Reviews: In-Depth Analysis and Critiques

Movie Review: Riddick (2013)

Remixing History

A Film review of Riddick

By: Lawrence Napoli

Anyone familiar with the Riddick Trilogy could have easily seen the trailers for this most recent installment and said, “Hey, I think I’ve seen that before,” and they would be absolutely correct. It seems as if the formula for this excruciatingly rigid character can find no wiggle room outside of stories strictly about being hunted by mercs. What I find most distasteful is the fact that Riddick returns to his roots with an almost exact, bullet point for bullet point, plot recreation of Pitch Black. Of course, this isn’t much of a big deal for those showing up late to the Riddick party, and I can completely understand seeing how these films never seemed to reach an audience outside a cult following. The fans, on the other hand, will be somewhat disappointed because despite the charisma of the character, the story is completely recycled and appears to be going nowhere fast.

Riddick is a film that had no business being made in the first place seeing how Universal and Vin Diesel had abandoned the franchise after the abysmal performance of The Chronicles of Riddick back in 2004 when that film’s global take at the box office was only $10 million dollars more than its production budget of $105 million. According to the Riddick Wiki page, Diesel and filmmaker David Twohy secured the rights to produce a sequel that promised to return to the basics, which in turn got Universal interested in distributing it. In order to finance this production’s near $40 million dollar budget, Diesel leveraged his own house, and what followed was a series of financial setbacks that sandbagged the whole production. Despite these clear red flags, the production managed to pull through and land in the can, and I have much respect for all the crew, production staff and cast that made the film a reality. But an “A for effort” does not a film worthy of your hard-earned dollars make, especially when the story was supposedly going to bigger and more interesting places. “Due to private funding and a limited budget, the ‘Underverse’ plot could not be continued.”

Clearly, the real world of dollars and cents encroached heavily on this page of Hollywood history, but when big bucks, bigger names and the best effects cannot be relied upon to deliver the spectacle; writing is the only gun you have left in the cabinet. Unfortunately for Riddick, this tale is shooting blanks. I completely understand looking to a franchise’s original film for inspiration in troubled times during a follow-up, but carbon copying the basics of that story is inexcusable. If writer/director David Twohy was so starved for creativity thanks to his distracting production woes and multiple responsibilities, he should have considered shamelessly rebooting the Furyan all together, and why not? Reboots are in. As it stands, the story picks up all but immediately where we left Riddick as the Lord Marshall of the Necromongers, the most powerful force in the galaxy. So naturally, we spend 5 minutes of Riddick taking all of that away from him and stranding old shiny eyes on yet another god forbidden planet. Insert the plot of Pitch Black here (mercs show up, precise killing, creepy crawlies target everyone, an uneasy alliance occurs, retrieving a ship’s power source to escape), and that’s Riddick in a nutshell. I couldn’t tell if the revisited story was more annoying than the awkward cursing by everyone that seemed too forced to overemphasize everyone’s status as a bad ass or the ever bland one-liners by Riddick himself whose quotes easily devolve to vintage Stallone/Schwarzenegger. I understand that certain conventions are inevitable in sci-fi/action films, but that wasn’t what made this franchise (and this character) unique in the first place. Playing around with themes of light vs. dark both literally and contextually through character, rooting for the supposed bad guy and a shoestring budget yielding a big picture look are all things that made Pitch Black unique. There’s nothing unique about Riddick.

I will give the production staff a lot of credit for making this film at least look the part of a big time Hollywood production. Detailed creature CG is sporadic, but very functional in wider angles. Gunplay is standard issue, but not particularly intense. Landscapes are bright, but rudimentary. Costumes are necessarily minimal and vehicles are easily the most impressive in how they move amidst the backdrops they are framed within. I am absolutely certain that Vin Diesel’s home is safe, and an opening weekend just under $19 million is certainly a step in the right direction. However, if the true purpose of this production was to transform this franchise into a more cost effective carrot to dangle in front of studios for future film development, the audience needs more than a good looking movie to spread that word of mouth like wildfire. $40 million dollars can only get you so far, but higher stakes, rounder characters and a unique plot would’ve brought more butts to the theatres.

Riddick is not a film that contains what anyone would refer to as a marquee performance by anyone, but considering its production woes, getting “average” out of anyone could be considered a major victory. Gone is the charm from the likes of Keith David and Judi Dench, and as nice as it was to see Karl Urban again as Vaako, his cameo is merely five minutes of interesting (and far too brief) exposition that connects this film to the last. The cast is basically a collection of tough guys and gals that are physical, intimidating and as flat as your kitchen table. That’s not a bad thing in and of itself, but plenty of action films in the past have had similar requirements of their casts and a number of them proved capable of doing more with less, performance-wise. This is Vin Diesel’s baby, and as much as I appreciate his efforts as a labor of love, he’s still Dominic Toretto with glowing eyes. Jason Statham plays Jason Statham like Michael Cera plays Michael Cera and so too is the same with Diesel. He’s a tough guy without the most staccato of line deliveries. He gives you everything you could possibly expect of him in Riddick.

I actually enjoyed Pitch Black and much of that was thanks to Diesel’s performance as Riddick. He cares about his character and he cares about these stories, and that is something that you just don’t see with most Hollywood productions (especially the big-budget-effect ones). Unfortunately, Riddick is simply not good enough to recommend to anyone paying any price for a general admission. This is a Netflix/On Demand situation all day long, and for all the money and effort that went into making this film, I can’t help but think it could have been more if the filmmakers hadn’t simply gone to ground with the safest, plausible scenario they could think up to make this franchise profitable again. You’d think a smaller budget with less corporate ties and interfering influences would help foster more spontaneity and courage in regards to story and character, but this was not the case for this film. Oh conventionalism, you truly are a silent killer. The audience covets your familiarity, but your lasting impression involves the individual thinking about all the other things he or she could have been doing rather than subjecting themselves to something else they’ve probably seen many times before. My suggestion: Put your $10 towards GTA 5 which comes out in just over a week.

Op-Ed: A Response To Ben Affleck Batman Nerd Rage & Why Heath Ledger Argument Doesn’t Work

This One is for Brandon

Responding to Affleck Love and Nerd Rage

By: Lawrence Napoli

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Oh internet; you truly are the last bastion of pure democracy. I suppose it makes sense to turn debating things as frivolous as casting calls into an absolute war of the words where no cheap shot will be left untaken and numerous lines will be crossed. The blanket of anonymity emboldens us all, and though it may give the individual courage to speak up where personal insecurities would otherwise keep the one mute, it has a tendency to inspire reckless behavior riddled with negative energy. Perhaps trashing other people’s opinions and perspectives acts as some twisted catharsis, but I’ve never felt pure glee by engaging in it.

Recently some readers took issue with my op-ed concerning my displeasure over Ben Affleck being cast as Batman for the Man of Steel sequel and presumably, all Justice League tie-ins for the foreseeable future.

First of all, that was (as this is) an op-ed which according to the Online Etymology Dictionary is defined as a page of a newspaper opposite the editorial page, usually devoted to personal opinion columns.
It was not an essay making an argument against sending financial aid to countries that appear to be acting against the interests of the US. It was a raw, emotional, soap box moment where I expressed a personal opinion that Affleck is not the right choice for Batman. A choice like that leaves too many questions for me regarding the future of these DC adaptations because the shear inclusion of that character in Superman’s sequel undercuts Kal-El’s own importance. That combined with the debacle that was Green Lantern plus the lack of some teaser, tie-in or reference to this new DC universe independent of Nolan’s trilogy at the end of Man of Steel makes me think there still is no master plan for the movement. Until that changes, “it’s the end” of those films for me.

Second, pinpointing The Town and Argo as proof positive that Affleck will clearly be an excellent Batman is as opinionated as my use of those examples to suggest the opposite.
In both of those productions, Affleck was placed in multiple seats of power and influence as a co-writer, director and lead actor. Is he somehow not going to use those opportunities to showcase himself in the best possible light? I liked both of those films, and I reviewed them here on Cosmic Book News, but until he has been confirmed as the director of Justice League and every other ancillary title where Batman will appear, he’ll have to start taking direction. Affleck and Snyder will certainly have moments of disagreement in their future endeavor as they are both bringing different experiences and ideas to the table. The danger lies in Affleck potentially responding in the way of the prima donna, and then press releases citing “creative differences” occur, people walk off sets and in the meantime, the production gets sandbagged. The Town and Argo are not proof that he can listen to someone else in authority over him to adjust a performance for the better of the film, not just the actor. He was the authority in those films.

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Third, let’s examine the comparisons with Michael Keaton’s Batman and Heath Ledger’s Joker as further proof positive that Affleck’s Batman will be just as unexpectedly successful.
Tim Burton’s Batman may have followed Richard Donner’s Superman, but it is the Dark Knight’s adaptation in 1989 that created the contemporary model of using big Hollywood names in the active, title roles for superhero films in the future as opposed to only support roles like Marlon Brando’s Jor-El. “Big” defined every level of this production and for Tim Burton, a man whose previous production credits only included Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (1985) and Beetlejuice (1988), it could be understood that the pressure was on. We could have wound up with Mel Gibson, Kevin Costner, Charlie Sheen, Pierce Brosnan, Tom Selleck or Bill Murray, but producer Jon Peters liked Keaton’s edginess, and Burton’s familiarity with the actor certainly didn’t hurt. Yes, the fans blew up back then as they are now, but the main difference in the situations (besides the history between the director and lead actor) is that the production hired Batman co-creator Bob Kane as a creative consultant. If you can’t trust the character’s creator, who can you trust? Batman/Superman should have similar DC heavy weights like Geoff Johns or Scott Snyder as regulars on set, in the writer’s room and right now researching plot development, but as of now, anyone else’s involvement in these DC films are rumored at best. Sure, Johns failed Green Lantern as a co-producer, but I believe Affleck would respect actual DC writers if not his own film’s staff if push came to shove. This production requires supervision and/or support.

