Posted at 7:40 p.m. - Friday, January 2

Just got home from seeing Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler.  Wrestling geeks are sure to enjoy this touching look into the life of a past-his-prime grappler, and even non-geeks will appreciate the performance of one Mickey Rourke, who is just astounding as Randy 'The Ram' Robinson.  'The Ram' is one part Randy 'Macho Man' Savage, one part Hulk Hogan (without the video residuals) and one part Ultimate Warrior.  He's a sad-sack who can't handle success, frittering his fortune from the 80's on drugs and women, left to scrounge for whatever scraps his fading reputation can get him.  But damn if you don't feel for the guy.  I was never a big fan of Rourke's back in his bad-boy sex symbol days, but he really played on my sympathies in this role which is sure to get him Oscar consideration.

Now, while the 'Ram' came off as a combination of all those wrestlers I mentioned before, his plight was straight out of another wrestling film that I really enjoyed: Beyond The Mat.

Beyond the Mat told the behind-the-scenes story of the 'feud' between Mick 'Mankind' Foley and Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson in the WWF (before it became the WWE).  There's some nice backstage footage of Vince McMahon and Foley discussing their characters' storylines and how to further develop the drama, thus exposing the true nature of 'competition' in the world of pro wrestling.

But the real drama takes place as the camera follows Jake' The Snake' Roberts, one of the WWF's top heels in the 80's, now doing the local wrestling circuit and still living in the past.

THAT is who I thought of as I watched The Wrestler.  'The Ram' was living Jake Robert's life, all the way down to the estranged daughter.  And I have to admit that I got pretty choked up there in the end.

Great, great stuff in both these films and I'd encourage geeks and non-geeks alike to check them out!

As always, I welcome your comments and feedback.

 

Posted at 12:00 a.m. - Saturday, December 20

Oh sweet...this weekend's edition of the REDEYE has a COVER STORY written by your truly.  The story is a primer on Will Eisner's Spirit character and the upcoming film based on the comic.

Now I've gotta admit that I haven't seen the film yet and I'm getting a bit worried as the advance word of mouth on the flick hasn't been all that positive.  Rumor has it that Frank Miller's inexperience as a director really shows, and that he's jettisoned much of the Eisner 'essence' for Sin City-type antics.

I just hope that the rumors of Bugs Bunny-ish, physics defying combat taking place between Denny Colt and the Octopus aren't true.

I guess we'll se soon enough.

Posted at 12:05 p.m. - Saturday, November 22

Now here's a fun film that just goes to show the kind of talent we have here in the Windy City!  The League is a 'thesis film' for Chapman University by filmmakers Kyle Higgins and Alec Siegel that features everything you would expect in a big-budget production: solid production design, great costumes and top-notch special effects.

Also involved in the production was professional comic-book artist Eric Wight, who is known for his work on The Escapist for Dark Horse Comics and Justice League of America for DC.

The film plays with all the archetypes of the comics genre, from The Dark Avenger to the sidekick to the cosmic hero and puts them in a perilous world of dark dealings and back-alleys where nothing is quite as it appears to be.

You can watch this gem of film for FREE on The League web site!

CHECK IT OUT!

Posted at 12:25 p.m. - Friday, November 21

I interviewed the Director and Producer of the new Astro Boy CGI feature at the last Comic Con International, and now comes this brand-spankin' new trailer courtesy of MovieFone:

Posted at 10:15 p.m. - Friday, October 17

The first reviews of the new James Bond flick 'The Quantum of Solace' are hitting the internet.  This one from the BBC describes it as 'a film that feels like the second part of a trilogy, with this being the bleaker second act. '  Oh yeah, that's the stuff.

Now, as someone who grew up with the Roger Moore Bond, followed by a general apathy for the Timothy Dalton Bond, and then had my interest in the character revived by the Pierce Brosnan Bond, I've gotta say that Daniel Craig has been really selling it and I've been buying it.  My only quibble with Casino Royale is that it felt a tad too long for what it was, with a rather abrupt ending.  My feeling is that Quantum will make up for that with a shorter run time and by tying up the loose ends of the first flick.

Check out the review and you can also see the trailer for Quantum of Solace!

