Gravity Review 10/04/2013

Gravity is a movie about Science and Trust.  Whether it’s a description, recommendation or execution of this movie, science and trust explains it all.  Trust me, go see this movie and you’ll be amazed by the science behind it all.  It’a akin to a wonderful magic trick where you don’t want to know how they did it, you just want to enjoy it.  Although it’s so incredible, you'll want to know how it was made because the visuals are so unbelievable. 

This is not a George Clooney movie.  This is not a Sandra Bullock movie.  This IS an Alfonso Cuarón movie. A more accurate word would be “production.”  Cuarón is the captain of this remarkable movie and there is no doubt that this was a massive undertaking by hundreds of artists.  An undertaking that few would choose and even fewer would succeed.  Fear not, Gravity lives up to the hype.

Before I pontificate, let’s get the business end of this review out of the way.  Go see this movie.  Go see this movie on the biggest, best and truest IMAX 3D that you can find.  The price of movie tickets go up and up, and many times spending money on 3D, IMAX or 3D IMAX is a complete waste of hard earned dollars.  It’s usually just a way for movie studios and theaters to charge you more money.  Gravity is worth the money.  My price was $21 per ticket and it was worth every cent.  You could spend $100+ for a ticket to Disneyland and spend all day going on each ride and you wouldn’t accumulate 90 minutes of actual ride time.  Gravity is a 90 minute roller coaster that is just about as perfect of a ride as you could hope for.  There is no fat on this movie.  From the beginning credits you’re going up a 20,000 mile hill and you don’t stop until the final minute.  Like every great roller coaster, there are moments where you can catch your breath, stabilize and then are sent on to the next set of twists, turns and loops.  Unlike recent movies that try to be a “thrill ride” from beginning to end, such as Star Trek: Into Darkness, this movie does it right.

Both Science and Trust are key elements in this film and to the making of this film.  

The Science in this film is obviously pushed.  I’m assuming this film takes place in current or a near current time.  This isn’t a sci-fi / futuristic movie.  If all of what went on in this film were to actually happen, I’d assume everyone would be dead within seconds.  If not by the events that took place, then the shitting-of-their-space-pants would quickly suffocate them.  If I saw even one space rock fly by me at the speed of bullet, I’m taking off the helmet and going out on my own terms which would be as quick and painless as could be.  Let’s move on from my fears.

The science of this movie is standard for a modern space adventure.  Science is all around and is what makes the movie what it is.  We start out with the line, “Life cannot live in space” (or something like that).  It’s science that keeps the characters alive and what allows us to have a movie.  The science of film making is the other meaning that I think of.  The spectacle of this movie is the real science here.  It feels like there are less than 25 “cuts” in this movie.  That’s not to say there aren’t a few tricks that could be used to add edits but it seemed as though you were watching one 5 - 10 minute scene after another.  Cuarón’s other film, Children of Men, has one of the best single shot scenes of all time.  It’s the scene where Clive Owen’s character has to enter a run down hotel in the middle of firefight between insurgents and the police in order to retrieve the woman and baby he’s sworn to protect.  It’s a ballet and whether you liked the movie or not, the sheer skill involved to pull off that scene is breathtaking.  Well, times that by 20 and you’ve got Gravity.  Every shot is a beautiful painting and you can tell that the 80 million dollar budget was poured into making this film look like the best movie ever created.  “Spectacle” and “this is what movies are made for” are often thrown around too easily but this movie earns that type of praise.  

The science, technology and skill it took to make this movie completely outweigh the on screen science.  This movie is an unbelievable feat of movie making, which leads me to my second thought...

Trust.  There’s an unbelievable amount of trust needed between the characters in this movie.  What took more trust is from the movie studio to make this movie.  My biggest question leaving the theater was, “How did this movie get pitched to the studio and how did it get green lit?”

There’s really no plot.  There’s a story but there’s not a plot.  Bullock’s character is the closest thing to an arc that you’ll find.

There’s no star to this movie.  While Bullock was great and Clooney was Clooney, they were not the “stars” of this movie.  The star of this movie is Cuarón and his production team.  Clooney has about 10 minutes of face time and Bullock has the torturous task of being the main character.  What she must have gone through was less acting and more like winning the world cross-fit championship.  

The trust involved by the actors and even more so by the studio that Cuarón and crew were going to make a perfect movie is unimaginable in these days of box office tallies and actor recognition.  It takes a tremendous amount of trust by two very well known actors to essentially do their job and not know how the movie is going to come out.  Their acting was great but it was not going to be what made or broke the end product.  The studio and its executives could not have imagined what the results of this movie were going to be.  The 80 million dollar budget doesn’t fit into the current studio trend of mega-blockbuster or small indie-type movie.  

