Doctor Who Season 6 Wave 1 Figures announced

Coming this summer, the first set of figures for Doctor Who 2011 will be released! There's an odd mix of Season 5 and Season 6 figures in this wave. I'm slightly disappointed by the selection! We've got the Doctor, wearing the cowboy hat from the Season 6 premiere. That's pretty cool, and expected, but I was almost expecting that to be a SDCC exclusive. Young Amelia Pond is a nice choice! That little girl was in several episodes and played a pretty important role in the season! The Silence will be a cool addition and I hope we see more of them before the season is over. They've had too much build up to be eliminated in two episodes. The nephew Ood from Neil Gaiman's recent episode is kind of disappointing. We've had plenty of Ood figures in the past and I'm still waiting for an updated River figure or any figure for Rory! Where's the love??

Sucker Punch "extended cut" coming to blu-ray

Bluray.com has announced that Zack Snyder's "Sucker Punch" will be coming to Blu-Ray on June 28th. I know this movie had a lot of divided reviews; with many saying it was a sexist, video game action flick with no real substance. Others said it was a fun movie. I tend to fall into the latter's camp! I liked the action, the actors, the music, and the basic premise. I get the feeling that most of the people who hated it were expecting something like the second coming from this movie. I'm not sure why! If you've seen 300 and Watchmen, you should know what to expect from a Snyder film. I went in just wanting to be entertained, and got just that! I'll be looking forward to this release and seeing what this additional 18 mins of footage adds to the movie.

Christian's World Champion!!... Oh. Nevermind.

Its been a whirlwind week for wrestling fans. Last Sunday at the WWE pay-per-view, Extreme Rules, Christian defeated Alberto Del Rio in a Ladder Match to win the vacated World Heavyweight Championship. It was a great moment and a deserved reward for the man who had worked his ass off for 13 years in the company. His celebration with Edge was awesome and it was one of those great moments that will be remembered for years to come.

Flash forward five days and Christian loses the belt to Randy Orton on Smackdown. Harsh. Its a real shame that the WWE pulled the belt off him so early, especially since the crowd was so excited about his victory. Maybe this is the beginning of a larger storyline, but in a time when the WWE is lacking big stars, why take the belt off someone who could benefit from it and put it around the waist of someone who doesn't need a title to be popular. It seems like a bad move, but we'll wait and see.

Thor Review

Background: Before I get started, let me say that I've never really read Thor or had much interest in his character past The Avengers. I only started reading the book when J. Michael Straczynski started writing the book. I enjoyed his run and have been keeping up with the book ever since, slowly getting to know the characters of the franchise and having a bit more appreciation for them! So, going into this movie, I liked the character, but had no expectations of things I wanted to see or how characters should be represented. *Warning: Spoilers

The Good: I really liked the look of this film! It looks beautiful! The look and feel of Asgard and Earth are polar opposites. Asgard is elegantly designed. Things like the Rainbow Bridge look far cooler than they have any right to! The kingdom of the Gods looks amazing and I wanted to spend more time there than we were allowed! On the other hand, Earth (specifically a small town in New Mexico) feels smaller and quaint in comparison. That helps to emphasize what a sharp change this is for Thor and what he's use to.

As for the actors, they were all fantastic! I loved Chris Helmsworth as Thor! Despite some apprehensions about him being too small to play Thor, he made up for it with the presence and charisma! Tom Hiddleston's Loki is phenomenal! He damn near steals every scene he's in! He plays his manipulations so subtly at the beginning that its easy to see why the characters fall for his setups. The relationship between Thor & Loki is the foundation of this movie and it works remarkably well. Despite the anger and fighting, you can still see that brotherly love between them. Even at the end, Thor mourns for his brother. The more we can see these two characters & actors together, the better!

Concerning the other characters, Anthony Hopkins is superb as Odin. I really don't know how anyone else could have pulled it off as perfectly as him! The Warriors 3 and Lady Sif were also well played and I really wanted to see more of them. Hopefully, if a sequel is made, these four will get more screen time. On Earth, we have Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and her two companions. They're well played, despite having much smaller and less exciting roles than some of the other characters. Thor's link to Earth and the root of his growth comes from Foster. Natalie plays the part very well and she has far more natural chemistry with Helmsworth than she did with Hayden in "Star Wars." Agent Coulson from the Iron Man movies returns here with a larger part than he's previously had. Its nice to see more of him considering this is his third film.

As for the story itself, I thought it was very well done! It did a very good job of introducing all these elements to a new viewer. I had no problem keeping up with everything they were discussing from Asgard, to Frost Giants to the Rainbow Bridge, etc. Thor goes through a great character arc of being a brash, arrogant prince to being a humbled, heroic warrior. It works well and never does Thor come off as unlikeable, even when he's mouthing off to Odin in the beginning. By the time he gets to Earth, we get a bit of comedy as Thor adjusts to life and new things. It plays very well and is some of the most entertaining bits in the movie. Thor's trek through the SHIELD compound is pretty impressive and the moment where he goes to pick up his hammer is pretty intense! Its well done and features a cool cameo from "Hawkeye" Clint Barton. Can't wait to see more of him in The Avengers!
 

