The Trouble With Streaming

I loved DVD’s when they were a thing. The higher image quality and the ability to jump to my favourite scenes instantly were neat, but the thing I loved most about DVD’s was the extra storage space they provided, allowing studios the freedom to bundle extras like blooper reels, behind-the-scenes documentaries, commentary tracks and making-of featurettes.

I adored seeing the magic behind the curtain. It never robbed me of the beauty of cinema, but made it shine even brighter. I watched those bonus features more than the movie they came with. 

But as DVD’s and physical media transitioned into the streaming services, those bonus feature became more and more difficult to track down. Netflix never had making-of specials included with the movie for the longest time, and still doesn’t for most of it’s content. Neither Prime nor Apple TV seem to make a habit of it either. Occasionally, someone would upload such content to YouTube, and even more occasionally, it would an official source.

In their defense, Netflix does have a series called “The Movies That Made Us” that looks back at an ever increasing catalogue of classic movies and the trials and tribulations that went into making them. I find every episode fascinating, even the ones on movies I’ve never seen, like classic slasher Friday the 13th. They get wonderful stories from costume and set designers, scriptwriters, producers, and actors and more. The documentary series highlights the less often heard voices compared to studio produced making-of features, and getting far more gritty and truthful confessions on what it was like to create my favourite, and not so favourite movies. 

Most recently, Disney+ has embraced it full on though. The recent Marvel movies and series all have additional content to support them available directly on the service, and I love them! As soon as I finish the movie or show, I jump into the making-of stuff, because it’s right there! Often linked in the end screen. 

I hope this trend continues and we see a return to the overloaded content that used to be included on DVD’s. Netflix does have some great features up for it’s recent high fantasy series,  The Witcher, so, I live in hope. 

Stan Lee

I am the person I am today in no small part thanks to Stan Lee. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to diminish the influence of my parents, grandparents, friends and family. They were all part of my upbringing too. It’s just that, as a kid, I loved comics, and I loved Marvel Comics more than any other.

Through the characters he created, Stan taught me that everyone deserves love, respect and happiness, regardless of nationality, skin colour, race or creed, or any other defining trait. Treat everyone with respect and expect to receive respect in return. Likewise, don’t tolerate hatred. Stand against those who would hurt others. Don’t allow bullies to win.

Anyone can be someone’s hero. You don’t have to be big or muscular or possessing super flight to do good deeds. Small actions speak volumes to those they affect. And enough small deeds can change the world.

You don’t have to be rich or an alien or a godess to do good, though getting bitten by a spider, dosed with lethal radiation or filled with an untested chemical serum helps. But it normal people who are pure of heart that make the world better.

Respect your elders. Respect your partners. Respect your teachers and your mentors. And when you make it remember that you didn’t get there alone and don’t ever think that you and you alone are deserving of anything. Work hard for what you want and honour those that got you there and those that keep you there.

May his memory be a blessing.

Almost Sleepy Agents

Ask me six months ago what new show I'd be most excited about watching every week and I would have said Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. without hesitation. Ask me today, and it's a different story.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is set in the shared continity universe of the Marvel Studio movies that include Iron Man, Thor and Captain America. Lead by Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), whose first appearance in Iron Man cemented him into the Marvel universe, the team is made up of two highly skilled field agents, Melinda May and Grant Ward, two scientists, Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons, and a civilian computer hacker and activist, Skye. They operate out of a mobile command centre in the form of a huge retrofitted cargo plane, stamped with the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo everywhere.

References to the movies are natural and common, with mentions of the greater organisation beyond Coulson's team dropped in regularly. While the series is unable to have regular cameos from the principle actors from the various movies, there have been some nice surprises, including Cobie Smulders in the pilot reprising her role as Agent Maria Hill, that give us hope that Robert Downy Jr. or Chris Evans might drop by for a chat in a later episode.

I'm really enjoying S.H.I.E.L.D. I understood from the before the pilot aired that I should expect something closer to Warehouse 13, and I'm loving that that is what we have. Some people are dissappointed that there aren't super-powered beings leaping all over the screen in every episode, but it's a TV series! And the first season. They don't have the budget to do that. Instead, the team investigate strange artifacts or weapons, and occasionally run into someone with powers.

