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For a film  based on a highly successful and controversial thriller, 2006's The Di Vinci Code was a tremendous letdown. Talents were wasted all around. The cast, while carrying some heavy hitters like Tom Hanks and Ian McKellen, could not breath life into the story nor could direction by Ron Howard who, for being a competent director, put forth a downright horrible effort. The result was clunky, incomplete. How would a sequel measure up after such a subpar initial outing?

Surpringingly well, considering what could have been. If you are not familiar with the story, here's a quick run down. Harvard "symbologist" Robert Langdon (Hanks) is called upon by the Church to help in the hunt for a killer who has kidnapped the candidates to become the next pope. The assassin, supposedly a member of the secret society called the Illuminati, has threatened to kill one cardinal each hour publically in the Vatican while the world awaits the see who the next pope will be. At the end of this, the Vatican will be destroyed by a bomb containing antimatter stolen from CERN. The race to save the Vatican will expose a shocking conspiracy carried out by one man.

The plot line is far better than Di Vinci's, as is the book it is based on. Dan Brown has many flaws as a writer, including a disjointed style, formulaic plot structure, liberally paraded half truths presented as fact, and horrible characterization of women characters. But even with this, Angels and Demons contains enough twists to keep one enthralled. And maybe that is why this movie works better than its predeccesor: it is direct and does not get as lost as Da Vinci did in ancient lore. It is not amazing, but works as standard thriller fare.

The film itself makes up for the previous entry's shortcomings. Howard, clearly riding hot from Frost/Nixon (an amazingly gripping film), seems to control his chaos much better this time. So too does Hanks, who is able to drives things forwards even if he is not giving an award winning performance. Indeed, the only cast member who gives a particularly strong performance is Ewan McGregor as Camerlengo Patrick McKenna, the Pope's close aid who has temporarily assumed his authority after the pontif's death.

If you see this, you're not getting anything stellar but you are definately not getting the crap sack that the previous movie was.

Final Letter Grade: C

Bottom Line: Angels and Demons is little more than an average Hollywood thriller. A fair book to film adaptation, the movie manages to succeed where its earlier entry failed but this cannot save it from mediocrity. Well, sort of mediocrity. Watch at your own discretion. At least it is not Wolverine...
 
 

Hey there folks! Got another weekly set right here from the Shaskeen. Couldn't get stage time last week because the place was packed to the walls. This week, the crowd was smaller but still pretty receptive. Decided to try another reading, this time it was my letter to Monster Drink. Reactions were mixed compared to my normal comedy set two weeks ago but it was worth the shot and still went decently given the smaller crowd size. Tried getting a bit more into a character this time and treated the whole thing like a nervous breakdown/break up. Thinking about doing something really different for next week but for now give this a listen. Hope your are at least moderately amused. Look forward to a possible video of one of my sets in the next couple of weeks.

PS. If you are looking for the older sets, just click the "Posts" tab for other recordings.

Edit: I just got and email from the Ghost of John Candy, who was confused about what to click to see more podcast postings. No sweat, John! I drew a photo realistic picture showing where to click.
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Click that spot, Johnny Boy!
 
 
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Hey friends! I have a new interview up in the interview section. This upcoming weekend, comedian Rob Delaney will be doing a show at the Calderwood Pavillion in Boston. I was able to sit down and get a few words with him. Check out the interviews section for the conversation and a special code for discount tickets for the show!
 
 
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I am by no means a large fan of Star Trek. That responsibility fell to my Uncle Larry, whose house was filled with shelves which were absolutely covered in Trek memorabilia from action figures and models to a various assortment of phasers and other doodads which captivated my interest when I would visit him as a child. For sure, Larry was a Trekkie through and through. I remember going to see some of the older Trek movies with him and my Dad when I was young. I didn’t really understand the finer complexities but I always enjoyed those experiences.  When I heard there was going to be a new Star Trek movie, I really didn’t care one way or the other. At least until I saw the previews. The movie looked fresh, exciting, and just really…cool.

Star Trek? Cool? Was I going insane? Apparently not. Star Trek is an adrenaline rush that kicks you right in the dick the moment it starts. From start to finish, this is a finely crafted and well present adventure that will keep you on the edge of your seats. Director J.J. Abrams (of Lost fame) takes one of the most beloved franchises in pop culture history and manages to make it sleek, sexy, and just downright awesome.

