Film Flash: Collateral Beauty

15 words or less film review (full review to follow soon)

Lacks subtlety and good dialogue.  But it almost recovers with strong emotion/acting.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Catholic Skywalker Awards 2016 - BEST IN COMICS

With 2016 coming to a close, it is time for us to choose what the best entertainment of the year was.  And just as the Academy Awards have their "Oscars, " so too the Catholic Skywalker Awards have their "Kal-El's"

Now, you may be wondering why a blog called Catholic Skywalker would choose a Superman statue as it's award, and not something from Star Wars.   The reasons are 3-fold:

1.  The Catholic Skywalker Awards will cover movies, television, and comic books.  Superman is an icon for all three.

2.  The pose he has here, revealing his inner hero, is symbolic of the revelation of truth and beauty that we should find in all good art.

3.  It's a statue I actually own, so I can use this photo on my blog.

Catholic Skywalker: Best in Comics:

Best Series

Superman

Peter J. Tomasi has long been one of the most underrated writers working in comics.  His work on Green Lantern Corps was on par with Geoff Johns' Green Lantern book.  And his run on Batman and Robin help give the Dark Knight a strong beating heart in his relationship to his son and the rest of the Bat-Family.

Tomasi brings all of this to his Superman book.

One of the best things about this post-Rebirth DC Universe is that they have brought back the pre-New 52 Superman.  When they rebooted the DC Universe in 2011, it took away the Clark and Lois relationship and all of the wonderful character development they had.  But with the return of this version of the characters, not do we have a sense of nostalgia, but we have added a new element: their son.

The greatest joy of this book is that we get to see Superman be the dad of the DC Universe.  The angsty twenty-something of the Morrison reboot was interesting, but cold and distant.  Tomasi infuses this with all heart.

And Jonathan, the son, is full of fun, wide-eyed wonder.  I read that the character Robin was invented so that young kids could imagine themselves sharing adventures with Batman.  Watching Jonathan fly around with his father and discover this whole new world, I feel like those kids felt about those original Robin adventures.

And Lois is written better than she has been in years.  She is every much an equally compelling character as her husband or her son.

And Tomasi weaves in this appealing family dynamic with off-the wall adventures featuring Dinasaur Island or Frankenstein.

Doug Manke's are also gives the books a strong, dynamic style.  But at the same time, he is able to capture the quiet serenity of simple country life.

This is a book I look forward to reading every two weeks.  

Best Single Issue

Detective Comics #940

This series had been pretty good up through this point: Batman had Batwoman assemble a crack team of Gotham heroes: Red Robin, Spoiler, Orphan, and Clayface.  Together they started taking down a sizable threat that blossomed into a full-blown conspiracy.

But this issue was the final epic showdown.  And rather than be a showcase primarily of visceral action, it was instead a tale of gut-wrenching heartbreak.

The bad guys have set loose hundreds of drones to kill thousands of Gotham citizens.  One member of the team hacked into the drones and did the only thing he could draw them away from the innocent.  This person made themselves the target.

What follows is heart-pounding inevitability barreling down at our hero as they never give up, never complain, and never give in.  And when all hope is lost, instead of cursing the heavens, our noble hero takes the time to tell the people that they love goodbye and that they love them.

James Tynion IV's script is tight and tense while knowing how to extract every drop of sorrow from the reader.  And Eddy Barrow's art captures all of that emotional pain in every panel.  His full page spreads are especially devastating.  Watching Batman holding a weeping friend while crying himself... that's an image that sticks with you.

Best Graphic Novel/Deluxe One Shot

DC UNIVERSE REBIRTH

From my review of DC Universe Rebirth:

"This review will be very brief because it is almost impossible to talk about this comic book without spoiling its surprises.  And in this case, I think the label "spoilers" is very appropriate.  If I had known what happened in this book before I read it, then my joy would have been spoiled.

DC Universe Rebirth is the potential swan song of Geoff Johns at DC.  I hope that's not the case because he is the greatest comic writer of all time. 

Back in 2011, DC rebooted the entire DCU with the New 52.  As a sales technique, it was very effective for a few months.  I enjoyed a number of the fresh takes, but there was also a lot that was lost in terms of DC's history and legacy.  Some beloved characters were either removed or reinvented beyond recognition.  When you spend years with these characters, it can be difficult to see them go.

But DC Universe Rebirth feels very much like Johns way of addressing this problem and fixing it.