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As for Heath Ledger, the parallels are once again uncanny. Clearly he was cast against type where films like 10 Things I Hate About You, The Patriot and A Knight’s Tale had him on the path of the classic, Hollywood leading man. But then he starred in films like Monster’s Ball and Brokeback Mountain, and those were considerably riskier roles for a young actor who would eventually perish before his prime. Ben Affleck’s filmography is layered with classic, Hollywood leading male roles depicting him as the love interest, the tough guy or the arrogant power monger; i.e. fairly unchallenging work for a good looking dude to pull off. Nothing about the Joker as a role suggests the use of some formula for casting or performance in order for it to be successful, but then news reports concerning Ledger’s preparation process hit the press prior to his death which was equal parts disturbing and impressive. In an interview with Empire Magazine he stated, “I sat around in a hotel room in London for about a month, locked myself away, formed a little diary and experimented with voices . . . I ended up landing more in the realm of a psychopath – someone with very little to no conscience towards his acts.” That diary has since been revealed to the public demonstrating the obsessive immersion he subjected himself to so as to deliver the Joker unlike anyone before. Yes, working out two hours a day is impressive for Affleck to shape up for Batman, but his character will never be a physical match for Superman. I don’t expect his preparation to involve hanging out in caves or interviewing orphans who were victims of violent crimes, but something a little more mundane like researching with LA’s CSI would sway me more as to his seriousness for the role because it would at least get him in the right detective mindset (assuming that’s the kind of Batman we’ll even see).

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Fourth, I’d like to address my opinion of Ben Affleck in general based on his career’s mixed bag of roles, his overbearing personality that comes out in shows like Real Time with Bill Maher and his less than gracious Oscar acceptance speech with Matt Damon for Good Will Hunting.
I also don’t like the fact that his ability to direct has been identified as some transcendent skill set unique from any other director and has nothing to do with the all-star actors that fill his casts like Jeremy Renner, Chris Cooper, Jon Hamm, John Goodman and Alan Arkin. Before we’re all ready to crown Affleck as the next American Auteur, let’s recognize that his opportunity to direct is specifically due to his being cast as the star, and his star equates to very specific dollars and cents for studios. He’s the money choice. He’s the corporate choice, and that above every other reason is why he is the next Batman. You may not agree with any of these statements, but they are reasonable enough to not like anyone or anything in particular.

Not once did I say that I hate him. Not once did I make some bigoted comment regarding him personally. Not once did I incite anyone else to join in on dedicated bashing like signing that petition to President Obama to remove Affleck from Batman. Heck, I never even said he was a bad actor. He’s simply not my cup of tea and I feel he doesn’t have the intimidation factor and mature mind set needed for Batman. That’s not a fact, it’s an opinion. Facts are as follows: He is an actor, he gets paid lots of money and he will make so much more being Batman.

Now I’d like to take this opportunity to thank our live caller, Brandon for his comments and discussion during CosmicBookNews’ first live podcast. He represents the best of what debates over pop culture can be. His comments were intelligent, entertaining, and although we didn’t agree on everything, nothing got personal and nothing got nasty. I’m not even going to reference the negative comments to my own article in order to address real concerns over the death threats being issued on Facebook pages for Man of Steel concerning this casting situation. I honestly do not know what people are thinking by sinking to that level and it clearly represents the worst of what actual nerd rages are capable of. It’s just a comic book adaptation for crying out loud. Even if people are joking, and even if they don’t really mean it, that is totally out of bounds. Commentary like that is an embarrassment to civilized society. Change that. It’s not commentary; it’s verbal vomit. So once again, I say to Brandon good looks, we appreciate your opinions and invite you to join us again for another live podcast.

Movie News Reviews

Op-Ed: Ben Affleck As Batman Is The End Of DC

This is the END, DC!

Attempting to comprehend “Why?!?”

By: Lawrence Napoli

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It’s Thursday night, August 22, 2013, and I just found out that Ben Affleck will be the next Batman in the sequel to Man of Steel as well as what I presume will be DC’s efforts moving forward to culminate in Justice League. Let that sentence percolate for a moment. Ben F*CKING Affleck!?!? Here’s a pro tip: count to ten, take a breath, in the nose, out the mouth. Needless to say, but I am extremely disappointed in this decision. Nothing (and I mean NOTHING) in this actor’s repertoire indicates that he would, could or should be Batman in a serious adaptation of that character’s license on the silver screen. I’ll delve into my opinion about this debacle later, but first I need to make some predictions about what this means for DC shamelessly attempting to recapture The Avengers in a bottle.

1) Established media entities will universally praise this move.
Affleck, love him or hate him, happens to be an A-list, popular name whose attachment to any film production can send budgets through the roof and potential ticket sales of seemingly obscure films in the same direction. He’s a regular on GQ, he’s a tabloid darling, and thanks to Argo he not only has “street cred,” but finally something significant to distinguish himself from Matt Damon’s more esteemed body of work. DC, Dune Entertainment, Syncopy and Warner Bros. are making this decision entirely about money, but the false assumption is that Affleck has this effect for this kind of serious comic book adaptation. In the one, previous stint Affleck had with starring as a superhero: Daredevil, that production had a budget of $78 million dollars in 2003 and its GLOBAL take at the box office was just under $180 million. This is NOT an example of “showing me the money!”

2) Bat Fans, Bloggers, Fan Websites and anything else remotely grassroots will universally pan (or at least raise a serious eyebrow at) this move.
The die-hard fan (a.k.a. fanboy) is instrumental in turning these comic book movies into legit challengers to Avatar’s all time money record. They’re the ones that pump movies they like incessantly (and for free) on the internet, attend multiple screenings and contribute to a fever pitched word of mouth campaign to do the kind of things The Avengers did. Core fans don’t care very much for Affleck because everything about his persona reeks of Shannon who worked at The Fashionable Male in Mallrats. He’s comes off as arrogant, narcissistic, over privileged and completely devoid of an ounce of genuine humility. You know, he’s the kind of guy that beat up the comic book geeks and nerds in high school. Yeah, this decision should go over really well with them.

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3) Superman vs. Batman and Justice League by extension will be out-earned, outperformed and out-classed by the Marvel Films.
DC is already at a distinct disadvantage with making Superman the center piece of their movement because that character’s godlike immunity makes him difficult to connect with contemporary audiences. Green Lantern was so awful that DC would rather have everyone completely forget that it ever happened. Nobody gives a damn about Aquaman. No woman (save for Lucy Lawless in her prime) could do Wonder Woman justice. And no one (outside of “the core”) knows about Flash, Martian Manhunter or Cyborg. DC’s most valuable character is the one they’ve already made seven movies with, and Christian Bale’s performance is recognized by many to be the “best Bat” to date. Oh, and Bale happens to be an Academy Award winning actor.

4) Zack Snyder is going to be constantly hitting every media outlet to pump up Affleck as Batman and tell nay-sayers to shut up.
“(Affleck) has the acting chops to create a layered portrayal of a man who is older and wiser than Clark Kent and bears the scars of a seasoned crime fighter, but retain the charm that the world sees in billionaire Bruce Wayne. I can’t wait to work with him.”
– Zack Snyder.

Expect to see unending remixes of this last statement for the next two years. By the way, if you were looking for a translation for that quote, it goes something like this: “Forget your apprehensions concerning this casting call; Ben Affleck is the perfect Batman because the studio told me so, and I couldn’t identify a real actor even if Hugh Jackman punched me in the face.” Okay, so that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but seriously, what was Snyder thinking with that? “Scars of a seasoned crime fighter,” implies the aforementioned humility factor that a career spent personifying arrogant bastards is pretty much incapable of depicting.

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5) Everyone will suddenly pine for Superman snapping Batman’s neck in the movie.
This has a lot to do with prediction #2. Frank Miller’s, The Dark Knight Returns has that infamous showdown between Batman and Superman that has had every comic book aficionado salivating over Batman’s ability to overcome any odds and defeat any adversary put before him. People like Batman because he’s dark, deductive, mortal and flawed, and Superman was depicted as a brain-washed boy scout in that comic. Affleck is not an underdog though; he’s a front-runner and people want to see him get taken down a peg or two. Ergo, Henry Cavill needs to melt his face off with heat vision. Perhaps this is all an elaborate scheme by DC to make Superman their #1 guy in the eyes of the fans: by neutering Batman with Affleck.

I’m sure other things will happen like fans picketing theatres, or petitions to bring back Christian Bale. Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if people hit up Kickstarter to put real money behind the serious opposition to this decision, but the fact of the matter is that this casting decision is the furthest from a slam dunk and it astounds me that no one calling the shots for DC’s film adaptations gave this a serious thought. Not once did I ever consider Affleck to be a legitimate contender for this role because he’s simply way too high-profile for it. What motivates an actor who’s already made millions and could give two shits if people don’t like his performance? I simply do not know, but actors who have neither of those are more likely to deliver a better performance and that’s what it should really be about.

The one thing I’d really like to know is what Affleck’s boy, Kevin Smith has to say about this. I’m sure he’s polishing his knee pads for the man now that the decision’s been made, and it’s out there for everyone to discuss, but I’d want to know what he’d say behind closed doors before any rumors concerning his casting were ever conceived.

I know I should be a more mature, reasonable and responsible journalist in regards to expressing my opinion on this matter, but I simply never cared for Ben Affleck, any of his films, his association with J-Lo, and his (generally speaking) smarmy attitude. I care even less for him now that he’s been tapped to be my favorite vigilante. I realize I should reserve all judgment until the film comes out, but that would be difficult seeing how I am giving serious thought to boycotting DC’s films from this point on.

Make mine Marvel!

