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Warner Bros. to Mash Americanized “Death Note”
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Recently Warner Bros. procured the rights to the very successful anime and Manga series Death Note. In Japan alone, Death Note has spawned a 108 chapter Manga series, a novel, a lengthy anime series, and two live-action movies (picture left). To call this series successful is a bit of an understatement. What makes Death Note so engrossing is its central theme which tries to have the audience answer: “Is it right for someone to have the power over life and death?”
For anyone that doesn’t know, Death Note centers around a teenager named Light. One day he stumbles upon a notebook, the Death Note, which he finds has the power to kill anyone whose name is written inside of it, as long as Light has seen their face. With this power Light tries to create a world that is free of crime and cleansed of all “evil.” Along with the Death Note, Light is suddenly accompanied by the Death God Ryuk who was the original owner of the Death Note. Ryuk acts like any devil would and pressures Light into killing more people than his conscience will allow. The tension escalates when an investigation is mounted against the murders which slowly gets traced back to Light. For the rest of the story you are going to have to check out the anime series or the live-action movie being released by WB.
For me this is great news. Death Note is one of the best animes that I have seen and it would be great to see what WB could do with the license. The screenwriters for the American adaptation are Charley and Vlas Parlapanides, who say that they are going to use the Manga as the source material and not the previous Japanese live-action films. Now all I can do is wait and hope.
What Do You Think? Discuss.
“Predator” Reboot?
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If you’re a huge fan of Sc-iFi or just a fan of Schwarzenegger, you’ve probably seen a movie called Predator. This was what a great action movie is all about; sitting down and watching it on a day when you don’t want to do any thinking. There were extremely ripped guys, like Arrrnold, huge guns, lots of explosions, and of course a man-hunting alien. This alien was no pushover mind you. He took out tons of highly trained U.S. operatives before finally being taken down by Arnold himself in the film’s climax. Now, how can a film like this spawn a sequel you ask?…well it did…several. While Predator 2 got some things right, they messed up a few essential parts. The action was not as fun and the guys didn’t eat steroids for breakfast, lunch and dinner, which is what I want to see. Then there were all those AVP shenanigans, which I’m not even going to get into.
So, why am I saying all this? Well, Sin City and Planet Terror director Robert Rodriguez, is preparing to give the Predator franchise a face lift. According to Comingsoon.net, he plans on shooting a “reboot” film titled Predators, after he finishes a few other projects; hopefully before Sin City 2, for the love of god! Though that might still be up in the air due to the July 7, 2010 release date already annouced by 20th Century Fox. Either way I am really excited from this news. Rodriguez knows how to present over the top action, but not make it TITF (taking it too far). He has done excellent work with bloody, puss-oozing zombies and vampires, and should do wonders with this franchise comprised of disgusting aliens. I can’t wait until more details have been leaked about this. Stay tuned to The Movie Mash for updates.
What Do You Think? Discuss.
Rant: 3D Is A Gimmick
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Recently, the third dimension has taken movie theaters by storm. It has been gaining mainstream popularity since 2007 with the release of Beowulf 3D: the IMAX experience. So, the question is: Does 3D cinema enhance a movie-goer’s experience? I say no. There are two large problems that persist with each 3D movie that I see.
The first problem is the picture quality is horrible. This is due to how the 3D image is made. The 3D effect is created by projecting two superimposed images onto the screen through polarizing filters. With the special glasses, these images form into one and create a sense of depth to the viewer, but you no longer get the high definition you would receive from a normal screen. The picture appears grainy and unfocused, especially during scenes of frantic movements and actions. The images popping out of the screen do not make up for how distracting the unfocused picture is. I spend more time mentally complaining that the picture sucks than focusing on the movie itself. If you decide that you don’t want to wear your glasses (if they are getting uncomfortable or you could not afford them) your movie experience will be absolute garbage. Without the glasses, the picture you see will be two distinct images and an array of colors which makes determining what is going on in the movie impossible. This makes glasses a necessity if you are in a 3D screening.
My second problem with 3D pictures is how the effect defines the movie instead of the other way around. It is a cheap trick or gimmick to sell more tickets. The effect leads audiences into going to movies to see objects careening toward them, instead of engrossing themselves in the characters and story. Afterward, discussions will be about how cool item X looked in 3D and not of how the characters developed or how the story evolved. Editors will leave plot/character developments out because they need time for the audiences to recover from the 3D effect. Ultimately, 3D only detracts from the development of the story.
Roger Ebert says this in his review of Monsters vs. Aliens, and I quote, “I will say this first and get it out of the way: 3-D is a distraction and an annoyance. Younger moviegoers may think they like it because they’ve been told to, and picture quality is usually far from their minds. But for anyone who would just like to be left alone to see the darned thing, like me, it’s a constant nudge in the ribs saying never mind the story, just see how neat I look.” I could not agree more fully. Until the release of Avatar by James Cameron, I believe that 3D is something that should stay as far away from theaters as possible.
What Do You Think? Discuss.
