A Bloody Good Time with True Blood and Dexter

It is Sunday evening and I am prepared to have a bloody good time with True Blood and the (final) season premier of Dexter.

I wasn't a big fan of the season premier of True Blood, finding it to be pedestrian and not very exciting.  The second episode, however, really kicked into gear and gave us something to sink our fangs into.

Bill find out that basically he is now a prophet but we do not yet know his message/purpose.  We did find out that he no longer needs to feed like a traditional vampire but can rather funnel all of a persons blood through their mouth (as gross as it sounds, yes).  Poor Jessica is so confused, and scared by Bill's passive/aggressive behavior.

Alcide is really taking his role as pack-master seriously by taking Emma from Sam to join his pack.  I have to admit, he is definitely more bad-ass so far this season but kidnapping a puppy/little girl?  Not cool bro.

Eric infiltrates Governor Burrell's mansion but finds out that the humans are much better prepared for war with the vampires than he realized.  The humans developed contact lenses that prevents glamouring for example.  Eric is forcefully removed from the premises but flies away Superman style, only to reappear at the window of the Governor's daughter who was getting ready for bed.  Oops, guess you should have kept those contacts in sweetie.

Sam loses Emma to Alcide but gains an ally in Nicole who is from the Vampire Unity Society and wants to help "super natural" creatures like Sam come out into the open.

Jason and Sookie find out more info about their grandfather (played so expertly by Rutger Hauer) who also happens to be king of the fairies and is there to hunt Warlow who is now in their dimension.  He also teaches Sookie how to turn her fairy light into a sun bomb which she can only use once then will lose her powers forever.  Oh, and Sookie meets a mysterious and attractive new male fairy friend.

I am very much looking forward to the next episode.  Like I said earlier, the show got off to a slow start but it has my full attention now.

I am really excited about Dexter.  Season 7 ended on a huge cliff-hanger with Deb killing Laguerta.  How will Deb and Dexter cover up her murder?  Is Deb finally going to follow her romantic feelings for Dexter? Hannah McKay escaped from police custody, is she going to disappear or is she coming back for the man/murderer she loves?   We know this is the final season and as Dexter asks in the Season 7:  Is this a new beginning or the beginning of the end?  I, for one, am DYING to find out!

Man of Steel – A Film Review by Mike D

There was a lot on the line for DC Comics with Man of Steel, the stakes could not really be much higher to deliver a hit with this film.  Success for this film brings momentum; a second straight major character revival (the first being Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight series) and a fast track to a Justice League franchise that would officially get them entered into the fight with Marvel Studios for super hero film supremacy. 

It was wise of DC to have Nolan involved in this project as a producer and to have David S. Goyer (Dark Knight Trilogy) write the screenplay.  They needed director Zach Snyder (300, Watchmen) to bring everything together and give us a compelling origin story for one of the most beloved comic book characters of all time which is accompanied by a rabid, hyper-critical fan base.  No pressure right?

I am one of those hyper-critical Fanboys.  I am a comic guy, a super hero guy, a movie guy and I really, really wanted to like this film.  You know what?  I really, really did.  We’ll get into the nuts and bolts of it but the fact is I had a great time watching this retelling of Superman’s story.  I was engaged the whole time, I laughed (granted, not as much as I would have liked), I cried and I cheered on a hero.  I even found myself talking to the screen occasionally which for me is a very good sign of how immersed in the experience I was having. 

Like anything with a rich history, it is important to start off with the perspective that this is not necessarily YOUR Superman.  This is not Christopher Reeve and Marlon Brando and Margot Kidder.  This is not a movie version of your favorite stories from the Superman comic; this is Zach Snyder’s Superman, HIS vision, HIS execution.  “Buy the premise buy the bit,” which means if you can’t be open to that fact, you will not be open to enjoying/liking this film.   

The story starts off on the planet Krypton, a dying planet.  It is dying because its core is unstable due to the misuse of the planet’s natural resources.  Scientist Jor-El (Russell Crowe, Gladiator, 3:10 to Yuma) tries to reason with the ruling council to change and General Zod (Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road, Machine Gun Preacher) tries a hostile takeover to try and save his planet but both fail.  General Zod and his band of insurgents were banished to the “Phantom Zone” and Jor-El and his wife Lara (Ayalet Zurer, Munichn Angels & Demons) send their newborn son, Kal-El off to Earth to be a leader to them and help them avoid the mistakes that Krypton made.

