Oh, It's A Lovely War

Funny story. World War I has pretty much dominated my life these past two months. The show I was directing was all about the Great War, so all that stuff, Somme, General Haig, mustard gas, etc. and so forth.

And while it was more an act of providence than any sort of forward thinking on my part, I saw the stage production of War Horse in New York city while I was there for Thanksgiving. And I loved it! I thought it was an absolutely incredible piece of theatre, full of gorgeous imagery and beautiful emotion.  It's one of, if not the, best things I've even seen in a theatre. So, I was a little apprehensive about the movie. I mean, how could it possibly live up to the theatre experience?

Short answer: It doesn't.

Long Answer:

RUN, TOM CRUISE! RUN!

There's no excuse. I'm not gonna talk about it. I'm back. Let's leave it at that!

So, if there was a trend that I could put my thumb on for this cinematic year, it would odd yet interesting choices for the director of a big budget action movie. We had Kenneth Branagh, bringing his larger than life and Shakespearian Thor. We had Tarsem Singh, infusing gonzo violence with high art in Immortals. And now, we have Brad Bird, the man behind such animation classics as The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, and Ratatouille. What's he directing? Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, the first M.I. movie since JJ Abrams reinvigorated the series five years ago. Abrams returns as a producer, but the main point of interest is seeing how Bird, fresh to the live action style, fares. And while Ghost Protocol fails where all other Mission Impossible movies have usually failed (lack of interesting plot, a main character who doesn't grow, and an over reliance on action set pieces over espionage), it does manage to showcase that Bird definitely has the chops to make in the live action world. M.I.G.P is tightly paced, very tense, with a ton of great action and set pieces, and a sensational use of IMAX format. It's not setting the world on fire anytime soon, but for holiday thrills, this one more than suffices.

Just chilling. Waiting for the mothership...

Beaucoup De Sang

Sweet, merciful antichrist, I have sucked this month. Well, sucked at adding stuff to this site, not sucked in general. Well, maybe that too. Depends who you ask.

ANYWAY!

What with directing a show, starting practice for swimming, course loads, obscene lack of sleep, and college night life, I have legit just forgot to write stuff. And I apologize. I'll do better... I hope.

Ok, on to the review.

I am Spartacus Theseus!

Product of the Judicial System

In retrospect, I must say that I'm pretty happy with the way my parents raised me. You know, decent morals, polite manners, don't drink and drive, and don't put your sexual organs into volatile and potentially harmful electrical sockets. I don't about that last one; I think I might have just picked that one up myself. Anyway, I am quite pleased with all the life lessons my parents imparted on me, because, by following them, the chances of me going to prison for any legitimate reason (being part of protests and the like doesn't count) are somewhat slim. I mean, I've seen some movies, read some stories, and seen the odd episode of Oz, so I do have a pretty heavy desire to not get incarcerated in one the fine, fine correctional facilities that dot our country. As an addendum to this, I really like that I live in America, and not Britain, because if I am sent to prison in my home country, then my living situation will be decidedly more attractive. Cuz if Bronson is to be believed, then British prisons suck big fat ones! Yes, this film by virtuoso Nicolas Winding Refn is dark, disturbing, incredibly violent, and practically asking for controversy. It's also, at times, hilarious, quirky, and absolutely insane.
...
Ummm... I don't know really know how this review will pan out, cuz I don't really know what to say.
...
Hmmm...
Well, let's give it a shot.

My mustache has punched more people than you ever will!

Made in the U.S. of A.

And with that, the longest theatrical trailer of all time comes to an end. After two Iron Man flicks, a Hulk movie, and Thor, only one thing remained before Nick Fury's elusive team assembled. And now there's nothing left. Thankfully, Marvel goes out with a bang. Captain America: The First Avenger, while nowhere near a masterpiece, and certainly far from the best under the Marvel brand, is a much more superior film than you would initially believe. With a healthy amount of well crafted action, strong acting, and the smartest use of Avengers promotion yet, Captain America offers a solid and more than sufficiently entertaining bout of comic book mayhem. It's smarter than it needed to be, and more stylish than was required.

Mission Accomplished! Where's my apple pie?

