Green Lantern

The DC comic book universe, home to the great super heroes known as Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, has never really been able to match the success of their rival Marvel (home to Spider Man, the X-Men, Iron Man). To many there is a very clear definition of the problem DC has faced in the past decade and that problem is this: if it's not Batman, it's not good. The last Superman film was not successful enough to spawn a sequel, last year's "Jonah Hex" was named by some to be the biggest flop of 2010, and most recently a planned Wonder Woman TV show was cancelled after the first previews.

Now we have "Green Lantern", one of the most recognizable heroes of the DC universe and one of the most popular superheros ever. Ryan Reynolds seemed to be a good fit to take on the role of Hal Jordan and a light of hope once again sparked for DC. Does Green Lantern's light shine bright for an upcoming franchise or will DC have to once again go back to the drawing board.

For millions of years, the Green Lantern Corps, a police force for the entire universe made up of all kinds of aliens, has been protecting galaxies from all types of harm and chaos. The largest threat to ever challenge them was a force called Parallax, an immense being capable of destroying worlds. Though once imprisoned by a Lantern named Abin-Sur, Parallax breaks free and finds the Lantern that imprisoned him for revenge. Fatally injuring Abin-Sur, he escapes on a ship that flies to Earth in order to select the next being in line to be a Lantern.

The human chosen to be the next Lantern is Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds), a former captain of the US Air Force and current test pilot. Hal is rash, ignorant, sarcastic, and when he discovers Abin-Sur in his ship on that fateful night he doesn't believe that he is the right person to become a hero. But the ring, the source of all the Green Lantern's power, never makes the wrong choice and Hal will have to train with others in the Green Lantern Core in order to confront Parallax because he may be the only one capable of defeating him.

First off, some of you be wondering why I did not mention the other big names in the film such as Blake Lively or Peter Sarsgaard since they were heavily utilized in the trailers. The reason is simple...they are of no use to the plot whatsoever. These characters have no need to even be in the film except to occupy little plot holes, the film would be no different if they were not in it, and while I would not quite say that it is a waste of Lively's talents, it is definitely a waste of Sarsgaard's.

To my great disappointment, the plot in "Green Lantern" is just downright lazy. It is like the filmmakers do not even care about telling a good story. For Hal Jordan, the character development if you can even call it that is very weak and failed to grip my emotions like the recent "X-Men: First Class." It is also very obvious that "Green Lantern" tries to copy the Tony Stark (Iron Man) personality in Hal Jordan and well...Reynolds is no Robert Downy Jr.

As for Lively and her small role involving the romance with Reynolds...there is not much romance to be seen. The emotion between the two characters is rushed and forced upon the audience in order to continue to more "exciting" scenes.

The last major flaw with the plot (that I will mention) is that the writers leave too much up to the imagination. For example, one scene features Reynolds and Sarsgaard's characters talking about their past and how Reynolds always got the girl blah blah blah. Does the film elaborate on this past? No, we are just supposed to assume that the three main characters have known each other for some time and, similar to the problem with Hal Jordan, these other characters never get developed.

Because of the problems with the plot, "Green Lantern" really feels like a sequel rather than the first in a franchise (something that I don't think I've ever thought about a film before...bad sign). Scenes, conversations, and events happen too quickly. The film is too fast paced. Scenes that could be very emotional and/or entertaining end up rushing by. The film decides to put its focus on cool special effects and action rather than a good story. And the action that it focuses on is not even that impressive compared to last month's "Thor."

Though my allegiance will always be with Marvel, I do hope for success for the films that DC puts out but it just seems that they can never get it right. Unfortunately for the studio that wanted three "Green Lantern" films in three years and a Justice League film (the DC version of the Avengers), those dreams are likely to fade away. I give it one star out of four.

"Green Lantern" has a running time of 114 minutes and is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action.

Super 8

Steven Spielberg is a name revered by Hollywood. Since the 1970s, this mega director/producer/writer has brought classics to the silver screen. His films, "Jaws", the "Indiana Jones" and "Jurassic Park" series, "E.T. The Extra Terrestrial", "Saving Private Ryan", and "Schindler's List" are known around the world. Next we have director director J.J. Abrams who has given us the hit TV show "Lost", and films like "Mission Impossible 3" and the latest "Star Trek." Together, these two film makers have created the alien thriller, "Super 8" whose plot and story have miraculously been kept very secret since the first trailer was released what seemed like years ago. But now we have the answers.

The year is 1979 and a group of kids in Ohio are making a zombie film (YES!). The children in this group include Joe (Joel Courtney) whose mother was killed in a factory accident, Alice (Elle Fanning) the crush of every boy in the group and whose father has a mysterious connection with Joe and his father, and the film director Charles (Riley Griffiths). One night the group heads on to a local train station to shoot a scene for their film but something disastrous happens. As they film Joe sees a truck drive onto the track and head straight for an oncoming train transporting the contents of the U.S. Air force. The result of this incident is a massive train wreck full of explosions, chaos, and the escape of some creature. A creature that will kill and kidnap, a creature that causes power outages and causes dogs to disappear, and a creature that the U.S. Air Force will risk anything to re-capture. But this mystery will not be solved by the air force, or the police of the town, but by the children who take it upon themselves to discover just watch escaped from that train on that night.

