Wrath and Cheese

No one was really expecting anything from Wrath of the Titans. I mean, no one was really expecting anything from Clash of the Titans, yet that one still managed to disappoint. Regardless, a boatful of money can be very persuasive, and a sequel has befallen us underserving mortals. Boasting much of the same "talent", but with the scale ramped way up, Wrath of the Titans sits poised to deliver exactly what I had hoped for from the first. A ridiculous, relentless, effects heavy action flick. The first one was one of the most boring films I can recall seeing that year. This one... not so much. Sure, Wrath of the Titans doesn't have anything resembling a decent plot or a single well developed character. But it is so generous with the gonzo violence that I find myself strangely impressed by it. Though that could just have to do with my lowered expectations. Hm...

Whatever. Let's get into it.

Take me back James Cameron!

Fall Is More Like It

Uggg, that was disappointing. I actually had some hopes for Clash of the Titans. I mean, it stars Sam Worthington, who, with Avatar, has proved to be a legitimate star, and it's based off an 80s classic staring Laurence Olivier and a stop motion Medusa. Now, we have the remake, and oh, how far society has fallen.

Tangled Up In Blue

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Holy shit! That was awesome! That's right, AWESOME! So, all you skeptics out there? SHUT UP!! You have no idea what you are talking about. After 12 years away from feature filmmaking, the master of science fiction, James Cameron, has returned to the big screen with Avatar. Let's get this out of the way first thing, because everyone is going to ask this question. Is Avatar better then Cameron's last film, Titanic? Answer: Damn right it is! Mr. Cameron has, with the help of the most convincing digital effects ever utilized on screen, successfully created a world, so immersive and believable, that you forget you are watching a movie. It doesn't hurt that he gives us a good story as well.
It's the year 2154, and the Earth, go figure, has run out of resources. Fortunately enough, all the resources needed to cultivate humanity can be found on Pandora, an Earth sized moon orbiting a gas giant billions of miles away from our planet. No problem. Just send some miners over there and tear the place up, right? No. As it turns out, Pandora is an incredibly hostile environment, with a toxic atmosphere, wildlife with a taste for human flesh, and an indigenous population of humanoids, the Na'vi. So, what's a money grubbing corporation to do? They start the Avatar program, which allows a human to link his conscience into the body of of a human/Na'vi hybrid, which lets him explore the planet and interact with natives. Enter Jake Sully, a paralyzed marine who is given the chance to pilot an avatar when his brother dies. Initially, he is only interested in furthering the humans plans, with the promise that, if he succeeds in convincing the Na'vi to relocate their home, the military will pay for an expensive operation that will give him the use of his legs back. But, not surprisingly, he gradually begins to shift sides, as he learns the ways of the Na'vi becomes intoxicated with Pandora and the Na'vi's otherworldly connection to it. Oh, also, he falls in love with his Na'vi guide, Neytiri. Eventually, the military rolls out to oust the Na'vi from their home, and an epic battle ensues, one that will decide the fate of both civilizations. In terms of originality, Avatar isn't there. We've seen this type of story a thousand times in films, i.e. Dances With Wolves. But, in terms of quality of the storytelling, Avatar has it in spades. You completely buy Jake's transformation as he switches values from that of a human to that of a Na'vi. Mr. Cameron has had this script cooking in his head since he first started making movies. All the time paid off.
