Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)

Genre

Action | Crime | Thriller

Director

Quentin Tarantino

Country

USA

Cast

Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, Gordon Liu, Michael Parks, Bo Svenson, Jeannie Epper, Samuel L. Jackson, Larry Bishop, Sid Haig, Perla Haney-Jardine, Helen Kim, Chris Nelson, Laura Cayouette, Clark Middleton, Stephanie L. Moore, Lawrence Bender

Plot

The Bride (Uma Thurman) continues her quest of vengeance against her former boss and lover Bill (David Carradine), the reclusive bouncer Budd (Michael Madsen) and the treacherous, one-eyed Elle (Daryl Hannah).

Opinion

I thought splitting Quentin Tarantino's epic film into two parts was a shame, but I am glad it happened because the two episodes are very different even though the stories are tied together.

Kill Bill: Vol. 2 is astonishing, and, although it is not filled with action, it still is enjoyable and entertaining. 

The film cleverly alternates between funny moments, such as the Bride's training with the Cantonese Martial Arts Master, and dramatic moments, such as memories, in black and white. 

Those who had complained about the lack of witty dialogue in the first episode will be happy to know that Quentin Tarantino once again demonstrates a mastery of dialogue: it is the real essence of the film - the scene in which Bill is speaking with the Bride while he makes a sandwich and Bill's final monologue are unforgettable. 

The acting is good. Uma Thurman really fits in with her character, and Daryl Hannah is dazzling. However, David Carradine is the real deal: he is mesmerizing as Bill and he totally steal the show.

Quotes

Bill: As you know, I'm quite keen on comic books. Especially the ones about superheroes. I find the whole mythology surrounding superheroes fascinating. Take my favorite superhero, Superman. Not a great comic book. Not particularly well-drawn. But the mythology... The mythology is not only great, it's unique.

[...] Now, a staple of the superhero mythology is, there's the superhero and there's the alter ego. Batman is actually Bruce Wayne, Spider-Man is actually Peter Parker. When that character wakes up in the morning, he's Peter Parker. He has to put on a costume to become Spider-Man. And it is in that characteristic Superman stands alone. Superman didn't become Superman. Superman was born Superman. When Superman wakes up in the morning, he's Superman. His alter ego is Clark Kent. His outfit with the big red "S", that's the blanket he was wrapped in as a baby when the Kents found him. Those are his clothes. What Kent wears - the glasses, the business suit - that's the costume. That's the costume Superman wears to blend in with us. Clark Kent is how Superman views us. And what are the characteristics of Clark Kent. He's weak... he's unsure of himself... he's a coward. Clark Kent is Superman's critique on the whole human race. Sorta like Beatrix Kiddo and Mrs. Tommy Plimpton.

The Bride: Ah-so. The point emerges.

Bill: You would've worn the costume of Arlene Plimpton. But you were born Beatrix Kiddo. And every morning when you woke up, you'd still be Beatrix Kiddo. 

The Bride: Are you calling me a superhero?

Bill: I'm calling you a killer. A natural born killer. You always have been, and you always will be. Moving to El Paso, working in a used record store, goin' to the movies with Tommy, clipping coupons. That's you, trying to disguise yourself as a worker bee. That's you tryin' to blend in with the hive. But you're not a worker bee. You're a renegade killer bee. And no matter how much beer you drank or barbecue you ate or how fat your ass got, nothing in the world would ever change that.

PULP CATHOLICISM #118

The Deer Hunter (1978)

Genre

Drama | War

Director

Michael Cimino

Country

UK | USA

Cast

Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Savage, John Cazale, Meryl Streep, George Dzundza, Shirley Stoler, Chuck Aspegren, Rutanya Alda, Amy Wright, Joe Grifasi

Plot

Michael (Robert De Niro), Steven (John Savage) and Nick (Christopher Walken) are young factory workers from Pennsylvania who enlist into the Army to fight in Vietnam. After some time and many horrors, the three friends fall in the hands of the Vietcong and are brought to a prison camp in which they are forced to play Russian roulette against each other. Michael makes it possible for them to escape, but they soon get separated again.

Opinion

Ranked by many, actually almost every single person who saw it, as a masterpiece, The Deer Hunter is one of the most overrated films ever, and one of the worst Academy Award Best Picture winners ever.

The film is boring, senseless and historically inaccurate. To begin with, it's too long - 3 hours seemed like an eternity. The wedding sequence at the beginning goes on and on - 30 minutes or so - but doesn't tell you more about the characters than a 10 minutes sequence could have. Then the action goes straight to Vietnamese jungle: the three friends don't need any kind of training, they just go, and they serve in the same squad too. The Vietnameses are portrayed as monsters or victims, there are no shadings. When Michael and Steven are back home, Nick is still in Vietnam and plays the Russian roulette for god only knows how many years - if it was a sport he would have been the World Champion. 

