Hello Internet!
*Warning: Minor spoilers abound!*
Boy do I love a great thriller. Lucky for me Ben Affleck's Gone Baby Gone is one of the best I have ever seen. Somehow this fantastic 2007 film slipped past me for all these years. I absolutely loved Affleck's sophomore effort, 2010s The Town, and decided to check out his debut film. Needless to say I was absolutely blown away by every aspect of this well-crafted crime thriller.
To call Gone Baby Gone a crime thriller feels like an disservice to the film. At its surface GBG is about a missing child and the private detectives hired to assist the Boston Police Department in searching for her whereabouts. GBG goes way further into the rabbit hole than that basic plot. As a matter of fact that specific plot line seems to have been wrapped up not halfway through the film's sleek two-hour run time (only to have been brought full-circle by the finale). A great thriller keeps you guessing at every turn and GBG does it effortlessly. The narrative is not nearly as straightforward as it seems; at the surface the relatively simple missing child plot turns into a kidnapping story mixed with corruption and conspiracy. Its truly a sigh to behold and had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I had absolutely no idea what was going to happen from scene to scene, let alone how the film was going to conclude. I may not exactly have liked how the narrative played out but that's part of the mystery of these types of films.
Affleck has quite a knack for crafting real characters in a real world. In both of his films both the pro-and antagonists feel very, very real. Gone Baby Gone has one of the best ensemble casts I've ever seen on film. Every single actor embodies their character and makes me forget that Amy Ryan was Michael Scott's love interest on The Office, that Titus Welliver was The Man in Black on Lost, or that Casey Affleck was one half of the always-arguing brothers in the Ocean's films. I could do that for every actor in the film. Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, Michelle Monaghan - all are absolutely fantastic. The supporting cast is excellent as well. All of these characters interact in a very real world.
I felt dirty after watching GBG. I could feel the grime and dirt of the slums of Boston. Just as in The Town the setting of the film feels like a character in and of itself. And not necessarily because of the cinematography (which was great as well) but by how the characters speak and interact. You get a very real sense that they have grown up around each other and, especially Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan's characters, know their way around the city and its seedy underbelly.
As you can tell I am in love with Gone Baby Gone. I had virtually no expectations going into it, besides the fact that I loved The Town so much. It truly is a well-crafted thriller with a winding narrative that'll bring you along for the ride and keep you guessing. I suppose for the eagle-eyed viewers out there you may be able to pick up on certain clues or seemingly throwaway lines that could key you in to the final outcome...but I find it quite doubtful. I cannot recommend this film enough.
Gone Baby Gone is a truly fantastic film and deserves to be seen.
The Bearded Bullet runs off to practice his Bahstan accent.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Review
Greetings, Internet!
The Bearded Bullet is here to provide his thoughts on the sequel to 2009's smash-hit, Sherlock Holmes. To say I was a fan of Guy Ritchie's original is quite an understatement (it was 8th on my top-ten list of 2009). The original oozed coolness, mixed with intellect and intrigue. Robert Downey Jr's Sherlock, paired with Jude Law's Watson, made for a great duo, riffing off of each other with witty banter and excellent dialogue. This year's follow-up is one of those rare sequels that is better than the original. All of those great qualities exhibited in the original return but are turned up to ten.
I could talk at length about my love for this series so I'll try to keep it brief. The cast is back and as great as ever. Downey continues to impress as the quick-witted Holmes. Jude Law's Watson is sharp as ever, still trying to keep Holmes in line while trying to start a new, married, life. Introduced into the mix is the shadowy antagonist behind the original film's events, Professor James Moriarty. Moriarty is played quite effectively by the amazing Jared Harris. His work as Lane Pryce on Mad Men is one of my favorite aspects of that show.
Harris is an excellent foil to Holmes' detective efforts, driving him to obsession and near-madness in his efforts to expose Moriarty as the villain he is. Moriarty is one of those rare villains that can challenge our heroes at every step intellectually and physically. GoS shares themes of the great sequels (Empire Strikes Back and The Dark Knight), in that our protagonists aren't always one step ahead of the villain and aren't always successful in their endeavors. Holmes takes quite a beating during the course of the film, both physically and intellectually.
The other new additions to the cast include Noomi Rapace and Stephen Fry. Rapace is the wily gypsy, Madame Simza, whose brother is caught up in Moriarty's scheme. Fry plays (quite brilliantly) Sherlock's brother, Mycroft. Mycroft is just as witty and fast-talking as his brother but lacks the suaveness of Sherlock.
I won't get spoilery with regards to the plot itself, as half the fun of these films is trying to figure out what the villains are up to. What I will say is that the story is quite engaging, but can be confusing at times. GoS is a film that will benefit from multiple viewings, both in terms of story but also dialogue. As with the original, the dialogue can be very fast-paced and if you aren't accustomed to Ritchie's other works you might be a bit lost. The two Sherlock films are definitely his most mainstream work but they still provide enough of a challenge to make them interesting and worthwhile views.
The original's climax involved Sherlock providing exposition that clued us into what was going on and neatly summed up the film's events. Game of Shadows plays with this formula, bringing us along for the ride as Sherlock unravels Moriarty's plot. Don't get me wrong, there is still a bit of Holmes dropping knowledge on us, but its done in a more fluid manner.
I'll wrap up my review with the insanely good action scenes. The original film had two major fights in which Sherlock used his high intellect and observational skills to foresee the outcome of a fight. The sequel has several of these instances, but they don't always play out as Holmes sees. Again, the screenwriters play with our expectations while blowing them out of the water. Ritchie is a master of using slow-motion and speed-ramping to great effect. One sequence has our protagonists being chased through a German forest (as seen in the trailer) with explosions abound. The scene is filmed brilliantly and with great clarity. It is one of my favorite moments from any film this year.
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows isn't perfect but its a damn good time. The film's intelligence can also be its curse; if you get lost during the ride the film will swing back around and pick you up before the finale. I recommend seeing it twice if possible to assist in picking up things you may have missed the first time. Fans of the original should most definitely see this stellar sequel.
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is a thrillingly fantastic experience.
Bullet out.
