Monday, July 27, 2009
Apologies for absence
Hey, I just wanted to make a quick post to let everyone know I was still alive. Unfortunately I've just been real busy what with preparing to move back to Dayton this Friday and still writing away on the dissertation. It's doubling frustrating because I've got a bunch of stuff I could be writing on including all of the scoops/news coming out of this past weekend's Comic-Con, and new reviews for Gran Torino and Angels & Demons. But that will all have to wait for another day. Until then, it's back to packing boxes. Ohio here I come!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Bloody good show
I'm reluctant to write my review for the new installment in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. For one, now that we're at the sixth film in the franchise, I can't see my review having much influence on anyone. Fans are going to (or likely already have) see it and those who aren't fans aren't going to want to begin this far along in the story. I also worry that this review may seem redundant from my review of the previous film that I blogged about two years ago as many of the praises/criticisms of that film remain here. Still, out of a sense of duty, I feel I must go on.
Let's get the negatives out of the way first. Most of them are related to the way the film is faithful to the book. As someone who has read the book before seeing the film, I find it to be a blessing and curse. It's a lot easier to follow the story if you have read the book, but it can also be gutwrenching when you see something either cut or altered from the novel. For me, I get more upset with scenes that are different from the book than I am about moments that get left out. The most egregious changes to the book occur at the beginning and end of the film.
Without spoiling too much, let me try to explain these changes and why I did not care for them. At the beginning of the film there's a scene involving Harry at a diner. His interactions in this scene appear to be totally out of character and I have no idea what purpose the scene serves. The other major change comes near the end of the during the key scene. In the book, Harry is helpless from this major event happening, but the same isn't true in the film. Once again, this seems out of character for Harry because if he had the power to do something, he would have.
As I mentioned above, there are also a lot of things left out in the movie from the book. I grudgingly accept that this is a necessary evil of the films. The books are so long that it would be impossible to include everything into a manageable film. Then again, at two and half hours the film flies by (much faster than say Transformers 2), so I don't think fans would complain if they added on another half hour or so. Most of what was omitted isn't essential for the story, just cool scenes that fans would have appreciated seeing visually. However, there are a few key moments left out that may make creating the final film(s) more difficult. I'll be interested to see how they work their way around that when part 1 of book 7 comes out next year.
If you can ignore the changes/omissions from the book, what you're left with is another excellent entry in this film franchise. Watching each new film feels like a high school reunion. It is wonderful to see this rich, talented cast reprise their roles with each film. I think we sometimes take for granted how lucky we are that this great group of British actors have been available and willing to come back for each film, even if they don't always have a large role to play. Everyone knows their characters so well and brings a tremendous amount of both energy and class to their performance. They all should be applauded for allowing these characters to be fully realized.
One performer in particular I want to single out is Michael Gambon, who plays Dumblebore. Gambon is the one actor who was not there from the start. His alternative take on Dumbledore from Richard Harris has been scrutinized by many fans. While his gruff take may not have necessarily fit at times, he delivers an excellent performance in this film. Playing a larger role than in the previous films, Gambon does a good job of displaying the leader/mentor/scholar/friend/wizard and everything else that makes up this character. I hope everyone else will appreciate his performance here as much as I did.
I should also compliment the two major additions to the cast. Jim Broadbent, who plays the new Potions professor, Horace Slughorn. Being the newcomer is never easy, particularly in this cast, but he blends right in and does a fantastic job. He plays Slughorn exactly how I pictured him to be from the book. This was another inspired casting move. Broadbent is very good at playing the fame-hungry, yet cowardly Slughorn. The girl who played Lavender Brown was also very funny and enjoyable. She captured the head-over-heels infatuation that she has for Ron Weasley perfectly.
