FFF Part VIII --- The Aftermath

Okay, it's been over a month since I did one of these. Sorry about that. Let's get caught up and then keep going, because believe it or not, I wasn't quite done yet. If you want to get caught up in what's going on in this extended "treatment" of a found footage horror film, you can read up on it.

WHERE WE LEFT OFF:  The current parish priest in Garretsburg explained how his predecessor was basically nuts in believing there was a cult in the woods. But then Father Anderson shows up at their motel. He starts to tell them about what's happening, when he has a coughing fit and keels over. At the same time, the footage started to break down, going awash in noise and static.

WHERE WE PICK UP:

The camera cuts to a shot of a police car and an ambulance in the motel parking lot. We see the legs of a bunch of people in uniform, along with some EMTs pushing a stretcher into their vehicle.

We can overhear a little bit of the conversation between the cops and the college students:

"So what were you doing when Anderson had this . . . fit?" a deputy asks.

"Just talking to him," Staci said.

"For this 'project' of yours?" another asks.

"Yes," Staci admits, but her voice is hesitant.

"Did you happen to catch the conversation on camera?"

Staci starts to answer, but Ray jumps in, "No, Leon couldn't get the camera started. Then, when Father Anderson had his fit, he dropped it."

A foot steps down in front of the camera, blocking the lens.

The camera then cuts to Leon turning it on again. He faces the camera and explains the situation: "So the cops just left with Father Anderson's body. The EMTs are thinking he had some sort of stroke or a heart attack or something."

"Why'd you lie to them about the camera?" Staci asks off-camera.

Leon swings the camera around to show Staci, Bethany, and Ray in the motel room. Ray is up and pacing.

"Don't you realize what would have happened if we told them we had it on?" Ray asks. "They would have confiscated the camera immediately and we'd have lost everything. Then they probably would have run us out of town. But now they think that we don't have any evidence of what happened."

"'What happened?'" Bethany asks. "You think they murdered him?"

Ray nods. "Of course. Isn't it obvious? He comes back in town to finally talk about what happened with the kid, and next thing you know, he's dead. A little too convenient, don't you think?"

Bethany rises and starts packing her things. "Then that's it. I'm out of here. I don't want to stay here any longer."

"I agree with Bethany," Leon said. "A school project is one thing, but I didn't sign on to investigate a murder!"

Ray turned around. "Now hold on. Let's not chicken out yet! This is just starting to get interesting."

"Don't you get it, Ray?" Bethany's voice is almost a hysterical shriek. "If they killed the father, they could kill us next!"

"Besides, with Father Anderson gone, what else do we have?" Leon asks.

"Not gonna happen, babe. We're fine. Look, let's at least check the camera's footage and see if there's anything that might explain what happened. The least we can do is turn over the footage to the FBI, right?"

Everyone looks to Staci. She turns to Leon. "Dump the footage. Let's see what we have."


So what do they have? We'll find out next week. (I promise!)

Star Trek Into Darkness

Hoo boy. Here we go. Earlier today, I sat down to watch Star Trek Into Darkness, and now I'm trying to process exactly what it is I saw.

Let's start with the plot. Captain James Kirk and company are back. Kirk is hoping that he'll be selected to head up a certain five year mission, one that will take him into deep space and go where no one has ever gone before. Only there's a problem. Actually, more than one. At first, the fly in the ointment is Kirk himself. He still hasn't learned how to follow the rules, much to the chagrin of his first officer, Mr. Spock. An adventure on a primitive planet threatens to derail Kirk's dreams.

But then things really go awry when a man named John Harrison attacks a Starfleet archive. But then he makes things personal for Kirk when he attacks Starfleet's leadership directly. Kirk volunteers to go after Harrison. But that's a problem. Harrison should be far out of their reach. By going after him, Kirk is committing his crew to delve into darkness and they'll all be fortunate to emerge unscathed.

I had a really fun time watching this movie. Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto embody their characters to the fullest (Quinto especially; it's eerie). Those two are definitely the heart and soul of the movie and they are more than capable of carrying the franchise forward. The action sequences were great, the plot had plenty of twists and turns, and there were more than a few subtle nods inserted for the fans (I caught two in quick succession that made me smile, two shout outs to DS9 and Enterprise).

But as much as I enjoyed this movie, I'm still a little frustrated by it, but before I get into why, I need to trot out my old friend again...

Okay. I've seen this particular plot point spoiled in numerous places (I'm looking at you, imdb and Entertainment Weekly), but let's talk about who John Harrison really is. Yes, it's a front and yes, if you're a Trekkie, you're going to know who this guy is. When I heard who Benedict Cumberbatch was really playing, I about went through the roof.

My first objection had to do with the continuity of the larger Star Trek universe. Yes, I know these movies are set in an alternate reality, but even still, I had a hard time wrapping my mind about how Harrison could really be . . . him. I'm sorry, even with Godzilla warning people off, I'm still not going to say the name. Thankfully, this objection was answered somewhat handily. They came up with a good "in story" reason and I accept their little tweak to the storyline. It works.

But my larger objection is that, in some ways, this is a retread. By resurrecting a classic Trek villain, we're just covering old ground again. Now, in some ways, I get it. This new movie series is a reboot and that makes everything fair game. But at the same time, I kind of wish we could have seen something a little newer. That's all.

Don't get me wrong, I had a lot of fun. I can't wait to see what's coming next.

FFF Part VII --- A Dead End?

WHERE WE LEFT OFF: Staci and Leon struck out when they tried to interview the locals. Ray, surprisingly, uncovered a pattern: approximately every three years, someone goes missing from town. The disappearances are explained different ways. Not only that, but the local Catholic priest resigned after one of the disappearances. He claimed they were the work of a cult in the nearby woods. The gang decided to interview the local priest to find out what happened.

WHERE WE PICK UP:

The next morning, Staci, Leon, Bethany, and Ray head over to the local Catholic parish and ask to speak with the priest. Eventually a middle-aged man who introduces himself as Father Collins comes out. He seems friendly if a bit wary when he sees the camera. Staci quickly explains that they're shooting a documentary, that they have all of the permits, and they just had a few questions for him. Would he mind sitting down and chatting with them? Father Collins seems unsure, but he agrees.

The camera cuts to the interior of the church. Father Collins is seated in one of the pews and facing the camera. Staci is apparently standing just off screen. Father Collins asks where Ray and Bethany had gone. Staci assures him that they'll be respectful (although her tone makes it sound as if she isn't so sure).

They chat for a while, getting his background. He's been in Garretsburg for the last ten years since the former priest resigned. Staci immediately broaches the subject:

"We understand that the former priest resigned because a little boy went missing?"

