People of the Chair: Walt Disney

I've been thinking about new topics to write about on this blog, besides movies because that can get a little boring after a while and I haven't been able to go to the movies as much as I would like to this summer. So, I figured why not write about the people behind the camera? The people that sit in the chair all day and make the films that we love or the films that we despise. They can be actors, directors or even producers. They are the talented individuals who make what we see on the screen possible. And so, I've decided to start giving credit where credit is due by starting off with the name that everyone in the world has heard: Walt Disney
I was thinking about who I should start this series off with, and while you could make the argument for people like Martin Scorsese, Stanley Kubrick, or Steven Spielberg (and don't worry, we'll get to them) would make better starting points, to me, Disney was the one that made the most sense. Why? Well, because everybody knows who Walt Disney is and for a lot of people, some of the first movies they ever saw were ones that had the name Disney attached to them. He is one of the first, if not the first real icon of film and animation.
At work, I've often heard the saying "It all started with a dream and a mouse", and I don't really see Disney's work as being the fulfillment of a dream, I'd say it was more of following a vision. Fulfilling a dream is great, but doing what Walt did takes mountains of dedication and commitment and the word 'dream' doesn't seem to do that hard work justice. Walt was more than just a film maker, he really was a visionary, and that can be seen in many of the films that were made during his time. Probably the two best films that signify this are Bambi and Fantasia. Neither of these films follow the typical conventions of films made at that time or even today. Unlike Fantasia, Bambi may have a narrative like most films, but it doesn't have a typical one. One of the most identifiable aspects of Disney films are the villains, and Bambi doesn't really have one, or at least a clear one with a face. The villain is fate. I know a lot of people say that the villain is man, but it's really the cruel hand of fate. Man didn't enter the forest with the specific intent of messing up Bambi's life, it just happened. And in that way, Bambi is more of just a story of life and how things may happen for a reason, but the reason is not always clear, sometimes, stuff just happens whether we wish it to or not. But the strength of movies like Bambi lies not in the story but in the visuals or animation. When you get a chance, take some time to just watch the film and admire the animation. At times, it really is life like and you just feel like you are in nature.
Fantasia is a movie like no other because it doesn't have a narrative or real story. Sure, some of the segments have their little story to them, but they don't last very long. And if anything, this is the movie that should be released in 3D. When Walt Disney was envisioning Fantasia, he wanted it to be a total experience, he even wanted people in the theater to smell the things that you would be smelling when you would see these segments. The only way to describe it is animators listening to the pieces of music and just coming up with images to accompany them. In some instances, they are pretty akin to what you may have imagined, but in other times, you really have to ask how they came up with that. An obvious example would be in the sequel when they envisioned the whales emerging from the water and swimming in the clouds as they would in the ocean. But another example from the original would be The Rite of Spring, in which the visual accompaniment is dinosaurs. When I was a kid, I thought that was awesome, now I look at it and think "How did they come up with that?" It's just a testament to how the creative juices flowed at that studio. And the funny thing about all of this movie was that it was only intended to be one short, The Sorcerer's Apprentice. Initially, the film was just going to be the bit where Mickey gets ahold of a sorcerer's hat and does all sorts of crazy stuff with it. But the expenses just kept building up and it took way more time than was supposed to, so Disney just said "Screw it, let's make more out of this".
What do these movies say about Disney? Well, if anything, they are a statement about his commitment to the craft. A lot of people have argued about whether movies should be considered as art, and if you wanted a quick end to that argument you'd only need to look at these two films. And even if you don't like the movies or any movies that came from Disney, you have to admire the passion and the effort that went into them. Walt was always pushing his animators to see what they could come up with and try to top it, and the final result ended up being some of the most iconic movies in history.
But what about the man the myth the legend himself? Well, while Disney was an icon and a father to many, he certainly wasn't perfect. It has been reported that he was a workaholic and that he did have a bit of a temper at times. But does that mean that we shouldn't remember him as we do? The answer is of course not. Even if he did have his moments where he wasn't as cheery as the pictures show, the thing that we all have to remember is that he was devoted to making films that were primarily to be enjoyed by families, not just one specific age group, and that's really hard to do. Even if he wasn't always successful, you can't knock him for trying. Is trying even the right word for it? I feel like you are doing more than trying when you are giving each and every project your all.
I know I sound like a broken record by singing Walt Disney's praises as much as I am, but I do it for a reason, as does everyone else who you've heard talk like this. Unfortunately there are times where I believe that the Disney film studio of today has long strayed from the initial vision that Walt had when he initially started Walt Disney Studios, what with the countless direct to video sequels of 50+ year old movies, but as long as people like Hayao Myazaki (I'm kind of winging it with that name spelling) and John Lasseter are around, I still think that there is some hope that children and family entertainment won't fall into the chasm that houses Hannah Montana and The Suite Life.