I really can’t explain the movie in just a few words.  It’s an experience.  It’s not a perfect story but it is a perfect movie.  By the end, you’ve travelled thousands of miles and you feel each one.  You’re heart will stop, your breath will be taken away and at times you’ll feel queazy.  It’s a spectacular ride.  

I feel like I’ve told you everything it’s not.  What the movie is, is great.  Go see it.  Get out of the house and see it on the biggest and best possible screen that you can.  The trip, time and money you’ll spend is well worth it.  Gravity is an awesome movie experience.

Let's talk new Star Wars

Here’s why I already hate the new Star Wars movie(s).

I’ll skip my most major concern for a few moments and address the main “fact” that we know.

Let me jump around again (I’ll try to stop but this is just how it is when we’re talking “the biggest travesty the film industry could ever make”). We really don’t know anything. We know a few people that have been rumored to be working on scripts, production and actors that may show up. The truth is most of what we know or think we know are just rumors. I won’t put too much stock into rumors when it comes to “the biggest travesty the film industry could ever make”. That’s why I’ll try my best-est to only focus on facts. But within these facts, I base my opinions which may contain rumors. Even if these rumors are just figments of my imagination to “the biggest travesty the film industry could ever make”.

JJ Abrams. Or just JJ, as how We his friends call him. What, you don’t believe that JJ and I are friends? I’m offended. Fine, call him and ask. He’ll tell you. I’ll wait. Oh, you don’t have his number, that’s right because you’re NOT his friend are you. You can’t check, so BLLLAAHHH-HAAA-HA to you. Now let me get back to my friend JJ.

Personally I don’t have anything against JJ. I consider myself a decent fan. I’m not a fanboy who’s been into his shit from the Felicity or Alias days but I like a ton of his work. There are very few fans, and / or defenders, greater than me when it comes to LOST (which really isn’t “his” but still, you know what I mean). I loved Lost and will defend it anytime you want to have that argument. From shows like Alcatraz, Revolution and certainly Fringe, I’m a fan. I can’t say the same about Undercover, What About Brian (Really, What about BRIAN – that’s been an inside joke to myself. I don’t know why, but it always gets me. Who cares about Brian, he’s such a whiny bitch. I’m glad he’s not my friend. So “what” about him? – said in my valley-est of valley girl voices), Six Degrees and Persons of Interest (I can tell you one thing, THIS “person” isn’t “interested”, get it…haha to myself. But really, I can’t get over the Ben Linus / Jesus team-up. I know, I know…old people like the show. My parents love it but I don’t, sue me.). All his movies that he’s directed / produced are really solid. MI3 wasn’t the worst Mission Impossible movie. Ghost Protocol was really good. Super8 tried to be something and fell short (I’ll never kill a director for trying something especially with regards to something he / she clearly is fond of, and not hitting a homerun. We live in a world where people and studios don’t “try” things.). Cloverfield was what Godzilla should have been and we all would have been happier in 1998 (and up until Chronicle, Cloverfield is one of the best big budgeted movies done as a POV / found footage movie). Star Trek was great. Even go back to whatever writing / producing involvement he had on Armageddon and Regarding Henry, those are solid movies (If you don’t cry at the scene when the black physical therapist Bradley and Harrison Ford’s Henry have beer together, you’re a fucking robot. It’s just one of those scenes where if you get caught watching it, you’ll cry and re-evaluate how you’re doing in life even if you just won the lottery.) And I expect the new Star Trek to be just as great, if not greater than the first one he did. I have full faith.

Deep breath in…
I do NOT like JJ doing Star Wars. Oddly, here are all the reasons I should. He’s a Star Wars fan. Much more than he is/was Star Trek, this is by his own admission. He’s able to convey and control a “universal” story. From Earth to Vulcan and even across time, I wasn’t confused or was lost during Star Trek. JJ understands that no matter the subject, special effects or movie stars involved; it’s the STORY that will make or break a show (whether he’s been 100% successful is another debate but he knows this to be true). He respects his audience. Another good example is Bryan Singer. Not initially an X-Men fan but he knew and understood that these characters and world mean a tremendous amount to a lot of people and if you’re going to work in that world you come to it with the respect that the world deserves. Unlike the Fantastic Four movies which have been cum shots to the eyes of anyone watching them. Oh the burn! Nothing from those movies (except Chris Evans portrayal of Johnny Storm) was anything close to what had been in the FF comic for 50 years. They were bad special effects explosions that seared your eyes. (Again, feel free to debate me on how god awful those movies are, I’m more than happy to discuss, but before you do let me just say two words “The Thing” because if you can’t justify the choices made with that character you have no chance at winning an argument about the rest of the movie either. Galaxy Quest had a more believable rock monster and that movie was made six years prior and with a far less budget.) JJ respects the Star Wars world and the audience. He’s a big enough director to get anyone he wants to work with him AND seems to know that a village makes a movie and has well respected people help him and collaborate on decisions. (If you’re ever interested in seeing true creativity and what could have been, look up production sketches on any of the Star Wars movies. The talent and love for the Star Wars universe by artists is unlimited and boundless. Which is especially infuriating when you see what was chosen for episodes I – III and what could have been, but also amazing because conversely the things that were picked for episodes IV – VI were some of the best. Lucas, you are an enigma.). My point being, I feel very confident JJ would bring the best he could to the table.

