REAL STEEL: Ready to Fight

I like Shawn Levy. Yeah, the “kid guy”. The guy who’s famous for doing movies like Big Fat Liar, Cheaper by the Dozen, The Pink Panther and both Night at the Museum films. All of which I thoroughly enjoy. Of course, most people tend to forget the movies he made for adults – namely Just Married and Date Night. Levy had said in interviews that he was looking to break out of the “family comedy” stereotype that he had been stuck in, although not holding any reservations about returning to it someday. This is when Steven Spielberg started calling. Spielberg, who had agreed to move with DreamWorks to Walt Disney Pictures, was given the option to keep certain scripts with him even if it meant having to buy them out of his own pocket. One of these scripts was Real Steel.


Real Steel is based on a short story written by famed writer Richard Matheson. Matheson is famous for writing novels and short stories that inspired films like The Incredible Shrinking Man, The Box, (the screenplay for) The Night Stalker, Somewhere in Time, The Young Warriors and I Am Legend. He also wrote for television – Star Trek’s “The Enemy Within” and The Twilight Zone’s “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” (the famous William Shatner episode that was remade with John Lithgow in George Miller’s segment of Twilight Zone: The Movie), “Little Girl Lost” (famously parodied in one of The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror featuring a CGI Homer) and “Steel” starring Lee Marvin. “Steel” was a futuristic boxing story about a former human boxer named Steel Kelly who lives in a world where human boxing has been outlawed for being too violent and the human boxers have been replaced by fighting machines. He trains his own fighting robot, Battling Maxo, who breaks down right before a fight. Not wanting to lose his chance at winning, Kelly disguises himself as the humanoid machine and despite putting up a valiant effort loses to the machine opponent and is nearly killed. As with typical Twilight Zone episodes, it ends on a mysterious and somewhat uncharacteristically hopeful tone.


Spielberg had been involved with Matheson once before by bringing his short story Duel to life as a TV movie starring Dennis Weaver. Matheson had also co-wrote Jaws 3D, a second sequel to Spielberg’s classic thriller. He clearly knew that Matheson had a great story with “Steel” but was more interested in the setting and the story point of having robots fighting each other (something already seen in the Transformers trilogy, executive produced by Spielberg). Spielberg wanted a director who could also tell a human story within this action-packed sports drama. Calling Levy, he explained that he enjoyed his films because they were commercial and big-hearted which was precisely what he wanted for this project. Levy, excited to work with Spielberg, immediately signed on. This is Levy’s first Disney film (through Touchstone Pictures) and Spielberg’s second (after executive-producing the classic Who Framed Roger Rabbit; he’s directing the upcoming War Horse).


The film begins with Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman), a down and out former fighter, who is clearly in over his head with debt. Nevertheless, he continues to engage in fighting exhibitions where his 2000-pound boxing robots are consistently decimated. After one of these devastating fights, Charlie is informed that he has been given his long-lost 11-year-old son, Max (Dakota Goyo), to take with him on fights. At first, they vehemently do not like each other. But after encountering a smaller sparring robot named Atom, father and son begin bonding through training their new champion.


I think this is clearly Shawn Levy’s best movie to date, even beating out my previous favorite, Night at the Museum. Now, my other movie-loving friends would argue that Levy is a terrible, evil director who is as bad as Brett Ratner (for more see: The Hollywood Saloon's Saloon Shot: Rat-Branded). I believe the guy isn’t bad. I’ve watched his “Life After Film School” and he’s pretty fun and knowledgeable about the making of his films and advice he’d give to others. But with Real Steel, there is one mistake that could have been made a lot better if he had paid attention to another Disney film that is highly beloved to me. 1969’s The Love Bug.


Song: "The Love Bug Theme" by George Burns


Both Real Steel’s Charlie Kenton and The Love Bug’s Jim Douglas (Dean Jones) are down-on-their luck athletes who aren’t very likable at the beginning of their stories. They both stumble upon a piece of machinery that seems to have a life of its own. Here’s what Real Steel doesn’t have that The Love Bug has: actual mechanical sentience. Herbie the Love Bug is a character within the movie and is given ample screen time to justify it (he can skip across lakes, leak oil on villains, open his own doors, drive himself, etc.). Atom, the main robot in Real Steel, is only hinted at having sentience in one scene. This is never fully explained or brought up in detail for the rest of the film. Granted, this might have been part of a subplot that got removed from the film, but that’s a lame excuse even for me to give and I’m a pretty optimistic guy.


