Movie Review: Toy Story 3

Hey all,

I had a great opportunity opening day to catch an early matinee of Pixar’s Toy Story 3 with my newest movie going companion, my niece Lexy. At 5 years old she is quickly becoming a movie buff and she really enjoys going to see movies on the “big screen” as she says. Needless to say this is a boon for me because it gives me a valid excuse to catch many of these animated films that I would normally not go to. Well, I’ll be honest, I would see the Pixar ones, but all the rest are iffy. Still Toy Story 3 may have been her favorite film yet that we have seen together and I will be the first one to admit, Pixar Films may be the best movie production company making films today.

Toy Story 3 is a sequel 11 years in the making, focusing on the continuing adventures of a group of toys led by Woody the Cowboy, voiced by Tom Hanks, and Buzz Lightyear, a Space Ranger voiced by Tim Allen. They are accompanied by a series of other toys like Jesse the Cowgirl (Joan Cusack) Rex the Dinosaur (Wallace Shaw) Hamm the Piggy bank (voiced by Pixar perennial John Ratzeberger) Mr. Potato Head 9Don Rickles) and several others. Just like in real life, 11 years have passed for the toys as well, and their owner Andy has grown up and is on the verge of entering college. The toys have not been played with for a long time and are now worried that they will be either relegated to the attic or thrown out when Andy moved out.

Woody stays true to Andy, believing that they will be sent to the attic and one day played with again but the rest belive that they will be thrown out. When Andy finally gets ready to leave, he bags them all except Woody (who he intends to take to college, presumably nostalgically) with the intention of storing them in the attic. They accidentally get mixed into the trash though and conspire to escape by sneaking into a donation box headed for the local daycare. Woody follows them, trying to convince them that Andy didn’t want to throw them away, but they believe that greener pastures lie at the day care.

When they get there they are greeted by a phalanx of new toys, led by Lotsa, a strawberry scented plush bear voiced by Ned Beatty and Ken (of Barbie fame) voiced by Michael Keaton. Lotsa has a southern twang and seems very approachable at first. Ken is vain and narcissistic, living in his own dream house with a huge wardrobe. The toys believe they have found paradise, a Mecca where they will never get old or thrown out as new kids always come to play. Woody tries to convince them otherwise, but when they decide to stay, he leaves, intending to return to Andy. He is waylaid during his escape however and rescued by Bonnie, a young girl who’s mother works at the Daycare. While with Bonnie, he learns from her toys what the rest of his friends come to find out. Sunnyside Daycare is no Mecca for toys, its more of a prison, where certain toys get preferential treatment and others are abused. Woody returns to help his friends escape and get back to Andy before he leaves for college, but they quickly learn that Lotsa has no intention of letting that happen.

Once again, Pixar has created a great movie and is already my choice for film of the year. The film is a wonderful blend of humor, action, and pathos. Honestly, the action sequences in this Toy Story are the greatest to date, with the film climaxing at a huge waste management plant. The action is frantic and wide screen. Even the beginning Wild West play scene is bigger than any Toy Story action sequence we’ve seen. It ingeniously blends all the toys in multiple settings in such a way that it becomes both thrilling and immediately charming. It also has the taunt thrills of a classic escape movie, fueling elements of great noir prison films the likes of James Cagney use to be involved with.

Toy Story 3 also continues the culmination of Pixar films really finding a deeply soulful resonance in its movie going audience. While I didn’t get quite as choked up as I did during Up (I cried twice) or Wall-E (I teared up once) I definitely got choked up in the last 20 minutes of the film. The film morphs so seamlessly from genre to genre, that by the time you get to this very pivotal coming of age moment for these toys, it really hits you with a deep impact. As each toy faces an unknown future, as Andy himself faces his past, you really feel empathy for these characters. It’s a story that has grown with its audience, and while younger viewers may not pick up on the significance of the moment, you sure do later.

Honestly, I have nothing negative whatsoever to say about this film. Even in Up, which I think is a more emotionally impactful film, I found slight flaws that didn’t work for me. In Toy Story 3 I can’t find any. Visually the film is flawless. Pixar is the gold standard for computer animation and this film is certainly no exceptions. The 2 actions scenes that I mentioned are shot with such scope and detail, that its hard to imagine them looking any better. Even down to the wear and tear on some of the toys, no detail escapes the animators vision. I was especially impressed with small details like Lotsa’s white fur spots being slightly soiled from years of use and the wear and tear on Tag Along Telephone (whose voice work alone made me realize how much I’d love this film, voiced as a quick talking 1930’s prison thug)

The story elements are perfect as well. For a film that straddles so many different genres,. it does so flawlessly. Each character is perfectly rendered and unique, from Woody’s faithful yet slightly acerbic cowboy to Buzz’s machismo laden heroics. Wallace Shaw’s voice work as Rex is always welcome, giving the dinosaur a “mouse that roars” quality. Even the new characters blend in flawlessly. You can actually here Michael Keaton having a blast with the role as the hilariously out-dated and vain Ken. Tom Hanks voice characterization as Woody really grounds the film in believability and gives the audience a great anchoring point in the film. I also thought the sequence where Buzz is reset to Spanish was highly amusing as well. From cocksure tough guy, he turns into a sort of Spanish lothario that adds some much needed humor during a particularly tense action section of the film. I also want to give Ned Beatty props, voicing Lotsa as a gentlemanly southerner, but with the twist of a few words and inflections, gives his huggable bear persona a level of intimidation.

All in all, Toy Story 3 is a triumph of a film. Fun, funny, and poignant it continues to show why Pixar Studios is maybe the best group of film makers in motion pictures today. The film has something for all ages and will be just as good a film at age 6 or 60. In a season of slumping cinema and lackluster films, Toy Story 3 is the first film to live up to its much lauded hype. I personally think that the deal Walt Disney Studios made to incorporate Pixar was both bold and smart. Pixar President John Lassiter knows quality films and I can’t wait to see what they have got coming up next. In the meantime, check out Toy Story 3. It’s a powerful film that delivers on every level. I simply loved it.

End of Line.
Gerrad

Movie Review: Shrek Forever After

Hey all,

It's been out a few weeks already, but I did catch Shrek Forever After a little while back with my niece, in which I got to take her to her first 3D movie. She loved the film and I found it to be a much better turn this time around than the third installment of the series. Shrek 4, for abbreviations sake, was much closer tonally with the second film, not quite managing to over top the magic of the first movie, but retaining enough humor for both adults and children to enjoy equally.

Shrek 4 sees the main cast of the film return. Mike Meyers as the vice of the ogre Shrek, Cameron Diaz as his wife, the once cursed Princess Fiona, Eddie Murphy as Shrek's best friend, the maniacally cheerful Donkey, and Antonio Banderas as Puss in Boots. They all fit in very comfortably and have a great rapport as each character. I also think one of the great bits of Shrek has been the quality of the voice acting, from the main characters to the supporting cast, like the Gingerbread Man, Pinocchio, and the Three Little Pigs, each has a very unique voice and plays really well of each other.

The film starts out with Shrek entering a serious mid life crisis. He's forgotten why his family and friends make him happy, succumbing to the endless repeating of teh same stress filled days. He longs for the days when he was fear as an ogre and just wants to have a bit of freedom, away from his crying infant children and the constant pressures of being a celebrity (for his heroic actions) Everything comes boiling to a head at his triplets first birthday party, where the stresses just get to him and he snaps at everyone. After storming out of the party, he gets into another fight with his wife Fiona and yells at her that he wishes things were the way they use to be before he met her. She leaves him, saddened, and Shrek storms away. Meanwhile, Rumpelstiltskin (voiced by writer Walter Dohrn) overhears Shrek's pleas and conspires to get revenge on Shrek> Years earlier Fiona's parents were willing to sign their kingdom over to Rumple in order to break the curse on their daughter, but seconds before they signed, news reached them of Shrek freeing the Princess. Falling on hard times, Rumple believes this to be his big break and tricks Shrek into signing a contract with him. In exchange or granting him a single day to be the ogre he use to be, Shrek agrees to give up a single day from his childhood. Little does Shrek know that the single day he gives up is the day of his birth.

