Film Review: The Green Lantern

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Parent Category: Film and the Arts

Category: Reviews

Published on Saturday, 18 June 2011 21:06

Written by Marion DS Dreyfus

Directed by Martin Campbell
Written by Greg Berlanti, Michael Green, Marc Guggenheim, Michael Goldenberg
Starring Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong

For the image-and-effects crowd, there is every type of visual effect in this summer cooler -- digital doubles, keying, crowd-simulation scenes, CG blood, compositing, digital environments and matte paintings. Space shots and montages, wholesale destruction and multiples.

Still, Ryan Reynolds, whose eyes are small and close set, dark and mischievous, has a narrow face and head, as if he had trouble negotiating the birth canal some years ago. Nevertheless, his body is that of an anatomical chart for the ideal corpus delectable.

Not everyone will go for this comic-book invigoration; some won’t like the SFX-heavy leit-motifs. Others will be distinctly uncomfortable with the metaphorical parallel to the late-in-film "invasion" of the extremely bad-guy aliens -- the street scene, though in California, is too close to the NYC 9/11 melée of panic in the streets. It is still early in our country‛s history to evoke pillows of ash and smoke and people running in hysteria every which way.

Ryan Reynolds plays Hal Jordan, a hotshot test pilot who is recruited by the Green Lantern Corps to join their crusade against evil in the universe and membership into an intergalactic squadron tasked with keeping peace within the universe.

His colleague hot-dogger pilot is the Ferris Corp. daughter, played by the luscious Blake Lively, but she has Dagny Taggert elements of management in addition to being the ace pilot just shy of Reynolds’ amazing air-climbing prowess.

With the help of a power ring, Jordan is granted a number of superpowers -- but can he overcome his fears in time to defeat a marauding army of evil?

Reynolds has a slew of impressive actors to help him mine the delight-filled and entertaining comic-translated-to-celluloid flick. Blake Lively is lissome and lovely as Carol Ferris. And Peter Sarsgaard outdoes himself in an icky but challenging role as ne’er-do-well science-guy Hector Hammond, with unfortunate integument and blood cells that do him in insofar as handsomeness is concerned. Mark Strong is eponymous in the allover crimson role of …Sinestro, an otherworldly presence in magenta.

Tim Robbins makes a blessedly short appearance as Sarsgaard’s senatorial papa. Also good are sundry animatronics fish-people and oddities with beefy no-neck bodies and what-not, voiced by Geoffrey Rush and others.

The CGI, though really amazing here as rarely before -- Avatar, sit back down!—are, to use an overused term, awesome. The special effects are as good as the  laser presentations in the Planetarium, and the protagonists have humorous, serious and bookish things to say that keep the audience leaning forward to catch lines before a Biff! Bam! Boom! scene erases the prior lines.

It’s good for 8 through 80, has eye-candy all over the place, and for fans of the comic book,.or for those agnostic of the pulp paper of decades ago, this is a swift entertainment.

Keep in mind: I never read the comic. I have no brief for conversion films from the ancient fanzine base. And I am a girl, so these things do not naturally float toward my delight index. Still, I have long loved sci-fi, and this is a satisfactory offering in the canon. Though not all my colleagues agree. (Can’t please everyone.)

If you have teens or just-pre-teens -- though this is a mite strong in the bash ‘em/trash ‘em in a few scenes -- my view is it was a lot more not-to-be-missed if you want to get into the good graces of the young for the weekend. If not, carve yourself out a cardboard tyke and go and enjoy.

Marion DS Dreyfus
© June 2011

June Disc Roundup: New TV Shows

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Parent Category: Film and the Arts

Category: Reviews

Published on Friday, 17 June 2011 15:00

Written by Kevin Filipski

Ben Bailey Road Rage (e one)
Best known for hosting the voyeuristic Cash Cab program, comedian Ben Bailey takes his no-holds-barred style to the stage for his first stand-up special, where he riffs on everyday life, including his adventures as a TV host. Genuine laughs abound, but Bailey’s hulking persona is definitely an acquired taste.

The Big C, Season 1 (Sony)
The first season of Showtime’s new sitcom, about a 42-year-old teacher whose life is irrevocably changed when she discovers she has incurable cancer, takes its conceit (she tells no-one about the diagnosis, especially her family) to its illogical conclusion. Despite becoming increasingly annoying, The Big C has a big ace in the hole: Laura Linney, an actress incapable of a false note or any exaggerated showiness. Even as the writing and characterizations falter, the show is worth watching just for Linney. Extras: deleted scenes, outtakes, on-set featurette and interviews.

Black in Latin America (PBS Blu-ray)
Historian Henry Louis Gates follows up his groundbreaking Faces of America, which dug into the ancestry of several celebrities with often surprising results, with this equally fascinating four-part exploration of how Latin American cultures were developed through both European and African influences, with specific studies of Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Brazil, Mexico and Peru, all shot in superb hi-def.

