I admit, I was behind the times when it came to the Die Hard franchise. It wasn't until a month or so ago when I finally got around to watching all 3 films back to back, and I found myself wishing I would have caught them in the theater when they were released. Bruce Willis introduced audiences to a new hero in the form of wise cracking smart ass NYPD detective John McClane. Unlike the extremely chiseled characters played by the likes of Stallone and Schwartzenegger, McClane looked like your everyday ordinary cop, and in the process of doing his job, he definitely took a beating, giving him a level of vulnerability not really seen before. Director John McTiernan set the bar in the first film with McClane battling a group of international baddies in the Nakatomi building in Los Angeles, talking smack to them the whole time and uttering what would become the character's signature catchphrase. Renny Harlin took the reins in the second film which moved to the nation's capital. While the film was good, there was a drop-off in terms of quality. The third film finally put McClane and McTiernan back home in New York, and he had a sidekick in the form of Samuel L. Jackson which helped add another dimension to the film. Die Hard With a Vengence was argubly the best of the three outings.
It's been 12 years since John McClane was last spotted on the big screen, and now he's back in the fourth installment: Live Free or Die Hard. This time around, McClane is a bit of a loner. He's now divorced, and his daughter Lucy(Mary Elizabeth Winstead) isn't too fond of him either. McClane gets a call telling him that the feds want him to go pick up local computer hacker Matt Farrell(Justin Long) and escort him to DC. McClane gets way more than he bargained for when assassins try to take Matt out. After a daring rescue, McClane and Farrell arive in DC just in time for things to take a trip straight to hell, courtesy of Thomas Gabriel(Timothy Olyphant). Gabriel and his techie team of bad guys go about the task of bringing the country to it's knees via cyberterrorism. They disrupt traffic systems, send the stock market into a plunge, and end up taking out the power to a good portion of the east coast. Gabriel has an axe to grind against the government, and he's going to do it at the expense of the country's sanity. Once again, it's up to McClane to find him and save the day.
The use of technology as a weapon in this film is a perfect foil for McClane, who is described by Gabriel as "an analog cop in a digital world." Throughout the whole franchise, McClane has always been adverse to technology, preferring to use old school methods to do his job. Farrell, on the other hand, was brought up in the digital age, so his smarts help balance out McClane's brawn. Willis and Long have excellent chemistry throughout the film, and they play off of each other very very well. Olyphant brings a sense of smugness to his character and you find yourself wanting to reach through and smack him whenever he's on screen. Winstead was perfect as John's daughter Lucy, who is definitely a chip off the old block. Even when danger is all around her, she still finds a way to crack on Gabriel and his crew.
Fans of the Die Hard films, myself included, were a bit worried when we found out that, unlike the 3 previous offerings, this one was slapped with a PG-13 rating. Cries of "WTF" could be heard in blogs and message boards across the country. People were worried that this rating would ruin the essence of the film. Profanitiy has always been McClane's staple, and you can't have a Die Hard film without a high body count and lots of property damage. After watching this movie, all my fears were put to rest. Granted, there's not much in the way of foul language, but when it comes to action, all kinds of shit getting blown up and people meeting their untimely demise, director Len Wiseman delivers the goods. And yes, McClane's signature line does get uttered. I give the film 4 stars. Yippee ki yay motherfucker indeed.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Monday, July 2, 2007
Giant fucking robots;need I say more?
If you were a child of the 80's, such as myself, then you probably have fond memories of hauling ass to get home after school so that you could watch the latest episode of one of the most popular cartoons of the time: Transformers. For those of you who weren't so fortunate, let me go ahead and give you the backstory. The Transformers were a race of giant robots who hailed from a distant planet called Cybertron, and they had the ability to transform their bodies into various vehicles. They were divided into two factions;the benevolent Autobots and the nefarious Decepticons. For years, these two sides fought each other over an energy resource called Energon, an energy source that was running very short in supply. They set out to find alternate forms of energy, and wound up taking their fight to planet Earth, where they configured their bodies to transform into earthbound vehicles, giving them the ability to blend in. The cartoon spawned an incredibly profitable toy line which emptied the wallets of many parents, mine included. In 1986, a full length animated film hit theaters, but was a financial failure. Many of the show's main characters were killed off early in the movie to make way for new ones, and pretty much sent the franchise on the downslide. There have been several incarnations of the show, but nothing has ever come close to matching the popularity of the original.
For years, the idea of a live action Transformers film has been tossed around, but only now does the technology to do this type of movie justice exist. When word first broke that a new Transformers film would hit theaters in 2007, a very big smile made its way across my face. That smile got even bigger when I found out that Michael Bay would be the director. Few directors in Hollywood have the ability to polarize an audience like Michael Bay. Survey enough people and you'll find that most either love the product that he puts forth or they think that he is the antichrist of modern cinema. Whatever you think about Bay, the one thing you can't deny is that, when it comes to big time action sequences, he delivers like no other, and this is the type of movie that he was born to do. Steven Spielberg being brought on as executive producer was just icing on the cake.
Transformers has made its way into theaters and wastes no time hitting the ground running. The film's opening salvo is a devestating attack on an air force base in the Middle East, courtesy of the Decepticon known as Blackout, who manages to infiltrate the base under the guise of a military helicopter. Most people have probably seen bits and pieces of this scene in trailers and TV spots, but to the see the full thing is truly a magnificant sight. From there, the movie starts focusing on the central human character, Sam Witwicky(Shia LeBoeuf). Sam is your typical high school student who has his eye on a certain girl named Mikaela(Megan Fox) and is trying to purchase a car in hopes of wooing said strumpet. He purchases a beat up 1979 yellow Camaro that seems to have a mind of its own. He later finds out that his car has a few more options than he originally thought;the car is actually an Autobot named Bumblebee. It turns out that Sam is in possession of an item that shows the location to an energy source called the Allspark, and both the Autobots and Decepticons are looking for it. This item is the key to deciding the fate of the planet. The Autobots are determined to protect Sam and the Decepticons will stop at nothing to obtain this item. There are other subplots going on as well;a group of soldiers who have survived the attack on their base are trying to get back to Washington to tell what happened, and a covert government agency, led by Agent Simmons(a hilariously over the top John Tuturro) has plans of their own for our interstellar visitors. All of these plots come together for a climatic battle in downtown Los Angeles that is truly an assault on the senses.
