Monthly Archives: June 2012

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Safety Not Guaranteed (At The Theater 2012 #7)

This is looking like it’s going to be a great summer for big summer movies. It started very strong with The Avengers, Pixar just released a new movie and the upcoming blockbusters The Amazing Spider-Man and The Dark Knight Rises both look like they’re going to be awesome. Because of this, it might be easy to overlook a small budget movie like Safety Not Guaranteed when you’re planning your next trip to the movie theater. But overlooking Safety Not Guaranteed would be a mistake, as it is currently my favorite movie of this year.

Starring actors from three of the best shows on TV, Aubrey Plaza (April on Parks and Rec), Jake Johnson (Nick on New Girl) and Mark Duplass (Pete on The League), having a story involving time travel, and with music by Ryan Miller of Guster, this movie could not have been more directed at me without making overt Star Wars references. I’ve been excited to see Safety Not Guaranteed ever since I first heard about it a few months ago. Then I saw the trailer and started counting down the days until the movie opened.

The League is my new favorite show and I can’t stop talking about, much to the chagrin of any of my friends who don’t watch it.

Safety Not Guaranteed is a very funny movie that has a lot of heart. The humor is great and the characters feel like very real people. I liked how fleshed out everyone was. Aubrey Plaza gives a great performance as Darius, the magazine intern who helps Jake Johnson’s Jeff attempt to interview Mark Duplass’s Kenneth. I thought that Darius and Kenneth had great chemistry together. They have a reverse Taming of the Shrew-esque relationship and I spent much of the movie waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I loved the slow-moving car chase.

On a side not, it’s amazing how badly the wrong pair of glasses can make you look. The gaming laptop toting Arnau (played by Karan Soni) is a really handsome guy when Jeff gives him a five minute makeover. I wish somebody had done that for me in 10th grade when I was sporting over sized gold rimmed frames that helped cement me in the geek camp.

If you like Doctor Who, I think you will really like Safety Not Guaranteed. It’s like watching a Doctor Who episode from the point of view of one of The Doctor’s companions. Can this guy really travel in time? Is he just a nut? Darius and Kenneth reminded me a lot of Rose and The Doctor.

Does that make the beat-up yellow Trans-Am the TARDIS?

If you haven’t seen it already, my recommendation is to make Safety Not Guaranteed the next movie you see. You can check out the trailer below.


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Stardust (On The Couch 2012 #6)

A hunt for some good wedding readings led me to read Stardust. I’m a big fan of Neil Gaiman and thought it would be cool to have something he wrote at our wedding. There are only so many times people can hear Corinthian 13:4-7, right?

One Gaiman passage I found was from Stardust. I had never read it before and decided this was as good a time as any, so I took it out of the library, read the book and loved it. Unfortunately, I didn’t remember reading anything matching the passage I was thinking about using at our wedding. I looked it up on the web again and realized my error: it was from the movie, not the novel!

I immediately rented Stardust from Netflix.

I then immediately let it sit next to my TV for a month before I watched it. Side note: I need to reevaluate my disc subscription.

Stardust: the movie is great. In some ways, I love it more than Stardust: the novel. The dialogue was remarkably crisp, with a good deal of wit and humor mixed in, especially any time the ghost brothers were on the screen.

Robert DeNiro gives a performance that needs to be included in any career retrospective highlight reel. While his performance as Captain Shakespeare will never be as famous as his roles in Taxi Driver, The Godfather Part II or Raging Bull, his performance here might be one of the best comedic performances he’s ever given.

Captain Shakespeare is my favorite pirate since The Dread Pirate Roberts.

I can’t recommend Stardust enough. Unfortunately, it’s not available on Netflix streaming at this time, but it is available on Amazon Prime streaming (I subscribe to both). If you’re not an Amazon Prime member, you’ll have to hunt down the disc. But it’s definitely worth it. If you liked Time Bandits or The Princess Bride, then…well, why haven’t you seen this yet? Actually, I’ll tell you why. When Stardust was first released, I remember the marketing for it making it look like the cheesiest movie ever. It’s not.