At first Shrek enjoys his time, scaring villagers and living the carefree lifestyle, but when Shrek realizes the enormity of his problem, he sets about to confront Rumple and reclaim his wife and friends, who no longer know who he is. After confronting Rumple, he and Donkey escape slavery to join up with Fiona and her ogre resistance force, which is dedicated to stopping Rumple who has now taken over the kingdom thanks to Shrek's failure to save the Princess. With no Price Charming to save her, Fiona had to save herself and has become embittered about the thought of love. Shrek finds out the one loophole in Rumple's contract is that he has one day to make Fiona, his true love, fall in love with him again or he ceases to be. The question is, can he make someone believe in love who doesn't anymore.

Overall the film does find a nice balance of comedy and drama, really bridging a nice gap with the series and righting the ship a bit for the franchise as a whole. Myers brings his usual charm to the role while Murphy continues to churn out a better comedic performance in these films than in most of his live action ones. I wish we had a bit more of the supporting cast though, other than the introduction of Rumple, many of the characters that they have developed over the past 3 films kind of fall to the wayside here and they don't really bring in anyone new. I'm sure Puss in Boots, arguably the break out star of the previous installments, has a lot on tap for his own planned feature next year, but I'd have liked to seen the Gingerbread Man or one of the other characters accelerated.


One of the things you cannot question is the films look. The animation is spotless, you can really see the smoothness and the texturing in this film is on a whole new level in comparison to earlier installments. They also did a great job with the 3D. While not the best 3D film to date, I like that they used 3D to enhance the picture and didn't add a bunch of sequences to highlight the fact that it was in 3D. Nothing felt forced or wedged in like I have seen in other 3D adaptions. Dreamworks has really established itself as a potential threat in terms o animation quality with the likes of Disney, though everyone is still chasing the masters at Pixar.

it's certainly hard to match the quality of storytelling in a sequel, especially when one compares it to the source film. Very few films get better as they are sequeled and even more get worse after that. It was nice to see a film improve after having such a lackluster third installment. While Shrek Forever After may or may not be the swan song for every one's favorite ogre, it is a much more fitting chapter to end the series on if it does. Though i still believe there are more tales to tell in this world, Shrek 4 is one of the few films this year to not disappoint. I had a good time with the film, and while I wouldn't call it a masterpiece, in a struggling cinematic environment like the one at the box office today, it is a fitting use of your money and will deliver on the promise of a few laughs. If you liked Shrek 2, then you'll like Shrek 4. Thanks for reading!

End of Line.
Gerrad!

Movie Review: Iron Man 2

Hey all,

Paramount Pictures Iron Man 2 is arguably one of the most anticipated films of the year, attempting to deliver on what was considered one of the best, and most unlikely, comic book box offices success. Needless to say I was eagerly awaiting the release of the picture this weekend and headed out to a very early showing this past Friday. I can honestly say I was not disappointed in the least bit. Iron Man 2's success relies on the powerful performances it gets from nearly every member of the star studded cast and the great direction of the returning Jon Favreau.

Iron Man 2 picks up closely where the first film left off. Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey, JR) is leading Stark Industry and has publicly admitted to being Iron Man, His business has never been stronger but the US Government is increasingly concerned about the thought of a privatized military weapon being in the hands of a public citizen and is desperately trying to get a hold of the Iron Man armor from Stark. Meanwhile in Russia, the son of a former scientist that worked for Tony Stark's Dad, Howard (Mad Men's John Slattery) named Ivan Vanko (played by Mickey Rourke) is angry at the legacy of hurt and embarrassment his family has suffered at the Stark's family's hands. Taking blueprints his father had comprised with Howard Stark in the 60's, Vanko designs an arc reactor like the one that keeps Tony Stark alive. Using that reactor and his own design, he creates an exoskeleton that emits whip like energy projections and vows revenge on Stark for making his father die in shame.

At home, Stark has discovered that the element that powers his arc reactor is slowly poisoning him and if he can't find a viable substitute, he will die. Placing his trusted assistant Pepper Potts (Gwynth Paltrow) in charge of Stark Industry, they head to Monaco along with his new assistant Natalie (Scarlett Johanson). Deciding to relish the short time he has left, he decides to drive his own race car in the Grand Prix until he is confronted by Vanko. After a knockdown drag out fight he manages to stop Vanko and returns home with Pepper, despondent over the information that his technology is in other people's hands and representing a danger to people. Between that and the blood poisoning, Tony starts falling further into drinking and partying. In fact he falls so far that his best friend, Col. James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) steals a suit of armor and battles the out of control Stark.

Vanko is freed from prison by Stark's rival, Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) and agrees to build an army of drones for Hammer Industries. As Stark is confronted by Col. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and made to confront his demons, Rhodes takes his suit to the military and with the help of Hammer, outfit the suit with a variety of weapons. At the new suit's, dubbed War Machine, unveiling, Hammer shows off both his drones and the War Machine suit, not realizing that Vanko controls them all. Stark is forced to cage his demons and rush to the unveiling to stop Vanko, Hammer, and his best friend, from destroying everything he hold important.

The real key to this films success is the cast. Robert Downey, JR continues to show why he may be the best bit of casting in a super hero movie ever. The center portion of this film is very Tony Stark centric, and in most super hero films that is a kiss of death, people want to see Spider-Man and Batman, not Peter Parker or Bruce Wayne. Yet Downey makes his character so charismatic that even at his self-centered and narcissistic best, he electrifies the screen. Even when Stark bottoms out, you root for Downey's redemption BECAUSE of his ability to make Stark so likable. I also can't say enough about Gynwth Paltrow's under stated performance as Pepper Potts. She and Downey have an un-mistakable caustic chemistry. The romance is very much a throwback to the romances of the 1930's and 1940's, or for a more modern reference, like in Moonlighting. Where beneath the arguing and contempt they have are two people who love each other but just can't admit to it.

The supporting cast is great as well. Rourke as Vanko looks to be having the time of his life in the role, relishing in the over the top nature of his character but finding enough real menace and nuance in his performance to keep the character from being one dimensional. Don Cheadle steps into Terrance Howard's role of James Rhodes well, maybe even bringing a bit more gravitas to the performance. Scarlett Johanson as Natalie Romanov, of the Black Widow (though she is never called that) brings a great quality top the film. Her action sequence towards the end is great, really showing off the fight training she did and hopefully setting her up for a bigger performance in the Avengers movie. I was afraid that she would be more of a throwaway character meant to add some sex appeal for the fans, but I thought she added nicely to the role. Oh and added sex appeal. Even Sam Rockwell has Justin Hammer offers a great foil for Stark. Never having Stark's charm or luck, he manages to make Hammer both light and dark at the same time. Constantly balancing the dark overtones if the character with a comedic element that added the right amount of levity at the right time. My favorite bit of casting was John Slattery of Mad Men playing Howard Stark. Maybe it was a bit of type casting with his easy familiarity with the 60's era look that his scenes were in, but it was inspired.

I can't say enough things about the great casting of this movie, though you have to give director Jon Favreau credit for the job he did. He manages to take a huge sprawling movie and find a great blend of action, drama, and comedy and yet all the while allow his actors to breath and express themselves. Favreau, an actor himself in movies like Swingers, Couples Retreat, and in Iron Man itself as Stark's bodyguard and driver Happy Hogan) is really an actor's director. Understanding the craft of acting with his background, he allows the actors the chance to find themselves in the role, to do several different takes to find just the right one. He turns the process of directing into a collaborative effort and you can really see it in the performances of the actors, especially in Downey's.

The effects of course are spectacular. Like that should even be a question at this point. The script is solid as well, though I did have a few faults with it. The fight scenes between Rourke and Stark are a tad to short for my tastes. When Rhodes and Stark go at it, it builds to a climax, but when Rourke's character is involved I though the battles were a little quick. Provided, the final battle leading up to the confrontation with Rourke is great, I just wish it had given us a bigger payoff. Also much of the script borrowed elements from the seminal Iron Man tale, Demon in a Bottle, which chronicled Tony's descent into alcoholism. While I understand not wanting to do to much drunk Iron Man for fear of audiences thinking that they were ripping off the Will Smith super hero film Hancock, I would have liked to have seen the performance that Downey, a former addict himself, could have given as a bottomed out billionaire.

Don't get me wrong, I think they did a lot of things very well in the script, setting up not only the next Iron Man film, but establishing Stark's place in the wider Marvel universe teasing both the upcoming Captain America film and the next years Thor film. It also practically establishes the beginning of the Avengers movie setting up characters like the Black Widow and Nick Fury's role as the founder of the Avengers. In fact, with only one small exception which I won't mention, I thought most of the cameo stuff was fairly innocuous and un-obtrusive. Truthfully, the script had a nice blend of action and levity and it really allowed the cast to give very great performances.