Father Collins holds up a hand. "Now hold on. I know that it's become acceptable to assume that we priests are always involved in nefarious plots against little kids, but Father Anderson had nothing to do with his disappearance. He simply became overwhelmed and suffered a mental breakdown."

"No, we understand that. But didn't he claim that there was some sort of cult out in the woods?" Staci asks.

Father Collins snorts. "Ridiculous. Like I said, I've been here ten years and I haven't seen any evidence of a cult."

"So why did Father Anderson think there was one here?"

"Because of the little boy. His name was Tyler Engler and he belonged to our parish. Father Anderson was very close to the Engler family and he took the disappearance hard. When the sheriff ran out of leads, Father Anderson started his own 'investigation.' His only theory was the so-called cult."

"What evidence did he have?" Staci asks.

Father Collins laughs. "''Evidence' is too generous. 'Conjecture' and 'guesses' is even too strong. He spotted what he thought was a pattern and ran with it. Before too long, he was so worked up he just . . . snapped. Listen, I don't know what this school project is you're working on, but if it has anything to do with Father Anderson, you're only going to wind up disappointed."

The camera cuts to Staci and Leon waiting out in the parking lot afterwards. Ray and Bethany jog up to the car.

"Where were you two?" Staci demands. "If you two snuck off to---"

"Hey, come on, give us some credit," Ray says. "While you two were playing nice with Father Collins, we did some digging on our own. I distracted the parish secretary and Bethany found Father Anderson's contact number. Why ask his replacement when you can ask the real deal?"

Staci squeals and hugs Ray. But their celebration is cut short when Leon notices the sheriff's car parked down the block. They can't see if someone's in the front seat or not, but Leon suggests they get out of there.

The camera switches back on late at night in the motel room. Someone is pounding on the door. Staci turns to Leon and asks if he knows what's going on. The camera drops onto the bed (still pointed at the door, of course). Leon creeps over to the door and opens it.

Standing outside is a bedraggled looking middle-aged man. He seems twitchy and a little off. Leon demands to know who he is.

"What do you mean? You called me!" the man says.

Staci creeps around Leon. "Father Anderson?"

The man nods. "Who else? So are you here to reveal the truth? Is someone finally going to listen to me?"

"Come in," Staci says. She then pounds on the wall.

A second later, Ray and Bethany come into the room. Leon retrieves the camera and gets it pointed at Father Anderson.

"So what can you tell us about this 'cult?'" Staci asks.

Father Anderson collapses onto the bed and coughs. "I hear doubt in your voice, young lady. But I had to come anyway. For Tyler. His disappearance is my fault."

"Why do you say that?" Staci asks.

"Because I ignored the signs around me. Because I didn't pay attention to the evil that's boiling right under the surface." He coughs again.

"Let's jettison the poetry, okay?" Ray says.

Bethany elbows him.

"I don't blame anyone for being skeptical, but Garretsburg has been poisoned for a long time and no one knows." Another long cough. "No one but me."

"Why? What's going on here?" Staci asks.

"Do you know about the pattern?" Father Anderson asks.

"1,008 days," Ray says.

Father Anderson nods. "Three lunar years. Precisely. And the pattern is about to restart soon. That's why I came back when you called. That's why..."

He breaks down in a coughing fit. As he does, the footage goes blurry and begins to break down. It stutters and skips, odd screeching noises cutting through the frantic sounds of Staci and Leon. It's hard to tell what's happening exactly, but it looks as though Father Anderson is having some sort of seizure. He collapses off the bed before the footage goes to static and then nothing.

So what happened? You'll have to wait until next week to find out for sure!

Iron Man 3

In The Avengers, Captain America insulted Tony Stark by calling him a "big man in a suit of armor." Then he asked, "Take that away---what are you?" Tony replies that he's a billionaire playboy philanthropist. I could argue that this one exchange is a sort of outline for Iron Man 3. And it turns out that Tony is so much more than that.

Thanks to my wonderful wife (who spotted a free preview on Facebook), I got to see the latest Marvel movie on Tuesday. And now that I've had a few days to mull things over, I have to say . . . I'm still not sure what I think.

The story starts with a flashback to Geneva, where Tony Stark is the old Tony Stark, the weapons dealing ladies' man. There he encounters a sexy biologist, a severely crippled researcher, and an exploding ficus. All of these will come back to haunt him. Then, several months after the attack on New York by Loki's forces. Tony Stark has tried to deal with his harsh memories by building new sets of armor. The latest is a prototype that can be summoned to him at a thought. Tony's trying desperately to hide the fact that his little trip through the wormhole has rattled him badly.

But he's about to be drawn into a massive plot involving the uber-terrorist the Mandarin. The Mandarin is trying to teach the President of the United States a lesson of some sort. When Happy, Tony Stark's bodyguard, is injured in one of those "lessons," Tony takes it personally and issues an open challenge to the Mandarin.

The Mandarin responds (and if you've seen the trailer, you know what he did). As a result, Tony is ripped from his world and is forced to improvise. Can he foil the Mandarin's plot? And how does Aldrich Killian fit into all of this?

Well, it was a fun ride. I was surprised at the amount of humor that was woven into the story. Parts of it were genuinely hilarious. And the plot was . . . interesting. At one point, I wondered how it all would tie together. Toward the end, it all became clear. Sort of. I think they skipped over some of the connecting tissue, so to speak.

But it was definitely a fun movie to watch. Ben Kingsley, especially, is awesome. And Robert Downey, Jr., is fantastic as Tony Stark. I keep wondering how much of these movies are made up on the spot. Downey's performance is spot on and excellent.

What's holding me up is more of a meta concern. Where are they going to go from here? In many ways, this movie seems like a dead end. But given how awesome Marvel's movies have been, I can't wait to see what Tony Stark does next.

FFF Part VI --- Digging Deeper

WHERE WE LEFT OFF:  Staci and crew checked out the site where Lisa's house once stood and found very little except for an odd little rag doll. They're yelled at by the sheriff and they interview the mayor. Now it's time to hunker down in the library and do some research.

WHERE WE PICK UP:

The gang arrives at the library. They try to enter with the camera running, but the head librarian stops them and orders Leon and his camera to stay out. Staci seems perturbed by this, but she comes up with a plan: Ray and Bethany will go into the library and do some digging. In the meantime, Staci and Leon will go out into the town and shoot more footage, maybe conduct some interviews with the locals. Ray and Bethany agree to this. When Ray seems particularly eager to get Bethany alone, Staci has to remind her that they're here to work. Bethany agrees, but she giggles and Ray pulls her into the library.

Staci looks at Leon (or the camera, as it were) and apologizes. "I'll work on her, I promise."

