We may be the best audience for Steven Spielberg's The Adventures of Tin-Tin (2011). We are fans of Herge's comic strips, so we came in with some background, but we're not fanatics, so we don't get upset when the movie takes liberties.
Herge's comic strip is about Tin-Tin, a plucky boy reporter and his dog, Snowy. He gets into wild adventures with his friend Captain Haddock, and the help or hindrance of two Scotland Yard types, named Thompson and Thompson. It is all drawn in bright colors with black outlines, a style called ligne clare. The movie gets the adventure just right, but chooses a different graphic style.
The movie is made in fully rendered 3D computer graphics, almost photorealistic, with motion capture that gives the scenes a strong live action feel. It almost seems like a live action version at times, and since modern live action can include a lot of CGI anyway, well, maybe this animation is meeting live action half way. The faces of the characters are clearly based on the comics, but much more realistic - except most of them have large cartoon noses, a bit disconcerting.
I am tempted to say that this work falls into the "uncanny valley", where a representation is too real to be artistic, but not real enough to fool you. But I didn't really get that. I just forgot about how Tin-Tin is "supposed" to look and rolled with the adventure.
And what a great adventure: A model ship, a hidden treasure map, a reclusive aristocrat, kidnapping, pickpockets, pirates, travels all over the global. Tin-Tin meets Capt. Haddock - a wild drunken sea captain played by Andy Serkis (voice and motion capture artist extraordinaire). Tin-Tin is played by Jamie Bell, little Billy Elliot himself. The bad guy, Sakharine, is Daniel Craig, and Thompson and Thompson are Nick Frost and Simon Pegg - great casting.
There are a couple of great set pieces: The pirate battle shows the Pirates of the Caribbean how it is done. There is a great chase through a Mediterranean village, and there is a seaplane scene that really reminded me of Porco Rosso - a Studio Ghibli film with a Herge-inspired look.
But I'm going to say that the star of the show is little Snowy, who always knows what is going on, even if nobody pays him any mind. Good dog!
In conclusion, Capt. Haddock says many colorful things, but never "Bashi-Bazouks!" This calls for a sequel.
Showing posts with label Video21. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Video21. Show all posts
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Mars, Bitches!
One good thing to the financial flop of John Carter is that it came to the DVD store fast.
I've been psyched about this film since I first saw the pencil tests for a Thark a couple of years ago (or did I imagine that?). I was disconcerted when I heard they had removed "of Mars" from the title. But once the negative reviews started coming out, I had no more fear. I felt sure that the naysayers were all idiots.
And I was right. John Carter is a lot of fun. It starts with a frame story: A young man in the late 19th century inherits the estate of his eccentric wealthy uncle John Carter. He finds Carter's diary and we go into a flashback, the main story - Carter (Taylor Kitsch) in the American Southwest during the Civil War. He finds a mysterious cave full of gold, and a strange icon, and is transported to Mars.
Carter discovers that his Earth gravity muscles let him jump 40-ft high, in a hilariously realistic, spastic way. As the film goes on, he discovers that races and politics of the red planet: the 4-armed green Tharks, riding banthas, a speedy little frogdog, flying machines, cities and a princess of Mars (Lynn Collins).
The story is well told, the action is great, the art direction beautiful. Taylor Kitsch did a great job in the title role. I'm hoping to see more of him, which hasn't been my experience with all of the young muscle guys I've seen.
When the "flashback" ends, we're brought back to the young man reading the diary (Daryl Sabara). I won't spoil his name, but his initials are E.R.B.
The ending is a great setup for a sequel, which I assume will never happen. And that's the bad thing about the financial flop of John Carter.
I've been psyched about this film since I first saw the pencil tests for a Thark a couple of years ago (or did I imagine that?). I was disconcerted when I heard they had removed "of Mars" from the title. But once the negative reviews started coming out, I had no more fear. I felt sure that the naysayers were all idiots.
And I was right. John Carter is a lot of fun. It starts with a frame story: A young man in the late 19th century inherits the estate of his eccentric wealthy uncle John Carter. He finds Carter's diary and we go into a flashback, the main story - Carter (Taylor Kitsch) in the American Southwest during the Civil War. He finds a mysterious cave full of gold, and a strange icon, and is transported to Mars.
Carter discovers that his Earth gravity muscles let him jump 40-ft high, in a hilariously realistic, spastic way. As the film goes on, he discovers that races and politics of the red planet: the 4-armed green Tharks, riding banthas, a speedy little frogdog, flying machines, cities and a princess of Mars (Lynn Collins).
The story is well told, the action is great, the art direction beautiful. Taylor Kitsch did a great job in the title role. I'm hoping to see more of him, which hasn't been my experience with all of the young muscle guys I've seen.
