Winter’s Tale: Trailervision for a Valentine’s Day Date… Is it “The Notebook?”

I like Colin Farrell as an actor. He has had some great blow-ups that was good for Entertainment News Channels and I see how he tries really hard with each of his roles. He was supposed to be a huge movie star. He was the star in Phone Booth, and The Recruit with Al Pacino. He was Bullseye in the comic book crushing Daredevil, and was a key person in the ensemble film S.W.A.T. After that he was Alexander in 2004 and Miami Vice in 2006 and that was the end of him being a movie star. Fright Night and Total Recall both flopped and he just couldn’t stick as a leading man. Now he is back in Winter’s Tale, a sappy Valentine’s Day film for those love struck, science fiction or religious fans out there.

I think Matt Damon made a film like this called “The Adjustment Bureau” about a man searching for his long lost love that outside forces don’t want him to make happen. That was not a box office bank roll making $62 Million domestically off of a $50 Million budget. Winter’s Tale is trying to boost its chances by using Russell Crowe as the bad guy. It worked for Les Miserables so maybe lightening can strike twice. The writer of the film is Akiva Goldsman who gave us “A Beautiful Mind”, “I am Legend”, “Cinderella Man”, and “I, Robot”. But he also gave us “The DaVinci Code”, “Batman Forever”, “Batman & Robin”, and “Lost In Space”. I really want to root for this film to be a good science fiction love story, but I am working hard to think of one that actually was good. Especially when there is Time Travel involved. Maybe “Back To The Future?” So I am recommending staying home for this one, and waiting until HBOGO or Netflix for this one.

Trailer Vision- Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (Maybe we should shut down the Zoos)

There is no John Franco in this movie boys and girls. No dude who wants to be a friend to the animal kingdom and make the world a better place for him and his chimpanzee. No saving the world and his father with a miracle drug. There is nothing light and airy in this sequel to Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Gary Oldman, who is good in everything – my personal favorite is Leon: The Professional as a corrupt cop- seems to be the co-star of this film. But the actual star, the main attraction is back from the Original… Caesar. I mean just look at the Movie poster and you can see he is the star.

 

But what is truly daunting about this trailer is how dark it is:<a href="” title=”Dawn Trailer”>

 

Maybe because I had just finished watching “28 Days Later” for the tenth time because I have a crush on Naomie Harris (I will be watching SkyFall today off of NetFlix as part of my dedication to her. Might even watch a couple of Pirates films as well because she is sexy as Calista/Tia Dalma… if you can past the grungy teeth). Anyway, it looks like its been about a decade since we have seen John Franco and Caesar (I mean is there a better name out there for this character? I think not) and I don’t think Will Rodman made it through the war that is discussed in the trailer. This movie looks dark and menacing and like any good science fiction film, filled with underlying messages about how humans are destroying the world and what could happen if we do not change our ways. Did I mention I only use non animal tested products and will probably cancel my pass to the Bronx Zoo. Like, 28 Days Later, the world looks like it has come to an end and like any good horror/science fiction film I felt a twinge in the back of my neck for humanity. All I have to say is that I will be there opening weekend with One Medium Size Tub of Popcorn. I don’t know if it will be great, because it is a sequel, but it has the potential to send chills and be highly entertaining. I am hoping for a Dark Knight type of sequel and not a Matrix Reloaded type of sequel. I think we will be good with a “28 Weeks Later” type of sequel. Enjoy!

Almost Human vs Agents of Shield

The Fall season brings in new shows for us to contemplate and then decide what to watch. Sort of like rookies trying out for an NFL team or a Fantasy Draft every year. It usually means we will have to cut some veterans or fill in slots after some of our favorite shows are retired. My television dance card is already very full: Sons of Anarchy, Boardwalk Empire, WWE Raw, Scandal, Greys Anatomy, Elementary and Arrow are all safe. So I have dramas and a superhero/scify concept filling my roster. I added Key and Peele and Real Husbands of Hollywood as comedies after some binge watching. So going into the season I decided I would bolster the superhero ranks with Agents of Shield and wait for the return of Game of Thrones/True Blood for SciFy fix. One day I’ll catch up on Walking Dead and Supernatural on Netflix, but that’s another blog post.

