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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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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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Choke Lives Up To It’s Name

March 15, 2009

What’s wrong with this picture? A film based on a novel by Chuck Palahniuk, the author of Fight Club (arguably one of the 20 best films released in the past ten years), can’t even gross $3 million domestically? You’d think that just attaching “from the author of Fight Club” on the poster would be enough to put the uneducated asses in the seats. I use the word “uneducated” because I think anyone that is familiar with Palahniuk’s work is going to fall into one of two categories: biased fanatic or biased hater. I never read Fight Club, but I’ve read three of Palahniuk’s other novels (Choke included), and they’ve all left a sour taste in my mouth. His writing style has an air of pretension that’s hard to overlook, the stories are ridiculously absurd, and his characters are unlikeable and morally retarded. I realize that’s often what he’s going for, and sometimes that formula can be engaging, but Palahniuk’s stories often come across heartless, and sometimes we just need somebody to root for. Choke was the first of his books I read and it’s easy to trick yourself into thinking you’ve stumbled across someone with a unique and clever voice, but his novels are kind of like Fight Club: you’re getting punched in the face repeatedly, yet sometimes you act like you enjoy it.

With that said, this is a review of the film, not the author’s collection of works… but I think it’s important to understand how I feel about the source material, since I clearly didn’t like the story and I was expecting disaster as soon as I saw the trailer. The movie version is a pretty faithful adaptation of the book and some of the scenes and characters are so sexually indecent that I’m sure this had to be pushing an NC-17 rating and it’s hard R-rating had to factor in keeping it from playing in a lot of theaters. The story is about Victor Mancini (Sam Rockwell), a sex addict who chokes on food in restaurants during his spare time in the hopes that his rescuer will feel responsible for his life and send him loads of money over time. Victor also regularly visits his mother (Anjelica Huston) in the hospital and we get flashbacks in his upbringing that help explain why Victor became the adult he is today. Yawn.

At least the acting in the film is decent, as Rockwell and Huston are both capable thespians. They do what they can with their characters, but neither invoke sympathy in the viewer. It’s hard to fault the actors, however, when the characters are clearly written to be completely amoral. I’m already tired of bashing this movie, so I’ll end by saying that I kind of hated it even though it lived up to my expectations. I’m sure anyone that can admit they are a fan of the novel will probably like the film as well… but don’t go into this thing blind, expecting Fight Club caliber.

Score: 3 out of 10 (Painful)

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Son Of Rambow – Sequel or Homage?

March 12, 2009

I first started hearing about Son Of Rambow when it was in theaters and I wasn’t really sure what it was all about. Was it a horrible idea for a sequel in the Rambo franchise? Was it an homage? Did it even have anything to do with the Sylvester Stallone films? I didn’t really know, but I kept the name of the movie in my head and when it started popping up on a number of “Best Movies of 2008” lists, I decided that it was time to give it a chance.

The film is definitely not an entry in the popular action franchise, although the original Rambo does play a roll in the plot of this film. The story centers on Will, a young London boy, whose family is so religious and restrictive he must find bizarre ways of entertaining himself, such as drinking from the water fountain on days he knows his class will watch a movie (he is forbidden to watch TV), holding the water in his mouth until he is sent outside the classroom, and then spitting it into a fish bowl, keeping track of his efforts on a monthly basis. He also spends a vast amount of his time drawing and creating his own stories. It’s during one of these “time outs” that he befriends Lee Carter, who wastes no time identifying himself as the school trouble-maker. This unlikely bond leads to the two boys creating their own film version of the Rambo franchise, an idea inspired within Will after Lee Carter leaves him alone with the bootlegged film playing in the background.

The story may sound somewhat silly, but to say it’s simply an homage to the Rambo films would be a cruel injustice. The story tackles several important themes focusing on the power of friendship, the battle between self-choice and family values, escapism, and abandonment issues. While the name “Rambo” might turn heads and give this film attention, it’s the friendship between Will and Lee Carter and their personal battles with their own families that are going to turn viewers into fans.

I was really surprised by the acting from the young kids in this film. Bill Milner, who reminds me a lot of Freddie Highmore, does a very good job playing the secluded Will. You feel his depression at his isolation and lack of experience, and share his joy when he’s able to break through his shell. Not only does Milner do a fine acting job, he looks like a future star. This film really belongs to Will Poulter, the kid that plays the troubled Lee Carter (and if you’re wondering why I keep using first and last name, it’s because that’s how he is referred to 100% of the time). Poulter does a great job of playing the school lawbreaker, a personality which ultimately is a projection of his own troubled relationship with his brother, whom he idolizes, but may or may not know that Lee Carter even exists. It’s no coincidence that Will Poulter was recently cast in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, due out in 2010… the kid is enormously talented and I hope to see him take on even more challenging roles in the future.

