Punisher: War Zone

I've noticed a slight trend on the Internet where occasionally, a shitty film will have a sequel that really isn't much better, but is at least more enjoyable because it wasn't trying too hard, yet the consensus will seem to be that it was actually worse. It happened with Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem, and it happened with Punisher: War Zone. War Zone is a very stupid movie. But unlike the Thomas Jane Punisher movie, it was stupid in a fun way. The 2004 version certainly aspired to be a bit better, but it failed pretty badly, while this 2008 film is just simply enjoyable over-the-top violence.

And man, there's a crap load of that. I loved Ray Stevenson as the jovial yet bloodthirsty Titus Pullo on Rome, and I have to say I liked his version of Frank Castle quite a bit. He's stoic and brutal, but has a heart under all that body armor and ammunition. He doesn't even have a line for like the first half hour of the film, letting his fists and guns do the talking for him. And any time he's on screen killing some dudes, it's probably going to be fun. He slits throats, shoots parkour douche bags out of the air with rockets (I don't understand the director's disdain for that particular action movie trend but still found the scene humorous), punches way harder than a human being should be able to, and fills dozens of guys with lead. If it wasn't so over the top it might be disturbing, but it actually comes off as carefree in comparison to the other movie's sadistic revenge plot.

The support structure around Stevenson isn't quite as strong. Like The Incredible Hulk, War Zone is a reboot that doesn't entirely ignore the contributions of the film it's overwriting. It changes the basic origin story to match the original comic (and actually make a bit of sense), but rather than tell that all over again it merely jumps forward and shows you what Castle's up to five years into his quest. Dominic West and his compatriots are almost too crazy as some New York gangsters who declare war on the Punisher, with the former star of The Wire hamming it up especially as Jigsaw. Julie Benz doesn't do a whole lot with the material as an obligatory female influence on the plot, playing the widow of an undercover FBI agent Frank killed unwittingly (is this a commentary on the last movie's idiotic premise? Probably not), and Wayne Knight of all people shows up as a gun supplier. The plot doesn't have much to it, and whenever violence is occurring without the Punisher around it tends to lack bite, but I definitely had a decent time watching it. If a movie's going to be kind of bad, it should at least be fun.

Dexter - Season 4

I see Dexter's fourth season the same way a woman might see her middle aged husband. He has his flaws. He's not as impressive as he was when you first got to know him. And he sags around the middle. But he does enough for you to remember why you loved him in the first place, and at least he doesn't disappoint you like he did when he started hanging out with Jimmy Smits last year.

I do think this was the show's best season since the first. One big factor in that is John Lithgow's role as the season-long antagonist and possible role model for Dexter, a seasoned serial killer who seems to have managed to figure out how to satiate his urges and keep a nice family at the same time. When you're first just seeing how he works, he's one of the creepiest villains I've seen in a TV show. I know Lithgow pretty much exclusively from his comedic work, so I was pretty blown away by how scary he can be when he wants. He gets a little dull once we see him in domestic mode, at least at first, though as Dexter sees more of the truth behind the lies, things start getting really creepy again. The other factor in the season's success was the ending, not just the mind-blowing last couple minutes (which in a way I kind of actually see as a cop out), but pretty much the last episode entirely, and the last scene of the previous episode - maybe the most tense I've ever been at something on television.

Besides that though, the season did have a few issues. There was some inconsistency with Dexter's character and his struggles at home - yeah, he has an infant son of his own now, but that didn't take center stage like I expected. I constantly found myself thinking "Oh yeah, he has a kid" - it just didn't have a lot of impact on him, not anymore than his existing worries about his family anyway. And there's just a fundamental shift in his MO - Dexter has always tried to channel his compulsion into something somewhat positive - killing criminals that the justice system misses. There are a couple moments where he deviates from this system, intentionally or otherwise, and both are acknowledged yet neither are dealt with satisfyingly. The stuff with Deb was pretty solid this year, and Masuka is really turning into a good character beyond comedic relief, but I found myself not caring a single bit about the thing between LaGuerta and Batista, and I'm basically just counting the days until Quinn's arc of mimicking Doakes comes to the same conclusion. Having a fifth season confirmed before the fourth even aired gave them the opportunity to set up what should be a highly intriguing next part of the story, and now I'm back to waiting again.

Dexter - Season 3

I found the third season of Dexter to be neither as enjoyable nor as believable as the first two, but it's still a solid show with an edge. It's hard to pinpoint the problem, because there's still a lot of good stuff going on. It just felt less like a show about a serial killer and more like a show about a guy who happens to kill people occasionally. When the show started, Dexter was a cold, mysterious person, with all of his outward niceness a facade to hide his terrible secret. He tracked down and killed criminals because he had an insatiable desire to. By now, he's basically transformed into the nice family guy he was pretending to be, it's just he still has to murder once in a while, but it's usually protecting himself anyway. This is all the result of developing the characters over a period of time and clearly intentional, it's just less of a compelling existence.

