Premise: A sheltered young student makes friends with the school bully. They share a passion for the Stallone film First Blood, leading to a mix of adventure, trial, and growth for both.
Stars: Bill Milner * Will Poulter * Jules Sitruk
Story: Will Proudfoot (Milner) is a shy student at school, and lives under the umbrella of his mother, a member of the strict, conservative Plymouth Brethren sect. Due to an accident at school, he is sent to the school's office, where he meets Lee Carter (Poulter) the school bully and troublemaker. Will pays Carter to take the blame for the accident after the bully plays on the fears of the shy student as to what physical harm is inflicted by the Headmistress.
Will and Carter become acquaintances and Carter convinces Will to take part in his attempt at remaking the Stallone action flick, First Blood. Carter takes on the role of Trautman as Will enthusiastically approaches the role of the Son of Rambo in order to escape his repressed home life.
While creating their film, the two bond as they have little outside relationships - Carter only has a brother, while Will's family life is stilted under the influence of the Brethren and his mother's new suitor. The duo are joined by French exchange student Didier (Sitruk) joins the duo, seeking something 'thrilling' in 'boring old England' - and the troupe that follows Didier's antics, turning the small film attempt into a full amateur production.
The introduction of the new element into the boys' friendship causes resentment and friction, leading to conflict.
Review: The trailers for the film focus solely on the humorous elements of the movie, which does a huge disservice to it. The film concentrates on following the friendship between Will Proudfoot and Lee Carter, from the moments before they meet to the end of the film.
The movie establishes that both come from dysfunctional families: Carter's mother is never present, off with her new husband, leaving Carter with his older brother who is neglectful in his attention. Proudfoot's mother is dealing with the impact the Plymouth Brethren's conservative and strict stance is having on her children, as well as a new suitor who is trying to put Will "in line". This places both boys outside their respective worlds and almost alone.
The performances are delightful - Poulter and Milner have an easy chemistry and their interactions with each other and with their families are believable and understandable. Milner's transformation from shy, quiet schoolboy to exuberant over-actor is nice to watch. Poulter's equal move from hardass bully and con-man to an emotionally exposed loyal friend is also rewarding to see.
While the direction of the movie may be predictable - there are only so many plotlines in the world after all - the road that the audience travels to get to the finale is rewarded with the presence of the two boys and their enthusiasm for their dreams and their friendship with each other. The introduction of the French student at first seems unconnected to the main plot, but of course, threads are tied together and Will & Lee's friendship is tested to the limit.
The only drawback is the very predictable "fish out of water" parable tacked on at the end of the movie. However, it still doesn't remove the warm feeling one gets from watching the central friendship grow.
Other Sites: IMDb * Wikipedia * AllMovie * Rotten Tomatoes
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
Drag Me to Hell (2009)
Premise: Young up-and-coming member of modern society pisses off a member of the old country. Demons, possessions, violence, and downright eerie things follow.
Stars: Alison Lohman (Matchstick Men) * Justin Long (the Mac guy) * Dileep Rao
Story: Banker Christine (Lohman) has a nice life with her milquetoast boyfriend (Long) and is working on a promotion. While doing so, she angers a local Gypsy woman (whether she's Gypsy, Hungarian, Roma, or just straight out of the Army of Darkness, you're not sure) who gets her revenge by placing a curse on the banker. Christine now has three days to get rid of the curse, or the demon summoned to avenge the wrong will take her physically to Hell.
Review: Pure Raimi. From the roving cameras to the eerie violins to the rushing winds to the madcap slapstick that occurs, this is vintage Evil Dead material. The film is a classic-style horror film - strange shit all of a sudden starts happening to an otherwise urbane twenty-something who has a limited time to save herself. Lohman does great work with the acting chops, going from sunshiney-goodness to wicked badass and proves that she can carry a genre film. Indeed, Christine could easily be seen as an inheritor of Ash, Bruce Campbell's character in Raimi's Evil Dead films, in her reactions to the weird happenings going on after her encounter with the Gypsy.