The Bearded Bullet is here to provide his thoughts on the sequel to 2009's smash-hit, Sherlock Holmes. To say I was a fan of Guy Ritchie's original is quite an understatement (it was 8th on my top-ten list of 2009). The original oozed coolness, mixed with intellect and intrigue. Robert Downey Jr's Sherlock, paired with Jude Law's Watson, made for a great duo, riffing off of each other with witty banter and excellent dialogue. This year's follow-up is one of those rare sequels that is better than the original. All of those great qualities exhibited in the original return but are turned up to ten.
I could talk at length about my love for this series so I'll try to keep it brief. The cast is back and as great as ever. Downey continues to impress as the quick-witted Holmes. Jude Law's Watson is sharp as ever, still trying to keep Holmes in line while trying to start a new, married, life. Introduced into the mix is the shadowy antagonist behind the original film's events, Professor James Moriarty. Moriarty is played quite effectively by the amazing Jared Harris. His work as Lane Pryce on Mad Men is one of my favorite aspects of that show.
Harris is an excellent foil to Holmes' detective efforts, driving him to obsession and near-madness in his efforts to expose Moriarty as the villain he is. Moriarty is one of those rare villains that can challenge our heroes at every step intellectually and physically. GoS shares themes of the great sequels (Empire Strikes Back and The Dark Knight), in that our protagonists aren't always one step ahead of the villain and aren't always successful in their endeavors. Holmes takes quite a beating during the course of the film, both physically and intellectually.
The other new additions to the cast include Noomi Rapace and Stephen Fry. Rapace is the wily gypsy, Madame Simza, whose brother is caught up in Moriarty's scheme. Fry plays (quite brilliantly) Sherlock's brother, Mycroft. Mycroft is just as witty and fast-talking as his brother but lacks the suaveness of Sherlock.
I won't get spoilery with regards to the plot itself, as half the fun of these films is trying to figure out what the villains are up to. What I will say is that the story is quite engaging, but can be confusing at times. GoS is a film that will benefit from multiple viewings, both in terms of story but also dialogue. As with the original, the dialogue can be very fast-paced and if you aren't accustomed to Ritchie's other works you might be a bit lost. The two Sherlock films are definitely his most mainstream work but they still provide enough of a challenge to make them interesting and worthwhile views.
The original's climax involved Sherlock providing exposition that clued us into what was going on and neatly summed up the film's events. Game of Shadows plays with this formula, bringing us along for the ride as Sherlock unravels Moriarty's plot. Don't get me wrong, there is still a bit of Holmes dropping knowledge on us, but its done in a more fluid manner.
I'll wrap up my review with the insanely good action scenes. The original film had two major fights in which Sherlock used his high intellect and observational skills to foresee the outcome of a fight. The sequel has several of these instances, but they don't always play out as Holmes sees. Again, the screenwriters play with our expectations while blowing them out of the water. Ritchie is a master of using slow-motion and speed-ramping to great effect. One sequence has our protagonists being chased through a German forest (as seen in the trailer) with explosions abound. The scene is filmed brilliantly and with great clarity. It is one of my favorite moments from any film this year.
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows isn't perfect but its a damn good time. The film's intelligence can also be its curse; if you get lost during the ride the film will swing back around and pick you up before the finale. I recommend seeing it twice if possible to assist in picking up things you may have missed the first time. Fans of the original should most definitely see this stellar sequel.
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is a thrillingly fantastic experience.
Bullet out.
Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol Review
What is up Internet?
I'd like to start off by saying that (gasp) I've never seen any of the previous MI films. I don't really have a reason as to why...they all came out in a time where I wasn't very much into films. That said, I was still incredibly excited for Ghost Protocol following the still-excellent trailer. I'm a sucker for a great trailer cut to a great song (Eminem's "Won't Back Down" in this instance). Adding to the excitement was the fact that MI4 is Brad Bird's live-action directorial debut. All of his previous efforts were incredible animated films: The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, and Ratatouille. There were quite a few points at which I was truly amazed that this was his first live-action effort. MI4 is one of my favorite films of the year and is a truly incredible experience.
Front and center are the amazing action set-pieces Bird constructs and masterfully captures on screen. Without getting too spoilery, several sequences set in Dubai, in and around the Burj Khalifa hotel have me getting excited just thinking about them. Word is that Tom Cruise insisted on doing all of his stunts, including climbing and and running down the Burj. Its insane. Very few films have caused as much of a physical reaction in me as MI4 did. And it happened several times. The camerawork and cinematography are absolutely gorgeous. I'm a fan of long takes and this film has some great ones. There's an amazing shot of a high-end party in Mumbai that seems to never end.
The performances overall were quite good. I'm a fan of Tom Cruise and he is excellent in MI4. Simon Pegg adds some well-timed humor to the mix as one of Cruise's new team members. Jeremy Renner is a great addition and deserves to have more meaty roles (like he had in this film) in the future. He's definitely one of Hollywood's most underrated actors (despite back-to-back Oscar nominations for The Town and The Hurt Locker).
One of my chief complaints with the film is the choice of the villain. The team's foil, Hendricks, is played by the great Michael Nyqvist. He's absolutely incredible in the original Millennium Trilogy and I'm very glad that he's getting roles in bigger-budget domestic films, but its seems that he's already being typecast as an Eastern-European villain. In this year's awful Abduction he was the chief antagonist and had very little screen time or good dialogue. The same goes for this film. He seems like a lesser Bond villain and deserves a meatier role. His character's motivations were mildly interesting but there just wasn't much for him to do. By the end he and Cruise's Ethan Hunt are embroiled in a classic spy-film fistfight to the death. I'm not saying that Nyqvist isn't menacing, but I can't really buy that he could go toe to toe with Hunt. The same was present in 2008's Quantum of Solace. There is absolutely no way that Dominic Greene could last in a brawl against Daniel Craig's Bond.
MIGP is by far not a perfect film. Despite amazing action and set-pieces, the script asks us, the audience, to make several logic jumps and assumptions. Where did the crew get their disguises for the Kremlin? How does Ethan just know every extraction location and hidden weapons cache in Moscow? Despite being disavowed by the American government, how does the crew get around? Wouldn't their passports be flagged? Credit cards deactivated? Jason Bourne had a helluva time getting around Europe throughout his trilogy. As seen in the trailer, Hunt's crew was being blamed for a bombing of the Kremlin. If this is true the CIA would stop at nothing to find these people and either terminate them or lock em up in prison.
