SILVER TONGUED SILVER SCREEN: DUMB AND DUMBER TO

20 years ago I went to my home town theater with one of my friends and we were two of maybe four people in the entire theater watching the film DUMB AND DUMBER. Sadly I cannot remember which friend was with me but I do remember falling in love with the movie. I was eleven years old and introduced to a whole new world of humor. I have since watched this film maybe 50 times and know almost every line. So here we are 20 years later. If I hadn't seen the original film in a theater I might not have gone to see this one. Needless to say I wanted to relive that moment from my childhood.

SPOILER ALERT
DUMB AND DUMBER TO takes place exactly 20 years later after the events of the first film. Lloyd has been hospitalized this whole time and Harry has been coming to visit him every day. Lloyd miraculously comes out of his catatonia the moment Harry mentions he won't be coming back, claiming it was one big joke. The two friends reunite as if nothing had happened these last 20 years. But when Harry reveals that his kidneys are failing Lloyd's world changes once again.

After the discovery of a post card from 1991 Harry finds out he has a daughter. The two friends start a quest to find Harry's daughter and hopefully persuade her to give her long lost father her kidney.We finally meet the infamous Fraida Felcher (played by the wonderful Kathleen Turner), the mother of Harry's daughter, through which we discover gave the child up for adoption. All Fraida has is a current picture and an address. One look at the picture and Lloyd falls in love with Harry's, now 23 year old and gorgeous, daughter Penny. Motivated by a new reason the quest continues.

The film from here goes through many twists and turns involving murderous con-artists, uber-camoflauge spies, a trip to a world science convention, and much more. We revisit some old jokes from the first film as well as experiencing new jokes. Fraida returns trying to find her daughter too. The perspective shifts once Lloyd discovers that Penny isn't Harry's daughter but his daughter.

I don't know if it's because they're twenty years older or if the actors were trying too hard or if the writing was off but the film failed to recapture that simple and innocent feeling that the original had. As a result the characters weren't as endearing. Everybody involved in the making of this film tried to rekindle the thoughts and feelings of the original, we saw Harry's sheep-dog van again, we heard the second most annoying sound in the world, and if you stayed to the end of the credits you got a really special treat from the past (my favorite throwback in the film).

And some of the new stuff they introduced was pretty good too. Expanding on Fraida Felcher and finally meeting her was great. The con artists plot seemed like a blatant repeat of the kidnapping plot from the first film however. But one of the best aspects of the film was Harry's daughter played wonderfully by actress Rachel Melvin. Not only is she nice to look at but she is hilarious too. You believe she could be the spawn of Harry or Lloyd because she dumb to (get it?). A stand out scene is when Lloyd and Penny are having dinner together and Lloyd realizes that she's his daughter and the scene flashes to an image of Penny appearing identical to Lloyd.

All in all I enjoyed the film but I felt it was about half as funny as the original, which is actually pretty dang funny considering how spectacular the original film was. I laughed out loud many times and enjoyed the experience. The Farrelly Brothers promised another Dumb and Dumber sequel in 2034 (I assume as a joke) and it would be awesome to get that film in twenty years too.

Overall Ranking: 5 out of 10
Nude-O-Meet: 1 out of 10

SILVER TONGUED SILVER SCREEN: THE HOBBIT~THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES

Once again we come to the end of another epic trilogy in cinema. Eleven years ago the Lord of the Rings trilogy came to an epic conclusion with the third and final film Return of the King. Not only did that film live up to expectations but it received a resounding applause from the Academy Awards earning eleven Oscars, and rightly so. I've never met a person who disliked the film. In the case of the most recent entry into what is now being referred to as the Middle Earth Saga I haven't met a person who actually liked it. THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES has finally been released to mixed reviews and unsure feelings.

SPOILER ALERT!
Smaug descends upon Lake Town in a firestorm of hell and fury. The populace flees, some escaping with naught but their skin, others turning to cinders and ash. Bard and his son Bain rise to save the day and slay the last of fire drakes. After a frightening speech from the reptile the arrow flies and Smaug, the great and terrible, dies.