Buuuuttt….. He’s just fucking done Star Trek. The same god damn director should NOT do both movies. It’s like if the same director did Dante’s Peak and Volcano. Wait, did the same person do both movies? That actually would make sense. No, no, I’m only confusing myself and I’m trying to be serious. There are great directors in this world. Not one of them should do the tent-pole franchise movie for the same genre. The closest argument you could make is Scorsese making Goodfellas and Casino. But he’s also one of the creative forces behind Boardwalk Empire. All “gangster movies/shows” but it’s different in that they’re all based somewhat on real life events and characters AND although you could say the characters are different, the themes are very similar. The world in which they inhabit is the same. The struggle for and to keep power, and what corruptions will people endure and partake in, are universal themes of those movies. Star Wars and Star Trek are like if Jesus sat down, wrote the Bible and then decided to bang out the Koran. (Ok, the atheist in me says, both the Bible and the Koran are the same pieces of crap just in different packaging so who’s to say they weren’t written by the same shysters. Again, take my bias out, you get my point.) My point is, they’re in the same genre of Sci-Fi but they couldn’t be more different. Like the NBA and the WNBA. It’s called basketball but they’re playing two completely different games.

Is there no other talent in this world to where JJ Abrams is the only person who can direct these two totally different movies? On a purely philosophical point, every director has a “style”. Even the best of them can’t hide who they are. Spielberg, who has done every kind of movie (and I feel is the best director of all time) has a style which even if you’re talking Jaws or Schindler’s List or Saving Private Ryan or War of the Worlds or Lincoln, you always know, to some extent, these are Spielberg movies. Even a director like Danny Boyle, who has tackled so many different movies from Trainspotting to 28 Days Later to 127 Hours, has a style. A base where all their creative powers come from. Which is all totally fine, except for when we’re talking about Star Wars vs Star Trek. Never the two shall meet. They’re totally different in every way. If for one second I feel that the two movies / worlds are linked, I’ll be upset. I’ll be mentally taken out of the movie / world. Even if you had the same script but titled one Star Wars and the other Star Trek, I’d want them to look and feel different. They would look and feel different because it’s fucking Star Wars VS Star Trek. I can’t explain it any better. One is a space opera and the other is a social commentary of the future.

That’s the reason JJ can’t do Star Wars. It’s a totally irrational reason but totally explainable and logical argument. NEVER THE TWO SHALL MEET. Whether you’re a fan of one or the other OR both, everyone would say the same thing when it comes to Star Wars vs Star Trek.

So while I love JJ and respect him and will continue to enjoy his work, I don’t understand the thinking of having him do both movies. Even if it’s been his dream to do a Star Wars movie, he let that ship sail when he took on Star Trek. He could have said, “No, I’m not going to do Star Trek because even if it’s a .0000001% chance that another Star Wars movie is ever made and I have a .0000000000000001% chance of directing it, I will wait for that chance. Because the same person can’t make both.” But he didn’t. He made Star Trek. It was nothing to be ashamed of. It was a great movie. Continue to do great work on the Trek franchise and we’ll see you in line for Wars.

All of this, going on about the director, is really just part of the larger issue. WHAT’S THE RUSH?

The simple answer is money. If you’re Disney, you just bought Star Wars and now let’s get to milking this cow. Don’t get me wrong, Lucas has been doing this for years. Putting out crap video games, crap comics, crap TV shows, crap merchandise. You name it, there’s a Star Wars version. Maybe 1 out of 10 times you get something good, like the Star Wars Legacy comic or the Knights of the Old Republic video game. The difference is that Lucas has put out his own movies and can continue to shine them up in HD or 3D and get another financial life cycle out of them. Disney wants the big pop of the movie(s). Which no matter how awful they are, they’ll still make money (see SW ep. 1) and then they can use that to catapult everything and anything they want. I totally understand the business side. I’m not saying there shouldn’t be new Star Wars movies. The world is open, you’ve got actors from the original series that are now the perfect ages to play their roles as preludes to the next generation of Star Wars protagonists who will be introduced and Star Wars is so beloved and wonderful that it should be mined again. I just want the diamonds to be found not quartz or some geo crap that maybe shinny but in reality is worthless.

It seemed that as soon as the purchase was announced, Disney came out and said, “See you in 2014 for Episode VII!” Wait, what?! I haven’t heard of any rumors about Episode VII? Unless Lucas himself had secretly been working on this in some hidden lab that no one knows about (god help us all), then maybe this all makes sense. But there’s no way. No way a seventh movie has been worked on and NO leaks what-so-ever have come out. Not in this day and age.