All in all I thought Iron Man 2 certainly lived up to the hype. While maybe not as polished as the first film, it's certainly as enjoyable and as entertaining. Robert Downey, JR establishes himself as one of the most affable actors to watch on the screen, really capturing the audiences attention. Favreau continues to build on his bankable legacy as a director and is quickly becoming a box office force to be reckoned with. The film has a fabulous cast with great acting and it reminds us that films can still be fun and enjoyable blockbuster affairs without sacrificing story quality. Iron Man is a really good movie that elevated by the cast and crew to a better picture than you conceive because it is so apparent that the crew is having so much fun. You should definitely check out Paramount Pictures Iron Man 2 as it's clearly the front runner for the summer box office. Not because I said so, but because it's truly worth it.

End of Line.
Gerrad!

Movie Review: Clash of the Titans

Hey all,

Easter has came and went and I managed to find a few hours in a very packed working weekend to catch the new re-make of the 1980's classic, Clash of the Titans. The original film is one of those movies that so many people have great memories of from their youth and I think this film has drawn a lot of harsh criticism for that reason. The 2010 version is directed by Louis Leterrier, best known for helming The Incredible Hulk with Ed Norton. It also stars action film up and comer Sam Worthington, who is quickly carving out a name for himself in huge blockbuster movies like Terminator Salvation and Avatar.

Clash of the Titans chronicles the adventure's of one of Ancient Greece's earliest heroes, the demi-god Perseus (Worthington), the half mortal son of the Olympic God Zeus(played by Liam Neeson). Raised by fishermen, he arrives in Argos with his family, only to watch them die at the hands of the God of the Underworld, Hades (Ralph Finnes). Hades has been allowed to attack Argos for their insolence towards the Gods and the fact that they believe themselves superior. Promising to release his beast, The Kraken, upon the city in 10 days, he vows to destroy Argos unless the daughter of the king, Andromeda, is sacrificed to the monster. Andromeda (played by Alexa Davalos) embodies all that Argos believes makes them superior to the Gods, kindness, intelligence, and a beauty to rival Aphrodite.

Perseus teams up with some of Argos best soldiers and begins a quest to find a way to stop the Kraken, as is his destiny. He is helped along the way by Io (Gemma Atherton), an immortal woman who has watched over Perseus his entire life so that he may complete his destiny. Io, together with Perseus and the soldiers of Argos, guides them along the path his quest must take. First they must consult the Furies, wise, yet crazed seers who share a single eye and can foresee the future as well. Along the way the must fight Calibos, an empowered creature of Hades who hates Perseus and the giant scorpions that spring from his blood. Thier quest takes them to the liar of Medusa, the Gorgon who live son the edge of the Underworld along the River Styx and whose gaze turns men to stone. Only after defeating these, can Perseus return to Argos to meet his greatest challenges, The Kraken and Hades himself. He also must learn to accept exactly what his is, both man and God, in one.

Overall this movie was okay in my opinion, it's a big summer action movie that admittedly I went into with very low expectations. I had heard a lot of bad things about the actual 3D effects in this film, so my review is entirely based on my traditional 2D experience. Let's look at some of the things that I thought worked. Director Leterrier really knows his way around an action scene. He can give you huge spectacle, but he also knows how to keep the direction in the shot so that you can still see what is going on. One of the problems I have with films like Transformers is how fast they cut the film. The action is moving at such a pace, you don't get to see what is actually happening. This was one of the things that Leterrier did well when he directed Transporter 2, that I really missed in the action scenes from Transporter 3. You lost focus. I also liked that the fight scenes against the giant scorpions cast a nice homage to the great Ray Harryhausen who did the stop motion effects for the original film. The fights had a fun cinematic flair to them.

Now let's look at the casting, which I thought was a little more of a mixed bag. First up, the casting choices that worked. Sam Worthington is continuing to establish himself as a growing star and certainly Clash of the Titans exemplifies his ability to work in such an effects heavy genre. He has a natural toughness that can suit him as a big budget film actor. I can easily see him developing a career along the lines of Harrison Ford, making huge genre blockbusters but never getting recognition for his acting. My only concern is that if he continues to make these CG heavy films, people won't know the actor, just the film. Hopefully he can work in some riskier roles in the future, but for now he is establishing himself as a force in this genre. The best bit of casting is Gemma Atherton as Io, Perseus' guardian and eventual love interest. Gemma is gorgeous in the role and really steals the spotlight with just the brightness of her appearance in every scene. Liam Neeson brings just the right blend to the character of Zeus. Part of him knows the campiness of the film and you can see him having fun with the role, but he does have that certain amount of gravitas to lend to scenes that need him to display the weight of a God. My only complaint in casting was in Ralph Fiennes as Hades. Fiennes is usually such a great actor and in this role it really feels like he is doing a pale version of his role as Voldemorte from the Harry Potter films. For such a great actor, it really felt like he was mailing it in, getting lost in the visual effects and not channeling any sort of real effort into the character.

As for the visual effects, I can see where people would have some gripes. I didn't partake of the 3D experience, but some of the effects shots did look a little rushed to me. While big sequences, like the Kraken and the Medusa looked great, smaller bits could have used some polish. I noticed it more in scenes on the water where a lot of times the boats didn't really look like they were floating, or in scenes on Olympus, where you never really got a sense of the grandiose halls that should be housing the gods, they looked a little plain. I also can imagine that soem of the 3D effects could have come across feeling a little forced, since the concept of converting the film to 3D came so late in post production on the film. I would imagine that a director would direct or edit an scene differently if they know the film is going to be in 3D, as opposed to otherwise.

I think one of the biggest complaints I have heard about the film is that they changed so much of the original films story to fit this one. Honestly, both films are based on the Legend of Perseus, and both films take a generous amount of liberties with the film. The original Clash of the Titans was written based on several of the Ancient Greek Legends, borrowing some points and placing them in a single context around Perseus and Andromeda. They didn't even stop at Greek Legends, as technically the Kraken is Scandinavian in origin. Still the original film de-railed itself from the myth as well, changing the sea monster from a giant whale to the Kraken, adding in more mythological monsters, changing the fates of Perseus and Andromeda. It seems kind of silly to me that people are upset about scripting changes to something that itself changed based on an ancient myth that is full of conflicting historical inaccuracies. The only real change that bothered me in this was to the love story between Io, Andromeda, and Perseus. One of the things that set Perseus' legend apart from other great Greek heroes, like Odysseus, Hercules, Jason, and Achilles, is that he is the only one who get's a happy ending. Greek heroes always suffered, sure they lived a greater life than an other, but they always suffered, even in the end. Perseus was one of the only ones to live and rule a kingdom pretty much happily ever after. In this version, well they take an approach that leaves the possibility of a sequel more open.

Overall my approach to this film was one that I don't often have. I wasn't going in to it trying to re-capture the experience and resonance of my 8 year old youth. I looked at it as a remake, along the lines of what they to do properties like Robin Hood, Peter Pan, Gladiator, and the like. It's very much a re-make of a piece of property in the public domain. To judge this film based on pre-conceived notions is the same as judging Russel Crowe's upcoming Robin Hood film to that of Kevin Costner's 1990's version or Errol Flynn's version in the 1930's. They are simply different interpretations of classical stories. I had the same approach with the Batman franchise. Where this differs for me with movies like Transformers or Bond films is that these are supposed to be interpretations of properties that have been defined. Each Bond film is based on the one that came before, they never really re-set the franchise, they still keep ties to the old, therefore keeping the same connotations with each film. The films are based on material that is fairly clearly defined. This is where a film like Tron 2 this year is going to have a higher bar to measure up to than Clash of the Titans does.

In the end, I thought the movie was fun. I won't call it well written, or acted, or even a great movie. It's simply what it promises, a huge fun action film that acts as a fun bit of escapism. I can enjoy the film for what it is, entertainment. Sometimes all you can hope for from a movie is that, entertainment. I'd say if you are looking just to go have some fun, catch Clash of the Titans,if not, you can enjoy it just as much on DVD.

End of Line.
Gerrad!

Movie Review: Cop Out

Hey all,

I was very excited to catch the new Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan action comedy Cop Out last night. This movie has so much going for it from my perspective, Bruce Willis is easily one of my favorite actors working today and the film is directed by perennial fanboy favorite Kevin Smith. Even Tracy Morgan, a person who's manic comedic style isn't always for everyone seemed very funny in the trailers for the film. I was really ready to love this film and it really makes me sad to say that the film doesn't measure up to the expectations that I had.