When the "flashback" ends, we're brought back to the young man reading the diary (Daryl Sabara). I won't spoil his name, but his initials are E.R.B.
The ending is a great setup for a sequel, which I assume will never happen. And that's the bad thing about the financial flop of John Carter.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Two by Woo
We were in the mood for something mindless, yet solid. Mission: Impossible II seemed to fit. We were very skeptical of the whole M:I movie franchise. First: Tom Cruise. Second: beloved TV series re-imagined - see The Avengers or The Saint. But we now understand that the series will give different directors a chance to try out their skills on the series with an blank slate and a decent budget. Also, Mr. Schprock told us that we would like M:I II, directed by John Woo.
And we did. The villain is a little improbable - Dougray Scott plays a rogue Mission Impossible agent impersonating Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise's character), who steals a bio-agent MacGuffin in one of those typical mid-air robberies (homage to Charlie's Angels 2?). Cruise in the meantime is doing some ridiculously cool free-climbing in Moab or somewhere (homage to Eiger Sanction?). He has to get the MacGuffin by buddying up with international jewel-thief Thandie Newton, Scott's ex-honey.
Lots of globe trotting adventure, with classic M:I rubber facemasks and Cruise hanging from the ceiling. Woo puts his own stamp on this, and not just with his slow motion doves (he loves slow-mo shots of doves flying through his action scenes). Now we're looking forward to the next 2 episodes, to see what J.J. Abrams and Brad Bird do with the franchise.
I was feeling so much regard for John Woo, I decided I'd take a chance on his American debut, Hard Target, mainly because I had listened to the Filmsack (they loved it). Bad guys Lance Henriksen and Arnold Vosloo are running a Deadliest Game human hunt in New Orleans, and the victim is Yancy Butler's dad. When she comes to town to find out what happened, she hires rebel roughneck Jean-Claude van Damme as her guide and protector.
Now, I have nothing against van Damme, especially after seeing him in JCVD. But he isn't much of an actor, and he really doesn't sound very cajun. In fact, Wilford Brimley, playing his uncle, sounds more convincing. All in all, this looks like your basic grindhouse/direct to video actioner. BUT! Van Damme, Henriksen, Vosloo, even Wilford Brimley (looking younger than you might expect), with the final shoot-out at a warehouse of defunct Mardi Gras floats, all directed by John Woo.
The Filmsackers made a lot about how groundbreaking this movie was when it came out, introducing Hong Kong style slow-mo action to America. I don't know enough about the genre to comment (although these kids seem to think that synced sound was invented in the late 90s). This is the first film I've seen with Lance Henriksen and Arnold Vosloo, although I recognize their names from all the B-Movie podcasts I listen to. So I guess this is my initiation. Thanks, Mr. Woo.
And we did. The villain is a little improbable - Dougray Scott plays a rogue Mission Impossible agent impersonating Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise's character), who steals a bio-agent MacGuffin in one of those typical mid-air robberies (homage to Charlie's Angels 2?). Cruise in the meantime is doing some ridiculously cool free-climbing in Moab or somewhere (homage to Eiger Sanction?). He has to get the MacGuffin by buddying up with international jewel-thief Thandie Newton, Scott's ex-honey.
Lots of globe trotting adventure, with classic M:I rubber facemasks and Cruise hanging from the ceiling. Woo puts his own stamp on this, and not just with his slow motion doves (he loves slow-mo shots of doves flying through his action scenes). Now we're looking forward to the next 2 episodes, to see what J.J. Abrams and Brad Bird do with the franchise.
I was feeling so much regard for John Woo, I decided I'd take a chance on his American debut, Hard Target, mainly because I had listened to the Filmsack (they loved it). Bad guys Lance Henriksen and Arnold Vosloo are running a Deadliest Game human hunt in New Orleans, and the victim is Yancy Butler's dad. When she comes to town to find out what happened, she hires rebel roughneck Jean-Claude van Damme as her guide and protector.
Now, I have nothing against van Damme, especially after seeing him in JCVD. But he isn't much of an actor, and he really doesn't sound very cajun. In fact, Wilford Brimley, playing his uncle, sounds more convincing. All in all, this looks like your basic grindhouse/direct to video actioner. BUT! Van Damme, Henriksen, Vosloo, even Wilford Brimley (looking younger than you might expect), with the final shoot-out at a warehouse of defunct Mardi Gras floats, all directed by John Woo.
