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My Avatar Experience

January 25, 2010

What I’m about to say doesn’t really make any sense. I’m a self-proclaimed movie buff and lover of great film-making. James Cameron has been one of the most successful and talented directors in my lifetime. There was tons of hype prior to the film’s release and it has recently passed The Dark Knight as the nation’s second highest grossing film of all-time, only trailing Cameron’s Titanic . Word of mouth for the film has been pretty spectacular. Yet, somehow, six weeks after its release, I woke up this morning and I still hadn’t seen Avatar.

2009 hasn’t exactly been the most active movie year for me. It’s almost February 2010, but I’ve only seen a handful of movies from last year and nearly all of the films on Oscar’s radar are unseen by me. Perhaps life has finally gotten in the way of my hobbies. I broke up with my girlfriend (and movie-watching partner) in March and I’m yet to find a reliable replacement or someone that watches movies and appreciates them the same way I do. My role at my job has also become much more demanding and time-consuming. I only work nights, so I prefer to spend the few precious morning and afternoon hours I do have, either sleeping or catching up with responsibilities unrelated to my job. Or maybe I’ve simply become a lazy bum. Needless to say, getting to the theaters has been tough.

Well, the Avatar hype machine finally caught up to me this past week and woke me from my slumber. Somehow I had managed to dodge any news of the film’s success and critical praise for five weeks. My former roommate and fellow film afficionado informed me of Avatar’s record-breaking box-office results, a clear sign of great word of mouth. He also chimed in with his own opinion, saying it was a great movie and I absolutely had to see it in 3D. I went ahead and put it on my To Do List. The last straw was when a group of ladies in their 50s and 60s sat at one of my tables at work and raved about how amazing the movie was. They insured me that I needed to see it immediately. I made plans to see it the next day.

Despite my buddy’s insistence, I still wasn’t sold on the idea of seeing it in 3D. Sure, it sounded interesting, but I wasn’t about to travel out of my way to make it happen and the idea of wearing some goofy ass red and blue glasses for roughly three hours didn’t sound all that awesome. Luckily, the theater closest to me was showing it in 3D, a technology I didn’t even know it was capable of. I can say with confidence that no one I talked to about Avatar did the 3D in this film justice. I don’t know what I was expecting. The only film I’ve ever seen that had any 3D in it was Freddy’s Dead almost 20 years ago, so I really wasn’t prepared for what was in store. I was sold before the trailers were finished. The advances that have been made in 3D technology since my initiation 20 years ago are astronomical. The Cheshire Cat was within reach despite the fact that I was sitting in the middle of the theater.

Movies have always had the capability of taking you on an adventure. Even so, films still didn’t have the means of fully immersing you in their world like a book can. Not anymore. Avatar plunges you right in the middle of Pandora with the rest of the characters. Creatures were screeching right in front of my face, debris was flying at me, and actors were jumping off the screen. It was amazing. The action sequences were more exhilarating than any roller coaster I’ve been on. I was stunned. I can’t imagine watching this movie in any other format. I’m curious to see how they are going to handle the DVD and if it’s going to hold up on my piece of shit TV. I can’t even fathom how awesome this movie would be in IMAX 3D. I might have to make that my next priority.

From a technical standpoint, Avatar is going to be remembered as a ground-breaking film. I can’t say it’s the first film to fully realize the potential of 3D, but it’s certainly the first mainstream blockbuster film to utilize it successfully that I’m aware of. In my lifetime there are a few films that stand out in my mind as bullet points in changing the way movies are made. The first one to really wow me with special effects and film-making trickery was Robocop. Not only was the protagonist made of metal and bad ass, but the robot Alex Murphy fought against was particularly awesome and unique for the time period. Half a decade later, another James Cameron film, Terminator 2: Judgement Day did things with special effects that had never been seen before. The T-1000, to this day, is still one of the dopest things I’ve ever seen on screen. Two years later, Steven Spielberg made dinosaurs look real in Jurassic Park. Can you imagine seeing that movie in 3D on an IMAX screen? Even though the quality of the JP franchise has diminished greatly since the original, the possibility of a T-Rex in 3D and Spielberg’s alleged increased involvement has me looking forward to the fourth installment. The next movie to stand out in my mind is The Matrix and the introduction of bullet time photography. Movies were trying to mimic Neo’s dance moves for years to follow. I should also mention Toy Story and Pixar for changing the way animation is done. The 2000s brought us CGI, which seems to have limitless possibilities and the tremendous advances in technology the past decade have kind of spoiled us to the point where it has become hard to truly impress us. Avatar and Real D 3D has managed to do just that, which is a pretty remarkable feat in this day and age. Trust me, unless I missed out on something major the past few years, you’ve never seen anything like this and you absolutely must watch Avatar… in theaters… in 3D. I seriously can’t emphasize this enough.