The Wolverine

I never really gave a shit about the other X-Men. There, I said it. Don't get me wrong, the X-Men movies were all really fun and totally kick ass, but to be honest, the only two that I really cared about the whole time were Magneto and Wolverine, that's why I was so hyped to see First Class and today's movie, The Wolverine. Why? Because those were the first times (not counting the godforsaken origins movie) where these mutants were standing front and center and it was there time to shine. Sure, Magneto still had to share the screen with Professor Xavier, but it was still an interesting look into their relationship and how their different upbringings led to their different views on mankind and the world. So all we needed now was a standalone Wolverine movie and the series is prettu much golden, as long as we can bring ourselves to forgive and forget the third movie and the atrocity that was that other Wolverine movie.

So yeah, that was pretty much the task of director James Mangold when he took on the job. And how did he do? Well, let's take a look. The story is set about a year or so after the end of the original trilogy. Wolverine has left the mansion and is living in some unnamed forest, having taken a vow to never hurt another person after he was forced to kill Jean Grey. He's having a hard time living with his curse that is his immortality and has all but given up until an old acquaintance reaches out to Logan and invites him to visit his home in Japan. The person in question is a former Japanese soldier who Wolverine saved from the A bomb that hit Nagasaki while he was staying there as a POW. Nothing of what I have told you is a spoiler because #1- it's literally told to you in the first five minutes of the movie and #2- it was in all of the damn previews. Upon arriving in Japan, Wolverine is both thanked for what he did and is also offered the chance to have his rapid healing ability taken away so that he can age and eventually die like a regular human. Which, not to nitpick, but the reason for his andamantium skeletal structure is because of his rapid healing ability. Having said that, if that power were taken from him, wouldn't he just collapse? I'm a little hazy on that. If you have an explanation, feel free to leave it in the comments. So anyway, he denies the offer, but I guess that didn't matter because he got infected with something that caused his healing to become less quick and eventually stop altogether.

And here is the strength of the movie, Wolverine is finally vulnerable. I've always enjoyed watching Wolverine kicking ass but the thing that always bugged me was that it didn't matter what people threw at him, he was just going to get back up and keep fighting. I know this makes him more of a beast, but it takes away from the tension. Here, if Wolverine got shot or stabbed, he took damage, and there was a point in the movie where I thought Wolverine might actually not make it, which to me, made me care more than I did while watching movies like Iron Man 3 or The Dark Knight Rises, because in those stories, the characters were faced with the possibility of death and had come to accept the fact that they may just have to make that ultimate sacrifice. Here, Logan is being faced with that reality for the first time in his life, and that made it all the more heavy for the audience. So in the heavier, more drmatic and emotional sense, the movie florished. It's other strength is the fact that this is a purely Wolverine centered film. There are only two other mutants in the movie and even then, their roles are fairly limited. There isn't even a mention of the other X-Men. And the final thing that this movie got right was that Wolverine didn't dress up in the X-men uniform. Okay, I get that it  is a part of the X-Men lore for him to wear it but I really just prefer him fighting in just the wife-beater and jeans. I don't know why, but that is just way more badass to me. Maybe it's because Wolverine is a guy that very much marches to his own tune and having a uniform is just out of character for him.

