E. R. Torre is a writer/artist whose first major work, the mystery graphic novel The Dark Fringe, was optioned for motion picture production by Platinum Studios (Men In Black, Cowboys vs. Aliens). At DC Comics, his work appeared in role-playing game books and the 9-11 Tribute book. This later piece was eventually displayed, along with others from the 9-11 tribute books, at The Library of Congress. More recently he released Shadows at Dawn (a collection of short stories), Haze (a murder mystery novel with supernatural elements), and Cold Hemispheres (a mystery novel set in the world of The Dark Fringe). He is currently hard at work on his latest science fiction/suspense series, Corrosive Knights, which features the novels Mechanic, The Last Flight of the Argus, and Chameleon.
Heard plenty of good things about The Raid: Redemption, and being a fan of action films, I just had to give it a try.
Filmed in Jakarta, Indonesia, The Raid: Redemption starts out really, really well. In fact, the opening of the film reminded me in a very pleasant way to what I consider one of director John Carpenter’s very best films, Assault on Precinct 13 (the original 1976 version, not the pretty lame 2005 remake).
The plot of The Raid is simple yet very effective: A group of young SWAT officers is tasked to silently enter a fortified building within the Jakarta slums. Their mission is seek out and apprehend the crime lord that runs that building and bring him to justice. However, halfway up the building the hunters become the hunted when the many criminals residing within the building target the SWAT team.
There are a few other plot flourishes I won’t get into but suffice to say the film is a lean, mean action adventure that should satisfy most fans of this type of genre.
If there are any quibbles I have with the film, it is that there are several martial arts-type fights that, frankly, took me out of the nitty gritty nature of the film. Allow me to elaborate. In the movie’s early going, the sense of claustrophobia and the real fear of sudden death lurking behind any corner were very effective. You had a sense that the SWAT members were trapped in a hell where they would have to claw their way to freedom.
However, by the time the remaining SWAT members were down to using their fists and knives against the many villains they faced, the protracted fight scenes unfortunately resembled more typical martial art films and removed me from the more noir elements present up until that point.
Please note, though, that this is a relatively small quibble. There is word that producers in the United States are working on a remake of the film. I’m not terribly surprised. This is the type of feature that should be easily translated for American audiences. There is very little that need be changed.
So if you’re in the mood for a solid action film, you could do far worse than spend some time watching The Raid.
I still have pretty vivid memories of first seeing the poster for a then upcoming film that was scheduled to be released in 1981 called Escape From New York.
Perhaps you’ve heard of it?
Back then in the stone age of 1981, there was a great possibility movies you never heard of at all would suddenly “appear” before you either as posters (as was the case with that film) or via movie trailers. Nowadays, of course, we hear about, and sometimes even see clips of films as they’re being made. The element of surprise is, for the most part, gone.
When I finally saw Escape From New York, I had a curiously paradoxical reaction to it. I absolutely LOVED parts of it, from the clever storyline to actor Kurt Russell’s bizarre Clint Eastwood-talking Snake Plissken. But the film seemed to lose steam as it went along and I felt that as good as certain elements of it were, overall the film didn’t thrill me as much as I hoped it would.
Over the years, my opinion of it has changed, albeit slightly. I’ve grown to appreciate more of the film and realized, in retrospect, that much of my disappointment might well have been due to the film’s very low budget. The fact is that most of the special effects are presented at the start of the film while the rest of it features our characters running around dark streets that might well have been anywhere and, as it turned out, most of the city scenes were indeed not filmed in New York!
However, the good stuff stuck with me and when rumors came out that director John Carpenter envisioned making more Snake Plissken films, even one he wistfully (or perhaps jokingly?) called Escape From Earth, I was certainly all in favor of seeing that.
In the end Escape From New York proved something of a box office dud. Given its budget, it certainly made its money back and then some, but it took many more years -fifteen in fact- before Escape From L.A. was released in 1996. Sporting a far greater budget and the same lead and director, Escape From L.A. nonetheless proved a box office flop, earning less than its cost.
And that, it appeared, was that.
