Gravity

          I  try not to use the term ‘Masterpiece’ lightly.  It is a term that is highly overused (myself included) when describing film or art.  That being said, I have full confidence that ‘Gravity’ is a visual and cinematic masterpiece and will garner numerous academy awards this season.  It is a stunning visual and operatic journey of space exploration and a tribute to the people who have courage beyond measure.

I do not like watching movies on a TV screen.  The cinematic experience is a communal experience that needs to be seen in a theater to appreciate it’s full intended effect.  ‘Gravity’ is a must-see in the cinema.  Preferably on an IMAX screen and in 3-D for which it was designed.  So many movies just convert to 3-D to increase their ticket prices.  This one was designed to be seen in 3-D and with the full expanse of an IMAX screen.  To view this on a small screen or, even worse, a TV screen would dramatically reduce its’ impact.  This is visual film making at its’ finest.

Director Alfonso Cuarón has always made thought provoking and visually adventurous films (see the under appreciated ‘Children of Men’).  The Mexican born director seamlessly integrates live action, CGI, and animation to achieve a total suspension of disbelief.  The viewer completely lives the experience of being in space.  He balances between operatic scores and complete vacuum filled silence to produce a mesmerizing work of art.  The ability to feel the music is as important as the visual effects.  Complete synchronicity of the senses.

For all intents and purposes, this is a two person movie.  It deals with the struggle for survival of astronauts Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) after their shuttle and mission crew are wiped out by an errant satellite debris field.  With limited resources and dwindling oxygen supplies, they struggle to make their way to the international space station, which is so close, yet so far away when you are in a continuous orbit.  Their situation is made all the more difficult as their communications with Earth have been knocked out. Space is silent and still, yet lethal as they work together to cling to life and find a way back home.

No matter how dire their situation, the audience, and the astronauts themselves, never fail to be awed by the incredible grandeur of viewing earth from space.  This is where the big screen and Dolby speakers become important as much of the movie’s impact relies on the visual journey.  I haven’t seen a movie so visually impactful since ‘Avatar’.  It far exceeds Stanley Kubrick’s vision in ‘2001: A Space Odyssey.  Astronaut Ryan Stone becomes the center piece of the film.  She is not a career astronaut, rather a scientist needed for her skill set to fix the Hubble telescope.  She is the layman with whom we empathize.  We feel her terror and panic and awe as if we were there with her.  I’ve never been overly impressed with Sandra Bullock as an actress.  even when she won her Oscar for ‘The Blind Side’.  I have gained a new respect as her performance is of the highest caliber in this film.  She is able to have the audience physically feel her range of emotions mostly through facial expressions.  Her background story causes the audience to invest themselves even more in her survival.  It’s a pleasure to watch someone perform at this level.

I know many people are turned off by space movies or science fiction in general, but this movie is neither.  It takes place in the here and now and is about people that we know caught up in extraordinary circumstances.  This film is probably as close as any of us will ever get to going into space and experiencing what it is like.   While action packed, it is not an action film.  It’s just a work of art for all the senses and a tribute to the spirit of the men and women who explore the impossible accomplishment of space.

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2518132249/

I give this film **** stars.

Kick Ass 2

         Okay, there are some movies not meant to be liked by the critics.  ‘Kick Ass 2’ is one of them.  The original ‘Kick Ass’ was a cult hit that was based on a cult comic that explored the premise: out of all the millions of comic book fans, over several generations, isn’t it odd that no one has ever even tried to be a super-hero?  ‘Kick Ass’ follows the life of nerdy teenager Dave Lizewski (Aaron Taylor Johnson) as he tries to live out his super hero fantasy.  The film was a parody, as was the comic, and went for the laughs, but it was also an R- rated, ultra violent, painfully politically incorrect, and had a surprising amount of emotional depth for a film that portrayed itself as a joke.  The film did a modest amount, but exploded on the DVD/Blu-ray market to gain cult status.  Of course, in the movie business, success breeds sequels.