The premise of Cop Out is pretty simple, Willis and Morgan are two cops who have been partnered for 9 years. Willis is divorced and struggling to come up with enough money to pay for his daughters extravagant wedding plans. Morgan is married to a beautiful wife (Parks and Rec's Rashida Jones) but is riddled with insecurities about her fidelity. The two get involved in a case after Willis is caught in a surprise robbery trying to sell off a valuable baseball card to pay for the wedding. Suspended from the force they get involved in a plot with a baseball loving Mexican drug dealer named Po' Boy (played by Guillermo Diaz) and a drug dealers kidnapped mistress (Ana de la Reguera). Without police backup, they have to find Willis card, stop the drug dealer, keep the hostage safe, and clear Morgan's name after his gun is used by the gangsters in a murder.

It sounds like there is a lot going on in Cop Out right? You'd be wrong. The film is really mired by two key elements, the writing and the directing. Let's look at the writing first. Written by Mark and Rob Cullen, the script really can't decide what kind of movie it wants to be. It's certainly trying to homage the great buddy cop comedy action movies of the 80's, like 48 Hours, Beverly Hills Cops, and the early Lethal Weapon films. What made those movies both fun and funny was the relationship between the two detectives. The crazy loose cannon and the stiff straight man and on paper that certainly seems like what Cop Out should be, Willis constantly irritated by Morgan's actions, but honestly you get the feeling that he is amused by the whole thing. he never gets exasperated or angry with Morgan, there wasn't that same kind of chemistry between them. This felt more like the chemistry in the 4th Lethal Weapon film where you would expect the familiarity to creep through. I'm not saying the two guys have to hate each other, but its the differences in the two that bring them closer together through the film, I felt like we missed that part in this movie.

Looking at the plot it was also a little week. Po'Boy seems almost like a caricature of a villain and never really brings the fear or gravitas of a bad guy. It just seemed like another chance to use him for comic relief in any moment that he wasn't in an action sequence. I don't even want to get started on the two rival detectives in the film, played by Kevin Pollack and Adam Brody. I think Pollack was picked solely based on the simple Robert De Nero joke he makes and Adam Brody I think was trying to be funny, but simply comes across as forced and awkward. It's like the two of them were meant to be foils to Willis and Morgan, the straight and narrow cops versus the unorthodox cops, but it just felt forced. Sean William Scott of American Pie fame also has a role as a creepy burglar that didn't quite jibe to me as well. I certainly think his character was supposed to be a kind of 2010 version of Joe Pesci's character from the Lethal Weapon films, playing that annoying over the top style of comedy that's meant to be another foil to the characters. Honestly I felt the performance was not really fleshed out or tied far enough into the story for the screen time he was given, especially considering the minimal impact he had on the overall plot in the end.

Let's look at the directing now. I'm a huge Kevin Smith fan and I have loved most of the films he has made in the past. This film was a huge departure for Smith in a lot of ways. First off, it's his first big budget film, most of his films have cost around 20 million dollars, a price tag that certainly hasn't attracted actors the caliber of Bruce Willis. That brings us to the second point, it's his first film starring a leading actor the caliber of Bruce Willis and a cast composed of a majority of actors outside his usual cast of regulars. I mean if you take Ben Affleck out of the equation, whom Smith helped put on the map, he really hasn't ever directed a lead Hollywood actor. Thirdly, it's his first film where he is directing it from a screenplay that he hasn't written. He's directed his own vision in the past, this time he is adapting some one elses. Fourth, he's never really directed action sequences before. His films are a lot of talking and comedy, there usually isn't shoot outs or car chases. This is a lot of unmarked territory for the director.

Unfortunately a lot of this unfamiliarity is exposed in the film. The action sequences don't really have a lot of pep or zing in them, and in most instances you don't really get any feeling of adrenalin or any kind of rush due to the staging of the sequences. His inexperience in this area was readily apparent and really took me out of the action. I would have liked to see a more experienced stunt coordinator or even a 2nd unit director with a pedigree in action films. Another impression I got was a sense of intimation from Smith. Firstly in sticking to the script almost slavishly. The best scenes were the ones that felt improvised, especially between Sean William Scott and Tracy Morgan, and early on in the film as Morgan is interrogating a prisoner. Anytime he let the actors be the actors, I felt the film was stronger, but really it felt like he didn't want to deviate from his script, which is a very un-Kevin Smith like thing to do. He usually gives his actors a wide range of approach, here it felt like they didn't have that same sense of freedom, like we was afraid to change what was on the page.

As a director, Smith is considered not really to have an approach or style of filmmmaking by most critics, though I always thought that he was known for his dialog and characterization as a means to mark his approach. I didn't feel like he felt like he could do that here. This also is apparent in his handling of Bruce Willis. Willis seemed bored and flat in his role. I don't think that Smith felt comfortable giving an actor the caliber of Willis, whom Smith clearly had idolized prior to entering the business, clear directions. He never coaxed a performance out of Willis short of Bruce being Bruce, which is a shame because both the director and the actor deserved more.

The sad part of this film is that despite everything I've said, it's not a bad film, its simply lackluster. It's a movie who never reaches it's potential, a potential that was readily apparent to me with a simple re-write and a different approach. Ratcheting up the tension between Bruce and Tracy would have gone so far towards making this movie more enjoyable. Tracy was playing the role just like I thought, Bruce needed to play the straight man more. Kevin Smith is a director who understands relationships and characters, he's not who you get to direct action. He works best using actors he is familiar with, he's more of a modern day dick and fart joke version of Woody Allen if that makes sense.

The best advice I can give you is to wait for video on this one. It's not a total waste as it does have a few really funny comedic moments but overall it never quite measures up to the high hopes that we have for it. It may seem like I had nothing positive to say as I focused so much on the negatives, but its simply because I wanted this film to be good and the things I saw should have been readily apparent to everyone involved. I think the first sign was when they watered down the name to the film. Originally it was to be titled A Couple of Dicks, as a pun on cops being referred to as dicks. That style of humor was much closer to what Smith brings as a filmmaker. This film was far short of its potential In the end, you should pass on Cop Out, as the only play on words in the new title was its promise.

End of Line.
Gerrad!

Movie Review: Alice in Wonderland

Hey all,

This past weekend I headed to the theaters to check out Disney's latest adaptation of Alice in Wonderland from the great mind of Tim Burton. I am a huge Burton fan. I believe him to be one of a very few directors on a very short list that are true visionaries in film making right now. Burton always brings his unique vision and directorial style to each project, infusing even the broadest subject with his own unique flair and sensibility. Alice in Wonderland was a film that I was very much anticipating this year, as it marked Burton's re-teaming with two of his usual suspects, Helena Bonham Carter and the great Johnny Depp. Unfortunately, Alice in Wonderland didn't live up to my expectations.

The story, based on author Lewis Carroll's children's classics, Alice in Wonderland, the sequel Through the Looking Glass, and his poem The Jabberwocky, all act as the basis for a completely new tale for Alice, her third visit to Wonderland, here called Underland, as a 19 year old girl on the cusp of her wedding. The film draws its inspiration from each story, using familiar elements and characters in a retread of story ideas that Alice is supposedly experiencing for the first time, again. Sounds convoluted? It is.

Alice (newcomer Mia Wasikowska) fleeing a proposal of marriage, follows the White Rabbit down the Rabbit Hole and meets many of the characters from the story, The Dormouse, the Chesire Cat, The Mad Hatter, all of whom believe her to be the prophecised one, the one who will wield the Vorpal sword and slay the Jabberwocky (a dragon) to rid Underland from the rule of the tyrannical Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) and restoring the White Queen (Anne Hathaway) to power. Along the way she is helped by the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) whose role is fleshed out in the movie, giving us insight into how exactly he became mad. In the end, a reluctant Alice must decide if she is really experiencing these adventures and take up the mantle of hero.

I think my biggest problem with the movie is the story. First, I don't really get the need for this to be a third adventure when it recycles so many elements from the books. The Mad Hatter's Tea Party, the Eat Me, Drink Me riddle of sizes, following the Rabbit Hole, the Red Queen playing croquet and being generally insufferable. I think the real point was to add the climatic fight scene against the Jabberwocky in the end. Bonham Carter's Red Queen is really a one note character, screaming "Off with their heads" endlessly and not really bringing any depth to the role. One of the great things about the book was that it dealt with issues like puberty and maturation in a way that didn't beat either child or adult reader over the head. Here its a bit more ham fisted. Some things can't be avoided, but you never get the feeling that Alice learns this lesson, you just learn that she does it.