The acting is good. Robert De Niro is spectacular and should have gotten the Oscar instead of Christopher Walken - I am not saying Walken sucks in the film, he delivers a good performance, but, in my opinion, De Niro's better. Meryl Streep and John Savage are a great supporting cast.

Do you want to see a film about Vietnam War? Watch Apocalypse Now or/and Full Metal Jacket, they are definitely worth the time.

Quotes

Michael: A deer has to be taken with one shot. I try to tell people that but they don't listen.

Watch: Final Trailer For MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

Still looking amazing, the last trailer for George Miller's MAD MAX: FURY ROAD solidifies some story along with the spectacular action. In fact there's what seems to be a clip from the movie in it and it helps to give the movie some skeleton to all the muscle it's been showing.

Can't wait for this!

Here's the movie's storyline:
A apocalyptic story set in the furthest reaches of our planet, in a stark desert landscape where humanity is broken, and most everyone is crazed fighting for the necessities of life. Within this world exist two rebels on the run who just might be able to restore order. There's Max, a man of action and a man of few words, who seeks peace of mind following the loss of his wife and child in the aftermath of the chaos. And Furiosa, a woman of action and a woman who believes her path to survival may be achieved if she can make it across the desert back to her childhood homeland.

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD hits theaters on May 15.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

Genre

Adventure | Fantasy

Director

Peter Jackson

Country

USA | New Zealand

Cast

Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Luke Evans, Lee Pace, Stephen Fry, Orlando Bloom, Graham McTavish, Ken Stott, Aidan Turner, Dean O'Gorman, Mark Hadlow, Jed Brophy, Adam Brown, John Callen, Peter Hambleton, William Kircher, James Nesbitt, Stephen Hunter, Cate Blanchett, Mikael Persbrandt, Sylvester McCoy, Manu Bennett, Lawrence Makoare, Anthony Sher, Craig Hall, Ryan Gage, John Bell, Ben Mitchell, Robin Kerr, Dallas Barnett

Plot

After successfully crossing over the Misty Mountains, the thirteen dwarves commanded by Thorin (Richard Armitage), the hobbit Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) and the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) continue their quest to reclaim Erebor, the dwarves homeland, from the dragon Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch).

Opinion

Out there is plenty of people saying that fans of Tolkien will be disappointed with the new trilogy, and there are way too much differences between the book and the films. That's pretty much normal since Jackson made three films out of a 300 pages book.

Having said that, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is a terrific middle chapter filled with tons of action, emotions and fun from the first frame to the last.

The film is exciting all the way through and more engaging than An Unexpected Journey, although I did enjoy its slow pacing.

I particularly loved the giant spiders sequence, and the way they talk to each other when Bildo puts the ring on, even though they sound like Gollum. The arachnids are visually stunning and scary. Legolas comes back and, although I'm pretty sure he wasn't in the book, he brings some fun. New creation Tauriel is enjoyable. Bilbo's encounter with Smaug is tense and brilliantly written. Gandalf's encounter with Sauron is visually stunning. Ed Sheeran's 'I See Fire' is perfect.

However, the film has a big issue: the script. They talk, talk and talk, but, at the end of the day, they don't really say much.

The acting is good. Martin Freeman keeps on doing a perfect job as Bildo Baggins. Ian McKellen is still perfect as Gandalf. Richard Armitage succeeds in showing Thorin's worse qualities. Orlando Bloom has some charm. And Ken Stott stands out among the dwarves.

Quotes

Thranduil: Such is the nature of evil. Out there in the vast ignorance of the world it festers and spreads. A shadow that grows in the dark. A sleepless malice as black as the oncoming wall of night. So it ever was. So will it always be. In time all foul things come forth.

Ulysses S. Grant in Movies

Today is the 193rd birthday of Ulysses S. Grant. Since I am related to him (fifth cousin, six times removed) I thought I would post about some of the movies in which Grant is a character.

         

Ulysses S. Grant, 18th President of the United States

The most famous image of Grant in a classic film is in the Cinerama epic How the West Was Won (1962). Grant is seen in the segment directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne. He is played by Harry Morgan.

The next one is from They Died with Their Boots On (1941) starring Errol Flynn as Gen. Custer and Olivia de Havilland as his wife. Grant is played by Joseph Crehan (uncredited).

Crehan portrayed Grant 9 times: Union Pacific (1939) - pictured below, Geronimo (1939), Colorado (1940), The Adventures of Mark Twain (1944), Silver River (1948), Red Desert (1949), San Antone (1953), and an episode of Jane Wyman Presents (1958).

