Rediscovering (Walt) Disney

SPOILER ALERT! As with "Thor" my pre-Captain America-viewing, and post-viewing contact was LA Filmcutter . Notes have been compared and a review (more like a conversation between geeks) has been written... 11:00 AM [text message from AP]: Headed to theater for Capt America [text message from LA]: Can't wait to hear your thoughts. As always, make sure you stay through the credits. [AP]: Right! 1:34 PM [AP]: Wow! That was great! Credits are rolling. 1:58 PM [AP]: There is so much to like about that movie! [LA]: Yes, yes, and... ? [AP]: Facebooking ya! [LA]: Cool! 2:30 PM (Facebook Message from AP): Okay, let's review this thing! First off, if only Joe Johnston had had that kind of budget, effects and studio support when he made "The Rocketeer!" Second, it was just a great, good old-fashioned, action movie! But where do you really begin? Winks and nods to the history of Cap, the Howling Commandos, Indiana Jones, The Rocketeer, jeez wha...

So Maddy pulled 'The Great Mouse Detective' off the shelf yesterday and said she wanted to watch it. Okay I thought, we hadn't watched it yet, she was interested (it's got cute mice right?) and I vaguely remember it was supposed to be good (had not seen it in, like, forever) so we popped it in and settled back... Well, what the H*** was that!?!? This supposed Disney Classic is by far the WORST Disney animated feature I have ever seen! Right from the get-go this movie is dark, violent and frightening. Then there are all the technical problems the most glaring of which is the sub-par animation that looked about as good as say, Disney's Gummi Bears or maybe Duck Tales . On second thought it wasn't even that good. The original songs are weak, uninspiring and in one instance damn near sexually explicit! The poor voice casting and the lack-luster script weren't helping either... Why is Uncle Scrooge disguised as a mouse? At times even I had trouble following...

I took Ryan to see "Thor" this week. Yeah I know, what took so long right? But I am happy to report it was worth seeing in the theater, even if we missed all the hullabaloo by seeing it during its premiere. As I usually do when seeing a big picture at the movie house, I sent LA Filmcutter a text and let him know I was FINALLY seeing "Thor" and then I gave him my immediate reaction when it was over: 'Well that was awesome!' Normally I'll call to discuss the show but I had to run and get Maddy so I Facebook messaged him instead. The following is our Facebook conversation and my/our review of "Thor"... ALLEN PINNEY So about Thor... That was about all I could have wanted out of a Thor movie. I loved it! There are of course nits to pick but not too many. With the exception of Rene Russo the cast was pretty near perfect. Hemsworth was awesome, Hiddleston was awesome, thought Hopkins was a great fit and Clark Gregg is always a treat. Asgard was amaz...

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!! A long time ago in a city far, far away… The time: May of 2007. The city: Los Angeles, CA. I sit in a darkened room surrounded by a hundred or so of my closest geek cousins. We were about to witness the first viewing of footage from a little film called “Fanboys” exclusively at Star Wars Celebration IV. Cut to: April 19, 2009, somewhere in New England. I pour a fourth cup of coffee and put my feet up for a private viewing of a little film called “Fanboys”. That’s right, two years later, this little film is finally in theaters on a limited run and it has just been released on DVD. And after watching, I’m left to ask these questions: What the hell took so long!?! And: What the hell have you (Mr. Producer) been doing all that time!?! Much to my chagrin, the movie is not as good as that preview screening would lead us to believe, or to hope. We gathered geeks laughed out loud at the scenes we were shown and we gave the cast and crew a standing ovation when they c...

WARNING: SPOILERS ABOUND!!! I went in to the theater fully expecting to enjoy this film and would have been crushed if I had not. I am not a Star Trek purist, nor am I a J.J. Abrams apologist (just a fan). Is it perfect? No. Are there plot holes? Some. There were moments while watching that I was jarred out of the story by set pieces (hey, I know what that is!) and head scratching (why is that there?). But with the film moving at light speed the entire time you aren’t given a lot of time to dwell on the sticking points. And there are a couple of gags that run just a tad long hence my overall rating below. Everything is bright, shiny and new but at the same time familiar and comfortable. We get Star Fleet, Vulcans, Romulans, Kirk and of course the USS Enterprise. There’s a new paint job on the old girl, Kirk is younger, as is everyone for that matter, younger and hotter. With the opening tease (‘Birth of a Starship Captain’) Abrams and the talented crew of Industrial Light and Magic tak...