Fortunately, Avatar doesn’t rely completely on 3D to sell its tickets. All around, it’s a very well made and unique film. The world and creatures of Pandora are equally different and breath-taking. Cameron’s Navi civilization is strangely beautiful; it’s hard to tell where the make up ends and the computer generated effects begin, as even the slightest facial tics are finely detailed and loyal to the creatures’ emotions. Not only that, but the relationships of the characters with the animals and manipulation of the environment around them reminds me of JK Rowling’s ridiculously layered Harry Potter universe. Even the humans get to ride around in machines that make Robocop’s nemesis look like Bender from Futurama.

While Avatar is going to receive most of its accolades due to its presentation, the story is pretty damn good too. James Cameron deserves an Oscar nomination for the writing he did on this movie. Clearly, his imagination and talent goes beyond how to film a great movie. Sure, it’s hard to distinguish some of the minor Navi characters from each other, but the core of this story stems from Jake Sully’s relationship with the Navi Neytiri and both of these characters are fully realized and developed. You get emotionally invested in their adventure and there were at least a few moments that actually sent chills throughout my body, a sign that separates the great movies from the truly amazing ones.

Talking with a friend after the movie and hailing Avatar as one of the best films I’ve ever seen while predicting it as a lock for this year’s Best Picture Oscar, he quickly downplayed the flick’s greatness by claiming unoriginal themes and weak characters. Okay, sure, we’ve seen technologically disadvantaged and repressed societies overcome their suppressors hundreds of times before… but not like this… in 3D! And yeah, some of the Navi and human characters are shallow and quickly forgotten, but all of the important ones make their expected impact. So yes, I’m calling Avatar the best movie of 2009 and one of the most innovative films I’ve ever seen. I fully expect this movie to get a dozen Oscar noms and I’ll be shocked to see anything better in the near future.

Grade: A+

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Movie Reviews (7/18/2009)

August 5, 2009

Changeling (2008)

Angelina Jolie in an Oscar-nominated role in a film directed by Clint Eastwood? Sign me up. Based on a true story, the film is set in 1920s Los Angeles, a time when the LAPD is known for being corrupt, violent, and generally scumbaggish. Jolie plays Christine Collins, whose son disappears one day while she’s off running errands or something. After a few weeks, the police department finds a boy claiming to be Walter Collins and Christine takes him in despite realizing the boy is not her son. The film focuses on Christine’s battle with the police force and she eventually winds up in an LAPD-controlled insane asylum for her continued claims that her son is still missing. I’m surprised this film didn’t get more award attention… Jolie definitely deserved her nomination and Clint Eastwood has proven himself as one of the best filmmakers over the past decade. Grade: 7 out of 10 (Must See)

Gran Torino (2008)

Another Clint Eastwood film, this time the director stars as a recently widowed man stuck in his old fashioned racist ways as he takes a look around at his mostly ethnic neighbors. It’s a rare movie that can take racist slurs like “zipperhead” and “slopes” and turn them into terms of endearment, but by the end of the film, one forgets the negative connotations that come with such phrases. There’s no doubt about it, even at 80+ years old, Eastwood is still a bad ass. The two Asian teenagers also gave solid performances. I can imagine some people would be disappointed with the ending, but I thought it was pretty realistic given the circumstances. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and it’s good enough that I’d add it to my collection. Grade: 7.5 out of 10 (Must See/Excellent)

Transformers 2: Rise Of The Fallen (2009)

I’m in the vast minority on this one, but I hated this movie. I expected the first film to be a disaster, but I wound up enjoying it for what it was: a solid, mindless action flick. The sequel starts off dope enough, with some good action sequences, but the last half of the film is filled with all sorts of unwanted plot development. I honestly didn’t even understand what was going on most of the time… or worse, I didn’t care. I just want to see robots fighting. I don’t want to see Indiana Jones Jr. searching for the lost relic, or whatever the hell they were looking for. I hated the movie so much, I ended up leaving in the middle of the finale because I had somewhere else to be. Shia LeBeouf is the new Vin Diesel: the star of a bunch of overhyped, shitty action movies. Grade: 3 out of 10 (Painful)