The footage cuts to the small park and playground that Veronica was at. Staci and Leon interview several of the local citizens, mostly young mothers at the park with their kids, about life in Garretsburg. Almost all of them have glowing things to say about the town, about how friendly it is, how they all pull together when they have to. When Staci presses them about the mayor, the interviewees seem to get a bit more nervous. They're still all smiles, but they don't appear happy to talk to them anymore.

Eventually, they return to the hotel to see what Ray and Bethany have found.

It turns out that Ray actually did some of the work himself and found some items of interest. He dug through the old newspapers and found out that over the last fifteen years or so, Garretsburg has had a string of odd disappearances. Every three years or so, someone goes missing in town.

"Why do you suppose no one outside of Garretsburg has noticed?" Staci asks.

"Because they're not all the same," Ray says. "In one case, it was a teenage girl and the sheriff claimed that she ran away from home. Before that, a local farmer was supposedly murdered by a man passing through town. Before that, a little boy went walking through the woods and never came back."

"So why do you think they're connected?" Leon asks from behind the camera (and it's obvious he's not happy).

"Because like I said, there's a pattern. These happen every three years or so. More specifically, there's a period of 1,008 days between each disappearance."

There's a long pause. "1,008 days? You figured that out?" Leon asks.

Bethany ruffs Ray's hair. "What can I say? My baby has a head for numbers."

Ray looks ready to pounce on Bethany right there, but Staci stops them. "Did you guys find anything else?"

"One thing. After the little boy disappeared, the local Catholic priest resigned from his parish. He claimed that there was some sort of cult that meets in the nearby woods and they're the ones responsible for the disappearance. Later on, the diocese claimed he had to leave due to 'mental exhaustion,' and since then, it looks like people have decided it was his fault the boy disappeared. But I don't know. Think it's worth going over to the church to check it out?"

Staci smiles. "I think that's our next step."

And that's where we're going to break for this week, folks. Come back next time. Trust me, you won't want to miss it.

FFF Part V --- Exploring Garretsburg

WHERE WE LEFT OFF: Staci and Leon have been joined by Bethany and her jerk of a boyfriend, Ray. They've driven from their college to Garretsburg and checked into a motel.

WHERE WE PICK UP:

The next morning, the crew goes back to the vacant lot where Lisa's house once stood. Bethany whines about why they're there, filming an empty lot for no apparent reason. Leon replies that they're getting B-roll footage for Lisa's interview. He pans the camera across the field. There isn't much to see, mostly just dying grass. We see Staci and Bethany kicking through the grass. Then Ray shouts that he's found something. Tucked into some scraggly bushes is a strange ragdoll, looking like it was made out of a black towel and tied together to make arms and legs. Ray wonders out loud if it's a clue. Leon snorts and says it's unlikely.

"What are you kids doing?" a voice shouts.

The camera turns to reveal a sheriff's car parked next to the lot. An older gentleman, maybe in his late fifties, is leaning out of the window.

"We're filming a documentary," Staci said.

"You got a permit for that, right?" It's clear that the sheriff knows that they don't. "You go down to City Hall and get one, got it?"

The camera shuts off, only to turn on again in City Hall. Staci motions for Leon to keep quiet and they wait outside a door. We can hear snippets of an argument through the door, someone saying something about how "they won't find anything, don't worry."

Then the Mayor exits the room. He too is an older gentleman in his late 50s and almost appears to be "everyone's grandpa." He seems a bit surprised to see the students and the camera, but he plasters on a smile and thanks them for coming. He says he's already started the work on drawing up the permits and if they have any questions, they can come by and talk to him.

Staci brings up what happened to Lisa's house. The Mayor is still all smiles and replies that it was clearly an unfortunate accident, one that caused Lisa's dad to overreact. They go down to the clerk's window and get the permits. The Mayor agrees to meet with Staci and Leon the next day for an interview.

The footage cuts to that interview. The Mayor is seated behind his desk. Pictures of Garretsburg hang on the wall behind him. Staci asks questions about the property outside of town, the election, and the fire. The Mayor explains that the property is owned by the city and the person who donated it stipulated that the city had to hold on to it. That's why they couldn't sell it to Lisa's dad. As for the rumors of a rigged election, the Mayor denied any wrongdoing. He suggested that Lisa's dad was simply paranoid and jumping at everything. The fire was a tragic event but coincidental to it all.

Once the interview is over, he ushers Staci and Leon out of his office. Leon asks what they'll do next. Staci looks upset. She stares at the Mayor's office door and says, "He's lying. I know he is. C'mon, let's get the others and head to the library for some research."

So what will they find? Tune in next week to find out!

FFF Intermission

Sadly, there won't be a Freaky Fun Friday post today. Unfortunately, it got bumped to the low priority list and I don't have anything to share. But it will be back next week!

I hope.

Until then, I leave you with a question: what's your favorite found footage movie?

FFF Part IV --- Meet the Crew

If you're not sure what's going on, you can catch up on what's been happening in this found footage horror film I'm writing by reading the previous entries. Just a warning: they are in reverse order. Sorry.

WHERE WE LEFT OFF: Staci, a journalism student, has convinced her friend Leon to shoot a documentary about apparent political corruption in a small town called Garretsburg. They interviewed a girl named Lisa who lived in this town. Her dad ran for mayor and, when he started asking too many questions, their house caught on fire and burned to the ground.

WHERE WE PICK UP:

Leon has already turned on his camera and is filming Staci packing their stuff in the back of the van. He makes some comments about them going off on their grand adventure that causes Staci to smile and roll her eyes. Leon then looks around the parking lot.

"So where's Bethany? She is coming, right?" he asks.

"Don't worry about it. She said she needed some time away from campus, and she seemed really excited when I talked to her about it last night. I'm sure she'll be here any minute. Relax!" Staci says.

Sure enough, Bethany arrives. Bethany is a cute girl, dressed nicely, and has a bag slung over her shoulder. She smiles at Staci but then scowls at the camera. "Is that thing going to be going the whole time we're gone?"

"Well, not always, but we are filming a documentary," Leon says.

Bethany interrupts him. "Because I"m really hoping for some privacy while we're gone."

Staci frowns. "Why?"

Bethany looks over her shoulder and a guy walks up to her and puts his arm around her waist. "I asked Ray to come with us."

The camera droops in Leon's hand. It shifts as he turns to face Staci. "Staci, a word."

They go off to one side. "I thought you said that Bethany broke up with Ray," Leon says.

"I thought she did too!" Staci replies. "Last I heard, anyway. They must have gotten back together yesterday or something."

Someone walks up to them. Leon angles the camera to reveal that it's Bethany. She fixes Leon with a toxic look and turns to Staci. "Look, Ray and I need this time away from campus. I want to rekindle the romance, y'know?"

