This week I watched a movie based on a book about a heartless dystopian government that has opted to keep its citizens in line through fear and a brutal gladiatorial game in which the children of the country are pitted against each other in bloody mortal combat. Two contestants in the game struggle to survive without losing their humanity, find a way to subvert the cold unfeeling powers that be, and ultimately cheat death in hopes of bringing down the system that put them through this traumatic ordeal.

But enough about Battle Royale.

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Most works of fiction revolve around a central protagonist we follow through the story. Often referred to as the hero, we are meant to relate to this character and root for their victory. Perhaps the character is gruff, dishonest, distasteful, but still has some noble goal at heart. There we’d have an anti-hero. And then we have Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler who is simply an irredeemable scumbag of a human being.

Good times!

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Let’s talk about a movie that features Daniel Radcliffe like you’ve never seen him. A movie in which Danny Rads surprised me. A movie in which the man who played the boy who lived makes bold choices to prove that he is more than just an orphan beneath the stairs. Radcliffe adopts a character trait in this film that is so startling I had to pause it just to let it sink in. In this movie, as shocking as it is, Daniel Radcliffe has…an American accent.

Oh, and devil horns. Those too.

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Mary Shelley wrote what many consider to be the first science fiction novel with Frankenstein. A doctor, equal parts genius and mad man, plays God by reanimating the dead through science and pays for his hubris. The story has been retold in many ways through the years and today I’ll be looking at two modern takes:  Frankenweenie and Frankenhooker. One is a sweet story about regaining a lost loved one, another is a horrific tale about irresponsibility and its dire consequences.

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Minor spoilers for the first 30 minutes of  Pan. Major spoilers for the original story, Peter and Wendy. Just in case.

I’ve always enjoyed the story of Peter Pan, the boy who wouldn’t grow up. There’s an allure to shirking the responsibilities of adulthood and being care free forever. Also, being able to fly is just plain awesome. Contrasting against the eternal youth of Peter is Captain Hook’s adulthood; a miserable existence characterized by cruelty, deceit, unhappiness, and obsession. Then again, being an evil pirate is pretty awesome too. I should know, I was one! Ultimately, neither extreme is the answer. Wendy, who leaves Neverland to eventually grow up but continues enjoying adventures with Peter as long as she can, is the one who finds the balance.

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The discovery of water on Mars couldn’t have come at a better time if Twenty Century Fox had planned it themselves. On an episode of The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore on Comedy Central a panel discussion about the discovery had Bill Nye trying to convince the rest of the panel that this is an exciting announcement. He spoke about how water on Mars could mean that there was once life on Mars and we may in fact all be descended from that life. He expressed the value of the space program and all the leaps in technology it’s afforded us. Meanwhile, in the face of Nye’s passion the other two panelists were pretty dismissive of the whole concept, frustratingly so.

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Dear M. Night Shyamalan,

Let’s have a little talk.
I like your stuff. Like most people I was blown away by The Sixth Sense and I’ve seen every one of your films since then. Yes, even The Last Airbender. Speaking of which, I think you still owe the world an apology for that one. But Unbreakable was really good, and it was a unique superhero movie long before Robert Downey Jr. snarked his way into an Iron Man suit. People are divided on Signs but I defend it because I enjoyed the impending dread and tense climax. We get into rough territory with The Village. Lady in the Water was admirable for just how…different it was, even if it fell flat. It’s a sharp decline from there buddy. On the upside, The Happening has Marky Mark emoting with a plastic fern, that’s gotta count for something. And After Earth…was the accent Will Smith’s idea? Had to be. Continue reading →