New "The Dark Knight Trilogy: Ultimate Collector's Edition" out this fall

Warner Bros. is releasing an all new blu-ray set of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy this September in a six-disc set. It includes all three movies and special features which had previously been released in special-edition blu-ray releases, as well as a sixth disc which contains all new material. New material includes:

* "The Fire Rises: The Creation and Impact of The Dark Knight Trilogy", and all new documentary about the conception and creation of the trilogy, including never before seen footage and interviews with Guillermo Del Toro, Damon Lindelof, Michael Mann, Richard Roeper and Zack Snyder.

* "Christopher Nolan & Richard Donner: A Conversation", the two directors discuss how they adapted the two most famous superheroes of all time into film. And Nolan discussed how Donner's approach in Superman: The Movie influenced his approach to Batman Begins.

* IMAX sequences from The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. Scenes from both of these films will be available in their original IMAX format.

In addition to new on-disc material, the set also includes some great collectibles including all-new artwork, and miniature models of the Batpod, the Tumbler and The Bat.

This set will be available on September 24th of this year. And as a humongous fan of Nolan's trilogy, I will most definitely be signed up for a purchase.

Read More

Sumner Goes Full Vulcan!

Science fiction has never been just mere entertainment. It’s always been a vehicle for pushing the boundaries of human thought and experience. And the engine for that sci-fi vehicle would be the question “What if?”

Therefore am asking the question, “What if I tried to purge all emotion from my day to day functioning for a month?”

Have watched J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek (2009) countless times. And every time Spock’s father utters the words, “Logic offers a serenity Humans seldom experience,” I get chills up and down my spine.

"Emotions run deep within our race. In many ways more deeply than in Humans. Logic offers a serenity Humans seldom experience. The control of feelings so that they do not control you.”  - Spock’s father

I know, I know, ultimately, any and all information about Vulcan culture can be traced back to two guys named Gene and Rick who worked in Burbank, California. But I think they’d be pleased with my decision. Or at least find it…fascinating.

Am not expecting an actual complete elimination of emotion. However, by attempting a purge, am certain positive effects will arise, both for myself and those in my day to day functioning. Will post a summary of my experiences at the beginning of August. If you feel like offering input, please feel free to leave comments at the bottom of this article. I can also be reached on Tumblr at nx01sumner.tumblr.com or at Sumner@vierlights on the Twitter machine.

Vulcan Philosophy

First, a brief explanation of the Vulcan philosophy gleaned from various online sources. Pages could be written, so the best way to sum it up would be an explanation of the Vulcan hand gesture.  Afterwards, will share the actual plan of implementation, and will then provide a list of common Vulcan proverbs.

Yes. The gesture means something. See corresponding numbers below for an explanation.

The Vulcan philosophy can literally be counted on your fingers.

1) The pinky represents the concept of Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combination. Emphasizes the joining of things, no matter how polar or disparate, to create purpose and beauty.

2) The ring finger represents that an infinite variety of things exist, making reality worthwhile. At first, this may seem identical to what’s written above, but there’s a subtle difference. This finger represents the view that existence is made valuable by the simple fact that there are infinite variables to the universe. Whereas the pinky represents the responsibility of each individual to see and create the connections amongst those variables.

3) The middle finger represents Logic. The longest was chosen for this aspect because it’s considered the most important. Within the infinity and diversity of factors that make up one’s existence, logic is what keeps a worthwhile life together. For the greater good of both society and the individual, logic must dominate, for it is a constant, whereas emotions are unpredictable.

4) The index finger represents Respect for Life, and it should be noted that it is kept very close to Logic.

5) The thumb, standing apart from all other fingers, represents Inviolable Right to Individual Privacy. Privacy is essentially synonymous with the state of Dignity. If one is to improve their life, and the lives of others, one must have the privacy and dignity to do so. It is considered utmost rudeness to force one’s thoughts and feelings on another in Vulcan culture. Attacking the dignity of another raises the possibility of unreasonable and uncontrollable emotion, and therefore there is no situation where it is considered justifiable. This leads to the primary foundation for compassion, which is the logical need to protect the dignity of others as one would protect one’s own. This also explains the seeming Vulcan lack of humor. If you analyze comedic situations that make most humans laugh, the majority of the time they involve someone else’s lack of dignity or experience of suffering.