Until, that is, this year when producer/writer/director Luc Besson released Lockout. Produced and co-written by Mr. Besson, Lockout is, essentially, Escape From Earth as envisioned by him. Guy Pearce stars as Snow, a somewhat more gregarious version of Snake Plissken while Maggie Grace stars as Emile Warnock, the daughter of the President of the United States. The plot is a mild variation of both John Carpenter Escape films: The daughter of the President goes to an orbiting penal colony, the prisoners manage to escape and take over, and Snake…er…Snow goes in to find and free her. Oh, and the clock is ticking.
When I first saw the trailer for Lockout I was intrigued. My younger, more strident self (as opposed to the more mellow person I’ve since become) might have been furious that Mr. Besson (who is also listed in the credits as having the “original idea” of this film!!!!) would so cavalierly rip off another person’s concept.
Then again, the John Carpenter Escape property is, let’s face it, dead. Kurt Russell isn’t as young as he was before and I suspect he can’t pull off the character of Snake Plissken anymore (there was talk, by the way, of a remake of Escape From New York with new actors in the central roles, so obviously the studios already feel that Mr. Russell may be too old for the part). And John Carpenter, as big a cult movie director as he is, hasn’t made a “big” feature in a very, very long time…and I suspect studios aren’t exactly lining up to front him big money to do another Escape movie.
So when Mr. Besson and his “original” story idea for the film Lockout appeared, I couldn’t be too terribly upset. In fact, I was hoping that Mr. Besson and company captured some of the Escape magic -the good stuff versus the bad- and made some mindless piece of entertainment that I could sit back to and enjoy.
However, early reviews of the film were not very positive. In fact, most of the reviews I read were quite negative (the film scored an unimpressive 37% positive among critics and an almost equal 40% positive among audiences at Rottentomatoes.com).
Still, I wanted to see it. Yesterday, I finally got the chance.
Long story short (if that’s possible at this point): Lockout is a mediocre film. If you’re curious to see someone else’s take on the Escape films, you won’t come away impressed with what’s here, but neither do I think you’ll be begging for the pain to go away.
Guy Pearce is mostly good in the role of Snow, but I felt at times he wasn’t terribly invested in his role. He appeared to be…and I could be guilty of mind reading here…uninterested in most of what was happening. His delivery of lines was one-note and it appeared he was doing the bare minimum required. It’s a tough thing to say of an actor’s work, especially one I happen to like quite a bit (he was absolutely terrific in both Memento and L.A. Confidential, among other films). Maggie Grace, on the other hand, seems to realize the nature of this film and, for the most part, delivers in her role. That’s not to say she saves the film, only that at the very least she stands toe to toe (and sometimes ahead!) of the movie’s actual protagonist.
Unfortunately, where the film mostly fails is in its all too busy plot. Lockout starts with a strange bust gone bad. The action sequences here aren’t quite as terrible as some have stated, yet not enough explanation and context is ever offered to what exactly our hero was doing here…or what it was he was hoping to get his hands on. Even by the end of the film, we’re still not sure what exactly was so terribly important to his character in those early sequences.
When the movie moves to the prison colony satellite, the jail break sequence proves way, way too easy. MILD SPOILERS: Essentially one man gets his hands on one gun and manages to free the nearly 500 homicidal prisoners in minutes. Did the people behind this penal colony not have any decent security designs? And did they really have to put the “Get the prisoners out of stasis” button only a few feet away from an interview room he escapes from?
Very silly stuff.
Once those opening sections of the film are over, however, it does manage to move along decently. It’s a silly affair, but I’m glad I was able to satisfy my curiosity without feeling the need to fling my remote control at the TV set.
Still, it could -it should– have been so much better.
Yesterday news got out that legendary comic book artist Joe Kubert had passed away. I never met the man even during my convention years, but I always admired the hell out of his work.
Most fans today may know him for either his work on Hawkman or Sgt. Rock, both for DC Comics. But he did plenty more. His career started at a very young age (10 or 13 years old!) back in the “Golden Age” of comics in and around 1938.
I first encountered Mr. Kubert’s artwork in the early 1970’s and was absolutely blown away by the many war book covers he made. I can’t tell you how often I’d see one of his incredible covers on a book and grab it, only to be disappointed that Mr. Kubert’s work on the book proved to be just the cover illustration.
