The Hunger Games - Clip

So I've never read the Hunger Games books, nor do I know that much about them but they have been optioned by Hollywood and are eventually being made into 'Blockbuster' movies a-la Twilight. Well, my cousin John Lyde is quite the accomplished filmmaker (see his IMDB page here) and got together with some actors who wanted to audition for the film version of the books. They put together a scene from the book that I must say is quite impressive considering they did it in an afternoon with the cameras they had on hand. I guess it's another example that makes me question why Hollywood has to spend millions and millions of dollars on a movie, when a fan made film looks just as good. There are some overly-long sections here but as a whole, I am very impressed. Feel free to pass on the link and share the clip.... especially if you are a fan of the Hunger Games.

Harry Potter 7: A slow, dazzling, dark experience indeed!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part 1 is an exercise in patience for a few different reasons. The first is that the name is so dang long; most people I know have shortened it to Harry Potter 7. Secondly, if you want to see this thing you’re going to have to wait in some pretty long and fanatical lines. Granted, my family went and saw it 5 days early, but we still had to line up at noon for a 7pm showing. My wife took on the difficult task with flying colors and had to weather the storm with three little children. The worst parts according to her was the rabid fans that tried butting in front of her stroller or push her out of line. Makes me wonder if these fans are actually fans of Harry Potter…or maybe just the Dark Lord. Thirdly, the film is a lot more slow and methodical than the previous 6 installments, and I’m here to tell you that this is a good thing.

I would usually go into a plot scenario here, but am willing to bet that people have either seen the previous movies or have read the books. Suffice to say that the film picks up with the trio of friends (Harry, Ron and Hermione) ditching everyone to search for the Horcruxes that keep Voldermorts soul alive. This decision to go rouge was brought on by the fact that Harry, by virtue of being alive, puts everyone around him at mortal risk (lots of injuries and dying in this one). What I was impressed with is the fact that the filmmakers and actors spend time to let relationships and personalities of the various characters emerge. This may seem to some that the film is rather slow and boring, but from someone who appreciates story, it was refreshing to see so many characters get some brief attention. On the peripherals, Luna Lovegood, her Dad, the Weasly twins, Dobby do an excellent job of making the most of their limited screen time. What’s truly amazing is how wonderfully invested we are in Dobby, the little house elf who is merely a computer animated character, but has one scene stealing line after another. Credit that to the writers.

Most of the film rests on the shoulders of the three leads. Watching them grow up on screen has been unprecedented in movie history and now we get to see them mature as actors. I must admit they have improved considerably since their over hammed days of deadpan Ron and fro-tastic Hermione! What seems spectacular from the screenplay and the actors is that none of them upstaged each other. They all seem to have equal importance and effect in the story, literally making the film about the friendship rather than just Harry Potter the chosen one. I was upset that Voldermort did not have a bigger part as Fines seems to relish the role of pure evil. In movies nowadays, everything is blurred somewhere gray and it refreshing to see someone who is purely evil just to be evil. No character flaws or internal turmoil. He is the closest thing modern society has to Dracula or any other fictitious monster.

I was very impressed with the special effects. The first few movies were horrible in that regard (remember the cringe worthy Quidditch matches), but now the filmmakers seem to have gone for a more grounded and realistic feel. The effects are used sparingly for story rather than just to dazzle the eye. In this regard they have become seamless into the Harry Potter experience, rather than the draw itself. The crème-de-la-crème is the story of the Deathly Hollows itself as narrated by Hermione. The animation here was extraordinary, stylized dark and intricate all at the same time. One of my favorite parts of the film. The directing was very good as well even though I felt a lot of the awkward glances and pauses could have been more tightly edited. Weather that is the directors fault in timing the actors or the editors for lingering too long I don’t know, and honestly don’t care. It was a minor annoyance.

