Wuz up people. Here is my archive of past reviews dating back to my very 1st one. Gran Torino.
Enjoy.
"D"
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Gran Torino
Welcome to the “D” List. My new movie review column inspired by some co workers at Productions. My first entry is Gran Torino directed by and starring Clint Eastwood.
I will begin by saying that very quickly and quietly or not so quietly (depending on who you ask) Clint Eastwood has put together a powerhouse filmography of directorial masterpieces. Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, Letters From Iwo Jima and Changeling to name a few and Gran Torino though not 100% perfect definitely belongs on this powerhouse list.
The plot of Gran Torino may seem simple judging by what you see in the trailers. "Another Dirty Harry type Clint Eastwood defends the weak against evil" type film but it's the farthest thing from that in my opinion.
Eastwood plays Walt Kowalski a grizzled old school VERY predjudiced korean war vet who just lost his wife. Right at the outset you see how unhappy and set in his ways Walt is. He carries a huge chip on his shoulder and as a result he just walks around angry at everyone. He has become disconnected with his 2 sons and grandchildren and refuses to adapt to the way things are in the world today. After the funeral he just continues on with his life, tending to his lawn and making repairs to his house and more importantly hating his next door neighbors. A race of asian's called Hmong (from a region of china/laos and other areas who fought with the US in the Korean war) Walt's racism is blatant and at times very cruel but it establishes his character as the old school old man when back in his "hey day" these opinions of minorites were the norm.
Walt refuses to acknowledge his neighbor's existence consisting of a mother, grandmother and 2 teenagers Su and her younger brother Thao until after failing to steal Walt's 72 Gran Torino as part of a gang initiation Thao is attacked by the gang in front of Walt's house which prompt's him to break out his rifle and demand that the fight stops and that everyone leaves the property. The gang reluctantly leaves and the family are grateful to Walt but instead of accepting the families gratitude he remains annoyed that he had to interact with them at all.
As a punishment for dishonoring the family Thao is sent to work for Walt doing whatever job he sees fit. A bond between Thao and Walt forms all the way to the point where after his debt is paid Walt helps Thao get a job in construction. There is a very strong moment in the film where Walt and Thao are shopping for tools in a hardware store and Thao thanks Walt for everything he has done for him and Walt pauses for a moment and shakes Thao's hand. It may seem like a simple handshake but that subtle gesture was in my opinion a major moment in Walt's transition from hatred to acceptance. In the beginning Walt would not hesitate to put a bullet in Thao's head now he's accepted him as a friend and an equal.
The gang returns to pick on Thao but Walt comes to his defense he orders them to leave Thao alone but it doesn't stop them. The retaliate on the entire family causing Walt serious pain and instant thoughts of revenge. I will not give away what happens to the family or the ending but rest assured it doesn't go the way you are led to believe it does and in my opinion it was a satisfying way to finish the film.
There are several other subplots to this film that tie the story together further and much more clearly. I just gave you the meat of the story, however, the other story lines are extremely valuable to the overall scope of the film as a whole. There are no throw away sub plots like in other films.
As I was watching this film I immediately felt that there were several parallel's to one of Clint's other films. Million Dollar Baby. Both films deal with companionship, family, loss and most importantly change. You despise Walt for the way he treat's the Hmong's and then you feel for him later on. Now some critics have said that since the asian cast are not trained actors that Eastwood's performance may outshine or take the forefront but I disagree. I felt there was an even balance because the Hmong's were portrayed as a race of people that may live in america but are not americanized to a certain degree and I saw that when watching the performances of Su and Thao.
Overall Gran Torino was an entertaining film with a lot of heart. Not Eastwood's best but definitely worth the $.
My Grade a High B+
My next review will be Frost/Nixon. My darkhorse pick for Best Picture and Best Actor - Frank Langella for his brilliant portrayal of Richard Nixon.
Until Next Episode....I'll save you a seat
"D"
I will begin by saying that very quickly and quietly or not so quietly (depending on who you ask) Clint Eastwood has put together a powerhouse filmography of directorial masterpieces. Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, Letters From Iwo Jima and Changeling to name a few and Gran Torino though not 100% perfect definitely belongs on this powerhouse list.
The plot of Gran Torino may seem simple judging by what you see in the trailers. "Another Dirty Harry type Clint Eastwood defends the weak against evil" type film but it's the farthest thing from that in my opinion.
Eastwood plays Walt Kowalski a grizzled old school VERY predjudiced korean war vet who just lost his wife. Right at the outset you see how unhappy and set in his ways Walt is. He carries a huge chip on his shoulder and as a result he just walks around angry at everyone. He has become disconnected with his 2 sons and grandchildren and refuses to adapt to the way things are in the world today. After the funeral he just continues on with his life, tending to his lawn and making repairs to his house and more importantly hating his next door neighbors. A race of asian's called Hmong (from a region of china/laos and other areas who fought with the US in the Korean war) Walt's racism is blatant and at times very cruel but it establishes his character as the old school old man when back in his "hey day" these opinions of minorites were the norm.
Walt refuses to acknowledge his neighbor's existence consisting of a mother, grandmother and 2 teenagers Su and her younger brother Thao until after failing to steal Walt's 72 Gran Torino as part of a gang initiation Thao is attacked by the gang in front of Walt's house which prompt's him to break out his rifle and demand that the fight stops and that everyone leaves the property. The gang reluctantly leaves and the family are grateful to Walt but instead of accepting the families gratitude he remains annoyed that he had to interact with them at all.
As a punishment for dishonoring the family Thao is sent to work for Walt doing whatever job he sees fit. A bond between Thao and Walt forms all the way to the point where after his debt is paid Walt helps Thao get a job in construction. There is a very strong moment in the film where Walt and Thao are shopping for tools in a hardware store and Thao thanks Walt for everything he has done for him and Walt pauses for a moment and shakes Thao's hand. It may seem like a simple handshake but that subtle gesture was in my opinion a major moment in Walt's transition from hatred to acceptance. In the beginning Walt would not hesitate to put a bullet in Thao's head now he's accepted him as a friend and an equal.
The gang returns to pick on Thao but Walt comes to his defense he orders them to leave Thao alone but it doesn't stop them. The retaliate on the entire family causing Walt serious pain and instant thoughts of revenge. I will not give away what happens to the family or the ending but rest assured it doesn't go the way you are led to believe it does and in my opinion it was a satisfying way to finish the film.
There are several other subplots to this film that tie the story together further and much more clearly. I just gave you the meat of the story, however, the other story lines are extremely valuable to the overall scope of the film as a whole. There are no throw away sub plots like in other films.
As I was watching this film I immediately felt that there were several parallel's to one of Clint's other films. Million Dollar Baby. Both films deal with companionship, family, loss and most importantly change. You despise Walt for the way he treat's the Hmong's and then you feel for him later on. Now some critics have said that since the asian cast are not trained actors that Eastwood's performance may outshine or take the forefront but I disagree. I felt there was an even balance because the Hmong's were portrayed as a race of people that may live in america but are not americanized to a certain degree and I saw that when watching the performances of Su and Thao.
Overall Gran Torino was an entertaining film with a lot of heart. Not Eastwood's best but definitely worth the $.
My Grade a High B+
My next review will be Frost/Nixon. My darkhorse pick for Best Picture and Best Actor - Frank Langella for his brilliant portrayal of Richard Nixon.
Until Next Episode....I'll save you a seat
"D"
The Reader
Welcome to another episode of The "D" List
I know you all missed me so I figured I would get right back at it. Before I get started I want to tell you my new scoring system for rating these films. I will now go off a 5 star rating followed by my recommendation which can fall into the following categories.
"Save the loot"
"Netflix it"
"Give it a shot"
"Go see it"
And finally
"Worth every penny"
Today's review will be The Reader directed by Stephen Daldry. The script was written by David Hare. It's an adaptation of Bernhard Schlink's book "Der Vorleser."
This film has been nominated for 5 Academy Awards.
Best Cinematography
Best Adapted Screenplay - David Hare
Best Director - Stephen Daldry
Best Actress - Kate Winslet
Best Picture
As I was watching this movie 1 question continued to pop in my head. Why was this movie nominated for best picture? It starts off at a snail pace and seemed very mundane. However, about midway through, the film takes a turn that immediately changed my viewpoint.
The film begins in 1995 Germany. We see an old Michael Berg played by Ralph Fiennes staring out his apartment window as a train passes by. From that moment we flash back to a teenage Michael on a trolley car. He gets off the trolley and staggers to an alley where he vomits then collapses.
At that moment Hanna Schmitz played by Kate Winslet arrives. She sees Michael in his condition and tends to him. She cleans him up and takes him home. It turns out that Michael has scarlet fever and ends up bedridden for a couple of months. After he's recovered, Michael goes back to Hanna's apartment to thank her for her help and so begins their torrid summer love affair.
The film continues to establish the physical and emotional bond between Hanna and Michael through several montages. Including a scenario where Hanna informs Michael that before they are intimate he must read to her from the many books that he's studying in school. As the year they spend together progresses, Michael begins to socialize with girls from school but they do very little to sway his mind and heart from Hanna.
Meanwhile, Hanna receives a promotion at her job from a trolley usher to an office position. It's then when Hanna encourages Michael to face the reality that their relationship is not going to last and that it's time for him to move on. Michael reluctantly does so but he can't let her go. He goes to see her only to find that she has mysteriously disappeared.
Several years pass and Michael is now a law student. He participates in a seminar taught by a jewish lawyer who was a concentration camp survivor. The group attends a trial where several women are accused of letting 300 Jewish women die in a burning church when they were SS guards on the Death marches following the 1944 evacuation of Auschwitz concentration camp. To Michael's surprise, Hanna is one of the defendants.
The key evidence is the testimony of a young Jewish woman who has written a memoir about how she and her mother survived. When Hanna testifies, unlike her fellow defendants, she admits that she was aware Auschwitz was an extermination camp and that the ten women she chose each month were subsequently gassed. She denies authorship of a report on the barn fire, despite pressure from the other defendants, but then suddenly admits it.
It's at that moment, Michael realizes that Hanna has been hiding a deep secret the entire time they were together. I will not say what it is but I'm sure you can put 2 and 2 together. It's here where the film really generates it's momentum and closes out in fine fashion.
The performances were top notch. From Fiennes to David Kross (young Michael) to finally Winslet. In my opinion her performance mirrors the flow of the film. At first I was doubting what made her so special, just as I was doubting the film as well. But then as the film began to pick up steam so did Winslet. Her character's turn while she was in prison was very emotional and had a lot of heart behind it.
Does this make her a lock for Best Actress? I would say that she's got the best chance but who knows? The Academy is notorious for screwing up their own awards.
Overall The Reader is a well made, well written film that deserves the accolades it's receiving. My only bone to pick was how the movie was marketed. The trailer was very deceptive and painted a very different picture of what The Reader really was.
I understand that a well cut trailer is designed to spark enough interest to get butts in the seats. But if you have to resort to bait and switch tactics then you not only fail to trust your property you do something much worse. You insult the intelligence of the movie going public.
On the 5 star scale, The Reader gets 3.5 stars and a "Go see it" recommendation.
By my count that's 3 of the 5 Best Picture nominated films down and 2 to go. Slumdog Millionaire and Milk are on the horizon.
Until Next Episode....I'll save you a seat.
I know you all missed me so I figured I would get right back at it. Before I get started I want to tell you my new scoring system for rating these films. I will now go off a 5 star rating followed by my recommendation which can fall into the following categories.
"Save the loot"
"Netflix it"
"Give it a shot"
"Go see it"
And finally
"Worth every penny"
Today's review will be The Reader directed by Stephen Daldry. The script was written by David Hare. It's an adaptation of Bernhard Schlink's book "Der Vorleser."
This film has been nominated for 5 Academy Awards.
Best Cinematography
Best Adapted Screenplay - David Hare
Best Director - Stephen Daldry
Best Actress - Kate Winslet
Best Picture
As I was watching this movie 1 question continued to pop in my head. Why was this movie nominated for best picture? It starts off at a snail pace and seemed very mundane. However, about midway through, the film takes a turn that immediately changed my viewpoint.
The film begins in 1995 Germany. We see an old Michael Berg played by Ralph Fiennes staring out his apartment window as a train passes by. From that moment we flash back to a teenage Michael on a trolley car. He gets off the trolley and staggers to an alley where he vomits then collapses.
At that moment Hanna Schmitz played by Kate Winslet arrives. She sees Michael in his condition and tends to him. She cleans him up and takes him home. It turns out that Michael has scarlet fever and ends up bedridden for a couple of months. After he's recovered, Michael goes back to Hanna's apartment to thank her for her help and so begins their torrid summer love affair.
The film continues to establish the physical and emotional bond between Hanna and Michael through several montages. Including a scenario where Hanna informs Michael that before they are intimate he must read to her from the many books that he's studying in school. As the year they spend together progresses, Michael begins to socialize with girls from school but they do very little to sway his mind and heart from Hanna.
Meanwhile, Hanna receives a promotion at her job from a trolley usher to an office position. It's then when Hanna encourages Michael to face the reality that their relationship is not going to last and that it's time for him to move on. Michael reluctantly does so but he can't let her go. He goes to see her only to find that she has mysteriously disappeared.
Several years pass and Michael is now a law student. He participates in a seminar taught by a jewish lawyer who was a concentration camp survivor. The group attends a trial where several women are accused of letting 300 Jewish women die in a burning church when they were SS guards on the Death marches following the 1944 evacuation of Auschwitz concentration camp. To Michael's surprise, Hanna is one of the defendants.
The key evidence is the testimony of a young Jewish woman who has written a memoir about how she and her mother survived. When Hanna testifies, unlike her fellow defendants, she admits that she was aware Auschwitz was an extermination camp and that the ten women she chose each month were subsequently gassed. She denies authorship of a report on the barn fire, despite pressure from the other defendants, but then suddenly admits it.
It's at that moment, Michael realizes that Hanna has been hiding a deep secret the entire time they were together. I will not say what it is but I'm sure you can put 2 and 2 together. It's here where the film really generates it's momentum and closes out in fine fashion.
The performances were top notch. From Fiennes to David Kross (young Michael) to finally Winslet. In my opinion her performance mirrors the flow of the film. At first I was doubting what made her so special, just as I was doubting the film as well. But then as the film began to pick up steam so did Winslet. Her character's turn while she was in prison was very emotional and had a lot of heart behind it.
Does this make her a lock for Best Actress? I would say that she's got the best chance but who knows? The Academy is notorious for screwing up their own awards.
Overall The Reader is a well made, well written film that deserves the accolades it's receiving. My only bone to pick was how the movie was marketed. The trailer was very deceptive and painted a very different picture of what The Reader really was.
I understand that a well cut trailer is designed to spark enough interest to get butts in the seats. But if you have to resort to bait and switch tactics then you not only fail to trust your property you do something much worse. You insult the intelligence of the movie going public.
On the 5 star scale, The Reader gets 3.5 stars and a "Go see it" recommendation.
By my count that's 3 of the 5 Best Picture nominated films down and 2 to go. Slumdog Millionaire and Milk are on the horizon.
Until Next Episode....I'll save you a seat.
Frost/Nixon
Welcome to another installment the “D” List
For my next review I offer you a much deserving recommendation for the very entertaining Frost/Nixon Starring Frank Langella as Richard Nixon and Michael Sheen as David Frost. The film is an adaptation of Peter Morgan's stage play, he penned the script and it's directed by Ron Howard who I have to applaud for his work on this film. I am not a big Ron Howard fan. I feel that overall his films are too long and can be unbearable to watch but this film is well paced and at 122 mins you are never bogged down.
The plot of this film is simple. It's based on the several events after Watergate from Nixon's resignation to his banishment and the unrest and anger the country felt after he was pardoned by President Ford. It also follows the career of British talk show host David Frost and his inspiration to interview the shamed former president. The film goes on and shows the events leading up to the several interviews that take place between Frost and Nixon until the final day of shooting when Frost is able to break Nixon and get a backhanded admission of wrong doing by Nixon concerning Watergate.
What made this film much more enjoyable for me was how the story was told. It wasn't done in a typical retelling of an historical event from point A to point B instead it was intercut with the present day accounts of some of the key people involved with the interviews i.e. Nixon's former chief of staff, Nixon's agent who brokered the deal with Frost and on the other side Frost's producer and his investigative team.
They shared their experiences and opinions directly as it related to the event we were seeing at the time. It was a very clever and entertaining way to tell a story that many of us already know exists but the highlight of this film is not doubt the oscar worthy performance of Frank Langella as Tricky Dick. He doesn't sound exactly like him and barely shares a resemblance but his portrayal of the shamed president turned vagabond was magnificent. You see the pain Nixon felt being exiled from a world that he loved so much and his desire to reclaim his standing in society. The interview scenes between Langella and Sheen are amazing. Nixon stonewall's Frost into submission and skirts around the topics of controversy so skillfully that Frost's team begins to doubt his ability to accomplish the goal.
Sadly what gets lost in this film is the performance of Michael Sheen as Frost. You are transported into Langella's Nixon that Sheen's Frost is overlooked which is a shame because Sheen goes toe to toe with Langella in the scenes that they have together.
The film also has a stellar supporting cast led by Sam Rockwell, Oliver Platt and Kevin Bacon. They round out a solid team of actor's that collectively made a wonderful film.
I'm not sure how the academy will see this but I am making Frost/Nixon my darkhorse pick for Best Picture and Frank Langella is my choice for Best Actor. I would have also added Michael Sheen as my choice for Best Supporting Actor but that will and should go to Heath Ledger for his performance as The Joker in The Dark Knight.
Overall Frost/Nixon gets an A.
My next review will be The Wrestler by Darren Aaronofsky Starring Mickey Rourke who is getting a lot of Oscar buzz. We'll see if he can powerslam Frank Langella for Best Actor
Until Next time...I'll save you a seat.
"D"
For my next review I offer you a much deserving recommendation for the very entertaining Frost/Nixon Starring Frank Langella as Richard Nixon and Michael Sheen as David Frost. The film is an adaptation of Peter Morgan's stage play, he penned the script and it's directed by Ron Howard who I have to applaud for his work on this film. I am not a big Ron Howard fan. I feel that overall his films are too long and can be unbearable to watch but this film is well paced and at 122 mins you are never bogged down.
The plot of this film is simple. It's based on the several events after Watergate from Nixon's resignation to his banishment and the unrest and anger the country felt after he was pardoned by President Ford. It also follows the career of British talk show host David Frost and his inspiration to interview the shamed former president. The film goes on and shows the events leading up to the several interviews that take place between Frost and Nixon until the final day of shooting when Frost is able to break Nixon and get a backhanded admission of wrong doing by Nixon concerning Watergate.
What made this film much more enjoyable for me was how the story was told. It wasn't done in a typical retelling of an historical event from point A to point B instead it was intercut with the present day accounts of some of the key people involved with the interviews i.e. Nixon's former chief of staff, Nixon's agent who brokered the deal with Frost and on the other side Frost's producer and his investigative team.
They shared their experiences and opinions directly as it related to the event we were seeing at the time. It was a very clever and entertaining way to tell a story that many of us already know exists but the highlight of this film is not doubt the oscar worthy performance of Frank Langella as Tricky Dick. He doesn't sound exactly like him and barely shares a resemblance but his portrayal of the shamed president turned vagabond was magnificent. You see the pain Nixon felt being exiled from a world that he loved so much and his desire to reclaim his standing in society. The interview scenes between Langella and Sheen are amazing. Nixon stonewall's Frost into submission and skirts around the topics of controversy so skillfully that Frost's team begins to doubt his ability to accomplish the goal.
