The last of this summer’s superhero movies is its best. I know I was unreserved in my praise for Thor, but Captain America noses it out to be the best superhero movie in a summer of very good superhero movies. (Even the low man on the list Green Lantern isn’t outright terrible.) Captain America is a snappy as Iron Man but with an added dash of war movie and Indiana Jones adventure. It is a fun and exhilarating ride with even a hint of tragedy.
Continue reading
The most delightful and entertaining movie of the summer, so far, is Winnie the Pooh. It has, of course, been mostly overlooked. In part because it opened against the juggernaut that is the final Harry Potter film. The target demographics don’t quite overlap as they might have 7 Harry Potter’s ago, but then again; what demographic does Harry Potter not cover. Another reason for Winnie the Pooh’s lack of attention is sadly that it is a traditional, 2-D animated film, a creature that has not quite been driven to extinction in US cinemas but is certainly in the endangered species list. The decreasing frequency and increasing irrelevance of animated movies saddens me, and occasionally causes me to champion movies that aren’t actually very good just because I want more traditionally animated films (Hello, The Princess and the Frog). This is not the case with Winnie the Pooh. The characters that have charmed people for 80 or so years are captured here as well as they ever have been on film. Winnie the Pooh is a perfect children’s movie, and like the best children’s movies is not just for kids, but is enjoyable by all. Continue reading
I sit here typing this review in stunned amazement. At 25 years old, I would say my tastes are pretty well developed at this point. Sure, I’m up for trying something new, but I know what I like and I know how to where to get it. Which is why I am so amazed to find something like Flash Gordon. I stumbled unawares upon Flash Gordon, no foreknowledge, no familiarity at all. That should not be possible. I am a greedy devourer of 70’s and 80’s science fiction and fantasy movies. I love old comics. I love cheesy, goofy, campy films from any era. If you know of a movie with a cult following, I am likely a member of that cult. Flash Gordon is not only all of those things; it is the epitome of them. Somehow, I had no awareness its existence despite it practically being the nexus around which my tastes revolve. I love science fiction and fantasy movies from the 70’s and 80’s. No matter how much work was put into making it look real, they all look cheesy. No matter how they are dressed up, all of these old fantasies (which even the science fiction movies are) still look like childish imaginings. Flash Gordon, though, never attempts to seem real, it fully embraces the unreality of its world and is all the better for it. A haphazard mix of fantasy and science fiction, an origin in the pulps and comic strips, a gleeful disregard for anything even resembling sanity, Flash Gordon has nearly everything I could want in a movie. Continue reading
Super 8 was certainly a pleasant surprise. Going in I had no expectations; before the release I’d barely heard of it. I had heard the name J.J. Abrams and before this I was wholly indifferent to his work. I liked Star Trek but not Cloverfield and I absolutely hated Lost. Then I read reviews of Super 8 that compared it favorable to Spielberg’s output from the 70’s and 80’s and I knew I had to go see it. Jaws, E.T, The Goonies(which I know doesn’t quite count, but close enough), those were the movies I grew up with, wearing out the VHS tapes with repeated viewings; if Super 8 could manage to evoke similar feelings then it was a must see. Super 8 did not disappoint. Though it is comparable to those movies it is more than a nostalgic throwback, it takes the themes and style from movies like E.T and Jaws, but is definitely its own story. For better or worse, Super 8 is a modern take on the themes from those classics, and while not perfect, it is eminently entertaining. Super 8 is likely the best movie of the summer. Continue reading
Much like the previous X-Men movies, X-Men: First Class seizes an overlarge portion of the X-Men mythos and struggles valiantly to weave it into a coherent story. This is no easy task; much of the X-Men’s history is poorly conceived, discordant and just plain contradictory. First Class, though, manages better than the previous entries did to create a coherent film. Still, it tries to do much more than it has the time or the material to. Continue reading
I loved Thor. This should be no surprise; I have been a fan of Marvel’s God of Thunder for years. I love the old Stan and Jack stories, I love Walt Simonson’s near perfect run, I just love Thor. More than any movie save Scott Pilgrim, Thor feels like it was made just for me. My already positive inclination to Thor aside, Thor is the right up there with Iron Man as one of the best movies based on Marvel’s superheroes in recent years.
