Celluloid Speaks

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

2009-01-22T02:06:00.000-08:00

Directed by Gavin Hood
Written by David Benioff and Len Wein

Cast
Hugh Jackman ... Wolverine
Ryan Reynolds ... Deadpool
Liev Schreiber ... Sabretooth
Dominic Monaghan ... Beak
Lynn Collins ... Silver Fox
Danny Huston ... William Stryker
Daniel Henney ... Agent Zero
Taylor Kitsch ... Gambit
Kevin Durand ... The Blob

Who watches the Watchmen?

2008-08-06T04:49:00.000-07:00

TDK Does It Again

2008-08-06T02:58:00.000-07:00

The Dark Knight has crossed it's $400mil mark and in record 18 days beating Shrek 2 for a 43 days sprint. This places TDK at 8th position on the All-Time US Box Office and at 39th on the Worldwide Box Office leaving only 5 movies between TDK and 2nd position Star Wars (1977) that had grossed $460mil in domestic sales. The well anticipated sequel of the Mummy took 2nd place for it's first weekend box office at $40mil just $2mil behind TDK's 3rd weekend. At this time last year The Bourne Ultimatum opened at $69mil, which doesn't leave the Mummy 3 looking very good. However on a global scale, the Mummy sequel won the gold with $102mil worldwide beating TDK at $81mil.

According to Rotten Tomatoes things look very promising for TDK as past records show very little decline in August. 2006's Pirate's of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest grossings consisted of the 76% late summer cummulation as did Bourne Ultimatum's 72% of last year out of their total box office. Of course without being over optimistic, should TDK continue at this pace it will take the 2nd place on box office within the next 2 weeks, bringing it well within reach of the elite $500mil mark that only Titanic (1997) holds to date.

"Internationally, TDK grossed an estimated $37mil from 51 markets to boost its stellar overseas tally to $202mil. That gives the comic book flick a worldwide cume of $597mil with much more fuel still in the tank as major markets like Korea, Japan, Spain, France, Russia and Germany have yet to open" Gitesh Pandya, www.BoxOfficeGuru.com

Box Office News

2008-07-29T19:47:00.000-07:00

From Rotten Tomatoes

More records were smashed into bits by the unstoppable megahit The Dark Knight which remained at number one by a comfortable margin for the second straight time. Moviegoers had mixed feelings for the two new releases with the Will Ferrell comedy Step Brothers scoring a solid second place bow while the sci-fi sequel The X-Files: I Want to Believe underperformed barely reaching double-digit millions.

Audiences once again filled theaters all weekend for the superhero blockbuster The Dark Knight which grossed an estimated $75.6M dropping a reasonable 52% from its record-breaking opening weekend. With the cume soaring to an eye-popping $314.2M after only ten days, the Warner Bros. release shattered the $300M mark in record time. The old record was held by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest which banked $258.4M of loot over its first ten days and crossed the triple-century mark in 16 days.

The new Batman film also set a new record for the largest second weekend gross outdistancing the $72.2M that Shrek 2 hauled in back in May 2004. Knight has now virtually matched the $314.9M collected by Iron Man over the last three months and will become the year's highest grossing blockbuster on Monday. On the all-time list, the new Joker saga has quickly climbed up to number 23 sitting right next to 2001's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

Dark Knight's hold was impressive considering how much business it already absorbed on the first weekend. Looking at the largest opening weekends in movie history, second weekend drops were 62% for Spider-Man 3, 54% for Dead Man's Chest, and 56% for Shrek the Third. Word-of-mouth has been strong for the Christopher Nolan-directed sequel and the Imax showings continue to be a major event creating even more excitement and repeat business.

Given its sturdy hold, Knight now looks to be on a trajectory that will see it zoom past the $400M mark by the end of its third week of release. With most of the summer's tentpole titles already played out, and a full month before students go back to school, the Caped Crusader now has a realistic shot of breaking through the $500M mark domestically joining only Titanic in that exclusive stratosphere.

Overseas, The Dark Knight was a dominant force grossing an estimated $65.6M and ranking number one in 43 markets. The opening in the United Kingdom which followed last week's glitzy London premiere led the way with $22.3M, including previews, while holdover markets dropped by an average of only 38%. The early international cume rose to $126.3M putting the global tally at a stunning $440.5M with major territories like Japan, Germany, Korea, and France still to open. A worldwide haul of more than $1 billion is certainly possible for Bruce Wayne and pals.

