Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010)

Posted on November 11, 2010 by Joel

Last night, I watched Batman: Under the Red Hood, a 2010 direct-to-video film based on the two DC Comic Batman storylines  “A Death in the Family” and “Under the Hood“. The film is the eighth in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies. It was released on July 27, 2010. The film begins with the death of Jason Todd, the 2nd Robin, at the hands of the Joker. The film flash-forwards five years to the present day in Gotham, and the arrival of Red Hood.

Batman faces his ultimate challenge as the mysterious Red Hood takes Gotham City by firestorm. One part vigilante, one part criminal kingpin, Red Hood begins cleaning up Gotham with the efficiency of Batman, but without following the same ethical code. Killing is an option. And when the Joker falls in the balance between the two, hard truths are revealed and old wounds are reopened.

Excellent movie, but not one for children. It’s PG-13, with violent themes not appropriate for young children. I found Jason Todd’s torture and death to be especially brutal. The voice acting is good, with new actors stepping in, such as Bruce Greenwood as Batman/Bruce Wayne. newcomer Jensen Ackles as Red Hood (excellent!), and Neil Patrick Harris as Nightwing. Although I’m normally a fan of John Di Maggio, I didn’t like him here as the Joker. In case you were interested, Rogue’s Gallery favorites Black Mask and Riddler also make appearances, but I liked seeing Nightwing the best.

Did I mention Jason Todd’s death was brutal? I genuinely felt bad.

Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010)

Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010)

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In Good Company (2004)

Posted on November 6, 2010 by Joel

We rented In Good Company, a 2004 comedy-drama starring Topher Grace, Dennis Quaid, and Scarlett Johansson, There wereother supporting cast members, with honorable mentions to Marg Helgenberger and Clark Gregg. I’ve been interested in watching this film since it came out, but like many others, never got around to it. The trailer looked pretty to me, and six years later I watched the actual film. Don’t look at me like that. Six years isn’t that unreasonable.

Dennis Quaid plays a middle-aged ad exec who gets demoted when the magazine publisher he works for is taken over, and his new boss (Topher Grace) is nearly half his age. Grace’s character is an up-and-coming 26-year old executive who thinks he’s got it all, but he doesn’t quite understand what is and isn’t important in life. His own life experiences chaos when his wife (Selma Blair) asks for a divorce, and he begins seeing Quaid’s daughter (Johansson.) Considering that Quaid’s character despises the new manager, and non-hilarity ensues.

Here’s my review: the film was interesting to watch, but I wasn’t as moved as I thought I’d be. I was expecting a strong story, a moving-your-soul theme, and a conclusion that made me think. Maybe it was the trailer, or the six years of “getting around to it”, but I probably attached more to the film than I should have. I’d say it was a decent movie, told a story, wasn’t outlandish, and had a realistic conclusion.

In Good Company (2004)

In Good Company (2004)

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Halloween 2010 at my sister’s house

Posted on November 1, 2010 by Joel

Late Sunday afternoon, we drove down to my sister’s place to have the kids trick or treat. In our own neighborhood, we don’t see too many kids. Meanwhile, in south Jersey, it’s like the 50’s in America. Everyone sits outside with tables and chairs, hand out candy, drink beer. The sidewalks are full of kids trick or treating. It’s all very odd to me. It’s nice, but still odd. Ah well, as my mother would say, “When in Rome, trick or treat with everyone else.”

The kids looked great. This year, Josh was dressed as Luke Skywalker (with a purple lightsaber), and Lily was Wonder Woman (one of her favorites.) Namita and I hadn’t dressed up for Halloween in many years, but this year ew borrowed someone’s Double Dare costumes. After we got to the house, all was well until Lily saw Kitty’s scary Mummy costume, started screaming, and jumped into our arms. She wouldn’t relax until Kitty took off the makeup later in the evening. In the meantime, we kept them apart in different trick or treating groups.

Robbie and I took the kids out for trick or treating, while Julie and Namita stayed back at the house to watch the baby and hand out candy. It was a cold night! More folks came over, and ended up staying for dinner there. By the time we got home, it was almost midnight, and on a Sunday night! It was rough getting up the next day for work/school for everyone.

Josh as Luke Skywalker

Josh as Luke Skywalker

Nums & Wonder Woman

Nums & Wonder Woman

Emily, Lily, Joshua

Emily, Lily, Joshua

Family photo

Family photo, Halloween 2010
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Josh’s last soccer game of the season

Posted on October 31, 2010 by Joel

October 30th was Josh’s last regular season soccer practice game. Two months went awfully fast, and I’m glad my wife signed him up for it. It was a good experience for him to play a sport for the first time with other boys his age. Below is a picture of the team taken a few weeks earlier. It was an interesting experience on my part. I was officially a parent taking my kid to his weekend games, rooting for my son to kick the ball across the field, and trying my best to be encouraging when he made mistakes. I think it was also fun for him to interact with some of the boys from his kindergarten class on the weekends.

