2012 Summer Comic Book Movie Review

So, the books have closed on this summer's comic book movies. We had Men in Black 3, The Avengers, Amazing Spider-Man, and The Dark Knight. So how do they rank? Well, #1 is, of course, a no brainer. I think EVERYONE will agree that not only was The Avengers the highest grossing of the four but it is clearly the superior film as well. So...

Summer, '12 - the Superheroes rule yet again

1) The Avengers - Duh. Nuff' Said. 1LR REVIEW - 17 out of 20! It's a Solid Hit!

2) The Dark Knight - It's a fairly large step down from the Avengers but still a great film. What a great ending to the trilogy... it really left the fans wanting more (which is awesome and sucks at the same time). Did Bruce Wayne die? 1LR says... no. Clearly, the sequence where Alfred sees him is not a dream. 1LR REVIEW - 15 out of 20! It's a Hit!

3) Men in Black 3 - The best of the trilogy, 1LR loved Griffin, the man who can see all potential futures and the fact that this movie actually had a heart and character development. Plus, we're suckers for time travel. But it lost some points because we hate time travel with logic errors. 1LR REVIEW - 14 out of 20! It's a Hit!

4) The Amazing Spider-Man - Coming in at last place, The Amazing Spider-Man. Not that this is a bad film! It just never escapes the gravity of the previous trilogy. We loved seeing a more "realistic" take on Spider-Man and hope the sequel will more fully explore the mystery of Spidey's parents. 1LR REVIEW - 13 out of 20! It's a Glancing Hit!

So, as you can see, there really are no losers on this list. What a great summer to be a comic book fan at the box office!

Marvel Media Mania: Men in Black III - (Midnight Show Review - SPOILERS!)

Men in Black III was released today. Warning, I'm not holding back the spoilers on this one. I'll put in a jump break for those that don't want to have it ruined for them by accident.

MIB 3 poster

1LR Midnight Movie: Men in Black III Fanboy Experience

Pretty empty, right?

Does Men in Black have fanboys? I don't know. I've been to quite a few midnight shows and this one was pretty sparsely attended. Here's the theater I was in:

Still the Frank Theatre had some special events. First, they actually filmed a special "trailer" using footage from the movie and footage they took themselves at the theater to promot their special MIB3 party on May 26. This party will include an alien costume contest, petting zoo, car show, BBQ, and more. That sounds kinda cool for a theatre to do.The theater also had a drawing tonight. It was a "guess the number of swedish fish in the jar" contest with the prize being a gold fish. How does this tie into MIB? There's a throwaway line in the movie about fish. Weak link, but still pretty cool. The best was the crashed ship the theater had constructed complete with flashing lights and yellow tape. I'm going out on a limb but I'm guessing the theater manager is a big MIB fan.

Party flier from the theater

MIB drawing for a fish? FLUSH!

I only saw one brave fan dressed up. She even had a gun. BRAVO, MIB fan! I guess MIB fan...er...girls do exist!

Very cool fangirl in MIB costume!

Crashed alien ship with flashing lights!

1LR Midnight Movie: Men in Black III Instant Reaction

I just got back from the midnight show of Men in Black III.

No subliminal message here.

Overall, I've got to say I was pleased by the film. It's a time travel film, of course, and I have a big soft spot in my heart for time travel. The tone of the movie seemed more serious than the first two films. MIB3 comes across as being more serious. In the first two movies you never really consider that Agent J or Agent K will die because all of the violence is very cartoony. In fact, in the cartoon series Agent K's false death was a running joke. The movie starts out with Zed's funderal and the hook for the whole storyline of his movie is Agent K's death so it puts everything in a more somber mood.

Not that the mood change is all bad. Like I said - I liked it. This film actually has a real villain that poses a real threat - something the first two lacked.

But don't worry - there are still a bunch of jokes thrown in there and fans of MIB won't be disappointed.

Marvel Media Mania: Men in Black: The Animated Series

Men in Black: The Animated Series ran for four seasons on the WB starting in 1997.