Foreground

In another John Wayne Film, The Horse Soldiers (1959), Grant is played by Stan Jones.

See a list of all the films with Gen. Grant in them here.
All images found via Google Images.

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

Genre

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Director

Bryan Singer

Country

USA | UK

Cast

Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Nicholas Hoult, Ellen Page, Peter Dinklage, Shawn Ashmore, Omar Sy, Evan Peters, Josh Helman, Daniel Cudmore, Fan Bingbing, Adan Canto, Booboo Stewart, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Lucas Till, Evan Jonigkeit

Plot

As the Sentinels, fightings robots for killing mutants, are created, it soon leads to chaos, killing both mutants and humans. Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) is so sent back to the past to prevent a tragic event from ever occurring to prevent both mutant and human extinction.

Opinion

I was excited about this film, but I had a bad feeling because X-Men: First Class was fantastic, and doing great - or better - wasn't going to be an easy task, so I saw this with low expectation, but what a surprise! After more than 10 years, Bryan Singer is back in control and directs unarguably the best X-Men film yet.

Sequel to both First Class and X-Men: The Last Stand, X-Men: Days of Future Past is truly an impressive and spectacular film, and one of the greatest superhero films of all time.

The film finds its strength in the storyline, as 2 hours fly. The action is great especially when it comes to Quicksilver and Blink - the slow motion scene while freeing Magneto is spectacular. Also the film has surprisingly found the sense of humour that has been missing from the recent films of the series. 

Up to this moment, the franchise has been inclined to make of Wolverine the main character. Finally things have changed, and other characters gain importance, starting from Mystique. 

Also, Bryan Singer manages to fill a long series of discrepancies among the previous films.

The acting, once again, is first class. James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender are incredible as Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr, and the chemistry between them is more enjoyable than ever. Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman and Ellen Page are all great. However, Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique and Evan Peters as Quicksilver steal the show. 

Quotes

Professor X: The future: a dark, desolate world. A world of war, suffering, loss on both sides. Mutants, and the humans who dared to help them, fighting an enemy we cannot defeat. Are we destined down this path, destined to destroy ourselves like so many species before us? Or can we evolve fast enough to change ourselves... change our fate? Is the future truly set?

Magneto: All those years wasted fighting each other, Charles... to have a precious few of them back.

April Expiration Watch: Farewell to Friends New & Old

Once again Netflix teases us with some stream-worthy titles, only to snatch them away just a few months later. As I did back in January, when something similar happened, I'm going to sort this month's expiring titles into groups based on when they arrived�only this time I'll start with the most recent (just to keep you on your toes). Unless otherwise noted, all of these can be streamed through April 30.

Arrived in March (available 2 months)
Across the Great Divide (1976)
Bitter Moon (1992) - Review
The Secret of NIMH (1982)

Arrived in February (avail. 3 months)
The Brothers Bloom (2008)
Cecil B. Demented (2000)
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (2009-2010) - thru 5/12
Ulee's Gold (1997)

Arrived in January (avail. 4 months)
Robocop (1987)
Valkyrie (2008)

And then there are those that seemed to be on more reasonable timetables, i.e., on contracts ranging from six months to two years:

Read more �

NOW SHOWING AT A BLOG NEAR YOU

I haven’t been doing much over at Aleteia lately, but not to worry, others have easily taken up the slack. Tom Hoopes, for instance, is surprised to find that he can name at least 12 great movie priests from the past 4 years.

One of the priests Tom mentions is Fr. Lantom from Netflix’s new hit series, Daredevil, whose positive portrayal is just one of the many reasons behind Tor’s Leah Schnelbach’s extolling of the show’s religious virtues in her article, Daredevil, Catholicism, and the Marvel Moral Universe. It’s also what’s provided the impetus for Matthew Archbold to provide his take on Catholic superheroes over at the National Catholic Register.

Back at Aleteia, Emily Stimpson ponders our Walking Dead culture. The Walking Dead, as I’m sure you know, is just one of the many mega-popular sci-fi/horror/fantasy shows raking in the ratings right now. But is that necessarily a good thing? Over at Catholic Fiction.net, Nito Gnoci is of the opinion that modern Science Fiction has been derelict in its duty to properly address the shortcomings of Scientism. The folks in the combox are not quite so sure. In related grousing, Fr. Dwight Longenecker believes fantasy films are killing fantasy.

Oh well, at least the good father liked the new Star Wars trailer. Speaking of which, so did SQPN’s Fr. Roderick, a lot. If by some chance you haven’t seen his reaction yet, jump on over to YouTube and watch it, it’s worth the trip. It just goes to show how much that film series has come to mean to so many of us. If you need a little more proof of that, then stop by Catholic Skywalker’s place where he has some thoughtful ruminations on fathers and sons and Star Wars.

