It's VERY Hard...

My head is FULL of useless trivia and knowledge about things in which most people have no interest. This, coupled with my self-diagnosed attention-deficit disorder, sometimes cause me to come across as bizarre or overbearing. I at least get to entertain myself, though.
 This brings me to this post. I finally had a chance to stop and watch "FURY" (the WWII movie featuring Brad Pitt leading a tank crew) last night. Interesting flick, but-- of course-- I was distracted by a recurring feature of one of the main stars, Logan Lerman (of Percy Jackson movies fame).

You can't tell me that you don't see it.

All I'm Sayin' Is....

Original opening to "Wild, Wild West"

Updated Opening

  I KNOW everyone had their fill of horrible, campy 90's 'big screen' theatrical re-makes of vintage television shows (Beverly Hillbillies, My Favorite Martian, The Brady Bunch, etc.), and some were better than others.
 One of the most appalling was the forgettable Will Smith/Kevin Kline version of "Wild, Wild West". In all seriousness, I think it would be a good idea to try again to get it right, if not only to wash that terrible movie memory far away.



 As I was watching a rerun of the 2009 JJ Abrams  "Star Trek" remake on FX, it occurred to me that two of the stars would be perfect for a well-written, modern attempt to update one of my favorite shows from my childhood.
 The onscreen chemistry of Christopher Pine and Karl Urban (who is fantastic in everything he does) would translate well to these macho, handsome and savvy government secret agents.
 To illustrate my point, I have created a few graphics to show how easy it would be for these guys to capture the feel and intent of the ground-breaking 1960's television show.

Robert Conrad and Ross Martin

Chris Pine and Karl Urban

I'm just saying that I think these two seem to work well together, and that with the strides in special effects and improvements over 90's hack scriptwriting, that a legitimate attempt to bring an exciting, swashbuckling, wild-west espionage shoot-em-up to the big screen is long overdue.

An homage, as it were, to when the days when tv was good. Or didn't have "CSI" or "SVU" or whatever in the title of every show.

Strangely Surprised....And Entertained!

I don't know if it was the medication or the ungodly early time of day, but I was strangely surprised this morning by a movie that, when I saw the ads-- and particularly the star-- was initially unappealing to me.

Jax, our Maltese, had climbed on top of my stomach and began licking me in the face to let me know that it was time for me to get up and let him outside. I didn't want to wake my lovely wife Alice, so I turned on the coffee pot, went out and  got the paper, and flipped on the television.

 Based on a video game, filled with special-effects, and starring Jake Gyllenhal (who looks like a 'Bizarro' Toby McGuire!), "PRINCE of PERSIA: The Sands of Time" was actually VERY entertaining.

Once you get past all the Anglo (white) actors playing Arabian characters (and speaking with British accents), the movie IS quite action-packed and entertaining. Combining elements of "Aladdin", "Gladiator", and the swashbuckling of "Pirates of the Caribbean", I found myself interested and actually enjoying this movie! Weird...!

  Later, after watching (between dozing off into cat-naps) the Saints top the Panthers, I flipped over and --to my surprise-- caught the beginning of "The A-Team".

Again, a movie that I never intended to watch turned out to be an adequate homage to the classic 80's television show of the same name. Explosions, stunt driving, fistfights. Betrayed by the covert operatives who hired them. I was reminded of the recent based-on-a-comic book movie "The Losers". Then I remembered that the ORIGINAL A-Team did it FIRST! The only thing I didn't care for was the  standard hollywood "evil CIA-corrupt Army officer" bullcrap. 

All-in-all, though, I actually truly enjoyed both flicks.

New Movie "Superman" Is Chosen

Up! Up! And Awaaayyyyy....!!

Warner Bros. has announced that British actor Henry Cavill has been picked to portray the iconic superhero Superman in the upcoming feature.

Read the story HERE.

Plenty of Explosions and Punches, But Sadly, GREEN HORNET Lacks 'STING'

FAIL


I went to the free preview of "The GREEN HORNET" last night, and I have to say that I was a little disappointed. The lame advertising tag line "They have to break the law to save it" was weak, and -as I feared- also signaled a weak plot.
As a fan of the original TV series (which was an adaptation of a comic which was an adaptation of a radio show), I was curious how the classic 'Kato' character (originated by the legendary BRUCE LEE) would be portrayed. I was pleasantly surprised by the stereotypically stoic-yet-comically-explosive performance by Jay Chou. He was a brilliant 'Kato'.

The title character, however, was a different story altogether. The Green Hornet needed to be strong and assertive. Seth Rogen tried, but he’s just goofy. (Also being the co-writer & co-producer, the humor was just ‘mildly entertaining’-- like anything else he does) The sets and 3D were very cool! The action was pretty good, but the gratuitous fight scenes were too few. It was as if the movie would ‘try’ to take off, but Rogen’s sub-par talent would just drag it back to mediocrity.