The Hangover (2009)

I wish someone would’ve dragged me to this movie on opening day. I had no intentions of ever seeing it. The previews looked kind of stupid to me, but I couldn’t ignore the tremendous word of mouth, from critics and audiences alike, it was getting. I was hearing ridiculous praise like “it’s the funniest movie of all-time,” so I had to go see what all the fuss was about. Unfortunately, I was late enough on seeing it that some of the best gags were already spoiled for me. Despite that, I definitely liked this comedy and while it might be a tad overhyped, the film is consistently funny and has enough repeat value that I’ll probably buy it when it comes out. There’s also a chance that it will grow on me like most comedies tend to do. With the exception of the groom-to-be, the cast was pretty damn funny and Zach Galifianakis as Alan was especially hilarious. This movie has a collective 8.2 out of 10 rating on www.imdb.com, good enough for the #171st highest rated movie of all-time. That’s a pretty generous ranking, but this movie was pretty dope. Oh, and a sequel is already in development. Can’t really see where they are going to go from here, but if it’s the same general team, sign me up. Grade: 7 out of 10 (Must See)

Rudy (1993)

Ironically, Rudy, one of the most praised sports films of all-time, doesn’t crack the top 250 all-time list on www.imdb.com. So essentially, the general populace says that The Hangover is the superior film. I can’t say I really agree with that (although, it’s not really fair to compare a movie that’s 2 months old to something that came out over 15 years ago). The story in Rudy is truly phenomenal and inspiring. Anyone lacking confidence in achieving their goals should watch this movie to remind themselves what is possible when someone truly chases their dreams. Sean Astin has been trying to establish a name for himself outside of this role ever since this movie came out. He does an excellent job in the film and really makes his character’s persistence shine through. Grade: 7.5 out of 10 (Must See)

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Rob Zombie’s Halloween: A Big Rant

June 29, 2009

I grew up on horror films. I was watching the A Nightmare On Elm Street and Friday The 13th franchises when I was as young as four. I idolized Freddy Krueger and Jason Vorhees more than Batman and Superman. I can’t explain my early fascination with these seemingly unstoppable and deformed serial killers, but it was my thing as a kid. It’s kind of sick to think back about it now. My parents probably questioned their leniency in the matter when they came home one day to find out that I chopped their kitchen counter to shit with a butcher knife. I’ll never be able to explain why I did that, but somehow I turned out to be a harmless human being anyways. For whatever reason, Halloween was the last classic horror franchise that I got into and it now stands as my favorite and Michael Myers is by far my top horror icon. While I’ll never be able to understand what it was like to see John Carpenter’s original film for the first time in the late 70s, I can still appreciate it as an iconic movie to this day and possibly the best in the genre. When I heard Rob Zombie was going to remake/re-imagine the Halloween series I had mixed emotions: on one hand, it’s better to leave the classics alone, but that’s a lost cause in today’s Hollywood; on the other hand, I felt like if anyone was going to take the reigns, Zombie was a good choice. I wasn’t expecting the subtle chilliness that made the original so scary or even for the remake to be a good overall film, but I figured Zombie would give us a solid slasher pic with plenty of gore and breathe life into a franchise that has been on life support for about a decade.

The first third of the film is painful to watch. I certainly didn’t expect Zombie to dive into Michael Myers’ childhood and attempt to provide a reasonable explanation for his murderous ways. No thanks. One of the scariest things about the original Michael was that there wasn’t a good explanation for his homicidal activity… something about him was just… pure evil. In Zombie’s version, he spends forty minutes accomplishing what the original film did before the opening credits. We are introduced to the Myers gang and between his stripper mother, deceased father, verbally abusive and alcoholic stand-in dad figure, and promiscuous older sister–plus the added bonus of school bullies–I think we are somehow supposed to understand why Michael Myers just had to go a little nutty. Does Zombie really expect us to empathize with this kid? If not, then what’s the point? If that wasn’t problematic enough, Michael was 5 or 6 in the original version and when he killed his sister, we were left with the impression that he didn’t really understand the severity of what he just did. In the 2007 version, Michael is 10, clearly understands death and the consequences of his actions, and murders four people before finally being locked away in Smith’s Grove. Ugh. The first part of this movie just makes me sick to think about. It’s the ultimate butchering of a classic. Michael Myers has dialogue. He kisses his baby brother (or sister, I don’t fucking know). He has long hair and looks like the raggedy outcast from The Mighty Ducks with the power slap shot. The little shit even puts on the classic inside out Shatner mask and parades around like a Mini-Me version of his future adult self. Hopefully we get to see an infant Freddy Krueger in a crib wearing a glove of knives and a fedora in the upcoming A Nightmare On Elm Street remake. I could really go on and on about how much this shit sucks.

