Star Trek

Category: Film
Genre: Sci-Fi / Action / Reboot
Directed By: J. J. Abrams
Running Time: 126 min.

Heading into Star Trek there were two apprehensions on my mind.  First the law of evens, which is a tongue in cheek reference to the Odd numbered Star Trek movies being sub-par, and this was number eleven.  Second, it’s a reboot of a classic property with a director from outside the genre’s core.  As it turns out, I really needn’t have worried, Star Trek is a very worthy film, largely living up to the buzz and assuaging most of the doubts I’d had going into it.

Breaking from the expected “how the gang all got together at Starfleet” origin story line, Abrams manages to weave and dodge a bit to keep the audience guessing, even though in the broad strokes we know the final destinations of each of these characters.  The casting for the entire crew was spot on in this film, with the best choices being Karl Urban as Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy, and Zachary Quinto as a slightly reinterpreted Spock.  Quinto’s success at this task was even more of a challenge as he acts against Leonard Nimoy himself as an older Spock, and both performances hold up very well.

My main concerns had been with Chris Pine as Kirk, Simon Pegg as Scotty, and Eric Bana as Nero.  Let me start by saying that Chris Pine is not Shatner.  And he shouldn’t be; the new interpretation provided by the new depth of the Kirk character fits nicely with Pine’s performance, especially given the greater level of humor woven into the story.  While given much less screen time than the rest of the cast, Simon Pegg as Scotty simply shines.  A more cheeky performance than James Doohan’s, the new Scotty in instantly likeable and helps draw the story together with his insertion into the main cast in act three.  Eric Bana as the Romulan villain Nero walks a very thin line down a tricky path for an actor.  Romulans have always been over the top or saddled with flat performances in the past (with a few exceptions).  Bana strikes the right balance because the audience understands his motivations, the character is made accessible and therefore believable.

The plot will likely provide a few bones of contention for extreme hardcore fans, but that is to be expected.  In terms of what was considered a reboot, this film does extremely well in terms of continuity, both in literal and emotive terms.  I give Abrams a lot of credit for not shying away from big plot decisions that drive the story forward and provide the impact necessary for the audience to emote with the story.  Less so a reboot, this does well as the eleventh film in the series, and a new, deeper take on the character for a modern audience.

If you watch with a little attention, there are plenty of treats for the fans as well,  each of the main actors gets an iconic line for their character, for example Bones’ “Are you out of your Vulcan mind?” drew a great response from the crowd at the IMAX showing I attended.  The movie is laced with additional nuances and Easter eggs, but I will leave that for the inevitable wiki contributions and cheat sheets that are no doubt already being written by the geek elite.  Suffice to say it’s a Star Trek for both fans and new audiences.

In terms of special effects, one really honestly forgets that there are effects in the film.  The spaceships look like space ships should, and work thanks to intricate CG camera moves. The phasers and transporters all look extremely nifty and are blended seamlessly.  Style wise some scenes were just a tad heavy on lens flares and over lighting, but it can be ignored pretty easily and by no means does it ruin the experience. The new score is excellent and manages to incorporate the original theme, as well as new cues that are beautifully crafted.  Again, the music, outside of the opening and closing titles, is a seamless element; the rest of the movie has far too great of a grip on ones attention to be consciously aware of it unless you make a special effort.

Overall I am exceptionally pleased with the new Star Trek effort, both for its keeping to the spirit of its roots and for making brave choices on new directions, and keeping those two contractions in balance to create an eminently enjoyable film.

Rating: 8.5/10

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Category: Film
Genre: Action / Comic Adaptation / Sci-Fi
Directed By: gavin Hood
Running Time: 107 min.

X-Men Origins Wolverine is a mixed bag as far as comic adaptations go.  Breaking it down by the three acts, the first was great, the second was adequate and the third act just left me with a disappointed questioning look on my face.

I had hoped that this would be a continuation of the “comic movie renaissance” phenomena of last year that included Iron Man, The Dark Night, and to a lesser extend The Incredible Hulk and The Spirit; by this I refer to comic adaptations being treated with care and respect for the original material, made by fans for fans, within the bounds of adaptability.

Wolverine has a rich history with many elements to draw on.  The adaptation fails to take full advantage of this and treats the characters as expendable checkpoints on the path to concluding the film.  The essential problem here is that this is an origin story, a tale with a steady rise from A to B; now its adaptation into film format requires a story arc with a climax followed by a resolving conclusion that wraps up much of the loose ends.  In order to achieve this the makers of Wolverine reinterpreted the Deadpool character in what I can only describe as a wasteful fashion, robbing themselves of the chance to explore a truly interesting character in exchange for an expendable ultimate villain for the final showdown.