Like the movie that inspired the show, Agent K and Agent J are the main characters. Since the movie felt almost like a cartoon (with cartoony violence and wild stunts) the transition from live action to cartoon is actually quite smooth. As far as continuity, the cartoon picks up from the first movie, only it's somewhere before K has had his memory wiped at the end of the movie since in the cartoon series he's still an active agent. There are other changes as well such as Zed's appearance. Only true MiB continuity buffs would be concerned about these but for me they didn't impede my enjoyment of the show in the slightest.

In many ways, the cartoon comes across as being more serious than the movie. The titles sequence is one good example. Use of "lighting" techniques and "time lapse" photography as well as a steady beat that the characters all move to gives it a very serious (but stimulating) tone. In many cases, the color pallet is kept very dull. Your main characters are dressed all in black and often the backgrounds are plain grey or dull greens.

The action sequences are very similar to the movie- over the top, cartoony violence in which nobody ever really gets hurt. There are some pretty weird and gross sequences that were surprisingly graphic, such as aliens bloodlessly bursting out of human bodies.

I'd say they nailed the characters' personalities. K is the all-knowing mentor who plays his cards close to his chest (a series-running gag is K's apparent demise proving false). J is overconfident know-nothing who constantly makes a buffoon out of himself. By the end of season four, however, you're wondering why J hasn't improved his skills and increased his knowledge. It was interesting for me to be introduced to other agents and to more fully explore the history and inner workings of the MiB over the course of the series.

Overall, the series nails the tone and mood of the movie. The slightly insane logic that rules the galaxy is well applied. The episodes do tend to all blur together, however. With few exceptions (such as Alpha), the villains are pretty much totally exchangeable. They get used for one episode and then are never seen again. The show's running gags such as the word "Syndrome" in all of the titles do wear a little thin and serve to make the series even more predictable than it already was.

Basically, your reaction to this show is going to be the same as your reaction to the movies.

1LR Review - 13 out of 20! It's a Glancing Hit!

1LR Midnight Show: Men In Black III



Prom? Nope. We're going to see MIB3!

This Thursday, May 24, 1LR will be at the Frank Theater (Queensgate Shopping Center) in York, PA to watch the third Men in Black movie. You're welcome to join us. I'll be looking for superfans who have dressed up in costume. My review should be up sometime around 3:00 AM on the 25th. I hope to see you there!

Marvel Media Mania: Men in Black

The 1997 film Men in Black starred Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. It is based on a comic book series originally published by Aircel Comics (which was later purchased by Malibu Comics. Malibu produced its own MIB series. Then Malibu was purchased by Marvel Comics and Marvel put out its own MIB comics.)

 The unique thing about this film is the tone of it. On the surface, the concept seems very similar to other movies about aliens - E.T., Alien, or Independence Day. But the action in this film is very cartoony and light hearted. Two ordinary men, Agent K and Agent J, take on aliens that far outclass them in raw power without worry. This film is a sci-fi halfbreed of action and comedy.

Although Will Smith's loud mouthed swagger wears thin after awhile, this film has some truly memorable comedic moments. The best of which may be the Noisy Cricket. This teeny tiny gun is given to Agent J as his first weapon. Agent K doesn't tell him that it could level a skyscraper, though! Watching Agent J adjust to life in MIB has its comedic moments like his uncomfortableness with mind-wiping witnesses. The written test that Agent J has to do is also hilarious (he breaks his pencil, futilely tries to write on his seat, and then loudly drags over a huge coffee table). The film also strongly implies that Al Roker, Newt Gingrich, Sylvester Stallone, Dennis Rodman, and other celebrities are all aliens. The writers even worked in a Captain America reference! Score!

The film's major failing is the lack of an interesting villain. The "Bug" wearing a human's skin is more of a gross out than a real threat. The big bad guy ends up being a distraction from all of the other stuff that is going on that is actually cool.

1LR Review - 13 out of 20! It's a Glancing Hit!