Heavy Metal Or No Metal At All

Ok, I know a lot of you aren't really looking forward to this one. I'd even go so far as to say that you're dreading it. We all know how terrible Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was, from the lame action, to the juvenile humor ("enemy scrotum?"), to the incredibly racist robots. And we all groaned when it was announced that Señor Bay and Monsieur LaBeouf would be back. Now, was I the only one who's ears started to perk up when some news about the production started trickling in? When the bomb dropped that Megan Fox wouldn't be back, I cheered. Did you? When Michael Bay went on the record apologizing for Revenge, I nodded in approval. Did you? When the Super Bowl spot was aired, I took interest. Did you? You should have! Transformers: Dark of the Moon, while far from anything worth submitting from awards contention, is a far better film than you or I expected. A million times better than Revenge of the Fallen, Dark of the Moon is not only filled to bursting with crazy action and destruction, but is making an effort to be a legitimately good movie. And, crazy as it sounds, it more or less succeeds.

Apparently, he can do parkour too. Who knew?

New Decade, New Rules, Same Story

It seems that, for every trend that rears its head in the horror genre, we will have a Scream film to go with it. Nearly a decade after Sidney, Dewey and Gale last defeated Ghostface, the little bastard is at it again, returning to Woodsboro, the place where it all started, to carve up some teenagers. The question everyone asked when Scream 4 was announced was, "Really? Do we need another one?" Perhaps not, but we're thankful for it. Though it is a tad unnecessary, Scream 4 is actually not bad. It's not as good as the original, but it wisely does away with the problems that sank the first two sequels, those being, all the problems that sink horror sequels. Spruced up to fit in the 21st century, Scream 4, sorry, Scr4m is an enjoyable bloodbath that unfortunately sacrifices scares for laughs, but still manages to keep you consistently on edge.

When he's not killing people, Ghostface is actually a pretty chill guy. 

For the Nerds

So, remember how I said in my Tron: Legacy review that all these sci-fi, campy, absurd products are a symptom of the geek/nerd culture infecting pop culture. Now, I don't say infecting with any negative connotation; I sort of love the new cultural norms that have been placed upon us. I only used such a harsh word because it fit with the symptom thing.

Wait, where was I?

Out of the ashes of this new world order, comes Paul, Simon Pegg and Nick Frosts satirization/love letter to nerd culture everywhere! Like Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, Paul benefits from the over the top reverence that Frost and Pegg have for the genre. Unlike Shaun and Fuzz, however, Paul suffers from Pegg and Frost's lust for blood and, I'm sorry to say, isn't as consistently funny as you would expect coming from these guys. But, this is coming from a guy who isn't as well versed in nerd culture as... say... you! Yes, you, Maxwell!

That probably isn't your name, but it was worth it to screw with the heads of all the Maxwell's in the world.

Dude! Our headlamps are so cool!

EAT YOUR PIE, YOU JARHEADED PATRIOT!!!!

As I stated in my verbal reaming of Skyline, there is a subconscious facet of my personality that is a direct result of my living in San Francisco. Said subconscious facet is the desire to see the city of Los Angeles get blown up real good. The bigger the explosions the better. Skyline sought to satiate my cravings. Unfortunately, it got caught up in how inept it was and all I was left with was a rusty taste in my mouth. Now, we have Battle: Los Angeles, which claims to be everything Skyline was not. B:LA claims to be filled with vicious invaders, brutal firefights, and more explosions than you could shake a Roland Emmerich script at. It succeeds where Skyline failed, but is does more than this. Battle: Los Angeles, while still loud, frenetic and stupid, is actually better than most people are giving it credit for. Indeed, this may be one of the most pleasant surprises of 2011. It's a frenetic, gritty, sci-fi actioner, but the script and acting are better than usual. While watching it, I had an epiphany. Battle: Los Angeles is what a Michael Bay movie should be, if Michael Bay was actually, you know, competent.

I sure could use some freedom fries right now!

They Have Issues Too

LAST REVIEW OF A BEST PICTURE NOMINEE! JUST IN TIME!!! I AM AWESOME!!!

