comedic movies to be decidedly unfunny, so I see little reason to throw away my $$$.  Even if they are funny, they're usually not funny enough to warrant the extra cash.  I can wait for the DVD.  To give you an idea of what I mean, before TT, the last comedy I saw in the theaters was BORAT (hysterical).  Now, let me also add that I don't find Ben Stiller funny, and at best I'm lukewarm toward Jack Black.  But when I saw the first trailer for this one, long before any of the reviews came out, something told me this was going to be hysterical.  So I made a point to see this one in the theater.

I was NOT disappointed.  This movie is freaking hilarious.  See it.  Empty your bladder beforehand.  And out of everyone, the funniest person in this one just might be Tom Cruise.

Also, Robert Downey Jr. is the man.  In one summer he gave me IRON MAN & TT.  All hail!