I also missed Alice's sense of curiosity. The books are so filled with the wonder and insanity that permeates Wonderland and Alice's reaction to it. In the film Alice seems almost reluctant and at times down right angry at being inconvenienced. You never get that sense of wonder as she travels through her adventure and at meeting all these strange and wonderful creatures. Especially considering that she isn't supposed to remember her previous trips here, the whole time it felt like she was being inconvenienced by this adventure, a feeling I certainly never felt in the books or other adaptations. I mean there may have been moments of frustration previously or confusion, but following each trial she would revert to her curious nature.

There were some good moments in the film. Visually Tim Burton still has a wonderful eye for creating both macabre and the wonderful. Each character has a look that is, while utterly stylized Tim Burton, still easily identifiable with the preconceived notions of what we expect the characters to look like, from Helena Bonham Carter's huge headed Red Queen to Johnny Depp's unique take on the Mad Hatter. Personally I loved the pale look of Anne Hathaway's White Queen, having both the sense of hope and a sense of the bizarre in her look. Visually Wonderland/Underland is also unique, especially in 3D as Burton makes the world come alive, the lustrous color and digital effects work are really top of the line. That being said I thought some of the 3D effects were off kilter and didn't jibe well, though I have been told by many people that those issues are not in the 2D version of the film. A few times the 3D effects didn't line up in accordance and made everything fuzzy. I am not sure if this is true in all versions, or just the theater I saw it in, or if it was an IMAX error so take that as you will.

Casting was pretty strong overall too. Johnny Depp does his usual best with Burton, finding an undercurrent in the Mad Hatter, especially when you look at the origin of the Hatter and how he became the person he is, that really sets his performance apart from the rest. Anne Hathaway's White Queen is very good too. She is quickly carving out a wide range of roles and acting experiences and she lends a very Tim Burton-esque performance to her White Queen, both eccentric and creepy with just the right touch of sadness and pathos. Mia Wasikowska does an admirable job with the material and I would love to see her in something else. She had a very wide-eyed innocent quality that I think really comes across in her acting, though I didn't think the way the script treated Alice did her role justice. Helena Bonham Carter is also criminally underused in this movie. Her Red Queen is a one note joke with no depth of character, even when they try to add in a sub plot of romance with the Knave of Hearts (played by the wonderfully creepy Crispin Glover) they never really do anything with her character. She's simply vapid and shrill, screaming "Off with her head!" over and over. Which in theory would be okay if that hadn't taken the time to flesh out the other characters of Wonderland, like the Hatter, the Cheshire Cat, and the White Queen. The film also boasts some great voice talent, Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat, Alan Rickman as the Caterpillar, Michael Sheen as the White Rabbit, Timothy Spall as Bayard, and the great Christopher Lee as the voice of the Jabberwocky. Really great casting, if not always effectual in performance.

The bottom line for me is that I think that Tim Burton got in his own way making this movie, it was already primed for him to adapt this film and it feels like he is trying so hard to make this movie feel like a Tim Burton film that he doesn't let it breathe. A simple straight adaptation of the film would have benefited him more as well. It feels like the movie was written so that we could have a final climatic battle between Alice and the Jabberwocky. To be honest, you can also see the palpable differences in the film where the studio wanted something and where Burton got his way. I'd really like to see him go back to developing his own properties again. Alice in Wonderland feels like Tim Burton trying very hard to be Tim Burton if that makes sense. What is sad is that he shouldn't have tried so hard to force the film, the film is there underneath all the other stuff if he had only spent some time on the script more.

In the end from what I have read and seen, reviews on the film have been about 50/50, with some people loving what the film has done, and other like me who see the potential faults in the movie. This is honestly one of those times when I have to say make your own opinion about the film. I didn't care for it and I love Tim Burton typically. Disney's Alice in Wonderland is a huge spectacle of a film that has opportunities in itself. Personally I think that Burton is one of the best directors working today and with the depth of talent he had in the cast, this movie fell far short of my expectations.

Movie Review: Kick-Ass!

Hey all,

One of the perks of being a very loyal customer of my comic book shop, Atomic Comics, payed off in a big way today, with an invitation to watch a very early advance screening of the new comic book adaptation of Kick-Ass, starring Aaron Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz, and Nicolas Cage. Based on Marvel Comics creator owned Icon imprint by writer Mark Millar and artist John Romita, Jr, it's a decidedly different take on the super hero genre. Some people may be familiar with writer Mark Millar's previous comic book film adaptation, Wanted, a violently dark take on super powered killing. Here in Kick-Ass, Millar has eschewed super powers and replaced them with honesty, well for the most part. Kick-Ass is a very honest, and often brutal, take on what super heroes would look like in the real world. Often times, its not pleasant.

The film is directed by Matthew Vaughn, no stranger to adapting comics to films, whose previous directorial credits including adapting Neil Gaimen's fantasy tale Stardust to the screen. While I felt that Vaughn missed a lot of what made Stardust special, he really went back to the basics of film making, channeling more of the grittiness from his first film, the caper flick Layer Cake. With Kick-Ass Vaughn and company do something that few super hero movies have managed to do, create characterization not through drawn out emoting, but through actions. The more each character tries or pushes at challenges, the more we grow to love them. Without delving into trite in fighting or pouting, the team manages to create characters who are funny, sad, poignant, and honest all at once.

Kick-Ass is the story of Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson), your typical high school schlub. Not popular or well-liked, struggling with bullies and an apparent invisibility to the opposite sex. A big fan of comic books, one day he wonders why nobody in history has ever really tried to become one. Just one person out trying to help people. He decides that he should be first. After ordering a a wet suit online, he adapts it to become the masked vigilante, Kick-Ass! The problem is, Dave doesn't really have any training and after confronting two bullies, he learns the hard way that it won't be as easy as he thought.

Meanwhile, two other people have begin a quest for vengeance themselves, Nic Cage as Big Daddy, a Batman-esque vigilante, and his foul mouth 12 year old daughter, Hit-Girl. They are after crime boss Frank D'Amico, the man who framed Big Daddy and sent him to prison, the resulting stress of which cost his wife to take her life after giving birth to his daughter. The duo think Kick-Ass has potential when they run across him trying to take down one of D'Amico's men, a situation of which Kick-Ass is vastly outclassed.

The film really culminates as D'Amico's son (Christopher Mintz-Plasse{McLovin of Superbad}) poses as the masked vigilante, Red Mist, to get closer to Kick-Ass, whom D'Amico believes has been killing his men due to the Internet popularity that Kick-Ass has achieved. Not realizing that both Big Daddy and Hit-Girl are the real culprits. Eventually this leads to a final dramatic confrontation with D'Amico, with Kick-Ass caught in the middle.

What I loved about this movie was the great blend of humor and horror they show. Some of the fights and beatings that happen are brutal, its a dark kind of gallows humor in the sheer honestly of reality. Though truth be told, much of Kick-Ass's life outside of the suit is rife with comedy, especially the sub-plot of the girl of Dave's dreams thinking that he is gay and him playing along to get closer. What I thought was really good though was the films ability to finally make a really good nerdy character that isn't just a copy of the kind of role Michael Cera plays in Superbad. Here is a fully realized character with great flaws and pathos, that isn't just a copy.

Plus Chloe Grace Moretz turns in one of my favorite performances ever as Hit-Girl. Foul mouthed and ready to fight, she steals every scene she is in throughout the film, no small task considering the talent around her. She says and does things that should have easily gave that movie an NC 17 rating, but her role is so fun and refreshing you can't help but want to see more of her on the screen. One of the few things in the film that doesn't really stay based on reality is her fighting prowess, that her training and focus easily have her killings scores of men, but even Hit-Girl has to face the truth at the end of the movie, in another brutal beat down.

The best thing I can say about the movie is that the film tries to stay grounded in reality. While Hit-Girl is a whirling dervish of fighting, it's hearkens more to traditional wire work fighting and stunts rather than the huge spectacle and CG effects of a movie like Transformers. It stays true to the honesty of the world it has created, while sometimes taking liberties, it never let's the audience outside of this more or less real world. From the beatings that the casts take, to the violence of the action sequences, you are never cheated.