Once you get your hands on the DVD, check out the deleted scenes and the special making of featurette with Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess. I’m usually not a fan of DVD extras, but the ones in Stardust are a very welcome exception.

In the end, I don’t think we’ll have a reading from Stardust at our wedding, but I’m very grateful for the journey that led me to this book and movie. Now to hunt down Stardust: the graphic novel.

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Boy Wonder (On The Couch 2012 #5)

Back in October, at New York Comic Con, I had the opportunity to interview Michael Morrissey, the writer and director of Boy Wonder. You can read that interview here. At the time that I interviewed him, Boy Wonder was making its New York City premiere, which Michael was nice enough to offer me tickets to a screening. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make the screening, but definitely planned on seeing Boy Wonder.

I just didn’t think it would take this long for me to see it.

I shouldn’t have waited. And neither should you. Boy Wonder is awesome.

Don’t let the title fool you. This isn’t the story about a teen prancing around in elf slippers and briefs. This is a dark, psychological thriller. It’s the Batman story if Bruce Wayne was working class. Think Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies minus the costumes and minus Bruce Wayne’s inheritance.

Wrong Boy Wonder.

One thing I really liked about Boy Wonder is how local it is to Brooklyn. This isn’t Chicago masking as Brooklyn. This is Brooklyn. The movie opens on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. The criminal court on Schermerhorn Street downtown makes an appearance and the NYCT subway system in Brooklyn hosts some of the most intense scenes in the movie. If you live or work in Brooklyn, you’ll probably recognize at least a few settings in the movie.

I only have one nitpick with how Brooklyn was used. During the chase at the Union St stop on the R, after Shawn leaves the train, he’s running through a much bigger station, which I thought was Atlantic Ave. This did take me out of the movie for a second. Union St is a tiny station and Atlantic Ave is a big complex. Why show him clearly getting off at Union St? Why not just have him get off at Atlantic Ave for the sake of continuity? Then again, it makes sense from a production point of view. I’m guessing it’s much easier to get a permit to film on the platform of a not-busy station like Union St than it is to get one for the constantly busy Atlantic Ave.

But seriously, that was my biggest problem with the movie: a subway station not matching up to reality. That says a lot, doesn’t it.

I really like the ending of the movie. I’m not going to spoil anything here. It didn’t end the way I thought it would have, but I was very satisfied with Boy Wonder’s final scenes.

I’m feeling there will be a bunch of Boy Wonder cosplayer sightings at NYCC and Halloween this year.

If you’re a fan of Marathon Man, Nolan’s Batman films or just like your superheroes with a touch of realism, definitely check out Boy Wonder.

Written by Billy Henehan

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Talking Trailers: The Dark Knight Rises and Les Miserables

 Warner Bros released a new trailer for The Dark Knight Rises this week! Have you watched it yet? Does it make you as excited for the movie as I am?!

Anyone know doubted Thomas Hardy as Bane should cast their doubts aside after seeing this trailer.

Based on this trailer, I’m expecting the score of The Dark Knight Rises to be as nuanced and amazing as the score for The Dark Knight. I cannot wait for this movie to open.

It occurred to me when I saw the Les Miserables trailer that Anne Hathaway is in both movies that I’m most excited for in the second half of 2012.

Both of these movies look amazing. Which one are you more excited for?

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Pittsburgh Comicon 2012 Wrap Up

I had a chance to attend the Pittsburgh Comicon for the first time ever this year. Pittsburgh is a comic book convention I’ve wanted to attend for years. One of my favorite artists, George Perez, is a perennial attendee at Pittsburgh, and I was always jealous of the people in Pittsburgh who got to see him year after year. So when the opportunity arose to head to the ‘Burgh this year for Pittsburgh Comicon, I jumped at the opportunity.

I was completely spoiled by staying at the Monroeville Doubletree. It’s right across the parking lot from the Monroeville Convention Center, where the convention takes place. Living in NYC, I usually bring the bare minimum of items with me to a convention. Who wants to lug a heavy bag on the subway and carry it around all day? As I outlined in my lead-up to NYCC 2011, if I want something signed, I’ll buy it on the show floor. But being so close to my hotel room in Pittsburgh made it possible to change out items throughout the day, which led to me getting my massive Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus signed by Stan Lee. That Omnibus was on me for about 10 minutes more than it took to wait on Stan Lee’s line. Then it was back in my hotel room, much to the happiness of my back.