The Filmsackers made a lot about how groundbreaking this movie was when it came out, introducing Hong Kong style slow-mo action to America. I don't know enough about the genre to comment (although these kids seem to think that synced sound was invented in the late 90s). This is the first film I've seen with Lance Henriksen and Arnold Vosloo, although I recognize their names from all the B-Movie podcasts I listen to. So I guess this is my initiation. Thanks, Mr. Woo.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Tactical Advantage
Once again, we wind up at the video store, scanning the new releases and not recognizing most of it. Well, I recognize Super 8 - that's supposed to be good. How about Hugo? But wait! Here's a Steve Austin 2011 direct-to-DVD action pic, Tactical Force! Didn't a Movie Morlock like that? It's got Michael Jai White on board? Sold!
The setup is a four-person SWAT team dealing with a hostage situation in a grocery. SWAT team: Austin, White, Steven Bacic and little Lexa Doig. This is a good little action set-piece, with takedowns including frozen steaks and BB guns.
As usual, the captain doesn't approve of the team's unorthodox methods, and sentences them to a training exercise with dummy ammo in a secluded warehouse. By coincidence, two Russian mobsters, Michael Shanks and leather clad female enforcer Candace Elaine have dragged weaselly Michael Eklund to the same location. Eklund, a ratfink with an inexplicable Cantinflas moustache, has hidden the MacGuffin in the warehouse and the mob wants it back.
In fact, the other mob wants it back, too - a gang of (2) Italians show up, one of whom, Adrian Holmes, is black (what, a black man can't come from Rome?). Eventually another couple of enforcers are called in, but the small ensemble suits the "tactical" aspect of the movie, as well as keeping the budget down.
So, four cops without working weapons vs. two opposing small groups of bad guys. One MacGuffin (which they studiously never explain). Several skirmishes and some silly dialog. It's fun and much better made than it deserves to be. My only complaint, not enough fights. They have Steve Austin and Michael Jai White and only really use them once or twice.
Were you expecting a disappointment? We were - maybe that's why we were pleasantly surprised. If this had been promoted like The Expendables, our reaction might have been different. As it was, we had a blast! Kudos.
The setup is a four-person SWAT team dealing with a hostage situation in a grocery. SWAT team: Austin, White, Steven Bacic and little Lexa Doig. This is a good little action set-piece, with takedowns including frozen steaks and BB guns.
As usual, the captain doesn't approve of the team's unorthodox methods, and sentences them to a training exercise with dummy ammo in a secluded warehouse. By coincidence, two Russian mobsters, Michael Shanks and leather clad female enforcer Candace Elaine have dragged weaselly Michael Eklund to the same location. Eklund, a ratfink with an inexplicable Cantinflas moustache, has hidden the MacGuffin in the warehouse and the mob wants it back.
In fact, the other mob wants it back, too - a gang of (2) Italians show up, one of whom, Adrian Holmes, is black (what, a black man can't come from Rome?). Eventually another couple of enforcers are called in, but the small ensemble suits the "tactical" aspect of the movie, as well as keeping the budget down.
So, four cops without working weapons vs. two opposing small groups of bad guys. One MacGuffin (which they studiously never explain). Several skirmishes and some silly dialog. It's fun and much better made than it deserves to be. My only complaint, not enough fights. They have Steve Austin and Michael Jai White and only really use them once or twice.
Were you expecting a disappointment? We were - maybe that's why we were pleasantly surprised. If this had been promoted like The Expendables, our reaction might have been different. As it was, we had a blast! Kudos.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Singh Singh Singh
As readers who have been reading probably know, I like epics, action, sword and sandals action epics, etc. Also, I love Tarsem Singh, based entirely one movie, The Fall. So it shouldn't surprise you that I liked Immortals. Of course, I may be the only one.
It is set in a ancient Greece, Kolpos Penninsula 1383 BC (on a Tuesday). This exactitude must be some kind of joke, because this movie is less historically accurate than Raquel Welch riding a dinosaur. Our hero is Theseus, played by Henry Cavill, who I thought was James Caviezel - they are both kind of non-distinguished handsome types. He is up against Mickey Rourke as King Hyperion, the standard grade totalitarian despot. There is a super-weapon, the Epiros bow, a beautiful oracle played by Frieda Pinto, and so forth.
But mostly what you get are lovely CGI landscapes, inventive anachronistic costumes, slo-mo CGI fights like in 300, all lit by gorgeous sunsets or torches and moonlight. Some of the scenes were a bit too dark, but other than that is beautiful. If you can ignore the terrible story and weak acting, and just enjoy it as a spectacle, you should be fine.
