After many years of watching films from all genres, I've come to the conclusion that making sequels to comedies are much more difficult to make than sequels to films in any other genre. It's not that good comedy sequels are impossible, it's just that comedy films (at least in the U.S.) don't seem to lend themselves to serialized storytelling, a crucial element in the making of a worthwhile sequel.
With that in mind I saw Men in Black 3 this last weekend, which returns Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones to their roles of MIB Agents K and J a decade after Men in Black 2. MIB 3 was better than I expected it to be and it's a better sequel than its immediate predecessor. However, it suffers the same problem as most comedy sequels--namely, how to keep the humor going while providing a story that meaningfully expands upon the first film. Read on for my complete review. MIB 3 begins with Boris The Animal (played by an unrecognizable Jemaine Clement), an old alien enemy of Agent K, escaping from his lunar prison. Following the escape, Agent K suddenly disappears without a trace, leaving Agent J to travel back to 1969 to save the younger Agent K (Josh Brolin) and prevent an alien invasion of Earth.
MIB 3 is a solid sequel. The time travel premise works better than it does in most time travel movies, and it gives you more insight into why Agent K views J the way he does. (In fact, you'll probably watch the first MIB much differently after seeing MIB 3.) It's also commendable that Rick Baker is back providing exceptional alien makeup effects. Movies like MIB 3 are ideal for effects artists such as Baker, so practical effects aficionados will want to see this movie just for that alone. Unfortunately, MIB 3 almost completely forgets that it's supposed to be funny. It has a few humorous moments here and there, but the sequel feels more like a lighthearted sci-fi action-adventure movie than an actual sci-fi comedy.
Movies like MIB and Ghostbusters before it are essentially parodies of the horror and sci-fi genres, genres that are rife with parody-ready quirks and absurdities. Yet the sequels for both of these movies lost their sense of genre satire and they severely suffer for it. Yes, MIB 3 is certainly better than Ghostbusters 2, but it's better because it relies on action set pieces and a well-written time travel story instead of just repacking the same jokes that were told before. In other words, if you want a solid time travel movie, watch MIB 3; however, if you want an amusing time travel parody, watch Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure or Hot Tub Time Machine. That's MIB 3's biggest disappointment as a comedy sequel, and it's hard to overlook that shortcoming when writing this review. (That said, the sequel does briefly recycle some of the same gags from the previous two films: the revelation that odd real-life celebrities are actually aliens, the unusual anatomies of aliens, goofy-looking alien technology, etc.)
I have no idea why the MIB sequels have a difficult time finding new jokes from the premise that was established in the first movie. The central idea behind MIB is a send-up of the "Men in Black" legend that is frequently and fervently discussed among UFO conspiracy groups. There's plenty of goofy, paranoid humor waiting to be mined from this kind of source material, yet MIB 2 and MIB 3 seem reluctant to stray too far from the jokes told in the first film, as if it will get too strange for mainstream audiences. For that reason, watching MIB 3 piqued my curiosity into seeing the Men in Black animated series, just to see if that cartoon was more willing than its live-action counterpart to embrace the wild and woolly weirdness of sci-fi and UFO culture.
Jones and Smith fit comfortably back into their roles of Agents K and J, although Jones is missing for much of the movie. Brolin does a wonderful job as the younger Agent K, and his performance is key to understanding the movie's plot twist. (Then again, it would've been nice if MIB 3 included a scene between Jones and Brolin where the two different Ks meet. It's a time travel movie, so why not?) Michael Stuhlbarg has lots of fun in the role of Griffin, an alien who can see multiple future timelines; in contrast, the alien menace Boris isn't a particularly memorable villain, even though Clement eagerly chews up the scenery from underneath his alien make-up. Emma Thompson plays Agent O, who steps in to run the MIB agency after the passing of Zed (Rip Torn, who is not in this sequel). Thompson isn't given much to do, and it feels like such a wasted opportunity given her talent and background in genre titles such as the Harry Potter and Nanny McPhee movies. Then again, Alice Eve, who plays the younger version of O, gets even less to do than Thompson.
MIB 3 is an entertaining sequel, it just doesn't work as a comedy. How you feel about that will determine whether you go see it in the theater or wait for it on home video.