‘Kick Ass 2’ tries to recapture the magic, but falls short of the first one.  ‘Kick Ass’ success was due, in part, to it’s uniqueness, but how does one replicate uniqueness (borders on being an oxymoron).  That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy the film and I am no where near as disillusioned with it as the critics.  I felt this was a valid attempt and I had fun, even though it is a shadow of the previous one. 

We revisit Kick Ass after he has hung up his tights and is trying to survive his senior year in high school.  His mentor/side kick Hit Girl (the delightful Chloe Grace Moretz who hit a growth spurt since the last film) has given up her father’s dream for her to be a super hero and is attempting to integrate into something that she finds more frightening than mafia criminals; becoming a high school freshman.  Their roles reverse and Dave becomes Hit Girl’s mentor in the savage land of high school.  Both are bored with their high school life, but realize that they have to get on with their lives.  To make their decision more difficult, costumed vigilantes, all who were inspired by Kick Ass and Hit Girl, start appearing and taking to the streets.  The most notable of these is the intense Colonel Stars and Stripes, played by an almost unrecognizable Jim Carrey.  He is both comedic and sympathetic.  In fact, all of the heroes are ridiculous, but once their stories are revealed they are surprisingly moving.

The rise of of super heroes enrages Chris D’Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse [does everyone from the new generation have hyphenated names?]), whose gangster father Kick Ass killed in the last film.  He decides to assemble his own team of super villains in response to the super hero teams forming.  Once Kick Ass decides to return to being a super hero, Chris reveals himself as The Motherf****r’, the world’s first super villain.  He is bent on avenging his father and killing all superheroes, especially Kick Ass.

The purpose of this film is to lampoon comic clichés, but it doesn’t sacrifice intensity, violence, and heart as the laughs roll out.  They are edgy laughs that borders on uneasiness, but never fully crosses that line (I suppose much of that depends on your temperament).  This movie is designed for comic fanboys as much of the humor relies on a comic book reader’s understanding on what exactly is being lampooned, but much of the humor is universal and if you are a person who doesn’t really connect with the super hero universes, it humorously validates one’s perception of the whole thing as ridiculous.

Overall, it is a sequel that doesn’t quite live up to the first one, but few sequels do.  It is a good time for those who liked the first one.  Be prepared to have your parody mixed with all the R-rated humor and violence that comes with those types of movies.  Watching the trailers it has the appearance of a kid friendly movie, but it is far from it.  

WARNING: EXPLICIT TRAILER

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1509927193/

I give this film ** stars

Blue Jasmine

I have love/hate relationship with Woody Allen.  I think most of his films are over hyped and pretentious and I’m not terribly fond of him personally.  He also grinds out film after film, most of which I find forgettable.  However, sprinkled among his huge body of work, he does produce fantastic and even inspired works.  Films like ‘Vicky Christina Barcelona’ and ‘Midnight in Paris’ are truly great works of art and make up for self indulgent films like ‘To Rome with Love’.  His latest film, ‘Blue Jasmine’ is one of his great films and I’m going to predict that Cate Blanchett will receive an Oscar nomination for this powerful performance of a fallen New York socialite.  Her portrayal is both sad and comic, which is not an easy feat to do, but Cate Blanchett takes us through all her emotions one by one and sometimes simultaneously.  Woody is even able to pull out a credible performance from Andrew Dice Clay.  Anyone who has the ability to do that deserves respect.

The film opens with Jasmine, a once wealthy socialite, flying to San Francisco to ‘temporarily’ move in with her blue collar sister while she struggles to find a foothold after her husband (Alec Baldwin) was convicted of fraud and promptly killed himself.  The government seized all her assets and now, the Park Avenue socialite, finds herself with no money or friends.  Somehow still flying first class, Jasmine rambles on and on about her troubles to a nodding elderly woman.  Despite the tragedy, Jasmine clings to hope and reveals all her life details to anyone who will listen.  Even to herself if no one is around.  She desperately tries to cling to a lifestyle that doesn’t exist anymore.  Cate Blanchett strikes just the right balance between snobbish and sympathetic.  Ginger (Sally Hawkins), her working class sister takes Jasmine into her single mother apartment and you can feel Jasmine’s revulsion at how her sister lives despite saying the required mannered compliments of her ‘homey’ space.  Andrew Dice Clay and Bobby Cannavale play Ginger’s ex-husband Auggie and current boyfriend Chili respectively.  They are in perfect comic form as the antithesis of everything that Jasmine find appealing in men.  Crude, low class, and rough yet despite their good hearts you can sense Jasmine’s unease in their presence.

