tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36422478829594891552024-02-19T04:52:24.570-08:00Project Brannigan Presents: Frank Reviews What?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3642247882959489155.post-54692505134399863452013-10-10T07:55:00.000-07:002015-06-22T03:06:41.099-07:00Trials on Trial: Beyond: Two Souls<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I could put aside my
qualms about French Canadians as Americans and the world’s worst “legal” police
procedurals of 2010’s Heavy Rain when it came to loading up the demo of Beyond:
Two Souls, a similar game that presents itself more as an interactive movie
than a traditional game. First of all you hired a real actress this time. I
like Ellen Page and the motion capture seems top notch from the title screen
alone, so let’s kick it off and…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">…I’m playing as a
little girl? Ok, it’s not her yet but I can see they are doing an origin or
flashback sequence. So let’s play…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">…erm, ok, watch
instead, something that was the recurring sentiment throughout my trial. I was
asked to follow the polite enough orderly, who remained as such no matter how
many times I picked up a toy only to be told to knock it off and come along,
repeatedly.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Now unless this is a
home visit I can quickly see my little pink girly bedroom is merely a quick
paint job in the always creepily mono-shaded ward. But apparently I’ve earned that
much as even as a small child, I am the only one in this medical practice that
can open doors. Apparently being polite comes with favors. To these people. But
I shouldn’t complain, even as a work down the hall people around me are neither
ignoring me nor jumping out of nearby windows screaming. I feel like things are
going to be just fi…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Willem Dafoe? NOOOOO!</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">You can’t tell me a
man on the edge of the uncanny valley OUTSIDE of motion capture is going to be
thinking of my best interests. Unfazed, apparently mini-Page has seen worse, probably
X-Men: The Last Stand. So much though she doesn’t even care when a large
mechanical apparatus is put on her head and told by Dafoe it’s just like crown
fit for a princess.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Finally close to conventional
enough gameplay began because before you can say Paranormal Activity, I find
myself throwing bric-a-brac up and down and around the fat lady in the next
room. Now whatever the head apparatus is intended for, what it is not is a lie
detector because I specifically remember Dafoe asking mini-Page to knock things
about, not her ghostly companion. I can’t trust anyone in this game…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">FLASHFORWARD! A pile
of polygons resembling the real Ellen Page is now in my control, this time
learning hand-to-hand combat techniques with vague nods and quick time events.
Better yet, you can fail a twenty-second routine nine times in a row and still
be considered ready for active duty on the barely passed tenth attempt.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">FLASHFORWARD! Never
mind those guys with super seriousness caked all over their faces, it’s a demo
after all. Now I’m on a train and before you say Paranormal Activity 2 I’m yet
again a disembodied prankster, bothering my fellow passengers. From a story
structure perspective, I can clearly tell I’m on the run by this point in the
script and as the immovable force of knocking over plastic cups I’m also
clearly a threat to national security. Who are our top men on the job? The back
mountain pass Highway patrol!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">While it is hard to
tell how much of my input is taking effect, Page is running from her pursuers between
train carriages, all the while the storm rages outside. Wait a second, raging
storm? Outside? Nighttime? ON A TRAIN!? Climb outside, dam you! The cinematic
effect can only enhance this thrill ride. Not bothered by the high speeds,
strong winds, shaking and slippery surfaces, the patrol pile onto Page like she
was Arnold Schwarzenegger and like Commando she throws them off with ease, but
not off the high speed, strong winds, shaking and slippery surface. If I was a
member of the patrol I would find it jarring with someone that small taking out
so many officers. But then again, they didn’t have the luxury of that
twenty-second routine from before.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Ellen Page is like an
unstoppable train herself, evading officers, swatting off large vicious hounds
like flies and climbing high rocky slopes in enough time to catch her breath
and to whip out her invisible plot connivance trigger for another sequence of
the Incredible Machine meets the Exorcist. But I may be underestimating my
incorporeal companion though, because not long after having stolen a motorbike,
I found myself literally driving through a three car thick roadblock with
nothing more than a shadowy bubble around me. Although that might have come in
handy earlier in the train.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Yet if totaling an
entire police department wasn’t enough to get the message, next up for the chopping
block were actual well-armed, highly trained operatives. Hiding behind a nearby
car, it was time for Ghost Dad to clean up once more. So what’s going to happen
this time? Am I going to roll their trucks out of the way? Kick up the snow in
their faces? Or maybe control the guards to play grab ass?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Holy sh...</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Screw just pranking
potential threats, let’s straight up murder people! While only a demo, I
would still like some indication that these men are doing something more
sinister than just doing their jobs. But there is no time, instead men are
driven to suicide, helicopters crashed and cars dumped on heads. Forget Ghost
Dad, this is straight up Carrie!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Once the blood and
dust have settled, Ellen Page grabs the last man standing as warns that if she
is not left alone she will kill everyone…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">…by the end of this
demo I thought I already did.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">What struck me by the
end of the trial though was a quick pop up of recognition from the Triberca
Film Festival and I believed it. But like the time notable film critic Roger
Ebert weighed in on the matter, I never really understood the film industry’s
need to critique gaming. I could easily walk out of the nearest cinema and
complain about the overly linear gameplay and lack of proper input that “game”
just presented. Although after this demo, I didn’t even need to do that.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3642247882959489155.post-49596125285011230022013-10-08T09:54:00.000-07:002013-11-04T09:35:41.856-08:00Trials on Trial: Spartacus Legends<style>
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<span lang="EN-GB">NOTE: Trials on Trial are not reviews but brief run downs of recently played demos. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">By Jupiter’s cock they finally made a
Spartacus game? Based on the hit TV show where by the third season every new
episode came with a mandatory sex montage. Announced long before that though,
it seems we might be getting the gladiator experience we’ve been waiting for
all this time and now it’s here…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">…for free to play?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">A game that is free to play up until you
hit the colossal pound shaped wall demanding your real world denari where you
realise you have been fooled all this time into playing a longer than average
trial. You take the role the head of the house of some guy where you train and
fight with a gang of nobodies against the some bodies of the house of some
other guy. The closest to bombastic personalities and scenery chewing galore of
the TV show came when the titular Spartacus himself appears for a tutorial teaching
me nut kicking is the way to go.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB">So like a demo, how far can I go as the
penniless leader of men? I was first presented with a free-players choice
between tanned guy A or slightly tanner guy B. It looks hot on that sand, so B
should be used to it. After equipping him with the armour equivalent of a
G-string I somehow button mashed my way into victory. Did I wield a sword and
shield? A mighty trident or great spear? A long blade worthy of the Gods
themselves? Nope, daggers. Every time daggers. Apparently reach has no purpose
in a real fight. One by one the fellow houses fell at the might of my spam, yet
all this time I thought for a game based on show known for violence and sex,
Legends so far was light on punchy stabby lovey fun times. Granted I was hardly
expecting a game about gladiators get hot and steamy but when it came to the gratuitous
violence, the thumbs down moments were nowhere in sight.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB">In seems the only way to kill man in a
fight to the death is to flex and show off to spectators.
When I take a spear in the chest, as long as it’s wielder didn’t make a song
and dance about it before hand, I should be able hold my. This is
Spartacus dam it! Real man’s play! Eventually though my moment of bloody red
glory came and in one swing of what the game told me was a old rusted dull
blade (free to play so far after all), I sliced a strong man’s head right down
the middle in two. Basic laws of science aside, I found myself more taken aback
by the revelation that I had been fighting humanoid golems made of thick red
clay this entire time. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Like the gladiatorial games of the Rome itself though, my victory was in
name only. Tanner guy B was my only champion, the rest regulated to gamers with
deep pockets. The moment I finally climbed the blood-stained ladder to the next
tier, I found my once great slaying of clay men hacked up, dead in the sand.
The only weapon worse than daggers were slightly bigger daggers. By the end of
the trial run I came to the conclusion that when faced with defeat, if John
Hanna were to suddenly appear and berate you with harsh worlds about godly
phallus, I might of mourned his passing with a little levity intact. Alas
tanner guy B did not become the legend I was promised, nor could I look back on
his exploits with any shred of genuine glory. Granted I should have fought with more thought than that of a runaway train yet I still felt that the free silver I was receiving was pity charity next to the shining gold out of my free to play reach. I was taught
a valuable lesson about the consolidation of wealth and power. That only the rich
may survive in mighty Rome. Jupiter forbid I even
attempt online play.</span></span>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3642247882959489155.post-88061505630966142362013-06-14T11:32:00.000-07:002013-11-04T09:35:17.594-08:00Film Review: Man of Steel<style>
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</style><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Directed by Zack
Snyder, running time 143 minutes.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Marvel is currently
ridding what could be casually described as the “money train”, with the recent
success of Iron Man 3 showing no signs of it slowing down. While Marvel has
great characters, DC has icons and no other more famous and recognizable than
the Man of Steel; Superman. With the critical and commercial success of
Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy and the polar opposite farce that was Green
Lantern, it’s no wonder then that this reboot gravitates towards the former in
terms of somewhat darker style and ‘character-based set pieces’, with the said
Batman director acting as producer. Yet while one tells the story of a man
behind a cowl, the other is about a near invincible, super strong alien that
can defy gravity… yes, a different story altogether. Enter 300 and Watchmen
director Zack Snyder.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Henry Cavill stars as
the technically non-titular character of Superman, referred to as Clarke Kent
to Kal-El, but not so much as good old “supes”. It’s the classic comic book
origin story with a few changes in details peppered throughout; Krypton is
about to be destroyed, Jor-El (Russel Crowe) sends his son to another Earth
where the different star environment grants the child super human abilities and
of course not everyone is happy with this prospect. While it wouldn’t be
unfounded to simply say “been there, done that”, with a character SO
recognizable, a complete pulling of the rug from under this memorable prologue
would actually be a crime, culturally. Instead it is the running message and overall
tone that sets this adaptation apart, which is both its strength and its
kryptonite.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Man of Steel clearly
has its heart in the right place, emphasizing the reality of its other worldly
character by the posing the big questions about what it means to be said “super”.
The title itself is reflective of this, Cavill playing a “man” of steel, rather
than simply just a super man, where even the mention of the original hero title
is played for laughs. The film is at its most interesting when the focus is on
its characters. Of particular note are the various flashbacks to Clarke Kent’s
younger Smallvile years and his relationship with his adoptive father who is
the catalyst for the character’s own ideals. This is carried by a memorable if
not show stealing performance by Kevin Costner who seems to be the key to
injecting a little humanity into this CG powerhouse. By the conclusion I’d be
lying if I didn’t find the final flashback to highlight this best. The
interactions between Cavill and Amy Adams as Lois Lane also does have a degree
of believability to it, with Adams acting as a bridge between his sheltered
side and the public hero.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">It’s a shame then
however as these scenes, as good as they are, are scattered in-between the running
narrative, not only fragmenting the pace at times but also shining a light on
what is an ever changing tone. It can be jarring when you prop up slow paced
thoughtful dialogue next to bombastic action and scenery chewing. The script is
trying to have it both ways as a character study and a summer blockbuster and
when it comes down to it, sadly the latter always becomes the showpiece and has the potential to lessen any emotion the film makers were going for. To put
it bluntly, it’s classic Zack Snyder where style is put over substance, even if
the substance we get is actually the centre of the story.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">But then again, its
style is a whole other beast, but more on that later.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A recurring problem
with the concept of Superman in cinema is if a character is larger than life
with powers and stories far beyond that of reality, it can be difficult to
shoot on a technical level. But this is the digital age and now is the perfect
time to really show what Superman is made of. The plausible choice of first
villain; General Zod levels the playing field by having another Kryptonian to
test out our new incarnation. Even better however is the choice to cast Michael
Shannon purely based on physical appearance alone, being the kind of man you
would find intimidating with a soul-piecing stare even if he was being
wholesome like taking his children to the zoo. Despite doing his fair share of
the previously mentioned scenery chewing, Shannon appears to be having fun with
the role, fun that’s injected straight back into the film making every scene
he’s in a set piece in itself. The perfectly serviceable Russel Crowe as Jor-El is surprisingly prominent despite being dead following the first act, a disembodied presence briefly explained by Kryptonian science the same way you explain the unknown to a child to just to change the subject *waves hands around going oooooooo*. In addition to Shannon, his right hand lady</span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span lang="EN-GB"> Antje Traue</span> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small;">also
proves as an effective and memorable villain, if only to act as mini-boss when
the action begins to be turned up to 11.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Snyder clearly has a spot for the elaborate
set piece and with fights where every punch results in the collapse of a building;
the result is what you’d expect, about as subtle as a getting tackled through a
falling satellite… which happens in the film by the way. Problem is, when you
consider that the audience is supposed to care for our characters up to this
point, when Metropolis is getting pounded up, down and side</span> to side, no doubt
causing untold numbers of causalities in the process, that previous element of
humanity from the first two thirds is lost amongst all the fire and rubble. Instead
it seems to be expecting me to suddenly turn my brain off, if only because I
got bored then I suppose it worked. While the visual spectacle of seeing super
humans throw one another miles back and forth through buildings does a have a flare to it, being a succession of grand spectacles that is sure to please, when the final show down came I felt it was over staying
its welcome having dwelled on it for nearly 40 minutes, made worse by the
genuinely effective character moment that came by the very end of it, reminding me about the large gap in between. I'm glad that the true power of Superman has been well represented on the big screen,</span><span style="font-size: small;"> apparently just not as much as the filmmakers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small;">As the credits ran, I wondered just where
this reboot could be taken next. On one hand I felt is had been a success, with
Cavill acting the part, perfectly serviceable supporting roles including a
couple of standout performances and a new sense of perspective on the character.
Yet I also wonder if Snyder has gone all in too soon. Heavy action in a super
hero film is not expected, it’s mandatory yet when I’m more interested in the
character development than Dragon Ball-style showdown, a balance is in dire
need. The overall experience is an enjoyable if noticeably flawed one. Warner Brothers
clearly wants this to be a success and should be told as such for what they have
produced nonetheless. Where they take the character next is ripe with
possibilities, I just hope they realise that they are in the man part of it and
not the super.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Now then… Wonder
Woman?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Also starring Diane
Lane, </span><span style="font-size: small; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Laurence Fishburne</span> and Christopher Meloni.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3642247882959489155.post-37414526892664788232013-04-29T08:54:00.002-07:002013-11-04T09:34:51.652-08:00Film Review: Iron Man 3<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Directed by Shane Black, running time 130 minutes.</span>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The Avengers may have
raised the bar for expectations of the entire super hero adaptation crowd,
where such films can be loud and bombastic yet also have likable well-rounded
characters even if they are dressed for Halloween and battling space whales.
The first Iron Man set this stage and the second, despite an apparent lasting
lack of enthusiasm, was personally at least, serviceable fun. It may be easy to
follow Iron Man 2, but the Avengers may be tricky.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The now ever reliable
Robert Downey Jr. returns as Tony Stark, still probably the best cast of the
entire Marvel lineup so far. Following the events of the Avengers, Stark is
going through a series of anxiety attacks, and let’s be honest, following a
potential suicide mission of hurling a live nuke in a wormhole at an
intergalactic armada may not be the trick to taking of the edge. Pushed to an
emotional brink, he calls out international terrorist archetype, the oddly
named non-Chinese ‘The Mandarin” played by Ben Kingsley with obvious explosive
results. All the while, a shifty Aldrich Killian played by Guy Pearce is
peddling strange regenerative experiments under shrouded connections.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Even with explosive
results, the third installment is predominantly a character piece in bed with a
fast paced crime thriller. Rather than the “how Tony Stark got his grove back”
motif of Iron Man 2, here Stark is attempting to rebuild himself as a new man.