I can't really make any complaints about the film. It does such a good job of fleshing out the characters, from Dave's friends to Nic Cage's eclectic take on Big Daddy, channeling a kind of cross between William Shatner and Adam West, they are all great. I also think in terms of Cage's performance, a little bit of Nic goes a long way. He doesn't overpower the film with his performance, he gives it just enough drama and humor while never taking the focus of the hero. Even the cheesy costumes play to the movie. In real life, you wouldn't have all the gadgets that a Batman does, in this world costumes would probably look like the ones they wore.

take the time to catch Kick-Ass when it drops this April and enjoy the red band trailer I put up top. This is just a small reason why I liked this flick so much. I don't usually put trailers up with the movie, but in this case with the opening being so far out, some of you may not be as knowledgeable about this movie. If you love action and comedy, and a little bit of foul mouthed violence, I recommend checking out Kick-Ass, directed by Matthew Vaughn. The best film of the year so far.

End of Line.
Gerrad!

Movie Review: Top 5 Films of 2009

Hey all!

For my last Year in Review post I wanted to review my Top 5 films of 2009. I try to see a lot of movies throughout the year, and typically I try to hit the major ones. I usually miss a few, including a lot of the Oscar bait. So my list is comprised of all the movies I personally saw last year, so it may not include movies that you watched or even all the films that I wanted to watch. Last year I did a Top 10 List but this year I reduced it to 5, mainly because I don't think this was the most fertile year of quality film making and that a top 5 really forces you to evalute what you watched. Still despite a weaker year of cinema, my Top 5 still has some really great films, including a few that are all time classics in my mind. So if you don't see your favorite movie remember that this is simply a list of my favorite movies of the year. Enjoy!

5- Zombieland



One of the most fun times I have had at a movie this year, I really enjoyed the fresh take that Zombieland offered, breathing some new life into a very overplayed zombie genre. Woody Harrelson re-establishes himself in films with his performance, bringing a manic kind of energy to the film. It finds such a perfect blend of horror and comedy, straddling a line that was established by Shaun o the Dead, but keeping the action sequences fun and exciting. I'd also like to point out it has one of the best and certainly one of the funniest cameos in film history. Just a purely fun movie and my second favorite comedy of the year, easily beating The Hangover.

4- Star Trek



I have never been much of a trekker, but J.J. Abrams reboot of the beleaguered franchise changed the face of Star Trek as a whole. It manages to ride a fine line between updating the classic series while still giving it ties to the old one, thus allowing hardcore Star Trek fans to keep the old stories in continuity while creating a whole new world for the series to explore. Abrams proves he knows how to do action on screen the right way, and bid maybe the best job of casting of the year, with Chris Pine as Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, and an especially surprising performance from Karl Urban as McKoy. Add in Leonard Nimoy to lend some credence to the film, and you have one of the best films of the year. Let's hope for some Khan in the sequel.

3- Up



Pixar as an animation team really can do no wrong. Up was a wonderfully beautiful and poignant tale about a very lonely old man named Carl and a young Wilderness Scout named Russell who embark on a journey that changes both of their lives. Up surprised me in so many ways, the humor, the pity, the pathos, all were so deftly brought together in such a way that these characters are more human than most live action films. Pixar continues its winning ways with a film that touched me, I actually cried as the story of Carl was laid out. Up is a beautiful movie that raised the already high bar set by Wall-E.

2- Black Dynamite



This is without a doubt the most fun I have ever had at a movie. No film made me laugh harder, cheer more, or become such a quotable part of my daily vocabulary in such a short time. A modern day blaxpoitation film that is so good at skewering what it's making fun of, that it becomes the best example of it itself. Michael Jai White is hilarious as the title character and his surrounded by some of the best cameo performances ever. It's fun, funny, and an instant classic. A movie so bad, that it is brilliant. Black Dynamite is easily my favorite movie of the year, but I realize that it is a flavor that not everyone understands or appreciates. Still I loved this movie.

1- Watchmen



Black Dynamite was my favorite film yes, but Watchmen was the BEST film I saw last year. I thought it was such a wonderful adaptation of a book that truly means a lot to me. Watchmen the graphic novel was one of the first books that really opened up my eyes to the possibilities that comics could contain. Director Zach Synder's almost slavish adaptation was really great. I know a lot of people didn't really get Watchmen, but it really spoke to me. The casting was totally perfect and the attention to detail really brought out all of the qualities of the Watchmen series that made the series work. Jackie Earl Haley, Malin Ackerman, Jeffery Dean Morgan, Patrick Wilson and Billy Crudup all brought the characters to life for me. It's not the story itself, or the acting, or the directing, it was all of the features that came together to make the movie one of my all time favorite films. The simple fact is that I loved the Watchmen for its attention to detail and the obvious reverence the entire cast had to the work. Who watches the Watchmen? I do.

There you have it, my top 5 films of 2009. You may notice a few films missing from my list, like Up in the Air which I have not seen and thus couldn't review, or even Avatar, which I thought was great but not quite top 5 worthy. Also missing was Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, a good film but one that ultimately cast to much of the source material aside to make the list. I am also sure someone will see how high I put Black Dynamite and call me crazy. That's okay, this is my list. Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear some feedback on my choices and what kind of films you think I have omitted. Thanks for reading and I will see you at the movies this year!

End of Line.
Gerrad!

Movie Review: Avatar

Hey all,

Finally got enough time off to go check out what is turning out to be one of the biggest blockbusters of all time, and may even be before to long, James Cameron' Avatar. Reportedly costing over 400 million dollars to make including the costs of developing the technology of the film making, including the 3D cameras and rendering technology as well as the marketing budget, it is one of the most expensive films ever made. Avatar also marks director James Cameron return to motion pictures for the first time since 1998 Titanic and he returns doing what he does better than most other directors today, filming an epic movie.

Avatar is about Jake Sulley (Terminator: Salvation's Sam Worthington), a former Marine who was crippled in the line of action who has agreed to take his deceased brothers place on the far off world of Pandora. His brother was to be part of their Avatar Initiative, a program that melds human DNA with that of the Pandora's indigenous people, the Na'vi's DNA to create a hybrid that humans can mentally inhabit and control. Upon arrival to the planet, Sulley learns that the Company, the business that is footing the cost of this operation, wants a mineral called unobtanium, which is worth billions back on Earth.

Sulley is introduced to the head of the Avatar program, Grace (Aliens Sigourney Weaver) and the head of security, Colonel Miles Quaritch (character actor Stephen Lang). Each has a separate mission for Sulley, infiltrating the Na'vi, Grace wants him to find a peaceful way to negotiate with the race as tensions between them and humanity is at an all time high, and Quaritch wants Sulley to get him information that he can use to destroy the Na'vi when war inevitably comes. Things change for Jake though when he is lost on the forests of Pandora after an attack and meets native Neytiri (Zoe Saldana, Uhura of Star Trek) and is welcomed into their society after much debate, though many signs point to Sulley's importance to the tribe. Sulley initially plays both sides against the middle, learning the culture and the rituals of a people so attuned to the planet as well as sending defense information to the Colonel. Eventually Sulley has to decide who's side he is on, as tensions flare between the cultures and the Company gets more impatient. Sulley has to figure out just where his loyalties lie, because in the end, either way, there is going to be a reckoning.

Let me be up front, Avatar is a very good film for a lot of reasons. First let's talk about the special effects. Avatar really pushes the envelope in terms of motion capture and visual effects work in creating a dynamic alien race. The Na'vi are very well done, expressive and fully imagined. I would have loved to see what kind of work they could have done rendering a more human body though. They DID do an excellent job in rendering each Na'vi avatar to carry many of the same facial features of the actors. Sigourney Weaver's Avatar really had her facial structure. My only complaint is that most of the other Na'vi did look a little cartoony. Not in a bad way so much, but as a race they all had such a similar body structure and style. I would have preferred some variety. Don't let this small caveat take anything away though, it's easily one of the best uses of 3D technology I have ever seen. The film isn't 3D for the sake of being 3D, they really try to immerse you into the world. The movie is filmed so that everything pops out of the screen, not so much in a way that distracts you and makes you say wow, it does it in a way that enhances what you are watching.

Cameron himself does a great job filming as well. Few directors in the business today can do action in the same vein that Cameron can. He makes the fight sequences, whether between the Na'vi and the humans, or the avatars and the indigenous animals of Pandora, wildly explosive and action packed. Even the sequences of flying through the mountains or forests on the backs of the Na'vi winged steeds are visually pretty incredible.