The design team at Industrial Light and Magic was charged with the responsibility of bringing these metallic behemoths to life, and they did quite an excellent job at it. Lots of criticism was levied at Michael Bay for some of the design changes that he implemented, but those changes were well warranted. The simple, blocky designs of the cartoon just would not have translated into a film of this scope, and everyone involved should be commended on how realistic these robots look on screen. The transformations are smooth and fluid, and you never really get the feeling that you're looking at CGI. Not only do the robots look the part, but just like the cartoon, they have the added touch of personality. A major coup was pulled when Peter Cullen was signed on to provide the voice of Optimus Prime as he did in the cartoon for so many years. Cullen lends a degree of familiarity for fans who grew up on the cartoon, and even though his voice has changed slightly over the years, he still is able to get the job done. The other Autobots have their own styles as well: Ironhide is the trigger happy one who is itching to shoot something, Jazz is the "hip" one(for lack of a better term), and Ratchet shows geunine concern as the chief mechanic for his fellow comrades. Bumblebee is unable to speak due to an injury, but he communicates through his stereo, and he's able to bond with Sam, much like he did in the cartoon. The scene where the Autobots are trying to hide outside Sam's house while he searches for his glasses provides a nice touch of humor to balance out the action. On the flipside, most of the dialouge from the Decepticons comes from their leader Megatron, and Hugo Weaving was a welcome change for this character. He gives Megatron a sense of arrogance that carries over very well from the cartoon. The only complaint I have in that department is that, with the exception of a couple of lines, there's not much back and forth between Megatron and Starscream, who was always plotting to usurp Megatron as the leader of the group. In the cartoon, Megatron always had to put Starscream in his place, and he really didn't get a chance to do that much in the film.
In the days leading up to the premiere, I had the opportunity(or misfortune, depending on how you look at it) to check out different blog that were full of fanboy hate for the direction that this movie took. There were all kinds of complaints about all kinds of details: the flame paint job on Prime, the fact the his mouth was visible, the decision to make Bumblebee a Camaro instead of a VW Bug, etc etc. It's hard to imagine anybody making any huge complaints once they see the film. I give it 4 stars.
For years, the idea of a live action Transformers film has been tossed around, but only now does the technology to do this type of movie justice exist. When word first broke that a new Transformers film would hit theaters in 2007, a very big smile made its way across my face. That smile got even bigger when I found out that Michael Bay would be the director. Few directors in Hollywood have the ability to polarize an audience like Michael Bay. Survey enough people and you'll find that most either love the product that he puts forth or they think that he is the antichrist of modern cinema. Whatever you think about Bay, the one thing you can't deny is that, when it comes to big time action sequences, he delivers like no other, and this is the type of movie that he was born to do. Steven Spielberg being brought on as executive producer was just icing on the cake.
Transformers has made its way into theaters and wastes no time hitting the ground running. The film's opening salvo is a devestating attack on an air force base in the Middle East, courtesy of the Decepticon known as Blackout, who manages to infiltrate the base under the guise of a military helicopter. Most people have probably seen bits and pieces of this scene in trailers and TV spots, but to the see the full thing is truly a magnificant sight. From there, the movie starts focusing on the central human character, Sam Witwicky(Shia LeBoeuf). Sam is your typical high school student who has his eye on a certain girl named Mikaela(Megan Fox) and is trying to purchase a car in hopes of wooing said strumpet. He purchases a beat up 1979 yellow Camaro that seems to have a mind of its own. He later finds out that his car has a few more options than he originally thought;the car is actually an Autobot named Bumblebee. It turns out that Sam is in possession of an item that shows the location to an energy source called the Allspark, and both the Autobots and Decepticons are looking for it. This item is the key to deciding the fate of the planet. The Autobots are determined to protect Sam and the Decepticons will stop at nothing to obtain this item. There are other subplots going on as well;a group of soldiers who have survived the attack on their base are trying to get back to Washington to tell what happened, and a covert government agency, led by Agent Simmons(a hilariously over the top John Tuturro) has plans of their own for our interstellar visitors. All of these plots come together for a climatic battle in downtown Los Angeles that is truly an assault on the senses.
The design team at Industrial Light and Magic was charged with the responsibility of bringing these metallic behemoths to life, and they did quite an excellent job at it. Lots of criticism was levied at Michael Bay for some of the design changes that he implemented, but those changes were well warranted. The simple, blocky designs of the cartoon just would not have translated into a film of this scope, and everyone involved should be commended on how realistic these robots look on screen. The transformations are smooth and fluid, and you never really get the feeling that you're looking at CGI. Not only do the robots look the part, but just like the cartoon, they have the added touch of personality. A major coup was pulled when Peter Cullen was signed on to provide the voice of Optimus Prime as he did in the cartoon for so many years. Cullen lends a degree of familiarity for fans who grew up on the cartoon, and even though his voice has changed slightly over the years, he still is able to get the job done. The other Autobots have their own styles as well: Ironhide is the trigger happy one who is itching to shoot something, Jazz is the "hip" one(for lack of a better term), and Ratchet shows geunine concern as the chief mechanic for his fellow comrades. Bumblebee is unable to speak due to an injury, but he communicates through his stereo, and he's able to bond with Sam, much like he did in the cartoon. The scene where the Autobots are trying to hide outside Sam's house while he searches for his glasses provides a nice touch of humor to balance out the action. On the flipside, most of the dialouge from the Decepticons comes from their leader Megatron, and Hugo Weaving was a welcome change for this character. He gives Megatron a sense of arrogance that carries over very well from the cartoon. The only complaint I have in that department is that, with the exception of a couple of lines, there's not much back and forth between Megatron and Starscream, who was always plotting to usurp Megatron as the leader of the group. In the cartoon, Megatron always had to put Starscream in his place, and he really didn't get a chance to do that much in the film.