Can’t we take it slow? Is the rush to grab all this new money so great that we (as if I’m now working on it or on the Disney board) can’t take a few years to get it right? If Ep. VII comes out in 2015 or 2016 would that kill Disney? Make something more about the art than the money, just this once. I’d love to hear that there was a team that was interviewing 100 directors and / or they hired a group of the top writers just to come up with concepts from which the cream of the crop will be chosen. Then based on the type of story we’ll find a director that can pull this type of story off. They just did something very similar with the Avenger franchise. Joss (another close friend) wasn’t the director of the Avengers movie when the first or second Iron Man movies came out. The idea of getting to an Avengers movie was in place long before there was a director. The bare bones basics of what all the movies that led up to the Avengers were in place and then they got the right director to bring everyone and everything together. Even then it was still a bit of a risk. The biggest reason for the success of the Avengers is the “long game” that Marvel / Disney played.

Granted, you don’t need as much set up with the Star Wars franchise. As I mentioned, Lucas has done quite well for himself by turning out every conceivable piece of Star Wars media. Second tier characters like Boba Fett (no diss on Boba, but he’s barely in one and a half movies and has maybe two lines) are household names and icons. You don’t need a seven year campaign to introduce all the characters and back story to put out Episode VII. Everyone knows Luke, Leah, Han, Chewy, Vader and the Force. We all know, SPOLIERS, Vader is Luke’s dad / Luke and Leah are kissing brother and sister / Han is the bad ass (second only to the smoothest brother in the galaxy, the one, the only, Lando Calrissian and his colt .45 sponsored mining facility, who by the way just made some interesting deals that will secure their safety from the Empire…What, oh sorry, I got carried away. Back to the regularly scheduled rant…). We know everyone and we know how everything is currently wrapped up. SPOILERS; Empire in ruins after 2nd Deathstar is destroyed. The Emperor is dead, thanks to Vader coming back to the light. Han, Luke, Leah and the droids are parting with a Wookie and his Ewok cousins (I gotta throw something out there to get people to comment on this, even if it’s to just to correct something I know is wrong. How about this, I know they’re not on Endor, but rather the MOON of Endor. C’mon, who you fuckin’ wit?). What I’m getting at is that I know the story is ready to go. I’m all in.

After being abused by the new trilogy, I just want the best Star Wars movie. Or at least, the best attempt. Here’s a great example of failure with the best intentions and possibly best efforts, Watchmen. Watchmen was a comic that people had been trying to make into a film for years. No one could figure it out. A studio finally said it was going to be done and they put a ton of money and resources and made the Watchmen movie that everyone deserved. It was faithful (to its own flaw) to the original material. Other than a giant space squid at the end, they had a Dr. Manhattan bomb which made sense how they told it and was 1000 times more practical to pull off in the movie and made the budget feasible. For all intensive purposes the Watchmen movie, even more the extend version and including the animation portion of the Black Pirate crap (I’m one of the few Watchmen comic haters so I don’t really care if I’m 100% correct on my Watchmen vocab) made the movie extremely loyal to the book. You could tell the people making Watchmen loved the source and wanted to make the best Watchmen movie they could. To their credit, they did a fine job. I’ll save my dissertation on why Watchmen isn’t a good comic and why it’s a beloved book from the 80’s but those die-hard fans weren’t enough to bring global success to the movie for another time. Needless to say, it’s a solid movie and not for a second do I feel 100% effort, love and faith didn’t go into the movie. It just didn’t work out. If that’s the fate of the next three Star Wars movies, I can live with it. It took 30 years for Watchmen to get made properly (the box office backs my points about the movie / book) and in turn Watchmen was given its best chance to be a success. That’s all I’m asking for with Star Wars.

There’s nothing I want more than JJ, the writers, producers and Disney to hit a home run. From my experience that doesn’t happen when you rush or push projects like this. What happened when the studios pushed for a Godfather 3? What happened when Batman and Batman Returns (I love that movie, I said it) turned into Batman & Robin and Batman Forever? Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull? X-men 3? Jaws, anything that has a number after the word Jaws? 60% of the James Bond films? The Matrix Returns and Revolution? Star Wars Episodes I – III?!?!? The list of examples of movies that were not needed or ready or pushed out just to make an extra buck goes on forever. Maybe it’s my own paranoia. I just want, so badly, to have a great Star Wars continuation. Maybe I’m jealous that it’s not me working on it or deciding which direction the franchise goes into. I just want a good movie.