The overall impression this film left was that it wasn’t taken all that seriously in respect to the fanbase, the history, or its own execution.  The effects also looked somewhat phoned in, especially in the final climax battles.  As a simple comic-esque action film, Wolverine is certainly enjoyable, and I generally try to approach these adaptation as exactly that; adaptations of the source material into a new media.  Unfortunately the frankly unnecessary ham handed treatment of some of the plot elements and characters pushes my tolerance on truly enjoying the film in its entirety.  Adaptations necessitate certain levels of change, but this is simply a matter of poor choices.

Rating: 6.5/10

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Category: Film
Genre: Drama / Romance / Sci-Fi
Directed By: David Fincher
Running Time: 159 min.

This is one of those rare instances of fine storytelling brought to the screen in just the right way. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button does one of the most interesting things that can be done in fiction. It explores the human condition by changing just one of the major rules of our existence, and watching that path unfold against the backdrop of a life.

In this case the simple but major rule that changes is aging. The chronological age of Button’s character is juxtaposed in reverse with his physical age. This fundamentally changes how he experiences the world and how the world views him, providing grist for insight and new perspective.

This work is sure to be mentioned in the same breath as Forrest Gump, and for a number of reasons. Primary, though not necessarily the most readily apparent, is this is a story without an antagonist, built purely on character development and driven by the same.   Both films use similar protagonist types, the embedded outsider if you will;  by showing the world through their eyes the audience is allowed to examine it anew. This is also a film bound to time, though the creators take a different, softer approach to the portrayal of time here; in Gump time and pop culture events were nearly a character themselves in the story telling.

The layered narrative works well as the key device for advancing the story, allowing access when and where needed. Anchoring the diary and the events of its reading in 2005 by linking them (tangentially) to the events preceding hurricane Katrina also serves the story well.

While this will be called a romance by many, the success of the treatment comes from the organic way the romance fits into the story, rather than it feeling heavy or artificial. It weaves and flows through the story, instead of being written as a cumbersome foundation to the characters and plot.

Casting in this picture was excellent, Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett carry the lead roles in a way that, along with the supporting cast, garner nearly total buy-in to the story. The effects in this film are nearly transparent, serving the story telling and not announcing themselves unduly. The aging makeup work is believable and allows the viewer to accept each stage of the characters’ development. This is an important point, as once you buy into the nature of Button’s existence, it holds a mirror up to all the elements of life around it. There were many places there the creators could have copped out and opted for a happier treatment, but instead took what I feel was the brave and honest approach to the material, following it from start to finish with all the emotional repercussions that entails.

I truly enjoyed this film, in both its concept and its execution. As I said it is one of those rare examples of well crafted storytelling from start to finish.

Rating: 8.5/10

The Day the Earth Stood Still

Category: Film
Genre: Sci-Fi / Drama / Remake
Directed By: Scott Derrickson
Running Time: 103 min.

Remaking films certainly has its challenges and pitfalls. Directly comparing 2008’s The Day the Earth Stood Still to the 1950 original with no allowances would be absurd, and not make for much of a review.

As with many remakes, especially science fiction films, the concerns, fears, and hope of the era in which it was made are the driving force behind its relevance. Science fiction is about answering the question of “what if?”, so a new answer is required in remaking the film nearly 60 years later, replacing concerns of man’s inhumanity towards man with the damage man has done to the planet.

The film was reasonably well executed, keeping elements from the first but reinterpreting where appropriate. Keanu Reeves was well cast as he has the blankness and detachment necessary to truly play the character of Klatu. Gort was also nicely reinterpreted, and the supporting visual effects were nicely done as well.

The other casting was a bit off; Kath Bates seemed neither right nor wrong for the role of Secretary of Defense, but simply irrelevant. The military casting was also too much of a charicture, robbing serious moments of their impact. Jaden Smith did well as Jacob, though I found myself very much disliking his character until around the midpoint of the film. Couldn’t quite believe Jennifer Connelly as a mother figure, but perhaps that was inherent to the character rather than a performance failure on her part.

As for the film’s conclusion I think it was the right way to go, both making the title relevant (perhaps more so than in the original) and also providing the reprieve ending with out the world getting off scott free with no consequences.
All in all an entertaining film, though I think if we put half the energy into original projects as we do in remakes, we would have some much more praise-worthy material out there.

Rating: 5/10

The Spirit

Category: Film
Genre: Thriller / Noir / Comic Adaptation
Directed By: Frank Miller
Running Time: 103 min.

Initially I thought The Spirit might just be one of those films that defies description. After a bit of thought the situation is in fact both far simpler and far more complex than that.

To paraphrase a line from the film, The Spirit has the final word on strange. Not being entirely sure what to expect in the film adaptation of one of the most influential and long running properties in the noir/detective genre, I tried to come in without preconcieved notions. This is really how you have to absorb this picture, as the creators really went for broke and pulled out all the stops.