Of course, despite being medicated with Xanax and a myriad of other forms of socialite medication, Jasmine must determine a course for her life.  Despite her forced optimism, you can sense her life is unraveling.  Jasmine’s present state of mind is better understood as the film weaves in flashbacks from her previous life and the events that led up to where she finds herself now.  She lived in a cocoon of denial as she instinctively understood that her husband was crooked, but actively tried not to know, in order to preserve her idyllic life.  Her life was a house of cards, but one for which she was suited. You can feel her misery as she enters a work force for which she is ill suited for by temperament alone. 

Woody is able to find comedy in this tragedy, but never from a mocking point of view.  Just the contrary, you can feel the great sympathy evoked from this character, especially in scenes involving her estranged son.  Even the side story of Ginger’s infidelities shows that not all is perfect in her life either.  Woody shows that everyone has problems, but some are just able to deal with them better than others.  Andrew Dice Clay and Vinnie Cannavale play obnoxious louts Auggie and Chili perfectly, but at the same time you love them for it. Their very existence offends Jasmine.  The scene where Chili asks Jasmine if she would like to go out with his 5’4” mechanic buddy was one of the movie’s priceless comedic moments.   I don’t want to leave out Alec Baldwin’s small role either as Jasmine’s deceased husband.  Baldwin really doesn’t get the credit he deserves as an actor.  He plays the super rich hustler husband perfectly. His eternal and relentless drive causes him to fool even himself as the authorities close in on his crumbling empire. 

It’s hard to see the disintegration of someone’s life as a comedic movie and I would be doing a disservice to this film if I labeled it a comedy.  This is a portrait of a woman that is both comedic and tragic.  An examination of a modern riches to rags fable reminiscent of Bernie Maddoff’s ex-wife.  This is the best performance of Cate Blanchett’s already impressive body of work.  It’s still too early to say this, but I do hope she gets the Oscar for this role.

I give this film **** stars

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2545264921/

2 Guns

‘2 Guns’ is a slick, stylish, and fun buddy action flick.  I didn’t go in with high hopes as I thought the pairing of Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg seemed odd and forced, but one of the things I really liked about this film was their chemistry.  It is surprisingly good and they play off each other very well.  It is based off of Steven Grant’s graphic novel of the same name and is the story of two undercover agents from different agencies who don’t realize the other is undercover.  In the beginning, each think they are setting the other up while trying to take down a Mexican drug kingpin.  It’s a fun premise, but one that could have gone quickly south had it not been for the chemistry between the two lead actors.

I’m not going to say this was a fantastic storyline or a complex narrative.  Edward James Olmos plays the villainous drug lord Papi Greco stereotypically, Bill Paxton plays the evil CIA agent Earl generically (although I must admit his role was fun), and Paula Patton is the requisite eye candy thrown in for the gratuitous nudity.  Of course, for a buddy movie to work there has to be the witty banter.  In some movies it works and in others it doesn’t.  In this case, it really works.  Denzel is in top cool form as DEA agent Bobby Trench and Mark Wahlberg is just a little too old to be playing the young cocky Navel special agent Michael Stigman, but he gets away with it.  

I have to say, I went into this a little leery as the Black and White buddy comedy has been done to the point of cliché.  Lethal Weapon and 48 hrs set the bench mark and every lazy writer since has recycled it to the point of eye rolling.  Also, it just has a pulpish vibe to it and hyper violent films adapted from graphic novels rarely succeed.  I was happily proven wrong and right at the same time.  Every cliché in the book is in here, but the ‘2 Guns’ unapologetically makes it work through sheer force of on screen charisma and chemistry.  I don’t care if I found the plot twists implausible or the situations forced and stiff.  This is just a great pop corn shoot ‘em up with two actors in top comedic and action form.  I feel like I should write a longer review, but like I said; it’s a basic and formulaic film, so I’m not sure what else to say other than ‘Have fun’.

