Riddick

Well it certainly has been a while since I’ve done anything for this blog.  I must seem like such a lazy person, but those tweets won’t write themselves!  But seriously, I’ve found the time to bang out a review/recap/overview for, obviously, a film that came out a long while ago.  Cause I wouldn’t do anything relevent now, would I?  But instead, I’ll be doing some writing for a film that came out a while ago, but came out on DVD just a week or so ago, so let’s say it’s a DVD review and leave it at that, yeah?  So enough useless prattle, let’s get on with the show.  Review.  Recap.  Whatever.

So I guess you can see me as an odd sort of person, since sci-fi like that of Elysium and District 9 didn’t do much for me, but then anything related to the Riddick universe of stories gets me going like nobodies business.  The first film in the series, (if you can call it a series, it’s more like a hodgepodge of random entertainment across different media that somehow create an overarching story), Pitch Black, shived it’s way into my heart with it’s sharpened sense of story structure.  In so much that the story was our “hero”, the infamous criminal Richard B. Riddick, is stranded on an alien planet with a group of travelers just at the time when shit hits the planetary fan.

And then Riddick kills some things, saves some people, says some badass one liners, and then survives.  But the draw was the character, in that he was someone who embodied the idea of anti-hero very well, but still invoked some level of interest as he shows that under all the gruff and violence, he’s still “human”.  He’s not, but he’s damn close.  And then there was Chronicles of Riddick, and we won’t talk about the story, cause no one needs to go through that trainwreck again.  But what it excelled at was creating this lived in and complex universe. It just lost itself in it’s own ideas.  And after that debacle, I was sure Riddick would never find itself again.

But then there are a few absolute truths in this world, and "Vin Diesel will making something out of nothing" is one of them.  And through sheer will, I’m assuming robbery, and hope, he brought into this world Riddick.  And it’s exactly what you want from this franchise. Nothing more, nothing less.  

Riddick takes us back to the concept of Pitch Black, which at first feels like it’s just copying from the past, but rather it’s expanding on the concept that brought Dick Riddick to the people.  The story begins after Riddick has spent some time as Lord Marshal of the Necromongers (long story) but he feels himself fading from what he once was: a killer, a free man.  And he also wants to find his home, Furya, and see from where he came from and where he can go from here.  But as with most stories of a ruler hated by his subjects, he is betrayed, and left for dead on an alien planet.  Cue the Pitch Black comparisons.  But no, this is where things take a drastic, but brilliant turn.

It’s here the movie begins the first of three really distinct and unique acts.  The first act has Riddick existing alone, though he does have an alien dog he saved from a sandstorm.  This dog, for all intents and purposes it is, acts as the emotional core since Riddick, for all his gruff and sass, has no emotions.  And this part of the movie is also mostly silent, since Riddick has little to say to his dog and there is no one else around.  And we get to watch a man who thrives in the elements, well, thrive.  He makes weapons, shelter, finds food, surveys the land, and adapts.  And even with the relatively low budget the world looks well realized.  There are obvious places where sets and CG overlap, but it doesn’t take much away from the overall experience.  You get drawn into Riddick's attempt to make, really, a home in a place that lets him be himself. But the main comparison to Pitch Black is that like the aliens that come out in the darkness then, now we have aliens that come out when it’s wet, and a big ass storm is making its way across the land.  So Riddick and pooch have got to move on and get off this planet.  And thus we move into the second act, where things get very talky.

To leave, Riddick must reveal himself, and to do that he activates a beacon.  And in come the mercs.  And in comes the dialogue.  And for the most part, it’s fairly entertaining, with witty back and forths between the two sets of mercs laying claim to the bounty on Riddick’s head. One half is a ragtag team of, in my opinion, the more entertaining killers, and the other is the group of well trained, well armed, and well trained mercs.  So obviously they don't get along. And here is where we watch Riddick essentially fuck with them, trying to get them to either kill each other, or if not that, then by his hand.  And we watch Riddick be the badass we remember, effortlessly killing mercs from the darkness, and it’s rather fun to watch.

And it should be noted that the performance of David Bautista, the MMA fighter turned actor who has the role of Drax the Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy, has shown me that he’s much more capable of an actor than I ever thought.

All this back and forth leads to Riddick having to create a scenario in which they’ll need him as much as he needs them.  So, he steals the power nodes to the ships.  And thus we are lead in the third act, full of obvious betrayals, alien attacks, and a whole lot more blood.  And I would write more, but it’s basically that.  The dialogue turns less jokey and more serious, and things get a shit ton darker. There's some diving into character’s pasts as they relate to past stories, an insane amount of aliens, some moments of terrible CG and some moments that are quite stellar.  And then an ending that hopes for a sequel.  And so do I.