As a whole, I really enjoyed Son Of Rambow. It’s a quirky and funny film, with good acting from its young cast, and a solid story that deals with several thematic issues. I’ve seen a number of people put it on their “Best of 2008” lists and I’m pretty sure I know why. It’s a good film, yes, but the ending is phenomenal. It will pull at your heart strings and tap your tear ducts. It’s such a good ending that I think a lot of people are finishing the film thinking it’s much better than it actually was. I don’t want to get out of line and dub this as one of the great films of 2008… it’s not quite that. However, it is a very good film and the ending will leave you thinking it was great.

Score: 7 out of 10 (Must See)

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Jason Vorhees Lives

February 19, 2009

I must note that I grew up on the Friday The 13th and A Nightmare On Elm Street franchises, starting my fascination with the horror genre as early as five or six years old. I can even remember my dad taking my brother and I to see Jason Goes To Hell when we were 9 and 8 years old, respectively. So Freddy Krueger and Jason Vorhees were like my Leonardo and Raphael growing up. With that said, I still have a weakness for my old favorites, at a time in my life when all other horror films generally don’t interest me. I’ll be sad the day they stop making films for these horror icons, but weaknesses aside, I’m not interested in seeing these sons of bitches in space or Manhatten.

This remake thankfully takes the series back to its roots: Jason Vorhees, alone, slaughtering a bunch of promiscuous young adults at Camp Crystal Lake. This film is more of a reboot than a remake, however, as it takes concepts from the first three Friday The 13th movies and rolls them into one. We see Pamela Vorhees (Jason’s mother) decapitated before the opening credits are finished and Jason sports a bag over his head for the first 40 minutes or so before finding his trademark goalie’s mask. It was a shrewd business move to pay homage to the story and get to vintage Jason as soon as possible since no one really gives a damn about his mom or a pre-hockey mask Jason.

Friday The 13th gives you pretty much what you expect. We have Jason Vorhees stalking teenagers at Camp Crystal Lake and dispatching each of them systematically, trying to outmatch his last murder via uniqueness, weapon choice, and gruesomeness. Along with the standard mayhem, Friday The 13th doesn’t disappoint in the female nudity department either. It goes without saying that we (males) want to see boobs and death in these flicks and Friday The 13th delivers.

One thing that stood out about this remake is how fast and agile Jason Vorhees is. Jason has always been depicted as a lethargic and stupid monster relying on unexplained ubiquitousness and the stupidity of his victims to get his kills. In the update, Jason is seen sprinting, tossing and aiming objects with pinpoint accuracy, and generally outsmarting his competition. However, he’s still dumb enough to fall for the classic “I’m your mother” bit.

I’m not going to dive into the script or the acting in this film because if you’re watching the 12th installment in the series and expect quality in these departments, you probably walked into the wrong theater. Friday The 13th is yet another solid horror remake from producer Michael Bay and should satisfy fans of the series. I thought it was a notch below the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake (also a Bay-produced film), but much better than Rob Zombie’s Halloween. I’m looking forward to more Jason flicks and for the upcoming A Nightmare On Elm Street reboot, another horror remake Bay is involved with. I can’t wait to see who they cast as Freddy Krueger.

Score: 6 out of 10 (Recommended)

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In Bruges Review

February 15, 2009

I’m going to keep this short and sweet. I’ve seen In Bruges on a couple of top ten lists and nominated for a couple of awards, including the Best Original Screenplay Oscar. I wasn’t too excited about it, however, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. The plot about a couple of hitmen having to flee to Bruges because of a botched murder didn’t exactly reek of hilarity or originality to me. It didn’t help matters much that the first 20-30 minutes of the movie were boring enough for my girlfriend and best friend to quit watching it. I wasn’t exactly intrigued either, but I didn’t want stop watching it and hold onto it for several months instead of sending it back to Netflix, so I stuck it out… and I’m glad I did.

If you can stick out your initial boredom, you’ll actually find yourself watching a pretty funny film that is highlighted by the best performance of Colin Farrell’s career. I’m going to go ahead and spoil something that I don’t think is that important by saying that the characters of Farrell and Brendan Gleeson find themselves in Bruges because Farrell has accidentally killed a child while assassinating a priest and his boss (played fantastically by Ralph Fiennes) intends to give him one last vacation before his partner is to kill him.

What really stands out about In Bruges is the great dialogue the actors have to play with. The script is pretty good and gets much funnier in the second half of the film. I’m not exactly sure how this film gets nominated in the screenplay category while The Wrestler, a much superior film does, but it is a solid effort. Colin Farrell’s character is especially funny and is given several unique scenes to display his somewhat morbid sense of humor. Harry, the boss played by Fiennes, is the highlight of the film, however. I’ve never really thought of Fiennes as funny, which may be why his work in this movie really stands out as hilarious… although it is weird to see him being called “Harry,” whom he has been trying to destroy for two films as Lord Voldemort.

In Bruges is a pretty funny character piece. It’s more of a dramedy than a full blown comedy… and the pacing is troublesome at times, especially the first act of the film. It picks up nicely though and I found it to be a pleasant surprise. It’s not a must see, but it’s worth watching for its humor and for a Colin Farrell performance actually worth watching.