Another nitpick I have with this movie is the overly abundant product placement, but it’s not entirely Real Steel’s fault. It’s been happening more and more in the past 20 years. It draws your eye away from the story, from what’s important though I realize full well that where the studio’s money ends, the sponsors’ money begins. But Real Steel picks the oddest product placements ever. Of course, you see product brand names like Budweiser, Coca-Cola, Cadillac and Dr. Pepper (which makes perfect sense since they’re not going anywhere. They will exist past 2020 and beyond). But you’re telling me, that in 2020, there’s gonna be a “Bing Arena”? BING? What’s next? “Tumblr Stadium”? “eBay Theatre”? “Ask.com Library”? Pick a product that is timeless so when people watch it in 40 years, they’ll know what everything shown in the movie is!


I think Real Steel exceeds the expectations of people walking in expecting, “a stupid Rock’Em Sock’Em Robots rip-off of Transformers”. It’s just a sweet yet action-packed boxing drama that just happens to have robots hitting each other. Hugh Jackman, as usual, plays a fantastic character and as you see him fighting on screen, you just want to be up there with him cheering him on.

AVATAR Land?

Let me go ahead and say this. I enjoy Avatar for its groundbreaking special effects. It took up the mantle that every special effects epic will now have to look up to. 10 years ago, it was Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (as much as everyone but me despises it vehemently). 15 years ago, it was Jurassic Park. Who knows what could happen in the next 25 years to the world of cinematic special effects. And let's not forget James Cameron... he's made great movies: like Aliens, Terminator 2: Judgement Day and True Lies. That being said, Avatar is a terrible story. I mean, for crying out loud...


Some TV spots even promoted the film to children as (and I quote) "[Pandora is] where wonder lives and adventure rules" and called the film "the greatest adventure of all time". If that isn't the biggest movie-marketing mistep of all time... I mean, the movie has like one joke and is nowhere near as fun as Terminator 2 despite having an even darker storyline.


But, despite all my problems with it, it didn't matter in the end. Avatar went on to nab $2 billion at the box office, topping Cameron's own Titantic as the #1 movie ever. It also successfully brought 3D back in action (to the chagrin of *many*). So two years have passed since then and Cameron is still set in full on Pandora-mode (with the exception of taking time out of his non-busy schedule producing the 3D cave-drama bomb Sanctum) signing a deal with 20th Century Fox to make Avatar 2 and Avatar 3 back to back. Now the world of Pandora is about to go to the most unlikely of places...


That's right, Walt Disney World! More specifically, Disney's Animal Kingdom for its "environmentally friendly" commitments. Something Cameron thrives for. The man basically ended his Twitter career with, "Skynet was supposed to go operational tonight. Instead of machines taking over, we have the very real threat of global warming." Does that not prove the man has gone completely insane??


Okay, being the optimistic person I am, let's look at the positives. First, Disney theme parks are notorious for their highly talented Imagineers. Who better than them to bring the world of Pandora to life? They're the best construction teams on the planet! Whatever comes out of this won't be half-assed. Universal had the market on "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" and holding all the theme park contracts on the Marvel superheroes, but this is gonna bring Disney back from the brink and finally put Animal Kingdom in the spotlight.


So who knows? Maybe this will actually a pretty cool thing. But I still have one nitpick for the Disney company.... WHERE IS ALL THE MARVEL STUFF????

1982 is calling...

In 1982, director Steven Spielberg was hot off the successful action/adventure Raiders of the Lost Ark. However, in the last few weeks of production, he was having some interesting dreams. He was back on set of his sci-fi epic Close Encounters of the Third Kind and remembering that final sequence of Roy Neary and the little aliens going up into the mothership. The alien that makes contact with Lacombe was nicknamed on set, "Puck". While he was filming the scene, Spielberg had a thought. What if the aliens performed a foreign exchange student situation: Neary goes off into space and Puck goes back with the scientists at Wright-Patterson Air Force base? He immediately considered changing the ending of the movie, before shortly deciding that he'd save it for another movie. That movie became...


