Super Hero Movies

During my usual week check on Rotten Tomatoes, I noticed that the new Captain America movie scraped in 95 million dollars at the box office. It really made me think, why the hell are these super hero movies grossing so much money? What makes them so appealing these days. Well for one thing Super Hero movies are a form of escapism. We love rooting for the underdog, and in every super hero movie the underdog quality is always there. One interesting fact I noticed that the last time super heroes were so big was during their debut in the 1930's. The 1930's was the time of the Great Depression, comics like Superman, Batman, Captain America, and Wonder Women were all made to help people escape via reading during tough times. I find it so fascinating that these films have becomes so popular during tough economic times. "In the 1930s, the American Dream had become a nightmare, and I think comic books and superheroes in particular provided an escapist form of entertainment that allowed the American public to go into a fantasy world where all the ills of the world were righted by these larger-than-life heroes," says Erin Clancy, a curator at the Skirball. Despite weather you like these films are not, they definitely give us a lot of hope during tough times. 

Hero or Villain?

The Batman movie franchise has had a long tenure and been interpreted by many actors, directors and writers. While the characters and stories follow the general plot lines of original DC comics, their portrayals have varied from each iteration to the next. The Christopher Nolan era of Batman could be argued as one of the most masterfully depicted stories of Bruce Wayne.

Over the span of 3 films he incorporates numerous villains and delves more deeply into the darker side of Bruce Wayne's psyche. The character development seen in the films strikes me as odd, however. The villains of this trilogy seem to be more dynamic characters.While watching, I find myself enjoying the "bad guys" more often than the hero. They have more personality and pizzazz which in turn causes me to almost root for them. One of my favorite of the villains is The Joker, portrayed by Heath Ledger. Yes, he's maniacal. Yes, he's murderous. But most of all he's exciting, unpredictable and so irresistibly captivating to watch. There are so many wrinkles that begin to unfold from the moment the movie begins and for the span of the film he steals the show.
 

Our hero however seems to take the back seat to these master villains. Bruce Wayne as portrayed by Christian Bale is more and more as the trilogy progresses a self-righteous, self-loathing billionaire with a perceived obligation to his city. He seems to be the only character that tries to escape their true self. He does this by becoming Batman. At first a noble pursuit, Batman soon becomes an escape for Bruce. He uses it to avoid the constant pressure of being a celebrity, the pain of lost loved ones and a possible means to a final end, his death. Throughout the series this character is pretty static, filled mostly with anger and grief with occasional hopeful moments which are usually snuffed out. While he's not as exciting to watch as say The Joker or Bane, his role is the backbone on which the story is built. His unwavering and steadfast behavior is what allows him to survive again and again no matter what he faces. While he may not be as likable, he is still the hero.


Next time you find yourself watching The Dark Knight trilogy, ask yourself, "Who's better?" The Hero? Or the Villain?

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Did you watch it? Well if you didn't, then do it. Seriously. Now.

This trailer has revived my faith in reboots. At the start of the trailer, we see Captain America (Chris Evans) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) discussing their weekends. The short conversation brings back much of the light humor from the first film as well as a reminder that Capt. isn't in his domain anymore--keep in mind he was frozen in ice for many decades.

As he jumps out of the plane, it's hard not to smile. "Was he wearing a parachute?" "No. No he wasn't." From those two lines, viewers are reminded of Captain America's greatest superpower: courage. It's cheesy, I know, but that's why Steve Rogers was chosen to be the world's first superhero, anyway. Wasn't it? Besides his super strength, quick reflexes, and devilishly good looks, the greatest thing about this hero is what's inside. It's why we all grew to love him in the first film.

"I joined SHIELD to protect people." This line worked as another great reminder of why we love this hero. The only reason Captain America does what he does is to protect those who cannot protect themselves. He swore that he would use his powers for the greater good of the world. Without his promise, he wouldn't have had the opportunity to be the hero he became.