The story itself shows us the rise of Captain James Kirk (played by Christopher Pine) from a troubled and impulsive young adult into the charismatic leader that fans know and love. Along the way, we see the shaky power struggle between Kirk and the half Vulcan, half human Spock (portayed by Heroes’ Zachary Quinto). The Enterprise faces off against the time traveling, planet destroying Nero (Eric Bana) as he roams the galaxy, exacting revenge for the future destruction of his home planet. What follows is a story filled with excitement, twists, romance, and some genuine comedy. I would go into detail but that would ruin everything. Needless to say, even if my meager plot synopsis makes the story seem like nerd-gasm material that is because, well, it is. But the casual fan (like myself) need not worry because the story does not require any real previous knowledge of the Star Trek universe. This is a reboot of the franchise.  Well, sort of. This is the beginning of it all…just not quite in the way you would imagine. Trust me. That statement makes sense after you watch the movie.

The story itself is nothing amazingly complex but it does retain enough sci-fi trappings that it works. Some diehard fans might decry the change of tone and character changes but the script does enough to justify the differences. At this point, Trekkies can only rant about stupid things. “How are there Romulans in this movie if Kirk hasn’t even encountered them yet in the timeline?”, “The Enterprise was establish on Star Date blah blah blah!” You know what? Deal with it! I don’t give a shit about how correct they were regarding black holes. The script works. In fact, the only weak part is the motivation of the villain, who has traveled back in time before the destruction of his planet and does not think to save it but just to go around blowing up other planets in a fit of unbridled rage.

But none of this matter since the actors present the story with such skill that we are more focused on their struggle than any stupid geek crap. Pine is Kirk, a swaggering and cocky man of action. Pine, as the main character, had a lot on his shoulders and really delivers. It of course helps when his supporting cast is so spot on as well. Karl Urban gives a wonderful performance as Dr. McCoy. Indeed, some of his scenes are some of the most entertaining in the movie and are only upstaged by Simon Peggs Scotty, the enthusiastic engineer and warp expert. Both of these two give wonderful character performances. Eric Bana is an intense villain, who even though lacking proper justification for his crimes, seems suitably threatening. However, the real star is Quinto’s Spock, whose complex emotional arc adds the most weight to the movie. Quinto plays Spock as torn between logic and emotion and shows the required subtlety to pull it off. His first venture into film is a home run.

But the best part of the movie is without a doubt the visuals. The movie looks amazing and every single action sequence is designed to leave you breathless. Of particular note is an amazing fight on an orbital drill between Kirk and Sulu (John Cho) and some henchmen. This sequence is one of the best 5 minutes of film I’ve seen, rivaling the exciting bank heist of Heat for one of my favorite action pieces ever.

Overall, this movie is just really fun. No need to worry about not understanding it. The movie is an all around good movie and the first major hit of the summer.

Final Letter Grade: A-

Bottom Line: Star Trek is an exciting and visually astounding adventure. The fairly Hollywood-ish script is redeemed by well cast actors who give strong performances. Die hard Trekkies will find lots of trivial things to bitch about but will be unable to level many criticisms towards the film itself. The bottom line is that J.J. Abrams'  has produced a film that both diehard fans and casual fans will enjoy.
 
 

Hey there folks! Summer has swung around and that means a lot more time to hit the stage and work out new material while also polishing up some old stuff. In light of this, I have decided that one of the best places to do this is the Shaskeen in Manchester, NH. This open mic is always an exciting place to experiment and have a good time.  So, from now on, I am going to record each weekly set and post them right here on the Secret Blog!

Last night's show was really fun. I was glad to see my old friend Ryan Clark and to be able to try some new material. The  pace of the set started a bit slow but eventually picked up nicely. Listen, enjoy, and check back  each Thursday for a new posting plus recordings and video

 
 

 The X-Men were a large part of my childhood. On Saturday mornings, I would excitedly watch the animated series. Summer vacations on the beach were usually accompanied with a quick stop at the corner store to buy an issue of the comic book. For a kid, there was nothing better. It was simple. It was exciting. I didn’t understand the themes or social commentary. I didn’t need to. I was a kid. All I needed to know was that there was a bad guy who was going to do a bad thing and the good guys were going to stop him. Superheroes and super villains. My X-Men action figures battled alongside G.I. Joe. They helped the Ninja Turtles stop the Shredder. Basically, they were the shit.

