Friday, August 9, 2013
‘Star Wars: Episode VII’ going back to the basics
“Star Wars: Episode VII” producer, Kathleen Kennedy, indicates that the next chapter will resurrect some former story lines, characters and practical effects.
This news is exciting as those film-making elements were missing from the “Star Wars” prequels. Those movies overused CGI, had underdeveloped characters and wooden performances that ultimately destroyed two of the three films.
What George Lucas failed to realize with the prequels was that special effects were not what made the “Star Wars” brand. That is something that the team behind “Star Wars: Episode VII” seems to grasp.
The original “Star Wars” trilogy was great because it took advantage of filming on location and only used special effects to enhance the brand.
“Looking at all the Star Wars movies and getting a feel for what even some of the early films did, combining real locations and special effects, that’s something we’re looking very seriously at,” Kennedy says
The films also took risks with the storylines. There were character and plot twists in the original films that were noticably absent in the prequels.
“And if you don’t spend the time you need on developing characters, and finding stories — complicated stories — the audience gets tired because they think they’re seeing the same thing again and again,” Kennedy empasizes.
It seems like Kennedy has her head on straight and can return this franchise to the basics.
Now, the next news I would like to hear, like everyone else, is what story are they doing? Will they do a something from the expanded universe or are they creating an original story?
I hope that with anything they do, they remain true to the spirit of the original trilogy.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Christian Bale Confirms No More Batman
Christian Bale has confirmed that he will not be playing Batman in a "Justice League" movie or another "Batman" film.
This news came out during an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
"We were incredibly fortunate to get to make three [Batman films]. That's enough. Let's not get greedy," he says. "Chris [Nolan] always said he wanted to make it one film at a time. And we ended up sitting there looking at each other, saying 'We're about to make the third.' We never really knew if we were going to get to be there, but if that was how it was going to be, this was where it should end as well."
Bale also revealed that he is looking forward to see what another actor does with the role.
Monday, June 24, 2013
"Man of Steel" Review
“Man of Steel” might not have been the biggest success with
critics but that didn’t stop me from
The newest Superman movie premiered under the weight of
mediocre reviews. Many felt that it was all action and no substance, causing
the characters to be underdeveloped. I agree that some characters could have
used more development, but I felt that “Man of Steel” worked.
The film retells the story of the last son of Krypton and
how he discovers who he is and where he comes from. It does this with very
little camp, which separates it from earlier Superman films. The camp is
replaced by some very intense emotion.
The other thing that makes the film work is its clear focus
on the science fiction elements of Superman. Embracing the sci-fi allows the
movie to immerse itself into the Superman lore. It also opens the possibility
to include more of the unusual villains in future films.
Now, the things that didn’t work for me center around one
character — Lois Lane .
Lane is underdeveloped and her relationship with Superman
and Clark suffers because of that. Amy Adams did a fine job with the material
she had to work with, but she never seems that important. She’s just there to
be there and the relationship between Clark and Lois seems forced.
I’m glad Lois
Lane was included and happy that they’ve started
somewhat of a relationship. Yet, I wish it could’ve been a little deeper and
more interesting.
Other than that, I didn’t have huge problems with the movie,
just smaller ones.
Let’s start with the films CGI (computer-generated imagery),
it was rough in some places but two scenes stood out the most.
The first scene was the one where Superman fights giant tentacles
when trying to destroy one of Zod’s ships. The scene just looked like a cartoon
and the action didn’t really add anything to the overall scene.
The next one is the final showdown between Superman and Zod.
There were certain shots during this fight scene where I was very aware that I
was looking at a CGI image.
The final problem I had with the film was the script. Don’t
get me wrong, I really enjoyed the story, but I thought it could’ve been tighten
up in some places and some scenes could have benefited from a couple more
rewrites.
Summing it all up, I will say that “Man of Steel” is a good
time. The problems with the film are there but it didn’t distract me from enjoying
it.
B+
Friday, April 12, 2013
Is Jurassic Park 3D worth it?
Recently I revisited Isla Nublar when I saw “Jurassic Park 3D”!
“Jurassic
Park ” is the film that
really changed the way movies are made. It introduced us to CGI and brought
back dinosaurs after their 65 million year extinction.
Now, this being the films 20th anniversary year,
Universal has re-released the film in 3D.
I’m usually against the use of 3D, but “Jurassic Park ”
pulls it off. For post-conversion the 3D looked amazing.
There are some parts where the effects are starting to show
their age. The brachiosaurs scene, where it sneezes, the animatronic looks
great but the CGI looks a little rough. The next scene where the CGI looked a
little rough was the kitchen scene. The CGI is starting to show its age but
then again the film is going to be 20 years old.
Everything else looked great. The clean up they did for 3D makes the film look even better than its Blu-ray release.
After 20 years the film still holds up and seeing it on the
big screen again just gives you a warm feeling inside. There is nothing like
seeing “Jurassic Park ” on the big screen.