Sadly what gets lost in this film is the performance of Michael Sheen as Frost. You are transported into Langella's Nixon that Sheen's Frost is overlooked which is a shame because Sheen goes toe to toe with Langella in the scenes that they have together.
The film also has a stellar supporting cast led by Sam Rockwell, Oliver Platt and Kevin Bacon. They round out a solid team of actor's that collectively made a wonderful film.
I'm not sure how the academy will see this but I am making Frost/Nixon my darkhorse pick for Best Picture and Frank Langella is my choice for Best Actor. I would have also added Michael Sheen as my choice for Best Supporting Actor but that will and should go to Heath Ledger for his performance as The Joker in The Dark Knight.
Overall Frost/Nixon gets an A.
My next review will be The Wrestler by Darren Aaronofsky Starring Mickey Rourke who is getting a lot of Oscar buzz. We'll see if he can powerslam Frank Langella for Best Actor
Until Next time...I'll save you a seat.
"D"
Slumdog Millionaire
Welcome to another episode of The "D" List.
Today's review is Slumdog Millionaire. This year's winner for Best Picture. Hands down. No contest.
The film was directed by Danny Boyle and Co Directed by Loveleen Tandan. She received a director credit while they shot in India.
The Script was written by Simon Beaufoy adapted by the book Q&A written by Vikas Swarup.
This film may be small by industry standards i.e. Budget, Cast, Director. But it's a POWERHOUSE in storytelling.
The plot of Slumdog Millionaire takes place in Mumbai where Jamal Malik played by newcomer and future star Dev Patel is being "interrogated" by police for suspicion of cheating on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. After several failed attempts to break Jamal, they decide to use much stronger methods when Jamal relents and tells his story. It's here where Slumdog Millionaire takes off and doesn't stop until the end credits.
Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother Salim grew up, of their adventures together on the road, of vicious encounters with local gangs, and of Latika played by Freida Pinto, the girl he loved and lost.
These stories are told in flashbacks and what makes them so clever is that every memory has a direct relationship to the corresponding question that Jamal is asked on the show revealing the answer. They also establish the ever changing relationship between Jamal, Salim and Latika as they get older.
What becomes evident as Jamal advances throughout the game is that he could care less about winning the money. The fact that he is becoming a celebrity and adored by millions of people mean nothing to him. He cares about 1 thing and 1 thing only and that's finding the woman he loves. Jamal hoped that his appearance on the show would get him noticed by Latika so they could be reunited.
There are several other layers and subplots to this film but I have decided not go into them because they deserve to be experienced rather than explained. The point is simply that Slumdog Millionaire is one of the most creative and entertaining love stories that I have seen since Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. You read correctly, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a love story and to think it's a kung fu film is an insult to what that movie's real message was.
Danny Boyle has returned to his roots since he made Trainspotting and 28 Days Later. Slumdog Millionaire once again showed his ability to tell a great story and do it in an unconventional way giving it a fresh and original feel. The cast is outstanding highlighted by Patel. Another noteworthy performance is from Anil Kapoor as Prem Kumar the game show host. There is a very interesting dynamic between him and Jamal which shines through in a well crafted scene that takes place during a commercial break and when the show resumes.
Bottom line is that Slumdog Millionaire is a wonderful film that reminds you why you go to the movies. Movies provide an escape from everyday challenges but they can also teach you lessons. This film does both. You escape in the world of Jamal's rise from rags to riches. And most importantly you learn that when you truly love someone, never give up and keep the faith because in the end if it's truly meant to be your faith will be rewarded.
On the 5 star scale Slumdog Millionaire gets 4.5 stars and a big "Worth Every Penny" recommendation.
I realize that some of my other reviews have been longer and more thorough but I honestly feel that this film MUST be seen to get the full effect of it's entertainment. I refuse to spoil what this film has to offer you should you venture to the cinema.
One thing I'm not spoiling is that Slumdog Millionaire is without a shadow a doubt this year's oscar winner for Best Picture. I know I said Frost/Nixon was my initial pick but just like this film has changed many minds in Hollywood it has changed mine and for the better in my opinion.
That now brings my Best Picture tally to 4 out of 5. Milk is last on my list.
Until Next Episode....I'll save you a seat.
Today's review is Slumdog Millionaire. This year's winner for Best Picture. Hands down. No contest.
The film was directed by Danny Boyle and Co Directed by Loveleen Tandan. She received a director credit while they shot in India.
The Script was written by Simon Beaufoy adapted by the book Q&A written by Vikas Swarup.
This film may be small by industry standards i.e. Budget, Cast, Director. But it's a POWERHOUSE in storytelling.
The plot of Slumdog Millionaire takes place in Mumbai where Jamal Malik played by newcomer and future star Dev Patel is being "interrogated" by police for suspicion of cheating on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. After several failed attempts to break Jamal, they decide to use much stronger methods when Jamal relents and tells his story. It's here where Slumdog Millionaire takes off and doesn't stop until the end credits.
Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother Salim grew up, of their adventures together on the road, of vicious encounters with local gangs, and of Latika played by Freida Pinto, the girl he loved and lost.
These stories are told in flashbacks and what makes them so clever is that every memory has a direct relationship to the corresponding question that Jamal is asked on the show revealing the answer. They also establish the ever changing relationship between Jamal, Salim and Latika as they get older.
What becomes evident as Jamal advances throughout the game is that he could care less about winning the money. The fact that he is becoming a celebrity and adored by millions of people mean nothing to him. He cares about 1 thing and 1 thing only and that's finding the woman he loves. Jamal hoped that his appearance on the show would get him noticed by Latika so they could be reunited.
There are several other layers and subplots to this film but I have decided not go into them because they deserve to be experienced rather than explained. The point is simply that Slumdog Millionaire is one of the most creative and entertaining love stories that I have seen since Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. You read correctly, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a love story and to think it's a kung fu film is an insult to what that movie's real message was.
Danny Boyle has returned to his roots since he made Trainspotting and 28 Days Later. Slumdog Millionaire once again showed his ability to tell a great story and do it in an unconventional way giving it a fresh and original feel. The cast is outstanding highlighted by Patel. Another noteworthy performance is from Anil Kapoor as Prem Kumar the game show host. There is a very interesting dynamic between him and Jamal which shines through in a well crafted scene that takes place during a commercial break and when the show resumes.
Bottom line is that Slumdog Millionaire is a wonderful film that reminds you why you go to the movies. Movies provide an escape from everyday challenges but they can also teach you lessons. This film does both. You escape in the world of Jamal's rise from rags to riches. And most importantly you learn that when you truly love someone, never give up and keep the faith because in the end if it's truly meant to be your faith will be rewarded.
On the 5 star scale Slumdog Millionaire gets 4.5 stars and a big "Worth Every Penny" recommendation.
I realize that some of my other reviews have been longer and more thorough but I honestly feel that this film MUST be seen to get the full effect of it's entertainment. I refuse to spoil what this film has to offer you should you venture to the cinema.
One thing I'm not spoiling is that Slumdog Millionaire is without a shadow a doubt this year's oscar winner for Best Picture. I know I said Frost/Nixon was my initial pick but just like this film has changed many minds in Hollywood it has changed mine and for the better in my opinion.
That now brings my Best Picture tally to 4 out of 5. Milk is last on my list.
Until Next Episode....I'll save you a seat.
The Wrestler
Welcome to another episode of The "D" List
Today's review will be The Wrestler written by Robert D. Siegel. Directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring this year's oscar winner for best actor Mickey Rourke for his masterful performace as Randy "The Ram" Robinson.
Now if you recall after my Frost/Nixon review I proclaimed Frank Langella the winner for best actor well I can safely say that Rourke's performance as Randy "The Ram" Robinson smashes Langella's performance as Richard Nixon over the head with a chair. Please forgive the wrestling puns, they are too good to resist so I plan to use them in this review.
Before I begin to break down this amazing film I would like to give you all a little lesson pro wrestling 101 style if I may. I was a big time pro wrestling fan but as I got older the sideshow antics became too cheesy for me so I moved on to other forms of entertainment but what occasionally drew me back to wrestling from time to time was the "where are they now" thought. The constant wondering of what happened to my former heroes and this is where the lesson comes in.
If I was asked to describe professional wrestling in 1 word I would say it's cyclical. For the most part a wrestler will end his or her career the exact same way he or she started it. The sport of pro wrestling is not like football or baseball where top talent is drafted or traded for, it is discovered and how does a wrestler get discovered? The answer is by the grace of god.
A wrestler trying to make it to the big time will start in small and I mean very small promotions where they will perform in front of crowds of 100 people or less in places like bingo halls for next to nothing to sometimes no pay and as long as they can avoid major injury while performing at top level and maintain a strong and loyal fan base the promoter may drop your name to a bigger faction and thus begins their ascension to fame and fortune in the world of big bucks and body slams.
However, the flip side to this success story is that just like in pro sports an athlete's "life span" can be very short and for a wrestler that's the kiss of death because you are no good to the promoter or the promotion if you can't go out every night and beat the crap out of your opponent. So to maintain their edge the wrestler turns to you guessed it....Drugs, specifically steroids, HGH and painkillers which as we all know over time destroys their bodies on top of the punishment they receive after a 45 minute steel cage match.
So when a wrestler squanders away their fame and flames out in the big promotions (and trust me most of them do) and they can't latch on to any of the other middle level federations they end right back up at the bingo hall performing for people who are just as old as they are or worse....people who don't have a clue who they are. It really is a sad ending for someone who dedicated their lives and bodies for the entertainment of others and when they have outlived their use-fullness they are tossed out.
This is where the plot of The Wrestler comes in. Mickey Rourke's Randy "The Ram" Robinson was a former mega star in the wrestling world. A world champion at the top of his game but when we see him now he's a broken down beaten man trying to stay on top in a world that has long since passed him by. He still remains the main event attraction when he wrestles but like all of the other has been's, it's in front of small crowds at the bingo hall's. In the locker room he is immensely revered and respected by the other wrestler's. Most of them were kids when The Ram was a superstar so to them working with a legend is an honor rather than a joke.
When he's not wrestling Randy works part time at a supermarket trying to make ends meet and for entertainment he frequents a local strip club when he is a loyal customer to a dancer named Cassidy played by the very talented, beautiful and severely underrated Marisa Tomei. The film takes a twist when after a grueling hardcore match, The Ram suffers a heart attack that required bypass surgery. Before being released the doctor advises Randy to stop taking the steroids and other drugs and that unless he's willing to risk another heart attack or dying that he has to hang up his tights.
The Ram reluctantly retires and tries to move on with his life. He gets steady work at the market and develops a comfort level with his new life until he tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter. Initially she rejects the sight of him but his persistence breaks her hatred just enough that she agrees to go out with him. Over time The Ram begins to miss the ring and goes to a show to see the matches. Being there rekindles The Ram's love for the sport that made him so famous but at a cost. Going to the show made him miss his date with his daughter which was the last straw. She disowns him sending The Ram spiraling down with emotions of pain and guilt, to the point where he decides to return to the ring despite the potential consequences. I will not divulge the ending because it was done so perfectly that it deserves to be seen and not explained.
Now on to the "Main Event" (I warned you I would be using wrestling puns) There is a saying in the world of motion pictures that every once in a while an actor or actress was "born" to play a role, and it's more than likely that many will say that about Mickey Rourke and his portrayal of Randy "The Ram" Robinson. Well I couldn't DISAGREE more. To say that Rourke was born to play this role would be an insult to his acting ability and to his performance as a whole. I truly believe that nobody is born to play a role instead they become the "right" person for the role and in this case this was the right role for Mickey Rourke and he was the right choice, the timing was perfect for both him and the project. Rourke infuses so much life and pain behind The Ram's beaten soul that you continue to root for him even when he screws up which in my opinion makes a special performance.
A lot of credit has to go to Aronofsky for sticking to his guns and keeping Rourke attached to the project. The word on the street was that the studio who originally had the rights to The Wrestler felt that Rourke was not a big enough name to sell the film so they wanted to replace him with Nicolas Cage. Aronofsky "slammed" that idea and as a result the studio passed on the film until finally the good people at Fox Searchlight saw the writing on the wall and made the best decision a studio could make which was to trust the director and his vision. The end result was a no holds barred, in your face, gritty film that is worth all the acclaim it receives and will continue to receive, highlighted by an oscar winning performance from an actor who has more talent in his left nostril than most of the so called stars today have in their whole bodies.
This also re-enforces my point about Mickey Rourke's performance. I personally don't think that Nicolas Cage is that great an actor but there's no reason that suggests that he couldn't have done a great job in this film. Having said that however, after seeing Rourke put all of his heart and soul behind this character, there is no way anyone else
could have pulled this off. Rourke just gets it. You truly believe he is a pro wrestler not just an actor playing one. From actually wrestling in the ring against real wrestlers to assuming the identity of his alter ego. Throughout the film if people called the The Ram by his real name (which is Robin by the way) he corrects them and tells them to call him Randy. That is a major character trait in the wrestling world and to prove it I ask you this. Have you ever heard Hulk Hogan called by his real name Terry before? I rest my case.
The Wrestler is one of those rare films that comes along every year and sneaks in under the radar behind the major studios tentpole pictures and provides more heart, imagination and most importantly entertainment.
Overall my grade for The Wrestler is an A with a high recommendation. Mickey Rourke's performance deserves to be seen and should not be missed.
That's it for the "D" List for now. I plan to catch up on my cinema adventures very soon. With the Oscar nominations out, I plan to continue my yearly tradition of seeing every film that was nominated for Best Picture. As of now the count is 2 down Ben Button and Frost/Nixon and 3 to go. So be on the lookout for my reviews on The Reader, Slumdog Millionaire and Milk.
On a personal note I would like to thank all of you who have commented/praised my reviews of these films. I am glad that you all get as much pleasure in reading these as I do writing them. Also if you know anyone that might get a kick out of reading these please feel free to pass them along or ask them to send me their email address so I can add them to the list.
Until Next Episode....I'll save you a seat.
"D"
Today's review will be The Wrestler written by Robert D. Siegel. Directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring this year's oscar winner for best actor Mickey Rourke for his masterful performace as Randy "The Ram" Robinson.
Now if you recall after my Frost/Nixon review I proclaimed Frank Langella the winner for best actor well I can safely say that Rourke's performance as Randy "The Ram" Robinson smashes Langella's performance as Richard Nixon over the head with a chair. Please forgive the wrestling puns, they are too good to resist so I plan to use them in this review.
Before I begin to break down this amazing film I would like to give you all a little lesson pro wrestling 101 style if I may. I was a big time pro wrestling fan but as I got older the sideshow antics became too cheesy for me so I moved on to other forms of entertainment but what occasionally drew me back to wrestling from time to time was the "where are they now" thought. The constant wondering of what happened to my former heroes and this is where the lesson comes in.
If I was asked to describe professional wrestling in 1 word I would say it's cyclical. For the most part a wrestler will end his or her career the exact same way he or she started it. The sport of pro wrestling is not like football or baseball where top talent is drafted or traded for, it is discovered and how does a wrestler get discovered? The answer is by the grace of god.
A wrestler trying to make it to the big time will start in small and I mean very small promotions where they will perform in front of crowds of 100 people or less in places like bingo halls for next to nothing to sometimes no pay and as long as they can avoid major injury while performing at top level and maintain a strong and loyal fan base the promoter may drop your name to a bigger faction and thus begins their ascension to fame and fortune in the world of big bucks and body slams.
However, the flip side to this success story is that just like in pro sports an athlete's "life span" can be very short and for a wrestler that's the kiss of death because you are no good to the promoter or the promotion if you can't go out every night and beat the crap out of your opponent. So to maintain their edge the wrestler turns to you guessed it....Drugs, specifically steroids, HGH and painkillers which as we all know over time destroys their bodies on top of the punishment they receive after a 45 minute steel cage match.
So when a wrestler squanders away their fame and flames out in the big promotions (and trust me most of them do) and they can't latch on to any of the other middle level federations they end right back up at the bingo hall performing for people who are just as old as they are or worse....people who don't have a clue who they are. It really is a sad ending for someone who dedicated their lives and bodies for the entertainment of others and when they have outlived their use-fullness they are tossed out.
This is where the plot of The Wrestler comes in. Mickey Rourke's Randy "The Ram" Robinson was a former mega star in the wrestling world. A world champion at the top of his game but when we see him now he's a broken down beaten man trying to stay on top in a world that has long since passed him by. He still remains the main event attraction when he wrestles but like all of the other has been's, it's in front of small crowds at the bingo hall's. In the locker room he is immensely revered and respected by the other wrestler's. Most of them were kids when The Ram was a superstar so to them working with a legend is an honor rather than a joke.
When he's not wrestling Randy works part time at a supermarket trying to make ends meet and for entertainment he frequents a local strip club when he is a loyal customer to a dancer named Cassidy played by the very talented, beautiful and severely underrated Marisa Tomei. The film takes a twist when after a grueling hardcore match, The Ram suffers a heart attack that required bypass surgery. Before being released the doctor advises Randy to stop taking the steroids and other drugs and that unless he's willing to risk another heart attack or dying that he has to hang up his tights.
The Ram reluctantly retires and tries to move on with his life. He gets steady work at the market and develops a comfort level with his new life until he tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter. Initially she rejects the sight of him but his persistence breaks her hatred just enough that she agrees to go out with him. Over time The Ram begins to miss the ring and goes to a show to see the matches. Being there rekindles The Ram's love for the sport that made him so famous but at a cost. Going to the show made him miss his date with his daughter which was the last straw. She disowns him sending The Ram spiraling down with emotions of pain and guilt, to the point where he decides to return to the ring despite the potential consequences. I will not divulge the ending because it was done so perfectly that it deserves to be seen and not explained.
Now on to the "Main Event" (I warned you I would be using wrestling puns) There is a saying in the world of motion pictures that every once in a while an actor or actress was "born" to play a role, and it's more than likely that many will say that about Mickey Rourke and his portrayal of Randy "The Ram" Robinson. Well I couldn't DISAGREE more. To say that Rourke was born to play this role would be an insult to his acting ability and to his performance as a whole. I truly believe that nobody is born to play a role instead they become the "right" person for the role and in this case this was the right role for Mickey Rourke and he was the right choice, the timing was perfect for both him and the project. Rourke infuses so much life and pain behind The Ram's beaten soul that you continue to root for him even when he screws up which in my opinion makes a special performance.
A lot of credit has to go to Aronofsky for sticking to his guns and keeping Rourke attached to the project. The word on the street was that the studio who originally had the rights to The Wrestler felt that Rourke was not a big enough name to sell the film so they wanted to replace him with Nicolas Cage. Aronofsky "slammed" that idea and as a result the studio passed on the film until finally the good people at Fox Searchlight saw the writing on the wall and made the best decision a studio could make which was to trust the director and his vision. The end result was a no holds barred, in your face, gritty film that is worth all the acclaim it receives and will continue to receive, highlighted by an oscar winning performance from an actor who has more talent in his left nostril than most of the so called stars today have in their whole bodies.
