Friday, August 28, 2009

The Final Destination 3-D

* Star

I was lied to. Death did not save the best for 3-D. THE Final Destination is simply terrible. Seriously, this whole 3-D thing is starting to annoy me. At first, I accepted it (mainly because of Up), but now I'm sick of it. I have a piece of advice for any studio executive thinking of releasing their next movie in 3-D. How about instead of 3-D, you come up with a good story? That way you save some money, you can release it in more theaters, and your audience will come back for seconds. Like anything else, a gimmick will eventually die out. A good story will not. This throwaway piece of junk doesn't have one line of dialogue that includes any substance. It's literally a group of young, good-looking teenagers and a handful of clueless adults who escape a tragic, yet preposterously silly crash at a race track. The place explodes, but one kid has a premonition before it happens and him and a lucky few escape. Now, they must escape death before it's too late. Yada, yada, yada. You know the drill. The Final Destination is pure formula, a pathetically marketed product with shameless results.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

It Might Get Loud

**** Stars

It Might Get Loud is a fascinating entertainment. A simple film, in which director Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth) understands its simplicity, and uses it towards his advantage. Featuring Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), The Edge (U2), and Jack White (The White Stripes, The Raconteurs), this riveting documentary captures three fantastic musicians from three different backgrounds who meet to discuss the history of the guitar, their experiences of rock stardom, and to share a well-deserved jam session. Rather than Guggenheim trying to show his experience throughout the making of the film (a la Michael Moore/performance style), he keeps all the action on the stars. Page, clearly the superior presence of the group, is shot with the class and mysterious wit he has so gracefully earned. The Edge, while obviously not on par with Page or even Jack White when it comes to playing guitar, is displayed as a musician of technological expertize. And Jack White, who deserves to be ranked as one of this generation's most natural-born musicians, is the perfect counterpart to this trio. The first shot of the film has White making a guitar out of one string, a piece of wood, a handful of nails, and an empty glass coke bottle. "Who says you need a guitar?" says White. I won't argue with you Jack, but when it comes to you, Jimmy Page, and The Edge, a guitar isn't the worst thing to have.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Thirst

***1/2 Stars

Chan-Wook Park's vampire love tale is Bonnie and Clyde meets Let the Right One In. It is a visually stunning picture, with solid performances throughout. The story chronicles the aftermath of a medical experiment that was suppose to turn a man of faith into someone who would be able to cure a deadly virus. Instead, it turns him into a vampire. Now while they may seem a bit too silly for one to believe, remember whose hands this film is in. Chan-Wook Park is a master storyteller, and even though the film drags in some spots, it truly deserves the highest praise I can give for a film I should not have liked. I'm so sick of vampire stories, especially involving romance. I would be completely content if True Blood was cancelled and Twilight was never mention again. I was also one of maybe eight people that didn't like Let the Right One In. But Thirst, boldly able to blend the boundaries of fiction and realism, shows much more craft and devotion than any of the shows/movies I just mentioned. It is a highly entertaining blood-fest, with one of the strongest endings to a movie I have seen all year.

Inglorious Basterds

**** Stars
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Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds is a brilliantly unconventional piece of cinema that is absolutely one of the best films of the year. It dares to take huge risks only Tarantino is capable of taking. Whether you're looking for an antidote from this summer's ridiculously loud and noisy movies, or want to experience two-and-a-half hours of untamed, breathtaking cinema, this is it. In the midst of what is usually a quiet throwaway month for movies, this August has two of the best films of the year (this and District 9). It's the refreshing cleanse of fine filmmaking we desperate moviegoers ever so needed.

Inglourious Basterds may need a quick explanation for those who think this story is about Brad Pitt and a group of eight soldiers killing Nazis. Trust me, nothing could be farther from the truth. This is a much richer, more complex story than what's being advertised. Think Pulp Fiction set in World War II, a movie which follows several different characters in a specific genre who all unexpectedly cross paths, in which will decide the fates of every character involved.

