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TrekFan1
I have been studying films and television programs since 1998. Formerly majoring in acting, I ended up majoring in theater and film studies. Throughout my high school and college years, I have written over 40 papers and essays analyzing various films and TV shows, as well as countless reviews, for academic purposes as well as for local school publications.
Lists
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Late Legends
First here are some of those deceased showbiz personalities who made their film or television debuts less than 50 years prior to their deaths but otherwise would have been on the "Living Legends" list:
R.I.P. producer Saul Zaentz (1921 – 2014); writer/director/actor Harold Ramis (1944 – 2014); comedian David Brenner (1936 – 2014); actor Bob Hoskins (1942 – 2014); actor/comedian Robin Williams (1951 – 2014); composer/conductor James Horner (1953 – 2015); producer Jerry Weintraub (1937 – 2015); writer/director/producer Wes Craven (1939 – 2015); actor/director Alan Rickman (1946 – 2016); producer Michael White (1936 – 2016); actor Ken Howard (1944 – 2016); comedian/actor/writer Garry Shandling (1949 – 2016); singer/songwriter/musician/actor Prince (1958 – 2016); director/screenwriter/producer Michael Cimino (1939 – 2016); filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami (1940 – 2016); writer/director/producer Héctor Babenco (1946 – 2016); director/writer/producer Curtis Hanson (1945 – 2016); actress/writer Carrie Fisher (1956 – 2016); actor/director Bill Paxton (1955 – 2017); director/producer Jonathan Demme (1944 – 2017); actor Powers Boothe (1948 – 2017); actor John Heard (1946 – 2017); playwright/screenwriter/actor Sam Shepard (1943 – 2017); actor Bernie Casey (1939 – 2017); writer/director/producer Hugh Wilson (1943 – 2018); actress Sridevi (1963 – 2018); actor David Ogden Stiers (1942 – 2018); director Claude Lanzmann (1925 – 2018); actor Ezzatolah Entezami (1924 – 2018); producer Raymond Chow (1927 – 2018); actor/writer Kader Khan (1937 – 2018); producer Andrew G. Vajna (1944 – 2019); actress Georgia Engel (1948 – 2019); director/writer/producer John Singleton (1968 – 2019); actor Peter Mayhew (1944 – 2019); voice actress Russi Taylor (1944 – 2019); actor/comedian John Witherspoon (1942 – 2019); actor Brian Dennehy (1938 – 2020); actor Irrfan Khan (1967 – 2020); director Joel Schumacher (1939 – 2020)
And now here is the main "Late Legends" list...
Infinity Saga Actors Confirmed to Return in Future MCU Projects
Please note that just because someone is not on this list does not mean they will not appear in the upcoming Phases, it just means they haven't been confirmed yet by a valid source. As soon as Marvel or a legitimate trade like Variety or The Hollywood Reporter confirms someone's return, I will add them to the list. As of July 4, 2020, these are all the actors that have been confirmed.
Living Legends
To be added to this list, a person must have worked in films or television at least 50 years prior to the current year. They also should have a reasonable amount of renown due to A.) their place in the history of film and/or television; B.) their involvement with one or more classic and/or important films and/or TV shows; C.) their prolific body of work; D.) their impact on society and/or pop culture; or E.) all of the above. Oh, and they have to be alive.
Obviously, when a legend listed here dies, he or she will be removed from the list. For a list of persons removed from the "Living Legends" list since its creation on Aug. 14, 2013, go here: https://www.imdb.com/list/ls076315270/
TCM Remembers 2020 Predictions
Considering: Earl Cameron, actor; Anthony James, actor
Also considered: Edd Byrnes, actor; Lynn Cohen, actress; John Karlen, actor
Every Actor Credited in an MCU Movie Title Sequence
This list is in order of when each actor's name first appeared on-screen. It includes actors billed in the end titles for the Marvel One-Shots. Please note, however, that the first two One-Shots, 'The Consultant' and 'A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer,' do not have title sequences so those are not counted.
To date there have been 194 different actors credited in the title sequences of the main MCU movies, plus seven others who were only credited in one of the Marvel One-Shots.
