white noise

Somehow there was a big buzz leading up to the release of I Am Legend, and it opened accordingly big in theaters, but I missed all that. Then someone told me it was basically a big budget zombie flick and I was suddenly intrigued. A zombie flick with a big budget? Starring Will Smith? This just seemed all wrong. I had to check it out. (As with all my reviews I’ll be vague enough not to give spoilers – even for a movie as predictable as this one).

Going into the film I new nothing of the original book from 1954, nor the other two film adaptations that came before this one. Knowing this now, I can understand why the premise is so strikingly unoriginal. As the trailers and movie posters state, Will Smith is the last man on Earth, but he is not alone. A virus has run rampant and wiped out most of the population and left a few as some part vampire, part zombie flesh eating subculture.

The best parts of the movie are when Smith is alone (except for his dog Sam) while the movie traces his daily routine. In this first act of the movie the pace is slow enough that you take in the amazing scenes of a deserted New York City and wonder what it’d be like to be truly alone. Not a month, or a year, but three years living alone. The set designers and CGI artists are some really talented folk making the post-apocalyptic NYC the real star of the movie. If you’ve been to New York (and probably if you haven’t) you just can’t stop wondering how they created such a believable, vast and desolate scene.

But wait I’ve seen all this before. Only it wasn’t NYC, it was London, where a virus outbreak turned the gen-pop into a different, but more believable breed of speed zombies. 28 Days Later came out back in 2002, and since then speed “zombies” (virus victims) have become all the rage (pun intended) (see also Resident Evil and Dawn of the Dead) rather than the slow, stumbling dim wits of the 70s and 80s. It’s like at some point the scariest thing about the slow, masses of traditional zombies – the shear number of them – just wasn’t enough. Film makers wanted to turn up the scary gain. And so zombies got fast. Wicked fast.

Maybe Freddy Krueger is at the heart of the zombie evolution. Of course Freddy wasn’t a zombie, but he was one of the few mainstream characters in the horror renaissance of the 80s, who would run you down. Freddy wasn’t full speed all the time, but he broke the tradition set by Romero and followed by Jason and Micheal Myers. Suspense gave way to terror. And it was only a matter of time before it hit the zombie genre.

With I Am Legend I get the impression the creative team wanted to turn the gain to eleven. Faster, stronger, with bigger months, and if that’s not enough maybe we’ll make them smart, too. Yeah, take that you seasoned horror movie fan. But wait, this movie is PG-13 (it’s a Will Smith flick after all) so we can’t get too gory. As a result, I’ve never seen a zombie movie with less blood and guts.

So all that becomes clear in the second act, and just like Smith’s acting you feel the baddies are a notch too over the top. As the movie barrels through the third act, you’re in the familiar territory of a big budget Will Smith action flick. Luckily the writers keep Smith’s wise cracks to a minimum. I wasn’t crazy about the ending, but it really could have been MUCH worse. In the end I actually wanted to see more of the movie, so I’d have to give the movie a pretty good mark. Unlike most big budget movies it wasn’t more of the big action ending that I was craving but just more of that surreal New York daily life. Although there were some seriously creepy missed opportunities in the subways stations or Grand Central, I dug the Bob Marley theme and soundtrack. And it helped up make up for Smith’s shameless, shirtless workout scenes.

I caught the film adaptation of the Stephen King novella, The Mist, a couple weeks ago after much anticipation and a blog post back in May. This story, after all, was the first thing I remember reading from King plus it inspired the game Half-Life many years later. Although I didn’t have a chance to re-read the story prior to the screening as I’d hoped, I remembered quite a bit of the story from many years ago. And from my memory the film held pretty true to the book – except for the interesting, but heavy-handed ending they tacked onto the end. Without giving anything away, the filmmakers decided to answer more questions than the original did. For a creepy story rooted in a lack of information, having answers and resolution provided at the end just felt all wrong.