(Whether this odd timing pays off as DMtH plays against Terminator: Salvation, Up, and Night at the Museum 2 in terms of bank, I don't know, but hopefully better things are in store for Ms. Lohman. This is easily a film that would do well against the expected Saw-type tripe that will appear this Halloween season.)
Long, Rao and the rest of the cast are merely supporting characters with little to do except carry scenes and dialogue. The film is a basic character-study (what would any twentysomething do to avoid being sent to Hell?) and plot. It moves quickly, going from ominous to threatening, to grotesque to wicked funny to scary. It's driven by the music of genre regular Christopher Young and reminds one of Raimi's horror trilogy - sudden violins, troubling bass, all playing off sound effects designed for gotcha moments and suspense building.
The movie is literally a shock-and-go supernatural horror film designed to get the pulse pounding - even when you are expecting a shock and it comes straight as predicted, I could literally feel my pulse quicken after the moment. Raimi's body of work includes films designed around this - the aforementioned Evil Dead series - and other genre pictures - Darkman, moments in Spider-Man 2 - and allows the director to manipulate the audience in a manner unlike the more subdued A Simple Plan and Spider-Man 1 & 3.
One can easily see this film becoming a member of the Raimi ouvre that appears every Halloween.
Overall: Good
Other Sites: IMDb * Wikipedia * AllMovie * Rotten Tomatoes
Stars: Alison Lohman (Matchstick Men) * Justin Long (the Mac guy) * Dileep Rao
Story: Banker Christine (Lohman) has a nice life with her milquetoast boyfriend (Long) and is working on a promotion. While doing so, she angers a local Gypsy woman (whether she's Gypsy, Hungarian, Roma, or just straight out of the Army of Darkness, you're not sure) who gets her revenge by placing a curse on the banker. Christine now has three days to get rid of the curse, or the demon summoned to avenge the wrong will take her physically to Hell.
Review: Pure Raimi. From the roving cameras to the eerie violins to the rushing winds to the madcap slapstick that occurs, this is vintage Evil Dead material. The film is a classic-style horror film - strange shit all of a sudden starts happening to an otherwise urbane twenty-something who has a limited time to save herself. Lohman does great work with the acting chops, going from sunshiney-goodness to wicked badass and proves that she can carry a genre film. Indeed, Christine could easily be seen as an inheritor of Ash, Bruce Campbell's character in Raimi's Evil Dead films, in her reactions to the weird happenings going on after her encounter with the Gypsy.
(Whether this odd timing pays off as DMtH plays against Terminator: Salvation, Up, and Night at the Museum 2 in terms of bank, I don't know, but hopefully better things are in store for Ms. Lohman. This is easily a film that would do well against the expected Saw-type tripe that will appear this Halloween season.)
Long, Rao and the rest of the cast are merely supporting characters with little to do except carry scenes and dialogue. The film is a basic character-study (what would any twentysomething do to avoid being sent to Hell?) and plot. It moves quickly, going from ominous to threatening, to grotesque to wicked funny to scary. It's driven by the music of genre regular Christopher Young and reminds one of Raimi's horror trilogy - sudden violins, troubling bass, all playing off sound effects designed for gotcha moments and suspense building.
The movie is literally a shock-and-go supernatural horror film designed to get the pulse pounding - even when you are expecting a shock and it comes straight as predicted, I could literally feel my pulse quicken after the moment. Raimi's body of work includes films designed around this - the aforementioned Evil Dead series - and other genre pictures - Darkman, moments in Spider-Man 2 - and allows the director to manipulate the audience in a manner unlike the more subdued A Simple Plan and Spider-Man 1 & 3.
One can easily see this film becoming a member of the Raimi ouvre that appears every Halloween.
Overall: Good
Other Sites: IMDb * Wikipedia * AllMovie * Rotten Tomatoes
Star Trek (2009)
Premise: Return to where it all began. Kirk. Spock. McCoy. Sulu. Uhura. Chekov.