I give this film **1/2 stars

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1587915033/

The Wolverine

Has anyone ever owned (or reprised) a role more than Hugh Jackman with the character that put him on the map; The Wolverine?  This is the 6th time we have seen Jackman as this character in films and the 44 yr old actor has never looked better.  In the beginning X-men movies, Jackman was only occasionally shirtless, now it’s his natural state.   James Mangold takes on the Director’s chair with this take of a story loosely adapted from the iconic ‘Wolverine” mini-series of the 80’s by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller that is widely acknowledged as the definitive Wolverine story.  I very much respect trying different things with the same character.  Mangold attempts to take Wolverine away from the super hero genre and towards a more reflective and thoughtful direction.  However, Wolverine is a super hero and the film is actually at it’s worst when it goes down the path of super heroics.  This film is a dark and introspective take on our favorite X-man and I applaud the risk.

The film opens serenely and beautifully on a quiet sunny day in 1940‘s Japan.  As the camera slowly pans out, we realize that a prison camp is nestled in this idyllic scene and off in the distance 2 large planes  tranquilly approach.  It slowly dawns on us that they are B-29s and the camp is in the city of Nagasaki.  Wolverine, aka, Logan is a POW (of course shirtless) and a young Japanese guard named Yashida attempts to free the prisoners as he realizes the impending doom.  It turns out Logan rescues the guard and creates an eternally grateful and awestruck Japanese soldier.

Flash forward to the present, we find Logan wandering homeless in the Canadian wilderness, essentially a hermit haunted by the ghost of Jean Grey, the woman he loved and was forced to kill in the last film.  Jean’s beautiful etherial presence is an odd choice and I’m not sure it worked effectively, but it didn’t detract from the film.  After starting a bar fight, Logan is confronted by a young japanese martial artist name Yukio who tells Logan that her master Yashida is dying and wishes to thank Logan for saving his life all those years ago.  Wolverine agrees and is wisked off to Japan.

As it turns out, Yashida has since become a billionaire as head of the largest company in Asia. Yashida’s true wish is not to thank him rather to transfer Logan’s ‘curse’ of immortality to himself.  Helping Yashida is a beautiful (if vacant) doctor.  Svetlana Khodchenkova plays the physician and also lethal mutant named Viper like a runway model. In this case, I felt this insertion of a super villainess character (who is nothing like the comic book version) was gratuitous.   The rest of the film becomes a story of international intrigue as Logan becomes immersed in a family struggle of Shakespearean proportions.  Yashida is willing his company to his grand daughter, the lovely Mariko (Tao Okamoto).  This transfer of power upsets everyone and makes her a target of everyone from family to the Japanese Yakusa mobs.  Wolverine being Wolverine takes on the role as her protector.

The Director Mangold seeks to further distance himself from the superhero realm by having Wolverine’s healing power taken away, making him vulnerable.  Wolverine must deal with pain and limping after a fight like anyone else.  Mangold has an obvious love for showing us different aspects of Japanese life and many of his scenes and filming techniques are reminiscent of Japanese film makers like Akira Kurosawa, but ‘hey’ Chris Claremont did the same thing in his comic book series, so why not?  Like I said, it doesn’t really fit the super hero mold, but that made it all the more intriguing. There is obvious connection between Logan and Mariko, but it is never developed to the level it was in the comic book series.

Of course, there does have to be super hero moments and with the exception of an incredible fight on top of a speeding 300 mph bullet train, the scenes are generic and not worthy of what the film was trying to accomplish.  Overall, I enjoyed the film immensely, my only critique is that they could have done much better.  If you are going to commit to taking the character and tone in a different direction, commit all the way.  Lest you walk away thinking you missed out on your fix of super hero coolness, as always, make sure you stick around until after the credits.  We are assured this is far from the last time we will see The Wolverine.