This also re-enforces my point about Mickey Rourke's performance. I personally don't think that Nicolas Cage is that great an actor but there's no reason that suggests that he couldn't have done a great job in this film. Having said that however, after seeing Rourke put all of his heart and soul behind this character, there is no way anyone else
could have pulled this off. Rourke just gets it. You truly believe he is a pro wrestler not just an actor playing one. From actually wrestling in the ring against real wrestlers to assuming the identity of his alter ego. Throughout the film if people called the The Ram by his real name (which is Robin by the way) he corrects them and tells them to call him Randy. That is a major character trait in the wrestling world and to prove it I ask you this. Have you ever heard Hulk Hogan called by his real name Terry before? I rest my case.
The Wrestler is one of those rare films that comes along every year and sneaks in under the radar behind the major studios tentpole pictures and provides more heart, imagination and most importantly entertainment.
Overall my grade for The Wrestler is an A with a high recommendation. Mickey Rourke's performance deserves to be seen and should not be missed.
That's it for the "D" List for now. I plan to catch up on my cinema adventures very soon. With the Oscar nominations out, I plan to continue my yearly tradition of seeing every film that was nominated for Best Picture. As of now the count is 2 down Ben Button and Frost/Nixon and 3 to go. So be on the lookout for my reviews on The Reader, Slumdog Millionaire and Milk.
On a personal note I would like to thank all of you who have commented/praised my reviews of these films. I am glad that you all get as much pleasure in reading these as I do writing them. Also if you know anyone that might get a kick out of reading these please feel free to pass them along or ask them to send me their email address so I can add them to the list.
Until Next Episode....I'll save you a seat.
"D"
Milk
Welcome to another episode of The "D" List.
Today's review is Milk directed by Gus Van Sant and written by Dustin Lance Black.
The film is based on the late Harvey Milk's journey from a camera shop owner to the 1st openly gay member of political office.
Upon moving to San Francisco from New York City in 1972, forty year old Harvey Milk played by the amazing Sean Penn gains focus in his life as a gay activist in the city's Castro district. Gay rights activism turns to political activism as Milk decides he can be a more effective voice for the gay community as a politician, elected or not.
Through several elections and losses both for a city seat and a state assembly seat, Milk does not give up. And in 1977 becomes the first openly gay man in the United States to be elected to political office when he wins a San Francisco supervisor seat. His many political battlefronts include one with the national anti-gay "Save the Children" crusade, which intended to repeal a law that protected gay civil rights from discrimination called Proposition 6.
The movement was led and fronted by singer and religious zealot Anita Bryant and later supported by California State Senator John Briggs. Closer to home, Milk had a continuing struggle with his fellow supervisor, Dan White, a staunch social conservative. That confrontation with ultimately lead to his tragic assassination at the hands of White in 1978.
That is the bare bones plot of Milk. But there is so much else behind this unbelievable film that like other movies I have reviewed, they MUST be experienced rather than explained.
Milk was for me a very emotional film. You are transported back to a time when gay's were not accepted in society and branded as an abomination to humanity. And to see people in positions of power abuse that power to harass and belittle the gay community inspired a tremendous amount of hate within me. I wanted to as the cliche goes, jump into the screen and open up a can of whoop ass on those ignorant, self righteous bigots.
Which I'm sure was Van Sant's the intention. There is no payoff if you aren't seeing and experiencing what Milk and his supporters had to go through. You are supposed to feel the same way the gay community felt at the time so you can feel the same sense of victory when Milk gets elected to office and ultimately defeats Prop 6.
What Milk accomplished by defeating the bigots by the bay did more than just unite the gay community in the face of political tyranny. It showed that the established order can be upset by peaceful and political means. The gays were persecuted throughout this film and it would be more than understandable if they retaliated through violence. Instead Milk used another tactic that started with a "V". He used his VOICE. And that voice carried throughout the country and made you proud of what he achieved.
And that sense of pride is a direct result of the performance of Sean Penn as Harvey Milk. I can't give any better compliment than this. There is NO MOVIE without him. Penn is the heart and soul of Milk. There is so much emotion that drives his portrayal of Harvey Milk that while watching the film you believe in him and his ideas for equality. You get the sense that Milk was destined to be a driving force for the gay community only now to be forced to live with the fact that a GREAT MAN is no longer with us. He is a big time challenger for Mickey Rourke in the Best Actor race.
The rest of the cast is equally impressive headlined not by Academy Award Nominee Josh Brolin for his portrayal of Dan White but by James Franco as Milk's former lover and campaign manager Scott Smith. In my opinion, I didn't see anything in Brolin's performance that warranted the nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Don't get me wrong, Brolin like everyone else was great but I just wasn't convinced.
It doesn't really matter anyway because that award is a 1 horse race. The Joker's got that one in the bag. Bet the house on it!
Bottom line, Milk is a tremendous film that honestly can and may give Slumdog Millionaire a serious fight for Best Picture and Best Director at the Oscar's in 2 weeks.
Milk did more to me than create indecision before I make my picks for this year's oscars. Thanks a lot Gus. This goes back to what I said before about the impact that movies can have on an audience.
Milk educated me on what happened back in 1978 and told the story of an amazing man and his crusade for equality which should remind us all that equality is a RIGHT not a privilege. When a film inspires that kind of emotion, it becomes more than a form of entertainment it becomes something special which should make all of us proud be to around to witness it.
On the 5 star scale. Milk gets the full house, 5 stars and a resounding "Worth Every Penny" recommendation. I am so glad I saw this film and I encourage everyone of you to do the same if you haven't already.
Well that takes care of the 5 Best Picture nominated films and I must say that this has been a pretty good "Best Picture" year. With the exception of Ben Button which I feel is an ABSOLUTE JOKE that it's nominated for Best Picture. The other films were a joy to watch and worth their recognition.
I'm not sure what's on tap for The "D" List now but you never know. I do plan to make my Oscar picks before the awards show on Feb 23rd so look out for that and feel free to debate my choices of you wish.
Until Next Episode....I'll Save You a Seat!
Today's review is Milk directed by Gus Van Sant and written by Dustin Lance Black.
The film is based on the late Harvey Milk's journey from a camera shop owner to the 1st openly gay member of political office.
Upon moving to San Francisco from New York City in 1972, forty year old Harvey Milk played by the amazing Sean Penn gains focus in his life as a gay activist in the city's Castro district. Gay rights activism turns to political activism as Milk decides he can be a more effective voice for the gay community as a politician, elected or not.
Through several elections and losses both for a city seat and a state assembly seat, Milk does not give up. And in 1977 becomes the first openly gay man in the United States to be elected to political office when he wins a San Francisco supervisor seat. His many political battlefronts include one with the national anti-gay "Save the Children" crusade, which intended to repeal a law that protected gay civil rights from discrimination called Proposition 6.
The movement was led and fronted by singer and religious zealot Anita Bryant and later supported by California State Senator John Briggs. Closer to home, Milk had a continuing struggle with his fellow supervisor, Dan White, a staunch social conservative. That confrontation with ultimately lead to his tragic assassination at the hands of White in 1978.
That is the bare bones plot of Milk. But there is so much else behind this unbelievable film that like other movies I have reviewed, they MUST be experienced rather than explained.
Milk was for me a very emotional film. You are transported back to a time when gay's were not accepted in society and branded as an abomination to humanity. And to see people in positions of power abuse that power to harass and belittle the gay community inspired a tremendous amount of hate within me. I wanted to as the cliche goes, jump into the screen and open up a can of whoop ass on those ignorant, self righteous bigots.
Which I'm sure was Van Sant's the intention. There is no payoff if you aren't seeing and experiencing what Milk and his supporters had to go through. You are supposed to feel the same way the gay community felt at the time so you can feel the same sense of victory when Milk gets elected to office and ultimately defeats Prop 6.
What Milk accomplished by defeating the bigots by the bay did more than just unite the gay community in the face of political tyranny. It showed that the established order can be upset by peaceful and political means. The gays were persecuted throughout this film and it would be more than understandable if they retaliated through violence. Instead Milk used another tactic that started with a "V". He used his VOICE. And that voice carried throughout the country and made you proud of what he achieved.
And that sense of pride is a direct result of the performance of Sean Penn as Harvey Milk. I can't give any better compliment than this. There is NO MOVIE without him. Penn is the heart and soul of Milk. There is so much emotion that drives his portrayal of Harvey Milk that while watching the film you believe in him and his ideas for equality. You get the sense that Milk was destined to be a driving force for the gay community only now to be forced to live with the fact that a GREAT MAN is no longer with us. He is a big time challenger for Mickey Rourke in the Best Actor race.
The rest of the cast is equally impressive headlined not by Academy Award Nominee Josh Brolin for his portrayal of Dan White but by James Franco as Milk's former lover and campaign manager Scott Smith. In my opinion, I didn't see anything in Brolin's performance that warranted the nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Don't get me wrong, Brolin like everyone else was great but I just wasn't convinced.
It doesn't really matter anyway because that award is a 1 horse race. The Joker's got that one in the bag. Bet the house on it!
Bottom line, Milk is a tremendous film that honestly can and may give Slumdog Millionaire a serious fight for Best Picture and Best Director at the Oscar's in 2 weeks.
Milk did more to me than create indecision before I make my picks for this year's oscars. Thanks a lot Gus. This goes back to what I said before about the impact that movies can have on an audience.
Milk educated me on what happened back in 1978 and told the story of an amazing man and his crusade for equality which should remind us all that equality is a RIGHT not a privilege. When a film inspires that kind of emotion, it becomes more than a form of entertainment it becomes something special which should make all of us proud be to around to witness it.
On the 5 star scale. Milk gets the full house, 5 stars and a resounding "Worth Every Penny" recommendation. I am so glad I saw this film and I encourage everyone of you to do the same if you haven't already.
Well that takes care of the 5 Best Picture nominated films and I must say that this has been a pretty good "Best Picture" year. With the exception of Ben Button which I feel is an ABSOLUTE JOKE that it's nominated for Best Picture. The other films were a joy to watch and worth their recognition.
I'm not sure what's on tap for The "D" List now but you never know. I do plan to make my Oscar picks before the awards show on Feb 23rd so look out for that and feel free to debate my choices of you wish.
Until Next Episode....I'll Save You a Seat!
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Welcome to another installment of the "D" List.
Today's entry is the Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The reviews for this film has been split. Some consider it a classic and some see it as an overrated film. My take on this film is a little from both sides. I in no way see this film as a classic but it's not a bad film either.
The plot of this film is very simple. Adapted from the great F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story, Benjamin Button tells the story of the birth of a child that in the most peculiar and unexplained fashion grows younger while everyone ages. The film follows Ben's life and how he manages to exist in a world where he is the only one of his kind.
There isn't much left about the story to tell in this film and in my opinion there in lies the problem. For the most part Benjamin spends his time adjusting to the world around him and experiencing life in reverse. The one mainstay subplot is the off and on relationship between him and his love interest Daisy played by Cate Blanchett which drags the film down. The inconsistency of their relationship was very detaching.
When they 1st meet Daisy is a little girl and Benjamin is a much older man and over the course of the film they would meet then lose touch then meet again then lose touch then meet again. There was too much of that and after a while you don't care anymore which is a shame because Brad Pitt's performance makes you care about Benjamin and what happens to him and the problem with this film is that it's so bogged down with nothing that when things do happen (and things do happen) to Ben it's not as powerful as it should be.
The ending does tug at your heart strings but sadly I was so taken away from the film that it didn't have the same effect that similar endings from other films for example The Green Mile had on me.
In my opinion the film struggles to have an identity but never gets there and that is a reflection of the director which is another shame because David Fincher is an extremely talented filmmaker. The one thing that Fincher does do very well is he gets the most out of his cast. The performances of everyone are fascinating highlighted but not Brad Pitt although he was great but by Taraji P. Henson as Queenie Ben's foster mother. She has gotten some oscar buzz for her performance and it is well well deserved. She infuses so much love for Benjamin despite not being his biological mother and the fact that he looked so old as an infant. To her Ben was a miracle than a monster and she brought that across very powerfully.
Overall The Curios Case of Benjamin Button was a decent film but I was expecting a great film and maybe my expectations hurt the experience watching it. I give it a C and a half hearted recommendation.
Hope you enjoyed my take on CCOBB. My next review will be Defiance. Edward Zwick's tale of Jews evading nazi capture in Germany occupied Bellorussia
Until Next Episode.....I'll save you a seat.
"D"
Today's entry is the Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The reviews for this film has been split. Some consider it a classic and some see it as an overrated film. My take on this film is a little from both sides. I in no way see this film as a classic but it's not a bad film either.
The plot of this film is very simple. Adapted from the great F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story, Benjamin Button tells the story of the birth of a child that in the most peculiar and unexplained fashion grows younger while everyone ages. The film follows Ben's life and how he manages to exist in a world where he is the only one of his kind.
There isn't much left about the story to tell in this film and in my opinion there in lies the problem. For the most part Benjamin spends his time adjusting to the world around him and experiencing life in reverse. The one mainstay subplot is the off and on relationship between him and his love interest Daisy played by Cate Blanchett which drags the film down. The inconsistency of their relationship was very detaching.
When they 1st meet Daisy is a little girl and Benjamin is a much older man and over the course of the film they would meet then lose touch then meet again then lose touch then meet again. There was too much of that and after a while you don't care anymore which is a shame because Brad Pitt's performance makes you care about Benjamin and what happens to him and the problem with this film is that it's so bogged down with nothing that when things do happen (and things do happen) to Ben it's not as powerful as it should be.
The ending does tug at your heart strings but sadly I was so taken away from the film that it didn't have the same effect that similar endings from other films for example The Green Mile had on me.
In my opinion the film struggles to have an identity but never gets there and that is a reflection of the director which is another shame because David Fincher is an extremely talented filmmaker. The one thing that Fincher does do very well is he gets the most out of his cast. The performances of everyone are fascinating highlighted but not Brad Pitt although he was great but by Taraji P. Henson as Queenie Ben's foster mother. She has gotten some oscar buzz for her performance and it is well well deserved. She infuses so much love for Benjamin despite not being his biological mother and the fact that he looked so old as an infant. To her Ben was a miracle than a monster and she brought that across very powerfully.
Overall The Curios Case of Benjamin Button was a decent film but I was expecting a great film and maybe my expectations hurt the experience watching it. I give it a C and a half hearted recommendation.
Hope you enjoyed my take on CCOBB. My next review will be Defiance. Edward Zwick's tale of Jews evading nazi capture in Germany occupied Bellorussia
Until Next Episode.....I'll save you a seat.
"D"
Sherlock Holmes
Welcome to the final episode of The "D" List in 2009.
Today's review is Sherlock Holmes. Directed by Guy Ritchie. Written by Michael Robert Johnson, Anthony Peckham & Simon Kinberg. Based on the characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
As the summer season continues it's stranglehold on the blockbuster film market. The holiday season usually reserves itself for showcasing the movies that earn statues instead of $$$. A trend that's becoming more and more evident is the slipping in of a studio blockbuster film. It's actually a pretty clever move. Very akin to Tsun Tzu's The Art of War. Let the impetuous warriors slug it out while the wise warrior sits back and waits for the right moment to join the fight.
What all of this rambling means is that while all of the major studios battled each other for our hard earned summer dollars, others will sit and wait until the carnage is over and swoop in and grab all of the attention with no major competition around to challenge them. 2 films this year have done just that. The 1st being Avatar of course and the 2nd is Sherlock Holmes. This film could have easily been a summer tentpole film for Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow but they decided to back it up to Christmas and it was a brilliant move. You might say it was "elementary." Sorry, I just couldn't resist.
The story takes place in 17th century England and right from the start you are introduced to Sherlock Holmes played by the terrific Robert Downey Jr. as he races against the clock to prevent a crime. I won't say what crime he stops because it's linked to the overall plot. What makes this opening scene so impressive is the pacing, the action and the intelligence. What that means is simply this. You get a 1st hand look at how Sherlock deduces a situation. Now might think that's not so impressive. He's Sherlock Holmes, you're supposed to see how he figures stuff out but in this case you see him hypothesize the best method of success before he attempts it then you see him do it exactly as he pictured it. Think of it like a reverse flashback. It was a very clever way to show how his mind worked. The rest of the film takes us on a ride of mystery and magic as Sherlock along with his faithful partner Dr. Watson played by Jude Law investigate the possibility of the supernatural while uncovering a plot hatched by a special religious order that has several members in high places.
Here's where Sherlock Holmes triumphs. This is not your father's Sherlock Holmes. Doyle's classic character has had many interpretations on both the big and small screen and for the most part he had the look and demeanor of a snotty professor who spoke perfect english and never got his hands dirty in a manner of speaking. This version of Holmes is more like how Doyle created him. A bare knuckle brawling martial artist who drinks, is a loose cannon and a wise ass I might add which was a very nice touch. Sherlock knows he's smarter than you and he's no afraid to tell you but he does it in a way that you know you're being insulted yet you thank him anyway because it felt complimentary.
I promise you, you will never look at Sherlock Holmes the same way after seeing this film and in my opinion that's a good thing because Robert Downey Jr has brought us the real Sherlock Holmes. Very quickly Downey Jr. has acquired a very nice entourage of popular characters, with Iron Man and now Sherlock. Once again he's proven that he can handle both characters and make them his own. So much so that it would be impossible to see anyone else in the role.
Of course the movie is not just all about our friend Sherlock. He is surrounded by an amazing supporting cast starting with Law as Dr. Watson. This is another re-imagination of the classic character. Watson is not the stuffy doctor that just stands by Sherlock side and validates his superior intellect. In fact Watson can be seen here almost as Sherlock's equal. He's a fighter as well and has a very strong mind. What sets the two apart are their conflicting personalities. Sherlock is care free while Watson is calculating. They are basically a yin yang and it's that dynamic that makes the characters so much fun to see on screen. You can see the chemistry between the two and you instantly believe that they have been partners for years. Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler and Mark Strong as Lord Blackwood round out the rest of the crew that make this movie go round.
During production, the film was gaining a lot of chatter both negative and positive. Some of the pros were the cast and the designs but a major con was the director Guy Ritchie. Many felt that he wasn't the right guy to make this movie especially after his recent "flops." I am here to tell you all that the nay-sayers were DEAD WRONG!!! Guy Ritchie was the perfect choice for the simple fact that this kind of storytelling is right up his alley. If you've seen Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch or Rock 'n Rolla then you know what I mean.
Sherlock Holmes plays in a similar fashion with just a touch of extra exposition to keep the audience's attention. All of Ritchie's fingerprints are on this movie. The quick transition editing, the super slo-mo and most importantly the construction of the narrative. By all accounts, Sherlock Holmes is a mystery and the movie plays like one. The only difference is that our title character is so brilliant that he knows what's going before we do so the film has to slow him down so we can catch up. I know that sounds like a negative but trust me it's not. If I had to quibble about something I would have to say the run time. At 2 hrs and 15 min, the final cut could have used a trim here or there to quicken the journey. Aside from that I say Bravo.
On the 5 star scale. Sherlock Holmes gets 4.5 stars with a "Worth Every Penny" recommendation.
This was a fun movie with heart, action, twists and most importantly......a brain.
Well kiddies that all for me in 2009. I had a great year at the movies and I hope you all had a greta time reading these reviews. I'm looking forward to a better year in 2010 with some big changes to The "D" List so stay tuned.
I'm not exactly sure what's on tap for me next. I know that very soon I will begin my "D" List top 10 Best and Worst films of the year so keep an eye out for that. After seeing 42 films this year, it's not going to be easy picking out 10 but I have faith in myself.