Lastly I want to talk about director David Yates' work. He is returning for a second time here and definitely showed improvement over his previous effort. While many will take him to task for the changes his films have in comparision to the books, I'm not so sure how much falls on his shoulders. It seems the screenwriter should take more of the blame in this case. What Yates did do is provide the film with a gorgeous look in many of its scenes. He has a number of tracking shots that are very impressive. With just a pan of the camera he's able to capture the move of several characters at once. Those shots go a long way to encapsulating a lot that is going on without taking up a lot of time. Since so much dialogue had to be cut, I give him a lot of credit for trying to say as much as he could with his visuals. The film looks great and once again gives us the sense that we're right there in Hogwarts.
Right now, the differences from the book are the things I think about the most with the book. However, that was true with most of the previous films and I learned to forget about them and appreciate the movies on their own. I truly believe the same will hold true for this one as well. Once you can look past those changes, it becomes clear that this is another great movie. In a year when very little has lived up to its hype, it's nice to have one film that meets expectations. Grade: A-
Let's get the negatives out of the way first. Most of them are related to the way the film is faithful to the book. As someone who has read the book before seeing the film, I find it to be a blessing and curse. It's a lot easier to follow the story if you have read the book, but it can also be gutwrenching when you see something either cut or altered from the novel. For me, I get more upset with scenes that are different from the book than I am about moments that get left out. The most egregious changes to the book occur at the beginning and end of the film.
Without spoiling too much, let me try to explain these changes and why I did not care for them. At the beginning of the film there's a scene involving Harry at a diner. His interactions in this scene appear to be totally out of character and I have no idea what purpose the scene serves. The other major change comes near the end of the during the key scene. In the book, Harry is helpless from this major event happening, but the same isn't true in the film. Once again, this seems out of character for Harry because if he had the power to do something, he would have.
As I mentioned above, there are also a lot of things left out in the movie from the book. I grudgingly accept that this is a necessary evil of the films. The books are so long that it would be impossible to include everything into a manageable film. Then again, at two and half hours the film flies by (much faster than say Transformers 2), so I don't think fans would complain if they added on another half hour or so. Most of what was omitted isn't essential for the story, just cool scenes that fans would have appreciated seeing visually. However, there are a few key moments left out that may make creating the final film(s) more difficult. I'll be interested to see how they work their way around that when part 1 of book 7 comes out next year.
If you can ignore the changes/omissions from the book, what you're left with is another excellent entry in this film franchise. Watching each new film feels like a high school reunion. It is wonderful to see this rich, talented cast reprise their roles with each film. I think we sometimes take for granted how lucky we are that this great group of British actors have been available and willing to come back for each film, even if they don't always have a large role to play. Everyone knows their characters so well and brings a tremendous amount of both energy and class to their performance. They all should be applauded for allowing these characters to be fully realized.
One performer in particular I want to single out is Michael Gambon, who plays Dumblebore. Gambon is the one actor who was not there from the start. His alternative take on Dumbledore from Richard Harris has been scrutinized by many fans. While his gruff take may not have necessarily fit at times, he delivers an excellent performance in this film. Playing a larger role than in the previous films, Gambon does a good job of displaying the leader/mentor/scholar/friend/wizard and everything else that makes up this character. I hope everyone else will appreciate his performance here as much as I did.
I should also compliment the two major additions to the cast. Jim Broadbent, who plays the new Potions professor, Horace Slughorn. Being the newcomer is never easy, particularly in this cast, but he blends right in and does a fantastic job. He plays Slughorn exactly how I pictured him to be from the book. This was another inspired casting move. Broadbent is very good at playing the fame-hungry, yet cowardly Slughorn. The girl who played Lavender Brown was also very funny and enjoyable. She captured the head-over-heels infatuation that she has for Ron Weasley perfectly.
Lastly I want to talk about director David Yates' work. He is returning for a second time here and definitely showed improvement over his previous effort. While many will take him to task for the changes his films have in comparision to the books, I'm not so sure how much falls on his shoulders. It seems the screenwriter should take more of the blame in this case. What Yates did do is provide the film with a gorgeous look in many of its scenes. He has a number of tracking shots that are very impressive. With just a pan of the camera he's able to capture the move of several characters at once. Those shots go a long way to encapsulating a lot that is going on without taking up a lot of time. Since so much dialogue had to be cut, I give him a lot of credit for trying to say as much as he could with his visuals. The film looks great and once again gives us the sense that we're right there in Hogwarts.