It is set in a ancient Greece, Kolpos Penninsula 1383 BC (on a Tuesday). This exactitude must be some kind of joke, because this movie is less historically accurate than Raquel Welch riding a dinosaur. Our hero is Theseus, played by Henry Cavill, who I thought was James Caviezel - they are both kind of non-distinguished handsome types. He is up against Mickey Rourke as King Hyperion, the standard grade totalitarian despot. There is a super-weapon, the Epiros bow, a beautiful oracle played by Frieda Pinto, and so forth.
But mostly what you get are lovely CGI landscapes, inventive anachronistic costumes, slo-mo CGI fights like in 300, all lit by gorgeous sunsets or torches and moonlight. Some of the scenes were a bit too dark, but other than that is beautiful. If you can ignore the terrible story and weak acting, and just enjoy it as a spectacle, you should be fine.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Steampunk Musketeers
How many Three Musketeers movies have we seen? Three Musketeers 2011 is another one. The "hook" is: the Three Musketeers as a 2011 action movie.
And so it starts with an Italian Job (2003) style heist in Venice, perpetrated by the three musketeers and Milady DeWinter (Milla Jovavich). The guys dress as ninjas, with collapsible crossbows drawn over-the-shoulder style. There are mechanical hidden doors, poison-dart booby traps, etc. Just what you'd expect from a modern adventure movie - I could almost hear "Throw me the whip" at one point. Then Milady betrays the boys, and we are taken to meet D'Artagnan and begin the standard story.
D'Artagnan is Lergan Loman, some kind of indistinguishable pretty boy, whose acting style draws from Val Kilmer, Tom Hulce, and maybe Seth Green. He does stunts well, though, so I won't complain. I have not much to say about the musketeers: Matthew Macfadyen, Luke Evans and Ray Stevenson as Athos, Aramis and Porthos aren't really very impressive.
Much better are Freddie Fox as Louis XIII and Juno Temple as the Queen. They are written as insecure teens and play it well. Christopher Waltz plays Richelieu with oily evil - invoking Vincent Price and Christopher Lee, as well as Charlton Heston from the Richard Lester version. James Corden as Planchet clearly watched Roy Kinnear's performance in that version as well.
Orlando Bloom is Buckingham, played as an over-the-top fop. He is conspiring with Richelieu to conquer France (and - dare I say it - the world!) with a fleet of dirigible airships. That's right, Three Musketeers with steampunk zeppelins. If you give up in disgust at that idea, this is not the movie for you. You probably didn't make it that far. For us, we just went, "Cool!"
Director Paul W.S. Anderson is apparently not Paul Thomas Anderson, who made There Will Be Blood, nor Wes Anderson, who made Rushmore. Nor is Logan Lerman any relation to Baz Lerman. I'd kind of like to imagine the movie if any of these gents had been involved. I'm sure it would have been interesting.
But although the writing was flat and the acting nothing to get excited about, as a roust-about actioner, I'd say this held up. We didn't see it in 3-D, but the sets and CGI were all gorgeous, and the fights and chases are fun. It is clearly based on the Lester action comedy spectacle tradition, and also the generic modern action film, but it does those very well, if that's what you like. And it is, and we did.
And so it starts with an Italian Job (2003) style heist in Venice, perpetrated by the three musketeers and Milady DeWinter (Milla Jovavich). The guys dress as ninjas, with collapsible crossbows drawn over-the-shoulder style. There are mechanical hidden doors, poison-dart booby traps, etc. Just what you'd expect from a modern adventure movie - I could almost hear "Throw me the whip" at one point. Then Milady betrays the boys, and we are taken to meet D'Artagnan and begin the standard story.
D'Artagnan is Lergan Loman, some kind of indistinguishable pretty boy, whose acting style draws from Val Kilmer, Tom Hulce, and maybe Seth Green. He does stunts well, though, so I won't complain. I have not much to say about the musketeers: Matthew Macfadyen, Luke Evans and Ray Stevenson as Athos, Aramis and Porthos aren't really very impressive.
Much better are Freddie Fox as Louis XIII and Juno Temple as the Queen. They are written as insecure teens and play it well. Christopher Waltz plays Richelieu with oily evil - invoking Vincent Price and Christopher Lee, as well as Charlton Heston from the Richard Lester version. James Corden as Planchet clearly watched Roy Kinnear's performance in that version as well.
Orlando Bloom is Buckingham, played as an over-the-top fop. He is conspiring with Richelieu to conquer France (and - dare I say it - the world!) with a fleet of dirigible airships. That's right, Three Musketeers with steampunk zeppelins. If you give up in disgust at that idea, this is not the movie for you. You probably didn't make it that far. For us, we just went, "Cool!"
Director Paul W.S. Anderson is apparently not Paul Thomas Anderson, who made There Will Be Blood, nor Wes Anderson, who made Rushmore. Nor is Logan Lerman any relation to Baz Lerman. I'd kind of like to imagine the movie if any of these gents had been involved. I'm sure it would have been interesting.
