Hopefully, this will not be the only post this month. I'm just throwing this out there to get back into the swing of things. I have a lot more movie reviews on the way, and some news about the Victoria Toy and Hobby Show coming up this weekend...
But more on that later.
Chew on this one for a while...
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GREEN LANTERN
This movie turned out to be much better than I'd hoped. I enjoyed this at least as much as either of the Iron Man movies, almost as much as Superman Returns, and I definitely thought it was better than the last two Batman films. Still, Green Lantern is no Spider-man... but it's close. I'm not a fan of the GL comic book(s), but I've read a few trade paperbacks from the library and owned a few older issues. He's also appeared - usually as a background character - in many of the DC Comics I've read (which isn't really a lot).
As I've said before, I've always felt DC Comics kind of suck compared to Marvel Comics. For those of you who don`t quite get it,
Spiderman/Hulk/Thor/Iron Man/Captain America = Marvel Comics
and
Superman/Batman/Wonder Woman/Green Lantern/Flash = DC Comics
and
Marvel Comics > DC Comics
Following the above formula, we can thus assume that
Marvel Comics Movies > DC Comics Movies
This doesn't really 'ring' true for Green Lantern. (Get it? Ring? Ha-ha...) The story is pretty far-fetched of course, and pretty in-depth, but really no more so than Thor. Basically, he's an ordinary guy (Hal Jordan) who was given a mystical ring by a dying alien, with which he can create three-dimensional objects, limited only by his imagination. He also becomes part of an intergalactic peacekeeping force - the Green Lantern Corps, based on the planet Oa, in the center of the universe. With a lot of superhero movies, the whole origin story is usually the more tedious part of the film that we all suffer through in order to get to the really cool parts. In this case, I felt that Hal Jordan's visit to Oa and the unfolding backstory were all the coolest parts. Obviously, they spared no expense when it came to the visual effects in GL, and the settings and battle scenes are amazing.
Ryan Reynolds is well-cast as the title hero, and the supporting cast is all pretty good - at least as good as one could hope for in a film like this. Even though there are a few scenes that may be pretty scary for little ones, I found that this movie was a little more kid-friendly than most comic book adaptations, and it had a positive message with a likable hero. There's a good amount of Hollywood triteness and predictability to it... but if I can forgive Thor for these transgressions, I can certainly forgive Green Lantern.
This film is not for everybody. Not everyone is a comic book/superhero fan. No offense to those of you who aren't - you couldn't help being born that way. If you do enjoy comic book adventures, I think you'd find this film rewarding. Green Lantern may not be the best DC Comics character out there, but this is the best of the DC movies that they've put out in a long time.
***side note**
There is a character in the film, Sinestro, who, in the comics and animated features, ends up betraying the Green Lantern Corps and becoming the main antagonist of the story. I was fully expecting this to happen in this film, but I guess they're waiting for a sequel to pull this off. Not to offer any 'spoilers' or anything like that, but this really shouldn't come as that big of a surprise... I mean, the guy's name is 'Sinestro', and he looks like the Devil in a Green Lantern suit.... The traitor couldn't possibly be him, could it?? If they ever do make a sequel, I'll watch it anyway, even if I know what's going to happen.
Overall, I'd have to rate Green Lantern a worthy
A-
....I guess that means I'm not a DC Hater anymore...
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RUBBER
And now for something completely different...
Rubber has to qualify as being among the strangest movies I've ever seen. I found it listed on Netflix under 'Independent Films' and 'Black Comedy'. Why I started watching it, I couldn't tell you, but it was so weird and strangely compelling that I had to see it through to the end. It's all about a used tire that gains awareness in the Southwestern US desert and goes on a killing spree, apparently using its inherent psychokinetic powers to blow up people (and bunnies) that get in its way. There's not much more to it than that...
You probably won't recognize a single name in the credits (at least I didn't), but everyone in the film does a worthwhile (if not entirely convincing) job of bringing this pointless and bizarre story to life. It's all played for laughs in the end, but along the way, through insightful camera work and minimal dialogue, it actually almost humanizes our silent but deadly anti-hero. Rubber is not ROTFLOL funny, but it is definitely not the same-old same-old you're going to get from Hollywood. Funniest thing about it is the fact that they can actually get away with a 90 minute film about a killer tire...
B-
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May the Force be with you...
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