Movie News Reviews

Movie Review: Kick-Ass 2 (2013)

A Little Less Kick, But a Bit More Heart

A Film Review of Kick-Ass 2

By: Lawrence Napoli

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Mark Millar’s brain child, Kick-Ass, is a comic series known for its extreme use of violence, language and adult situations that would make most standard issue comic book characters blush. It is meant to be an over the top, some would even argue “depraved,” depiction of people trying to be super-heroes in the real world which means real consequences like pain, broken bones and death combined with a very irreverent, comedic tone that makes for some hilarious moments. Then incidents like the Sandy Hook massacre happen, and it instantly causes some people to reevaluate the use of violence as entertainment which led to Jim Carrey (Colonel Stars and Stripes in Kick-Ass 2) recanting his involvement in the project soon after. Mark Millar made a public response to Carrey’s comment that expressed disappointment over his second guessing, and that this film’s title demands a certain level of violence not meant to exploit tragedies in reality. When comparing Kick-Ass 2 to the original, I find a film that is much less absurd, random and reckless with its use of violence and adult content which definitely has a positive impact on the overall quality of this movie. I am uncertain if the final cut was compiled with Carrey’s comments and real-world incidents in mind, but it certainly feels like it.

Having said that, Kick Ass 2 picks up almost exactly where the first film left off two years ago, and the artist formerly known as the Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) has got an axe to grind with Kick-Ass (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). Although this plot is the primary conflict that unites every character in this film, there is a much more personal journey of discovery that is happening for Hit-Girl (Chloë Grace Mortez). She’s growing up and seems to have more than her inordinately hyper (or masochistic) desire to protect the city motivating her life. Where Kick-Ass was the title character’s focus on the classic origin story, the sequel is more interested with everyone’s secret identities and how they inspire the alter-ego-vigilantism. The story promotes a strong theme of family and coming together as a group to achieve great things from both ends of the moral spectrum, but make no mistake; violence, inappropriate humor and a healthy amount of cussing remain as the principal tools to propel the plot forward which keeps the entertainment factor fairly high for the duration of the film. Writer/director Jeff Wadlow certainly took a more tempered approach on everything from plot points to dialogue to make this movie seem less like pornography and maybe that flies in the face of the comic books, but it does make for a better fiction on film. Character arcs (though pedestrian) pay off, the violence (though graphic at times) serves a purpose and the idea of the impracticality of real-life super heroes is constant.

The action in Kick-Ass 2 is carbon-copied from the first film. It is very focused on hand to hand combat and small arms gunplay, but stunt work is fairly light and explosions are few and far between. Special and visual effects are also relegated to mostly slow motion sequences, and with a budget of only $28 million dollars, you aren’t going to be witness to a grandiose spectacle this side of The Avengers, but of course, that’s the point. Kick-Ass 2 is a very efficiently produced action adventure that needs to be stingy with fights and compensates with dialogue. We’re talking about street level violence so there’s no real need for thunder gods and hulks. While the camera gets pretty close to the aforementioned action which delivers that staccato punch to the audience, let’s be clear that as overused as the word “epic” is tossed around anything and everything conceivably “Hollywood,” it can’t be used for Kick-Ass 2 in any way.

If anyone was curious what Aaron Taylor-Johnson has been up to in his spare time since 2010, guess what? He’s been living at the gym and slamming the weights, and the proof is the absolute beastly shape he’s in for this film. It actually is somewhat curious considering that his character, Kick-Ass, isn’t really the focal point for this story, but his efforts were not in vain. His action sequences are right on mark, and his performance is actually quite sincere and charismatic. He is every bit as loveable and naive as he was in the first film, and his onscreen chemistry with his costar, Ms. Moretz pays off for both actors.

You know who wasn’t hitting the gym? Christopher Mintz-Plasse. He continues to bank on the success of pseudo-acting thanks to a little character named McLovin, and if your production ever needs a scrawny smart-ass that spouts off random humor in a squeaky voice, Mintz-Plasse is your man. I’m not taking pot shots at the guy as I’m glad things worked out for his career, but roles like the one he plays in this film: The Motherf*cker, are custom built for his brand of comedy which isn’t too far removed from Jack Ass minus the painful pranks.

The rest of the supporting cast is a mixed bag of goodness. Jim Carrey, thankfully, doesn’t deliver a full-tilt “Riddler” performance as Colonel Stars and Stripes, and although this effectively caps the potential ridiculous nature of his comedy, he is still adequate in his role as the unofficial leader of “Justice Forever” and mentor to the younger heroes. The most underrated performance is that of John Leguizamo as Javier, the Mother F-er’s bodyguard, who attempts to dissuade his crazy quest for vengeance, but winds up enabling him all the same. Leguizamo’s performance is as serious and focused as Morris Chestnut’s who plays Hit-Girl’s guardian, and both men do a satisfactory job at being fatherly figures.

This film, however, is really all about Chloë Grace Mortez as Hit-Girl. She easily kicks the most ass (no pun intended) of any individual character as a combatant, but she continues to grow as an actress that has the ability to allow her demeanor and her words do the actual talking (as opposed to her fists). Despite being the youngest member of this cast, her leadership is undeniable in every scene. She has genuine chemistry with everyone, but she is the one who sets the tone. Every actor plays off her intensity so much so that it’s very easy to forget that this young lady was born in 1997.

Kick-Ass 2 is a film that keeps the exact tone from the original which is both good and bad. Familiarity is what allows a franchise to become a brand, but the sequel is a little too familiar at times leaving me starved for some form of evolution: higher stakes or bigger spectacles. This is a must-see for fans of the original, but please make note that this film isn’t quite as brazen an experience. It’s a fun little movie that once again visits the absurd notion of super-heroes in reality that are just regular people without training, unique abilities or resources. However, that too, is the point and a message concerning the real world’s desperate need for real heroes (i.e. decent people simply doing the right thing) is quite satisfying for the audience as they exit the theatre.

Movie News Reviews

Movie Review: Elysium (2013)

Metropolis Wanna-Be

A Film Review of Elysium

By: Lawrence Napoli

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Neil Blomkamp, the writer/director from South Africa that created District 9 follows up with his second foray into spearheading a special F/X, Hollywood production with Elysium. The lead-up to this film certainly had me very excited in that it was a brand new idea that blended sci-fi and action while seeming to have a solid cast in addition to making some worthwhile social commentary all at the same time. This would definitely be my kind of movie, but at the same time seemed like an all too familiar experience from District 9. That film didn’t exactly resonate with the global masses mostly due to its lack of action for the majority of the film, and it seems that Elysium was made specifically to address that issue. As a matter of fact, there are so many similarities between these films in regards to plot and theme that I wonder if this film was simply a make-up for District 9’s deficiencies. This summer has been very average in terms of the blockbusters we’ve all seen and/or heard about, and as much as I wanted Elysium to be the best, it simply did not deliver that summer fun, impactful glee represented by 2012’s The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises.

Elysium is a very good looking film. Set design, CG settings and costumes were extremely well done to create a very convincing portrayal of what Earth would be like in 2154. The setting where most of the movie takes place depicts an arid, desert-like environment that bottle necks the populace into dense slums similar to the Brazilian “favellas” we saw in Fast Five. Everyone and everything looks dusty and dirty and every step the viewer takes with the cast from the slums to the industrial sector screams “poverty” at every turn. All of these visual elements contrast beautifully with the pristine, tech-plasticity of everything and everyone on the space station known as Elysium. The color palate is strictly whites, blacks and metallic grays (with a little green for the fake grass they show in the residential areas). Everyone looks like they were just in a business meeting or exiting an Abercrombie & Fitch, and everyone has had plastic surgery. Elysium is disgustingly pretty, and the fact that these visuals are constantly colliding allows the audience a chance to really get into this fictional world in order to appreciate this futuristic reality of the “haves” versus the “have-nots.”

Elysium also demonstrates some fairly impressive visual and CG effects throughout that pays off with satisfaction during action sequences. I was particularly impressed with the fidelity of the robots used throughout this film in that their rudimentary design seemed practical and realistic enough to be within the grasp of current technology while their interaction with people in the environment seemed as real as someone wearing a robot suit on set. I also enjoyed the gunplay in this film which depicts slightly advanced ballistics on the planet, but then graduates to more laser/plasma ferocity on the space station. My one complaint is in regards to the hand to hand combat which is neither aesthetically pleasing, nor competently captured by the camera for the audience to appreciate. I understand that our combatants are wearing exo-skeleton suits that wouldn’t allow them a ballet-like fluidity to their punches and kicks, but the use of hand-held camera work to capture these moments makes it seems much faster than it really is and the audience misses a lot. This continues to be a standard Hollywood strategy that allows the cinematographer to cheat by pushing the frame as close as possible to the action and then shaking it incessantly so our eyes can’t catch up to what probably is uninspired fight choreography or shoddy execution. If you want to shoot action, then make sure the real work gets put in before deciding on angles and when the camera rolls.

As I mentioned before, the story of Elysium is very similar to the overall message and tone of the futuristic dystopia of District 9: the poor get poorer, the rich get richer, everything and everyone is exploitable for someone else, there’s no real sense of community or family and the concept of surviving requires feral desperation, despite the evolution of technology. All of this is well and good (and has been done by just about every sci-fi film ever), but Elysium really tries to focus on the class conflict and how it directly relates to the fragility and mortality of the human body. Our hero Max (Matt Damon) is set on a frantic path to the space station as the only way to save his own skin, but while doing so presents an opportunity for the rest of the planet to share in the rewards. Max, however, is not the most sympathetic character conceived on paper and when moments arise for him to think of others before himself, he always takes the selfish route. It’s difficult to cheer for this kind of character because his circumstances do not appear to realistically burden his journey; he simply demonstrates no interest. Eventually, Max’s character arc brings him around to redemption, but the value of his journey exposes a reality that may be true today: disease, famine and poverty will never be dealt with because they exist as an all-purpose means of controlling the majority of the species. The themes of the script are much more meaningful than the characters or the rather pedestrian plot. In my opinion, the rich context does not compensate for this story’s lack of charm and complexity.