TDK Records in order of occurrence:
figures provided by Media by Numbers

Largest number of opening theatres with 4,366 more than the Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End in 2007.
Biggest midnight preview gross with $18.489 million in 3,040 theatres beating Star Wars EpisodeIII: Revenge of the Sith in 2,915 theatres in 2005 at $16.9 million.
Biggest IMAX midnight previews set an new record with $640,000 (this amount was appropriately included in the $18.489 million preview number).
Biggest single-day gross in Box-Office history with $67,165,092. Previous record held by Spiderman $59,841,919.
Biggest opening weekend gross in Box-Office history with $158,411,483 million. This best the $151,116,516 set by Spiderman 3 in 2007.
Biggest opening weekend gross for an IMAX release in box-office history with $6,214,061 million in 94 theatres ($66,107 per-theatre!) beating Spiderman 3 at $4.7 million in 2007 - IMAX showing at full capacity $1.9 million on Saturday alone.
Biggest single-day Sunday gross with $43,596,151, beating the $39,937,865 set by Spiderman 3 on its debut weekend.
Fastest sprint to $200 million domestically in just five days.

Sex and the City

2008-07-25T06:22:00.000-07:00

Rating : 3 Stars

Cast : Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon

Director : Michael Patrick King

Music : Aaron Zigman

Distributor : New Line Cinemas

Warning : Movie Spoiler

Based on the successful television series of the same title, Sex and the City was a good change from this summer’s continuous release of action packed blockbusters. It’s a story of four best friends living in the Big Apple and their plight for a fairytale ending of their lives. A sensuous and paradoxical romance comedy revolving around their complicated relationships, sex lives and friendship.

Sarah Jessica Parker reprises her Emmy winning role of Carrie Bradshaw, who is now at a crossroad in her life realising that she has to finally make a decision about her relationship with Big (Chris Noth). The movie pretty much starts at the point where the couple is looking for a new apartment in which to live in. They find a beautiful penthouse and agree to move in together. This is where things start to go wrong. They agree to get married but she seems to leave him out of the picture as she darts for the wedding of her life. Feeling like he is simply playing a role of the groom, instead of solidifying the relationship, Big bails out almost unwittingly.

Samantha Jones (Cattrall) is also facing a dilemma of her own. She being used to having only to focus on her own needs realises that she may have to focus on her very supportive and understanding lover. Her flamboyant and almost nymphomaniacal nature drives her hormones and her mind up the walls.

Miranda Hobbes’s career finally drives her husband to a one-night stand. His confession shocks her into divorcing him. In her rage, she accidently says the wrong thing to Big on the eve of his wedding with Carrie.

Charlotte York on the other hand is leading the perfect life of the four and it gets better with the news of her pregnancy. She had already adopted Lily years before and had settle with the fact that she cannot have a child of her own. This puts her into a paranoid state afraid that she might lose the baby.

It took the Carrie awhile to realise that she had been so focused on her desires that she had completely neglected to ask Big for his opinion on the wedding affair. She automatically shut him out for a year without hearing his side. Samantha after a year of depression, shopping and gaining weight decides that she cannot dedicate herself to one man. It also took Miranda a year to see that “it takes two to tango” in a marriage and an affair. She learns to forgive her husband and they try to work things out. Charlotte goes on to deliver her baby.

Michael Patrick King returns in the silver screen release as director, producer and writer. King was the Co-Producer for 11 episodes of the television series in 1998 and Executive Producer of 78 episodes from 1999 thru 2004. He also wrote 30 of the 94 episodes that were released through the 6 seasons. Sex and the City seems to be his only saving grace in Hollywood.

For the most part, it seems like the movie was written entirely for the girls as everything seems to revolve around what the women wanted and that it was only right for them to get it their way. The men were all too stupefied to say anything. In fact I would go to say that the all the men in Sex and the City seem like docile, insecure pushovers. The women are always in control even when they themselves are completely lost. Their immediate solution often seems to be “If I want it, then it is right”. Fortunately the ending saved it a little as life showed them the error of their ways. But as I said earlier, the movie was written for the girls, so there was very little and almost irrelevant male perspective. Also, big names in the fashion industry almost stole the lime light. Constant name dropping and clothes line-up almost makes this a very long ad.

All in all, the movie was simply a 148 minutes long finale episode where everyone gets what they want and clearly made for the fans who want an ending. If this were a movie on its own, I would not even think to recommend it. However, as this is part of a rather successful televison series and more of a finishing, so I think it turned out rather well (male ego and all aside) but only for its sentimental values. It is a rather decent Sunday Matinee if you wanted to watch something nice and pleasant with no story depth for a change. Girls you will love this movie. Guys be prepared to feel stupid.

Box Office

2008-07-20T21:36:00.000-07:00

The Dark Knight takes the lead in this week's box office at an opening weekend grossing of $155mil placing it just behind Kung-Fu Panda which had grossed $207mil since it opened on the 6th of June. Hancock trails behind the Panda at $192mil since release on July 2nd.
It's obvious that TDK will surpass these 2 movies by the next weekend.

In 1989, Tim Burton's Batman managed a clean $251mil in the States and $413mil worldwide. However, its opening weekend only grossed $40mil with a production budget of only $35mil. TDK's production budget was at an estimated $150mil. Currently, TDK sits at 156 position on the All Time Box Office ranking for the US. It is also obvious that TDK will outrank Batman before the month is out. The question now is how far is it going to go?