By far this is director Frank Darabont’s weakest King adaptation. Of course it will take a miracle to pull off one better than Shawshank and The Green Mile. But it wasn’t bad either. Surprisingly, the visual effects didn’t disappoint as in so many other King movies. I went in with the attitude that’d we’d be best entertained by seeing very little of what’s in the mist, and if they had to show us, well, they better bring it. And they did. You practically can’t impress an audience anymore in this post-LOTR era, but the cgi has to be believable, else it’s a distraction. In this flick, all the baddies from big to enormous were done quite well.

In this film, it was the flatness of the characters that left this movie short of the others in Darabont’s resume. There just wasn’t much character development throughout the movie – characters were introduced quickly, and what you saw is what you got. Most fulfilled their very typical roles, and few had any kind of arc. Really the only development you see are stereotypical characters becoming bigger and more exaggerated caricatures of themselves…the bible thumper, the reluctant hero, the uppity out-of-towner, the town yokels, etc. In fairness I think Darabont didn’t have much to draw from – the simple characters worked fine in the short(ish) story, but on film where less is left to the imagination their shallowness was too obvious. Still, there’s plenty of action to keep things moving, and I personally managed to quickly forget the bits of dialog that were either lifeless or way over the top.

Overall it’s a fun watch. I just hope when Darabont takes on King’s The Long Walk, he returns to his old self and knocks one out of the park.

Over the weekend I checked out the latest flick from Judd Apatow, the creator of “40 Year Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up”. In a lot of ways Superbad gives you exactly what you expect in a silly, ranchy teen movie, but there’s plenty of originality as well. Apatow definitely has a penchant for making coming of age movies, he just keeps tweaking that age from film to film. In this installment the awkward male leads plot to score booze and girls before finishing high school.

Foul mouthed Seth (left) delivers most of the movie’s hilarious lines, and Evan (right) plays a good straight man to his antics. They are joined by uber-geek, ‘McLovin’, who steals most of the scenes from the man-child cops played by Seth Rogen (Kocked Up) and Bill Hader (SNL). Much like “Harold and Kumar”, the movie plays like collection of skits all loosely threaded together in a overall journey. And as with all journey movies, it’s the trip, not the destination, you remember. Between the stellar moments of home ec tirades, Superman lunchbox stashes, and liquor store dream sequences, some of the movie’s scenes fall flat. The interjection of the adult characters (the cops, the creepy driver) sometimes works for a laugh, but mostly feels like it pulls the movie off course. But as soon as you figure the best parts of the movie are behind you, Seth gets hit by a car, and things are right again.

All in all, Superbad is a fun time, and you should check it out when you’re in the mood for vulgarity and slapstick. No, I don’t think it’s the “Fast Times” for the iGeneration, but it is one of the best comedies of the year.

I’m actually on top of some of the big releases this year (typically I’m months behind what everyone else is talking about). You might recall earlier this year Pirates didn’t win me over, how about the latest rush of blockbusters?

Transformers

I went to this, like a lot of aged transformer fans, with caution. Let’s face it, there’s was plenty of potential for suck here. But like most fans I was pleasantly surprised. Make no mistake, there’s not much substance to the plot, but the flim makers played to their strengths and delivered an action packed, CGI-engorged boner for all of nerdom.

The movie is very fast paced, which is perfect because it keeps you from thinking too hard about the storyline or the creative liberties taken by the designers with the look of each mechanized star. The action is so fast, however, that it became my main complaint while watching the movie. The robots were so detailed, the transformations so complex, and their motions so fast, that after all the post production motion blur, frantic scene editing, and gratuitous camera movements you get a strong sense you’re missing a lot of eye candy. There was also the multi-million dollar GM product placement deal, which ruined the original auto-identities we grew up with. Still, between the visuals you could see, the original voice of Optimus Prime, and some unexpected humor, the movie was good fun. Yes, it could have been better, but man could it have been a lot worse.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

After four previous Harry Potter movies, what exactly do you go to the forth expecting? Well I don’t go in expecting to see a 2+ hour trailer for the next movie, but I think that’s what I got. Part of the unwritten pledge of creating a long line of movie sequels should be to ensure that each movie tells enough of a story to stand on its own. Yes, the movie will pick up as if it hasn’t been a year and half since the last, and everything is still fresh in mind. Yes, there will be lose ends leading to the next sequel. But even with those disclaimers, Phoenix just doesn’t deliver.