The actor whose name has been featured in the most title sequences--nine so far-- is, of course, Robert Downey Jr.; tied for second are Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth and Chris Evans, each of whose names pop up in seven title sequences. Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Tom Hiddleston, Hayley Atwell and Anthony Mackie appear in six sequences each, while Clark Gregg, Idris Elba, Sebastian Stan, Mark Ruffalo, Cobie Smulders and Tom Holland each appear in five sequences. The one remaining original Avenger, Jeremy Renner, has his name in four title sequences, the same number as William Hurt, Stellan Skarsgård, Jon Favreau, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Chadwick Boseman, Marisa Tomei and all of the regular 'Guardians of the Galaxy' cast members (Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Sean Gunn, Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel).
Johansson and Hemsworth will each have been featured in eight title sequences following the releases of 'Black Widow' on Nov. 6, 2020, and 'Thor: Love and Thunder' on Feb. 18, 2022. The latter will also bring Natalie Portman's sequence count up to four, while the former could potentially bring Renner's up to six (though that's far from a guarantee). Benedict Cumberbatch and Elizabeth Olsen's sequence count will rise to four and five, respectively, with the release of 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' on May 7, 2021. Actors expected to be added to the list in the coming years include: Johansson's 'Black Widow' co-stars Rachel Weisz, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, O-T Fagbenie, and Ray Winstone; Angelina Jolie, Kumail Nanjiani, Richard Madden, Don Lee, Salma Hayek, Lauren Ridloff, Bryan Tyree Henry, and Lia McHugh of 'Eternals' (opening Feb. 12, 2020); and Tony Leung, Awkwafina, and Simu Liu of 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' (opening May 17, 2021).
I have not yet decided whether or not to include Marvel's Disney+ shows on this list. We'll see.
Anyways, here's the list. Hope you enjoy.
'Avengers: Infinity War' and 'Endgame' Cast in Order of Screen Time
Based on these screen times, while also taking into account each actor's fame and notability, their characters' relationships to each other, and their overall time in the MCU, the billing for a theoretical cut of 'Infinity's End' should probably go something like this: ROBERT DOWNEY JR. CHRIS EVANS CHRIS HEMSWORTH MARK RUFFALO SCARLETT JOHANSSON JEREMY RENNER DON CHEADLE PAUL RUDD BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH ZOE SALDANA KAREN GILLAN BRIE LARSON* TOM HOLLAND CHADWICK BOSEMAN PAUL BETTANY ELIZABETH OLSEN ANTHONY MACKIE SEBASTIAN STAN EVANGELINE LILLY TOM HIDDLESTON DAVE BAUTISTA POM KLEMENTIEFF DANAI GURIRA BENEDICT WONG TILDA SWINTON JOHN SLATTERY RENE RUSSO PETER DINKLAGE TESSA THOMPSON LETITIA WRIGHT WINSTON DUKE WILLIAM HURT COBIE SMULDERS HAYLEY ATWELL IDRIS ELBA TAIKA WAITITI JON FAVREAU MICHAEL DOUGLAS MICHELLE PFEIFFER MARISA TOMEI ANGELA BASSETT NATALIE PORTMAN SEAN GUNN / TERRY NOTARY / TOM VAUGHAN-LAWLOR CARRIE COON / MICHAEL SHAW / ROSS MARQUAND MAXIMILIANO HERNANDEZ / FRANK GRILLO / HIROYUKI SANADA LINDA CARDELLINI / JAMES D’ARCY / JACOB BATALON Featuring VIN DIESEL as Groot BRADLEY COOPER as Rocket With GWYNETH PALTROW With ROBERT REDFORD With BENICIO DEL TORO With JOSH BROLIN as Thanos And with CHRIS PRATT And SAMUEL L. JACKSON as Nick Fury
*Larson, being the only Oscar winner to have toplined her own MCU movie, could also potentially be given an "And" (or "And with") billing either between Brolin and Pratt or between Pratt and Jackson.
In the unlikely case anyone's interested, I did create title sequences for a potential 'Infinity's End' cut a while back -- one on the style of 'Blade Runner' (https://youtu.be/d5E9Ehqg9NM) and another in the style of 'Blade Runner 2049' (https://youtu.be/2786WSY29_k). These sequences did not take screen times into account, however.
The 100 Infinity Saga Cast Members With the Most Screen Time
Special thanks to user ninewheels0 for the MCU Movies Screen Time Breakdowns (linked below) that I was able to use to compile this list:
https://ninewheels.tumblr.com/post/168326478874/marvel-cinematic-universe-films-characters-by
https://www.imdb.com/list/ls066620113/?ref_=otl_3
Please note that some of the timings below will differ from ninewheels0's list because this list goes by how long the actors appear on screen, not the characters. I added and subtracted time where need be for when a different actor played a younger or older version of the character or when an actor was portraying a different character disguised as their character.