Now where did this movie falter? Actually, it didn't really start to fall apart until the very end, but even then, it wasn't as bad as you would think. The end battle is between Wolverine and a giant robot suit thing called the Silver Samurai, which is like Optimus Prime if he had a japanese son. My only problem with this is that the only other enemies that Wolverine had to go up against for the rest of the movie are Yakuza assassins and ninjas. And to me, that was far more interesting because even though none of these guys had special powers and nond of them were mutants, they were still pretty badass and presented a very real threat. So for me, if the climax was just Wolverine going up against like fifty of these ninjas and probably have to fight Lord Shingen at the end of it, that would have been just fine. There's also a twist at the end of the movie in which we learn who the real villain is, and it's one of those twists where you really learned to like a guy because of how wise and how respectable he was, but then his true colors are revealed and I just said "Oh, you were an ass hole the whole time". And for a movie that was so deep and made Wolverine much more complex than we're used to seeing him have this kind of watered down ending that you'd expect to see in a typical comic book movie was kind of a let down.

With all of that said though, Wolverine is finally given the badass movie that fans and casual movie goers have always wanted to see from him.

Final verdict: B+, buy it on blu-ray

Whose Line is it Anyway? Series Premiere

Some of you may not know this, but one of my all time favorite shows is Whose Line is it Anyway? It doesn't matter how many times I watch clips from it, I always end up falling out of my chair. So, naturally, when I learned that it was going to be coming back on the CW, I got excited, and then I learned that the three musketeers themselves, Ryan, Colin and Wayne would be back and I was freaking hyped to see this return. The only downside was that Drew Carrey would not be returning as host, due to his obligations of hosting The Price is Right. That was a bummer, but then again a lot of the jokes aimed at him were aimed at his weight, so it just wouldn't be the same. Instead, we have Aisha Tyler from Archer hosting and we've got the rest of the old gang back.

So, how does it hold up? Like you even need to ask, it's freaking Whose Line is it Anyway?! You know right from the get go that it's going to be hilarious! It's formatted exactly the way that it was in the old days, it has the same cast, the same layout, really, the only thing that's different is the host and Colin has white hair, which I will admit was a little unsettling at first, but his humor was just as sharp as ever so I got over it.

The only thing that I was unsure about was the host. Aisha Tyler is a successful comedian herself, though I was apprehensive as to how she would fair as the new host. And to be honest, I think she does alright. She's not all that spectacular in the first episode in terms of her own jokes, but she definitely seems to know what she is doing. I think she just needs a little time to get into the groove of the show. Even if she doesn't, we have the original three, so the host is trivial.

With all that aside, the return of Whose Line deserves to be seen by all. This is something that everyone has been waiting for for years and it doesn't even hint at disappointment. In these times where fandom a are getting hurt by reboots that don't do the original justice, it's nice to see a return that we have been praying for. Whether it's Wayne's songs or Colin and Ryan's bromance, it's almost as if the show never left.

When did villains become hot?

There have been a number of trends popping up in pop culture in past years, but the one that I find the funniest is having to do with villains. When did being the villain become sexy? Think about it. In the old days, the bad guys were always the ones you rooted against. You were not supposed to be attracted to them in any ay because their goals were always not supportable. Now, it seems that the trend is to root FOR the bad guys. There are three characters that come to mind when I think of villains that were considered sexy. Loki, Bane and Khan. All three of these characters want to cause chaos and bring down the people that wronged them. And yet, these are the people that got cheered for the most during their respective movies. When I went to see the most recent Star Trek movie, I went to a special pre screening a few days before the actual release and, as you can imagine, the theater was packed. But when the movie started, I noticed that the parts that everyone cheered at were not the ones with Kirk or Spock or anybody from the Enterprise for that matter, the biggest cheer came at the beginning when they first showed Khan's face and at a part where Khan wastes a group of Klingons single handedly.Now I realize that part of that is due to Benedict  Cumberbatch's already existing cult popularity, but even so, he seems to be the only thing people had to talk about with the movie, or at least the only thing people remember. And with Loki, I remember hearing girls swoon when he first made his appearance in The Avengers, and if you look at the trailer for the new Thor movie, you'll see the comments section loaded with people talking about how hot Tom Hiddleston is. Following the release of The Dark Knight Rises, a lot of people were talking about it, but one of the bigger topics of discussion was how hot Bane was. This one really intrigues me because you can't even see his full face. So I've taken the liberty at looking at the similarities between these characters to see why women find them so appealing.

