I'm a really big fan of James Rolfe and the gang over at Cinemassacre.com. There's an infectious DIY spirit over there that inspires the heck out of me. Plus, the Angry Video Game Nerd makes me laugh. Not long ago they posted this rather poignant short film that I felt I should showcase.
What is is about children and their attraction to cinematic fear? I remember being scared of so many films when I was a kid. "Jaws" was a big offender, as was "Poltergeist", the face melting scene in "Raiders of the Lost Ark", "Gremlins" - damn you, Spielberg! Even stupid scenes would make me soil by Underoos, like the scene in "Superman III" where the evil lady was transformed into a cyborg by the supercomputer, or the scene with the mutant bear cub lying in the creek in "Prophecy". Hell, the commercial for the televised version of "Alien" sent me packing. If a scary scene ever came up when I was watching a movie, I'd run to mommy and have her cover my eyes. It was pathetic.
And now here I am, a major horror movie fan and longtime subscriber to Fangoria magazine. I love scary stuff. I think that learning to "survive" horror movies is an easy training ground on the the road to mastering the real fears of life. Obviously this is only one way to learn to conquer your fear - there are many roads in this regard. It always makes me sad to see parents who shelter their kids from absolutely everything that might upset them. I know it's just their natural parental instincts kicking in, but the kid's gotta learn someday or else they'll turn into one of those self-centered, loud mouthed "extreme sports" A-holes. No, I'm not saying you should sit down with your kids and have a "Saw" marathon, either. Just let the kid live a little.
As for my own Dragon, I'm not entirely certain. My first cinematic memory was of one of the banthas (the big furry elephants on Tatooine) from the original "Star Wars". Did that inspire my love for Mr. Snuffleupagus on "Sesame Street", or my later obsession with paleontology and frozen woolly mammoth corpses in the Arctic? Perhaps.
I think it's something else. When I was about 2 or 3 years old I lived in a trailer with my parents in a town in northern Minnesota called Ely. One night, my dad spotted a pack of wolves outside of our trailer, lurking in the darkness. Against my mother's wishes, he lifted me up to the window so that I could take a look. I remember being excited and scared all at the same time. What I remember seeing were the black shapes of wolves against the white, snow-covered ground moving swiftly in the cold moonlight. Even to this day, many of my nightmares revolve around dark, menacing shapes lurking just outside the light, waiting. . .
Maybe some day I will get the chance to (safely) scare the hell out of your kids. My dreams are still a work in progress, but they will be unleashed upon this earth one day to entertainingly torment the souls of the living. This I swear! Until that time, I will have to torment you with my blog.
As for Mr. James Rolfe and his dreams, well. . . the "Angry Video Game Nerd Movie" is currently entering its third week of filming! Dreams do come true. . .
Controversial for its scenes of a foul-mouthed 11 year-old girl (Hit Girl, played by Chloe Grace Moretz) dealing out graphic deaths to nasty bad guys, "Kick-Ass" is 2010's "Watchmen", the year's razor-edged cinematic deconstruction of superhero myths. And I like razor-edged cinematic deconstructions of superhero myths. "Super" also came out in 2010, but I prefer the unbridled enthusiasm and rousing energy of "Kick-Ass". Based on the graphic novel by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr., "Kick-Ass" is the story of a high school nobody (Aaron Johnson) who decides to become a superhero and fight injustice. With the help of Hit Girl (Moretz), her father Big Daddy (Nicolas "yes, I can still make a good movie, now and then" Cage) and Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), he gets swept up in a whirlwind of fame, comedy, pain, and an evil New York crime lord who loves the color orange. While "Watchmen" had more high-falutin' themes on its mind, "Kick-Ass" brings it down to "the personal", as a good-intentioned innocent gets pulled into a world of highly twisted, yet honest, morality and must rise to meet "real life". Plus, it's intended to be a good old-fashioned crowd pleaser, and it succeeds.