I give this film *** stars

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1660725529/

Pacific Rim

        I have to confess, I completely enjoyed this film.  And just because I enjoyed it doesn’t mean it was good or had any redeeming value.  This is the definition of a guilty pleasure.  This is what ‘The Transformers’ should have been.  If I were a 14 yr old adolescent, I would be seeing this movie over and over again.  It’s giant monsters versus giant robots in epic city leveling confrontations.  What is not to love?  It brought me back to my Saturday morning ‘creature features’ movies with classics such as Godzilla vs Megalon, only with incredible special effects and actual production value.  It is adolescent nerd Nirvana.

A brief synopsis; in the near future, Earth is being invade through an inter-dimensional rift at the bottom of the ocean.  From out of these vortexes comes giant building size monsters called ‘Kaijus’ bent on destroying the nearest coastal cities it can find.  In response, humans build equally massive robots called ‘Jaegers’ (German for ‘Hunters’) that are so large it takes two pilots to operate who are linked through a telepathic bridge called ‘drifting’.  At first, this seems to be working and the pilots of these robots are treated like rock stars throughout the world.  Then it becomes apparent that the monsters are coming forth from the abyss more frequently and each more powerful than the last.  The human robots are being defeated faster than they can be built.  Humanity begins to become aware that they are facing extinction. C’mon, my inner kid is going nuts over this.

The special effects are what really makes this film work.  Throughout the entire film, I found myself whispering; “cool”, no matter how lame the dialogue or how improbable the plot line.  The pilots of all the robots are video game square jaw generic and the down and out protagonist’s story is almost cliché.  That doesn’t mean there aren’t some real actors in this film giving respectable performances.  Idris Elba (this guy can do no wrong in my book) plays the resistance commander Stacker Pentecost (love the name btw). Many people don’t realize that Idris is British because he usually uses an American accent in movies, so it almost seems fake when he uses his actual accent.  He reeks the manly gravitas and authority necessary for a global commander.  Charlie Day (of ‘It’s Always Sunny’ fame) and Burn Gorman play the comic relief as the scientists racing to find a way to stop the onslaught of monsters into our world.  Each providing welcome lightness in an, at times, overly dark film.

Director Guillermo Del Toro is someone I have followed since his days as an indie film maker.  He always has a unique, and slightly macabre, vision that is often under appreciated due to his low budgets.  His ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ was a masterpiece that went widely unnoticed due to it’s creepiness, but sticks in my mind as an incredibly powerful and unique artistic vision . ‘Pacific Rim’ is a big budget film that fits Guillermo’s strengths.  It allows him to utilize his love of monstrous and exotic creatures even if it does not allow him to fully display his skill as a story teller.

If you are able to put aside your disbelief, this movie can be a fun ride.  Anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of engineering or physics knows that it’s impossible to have robots or creatures this big as they would collapse under their own weight.  Who cares?  Take whatever kids you have in your life, grab a big bucket of popcorn and a ‘Big Gulp’ soda, go to your nearest multiplex theater, and have fun watching a matinee movie.  Prepare to say ‘awesome’ as often as the kids as you watch this (even if you have to roll your eyes at it’s cheesiness just to keep up appearances).

I give this film **1/2 stars

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi513124633/

The Lone Ranger

I so wanted ‘The Lone Ranger’ to be good.  I was skeptical when I saw the trailers, but the movie disappointed even more than I expected.  I want to know which movie execs watched this and said: ‘Yea! that’s what we want to release’.  This is a painful 2 1/2 robbery of time out of my life.  This is an overblown film that couldn’t decide whether it wanted to be a comedy or action film.  I don’t blame the actors as there is a lot of talent in this film and given the right direction, there could have been a lot of great performances.  This movie was painful from start to finish.  It was a gamble to begin with as there are few people under the age of 45 who were clamoring to have this movie made.  They could have done something great and re-introduced an American legend to a new generation.  The opportunity was squandered

