Chronicles of Riddick

Too much. Unworthy and bloated successo to Pitch Black. And Riddick is not a patch on Conan the Barbarian.

Ultraviolet

Better than Resident Evil: Apocalypse, I guess. No, wait. It's the other way around.

Battleship Potemkin

The score was replaced with selections from Shostakovicth (The Fall of Leningrad, etc ...) A major distraction. What to do?

ROME

Rome rocks. Practically educational.

Superman Returns

I would give three hundred thousand coconuts and every ounce of Brandon Routh's blood to get the two hours and thirty-four minutes that Superman Returns took from me. The movie ends four or five times.
I don't even know where to begin: the uneven tone, the formless narrative, the unfunny camp, the bad hair styles, the insouciant sepia tone, the smarmy melodrama? Bleh!
John Ottman kept the score in appropriate territory and managed to add a little bit of sense to the drama, but there is only so much that music can do. What a trooper.
Given the improbable physics, some of the special effects are realistically detailed. The ripples cascading down the skin of the 777 as Superman decelerates it were arguably realistic.
On the literary resonance side, Superman has been conflated with his original messianic role, an overt Appollonian syndrome and all too literal Jesus references. Lex Luthor introduces Superman as a god, so this is consistent.
Look up Larry Niven's essay on Superman's girlfriends for further insight into the problems this screenplay introduces. Me, I am going to stop thinking about this movie right now.

Thing in a Tree

Thing in a Tree 

The Toa Maiden Disappears from Captivity

More Toa Maiden related adventure.

Santa Bionicle

It's Santa! Run for your lives!

Festivus is tomorrow.

Teaser: Toa Maiden Fever Dream

This started out as a Bionicle Santa, which didn't work out too well, mostly because of the difficulty in making a convincing beard. Also making a plausible belly like a bowlful of jelly proved not easy. Robot monsters do not tend to rotundity. Except Tic-Toc. The closest I got was Santa Mantis and that was not satisfactory. It morphed into this more conventional ACTION FIGURE. Features to note:

• Festive color scheme.
• Cape!
• Mantis-like head.
• Golden bustle.
• Articulated waist.
• Gadgetized feet.

Talk to the hook!

Joe Barbera Has Died

Thanks for Jonny Quest, Joe Barbera.

The Toa Maiden is betrayed

Last time, the Toa Maiden had met another Toa-like being also intent on helping a group of villagers. Some time later, the villagers prove to be not what they seem.
Coming soon: The Toa Maiden's Holiday Fever Dreams

The Toa Maiden Tries to Do a Good Deed

The Toa Maiden sets out for a noble cause.

Painful juxtaposition

 
Ah, the dangers of targeted advertising. 

Garage

 
Too much stuff. 

Defilak at the office

 
An undersea Matoran explores my desk. 

The Crimson Pirate

Silly and unpretentious. I expect that today's kids would have no patience for it. There is lots of cinematic piratical goings-on, though and that is always a good thing.

Hell in the Pacific

Less cogent than I remembered. Alternate ending is far superior.

Underworld

Dull. Dumb. Lots of rubber body suits and outfits with many, many buckles. Kate Beckinsale looks like she is constantly being woken from a nap. Supporting actors are consistently stiff. Design of the movie is attractive.

Children of Heaven

Charming and timeless. Assumes fairy-tale like character as movie progresses. Recommended.

Resident Evil: Apocalypse

Lots of action. No second act slump. Keeps things moving. The moving things are utterly pointless and loud, but it goes, goes, goes.

A Wing and a Prayer

Unabashed propaganda has solid, too, too solid performances from everyone. Not bad but very much a journeyman product.

Twilight Samurai

Simple-seeming tale reveals layers very deliberately. Finale is choreographed beautifully and realistically. Recommended.

The Razor's Edge (1946)

A different focus than the Bill Murray version, which I now think compares well to the Tyrone Power effort. A generally stiff tone runs throughout. Clifton Webb totally steals all his scenes.

V for Vendetta

Holy cats, is John Hurt a creepy Big Brother! Lots of improbable swordplay. Hugo Weaving carries the whole thing on his diction, though. Could have been utterly farcical.

Storm Over Mont Blanc

Leni Reifenstal portrays an overly-romantic university student who complicates the monk-like calm of a weatherman stationed at the top of Mont Blanc. Amazing aerial photography. There is apparently a genre of mountain movies from between the wars in which Leni is the focus apart from the mountains.

Only Angels Have Wings

Almost my new favorite movie. Howard Hawks' fantasy of manly men flying aerocraft over the Andes and their womanly women making things complicated. More personal redemption per reel than is strictly necessary.

l'Age d'Or

Yeah, yeah, surreal. Wacky, grown-up, fun, pointed.
And it's on YouTube

The Forgotten

Rented as an antidote to Flightplan, this was better than I expected. It has not stayed with me however, much like an M. Night Shyamalan movie. Also owes a lot to X-Files.

You Only Live Twice

Baby-faced Henry Fonda becomes ur-fugitive. Proto-noir.