"Captain, to build a better world sometimes means turning the old one down. And that makes enemies." Oh no! Conflict! What could it be?? We don't know, and that's the point. A good trailer doesn't need to flat-out tell you what the main conflict in the story is. Can they? Sure. But I'm personally a fan of showing rather than telling, which is what the trailer goes on to do.

We are then shown a shot of this man...

Say hello to The Falcon (Anthony Mackie), the newest addition to Marvel's movie heroes. The Falcon, also known as Sam Wilson, has the powers to telepathically communicate with birds and can see what birds see. Who knows if Marvel will stay true to these powers, considering they seem to like to stay away from supernatural powers in their films, but this hero is also highly trained in hand-to-hand combat and, yes, even gymnastics. I'm not quite sure how our new character will be incorporated into the storyline of this film, but at least Marvel can throw him into the Avengers in the upcoming sequel.

"Look out the window. You know how the game works. Disorder. War." It's easy to tell that this Captain America sequel will be much, much darker than the first. After just listening to this one line, as well as watching cars blow up, I suddenly knew that this film will probably not be nearly as light-hearted or comical as the first. Marvel seems to be going down this road with all their sequels. Iron Man 2 was clearly much darker than the first, but then much of the humor we loved from the first film  was brought back for the third installment. The upcoming Thor sequel looks much darker in content has well.

"We want to neutralize a lot of threats before they even happen." "I thought the punishment usually came after the crime...This isn't freedom. This is fear." I guess Marvel decided to take a more real-world approach in this film! Often with government agencies--the FBI, the CIA--people question the morals of the things they do and the way those things are carried out. Captain America takes the stance of much of the general public when Nick Fury tells him that SHIELD is taking a new approach to fighting possible threats. He accuses Fury of what many people accuse the U.S. government of doing--acting without just cause.

Next, we see Captain America kick and punch a group of guys in an elevator. Many explosions follow.

In the ending shot of the trailer, we finally get a better look at the villain of the film. They call him the Winter Soldier, but his real name is...wait for it...almost there...getting closer...Bucky Barnes!! Yup! It's Captain's best, dead friend from the first film. How is he alive? No clue. I'm sure I could ask Google and I'd find out in a matter of thirty seconds but I'd much rather find out when I see the film in theaters--probably on opening night.

Along with the excellent dialogue selections they chose from the film, the makers of the trailer for Captain America: The Winter Soldier used some very visually appealing shots to even further enhance the effectiveness of the trailer. I'm not usually one to enjoy sequels, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jumping up and down in my seat after watching this trailer.

Hidden Gems on the Internet

Recently, like most people in the world, I was procrastinating doing my work by surfing the internet. Fortunately, since my major is TV-R sometimes watching netflix or videos on YouTube can help with my major. Recently I found a YouTube channel that posts videos by animation students at a school in Denmark. One of the videos that I really enjoyed was one called "The Saga of Biorn".

Not only does the animation style remind me a lot of "How to Train your Dragon". But I thought the humor was very well done in this short. Especially in the ending, you can't help but feel bad for Biorn, I guy where just nothing seems to go his way...

Well I have now been watching videos by the YouTube channel Animation Workshop for a while now and some of them are very well done. Especially as far as storyline goes. It is very difficult to make the audience have a invested interest in a character in under 10 minutes, yet some of these videos are able to pull it off. Here is another video which I thought was very amusing entitled Captain Awesome.

I thought this was a great take on how Superheroes never seem have time to take a break from their job (not even to take a number 2). There are dozens of other animated videos on this YouTube channel and I recommend some of you guys check it out.

Batman vs. Superman: not just a 2015 event

There's been a lot of buzz going around recently about the new 'Batman vs. Superman' movie coming out in 2015. Much of it has been directed at Ben Affleck, who was just confirmed as the new Batman. These two characters are getting a lot of attention right now with the Dark Knight series well on their way and the Superman series just starting up again. Their history goes far beyond the last 5 years though, and I'd thought it'd be fun to take a quick peak at what these characters have gone through in the past.