Do you care if you’re watching? My guess is no, you don’t. I personally found the film fun, entertaining and worth the $30.00 I spent on IMAX tix for Ryan and myself. But I immediately recognized that this movie, most likely, will only please those of us who have read the source material – the Moore & Gibbons 1986 comic series. It is not for everyone. Zack Snyder (300) does his best to compress a years worth of comic books, covering how many sub-plots? Five, six, more? Into a mere 2 hours and 43 minutes. A super-human feat that proves impossible and impractical. The mythology and back story are so dense, you need to have a pause button and the graphic novel next to you to makes heads or tails of some of the very heavy and sometimes far out stories. Lost for sure is the spectre of the countdown-to-midnight of the doomsday clock. The script is unable to convey the seriousness of impending nuclear war as it has to wrestle with the murder mystery/hero rebirth/love triangle plot lin...

Who knew ABBA would write a Broadway hit? (I know, they had help.) Lisa: Overall, nice light summer fun. Having never seen the Broadway show I have no comparison. Makes you want to visit Greece - love the blue, blue water. Favorite Daddies were Colin Firth (Harry) and Stellan Skarsgård (Bill). Didn't like Pierce Bronson's singing at all. Meryl Streep did a good job. Her girlfriend sidekicks were better than Sophie’s who seemed an afterthought. Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) and her hubby to be were both well played/sung. Should have used the Greek Chorus more. Allen: After a weird and slow opening there were some real good moments, and songs, but it felt off kilter, never really getting it’s footing. Some Hollywood folks should not be looking to “tread the boards” anytime soon. Bravo for trying to sing and dance, but man, ya gotta know when to say when! There was a lot of overacting, over emoting, over-gesturing; like someone forgot to tell the director (and cast) that they were maki...

Here is the latest spin on “The Batman” myth, brought to us by the team that gave us “Batman: The Animated Series”. We even get Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne/Batman, he is the voice of this generation’s animated Batman, still pitch perfect. Told in six chapters, all done in Japanese anime, they are linked together telling the middle chapter of year one, between “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight”. There are some heavy hitters involved in this project too… “Have I Got a Story for You” – Oscar nom Josh Olson recounts Batman sightings by a group of youngsters leaving them with their own take on the Dark Knight. This one is a lot like “Legends of the Dark Knight” from around season 3 or 4 of the Animated Series. “Crossfire” – Novelist Greg Rucka gives us the police-eye view. Gotham’s finest have to get over their mistrust of Batman, while caught between the Russian and Maroney. “Field Test” - WayneTech arsenal from Lucius Fox, and the Batman must decide what he’s willing to do to win the f...

If you were a fan of the series when it originally aired you will appreciate the film. If not, hmm… maybe wait to rent it. I was a fan from day one and was very excited to see Mulder and Scully back in action. And Mulder and Scully are great to watch again, but the film is a slow-paced, disconnected mess. Without the mythology (Mulder’s UFO obsession, the dark gov’t conspiracy) storyline to anchor “The X-Files: I Want to Believe”, we get nothing more then a 104 minute episode, which we might have seen in season 3 or 4. Even if they didn’t watch the X-files when it was on, audiences know about the UFO stuff from just the hype and publicity surrounding it. And those that did watch know that Mulder’s obsession was the pivot point of the whole show. [sigh] Highlights for those of you that do go; Amanda Peet (“Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip”), perky and doe-eyed as ever as the FBI agent who brings Mulder in from the cold. And Alvin 'Xzibit' Joiner, that’s right “Pimp My Ride” Xzibit,...

There should be no doubt about who the summer box office champ is now. Iron Man and Indiana Jones take a back seat to Gothams’ own; Batman. Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” is a relentless, psychological, crime thriller starring Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Heath Ledger just to name a few. This film could have easily been a contemporary, straight-forward crime story, it just happens to have Batman and the Joker in it. Nolan starts the movie with a bang, steps on the gas (and your throat) until the closing credits, finally letting you up after 152 minutes to take a breath. Ryan and I went to the midnight showing at our local IMAX theater and seeing the Joker that big is scary! Heath Ledger is deserving of another Oscar nom for his portrayal of the Clown Prince of Crime. You know it’s him behind the makeup, but you never once think of the actor, you only think: Jeez this Joker guy is one sick son of a …. Yeah, he’s that good. And in a film with an ensemble cast this large, this tale...