Take the several minutes Loki spends on screen disguised as Odin in 'Thor: The Dark World' and 'Thor: Ragnarok', for example; ninewheels0 attributes those minutes to Loki's screen time, but I attribute them to Anthony Hopkins, the actor playing Odin.
Some of the times might be a little off, but the order should be about what it is below regardless.
Also note that this list does not cover appearances in the Marvel One-Shot short films or the various (now non-canon) TV shows that have aired or streamed so far. I may include the One-Shot appearances at a later date though.
For the record, if I did count the One-Shots, actors such as Clark Gregg, Hayley Atwell and Ben Kingsley would place higher on the list and the presently absent Maximiliano Hernandez would have 11 minutes and 15 seconds of total screen time, allowing him to be added at #74 and bumping Emily VanCamp off the list.
Notable Showbiz Deaths of 2020
This list is in order of date of death, except for the first entry, which will be the most recent highest-profile death. To see the most recent additions first, select "Date Added" in the Sort by drop-down box; to view the list in reverse chronological order, toggle the "Ascending/Descending order" button next to the drop-down box.
The 250 Most Widely Known Films
You'll notice that the list is most comprised of animated Disney movies, blockbuster franchise films and Best Picture Oscar winners released in the last 30 years. This is to be expected, since the majority of people actually writing for and editing Wikipedia are younger. Still, the list has a fairly decent mix of new films and timeless classics, with a few surprises in there to boot.
Please note that neither quality nor personal preference played any part in the compiling of this list (let's face it; there are a lot of stinkers in here); this is essentially a list of films with the most different-language Wikipedia articles, which may indicate a film's renown around the world but not its overall reception among critics or audiences. So just because a movie is on this list doesn't mean it's any good (because many of them are definitely not); it just means its popular and well-known.
This list, as far as I can tell, is comprehensive and complete; I've gone through hundreds of films, and I cannot find any others that have more Wiki entries than those listed below. I can't think of any film I haven't checked that could possibly top these 250, but if I find any, I'll update the list. Also bear in mind that this list will be updated over time as recent films gain in popularity and more movies are released, and some films will inevitably be replaced by others. Any entries I have to take out will be moved to a new list, which I'll create when needed.
For those interested in what films just barely missed the cut, the current first 20 runners-up are: 1. 'GoodFellas' (Martin Scorsese, 1990) 2. 'Mad Max: Fury Road' (George Miller, 2015) 3. 'Good Will Hunting' (Gus Van Sant, 1997) 4. 'Aliens' (James Cameron, 1986) 5. 'Star Trek' (J.J. Abrams, 2009) 6. 'The Amazing Spider-Man' (Marc Webb, 2012) 7. 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' (Rian Johnson, 2017) 8. 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2' (James Gunn, 2017) 9. 'X2' (Bryan Singer, 2003) 10. 'Cast Away' (Robert Zemeckis, 2000) 11. 'The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies' (Peter Jackson, 2014) 12. 'Bohemian Rhapsody' (Singer, 2018) 13. 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' (Steven Spielberg, 2008) 14. 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' (Tim Burton, 2005) 15. 'It's a Wonderful Life' (Frank Capra, 1946) 16. 'The Mummy' (Stephen Sommers, 1999) 17. 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial' (Spielberg, 1982) 18. 'The Lives of Others' (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, 2006) 19. '127 Hours' (Danny Boyle, 2010) 20. 'Angels & Demons' (Ron Howard, 2009)