Thorin stays locked in his mountain succumbing to Dragon's Madness. He walls himself inside Erebor and goes mad with greed. Meanwhile the refugees from Lake Town gather at the ruins of the city of Dale just outside the Lonely Mountain. The Woodland Elves led by King Thranduil march on the city. Both Bard and Thranduil want a portion of the dwarves treasure, but for different reasons. They knock on the mountain door and peaceably ask for assistance from Thorin. Thorin says no.

Meanwhile Elrond, Galadriel, and Saruman lay siege to the Necromancer's stronghold in an attempt to rescue Gandolf. They battle the Nine Nazgul and ultimately confront Sauron. Galadriel unleashed her full power and banishes Sauron to the north. Radagast rides in and takes Gandolf away to heal. But the gray wizard cannot rest for an army of orcs marches on Erebor. He leaves to round up an army of creatures to aid the dwarves.

The elves prepare to attack Erebor, the meager army of the refugees of Lake Town by their side. An army of dwarves marches down from the hill to defend Erebor. Half the army of the orcs arrive and all hell breaks loose. Thorin comes to his senses and joins the fray turning the tide.  It appears as if the orcs are defeated until Azog unleashes the other half of his army. Blood is shed. Main characters die. Gandolf finally swoops in on the back of an eagle leading an army of woodland creatures into battle. Good triumphs over evil and Bilbo returns to the shire.

If you know the book then you know once Smaug descends toward Lake Town there isn't much story left. Indeed, all that remains is the death of Smaug and the final battle for Erebor. That's it. No new plot is introduced. In fact there is very little plot at all except tying up all the other plots woven into the story up to this point. This truly is a film of endings that leads to the Lord of the Rings epic. So you shouldn't expect anything more than a big fight scene.

If you don't know the book then you might be a bit disgruntled with the film as it feels incomplete as a film. Compare it to watching a film on Television in which you're down to the end of the film and the TV execs slip one last commercial break in there right before the story wraps up. You come back from the commercial break and what you get is the big battle and no story whatsoever. You're left feeling a little ripped off because all the wind was taken out of your sails right before the finish.

If you haven't seen any Middle Earth films prior to this then you'll probably think the film sucks because it doesn't offer anything really but action scenes. Not to mention the disappointingly short ten minute sequence at the beginning where Smaug appears and Smaug dies. Really? Only ten minutes? Smaug's desolation only lasts ten minutes?! The first ten minutes of this film should have been the last ten minutes of the Desolation of Smaug... you know, the film where Smaug should be desolating but never in fact desolates. That was my biggest disappointment.

Other qualms I had with the film were minor. I thought the subplot with Alfrid, the master of Lake Town's assistant, was completely unnecessary and too goofy for the tone of the film. Tauriel's build up throughout the last film amounted to nothing in this movie. She wasn't badass enough and simply gets her ass handed to her. And lastly, once the four dwarves split off from the main battle to go kill Azog we never really return to the main battle. Even when Gandolf arrives sporting a freaking Werebear by his side (Beorn) we only go back to it for a minute. We don't even see it end! This is a major point in the story and it is resolved off screen. I really really wanted to see Beorn in full bear berserker fury mauling through orcs... but no.

Surprisingly though I had no problem with the lack of a plot throughout the film. In fact I enjoyed the film. My favorite part was when Elrond and Saruman come to Gandolf's rescue. The deaths of characters shocked me and I liked how mean and merciless the orcs were. The wereworms were cool too. All in all I like the film but it should have been released differently instead of the way it was. As it is the presentation falls a little flat and in no way does this film stand on its own. It is entirely dependent on the previous film and should be considered the final act of the second film (which it should have been released simultaneously with last year, just my opinion). But seriously, if you haven't seen the others or if you don't realize its a trilogy you probably should do your homework a little better.

Overall Ranking: 6 out of 10

I realize this review is sounding rather negative but I really did enjoy it. A 6 out of 10 on my scale is a good film. I'm actually looking forward to seeing the extended cut in hopes that Peter Jackson gives me the extra little bits that I wanted out of this film. Peter Jackson did what he could with this trilogy despite not having enough material for a trilogy. He fleshed out and extended everything he could to milk this story three times over. He did a good job too. But the fact remains that this book really should have only been one or two films at most.

