Wow, 71 posts and I keep on chugging regardless of what's going on around me.
So this will be my first review of a movie that I already own. I hope to do these just a often as I write up my other reviews for movies that just debuted in theaters.
What can I say about Jet Li's Unleashed? Nothing short of profound and heartfelt.
I am a fan Jet Li and his movies, but this film is one of my favorites just on the shear magnitude of Li's performance as a trapped victim of an abusive upbringing. Just imagine how abusive pet owners can train their animals to be obedient through fear and deadly by constantly beating them to behave aggressively. Now, visualize controlling that dual nature through verbal commands and a leash and you have Jet Li's character Danny.
The trailers never did reveal this mechanism. They only showed an action movie with fights and gun fighting that we all come to recognize from this genre. So, when I first saw Unleashed, I had no idea that Jet Li would be playing such an isolated and tormented character. This new angle or role for Li was quite a shocking revelation because I have only ever known Li to play action hero types. You know, fierce, determined, aggressive, bare knuckle types. This change was nice and gave the audience a chance to see Li really act.
What I also enjoyed about this movie and I believe added to the effectiveness of the character of Danny is director Louis Leterrier's way of showing the audience an intimate look at his protagonist. We see Danny start out as a leashed animal trained to attack on command, but by the middle with the introduction of the secondary characters, we see Danny evolve to be more human. As this happens we are right there with Danny, watching him transform. We feel his timidness, anger and eventual compassion and I frankly enjoy this aspect of the film. Luc Besson actually wrote the script, but may have had some influence in the film making. Besson has this way of filming that I would refer to as portraits of a character's life in transition. We see this in his other films such as Leon: The Professional, The Fifth Element and Taken.
The character of Danny is very simplistic in that he only has one function. He is the muscle used by his abusive Uncle, played by Bob Hoskins, to persuade rapid collection of debts. However, as he transitions to developing emotions and compassion, Danny becomes a more complex character trying to escape his old life and settle in a new one. Morgan Freeman's character Sam and Kerry Condon's Victoria help Danny open up to reveal that he is not a leashed animal but a individual discovering a new future through painful forgotten and oppressed images of his past.
The fight scenes choreographed by Yuen Wo Ping also evolve to show Danny's progression. The opening scene depicts a brutal fight filled with raw energy and primal fury. I can't remember when was the last time I saw Jet Li display such an uncontrolled rage that is both efficient and instinctual. More importantly, within this chaotic barrage is a precision for an effective killer. Danny fights in a careless and reckless manor but with the clear intent of killing, and you can see it by how he rips thorough opponents. As he changes, Danny becomes more cautious and mindful that he's fighting to protect others (Sam and Victoria). He style becomes a bit more refined and tactful as opposed to animalistic. Jet Li's fight scene in the bathroom stall is the most impressive example of close fighting in confined spaces.
Other interesting notes include the fact that Luc Besson wrote the script with Jet Li in mind. The original title is fact Danny the Dog and not the US title title Unleashed.
I enjoyed this movie so much because it's more about discovery and escape as it is about action. Even the theme played at Victoria's recital is touching and as Jet Li's character finally finds peace and his own place makes me a little teary eyed. All-in-all, Unleashed is a very character driven story of internal and external conflict paired with survival.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
Real Steel: Movie Review
Hey there folks! Well I'm back with another movie review. Boy, it seems like I'm making this my new job or hobby. Unfortunately, I'm not getting paid for this.
When I first saw the trailer for Real Steel, I thought, hmm, this looks interesting and vaguely familiar. Then it hit me! It's rock'em sock'em robots but on the big screen. Seriously, that's what this movie is when you look at it from the perspective that it has robots fighting in a ring. And, this brings me to my first non-movie related question.
How many of you out there in internet land know or have seen and played with a rock'em sock'em robot toy. Those things were fun! Bang! and the head gets popped up, ha!
Originally, I thought this movie would never live up to post-Transformers series hype. After the huge, grossly, uber-hammered success of the Baysplosion films, there could not be another smaller movie that used robots which made an impression and left a mark that didn't include things blowing up or a billion parts moving at the same time.
Whew! That was a long sentence.
Luckily, this movie came along and left a sweet, endearing taste in my mouth. On the surface, Real Steel is a film about human controlled robots battling it out in underground and professional fighting, sanctioned and unsanctioned, matches. However, at the core is a heartwarming tale between a father and his son, and that son and his robot. And it appeals to the kid in all of us who always wanted a robot, whether large or small, that we could control and have as a friend.
Hugh Jackman plays Charlie, a former professional boxer, now fighting robot operator who is trying to make ends meet by purchasing fight-bots and pitting them in matches with bitter results. He's the protagonist who is far from his glory days but still finding himself a part of that world and way over his head in debt. In a way, Charlie is still looking to find his gold ticket back to his former glory days but has no idea where it will come from and only continues to make unfavorable decisions that place him further in a hole. Doesn't this remind you already of our struggling economy?
At heart Charlie is a good character and this really emerges with the introduction of of son Max. Charlie never raised his son, and after Max's mother dies, Charlie is called in to sit at a hearing to determine custody of the child. Charlie decides to hand over custody to his sister-in-law and rich husband, but he also schemes to retain custody for a few months with the promise to be paid $100,000 upon transferring total custody to his sister-in-law after her short hiatus. Something about her going away for a few months but putting Max in Charlie's custody during that time.
I'm probably not explaining this properly, but who cares because this whole custody issue plays a very minor almost nonexistent plot to the story. All it serves is to place Charlie and Max together to center the father-son story arc. At first these two do not get along, but their common interests in robot fighting bounce off of each other so well that the audience can begin to see a unique chemistry and bond forming between the two. This especially becomes evident with the discovery of the primary glue factor that keeps them together and not so much focused on winning but figuring out that they need to be in each others lives. It is at this point that we are introduced to Atom.