Despite all of that I had an absolute blast with Ghost Protocol. I can forgive all these minor grievances because of the amazing spectacle put before my eyes. After seeing this film I have a very strong feeling that Brad Bird will have an amazing career in Hollywood with non-animated films. Or he can go back to animation - as long as he makes great films I don't care either way.
A quick note: I saw MIGP in both digital and film formats, in Imax. I highly recommend the digital Imax. At this time the film hasn't yet released in regular theaters so Imax is the only option. A good portion of the film was shot in Imax and it shows. The picture clarity is astounding and breathtaking. Definitely worth the ticket price.
Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol is an insanely good time at the theater.
The Bearded Bullet is out.
I'd like to start off by saying that (gasp) I've never seen any of the previous MI films. I don't really have a reason as to why...they all came out in a time where I wasn't very much into films. That said, I was still incredibly excited for Ghost Protocol following the still-excellent trailer. I'm a sucker for a great trailer cut to a great song (Eminem's "Won't Back Down" in this instance). Adding to the excitement was the fact that MI4 is Brad Bird's live-action directorial debut. All of his previous efforts were incredible animated films: The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, and Ratatouille. There were quite a few points at which I was truly amazed that this was his first live-action effort. MI4 is one of my favorite films of the year and is a truly incredible experience.
Front and center are the amazing action set-pieces Bird constructs and masterfully captures on screen. Without getting too spoilery, several sequences set in Dubai, in and around the Burj Khalifa hotel have me getting excited just thinking about them. Word is that Tom Cruise insisted on doing all of his stunts, including climbing and and running down the Burj. Its insane. Very few films have caused as much of a physical reaction in me as MI4 did. And it happened several times. The camerawork and cinematography are absolutely gorgeous. I'm a fan of long takes and this film has some great ones. There's an amazing shot of a high-end party in Mumbai that seems to never end.
The performances overall were quite good. I'm a fan of Tom Cruise and he is excellent in MI4. Simon Pegg adds some well-timed humor to the mix as one of Cruise's new team members. Jeremy Renner is a great addition and deserves to have more meaty roles (like he had in this film) in the future. He's definitely one of Hollywood's most underrated actors (despite back-to-back Oscar nominations for The Town and The Hurt Locker).
One of my chief complaints with the film is the choice of the villain. The team's foil, Hendricks, is played by the great Michael Nyqvist. He's absolutely incredible in the original Millennium Trilogy and I'm very glad that he's getting roles in bigger-budget domestic films, but its seems that he's already being typecast as an Eastern-European villain. In this year's awful Abduction he was the chief antagonist and had very little screen time or good dialogue. The same goes for this film. He seems like a lesser Bond villain and deserves a meatier role. His character's motivations were mildly interesting but there just wasn't much for him to do. By the end he and Cruise's Ethan Hunt are embroiled in a classic spy-film fistfight to the death. I'm not saying that Nyqvist isn't menacing, but I can't really buy that he could go toe to toe with Hunt. The same was present in 2008's Quantum of Solace. There is absolutely no way that Dominic Greene could last in a brawl against Daniel Craig's Bond.
MIGP is by far not a perfect film. Despite amazing action and set-pieces, the script asks us, the audience, to make several logic jumps and assumptions. Where did the crew get their disguises for the Kremlin? How does Ethan just know every extraction location and hidden weapons cache in Moscow? Despite being disavowed by the American government, how does the crew get around? Wouldn't their passports be flagged? Credit cards deactivated? Jason Bourne had a helluva time getting around Europe throughout his trilogy. As seen in the trailer, Hunt's crew was being blamed for a bombing of the Kremlin. If this is true the CIA would stop at nothing to find these people and either terminate them or lock em up in prison.
Despite all of that I had an absolute blast with Ghost Protocol. I can forgive all these minor grievances because of the amazing spectacle put before my eyes. After seeing this film I have a very strong feeling that Brad Bird will have an amazing career in Hollywood with non-animated films. Or he can go back to animation - as long as he makes great films I don't care either way.
A quick note: I saw MIGP in both digital and film formats, in Imax. I highly recommend the digital Imax. At this time the film hasn't yet released in regular theaters so Imax is the only option. A good portion of the film was shot in Imax and it shows. The picture clarity is astounding and breathtaking. Definitely worth the ticket price.
Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol is an insanely good time at the theater.
The Bearded Bullet is out.
Friday, December 16, 2011
The Dark Knight Rises Footage Impressions (Spoilers)
Salutations, Internet!
**Spoilers abound for the first footage of The Dark Knight Rises**
This evening I saw Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (quite a fantastic film) with the first eight or so minutes of The Dark Knight Rises. To those of you who know me I am quite the Batman fan. Rather a Christopher Nolan-Batman fan. I discovered Batman Begins in 2007 (I had been on a forced film hiatus for several years) and immediately fell in love with the world and characters Nolan brought to the screen. To put it simply, Nolan classed up the joint. With the reveal in the final shot of Begins of the Joker's card, my anticipation for The Dark Knight began to build. July 2008 came and I saw The Dark Knight (after having built a Lego version of the tumbler whilst wearing my Joker shirt). I was speechless after the credits rolled. To this day The Dark Knight remains my number two favorite film of all time (Saving Private Ryan being number one). I've been talking, reading, and thinking about The Dark Knight Rises ever since July 2008. More spy photos and videos have come out of TDKR's production than I've ever seen on any film. I and two good friends had the fortune to actually be extras in a scene for the film, shot at Pittsburgh's Heinz Field. It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. So needless to say I have very high expectations for Nolan's trilogy-ending epic.
Perhaps these high expectations are what left me a bit wanting after seeing the first footage tonight. The gist is that some CIA dudes are picking up a Russian scientist (the viral campaign plays directly into this) from someone..who has captured three mercenaries that were trying to get to the scientist. One of the mercs is Bane and bad stuff happens. The plane is boarded by bad buys and Bane escapes in dazzling fashion with the scientist.