I don’t understand, artistically, the extreme rush to pump out the next incarnation of Star Wars. The money will be there a year or two later. It’s not going anywhere. The most I’ve heard about the next Episode is who the initial writer is, who the director is and which of the original movie actors will be in the new one. (Ok, one last rant. As if any of the old actors, even Harrison Ford, wouldn’t or couldn’t be persuaded back to the Force? This is Star Wars and this is Disney and this is more money than god and they’ll get whoever they want to be in the movie. Oh really, Anthony Daniels is to busy? Doing what, giving hand jobs out behind the Walmart? I’ll take my chances and go into production on the movie and just assume everyone will come back. No shit, an actor will want to make an appearance in what will be the biggest movie(s) of the year / decade / all time. Sam Jackson is already on a plane to England to start shooting, and his character is DEAD! Thanks for all the breaking news each time an actor says they’ll reprise their role (is italics the sarcastic type font?). Why don’t the gossip rags just calm down with those newsbreaks. Get back to nip slips and beave pics of actresses getting out of cars. You don’t have to waste my time with every actor that will be in the next Star Wars film.)

It all just seems too fast. Maybe this one time we could take it slow and get it right. Not worry about the money that’s going to be made, because it’s going to be made regardless. Make a movie for the fans. This if any movie deserves it, it’s Star Wars. If any group of fans deserves it, it’s Star Wars Fans. This isn’t some indy book like Scott Pilgrim, which was a great movie and made specifically for the 259 die-hard Scott Pilgrim fans (by the way, it’s a good movie). There is no risk involved. The next gen Star Wars movies will make all time record money. Whether it’s today tomorrow or next year, the money will be there because of the enormity of the fan base. Take the time to make it right. I’ve already mentioned the obscene amount of money Lucas has already made by whoring out his properties. I’d bet that 1 out of 4 people have bought some piece of junk just because it has something to do with Star Wars. Give something back to the fans. Not only as a “thank you” for previous spending but as a jump-off to the next round of Brink’s trucks you’re going to be able to grow on trees. Take the new Bond movie, Skyfall. Everywhere you turn that movie is influencing pop culture, in a good way, and everyone wants to be associated with the Bond flavor. It’s revitalized the old shitty Bonds and made the old good ones shine even brighter. Imagine what a GREAT new Star Wars movie will do?

For all my hesitation, I’m so excited. I want a new Star Wars movie. I want a new Trilogy. I also want it to be good and I don’t care if I have to wait an extra year or two to get it. Patience and big business don’t usually go hand in hand. You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t have the highest faith in a project that seems to be pushed by the business end of a studio rather than the creative end. Here’s my challenge to Disney, JJ and everyone else; PROVE ME WRONG. If you’re going to hit the hyper-drives, then show me that you’re not going to fly into a star and blow up. Let’s plot out an awesome story that isn’t just some rehash of the old movies. Have it live in the universe of Star Wars, give nods and even base some plot points strait out of the first six movies but then also take some creatively planned artistic chances. There’s no lack of major league artists (visual, writing, special effects, etc.) that would die to help be a part of this project. If there ever was a “holy grail” of a movie, this is it. Use this enormous toolbox to give all of us Star Wars fans really what we want, a great movie.

May the Force be with you…

Transformers 3 review

As I sit here; trying to contemplate what to say about Transformers 3, I’m left with a feeling of emptiness.

I’m not empty because of the movie. In fact, I think it’s a great movie. It’s everything I asked for. When people would say that Transformers 2 sucked, I wouldn’t agree with that. There are many great scenes. What was the story trying to accomplish, I don’t know but it’s not that different than what was going on in Trannies 3. I think in lieu of spending a lot of money on the desert and Great Pyramids, we got to see what that money could do to destroy Gotham, I mean Chicago. (You can’t see the river drawbridge scenes without being reminded of TDK or even when Optimus, in full truck and trailer mode, is driving down the same street that the Joker did and then had his truck flipped. That area must be making bank with all the high priced movies shooting there.)

I feel empty because I think Michael Bay is bored. While the story of Trannies 3 was better and more comprehensive it doesn’t compare to the first one where everyone who grew up playing with the toys and watching the shows where completely blown away. He’s bored and just wanted to take this movie out by trying every trick in his book. I want to make sure that I give the writers their due. Unlike many trilogies this one wasn’t something that was a planned arc that would show the growth of these robots. Let’s not confuse it with Star Wars or LOTR. But to the writer’s credit I didn’t see the twist coming from Sentinel Prime and the plot of returning Cybertron was interesting. Where I felt empty was the execution.

Again, I have to say I feel this is a great movie in so many ways. I’ve now seen it twice and felt the same way each time. It was a spectacle to see but the “pops” and build-ups weren’t there. The second time around I saw more of the battles and they did feel longer. Any you must keep in mind that for a 15 second, grand robot fight, every single frame is basically manufactured, rendered and created by computer artist gods. In an actual real life action sequence you’d spend a fraction of the cost and could go on for 20 minutes to even come close to the cost. So I understand that time and financial constraints are what hold back the ultimate battle scenes, which is why you’d rely on a better script and execution to get the “pop” you’d want from the audience.