SILVER TONGUED SILVER SCREEN: BIG HERO 6

I haven't been to a Disney animated film since UP (2009) and just last month my buddy, Clint, and I sat down to watch BIG HERO 6. The fact that it was a Marvel Comics based film had a large part to do with it but neither of us were familiar with the comic or even the story. So we were going in blind and hoping for a treat. The trailers seemed pretty fun and given recent Marvel movies (Captain America: The Winter Soldier & Guardians of the Galaxy) chances that this film would be good were very promising.

SPOILERS AHEAD
The plot of film is this: Hiro and his brother Tadashi live in the city of San Fransokyo, a fictional and totally awesome melding of San Francisco and Tokyo. It's futuristic with a modern feel too. Hiro is either 12 or 13 years old and a child protege when it comes to robotics and technology. His brother Tadashi too is a genius enrolled in Nerd College and trying to get his little brother to enroll. Hiro, for his entrance exam, creates a thousand microbots that are controlled with one's mind and can create whatever physical structure the user can imagine.

During the presentation there is a fire which claims the life of his microbots, college professor, and most importantly his brother Tadashi. His brother's death devastates Hiro. One day months later Hiro stubs his toe in his room and yells "Ouch!" This noise activates the final creation of Tadashi's, the robot Baymax, a robot designed solely to help injured people. Baymax tries to cure Hiro's pain but since it is a pain of the heart rather than the body Baymax can't perform his duty easily. He follows Hiro doing whatever he can to improve the young boy's mood.

Kabuki Man (the villain of the movie)

They accidentally stumble into an abandon warehouse where Hiro and Baymax discover the long thought destroyed microbots and a masked madman using the microbots to attack the city. Hiro, Baymax, and four friends from Tadashi's school build themselves suits of armor and attempt to stop the masked man from destroying the city.

Comic Book art

This movie kept me entertained from start to finish. I felt for Hiro's loss. I loved his friends. And above all I loved Baymax! I am a huge fan of characters in film, video games, and books and this year in film has seen some of the strangest characters from Marvel's stable realized in incredible, endearing ways. Rocket and Groot, two characters no one in a million years would have ever thought would become so beloved by the world over. Baymax is just as good as either of them. Hiro and his friends too are fun likable characters that I want to see more of too.

The art for this comic feels like a mix of American styles and Japanese themes... weird.

The actions scenes are thrilling and fun, again something quite amazing considering the amazing action sequences already seen this year. The plot moves along fast and doesn't waste a single moment. And the music keeps you energized and ready for more. There are also quite a few treats for comic book fans including easter eggs likes Sleepwalker, Orka, and Turbo. And since this is a Marvel film you know that Stan Lee is going to make a cameo somewhere, and he does! (despite the fact that it's an animated film). And in keeping with the rest of the Marvel Studios films there's a post credits sequence too.

Big Hero 6 Heroes

From what little I have seen of the comic it looks like the filmmakers took quite a few liberties. The comic images posted above seem far more adult and less stylized than their movie counterparts. Not having read the comic sadly I don't know the degree to which the film stays faithful to the comic or not. But just by looking the comic appears far more risque and adult with it's art and subject matter yet maintaining a fun story and characters.

Go Go

All in all this film delivers the goods and then some. As a kids movie it's great because adults will be entertained too and the kids will be on the edge of their seats. Sadly it probably caters to children 8 years and up. It might be a little too violent for some. One other things I should mention is the short animated film in front of the picture. FEAST (no relation to the horror film of the same name) was an unexpected and welcome surprise. And if you're a dog lover your heart will melt when you watch it. Just another aspect that makes this film standout among the rest (Pixar's movies have short films in front of their movies too).

Overall Ranking: 6 out of 10

Comic to Film Comparison

LEGACY: CAPTAIN MARVEL PART 1

Captain Marvel ~ Protector of the Universe

Heroes: Captain Marvel, Mar-Vell, Wendell Vaughn, Genis-Vell, Phyla-Vell, and Carol Danvers.