From the beginning we see that he is struggling to settle down legitimately
with Pepper Potts played by Gwyneth Paltrow, constantly working to avoid
admitting he has a problem. Seeing Downey Jr.’s titular character in a
withdrawn, even vulnerable state is an interesting shift in the dynamic of the
character. However there are the stretches of egotistical snarkiness that we seem
to be drawn towards, so while on paper it may read as unfunny brooding, the
character is still the all the same, just that the circumstances have changed also
now requiring a change of heart and Robert Downey Jr. is giving it his all.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">There seems to be a
current trend where super heroes are not allowed to appear as such for most of
the film, with the Dark Knight Rises and Amazing Spider-Man probably having a
collective half hour each of costumed antics. Iron Man 3 does gravitate towards
this portrayal, even beating him down to the point of being thrown back to a
position reminiscent of the first half of the earliest Iron Man, after all it’s
about the man, not the suit. Although rather than have entire acts absent of
“super-fun-time”, Stark ends up jumping in an out of suits at a swift pace,
backed up by antagonist minions in constant hot pursuit (that will become a bad
pun after seeing this film) making up most of the action. The action itself
outside of the obligatory impossible stunts climax is for the most part weaved
into the narrative, rather than contrived director “oh no, we need some action
here” moments that plague most films with any hint of fast pace. The final act
itself is also fine but given the emphasis on characters so far, the showdown
set piece is not the highlight you came to see and take away by the end.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Don Cheadle returns,
now as the now rebranded “Iron Patriot” but has a noticeably lower key role,
being</span> less of a starring supporting role of the second and more of casual support, at least until the finale. Despite Ben Kingsley appearing in every trailer with menacing monologue
and doing an overall fine job, given that Guy Pierce is set up from the get go
as a shady corporate suit, if you’ve seen the last two Iron Man films with
their “business conspiracy” plots than it wouldn’t be a spoiler to say that he
has a major antagonistic role to play. In fact I will go as far as to say most
of the plot can be figured out before the revelations… again, most however.
Without giving away any major developments, there is a twist of a certain kind two-thirds
the way into the film. While it does work in terms of the script, it’s
initially tonally jarring and I would be lying if I said it didn’t bother me at
first. However by the time the credits rolled it wasn’t a lasting issue and the
film had gone ahead with payoff. Although there is one quick action Guy Pierce
does for a couple of seconds that is incredibly cartoonish even for the
standards of a franchise with Viking Gods and green monster men. You’ll know it
when you see it.<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Director Shane Black
has clearly held is own in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise, without the
plot of The Avengers hanging over the story. The third installment is very much
its own feature, with the occasional line acknowledging the wider playing field
and as a result the film is much stronger for it. However that didn’t stop my
inner nerd asking where S.H.I.E.L.D. is in all of this mess, although the
average bystander and small character roles asking about the aliens is a nice
subtle touch. You would if you knew there were aliens, right?</span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Also, yes, there is a
post credit sequence.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Iron Man 3 has
continued to prove the popularity of the character and Disney/Marvel’s
cinematic conquest, being a more than worthy follow up. In all honestly though,
at time of writing I’m not sure if Iron Man 3 matches up with the first or not.
I would have to revisit both again soon but even asking the question is a good
enough indicator that third time is still a charm.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Also starring Rebecca Hall, John Favreau and Paul Bettany.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">ROLE OUT THOR 2!</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3642247882959489155.post-18007869206619132432013-04-28T12:02:00.000-07:002015-06-22T03:04:44.646-07:00Game Review: Injustice: Gods Among Us<style>
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</style><span lang="EN-GB">Before I start, a “little” context:</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB">It would be fair to say that I have a particular inclination towards the fighting game genre. The idea of a cast of martial arts masters to outright cartoonish misfits going toe to toe, often for some of the most contrived reasons in any story telling medium, has a certain appeal I admit to enjoying for entire run of my gaming run (IE nearly all my life)… and now for the contradictory statement. I have never been the best at them either, at least against enough uman opponents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However in another twist of logic, my enjoyment of the genre is also why I can’t throw a Hadoken to save my life… bar.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Variety is the spice of life, you can’t just limit yourself to a game where grandmasters fight for the title when you can also play one where demon ninjas slice up cyborgs or a Chinese girl tags in panda bears. Yet with it, one can never take the time to perfect the art of stringing combos and a well-timed blocks and counters of any one game and be a real competitor. I won’t shell out a brick of notes for an arcade stick and I more than likely won’t survive the first few rounds of a tournament, but what I can do is get to grips and learn beyond the basics. To tell when a fighting game has more than flash in its mechanics...</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">…and with that: Batman!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Well, actually it’s the DC Universe when it comes to Injustice: Gods Among Us but if you’re just the casual observer to the comic giant, it’s all about Batman for you. Injustice is developed by NetherRealm Studios, the most recent brand for the veteran developers of the Mortal Kombat series. While having struck oil with their most recent entry to the series, rather than follow the obvious path and simply churn out a samey sequel, NeatherRealm actually created something of a spiritual successor… with Batman!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Injustice features a current cast of 24 super heroes and villains from across the DC Comics (multi?)universe to “throw down” and the choices are defiantly unique. Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman may be the obvious choices yet other characters who, let’s be honest are outside of the public spot light make appearances; like Ares, Killer Frost and Black Adam. Other choices are recognisable to those without the archive comic knowledge but have been given fresh spins, namely Aquaman who despite all the Super Friends and Family Guy jokes at his expense is one the most “badass” characters in the roster.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">But why are the defenders of justice Green Lantern and the Flash destroying downtown Metropolis just take out eachother? The plot is simple yet told well enough, concerning an alternate reality where a traumatised Superman establishes a new world order, causing heroes and villains to switch sides on the fly. While is sounds simple (and it is), the extra layer of cross-mortality punch-ups occur when the prime, sane and good natured Superman universe crosses over with the other. Again, trust me it is simple.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">This is because the story is presented in the same straight forward manner of the previous Mortal Kombat, where players switch between characters and fights as the plot unfolds like a film/series with in-game cut-scenes, where the gameplay begins just as conflict starts, a format more fighting games should adopt, even if the occasional mini-game thrown on the side doesn’t quite gell with the rest of the presentation and gameplay. Overall, I’d say it acts as something of a lavish 4 to 5 hour tutorial for new players.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">It isn’t a particularly riveting tale or on par in terms of development with notable examples of its source material. Because of the constraints a fighting game immediately places, there are some very contrived events and character motivations at times to start conflict. A casual conversation turns to blood shed due to spontaneous suspicions while a hero who was punched into outer space has no hard feelings moments later. Then of course one begs the question how Harley Quinn can survive a brawl with Doomsday, a reason quickly mentioned then brushed off that is actually more dumb than “HEY! MAGIC!” Yet I would be lying if I said I didn’t appreciate any reason to play as the Joker on the level of Bane.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Still, overall the script is inoffensive with great voice talent, including those pulled from the classic DC animated series (Kevin Conroy Batman baby!), with dialogue that does a good job at outlining the DC universe without getting bogged down in exposition. Plus there are some unique character portrayals such as a hero turns by villains like Deathstroke and Lex Luthor (in a nifty robot suit to boot). Despite issues, it is still an improvement on the majority of its genre.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Other modes include a traditional arcade ladder of battles with a chosen character towards a showdown with an evil Superman, but also a list of variations such as sped up time or slowly draining life bars that add some variety to a fairly typical format. A side mode called S.T.A.R. Labs provides 240 challenges that covers the entire roster. However despite the scale appearing as a potential abundance of playable content, the challenges themselves are mere distractions disguised as optional “stories”, if by story you mean brief text without context or audio. Some are useful in that they can further teach the player mechanics and character move sets, others are simple mini-games that may be mildly fun the first or second time only, while others are just frustrating and out of place in a fighting game. Along with the functional obligatory multiplayer options, all game modes keep a record of your play time, with certain conditions granting experience points towards levelling up your player profile. While holding no real merit beyond a false sense of “showiness”, each level allows unlockables ranging from new somewhat, near costumes to concept art, the usual pointless affair.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">But what of the gameplay itself? Also like the story mode, if you played the 2011 Mortal Kombat, there is also a sense of familiarity. I’m not saying you’ll witness a scene where Catwoman decapitates Green Arrow, far from it, but the mechanics and control are strikingly similar. Jumps, upper cuts and projectiles are fielded with the same timing and strategy, while certain attacks like Batman’s grapple cable to a degree call back to Scorpion’s classic “GET OVER HERE” move. That isn’t to say this is an issue however. Firstly, Mortal Kombat’s fighting engine is solid and secondly Injustice does have a few features to call its own. For one, characters vary in how they play depending on size and fighting style with some having quick strikes, jumps or projectiles while others are slow and brutish but powerful. Characters also all have a special ability mapped to the same button input but is unique to each one, from shields to powerups.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Another feature that is very unique to Injustice is the interactive environments. While you can transition to other levels during a single fight like some other fighting games, Injustice utilizes an interactive background. Despite the game playing on a two dimensional plain, players can reach into the near background and use them in battle. These interactions work functionally well the different character styles, for example in one level a larger fighter can throw a motorcycle while a smaller fighter will leap on and drive it into their opponent. The extra layer of interactivity combined with the noticeable character differences provides an interesting and fresh approaches to the fighting gameplay, knowing how to tackle different sized opponents or when to use the environment to your advantage. Having been developed with gameplay, instead of simply tacked on, these features of not intrusive or hard to understand. However if you desire straight fighting, these interactive elements can be optionally disabled.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">While this is all happening, players will progressively fill a meter separate from their life bar that can be utilized in ways such as enhancing the damage of their regular moves or countering others. It can also be “wagered” to regain health, however this mini-game system is actually intrusive without any strategy that game seems to pretend is has. Even if the resulting clash that ensues is delightfully flashy with great character lines, it doesn’t quite gell with the system. But really, you’re only going to use your meter for one thing: super moves!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">With a full meter and well timed usage, players can pull off devastating cinematic style combo attacks that defy the laws of practicality and plausibility. I’m talking Superman launching opponents into space and back, the Flash charging up a punch by running around the planet and Doomsday pummelling others right through the Earth’s core. Even the more grounded characters can to enjoy the spectacle with Deathspoke’s unusual large arsenal of firepower and the over the top brutality combo of Solomon Grundy. Sadly there are few tame stinkers, namely Harley Quinn and Wonder Woman’s when compared to others. Another issue is these animations are the same each time, which may prove tedious if you end up witnessing them on a regular basis. In my humble opinion however, they did not grate on me and are in fact on the highlights of the entire game, with Lex catching and throwing an orbital satellite laser blast being a personal favourite.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">…and Aquaman? Like a boss!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Injustice: Gods Among Us is a uniquely strange fighting game. On one hand it is reminiscent of Mortal Kombat at times, while on the other it utilizes some features currently unheard of in the genre, all the while showcasing iconic DC characters. Bizarre though as it may be at times, combing simple controls with solid gameplay together with the elaborate presentation, NeatherRealm have developed an entertaining original IP within a genre dominated by long standing franchises.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">While it could be tempting for the studio to develop another Mortal Kombat or Injustice, it would be interesting to see where they can take the framework next…</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">…just don’t make another Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe.</span></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3642247882959489155.post-60931184213070869462013-04-26T06:38:00.002-07:002013-04-26T06:38:25.469-07:00Long time, no writingIt has been more than a year since I've done any proper writing despite not only having seen plenty of films but also having more to say about them. The last year has been a jumble of tasks, jobs, traveling and other random events.<br />
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However things have settled for now and now it's time to jump back in... even if there isn't anyone to read it, it's what I want to do.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3642247882959489155.post-41208923570636533752012-02-28T08:07:00.006-08:002015-06-22T03:03:39.070-07:00The Top NINE Films of 2011As with every year, I present my own personal favorites of 2011 IN NO ORDER. As also with every years the films are those that came out in just the UK that year, while I also admit myself there are no doubt a number of films that year I have missed with a good chance of breaking this list.<br />
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And why just nine films? Everytime you do a Top 10, you're always stuck on one of them.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Warrior</span><br />
(Directed by Gavin O’Connor, running time 140 minutes)<br />
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Tom “soon to be Bane” Hardy and Joel “I think he was in that poor remake of the The Thing disguised as an even poorer sequel, seriously, what was the point of that film again? But I digress”... Edgerton star as a pair of estranged brothers who both enter a mixed martial arts fighting tournament for their own personal reasons, with Hardy under the training of the even more estranged father played by Nick Nolte. What reads like a predictable set up of every other sports drama definitely holds true, with more people comparing it to last... same year’s The Fighter. Yet with the MMA as the focus for once a long with a strong script and some fantastic character performances, with Nick Nolte easily topping the best of them of 2011. Couple that with some genuinely thrilling ‘Ultimate Fighting’ sequences, Warrior is a drama that doesn’t bore.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">13 Assassins</span>(Directed by Takashi Miike, running time 141 minutes)<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span><br />
Modern day Japanese popular culture is a confusing, baffling and even at times wholly perverted enigma, so any throw back to a time where the nation had a sense of dignity is always welcome. However with <span style="font-style: italic;">Ichi the Killer</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Audition</span> director Takashi Miike's <span style="font-style: italic;">13 Assassins</span>, the reign of the samurai once again feels fresh on the big screen. Set during the slide of Shogun rule, an honorable samurai plots the assassination of the heir of the shogun, a young but cruel tyrant who murders, rapes and pillages for pleasure. With it comes a build up of well constructed exchanges of dialogue that leads to a literal 45 minutes pay off of none stop professionally choreographed and shot violent action of 13 assassins against a small army of body guard. While far from the cinematic heights of Akria Kurosawa, to capture that traditionalist style to a point is in itself an achievement.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Rango</span><br />
(Directed by Gore Verbinski, running time 107 minutes)<br />
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Johny Depp voices a pet chameleon lost in the Mojave Desert who stumbles upon a makeshift Old West-style community of other small dusty critters, where he inadvertently becomes something of a folk hero. With a cast packed of less than Hollywood attractive animals includes geckos, rattle snakes, naked mole rats and desert mice, the colourful ensemble makes for some more interesting characters and highly detailed animation. Even with the bland set up of a fish out of water becoming a hero scenario, the narrative is well paced supported with a good level humor, both crude and slap-stick. We’ve had a break from Pixar this year (you made a sequel to your weakest film?) so it’s good to have an animated feature that’s not necessarily ambitious but well constructed.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo</span><br />
(Directed by David Fincher, running time 158 minutes)<br />
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It would be fair to say that I’m usually one of the first to set themselves on fire in protest at the prospect of film remakes, particularly foreign films. However since the Swedish original was a film based on (in all honestly) a rather weak story, and with David “The Game, Seven, Fight Club, Zodiac, Social Network” Fincher, this project was innocent until proven guilt. Better what audiences received was not only a worthy adaptation of the book but also in my humble (HA!) opinion the superior of the two. While Daniel Craig is serviceable as the journalist Mikael Blomkvist hired to uncover a murder within a rich family, the latter team up with Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander easily steels the show with delightfully unhinged performance as the investigative hacker. The story is further supported by memorable supporting roles from Christopher “Greybeard” Plummer and Stellan Skarsgard, Trent Reznor’s unconventional score and Fincher’s classic flair for gritty atmosphere and subtle humor.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Troll Hunter</span><br />