I wish each and every one of you a Happy and Healthy New Year and I'll see you at the movies.
Until Next Episode......"I'll Save You A Seat!"
"D"
Today's review is Sherlock Holmes. Directed by Guy Ritchie. Written by Michael Robert Johnson, Anthony Peckham & Simon Kinberg. Based on the characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
As the summer season continues it's stranglehold on the blockbuster film market. The holiday season usually reserves itself for showcasing the movies that earn statues instead of $$$. A trend that's becoming more and more evident is the slipping in of a studio blockbuster film. It's actually a pretty clever move. Very akin to Tsun Tzu's The Art of War. Let the impetuous warriors slug it out while the wise warrior sits back and waits for the right moment to join the fight.
What all of this rambling means is that while all of the major studios battled each other for our hard earned summer dollars, others will sit and wait until the carnage is over and swoop in and grab all of the attention with no major competition around to challenge them. 2 films this year have done just that. The 1st being Avatar of course and the 2nd is Sherlock Holmes. This film could have easily been a summer tentpole film for Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow but they decided to back it up to Christmas and it was a brilliant move. You might say it was "elementary." Sorry, I just couldn't resist.
The story takes place in 17th century England and right from the start you are introduced to Sherlock Holmes played by the terrific Robert Downey Jr. as he races against the clock to prevent a crime. I won't say what crime he stops because it's linked to the overall plot. What makes this opening scene so impressive is the pacing, the action and the intelligence. What that means is simply this. You get a 1st hand look at how Sherlock deduces a situation. Now might think that's not so impressive. He's Sherlock Holmes, you're supposed to see how he figures stuff out but in this case you see him hypothesize the best method of success before he attempts it then you see him do it exactly as he pictured it. Think of it like a reverse flashback. It was a very clever way to show how his mind worked. The rest of the film takes us on a ride of mystery and magic as Sherlock along with his faithful partner Dr. Watson played by Jude Law investigate the possibility of the supernatural while uncovering a plot hatched by a special religious order that has several members in high places.
Here's where Sherlock Holmes triumphs. This is not your father's Sherlock Holmes. Doyle's classic character has had many interpretations on both the big and small screen and for the most part he had the look and demeanor of a snotty professor who spoke perfect english and never got his hands dirty in a manner of speaking. This version of Holmes is more like how Doyle created him. A bare knuckle brawling martial artist who drinks, is a loose cannon and a wise ass I might add which was a very nice touch. Sherlock knows he's smarter than you and he's no afraid to tell you but he does it in a way that you know you're being insulted yet you thank him anyway because it felt complimentary.
I promise you, you will never look at Sherlock Holmes the same way after seeing this film and in my opinion that's a good thing because Robert Downey Jr has brought us the real Sherlock Holmes. Very quickly Downey Jr. has acquired a very nice entourage of popular characters, with Iron Man and now Sherlock. Once again he's proven that he can handle both characters and make them his own. So much so that it would be impossible to see anyone else in the role.
Of course the movie is not just all about our friend Sherlock. He is surrounded by an amazing supporting cast starting with Law as Dr. Watson. This is another re-imagination of the classic character. Watson is not the stuffy doctor that just stands by Sherlock side and validates his superior intellect. In fact Watson can be seen here almost as Sherlock's equal. He's a fighter as well and has a very strong mind. What sets the two apart are their conflicting personalities. Sherlock is care free while Watson is calculating. They are basically a yin yang and it's that dynamic that makes the characters so much fun to see on screen. You can see the chemistry between the two and you instantly believe that they have been partners for years. Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler and Mark Strong as Lord Blackwood round out the rest of the crew that make this movie go round.
During production, the film was gaining a lot of chatter both negative and positive. Some of the pros were the cast and the designs but a major con was the director Guy Ritchie. Many felt that he wasn't the right guy to make this movie especially after his recent "flops." I am here to tell you all that the nay-sayers were DEAD WRONG!!! Guy Ritchie was the perfect choice for the simple fact that this kind of storytelling is right up his alley. If you've seen Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch or Rock 'n Rolla then you know what I mean.
Sherlock Holmes plays in a similar fashion with just a touch of extra exposition to keep the audience's attention. All of Ritchie's fingerprints are on this movie. The quick transition editing, the super slo-mo and most importantly the construction of the narrative. By all accounts, Sherlock Holmes is a mystery and the movie plays like one. The only difference is that our title character is so brilliant that he knows what's going before we do so the film has to slow him down so we can catch up. I know that sounds like a negative but trust me it's not. If I had to quibble about something I would have to say the run time. At 2 hrs and 15 min, the final cut could have used a trim here or there to quicken the journey. Aside from that I say Bravo.
On the 5 star scale. Sherlock Holmes gets 4.5 stars with a "Worth Every Penny" recommendation.
This was a fun movie with heart, action, twists and most importantly......a brain.
Well kiddies that all for me in 2009. I had a great year at the movies and I hope you all had a greta time reading these reviews. I'm looking forward to a better year in 2010 with some big changes to The "D" List so stay tuned.
I'm not exactly sure what's on tap for me next. I know that very soon I will begin my "D" List top 10 Best and Worst films of the year so keep an eye out for that. After seeing 42 films this year, it's not going to be easy picking out 10 but I have faith in myself.
I wish each and every one of you a Happy and Healthy New Year and I'll see you at the movies.
Until Next Episode......"I'll Save You A Seat!"
"D"
Up In The Air
Welcome to another episode of The "D" List.
Today's review is Up In The Air. Directed by Jason Reitman. Written by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner. Based on the novel by same name written by Walter Kirn.
This time of year historically brings the movie going public a mad dash of films that try to jump on the oscars train. With films like Invictus, Precious and upcoming films like The Lovely Bones and Nine. With the exception of a blockbuster or 2 mixed in you usually get a chance for your brain to recover from a summer full of laser blasts and superheroes saving the world from annihilation. I particualrly enjoy the holiday movie season for the above mentioned reason.
I caught Up In The Air this past weekend and many of the "experts" predict that it's one of the best films of the year. Does it have a chance to win Best Picture against some of the films I just mentioned? I guess it's safe to say that any film has a chance to win that award but I don't see it. That's not to say that Up In The Air is a bad film. On the contrary, it's a wonderful movie made by a very talented young director. It just doesn't have the horses to win this particular race.
The story takes us into the life of Ryan Bingham played by a soon to be Best Actor nominated George Clooney. Ryan spends most of his year flying around America as a corporate hitman, assisting in the termination of doomed employees. On a quest to capture a magic number of air miles, Ryan has his life down to a perfect travel science. That is until technology threatens to make his personal touch obsolete, Ryan is handed young Natalie the creator of said technology played by a talented Anna Kendrick. Natalie's a determined go-getter who's never felt the pressure of face-to-face termination. Teaching Natalie the ropes, Ryan is forced to consider his own solitude when a mutual "relationship" with a fellow corporate traveler, Alex played by Vera Farmiga turns romantic, leaving him exposed to feelings he's spent a lifetime suppressing.
What makes Up In The Air so critically acclaimed is mostly because of it's realism. You instantly believe that the people in this film actually exist and live the lives that they portray. Ryan's a man on a mission that has distanced himself from personal contact which includes his family that barely acknowledge his existence. It's only when he's saddled with Natalie that he learns the true value of company. That's something that I think we all can relate to. Another aspect of the movie that I particularly enjoyed was how it ended. Now now.....You know I won't say what happens, the only comment I'll make is that the end fits the films tone like a glove.
This is of course is by Reitman's design who in my opinion has recovered the magic he had from his debut directorial effort Thank You For Smoking. I thought TYFS was a great film and it was critically acclaimed but very under the radar. His next film Juno was extremely overrated yet it gets all the oscar buzz. It even captured an oscar for Diablo Cody's screenplay which was an absolute joke but that's neither her nor there. Reitman's 3rd time at bat brought us a nice blend of Juno's humor and Thank You For Smoking's grounded in reality feel. This of course is aided by Clooney and Kendrick's performances in addition to a very clever filmmaking tactic that helped the flow of movie.
I promise this is not spoiler material but if you feel compelled to now know what trick Reitman uses I will bold the text so you can skip it and continue the rest of the review.
In several places in the film he shows people's reaction to being fired and what they say, what they do, their facial expressions, so on and so forth. Now you are led to believe that it's a montage of Clooney firing all of these people when in reality Clooney's never in the room. Every person we see fired in the film is not an actor but a real life recently laid off person. Reitman put out ads in St. Louis and Detroit posing as a documentary crew looking to document the effect of the recession. When people showed up, they were instructed to treat the camera like the person who fired them and respond as they did or use the opportunity to say what they wished they had. It was a brilliant idea and it helped capture the true effects of how people feel at their most vulnerable.
OK. "Spoiler" over.
If there was something I had to quibble about Up In The Air and believe me it's a small one. It's the fact that there's that epiphany moment that Ryan feels when he realizes that he truly loves Alex and goes after. What happens next I saw coming from a mile away which dropped the films stock a couple of points. You have to see the movie to find out what I mean. Aside from that Up In The Air was a great film and a pretty good date movie. It also gives your eyes to recover after seeing Avatar, trust me, they will thank you for it.
On the 5 star scale. Up In The Air gets 4.5 stars with a "Worth Every Penny" recommendation. Jason Reitman is very quickly establishing himself as a strong force in the film world while stepping out of his father's shadow. Does this movie have some hardware in it's future? Tough to tell but Clooney and Kendrick have great shots for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress respectively and Reitman & Turner have a good shot for Best Adapted Screenplay.
That's all for today. My next review will be Sherlock Holmes. I'm very excited to see this re-imagination of the classic character directed by Guy Ritchie.
On a personal note. I would like to take this time to once again thank all of you for your support and praise of my reviews. I truly am grateful and look forward to taking the next step in the evolution of The "D" list. Stay Tuned.
Have a very Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukah to all my Jewish friends.
Until Next Episode....."I'll Save You A Seat!"
"D"
Today's review is Up In The Air. Directed by Jason Reitman. Written by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner. Based on the novel by same name written by Walter Kirn.
This time of year historically brings the movie going public a mad dash of films that try to jump on the oscars train. With films like Invictus, Precious and upcoming films like The Lovely Bones and Nine. With the exception of a blockbuster or 2 mixed in you usually get a chance for your brain to recover from a summer full of laser blasts and superheroes saving the world from annihilation. I particualrly enjoy the holiday movie season for the above mentioned reason.
I caught Up In The Air this past weekend and many of the "experts" predict that it's one of the best films of the year. Does it have a chance to win Best Picture against some of the films I just mentioned? I guess it's safe to say that any film has a chance to win that award but I don't see it. That's not to say that Up In The Air is a bad film. On the contrary, it's a wonderful movie made by a very talented young director. It just doesn't have the horses to win this particular race.
The story takes us into the life of Ryan Bingham played by a soon to be Best Actor nominated George Clooney. Ryan spends most of his year flying around America as a corporate hitman, assisting in the termination of doomed employees. On a quest to capture a magic number of air miles, Ryan has his life down to a perfect travel science. That is until technology threatens to make his personal touch obsolete, Ryan is handed young Natalie the creator of said technology played by a talented Anna Kendrick. Natalie's a determined go-getter who's never felt the pressure of face-to-face termination. Teaching Natalie the ropes, Ryan is forced to consider his own solitude when a mutual "relationship" with a fellow corporate traveler, Alex played by Vera Farmiga turns romantic, leaving him exposed to feelings he's spent a lifetime suppressing.
What makes Up In The Air so critically acclaimed is mostly because of it's realism. You instantly believe that the people in this film actually exist and live the lives that they portray. Ryan's a man on a mission that has distanced himself from personal contact which includes his family that barely acknowledge his existence. It's only when he's saddled with Natalie that he learns the true value of company. That's something that I think we all can relate to. Another aspect of the movie that I particularly enjoyed was how it ended. Now now.....You know I won't say what happens, the only comment I'll make is that the end fits the films tone like a glove.
This is of course is by Reitman's design who in my opinion has recovered the magic he had from his debut directorial effort Thank You For Smoking. I thought TYFS was a great film and it was critically acclaimed but very under the radar. His next film Juno was extremely overrated yet it gets all the oscar buzz. It even captured an oscar for Diablo Cody's screenplay which was an absolute joke but that's neither her nor there. Reitman's 3rd time at bat brought us a nice blend of Juno's humor and Thank You For Smoking's grounded in reality feel. This of course is aided by Clooney and Kendrick's performances in addition to a very clever filmmaking tactic that helped the flow of movie.
I promise this is not spoiler material but if you feel compelled to now know what trick Reitman uses I will bold the text so you can skip it and continue the rest of the review.
In several places in the film he shows people's reaction to being fired and what they say, what they do, their facial expressions, so on and so forth. Now you are led to believe that it's a montage of Clooney firing all of these people when in reality Clooney's never in the room. Every person we see fired in the film is not an actor but a real life recently laid off person. Reitman put out ads in St. Louis and Detroit posing as a documentary crew looking to document the effect of the recession. When people showed up, they were instructed to treat the camera like the person who fired them and respond as they did or use the opportunity to say what they wished they had. It was a brilliant idea and it helped capture the true effects of how people feel at their most vulnerable.
OK. "Spoiler" over.
If there was something I had to quibble about Up In The Air and believe me it's a small one. It's the fact that there's that epiphany moment that Ryan feels when he realizes that he truly loves Alex and goes after. What happens next I saw coming from a mile away which dropped the films stock a couple of points. You have to see the movie to find out what I mean. Aside from that Up In The Air was a great film and a pretty good date movie. It also gives your eyes to recover after seeing Avatar, trust me, they will thank you for it.
On the 5 star scale. Up In The Air gets 4.5 stars with a "Worth Every Penny" recommendation. Jason Reitman is very quickly establishing himself as a strong force in the film world while stepping out of his father's shadow. Does this movie have some hardware in it's future? Tough to tell but Clooney and Kendrick have great shots for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress respectively and Reitman & Turner have a good shot for Best Adapted Screenplay.
That's all for today. My next review will be Sherlock Holmes. I'm very excited to see this re-imagination of the classic character directed by Guy Ritchie.
On a personal note. I would like to take this time to once again thank all of you for your support and praise of my reviews. I truly am grateful and look forward to taking the next step in the evolution of The "D" list. Stay Tuned.
Have a very Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukah to all my Jewish friends.
Until Next Episode....."I'll Save You A Seat!"
"D"
Avatar
Welcome to another episode of The "D" List.
Today's review is Avatar. Written and Directed by James Cameron.
Well ladies, gentlemen and children of all ages, it's finally here. After 15 years of waiting, James Cameron's big blue alien babies have graced our presence on movie screens everywhere. To give this film it's due it's necessary to give some important technological background on it's creation.
It's no secret to anyone that James Cameron is one of Hollywood's greatest auteurs. The proof is in the pudding. Terminator, Aliens, Titanic are some of cinema's greatest examples of entertainment. If you add The Abyss and True Lies that some may call his "lesser" films which I think is certifiably insane, you have a very impressive lineup of storytelling that withstands the test of time. So the thought going through everyone's mind was how can he top the overwhelming success of Titanic. Cameron had the answer. It was Avatar. The problem was the established filmmaking technology could not keep up with the immense capability of his imagination. So he waited and waited and waited until the hardware would come around the bend and reach the expectations his mind set.
Those expectations were an advanced digital motion capture system that also films in 3D. This allowed the actors to actually act while the computer captured their performances. This is no different to how normal CGI is done the exception here is the advances the cameras have when it comes to getting the shot. The end result is far more lifelike than anyone could ever imagine. The other aspect of the production was the fact that Cameron wanted to create an alien world from scratch that pushed the limits of what CGI could accomplish. These visions took time and a lot of money to become a reality hence the long wait to get this film from page to screen.
The question I know everyone wants answered is was this movie worth the wait?
My answer is simply......Yes and No.
The story takes us into the 22nd century. The earth is dying and a planet called Pandora contains an energy source called Unobtainum that can revive earth. The problem is the "local wildlife." Pandora is inhabited by massive cat like beings called Na'Vi. They reside directly under the main source of the element which creates the struggle. Paralyzed marine Jake Sully played by Sam Worthington volunteers to take part in an experimental unit where human DNA is combined with the DNA of a Na'Vi host called an avatar. The human's conscience is then transferred into the avatar. In plain english you have a remote controlled Na'Vi. Sully goes there to learn about the aliens but the military (as they always do) have another assignment for Jake and his avatar.
The rest of the plot will remain a mystery but as you watch Jake's journey you can see it coming a mile away......and it's here ladies and gentlemen where Avatar's mission fails. Before I get to that let me accentuate the positives and there are many.
Now as a personal preference, I detest 3D. I don't see the point in trying to revive a format of cinema that barely had a pulse and furthermore was a subject of ridicule by generation's x,y and z. However, since that was what Cameron set out to do, I felt as a movie reviewer that I had to respect the effort and see the film the way it was intended. So I saw it in IMAX 3D and to describe this movie in 1 word in the visual department......Impressive.
In it's purest form, Avatar is an orgasm for the eyes. The world of Pandora is so massive and rich with detail that you feel like the planet exists. The colors are vibrant and energetic. The creature designs are absolutely unreal. Not since H.R. Giger's Alien designs have I seen such amazing looking beings. The CGI is as first rate as you can get. For all you Star Wars Episode 1,2 and 3 fans who thought the galaxy that Lucas created was off the hook then I strongly suggest you re-evaluate your opinions because Pandora outshines those designs by leaps and bounds. The sound design is impressive and the action is equally on par with it's look. Cameron no doubt accomplished his goal when it came to pushing the special effects boundary.
This helps and hurts Avatar. As a member of the audience you immerse yourself in this unbelievable spectacle that it distracts you from the basic and harsh truth that the story is both transparent and scarily predictable. Avatar falls into the famous S.O.S (style over substance) category. The disappointing thing is that I know Cameron wasn't trying to jedi mind trick his audience with flashy visuals and mind bending action. All of that stuff makes the film a treat. I just felt betrayed that one of today's most talented and innovative storytellers couldn't come up with a better reason to push the limits of film technology. I think of District 9 as the best example. One of the best films of the summer and maybe the year and it didn't take a decade and a half to make. Better still the story was fresh and new.
On the 5 star scale. Avatar gets 4 stars with a split "Worth Every Penny/Go See It" recommendation. This movie has everything a sci-fi action junkie could ask for with 1 very important exception. Originality.
That's all for today. My next review will be Up In The Air. Jason Reitman's follow up to the very OVERRATED Juno.
Until Next Episode....."I'll Save You A Seat!"
"D"
Today's review is Avatar. Written and Directed by James Cameron.
Well ladies, gentlemen and children of all ages, it's finally here. After 15 years of waiting, James Cameron's big blue alien babies have graced our presence on movie screens everywhere. To give this film it's due it's necessary to give some important technological background on it's creation.
It's no secret to anyone that James Cameron is one of Hollywood's greatest auteurs. The proof is in the pudding. Terminator, Aliens, Titanic are some of cinema's greatest examples of entertainment. If you add The Abyss and True Lies that some may call his "lesser" films which I think is certifiably insane, you have a very impressive lineup of storytelling that withstands the test of time. So the thought going through everyone's mind was how can he top the overwhelming success of Titanic. Cameron had the answer. It was Avatar. The problem was the established filmmaking technology could not keep up with the immense capability of his imagination. So he waited and waited and waited until the hardware would come around the bend and reach the expectations his mind set.