What I liked: Its new footage. I was amazed at the staging of the scene and the practicality involved; Bane's crew attached cables to the outer hull of the small plane and had their cargo plane pitch upward, causing the wings to tear off the small craft. The men blow off the tail of the plane and rappel down into it. At the end Bane blows the cables and the plane falls away from them with him and the scientist attached to the cable. Everything looked very, very real with little noticeable CG. The music was great, with the slow tonal build that culminates in Zimmer's classic Dark Knight score..then blends into the distinctive chanting that is featured in both the teaser trailer and the first official trailer.
What I didn't like: Bane's voice. You can't understand or hear what he's saying. This has been a huge contention amongst those who have seen this footage. In Pittsburgh it was incredibly difficult to hear what he was saying to us..but that was coming out of loudspeakers. He speaks in a very thick eastern European accent and his mask muffles his voice greatly. I have all the confidence in the world that this will be fix via ADR and perhaps Nolan didn't want us clearly hearing what this badass villain is saying. I didn't really like the editing of the piece..it moves at a very fast pace with a lot of quick cuts. The dialogue wasn't very good either. When one of the men mentions a masked mercenary the main guy proclaims "BANE?!" in a goofy way. There were bits of clunky dialogue in both films, namely the lines "We'll be like turkeys on Thanksgiving!" and "Have a nice trip, see ya next fall," but I hope this is a single case and not a trend.
When seen in context, in front of the whole film, I may end up loving it (I very much probably will)..but I just can't help but feel underwhelmed. I much preferred the first real trailer that is now attached to Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (also a fantastic film). I'm 110% confident that I will love The Dark Knight Rises when it comes out next July..I just hope that my expectations aren't too high...
Bullet out.
**Spoilers abound for the first footage of The Dark Knight Rises**
This evening I saw Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (quite a fantastic film) with the first eight or so minutes of The Dark Knight Rises. To those of you who know me I am quite the Batman fan. Rather a Christopher Nolan-Batman fan. I discovered Batman Begins in 2007 (I had been on a forced film hiatus for several years) and immediately fell in love with the world and characters Nolan brought to the screen. To put it simply, Nolan classed up the joint. With the reveal in the final shot of Begins of the Joker's card, my anticipation for The Dark Knight began to build. July 2008 came and I saw The Dark Knight (after having built a Lego version of the tumbler whilst wearing my Joker shirt). I was speechless after the credits rolled. To this day The Dark Knight remains my number two favorite film of all time (Saving Private Ryan being number one). I've been talking, reading, and thinking about The Dark Knight Rises ever since July 2008. More spy photos and videos have come out of TDKR's production than I've ever seen on any film. I and two good friends had the fortune to actually be extras in a scene for the film, shot at Pittsburgh's Heinz Field. It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. So needless to say I have very high expectations for Nolan's trilogy-ending epic.
Perhaps these high expectations are what left me a bit wanting after seeing the first footage tonight. The gist is that some CIA dudes are picking up a Russian scientist (the viral campaign plays directly into this) from someone..who has captured three mercenaries that were trying to get to the scientist. One of the mercs is Bane and bad stuff happens. The plane is boarded by bad buys and Bane escapes in dazzling fashion with the scientist.
What I liked: Its new footage. I was amazed at the staging of the scene and the practicality involved; Bane's crew attached cables to the outer hull of the small plane and had their cargo plane pitch upward, causing the wings to tear off the small craft. The men blow off the tail of the plane and rappel down into it. At the end Bane blows the cables and the plane falls away from them with him and the scientist attached to the cable. Everything looked very, very real with little noticeable CG. The music was great, with the slow tonal build that culminates in Zimmer's classic Dark Knight score..then blends into the distinctive chanting that is featured in both the teaser trailer and the first official trailer.
What I didn't like: Bane's voice. You can't understand or hear what he's saying. This has been a huge contention amongst those who have seen this footage. In Pittsburgh it was incredibly difficult to hear what he was saying to us..but that was coming out of loudspeakers. He speaks in a very thick eastern European accent and his mask muffles his voice greatly. I have all the confidence in the world that this will be fix via ADR and perhaps Nolan didn't want us clearly hearing what this badass villain is saying. I didn't really like the editing of the piece..it moves at a very fast pace with a lot of quick cuts. The dialogue wasn't very good either. When one of the men mentions a masked mercenary the main guy proclaims "BANE?!" in a goofy way. There were bits of clunky dialogue in both films, namely the lines "We'll be like turkeys on Thanksgiving!" and "Have a nice trip, see ya next fall," but I hope this is a single case and not a trend.
When seen in context, in front of the whole film, I may end up loving it (I very much probably will)..but I just can't help but feel underwhelmed. I much preferred the first real trailer that is now attached to Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (also a fantastic film). I'm 110% confident that I will love The Dark Knight Rises when it comes out next July..I just hope that my expectations aren't too high...
Bullet out.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
The Muppets Review
What's up Internets?
I just saw The Muppets. I'll admit, I'm not the world's biggest Muppet fan. Actually, I never really watched the Muppets at all. Just never got into them. I wasn't really that interested in the prospect of a new film, that is, until I found out that Jason Segel was writing and starring in it. Alongside Amy Adams. Then the trailer came out and I was sold. Then all of the amazing parody trailers were released (The Piggy with the Froggy Tattoo was brilliant) and I was even more sold. I had no idea going into tonight that I would be watching a virtually perfect film, complete with myriad song and dance routines. The Muppets is absolutely incredible.
I could talk at length about this film but I'll try to keep it short. The Muppets nails everything perfectly. The comedy, while of course geared toward a younger audience, ascends to pure genius that us adults can appreciate. Very few films break the fourth wall or as quite self-aware and self-referential as The Muppets. I was consistently entertained by the fantastic musical numbers and choreographed dance sequences. There is one particular song in the middle of the film that was pitch-perfect in terms of comedic brilliance and character development. The story, while nothing revolutionary, is so simple and straightforward that I'm confident even the most inept movie-goer will be able to follow.
