Rule 32: Enjoy the little things in life.

So at long last, the weekend is upon us. Scott Pilgrim is out in theaters, for all to see. But how does it stack up? There has been a bit of hype built up around this movie. Respected source material, well respected director with a unique style and some decent names (Michael Cera, Brandon Routh, Chris Evans, Jason Schwartzman). But these can also make things harder, with that much source material, it is possible to make a decent adaptation? Let’s see.

My first experience with Scott Pilgrim was seeing the trailer for the first time on Kotaku. Cited as a video game reference movie, I watched it. Then I watched it again. Then I watched it again. I was enamored, it looked really awesome and quite a bit silly. Then I read down in the comments section that it was basic on some comics. Curiosity piqued, I snatched those right up and read ‘em all in a day, and I really enjoyed them. They do start off a little slow, but once Ramona shows up and the fights began, I was hooked. Each subsequent volume was better, culminating with the recently released volume six, which was my favorite.

So good source material, check. Ok, what’s next? Well, movies need directors, and this directors was no slouch. Famous for being ‘the third guy behind the camera’ with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, Edgar Wright did an awesome job conveying his very cool and unique vision for the movie. Having perfected his style with Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, he was an excellent choice and he did an awesome job. I really liked his adaptation, he did a great job, he was passionate, and I can’t really say there’s anyone I’d rather have seen direct it.

Director Edgar Wright

Next, the cast. They really did a great job. I’ll admit, I was a bit nervous at first with Michael Cera being cast as Scott as the role was a little more cocky than his normal parts, but it appears my fears were unfounded and he did a very fine job. Rest of the cast was great, too. I really enjoyed Schwartzman in movies like Rushmore and The Darjeeling Limited, so it was a pleasure to see him as Gideon. Chris Evans, aka the new Captain America, and Brandon Routh, aka Superman and that guy from Chuck, did great jobs as Lucas Lee and Todd respectively, two of Ramona’s evil exes. The rest of the cast were all unknowns to me, but they all did a great job. Mary Elizabeth Winstead did a fantastic job as the aloof and mysterious Ramona, and suddenly has many many fanboy crushes on her. Kieran Culkin (Macaulay’s younger brother) almost stole the show as Wallace, Scott’s gay and hilarious roommate. Alison Pill and Mark Webber did great as Kim Pine and Stephen Stills, the other members of the Sex B-ombs. Anna Kendrick did great as the  sarcastic younger Stacey Pilgrim. Really, the whole cast did great with their roles.

Scott, Ramona, Young Neil, Knives, Kim, Stephen Stills

I have to say I really did enjoy the movie. It was the best adaptation they could have made. No, it was not 100% true to the source, but given the amount of content in six 150-200 page graphic novels, some creative editing was required. The end result was a wildly entertaining and fantastic ride. I was laughing throughout most of the movie, pop culture references galore. From Zelda to the Seinfeld scene, it’s a fast paced thrill ride, full of amusing characters and great action moments. I was very pleased and happy. Was very amusing watching Scott try to hookup with the way-out-of-his-league Ramona.

(Minor spoilers ahead)
I have to say, the end made me nervous at first. It hints at the possibility that Scott ends up with the wrong girl. In both the comics and movie, I never really liked the parts with the particular younger character, nothing against the actress, just didn’t like Scott’s relationship with her, so when movie hints Scott may end up with her instead of the proper girl, I was ready to be upset. But in the end Scott goes with who he’s supposed to. I have no problem that the end’s different from the comics, I understand the ending in the book is too long for film, that’s fine. Just have to have Scott end up with the proper girl in the end.

The 7 evil exes

I heard someone mention that Scott Pilgrim VS the World was the best video game movie made. And I can’t say that I disgree. While not based on a video game, it really has the feel one one. A princess to win, seven bosses, and wild over the top action, all the elements are there. It really is a great movie and you do need to see it. And while I may like the comics more, that’s only because there’s more time to flesh things out and see more of the characters and their interactions. I did feel the ending in the comics was more satisfying, I really enjoyed the movie and came away with a big grin on my face. Please go see it, I’d really like to see this movie do well in the box office.