We’ve decided to have him stick with soccer. In two months, he’ll start in indoor soccer. We felt that it’s good for him to continue building up his motor skills at this age, and to have fun outside the house.

Josh's 2010 Soccer Team Group Photo

Josh's 2010 Soccer Team Group Photo

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Killers (2010)

Posted on October 30, 2010 by Joel

Oh, romantic comedies. I’m starting to see a pattern. Reality is not important for a romantic comedy. What is important are certain set pieces, situations, or jokes. the actual plot doesn’t matter. I know they’re very popular, yet like Lifetime movies, aren’t expected to be very good. It’s this particular point I don’t understand. There’s nothing inherently wrong with the idea of a romantic comedy. I’m a guy. I like romance. I like comedy. Why is it so hard to find a good, smart film that is both smart and have romantic overtones/themes? I’d rather watch and enjoy a GOOD romantic comedy with my wife, instead of sitting there watching a bad movie, and annoying her with my eye rolls and guffaws.

Friday night, we had a date night planned after all the school Halloween school parades and parties. We would drop off the kids for the evening, then catch dinner and a movie. Logistically, this didn’t work out as well as we hoped, so decided to go out for a sushi dinner, then come home to watch something streaming at home. We didn’t see anything we liked, so settled on Killers on FiOS Video on Demand. Sadly, we watched it on standard definition, not HD (couldn’t find HD movies.) Painful for me on many levels.

Killers stars Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl, with smaller roles for a number of actors and actresses like Tom Selleck, Catherine O’Hara, and others who must participate in these types of films for the money — it can’t be the artistic value. To summarize the plot, Kutcher is an assassin who meets Heigl’s character in Nice (France) during a job — you know, an assassination. They fall in love, and three years later, they are married, living in surburbia, and living average Joe-type married lives. All of  a sudden, there’s a $20 million bounty on Ashton’s head, and killers come out of the woodwork to collect the bounty. Big spoiler here — some of these killers are their own neighbors. Dum dum DUM!

I didn’t like this movie because I thought it wasn’t very good. Frankly, the plot was convoluted, and didn’t make a lot of sense. I found the relationship dynamics/chemistry between the two characters boring once they got married. The sheer number of their neighbors/friends who are contracted killers, all living in proximity to them, was unbelievable. I mean, really, all these people are killers? Was their sole responsibility to sit and wait for three years or more, just in case they had to kill Ashton Kutcher? Do they get paid to sit and wait?

Finally, I didn’t find the whole Kutcher-as-an-assassin to be believable. As a guy, I’ve watched my share of movies about cold-blooded assassins. Ashton Kutcher was a joke as an assassin. His entire mannerisms didn’t match the personality of someone would kill people for money. In this movie, Ashton Kutcher is a goofy assassin that women wouldn’t be appalled with — handsome and isn’t threatening. He’s a killer that doesn’t kill often, has a conscious, and WIN WIN!, he has boyish charm. I don’t personally know any real-life assassins, but I’m pretty sure contract killers are assholes with personalities that don’t work well within stable long-term relationships. Furthermore, once the action starts and the killers come out of the woodwork, he’s a terrible fighter. All of a sudden, he’s a joke, and the action is a mere backdrop so that Heigl and Kutcher’s characters can bicker about their relationship. The finale came together quickly, but the resolution was abrupt.

I didn’t like this movie. I’m disappointed, and I’m confounded that Hollywood studios can’t hire smart writers to write decent movies that have both romance and comedy. Ironically, after the film was over, we browsed through the FiOS On Demand menu, and found the HD version of Killers, plus other movies. This was our first On Demand purchase, so lesson learned, now we know where to find the HD movies for rent. Doh!

On a random note, in the movie poster below, doesn’t Ashton Kutcher’s hair look like a toupee?

Killers (2010)

Killers (2010)

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Into the Wild (2007)

Posted on October 24, 2010 by Joel

After much not getting around to it, I finally got around to it. Saturday night, after everyone went to bed, I popped the Blu-ray disc into my PS3, settled onto the couch to watch a quality movie in peace and quiet. Into the Wild is a 2007 film based on the true story of Christopher McCandless, a college graduate from a well-to-do East Coast family who gave up money and a regular life, changed his name to “Alexander Supertramp”, and hiked across America from 1990-1992.

Sean Penn directed it, and wrote it with American writer Jon Krakauer, the author of a 1996 book about McCandless’ life. While most audience members know of McCandless’ ultimate fate, knowing the ending didn’t take away from watching the journey this 22-year old kid took to find himself and experience life. The overall cast was excellent, but Emile Hirsch was fantastic as Christopher McCandless. Filmed in the same locations that McCandless travelled, the cinematography was phenomenal. The American West is a wonderous and beautiful place. The journey he took led him to meet interesting people, but I loved to see the panoramic vistas of his journey.