If the characters weren’t particularly interesting, the performances didn’t do much more to vitalize them. It begins and ends with Matt Damon as Max. His strongest moments are his glib interactions with robots that are quite comical, yet fairly rare. His biggest weakness is the flaccid “romance” he shares with Alice Braga as Frey who is not demeaned as the token babe in your generic action/sci-fi flick, but whose subplot does little to enhance the development of the overall story. Damon puts forth a capable performance, but is clearly miles away from the Bourne Trilogy and light years away from Good Will Hunting. Even when his character is endowed with the exo-suit, he never really cuts loose to kick ass until the climactic battle which is quite satisfying, by the way, and a clear cut above every action sequence prior to in this film. Whatever emotional angle Damon was playing at needed more with the exception of desperation, of which there was plenty, but I need more than that to connect with a character.

And speaking of “lacking;” how about Jodie Foster’s return to big budget films? Playing Defense Minister Delacourt, she is the true antagonist of the movie by conspiring to gain total control of the space station, but her character’s lack of control and inability to intimidate severely limits her villainy. I also found whatever accent she was attempting to be annoying and inconsistent as she breaks frequently to her natural speaking voice and it was completely unnecessary. Perhaps her natural talk is too low-brow for a citizen of Elysium, but that just means someone else should have been cast in the first place.

The best performance, by far, was that of Sharlto Copley whom you’ll remember as Murdock from The A-Team and the lead in District 9. His character, Kruger, is the real threat to the hero in this film, and he is easily the best villain of the summer thanks to his brazen malevolence and mental instability. You might think that it is easy for an actor to sell “evil” when it is framed within “crazy,” but Jim Carey and Tommy Lee Jones both proved in Batman Forever that “crazy” can fall flat on its face. Copley and his natural eccentricity electrifies Kruger as a defiant nihilist that lives for violence and somehow gets the job done despite a fleeting ability to focus and his only motivations being “just ‘cause” and “why not?” Sure, Kruger is about one level higher than a caveman, but his unpredictability is actually a welcome element of chaos amidst the well ordered society of Elysium and its well orchestrated control of the planet below.

Elysium is not the best film of the summer, and I really thought that it would be. A weak main character combined with a poor man’s Metropolis plot doesn’t match the proficiency of its thematic tone, visual style or exceptional villain. This is not quite the “thinking person’s” film that District 9 was, nor is it as accessible as something like Olympus Has Fallen which is about as standard issue as action films get. There’s simply not enough intrigue to label this as a must see in theatres, but it’s definitely worth checking out at your earliest convenience on Netflix. I’m glad director Blomkamp didn’t sell out by making a shamelessly unnecessary 3D port of his film, but please viewers, don’t get tempted by the allure of the IMAX screen. If your weekend isn’t already spoken for children thanks to Planes and you really need something to do, don’t pay more than a regular admission for Elysium.

Movie News Reviews

Casting The Batman Reboot: The Dark Knight Then, Now and Beyond

Batman Then, Now and Beyond

By: Lawrence Napoli

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Comic book adaptations continue to take the world by storm, and Hollywood’s desperate need to use “superheroes” as a crutch won’t see that trend ending anytime soon. So we know (think) the Justice League adaptation is coming in an effort to mirror Marvel’s success with The Avengers, but no one seems to know how DC’s team of super folk ought to be adapted to the screen. Does everyone get their own film to establish origins as well as a following? Do we present the team first? Oh, and what do we do about Batman? Yes ladies and gentlemen, that last question is the one that’s truly plaguing the executive brass over at Warner Bros., and DC because Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy remains too familiar within the social consciousness of the present and a depiction of that character (DC’s most valuable license) that isn’t as proficient will directly translate to millions (if not billions) in lost profit all over the world.

I’ve never liked the concept of “rebooting” and I never will, but that’s not to say some efforts have been made in good faith to really deliver some marquee entertainment that attempts to show an audience something we haven’t quite seen before. Nolan’s trilogy is a perfect example of this, but if Justice League is to happen then Batman not only needs a new face to fill out the cowl, but he needs someone who will be as dedicated to the role as Henry Cavill is apparently for Superman, as Robert Downey Jr. is for Iron Man, and as Christian Bale was for Batman before. If Justice League was truly a project attempting to carbon copy The Avengers, this production should have considered recasting Bale as Batman to maintain some viewer familiarity with that role as Downey Jr. has for Tony Stark. Not everyone saw the Captain America, Incredible Hulk and Thor films, but most saw the Iron Man trilogy thanks mostly to the performance of the title role. Bale’s presence could pay similar dividends for JL, but Bale has solidified his Hollywood legacy, he’s won his Oscar and made tons of money; he’s going to take a break now.

So, what is the corporate conglomerate to do? Audiences liked Cavill enough through strong showings for Man of Steel at the box office so Superman is set. Everyone hated Green Lantern (and rightly so), but can JL afford recasting another emerald warrior in the form of a brand new Hal Jordon or swapping him out for Alan Scott, John Stewart, Kyle Rayner or (ugh!) Guy Gardner? That character is a toss-up. How about a CG Martian Manhunter? Possibly. Is Wonder Woman simply inconceivable to cast due to the need to make her as physically dominant, yet sexy, attractive and somewhat cute at the same time? Perhaps. Flash, Cyborg, Aquaman: does anyone even care about these guys? Maybe not. The point is that The League isn’t particularly stable, so the two pillars of this fictional franchise have got to work well (butting heads) onscreen. Whoever is given the power to choose the next Batman better not miss.

That being said, we will discuss some possibilities for actors who could potentially do the role (ahem) justice, but before we do, let’s glance at some of Batman’s past renditions to see if we can extract the elements of a performance that are vital to bringing this character back to life for Justice League and beyond.

Adam West

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What worked: He helped bring Batman to the mainstream in the late 60s with a very family friendly performance that employed a decent amount of action for television shows produced at that time. The show kept fresh by employing a number of his iconic rogue’s gallery for several episodes. Heck, they even all teamed up against him; Legion of Doom style and Mayor Adam West confronted them with as much dignity as he could muster.

What didn’t: It’s obvious isn’t it? It was campy and it was foolish, and West had no choice but to play it that way. Seriously? Shark repellent Bat spray??? West is only partially to blame as the man was simply following direction and reading off the script, but his smarmy chuckles, warm smile and Little House on the Prairie interpretation of fathering Robin is far off the beaten trail for this character.

What to keep: Despite the dated nature of this material, West showed that you can generate interest and an audience through shear charisma and the man certainly had that in spades for his Batman. A suave demeanor and face is the shortest route to an audience’s heart, so the next Batman must have this kind of likability because his clashing with Superman over JL decisions (as well as his personal brand of “justice”) might lead an audience to view him as a villain.

George Clooney/Val Kilmer

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What worked: I count both men as the same because the only real positive impact they had on this character is the fact that A-list recognition will bring the masses to the box office; completely independent of the story, production value and quality of the performances. It is the primary reason why “stars” fuel Hollywood’s engine in the first place.

What didn’t: There’s almost too much to mention here, but let’s try anyway! Joel Schumacher, anatomically correct rubber suits, dumb stories and stylized settings are only a few reasons why Batman Forever and Batman and Robin ought to remain in the Dark Knight’s closet. However, the number one, unforgivable offense for both of these actors is that neither truly bought in to this character to give it the seriousness it deserved. They treated these movies as only paycheck films and it showed onscreen.

What to keep: Before Robert Downey Jr.’s career took a hiatus thanks to substance abuse and rehab, he was already established, A-list talent that every media entity dubbed as one of the “next big things in Hollywood.” Of course, blow can derail anyone’s career, but he came back with a vengeance thanks to the Iron Man franchise, and he did it by fully investing in his character and it produced a performance that will forever be linked to this man’s legacy. Sure, Christopher Reeve did this as an unknown for Richard Donner’s Superman, but odds are that A-list talent has a higher batting average to hit one out of the park in any role for audiences.

Michael Keaton

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What worked: Tim Burton’s Batman in 1989 kick-started the contemporary love affair with and modern adaptations of comic book characters and stories. It had a big production budget, bigger stars and encapsulated it all within a very dark, brooding and serious plot that brought the character closer to its roots than ever before. Many were confounded with the casting of Keaton who was more established as a comic (ha-ha) actor at the time, but Burton witnessed this man’s ability when they worked together on Beetlejuice the year before. Keaton yielded a performance that no one could have possibly predicted thanks to his Bruce Wayne persona that matched the trends of his past roles and a distinct Batman persona that was decidedly solemn, gruff and cold. He also rarely flapped his lips in regards to anything while donning the cape.

What didn’t: Hollywood is good at faking a lot of things. It even made Michael Keaton look like he was some kind of martial arts master; well, kind of. Keaton never has and never will be described as an action star, but the next Batman will always have the need to be depicted as very physical on the screen through stunt work and combat sequences. It’s not necessarily that Keaton’s action didn’t work in ’89, but that it won’t work for Justice League moving forward.

What to keep: Michael Keaton represents the antithesis of the two men who followed in this role. When it comes to the nature of a performance, there’s clearly no equation to separate “successful” from “unsuccessful,” but this is why casting is a tricky art form in and of itself. One makes a decision to fill out a role based on an actor’s history of work and the energy he or she brings to an audition. Open-mindedness is the key lesson in appreciating Michael Keaton as Batman which applies to the casting of either established talent or a new face entirely. I also would like to see the resume of whoever will be charged as the casting director for Justice League because if movies like the Star Wars prequels, Ghost Rider and Daredevil are credited to this person, we should all brace ourselves for JL.

Christian Bale

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What worked: He’s easily the most skilled actor to ever play this role and outside of his natural talent, has an entire history of completely selling out for just about every role he plays as evidenced by the extremes in physical conditioning he has subjected his body to over the years. He made me fall in love with Batman again thanks to Christopher Nolan’s more realistic interpretation of the character. He’s an Academy Award winning actor who kicks ass onscreen. There really isn’t much of that going on in Hollywood; ever!

What didn’t: Oh dear, Bale’s “Batman” voice was awful! He stumbled on to it about halfway through Batman Begins and never let go for the rest of the trilogy. I understand the need for the character to obscure his identity, but could we get the man a vocal coach for that? “Swear to me!” Sheesh! It makes me cringe even now.

