Catching Up On Summer Reviews

Hey Everybody,

I've been MIA lately and I do apologize. Things have been quite hectic lately, and blogging on films has been the least of priorities. I am now in a new residence and things are beginning to settle down and I'll have a good chance to blog here soon. In this one, I'm just gonna catch up with some mini-reviews (and I mean mini) on the past few films that I have seen. So without further ado...

The Bank Job (B)
A fun heist film, that takes a while to get moving. However, once the film gets itself on a roll, then it really doesn't let up. Its one of the better heist films of recent years, and worth a watch. Warning though; the film does feature quite a bit of gratuitous nudity.

In Bruges (B)
Despite it's "B" rating, it really is a fun view. There is some great chemistry between Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. Farrell should really play more roles like this one because he fits it like a glove; I'm not sure there was even much acting to it. Out of all the films I've seen since The Dark Knight, In Bruges is my greatest reccomendation.

Journey to the Center of the Earth 3-D (B)
Like the two films above, this one here is just a fun view. Forget Mummy 3, Brendan Fraser seems to be having more fun here. Its light and breezy and really takes advantage of the 3-D medium.

Tropic Thunder (B-)
An extremely uneven comedy film. There are parts to this film that really work well (the trailer parodies, Jack Black's drug withdrawals, and Robert Downey Jr.), and there are others that really fail to measure up (Tom Cruise's cameo seems to be rooted in the idea that saying vulgar things at random is inherently funny). On the whole, I laughed several times during the film, which is more than any comedy outside of In Bruges.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (C+)
I sit on the outside when it comes to this film. Its an interesting premise, and I know there is incredible artistry present, but I just found myself sighing, "Is that it?". There is some incredible art direction, costume design, and visual effect work here, but I failed to truly engage into the story and truly care for Hellboy himself. To top it off, the film's final action scene is completely underminded by the idea that this is an indestructable army. Why fight an army that is indestructable for 10 minutes? It reminded me of the the lengthy and unnecessary fight scene with the immortal pirates of Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl.

The Pineapple Express (C)
I've given Apatow several chances, and in order to give you a fair understanding of where I am coming from, I've not liked a single film under the Apatow name. I find them all to be hollow, crude, and insincere. The fact that this one had a decent action scene is what has given it an average rating for me. If you liked Apatow's other comedies like Knocked Up, then you'll probably like this one too.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (C-)
A complete mess of a film that's only salvaged by a couple decent F/x scenes. Everything that could go wrong in this film really does. Stephen Sommers is no Steven Spielberg, but at least he understood how to make a movie like this. Rob Cohen does not.

There you have it, some catching up. If you saw any of these films, let me know what you thought.

The Dark Knight Review

Overall Grade: A

It has been some time since I've walked out of a theater with a mix of depression, hope, exhaustion, admiration, and trepidation. Let me get this out of the way now, in my estimation, The Dark Knight is the best Super-Hero film of all-time. The experience of watching the film is something similar to allowing your emotions to run a marathon. Its a breathtaking and brutal affair, and I can't wait to do it again.

What The Dark Knight's director Christopher Nolan has accomplished is remarkable. Not only has The Dark Knight surpassed its genre mates, it has obliterated them. There are all the hallmarks of the superhero comic book genre here, but what Nolan provides us with, elevates the film into an epic crime saga between Greek Gods, where everything has implications not only for our characters but for humanity as well. The ideas of a costumed crusader and a villain with a flair for theatricality is squeezed for everything its worth. From these ideas spring a deep pool of themes ranging from what a hero really is, hope vs. despair, anarchy vs. civilization, and the basic goodness of humanity. We've left the simplicities of "I don't want to make weapons that harm our own soldiers" that we saw with Iron Man, and "With great powers comes great responsibilities" that we got with Spider-Man, and entered into a brave new world (not of the Aldous Huxley type).

Its as if the entire genre has come of age in one film. Nolan has given us a movie thats as dark as Zodiac, as nihilistic as No Country for Old Men, as dualistic as Heat, as noble as The Untouchables, as heroic and action-packed as Superman, Die Hard, The Bourne Supremacy, and as good hearted as The Lord of the Rings. One of the movie's tag lines is "Welcome to a World Without Limits", and it seems Nolan has taken that to heart.