(Directed by André Øvredal, running time 103 minutes)<br />
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This humble piece from Norway probably surprised me the most and is probably contender for most underrated film of the year. This fictional “found footage” style documentary follows a small student film crew as the document the exploits of a reclusive hunter of “real life” wild trolls, whose secret profession is supported yet hidden by the Norwegian government. Unlike other films of its genre, the majority of the film is presented in a structured format and escapes, for the most part, being nothing but a string of shaky cam footage and screams. After all, this is supposed to be a professional hunter. What not only saves yet propels this creature feature is an obvious yet down played tongue in cheek sense of humor and the attention to detail when attempting to present the trolls as potentially real life natural beasts, including faux biology and medical science. Otto Jespersen as the titular troll hunter is a clear break out performance as a man who is clam and collected in the face of savage beasts and is what makes his dangerous practice such a thrill ride to be apart of.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">True Grit</span><br />
(Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, running time 111 minutes)<br />
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Yet another remake but one that follows a cliche ridden John Wayne western. The Coen Brothers inject new life into the Western with this superior and grittier version that follows a young girl played by Hailee Steinfeld as she hires local legend gunslinger (and drunk) played by Jeff Bridges to hunt down a low life who killed her father, played by Josh Brolin. As with any Coen Brothers piece, the setting is still harsh to a degree, with most characters being straight up terrible people yet is full of wit and black humor that makes the long stretches of dialogue both interesting and fun. With supporting roles from Matt Damon and Barry Pepper, great cinematography and atmosphere, True Grit is far succeeds as a modern western classic. What still confuses me though is the last year nomination for Steinfeld for Best Supporting Actress... she’s the main character let alone actress.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Black Swan</span><br />
(Directed by Darren Aronofsky, running time 108 minutes)<br />
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Aronofsky returns with his trademark theme of hopeless adversity. Natalie Portman plays a meek ballerina who is given the chance to the duel role in a theater production of Swan Lake. Attempting to achieve this given role comes at the cost of what quickly becomes a descent into madness, worsened by the presence of the more free spirited fellow dancer played by Mila Kunis. The script is dark to say the least, with additional scenes of blunt sexuality, body horror and surreal mindsets. Yet it is all in support of the film and it’s multiple twists and turns, along with some particularly striking performances from Vincent Cassel and Winona Ryder. It’s easy to see why Portman swept the awards last year as Black Swan is by far her most demanding and bleak performance yet.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Rise of the Planet of the Apes</span><br />
(Directed by Rupert Wyatt, running time 105 minutes)<br />
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A personal favorite as it delivers on a somewhat ridiculous premise, at least one on paper. James Franco is a scientist attempting to cure Alzheimer’s disease by improving the brain functions by testing on chimpanzees. One of his test chimps named Caesar played by Andy Serkis in motion capture quickly shows signs of human level of intelligence. However as misunderstanding leaves him in wild chimp house where he becomes bitter while also rallying the other primates around him. What makes this film fascinating is it being on of the few where big budget CGI actually supports the characters. There are long stretches with next to no dialogue, instead showing the facial expressions and body language of the apes that not only makes them believable but the more sympathetic characters of the film. In short Serkis deserves a new form of acting award his work. However even the human characters hold their own with a strong performance from John “Dick Solomon” Lithgow as the Alzheimer’s inflected father of Franco.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Midnight in Paris</span><br />
(Directed by Woody Allen, running time 94 minutes)<br />
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*SIGH* Fine... you got me. Out of all of the film industry, Woody Allen: you win. I actually really like a straight up romantic comedy for once. A better yet, you actually gave Owen Wilson something credible to be in for once!<br />
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Owen Wilson plays a developing writing who takes his fiancee to Paris, which he believes was host to some of the greatest artistic and literary minds during the 1920s. Despite being shrugged off by many around him in the present, he somehow finds a way to go back to the 20s every midnight. While the prospect of time travel and interacting with famous figures of history sounds like something a six year old would conceive, Woody Allen places his protagonist amongst the famous intellectuals and creative minds of the time causing much of the dialogue and humor to be full of charm and wit. Ever present is also the theme of nostalgia and what it can mean to people personal and their work method. I’ll say it again, this is very much a romantic comedy, yet it’s also a great film that I genuinely liked. Thus, it’s probably up as one of, if not the best of its genre.<br />
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Honorable mention:<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">127 Hours</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Drive<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Captain America: The First Avenger<br />Thor<br />The King's Speech<br />...and any other a end up watching further done the line in 2012</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3642247882959489155.post-70252889362133950632011-10-10T08:19:00.000-07:002011-10-10T08:20:51.172-07:00Reviews still comingWithout home internet, many films I would have liked to have reviewed have now passed me by... it's going to be a big review round-up.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3642247882959489155.post-69736999364966544542011-07-06T05:12:00.000-07:002015-06-22T03:04:06.722-07:00Film Review: Senna(Directed by Asif Kapadia, running time 102 minutes)<br />
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For those of you lacking in the general knowledge of Formula One racing, one thing that always needs to be emphasized is just how dangerous it can be. The amount of real science and physical and mental effort, not to mention the skill it takes to not only win but avoid a serious injury or worse is part of the back bone of the race. Throughout the late 80s and early 90, a Brazilian driver named Ayrton Senna took the worldwide competition by storm. During this time he quickly raced his way through not only each Grand Pix as they came but also all the behind the scenes turmoil and politics that comes with most multi-million pound events, and become three time Formula One world champion and national hero is his native homeland. Despite being at the top of his game he was tragically killed in crash during San Marino Grand Prix in 1994.<br />
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However unlike many documentaries that may feel the need to dwell on one’s passing, director Asif Kapadia has adopting a style of film making that instead not only takes the audience back to Senna’s heyday of racing but makes us feel as if we were there, experiencing everything as it unfolded. The entirety of film is made of real footage including official races, interviews, behind the scenes of each events, public appearances and even home movies all the while narrated by a substantial variety of figures ranging from managers, fellow drivers and newscasters who were not only experienced these events first hands but even knew the man himself well. No cutaways, no stationary studios interviews, not even shots of what anything looks like today, just footage of the time and place.<br />
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At first this approach may appear to be a series of dull stock footage, yet Kapadia has carefully filtered through what must be hours upon hours of footage in order to get down to the core and for it results in a gripping viewing experience that I wouldn’t say is on par with the most tense and dramatic fictional films as it’s a wholly different kind of experience and no doubt will be for many, even better. With this footage the audience can get a close enough picture of the inner workings of Formula One. Senna might have been a top F1 driver, but to make it there it appeared to take plenty of effort beyond just winning races. Even though he raced with McLaren, we quickly became at odds with his fellow McLaren driver the French Alain Prost, also a multiple F1 world champion, which at one point turned into a bitter rivalry. On top of this Senna was very vocal about some of the rules and on and off track issues, in many instances crashing and in another even being disqualified temporally suspended.<br />
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Yet even though is may seem this is a documentary made for the Formula One fan, beyond just the structure of the inner workings of the motor-sport we are given an insight to the man himself and those around him, often at times making footage seem almost character driven that while at odds with many, there is still underlying respect. However those who may wonder about his personal life, either due to a directorial decision, lack of footage or out of respect, little is actually known about the man off the track, with the documentary kick starting just as he enters Formula One. On hand this may seem limiting to those less enthusiastic about the motor-sport while on the other hand it doesn’t get bogged down with such details that may make the film appear a little too overly done at times, not being as if its trying to hard make the audience care. Off the track though, the film doesn’t skim on the crisis in Brazil, something that was very important about his public image, that in times of need is what helped make him seem like a beacon of hope in Brazil, in order to show others just why those in the F1 and elsewhere considered him an important figure outside of just being good at his passion. The documentary doesn’t paint him as some messiah, instead just how and why this man had become so popular. The narration itself is accompanied with a brief small subtitle as each give their story. The variety of the narration is what gives the tone legs, in that the contrasting view points allow a little more balance in what is at the end of the day a tribute as well.<br />
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Senna was deeply religious but also very much aware of the dangers. In fact, even though there hasn’t been a race related death since 1994, Kapadia also felt the need to portray this by not holding back with footage of other incidents such as Rubens Barrichello literally flying into the sidelines. Despite these occasional harrowing instances, they make the film more real than it already is. In regards to his aforementioned death behind the wheel, it actually (and in all honesty thankfully) doesn’t dwell on it as up to this point the film has been about his life as a racer and anything else might have seemed almost unnecessarily tarnishing. While we do get visuals on the brutal crash and finally his (elaborate) funeral, it is cut up with shots of each of those who attended and them with the man himself. Its pretty emotional stuff.<br />
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Without going overly sentimental and getting distracted by the personal details, this may seem less inviting to those other than F1 fans. However I feel Kapadia has not made this case by selecting and structuring the footage and narration that makes Senna inviting yet ultimately compelling. Some may not know much about the man himself, but this documentary does its best to do just that. As for F1 fans, its a no brainer as what we have here is a slice of motor sport history, one that I feel is a great viewing experience for all.<br />
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With narration from Ron Denis, Frank Williams, Alain Prost and many others.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3642247882959489155.post-9014594503822720702011-07-05T11:44:00.000-07:002013-11-04T09:24:00.506-08:00Film Review Roundup: May-JuneCASUAL NOTE: Busy work hindered any attempts to write up reviews for March and April. However is was somewhat barren anyway. Long story short of those that I saw:<br /> <br />True Grit = Instant western classic, Jeff Bridges always shines.<br />Source Code = Pretty dam good sci-fi with an unusual approach to science.<br />Adjustment Bureau = Great concept and well done but nothing special.<br />Rango = Brilliantly animated and with great characters even with a formulaic story.<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Insidious</span><br />
(Directed by James Wan, running time 100 minutes)<br />
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The “usually” reliable Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne play a couple of parents who are terrorized from house to house by an unknown apparition. Despite an incredibly stereotypical vintage haunted house meets possessed child premise that has been in bed with film more times than an even more incredibly stereotypical sexual metaphor, a number of well placed heart pounding jump scares and an overall eerily constructed sense of atmosphere gives <span style="font-style: italic;">Insidious</span> a far more legitimate claim to being a “horror” film than most of the poorly scripted torture porn that seems to have fancied itself as such... even if it turns out that the manifestation of evil looks like a cross between Freddy Krueger and Darth Maul.<br />
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Also staring Ty Simpkins, Lin Shaye and Angus Sampson.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Hanna</span><br />
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(Directed by Joe Wright, running time 111 minutes)<br />
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Action adventure fresh from the United States... and United Kingdom... also Germany, this multicultural ride stars Saoirse Ronan as a teenage super agent “Hanna” trained since birth in secret by a CIA veteran played by Eric Bana, both of which quickly become independently on the run from agency forces led by Cate Blanchett. The national production mixture does lend itself to an entirely unique approach to the action genre to more than just the fact the deadly assassin is a young girl. It’s rather inconsistent style is both its saving grace and downfall at times where on one hand the film can be dark but seedy, action packed but erratic and well scripted but fast to leave plot points and characters. While far from perfect, overall <span style="font-style: italic;">Hanna</span> is definitely one of the most intriguing films of its type, although at times you might even question just what that type of film is.<br />
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Also staring Tom Hollander, Jason Flemyng and Olivia Williams.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Kung Fu Panda 2</span><br />
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(Directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson, running time 91 minutes)<br />
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Jack Black returns as the voice actor for one of his more likable characters Po the panda in one of Dreamworks’ more enjoyable series. Even though Po has already become a kung fu master, another lesson must be learned, this time finally tackling the issue of his origins that seem to tangle with a current hostile take over of China by a malevolent Peacock voiced by the delightfully over the top Gary Oldman. It’s all harmless fun with simple yet effective gags and some downright beautiful art design and set pieces. This time however Dustin Hoffman’s (in all honesty in-depth) Master Shifu takes a backseat to the less interesting Tigress voiced by Angelina Jolie as the supporting role and the effectively integrated Chinese philosophy of the original has been significantly lessened to make way for more action. Regardless, this is one of those few animated sequels that doesn’t drop the ball.<br />
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Plus Jean-Claude Van Dam voices a crocodile.<br />
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Also staring David Cross, Seth Rogen and Jackie Chan.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">X-Men: First Class</span><br />
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(Directed by Matthew Vaughn, running time 132 minutes)<br />
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Following the abysmal <span style="font-style: italic;">X-Men Origins: Wolverine</span>, the X-Men film franchise appeared close to the brink. Director Matthew Vaughn of <span style="font-style: italic;">Kick-Ass</span> fame saves it from going under with what feels more like a reboot than a prequel. With a fresh young cast, <span style="font-style: italic;">First Class</span> goes to the young adult years of Charles Xavier (Professor X) and Erik Lensherr (Magneto) played by James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender respectfully, both being interesting, complex and wholly likable portrayals of the classic Marvel characters. While the side characters may not share the same level of character development, they all do their parts justice with a more three-dimensional Mystique played by Jennifer Lawrence and an effective villian of Sebastian Shaw played by the reliable Kevin Bacon as he attempts to kick start World War Three. With a fresh story-arc and more real drama, <span style="font-style: italic;">First Class</span> is a truly well crafted superhero adventure.<br />
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Also staring Rose Bryne, Nicolas Hoult and Oliver Platt.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Bridesmaids</span><br />
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(Directed by Paul Feig, running time 125 minutes)<br />
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Yes that's right, I took a gamble.<br />
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Co-writer and lead star Kristen Wiig plays a down on her luck single women who is given the role of maid of honor when her best friend played by Maya Rudolph becomes engaged. What follows is a series of hectic and often at times futile attempts at preparation and pre-parties with the other bridemaids who are either desperate or socially suffocated, along with a "best friend" competition with another good friend to the bride to be played by Rose Bryne. There's plenty of unconventional antics on display including some toilet humor more akin to the male-orientated side of group comedy like <span style="font-style: italic;">The Hangover</span>. While this is definitely not a generalization, due to the heavy female cast, there's also plenty of drama and romance thrown in for good measure including a series of "romantic" encounters between the lead actress and Chris O'Dowd IE Roy from <span style="font-style: italic;">The IT Crowd.</span> Even though I will admit the script does occasionally drift beyond one's own personal tastes at times with the heavy handed dramatic moments, many instances seem to be immediately be remedied with some well timed comedy. Most likely better suited for the ladies.<br />
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Also staring Melissa McCarthy, Ellie Kemper and Wendi McLendon-Covey.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">BY THE WAY has anyone noticed that Rose </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Byrne</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> has appeared in THREE of these films?</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3642247882959489155.post-29485843319617597212011-04-25T16:42:00.000-07:002013-11-04T09:33:47.894-08:00Film Review: Thor(Directed by Kenneth Branagh, running time 112 minutes)<br />
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NOTE: At time of writing, <span style="font-style: italic;">Thor</span> is timetabled for the 27th April in the UK. I however was fortunate to catch an advance screening.<br />