Directors scorecard: 8 films - Steven Spielberg, Disney directors Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske and Wolfgang Reitherman 7 films - Christopher Nolan 6 films - Disney's David Hand 5 films - Ron Clements and John Musker, Peter Jackson, Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, Lee Unkrich and David Yates 4 films - James Cameron, Francis Ford Coppola, Anthony Hopkins, Jack Kinney, George Lucas, Bill Roberts, Anthony and Joe Russo and Ben Sharpsteen 3 films - James Algar, Samuel Armstrong, Chris Columbus, Pete Docter, Jon Favreau, Norman Ferguson, David Fincher, Alfred Hitchcock, John Lasseter, David Lean, Sam Mendes, Hayao Miyazaki, Sam Raimi, Carlos Saldanha, Zack Snyder, Quentin Tarantino and Gore Verbinski 2 films - Brad Bird, Chris Buck, Tim Burton, Martin Campbell, Alfonso Cuaron, Frank Darabont, Clint Eastwood, Roland Emmerich, Milos Forman, Jodie Foster, Don Hall, T. Hee, Byron Howard, Ron Howard, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Akira Kurosawa, Rob Marshall, Rich Moore, Guy Ritchie, Paul Satterfield, Andrew Stanton, Art Stevens, Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, Joss Whedon, Chris Williams and Robert Zemeckis
Actors scorecard (in progress): 12 films - Samuel L. Jackson 10 films - Robert Downey Jr. 9 films - Tom Hanks 8 films - Orlando Bloom, Harrison Ford, Rupert Grint, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Hugo Weaving 7 films - Michael Caine, Chris Evans, Morgan Freeman, Chris Hemsworth, Ian McKellen, Maggie Smith 6 films - Alec Guinness, Mark Ruffalo 8 films - Leonardo DiCaprio 5 films - Sean Bean, James Earl Jones, Bill Thompson 4 films - Tim Allen, Christian Bale, Laurence Fishburne, Mark Hamill, Richard Harris, Cheech Marin, Viggo Mortensen, Don Rickles, Elijah Wood 3 films - Eva Gabor, Phil Harris, Barbara Luddy, Bruce Willis 2 films - Marlon Brando, Sebastian Cabot, Carrie Fisher, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeremy Irons, Heath Ledger, Bob Newhart, Keanu Reeves, Zoe Saldana, Gary Sinise, Jim Varney, Ken Watanabe, Sigourney Weaver, Robin Wright
COVID-19 Showbiz Deaths
Among the most notable entertainment figures taken by this horrific disease so far are actors Mark Blum, Lucia Bosè and Allen Garfield, cinematographer Allen Daviau, musicians Manu Dibango, Joe Diffie, Alan Merrill, John Prine and Adam Schlesinger, entertainer Roy Horn, and playwright Terrence McNally.
As of July 9, there are 137 show business personalities known to have died from COVID-19, including the following who are not currently on IMDb:
*Marcelo Peralta - Argentine jazz musician (d. March 10, 2020)
*Sergio Bassi - Italian singer-songwriter (d. March 16, 2020)
*Jean Leber - French violinist and conductor (d. March 18, 2020)
*Aurlus Mabélé - Congolese singer and composer known as the "King of Soukous" (d. March 19, 2020)
*Oliver Stokes Jr., a.k.a. Black N Mild - American DJ and radio personality (d. March 19, 2020)
*Martinho Lutero Galati - Brazilian conductor (d. March 25, 2020)
*Naomi Munakata - Japanese-born Brazilian choral conductor (d. March 26, 2020)
*Kerstin Behrendtz - Swedish radio presenter and music director (d. March 28, 2020)
*Maria Mercader - American journalist and TV news producer (d. March 29, 2020)
*Wilhelm Burmann - ballet dancer and teacher (d. March 30, 2020)
*Manuel Adolfo Varas - Ecuadorian broadcaster and commentator (d. March 30, 2020)
*Guus Smeets - Dutch singer (d. April 2, 2020)
*Hudeydi - Somali musician (d. April 7, 2020)
*Ceybil Jefferies - American singer (d. April 10, 2020)
*Kishen Bholasing - Surinamese-Dutch singer and percussionist (d. April 12, 2020)
*Gil Bailey - Jamaican radio broadcaster (d. April 13, 2020)
*Jacques Pellen - French jazz guitarist (d. April 21, 2020)
*Mike Huckaby - American house music DJ (d. April 24, 2020)
*Alan Abel - American percussionist, music educator and inventor (d. April 25, 2020)
*David Boe - American organist and instructor (d. April 28, 2020)
*Ömer Döngeloğlu - Turkish theologian and TV presenter (d. May 3, 2020)
*Dragan Vučić - Macedonian composer, singer and TV host (d. May 4, 2020)
*Kiing Shooter - American rapper (d. May 5, 2020)
*Alberto Carpani - Italian singer (d. May 11, 2020)
*Gustavo Nakatani Ávila, a.k.a. Yoshio - Japanese-Mexican singer (d. May 13, 2020)
*Fabiana Anastácio, Brazilian singer (d. June 4, 2020)
*Jack Turnbull, American acting coach and instructor (d. June 14, 2020)
*Angel D'Mayo, Argentine guitarist (d. July 3, 2020)
Those who are on IMDb, obviously, are listed below.