Breakdown: If you were a super hero who lived on Earth 616 (the Earth in which all the comic book events of Marvel exist) who would be the hero you looked up to and hoped to emulate? Who is the hero of the heroes? For Carol Danvers and many many others it is a man by the name of Mar-Vell, a Kree Captain from the outer reaches of space. Due to a mispronunciation of his name on Earth he was known as Captain Marvel. Everyone in the Marvel Universe knows his name and what he did for Earth and the known galaxy. In the eyes of Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Spider-Man and all the others he became the greatest hero anyone had ever seen. Mar-Vell died but his legacy endured.

In the Marvel Universe there have been several people to hold the moniker of CAPTAIN MARVEL. The name has become synonymous with the highest caliber of hero and is a difficult legacy to live up to. Those who have dawned the name with direct connections to Mar-Vell are his son and daughter, Genis-Vell and Phyla-Vell, along with the woman who changed him forever, Carol Danvers. All three have set themselves apart and carved out a place in cosmic history.

Original Captain Marvel Statue by Bowen Designs

Mar-Vell was a captain in the Kree empire, a militaristic alien race in the furthest reaches of space. He was renown throughout the empire as the finest soldier the Kree had ever produced. He had fought numerous battles against the Skrulls, Brood, and Shi'Ar earning quite the reputation among the other races of the universe. His final orders for the empire was a reconnaissance mission on a backwater planet in the Sol star system.

Mar-Vell traveled to Earth under the command of Colonel Yon-Rogg, along with a small contingency of Kree soldiers and a medic, a woman named Una whom Mar-Vell was in love with. He went down to Earth and secretly infiltrated the Cape Canaveral military base in Florida. He disguised himself as government scientist Walter Lawson. His mission was to assess the technological level of humanity and threat level. With his information the Kree would begin a full scale invasion of Earth.

A Kree Lieutenant and The Supreme Intelligence

While in disguise the presence of the Kree attracted unwanted attention. Mar-Vell was forced to battle the Super-Skrull, the alien race the Aakon, and even the Kree's own Sentry 459. He found himself risking his life for Earth rather than preparing for domination. At the Cape he met the security chief, Carol Danvers. While investigating these strange occurances Danvers inadvertently found herself in harm's way. She was rescued by Mar-Vell numerous times and eventually the two began to mean something to each other. Because of her and his growing respect for humanity Mar-vell rebelled against the Kree to save the Earth rather than subjugate it.

Kree Sentry 459

The battle stretched into space where Mar-Vell was defeated by his fellow Kree Yon-Rogg and sent hurtling into space. During the battle Mar-Vell's beloved Una was killed. During this journey he encountered a being of vast power who bestowed upon him a portion of that power. Mar-Vell returned to Earth, avenged Una's death, and defeated Yon-Rogg. But he knew that the Kree would not stop. They would send more soldiers and weapons after him and Earth would not be safe. He traveled across the cosmos to the Kree homeworld where he fought Ronan the Accuser, the Super Sentry, and ultimately encountering the Supreme Intelligence itself.

Kree Super Sentry and the Supreme Intelligence

Unbeknownst to everyone another sought to take advantage of the chaos. Kree Minister Zarek plotted to destroy the Supreme Intelligence during the battle with Mar-Vell, Ronan, and the Super Sentry be setting off an explosion killing them all. His coup d'etat failed when Mar-Vell used his new powers to shield them all from the blast. His act of heroism was seen as an act of loyalty to the Kree empire and the Supreme Intelligence released of all charges. He was given a new uniform and released from duties to the empire.