Black Swan
Directed by Darren Aronofsky
This is my least favorite Aronofsky film ("Pi", "Requiem For a Dream", "The Fountain", "The Wrestler"). And yet, here it is. "Black Swan" tells the story of an up-and-coming ballerina (Natalie Portman) and the struggles she endures after she wins the coveted lead role in a New York production of "Swan Lake". Unfortunately, the pressures of the spotlight, the relationship with her mother played by Barbara Hershey (a history of sexual abuse, maybe?), and her slimy director's attempts to bring out her inner Black Swan all add up to one thing - she goes crazy. It's a (mostly) psychological horror movie, plain and simple. From the gleaming darkness of the cinematography, to the disorienting sound design, to the jittery camerawork, it's horror cinema at its most jarring. And Natalie Portman rocks, giving what, so far, is the best performance of her career. You like her and root for her even as she goes completely nutso. So dive headfirst into the surprisingly brutal world of ballet (ye gods) and prepare to lose your mind. . .
Hot Tub Time Machine
Directed by Steve Pink
A loving tribute to sex comedies of the 1980s, "Hot Tub Time Machine" (or "HTTM", as nobody says) follows three old friends (John Cusack, Rob Corddry and Craig Robinson) as they gather at a beloved ski lodge to reconnect after Corddry apparently attempts suicide. Sounds funny so far, no? Cusack's nephew (Clark Duke) also tags along, and before you can say "Porky's" the four of them are whisked back to the 1980s via a malfunctioning hot tub time machine (sounds plausible to me). Now they must make sure that all past events go exactly as they did before, or else their future lives will be destroyed. I've always liked John Cusack onscreen, even when he's in crap like "2012". Here he gets to riff on the movies he made in the '80s, and he's backed by a very funny cast, including Crispin Glover as a bellhop who's destined to lose an arm. While it has a modern level of raunchy, gross-out humor, it manages to have the feel of a clunky '80s comedy, which I like. It also has surprisingly touching moments, which are exactingly doled out to color these wacky bozos with empathy. It's a fun movie.
Inception
Directed by Christopher Nolan
The biggest puzzle box of 2010. On the surface it's a simple heist movie - as simple as possible when featuring a team of characters trying to plant an idea in someone's head through their dreams. What does the ending mean? Everyone has their theory and I have mine. Christopher Nolan doesn't even know, he says. Apparently it's a very personal movie for him - many of the sequences in the movie are based on actual dreams he's had. And Leonardo DiCaprio looks an awful lot like Christopher Nolan in this movie. Dreams versus reality, dreams versus memory, dreams as the seed of inspiration, equating the art of cinema with the dream state - all of these themes are present and accounted for, wrapped in a fluidly edited, propulsively scored narrative, accentuated with engaging performances and offered up within a pantheon of great sci-fi ideas and visual flair. It's a movie that must be seen to be believed.
Toy Story 3
Directed by Lee Unkrich
The perfect ending to a trilogy, "Toy Story 3" brings to a close the story of Andy and his relationship with his childhood toys. It manages to be both incredibly fun and surprisingly powerful, which those wizards at Pixar are masterful at doing. The twist this time around is that the movie is mainly set in the "prison break" movie genre, as Woody, Buzz and the rest of the gang must escape from a hellish day care center to get back to their owner. Featuring great new characters like Ken and Barbie, and despicable villains like Lotso Huggin Bear and the nightmarish Big Baby, the movie is a cornucopia of awesome, from its rousing opening sequence (set in the imagination of a child) to its tear-jerking climax and ending, with heaps of voice talent to boot. The funniest sequence for me, however, is the Mr. Tortilla Head sequence. You'll know it when you see it. These movies tap into those childhood memories when toys were our friends and companions, and imagination was king.
After the success of "The Return of Godzilla" (a.k.a. "Godzilla 1985"), Toho Studios held a very special contest for Godzilla fans - submit a brief storyline featuring an all-new monster opponent and see your name up in lights. The winner was Shinichiro Kobayashi, a mild-mannered dentist (okay, I made up the mild-mannered part - he might've been a raging madman, for all I know). His creation, Biollante, was Godzilla's new star opponent, and although much of his original story treatment was ultimately changed for the final film, his monster and some of his plot points remained. He was the envy of Godilla fans everywhere.
