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.
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