And I will. Once at Smith’s Grove, we are subject to even more unnecessary character development. We are introduced to Malcolm McDowell as Professor Sam Loomis (played fantastically by the late Donald Pleasence in the original series), a child psychotherapist that watches helplessly as Michael slowly dissolves into social withdrawal and the sanctity of the masks he insists on wearing at all times. Again, too much time is wasted trying to explain something that is better off without explanation. None of these scenes mean anything and when Michael ultimately kills the nurse in charge of him (why someone would turn their back on a kid with four homicides under his belt to read a newspaper is beyond me) and his mother cracks under the pressure and commits suicide, I’m still as emotionless as Michael Myers should be. Despite all the added “development,” Loomis’ obsession with Myers doesn’t have nearly the impact that it did in the original series. It all leads up to one important question: Who fucking cares?

Fortunately, the movie takes a turn for the better once it jumps forward 15 years. In the meantime, Michael Myers has become a mute and Loomis has published a book describing Michael as “the devil.” For some reason, one of the hillbilly security guards at Smith’s Grove thinks it would be a good idea to invite his friend out to rape one of the female patients… in Michael’s room… while he is unbound, working on a mask at his desk, with his hands free. Yeah, it’s always smart to rile up a 6’9″ 250+ pound serial killer that looks like The Undertaker. Obviously, Myers escapes and we finally get to the meat of the movie. Danny Trejo plays a different security guard that has been watching over Michael for 17 years, developing a Dane Cook “thanks for the Snickers” relationship with the pyschopath, and I liked how Myers doesn’t hesitate for a second before drowning him and smashing his face in with a TV. That’s the Michael Myers I know and love.

The rest of the movie plays out pretty similarly to the original. Lots of stalking his sister, Carpenter’s classic score, and ghastly death scenes. Scout Taylor-Compton isn’t nearly the actress Jamie Lee Curtis is and her Laurie Strode is kind of bland. It’s kind of dope to see Danielle Harris in a role. She played 10 year old Jamie Lloyd in Halloween 4 and Halloween 5 and returns in the new franchise as Laurie’s friend Annie Brackett. She’s such a good sport, that she even goes topless for several minutes while being chased by Myers.

All in all, Halloween is a pretty good remake once you get past the first forty minutes or so. Taylor Mane is a beast and makes Michael Myers more intimidating and scary than he ever was. I really liked the look of the mask in this movie too. I just hated the first third of this film so much that it kind of leaves of sour taste in my mouth. Thankfully, in Zombie’s upcoming sequel, we won’t have to wade through any corny background story and can get right into Michael Myers in beast mode. I’m looking forward to it.

Grade: 5 out of 10 (worth watching)

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The King Of Kong: A Fistful Of Quarters (2007)

June 17, 2009

The King Of Kong: A Fistful Of Quarters is a documentary about competitive video gaming that centers on two men battling it out for the all-time world record on the original arcade version of Donkey Kong. If it all sounds a little nerdy, that’s because it is; but the story is compelling nevertheless. One of the men the film focuses on is Billy Mitchell, a man that set a record on Donkey Kong in 1982 that wasn’t even approached before Steve Wiebe came out of nowhere in the mid-90s and claimed to have toppled a million points, a new world record. Unfortunately for Wiebe, Mitchell is highly beloved by the circle of geeks in control of the record books and his record is said to be invalid unless he can prove it in person. The film is often described as a battle between the two Donkey Kong masters–hell, I just said that myself in the first sentence–but to call this a “battle” would be giving too much of a backbone to Billy Mitchell. I get the impression that the filmmaker was a bit biased against the man, but rightfully so. Mitchell barely acknowledges Wiebe’s presence when they are in proximity of each other and is snootily evasive whenever talk of a friendly competition is mentioned. Not once during the doc, does Mitchell sit down and play a game of Donkey Kong in public after his record has been toppled. Instead, he sneakily sends in a taped session in which he sets a new high score and is rewarded for the same act that got Wiebe’s record overturned. It’s quite a depressing turn of events and one can’t help but hate the men behind the decision just a little bit, especially after watching Wiebe sit for hours on camera putting his skills on public display only to come up short in the end. Is it possible to feel emotional resonance watching a grown man crying over a video game? I think so, because I was genuinely sorry for the guy and I wanted nothing more than to see Billy Mitchell get his dubious record shoved up his ass. Does this story have a happy ending? Well, I guess you are going to have to see for yourself… or spend three seconds on Google and get your answer.