Posted at 9:05 a.m. - Thursday, October 16

[Image courtesy Entertainment Weekly Magazine]

EW magazine's Star Trek preview hits the stands this week giving all those Trekkies who were wondering what the new look of the Trek franchise was going to be a look at some more elements in the franchise 'reboot'.  It also has an interview with the film's director, JJ Abrams.

What comes as a surprise to me is admission that he was never a big Star Trek fan as a kid:

“I don’t think people even understand what Star Trek means anymore," says Abrams, who saw the first Star Trek film in 1979 with his father at a theater on the Paramount lot. But he feels no warm-fuzzy nostalgia about it. In fact, Abrams can sum up his regard for Trek in two words: Galaxy Quest, the 1999 hit starring Tim Allen that satirized Trek with painful precision. “It’s so ridiculous, so accurate, so sophisticated, it spoils the Star Trek universe,” he says. Plus, at heart, Abrams is still more of a Star Wars guy. “All my smart friends liked Star Trek,” he says. “I preferred a more visceral experience.” Which is exactly why he accepted Paramount ’s offer in 2005 to develop a new Trek flick; creative­ly, he was engaged by the possibility of a Star Trek movie “that grabbed me the way Star Wars did" 

Now, some Trekkies may be concerned that Abrams is going to turn Star Trek into Star Wars, which just may be a valid concern.  And in all honesty, I didn't care much for Trek until 'Wrath of Khan', the most 'Star Wars-y' of the Trek films.  We'll just have to see what happens come the sequels/prequels? release date.

You can read the entire article here.

Posted at 9:25 p.m. - Saturday, September 20

In another one of those 'let's-take-a-nostalgic-character-and-update-him-for-the-younger-set' deals, The Green Hornet will be adapted for the big screen with Seth Rogen and Stephen Chow in the lead roles.

According to Variety  not only is Seth Rogen co-writing the screenplay, his co-star Stephen Chow will be directing as well.  After helming cult martial arts hits like Kung Fu Hustle and Shoalin Soccer, the move sets the film up as a potential break-out hit.

Or not.

See, while it may look good on paper, these types of match-ups don't always turn out the way some would like.

I thought that casting Alec Baldwin as The Shadow in the film adaptation of the radio serial and comic book was brilliant, and the first 20 minutes of the film were comic book noir-ish good fun, but then the movie descended into camp.  Same for The Phantom, which had a spot-on lead in Billy Zane (and I say that knowing that he beat out my hero Bruce Campbell for the role) but was let down by a script that took itself less-than-seriously.

Do I think the Green Hornet will be the next Dark Knight?  Nope.  But it can be something pretty cool, provided all the elements in place can come together and tell a solid story.

Is that too much to ask?

Posted at 10:20 p.m. - Friday, September 19

As reported here on the RedEye site (via the Los Angeles Times), the execs at Universal Pictures have decided to not bankroll Steven Spielberg's and Peter Jackson's proposed Tin Tin movie trilogy.  And, while the news may come as a bit of a shock to some, and may disappoint a few, I've gotta say something I never thought I'd say...

I'm with the movie studio on this one.

Spielberg and Jackson were reportedly asking Universal for a $130 million to finance the motion-capture animated film.  Now, I'm no financial wizard or an economist, so someone explain to me why these guys - both multi-millionaires in their own right - need a movie studio to finance what is essentially a vanity project for them?

For all the grief fanboys give George Lucas for the prequels, and more recently the Clone Wars animated series, at least the dude puts his own money into each venture.  He's paid for every one of his features, out of his own pocket, and all the studio pays for is distribution.

Why can't Spielberg and Jackson do the same?

I mean, didn't Spielberg found Dreamworks SKG a few years back because he, David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg had so much money that they couldn't possibly spend it all (I'm paraphrasing Geffen there).  And then - correct me if I'm wrong - turned around and sold the studio for a pretty penny?

So why the need to go 'hat in hand' to Paramount to secure the funds?  I dunno.

You'd think in an age where independent film makers are mortgaging their homes, maxing out their credit cards and putting their cars up as collateral for a loan to make a film, multi-millionaires like SS & PJ could afford to pony up some of their own capital.

And c'mon, let's be honest...will we all beating down the doors of our local multiplex to see an animated feature based on a Belgian comic book?

Really?

Posted at 7:45 p.m. - Thursday, September 18

Alicia Keys.

Jack White.

007 movie theme.

Nuff said.

Check it out!