In the end, this is the kinda sci-fi film that needs to happen more often.  One that lives and breaths in an interesting universe, but doesn’t try to become an allegory for our time and preach to us.  No, just a film that aims to entertain and amuse us.  Remember when films did that?  Weird times, but that was the aim of Riddick, to bring him back to us with all the blood, action, and story we remember and love.  And hopefully we get to see more.  So rent this, buy this, watch this.  Give it a chance.  If for no other reason than helping an original story get a wider audience.

The Wolverine

As I have been repeating for the past couple of months, the movies this summer were generally underwhelming. But in my boredom lately, I rented and watched two blockbuster summer films that I suspected would be worth my time, but perhaps not my money: The Wolverine and World War Z.

Unfortunately, this blog lacks a section for movies that are no longer in theaters, not underrated, and not necessarily bad. Then again, now that I think about it, I can tag this post with as many labels as I want, so what the hell, I'll just use a combination of categories.

First up: The Wolverine, Hugh Jackman's sixth -- but apparently far from last -- portrayal of the adamantium-clawed mutant.

I was planning on seeing this film in theaters when it came out. And then...I didn't.

Anyway, the convenient thing about watching a high-profile movie months after its release is the opportunity for a clean slate; having put the summer movie season behind me, I literally had no expectations going into this film. I'm learning that the key to enjoying a comic book movie is to not take it too seriously. I'm not sure when I started expecting every superhero to match Nolan's Batman, but I think it was around the same every studio and filmmaker tried to convince me that I should.

The Wolverine is a reminder that these movies are meant to be fun. Hugh Jackman -- who apparently never ages and seems to be in better shape than ever -- loves playing the ferocious but lovable Wolverine. He manages to expertly balance the character's intensity with his aggressive good humor (he's had plenty of practice) to the point where he is always exciting to watch. And in a film willing to hold back on the overly fantastical to focus more on one man's inner struggle, Jackman is really given room to explore the role in ways that somehow seem new, even after half a dozen appearances on the big screen. On top of that, the action is rarely over-the-top or gratuitous (for the genre), which sets this film apart from other 2013 tentpoles.

Overall, this movie is worth a viewing. If you are an avid fan of the X-Men films, I think The Wolverine, along with X-Men: First Class, mark a new era for the franchise(s) and hopefully herald a revival to the genre. As usual, I'm not saying this movie is flawless; but it is an immense improvement upon it's predecessor X-Men Origins: Wolverine and an indication that a full-length film can focus on a single mutant and not get boring.

Oh, and this movie cranks up the level of gore and mature language very effectively. I do not believe either of these things make a good movie, but the fact is you don't realize how silly a ruthless, foul-mouthed killing machine with razor claws is without some spraying blood and a few 'fuck yous' until you get just that. Hopefully future iterations of the character will have a similar level of violence.

Thor: The Dark World

Well, it's midterm season. And as usual, the only way I can cope with the stress is with an egregious amount of movies and television. As you'll see in the next couple of days, I have been busy the last two weeks. Not only with schoolwork, but also with my Netflix account and my movie theater.

The amount of movies -- on top of that stress I mentioned earlier -- has made it difficult for me to process everything I have been watching. Which means my reviews are not going to be particularly insightful (as if they ever were). On the plus side, they'll probably be a little bit shorter than usual.

First and foremost, yesterday I had the pleasure of seeing Thor: The Dark World. You know who's in it and what it's about, so I'll just get to it.

First off, let's ignore the fact that the poster reminds us of another movie...

Yea, this one

As alluded to by the posters above, I went into theaters wondering how this film would compare with Iron Man 3. By now, there is no reason for me to reiterate the issues Mark and I, and much of the Marvel fan community, had with IM3. However, being that it was the most recent Marvel studios film, and the first entry in the Phase 2 film line-up, I couldn't help but use it as a template for the Thor sequel.

That being said, I was very pleased with the latest adventures of the Asgardian prince. Unlike the Iron Man films, which rely solely on Robert Downey's Jr.'s witty banter, the Thor films have an entire cast of colorful and endearing characters. And what I enjoyed most about The Dark World is that, with the exception of the new bad guy and the absence of agent Coulson, the cast is unchanged from the first film. As a result, just about every character is taken to the next level, in terms of depth and personality. Even the nine realms, particularly Asgard, are explored to a greater degree. All of this effectively expanded and enriched the universe, which is exactly what a sequel is supposed to do. And because much of it took place off earth, it eluded those questions that plagued IM3 (such as, where are S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers during all this).

My biggest complaint is that the movie felt short and somewhat rushed. The villain was hardly explored, and the powerful weapon, which will apparently return in later films, was barely explained beyond its ability to destroy the universe.

This is not the best superhero movie out there. But I will say that it surpasses its predecessor, and is much less groan-inducing than this year's earlier superhero films. All of this to say that my excitement and curiosity for Marvel's Phase 2 have been reignited. If you enjoyed Thor, I think you will definitely enjoy  Thor: The Dark World.