V For Vendetta (2005)

Revenge Of The Ninja (1983)
After putting together my list of Top 80′s Action Movies I decided to add this to my Netflix queue to see if it was as good as I remembered it.  If I’m looking at it as a stand alone movie, it’s absolutely fucking terrible.  The dialogue is bad and the plot line is worse.  However… I absolutely LOVED watching this one again and stand by keeping it on my list.  It brought back so many memories and reminded me why I loved ninja movies as a kid.  The action sequences are great (though a little hokey) and the final fight scene which lasts nearly 15 minutes is epic.  If you’re a fan of old school ninja movies with tons of weapons and some lip syncing thrown in for good measure you’ll enjoy this one.

The Break-Up (2006)
It’s not often that the wife and I agree on a flick, but based on the previews and the case (Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston) we thought this might be one that would work.  And it did… for the first 90 minutes or so and then completely fell apart.  When you’re watching one of these types of flicks, you’re waiting for the feel good ending.  I’ve said many times that I’m a “movie ending” guy.  If the flick is great but the ending sucks the flick sucks.  So… in a movie called The Break-Up you’re expecting to see the break up, and then toward the end you’re waiting for the reconciliation.  Unfortunately in this one, we’re not given the payoff.  What we’re left with is some terribly executed “try to be smart” ending that leaves you completely unsatisfied.  Too bad too cause Vince, Jennifer and John Favreau give some outstanding performances.  (And guys… if you’re a Jennifer fan this is the best I remember her looking in a LONG time… wow).  If you’re looking for some giggles watch the first hour and then turn this shit off.

Don’t worry… this post contains no spoilers.  I couldn’t spoil you if I wanted to.

The series finale of ABC’s Lost airs on Sunday evening and so (hopefully) does my confusion.  I consider myself a Lost fan for sure, but I’m not a Lost geek.  The distinction is minor, but one that’s important to make between fans.  As an example, I have no problem sitting in a bar talking theories with my buddy Pat about who did what or what’s going to happen and I do listen to the Official Lost Podcast as well as The Lost Podcast With Jay and Jack.  However, I’m not one of these folks that looks at the books on the shelves in the background of a scene, I don’t care what the significance of the rabbit’s name is and I sure as hell don’t know how the two time lines are going to come together.  And therein lies my enjoyment of Lost.

I can’t remember the last show where I was completely and utterly confused while watching… and KEPT watching it.  This is one of the few shows that the wife and I can watch together (I roped her into ABC’s V as well) and regardless of the outcome on Sunday evening, I’m going to be sad to see it go.  I really do hope though that they give us some closure.  I’ve been confused long enough folks.  Damon/Carlton… thanks for the memories.  It’s time to bring it home.

1. Show the damn aliens – At this point the only look we’ve gotten at the V’s that shows us their true nature is when Erika’s partner got killed and when Anna decided to munch on her baby daddy.  Part of what made the original AWESOME was that we as the audience knew what we were up against.  If you had only been exposed to V through this version you don’t even know what they look like.  That’s gotta change.
2. Give the 5th Column a win – So far, their claim to fame is some “John May Lives” message and killing a V soldier that no one knows existed.  In the first incarnation, the 5th Column unmasked the supreme leader on national TV for Christ sakes!
3. Show the V’s as “bad” – during a recent episode, a character said something to the affect of “Tell me something bad that the Visitors have done”.  With the exception of spying on us and the fact that they’re concealing who they are, we don’t REALLY know why they’re so bad at this point.  It was pretty early in the original when we found out that they were here for FOOD.  If the audience is going to care, we need to build the V’s up as a REAL threat.
4. Lose the CGI – I understand that this is TV and not the movies, but just about every shot from the mother ships are just terrible.  This includes interior shots.  We’ve got to do better.

I hate to continue to compare to the original but that’s all I’ve got to go on and that was a hugely successful cult classic.  The fact that after tonight it WON’T be following Lost is actually a good thing.  Lost is a phenomenal show, but as a lead in to another sci-fi I’m not sure it’s all that great.  When Lost is over, people either run to message boards or blogs to chat or they’re too wiped out to try and get into another intense show.  I’m not saying that it should follow a comedy, but Lost isn’t the best choice.