The main problem Dexter deals with this season is Miguel Prado, an Assistant DA played well by Jimmy Smits. He and Dexter become close friends, and eventually, he becomes the third person in as many seasons to learn Dexter's secret. And if you've seen the first two seasons, you know what's probably going to happen after that. The problem is that I just didn't buy his character arc as easily as the others. His transition from seemingly normal guy to a big problem to be dealt with is just too quick. He has strong convictions, but it's just not something you see happening that way. The supporting cast does a fair bit of growing and changing itself, and the major case the cops are working on is solid enough, if not as well connected to Dexter as it's been before. Another season's on the way, and I hope they can maintain the show's identity enough while still doing what they want to with the story.

Dexter - Season 2

The second season of Dexter can't reach the emotional depth of the first, with all of the family revelations, but they still weave quite a web of interesting characters and surprising twists. There's another huge serial killer in town, but this time it's Dexter himself. His graveyard of victims underwater gets discovered by accident, and he has to do everything he can to keep himself in the clear. There's plenty of other subplots, like Dexter faking a heroin addiction to cover up his true secret and Deb trying to come out of her shell after what happened last season, and most of the supporting cast's roles are expanded and developed a bit. Whereas I found Doakes and La Guerta to be pretty non-essential obstacles the first time, much more is shown about their true character, and they actually become somewhat sympathetic.

The show's still really about Dexter, and he's still a really great character, funny and resourceful as he has a major identity crisis and learns more about his past. I thought the background stuff revealed near the end of the first run came a little early in the series, saying too much too soon. But they proved that there's still plenty about the character we don't know. I wasn't a huge fan of his waffling with his woman of choice, but Lila was a unique, interesting character. The end of the story arc resulted more from him being lucky than good, but that's part of Dexter's charm, he's a serial killer, but he has a sense of morality and can make human mistakes. He's become less cold as the show's gone on, and I'm interested to see what happens in his crazy life next.

Halo 2

Halo 2 is basically a repeat of the first game; a fun, solid, but probably a little overrated shooter, which fixes some of the original's problems but has some of its own. It seems like there's a step backward for every step forward. You now have the ability to dual wield certain weapons, but doing so prevents you from using melee attacks without dropping the second gun or grenades or grenades at all, limiting your diversity in combat. Dual wielding allows for some interesting new strategies and combinations, but overall most of the weapons are less effective that they were before. I liked messing up dudes with the energy sword, but I'm a little annoyed by the Covenant's insistence on their own technological superiority when all of their gear manages to both have finite ammo AND overheat rather quickly. The only thing that seems advanced about it is its impressive curvy and purple design. You can also play around with more vehicles, which are usually pretty fun, although those sections tend to be a little easy.

My biggest complaint about the first game was the tedious, repetitive level design, and they made good strides forward correcting that, with some interesting structures and well-put together set pieces. It tended to limit the scope of some levels, and especially later on it feels a bit like a boring old corridor shooter instead of having the interesting depth of a large, wide-open war zone, and they couldn't seem to help repeating the same level pieces over and over once you get deeper into the new Halo installation, but I thought they did a decent job overall. They elaborate much more on the story, showing things from the Covenant's point of view, and you actually spend a significant amount of time playing as one of them instead of the Chief, though there isn't much difference in gameplay besides the interesting cloaking ability and increased difficulty in discerning friend from foe. Most people hated the cliffhanger ending, and I can definitely see why, as it seems like they're setting up the last mission instead of the sequel, but I knew that was coming so I wasn't bothered. A huge part of Halo's love comes from the multiplayer. I've spent some time with it in the past, and it's enjoyable, I just never like playing deathmatches as much as other people do. Halo's not as fresh as its prequel was for the genre but it's still a good entry in it.

Dexter - Season 1

Dexter sounds a bit more edgy than it really is, although it is pretty out there content-wise. It's about a blood spatter expert who works with the police, and at night ritualistically murders criminals who have thus far escaped justice within the system. Although this moral code makes him more likable than if he killed innocents, the show doesn't paint him as truly good either. It does a good job of making him sympathetic while making sure we know he's still a disturbed individual who should not be emulated. The show's not really about serial killing anyway, it's just an aspect of a really good character who helps solve crimes. Michael C. Hall does a great job depicting Dexter, both when in every day life pretending to be normal and letting his dark side loose. He's very funny, as his narration reveals character without being too obvious and adding some sly humor. His supporting cast is varying in quality, but his girlfriend Rita and coworker Angel are both very likable.

The first season's story arc is something I might expect later in a show's lifespan, revealing a lot about Dexter's character and how he became the twisted person he is now. He and the police are working to find a serial killer who cuts prostitutes into intricate pieces and leaves them at a scene with no blood. While the cops try to figure it out, they're missing pieces to the puzzle, as the killer leaves clues for Dexter himself, who at first welcomes the game. As far as shows with season-long storylines go, Dexter handles it as well as any, always introducing something else that leaves you craving to know what happens next. It gets a little wacky at the end, but the resolution does justice to everything they built. There's also some trouble with his girlfriend as their comfortable situation changes, and the season ends with a very interesting twist that should provide some entertainment in the next.