The cast is strong, and the characters are becoming more defined. The writing is clever and sharp, and there's some great dialogue among all the action and tension. And in true Joss Wheadon fashion, there's a deeper mystery at work for the fans to follow and ponder over. Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is lots of fun, and some great weekly viewing.

But it's not my favourite show right now.

Originally, I pretty much ignored Sleepy Hollow outright. I disliked the premise: Injured in his own time, Ichabod Crane wakes up in the modern world and has to defeat the Headless Horseman in a strange, new land. It just didn't sound particularly inventive. But people kept telling me great things about the series, and then Claire started hearing about it and growing interested. Only one male caucasian on the main cast (two, if we assume Headless is one two, I guess), and, pretty early on, the writing staff realised what the fans knew from the seccond episode: Ichabod isn't the main character, it's Lt. Abbie Mills, Ichabods police officer friend who has seen and knows more than she's willing to admit.

So we tried out the first episode, and we both loved it! It's clever, very funny, and wonderfully cast. Ichabod reacts to the modern world in a real way, obsessing over electric windows and the number of Starbuck's within a block of each other. Big things like cars and computers seem almost too much for his brain to handle, so he focuses on the smaller changes, and it's wonderful. At one point, he's handed a pistol for his own protection and told "It's works just like the old ones. Point and shoot." I immediately smiled at the important fact that Abbie took for granted, and, sure enough, after firing once, Ichabod throws the gun away, thinking it spent. A great moment, well crafted.

The show is suitably creepy for it's source material. It's never gorey or downright scarey. It's just that subtle find of creepy that sends shives down your spine and leaves you wanting more, but maybe tomorrow, or next week. The end of the pilot is especially shiver-inducing. If you're a fan of the Dresden Files series of urban fantasy novels by Jim Butcher, then you'll understand when I say that the thing in the mirror at the end of Sleepy Hollow's pilot is how I imagine He Who Walks Behind should be portrayed in a movie or proper series adaptation.

Plus, Sleepy Hollow has Orlando Jones as Captain Irving (a nice nod to Washington Irving, author of the original poem), and he's always great to watch.

And then there's Almost Human, a sci-fi series filmed here in Vancouver staring Karl Urban as Det. Kennex and Michael Ealy as his android partner, Dorian. Rather like Sleepy Hollow, I was unimpressed with the lack of creativity from the trailer for this show. A human cop is injured and his partner killed when their police android decides that they are not a priority based on mission parameters. This leads to him hating on androids, bu being forced to work with one as an active officer. He's given a "defective" unit, an older model that displays too much emotion, and they bond. It sounds like something one of those automated plot generators would spit out:

He's a white cop with an artificial leg who hates androids. He's a black android who feels too much emotion. They fight crime!

And it does hit a lot of the generic clichés: A tough but kind hearted older female superior officer, a young, sexy collegue, a rival officer who thinks the main character is a has-been, and who thinks of androids as lifeless tools, and even a missing ex-girlfriend who may or may not be mixed up in something bigger.

It sounds like it should be unwatchable, but they pull it off. For one thing, it's fun. The banter between Kennex and Dorian is well written and delivered, and I especially liked the discussions on life, love and death from episode two. The "Stop scanning my testicles" was a great character moment between the two. I like their view of a future that is "normal", not a dystopian nightmare, or a utopian paradise, but a world of hope and crime in a big city. The ills of the world have not been solved, but we haven't degenerated into chaos either.

Almost Human is a fun show to switch off and woatch. It has a lot of heart for a sci-fi action show, and, as suggested by the title, it takes a bit of time to discuss the line between human and not human in a world where androids can be programed to be "too human", a "condition" that causes that line, the DRNs, to be discontinued and shelved in favour of more conventional models. I'm really looking forward to seeing more from this series, and hope we at least get a season or two out of it. I think it has glimmers of the fantastic within it's first two episodes, and has a whole lot of potential beneath it's skin. Also, someone must have written fan fiction of how Almost Human is the setup world for Battlestar Galactica![1]

Agent's of S.H.I.E.L.D., Sleepy Hollow and Almost Human are all on my weekly viewing, each providing it's own style of entertainment and surprise. If I had to pick one fo the three to recommend, I think it would be Sleepy Hollow right now, though Almost Human has the potential to usurp that given a few episodes of development. Maybe it's my levels of expectation versus my levels of enjoyment on viewing, but S.H.I.E.L.D. hasn't left me as excited as the other two shows after each episode. It's still a great show, and I'll be watching every episode, I just think the others, for now, are a little greater.