So to summarize Vulcan philosophy:Within the universe, there is infinite diversity in infinite combinations. Beauty and meaning are created by seeing the connections between things, no matter how disparate. Logic is the ultimate framework to work within for it is a constant. Every individual has a right to privacy and dignity, so that they may put all effort in to bettering themselves. Just as each individual has a right to dignity, the dignity of others must be respected, even if they hold polar opposite views. Failing to act to relieve the suffering of others is putting forth that one holds one’s self more important than others. By focusing on developing internal peace, one then helps society become more
peaceful and advanced.

T’Pol from Star Trek: Enterprise.

Sumner’s Kolinar Guidelines

Posture – Maintain perfect posture at all times, whether standing or sitting. Reclining and slouching will not take place. Lying down will only occur when it is time to sleep.

Facial expressions – Minimal. Facial muscles relaxed at all times. No laughing or smiling. Extensive use of eyebrows is acceptable.

Vocalizations – Calm, even toned, with total absence of anger, irritation or sarcasm.

Eating – Vulcans never touch food with their fingers, so only utensils will be utilized. Eat only what is necessary for sustenance. Every time I catch myself not using a utensil will be a reminder of logic.

Reading/Study – Continued research on Vulcan philosophy and culture. Daily review of Vulcan proverbs, which are listed at the bottom of this article. Other topics will include: science, Stoic philosophy and Buddhism. Also, anything that may be practical for the purpose of helping others.

Music – When time is allotted, it will be mathematical or minimalist in nature, such as Bach or the Japanese shakuhachi flute. No rock and roll. Late Einstürzende Neubauten is acceptable (Somehow, minimalist German industrial seems Vulcan. Earlier EN is for Klingons.) Learning classical scales on guitar is permissible.

Meditation – Every morning, every night, standard breath meditation. Mindfulness of logic ever present while off the cushion. Hourly alarms will be reminders of logic. The mantra of “There is no offense if none is taken” will be utilized.

Daily exercise – Tai chi, weights, walking.

Gaming - Mass Effect is acceptable since one is placed in situations that constantly challenge one’s ethical and moral guidelines. Also, the ultimate goal of the game is to save the universe, which is a logical and noble cause. All smart phone games will be left brained/math/logic oriented.

Tuvok from Star Trek: Voyager.

Vulcan Sayings

Change is the essential process of all existence.

Cast out fear. There is no room for anything else until you cast out fear.

As far as possible, do not kill. Can you return life to what you kill? Then be slow to take life.

There is no offense where none is taken.

Nobility lies in action, not in name.

The spear in the other’s heart is the spear in your own.

Do no harm to those that harm you. Offer them peace, then you will have peace.

Reach out to others courteously. Accept their reaching in the same way, with careful hands.

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one.

To see the results, check out: Fascinating! Sumner's Vulcan Kolinar Results


Stephen Sumner is the Action A Go Go sci-fi columnist. You can also find him on Tumblr at nx01sumner.tumblr.com and on the Twitter machine at sumner@vierlights.











Read More

PACIFIC RIM MECH FEATURETTE: "WE ARE NOT RIPPING OFF NEON GENESIS EVENGELION!"

 

Ok, that is not a direct quote from this featurette at all, but that is the feeling you get from the tone of this clip. It goes over the origins of the designs of these robots, some of their influences, and how they are trying to top everything that has come before.

 

And maybe, just maybe, they are trying to get the jokers who keep saying "oh so they are ripping off Neon Genesis Evengelion" to shut the hell up.

 

BTW, Evengelion wasn't even that good. There, I said it.

 

Enjoy the featurette below!