Atom is the underdog sparring robot that they salvage from a junk yard, and Max immediately places his affections into the robot which becomes a surrogate father, friend and hope. Charlie sees how much time and effort Max places into Atom that he also encourages and supports Max's decision to make an old, 2nd generation sparring robot compete against other mashers. Here is where the most endearing moments of the father-son relationship take shape during the movie.
The fights are great and clean in terms of how they are depicted. It is what you would expect from big robots duking it out with each other in boxing matches. At times it is no-holds-barred, rock'em sock'em and other times it is very technical as it mimics even the flashiest of boxing movie matches. Either way it is pleasant to see, and since the robot designs are very non-complex, like the millions of moving parts in the bots from Transformers, it's good to see and recognize movement and action and not get lost.
All in all, i was surprised and pleased with the end result. The special effects and CGI made the robots look and move hyper realistically. Even the moments where Atom shadows Max or Charlie's movements were spot on fluid and down right hilarious at times. Dancing robot, that's all I'm going to say about that! When I think about now, this movie resembles Rocky on so many levels. It's about an underdog robot and its struggling controllers overcoming adversity both in the ring and with each other while on the way to the top of the robot fighting league.
I remember when I heard Max give the robot a name, at first I thought he called it Adam, but later he spells it A-T-O-M. I was surprised because it feels like an homage to Osamu Tezuka the creator of Astro Boy. The original Japanese name of Astro Boy is Tetsuwan Atom which translate to Mighty Atom. I know this is a bit of a side note and maybe unrelated, but I felt that the writers were paying there respects to Tezuka by naming the films protagonist robot Atom.
Honestly, I really enjoyed this film and Hugh Jackman's performance is a nice alternative to his tough as nails Wolverine character. Max's character is also very enjoyable as he both mimics his father's personality and balances him out as well. It's one of the few times where a film reminds me of something I also wanted when I was younger. I mean, who did want or still doesn't want a robot friend? I know I still do.
Now with all this robot action coming to big screen, when will Evangelion or dare I say Voltron get the big screen treatment? Come on, you know you're waiting for it too!
When I first saw the trailer for Real Steel, I thought, hmm, this looks interesting and vaguely familiar. Then it hit me! It's rock'em sock'em robots but on the big screen. Seriously, that's what this movie is when you look at it from the perspective that it has robots fighting in a ring. And, this brings me to my first non-movie related question.
How many of you out there in internet land know or have seen and played with a rock'em sock'em robot toy. Those things were fun! Bang! and the head gets popped up, ha!
Originally, I thought this movie would never live up to post-Transformers series hype. After the huge, grossly, uber-hammered success of the Baysplosion films, there could not be another smaller movie that used robots which made an impression and left a mark that didn't include things blowing up or a billion parts moving at the same time.
Whew! That was a long sentence.
Luckily, this movie came along and left a sweet, endearing taste in my mouth. On the surface, Real Steel is a film about human controlled robots battling it out in underground and professional fighting, sanctioned and unsanctioned, matches. However, at the core is a heartwarming tale between a father and his son, and that son and his robot. And it appeals to the kid in all of us who always wanted a robot, whether large or small, that we could control and have as a friend.
Hugh Jackman plays Charlie, a former professional boxer, now fighting robot operator who is trying to make ends meet by purchasing fight-bots and pitting them in matches with bitter results. He's the protagonist who is far from his glory days but still finding himself a part of that world and way over his head in debt. In a way, Charlie is still looking to find his gold ticket back to his former glory days but has no idea where it will come from and only continues to make unfavorable decisions that place him further in a hole. Doesn't this remind you already of our struggling economy?
At heart Charlie is a good character and this really emerges with the introduction of of son Max. Charlie never raised his son, and after Max's mother dies, Charlie is called in to sit at a hearing to determine custody of the child. Charlie decides to hand over custody to his sister-in-law and rich husband, but he also schemes to retain custody for a few months with the promise to be paid $100,000 upon transferring total custody to his sister-in-law after her short hiatus. Something about her going away for a few months but putting Max in Charlie's custody during that time.
I'm probably not explaining this properly, but who cares because this whole custody issue plays a very minor almost nonexistent plot to the story. All it serves is to place Charlie and Max together to center the father-son story arc. At first these two do not get along, but their common interests in robot fighting bounce off of each other so well that the audience can begin to see a unique chemistry and bond forming between the two. This especially becomes evident with the discovery of the primary glue factor that keeps them together and not so much focused on winning but figuring out that they need to be in each others lives. It is at this point that we are introduced to Atom.
Atom is the underdog sparring robot that they salvage from a junk yard, and Max immediately places his affections into the robot which becomes a surrogate father, friend and hope. Charlie sees how much time and effort Max places into Atom that he also encourages and supports Max's decision to make an old, 2nd generation sparring robot compete against other mashers. Here is where the most endearing moments of the father-son relationship take shape during the movie.
The fights are great and clean in terms of how they are depicted. It is what you would expect from big robots duking it out with each other in boxing matches. At times it is no-holds-barred, rock'em sock'em and other times it is very technical as it mimics even the flashiest of boxing movie matches. Either way it is pleasant to see, and since the robot designs are very non-complex, like the millions of moving parts in the bots from Transformers, it's good to see and recognize movement and action and not get lost.
