Thoughts on movies, comic books, life, and other nonsense, by someone who should know better
You know, when some people liken ANY science fiction movie to 2001: A Space Odyssey, I’m immediately skeptical. Not only is the Kubrick Klassic one of the few actual science fiction movies out there (sorry, Stars Trek and Wars don’t count), it also happens to be one of my all-time favourite films. So I was skeptical but curious enough to watch it. Admittedly though, the draw for me was Brad Pitt.
Since I watched Spider Man: Homecoming, The Amazing Spider Man 2 has been on heavy rotation on TBS, and I’ve caught a few sequences over the past few days – enough to remind me how mediocre it was – indeed, some parts just descend into outright awfulness. I was never a fan of Andrew Garfield’s two movies – the first one was serviceable, but I joined the naysayers because of the rebooted origin. If there’s anyone alive who knows the character, they already have the origin story down. Dressing it up a little differently and adding a veneer or familial mystery didn’t disguise the fact it was a stupid idea to essentially reboot the character as if the Raimi movies never happened. At the very least, this is what Spider Man: Homecoming gets right.
As soon as Kurt Russell was introduced as Ego, in Guardians Of The Galaxy, Vol. 2, one specific thought came to – how was he going to die? Now, to anyone who reads comics, especially those who remember when comics were a good, fun read, it’s no spoiler to say that Ego, The Living Planet is historically one of Marvel’s cosmic villains. First introduced on the final page of the September 1966 issue (#132) of The Mighty Thor, Ego is defeated in the following issue and vows to never attack anyone else … of course, over the decades, Ego has returned again and again to threaten lots of places and superheroes. But the specific story I immediately thought of was Fantastic Four #235, a few issues into John Byrne’s legendary run as writer and artist. And, as it turns out, I was right on the money. So what does this have to do with the review? I’ll get to it a little later.
My negative comments about the animated Batman: The Killing Joke and Justice League Dark were definitely affected by my lack of love for animation, but mostly because the animation was ugly, and the stories weak. My comments on the animated stories within A Monster Calls were positively glowing, so I guess it isn’t animation overall I don’t get into, though that’s my biggest complaint. Another complaint is that I don’t feel that animated stuff is much more than fanservice once it goes beyond the child demographic.
I had a fairly good idea what to expect from The Hunt For The Wilderpeople, Taika Waititi’s follow up to the fantastic vampire horror comedy What We Do In The Shadows, but I’d be lying if I said I was right. I only knew that it was a bonding story; set in rural New Zealand, a troubled kid is sent to live with foster parents. It’s his last chance before getting cast into the system as a juvenile delinquent, but then he bonds with those people and all is well. Seen it before, right? Seems like it’s something that would be on Hallmark or The Family Channel – a feel good, Disneyfied slice of Midwest apple pie. That’s what it sounded like to me from my ignorant lack of knowledge about it, anyway!
AT THE FOOTHILLS OF MADNESS 