Let me start off speaking politically, which is something I rarely do.  For people who know me, I am extremely liberal on some things and conservative on others.  I must confess that I am getting fatigued by Hollywood’s insistence at portraying all W.A.S.Ps as evil, bumbling, misguided idiots and every other ethnic group as suffering, noble, and oppressed.  I find this very racist as it portrays a homogenous and non diverse view of all people.  Good and evil can be found in all shape, sizes, and colors (and sexual preferences). To deny this shows a lack of character on the writer’s (and Director’s) part and denial based on racial and political perceptions.  This movie has several scenes mocking Protestant spirituality while glorifying Indian and Chinese spirituality.  Whether you believe or not, all are worthy of one’s respect.  To continually wallow in self criticism and mockery is an exercise in guilt and self hatred. The political portion of the review is over.

The team that brought us ‘The Pirates of the Caribbean’ tried to recreate the same magic with this horrible film.  It is a revisionist, apologetic re-telling of the famous radio show of the 30’s that later became a beloved iconic show of the 50’s.  The Lone Ranger actually pre-dates Superman going as far back as 1933.  One could argue that he was the first superhero.  He was always portrayed as strong, confident, and despite what Hollywood thinks, egalitarian.  This version portrays the Lone Ranger (Armie Hammer) as a bumbling, ‘fish out of water’, eastern dandy, whom Tonto (Johnny Depp doing his ‘Captain Jack Sparrow playing Tonto’) must constantly put up with.  I loved the new Tonto look and Depp does a fantastic Jay Silverheels (the original Tonto) impression.  The problem is that the director went too much for the comedic and did not focus on the friendship.  

The story is basically the same as previous incarnations; a group of 7 Rangers set out after the evil Butch Cavendish gang.  They are ambushed and only John Reid survives.  He makes a mask from his slain brother’s vest and sets out for justice with the aid of Tonto, his spiritual guide.  William Fitchner is almost unrecognizable as the Butch Cavendish.  You may not know William Fitchner’s name, but you know the face.  He is probably one of the best and most consistent utility actors out there.  He shows some great acting skills in this and was one of the few highlights of the film for me.  

I was hoping to see some sort of transformation of John Reid into the legendary Lone Ranger, but they couldn’t let go of the bumbling fool with teeth-way-too-white for the time period angle.  The Lone Ranger was played as the consummate buffoon trying to be Dudley-Do-Right. The Director was more concerned about making political anti-gun statements than trying to capture the essence of the legendary lawman. Jokes were cracked often and frequently inappropriately (one traumatic mass slaughter scene had some sardonic quips between Tonto and the Lone Ranger that were offensive given what just occurred).  Most of the bad guys were generic evil and the pyrotechnics seemed out of place given the time period.

Helena Bohnam Carter was just weird as the local Madame Red Harrington.  It seemed like no one told her that she wasn’t in one of her husband Tim Burton’s films.  The whorehouse scene seemed like a cross between every Tim Burton film and Moulin Rouge.  The joke of The Lone Ranger and Tonto playing health inspectors fell flat (did they even have those back then?).  Tom Wilkinson (another of my favorite utility actors) was wasted as the evil railroad Baron.  Ruth Wilson played the long lost love Rebecca Reid uninspirationally.  

There are a myriad of issues I have with his film.  Only a few of which I have listed.  I suppose my biggest issue was just the total and utter lack of chemistry between The Lone Ranger and Tonto.  It was a legendary friendship and bond that inspired almost every other big screen and pulp fiction camaraderie that followed from Batman and Robin to Captain Kirk and Mr Spock.

If you are in the mood for another Hollywood revisionist mockery of iconic American stories, then go for it.  Judging from the box office take this weekend, it looks like I’m not the only one who is growing tired of it.  This is a film that had all the parts to be great and it was squandered in the attempt to create a big box office repeat of Pirates of the Caribbean.  I mourn the 2 1/2 hours I have lost from my life.

I give this zero stars

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3207308313/