NETFLIX REVIEW: Death Note (2017)

You've probably heard this from almost every other critic who's talked about this film; but, here goes. I am not familiar the manga that this film is based on outside of having an idea anout. So, I really can't say whether or not this is a faithful adaptation (from what I've read, its probably in the "not faithful" category). That being said, I can say that I was thoroughly entertained by Netflix's live-action adaptation of Death Note.

Is this film flawed? Yeah. But, these shortcomings don't keep this film from being pretty good when its all said and done. For those who don't know, the whole idea here is that there's this notebook whoever's name is written down in it (alongside a physically possible demise for them to meet) will die. Even knowing nothing about the source material, this is a pretty awesome premise with a lot of potential that this film takes advantage of. My only gripe in this aspect is that there could've been a couple more creative kills; but, the gore that director Adam Wingard does give us here is pretty satisfying. Speaking of which, I really love his approach to this adaptation. Not only because I really admire his directing style (I'll get back to that in just a moment), but also because he throws the idea of repeating stuff from the source material right out the window. Aside from that, Wingard's directorial flourishes are on full display here. From the striking use of color to the dark sense of humor to the impeccable use of music (both the score* and soundtrack), this is very much in the vein of his other gems like You're Next and The Guest.

With the exception of one in particular, the performances are pretty serviceable. Nat Wolff is fine in the lead (even if his acting does let the movie down in certain moments). Margaret Qualley is kind of interesting as his girlfriend and Keith Stanfield is pretty good as the detective tracking the two of them down...and then, there's Willem Dafoe. Where to begin with him? Okay, first off, casting him as a cackling, beady-eyed demon is a stroke of genius; but, the best
part about it is he steals every scene that he's in, despite being kept in the shadows for almost the entirety of the runtime. I could just hear that cackle over and over again and still be perfectly happy. If they do make a sequel to this (which would be cool, I'll admit), they've gotta bring him back. He's easily one of the best (if not THE best) things this film has going for it.


Ultimately, the best way I can describe this flick is asking you to imagine a mixture of urban vigilante movies and schlocky horror flicks from the 80s/90s underlined with a somewhat inconsistent (yet, still amusing) sense of black comedy. Death Note makes for perfect late-night weekend viewing, if this kind of cinematic junk food is up your alley.

DEATH NOTE gets a...
GOOD TIME out of TEN

*I hope this isn't like Ghost in the Shell where they didn't release the score because Atticus and Leopold Ross turn in some tremendous work here.

Martin Scorsese and Todd Phillips are doing a JOKER Movie

Well, talk about news I didn't expect to hear today, or ever come to think of it. According to Deadline Hollywood and the rest of online film landscape, DC and Warner Bros. are in the process of putting together a Joker origin film under a new, non-canonical banner. As for the talent pool they've assembled, get a load of this. Not only do we have Todd Phillips (helmer of War Dogs, Old School and The Hangover) directing and Scott Silver (writer of 8 Mile and The Fighter) penning the screenplay, they've got the one and only Martin Scorsese producing the project.

Aside from the massive dose of goodwill that Scorsese's name brings to this, I actually think Todd Phillips is a better director than a lot of people give him credit for (seriously, War Dogs was dank). There's also the endless possibilities that come up with the fact that this will potentially be the first of many standalone DC movies. Basically, these movies can be their own thing without having to worry about shoe-horning in references to the ever-growing cinematic universe. At the time of writing, there's no name for this new label yet; still, the idea of a whole bunch of stand alone, unconventional takes on DC characters is certainly a tantalizing prospect. Plus, a new actor is going to play the Clown Prince of Crime while Jared Leto will continue to do his polarizing schtick in the Suicide Squad sequel and that Harley Quinn spinoff. My main hope is that this origin story doesn't recycle the same Killing Joke minutia that's been used in almost every Joker story for the past 25 years. Its hackneyed and there are plenty of other places to get inspiration from (such as Ed Brubaker's The Man Who Laughs). There's also the bits where its allegedly going to be inspired by flicks like Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy.

Overall, I'm definitely curious about this. Share your thoughts in the comments if you see fit.