Right now, the differences from the book are the things I think about the most with the book. However, that was true with most of the previous films and I learned to forget about them and appreciate the movies on their own. I truly believe the same will hold true for this one as well. Once you can look past those changes, it becomes clear that this is another great movie. In a year when very little has lived up to its hype, it's nice to have one film that meets expectations. Grade: A-
Media lunar-cy
Here's a video with some pretty good satire on how the moon landing would be covered if it happened today instead of 40 years ago.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Lost's burning questions
Shortly after the end of season 5, the folks at Entertainment Weekly asks their readers to send in their "Top 3 Lost Mysteries You Absolutely Need to See Resolved in Season 6". From the fans' responses, EW has put together the 15 most popular questions listed here:
15. What are The Whispers?
14. What's Libby's backstory?
13. What's the complete Dharma backstory?
12. Where did the Others come from?
11. Do all the castaways have a secret connection?
10. Who are Adam and Eve?
9. What's the significance of The Numbers?
8. Why are there Egyptian ruins on the Island?
7. Where are stewardess Cindy and the kids?
6. What is the Island, anyway?
5. What happened to Claire?
4. What was up with Walt?
3. What is the Monster?
2. Who is Jacob?
1. Why doesn't Richard Alpert age?
OK, so now I ask all of you - what is the likelihood of any or all of these questions being answered in the final 18 episodes? And are there any other questions that you want to see answered that did not make this list.
15. What are The Whispers?
14. What's Libby's backstory?
13. What's the complete Dharma backstory?
12. Where did the Others come from?
11. Do all the castaways have a secret connection?
10. Who are Adam and Eve?
9. What's the significance of The Numbers?
8. Why are there Egyptian ruins on the Island?
7. Where are stewardess Cindy and the kids?
6. What is the Island, anyway?
5. What happened to Claire?
4. What was up with Walt?
3. What is the Monster?
2. Who is Jacob?
1. Why doesn't Richard Alpert age?
OK, so now I ask all of you - what is the likelihood of any or all of these questions being answered in the final 18 episodes? And are there any other questions that you want to see answered that did not make this list.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
NMR: What's up doc?
Here's a handful of recent documentaries I recently caught through Netflix...
The League of Ordinary Gentlemen: This is a bowling documentary, yes a bowling documentary, made a couple years ago that attempted to chronicles the PBA's attempt to become mainstream again. This was an interesting subject to me (why else would I have bothered watching it), but the film is too scattershot to be really good. They focus on too many different topics and none of them are particularly engaging. Only if you truly love the sport should you seek out this movie. Rating: ***
Murderball: I found this to be a truly remarkable documentary. Made in 2005, this film covers the U.S. quadrapelegic rugby team. Through the film, we get to learn about the sport, its atheletes and also what these guys have to endure on a daily basis living in a wheelchair. Like the bowling film, Murderball covers a lot of different subjects, but it wasn't a problem here because each vignette is interesting and moving. A well done documentary that I highly recommend. Rating: *****
I.O.U.S.A.: I probably shouldn't include this here because I didn't actually see the whole film. The reason being is that there was a problem with it on Netflix's instant viewer. It just stops halfway through. But I will comment on what I did see in case you want to rent a hard copy of it. This is a sobering documentary about our country's current financial problems. At times it can be a bit overwhelming with the amount of statistics they throw at you. I felt I was back in Professor Rapp's economics class. But I felt the argument was very balanced (i.e. non-partisan) and really aimed to explain where we went wrong and what we have to do to stop this problem. I'll do my best to watch the rest of this when I can. Until then...Rating: N/A
The League of Ordinary Gentlemen: This is a bowling documentary, yes a bowling documentary, made a couple years ago that attempted to chronicles the PBA's attempt to become mainstream again. This was an interesting subject to me (why else would I have bothered watching it), but the film is too scattershot to be really good. They focus on too many different topics and none of them are particularly engaging. Only if you truly love the sport should you seek out this movie. Rating: ***