Its no secret that the Muppets franchise has been dormant for years and the storyline runs perfectly parallel to real-life events. Jason Segel pitched the idea of a new Muppet film out of his life-long love of the franchise. The studio gave them a greenlight and here we are today. The most brilliant part is that the film actually addressed the fact that the Muppets have been gone for so long...so long that they have all gone their separate ways and must reunite to stop an evil oil tycoon (played awesomely by Chris Cooper) from destroying the Muppet studios. And Chris Cooper raps. Yes. That's what I said. THE Chris Cooper spits rhymes like its his day job and it is glorious.
If you can't tell by now, I loved absolutely everything about this film. Jason Segel and Amy Adams were terrific as the main human characters. They both have some excellent, fourth-wall-breaking lines that were genius. I must also make mention of the myriad guest stars..so many awesome people show up in this movie (so I won't spoil it!) - some for just a scene, but others for a bit more.
If you are a fan of the Muppets you must see this movie. If you are a fan of anything remotely funny, entertaining, heartwarming, or just plain awesome then you must see this movie. I challenge each and every one of you to NOT smile or laugh at least a billion times during this film. I don't think it can be done. If you don't enjoy a healthy amount of silliness in your films then this probably isn't the movie for you...but just go see it anyway.
The Muppets is transcendently brilliant.
The Bearded Bullet is out.
I just saw The Muppets. I'll admit, I'm not the world's biggest Muppet fan. Actually, I never really watched the Muppets at all. Just never got into them. I wasn't really that interested in the prospect of a new film, that is, until I found out that Jason Segel was writing and starring in it. Alongside Amy Adams. Then the trailer came out and I was sold. Then all of the amazing parody trailers were released (The Piggy with the Froggy Tattoo was brilliant) and I was even more sold. I had no idea going into tonight that I would be watching a virtually perfect film, complete with myriad song and dance routines. The Muppets is absolutely incredible.
I could talk at length about this film but I'll try to keep it short. The Muppets nails everything perfectly. The comedy, while of course geared toward a younger audience, ascends to pure genius that us adults can appreciate. Very few films break the fourth wall or as quite self-aware and self-referential as The Muppets. I was consistently entertained by the fantastic musical numbers and choreographed dance sequences. There is one particular song in the middle of the film that was pitch-perfect in terms of comedic brilliance and character development. The story, while nothing revolutionary, is so simple and straightforward that I'm confident even the most inept movie-goer will be able to follow.
Its no secret that the Muppets franchise has been dormant for years and the storyline runs perfectly parallel to real-life events. Jason Segel pitched the idea of a new Muppet film out of his life-long love of the franchise. The studio gave them a greenlight and here we are today. The most brilliant part is that the film actually addressed the fact that the Muppets have been gone for so long...so long that they have all gone their separate ways and must reunite to stop an evil oil tycoon (played awesomely by Chris Cooper) from destroying the Muppet studios. And Chris Cooper raps. Yes. That's what I said. THE Chris Cooper spits rhymes like its his day job and it is glorious.
If you can't tell by now, I loved absolutely everything about this film. Jason Segel and Amy Adams were terrific as the main human characters. They both have some excellent, fourth-wall-breaking lines that were genius. I must also make mention of the myriad guest stars..so many awesome people show up in this movie (so I won't spoil it!) - some for just a scene, but others for a bit more.
If you are a fan of the Muppets you must see this movie. If you are a fan of anything remotely funny, entertaining, heartwarming, or just plain awesome then you must see this movie. I challenge each and every one of you to NOT smile or laugh at least a billion times during this film. I don't think it can be done. If you don't enjoy a healthy amount of silliness in your films then this probably isn't the movie for you...but just go see it anyway.
The Muppets is transcendently brilliant.
The Bearded Bullet is out.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Breaking Dawn Part 1 Review
*This review contains full spoilers. You are warned!*
Greetings, Internet!
This evening I had the "pleasure" of seeing the fourth film in the Twilight "Saga," Breaking Dawn Part 1. I'd like to begin this discussion by giving a bit of background with regards to my "relationship" with the films (see what I'm doing there??). I haven't read a single sentence from any of the Twilight books. To be honest I had never heard of the franchise until the first film was about to release...and after having seen all the films so far I have absolutely no desire to read them. I saw two of the films at their respective midnight releases and the other two a bit after. Those two midnights were the absolutely worst movie-going experiences I have ever had. The first film was, for me, barely watchable. The second, mildly better. The third, completely pointless. The "characters" end up in the same place essentially in both the second and third films. I think its safe to say that I wasn't necessarily chomping at the bit to see Breaking Dawn Part 1 (BD1)...and now I've seen it. And frankly, I'm much more than underwhelmed.
I have much to say about BD1 but I'll try to not rant as much as some of my other reviews. I'll start with the overall plot. I won't go into explicit detail for the sake of boring you all (I'm sorry...its just so hard to make fun of these films). The first half of the film deals with Bella and Edward's wedding and all of the "emotions" Bella is going through. Frankly I was bored and frustrated during this first half. The pre-wedding set-up was fine, as was the ceremony itself. They just existed. They sat there on screen and gave me no real reason to feel any emotion. I hate to be picky but the couple's vows were too short. These two are SO in love, yet they rush right to the end.
Jacob shows up late..oh wait, I forgot to mention the part where he childishly runs off into the woods, all angry-like, after receiving his wedding invitation. He made sure to take his shirt off first. Why does he take of his shirt? Why not his pants? Jeans are more expensive than $5 K-Mart shirts. What am I missing here? The Hulk (pardon my French) don't give a fuck when he hulks out. Shirts, purple pants, the Hulk doesn't care. Why does Jacob? He loses a nice pair of jeans, boxers, socks, and shoes every time he transforms. But those shirts are just toooo valuable to lose. But I digress.
I thought I said I wasn't going to rant....anyway, they get married and bang. This "sex" scene was built up to be like, I don't know, earth-shattering. There wasn't anything PG-13, let alone sexy, about this so-called "sex" scene. I'd be totally okay showing this to a young child. They'd probably have no idea what's happening, and the same goes for us. Barely any moans, definitely no thrusts, but there was stuff getting ripped up. Which we see in the morning. Afterwards. Boooooring. I was given no reason to think that this was "the greatest moment of my (Edward's) life." Then Bella mopes some more, as does Edward. "Waaaa I gave you some bruises now I won't have sex with my wife." Puh-lease. Bella didn't give a crap about a wrecked room or some bruises. She wanted her man (finally). And now he doesn't want to touch her! Seriously?! And apparently Edward has Superman sperm because he magically gets her preggers. Which isn't supposed to happen. They rush back to the medical care of Carlisle and the Cullen clan to deal with the pregnancy.