Still, his sequential art, of which there are mountains of such work, was every bit as good as his cover work. Perhaps my favorite all time work he illustrated was 1961’s first silver age Hawkman story, which featured space police officer Katar Hol and his wife Shayera and their pursuit of the shape shifting Byth. There were so many classic panels in that twenty five page story, and one had the sense Mr. Kubert was having a ball depicting the many shapes Byth made of himself, from the monstrous to the very small.
Rest in peace, Mr. Kubert, and my condolences to his friends and family.
The Olympics ended yesterday with a very, very big show that lovingly displayed the things that make Britain Britain. There were fashion models, theater, and psychedelic floats. There was much music, even a performance of “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” by Eric Idle. This song, which appeared at the very end of The Life of Brian, my favorite Monty Python film, was aired complete, though the single profanity uttered in the song was heavily (and loudly) bleeped for American viewing.
Given all the Britannia on display, I was curious if David Bowie might make an appearance at the event. After all, his song “Heroes” was played in a very prominent spot at the very beginning of the Olympics while the British athletes made their very first appearance/entrance into the stadium.
While the closing ceremonies were going on, and the show focused on the British fashion industry, they of course played Mr. Bowie’s song “Fashion” and, I suspect, that might well be where the show’s makers might well have loved to have him appear and sing…
But he didn’t.
Mr. Bowie wasn’t the only musician whose songs were played during the Olympics and didn’t show. Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here,” for example, was sung live, but neither Roger Waters or David Gilmour showed up to perform the song. I believe Nick Mason, the band’s drummer, was the only Pink Floyd member present.
Yet Mr. Bowie’s absence felt to me like something more. There have been articles written here and there hinting if not outright saying that Mr. Bowie has effectively, though quietly, retired, and not seeing him at the Olympics seemed to further that notion. After all, this is a man who tended to release a new album almost every year and was constantly touring or making appearances in movies or TV shows. His last album, 2003’s Reality, is rapidly approaching a decade since release. While he toured in support of the album, he was diagnosed with an acute arterial blockage and had emergency angioplasty in 2004. From that point on, his appearances have been sparse. His last stage appearance was in 2006, his last recorded song was a collaboration with Scarlett Johansson in 2008.
So when his songs were presented in such prominent places during the opening and closing of the Olympics, I couldn’t help but think the event organizers were hoping to lure him out to do a live performance. And given how long it had been since he did such a thing, one might have thought that Mr. Bowie would enjoy the opportunity to do just that.
The fact that he didn’t, as I said before, suggests to me that perhaps the whispers were right. No, I’m not privy to Mr. Bowie’s personal life. For all I know, he might be furiously working on a new album or acting in some film or doing something that deprives him of the time to head over to the Olympics and perform.
On the other hand, and given the fact that we’ve seen so little of Mr. Bowie since 2008, I can’t help but wonder if, indeed, those whispers of his retirement are indeed accurate.
If they are, I take that news as bittersweet. After several decades of hard work, the release of many classic albums, and what must have been a very frightening health emergency, it would not surprise me if Mr. Bowie has decided he’s done enough. I will continue to hope for new songs/albums from Mr. Bowie, but if Reality represents his last major work, I will cherish it along with his other albums, which never seem to grow old.
Fascinating, and thought provoking, article from Laura Miller at Salon.com and recommended for anyone out there with thoughts of hyping one’s self-publishing ebooks:
When looking over some of the independent self-publishing authors out there, I was struck by those who had an incredible amount of extremely positive reviews about their book. We’re talking about authors I was unfamiliar with, people who sometimes only had one book on their resume, yet over fifty plus positive reviews about said book.
I wondered: How was that possible?