But then something occurred with the heavily promoted Agents of Shield on ABC. It sucked. Me and my Comic Book ADD friends argued over whether it would get better or whether it should be watched. Its supposed to link with Avengers 2 and Avengers 3 but without the big guns like Thor and Hulk. My friends said that we need to be loyal. That Joss Whedon can’t fail. But the show was boring. I had no connection to any of the characters, even Agent Coulson. The characters were all cookie cutter. The white alpha male super spy. The cold and precise Asian “cavalry”. The geeks with accents. The hard nosed leader with a secret (ala Tom Hanks in Saving Private Ryan). The only person with a semi personality is the hot idealogical computer geek, Skye, who isn’t trusted. I just don’t care about any of them and it’s been over five episodes. I was going to quit after four episodes but my friend begged me to watch another episode because it was better than the first four. We are no longer speaking because he betrayed our trust as that last episode sucked as bad as the others.

Thankfully Almost Human – the highly promoted science fiction series on Fox – from J.J. Abrams came to save the day. Even though Fox ran a promo for the show and during every football game on each of its networks leading into its two night premiere I kept an open mind that it wasn’t just all hype. I considered whether it would be an empty promise like Agents of Shield or will we get character development without the stereotypes and an overall conspiracy like Fringe?

After two episodes I am happy to claim that Almost Human is Almost Great. I like the developing relationship behind Detective Kennex and the Dorian robot. I like the weekly procedural that lives within an overall conspiracy that we get to try and figure out. I like that Minka Kelly is in something interesting post Friday night lights and that her and “Smash” can brag about what they are up to with Coach Taylor and his wife Tami in Nashville. Still holding out hope for Tim Riggins after the John Carter fiasco and Matt Saracen who bombed in Off the Map. Anyway the reasons why Almost Human works and Agents of Shield doesn’t are:

1. I like the characters and already care about them. Detective Kennex gets blown up in his first episode robocop style and has major PTSD and guilt issues. He also has a pretty acceptable hate of androids/synthoids because he unfairly blames them for his loss. He is gruff on the outside but not without a soul. I also like Michael Early’s android, Dorian. He is like Data without the goofiness. Could be his grey eyes, but he is just cool. But not too cool that he can avoid insecurities about being an outdated model that people are all expecting to fail. He knows he is one mistake from being thrown in the scrap heap. How many of us can relate to that in our educational and professional lives? It makes you want to root for him. I still don’t know who to root for in Shield. They even made me not care about Agent Coulson in a short period of time.

2. The larger conspiracy is tucked into a procedural show. So yes, you can watch individual episodes without being bogged down by a larger premise and the individual shows have cool story lines you could expect in the future. Some people think the larger conspiracy is too much like Blade Runner but to be honest most of the 18-24 years olds viewing the show have never watched Blade Runner. Shield has a conspiracy within its show that is linked to our resident computer hacker, Skye, but again I am boy interested because I am not interested in Skye anymore. So I am looking forward to seeing how everything turns out with Kennex and hunting down those that killed his partners and blew off his leg, because I care about him and his character. I also want to know if he gets with Minka’s Detective Valerie Stahl.

3. The relationship between Dorian and Kennex is as natural as Riggs and Murtaugh, Reggie Hammond and Jack Cates, or Marcus and Mike Lowrey. They don’t always get along but they build a relationship of respect. I am sure that respect will grow to true friendship without the sexual tension of “Moonlighting”. They push each other to be better and share their feelings and weaknesses with each other. The Captain’s relationship with Detective Kennex is also a brother/sister vibe and it seems genuine. Even Detective Richard Paul’s hatred of both Kennex and Dorian seems real. The Agents of Shield do not have much chemistry or affection or even true dislike for each other.

For these reasons I have given Agents DVR slot to Almost Human and I’m looking forward to a new episode this week. Maybe Agents will get better and I will return to it upon enough recommendations from you readers (not from my comic book add crew since they have already cried wolf on the show too many times). But I will enjoy getting to know the future as represented by Fox and this android/human team.