Murderball: I found this to be a truly remarkable documentary. Made in 2005, this film covers the U.S. quadrapelegic rugby team. Through the film, we get to learn about the sport, its atheletes and also what these guys have to endure on a daily basis living in a wheelchair. Like the bowling film, Murderball covers a lot of different subjects, but it wasn't a problem here because each vignette is interesting and moving. A well done documentary that I highly recommend. Rating: *****
I.O.U.S.A.: I probably shouldn't include this here because I didn't actually see the whole film. The reason being is that there was a problem with it on Netflix's instant viewer. It just stops halfway through. But I will comment on what I did see in case you want to rent a hard copy of it. This is a sobering documentary about our country's current financial problems. At times it can be a bit overwhelming with the amount of statistics they throw at you. I felt I was back in Professor Rapp's economics class. But I felt the argument was very balanced (i.e. non-partisan) and really aimed to explain where we went wrong and what we have to do to stop this problem. I'll do my best to watch the rest of this when I can. Until then...Rating: N/A
Prince captures Knight's title
From Comingsoon.net...
Take that Transformers! This is looking like it's going to be huge. Sadly, I probably won't get to see it for another month until I return to Ohio. At least I don't have to worry about spoilers. Feel free to share your thoughts on the movie here if you've already gotten a chance to see it.
Warner Bros. Pictures' Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince earned an estimated $22.2 million for its 3,003 midnight screenings, beating the $18.5 million midnight runs by the studio's own The Dark Knight and the $16.9 million earned by Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith.
The sixth installment continues its first day of release in 4,275 domestic locations and will expand to 4,350 theaters on Friday.
Last month, Michael Bay's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen grossed $16 million in midnight runs, also on a Wednesday.
"Half-Blood Prince" opened in the same Wednesday slot that Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix did in 2007. "Order of the Phoenix" grossed $12 million in midnight runs on its way to a $139.7 million five-day debut.
Take that Transformers! This is looking like it's going to be huge. Sadly, I probably won't get to see it for another month until I return to Ohio. At least I don't have to worry about spoilers. Feel free to share your thoughts on the movie here if you've already gotten a chance to see it.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Primative beginning
The summer movies are already starting to hit the budget theater, which means I finally got a chance to see the innaugural film from this year's summer session, X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
This film was equally a good and bad idea. On one hand, this was a good way to continue the X-Men franchise without worrying about trying to get all of the cast members to be free at the same time to film a movie. However, the origin story only works if it's an interesting one. In Wolverine's case, we knew a lot of his origins from the previous X-Men films and there wasn't a huge outcry to see the rest on screen, even if people were interested in seeing him in another film.
The crux of the story here is the relationship between Logan/Wolverine (played once again by Hugh Jackman) and his brother, Victor (played by Liev Schreiber). Both are immortal and have similar mutant powers. Victor, who's also known in the comics as Sabertooth, can grow his nails and has fangs. The film opens with a montage of the two of them fighting in various famous wars. Thanks to good performances by both actors, their relationship is one of the film's strongest points.
The two of them are soon asked by General Stryker (Danny Huston)to join his group of fellow mutants for various military operations. Here's we meet an assortment of other mutants including ones played by Lost's Dominic Monaghan and the Black Eyed Peas' Will.I.Am. One of the other mutants is played by Ryan Reynolds, who later on becomes Deadpool. Many comic book fans were upset by how Deadpool is portrayed here as he's a fan favorite, but isn't given much here. While all of these mutants vary in their levels of cool/interesting characters, you can't help but feel that they're all included in this film simply to see which ones audiences will connect with so they know who to keep for future films.
One other character that would fit into this description is Gambit, who shows up later on in the film. Now this was a character I had a vested interest in seeing as I, like many others became a fan of his, primarily from the 90s X-Men cartoon. I thought he was great here, albeit his time is very limited. This is a cool character and really deserved more screen time, and that includes the previous X-Men films as well. Here's hoping we'll see more of him in future X-Men movies.