From what I can remember of the Alien quadrilogy, only two of the films in this franchise had action figures released around the same time as the film's run in the theaters: Alien and Alien Resurrection. (Aliens had its own action figure line too, but that line wasn't launched until almost a decade after the film's release.) The Alien Resurrection action figure line by Hasbro consisted of six figures, and two of them are the subject of this review: the Warrior Alien and the Newborn Alien. I purchased these two figures shortly after their release because they were the only movie-accurate Alien figures in the line and I purchased each figure for less than $15 each. While these figures have some problems, they are both good examples of what an Alien franchise collectible should be. Read on for my complete review and photo gallery. The Alien Resurrection action figure line was a mixed bag. It had two human characters (Ripley and Call), two creatures from the movie (the Warrior Alien and Newborn Alien), and two creatures that were, uh, "inspired" by the plot of Alien Resurrection but didn't actually appear in the film (the Aqua Alien and Battle Scarred Alien). Yet of these six figures, the Warrior Alien and Newborn Alien proved that there was at least some talent behind this short-lived line.
As an action figure, the Warrior Alien doesn't have much to offer. It only has six points of articulation: five swivel joints in the neck, shoulders, and hips, and a hinge joint that connects the tail to the figure's body. The figure's legs are spread at an odd angle, so the hip joints are largely useless when trying to change the figure's pose. Furthermore, the plastic in legs weaken and bend slightly when the figure is left standing on its own for a while, so it helps to have the figure propped against something if you use it as a display piece. In terms of posability, the Warrior Alien pales in comparison to the deluxe Alien Warrior Drone figure that released later under the same license.
Where the Warrior Alien figure shines is in the sculpt, which more than compensates for the figure's flaws. This is one of the best Alien Resurrection creature sculpts I've seen, and it's vastly superior in detail and appearance to the same figure produced by McFarlane Toys for its Movie Maniacs series. One of the major plot points in Alien Resurrection is how the Alien genetic code becomes corrupted by the cloning process that's used to re-create them, thus resulting in misbegotten human/Alien hybrids. Hasbro's Warrior Alien sculpt reflects this plot point by depicting the connection of human musculature to biomechanical exoskeleton in the figure's shoulders, hips and calves.
The Newborn Alien figure has fewer points of articulation than the Warrior Alien counterpart, with only four swivel joints in the shoulders and hips. Unlike the Warrior Alien, the Newborn Alien figure's legs are better positioned so that it can stand unassisted for long-term display. Even though the overall design of the Newborn Alien isn't nearly as intricate as the other creature designs in the Alien franchise, Hasbro's sculpt makes its Newborn Alien figure a worthwhile addition to any Alien collection.
The Newborn's design reminds me of the Brundlefly monster from David Cronenberg's 1986 remake of The Fly: Both are fleshy, malformed freaks that result from the unintended genetic union of two very different life forms. Hasbro's ghoulish and gaunt sculpt of the Newborn Alien captures the creature's unnatural and perverse origin, including its skull-like visage--a clever nod to the humanoid skull that appears under the semi-transparent dome in the original creature design for Alien.
The Newborn Alien figure also came with a facehugger accessory. Even though the facehugger's tail is stubby in comparison to the original design on which it is based, the overall sculpt features an impressive level of detail.
Of course, replicas of the creatures from Alien Resurrection are not in as much demand as replicas of the creatures from Alien and Aliens; nevertheless, the Alien Resurrection figures produced by Hasbro provide a decent degree of quality at a reasonable price. The next price point for a replica of the sequel's Warrior Alien would be the one produced by Sideshow Collectibles for over $200. With such a huge price jump (even at today's prices), Hasbro's Warrior Alien and Newborn Alien figures are the logical choice for budget-conscious Alien fans.
After Dark Horse first published its Aliens vs. Predator (AvP) comic book miniseries in 1989, it was hard to predict where this crossover idea would go next. Over the following decade, it would spawn more comic books, a few novels, dozens of video games, and a short-lived line of Alien and Predator action figures from Kenner. While it was exciting to see this crossover in miniature form, the figure selection was poor in detail and goofy in variety (including a Predator with swinging dreadlocks). It wasn't until McFarlane Toys picked up the licenses for Alien and Predator in 2002 that fans could get their hands on some high-quality Alien and Predator figures for a reasonable price. This review will cover a two-part diorama that McFarlane Toys produced in 2005 under the license of the 2004 Alien vs. Predator movie. Read on for my complete review and picture gallery, which includes some pictures from McFarlane Toys. The merchandise that McFarlane Toys released for the AvP movie was the last it produced before the Alien and Predator licenses were picked up by NECA. McFarlane's AvP movie merchandise was released in two series: The first consisted of highly detailed, multi-jointed figures based on Alien and Predator characters from the movie, and the second consisted of five dioramas that depicted scenes from the movie. (Curiously, even though most of the dioramas didn't feature any moving parts, they were labeled as "playsets".)