All in all, i was surprised and pleased with the end result. The special effects and CGI made the robots look and move hyper realistically. Even the moments where Atom shadows Max or Charlie's movements were spot on fluid and down right hilarious at times. Dancing robot, that's all I'm going to say about that! When I think about now, this movie resembles Rocky on so many levels. It's about an underdog robot and its struggling controllers overcoming adversity both in the ring and with each other while on the way to the top of the robot fighting league.
I remember when I heard Max give the robot a name, at first I thought he called it Adam, but later he spells it A-T-O-M. I was surprised because it feels like an homage to Osamu Tezuka the creator of Astro Boy. The original Japanese name of Astro Boy is Tetsuwan Atom which translate to Mighty Atom. I know this is a bit of a side note and maybe unrelated, but I felt that the writers were paying there respects to Tezuka by naming the films protagonist robot Atom.
Honestly, I really enjoyed this film and Hugh Jackman's performance is a nice alternative to his tough as nails Wolverine character. Max's character is also very enjoyable as he both mimics his father's personality and balances him out as well. It's one of the few times where a film reminds me of something I also wanted when I was younger. I mean, who did want or still doesn't want a robot friend? I know I still do.
Now with all this robot action coming to big screen, when will Evangelion or dare I say Voltron get the big screen treatment? Come on, you know you're waiting for it too!
Friday, October 7, 2011
An Afternoon at Occupy Wall Street (UPDATED W/ VIDEO)
**Video located at the bottom**
So, I decided to venture out today and spend a few hours walking through Zuccotti Park. It's quite an eye opening experience to see so many people from different backgrounds, social status and walks of life gathered together to protest against a single enemy.
I know that Zuccotti Park is only one meeting hub for many protesters and other meeting spots are appearing throughout lower Manhattan, but this was the original starting point, so it felt appropriate to begin here and take as many pictures as possible.
There's really no starting point to mingling to the sea of voices, signs and visible display of community. I must've walked thorough or around at least three times. With each pass I saw something new or different. I read a new message written on a piece of cardboard or heard another grievance that further revealed what's wrong with this country.
It truly is a huge forum to voice out your concerns and troubling issues that not only effect certain individuals but society as a whole. And, the display of solidarity from old and young, student to union worker, etc. added to the sense that these were real issues that affected all no matter where you came from.
I won't talk much from and let these pictures do most of the talking!
Okay, I'll still talking a little bit.
Many displays were constructed with great care and invited passersby and onlookers to contribute to the cause. Speakers attracted small or large groups to listen to their words of inspiration, awareness and action.
So many voices and signs. It was impossible to reach, hear or read each and every one of them. It might take more than once visit and walk through to get to see all of it. And, not only that, eventually, I may be able to see some of the other meeting/gathering hubs that appear.
Across Broadway is where many protesters have stood inline chanting and displaying signs of opposition against the corporate greed!
It was quite an experience to go and see this with my own eyes. The scope and magnitude is clearly visible and it's coming from everywhere.
All in all, I'm glad I went today to witness an incredible event!
**Update** Video Taken from Zuccotti Park
So, I decided to venture out today and spend a few hours walking through Zuccotti Park. It's quite an eye opening experience to see so many people from different backgrounds, social status and walks of life gathered together to protest against a single enemy.
I know that Zuccotti Park is only one meeting hub for many protesters and other meeting spots are appearing throughout lower Manhattan, but this was the original starting point, so it felt appropriate to begin here and take as many pictures as possible.
There's really no starting point to mingling to the sea of voices, signs and visible display of community. I must've walked thorough or around at least three times. With each pass I saw something new or different. I read a new message written on a piece of cardboard or heard another grievance that further revealed what's wrong with this country.
It truly is a huge forum to voice out your concerns and troubling issues that not only effect certain individuals but society as a whole. And, the display of solidarity from old and young, student to union worker, etc. added to the sense that these were real issues that affected all no matter where you came from.
I won't talk much from and let these pictures do most of the talking!
Many displays were constructed with great care and invited passersby and onlookers to contribute to the cause. Speakers attracted small or large groups to listen to their words of inspiration, awareness and action.
All in all, I'm glad I went today to witness an incredible event!
**Update** Video Taken from Zuccotti Park
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Unknown: Movie Review
Well, I'm back with another movie review! Seriously, I think I'm going to try to put one or two of these every week. It depends on what I have to watch and if I have the time. Speaking of what I have to watch, there are at least six (6) others movies that I still have to watch with more to come later, I'm sure.
On to this blog entry movie review!
What do I have to say about Liam Neeson? Nothing. He has become quite a force in the action, spy, thriller genre as of late. And, in my opinion, Neeson plays the role very well.
So I was very pleased with his movie Unknown. Yes, in the past few movie blog posts that I have written, I tended to rip new a-holes in some poorly made or ghastly told stories. I thought, maybe, I should try something different. What's that, different?
I have seen Neeson's prior film Taken and enjoyed it very much. Mind you that I never seen the actor play any aggressive role before, unless you count some of the fights in The Phantom Menace, but that's another story, and I'm going off point.
When I first heard about this movie and its premise, I thought it was a sequel to Taken. However, the synopsis says otherwise. In Unknown, we are introduced to Martin Harris (Neeson), a bio-engineer, traveling with his wife Liz Harris (January Jones) to Germany to attend a scientific conference. The story takes off when Martin leaves his briefcase at the airport. He gets in a cab and tries to go back there to retrieve it and ends up in a car accident where he almost drowns in the river. He's rescued by the cab driver Gina (Diane Kruger), but before things get too harry she leaves and paramedics take Martin to the hospital where he awakens with temporary amnesia.