In the days leading up to the premiere, I had the opportunity(or misfortune, depending on how you look at it) to check out different blog that were full of fanboy hate for the direction that this movie took. There were all kinds of complaints about all kinds of details: the flame paint job on Prime, the fact the his mouth was visible, the decision to make Bumblebee a Camaro instead of a VW Bug, etc etc. It's hard to imagine anybody making any huge complaints once they see the film. I give it 4 stars.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Story Strikes Silver
When I first got word of the Fantastic Four making the transition from the comic pages to the big screen, I was only somewhat excited. I knew the basic story, but it wasn't something that I was overly anxious to see, despite the recent surge in comic book films. My interest level in the movie was piqued when I found out that the man who would be directing the film, Tim Story, is black. Story is the man behind the lens for both Barbershop movies, as well as the mildly amusing but completely unbelievable Taxi(Jimmy Fallon as a cop? Come on!! Gisele Bundchen as a bank robber? Give me a break!! Queen Latifah with a man??? Get the fuck outta here!!!!!) In this day and age, the revelation of the race of a film's director shouldn't be newsworthy, but we all know better. It's hard out here for a pimp, but it's even harder for black filmmakers to get opportunities to tackle projects outside of the requisite "urban films" which seem to recycle the same actors and plotlines over and over. Just how many black actors have to appear on the call sheet for a movie to be classified as "urban?" And how many times will Morris Chesnut and Gabrielle Union appear in a movie together? The world may never know......
At any rate, Fantastic Four premiered in the summer of 2005 and was received rather harshly. Critics didn't think that it measured up when compared to films with greater emotional depth such as Spider Man and Batman Begins. Fanboys had major issues with some of the casting decisions as well as the creative liberty taken with the origin of the film's chief villan. Nevertheless, FF tallied healthy box office receipts, which meant that a sequel was immiment. On a personal level, the movie wasn't as bad as some people made it out to be, and I was happy that Story was able to achieve a level of success, at least on a financial level, for such a big outing.
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer picks up a while after the events of the first film. The first dysfunctional family of superheroes has moved up to a higher tax bracket, and they enjoy A- list celebrity status in the city of New York. The press is buzzing over the upcoming nuptuals between Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic(Ioan Gruffudd) and Sue Storm/Invisible Woman(Jessica Alba). Johnny Storm/The Human Torch(Chris Evans) is still quite the ladies man, and Ben Grimm/The Thing(Michael Chiklis) has found a love of his own in the stunningly beautiful but visually challenged Alica Masters(Kerry Washington). *Side note #1:I know love and Alicia are blind, but at what point do you stop and wonder why the person you love is a hulking mass of rock?* Anyway, I digress. During all of this, there are areas of the world that are experiencing very unusual weather patterns, and General Hager(Andre Braugher) comes to Reed and company to try to get answers. We all find out that this is the result of the Silver Surfer, an intergalactic being who shows up on a cosmic surfboard, disrupts the wedding, and causes all kinds of chaos. As powerful as he is, the Surfer actually serves a higher power by the name of Galactus, who has to sustain his energy levels by destroying entire planets. Take that, global warming!!! The Surfer's job is to prep the planet for Galactus to show up and do his thing, and it's up to the FF to figure out what he's up to and how to stop him.
The trailers and TV spots seemed to indicate that this film would be several notches above the first in terms of plot, action, and character development, and in some ways, it was. The best thing this movie has going for it is the Silver Surfer, who was magically brought to life by Doug Jones, who has done equally good work in Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth. There was a last minute change for the Surfer's voice, which was provided by Laurence Fishburne. Fishburne's melodic baritone really helps flesh out quite a bit of depth for the character, and when he glides above the stratosphere on his board, it really is a sight to behold. The rest of the movie, however, doesn't quite live up to the Surfer. Jessica Alba still seems out of her element as Sue Storm, but any excuse to put her in the body hugging blue suit is fine by me. *Side note #2:there's a scene where Alba and Washington share a tender moment, and I wanted to kick Tim Story square in the nuts for not taking advantage of the insane amount of hotness that emits from these two starlets. What I wouldn't give to have been in the director's chair that day* The Thing is played mostly for laughs, which is a shame, because there's a lot more to him that could have been presented to the audience. Julian McMahon returns as Victor Von Doom/Dr. Doom, but his inclusion doesn't really add anything extra, and he still seems woefully miscast in the role, unable to really project the megalomaniac persona of the character. Everytime he was on screen, I felt the urge to schedule a rhinoplasty. Story also dropped the ball by choosing not to show Galactus as a physical being, which will send fans of the comic into a tizzy. There's a ton of product placement, one of the major ones being the Fantasticar, which was made by Dodge. I wonder if it's available for a test drive at the local dealership.
Rise of The Silver Surfer doesn't quite raise the bar for this franchise the way that X Men 2 did for that brand, but it doesn't come anywhere close to the levels of futility currently occupied by The Punisher and Daredevil. At it's core, FF is more light hearted than some of the other comic book film offerings. The fact that the heroes don't have to conceal their identities from the public frees them of the pressure and burdens that characters like Spider Man have to deal with. Finally, the 90 minute run time guarantees that it doesn't overstay its welcome. Overall, I give the movie 2 and a half stars.
At any rate, Fantastic Four premiered in the summer of 2005 and was received rather harshly. Critics didn't think that it measured up when compared to films with greater emotional depth such as Spider Man and Batman Begins. Fanboys had major issues with some of the casting decisions as well as the creative liberty taken with the origin of the film's chief villan. Nevertheless, FF tallied healthy box office receipts, which meant that a sequel was immiment. On a personal level, the movie wasn't as bad as some people made it out to be, and I was happy that Story was able to achieve a level of success, at least on a financial level, for such a big outing.
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer picks up a while after the events of the first film. The first dysfunctional family of superheroes has moved up to a higher tax bracket, and they enjoy A- list celebrity status in the city of New York. The press is buzzing over the upcoming nuptuals between Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic(Ioan Gruffudd) and Sue Storm/Invisible Woman(Jessica Alba). Johnny Storm/The Human Torch(Chris Evans) is still quite the ladies man, and Ben Grimm/The Thing(Michael Chiklis) has found a love of his own in the stunningly beautiful but visually challenged Alica Masters(Kerry Washington). *Side note #1:I know love and Alicia are blind, but at what point do you stop and wonder why the person you love is a hulking mass of rock?* Anyway, I digress. During all of this, there are areas of the world that are experiencing very unusual weather patterns, and General Hager(Andre Braugher) comes to Reed and company to try to get answers. We all find out that this is the result of the Silver Surfer, an intergalactic being who shows up on a cosmic surfboard, disrupts the wedding, and causes all kinds of chaos. As powerful as he is, the Surfer actually serves a higher power by the name of Galactus, who has to sustain his energy levels by destroying entire planets. Take that, global warming!!! The Surfer's job is to prep the planet for Galactus to show up and do his thing, and it's up to the FF to figure out what he's up to and how to stop him.