Two of the dioramas featured Predators fighting Warrior Aliens, but I ignored those. I wasn't impressed with McFarlane's gnarled and sinewy sculpt of the Warrior Alien for AvP--a sculpt it recycled from its Warrior Alien figure for Alien Resurrection--and I wasn't interested in adding that to my collection. Another diorama featured two Predators in a re-creation of the film's final scene. The remaining two dioramas could be linked together; when combined, they included a Predator (who is identified as "Scar"), a cocooned human victim, several Alien eggs, a dead facehugger, a few human skulls with attached spines, and an Alien Queen that's very faithful to the original design from Aliens.
Regardless of what anyone thinks of the AvP movie itself, the Alien Queen and Scar Predator diorama is a sweet piece of Alien and Predator merchandise. Most Alien and Predator dioramas can be very expensive, but I purchased this two-piece diorama at its original price for under $50. For everything that's included, this diorama is worth the money.
Even though the Predator movie franchise appears to be dormant at the moment, Predator collectibles keep showing up everywhere and Sideshow Collectibles' latest is a doozy. It's a statue named "Bad Blood Predator", and it depicts a Predator who has been hunting, killing and decapitating members of his own space-faring, big-game-hunting race.
The statue’s name is a nod to a 1994 Dark Horse Comics' Predator miniseries of the same name. The Predator: Bad Blood miniseries was the first story to feature a Predator who hunts and kills other Predators. This kind of rouge Predator character would appear in several other Predator comics (including the 1995 Batman vs. Predator II: Bloodmatch crossover miniseries) and in some Predator-related video games. I also suspect that it influenced Robert Rodriguez's creation of the "Super Predators" that appeared in the 2010 Predators movie, even though he has said in interviews that he drew no inspiration from the Predator comics when writing his script. The complete Bad Blood series can currently be found in Dark Horse's Predator Omnibus Volume 3.
The Bad Blood Predator statue looks like a great piece of gruesome, gory Predator fun. (I just wish that Hollywood would finally grow a Predator-ready spine and deliver a Predator sequel that's as deliriously violent as this statue.) Click here to learn more about statue pricing and pre-order details.
I just heard this news a few days ago and I have to pass it on: Lou and Yana's JawsFest 4: Revenge of the Finatics will be shooting this summer, with the intended release on DVD in late 2013.
The original trilogy of JawsFest DVDs were made by Lou and Dianna "Yana" Pisano (read my JawsFest DVD reviews here and here), and their original plan was to cease production after the third film. Yet fans of Jaws and the JawsFest videos have persuaded the Pisanos to shoot a fourth and final JawsFest film, which will feature footage from the upcoming JawsFest: The Tribute event that will be held in Martha's Vineyard from August 9 - 12 of this year.
In addition to the JawsFest: The Tribute event, JawsFest 4 will cover some more Jaws-significant locations and items that remain to be documented on video for fans everywhere to see. There will also be some exclusive Jaws-related footage that won't be available anywhere else. The cast of Jaws fans from the previous films will be returning (including Mike "Quint" Hadji), as well as some new faces adding to the fin-tastic fun. From what I've heard, an official JawsFest 4 poster is in the works and a number of musicians and bands have expressed interest in writing a song for the film.
Personally, I think that this is great news. I won't be able to attend JawsFest: The Tribute (my geeky heart says yes, yes, but my bank account says hell no) so I'm looking forward to having video footage of this event to add to my Jaws collection. Furthermore, any media that's produced by the Pisanos is a treat to have. They are still doing their Lou and Yana's TalkFest online talk radio show--an excellent radio show that just keeps getting better--and they'll be discussing JawsFest 4 on this week's episode. Click here to go to their show's page and listen to new and past episodes.
Even though the animated series Tron Uprising won't officially begin until June 7, Disney XD has just released the pilot episode "Beck's Beginning" on YouTube.
Tron Uprising takes place between Tron and Tron Legacy, and the pilot episode picks up shortly after Clu banishes Flynn from The Grid and defeats The Grid's main protector, Tron. In one area of The Grid, a mechanic program named Beck (voiced by Elijah Wood) decides to rebel against Clu and his army by assuming the persona of the presumed-to-be-derezzed Tron. "Beck's Beginning" details Beck's initial efforts to undermine one of Clu's henchmen, General Tesler (Lance Henriksen), and the many challenges he faces along the way. To give anything more away about the pilot would be a disservice to the fans, who should be seeing this for themselves in the window below.