Now here is where things become tricky because when he is reunited with his wife, she doesn't recognize him! On top of that someone else has taken up his identity. Talk about throwing the first monkey wrench. Now a plot like this has been used before. Fine. But, things pick up after that quite nicely, trust me!
The first 40-50 minutes are spent with Martin trying to retrace his steps while convincing himself that he is not going crazy. In addition to that there are other "shadow" operatives trying to kill him the farther or closer he gets to establishing his identity. I say "identity" and not "the truth" because the real story is much larger and deeper then the audience is led to believe about Martin. Essentially one "identity" leads into the other "the truth."
Remember the briefcase, it really is important!
His search brings him back to Gina and she goes along with Martin in search for his identity. I will not go much deeper then this, but let's just say that once Martin regains and confirms his identity, a deeper and grander scheme is revealed that really shapes this movie into a pleasant viewing experience.
At first I thought the movie was not a sequel to Taken, but there are many elements in Unknown that resemble Neeson's previous excursion into the infiltration game. For starters, brief spoilers, the character Martin is actually a undercover operative who loses his memory thus jeopardizing the mission for the other operative team members. So, the movie has this retrieve and clean-up plot that unfolds and further warps the reality of these characters. In Taken, Neeson plays as similar character in that of a former special forces member who infiltrates and prostitution and drug underworld to rescue his daughter.
There are some very well establish scenes that add to the tension and appropriate confusion that builds and grabs our attention. I remember thinking there were some things that Neeson's character was able to do during teh film that I thought were too technical for a scientist, but in the end, it makes sense! Even the same energy and satisfaction that we felt in Taken, when he kills the kidnappers, is present in Unknown during the climax. At least there is for me! Throughout the movie there are plenty of high action moments and plot twists that keep you pleasantly surprised and waiting for the end to see how it all comes together. In some ways, I would say that this movie is very much the entire Bourne trilogy but condensed to just one movie.
I mean, wow, all this over a briefcase. Make a note: Never leave or forget your stuff because if you go back to get it, you may end up in a coma or with amnesia. Ha!
So, I enjoyed Unknown and appreciated the intricate story and delivery. Wow, this one turned out shorter than my other reviews. I guess that's what you get when you write about things that you did enjoy. Writing positive reviews is different compared to negative ones, but it's still fun!
Until the next review!
On to this blog entry movie review!
What do I have to say about Liam Neeson? Nothing. He has become quite a force in the action, spy, thriller genre as of late. And, in my opinion, Neeson plays the role very well.
So I was very pleased with his movie Unknown. Yes, in the past few movie blog posts that I have written, I tended to rip new a-holes in some poorly made or ghastly told stories. I thought, maybe, I should try something different. What's that, different?
I have seen Neeson's prior film Taken and enjoyed it very much. Mind you that I never seen the actor play any aggressive role before, unless you count some of the fights in The Phantom Menace, but that's another story, and I'm going off point.
When I first heard about this movie and its premise, I thought it was a sequel to Taken. However, the synopsis says otherwise. In Unknown, we are introduced to Martin Harris (Neeson), a bio-engineer, traveling with his wife Liz Harris (January Jones) to Germany to attend a scientific conference. The story takes off when Martin leaves his briefcase at the airport. He gets in a cab and tries to go back there to retrieve it and ends up in a car accident where he almost drowns in the river. He's rescued by the cab driver Gina (Diane Kruger), but before things get too harry she leaves and paramedics take Martin to the hospital where he awakens with temporary amnesia.
Now here is where things become tricky because when he is reunited with his wife, she doesn't recognize him! On top of that someone else has taken up his identity. Talk about throwing the first monkey wrench. Now a plot like this has been used before. Fine. But, things pick up after that quite nicely, trust me!
The first 40-50 minutes are spent with Martin trying to retrace his steps while convincing himself that he is not going crazy. In addition to that there are other "shadow" operatives trying to kill him the farther or closer he gets to establishing his identity. I say "identity" and not "the truth" because the real story is much larger and deeper then the audience is led to believe about Martin. Essentially one "identity" leads into the other "the truth."
Remember the briefcase, it really is important!
His search brings him back to Gina and she goes along with Martin in search for his identity. I will not go much deeper then this, but let's just say that once Martin regains and confirms his identity, a deeper and grander scheme is revealed that really shapes this movie into a pleasant viewing experience.
At first I thought the movie was not a sequel to Taken, but there are many elements in Unknown that resemble Neeson's previous excursion into the infiltration game. For starters, brief spoilers, the character Martin is actually a undercover operative who loses his memory thus jeopardizing the mission for the other operative team members. So, the movie has this retrieve and clean-up plot that unfolds and further warps the reality of these characters. In Taken, Neeson plays as similar character in that of a former special forces member who infiltrates and prostitution and drug underworld to rescue his daughter.
There are some very well establish scenes that add to the tension and appropriate confusion that builds and grabs our attention. I remember thinking there were some things that Neeson's character was able to do during teh film that I thought were too technical for a scientist, but in the end, it makes sense! Even the same energy and satisfaction that we felt in Taken, when he kills the kidnappers, is present in Unknown during the climax. At least there is for me! Throughout the movie there are plenty of high action moments and plot twists that keep you pleasantly surprised and waiting for the end to see how it all comes together. In some ways, I would say that this movie is very much the entire Bourne trilogy but condensed to just one movie.
I mean, wow, all this over a briefcase. Make a note: Never leave or forget your stuff because if you go back to get it, you may end up in a coma or with amnesia. Ha!
So, I enjoyed Unknown and appreciated the intricate story and delivery. Wow, this one turned out shorter than my other reviews. I guess that's what you get when you write about things that you did enjoy. Writing positive reviews is different compared to negative ones, but it's still fun!