The trailers and TV spots seemed to indicate that this film would be several notches above the first in terms of plot, action, and character development, and in some ways, it was. The best thing this movie has going for it is the Silver Surfer, who was magically brought to life by Doug Jones, who has done equally good work in Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth. There was a last minute change for the Surfer's voice, which was provided by Laurence Fishburne. Fishburne's melodic baritone really helps flesh out quite a bit of depth for the character, and when he glides above the stratosphere on his board, it really is a sight to behold. The rest of the movie, however, doesn't quite live up to the Surfer. Jessica Alba still seems out of her element as Sue Storm, but any excuse to put her in the body hugging blue suit is fine by me. *Side note #2:there's a scene where Alba and Washington share a tender moment, and I wanted to kick Tim Story square in the nuts for not taking advantage of the insane amount of hotness that emits from these two starlets. What I wouldn't give to have been in the director's chair that day* The Thing is played mostly for laughs, which is a shame, because there's a lot more to him that could have been presented to the audience. Julian McMahon returns as Victor Von Doom/Dr. Doom, but his inclusion doesn't really add anything extra, and he still seems woefully miscast in the role, unable to really project the megalomaniac persona of the character. Everytime he was on screen, I felt the urge to schedule a rhinoplasty. Story also dropped the ball by choosing not to show Galactus as a physical being, which will send fans of the comic into a tizzy. There's a ton of product placement, one of the major ones being the Fantasticar, which was made by Dodge. I wonder if it's available for a test drive at the local dealership.
Rise of The Silver Surfer doesn't quite raise the bar for this franchise the way that X Men 2 did for that brand, but it doesn't come anywhere close to the levels of futility currently occupied by The Punisher and Daredevil. At it's core, FF is more light hearted than some of the other comic book film offerings. The fact that the heroes don't have to conceal their identities from the public frees them of the pressure and burdens that characters like Spider Man have to deal with. Finally, the 90 minute run time guarantees that it doesn't overstay its welcome. Overall, I give the movie 2 and a half stars.
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Avast ye mateys!
Back in 2003, nobody expected much of anything from a film called Pirates of the Caribbean:Curse of the Black Pearl. After all, the movie was based on a Disney theme park ride, and the last film to follow that model(The Country Bears) was a disaster. Add to that the fact that pirate genre was pretty much dead in the water(no pun intended), and you had all the makings of a colossal flop. Then the unexpected happened: the movie was good. You had a brisk, fast paced script peppered with lots of humor, and some very good CGI, but the one element that made the whole thing work was the character of Captain Jack Sparrow, played masterfully by Johnny Depp. Word has it that studio heads were expecting a brave, daring type of swashbuckler, never afraid to stare danger and death in the face, but were aghast at what they got: a loopy, somewhat sexually ambiguous type of character who would just as soon run than fight. Depp's gamble turned out to be the film's saving grace, and he even earned an Oscar nomination. The film earned more that $400 million worldwide and sparked a renewed interest in adventures on the high seas.
As with any movie that does much better than unexpected, Hollywood was very eager to give audience a follow up to this one, but one thing that may have worked against them was that since nobody expected the film to do well, the idea of a sequel was never throughly planned out. When it came time to film the sequel, Dead Man's Chest, director Gore Verbinski threw in a lot more than should have been. DMC opened to less than steller reviews in the summer of 2006. Much of the light hearted banter was missing from the script, and Captain Jack seemed to be off a step;nevertheless, the movie still posted a $132 million dollar opening weekend and left fans with one hell of a cliffhanger, which now brings us to the trifecta of this saga: At World's End.
When we last left off, the crew of the Black Pearl, led by Will Turner(Orlando Bloom, who is contractually obligated to only appear in movies where he fights with a sword) and Elizabeth Swann(Keira Knightly) decided to sail to the ends of the earth to rescue Jack Sparrow, who, along with the Pearl, was dragged down to an otherwordly place known as Davy Jones Locker. To accomplish this feat, they required the assistance of the once thought dead Captain Barbosa(Geoffery Rush), who was brought back to life by the soothsayer Tia Dalma(Naomie Harris), whose true identity is a key point of the film. The murderous Davy Jones(Bill Nighy) and his barnacled crew is now under the command of the East India Trading comany, led by Lord Cutler Beckett(Tom Hollander) who is using Jones to rid the world of all pirates. But wait, there's more. It turns out that all the pirate lords of the world have been summoned to a big meeting to decide the course of action that will ultimately determine their fate. There's lots of expositional dialouge about The Bretheren Court, nine pieces of eight, and things of that nature. But wait, there's more. Everybody in this film seems to have their own agenda, and there are so many double crosses, it's hard to tell who is on whose side. Will Turner makes a back alley deal with the pirate lord Sao Feng(a woefully undersused Chow Yun Fat) to keep a promise to a close relative, Feng is double crossed by the EITC, and Sparrow ends up making one deal after another to try to keep his own hide of out as much trouble as possible.
Jack Sparrow gets back to being his usual nutty self, especially during his time in Davy Jones Locker, which is somewhat like purgatory. The film also benefits from the return of Barbosa, and Rush brings much flavor to whatever scene he's in. There's also the much talked about cameo by Rolling Stones band member Keith Richards, who plays Jack Sparrow's father, Captain Teague. Rumor has it that Depp used Richards as a template for the character of Sparrow. We all know that Richards hasn't been right in the head for a while now, so there may be some truth to that. Knightley gets quite a bit to do in this third installment, and her character really gets to shine at times. Sadly, we don't get much of Governor Weatherbee Swann(Jonathan Pryce) or James Norrington(Jack Davenport), but Stellen Skarsgard get to play a key part as Bootstrap Bill Turner.