But although the writing was flat and the acting nothing to get excited about, as a roust-about actioner, I'd say this held up. We didn't see it in 3-D, but the sets and CGI were all gorgeous, and the fights and chases are fun. It is clearly based on the Lester action comedy spectacle tradition, and also the generic modern action film, but it does those very well, if that's what you like. And it is, and we did.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Wild Wild West
Sometimes, all you want is a good exciting trashy movie; a western maybe, or a science fiction. Or, like Cowboys and Aliens, both!
It starts out very a regular modern western: Daniel Craig (yep!) wakes up in the sagebrush, clearly with no memory of how he got there, or even who he is. Normal enough for a cowboy, but he has a strange high-tech bracelet around his wrist. When a trio of bounty hunters try to take him, he dispatches them neatly, and takes that's where he gets the goofy hat he wears for the rest of the movie.
Seriously, it's a funny looking hat for a guy with Craig's head. I was worried that Craig would never get any lines to avoid the problem with his accent. That wasn't an issue - he did a reasonable approximation of an Irish immigrant old-time cowboy. But the hat! It makes Yul Brynner's headgear from Westworld look serious. I guess they were worried about associations with Harrison Ford's iconic Indiana Jones fedora.
Because when Craig gets to town, he finds that it is run by the big bad cattle baron, Harrison Ford. He also meets the very cute Olivia Wilde, in a cotton dress accessorized by a big gun. Also, a preacher, a sherrif, a coward barkeep, a kid and a dog. The usual.
Even if the aliens didn't show up about now, I think I would have kept with it, and I'm not a big fan of westerns. This is like in Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter, where director One-Shot Beaudine seemed to get wrapped up in the Jesse James parts, kind of forgetting about the Frankenstein.
But the aliens do show up and plenty, grabbing civilians and blasting up the town. So the posse has to head out to round them up. The effects were pretty good, but I'm not sure about the alien melee scenes. There were a few great shots, but all lot of it seemed to the usual mixed up jumble or explosions and CGI beasties.
Still, it moved right along, and we were happy. In the end this was kind of a high-budget B film. Maybe the best kind.
It starts out very a regular modern western: Daniel Craig (yep!) wakes up in the sagebrush, clearly with no memory of how he got there, or even who he is. Normal enough for a cowboy, but he has a strange high-tech bracelet around his wrist. When a trio of bounty hunters try to take him, he dispatches them neatly, and takes that's where he gets the goofy hat he wears for the rest of the movie.
Seriously, it's a funny looking hat for a guy with Craig's head. I was worried that Craig would never get any lines to avoid the problem with his accent. That wasn't an issue - he did a reasonable approximation of an Irish immigrant old-time cowboy. But the hat! It makes Yul Brynner's headgear from Westworld look serious. I guess they were worried about associations with Harrison Ford's iconic Indiana Jones fedora.
Because when Craig gets to town, he finds that it is run by the big bad cattle baron, Harrison Ford. He also meets the very cute Olivia Wilde, in a cotton dress accessorized by a big gun. Also, a preacher, a sherrif, a coward barkeep, a kid and a dog. The usual.
Even if the aliens didn't show up about now, I think I would have kept with it, and I'm not a big fan of westerns. This is like in Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter, where director One-Shot Beaudine seemed to get wrapped up in the Jesse James parts, kind of forgetting about the Frankenstein.
But the aliens do show up and plenty, grabbing civilians and blasting up the town. So the posse has to head out to round them up. The effects were pretty good, but I'm not sure about the alien melee scenes. There were a few great shots, but all lot of it seemed to the usual mixed up jumble or explosions and CGI beasties.
Still, it moved right along, and we were happy. In the end this was kind of a high-budget B film. Maybe the best kind.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Yo Eleven
It's not like I liked Soderbrgh's Ocean's Eleven - but I respect it, you know? I'm not a great fan of the original Rat Pack version, either. But they share the same loose, relaxed, who-gives-a-damn charm.
Danny Ocean is George Clooney this time. He has just gotten out of prison on parole, which he immediately breaks to pull the biggest job of his career - to clean out 3 Las Vegas casinos. He gets in touch with Brad Pitt and they start to put together the team.
The team will be made up of "a Boesky, a Jim Brown, a Miss Daisy, two Jethros and a Leon Spinks, not to mention the biggest Ella Fitzgerald ever". Actually, that's a synopsis of the plot, not the team. Anyway, it sounds cool. It takes a special kind of cast to reel that line out and hook you.