Score: 6 out of 10 (Recommended)

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The Wrestler: Top 3 of 2008

February 15, 2009

I had pretty high hopes for The Wrestler. Its director is responsible for one of the most memorable films of the past decade with 2000’s Requiem For A Dream and the praise for Mickey Rourke’s performance in the film has been overwhelming, with a number of sources claiming him the favorite for Best Actor. I also had a couple of people whose film opinions I hold in high regard tell me it was their favorite movie of the year, so even though I quasi-hated Aronofsky’s last film, The Fountain in 2006, The Wrestler had me quite excited to watch it.

When I heard that Darren Aronofsky was making a movie about a retired professional wrestler trying to deal with life after fame, I was already hooked, so it’s no surprise that I loved the story. I’d say it’s criminal that writer Robert Siegel (former Editor-In-Chief of The Onion) didn’t get a nomination, but I’ve only seen two of the five films nominated in the Best Original Screenplay category (Wall-E and In Bruges), so I’m not really sure. Regardless, the team involved here did more for character development within a couple months of Randy “The Ram” Robinson’s life than David Fincher and company could accomplish over eighty years in the life of Benjamin Button. No matter the case, anyone that can cause emotional resonance utilizing a dead beat professional wrestler who might as well be Hulk Hogan gets kudos from me.

Aronofsky has a tendency to make his presence overwhelmingly known in his projects. Pi was just flat out weird, Requiem For A Dream was a masterpiece, utilizing close-up vignettes for drug use and an unforgettably haunting and hypnotic score, and The Fountain might as well have been called Pretentious Shit. The director decides to take a more subtle approach with The Wrestler, displaying his uniqueness by filming the movie with a hand-held camera that gives it a documentary-like aesthetic. It’s almost like we’re taking a look at a couple of months of the life of a real person rather than watching a movie with fictional characters.

Mickey Rourke deserves all the praise he’s received for this film. As many have said, the role was built for him and I can’t imagine anyone else playing this character. They pretty much took Rourke’s life and paralleled it with Randy Robinson’s and then subbed out “acting” for “professional wrestling.” I still think Frank Langella might be the favorite for Best Actor, but I don’t think Rourke winning would be an upset at all. Marissa Tomei also earned a nod for Best Supporting Actress, and while she looks great at 40+ playing a stripper, her performance wasn’t one that people are going to remember years from now.

I really can’t say enough about how good this movie was. There are so many good scenes in it that I don’t want to waste my time describing each one… a couple of personal favorites are The Ram working in a deli interacting with customers and The Ram at a fan fest signing with minimal attendance looking around at the other fallen wrestlers and seeing a bit of himself in each one as the melancholy score plays in the background. I also loved the ending, which has received a few complaints for its ambiguity. I don’t think it’s ambiguous at all, however, and I said “Credits” two seconds before they started, so I clearly thought it was a perfect spot to end the film.

When all is said and done, The Wrestler stands as one of my three favorite films of 2008, right up there with Slumdog Millionaire and The Dark Knight. It’s without a doubt a must see, if not spectacular film, that will probably grow even stronger in viewers’ minds over time.

Score: 8.5/10 (Must Own/Potentially Classic)

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Saw V – We’ve seen this before…

February 5, 2009

Okay, this is Saw V… and anyone reading this review or taking the time to watch this film has to realize we are dealing with the fifth installment in a series that puts out a film annually… so it should be no surprise that the filmmakers are not taking their time with these films and the quality to be expected should be substandard.

Somehow the Saw franchise has managed to survive long enough to spawn five sequels (Saw VI is due out this Halloween season and probably more to come), despite not really doing anything new with the formula. One thing that surprises me about the success of Saw is that they managed to create one of the more interesting horror icons in Jigsaw and prematurely killed him off in the third or fourth film. Granted, Jigsaw’s presence is still seen throughout the film via tape recordings and flashbacks, but the dirty work is being carried on by characters we don’t care about and hardly remember from previous films. I don’t know who Agent Strahm is or what he did in the last film, but he’s a returning character now playing the role of Jigsaw’s successor.

The writers of the Saw series seem to have a misguided sense of pride in their writing abilities. There’s always that moment in the climax of the film when the great theme music starts and viewers get a montage of events that reveal the “bigger picture.” but honestly, these plot devices are hardly creative or groundbreaking… I will admit that Jigsaw’s back story in Saw IV is pretty enlightening, but that is the only time I’ve been impressed with the twists in the Saw series since Jigsaw originally “rose from the dead” at the end of the superb first film.

What it comes down to is this: if you were stupid enough to watch Saw IV and enjoy it, then you’ll be satisfactorily dumb enough to like the latest sequel as well (don’t worry, I’m clearly guilty myself). You don’t get anything new in Saw V and the killers keep getting less interesting. I’d rather see Jigsaw sewn back together and reanimated again then to see another side character take over his mantle.

With that said, the gore is great, the traps are cool, and that’s really what we came to see, right? Just another average entry in a dying horror franchise.

Score: 4.5 out of 10

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