SPIELBERG AND THE DEATH OF THE SUPERHERO MOVIE

Superhero movies are all the rage. They're hip, they're cool, they're trendy. Hollywood is swimming in a sea of gold because we love them so much. But will they last? Steven Spielberg seems to think they will go the way of the western.

"There will come a day when the mythological stories are supplanted by some other genre that possibly some young filmmaker is just thinking about discovering for all of us"

About two years ago Steven Spielberg spoke about his belief that the mega-budgeted films of Hollywood would breathe their last. They would soon collapse like a flan in a cupboard. He's not the one either. Many people, filmmakers, critics and the like, have backed the same notion. It makes sense, too. In general, the cost of making and marketing a film are astronomical in comparison to the return. So why continue to make a product at that price point if you're not making a profit? That is precisely what most people are arguing.

Spielberg says: "I still feel that way. We were around when the Western died and there will be a time when the superhero movie goes the way of the Western." Like anything else, once it is overplayed, it's outdated. But I'm not entirely certain that's true for the superhero genre of films. There is something about the genre that seems to reach a larger audience. Westerns died out because they didn't seem to have a relevance in the current day. Mind you, I love westerns, but many of them do have an antiquated feel. Superhero movies, and the comics they're based on, seem to have somewhat of a timeless appeal. The genre is more easily adaptable. They Western does not. It's locked in a specific time.

I do agree with Spielberg, though. I think these bloated budget films will eventually die. The tech and the means to produce high quality films is becoming easier to do. Not to mention at lower costs. Spielberg offers up this: "These cycles have a finite time in popular culture. There will come a day when the mythological stories are supplanted by some other genre that possibly some young filmmaker is just thinking about discovering for all of us."

So who what is this new possible genre and where the hell is this new creative? Only time will tell. Until then I'm perfectly happy with my superhero movies. Some are better than others, which is true of most movies in any genre.

I'd like to leave you with an interesting twist to the discussion. Many of the westerns deal with a hero battling some kind of evil. A lone sheriff stepping up to save the townsfolk. That sort of thing. Granted, they're not all that type of story. Is that not any different than the superhero movie? What if the superhero movie is just an evolution of the western?

FAREWELL WES CRAVEN

Yesterday, we lost a great creative soul. Wes Craven, the legendary director of "SCREAM" and "A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET", passed away at the age of 76. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Wes had been battling brain cancer.

Even if you don't know or recognize the name Wes Craven, you know who him. Wes was the genius behind box-office smash hits like the aforementioned films. Both of which went on to have numerous sequels. In particular, "SCREAM" is credited with reinvigorating the teen horror film. Honestly, it was hard not to like the tong-in-cheek script that parodied and praised the genre. It was just plain fun and wet your pallet for more. The numbers proved that statement true for many people. Before long, "SCREAM" became one of 1996's highest grossing films, and this pretty much cemented Craven as the influential writer and director of exploitation films. He did make a break from his signature genre with the 1999 drama "MUSIC OF THE HEART" for which Meryl Streep earned an Oscar nomination.

Wes was born in 1939 in Cleveland, Ohio. He went on to earn a masters degree in philosophy and writing from Johns Hopkins University. He did teach college for a brief time, but then ventured into cinema, and the world would be a different place because of it. It was not long before Craven established himself as an auteur who imbued his creepy films with questions about the nature of our everyday existence. Truthfully, I wanted to have his kind of career. He was making exciting films and posing questions that we usually associate with heavy dramas or quirky type comedies. It was pure brilliance. 

At the time of his death, the Craven produced MTV series based on "SCREAM" was only days away from airing it's season 1 finale. Alas, there is no plot twist here. Rest in peace, Wes. 

BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH'S STUNNING MOTION CAPTURE

As an actor and someone who grew up in a theater family, I love to see how other creatives work. Actors are an interesting bunch, and at many times, not from this world. I can say this because, well, I am one. Granted it's been some time since I really exercised the muscle, but I still remember it very vividly. However, I am shooting something on Wednesday. So stay tuned! But I digress.

My girlfriend recently showed me this video of Benedict Cumberbatch's performance of Smaug in The Hobbit. Not only was it very cool to watch how the motion capture was done, but it was even more amazing to see Benedict do his thing. First off, in my opinion, when it comes to acting, is the individual's willingness to commit. To suspend, willingly, the disbelief. Then live imaginatively in the moment. This sounds so friggin' easy, yet for most it is not. There are so many things that can get in the way, namely, yourself.

When I was auditioning for college, Juilliard, a group of us were taken into a room for warmups. There, Michael Kahn walked us through a series of exercises to get us in the zone. One of which was an exercise where he would name an animal and we had to play the animal. Sure, at first, you feel silly, but my dad always said that if it feels silly, you're headed in the right direction. Doing this sort of thing requires focus and a lot of energy. Later on, when I finally entered college (not at Juillard), my acting professor had us do a similar exercise. These are fun, but they require you to cast off your ego an create.

