I went to see the new Muppet movie yesterday.
It was EPIC!!
Or better yet, described thusly...
Most Sensational!
Inspirational!
Celebrational!
Muppetational!!
I grew up watching the original Muppet Show, and the few incarnations from between then and now. If you ever liked the Muppets, at any point in time, you will absolutely love this film. The well-written musical numbers, the cameos, the several mature sub-plots, and overall positive (but not maudlin) feel of this film, make it an absolute joy to watch.
You'll laugh, get teary-eyed, and laugh, and get teary-eyed some more. There needs to be more quality films like this put out into the world. It really captures the spirit of Jim Henson, and what the Muppets are about.
If you haven't carted your sweet patootie out to see it yet, you're seriously missing out. But if my word isn't enough to sway you, Rotten Tomatoes gave it 98%. That's over a hundred reviews from all over, averaged together. That many reviews can't be wrong.
Hopefully, Disney won't ruin it by riding it into the ground.
*crosses fingers*
Monday, November 28, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
Burt FUCKING Reynolds!!
Hello Blog.
I've been playing Saints Row the Third for the last few days, and that's what the title of this post refers to.
More accurately, it's a literal line of dialogue from the game, and an example of how sheer awesomeness can blindside you when it's unexpected.
Burt Reynolds actually voices his in-game counterpart, and the reveal of him was totally a surprise, and done in such a way as to imply coolness galore. I think any time something unexpectedly awesome happens, I shall forevermore say "Burt FUCKING Reynolds!!".
Long-story-short, I'm really enjoying the game.
<: ) In non-Burt related news: I've joined up to a paid online dating site, Match.com. I'm not posting a link - mainly because it's about as non-exciting as my other forays in online dating. 'Nuff said. I've been hearing some talk about an upcoming Superman movie, titled "Superman: Man of Steel". To be directed by Zack Snyder (who did Sucker Punch, Watchmen, Dawn of the Dead, and 300), and executive produced by Christopher Nolan (director of Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and Memento). Not sure how I feel about this, especially because Superman is something of an idol of mine, and has been since I was practically a fetus.
While at work the other day, I thought of a personal checklist of things that should happen in a Superman film, as follows:
-No explanation of his origins. EVERYONE knows who Superman is.
-Put him up against a credible threat. And not a threat that Supes has fought a buhjillion times.
-Showcase aspects that show how Superman is "super" - both in his awesome powers, and in his life and mindset.
-Other superhero cameos! Establish that Superman is in a larger world, one potentially filled with other heroes, like the Justice League.
Personally, if I told the story, I'd start the film with Superman going through his routine as Clark Kent. He might be down at the Daily Planet, trying to think of some kind of story to print, when he hears something with his super hearing. Peeping around to make sure no one's watching, he uses his super-speed to quickly hammer out a story based on what he's about to do, and rushes off into a series of brief vignettes showcasing him triumphing over various members of his rogues gallery.
I'd even toss in a few moments hinting at the founding of the Justice League. Maybe lifting parts of a space station into orbit, with glimpses of a few soon-to-be-members using their powers to help in the background.
Maybe there could even be a moment where we see Supes just flying around, when he spots a scuffle in a back alley. Cut to a black clad man in a cape, pummeling a group of obvious thugs - and there's a reveal that it's Batman, kicking some ass. Just as things look safe, a thug looks like he's got the drop on 'ole Bats. As the thug is about to strike/stab/shoot/hug(?) Batman - we see a brief zap of Superman's heat vision that temporarily stuns the criminal, alerting Batman, who then incapacitates him. Batman then turns, flashing a dirty look to Superman (implying familiarity), as Superman glides majestically off into the sky, with a happy salute and smile.
That's got to be enough for perhaps the first 20 minutes, and now we can settle in for the main plot.
In my take, I'd like to see Superman helping S.T.A.R. Labs with research on some kind of extradimensional power source. Something goes awry, and there's a quasi-dimensional "hiccup" in the experiment - and the results cause ripples of time-displacement around the surrounding area, which Supes must contend with. Maybe Supes gets another brief actiony montage dealing with the holes in our reality that are drawing forth some minor dangers. Dinosaurs, aliens, nazis, evil grannies, whatever. And after Superman is done fixing things, we get a reveal of something he missed. A figure, that in silhouette, seems exactly like Superman. And for a good chunk of the story, we'd only get tiny reveals of who this is, implying that it might be another Kryptonian - possibly an evil copy of Superman.
And it is, and it isn't.
I'd choose Ultraman, who is something of an alternate timeline/dimensional counterpart of Superman, and comparable in terms of power. At which point, I'd expect at least 1 more massive action setpiece, where Superman and Ultraman face off, and level, an area of Metropolis. I'm talking skyscrapers falling, hitting each other with buses and cars. An all-out super-brawl.
I see a moment where some bystanders witness 1 of the combatants bounce off a building and crash into the pavement. As they rush to help, it would be implied that it's Superman, but it isn't. As he rises from the asphalt crater, Ultraman cooks them with his heat vision. At least we insinuate that he does that. A close up of the bystanders backing away, with Ultraman's eyes starting to release energy.