Until the next review!
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Contagion: Movie Review
Imagine this. You're sitting on a train or bus and across from you is an ad reminding you to get vaccinated for the upcoming flu season. Now the first thought in your mind is to simply ignore the ad because you rarely get sick. Of course! That's the mind set of most people, then again maybe only some. Okay, it's just me. The guy next to you sneezes several times into his hand and you ignore that. A few seats away another person starts coughing without covering his mouth. Your brain visualizes thousands of germs flying out into the air. Now you begin to think and assess your situation: coughing, multiple people, small contain enclosure and you're sitting in the middle of it.
Little uninfected, healthy you!
Then you remember that not too long ago there appeared a little virus known as swine flu, H1N1 and you take back the idea of being a hard ass about getting vaccinated. Why? You were placed in a situation where you felt uncomfortable about being in the middle of flying germs coming out of open mouths. Everything suddenly looks and feels as though covered or crawling with germs and other microscopic particles of infectious filth. A hypochondriacs worst nightmare!
Here lies the premise of the movie Contagion. I love movies about infectious diseases, plagues or whatever that threatens the safety and existence of human kind. The two films the immediately come to mind are Outbreak and Virus, the one with Chuck Connors and Glenn Ford. I like these films because they show drama based on how people fight and struggle to survive against overwhelming odds. Of course, I also enjoy zombie movies too!
This is what I expected going into Contagion. The trailers showed what appeared to be a great plot and story centered on a global scale epidemic. Mind you, it's been a while since a film such as this as come around, and I honestly believe that the only reason it came out now is to serve as a reminder to prepare for the upcoming winter flu season. More on this later, but...
The movie starts by showing us various characters showing signs of mysterious, unidentified infection with the usual symptoms: coughing, soar throats, dizziness and getting hit by trucks. As this is happening, the audience is shown what and who these characters were interacting with setting up the plot of how the virus will spread to infect larger populations. One of these characters is Gwyneth Paltrow who returns home to her (2nd) husband, played by Matt Damon, from a trip abroad to Hong Kong. She quickly deteriorates due to the illness and in the process gets her son infected. The two subsequently die very early in the film.
Damon is left destroyed by the loss but is determined to keep his daughter, from a previous marriage, alive and safe once he finds out that he is immune to the virus. The movie spends the next hour showing us how the infection spreads and the CDC tries to combat the growing threat. Lawrence Fishburne plays the CDC's main talking head trying to find the origin of the virus while Kate Winslet plays a field doctor (?) organizing response teams to handle the outbreak and victims. Jude Law plays a journalist/blogger with selfish intentions and less then credible sources to inform the public about what is really happening.
Yeah, all the major players are introduced...
I'm not going to dive to deep into the story of this movie because there honestly isn't one, or a very loose one to follow. The movie is told from the perspective of at least six (6) characters! All of these characters are never developed or followed to closely by any extent. At least 2-3 of these characters are introduced from the beginning and are either killed by the virus or disappear entirely for a good portion of the film. They return later, but we are left wondering what the heck happened to them! Thorough out the film other characters appear for brief scenes and never return. I mean, what the heck is this movie trying to do, make me lose all interest in being able to follow a single character?
The movie switches POV's so many times that it is difficult to settle on the story or narrative plot of any one character. Each has their own agendas and they spend the entire movie trying to establish a point or reach a goal whether it is personal gain, protection, the cure, it doesn't matter because the movie suffers from ADHD. It is almost incapable of sustaining a single cohesive story because it tries to glue together six distinct stories on a very loose premise. It handles this task very poorly and I'm left feeling like I needed another two hours of explanation to piece this mess together in a comprehensive fashion. The two hour duration already feels too long, I might add. Instead of six POVs, I honestly think there should have been only three. It just seemed to much to follow with six, and like a said before, each suffered from lack of appropriate development.
Each time a character engaged me with a necessary conflict it changed to another. A buzz kill in my book.
What the movie did did show very well was the real public reaction to epidemics. I appreciated the fact that it showed how paranoia and fear can further put society at risk. We all know how pharmaceutical companies make decisions only for profits and how the government acts to deal with possible public health threats. The movie did a great job in portraying all those sides. Still, I felt as though the real story, Damon's character, was overshadowed by the mistake of too many perspectives. Now that I think about it, the film did serve one purpose and that was to create awareness of public health safety, government and CDC bureaucracy, selfish media and panic. It was not too long ago that swine flu scared the public into a state of panic. Speaking of N1H1, that's the epidemic's identity that the movie hides until the very last scene before the credits. Geez, there's a shocker! The whole movie is a documentary of the N1H1 scare of last year, only blown out of proportion to shown a possible worst case scenario.
All in all, Contagion had a good premise and some/most times I did enjoy it, but the constant POV change made it hard to get a handle on a single character's story of struggle and survival.
Little uninfected, healthy you!
Then you remember that not too long ago there appeared a little virus known as swine flu, H1N1 and you take back the idea of being a hard ass about getting vaccinated. Why? You were placed in a situation where you felt uncomfortable about being in the middle of flying germs coming out of open mouths. Everything suddenly looks and feels as though covered or crawling with germs and other microscopic particles of infectious filth. A hypochondriacs worst nightmare!
Here lies the premise of the movie Contagion. I love movies about infectious diseases, plagues or whatever that threatens the safety and existence of human kind. The two films the immediately come to mind are Outbreak and Virus, the one with Chuck Connors and Glenn Ford. I like these films because they show drama based on how people fight and struggle to survive against overwhelming odds. Of course, I also enjoy zombie movies too!
