UPDATED: NECA 2014 preview!

Our cool pals over at NECA have been sneaking out glimpses of their 2014 figure lines, and are they ever up to some mischief! First off (tentatively March) we get a continuation of the Pacific Rim line, featuring fan-favorite Russian Jaeger "Cherno Alpha," a walking, kaiju-slamming, nuclear cooling tower, as well as Coyote Tango. Totally awesome! 

Then we got our first glimpse of their exciting new Planet of the Apes line, which aims to offer us a comprehensive assortment of figures from the entire history of the Apes franchise... 

But of course, the most eagerly awaited of all is their 35th Anniversary Alien line. NECA has been teasing us with this stuff since last July's Comic Con, and this promises to be their most popular line to date, potentially eclipsing their Predator and Terminator licences - assuming they obtain the widest possible range of likeness rights... Some really eye-popping stuff going on at NECA. We'll keep you posted as more details on these figures see the light of day. 

 

Mama joins the murky rising tide

We're continuing to see a trend in horror that harkens back to revisionist spins on the classic ghost yarn, now that we seem to be out of the J-horror era. One of the latest is Mama, from director-writer Andrés Muschietti, expanded from his short film under the producorial hand of Guillermo del Toro and some screenplay assistance from Luther creator Neil Cross. These newer horror films have been stylistically influenced by films like Ringu (The Ring), but harken back to old school thrillers like The Haunting and The Uninvited. Previous films like The Orphanage and del Toro's own The Devil's Backbone paved the way, and it's only become more pronounced with subsequent films such as The Woman In Black, Don 't Be Afraid of the Dark and The Conjuring.


Spiritual visitations upon childhood are a major del Toro theme, so it makes perfect sense that he'd be a voice behind bringing Mama to a wider audience. The film shares many common elements with The Conuring, but it's also very difficult to talk about without giving too much away. I saw the film knowing next to nothing about the plot, and I'm glad that's the case.

The film involves events of the past, plaguing visitations upon the present. Jessica Chastain (in a change of pace role) and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones' Jaime Lannister) play the adults trying to navigate things from a real world perspective, despite the upper hand of those with stronger connections to other realms. Coster-Waldau is particularly good. Yes, I'm being as vague as I possibly can.

If you enjoy these types of horror pictures like I do, and if this trend towards supernatural classicism gives you hope for the genre, then you should definitely give Mama a spin. It's extremely inventive and suspenseful and Muschietti does a great job of tickling the ivories here. I'd be raving a lot more enthusiastically if it weren't for my reactions to the film's final act. Some substantial plot conveniences are taken in the name of hastening the climax along, and I had a pretty strong reaction to the direction the filmmakers leaned to at the very end. But, strong reactions are good - at least it means the creators were taking some chances and following their sense of story. I just wish the outcome hadn't left me feeling so detached from the emotions I'd invested along the way, and so vexed at forces that don't play by the rules we'd been told to believe. 

"They are inclined to be fat in the stomach..." The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

This is a hard one to write, make no mistake! I felt a bit off on my own with An Unexpected Journey, as I seemed to be part of a small minority that tried to embrace that film on its own terms, despite its imperfections. If anything it was a heartfelt love letter to Middle Earth, say what you will. 

Advance word on The Desolation of Smaug was extremely positive, so I was giddy with anticipation and chomping at the bit for more of the adventures of Bilbo and company - and if you have any fondness for Peter Jackson's first Hobbit installment, you're likely to enjoy this one even more - there's no question it's worth seeing theatrically. But my overall reaction to The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is a very mixed one. 

There is so much to admire in this film! The work of countless artisans and design wizards - special effects that boggle the mind. Much of the magic previously conjured-up in Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy certainly makes an appearance here. This is a gorgeous production. But seeing The Desolation of Smaug is a bit like being served a seventy-five pound lobster. The excessiveness and elephantine expansion of beloved sequences has been allowed to over-inflate with unchecked abandon. If ever there was a film that could have benefited from the objective input of a concerned producer or editor, it's The Desolation of Smaug. Virtually no scene unfolds with the mantra of less-is-more. 