ATOMIC BLONDE Review

While watching this film, I couldn't help but think of what another film critic said about Zombieland years ago: it was a hilarious take on well-worn jokes. Why do I bring this up in a review for a seemingly unrelated film? Well, that's because a similar summary could be used to describe Atomic Blonde. Is this the most original spy flick? Not particulary, no. In fact, it cribs a lot from similar Cold War era espionage pictures. Even the main plot device feels like it was lifted straight from the opening of Skyfall. While the substance here might not be all that fresh, it makes up for that with a hefty amount of style and class. Its a fun (albeit lightweight) action flick that's a little too long for its own good; but, there are certainly some memorable high points.

Charize Theron owns as the films lead. While she certainly dishes out a lot of pain, she doesn't come out of all this chaos unscathed. Far from it, she's pretty roughed up by the end of the movie. Its a trick that a lot of modern action flicks need to remember: a lot of the tension in these movies comes from the fact that the protagonist are as vulnerable as they are awesome. Plus, these characters wouldn't be as interesting if they were nothing but unstoppable killing machines. Anyway, lets get back to the rest of the performances. James MacAvoy does his standard (but still fiendishly entertaining) brand of ultra-sleazy British corruption. Sofia Boutella is also kind of fun as a character that's essentially this film's equivalent to a Bond girl.

All of the action is ridiculously violent and over-the-top (as to be expected from a director who did the first John Wick). Out of all of them, the stairwell sequence is the biggest standout. With maybe one exception, its all relatively easy to follow and the camerawork never gets too hectic. As for the aforementioned stylistic leanings, that's the non-action part that keeps this movie afloat. Again, much like the John Wick movies, a lot of the film is absolutely soaked in candy-colored neon. It also helps that the soundtrack's stuffed with 80s pop classic (as well as some nice synth work from the ever-reliable Tyler Bates). Heck, there's even a pretty wizard remix of Blue Monday.



In the end, Atomic Blonde is a fun ride that'll go down in film history because of a few all-time stunning action setpieces and as another edition to Charlize Theron's growing status as an iconic action heroine.

ATOMIC BLONDE gets a...
GOOD TIME out of TEN

The Long-Gestating Adaptation of NEUROMANCER Has A Director

Those who know me are aware of my affection for the cyberpunk genre. One of my favorites works in this subgenre has to be William Gibson's seminal 1984 novel, Neuromancer. From its fascinating themes to the thought-provoking story and mesmerizing world it takes place in, its a novel I have a particular fondness for and often rewards multiple rereads. To my dismay, many attempts at bringing this literary masterpiece to the silver screen have been fruitless. Many names have been attached to direct such as famed music video/cult film director Joseph Kahn and Vincenzo Natali (director of such films as Cube and Splice).

While I've only been a fan of the book for a couple years, I still maintained that this was one of those things that was going to remain in development hell* for decades. Thankfully, those qualms may be put to rest. Recently, 20th Century Fox has selected Deadpool director Tim Miller to helm this long-awaited adaptation. On top of that, Simon Kinberg has been selected to produce the film. At the time of writing, no one has been tapped to write the screenplay just yet.

Really, I hope this isn't another Fant4stic situation where the end result was so botched and the BTS** drama got so out of hand, that they would have been better off if they just went with the filmmaker's vision. Then again, this guy did make Deadpool and it could be a similar situation to how Warner Brothers treated Christopher Nolan during the Dark Knight trilogy (i.e. the studio realizes they might have a truly bankable director on their hands and they're smart enough not to bully him). Plus, outside of a few duds, Kinberg is a pretty solid producer. Overall, I'm feeling pretty excited that this movie might finally happen. Here's hoping its good, possibly even spectacular.

It Came From Letterboxd (08/09/2017)

The thought occurred to me that I don't review many older movies, whether its something that's only a couple years old or a few decades old. Well, that and how there some recent movies that don't give me enough material for a full review. When it comes to movies that fit that description, I tend to talk about those on my Letterboxd page. Here are a few of those reviews for your reading pleasure...