Sam Worthington, hot off Terminator: Salvation firmly cements his place as an A-list star with Avatar. As Jake, he conveys all the pain that comes with being a paraplegic, all the confusion felt by someone in a new world, and all the fury and passion that someone feels when everything they have come to love is on the brink of destruction. He is superb. Other human performances include a seriously evil Stephen Lang as the cruel and brutal Colonel Miles Quartich, Giovanni Ribisi, oozing slime as the corporate douchebag, Michelle Rodriguez as a military pilot who sides with Jake, and Joel David Moore as fellow avatar driver, Norm Spellman. Sirgourney Weaver, Cameron's go to girl, is here, playing the head of the avatar program, Grace Augustine. Weaver does a fine job, working with the man who made her a star. The performances by humans are all great, but that's only half of the cast. The rest are entirely CGI created Na'vi, played by actors, and digitized with motion capture. Zoe Saldana (Uhura from Star Trek) is Neytiri, and she is amazing. Maybe it's all in the ridiculously good CG, but Saldana imbibes Neytiri with a tenderness and fierceness most actors these days can only dream of bringing to their characters. I know it won't happen, but I'd totally be for her getting an Oscar nomination. Other Na'vi CGI creations include Laz Alonzo as the perpetually angry Tsu'Tey, and C. C. H. Pounder as the Na'vi queen, Mo'at. Performances across the board are impeccable, with Worthington and Saldana leading the way, completely dashing away the doubts that they aren't cut out for this business.
So, let's move on to the main topic of interest with Avatar, that being the special effects. James Cameron himself made the brash statement that Avatar will revolutionize and pioneer a new, improved style of special effects, and that it will change the way we see movies. Verdict: Done and done! Is it a stretch to say that Avatar is the most visually impressive movie ever conceived? It'd be a stretch to say that it isn't. What Cameron and his effects team have done is nothing short of genius. First off, the Na'vi and avatars are all CGI, created with mo-capped actors, but you wouldn't know that watching them. They all look completely real; their skin and flesh behaves like you would expect, their faces are incredibly expressive, and the uncanny valley that is usually seen around the eyes when motion capture is employed (i.e. A Christmas Carol) is completely done away with. And it doesn't stop with the actors. The wildlife of Pandora, the fauna, the fucking floating mountains, the human war machines. Everything looks so realistic that you can't tell it's all CG. Now, all of this would count for nothing if there wasn't some originality brought to the visuals, and, thankfully, Cameron has brought tons. The world of Pandora has been crafted down to the minutest detail. You haven't seen anything like this before. Everything is handled with such care and love for the world Cameron is envisioning. It's the best example of this type of art since Lord of the Rings. Hell, it's even better then Lord of the Rings! And what special effects extravaganza would be complete without an epic battle? Boy, does Cameron deliver on that. The last twenty or so minutes is taken up by a massive confrontation between the entire military force and thousands of Na'vi. Thousands of gunships engage thousands of dragon riding Na'vi in the air, while thousands of troops with guns and mech suits engage thousands of Na'vi on horses on the ground. It's exciting and intense and full of cheer worthy moments!
James Cameron is a smart man! Sure, he's been selling the fact that the CGI is revolutionary, and all that, which it is. Here's the thing though. He forgot to mention that there's an actual story here, with, you know, substance. It's the most cliched plot in the book, but Cameron handles it and his actors with the mark of a true master. He takes the time to help you get to know the characters, make you connect and feel for them, before he sets off the fireworks. It worked in Titanic, and it works here to an even greater extent. Cameron does resort to the classic third act formula by giving us the massive, final battle, but, it's not just out of the blue, like in some other movies; there is an actual reason for the characters to be engaging in combat. The final battle seems like the natural conclusion to the story that Cameron is telling, rather then an explosion orgy thrown in to appease the crowd. James Cameron hasn't made many films, but they have all been great. With Avatar, his record has gotten that much better.
I know it's a brash claim, but I'm gonna say it anyway. Avatar is the Star Wars of our generation. No movie in the last 30 years has successfully transported the audience to a new world the way Avatar does. From the phosphorescent beauty of the forest at night, to the way the Na'vi move and emote, to the thundering boom of the human's missiles, you are sucked into the world of Pandora. Everything is so believable, everything is handled with such deft hands, that you are left in a state of slack-jawed wonderment. James Cameron once proclaimed himself king of the world. Doesn't look like he's giving up his throne anytime soon! A