What is it about dysfunctional families that always make them to topic of a dry, ironic, witty indie comedy with darker undertones? I thought the trend bucked with Little Miss Sunshine, but, lo and behold, we have another of this devilish subgenre vying for Best Picture rights this year. The Kids Are All Right paints the whole "kooky family" thing in a new light by having both parents be gay, and layers this new idea onto strong writing and good performances. However, I do have something to say before we keep going. All you people out there who heralded this as the best thing ever, and how Annette Bening totally deserves that Oscar over everyone else, I say to you. CALM DOWN!!!!!

They have issues too...

Leaving Witnesses

I'm pleased with myself right now! For the first time ever, I have actually seen every single Best Picture nominee before Oscar night. I told myself at the end of last year's event that I would, and I did. Hold your applause to the end please. After churning through the likes of Inception, The Social Network, The King's Speech, and Black Swan, I finally got my mitts on Winter's Bone. I'd been hearing all the raves about this movie from the likes of Jess, Hatter, my mother, and pretty much everyone else on the planet. While I think these raves are a bit exaggerated, Winter's Bone is still a damn good movie, delightfully moody, beautiful to look at, with a wonderful performance by Jennifer Lawrence. It's not as good as everyone says it is, but in now way should that dissuade you from seeing it.

You can't do what I do!

Bio Digital Jazz, Man!

I know we're adverse to facing the music, but let's just be honest! The fanboys are running everything! Don't believe me? Fine! Chew on this. Video games are a fast growing form of legitimate entertainment. The most profitable movies are the ones that involve mystical worlds, monsters, magic, and lots of digital spectacle. Oh, and Tron: Legacy got made! Convinced? The first Tron didn't make much of a splash, didn't do all that well at the box office, and, let's face it, does not hold up at all today. But, it amassed a cult following and is now considered a tentpole of the beginning of the CGI movement. Then, something happened. The fanboys that made up the cult following of Tron took over the world, and now, 28 years after the fact, we have a sequel.

Ok, I'll admit, I've seen this twice. I would say I saw it once to get the story, and then again to get the meaning, but such a lie has never been uttered... on this blog. No, the truth is that I fell asleep in the first viewing. I know. That's bad, but I had just arrived back home in SF and had not slept at all the night before. Don't hate on me! Now that the full thing is comfortably swimming around in my system, I finally have an opinion. It's good, not great, with the best use of special effects and 3D since Avatar, but carries all the story and script issues that plagued that eye-gasm. If anything, it's a testament to how far CGI has come! This is a visually stunning, but shallow and pointless, tour de force!

Game On!

Smooth Flight! Minimal Turbulence!

Well, color me dumbfounded, because I am a douche! When the trailers for Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole came out, I scoffed. Why the hell should I care about some kiddy movie about birds. Even when I heard that Zack Snyder was directing it, I still scoffed. I viewed it as Snyder selling out, doing something lame and not worth his time to rake in a few extra dollars in between making his next exploration of awesome!!! And then I saw the thing. Wow! I certainly didn't expect that. Guardians is not the kiddy, overly dramatic film that was advertised. What it is is a surprisingly mature, dark and violent tale told with a truly marvelous aesthetic touch. Though the story and script leaves something to be desired, and some of the character interactions and motivations are hopelessly contrived, Guardians is a film that should not be overlooked. It's not as kiddy as was advertised. It's a technical marvel. It's just good, plain and simple!

Aesthetic Pleasures

Off With Their Heads

Horror is a fickle little bitch, ain't it? These days, it's all about the BLOOD, whereas, way back in the day, it was all about the atmosphere! Since we are usually treated to films that specialize in one of those aspects, be it the gore (Saw), or atmosphere (The Ring), it is a very nice surprise when we get a film that specializes in both. Sleepy Hollow is such a film. Tim Burton's moody take on the William Irving's famous legend mixes things up a little bit, changing the origin of the main character, and bringing in a healthy dose of the supernatural. Though some qualms pain me, Sleepy Hollow is wonderfully atmospheric and legitimately unsettling film. It also goes overboard with the decapitations. Not necessarily a bad thing, but...