The art is fantastic.  I was so thrilled that some of my favorite artists working now contributed: Gary Frank, Ivan Reis, Ethan Van Sciver, and Phil Jimenez.  The visuals are gorgeous and Johns knows how to use them for maximum story and emotion.  And there are clues in the visual design of the comic before the big reveal that comic fans will notice especially on a second read.  Johns and the artists hit some truly iconic images and incorporate them into the story in a way that doesn't feel gimmicky, but organic and evocative.

Thematically, Johns again gets right to the core.  In fact the chapter titles spell it all out: Lost, Legacy, Love, and Life.  The hero who takes us through the narrative lays out the lead up to this problem and the potential pathway going forward.  As a Catholic, I love the idea that beyond all of the fancy mystical and science-fiction elements at play in these comics, it's the universal and transcendent truths that give our heroes their purpose.  What is life without faith, hope, and love?  Johns raises this question and foils it against the ultimate comic foe.

I will have to end my review here because to say any more will rob you of the joy of reading this book for only $2.99.  But one more thing about the big and sure-to-be-controversial reveal at the end.

The revelation and its implications would be stupid and silly in the hands of any other writer.  It would feel forced and cynical, like a gimmick beyond all gimmicks.  But I believe in Geoff Johns.  If he takes the story towards where it looks to be heading, he could have the makings of the greatest DC Comics story ever written."

Best Artist

Ethan Van Sciver

photo by badseed

I know that the art of a book is excellent when I go back and immediately re-read it just so I can let my eyes linger on the images.  That's how I felt when reading Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps Rebirth.

Van Sciver is no stranger to Hal, having been the main artist on the original Green Lantern Rebirth.  But he has lost none of his potency.  The tangible charisma with which he infuses his characters makes them nearly leap off the page at times.  He is able to take the stories and open up beautiful visual vistas while at the same time keeping the human drama front and center.  Excellent work here and also in his contributions to DC Universe Rebirth, working to tell one of the great stories of the decade.

Best Writer

Geoff Johns (DC UNIVERSE REBIRTH)

photo from besignyawn

Readers of this blog may be sick of me constantly putting Geoff Johns in the best writer spot, but I refuse to penalize him simply for being so good.  His work on DC Universe Rebirth, as stated above, has been incredible.  He is still the best writer in comics today and my only complaint about him is that he has cut back on a lot of his writing duties in the last few years.

And once again this year he is the best comic book writer of the year.

Film Review: Moana

Sexuality/Nudity No Objection 
Violence Acceptable
Vulgarity No Objection
Anti-Catholic Philosophy No Objection

The biggest problem with Moana is that it feels like I've seen this movie before.

A common problem in the movie industry is returning to the well one too many times to try and repeat the formula for success.  You can see this especially in superhero origin films.  And it is hard to argue against the financial sense that this makes.  And the same is true of Disney Princess Movies.
And Moana is no exception.

The story takes place in the Pacific on the island of Motunui, a small tropical paradise.  But the chief's young daughter Moana (Auli'i Cravalho) longs for adventure in the great wide somewhere beyond the reefs of the island.  She finds reason to venture forth when something starts corrupting the island's resources.  It turns out that a demigod named Maui (Dwayne Johnson) stole the heart of a Te Fiti (a small stone with the power to give life) and unleashed a darkness that slowly began to corrupt the oceans and eventually touching Motunui.  Moana has been chosen by the ocean (portrayed here as a sentient being), to find Maui and return the heart of Te Fiti and save her people.

Visually, the movie is gorgeous.  Motunui in particular looks so beautiful that it is actually presents a problem: why would anyone ever want to leave?  We are meant to sympathize with Moana's wanderlust, but Motunui feels to comfortable for that.

The music is fairly good as well.  But Disney has set the bar incredibly high for their songs.  I am firmly convinced that one of the reasons The Princess and the Frog did not catch on was because early 20th Century Jazz is not a big crowd pleaser.  There is nothing to the level of "Let it Go" or "A Whole New World" in here.  But there are about 3 or so songs that have very pleasing melodies with very passionate swells.

And it is when compared to its other Disney predecessors, the movie feels like a bit of a retread.

Moana's relationship with her father Chief Tui (Temura Morrison) feels exactly like Ariel and Triton from The Little Mermaid.

Moana is constantly called to remember who she is and where she came from like Simba from The Lion King.

The anthropomorphized relationship with mother nature is incredibly reminiscent of Pocahontas.