Grade: 7 out of 10 (must see)

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Bunch Of Short Movie Reviews

June 16, 2009

Okay, so my goal to make a new post each day might have been reaching a bit. I clearly am not meeting that goal and on Fridays and Saturdays I simply don’t have the time to do it. So I’m going to lower my expectations and shoot for 4-5 updates a week. I’m finding myself having a hard time writing movie reviews. I want to talk about some of the films I’ve seen recently, but I can’t seem to find my voice. It just isn’t feeling right to me lately…. with that said, here are some quick thoughts on some recent films I’ve seen:

Zack & Miri Make A Porno – I liked this a lot more the second time I watched it. Maybe I wasn’t in the mood during my first viewing, or my woman was dragging me down, or my expectations were too high after hearing so many people say how good it was… whatever the case may be, I was really underwhelmed the first time I saw it. However, my initial reaction was misguided as this was a fun and humorous flick. It has a unique plot and plenty of crude humor and it’s Kevin Smith’s best film in nearly a decade. Also, Justin Long absolutely kills it in his cameo role as a gay porn star at a high school reunion. “Yes… fucking movies”

Grade: 6 out of 10 (recommended)

Observe & Report – I went and saw this with a group of people and I liked it more than everyone else. Seth Rogen seems to be in everything lately, but this is the first time I’ve seen him in a darker role since he played a random bully in Donnie Darko back before he was a star. I think this was Rogen’s best performance to date though and I found this dark comedy to be pretty damn funny and entertaining all around. Spoiler alert… the ending was pretty shocking when Rogen’s character walks up and shoots the streaker. That took me by surprise… what was even more surprising was how everything in the film was building up to a depressing conclusion, but somehow an unemployed former mall security guard can walk up to someone, shoot them in broad day, and not only avoid a jail bid, but have everyone cheering for him like a hero in the end. I thought it was a corny way to end an otherwise ominous film.

Grade: 6 out of 10 (recommended)

Milk – It took me forever to watch this movie. I rented it on March 11th and returned it on May 19th… I started watching it at least eight different times before I finally sat through the whole thing. That’s not a knock on the film though, it’s just a reflection of how much of a priority film-watching has been to me lately… because this movie was really, really good. I was shocked when Sean Penn won Best Actor earlier this year since all the hype was pointing towards Mickey Rourke and, to a lesser extent, Frank Langella. I saw both of those performances before the awards and even though I hadn’t seen Milk yet, I didn’t think Penn was going to top either one. I was wrong. Having seen all the nominated performances (aside from dude in The Visitor), I think Penn was hands down the best. It’s one of those rare performances where the actor completely becomes the character… so much that you forget that you’re even watching Sean Penn. It was truly remarkable. On top of that, Harvey Milk’s story was an interesting one, James Franco was really good, and Emile Hirsch is quickly rising on my list of favorite actors. While Milk probably won’t have enough replay value to be worth owning for me, it’s definitely something I’d highly recommend everyone see at least once.

Grade: 8 out of 10 (excellent)

Rachel Getting Married – I only rented this movie because of the buzz surrounding Anne Hathaway’s performance… an actress more known for corny teeny-bopper flicks than Oscar-worthy material. I can’t say the story particularly interested me, but Hathaway was as good as advertised and I’m looking forward to seeing her test her acting chops even more in the future. The best scene in the film is when Hathaway gives a grimace-inducing speech at her sister’s wedding rehearsal dinner. This movie is worth watching for Hathaway alone, but if you don’t care about great performances in mediocre movies, you can skip this one.

Grade: 5.5 out of 10 (worth watching/recommended)

Lords Of Dogtown – Yeah, this movie is a bit older. It’s basically a film adaptation of the excellent 2002 documentary Dogtown & Z-Boys and follows the rise of a group of teenage skateboarding phenoms who build their skill sets by sneaking into someone’s back yard, draining their swimming pools, and honing their talents on their makeshift half-pipes. I can’t think of too many documentaries that have been recast with actors and turned into feature films, so I can see a lot of potential problems with the concept–most noticeably having an actor playing a real person that has already starred in the same story as themselves. However, all the actors did fairly well, and once again, Emile Hirsch knocked it out of the fucking park… which would give him a streak of three straight solid-to-excellent performances I’ve seen from him. Heath Ledger was also in this and was nearly as unrecognizable and amazing as he was playing The Joker. I didn’t even know it was him until halfway through the movie…. probably the first time he showed potential of his greatness. Overall, a fun and loyal adaption with surprisingly solid performances, but honestly, the documentary was much better and more interesting.