Stars: Chris Pine * Zachary Quinto * Eric Bana * Karl Urban * Leonard Nimoy * Zoe Saldana * Bruce Greenwood * Simon Pegg
Story: A young boy grows up without his father, a captain who died when he was born. Another young boy grows up as a child of two worlds, one alien, one human. Their futures entwine when they both go to Starfleet, one as an instructor, the other as a cadet. Their paths cross, the stage is set as they both end up on the Enterprise, the new flagship of a spaceborne United Nations. Unfortunately, a villain from the future has entered the current reality hellbent on revenge, including destroying the homeworlds of both Kirk (Pine) and Spock (Quinto).
Review: The acting is pretty much spot-on for all actors involved. Pine is arrogant and brash, but has that intelligence and wit to prove he's capable of leadership. Quinto does a great job portraying the conflict within Spock (I've never heard a better placed 'Fuck you' as when Spock says 'Live long and prosper' in one pivotal scene.) as his emotions roil beneath a calm exterior. Urban does homage to DeForest Kelley's performance as Doctor McCoy, with mannerisms, statements, and profundities that pay tribute as well as establish his bona fides as a character actor. Pegg plays Scotty, in a role that seemed destined for the star of Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead. The rest of the cast plays well in supporting roles, providing depth and characterization to the re-imagined Star Trek universe.
The only acting disappointment is Bana as the villainous leader Nero. Coming across as more like a spoiled child than a tortured grieving victim, it's easy to see that the writing concentrated on the main acts - the Enterprise crew - and let other pieces fall where they may.
Story-wise, the plot is simple: Bad thing happened in the future, Nero and Spock Prime (Nimoy) travel into the past via accident, Nero sets out for revenge, setting the stage for a confrontation with our heroes. Meanwhile, our heroes have to cover a little background history, set up a confrontation between the two main stars (Kirk and Spock), and let the final showdown resolve the issues in a somewhat predictable manner.
There are holes in the writing - matters of inconvenience are papered over for expediency (Kirk and Spock Prime meeting in a fortuitous ice cave, Nero somehow being able to predict within minutes where Spock Prime would appear in space, a few others), some logic was sacrificed for impressive effects (massive ships being built in farm country planet-side as opposed to in space, the future has robot/android police, why not robot/android military figures?) - and the pacing does seem uneven.
There are plenty of Easter eggs in the movie referencing the different television series as well as most if not all of the ten previous movies. It's easy to geek out over this movie, and I must admit that the first time I watched it, I clapped at the end. (A little golf clap.)
I'm not a fan of J.J. Abrams' use of the kinetic shooting method - the camera moves from eye level to close-up to farther away over the course of a few frames too often for my taste - but it is muted in many spots and doesn't distract in the way that it did in Mission Impossible III or the Abrams-produced Cloverfield.
However, the story does stay true to some aspects. Star Trek was never about space battles - at least not until the big screen and the later series. Trek was always about character first and foremost. It's about who we are, where we're going, and what one man - Gene Roddenberry - thought was the way it could be done. As one planet. As one people. Among many other peoples. Thinking before fighting, but fighting when necessary. And that's what Trek boils down to. Abrams may have created this film based on Roddenberry's vision, but it holds true. It may anger some fans, but it most certainly delighted this one.
Overall: Good
Other Sites: IMDb * Wikipedia * AllMovie * Rotten Tomatoes
Stars: Chris Pine * Zachary Quinto * Eric Bana * Karl Urban * Leonard Nimoy * Zoe Saldana * Bruce Greenwood * Simon Pegg
Story: A young boy grows up without his father, a captain who died when he was born. Another young boy grows up as a child of two worlds, one alien, one human. Their futures entwine when they both go to Starfleet, one as an instructor, the other as a cadet. Their paths cross, the stage is set as they both end up on the Enterprise, the new flagship of a spaceborne United Nations. Unfortunately, a villain from the future has entered the current reality hellbent on revenge, including destroying the homeworlds of both Kirk (Pine) and Spock (Quinto).