The film begins immediately after Godzilla's rampage in "Return". Japanese cleanup crews scour the wreckage of Tokyo looking for Godzilla chunks, little bits of his skin that have broken off during his radioactive temper tantrum. They're not the only ones looking for DNA, however - hired guns from the American corporation of Biomajor sneak in, steal some skin, then shoot their way out, only to get the sample stolen from them by an assassin from the made up Middle Eastern country of Saradia (who resembles the lead singer of Depeche Mode). In Saradia, the sample lands in the hands of Japanese scientist Dr. Shiragami and his rose-growing scientist daughter. With his help, the Saradian government wants to splice Godzilla's DNA with wheat to create a hardy new strain of grain that's able to grow in the harsh desert. Unfortunately, Biomajor nixes this plan by blowing up the laboratory, killing Shiragami's daughter and destroying the DNA sample.
Five years later. . .
Shiragami is back in Japan and is obsessed with his rose bushes. See, when his daughter was killed the rose bushes that she loved to tend survived, and the crazy old doctor thinks that her soul may have somehow become imprinted into the plants.
Meanwhile, Godzilla is still stuck in the volcano he was lured into at the end of "Return" (although the method that they used to lure him there - leading him on with simulated bird calls - is never used again in the series. . . maybe Godzilla got wise), but of course he won't be there for long. In one of the most foreboding scenes in the movie, psychic kids at the Center For ESP Studies in Tokyo all have the same dream one night and are asked to draw what they saw in their dreams. When the teacher asks to see their pictures, they all simultaneously lift their artwork into the air and, you guessed it, all the drawings are of Godzilla. Ace physic student Miki Saegusa (played by Megumi Odaka, who plays this character in every Series 2 movie) confirms that the Big G is stirring, so Japan gets ready. The government hires Dr. Shiragami to create a new anti-nuclear energy bacteria to use against Godzilla, so they loan him some of G's DNA to use in its creation. Unbeknownst to them, Shiragami uses some of the DNA to keep his precious daughter-possessed rose bushes alive (it was crushed in a Godzilla aftershock tremor), creating a new Godzilla/rose bush hybrid.
The Japanese government also builds the Super X2, a new version of the fighter craft from "Return". Now it's submersible, remote piloted, and has a new diamond mirror which can reflect Godzilla's energy beam.
After Biomajor agents and the lead singer of Depeche Mode try to steal Godzilla DNA from Shiragami's lab (the rose monster drives them off, killing an American), the Americans try a new plan - they threaten to blow up Mt. Mihara and release Godzilla unless the anti-nuclear bacteria is handed over to them. Thanks to the Saradian agent, however, the exchange goes badly and he makes off with the bacteria - the bombs blow, the volcano erupts, and Godzilla is back, more pissed off than ever.
Now comes all the defense shenanigans. The army attacks Godzilla. No use. The Super X2 engages him next. After a long, brutal fight (the Super X2 lasts much longer than the Super X), the reflective mirror melts and the ship has to disengage. Godzilla is then drawn to the plant monster who is part, well, him. After the spies attacked the lab, the rose beastie moved into a nearby lake and grew into a giant gnarly rose-headed plant. Shiragami names it Biollante, after a plant creature from Norse mythology. Godzilla and Biollante fight - briefly. One blast from Godzilla's beam and Biollante dissolves into radioactive pollen and floats away on the wind. Balls.
Godzilla stomps onward. The humans figure out that he's headed for the nuclear plant at Osaka to juice up. Young Miki Saegusa manages to stall Godzilla for a while by hitting his little brain with her psychic powers, but she collapses from the effort. At the same time, Japanese agents take back the anti-nuclear bacteria from the Saradians. The extremely damaged Super X2 lures Godzilla into the heart of Osaka city, keeping him busy while the Japanese prepare a trap. The Super X2 is destroyed, but Japanese snipers get in position and deliver the bacteria into Godzilla's system via intravenous bazooka blasts.
The bacteria isn't working. It seems that Godzilla's temperature is too low for the bacteria to breed. At first I thought that this was weird, given that Godzilla's heart is a nuclear reactor, but eventually I realized that Godzilla would need some kind of internal cooling system to avoid melting down. It makes perfect sense, in a nonsensical sort of way.