I’m a fan of Hellboy, more accurately I’m a fan of Mike Mignola’s Hellboy. The guy in the picture above this paragraph, that Hellboy. He of the Right Hand of Doom, the cloven hooves, the cigars, the brooding, dark humor, the… well you get the picture right? Now, I’ve been around long enough to know that films are not comics and you never get a celluloid incarnation of your favorite characters without throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Hellboy II was not what I expected, nor wanted, in a Hellboy movie. Director Guillermo del Toro’s last big movie “Pan’s Labyrinth” is what this Hellboy should be, dark, evil, frightening, twisted. I think maybe he was afraid to go to that well of scary again so soon. I’m sorry Mr. del Toro but my Hellboy is not a victim of slapstick humor, rather he is in the grip of a giant rising from the earth to grind our bones! And shame on you Mike Mignola, co-writer, for letting him go that route. As LA Filmcutter points out, the snarky one-liners are gone,...

Sam Peckinpah, John Woo and the Wachowski Brothers walk into a bar… Ryan and I went to see “Wanted” yesterday. As always I ask if he liked it, he says yes. He asks what I thought, and I say “It was ridiculously good.", and then I laugh! “Wanted” is a non-stop ballet of gun-play, blood spray, and “no way”! But it’s all good, really good, and it all works, sometimes surprising, sometimes cliché, sometimes just plain fun to watch. READER BEWARE: SPOILERS AHEAD! Based on the Top Cow comic series by Mark Millar & JG Jones, the film has: Massive set pieces - the train crash will make your head spin. Crazy chase scenes - knowing how they did the Viper/Pet Food scene made it that much more entertaing. A new twist on bullet-time - giving an up close view of the soon to be flesh tearing projectile, even retracing it’s flight path to show the ridiculous shot the trigger man just made. Brilliant and darkly entertaining humor – computer keyboard to the face anyone? And a fraternity of as...

Not so much a review as a discussion of what’s to come… As I sat watching the “Incredible Hulk” Thursday night, between the tittering teenagers and the guy kicking the back of my seat (this is why I love DVD & home theaters), I kept thinking; oh man, movie Iron Man will kick your movie Hulk @$$! And I’ll gladly pay my $10.00 to see that!!! Marvel Comics and Marvel Studios have created a third Marvel Universe, the Movie-verse?, Studio-verse maybe? Anyway, after seeing Ultimate Nick Fury show up at the end of "Iron Man" and then Movie Tony Stark approaching Thunderbolt Ross in "Incredible Hulk", you know there is gonna be a throwdown in tinseltown. But who’s gonna be throwin’ down whom? Will it be the Marvel U., The Ultimate U. or this newly born Movie U.? Obviously it’s the Movie U. with its own happy gathering of Marvel’s Merry Marching Society, charging full steam ahead into an Avengers franchise. I mean c’mon, Marvel Studio’s slate of future films is a who’s w...

I took Ryan to the midnight showing of the latest Indiana Jones movie this week. We attended the local show at Cinemagic 15 in Hooksett. Also in attendance was the local ABC affiliate and their morning news anchor and weatherman. Anyway… I’ll start by saying this; I didn’t hate it. BUT… I didn’t love it either. I liked it. BUT… I want to make some changes, both in story and in editing choices. Sly (and now crusty) archeologist super hero? Check! Fast talking, not quite ready for prime time sidekick? Check! Evil anti-American military villains bent on world domination? Check! Spunky, perky long lost love interest? Check! Fast paced, globe trotting, whip-cracking, fist-slamming action? Check! Character driven, emotionally resonant, meaningful story wrapped in pseudo-scientific mythological mystery? Um… Well… Sorta… no, not really. This movie comes with all of the requisite Indiana Jones parts, but the chief mechanic (Mr. Spielberg) fails to assemble the perfect summer-blockbuster machine...