Even though this is an origin story, the plot is nothing to write home about. Most of it is setup for the action sequences while throwing in little things to do their best to maintain continuity with the previous films. Some of these continuity scenes seem so forced, however. For instance, at one point in the film we're led to believe that the only thing that will kill Wolverine is an adamantium bullet. However later on, another character states that they won't kill him, but will cause him to lose his memory. The way this scene plays out not only spells out what will happen but comes off sounding like they're just making things up as they go along.
A lot of the film feels rushed and unfinished as I feel this is another big budget film that was a writer's strike victim. I was surprised actually by the look of the visual effects here. A lot of them did not look good and were clearly CGI. Given that this is a comic book movie, I would have hoped that the visuals would have been solid, even if the story wasn't strong.
However, despite the less than stellar quality of everything, I found myself enjoying the film more than I thought I would. The action sequences are fun and the film never really drags. As mentioned before the relationship between Jackman and Schreiber is strong, which carries the film. I also enjoyed the performance of Lynn Collins, who is Wolverine's romantic interest in the film.
With high expectations, this is almost certainly going to come off as a disappointing and underwhelming film. However, seeing this at a budget theater or soon on DVD, this is entertaining enough. There's enough going on here to make this an enjoyable entry in the X-Men series, but clearly far from the best. This isn't quite as good as the first two films, but definitely a notch or two above the abysmal Brett Ratner directed third film. If you've ever had an interest in these films and haven't bothered watching this one yet, I'd say go ahead and give it a look. Grade: B-
This film was equally a good and bad idea. On one hand, this was a good way to continue the X-Men franchise without worrying about trying to get all of the cast members to be free at the same time to film a movie. However, the origin story only works if it's an interesting one. In Wolverine's case, we knew a lot of his origins from the previous X-Men films and there wasn't a huge outcry to see the rest on screen, even if people were interested in seeing him in another film.
The crux of the story here is the relationship between Logan/Wolverine (played once again by Hugh Jackman) and his brother, Victor (played by Liev Schreiber). Both are immortal and have similar mutant powers. Victor, who's also known in the comics as Sabertooth, can grow his nails and has fangs. The film opens with a montage of the two of them fighting in various famous wars. Thanks to good performances by both actors, their relationship is one of the film's strongest points.
The two of them are soon asked by General Stryker (Danny Huston)to join his group of fellow mutants for various military operations. Here's we meet an assortment of other mutants including ones played by Lost's Dominic Monaghan and the Black Eyed Peas' Will.I.Am. One of the other mutants is played by Ryan Reynolds, who later on becomes Deadpool. Many comic book fans were upset by how Deadpool is portrayed here as he's a fan favorite, but isn't given much here. While all of these mutants vary in their levels of cool/interesting characters, you can't help but feel that they're all included in this film simply to see which ones audiences will connect with so they know who to keep for future films.
One other character that would fit into this description is Gambit, who shows up later on in the film. Now this was a character I had a vested interest in seeing as I, like many others became a fan of his, primarily from the 90s X-Men cartoon. I thought he was great here, albeit his time is very limited. This is a cool character and really deserved more screen time, and that includes the previous X-Men films as well. Here's hoping we'll see more of him in future X-Men movies.
Even though this is an origin story, the plot is nothing to write home about. Most of it is setup for the action sequences while throwing in little things to do their best to maintain continuity with the previous films. Some of these continuity scenes seem so forced, however. For instance, at one point in the film we're led to believe that the only thing that will kill Wolverine is an adamantium bullet. However later on, another character states that they won't kill him, but will cause him to lose his memory. The way this scene plays out not only spells out what will happen but comes off sounding like they're just making things up as they go along.
A lot of the film feels rushed and unfinished as I feel this is another big budget film that was a writer's strike victim. I was surprised actually by the look of the visual effects here. A lot of them did not look good and were clearly CGI. Given that this is a comic book movie, I would have hoped that the visuals would have been solid, even if the story wasn't strong.