Could TDK reach Titanic's $600mil for US box office? and if so, will it also pass Titanic's worldwide grossing of $1.8bil?

It seems a possibility with TDK attracting all sorts of audience from comicbook fans to movie fans and even those who have no interest in either are raving about Nolan's genius work. The fact that this is Heath Ledger's last completed movie might even be a push factor for box office sales. Already, many have viewed the movie more than once in a 4 days period. TDK seems like it's heading to be the biggest movie event in the last decade, maybe even two. Come what may, TDK has made it good and it can only get better.

Till next week.

'Nuff Said.

Dark Knight

2008-07-18T00:48:00.000-07:00

Cast : Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Arron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Maggie Gyllenhaal

Director : Christopher Nolan

Music : James Newton Howard, Hans Zimmer

Released By : Warner Bros.

The opening scene, now known as the “Bank Job” showcases the Joker’s talent in covering up his tracks and escaping the law. 5 men and a bus driver. Only one walks out. It was genius.

The movie was, in one word, awesome. Batman and Jim Gordon takes organized crime in Gotham and soon find themselves prey to a new criminal mastermind who thrusts Gotham into anarchy and forces the Dark Knight ever closer to crossing the fine line between hero and vigilante. At every turn, the storyline threw me into another wormhole. The plot constantly thickened. Just as you’d think it was about to end, a new plot is revealed. Moral issues were constantly questioned. Every character questioned themself while the Joker executed his plans with thorough accuracy limited only by his mind’s eye. Gotham was careened into chaos as both the good and bad were being blown to pieces. The citizens of Gotham the chess pieces while Harvey Dent, Commissioner Gordon, Bruce Wayne and Batman became unwitting players in a complex game weaved by the Joker. This is not what you’d expect from a Hollywood movie and more so for one based on a comic book character. Where most other comic book based movies have been simplified for the mass audience, Dark Knight took a gamble at complexity and depth of a storyline. It was a good gamble. Nolan and Goyer out did themselves in this one.

This is by far the best performance from Heath Ledger. It was brilliantly stunning and shocking at the same time. He portrayed the Joker as insane and conniving as he is in the books and in fact, at times so much more. Constantly calm as he mocked and agitated both the law and the underground. The Joker’s magic trick at the underground’s “therapy session” was brilliant. Ledger created what I perceive to be his trademarks of the character. His body language never expressing his thoughts, only intimidation. He slightly bows his head, a little tilted and stares intently past his brows. His darken eyes creates an intense feeling even as an audience, as if he was the devil staring into your soul. He emphasizes his words with expressive pauses and subtle movements. Ledger did retained one of Jack Nicholson’s Joker trademark; the constant lip licking just as he was about to say something profound. All in all, this was a Heath Ledger’s Joker. Calculated, insane, cruel, haunting and terrifying.

As for the Christopher Bale, he lacked no talent. His performance was as outstanding as it was in Batman Begins and Equilibrium. Unfortunately Ledger stole the limelight from him. As for the characters he portrayed, apart from Bruce’s desire to be with Rachel Dawes, Batman seems more of the focus this time around as Bruce Wayne takes a step back. The Joker’s focus on Batman throughout the movie exemplified the term “you complete me”. As it was in the comic books, both characters made and pushed at each other in their own ways. What was nice this time around was that Nolan and Goyer managed to tell a story about the human side of Batman. His desire to lead a normal life, his personal conflicts, the choices he has to make as the caped crusader, his vulnerabilities and his desire to make Gotham a good place to live in while constantly compelled to make choices as Bruce Wayne.

“And now you have not just a young man in pain attempting to find some kind of an answer, you have somebody who actually has power, who is burdened by that power, and is having to recognize the difference between attaining that power and holding on to it.”

Christian Bale on his role as Batman.

Unfortunately though Two Face did not last long in the movie, but his alter ego, Harvey Dent was a crucial component in the Joker’s plans and Aaron Eckhart did an excellent performance transforming from the District Attorney who wanted to clean up Gotham into the malevolent vengeful Two Face. What was more pleasing is that it was not a sudden flip of the coin. His “Two Face” persona was already evident from the beginning. All the Joker had to do was bring it out.

Oldman was in his usual subtle yet impressive element. He was definitely the right choice to play Jim Gordon. A man who has been trying to clean the streets of Gotham for too long on his own, while trusting the only one person he really knows nothing about, Batman. Unlike Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent who only acknowledged the presence of risks, Gordon had a clear understanding of the risks that came with his choices. He was constantly being the sensible one making tough decisions while standing firmly on his principles. Oldman as in all his past performances, always studied the characters he was to play resulting in pure artistry.

My only disappointment in the entire movie was Maggie Gyllenhaal. Her portrayal of Rachel Dawes was less than mediocre.

This city deserves a better class of criminal
and I'm gonna give it to them.