"Ramona" by Guster is also a great song

–theindiegeek out.

Love it or hate it, the Dynasty Warriors series has been around for quite a while, and it probably isn’t going anywhere soon. I find myself in the former category. While I’ll admit the series has its faults (namely the lack of change), there’s something about mindlessly slaughtering hundreds of troops in a few minutes with nothing more than a spear and an over the top moveset. Throw in co-op, and you’ve got a recipe for some good fun. A recipe that hasn’t actually changed much. Ever. But even with just minor changes from game to game, it’s still quite fun.

Believe it or not, Dynasty Warriors actually has a historical setting, and the characters you play as were actual people. Set during the Three Kingdoms Era of Chinese history (roughly 180-290 AD), during which, three kingdoms, Wei, Shu, and Wu were battling for domination of China. Constantly warring. This inspired the great historical epic Romance of the Three Kingdoms (similar to Homer’s Illiad). Dynasty Warriors was based directly upon this epic.

Now, recently released on DVD and Blu-ray was a movie by John Woo (famous for Hardboiled and other Hong Kong action movies) entitled Red Cliffm which in Chinese is Chi Bi. Any Dynasty Warriors fan should instantly recognize the name. It was a very important battle and generally the midway point in DW. In the battle, the much smaller armies of Wu and Shu ally to defeat the much greater and powerful Wei through means of tactics, trickery, and having awesome generals. That’s oversimplifying it, but its the gist. The movie starts a bit before (Chang Ban) and shows the developing alliance and ends with the titular battle. Now, that’s all well and good, but does the movie entertain?

In a word, yes. In two words, hell yes. Filled with action as only the master John Woo can do, it’s a great war movie with spectacular battle scenes. As a fan of Dynasty Warriors, it was with great glee seeing some of my favorite characters portrayed. Tony Leung did a fantastic job and Zhou Yu, a favorite character of mine, and the general tactician for the battle at Chi Bi.  Also appearing are Zhuge Liang, Gan Ning, Sun Quan, Xiao Qiao, Sun Shang Xiang ,Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Cao Cao and more. So while it’s not everyone we’d like to see, it’s still a damn fine list. And the characters really do look their part. Quite excellent.

It’s important to note there are two versions of the movie, the Theatrical version and the International version. See, Red Cliff was originally released in two parts, but Woo shortened it for American release and so it could be viewed in a single sitting. My advice? I watched the Theatrical, loved it, and ordered the International Blu-ray. I advise you do the same. Watch the shorter one, see if you like it, then go order the full one.

I started out with Dynasty Warriors 2 on the PS2, and I was blown away. Had so much fun playing it. I then played all from 4 on, all the way through 6 Empires (4, 4 Xtreme Legends, 4 Empires, 5, 5 Xtreme….) including Samurai and Gundam Warriors and Orochi. Granted each are basically the same with a few small to medium differences, but they’re still fun, and the small changes are enough for die hards like myself. I’d like to make special note of the Empires and Orochi games. The Empires games play like a lite version of Risk and have always been quite fun. The Orochi games are crossovers between Dynasty and Samurai games, and instead of controlling a single character, you set up a team of three you can rotate on the fly, and there’s special team attacks, kind of like Marvel VS Capcom. Fun.

The Dynasty Warriors

The Dynasty Warriors games have always been about over the top action, cool characters and hacking and slashing and slashing and hacking. Red Cliff is an excellent war movie depicting one of the most exciting battles from the era. I highly recommend both.

–theindiegeek.

Went and saw The A-Team last night. Wasn’t sure what to expect. The trailer looked good, but the reviews have been all over the place. The cast looked great, but you really don’t know what to expect. So I went in trying my best to cast expectations aside, which really wasn’t that difficult as I hadn’t seen the original (although it is on netflix instant). The movie got off to a good start with a few good trailers, particularly Inception and Scott Pilgrim, both of which I’m super excited for. Then the movie began…

The reason we go to movies (barring Oscar judging snobs) is to be entertained, correct? Consequently, by that merit The A-Team is a huge success. It was fun, action-packed and absolutely hilarious. Everyone in my group was cracking up the entire time. It’s over the top in the best way. I’m more than willing to sacrifice realism for awesome.