However, despite the less than stellar quality of everything, I found myself enjoying the film more than I thought I would. The action sequences are fun and the film never really drags. As mentioned before the relationship between Jackman and Schreiber is strong, which carries the film. I also enjoyed the performance of Lynn Collins, who is Wolverine's romantic interest in the film.
With high expectations, this is almost certainly going to come off as a disappointing and underwhelming film. However, seeing this at a budget theater or soon on DVD, this is entertaining enough. There's enough going on here to make this an enjoyable entry in the X-Men series, but clearly far from the best. This isn't quite as good as the first two films, but definitely a notch or two above the abysmal Brett Ratner directed third film. If you've ever had an interest in these films and haven't bothered watching this one yet, I'd say go ahead and give it a look. Grade: B-
UFC 100
So I encountered my first MMA ever last night, catching it at one of the local bars. It was a unique experience to say the least. We unfortunately didn't arrive early enough and had to stand to watch the whole show. Now I know how those Johnny-come-latelys felt at Hooters when I used to go there to watch WWE PPVs. As for the actual show, the two middleweight fights that opened the show were decent, albeit for different reasons. The opener was a well balanced fight that saw both guys get in some decent shots and end in a split decision with the Japanese guy getting the nod. The other middleweight bout featured a vicious knockout punch by Henderson followed by a (unnecessary?) follow-up punch to prove a point. The welterweight title fight was a real snoozer with Georges St. Pierre doing a lot of grappling and basically biding time in order to retain his belt. The main event with Brock Lesnar was short and sweet with him earning a KO in the second round over Frank Mir, who was the only guy he had ever lost to before. Brock's postmatch antics have the UFC community all riled up, but I found them entertaining. Nice to see he hasn't forgotten everything he learned during his time with pro wrestling.
Overall, while I can see the appeal to some this just isn't my cup of tea. For me, there's just not enough payoff throughout the show to make it worthwhile. I also don't get how people can spend so much time looking to injure someone else only to then shake their hand afterwards. There's no appeal to me in trying to hurt someone for the sake of competition. But the biggest strike against MMA has nothing really to do with the sport and everything to do with its fans. Pro wrestling gets a lot of flack for its hillbilly fan base, but I think I prefer most of them to the testosterone-filled, Affliction shirt wearing meatheads and their put upon girlfriends that make up the audiences for these show. I'm glad I got to check this out, but I don't think I'll be watching anymore action from the Octagon anytime soon.
Overall, while I can see the appeal to some this just isn't my cup of tea. For me, there's just not enough payoff throughout the show to make it worthwhile. I also don't get how people can spend so much time looking to injure someone else only to then shake their hand afterwards. There's no appeal to me in trying to hurt someone for the sake of competition. But the biggest strike against MMA has nothing really to do with the sport and everything to do with its fans. Pro wrestling gets a lot of flack for its hillbilly fan base, but I think I prefer most of them to the testosterone-filled, Affliction shirt wearing meatheads and their put upon girlfriends that make up the audiences for these show. I'm glad I got to check this out, but I don't think I'll be watching anymore action from the Octagon anytime soon.
This vacay looks only okay
Here's a trailer for Couples Retreat. This came out a couple weeks ago but I was hesitant to post it because nothing I saw jumped out at me as being particularly great, despite the wonderfully comedic cast. But since I've been light on content recently I opted to post it anyways in hopes maybe someone else can spot something here and show me that this has a chance of being great.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Monster rehash
As a critic, you would prefer films to either be amazingly great or amazingly terrible. In either scenario, you're guaranteed to have plenty to write about. It's the films that are simply ordinary or average that are difficult to write for. Such is the case with the latest film I saw at the budget theater, Monsters vs. Aliens.
On the surface this seems to be anything but an ordinary film. This is a big budget, 3D animated feature from Dreamworks. The film features plenty of colorful characters/creatures and boasts an impressive voice cast. Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, Keifer Sutherland, Rainn Wilson, Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler, and Stephen Colbert all lend their pipes to this film. Despite all that, this film failed to capture me in any way.