In short I can only say that at long last, Hollywood is beginning to understand Batman as how writers like Frank Miller and Alan Moore have often portrayed him to be; the complexity of being a billionaire playboy and city guardian at the same time. As I have for years been telling friends, comics are a lot more complicated than most have perceived them to be. Finally there is a movie truly worthy to be associated with comic books. Dark Knight will most definitely sit on my mantle next to the great works of Lucas, Roddenbarry, Harryhausen, Verne, Lewis, Homer and the likes.

P.Ramlee The Musical

2007-11-01T01:20:00.000-07:00

The Life, The Loves and the Inspiration.

Back in 1975, the people of the United States of America lost an icon and a man who touched the hearts of many in his path, The King of Rock & Roll, Elvis Presley. Then in 1974, United Kingdom lost their icon, the radical peace loving John Lennon. In 1988, South America lost their hearts to Selina. In 1973, we lost our legend Ramlee bin Puteh or better known to many simply as P.Ramlee.

Yesterday I walked into the Istana Budaya (Cultural Palace) to watch the greatly hyped and apparently very sold out P.Ramlee The Musical. Women dressed in their best evening wears, strutting across the foyer with the panache of jackals on a full moon’s night, constantly sussing out the competition and prey. This is called “Being Seen”. Their companions were dressed in casual suits and Batik so they won’t look like they had been dragged from the dumpster to attend a musical, but not too formal that they could steal the limelight of their better half. This is called “Smart Casual”. The ever obvious and noticeable homosexual community strutted in with their torn, ripped and aged designer denims, an ugly mismatch of t-shirts with glittered images of an Andy Warhol rip-off, and the elegance of Marylyn Monroe gone awry. So, I walked into the building in my black pants, a brown striped shirt and a red tie, certain that I was both gravely underdressed and overdressed at the same time.

So I tucked my left arm under my right elbow, fork in my right hand pointing up with a piece of chicken at the end of it, weight on one leg, hips pushed forward, throwing out my best Australian-Brit-States slang, loosened my tie and wore it like a sash and mingled just in case Malaysian Tattler or The Star newspapers got hold of a picture of me.

At 8:30 sharp I stepped into the amphitheatre and took my seat up in the bleachers where the view was not perfect but not bad and away from most of the showpieces from the foyer. On the screen and in true west-end musical styled design was the title of the play, P.Ramlee The Musical. 2 feet above that a small train-station like electronic notice board reminded you where you were - P.Ramlee The Musical; just in case we forgot what we got our tickets for. The lights went out and the announcer proclaims the presence of the Sultan of Perak in supreme and mundanely elegant palace formality. Half an hour went past.

Finally she says, “Presenting P.Ramlee The Musical”. Hands clapped. Cheers from the crowd. Silence. Half an hour went past.

Then a character jumps from the side of the stage, spotlight on him, as he announces in an extremely expressive manner that we are about to watch a musical entitled “P.Ramlee The Musical” so as to kindly turn off our mobile phones and not distract others with your calls from the Prime Minister. Half an hour went past.

Finally at around 8:45 the curtains roll up for the introduction scene. I shall not delve too much detail as I think one ought to catch this tribute to a legend before our time. I enjoyed listening to songs I grew up with watching P.Ramlee movies on my black and white television set and then some really nice compositions added in by Dick Lee for the performance. The musical opened to P.Ramlee’s childhood in Penang, how he got discovered, moved to Singapore and made a name for himself. It was comical, it was serious and mostly well done. The set was excellent as it captured the ambience of each location the story moved to – Penang streets as it were almost 70 years ago packaged with “cendol” and “rojak” peddlers; The 50’s feel of upper class entertainment in the New World Hotel on Act 2; the film sets and P.Ramlee’s home. The train in scene 4 got the crowd clapping. It felt like a full sized steam engine with smoke machines adding to its effect. The lightings were well played adding crucial effect to each and every scene. The love scenes were as classical and as touching as they were in movies of the time. My favourite was in Scene 7, Act 2 when P.Ramlee and Saloma had their playful courtship. That was such an iconic scene. You never miss that in P.Ramlee’s movies.

I applaud the children actors as their performance in Scene 1 was nothing short of brilliance. They were vibrant and fully immersed in their roles. Another thing I liked was the way the play started and ended with in a setting of 1973 with the older P.Ramlee and Saloma reminiscing. That was a nice touch. Last but not least, I must say that the orchestra did an excellent performance deserving of the standing ovation they received in the end. I was truly delighted with the musical as a whole, leaving the hall with contentment that my night had not gone to waste.

There were however some things I was disappointed with. Firstly, Shawn Ghazi unfortunately did not or could not bring out the lead character. His performance is at best mediocre, lacking the essence of the “Man”. He obviously took very little effort in researching this icon and this is one character you cannot get away with “I wanted to portray him in an artistic manner”, in which case art was no where on Shawn’s continent. A friend of mine described his portrayal of P.Ramlee’s flamboyant and unrestrained sex appeal – “His has the sex-appeal of a tree trunk”. The other disappointing thing about Shawn Ghazi was that he constantly disappeared into the background. I mean literally disappears. He could be standing in front and you still don’t see him. The supporting role of Sukardi played by Chedd Eddie Yusoff was more distinguishable. I swear I was playing a Malaysian version of “Where’s Wally?”.