Marvel Studios has a genuine hit on its hands. Ryan and I went to see “Iron Man” at the Thursday night preview show (Cinemagic 15, Hooksett) , and it was awesome! As I gushed to David (LAFilmcutter) , I was very impressed with Jon Favreau’s storytelling and directing. Mind you, I think “Elf” is brilliant but I had no idea how this would turn out. He has a wonderful talent for taking the audience right to the edge but not pushing them over. Scenes of violence, action, and romance that could have easily been ham-fisted by many - and you know who you are - directors are taken right to the moment that makes you cringe or say: “Yeah, seen that before,” but then reins it in, leaving your imagination to fill in the blanks, saying wow, and maintaining a brisk pace and a PG-13 rating. (Which is important in a film that’s just a little over two hours long!) And what about Robert Downey, Jr.? That guy is Tony Stark! Again, everything pushed right to the edge without going over. Angst ridden, snar...

“Battlestar Galactica” is working hard to make an indelible impression on your cranium. Season 3 ended with the reveal of “sleeper agent” Cylons. Folks we’ve known and trusted as guardians and saviors of the human race (Anders, Tyrol, Tigh & Tory) outted as Cylons! And the fan-frakkin’-tastic “Starbuck” has returned from the dead to lead our rag-tag fleet to the fabled planet Earth… Or is she? You see, there is still one more ticking-toaster-time-bomb that has yet to go off. Only then will “The Twelve” be revealed and the true plan for our Cylon and Human combatants will be known. Who will win the race to earth? Will the human race survive? Will the Cylons render them extinct and move up the evolutionary ladder into first place? What’s that old saying about not out living your children? Season 4 picks up right where we left off. Galactica and the Colonial Fleet are once again at the mercy of a far superior Cylon force. Basestars and Raiders rain an un-holy amount of ordinance down...

So my question for Disney is what are you waiting for? “The Rocketeer” was one of the best films the early 90’s, why isn’t it getting the same care and attention of Disney’s other live-action features? I can understand that the majority of Disney’s time and effort is spent on its fabulous animated films, they’re great right? But I can’t be the only one who loved this movie; heck it grossed over 46 million didn’t it? "The Rocketeer" is torn right from the pages of great pulp adventures like The Shadow & Doc Savage, or the scripts of serials from the 1940’s that helped inspire “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. I wonder if all this charm, nostalgia and gee-whiz innocence might be lost on most of our Halo/iPod generation? Like Indiana Jones, Cliff Secord battles Nazi’s during the early 1930’s - there’s even a great zeppelin fight scene – in an average Joe, spy-smash, best-girl rescuing adventure. Complete with plenty of flag waving (literally) this movie is unapologetic about its lo...

Well ok, it was canceled, I know. So go rent or buy the DVD’s then! Canceled after only 3 seasons (I just finished watching season 2) we are cheated out of three more years of college life and are left only to imagine what might have been. Starring Kristin Bell (Heroes) as the title character, this show is a lively mix of Nancy Drew mystery solving, Buffy girl power (Veronica even has her own Scooby Gang) and a dash of West Side Story. The writing is sharp and witty, plenty of pop culture references, banter and burns. It has a very neo-noir storytelling style. (And I dig the noir.) Veronica Mars leads the life we all wished we could have in high school. Moonlighting as a private investigator, smart enough to take down the most evil rich girl (or boy), tough enough to stand up to the nastiest biker and nerdy enough to hang with the geeks. But it ain’t all wine and roses in Neptune, California. There is loads of family dyfunction, murder, mayhem and plenty of high school hi-jinx and teen...

I went to see " Cloverfield " today. And it's not your Daddy's "Godzilla" that's for sure. Well not, at least, until the closing credits. What could have been a blase , run of the mill giant monster story, turns out to be an exciting & scary "in the moment" action flick. And there's a touch of humor & love thrown in to make it connect with the audience. I avoided spoilers and reviews prior to seeing the movie, and that helped a lot. I had no pre -conceptions of what was going to happen and was therefore genuinely surprised and thrilled by the ensuing carnage and not-quite-nausea inducing footage. Using all hand held "camcorder" footage adds to the paranoia and realism of the story. Watching from the perspective of someone caught up in the unfolding terror makes for a much more intimate viewing experience. Like the characters in the story we, the audience, don't know what the heck is going on. Quick glimpses of NYC bein...