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Kingsman: The Secret Service
Kingsman: The Secret Service
When I think about the latest superhero film from writer/director Matthew Vaughn, one thing that comes to mind in an odd sort of way is predictability. And the reason why I say that it comes to mind in an odd sort of way is not that the film follows an extremely stereotypical plot. Instead, it sets itself apart from several of the traditional spy movie tropes by pointing them out, and as soon as it does that it somehow becomes predictable in which ways it will then follow the spy movie trope as well as which ways it will subvert them. But what Matthew Vaughn is able to do is to craft a film that is still enjoyable regardless of whether or not you can tell what’s coming next. After Stardust, Kick-Ass, and X-Men: First Class, there are a lot of things that Vaughn knows how to do right, and they all seem to come together in Kingsman along wrapped in a James Bond style super spy wrapper.
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Top Superhero & Comic Book Films of 2014
It’s the beginning of a new year and time to look back on the year that was, and in most movie communities that also means awards season. I tend to be a bit of a completest when it comes to lists so I’m really glad that this year I was able to accomplish my goal to watch all 29 superhero and comic book films that came out in 2014. There are a few in here that have questionable release dates where some people got to see them early in festivals and small screenings, there are also a couple questionable inclusions and a couple questionable exclusions. But it is my list and I do have my reasons for not including some of them, like Transformers which has been a comic book, but it was a toy line and cartoon before then, and Noah which was adapted into both a comic and feature film simultaneously. And on the other side of things Birdman has a questionable connection to superheroes, but it does capture superhero culture within Hollywood, Edge of Tomorrow was originally a novel but was adapted into a Manga before the film adaptation came about, and the Lego Movie isn’t exactly a superhero movie though it does have superheroes in it. But whatever, I just want to celebrate the films that I enjoyed this year and forget about the ones that I excluded for now. In fact, I had such a great year in general, that I couldn’t narrow down my list of favorites to 10 so I have a couple lists for you so I can feature just over half of the films that I saw this year, excluding the brilliant documentary Legends of the Knight because it made my list last year.
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We Are the Best
We Are the Best 2014
I can see the finish line I’ve set for myself to finish all of the 2014 releases that I’ve found to cover for my site. After this there’s just one more film left to watch and then shortly afterwards I will post my top 10 for the year. This movie is a Swedish film that I didn’t hear about until sometime around October or November, it’s another one of those questionable release dates as it did come out in festivals and in Sweden in 2013, but had a limited US theatrical run in May of this year and recently came out online. It’s a relatively simple story about a young girl growing up in Stockholm in the 80’s. She’s in the middle of a full-on awkward stage and is coping with it through her and her friends immersion in punk rock culture. There’s little to no conflict here, no big revelations, no character arcs, instead what is there is a lot of simplicity of story, characters that feel real, and very funny situations. I’m glad I got the chance to watch this before making my top 10 list, because there’s a pretty good chance that this will crack its way on there.
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I, Frankenstein
I, Frankenstein 2014
I have decided that I am close enough to the end that I will finish seeing all of the 2014 films on my list before doing my full, written year-in-review including a top 10 list as I have only 3 movies left to watch and hope to knock at least 2 of them out this weekend. But this film I have been almost dreading ever since it came out back in January. I believe it has missed hitting many worst-of-the-year lists (which I haven’t been reading) merely because it has been forgotten about in favor of more recent and/or more high profile disasters and cannon fodder. But I am a fan of Underworld and I liked many of the actors that signed up for this film including Bill Nighy, Aaron Eckhart, and Miranda Otto. Unfortunately, the biggest mistake this film makes is that it is essentially a mid budget B-movie that thinks it’s a big budget serious action movie. I can’t say that this was a very good movie at all, the action was mediocre, there was too much exposition, the effects were overly flashy and not very good, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t have a lot of fun watching this film. Admittedly most of that fun was through making jokes at the film’s expense on Twitter, but fun was had nonetheless.