This leads me to my second qualm, costumes. I was a little upset that the reporters were overdressed for that time period but contented myself with that being an artistic approach. However one cannot forgive a wardrobe underplay for the lead character. The ensemble’s costumes were a far cry better than the lead’s. The “3 Perempuan” and “3 Gadis” girls stood out so much they seem to almost steal the limelight from the lead actors every time they appeared. For crying out loud, he is why you had this play written; make him standout as he did in life. Norizan played by Melissa Saila had such a brilliant and vibrant costume selection that it outshone Liza Hanim’s Saloma.

The script and the storyline was good, but not great. I felt that that musical was too much on P.Ramlee’s success. It would have been more touching to see his painful rise and get a feel of the human side in P.Ramlee and that is exactly why I liked the opening and closing scene so much. It portrayed P.Ramlee the man and not just the iconic star of Malaysia’s film industry. And why did the chaos in Singapore have to take a whole 15 minutes of the musical?

Finally I have to ask, what happened to Saloma’s iconic beehive hairstyle?

All in all the play is not to be missed. It is a good production. I put my hands together for Tiara Jacquelina the Executive Producer for having come up with this enjoyable musical. You are certain to walk out of the amphitheatre thinking “I’m glad I did miss this one”. I heard that tickets were sold out. So for those of you who haven’t a ticket in your hand, I hope for you that they will bring it around a second time. I myself wouldn’t mind a second sitting.

To the production team, would it be possible to have the musical end with Legenda from Sheila Majid? Just a thought.

Lords of Dogtown

2007-05-02T00:18:00.000-07:00

Remember when we were young; running out in the rain chasing the ice-cream man, chewing gum in church, and climbing out onto the highest and weakest branch of a rambutan tree?
Remember all those “nothing is impossible” movie staring Kevin Bacon, Sylvester Stallone, Rachel Welch, Demi Moore and all those other pretty faces with funky overblown hair-dos of the eighties?
Remember a time when we were young and anything seemed possible? Some of us wanted to be rock stars while others dreamt of becoming stunt riders, world champion boxers, suffer dudes, super commandos, superman and much, much more.
Remember dreaming that someday we’d do great things and travel the world?
Remember the Z-boys?
You probably won’t.

The Z-Boys were to skateboarding as Mohammed Ali was to boxing. They were the pioneers of extreme skateboarding as we know it today. Barely touching the prime of their youth, these boys created tricks and styles that were ahead of their time. The movie Lords of Dogtown follows the lives of Tony Alva, Stacy Peralta, Jay Adams and their friend Sid, a group of young-teens living in the rough neighbourhood of Dogtown located in all-year summer city of Venice, California. They surfed at Bay Street and dominated the dilapidated Pacific Ocean Park amusement park. Undeterred by conformity and having nothing to lose; they put all their energy and hopes into the one thing that they knew – skateboarding. Each of the boys were different and yet they were all the same. They were first young surfers out to prove themselves and skateboarding was just additional practice until they were introduced to urethane wheels for their skateboards. These wheels were smoother and had better grip enabling them to climb steeper surfaces with more control. Suddenly skateboarding took on a new light amongst these teen surfers and when Skip Engblom (Heath Ledger) one of the owners of the “Zephyr Shop”, signed the boys into a state level competition, he had no idea that he was about to begin a chain reaction that would cause a revolution in skateboarding. He was first responsible for the formation of the Zephyr Skateboard Team (Z-Boys) of which all four boys were part of. Their daring and youthful eccentricity gave birth to extreme skateboarding. They transferred their surfing skills to sidewalks, alleys and dried up swimming pools during the seventies drought season; then shocked and awed judges and audience at competitions with every new trick they learnt. It was a time when skateboarding was a growing fad and the Z-boys gave the sport that extra spice that it needed to capture the interest of the nation. Their surf style manoeuvres inspired skateboarders all over and slingshot them to fame and fortune. They caught the attention of hot Californian girls, sports magazines and major sponsors; and before you know it, Alva and Peralta were sporting names who till today are famous for their skates. Although Jay Adams never went on to make a name for himself, he is credited to be the spark that ignited sport.

Lords of Dogtown is a compelling true story of friendship, dreams, broken homes, heartaches, innocence, indifference, puberty and all the pains of growing up against the odds. In a place where the surf, the sun and tanned bottoms were all a dream come true for most and where few would dare dream beyond; even fewer faced the harsh realities of life and unwittingly stepped up. Where the dream is the only thing that gets you out of bed each morning and passion is the only thing that’s keeping you alive. Youth and innocence were forced to step aside to give way to aspiration; and friendship is a bond forged from the emotions and experiences of shared memories.