Grade: 6 out of 10 (recommended)

X-Men Origins: Wolverine – This movie got kind of slammed by critics, but I enjoyed it. It didn’t blow my mind and it doesn’t hold a candle to the much superior superhero films of last year (The Dark Knight & Iron Man), but I had fun watching it. I can’t say I’m familiar with any Wolverine comics at all, so I can’t comment on how faithful the adaptation was or if fanboys are going to think they butchered it. For all the hype surrounding a long awaited Gambit appearance, his character was pretty lame, didn’t contribute much to the film, and wasn’t nearly as bad ass as I remember him in the cartoons or video games. All I can really say about this movie is that it was entertaining, Lynn Collins is fucking gorgeous, and I need to get on Hugh Jackman’s workout regime for this film ASAP.

Grade: 5.5 out of 10 (worth watching/recommended)

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Put Zodiac On Your Netflix Queue

June 6, 2009

Today is the last day of this phase of my life. Tomorrow I start fresh again and I have set out several goals for myself in the upcoming months. I was doing pretty good on bettering myself from March to May, but I let a woman sidetrack me and lost focus and the past couple weeks I’ve really let myself go. That’s fine. I should have an even bigger sense of accomplishment in the upcoming weeks. As I said a while ago, I wanted to start gaining some serious weight and getting back into shape. I haven’t lifted in a few weeks and my appetite has been horrible ever since I got some weird food poisoning-like sickness a few weeks ago and spent the whole night throwing up. I started my weight-gaining journey at 144 pounds and I peaked at 160… if I had to guess, with the way things have been going recently, I’d say I’m back down around 152-153. I’ll find out tomorrow when I finally hit the gym again and I’ll post regular updates regarding my progress. I have a new workout routine typed up for lifting days and non-lifting days and I’m going to start focusing on my diet again. I’ve somehow got back to one meal a day and that is not cracking. Unfortunately, I’m also kind of broke, so I’m going to have to get creative with this shit.

I watched the film Zodiac last night and I have to say it’s one of the most underrated films of the past several years. It didn’t really receive a lot of awards attention and I don’t really hear a lot of people talk about it, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s my favorite film from 2007. There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men get all the publicity, but I don’t own either of those films. I saw No Country in theaters once and never again and I’ve rented Blood from Netflix twice and I’m yet to see the film in its entirety. While that is a travesty on my part, it does say something about how good Zodiac is. First of all, the story is really what’s interesting here. I find myself eager to read the novel after seeing the movie for a second time. It will be interesting to see how much of Graysmith’s story didn’t make the film and find out what was left out and what was changed or exaggerated. I’m not going to laud any of the performances… I can’t say anyone was too overlooked here, although this film marks Robert Downey Jr’s resurgence as an acclaimed actor more than Iron Man should. For those of you that have been sleeping on this film, this tale of a serial killer who toyed with the media and the police, but still got away with everything, comes highly recommended by me.

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The New Freddy Krueger

April 19, 2009

Yes, that’s the man that will be playing icon Freddy Krueger in the upcoming A Nightmare On Elm Street remake. Jackie Earle Haley has been signed on to take over the role that Robert Englund made famous 25 years ago. I grew up on Jason and Freddy films, so I keep close tabs on anything to do with my favorite horror franchises and while the idea of remaking A Nightmare On Elm Street, and especially recasting Freddy, is kind of taboo, it’s also a little exciting and refreshing. I don’t like this casting as much as the Billy Bob Thornton rumor (who I thought would be great), but Haley played Rorschach in Watchmen, so it’s not much of a stretch to imagine him as Freddy Krueger. I don’t expect him to inject the humor that Englund did into the role, but that’s honestly a good thing in my opinion. Like the recent Friday The 13th remake, I hope this reboot takes the franchise back to its more serious and scary roots.