Song: "The Flying Theme" by John Williams

This film, which Spielberg considers his masterpiece, made nearly $800 million at the box office that summer in 1982. However, this did not come without some negativity seeping through. Some parents were very concerned with the level of hostility that the government agents showed towards the escaping kids in the famous bike chase scene. Spielberg himself admitted to being bothered that guns were used in the presence of the youngsters. Other things like Elliot's cursing ("It was nothing like that, penis-breath!") and the distressed Mary's pre-9/11 complaints about Michael's Halloween costume ("I mean it! You are not going out as a terrorist!") was given close scrutiny. Over the years as Spielberg helped pioneer the CGI revolution in films like Young Sherlock Holmes and his own Jurassic Park, looking back to E.T. became particularly painful. He was convinced that the puppet used to bring the titular hero of the film was not entirely convincing. So he took a page out of his friend George Lucas' playbook (which most people today -- myself not included -- hate to the very core) and did the unthinkable: go back into E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and fix what he saw as imperfections. In 2002, this project was unveiled as E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial: The 20th Anniversary Edition.


As with Lucas' Star Wars Trilogy: Special Edition, this version of the film had several opponents. The most vocal of them were Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of "South Park" who had worked with Spielberg before on an in-house Universal short film (where they got him to actually make fun of Jaws). In the episode "Free Hat", the creators took aim at both Lucas and Spielberg for changing their beloved films. Lucas was portrayed as the conflicted underling of the sinister mastermind Spielberg.


For years, Spielberg took a lot of heat for several reasons: directing dour, dramatic films that few enjoyed like Munich, War of the Worlds and A.I.: Artificial Intelligence; and he also created a new Indiana Jones film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, that "alienated" the Indy fan base in more ways than one and inspired another anti-Spielberg/Lucas episode of "South Park".


A few nights ago, the "Free Hat" episode appeared to have come true. Steven Spielberg was in attendance of the premiere of a brand new master print of Raiders of the Lost Ark. However, Spielberg announced he was no longer in the business of changing films from the way he originally made them, which more cynical people would point a finger at the man Spielberg calls his best friend. Spielberg said, "I was disappointed in myself. I got overly sensitive to E.T. and I thought that if technology evolved, I might go in and change some things. It was OK for a while, but I realized what I had done was I had robbed people who loved E.T. of their memories of E.T." In the middle of the Q&A session, Spielberg took an informal vote: would the audience mind if he only put out the 1982 version of the film on Blu-Ray? The audience's combined response of "NO!" had Spielberg triumphantly saying, "Then, so be it!"

In the back of my mind, where I like to keep my paranoid conspiracy theories, I can't help but think this is just so conveniently timed. I'm sure Spielberg knew that Lucas was going to alter the Star Wars Blu-Rays. He knew that people were furious over Crystal Skull (which he playfully referred to). Was this his perceived second chance to get in good with the fanboys by catching them at their angriest and giving them hope (right before The Adventures of Tintin and War Horse are released)?


Of course, I truly have no malice against Spielberg. The man was and still is the modern-day master of entertainment. I have thoroughly enjoyed his films from both the past and the present. The good he's bestowed upon the world greatly outweighs the bad. I highly look forward to The Adventures of Tintin (December 23, 2011), War Horse (December 25, 2011), Lincoln (2012?), and Robopacalypse (July 3, 2013).

J.J. Abrams returns to the Final Frontier

J.J. Abrams, director of this summer's Super 8, has always been known as a secretive guy. All of his projects have been shrouded in mystery, both in film and in television. However, his most successful project to date was his 2009 reboot of Star Trek, starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban and Simon Pegg.

By simultaneously paying honor and tribute to the original series and cast and also reinventing the franchise itself, Abrams' film was able to make $385 million worldwide. Obviously, Paramount wanted to make a sequel as soon as possible. However, Abrams wanted to prove he could direct more than just sequels based on Leonard Nimoy TV shows. He wanted to do something of his own. Enter: Super 8.

Song: "My Sharona" by The Knack

The film about kids shooting a zombie movie in a small town when an alien monster attacks made $253 million. Abrams needed the success of this film after the dual failures of November 2010 (his show "Undercovers" got canceled and a romantic comedy he produced, Morning Glory bombed). While Abrams was off making his movie, the Trek '09 writers, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman were writing their sci-fi Western Cowboys & Aliens. Kurtzman was also prepping his directorial debut Welcome to People (also starring Chris Pine).