Those expectations were an advanced digital motion capture system that also films in 3D. This allowed the actors to actually act while the computer captured their performances. This is no different to how normal CGI is done the exception here is the advances the cameras have when it comes to getting the shot. The end result is far more lifelike than anyone could ever imagine. The other aspect of the production was the fact that Cameron wanted to create an alien world from scratch that pushed the limits of what CGI could accomplish. These visions took time and a lot of money to become a reality hence the long wait to get this film from page to screen.
The question I know everyone wants answered is was this movie worth the wait?
My answer is simply......Yes and No.
The story takes us into the 22nd century. The earth is dying and a planet called Pandora contains an energy source called Unobtainum that can revive earth. The problem is the "local wildlife." Pandora is inhabited by massive cat like beings called Na'Vi. They reside directly under the main source of the element which creates the struggle. Paralyzed marine Jake Sully played by Sam Worthington volunteers to take part in an experimental unit where human DNA is combined with the DNA of a Na'Vi host called an avatar. The human's conscience is then transferred into the avatar. In plain english you have a remote controlled Na'Vi. Sully goes there to learn about the aliens but the military (as they always do) have another assignment for Jake and his avatar.
The rest of the plot will remain a mystery but as you watch Jake's journey you can see it coming a mile away......and it's here ladies and gentlemen where Avatar's mission fails. Before I get to that let me accentuate the positives and there are many.
Now as a personal preference, I detest 3D. I don't see the point in trying to revive a format of cinema that barely had a pulse and furthermore was a subject of ridicule by generation's x,y and z. However, since that was what Cameron set out to do, I felt as a movie reviewer that I had to respect the effort and see the film the way it was intended. So I saw it in IMAX 3D and to describe this movie in 1 word in the visual department......Impressive.
In it's purest form, Avatar is an orgasm for the eyes. The world of Pandora is so massive and rich with detail that you feel like the planet exists. The colors are vibrant and energetic. The creature designs are absolutely unreal. Not since H.R. Giger's Alien designs have I seen such amazing looking beings. The CGI is as first rate as you can get. For all you Star Wars Episode 1,2 and 3 fans who thought the galaxy that Lucas created was off the hook then I strongly suggest you re-evaluate your opinions because Pandora outshines those designs by leaps and bounds. The sound design is impressive and the action is equally on par with it's look. Cameron no doubt accomplished his goal when it came to pushing the special effects boundary.
This helps and hurts Avatar. As a member of the audience you immerse yourself in this unbelievable spectacle that it distracts you from the basic and harsh truth that the story is both transparent and scarily predictable. Avatar falls into the famous S.O.S (style over substance) category. The disappointing thing is that I know Cameron wasn't trying to jedi mind trick his audience with flashy visuals and mind bending action. All of that stuff makes the film a treat. I just felt betrayed that one of today's most talented and innovative storytellers couldn't come up with a better reason to push the limits of film technology. I think of District 9 as the best example. One of the best films of the summer and maybe the year and it didn't take a decade and a half to make. Better still the story was fresh and new.
On the 5 star scale. Avatar gets 4 stars with a split "Worth Every Penny/Go See It" recommendation. This movie has everything a sci-fi action junkie could ask for with 1 very important exception. Originality.
That's all for today. My next review will be Up In The Air. Jason Reitman's follow up to the very OVERRATED Juno.
Until Next Episode....."I'll Save You A Seat!"
"D"
Invictus
Welcome to another episode of The "D" List.
Today's review is Invictus. Directed by Clint Eastwood. Written by Anthony Peckham. Based on the book "Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation" by John Carlin.
The word Invictus from it's latin roots means unconquered. It's also the title of a poem written by William Ernest Henley first published in 1875. It stood for never giving up in the face of adversity. To always hold your head up high when life brings you down to your knees. The word Invictus now has a new meaning.
In⋅vic⋅tus
-noun
1. Another amazing film made by Clint Eastwood.
2. Potential Oscar Winner.
After the first democratically run election in 1994, South Africa still remained divided racially in the financial and political sectors as well as the sports arena. In the "black" areas of the republic, soccer is the sport played and loved by the people. Across the road in the "white" areas, rugby reigns supreme. Aside from the obvious fact that the poorer areas of the republic have no idea how rugby is played, the national team is represented by a name (The Springboks) and colors (Green and Yellow) that were present during the time of white supremacist rule.
As South Africa's president, Mandela played by the incomparable Morgan Freeman is displeased by the racial separation throughout the republic and decides to use the power of sport to unite his home. He chooses the Springboks who are a very bad team incidentally to be the face of the nation. Mandela does this by inviting the captain of the Springboks Francois Pienaar played by a very beefed up Matt Damon, (he must have put on 10-20 lbs of muscle for this role) to tea. The meeting was designed to encourage Francois to lead the Springboks towards the 1995 Rugby World Cup championship.
I know this sounds like a typical hollywood sports hero movie where the underdog team rises from the ashes of mediocrity to become the unlikely champion. At it's core, Invictus is just that. What makes this movie different is the very real story behind it. This team did more than defy the odds by winning the world cup, they united a country that was torn apart by years of racial turmoil and unrest. The rugby is not the only way Mandela tried to create real social change. He implemented some unorthodox methods to get his message across. One example was including white officers to join his bodyguard detail. This caused immediate strife but it was Mandela's desire to show that if the president can't accept white people in his own house, how can the country.
This movie has all the elements of an Oscar contender. A well written script, well acted performances highlighted by 2 of tinseltown's finest talents and finally led by one of today's most revered filmmakers. You combine all of this and you might ask yourself how could this film be beaten? Well I for one believe it can and I will tell you why.
Now before I go through my reasoning I want to make it clear to all of you reading this. I loved this movie and I don't want it to appear that I am slamming it because I'm not.
The main reason why I feel that while Invictus is more than worthy of a Best Picture nomination but won't win is not because of the core theme of the film of the rugby team uniting a country in the face of racial division. There is no denying the fact that sports have the power to achieve great things in times of turmoil. Just ask any baseball fan after the 9/11 attacks. A simple game healed a country in a state of trauma.
It's the fact that I had no idea how rugby is played which put me in a cloudy state when the tournament scenes took place. The matches from a cinematic standpoint were shot, paced and edited very well. However, having no knowledge of the sport I couldn't tell when something good happened to the Springboks until you saw the cutaway shot of Mandela or the crowd cheering. It took away from whatever drama they were trying to build as the Springboks played each match while their country watched with eager eyes.
This may sound like a petty criticism but in my opinion it carries some weight. The scenes of triumph were very fun and uplifting to watch but they would have had more emotion behind them for me if I had more knowledge of how the game was played. Perhaps the addition of a play by play announcer to call the action might have helped. That aspect of the matches was missing. Eastwood chose to let the matches play out naturally with no music, just natural sound and ambiance. This was a fresh perspective when seeing a sports film but I think in this case the old school tactics might have served the matches better.
I know that the actual matches don't in any way affect the overall message that Invictus is sending the audience. I just feel that I was being cheated out of a much more satisfying conclusion because I was uneducated when it comes to the sport of rugby.
The bottom line is that Invictus was another well made film to add to Eastwood's already impressive resume. I just think it falls more in the Gran Torino category than it does the Million Dollar Baby category. Let me explain what I mean by that. While both Gran Torino and Million Dollar Baby were tremendous films made by Eastwood, MDB was an oscar winner while GT was critically acclaimed but missed out on the red carpet. I think Invictus falls into the GT slate. It's a great film that needs to be seen and is deserving of all the accolades it will receive. I just don't think it has that last bit of OOPMH to push it on the oscar stage. With the academy increasing the number of Best Picture nominees to 10 this year, there's no doubt that Invictus will get there. On a much better note. Freeman has a good shot at Best Actor and Damon for Best Supporting Actor and Eastwood for Best Director. This is something I have no reservations about.
On the 5 star scale. Invictus gets 4 stars with a "Worth Every Penny" recommendation.
Clint Eastwood has once again proven to the movie world that he can direct his ass off.
That's all for today.
My next review will be Avatar. James Cameron's latest and most talked about sci fi action adventure. Stay Tuned.
Until Next Episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"
"D"
Today's review is Invictus. Directed by Clint Eastwood. Written by Anthony Peckham. Based on the book "Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation" by John Carlin.
The word Invictus from it's latin roots means unconquered. It's also the title of a poem written by William Ernest Henley first published in 1875. It stood for never giving up in the face of adversity. To always hold your head up high when life brings you down to your knees. The word Invictus now has a new meaning.
In⋅vic⋅tus
-noun
1. Another amazing film made by Clint Eastwood.
2. Potential Oscar Winner.
After the first democratically run election in 1994, South Africa still remained divided racially in the financial and political sectors as well as the sports arena. In the "black" areas of the republic, soccer is the sport played and loved by the people. Across the road in the "white" areas, rugby reigns supreme. Aside from the obvious fact that the poorer areas of the republic have no idea how rugby is played, the national team is represented by a name (The Springboks) and colors (Green and Yellow) that were present during the time of white supremacist rule.
As South Africa's president, Mandela played by the incomparable Morgan Freeman is displeased by the racial separation throughout the republic and decides to use the power of sport to unite his home. He chooses the Springboks who are a very bad team incidentally to be the face of the nation. Mandela does this by inviting the captain of the Springboks Francois Pienaar played by a very beefed up Matt Damon, (he must have put on 10-20 lbs of muscle for this role) to tea. The meeting was designed to encourage Francois to lead the Springboks towards the 1995 Rugby World Cup championship.
I know this sounds like a typical hollywood sports hero movie where the underdog team rises from the ashes of mediocrity to become the unlikely champion. At it's core, Invictus is just that. What makes this movie different is the very real story behind it. This team did more than defy the odds by winning the world cup, they united a country that was torn apart by years of racial turmoil and unrest. The rugby is not the only way Mandela tried to create real social change. He implemented some unorthodox methods to get his message across. One example was including white officers to join his bodyguard detail. This caused immediate strife but it was Mandela's desire to show that if the president can't accept white people in his own house, how can the country.
This movie has all the elements of an Oscar contender. A well written script, well acted performances highlighted by 2 of tinseltown's finest talents and finally led by one of today's most revered filmmakers. You combine all of this and you might ask yourself how could this film be beaten? Well I for one believe it can and I will tell you why.
Now before I go through my reasoning I want to make it clear to all of you reading this. I loved this movie and I don't want it to appear that I am slamming it because I'm not.
The main reason why I feel that while Invictus is more than worthy of a Best Picture nomination but won't win is not because of the core theme of the film of the rugby team uniting a country in the face of racial division. There is no denying the fact that sports have the power to achieve great things in times of turmoil. Just ask any baseball fan after the 9/11 attacks. A simple game healed a country in a state of trauma.
It's the fact that I had no idea how rugby is played which put me in a cloudy state when the tournament scenes took place. The matches from a cinematic standpoint were shot, paced and edited very well. However, having no knowledge of the sport I couldn't tell when something good happened to the Springboks until you saw the cutaway shot of Mandela or the crowd cheering. It took away from whatever drama they were trying to build as the Springboks played each match while their country watched with eager eyes.
This may sound like a petty criticism but in my opinion it carries some weight. The scenes of triumph were very fun and uplifting to watch but they would have had more emotion behind them for me if I had more knowledge of how the game was played. Perhaps the addition of a play by play announcer to call the action might have helped. That aspect of the matches was missing. Eastwood chose to let the matches play out naturally with no music, just natural sound and ambiance. This was a fresh perspective when seeing a sports film but I think in this case the old school tactics might have served the matches better.
I know that the actual matches don't in any way affect the overall message that Invictus is sending the audience. I just feel that I was being cheated out of a much more satisfying conclusion because I was uneducated when it comes to the sport of rugby.
The bottom line is that Invictus was another well made film to add to Eastwood's already impressive resume. I just think it falls more in the Gran Torino category than it does the Million Dollar Baby category. Let me explain what I mean by that. While both Gran Torino and Million Dollar Baby were tremendous films made by Eastwood, MDB was an oscar winner while GT was critically acclaimed but missed out on the red carpet. I think Invictus falls into the GT slate. It's a great film that needs to be seen and is deserving of all the accolades it will receive. I just don't think it has that last bit of OOPMH to push it on the oscar stage. With the academy increasing the number of Best Picture nominees to 10 this year, there's no doubt that Invictus will get there. On a much better note. Freeman has a good shot at Best Actor and Damon for Best Supporting Actor and Eastwood for Best Director. This is something I have no reservations about.
On the 5 star scale. Invictus gets 4 stars with a "Worth Every Penny" recommendation.
Clint Eastwood has once again proven to the movie world that he can direct his ass off.
That's all for today.
My next review will be Avatar. James Cameron's latest and most talked about sci fi action adventure. Stay Tuned.
Until Next Episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"
"D"
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Welcome to another episode of The "D" List.
Today's review is Fantastic Mr. Fox. Directed by Wes Anderson. Written by Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbauch. Based on the children's book written by Roald Dahl.
With the dozens of CG animated films that come out every year, it's nice to see a change of pace in this genre. It's even nicer to see a stop motion film. Stop motion is a lost art that deserves to be recognized for the amazing detail that is required to make these movies happen. For those who are not familiar with the process, stop motion is done by creating the set and placing the puppets in their place and little by little the puppets' positions are adjusted then a frame of film is shot. This is done hundreds of times to create the eventual moving shot that you see on the screen. With technology as advanced as it is today, it's a little easier to make a stop motion film which increases the respect I have for the stop motion masters back in the days of old.
I never read Fantastic Mr. Fox the book so I went into this film with no prior knowledge of the story i.e. what was taken out or added and I have to say this was a fun very entertaining film that may have an outside shot of challenging UP for best animated film at the Oscars.
The story takes us to a land populated by farms and the many forms of wildlife headlined by Mr. Fox voiced by George Clooney. Mr Fox and his wife Mrs. Fox voiced by Meryl Streep make their living stealing chickens until Mrs. Fox informs Mr. Fox that she's pregnant. This forces Mr. Fox to change his lifestyle. The cub Ash is born voiced by Jason Schwartzman and Mr. Fox has now become a domesticated fox but his urge to steal chickens burns deep inside of him. This is where the story goes into full gear.
As always I will reveal no more of the plot. What I will comment further on is the technical aspects of this film. The scenery was beautiful. It actually felt like a real world. The animation was top notch and seamless at times. The performances of the actors were reinforced by the animation. The script was sharp and the dialogue was very clever and at times very funny.
This was a very big surprise for me considering Wes Anderson was the director. His filmography consists of films like The Darjeeling Limited (2007) The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) Rushmore (1998). Now all of these films are comedies but it just struck me in a weird way that he was helming an animated film but after seeing it there's no doubt in my mind that he was the right man for the job.
Anderson used some creative ways to record the actors dialogue. He had them record outdoors in farm locations which gave the talent a chance to identify with the environments that their characters were going to be in. It was evident in their performances. Anderson did more than change the location of the VO sessions. He knew the material inside and out and more importantly he respected the material which by what I'm told is not very extensive. The book is not very long so Anderson had to beef up the story to make it fit into a feature length run time.
All told, Fantastic Mr. Fox is a wonderful film that has something for both the kiddies and the big kiddies that would take them to see it. I really liked it and would be shocked if it's not nominated for best animated film and this year's academy awards. The oscar will most likely go to UP and deservedly so but I truly believe that there is a strong contender to take on the Pixar crown.
On the 5 star scale. Fantastic Mr. Fox gets the full house 5 stars with a "Worth Every Penny" recommendation.
That's all for today. Up next is Invictus. The Matt Damon/Morgan Freeman film directed by Clint Eastwood. This one is a no brainer for me. Damon and Freeman are 2 of my favorite actors and Dirty Harry is one of Tinseltown's best directors. This movie is already good and I haven't seen a single frame.
Until Next Episode....."I'll Save You A Seat!"
"D"
Today's review is Fantastic Mr. Fox. Directed by Wes Anderson. Written by Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbauch. Based on the children's book written by Roald Dahl.
With the dozens of CG animated films that come out every year, it's nice to see a change of pace in this genre. It's even nicer to see a stop motion film. Stop motion is a lost art that deserves to be recognized for the amazing detail that is required to make these movies happen. For those who are not familiar with the process, stop motion is done by creating the set and placing the puppets in their place and little by little the puppets' positions are adjusted then a frame of film is shot. This is done hundreds of times to create the eventual moving shot that you see on the screen. With technology as advanced as it is today, it's a little easier to make a stop motion film which increases the respect I have for the stop motion masters back in the days of old.
I never read Fantastic Mr. Fox the book so I went into this film with no prior knowledge of the story i.e. what was taken out or added and I have to say this was a fun very entertaining film that may have an outside shot of challenging UP for best animated film at the Oscars.
The story takes us to a land populated by farms and the many forms of wildlife headlined by Mr. Fox voiced by George Clooney. Mr Fox and his wife Mrs. Fox voiced by Meryl Streep make their living stealing chickens until Mrs. Fox informs Mr. Fox that she's pregnant. This forces Mr. Fox to change his lifestyle. The cub Ash is born voiced by Jason Schwartzman and Mr. Fox has now become a domesticated fox but his urge to steal chickens burns deep inside of him. This is where the story goes into full gear.
As always I will reveal no more of the plot. What I will comment further on is the technical aspects of this film. The scenery was beautiful. It actually felt like a real world. The animation was top notch and seamless at times. The performances of the actors were reinforced by the animation. The script was sharp and the dialogue was very clever and at times very funny.
This was a very big surprise for me considering Wes Anderson was the director. His filmography consists of films like The Darjeeling Limited (2007) The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) Rushmore (1998). Now all of these films are comedies but it just struck me in a weird way that he was helming an animated film but after seeing it there's no doubt in my mind that he was the right man for the job.
Anderson used some creative ways to record the actors dialogue. He had them record outdoors in farm locations which gave the talent a chance to identify with the environments that their characters were going to be in. It was evident in their performances. Anderson did more than change the location of the VO sessions. He knew the material inside and out and more importantly he respected the material which by what I'm told is not very extensive. The book is not very long so Anderson had to beef up the story to make it fit into a feature length run time.
All told, Fantastic Mr. Fox is a wonderful film that has something for both the kiddies and the big kiddies that would take them to see it. I really liked it and would be shocked if it's not nominated for best animated film and this year's academy awards. The oscar will most likely go to UP and deservedly so but I truly believe that there is a strong contender to take on the Pixar crown.
On the 5 star scale. Fantastic Mr. Fox gets the full house 5 stars with a "Worth Every Penny" recommendation.
That's all for today. Up next is Invictus. The Matt Damon/Morgan Freeman film directed by Clint Eastwood. This one is a no brainer for me. Damon and Freeman are 2 of my favorite actors and Dirty Harry is one of Tinseltown's best directors. This movie is already good and I haven't seen a single frame.
Until Next Episode....."I'll Save You A Seat!"
"D"
Ninja Assassin
Welcome to another episode of The "D" List.
Today's review is Ninja Assassin. Directed by James McTeigue. Written by Matthew Sand &
J. Michael Straczynski.
It's no secret to the masses that I am inclined to see a film every now and then. It's also no secret that I try my best to immerse myself in as many genre's of film that I can. As a result I am pretty even keeled when it comes to a favorite genre of film with 1 VERY BIG exception. The genre of film that holds a special place in my heart is Martial Arts Cinema. Since I can remember I have been a fan of martial arts films, so much so that I studied up on it's history from the top directors, actors and choreographers. So on and so forth. I own close to 250 martial arts films and can probably give you cast and crew bios on almost all of the films in my library.