LEGEND (1985)

An ethereal experience unlike anything else from this era in fantasy cinema. It's simplicity is more than redeemed by the mesmerizing atmosphere created through the beautiful score and, of course, the absolutely gorgeous visuals. Through Scott's brilliant direction, we get all of that and one of Tim Curry's greatest performances. Wrongly maligned during its original release, I'm happy it's gotten the recognition and respect it deserves.
[Rating: 4.5 out of 5]

DREDD

Sure, some of the CGI hasn't aged all that well; but, it's still a pretty fun, hard-knuckle sci-fi action picture in the vein of stuff like Die Hard and Assault on Precinct 13. The blood is great and it gets the original comics in ways that the Stallone version just couldn't. Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, and Lena Headey are top-notch and the pace is breakneck. Overall, a real blast.
[Rating: 4 out of 5]

THE SHALLOWS

Man, does Jaume Collet-Serra know how to direct a B-grade picture in the classiest, most polished way possible. Plus, there's a whole bunch of other nifty little tricks. Like a good Blake Lively performance, one of Marco Beltrami's better scores, some decent blood effects, and an adorable little bird named Steven Seagull. Not much more you could ask for from a summertime shark flick.
[Rating: 3.5 out of 5]

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (2017)

And now an open letter to Disney:

Unless you get a filmmaker who actually has something interesting he (or she) can do with the material, you must do the following: STOP DOING LIVE-ACTION REMAKES OF YOUR BACK CATALOG OF ANIMATED CLASSICS! Just stop it.

(end letter)

To put it simply, this is the Gus Van Sant's PSYCHO of Disney movies. A film so lazy, cynically-made, and pointless that I wouldn't be shocked if they just used the actual script from the far superior 1991 original with a few extra lines added. Its moments like this where I'm Bill Condon is wasting his time directing dreck like this instead of films like Kinsey, Gods & Monsters and that (hopefully awesome) Bride of Frankenstein reboot. What a waste of talent and time on needlessly remaking the tale as old as time.
[Rating: 1.5 out of 5]

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Those were just a few of these mini-reviews. Comment and hit me up on your preferred social media platform to let me know if you want to see more of these. In the meantime, take care!

Netflix Just Bought the Rights to Millarworld

Aside from the rather surprising news that the company is now $20 billion in debt*, Netflix has still been making the headlines for other reasons. Sure, there's the massive hype train circling the upcoming Defenders miniseries and the apparent increase in quality that their original films might see in the near future; but, that's not what I'm hear to talk about today. Instead, I'm hear to talk about what I find to be the streaming giant's most interesting announcement: their acquisition of Millarworld.

For the uninitiated, Millarworld is a comic universe consisting of titles and characters created by industry legend Mark Millar. And, for those who don't know who he is, he wrote the following comics**: Kick Ass, Wanted, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Civil War (yes, the Marvel one), and Old Man Logan. No word is out yet on which title will be first out of the gate; yet, it has been announced that the adaptations will include both movies and television shows.

Considering the diversity of the actual source material and how unique/deranged Millar is as a creative force, it'll definitely be interesting to see how all this plays out. Out of all the properties under this label, Nemesis might be the one I'm most excited for (both because of the potential inherent to the premise and because of how long this has spent in development hell).

*Source for the whole Netflix debt story: click here.
**All of the titles listed have been adapted into big movies.

DEADPOOL 2's Cable Has Finally Been Revealed

Hey everybody! Before we begin, I just wanted to say that other Deadpool 2 post that I said would do in the last post is still coming its just going to take some time. Once again, stay tuned! In the meantime, here's some other exciting news.

Last time I discussed a new character reveal for this flick, my thoughts weren't too positive. Granted, I've changed my tune to a more positive note ever since I posted that last piece; however, I still say that that looks nothing like Domino outside of the little bit of paint around the eye. Now, on the opposite spectrum, it looks they've gotten Cable down to a tee.



From the glowing eye to the cyborg parts to the cartoonishly over-sized gun, it looks like they've done a literal translation from the pages of the comics to the screen. Besides the satisfaction of seeing a famous character's look be almost perfectly translated to the screen, its just an awesome design (I even like the silly little teddy bear he's got attached to his armor belt). Let's just hope the movie also takes a moment to make fun of the absurdity of the get-up as well as properly deliver on the awesomeness that such a look would/should deliver. I guess we'll find out, when June 2018 comes around.