As stated before, I haven’t seen the original A-Team, but I did love the cast. They really made the movie. Liam Neeson performed his usual standard of excellence as team leader Hannibal Smith (great name). Bradly Cooper did a great job as Face, probably my favorite character for his demeanor and his role as the hands on guy (like Elliot in Leverage). Quinton Jackson is no Mr. T, but does the job well. The real surprise was Sharlto Copely as Murdock. Copely’s only other real movie was District 9 , granted he played the main character. He was hilarious. By far the funniest character in the movie. Pretty much everything out of his mouth was a hoot. Great casting for the main characters.

Rest of the cast was pretty average. Not bad but nothing to write home about, Patrick Wilson being a very notable exception.  Wilson, aka Nite Owl II from The Watchmen, did a fantastic job as CIA Agent Lynch. Portrayed an enigmatic and commanding CIA agent quite well. Props to Wilson.

The A-Team is a fun over the top action movie with a great cast. Don’t think about it too hard and just sit back and laugh

So last night, my sister managed to pull me away from Doctor Who to watch the new Alice in Wonderland. Not sure exactly how she did it, I think she bribed me with food. That would work. So I ate and watched. And in the end, I came away smiling. It wasn’t what I expected, but it was a fun movie and very entertaining. So please, enjoy my write up which as my friend Pawn Shop Casey would say, “will be filled with wonder…. mystery…. and danger….”

Welcome to Wonderland

First and foremost, it is very, very important to know that it is not a remake or update of the cartoon you saw as a kid. Very important to remember this. And I think this is where most of us will have a problem with the movie. Let me explain: same title, same characters, new director, years later. We are naturally inclined to believe this is a remake. But it isn’t. In a nutshell, Lewis Carrol wrote two stories about Alice: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and Through the Looking Glass (and what Alice found there). The cartoon you remember is based more upon the former, the new one is moreso based upon the latter, and Carrol’s poem Jabberwocky (a really fantastic poem in which half the words are made up) and Tim Burton’s own vision. So while it has familiar characters, the events are quite different, though different doesn’t equal bad. (For my programmer friends: different!=bad).

Now, Tim Burton. His works range from absolutely magnificent (Nightmare before Christmas) to, shall we say not so great? (Batman….). But he definitely know his style and sticks to it. It’s just that the style is better for some works than others. Apparently he’s working on a new Addams Family movie (according to imdb). This is perfect. And I think Wonderland did fit his style. It has the magical, whimsical and strangeness he thrives with. And his vision of Wonderland was great. He did a good job with the visuals. Also, Danny Elfman did his always awesome job with the music. I have yet to hear a Danny Elfman score that hasn’t impressed me. Props to him, always.

The cast was what really did it for me though. They really worked well with the magical world (and green screen) they were given. Of course Johnny Depp was great as the Mad Hatter, Mia Wasikowska was a great lead as the lovely and spirited Alice. Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry and Cristopher Lee lend their voices to the Blue Caterpiller, Chesire Cat and Jabberwocky respectively. I love their voices, all of ‘em, just great wonderful recognizable voices, like Morgan Freeman.  The cast was great, especially the voice actors.

When I was younger, I watched the cartoon alot. Alot alot. There’s a reason two of my common screen names are The March Hare and The Mad Hatter. I loved the magic and the weirdness that was Wonderland. So like most people, I had many preconceived notions when it came to the movie, and I feel that my enjoyment of this one suffered a bit because of this. But I still did enjoy it. It is a good fantasy movie. But if you can minimize your preconceived notions as much as you can, you’ll love the movie even more. It wasn’t what I expected, but it was quite fun. I do plan on watching it again.