I could lay the blame on Pixar, who's animated films raise the bar so high that it would be unfair to compare them to any other cartoon. However, Dreamworks has shown at times, in films like Shrek and more recently, Kung Fu Panda, that it is capable of making films that are well done and can be enjoyed by children and adults alike. So it is disappointing to see such a lack of effort here, when the potential was all there.
As I listed above, the film has a long list of talented actors providing the voices for these characters. Each of them have deliver some funny lines in the movie, but I never really believed any of them were their characters. I was aware at all times that it was actor talking, not the character I was watching. The best voice acting occurs when you buy into the character so much that you forget who's providing the voice. Part of the problem here is the distinct voices of the actors in this cast. The other problem is that we never spend enough time with any of the characters, except for maybe Witherspoon's Susan/Ginormica to really get to know them or appreciate them.
The movie also spends way too much time paying homage/satirizing other films and not enough time on their own story. There are a ton of film references here, which provide smiles, but not laughs. The film also tries to create a B-movie feel, but does not go through with it enough to truly do the genre justice. It's more of an acknowledgement of those films rather than representing those films.
The plot of this story revolves around the United States keep various monsters under wraps until an alien invasion forces them to unleash the monsters to help wage war. The odd thing however is that the aliens are only invading because they want the energy being harnessed by one of the monsters. The way this plot is constructed, it basically ignores the human race's perspective, which could have added something. And this battle between monsters vs. aliens does not have enough at stake because the monsters don't really have any reason to hate the aliens. I just wanted everything on a more epic scale and it wasn't there.
The last thing I'll mention is a growing concern I have for other animated features based on this film. Because it was offered in 3D, there are several scenes intended specifically for the technology that are not organic to the story, like a guy playing with a paddleball right in front of the camera. I did not see the film in 3D, so a scene like that looks really stupid. I hope future filmmakers find more subtle ways to incorporate the 3D technology or just abandon it altogether.
Monsters vs. Aliens does have quite a few laughs, thanks to its talented cast, but as a whole left a lot to be desired. They had good actors, creative characters, and an intriguing premise, yet the execution of it all left a lot to be desired. Kids who do not care as much about these nuances will no doubt love this. As for adults, the only enjoyment from this will come if you're passively watching it while also doing something else. If you go into it with high expectations like I did, you'll find them crashing back down to Earth very quickly. Grade: C+
On the surface this seems to be anything but an ordinary film. This is a big budget, 3D animated feature from Dreamworks. The film features plenty of colorful characters/creatures and boasts an impressive voice cast. Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, Keifer Sutherland, Rainn Wilson, Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler, and Stephen Colbert all lend their pipes to this film. Despite all that, this film failed to capture me in any way.
I could lay the blame on Pixar, who's animated films raise the bar so high that it would be unfair to compare them to any other cartoon. However, Dreamworks has shown at times, in films like Shrek and more recently, Kung Fu Panda, that it is capable of making films that are well done and can be enjoyed by children and adults alike. So it is disappointing to see such a lack of effort here, when the potential was all there.
As I listed above, the film has a long list of talented actors providing the voices for these characters. Each of them have deliver some funny lines in the movie, but I never really believed any of them were their characters. I was aware at all times that it was actor talking, not the character I was watching. The best voice acting occurs when you buy into the character so much that you forget who's providing the voice. Part of the problem here is the distinct voices of the actors in this cast. The other problem is that we never spend enough time with any of the characters, except for maybe Witherspoon's Susan/Ginormica to really get to know them or appreciate them.
The movie also spends way too much time paying homage/satirizing other films and not enough time on their own story. There are a ton of film references here, which provide smiles, but not laughs. The film also tries to create a B-movie feel, but does not go through with it enough to truly do the genre justice. It's more of an acknowledgement of those films rather than representing those films.
