So I am Watching Iron Fist

When Netflix first released Iron Fist, I was busy watching other television. With the reviews being so bad, I wasn't excited to watch it. But with the recent Defenders release and my love of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage, I finally decided to venture into the world of Iron Fist.

First, it is really hard for me to dislike something. I just started episode 6 and it is definitely not my favorite Marvel project. The pacing is just off and for someone who never looses, the Iron Fist is really good at not putting up a good fight at first with opponents who should be easy.  They must have been trying to save money on special effects because so far the Iron Fist is barely used. The writing feels a little disjointed, and it was weird seeing the character shift between him and Ward so quickly.

Second, there are bright spots in the show. I love seeing Claire of course. The character who eventually will bring all the Defenders together. Also, the character of Colleen Wing portrayed by Jessica Henwick does a superb job.  

Third, Finn Jones does an ok job as Iron Fist. The writing hasn't been his best friend. His perceived naivete annoys me at times.  I understand he has been away from civilization since he was 10, but it is like he wasn't trained to be a grown up. As someone who is supposed to be The Immortal Iron Fist, he doesn't seem very much like a master and acts more like an impulsive angry man. I hope he matures by the season's end. On a side note, I did not recognize him as Loras Tyrell from GoT. He looks so different to me here.

I have 7 episodes to go. Sadly, I am unable to marathon shows due to my boys, so I average 1 to 2 episodes a night. Season 2 won't be here until 2019, but it will have a new show runner, so hopefully, we'll have improved storytelling. I do not dislike Iron Fist, but I do not like it enough to be in my rewatch pile. I do not regret giving my time to watch the show.

Mannequin - 1987

I decided to go a little old school for my latest review. I recently picked up Mannequin and Mannequin 2 in a movie two pack. Each movie is on its own disc in the case. I haven't watched Mannequin 2 yet and it's been years since I've seen it, so my review is just on the first one.

Strangly enough, Mannequin has been on cable a lot recently. This is a movie I remember fondly from my childhood. It isn't what I consider top notch cinema, but a fun rompy movie.

It stars Kim Cattral as Ema, an Egyptian transported through time eventually being incarnated into the body of a mannequin. The mannequin is created by often out of work artist Jonathan Switcher played by Andrew McCarthy. James Spader has a stand out performance as the geeky double crossing store manager, and Meshach Taylor is a lot of fun as Hollywood, the super gay widow dresser Switcher becomes friends with. Only Switcher can see Emmy outside of the mannequin form which leads to lots of comic moments and what the film excels at.. montages. There are a few montages in this movie and what really stands out is the fun 80s sound track to go with them. In the end, it's your typical romantic comedy with your typical ending, but still fun when you need comedic cheese in your diet.
I award this comedy 3 Popcorns out of 5

The Ark of Truth

Finding the Ark

You can watch Stargate SG1's movie The Ark of Truth without having watched the series; however, it might not make a lot of sense to you if you haven't watched the series. One thing this direct to dvd movie does is include an intro that more or less talks about what was going on in the series up to the movie. The Ark of Truth was created to close out the storyline of the Ori since they ended the series. Such a good series it was. I didn't need to watch it every week, but I really like the stories and the chemistry of the cast.

Plot:

During the series, Merlin, of our the myth, is discovered to have been an Ancient (the good ascended beings in the universe). Merlin was responsible for the creation of weapons that could kill ascended beings. The main villains in the series at this time are ascended beings known as the Ori. They are out to spread a cult like religion called Origin, and the more followers they have, the more powerful they become. In the immoratal words of Star Trek, "Resistance is Futile." You either join Origin or you die.

In the last episodes of the series, SG1 manages to create the weapon to kill ascended beings and they send it into the Ori Galaxy. At the being of The Ark of Truth, they still don't know if the weapon worked or not. They are on a mission for another ancient weapon in the war against the ori because even if the Ori are gone, their followers are still great in number. During their search, they discover it may be in the Ori's own home galaxy. As the Ori prepare to send ships through to the Milky Way to attack Earth, SG-1 travels to the Ori galaxy aboard the Odyssey. The International Oversight committee has their own plans and SG-1 finds themselves in a distant galaxy fighting two powerful enemies.

The movie didn't disappoint. If you enjoy good sci fi, the Stargate universe is a good place to get it. Since I got it through netfilx, I decided to watch the special features. They ended up having some of their panel from Comic-Con in 2007 there. It's only be a little over a month since Erik and I were at Comic-Con and it made me want to be back there. I really enjoyed the 2 panels we got in for and the one for Stargate was hysterical. Ben Browder who used to be on Farscape and took over for Richard Dean Anderson looked like he just woke up, and Christopher Judge who plays Teal'c gave a shout out to Riverside. I wish I'd been there. By hook or by crook, I will be at all 4 days of next years comic-con.