Now, my grievances. You really have to know these3 books or movies to understand. You are thrown in without any introduction or explanation. Things you may want to catch up on are 1. Who is everyone? 2. How doe the death eaters keep finding harry when he doesn’t have a trace on him? 3. Who are the grabbers? 4. What age in the wizzarding world are things suddenly acceptable? Apparating, traveling etc. None of these questions or elements are explained and the movie assumes you already know, so if you don’t…get caught up. Also, while I appreciated the extra time the film took to grow the characters, it did slog at some points. The other films were filled with so much energy and adventure; it would be impossible to replicate that feeling with this lonely storyline. Everything seems dark and hopeless and scene after scene of the friends alone in a tent can get repetitive. (Spoiler) The unnecessary computer generated nudity/makeout vision was also dumb. I understand the feeling they were trying to go for in showing inner turmoil and the perception of betrayal, but it could have been done more tasteful and was not necessary.

Other than that I have little to complain about the film. It is much more mature and older than its predecessors which shows that the Harry Potter franchise had indeed grown up and begun to take itself seriously. All this without it loosing its edge of fantastical fun is a triumph indeed. Its not really a film for small children since the themes of love and death may be a little above their heads, especially when they have been waiting in line for tickets for hours. But that was just personal experience. Go, have a good time and enjoy one of the few quality cinematic experiences of the year. It will worth your time, or at least your nostalgia.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

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Megamind: A funny movie that is ultimately unsatisfying

To say that there has been a lot of superhero movies lately are an understatement. It seems as though 50% of everything released by Hollywood has in some way to do with comic books, superheroes or repurposed TV shows that centered on heroes fighting crime. Luckily there have been a few films that have successfully lampooned this trend in Hollywood cinema, or at least repurposed it to create telling takes on our social conscious. Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World, the Watchmen, The Incredibles are a few that take the Superhero formula and show us its all a bunch of show, or that it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be. Megamind attempts to continue this trend in superhero subversion to somewhat likable results but it too heavy laden with cliché’s and honestly, some really unlikable characters to be put in any pantheon alongside some of its more successful predecessors. This is a shame considering that since it did come after, there was some sort of expectation that it might have a little more insight or at least a better way of making the whole superhero overdone theme a little more relevant.

Megamind is about, well, Megamind (Will Ferrell). As a small baby, he is sent to earth before his planet is destroyed (ala Superman). Unfortunately for him, another being was also jettisoned to our planet at the same time who becomes a superhero named Metro Man (Brad Pitt) creating and epic battle of who is really the best. Because of their upbringings and differing powers, there was really no way for Megamind to compete in the ‘superhero’ category, so instead he opted to become the evil nemesis. The movie then moves into a love triangle by introducing a reporter (Tina Fey), and also presents a problem when Metro Man is killed off (oh, sorry….spoiler alert). This is where the film gets a little interesting. What does a super villain do when his enemy is defeated? How does he react to his newfound power and influence and above all, does any of it really mean anything without someone to share it with.

Unfortunately, the script is not able to make good on any of the questions it proposes. It seems like a juicy premise to see what happens when there is nobody to stand up to the world’s greatest super villain, but when we actually see it, my reaction was…”huh, that’s it”? There is a lot of fun and funny banter between the characters, it just seems like the premise had a lot of potential but didn’t flesh out the plot. Characters also have a hard time winning our trust. Megamind is too much of a dufus to be really dangerous, and too good-natured to even feel that there is an existential crisis brewing in his huge blue skull about who he really is. Metro man is distinctly unlikable, so we’re not too bummed when he’s out of the picture, and the news reporter is a bit of a sarcastic downer, killing a lot of the joy and sight gags the movie throws in.

On the plus side, this movie is gorgeous. The visuals are top notch and the score isn’t too distracting. Textures and colors give the sense of a candy coated worlds of wonder, and that cartoony feel does a lot to tone down the expectations as far as characterization is concerned. However, story always trumps visuals so in this case it can’t keep up. The directing and comedic timing of the film lend for more than a few laughs and help refresh an otherwise mundane script. Voice talent does a great job, but the characters seem so irksome, its hard not to look past their written flaws.

Now I’m not saying this is a bad movie by any means. As a matter of fact I explained to my wife that it was merely, ‘meh’. The most telling aspect of the film was the reaction of my 7-year-old son. A lover of movies himself, some seem to get engrained in his head and he can’t stop talking about them or something cool or funny he saw while watching them. With Megamind, he said he enjoyed it but after the movie, I never once heard him mention it again. Maybe the filmmakers need to realize that in order for something to appeal to children as well as adults, character is still your most important creation. Until then, re-watch the Incredibles for your animated superhero flicks.