[1] - I'd love to see one of the BSG Final Five actors appear in Almost Human as one of the creators of the androids, with another appearing as the programmer for the too human DRN line! Actually... excuse me a minute. I have something to start writing...

Review: Marvel's The Avengers

I've been waiting to see this since the after-credits scene from Iron Man back in 2008. I've watched all the related movies, most more than once. I adore the choices made in actors for the characters, and I had faith that Joss Whedon could succeed in producing a big cast movie that gave everyone their due time in the spotlight.

I went to book tickets for The Avengers last Tuesday afternoon in a big, flashy, new, high-tech movie theater in Downtown Vancouver, only to find out that it was effectively sold out and what seats were left were either right up the front or at the extreme left or right sides. Instead, my friends and I headed for a cinema on Cambie that was also showing the movie.

The Park Theatre is one of three cinemas owned and operated by Festival Cinemas, an independent cinema group. Built in 1941, it still maintains a classic feel to it, from the single ticket counter at the front to the concession stand just before you reach the single screen. However, recent renovations mean that it can play summer blockbusters as good as the big boys, in 3D with full surround sound.

The staff are lovely, the butter is real (though why people put butter on popcorn still confuses me), and the seating is comfy. In fact, even more than comfy, the Park Theatre sports "love seats", with the ability to raise the armrest so you can snuggle with your loved one and enjoy the movie together.We didn't realise this last night, but we'll know for the future! I plan on making good use of it.

This has become, after just a single viewing experience, my favourite theatre in the Vancouver area. We've all decided that it will be our first theatre of choice for any upcoming movies for the foreseeable future. A wonderful, friendly experience.

Oh, and The Avengers was awesome. But then, you knew that already.

I Love It When A Plan Comes Together

In an age when it is far too common to see trailers for movies a full 12 months before release, I'm surprised this one has waited this long! I wish I had a better quality version to link to, but as of writing, there doesn't seem to be one online. Edit: Awesome! HD version available and embedded!

"You look like you've got a... real Bad Attitude."

Oh dear... This trailer shows up as I was just about to engrave Iron Man 2's name on the 2010 plate on "Denis' Favourite Movie Of The Year" perpetual trophy. I was so certain this was a no-brainer.

Now I have to wait until after June 11th to get it engraved.

It's A Good Time To Be A Nerd

Or, as a friend of mine used to call me, a "naird". I like to think that naird is a nerd with sufficient communication skills, divergent interests, alternate hobbies, social graces and personal hygiene to pass among norms as not being a big nerd fanboy geek. I also realise that he considered it a term for someone that was a nerd in a limited scope, in my case, Marvel super-heroes and comics! Honestly, considering the alternative, both are good!

While musing over the body of my next blog entry, I happened across an interesting article on Newsarama. The focus of the piece is related to how Paramount and DreamWorks have announced a July 1, 2011 release for Transformers 3, months before Transformers 2 even hits cinemas.

But it was the very end of the article that caught my attention. A handy calendar of the upcoming comic-based and "major genre" films for the next few years, reprinted here for your pleasure, and my commentary.

Iron Man 2: May 7th, 2010
Twilight: Eclipse: June 30th, 2010
Inception (Christopher Nolan’s next film): July 16th, 2010
Jonah Hex: August 6th, 2010
Green Lantern: December 17th, 2010
Spider-Man 4: May 6, 2011
Thor: June 16th, 2011
Transformers 3: July 1st, 2011
The First Avenger: Captain America: July 22nd, 2011
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 2: July 15th, 2011
The Avengers: July15th, 2012.

Courtesy of Newsarama.com

First of all, I love how the term "major genre" has come to include the fantasy and cult movies the geek community have been enjoying for decades. Seems the phrase "and the geek shall inherit the earth" is closer to reality then even I expected!

Marvel are filling up five of the eleven slots, four of which are part of the Marvel Studios shared universe line, building toward the Avengers release. Harry Potters release date has forced Marvel to push the Avengers movie back a full year, but now gives them the opportunity to allow Iron Man director Jon Favreau direct what will presumably be their biggest, most daring, most expensive movie to date. Favreau seems to have become Marvel Studios golden boy when it comes to their movie line, and thankfully that is backed by a huge level of fan approval.