What I can tell you about the Tron Uprising pilot is that looks amazing. This is one of the best looking cartoons I've seen since Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and I hope that they can keep this level of animation going throughout the series' run. Everything from the densely layered neon blue cityscapes to the numerous chase and fight scenes are absolutely astonishing to watch, and I can only imagine how much better they'll look after they are taken off of YouTube and are put on high-def flat screen TVs.
Of particular note is how much more of The Grid we get to see just in the pilot alone. Beck's profession as a mechanic allows him to repair various vehicles and machines; yet because the vehicles are machines are made out of data and not physical parts, Beck "repairs" them by breaking them down to wire frames and adjusting the data by hand. Beck does this on several occasions in the pilot, and it provides tantalizing example as to how The Grid is so similar and yet so different to our own world.
It's hard to tell from the pilot as to what kind of show Tron Uprising will be, if it will consists of stand-alone adventures, multi-episode arcs, or a combination of the two. I also have no idea if the show will refer to the characters and events in the original Tron movie and the recent Tron video games, Evolution and Battle Grids. Nevertheless, Tron Uprising is brimming with potential, and I can't wait to visit The Grid again soon.
In addition to lending his vocal talents to Tron Uprising, Lance Henriksen will also be voicing an android named Rook in the upcoming Aliens: Colonial Marines video game, which is being developed by Gearbox Software. In a recent interview with Gearbox Software head Randy Pitchford, Henriksen's return to the Alien franchise is part of the game's attempt to bridge some of the gaps between Aliens and Alien 3. (Henriksen previously did vocal work for the last Aliens vs. Predator video game that was released back in 2010.) According to Pitchford, Rook is of the same model as the Bishop android Henricksen played in Aliens and Alien 3, and he accompanies the marines in the game on their mission to LV-426.
For sci-fi fans who live in central Pennsylvania and the surrounding areas, check this out: The Sci-Fi Valley Con will be held in Ebensburg, PA this upcoming weekend from May 18 - 20 at the North Central Recreational Center.
The Sci-Fi Valley Con bills itself as a "Speculative Fiction" themed convention that focuses on more than just science fiction. The con will cover a wide range of fantastical fiction genres--including fantasy, horror, supernatural and superhero fiction--in literature as well as related static, motion, and virtual arts.
Nearly a dozen guest panels and over 60 dealers and artists are scheduled for the con. There will also be tournaments for Magic: The Gathering, HeroClix, and Warhammer 40,000 during all three days of the con. On Saturday, there will be a costume competition for cosplay fans, and a charity auction will be held to benefit Angels of East Africa. Throughout the con, free merchandise such as Sci-Fi Valley Con T-shirts, iPhone 4/4S cases, comic books, posters, and DVDs will be given to lucky fans. One-day admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children 6 - 12; three-day passes are $20 for adults and $10 for children. Children under 5 are admitted for free.
As a native of Pennsylvania who spent a few years in Ebensburg, I think it's great that the local fantasy, horror, and sci-fi fan community has taken the initiative to hold a con in its neck of the woods. Organizers of the Sci-Fi Valley Con hope to draw thousands of sci-fi, horror, fantasy, and anime enthusiasts from all around Pennsylvania and the surrounding states. Click here to visit the official Sci-Fi Valley Con for more details about guests at the con and travel accommodations.
As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end, even for a Virginia Beach area monster maker such as Georgette Gaynor. I’ve covered Gaynor’s previous monster mashes for charitable causes (see here and here) but after seven years of Halloween fundraisers, she’s turning in her mad monster making license and selling her horrific horde to anyone monster fan who is interested.
Gaynor’s collection consists of over 70 life-sized monsters and other Halloween props. All monsters are self-standing on a ten pound weighted base, and individual monster prices range from $45 to $100. The monsters are durable and have been crafted from quality materials, with a wooden base and an iron pole that supports the PVC-molded monster body. Both the heads and the upper chest are hard foamed, and most monsters have arms that can be posed to hold other objects. These monsters have been used in Halloween events such as the Foodbank Monster Walk in 2008 Seton House Masquerade Ball in 2009, and they’d be ideal for display in local haunted house events and in shops that specialize in horror-friendly merchandise (such as comic books and costumes).
Gaynor is selling the monsters individually, but discounts can be applied to the purchase of multiple monsters or the entire inventory. If you are interested, you can contact Georgette Gaynor at 757 467-5684 or at jgynr@aol.com. Click below to see a picture gallery of some of the monsters that you can add to your own collection.
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