This is what I expected going into Contagion. The trailers showed what appeared to be a great plot and story centered on a global scale epidemic. Mind you, it's been a while since a film such as this as come around, and I honestly believe that the only reason it came out now is to serve as a reminder to prepare for the upcoming winter flu season. More on this later, but...
The movie starts by showing us various characters showing signs of mysterious, unidentified infection with the usual symptoms: coughing, soar throats, dizziness and getting hit by trucks. As this is happening, the audience is shown what and who these characters were interacting with setting up the plot of how the virus will spread to infect larger populations. One of these characters is Gwyneth Paltrow who returns home to her (2nd) husband, played by Matt Damon, from a trip abroad to Hong Kong. She quickly deteriorates due to the illness and in the process gets her son infected. The two subsequently die very early in the film.
Damon is left destroyed by the loss but is determined to keep his daughter, from a previous marriage, alive and safe once he finds out that he is immune to the virus. The movie spends the next hour showing us how the infection spreads and the CDC tries to combat the growing threat. Lawrence Fishburne plays the CDC's main talking head trying to find the origin of the virus while Kate Winslet plays a field doctor (?) organizing response teams to handle the outbreak and victims. Jude Law plays a journalist/blogger with selfish intentions and less then credible sources to inform the public about what is really happening.
Yeah, all the major players are introduced...
I'm not going to dive to deep into the story of this movie because there honestly isn't one, or a very loose one to follow. The movie is told from the perspective of at least six (6) characters! All of these characters are never developed or followed to closely by any extent. At least 2-3 of these characters are introduced from the beginning and are either killed by the virus or disappear entirely for a good portion of the film. They return later, but we are left wondering what the heck happened to them! Thorough out the film other characters appear for brief scenes and never return. I mean, what the heck is this movie trying to do, make me lose all interest in being able to follow a single character?
The movie switches POV's so many times that it is difficult to settle on the story or narrative plot of any one character. Each has their own agendas and they spend the entire movie trying to establish a point or reach a goal whether it is personal gain, protection, the cure, it doesn't matter because the movie suffers from ADHD. It is almost incapable of sustaining a single cohesive story because it tries to glue together six distinct stories on a very loose premise. It handles this task very poorly and I'm left feeling like I needed another two hours of explanation to piece this mess together in a comprehensive fashion. The two hour duration already feels too long, I might add. Instead of six POVs, I honestly think there should have been only three. It just seemed to much to follow with six, and like a said before, each suffered from lack of appropriate development.
Each time a character engaged me with a necessary conflict it changed to another. A buzz kill in my book.
What the movie did did show very well was the real public reaction to epidemics. I appreciated the fact that it showed how paranoia and fear can further put society at risk. We all know how pharmaceutical companies make decisions only for profits and how the government acts to deal with possible public health threats. The movie did a great job in portraying all those sides. Still, I felt as though the real story, Damon's character, was overshadowed by the mistake of too many perspectives. Now that I think about it, the film did serve one purpose and that was to create awareness of public health safety, government and CDC bureaucracy, selfish media and panic. It was not too long ago that swine flu scared the public into a state of panic. Speaking of N1H1, that's the epidemic's identity that the movie hides until the very last scene before the credits. Geez, there's a shocker! The whole movie is a documentary of the N1H1 scare of last year, only blown out of proportion to shown a possible worst case scenario.
All in all, Contagion had a good premise and some/most times I did enjoy it, but the constant POV change made it hard to get a handle on a single character's story of struggle and survival.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
The Calm Before Irene!
Hey people!
How are ya? As most of you know out there, Hurricane Irene is moving up the north east as I write this post. I live in New York City, and we are not expecting Irene until tomorrow morning (Sunday).
We should be expecting stronger winds and heavy rain starting later this evening. Every news channel and meteorologist is painting this storm to have a major destructive impact on the city. So far the hurricane is still a category 1 and winds exceed 80 mph. That's still pretty serious. With tall skyscrapers, the wind will most likely reach higher then 80 mph.
The mayor has order evacuations of certain parts of the city in anticipation of flooding. On top of that, there is also a possible risk of power and water loss. So, people are preparing and stocking up on provisions as they should. However, there are those that are taking this advisory too seriously and buying goods as if they were preparing to take shelter in a bunker for a month!
Come on people! Think more reasonably. I mean, yeah, this storm is a real threat for the fact that we are not used to, or know how to prepare, for natural threats/disasters if they were to strike. I mean, we all freaked when that earthquake from Virginia reached us here in NYC and further up the coast. Sure, the west coast laughed at us for how we reacted, but how else were we supposed to react? Stuff like this doesn't happen here!
The mayor has also suspended train and bus service until possibly Monday! WOW! No mass transit at all. that is a first. But Bloomberg is over-compensating for that fact that he screwed up in January when we were buried in several feet of snow. To some degree it is understandable, but sometimes I feel like we are going way overboard. The other thing is the fact that the news media keeps "reporting" or how I view it "hyping" this situation to the point that people begin to believe that Irene will be far worse then what is expected. Mayor Bloomberg keeps having news conferences every hour, practically, and it doesn't really add anything to the situation. It's still the same. Irene is coming and nothings going to stop it. Maybe I'm being too optimistic in thinking that this will get here and things will be fine after, but who knows now!
I'll be fine, rest assured. I live near one of those "zones" but there is no need to evacuate my entire neighborhood. I'll keep you posted on how things go or change. I will hopefully have some pictures after and I'll try to put some video up on my youtube channel and link them here.
So, stay safe or I hope you are doing fine, if you live in the north east! Post comments and thoughts and this storm and the situation.
Take care people. Until next time!