Make no mistake, watching the freeway scene / the HALO diving and flying through the air / almost every transformation / every hand to hand battle between robots; all where amazing. Including the use of 3D. This is what 3D was made for. This was on par with the excellence of Avatar. While 3D is over used in so many movies, such as Thor where you hardly noticed it and really just added to the ticket price, you got your money’s worth out of the 3D in Transformers 3. I’ll be glad when only a select number of films are made with the intent of having 3D and actually pull off the effects this precisely.

I’ll get back to my point so we can finish this up. With all the great things that can be said about this movie, I feel that it truly is time for Michael Bay to move on. He’s clearly tired of the franchise. I think like any genius he gathered himself and wanted to prove that the second film’s flaws could be fixed. The issue is that the heart as sole where gone. Where I could see passion was in the performance of the great “Dr. Jeong”. He’s great and to add him to the cast was fantastic. The humor of his paranoid character, which ultimately proves correct, was so funny. The other new actors, Malkovich and McDormand, weren’t needed and seemed to be over castings. Ultimately who cares, so they got a few million to be in the film, a drop in the bucket.

I can’t wait to see what Bay does next. He’s proven with these three movies that there is nothing visually that he can’t pull off. Bay has proven to be the lord of the BOOM and can take any script and turn it into a action spectacular, such as Con-Air or The Rock. Unbelievable stories but true escapism for a summer time audience.

Bay’s had to basically create actors from nothing, and I’m not talking about his female leads. I’d like to see him tackle a script that has to work around humans, even if it’s a sci-fi world, and put all the money and talent into what happens around them.

Even though I’m left a little empty and feel as though the director is clearly done with these characters, I can’t wait until Bay’s next project. The same can be said for the Transformer franchise. With the money that it’s making, there’s no way that they don’t do another film or set of films. I think it’s also proven that they can spend the money on special effects and not worry if it will make it’s money back. So imagine the right director that has an unlimited budget and also has a great story to tell. That sets up for a great Trannies 4!!!

I’m already getting excited.

As I told friends going into the movie; all I want to see is big robots transforming and blowing each other up. That’s certainly what I got.

Dwayne McDuffie

To try and pretend that I knew much about Dwayne McDuffie would only be a cruel disrespect of the man. I can’t say that he was my favorite writer ever. I can’t say that I followed him so devoutly as others have stated in recent memorials. But what I can say is that he made an impression on me. The biggest was, it seemed that every DCU animated show that I watched in the last few years always had his name appear somewhere on it. Either as writer, producer or just about any other creative-executive job one could have. He touched many of the shows that I watched and enjoyed.

When I came apparent that this guy was popping up a lot I seemed to remember the name. I went back and discovered that he was around for the comic boom in the ‘90s but was a key person in the Milestone comics, which brought minority characters to the forefront of comics. Again, I bought and read some of the stuff from back in those days but was never overly impressed. Then again, I was mainly looking at the pictures during my comic book development years and never really focused on knew what the writing had to do with comics.

What is true is that Dwayne McDuffie touched and shaped what I was learning to love. Whether I knew it or not, he was part of what I know as comic book lore. Sadly he may never get to know his impact nor the will the people who where impacted by his work know him as well as they should. He may be the reason why you’ll see a black Nick Fury in the upcoming Avengers movie. He may be the reason that DC animated shows and movies are generally better than the competition. His impact will be far greater in the long term than he may have ever realized during his life.

For all of this and including his long work in the industry that I do love, a simple thank you is what I can offer. Thank you for leaving this world with something better than it had before. There are many that work but few that impact. Thank you, Dwayne McDuffie, for everything you’ve meant to comics and the surrounding mediums.

Avengers Prime steak or just Chuck roast?

It does kill me to knock comic books. They give me so much pleasure and I always try to be a glass half full kind of guy when it comes to reviewing. I know it takes so much time and effort to put out just one book that I don't want to beat up on anybody who's out there creating.

I can feel a little better about this next part because there wasn't much creating going on here and if anything, it took some unbelievable skill to make this book even readable.

Avengers Prime, a six part mini series is far from Prime. This isn't even the cheap marinade crap you'll get from the mexican markets. That's actually enjoyable after you wrap it up with some cheese and rice; right off the grill MmMMMMMmmm.

Where do I start? I guess I'll have to list them since i think I can just come up with a bunch really fast:

1) Time to publish
-It'd be one thing if this story came out right after Siege. But in all the other books that these characters are in we've moved on. There is no reason to tell this story, that again (and you'll hear me say this again and again), could have been told in a million other places and ways. This book too 2 months per issue to come out. It's been almost a year since the end of Siege. Hell, Iron Man is onto is 2nd or 3rd new armor by now and Cap's already running an Avengers team AND acting as top cop in the Marvel U.

