Thus endeth the lesson for today.
Chronicle
Found footage movies and superhero movies. Just when I think I've gotten sick of these genres, some new flick comes along and pulls me right back in - like "Chronicle", which manages to blend both of these genres into one vital, gritty package. Director Josh Trank did an excellent job not only in combining genres, but in creating a timely story about a troubled teen's misplacement of rage. Now give the troubled teen superpowers. Oh crapballs. Dane DeHaan's excellent performance as the troubled teen is the heart and soul of the movie, giving the movie a gravity and depth that you rarely encounter in either found footage or superhero movies. When he starts to sink into a downward spiral you not only fear for the safety of his family and friends, but for the whole world! Talk about tension. Thankfully his super-powered friends (capably portrayed by Alex Russell and Michael B. Jordan) are there to help him - or stop him, if need be. For an independent picture, the special effects are quite excellent and well-utilized, adding to the realistic feel. The sequences where the kids explore the limits of their powers and goof off with them also strikes me as realistic - I could easily imagine being the same way if I had superpowers at that age. It's a fun way to get in with the characters before things go wrong. "Chronicle" is short, sweet and surprisingly affecting.
And what's up with this Michael B. Jordan guy? Not only was he in the excellent film "Fruitvale Station", but he's attached to the "Fantastic Four" reboot (as "The Human Torch" Johnny Storm), the new "Batman vs. Superman" movie (as Cyborg), the new "Rocky" spin-off "Creed" (as Apollo Creed's grandson), the new "Independence Day" sequel (as Will Smith's grown-up stepson) and he may even have something to do with "Star Wars Episode VII". Wow. I can say that I knew him back when he was "the black guy" in "Chronicle".
Zero Dark Thirty
Ah, Jessica Chastain. I couldn't let a year go by without putting one of her films on my list. "Zero Dark Thirty" (based on a book based on real events) is the story of the manhunt for Osama Bin Laden. Subtextually, it's the story of a woman making a name for herself in what is, primarily, a "man's world", something director Kathryn Bigelow knows plenty about (she's been directing action movies since the 1980s). Mrs. Bastard - I mean Miss Chastain, plays Maya, the C.I.A. analyst responsible for the major breakthroughs in the case. She is, as always, an asskicker of the highest degree, and the rest of the cast ain't bad either. I love that the movie is a straightforward thriller, engaging and tense from start to finish, with the final assault on Bin Laden's compound standing out as the major highlight. I also love that the movie is generally apolitical. The political realities of the situation are very much present and affect the story, but, as in real life, the focus is mainly on the hunt. The quagmire of the World of Politics is merely seen as something one has to put up with in order to get the job done. And the story doesn't shy away from the morally gray stuff. Sure, in the end it's a bit of a flag-waving movie, but what the heck's wrong with that? I'm an American and I love America. At least the core of what America should stand for. And I love Jessica Chastain (crazy obsessive fanboy alert). My only regret is that she wasn't starring in a movie called "Zero Dark Dirty".
That's sickening. I'm stopping now.
The Pirates: Band of Misfits
Have I mentioned how much I love stop-motion animation? The answer to that question is YES. As a child, I made a few crappy stop-motion short films of my own, using action figures, Play-Doh, LEGOs (I was way ahead of the times there) and anything else that I could animate one frame at a time to simulate realistic (a.k.a. sickeningly jerky) movement. I was inspired to do this by my love of stop-motion in movies. "King Kong" (1933) was always one of my favorite examples of the art form, as was the extensive filmography of "The Master of Special Effects", Ray Harryhausen ("The 7th Voyage of Sinbad", "Jason and the Argonauts", "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms", "One Million Years B.C.", "Mighty Joe Young", "Clash of the Titans", "The Valley of Gwangi", "20 Million Miles to Earth", and on and on). In the 80s and 90s, Industrial Light and Magic called it "Go-Motion" and used it in many of the movies they worked on (the "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" trilogies, "Robocop", "Aliens", etc.) until the fateful year of 1993, when a little movie called "Jurassic Park" introduced the world to CGI, and changed everything. Stop-motion refused to die, however. 1993 saw not only "Jurassic Park", but also the stop-motion-heavy "Army of Darkness" and Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas", a banner film that kept the art alive. Since then, Tim Burton has continued to fan the stop-motion flames, as have filmmakers like Wes Anderson and companies like Aardman animations, makers of "Wallace & Gromit" and "Chicken Run". Which brings me to "The Pirates: Band of Misfits", Aardman's latest gem, based on a series of kids books by Gideon Defoe. It's hilarious, exciting, wonderfully animated, and far more fun than those "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies. Plus, it features the voices of the cannibal king from "Cloud Atlas", Doctor Who, Bilbo Baggins, Dolores Umbridge, Ari Gold, Satanica Pandemonium, Boss Nass, Pavel Chekov, Beowulf and Al Roker. Not to be missed.
The Raid: Redemption
Well, actually it's just called "The Raid". The studio which released the movie in America added "Redemption" to the title of this Indonesian action flick in order to separate it from the inevitable remake, which was recently announced to star the brothers Chris and Liam Hemsworth (from "Thor" and "The Hunger Games", respectively). Until then, we've got this tense little action puppy to kick our collective butts. It's a simple premise: An elite police unit enters an apartment building controlled by a powerful drug lord with the intention of bringing him to justice. Unfortunately it's populated by the drug lord's personal army - and he knows they're coming. Trapped inside, it becomes a brutal fight for survival as the cops struggle to live to see another day. But one cop has a secret agenda which may save their lives. . . or maybe not. From start to finish, it's a tense, extremely violent ride through a little slice of Indonesian hell, expertly directed by Gareth Evans, who is an amiable Welsh chap. I like how the movie starts off at a slow boil as a tense cop thriller and eventually morphs into a furious martial arts extravaganza (once the bullets run out). The character of Mad Dog is one of the scariest and most amazing (and shortest) martial arts badasses in film history! It's also one of those rare movies that manages to be satisfying while, at the same time, leaving things open for a sequel.
And lookee here - the sequel hits American shores next month. Woo hoo!
The Avengers
I had an epiphany the other day when watching this movie again: Joss Whedon is a really talented guy. Okay, so maybe I've had that epiphany before (like in My Favorites, Part 1), but it was for slightly different reasons this time. To assemble all of these weird, iconic screen characters, give them ample, fulfilling screen time and full character arcs, satisfy both the hardcore fans and the Hollywood Big Shots while at the same time giving casual moviegoers an entertaining ride - simply put, Whedon is a master juggler, and juggling is a tough skill to master, especially in filmmaking. This is a cool movie. While it's a more fulfilling experience if you've seen all of the previous entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it works just fine all on its own. Be it the action and special effects, the humor, the great performances, Alan Silvestri's rousing music, the cool cameos, the witty asides, the re-jiggering of old clichés, it all adds up to something unique and wonderful - the first superhero crossover/team movie ever attempted. As the end of MCU's Phase I (it's all set to conclude at the end of Phase III with "The Avengers 3") the bar is set quite high, but I have faith that 2015's "The Avengers: Age of Ultron" will live up to the original movie in every respect - although, Whedon has said in a couple of interviews that his goal with "Age of Ultron" is to hurt the audience, emotionally. Uh oh.
See you next year!
Or maybe next week. Yeah, let's go with next week.. .
Chronicle was really cool! I enjoyed it. : )
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