Defendor

Defendor ~ Insomnia does crazy things to you sometimes, besides keeping you from sleeping of course. With me, it makes me methodically peruse the OnDemand menus. One such search brought me to Defendor.

Now other than "True Detective" and some scenes in Zombieland, I have never been able to stand Woody Harrelson, and yet here I am watching him playing superhero. Of course, the Woody factor (as well as the comedy factor, dark or not) is kinda outweighed by it being in the broadest sense a superhero movie, and also starring Sandra Oh and Kat Dennings, both serious movie crushes for me.

Harrelson plays a functionally special needs man who takes to the streets to dish out vigilante justice as Defendor. Sandra Oh is the doctor examining him as he tells the tale of the film in flashback, while Kat Dennings is a prostitute who befriends him. There's also Elias Koteas as one of the bad guys. All put in better than expected performances.

Defendor is nowhere near as bad as first impressions or the trailer makes it look. It's actually more Kick-Ass than Blankman, and worth a look. I wanted it to put me to sleep, but I wanted to see how it ended. Yeah, a bit predictable, but I liked it. And there you go.

True Detective Reborn

Let's face it, we all loved the first season of "True Detective." We loved the murky quirky mystery, the bizarre danger, the insane villains, and the wild chemistry of the two unconventional leads. Nic Pizzolatto created some of the greatest television ever made in just eight hours. It was genius.

And then when we heard "True Detective" was to be an 'anthology' series, that a second season would not feature Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson (an actor that TD finally made me respect), but a new cast, story, and setting - we were suddenly tentative and lukewarm. When we saw previews, we were even more shaken. This second season didn't feel like the "True Detective" we knew and loved at all. Hardcore fans were worried.

Then we watched the season premiere last week. I'll be the first to admit this, it was not holding my attention. Political corruption, in my opinion, is boring fodder for a police drama, let alone the amazing story that preceded this one. Vince Vaughn badly channeling Vincent D'Onofrio's baby-man Kingpin from Netflix's "Daredevil" did not help one bit. He is almost a joke at some points.

The rest of the cast appears to be not only too many but not quirky enough for my "True Detective" tastes. Colin Farrell's Ray Velcoro comes closest to what we expect from the show, but he does far too much reacting than acting for my tastes. Rachel McAdams barely registered on my radar, and Taylor Kitsch, who was brilliant as both John Carter and Gambit, yet criminally rousted by Hollywood, barely has anything to do either. Along with Vaughn, it felt like far too many, and far too uninteresting, characters.

Many of us fans may have decided to give up on the show after that first episode. If you did, don't. The show definitely got its vibe back last night with the second episode. And I have a feeling it's going to get even better.

Vince Vaughn got a bit more desperate and dangerous. Both McAdams and Kitsch became far more twisted and interesting. Nic Pizzolatto revealed his more familiar dark side, and they took care of that too many characters thing. If you checked out, check back in. This is going to be a wild ride.

And if you'd like a different view on the second season of "True Detective," check out my buddy Jim Knipp's recaps and reviews at Biff Bam Pop! right here.

What I Liked in 2014

There was a lot to like this year and a lot to dislike, but I'll try to keep this positive.

In television this year we probably witnessed some of the best TV ever made in HBO's "True Detective," a show that also did the impossible, and made me like Woody Harrelson. Probably the best take on a comic book superhero happened late in the year in "The Flash," which in turn spun out of "Arrow." Also in the comics realm and improving with every episode is "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." Please click on the links for my regular reviews of those shows.

This year I also dug "The Affair, " "Black Sails," "Power," "Penny Dreadful," "The Newsroom," "The Comeback," and the sadly canceled and much-maligned "Selfie"

As far as movies go, I loved Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, proof positive that the superhero genre in film has grown up and proved it can be more than it's been in the past. A close tie with those films would be the small and powerful horror flick The Babadook that I really loved. Also on my good list this year would be The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden, Jodorowsky's Dune, and Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel. On the bad side would be This Is the End, which of course would be my main reason for not wanting to see The Interview.

I haven't read all that many comics this year, but I would have to give serious props to Grant Morrison's Multiversity comics, which I not only read, but also enjoyed immensely. As far as real books, I would be remiss if I didn't mention Marie Gilbert's Roof Oasis and the newest South Jersey Writers' Group anthology Reading Glasses, and the two best books I've read this year are Wrapped in Plastic: Twin Peaks by Andy Burns and Murder on Edisto by C. Hope Clark.

For more of my views and those of the staff of Biff Bam Pop!, check out the newest Biff Bam Popcast on the best and worst of 2014 right here.

Now You See Me

Now You See Me ~ I kinda wish I hadn't seen this movie. Had we left halfway through the movie, or two-thirds in, or even three-quarters, I might have had a completely different opinion. The last twenty minutes is where this mindless but fun and entertaining flick takes a left turn into the toilet.

Here the thing. You have a wonderful cast starring Mark Ruffalo, Jesse Eisenberg, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Common, and even Woody Harrellson, who usually just gets on my nerves, giving excellent entertaining performances. You have a movie that seems to walk the thin line between flashy heist flick and magician fantasy, full of wonder and charm. And then it turns to crap in the final act. I suspect they started filming without an ending.

I have a rule that many of my friends question. I don't leave a movie until it's done, no matter how bad it is. It could have a terrific ending that makes the rest of it seem brilliant. It has happened. Now You See Me is the opposite of this rule. It's a good movie with a crap nonsensical ending that just sours anything in the first three quarters of the flick. Twenty minutes in, I loved Now You See Me. When the credits rolled, I hated this movie.

Game Change

Game Change ~ I always have trepidations when liberals make a movie about conservatives, especially in the vicious and hostile environment the two sides have existed in the last few years. And I'm not taking sides either, I feel the same way about movies made by conservatives about the liberals. The problem of course is that the latter films are never really that good or get that much exposure. An American Carol might be the exception to that rule, but even it is very heavy handed.

I have discussed several times the sheer quality of the programming on HBO, and Game Change is no exception. The story of Governor Sarah Palin's rise and fall during the 2008 Presidential Election is an amazing rollercoaster ride, and by amazing, I mean it in both the good way and the bad way. The film does well in showing that, we see the good and the bad, but sometimes, just sometimes the humor in the script can be quite cruel. I think that was a bit unnecessary. It's all about show don't tell, folks, I think we all know what kind of person Sarah Palin was during the Election.

Other than Woody Harrelson, who I have trouble keeping a straight face whenever he's in a movie, the cast is first class. Julianne Moore is great as Palin, except when she goes over the top, which is thankfully not often. Ed Harris and the rest of the ensemble cast turn in admirable performances. Well worth watching, just don't take it, or your own politics that seriously, when you're watching it.