Its handy to make comparisons to Miller’s previous big impact comic adaptation, Sin City, though the comparisons are only useful up to a ceratin point. Visually many of the same rotoscoping/solid color effects are used, but with more variability than in Sin City. In terms of character the film departs greatly form the ne-noir grit of Sin City, unabasedly giving itself wide comedic and thematic lattitude. Much of this comes from the fact that Will Eisner’s The Spirit comics established much of what is taken for granted in the genre, including stylized dialogue, over the top adversaries and vignetes that work best when they take themselves (if nothing else) completely seriously.

The casting is well done with appropriate fits for every character. This was the first comic film that I felt Samuel L. Jackson fit into nicely, as in previous work he always seemed to be several orders of magnitute over the top. One of my favorite characters was Stana Katic as Officer Morganstern, with great delivery of a delightlfully off kilter performance. Scarlett Johansen as Silken Floss is superb, strongly reminding me of Drew Barrymore for some reason, and The Wonder Years’ Dan Loria as the Gruff Dolan is also a nice fit.

On the whole, if you’re looking for a deadly serious comic flic, look elsewhere. This one requires you to be ready to strap in and enjoy some creatively stylized story telling. If you want a fun romp through the world of a modernly re-realized genre-defining property, this is your ride.

Rating: 6.5/10

Tropic Thunder

Category: Film
Genre: Comedy / Action / War
Directed By: Ben Stiller
Running Time: 107 min.

Tropic Thunder is one of the surprising comedy successes of recent films. A solid premise, a terrific cast, and a good helping of language give it a punch that I haven’t seen out of a comedy in quite some time.

Past Stiller projects had me wary of getting my hopes up for Tropic Thunder, but as it turns out I was thoroughly pleased with the film. The difference comes from the fact that this film has a good bankable premise, which is something most other modern comedies seem to have trouble with. The layers of actors playing actors no longer acting is rich territory for comedy, and it is well capitalized on.

The cast and their performances are what give the film real traction. Ben Stiller plays much the same as previous roles, but with more depth and less throw-away weirdness, reminding me of his work in “There’s Something About Mary.” Jack Black does a great job of compound comic relief without going too far over the top, much like his performance in “High Fidelity.” Robert Downey Jr. breaks type and plays what is probably his most entertaining role since “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” as an Ausie method actor playing a Vietnam-era black man getting a bit lost in his method. Supporting performances by Jay Baruchel (of “Knocked Up”), Nick Nolte (channeling a bit of Gary Busey), and Tom Cruise flesh out the film to great effect. Cruise in particular plays his oddest character to date, what I can only describe as a mix between Al Pacino, James Lipton, and Joe Pantoliano, hyped up on some sort of mind altering substance.

By all appearances, the film is a comedy for the adult crowd, which makes it stick out from the landscape of tween comedies. That the creators opted for an unrestrained dialog and chose not to cash in on every gross-out gag available (thought the film has its fair share of over the top moments, they are well played), lets you know what audience the film is aimed at.

All in all Tropic Thunder is a well executed action comedy, that avoids most of the pitfalls that sink other comedies these days, and makes for a satisfying good time.

Rating: 7/10

The X-Files: I Want To Believe

Category: Film
Genre: Suspense / Sci-fi / Thriller
Directed By: Chris Carter
Running Time: 104 min.

I’m beginning to understand the dichotomy of how certain Star Wars fans feel about Lucas’s modern works after having seen X-Files: I Want To Believe. While a competent effort, the film was almost wholly lacking in the elements that first attracted me to the series and the first film (1998’s X-Files: Fight The Future).

What I enjoyed about the early part of the series and the first movie was peeking into the working of the big conspiracy machine, seeing the strings pulled and catching shadows of those doing the pulling. The recent film on the other hand avoids that path almost entirely, which is both a conscious decision on the creators part and likely a reflection of the times.

Some of the redeeming factors of the film include the exploration of Mulder and Scully’s relationship after all that they have been through. The likability of both character and the actors portraying them (Duchovny and Anderson, respectively) is really what manages to carry the movie as far as it gets. Sadly, that is not all the way to the finish line.

I left the theater with the distinct impression that I’d sat through a nearly two hour episode, and not from one of the best seasons to boot. In the final analysis I may simply be on a different page than the film’s creators, enamored with teh same concept vehicle, but very much of differing opinions on where to go with it.

Rating: 4/10

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Category: Film
Genre: Action / Sci-fi / Fantasy / Comic Adaptation
Directed By: Guillermo del Toro
Running Time: 120 min.

The second installment in the Hellboy film adaptations takes a different tone than the original. Hellboy II focuses on heart and comedy now that we have a family of characters the viewers have invested in. This makes for a different feel to the film, less hard edge attitude, with the action driven equally by the character development and the MacGuffin elements.