Over the past weekend, I finally had the chance to see a movie that had long been on my list of ‘to-sees’. Not sure how it was elsewhere, but around here it seemed like Pirate Radio was only playing at one theater and for only a couple weeks, so despite my best efforts, I was not able to see it in theater. Needless to say, this disappointed me greatly, as an indie film about rock and roll with an amazing cast, I was very eager to see it. I’m very glad to say that upon a finished viewing of said movie, I was not disappointed. Pirate Radio is well worth your time and an all around fantastic movie.

Pirate Radio, aka The Boat that Rocked in Europe, is about a rock ‘n roll radio station housed on an old fishing boat, broadcasting to all of Britain 24/7 during the mid 1960’s. Despite the government’s best efforts to ban the ‘filthy music’, the pirate radio station continues to travel the airwaves while it’s motley crew of DJs and sailors live their carefree lives away in near-bliss.

Being a movie about rock ‘n roll, one would expect the soundtrack to also be about rock ‘n roll. And one would be correct. The soundtrack is quite awesome. Ranging from The Kinks, to Smokey Robinson, to Jeff Beck, The Who, Cream, Leonard Cohen and Procol Harum, the soundtrack is really an ode to the period. Such a fantastic collection of songs from the era, it is a joy to listen to. I highly recommend buying it.

Now a movie about a rock and roll radio station wouldn’t be complete without DJs of appropriate craziness to go along and serve up the music. Pirate Radio has a truly impressive cast. Philip Seymour Hoffman plays The Count, an American who came to England for the sole purpose of playing rock ‘n roll. I must say this is one of my favorite roles Seymour Hoffman has played (and that’s saying something). A very fun and interesting character to watch, The Count is pure awesomeness. Bill Nighy (Love Actually, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) played Quentin, owner of the station. Rhys Darby (Flight of the Conchords’ Murray) plays an equally awkward Angus. Nick Frost (Spaced, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) plays the sex-addled Doctor Dave. Needless to say, Nick Frost is great and hilarious in anything he does and this is no exception. Chris O’Dowd (The I.T. Crowd), Kenneth Branagh, Jack Davenport (Pirates of the Caribbean), and Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace) co-star as well.

Now, with a boat full of these crazies, the audience must need someone ‘normal’, a protagonist, someone they can related to to experience this crew and this boat. Luckily, newcomer Tom Sturridge plays Carl, Quentin’s godson, recently expelled from school for smoking and sent to live on the boat by his mother. A likeable character, he does the job well.

Pirate Radio is an extremely enjoyable movie with a very likeable cast, fantastic soundtrack and great sense of humor. Do yourself a favor and watch it.

–theindiegeek.

A long long time ago in a galaxy far away, a saga was born. And it was great. Great characters, epic story, good versus evil, this movie had it all. Two more movies later, and the Star Wars Trilogy was complete. A bright, shining example of greatness. Thus everyone hungered for more. Fast forward to not so long ago at a movie theatre near you, we finally got our wish. And the lesson we all learned was ‘Be careful what you wish for’. But I digress. Remember the hype? The promises of greatness? The sheer excitement of, simply put, more Star Wars? Enter our hereos. Five friends in their mid-twenties for whom Star Wars is more than a hobby, more than a great movie. It’s a way of life. It’s a fandom.

Windows, Zoe, Eric, Hutch and Linus: The Fanboys

Set shortly (six months, twelve days, eight hours and a few minutes to be exact) prior to the release of Episode I, Fanboys follows our heroes as they undergo one of the most fantastic heists in geek history. They plan to sneak into Skywalker Ranch under the cover of night and steal a copy of Episode I. Along their way, they encounter such trials as Trekkies, the police, Vegas, Kevin Smith, Seth Rogan the pimp, Darth Maul, parents and a gay bar. All this in the name of friendship, for Linus has inoperable cancer and will not likely survive the six months until the movie is released. So, in the name of friendship and fandom, they set off down the road and into geek history.

What made this movie stand out to me is that you actually grew to really care about and like the characters and empathize with their struggles. They’re more than geeks, they’re actual people. It’s more than a movie about geeks. You care about them, about Linus’ struggle with cancer, with Eric’s inner struggle between what he wants to do and what his parents want him to do, about Windows’ lovelife, about Zoe’s conflict between her geek and feminine sides and Hutch….Hutch is just Hutch.