How are ya? As most of you know out there, Hurricane Irene is moving up the north east as I write this post. I live in New York City, and we are not expecting Irene until tomorrow morning (Sunday).
We should be expecting stronger winds and heavy rain starting later this evening. Every news channel and meteorologist is painting this storm to have a major destructive impact on the city. So far the hurricane is still a category 1 and winds exceed 80 mph. That's still pretty serious. With tall skyscrapers, the wind will most likely reach higher then 80 mph.
The mayor has order evacuations of certain parts of the city in anticipation of flooding. On top of that, there is also a possible risk of power and water loss. So, people are preparing and stocking up on provisions as they should. However, there are those that are taking this advisory too seriously and buying goods as if they were preparing to take shelter in a bunker for a month!
Come on people! Think more reasonably. I mean, yeah, this storm is a real threat for the fact that we are not used to, or know how to prepare, for natural threats/disasters if they were to strike. I mean, we all freaked when that earthquake from Virginia reached us here in NYC and further up the coast. Sure, the west coast laughed at us for how we reacted, but how else were we supposed to react? Stuff like this doesn't happen here!
The mayor has also suspended train and bus service until possibly Monday! WOW! No mass transit at all. that is a first. But Bloomberg is over-compensating for that fact that he screwed up in January when we were buried in several feet of snow. To some degree it is understandable, but sometimes I feel like we are going way overboard. The other thing is the fact that the news media keeps "reporting" or how I view it "hyping" this situation to the point that people begin to believe that Irene will be far worse then what is expected. Mayor Bloomberg keeps having news conferences every hour, practically, and it doesn't really add anything to the situation. It's still the same. Irene is coming and nothings going to stop it. Maybe I'm being too optimistic in thinking that this will get here and things will be fine after, but who knows now!
I'll be fine, rest assured. I live near one of those "zones" but there is no need to evacuate my entire neighborhood. I'll keep you posted on how things go or change. I will hopefully have some pictures after and I'll try to put some video up on my youtube channel and link them here.
So, stay safe or I hope you are doing fine, if you live in the north east! Post comments and thoughts and this storm and the situation.
Take care people. Until next time!
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Conan the Barbarian (2011)...I'll Take A Pass.
I wish I had taken a pass on this, but I saw it and I can never get those 2 hours back.
I've been away from here for a bit. I know, I know. Before you start complaining that I don't spend enough time with you let me just say.... Yeah, you're right!
Anyway, here I am again to bring you a short review, or more specifically, my thoughts, on the remake of Conan the Barbarian. Remake?! Yeah, that seems to be the trend these days in Hollywood. Either remake something from the 80's or make a movie out of some TV show from the same time period.
Firstly, let me start by saying that I never really listen to what critiques say in their movie reviews, but they were right to give this 1 star!
Back to the movie! I have to say that I was really disappointed with how this film turned out. I was expecting more of a competent story but instead received a film where Conan seemed to juggle between seeking revenge for his father's death and getting caught up in some other distraction that served as plot. I use the word "plot" loosely just to give the actions that happen in this film a title, but in reality an actual "plot" ceased to exist after Conan's father is killed. Well, he actually kills himself! OOPS, spoiler!!! Sorry, but I don't give a damn at this point!
I mean, don't get me wrong, the film did follow the traditional movie formula of beginning, middle and end. Father gets killed, son seeks revenge, becomes ruthless conqueror/killer, meets girl, loves girl, girl gets captured by arch-nemesis... you know where this is heading! And that is exactly it! The original 1982 Conan followed a similar formula, but I felt there was more meat to the story compared to the 2011 version. Yeah, how can I compare the out-dated 1982 version with the superior modern approach and special effects of the 2011 version?
Simple. The original Conan had a story which showed us how Conan grew to become the savage barbarian that we know. Viewers saw the child put into slavery and become the monster that conquered all later. More importantly, young Conan witnessed his mother get killed before his eyes. That traumatized him and gave us a reason to sympathize with him. Granted that Arnold's portrayal of Conan is tamer compared to Jason Momoa 's more savage portrayal of the character. Now, while I understand that the more savage approach is accurate for this type of character, I felt no sympathy or connection to him in Conan 2011. It just felt like this was a movie that showed us - this is Conan, now watch him go berserk in the name of vengeance.
My friend and I both felt that there were many unanswered questions that could have provided some clarity to what and why certain things were happening. Why was Khalar Zym and his daughter Marique searching for the mask? Maybe the movie did explain it, but I missed it because I became comatose after the first 20 minutes. Seriously the movie dragged at first and never seemed to pick up after that. At one point, Conan's first encounter with Khalar, it did seemed like things got exciting but that must have been because I needed someone to get killed already. However, after that it went flatline again. I also thought this version would follow the original's storyline. I wanted and was hoping to see a more modern version of Thulsa Doom, the snake king played by James Earl Jones, but this version followed a different storyline entirely.
Either way, I was expecting a climatic end fight between protagonist and antagonist. The fight was intense but the pay-off was so anti-climatic. Khalar just falls to his doom. WTF! However gruesome the original's pay-off was (Conan decapitates Thulsa's head after a few hacks) it was more satisfying compared this version's conclusion. Oh! Speaking of conclusions. The remake didn't even have the infamous scene of Conan sitting on his throne pondering his next course of action, which "is a tale for another story." I think that's how it goes. My friend and I thought this movie was so bad that maybe it needed Red Sonya to appear and maybe add some more intensity to the movie. Hey, it would have been fun to see a red haired amazon cross blades with Conan.