"This isn't a vacation, Bethany," Staci says. "We're going to be doing some serious work while we're gone."

"Oh, I get that, but we're not going to be working the whole time, right? There will be some time for fun. That's what I'm hoping for. Ray won't get in the way of your little film thing, don't worry."

"We going or not?" Ray shouts.

Leon turns to see Ray toss his bag into the back of the van, along with Bethany's bag.

"I guess so," Leon says, his voice bitter.

Bethany scoots over to Ray and throws her arms around him.

"Look, I know this isn't what I promised," Staci said. "But look at it this way: Ray's a complete tool. Now Bethany can get to know you better and see what a great guy you are. Then you'll be there for her when things go south again."

"Great, so I can reserve my spot in the friend zone, huh?"

"C'mon, let's go."

The camera cuts to shots of the van driving along the highway, past farm fields and clumps of trees. Then it jump cuts to footage of Garretsburg, little snippets of sites we've already seen: the park, city hall. At one point, the van slows to a crawl next to a vacant lot. Staci reveals that this was where Lisa's house stood before the fire. There's no evidence that it was ever there. Leon wonders if they should go check out the property Lisa's dad wanted to buy. Staci decides not to because it's getting late.

Instead, they pull into the motel parking lot and Staci goes in to get their rooms. Leon and Ray have one, Staci and Bethany another. Leon puts his stuff in his room, only to hear a knock at the door. It's Staci. She's apparently been chased out of her room and needs a place to crash. Leon offers the other bed. Staci suggests they shut off the camera for the night, because their investigation starts in the morning.


So there we go. We have our four intrepid (and ultimately doomed) college kids. I'm trying to be a bit better about describing how I visualized a lot of this. As always, let me know what you think.

FFF Part III -- Something's Rotten in Garretsburg

Professor Veronica Weathers, after being told by the police that they couldn't investigate the disappearance of four college students without further evidence, headed to their last known location. In the little town of Garretsburg, she couldn't find anyone who would admit to seeing them, but she did find an empty suitcase in the local motel's dumpster. She also found a camera bag in the woods with a tag on it, identifying it as belonging to one of the students.

Veronica is back in her office and wants to document what she's found. She shows the camera she found, along with the portable hard drive. She reveals that there were dozens of videos taken around the time that Staci called her cell phone with her frantic voice mail. Veronica has uploaded all of the files onto the department server and she's going to start going through them...

We cut to the first entry and get our first look at Staci Fowler. She's around 20 years old, perky and nice looking. She's seated on a couch in a dorm room, one that obviously belongs to a guy. She smiles at the camera and teases someone she calls Leon about finally getting it working. Leon, who remains off camera, mocks her back.

"At least now I can get to work on my film studies final project," he says. "But now I have to come up with something to actually film." He zooms in on Staci. "Wanna make movies with me?"

Staci smirks but then says, "Actually, I have an idea about that. You know I have that big journalism project coming up, right? Why don't we team up and do a documentary?"

Leon makes a fake snoring sound. Staci picks up a pillow and throws it at Leon.

"Seriously, though, a documentary on what? Isn't your project supposed to be about politics?"

Staci nods. "Exactly. There's this girl in my econ class. The other day, she was telling me about some crazy stuff that happened in this town she lived in a while back. It sounded like the perfect thing to investigate. What do you say?"

"I don't know," Leon says. "I mean, yeah, I'm supposed to put together a movie, but a documentary? That sounds like a lot of work."

"Oh," Staci says. "That's too bad. Because you know, I asked Bethany to help us on the project and she seemed excited. Just think. The two of you would probably have to spend some time alone together."

"Oh, come on! That's not fighting fair, and you know it!"

Staci smiles. "So what do you say?"

Leon sighs. "Fine. What do we do first?"

"Let's go interview the girl from my econ class and get the story from her."

The footage cuts to another college-aged girl. We catch our first glimpse of Leon as he clips a microphone to her her shirt. Leon is also twenty years old, a little on the pudgy side and definitely average as far as looks are concerned. He then steps around behind the camera again.

Staci's voice comes from off camera. "Okay, Lisa, we're just going to talk about that story you told me in econ, okay?"

Lisa takes a deep breath and nods. She then starts to tell her story, with Staci interjecting questions from time to time:

"Several years ago, my family moved to this little town called Garretsburg. It seemed like a nice enough place at first, very friendly. You know, typical small town.

"My dad, he's an avid hiker and he couldn't find any trails or anything nearby. But there was this large wooded property  right outside of town. It was a couple of acres with some old rundown buildings in it. Dad thought that it would be perfect as a park. He had some money my gram left him, so he tried to track down the owners to see if they'd be willing to sell it.

"The weird thing is, no on in town seemed to know who the land belonged to. They all knew about it, but whenever Dad would ask about it, he got what he called the royal run-around. He finally found out that the land belonged to the city. He offered to buy it, but the mayor wouldn't even talk to him. When he tried to track down the records about the land, he found out that they had disappeared. Not only that, but the mayor was becoming really rude to him.

"So when the next election came around, Dad decided to run for mayor. But that wasn't easy. He said it was like everyone in city hall was against him. They lost his paperwork three different times. His lawn signs kept disappearing. The town newspaper kept misspelling his name.

"Then, when the election was held, the old mayor won in a landslide, which Dad thought was fishy. Sure, he knew he had an uphill battle, but based on what the newspaper reported, it sounded like no one voted for him at all. Dad thought maybe the election was rigged, and so he started making noise about contacting the state's Attorney General's office. That's when the sheriff stopped by and 'suggested' that Dad take it easy.

"Two nights later, our house burned down. Strange thing is, none of the smoke alarms went off. Dad took it as a sign that we should just forget about it and get out of town.

"So there you go. That's my story."

The camera swings around to Staci. "Sounds like there's something rotten in Garretsburg. I think we should go find out what."

Keep the comments coming. I know this was another "wall of text" scene, but it will get better. I hope. LOL!

FFF Part II -- Retracing Staci's Steps

When we left off last, Professor Veronica Weathers had received a frantic voicemail message from one of her students, Staci Fowler. Staci had been on the trail of some sort of expose when she and several of her friends disappeared. The message made it sound like Staci was being hunted by someone in a town called Garretsburg.

We pick up with Veronica driving in her car. She has her video camera going on her dashboard. She explains that she tried calling the police to let them know what she had heard. Unfortunately, that turned out to be a dead end. The police contacted their counterparts in Garretsburg and were told that everything was fine. Without further evidence, they couldn't do anything.