What I loved most about attending Pittsburgh Comicon is that it is the best parts of a big con and small mixed together. There were big name guests there, but scale was smaller, which led to better interactions between creators and fans. It reminded me a lot of a version of the much missed annual Ramapo Comic Book Conventions in New York from the 80s and 90s.

If you ever attend a con that Barry Kitson is attending, head to his table! I met Barry for the first time this year, and he absolutely awesome! He sits behind his artist’s table doing ink and watercolor illustrations for fans all day. They’re amazingly detailed and FREE. The catch is you have to be patient, and stay at Barry’s table until it’s your turn. The illustrations average about 45 minutes each, so if you’re 7th in line, expect to be there all day. For people who can’t hang out all day, like me, Barry does quick 5-minute head sketches in between the full figure illustrations. Waiting at the table really isn’t a downside though, as Barry, the guys working his table and the fans hanging out could not have been a nicer group of people. I was happy to find out that Barry was an Arsenal fan. We chatted about that day’s match. After getting my sketch, I kind of wanted to just hang out at Barry’s table for the rest of the day anyway. Barry did the below ink and watercolor of Spider-Man in 5 minutes, 8 seconds. Yes, someone timed him.
Other highlights of Pittsburgh Comicon 2011:

-Getting not one, but three sketches from George Perez

Peter Parker/Spider-Man
 Wally West as The Flash
Wonder Woman

-Meeting Stan Lee, getting my Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus signed him and having the following interaction:
Me: You’re my hero, Stan!
Stan Lee: I like your taste, kid.

-Meeting Scott McDaniel, who is one of the nicest guys working in comics, and getting this awesome Spider-Man sketch from him. In case you didn’t realize, I really like Spider-Man.

-Having a crazy run on the roulette wheel at Casino Night and walking away with a 2007 Pittsburgh Comicon/Marvel Zombies poster signed by Arthur Suydam with a Zombie Batman (or is that Black Panther). I was so happy I bought the roulette guys a round afterwards.

-The Pittsburgh food. I missed out breakfast at Pamela’s. But I did get dessert at Gullifty’s in Squirrel Hill twice, had a great bowl of alligator chili at Fuel and Fuddle in Oakland, and drove out of town with a pack of smiley face cookies from Eat N’ Park. I think I put on 10 lbs every time I visit Pittsburgh. And I can’t wait to come back next year!

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Drive (On The Couch 2012 #4)

Going into Drive, I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about it. It seemed to be a very polarizing movie. Almost everyone I know who has seen it either loves it and thought it was robbed at the Oscars or found it slow and unwatchable. Now that I’ve seen it, I can say that while I don’t think it was robbed of an Oscar nomination, I definitely fall on the side of people who liked the movie.

I thought Drive was very well paced, so I don’t get people who found it too slow.

Ryan Gosling gives what appears to be another seemingly effortless performance as the unnamed driver in Drive. By effortless, please don’t think I’m calling him lazy. I’m not. I’m amazed by Ryan Gosling as an actor. He seems to fall into each character he plays so easily. It never seems like I’m watching Ryan Gosling play a character as much as it feels like watching Ryan Gosling now as a that person.

For a movie with not that many violent scenes, I was amazed at how violent the violence was on screen. When Ryan Gosling is stomping a hole in that guy’s face in the elevator, I recoiled the same way as when I saw the “eat the sidewalk” scene in American History X.

My only knock against Drive is that I didn’t get the point of the neon title logo and 80s-esque synth pop soundtrack. The movie takes place in the present day, right? Is it supposed to be evocative of 80s movies, or am I just reading too much into things?

Who wants to buy me this jacket?

Since seeing Drive, I’ve developed a habit of hanging my watch from my steering wheel and telling people they have five minutes to get back in my car before taking them on a high speed car ride. There’s no way this is going to end well…

…Oh, and in my head, this is what I look like.