In the past few years, I’ve released a graphic novel, a book of short stories, and five novels. Those I’ve encountered who have read some (or all) of my works have given me very kind complements about them. I’m not exaggerating when I say these complements often border on the wildly enthusiastic. Despite this, there is a dearth of positive reviews of my works on Amazon. Those that are there are positive, like this one I found on Amazon UK just today (it was posted on August 6th) concerning my most recent novel, Chameleon, and is written by someone who identifies him/herself as “freeloader”:
(Chameleon) is an excellent read, i could not put this book down, and i will be looking for other works by this author, once again i found this as a free download on amazon Kindle site, and i thought free must mean rubish, but no once again a good book to read and would have no hesitation in trying this author again
Just to be clear here: I have neither friends nor family in the UK, where I’m assuming this review originates from (it was, after all, on the Amazon UK website). I’m proud beyond words that my book was enjoyed by this particular reviewer enough for him/her to spend a few moments of their valuable time giving the book such a glowing positive review.
But I know that the vast majority of people out there simply don’t have either the time or inclination to write positive or negative reviews for everything good or bad they stumble upon in their day-to-day life.
I know because I’m guilty of doing just that.
I could spend literally days, weeks, months, and years sorting through the music I enjoy and writing reviews of everything that turns me on and off. Ditto for movies and books. The same goes for hotels, airlines, and restaurants I’ve used. I could also review shoe, clothing, and T-shirt companies. Hell, I could even write about politicians and countries. Just about everything one encounters in the course of a day could be reviewed by you, should you choose to do so.
Which brings us back to Laura Miller’s article and my suspicions regarding some of those independent books with curiously large amounts of positive reviews. I suppose one could accuse me of being jealous that I don’t have as many positive reviews of my works…and I would certainly accept that as a possibility. I won’t lie: I do wish that more of my readers would take the time to review my works, especially if they enjoyed what I’ve written.
But I am also realistic enough to know that what I do get in terms of reviews are a blessing. Why? Because these people have done something I myself haven’t done nearly as much as I should: Take a moment of their valuable time to write something positive…in this case, about works I created.
While I’m certain there are those out there who use social media and social media promotion companies to manipulate opinion of their works, the fact is that that’s a reality of the world we live in. It is my choice not to use professional promotion companies to pump out false positive reviews. Thus, for better or worse, the reviews that do appear regarding my works -few as they may be- are earned.
And for those who have taken the time to say such nice things, my thanks to you.
Some of what Jon Swartz, the author of that piece, notes has been on my mind for a while.
I’m not a huge mall rat, though there was a time I enjoyed heading to the mall and looking in on the bookstores and record/music stores. When MP3s appeared, the record/music stores effectively were done. I still love to purchase music, but I do so over the internet and find this the most effective way of getting my hands on what I want.
Bookstores, similarly, appear to be going the way of music stores. Nowadays, you can purchase almost any book you want (including mine!) via Amazon or Barnes and Noble online. Movies and TV shows, likewise, are appearing more and more online as well, either through pay per view services or instant viewing via Netflix or (again) Amazon.
Purchasing books, music, or movies/TV shows via the internet is incredibly convenient. You don’t have to physically go anywhere and risk not finding what you’re looking for. You also know right away whether something you’re seeking is available and can be purchased. Downloading the material is almost instantaneous. But purchasing a physical copy of said material (ie a CD or an actual book or a DVD/BluRay), isn’t all that hard either. While you have to wait for it to be mailed to you, to me this wait is not a huge inconvenience. In a matter of a couple of days or, at most, a week I have the material in hand.
Which brings us to what else is sold out there. Most electronics are available online and I’m certain many people try them out in stores and may search online for the best price for items (there’s even a term for that: showrooming). Clothing, I suspect, will take a little bit longer to enter the internet purchasing sphere. You can buy items, but part of purchasing clothing is seeing how it looks on you. And how can you sample clothing via the internet? The article does provide a glimpse into that process, and chances are that this too will soon be something people search for on the internet. The same goes with jewelry, although in that case and because of the cost one often wants to see the actual piece they intend to buy.
Food stores I suspect will survive the digital age. We all make our trips to supermarkets for the week’s food, and while online services will offer this for some, I suspect many shoppers want to see the food they eventually pay for. Bruised bananas are not an option! As for restaurants, there will be more and more online ordering, especially for chains that specialize in “to go” foods like pizza. However, I suspect people will never lose the urge to go out of the house now and again and spend a couple of hours in a restaurant eating a good meal.