So now, Veronica took it upon herself to dig up that evidence. She's heading to Garretsburg with a camera of her own to see what she can find. Maybe she'll be able to find something that will get the police to act.

Next we see small snippets of her arrival in Garretsburg. It's a small town, a population of about 4,000. There are deep woods outside the town, a brick church near the downtown, a few pleasant parks. There's only one motel to speak of. Veronica goes there first. While filming, she goes to the front desk with a picture of Staci. She asks the attendant if Staci stayed at the motel. The clerk barely glances at the picture but informs Veronica that no one has stayed at the motel recently. Veronica presses the clerk, but she insists that Veronica leave.

Veronica does, but she goes around to the back of the motel and finds a dumpster. She sets the camera aside and sifts through some of the trash. She quickly finds what she's looking for, namely a bag with a tag that has Staci's name on it. The contents of the bag are missing.

Vernoica sets out with her camera into Garretsburg. She shows Staci's picture to some folks in the local diner and asks if they've seen Staci or her friends. Everyone claims to have not seen them, but there's an underlying tension to the townsfolk. It's clear that they don't appreciate this outsider asking questions. When Veronica goes out to a local park to ask some of the mothers gathered at the playground, she spots the sheriff's car parked a block away and it's clear that she's being watched.

Most of the mothers at the playground ignore her, but one little boy seems ready to help. He claims to have seen Staci and her friends and says that they got themselves into trouble. When Veronica asks where they went, the boy claims to not know but says that if she goes out of town and finds the "bad place," she might find what she's looking for. One of the mom's shouts and the boy runs away, along with the rest of the kids.

Veronica gets in her car and drives to the edge of town in the direction the boy pointed. She finds a dense woods and goes in, wondering aloud how she's going to find this "bad place." But then, she spots something in the underbrush. She brushes away some dirt and dead leaves and discovers it's a camera bag. The tag marks it as belonging to Leon Johnson, one of the missing college students. She opens it and discovers that the videocamera is in there, along with a portable hard drive. She pulls it out of the ground and gets back in her car. She drops the camera on the dash, revealing that the sheriff is right behind her. She throws her car into drive and roars away. The sheriff follows her for a while until she manages to lose him on the freeway. She wonders what she'll find when she gets the camera back to her office.

So what will she find? Come back next Friday to see what Leon's camera reveals.

Oh, and thanks for the comments! I like the fact that people are thinking about how this could be filmed best. I'll be honest, I really don't think this will ever get put on film. I don't have the technical know-how to do so. But I'll be even more honest and say that I briefly considered starting something on Kickstarter. LOL!

FFF Part 1 -- Staci's Gone Missing

Time to start writing my really bad found footage horror movie. I don't have a title for this. I have no idea where this is going. I don't know how long this series might last. But that's not going to stop me.

So let's get started!

Our untitled movie opens with news footage talking about how a professor and four students have gone missing from New Belton University. Professor Howard Erickson holds a press conference, explaining that he thinks his colleague, journalism professor Veronica Weathers, and the students were victims of foul play. He claims that he has evidence of this. When the local police chief is asked about this evidence, he dismisses it as a hoax.

Cut to an interview with Professor Erickson. He explains that he received an odd e-mail one evening from Weathers, claiming that she had uploaded some video footage into the department server and that it had to do with four New Belton students who had missed classes for several days. Erickson said he retrieved the footage and it disturbed him enough that he called the police. Now that the police have dismissed his concerns, he's put the footage together as best he could and now he's releasing it to the public in hopes that someone will be able to shed some light on what happened.

We cut to an image of Veronica Weathers. She's a nice looking middle aged woman. She's obviously set up a camera to record herself talking. She explains that she's a journalism professor at New Belton. She goes on to talk about how she's concerned about one of her students, a young lady named Staci Fowler. Staci is a promising student with aspirations for being a political reporter. Several weeks ago, Staci approached Weathers, asking for advice on how to do a big expose. Staci didn't go into details at the time, but she claimed to be on the trail of a story that could help make her mark before she's even graduated from college. Weathers says that she humored Staci at the time but thought that her student was exaggerating.

Then Staci and three of her friends left campus. Several days later, Weathers received an ominous voice mail message from Staci. Weathers pulls out her phone and plays the message for the camera.

At first, we don't hear anything, just rustling and what might be heavy breathing. But then, we hear the gasps and sobs of a young woman crying. "Dr. Weathers? It's Staci. We went to Garretsburg anyway, and now . . . I don't know what happened. Cynthia is dead and . . ." A burst of static drowns out her words. When they come back, she's crying harder. "We should never have come here. The sheriff is in on it." Another burst of static. "He's after me now and I don't know if---"

The line goes dead. Weathers explains that she looked it up on the map. Garretsburg is a small community to the north of New Belton, so she's planning on going up there to see what she can find out.

Want to know what Weathers finds in Garretsburg? Come back next week to see. And if you like what you're reading, be sure to let folks know what I'm up to. The more the merrier.

Freaky Fun Friday

This past Tuesday, I made a promise on my Facebook author page. To wit:

Well, I kept my promise about resurrecting Wordcount Wednesdays, so now I have one more promise to keep. Welcome to Freaky Fun Friday, a miniseries that will officially start next Friday and continue until . . . well, until I run out of what I want to do with it. I have no idea how this is going to work.

Maybe I should back up and explain what I'm up to here.

When I was in college, I tried my hand at writing screenplays. I wrote a grand total of three. One was a knock off of The Boys from Brazil, where a creepy cult cloned their dead founder not once but twice (and the second time, turned her into a girl. Don't ask. It made sense at the time). The second was a mash up of "Romeo and Juliet" and Enemy Mine (out of the three, this one is the one I'm still proud of). The third was an abysmal romantic "comedy" about an angel sent to date a guy and make him more of a catch for women. Seriously.

Anyway, I eventually returned to the world of "serious literature," i.e. stories of superheroes fighting zombies, because I figured I didn't know the first thing about selling a screenplay, let alone filming one. But that doesn't mean that my brain has given up on coming up with movie ideas.

It happens every now and then. Not often, but recently, I've been beset by ideas for a new movie.

More specifically, a horror movie.

This really surprises me. I'm not a fan of horror usually. I'm a little squeamish when it comes to slasher stuff. But I do make an exception for a certain kind of horror movie: found footage movies.

I don't know why, but for some reason, I love movies that pretend to be footage from real events. My younger brother and I once had a great deal of fun dissecting a made-for-TV movie called Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County. I'm probably one of the few people who actually enjoyed The Blair Witch Project, even if the ending did make it impossible for me to enter my own basement for a week. I've watched the Paranormal Activity movies and I especially loved Trollhunter (seriously, go watch that movie now!) and Chronicle (which, granted, wasn't a horror movie).