Loki's ascension to the Throne is an interesting one. You can tell there are events that occur that he never expected, like Thor's banishment or Odin falling into the odin-sleep. He does his best to take advantage of the opportunities and his ambitions grow as his power does. When the Warriors Three arrive on Earth, closely followed by The Destroyer, I felt ready to see Thor get his power back. Its the one point in the film where the two worlds we've seen get combined. Asgardians battling on Earth. Its a cool fight and certainly seems more out of place than when we saw them in Asgard or on the Frost Giant planet. There's a really cool effect where The Destroyer completely turns around while standing still. When Thor finally revives and gets his full power back, it looks great. I was glad to see him in full gear again and more than ready to see him return home to kick some ass!

The final battle is a good one! Thor is in full glory and a much smarter fighter than he was at the beginning of the movie. Loki finally gets to cut loose and we can see that he stands pretty equal to Thor in a lot of ways. The duplicates were really cool and the destruction of the Rainbow bridge looked great! And still at the end, Thor's attempt to save Loki helped adds to show how much he still cares for his brother. 

We're left with almost a sad ending, but an optimistic one. Thor is cut off from Earth and Jane, seeming never to see her again. If we didn't know he was appearing in The Avengers, this would be far more tragic and be a fairly sad note for the movie's end. But, instead, I look forward to seeing how he returns and the reunion between him and Jane. 

Like all Marvel studio movies, there's a little scene at the end of the credits. I still can't believe how many people walked out of the theater without seeing it. Its a bit more detailed than the scenes we've seen after the credits of Iron Man 1 & 2. This one links us both to Captain America and the next year's Avengers movie! The introduction of the Cosmic Cube was awesome! And Loki watching & controlling Selvig was creepy and cool! Can not wait to see Loki vs. The Avengers!!

The Bad: I don't really have much to say on the bad! One thing I will say was disappointing was how they seemed to shy away from referring to Thor, Loki, Odin, and the others as Gods. The movie posters are happy to proclaim them "God of Thunder", "God of Mischief", etc. But, the movie barely notes it. We see Jane and her friends discuss how Vikings would see them as deities, but that's about it. Instead of having them try to explain how they weren't real gods, I'd rather have seen Thor proclaiming himself the God of Thunder in battle. Not a big gripe, but soemthing I did notice. 

I also wish they had used those great helmets more! We only see Thor wearing his helmet at the very beginning, and once he takes it off, we never see it again. What a shame! It looks so cool!! Loki wears his helmet a bit more, but still takes it off often. I thought they did a great job with the design and look of the helmets and wanted to see more of them!

 

Final Word: Marvel hit another homerun with Thor! It was fantastic and felt very different from any other super hero movie we've seen in recent years. With Iron Man being established as a modern technology character, Thor as a mythology fantasy character, and Captain America as a World War 2 soldier, it's going to be very interesting to see these characters interact next year in Avengers. But all that aside, Thor was just a fun movie. It was a good plot, had some great effects, and was carried by some brilliant actors. I will definitely be seeing this again before it leaves theaters. I've heard some grumblings that the 3D effects aren't that great. I saw the 2D version and was quite pleased.Check it out and enjoy the ride!

Scream 4 Review

Background: When it comes to the Scream movies, I can't be too unbiased. I love them. Okay, let me rephrase that. I love the first 2 and the 3rd one was decent but felt very different from the others. With that being said, I was more than eager to see Scream 4. I was pumped! It was so refreshing to see a horror sequel instead of a horror remake. So, how did it fare? Read on! *Warning: Spoilers ahead*

The Good: There's a lot to like about this movie! The opening prologue was solid and reintroduced the audience to the self-mocking style of the Scream movies. The "Stab" fakeout openings were pretty entertaining and once we got past that, it was great to step into the world where Ghostface hunts again!

Speaking of returning to this world, the returning cast was wonderful! It was great to see Syndey, Gail, and Dewey return. Everyone was in great form and it hardly felt like it had been 10 years since these actors last played these roles. It felt like slipping on an old pair of shoes! In no other horror franchise has a recurring cast lasted through four movies, with all the actors returning. Sydney made a wonderful return and I was glad to see that she retained her strength earned by the end of the 3rd movie and hadn't regressed back into a scared, helpless victim. Gail was as bitchy as ever, and I dug it! Courtney Cox is at her best when she's playing the bitch! I'm not sure if she would take that as a compliment or not. And thank god, thank... GOD... her hair has improved a billion times more since the 3rd movie! David Arquette's Dewey has made a good evolution to the role of local town sheriff. It fits very well with how his character had progressed since the 1st movie.