Breaking Bad, Season 3 (Sony Blu-ray)
This acclaimed drama won Emmys for its stars, and it’s easy to see why: Bryan Cranston (Best Actor) and Aaron Paul (Best Supporting Actor) are dynamic as the teacher who becomes a meth cook for ready money and his antsy partner in crime. There’s also stellar support by Anna Gunn as Cranston’s estranged wife. The pair’s adventures become more precarious (and dangerous) as the series goes along; Blu-ray gives the show more immediacy, with excellent use of Albuquerque locations. Extras: uncensored episodes, audio commentaries, deleted scenes, gag reel, on-set featurettes, pod casts.

Burn Notice, Season 4 (Fox)
Counter-intelligence, convoluted plot twists and smoldering relationships mark the fourth season of Burn Notice, as spy extraordinaire Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan) returns, along with his super-sexy ex (and current sidekick) Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar, looking more stunning each season: was Scent of a Woman really 20 years ago?). Extras: deleted scenes, featurettes, audio commentaries, gag reel.

Celebrity Bowling (S’more)
The three discs on this set collect vintage episodes of the L.A.-based game show that ran from 1971-1978, and featured then-popular celebs like Adrienne Barbeau, Angie Dickinson, William Shatner, Bob Newhart, Brenda Vaccaro, Loretta Swit, Nipsey Russell, and even Roy Rogers. Some of the bowlers have better senses of humor than others, and can take the ribbing they receive when their shots go astray (which is often).

Children’s Hospital, Volumes 1 & 2 (Warners)
If you’re wondering what happened to Rob Corddry, one of the most brilliantly fractured minds to ever come from The Daily Show, look no further than this acidic, absurdly funny sitcom about horny doctors and nurses working in a local children’s hospital. Not many shows can transition from the web to television, but this one pulls it off. Extras: deleted scenes, gag reel, music video, interviews.

Genius of Britain (Acorn Media)
This five-part British TV series comprises portraits of some of England’s most brilliant scientists discussing their personal heroes: among others, there are Stephen Hawking and Isaac Newton, Richard Dawkins and Alfred Russel Wallace, and David Attenborough and Joseph Banks. A bonus disc includes the 90-minute documentary, Stephen Hawking and the Theory of Everything.

The Glades, Season 1 (Fox)
Fish out of water stories have endless permutations, as this drama series shows: a Chicago detective moves to Florida hoping to leave behind 24-hour days filled with violent crimes, but soon finds himself swamped with murders in his new town of Palm Glades. Matt Passmore’s effortless charm helps makes this retread material enjoyable. Extras: deleted scenes, audio commentaries, gag reel and featurettes.

Haven, Season 1 (e one Blu-ray)
Perky actress Emily Rose stars as an FBI agent whose murder investigation takes her to the strange village of Haven, Maine, where she discovers that its inhabitants are people with all manner of supernatural and mysterious afflictions: she also discovers her own not-so-hidden past. Based on a Stephen King story, Haven is itself afflicted with Kingitis, or a terminal case of the cutes, but its top-notch on-location photography (which looks great on Blu-ray) and attractive cast make it a decent diversion. Extras: audio commentaries, making-of featurettes, video blogs and interviews.

Outback Pelicans and Salmon: Running the Gauntlet (PBS Blu-ray)
These PBS Nature specials combine spectacular hi-def photography with involving chronicles of how nature’s creatures must adapt or pay the consequences. Outback Pelicans studies the return every decade of pelicans to the dry Australian outback, while Salmon: Running the Gauntlet explores the salmon decline in the Pacific Northwest, where billions of fish once went on their annual run. Nature programs are perfect for Blu-ray viewing thanks to their awe-inspiring visuals.

Pretty Little Liars, Season 1 (Warners)
This teen mash-up of Desperate Housewives and I Know What You Did Last Summer follows four comely co-eds whose lives are turned upside down when they start receiving mysterious messages, which seem to be coming from their missing best friend. More often than not risible, but at least the actresses (Lucy Hale, Troian Bellisario, Ashley Benson, Shay Mitchell) are having fun, so some of that rubs off on the viewer. Extras: interviews, featurettes, deleted scenes.

Robin of Sherwood, Season 1 (Acorn Media Blu-ray)
This British series, which began in 1983, retells Robin Hood’s story with a fine cast: Michael Praed as Robin, Ray Winstone (later of Sexy Beast fame) as one of his ‘merry men,’ Nikolas Grace as the antagonistic Sheriff of Nottingham, and Judi Trott as Lady Marian. The location shooting was done on actual countryside locales and in authentic period castles, and is brought to especially vivid life on Blu-ray. Extras: commentaries making-of featurette, two documentaries, outtakes and foreign credit sequences.