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Back when the first <span style="font-style: italic;">Iron Man</span> film came out, the post-credits teaser implicating the prospect of a full feature Avengers movie was nothing short of a geek’s exciment-induced heart attack. To be fair, even those outside of the realms of comic book geekdom, the prospect of witnessing a multi-million dollar budget epic of a super genius billionaire in a mech suit, a colossal monster so powered by rage that shooting him only pisses him off, an honor bound super soldier who single handedly won World War Two and the immortal Viking God of Thunder, all under the organization of a world wide military powerhouse lead by “mother fucking” Samuel L. Jackson... *breathe* should raise at least moderate to high interest from anyone.<br />
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The only folly of outing such a feat of film making so early would be the sheer weight of expectations from anything else connected and driving towards it. Case in point was <span style="font-style: italic;">Iron Man 2</span>. While a perfectly well-done action adventure movie experience that gave us all the super-powered set-pieces and crazy yet likable characterization, at the end of the day one could not shake the feeling you were instead watching a mere <span style="font-style: italic;">Avengers</span> prequel... or worse yet a feature length advertisement. While audiences still wait over Captain America’s first [legitimate] push on the big screen, here and now we have <span style="font-style: italic;">Thor</span>.<br />
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From from the start however, unlike <span style="font-style: italic;">Iron Man 2</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Thor</span> is a near self contained story. The viking Gods are actually superbeings from another world who have protected mankind in the past. The “God” of thunder Thor played by a very buff Chris Hemsworth and heir to the throne of Asgard held by Odin played by the always classic Anthony Hopkins, is one the path to rule until his supposed arrogant war hunger against their ancient long foes the Frost Giants results in his exile to, surprise surprise planet Earth. After being scooped up by Jane Foster played by a now Oscar touting Natalie Portman, Thor attempts to regain his powers, all the while his brother Loki played by Tom Hiddleston secretly attempts to seize the throne for himself.<br />
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What I find perplexing however is while the above is more or less accurate summery of the narrative, one third of the film dramatically leads up to his fall from Asgard, complete with sweeping showcases of it’s beautiful world and set-piece battles between our hero and the monstrous Frost Giants. It’s all impressing stuff that really gives you a feel for this hyper-fantasy version of the old Norse tales. It’s actually surprising just how much of this element was left out of marketing just given how much imagination and creative effort went into bringing this city of gods to life. Perhaps they didn’t want to spoil anything but the history of cinema would disagree with that theory. Because of this it makes his harsh new situation on our humble little rock all the more underwhelming in comparison. It’s almost jarring when in one scene you witness a golden hall of super-vikings brandish their magnificent armory before flying to battle through the cosmos then cutting back to Stellan Skarsgard downing bottles of cheap booze in a shack bar. It’s as if the film is trying to one up itself, the lesser of the two being the real character drama.<br />
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Despite some personal reservations upon first viewing the trailer complete with questionable attempts at anger and sorrow, the acting, for the most part is serviceable at least. While some attempts at humor fall flat and the romantic sub-plot is forgettable in the grand scheme of things, such issues thankfully don’t distract from the real sense of purpose. In fact the entire drama can best be summarized as a family-matter... an epic one if that. Returning to my previous point of the jarring scenes, same can also be said about the characterization. For example, along for the ride in Thor’s adventure are Sif and the Warriors Three, a group of heroes who on the surface make up the archetypes of warriors. The lady Sif (Jaimie Alexander) is more of a valkyrie, Volstagg (Ray Stevenson) the large viking, Fandral (Joshua Dallas) the swashbuckler and Hogun (Tadanobu Asano) the mongol. These characters receive enough screen time to display their character traits, dialogue and exposition that at one point I actually found myself rather wanting to instead watch a feature length film about them. In fact, it’s only after they themselves come to Earth does the setting become relevant... that and a giant magical automaton that decimates a small town. On top of this, the character of Loki is one of the more interesting villains in the super hero world. While far from the best (you can’t touch the Joker), much of his motivation is fueled by a classic case of being in the shadow of Thor, the second son, the odd one out, all being a nice change change up from the usual “because I’m evil”, even if it does border on such initially.<br />
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As you’ve probably picked up on, the narrative in terms of setting simply doesn’t know where it wants to stay. And here’s my theory why: even though it’s a self contained story, the link to Earth was mandatory in order for <span style="font-style: italic;">Thor</span> to properly link in with, you guessed it; the upcoming<span style="font-style: italic;"> Avengers</span> film. Yet, even with this burden, the narrative is fairly coherent and does host some believable and likable characters... and even though the costume design is near fitting with the original comic book incarnations, that would be saying something. Further more unlike<span style="font-style: italic;"> Iron Man 2</span>, besides the heavy presence of S.H.I.E.L.D., the references to a wider Marvel universe are kept to a minimum, but what pandering we do get does still intrigue. Besides one mildly humorous moment in which one agent remarks over whether the giant automaton is one of Stark’s creations, the audience is actually subtly, if unknowingly introduced to another member of the upcoming Avengers; Hawkeye played by the excellent Jeremy Renner of the <span style="font-style: italic;">Hurt Locker</span> fame. And yes there is a post-credit teaser, yet I doubt it would make much sense to a non-Marvel affiliated person such as myself.<br />
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Even without knowledge of the house of Stan Lee (with an obligatory cameo of course), <span style="font-style: italic;">Thor </span>definitely holds up next to it’s current super hero siblings with enough well-crafted fantasy and classic Marvel wit to hold more than the attention of the uninitiated, while also being able to construct a real narrative around all the visuals and action, a proud enough feat. For those who are however affiliated however, you’re probably going to get even more excited for the future.<br />
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Also starring Colm Feore, Idris Elba and Kat Dennings.<br />
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FYI, this film didn't have much to compete with from my previous experiences with Thor.<br />
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WARNING - So bad, it's good:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UgbsV6aTHts" title="YouTube video player" width="440"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3642247882959489155.post-27773236765088175222011-02-22T15:24:00.000-08:002013-11-04T09:25:08.122-08:00Film Review Roundup: January-February<span style="font-weight: bold;">The King’s Speech</span><br />
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(Directed by Tom Hooper, running time 188 minutes)<br />
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Colin Firth is up for a string of awards the second time round after <span style="font-style: italic;">A Single Man</span> playing King George VI, thrust into his royal duties who with the help of an unorthodox speech therapist played by Geoffrey Rush attempts to treat his stutter, which as a public speaker for the entire British Empire, such an issue is hardly good for morale. Despite being hit over the head with the heavy historical background and pure drama, the most interesting exchanges come from the dialogue itself between Firth and Rush, with the latter being the more memorable performance with his wit and light approach, occasionally stepping over into the comedic spotlight and considering all the just praise Firth has received, you know you’re getting a genuine top notch character piece.<br />
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Also starring Guy Pearce, Michael Gambon and Helena Bonham Carter.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">127 Hours</span><br />
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(Directed by Danny Boyle, running time 94 minutes)<br />
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Throwing us another curve ball in terms of premise, Danny Boyle continues the tradition of delivering new and interesting pieces of film. This time around it’s the true story of Aron Ralston, played by James Franco, a mountain climber who is trapped in an open cavern after a rock wedges his arm against the wall, left there for over 5 days before amputating his own arm. Playing most of the film solo, Franco doesn’t hold back with his performance of the real-life counter-part, going through stages of desperation, anger, sorrow and even partial insanity. The film doesn’t hold back in emphasizing the gravity of his peril, with the most unforgettable moment being the said amputation of his arm. Despite the many violent films I’ve seen, this was the most “real” in highlighting the pain. Simply put, this is high caliber acting on display.<br />
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Also starring a rock and a hard place.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Way Back</span><br />
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(Directed by Peter Weir, running time 133 minutes)<br />
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A lesser known World War II historical piece, Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris, Colin Farrel (with a decent non-Irish accent this time) and Alexander Potocean are just part of the group of escapees from a Soviet gulag located deep within the frozen Siberian woodlands. Against all the elements, the group traverses through miles upon miles of harsh terrain, all the way to the Indian sub-continent, hopefully securing their freedom. Despite quite literally being a film about traveling, the character development and interaction with some strong performances makes for a well paced tale of struggle. Coupled with great cinematography and natural locations, this is probably one of the most underrated films recently.<br />
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NOTE: Having said that, I’ve also discovered that the UK release date WAS in 2010, meaning this most likely would have made the top nine list.<br />
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Also starring Saoirse Ronan, Dragos Bucur and Gustaf Skarsgard.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Fighter</span><br />
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(Directed by David O. Russell, running time 115 minutes)<br />
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With already plenty of boxing-focused dramas up for the shiny statues over the decades, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Fighter </span>appears to still be able to hold its own and not become an also ran. Based on a true life story, Mark Wahlberg plays an amateur boxer, close to his family including his unruly brother played by Christian Bale (who hasn’t looked this malnourished since <span style="font-style: italic;">The Machinist</span>). It may be your typical story of the low commoner reaching new heights through sport, yet being based on a true story you can’t really fault it if you feel some aspects fall apart and/or resolve themselves. Plus all the turmoil that comes with it is still fresh, along with top-notch performances that carry the entire picture... yes, Wahlberg to.<br />
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Also starring Amy Adams, Melissa Leo and Jack McGee.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Green Hornet (3D)</span><br />
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(Directed by Michel Gondry, running time 119 minutes)<br />
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With DC and Marvel freshly tapped, even the lesser known crime fighters are getting the big screen makeovers. The initially odd choice Seth Rogen plays the said valiant vespa along with his significantly more interesting sidekick Kato played by Jay Chou as they attempt to clean up the mean streets made the way they are by “Chudnofsky” played by Christoph Waltz, how to pronounce his name being something of a recurring joke. Despite some decent choreography and special effects action sequences, with the 3D effects being noticeably on par (which in my book rates it as not 'entirely pointless'), this humor-laden comic adaptation only reaches half of the mark away from a true comedic showcase. While enjoyable enough, it’s also by the numbers that in turn makes it mostly forgettable.<br />
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Also starring Cameron Diaz, David Harbour and Tom Wilkinson.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Paul</span><br />
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(Directed by Greg Mottola, running time 104 minutes)<br />
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The always enjoyable comedy film duo Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are back again on the big screen, this time NOT under the direction of Edgar Wright (meaning the third <span style="font-style: italic;">Blood and Ice Cream</span> film is still in waiting) playing a pair of nerdy British tourists in America on a road tour following Comic-Con who inadvertently stumble upon an extraterrestrial Area 51 runaway named Paul, voiced by Seth Rogen (this time being a fitting choice). Even though being from an advanced alien race, Paul is more akin to party going hitchhiker, making up plenty of humor itself. The entire cast gives well-played out comedy performances and on the whole are likable characters. Despite some erratic pacing and a shoe-horned romance subplot, this above and beyond road trip will most likely reel in the laughs, not to mention are few well placed geek culture references. While far from the tier of <span style="font-style: italic;">Shaun of the Dead</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Hot Fuzz</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Paul</span> is still an enjoyable and a worthy film of its cast.<br />
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Also starring Kristen Wiig, Jason Bateman and Bill Hader.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3642247882959489155.post-75498093103595626472011-02-21T09:57:00.000-08:002013-11-04T09:32:41.470-08:00Film Review: Black Swan(Directed by Darren Aronofsky, running time 108 minutes)<br />
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I’ve come to realize that in a Darren Aronofsky film, achievement is either out of reach or only obtainable through painful struggle or worse. While not necessarily a negative point, it does prepare one’s self prior to viewing. You’ll at least be prepared for the worse. More interesting though is this notion in itself is not really a “spoiler” for <span style="font-style: italic;">Black Swan</span>, at least not for those who are familiar with Aronofsky’s work. If you’re not however... let’s just say that the trailer for the UK version is somewhat misleading.<br />
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That’s not to say the trailer completely is edited for marketing’s sake. The basic theme literally is one girl’s struggle to obtain her highest goal. Said girl is Nina Sayers, played by Natalie Portman, an aspiring talented young ballet performer. Despite the hidden strength that ballet requires, Nina is more of a full grown child, still showing timid behavior, prudishness and social ignorance, all of which seem to stem from her reclusive home life with just her over bearing mother who is also under the same mind set towards her daughter and who might just be compensating for her own lost days and passion for the dance. When her theater begins to recruit and train for a supposed different take on the classic ballet “Swan Lake”, Nina is perfect to play the role of the beautiful and elegant white swan... however it is a duel role requiring to play the alter-ego black swan, passionate, wild and loose... basically what Nina isn’t, so naturally training for such a role quickly becomes a full time obsession.<br />
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To throw a spanner into the works, the theater also receives a new recruit named Lily, played by Mila Kunis who actually seems perfect for the role of the black swan. As Nina begins to practice more and more, she begins to change in personality... but also in mentality, encouraged further by Lily’s wild and active presence. The is the prime focus of the film, the psychological changes Nina goes through and while to others she may appear in desperate need to break the routine, being an already fragile mind such changes take form in sudden, often times twisted manifestations. To give one example, throughout the film Nina develops scratches on her back, sometimes even bleeding to the concern of her mother and others yet the wound from only Nina’s perspective takes on a different form. Without spoiling anything, such obscure, even disturbing imagery best described as Cronenberg style body horror is what tempts the audience to keep watching (even though at times causing some to turn away) as throughout there is no clear picture to what these manifestations are or why they are happening and what you do witness may not be true to life... or not. Some might call these sequences more akin to a horror film yet being lightly spread throughout, it never really feels out of place from the drama.<br />
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It quickly invokes the same style of psychological torment of Aronofsky’s famous <span style="font-style: italic;">Requiem for a Dream</span>, and just a with that film, one would go far as to call the film depressing at times. By no means on the same level as his previous “reaching for prozac” setup but still comes full circle back to the initial notion from the start of this article. Such is the case with Winona Ryder who plays a side role as the original top performer at the theater before being forced to retire, Nina’s new found popularity as the next star not being particularly good PR, which obviously leads to a break down that itself begins to haunt Nina and the audience.<br />
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One the side of performances, Portman who in the past has settled for just "being there" (glares at Star War I, II & III) truly does give her best as a fragile mind that has only just begun to grow while cracking down the middle. Mila Kunis who before was something of an unknown (seriously, Meg Griffin!?) has been able herself to pack a punch and leave with something memorable. Another role of note however comes from the character Thomas Leroy the theater director, played by Vincent Cassel who at first appears as your typical perverted old teacher archetype but instead becomes in Nina’s mind as something of a sexual liberator, as someone who is trying to help a servilely repressed woman. It’s a particularly profuse role and one that carries more weight within the narrative than as first expected and one whose overall character might divide audiences.<br />
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In the most straight forward of senses, labeling the pictures as a “ballet drama” like some trailers mentioned at the start would be something as to limit the potential audience (yes, there’s still that “girly” view of the practice). Ballet however is something of a vintage form of art and as with any art can come the negative psychological aspect from those already near to breaking point. Instead <span style="font-style: italic;">Black Swan</span> presents us with a story of obsession and (a late) liberation of one’s life within the role of a high class performance. While less degrading to it’s characters like <span style="font-style: italic;">Requiem</span> while also being less true to life like <span style="font-style: italic;">The Wrestler</span>, the film is still a worthy companion piece that pulls all the punches to deliver a film that is both elegant and twisted and clearly some of the best performances of it’s actors and actresses so far.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3642247882959489155.post-72008907343174530862011-01-29T12:15:00.000-08:002015-06-22T03:05:35.347-07:00The Top NINE Films of 2010Trivial post year thumbs up to rich and important people who do not know or care; that’s right, it’s yet another Top 9. Why top 9? Because when compiling lists I’m alway stuck on number 10 as there are always 5 films I could put in it’s place. Further more there is no number 1 in the conventional sense of being THE top of 9, just the closest to it, as 2 and 3 are also. And of course this is the 2010 for UK releases so IMDB’s dates might disagree with my own criteria.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">9. Invictus</span><br />