I highly encourage everyone to go out and see “Jurassic Park 3D”. The movie is a classic and the
3D is worth it this time around.
A+
Check out Nit-Picking: Jurassic Park at http://jamesentertainmentedge.blogspot.com/2012/08/nit-picking-jurassic-park.html
A+
Check out Nit-Picking: Jurassic Park at http://jamesentertainmentedge.blogspot.com/2012/08/nit-picking-jurassic-park.html
LucasArts closes and 'Star Wars 1313' goes with it
Disney shut the doors to game studio, LucasArts last week
and with it has left an interesting “Star Wars” video game with an uncertain
future.
“Star Wars 1313” was a game that was announced last year at E3 (electronic entertainment expo) and since then it has been only gaining our interest. What we saw of the game, we could tell that it was going to be a third-person action-adventure and also be a grittier take on the “Star Wars” universe. It had “Star Wars” fans intrigued.
Now, after waiting for this game to come out we’ve learned that it is most likely completely dead, due to Disney closing down LucasArts. Also, to make it worse, it has now been reported that Bounty Hunter Boba Fett was going to be the main protagonist.
For those of you who aren’t acquainted with Fett, let me fill you in. Fett is a bounty hunter who most people were introduced to in 1980s “Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.” In that movie he ruthlessly hunted down the Millennium Falcon to capture its captain, Han Solo.
“Star Wars 1313” was a game that was announced last year at E3 (electronic entertainment expo) and since then it has been only gaining our interest. What we saw of the game, we could tell that it was going to be a third-person action-adventure and also be a grittier take on the “Star Wars” universe. It had “Star Wars” fans intrigued.
Now, after waiting for this game to come out we’ve learned that it is most likely completely dead, due to Disney closing down LucasArts. Also, to make it worse, it has now been reported that Bounty Hunter Boba Fett was going to be the main protagonist.
For those of you who aren’t acquainted with Fett, let me fill you in. Fett is a bounty hunter who most people were introduced to in 1980s “Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.” In that movie he ruthlessly hunted down the Millennium Falcon to capture its captain, Han Solo.
It is hard to pinpoint why Fett is so popular. It could be
the armor he wears. It could be the jet pack on his back. It could be that he
shows no fear when talking to Darth Vader or it could be all these things put
together. Bottom line, Fett is a mysterious and intriguing character in the
“Star Wars” universe.
“Star Wars 1313” sounded like it was finally going to put us into the role of this bounty hunter, something that fans wanted for a longt ime, but it seems like we’ll still be waiting for that day.
There is always hope that someone will buy the game from Disney and finish it, but let’s not hold our breaths.
With all that said, I’m disappointed that Disney closed down LucasArts. The studio has been around as long as I can remember and I hope that Disney knows what they are doing. Yet, if we don’t get a Boba Fett video game maybe we’ll see a Boba Fett movie.
“Star Wars 1313” sounded like it was finally going to put us into the role of this bounty hunter, something that fans wanted for a longt ime, but it seems like we’ll still be waiting for that day.
There is always hope that someone will buy the game from Disney and finish it, but let’s not hold our breaths.
With all that said, I’m disappointed that Disney closed down LucasArts. The studio has been around as long as I can remember and I hope that Disney knows what they are doing. Yet, if we don’t get a Boba Fett video game maybe we’ll see a Boba Fett movie.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Nit-Picking: The Dark Knight Rises
The Dark Knight Rises was a great conclusion to Nolan’s
Batman trilogy, but it wasn't flawless. There were many things in the movie
that made you wonder.
Let’s start right at the beginning of the movie with the
CIA.
First thing, why would the CIA let three men onto their
plane without checking their identities first? Why didn't they just take the
bags of their heads? I mean Bane is very recognizable with his mask in all; the
CIA might have stood a chance on the ground.
Then we get into the plane and there is a few things that
bothered me about this scene, as cool as it was.
First, why didn't a CIA plane detect an aircraft flying over
them. You would think that they would have some sort of equipment to detect
these sorts of things but apparently not.
Second, why did Bane have to leave one of his men in the
plane to die? Once the CIA discovers the wreckage they’re going to immediately
notice that the plane has been shot up and the wings have been ripped off.
Their first thought should be that something strange has happened so it makes
little to no sense to me to leave someone behind. It’s pointless and a waste of
a life.
Third, if this was to suppose to be a stealth operation,
which all the evidence points to. Why would Bane’s men do so much damage to the
plane? You would think that the less damage done, the better.
Moving on, let’s look at Bruce Wayne’s fingerprints and
Bane’s attack at the stock market.
In the movie we see Catwoman steal and sell Bruce Wayne’s
fingerprints. She does this for a man named Dagget who wants control of Wayne
Enterprises. So, he plans on using Bruce Wayne’s fingerprints to make some bad
decisions in the stock market. OK, this could work and be believable if they do it subtlety … but they don’t.
Later in the movie we see Bane attack the stock exchange and
uses the fingerprints to force Bruce Wayne off the board of Wayne Enterprises.