The Japanese government decide to use a prototype "thunder control system" to heat up Godzilla (a giant minefield of heat inducing nodes). Not even the awesome power of their Masers can get the monster to go where they want - until suddenly, from the sky, Biollante descends, fully formed and bad ass. The climactic monster fight begins. It's spectacular, it's bloody, and it doesn't end until Godzilla heats up and keels over into the ocean, succumbing from the bacteria. Biollante then dissolves into glowing pollen and flies into space. Miki Saegusa hears the psychic voice of a woman saying "goodbye". Dr. Shiragami realizes it's his daughter - then gets shot by the Saradian agent. After a brief car chase, the lead singer of Depeche Mode is vaporized when he accidentally stands on one of the thunder control system nodes as it's activated. Oops.
Godzilla rises again. The cool ocean water has lowered his temperature, but he no longer has any fight left in him. He stumbles into the ocean while the world mourns over the death of Shiragami, who took the secret of the anti-nuclear bacteria with him into the grave.
This is a great Godzilla movie, far superior to "Godzilla 1985". The action is fun, the human characters are enjoyable (there's quite a large cast), there are several stand out moments (like Godzilla's face off with one of the guys who hit him with the bacteria) as well as several cool ideas, and Biollante is an awesome opponent. Like a cross between John Carpenter's "The Thing" and Audrey from "Little Shop of Horrors", the effects used to realize this character are stellar, even though its motivations are somewhat nebulous (which I think is the point). The only weak point of the movie is the musical score by Koichi Sugiyama. It's very cheesy and dated.
Kazuki Omori wrote and directed this movie. He would be a major creative force for the rest of the series, and one of the best Godzilla directors of all time. Unfortunately, this movie has yet to hit DVD in the United States. You can find it online, though.
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)
Writer/Director Kazuki Omori came back for this follow up movie, which featured the return of one of Godzilla's most popular foes. Legendary composer Akira Ifukube also returned to the series for the first time in nearly 20 years, delivering one of his best musical scores ever. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's take a gander at what Toho has in store for us. . .
The movie picks up three years after the events of "Godzilla vs. Biollante". A flying saucer appears in the skies above Japan (oh no, not again). Authorities track its movements as it swoops around the country and takes a small trip to the ocean to observe the sleeping form of Godzilla, who's been resting and recuperating after becoming infected with anti-nuclear energy bacteria. Psychic wunderkind Miki Saegusa (Megumi Odaka, now a 20-year old professional) keeps an ever-watchful eye on the big lizard, ready to sound an alarm the moment he wakes up.
At the same time, a hotshot young Reporter tracks a story about a possible dinosaur sighting in the 1940s. The trail leads to a powerful industrialist named Shindo, who was the commander of a Japanese garrison on Lagos Island during World War II. With some reluctance, Shindo reveals that a Tyrannosaurus-like dinosaur (Godzillasaur) once saved his men from being overrun by American forces during a fierce battle on Lagos. Lagos was later used as a test site for atomic bombs, leading the Reporter to conclude that Godzilla may be the Godzillasaur savior in mutant form.
The flying saucer eventually lands and official representatives of the Japanese government go out to meet their new visitors. Surprise! It's not aliens this time, it's people from the future. From over 200 years in the future, to be vaguely exact - two balding Americans and a Japanese woman named Emiko. Within their flying saucer base is a smaller, sleeker ship that can also travel through time and comes equipped with a teleportation device. This smaller ship comes with its very own android pilot, M-11, who looks like a balding American. They've come from the future to stop Godzilla from totally annihilating Japan, which is set to occur very soon. The idea for this trip through time was given to them by a little-seen book about the origin of Godzilla which will be written some time in the next few years by the Reporter. With the Reporter, Miki Saegusa and a couple of other scientists in tow, the future people go back in time to the 1940s and visit Lagos Island.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot. . . the future people have brought a couple of pets with them. Three, to be exact. They're called dorats, and they're genetically engineered house pets. They're covered in gold scales, they fly with bat wings, and they can sense the feelings of people around them. Hmmm.