The best team members, in my opinion, are Elliott Gould as the old macher who bankrolls the heist, and Carl Reiner, the alte kaker who will run the con that gets the man into the vault. Lovely to see these old hams - er old hands - interacting with the youngsters.
So, if you enjoy a mindless plot, and hearing Frank, Dino and Sammy bullshit around, watch the 1960 Ocean's Eleven. If you want the same thing with Clooney, Pitt and say, Bernie Mac, get this one.
And of course, I'll get around to Ocean's Twelve someday. But I've seen Ocean's Thirteen, and that's about enough.
In conclusion, good soundtrack, but they didn't play the Sammy Davis theme song.
Danny Ocean is George Clooney this time. He has just gotten out of prison on parole, which he immediately breaks to pull the biggest job of his career - to clean out 3 Las Vegas casinos. He gets in touch with Brad Pitt and they start to put together the team.
The team will be made up of "a Boesky, a Jim Brown, a Miss Daisy, two Jethros and a Leon Spinks, not to mention the biggest Ella Fitzgerald ever". Actually, that's a synopsis of the plot, not the team. Anyway, it sounds cool. It takes a special kind of cast to reel that line out and hook you.
The best team members, in my opinion, are Elliott Gould as the old macher who bankrolls the heist, and Carl Reiner, the alte kaker who will run the con that gets the man into the vault. Lovely to see these old hams - er old hands - interacting with the youngsters.
So, if you enjoy a mindless plot, and hearing Frank, Dino and Sammy bullshit around, watch the 1960 Ocean's Eleven. If you want the same thing with Clooney, Pitt and say, Bernie Mac, get this one.
And of course, I'll get around to Ocean's Twelve someday. But I've seen Ocean's Thirteen, and that's about enough.
In conclusion, good soundtrack, but they didn't play the Sammy Davis theme song.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Five of a Kind
I think Fast Five is pretty much a direct sequel to Fast and Furious. The series gets kind of confusing with the reboots, sequels with little relation to the main sequence, etc. Anyway, it starts where F&F ended, Diesel on the bus to Lompoc and his buddies coming to rescue him.
After they break him out, they hightail down to Rio to hide out in the favela. I kept expecting them to run into Ed Norton as Bruce Banner. They get into trouble with the local crime boss, Joaquim de Almeida, and decide to take him down. In the meantime, a big bad government agent comes searching for fugitive Diesel - yes, it's that other no-necked bullethead: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. This could get confusing, with 2 heavily muscled bald guys running around. But Johnson is so ridiculously bulked up that Diesel looks like a skinny kid next to him. So that's OK.
The movie plays out as a heist film, with Diesel bringing in his team from previous films, buying a replica of the safe he wants to crack, recreating the course they need to drive, etc. This seems like it should be in a different movie, possibly the Italian Job or Ocean's 11 remakes. In fact, I think I counted 11 in Diesel's team, but I might have been seeing double. And there is a garbage truck playing the same role as in the original Ocean's 11.
It all builds up to a fun and literally unbelievable climax. -SPOILER- two cars could NOT outrace all the cops in Rio is they were dragging a 10-ton safe. Could they have at least put a creeper under it?
Never mind, it's all in fun. Some (Ms. Spenser, for ex) might prefer more car chases, but there's plenty of action, and not too much romance. One of the hookups was between Ms. Spenser's heart-throb Sung Kang and Gad Galot. I have to agree with the Ms. - she's cute, but too skinny. She wouldn't get a second look in Rio.
Make sure to watch to the end - set up for sequel.
After they break him out, they hightail down to Rio to hide out in the favela. I kept expecting them to run into Ed Norton as Bruce Banner. They get into trouble with the local crime boss, Joaquim de Almeida, and decide to take him down. In the meantime, a big bad government agent comes searching for fugitive Diesel - yes, it's that other no-necked bullethead: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. This could get confusing, with 2 heavily muscled bald guys running around. But Johnson is so ridiculously bulked up that Diesel looks like a skinny kid next to him. So that's OK.
The movie plays out as a heist film, with Diesel bringing in his team from previous films, buying a replica of the safe he wants to crack, recreating the course they need to drive, etc. This seems like it should be in a different movie, possibly the Italian Job or Ocean's 11 remakes. In fact, I think I counted 11 in Diesel's team, but I might have been seeing double. And there is a garbage truck playing the same role as in the original Ocean's 11.
It all builds up to a fun and literally unbelievable climax. -SPOILER- two cars could NOT outrace all the cops in Rio is they were dragging a 10-ton safe. Could they have at least put a creeper under it?