But yeah, Fanboys would have been a entertaining movie had it been just a Star Wars tribute, but what really elevated it in my mind is the characters and the story. With such likeable characters and the story about friendship and just life made it a great movie. Also, the best use of the song “Fair” by Remy Zero since Garden State. So if you like Star Wars or atleast crazy hijinks, please see Fanboys.

Lastly, the trailer.

–theindiegeek, also a fanboy

Welcome to Shutter Island

About a week ago, a friend and I decided to go to the theater and see Shutter Island after numerous recommendations from friends and family members. Being a fan of many of the people involved, I went in with decently high expectations. After all, this was the team that made The Departed, which was amazing. To sweeten the deal, Shutter Island was written by one of my favorite authors, Dennis Lehane, author of such books as Mystic River, A Drink Before the War, and Gone Baby Gone. Some of the adaptions of his books were great, some were alright. I wanted to see how this one compared.

Let me start by saying this is one of the best book to movie adaptations I’ve seen. It’s one of those cases where the book is already great, and the director doesn’t try to add in a bunch of nonsense because he can. Martin Scorsese is better than that. He remains true to the source material, only cutting minor details due to time constraint. With a story as carefully nuanced as that of Shutter Island, this is important.

Speaking of the story, I am unable to over-emphasize that you have to enjoy psycho-trillers to like this movie.  It is not horror or action, but a Thriller.  My favorite kind of movie. I’m not too keen on horror, apart from zombies, but I love a great mind-bender, and without giving too much away, just remember that Dennis Lehane is a master thriller writer.  The end twist is great, and WILL make you want to see it again.

Of course, a great story is nothing without great characters and great actors to play them.  Leo is great as Marshal Teddy Daniels, as is to be expected.  But let us not forget the rest of the cast.  Mark Ruffalo is fantastic as Daniels’ partner Chuck.  I’ve been a fan of Ruffalo since 2009’s The Brothers Bloom, and was excited to see him in Shutter Island and he did not dissapoint.  Ben Kingsley as Doctor Cawley and Michelle Williams and Teddy’s wife are also stand out performances.

After the movie was over, I stood up in the theater and declared “Now THAT’S a movie. Damn good.”  So yes, it is a good movie.  The visuals are great, as is for most Scorsese movies, there’s some really great shots by the cliffs of the island. Now go see it. Now.

Recently, a friend lent me the DVD Directions by Death Cab for Cutie.  Directions is a visual companion to their album, Plans.  Each video has a different director who was given essentially total creative freedom with their video.  This results in a very creative myriad, each one being quite different from the rest.  The band themselves do not appear it apart from an introduction at the beginning of the DVD, and in the music.  The real goal of the DVD is to present a different way of experiencing the music.  Instead of merely an audio coming from your CD player, the video hopefully enriches the experience that much more.  Do I feel they accomplished that?

I do.  I have been a fan of Death Cab (and Plans) for some time.  But still watching the videos for the songs felt like a new, but familiar, experience.  Well worth watching, a few of my favorites are “Crooked Teeth”, “Jealousy Rides with Me”, and “Summer Skin”.  It is an entertaining experience, the culimination being more that merely a sum of its parts.

–theindiegeek

Now that 2009 is up and over, time for me to rant and rave about the crappiest movie of the year (that I actually saw).  Now, every year will have its stinkers, but you can usually tell most before you actually go to the show.  Others you expect to be mediocre but fun, and they are.  This one is a bit different.  It is a sequel from a big-name director, and I actually enjoyed the first one pretty much.  Wasn’t the biggest fan of the lead, and thought they could do with more of some things and less of others and had hoped for the sequel they’d listen to feed back and get it right.  Boy was I wrong.

The movie, incase you haven’t guessed it yet, is Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen.

Seriously, don't see it.

This movie is shit.  There’s no way around it.  It’s a pile of crap.  The only redeeming thing about it is that it has Optimus Prime in it, but (SPOILERS!) they kill him off halfway through the movie.  They kill Optimus Prime.