In part two of Jackson's Hobbit trilogy we meet shape-changing bear-man Beorn (Mikael Persbrandt), depicted here as Middle Earth's own Wolverine, right down to the haircut. Beorn helps our travelers elude pursuing Orcs, still Captained by the fearsome Azog. Burglar and dwarves cut through Mirkwood forest, only to be set upon by battalions of hideous spiders. Escape only lands them in the hands of the Mirkwood elves, where we learn Rings heartthrob Legolas hails from. This Legolas is a much darker, warrior-type than we previously knew, beholden to his dour and sardonic father, elf-King Thranduil. Bilbo's company gains an ally in elven warrior Tauriel - a Jackson creation not out of Tolkien, but a welcome addition. Evangeline Lilly is strong and engaging here, practically the only female character on view, somewhat similar to the Eowyn role in The Two Towers. She's a breath of fresh air after the long slog with umpteen bearded dwarves. Eventually, the party arrives at Lake Town and from there, Erebor - The Lonely Mountain, and Bilbo's face-to-face encounter with the titular fire drake.

When we finally do meet Smaug, he doesn't disappoint. Smaug himself is wonderfully rendered (once you get past a long section seen through Bilbo's twilight "ring-vision"). Benedict Cumberbatch gives Smaug tremendous personality, malice, and vanity - he makes Smaug a character, first and foremost - all ego and armor-plated scales. But the dragon scenes in Erebor just go on and on, ultimately wringing every last drop of suspense from things by over familiarity and too many chases and contraptions. Similarly, the barrel escape from Mirkwood has been turned into a Six Flags Great Adventure attraction. It's an endless sequence and Jackson conjures up memories of similarly unchecked directorial excess in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, reminiscent of the eye-rolling sight gags involving one unrealistic waterfall plummet or jungle vine-swing after another. The dragon Smaug has an Achilles' Heel, and so does Jackson - he's way too hung-up on elaborate Rube Goldberg mechanics that try so hard to be clever and kinetic that all credibility is strained beyond belief, with the barrel scenes and Smaug finale being the most oppressive offenders. The film easily feels over thirty-minutes too long, thanks to the indulgences of these scenes, which feel more like video game sequences than cinema. Likewise, there's way too much convoluted business going on in Lake Town, with Stephen Fry's Falstaffian turn and an assistant named Alfrid, who seems to be a complete clone of Brad Dourif's superior Grima Wormtongue in Rings.

There are excellent scenes in between all this excess, however. Sequences with Gandalf exploring the ruins of Dol Guldur are splendid and evoke the same thrills one remembers from Lord of the Rings. Lake Town hero Bard (Luke Evans) shows promise, and should be the focus of plenty of action in the third film, There and Back Again.

The Desolation of Smaug is challenging. I've found that subsequent viewings of An Unexpected Journey have only increased my affection for the film, and I hope that same thing happens here. It's a rousing epic made with only the biggest helpings of love for the source material on the part of the filmmakers. Caveats now said, I do recommend seeing it in a theater, but if I had my druthers, I'd definitely skip the unnecessary 3D. The movie's color palate is so gray and so much of it consists of indoor sequences, it feels like a black and white film - so 3D only serves to deliver a dimmer image, when things are already far too dim enough.

The reviews and box office for Smaug seem more energized than the first film, so I hope my enthusiasm only grows over time. I'm certainly in awe of the craftsmanship and design prowess on display here - I just wish there was a much firmer hand in the editing - with both the dailies and the screenplay.

Tolkien said it himself - Hobbits tend to be a bit over-stuffed in their mid-sections. This mid-section is certainly faithful to the author on that score.