The independent non-Princess mentality comes right out of PIXAR's Brave.

Maui has the same personality issues that were found in Hercules (and his tattoos are reminiscent of the Grecian singers from that film).

And there is a thematic connection which I will not spoil here regarding the main villain and Frozen.

Speaking of the villain, there is no strong personality like Urusla, Gaston, or Jafar to be found here.  Yes, when they visit the realm of monsters, they encounter gigantic crab named Tamatoa (Jemaine Clement) who shoots out several one-liners.  But the existential threat to the people never feels personal.

Another frustrating thing about the movie is that it never lays out its internal logic.  As mentioned before, the ocean is a sentient power that often acts supernaturally to aid Moana and Maui.  But there are times when our heroes need the ocean's help but receive none.  There is no explanation of why or under what circumstances the ocean will play a part in the narrative.  I kept thinking: "This movie would be over in minutes if the ocean kept helping them."  You may object and say that it is only a children's movie.  But even the simplest children's films should hold to some kind of internal logic and consistency.

Despite these complaints, I would not categorize Moana as a bad film.  There was nothing in it that I found offensive or bad.  Yes, it relies on pagan imagery and religious mythology, but those are acceptable modes of telling a legendary story.

And children will greatly enjoy it, especially the silly chicken HeiHei (Alan Tudyk).  And the adventure is wide in scope with dazzling vistas.

I just wish it didn't feel like I'd seen it all before.

3 and 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Film Flash: Rogue One - A Star Wars Story

15 words or less film review (full review to follow soon)

Very cool, but to the point being of cold.  Thrilling cameos.  Exciting action.  Surprising humor.

4 out of 5 star

Trailer Time: Dunkirk

Christopher Nolan has yet to make a bad movie, I don't think this will ruin his record.

I love the themes and the cast.  But so far none of the visuals in the trailer are grabbing me like much of his earlier work.  Don't get me wrong, Nolan has earned my trust and nothing in this trailer looks at all bad.

Nolan is a victim of his own success in that he keeps raising the bar so high.  So my expectations are high for this movie.

Click this link to watch the video on YouTube.com

Thoughts?

Film Review: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Sexuality/Nudity Acceptable 
Violence Acceptable
Vulgarity No Objection
Anti-Catholic Philosophy Acceptable

The real challenge of making this film is to see if there is a real affection for the wizarding world JK Rowling created or if the magic was only with The Boy Who Lived.

And I am here to tell you, there is still magic in this world.

Taking place decades before the Harry Potter book series, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them follows the adventure of Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), a kind of "Wizard Conservationist" who sees the beauty and wonder in the magical beasts of the world apart from their simply utility to wizarding kind.  Newt travels from England to New York City in the 1920's with a magical suitcase filled with a menagerie of eponymous fantastic beasts..  Tensions are high as there is a burgeoning war brewing from the dark wizard Gellert Grindlewald.  In addition to this, the American wizarding authorities, MACUSA, led by Queen Seraphina (Carmen Ejogo) and one of her head aurors Graves (Colin Farrell) are cracking down on loose beasts in the area.  Along the way, Newt gets tangled up with a low-level and earnest auror Tina (Katherine Waterston) and her mind-reading sister Queenie (Alison Sudol) along with a non-magical wannabe baker Kowalski (Dan Fogler).  Together they not only challenge each other but face a larger, more sinister threat.

To be clear, this movie is much more mature in theme and content than the Harry Potter stories.  Yes, the original series had some severely dark moments.  But those movies were ultimately about the journey from childhood into being an adult.  Fantastic Beasts already plunges you in the labyrinth of international politics and complex social hierarchies.  Newt is very much the outsider, like Harry.  But Newt's oddness does not come from a lack of familiarity with the world.  Instead he understands how the wizarding world works; he simply rejects their way of thinking.

One of the darker elements of the story revolves around Mary Lou Barebones (Samantha Morton) who wants to start a "Second Salem."  She lives in a drab home where she abuses her adopted children Credence (Ezra Miller), Modesty (Faith Wood-Blagrove), and Chastity (Jenn Murray).  This abuse is not just emotional, but physical, especially for the gun-shy Credence.  In most movies, the family home would be adorned with a plethora of religious imagery and Mary Lou would quote scripture constantly as she abused her children.  I was relieved and thankful that all religious imagery was absent from these scenes.  Rowling has been wise to avoid bringing in any explicit traditional religion into her stories (like JRR Tolkien) so as not to distract from her overall point.