There are some novel solutions to the storytelling, I especially enjoyed the toy army treatment in the opening exposition in lieu of revealing the big visual payoff of the golden army and related characters. While at some points the driving force behind the progression of the film felt sloppy of uneven, the added freedom for comedy and exploring character dynamics yields some real gems. One of these moments in when Abe and HB, after sharing quite a few drinks, burst into song to Barry Manilow’s “Can’t Smile Without You.”

All told this was an entertaining second effort, if a bit weak overall. While it lacked the feeling of great things being afoot of the fist film, the added heart and warmth nearly make up for it.

Rating: 6/10

The Dark Knight

Category: Film
Genre: Action / Superhero / Comic Adaptation
Directed By: Christopher Nolan
Running Time: 152 min.

The Dark Knight has raised the bar on comic inspired films, and films in general for that matter. I came to this film with some rather high expectations on the heels of the successful franchise reboot in Batman Begins. I am pleased to say those expectations were met and exceeded.

The core strength of this film is that all the action and development is character driven; all things come from and speak to the motivations of a wonderfully fleshed out roster of players. The big question mark on everyone’s mind was no doubt the late Heath Ledgers’ portrayal of the Joker, with memories of Jack Nicholson, Mark Hamil (animated) and Caesar Romero defining the character’s screen presence to date. Ledger’s performance is nothing short of masterful, and Nolan’s’ writing and directing breath life into the most organic and complex clown prince thus far. Personally, I forgot there was an actor playing the Joker, for all appearances this creature lived and breathed on the screen. We see a true sociopath, brilliant in his way, asking some disturbingly valid questions, and making astute observations on the nature of his relation to Gotham and the Dark Knight.

The treatment of Batman’s character was novel in it’s own right, exploring his role in the crime equation, delving into scales of perception and persona. Building on Bruce Wayne’s motivations and the limits of the hero persona flesh out both Wayne and Batman in new dimensions. We see him fundamentally torn in what he feels Gotham needs and deserves, an undercurrent of disquiet that reminded me of elements of Bale’s performance in Equilibrium.

Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent/Two Face is believable and exudes a humanizing element that fits well with the overall tone of the film. The motivations and roots of his transformation into Two-Face develop organically, and play a shadowy mirror to the Batman/Wayne development. The supporting cast continue to impress, with Maggie Gyllehall’s replacement of Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes pays dividends. Gyllenhall is far more believable as an adult character, rather than giving the impression of someone playing at working in teh DA’s office. Gary Oldman once again embodies Jim Gordon as if he’d been pulled directly from Frank Miller’s pages; centering the film and playing with a keen awareness to the hero/villain dynamic and the public’s perception thereof. Morgan Freeman reprises his role as Lucious Fox, and lends a feeling of soul and the necessary legitimacy to Wayne Corp, as well as believability to the technology of the film. Michael Caine returns as Alfred Pennyworth, stubbornly keeping the human element in what threatens to become more monster than hero.

As I mentioned, the writing is tremendous, and the pacing is unrelenting; there is no slowdown as the film grows from one facet to another. Visually, the film is spot on, with a heightened realism and gravity that lends credibility and grit to the characters and the action. The feel of Gotham is a you-are-here visceral experience, and the organic feel continues into the look and feel of the characters, making for even greater believability.

All said, The Dark Knight gets it right on all fronts, and shows just want can be done with a graphic property when treated with the proper care and talent.

Rating: 9/10

Hancock

Category: Film
Genre: Action / Superhero / Comedy
Directed By: Peter Berg
Running Time: 92 min.

Hancock looked like an interesting concept, a fully realized anti-hero. As it turns out, Hancock tries to do more than that, and breaks the format in the process. The Hancock character is well put together at the outset, allowing us to sublimate our vicarious desires to have super powers, but not act particularly super. As it progresses, the film manages to work up to a heartful Jerry Macguire feel, and we buy into it.

Its at about this point where it drifts off into unstable territories, heavy handedly dropping in a sizeable plot/origin device with no framework for acceptance. The force driving the action in the film changes gears, and the audience begins to feel like an appendage to the storytelling, which has taken on the flavor of a writer trying to express… something.

All in all Hancock’s Achilles heel comes form trying to do two very different things in the same movie, and this strains one’s investment in suspended disbelief past the breaking point. Putting heart into a film is great, but it has to come organically from the characters, and the back story material for the main cast seems more like nametags than foundational character motivationt.

If Hancock had simply remained a film with the killer app of the anti-superhero, deeper origins not required, it would have been a fun ride. As it stands, the midrange shift in the storytelling feels much like a product of early writing workshops, with a point the writer is desperate to tell, but just can’t seem to stretch the characters around to lend it credibility.

Rating:4/10