Not all movies are as well received as Lucas’ brainchild, however. The recent Internet horror flick Unfriended, for instance, currently sits at 60% on Rotten Tomatoes and received a blistering 1 star out of 4 from Roger Ebert.com. Leave it to the ever-charitable Fr. Dennis Zdenek Kriz from Fr. Dennis at the Movies, though, to find enough redeeming qualities in it to bequeath the movie 4 stars.

You know, when it comes to redeeming qualities, there are little to none to be found in demons. But that’s kind of the point in Bat out of Hell, the new animated project  praised by Darwin Catholic. Based on the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch, the story involves a low level demon named Bat who gets the boot from Hell because he’s not very good at his job. That’s pretty tough, being the biggest loser out of a bunch of losers.

And finally, while it’s not really movie or television related, given our tastes in entertainment around these parts, I’m sure we can be forgiven for linking to Thomas L. McDonald’s discovery of the earliest known depiction of a witch riding a broom over at God and the Machine.

Hope that gives everyone some nice Sunday afternoon reading. See you next time.

The Bone Collector (1999)

Genre

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Director

Phillip Noyce

Country

USA | Canada

Cast

Denzel Washington, Angelina Jolie, Queen Latifah, Michael Rooker, Mike McGlone, Luis Guzmán, John Benjamin Hickey, Bobby Cannavale, Ed O'Neil, Leland Orser

Plot

When a badly mutilated corpse is discovered by policewoman Amelia Donaghy (Angelina Jolie), quadriplegic ex-homicide detective Lincoln Rhyme (Denzel Washington) is asked to investigate the case. At first he refuses, but when he takes a close look at the evidence, he is intrigued and tries to track down the serial killer with the help of the young policewoman.

Opinion

The Bone Collector is a way too much pretentious film that fails pretty much on everything. 

Looks like the film is trying to imitate Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window - in this case Denzel Washington plays James Stewart, and Angelina Jolie plays Grace Kelly - and, at the same time, David Fincher's Seven. The result is a too weak plot and some ridiculous parts. 

A huge issue - or mistake - with this film is the serial killer. As I am in the process of writing a mystery novel, I learned that there are several things the story must have to be good. One of those things - the most important in my opinion - is being able to lead the audience into finding out who the killer is. This film totally fails in that. I would have bet the killer was a cop - one in particular but I won't spoiler - but at the end is just some guy barely shown in the film with a weak motive. 

The fighting scene is the queen of ridiculousness: the serial killer, which is so smart to elaborate perfect murders, can't beat a quadriplegic man.

Denzel Washington does a very good job as the paralyzed cop. Unfortunately I can't say the same thing about Angelina Jolie: she looks bored the whole time. The supporting cast helps a lot, with great performance from Queen Latifah, Michael Rooker and Ed O'Neil.

Quotes

Lincoln Rhyme: Destiny is what we make it.

The Weekly Movie Watch Volume 40

This week I watched Speed Racer, Midnight in Paris.

I watch movies every week and then write down my thoughts. Read my previous reviews!
My rating is simple, Watch It, It Depends, Skip it.

Speed Racer -A blend of cartoon and live action.

Speed Racer (2008)
Watch Speed Racer
Written by: Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski
Directed by: Andy Wachowski & Lana Wachowski (written by), Tatsuo Yoshida (animated series)
Starring: Emile Hirsch, Matthew Fox, Christina Ricci
Rated: PG

Plot: 
Speed Racer and Racer X team up to stop corruption in the racing world.

Review:
It's definitely experimental, a cartoon brought to live action by the Wachowski siblings. Visually striking and technically complicated, if you crave story and writing, it falls flat. The story feels as complicated as a cartoon, which is not very. It's notable for the visuals, but with story ranking first for me, this almost by design, is not an involving story. While the actors include Emile Hirsch, Matt Fox, John Goodman, Cristina Ricci, and Susan Sarandon, it's a movie to watch only for novelty.
Skip it.

Read my Midnight in Paris review

Midnight in Paris Movie Review

Midnight in Paris (2011)

Midnight in Paris - Nostalgia is an illusion.

Rent Midnight in Paris on Amazon Video
Written by: Woody Allen
Directed by: Woody Allen
Starring: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams
Rated: PG-13

Plot: 
While traveling in Paris with his fiance and her parents, aspiring writer Gil is transported to 1920's Paris everyday at midnight.