Kurt Sutter: The Executioner's Song

Being a Sons of Anarchy fan, I'm still reeling and trying to recover after this week's sixth season finale - fear not, no spoilers lurk here. But let's just say there have been some major, major events on the show this year, stuff I would have never imagined creator Kurt Sutter dishing out until next years' seventh and final season. But Sutter doesn't shy away from anything, and this year he's written nearly every episode of Sons and whenever I see his name in the writing credits, I feel I ought to swallow and brace myself for what's coming. He's given us a riveting, brutal and anything but safe season, probably the series' best to date, and that's saying a lot. A lot of gasping and shouting at the TV set in our house.


Almost immediately after the finale aired, official word came of Sutter's post Sons plans, once he wraps up the series in 2014 - and are they ever exciting plans. With his work on The Shield and Sons, Sutter clearly has Keys to the Kingdom status over at FX Network. So when Imagine Entertainment's Brian Grazer brought his idea of a Medieval knight turned executioner in the era of Edward III, FX immediately thought of Sutter as the man to bring The Bastard Executioner to life. Bastard Executioner tells the story of a warrior knight in the service of King Edward III who is broken by the ravages of war and vows to lay down his sword. But when violence finds him again he is forced to pick up the bloodiest sword of all. “I love the network. I love the world. I love the blood,” Sutter said. The pilot is expected to film late next year after wrapping the final episodes of SOA.

“For 13 years at FX, starting as a writer and working his way up to an executive producer on The Shield, then as Creator/Executive Producer of Sons Of Anarchy, Kurt has interwoven literary and pulp storytelling within two of the most successful series in cable history,” said FX Networks CEO John Landgraf. “Now he has conceived a deep, provocative and historically precise narrative journey into our medieval past — and I have no doubt Bastard Executioner will be another remarkably original and gripping series. We’re also thrilled to be in business with Brian Grazer, one of the most gifted film and TV producers in the business.” Clearly visions of Game of Thrones audience addiction are dancing in their heads at FX, after all - aren't SAMCRO bikers just outlaw knights of a different era?

“I find the executioner to be an incredibly fascinating and provocative character,” said Grazer. “He deals with the highest order and the lowest order in the culture. It’s about as morally complex a profession as you can imagine, and it is going to make for a spellbinding series.” Grazer pitched the concept to 20th Century Fox co-chairs Dana Walden and Gary Newman, then Sutter created a whole canvas around the idea and they took it to FX, who bought it instantly. “It was our great pleasure to introduce Kurt to Brian Grazer, who is a powerful force in our industry and a great champion of breakthrough films and television shows like Imagine’s own 24 and Arrested Development,” Walden and Newman said. “Kurt and Brian together will be unstoppable.”

Christmas trailer mania!

The holiday box office is in full swing, but Hollywood has its gaze focused on next Summer, and beyond.
There have been some very interesting trailers out over the last couple of days...

First up is Jupiter Ascending, a far-flung sci-fi flick from Lana and Andy Wachowski (The Matrix, Cloud Atlas), with Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum as some kind of satyr-looking super soldier. Moments inspire a Fifth Element trepidation, but this is undeniably fascinating and could work - the Wachowskis have a vision, make no mistake...



Then, for my money, the big winner - Godzilla, the long anticipated follow-up to director Gareth Edwards' Monsters - probably the best movie per-budget-dollar I've seen in years. If you've never seen it, seek it out. I just hope he can deliver as much inventiveness now that he has a completely unhinged budget. But friends, based on this trailer, it appears he's taken full advantage of the opportunity. This sprawling canvas (with Bryan Cranston!)  looks like it will forever make us forget both Roland Emmerich's effort as well as Cloverfield - this Godzilla looks like the behemoth to beat in a post Pacific Rim universe - bring on next May!

GREAT news: A rave for Smaug! UPDATED!!!