Anyway, the point is, for the past couple of weeks, I've had the idea for a found footage horror movie rattling around in my brain. And here's the thing, folks. While I've written three screenplays, I have no idea how to write a found footage one. Even if I did, I still don't have any idea how to produce it (although I'll admit I briefly toyed with the idea of taking it to Kickstarter to see what would happen). But I can't seem to exorcise this idea.

So that's what I'm doing. Over the next few weeks, on Fridays, I'll be telling you the story of this found footage idea. A lot of it is extremely rough. Big chunks of it are completely nonexistent right now. I've got a beginning, some scraps of stuff for the middle, and an ending. But I need to share this so it'll leave me alone.

Buckle in, folks. I can't promise that it'll be scary, but I'm willing to bet it might be a little fun. See you next week for the first installment of this still untitled found footage horror film.

The Hobbit

I know, I know, I know. Bad geek! Bad! I had wanted to see The Hobbit the moment it came out. I was hoping that I could even score free tickets to an advance screening (like I have for other movies lately). Sadly, the free tickets were not to be. The one screening my wonderful wife found were gone in 15 seconds and I couldn't have gone anyway. And Friday, well, Friday I had an eye doctor appointment and then we went to see Santa as a family. Weekends are bad, too, so I had to wait until a Monday. A Monday! I know, I need to turn in my geek card now.

But the time finally came and I settled in. After twenty minutes of previews (and I'm still wondering why they thought that fans of J.R.R. Tolkien would be interested in Stephanie Meyer's alien movie thing), the epic tale of Bilbo Baggins unfolded before me. And it was good.

For the most part.

So let's start with the caveats and the words of warning. I wasn't totally sold on the idea of splitting the story into two parts, let alone three. The Hobbit is a much shorter book than The Lord of the Rings, so it seemed a little odd to me that Peter Jackson would divvy up the film, regardless of if he brought in extra material or not. But it's Peter Jackson, for crying out loud. I trust him with Middle Earth, so I was willing to let go of my minor misgivings.

But what format to see it in? I could have gone to see it in IMAX 3D at the Minnesota Zoo, but the last movie I saw like that (Tron: Revolutions, or whatever that train wreck was called) left me feeling a bit dizzy. So should I try for 3D? Or track down the nearest theater that would show it in 48fps 3D? I finally decided on just plain old vanilla 2D.

And it was great to be back in Middle Earth again! It was fantastic to see Gandalf and Bilbo again. I was ready to stand up and cheer the first time I heard a whispered voice in a dark cave. And it was a fun movie, with lots of adventure, some silliness, and that spectacular New Zealand scenery.

And yet . . .

And yet there were some minor details, things that bothered me. I "saw the seams" on some of the visual effects, particularly when Gandalf and the dwarfs were trying to escape from the goblins. I could tell when the CGI folks took over, which I don't remember happening in the Lord of the Rings movies.

But most of all, there was disconnect for me, and I think it's the fact that the source material was slightly incompatible with Peter Jackson's vision.

Let's remember, The Hobbit started life as a story for children. So while there is danger and adventure, none of it is quite as life-and-death as in LotR. And in some ways, Jackson remained true to the source material, by including the "Blunt the Knives" musical number and the goblin's torture song (!) in the movie. Radagast too seemed particularly suited for a kids' story.

But then there are the parts where Jackson was clearly trying to hearken back to the style and vision of Lord of the Rings, and it caused a little bit of cognitive dissonance in me. It didn't feel right.

Not only that, but I think the film suffered a little bit because the story of The Hobbit doesn't strike me as being quite as epic as Lord of the Rings. Yes, taking on Smaug will be awesome and yes, the journey is important for the dwarfs, but the movie seemed to lack a "Big Bad." Because of that, the movie didn't feel quite as big. And yes, I know who the Necromancer is.

Now that may sound like I didn't enjoy it. I did. And I'm looking forward to the next leg of the journey.

Wreck-It Ralph

Thanks to my wonderful wife (who is a wizard at finding cool deals), I was able to see a sneak preview of Wreck-It Ralph a little over a week early. This was a great opportunity, simply because I'd been looking forward to seeing this movie pretty much all summer. I heard it described as a sort of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? but with video game characters. Given how much I love my video games, I couldn't wait to see who got included. I was hoping for a whole smorgasbord of characters. Sadly, there weren't as many as I hoped for. On that account, I was a little disappointed.

But only on that point. I went in expecting a light, silly movie, one designed to stoke up nostalgia and little else. But what I found instead was a well-crafted story. A silly one, sure, but I was pleasantly surprised at how great this movie turned out.

You can get the gist of the plot from this trailer:



Poor Ralph. All he wants is to appreciated for once in his life. But his quest to become the hero endangers his game and many others.

What can I say about this movie? It's awesome. While I was a little dissatisfied with the lack of cameos (there were a lot of classic characters wandering around in the background), the ones that did show up made logical sense from within the story. The internal logic hangs together well too. The characters are a blast. The story, while somewhat simple, was a hoot.

The greatest surprise for me? Alan Tudyk voiced the Candy King. I had no idea until the end credits started rolling. I suspect the people I was sitting next to thought I was crazy when I saw that.

The one caveat I can share is this: beware the ending, especially if you're bringing kids. There's some dark stuff going on in the ending. I mean, I know they're video game characters, but some of the stuff that happens at the end struck me as a bit . . . well, dark.

But it's a great movie nonetheless. If you're a video game fan, go see this movie. Even if you're not, it's a great movie. Just be sure to see it soon!

Advice for Star Wars 7

Normally I don't pay attention to business news. I've got no mind for economics and unless it directly or indirectly impacts me, I'll only skim the business section of Google News. For example, when I see news about publishing companies merging, I'll see who bought who and maybe read analyses of what that might do for me. But then I forget about it a short time later.

But today's news? Well, that got my attention. It's not every day that you see Disney spend $4 billion to purchase Lucasfilm. That means that any future Star Wars projects will come with mouse ears attached.

In some ways, this shouldn't surprise us. At least, it didn't totally surprise me. Not the price tag, certainly. George Lucas has created quite the little empire for himself. And the fact that Disney did the buying doesn't surprise me much either. If you've been to Epcot Center recently, you've seen the theme rides and the dance parties that feature Darth Vader boogie-ing down and accepting the fealty of little girls. So there was a pre-existing relationship there. Given the fact that Disney also has bought Marvel, and that leads to some interesting possibilities in the future. Marvel vs. Star Wars fighting games, anyone? Or maybe Darth Vader and Wolverine will cameo in Epic Mickey 3.