2) I feel like Marvel is cramming these characters down my throat as the 3 biggest they have.
- I'll get more into this later

3) This story didn't do anything for anyone or any character except for the stupid "super sword".
-After 5 issues we're left with nothing but these guys friends again, which is stupid that they had to go through this adventure to become friends because they really didn't meet back up until issue 4. They should have been forced to be stuck together and through their bickering they found why they're friends and why they have the eternal / spiritual / warrior connection. But after all this nonsense, we now have a "repaired" friendship and a magical all powered sword that's given to a guy with no room to even put it in. He's specifically instructed to put this sword somewhere safe?!!?!? Asgard is lying in ruins, where would this safe place be?

4) Ripping off the readers money by making us think that this has anything to do with anything.
- At least if this was just a One-Shot, I'd have felt like they got 3 - 5 bucks out of me but moved the characters along. NOOOOO, they milked me for 5 issues so that's over $20!!! to do nothing.

5) It trips over itself to get these small character moments in when this could have been done in a one-shot or in the characters books or any of the other Avenger regular books.
- I realized I'm saying this a lot but it's totally true and deserves it's own number as well.

6) I'm even more confused to what the "9 realms" are supposed to be.
- The biggest problem with Thor and what I see is with the upcoming Thor movie is how do you integrate this mystical world of Asgard into the real world? Thor always seems to me to be a device that no one has quite understood how to use. By himself and in a vacuum I like his stories. But trying to make the "god of thunder" and all that goes with it join into the world of humans is just odd. I can believe that an alien baby came along with super powers easier that I can that a Norse god came or was sent to earth for whatever reasons. First you have to believe in a God or Heaven, then you have to believe that instead of God, Ala or Jesus is not real but instead a Viking god from an ancient culture is. It just doesn't add up. Especially when you're trying to tie him into a team of and Industrialist, Spies, Super Soldiers or experiments gone wrong.

7) Not one of the ancillary characters made sense.
- The Elf girl that helps Captain America seems to be the only friendly character in the entire city / area that he winds up in. He's fighting an entire city of ugly warriors but then magically runs into this single hot elf that take him in and helps him? I'm waiting the whole time for her to turn on him, then once I've convinced myself that it will happen she still doesn't. How is she even in this city where everyone but her is ugly and miserable and want's to kill Cap and the legendary Thor?
- Iron man is trapped in this one place where an old man has the power to turn into a crazy Fing Fan Fum dragon. Iron man, whose suit is old and not working and literally ripped off of him somehow survives long enough through his wit and charm? But he's not charming, he's an idiot and why don't these enemies just kill him. I don't recall how he's allowed to escape. Even if they hear and see signs of the god of thunder, Tony's still just human. Kill him, eat him, stab him with something before you go investigating what made that noise.

8) This is supposed to cement in that Thor, Cap and IM are the Big Three like DC has in Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman?
- Has anyone ever heard of Spider-man or the Fantastic Four or Hulk or the X-men... One of the best things about the Marvel Universe is that there are so many stars. I understand this is for marketing purposes because of the upcoming movies. But really, is there any potential movie goer dashing to the comic book store to read the story of these three lost in a mashed up, 9 dimensional world?


The fact that the writing and art keeps you even going is a miracle. I don't know if this means Bendis and Davis are great because someone had to have came up with this idea. I would say that I do enjoy some of the tongue and cheek moments that flesh out the "big 3"'s relationship with each other and the Marvel U, but they are few and far between for a 5 book series. Like I said, we're not talking about Tarantino-like scenes. These one liners could easily be placed in other places. AND I can only think of two or three off the top of my head.

The whole idea and push on this book was stupid and and insult to avid fans and even the poor sap that's maybe just buying a few books every now and then. This is the type of stuff and rip off that pushes people away. I hope it wasn't Bendis' idea, I can almost be positive that it was not because it feels like a total money grab which leads me to believe he was told to do something like this and made it as good as he could. Let's hope that's the case.

Davis' art is very serviceable. That might sound like a slight but it's not. He does a fine job and even on some very impressive 2 page splashes creates some great war scenes with a ton of characters on the page. There's nothing bad at all, but at the same time I was rarely blown away. Again, it was good and I think it serviced this horrible mess just fine.

I'm glad I got that off my chest. It's rare that a book, even a bad one, will get me so worked up. I fall for a lot of these money grabs and unnecessary stories. 90% of the time I don't care and can find enjoyment out of them but this was too much. When I was done I truly felt FUCKED over. (Aren't you all surprised I waited this long to curse!!)

Iron Man's Legacy?

I’ve got stacks. Literally stacks of books built up. I don’t know how because I always seem to be reading but I guess there is just no catching up.

So the other day I started reading Iron Man Legacy. I wasn’t too impressed with the covers. Not that the art was bad, I just didn’t see anything that was going on during the first 6+ issues I had stored up. I liked the design of the last few that I had from the Industrial Age arc, but nothing that was reaching out and telling me that I had to read this book.

