With Batman V Superman getting poor reviews (I am seeing it anyway), Lego Batman is the Batman that we need in these dark times. You deserve your lobster Bruce, today you deserve it!
Daredevil Is In An Enjoyable Holding Pattern!
The second season of Daredevil launched on Netflix last Friday and my wife and I have been doing our best to binge-watch straight through it. We have made it about halfway through, so I figured I would give my thoughts. Which is kind of what I do on this blog, so it would be pretty odd of me not to. While the show continues to be good it is disappointing that the main characters don’t seem to be progressing.
Foggy is still a brilliant layer that continues to doubt himself and his partner’s night job. Murdock still can’t seem balance being Daredevil and a lawyer even though his firm desperately needs him, and Page still has a mysterious past and her relentless digging in to things endangers her and the others around her. In other words they are all doing the exact same things they were doing last season.
Another bummer is that this is all supposed to be part of Marvel’s connected universe, but they can’t seem to say that New York was attacked by aliens, and even more baffling is that the only hint so far in the show that Luke Cage and Jessica Jones even exist in this world is that Rosario Dawson’s Nurse Temple said that she helped out some big strong guy. I mean not to spoil any of Jessica Jones, but it wasn’t like that at the end of her season she kept any of her exploits secret. People should be aware of her, especially red vigilantly ninjas trying to ‘save a city’.
Luckily the fight scenes and the new characters make Daredevil well worth watching. While Jon Bernthal’s Punisher started out looking like an out and out bad guy as the series progresses you start to feel for him and understand his quest, and my wife is now firmly on team Punisher. Meanwhile Élodie Yung’s Elektra is shrouded in mystery. You have no idea what she is up to and whether she is good or bad, and Matt Murdock can’t seem to think straight when she is around. Pretty much she is the Elektra fans have been waiting for.
It is a shame that the main characters don’t seem to be exhibiting any growth, and that Marvel can’t quite seem to figure out how their connected universe fits together even on their Netflix TV shows which are meant to be even more connected, but great fight choreography and wonderful new characters make Daredevil season two well worth watching. I still can’t wait for all the Netflix shows to combine in to The Defenders, but for now I am happy that Daredevil is as good as it is since we know thanks to Ben Affleck and crew that it could have been much, much worse.
I Spy!
You know when a movie shows all its best clips in a trailer? Spy managed to do the opposite. Nothing about the advertising for Spy sold me on the movie, and I had completely forgotten about it until the Golden Globes where it was nominated for Best Comedy or Musical (it lost to The Martian). After watching Spy I am shocked at how unfunny the trailers were considering I laughed non-stop through its complete running time. Even the ending credits were funny.
Melissa McCarthy plays Susan Cooper who is over-watch, a person who provides intel from headquarters, for the CIA’s top spy played by Jude Law. When her agent is killed and all the other identities of active CIA agents are compromised, Susan Cooper will have to become a spy to save the day! It turns out she is pretty darn good at it.
There have been a lot of spy movie spoofs over the years, but Spy is one of the best. The jokes are great and non-stop. I should have guessed that would be the case since it was made by the people who created The Heat and Bridesmaids, but I think the terrible trailers and McCarthy’s Tammy scared me off a bit. I will know better next time.
While McCarthy is the star of this film and delivers most of the laughs, the rest of the cast is top notch too. Law plays the perfect 007 stand in, and Statham plays his overdramatic yet terrible spy with such zeal you can’t help but chuckle every time he is on screen. Rose Byrne is an excellent evil yet funny villain. What I am saying is that Spy is a group effort that really delivers.
Paul Feig is becoming one of the great comedic directors, and while I was worried about Ghost Busters being rebooted, after Spy I know the film is in more than capable hands. It seems like every movie he directs is comedy gold. Which is a trend that I hope continues.
Spy is an excellent flick. Though a bit of warning since it comes from Feig and McCarthy the language can get a bit blue, so it is definitely not family fair, but if you are of age this movie is hilarious, and in retrospect it probably should have won the Golden Globe considering The Martian wasn’t really a comedy anyway. Now I am really excited to see the new Ghost Busters!
The Paladin watches 2 Tiger, 2 Dragon: The Second One
Consider the stone dropped in the center of a still pond.
The air gently moves, rustling the leaves of the trees. Golden yellows, ripe greens, fiery red all dance in the breeze.
Ripples race across the smooth surface. The crane looks on.
The crane is staring at you. It’s black eyes fix your own. It is peering into your soul.
The ripples reach the edge of the pond. A snowflake lands on your cheek.
The first.
Conversely its sequel…
Consider the stone. Now look at me. Now back to the stone.
Oh, young love. Old love. Big drunken guy in love.
Now back to me. There’s a bald guy.
Foot balancing wushu.
Ninjas.
Dead. Undead. Credits.
Such is the unevenness of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in comparison to its sequel Netflix’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny (CTHD:SD). The first is a contemplative film, shot amongst sweeping vistas, and eye popping wire-fu. The latter is a far more standard affair with a predictable plot and typical archetypes. CTHD:SD attempts at times to mimic the world and atmosphere of the first film, but more often than not comes off as a made for TV movie.
All the actors are fine, Michelle Yeoh can be in everything, but none are required to or give stellar performances. The fact that they all speak English is also disappointing, being the sequel to one of the most successful non-english films in the US.
Ultimately, Ang Lee infused Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon with such contemplation and wonder that the sequel seems heavy handed and hollow. Had the first one been a more classic martial arts film the lower budget sequel wouldn’t have been so jarring.
Taken on its own CTHD:SD isn’t terrible, but it’s not great either. The fights aren’t super exciting or technical and they also seem to have an urgency to get to the talking parts. Really, if you are craving a good martial arts movie this will do to take the edge off, but it’s not a full meal. If your wanting something that stops to smell the flowers and contemplate leaves falling it doesn’t do that either. However if you want to watch a foreign film without British accents or subtitles… here you go.