Review:
The story is simple yet charming. Like Gil, we wish we could meet our heroes and live when they lived in that Golden Age. Gil gets that chance and soon discovers, that even those in the Golden Age long for an earlier time when things were better. That 's the trap of nostalgia, one is never happy in their current time. While the mechanics are never explained, they don't need to be. Owen Wilson, as Gil, seems to channel the awkwardness of director Woody Allen.  His fiance seems disinterested and his potential in-laws try to dissuade him from her completely. Gil realizes to be happy anywhere, he needs to be happy in the current time period. Seeing the literary greats like F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway was a treat. Corey Stoll, from House of Cards, is a caricature of Hemingway, and very well done. Tom Hiddleston, Loki from Thor, is Fitzgerald.
Watch it.

Twice Born (2012)

Original Title

Venuto al mondo

Genre

Drama | Romance | War

Director

Sergio Castellitto

Country

Italy | Spain

Cast

Penélope Cruz, Emile Hirsch, Adnan Haskovic, Saadet Aksoy, Pietro Castellitto, Luca De Filippo, Mira Furlan, Jane Birkin, Sergio Castellitto, Branko Djuric, Isabelle Adriani, Jovan Divjak, Sanja Vejnovic, Emina Muftic

Plot

Oft-married Gemma (Penélope Cruz) brings her teenage son Pietro (Pietro Castellitto) to Sarajevo, where his father (Emile Hirsch) died in the Bosnian conflict years ago.

Opinion

I haven't read the novel by Margaret Mazzantini, but the person who recommended me this film did, and enjoyed both, so I gave the film a try.

Twice Born is an ambitious and complex film that deals with love, motherhood at any cost, and horrors of war.

The film is certainly well built, and the direction from Sergio Castellitto - the novelist's husband - is great and manages to show love and war in the same moment, often leaving room for glances and music. Moving forward and backwards in time is certainly not new, but it always fascinates me. 

Penélope Cruz gives a magnificent and intense performance as Gemma. Needless to say is that Emile Hirsch's performance as Diego is wonderful. Adnan Haskovic as Gojco and Saadet Aksoy as Aska are outstanding. 

Having said that, I can't see how it is even possible for this film to have a 17% rating at Rotten Tomatoes, because if those people have actually seen this film, there is no way they could have give all those negative reviews.

Just a little note for whoever translated the title in English: why 'Twice Born'? It doesn't really make sense, it should have been 'Came to the world' or something like that.

Quotes

Diego: The weirdest love stories are always the best.

Gojco: Love only comes once. It moves like the sea. But it's always the same.

Serena (2014)

Genre

Drama

Director

Susanne Bier

Country

USA | France | Czech Republic

Cast

Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Rhys Ifans, Sean Harris, Sam Reid, David Dencik, Blake Ritson, Ned Dennehy, Charity Wakefield, Michael Ryan, Kim Bodnia, Ana Ularu, Bodil Jørgensen

Plot

In Depression-era North Carolina, the future of George Pemberton's (Bradley Cooper) timber empire becomes complicated when he marries Serena (Jennifer Lawrence).

Opinion

I was pretty excited about this film because I couldn't wait to see Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper working together for the third time. Judging from reviews of Ron Rash's novel of the same name, I was expecting a good film, but it is a total disaster.

Serena is a huge misfire on all fronts, absolutely nothing works, from storytelling to filmmaking. It fails in being involving and entertaining. The only positive thing about this film is Morten Søborg's cinematography.

At some point in the film, Jennifer Lawrence says, "I think you've taken nine months to do about six months work", and that's funny because the film took over 18 months to be completed, while it could have been easily made in a few months, and still have the same crappy result.

The setting in the woods reminded me of when I saw Jennifer Lawrence in Winter's Bone, but the comparison only ended up disappointing me. This could have been J-Law's Black Swan performance, but she is over the top and the emotional scenes are not believable. Bradley Cooper totally loses his charm, but the fault is of the script. At least, there is chemistry between the two actors and you can tell.

In a nutshell, the film is the proof - or reminded - that Hollywood stars such as Cooper and Lawrence can make lousy choices just like the rest of us.

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Genre

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Director

Joss Whedon

Country

USA

Cast

Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie, Hayley Atwell, Idris Elba, Stellan Skarsgård, James Spader, Samuel L. Jackson, Thomas Kretschmann, Claudia Kim, Andy Serkis, Linda Cardellini, Julie Delpy, Stan Lee

Plot

When Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) tries to jumpstart a dormant peacekeeping program, things go awry and Earth's Mightiest Heroes, including Iron Man, Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), The Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), are put to the ultimate test as the fate of the planet hangs in the balance. As the villainous Ultron (James Spader) emerges, it is up to The Avengers to stop him from enacting his terrible plans, and soon uneasy alliances and unexpected action pave the way for a global adventure.

Opinion

I used to think making a better film than the Avengers was quite impossible, but Joss Whedon did it!