At an ass numbing 2 hours and 45 minutes, everything and the kitchen sink has been thrown in for what's presumed to be the final chapter in this saga. The film ends with a hint of a part 4, but at the same time, it's closed ended enough for this one to be the end. Overall, I give it 3 stars.
As with any movie that does much better than unexpected, Hollywood was very eager to give audience a follow up to this one, but one thing that may have worked against them was that since nobody expected the film to do well, the idea of a sequel was never throughly planned out. When it came time to film the sequel, Dead Man's Chest, director Gore Verbinski threw in a lot more than should have been. DMC opened to less than steller reviews in the summer of 2006. Much of the light hearted banter was missing from the script, and Captain Jack seemed to be off a step;nevertheless, the movie still posted a $132 million dollar opening weekend and left fans with one hell of a cliffhanger, which now brings us to the trifecta of this saga: At World's End.
When we last left off, the crew of the Black Pearl, led by Will Turner(Orlando Bloom, who is contractually obligated to only appear in movies where he fights with a sword) and Elizabeth Swann(Keira Knightly) decided to sail to the ends of the earth to rescue Jack Sparrow, who, along with the Pearl, was dragged down to an otherwordly place known as Davy Jones Locker. To accomplish this feat, they required the assistance of the once thought dead Captain Barbosa(Geoffery Rush), who was brought back to life by the soothsayer Tia Dalma(Naomie Harris), whose true identity is a key point of the film. The murderous Davy Jones(Bill Nighy) and his barnacled crew is now under the command of the East India Trading comany, led by Lord Cutler Beckett(Tom Hollander) who is using Jones to rid the world of all pirates. But wait, there's more. It turns out that all the pirate lords of the world have been summoned to a big meeting to decide the course of action that will ultimately determine their fate. There's lots of expositional dialouge about The Bretheren Court, nine pieces of eight, and things of that nature. But wait, there's more. Everybody in this film seems to have their own agenda, and there are so many double crosses, it's hard to tell who is on whose side. Will Turner makes a back alley deal with the pirate lord Sao Feng(a woefully undersused Chow Yun Fat) to keep a promise to a close relative, Feng is double crossed by the EITC, and Sparrow ends up making one deal after another to try to keep his own hide of out as much trouble as possible.
Jack Sparrow gets back to being his usual nutty self, especially during his time in Davy Jones Locker, which is somewhat like purgatory. The film also benefits from the return of Barbosa, and Rush brings much flavor to whatever scene he's in. There's also the much talked about cameo by Rolling Stones band member Keith Richards, who plays Jack Sparrow's father, Captain Teague. Rumor has it that Depp used Richards as a template for the character of Sparrow. We all know that Richards hasn't been right in the head for a while now, so there may be some truth to that. Knightley gets quite a bit to do in this third installment, and her character really gets to shine at times. Sadly, we don't get much of Governor Weatherbee Swann(Jonathan Pryce) or James Norrington(Jack Davenport), but Stellen Skarsgard get to play a key part as Bootstrap Bill Turner.
At an ass numbing 2 hours and 45 minutes, everything and the kitchen sink has been thrown in for what's presumed to be the final chapter in this saga. The film ends with a hint of a part 4, but at the same time, it's closed ended enough for this one to be the end. Overall, I give it 3 stars.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
It's All Ogre Now
Before I begin, I must say that I truly hate sinus infections. I don't get them that often, but when I do, it makes life miserable. I apologize for the less than stellar review that you are about to read, but creativity and inspiration have taken a back seat to medication.
Ladies and gentlemen, the word of the day is sequelitis. If it was listed in Webster's Dictionary, it would be listed as a noun, and it would be defined as the malady suffered by Hollywood films that have multiple installments. The chances that a sequel will be bad are directly related to how many of them there are. There are some franchises that have gone the 3 way(no, not that kind, so get your minds out the gutter) route and have done well, such as Lord of the Rings and Star Wars(the ones that didn't suck). Others, such as The Matrix trilogy, didn't fare so well. The latest summer release to have a part 3 is Shrek. 2001's Shrek brought audiences a well received animated film that was full of fairy tale characters, yet had a smart, witty feel to it. The movie had more than it's share of laughs, but it was also a tale of acceptance. Shrek 2 upped the ante even more and wound up becoming the third highest grossing film of all time. The pop culture references in the sequel went over the heads of most children, but were recognized by adults. The scene where "a white bronco is being chased" was my personal favorite. Alas, all good things must come to an end, and that brings us to Dreamworks latest offering, Shrek the Third.
At the outset, life has certainly changed for everybody's favorite green buddy Shrek(Michael Myers) and his wife, Princess Fiona(Cameron Diaz). The royal family loves them, the public has accepted them, and they are currently running things in Far Far Away while King Harold(John Cleese) tries to recover from an illness. When the king finally croaks(pun intended), Shrek begrudgingly finds out that rule of the kingdom will be his, unless he can locate the king's only heir, Artie(Justin Timberlake). Shrek longs for the peaceful days of swamp life, so he sets out with his trusty companions Donkey(Eddie Murphy) and Puss-In-Boots(Antonio Banderas) to locate Artie, who looks less like a future leader and more like a high school loser. Meanwhile, the nefarious yet somewhat effeminate Prince Charming(Rupert Everett) has plans to exact revenge and take rule of the kingdom while Shrek is away and unable to defend. This time, there's a switch and girl power has to help save the day. Sleeping Beauty(Cheri Oteri), Snow White(Amy Poehler), and Cinderella(Amy Sedaris) team up with Fiona and Queen Lillian(Julie Andrews) to try and foil the prince's plans.
Sadly, this movie just simply lacks the wit and punch that the first two films offered. Most of the jokes have a been there, done that type of feel to it, and the script really doesn't offer anything fresh. The back and forth banter between Donkey and Puss doesn't get the same type of response it did in the second film, and a brief personality switch, courtesy of Merlin(Eric Idle) is predictable at best. I will say that Timberlake gives a pretty good performance as Artie, and he shows that he has a future in film just in case that music thing doesn't work out. The films wraps up with a sense of closure, and hopefully, everybody will live happily ever after. This film gets 2 and a half stars from me.