4 Popcorns out of 5

Babylon A.D.

Disjointed Babylon

I recently found out that the move was supposed to be 20 minutes longer and it might have improved it in my eyes if they had kept the original length. This was a pet project for the French filmaker Mathieu Kassovitz. I hope when they bring it to DVD they have a director's cut so I can see how the director envisioned this story.

Going in, I was worried that 90 minutes wouldn't be long enough for this movie and it wasn't. It was an interesting premise. I enjoy a good postnuculear movie. Vin Diesel is a Mercenery exhiled from American. He is hired to escort a young lady who grew up in a convent to America. Sheltered her entire life, Aurora has trouble ajusting to the outside world. Strange things also happen with the girl. She starts having paranormal experiences of preminision. The film work during the action segments were a little to disjointed for me. The way the action segments were filmed reminded me of the Bourne movies, but not as good. If you like a good action movie, wait for this one to go to DVD. It's worth a view but not theatre prices. I'm on the fence on whether I'd own it or not. Bad movies tend to grow on me, so who knows.

2 Popcorns out of 5

Battlestar Galatica: The Miniseries

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: THE MINISERIES

I'm going to update here more often. And I'm going to start including TV shows that I watch as well. Erik and I recently joined Netfilxs for the first time, so I'll be including reviews of the movies and tv shows I get on here. We're only trying the unlimited 1 at a time, so I'll have to see if we decided to expand our subscription.

The first movie/tv show we received was the Battlestar Galatica Mini Series that started the reincarnation of the classic late 70s early 80s show. I've watched the old show and even gave my dad the entire series for the old show. It was fun.

When the sci fi channel first announced they would be doing a remake, I was hesitent to like the new one. Why can't the entertainment industry think of new stories to tell. However, when they decided on this one, they created a show superior and far more entertaining the first go around.

It's hard to believe that it's been 5 years since this miniseries first came out. I didn't realize the show has been out that long.

This is how the miniseries begins with this (borrowed from Wikipedia):

The Cylons were created by Man.
They were created to make life easier on the Twelve Colonies.
And then the day came when the Cylons decided to kill their masters.
After a long and bloody struggle, an armistice was declared.
The Cylons left for another world to call their own.
A remote space station was built...
...where Cylon and Human could meet and maintain diplomatic relations.
Every year, the Colonials send an officer.
The Cylons send no one.
No one has seen or heard from the Cylons in over forty years.

The Cylons have come back and instead of metal machines there are now 12 models who look just like humans. They attack all 12 colonies at once leaving survivors scattered. The Battlestars were the defense of the 12 colonies. Galatica is about to be retired and turned into a museum, but due to some lack of computer upgrades, they are able to survive the attack, and unite what is left of humanity about 50,000. Edward James Olmos is excellent in role of Admiral Adama. It was weird adjusting to a female Starbuck but but Katee Sackhoff, does a great job of protraying the character. If you like science fiction and a great story, this one is for you.

I give it 5 Popcorns out of 5!

The Seeker: The Dark Force Rising

This movie is supposed to be based off a book. I'm hoping the book is a lot better then the movie. The movie had potential. The story is interesting, but the script, directing, and at times, the acting just were not up to good movie standards.

The movie tells the story of Will Stanton, a young man who learns he is the last of a group of warriors who have dedicated their lives to fighting the forces of the Dark. He is the seventh son of a seventh son. Traveling back and forth through time, Will discovers a series of clues which lead him into a showdown with forces of unimaginable power. With the Dark once again rising, the future of the world rests in Will's hands.

It reminded me of a movie I'd see on the Family Channel but with better special effects. I haven't read the book, but I'm assuming it's much better then this movie. I borrowed it from a friend and do not plan on owning it, but for kids, it seems like it would be fun if you don't mind light vs. dark themes.

It's rare for me to do this, but I give this movie:

2 Popcorns out of 5.

The Dark Knight

I went to see a 10:20 IMAX viewing of The Dark Knight and all I have to say is Wow! This movie was awesome especially on the huge IMAX screen. We sat in the 4th of 5th row right in the middle so we saw everything. Theater was sold out and I couldn't even tell. They had even added a 1:35AM showing on a Monday that is how popular this movie is right now and for good reason. It is definitely the best movie I have seen all Year!!

Heath Ledger is amazing in his role as the Joker and Christian Bale is stellar as Batman. The action was stellar and the special effects were topnotch. The cast of this movie was just spectacular. Ok I'm running out of Adjectives to say how much I loved this movie. I won't get into any plot here. But if you see one movie this year on the big Screen. See The Dark Knight!!

5+ Popcorns out of 5