Sony's date for Spider-Man 4 has, according to some sources forced Marvel to move things around for their own line as well. The Spidey movie francise is the single biggest comic based money maker in Hollywood, and even Marvel aren't willing to go up against it. They're not without reason; despite glowing reviews, strong casting, stunning visual effects and an all-ages appeal, last years Speed Racer tanked, almost exclusively because it opened a week after Iron Man.

While DC has two movies on the list; Jonah Hex and Green Lantern, it's really only Green Lantern that people are going to recognise, and even then, he's no Superman, or even Flash.

All this and this years X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen and G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra are not even mentioned. (Observation: This year seems to be the year of the movie title format "Franchise Title, Colon, Subtitle") Truely it is a great time to be a nerd.

Even better, perhaps, to be a naird!

Assembling The Greatest Avenger

This is going back a bit, but while we were in San Francisco on our Epic Holiday(TM) this summer, Claire, Karen and I discussed who should play Captain America on the way to the cinema one evening. Names got thrown around, and dream picks were made. Karen has the whole story over at her blog, so you should go read it there.

I bring it up again, as I spotted just now on a site called Major Spoilers that they have a poll running with the same question, and a number of very interesting choices! As the poll itself doesn't appear to have a dedicated page, and given time will most likely disappear from that link, here's a rundown on their choices:
From left to right:
Top Row: Adam Baldwin, Brad Pitt, Channing Tatum, Fred Savage, Hayden Christensen
Bottom Row: Leonardo Dicaprio, Matt Damon, Mike O'Hearn, Nathan Fillion, Thomas Jane

An interesting selection, and while there are a number there that we had mentioned in our conversation in San Francisco, such as Matt Damon, Brad Pitt and Hayden Christensen, there are a few odd choices as well.

Nathan Fillion? Erm... no. Sorry. I love him to bits, but not as Captain America. I adore Mal in Firefly, he's fantastic in Slither and Captain Hammer in Dr. Horrible was, simply put, out of this world! But he's not Captain America.

Fred Savage!?! Seriously? The kid from the Princess Bride? Kevin Arnold from The Wonder Years? Ok, sure, he's gone on to do lots more, including directing, and has developed a successful and prolific career beyond his years as a child actor. He is fantastic, and I have great respect for him, but he's not Captain America.

Thomas Jane would be cool, but he's already the Punisher. Mike O'Hearn certainly looks the part. No need for clever costume design to artificially bulk up that chest. Channing Tatum would be great, except for the small fact that he's already playing essentially the exact same character, without the Super-Soldier serum or the block of Arctic ice. Tatum has been busy filming one of my most anticipated movies of next year, GI Joe: Rise of Cobra, where he will be the all America hero soldier, Conrad S. Hauser, codename: Duke. (Aw, dammit. While getting those links I just learned that the damned release date is August!! I have to wait all bloody summer!) So he's out.

And that doesn't leave us with very many others. Personally, I would love to see Matt Damon in the roll. Brad Pitt could do it as well, and would certainly draw in a crowd of non-comic readers. But I think my number one choice to play Captain America would be...

A relative nobody. A fresh face. A young actor, suited to the roll, with the skills needed for the part. Blond hair, blue eyes, six foot plus, just like the Captain, the perfect Aryan. He wouldn't break the budget when they want to get everyone together for the Avengers movie either. Perfect!

It's worked in the past. Who knew Hugh Jackman before X-Men? While he had done lots of other things before it, how many people knew Eric Banas name before The Hulk? Superman Returns may be far from perfect, but Brandon Routh was incredible in the roll. And now that I've mentioned Superman, what about Christopher Reeve, whose IMDB.com listing starts and ends with the Man of Steel (Ok, technically Superman is fifth into the start of his career, but hands up who has seen the other four?). Or Tom Welling as Clark Kent in Smallville?

Go on Marvel. Create another superstar. Surprise all the gossipers and rumour mills. Assemble an Avenger from an actor whose name no-one knows, and make him a name the world loves.

The greatest Avenger ever.

