Meddling Kids Book Review

Had Stranger Things been an anthology, this would have been an excellent second season.

Meddling Kids, by author Edgar Cantero, is a very fun homage to Scooby Doo and HP Lovecraft, clearly having a great time playing with some of the tropes from each source. Combine that with a decent amount of nostalgia, hefty dose of metaphors, plus the occasional meta, and Meddling Kids makes for an engaging pulp read.

I did have a hurdle in the first portion, getting familiar with the style (there were lots of references and the word choices felt like someone was having too much fun with the thesaurus), but once the story started going, it fell into a groove that didn't let up until the very end. That said, some action towards the end muddled things a bit, but the great characters and writing were enough to overcome any minor disruptions.

For a healthy mix of horror and comedy, Meddling Kids gets a solid RECOMMENDED.

I do mean it when I say I'd love to see this as either a movie or TV series, though 6-episode TV series would be ideal.

Justice League Movie Review

*MILD SPOILERS*

The first thing to acknowledge about Justice League is maybe the easiest thing to say about it:

It's a mess.

But what does that mean exactly? Well, your mileage may vary with both how much you enjoy the movie and how good you think it is.

As for me, I certainly didn't hate the movie as much as Man of Steel (which I consider to be the worst movie I've seen in theaters in the past decade, if not ever), nor was I as bored as I was during Suicide Squad, but it didn't have nearly enough of the good will of Wonder Woman or surprisingly entertaining tonal consistency of Batman vs Superman's extended edition (despite disagreements with the overall creative direction; I'm not bothering with the theatrical version).

My main gripes with the movie are:

• I stopped caring - Shortly into the movie, I realized I didn't care about anyone or anything that was on screen. Neither the plots nor performances were particularly exciting. Ben Affleck's Batman alternated between disaffected and disinterested, with a good chunk of dry smarm and wit to feign engagement. Cyborg's exaggerated movements were also awkward. 
• The film really needed breathing room - The editing, pacing and timing were rushed in a way that gave the movie a really awkward tone. Part of this may have been due to the split-directing duties between Zach Snyder and Joss Whedon, but there's a good chance the movie was a mess during the script. Speaking of which...
• The script - Clunky dialogue, cheesy lines, random (retroactive) introductions of plots/character motivations via dialogue, lack of subtlety - the film needed another pass on both the dialogue and the script.
• The music - Why did Danny Elfman replace Junkie XL? Despite my general dislike of both Man of Steel and Batman vs Superman, the music for both was of high quality. The lack of Superman's theme and other recent themes really hurt Justice League. Not to mention the very random inclusion of the Burton Batman theme detracted from the experience. Very, very disappointing. 
• The CG - This was really, really not good. From the blandness of Steppenwolf's face to the blandness of the terraforming. Sure, it led to some pretty flowers, but everything looked like visual crap, despite the big budget...

I could list more, but I'll try to summarize: the film was a very mediocre and underwhelming debut for DC's first-class team. I can't say that I was disappointed, because that meant I would have expected better from the current DC Extended Universe, although in seeing the movie that meant I unfortunately financially supported it. 

Had this been an entry in the DC Animated Movie universe, I'd have been perfectly contented. Hell, if all the rest of the Snyder-verse DC movies could be relegated to much cheaper DCAM versions, that may be the best win-win scenario - give people these stories with these characters and not continue with the exorbitant costs and missed live-action opportunities. 

That said, the film did do a few things well:

• Superman - Other than a debatable return, once Superman remembered who he was, we're finally able to see the "beacon of hope" Superman as played by Henry Cavill. Had this been the Superman from the get go, perhaps the DCEU course would be in a more positive direction. Note, though, that this movie is a giant refresh for Superman, with previous ones almost taking place in parallel dimensions, considering how different this Superman is.
• The Flash and Cyborg's banter - Other than one or two cringe-worthy jokes, they had a nice rapport.
• The overall team dynamic - Excusing script and performance issues, the team actually seemed motivated to work together to get the job done. They recognized each others strengths and tried to encourage each other to be the best versions of themselves. 

When it's all said and done, I would suggest either waiting to see the movie on cable, where commercial breaks may help disrupt the flow of the movie in a good way, or an extended edition of the film is released which hopefully reinserts some much-needed breathing room. Until then, Justice League is NOT RECOMMENDED. If you want some great Justice League content, watch the complete run of Justice League Unlimited. 

Dark City Director's Cut Review

I recently rewatched the Director's Cut of Dark City and hot damn is it a good, fun movie. I love the art direction, production design (seriously, the visuals are so cool) and especially the music by Trevor Jones. The general noir style is pretty great, though some of the trappings (misogyny) leave much to be desired (women aren't given great material, nor non-white characters).