What to keep: When push comes to shove, the actor must make the character his or her own. It doesn’t take a great actor to yield a great performance, but it certainly takes a great effort to do so. JL’s Batman will have some big shoes to fill, and that person had better not be intimidated in the least, otherwise the performance will suffer and sour the entire franchise. Bale’s confidence as an actor is nigh unmatched, and while the next Batman doesn’t have to be as proficient, I’d like him to at least be on the same path as an accomplished actor. Desire and dedication are absolute musts here.

Kevin Conroy

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What worked: What? A voice-over actor you say? What’s he doing here? True Bat-Fans know this man as one of the most iconic voices for comic book characters next to his co-star Mark Hamill’s rendition of the Joker. He’s voiced the Dark Knight in Batman: The Animated Series, Justice League, Arkham City and Asylum, DC Universe Online, and most of the direct-to-video DC animated features like the most recent Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox. The best voice-over actors are masters at manipulating their voice, and one of Conroy’s often overlooked skills was his distinct differentiation between Bruce Wayne’s voice and his alter ego’s. His voice brings so much life to Batman that it would be remiss to disregard his contributions to the character and is easily one of the best portrayals of Batman ever.

What didn’t: Animation is limiting due to the obvious nature of the medium, but in Conroy’s case, this is actually a benefit. The man looks nothing like Bruce Wayne/Batman. Voice-actors also have less say in the organic evolution of a performance as they are constantly being given direction over the headset in a sound booth. An actor can only control so much when they are being told to “do it this way,” as opposed to live action where several actors over the years have clashed with their directors/producers over creative differences because their embodiment of their characters gave them more political power during production.

What to keep: Never underestimate the importance of the voice. Christian Bale’s weakness is Kevin Conroy’s strength, and the next Batman has got to own intimidation, the bass, the staccato and the diction. No pressure.

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That was the easy part. Now comes what websites all over the globe love to get into and that is the theoretical casting call for who the next Batman could and possibly should be for the Justice League franchise on film. It seems a daunting task because there really isn’t a clear cut choice in Hollywood, but that assumes no one in the current talent pool is capable of a quantum leap in ability and performance.

Here are five suggestions in no particular order:

Armie Hammer (The Lone Ranger, The Social Network)

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Strengths: I still can’t believe that this is his real name, but regardless, this actor has consistently been in the rumor mill for this role, and it’s pretty obvious for some reasons. Besides the fact he’s 6’5”, 220 and there’s two of him, the man clearly has the right kind of body to step into the cape. I felt that the dramatic acting he displayed in J. Edgar is proof enough that he has the ability to be as serious with a role as he wants to be. His face is also attractive enough to sell billionaire, playboy Bruce Wayne without selling out as a stereotypical Hollywood boy toy that loses Bat-Fans everywhere.

Concerns: The Lone Ranger tanked and he had Johnny Depp’s help. This doesn’t bode well for his ability to aid in the helming of a franchise. Taylor Kitsch knows exactly what I’m talking about, and this leads me to my primary concern for Armie. How much would he really want this role? I see desire as somewhat lacking in this actor because he’s already shown the ability to act in different genres, so who knows how much he would want to buy into a franchise that will monopolize his life for a number of years into the future. Armie Hammer makes a lot of sense on paper for the next Batman, but I’m not sold on his ability to truly commit to this role. Tonto knows what I’m talking about.

Joe Manganiello (Magic Mike, True Blood)

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Strengths: This gentleman will be the only member (ahem) of the cast of Magic Mike that should ever be seriously considered to be the next Batman due to the fact that his face, physicality, size, shape, voice and demeanor make him one of the few bodies out there that I could see standing toe to toe with Henry Cavill. He has all the tools needed to thrive in this role, and he has demonstrated the acting ability to be intense for both action and drama.

Concerns: But, can Joe pull said intensity inside to yield the wounded loner and solemn respectability? Can he project intelligence, stratagem, leadership and experience? Supposing Warner Bros. wants this type of Batman to contrast with Cavill’s youth and inexperience, I’m sure Joe is capable once he puts that costume on, but his repertoire is not quite on par with that of Christian Bale. Limited experience and ability are the main concerns here.

Karl Urban (Dredd, Star Trek)

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Strengths: Karl has a much better gruff voice than Bale could ever possibly wish for, and he certainly has the acting chops to pull off this role. His look is also right in line with both the Bruce Wayne and Batman personas. He also has a very respectable history of work in these types of action and CG-heavy films that would make him that much more comfortable on set. He owns the concept of deadpan intimidation.

Concerns: Dredd was not a homerun for me, and that character is pretty close to what most Hollywood productions will make Batman look like. Karl will also have to hit the gym to buff out a little because being tone might work for Star Fleet, but even Batman’s body armor needs a bit more. I would love for Urban to use Hugh Jackman’s work out regiment, but that kind of commitment might be outside of this actor’s asking price.

Michael C. Hall (Dexter, Gamer)

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Strengths: This gentleman’s name has been tossed around the internet in connection with this topic for a while, and I didn’t quite see the connection at first, but the shear deviousness he demonstrates in Dexter proves he has more than enough “dark” for the Dark Knight. He has also demonstrated the ability to project an ordered and scientific persona which relates to Batman quite well. The overall acting ability is there for Michael to be the next Batman.

Concerns: Michael has recently been undergoing treatment for Cancer and the disease is now in remission, but the physical requirements for this role may be too much of a burden for this actor. Even a modest training regiment could be unreasonable and that instantly hurts his chances. He also comes up a little short in the stature department as well as the look of his face. No offense to him personally, but I’ll come right out and say it: his ears are just too damn big!

Jon Hamm (Mad Men, The Town)

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Strengths: If I had to pick one man, right now, to be the next Batman, Jon is it. He’s got the total package: the looks, the ability and the size. He’s a little older than some of the other actors I’ve suggested here, but I’ve always felt Batman should be older than Superman because he’s always seemed to represent the voice of experience in the hero game when these two come together. Jon has the ability to be in any kind of movie he wants which is stunning how his appearances continue to seem limited to me. It could be he’s genuinely not interested in his offers or it could be AMC’s contractual situation has him chained in their basement. Either way, if I was casting, the role would be his if he wanted it. Who knows how to act like a suave debonair better than Don Draper?

Concerns: As good of shape as he is in; the gym is the first stop for Mr. Hamm. However, this is usually the case for just about any role in an action film and something to which I’m sure he’s accustomed. Being well into his acting career might demonstrate a lacking desire and or energy to get involved in such a project, but that would be something for him to decide. He’s also not had an opportunity to demonstrate physicality in terms of hand to hand fisticuffs in many of his projects, but good stunt choreography could address this.

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This is not the be all and end all to Batman’s possibilities, and the questions will only begin to be answered when the cast for the Batman/Superman movie is announced. We can all hope that “the right decision” is made, but whoever gets tapped will only begin their challenging journey because the proof will be in the final product. For better or worse, this decision will be binding for Warner Bros. who could ill afforded a series of recasting in this iconic role which would be interpreted by the viewing public as stumbling into the Justice League franchise as opposed to marching in with heads held high as Marvel did for The Avengers.

As for the rest of the rumored actors in line to be the next Batman, I will make short-SHORT commentary in regards to why they should NOT be Batman:

Ryan Gosling (too mopey)

James Franco (too busy looking in the mirror)

Bradley Cooper (too eccentric)

Michael Fassbender (he’s Magneto)

Joseph Fiennes (too old and too British)

Wes Bentley (not enough talent)

Tom Cruise (WAY too crazy, and old)

Andrew Lincoln (too busy with The Walking Dead)

Stephen Dorff (too skinny)

Josh Holloway (isn’t he supposed to be Solid Snake?)

Matt Bomer (too pretty)

Channing Tatum (the male version of Megan Fox)

Sam Witwer (who?)

Hugh Jackman (he’s Wolverine)

Any Hemsworth boy (contractually inaccessible)

Johnny Depp (um, no)

Jason Statham (too bald and too interested in generic action films)

Joel Edgerton (his face is too fat)

Sam Worthington (owned by James Cameron)

Chris Pine (he’s Captain Kirk)

Joseph Gordon-Levitt (must have a Barry Bonds body transformation to apply)

Shia LaBeouf (come on, really?)

Ryan Reynolds (didn’t he already fail at a DC hero?)

Vin Diesel (not enough hair, talent or time)

Movie News Reviews

Movie Review: The Wolverine (2013)

Logan Can’t Protect His Women

A Film Review of The Wolverine

By: Lawrence Napoli

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So this was the Wolverine movie we were all waiting to see? Oh I get it: a Wolverine movie where there’s a high body count, gore, dismemberment, lots of action, intrigue, a final one-on-one grudge match against a marquee villain and a last minute tie-in to the ever evolving X-franchise? No, only having one of these elements doesn’t count. Director James Mangold and writers Mark Bomback and Scott Frank attempt to wipe away the visual stain that is X-Men Origins: Wolverine by taking the character back to basics: no X-affiliation, no team dynamics, just a simple re-origin tale where the most iconic X-Man finally deals with his inner demons amidst a rather pedestrian conflict. Although anyone in the audience can still follow the general plot of The Wolverine, in order to appreciate all the references as well as key character cameos, familiarity with the original X-trilogy is a necessity. As a result, this film cannot fully stand on its own considering the ultimate conflict of X-Men: The Last Stand is the key “demon” I previously mentioned that continues to dog Logan in this film. Perhaps this fact is what holds The Wolverine back, or perhaps it was the PG-13 rating because the Wolverine movie we’re all (still) waiting for is rated R.