Mar-Vell decides to return to Earth, his new home, and deal with Yon-Rogg once and for all. On his way back to Earth he is pulled into the Negative Zone, an anti-matter parallel universe. He is trapped with no way out. There in this other dimension he discovers a Kree weapon called the Nega Bands, two golden wrist bands that allow the user to travel freely between the positive and negative universes. His only chance of survival however was within the sister Nega Bands. But they were hidden in a secret Kree bunker on Earth. If he were to be freed someone on Earth would have to find the Nega Bands and use them. As fate would have it a young twenty-something named Rick Jones happened upon the bunker. Guided by Mar-Vell through the power of the Nega Bands, Rick found the ancient weapons and placed them on his wrists. Rick clanged the bands together and suddenly found himself in the Negative Zone and Mar-Vell in his place on Earth. The two men could communicate through the Nega Bands and began a short period of duel existence. They would each share time on Earth.

Mar-Vell, Ms. Marvel, Death, and Thanos

Meanwhile Yon-Rogg, also trapped on Earth thanks to Mar-Vell, kidnaps the only person left in Mar-Vell's life that he truly cared for, Carol Danvers. The kidnapping was meant to lure Mar-Vell to the hidden Kree base where the Nega Bands were found. Inside the base lay an even greater weapon; the Pysche-Magnitron. Yon-Rogg sought to use the weapon against the Kree hero and finally slay his enemy. Mar-Vell arrives, defeats Yon-Rogg, and saves Carol. The Psyche-Magnitron was damaged in the battle and explodes as Mar-Vell and Carol flee from the base. The power alien radiation within the machine bathes them both. Mar-Vell attempts to shield Carol from the blast and saves her life but he could not stop the radiation from permeating her cellular structure.

Mar-Vell's life unfortunately is still tied to Rick Jones and the two have to co-exist with one-another. While one is on Earth the other is in Negative Zone Space. Rick, being human, is ill-equip to handle the creatures and atmosphere of the Negative Zone and Mar-Vell is forced to spend the majority their coexistence in the Negative Zone at the mercy of Rick. He cannot go see Carol nor can he start his life anew. All he can do is wait for Rick to switch places with him, and those instances grow fewer and fewer. While in the Negative Zone Mar-Vell discovers a portal to Earth, the other end of which lying within the Baxter Building, the home of the Fantastic Four. They switched places so Mar-Vell could operate the machine pull Rick out of the other universe. Now with both men on Earth they no longer had to coexist. The two men go their separate ways.

The First Kree Skrull War

Elsewhere on Earth the Kree have resumed their attack on Earth. Ronan the Accuser, in defiance of the Supreme Intelligence's orders to leave Earth alone, sets about to conquer our world. He is thwarted by the Avengers but inadvertently uncovers another mysterious plot; Skrull invasion! The alien Skrulls, little green alien shape-shifters, have long been at war with the Kree and the Kree have shown the stronger of the two races. The Skrulls, under the guise of Carol Danvers, lured Mar-Vell to a secluded area where they kidnapped him and returned to deep space. There they attempt to decode the Kree weapon called the Omni-Wave and use its power to destroy the Kree empire once an for all.

The Avengers and Rick Jones followed the Skrulls into space attempting to rescue Mar-Vell. The Avengers found themselves thrust into the midst of the raging war between the Skrulls and the Kree. The Supreme Intelligence sensed the oncoming threat from the Skrulls and then was blindsided when attacked by Ronan too. The Supreme Intelligence, using Kree science, unlocked the hidden powers that lie dormant within all human minds, inside of Rick Jones. Rick Jones used his newly unleashed powers to stop Ronan while at the same time Mar-Vell escaped the Skrulls and stopped their evil machinations too thus ending the Kree/Skrull War. The strain of Rick's new power proved too much for the young man's body and he laid dying on the Kree ship. Mar-Vell once again merged with Rick, entering once again into a coexistence between Earth and the Negative Zone, to save Rick's life.

Back on Earth however another plot was coming to fruition, that of the mad titan Thanos. Thanos sought the power of the Cosmic Cube, a weapon of near infinite power, to offer the entire universe to Mistress Death, a pledge of his undying love to her. Back on Earth Rick stumbled across Thanos's plot and pulled Mar-Vell back to Earth to save the day. Thanos's plans ran deep however as an armada of alien ships prepared to lay siege to Earth at Thanos's beckon call. The Avengers flew into action taking taking on the alien fleet and succeeded in stopping the annihilating force.