Final Consensus:

See it now!!!!

See it in theaters!!!

Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!

Wait for it on TV!

Don’t Bother

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RED: Movie Review

I honestly knew almost nothing about RED before I went and saw it, and maybe that was a good thing. I had seen a preview for it at some point a while back but it honestly seemed like the marketing was almost non-existent for this film. I knew that it had a lot of famous people in it and was something about retired assassins, but I almost wrote it off as another Expendables until I got the chance to see an early screening. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by this mildly funny, slick action pick. Of course it doesn’t have the testosterone of the expendables, but the lighter touch I think makes a winning combination when you are telling the story of a group of assassins.

The movie is about Bruce Willis (OK, I don’t know the characters names, but in a movie that is cast with all movie stars, I don’t think the filmmakers really care if you know the characters names) a retired CIA black-ops agent who goes throughout his mundane life before a team of assassins is sent to wipe him out. He then goes on the run with his never-met-before crush Sarah (Mary Louise-Parker) to gather information and essentially reassemble a team of retired assassins including Morgan Freeman, John Malkovitch, Helen Mirren and Brian Cox. Their purpose according to the plot is to find out why they are being targeted for elimination after they have been retired, but in all actuality, it was just so they could all get together and make sly one-liners, banter about age and do some serious damage. It feels like w you are invited to a party where everyone seems to be friends and at the top of their game, and that makes it fun for the audience as well.

The supporting cast is almost as good as the principals, but their characters don’t have near enough fun and are inconsistent in their portrayals. Bane plays the heartless CIA assassin who’s tasked with hunting down and killing Willis, but come to find out he’s a family man? Richard Dreyfuss plays the bad guy and his job is to be a sniveling bad guy. Not much else for him to do. Besides the acting, there is not much here to laude. The script has some very inventive banter, but the directions, cinematography and sets…were all very Hollywood: Top notch, professional and devoid of any personality. Luckily the cast more than makes up for the deficit.

The pacing of the film, could improve. There are too many slow times interspersed by very surreal sped up action sequences that jar the viewing experience. A certain philosophy may hold that the slow times are needed to balance out the overdrive of action explosions. While I tend to agree on this point, I thought that may of the spaces, long pauses, drawn out glances and awkward silences were more of an editing gaffe than intentional timing by the director. All the same, some of these lulls do enable the cast to build relationships and flesh out their characters. Mary Louise-Parker goes through the biggest metamorphosis from harried cubicle dweller to adventure seeker while John Malkovitch’s weirdo lends most of the comedy and care free abandon one would only hope to have in your later years.

I am not one to promote mindless action films usually (see my Losers review) but in this case, I think this film deserves a lot of praise. It is way too much fun and self-aware to be dismissed as horrible filmmaking. As a matter of fact, I would go so far to say that despite the script or predictability, it’s a very good movie. I can’t believe I’m owning up to the fact that a cast can save a picture no matter how mundane the plot, direction or film itself may be. If Alfred Hitchcock is right, and actors are just cattle, then these cattle must be some seriously funny top quality solid gold Angus.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

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The Social Network: Movie Review

It’s saying something about facebooks’ popularity when most people know the new film The Social Network as “The Facebook Movie.” It says even something more that the film uses restraint in telling the story of facebook without delving much into its popularity, functionality or even purpose. If one honestly had no clue what facebook is, they would probably still not know much about it after seeing this movie and honestly probably not care. In The Social Network, facebook itself serves as a sort of McGuffin, a term Hitchcock used to describe a major element of the plot that drove the story forward, yet was really insignificant in relation to the events of the film. Instead in The Social Network, we get characters who are weak, petty, indecisive, repulsive, sympathetic, excited, awkward, conceited and most importantly…all pretty clueless when it comes to dealing with the new fame and fortune that Facebook drops in their lap quite suddenly.