Read More

Listen to the Full Score to PACIFIC RIM by Ramin Djawadi and Tom Morello

For those of you who didn't know, this is actually a reunion for Ramin Djawadi (Game of Thrones) and Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine). The composer and guitarist gave us the soundtrack for the first Iron Man film. Since that time, Marvel Studios have had other composers come on board to score the subsequent sequels, but none of them have been nearly as impressive as what Djawadi and Morello accomplished.

As far as I'm concerned, this is yet another feather in the cap of the upcoming Pacific Rim. The film already had all the elements of a winning summer release, but this is an unexpected surprise for me.

Read More

"The Walking Dead: Season 4": first official poster

The first new poster for the upcoming fourth season of The Walking Dead was unveiled at Comic-Con this week and it's pretty epic. This year it would seem that AMC is banking hard on fan favorite characters, including newcomer Tyreese who is officially a series regular in the upcoming season. 

The Walking Dead returns this October with a new show runner. It'll be interesting to see how the show grows with someone new calling the shots.

Read More

White House Down review

                                     

For starters, let me get this out of the way: No, I have not seen Olympus Has Fallen. You will find no comparisons to the OTHER "Die Hard in the White House" movie here.

White House Down is a first of sorts for director Roland Emmerich. He has built himself a hefty résumé directing and writing features which feature either large scale disasters (Independence Day, Godzilla, The Day After Tomorrow) or absurd revisionist history (The Patriot, Anonymous, 10,000 B.C.). WHD is Emmerich's first big-budget studio film to truly fit neither of those categories (although elements of both do sneak their way in there), and based on this singular example it would seem that Emmerich's talents may be best suited for high-tension shoot 'em ups, such as WHD, as opposed to world destruction and period pieces. 

If you've seen any of the trailers or TV spots for this movie, you already understand the essential mechanics of the film. A group of armed men take over the White House and hold The President (Jamie Foxx) hostage for the sake of their own nefarious plans. Meanwhile, a lone cop stuck inside the White House (Channing Tatum) seeks to save The President and escape the building with both their lives.   

So is WHD worth spending your well-earned cash on? Good question. And one lacking a clear-cut answer.

       

                                      Jamie Foxx channeling some serious Obama vibes

The Bad:

Emmerich.

Emmerich, Emmerich, Emmerich.

Now, I understand the concept of suspension of disbelief. But there is something about how Roland Emmerich presents his stories that simply does not work, no matter how much I, as an audience member, want them to. His films have always been light and silly, but they have never been light or silly enough to accommodate the obtrusive and glaring gaps in common sense that seem to poke their way into every single one of films. The shocking holes in the film's logic prevent the dramatic tension from building properly, and the villains never come across as anything more than high-strung thugs, not the calculating masterminds the script would have you believe they are. The White House takeover sequence towards the beginning of the film is one of the most absurd scenes I have ever witnessed in a cinema, and a perfect example of this problem. According to this movie, any group of idiots disguised as repairmen can just wander into the most highly secure building in the world and just take the whole thing over without suffering a single casualty within their own crew. I've seen Walmart's with tighter security than the White House in this movie.

Emmerich also indulges in another of his bad habits: populating his film with caricatures instead of characters. There are a thousand and one different names to remember, as in all his films, and at the end of the day every last one of them proves to be little more than a two-dimensional plot-device. Every key character is given a screenwriting 101 level backstory to create the illusion of depth: the villain motivated by personal heartbreak, the President just tryin' to do right by good ol' 'Merica, the absentee divorcee father for a protagonist who has relational issues with his daughter (they even manage to fit the age old "you missed her recital" BS within the first ten minutes of the picture, oh boo hoo). The obvious motivational plot-devices apathetically assigned to each character are elementary in nature to the point that it's almost embarrassing to watch. Not for one second do any of the major players come across as a well-rounded characters, they are simple stereotypes with simple motives in a simple story. Which would be forgivable, given the film's intentions as a big dumb summer action movie, if so much time wasn't spent dwelling on these half-baked sub-plots. The movie takes a good thirty minutes to really get kicking, and those first thirty minutes are a chore to sit through. Even after the show gets rolling, the film often pauses to clumsily plod through an undercooked plot, far more convoluted than a brainless flick like this could ever hope to sustain. It's in these sequences that the cracks in the film's plot become glaringly obvious, and they seriously challenged my ability to remain engaged in between the action sequences.