Review: The acting is pretty much spot-on for all actors involved. Pine is arrogant and brash, but has that intelligence and wit to prove he's capable of leadership. Quinto does a great job portraying the conflict within Spock (I've never heard a better placed 'Fuck you' as when Spock says 'Live long and prosper' in one pivotal scene.) as his emotions roil beneath a calm exterior. Urban does homage to DeForest Kelley's performance as Doctor McCoy, with mannerisms, statements, and profundities that pay tribute as well as establish his bona fides as a character actor. Pegg plays Scotty, in a role that seemed destined for the star of Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead. The rest of the cast plays well in supporting roles, providing depth and characterization to the re-imagined Star Trek universe.
The only acting disappointment is Bana as the villainous leader Nero. Coming across as more like a spoiled child than a tortured grieving victim, it's easy to see that the writing concentrated on the main acts - the Enterprise crew - and let other pieces fall where they may.
Story-wise, the plot is simple: Bad thing happened in the future, Nero and Spock Prime (Nimoy) travel into the past via accident, Nero sets out for revenge, setting the stage for a confrontation with our heroes. Meanwhile, our heroes have to cover a little background history, set up a confrontation between the two main stars (Kirk and Spock), and let the final showdown resolve the issues in a somewhat predictable manner.
There are holes in the writing - matters of inconvenience are papered over for expediency (Kirk and Spock Prime meeting in a fortuitous ice cave, Nero somehow being able to predict within minutes where Spock Prime would appear in space, a few others), some logic was sacrificed for impressive effects (massive ships being built in farm country planet-side as opposed to in space, the future has robot/android police, why not robot/android military figures?) - and the pacing does seem uneven.
There are plenty of Easter eggs in the movie referencing the different television series as well as most if not all of the ten previous movies. It's easy to geek out over this movie, and I must admit that the first time I watched it, I clapped at the end. (A little golf clap.)
I'm not a fan of J.J. Abrams' use of the kinetic shooting method - the camera moves from eye level to close-up to farther away over the course of a few frames too often for my taste - but it is muted in many spots and doesn't distract in the way that it did in Mission Impossible III or the Abrams-produced Cloverfield.
However, the story does stay true to some aspects. Star Trek was never about space battles - at least not until the big screen and the later series. Trek was always about character first and foremost. It's about who we are, where we're going, and what one man - Gene Roddenberry - thought was the way it could be done. As one planet. As one people. Among many other peoples. Thinking before fighting, but fighting when necessary. And that's what Trek boils down to. Abrams may have created this film based on Roddenberry's vision, but it holds true. It may anger some fans, but it most certainly delighted this one.
Overall: Good
Other Sites: IMDb * Wikipedia * AllMovie * Rotten Tomatoes
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
Premise: The origin of Wolverine, one of the X-Men. A mutant is born into a world where the only person that understands him is his brother. Unfortunately his brother grows vicious over time, leading to a parting of the ways. Adding to his misery, his brother works for a covert ops unit that is operating beyond the law.
Stars: Hugh Jackman * Liev Schreiber * Danny Huston * Lynn Collins * Taylor Kitsch
Story: Most genre fans know of Wolverine (Jackman). Most non-genre fans know he's a supposed badass with a chip on his shoulder and steak knives attached to his knuckles. The movie serves as an origin (of sorts) for the eponymous mutant. We learn that he apparently sprouted bone blades before puberty and has an amazing healing factor. He also has a "brother" of sorts who serves as a protector and enabler for young Wolvie's tantrums. Due to a family tragedy, the two brothers set out, watching each other's backs for the next century, going through war after war as it seems they were made for killing.
Eventually Wolverine's conscience begins to show - of course - and his brother (Schreiber)'s does not - of course - setting the two on that age old Cain v Abel conflict wherein brother is pitted against brother via some mechanism - in this case, basic morality.
When the final split comes, the two brothers are members of a covert black ops team under the direction of Stryker (Huston), a military figure connected to the perceived mutant menace. Predictably, Stryker has an agenda surrounding mutants and their abilities, and this leads to personal tragedy for our hero who then undergoes a multi-million dollar process to have a rare metal bonded to his skeleton. During the process, Wolverine discovers the truth, goes berserk, escapes the military, and then sets out for revenge against all those who oppose him.