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(Directed by Clint Eastwood)<br />
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Morgan Freeman finally performs the inevitable role of former South-African president Nelson Mandela as he uses rugby as a way to unite a nation split by racial tension. On the surface it’s a by the numbers sports drama of the underdogs winning the championship, which reads very cliche but in actual fact is what really happened, instead making it a well acted historical piece.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">8. Machete</span><br />
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(Directed by Robert Rodriguez)<br />
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Robert Rodriguez casts Danny Trejo and co to fight Steven Seagal and co with big knifes and even bigger guns... need I say more?<br />
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Ok fine. While many films of it’s kind despite all “fun factor” are in actual fact very bad pieces of cinema (some not even being released in one). What sets this apart, crossing the line into “good film” territory is the the self-referential feel it has with all this being done by a good director and even a few good actors. On top of that it’s one of the best films to touch on immigration in recent time... if you find that an odd notion, take it up with cinema in general, its their fault. Though it’s mostly pure over-the-top violent fun, plain and simple.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">7. Toy Story 3</span><br />
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(Directed by Lee Unkrich)<br />
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The final chapter in Pixar’s animated sensation that even with all the childish antics appeals to film-goers of all ages, after all like the character Andy, the original audience of the first and second are grown up themselves now. It’s hard to explain but the best way to describe it’s appeal is that it’s pits memorable characters in dire situations while at the same striking a perfect balance between comedy and drama (plenty of the former)... and the current children of this generation can still get onboard.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">6. Kick-Ass</span><br />
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(Directed by Matthew Vaughn)<br />
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Based off the graphic novel no one had read, with “graphic” having multiple meanings, this clear cut action comedy is strikingly brutal since after all, vigilantism isn’t a clean and noble practice. With numerous break out performances for multiple new and upcoming actors, and one of the best from the mixed bag veteran Nicolas Cage, pretty much every character gets room to breath resulting in plenty of varied and humorous scenes... also did I mention it was brutal?<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">5. Crazy Heart</span><br />
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(Directed by Scott Cooper)<br />
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A limited release of a 2009 American film that was mostly known for one simple achievement: it finally earned Jeff Bridges an Oscar. A simple story about an aged-washed country musician and his new found relationship with a young journalist, Jeff Bridges really steals the show as the believable yet entirely fictional Otis “Bad” Blake who despite his alcoholism and sex antics quickly shows his true colours as an old man down on his luck who just wants the normal family life. If only the Dude got the Academy's respect.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">4. Inception</span><br />
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(Directed by Christopher Nolan)<br />
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Modern Batman director takes a walk down the beaten path with an original science-fiction thriller with a script than can in the most professional terms can be best described as a “mind-fuck”. Despite in all honesty having to watch it twice to completely understand every other detail... and twist... and revelation, the plot itself is at the end of the day fairly straight forward. It’s just quite simply the thinking-man’s action film and to produce that successfully in the age of style over substance CGI, it’s a genuine achievement.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">3. Four Lions</span><br />
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(Directed by Chris Morris)<br />
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Brass Eye’s Chris Morris dips his toe... dives head first into the world of amateur(?) Islamic terrorism in the UK. Despite all the crude humor and slapstick comedy, this bold grounded comedy actually depicts these four Stooges as just the sort of people extreme ideals can prey upon, the main cast themselves knowing little about the cause they “fight” for. Despite the balls the film has, the characterization and humor fits in and thankfully doesn’t participate in shock comedy with a sensitive theme, which most of the time is just for the sake of it.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">2. Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World</span><br />
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(Directed by Edgar Wright)<br />
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Based off the series of graphic novels that weren’t even complete when this film was in production, Edgar Wright still manages to to geek out in the best way possible with a coherent plot in a world that works on retro video game conventions. Yet despite all the flash and references to popular culture, the story itself is actually more than a modern story of fighting for the princess but rather reflecting a young adult’s not yet perfect mindset and relationship issues. And if the best way to convey someone trying to workout their relationship in a proper dignified manner... is to portray that through a series Street Fighter fight sequences, well then, that’s just good entertainment.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">1. The Social Network</span><br />
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(Directed by David Fincher)<br />
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In the modern age where the internet knows all and sees all, with Facebook currently as its church, David Fincher explores the thought process behind this simple (and to an extent sad) fact. Even though many have claimed that the narrative and characterization is noticeably dramatized from the real life story, that being the case is actually why this piece of film-making is so compelling to watch, showing just how innovation can quickly shape and break people’s lives. Further more to its credit is the lack of any noticeable protagonist or “hero”, myself and others still wanting to see how events unfold and just who will come out on top... the short answer is no one. In addition to a brilliantly composed soundtrack by Trent Reznor, the pacing and narrative flows perfectly with all the personal turmoil and back stabbing practices.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3642247882959489155.post-80704679420616043322010-08-29T12:25:00.000-07:002013-11-04T09:33:00.529-08:00Film Review: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World(Directed by Edgar Wright, running time 112 minutes)<br />
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NOTE: This review isn’t completely objective, having read all six volumes of the original Scott Pilgrim graphic novels.<br />
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While still waiting on World’s End, the third film of the humorously dubbed “Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy”, so far made up of modern British comedy classics <span style="font-style: italic;">Shaun of the Dead</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Hot Fuzz</span>, director Edgar Wright has gone completely state side, although further north... Canada in fact. Setting his sights on the comedy graphic novel series Scott Pilgrim, Wright intends on not only transferring the downright surreal and outlandish humor to the moving picture, but at the same time cramming all six volumes into the space of nearly two hours (incidentally, “vs the world” is the subtitle to volume two, while the film that shares the same name it’s still about six).<br />
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Like novel, like film, the story follows the daily trials of Scott Pilgrim (played by Michael Cera), a young adult living in Toronto and bassist for his aspiring band Sex Bob-omb (a’la Super Mario). Things quickly (and conveniently) take an unlikely shift when Scott falls for the mysterious Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). After hitting it off, Scott soon learns that Ramona has not only been with seven others, but he must defeat them all in order to stay in a relationship with her, being dubbed the “League of Evil Exes” (not ex-boyfriends, emphasized for reasons to knock the socks of the male viewers). What sounds like an odd set up is actually only the half of it. When you take into consideration that the league is more of a collection of super villain like characters with real powers in a world where bodies explode into loose change, any fight would surely be some form of spectacle.<br />
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The first thing viewers will notice however is how casual people react to displays of magical powers, super human strength and gravity deifying martial arts when the punch ups get heavy. Even the side characters show moments of other worldly fighting ability at times. Further more, the basic structure of daily life plays out at times like an 8-bit video game, with ability stats, experience points, life bars and extra life pick ups. Even some of the fights themselves play out like a game of Street Fighter or Tekken and that just scratches the surface of video game references. Throughout the entire run, random in-jokes and subtle hints will keep the most twitchy thumbed individuals with a great sense of reverence and nostalgia. The writers clearly have as much love for the medium as those of you.<br />
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But it’s not all Pac-Man (contrary to Scott’s belief), underneath all the geeky flash is actually a surprisingly solid social and relationship based narrative. From the get go, Scott is in fact a rather unlikable character, so rather than just an excuse to get laid in the long term, each fight also seems to slap some sense into his messed up inner mind (of which we get surreal literal glances of periodically). On top of that, Scott also appears to have baggage of his own as there’s very little in the way of the XX chromosome that hasn’t had a fling with him, particularly in the case of his recently dumped teenage girlfriend, the young Chinese Knives Chau (Ellen Wong) who is also the band’s biggest fan, border-lining on religious devotion. Despite being oddly left out of the marketing campaign and trailers, she is one f the most important characters who is having to deal with the break-up in her own irrational way. But don’t worry to those of you who may be fearful of walking into a “romantic comedy”, it’s much of that ill-fated genre as Edgar Wright’s <span style="font-style: italic;">Shaun of the Dead</span> was. Along for the ride are a mish mash of social stereotypes as the gang of friends including Scott’s gay roommate Wallace (Kieran Culkin) who is one of the most down to Earth yet funny characters in the whole film, along with the pessimistic other members of Sex Bob-omb. In fact, there are plenty more realized characters to fill up the roster, but I’d be writing this for days to each fully mention.<br />
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Regardless of whether you have read the original stories or not, Edgar Wright’s new coat of paint is actually very faithful with only a few noticeable changes, for better AND for worse. On one hand, some scenes have been completely re-imagined, such as the the battle between Scott and the fifth and sixth evil-ex twins where before it was a series of encounters (with robots), this time around is a giant musical standoff between the twins and Sex Bob-omb where their music summons giant monsters. It’s a hilariously over the top sequence but at the later stage in the film not out of place and fits perfectly with the constrained length. Yet on the other hand, audiences WILL notice the fast pace of the overall plot, more so for those unfamiliar with the series. While hardly too erratic, the film is trying to get to each set-piece fight to the next while trying to also keep the consistent mood of the characters. More to the point, what happened over a course of a couple years, this time around happens in what feels like a week or two and it shows. Another is the general style of editing. However this is rather a mixed bag down to personal preference. The film utilizes an eccentric form of editing that mirrors the style of the graphic novels such as separate character frames, jump cuts without warning, information boxes that spring up throughout and flashbacks in the original art style. While I could have done without the latter that feels tacked on and lazy on the film-makers’ part, the rest in something very unusual in conventional cinema and as a result creates a unique viewing experience. Yet while trying to be as objective as I can, I have to admit this fast paced comic style will be bewildering to those very used to traditional editing techniques.<br />
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If you’re willing to take real life yet hurl basic science and social norms into the sun then you’d be able to appreciate <span style="font-style: italic;">Scott Pilgrim vs. the World</span>. For all it’s over the top fight sequences and video game conventions, there’s also a good chunk of characterization and well written humor, meaning there should be AT LEAST a few things to enjoy, long time fan or not. For fans however, the adaptation is outstanding. Sure plenty has been cut and remodeled but it’s all to provide a coherent viewing experience that’s faithful and not an insult.<br />
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Also starring Chris Evans, Jason Schwartzman, Mark Webber and Alison Pill.<br />
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As a side note, the graphics novels are worth reading. The scenes that were changed are significantly more fleshed out, yet best of all there’s significantly more characterization and depth to the many side characters (including some great ones that never appeared in the film).Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3642247882959489155.post-75045739831035676132010-08-27T13:47:00.000-07:002013-11-04T09:31:49.056-08:00Film Review: The Expendables(Directed by Sylvester Stallone, running time 103 minutes)<br />
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Big guns, big explosions and big muscles, what some journalists have dubbed the “big dumb action flick”, this pseudo-genre is one of the more noticeable critical divides between critics and audiences. On one hand the critic is right since their only drive is to cause on screen havoc and cheap thrills, yet on the other the audience is right since there’s really nothing wrong with a little pure mayhem once in a while. It was popular throughout the 80s and early 90s and now such demands have resonated once again with <span style="font-style: italic;">The Expendables</span>, an ensemble 80s throw back starring real 80s throwback action stars while tossing in a view recent “manliest men” archetypes for good measure.<br />
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From the various incarnations of movie posters, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Expendables</span> boasts a near perfect action ensemble cast. Action veteran Sylvester Stallone is fresh off the killing floor from 2008’s <span style="font-style: italic;">Rambo</span>, this time driving the cast as both lead star and director with Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lunggren, Mickey Rourke and a whole convoy of muscle men that either haven’t been blowing up bridges and turning over trucks for as long or as memorably for me to mention in the same sentence. As with the “big dumb action flick”, the plot is supposed to be as straight forward as the many, many bullets going through the many, many disposable cronies. The low down on the synopsis is basically “agency wants to kill maverick in hostile country, mercenaries hired for dirty work”, simple as A to B and you don't care. How we eventually get to that conclusion however is not so much needlessly complicated, rather postponed for the first half hour. Prior to this set up, it’s a slog between establishing the entire parade “built like a brick-shit house”.<br />
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The first scene invokes memories of John Rambo’s notorious hyper death extravaganza with a crime boss getting a chest of projectile explosives before having to be wiped from the shaken faces of the nearby hired goons. Yet quickly the film already exposes a fatal flaw; BBFC 15. Despite Stallone at helm, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Expendables</span> is far from the meat grinder that was <span style="font-style: italic;">Rambo</span>. In fact, the first death of this film is probably the most violent and with the entire cast’s filmography having an on-screen body count large enough that could populate a small country making it genocide, you’d expect overkill to be an understatement in his next project. Instead the piles of bodies prior to the climax (that I will get onto later) is rather tame, with generic explosions, shot outs and punch ups making up most corpses. On top of that, between action scenes are sparse between exposition. With the exception Mickey Rourke (who gives an excellent yet out place within the film speech about death), the characters naturally are, how you say “meat heads” so of course the dialogue is equally simple. This wouldn’t be a problem if there was enough “big dumb action” to make up most of the “flick”. Between the opening and climax, the action is rather basic and in all fairness not that over the top either. Sure it’s fun but more to the point, it’s all been done in the 80s and early 90s, in some cases by the same cast members.<br />
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On top of that, the cast is regulated to Stallone and Statham, with the average on screen time for the rest of the ensemble before the climax amounting to roughly 5 minutes each. Even Jet Li who actually mostly appears in genuinely good films has a somewhat limited role and the much touted Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger are cameos at best. Now granted, Schwarzenegger was always going to be nothing more than a quick walk in and wave given his focus now being world conquest (of which they even joked about in the film) but Willis, who is still alive and kicking in acting was billed as an important role. For the man who played the immortal John McClane, that was a downright tease. It may seem like I’m being harsh on something that’s not supposed to be taken seriously, but things like that are supposed to be consistently entertaining... well, I wasn’t consistently entertained.<br />
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Ah, but don’t call me out just yet. I wasn’t not entertained either, like I’ve mentioned previously the climax was a check point before the flip flops between dumb fun and mediocrity. What seems like half an hour, the last stand of the rag-tag band and two-dimensional antagonists is the over the top ultra violence everyone came to see. It’s here and only here where each member of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Expendables</span> earns their standout moment. We’re talking wide spread demolitions, gruesome dismembered, violent bone breaking and plenty of good old fashion cannon fodder on display. All past groans and yawns were rolled up in rug and thrown off a bridge as the insane massacre unfolded.<br />