In fact my screen name Sammo420 is in homage to my personal favorite martial arts Actor/Director/Choreographer, Sammo Hung Kam-Bo. He went to the same chinese opera school as Jackie Chan. He is still today and rightfully so regarded as one of the best action directors in hong kong. Some of the finest martial arts films in history came from Sammo's vision and action direction. He was also one of the finest technical screen fighters to ever grace celluloid. I can can go on about this all day but I know you all don't have all day.
My point is to show you that I LOVE martial arts films and how I consider myself an authority on the genre. So when I see a martial arts film made today I am by all accounts a VERY harsh critic. So where does Ninja Assassin rank among the many (and I do mean many) martial arts films that I have seen you ask?
It's somewhere in the middle.
The story begins in Japan where a Yakuza (Japanese Mafia) syndicate is wiped out by a silent assassin. That assassin being a ninja of course. This scene establishes a secret clan called the Ozunu who train orphaned children in the art of Ninjitsu to be assassins for hire. It also introduces our hero ninja Raizo played by Korean pop star Rain. Meanwhile in Germany a Europol forensic researcher, Mika played by Naomie Harris is piecing together several recent high profile assassinations and comes to the conclusion that ninjas are involved. When Mika gets too close to the Ozunu clan, she is targeted to be taken out only to be rescued by Raizo. He reveals that he has intentions to take down the Ozunu clan and be free himself of the life that he no longer wants to be a part of.
There are other layers to the plot that explain Raizo's exact reason for destroying the Ozunu clan and why he's being hunted by them but I won't reveal them here because then the entire plot will be exposed and that is problem #1 with Ninja Assassin.
I know that in a martial arts film the story is secondary to the action but I refuse to be convinced that the 2 elements can't be blended together to form a cohesive movie. The core of the story here was solid but in my opinion there needed to be more. I wanted more depth behind the Ozunu clan. Instead you get flashbacks of Raizo's intense training. Now those flashbacks were necessary to establish Raizo's superior skills but there should have been more expansion on the Ozunu clan itself. The film portrays it as the top ninja clan in the world. WHY? What makes it so dominant.
The Ozunu sensei is played by the legendary Sho Kosugi. He has starred in many classic ninja films in the 80's produced by Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus A.K.A Goran/Globus. Back then the 80's were a renaissance for ninja films and those 2 men were the pioneers when it came to making these films stateside.
Master Kosugi plays Sensei Ozunu with such power and conviction that you want more of him. You want to know what made him the head of the world's most powerful assassination organization. The alternative here is Ozunu playing the rigid no nonsense teacher who beats his students when they mess up. He impresses to his students that to be a top ninja you can't have any emotions. There were chances for him to illustrate that point in stronger ways than what you do see and it never took place.
Sad.
The paper thin plot also falls back to the relationship between Raizo and Mika. For a good part of the 1st act, Mika is spending time trying to catch Raizo and after he saves her life she just accepts him as a friend. That doesn't fly here. You need time to create that trust between friend and implied foe. I'm not saying that you have to spend 30 minutes getting there but you have to dig a little deeper than the amount of time it took here. It's here where the screenwriters Sand &
Straczynski could have used some polish from the Wachowski brothers who were the executive producers.
They in my opinion would have done a fabulous job in keeping the story and action in perfect harmony because they like me are martial art film freaks. They understand the reasons why those films are looked down upon by mainstream america. The cheesy translated script amplified by even cheeiser english dubbing give these films a comedic tone that is never intended. Need proof? I have 2 words for you.
The Matrix.
The Matrix was one of the best american made martial arts films since probably the Karate Kid or Kill Bill. If you think that The Matrix wasn't a martial arts film at it's core then you and I must have a conversation because my explanation would be too much for this review.
The Wachowski bros. would have gone deep into Raizo's soul and stripped him down to his bones giving us a much more complex character worth caring about. Instead you get glimpses that in my opinion are not good enough to move the film along. This was of course the classic hollywood/hong kong method of giving the audience a chance to breathe between the fights. Which is what most people are going to see this movie for in the 1st place right? Well I can honestly say that Ninja Assassin delivers on that front.
Sort of.
The fights in Ninja Assassin are impressive and intricate considering that the martial arts choreographer was american, Chad Stahelski. Now I don't want to sound like an american choreographer can't do what Hong Kong choreographers can do. That's not what I mean at all. In fact if you weren't going to go after the Hong Kong heavyweights like Sammo, Yuen Wo Ping, Ching Tsu Tung, Corey Yuen, Tony Leung, Donnie Yen Ji Dan or Sonny Chiba, Stahelski is the closet thing. He trained under Dion Lam who was part of Yuen Wo Ping's stunt team. Master Yuen was the choreographer of the Matrix trilogy so there's no better teacher. Stahelski was also Keanu's stunt double. Hiring Stahelski as the fight choreographer was a very good one but there was 1 VERY important aspect of his choreography missing. There was NO NINJITSU in a movie full of ninjas.
Allow me to elaborate.
The discipline of Ninjitsu relies heavily on 1 tactic more than any other martial art. That tactic is stealth. Now you see the ninjas lurking around in the shadows which was OK and for the most part the ninjas fight each other with very impressive choreography, acrobatics and weaponry that are accurate to Ninjitsu but Ninitsu applies stealth in one on one combat as well and that was not present here. Ninjas fight dirty. They are not bound by honor or the code of the warrior. Their mantra is better you than me and if that means I have to throw sand in your face before I stab you with my hidden dagger then so be it. It's those nuances that make ninjas and ninjitsu unique to every other martial artist or discipline. It's a shame that there wasn't any of that applied to the fights here. That would have put the action at it's peak.
A side note concerning the action. The violence is very strong and at times over top. The shuriken or ninja throwing stars to the laymen are fired like bullets so I wouldn't bring the little ankle biters to this one.
Overall, Ninja Assassin is exactly as advertised. An in your face, stylized, updated, re-imagination of the ninja film. For the casual fan/action junkie, this film should not disappoint. For me it falls a little short in the narrative. Martial arts filmed are no longer trapped in Hong Kong handcuffed by small budgets, bad scripts or poor directing. It's time to get it right.
I may sound like I'm asking a lot but look at it this way. Why would you go to see a film called Ninja Assassin in the 1st place? To see ninjas kick ass for 2 hours. Wouldn't that experience be more fulfilling if there was a solid plot to reinforce the action. You MUST have a reason to fight in a martial arts film, but nowhere in the rules of filmmaking does it state that the reason has to be 10% of the overall story. There has to be a better balance. You get that and you will have succeeded where SO MANY others have failed.
On the 5 star scale, Ninja Assassin gets 2.5 stars with a "Go See It" recommendation. It probably deserves a 3 star score but I hold martial arts films to a higher standard since I have seen and own so many amazing films that have executed the perfect mix of plot and punches.
That's all for today. My next review is The Fantastic Mr. Fox. The latest stop motion animated film directed by Wes Anderson.
Until Next Episode......"I'll Save You A Seat!"
"D"
Today's review is Ninja Assassin. Directed by James McTeigue. Written by Matthew Sand &
J. Michael Straczynski.
It's no secret to the masses that I am inclined to see a film every now and then. It's also no secret that I try my best to immerse myself in as many genre's of film that I can. As a result I am pretty even keeled when it comes to a favorite genre of film with 1 VERY BIG exception. The genre of film that holds a special place in my heart is Martial Arts Cinema. Since I can remember I have been a fan of martial arts films, so much so that I studied up on it's history from the top directors, actors and choreographers. So on and so forth. I own close to 250 martial arts films and can probably give you cast and crew bios on almost all of the films in my library.
In fact my screen name Sammo420 is in homage to my personal favorite martial arts Actor/Director/Choreographer, Sammo Hung Kam-Bo. He went to the same chinese opera school as Jackie Chan. He is still today and rightfully so regarded as one of the best action directors in hong kong. Some of the finest martial arts films in history came from Sammo's vision and action direction. He was also one of the finest technical screen fighters to ever grace celluloid. I can can go on about this all day but I know you all don't have all day.
My point is to show you that I LOVE martial arts films and how I consider myself an authority on the genre. So when I see a martial arts film made today I am by all accounts a VERY harsh critic. So where does Ninja Assassin rank among the many (and I do mean many) martial arts films that I have seen you ask?
It's somewhere in the middle.
The story begins in Japan where a Yakuza (Japanese Mafia) syndicate is wiped out by a silent assassin. That assassin being a ninja of course. This scene establishes a secret clan called the Ozunu who train orphaned children in the art of Ninjitsu to be assassins for hire. It also introduces our hero ninja Raizo played by Korean pop star Rain. Meanwhile in Germany a Europol forensic researcher, Mika played by Naomie Harris is piecing together several recent high profile assassinations and comes to the conclusion that ninjas are involved. When Mika gets too close to the Ozunu clan, she is targeted to be taken out only to be rescued by Raizo. He reveals that he has intentions to take down the Ozunu clan and be free himself of the life that he no longer wants to be a part of.
There are other layers to the plot that explain Raizo's exact reason for destroying the Ozunu clan and why he's being hunted by them but I won't reveal them here because then the entire plot will be exposed and that is problem #1 with Ninja Assassin.
I know that in a martial arts film the story is secondary to the action but I refuse to be convinced that the 2 elements can't be blended together to form a cohesive movie. The core of the story here was solid but in my opinion there needed to be more. I wanted more depth behind the Ozunu clan. Instead you get flashbacks of Raizo's intense training. Now those flashbacks were necessary to establish Raizo's superior skills but there should have been more expansion on the Ozunu clan itself. The film portrays it as the top ninja clan in the world. WHY? What makes it so dominant.
The Ozunu sensei is played by the legendary Sho Kosugi. He has starred in many classic ninja films in the 80's produced by Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus A.K.A Goran/Globus. Back then the 80's were a renaissance for ninja films and those 2 men were the pioneers when it came to making these films stateside.
Master Kosugi plays Sensei Ozunu with such power and conviction that you want more of him. You want to know what made him the head of the world's most powerful assassination organization. The alternative here is Ozunu playing the rigid no nonsense teacher who beats his students when they mess up. He impresses to his students that to be a top ninja you can't have any emotions. There were chances for him to illustrate that point in stronger ways than what you do see and it never took place.
Sad.
The paper thin plot also falls back to the relationship between Raizo and Mika. For a good part of the 1st act, Mika is spending time trying to catch Raizo and after he saves her life she just accepts him as a friend. That doesn't fly here. You need time to create that trust between friend and implied foe. I'm not saying that you have to spend 30 minutes getting there but you have to dig a little deeper than the amount of time it took here. It's here where the screenwriters Sand &
Straczynski could have used some polish from the Wachowski brothers who were the executive producers.
They in my opinion would have done a fabulous job in keeping the story and action in perfect harmony because they like me are martial art film freaks. They understand the reasons why those films are looked down upon by mainstream america. The cheesy translated script amplified by even cheeiser english dubbing give these films a comedic tone that is never intended. Need proof? I have 2 words for you.
The Matrix.
The Matrix was one of the best american made martial arts films since probably the Karate Kid or Kill Bill. If you think that The Matrix wasn't a martial arts film at it's core then you and I must have a conversation because my explanation would be too much for this review.
The Wachowski bros. would have gone deep into Raizo's soul and stripped him down to his bones giving us a much more complex character worth caring about. Instead you get glimpses that in my opinion are not good enough to move the film along. This was of course the classic hollywood/hong kong method of giving the audience a chance to breathe between the fights. Which is what most people are going to see this movie for in the 1st place right? Well I can honestly say that Ninja Assassin delivers on that front.
Sort of.
The fights in Ninja Assassin are impressive and intricate considering that the martial arts choreographer was american, Chad Stahelski. Now I don't want to sound like an american choreographer can't do what Hong Kong choreographers can do. That's not what I mean at all. In fact if you weren't going to go after the Hong Kong heavyweights like Sammo, Yuen Wo Ping, Ching Tsu Tung, Corey Yuen, Tony Leung, Donnie Yen Ji Dan or Sonny Chiba, Stahelski is the closet thing. He trained under Dion Lam who was part of Yuen Wo Ping's stunt team. Master Yuen was the choreographer of the Matrix trilogy so there's no better teacher. Stahelski was also Keanu's stunt double. Hiring Stahelski as the fight choreographer was a very good one but there was 1 VERY important aspect of his choreography missing. There was NO NINJITSU in a movie full of ninjas.
Allow me to elaborate.
The discipline of Ninjitsu relies heavily on 1 tactic more than any other martial art. That tactic is stealth. Now you see the ninjas lurking around in the shadows which was OK and for the most part the ninjas fight each other with very impressive choreography, acrobatics and weaponry that are accurate to Ninjitsu but Ninitsu applies stealth in one on one combat as well and that was not present here. Ninjas fight dirty. They are not bound by honor or the code of the warrior. Their mantra is better you than me and if that means I have to throw sand in your face before I stab you with my hidden dagger then so be it. It's those nuances that make ninjas and ninjitsu unique to every other martial artist or discipline. It's a shame that there wasn't any of that applied to the fights here. That would have put the action at it's peak.
A side note concerning the action. The violence is very strong and at times over top. The shuriken or ninja throwing stars to the laymen are fired like bullets so I wouldn't bring the little ankle biters to this one.
Overall, Ninja Assassin is exactly as advertised. An in your face, stylized, updated, re-imagination of the ninja film. For the casual fan/action junkie, this film should not disappoint. For me it falls a little short in the narrative. Martial arts filmed are no longer trapped in Hong Kong handcuffed by small budgets, bad scripts or poor directing. It's time to get it right.
I may sound like I'm asking a lot but look at it this way. Why would you go to see a film called Ninja Assassin in the 1st place? To see ninjas kick ass for 2 hours. Wouldn't that experience be more fulfilling if there was a solid plot to reinforce the action. You MUST have a reason to fight in a martial arts film, but nowhere in the rules of filmmaking does it state that the reason has to be 10% of the overall story. There has to be a better balance. You get that and you will have succeeded where SO MANY others have failed.
On the 5 star scale, Ninja Assassin gets 2.5 stars with a "Go See It" recommendation. It probably deserves a 3 star score but I hold martial arts films to a higher standard since I have seen and own so many amazing films that have executed the perfect mix of plot and punches.
That's all for today. My next review is The Fantastic Mr. Fox. The latest stop motion animated film directed by Wes Anderson.
Until Next Episode......"I'll Save You A Seat!"
"D"
Precious
Welcome to another episode of The "D" List.
Today's review is Precious. Directed by Lee Daniels. Written by Geoffrey Fletcher. Based on the book Push by Sapphire.
Once in a while a film comes along that captures your attention in a way that forces you to dig deep into your heart and appreciate the things in your life that are worth loving. Ladies and Gentlemen, Precious is one of those films and for me it is without a doubt.........
THE BEST FILM OF 2009!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The story behind this amazing film takes us into the world of Clarice "Precious" Jones played by the strong and very gifted Gabourey 'Gabby' Sidibe. It's 1987, Harlem New York and Precious is an obese 16 year old mom with a 2nd child on the way with very limited educational skills. Her mom, Mary played by the amazing and evil Mo'nique is the source of the abuse that turns Precious into an introvert. The rest of the film chronicles Precious' journey through her transition to a new school, the birth of her second child and finally the relationship with her mother.
I will not say any more about the plot because this film is so deep with emotion and realism that I could never do this film any justice through my verbal expression. I could never describe this film in just 1 word. So many come to mind.
Emotional, Powerful, Gripping, Intimidating, Scary, Liberating, Heroic, Prideful, Degrading, Disheartening, Infuriating, Amazing, Brilliant, Tremendous, Triumphant. Just to name a few.
Those one word descriptions are the simplest ways to depict the overall product. EVERY Aspect of this film was done so masterfully that I found it nearly impossible to find anything to pick at.
I'll break it down.
Cast
The films excellence begins right here. Gabourey Sidibe brings so much to the table with her performance that you are in her corner right at the start of the 1st frame. Her character is not well educated so her dialogue had to be minimized and "dumbed down" to a certain degree. This made her performance all the more powerful because of her reluctance to communicate verbally, she had to do it facially. You can see the pain and struggle in Precious' eyes. Her chubby face brings out so much emotion and weight that you don't need her to utter a single syllable for you to understand what she's going through.
Which segues perfectly to.....
Mo'nique's performance as Mary. We have our 1st no holds barred nomination for Best Supporting Actress in my opinion. This woman is pure evil straight from the depths of all that is wrong in the world. Precious is nothing but a hinderance and a source of income via welfare to Mary. It was very hard to watch her beat on Precious both verbally and physically. I wanted as you say jump into the screen and open up a can of whoop ass on this woman. Mary inspires so much hatred towards her. She also created an immense feeling of confusion for me because I can't comprehend how a parent could treat their child with such neglect, disrespect and abuse.
As a result of the constant malevolence fired at her from every direction, Precious escapes to an alternative school where we are introduced to the rest of the cast highlighted by Paula Patton's Mrs. Blu Rain. She is the teacher that deals with a small but rough class of girls that have the ability but choose to squander the talents that were given to them. Patton gives Mrs. Rain the necessary patience that EVERY teacher needs to guide their students on the path of educational growth.
There are also some very impressive performances by a very different looking Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz. I won't say what part Kravitz plays but I didn't recognize him until I saw the credits and put 2 and 2 together. Carey's performance as Mrs. Weiss, Precious' coordinator in charge of her welfare benefits is grounded in reality. She shows the frustration of someone that's tired of people gaming the welfare system yet she truly cares about Precious and her well being.
OK. Cast is covered. Let's move on to the script.
The script is so tight and life like that you almost get the feeling that you're watching a documentary. The things that happen to Precious are not plucked out of thin air from the imagination of the writer. The material is sadly not as unbelievable as it appears. That's one of the aspects that makes Precious so powerful. It's relatable. To you or someone you know. You sit in that seat and you cringe in disgust, you cry with unrelenting sadness and you snarl in unimaginable anger and thirst for retribution. The entire time you are drawn into Precious' world and you want her to succeed so badly that you just want the film to be over to see if she made it.
I really have nothing else to say about this film. I was so struck by the power of the emotions that ran through me that I just want to soak in what the experience of seeing this film has done to me. This film has some statues in it's future. You can bank on that.
Once again, The Best Film of 2009. I defy anyone to debate that.
On the 5 star scale. Precious gets the full house 5 stars with a resounding, scream off the rooftops, "Worth Every Penny" recommendation.
I implore each and every one of you to see this film if you haven't already. In fact I offer this challenge to you. If you do see this film and walk out of that auditorium not touched in any way, I WILL refund your money for the ticket. You all know me. My word is my bond. If you can HONESTLY tell me that you were not affected in any way emotionally by this film then 10-15 bucks richer you will be. I'm not worried though. I have a really good feeling that my wallet will not get any lighter as a result of this challenge.
That's all for today. My next review will be Ninja Assassin. The latest passion project from the Wachowski Bros.
Until Next Episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"
"D'
Today's review is Precious. Directed by Lee Daniels. Written by Geoffrey Fletcher. Based on the book Push by Sapphire.
Once in a while a film comes along that captures your attention in a way that forces you to dig deep into your heart and appreciate the things in your life that are worth loving. Ladies and Gentlemen, Precious is one of those films and for me it is without a doubt.........