Never mind, it's all in fun. Some (Ms. Spenser, for ex) might prefer more car chases, but there's plenty of action, and not too much romance. One of the hookups was between Ms. Spenser's heart-throb Sung Kang and Gad Galot. I have to agree with the Ms. - she's cute, but too skinny. She wouldn't get a second look in Rio.
Make sure to watch to the end - set up for sequel.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Powers' Pirates
We were looking forward to Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides for the usual reasons - Johnny Depp as Capt. Jack Sparrow, pirates, swashbuckling, etc. I was looking forward for one more reason, "Suggested by Tim Power's On Stranger Tides".
When Philip K. Dick (who's every novel and short story will soon be a movie) lived in LA, he was friends with three young authors: K.W. Jeter, James Blaylock and Tim Powers. They are all great writers, who, among other things, invented the genre of steampunk. Powers has a great trick of weaving high myth, low folklore and history. In Last Call for instance, he mixes the Grail legend with the gamblers' superstition in Las Vegas. In The Stress of Her Regard, he shows that the Romantic poets were vampiric succubi. In On Stranger Tides, he has Blackbeard the pirate searching for the Fountain of Youth with the aid of voodoo.
One clever bit in Tides is the the sailors' tale of Mate Carry-For, a spirit who is always willing to help a sailor out. But his true name turns out to be Maitre Carrefour - the Master of the Crossroads, voodoo god Papa Legba.
Now, very little of this cleverness gets into PotC: OST. Basically, nothing but the phrase "Blackbeard the pirate searching for the Fountain of Youth with the aid of voodoo". Considering the amount of voodoo in previous movies, there was very little here. Basically, two zombies and one voodoo doll.
Also, considering Blackbeard is the most awesome of all pirates, known for sticking lit fuses in his hair and beard, Ian MacShane's Blackbeard is not as scary as could be hoped. He does let his beard smolder a bit, but that's pretty much all.
It seems that the new director, Rob Marshall, felt that he couldn't go bigger than the previous movies, so he toned it down. However, we don't have a sensitive character-driven movie here. It is still a big rowdy adventure. Even dialed back, there is plenty of room for fights, chases, capers and fun.
One thing this has going for it is the lack of Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightley. Great actors in good roles, but they had become a bit drippy. Let's face it, people come for Capt. Sparrow.
We get him in spades - acting loopy, setting off without a plan, meeting his dad (Keef!) and an old love, played by Penelope Cruz. She's great in this, as you might expect.
The look of the film is great, also as expected. If you liked the others, you should like this. It doesn't top them, but should be a good foundation for another trilogy.
When Philip K. Dick (who's every novel and short story will soon be a movie) lived in LA, he was friends with three young authors: K.W. Jeter, James Blaylock and Tim Powers. They are all great writers, who, among other things, invented the genre of steampunk. Powers has a great trick of weaving high myth, low folklore and history. In Last Call for instance, he mixes the Grail legend with the gamblers' superstition in Las Vegas. In The Stress of Her Regard, he shows that the Romantic poets were vampiric succubi. In On Stranger Tides, he has Blackbeard the pirate searching for the Fountain of Youth with the aid of voodoo.
One clever bit in Tides is the the sailors' tale of Mate Carry-For, a spirit who is always willing to help a sailor out. But his true name turns out to be Maitre Carrefour - the Master of the Crossroads, voodoo god Papa Legba.
Now, very little of this cleverness gets into PotC: OST. Basically, nothing but the phrase "Blackbeard the pirate searching for the Fountain of Youth with the aid of voodoo". Considering the amount of voodoo in previous movies, there was very little here. Basically, two zombies and one voodoo doll.
Also, considering Blackbeard is the most awesome of all pirates, known for sticking lit fuses in his hair and beard, Ian MacShane's Blackbeard is not as scary as could be hoped. He does let his beard smolder a bit, but that's pretty much all.
It seems that the new director, Rob Marshall, felt that he couldn't go bigger than the previous movies, so he toned it down. However, we don't have a sensitive character-driven movie here. It is still a big rowdy adventure. Even dialed back, there is plenty of room for fights, chases, capers and fun.
One thing this has going for it is the lack of Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightley. Great actors in good roles, but they had become a bit drippy. Let's face it, people come for Capt. Sparrow.
We get him in spades - acting loopy, setting off without a plan, meeting his dad (Keef!) and an old love, played by Penelope Cruz. She's great in this, as you might expect.
The look of the film is great, also as expected. If you liked the others, you should like this. It doesn't top them, but should be a good foundation for another trilogy.
Class Act
Well, we are now members at the Video 21 video store in Tallahassee. It's on E. Lafayette, across Appalachee from Governer's Square, if you're in the neighborhood. It's connected to Craig's Killer Coffee and they share a common theme of love for [coffee]/[movies] in defiance to commercial consideration. I think we'll like getting our video from them.