Avengers: Age of Ultron is a dream come true, the sequel all the fans were waiting for, and inarguably one of the best Marvel films to date - not better than Guardians of the Galaxy though. 
The film still has all the elements of the first film, but it makes a huge step forward in the action - the 3D vision is totally worthy - dialogue and character. However, the main difference is the villain: James Spader's Ultron is marvelous.

The talk about artificial intelligence is very fascinating, both conceptually and cinematically. The storyline is far from the cliché superhero story. The script is great and amusing. The direction of Joss Whedon is flawless.

There is a great balance within the Avengers, where the superiority of Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and Hulk is perfectly balanced with the more active roles of Black Widow and Hawkeye - I would have loved to see more Falcon though. I loved what they did with The Vision, The Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver.

All the actors gave a fantastic performance. Robert Downey Jr. keeps on playing the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist in a way nobody else could. Chris Evans always brings a sense of honor to his character. Scarlett Johansson really surprised me. Great performances also from Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders and Paul Bettany. Elizabeth Olsen gives one of the best new character portrayals in recent years - I really want to see more of her Scarlet Witch. However, James Spader totally steals the scene: he is perfect.

Quotes

Steve Rogers/Captain America: I'm sick of watching people pay for our mistakes.

Nick Fury: Here we all are, with nothing but our wit and our will to save the world! So stand and fight!

PULP CATHOLICISM #117

Expiration Watch: Stan and George

Given all the breathless headlines these days about superhero franchises and upcoming Star Wars sequels, it's ironic that Netflix is letting go of a couple of very appealing documentaries focused on two of the founding fathers of modern geekdom: Stan Lee and George Lucas.

With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story (2010)

It's impossible to imagine what pop culture�or today's Hollywood�would be like without Stan Lee. As the co-creator of Marvel Comics' most recognizable superheroes, from the Fantastic Four to the Hulk to Spider-Man, the Avengers, the X-Men, Daredevil, and even Ant-Man, Lee helped shape the path comic books�and now movies�have taken for over 50 years. And he's still going strong, as this thorough and (justifiably) worshipful documentary shows. At 92, the man (or, in this case, "The Man") continues to work rooms, comic conventions, the Internet, and movie studios as the most tireless, charming, and durable advocate of his art imaginable. In his mid-80s at the time of filming, Lee is irrepressibly fit and spry and still very much in love with life (along with his adoring wife of 60-plus years). He comes off as not only a wonderful spokesman for the comics industry, but as a peerless example of the human spirit. You can't help but admire his humor, his energy, and his ability to keep up with the times. And at film's end, you'll feel grateful�and mildly amazed�that he's managed to sustain this level of creativity (and salesmanship) for so long, while quietly dreading the grayer world we'll be left with when he's no longer a part of it. (Update: the doc is gone, but Stan Lee continues to impress in this latest short video, on the art of...cameo acting!]

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Green Street (2005)

Genre

Crime | Drama | Sport

Director

Lexi Alexander

Country

USA| UK

Cast

Elijah Wood, Charlie Hunnam, Leo Gregory, Claire Forlani, Marc Warren, Ross McCall, Rafe Spall, Kieran Bew, Geoff Bell, James Allison, Terence Jay, Joel Beckett, Francis Pope, Christopher Hehir, David Alexander

Plot

Unjustly expelled from Harvard, Matt Buckner (Elijah Wood) moves to London to live with his sister (Claire Forlani) and her husband Steve (Marc Warren). As he meet Pete (Charlie Hunnam), Steve's cocky brother, he is introduced to the violent underworld of football hooliganism.

Opinion

Critics have said everything bad they could possibly say about this film, from Elijah Wood being not credible as the tough guy to Charlie Hunnam's awful cockney accent. Good thing is I'm not a critic.

Green Street is a very emotional drama that deals with many themes: loyalty, honor, revenge, importance of family - The Major's decision to leave the GSE for the sake of his family -, and power economically strong people have - Matt being kicked out of Harvard.

The film does not glorify hooligans, it portrays them honestly. The violence is believable, realistic, and frightening. The direction and cinematography are flawless. The story manages to engage the audience immediately. The sad and mesmerizing final fight perfectly goes along with Terence Jay's song "One Blood".

The acting is spot-on. Elijah Wood is amazing, and maybe he wasn't the best choice to play a tough guy, but who cares? After all, his character wasn't that tough at the beginning. Charlie Hunnam gives a great performance.

Now, the film is violent, but there is much more than that, so if you didn't get it, I really suggest you to watch it again.

Quotes

Matt Buckner: You know the best part? It isn't knowing that your friends have your back. It's knowing that you have your friends' back.

Pete Dunham: You don't run, not when you're with us... You stand your ground and fight!