It's here in the movie where we see young Shindo and the annihilation of the American forces by dinosaur Godzilla. It's a pretty cool scene, ending with a badly wounded Godzillasaur being saluted by the Japanese soldiers before they evacuate the island. There's also a pretty cute scene set on an American destroyer which features a young actor playing a soldier who happens to be Steven Spielberg's dad. It supposedly explains where a couple of his son's ideas may have stemmed from. Think UFOs and dinosaurs on islands.
The future people teleport the wounded Godzillasaur to a faraway location in the ocean. When they return to 1992, they find that Godzilla has never existed (and yet, the events of "Godzilla, King of the Monsters" still happened, lending credence to my theory that there were two Godzillas on the island). "Godzilla 1985" and "Godzilla vs. Biollante" never happened - only the time travelers are aware of those events. However, a new monster has appeared - King Ghidorah! See, back in the past, Emiko released the dorats onto Lagos. The atomic tests melded together the cute little pets and gave birth to Ghidorah and now the people in the future have a powerful monster they can control (I guess Ghidorah was just sitting around on Lagos twiddling his wings until the future people needed him in 1992). Their plan - to destroy most of Japan then help it rebuild under their strict supervision. They lied - in the future, Japan has become the most powerful nation on Earth. Now these jealous Americans are here to fix all of that.
Even though "Biollante" and this movie weren't released in America until the late '90s, I remember seeing a story on CNN around '91 about the controversial anti-American plot of "Ghidorah". I never felt that was anissue while watching the movie. The future Americans were not representatives of the American government, they were just one of those wacky extremist splinter groups.
As Ghidorah tears through Japan in spectacular fashion, future girl Emiko is dismayed. Apparently she wasn't told the whole story and, since she's Japanese herself, decides to fight back. She reprograms M-11 to be a good guy and leaves her balding masters behind. Meanwhile, the good guys, knowing the location of teleported Tyrannosaur Godzilla, decide to make an all-new monster Godzilla. Shindo happens to have a secret nuclear submarine (!), so he sends it out to re-mutate Godzilla, but whoops. . . it appears another nuclear sub capsized in the vicinity a few years ago, mutating Godzilla a little bit ahead of time. Godzilla destroys Shindo's sub, sucks up all the powerful modern radiation levels and rises as - Super Godzilla! He's now bigger and meaner than ever before.
The Big G heads directly for King Ghidorah - the battle begins. Godzilla is thoroughly getting his tail kicked by the gold dragon, but Emiko and M-11 (with help from the Reporter) infiltrate the saucer base and destroy the computer that controls Ghidorah. While disoriented and confused, Ghidorah is easily defeated by Godzilla, who blows off one of his three heads and sends his body to the bottom of the ocean. Godzilla then turns on the saucer base and destroys it killing the Americans. Emiko and the others barely manage to escape in the smaller ship before the base explodes.
Now Japan has an even bigger problem - Super Godzilla! He takes over where Ghidorah left off and begins tearing through the countryside. He eventually comes face-to-face with Shindo and, in one of the movie's most memorable scenes, creator and createe have a bit of a reckoning. It's one of the best scenes in any Godzilla movie ever. It's moving, it's backed by an incredible score from Ifukube, and it's very, very Japanese.
Emiko and M-11 take the smaller time ship into the future to recover Ghidorah's fallen body. Soon they return to '92 and they've brought help - Ghidorah's body has been rebuilt as Mecha King Ghidorah! Now piloted by Emiko herself, MKG engages Godzilla in one last fight, and it's a good one. Godzilla still destroys the hell out of MKG, but not before MKG flies Godzilla out into the ocean, pinning him beneath his robotic bulk. Emiko once again escapes in time and, with Godzilla temporarily out of action, she returns to the future - but not before revealing to the Reporter that she's one of his descendants. Fin.
One of my favorite Godzilla movies of all time, it's fast paced, full of ideas both truly great and enjoyably ridiculous, and is better than "Biollante" with a greater score and more monster battles. This is the first and only instance that time travel would figure into the plot of a Godzilla movie (to date), and it's kind of refreshing. Great movie.