Lords of Dogtown they truly were.

'Nuff said!

No More Beaming Scotty

2005-07-25T20:15:00.000-07:00

Born: March 3rd, 1920
Died: July 20th 2005

Actor James Doohan was better known to us as Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott a.k.a. Scotty. Doohan joined the original cast of the television series Star Trek in 1966 alongside William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy.

Doohan was a member of the Royal Canadian Artillery and was part of the landing party on Juno Beach on D-Day. He lost the middle finger from his right arm and was saved from a gunshot to the chest by a silver cigarette case that was given to him by his brother. After the war Doohan embarked on his acting career when after a number of films and television shows throughout the fifties and sixties he finally got a role on the television series Star Trek which was to be his most successful role. Doohan reportedly tried several accents before settling with his famous Scottish brogue. It was also said the then-nascent language of the Klingons was partly devised by Doohan. Although the series ended in 1969, Doohan was forever associated with his Scottish role of Scotty. The catch phrase "Beam me up Scotty" was etched in the minds of every Star Trek fan worldwide. In 1979 he reprised his role in Star Trek: The Motion Picture and subsequently appeared in the six sequels that followed. In 1996 he published his autobiography appropriately title Beam Me Up, Scotty. He has appeared in numerous fan conventions and lectured in various colleges. Doohan received a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame in 2004.

Doohan died at his home in Washington at the age of 85 after suffering from pneumonia and Alzheimer's. Born and raised in Canada, James Doohan leaves behind his wife Wende Doohan, their three children (Eric, Thomas and Sarah) and another six children from his previous two marriages. Following in the footsteps of the late Gene Rodenberry, Doohan's ashes along with Star Trek writer John Meredyth Lucas will be sent into space in September on board the Falcon 1 which will be launched from the Vanderberg Air Force base in California.

"Boldly go where no man has gone before"

I see BATS!!

2005-06-11T14:41:00.000-07:00

This is a rather well delayed article. One that I wanted to write shortly after the watching movie. I was rather busy during that time and still am. So after a conversation with Lisa a.k.a Bohemian Hobo, I thought that I would just sit myself and finish this. So here it goes…About six months ago I watched a movie trailer depicting a caped crusader of the dark that I had been familiar with since I started my comic collection back in '86. Bonafide, intelligent, rich and nocturnal - The Dark Knight was my favourite hero. He did not have any special powers but he had an array of cool gadgets, a slick car, an awesome costume and a gothic lordiness to his poise. Some of my favourites were Frank Miller's Return of the Dark Knight, Alan Moore's Killing Joke, Starlin and O'Niel's Death in the Family, and let's not forget Morrison's ever infamous Arkham Asylum.

Finally a long awaited Batman movie with a sense of equilibrium was here and there I was on opening day at the cinema buying my tickets, popcorn and soda after a fast-food dinner.

It was a refreshing new look. Christian Bale with his somewhat mundane style and rather insipid smile played the Corinthian Bruce with just. A pale rich kid who witnesses the death of his parents as a child consequently maturing into a rueful adult. I like the path that Nolan and Goyer took with the sagely intellect Ra's Al-Ghul being a major influence in Bruce's life. This paves great possibilities for sequels.

Some may say that the first half of the movie was rather long and wearisome, not enough action and yet this is by far the best of the five Batman movies. I would like to set the record straight that first and foremost Batman Begins is not in anyway connected to the last four Batman movies. This is a whole new movie altogether. Tim Burton did his part and now it is time to place him on your trophy shelf alongside other great series like Alien, Star Wars and Star Trek. So you should expect the Joker to show-up grinning with malice in the sequel. My second point - this is not a Schwarzenegger movie. There is a storyline. In fact – I felt that this particular tale was more of an introduction to those of you who are unfamiliar with the Batman that comic book fans all over have grow to like in the last two decades.

There was no twist nor was there any real brilliance in the storyline and yet it was executed magnificently. The gadgets were way too cool and it felt like Goyer and Nolan may have pushed it just a tad bit much but they never crossed the line of impossible. They kept thing real in all its movie splendour. Casting Michael Caine as Alfred, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox and Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon was simply brilliant. These are actors that can take simple small character and elevate the entire movie to a whole different level

So, who were the mavericks behind this production?
Director Christopher Nolan and writer David S. Goyer. I can’t seem to pinpoint their motivation and most of their inspiration. It seems to me that they took on the job simply because it was Batman and though neither drew experience from comic book I was very impressed at how well they executed this project. Comic fans were entertained and this is an achievement simply because this is one very unforgiving audience.

There was one let down. One that I must voice as it was and is to me a huge influence to any good movie – Soundtrack. I missed Danny Elfman’s soundtrack. It was definitely the Batman soundtrack, and still is.

One review wrote: “This is a story of the Dark Knight, not the Caped Crusade"

"Why do we fall? So that we might better learn to pick ourselves up."

