Hardcore Nerdity was abducted and probed last week when our server shut down for no apparent reason. Sorry for those of you attempting to visit, but we’re back up and running and the government says we’re not allowed to talk about it.
Please scroll down for our awesome-tastic podcast interviews with Robert Picardo and John De Lancie, plus Simon Evans’ unique perspective on the new flick Hancock starring Will Smith.
And yes, sitting down is still a little uncomfortable. Thanks for asking.
Nerd correspondent and podcast regular, Simon Evans, takes in an advance screening of Hancock and gives us the low-down straight up!
Some Superheroes are born – or mutated – into greatness while others have it thrust upon them. It’s the latter case with Hancock; the crustiest, crankiest and perhaps drunkiest superhero to hit the big screen this summer (sorry Robert Downey Jr. – take a seat buddy!)
You’ve probably all seen the trailer, but in case you haven’t, the story goes something a little like this: It’s all about superhero/superdrunk John Hancock (Will Smith) who is reluctantly goaded from his park bench and alcoholic stupor into fighting bad guys and saving helpless Los Angelians from certain death.
But, as the film points out right off the top, Hancock’s help comes at a hefty price, both financially and in terms of property damage, for the City of Angels. Add to that the personal risk to it’s citizens and the negative spin from the media, well – all that makes Hancock about as welcome as a shrimp ring at a Jewish wedding. In other words, Hancock’s efforts are less than well received by pretty much everyone.
Enter Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman); a goody-two-shoes PR makeover specialist who is rescued by a hung-over Hancock from impending doom at the hands – or, rather – wheels, of a speeding freight train (which, of course, Hancock wrecks… spotting a theme here yet? Yeah – we’ll get to “train wrecks” later…)
Ray decides to take the under appreciated, disrespectful superhero, under his wing, so to speak, with the offer of a campaign to turn the not so popular Johnny H. into a regular Superman! Spandex suit and all! So off they go back to Ray’s house to meet the wife (cutie-pie Charlize Theron) and the kid (ah – who cares who the kid is!)
So far so good. A somewhat genuinely charming idea. By this point, we’ve come to like Hancock (I mean all superheroes have problems right?) and we are intrigued by his mysterious origins and the fact that he lives in a shithole like L.A. when he could go pretty much anywhere in a heartbeat. And the drunk thing? Well, who hasn’t had one too many and been at home to Mr.Cock Up! We even like that he’s trading in the Jangle Juice for a jumpsuit and has started making friends and influencing people…
And now comes the “train wreck” part I spoke of earlier.
See there’s a “twist”. Or something. And it’s telegraphed early on by a baby-blue sideways glance from Ms Theron that has the subtlety of a smack in the face with a pillowcase of wet oranges – Ah! I get it! Seems that something is not what it seems with the Embreys and Hancock. That there’s maybe more to their chance meeting. And that’s when things get, shall we say, messy in more ways than one! (I’ll say no more as the word ‘spoiler’ comes to mind…)
It does seems, however, that director Peter Berg and writer Vince Gillian (X-writer for The X-Files) got a bit befuddled in the third act. The action takes a head-scratching right turn to a rousing chorus of “Oh, Come On!“s from the audience. It’s like they just plain ran out of ideas. Of course, it would be even more shocking to imagine that they didn’t just run out of ideas but, rather, this was the kind of ending they’d had imagined all the time.
I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think this was the “direction” to go in. Maybe they should have… uh… oh, hell, I dunno. See? Like the movie, I’ve just plain run out of ideas.
All in all? I think that Hancock is worth seeing. Maybe it’s just not worth seeing all of it!!
Over the weekend I had the chance to interview Robert Picardo about his Trek history and Atlantis future!
And the lovely Lesley Livingston spoke with John de Lancie about his latest works and future plans!
Plus the rest of the HCN gang reviews Get Smart!
Can you say super fun times? I think you can…
This week it’s all about BSG’s midseason finale, The Incredible Hulk, Lesley interviews Canadian author Robert J. Sawyer, and the lovely Adrienne chats with Chris Szego of Bakka Phoenix Books.
Just heard the news that special effects genius Stan Winston has passed away. He will be missed.
This week the HCN crew reviews Kung Fu Panda, Lesley interviews fantasy and speculative fiction author Douglas Smith, and Adrienne delves deep into the Goblin-ridden mind of fantasy author Jim C. Hines!
Jack Black looks good in a panda suit. Wait. Kung Fu Panda is animated you say? Oh. Well he sounds good as a panda. Unfortunately for movie-goers, the same can’t be said for the rest of the cast of Kung Fu Panda.
While the film is, of course, a visual treat for the eyes, the story of the fat, lazy panda that wants to learn Kung Fu doesn’t cut the mustard for the full 90 minutes. The humour never really gets beyond slapstick, and there is precious little in the actual script. I suspect that any dialogue that sounded funny was due to Black’s delivery or improvisation.
Dustin Hoffman is terribly miscast as Master Shifu, Angelina Jolie sounds completely bored and Jackie Chan is wasted as Monkey. Was that too blunt? I just wanted to get to the point.
That being said I can’t say that Kung Fu Panda is without merit. Directors Mark Osborne and John Stevenson managed to kick up a few great action sequences, most notably Tai Lung’s (Ian McShane) prison break, a clever battle with dumplings and a sequence involving a rope bridge. But it took me about 60 minutes to actually start to care about any of it. The film does it’s level best to get right into the story and the action, but 60 minutes to give a damn is a wee bit too long for my tastes.
A bright spot in the film is Ian McShane’s Tai Lung. He infuses the character with a wonderful sense of mischief and menace, but manages to never be too scary for the kiddies. And lets face it – Kung Fu Panda is really just for the kiddies. It lacks the more mature undertones of a Toy Story 2 or a Happy Feet.
But there is some fun to be had here. Grab the kids and take them to see it in IMAX. I’m sure they’ll get a “kick” out of Kung Fu Panda. And yes – I know that was a terrible pun to end this review.
This week Adrienne, Simon, Salem and I discuss Get Smart, The Hulk, and Adrienne interviews Cory Doctorow about his new book Little Brother.
Just have some quick thoughts about The Strangers which I caught this afternoon. While by no means is this movie going to go down in history as a classic horror picture, The Strangers delivers enough jumps and chills to carry you through the film’s 90 minutes, even though the story is very much lacking in complexity.
Said story involves Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman as a couple who retreat to a house in the woods to spend a romantic evening. They probably should have consulted Bruce Campbell first. What follows is a twisted and frightening evening that sees them up against some sadistic masked (of course they are masked) crazies who seem to be terrorizing them just for the h-e-double toothpicks of it.
There’s not much that you haven’t seen before in terms of visual scare tactics in the film, but I have to send out some kudos to tomandandy who provided the original score and to the sound department. I haven’t heard a horror movie in a long time that had such a lush and creepy sound mix, not to mention a song from folk harp player Joanna Newsom that is particularly eerie. If you do venture out to see it, make sure it’s in a good cinema. Without the sound this film would have had very little impact to speak of, even though Liv Tyler seems to be giving it her all. First time writer/director Bryan Bertino shows some promise here, but should aim a little higher in the characterization department next time. And there probably will be a next time, as one of the final lines in the film opens the door for the inevitable straight-to DVD sequel.
And it’s nice to see that the film avoids many of the torture porn staples that so many so-called “horror” movies have indulged in for the last few years.
While not necessarily a feast for the eyes, if you like things that go bump, bang, crash and kablamo in the night, you might want to get to know The Strangers.
This week the gang discuss Indiana Jones, the good and the bad, all in-depth like.
Spoilers abound so…You are warned!
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