Biollante would never be seen again, but King Ghidorah returns. Eventually.
Next time, a few more old favorites get rebooted - '90s style.
Yes, I will review "The Hunger Games". Please stop bugging me.
Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace 3-D
This movie still sucks. Now it's in 3-D.
The 3-D wasn't very well done, either.
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
I liked this one slightly better than I did the first movie. The best qualities of the original movie were the cool Ghost Rider special effects, Sam Elliot, and the strange "Nicholas Cage-y" character moments, otherwise I found it to be a by-the-numbers dark superhero story told in a very staid, unexciting manner.
"Spirit of Vengeance" has a more haphazard storyline and is a bit more overcaffeinated, but I found it to be more entertaining in its own B-movie way. I recommend this movie, but with a few caveats: 1) This movie is directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor. If you can stand their irreverent, electric directing style and think that "Crank 2: High Voltage" is one of the most brilliantly insane steaming piles of cinematic gold shat out through Hollywood in quite some time (I do), then you'll think this movie is okay - although this new "Ghost Rider" is my least favorite movie in the Neveldine/Taylor four film catalog. 2) Your Nicholas Cage tolerance. Most of his movies lately have sucked eggs, but 1 out of every 5 is usually not bad. Once again he provides some funny "Cage-y" moments, but the directors clearly encouraged him to go "Full Cage" in a couple of scenes, which are not unlike his performance in this infamous deleted scene from his crappy remake of "The Wicker Man" -
3) The Ghost Rider brand. A few comic book geeks I know hate the Ghost Rider comics. The movies try to give him more of a mainstream appeal, but it's hard when the source material isn't all that great in the first place. 4) Do you like grindhouse movies? And 3-D movies? "Spirit of Vengeance", like all Neveldine/Taylor movies, is a modern day grindhouse flick. The 3-D, surprisingly, was extremely well done. Snobs need not apply. 5) I'm just now realizing that I've spent way too much time talking about this movie and making too many caveats. You should probably just skip it.
The twinkie scene was funny.
John Carter
Boring title. Awful marketing campaign. Misplaced emphasis in the press about the high budget and the resulting profit losses. All taking focus from the fact that it's a decent movie.
I loved Edgar Rice Burrough's "John Carter of Mars" series of stories when I was a kid (even though I always preferred his "Tarzan" novels). The first story, "A Princess of Mars" has been translated to the screen several times in the past 100 years since its first publication, and they've all been rather lame. "John Carter" is the first translation I've enjoyed.
Time, I think, is the problem here. It's been ripped off so many times in the past 100 years ("Avatar," anyone?) that it all seems like it's been done before. And the creators of this film, in their zeal to start a big new franchise, have packed too much story material into this film (which wasn't in the first book) that won't pay off until a much later sequel comes along, which is unsatisfying if there's no sequel to provide said payoff (there won't be).
Too bad, because I liked it. It's a solid film for people who like to delve into worlds of fantasy.
The Lorax
Wins the "Pirates of the Caribbean 4" award for being the most lifeless, committee-produced studio product of the year. I nearly fell asleep during this one. Such a disappointment, hard to believe it came from the same people who produced "Despicable Me".
Note to Hollywood: Please stop trying to make films out of Dr. Seuss books. It really hurts.
21 Jump Street
I've never watched an entire episode of the original series, just small bits and pieces of it. This new film, which is a comedy, is a continuation of the series rather than a remake. Characters from the show even make surprise appearances in this movie, providing not only laughs but fond nostalgia for old school fans.
This movie is hysterical. I've never really liked Jonah Hill or Channing Tatum all that much, but this has definitely elevated my opinion of them. It's a witty, self-aware film that, at the same time, isn't afraid to go for the gross-out humor. It will be hard for another comedy to top this one in the 2012 funny movie race.
The Hunger Games
How To Assemble A Young Adult Fantasy Novel -
Take a concept that's been visited many times before in Adult Literature (wizards, vampires, werewolves, Greek myths, aliens, post apocalyptic futures where the upper class controls the lower class through popular entertainment), make it more family-friendly (if necessary), make the main characters teenagers with teenage problems, and throw a love triangle subplot somewhere into the mix. Voila! Young Adult gold.