This is one of those stupid gifts, one’s procrastinating things where it actually rewards you. I love this book. I don’t understand where this is supposed to take place? Does it revolve around the movies or the current Iron Man books? I don’t know. Either I’m completely out of it or it’s never fully explained, but the best I can do is that these are just a variety of stories from all over Iron Man’s past. Which is cool. You just need to know the basics and the creators will get to tell any story they want, whether it’s when Tony Stark is at the top or bottom of his game. He’s been through so much, there’s tons of unexplored time where you can jump in and tell a story.

I guess if you’re looking for continuity for years to come, this is not the book for you. This is, a few issues, telling a good solid back story to explain a time in the character’s past. I like it.

The “Industrial Revolution” plot that I’m in the middle of is just fun. You get a ton of surprises, such as the Pride in a good role. Being from Los Angeles, I’ve always been disappointed that the west coast gets no real superhero love. The Pride was a great way to explain all of that really quickly and easily. But now that Marvel has this “Pride” I’m glad to see capable hands using them to better stories. The fact that they fear that their territory is being attacked by a broken Stark is great. The fact that they’re own fears will probably what makes Tony stronger in the end is something you can see a mile away but it’s a good footnote. And you can never go wrong with Tony being Tony while the world is crumbling around him. It’s not just that he’s a genius but he truly believes that bad environments can change and be changed if by only one man.

When a cheap little back story can get you to see how Tony sees the world even when every thing has been taken from him, you realize that maybe as much as Tony needs Iron Man…Iron Man needs Tony. Tony sees the ghetto and wants to make it better. not by just buying it up and fixing it but also, if need be, by necessity and doesn’t even realize it. He needs start up cash. He holds a town hall for the entire city and explains how a company can be started, owned, and create it’s own jobs just by the people of the city coming together.

Dealing with the economic market in my real life, I marvel at the simplicity of Tony’s idea is. Maybe it wouldn’t actually work but at least the idea is brought up. people are loosing their jobs and companies are sending the work overseas. What if a town bought a factory and everyone had a small ownership in that factory and that factory would give good jobs out and you wouldn’t need to worry that the factory wasn’t going anywhere because the people of the city owned it. There wasn’t a board that you needed to show yearly growth and how much more profits are this year than last. It’s all there for the people by the people. If only real life was as easy as comic books.

Let’s not forget the art. Steve Kurth is killing it. I see a lot of Frank Quitely in some of these shots. But there is certainly a different style. No shot seems to big for Kurth. I think that I’ve seen a lot of that lately. There seem to be a lot of good artists that get the job done. But not a lot of them can do camera breakdowns with so many in’s and out’s and different page layouts that totally flow. An artist that can give you a close up on Tony’s snarky face and then back out the camera to see an abandoned where house is really stretching the “scene” and can give you that life that sells a joke or makes the comic punch. I like it. Some artists can do the close-up and others can do the backgrounds but to have the same balance and detail to both is rare, especially with the tons of different books out there.

I won’t leave out the writer, Fred Van Lente. He’s doing a great job. Again, it’s not always easy to take a character from different times in their past and create his history. You’ve got to live in the minds of the reader. You’re telling stories about the times in between. We as readers know Tony went from rich to poor. Here it shows one of Tony’s first sober moments and how he starts to regain his wealth. Like I mentioned it also give a chance to see what’s made Tony the person he is today.

Bottom line is read it. Hell, it’s not going to kill you. You could be reading worse and I’m sure you are.

New Cool Artist Find - Annie Wu

Why do I love art so much? It’s because you never know where or when something will hit you in the face and drop you on your ass. I’m doing my normal nothing on the internet and one video leads me to another blog to another website and bam! I find a post of all kinds of artists. One of the first ones is by, get this, a WOMAN…. I know, I couldn’t believe it either!!

Well it’s true, this amazing picture of the JLA is by Annie Wu. From what I can find about her; she’s a young up and coming artist. Well to be honest I haven’t read too much other than her About on her blog, but I’ve looked at some of her other work too. Very clean lines but I want to say kinda dark as well (theme not color). I definitely feel there is a new trend in some of the young art like Annie and dare I say Ryan Ottley that at first I would say is a wave but really is old school, of having fewer lines but more detail.

I was looking at some old Disney animation work from the days of Cinderella and Snow White. Old school animation that had to be good but at the same time had to be able to be drawn over and over so there must be a simplicity to the line but at the same time have detail. I think that’s what I’m loving about Ottley’s work and what I’m seeing here. While in the 90’s we where amazed by all the crosshatching that was disguised at detail, but in many cases was really just covering up what the artist couldn’t do. Knowing how to do a wisp of hair with just two lines is much more impressive than if you draw two straight lines and then crosshatch and shadow the thing to death to make it look wispy.

So here’s to Annie Wu. Check out www.anniewuart.com