Ladies and gentlemen, the word of the day is sequelitis. If it was listed in Webster's Dictionary, it would be listed as a noun, and it would be defined as the malady suffered by Hollywood films that have multiple installments. The chances that a sequel will be bad are directly related to how many of them there are. There are some franchises that have gone the 3 way(no, not that kind, so get your minds out the gutter) route and have done well, such as Lord of the Rings and Star Wars(the ones that didn't suck). Others, such as The Matrix trilogy, didn't fare so well. The latest summer release to have a part 3 is Shrek. 2001's Shrek brought audiences a well received animated film that was full of fairy tale characters, yet had a smart, witty feel to it. The movie had more than it's share of laughs, but it was also a tale of acceptance. Shrek 2 upped the ante even more and wound up becoming the third highest grossing film of all time. The pop culture references in the sequel went over the heads of most children, but were recognized by adults. The scene where "a white bronco is being chased" was my personal favorite. Alas, all good things must come to an end, and that brings us to Dreamworks latest offering, Shrek the Third.
At the outset, life has certainly changed for everybody's favorite green buddy Shrek(Michael Myers) and his wife, Princess Fiona(Cameron Diaz). The royal family loves them, the public has accepted them, and they are currently running things in Far Far Away while King Harold(John Cleese) tries to recover from an illness. When the king finally croaks(pun intended), Shrek begrudgingly finds out that rule of the kingdom will be his, unless he can locate the king's only heir, Artie(Justin Timberlake). Shrek longs for the peaceful days of swamp life, so he sets out with his trusty companions Donkey(Eddie Murphy) and Puss-In-Boots(Antonio Banderas) to locate Artie, who looks less like a future leader and more like a high school loser. Meanwhile, the nefarious yet somewhat effeminate Prince Charming(Rupert Everett) has plans to exact revenge and take rule of the kingdom while Shrek is away and unable to defend. This time, there's a switch and girl power has to help save the day. Sleeping Beauty(Cheri Oteri), Snow White(Amy Poehler), and Cinderella(Amy Sedaris) team up with Fiona and Queen Lillian(Julie Andrews) to try and foil the prince's plans.
Sadly, this movie just simply lacks the wit and punch that the first two films offered. Most of the jokes have a been there, done that type of feel to it, and the script really doesn't offer anything fresh. The back and forth banter between Donkey and Puss doesn't get the same type of response it did in the second film, and a brief personality switch, courtesy of Merlin(Eric Idle) is predictable at best. I will say that Timberlake gives a pretty good performance as Artie, and he shows that he has a future in film just in case that music thing doesn't work out. The films wraps up with a sense of closure, and hopefully, everybody will live happily ever after. This film gets 2 and a half stars from me.
Monday, May 14, 2007
It's all the rage
Greetings, and welcome back to my weekly film review. So far, this blog has been getting good feedback from people who have read it. I welcome any sort of constructive criticism any of you readers may be willing to give. The better I get, the more you all can enjoy it!
As you all may know, the next few months at the theater could be dubbed the Summer of Sequel. Most of the blockbuster films that will be released are second, third, and in one case, fifth installments of previous films, and this week is no different. 2002 brought moviegoers a chilling, yet refreshing take of the zombie genre with Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later. In that film, a group of ill advised animal rights activists accidently release a virus that turns its victims into raging, homicidal maniacs, hence the term "rage virus." In 28 short days, the virus destroys pretty much all of London, and it's up to a group of survivors to stick together and try to make it to the next day. Boyle's film brought us face to face with our humanity, and we really got to see the willpower that one possesses when threatened with certain doom.
28 Weeks Later picks up during the aftermath of the carnage, where we learn that the infected finally died of starvation, and American led NATO forces moved in to start the cleanup and reconstruction. 28 weeks after the virus was first released, a section of London has been deemed safe for residents to return to in order to get on with their lives. Don(Robert Carlyle) is a father who is finally reunited with his children Tammy(Imogen Poots) and Andy(Mackintosh Muggleton). Don tearfully explains to his children that he, their mother Alice(Catherine McCormack), and a group of survivors were attacked by some of the infected, and that she didn't quite make it out. What he doesn't tell them is that he really left her behind during the attack in an attempt to save his own ass. I guess he figured that was much cheaper than a divorce. The kids defy military orders and manage to sneak past quite a few soldiers to take a trip back to their old house. There they discover that Alice is still alive, and soon soldiers show up to rescue the kids and quarantine mommy dearest. Don is thrilled to find out his children are ok, but not so much as it concerns his wife. The kids question him about what really happened, and Don invokes the Bill Clinton defense(it depends on what your definition of "I saw your mother die" really is). The medical staff, let by Scarlet(Rose Byrne) discover that Alice is a carrier of the rage virus, despite the abscence of any symptoms. She pleads with General Stone(Idris Elba;ladies, hands where I can see them at all times) to allow her to live so that she can study her blood to find a possible cure, but Stringer Bell ain't having none of that. A tearful reunion between husband and wife leads to the virus being transmitted, and before you know it, London Bridge is falling down and it can't get up.
The first film was all about people trying to protect themselves from the infected. In this one, all hell breaks loose and people are trying to protect themselves from the very people assigned to protect them;the military. General Stone declares Code Red, which means shoot first, second, and third, and fuck the questions. Watching innocent people catching bullets along with the infected almost makes you wonder just who the bad guys may be in this situation. One sniper in particular, Doyle(Jeremy Renner) is visibly disturbed by the all out massacre and winds up working to get Scarlet, Andy and Tammy to safety. Parellels between this movie and the current situation in Iraq will be drawn by some viewers. The infected could be substituted for insurgents, and London could stand in for Baghdad. When the city gets firebombed and walls of flame flow through the city, indiscriminately taking out whoever is unlucky enough to be still alive, it makes your wonder if this scenario could actually play out in the real world.
The film is not without its flaws. Zombie attacks are often shot with shaky cameras, and a mass decapitation scene via helicopter worked a bit better in Grindhouse, where such an over the top move seemed right at home. Still, the movie works as a solid follow up to its predecessor. Since Hollywood doesn't know when to leave well enough alone, the film ends with a pack of infected giving chase, a shot of the Eiffel Tower, and the feeling that this saga isn't quite done yet. All in all, I give the film 3 stars.
