06.29.07
Posted in Film Review at 12:42 pm by Administrator
If you had told me a few years ago I’d be sitting down to watch a Transformers movie I would have told you that I would bet my big toe it would never see the light of day. Well thank goodness I never made that bet and remain with all ten toes intact but even better than that not only did they actually make a Transformers movie but to the relief of myself and probably many fans this movie kicks all kinds of ass. I barely know where to start.
Lets get to the good stuff shall we? The bots themselves are properly scaled and are well designed. I had some initial problems when I first saw pictures of their faces but on film they come off with far more character. Michael Bay brings you the Autobots without leaving out any of the mythology. Yes you will hear words like all spark, energon, cybertron, and Megatron all spoken without the slightest hint of mockery. You will also realize that the Transformers were a pretty ridiculous concept from the start but here it is in all its glory for better or for worse. Maintaining the lore was the first victory the second is that all of the Autobots and Decepticons talk and have very distinct voices that instantly gives you a sort of shallow general idea of their attitude and behavior. When the team was finally assembled and began to talk amongst themselves I sat back as giddy as a school kid, content that I had gotten exactly what I wanted out of this movie. The Decepticons aren’t given as wide a range of character but as far as looking mean and destroying public property goes they give you what you want.
So what about the humans? Shia Labeouf, Jon Voit, John Torturro, and Megan Fox do their best to fill the time between the giant robot fights. They bring just enough shtick to the table to keep the film light hearted and I found myself laughing quite often. The stand out performance is Shia of course who holds his own against the giant mechanical special effects surrounding him. His relationship with Bumble Bee is what branches out the human-to-machine relationship and may even be the entire corner stone of the movie. If those two can form a bond then it’s far easier for the audience to attach themselves to one of the Autobots (or Decepticons for those who love the bad boys.)
Despite all of the robot transforming goodness their are a few things I can still complain about. Bay’s love affair with the U.S. army is becoming a fetish at this point. Helicopter shots, soldiers taking up screen time, many shots of the insides of government buildings with unnamed actors talking into headsets. Its all a bit too much and Transformers almost goes out of its way to include the human army against the robots when I just wanted them to get out of the way and let the Autobots do their thing. Which brings me to my next complaint, the Autobots may look badass but they are neutered in this film. When things finally go down they get their asses handed to them rather easily by the Decepticons, especially Optimus Prime who only is allowed only one cool kill scene. Perhaps this humanizes the Autobots but part of me wanted to see them be more of a formidable foe against the evil Decepticons who had no trouble looking good.
Michael Bay is the king of the Hollywood spectacle but now without Bruckheimer as producer his films feel tighter, more focused, and it seems he is allowed to do his big explosions without the 2 and a half hour running time or overdone human drama. Could there have been more robot action? Perhaps. Could the film have done without some of the human characters and over complicated plot? Yeah. Still I can’t imagine anyone being disappointed going into the movie. If Transformers is what you want then that is exactly what you get and Bay and company have done a terrific job weaving it into the perfect summer film experience.
3.5/5
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06.26.07
Posted in DVD Tuesday at 2:40 pm by Administrator
This week’s recommendation is an easy one, in fact it’s so easy I don’t have to write too much about it. Just click on the Film Review link on the side and scroll down until you find my review. Black Snake Moan is a little piece of pulp magic with a premise so deliciously absurd it will intoxicate you with its luring eroticism and eye raising racial tension. Samuel L. Jackson has that instant on-screen presence most actors only dream of having. Christina Ricci melts into her role. It may seem exploitive at first but reveals itself to be much more complicated. These two characters will make you uncomfortable in the best way. The only weak link and the reason I didn’t give this film a perfect score is Justin Timberlake, his performance is labored and he manages only to bring the film down every time he’s on screen. Other then that the music is goose-bump inducing and is as important to the film as the actors themselves. All these elements add up to make this one of the most unique film experiences you will ever have.
Rent it, buy it, or just find a way to see it.
4/5.