Superman Returns

2005-06-04T00:40:00.000-07:00

It rather hard to believe that comics are actually making such an impact on the silver screen today and just about every comicbook character is making their mark in Hollywood. Since the 1978 release of Superman: The Movie, we have been most fortunate to see Batman, The X-Men, Constantine, DareDevil, Elektra, Flash as well as improved versions of the Hulk, Spiderman and Punisher. Even the less afluent comic titles such as Blade, Darkman and Dick Tracy saw themselves to the silver screen. This year alone we will be visited by Batman and The Fantastic Four. And if you can stomach the rather sick and sinister world of Frank Miller, dip you fingers into Sin City.

Of course, we have most certainly come a long way from the late Christopher Reeves and his infamous red underware. His four Superman movies made such a big impact in the late seventies and early eighties that almost every successful suicide jumpper was tagged "They believed they they could fly after watching Superman". Tabloids rioted against television and cinema influence on the public saying things like "It is not logical that a person can actuall fly like Superman" and "He wore a Superman outfit and jumped from the 22nd floor". So why didn't anybody put on the cowl and cape of Gotham's vigilante protector and say "I see BATS!!"

There was even a point in time when Hollywood avoided comicbook heroes as production cost was high and revenues were not justifiable. Of course Nicholas Hammond floating off the wall did not give credence to the term "Wall Crawler". Nevertheless technology made its impact with the release of X-Men in 2000 and gave Spiderman a second chance in 2002. Even their storylines are being adapted and Sin City made the boldest move by making a comic adaptation. They literally took the comicbooks and used it as the storyboard.

The Man of Steel is BACK!!

Superman is one of the most exploited comicbook character and it is only inevitable that someone is going to revive him sooner or later. Innitial talks in the mid-nineties had Nicholas Cage lined up as the next Man of Steel. I puked, I nearly choked to death when I read the article. Since then for almost a decade fans debated as to which actor would best fit the role.

As a kid, I watched episodes of the fifties television production of Superman when the slightly overweight George Reeves in his late thirties played the role. Then Christopher Reeves revived the characher from 1978 through 1987 and it entertained us for a decade. Then in 1993 television series took a turn an made a soap opera of the Man of Steel with Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher in the lead roles of Lois & Clark. It didn't end there. Smallville took over in 2001 showing unrecorded exploits of Clark Kent and Lex Luthor when they were still homeboys and in turn destroying the actual timeline and storyline created by Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel. Even John Byrne's more human version in the six part comicbook series did not distort Clark Kent's history to such a catastrophical proportion. Last but not least let us not forget the countless animated series that followed all of these.

Next year we look forward to yet another Superman. Scheduled for release on June 30th, Superman Returns introduces Brandon Routh as the new Man of Steel, Kate Bosworth as Lios Lane and Kevin Spacey as his arch nemesis Lex Luthor. Hugh Jackman and James Marden from the X-Men have also been casted for the roles of Jonathan Kent and Richard White respectively. However, they were not the only ones roped in from the X-Men. Writer, director, producer Bryan Singer has also joined the team.

So far not much information has been released about this movie. However, what I did gather is that Superman had been away for several years and Lex Luthor has had the time to wreck havoc. Lois have moved on with her life leaving Clark in the distant memory of the past. The new costume does not have the same provocative red that it used to have. Creating a new image, presumably a more realistic and possibly darker side of Superman. His ever famous insignia is no longer a print on spandex. Of course it too has to follow the times, so it looks like Superman found a way to mould his "S" and used superglue to stick it on his chest. I would say that Brandon Routh has a hugh pair of shoes to fill seeing that this is not Superman's first appearance on the big screen. Also taking the role of Superman means having to live up to a standard and image set by the late Christopher Reeves whom many have accepted as a living version of Superman. Reeves is legendary for his charisma, his personal approach to acting and his resiliance when an accident left him paralyzed for life. Believe me a lot of people will be comparing the both of them.

Nevertheless, with a cast line up like this and Singer leading them, how not to anticipate this revival. I believe that Superman Returns would be a good movie to look forward to in 2006 and I say that Brandon Routh is a far better choice than the semi balding Nicholas Cage.

Live On Cape Crusader.

Return of The Shit

2005-06-02T00:46:00.000-07:00

Thursday, 19th of May 2005.

Today was the official release of Star Wars Episode III: Return of the Sith.

After a rather Bollywood like approach towards the last Star Wars episode, I was hoping on the possibility that George Lucas was going through a phase after a very, very hard bump on his head.