The script represents a mixed bag in that the major plot points leave much to be desired when compared to other comic book adaptations, but the individual scenes deliver the best moment to moment depictions of Wolverine in a realistic world to date. Bomback and Frank did their homework by examining dialogue sequences from the original trilogy that cuts to the very core of Logan’s roguish personality and applied them here. Not one single line uttered by Wolverine sounds like forced exposition or contrived plot advancement. He is every bit the loner and every bit the wounded soul we all know and love him to be, and for the most part, his interactions with everyone are spot on. However, I found the plot points that lead Logan to Japan from his general state of self loathing to the details that keep him there for the duration of the film to be weak. Wolverine is known for having a very unique sense of justice that usually crosses the line to vengeance, and appealing to that aspect would be a practical way to snap him back to reality. The problem is that the messenger has to be someone more important to Logan than a vague voice from the distant past or someone he’s never met before. When the story evolves after he lands in Tokyo, few things would keep the Wolverine around when he has no reason to stay and everyone’s trying to kill him. Love would be a great reason, that is, if it was for someone he knew for more than a couple days. There are just too many points in this film where I thought Wolverine would have simply walked away because a good reason to stay never manifested. He hung around in the original trilogy mostly for his attraction to Jean and his protection of Rogue. The connections he makes in this film to produce an artificial “need” in his character feel circumstantial at best.

The other major disappointment I felt The Wolverine laid out for the viewer was the curious approach to the action and combat throughout. Mind you, this isn’t a criticism of the look of these sequences as they are all shot profoundly well. There are plenty of wide shots to keep the audience oriented and blurry camera tricks to purposely obscure problematic angles are never used. I’m specifically calling out the content of the action. Most of the opposition Logan faces throughout comes in the form of a number of Yakuza thugs, security guards and ninjas. A convenient plot device is used to level the playing field which makes these kinds of antagonists a viable threat to our hero, but that goes away at some point, yet he is still somehow kept in check by these non super-powered villains. The ninja village sequence embodies this kind of disappointment perfectly because the audience is clearly being setup for an incessantly violent moment where the infamous “berserker rage” is about to erupt; only it never does and the entire confrontation fizzles. The same criticism holds true for the climactic battle with the big bad of this film. It doesn’t come off as big of a surprise, as I’m sure the writers originally banked on, and it displays the smallest window of Logan’s repertoire as a pugilist in any conflict we’ve seen on screen thus far. If this is the Wolverine that will be a part of Days of Future Past, then I seriously question his worth as a combatant because he simply isn’t the best at what he does anymore.

The one thing I did respect about this production is the fact that this film approached the story from a more dramatic angle. As such, certain performances that took full advantage of very small pockets of screen time truly shined and gave the movie an emotional anchor that not every X-film can claim to have. One of the standouts was Hiroyuki Sanada’s enraged and embittered Shingen, the son of Yashida (the rich meyser who invites Logan to Japan in the first place). Although his character is given virtually no importance to the story, no other antagonist matches this actor’s intensity on the screen at ANY point. Rila Fukushima did an amazing job as Logan’s mutant sidekick/Japanese escort, Yukio, considering this woman is acting in her second movie ever. She isn’t stereotypically gorgeous, but her playful mannerisms and emotive facial expressions make her character the most charismatic by far. I’d also like to point out that Famke Janssen’s performance as the ghost of Jean Grey in this film is the best she’s ever performed as this character. I never particularly agreed with her casting in the first place, but her contributions here redeem her . . . somewhat.

There were also some severe misses. I didn’t care one bit for Hal Yamanouchi’s old Yashida, and my criticism is twofold for the character and his performance. When your character has severely restricted body language, the performance must compensate in other areas (such as vocal intonation) to stand out. Yamanouchi, perhaps, does too good of a job playing a man that is seconds away from death’s icy grasp and as such, Yashida is no more important than a standard crusty old rich man with nefarious ends. The other villain that was an absolute waste of time was the mutant Viper, played by Svetlana Khodchenkova. I understand that she was going for a femme fatale, but she was not particularly sexy, wasn’t very maniacal, and never seemed threatening on the screen. I don’t know what else a performance can do to screw up the presentation of a villain, but at least she was thorough at it.

Like Robert Downey Jr. playing Tony Stark – Hugh Jackman IS Wolverine. His dedication to physical conditioning and the seriousness and preparation he approaches this character with is the essence of what it means to be a truly professional actor, and he is a credit to his calling.

The Wolverine is not as awful as some make it out to be, but it is also nowhere close to being the definitive visual presentation of a story that fully embraces this character as the mainstream media has determined it to be. I repeat: this is NOT the Wolverine movie we were all waiting for, but that’s not to take anything away from Hugh Jackman who still gave his all, but that same effort could not save Wolverine’s first solo outing. This film cost slightly less than Origins to make, but it has also come up a tad short on its initial weekend at the box office despite opening at number one. The Wolverine is yet another summer “blockbuster” that loses its luster for not having that “IT” factor that makes it a must see. It is a good movie, but doesn’t feature the best action in the world, nor does it tote the best use of its licensed property; which is why people go to see comic book adaptations in the first place. Chalk this one up to another that fell short of the hype despite being filled with potential.

Movie News Reviews

Movie Review: Pacific Rim (2013)

Let’s Go Voltron Force!

A Film Review of Pacific Rim

By: Lawrence Napoli

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Well, not exactly, but Guillermo del Toro’s giant f’ing robots vs. giant f’ing monsters-scifi action-extravaganza has certainly set the table for a series of non-Transformers films to be promptly adapted, mass produced and shuttled to your local cinemas ASAP. Yes, yes, Michael Bay’s Transformers were very visually dynamic films and certainly showed off the proficiency of today’s technology not to mention the talented digital artists behind those computers, but the stories within Bay’s films didn’t exactly have the same impact as the look of the bots. I respect the fact that Pacific Rim is a film that attempts to be more serious than displaying Shia LaBeouf screaming at his mother to “put away the booties!” That’s not to suggest that this film is entirely gloom and doom as Charlie Day’s contributions see fit to break up the tension regularly. But it does suggest that having more respect for your own subject matter can work with impressive CG to galvanize better filmmaking in general and more satisfying end products in particular. Film adaptations of Voltron, Robotech and MechWarrior are sure to come, and the stories within those fictions are much more dramatic than giant f’ing robot films have delivered so far, so let’s hope whoever helms those projects expands on del Toro’s playbook.

The teasers for this film brought a high level of anticipation, but I’m not going to lie; I had serious reservations due to the fact that it was a brand new Hollywood IP and del Toro’s history with Hellboy, Blade II (sperm removal?) and Pan’s Labyrinth didn’t suggest he had the pedigree to deliver a story on as massive a scale as Pacific Rim. There’s a difference between being a talented creature designer and being able to aptly envision things as large as skyscrapers smashing each other and their environment into oblivion. Thankfully, del Toro was not intimidated by the scale as well as the vast number of visual effects artists contributing to the overall spectacle. His leadership delivers a sci-fi-action film that is visually impressive, contains satisfactory human elements of drama while maintaining good pacing throughout to deliver a very entertaining, CG-heavy movie. Pacific Rim is easily one of this summer’s better popcorn flicks, but it is by no means perfect.

Part of the problem is that this story requires a heck of a lot of setup and this is reflected in the inordinately long introduction that precedes the title flash on the screen. Co-writers del Toro and Travis Beacham have an interesting story on their hands, but this film is intent on highlighting the end of a drawn out, global conflict over the course of many years. This is a difficult task to accomplish for any script because it demands the audience to accept a lot of bullet points on faith alone without any form of emotional investment in characters or situations. As a result, what seemed like explaining the important detail of the Pacific Rim disturbance in the first place actually gets glazed over because ultimately, this movie is concerned with getting right into the action as soon as possible. Details like describing the use of giant robots as defense and their functionality gets the same kind of treatment. In fact, just about every instance of uniqueness that the story presents receives the same kind of brief lip service which gives the audience yet another “end of the world” scenario that seems formulaic, predictable and all too familiar. This is one of the reasons why this film counters with so many scenes featuring the giant robots at work because quite frankly, when they do what they do, the audience is suddenly less concerned with plot, dialogue and character. When compared to del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth, Pacific Rim has the intelligence of an episode of Sesame Street (no offense Big Bird), but dumb can still be fun. It has just enough human drama as depicted via the pilot teams for the “Jaegers” (what the giant f’ing robots are called). The special relationships they share with each other keeps the story disciplined. Character development is as much of a wash as the story’s details, but simply seeing these individuals work together is a real treat and, as it turns out, a vital infusion of the human element in a film where almost everything on every single frame is digital fabrication.

As for all that action, it really is something special to see. The cinematography by Guillermo Navarro gives the audience all kinds of dynamic angles while juxtaposing them with excellent close-ups to get us as close to the action as possible. In many respects, the action is framed like some of the best boxing films of the past, and yes, once the punching begins, those familiar with Real Steel will begin to notice some parallels. All of the fighting is essentially savage fisticuffs between robots and monsters, but naturally there are moments where “special attacks” are used to finish off opponents. Oh yes, plenty of lasers, missiles, giant swords and buzz saws abound which don’t exactly channel the awesome power of the Blazing Sword, but it comes awfully close. What helps the viewer really appreciate this mammoth combat is the fact that movement within the frame is relatively slow when compared to other contemporary action films. Remember, the combatants are still the size of buildings and they simply do not demonstrate the agility of Bruce Lee. The action sacrifices fluidity for shear, wrecking-ball brutality, but make no mistake, this is a plus for Pacific Rim. The only thing I would have amended to the overall philosophy behind capturing all of this digital mayhem is to cut to more super wide shots to really give the audience a more appropriate sense of scale to these titans having at each other. Sure we see plenty of buildings and cities getting turned to rubble, but seeing large things get stepped on like a 3 year old steps on his or her Matchbox cars gives the viewer a whole new perspective on destructive force.