I don't have any idea how it should end, exactly, but I do think it needs a twist. I think it might be cool to have it seem that Superman wins. Maybe he makes some kind of deal with Lex Luthor, acquiring a chunk of Kryptonite to use on Ultraman. But in an epilogue, we could show that Superman did not win, and exposing Ultraman to the kryptonite gave him the power to mimic Superman's appearance.
Credits.
Guaranteed need for sequel. It could involve an injured Superman teaming up with the heroes who will become the Justice League.
Could shoot both stories back-to-back.
BAM!
I've been playing Saints Row the Third for the last few days, and that's what the title of this post refers to.
More accurately, it's a literal line of dialogue from the game, and an example of how sheer awesomeness can blindside you when it's unexpected.
Burt Reynolds actually voices his in-game counterpart, and the reveal of him was totally a surprise, and done in such a way as to imply coolness galore. I think any time something unexpectedly awesome happens, I shall forevermore say "Burt FUCKING Reynolds!!".
Long-story-short, I'm really enjoying the game.
<: ) In non-Burt related news: I've joined up to a paid online dating site, Match.com. I'm not posting a link - mainly because it's about as non-exciting as my other forays in online dating. 'Nuff said. I've been hearing some talk about an upcoming Superman movie, titled "Superman: Man of Steel". To be directed by Zack Snyder (who did Sucker Punch, Watchmen, Dawn of the Dead, and 300), and executive produced by Christopher Nolan (director of Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and Memento). Not sure how I feel about this, especially because Superman is something of an idol of mine, and has been since I was practically a fetus.
While at work the other day, I thought of a personal checklist of things that should happen in a Superman film, as follows:
-No explanation of his origins. EVERYONE knows who Superman is.
-Put him up against a credible threat. And not a threat that Supes has fought a buhjillion times.
-Showcase aspects that show how Superman is "super" - both in his awesome powers, and in his life and mindset.
-Other superhero cameos! Establish that Superman is in a larger world, one potentially filled with other heroes, like the Justice League.
Personally, if I told the story, I'd start the film with Superman going through his routine as Clark Kent. He might be down at the Daily Planet, trying to think of some kind of story to print, when he hears something with his super hearing. Peeping around to make sure no one's watching, he uses his super-speed to quickly hammer out a story based on what he's about to do, and rushes off into a series of brief vignettes showcasing him triumphing over various members of his rogues gallery.
I'd even toss in a few moments hinting at the founding of the Justice League. Maybe lifting parts of a space station into orbit, with glimpses of a few soon-to-be-members using their powers to help in the background.
Maybe there could even be a moment where we see Supes just flying around, when he spots a scuffle in a back alley. Cut to a black clad man in a cape, pummeling a group of obvious thugs - and there's a reveal that it's Batman, kicking some ass. Just as things look safe, a thug looks like he's got the drop on 'ole Bats. As the thug is about to strike/stab/shoot/hug(?) Batman - we see a brief zap of Superman's heat vision that temporarily stuns the criminal, alerting Batman, who then incapacitates him. Batman then turns, flashing a dirty look to Superman (implying familiarity), as Superman glides majestically off into the sky, with a happy salute and smile.
That's got to be enough for perhaps the first 20 minutes, and now we can settle in for the main plot.
In my take, I'd like to see Superman helping S.T.A.R. Labs with research on some kind of extradimensional power source. Something goes awry, and there's a quasi-dimensional "hiccup" in the experiment - and the results cause ripples of time-displacement around the surrounding area, which Supes must contend with. Maybe Supes gets another brief actiony montage dealing with the holes in our reality that are drawing forth some minor dangers. Dinosaurs, aliens, nazis, evil grannies, whatever. And after Superman is done fixing things, we get a reveal of something he missed. A figure, that in silhouette, seems exactly like Superman. And for a good chunk of the story, we'd only get tiny reveals of who this is, implying that it might be another Kryptonian - possibly an evil copy of Superman.
And it is, and it isn't.
I'd choose Ultraman, who is something of an alternate timeline/dimensional counterpart of Superman, and comparable in terms of power. At which point, I'd expect at least 1 more massive action setpiece, where Superman and Ultraman face off, and level, an area of Metropolis. I'm talking skyscrapers falling, hitting each other with buses and cars. An all-out super-brawl.
I see a moment where some bystanders witness 1 of the combatants bounce off a building and crash into the pavement. As they rush to help, it would be implied that it's Superman, but it isn't. As he rises from the asphalt crater, Ultraman cooks them with his heat vision. At least we insinuate that he does that. A close up of the bystanders backing away, with Ultraman's eyes starting to release energy.
I don't have any idea how it should end, exactly, but I do think it needs a twist. I think it might be cool to have it seem that Superman wins. Maybe he makes some kind of deal with Lex Luthor, acquiring a chunk of Kryptonite to use on Ultraman. But in an epilogue, we could show that Superman did not win, and exposing Ultraman to the kryptonite gave him the power to mimic Superman's appearance.
Credits.
Guaranteed need for sequel. It could involve an injured Superman teaming up with the heroes who will become the Justice League.
Could shoot both stories back-to-back.
BAM!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