This isn't an article on the process of acting. So I won't dig into my own personal beliefs, but let me just say that you need to watch this video above. Benedict commits and commits completely. It's utterly amazing.

MI: ROGUE NATION REVIEW

Ethan Hunt is back for another installment in the Mission Impossible franchise. This time the IMF has been disbanded which leaves Ethan out in the cold. Soon, a new threat, called The Syndicate, emerges who is determined to lead a new world order through an ever escalating series of terrorist attacks. Faced with his most impossible mission yet, Ethan gathers his team and joins forces with a disavowed British agent who may or may not be a member of the rogue nation, The Syndicate.

Last night, my lady and I decided to catch a flick. I had been wanting to see MI: Rogue Nation. I had such high hopes for this film, I really did. Somehow those hopes were dashed against the rocky shores of disappointment. Okay, maybe not that dramatic, but I was disappointed. I'll live though. To be fair, I haven't slept that much in the last few days because of work. So it's entirely possible that I missed something, but I've got to say that this film dragged in many areas. And it's crazy that it still has a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes! That's partially what got me excited in the first place.

The opening to film was high energy and exciting. Not to mention, a little humor thrown in for good measure. I'm a huge fan of Simon Pegg. This might sound weird, but the opening credit sequence was incredible. I loved all the moving graphics, stylizing, and color choice. It was modern, with a nod in the direction of classic cinema from the '60s and '70s. After this thrilling opening, I was pumped for the rest of the film. Somehow, someway, it just didn't happen.

After the opening, the pace changed quite a bit. It slowed quite a bit. There's a bit of politics thrown in as the IMF is being disbanded because of their unorthodox methods of "getting the job done". During which, Ethan has been captured and is fighting to escape. With the help of Ilsa, a disavowed British agent, he manages to do just that, but soon after discovers that he's on his own. The government has shut down the IMF.

The rest of the film seems to be about who outsmarted whom and who planned it that way. It all felt kind of mellow dramatic. Ethan does one thing because he knows Solomon Lane, the head of the very beast (The Syndicate), is going to do another. But then you find out that Solomon did that particular thing because he was playing Ethan and knew he would think he was going to do that thing so he did it anyway to play into his trap...Oi! Confused? It was like the scene from The Princess Bride in which Vizzini and Westley are having a battle of whits. Only, there was no awesome, funny, cleaver dialogue in Rogue Nation. It became a bit tiring. In truth, I was yawning.
 

Some of the action sequences were fun. The motorcycle scene particularly sticks out. It was adrenaline pumping. The ending was somewhat uplifting. Tom did seem a bit haggard and tired throughout most of the film. Almost as if he had aged out of this kind of flick. That being said, Tom did a decent job in this one. I liked him in it, and I'm not a huge Tom fan at that.

So see the film. It's not horrible. I thought it was kind of...Meh. It didn't completely put me to sleep, but then again, I went in already tired.

CANON ANNOUNCES CAMERA WITH ISO OVER 4 MILLION

If you're a gearhead, prepare yourself. I'm not going to lie, I nearly had a gear-gasm when I saw this announcement. Canon has decided to one-up Sony's a7s, and boy did they ever. The ME20F-SH is Canon's first multi-purpose camera "which delivers exceptionally high sensitivity to capture Full HD video with a minimum subject illumination of less than 0.0005 lux1 (at maximum 75 dB gain setting, equivalent to an ISO sensitivity of over 4,000,000)". Blah, blah, blah. If the tech talk loses you, just know that what this means is that you can shoot 1080p and see subjects that you can't see with the naked eye. That's insane! No, ridonkulous! 

Canon is targeting a large audience with hot little number. This camera could have a place in the infrastructure of productions that range in nighttime surveillance to reality TV, to even cinema. Typically, Canon does a great job delivering when it comes to image quality. So, I'm guessing they won't disappoint here as well.

The sensor is a modified and enhanced version of a 35mm full-frame sensor for HD video they developed back 2013. Get ready for the kicker - it's only 2.26 megapixels! I found this very interesting. It seems everyone has been in this pixel packing race over the last few years and it's nice to see that Sony and Canon are showing us that it's not about the quantity, but the quality and use of those existing pixels. So, it's not about the size, but it is...Take that how you will.

Take a peek at the specs below. Pretty interesting.

Canon says the ME20F-SH will be available in December of 2015 with a whopping $30,000 price tag. I think I'll be renting for sure.

Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice New Trailer

With Comic-Con upon us this week, the inter webs are abuzz with exciting releases, updates, and theories. I'm on edge for both Star Wars updates and Batman vs. Superman updates. Oh wait, and don't forget Suicide Squad!

I waited patiently all day yesterday for this particular gem. I can't decide if I was more excited about Star Wars or this new trailer. Either way, it's pretty amazing. Colors, toning, everything about this trailer is thrilling.

Of course, people are calling this the "Dark Knight Returns". Personally, I think not.  Now all we have to do is wait until March 2016 to see who's right. A long wait... One I think will be worth it.