Pacific Rim boasts a cast filled with mostly newcomers who produce satisfactory performances in their respective roles, but the best belongs to the one recognizable veteran: Idris Elba as Marshall Stacker Pentecost. The Marshall is the man in command who’s in charge of the Jaeger Program and exudes everything you need in a prototypical leader. Dignity, respect, presence and dominance are all balanced by Elba’s temperance which makes him the kind of leader soldiers go the extra mile for as opposed to cowering in fear or scheme in spite of. The true main character, Raleigh, played by Charlie Hunnam, produces the typical white man, pretty boy save the world with something to prove performance, which is fine, but what was truly lacking was the flaccid romance he shared with onscreen love interest Mako, played by Rinko Kikuchi. Yet again, the romantic angle of any action film gets chopped off at the knees because there just isn’t enough screen time, but man, actors got to have chemistry to even have a chance to show chemistry. I didn’t even realize that Charlie Day (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Horrible Bosses) was in this film, but his golden nuggets of screen time shared with fellow bumbling scientist played by Burn Gorman (The Dark Knight Rises) were welcome moments of reprieve without shifting the tone of the film to ridiculous.

Pacific Rim may have had a budget on the same level of the AAA comic book adaptation ($180 million), but it certainly isn’t being marketed as such. I wouldn’t be surprised if this film underperforms in North America for this specific reason, but also because word of mouth will not spread like wildfire in its favor. This film delivers a very specific kind of sci-fi action, and if you aren’t into giant f’ing robots, you lose 80% of this film. I also wouldn’t go so far as to qualify this film as a must see, but during a summer that has been filled with good, but not great blockbusters, Pacific Rim is worthy of consideration. Sci-fi seems a tad underrepresented in 2013, and though del Toro’s love letter to Mecha-centric fiction is a little light on brains, it certainly delivers some serious brawn. If you’re bored with name brand adaptations, check out the Rim, just be sure to activate interlocks, have your dynotherms connected and get your infracells up so you can get your megathrusters to GO!

Movie News Reviews

Movie Review: World War Z (2013)

The Zombie Apocalypse: Roland Emmerich Style

A Film Review of World War Z

By: Lawrence Napoli

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Zombies, zombies, zombies. George A. Romero made them cool in 1968, and they’ve been a mainstay in American cinema ever since. But why are we constantly drawn to these brain-eating, walking corpses? Surely, we can’t all be so morbid with some latent desire to be frightened, threatened and otherwise mortified just “cause.” The key element to the zombie mythos is the theme of survival which effectively represents humanity’s ironic ability to do so despite our real-world history of constantly trying to annihilate each other. It’s all about hope ladies and gentlemen; specifically hope against impossible odds, and that’s something that appeals to everyone, period. Do you know what other genre of fiction revolves around this theme exclusively? Disaster films do this almost as well as zombie stories, but their weakness is exposed as a diluted intimacy as the narrative may be experienced by a smaller group of protagonists, but is always reflected via impersonal global destruction.

Perhaps this unlikely genre pairing is the true reason why World War Z had a myriad of production woes, setbacks, rewrites and creative conflict paving its own road to completion. Disaster and zombie movies have always had extremely different scales to how they told their stories and their combination posed a significant challenge. Sure, lots of zombie apocalypse films make reference to the rest of the world succumbing to the plague, but the audience never really sees the destruction that’s wrought everywhere else because (for the most part) Z-films just don’t have the budget to digitally create such images. Brad Pitt must have maxed out his celebrity favors to help accumulate the near $200 million dollar budget for World War Z, which only shows off its high production value only in certain instances. There are plenty of scenes that pull wide on city wide destruction, but there are as many (if not more) scenes that are minimal, enclosed and prototypical of lower end, undead affairs. Instead of synthesizing a consistent visual style to allow the audience to appreciate both types of settings, director Marc Forster is content to bite off both Roland Emmerich and George Romero in every other scene and jumping back and forth between them is a little jarring.

Nothing represents this sensation better than the fact that the zombies themselves behave so differently in the two settings I just outlined. They are an amped-up, ant-like and hive-minded swarm of monstrous destruction during the big budget sequences while they sputter to standard staggering and lunging whilst indoors. Funnier still is the fact that the bi-polar nature of the zombies is reflected in the screen story of World War Z thanks to the combined efforts of Matthew Michael Carnahan, Drew Goddard, Damon Lindelof and J. Michael Straczynski. Every scene in this film fluctuates between hot action sequences and cold (uninteresting) dialogue/exposition. A stronger dedication to characterization could have compensated by making the audience care more about UN investigator Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) and therefore care more about scenes that weren’t visually dynamic. But that’s the big problem with this story. While desperately trying to deliver something fresh from a genre that has been a tad overexposed in recent history, the audience gets nil on Gerry’s back story and only the fact that he loves his family to sympathize with. What the heck even is a “UN investigator?” At first, I presumed it was some sort of investigative journalist, but Gerry’s skill set is more reminiscent of a mercenary. And why are a mercenary and his family worthy of the special attention and treatment they receive to be involved with a concentrated effort to save the planet in the first place? Bear in mind, these are the issues that surround the main character, so don’t even think you’ll get anything else from any other character in the cast.

Plot details may be either non-existent or glazed over, but the action, explosions, gunplay and visual effects are front and center. It is in the area of the visual spectacle where World War Z flexes its strongest muscle. Just about every wide angle is a money-shot of destructive anarchy, but the composition of these shots is almost entirely CG. Vehicles, explosions and (of course) the zombies are as fake as Megan Fox’s “talent,” but the fact that the audience never gets too close during these moments allows the filmmakers to mask the “fakeness.” The frame is filled to the brim with so much activity that it is impossible to lose interest, but the proficiency of the CG action is a double edged sword. When juxtaposed with the close-up action driven by standard ballistics and practical effects, the wide angle CG severely outclasses the rest in terms of impact and satisfaction. Traditionally, the opposite has been true even among the most CG-heavy Hollywood films. It’s true that there’s an awful lot of running the audience must endure, but hey, it’s still a zombie movie posing as a disaster film (or is it the other way around?), so there must be running. Still, the action throughout World War Z amounts to some of the best popcorn from a Z-film since Zach Snyder’s remake of Dawn of the Dead.

This film will forever be known for its association with Brad Pitt due mostly to the fact that actors of his caliber simply do not make zombie movies. It will never be known as one of Pitt’s best performances, roles or otherwise contributions as an actor. I understand that the nature of this movie is in a rush to get to the conflict, massive set pieces and intimidating destruction, but it never stopped one of the best hybrid-disaster films in ID4 from giving us characters the audience gave a damn about. In all honesty, I could have used a lot less Joe Black from Pitt in World War Z and a hell of a lot more Tyler Durden. The world may be crumbling all around you and your family is out of harm’s way, so your character plays it cool and collected for the remainder of the movie? Where’s the anger? Where’s the aggression? Is Brad Pitt’s Gerry Lane a secret saint that disallows himself to go feral in the least to fight the good fight? Pitt’s performance equates to too much of a nice-guy-dad to be entrusted with saving the world from walking cadavers. Tom Hanks (the perpetual celebrity nice guy) gave us a bad ass performance in Saving Private Ryan, but he also had the luxury of an R-rating to give the audience a more realistic and horrific take on a soldier in various war zones.

, but it never entwines the audience with enough intrigue to become fully immersed in the fictional danger of this world. Good disaster and zombie films deliver a tiered escalation of loss and destruction, but this film paints the world as having ended at the onset of hostilities. Without delivering that sense of loss, there’s no chance for a character, let alone the audience, to appreciate the road to saving it. I loved the zombies whenever they behaved like a tornado of gnashing teeth, and I loved the action whenever I was exposed to an epic scale. Unfortunately, other aspects of a good Z-film like devotion to character and character relations are noticeably absent in WWZ so it’s difficult for the audience to make a personal connection to the loss of civilization when no main character loses anyone close to them during the overall conflict. World War Z is the polar opposite of AMC’s The Walking Dead, but it’s still an entertaining (albeit safe and formulaic) depiction of zombies on film. The fiery hype that preceded this film should have been doused the instant we all learned this film was rated PG-13. Recent history has shown that not all movies fall prey to that shameless, money-grabbing rating, but I simply don’t think anything less than an R can deliver a solid zombie apocalypse.

Movie News Reviews

Movie Review: Man of Steel (2013)

I’m More Than a Man in a Silly Red Sheet

A Film Review of Man of Steel

By: Lawrence Napoli

The DC/Warner Bros. alliance begins its rise to challenge Marvel’s Avengers Initiative with Man of Steel, and it certainly was a heck of a way to start. This movie is big; like Michael Bay on steroids, crack and crystal meth, BIG! It also looked really expensive to make with the expected cornucopia of CG effects constantly lighting up the screen. All of the different POV perspectives on these shots as well as the aerial angles kept the audience amazed and engaged. It also paid homage to the quaint origin story made famous in the Christopher Reeve/Richard Donner films in a way that communicates the drama and exposition without letting it run on for too long. It also established Henry Cavill as the face of the Superman/Justice League franchise moving forward because the man has serious acting chops, is in peak physical condition and can be as impactful with his dialogue as he is with his fists.

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Impactful. Bang!

I am no particular fan of Zack Snyder mostly due to his efforts in Sucker Punch and Watchmen, but it’s all good because even he couldn’t screw up a story penned by the likes of David S. Goyer (Da Vinci’s Demons) and Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight Trilogy). As fantastic as Superman’s abilities are and as epic a scale as this film presents, there remains a conscious effort in the script to keep the story grounded in reality. This was certainly one of the concerns when Man of Steel was first rumored to involve the man who created the definitive depiction of a realistic Batman onscreen. The concept of Batman isn’t as much of a stretch because with enough tech, training and resources, anyone can be Batman (which also happens to be that character’s appeal). NOT just anyone can be Superman, so how can an alien make a realistic connection with audiences that know full well that he is not human? You do it by highlighting character relationships, and in the case of Man of Steel, three keys unlock a character we can relate with. Superman’s relationship with his father, Jor-El, brings out his morality. His relationship with his human parents, the Kents, brings out his humility. And of course, his relationship with Lois brings out his determination and inspiration.

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There’s enough Lois & Clark, but there could have been more.

