Coming Attractions: The Last Jedi

Coming December 15.

In Memoriam: Gene Wilder

I can't admit to being a Gene Wilder fan -- I'm not really a fan type -- but I did enjoy everything I ever saw him in. He really was an offbeat comic genius.

Here's the NYT obit.

And here's the "greatest moments" from Young Frankenstein:

Coming Soon

Well, OK, eventually: Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, due for release on March 25, 2016.

It's inevitable that I'll see it.

Actually, I just looked at the cast list at IMDb (linked above) -- I'll definitely see it.

The Avengers: Age of Ultron: Still Coming to Theaters on May 1

And here's a second TV spot:

Diversity in TV

That's something that's been at the back of my mind since I got a TV and a subscription to Netflix, brought to the fore by this post at Towleroad: they've been running a series on "gay icons," highlighting all the usual suspects, but this one's a little different: Shonda Rhimes, whose visibility is not anywhere near the level of a Madonna or Lady Gaga, but whose influence is probably greater:

But what about an ally that’s leaving her mark on pop culture behind the scenes?

Enter Shonda Rhimes, a TV master so powerful that ABC handed her an entire night of their primetime schedule. Her shows have become some of the most talked about series of the last decade, blending steamy sex scenes, ripped-from-the-headlines commentary and so much soapy melodrama. But through it all, she’s also been committed to diversifying the kinds of stories we see on television. Her casting process for breakout hit Grey’s Anatomy made headlines for the “colorblind” role descriptions that yielded one of the most richly diverse ensembles on television.

Part of that inclusive approach includes telling stories of LGBT characters.

Eureka Cast

Their emphasis, of course, is on increasing visibility of gay and lesbian characters on hit TV series. What I've been noticing, watching older series (or the older seasons of current series -- I'm a binge-watcher who hates having to wait a week for the next installment) is that the overwhelming majority of series I've been watching are much more diverse than what I remember from the past: women in major roles, including leads, who are not window-dressing, but strong, independent characters in their own right (Audrey Parker (played by Emily Rose) in Haven, Rosalie Calvert (Bree Turner) in Grimm, just to name the two that come immediately to mind); and a marked racial diversity, including mixed couples, on just about every series that I've been watching (which include Haven, Grimm, Firefly, Arrow, and Eureka -- and which reminds me, I have to catch up on The Flash).

Nathan Wuornos' Dream

I have to say, though, that most of them do not include gay characters, with the exception of Torchwood, but then again, these are all older episodes, and limited pretty much to what's available on Netflix. I have noticed a tendency, however, for a lot of male skin -- major male characters in Haven and Firefly have nude or nearly-nude scenes, and both Oliver Queen (Steven Amell) and Roy Harper (Colton Haynes) spend a lot of time shirtless in Arrow. Another thought: there is some very interesting chemistry between Nathan Wuornos (Lucas Bryant) and Duke Crocker (Eric Balfour) in Haven.

What I do find interesting is that both DC and Marvel have incorporated gay characters into their comics (Marvel with rather more success than DC), but neither has made the jump to incorporating them into their films or TV series.

Eventually. Can we hope for a Young Avengers or Teen Titans movie?

Coming May 1: Avengers: The Age of Ultron

And of course I'm going to go see it. This is billed as a "trailer." Sorry -- it's a teaser:

Superheroes in the Movies

Marvel has announced its development schedule for the next few years,and everyone's very excited:

May 6, 2016 — “Captain America: Civil War”
Nov. 4, 2016 — “Doctor Strange”
May 5, 2017 — “Guardians of the Galaxy 2″
July 28, 2017 — “Thor: Ragnarok”
Nov. 3, 2017 — “Black Panther”
May 4, 2018 — “Avengers: Infinity War Part I”
July 6, 2018 — “Captain Marvel”
Nov. 2, 2018 — “Inhumans”
May 3, 2019 — “Avengers: Infinity War Part II”

Part of the excitement, at least in certain quarters, is the fact that Marvel will be headlining two superheroes who are, as this article at HuffPo puts it, not white males.

On Tuesday, you likely saw Twitter freak out when Marvel announced its upcoming development schedule. “What are all of these nerds so excited about?” you maybe asked. “Who is this Carol everyone is tweeting about?" Well, here's the answer: the next five years of our lives will include not one but two non-white-male superheroes, Black Panther and Captain Marvel (aka Carol Danvers). The solidified plans are an impressive contrast to DC's speculative releases, and because it’s about time a genre about otherness started representing superheroes who aren't straight white males.

The discussion surrounding minority superheroes usually boils down to a variation on this: "Who cares about diversity? Everyone will go see these movies anyway." That's why this locked-down Marvel schedule is such awesome news. Sure, DC made its stab at expanding the comic-book universe, but it's not the same. The studio set “Wonder Woman” for release some time in 2017, but didn't provide any specifics; it also cast Ray Fisher as Cyborg, who will make his debut during the face-off of "Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice" before coming to a theater near you on his own ... in 2020. (It's a release date so far in the future, Cyborg might actually exist at the point.) Also, does anyone actually give a crap about Cyborg? While we'll have to wait for a solid Apollo and Midnighter film, Tuesday's announcement is a step in the right direction.