I won't detail the plot here (its epic and its twisty), but I do want to take a moment from praising the film as a whole, to praising the film's individual ingredients, as they are all exemplary. The director and his brother Christopher Nolan co-wrote the screenplay and much props has to go to them. This is as layered a screenplay as I've seen since No Country for Old Men or Munich. Its equal parts engaging crime saga, as it is philosophical and symbolic. Its also the first adult, intelligent, and fair-handed dissection of the issues America deals with in a post 9/11 world. When Heath Ledger's Joker says to Batman, "You've changed things, there's no going back", its clear that there is more going on to this story than meets the eye.

Even though the film is a Batman film, it really is an ensemble piece. All the actors are given meaty parts, purposeful roles, and excellent lines. Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal (a welcome change from Katie Holmes), and Christian Bale all do exemplary work here. The real standout is Heath Ledger. What can be said? Ledger's Joker is spectacular. He is more than a villain, more than a nemesis for Batman to fight, Ledger embodies a Joker that in the end comes to represent chaos himself. While remaining completely human, Ledger transcends his character to create something of an archetype, a symbol of evil; much similar to the way Bale's Batman embodies Good in the end. Whether or not its nominated for any awards is outside the point, this role will be remembered for a long time to come. Its simply iconic.

I haven't mentioned the action yet, have I? Suffice to say, the film has some great action sequences that truly define grandiosity. I liked the sequences here a lot more than those found in Batman Begins because I felt like they served the story better as well as were just put together better. They are intelligent and smart, as well as pulse-pounding and fun. The technical aspects of the film are all top-notch. A special shout out to the score (Joker's theme is a revelation) and the cinematography, both are exquisite. The film has some minor flaws that I noticed, but they are easily forgivable flaws, and ones that never hurt the story or the central themes behind it.

Easily the best film of the year so far (will anything top it?). Blockbusters of this kind are the rarest of finds. Most of the time we are stuck with films that shoot for the usual and make it (Iron Man) or films that try to be ambitiously different and miss it (Hancock). The Dark Knight is that rare blockbuster film that dares to reach for the moon, and actually achieves it.

Updates!

Hey Everyone

I've posted new reviews of Funny Games and Wall *E (just scroll down a bit to see them) and updated my 2008 list with all apropriate movies. I've got reviews for Wanted (C+) and Hancock (C+) coming soon so keep a look out for those!

Funny Games Review

Overall Grade: B

Funny Games is a very interesting film. Its one of the best examples of a film where a director goes all out to support what he wants to say. Clearly the director is not satisfied in giving us just an entertaining story, the sole reason for the story is that it can be a vehicle for him to comment on society and how we view “entertainment”.

The story itself is fairly simple; Tim Roth and Naomi Watts play an upper middle class couple that travel with their son to their vacation home on a lake. Once there, they are visited by two young men dressed in white polo’s and white gloves (one of them played excellently by Michael Pitt), who initially seem harmless, but ultimately injure the father and force the entire family to begin play a game. The game is simple, the family bets they can survive for 12 hours and the boys bet they will be dead. The rest is simply the premise playing itself out.

What makes the film interesting is not how the rest of the plot plays out, but how the director decides to show it to us. Several times he makes some great decisions to either turn upside our pre-conceptions, or to obviously (with a wink) feed us what we think will happen. I don’t want to give away some of the tricks the movie uses, but it really forces the viewer to examine why this kind of story can be entertaining, as well as the motive of the viewer; and I really like that about it.

For example, the director at times will use long extended takes where the camera does nothing but sit and watch our captive family. It’s a brutal experience for the audience to be forced to watch this family go through this horror, but the extended takes actually began to make me squirm and feel very awkward; something the director wanted me to do, rather than the emotions of shock and awe or pleasure that a typical horror film might go for.

It’s a smart and bold film, but it’s not for everyone. Although much of the violence is off screen and there is no nudity to speak of (purposefully), it is still a very intense view and I recommend it only to those interested in films that like to present arguments and commentary. The film has a few faults, but its clear-minded vision and audacious boldness makes up for it in the end.

Some of you might not have heard of this film before, so I've included a trailer to check out below