Marvel’s Thor, based somewhat loosely on the Norse myths, is the arrogant son of Odin, the king of a race of what are basically space-Gods. Cast down to Earth for his arrogance and disobedience, Thor must prove his worth to return to Asgard while dealing with the scheming of his cunning and jealous bother Loki. He is aided on Asgard by his friends the Warriors 3 and the Lady Sif and on Earth by Physicists Jane Foster and Eric Selvig as well as their taser-happy assistant Darcy.
The movie hinges on the trio of Thor, Loki and Odin. Luckily, all three actors, Anthony Hopkins, Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston, give fine performances. Hopkins fills Odin with the requisite grandeur and Hemsworth has an impressive physical presence and perfect comic timing as Thor, but Hiddleston’s Loki really nails the character. All smiles and false innocence, he is perfectly sneaky, pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes. His plots weave around themselves like Gordian knots. The Earth side of the cast is only slightly less good.
The biggest hurdle Thor clears is its balancing the appeal of the two worlds. While the film tips slightly in favor of the otherworldly Asgard neither drags. Asgard is nearly perfect. It looks like a Renaissance Fair in space, with glittering towers as a rainbow bridge made of glass. It truly looks like the realm of Gods.
The Earth based portions nicely balance the occasionally grandiose cheesiness of Asgard with a scoop of humor and a dash of romance. Even the SHEILD portions, which were intrusive in Iron Man 2, fit mostly seamlessly here.
There are some flaws. Thor’s period of punishment and growth on Earth are quite short. His romance of Jane Foster is similarly rushed. Both are somewhat underdeveloped. In addition, the final showdown, while anything but anticlimactic, is a bit brief. Those flaws are small, niggling things, and while easily ignored do keep the movie from being as good as it could have been. Especially since Thor is not particularly long. An extra scene or two would have made the difference.
Thor does so many things right, though. It never winks about the ridiculousness of its premise, but injects enough humor that it doesn’t become pompous. The sound effects are particularly great as well. Thor’s hammer makes a delicious metallic “thuwummn” when it makes contact. His punches are accompanied by the crack of a gunshot. It is great.
Thor is largely a success. It perfectly captures what makes Thor so great while sanding off the incongruous parts. (Like the Donald Blake identity.) If one can accept the premise of a Space-God come to Earth to learn humility and smash things with his hammer, then Thor is as entertaining a popcorn movie as one is likely to encounter.
If you have read the reviews of Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch you have no doubt heard that it is insultingly bad, a complete failure of filmmaking. While the glee some reviewers seem to be taking in eviscerating the movie is disgusting, there is some truth to them. Sucker Punch is largely a failure. But many of the reviews seem to miss the point entirely. Roger Moore‘s, of the Orlando Sentinel, review called it “an unerotic unthrilling erotic thriller.” While I am sure he pleased with his wittiness, the quote exposes just how much he missed the point. Sucker Punch is something of a thriller, it sits in between that and about five other genres, one thing it is definitely not, nor is it intended to be, is erotic. Though someone judging the movie based on its trailers could be forgiven for thinking so. Sucker Punch appears to be cotton candy; light and sweet and wholly insubstantial, but it is not. It is cotton candy wrapped around a corn dog; there is substance there even if you maybe wish there were not.
Sucker Punch tells the story of “Babydoll”, a young girl whose evil stepfather has her committed to an insane asylum and scheduled for a lobotomy in order to get his hands on her inheritance. With the help of some fellow inmates, Babydoll masterminds an escape attempt. Instead of this simply occurring in the asylum, the movie takes place in two levels of imagination. The first, which is seen through the bulk of the movie, is the asylum as a bordello. The corrupt orderly becomes a ruthless pimp and the doctor trying to help the girls becomes the Madame. When the women attempt to retrieve one of the items needed for their escape the world becomes a fantastic battlefield, where the characters become soldiers.
Problems arise with the exact relationship among the three levels of reality. Sometimes it works great, like the lighter (with a dragon on it) needed becoming a fire-breathing dragon. Sometimes the parallel is not clear. In the bordello, Babydoll entrances everybody with an implied striptease, but what is she doing to draw attention in the asylum? The concept is interesting, but the execution is less confusing than confused itself.