I should mention that I’ve never read any of the Potter books, and as such I’m judging the flick without any additional knowledge. I’m sure a large portion of the audience had plenty of context they could frame this movie with (provided they remember the book which was released four years ago).

While the previous HP films never blew me away, I thought they were all pretty impressive. Apparently this installment had a new director and screenwriter on board and the change (for the worse) is very apparent. This movie is quite slow and dialog heavy. Yet despite all the exposition, there seems to be so much left unsaid and so little accomplished. I’d say roughly the first third of the movie is more of an epilogue to the “Goblet of Fire”, and the other two thirds a setup for something to come later. The scenes of Dumbledore’s Army in training were entertaining, but it didn’t lead to much. Even the final battle with Voldemort came off to me as another bump and run fight like at the end of Goblet. What about those Centaurs, the giants, and of course the Death Eaters? I guess I’m looking at November 2008 before I learn anything more.

Knocked Up

The buzz for Knocked Up has been circling for a while now and I finally got the chance to check it out. The film makers did a great job of crafting a movie to fit most audiences. From the married “Cheaper by the Dozen” demographic to the “Harold and Kumar” college crowd, there’s a little humor here for everyone. And despite the fact that I passed the mid-thirty water mark, I can definitely tell I still fall toward the later since I found myself busting up at the scenes of bong hits and Cirque du psychedelia a lot more than those in the gyno office or delivery room. If anything doesn’t work about the movie as a whole, it’s that at times it seems like separate skits were sewn into the movie to keep the laughs going. None the less, the laughs are there, so I can’t complain too much. I imagine editing sessions where there was a lot of “we can cut that scene, it’s hilarious”.

The real gems in the movie are not the stars, but the cast of supporting weirdos. Paul Rudd does a good job as the husband at wit’s end, and Kristen Wiig was even better as the bitter-under-breath co-worker. The casting for Ben’s friends is also great – as are their continual beard jokes. Throw in Ryan Seacrest dropping F-bombs, and what more do you need. Overall, I put the film on par with “The 40-year Old Virgin” (same writter/director). It doesn’t rank among my most favorite comedies, but it might be for this year.

(Arr, there be no spoilers here, matey).
We made a rare trip to an actual movie theatre two weekends ago to join in the box office frenzy of Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World’s End. Maybe instead of frenzy, I should say fiasco, because it’s a shame this mess of a movie will be among the highest grossers of the year (and all time).

A lot of reviews have complained that the plot falls somewhere on the scale between convoluted and incomprehensible. I can appreciate how some of this “plot play” comes from the idea that pirates are morally ambiguous – but still the erratic storyline and characters’ changing allegiances didn’t do much to make the movie any more enjoyable – only longer. It seems to be a movie that begs you to concentrate on the story while not at all taking itself seriously (more on that in a minute). And that’s I think where a lot of viewers have problems following the movie…as soon as they turn off their mind to endure the high seas slapstick, several twists in the story throw them off course.

From the opening scene, I was pleasantly surprised – the somber executions had me thinking we were in for a darker, more mature Pirates movie. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t go in expecting a serious, dark pirate flick, but seeing a flash of that made me realize what a cool tact that could have been. But instead it was only a matter of time before Disney shellac and gratuitous CGI sent things whirling into the abyss. In many cases it seemed even the good stuff was just so overcooked it lost its flavor. None the less here’s a little rundown of my impressions:

Acting:

• Depp was very good (most of the time), though some of the shticks and hallucinations seemed to really push the bounds of self-indulgence. Still, I can forgive that, it is his franchise after all.
• Geoffrey Rush was great (most of the time), with his twisted snarl and boisterous laugh he was the only guy that reminded you this was a pirate movie.
• Keira Knightley makes for a fun enough pirate grrrl, but her speeches taken from Braveheart were painful to sit through.
• Orlando Bloom? Forgettable.
• Keith Richards was a fun addition, and had by far the best sea-worn make-up…oh wait, nevermind.
• Chow Yun-Fat was pretty enjoyable as a much needed bad ass, but I still had to wonder whether the addition of the whole Asian pirate collective was really necessary.