While I have listened to some podcasts during the break I’ve tried to stay away from plot predictions and spoilers for the last season.  Sure I’ve had a discussion or two with some fellow Losties but when it comes to what’s going to happen this season I’m completely… lost. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist at least one pun).

Based on the buzz on the web and in the paper it seems like the long layoff between seasons hasn’t turned anyone else off either.  It’s looking like we’re in for a hell of a last season and I can’t wait.  It’s going to be so awesome to see how they finish off some story lines and which ones they leave dangling cause you just KNOW they’re not going to be able to tell us everything that we want to know.  While I’m sure there are some things that I’ll be disappointed in I’m willing to accept that.  The show is just too good to miss.  And now… finally.  It’s time for Lost!

Honestly I was expecting some huge cliffhanger.  Elizabeth Mitchell’s character Erica dying or pregnant.  A Visitor “unmasked” on national television like in the original.  Hell, even a big fight between the Visitors and the resistance.  Unfortunately we were given none of that.  We were shown the fact that there were a shit ton of ships waiting in orbit.  Um… OK.  Did we honestly think that it was JUST these 29 ships?

I’m not suggesting that this episode wasn’t good because it absolutely was.  In fact it was probably my favorite of the first 4.  But when it ended I had a distinct “That’s it?” feeling.  The wife has actually gotten into this show with me (which rocks cause there’s little on TV that we both like) and she said the same thing.

Like I said.  I’m going to be on board regardless of when it comes back.  I’m really curious as to how many of these new V fans will come back in the new year.  Time will tell.

And for one crackpot theory that I’m hoping desperately comes true…

John May will be played by Marc Singer.

I can only hope.  How damn cool would that be???

• First off… it LOOKS great.  I recently re-watched the original and the special effects were TERRIBLE.  This show isn’t movie quality CGI but I’ve got to say it’s some of the best that I’ve seen on TV.
• The updates to the story are well done – and necessary.  They’ve brought the story into current day scenarios by using references to terrorist cells, universal health care, etc.
• Political stance – I don’t buy it.  The 406 blog has historically been apolitical and I intend on keeping it that way.  There have been many stories that V is social commentary on President Obama.  Quite frankly I don’t buy it and I’ll leave it at that.
• I miss Mike Donovan but I’m thrilled with Elizabeth Mitchell as the choice of the lead and think that she’ll do a GREAT job.
• I LOVE the fact that the V’s have been on Earth for years before the series has started.  A nice update on the original tale.
• Time line – this is a bad thing.  For those that don’t know V is going to have 4 episodes and then take a break until MARCH due to the Olympic games on ABC.  Not sure if this is yet another tactical error on ABC’s part or not.  I hope that the show gains a large following that will indeed return after such a long hiatus.

All of that being said, after one episode I can say that I’m very happy with where the series is going.  There’s some GREAT potential there.  I just hope that they really knock it out for these next 3 episodes to really get people hooked.  Time will tell.

There has been quite a bit of press about this show (both good and bad) but I have to say that I’m really jazzed to watch it tonight.  From what I’ve seen it’s going to be drastically different than the original miniseries which I can’t say is necessarily a bad thing.  After all it’s been over 25 year since that show was on the air!

I won’t go into plot here but suffice to say its an “us against them” story that (at least in the original) had quite a few twists and turns along the way.  Sure I’m a geek and I’m showing my age but I can tell you that tonight I’m going to be tuned into ABC!

I’ve heard about this for quite a while now and to be honest with you I can’t believe I’m as behind as I am on following this story (Thanks Jason!)  The series is going to premiere on ABC November 3rd at 8:00 PM.  For those of you un-familiar with the original story (and subsequent sequel), V tells the story of alien visitors who visit Earth under the guise of peace all the while plotting to “harvest” humans for food.

Everything that I’m reading continues to use the term “re-imagining” rather than reboot, remake or sequel.  This certainly isn’t a continuation of the time line from the original series (which is totally a good thing).

The cast looks great including Elizabeth Mitchell (of Lost fame playing a female Mike Donovan), Morena Baccarin (playing the lead Visitor made famous by Jane Badler’s Dianna), Morris Chestnut, Scott Wolf and others.