** MINOR SPOILERS **

During his journey, I think McCandless was running away from everything his family represented and came from. His father’s career. The intense fights between his parents. The family secrets and lies. He thought he would find happiness in isolation. In the end, I think he realized, ultimately too late, that having relationships was important after all.

I also think that, while he was a bright kid, he was ultimately unprepared for life in the Alaskan wilderness. Some critics have complained that he wasn’t that smart, but I think he just made mistakes due to his inexperience. It was a sad situation overall.

** END SPOILERS **

My review of this film? Certainly one of the best films that I’ve seen this year. The story was interesting, the soundtrack (many by Eddie Veder) fit the theme, and the cinematography was superb. I neglected to mention the cast, but the acting and casting were great as well.

Into the Wild (2007)

Into the Wild (2007)

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The first trailer for Paul

Posted on October 19, 2010 by Joel

There is a new film called Paul scheduled to be released in 2011. Starring Simon Pegg (he’s literally awesome), “Two British comic-book geeks traveling across the U.S. encounter an alien outside Area 51.” This is an early trailer. It looks interesting.

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Our Logitech Harmony One remote and PS3 adapter arrived today

Posted on October 18, 2010 by Joel

Since July, we’ve been fumbling with 3-4 remote controls every time we want to watch something. Here we are with all these great components, but it’s so annoying to change the channels or raise/lower the volume.

  • Want to watch television? Two remotes — FiOS DVR remote, Panasonic TV remote, and stereo sound.
  • What to watch television with surround sound?  DVR, TV, and AV receiver.
  • Want to watch a movie? DVR, TV, AV receiver, and PS3 controller.

BTW, it’s weird to watch a movie using a PS3 controller. I don’t know if I’m trying to fast forward or sniping someone from a tower window. My wife can’t stand tryng to watch a movie, being unsure if SQUARE is to stop, or L1 is rewind, etc.

We knew we wanted to get a universal remote, but it’s a bit pricey. The Logitech Harmony line of universal remote controls get good reviews, and I’ve had my eye on the Harmony One remote. It’s supposedly easy to configure(programmed at your home PC), and there’s even a Harmony PS3 Bluetooth adapter so one can control a PS3.

All that goodness comes with a $200 price tag, so my wife has been a little reluctant. Rightfully so, since it’s expensive proposition, but the value is there. Last week, we’d finally had enough, and my wife actually ordered it. My wife, God bless her, has a high tolerance, but she readily admits it’s a bit of a pain to watch a movie.

I worked from home today so I could run errands, and be home for the remote. Setting up the various “Activities'” remote control was fast. Here’s my review of the Harmony One install and setup process:

  1. Plug in the remote control cradle and the PS3 adapter so the remote can charge for a bit.
  2. Install the software on your home PC.
  3. Select and input your various home theater components (brand and model number.)
  4. Configure what actions to take, what inputs to change to, what isn’t used.
  5. Plug in the remote control via USB cable so the configuration can be transferred over.
  6. Bonus — On your PS3, register your Bluetooth adapter.

That’s all there is to it. I’ve noticed one hiccup on the changing of the television inputs, but I’ll figure it out. When you hit “Watch TV” for example, it’s supposed to switch to HDMI1 or whatever. A few times today, it was on the incorrect TV input instead, and I’m not sure yet. There are also some additional remote options/controls on the touchscreen portion of the remote. I’m wondering if I can configure those as well. Again, I’ll figure it out. So far, I like what I see.

Logitech Harmony One

Logitech Harmony One

Harmony One in the cradle and the PS3 adapter

Harmony One in the cradle and the PS3 adapter
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A relaxing weekend in October is nothing to be ashamed of

Posted on October 17, 2010 by Joel

After so many months of packed-to-the-gills weekend schedules, we’re starting to experience actual breaks. This weekend, not much to fill up the schedule, so we used it for decompression time.

We started off the weekend Friday night with pizza and a movie, though I chose to celebrate the weekend non-festivities with pizza and a cold beer. On Saturday, we began cleaning up the house, taking Josh to his soccer practice, and chilling out the rest of the day. On Sunday, we had church, more cleaning up, and administering the children their monthly bathes. In the evening, our niece Sophia came over to visit, and we took all the kids around town to do some shopping.

I like this a lot. It helps to not run around like a crazy people all the time.

Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

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Justice League: The New Frontier (2008)

Posted on October 16, 2010 by Joel

I did not like this movie. Warning: spoilers below.