Firstly, let's go back to the dinosaur ages of 1966. Phrases like "gee wiz" were actually said, as you'll notice only 4 minutes into this episode from the Batman TV series:

The series was never viewed as especially good though, and they clearly had a struggling budget. 

Okay, maybe they were struggling with a little more then their budget. But before this show even existed, there was the "Adventures of Superman" TV show that started back when the pyramids were being built. AKA 1952. 

Moving way ahead in time though, this cartoon was released just last year and features an epic battle between Batman and Superman. I feel like this may give us a good idea of what to expect from the new movie coming in 2015, except instead of a cartoon it's real people and a sh*t load of special effects. 

The Brilliance of Nolan

Last night seemed to be a quiet evening, so what better way to spend it than enjoying a film with my closest friends.  We settled on The Dark Knight Rises, the epic third part of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy.  The movie, which came out this past summer, smashed its way into the box office and immediately became a huge success in the eyes of movie goers, and super hero fans.  Christopher Nolan's brilliance was really proven with the release of the 2nd movie from the trilogy The Dark Knight.  

Personally I see such creative, and impressive filmmaking and I can't help but wonder why this movie was snubbed at the Academy Awards as well as the Golden Globes.  The race for the Oscars this year is obviously a very close one however I can't see how such visual storytelling did not emerge it's self into the race.  The Dark Knight was nominated for 8 Academy Awards, winning two: sound editing, and best supporting actor.  In such an impressive movie trilogy, I don't understand how this one falls so short for the critics.  Nolan has produced a series of incredible movies, only receiving 3 nominations total even if he receives praise everywhere else you look.  His 3 nominations were for original screenplay for Memento and Inception, also scoring a best picture nom for Inception.  

I find Nola's work to be incredibly deep, and ascetically imaginative with his directing.  I can never quite understand why the Academy always seems to not recognize Nolan's directing after his phenomenal work in all of his movies.  I think he reinvented the comic book character, and brought an entirely new spin on such a classic story, really bringing it into the modern day world and not a fantasy land of Gotham City.  I can't wait to see what he does with the new Superman flick Man of Steel.  I hope that Man of Steel, much like The Dark Knight Trilogy, and even this years hit Bond flick Skyfall, brings a new generation of movie goers into the stories that are simply outdated, and reinvents them in the way that keep the characters and plots updated with the times, and relevant in today's society.  

Arrow pilot

On October 10, 2012, the world premiere of the new show Arrow was aired on the CW.  Arrow is a new tv show about a superhero, and is based off of the fictional character "Green Arrow" from DC Comics.

There has only been one episode released so far, but I feel like I already know the storyline for the rest of the season, or maybe even seasons.  The main character, Oliver Queen, played by Stephen Arnell, is a found billionaire playboy.  He is found on a deserted island in the middle of the ocean after his yacht was shipwrecked.  He returns home and you find out he has developed almost superhuman capabilities on the island.  I have never read the comic, so whether there is more to the story (which there probably is) I am unaware of it at this point.  He plans to use these abilities to become a Bruce Wayne/Batman-esk vigilante.  He sets up his "bat cave" or headquarters in an abandoned warehouse and proceeds to start his take-down of what seems to be a corrupt corporate world in his city.

The story also has many sub-plots as well.  There is the typical romance with the woman who cant get to close because he is dangerous and has broke her heart and all that.  There are also obvious family issues that he must resolve and survive.

Overall I thought it was pretty good.  Executive producers and developers are Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, and Andrew Kreisberg.  I would recommend you watch the pilot because it would help explain pretty much everything even though you could probably grasp it if you decided to jump in.  It aires Wednesday nights on the CW.