Matt Buckner: I've never lived closer to danger, but I've never felt safer. I've never felt more confident, and people could spot it from a mile away. And as for this, the violence? I gotta be honest - it grew on me. Once you've taken a few punches and realize you're not made of glass, you don't feel alive unless you're pushing yourself as far as you can go.

THE JUKEBOX HERO HYMNAL: Hymn 024: I Still Believe by The Call

Let’s be honest here, probably the first thing most everybody thinks of when they hear the opening chords of I Still Believe is this…

Yep, besides his work with Tina Turner, the one thing singer/saxophonist Tim Cappello is best known for is his cameo in 1987’s The Lost Boys in which he not only performed his cover of I Still Believe, but also flexed his impressively oiled pecs. So indelible an image did Cappello strike that to this day you can still find a “Greased up Sax Man from The Lost Boys Appreciation Society” fan page on Facebook.

But we’re not here to praise Cappello, nor to bury him for that matter. No, what we’re actually interested in is the original version of I Still Believe as released by The Call on their 1986 masterpiece, Reconciled. Hailed by Peter Gabriel (who guested on the album) as "the future of American music," Reconciled was one of those works which by all rights should have catapulted its creators to mega-stardom, but for some reason never really caught on with the general public.

One group that did take notice, however, was the fans surrounding the burgeoning contemporary Christian music scene at the time. As he recounts on his blog, the onetime manager of Maranatha Village, the influential southern Californian Christian bookstore that would spawn Contemporary Christian Music magazine, was a longtime champion of The Call and was considering stocking their album. However, knowing his customers would be concerned about seeing a secular artist’s products being so prominently featured on the shelves, he sent correspondence to Elektra inquiring about the band and any religious affiliation they might have. He was shocked, to say the least, when he received a personal reply from the band’s vocalist/guitarist, Michael Been. Attached to the letter was a copy of the Apostles Creed and a hand written note proclaiming, “This is what I believe.” Needless to say, Reconciled was quickly given a place of honor at Maranatha Village and I Still Believe went on to become something of a crossover hit for the band on Christian radio stations.

Really, though, it’s not that much of a surprise if you pay attention to the lyrics. If ever there was a song to be sung during the post Lenten season, this is the one…

I been in a cave
For forty days
Only a spark
To light my way
I wanna give out
I wanna give in
This is our crime
This is our sin

But I still believe
I still believe
Through the pain
And through the grief
Through the lives
Through the storms
Through the cries
And through the wars
Oh, I still believe

So, if you take Been’s note at face value, then basically what he’s singing about is that, even after all the hardships he’s faced in life, he still finds the faith to say this…

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

Oh yeah, that makes adding I Still Believe to the Jukebox Hero Hymnal pretty much a no-brainer. So listen up and enjoy. And if you just can’t live without Cappello’s sax, then go ahead and fire up that version as well. After all, as long as we’re being honest here, it’s not like you’re the only one who still has a copy of The Lost Boys soundtrack lying around the house somewhere.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

Genre

Adventure | Fantasy

Director

Peter Jackson

Country

USA | New Zealand

Cast

Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Graham McTavish, Ken Scott, Aidan Turner, Dean O'Gorman, Mark Hadlow, Jed Brophy, Adam Brown, John Callen, Peter Hambleton, William Kircher, James Nesbitt, Stephen Hunter, Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Christopher Lee, Sylvester McCoy, Elijah Wood, Andy Serkis, Manu Bennett, Lee Pace, Benedict Cumberbatch, Barry Humphries, John Rawls, Bret McKenzie, Kiran Shah, Jeffrey Thomas, Michael Mizrahi

Plot

Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen), Bilbo (Martin Freeman) finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage). Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain, first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever... Gollum (Andy Serkis). 

Opinion

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is simply beautiful. The film is a spectacular and thrilling combination of adventure, drama and fantasy, and it managed to left me with the same 'wow' the original trilogy did.

Director Peter Jackson successfully managed to craft a good prequel to the best saga ever. The film has some great scenes; the run in with fighting stone giants and the escape from the goblins' mountain are definitely the highlights. I particularly loved the scene in which Bildo runs into Gollum, firstly because I wasn't expecting it at all, and secondly because I've always liked the character - which, by the way, is even more 'realistic'. The score by Howard Shore is spectacular and touching.

The actors give great performances. Ian McKellen is absolutely stunning as Gandalf, and seems to be born to play the character. Richard Armitage plays Thorin in a very fascinating way. British Martin Freeman is absolutely perfect to play Bildo. Andy Serkis still does an amazing job with Gollum.

Quotes

Bilbo Baggins: Good morning.

Gandalf: What do you mean? Do you mean to wish me a good morning or do you mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not? Or perhaps you mean to say that you feel good on this particular morning. Or are you simply stating that this is a morning to be good on?