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Hercules
Hercules 2014
I was initially unsure of whether to include this film as Hercules comes from classic Greek mythology and I was unfamiliar with the actual comic that inspired it. But after seeing the film, it really is quite obvious that it’s not directly inspired by the original myths and legends of the hero, but instead is one step removed and is adapted from a comic book from Radical Publishing called Hercules: The Thracian Wars which takes the air out of Hercules’s legend and places him as a mercenary with a storyteller trumping up his exploits. When this film came out, I generally heard negative reviews about it which made me less likely to see it, though many noted the film’s mis-marketing as a factor which sold the film with Hercules being the legend that he is known for. In fact, nearly all of the opening few minutes of the movie which detail his fantastic exploits showed up in the trailer. But, as I wasn’t deluded by the trailers and knew what I was going in for, I appreciated the film’s exploration of the difference between myth and reality. What I didn’t fully buy into was when the film started buying into its own sense of mythical reality towards the end.
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Men in Black
Men in Black 1997
I’m down to the last few films left on my 100 Essential Superhero Movies list and the perfect excuse came for me to revisit the Men in Black trilogy when I was offered to guest on the As You Watch Podcast. Or you could say, offered to make my triumphant return considering that I am one of the founding members of the podcast. But as for the movie, I initially questioned whether or not to even classify Men in Black as a superhero movie vs. a comic book movie, considering the fact that it is based on an indie comic book that was later published under the Marvel label before the movie was made. It does follow enough of my own qualifications for me to include it: It’s set in the modern day, the heroes have superhuman abilities via the alien technology, they also have a costume of sorts, they also have a secret identity of sorts considering that they lose their normal identity when joining, and they are fighting something that is superhuman. I’m certain that I had seen this in theaters back when it was released and the song is ubiquitous with the movie as well. It was a lot of fun revisiting this film even though there were a few moments that definitely felt a bit dated this time around.
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Men in Black II
Men in Black II 2002
The way it tends to go with superhero movie sequels is that the first movie is good, the second movie is better, and the third movie is where it all goes to hell. Men in Black surprisingly bucks that trend and instead goes to crap in the first sequel only to redeem itself in the third. It doesn’t help that there is quite a bit of time between the three films. Five years have passed since the first Men in Black and they wrote out what made the original so great: the chemistry between Will Smith’s and Tommy Lee Jones’ Agents J and K. In a lot of ways, this sequel felt like the writers just wanted to recapture what made the first one so great and thought that the best way to do that was to just recreate all the elements of the first film that worked instead of expanding on them. And except for a brief moment here and there, it does not work for me at all. And somewhat surprisingly, even though I did watch all three films in order, it was just so much easier to pick out all of the flaws in this movie rather than try to determine what exactly it is about the first movie that makes it so great.
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Filmwhys Extra #18 The Scribbler Interview with John Suits
Filmwhys Extra episode 18 where I got the chance to talk to John Suits, the director of the recent comic book adaptation of the psychological thriller/mystery/superhero movie the Scribbler. We discuss the origins of the movie, some of the visual style, and plenty of other things so be sure to check out the movie on VOD now.
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Graphic Horror: Tales From the Crypt Season 2
I’m continuing my journey through the Tales From the Crypt TV series first four seasons this October and while the first season was the shortest at only six episodes, the second season is the longest with a whopping eighteen episodes. If you haven’t read my first season roundup, I will be looking at each of the episodes in full, especially the twist ending and how well it works within the episode, so spoilers obviously abound. The second season had a bit of a slow start, but about halfway through went into several of my all time favorite episodes. The budget seemed to be higher, and there’s plenty of recognizable actors like Teri Hatcher, Don Rickles, Bobcat Goldthwait, Michael Ironside, Demi Moore, Jeffrey Tambor, Patricia Clarkson, and more. I had a great time watching these and I’m looking forward to what’s in store for season 3.
Graphic Horror: The Scribbler
The Scribbler 2014
For a couple years now I’ve avoided falling into the trap that nearly every other movie blog falls into during this time of year: reviewing horror movies for October. But since I started my Graphic Horror tag this past March, I thought it was due time to go further into the very shallow selection of horror movies and thrillers adapted from graphic novels and comic books. To kick things off, I’m taking a look at the movie that just released on VOD a couple weeks ago adapted from Daniel Schaffer’s comic the Scribbler. The story itself is a weird mix of Girl, Interrupted, Fight Club, and the Cell. Katie Cassidy in the lead role was one of the best parts of the movie, though I thought things got a little muddled in the direction. It also had a rather surprising and unusual turn towards the end that I will be discussing, so spoilers abound. Overall I enjoyed it, but the concept felt a bit stronger than the execution.
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Flights, Tights, and Movie Nights 