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Yet there also lies the problem that it was pushed up against the wall from the get go. Unlike <span style="font-style: italic;">Rambo </span>and even the very recent <span style="font-style: italic;">The A-Team</span>, the build up was less than expected in the context of the “big dumb action flick”. Don't get me wrong, it's definitely down right mad at times (the notable case being an explosive get away in a plane), but when it’s the throwback to cheesy action greats, moments of serious exposition that isn’t supposed to be taken seriously and general lack of bloodshed, I can’t help but feel disappointed at times. Despite the climax being the most of the promise of over the top action expected from such a cast, everything else pales in comparison. Sure, some movie goers might lap up the action for the sake of it being action but they should also admit they saved the best till last. Best usually does come last in films, but Stallone failed to take the best bits and scatter them throughout. It’s definitely a “big dumb action flick”, where it aims to please it's an absolute success but not really a great one, and given the ensemble it really should have been just that. <span style="font-size: 78%;">But now I won't SHAME it.</span><br />
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Now lets wait for, <span style="font-style: italic;">Machete</span>.<br />
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Also starring... *sigh* a lot.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3642247882959489155.post-30461777462169002582010-06-09T07:03:00.000-07:002015-06-22T03:05:53.774-07:00Film Review: Four Lions(Directed by Chris Morris, running time 100 minutes)<br />
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To those who may be unfamiliar with names alone, director Chris Morris is better known for his written and starring role in the highly controversial satirical faux-news program <span style="font-style: italic;">Brass Eye</span>. That alone would make complete sense of the already awkward premise of <span style="font-style: italic;">Four Lions</span>. Yes, it seems to sheer mention of Islam in popular media these days is enough to incite a fraction of doubt and unease in the public’s mind, yet here we have Al-Qaeda meets the Three Stooges...er, Four Stooges.<br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">Four Lions</span> follows the dimwitted exploits of four radical Islamic terrorists, in Sheffield, England, composed off two young adult brothers Omar (played by Riz Ahmed) and Waj (Kayvan Novak), the latter of which is how you say slow, middle-aged British convert Barry (Nigel Lindsey) and bumbling fool Faisal (Adeel Akhtar), all of whom aspire to of all things pull off a successful suicide bombing. The only problem with this gang of irrational simpletons are not only ill-equipped to use weaponry, they even have a poor grasp of the religion they’re fighting for. Soon enough, further problems arise when a fifth recruit, Hassan (Arsher Ali) joins the fray, whose just as way over his head than the rest of the “happy campers”.<br />
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The obvious point to note even before viewing is just how far the controversial premise goes. Islam aside, the set up of a suicide bombing on British soil is hardly the first sketch that comes to mind in situation comedy. As a satire on a recent news worthy issue however, the comedy just plain works. While the audience is treated to a foreseeable series of bombings gone wrong and near blown cover as punch-lines, the majority of the comedy however comes from the constant bickering between the cast, a staple of cynical British humor. Despite all sharing the same faith (supposedly), the entire ensemble are in fact perfect misfits. Even the young brothers are on opposite ends of the spectrum intelligence wise, a somewhat classic image of the narrow-minded yet idealistic modern day British youth. The rest however are just not well adjusted enough to be in the terrorist trade... and that has to say something.<br />
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Which brings me on to the most unique point of the film. In an odd yet compelling way the characters are actually rather likable with their [counter-]witty lines of dialogue and predictable failures like a cast of cartoon archetypes. In reality they’re the villains but since failure is a recurrent theme it’s no different from cheering on Dick Dastardly or Wile E. Coyote. The only difference is instead of getting a black cloud of smoke in the face you get reduced to a bloody pulp on the pavement. Don’t worry though, in the few instances when something does go boom, the said cloud is all you see. It’s rather clean on screen when your profession involves scattering your limbs down the high street. Thrown in for good measure is the other side of the coin, the British intelligence agency who as we know is prone to... how you say, “hiccups” in their profiling and direct handling with the apparent threat to national security.<br />
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There are to say the least a couple of dry spells humor wise given the heavy handed message the script is quite obviously trying to hammer home and much of one’s own enjoyment would be based on how they react to similar news stories and their stance on political correctness. Of all scenes that make the greatest impact is hands down the last character driven scene before the credits begin to roll. Naturally without spoiling anything, I’ll just say it’s both funny and relevant to the characters, but not what they’re doing.<br />
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The final point of note about <span style="font-style: italic;">Four Lions</span> is how such a film wouldn’t be achievable if made in the good old US of A. This isn’t just due to the obvious fear of showing acts of terrorism in a slapstick tone within their own borders, but also my own guess is that the representation would be a more cliche and less believable cast of Muslims, perhaps using stereotypes that would cause an outcry that this film has thankfully avoided. No offense to the US filmmaking, but this is based of prior attempts. While no British comedy classic, Chris Morris however has once again gone against the current media mindset and produced a film that’s not afraid to show to a realistic enough approach to a news heavy issue and laugh about it.<br />
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Also stars Julia Davis, Preeya Kalidas and Kevin Aldon.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3642247882959489155.post-75272334691968842972010-04-16T16:44:00.000-07:002013-11-04T09:32:27.970-08:00Film Review: Kick-Ass(Directed by Matthew Vaughn, running time 117 minutes)<br />
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Last year’s <span style="font-style: italic;">Watchmen</span> was something of a mixed bag... well not for me, I loved it but I’m not narrow-minded enough to not acknowledge that for certain others it was hardly their favorite film that either they couldn’t understand or take its dark themes. Regardless of how you felt, what it was was a spin on the superhero genre, a plot element underused in cinema. To those who may have said nay to <span style="font-style: italic;">Watchmen</span> (shame on you), while the very much hyped <span style="font-style: italic;">Kick-Ass</span> has much in common with Alan Moore's brainchild; humanizing superheroes, casual violence and a twisted sense of irony, the plot is significantly more stream-lined and the general tone is much lighter.<br />
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Aaron Johnson plays Dave Lizewski, a teenage “comic-book nerd” who has an epiphany moment over the notion that despite its popularity, no one has tried putting being a superhero into practice, thus engaging in mask vigilantism himself in the form of “Kick-Ass”. Initially such attempts are comically futile even though being filmed and posted on YouTube helps his credibility much more than actual crime fighting (this subtle reference carries more weight as a a piece of commentary than at first glance). During the ride he gets mixed up with two highly skilled yet deeply deranged masked heroes; Big Daddy and Hit Girl, played by Nicolas Cage and Chloë Grace Moretz, both who are on the warpath against kingpin mobster Frank D’Amico played by Mark Strong.<br />
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Sounds simple enough right? That’s because it is, while the story changes direction and tone between comedy and drama, the climax is clear on the the horizon. The prime issue to grapple with here is not the moral ambiguity of the script (trust me, if you haven’t already you’re bound to hear it from some heavily right-wing nut job radio commentator), I’ll get onto that later. No, it’s the genre. While all previews and trailers depict <span style="font-style: italic;">Kick-Ass</span> as something of a comedy for young adults, greatly at times the whole mood takes a plunge into a psychological/social drama. While not overshadowing the obvious comedy touted outside the theaters, the drama is very much clear cut and stands out in a one by one ratio. Often at times the audience will witness a series of slapstick skits before taking in angst or sorrow the character might experience (because satire can be serious). This is a human related story after all. Even though such subject matter is sprinkled out in doses throughout the film to prevent becoming overbearing and in itself is defiantly apart of the overall experience as the comedy, I fear some questionable advertising may be setting some common folk up for a potential unpleasant surprise after having been put into the wrong mind set.<br />
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On the comedy front however, there is thankfully deliverance. Even with the glaring pit falls his character experiences as his alter-ego, Dave Lizewski also engages in a close friendship with one of the most attractive girls at his school, after having mistaken him for being a homosexual with the first joke to mind being the resulting sexual-tension on Dave’s parts as he consistently pretends to play along. Aside from the endeavors of the protagonist, further humor in exhibited from the youngest of the D’Amico clan, Chris/Red Mist played by Christopher Charles Mintz-Plasse, better known to the student audience as McLovin a’la Superbad who is as pleasantly awkward as ever, being an even more cocky yet useless rookie crime fighter than Kick-Ass himself. Additionally, the side cast such as Dave’s even more geeky friends and D’Amico’s hired goons have their own moments in the comedy spotlight.<br />
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However, it’s Big Daddy and Hit Girl who steal the show, being a pair of downright deranged individuals while at the same time oddly compelling that we even cheer on as they blatantly gruesomely decimate wave after wave of all sorts of unsavory low lives. And that’s something, like <span style="font-style: italic;">Watchmen</span>, the violence is in plain site and rather unexpected, we’re talking massive head-shots, severed limbs and in one instance a guy exploding in a giant microwave oven. In terms of its violence however, given the comedy angle, it’s more reminiscent of Tarantino, being apart of the humor and colossal sense of irony. Nicolas Cage’s Big Daddy is something of a parent-orientated Batman who despite some hiccups in the past, I would say has redeemed his credibility as an actor. Chloë Grace Moretz is more of an oddity since despite being a mere child, pulls off some of <span style="font-style: italic;">Kick-Ass</span>’s heaviest profanities and executions to the extent of forgetting her age completely... which leads me onto this...<br />
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NOTE: This next paragraph is more of a brief commentary over the recent controversy this film has caused rather than a view on the film itself so skip to the last paragraph to get right to the conclusion.<br />
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There may be some out there who find certain elements of <span style="font-style: italic;">Kick-Ass</span> questionable, for others even distressful. One reason for such negativity to resonate may be a result from the already explained unexpectedness of the heavy violence and profanity. In this one’s own opinion, all this does is benefit the spin on the superhero genre and enhance the elements of social commentary here and there. The prime issue however is that of Hit Girl, where some have found distasteful and exploitative. First of all let me say anyone who thinks it’s exploitative is sick and for that you sir/madam are the deranged individual. As for the violence, I will admit at first it is somewhat bewildering to see a small girl massacre a group of drug dealers and towards the end even take a bloody punch to face, and while I can understand why such an image might be distressing to some, in the end it’s a matter of taste. Sure, a loving parent would not take such violence kindly whereas a teenager out for cheap thrills wouldn’t batter an eyelid.<br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">Kick-Ass</span> is definitely a unique film experience that you should check out, being part teenage comedy, part violent action and part social drama, all of which is helped further by its in your face satire and sharp script. For most I assume reading this, they’ll find something about it entertaining, but due to some hang ups people have had in the past I must emphasize they approach with caution as it is not entirely what it seems at first.<br />
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Also stars Lyndsy Fonseca, Clarke Duke and Nelson Frazier, Jr (that’s Viscera the wrestler).Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3642247882959489155.post-29289601440685931382010-04-16T12:44:00.000-07:002013-11-04T09:36:28.125-08:00Film Review: Clash of the TitansDISCLAIMER: I know I’m trying to shorten my reviews but in this particular case I’ve got a lot to get off my chest, which even then still isn’t long enough, so apologies.<br />
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(Directed by Louis Leterrier, running time 118 minutes)<br />
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Greek Mythology is somewhat of an oddity for film makers, while it provides a ready selection of mythical creatures, legendary heroes and a sizable pantheon of Gods, the originally stories themselves don’t translate to the moving picture in the slightest sense if reverence is on the agenda. Arguably the best attempt at bringing life to the ancient fables was the 1963 <span style="font-style: italic;">Jason and the Argonauts</span>, one of the first “swords and sandals” epics and easily featuring the best of stop-motion wizard Ray Harryhausen. However liberties were taken to give life to the exaggerated tales of old. His second Greek outing (no, not like that) however came in 1981 in the form of <span style="font-style: italic;">Clash of the Titans</span>. Unlike<span style="font-style: italic;"> Argonauts</span>, the spectacle however was not the best acted or even groundbreaking, in fact it was a step back for special effects at the time. But why is it still remembered? Charm and camp value, which makes it a cult classic that being the case would make me “Brother Frank”.<br />
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A remake however is not a farfetched concept since Greek Mythology can also be epic, just look at the <span style="font-style: italic;">God of War</span> video game series. The original <span style="font-style: italic;">Clash of the Titans</span> however wasn’t actually much of an epic story to begin with so naturally any attempt at making it epic would either mean taking liberties or over doing the grand scale of story itself... where this 2010 incarnation does neither.<br />
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By all means does the screenplay take liberties with the original story (which took liberties of its own with the original legend so for all those familiar with the genuine text; you’ll stop grinding your teeth after 20 minutes) but this does not involve inserting some epic battle sequences. Sam Worthington, having washed off his Smurf make-up plays Perseus, the bastard child of Zeus (played by Liam Neeson), who after losing his adoptive family and ship is swept ashore the kingdom of Argos that initially relishes in it’s independence from the Gods not long before they’re groveling at the feet of Hades (played by Ralph Fiennes) who demands a sacrifice for the Kraken, lest they be completely obliterated. So naturally this set up leads Perseus and co on a grand adventure to stop potential annihilation, overcoming many obstacles in the form of mythical beasts... or “big bad beasties” using Hollywood logic.<br />
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Already I’m questioning the plausibility of this set up. The writers themselves must have been in the mind set of “this happens because it was in the original” since a number of scenes played out in 1981 that don’t make sense in 2010. The most glaring of these is why is Perseus even on this journey? In the original, Perseus is out to save his beloved Andromeda and his soon to be kingdom while nearly 30 years later he is just out for revenge for the death of his family at the hands of Hades despite his quest not involving the goal of killing said Godof the Underworld. Further more upon his arrival at Argos he is treated like a scraping from under their sandal that begs the question why help them, especially since the people are bringing the wrath of Zeus upon themselves to the point of borderline painting a giant middle finger on the mountain side. The second issue is not so obvious since the plot element doesn’t come up much... and that is why it’s a problem. In 1981 the cursed beast Calibos is the whole reason the Kraken is summoned while in 2010 he is nothing more than a bribed peon of Hades, a tacked on reference to the original (although I will admit the mechanical owl joke was pretty clever). And thirdly Pegasus, the winged horse just turns up at the end sent by Zeus after a change of heart, there is no developed bond from the original making the creature more of a tool than a companion. I could name many others but I digress, in short it appears the film is so eager to get of the ground and wow audiences, there is no time to rationalize the legitimacy of the basic script. I’m not saying the original’s was perfect, but it was at least coherent.<br />
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Ok, so the script is clearly flawed but what about the characters? In a positive spin, the beauty part is there is definitely a band of interesting characters, that are built up from the start with different traits and backgrounds... slight problem however. Without giving away who and how, a good chunk are arbitrarily killed off making all that screen time building them up pointless if their deaths were so insignificant, screen time that could of been used developing the story itself. The acting is... ok. Not cringe worthy but tolerable... at times. The biggest chip on my shoulder is the Greek Gods themselves. Now Neeson and Fiennes are perfectly acceptable but why are they dressed like a camp stage theater retelling of King Arthur? What happened to the togas, the auroras of thunder, giant muscles and general sense of power? Why do the pantheon congregate over a landscape for train sets? They may act like Gods, heck the much touted line “release the Kraken” does pack a punch, but they don’t look like Gods.<br />
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This really isn’t going well?<br />
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CGI then. Thankfully, unlike the rendition of Olympus, the landscape does invoke the epic scale of Greek Mythology with the city of Argos alone rivaling that of the Lord of the Rings Minas Tirith. Even the desolate lands where twisted old witches reside comes off more as the shores of hell (or Hades). As for the inevitable monster mash, the bands of warriors plow through giant scorpions, harpies, Medusa and of course the Kraken, although the course is a little light, lacking the 1981 giant hawk and two-headed dog. In their place however are mysterious, almost wood like sand people who actually ally themselves with our heroes, which to their credit are at least visually striking and unique. The Kraken is defiantly the highlight despite like the original doing little in the way of... being the Kraken, but the hype prior is actually overbearing in a good way. Medusa however is less menacing this time around, having much less build up and sense of horror with the confrontation being more action orientated like the rest of the film. While it’s good action no doubt, it lacks any importance given the monsters before were casually despatched as mere hurdles. I mean even the sand people are immune to her powers, making her as an entity of pure dread redundant. On the up side, the giant scorpion sequence appears more important and exciting than it’s supposed to be given its significance to the overarching plot.<br />