They. kill.  Optimus.  Freakin’.  Prime.  WTF?

Seriously?  In favor of what?  More screen time for Shia LaBeouf?  Dude was one of the reasons Indy 4 tanked, although that was unsalvageable from the get-go.  Also, the McGuffin (that is, the mystical plot device that will save everybody from the unspeakable evil, AKA, the thingie)  is called the Matrix of Leadership.  C’MON!  That’s one of the lamest things I’ve ever heard.  Should we call in Morpheus?  Or perhaps Agent Smith?  Mouse?

Really, the movie is one big pile of filth from the start to the end.  Sure the robots look cool, until they talk.  Sure the action is nice, all couple minutes of it.  Megan Fox isn’t bad looking, but there’s tons of better looking actresses who can actually act.  I’ll have to agree with a friend that a burning piece of cardboard would be a suitable replacement:  It’s hotter and a better actor.

Really, if you’re desperate to see robots smash each other, go watch the first one, or better off, Gundam.  Just not this movie.  If you just want a decent movie to watch, I can name you dozens.  Zombieland, Dr. Strangelove, The Assassination of Jesse James, and Brick come to mind off hand.

That is all. theindiegeek out.

Other movies in 2009 friends hated:

G.I. Joe

Angels and Demons

The Orphan

Ninja Assassin

Star Trek

Transformers 2

theindiegeek on: Six-String Samurai

I love netflix, I really do.  But more on that in a future post.  Over the weekend I watched a (seemingly) random movie that was recommended to me because I liked the following movies:

• Doctor Who
• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
• Brick
• A Nightmare Before Christmas
• A Scanner Darkly

Quite an interesting list to recommend a movie with.  Although those five movies are all pretty awesome, have to say.  It sounded quite interesting.  Here’s the premise:

After the Russians lob an atomic bomb at the United States in the late 1950s, survivors flock to the neon lights of “Lost Vegas,” where Elvis Presley is a bona fide king of music and men, but when His Majesty dies unexpectedly, the city’s shiny throne is up for grabs. Armed with a six-string in one hand and a samurai sword in the other, rock ‘n’ roll hipster Buddy (Jeffrey Falcon) vows to make it to Sin City in time for his coronation

What part about that is not awesome?  I’ll admit, it does sound a bit over the top, and at points it is, but in a good way.  The story follows a young boy who’s fleeing across the wasteland with his mother when they are attacked by raiders.  Buddy (the titular Six-String Samurai) steps in but not before the boy’s mother is killed.  The boy starts following Buddy, much to Buddy’s dismay, as the wasteland is no place for kids, and time is short for a guy who’s got a gig in Vegas to get to.

If you know me, you’ll know that I love dystopia/wasteland stories and video games (see earlier post on Fallout 3).  Not that there’s too many of them, but when I find ‘em, I generally love them. (On a side note, if you know of any, please tell me!).  I love seeing how different people see post-apocalypse life carrying out.  The whole thing combining samurai swordplay with rock and roll is too awesome.  Truth be told, it was the kind of concept that could have failed horribly in many different ways.  But on the large part, I think they succeeded.  I very much enjoyed it.  There’s a good soundtrack, and the action is great.  Jeffrey Falcon, who starred and made a good deal of this movie, was formerly a stunt man, in Chinese action movies, so the action is very much akin to that genre.  Now, something needs to be said about the title character.  I think he’s pretty much made of awesome.  Wearing a black and white tux, glasses, stubble, and a samurai sword duct taped to the back of his classic guitar.  One of those characters where most things out of his mouth could be considered badass one-liners.  Seeing the character in action was my favorite part of the movie.

I will admit, this is very much a niche movie and cult classic.  It’s not for everyone, but if you’re at least a bit like me (and if you’re visiting this site, I would hope you are), please check  it out.  The relationship between the boy and Buddy quite reminded me of the relationship between Jake and Roland in The Gunslinger (Dark Tower book 1), and seeing a guy wield both a katana and a guitar is just too awesome to pass up.

–theindiegeek