As you all may know, the next few months at the theater could be dubbed the Summer of Sequel. Most of the blockbuster films that will be released are second, third, and in one case, fifth installments of previous films, and this week is no different. 2002 brought moviegoers a chilling, yet refreshing take of the zombie genre with Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later. In that film, a group of ill advised animal rights activists accidently release a virus that turns its victims into raging, homicidal maniacs, hence the term "rage virus." In 28 short days, the virus destroys pretty much all of London, and it's up to a group of survivors to stick together and try to make it to the next day. Boyle's film brought us face to face with our humanity, and we really got to see the willpower that one possesses when threatened with certain doom.
28 Weeks Later picks up during the aftermath of the carnage, where we learn that the infected finally died of starvation, and American led NATO forces moved in to start the cleanup and reconstruction. 28 weeks after the virus was first released, a section of London has been deemed safe for residents to return to in order to get on with their lives. Don(Robert Carlyle) is a father who is finally reunited with his children Tammy(Imogen Poots) and Andy(Mackintosh Muggleton). Don tearfully explains to his children that he, their mother Alice(Catherine McCormack), and a group of survivors were attacked by some of the infected, and that she didn't quite make it out. What he doesn't tell them is that he really left her behind during the attack in an attempt to save his own ass. I guess he figured that was much cheaper than a divorce. The kids defy military orders and manage to sneak past quite a few soldiers to take a trip back to their old house. There they discover that Alice is still alive, and soon soldiers show up to rescue the kids and quarantine mommy dearest. Don is thrilled to find out his children are ok, but not so much as it concerns his wife. The kids question him about what really happened, and Don invokes the Bill Clinton defense(it depends on what your definition of "I saw your mother die" really is). The medical staff, let by Scarlet(Rose Byrne) discover that Alice is a carrier of the rage virus, despite the abscence of any symptoms. She pleads with General Stone(Idris Elba;ladies, hands where I can see them at all times) to allow her to live so that she can study her blood to find a possible cure, but Stringer Bell ain't having none of that. A tearful reunion between husband and wife leads to the virus being transmitted, and before you know it, London Bridge is falling down and it can't get up.
The first film was all about people trying to protect themselves from the infected. In this one, all hell breaks loose and people are trying to protect themselves from the very people assigned to protect them;the military. General Stone declares Code Red, which means shoot first, second, and third, and fuck the questions. Watching innocent people catching bullets along with the infected almost makes you wonder just who the bad guys may be in this situation. One sniper in particular, Doyle(Jeremy Renner) is visibly disturbed by the all out massacre and winds up working to get Scarlet, Andy and Tammy to safety. Parellels between this movie and the current situation in Iraq will be drawn by some viewers. The infected could be substituted for insurgents, and London could stand in for Baghdad. When the city gets firebombed and walls of flame flow through the city, indiscriminately taking out whoever is unlucky enough to be still alive, it makes your wonder if this scenario could actually play out in the real world.
The film is not without its flaws. Zombie attacks are often shot with shaky cameras, and a mass decapitation scene via helicopter worked a bit better in Grindhouse, where such an over the top move seemed right at home. Still, the movie works as a solid follow up to its predecessor. Since Hollywood doesn't know when to leave well enough alone, the film ends with a pack of infected giving chase, a shot of the Eiffel Tower, and the feeling that this saga isn't quite done yet. All in all, I give the film 3 stars.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Intro/Review of Spider Man 3
Greetings everybody, and welcome to my weekly film review! First, let me give a little personal info about me. I'm a 31 year old guy who lives in Lawrenceville, GA, which is right outside of downtown Atlanta. I'm originally from Arkansas(yes there are black people in Arkansas, and no I'm not from Little Rock). This is my first attempt at blogging and I'm not really that much of a great writer, so if my posts don't seem like some great literary work, then too damn bad!!! LOL!! Nah, on the real, I'm sure I'll get better at this thing in due time, so ya'll just bear with me on my journey.
Now, I consider myself a lover of movies, but I may not be classified as a film buff. There are still plenty of movies that I have yet to see(The Usual Suspects, L.A. Confidential, The Godfather Part 2), so I'm still playing a bit of the catch up game. I just recently saw The Color Purple for the first time(you may revoke my black card now) and just before that, I finally saw the cinematic masterpiece known as The Godfather. Give me time, and I'm sure I'll be able to quote lines from all sorts of movies and hang with the best of the best.
I've taken the time to come up with my own little rating system for the movies that I will be reviewing, and here it is:
4 stars: Jesus, Mary, and JoJo, this movie is off the chain! When does the DVD come out?!?!?
3 stars: The movie could have used some improvements, but I don't feel like I wasted my $9.50
2 stars: I should have waited for the bootleg
1 star: Who greenlighted this shit?????
Now, on to the main event: Back in 2002, director Sam Raimi gave comic book geeks and average moviegoers alike a treat with Spider Man. We all know the story of nerdy high school student Peter Parker who gets bitten by a spider and ends up developing spider like powers of his own. Raimi, a self professed comic book geek himself, really understood the characters and the story of this comic, and he made sure that the audience could identify with Peter's plight as he struggled to balance his regular life with his super hero duties. The first film made all kinds of money at the box office(I'm still waiting on my cut) and set the bar for all future comic book films. Willem Defoe chewed all kinds of scenery as The Green Goblin, and I felt that he was perfect for that role, plastic mask notwithstanding. The subsequent sequel raised that bar even higher with improved CGI, more internal conflict, and a better villian in the form of Doctor Octopus(Alfred Molina). When it came time for part 3, expectations were higher than gas prices in the state of California, and Raimi was supposed to deliver the goods. My response to the film......
Umm......err......meh......