But what caught my eye was the little factoid in there that "Star Wars 7," whatever that will be, is targeted to be released in 2015.

To quote one Dr. Sam Beckett, "Oh, boy." Or, perhaps a bit more appropriate, "I've got a bad feeling about this."

My initial reaction was one of revulsion. Yes, Episode III finally, sort of got it right, but that's only because the bar had been set so low. George Lucas lost his ways, seduced by the dark side of digital effects, focusing on that over and above such mundane details as, oh, I don't know, storytelling, characterization, and so on. And while I've heard that the Clone Wars animated series is pretty good, I've been glad that we wouldn't see any further assaults on my childhood memories.

But then I noticed this little nugget in the middle of the stories, a quote from George Lucas himself:

“For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next,” said George Lucas, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lucasfilm. “It’s now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers.”

So wait . . . this new movie would be one without George Lucas in direct control?

Interesting.

Further reading reveals that Lucas has turned over control of Star Wars to a lady named Kathleen Kennedy, and that he's shared ideas and plotlines and all that with her, that he will serve as a creative consultant for the future movies (yes, there will be more than just #7).

Initial feeling of worry returning.

Now I've been a Star Wars fan for a long time. Some of my earliest memories are of watching the original trilogy with my family to the point that we had them all memorized. I've read many of the novels. And I've played a lot of the videogames too. I've been a loyal connoisseur for decades now. And even though I doubt that Ms. Kennedy will ever stumble across this, my humble corner of the Interwebz, I do have some advice for her about what to do with Star Wars 7, which I'll share with you now:

1) Don't make them sequels. Or, to be more specific, respect the Extended Universe. A lot of authors have spent a lot of time telling the story where Return of the Jedi left off. The Empire fell and rose again. Memorable characters, such as Talon Karrde, Corran Horn, and Mara Jade, have trod the galactic stage and left an indelible imprint on it. And the main characters have been through a lot too. They've gotten married, had kids, lost kids and spouses. One of them even died (although I won't say which one). While I know that the books and such aren't probably "official canon," it would be a shame to slash-and-burn all of it. So if Star Wars 7 is indeed a sequel, set it in the far future. Avoid the Skywalker clan and their related associates. Tell us a new story set in the same universe and leave the EU to the fans.

2) Bring in some ringers. It's great that Lucas has given you his thoughts and ideas and I would never suggest you jettison them. But maybe hire in some folks with proven track records when it comes to telling Star Wars stories. Have Timothy Zahn take a pass at Lucas's ideas. Hire Michael Stackpole to flesh out the stories. Bring Drew Karpyshyn in, especially if these movies are set in the Old Republic period. There are plenty of talented writers who know this universe who could be used to help get this project off the ground and make it a classic. Speaking of which . . .

3) Don't confuse flash for substance. I think one of the chief problems with the prequels was the fact that so much of it was focused on the visual effects. Don't get me wrong, the effects were awesome and made the movies a lot of fun. But it was clear that Lucas's focus was on the sizzle, not the steak. The story is full of plotholes (which are fun to exploit at times), the characters are lackluster, and overall its disappointing. Make sure that whoever writes the script an craft a good story. Make sure whoever sits in the director's chair can say more than just, "Faster, more intense." Definitely don't get rid of the visual effects. Just use them to support the story, not overwhelm it.

4) Whatever you do . . . don't include Gungans, midichlorians, or characters from the original trilogy as children. That's just a bad idea all around.

But hey, what do I know? It's just a thought.

Let's Cast Failstate!

One of the funny things that's happened since Failstate was published was that a rumor somehow got started that I had a movie deal in the works. I'm not sure how that got started, but several people (who don't know each other) have asked me about it. I suspect it might have something to do with the starred review that Publishers Weekly gave me back when the novel first released. The last lines of that review were:

Otte has a TV show full of sequel possibilities; here’s hoping.

And maybe that got twisted into "John has a movie deal in the works?" I don't know. That'd be awesome, but it hasn't happened yet. Hollywood, if you want to talk movie or TV deal, call me! Or my agent, actually.

Anyway. Earlier today, I spotted a blog post by author Rachel Coker (of whom I am intensely jealous; she was first published when she was 16. Although, come to think of it, the stuff that I was writing when I was 16 was garbage, so it's probably better I waited an additional 20 years to figure out what I was doing). Rachel mused about who she would cast in a movie adaptation of her book. I haven't read Interrupted yet (although it is in one of my to-be-read baskets and high on the list), so I can't comment on her choices one way or the other. But that got me to thinking.

What if, by some bizarre stroke of divine intervention, someone did want to make a big budget version of Failstate? Who would I want to play the roles?

And the more I thought about it, the more I realized . . . I have no idea.

Seriously. I suppose part of the problem is that I'm not up on teenage actors (or actors who can pass for teenagers). Or it could be a fault of my writing craft.

But still, it's fun to dream, so I'm inviting you to dream with me. Let's cast a hypothetical Failstate movie! If you've read the books, who do you think should play the characters?

Before we get started, let's establish one quick rule: the people you cast have to be actors who can play the role today. No "time machine" casting. As awesome as it would be to go back in time so we can cast a teenage Nathan Fillion as Failstate, the laws of physics blah blah blah.

So who do you see in those roles? Let me know!

The Dark Knight Rises

Let's start right off the bat (pun not intended) by saying that this post is not about what happened in Aurora. That is an unspeakable and, in some ways, unexplainable tragedy. It's never wise to start pointing fingers and assigning blame so quickly (as some people have felt the need to do). I suspect that the shooter's motivation is a lot more complex than a simple, one-word answer, such as "guns" or "Hollywood" or whatever. For those of us on the outside looking in, the best thing we can do is offer support to those in need and join the ancient prayer of "Kyrie, eleison." Lord, have mercy.

With that out of the way, let's talk about The Dark Knight Rises.

I went to see it Thursday night as part of a movie marathon. I got to the theater at 6:00 so I could watch Batman Begins and The Dark Knight before the final movie kicked off at 12:01 am. As much as I'm paying for that now (I got to bed at 3:30; not a wise choice), I think that helped keep the other two movies fresh in my mind.

So what's the plot of this one? Well, it's several years after the events of The Dark Knight. Inspired by the legend of Harvey Dent (and blissfully kept in the dark about the monster he eventually became), the citizens of Gotham City have cleaned up their act. Crime is down, people are feeling more prosperous, and everything is coming up roses. For the most part. Sure, there are still the poor and downtrodden, but they're mostly out of sight.

Not everything has gone well for Bruce Wayne, however. He's become something of a recluse, hiding in the rebuilt Wayne Manor, his body slowly falling apart from his time as a vigilante. It would take something major for him to rejoin society and don the cape and cowl once again.