Mar-Vell & Carol Danvers Vs Thanos

Mar-Vell, knowing that they were dealing with a power far beyond anything the Earth had ever faced, traveled to Thanos's homeworld, the largest of Saturn's moons Titan. There he found the world in ruins and Thanos's own father and brother on the brink of death. Captain Marvel freed them and helped save Titan from destruction. There Mar-Vell learned about the mad titan's past and his ultimate goals. Mar-Vell, Mentor (Thanos's father), and Eros (a.k.a. Starfox, Thanos's brother) traveled back to Earth. Moondragon, once of Titan's greatest warriors, and Drax the Destroyer, a humanoid weapon from Titan (granted nigh limitless power by the god Kronos for the sole purpose of killing Thanos), along with the Avengers all banded together to stop Thanos from obtaining the Cosmic Cube.

However the heroes were too late! During the battle with the alien fleet in outer space and Mar-Vell's travels to Titan, Thanos obtained the Cosmic Cube. The mad titan used the Cube to become an all powerful god. At that instant Mar-Vell was pulled into an alternate dimension by some all powerful unknown force. The being revealed itself to be Eon, a cosmic being of vast power. This being had searched the known universe so someone worthy of being the Protector of the Universe. Eon deemed Mar-Vell worthy and granted him cosmic awareness, a super sixth sense that allowed to see threats and outcomes on a galactic scale. His powers of flight and super strength were also increased and he was given energy manipulation.

Mar-Vell returned to do battle with Thanos only to witness his ascension to godhood and becoming one with the universe. Mar-Vell goaded the mad titan to once again take on human form and battle them on equal plains, so Thanos could prove he was truly the dominant being both physically and as a god. Thanos took the bait. He defeated the Avengers. He defeated Moondragon's metaphysical and mind attacks and once again laid waste to his father and brother. All that remained were Drax and Mar-Vell. Drax's power proved too great for Thanos and the titan returned to his godlike form, becoming one with the universe. He then enacted his terrible plan of extinguishing all life in the universe. Mar-Vell only had seconds to act. All life in the universe shriveled and died around him. With Thanos being one with the universe he no longer possessed a physical form thereby leaving the Cosmic Cube unprotected. Mar-Vell dashed for the Cube with only seconds to live and shattered the weapon. Thanos's power was undone, his evil plans thwarted.

The many heroes and villains of Mar-Vell's past

Mar-Vell was now the Protector of the Universe and justified that esteemed title. He fought many more battles against the Kree, the Skrulls, and various villains. He fought alongside Drax again and eventually back to Titan. When Thanos appeared again, brandishing the might of the Infinity Gems in another attempt to kill the known universe, it was Mar-Vell, Adam Warlock, Moondragon, Drax, and the Avengers to once again put a stop to his diabolical threat, Adam Warlock dying himself and taking Thanos with him.

The protector of the universe returned to Titan. There he met a woman there by the name of Elysius. She was an enemy at first but eventually became his lover and wife. It was there on Titan that Mar-Vell learned he had contracted a cancerous disease slowly killing him, the result of a distantly remembered battle with the villain Nitro, a rather insignificant event that proved to be life altering. After much time spent soul searching, Mar-Vell found peace with his eventual end. He could have been saved from the horrible fate of death but rather than fight the inevitable, guided by his cosmic awareness, he chose to die. Dozens and dozens of heroes stood by him on his deathbed. As he teetered on the brink his old enemy Thanos appeared to help guide him on his journey to the otherside.

Mar-Vell's Grave Site

Thus the protector of the universe passed on. His actions had affected countless heroes and saved the lives of every living being in the universe. He became the standard all heroes strove for and a legend among the stars. But the universe needed another protector. Eon chose Wendell Vaughn to become Mar-Vell's successor as protector. Wendell went by the name Quasar and continued saving the galaxy in Mar-Vell's place.

Hero Ranking: 10 out of 10

If Mar-Vell Would Have Lived... Lord Mar-Vell of the Cancerverse

The Cosmic Marvel Universe by artist Ron Lim