The story begins in 1941, where a young Jewish refugee named Shosanna Dreyfus (Mealine Laurent) witnesses the brutal murder of her entire family carried out by Colonel Hans Landa (played by Christopher Waltz, in an extraordinary performance). The scene is set on a farm in Nazi-occupied France, and it evolves into one of the most intense introductions to a film you will see all year. Tarantino, a master at building tension, gives one of the strongest written scenes of his career, where you meet the evil and ridiculousness of Christopher Waltz's startling portrayal of a Nazi colonel.

Using his trademark by telling the story through chapters, the second chapter introduces us to the "Inglourious Basterds," a group of Nazi-killers headed by Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt). Their jobs? Killin' Nazis. And according to Raine, "business is-a-boomin." We learn about the Basterds through their violent punishments, their off-beat pasts, and Aldo Raine's mysterious ways of serving justice. When he crosses paths with Shosanna Dreyfus, who has become the owner of a cinema, we know exactly what to expect when they discover that many of Germany's high command will be attending a Nazi propaganda film at her theater. What do we expect? That they will be sneaking into the premiere. Not to see the movie, but to blow up the theater, and all those occupying it.

There is no doubt that Tarantino is probably one of the biggest lovers of film ever, but what makes him one of the greatest film directors ever is how he embraces that very love. For example, by using film stock for a weapon, a film critic as a character, and a movie theater as a location for the film’s climax, this is an unequivocal sign of a master at his craft using the very tools needed to create the filmmaker's passion. This is one of the only times you will ever see the climax of a film set in a movie theater, and not for a second does it ever feel like you are watching one.

Combining themes from numerous genres, Tarantino has made a masterful film, one that isn't at all about the history of World War II (in fact, it's probably one of the most historically inaccurate films of all time) but rather a celebration of moviemaking. That's what Tarnatino does. Anyone who criticizes him for taking lines and ideas from other films is missing the whole point. He's not stealing from them, he's honoring them. I don't want to give anything away, but I will say this. There is a line in Inglourious Basterds involving someone who does something, and they think it may be their masterpiece. You may decide for yourself what I mean by that, and what Tarantino meant too, once you see it.

Friday, August 14, 2009

The Time Traveler's Wife

*** Stars

The Time Traveler's Wife is the only wide release romantic drama of the summer. While I wish there were more than just one this summer, The Time Traveler's Wife, based off Audrey Niffenegger's best-selling novel, is a fine vessel to steer those in need of a Kleenex fix. Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana are perfectly cast in this character driven love story surrounding an interesting fantasy concept. Bana plays Henry, a Chicago librarian with a biological gene that causes him to abruptly time travel without warning. His condition provides the conflict for the film, which follows the love lives of Henry and his wife Claire (McAdams). The two must deal with the biological, emotional, and interpersonal effects of his time-traveling and find a way to control it enough to live happily ever after. While exposition easily finds its way into the explanation of Henry's conditions, the film is an absorbing and emotionally satisfying drama. If you are able to get past the ridiculousness that is the first thirty minutes, you will appreciate the immensely effective performances from Bana and McAdams, and feel the force of love through any ordeal, most notably the paradox of time. After all, isn't it just an illusion?

District 9

**** Stars

Who would have thought? One of the best films of the year is an alien movie directed by a first time director with a $30 million budget featuring no star presence whatsoever. As a label, District 9 doesn't exactly scream critical and box-office success does it? But labels are exactly the reason why this film is so refreshing. Neill Blomkamp, originally attached to direct the frustratingly canceled Halo adaptation, proves that he is no amateur when it comes to making movies. In fact, if someone told me this was directed by Peter Jackson and not just produced, I'd believe it. What makes this even more of a wonderful feat of filmmaking (along with its artistic success, of course) is its opening weekend at the box-office. District 9 pulled in $37 million on its opening weekend. For someone who is seriously committed to box-office tracking, this is one of my favorite pieces of movie news all year. Finally, a film worthy of taking the #1 spot.