There's a good point here -- gods know it's time we started seeing women and minorities in superhero films in other than supporting roles. (And a side note: it's interesting that the second G.I. Joe movie, Retaliation, starred Dwayne Johnson, who took over after they killed off Channing Tatum. Granted, the Joes are not, strictly speaking, superheroes -- their "abilities" come largely from technology -- but lumping them all together into the category "action/adventure with special abilities," it works for me. And that film is not the only one in that super-genre to star a black actor, by a long shot.)

I think, though, the article, and a lot of the reactions, miss a point: There's something to be said for the literal representation of minorities as heroes, but there's a larger message, especially in the Marvel Universe, which came out most obviously in the X-Men movies, was alluded to in The Avengers, and forms a subtext in most of Marvel's superhero films (so far). It was brought home to me in a wonderful scene in Jim Heinberg's Young Avengers comics, in which Billy Kaplan (Wiccan) comes out to his parents as a superhero -- or tries to. Teddy (Hulkling) is there, and Billy's mother jumps to the conclusion that he's finally confessing to being gay, passing out hugs all around while Billy's father welcomes Teddy to the family. The obvious point is that it's OK to be gay, but being a superhero (read "mutant")? Not so much. Or, short answer: these are stories about outsiders.

(By the way, why isn't someone doing a Young Avengers movie? Would beat the hell out of the Twilight spin-offs that have been cluttering up movie screens.)

I suppose, though, that for the movie-going public, some things have to be really, really obvious. And sometimes Hollywood needs a kick in the butt: it seems they can make a movie about minorities, but absorbing them into "mainstream" fare is still a bit of a reach.

Movie Note: Avengers: The Age of Ultron

The first trailer is out. Even without the trailer, of course this one's on my "must see" list.

Coming in May, 2015.

Blackhat: Official Trailer

It seems to be turning into Movie Day. Just ran across this trailer at Towleroad, and I think it's going on my list of "must-see" movies:

I mean, Chris Hemsworth does a cyberthriller -- what could be better?

I Could See This

I don't remember if I posted a comment here or at Booklag, but after watching Ben Affleck as Daredevil*, I had no problem seeing him as Batman. As long as he doesn't smile, an expression for which Batman is not noted anyway.

So, here he is:

* The movie wasn't that great, which is a shame -- I kind of like Daredevil as a character.

Reviews in Brief: Hunger Games: Catching Fire

I broke down and went to see Hunger Games: Catching Fire. (I was desperate to get out of the house, and it was too cold to just go out and walk around.) I’m not going to bother with a plot set-up; if you don’t know it, you can get it at the IMDb listing.

It’s an odd sort of movie: nothing really happens, although there’s a lot of activity. It’s as though there’s a plot, but no story. There are hints at dark doings behind everything – Donald Sutherland, as President Snow, does everything but twirl his moustache while figuring out how to ruin Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) so that she cannot become a focal point for rebellion.

I haven’t seen the first film, nor have I read the books, but this one holds up well enough as a stand-alone: backstory is filled in as appropriate (at least there’s no abrupt stop to the action while someone lectures us about how we got here). And the action scenes, of which there are a multitude, are well done. The trumped-up “romance” between Katniss and her fellow victor in the Games, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) can’t seem to make up its mind whether it’s going to develop into something real or not – and there is the complication of what I assume is Katniss’ real love interest, Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth, who doesn’t have enough to do).

All in all, it’s really no more than a two-and-a-half hour set-up for the next movie (which itself, apparently, is going to come in two parts). The one clue, and it’s just barely that, is the character of the new Games Master, Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman) – you just know he’s playing a double game, but the film doesn’t give you anything solid to grab onto until the last five minutes. Also of note is Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy, a previous victor and Katniss’ mentor – he’s also a lot more than he seems, as we discover -- eventually.

And that's really the thing here: the whole story happens in the last five or ten minutes.

All in all, it’s a fairly entertaining couple of hours, but there’s no substance, and it’s fairly heavy-handed. I'm not inclined to see it again, unless I have raging cabin fever, and not all that interested in seeing any of the others.

PG-13, 146 minutes.

Just for Fun

The sequence including the song "Chaiyya Chaiyya" from the movie Dil Se.

There. That should keep you occupied for a bit.

Coming December 13

Six months from today.

Yeah, I'm going to see it. Of course I'm going to see it. And I will bitch about Peter Jackson's problems with pacing. So what else is new?

Name Two of the Valar

This is pretty interesting. I'm probably going to go see Oz the Great and Powerful tomorrow, and James Franco is someone who's crept onto my radar. Stick around for the end.

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