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06.25.07
Posted in Film Review at 2:03 pm by Administrator
I’ve spent most of this summer gorging myself on the deliciously fattening movie blockbusters. The quarter pounder with Venom that was Spiderman 3. Pirates of the Caribbean with a side of super sized fries. These films and those like them carry a lot of wonderful simple entertainment value. They are loaded with explosions and other mind numbing goodies that make them easy on the eyes and brain. What this says about my film taste can be highly questionable but the truth is I can enjoy both sides of the coin. I love art house films and I also love the big loud movies as well. Part of me has been carrying the guilt of missing out on a lot of the better and far more interesting smaller films this season because the big loud distractions of Shrek the Third and Fantastic Four easily stole my attention.
Well this weekend I cut back on the greasy films and ate a delicious indie film salad called Once. You may have heard about this film already and I am proud to report its not one of those over hyped indie films critics love to shower with praise. Often I walk into these films weary of their “indie” roots because big studios these days create a lot of small films that may seem like independent art house films but are really just small scale dramatic hog wash. Take last years Little Miss Sunshine as the latest over blown supposedly “indie” picture where critics couldn’t take their lips off its wang.
Once is a musical from Ireland that manages to side step what most people seem to hate about musicals. All of the films music is played on real instruments and sung by its main characters. They aren’t in some fantasy world where everyone knows the lyrics and strangers chime in as a chorus for seemingly no reason whatsoever. Now I personally have no problem with the traditional musical but for those that do Once makes it easier if you need a little more logic as to why characters spontaneously burst into song.
This music surrounds a very simple love story between a guy and a girl, who remain nameless in the film for obvious reasons. Together they discover each other’s musical talents and collaborate on a couple of songs. The movie itself received a couple of initial eye rolls from yours truly but something happened as the film progressed I was beginning to fall for this awkwardly matched couple. The guy is just a part time street performer and part time vacuum cleaner technician. The girl does odd jobs around town, which include selling roses and cleaning houses. When he discovers that she can play the piano they enter a music store to play “Falling Slowly”. It left me glassy eyed and dumb struck. What I thought was going to be another typical boy meets girl indie flick turned out to be so much more. This is not just a love story and to say that means it’s your typical indie love story. The kind that attempts to be more realistic by side stepping all the typical Hollywood cues. Once plays out more like the recent non-romance Lost in Translation, where instead of two heated lovers we are treated to a plutonic bond between two people. This bond helps them to mend the other relationships that are currently not working in their lives.
What stay with you when all is said and done is the various sounds the film evokes from its characters. The rich illustrations the melodies bring out in the film are what truly piece it together and rip it out of familiar territory. My pet peeve when reviewing a film is how it ends. Most films don’t know when or how to end. They often end on the wrong note or they add coda’s that ruin the rhythmic nature of film itself. I will always point out when a film does this right because so many films just get it wrong. Once goes for the unconventional ending and when they cue the films best damn song (Falling Slowly) well I found myself tearing up and falling hook line and sinker for this movie
4/5
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06.20.07
Posted in Film Review at 1:36 pm by Administrator
A piece of advice to anyone looking to book a room at a hotel where a room has been known to kill all of those who have stayed there, if Samuel L. Jackson looks you dead in the eye and tells you “its an evil fucking room” you really should listen. Mike Enslin(John Cusack),a struggling author known for his books on haunted hotel rooms scattered through out the country,is looking for the real thing and he may have just found it. Fortunately for us Mike Enslin doesn’t heed the warning signs and decides to spend the night at what he thinks is just another ghost story laden room where nothing supernatural ever happens.
1408 dishes out the psychological terror in perfectly prepared portions without any nonsensical plot twists or ridiculous coincidences you find in most horror films these days. The story is simple, one man against a room, a tough job for any actor but John Cusack excels at commanding every scene, constantling murmuring, babbling, or talking into his tape recorder. It never comes off as if he’s talking to the audience or providing needless exposition. The rest of his performance is mostly physical as he is carelessly tossed around with the evil room throwing everything it can at him. He struggles to survive the most grueling hour of his life and in between scares the room forces him to confront his inner demons cycling through what may seem like the 9 layers of hell.
1408 provides a few jump scares along with some genuine tense filled moments. The room is alive and very much a character. The set design was impressive because the room is constantly shifting and changing at its own will to set up for the next nail biting moment. I was worried the entire gimmick would feel worn or cheesy, haunted house movies really have gotten stale but the film manages to weave and dodge itself out of mediocrity with some truly great psychological head games that the room plays on Enslin. It does tirelessly enforce Enslin’s need to face his past which was a little heavy handed for my tastes.
