With a Bang and a Whoosh...

One day (today specifically) I looked up at the calendar and suddenly realized summer was over. Yeah, I know not technically but as far as Hollywood is concerned it's done and in the record books. I mean, when the biggest opening film of the forthcoming weekend is a Vin Diesel Euro-styled techno heavily edited down post-apocalyptic action flick, you've got to know the sea has changed. But in all the hubbub, I've been on the sidelines. I didn't see everything I wanted to this summer (Wall-E, you'll always have a place on my DVD shelf despite our not having met yet) but I did manage to get out to a handful of movies, which I will write about in no particular order starting now-ish:

Wanted - Some might make a case for not sticking to the source material, but if you are like myself and did not care for the original piece (more swearing and rape than Watchmen! Millar, you should be proud!) it's more a question of did it work out? And yes, it did. It transformed a bitter, angry diatribe against super heroes and slackers into an incredibly inventive action thriller. It kind of falls apart toward the end, but finishes with a thrill and a half. More a tribute to the talents involved in the movie rather than the original comic, I'd say.

Hulk - Surprisingly good. All I wanted was for it to not suck, but I had no idea that it would end up being on par with Iron Man. Not as good, granted, but filled with just as much inventiveness and love for the characters. I think I'd side with Edward Norton that it needed more dramatic scenes sans big green to really make it a classic, but just seeing super soldier vs. angry man was worth the price of admission. My only quibble: there was no room to mention Bruce's cousin Jennifer?

Hancock - Wow. What happened? When did Wil Smith start making movies based on the strength of his personality rather than on the strength of the material? My main issue was that the movie started out as one flick (the one from the ads) and ended up a completely different beast. The movie I went to see was pretty good, but the one I left was not quite as good. And all that in an hour and a half. Did the part where it all makes sense get cut for pacing?

Get Smart - Big budget comedy rarely works, but when it does it can really soar. I totally loved this movie. It had big action, big laughs and quite a bit of heart. I don't know how they found the balance, but I can tell you the crowd was eating it up. I can't say I want this as a sequel vehicle, but it more that shows Steve Carell is worthy of being a movie star.

Star Wars: Clone Wars - Dear, your roots are showing. While I'm all for George liking the show so much he felt it had to be seen on the big screen, I wish he had had the idea sooner and gotten a story written specifically for it rather than what they ended up doing which is combine three episodes (of varying quality). It starts out a bit stiff despite good action, moves into amazing and funny and imaginative and ends overly serious and plot heavy. Three different writers, three different takes but all supposedly telling one movie story. I loved the animation and the pace, but I think it'll be a much better TV viewing than movie experience.

Hellboy 2 - As much as I loved The Dark Knight, I think the most personal of comic book movies I've seen this year had to be this one. In the midst of all the effects and action, it managed to be smart, scary and actually touching. To find in the middle of a huge big-budget action scene that you are sad for the monster the hero is attacking is a master stroke of filmmaking. It's a movie that plays by its own rules and demands you keep up. Yes sir, may I have another?

The Dark Knight - I really don't have the words. I had hoped for a posting all on its own, and maybe that'll happen eventually, but for now I'm just in total awe. Not only one of the best comic book movies, but an amazing movie over all. If this doesn't kill all that "Pow! Bam! at the box office!" or "Holy Revenue!" crap the media keeps spewing I don't know what will. When a character is treated with such respect and still used to tell a complex personal story from a filmmaker, look what can happen. It's a stunning piece of filmmaking and one hell of a good yarn.

And with that, my time is up. Hope this made up for the absence these last few weeks. I'm hoping to get on to talk about Fall TV in the near future, but until then, see you on the Flip Side.

Hey y'all. Just letting you know I'm still here, still livin', still lovin', still making the world safe for geeks. Having a bit of trouble reconciling the new life schedule with blogging updates. Plus chasing a crawling baby is tiring work. In the meanwhile, here's another little tidbit to tide you over.

And now a trip to the Land Of The Never Was, to see the pilot of a show never made...