I also have to give Cameron some props for casting. Sam Worthington does a decent job playing the crippled Marine in his scenes, but his voice has a very nice quality in his avatar form. Just the right amount of hurt and anger to come across in his performance. Sigourney Weaver is great as Grace and its good to see her re-unite with Cameron. Stephen Lang as the Colonel may be the biggest surprise of the film. His portrayal of the Colonel is a tough as nails performance, really bringing an almost tactile quality to his callousness. Michelle Rodriguez also has a part as a tough chopper pilot, but with a soft heart. It's a role that she is perfect for, fierce and tough, but still willing to do what's right. Zoe Saldana also gives a real dimension to a role that is entirely computer generated from her motion capture performance. Soft and hard, loving and viral, she is easily the most fully fleshed out of the Na'vi and sets herself apart from the rest of teh natives.

If I was to make a complaint about the film it would be in the story. The movie is basically Dances With Wolves, a broken soldier takes a job at a far off outpost and falls in love with a prickly native while learning their ways and who ultimately has to battle his own culture to protect what he loves. Its the same movie. A Western set in space, of the primitive versus the advanced. The hooks of the story are pretty much set up throughout the film, you know exactly what is going to happen, how Sulley will react and each beat of the story certainly doesn't surprise. Even the ending. That doesn't change the fact that you can still enjoy the trip in how you get there. The world is very lush and lavish, and Cameron certainly can deliver on the visual journey in a way that you may never have seen before.

The bottom line for me is that I genuinely enjoyed Avatar. Visually it is a stunning piece of film making, the first real brush with creating CGI characters that can emote and be as realistic as humans since Gollem in the Lord of the Rings movies. I would be really excited to see what a few more years or special effects work and computer imagery upgrades could do in the potential Avatar sequel. I think this is a film worth seeing in the theatres, the first film to use 3D effects not as a crutch or marketing tool, but as a means to further the story. Up was a wonderful film that they made 3D, Avatar is a wonderful film IN 3D. Immersive I really think is the bet way to describe it. James Cameron has once again struck gold when everyone predicted failure, and while teh film certainly has some weak points structurally, there is plenty still going on here to make it a must see on your viewing lists. Avatar is a motion picture experience, not just a motion picture.

End of Line.
Gerrad!

Movie Review: 2010 Preview

Hey all,

Welcome to my 2010 movie preview. Here I am going to highlight the top 10 films that I am most looking forward too in 2010. This is going to be a huge year, especially in terms of re-makes of several classically loved films and TV shows. It is also a big year for sequels, so many of them made my list. It was hard picking out just 10 films, but I like to give a little bit of variety, so it won't all just be all tent pole summer blockbusters, I will try to shed some light on a few picks that may not be in most peoples top 10. Once again I stress that this is my top 10, and not necessarily the films that are going to be the best or most popular.

10- The Rum Diary



My off the wall pick, this film stars Johnny Depp in the adaptation of the classic novel by famed gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson. Depp has experience adapting Thompson's material before, doing it so wonderfully in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. this time he has teamed with screenwriter and director Bruce Robinson, who hasn't made a film since 1992 wonderfully weird and creepy thriller Jennifer 8. I am excited to see what the two can cook up together, especially with a stellar supporting cast like Aaron Eckhart, Amber Heard and Richard Jenkins. Sorry, I couldn't find a teaser poster so I put up an image of Thompson's novel.

9- The Wolfman



Another re-boot of a long dormant franchise, Universal looks to resurrect their horror line with a stellar cast and modern effects. Benicio del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving are led by director Joe Johnson (Hildago and the upcoming Captain America film) who looks to re-charge the horror franchise while sticking to its Victorian roots. Previews of the film look promising and if the film is successful, look to Universal to bring out some of their other great classic monsters from the vault.

8- The A Team



My pick as my most anticipated re-make of 2010, there are many positives signs about this film. Director John Singleton is a really under-rated commodity and can do gritty urban action and keep it credible like few others. the casting choices have been very promising as well, Liam Neeson as Hannibal, MMA fighter uinton "Rampage" Jackson as BA Baracus, Sharto Copley (of District 9) as Murdock, and Bradley Cooper (the Hangover) as Face. Its supported by a great cast including Jessica Beil, Patrick Wilson, and cameos from some of the original A Team. Here's to hoping they find that right mix of humor and action and keep the vein of the original alive, just updating it for the modern audience.

7- Toy Story 3



This picture doubles as my all ages and comedy choice for 2010. Pixar has never made a bad film and I do not expect anything less than perfection with their flagship franchise. While I do not know that they can mine the same emotional depth and character development that they have done with their last 2 offerings, WALL-E and Up, I do expect this to be the best animated mobie of the year, and maybe even the best comedy of the year.

6- The Expendables



It's the greatest 1980's action movie never made. Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Jet Li and Jason Statham all team up in what I am sure will be the most testosterone ridden bloodbath ever caught on film. This is the type of movie my Dad would always bring home when he went to the video store and I can't wait to see the awesome spectacle of action and shoot'em up excitement that is bound to be in this film. I mean sure, the potential for this to be a hugely terrible film is huge, but damn, so is the reward.

5- Alice in Wonderland



Visionary director Tim Burton teams up with Johnny Depp (who makes his second appearance on the list) in this version of the Lewis Carrol classic. Burton is one of my favorite directors working today and he always brings his unique take on everything he works on. Teaming up with Depp for their 7th collaboration (as well as Helena Bonham Carter's 6th collaboration), Burton is sure to bring something fresh to the screen. Besides, some of the most imaginative films of the past few years have been adaptations of children's novels, like Where the Wild Things Are, The Fantastic Mr. Fox and Burton own Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I hope to find more of the same here.

4- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1)



The franchise draws to its penultimate chapter (at least film wise) as Harry must unravel the secrets of Voldemort's strength and power before confronting him in the final battle. Director David Yates has helmed the last two Potter films to huge critical and financial success, and I don't expect any less this time. While I wasn't happy with the screen play of the last Potter film, I expect them to be back on track this go around. Despite cutting the final novel into two films, I remain hopeful that with the additional time, they will be able to flesh out the story more, as I felt the last film was a bit rushed. One more turn for Harry, Ron and Hermione before the final showdown.

3- Inception



Little is known about director Christopher Nolan's next film. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio as an architect embroiled in a blackmail plot, the real twist develops as technology designed to allow someone to enter your dreams and extract information. Dicaprio enters the dream state and becomes embroiled in a fight for his life. Nolan is easily one of my favorite directors working today and he has a pretty good track record in recent years, with films like The Dark Knight, The Prestige, and Memento over the past decade. Anytime he steps behind the camera, the potential for greatness is there.

2- Iron Man 2



Jon Favreau hit big with one of the best big screen comic book adaptations to date and he looks to continue his run with the sequel this year. With an all star cast including Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man, and filled out by Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Mickey Rourke, and Scarlett Johanssen this film promises to bring all the action and excitement of the first, plus the introduction of new characters like the Black Widow, Whiplash, and War Machine. Plus it is sure to segue way into 2011's big screen versions of Thor and Captain America. It is easily the most anticipated movie of the year.

1- Tron 2: Legacy



While Iron Man may be the worlds most anticipated film, it's my list and after almost 30 years, they are sequeling one of my all time favorite films, Tron. Most of the details of the film are pretty sketchy still with its late 2010 Holiday release date, but the film that founded computer generated graphics looks to build on the world it created first. They have brought back Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner, along with Oliva Wilde and newcomer Michael Sheen to team up with first time director Joseph Kosinski to re-imagine the computer generated world of video games. Tron was a huge film of my childhood, and in recent years has started really developing a cult following. I'm hoping that Disney can find the same magic that made the first one so fun, but combine it with today's computer graphics. So much of this could be bad, but the fact that they got Jeff Bridges back bodes well for me, he usually doesn't make bad choices.

There is my preview of my top 10 films of 2010. A lot of potentially good films did not make the cut, films like Russell Crowe's Robin Hood, Seth Rogan's Green Hornet or the huge amount of re-makes that Hollywood is churning out this year. You can expect re-makes of Red Dawn, Red Sonja, The Karate Kid, and Highlander. A couple of films, like The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, Jonah Hex, and the re-boot of the Predator franchise also look promising. this list doesn't even count the great films that haven't gotten noticed yet, I am sure this year will have sleeper hits like Zombieland or The Hangover. 2010 looks to be a huge year for movies, hopefully there are a few in there that sound good to you!