       

 

The most damning flaw, and one that will likely frustrate action fans more than anything else in the movie, is how liberally this film steals from the premise of Die Hard. Referring to this film as "Die Hard in the White House" isn't just a superficial observation, it's a quite literal description of the screenplay. Step by step, piece by piece, WHD manages to copy the Bruce Willis action classic at every turn. Lone cop with charming swagger stuck in a building with a squad of terrorists who've taken hostages? Check. One of the hostages is the cop's family member? Check. The villains piece together the familial connection and use it to manipulate the protagonist during the final act? Check. One of the terrorists is a tech geek who hums/listens to classical music while doing nefarious computer things? Check. Protagonist has family issues which are resolved by the end of the film? Check. Incompetent, trigger-happy Feds who don't prioritize the hostages at risk? Check. Wide array of hot-headed vengeance seeking terrorists for the protagonist to fight and systematically kill throughout the film? Check. 

WHD makes it nature as a carbon-copy work, it mimics confidently, without shame or apology. The confidence the film exudes almost makes the mimicry forgivable. But thievery is thievery and anybody who knows their Die Hard will have a hard time not getting distracted the the obvious parallels that slap you in the face at every twist and turn.

The Good:

If there is one component that can be singled out for some serious praise in White House Down, it would be the cast. Even when the script gives them very little to work with (which is very, very often) they all seem to be having a blast. Tatum and Foxx have a nice, easy chemistry to them and it's hard not to start liking them once the action gets kicking and the one-liners begin to flow. I've always said that Channing Tatum expresses emotion about as well as a rock that's had Botox (seriously though, the top half of his face never changes or moves) but his confident swagger works here, he has enough charm to be likable and enough energy to be convincing during his extensive fist-fighting sequences. But the cast MVP is a bit of a surprise. Thirteen year old actress Joey King, best known for playing young Talia Al-Ghul in The Dark Knight Rises and the China Doll in Oz: The Great and Powerful (the only performance in that movie that wasn't completely terrible), steals every scene she's in. This is especially surprising given how poorly her role was written, she takes lines that feel like they came from some crappy mid-90's Tim Allen movie and delivers them with the conviction of a seasoned pro. 

     

                                    Ms. Joey King, AKA, "this best part of this movie"

The enthusiastic direction during the action sequences was also a surprising source of fun during the movie. What could have been hectic, loud and obnoxious ended up being quite enjoyable, especially towards the second half. A great sequence towards the middle of the films features Tatum and Foxx driving a limo around the White House lawn while trying to escape from missile-launcher wielding baddies. This scene really marked a turning point in the film, where the action sequences became just great enough to overcome the eye-rolling idiocy of the film's first half.

So is White House Down ACTION A GO GO approved? Sure, I guess. It's big dumb fun that layers in enough real enthusiasm to allow the viewer overlook some of the REALLY dumb parts. Would I say it's a must-see in theaters? Certainly not. That being said, it makes for a great date movie, or just a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

 

 

3/5 Arnolds

 

Read More

Jim Kelly (May 5, 1946 - June 29th, 2013)

It was reported on Sunday that martial artist Jim Kelly passed away over the weekend. He was 67. 

For those of you familiar with cinema of the 1970s (my favorite era of film), Kelly is most remembered for his role as the title character in Blackbelt Jones and as "William" in Enter The Dragon. In the latter, Jones hilariously points out to the film's star, Bruce Lee, that he is "right out of a comic book." The same could easily be said for Kelly whose larger than life on-screen personality would continue to entertain in films like Three the Hard Way and Black Samurai.

Below I've embedded some entertaining highlights from Kelly's career. Hopefully the uninitiated can see what I mean when I say that Kelly's persona always managed to grab the spotlight.

Read More