THE BEST FILM OF 2009!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The story behind this amazing film takes us into the world of Clarice "Precious" Jones played by the strong and very gifted Gabourey 'Gabby' Sidibe. It's 1987, Harlem New York and Precious is an obese 16 year old mom with a 2nd child on the way with very limited educational skills. Her mom, Mary played by the amazing and evil Mo'nique is the source of the abuse that turns Precious into an introvert. The rest of the film chronicles Precious' journey through her transition to a new school, the birth of her second child and finally the relationship with her mother.
I will not say any more about the plot because this film is so deep with emotion and realism that I could never do this film any justice through my verbal expression. I could never describe this film in just 1 word. So many come to mind.
Emotional, Powerful, Gripping, Intimidating, Scary, Liberating, Heroic, Prideful, Degrading, Disheartening, Infuriating, Amazing, Brilliant, Tremendous, Triumphant. Just to name a few.
Those one word descriptions are the simplest ways to depict the overall product. EVERY Aspect of this film was done so masterfully that I found it nearly impossible to find anything to pick at.
I'll break it down.
Cast
The films excellence begins right here. Gabourey Sidibe brings so much to the table with her performance that you are in her corner right at the start of the 1st frame. Her character is not well educated so her dialogue had to be minimized and "dumbed down" to a certain degree. This made her performance all the more powerful because of her reluctance to communicate verbally, she had to do it facially. You can see the pain and struggle in Precious' eyes. Her chubby face brings out so much emotion and weight that you don't need her to utter a single syllable for you to understand what she's going through.
Which segues perfectly to.....
Mo'nique's performance as Mary. We have our 1st no holds barred nomination for Best Supporting Actress in my opinion. This woman is pure evil straight from the depths of all that is wrong in the world. Precious is nothing but a hinderance and a source of income via welfare to Mary. It was very hard to watch her beat on Precious both verbally and physically. I wanted as you say jump into the screen and open up a can of whoop ass on this woman. Mary inspires so much hatred towards her. She also created an immense feeling of confusion for me because I can't comprehend how a parent could treat their child with such neglect, disrespect and abuse.
As a result of the constant malevolence fired at her from every direction, Precious escapes to an alternative school where we are introduced to the rest of the cast highlighted by Paula Patton's Mrs. Blu Rain. She is the teacher that deals with a small but rough class of girls that have the ability but choose to squander the talents that were given to them. Patton gives Mrs. Rain the necessary patience that EVERY teacher needs to guide their students on the path of educational growth.
There are also some very impressive performances by a very different looking Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz. I won't say what part Kravitz plays but I didn't recognize him until I saw the credits and put 2 and 2 together. Carey's performance as Mrs. Weiss, Precious' coordinator in charge of her welfare benefits is grounded in reality. She shows the frustration of someone that's tired of people gaming the welfare system yet she truly cares about Precious and her well being.
OK. Cast is covered. Let's move on to the script.
The script is so tight and life like that you almost get the feeling that you're watching a documentary. The things that happen to Precious are not plucked out of thin air from the imagination of the writer. The material is sadly not as unbelievable as it appears. That's one of the aspects that makes Precious so powerful. It's relatable. To you or someone you know. You sit in that seat and you cringe in disgust, you cry with unrelenting sadness and you snarl in unimaginable anger and thirst for retribution. The entire time you are drawn into Precious' world and you want her to succeed so badly that you just want the film to be over to see if she made it.
I really have nothing else to say about this film. I was so struck by the power of the emotions that ran through me that I just want to soak in what the experience of seeing this film has done to me. This film has some statues in it's future. You can bank on that.
Once again, The Best Film of 2009. I defy anyone to debate that.
On the 5 star scale. Precious gets the full house 5 stars with a resounding, scream off the rooftops, "Worth Every Penny" recommendation.
I implore each and every one of you to see this film if you haven't already. In fact I offer this challenge to you. If you do see this film and walk out of that auditorium not touched in any way, I WILL refund your money for the ticket. You all know me. My word is my bond. If you can HONESTLY tell me that you were not affected in any way emotionally by this film then 10-15 bucks richer you will be. I'm not worried though. I have a really good feeling that my wallet will not get any lighter as a result of this challenge.
That's all for today. My next review will be Ninja Assassin. The latest passion project from the Wachowski Bros.
Until Next Episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"
"D'
The Men Who Stare At Goats
Welcome to another episode of The "D" List.
Today's review is The Men Who Stare at Goats. Directed by Grant Heslov. Written by Peter Straughan based on the book by Jon Ronson.
Jon Ronson's 2004 book was a nonfiction look at the U.S. Military's effort to harness psychological manipulation as a new form of warfare. The film version chooses to go the route of fast paced comedic nuances while incorporating well timed and story moving flash backs that permit the viewer a chance to enjoy the oddity without the crippling burden of a real-world hangover.
A journalist with domestic troubles, Bob Wilton played by Ewan McGregor heads over to Iraq to cover the war, looking to challenge himself and prove his worth to his cheating wife. Needing a specialist to help cross the border, Bob meets Lyn Cassady played by the amazing George Clooney, a former super soldier of the New Earth Army (NEA), a military unit dedicated to nurturing psychic powers, under the command of new age enthusiast, Bill Django plyed by the equally amazing Jeff Bridges. Learning more about these self-proclaimed "Jedis" as they are affectionately called,
Bob is sucked into Lyn's history, learning about wondrous mental feats of strength and the bitterness of Larry Hooper played by a sour Kevin Spacey. A rival who desired his own position of leadership. Traveling into the heart of the war, Bob and Lyn bond as they dodge trouble, trusting in the ridiculous powers of the mind to help them stave off certain doom.
There was actually a pretty funny geek moment here. When Lyn is talking about the Jedi's, Bob tells Lyn that he has no idea what a Jedi is. What makes that funnier for me was that Ewan McGregor played Obi Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequels, so for him to say that he has no idea what a Jedi is makes for a pretty ironic geek inside joke.
This film has a lot going for it. An all star cast filled with tremendous performances highlighted by Clooney who has an unbelievable talent for comedy. Don't believe me? Seek out one of The Coen Bros lesser lauded films called Intolerable Cruelty made in 2003. This film was in my opinion one of the Coen Brothers finest comedies made mostly possible by a gut busting performance from Clooney. OK enough about the Coen Brothers. What made TMWSAG so much more entertaining was the sharing of star power by the rest of the cast. An argument can be made that this film's cast is one of the strongest in any film this year. Aside from the name dropping the cast boasts, the other thing it has in common is the uncanny ability to be laugh out loud funny. every member has their own shining moment to make the audience smile with glee which is not an easy feat to accomplish.
The pacing of the film was a little slow at times but you don't stay bogged down long enough to lose your focus. What does drop the film down a peg or two was the final act. For some inexplicable reason they take the story into a dark territory which I gathered was an attempt to set up a redemption arc on the narrative. Suddenly TMWSAG shifts out of being a comedic re-creation of actual events and turns into a conventional comedy where the villain gets his comeuppance and the hero finds his true destiny. Basically, it stops being something we've never seen before and turns into a movie we've seen a million times which was unfortunate because this movie was breaking a formulaic hollywood mold which was refreshing only to have it resort back to the same old tricks before the end credits.
Overall, The Men Who Stare at Goats was a fresh entertaining film with truly fantastic performances by the rank and file. Sadly it ends with a very familiar hollywood stink.
On the 5 star scale. The Men Who Stare at Goats gets 3 stars with a "Go See It" recommendation.
Up next Precious. I have been looking forward to this one ever since I saw the sundance trailer months ago.
Until Next Episode....."I'll Save You A Seat!"
"D"
Today's review is The Men Who Stare at Goats. Directed by Grant Heslov. Written by Peter Straughan based on the book by Jon Ronson.
Jon Ronson's 2004 book was a nonfiction look at the U.S. Military's effort to harness psychological manipulation as a new form of warfare. The film version chooses to go the route of fast paced comedic nuances while incorporating well timed and story moving flash backs that permit the viewer a chance to enjoy the oddity without the crippling burden of a real-world hangover.
A journalist with domestic troubles, Bob Wilton played by Ewan McGregor heads over to Iraq to cover the war, looking to challenge himself and prove his worth to his cheating wife. Needing a specialist to help cross the border, Bob meets Lyn Cassady played by the amazing George Clooney, a former super soldier of the New Earth Army (NEA), a military unit dedicated to nurturing psychic powers, under the command of new age enthusiast, Bill Django plyed by the equally amazing Jeff Bridges. Learning more about these self-proclaimed "Jedis" as they are affectionately called,
Bob is sucked into Lyn's history, learning about wondrous mental feats of strength and the bitterness of Larry Hooper played by a sour Kevin Spacey. A rival who desired his own position of leadership. Traveling into the heart of the war, Bob and Lyn bond as they dodge trouble, trusting in the ridiculous powers of the mind to help them stave off certain doom.
There was actually a pretty funny geek moment here. When Lyn is talking about the Jedi's, Bob tells Lyn that he has no idea what a Jedi is. What makes that funnier for me was that Ewan McGregor played Obi Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequels, so for him to say that he has no idea what a Jedi is makes for a pretty ironic geek inside joke.
This film has a lot going for it. An all star cast filled with tremendous performances highlighted by Clooney who has an unbelievable talent for comedy. Don't believe me? Seek out one of The Coen Bros lesser lauded films called Intolerable Cruelty made in 2003. This film was in my opinion one of the Coen Brothers finest comedies made mostly possible by a gut busting performance from Clooney. OK enough about the Coen Brothers. What made TMWSAG so much more entertaining was the sharing of star power by the rest of the cast. An argument can be made that this film's cast is one of the strongest in any film this year. Aside from the name dropping the cast boasts, the other thing it has in common is the uncanny ability to be laugh out loud funny. every member has their own shining moment to make the audience smile with glee which is not an easy feat to accomplish.
The pacing of the film was a little slow at times but you don't stay bogged down long enough to lose your focus. What does drop the film down a peg or two was the final act. For some inexplicable reason they take the story into a dark territory which I gathered was an attempt to set up a redemption arc on the narrative. Suddenly TMWSAG shifts out of being a comedic re-creation of actual events and turns into a conventional comedy where the villain gets his comeuppance and the hero finds his true destiny. Basically, it stops being something we've never seen before and turns into a movie we've seen a million times which was unfortunate because this movie was breaking a formulaic hollywood mold which was refreshing only to have it resort back to the same old tricks before the end credits.
Overall, The Men Who Stare at Goats was a fresh entertaining film with truly fantastic performances by the rank and file. Sadly it ends with a very familiar hollywood stink.
On the 5 star scale. The Men Who Stare at Goats gets 3 stars with a "Go See It" recommendation.
Up next Precious. I have been looking forward to this one ever since I saw the sundance trailer months ago.
Until Next Episode....."I'll Save You A Seat!"
"D"
Astro Boy
Welcome to another episode of The "D" List.
Today's review is Astro Boy. Directed by David Bowers. Written by David Bowers & Timothy Harris. Based on the manga comic series created by Osamu Tezuka.
Our story takes us to the distant future where society has become merged with technology. Particularly robotics. Robots now maintain the way of the world led by it's creator Dr. Tenma voiced by the hugely miscast Nicholas Cage. This futuristic utopia is called Metro City and it hovers in the sky, away from the dirty, dank and rotting surface that the humans were responsible for. MESSAGE!!!!!!!!!!! When a robot fails, malfunctions or is destroyed it gets tossed down to a massive landfill of broken down robots. That area is also populated by people called surface dwellers. They are given a bad rap as enemies of Metro City when they are really a society that was left behind.
After the accidental death of his son Toby during a weapons experiment, Tenma created a robotic duplicate complete with the boy's memories. He thinks he's a boy. Kind of like a reverse pinocchio. When Tenma comes to grips that robot Toby can't replace the real one, robot Toby is discarded, finding his way to the robot dump. The rest of the story plays out as Toby struggles to find his acceptance while making new friends and discovering he has powers.
Not knowing much about Astro Boy's history other than it was originally japanese manga (comics). It later became an animated series which gave birth to the immensely popular "anime" genre. I went into this film without any preconceived ideas. That was a good thing because this film doesn't fully capitalize on the potential it had. There is too much brooding during Astro's attempt to "find" himself while he's on the robot wasteland. Obviously the film has to deal with sadness and pain as Tenma mourns the loss of his child but it drags too long for a kids movie.
What made the animated series so popular was that Astro Boy was a child hero. He spent every episode defeating a new enemy bent on world destruction. He protected the people he loved while kicking ass in the process. The film version doesn't follow suit until too late into the story. There were some pretty cool action scenes but they were spread out so far and thin that you are craving more.
Another formula that is prevalent in these CG films is comedic sidekicks. These movies are bullseye targets for major laughs and sadly Astro Boy's attempts don't take off. It almost felt like the films couldn't decide what it wanted to be. Was it a comedy, an action film, a drama or a hybrid of all of the above. That's not easy to pull off in any film genre and unfortunately Astro Boy misses the mark by a small enough margin to make it another disappointing CG animated film.
On the plus side however, the kiddies should love it because there is enough action and suspense to keep them entertained. I guess the big kid in me wasn't into it.
On the 5 star scale. Astro Boy gets 2 stars with a Give it a Shot recommendation if you have kids. Otherwise Netflix it.
That's all for today.
Not sure what's on tap. So keep your eyes peeled.
Until Next Episode....I'll Save You A Seat!
"D"
Today's review is Astro Boy. Directed by David Bowers. Written by David Bowers & Timothy Harris. Based on the manga comic series created by Osamu Tezuka.
Our story takes us to the distant future where society has become merged with technology. Particularly robotics. Robots now maintain the way of the world led by it's creator Dr. Tenma voiced by the hugely miscast Nicholas Cage. This futuristic utopia is called Metro City and it hovers in the sky, away from the dirty, dank and rotting surface that the humans were responsible for. MESSAGE!!!!!!!!!!! When a robot fails, malfunctions or is destroyed it gets tossed down to a massive landfill of broken down robots. That area is also populated by people called surface dwellers. They are given a bad rap as enemies of Metro City when they are really a society that was left behind.
After the accidental death of his son Toby during a weapons experiment, Tenma created a robotic duplicate complete with the boy's memories. He thinks he's a boy. Kind of like a reverse pinocchio. When Tenma comes to grips that robot Toby can't replace the real one, robot Toby is discarded, finding his way to the robot dump. The rest of the story plays out as Toby struggles to find his acceptance while making new friends and discovering he has powers.
Not knowing much about Astro Boy's history other than it was originally japanese manga (comics). It later became an animated series which gave birth to the immensely popular "anime" genre. I went into this film without any preconceived ideas. That was a good thing because this film doesn't fully capitalize on the potential it had. There is too much brooding during Astro's attempt to "find" himself while he's on the robot wasteland. Obviously the film has to deal with sadness and pain as Tenma mourns the loss of his child but it drags too long for a kids movie.
What made the animated series so popular was that Astro Boy was a child hero. He spent every episode defeating a new enemy bent on world destruction. He protected the people he loved while kicking ass in the process. The film version doesn't follow suit until too late into the story. There were some pretty cool action scenes but they were spread out so far and thin that you are craving more.
Another formula that is prevalent in these CG films is comedic sidekicks. These movies are bullseye targets for major laughs and sadly Astro Boy's attempts don't take off. It almost felt like the films couldn't decide what it wanted to be. Was it a comedy, an action film, a drama or a hybrid of all of the above. That's not easy to pull off in any film genre and unfortunately Astro Boy misses the mark by a small enough margin to make it another disappointing CG animated film.
On the plus side however, the kiddies should love it because there is enough action and suspense to keep them entertained. I guess the big kid in me wasn't into it.
On the 5 star scale. Astro Boy gets 2 stars with a Give it a Shot recommendation if you have kids. Otherwise Netflix it.
That's all for today.
Not sure what's on tap. So keep your eyes peeled.
Until Next Episode....I'll Save You A Seat!
"D"
Law Abiding Citizen
Welcome to another episode of The "D" List.
Today's review is Law Abiding Citizen. Directed by F. Gary Gray. Written by Kurt Wimmer.
After seeing this movie I couldn't place in my head what past films Law Abiding Citizen reminded me of then it hit me.
Welcome to Death Wish meets Saw.
Having witnessed the murder of his wife and daughter, Clyde Shelton played by Gerard Butler is ready for justice to be served. Up and coming D.A. Nick Rice played by Jamie Fox is in charge of the case and eager to make a deal with one of the brutes to send the other to death row. Clyde, witnessing his dreams of justice expire, walks away, allowing Nick to carry out his plan. 10 years later, the two killers end up murdered in gruesome ways, with Clyde the only possible suspect. Instigating a psychological war with Nick, Clyde demands a new type of justice, mysteriously reaching out from behind bars to systematically torment everyone associated with his case. Nick, fearing for his life, races against the clock to crack Clyde's master plan before he targets his wife and child.
When Law Abiding Citizen feels comfortable enough to be a blunt object of suspense, it comes together splendidly. Pitting the harsh realities of the modern justice system against the suburban cry for blood from a soccer dad. Morally frozen lawyers? Tired, careless judges? as Nick stands firm to his case-winning percentages and Clyde sulks away, beaten down by a system that was supposed to heal his aching heart. Now there's a proper set-up for a bracing thriller that respects the fine art of revenge.
That's what made Law Abiding Citizen work for me was the fact that Clyde's character was not your run of the mill vigilante. When the established order that was in place to see the men that killed his family put to justice fail him, he chose to take the law into his own hands. Now that character arc doesn't make him original by any stretch of the imagination with the exception that he took his time to develop his scheme of comeuppance. That's discipline that demands your respect because it's very easy to believe that Clyde buys a gun and just goes Rambo on everyone in a mass of carnage. To the contrary he preferred to exact his revenge while teaching the system a lesson in the process.
BRAVO!!!!! That is until.....
Unfortunately, Law Abiding Citizen doesn't follow through with its attention grabbing first act. The film toys with the audience building the rivalry between Nick and Clyde as they disagree on what the punishment should be. Staying put with Nick the ladder-climbing opportunist and Clyde the meek idealist provides the film with a sensational, pulse of tension. Unfortunately what happens next is the story fails to have faith in it's simplicity, and it overreaches by turning itself from a solid thriller to a weakened violent thrill ride. Clyde's symphony of revenge plays out like a typical action film, not a sinister pageant of dark justice which was very disappointing.
There was so much positive momentum thrust into the film at the outset that you are gripped into the mystery of Clyde's ability to exact his vengeance while being detained. Then midway through acts 2 and 3 you get the classic exposition moment when you find about Clyde's past. I will not tell you what it is but I think you can take a guess or two and get an idea what super secret Clyde is hiding.
Here is where I BOO!!!!!! the film.
There was no need to go this way. The best part of Clyde's character was in addition to the fact that he was avenging his family while tucked away in jail was the mystery behind his brilliance. How could he possibly be doing this? I know that a mystery is looked at as pointless if it isn't solved but I ask you this as a rebuttal. WHY? Aren't there times when you find it more fun to draw up your own conclusions? I love those moments because it spurs healthy debates between others who have seen the same film. You could have had this here and instead they go to the "Let's spell it out for the moron's" route and that drops the film down several pegs for yours truly. It really is a shame because you are rooting for Clyde all the way through. You feel for him, you connect with his anger and instead of staying with that primal instinct to do harm to those who harmed you, you get this over done character change that you can see coming a mile away.