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I Love You Man Is Hilarious

April 17, 2009

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Yeah, I said it. I Love You, Man is greatness, possibly a comedy classic in the making. Time and repeat viewings will say whether or not that is true, but this was by far the most fun I’ve had watching a movie this year. Thank God for Judd Apatow and his buddies ushering in the era of the R-rated comedy. In general, ever since 40 Year Old Virgin was released in 2005, the quality of comedies has drastically increased over the past half decade. Though I thought some of the movies from this genre (i.e. Pineapple Express, Zack & Miri Make A Porno) were a bit overrated last year, I Love You, Man is a very solid step back in the right direction.

The film centers on Peter Klaven (Paul Rudd), a real estate salesman planning to marry the woman of his dreams, Zooey (Rashida Jones). After overhearing Zooey’s friends making fun of his lack of a social circle, Peter decides: “I need some fucking friends.” After a series of hilarious “man dates” with various guys, Peter finally comes across Sydney Fife (Jason Segel) at an open house he’s hosting and instantly finds Sydney’s honesty and blunt nature endearing. They become quick friends and it doesn’t take long for this new friendship to cause problems between Peter and Zooey.

The cast in this is really terrific. Paul Rudd and Jason Segel have both become legitimate comedy stars. Both Rudd and Segel have grown from supporting characters in the first couple of Judd Apatow films to being stars in their own movies. Both actors are phenomenal in this movie and Rudd really hams it up as Peter Klaven, doing an excellent job of showing how awkward it can be to try to meet new people and vibe with them. The way he blurts out random non-words (“Joben”) and repeatedly stumbles over his sentences show a complete lack of confidence in his surroundings and makes for good laughs throughout the whole film. Years ago, I wouldn’t have ever thought that Paul Rudd could be a regular leading man in a comedy, but I’m convinced of it now. Segel is another rising star, whose Sydney is played with confidence and an air of experience that doesn’t quite reach snobbery. Whether predicting if someone needs to fart or explaining the lubricant and condoms on his desk (“this is where I masturbate”), Sydney’s honesty and tendency for bluntness comes across as genuine.

The supporting cast is solid and funny as well, with a number of B-list celebrities taking on roles. Jaime Pressly and Jon Favreau are hilarious playing a dysfunctional couple that are friends with Peter and Zooey. Andy Samberg is pretty good as Peter’s gay brother and J.K. Simmons is great no matter what he does. Rashida Jones is absolutely adorable as Zooey in her first major film role. The gorgeous actress is quite talented and after proving her comedy chops on The Office and in this film, I wouldn’t be surprised if stardom awaits her. Sarah Burns stars as Zooey’s desperate friend Hailey and does such a good job of channeling Kristen Wiig that I actually thought it was the SNL star.

I Love You, Man is easily the most fun I’ve had at the movies this year. The actors were all great and funny and the pacing of the film was solid even through the inevitable conflict segments. I laughed throughout the whole film and really enjoyed all the performances. I can’t wait to see it again. It’s the first movie of 2009 that I’ve gone out of my way (*ahem* aside from writing on a blog, that is) to recommend to people. Go see it immediately!

Grade: 8 out of 10 (Must Own)

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Twilight Is Not Harry Potter

April 3, 2009

So what is a 26 year old grown man doing reviewing Twilight? Well, for one, I fancy myself an amateur film critic and it would be folly of me to not post my thoughts on a film as big as Twilight. Secondly, the series of vampire novels from author Stephenie Meyer were getting the kind of buzz the Harry Potter franchise was getting back in the early 2000s. I originally made some poor assumptions about the HP series (i.e. children’s lit) and that has grown into one of my all-time favorite book series. Not wanting to make the same mistake with The Twilight Saga, I jumped on the bandwagon much earlier this time. With that said, I borderline hated the first book in the series. I’ll get into more detail on my problems with the script (a.k.a. the novel) later, but I just wanted it to be known ahead of time that I was not a fan of the original material for this film.

I figured this film was moderately doomed from the start. As soon as I saw Robert Pattinson wearing lipstick on the cover of Entertainment Weekly I knew the filmmakers missed the mark on this one and any chance the story had of being presented in a serious manner was being flushed down the toilet. Not that I expect a ton of realism from a film about vampires, but the presentation of the source material was looking pretty corny before the film was even released. Actually watching the film, the level of quality really dropped as soon as the rest of the Cullen family was introduced. Not only was the acting from the Cullen family unnatural and rigid, but the whole baseball scenario was horribly adapted. The creators of this film need to holler at the makers of “Smallvillle” for some advice on super speed special effects.