He does this by shooting up the stock exchange and terrorizing the hundreds of
people working at the time. My question here is none of these people report
that Bruce Wayne wasn't involved with the attack? And the police don’t think it’s
suspicious that Wayne Enterprises goes down at the same time of a terrorist
attack? No wonder Gotham is always terrorized
by super villains, the police department has no clue what they’re doing.
Speaking of the police in Gotham ,
why did they all go into the sewers at the same time? This one really makes me
scratch my head.
In the movie we see that the police force heads into the
sewers to find Bane and his army. When I say police force, I mean everyone. The
only two that stay above ground are Jim Gordon and John Blake. Unfortunately,
Bane has the sewers setup with explosives that ultimately trap the entire
police department.
*sigh* Why would you send all of your officers into the
sewers? Who thought it was a good idea to leave a city without any police? You
would think that a city as large as Gotham
would have a lot of 911 calls during the day, who were taking care of those
while the entire department was gathering to enter the sewers? This isn't remotely logical.
Next, how did Bruce Wayne get back into the city? In the
movie we see that Bruce Wayne’s back is broken and he is put into a prison in
the ground located in a desert. He eventually climbs out of the prison and then
just shows up in Gotham .
Let’s go over a few things. First, Bane has taken total
control of the city and his men guard it pretty well, I mean they’re keeping
the U.S. Army out. Next, he destroyed all the bridges and access points to the
city. Now, how did Bruce Wayne just wander into Gotham ?
He would have had to be seen by someone, right? Does he have some sort of
underground tunnel network that he used? I want to know how he got there so
easily.
Next, we see that Batman has painted a giant bat symbol on
the side of a building with gasoline. OK, when did he do this? You mean to tell
me that no one saw him doing this in an occupied city? How did he do it? Also,
don’t you think that it is a better idea to just get into action as the Batman
because there is a bomb set to go off and people’s lives at stake?
Other things that bothered me I’m going to list below.
-
How did Bane know about Bruce Wayne’s armory when it’s
supposed to be off the books?
-
How is the prison getting a Gotham City
news channel?
-
Bane’s death
-
No one putting together that Bruce Wayne is Batman,
even though they died at the same time.
-
Gordon never knowing that Bruce Wayne is Batman until
he tells him. Some great detective work there.
-
Bruce Wayne showing up in a French Café after being
declared dead. Isn't Bruce Wayne well known, wouldn't this start a stir in the
media?
-
How the hell did Batman get out of the blast radius of
the bomb in time?
-
Where are all the civilians of Gotham
when the city is under Bane’s control?
-
Why did the police decide to attack Bane’s men with no
real strategy or firepower? I mean Bane had tanks.
-
Bruce Wayne revealing his identity to John Blake? What
if Blake turned out to be a bad guy?
-
Why is Bruce Wayne so trusting?
-
The magic knee brace.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
"Aliens: Colonial Marines" Review
I've been a fan of the Alien franchise for a long time and I couldn't have been more excited for this game. I was excited for the
atmosphere, the chance to fight against xenomorphs, the multiplayer and the story.
Now that I've played the game, I’m left disappointed, mainly because of the
single player.
SINGLE PLAYER
Aliens: Colonial Marines didn't deliver where I wanted it to
deliver. The story felt rushed, the gameplay felt incomplete and the AI is hit
or miss. Yes, I said the AI is hit or miss because sometimes it worked for me
and other times an alien would just be stuck in the corner of the room.
This all frustrates me for the simple fact there is some
glimpses of a good game buried under a bad game. You can see if they tweaked or
even cared about the game there could have been a decent experience here, but
it’s ultimately lost.
The single player is what suffers the most. I’m not going to
say anything about the graphics, because there have been great games that had
sub-par graphics, but I will say that it is rather repetitive. As you’re
playing it, it just feels like the developer was going through the motions.
The game didn't even make me jump or even get freaked out.
After fighting the first 50 aliens fighting them becomes tiresome. I was just
annoyed that I had to constantly kill them. I shouldn't be annoyed!
Towards the end of the game I just felt worn out. Also, I
really didn't like the checkpoints.
MULTIPLAYER
Now, I’m not saying that there are not some redeeming
qualities in the game. Those can be found in the multiplayer. I had fun with
the multiplayer, it feels very similar to the game “Left 4 Dead” and overall I
found myself enjoying each of the modes.
There is also a “Call of Duty” style leveling, as you level
you unlock different equipment and you can even customize the look of your
marine and alien.
The biggest problem I do have with the multiplayer though is
its map selection. I’m tired of playing the same maps over and over again. I
honestly feel like there are only two maps in the game because I keep playing
the same ones.
So, in reviewing this game it feels like I’m reviewing two
different games. The single player is a mess and could have been great if more
attention and care was placed into it. The multiplayer on the other hand I
found fun and enjoyable despite playing the same maps over and over.
5 out of 10
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