Check out the official stuff from ABC here: http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/v

Note:  Over the last couple of days it’s been reported the V is taking a “creative hiatus” starting Wednesday and will shut down production for a couple of weeks.  This shouldn’t affect things for the premier in November unless there are HUGE issues but this type of announcement is generally not a good thing.  Stay tuned.

Just as V: The Original Miniseries, V: The Final Battle was a made for TV event that played out over a few nights in the early 80′s (1984 to be exact).  After the initial dream sequence, the story opens on the Resistance preparing for a raid against one of the Visitors processing plants.  The Resistance is easily turned away and they are left to lick their wounds and complain about what went wrong and how best to proceed.

Around the same time two things happen.  First, the Resistance captures a Visitor (Willie played by Robert England) and they learn that the Visitors are planning on unveiling a universal cure for cancer that they have created.  The Resistance plan on “unmasking” their leader John (Richard Herd) for the world to see.  Everything goes according to plan and John is shown on live television with his “face” removed.  During this skirmish Juliet (Faye Grant) is captured by the Visitors and Kristine Walsh (Jenny Sullivan) is killed by Diana (Jane Badler) after she goes on TV and attempts to tell the world just how bad the Visitors actually are.  Before Diana can kill Kristine, she sends out a plea to other people around the world who are willing to stand up and fight the Visitors.

After the victory by the Resistance they head back to their secret base only to learn that it’s not all that secret after all.  Ham Tyler (Michael Ironside) is there waiting for them and informs them that that Visitors know about their base and they need to leave as soon as possible.  He also tells them that he is part of a larger Resistance that is organized and preparing to move against the Visitors.  At this point Juliet is in the grasp of Diana and is undergoing her conversion process which will effectively make her a double agent for the Visitors.  Julie is rescued and returns to the Resistance only to begin questioning whether she has in fact been converted.  The Resistance has placed Maggie (Denise Galik) under cover posing as Visitor Youth Leader Daniel’s (once again played by David Packer).  Without going into too many details I’m happy to say that Daniel gets what’s coming to him in the end… great scene.

We learn that not all the Visitors are bad.  Those that aren’t have organized and are known as “The Fifth Column”.  Some of them able to contact Donovan (Martin specifically from the Original) as well as quite a few others.  Tyler wants nothing to do with them but they learn to co-exist.   The Resistance manages to capture another Visitor named Brian (Peter Nelson) who at the end of the Original series had impregnated Robin (Blair Tefkin) with the first inter-stellar baby.  After Robin’s baby is born the Resistance uses the baby’s blood to create a toxin that is harmful only to the Visitors.  Robin takes the toxin (a.k.a the “Red Dust”) and tests it on Brian… very successfully.

Things fall of the hinges a bit here and go from relatively believable to bat shit crazy.  Robin’s baby (Elizabeth) begins to grow at an incredibly abnormal pace.  In a matter of weeks she’s like 12.  The resident Resistance priest takes her on board the Visitor mother ship and is promptly killed by Diana who takes the child under her wing and begins to try and teach her that Peace is simply not possible between the two races.  Meanwhile, the Resistance is producing Red Dust by the truckload thinking that they’ll use this weapon against the Visitors and make them leave Earth.  Fifth Column member Martin shows up to let Donovan know that even if the humans succeed, the Visitors have a super weapon that can destroy the Earth – the “Doomsday Device” (I shit you not… insert evil laughter here).

Donovan’s son Sean (Eric Johnston) has been rescued and obviously converted by Diana.  The Resistance use this knowledge and feed him incorrect information which allow them to disperse the Red Dust nationwide and make Earth essentially useless to the Visitors.  The Visitors set off their destruction device but never fear… Elizabeth is here with some hocus pokus to save the day.  Diana shows just how evil she really is by killing John as well as his peer Pamela (Sarah Douglas) that was introduced in this storyline.  It’s as if the Pamela character is only brought it so that we can show just how ruthless Diana is.

COMMENTARY:
Where the first story was a pretty straight forward statement story, this one delves a bit more into the supernatural / action genres.  There’s a completely worthless love story thrown in between Julie & Donovan complete with a sex scene (remember this was on TV) and a bunch of babble between the two of them.  It borders on cheesy soap opera stuff here between the music, dialog and fact that Marc Singer’s essentially shirtless every time they’re on screen together.