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As a remake, if you saw the original first, you probably will be wanting more. As a stand alone film, it is deeply flawed. While action and spectacle take centre stage, the various hiccups along the road make the whole epic experience more of a bumpy ride. Since I essentially have a great gay boner for Greek Mythology (joke), I found myself crushingly disappointed. Not because of the liberties taken with the source material or the lack of charm the original film possesses but for the lack of epic scale and fantastical sense of awe that Greek Mythology is perfect for. The best case in cinema is still <span style="font-style: italic;">Jason and the Argonauts</span> and very few things can even such the sheer spectacle of the <span style="font-style: italic;">God of War</span> games, Greek Mythology or not. 2010 <span style="font-style: italic;">Clash of the Titans</span> is not a straight up bad film, I’m sure there many who can enjoy it for the grand CGI fest it is since there is a lack of mythological orientated films, but the overall experience is lacking. I mean with a name like CLASH of the TITANS, you'd settle for nothing less than over the top epic scale. While I prefer not to grade or score a complex opinion like most critics, this film can best be described as around the C- range film, not too bad, but not really that good either... it’s just there for you.<br />
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Also starring Gemma Arterton, Jason Flemyng and Mads Mikkelsen.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3642247882959489155.post-4638428602154266112010-04-04T05:51:00.000-07:002013-11-04T09:33:20.627-08:00Film Review: How to Train Your Dragon(Directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, running time 98 minutes)<br />
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Looking back at the many animated films I delved into, I can only sneer at the sugary AND cheesy onslaught that insulted my intelligence, if I had any that is, I was 6. I my view, a good children’s film is one you can look back on fondly and even enjoy once you’re all grown up... and the same applies today. So as a huge cynic, any children’s animated feature I can enjoy must be worth a glance for the bigger hearted regular audience. So far, only Pixar seems to be able to charm my critical attitude... but <span style="font-style: italic;">How to Train Your Dragon</span> is a DreamWorks production and I did not enjoy <span style="font-style: italic;">Shrek</span>. Before I get this review underway, let me briefly explain why I paid the price of admission; one, the reviews to mine and everyone else’s surprise were phenomenally positive and two, I’m a sucker for Vikings... with that child like remark, now I don’t seem so negative as a person.<br />
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The oddly named <span style="font-style: italic;">How to Train Your Drag</span><span style="font-style: italic;">on</span> follows the endeavor of Hiccup, also oddly named, voiced by Jay Baruchel, a weak and young Viking blacksmith who supplies the weapons to the rest of his more typical fat, drunk and horned Viking clan who are under constant attack from an array of monstrous and cartoonish dragon archetypes. After inadvertently bringing down one of the harder to slay beasts, being the lesser Viking he is, he instead helps it heal before learning to ride and eventually befriending one of the dragons his people have been fighting for so long...<br />
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...yeah, it does sound familiar, more so to anyone who read my <span style="font-style: italic;">Avatar</span> review. The story of of a hero switching sides is a tired out formula but as strange as it sounds, this animated feature isn’t the overhyped cliche spectacle some “other” films turn out to be. The prime difference is in its characterization. First of all, the dragons aren’t innocent creatures, they’re violent fire breathing behemoths, basically they’re real dragons. Secondly the Vikings aren’t even villainous, they’re just defending their homeland. In fact, neither the dragons or Vikings are the protagonists or antagonists, it’s about Hiccup and his juggling of caring for a dragon in secret while trying to train himself back at his village in a rather comically blunt series of Viking duels, all of this before an epic climax that you won’t guess from the trailers alone.<br />
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Might sound simple enough, but it’s the characters and humor that stand on its own feet. The dragons come in different shapes and sizes (and methods of attack) ranging from the simple design of the lead dragon to both cartoonish and menacing with their entire personality shown through their movement and facial expressions. In short they don’t talk or try to act like humans, which the animations of old did... excruciatingly. The Vikings themselves are also more typical of their kind, enjoying to drink, eat and fight and we’d expect nothing less. When Hicupp’s overbearing father and chieftain of the Vikings, Stoic the Vast (voiced by Gerard Butler) was introduced in the opening, I couldn’t help but grin for minutes afterwards at that name alone. Another Viking of note is Gobber the Belch (voiced by Craig Ferguson), sporting artificial limbs and an unconventional and downright dangerous training technique for new dragon slaying recruits.<br />
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The story is somewhat formulaic and there aren’t that many surprises outside of the characterization making for a somewhat predictable flow in a couple of instances, but what you do get is a series of excellent set piece scenes and epic battles with subtle humor and charm. Further more, the Viking setting is a fresh change of pace from talking animals and inanimate objects, which also allows for a pleasant orchestral score accompanied by Celtic pipes, which isn’t the most common thing to hear in an animation... except <span style="font-style: italic;">Beowulf</span>, but I have it on good authority that may not be for children.<br />
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It might sound odd at first to enjoy such a film at my age but how many of you are planning to see <span style="font-style: italic;">Toy Story 3</span> hmm?<br />
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Also stars America Ferrera, Jonah Hill and David Tennant (yes, that one).Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3642247882959489155.post-36951256749353681922010-04-03T09:23:00.000-07:002013-11-04T09:32:17.951-08:00Film Review: Alice in Wonderland<div style="text-align: center;">
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(Directed by Tim Burton, running time 109 minutes)</div>
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Tim Burton is losing his flare... not the most encouraging start to a review. But seriously, what was once a unique take on the fantasy genre has since become, to a degree a studio brand. This post-modern goth has rinsed and repeated to the point of becoming predictable and repetitive. Still don’t know what I mean?<br />
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Mia Wasikowska plays a now adult Alice straight after donating a third of her blood, who ends up in over the top fairy tale world of Wonderland after tumbling down a rabbit hole more reminiscent are a vortex induced by magic mushrooms (not that I’m suggesting anything). Short of weird for the sake of weird, we are then introduced to the whole shebang of Wonderland misfits; there’s Barbara Windsor as the twitchy Dormouse, Michael Sheen as the oddly depressed White Rabbit, Stephen Fry as the down right sinister Cheshire Cat and Matt Lucas as Matt Lucas... I mean Tweedledum and Tweedledee. Despite being sidelined as mere sideshows, the manic monsters are easily the highlight of this surreal display, bursting with personality and humor.<br />
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Beyond the anthropomorphic parade is the Mad Hatter played by Johnny Depp who I’m starting to think has shacked up with Tim Burton. Don’t get me wrong, Johnny Depp is as delightfully schizophrenic as ever but it’s become mandatory in a Burton production so even though Depp is the star, we already have a good impression of how much twitchy rambling to expect.<br />
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But I digress. Alice has apparently been brought back to Wonderland after her first visit as a child to overthrow the Red Queen (played by *sarcastic surprise* Helena Bonham Carter) and return the crown to the White (understatement mind you) Queen (played by a tolerable Anne Hathaway), which can only be done after defeating the “Jabberwocky” in an epic battle... yeah... As you may have already noticed this is not the Alice in Wonderland we know. If anything this is Alice in Wonderland 2 without the first installment. The prime issue I have is while I relish in good story structure, when the credits started to roll, I couldn’t be wonder if the the story would of faired better if it was actually a random secession of surreal events, like the original narrative because at its most obscure the film stands out.<br />
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Burton seems to have injected a Christian fable into a children’s fairy tale with the result being more Lord of the Rings than Nightmare Before Christmas in its crazed series of events. When you see the Had Hatter swinging a clamor in a duel with an evil knight, you don’t know what to think and I doubt that’s what Burton wanted. The entire package is what you’d come to expect from the man of white make-up, and for some that’s even a plus, but for me and a good deal of others it’s become repetitive despite trying to be an original twisted style. Turning classic stories on their head is a good concept but vary the style at least! Otherwise we’re going to the Wizard of Oz with a sexually mature Dorothy, monstrous lion, cyborg Tin man and zombie Scarecrow.<br />
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Also stars Crispin Glover, Alan Rickman and (briefly) Christopher Lee.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3642247882959489155.post-34036508098399260132010-01-26T11:38:00.000-08:002013-11-04T09:27:13.038-08:00Editorial: Are romantic comedies ruining local cinema?<span style="font-style: italic;">First written 6th September 2009</span><br />
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Me and the Romantic Comedy genre, or “Rom-Com” have always had a straightforward relationship. To put it bluntly it’s the only genre I’m not too keen on... scratch that, out right hate. But my recent issue with this flamboyant sub-genre has not manifested itself from it’s predictable plot-lines, bland characterization and half-baked attempts at both romance and comedy, no. I respect other people’s opinions and these films cater to the young women of this world and their clearly reluctant boyfriends, however in recent times my patience has to be running thin. These films not only appear to be churned out as if the genre was on a money powered iron lung, but has even begun to shaft films that are in many instances more critically AND commercially successful. This could be the case with any genre of film but in a landmark case of “Sod’s Law”, it’s the Rom-Com on trial.<br />
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Those of you who are fortunate to live in the big cities might usually be treated to a variety of local cinemas with up to three in any district alone not counting independent film groups. Those on the other hand who are unfortunate to live in the quiet town cliche have had to settle with just the one, thus only what it shows. Despite the film industry like any other creative media being full of artistic talents prepared to create something worthwhile, at the end of the day it is still an industry, run by studio executives and high roller producers whose goal is make money and these times of bloated action flicks and half-baked comedies what’s the best route to take? Something unconventional like Natural Born Killers made $60 million, something complex like The Shawshank Redemption made $30 million, heck even something with Johnny Depp like Ed Wood made just $6 million (and you know what fangirls are like)... a Romantic Comedy on the other hand, Four Weddings and a Funeral made $250 million! All these films were released in the same year and this is just one example. Great, looks like I’m stuck with the latter in this months local release schedule.<br />
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While Four Weddings and a Funeral was a hit with apparent originality for it’s time, all those involved must now carry the stigma of trend that followed. Without pointing the finger at any particular chain of cinemas (you know who you are), the Romantic Comedy genre is a chronically fattened up cash cow that seems to be milked on a regular basis with up to three of this genre currently in the UK top ten alone at the time of this article, withdrawing those that settle with just the romantic half (that would raise it to four films). A cliche ridden summer blockbuster like Transformers 2 or GI Joe might appear to be the worst offenders when it comes to cash consuming trash since they’re big, loud and have unusually attractive women as the innocent bystanders. While these films’ marketing campaigns are on par with a Mongol conquest, the sheer volume of Rom-Coms is somewhat more surprising than previously thought if not actually scary. Using US box office referencing, If you were to collect every American film since 1980, categorize each into a genre then further sub categorizing each again, the average number of films for each kind of film is between 30 and 80... for Romantic Comedies there are over 300. And if you bother including films that run in the same format such as teen comedies and youth-orientated musicals, it would go beyond the thresh hold making it the largest scripted genre. With that prospect in your head you’d happily line up days before the release of Transformers 3: Rise of the CGI. At least then they’d be variety.<br />
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From personal experience, in 2008 alone, there were two films I was prepared to dish out my last few coppers for the unreasonably high entrance fee, yet in an ironic twist none of which were released at my local cinema. The first film to fall foul was the Oscar winning No Country for Old Men, instead I got “P.S. I Love You”, that all I got from was an overly warm pin up flaunting a cringeworthy pair of young lovers embracing. The second was Cloverfield, a film upon reflection was severely hyped, particularly on the net. Nope, instead I got “Over Her Dead Body” starring some... thing from Desperate Housewives (on a side note No Country was eventually shown at an independent venue and for the first time sold out the hall). But here’s the thing, unlike the impressive revenue of Four Weddings and a Funeral, these other examples of the genre didn’t crush their own studio under it’s vast gross profit, so why were they inflicted upon a small town that already had it’s fill with the likes of them in previous years and is now starving for something original and mind blowing?<br />
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Perhaps I’m looking to much into it and there’s only so long a subject can milked for the big screen with this genre being something of a recent incarnation. But here’s the thrust of my concerns, they’ve only tapped a small percentage of possible romantic comedy scenarios. With the recent trend of remakes and sequels, it’s not far-fetched to see this pattern merging with the already bloated genre. And here’s the scary part, they haven’t even begun utilizing queer culture, Bollywood, science fiction and horror hybrids and historical backdrops. For this film goer, queer culture has the potential to become the worst offender. Films like Brokeback Mountain and Milk took a sensitive approach to the subject matter yet it’s camp, or “metrosexual” thats all the rage and with the success of the Sex in the City movie, it’s just a matter of time before the Will and Grace or Queer Eye factor begins showing it’s well-styled face on the cinema scene.<br />
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But I digress... Whether or not you’re a fan of Romantic Comedies, no one could possibility stomach the vast quantities of this genre. Even if in a blissful state of mind you are some how an avid Rom-Com fan, you’d be broke if you wanted to see everything plastered on the cinema walls, plain and simple. Since this article is in such negative spirits, the question I can only ask is who’s to blame? Can it be the public despite some box office figures still indicating the craving for other genres? Maybe the cinemas themselves despite thinking they’d learn their lesson from showing films that didn’t break records? Technically there is no right or wrong culprit here, in fact it’s most likely a mixture of both parties... but for this film goer it’s neither. Instead it’s our good old friend *cue dramatic music* the Advertisers... and why isn’t even difficult to think about. While not trying to show bias against a genre I’ve denounced from the beginning, many of them don’t have the originality to survive on their own merits, so instead they’re branded on every TV break, poster space and website. I dare you to look into any three of these and not tell me you’re found at least a couple of these films or even teen comedies or feel-good films that are typically the same thing. If you took someone unfamiliar with the film industry and marched them down the street to the local cinema, they might just think it was the only genre.<br />
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Yes, I know many blame big budget action films for the dumbing down of cinema, but in an unfair comparison: Harold Shipman killed more people than Jack the Ripper, but who is more famous?<br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">Statistics from Box Office Mojo. </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3642247882959489155.post-35422889781293470962010-01-20T06:26:00.000-08:002010-01-20T06:58:49.203-08:00The Top NINE Films of 2009Why top nine films when everyone else does ten? Because like everyone else, it’s always a struggle to pick out the best ten of anything and thus becomes stuck over whether to choose A over B out five others... so I’ve eliminated that problem altogether and just cut the tenth number and all those other potential films in the process.<br /><br />Another thing I should point out is there are many films classed as 2009 but have or will be released in the UK in 2010 that are usually the award winning line up. Despite that however, for this year I have also not included those films released in 2008 but 2009 in the UK that are also award winners, quite simply to start off fresh. If I did however, the number one would be <span style="font-style: italic;">The Wrestler.</span><br /><br />Next year the early 2010 award winners, if any worthy, will be mentioned in a 2010 top nine.<br /><br />Further more, there are no doubt some 2009 foreign films I have yet to see or even hear of that would probably destroy all the other competition. So without further delay...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">9. Paranormal Activity</span><br /><br />(Directed by Oren Peil)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9PsWqbQRG6-egf9vDbSNTJxcCdkuwdWFQGkJ-H2bwRcYRGq0MjIrRkMzcyPK2bdB_hfITSlXRgQ3l9gjJ3NzPR73ygN6TW8_NS_9EK3QSjoAfouMO2_I8yvCSnS3oDCP2qJfasAR7Yx0x/s1600-h/paranormal-activity-poster_289x427.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 217px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9PsWqbQRG6-egf9vDbSNTJxcCdkuwdWFQGkJ-H2bwRcYRGq0MjIrRkMzcyPK2bdB_hfITSlXRgQ3l9gjJ3NzPR73ygN6TW8_NS_9EK3QSjoAfouMO2_I8yvCSnS3oDCP2qJfasAR7Yx0x/s320/paranormal-activity-poster_289x427.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428834429413481410" border="0" /></a><br />Despite the shakey-cam technique being the usual clutter of distortion and camera movement too fast for a handheld, by simply using a tripod and one shot, Paranormal Activity instantly becomes more coherent, realistic and ultimately scary as a result.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">8. Zombieland<br /><br /></span><span>(Directed by Ruben Fleischer)</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWM-mTvHzzCvaqVNprQ2jD8tWvYJEL7x7R8wFFrzO5cQVhSn6wJPr93Owi7iNB3BiYWOlAUqO4VJN1C0lFu9JHWnGg6QPI_JO3o4P3dgB5e3TtERyoEMJ2RcMdnqCgyDfK6BwE5rD1P3Pt/s1600-h/zombieland-poster.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 215px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWM-mTvHzzCvaqVNprQ2jD8tWvYJEL7x7R8wFFrzO5cQVhSn6wJPr93Owi7iNB3BiYWOlAUqO4VJN1C0lFu9JHWnGg6QPI_JO3o4P3dgB5e3TtERyoEMJ2RcMdnqCgyDfK6BwE5rD1P3Pt/s320/zombieland-poster.