SDCC- The Good Times Don't End

Let me update you guys on some of the stuff we've done or seen so far!

• The sketch-book I brought over for the entire trip, including all the amazing people I'm sure I'll meet at PAX, is, with a day still to go in Comic Con, full. Completely! And I can't find a suitable replacement for tomorrow.
• We have already met and held conversations with, among others, Seth Green, Breckin Meyer, Jackson Publick, Ben TenNapel, Gabe and Tyco, Peter David, Orson Scott Card, Raymond E. Feist, Larry Hama, Wil Wheaton, Rob Liefeld, Greg Pak and countless more I'll try to mention once I'm not using a tiny keyboard and touch pad instead of a mouse. We've met and got autographs or more from Hideo Kojima, Gerard Way, James Stewart & Gabriel Ba, as well as many more.
• I've bought way to many books already!
• I'm very proud of how few action figures I've bought!
• We have, so far, attended a total of one panel, and even then, it was because we met the guys it was all about outside and spent ages talking to them... also, it was the Marvel/Hasbro Action Figure Panel... so, you know. Some interest there...
• We have met and exchanged email address' with the most incredible people, making friends with folks from all over the world!
• So many photos. So, so many photos.
• San Diego is beautiful and friendly.
• My feet hurt.
• Good (or even passable) tea does not seem to exist here.
• Everyone wants to visit Ireland, particularly the writers and artists.
• Dear Joss Whedon: You are awesome. You are a funny guy, and seem very natural and honest. But I am not willing to queue for six hours just to sit in a room with 6,000 others and listen to you talk. Sorry. There are far to many things to do at SDCC than to make that worth considering.
• Claire got a drawing of herself by Yoshitaka Amano! It is as incredible as you think it could be, and more. She nearly cried. He drew it without prompt. Apparently he liked the hat she was wearing.
  
• By 1pm, sitting down for ten minutes becomes more important that seeing the next line of writers or artists.
• Skype is a wonderful invention.
• People recognised and complimented me on my t-shirt (which is meaningless to most readers until I post pictures!!)

More updates soon, but nothing detailed until I have a real keyboard with a mouse. Also, photos may take a little while, but I have lots!! And no Picasa to run them through.

The Cool Exec With A Heart Of Steel

Just got back from Iron Man preview screening. It was fun. We all enjoyed it, and Claire managed to not fall asleep once throughout... well, except right at the start, but that's because we were in the cinema 45 minutes before the movie started to guarantee great seats.

The problem with describing why it's not better that "fun", means having to go into detail. Normally, I hate to comment on particular scenes as soon as a movie is released, and this is worse, as I saw the preview screening! However, I really want to voice my concerns about key scenes. If you've seen the movie, highlight below and read on. If not, wait until you have, then come back and check!!

Last warning, below this line goes into detail on key scenes. If you have not seen the movie and do not want to be spoiled, DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER!

Everything above is a lie! Iron Man is the best movie of the year so far, and I can't imagine Hulk, Batman or anything else beating it! Everything is so perfect, so well scripted, acted, shot, realised, that even Claire was freaking out about it! Even my darling girlfriend who has yet to see the new Transformers movie due to lack of interest, walked out of the cinema gushing over how good this was! Seriously. Seriously. This can easily be the best super hero movie ever made, regardless of what you currently hold in that esteemed position. For me, it is X-Men 2. A stunning blend of action and plot, with a great cast, and unexpected character development. Great sequel that built on the original. Iron Man has all that in it's opening number! Wow! Seriously. Gushing does not describe how I feel about this movie right now! Ohh! And in case you missed it first time round, there was a bit at the very end of the credits!! Seriously. The most awesome after-credit bit I've ever seen in a movie! Geek-out heaven!! I said it would never work. I disliked it when I heard rumours. I was wrong. So very, very wrong! And now I'm throwing my friends off the scent! I'm telling them all that it was "Ok, nothing special, all the best bits in the trailer". I'm lying of course, but by the time they find out, it'll be too late!!

Bwa-ha-hahaha!!!

And no spoilers in the comments please. Be fair on the others.

Overheard In

... Roches Stores:

Fellow employee talking to a friend of mine: "I hear Marvel are making a new movie about an undead biker guy called Knight Rider."

I'm sure he was actually referring to Ghost Rider. I hope.