1408 may be forgotten once the summer season is over but it’s probably the best film of its kind being released this week. Its a nice break from the Hostel part II’s of the world and perhaps at last we can finally be free of the new trend where films are just trying to shock us into a numb indifference. I wasn’t entirely blown out of my seat by 1408 but it’s a solid thriller that should satisfy anyone looking for scares this weekend.
3/5
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06.18.07
Posted in Film Review at 5:47 pm by Administrator
Fantastic Four is the one comic book series that has the thankless job of being the light-hearted fun super hero team. When the first film was released I had pretty much had my fill of the brooding, crying, and pity-party group of super heroes. Don’t get my wrong films like Spiderman, Batman Begins, Sin City, and V for Vendetta have an excellent amount of depth and character that allow those films to excel beyond what some of the lesser comic book films had established up to this point. But with all that highly emotional content cannot one super hero team give us more laughs than tears? Fantastic Four fills that void in the genre and its unfortunate that it just can’t be appreciated by most critics or fans.
When last we saw our fab foursome they defeated Dr. Doom and sent him packing back to his home country. Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Girl, Torch and Thing had become media darlings and superstar celebrities. These are four heroes who enjoy their powers and do the kinds of things you’d imagine normal people would do with them. From little things like Mr. Fantastic stretching his arms while dancing or Human Torch steaming up his body to entice a love interest. They even endorse products and Mr. Fantastic and Invisible girl have the kind of relationship that is marred by paparazzi and tabloid newspapers. Their newfound celebrity makes even the simplest of things, such as a wedding ceremony, near impossible to perform without interruption. This time around the team faces a new foe, the silver surfer, the first time in the comic book-to-film saga where they dare to reveal that the marvel universe is just that, a world beyond earth where other beings exist to either help or bring certain doom.
Rise of the Silver Surfer manages to entertain with as much laughs as the first but this time a bigger budget allows for bigger action set pieces although none of them really tend to stand out and even now I barely remember anything truly noteworthy. Comic fans will be pleased that the Surfer mythology stays true to its comic origin and that the Surfers appearance also leads to the inevitable destructive presence of his master, Galactus. In between the surfer mystery and impending doom the group still manages to go through its own growing pains as a wedding potentially threatens to break up the team and Torch learns to put aside his own ego to work alongside the others.
What seemed to constantly take me out of the films good-natured entertainment was Jessica Alba’s acting, if that’s what you want to call it. The rest of the cast reproduces their characters without any problems. Alba seems to communicate on screen how utterly bored she is with this role making the simplest of line readings feel detached and unmotivated. Were talking “storm in x-men” bad and yes I know she looks hot and most won’t notice that her walking body has a head that can talk but every time I tried to sink slowly away into her beauty that damn voice of hers came out reading her lines as if she were reading them live off of cue-cards.
One final gripe I have with the film is the “storm cloud” Galactus that we get at the end. I didn’t expect to see a giant purple man but I certainly expected something better than just a mouth like vortex with no facial features or voice behind it. A little more imagination in that area would have been greatly appreciated. So its not perfect but it gives you something the other super hero films are lacking and I don’t count the over the top goofiness of the Spiderman films because those scenes seem to be mocking themselves and sometimes the audience is not in on the joke. (Evil Peter Parking dancing in the streets? Raimi what were you thinking?)The film is about as good if not a little better than the first. If you hated the first chances are you will hate the sequel. I was adequately satisfied both by the appearance of the surfer and the on-going banter between the members of the team. What more could you want from this franchise?
3/5
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06.14.07
Posted in DVD Tuesday, Film Review at 3:21 pm by Administrator
One can’t help but feel that Hollywood is scraping at the bottom of the Marvel comic book barrel when you have films starring C-grade comic book heroes that can somehow still manage to attract A-list actors. Nicolas Cage has created an interesting mythology about his long time love affair with comics and how he tried ever so hard to get to play Superman on the big screen. Alas it was not meant to be so I suppose he settled for Ghost Rider instead and for better or for worse this is how history saw fit to give Nick his life long dream.