Aside from simply returning to the characters, I was fairly pleased with the roles assigned to each of our veterans. Sydney doesn't really have much of a character arc here because her story's pretty much been told. She's not afraid and she's not unsure of herself anymore. In this case, she's the strong, confident veteran who acts as a sort of rock for the younger cast to learn respect for. Gail continues to try and break free of the small town life she feels trapped in, and Dewey attempts to establish and maintain respect and credibility as a leader of law enforcement in Woodsboro. No one really has anything new to learn about themselves in this one, but that feels more okay because they've grown up now and are more established in who they are.

But, what about the newer cast? I've got a point to discuss about them in the "Bad" section of this review, but all in all, I liked them! I thought they did a good job of feeling like modern teens. Emma Roberts played well as Jill and I didn't really appreciate her until the end when she made the heel turn (discussed more down below). Hayden Panettiere's Kirby was pretty cool (though I hated the short hair). I dug her knowledge and enthusiasm for the genre! Our two film nerds played well and I dug the head gear with the camera on it (how the hell would that thing keep picking up an internet signal when he's walking everywhere?!). The young cop girl with a crush on Dewey felt like a backup character in case Courtney Cox decided not to return. Everyone played their parts well and I'd say it's the best supporting cast for the series since the first movie. The only disappointment was that we didn't get enough with them!



As for the story itself, I really liked the concept! The Scream movies have always tackled a different aspect of the horror genre in it's sequels. This one focused on the slew of remakes that Hollywood's been producing in the past 10 years. Ghostface's desire to remake the original Scream was clever. Duplicating a lot of the elements from the original movie worked well. It anchored the movie to a story outline that was familiar and worked, while still letting it branch out into new territory. I wish more franchises would take a look at Scream 4 when thinking about doing a remake. When Kirby rattles off the list of every remake she can think of, its jarring to realize just how many horror movies have been remade this decade! Jeez, Hollywood, have an original thought!

The party near the end was pretty solid and left me guessing on who the killer/s would be until the reveal. On a side note, when they were looking at Kirby's DVD collection, was anyone else shocked at how small it was, considering what a movie buff she was suppose to be! Props for owning Suspiria, though! She gets some cred for that!

The revelation and motives of the killers was clever! Well, specifically, Jill's reveal. I dug it! I really fit with the world of today where a teen will get pregnant just to be on MTV or a girl will leak a sex tape online to become famous. Its a weird world out there today and Jill's skewed perspective wasn't that tragically far from how people really think today. Her desire to be the new Sydney was clever and made me really appreciate her earlier scenes much more! Not to mention that she does more damage to Syd than any other Ghostface has. When she stabbed Sydney and started preparing the scene for the cops' arrival, I really thought she was going to get away with it. Hell, I wanted her to get away with it! Cut credits right as Jill's being loaded into the ambulance and the press is surrounding her! It was perfect! Imagine!! If Sydney died right there and Jill became the new heroine, that's a really original, creepy idea! Scream 5 writes itself from there! A new Ghostface hunting Jill and she has to play the helpless girl to everyone when she secretly hunts down her stalker! Ghostface vs. Ghostface!! God, that would have been awesome! I was thinking about all of this while watching the last scene of the movie and was completely rooting for Jill to succeed! 

The Bad: As much as I liked this movie, there were definitely a few things I was disappointed by. First off, I know I'm in the minority on this, but I was a little let down by the opening sequence! The multiple fakeout made it more comedy and camp than I would hope for. One fakeout is clever. Two fakeouts is a joke.

Throughout the movie, there were chunks where everything was flowing beautifully! It was smart, witty, and engaging. Then, it seemed to change. It would have weird moments where I felt like we were missing something. Turns out, we were missing a lot and the more I realized, the more I have a burning desire to see a full, extended version of this movie! I'm going to focus on two scenes in particular:

The opening scene. The whole opening scene was reshot for the final version. But, we also lost the scene of Dewey arriving to the house and examining the carnage. The movie talked about remaking the original Scream (or "Stab"), but I never caught onto that until the second half of the movie! It seems like all the remake shots were cut from the 1st half! This was one of them! Finding one girl's body strapped to a chair while the other is hung from the ceiling, guts spilled out, harkens back to Casey & Steve's demise in the original movie. It's a gory looking scene and would have immediately pounded home the idea of the movie being a "remake."

Second from the cutting room floor was the fountain scene with the new cast. In every Scream sequel, the new characters always feel underused, because the majority of time is spent focusing on the returning characters. Scream 4 suffers from this as well and the young teens don't get nearly enough time on screen for the audience to really attach to them. A scene of them discussing the recent killings, by the fountain used in the first movie, would have helped to reinforce the remake idea while also giving us a chance to see these characters in their natural element. It's a real shame this was cut!

Those are my only real beefs with the movie! Well, that and the stupid girl getting out of her car in the parking garage. For a movie that is aware of the cliches and mocks them, that was just stupid.

Final Word: I really dug Scream 4! It was a lot of fun and probably ranks as the best sequel the series has produced. Its a real shame that the movie has done as poorly as it has at the box office! It deserves better! Sadly, there's not likely to be a Scream 5. If and when the franchise returns, it will likely be as a remake. Considering the message of this particular movie, that's going to be tragically ironic.