At this point I actually kind of started to care and enjoy some aspects of the film. Jacob is still moody and whiny. Edward is still moody and sad. Bella...looks like death. The vampire baby is literally sucking the life out of her and by the end of the film she looked so terrible that I thought I was watching Lord of the Rings. There were definitely plot issues peppered throughout, but the second half was fairly enjoyable. There were things that I wish would've happened differently, or not happened at all, but it is what it is. Vampire half-breed is born, Jacob gets all up in some werewolf's faces, and Bella comes back to life just before the credits. Just as I assumed. It was alright. Not exactly terrible..but not really great. There are worse films out there (Beastly and Jonah Hex, I'm looking at you).
Onto the acting itself. Its bad. Its just..so...terrible. You'd think after four directors and four films the actors would, I don't know, have changed? When one looks at the Harry Potter series of films the children obviously aged over time but so did their acting abilities. Every film contained increasingly good acting. The Twilight series does not. Kristen Stewart is just as bland as always, Robert Pattinson is just as...bland as well, and Taylor Lautner is just as pouty and whiny as he's ever been. Obviously these are reflections of the source material, but damn. The first half of the film is pretty hard to watch in terms of acting. Line delivery is stilted and emotionless. I suppose Bella is going through a lot emotionally..getting married, consummating her impending marriage, becoming a bad-ass (oh wait, there aren't any bad-ass vampires in a series about vampires) vampire...but she always just seems to have a blank stare on her face, even when she is smiling. Look, these characters really haven't changed over the course of the films. They're pretty much the same they were from the beginning, and unfortunately the acting itself follows suit. When almost the entire supporting cast is better and more enjoyable to watch than the three leads, you have a problem. I will say that Taylor Lautner's performance in BD1 was better than his in this year's Abduction. Definitely no Oscar noms for this crew...
I'd like to touch briefly on the CG in the film. To be honest I felt that the werewolves looked the best of the series, with a good bit a screen time devoted to them psychically conversing and fighting. The final showdown of Cullens+Jacob and two cronies vs. all other werewolves was pretty enjoyable to watch. However, the scene itself takes place at night and thusly the action is kind of hard to follow at times. The CG throughout the rest of the film, with regards to vampire super-speed, was a mixed bag. Edward speeding around the bedroom packing up in Rio was pretty good but the rest really wasn't. There's a nighttime scene just before the consummation which features Edward and Bella in the ocean. The whole thing was just...odd. Either I saw the worst implementation of green screen (as Ed's walking to the ocean) in film or that's just how the ocean looks at night. Overall the CG was passable at best.
I guess that really sums up all my feelings about the film. I really didn't like the first half at all. I was bored. Not invested at all. After the pregnancy came into play I actually found myself able to have a bit of enjoyment. Overall, Breaking Dawn Part 1 is not a very good film. The acting is atrocious, the plot mediocre, and choice of music was very distracting. Waaaay too many songs with lyrics and not enough instrumental. Then again when an instrumental piece is introduced its played for too long and drew me out of the experience enough to comment about it. If you are a Twihard then you'll eat this right up. This film isn't for me. Transformers, Star Trek, Batman, Watchmen..those films are for me. And I understand that. But at the end of the day not a single Harry Potter film is intrinsically bad. The same cannot be said for the Twilight franchise.
Breaking Dawn Part 1 was...mediocrely watchable. And a bit boring.
Bearded Bullet out.
Greetings, Internet!
This evening I had the "pleasure" of seeing the fourth film in the Twilight "Saga," Breaking Dawn Part 1. I'd like to begin this discussion by giving a bit of background with regards to my "relationship" with the films (see what I'm doing there??). I haven't read a single sentence from any of the Twilight books. To be honest I had never heard of the franchise until the first film was about to release...and after having seen all the films so far I have absolutely no desire to read them. I saw two of the films at their respective midnight releases and the other two a bit after. Those two midnights were the absolutely worst movie-going experiences I have ever had. The first film was, for me, barely watchable. The second, mildly better. The third, completely pointless. The "characters" end up in the same place essentially in both the second and third films. I think its safe to say that I wasn't necessarily chomping at the bit to see Breaking Dawn Part 1 (BD1)...and now I've seen it. And frankly, I'm much more than underwhelmed.
I have much to say about BD1 but I'll try to not rant as much as some of my other reviews. I'll start with the overall plot. I won't go into explicit detail for the sake of boring you all (I'm sorry...its just so hard to make fun of these films). The first half of the film deals with Bella and Edward's wedding and all of the "emotions" Bella is going through. Frankly I was bored and frustrated during this first half. The pre-wedding set-up was fine, as was the ceremony itself. They just existed. They sat there on screen and gave me no real reason to feel any emotion. I hate to be picky but the couple's vows were too short. These two are SO in love, yet they rush right to the end.
Jacob shows up late..oh wait, I forgot to mention the part where he childishly runs off into the woods, all angry-like, after receiving his wedding invitation. He made sure to take his shirt off first. Why does he take of his shirt? Why not his pants? Jeans are more expensive than $5 K-Mart shirts. What am I missing here? The Hulk (pardon my French) don't give a fuck when he hulks out. Shirts, purple pants, the Hulk doesn't care. Why does Jacob? He loses a nice pair of jeans, boxers, socks, and shoes every time he transforms. But those shirts are just toooo valuable to lose. But I digress.
I thought I said I wasn't going to rant....anyway, they get married and bang. This "sex" scene was built up to be like, I don't know, earth-shattering. There wasn't anything PG-13, let alone sexy, about this so-called "sex" scene. I'd be totally okay showing this to a young child. They'd probably have no idea what's happening, and the same goes for us. Barely any moans, definitely no thrusts, but there was stuff getting ripped up. Which we see in the morning. Afterwards. Boooooring. I was given no reason to think that this was "the greatest moment of my (Edward's) life." Then Bella mopes some more, as does Edward. "Waaaa I gave you some bruises now I won't have sex with my wife." Puh-lease. Bella didn't give a crap about a wrecked room or some bruises. She wanted her man (finally). And now he doesn't want to touch her! Seriously?! And apparently Edward has Superman sperm because he magically gets her preggers. Which isn't supposed to happen. They rush back to the medical care of Carlisle and the Cullen clan to deal with the pregnancy.