Even though they have a bunch of rare cult Asian and other DVDs (and tapes!), we went right to the Recent Arrivals and rented X-Men: First Class. If you are not familiar with this, it is the X-Men prequel/reboot. Of course, if you aren't familiar with this, you probably aren't paying attention to the X-Men movies at all.
This movie takes us back to the 50s and early 60s, when Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) was a telepathic PhD and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) was a concentration camp survivor, searching for the man who killed his mother to force him to develop his mutant powers (Kevin Bacon). They meet, bond, and start training a band of mutants to help the CIA battle the rogue mutants who want to use the Cuban missile crisis to start WWIII.
McAvoy plays Prof X with a full head of hair and pair of functioning legs. He is good, but I don't know if he really owns the role the way that Patrick Stewart did. Likewise Fassbender - he plays the proud, tortured, Magneto in civvies beautifully, but until he puts on the helmet, I don't get a real feel for him as Magneto.
On the other hand, Jennifer Lawrence looked great as Raven in civvies and all blue and prickly as Mystique. In this continuity, she is Xavier's more-or-less adopted sister, who only goes over to Magneto when she realizes that only he appreciates her in her true form. Which is the theme of the movie really - Mutant Pride vs. mutant assimilation. And it appears that Xavier is on the wrong side of the argument. He really is kind of a dick, making Magneto the good guy.
I saw a lot of comments about the great 60s feel of this movie, with its Mad Men and James Bond inspirations. Unfortunately, I don't think this came through very well. Banshee (Caleb Landry Jones), for example, wears a bushy, bushy blonde hairdo that won't be popular in America for a decade, and evil mutant Alex Gonzalez looks like disco era Euro-trash.
Nicholas Hoult as Hank McCoy hits the right note with a Buddy Holly look. January Jones as Emma Frost also hits the Nancy Sinatra look dead on (anachronistic by a few years only). Unfortunately, she plays the role very stiffly, like she was a model and not a real actress. Maybe that hairstyle was slowing her down.
All in all, a very good entry in the X-Men series, if not quite what I could have hoped for. It suffered a little from the usual problem of having too many mutants who are just sketched-in extras, but that might be unavoidable. I'm not sure director Matthew Vaughn succeeded in putting an indelible stamp on the franchise, but he did entertain.
Even though they have a bunch of rare cult Asian and other DVDs (and tapes!), we went right to the Recent Arrivals and rented X-Men: First Class. If you are not familiar with this, it is the X-Men prequel/reboot. Of course, if you aren't familiar with this, you probably aren't paying attention to the X-Men movies at all.
This movie takes us back to the 50s and early 60s, when Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) was a telepathic PhD and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) was a concentration camp survivor, searching for the man who killed his mother to force him to develop his mutant powers (Kevin Bacon). They meet, bond, and start training a band of mutants to help the CIA battle the rogue mutants who want to use the Cuban missile crisis to start WWIII.
McAvoy plays Prof X with a full head of hair and pair of functioning legs. He is good, but I don't know if he really owns the role the way that Patrick Stewart did. Likewise Fassbender - he plays the proud, tortured, Magneto in civvies beautifully, but until he puts on the helmet, I don't get a real feel for him as Magneto.
On the other hand, Jennifer Lawrence looked great as Raven in civvies and all blue and prickly as Mystique. In this continuity, she is Xavier's more-or-less adopted sister, who only goes over to Magneto when she realizes that only he appreciates her in her true form. Which is the theme of the movie really - Mutant Pride vs. mutant assimilation. And it appears that Xavier is on the wrong side of the argument. He really is kind of a dick, making Magneto the good guy.
I saw a lot of comments about the great 60s feel of this movie, with its Mad Men and James Bond inspirations. Unfortunately, I don't think this came through very well. Banshee (Caleb Landry Jones), for example, wears a bushy, bushy blonde hairdo that won't be popular in America for a decade, and evil mutant Alex Gonzalez looks like disco era Euro-trash.
Nicholas Hoult as Hank McCoy hits the right note with a Buddy Holly look. January Jones as Emma Frost also hits the Nancy Sinatra look dead on (anachronistic by a few years only). Unfortunately, she plays the role very stiffly, like she was a model and not a real actress. Maybe that hairstyle was slowing her down.
All in all, a very good entry in the X-Men series, if not quite what I could have hoped for. It suffered a little from the usual problem of having too many mutants who are just sketched-in extras, but that might be unavoidable. I'm not sure director Matthew Vaughn succeeded in putting an indelible stamp on the franchise, but he did entertain.
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