Bilbo Baggins: All of them at once, I suppose.

Bilbo Baggins: I have... I have never used a sword in my life.

Gandalf: And I hope you never have to. But if you do, remember this: true courage is about knowing not when to take a life, but when to spare one.

New JURASSIC WORLD Trailer Clamps Down Hard On Action

This is a little more like it; more action and more teeth! The latest and greatest trailer for Universal's JURASSIC WORLD succeeds on amping up the frenzy and emotion as we get closer to the dinosaurs AND the release date.

Obviously this time of year is huge for trailers as Cinemacon opens in Las Vegas bringing theater owners to their own Comic-Con of sorts (not open to the general public). I definitely tried to make it this year but alas wasn't able to make it. Next year is a definite must see as is the year after.

Here's the storyline for the movie:
Steven Spielberg returns to executive produce the long-awaited next installment of his groundbreaking Jurassic Park series, Jurassic World. Colin Trevorrow directs the epic action-adventure from a screenplay he wrote with Derek Connolly. Frank Marshall and Patrick Crowley join the team as producers.

JURASSIC WORLD opens WIDE on June 12.

Netflix Monthly Movie: The Flight That Disappeared (1961)

 

The Flight That Disappeared (1961) is clearly a low-budget picture and has a very small scope. There's the interior of the plane (cockpit, cabin, and lounge), some shots of a plane flying - stock footage, and the interior of the control center/airport office (whatever they're called). It has three main characters played by actors that I have never heard of. It was directed by Reginald Le Borg and has a running time of 71 minutes.

The movie begins with passengers boarding Flight 60 on a small commercial plane en route to Washington DC. Three of the passengers are scientists, who have been summoned to DC to attend a classified meeting concerning a new bomb design. I enjoyed seeing the depiction of what early commercial flight was like. I don't know how accurate it was. The stewardesses seemed to be taking their time passing out the lunch trays.

The movie suddenly turns into a long episode of The Twilight Zone. The plane gains altitude in order to fly over a storm and continues to rise instead of leveling off. Then all of the engines stop running but still the plane keeps rising. No one can figure out what the problem is. The plane loses radio contact with their base and after a long time of there being no word from the plane, it is thought to have crashed. A search for the missing plane begins on the ground.

Meanwhile, in the air, the plane is still flying upwards. They are unaware of the search going on for them below. Some of the passengers start to need oxygen and the stewardesses slowly pass them out as the people begin getting light-headed or fainting one by one. They do this without supplying oxygen for themselves first, causing them to faint as well. Soon, everyone on the plane is sleeping/passed out, including the pilots in the cockpit. The only three people on the plane awake are Dr. Carl Morris - a scientist who has invented a beta-bomb, his assistant Marcia Paxton - a mathematician, and another scientist - Tom Endicott - who has invented a rocket launcher. They are played by Dayton Lummis, Paula Raymond, and Craig Hill respectively. The stewardesses are played by Nancy Hale and Bernadette Hale; I don't think they are related.

They discover that their watches have stopped and the plane does not appear to be moving. They also notice that their hearts are not beating, causing them to wonder if they are dead. While they are discussing this strange experience (in the lounge), they hear a voice from outside the plane. They exit and find themselves in a cloud and rock formation land. There they meet the people who will populate Earth in the future. These future people have summoned the scientists because they have created a bomb that could wipe out the Earth and therefore the future. They take a vote and decide to sentence them to remain in this limbo for eternity in order to give the future people a chance to live. The scientist run back to the plane which suddenly disappears.

 


The "future" people

Suddenly, everyone is back on the plane and awake. Tom discovers he hit his head and blacked out. The stewardess tells him he must have been dreaming. Dr. Morris has the other two come back to the lounge and they discover that they all had the same "dream."
When the plane finally lands, it is discovered that Flight 60 is 24 hours late! Then it wasn't a dream after all!
What do the scientists decide to do? Do they go ahead with the bomb? Or do they destroy the deadly knowledge they hold?



Dr. Carl Morris, Marcia Paxton, and Tom Endicott

The movie was a bit slow but I don't regret watching it. If you have an hour it's not a bad movie to watch, especially if you like The Twilight Zone (one of the less weird episodes). All of the main characters remind me of other, more famous actors. If this would have been a bigger budget film, it would have had Monty Wooley in the role of Dr. Morris, Barbara Hale (or Yvonne De Carlo) as Marcia Paxton, and Robert Cummings as Tom Endicott.

Here's a funny review of the movie (where I got the pictures - Netflix doesn't allow screenshots).



Plane interior



Cockpit



Lounge

 

NEXT MONTH:

Which looks nothing like this one by the way...