The film's concept is one hell of an idea. Aliens, instead of invading earth, become stuck on earth. The film opens with documentary-style footage of interviews that reveal the history of how District 9 (a ghetto for "non-humans" only) came to be. Twenty years prior to the films events (it takes place in 2010) an alien ship is spotted above Johannesburg, South Africa. Instead of the aliens setting foot on the ground first, we humans get too anxious and decide to board the ship, only to discover a large amount of aliens suffering from illness. A ghetto is formed, and District 9 becomes the living ground for all non-humans (in case you were wondering about the terminology, the creatures are called "Prawns"). While apartheid allegory is clearly a present theme in the movie, Blomkamp dares not to exploit political messages of today's world, and instead lets the story unfold for the viewer to think for themselves. Who are the victims here, the aliens or the humans? Why won't we let the aliens leave? Why aren't the aliens attacking us? Is there meaning behind why the ship landed over Johannesburg, South Africa?

After twenty years of aliens on earth, people are beginning to grow tired of their money being invested in District 9. So a private company called Multi-National United (MNU) shows up to move as many creatures as possible to District 10 in order to control the over-populated District 9. The movie then shifts from a documentary style to a gritty sci-fi thriller, centering on a MNU field operative named Wikus van der Merwe (newcomer Sharlto Copley) and his experience in District 9. During his time there, he is exposed to a mysterious alien liquid, and over time, becomes very sick.

Sorry, but you'll have to see the movie to know what happens to him. My apologies, but there is not way I am ruining the element of surprise for you. All you need to know is that it's riveting entertainment.

I am baffled as to how Blomkamp was able to pull this movie off with only $30 million. District 9 feels like an epic summer movie, but one with the smarts and visual expertise you deserve out of an epic summer movie. I hope Michael Bay (Transformers 2) and Stephen Sommers (G.I Joe: The Rise of Cobra) are sitting down somewhere with their combined $375 million budget thinking, "Shit. I didn't know people actually wanted a story to go along with action." Good riddance again that this movie is taking names at the box-office. It's the film we've been waiting for all summer folks. So don't hesitate. Go see District 9, a vivaciously spectacular movie event with the heart of a natural storyteller and the eye of a born filmmaker.

Friday, August 07, 2009

G.I Joe: The Rise of Cobra

* Star

It seems coherency and storytelling are but a luxury in 2009's summer blockbusters. From X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, to now the latest G.I Joe: The Rise of Cobra, I am, in all seriousness, unable to sit down with you and tell you what these films are about.

I'm getting sick of writing reviews on these movies. And you must be just as tired of reading them. So here we are, another steaming pile of movie garbage forever cemented in our summer movie culture. I never thought I'd say this, but in terms of crap,
G.I Joe: The Rise of Cobra comes dangerously close to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on many occasions. While the latter is still the worst of the worst, G.I Joe is like its annoying little brother. I hate both of them. And you should too.

So as the summer comes to a close, I advice you to check out what will be the last two worthy films of the summer, Inglorious Basterds (which is a masterpiece and absolutely one of the best films of the year) and District 9. For now though, enjoy Hollywood at its worst with G.I Joe: The Rise of Cobra.

Sunday, August 02, 2009

The Windmill Movie

**1/2 Stars

Imagine a film about a person making a film about himself, but died before it was "finished." Then, in an attempt to honor his legacy, his friends make a film about him making a film about himself, but in the end never show the actually film. Thus creates, The Windmill Movie.

Did you get that? Basically, The Windmill Movie is a collage of random footage and interviews surrounding the life Richard P. Rogers, a filmmaker who desperately tried to make an autobiographical film about his own life. Sadly, he passed away from cancer in 2001, but his friends decided to create a documentary about the journey behind him and the unfinished film. The Windmill Movie asks a very interesting question: "Why is it so hard to make a movie about yourself?" That question is deep enough to spark a debate amongst anyone whose ever even seen a film. However, when watching an actual film about the fundamentals of personal filmmaking, the message, from an outside perspective at least, is rather forgettable.

I appreciate the effort and sincerity of Richard's friends here, by giving the world a piece of their friend's whole life, a life in which all he ever wanted was to make a movie and share it to the world. Whatever masterpiece he thought he was making though, is perhaps best kept to himself. The Windmill Movie is more of a homage than a film, and while I can't for a second dismiss it, there's really no reason to head out and see it unless you knew the man behind it.