Kirk vs Kirk

Lets start with the answer to the first question of how was Star Trek: Into the Darkness. I thought it was awesome. JJ Abrams has reintroduced this film for old and new fans alike. It is probably the best Star Trek movie since “Wrath of Khan”. Many people will give you their thoughts on the film and IMAX 3D, but what I want to do is figure out who is Dukie, meaning whose really the shit. That is who is the best Captain Kirk. One caveat, I have always loved William Shatner as James T. Kirk. To me he will always be THE Captain of the Enterprise and go boldly where no one has gone before. Yes, some people love Captain Jean-Luc Picard and feel like he is superior than Kirk and they are entitled to their opinion. He is a fine actor and plays a great Charles Xavier, but he can only follow and not surpass the original Captain. And no, Scott Bakula, is not allowed in this discussion even though he was quite good in Enterprise and I will always love him for Quantum Leap, but not so much for Major League 3. But I digress. Focus, Jim, focus. William Shatner created and established the great cowboy, explorer persona that we all love in our Captain. And he created the quirks and audio staccato that has been both revered and spoofed by generations of Trekkies. William Shatner is by all means the original Kirk. So I went into this competition of Kirk vs Kirk – William Shatner vs Chris Pine a little bit biased. I also knew that my bias was also based on the fact that Shatner had been sitting in the captain’s chair for a considerably longer time than Pine. So in order to square that away I would need to even the score some. Actually I might have given advantage to Pine by only comparing Kirk to Kirk in the first two movies. But then after consideration I realized I was giving Shatner handcuffs with Star Trek the Motion Picture and decided to compete on their second movies only: Shatner’s “Wrath of Khan” Kirk vs. Pine’s “Into The Darkness” Kirk.

Ok. Now that we have established the forum, lets look at the criteria of rating Kirkiness. There are some things that are definite Kirkiness. Those items are: swagger, leadership, fighting, sexiness, bravery and wit. Let me tell you that after watching “Into the Darkness” it was a game changer for Chris Pine. I enjoyed the first one, but that was an establishing moment for Pine’s Kirk. This time we get to see who Kirk really is. There are some spoilers in this Celebrity Death Match so please do not read unless you have watched the movie or don’t care about spoilers.

Swagger- Noun
“A very confident and typically arrogant or aggressive gait or manner.” I think of Kirk as an intergalactic pimp. He has an energy that drips off of him. It’s something that commander Pike didn’t necessarily have. Probably the reason why he never made it out of the pilot and why they had to create the Kirk character. Of course Shatner embraced these characteristics. That’s why this competition is not truly fair. As he is so fond if quoting, “He doesn’t believe in the no-win scenario”. Pine is a handsome man and is very cocksure. He has an energy about him as well, but it is different. Pine is absolutely confident in everything he does, from being a captain to picking up women. But his swagger does not come from the same place. Due to the changes in the story line Pine’s Kirk has his swagger because he is trying to fill a hole in his life from the death of his father. A father who sacrifices his life for his birth is difficult to live up to. He doesn’t have the natural swagger of a man who had a good upbringing, but the swagger of a person with something to always prove. He is a 15 year old boy in the body of a 25 year old. Shatner’s Kirk had his father’s approval and advice growing up. George Kirk was the inspiration for Shatner’s Kirk to join Starfleet and George Kirk lives long enough to see him become captain. He wanted to show the world how great he was because he thought he was great, not because he had a chip on his shoulder. Shatner had swagger the entire film, even when he was tricked by Khan and was caught with his “britches down”. Pike also had swagger and took on missions that no other captain would want to take on his own. He was intent on going out and getting revenge on the murderer of his mentor, Captain Pike. He was not afraid to go to the Kling-on home base and did tell Khan that “He was only alive because he allowed it”. Unfortunately, he did lose some of it when his Starship was about to be destroyed and he felt like he sacrificed his entire crew to die.
Final outcome: On the issue of swagger I give that one to William Shatner.

