Rant: A sequel to It's A Wonderful Life. It's happening. I'M DEAD SERIOUS.

When I came home from school today I did what I always do: Make a snack and check the new stories one the front page of IMDb. When I read this headline, a part of me died inside.

'It's A Wonderful Life' Sequel in the Works

It is official. The time has come. Hollywood really has run out of ideas.

I mean really, why? Just... WHY?

First off: Why on earth would you make a sequel to a movie that will be nearly 70 years old by the time of the sequel's release? What is the point?

If the article said that a remake of It's A Wonderful Life was in the works, I wouldn't be so angry. I could understand a remake over a sequel because It's A Wonderful Life is a great movie with a wonderful story that should be told to newer, younger generations. That would make some legitimate sense. But instead, a sequel that NOBODY ASKED FOR is being made.

Secondly: Who actually wants to see what happens next in the story? More importantly, what else is there to tell? The original film ended on such a satisfying and heartwarming note that every single subplot was wrapped up nicely by the time the credits rolled. There is nothing left to go off of!

Thirdly: I heard a rumor that a sequel to It's A Wonderful Life was an idea floating around during the 1980's. The sequel would have brought back the cast of the original, including Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed and Frank Capra would have returned as director. That would have been interesting. It might a stunk, but we would have been more positive about it because the cast and crew of the original would have returned to put some effort into it. But here, they are pulling an Amazing Spiderman on us:
Making the exact same movie with a completely different cast and crew that won't be as good as the original. No matter how hard they try. And for only one reason and one reason alone: Money.

According to the article the sequel will be called, It's A Wonderful Life: The Rest of the Story. The plot is said to revolve around Karolyn Grimes who played George Bailey’s daughter “Zuzu” in the original.  She is set to return for the sequel as an angel who shows Bailey’s unlikeable grandson (also named George Bailey) how much better off the world would have been had he never been born.

That is the exact plot of the original!!! If they are honestly going off of the exact plot of the original only with different characters, WHY DON'T THEY JUST REMAKE IT?!?!?!?!?!?! That would at least make more sense! People would still be angry that Hollywood would be tampering with one of the best movies of all time but it wouldn't be as brainless of a move than this!

I can already see it now:
It's A Wonderful Life 2: Life is No Longer Wonderful.
Starring Channing Tatum and Kristen Stewart
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan

The more I talk about it the higher my blood pressure gets. Hopefully the project will get scrapped and the film will get a direct to DVD release. Let's hope for the best.

Movie Review #70: Man of Steel (2013)

I have to say, this is the only movie I know of that has a fight take place inside of an Ihop. What other movie can hold the title of "Coolest Fight in an Ihop." I would like to see a Teen Choice Award for that!

I am finally reviewing Man of Steel, the one summer blockbuster I was excited to see but didn't end up seeing on the big screen. I decided to put of seeing this because I was dismayed by the critics (for a first) and decided to wait and rent it. And now that it has made itself available to the screens of the general public, I finally got to see the blockbuster with the most mixed reviews.

And how was it? For once the critics were right. This really is a mixed bag. Don't get me wrong, I ended up really liking the movie, but as a movie reviewer, there are problems with it and a few personal issues I had with it that I couldn't ignore.

When the trailer was first released it showed a quieter, more emotional side to our protagonist with flashbacks to him as a child.
That would have been a very interesting take on Superman because the previous films didn't really focus on his life trying to fit in. It also would have been a different direction for Zack Snyder, who's filmography consists of only films that are style-over-substance. But the later trailers ended up being more accurate to the end product : A special effects heavy, relentless disaster movie. And I am fine with that to an extent. The entire second half of the movie is full-on armageddon. There is so much belligerent carnage, mayhem and destruction in this movie that the finales to The Avengers and Transformers: Dark of the Moon combined look like mere child's play compared to this! And while it could have been 10-15 minutes shorter, it was so cool! The visual effects were unlike anything I had ever seen in a comic book movie before. The sheer grandness of the action felt larger than life. It really was super.

Some of the biggest complaints with Superman Returns is that there was too much emotion and not enough action and the biggest complaints with Man of Steel is that there wasn't enough emotion and too much action. Is there no middle ground with Superman movies?
But I do have to agree with those statements. The movie did lack the emotion and drama that made Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy so memorable. The only scene that I honestly felt a bit of emotion in was when Pa Kent died. But even that wasn't much.