M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable

Recently, I revisited the movie Unbreakable (2000, M. Night Shyamalan). The movie is centered around David Dunn (Bruce Willis) and Elijah Price aka Mr. Glass (Samuel L. Jackson). M. Night Shyamalan is not my favorite director due to some of his poorly executed works (ex. Devil) but some of his movies, such as The Sixth Sense (1999) and Signs (2002), are my favorite films. Samuel L. Jackson hasn't exactly been in the best movies but when he is in a well directed and well written movie, he does an amazing job (ex. Pulp Fiction). Bruce Willis has been in multiple movies that include Samuel L. Jackson but he is also an actor that seems to waste his talent in nonsensical blockbusters that include corny one liners and gratuitous explosions. Unbreakable highlights Willis's and Jackson's talents and is unlike any super hero movie I've ever seen.

The movie starts by showing the unusual birth of Mr. Glass, followed by the title sequence, and then shows Bruce Willis in a train. He removes his wedding ring as an attractive woman sits  in the open seat next to him, indicating that his relationship with his wife is disintegrating. He tries to seduce her but he says all the wrong things and she moves to another seat. The train starts to make strange noises and speed up and the scene cuts abruptly indicating a crash. The first shot is a one shot sequence and is about ten minutes long. The next shot is of Willis in the hospital and the doctor explains that he was the only one to survive on the entire train and walked away with no injuries at all. Willis leaves the hospital and passes all the families in the hospital mourning their lost ones. This sequence is one of my favorite shots ever.



The movie is about David Dunn (Willis) being indestructible and having super strength and Mr. Glass (Jackson) is extremely fragile and breaks bones often. Mr. Glass works in a comic gallery and when he hears about David Dunn surviving the train wreck, he finds him and explains that he believes he is a superhero. Dunn denies it and thinks that Mr. Glass is a freak. Dunn has the ability to sense what people have done wrong in the past by touching them and is able to bench press upwards of 600 pounds. He looks into his past and discovers that he was the only one to survive a car accident, a fire, a plane explosion, and has never been sick. The only incident where Dunn almost died is when he nearly drowned in a lake as a child. Dunn ends up saving a family from a murderer but almost dies when the murderer pushes him into the pool (water is his only weakness). Jackson's character is obsessed with Willis's. At the end of the movie, the audience learns that Mr. Glass (Jackson) has been following David Dunn (Willis) for his entire life and caused all the catastrophes to prove that David Dunn is truly "unbreakable."

Many shots in the film are long one shot scenes. Shyamalan also includes many indirect reflection shots such as a long shot pointed at a TV that shows the reflection of the characters in the room. Shyamalan also idolizes Alfred Hitchcock and pays homage to him by making a short appearance on screen. In Unbreakable, he plays a man that is suspected of selling drugs and says only three lines to Willis's character.

Unbreakable is by no means a traditional superhero movie and each character is unique and well developed. Shyamalan's cinematography is exceptional and unique and it is obvious, through each shot sequence, that he idolizes Hitchcock's style. There is no ridiculous action scenes and it focuses on the personal life of an unlikely superhero. Watch Unbreakable.

-Matthew Hadley

Superhero Movies

We've seen a lot of superhero movies come out in the past ten years and they've been made all the more easy to make with the amount of special effects. To me, this always seems to be the problem with these kinds of movies. The special effects take such precedence that little attention is paid to the script and story line. Movies like Fantastic 4, The Green Lantern and Daredevil are forgettable because there is simply nothing interesting about them except that they are visually stimulating. The movie that started the supehero trend was Spiderman back in 2002. Tobey Maguire played a wonderful Spiderman, Willem Dafoe played an awesome Green Goblin and the movie earned the highest grossing opening weekend to that point, in history.

After a successful sequel, the series flopped after the third film was an absolute dud. Now though, a remake of the first film is coming out next July. The Amazing Spider man is one that I can't wait to see.

The special effects will of course be stunning and Alvin Sargent whose movies such as Unfaithful and Ordinary People was chosen to write the screenplay. This can only mean good things for a superhero trying to get back on the right track