Despite the darkness, the movie is actually a great deal of fun.  The beasts we encouter are wonderfully imaginative and enjoyable to watch.  Director David Yates, having directed half of the Harry Potter films, knows how to use the special effects well.  He also understands that we need to see something different than we have before.  That is why transporting this movie to a whole different era gives the movie a nice visual flourish.

I must admit that Redmayne did a fine job as the lead.  His performance is reminiscent of the mischievous demeanor of Matt Smith's portrayal in Doctor Who.  Newt is reckless, but he makes up for it with his enthusiasm for his beasts and for his friends.

A lot of credit needs also to go to Fogler as Kowalski.  I have been a fan of Fogler for years and have been hoping that his work would eventually get more attention.  He is an expressive and physical comic.  Watching his wonder and discovering the magic around him is delightful.  And on top of that, there Fogler was able to convey the fear and sadness of the character at the same time.  Waterston cannot help but be endearing in her excessive earnestness to do what is right and Sudol sufficiently flighty without being ditzy.

Farrell's performance is a bit one-note, but as he did when he played the Daredevil villain Bullseye, he brings an incredible amount of charisma to make up for it.  Miller's performance is the one that suffers the most from the script.  He is put upon and abused, like a super-dark version of what the Dursleys did to Harry.  But the performance feels week and stiff.

The film suffers most when it feels like it is trying to make some kind of social commentary.  While the above example of the New Salem Society isn't explicitly religious, it feels a bit like a knock against fundamentalist Christians.  MACUSA has strict laws against wizards and non-wizards intermarrying, which feels like shot at the way many Americans view traditional marriage.  Credence's struggle with "darkness" he feels inside which he is suppressing feels like a metaphor for a homosexual child being forced to deny his orientation because of his overbearing parents.

Perhaps I am inferring too much from all of this.  Perhaps I am being too sensitive to potential noxious messages.  As I said, Rowling is smart enough not to try and pick a fight.  She in interested in telling  a good story.

And the story does take some nice twists and turns.  It is nice to watch a movie where the conclusion has some unexpected elements to it.

This film is meant to be the first part of a five part series.  As a result, there is much that is left open-ended.

But because the movie is as good as it is, I do not mind.  In fact, I am looking forward to the next adventure of Newt Scamander.

When he returns with his Fantastic Beasts, I'll be sure to find them.

4 out of 5 stars.

Thoughts on Golden Globe Nominations

The Golden Globe nomiations came out today.  And my reaction to the list is...

"meh."

So far, here are the highest grossing non-animated films of 2016:

Captain America: Civil War
The Jungle Book
Deadpool
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Suicide Squad
Doctor Strange
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Jason Bourne
Star Trek Beyond

Only one of these movies has any nominations.

As I always say, simple box office numbers do not necessarily indicate quality.  But how are people going to care about this or the Oscars if they haven't seen the nominees?

In fact, to illustrate this, instead of giving you a list of all the nominees, I will only list the nominees that I have seen in theaters or watch on TV.

Best Motion Picture, Drama

“Hacksaw Ridge”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama

-NONE

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama

Andrew Garfield, “Hacksaw Ridge”

Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

“Deadpool”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical orComedy

-NONE

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

Ryan Reynolds, “Deadpool”

Best Motion Picture, Animated

“Moana”

“Zootopia”

Best Motion Picture, Foreign Language

-NONE

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in AnyMotion Picture

-NONE

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture

-NONE

Best Director, Motion Picture

Mel Gibson, “Hacksaw Ridge”

Best Screenplay, Motion Picture

-NONE

Best Original Score, Motion Picture

-NONE

Best Original Song, Motion Picture

“How Far I’ll Go” — “Moana”

Best Television Series, Drama

-NONE

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Drama

Winona Ryder, “Stranger Things”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Drama

-NONE

Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy

-NONE

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy

-NONE

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy

-NONE

Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made forTelevision

-NONE

Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series or Motion

Picture Made for Television

-NONE

Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or Motion

Picture Made for Television

-NONE

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a

Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

-NONE

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series,

Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

-NONE

So as you can see, only 9 out of 129 nominees mean anything at all to me.  And that doesn't even mean that I'm rooting for them.  All it means is that I only have any experience of 7% of the total nominees.

If the Golden Globes (and later the Oscars and Emmys) do not see this as horribly problematic, then they will continue to spiral into irrelevance.