Reviews
Alice in Wonderland (2010)
A visual treat with a so-so script and an uninteresting protagonist
Tim Burton's extension of the classic Alice in Wonderland story is definitely a feast for the eyes. Script-wise, however, it is a bit of a let-down.
The movie's first act is a humdrum experience for the most part. When we first meet Alice, she is a little girl plagued by "dreams" of falling down a hole into a land filled with various odd creatures. We then fast-forward 17 years later to find she has become a fanciful young woman wanting to break free from her uptight aristocratic society, one that expects her to accept a marriage proposal from a complete dweeb. Instead, she chases a waistcoat-wearing, pocket watch-brandishing white rabbit into the forest and falls down a rabbit hole.
For the the next few minutes, the movie plays out much like the usual Alice in Wonderland story (you know, "Drink Me," "Eat Me," shrink, grow, yada yada yada). It's when she finally arrives in Wonderland (oh, sorry... "Underland") where things take a completely different turn. As it turns out, the Red Queen has taken over "Underland" and has made life itself a living hell for everyone. There is doubt amongst the denizens of "Underland" that this Alice is the right Alice -- you know, the Alice that visited "Underland" as a little girl. This is kind of a big deal because this Alice is apparently the "Underland" version of "The One:" she is prophesied by some mystical scroll as the one who will slay the terrifying Jabberwocky and end the Red Queen's reign of tyranny over "Underland" once and for all.
During the first, oh, 30 minutes or so, I found myself more interested in the CGI (and the 3D) than in the story or the characters. That did change, at least to some extent: I actually started to care about characters like The Mad Hatter, Bayard the bloodhound, and the Cheshire Cat, as well as their roles in the story. But one character I never became attached to was Alice herself. I blame this mostly on Mia Wasikowska; her portrayal as Alice was, well... a bit dull, really. She began to bring a bit more life to the character in the third act, but that's a bit too late: for the rest of the film, she struck me as surprisingly one-dimensional. Considering Alice is the one with whom we're supposed to have the most emotional connection, Wasikowska's predominately one-note performance was severely damaging to the film. It's never a good idea for the protagonist to be the least interesting character in the narrative.
My primary issues with the picture, however, lie with the script. I felt the story was not as engaging as it should have been, or as it strives to be. There were a lot of truly enjoyable moments, buoyed by lovable characters and some creative twists on the original Alice stories. To me, however, it felt as though the script wandered back and forth between inspired madness and uninspired hokeyness; between moments of pure delight and moments of pure blah. Of course, it didn't help there was very little emotional interest between myself and Alice. Then there's the climactic battle, which, even though it looked cool and took place on what looked like a mega-sized chessboard, seemed surprisingly generic and out-of-place in this film.
While the story and script were fairly hit-and-miss, the visual aspect of the film was outstanding (which is to be expected in a Burton movie). The effects were amazing (for the most part), and the designs (like the armor worn by the playing-card soldiers and the aforementioned chessboard battlefield) were a mix of inspired originality and creative adaptations.
Aside from Wasikowska, the actors gave some delightful (if not particularly outstanding) performances. Johnny Depp is suitably zany as The Mad Hatter; he is indeed mad, but not to the extent that it interferes with his judgment (well, usually) or his humanity. Helena Bonham Carter is great as the sadistic Red Queen, depicting her not only as a short-tempered tyrant but as an internally vulnerable woman seeking love and acceptance. Anne Hathaway is fine as the White Queen, making her an elegant eccentric, leading one to believe she, too, has a touch of madness. Then there's Crispin Glover, who is awesome as the Knave of Hearts ... heck, he's Crispin Glover, he's always awesome. The voice actors also do great work, notably Alan Rickman as Absolem the caterpillar and Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat.
Like many of Burton's recent films, his Alice in Wonderland is really a mixed bag for me. It is at some moments (mainly in the beginning) dull and meandering, and at other times delightful and fun. A tighter, more energized script and an actress who can bring vitality to the lead role would have done wonders. Kudos to Burton and screenwriter Linda Woolverton for attempting to make Alice "feel like a story as opposed to a series of events" (as Burton put it) in an attempt to make it connect emotionally, but they were only halfway successful. Going down that rabbit hole was certainly not a horrible experience... but it could have been better.