I don’t want complain too much about the acting in the film, but something about it did rub me the wrong way. Kristen Stewart seemed so focused on “acting” that she looked like she was trying to remember her lines half the time. She always seemed to have a confused look on her face. It doesn’t help much that she had to take on the role of one of the worst heroines in the history of fiction. Okay, so I guess I can’t help but dive into my problems with the book. One of the biggest problems I had reading Twilight was that I absolutely hated Bella. If I was supposed to hate Bella, I’d say “hey, great job with the character,” but I’m pretty sure Bella is supposed to be likable. Well, she’s not. She’s an uptight, reactionary bitch that doesn’t seem to have a clue what she really wants. I thought she was continually unfair in her treatment of Edward and her disregard for every other guy in the book made her seem like a snob. Reading the book, I couldn’t come up with any reason Edward would be attracted to her. Speaking of which, how likely is it that an 80 year old vampire would find his soul mate in a 17 year old girl? I’m almost 27 and I can’t hold a five minute conversation with the idiot 18 year old girls my roommate sometimes has over for his “parties.” I just don’t buy into the fact that someone with that much life experience would fall in love with a kid. It’s not only an unlikely pairing, it’s perverse.

The comparisons between Twilight and Harry Potter are ludicrous and unfounded. The level of writing in the two series are not even comparable. J.K. Rowling has a thousand times the imagination that Stephenie Meyer has. What about Twilight is so unique? Vampires have been done to death and the only truly original elements being introduced here are the baseball thing and the way the sun makes their skin turn colors. How exciting. I could go on forever about how original the Harry Potter franchise is. Perhaps I’m being overly harsh on Meyer since I’ve only read the first book in the series and the first HP book didn’t exactly blow me away… but I didn’t dislike it either. It’s possible that the series will grow on me as I read more of the books, but that’s the problem, I didn’t like the first book enough to want to read the rest of them. Anyways, the box office totals say it all:

Harry Potter & The Sorcerer’s Stone: $317.5 million
Twilight: $191.5 million

Score: 3.5 out of 10

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Watchmen Review

March 30, 2009

I had a chance to see Watchmen before opening day, but ultimately had to pass it up because I wasn’t finished reading the graphic novel yet. By the time I was done reading the GN, I’d heard enough mixed feedback that I was no longer in a rush to see the theatrical version and finally got around to doing so last week. Before I get into my thoughts on the film, I just want to say that the graphic novel blew me away. I thought the story was amazing and the writing was phenomenal overall. However, I wasn’t really sold on how well it would translate to the big screen and the mediocre acting in the trailers had tempered my expectations for the film.

I can’t really complain about the adaptation. The screenwriters did a very good job of staying faithful to Alan Moore’s graphic novel, with the sole exception of the climax being drastically different, although the significance of this change has been exaggerated; I think the thematic issues and ultimate goal of the graphic novel remain intact. The problem I did have with Watchmen was that a year after The Dark Knight believably brought Batman and The Joker into our world, Watchmen still comes across hokey despite all of its heroes being normal human beings (with the exception of Dr. Manhattan). With the exception of Rorschach and Dr. Manhattan, the characters in the film are all one-dimensional and boring. Despite massive amounts of background story, you still don’t have much of an emotional investment in anyone. It’s also bad timing to ask someone to play Richard Nixon just months after Frank Langella gave an Oscar-nominated performance of the man in Frost/Nixon. The acting, in general, was poor at best from just about everyone in the cast. Kudos to Billy Crudup (Dr. Manhattan) and Jackie Earle Haley (Rorschach) for not making me cringe every time they were on screen.

By far my favorite thing about the film was the character of Rorschach (I used the Silk Spectre poster because, well… she’s hotter). He was my favorite character in the graphic novel as well, but his awesomeness is even more apparent in the film version, simply because all the other characters are lamer in the movie. He’s cold and heartless. He’s Batman without the moral code. He’s a bad ass. He keeps a journal. And he’ll fucking kill you. It’s kind of refreshing to see a completely ruthless hero in a time when our heroes are scared to get their noses dirty. The only thing that disappointed me about Rorschach was that the film didn’t make it obvious that he was the homeless-looking dude walking around town with the “End Is Nigh” sign. Oh, that and the fact that his mask moving around was specific to the film and kind of distracting.

I definitely wasn’t blown away by Watchmen by any means. The acting is really subpar and the story just didn’t translate amazingly well. It’s definitely worth watching though for the visual effects and Rorschach, but I wouldn’t rank it with the better comic book adaptations of all-time. It’s simply mediocre, if not mildly disappointing.

Score: 5.5 out of 10

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