Number 1- none of them are what you think of when you think of somebody who is good looking. Benedict Cumberbatch especially, but even so, he is considered one of the hottest men in show business and his adoring fangirls have a name for themselves: Cumberbitches. I swear I did not make that up.

Number 2- All of them have a past that is less than pleasent. Loki has living in his brother's shadow, Khan was an outcast and Bane was born in a prison and has to where a mask to survive. People are drawn to that, women especially because that just creates a character that you just want to hug. Like all their problems would go away if they were shown some level of comfort.

Number 3- They are all badboys. Though I don't see how this is appealing because all three of them are too far gone down the path of destruction. You'd think people would be smart enough to realize you can't fix any of these characters because of the past that they have and the present environment that they have to deal with. Bane especially because he's apart of a cult that causes destruction as a means of bringing world peace.

Number 4- They all have a goal, and that is to wreek havoc. And that doesn't sound that appealing because if you want to talk relationship wise, they would be too preoccupied with what they are doing to even remember that they are in a relationship.

Number 5- The actors playing them, while they aren't traditionally good looking, are still intelligent and charming in their own right, which is what most of their fanbase is attracted to. And I think that is where most of it comes from, the already existing reputation of the actors selected to play them. I've already mentioned Benedict Cumberbatch but Tom Hardy and Tom Hiddleston both have their own fangirls, and that number just seemed to get bigger once their respective movies came out. And I think that's why most audiences ended up liking these characters. While the actors are considered hot, they also turned in really good and convincing performances.

So, of the things that they all have in common, probably the biggest appeal comes from both 2 and 5. People seem to be drawn to people that they can fix. In most cases this would fall under the badboy category, but since all of three of these people are, you know, mass murderers and terrorists, I think it's the fact that most of their issues comes from their troubled past that makes people want to fix them and remind them that if things had been different, they could have been a better person. Of course they all have their own reasons for being considered so hot, but since those three stood out the most, I wanted to see what they all had in common, which is not that much, given that they are all from different movie franchises that all have their own unique style and approach.

Monsters University

Prequels are rarely a good sign. I always get the feeling that whenever I see a prequel for an already existing movie, I feel like the studio is throwing up their hands and just saying "We've given up". And I would be lying if I said that thought didn't cross my mind when I first heard about Monsters University, which I originally thought was going to be a short, kind of like how we all thought there was going to be a fourth Toy Story, but it turned out to just be something on the Disney Channel. I thought the case was the same here, and it turns out I was wrong, this was an actual full length movie. And besides, I figured this kind of prequel already had its ending written in. They graduate from college and go on to work for Monsters Inc. And that is where the movie's real strength lies, the fact that that is not how it ends. I don't want to ruin too much for you, but I will say that it certainly threw me for a loop. And I like that it's a children's movie of all things that tried this sort of course. It reinforces the theme that sure, life doesn't always work out the way that we want it to, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't give up on our dreams. It's a humbling message to see our characters go through all of this adversity and not get the results that they wished for, but it's also empowering to see how they do end up getting their dream job, which is of course working for the title company, Monsters Inc. Is this a perfect movie? No, there are some shortcomings in the script and even though this is a prequel and a children's one at that, but I felt like there were too many winks to the audience saying "Well, you know how it goes from here". I love Steve Buscemi, but I felt that his role as their rival to be was a little underdeveloped, except for one line at the end, which is one of those winks that I was just talking about. And while it did bog me to the point that it's worth mentioning, it didn't keep me from enjoying the rest of the movie, it didn't even bug me while I was watching the movie, I just thought of that point now while I was writing this.

With all that aside, I do recommend Monsters University, because let's face it, it's a Pixar film. If you have blood in your veins, you're obligated to see the film at least once, whether for it's heart or for it's clever humor, and there is quite a bit of both to be found in there latest film.