Gags:

• Undead, flaming monkey: Awesome.
• Attack of the 50 foot sea goddess: Horrible and useless.
• Crazy Jack’s delusions: Brilliant, in Davy Jones locker, but eventually annoying and dumb (pocket Jack hanging from a braid and “don’t move I’ve lost my brain”).
• Repeated metaphors of man parts: Horrible – save those for the next Ben Stiller movie.

What else:

• Costumes: Awesome – there’s no denying that one.
• Soundtrack: I gotta give some credit here, if there is one thing that helps moves this 168 minutes behemoth along it’s the music.
• Pirate lords and the pirate king: Whatever – useless to the plot.
• Battles: Hand to hand and ship to ship all pretty well done; no doubt that’s why most people will pay the money to see it and why some will say it was a good movie.

In summary, damn you Jerry Bruckheimer, you suckered me again!

While I’m not as voracious as Donna when it comes to plowing through books, I’ve still managed to read a number of Stephen King’s works over the years. And as great as the stories are (I think I’ve been lucky to read only really, really good ones), it’s disappointing how often they become subpar movies. Sometimes they’re horrible throughout, sometimes just too campy, and sometimes they are just spoiled by a lame ending. His movies also have a knack for being ruined by being produced as network TV miniseries.

But that’s not to say there aren’t gems among them. There is the iconic classic “The Shining”. Of course “Carrie” ranks up there even though the acting wasn’t top notch. And who can forget Kathy Bates in “Misery”? More recently there have actually been a few great movies as well, and it turns out a couple have a screenwriter/director in common, Frank Darabont.

Darabont directed both “The Shawshank Redemption” (1994) and “The Green Mile” (1999), likely King’s most successful big-screen conversions. Now, Darabont is finishing up work on “The Mist”, which is a short story/novella from King’s 1985 book “Skeleton Crew”. I think “Skeleton Crew” was the first Stephen King book I ever read and I vividly remember being glued to the pages. but fearful of turning them.

From what I’ve seen the casting hasn’t pulled in any heavyweights like Hanks or Robbins in the other flicks, but I’m still very optimistic. I suspect the quality of the movie will actually hinge a lot more on the drama of being trapped and the mystery of what’s in the mist and not showing what’s in the mist. “The Mist” is scheduled to be released on November 21st, and I can’t wait! I also hope to have finally finished King’s Dark Tower series and have a chance to re-read the story before then.

About a week ago Donna and I finally got around to watching Hostel – a movie from 05 produced by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Eli Roth. I wouldn’t classify either of those guys particularly as horror film makers but I guess they’ve flirted with it (Tarantino’s From Dusk Till Dawn and Roth’s Cabin Fever). None the less this movie seemed to leave its bloody mark on the history of horror movies so I’ve been wanting to see it.

If you haven’t seen Hostel, it’s about a couple of American guys who backpack to Bratislava to find a particular hostel supposedly overrun with gorgeous girls. Then things, of course, go horribly wrong. Stupid horror plot – check! You-have-sex, you-die horror cliché – check! Seems like all the pieces are coming together.

By the way, what’s with Bratislava getting such a bad wrap in movies these days? Forget Kazakhstan, Bratislava is Hollywood’s whipping boy. Between Eurotrip and Hostel they can’t be doing too well in the tourism department.

So back to the movie. As things progress, the flick quickly goes from creepy to just plain sick. No, I mean holy-crap, are-they-f’in-kidding-me sick! And this was the full gore, director’s cut DVD mind you. I wouldn’t ever call the movie scary – but hells yah it’s disturbing. It’s easy to look down on the movie as another Tarantino shock-fest, or another Roth blood-fest, but it’s the evil of the human animal that really makes the movie. And makes it disgusting.