Jesse Eisenberg plays Mark Zuckerburg…the co-founder and programmer of Facebook. Now, I honestly have no clue what mark Zuckerburg is like in real life, his speech cadences or manner of addressing his fellow human beings (outside his wooden delivery as a guest on The Simpsons) so I am not able to rightly say how much Eisenberg channels the persona of Zuckerburg. It is safe to say that I am a huge fan of how Eisenberg portrayed the lead protagonist. He is not a likeable character by any means, and has the knack for alienating and making an enemy out of everyone except his best friend played by future spidey Andrew Garfield. It is the relationship between Garfield’s Eduardo and Zuckerburg that is the heart of the story, and what a twisted, innocent, backstabbing heart it is.

Garfield has the least amount of work to do in this film since he seems like the only normal down to earth person at Harvard and the rest of the film for that matter. Is he honestly the only one that is able to reason logically when this whole Facebook thing exploded? Justin Timberlake plays the napster party guy Sean Parker who seems fun at first but morphs into the slime ball you love to hate. Both actors do a pretentious best that play identical twins Winklevossi (he he) who claim the Zuckerburg stole their idea and can’t bear the thought that anyone could be more popular than they are.

As a movie…the film is actually quite boring. It’s all dialogue, which in this case is a good thing. I was a huge fan of Aaron Sorkin’s short loved but brilliant show Studio 60 and this film proves he is a genius at quick banter, meaningful introspections and very revealing personal speaking which never comes across that way. I was also glad to see David Fincher move away from his more dark and violent material (yes you Se7en and Zodiac) and prove that you don’t need blood and murder to create compelling drama. There are flashes of brilliance in his style (amen rowing scene) and he somehow keeps the audience engaged through almost 2 hours of solid dialog and talking heads.

Did I actually use compelling and boring to describe the same movie? Yes, I did…because that is what this is. No twists, no big reveal just seriously flawed people trying to navigate themselves around each other with each trying to come out as the top dog. While that may seem trite and rather a downer, Fincher does a stupendous job of showing us that in such a dog-eat-dog world nobody is a winner. All the success and money in the world will never change who you are when you started out…so make sure that someone is a person you can live with, or you will be left friendless and lonely…no matter how many facebook friends you have.

Final Consensus:

See it now!!!!

See it in theaters!!! (not for the special effects, but just to support good moviemaking)

Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!

Wait for it on TV!

Don’t Bother

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Easy A : Movie Review

Today I get to be on a soapbox. I know that critics are supposed to stick with their opinion of the movie and not go off on tangents but this film brought up some cliché’s that until now I have been able to stomach. First though, I’ll give you my review of Easy A as a movie…not a societal statement. Easy A follows Olive who is goaded into a lie about being promiscuous. While she doesn’t really do any of the things she is rumored to do, she uses her notoriety to help those that have image problems by letting it seem that they scored with the school tramp. Yeah, I dunno what prompted me to see it.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that Easy A is a likable, funny and enjoyable film. Most of that credit goes to Emma Stone who’s sense of depreciating humor, raspy self awareness and wide eyed I Love Lucy sort of physical reactions bind her character to the audience. It is nice to see a young woman portrayed as confident, self assured and strong…except when she’s not. More on that later. Her parents played by Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson are at the peak of their heavenly married banter and seem to genuinely like each other’s company. Their grounded personalities and outrageous sense of humors match closely with their daughters’ dispositions.

As far as actors go however, I’m afraid that’s all who brought their game. Of course some may find Thomas Hayden Church’s wry teacher a great role but its pretty much the same role he has played since Sideways. I do credit the scriptwriting with some snappy dialogue and playful banter. The ever-dreaded high school movie voice over is cleverly masked as a video-cast that becomes essential to the plot of the film. Everything else serves it’s purpose hear, including come of the clichéd characters (if you’re religious, you must be a psychotic wench), token hip music videos and references to pop culture (there was actually a pretty moving tribute to John Hughes…well played filmmakers, except anyone still in high school would have no clue what most of those movies are).

Now begins my Rant. Turn this review off if you prefer the women in your movies being seen as sexual marks, or really do think all guys are slimy jerks, or that religion is the poison of society. This film could have been Mean Girls or Clueless great if it weren’t so dang preachy. I am glad that the Main protagonist seemed so strong…but then why would she hide behind such a heinous lie? Not only that but don’t you think someone with that much wit and knowledge could have come up with something better. Yeah, Yeah…I know that this was the plot and that people make mistakes…I just hated to see the scriptwriters assume that everything in High School is about sex and therefore had to make her issues all about that. Was she really that one-dimensional? The girls I knew in High school were sweet, complicated and yeah, sometimes made fools of themselves. The difference here is that their lives didn’t revolve around the perception of sexual conquest.