The missions, each set to a different song that it just too meaningful, are the films highlights. Whatever problems Snyder may have with storytelling, he knows how to film an action scene, slow motion notwithstanding. The mission’s settings are not believable because the settings are intentionally and inherently unbelievable. They take place in fantastic, but coherent worlds. These are the cotton candy. The young stars, Emily Browning, Abby Cornish and Jena Malone, do a great job in the action scenes. The enemies they face are delightfully unbelievable. 20 foot-tall samurais and clockwork zombie German soldiers. They are beaten by barely more than teen girls, but these scenes are expressly fantasies, they are deliberately unreal. Though the movie may falter in other places, the actions scenes are great.
The bordello/asylum parts are less good. It seems like parts of it were not completely thought out. Dr. Gorski’s position is particularly problematic. If she is a doctor, shouldn’t she have a better idea of what is happening with her patients, especially is she is supposed to care. It does play with the viewers expectations. Positioned as a “geeky” movie, shown at comic conventions and whatnot, Sucker Punch is not what they expected. While the characters are dressed in somewhat skimpy outfits, and I’m being generous to call them somewhat so (I mean really look at how much skin is showing), Snyder makes sure never to titillate. While the setting and outfits may suggest sexiness, the movie is deliberately unsexy. It is the same with Babydoll’s dances. We know they are sexy due to everyone else’s reactions, but we never see her dance. Babydoll and friends are put into the most powerless position possible, then take control of it. We are supposed to know they are exploited, but not given a chance to revel in the exploitation.
The problem is not with these scenes empowering intentions, but with the clumsiness of their execution. Snyder knows neither subtly nor irony, (I once heard that somebody tried to explain subtly to Snyder, but Snyder punched him the face until he exploded. I assume that is why no one has had the courage to try with irony.) which is often a strength (the action scenes) but here it is a weakness. The setting of the asylum and the bordello is poorly explained and poorly resolved. Sucker Punch wants to be deep and meaningful, but its message is not particularly deep and its meaning is not clear.
Sucker Punch is admirable in its failure. It could have just been the action scenes, and possibly been a better movie for it, but Snyder tried to do more. It does spectacle, and does it well, but the depth it strives for just is not there. It is that corn dog in the middle of your cotton candy; it may be more filling, but it clashes with the sugary sweetness of outside and is not particularly good on its own. Still, you have to admire the audacity of trying to put a corn dog in the middle of some cotton candy.
**
The Adjustment Bureau is not quite a great movie. It poses some interesting questions, but spends more time ignoring them than exploring them. It takes an intriguing sci-fi concept, much like those found in The Matrix and Inception, but does not make that the true focus of the film. Inception is an unfortunately apt comparison, because it also uses a science fiction concept to tell another type of story. In Inception it was a heist movie, in The Adjustment Bureau it is a romance. The comparison to Inception is unfortunate because it ties the two genres together better than the Adjustment Bureau does.
Matt Damon plays David Norris, a congressman and prospective Senator whose recent flub, mooning people at his college reunion, has seemingly cost him the election. While preparing a concession speech, he meets Elise (Emily Blunt) whose more relaxed attitude rubs off on David and his speech. The relaxed speech makes him the front-runner for the next election. At the same time, mysterious chapeau’d men cryptically talk about all their hard work. A mistake made by one of the men soon after allows Damon’s character to discover about the Adjustors, a Guardian Angel like group who influence people into doing what their plans deem best.
These Adjustors show both the films strengths and it flaws. While there may be sinister undertones, the Adjustors are simply unassuming bureaucrats. The movie poses a question about free will, but it keeps everything so low key that it never really capitalizes on the issue. The philosophical issues are largely ignored. It leaves the film entertaining but ultimately forgettable. Whether or not people have free will is not really questioned, merely how free it is. The Adjustors claim to have no sinister motive and this is accepted. David does not seem to be troubled by their control, except in one regard. David loves Elise, but the plan says they are not to be together. His struggle to have a relationship with her is the conflict of the movie. Fortunately, the romance is entirely believable. It seems right to the viewer that they be together. Everything David does, as this is much more his story than hers, makes sense. Other than believe what he is told by shadowy controllers.