Final Grade: B +, I'd see it again, maybe buy it on Blu Ray

Man of Steel

If there was ever a franchise that needed saving after the nineties, other than Batman, it was Superman. I don't know much about Superman's lore or mythos, but I do know that his original franchise was similar to Batman's in a lot of ways. The first two were good, if perhaps a bit corny, and the third and fourth sucked balls. Around the time that Batman Begins came out, Warner Bros, also tried reviving Superman with Bryan Singer's Superman Returns, which was a continuation of the Superman canon, while leaving out the third and fourth movies and denying they existed. Which was great except that Returns ended up being mediocre at best and not the savior that fans were hoping for. Since then, Warner Bros has been looking for a way to resurrect the franchise in the same way that Nolan resurrected Batman. For a while, it was rumored that Nolan himself was going to direct a Superman film and maybe even a crossover film with his Dark Knight trilogy. Admittedly, that was not an idea that I was all that excited for, and I would still like it if that never happened. However, I was interested in seeing a new Superman and thought it would be interesting to see what Nolan and his team, including famous comic book writer David S Goyer could bring to the table. The result is Man of Steel.

There are a lot of things to like about Man of Steel. For starters, I think the prologue on Krypton could be made into an entire movie itself. It was really interesting to see a new take on the planet's culture and history and I got to admit, I was not a fan of the way it was portrayed in the original series. They made it seem too perfect. In this new storyline, they make Krypton a once great planet whose ambition and over reaching its grasp had lead to its destruction. And to me, that is far more interesting since in here, it's their fault that Krypton was doomed in the first place. The rest of the story is pretty good, though I feel that the stuff on Krypton was a bit too rushed because I was really hoping to see more of it. Also, what almost kills the movie for me is that the villain's plot is exactly the same as the villains on all of the Transformers movies. Though, I think this was noticably better than in the Transformers movies, I still could not get over it.

I've never been a huge Zack Snyder fan, but when I heard that he was hired to helm the project, I thought that was the perfect choice. Even in Snyder's duds, like Suckerpunch (it sucked guys, get over it), I give him credit for his visual style so that there is never a dull moment in the movie, and you can see he really went all out for his scenes on Krypton as well as any scene where Superman is flying or fighting.

And the casting was the one area I was hoping the movie would soar, and in some cases it did, especially with Henry Cavill and Russell Crowe, but in other areas, I thought it fell flat. Michael Shannon is a talented actor and is great on Boardwalk Empire, and I was really pulling for him to steal the show here, perhaps not to the degree of Tom Hardy, Benedict Cumberbatch or even Heath Ledger, but I was really hoping he would just command the screen and while he did a good job, it wasn't the scene stealer I was hoping for. The rest of the cast is okay, but considering it includes A listers like Laurence Fishburne and Amy Adams, I was hoping there was more done with them.

So, overall not a bad movie, but I think it would require me to see it again before I say whether or not I would buy it on Blu-Ray. But, I would definitely say that I recommend it.

Final Grade: B, I'd see it again, not sure if I'd buy it on DVD/Blu-Ray

Fast and Furious 6

I have to admit, I have never really given the Fast and Furious franchise much thought, which is why when I first saw Fast Five, I didn't really get that these were movies that were made for the sole purpose of being big stupid fun, so when I saw the fifth movie, which was the first one that I ever saw, I ripped it apart. In recent years, however, I have grown to appreciate the movies more and say that while I wouldn't say that any of the Fast and Furious movies are ones that I am rushing out to buy on DVD, I do see their value and I guess I wouldn't mind sitting and watching them if they were on TV or if I was at a friend's house.

I guess I just gave away all of the review that I had lined up for Fast 6, so I guess there isn't a whole lot else to talk about. Well, why don't we cover the high points. The biggest high point of the movie has to be Dwayne Johnson. If anybody gets what the point of these movies are, it's this guy. For a while, people were saying that he was the one to take the baton from Arnold, and I think that is really the case with his character. He's an FBI agent that has a massive build and is never, and I mean NEVER seen without a black Under Armor shirt on. I honestly think he has a whole closet full of them. And just the way he acts and says his lines just shows that he really knows what these movies are, and you can tell he is just having a blast with it, which makes him so much fun to watch.

The other high point of the film is the climax, which is so stupid and awesome, that I can only attempt to describe it. All I can say is that it takes place on the world's longest runway.

Other than that, there isn't really much else that I can say that you don't already know. The key to enjoying these movies is to just detach yourself from reality, leave logic at the door and turn your brain off and just enjoy the ride.

Final Grade: B, not rushing out to buy it on DVD, but I still liked it