Don’t even get me started about the guys or the rest of the school for that matter. I agree, Parts of high c\school and the pressure there is totally horrible. I did feel judged and had problems fitting in. But the film portrays every single person in this school as out for blood, willing to destroy anyone. Everyone was so selfish, hurtful and bigoted that nothing seemed fun at all. Sorry, but the majority of the people I knew in High School were good natures, well intentioned and very friendly. Granted…there was the gossip mill but it was never strong enough to ruin anyone and most people let it slide quite quickly. I inherently believe people assume the best of others, not the other way around.

And finally, religion. The enemy…and I mean proverbial horrid witch with a B played by Amanda Bynes was a Jesus freak. A complete nutzoid in my book. I understand that the Harlot in the story had to have a nemesis…but from what I can recall, it was Jesus who befriended and forgave the Harlots. Here, those who profess his love drag Olive through proverbial Hell. Yes, I know there are those fanatics about (here’s looking at you clinic bombers) but to lump anyone whose sense of spirituality leans towards Christianity as conniving, vindictive, manipulative, damaging, shallow, vile and hypocritical is alienating those who would never espouse that. Good thing Emma Stone is almost good enough to make you forget all that.

Final Consensus:

See it now!!!!

See it in theaters!!!

Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!

Wait for it on TV!

Don’t Bother

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Movie Review: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Scott Pilgrim is a different sort of movie…and that is a good thing. It’s hard to find uniquely original movie going fare in this day and age outside of cool developments in special effects for action films. Maybe that’s why I like Scott Pilgrim so much, it’s an indie comedy love story (think (500) Days of Summer) mixed with the martial arts and action of Hero. Now, I just realized that description was pretty horrible. Who would want to see a film like that? What works is that the filmmakers, cast and crew all wear the clichés that come with romance and action flicks on their sleeve, and there is a lot going for a film that a) doesn’t take itself too seriously and b) everyone’s in on the same joke.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is about…you guessed it Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera). He’s a loafer nerd (can he play anything else) who for some reason gets a lot of interesting girls interested in him despite the fact that he’s not very interesting. He falls head over heals with his ‘dream girl’ and spends the rest of the film wooing her by having to defeat her seven evil exes who happen to all know martial arts and be way above Scott in terms of success and looks. Its kind of hard to imagine that alternative nymphet Ramona (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) would actually want anything to do with Scott, but I guess that’s part of the charm, maybe all she wants is a normal relationship without all the expectations that come from so overly possessive significant others.

The real story behind this whole movie is how Scott deals with dating Ramona and breaking up with his old High School age girlfriend Knives Chow (played by the iridescent Ellen Wong). Here is where the writing is at its best and that is a real compliment since the films strength is based on the script. It explores the angst, turmoil and puppy love we have all felt at some point in our life regarding exes and lovers and everyone else that comes in between. The banter between Knives and Scott is beyond adorable except when it is sickening and no matter how hard you try…there is always going to be someone hurt in a breakup. How you deal with it is another matter. Knives loyalty and spontaneous enthusiasm ignite an otherwise Dull Cera.

The casting I must say was sheer Genius. It’s not every day that the lead actors are upstaged so dramatically by everyone else in the film. The Exes go a little over the top, but look for Kieran Culkin and Anna Kendrick (she may redeem herself from Twilight) to drop some choice one-liners and zany advice. The special effects are 80’s Atari tacky, which bodes well for its Indy cred and somewhat lean the gamer audience towards a bygone era. These are the fight games that I remember from Sega and Atari, not your Xbox 360 type shenanigans, and that is just fine with me.

I read an article that talks about why nobody goes and sees different movies anymore, and yet sit and complain about all the bile that Hollywood spews forth. Well, here is your chance to do something about it even though I have a feeling that this film may not even be in theaters anymore. I guess that goes to prove that what makes little gems valuable is how rare they truly are.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

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