Ghost Rider can be easily lumped in with the likes of Daredevil and its no coincidence that they are both directed by Mark Steven Johnson, a director who tries so hard for the epic genius of Batman Begins or Spiderman but it seems that no studio will let him make these movies with any dignity. Instead they force huge stars to fill some awkward boots and lace the film with all the classic clichés you find in some of the worst comic to big screen adaptations. With all of the films flaws there is a glimmer of enjoyment to be had the first being Nick’s over the top performance. The second is the Rider himself who does indeed kick ass every time he is on screen and lastly Eva Mendez in outfits so tight you wonder how they even got her into them in the first place.
Ghost Rider is camp but unfortunately nobody goes to the movies for camp they go for top quality entertainment. Unless you are willing to laugh with the film (and at times at it) then you are just going to sink into your sofa mumbling angrily to yourself that you should’ve spent your time watching something else. I admit to being a comic book to film apologist and it’s hard to truly defend or recommend a very flawed release such as Ghost Rider. The FX are top notch and the action could be enough to get you through this experience as painlessly as possible but for some it will just be another Hollywood turd squeezed out simply to gain profit from a trend that could very well be on its way out the door.
2/5
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Posted in Book Review at 1:59 pm by Administrator
You may not have read the little gem my loving wife discovered in an issue of Entertainment Weekly last year oddly titled The Hollowed Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse. The book follows a human named Jack who finds himself in a city of living toys/nursery rhyme characters, there he befriends a bear named Eddie whose owner has mysteriously been murdered along with a string of nursery rhyme characters. They join forces and form a detective agency to bring the serial killer to justice. The book was something of a sleeper hit enough of one for Mr. Rankin to return to toy city once more to give us another humorous and exciting adventure starring these two charismatic and hilariously mismatched heroes.
When we last left Jack and Eddie they had saved toy city from certain doom and have earned the good life. They become elite citizens and Eddie managed to become mayor of toy city. Jack had supposedly returned to the human world but nothing really worked out for them, as it should have. Eddie tried to better toy city and in return he was over thrown and robbed of his title. Jack ended up working in a diner as a chef and has grown a fetish for hot-bodied dolls. When more of toy cities citizens start disappearing its up to them to once again solve the case and save the day.
This may all sound like something you’d find in the kids section of your local bookstore but Rankin is slick in his presentation and manages to infuse his work with a lot of subtle sexual innuendo and other humorous adult gags that are likely to leave anyone under 14 scratching their heads. It’s even more obvious when both Jack and Eddie spend most of the book inside their favorite bar drinking countless mugs of beers. Rankin’s strongest element is his ability to create a lot of truly genuine laughs exploiting the absurdity of the situation and holding nothing back to excrete every ounce of entertainment from the book’s mysteries and cast of uniquely drawn characters. This time around the only flaw is that focus is shifted away from toy city but thankfully Jack and Eddie maintain the calculated back-and-forth that makes them fly off the page. Rankin dresses the mystery with perhaps too much paranoia and intricately constructed evil schemes. When all is revealed you may just raise your hands in the air and just give up because it literally takes the story far out to places beyond the simple joys of toy city.
I can only recommend the book to those who have read the first one not only because the first one is superior but because its that initial attachment to Jack and Eddie that will carry you through a few of Toyminator’s dragging moments until its action packed conclusion. Unfortunately a few loose ends are never tied up and Rankin goes through a lot of trouble to introduce a new location in the toy world only to quickly change the subject to an even less interesting locale. Toyminator survives on its never-ending wit and it never dries up on its sly humor. It’s that determination to keep you grinning that makes it worth picking up for fans of the first book.
3.5/5
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Posted in Writers Corner at 1:28 pm by Administrator
Often writers come across the inevitable conundrum that all writers must one day face. Do you write what you know you can sell or do you write for yourself and let the publishing company worry about the consumer? Is it possible to simply write without worrying about the expectations of the reader or the market in general? Do you decide to give life to a character simply because other books have paved a way for it on the shelves? Should we spend so much of our time on such things? Do we give readers enough credit these days?
I currently find myself halfway through a manuscript wondering who the hell the book is marketed towards. Who is going to want to read this? Its a scary thought that your releasing your new born child into a world that may not want it or know what to do with it. How many countless books were turned down time and time again simply because the publishers had no easy answer to any of these questions. Far too many books are simply created because of a recent trend in what readers seem to be picking up. This saturates the market with alot of the same leaving some of the best diamonds in the rough choking and struggling to breathe.