Avatar at IGN.com

I Machine, Red In Eyes and Itchy For Fight!!

Well, we all knew it would come sometime. It was inevitable that the money guzzling powerhouse known as Hollywood would one day decide that one of the most beloved sci-fi franchises in history still had some steam in it, long after it had been put to sleep for good. So, that powerhouse decided to make Terminator 3. 6 years later they do it again. So now, we have Terminator Salvation, a great looking flick that is devoid of all humanity and subtlety. It is also quite possibly the loudest movie that will come out this summer, other then Transformers 2. 

So, after a title sequence that pays obvious homage to original, we meet Marcus Wright, a death row inmate who is given the chance to help a good cause by donating his organs when the big men upstairs decide to shuffle him loose the mortal coil, which he accepts, because he's one of those remorseful types, you know? Fast forward 15 years, and the world looks a little different. Machines, led by the computer program Skynet, have rained an ungodly amount of nukes on humanity, and the survivors of the fiery holocaust are fighting back. At the heart of this resistance stands John Connor, who has not yet risen to his destiny as the man who will one day lead humanity to victory against the metal menace. Lately he's been receiving a lot of jaw from his commanders, which is seriously ticking him off. Most of his efforts are on locating and protecting Kyle Reese, his father, who is actually younger then him, but goes back in time to fight off a Terminator sent to kill John's mother, and impregnates her there. It's a little weird. Watch the first one. Amid all the chaos, a new player emerges. It's, guess who, Marcus, who, we are meant to believe, has been comatose for the last decade and a half. As Connor and Marcus' paths cross, more carnage and explosions occur, all culminating in a massive confrontation at the Skynet HQ with a ridiculous cameo from a certain someone. In terms of story and characters, Salvation fails miserably. Like the last entry in the series, it relies more on action and bigger and bigger explosions to tell the story, rather then actually telling the story with, you know, talking. 

Christian Bale plays Connor. To be honest, I was actually really bored with his rendition of this human messiah. It's not that it's something we've seen in the character before, it's just that it's the exact same thing Bale has done in all of his recent movies. I want to see Bale play a smooth talking, slightly disturbed, extremely vain business man again like in American Psycho. Here, he plays Connor so gruff and agitated, you'd think he forgot to take off the bat ears. Sam Worthington, as Marcus, on the other hand, is very good. Worthington, an Australian brick layer, was largely unknown until, well, Friday, but now, with this and James Cameron's Avatar this winter, he is fast becoming a star. And Thank God, because he has the chops. Most of his dialogue is ridiculous and cheesy, but he handles it surprisingly well. In reality, this is Worthington's movie. Sure, Bale is listed as the main star, but Worthington's character gets the most screen time and goes through the biggest character arc, which is a good thing, because Marcus struggling to cope with an unfamiliar world is so much more interesting then Connor shouting a lot. There are really no other performances worth mentioning, except for Anton Yelchin as Kyle Reese. He's fine, but I couldn't looking at him without think "What the hell is Chekov from Star Trek doing in this movie?" As with story, Salvation is weak in terms of acting. It is only saved by Worthington.

Now, apart from acting and story, Terminator Salvation is not the pile of garbage that we all thought it was going to be, and all that is thanks to action and special effects, which are top notch. Unlike most action directors, MCG (Now that's a name) is smart and relentless with his violence. Like Zach Snyder, he crafts meticulous, well shot, exciting, and very satisfying scenarios rather then shaking the camera or going the documentary approach on the whole thing. A lot of the action scenes are quite well done, especially the one from the trailer that has Kyle and Marcus in a truck running from machines that look like motorcycles. The opening sequence actually reminded me a little of Apocalypse Now, with helicopters dropping off soldiers and planes dropping napalm. As a plus, the explosions in this movie are awesome to behold, and there are a lot of them. In just the first 20 minutes you will see an air strike, a guided missile, various grenades, and nuclear warhead, all go up in flames. Let me reiterate, that's only the first 20 minutes. The rest of the special effects are quite good as well, especially the iconic terminators. In past movies, they've moved around like a 70 year old with arthritis, and, despite looking scary as hell, never seemed to pose much of a threat. Not the case here. Thanks to special effects wizardry, the T-800 in this movie is agile, swift, and dangerous. Actually, come to think of it, all the machines in this movie look ten times more dangerous and scary then in the others. The familiar ones, like the Hunter Killer and the regular terminator look so much better, and the new ones, like the Hydrobot or the hulking Harvester are welcome additions to the series. Not all the special effects are fantastic though. Yes, I'm going to give it away, but Arnold does make an appearance via CGI as a muscle clad terminator. He looked like a ken doll. It was a little off putting. 

Now, despite all the action in this movie being so damn exciting, a lot of it does nothing to further the plot. It is all just chaos. In the last three movies, there was a clear villain, something that needed to be killed. Here, it's a little harder to determine what the main villain is. Sure, the computer controlling the machines is the obvious target, but we never see it. And since there is not a single one terminator that is constantly harassing our heroes, a lot of the action goes nowhere. Thousands of men are dying all around you, but you never got a chance to know them, so all the attachment that was felt in T1 and T2 is completely lost. MCG directs his action very well, but, when it comes to crafting characters we care about, a story that is compelling, and getting acting that is up to the caliber of the stars, he is hopeless. 

Terminator Salvation is not the abomination that we all thought it would be. Indeed, it is actually surprisingly decent as an action movie, and will provide surefire entertainment for a solid two hours. However, if you are looking for a movie on par with T2, look elsewhere. The next installment in the Salvation series may come closer to being up to snuff with James Cameron's masterpiece, but, as it stands, it will have a long way to go. B-