Merlin review
June 29th, 2009
Based on the episodes “The Mark of Nimueh” (1×3) and “The Poisoned Chalice” (1×4), originally broadcast on NBC 6/28/09.
It’s a good thing that remakes are something of a topic this year, because it helps put the new series ‘Merlin,’ and the topic of remakes itself, in better context. The concept of telling and reimagining old stories is just about as old as the art of storytelling itself, and that’s probably the first thing to understand about ‘Merlin,’ that it’s neither a good nor bad thing inherently for such a show to have debuted in 2009 to be working with a character that’s been around for hundreds of years. It’s not for a lack of creativity. In fact, I would argue that, as would be the case with any other such work, it’s quite the opposite. And in this case, ‘Merlin’ would be a case of finding something fruitful to say regardless of the familiarity of the material.
Interested in IDW’s Star Trek (2009) Comics?
June 29th, 2009
Star Trek (2009) just finished its eighth weekend at the box office (and has now made $246.3 million domestically). A sequel has been ordered but won’t hit theaters until Summer 2011 at the earliest. But that doesn’t mean the fun has to stop. There are already tons of memorabilia and collectibles relating to the movie available. A novelization, action figures, trading cards, toys, a soundtrack and more.
Plus, IDW Publishing has a pair of comic miniseries planned that will continue the story of the movie. Are you interested?
Comics I Like – June 29th, 2009
June 29th, 2009
I’ve finally had a chance to read Captain America #600 so I can give my thoughts on that issue as well as the upcoming Captain America: Reborn miniseries that starts this week. I’ll also talk about WildStorm’s intriguing Storming Paradise miniseries and DC’s latest The Warlord series.
Captain America #600
Has it really been 600 issues? According to the cover gallery included in #600 it has. I know I haven’t read nearly that many, only picking up the series around issue #438 of the first volume. I’ve been with the title, through its various incarnations, ever sense. #600 was interesting but certainly not worth $4.99 so I’m glad I got it through my subscription.
Captain America #600 (Courtesy of the Grand Comics Database)
Sunday Movie Review: The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues
June 29th, 2009
I apologize for the delay but I think it’s worth it. I’m reviewing The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues, a movie so bad that I can’t think of anything good to say about it. Released in 1955, the title makes absolutely no sense. There’s no phantom involve — the monster is quite visible — and 10,000 leagues would equal about 30,000 miles. That’s pretty deep.
The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues
Virtuality review
June 27th, 2009
Originally broadcast on 6/26/09
The best TV shows are those that defy conventions in utterly natural ways. They create a unique identity that doesn’t rely on conventions or quirks, but rather creates their own, new rules that feel as if in an instant they could have, or rather should have, been around forever. In short, they make you realize what you were missing before they aired for the first time. Now, the sad thing about ‘Virtuality’ is that it seems to have been a failed pilot, that the telefilm Fox debuted last night was meant to launch a bold new vision, but instead merely teased a revolution. I can hardly think of a worse crime. Many times Fox seems to have launched series in the genre vein that it cancelled prematurely, within a few tantalizing seasons or worse, episodes. But far and above anything else I can think of, ‘Virtuality’ deserves far better than one experience for something that would have blown all of those other projects out of the water.
At the moment, Star Trek (2009) is the highest-grossing movie in North America, having made an estimated $243,699,000 through Friday, June 26th according to Box Office Mojo. It reached this milestone near the end of May. But sadly it can’t last.
Up, which opened on May 29th, has made an estimated $241,123,000 as of Friday, June 26th and stands a good chance of toppling Star Trek (2009). But another summer blockbuster, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, will likely soon easily beat both. It has made an incredible $125,946,000 in just three days.
While its a little sad for this Star Trek fan to see the movie dethroned as the highest-grossing movie of 2009, when that finally happens it won’t diminish at all the incredible accomplishment that was Star Trek (2009). Love it or hate it, there’s no denying it made an awful lot of money and thus, in a financial sense, was a staggering success.
Review: Virtuality
June 27th, 2009
The main problem with Virtuality, and it was a big one, was the size of the cast. The crew of the Phaeton is twelve strong and I couldn’t for the life of me keep track of them all. That wouldn’t have been an issue if this was actually the first episode of a weekly series. After watching the first episode of Heroes, for example, I couldn’t remember who all the characters were. But as a standalone movie, twelve characters is really too many.
Catching Up on Harper’s Island (Again)
June 27th, 2009
With every new episode I find myself more and more engrossed in Harper’s Island. It hasn’t gotten any better and I long ago gave up trying to keep track of who could be the killer and who, by virtue of having an alibi, can’t possibly be responsible for all these grizzly murders. There are only three new episodes left (the eleventh episode, “Splash,” airs tonight at 9PM Eastern on CBS) and only perhaps a half-dozen characters still among the living. Maybe eight at most. I’ve lost track.
Here’s a scene from last week’s episode. It’s a bit of a shocker at the end and will spoil the episode if you haven’t seen it.
Did you catch that? There’s. Someone. On. The. Roof. It’s almost as cliche as the phone call coming from inside the house.
Ronald D. Moore’s Virtuality Airs Tonight on FOX
June 26th, 2009
Tonight on FOX you can watch the two-hour pilot telefilm for Ronald D. Moore’s Virtuality. It runs from 8-10PM Eastern. Originally scheduled for the July 4th weekend, the pilot tells the story of a group of astronauts on a ten-year mission who spend their days immersed in virtual worlds designed to keep them from going insane. Things apparently go very, very wrong and people start dying. Oh, and the entire journey is being filmed as a reality show.
Sounds weird, right?
HYGOTS No. 37
June 26th, 2009
I can’t even begin to imagine what viewers who’d never watched the franchise must have thought of ‘Star Trek: Enterprise.’ Well, beyond very little. I do know, however, that Paramount’s decision to greenlight a fifth live action series was the straw that broke the camel’s back. New fans whatever; the old ones had had enough. In 2005, after four seasons, the series ended, not even afforded the dignity of any final allowances to its creative decisions, and with it, the franchise died. Well, we all know, like Spock himself, Star Trek didn’t stay dead for long, and at $240 or so million (to date), it’s going to be at least the second best success story of the summer box office (Pixar’s ‘Up’ will pass it shortly) pre-‘Transformers 2.’ Adjustments for inflation or not, that’s the biggest audience for any single Star Trek event. Still, for some, this kind of success remains bittersweet. Some of us old fans hold a friendly grudge over Scotty’s failure to rematerialize “Admiral Archer’s prized beagle.”
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