The movie also lacked the lighthearted, hopeful tone and humor of the lore and the five previous films. Even Superman Returns, which for the most part is a very somber movie, had more lighthearted, uplifting, feel-good moments than Man of Steel. There are very few jokes in the film and when a moment of humor appears, it takes you out of the moment for a second.

Henry Cavil was pretty good as Superman. He was pretty likable and definitely has the looks and physique for the role. Amy Adams of course was great as Lois Lane. It will be a rare day when I say that Amy Adams is the weak link in the cast of a movie. I really enjoyed the addition of Russell Crowe as Jor-El. The scenes of him on Krypton were great. He also appears in a spirit form of sorts and gives advice and help to both Lois and Kal. He also had a couple good scenes with Michael Shannon as Zod. Which is one of the parts of the film that I think could have been better.

General Zod is one of the most famous villains in all of comic book lore but Michael Shannon's performance as him wasn't as memorable as it could have been or how I wanted it to be. I'm not saying Michael Shannon is a bad actor. Far from it! It just came off as a bit too cold and stoic for me. Although he does have a couple very entertaining freak out moments. I also enjoyed the scene where his message to the world was broadcasted over every television. It kind of reminded me of the scenes in Iron Man 3 when the Mandarin hijacked the airwaves. The way the message was delivered seemed like something a real terrorist would do. It felt gritty, creepy, invasive, wrong and I loved it.

Without spoiling anything, The way the final battle ended shocked me. Even though it probably infuriated some fans, I appreciated the direction the film went in. It cemented the fact that this version of Superman no longer fights for truth, justice and the American way. Surprising, but very effective.

Final Report:  Man of Steel lacks emotion and humor, but the grand spectacle of the action sequences and visual effects are more than enough eye candy to feast upon. And for me, that is a good enough for me to add it to my movie collection.

Movie Review #69: Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Thor: The Dark World was one of my most anticipated movies of 2013 and I was fortunate enough to catch an advanced screening of the film late last night. And since I had never been to an early showing of a movie before I was even more excited than I normally would have been!

Thor: The Dark World begins with a flashback thousands of years ago when Asgard was at war with a race of dark elves lead by an elf named Malekith. He wants a weapon called the Aether to take over the universe and send it into darkness. He ends up losing the battle and the Aether is hidden away but for reasons I will not say, he finds the location of the Aether and plans his revenge. It is now up to Thor and even some help from Loki to save the universe.

On the drive home from the theater, I was having a very tough time think about if I liked Thor: The Dark World more than Thor. And truth be told, I still don't know which one I liked more!

Both films had their flaws, but they were still very enjoyable and just a ton of fun. Although there are some evident differences in the two films. While the first Thor was more of a story about redemption and honor, Thor: The Dark World didn't have an underlying message like its predecessor. Which might be good news for people who didn't care for the message and wanted more action. But for me, the message was what made Thor stand out among the other Marvel movies. But then again, I think that Thor: The Dark World was a more well made movie on a technological standpoint. The visuals look fantastic. We finally get to see what Asgard looks like which was something we wanted to see in the first film. Malekith's make-up looks great. I definitely see an Oscar nomination for best make-up in the future for this film. The movie is also very well directed to which I have give credit to Alan Taylor. The final battle was a ton of fun. It involved Thor and Malekith popping from dimension to dimension and the best way I can describe it is that it felt like playing Portal! It really did and it was so much fun.

As usual, the actors are all great. The chemistry between Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston really shines here. There is a scene where Thor is telling Loki his plan that had my theater erupting with laughter. In that scene there is a cameo that rivals Hugh Jackman's cameo in X-Men First Class in greatness. It was hilarious. One character I would have liked to have fewer lines was Kat Dennings character. At times she earned a good laugh but quite often her scenes felt rather awkward and out of place. At least she looked cute.

But the villain Malekith,  was pretty weak. It's a shame because the character looks and sounds super cool and he's played by Christopher Eccleston! The Ninth Doctor! How could I not like him? Sadly, he didn't have much to do and I felt he was just there to be the villain and nothing more. He's kind of like Nero from Star Trek. Both were played by good actors I like but they were wasted. Probably for more screen time for Loki.

Final Report: For me, Thor: The Dark World is just as good as its predecessor. Great action, humor, directing and characters make for a time at the movies that is definitely worth the price of admission.