Friday night, we were looking for something to watch with the kids. We tried to watch Justice League: The New Frontier, but we started to a lot more animated violence than we were comfortable for our young kids to be watching. The film starts off with a suicide, then you have pilot Hal Jordan shootings someone in the head. When we got to the part where Wonder Woman was explaining to Superman how these Korean women that she saved had be used as “comfort women” and then she let them kill their rapists, we shut it off. Egads, turns out it was a PG-13 film! I never thought I’d be upset with a PG-13 film, but the material was too much for a Joshua at 5 years old. Instead, we watched Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, which was the safer choice.

After the kids went to bed, I thought I’d watch this DC Comics movie from the privacy of my own computer. The film is set from 1953–1960, and features the creation of the Justice League in the midst of an attack on the people of Earth from something ominously referred to “The Centre.” You don’t hear much about “The Centre”, except it has some sort of mind-control, cultists are going mad for it, and people around the world are experiencing visions and killing themselves shortly afterwards.

The cast is full of well-known actors and actresses:

  • David Boreanaz as Harold “Hal” Jordan / Green Lantern
  • Miguel Ferrer as J’onn J’onzz / John Jones / Martian Manhunter
  • Neil Patrick Harris as Bartholomew “Barry” Allen / The Flash
  • Lucy Lawless as Princess Diana of Themyscira / Wonder Woman
  • Kyle MacLachlan as Kal-El / Clark Kent / Superman
  • Vanessa Marshall as Mala (credited as Amazon Woman)
  • Phil Morris as King Faraday
  • Kyra Sedgwick as Lois Lane
  • Brooke Shields as Carol Ferris
  • Jeremy Sisto as Bruce Wayne / Batman
  • Keith David as The Centre

The movie is less about the formation of the Justice League, and really more of an origins story for Hal Jordan, who would eventually become the Green Lantern. It takes a while for Jordan to finally slip on the powerful ring, and the limited time the movie is able to devote to Jordan’s story makes centering the movie around Jordan’s origin a bit questionable. Hal Jordan’s time as the actual Green Lantern was approximately 4 minutes of actual screen time.

Also, on a lesser note, it’s an origins story for Martian Manhunter (J’onn J’onzz) as well. However, in comparison to the Hal Jordan plotline, it’s not much character development. J’onn J’onzz shows up on Earth by accident, he spends time studying television, and then attempts to sneak back to Mars aboard a rocketship. Near the end, for reasons not quite understood, he changes his mind, and decides he likes humans, and wants to stay and help fight The Centre, whatever that is. His actual time combatting evil? Miniscule.

At a film length of only 74 minutes, it was an imbalanced way to tell the overall story. Much of the story spent on an origin story for Hal Jordan, another origin story for J’onn J’onzz to a lesser degree, and the rest of the superheroes showing up to fight….. The Centre.

So, what exactly was The Centre, you ask? With such a build-up, you must be wondering who or what The Centre was. Cultists tried to sacrifice a small boy, people are committing suicide, this thing has got to be pretty ominous. Here’s the big spoiler. If you don’t want to ruin the surprise, turn away now.

It's..... THE CENTRE!!!

It’s….. THE CENTRE!!!

It’s a gigantic psychic entity swarming by its monster dinosaur minions, in the shape of an island. I was incredulous. What a weak villain. It reminded me of one of the Independence Day spaceships, but it was just one object. It’s an island or a huge spaceship or something that can spawn tons of dinosaurs out (and energy beams) to attack Earth. Yes, it attacks using dinosaurs. Bubbles form, and dinosaurs emerge and attack the US military forces and the superheroes. At least in ID4, there are aliens on the ship. This thing, whatever it is, hovers above the ocean near Cape Canaveral in Florida, barely doing any damages to the civilization as we know it, except causing some damages to the military base and attacked Wonder Woman earlier in the movie as she flew by in her invisible jet. Who wrote this, a 4th grader? The major villain in this story is a floating island that attacks with dinosaurs?

A weak villain, a ridiculous ending, and the rest of the superhero cast have minor roles. It makes me feel that the story focuses so much on Green Lantern and John the Martian, then ran out of ideas when the action comes in for the final blow.  I still have no real clue as to the Centre’s purpose, except to act as the movie’s Big Boss. And why attack Cape Canaveral? BTW, strangest moment of the climatic battle? Superman gets knocked out early in the battle, and sent to the bottom of the sea. He’s gone for the rest of the climax, until a submarine of sorts shows up on the beach at the very end of the film. The front opens, and a blond guy with an orange shirt and green pants says he nursed Superman back to health. His name is Arthur. Uh, is he supposed to be Aquaman? Where has this guy been the entire film?

I realize that others have gone on record stating this was a good film. I, on the other hand, think it’s the most ridiculous and least-satisfying of the DC Universe films so far. Do you think I’m being too harsh? Let me repeat — the big bad villain in this movie is a floating island that spits out vicious dinosaurs.

Justice League: The New Frontier (2008)

Justice League: The New Frontier (2008)

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