Last night we watched Wes Craven’s first film, The Last House on the Left. This is from 1972, and has the film quality, wardrobe, and soundtrack to prove it. But once you’re past those dated references it’s an interesting (don’t know if you can say entertaining) horror film. It was a small, low budget movie shot with inexpensive equipment. In a “making of” feature, Craven explained that their only previous filming experience was with documentary filmmakers so the film shoots played out much like docu re-enactments. This all ends up working for effect … and it reminds you that all the high end production used these days in moviews actually makes a lot of stuff more safe, because it’s less raw.

Last House is essentially about a couple girls who set out for a concert, but on the way… you guessed it… things go horribly wrong. Rape, torture, murder, yep this movie has it all. And it isn’t afraid to show it. The gore factor is actually pretty low, since the budget and technology for special effects was non-existent then, but it’ll turn your stomach all the same. Even the lamer parts of the movie (the unnatural dialogue, the slapstick comic relief) work to build on the unsettling experience.

After the shock wore off, it was interesting how similar these movies are – despite being 30+ years separated. They both show really horrible acts done to regular people, by regular people. No Freddy; no Michael Myers; just that guy you said hi to this morning. There’s really some brutal scenes in both, and the violence always happens close, face to face. And the story arcs also depict victums pushed to the point of committing horrible acts of vengence. And by the end you cheer (at least a little) when the baddie gets the chainsaw taken to him – yes, in both movies.

We like horror as much as anyone, but whew, I think we’re due for a romantic comedy!

I don’t normally pay much attention to The Oscars (or any award shows for that matter), but this year I thought I’d catch up on the many movies I missed in 06 by watching a number of nominated films before the awards on the 25th. Maybe it has something to do with having a nice home theater this year 🙂 None the less, here’s a brief rundown on what we’ve watched lately:

The Departed

Here’s a movie I didn’t have very high hopes for, but was surprising good. Nothing too outside the Hollywood box with this one, but well done for a crime drama. Jack’s always a joy to watch and DiCaprio was surprising good. I wouldn’t give a statue to Markie Mark for best supporting, his character was way too flat. On the other hand, it’s a prime candidate for Best Director; it’s due time for Scorsese to pull one in.

Little Miss Sunshine

Not a bad pic by any means, but Best Picture? I don’t see it. The flick would be a great comedy if it weren’t so serious, but still watching the ensemble mess of a family was entertaining. It’s kind of a typical road trip movie – actually reminded me of Lampoon’s Vacation, without the Kristy Brinkley subplot. In summary, I’d recommend it, but I’ve see better comedies and better dramas this year.

The Queen

Another surprisingly good pic. All the buzz about Helen Mirren is justified. She really delivered on this one. After her, I think the acting drops off quickly, but it’s her movie so that’s OK. I wonder how this movie was received in England where the viewers are closer to the events and royals. For me and Donna I think it was as educational as it was entertaining. Best actress – yes, Best pic – nope.

Babel

Very much in the style of Crash which won last year, but I really dug the global backdrop to this movie. Intertwined stories with enough meat for interesting discussions. I thought some of the political commentary was a bit heavy handed, but not far off the mark, while other themes were left pretty raw without a lot of message handed to you. The Japanese story line was among the more interesting – there was a little more intrigue and depth of character there I think. Some of the sequences and shots were very memorable (like the night club in Japan). Well deserving of the Best Editing nomination and maybe either Supporting Actress…not my favorite movie this year, but out of the nominees probably my choice for Best Pic.

Pan’s Labyrinth

My top pick for the year. Only it wasn’t nominated for Best Pic! I’m sure not having much of a box office presence has a lot to do with it. And yes, you have to read subtitles for two hours. It should at least pick up a few other awards as a consolation (Best Foreign Language Pic, Cinematography, Makeup, Art Direction…). I loved the play between fact and fantasy and the darkness and danger on both sides. It has the hallmarks of kids’ movies these days, but assembled into a film for adults.

Here are a few more images other people took from last weekend. Tons of fun!