Edward Sweeney Scissorhands Wonka Hatter

Fall Break Roundup

New York City. It never sleeps. The subways smell. It's always crowded. I love it! So much energy, so much culture, it's mind boggling! I had a very busy weekend, a lot of which was spent catching up with old friends, but, the film blogger/entertainment junkie in me needed to be fed, so, Monday (Columbus Day) was spent at the theatre, taking in some films that have since eluded me thanks to my almost rural living situation at Bard. Since I have three films to write about, I'm just going to do it all here, rather than separate reviews for each one. See? I'm consolidating! You know you love it!

But first, another furry. This is a hedgehog!

Fine! More like a prickly, but it's cute, so screw you!

Sweet Emotion

I am kicking myself right now! For my final paper for L&T, I had to write about something under the absurdly broad statement, "What makes us human?". I settled on how humans can feel emotion and things of that nature. It was a good topic, one of which there are plenty examples with which I could have used to back up my claim! So, why am I kicking myself? Well, because one of the best examples that I could have used made itself apparent to me after I turned it in. It's a film, set in a world, where emotion is outlawed, thus reducing the population to, more or less, zombies. It would have been perfect, but I couldn't use it! AGHGHGHGH!!! Equilibrium is an ingenious sci-fi actioner that poses good ideas and has awesome fights, but is marred by a shoddy script and some weak acting. It's not great, but it's not terrible either!

We'll still be using katanas in the future! May not be as practical, but it looks sweet!

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Day 5 of JGL fever is gonna mess you up!

You know a movie is indie when you look at the first few frames and all you want to do is throw up from motion sickness. If you haven't figured out my opinion on the matter, I'll just lay it out for you. I believe that style, when used effectively, can salvage lack of substance, somewhat. A movie may have nothing in the story or acting department, but it can cover for it with a certain sense of slickness. Look at Wanted. That's what I believe, but I also believe that it can work in the opposite direction. Too much style can squander substance, especially when the substance in question is very well crafted. Manic is such a film. This 2001 indie boasts strong writing and incredibly powerful performances, but, the cinema verité look that the director chose to go with distracts from those things so much that you sometimes don't even notice them. It single handedly brings this film down from a YAY, to an eh.

You couldn't get more screwed up than this if you tried!

This Advice Is Free, I Give, and Honest

Day 3 of my JGL extravaganza focuses on a film of a different nature then what he has been churning out as of late.

So, I don't know if you've heard, but there was this guy named Shakespeare. Kind of a big deal back in his day. Wrote a few plays; they were very well received; you know how it is. Anyway, the guy's legacy is pretty far reaching. You'll be hard pressed to walk into a video store and not find a film version of one of his plays or a reimagining of them. In 1999 we got, not necessarily the most original adaptation of a Shakespeare, but, for my money, one of the best. Very well written, and smartly acted, 10 Things I Hate About You is a funny, sweet film that, while not a masterpiece, is still worth your time.

YOU!!

Lycee de la Peur

I'm kicking off my Joseph Gordon-Levitt Blog-a-thon today with a seminal piece of his. This is one of the films that really put him on the map and made all the indie critics wake up and take notice.

High school is a scary place. We've all been through it, and we all know how ridiculous it can be sometimes. Brick is a film set in high school that fully embraces how absurd it all is with a truly inspired idea. Brick takes the tone, plot, and dialogue of hardboiled detective stories from the film noir days, and mixes them into the world of lockers, teenage angst, after hours partying, and all that other stuff that made up your high school career. It's also damn good, wonderfully witty, devilishly twisted, with some superb performances to boot.

And you thought your teenage years were bad.

Thrill of the Kill

As one casually, and by casually I mean hysterically, waits for Inception, the choices at the theatre begin to look mighty unappealing, not that they didn't already. After the sheer awfulness that was The Last Airbender, nothing really looked up to snuff, so to speak, so forgive me if I went into Predators with decidedly low expectations. Imagine my surprise when I came out pleasantly surprised. I'm sorry. I liked this movie. I liked this movie a lot. Sure, it has problems, but, when a film is so unabashedly unapologetic about what it is, in this case a bloody as hell, relentlessly violent, B-movie, I can't help but enjoy it. Hate me if you will, but Predators is one of the best movies of the summer, because it's one of the only movies of the summer to provide exactly what was promised, a seriously fun, damn well made action flick! It's not perfect, but, it didn't need to be.

Just think. If they had upgraded their guns just a little more, they might've actually hurt the Predator!