All of which applies to "The Hunger Games". But don't let that fool you because it's a really good movie. I may be a sci-fi nerd who's seen it all before and, while I feel that this movie is just a little bit over hyped, solid filmmaking and a well-told story make this one shine brighter than most. Jennifer Lawrence, last seen in the great prequel "X-Men: First Class", gives a truly strong star-making performance as her character grows from poor starving nobody into a two-fisted cultural icon. She's one to watch.
My criticisms are minor - there are some sketchy special effects, and the teen actors are a bit too "Hollywood pretty" to be truly convincing as downtrodden waifs, but that doesn't really matter. The supporting cast is peppered with familiar, talented faces, the storyline is filled with intriguing (if not entirely new) ideas, and the action is well done and involving, from a character standpoint.
Good stuff. And, no, I've never read the books. I may get around to it someday. . .
Wrath of the Titans
"Release the sequel!"
Do you like watching guys in metal skirts fighting giant monsters? Then this is the movie for you.
This is another sequel that I enjoyed slightly more than its predecessor. The "story" (if, by "story", you mean a loose framework built to shuffle the characters from one monster fight to the next) is a little less of a patchwork job than in "Clash of the Titans" (which was heavily tampered with in post production), the 3-D is good (the "Clash" 3-D was notoriously awful), it's much faster-paced (so fast it's almost slight), and it has a little more emotional resonance than the original (due to the heavily-accented father/son theme). Sam Worthington is still likable in a down-to-earth sort of way (his Australian accent is heavy, this time), the special effects are awesome, and the fight sequences are fun. Too bad for the lame comic relief and the laughably tacked-on love story. But, sometimes, I'm just in the mood for a monster fighting movie. This will do.
I still prefer the original 1981 "Clash of the Titans" to both of the new movies, though.
And (Spoiler Alert, sort of) the mechanical owl Bubo makes another cameo appearance in "Wrath". Just thought you should know.
The Raid: Redemption
And now for my favorite movie of 2012 (so far), this little action gem from Indonesia. The actual title of this movie is just "The Raid", but a major American movie studio has gained the rights for a remake and Sony Pictures Classics had to add "Redemption" to the title to avoid litigation. The subtitle doesn't even make any sense, since there is no story of redemption to be found anywhere in the plot. Oh well. That's the only complaint I have.
This is a perfect action movie. The story - a powerful drug lord owns an apartment complex full of scumbags and drug labs. A special tactical unit of police officers (like S.W.A.T.) is sent into the building to capture the drug lord, but they've been double crossed. Now they must fight for survival against an army of thugs. It starts off tense as the team quietly infiltrates the building, then it explodes into a massive firefight, then, when the ammo runs low, it becomes a bad ass martial arts extravaganza. I saw the movie twice on opening weekend. At both showings, when the end credits came up, the audience went absolutely bonkers, hooting and hollering like crazy people, me included. It's an utterly satisfying action movie, something we rarely get in America, since we don't make action movies anymore, just "four quadrant" movies (as the Hollywood execs say).
The "four quadrants" are Young, Old, Male, and Female. A "four quadrant" movie is a movie that contains elements which will appeal to members of each quadrant, and most American movies nowadays are carefully constructed to appeal to as wide an audience base as possible. "The Raid: Redemption" is for action fans only. Since America doesn't make straight action films anymore, we are starving for them.
Don't think it's just a simplistic action movie, either. It's full of plot twists, character depth, style and some surprisingly funny dry wit. The lead actor, Iko Uwais, is a star in the making. He's like an Indonesian John McClane - he bleeds, he sweats, he gets tired. He's no Superman, but he does happen to be a master of Pencak Silat, a Muslim-based Indonesian form of martial arts. You want him to survive the blood and chaos and return safely home to his pregnant wife.
Made with an Indonesian cast by an Indonesian crew, it's directed by Gareth Evans, a Brit, and features an awesome musical score by Mike Shinoda of America's own Linkin Park. It's a true crowd pleaser for action geeks like myself. Highly, highly recommended.