I did not particularly care for the look of Krypton.  It didn’t detract from the film but it didn’t help me “settle into” it either.  It was very raw and rustic and not nearly as aesthetically pleasing as you would expect an “advanced” planet to look like.  The technology was advanced but looked very basic and crude in its execution.  The Council didn’t look very regal, in fact some of their wardrobes and headdresses looked downright silly.  Jor-El didn’t look “scientific” at all but looked pretty cool in his Kryptonian suit and Lara looked smoking hot and totally amazing, especially considering she had just given birth.  Zod’s military uniform looked very appropriate and intimidating. 

The storytelling in the beginning was very clunky and truncated.  The timing seemed off.  Jor-El tries to warn the council about Krypton’s destruction seemingly while it is being destroyed.  There was little to no build up of the tension between Zod and Jor-El with their conflicting methods for saving Krypton, the tension that was there seemed a little forced.  Zod also was given little time as protector of Krypton before he went into evil council killing mode.  Yet the council somehow reformed and had enough power to banish Zod?  What?  And Jor-el had time to build an escape pod for his son and encrypt Krypton’s entire history and even DNA structure in it?  Huh?  And how is it exactly that Kryptonians had been born in pods (a la The Matrix) for centuries yet somehow Lara gave birth (and looking great doing it) to Kal-El with no complications and no fanfare?

Buy the premise, buy the bit.  Despite its aesthetic and storytelling faults, the points got across that Krypton was dying, Zod and Jor-El had different approaches as to how to save it, the leadership lead, the baby got off the planet in time and Krypton was no more.  Despite its faults I bought the premise and was buying the bit.

Then Snyder does something I thin is really a smart move, he introduces us to an adult Kal-El on Earth, Clark Kent.  He is a wanderer who picks up jobs where he can until he has to do something heroic and then moves on.  The reason I say this was such a good move was because of the performance of Henry Cavill (The Tudors, Immortals).  He is a very good actor and a great Superman.  He physically looked the part for sure.  He also really delivered the duality of the character, both extremely vulnerable and extremely powerful.  He really sold himself as a man seeking his true purpose, his true identity.  He got you emotionally invested in someone who has love for the people who raised him yet still seeks out those who created him.

Then we go on the back and forth storytelling.  We go from Clark as an adult to him as a kid back to him as an adult back to him as a teenager…..Again, very clunky, not smooth transitioning at all.  I liked the way each of those periods were done but put together it was not seamless.  I would like to have seen fewer time jumps with more occurring in each period sequence.  Just when you get invested in what is going on, bam, it changes! Great idea in terms of storytelling just poor on the execution.

The scenes when Clark was around 9 years old were very compelling.  First of all, you have a small child who is trying to figure out what in the heck is going on with him.  He doesn’t understand his senses or his abilities and is very scared.  You just want to pick him up and hold him and tell him everything will be alright and that is exactly what Martha Kent, played to perfection by Diane Lane (Perfect Storm, Secretariat) did.  She was so maternal, so loving and comforting and soothing.  When the world was crashing around him, sometimes literally, she was there for him. 

I was not a big fan of Kevin Costner’s (Bull Durham, Field of Dreams) Jonathan Kent.  I’m not sure if it is the way the role was written or his performance but he was a one note instrument and that note was pretty flat.  His sole purpose was to hammer home the message to Clark to fit in, suppress his abilities and blend in at all costs, even at the expense of saving people’s lives.  He chastises Clark after Clark saves a bus full of kids for exposing what he can do and it was so heartless.  Maybe that was the point, maybe that is how I was supposed to feel about him but I didn’t like it.

That does bring us to another star of the show, the dueling paternal advice of Jor-El vs Pa Kent.  Jor-El’s message to his son was that he should be open and public about who he is and what he can do and people will fall in line behind him.  Pa Kent says to keep his true identity hidden because people will reject him.  The truth is, they are both right but how Kal-El/Clark handles this defines his strength of character and that maturation process really is a driving force throughout the entire film. 

This is a pivotal factor in how he deals with his conflict with Zod, who finds Kal-El on Earth and tries to get him to embrace his destiny as the rebuilder of Krypton, even at the expense of his adoptive home.  What will he do?  How far will he go?  The answers to these questions are intense and have huge impact and the process, including his decision and its consequences truly help Kal-El become Superman.