Man, I would've loved to see Red Sonya appear that way she would have been captured and Conan would then have to rescue her. He would've gotten his ass handed to him and maybe his arms cut off in an uber ridiculous battle. All that just so I can say:
"Yeah, you know what? There was a point where he would had his arms all cut off, and he was on a hospital bed, and he was flaying around these little useless fucking knobs, and he was screaming and crying his fucking ass off going, 'aarrgh, aarrgh, put that Lin Kuei robot shit on me! I need to go save Sonya!'"
***$20 to whoever can guess where the above quote comes from!***
Hmm... I may have to think about the $20, but if you can figure it out then you and I are on the same wavelength or something. Ha! I just love where that line comes from and it fits right there so nicely that I couldn't resist. Have fun with that!
Well, honestly, I felt disappointed and confused at times as to where Conan the Barbarian 2011 was getting some of its references from, where it was going, how is he getting there, etc., etc. I felt like I lost almost 2 hours of my life watching this and I'll never get them back. Well, maybe if I watch the original I can reverse the damage. It's a thought.
Okay, that's all of now. Feels good to post a new entry! I guess I just needed to ad my two scents on Conan the Barbarian 2011. I'd pass on it. Save your money. Unless you want to see a mindless tale of revenge.
Until next time!
I've been away from here for a bit. I know, I know. Before you start complaining that I don't spend enough time with you let me just say.... Yeah, you're right!
Anyway, here I am again to bring you a short review, or more specifically, my thoughts, on the remake of Conan the Barbarian. Remake?! Yeah, that seems to be the trend these days in Hollywood. Either remake something from the 80's or make a movie out of some TV show from the same time period.
Firstly, let me start by saying that I never really listen to what critiques say in their movie reviews, but they were right to give this 1 star!
Back to the movie! I have to say that I was really disappointed with how this film turned out. I was expecting more of a competent story but instead received a film where Conan seemed to juggle between seeking revenge for his father's death and getting caught up in some other distraction that served as plot. I use the word "plot" loosely just to give the actions that happen in this film a title, but in reality an actual "plot" ceased to exist after Conan's father is killed. Well, he actually kills himself! OOPS, spoiler!!! Sorry, but I don't give a damn at this point!
I mean, don't get me wrong, the film did follow the traditional movie formula of beginning, middle and end. Father gets killed, son seeks revenge, becomes ruthless conqueror/killer, meets girl, loves girl, girl gets captured by arch-nemesis... you know where this is heading! And that is exactly it! The original 1982 Conan followed a similar formula, but I felt there was more meat to the story compared to the 2011 version. Yeah, how can I compare the out-dated 1982 version with the superior modern approach and special effects of the 2011 version?
Simple. The original Conan had a story which showed us how Conan grew to become the savage barbarian that we know. Viewers saw the child put into slavery and become the monster that conquered all later. More importantly, young Conan witnessed his mother get killed before his eyes. That traumatized him and gave us a reason to sympathize with him. Granted that Arnold's portrayal of Conan is tamer compared to Jason Momoa 's more savage portrayal of the character. Now, while I understand that the more savage approach is accurate for this type of character, I felt no sympathy or connection to him in Conan 2011. It just felt like this was a movie that showed us - this is Conan, now watch him go berserk in the name of vengeance.
My friend and I both felt that there were many unanswered questions that could have provided some clarity to what and why certain things were happening. Why was Khalar Zym and his daughter Marique searching for the mask? Maybe the movie did explain it, but I missed it because I became comatose after the first 20 minutes. Seriously the movie dragged at first and never seemed to pick up after that. At one point, Conan's first encounter with Khalar, it did seemed like things got exciting but that must have been because I needed someone to get killed already. However, after that it went flatline again. I also thought this version would follow the original's storyline. I wanted and was hoping to see a more modern version of Thulsa Doom, the snake king played by James Earl Jones, but this version followed a different storyline entirely.
Either way, I was expecting a climatic end fight between protagonist and antagonist. The fight was intense but the pay-off was so anti-climatic. Khalar just falls to his doom. WTF! However gruesome the original's pay-off was (Conan decapitates Thulsa's head after a few hacks) it was more satisfying compared this version's conclusion. Oh! Speaking of conclusions. The remake didn't even have the infamous scene of Conan sitting on his throne pondering his next course of action, which "is a tale for another story." I think that's how it goes. My friend and I thought this movie was so bad that maybe it needed Red Sonya to appear and maybe add some more intensity to the movie. Hey, it would have been fun to see a red haired amazon cross blades with Conan.
Man, I would've loved to see Red Sonya appear that way she would have been captured and Conan would then have to rescue her. He would've gotten his ass handed to him and maybe his arms cut off in an uber ridiculous battle. All that just so I can say:
"Yeah, you know what? There was a point where he would had his arms all cut off, and he was on a hospital bed, and he was flaying around these little useless fucking knobs, and he was screaming and crying his fucking ass off going, 'aarrgh, aarrgh, put that Lin Kuei robot shit on me! I need to go save Sonya!'"
***$20 to whoever can guess where the above quote comes from!***
Hmm... I may have to think about the $20, but if you can figure it out then you and I are on the same wavelength or something. Ha! I just love where that line comes from and it fits right there so nicely that I couldn't resist. Have fun with that!
Well, honestly, I felt disappointed and confused at times as to where Conan the Barbarian 2011 was getting some of its references from, where it was going, how is he getting there, etc., etc. I felt like I lost almost 2 hours of my life watching this and I'll never get them back. Well, maybe if I watch the original I can reverse the damage. It's a thought.
Okay, that's all of now. Feels good to post a new entry! I guess I just needed to ad my two scents on Conan the Barbarian 2011. I'd pass on it. Save your money. Unless you want to see a mindless tale of revenge.
Until next time!
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