Write without expectations and you may even surprise yourself.
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06.11.07
Posted in Film analysis at 2:06 pm by Administrator
Theirs no way around it, no matter how hard you try to hope. No matter how hard you pray to the gods of adaptations; there is one singular, unmistakable, inescapable truth: video games do not make good movies. Quite often when a game to film adaptation is announced you always feel that air of caution from both fans and critics alike. Its that stench left from so many tragic video games turned into films that really leaves us with the feeling that their is nothing to hope for whenever a new one is announced.
Last night I was watching one of the more decent games to film movies, Silent Hill. As I watched a few rather impressive blood filled set pieces lazily glued together with some rather drab dramatic storytelling I thought back to all of the video game movies I either did or did not enjoy for various reasons. I instantly just lower my standards whenever I pop in a film like Doom or Resident Evil and to interesting effect it is possible to discover a lower-level brain-dead enjoyment from the mindless proceedings. Other times you just want to bash your skull in just to end the pain such as with House of the Dead or Alone in the Dark. 
If I had to think back to the first video game film to get it right it would have to be Mortal Kombat. Not because its really all that good but simply because it gives you what you enjoyed from the game and doesn’t try to change it just to appeal to mainstream audiences. Just look at Street Fighter for a fine example of how doing such a thing can end up with your film appealing to absolutely no one. Still, one is left wondering what is so difficult about adapting a video game to the big screen? I believe the answer is rather simple, games are meant to be experienced not watched. When you are interacting with the story it’s easy to forget that the script is awful and the acting is wretched. If you are the man with the gun its easy to get lost in the fun of it all but if you had to sit and watch all the story elements without any of the interactivity you are left with some very drab stuff.
With game such as Halo, Gears of War, and Metal Gear Solid making their way to the big screen what hope do we really have that any of them will be any good? Halo is flawed from the start because its storyline is slim and its main character never takes off his helmet. Perfect for a game but the scriptwriters have a nightmare of a time getting around those elements. Do you keep fans happy and have Master Chief remain hidden behind his iconic mask? Or do you please mainstream audiences and give them a handsome face to drool over in between gun battles? Another recent blockbuster hit in the game world is Gears of War a game that has taken countless hours of my life and I would never dare ask for them back but its storyline was nonexistent and would bore me to death if I had to watch all ten minutes of it back to back without the thrilling experience of playing through it. 
Metal Gear Solid is the only odd man out simply because the series itself has been more like a film and less like a game since it was revived on the Playstation a few years back. Its a movie stuck in a video games body so perhaps their is a chance it will easily find a home on the big screen. The only thing working against it is that the game is very well known for its very complicated, bizarre, and at times preachy storylines. It may not be what your average movie goer wants to see so its another case where you must decide whether to please the fans or the masses and in either case it could mean death at the box office. Even this weekend they recently released the film version of the Dead or Alive video game series. I watched the first thirty minutes and needless to say its hilariously awful. So bad its downright funny.
I personally have mixed feelings when it comes to films that take my favorite game and try to entertain me without giving me the chance to take part in the proceedings. I just take them on a case-by-case basis. I’ve enjoyed laughing at them, and some I can actually enjoy without being embarrassed for all involved with the project. All we can do is hold tightly to our game controllers and hope for the best. Although all is not lost, much like your typical book adaptations, when the film fails you can always fall back on the source material and pretend the movie never happened.
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06.07.07
Posted in Random Accidents at 3:10 pm by Administrator
My favorite director photographs my favorite actress. I take this is as a good omen for the next couple of days. I remember the first time I laid eyes on the voluptous and sensual Monica Belluci. Since then my life was never the same again. I took a moment to try and capture in my mind what it is that Lynch could be doing differently in this photograph. Initially nothing really stands out from all the other glamorous photos of Monica and trust me she has done plenty in the past. None of Lynch’s classic nude poses nor any sense of dark distressful tension. Is he getting soft in his old age? Well if you’ve seen INLAND EMPIRE the answer to that question is easy: no.
Surprisingly Lynch did quite a few photographs for the latest issue of the french version of Elle Magazine. Here’s the link, check them out while I try to discover whats behind this picture of Monica Belluci.
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