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428834132802936658" border="0" /></a><br />While not an entirely original concept, this comedic adventure of a zombie apocalypse delivers a perfect balance between grotesque slaughter and crude dialogue with all the characters fitting a role suited for a zombie survivor... not to mention an excellent Bill Murray cameo as himself.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />7. Drag Me To Hell</span><br /><br />(Directed by Sam Raimi)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO9K5L89NkVkG9auXoYrd2Ha9j5-c5S3E3mOhY7LfPgt7crDFJMlV2uhwMhDWfCs6tL1gOT5-Lf3vy1koJUXbjvEobS8XDC_m2g9I9INDfj7UW1OdL5QxN1KNahkwlbCm2YejQg6a86PyD/s1600-h/Dragmetohell.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 217px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO9K5L89NkVkG9auXoYrd2Ha9j5-c5S3E3mOhY7LfPgt7crDFJMlV2uhwMhDWfCs6tL1gOT5-Lf3vy1koJUXbjvEobS8XDC_m2g9I9INDfj7UW1OdL5QxN1KNahkwlbCm2YejQg6a86PyD/s320/Dragmetohell.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428833867743592914" border="0" /></a><br />Sam Raimi returns to form with an over the top story of gypsy curses and keen demons thats creepy and funny at the same time. A great comeback after the cliche ridden Spiderman spectacles to return to a better suited cliche ridden horror but this time it’s on purpose.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">6. Moon<br /><br /></span><span>(Directed by Duncan Jones)</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWdiuJa13XtJpdBiYN6aFngd524NiP3Yq-CZcYOraO2i1w5h6N7Qtuo_BwYKsAVpzkKJWo0_tcoSdHrmQosmGrZ5Sec8v5j-Ks7wyxIVhbYQUuQ30NK4h5X_rx3fdhQ5xES-FlP02XIVLg/s1600-h/Moon-film-poster-Duncan-Jones-Sam-Rockwell.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 218px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWdiuJa13XtJpdBiYN6aFngd524NiP3Yq-CZcYOraO2i1w5h6N7Qtuo_BwYKsAVpzkKJWo0_tcoSdHrmQosmGrZ5Sec8v5j-Ks7wyxIVhbYQUuQ30NK4h5X_rx3fdhQ5xES-FlP02XIVLg/s320/Moon-film-poster-Duncan-Jones-Sam-Rockwell.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428833423311090450" border="0" /></a><br />An unusual sci-fi drama about the story of a lone astronaut and his future-set mission to the moon under the watchful eye of an industrial powerhouse, although such a description hardly does this unique film justice. Quite simply it is a film with philosophy and psychology; hard science fiction.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">5. The Fantastic Mr. Fox</span><br /><br />(Directed by Wes Anderson)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrsbrhr0PMLi067mxB9Uj4P4JVgjf3UUoLajyDjSt7bvLC5WK4EKhxd4ohFzkkZZMz8NBf_jLs9UHn5MvMJtMhU990JeO5JsYlUd1iMYCIfPeZtC0sfR6cMeQPdQO8D1zvxaYzolXZylTf/s1600-h/Fantastic_mr_fox.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 217px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrsbrhr0PMLi067mxB9Uj4P4JVgjf3UUoLajyDjSt7bvLC5WK4EKhxd4ohFzkkZZMz8NBf_jLs9UHn5MvMJtMhU990JeO5JsYlUd1iMYCIfPeZtC0sfR6cMeQPdQO8D1zvxaYzolXZylTf/s320/Fantastic_mr_fox.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428833154823349778" border="0" /></a><br />Probably the most tame of the list, using old fashion stop-motion animation (original once more by today’s standards) and a quirky sense of humor, this tale of sly woodland critters over the top feud with upper class farmers is both amusing to and pleasant to watch... if not at times slightly weird.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">4. Inglorious Bastards<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><span>(Directed by Quentin </span><span>Tarantino)</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-UeAYcDgspePzTZ6fhzFne-OBnzgIf1GlfB0Y61VQ1TZyeSpO5FF-2FEWBUJvVL04DkwWFR_G_AscL-rrhaIAExJu3IJzB_OBaRlQyzVC2uG_j-SfoN0hacBOFRnyTlIiQKUvz9PRioj1/s1600-h/Inglourious_Basterds_poster.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 216px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-UeAYcDgspePzTZ6fhzFne-OBnzgIf1GlfB0Y61VQ1TZyeSpO5FF-2FEWBUJvVL04DkwWFR_G_AscL-rrhaIAExJu3IJzB_OBaRlQyzVC2uG_j-SfoN0hacBOFRnyTlIiQKUvz9PRioj1/s320/Inglourious_Basterds_poster.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428832862107893234" border="0" /></a>Quentin Tarantino merges a Pulp Fiction story with Third Reich spin following the seedy plots of a rag tag band of Allied butchers and slick yet sinister Nazi leaders. The plot rarely takes itself seriously and is clear on staying as far from historical accuracy as possible, which makes it all the more fun to watch.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">3. District 9</span><br /><br />(Directed by Neill Blomkamp)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZVOAIdP5EZkzsdJ7EwoTB1Zw-fQcVmC4Sk0nnQN0HzRA9kSo4ninFtQJ9m_xfNB7wfdMeePDYMpc-efv1SjVZvGjgH_mHAxezmznzgCNjNUFa3-bxRJIexZybx3sNjfvZXkzY2ITu0R9U/s1600-h/District_nine_ver2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 217px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZVOAIdP5EZkzsdJ7EwoTB1Zw-fQcVmC4Sk0nnQN0HzRA9kSo4ninFtQJ9m_xfNB7wfdMeePDYMpc-efv1SjVZvGjgH_mHAxezmznzgCNjNUFa3-bxRJIexZybx3sNjfvZXkzY2ITu0R9U/s320/District_nine_ver2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428832562041873698" border="0" /></a><br />The excellent and engaging premise of extraterrestrial refugees slots together perfectly with the deranged plot of a human peace keeper’s transformation into the said alien insectoids. At first the audience is ushered in with a semi-documentary style story structure before becoming a more personal tale of the alien-human hybrid’s struggle with the military giant he once worked for. While one of the most violent films of 2009, there’s plenty of context to set itself apart from violence for the sack of violence flicks.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. Watchmen</span><br /><br />(Directed by Zack Synder)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOGAXN-TUIlZDvtTg2OjlSvyMcyDwQ5x0oSn1zFWxygcIBf9DpXyIrVarHGHO4Mze8Hip7dbL2P_Q8nqbGPrxEmN3UAPHKzWCE3WxlxJ01AtSNdKJAD9ZBWa2HB2vP8PViCrAJqiob2j6W/s1600-h/watchmen-poster1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOGAXN-TUIlZDvtTg2OjlSvyMcyDwQ5x0oSn1zFWxygcIBf9DpXyIrVarHGHO4Mze8Hip7dbL2P_Q8nqbGPrxEmN3UAPHKzWCE3WxlxJ01AtSNdKJAD9ZBWa2HB2vP8PViCrAJqiob2j6W/s320/watchmen-poster1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428832146456260498" border="0" /></a><br />300 director Zack Snyder takes on the hefty mantel of the classic graphic novel Watchmen, the downright bleak works of Alan Moore. Unlike most superhero adaptations that follow the traditional plot structure of “man becomes hero, struggles against villain”, Watchmen is about the washed up lives of ex-costumed crusaders who as normal people are hardly the ideal humans that are usually painted. Given it’s dark and downright depressing take on the genre, it captures the gritty realism of its alternate 1980s backdrop while inserting a good dose of social and political commentary. Mark my words, this will be remembered more than any blockbuster in the years to come.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. The Hurt Locker</span><br /><br />(Directed by Kathryn Bigelow)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfyn8ntZqrKHl05ofoA5sp3Iy9NJy4wE6ni98BJLnG0FITchJeFhRwZqoboSXS7DLVa8p056ySpgmPf4n8ZODDg66S2W6EnVlg99Z-5PLF_bt8YikUQM7AUNiaQgZ3VUlrMwhTujZFPQE9/s1600-h/HLposterUSA2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 206px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfyn8ntZqrKHl05ofoA5sp3Iy9NJy4wE6ni98BJLnG0FITchJeFhRwZqoboSXS7DLVa8p056ySpgmPf4n8ZODDg66S2W6EnVlg99Z-5PLF_bt8YikUQM7AUNiaQgZ3VUlrMwhTujZFPQE9/s320/HLposterUSA2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428831788457293586" border="0" /></a><br /></div>Kathryn Bigelow’s take on America’s current war in Middle-East, despite some questionable advertising is hardly your conventional affair of Hollywood celebrities running and gunning through explosions set off by cliche arab militants or corrupt oil company henchmen. No, this is the real deal, war as it is. The plot quite simply follows a long years work of a three man Bomb Ordnance Disposal team and their increasingly hostile tasks at hand. There is no tale of revenge or redemption, and the small portion that nearly steps into such territory only lasts 10 minutes before getting back in line. And with the actors as normal humans, they all convey their own forms of fear, anger, humor and at times scary enjoyment that comes in the line of duty. Further more the message is not black nor white since while many will interpret the context as anti-war, the reason being is that it just shows war and war is hell but then again even the pro-war know this. The fact that America itself has made a well made war film that neither relishes in the glory or bloodshed of modern warfare is worthy of praise.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3642247882959489155.post-31437986735842721302010-01-05T15:31:00.000-08:002013-11-04T09:32:10.223-08:00Film Review: Avatar(Directed by James Cameron, running time 162 minutes)<br />
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Its been 10 years since James Cameron achieved the greatest heights of the film industry with Titanic, winning 11 Oscars and becoming the highest grossing film of all time. Not only is this the success many film makers hope to achieve but it was with arguably one of his weakest films. Those of us who knew Cameron before Titanic know him for such action Sci-Fi classics such as Terminator and Aliens and after so long, the prospect of Cameron returning to his once beloved genre must be something of a God send to anticipate with a passion, and boy do we all know how hyped this film has been, but is such blind praise justified? In clear cut terms: sort of...<br />
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It’s 2154, the RDA corporation has begun mining the resources of a organic rich planet known as Pandora, home to a vast array of exotic alien creates and a race of tribal humanoids known as the Na’vi. Sam Worthington of Terminator Salvation fame plays Jake Sully, a wheel chair bound marine who is given the opportunity to participate in the Avatar program, an operation that sees humans take full body control a manufactured Na’vi host in order integrate, communicate and eventually make deals with the local alien populace. It is when in his Avatar form, Jake quickly becomes one of the tribe, even to the point of falling in love with the Na’vi female Neytiri, played by an unrecognizable Zoe Saldana. After seeing RDA for the unethical military giant it is, Jake quickly begins to oppose the power hungry machine that once employed him.<br />
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Sounds like your standard affair of the protagonist switching sides and joining the underdogs after the big bad super power step on one too many toes... and it is. With the exception of the remarkable landscape, the story is as distant from originality as your eyeballs will be from the front of your skull if you watch this in the front row. As a result, the story becomes an ever increasing case of predicable plot twists, revelations and other developments. For example after the first sight of Colonol Quaritch (Stephen Lang), it becomes obvious to the viewer that he is the antagonist even if his first impression is somewhat warming. Because of black and white nature of the plot, certain elements outside of the special effects are downright confusing if Cameron is out the make <span style="font-style: italic;">Avatar</span> as believable as it is alien. In one instance, head of the RDA-hired scientists, played by the always fantastic Sigourney Weaver, attempts to explain the science behind why it would be a bad idea to dump yet another mineshaft on sacred Na’vi land but is instead shrugged off by corporate big wigs. In the future, science has, built up the military, taken them beyond the stars and made first contact... so forgive me for thinking we’d take the advice of scientists with more than a grain of salt. Another follows where I then fail to believe that only one token female in the entire armed forces would find an issue with incinerating an entire village for the purpose of profit. It’s with moments like these where the cracks in the narrative begin to hinder the fine water-colour painting that is <span style="font-style: italic;">Avatar.</span><br />
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But I digress, the plot and characterization is by no means bad at all. The story is well structured and moves at a good pace and all actors are capable at worst with many stand out if not memorable roles. Its just when the director calls his film a “character driven piece”, only to then rely on expensive special effects, don’t complain if I was disappointed in the narrative department. And yes I could take about the parallels between the Na’vi and the Native Americans or the ecological subtext but it’s so inherently obvious I would be wasting mine and your time. Its definitely character driven at times, albeit with 2D characters (I mean really, does the antagonist need to have a head of scars?).<br />
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But you didn’t come for the characters did you? No, just like with Titanic you came with the promise of spectacle and trust me when I say there’s a lot of it, and it definitely pays off. The world of Pandora is a marvel in it’s own right. Forests of lush illumines foliage, an array of different giant alien beasts that roam the lands in vast numbers, whole mountain ranges floating amongst the clouds, trees that can simply dwarf any man-made structure, the list goes on. Where most special effects these days are nothing more than a new coat of paint for their mandatory explosion sequence, <span style="font-style: italic;">Avatar</span> seeks to immerse you in it’s strange yet exciting world. The Na’vi themselves aren’t bad looking either, being as believable as any other real human on screen. But it is this believability that pays of the most. Where Cameron has succeed in making the Na’vi a believable and sympathetic race, the film quickly transforms into a somewhat docu-drama feature where Jake relishes in the practice of their humble yet fascinating culture, going into great detail about the Na’vi hunting, religious and social practices, with the most striking point being that it’s not boring nor unnecessary. The more you learn about the Na’vi, it will become easier for audiences to sneer at their own race as it is depicted. That alone is a praise worthy triumph.<br />
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Despite all it’s issues (again, scars?), I can safely put people’s biggest fears to rest; <span style="font-style: italic;">Avatar</span> is not all style over substance. Sure, the substance could be thicker and while the plot is somewhat formulaic with much of the film’s focus on the lavish CGI, its a definite bar above most blockbuster outings with its uniquely crafted world of Pandora being a place you will probably want to revisit. And as someone who only went to see the 2D incarnation, the bar should be quickly raised another peg in 3D in what will be no doubt a memorable and awe-inspiring experience for many movie goers...<br />
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...now if only the closing credits soundtrack wasn’t so cringe worthy.<br />
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Also stars Joel Moore, Giowanni Ribisi, Michelle Rodriguez and Wes Studi.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3642247882959489155.post-75789695068051266052009-12-04T11:45:00.000-08:002015-06-22T03:07:29.393-07:00Film Review: Harry Brown(Directed by Daniel Barber, running time 103 minutes)<br />
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It’s been nearly 40 years since the British crime classic Get Carter, in what became an iconic role for veteran actor Michael Caine. After all these years, with many film roles ranging from action to comedy, thrillers to dramas, we all in the UK still can’t get enough of the vintage cockney accent. So when I learn that Caine is back again in a lead role for a gritty British crime thriller, I can’t help but rub my hands in anticipation... let’s just hope it’s not a disappointment.<br />
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Michael Caine plays Harry Brown, a retired ex-royal marine with his wife on her death bed, spending his last days in run down flat on a crime ridden inner-city estate ruled by gangs of teenage thugs and drug dealers. If things couldn’t get any worse, his last remaining friend Leonard (played by David Bradley), after constant harassment from the local gangs led by young thug Noel Winters (played by Ben Drew), is brutally beaten and stabbed to death after a confrontation. With only himself left and the police seemingly doing nothing, Harry sets out on a violent vendetta against Noel and the gangs.<br />
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Now already I have a slight issue with describing the synopsis, since that’s as clear cut as I would like to make it. In truth, there are multiple developments in the story with enough exposition to explain the dark events that unfold. And this film is very dark. From the very beginning, the audience is painted a picture of the most squalid and run down section of London imaginable, no doubt directed at those of you who might have lived in a pleasant rural village most of your life. What’s emphasized most of all however is the teenage thugs that seem to be the embodiment of all things “chav” and “yob”. It’s almost scary how believable these gangs are, especially since we don’t want to believe such people could thrive in a supposedly developed country. Yet they do. But before you start clenching your fists, the film doesn’t leave out the parents in this social matter. Noel’s father for example is in prison, implied being even worse than what is shared on screen while another seems to have been sexually abused by every foster family that took him in. With such unstable backgrounds, it’s nice to know youth violence isn’t completely white washed because <span style="font-style: italic;">Harry Brown</span> is clearly making a political and social comment on modern affairs, and to do this well you have to be rational about it. To put in bluntly, the world around Harry is both dark and gritty yet real and heart breaking.<br />
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Yet despite the film’s good intentions, it’s Michael Caine we came to see. Simply put, Caine is definitely giving it his best and it shows. Despite at first appearing as nothing more than a typical old age pensioner, Caine quickly becomes Jack Carter of the 70s, even though he’s now in his 70s. After accidently stabbing a mugger in self defense, the character Harry is quick to return to his World War II days. He then proceeds to harass, taunt and even torture various gang members, all maintaing his status of quiet old man on the estate, hence why the police hesitate at first. Through all the turmoil that arises (especially towards a particularly heavy climax), Harry Brown is a very likable character, and to pull this off despite the inevitable debates over vigilante justice that will arise as a consequence has to say something about how well Caine can still pull off such performances.<br />
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Even with a great lead, the message of <span style="font-style: italic;">Harry Brown</span> is a fickle one. Although I mentioned how the antagonists aren’t depicted so black and white, how they should be punished on the other hand is as simple as pulling the trigger. By all means, in most films the audience is supposed to cheer on the final execution, which seems all you can do with such sickening characters on show, but given the concerns raised about the state of the country in the film, there are moments that make you wonder if it was written by an editor for the Daily Mail (even I left the cinema with tight fists). Further more, while Caine is excellent, the film is not Get Carter or the Italian Job. By this I mean the film is so dark and violent in it’s gritty modern setting, there’s no time or space for the dry wit or irony, and considering Caine is essentially playing the same role as the previously mentioned, there’s not even one line to drag the film from it’s depressing little corner that can be disappointing for fans of the classics. Don’t get me wrong, there are one or two lines that, to be low brow, just ooze with cool but because of the tone of the film, almost every thing about it is sad. Saying this now, you should prepare yourself for a heavy ride.<br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">Harry Brown</span> is an odd ball when it comes to its message and while you get what you’d expect from a gritty crime drama/thriller; being dark, violent and crude, because of such a heavy tone, that’s all it is. But what you do get is a well constructed revenge piece/general social statement and above all else it’s hard to complain when Michael Caine still reigns supreme in a leading role that might very well be his last of its kind.<br />
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Also stars Charlie Creed Miles, Emily Mortimer and Liam Cunningham.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0