At this point I actually kind of started to care and enjoy some aspects of the film. Jacob is still moody and whiny. Edward is still moody and sad. Bella...looks like death. The vampire baby is literally sucking the life out of her and by the end of the film she looked so terrible that I thought I was watching Lord of the Rings. There were definitely plot issues peppered throughout, but the second half was fairly enjoyable. There were things that I wish would've happened differently, or not happened at all, but it is what it is. Vampire half-breed is born, Jacob gets all up in some werewolf's faces, and Bella comes back to life just before the credits. Just as I assumed. It was alright. Not exactly terrible..but not really great. There are worse films out there (Beastly and Jonah Hex, I'm looking at you).
Onto the acting itself. Its bad. Its just..so...terrible. You'd think after four directors and four films the actors would, I don't know, have changed? When one looks at the Harry Potter series of films the children obviously aged over time but so did their acting abilities. Every film contained increasingly good acting. The Twilight series does not. Kristen Stewart is just as bland as always, Robert Pattinson is just as...bland as well, and Taylor Lautner is just as pouty and whiny as he's ever been. Obviously these are reflections of the source material, but damn. The first half of the film is pretty hard to watch in terms of acting. Line delivery is stilted and emotionless. I suppose Bella is going through a lot emotionally..getting married, consummating her impending marriage, becoming a bad-ass (oh wait, there aren't any bad-ass vampires in a series about vampires) vampire...but she always just seems to have a blank stare on her face, even when she is smiling. Look, these characters really haven't changed over the course of the films. They're pretty much the same they were from the beginning, and unfortunately the acting itself follows suit. When almost the entire supporting cast is better and more enjoyable to watch than the three leads, you have a problem. I will say that Taylor Lautner's performance in BD1 was better than his in this year's Abduction. Definitely no Oscar noms for this crew...
I'd like to touch briefly on the CG in the film. To be honest I felt that the werewolves looked the best of the series, with a good bit a screen time devoted to them psychically conversing and fighting. The final showdown of Cullens+Jacob and two cronies vs. all other werewolves was pretty enjoyable to watch. However, the scene itself takes place at night and thusly the action is kind of hard to follow at times. The CG throughout the rest of the film, with regards to vampire super-speed, was a mixed bag. Edward speeding around the bedroom packing up in Rio was pretty good but the rest really wasn't. There's a nighttime scene just before the consummation which features Edward and Bella in the ocean. The whole thing was just...odd. Either I saw the worst implementation of green screen (as Ed's walking to the ocean) in film or that's just how the ocean looks at night. Overall the CG was passable at best.
I guess that really sums up all my feelings about the film. I really didn't like the first half at all. I was bored. Not invested at all. After the pregnancy came into play I actually found myself able to have a bit of enjoyment. Overall, Breaking Dawn Part 1 is not a very good film. The acting is atrocious, the plot mediocre, and choice of music was very distracting. Waaaay too many songs with lyrics and not enough instrumental. Then again when an instrumental piece is introduced its played for too long and drew me out of the experience enough to comment about it. If you are a Twihard then you'll eat this right up. This film isn't for me. Transformers, Star Trek, Batman, Watchmen..those films are for me. And I understand that. But at the end of the day not a single Harry Potter film is intrinsically bad. The same cannot be said for the Twilight franchise.
Breaking Dawn Part 1 was...mediocrely watchable. And a bit boring.
Bearded Bullet out.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Immortals Review
What's up Internet?
Be warned: This review contains minor spoilers.
Full disclosure: I've seen Immortals four times already. Usually I write my reviews after the initial viewing; multiple viewings can and tend to change one's perspective on a film. Honestly I was just too lazy to write a review previously..but I am finally sitting down now. I liked Immortals a lot. Yes, it has its flaws (predominantly script and plot-related), but its one hell of a visual blitzing of your corneal passageways that will (hopefully) leave you wanting to see more.
Let's get the negative stuff out of the way. If you're coming into Immortals looking for a rich, deep narrative with character development and forward-moving plot development (and even simply adequate dialogue), well, Immortals is not the film for you. The story is fairly generic and really doesn't offer up much in the way of twists or unexpected events. The characters are fairly run-of-the-mill swords and sandals types - the arrogant, roguish side-kick, the mute monk, the super-attractive virgin oracle. The only truly stand-out "character" would be Mickey Rourke's King Hyperion (more on him in a smidge). The dialogue is mediocre at best; that said, the actors do their best with the material they are provided.
The plot is a combination of things we've all seen before; reluctant hero must get a bad-ass weapon to stop the ultimate bad guy. Add some Greek Gods (specifically Zeus, Poseidon, and Athena) to the mix and there's your story. There's obviously more to it but again, nothing really surprised. Director Tarsem Singh decides to show the audience one of the last scenes first (as part of the oracle's vision) and proceeds to move towards that outcome throughout the film. A more ambitious decision would have been to have the film's events alter the final results so that we don't exactly know what is about to play out. Without getting too spoilerish, the idea of the oracle's vision becoming corrupted after she loses her virginity (which, surprise, does happen - props to Frieda Pinto's obvious butt-double) could've interestingly played out if the events that were to come to pass were somehow affected by her losing her virginity. In summation: neither the characters or the plot were terrible, they just weren't great.
Now that I've gotten that off my chest I can start to gush over Immortals. I'll start with the stand-out performances of the film. Mickey Rourke is one of the most fascinating actors to watch on-screen. He consistently transforms himself for his roles (most recently in The Wrestler, The Expendables, and Iron Man 2), and Immortals is no exception. His King Hyperion is truly a villain that I loved to hate. He is deliciously evil and brutal; Hyperion has no qualms about straight-up killing his men if it serves his ultimate goal. Because of the poor overall character development persistent throughout the film, we get but just a glimpse into the madness and forces that drive this man. His quest is rather predictable and bland, but perhaps a stylized flashback to a key event in his life (that we get a small description of) would've helped to frame his motivations more clearly. Henry Cavill's Theseus is also screen-grabbing. To be honest, this was the first time I had seen Cavill on the small or big screen...and I absolutely dig this guy. He's charming and witty when he needs to be and brutal and ruthless when he's called to act. There are specifically two scenes in which the rage and passion that drives his character bubbles to the surface and were a real treat to behold. After much skepticism I can say, without a doubt, that he can most definitely pull off Superman/Clark Kent.