Five years ago Episode I: The Phantom Menace got me all excited in anticipation to the completion of one of the greatest trilogy I had ever watched. Of course most of us already knew what the ending of this trilogy was going to be, but like most I too needed an excuse to waste some money at the cinemas buying tickets, popcorn, soda, a fastfood dinner after and like most Star Wars fans worldwide, I was planning to do this several times for each episode. So at 8am on the first day that tickets were available I was in line along with about sixty other Star Wars fans. We cheered when the cinema manager turned the lights on, we cheered when the shutters came up and we cheered when the trailer played on the video wall. Three days later the same group and more were waiting for the shutters to allow us entry to the long anticipated prequel of an epic trilogy that most of us grew up with. Darth Vader sat on the same row as I and two storm troopers sat somewhere in the back along side a small band of light saber waving Jedies. It was good and I am glad to say that my friends and I came out of the cinema feeling very good. There were new characters, new kinds of transports that sounded like an old Fort Model T and most gratifying was the new more menacing villain - Darth Maul. Qui Gon Jin was killed by Darth Maul. Obiwan Kenobi avenged him. The Naboo queen was saved. The battle scenes were great. Anakin was annoying and is obviously recognised by all, including Senator Palpatine and Queen Amidala. We enjoyed the movie. It was simple and amazing and corny and coy. Yes, we enjoyed the movie along with the company of 300 plus Starwars fans. It was Good.

2003 came and so did EP2. The well overated and over anticipated sequel was here after a long 2 years wait. Star Wars fans came out of the woodwork again resulting in soaring sales figures for movie tickets, popcorn, soda and fastfood. The anticipation alone was gnawing at us like raveneous sewer rats as advertisiments and movie trailers flashed across the big screen. Then the lights went out and so did the chattering. This was the moment we were all waititng for. Anakin was now grow up and is falling in love with Padme who didn't look as interesting as she did as the queen. The young Jedi learns rage with the death of his mother. He feels constrained by his mentor and the Jedi council. The empire sees a war coming but cannot seem to figure out what is happening. A battle scene where Yoda gets to show that "size matters not" and a warrior he is. Anakin has an emotional rift every five minutes in the movie. So many more characters were introduced and much more villains. Lots of cool robots, fighters, transports and large large technologically driven buildings. It was chaotic. Everybody on screen and off screen were confused. Then there was the Bollywood scene short of coconut trees.

2005 came and I was not every excited anymore. I cannot and will not forgive Lucas for allowing Anakin and Padme to roll down the grassy knoll with Hindustan influenced music in the background. However, everybody deserves a second chance and so I watched the trailer for the final installation. It was promising. It was promising. I might just forgive him if he delivers... might.

So the day came. I bought my tickets, a bag of popcorn, a cup of soda and I ate at McDonalds while waiting for showtime. When the words "A long, long time ago in a galaxy far away..." appeared on the screen, I felt a rush of anticipation in my viens and I was excited. There were more fighters, and more transports and now even more battleships. Anakin is now married to his childhood love and is now more than ever in emotional turmoil. Cancellor Palpatine turns pruny upon unleashing his powers. Mace Windu dies. The Jedies are assasinated. Anakin is knighted Darth Vader by Darth Sidious and both Darth Dokku and Darth Grievious dies. Too many Darth moments pass as Anakin slaughters young cute light saber weilding padawans. He then turns against his master and Anakin looses his arms and legs. Yoda, Obiwan and Organa go into exile. Yoda now has the secret to immortality. This was probably the story's draft - Anakin is in love, he is frustrated, now he is pissed, now he is Vader, now he is on the drakside, he slays young padawans, he slays defenceless bad breath ugly politicians, he looses his limbs, he dawns the black costume and he is Darth Vader as we all know him. Now add lots of CG, cool costumes, blasters, fighters, battleships, et-cetera, et-cetera, et-cetera. Send it to Post.

This was even more chaotic than the last. In the end, it felt like Lucas had diarrhoea and was rushing off to the toilet. I loved it and hated it at the same time.

Too much technology. That was the problem.

Lucas had too much to choose from and too much more that he could do. You know what made the first trilogy such an epic? A simple storyline, a corny script and character focus. Yes, character focus. There were just too many new faces, new toys and new places. Lucas was linking everything and anything that could be linked to the point that they did not make sense. Here were some of the things that did not make sense to me when I linked both trilogies:

Did anyone realise Ben Kenobi did not recognise both C3PO and R2D2 in Episode 4? How could he when both the droids were there with him as Anakin grew into a Jedi and when he turned sides?
What happened to the rocket boosters, little laser gun and all the other cool gadgets that were installed into R2D2? R2 did not have any of these in later years.
What happen to all that technology that everyone had? Coruscant was a monument. It would take the detruction of a civilisation for them to have lost it.
Did the Death Star really take that long to be built?
Why did Jedies in the past have a better fashion statement?

So many questions I have but as Yoda said, "Clear you mind of questions."

All in all I did enjoy the movie. Really I did. Just not as part of a movie epic that begun almost 30 years ago. This trilogy was great... on its own. I think it would have been the epic movie we all envisioned if he focused on a smaller number of characters and not make this his ultimate showcase of movie technology. We already know what he can do and has done with ILM. Lucas should have just sat down and told this story as how he did back in 1977 - a simple story about a boy, growing up and facing the challenges of the world around him.

- 'nuff said -