The plot of this story revolves around the United States keep various monsters under wraps until an alien invasion forces them to unleash the monsters to help wage war. The odd thing however is that the aliens are only invading because they want the energy being harnessed by one of the monsters. The way this plot is constructed, it basically ignores the human race's perspective, which could have added something. And this battle between monsters vs. aliens does not have enough at stake because the monsters don't really have any reason to hate the aliens. I just wanted everything on a more epic scale and it wasn't there.
The last thing I'll mention is a growing concern I have for other animated features based on this film. Because it was offered in 3D, there are several scenes intended specifically for the technology that are not organic to the story, like a guy playing with a paddleball right in front of the camera. I did not see the film in 3D, so a scene like that looks really stupid. I hope future filmmakers find more subtle ways to incorporate the 3D technology or just abandon it altogether.
Monsters vs. Aliens does have quite a few laughs, thanks to its talented cast, but as a whole left a lot to be desired. They had good actors, creative characters, and an intriguing premise, yet the execution of it all left a lot to be desired. Kids who do not care as much about these nuances will no doubt love this. As for adults, the only enjoyment from this will come if you're passively watching it while also doing something else. If you go into it with high expectations like I did, you'll find them crashing back down to Earth very quickly. Grade: C+
Friday, July 3, 2009
NMR: Gangster's paradise
With Public Enemies being released this week, I figured I'd check out a couple of classic mobster movies...
Goodfellas: Much to the shock of some, I had never seen Martin Scorcese's 1990 gangster film before. Watching the film two things surprised me; 1) I liked it more than I thought I would as it's a tight story that's beautifully filmed and fully establishes it's characters. 2) Despite my enjoyment, I don't get the revere some people have for these characters. These are bad men and portrayed as nothing else. I get the idea of the anti-hero, but the actions of these guys do not seem like something I would want to emulate. Ridiculous hero worship aside for these character, this is a tremendous film and worth a look if you've never seen it before. Rating: ****
The Untouchables: I was really digging this film for about three quarters of the way. There are some tremendous performances, particularly by Sean Connery. Kevin Coster is also very good as Eliott Ness; portraying him as the boy scout who learns to find his edge in order to bring down Al Capone. Speaking of Capone, I was slightly disappointed that they did not give Robert De Niro more to do with this character. De Niro's flat performance is not as big of a deal as the drawn out, aimless conclusion. The film really struggles to find a way to finish. After the shootout that mirrors the scene from Battleship Potemkin, the film wanders around and just sort of peters out. Still, this is mostly a strong film and also warrants a viewing. Rating: ****
Goodfellas: Much to the shock of some, I had never seen Martin Scorcese's 1990 gangster film before. Watching the film two things surprised me; 1) I liked it more than I thought I would as it's a tight story that's beautifully filmed and fully establishes it's characters. 2) Despite my enjoyment, I don't get the revere some people have for these characters. These are bad men and portrayed as nothing else. I get the idea of the anti-hero, but the actions of these guys do not seem like something I would want to emulate. Ridiculous hero worship aside for these character, this is a tremendous film and worth a look if you've never seen it before. Rating: ****
The Untouchables: I was really digging this film for about three quarters of the way. There are some tremendous performances, particularly by Sean Connery. Kevin Coster is also very good as Eliott Ness; portraying him as the boy scout who learns to find his edge in order to bring down Al Capone. Speaking of Capone, I was slightly disappointed that they did not give Robert De Niro more to do with this character. De Niro's flat performance is not as big of a deal as the drawn out, aimless conclusion. The film really struggles to find a way to finish. After the shootout that mirrors the scene from Battleship Potemkin, the film wanders around and just sort of peters out. Still, this is mostly a strong film and also warrants a viewing. Rating: ****
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
The Trailer!
Well it's about damn time. The Informant! trailer is finally here. This was the only film left from my top 30 of '09 that I had not seen any footage from yet and it was in my top 5. This trailer now makes me all the more excited for this film. Still unclear on a release date because the latest I had heard was that it was due out in October, but this video says September. Hopefully we'll get confirmation in a few weeks. Until then, enjoy!
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