That something is Bane, a terrorist with a very odd mask. Bane is the leader of a mercenary group, one that is suicidally loyal to him. He comes to Gotham armed with a complex plan with a simple goal: level the playing field for everyone. And then kill everyone.

Thrown into the mix is a cat burglar named Selina Kyle and you've got a great movie, one that kept my attention all the way through.

Were there bad parts? Yeah, a few. I wasn't entirely enamored with Bane and his headgear. It wasn't just the fact that he sounded like he had a Darth Vader noise machine wired in there. Tom Hardy's choice of accent (whatever it was) threw me off for a while and there were times when his voice was hard to understand. And while I get Christopher Nolan's decision to not mention the Joker out of respect for Heath Ledger, that silence didn't fit the story all that well. That's my grubby little opinion, but there you go.

But there were plenty of surprises in the movie. I, for one, was pleasantly surprised by Anne Hathaway. I seem to have something of a blind spot for her. When I heard she was playing Selina Kyle, my immediate reaction was, "Really? The girl from The Princess Diaries?" But I think Hathaway did an excellent job. She captured Selina Kyle's playfulness, cleverness, and ferocity in a way that worked.

There were also two surprise twists that I didn't see coming, although I should have seen the first one. I mean, I know the Batman mythos fairly well. I should have seen through the smokescreen that Nolan set up around some of the characters to realize what was truly going on. But instead, I swallowed the deception and chalked it up to "artistic license," which made the reveal a lot more fun. The second twist, I didn't see it coming and laughed out loud when it happened. If you've seen the movie, it's the one that happened right before the ending.

And can I say how much I loved Joseph Gordon-Levitt in this too? Simply awesome.

So I'd say that this is a film worth watching, a great non-superhero superhero flick that really wrapped up Nolan's trilogy well. I've read rumors that Warner Brothers is already starting plans for a Batman reboot. I would not want to work on that movie, because Nolan has left some mighty huge shoes to fill.

The Amazing Spider-Man

You know, I used to do more on this blog than just review books and whine report on my writing endeavors. I used to talk about movies and video games and occasionally music. I have no idea why I got away from that. It's not like I stopped going to the movies or stopped playing video games. I'm thinking I should rectify that. Starting tonight. Which is appropriate since I just got back from seeing The Amazing Spider-Man.

Okay, honestly, do I have to do a plot summary? We've been there, done that. Radioactive spider, new found powers, yadda yadda yadda. The origin story is pretty much the same as the last go 'round with Tobey Maguire. As a matter of fact, I was one of the people who originally shook my head in dismay over the fact that Hollywood was rebooting the franchise so shortly after unleashing the steaming pile that was Spider-Man 3 upon the world. But then I started hearing good things about it. And, I have to admit, I'm a sucker for superheroes. Go figure.

So let's talk about what's different in this movie. We see Peter Parker's parents. They've disappeared for some reason, leaving him with his Uncle Ben and Aunt May (wonderfully played by Martin Sheen and Sally Field). Mary Jane Watson is nowhere to be seen. Instead, it's Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) who causes our friendly neighborhood wall-crawler's heart to go pitter pat.

And Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man? Wow. Awesome. You can tell he gets the character.

Anyway, the plot centers around Dr. Curt Connors, a scientist at Os Corp who dreams of fixing people through interspecies genetic engineering. For example, using lizard DNA on patients who have lost limbs. Sort of like how Connors is missing an arm.

So, yeah, in some ways, the plot is a little predictable, especially if you're familiar with the characters that inhabit Spidey's world. But at the same time, the filmmakers took some great liberties with the origin story. Some things were missing (such as J. Jonah Jameson, but after the way JJ was played J. K. Simmons, no way I'd want to follow in his Hitler 'stache). The story was simply great.

The acting was awesome as well. I'd take Emma Stone's Gwen Stacy over Kirsten Dunst's MJ any day . . .

. . . that sounded a lot better in my head. I mean Emma Stone did a fantastic job as Gwen.

And may I say, this movie has almost convinced me that 3D movies are okay. I normally don't like springing for glasses for a movie that doesn't quite need 3D. Watching Spidey swing around New York in 3D is worth the extra buck or two.

All in all, this was a great movie. I'm not sure it edged out The Avengers as my favorite superhero movie to date, but it came pretty close to doing so.

I'll be throwing out more reviews as the weeks go by. But for now, go check out this movie. It's worth it.

Lord of the Rings Medley

Ummmmm . . .  Wow. I'm finding I really like Lindsey Stirlings videos.

The Muppets

Thanks to the good folks at 365 Twin Cities, I got to attend a sneak preview of The Muppets tonight. I've been looking forward to this movie for a while now; the trailers that they've been releasing have been absolutely genius, such as the Green Lantern parody or the Dragon Tattoo parody. I hoped that the same silly genius would carry over to the movie itself. Truth be told, I'm not sure what I think of what I saw tonight. It was okay.

My problem, I think, came from the first part of the movie. Kermit the Frog said it best this past weekend on SNL when Jason Segel hosted: "When people go to a Muppet movie, they say, 'Gee, I can't wait to see the human!'" Except what Kermit said sarcastically, I think the writers took seriously. Let me put it this way: recently I watched The Muppet Movie and The Muppets Take Manhattan with my son. Both of those movies started with Kermit. Not this movie. Instead, it started with Walter and his human brother, Gary (played by Jason Segel). Kermit and company didn't show up until much further in.

In some ways, I get it. It made sense, given the overall plot: Walter, Gary, and Gary's long-time girlfriend, Mary (Amy Adams) go to LA ostensibly for Gary and Mary's "we've-been-dating-for-10-years" anniversary. But once there, Walter learns that a rich oil baron is going to destroy the old Muppet studios (including the iconic theater) to drill for oil. Horrified, Walter convinces his brother and his girlfriend to round up the old Muppet gang, starting with Kermit, so they can save the studio.

But even with that decent premise, the film lurched in the early going. I blame the humans, personally. We don't go to a Muppet movie for human-related drama. Instead, we go to see anthropomorphic animals made out of felt have relationship drama. And boy, do they pack in some rather . . . well, I don't want to say "adult themes." Let's just say there was some stuff put in there that was meant for the adults. I can honestly say I don't think I've seen anything quite so heavy in previous Muppet movies. And the ending . . . well, wow.

There were some bright spots. Some of the cameos were genius (one in particular). And there were some great "breaking the fourth wall" moments, plus nods to previous movies.

I don't know. I'm not sure what I was expecting when I went into this movie. I'm pretty sure that this wasn't it. Not totally. But I hope this doesn't sink the Muppets, because if there's one thing that I realized as I was watching this: I missed them.