The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Volume 6 (ABC Family)
Having detailed how Amy (well-played by Shailene Woodley) dealt with having a baby and how it affected her family (especially her mom, played by none other than Molly Ringwald), this popular ABC Family series followed school ‘slut’ Adrian after she becomes pregnant. Francia Raisa, a wonderfully expressive actress, makes Adrian’s travails worth watching.

William & Kate (Lifetime)
This Lifetime network movie was understandably overshadowed by the real thing, as its soap-opera approach to Prince William and Kate Middleton’s courtship and engagement is far less compelling than what was in the tabloids and on TV. Still, Nico Evers-Swindell and Camilla Luddington make a charming couple; the supporting cast, including Ben Cross, Serena Scott-Thomas and Victoria Tennant, adds credibility to the proceedings.

CD Review: Remastered "McCartney" and "McCartney II"

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Parent Category: Film and the Arts

Category: Reviews

Published on Thursday, 16 June 2011 01:00

Written by Kevin Filipski

Paul McCartney has never gotten enough credit for his experimental side, neither while in the Beatles nor during his four-decade-long solo career. But, as the newly released remastered and expanded editions of his 1970 solo debut McCartney and its follow-up, 1980’s McCartney II, unmistakably show, his experimentation is an ongoing feature of his music, along with his flawless melodic flair and penchant for the “silly love songs” that have made him millions of dollars, helped sell millions of records and earned him the derision of many.

In fact, McCartney was initially derided upon release as a half-baked effort that showcased one good song and some tantalizing fragments; when McCartney II came out ten years later, the nasty criticism was even more withering. Now, however, listening to this music in the context of McCartney’s eclectic solo career—which includes albums as disparate as the aptly-named Liverpool Sound Collage, his latest Fireman CD, Electric Arguments, and his classical oratorio Ecce cor Meum—one must conclude that, contrary to popular belief, McCartney is anything but a lazy and pampered superstar: rather, he’s a restless musician who has always done what he wants, commercial strictures be damned.

Both of these albums are homemade affairs, with Paul handling all the instruments and vocals and wife Linda chipping in the odd harmony. While “Maybe I’m Amazed” is the obvious stand-out track on McCartney (with that ringingly perfect guitar fill that would do George Harrison proud), the album also includes the scrappy rockers “Man We Was Lonely” and “Oo You,” lovely ballads “Junk” and “Every Night,” and bizarre, careening instrumentals “Momma Miss America” and the album’s percussive closer, “Kreen-Akrore.”

McCartney II follows the same blueprint. “Coming Up,” with its metaphorically rising bass figure, was a huge hit in America in its more fleshed-out live version, but Paul’s homemade original is far more memorable. “On the Way” is a gorgeous slow blues, “Waterfalls” one of Paul’s loveliest ballads, and “One of These Days” a haunting solo acoustic number. Goofy synthesizer loops abound in the truly weird “Temporary Secretary” and off-the-cuff “Darkroom,” along with the bouncy new-wavish instrumentals “Front Parlour” and “Frozen Jap.” And if “Summer’s Day Song” is merely an irresistible minor-key melody in search of a real song structure, “Bogey Music” and “Nobody Knows” are straight-ahead bashers that have their creator's tongue firmly in cheek.

As with last year’s Band on the Run re-release, McCartney and McCartney II—both of which have been given a lot of space to breathe in their newly remastered versions, even if their upgraded sound is not nearly as obviously superior as the 2009 Beatles re-releases were—contain the original album and a second disc of bonus tracks. McCartney’s seven extra tracks include two live versions of “Maybe I’m Amazed,” one from Glasgow in 1979, which is where the live versions of “Every Night” and “Hot as Sun” come from. A demo for the unfinished “Women Kind” and two snappy outtakes, “Suicide” and “Don’t Cry Baby,” round out an intriguing peek behind the curtain.

McCartney II's bonus tunes include two already-released songs, “Check My Machine” and “Secret Friend,” which, clocking in at nearly 6 and 11 minutes respectively, are among Paul’s most outré techno experiments, while “Bogey Wobble” and the medleys “Mr. H Atom/You Know I’ll Get You Baby” and “All You Horse Riders/Blue Sway” aren’t far behind in the offbeat department. Somewhat redundantly—since they've been featured on other discs over the years—the “Coming Up” and “Wonderful Christmastime” singles are also included.

Up next in Hear Music/Concord Music Group's McCartney reissues are Ram, the 1971 follow-up to McCartney that remains one of his best records; Venus and Mars and Speed of Sound, both solid examples of Paul and Wings as a hit-making machine; and the 1976 live set Wings Over America. Here’s hoping the upcoming reissues arrive at more regular intervals than what we've gotten so far.