End of Line.
Gerrad!

Movie Review: Top 5 Worst Films of 2009

Hey all,

In what has become a typical feature in the month of January, I am going to run down the 5 worst films I have seen this year. I may or may not have actually reviewed them at their release, sometimes I know a movie is bad and don't watch it until it hits DVD or On Demand. Remember this is not an all encompassing list, I certainly cannot afford to see every movie released, and I may make an oversight and leave off a film. So the bottom line I guess is that these are the 5 worst films I personally saw in 2009.



5- Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen

I watched this on Blue Ray and a friends house and truthfully expected the worst thing ever based on the reviews of people who had loved the first film and hated this one. As one of the few people who utterly hated the first film, I was not thrilled about watching it. It honestly was about as bad as the first one, which was my worst film of 2007. The rapping robots, the over extended special effects, and lack of story were horrible, though not to the level of drudgery that I expected. In the end though, I still hated the film and have no desire to ever see it again.



4- Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li

Another film caught at a friends house (a theme you will see several times though out this list) and Street Fighter may be one of the most vapid and witless films ever made. It was horrible in execution and took what is a very simple story concept and alienated the entire built in fan base for the film by changing the mythology of Street Fighter. The casting was terrible, poor Kristen Kreuk and Michael Clark Duncan, you can actually cringe watching them in this. It's hard enough to make a passable video game film, this is one that actually makes the Jean Claude Van Damme version better by comparison.



3- Dragonball: Evolution

Like Street Fighter, Dragonball cashes in on its built in fan base and proceeds to butcher it. Both film had better casts than they should have had and an audience that WANTED to see this movie. The lead character of Goku was mis-cast severely as a young white guy, and James Marsters as the villainous Piccalo seemed to be cast solely based on the fact that he had done similar makeup work in Buffy. Don't even get me started on Chow-Yun Fat as Master Roshi. This movie was just as bad as Street Fighter, its just that I hated it a sliver more.



2- Funny People

Judd Apatow has been involved in some of my favorite comedies of the past few years, either as a producer, writer, or director. Talledega Nights, Anchorman, Walk Hard, The 40 Year Old Virgin, all very funny films. Here he manages to make the normally lovable Adam Sandler and make him an unlikeable and miserable. The film is just long and uncomfortable and lacks what the films title promises, Funny people. These people are not funny, they are just sad and cruel, and certainly not what I wanted going into this movie.



1- Miss March

Once again, at a friends house. The same friend that I also watched most of these films with. He is a huge Whitest Kids U'Know fan, which is the television show the lead actors from this film come from. Me, not so much. Miss March did not do anything to change my perception of the show. Mindless, tasteless, and unimaginative is the best way I can describe this film. Actually pedantic is better. I have not watched a more uninspired film in a long time and I really hated it. Zach Cregger
Trevor Moore wrote, starred, and directed this stinker so at least I know who to blame. Miss March is a singularly punishing experience.


There you have it. The Five Worst Films I have watched this year. I am sure there may have been a few more that were more deserving. I never did watch Year One and observe and Report was dangerously close to making my list. Leave a comment and let me know what your worst flick of the tear was, I'd be happy to see what you all have to say.

Next week I should have my 2010 Preview up, and before the end of the month I'll do my best of list. I still haven't seen Avatar and I don''t think I can make a really complete list before I have a chance to review that one. Thanks for reading!

End of Line.
Gerrad!

Movie Review: The Princess and the Frog

Hey all,

I took my niece to see Disney's The Princess and the Frog as part of her Christmas present last week and I have finally gotten the opportunity and time to put my thoughts on the movie down as it were. The Princess and the Frog marks Disney's return to its roots in traditional 2D animation and the film really hearkens back to Disney's early 90's run of classically animated pictures. Almost to a fault to be honest.

The Princess and the Frog is a retelling of the classic fairy tale of a Prince who had been turned into a frog by an evil witch, until a kiss from a Princess can reverse the spell. In this take, the film is set in Louisiana during the 1920's and really tries to add that Creole flavor to the picture. It stars Tiana (Anika Noni Rose)as a hard working, no time for nonsense girl whose dream it is to open her own restaurant. She meets lazy Prince Naveen (voiced by Bruno Campos), a visiting noble in search of a rich bride to refill his sagging coffers as his playboy lifestyle has gotten him cut off. Naveen, mistakenly assuming Tiana is a Princess at a costume ball, convinces Tiana to kiss him to reverse the spell.

What the old fairy tale adage doesn't say is that if a Frog prince kisses someone who is not a Pricess, they become a Frog too. The duo must then journey across the Louisiana bayou to meet elderly voodoo queen Mama Odie with the help of some colorful friends, Ray a slightly crazy firefly, and Louis, a jazz loving alligator. Attempting to prevent them from reversing the spell that was worked on Naveen is Dr. Facilier, or the Shadowman, voiced wonderfully by Keith David, an evil Witch Doctor who wants his man to marry Naveen's real rich princess, Tiana's friend Charlotte, the Princess of the festival.

This is Disney's first 2D musical film since 1998's Mulan. You can really see the growth and explosiveness of traditional animation at the time, as well as the hand of new Disney CEO John Lassiter of Pixar fame, who really lets the animation team try some new techniques. The animation is of course top notch. They really experiment with color and light techniques that I have never seen before, evening changing animation styles during some of the musical set pieces. Disney does a wonderful job as well of making characters look like their race. So much is made of this being Disney's first attempt at having an African American leading character in an animated movie, and they really differentiate the characters, not letting them fall into a stereotype. The capture the beauty and exoticism of each character. the animation is really a breath of fresh air, especially considering that man y kids these days may not have even SEEN a 2D movie.

The music is by Randy Newman, a staple of Pixar's Toy Story movies, and here he really brings a variety of flavors to the song choices. From the traditional ballads you have come to expect from these types of movies, to the deep jazz influence that permeates other songs, it has a very unique vocal signature when compared to other films in Disney' past. While arguably not as catchy as some of Disney's greatest hits, the changing animation styles really help carry the songs. Randy Newman has a very particular song style, and that does not always necessarily translate when other people sing his songs. Still they are not bad songs, just not as catchy as works from The Lion King or the Little Mermaid.

Still the movie does fall victim to a few foibles of its own. The movie has a heavy social consciousness in its undertone. Pushing the wholesome themes of hard work and perseverance almost to the point of overload. Naveen sings of having dated multiple women and is almost unsympathetic in his unwillingness to avoid work. there are even times when Tiana comes across and humorless and taciturn as well. In the end it's merely a veil to help show each characters growth at the end of the film, but it comes across as a bit forced early on. There is also some quirky stereotyping in Ray, the firefly, which draws on the backwoods hillbilly idea that many people still carry about the deep south. For the most part I don't think children will pick up on these things, but as they grow older, or as you watch it, there are some undercurrents there. Once again, you could also view this as a slight maturation on Disney's part, a willingness to try to bring some edge to what is usually a very vanilla medium, though i tend to think that most of it is very unintentional.

My biggest complaint about the film is that outside of the animation, its nearly the same film that Disney has churned out before. As the poster child for the rebirth of traditional animation, it tries so hard to be the Disney films of old, that it has bypassed the things that have made so many modern animated movies do so well, appeal to children of all ages. Movies like Shrek, Madagascar, and especially the Pixar films, really try to put some things in the movies for adults to enjoy, and I felt that this was an area they did not focus on. Part of the rewatchabilty and even the box office success, is that older audiences want to see what these animated features have to offer, because they have done such a wonderful job of appealing to all ages, and not in the sense of the word being strictly kid friendly. Just because a film is rated G, doesn't mean it can't resonate with outside of that range.

The bottom line is this. If you are a fan of the Disney films of eh 90's, this is a perfect addition to the library. It does not break any new ground or change the mold of 2D movies, it does offer a nice opening entry for the resurgence of traditional animation, of which I would like to see more. The animation itself IS the highlight of the film, its beautiful and inspiring in ways that haven't been seen in years. The downside is that the script and songs are merely okay, highlighted solely by David Keith's menacing Shadowman. There have been far better animated films this year, particularly the wonderful Up and the equally stunning Coraline, but this does bode a nice start to a return to an animation style that I have sorely missed.

End of Line.
Gerrad!