Consider this huge and excellent news! Thanks to the lovely folk at theonering.net for the news that while there is a review embargo and nondisclosure agreement in effect for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, TIME magazine has declared it to be one of the year's best films!

"Who could guess, after the meandering first feature in a seemingly unnecessary eight-hour trilogy of films based on a novel of less than 300 pages, that Peter Jackson had such a vigorous and thrilling middle episode in store? With Bilbo (Martin Freeman), Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and the dwarves finally done with introductory dawdling, they dive into a nonstop adventure among the noble Elves, the rough-hewn humans of Laketown and the ferocious dragon Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch).

This time, Andy Serkis has not lent his presence to Gollum, but his work as second-unit director is spectacular. Each complex encounter, especially a flume-ride escape of the dwarves, boasts a teeming ingenuity of action and character. A bonus: the budding romance of the warrior Elf Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly) and the dwarf hunk Kili (Aidan Turner). In all, this is a splendid achievement, close to the grandeur of Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films."

If that doesn't light a fire in your pipe, nothing will! Very exciting!
Here's the complete list of TIME's Top 10 films, for your perusal.

UPDATE: Revered Empire Magazine has published their Desolation of Smaug review, now that the embargo is over - a whopping FIVE STAR (unmissable) review - their highest rating!

"Middle-earth's got its mojo back. A huge improvement on the previous installment, this takes our adventurers into uncharted territory and delivers spectacle by the ton."

Sounds like we have one heck of a movie on our hands in just a few short days!

You listening, perp? Dredd is the law!

Here in the States, it can be hard to find a Judge Dredd fan. Too many moviegoers merely roll their eyes (rightfully so) and try and suppress the memory of the woefully misguided Sylvester Stallone misfire from the summer of 1995. Coming on the heels of films like Braveheart and Apollo 13, Stallone's Judge Dredd was off on nearly every level - Dredd even removed his helmet, for cryin' out loud! That's like Dirty Harry wearing a corset and stockings to work vice.

I missed 2012's Dredd in theaters, but over the last year it's been building some sizable word of mouth. So when I saw it in Amazon's Black Friday sale for the ridiculous price of eight bucks, I had to satisfy my curiosity. Money well spent! This lean and faithful Dredd is to its lame precursor what Daniel Craig's Casino Royale is to David Niven's.

Karl Urban (aka Leonard McCoy 2.0) plays futuristic lawman Judge Dredd as though he stepped right out of the pages of UK comic 2000 A.D. Beneath the helmet, all you see is the sneering mouth and lantern jaw of Mega City One's sternest enforcer - and what a downturned sneer it is! Urban and director Pete Travis get the tone just right and deliver a lean and particularly mean dose dystopia. If Dredd has a soulmate predecessor, it's Paul Verhoeven's Robocop - which is perfect, as Robo's "Your move, creep," persona reminded many viewers of Judge Dredd the comic when it can out. This Dredd is equally programmed and single-minded, poised on the edge of outright satire. But Dredd is also wildly, enthusiastically violent in a way that we haven't really seen since Verhoeven's heyday. Heads explode and bodies come apart with unhinged abandon.

Dredd's tasked with assessing a rookie partner - Judge Anderson, straight out of the comics - a female Judge with unique psychic abilities. Their training day takes a bad turn when they become locked in the siege of a gigantic apartment block (think Cabrini Green on steroids), ruled by unflinchingly violent drug lord Ma-Ma, wonderful depicted by Game of Thrones' Lena Headey, adding another despicable villainess to her resume.

Ma-Ma's drug of choice is a sci-fi brain popper called Slo-Mo, that gives the user a surreal, ultra slow-motion perception of the world which Travis has great fun with.

Think of all the times you pop in a sci-fi action flick hoping for something that really delivers only to be dismally disappointed. Dredd had me immediately primed for a sequel. It's a superior action movie that remembers how they used to make 'em and actually bothers to be fun. Dredd is a blast and that helmet is never coming off!