This is the kind of movie I would love to make, as I think Dark City does a couple really cool things rather well:

1) Editing and pacing (and script) - The film only shows you enough, typically via quick glimpses, and yet its very effective at conveying the message, story and mood. Similarly...
2) Dialogue - Characters are able to say so much by saying so little. I particularly love a few of the dialogue choices with the main character, John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell), in that he knows something another character doesn't and either asks them a question or phrases his sentence in a specific way to not reveal anything; nicely done. It helps that the film is beautifully crafted, with a wonderful villainous turn by Richard O'Brien as Mr. Hand.

Not to mention, how many movies end with a really, really kick-ass telekinesis fight? Dark City features easily one of the best "psychic" fights ever filmed. Plus, the themes and ideas regarding memory and how that determines who we are? Very cool.

It's unfortunate that Dark City has become somewhat "lost in time." Had The Matrix not come out the following year (1999), I wonder if Dark City would have been more influential. Granted, something like The Matrix would have surpassed it at some point, because there's a bit more commentary and depth with The Matrix (more to the world and story that's relatable), but it could have been nice for Dark City to have had more of an impact.

To reiterate on one of the early points, it's a damn shame Trevor Jones isn't a more famous composer. His score for the film is perfectly atmospheric, suspenseful, exciting and action-packed - there are some great themes I just want to wrap myself in as if they were a blanket. I'd argue he's created at least three top-tier scores:

Dark Crystal
Dark City
Merlin

Excalibur may also be included, among others (Labyrinth).

While the Director's Cut is arguably the superior version to the theatrical, Dark City is easily HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Hopefully it's legacy will only grow with time. It's such a beautifully 90s movie that must be scene at least once.

Thor Ragnarok Review

Thor: Ragnarok is a fine, if not very fine, movie, which I mean in a good way (and not just for the talent involved).

Ragnarok seemed very much like director Taita Waititi's Batman Returns, in that he very much gets to tell a story he would normally tell, but with so many toys and characters and things to play with in the Marvel Universe.

As Marvel's third movie in 2017, Ragnarok struck me as the better versions of GOTG2 (space-fairing adventure) and Spider-man: Homecoming (comedic action), despite not being able to learn any of the lessons from either release due to production schedules. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that Ragnarok shares many of the same plots and beats as GOTG2, but is what I'd argue to be the clearer superior movie.

However, I'm a bit mixed on the beginning, which was a little wonky and out-of-character for Thor, but "enough" humor (as not every bit hit) and certainly the action helped.

I LOVED so many little details (the dragon's eye roll) in Ragnarok. Taika's very good with details and building worlds. There's lots of intelligence with his movies, both in details and the script.

Acting-wise, I loved so many newcomers: Valyrie (Tessa Thompson) and  Hela (Cate Blanchet) were both awesome, kick-ass and sexy (while not being objectified); Jeff Goldblum (Jeff Goldblum) was lots of fun; and Taika Waititi was a scene-stealer in his role. For returning members, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) was pretty good, though a more mature (particularly emotionally) version, to an extent (though his plot was semi-moronic, unless everything was part of Loki's journey because it's a path he was already on...). Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Odin (Anthony Hopkins) seemed rather different from their normal selves, which isn't necessarily bad, just different (e.g. Batman Returns). Hopkins gets some big bonus points, as I loved his bit as Loki-Odin - I won't say anything more.

Regarding story, though, there was something ultimately kinda flat about the movie for me, with the stakes never really feeling that high or low. Thankfully, however, Ragnarok lacked scenes that undercut the emotion and drama like in Spider-man: Homecoming (so maybe it did learn something). It also lacked the general amateur storytelling skills in GOTG2. Disappointingly for me, and your mileage may vary, it never got quite as high as I think it could have (it did have a ton of the right beats, though).

Having now watched three of Waititi's movies (Ragnarok, Hunt for the Wilderpeople and What We Do in the Shadows), Taika may be a better version of a modern Terry Gilliam, in that he's able to be so unique with his voice and have knowledge of and intelligence for utilizing different mediums and methods. His films are art.

That said, I'd love to see him develop and direct more TV pilots, as those three movies of his I've seen (Thor, Wilderpeople and Shadows) and indicative - Taika leaves me wanting more at the end, in both good ways and bad.

All said and done, Thor Ragnarok gets a strong RECOMMENDATION from me as a solid movie. It's a world I'd like to return to, as the comedy, visuals and music (and shoutout to the score by Mark Mothersbaugh) gel together in a fun way, which is exactly what Taika set out to do.