It is very clear that Spielberg is involved with "Super 8" because the film has several similarities to other films he has been involved in. When asked about "Super 8" before seeing the film, I said that I thought it was a violent version of "E.T." And after seeing the film I can say that was a pretty accurate assumption. There is the classic sounding music, the many bicycles, and a "creature" that is trying to get home. The other film I was reminded of is "The Goonies." The kids are the heroes in this film, they each have their own uniqueness and humor to them, and quite possibly the most noticeable similarity...the kids curse a lot. All of these elements gave "Super 8" a very classic feel and it was almost like watching an ode to those movies that we all love so much.

But make no mistake, "Super 8" isn't just taking elements from other films, it has a story all of its own. For starters, "Super 8" is much more intense, suspenseful, and even frightening than "E.T." by a long shot. One of the fun things about this film is that is does not show the "creature" close up until very late into the plot. As the movies moves along, more and more glimpses of the "creature" are shown (very similar to "Cloverfield", a film that Abrams produced) building up a lot of suspense and speculation about what the thing is, what it can do, and why it is here. "Super 8" also comes with plenty of thrills that will have you on the edge of your seat and maybe jumping out of it.

But the best thing about "Super 8" is its originality. In a summer of remakes, sequels, and prequels, "Super 8" stands out as something unique and after watching, it stands out as a good movie. Almost everything in Hollywood today is either a continuation of a series or a film that is based on a comic book or novel. When you find a film like "Super 8", a completely original idea that turns into a great film...the result is something truly wonderful. I give it 3 and a half stars out of 4.

"Super 8" has a running time of 112 minutes and is rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action and violence, language, and some drug use.

X-Men First Class

In the year 2000, Marvel brought one of their most famous super hero teams to the big screen. The first "X-Men" film put comic book films on the map and eleven years later super hero movies are what have defined the last decade of cinema. Fans and critics alike were less enthusiastic about the third film in the X-Men Trilogy and even more critical about 2009's spin off film, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." Now Marvel is going back to the beginning of the franchise that started it all. Does "X-Men: First Class" spark redemption for the world of mutants? Spoiler Alert...YES!


It's the 1960s, the world does not yet know mutants exist, and...Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) is a ladies man? Indeed, we get to see a side of the wise professor (portrayed in the original trilogy by Patrick Stewart) we have not seen before during his years at Oxford with his long-time friend, Raven (Jennifer Laurence) whom X-Men fans know as the shape-shifting mutant Mystique.


Soon the setting and mood changes and we are introduced to the metal moving mutant Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender). Lehnsherr is traveling across the world hunting down the remaining Nazi's responsible for cruel experiments forced upon him when he was a boy in a concentration camp. The primary target of Lehnsherr is a fellow mutant named Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) who shot Lehnsherr's mother before his eyes. Many know Lehnsherr better by his mutant alias Magneto.


Now Shaw is plotting for nuclear war by trying to increase the tension between the US and the Soviets, ultimately resulting in the Cuban Missile Crisis. In Lehnsherr's quest was Shaw, he meets Xavier who has agreed to help the C.I.A. track down Shaw before he succeeds in starting a third World War. With a similar goal, the two men agree to work together and form a team of mutants to combat Shaw and his Hellfire Club. But the beliefs and goals of Xavier and Lehnsherr are very different and though they do not know it, the mission they go on will come to draw the battle lines between Xavier's X-Men and Magneto's Brotherhood.


A big reason that the X-Men films are so good is because the films are very character driven. Even the sequel spent adequate time to further develop each of their characters and not just the leads. For "X-Men: First Class" character development is key to the plot. For the film to work, the audience needs to know and care about the two lead characters, Xavier and Lehnsherr. We need to know their past, what they believe, and what they care about because at it's heart "First Class" is a story of how two best friends become enemies. How will we care about this story if we don't understand the characters? Well don't worry, the film's major focus is not action but the characters. And like the original film, "First Class" develops almost all of the characters...not just the big ones. This makes the emotional climax very powerful and meaningful.


Another thumbs up goes to "First Class" for the superb acting by each member of the cast. For a day or so after seeing the film I debated which actor did the better job, McAvoy or Fassbender and I really had a hard time deciding. Each actor brings something different and unique to his character. But, my final decision is this..."X-Men: First Class" is Michael Fassbender's time to shine. The reason is because of the emotion he pours into Eric Lehnsherr. His eyes, his face, his words, his tears, everything about the character is filled with Fassbender's emotion. The film begins and ends with Magneto and he is really the main character of the film; if Fassbender didn't do his job well, "First Class" would not be a great as it is.


Another thing worth mentioning is the similarity "First Class" has with films from the James Bond series. Back when the movie was filming, director Matthew Vaughn (who gave us the super-hero riot "Kick Ass" back in 2009) said that one of his goals for "First Class" was to model it after a James Bond film and after seeing it I can say that he was pretty successful. The music, the suave leads, the abundance of attractive women, the fast-paced action scenes, even the closing credits parallel elements from Bond films.


I would talk about how awesome the action and the special effects are but I will let you discover that for yourself. The big things about "X-Men: First Class" are the acting, plot, and character development. They are what makes this such an outstanding film. "First Class" rivals even the first two X-Men films (some of the best super-hero films to date) for greatness. In fact, I will say that "First Class" is the best film Marvel has dished out in seven years (since "Spider-Man 2" and "X-Men 2" came out). I give it three and a half stars out of four.


"X-Men: First Class" has a running time of 132 minutes and is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, some sexual content including brief partial nudity, and language.