So as a byproduct of this character turn you are now subjected to the "Michael Bayism" of the film which is massive explosions toward the end. This was another disappointing change in Clyde's attack. Earlier on they were quiet and very calculated. In fact they were reminiscent of Jigsaw's puzzle filled traps from the Saw films. I myself am not a fan of the Saw saga but what I did enjoy from the few I did see was the Jigsaw character and how his mind worked. He was called a killer when in reality he never dealt the death blow to anyone that met their demise. I found that brilliant. It was a change of pace to the hacker/slasher variety. Jigsaw defeated you with his mind while messing with yours. Clyde was a very similar character but instead of staying with it they turned him into the terminator by blowing stuff up.
LAME!!!!!!!
This of course leads to the ending. Which to me was so unsatisfying. This is also a direct result of the movie taking the mega action turn. Because of the genre shift the film doesn't know how to finish so they took the easy way out. So sad. I didn't expect the movie to go this way at then end considering that F. Gary Gray directed Set It Off which had a much different ending to a similar story arc. For those of you who don't remember, Set It Off was the movie with the 4 female bank robbers that starred Vivca A. Fox, Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett (before she married Hancock) and Kimberly Elise. The end to that film was against the norm and more importantly was a respectable and feasible climax. Law Abiding Citizen doesn't follow suit and the overall experience suffers from it.
On the 5 star scale. Law Abiding Citizen gets 2.5 stars (I had to drop it from a 3 because of the unfortunate turn of events toward the end) and a split Give It A Shot/Netflix it recommendation.
This was a fun movie with a TON of potential to be great but the cheap hollywood cop outs made it another run of the mill action/thriller.
That's all for today. My next review will be Astro Boy. The latest CGI film based on a very popular Japanese Manga cartoon.
Until Next Episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"
"D"
Today's review is Law Abiding Citizen. Directed by F. Gary Gray. Written by Kurt Wimmer.
After seeing this movie I couldn't place in my head what past films Law Abiding Citizen reminded me of then it hit me.
Welcome to Death Wish meets Saw.
Having witnessed the murder of his wife and daughter, Clyde Shelton played by Gerard Butler is ready for justice to be served. Up and coming D.A. Nick Rice played by Jamie Fox is in charge of the case and eager to make a deal with one of the brutes to send the other to death row. Clyde, witnessing his dreams of justice expire, walks away, allowing Nick to carry out his plan. 10 years later, the two killers end up murdered in gruesome ways, with Clyde the only possible suspect. Instigating a psychological war with Nick, Clyde demands a new type of justice, mysteriously reaching out from behind bars to systematically torment everyone associated with his case. Nick, fearing for his life, races against the clock to crack Clyde's master plan before he targets his wife and child.
When Law Abiding Citizen feels comfortable enough to be a blunt object of suspense, it comes together splendidly. Pitting the harsh realities of the modern justice system against the suburban cry for blood from a soccer dad. Morally frozen lawyers? Tired, careless judges? as Nick stands firm to his case-winning percentages and Clyde sulks away, beaten down by a system that was supposed to heal his aching heart. Now there's a proper set-up for a bracing thriller that respects the fine art of revenge.
That's what made Law Abiding Citizen work for me was the fact that Clyde's character was not your run of the mill vigilante. When the established order that was in place to see the men that killed his family put to justice fail him, he chose to take the law into his own hands. Now that character arc doesn't make him original by any stretch of the imagination with the exception that he took his time to develop his scheme of comeuppance. That's discipline that demands your respect because it's very easy to believe that Clyde buys a gun and just goes Rambo on everyone in a mass of carnage. To the contrary he preferred to exact his revenge while teaching the system a lesson in the process.
BRAVO!!!!! That is until.....
Unfortunately, Law Abiding Citizen doesn't follow through with its attention grabbing first act. The film toys with the audience building the rivalry between Nick and Clyde as they disagree on what the punishment should be. Staying put with Nick the ladder-climbing opportunist and Clyde the meek idealist provides the film with a sensational, pulse of tension. Unfortunately what happens next is the story fails to have faith in it's simplicity, and it overreaches by turning itself from a solid thriller to a weakened violent thrill ride. Clyde's symphony of revenge plays out like a typical action film, not a sinister pageant of dark justice which was very disappointing.
There was so much positive momentum thrust into the film at the outset that you are gripped into the mystery of Clyde's ability to exact his vengeance while being detained. Then midway through acts 2 and 3 you get the classic exposition moment when you find about Clyde's past. I will not tell you what it is but I think you can take a guess or two and get an idea what super secret Clyde is hiding.
Here is where I BOO!!!!!! the film.
There was no need to go this way. The best part of Clyde's character was in addition to the fact that he was avenging his family while tucked away in jail was the mystery behind his brilliance. How could he possibly be doing this? I know that a mystery is looked at as pointless if it isn't solved but I ask you this as a rebuttal. WHY? Aren't there times when you find it more fun to draw up your own conclusions? I love those moments because it spurs healthy debates between others who have seen the same film. You could have had this here and instead they go to the "Let's spell it out for the moron's" route and that drops the film down several pegs for yours truly. It really is a shame because you are rooting for Clyde all the way through. You feel for him, you connect with his anger and instead of staying with that primal instinct to do harm to those who harmed you, you get this over done character change that you can see coming a mile away.
So as a byproduct of this character turn you are now subjected to the "Michael Bayism" of the film which is massive explosions toward the end. This was another disappointing change in Clyde's attack. Earlier on they were quiet and very calculated. In fact they were reminiscent of Jigsaw's puzzle filled traps from the Saw films. I myself am not a fan of the Saw saga but what I did enjoy from the few I did see was the Jigsaw character and how his mind worked. He was called a killer when in reality he never dealt the death blow to anyone that met their demise. I found that brilliant. It was a change of pace to the hacker/slasher variety. Jigsaw defeated you with his mind while messing with yours. Clyde was a very similar character but instead of staying with it they turned him into the terminator by blowing stuff up.
LAME!!!!!!!
This of course leads to the ending. Which to me was so unsatisfying. This is also a direct result of the movie taking the mega action turn. Because of the genre shift the film doesn't know how to finish so they took the easy way out. So sad. I didn't expect the movie to go this way at then end considering that F. Gary Gray directed Set It Off which had a much different ending to a similar story arc. For those of you who don't remember, Set It Off was the movie with the 4 female bank robbers that starred Vivca A. Fox, Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett (before she married Hancock) and Kimberly Elise. The end to that film was against the norm and more importantly was a respectable and feasible climax. Law Abiding Citizen doesn't follow suit and the overall experience suffers from it.
On the 5 star scale. Law Abiding Citizen gets 2.5 stars (I had to drop it from a 3 because of the unfortunate turn of events toward the end) and a split Give It A Shot/Netflix it recommendation.
This was a fun movie with a TON of potential to be great but the cheap hollywood cop outs made it another run of the mill action/thriller.
That's all for today. My next review will be Astro Boy. The latest CGI film based on a very popular Japanese Manga cartoon.
Until Next Episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"
"D"
The Informant!
Welcome to another episode of the "D" List.
Today's review is The Informant!. Directed by Steven Soderbergh. Written by Scott Z. Burns based on the book written by Kurt Eichenwald.
"Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive."
I've always loved that phrase written by Sir Walter Scott for the text in his release of "MARMION" in 1808.
That combination of perfectly chosen words can apply to several areas of our society and in this case I am applying said phrase to Hollywood. Every so often a film comes along that is marketed as "The scariest film of all time!" or "So funny you'll be in tears!" You see the promos and your interest in instantly peaked. So you set up a date night, take your better half to a night of cinema bliss when out of nowhere...POW! You're hit with a bait and switch move. The movie you were so excited to see, the movie that had the clever and exciting trailers turned out to be NOTHING like you expected. What happens then? You leave the theater feeling 1 of 2 ways or sometimes both.
1) You feel a swell of disappointment.
2) You feel cheated.
This was how I felt coming out of The Informant!
The promos hailed this film as the funniest film of the year. You combine that hyperbole with the few clips of Matt Damon acting silly and you have completed your con of the movie going public.
Our story takes us to Decatur IL. Mark Whitacre played by Matt Damon is a bio chemist for Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) a food additive company. A situation surrounding a project that he's in charge of eventually leads to him becoming a whistle blower against his company for price fixing. This is how he becomes an FBI informant. The film continues further into the case and how Mark tries to stay cool while wired during meetings.
That's the basic plot. I can't tell you more because it will spoil what takes place next and that boys and girls is my problem with this film.
Certain events take place that take this film into a completely different direction and the entire time you're wondering why am I not laughing? That's because The Informant! is NOT A COMEDY! It's part comedy/drama/thriller. This film was so poorly marketed that it just destroys the viewing experience. You spend so much time searching for the jokes that aren't there that you end up missing elements of what is a very interesting plot. That's what pains me so much about this film. I got hooked on the funny trailers despite the "plant" quotes praising the film's comedic genius.
For those of you who don't know what a plant is allow me to explain.
A plant is someone from the studio that goes online and pretends to be someone who saw a "screening" of the film and will give it a glowing review. It's a shameless attempt to promote buzz for a film that they don't feel is strong enough to stand on it's own merit. Now geeks like me can see through that wave of B.S. so what they try now is slam certain parts of the film to give the impression that there were some issues but overall the movie was awesome. It never works but they still try.
Now if you seem confused reading this review then don't fret. I'm just as confused writing it. I sound like I hated this movie when I really did enjoy it. I just can't shake the fact that I went in expecting to laugh all afternoon and instead I got zip. On the plus side, as always Damon was spectacular. Once you see what lies beneath his character you can appreciate his performance so much more.
All told, The Informant! was not marketed properly to showcase what it actually is. Maybe they thought that nobody would go see it otherwise but in their attempt to steal your 10 bucks they are stealing more by robbing you of what could and should have been a fun time watching a very entertaining film.
So how do I score this one? Good question. Well I have decided for the 1st time in The "D" List history to give 2 scores.
On the 5 star scale. The Informant! gets 3 stars for the overall film but a 0 for it's comedy. As for recommendations I would go with a split between "Go See It/"Give It A Shot."
That's all for today.
Still on tap.....
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
The Invention of Lying
Until Next Episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"
"D"
Today's review is The Informant!. Directed by Steven Soderbergh. Written by Scott Z. Burns based on the book written by Kurt Eichenwald.
"Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive."
I've always loved that phrase written by Sir Walter Scott for the text in his release of "MARMION" in 1808.
That combination of perfectly chosen words can apply to several areas of our society and in this case I am applying said phrase to Hollywood. Every so often a film comes along that is marketed as "The scariest film of all time!" or "So funny you'll be in tears!" You see the promos and your interest in instantly peaked. So you set up a date night, take your better half to a night of cinema bliss when out of nowhere...POW! You're hit with a bait and switch move. The movie you were so excited to see, the movie that had the clever and exciting trailers turned out to be NOTHING like you expected. What happens then? You leave the theater feeling 1 of 2 ways or sometimes both.
1) You feel a swell of disappointment.
2) You feel cheated.
This was how I felt coming out of The Informant!
The promos hailed this film as the funniest film of the year. You combine that hyperbole with the few clips of Matt Damon acting silly and you have completed your con of the movie going public.
Our story takes us to Decatur IL. Mark Whitacre played by Matt Damon is a bio chemist for Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) a food additive company. A situation surrounding a project that he's in charge of eventually leads to him becoming a whistle blower against his company for price fixing. This is how he becomes an FBI informant. The film continues further into the case and how Mark tries to stay cool while wired during meetings.
That's the basic plot. I can't tell you more because it will spoil what takes place next and that boys and girls is my problem with this film.
Certain events take place that take this film into a completely different direction and the entire time you're wondering why am I not laughing? That's because The Informant! is NOT A COMEDY! It's part comedy/drama/thriller. This film was so poorly marketed that it just destroys the viewing experience. You spend so much time searching for the jokes that aren't there that you end up missing elements of what is a very interesting plot. That's what pains me so much about this film. I got hooked on the funny trailers despite the "plant" quotes praising the film's comedic genius.
For those of you who don't know what a plant is allow me to explain.
A plant is someone from the studio that goes online and pretends to be someone who saw a "screening" of the film and will give it a glowing review. It's a shameless attempt to promote buzz for a film that they don't feel is strong enough to stand on it's own merit. Now geeks like me can see through that wave of B.S. so what they try now is slam certain parts of the film to give the impression that there were some issues but overall the movie was awesome. It never works but they still try.
Now if you seem confused reading this review then don't fret. I'm just as confused writing it. I sound like I hated this movie when I really did enjoy it. I just can't shake the fact that I went in expecting to laugh all afternoon and instead I got zip. On the plus side, as always Damon was spectacular. Once you see what lies beneath his character you can appreciate his performance so much more.
All told, The Informant! was not marketed properly to showcase what it actually is. Maybe they thought that nobody would go see it otherwise but in their attempt to steal your 10 bucks they are stealing more by robbing you of what could and should have been a fun time watching a very entertaining film.
So how do I score this one? Good question. Well I have decided for the 1st time in The "D" List history to give 2 scores.
On the 5 star scale. The Informant! gets 3 stars for the overall film but a 0 for it's comedy. As for recommendations I would go with a split between "Go See It/"Give It A Shot."
That's all for today.
Still on tap.....
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
The Invention of Lying
Until Next Episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"
"D"
9
Welcome to another episode of The "D" List.
Today's review is 9. Directed by Shane Acker. Written by Pamela Pettler based on a story by Shane Acker.
With the popularity and quality of CG animated films growing by leaps and bounds every year, it gets harder to top the latest hit. With Pixar dominating the genre, everyone else is either trying to take their crown (which is an ill advised move in my opinion) play catch up or get out of their way. There is however, a film that comes along that doesn't try to challenge Pixar. Instead they strike out on their own and make a film that is the exact opposite of what the folks at Disney crank out.
9 is one of those films.
This film was the creation of director Shane Acker in the form of an 11 minute silent short that he made in college. It became so popular it caught the eye of tinseltown and in the blink of an eye, 9 was optioned into a feature film.
The story takes us into a world where technology becomes so advanced that it eventually turns against it's human control. Sounds familiar right? Does Terminator or the Matrix come to mind? Here's however, where 9 avoids the been there done that feel. Humanity is completely eradicated. The only signs of life are a series of numbered rag dolls that were brought to life by the same scientist that created the robotic technology. The film follows the journey of the 9th doll created as he wakes up and tries to figure out where he came from and if there are any others like him that exist. He meets up with more of his kind which sets off the rest of the story.
I won't get into what happens next. Not because of spoilers but because it will just magnify my disappointment. This film had the potential to be great but it misses the mark by a small margin because of an underdeveloped plot.
That's what confused me the most about this film. The story, characters and soul of 9 was created by Acker but someone else wrote the screenplay. Why? That to me doesn't make any sense. You have the 1 element at your disposal that can give you the clearest, tightest and most important aspect, a coherent story line and they go to someone else to flesh out the details and expand on Acker's short film.
This is a complaint I have with studios and the movie business in general. You have all read me write about this before and I will once again write about it. I keep scratching my head over the notion that studios continue to bring in someone to write a screenplay based on someone else's material/idea when said person is not only at your disposal but involved in other aspects of the making of the film.
There is NO WAY you can convince me otherwise that another writer is more capable to write a screenplay based on an idea than the original creator/writer. Now don't get me wrong, I don't mean to say that the writers that are brought in aren't good. I just don't see how they can be better than the creator of the material they are trying to adapt.
This is where 9 falls short. The story is very fast and could have used some beats of pause to establish character depth or origin stories. It's sprinkled throughout but it's not enough to give you a clear view of the overall purpose of these characters.
On the plus side, the animation is stellar and there are several action scenes that are top notch. Very exciting stuff to look at. I just wanted more education on the world we were in. It would have made the experience so much more enjoyable. One more note. This film may be animated but it might be too intense for kids. The dolls are not cute to look at and the "creatures" they fight are scary enough to keep the little ones up at night so proceed with caution.
I liked this film a lot. The problem is that it had the potential for me to love it and it just fell short.
On the 5 star scale. 9 gets 2.5 stars with a split "Give It A Shot/Netflix It" recommendation.
That's all for today.
Up next....
The Informant
Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs
The Invention of Lying
On the maybe list....
Zombieland
Capitalism: A Love Story
Until Next Episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"
"D"
Today's review is 9. Directed by Shane Acker. Written by Pamela Pettler based on a story by Shane Acker.
With the popularity and quality of CG animated films growing by leaps and bounds every year, it gets harder to top the latest hit. With Pixar dominating the genre, everyone else is either trying to take their crown (which is an ill advised move in my opinion) play catch up or get out of their way. There is however, a film that comes along that doesn't try to challenge Pixar. Instead they strike out on their own and make a film that is the exact opposite of what the folks at Disney crank out.
9 is one of those films.
This film was the creation of director Shane Acker in the form of an 11 minute silent short that he made in college. It became so popular it caught the eye of tinseltown and in the blink of an eye, 9 was optioned into a feature film.
The story takes us into a world where technology becomes so advanced that it eventually turns against it's human control. Sounds familiar right? Does Terminator or the Matrix come to mind? Here's however, where 9 avoids the been there done that feel. Humanity is completely eradicated. The only signs of life are a series of numbered rag dolls that were brought to life by the same scientist that created the robotic technology. The film follows the journey of the 9th doll created as he wakes up and tries to figure out where he came from and if there are any others like him that exist. He meets up with more of his kind which sets off the rest of the story.
I won't get into what happens next. Not because of spoilers but because it will just magnify my disappointment. This film had the potential to be great but it misses the mark by a small margin because of an underdeveloped plot.
That's what confused me the most about this film. The story, characters and soul of 9 was created by Acker but someone else wrote the screenplay. Why? That to me doesn't make any sense. You have the 1 element at your disposal that can give you the clearest, tightest and most important aspect, a coherent story line and they go to someone else to flesh out the details and expand on Acker's short film.
This is a complaint I have with studios and the movie business in general. You have all read me write about this before and I will once again write about it. I keep scratching my head over the notion that studios continue to bring in someone to write a screenplay based on someone else's material/idea when said person is not only at your disposal but involved in other aspects of the making of the film.
There is NO WAY you can convince me otherwise that another writer is more capable to write a screenplay based on an idea than the original creator/writer. Now don't get me wrong, I don't mean to say that the writers that are brought in aren't good. I just don't see how they can be better than the creator of the material they are trying to adapt.
This is where 9 falls short. The story is very fast and could have used some beats of pause to establish character depth or origin stories. It's sprinkled throughout but it's not enough to give you a clear view of the overall purpose of these characters.
On the plus side, the animation is stellar and there are several action scenes that are top notch. Very exciting stuff to look at. I just wanted more education on the world we were in. It would have made the experience so much more enjoyable. One more note. This film may be animated but it might be too intense for kids. The dolls are not cute to look at and the "creatures" they fight are scary enough to keep the little ones up at night so proceed with caution.
I liked this film a lot. The problem is that it had the potential for me to love it and it just fell short.
On the 5 star scale. 9 gets 2.5 stars with a split "Give It A Shot/Netflix It" recommendation.
That's all for today.
Up next....
The Informant
Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs
The Invention of Lying
On the maybe list....
Zombieland
Capitalism: A Love Story
Until Next Episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"
"D"
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