Avatar (2009)
An outstanding production is hindered by a weak script.
'Avatar' is not bad, but it is hardly the outstanding film almost everyone seems to be heralding it as. It goes without saying that it has amazing visuals and great effects. It also has wonderful art direction and designs, outstanding music and sound, and a wonderful performance by Zoe Saldana. For the most part, the movie works fairly well, and it has many moments where it becomes a really engaging experience.
Unfortunately, its engaging moments are few and far between. It suffered so much from over-length and slow pacing that, despite the incredible imagery, there were many times I found my mind wandering. Sure, it was all pretty to look at, but nifty effects and scenery only go so far. The script is also heavy-handed in the delivery of its oft-told message and is filled with corny, amateurish dialog. It seems Mr. Cameron was more focused on perfecting the technical aspects of his film than on perfecting the script.
Script weaknesses are hardly the movie's only problems. As I'm sure you have all heard by now, the movie's entire storyline strongly resembles such films as 'Dances with Wolves,' 'FernGully.' and Disney's 'Pocahontas.' As a result, the film is not only unoriginal but predictable beyond belief. I don't think there was a single moment where I didn't know what was going to come next. Anyone thinking that 'Avatar' is some great achievement in storytelling is sadly deluding themselves.
The entire movie is practically recycled goods. That goes for the characters almost as much as for the plot; everything was practically ripped out of those previous movies, but instead of Native Americans or Fairies, we have an alien race known as the Na'vi. Now, having similar characters would not be so bad if it were not for the fact that they had almost the same exact personalities and story function. It seems there was no real effort to make these characters anything more than what they were before. Even the main villain was such a clichéd military baddie that he was laughable, despite veteran actor Stephen Lang's best efforts.
Amazingly, the movie was made in 3-D, but the characters -- the most important element of any story -- are nearly all one dimensional. The sole exception is Neytiri, who, despite clearly filling in the Stands With a Fist/Krysta/Pocahontas role, manages to break through convention thanks to an extraordinary performance by Zoe Saldana. Not that the other performances were bad, but none of them really managed to take their characters beyond their cardboard cut-out status like Saldana did.
Now, despite all of these issues, the movie was not that bad as a whole. I will admit, there were a few times I really found myself absorbed in the action of the story. I would say I really enjoyed myself for about half of the movie, maybe a bit more; there were even times when I felt like cheering. And, yes, I did even start caring for the characters, despite the fact they were heavily clichéd. Like I said, though, the movie could not keep my full attention for an extended period of time. The movie was two hours and forty minutes, and that's about how long it felt.
'Avatar' is nowhere near a great movie. It relies too heavily on convention and even stereotype, and it lags extensively. But there were several moments where I was really engaged with the action. I also want to point out that the performance-capture technology used to change human actors into Na'vi is amazing. Plus, James Horner's music is fantastic, the sound effects are awesome, and, of course, the visuals are really breathtaking. If it weren't for the amazing visual and auditory aspects, though, there wouldn't be a lot there that we haven't seen before.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
Some origins are best left untold...
I saw this a while ago, despite my better judgment. I had already figured I wouldn't like it based on reviews and comments from friends. Well, it was much worse than even I anticipated. If you thought they couldn't screw up the X-Men universe any worse after X-Men 3, you were wrong. As disappointing as X3 was, Wolverine will leave you yearning for Brett Ratner. X3 killed the current X-Men film franchise; Wolverine buried it.
To his credit, Hugh Jackman gives it his all and does a pretty good job, as do Liev Schreiber as Sabretooth and Danny Huston as Stryker. Beyond that, there is nothing to recommend this movie. Absolutely nothing happens, the script is terrible (and often just plain stupid), the "action" and stunts are nothing we haven't seen before, a lot of the effects are extremely crappy, and the characters are sorely mistreated. Seriously, now that we know Wolverine's origin, I couldn't give two sh**s about him. There is almost nothing about this movie that worked. It's generic, it's lame, it's complete and utter crap.
After this and X-Men 3, I am really hoping Marvel Studios fights to claim X-Men movie production rights from Fox. Then maybe they can reboot the X-franchise and start making good X-movies again. Taking great comic book characters and throwing them into a s**t storm like this has got to stop. Seriously.