The different elements of the movie, the sci-fi and the romance, each work well, but they do not tie together very effectively. It is frustrating that the grander implications are ignored, but the movie is still entertaining. The Adjustment Bureau is a small movie. Well-made and thoughtful, but almost too restrained. There is, though, a certain amount of charm in The Adjustment Bureau’s restraint.
3 1/2 Stars
As big a fan as I am of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, it should come as no surprise that I was eagerly looking forward to Paul. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost together again was all I needed to hear. I was aware director Edgar Wright was not a part of the movie, but that was only a slight deterrent. After watching Paul I think I have a better idea of how important he is to this team’s success. With Edgar Wright, they made two outstanding movies, without him, they made a fairly good movie. Paul is not bad, but it does not come anywhere near the quality of Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz.
Comparing Paul to Pegg and Frost’s previous movies is both easy and apt. As with those, Paul is a parody that also works as a fine example of the movie type being parodied. Shaun of the Dead works as both a comedy and a zombie movie; the same is true for Hot Fuzz, albeit with buddy cop action movies. Paul is both a humorous send up of Sci-Fi movies, especially the works of Spielberg, as well as a good Sci-Fi movie in its own right. Somehow, the movie does not come together as well as the other two.
The biggest failing is on the comedy side. For a comedy, Paul is surprisingly short on laughs. The alien story works well. Paul, voiced by Seth Rogan, is a foul-mouthed E.T. Graeme and Clive (Pegg and Frost), two British science fiction nerds, are just the sort who would help him try to escape from his captors. Their attempts to evade capture work. But the jokes often fall flat. They try to do pot jokes, but they do not work. They try gratuitous cursing and I expected better. The only jokes that really work are the references to other sci-fi movies. They are incredibly frequent, but still weaved into the movie mostly seamlessly. Paul requests Reece’s Pieces during a gas stop and it took me a few moments to realize it was an E.T. reference. If you have never seen E.T., it won’t seem out of place, just the alien asking for candy. (Though if you haven’t seen E.T I suggest you remedy that.) These references are more likely to get a small chuckle than a big laugh, but they go a long way in keeping this movie amusing. While it never rises to any real hilarity, Paul is genially humorous throughout.
One thing the movie does well is its treatment of the nerds and of the old sci-fi movies. While the main characters are frequently referred to as nerds and do exhibit some the standard nerd behavior, they are much more likeable characters than the usual movie nerds are. They treat the characters’ nerdiness not as something to be embarrassed by but as a simple description. The sci-fi references, as mentioned earlier, are also respectful. Often parodies treat the works they are mocking with sheer contempt. Paul’s treatment of old sci-fi movies, though, borders on reverent. The jokes are never at their expense. Paul is not about mocking old sci-fi, it is about celebrating it. That is where the movie really shines.
Paul is not a masterpiece. It is not a classic. It is simply a mostly enjoyable comedy. Coming from whom it does, this is something of a let down. It is a comedy that is not particularly funny, but it is intelligent and well made enough that it remains generally enjoyable throughout. Your enjoyment may be dependant on how well you know 1970’s and 80’s science fiction movies, but those who have fond memories of Star Wars, E.T. and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, among others, will be amused throughout. Paul is a worthy addition to the Pegg and Frost oeuvre, if a lesser one.
Even though it is only just now spring, the big summer blockbusters are starting to came back to theaters. In order to help stop disasters like last years Scott Pilgrim fiasco, I am going to tell you what to watch this summer. Seriously, to everyone who did not go see Scott Pilgrim last year: shame on you. This is why we can’t have nice things. By going through the coming soon section on IMDB I have pulled out about 20 movies coming this summer, some to recommend, some to ridicule and some to merely comment on.
Yeah, my interests this summer lie mostly in the blockbuster and children’s fields, but there are an abnormally large amount of movies I’m looking forward to this year. If there is anything coming I’ve missed, please point it out to me. I don’t see myself having a free trip to the theater to see something picked at random this year, though that is how I saw RED and The Losers last year and they were some of my favorites. It should be a great summer for movies.
Skociomatic 