Now the visuals. Damn. Immortals is a visual masterpiece; every frame and scene packed with gorgeous scenery and lasting imagery. While most of the vistas contained the now-typical green screen, the sets, for the most part, felt very real. The digital effects throughout are quite astounding, from Theseus' small village cut into the side of a mountain, to just about any scene containing the gods. The gods. I could watch the gods fighting for the entire two-hour run time. Because of Zeus' rule that gods cannot interfere with mortals in their godly form, we only get to see them in action twice. Regardless, those two scenes are absolutely fantastic and rival some of the best in the genre (300, I'm looking at you). Singh's use of speed-ramping and slow motion are expertly done...and produce fights that are extremely brutal and gory. A good fight scene allows the viewing audience to clearly tell who is who and what is happening; while the fighting amongst humans is prone to this flaw, when the gods get in on the action everything is quite clear whether slow-mo is being implemented or not.
Immortals is definitely not without its flaws; the script (specifically the dialogue) is a quite lacking, as is the general plot and story. That said, Immortals is truly a visual powerhouse, one whose images will stay with you long after the credits role. A quick note on 3D - I saw the film in 3D (all four times) and quite enjoyed it. While nothing revolutionary, its adequately complements the on-screen action and adds just enough to make it worth the extra dollars.
Immortals is pretty entertaining (but won't really force you to think).
Bearded Bullet out.
Be warned: This review contains minor spoilers.
Full disclosure: I've seen Immortals four times already. Usually I write my reviews after the initial viewing; multiple viewings can and tend to change one's perspective on a film. Honestly I was just too lazy to write a review previously..but I am finally sitting down now. I liked Immortals a lot. Yes, it has its flaws (predominantly script and plot-related), but its one hell of a visual blitzing of your corneal passageways that will (hopefully) leave you wanting to see more.
Let's get the negative stuff out of the way. If you're coming into Immortals looking for a rich, deep narrative with character development and forward-moving plot development (and even simply adequate dialogue), well, Immortals is not the film for you. The story is fairly generic and really doesn't offer up much in the way of twists or unexpected events. The characters are fairly run-of-the-mill swords and sandals types - the arrogant, roguish side-kick, the mute monk, the super-attractive virgin oracle. The only truly stand-out "character" would be Mickey Rourke's King Hyperion (more on him in a smidge). The dialogue is mediocre at best; that said, the actors do their best with the material they are provided.
The plot is a combination of things we've all seen before; reluctant hero must get a bad-ass weapon to stop the ultimate bad guy. Add some Greek Gods (specifically Zeus, Poseidon, and Athena) to the mix and there's your story. There's obviously more to it but again, nothing really surprised. Director Tarsem Singh decides to show the audience one of the last scenes first (as part of the oracle's vision) and proceeds to move towards that outcome throughout the film. A more ambitious decision would have been to have the film's events alter the final results so that we don't exactly know what is about to play out. Without getting too spoilerish, the idea of the oracle's vision becoming corrupted after she loses her virginity (which, surprise, does happen - props to Frieda Pinto's obvious butt-double) could've interestingly played out if the events that were to come to pass were somehow affected by her losing her virginity. In summation: neither the characters or the plot were terrible, they just weren't great.
Now that I've gotten that off my chest I can start to gush over Immortals. I'll start with the stand-out performances of the film. Mickey Rourke is one of the most fascinating actors to watch on-screen. He consistently transforms himself for his roles (most recently in The Wrestler, The Expendables, and Iron Man 2), and Immortals is no exception. His King Hyperion is truly a villain that I loved to hate. He is deliciously evil and brutal; Hyperion has no qualms about straight-up killing his men if it serves his ultimate goal. Because of the poor overall character development persistent throughout the film, we get but just a glimpse into the madness and forces that drive this man. His quest is rather predictable and bland, but perhaps a stylized flashback to a key event in his life (that we get a small description of) would've helped to frame his motivations more clearly. Henry Cavill's Theseus is also screen-grabbing. To be honest, this was the first time I had seen Cavill on the small or big screen...and I absolutely dig this guy. He's charming and witty when he needs to be and brutal and ruthless when he's called to act. There are specifically two scenes in which the rage and passion that drives his character bubbles to the surface and were a real treat to behold. After much skepticism I can say, without a doubt, that he can most definitely pull off Superman/Clark Kent.
Now the visuals. Damn. Immortals is a visual masterpiece; every frame and scene packed with gorgeous scenery and lasting imagery. While most of the vistas contained the now-typical green screen, the sets, for the most part, felt very real. The digital effects throughout are quite astounding, from Theseus' small village cut into the side of a mountain, to just about any scene containing the gods. The gods. I could watch the gods fighting for the entire two-hour run time. Because of Zeus' rule that gods cannot interfere with mortals in their godly form, we only get to see them in action twice. Regardless, those two scenes are absolutely fantastic and rival some of the best in the genre (300, I'm looking at you). Singh's use of speed-ramping and slow motion are expertly done...and produce fights that are extremely brutal and gory. A good fight scene allows the viewing audience to clearly tell who is who and what is happening; while the fighting amongst humans is prone to this flaw, when the gods get in on the action everything is quite clear whether slow-mo is being implemented or not.
Immortals is definitely not without its flaws; the script (specifically the dialogue) is a quite lacking, as is the general plot and story. That said, Immortals is truly a visual powerhouse, one whose images will stay with you long after the credits role. A quick note on 3D - I saw the film in 3D (all four times) and quite enjoyed it. While nothing revolutionary, its adequately complements the on-screen action and adds just enough to make it worth the extra dollars.
Immortals is pretty entertaining (but won't really force you to think).
Bearded Bullet out.
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