So let’s get this over with.

• Chris Nolan – check
• Anne Hathaway – check
• Michael Cain – check
• Hans Zimmer – check
• Sci-fi – check
• Transcendence – check
• Do not go gentle – check

And why can’t I give them my money now?

I finally had a weekend to spend with the family, or more specifically a chance to recharge my batteries.  I spent Friday on the couch, in between bouts of sleep, finishing up Ni No Kuni and watching a few flicks.  With a 5 month old in the house, going out to the movies isn’t really in the cards so much, so the wife and I try to catch something on Netflix or a rental once a week.  With every rental store within 40 clicks closed, that second option is a bit harder to take.   So here’s a quick rundown of the relaxing weekend.

The Avengers: I like the Marvel universe; it’s full of tropes and exaggerations of character faults.  I like Joss Whedon’s ability to create realistic dialogue.  If this was the first time I was meeting these characters, then the pacing of the movie made sense.  Each has had their own movie before so it seemed like rather long exposure to get to the meat. At least the first half had Coulson and the second half had Hulk.  That part was really well done and I’m looking forward to seeing Mark Ruffalo try his hand at Banner again.

Prometheus: Alien/Aliens are amazing movies that had helped define the sci-fi horror/suspense genre.  Prometheus was co-written by Lindelof, of Lost fame, so you kind of know where the movie is going to end – with question marks.  The movie ended a little too quickly for me and could have used more exposure in the half-way mark of the story.  You can see that the ending is trying to tie into the first Alien movie (scene for scene) but then you remember this is a different planet.  Noomi Rapace and Michael Fassbender are the real reasons to watch it.  Just be prepared to leave logic at the door.

Brave: I wanted to see this at the cinema but never had the chance.  Pixar doesn’t make bad movies and this one is no different (it won an Oscar after all).  Brave takes the Disney princess trope and turns it upside down.  Merida is a strong willed girl being groomed to being a queen.  I am a massive sucker for Scottish lore and this one has quite a few bits in it, so I went along for the ride.  Good mix of comedy and heartstrings but perhaps a little too dark for the wide public, Brave is a movie I’m going to go out and buy on BluRay soon.  There is too much artistic quality here to leave to DVD and the story is something I want my girls to see time and time again.

Skyfall: A return to basics for this 50 year old franchise makes for some rather poignant scenes.  For some reason, I pay way too much attention to the scenery in a film and give massive praise to the directors of photography when well executed.  The entire movie is filmed in yellow or blue, with the odd spot of white.  Bond has some odd lines, but the film’s villain is the real joy.  Instead of trying to kill Bond, he tries to convert him to his cause.  Maybe a bit off the deep end, he’s methodical, intelligent and resourceful.  It’s sort of like the Mirror-universe in Star Trek, an anti-Bond.  One of the best films I’ve seen in quite some time.

That’s a lot of movies for one weekend but I really wanted to put the brakes on big plans and just sit back and enjoy the company.

Though Batman rules the box office right now, some new trailers are out for Man of Steel for us to take a look at.

There’s this thing about Batman and Superman, being two sides of the same coin.  Neither will kill, both have strong morals.  One is more brains than brawn, while the other is simply an unstoppable force.  Where they differ is in their “normal” selves.

Quentin Tarantino got it right in Kill Bill – Superman is not the disguise, Clark Kent is.  Where the symbol of Superman is who he is, Batman actually has to don a cape and mask to get the point across.  The sense of purity, of greatness, of infallibility is what makes Superman a superhero.  Though his actions speak loudly, who he is as a person is what people aspire to be.  He is truly a symbol of all that is good.

Batman differs in that his “normal” persona is actually nicer than his caped version.  A multi-billionaire philanthropist, Bruce Wayne is himself a beacon of good.  Batman, as a persona, is a vigilante, skirting the law in order to provide justice to the whole.  There is a darkness in that aspect, one that humans can relate to much more easily than they can Superman.  I suppose that’s why one is an alien and one is human.

In my off-line time, I have discussed these points for near on 20 years now with friends on late nights.  Comics on the whole are simply a social examination of the times and that today’s reflection of Batman is so dark (Dark Knight after all) is quite fitting.  Where the recent Superman film failed was in it’s approach to overall story and setting.  I do hope that Man of Steel can find the right social resonance to not only make Superman a hero once again but to make him relevant as well.  We, as a people, need that symbol.

Just got back from seeing Goon.  My face hurts from the laughs.  Other’s might disagree but I think it’s our generation’s Slapshot.

If you’ve ever played a game yourself, then you can see the authenticity in the game throughout the movie.  There’s no flying V.  There are no offsides.  Even the goon parts are reasonable expectations for a match.  And the fights, wow.  Give the director of photography a medal since it’s the sort of stuff most people wouldn’t even catch.

The film starts off pretty strong and speedy.  Quite a few solid fights in there but it’s not that part that really keeps the movie going.  The main character is just a whole pile of honest, yet stupid, nice guy.  People around him just seem to improve as the film goes along and trust me, there are very few nice guys in the film.

The middle portion bogs a bit with a love story of a sorts.  It has less bearing in the main story and the characters don’t really progress but it gives a chance for people to take a breather before the final 20 minutes.

That final 20 minute, especially the last 5 are just, wow.  My face hurt from thinking about taking those punches.  Seeing two grown men beat the crap out of each other, standing toe to toe is something that just does not exist in any other sport.  Seeing it in the movie is near identical to the mythical fights I’ve seen on the ice.

So if you’re in the mood for a good laugh, a decent hockey flick or just some big hands, take a chance on Goon.

Valentine’s Day means the wife gets to pick a movie.  Her choices boiled down to Drive and Ides of March – Ryan Gosling thing much?  Anyways, we end up with Drive and I can’t complain.  He’s a solid actor.

It has been a while since I’ve seen such a movie.  Inception was the last one, where the character are the story.  See, in most movies the plot is king and the characters just move it along.  You could replace any one of them with a different character and the plot would likely keep moving as is.  Think of any Michael Bay movie.

So back to Drive.  The characters don’t say a whole lot in speech but pounds in maneurisms.  A raised eyebrow, slumping shoulders, big eyes, the whole package from everyone.  Ryan Gosling is really good.  So is everyone else actually, barring perhaps Christina Hendricks in a limited role.  Certainly, there are twists but they aren’t huge.

Car chases are calculated affairs, heck the first one is 100% from inside the car viewpoint.  It’s such a smart take on chases.  One particular crash has a 270 degree swerve and they catch the other car flipping, through the rear view, over one character’s shoulder.  That was spectacular in it’s execution, not in the fact that the car didn’t flip over 10 times.

The music is pure 80’s and used superbly.  Silence is actually silence and the tense scenes have the right feeling.  I am looking for the soundtrack.  The director of photography and the lightning guy should get medals.  It’s like watching a movie of slowly moving pictures.  Nearly every scene is framed and the character’s mood changes as the lightning does.  It’s a different twist.

Finally, the violent scenes.  Compared to other films where they fill in gaps where the writer took a coffee break, here they are plainly insane and jarring.  When it happens you’re blown back at the sheer violence involved, especially from the characters that are involved.  It really raises the stakes and further pushes the characters along.  Even the ending is appropriate.

And you never learn his name.

One of my favorite scenes in one of my favorite movies.