Another store that will probably continue to exist is the hardware store. Not only will people always head to such stores for home improvement products, but there will continue to exist moments when such products have to be bought right away and cannot wait for the mail to deliver them (from emergencies involving plumbing, electrical, or roofing problems to simple things like needing new lightbulbs or air conditioner filters).
What all this means, in the end, is what the above article notes. The days of the shopping malls and strips malls may be coming to an end. There may come a time when small “satellite” stores are the norm, where people go into those shops to see the individual items they want to purchase and examine them but do the actual purchasing over the net and get the items delivered to their house.
Fascinating article by Michael Tomansky at The Daily Beast concerning the upcoming Presidential election…and the possibility it might be an Obama landslide:
I tend to agree with Mr. Tomansky, though I would hardly consider myself a political junkie (my wife might argue otherwise).
Having watched the political shows here and there, I’ve been struck by how incredibly weak a candidate Mitt Romney is. He may be a nice guy, he may be an intelligent man, but as a candidate he’s stiff and prone to saying silly things. And when not saying such silly things, he has been caught contradicting or denouncing what should be his core beliefs. This is a man, after all, who was once pro-choice and valued Planned Parenthood. Now he’s anti-abortion and threatens to “defund” Planned Parenthood. In the past he was a proponent of gun control but now he’s a 2nd amendment purist. And then there’s what’s perhaps the biggest inconsistency: As Governor of Massachusetts he pushed through the state’s health care act, which was essentially copied with “Obamacare”. Now, as a Republican candidate, he can’t say enough bad things about this system.
And I haven’t even gotten into issues of what taxes he paid and his stubborn belief that he should not release his IRS records. Finally, there’s one more little thing: One gets the feeling that hard core Republicans simply don’t trust him.
Yes, President Obama has issues to deal with, primary of which is the still fragile economy. Having said that, unless President Obama stumbles really badly and does something colossally dumb, I just can’t see him losing to Mitt Romney.
Then again, we’re still a ways from the election and there’s plenty of time for things to change. I doubt it, but we’ll see…
Fascinating article by Ian Murphy and found on Salon.com regarding the above, five famous atheists who, according to the author, make all atheists look bad:
The author’s choices are fascinating, but the one that I found myself most agreeing with is the last of the five, S. E. Cupp. I have watched a couple of episodes of MSNBCs’ The Cycle, a show that features a grouping of four different hosts including Ms. Cupp, and one of the episodes I saw featured a guest (I forget who) who was promoting a book about his philosophy of being. Anyway, the hosts of the show and the author eventually ventured into the subject of religion and Ms. Cupp mentioned she was an atheist. As an atheist myself, I thought this was a refreshing thing to hear. While I do not share Ms. Cupp’s conservative philosophies (of the four hosts, she represents the “right”), I was curious to hear what she had to say about her atheism.
What followed was rather depressing and goes right in line with what Mr. Murphy wrote about Ms. Cupp. Her statements on her atheism were bizarre and bordered on self-loathing. When the segment was done, I couldn’t help but wonder how someone goes through life apparently hating a part of oneself.
Or does she?
Afterwards, I wondered if Ms. Cupp’s atheism was real or simply a tool for some other goal. Was admitting to being an atheist her “clever” way of denigrating atheism? A couple of times she noted how she envied people with religious convictions and wished she could experience that element in her life. Pity us poor atheists, she appeared to say. For we live a life of wandering, without having a God to look up!
As I said before, I’m an atheist. Unlike Ms. Cupp, I’m comfortable in my skin. I neither envy or miss religion. However, neither do “look down” upon those who are religious. I’ve lived in enough places and experienced enough cultures through my life to know that what works for me may not work for others. Thus, if there is any one abiding philosophy I abide by, it is that one should strive to do what makes one happy inside, provided that doing so doesn’t hurt or annoy others. (If there’s one thing I can’t stand is someone who thrusts one’s own philosophy, religious or not, onto others).
But to live your life as a self-described anything and talk as if that particular aspect of your being is a burden to you seems like such a colossal waste of time and energy. If you aren’t comfortable being an atheist, then by all means stop being one. There are many philosophies and religions out there. Instead of going on about how much being an atheist brings you down, why not instead use that energy to look for something that will instead lift your spirits?