Review: The acting is sub-par on just about every facet, except Liev Schreiber. This one scene-chewing performance reminds me that even as a nice guy, Schreiber is one of those actors that just barely contains a sense of menace and general badass-ness. I really want to see him in Defiant to see how he plays a similar character in a reportedly well-done film. There really is no other actor fully portraying a character. Lynn Collins' Silverfox is a female cipher, Huston portrays a regular ham-fisted general straight out of the funny books and Jackman acts anguished or pissed-off the entire movie basically, no stretch for him, either. The actors were cashing in on their performances, but honestly, what can you expect?
The effects and scenes were easily stupefying. An escape scene turns from fleeing into motorcycle vs hummer to hummer vs helicopter. A hastily arranged combat scene between Gambit (Kitsch) and Wolverine is easily recognized as a set-piece, as do many others. Explosions, murders, torture, laser beams, etc. are all loud and noisy, presumably designed to distract you from the bad writing and acting. Sure it's a comic book movie, but honestly, this film is somewhere in that genre around the Incredible Hulk. It's hard to expect another The Dark Knight, and it's at least better than the deplorable Ghost Rider, but this is one of those films that seem designed for those who shut off their brains when they go to the theater.
Overall: Bad
Other Sites: IMDb * Wikipedia * AllMovie * Rotten Tomatoes
Stars: Hugh Jackman * Liev Schreiber * Danny Huston * Lynn Collins * Taylor Kitsch
Story: Most genre fans know of Wolverine (Jackman). Most non-genre fans know he's a supposed badass with a chip on his shoulder and steak knives attached to his knuckles. The movie serves as an origin (of sorts) for the eponymous mutant. We learn that he apparently sprouted bone blades before puberty and has an amazing healing factor. He also has a "brother" of sorts who serves as a protector and enabler for young Wolvie's tantrums. Due to a family tragedy, the two brothers set out, watching each other's backs for the next century, going through war after war as it seems they were made for killing.
Eventually Wolverine's conscience begins to show - of course - and his brother (Schreiber)'s does not - of course - setting the two on that age old Cain v Abel conflict wherein brother is pitted against brother via some mechanism - in this case, basic morality.
When the final split comes, the two brothers are members of a covert black ops team under the direction of Stryker (Huston), a military figure connected to the perceived mutant menace. Predictably, Stryker has an agenda surrounding mutants and their abilities, and this leads to personal tragedy for our hero who then undergoes a multi-million dollar process to have a rare metal bonded to his skeleton. During the process, Wolverine discovers the truth, goes berserk, escapes the military, and then sets out for revenge against all those who oppose him.
Review: The acting is sub-par on just about every facet, except Liev Schreiber. This one scene-chewing performance reminds me that even as a nice guy, Schreiber is one of those actors that just barely contains a sense of menace and general badass-ness. I really want to see him in Defiant to see how he plays a similar character in a reportedly well-done film. There really is no other actor fully portraying a character. Lynn Collins' Silverfox is a female cipher, Huston portrays a regular ham-fisted general straight out of the funny books and Jackman acts anguished or pissed-off the entire movie basically, no stretch for him, either. The actors were cashing in on their performances, but honestly, what can you expect?
The effects and scenes were easily stupefying. An escape scene turns from fleeing into motorcycle vs hummer to hummer vs helicopter. A hastily arranged combat scene between Gambit (Kitsch) and Wolverine is easily recognized as a set-piece, as do many others. Explosions, murders, torture, laser beams, etc. are all loud and noisy, presumably designed to distract you from the bad writing and acting. Sure it's a comic book movie, but honestly, this film is somewhere in that genre around the Incredible Hulk. It's hard to expect another The Dark Knight, and it's at least better than the deplorable Ghost Rider, but this is one of those films that seem designed for those who shut off their brains when they go to the theater.
Overall: Bad
Other Sites: IMDb * Wikipedia * AllMovie * Rotten Tomatoes
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