Speaking of cheesy.  For some reason they explore another relationship in this movie: Maggie & Mark (Sandy Simpson).  The cheese factor is absolutely off the fucking charts here.  They are preparing to go off into battle and decide to get married.  Mark utters the line, “I can’t wait to marry you… let’s do it as soon as we get back” or some such nonsense.  As soon as he says it you just KNOW he’s not coming back.  Complete garbage that should have been left out.

There’s quite a few deaths here at the end… some good and some bad.  I do have to say that the majority of them are very satisfying especially for the human traitors.  The effects in this one leave quite a bit to be desired even for a flick made in the 80′s.  I’ve heard rumblings that this is going to be remade here in the near future which could be interesting if done properly.

RECOMMENDATION:
All in all I can’t say this is a great (or even good) movie if you don’t have the nostalgia factor in there.  If you’ve sat through V: The Original Miniseries then you absolutely HAVE to watch this follow up or you’ll be left with little more than the first act of a play.  All of that being said, this is one of those movies from my childhood that I have fond memories of and I’m glad I watched it again.

PLOT:
Written and directed by Kenneth Johnson, V tells the story of visitors from outer space that arrive on Earth under the guise of peace.  They look human and they say that the reason for their arrival is that they need chemicals and minerals to continue their existence.  In reality they are lizard like aliens who intend on stealing every ounce of water on planet Earth as well as us… for food.

Of course during all of this there are two types of humans.  Those that believe the Visitor’s propaganda and those that are resistant to them.  There are two humans in particular that are Visitor sympathizers that the plot spends quite a bit of time on.  Donovan’s mother Eleanor Dupres (played by Neva Patterson) is a prim and proper opportunist that sees the Visitor’s occupation as a means to an end.  The other is Daniel Bernstein (played by David Packer) who is a human traitor who takes up with the Visitors.  Like most of the rest the cast, their stories are not completed until V: The Final Battle.

Mike Donovan (played by Marc Singer of Beastmaster fame) is a television reporter who during the course of doing his job finds out the truth about the alien visitors.  They are here to pump every drop of water from the planet, take the people for food and take control of the planet.  One of the towns that is raided includes Donovan’s son and it becomes his mission to get his son back.

Donovan hooks up with others in the resistance who are being led by a young med student named Juliet Parish (played by Faye Grant).  The rest of the miniseries tells how the resistance is formed and how they begin to develop their plans to fight back.  By the time the series is over nothing is really resolved though and the Visitors have taken over the planet.  The resistance has not scored any significant victory and are shown at the end to be fortifying their position for a long war.  Their big plan is to attempt to contact other aliens who would potentially help them in their fight against the Visitors.

COMMENTARY:
This film drips with social commentary.  To ignore the references to the Nazis and the Holocaust is to ignore the entire plot of the movie.  The references include the Swastika looking Visitor symbol, their garb and a “Visitor Youth Program” which is an obvious reference to Hitler’s “Youth”.  The fascist takeover of Earth is complete when the Visitors declare martial law “for our own good”.

The cast is well put together and gives some great performances.  Jane Badler plays the ruthless “Diana” in a way that makes you want to hate her.  Richard Herd plays supreme commander “John” and we even get a non-Freddy Krueger performance out of Robert Englund as the lovable “Willie”.

The special effects are pretty decent for a flick that was made in the early 80′s.  The stuff with the Visitors taking off their skin holds up pretty well.  The lasers are pretty weak even by 80′s standards (Star Wars in the 70′s was MUCH better) but this was made for TV rather than for the big screen.

Of special note here is Donovan.  Marc Singer is very well known for the over the top portrayals that he gives.  Donovan here is no exception.  Between the shirts that are unbuttoned to the naval and the standard crouching-arm-across-your-body shooting stance you just KNOW you’re watching 80′s action greatness.

RECOMMENDATION:
I had a great time re-watching this one.  It brought back all kinds of good memories from when the show originally aired.  If I were watching it today for the first time I’m not sure that I’d enjoy it nearly as much but it’s still a compelling story.  I would say that if you don’t plan on watching the follow up V: The Final Battle you’re going to be a tad bit let down with the story here cause after 200 minutes absolutely nothing is resolved.