Star Trek (2009)
An amazing adventure, despite a somewhat muddled plot
:::The following review was originally written on May 7th, 2009. It has been modified to fit IMDb guidelines.:::
I spent three years looking forward to this movie. From the moment it was first announced in April 2006 up through today, my anticipation for this movie has steadily increased. Tonight, I finally got to see if the waiting and anticipating was worth it. And holy crap, was it ever.
In simple terms, Star Trek is awesome! I have been a Trek fan for many years and have seen every movie and every episode of every TV show and none of them thrilled me as much as this one. This is one of the best Treks ever, and it's one of the best movies I have ever seen.
Director J.J. Abrams and writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman have outdone themselves by doing what many believed was impossible. They have not only revitalized the Trek franchise by making a great sci-fi/action saga that appeals to a wider audience, they have done so while capturing the spirit of the original Trek series.
The extent to which the writers alter Trek history might be met with anger by some, but the story is so fun and the characters so lovingly written, I did not see it as a huge issue. In fact, I think it was a smart move: if the movie was set in the old timeline, there would be little suspense or surprise because we already know what happens to the characters. As controversial as it may be, the writers handled it beautifully and without a hint of disrespect.
The recasting of the other iconic characters from the original Trek is perfect, and the performances are top notch. There was as much care in casting as there was in writing the movie. All of the actors do wonderful jobs with their characters, with the standouts being Simon Pegg's Scotty and Karl Urban's McCoy. The supporting cast does great work, as well, particularly Bruce Greenwood, who owns the role of Captain Pike, and Ben Cross, who is a perfect Sarek. Most notably, however, it was great to see Leonard Nimoy return to the role of Spock. Mr. Nimoy did a beautiful job (as always); it was as though he had never stopped playing the role.
The visual effects are possibly the best I have ever seen in any film, certainly in any Trek film. ILM and FX Supervisor Roger Guyett have surpassed all of their prior work. The visuals were nothing short of awe-inspiring, yet, at the same time, they didn't completely rule the movie. Make no mistake, the stars of this movie are the characters, not the effects.
The story unfolds at a nearly break-neck pace. It holds your attention throughout the entire movie, and leaves you wanting more when it's over. It was thrilling, emotional, funny... everything a movie should be, especially a Trek movie.
My only real issue with the movie was the somewhat muddled plot. The story moves along so fast, certain plot elements are lost in the rush, and some lack explanation either because certain lines or scenes were cut or because the writers chose not to elaborate. For example, Nero's motive for destroying Federation planets is pretty weak because the writers chose not to more fully describe his origins. There were a few other very minor things about the movie that didn't work for me, didn't make sense, or at the very least could have used a bit more explanation. How did Starfleet make the connection between the "lightning storm in space" in the neutral zone and the seismic activity on Vulcan, anyway? Why would Nero have to drill a hole into Vulcan when he could just drop red matter onto the planet and detonate it with a torpedo or something? You know, little things like that.
Another disappointment is the lack of screen time given to Winona Ryder, Jennifer Morrison, Clifton Collins, Jr., and especially Eric Bana. All did good work in their roles, I just wish we could have seen more of them. I was also disappointed (though not surprised) that scenes featuring young James Kirk and his brother were deleted from the movie. The boy Jim Kirk drives by was actually supposed to be his brother, but the character's other scene was cut and the movie was re-dubbed so that Kirk's brother became an unrelated boy named "Johnny", making the entire exchange pointless. I'm also still a bit disgruntled that a scene at the Klingon prison camp was deleted, but its omission didn't hurt the final product.
The movie isn't perfect, but it is nonetheless successful both as a mainstream sci-fi adventure and as a Star Trek movie. It's fun, it's exciting, it's funny... seriously, I have trouble believing anyone could not like this movie, including die-hard Trekkies like myself. The characters may be played by different actors and they may be part of a different timeline, but make no mistake, these are very much the same iconic characters seen in the original Star Trek. And they are clearly handled with all the care and respect that is humanly possible.
Star Trek is full of almost non-stop action, but it also has a lot of humor and a lot of heart. Not everything worked, but what did worked brilliantly. I commend Abrams, Orci, Kurtzman, and everyone else who helped make this Trek a truly glorious enterprise. Like The Dark Knight before it, Star Trek lives up to the hype, and it was most definitely worth the three years of waiting and anticipation.
The human adventure is just beginning!