Another thing I really liked was the government’s reaction to the discovery of who Clark Kent is and where he really comes from.  I feel the level of fear and mistrust are realistic and proportional and the transition from xenophobia to trusting an ally (Kal) was smooth.  The way Superman resolves the conflict with Zod shows he is both a true Kryptonian and true guardian and resident of Earth.

There was definitely a lot of violence and destruction in this film, a huge departure form the lighter hearted, family friendly super hero movie that Marvel has gotten us accustomed to but it didn’t feel excessive to me.  Superman and Zod go after eachother HARD.  The fact is that this is a darker, grittier story and it might have been a bit much but it did not take me “out” of the film or make me enjoy it any less. 

Amy Adams’ (Enchanted, The Fighter) portrayal as Lois Lane was alright.   Honestly could take it or leave it.  I think the character was poorly written, I think she was more secret agent than investigative reporter but there was good chemistry with Cavill and the romance between them didn’t seem forced so no harm no foul.

Laurence Fishburne (Matrix, Contagion) was very good but severely under-utilized as the Daily Planet’s Editor in Chief Perry White.  In fact the daily Planet seemed unnecessary in this narrative.

Russell Crowe delivered a very solid performance as Jor-El.  I really liked Snyder’s creative way of keeping him on screen even after Krypton’s destruction.  It was very cool to see him still have a big part to play and be able to help his son when he most needed him.

Reboots are tricky.  The stakes were very high.  The film had a decent amount of imperfections.  That being said, Christopher Nolan, Zach Snyder and the rest of the cast and crew accomplished what they needed to accomplish.  They delivered a successful, emotionally driven thrill-ride origin story of an extremely iconic character.  They also get DC/WB back in the game and although Marvel/Disney is still winning by a large margin, at least it is now a contest.  We, the fans of comics, super heroes and movies are the benefactors of that.

The Introduction

My name is Mike D and I am a Fanboy.

Urban Dictonary defines a Fanboy as someone who is a passionate fan of various elements of Geek culture such as science fiction, comics, video games etc...  That is obviously not an all inclusive list of but I think a common denominator is that Fanboys seek enjoyment and solace in the sanctuary of the world of fiction.

I became a Fanboy on May 25^th, 1977.  From the moment those crawling title credits of Star Wars: Episode IV began to scroll down the screen my future as a Fanboy was set.  Then came the action figures, lunch boxes, Halloween costumes and I didn't stand a chance.  I was far too young to actually understand what Star Wars was or what it represented, but I wasn't too young to gravitate to it and become immersed in it. 

Up next for me was the wonderful world of cartoons.  After school and Saturday mornings was when I got to be a soldier (GI Joe), a defender of the universe (Voltron) or a shape-shifting robot (Transformers).  I fought crime right alongside Inspector Gadget and dreamed of living in the Smurf’s village and winning Smurfette’s hand (don’t judge).  Again, it wasn't just the cartoons themselves it was the lunch boxes, bed sheets, costumes…  I didn't just enjoy these stories; I immersed myself in those worlds. 

As I got older I branched out and became more of a general pop culture guy.  I watched a lot of television and saw a lot of movies.  In my early twenties I was all about the WB (don’t laugh).  Dawson’s Creek and Buffy The Vampire Slayer (later Angel) were my shows man.  I was always a very angst filled person and those shows really spoke to me in my early twenties.

It was Buffy that brought me into the world of comics actually.  The show ended on television but they decided to continue it in comic book form.  I started reading the Buffy: Season 8 comic and branched out from there.  Hot, ass-kicking chicks are my thing.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the super hero thing but if you show me a bad-ass heroine (or most anything with vampires in it) I will show you my wallet.

By general society’s standards, most Fanboy interests are considered fringe or subculture (i.e. different).  From the moment I stepped into my local comic retailer’s shop I felt like I came home.  I felt safe and accepted and it became my haven, my sanctuary.   I found other people who liked what I liked and liked talking about it too.  I no longer felt like an outsider, I felt like I belonged.  That’s also why Cons are so great.  You get to be round so many other like-minded people AND you get access to the people who create what you love.

My name is Mike D and I am a Fanboy.