Leadership – Noun
“capacity to lead. To direct on a course or in a direction.” Kirk is a leader of men. He gets the best out of them. In Star Trek the original series Kirk is described as being able to get the most out of his squad. Being a leader is the ability to make the tough decisions even when you are not sure what the right one is. Even though Shatner was all so human – as Saavick describes him- this human quality allowed him to be a great leader. Men wanted to and did die for him. Spock’s own death was because he believed the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few or the one. Only his own upbringing or the lessons of the captain could engage some thinking. Even with a mind altering device in their brains Chekov and his captain couldn’t pull the trigger on Shatner. Pike continued to lead his men into danger over revenge. It took his people to continuously tell him what was morally right to stop him from making enormous mistakes. Not that Shatner was without major problems either. But that is what makes Pine’s Kirk so human as well. Revenge is a viable emotion after seeing his mentor killed. He was a new type of leader that allowed his crew to eventually teach him how to lead them.
Final verdict: I am going to give Leadership to Shatner as well.

Fighting – verb
“to contend in battle or physical combat”. We all know that Shatner had a fight and win clause in his contract. He had the same clause when he became TJ Hooker & we believe that James Caan had the same clause when he was head of security in the TV show, “Vegas”. As my daughter explained to me while watching “Wrath of Khan”- Shatner looked too old and was not ready for action. Sure he beats up his son, David, when he first gets to Genesis, but his son is soft and is a doctor/scientist, not a warrior. I hate to agree with her but Pike was young and spry and even though he gets his ass kicked by Khan he had a few great fight scenes to show what he could do. So even though Pike doesn’t win his big fight, he does do some good fighting on the enemy ship – not as good as Khan or Spock – to earn the win on this one.

Sexiness- noun
“The arousal of sexual desire”. William Shatner is at a severe disadvantage due to his age again. Young Shatner is a stud. Wrath’s Shatner is 50 years old. Sure Carol Marcus still thought he was sexy and I’m sure that his wavy hair was a turn-on for many older women, but Chris Pine is 33 years old when “Into the Darkness” is released. That’s a lot of years difference and hard to do a head to head comparison. Also the outfits are not made to look sexy but distinguished as the crew was older.
Final verdict: I’m just going to give this one to Pine in a walk off.

Bravery- adjective
” having or showing courage”. This is the toughest one. Both Shatner and Pine are brave beyond belief. Shatner continuously offers himself up for the safety of his crew. He tells Khan that if he really wants him, Khan needs to meet him on Genesis. Pine also puts himself at the forefront of danger at every possible situation. His Kirk is not afraid to die and has shown that numerous times. He is like an extreme athlete who pushes the limit constantly. Shatner wants to live. He continuously tries to cheat death and pat himself on the back when he does. That is why he fixed the computer in Kobayashi Maru scenario. He can’t even face death in a simulation. In the end though Pine gets the opportunity to risk everything to save his ship and earth. He too tricked the Kobayashi Maru scenario, but he did it because he was a rascal not due to his fear if death. He wanted to get over on Spock’s simulation. When the true moment arrives, he gives the ultimate sacrifice similar to Spock in Wrath of Khan to save the crew. Shatner never even considers this option. Pine embraces the motto: “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one.”
Final verdict: “Damn it, I have to give this one to Pine, too.”

Wit – noun
“the ability to relate seemingly disparate things so as to illuminate or amuse”. Shatner wins this one easily. Dude is just funny in real life so he brings this to his role. Pine isn’t funny, he is more smug. People want to be around Shatner and have a drink with him and tell stories. With Pine they more or less tolerate him because he is handsome and aggressive like Gaston in Beauty and the Beast.

In the end Chris Pine is a very good Captain Kirk. His bravery and sexiness are amazing. Shatner is the original and his leadership and swagger are second to none. In the end though Shatner is the original and as my friend Prodigy says “it takes a full knockout to take out the champ. You cant win on points alone.” For that Shatner is the best Kirk. Come back to me after Pine does his third film, I might change my mind.