Don't get me wrong;this is far from a bad movie. I didn't want to walk out and demand a refund from the manager, nor did I want to take the crying baby in aisle 5 and throw him/her at the screen halfway through the film. On second thought, I did want to take the crying baby in aisle 5 and throw him her at the screen, but that rant is for another day. The film is good, but when compared to the first two installments, part 3 fails to live up to all the hype, and that's mainly due to all of the stuff that Raimi crammed into it. At the start of this movie, life is finally getting good for Peter Parker(Tobey Maguire). The city of New York absolutely adores him as Spider-Man, and all the adulation goes to his head just a bit. He's finally in a relatonship with the love of his life, Mary Jane Watson(Kirsten "I need some sun" Dunst), but her career is headed down the crapper as she is fired from her Broadway musical, and she's not too happy about Peter's reaction. In addition to his domestic issues, Peter has to deal with a glut of villians. First is The Sandman(a woefully underused Thomas Haden Church) as a petty thief who falls into the middle of a science experiment, bonds with sand, and can do all sorts of tricks. Next is his best friend Harry Osborne(James Franco), who still thinks that Peter killed his father and uses his daddy's Green Goblin stash to create his own version of the Goblin. Oh, did I forget to mention the alien symbiote that come from space, bonds with Peter, and gives him an all black Spidey suit. Peter loves the feeling that the suit gives him, but it also makes him switch to "I don't give a fuck" mode(cue Lil John music). Peter manages to separate himself from the symbiote, which then bonds with disgraced reporter Eddie Brock(a surprisingly good Topher Grace) and turns him into the creature known as Venom.
This film would have been much better served had it focused on just one bad guy. Raimi was not a fan of Venom, but that's who the fans wanted to see, and he should have gotten way more screen time. The Sandman had some nice CGI work, but he really didn't serve much of a purpose. His character could have been developed much further, and some creative liberty was taken by having him involved with the murder of Peter's Uncle Ben. There was also the addition of another one of Peter's love interests from the comics: Gwen Stacy(Bryce Dallas Howard). She's a pretty major character, but the film doesn't do much with her either. The scenes where Peter is under the influence of the symbiote are a riot, especially when he's walking down the street, giving the ladies the eye, but a jazz club setting could have been left out. There's also a scene involving Harry's butler and some information that he should have given Harry way back in the first movie, but for whatever reason, he chooses now to tell him.
Overall, the action and CGI work balance out the shoddy script and the seemingly phoned in performances by some of the actors. I give this film 3 stars.
Now, I consider myself a lover of movies, but I may not be classified as a film buff. There are still plenty of movies that I have yet to see(The Usual Suspects, L.A. Confidential, The Godfather Part 2), so I'm still playing a bit of the catch up game. I just recently saw The Color Purple for the first time(you may revoke my black card now) and just before that, I finally saw the cinematic masterpiece known as The Godfather. Give me time, and I'm sure I'll be able to quote lines from all sorts of movies and hang with the best of the best.
I've taken the time to come up with my own little rating system for the movies that I will be reviewing, and here it is:
4 stars: Jesus, Mary, and JoJo, this movie is off the chain! When does the DVD come out?!?!?
3 stars: The movie could have used some improvements, but I don't feel like I wasted my $9.50
2 stars: I should have waited for the bootleg
1 star: Who greenlighted this shit?????
Now, on to the main event: Back in 2002, director Sam Raimi gave comic book geeks and average moviegoers alike a treat with Spider Man. We all know the story of nerdy high school student Peter Parker who gets bitten by a spider and ends up developing spider like powers of his own. Raimi, a self professed comic book geek himself, really understood the characters and the story of this comic, and he made sure that the audience could identify with Peter's plight as he struggled to balance his regular life with his super hero duties. The first film made all kinds of money at the box office(I'm still waiting on my cut) and set the bar for all future comic book films. Willem Defoe chewed all kinds of scenery as The Green Goblin, and I felt that he was perfect for that role, plastic mask notwithstanding. The subsequent sequel raised that bar even higher with improved CGI, more internal conflict, and a better villian in the form of Doctor Octopus(Alfred Molina). When it came time for part 3, expectations were higher than gas prices in the state of California, and Raimi was supposed to deliver the goods. My response to the film......
Umm......err......meh......
Don't get me wrong;this is far from a bad movie. I didn't want to walk out and demand a refund from the manager, nor did I want to take the crying baby in aisle 5 and throw him/her at the screen halfway through the film. On second thought, I did want to take the crying baby in aisle 5 and throw him her at the screen, but that rant is for another day. The film is good, but when compared to the first two installments, part 3 fails to live up to all the hype, and that's mainly due to all of the stuff that Raimi crammed into it. At the start of this movie, life is finally getting good for Peter Parker(Tobey Maguire). The city of New York absolutely adores him as Spider-Man, and all the adulation goes to his head just a bit. He's finally in a relatonship with the love of his life, Mary Jane Watson(Kirsten "I need some sun" Dunst), but her career is headed down the crapper as she is fired from her Broadway musical, and she's not too happy about Peter's reaction. In addition to his domestic issues, Peter has to deal with a glut of villians. First is The Sandman(a woefully underused Thomas Haden Church) as a petty thief who falls into the middle of a science experiment, bonds with sand, and can do all sorts of tricks. Next is his best friend Harry Osborne(James Franco), who still thinks that Peter killed his father and uses his daddy's Green Goblin stash to create his own version of the Goblin. Oh, did I forget to mention the alien symbiote that come from space, bonds with Peter, and gives him an all black Spidey suit. Peter loves the feeling that the suit gives him, but it also makes him switch to "I don't give a fuck" mode(cue Lil John music). Peter manages to separate himself from the symbiote, which then bonds with disgraced reporter Eddie Brock(a surprisingly good Topher Grace) and turns him into the creature known as Venom.
This film would have been much better served had it focused on just one bad guy. Raimi was not a fan of Venom, but that's who the fans wanted to see, and he should have gotten way more screen time. The Sandman had some nice CGI work, but he really didn't serve much of a purpose. His character could have been developed much further, and some creative liberty was taken by having him involved with the murder of Peter's Uncle Ben. There was also the addition of another one of Peter's love interests from the comics: Gwen Stacy(Bryce Dallas Howard). She's a pretty major character, but the film doesn't do much with her either. The scenes where Peter is under the influence of the symbiote are a riot, especially when he's walking down the street, giving the ladies the eye, but a jazz club setting could have been left out. There's also a scene involving Harry's butler and some information that he should have given Harry way back in the first movie, but for whatever reason, he chooses now to tell him.
Overall, the action and CGI work balance out the shoddy script and the seemingly phoned in performances by some of the actors. I give this film 3 stars.
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