And out of all of them, there was on who was a certified badass. Even when next to people who could shoot lasers out of the face, teleport, or throw exploding cards. That badass mutha’ fucka was Wolverine. He was mean. He was violent. He was Canadian. Oh, yeah! And he had claws. Metal claws! There is a lot of nerd back-story here, some that I know and some that I have no clue about. I am not a comic book reader but I am enough of an X-Men fan to know the basics. Wolverine can heal from almost any wound, was part of a government program to create an indestructible soldier, and basically shits glory. When the X-Men movies came out, Hugh Jackman (aka “Huge Jacked Man”) gave a performance was right on par with everyone’s expectations. It was only a matter of time that this hero, who was essentially the main focus of the X-Trilogy (though, I tend to ignore the fact that X3 was ever made), got his own spin off film.

Enter X-Men Orgins: Wolverine, the first of many high octane summer-ish actions movies and potentially the first major flop of 2009 despite a large opening weekend. The story goes as such: we are introduced to a young Wolverine before the events of the X-Trilogy. The first time he got his powers, his long life of constant battle in almost every major war, his time with government black ops Team X, how he got his metal skeleton, and his life on the run from the government. Along the way, we are met with old faces and new ones in a plot that quickly goes from interesting to downright…well, comic bookish.

The main problem is not the source material or necessarily the actual story as a whole but its presentation. Wolverine suffers from major writing problems. Name a cliché. Any cliché. It is in the movie. Some would argue that gives it some semblance of campy charm but that is foolish to suggest. Wolverine is trying hard to be taken seriously as a movie. And it cannot succeed. The writing and dialogue are just downright bad. We are given so little reason to care about the characters that there is no investment in the story whatsoever. Doubly so for comic book nerds who will essentially bitch and moan about every little thing. “Why are Wolverine and Sabretooth brothers?” “Deadpool wasn’t like that in the comic book!” “Why doesn’t Gambit have a Cajun accent?!” We get it comic book nerds. It was different. Deal with it.

These concerns pale in comparison to the fact that Wolverine has serious pacing issues with various plot pieces that barely space out the time between fight scenes. On that topic however, the fight scenes are one of the few things that this movie does right. At least most of the time. There are a few really cool moments, particularly in the movies final three way brawl between Wolverine, Sabretooth, and Weapon XI. The opening gets credit too for taking the ensemble cast of Team X characters and giving each a moment to shine.

However, some of these cool comic book moments are marred by special effects that sometimes look like something done on a television budget. A particularly egregious example has Wolverine inspect his new metal claws in a mirror. In a moment that could easily be done practically, we are treated to some of the worst CGI claws ever. They look like something Judge Doom would have used at the end of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Now this is not to say that some moments are not genuinely cool. Gambit’s kinetic energy effects are sick, especially when used to devastate an entire back alley.

If Wolverine has anything going for it, it is the fact that it is very well cast. Hugh Jackman is Wolverine and gives his performance a respectful treatment of the character. Ryan Reynolds is the perfect choice for the wise cracking mercenary Wade Wilson, albeit underutilized. Replacing Brian Cox as the villainous Col. William Stryker is Danny Huston. Best known for his work on John Adams, Huston plays a realistic villain who carries a suitable amount of weight and purpose. However, the standout is Leiv Schreiber, who lights up the screen as the amoral Sabretooth. It is clear that he is enjoying the chance to play a comic book villain. And that is the best part: when an actor has fun, the audience has fun as well. Rounding out the cast is Taylor Kitsch, who gives a good performance as Gambit even if the plot demands him for all of 5 minutes, and Dominic Monaghan as a sympathetic former soldier turned circus performer. The only odd man out is will.i.am, who should never be in movies. Ever. No matter how many songs he writes about Obama.

And this is the most painful thing about Wolverine. With such a strong cast, all that was needed was a decent story and they would do the rest. This is partially the case here but you can only give them so much garbage before they can only make it stink less.

Final Letter Grade: D+

Bottom Line: Casual viewers will enjoy this movie if they simply are looking for a pop-corn flick. With the occasionally cool fight scene and invested actors, there is enough to make this watchable. Comic book nerds will decry deviations from the established canon.

 
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