Abrams was asked multiple times during promotional events for his other sub-projects or awards shows if he was planning a return to Trek. He playfully said he would be involved but was hesitant on whether or not he'd be in the director's chair. This is a ploy I like to think of when directors who are comfortable in their position realize it. People like Christopher Nolan, for example. They're always nice and polite when asked about sequels to their hit films but manage to word a response like, "I would really, really like to come back... it's just that... I really don't know...". To me, that's code for, "GIVE. ME. MONEY," and the studio sends truckloads of cash to their house. "PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, MAKE US ANOTHER MOVIE!!!!!" But, of course, that's just me.


Song: "Star Trek" by Michael Giacchino

With Super 8 heading out of theaters and onto DVD/Blu-Ray, Abrams has finally committed to returning to the U.S.S. Enterprise. However, the length of time it took for Abrams to finally step up and helm the project has created one casuality: the release date. Paramount had staked out a June 22, 2012 release date for the untitled Star Trek sequel. But because of complications with schedules, Jon M. Chu's G.I. Joe: Retaliation (ironically, a sequel to another 2009 Paramount Pictures film) took its place. Hopefully now that Abrams is firmly in place and the writers are *now* hard at work on the sequel, Paramount will most likely schedule a 2013 release date. That ongoing mission is back on track, but will have to pick up some slack.

RIP Uncle Ben

ORIGINALLY @ COMICBOOKMOVIE.COM:

In 2002, Spider-Man revitalized the comic book movie into the standing in pop culture it is today. One of the best aspects of this film was the brief but brilliant performance by Academy Award-winner Cliff Robertson. By saying the famous phrase, "With great power comes great responsibility," Robertson won over a whole new generation of fans as Peter Parker's wise uncle, Ben Parker. He reprised this role in Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3 (his final film appearance).



Robertson had other claims from Oscar-winning performance in Charly as the title character, a mentally-handicapped man who, with brain-boosting medication, was able to overcome his problems with tragic results. He was also in PT 109 as John F. Kennedy (hand-picked by the man himself and was highly praised in the role). On the small screen, Robertson made a guest appearance on "The Twilight Zone" in an episode where he played a ventriloquist with a dummy that is more than meets the eye. He also was a guestillain on "Batman" as the criminal cowboy Shame (parody of Shane) and fought against the Dynamic Duo.

SMALLVILLE: ENDGAME

Smallville ended its impressive 10-season run this year. From young Clark Kent's (Tom Welling) early years as a teenager unsure of his place in our world to the Man of Steel, it gives added placement on how we view our heroes. Just because they're self-confident and all-powerful doesn't mean they started out that way.


Before the show premiered, many people were decrying the show's main rule "no tights, no flights" (by the time the show ended, both rules had pretty much been violated severely). Not to mention, the WB's teaser image for the show -- a stripped down Tom Welling tied to a "cross" -- gained much ire for the network. After the tragedy of 9/11, the attitudes changed into "We need a hero, now more than ever." Smallville's hero was two things at once (in more ways than one) - he was an alien on Earth, living as a human; a boy struggling to be a man; and a son trying to please two fathers.


The Hollywood Saloon has delved into the finale episode of Smallville and explores the history of the show and the character as a whole. Both Andy and John have vastly different opinions of the show, but their look at the character is extremely respectful. They also discuss their feelings regarding Zack Snyder's Man of Steel (starring Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Michael Shannon, Laurence Fishburne and Christopher Meloni) coming June 14th, 2013.

As always the Saloon never fails to deliver a great-quality episode with fantastic discussion without any BS. They are not afraid to differ in opinion, but not go so far as to offend each other. As Lionel Luthor says, "[They] do not have that luxury." So strap on the cape, tear open the shirt and go for a ride with the Hollywood Saloon through Smallville.

http://www.hollywoodsaloon.com/podcast/HQ/THS-ep42-bonusHQ.mp3

"You won't find the answers by looking at the stars. It's a journey you'll have to take by looking inside yourself. You must write your own destiny, Kal-El."

P.S.: Listen to the end of the episode for a VERY, VERY sweet moment with Andy's 4-year-old daughter. If you're not laughing or smiling, you have no soul. I also love the "Super Mario Galaxy" music at that point.