Those story elements were meant to converge on the question of whether a being with such powers should ever present him or herself to humanity, and just about every practical reason to remain anonymous is addressed from several perspectives, not just those within Superman’s camp. Unfortunately, the story also had to include a significant action element in the form of a bunch of pissed off Kryptonians with an axe to grind with the House of El, so Superman doesn’t exactly have a say in the matter. It’s a real shame, too, because extending a preemptive olive branch could have expanded the few scenes Superman shares with various American, government officials which gives the audience some laughs and food for thought as a plain speaking super being lays it all out for an organization that personifies the concept of control. Fighting Kryptonians also cuts into Superman’s relationship with Lois a bit as I feel the romance that clearly gets established right away, was a bit rushed – but I guess all the ladies swoon for the man with the big “S” for “Swag.”

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Swag. That’s right.

Clearly, the filmmakers wanted just about every basic element about this updated version of Superman to be firmly planted in the ground as quickly as possible before moving forward with any sequels or expanded fiction. Part of me appreciates this strategy for being extremely efficient by conveying Clark’s youth via flashbacks, while another part of me feels the drama from those missing moments take a back seat to explosions. It’s not an easy task to address an origin film in this way, but Goyer and Nolan make enough of the right decisions to error on the side of balance between the drama and action. Overall, the story is entertaining and intriguing without any significant lapses in continuity while managing to deliver a whole lot more of Kal-El’s Kryptonian heritage and the events that preceded his home planet’s demise.

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Don’t worry son. The origin tale will be quick and painless.

Do you know what $225 million tells me? It tells me that a movie with that kind of budget had better deliver some phenomenal visual eye candy via effects and CG, or else I’m demanding my money back. Thankfully, Man of Steel delivers the best onscreen effects and action sequences to date in the summer of 2013, and they all begin with the depiction of Superman’s powers. Not all of his iconic abilities are on display (as he’s clearly still learning to “test his limits”), but the ones he does show like flight, super strength, invulnerability and heat vision are very impressive. As excellent as they all look, the use of sound, from muffled grunts to the vibrations on the ground and in the air, enhances the guttural effort Kal-El exerts to do the amazing things he does. Kryptonian combat has a significant presence in the very beginning and end of Man of Steel which delivers fairly standard issue laser blasts, space ships and otherworldly technology at work. These all looked fine, but presented nothing you haven’t seen before in the likes of Avatar, T2 or (here’s an obscure reference) The 6^th Day. I could say the very same thing for the destruction of Metropolis at some point, which features some pretty scary buildings collapsing all over the place that were inspired from movies like Green Lantern and just about every other disaster film (ahem, pun intended right there).

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Uh, you guys know I’m on YOUR side, right?

I wasn’t as sold on the entire cast’s performance as our EIC outlined in his Man of Steel reflection. Actors like Diane Lane as Ma Kent and Laurence Fishburne as Perry White are there strictly for star power as their moments to shine are limited, and they don’t do too much with them when they are front and center. I was particularly unimpressed with Lane as she seems to overact the crotchety old lady persona a bit to sell her advanced age which the make-up department didn’t exactly hit a home run on either. Kevin Costner is almost in the same boat for this criticism, but his contributions were worth it thanks to the poignant moment that explains his character’s tragic passing. The best supporting character, by far, was Jor-El played by Russell Crowe who officially begins his comeback from Les Misérables right now. I respect that he got into a bit better shape for this film, but his impeccable line delivery, presence and ability to gaze through the camera’s eye resonates with the audience.

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I don’t wanna hear nothing about no Javert!

I never liked most of Superman’s rogue’s gallery nor the fact that we were going to revisit General Zod in this reboot once again. The first moment Michael Shannon spoke a single line of dialogue was an instant wash for his performance in my book because I could never get past the awkwardness of his voice. I don’t know if he was purposely trying to grate his rear molars as he spoke, but he seemed like an over-angry, over-powered, spoiled little jerk who couldn’t lead fish to water. The real villain that stole the show for me was Antje Traue as Faora-Ul who is fairly attractive in as plain as Hollywood gets, and her diminutive stature wouldn’t seem to pose much of a threat to Superman, right? Wrong! Not only does she kick some serious ass, but she delivers the perfect villain’s voice, stare down, threat and general demeanor. Why these crazy Kryptonians aren’t following her is completely beyond me.

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Explain it to everyone how I’m a superior villain to Zod.

Of course, a Superman origin story ultimately boils down to him and Lois, and although I like the casting of Henry Cavill and Amy Adams in these roles, I haven’t quite bought into their onscreen chemistry which I am completely aware that they didn’t exactly have many opportunities to fully explore here. Cavill is (unfortunately) another perfectly cast, British born actor for this role thanks mostly to his exquisite physical condition and piercing blue eyes. He approaches his character with respect and dignity, so it matters not if he delivers dramatic lines in a spandex body suit. His performance as Superman isn’t going for adorable charisma like Christopher Reeve. He’s going for a simple man that has great ambitions for the future with even greater powers to accomplish them with. Adams could take a page out of Cavill’s book and loose a little “adorableness” to revisit the assertiveness she displayed in The Fighter in order to deliver a slightly less girly, Lois Lane. I like my Lois the way I like my coffee: BOLD!

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I was going for “bold,” but now I need dental implants.

I have no doubt that Man of Steel will probably be the best blockbuster, action adventure film you will see all summer long, so now’s the time to break out those loose dollars you were hiding in the cookie jar. This is a movie worth seeing on the big screen, but not necessarily on an IMAX screen as (once again) the 3D effect is nice, but it could be distracting to some and doesn’t deliver a game-changing experience. This movie sets up DC and Warner Bros. quite nicely to move their own franchise forward in a realistic-enough world that rivals The Avengers. The thing is, I don’t believe they could find a dedicated enough actor who has everything Cavill brings to the table and more (in the form of experience) to project the character of Batman on equal footing as the blue boy scout than Christian Bale himself. Seeing Man of Steel actually reaffirmed my belief in Justice League working as a film adaptation, but only with that particular Dark Knight. It’s just too bad that we didn’t get any post-credit teaser at the end of Man of Steel which my natural paranoia interprets as those who control the franchise not having a clear vision for their own future.

Movie News Reviews

Movie Review: This is the End (2013)

Bro Comedy Shenanigans

A Film Review of This is the End

By: Lawrence Napoli

So you’re a hot, young Hollywood starlet who’s had a few significant hits on the film scene that makes you worthy enough to start rubbing elbows with some of your peers in “the biz” who already happen to be established. You all start seeing each other at the same parties, banquets and award shows and start becoming real life, actual friends. You’re going to tell me that you’re somehow not interested in getting all your boys together to make a movie filled to the brim with all of your own peeps? Of course you are, and although we’ve seen this “Avengers Effect” at work before (see Ocean’s 11 and several other franchises), we haven’t exactly seen it come to fruition in the comedy genre. Seth Rogen and co-writer Evan Goldberg came up with a script that essentially took the talents of a bunch of comedic Hollywood A-listers to South Beach (that’s an NBA reference, folks) in order to deliver some very inappropriate, often vulgar, curiously framed and utterly random series of events that delivers both shocks and guffaws.

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Emma Watson ain’t wielding no wand!

The plot of the victimized Hollywood celebrities is an amalgam of several “end of the world” scenarios with a hint of fantasy here and a dash of dogma there for a little flavor. What makes the story unique is that every celebrity plays themselves during the apocalypse and the audience is given a hilarious sneak peek at these people’s “supposed” lives prior to hell breaking loose and how they deal with it afterwards. According to Seth Rogen (via imdb.com) the script, “combined real characteristics of the actors who then produced bizarre alternate version(s) of themselves with elements that had absolutely nothing in common with the cast.” The script may have called for its actors to produce evil, mirrored visions of themselves for the camera, but this actually has more fun with the public’s perception of most of these individuals which is naturally based on the history of their fictional roles.

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How much “real” is in the cast’s performance?

For instance, James Franco is referenced as being some sort of a “Renaissance Man” for his numerous talents outside of acting, but his history of trolling critics that rub him the wrong way is equally well known. A Jack of all Trades that gets ultra sensitive if someone tells him “no” is exactly the kind of person that would assume a leadership role in a survival situation (and in the movies, this is the character everyone would want killed off because of poor decision making and being a general *sshole). Let’s just say that none of you will be surprised at how James Franco plays “James Franco” in This is the End. P.S. note that several of the cast came to Seth Rogen as individuals who expressed difficulty in acting the way parts of the scripted called for, but Franco never turned anything down. Is this the professional result of a finely honed actor, or a man being completely natural by acting like a tool? You decide.

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I’m clearly the best actor here so recognition as anything less will have consequences!

Michael Cera’s performance as “Michael Cera” is an intriguing one in that his cocaine dependency in this film has him behave in what we would all presume is the furthest from his real life behavior than anyone could possibly imagine. And why? Because Michael Cera plays Michael Cera in every film; or at least that’s the public perception thanks to the history of his eerily similar roles. If the shear distancing from one’s self was the only way to evaluate performance, Michael Cera gives the audience the best acting of his career, but it isn’t really. We can all see shades of Super Bad here and there and he doesn’t exactly stick around long enough to fully explore the new “Michael Cera.”

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This is the closest Michael Cera ever gets to Rihanna ever again.

Danny McBride? I’m sure he’s a real sweetheart of a human being . . . to his friends and family, but he certainly comes off like a cocky jerk. Guess who becomes the antagonist? My favorite moment was when he squares off verbally with James Franco and simply watching these two tremendous egos explode at each other onscreen is pure cinematic genius.

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*uck your house, Franco!

Jonah Hill? Well, he isn’t skinny Jonah anymore, but that actually helps because he seems to have rediscovered his funny bone. Playing the perpetual peacemaker for the duration of the film only to reveal the deepest of animosity to some of his co-celebrities is actually quite insightful in presenting your garden variety, Hollywood fake: smiles and rosy cheeks on the outside, while biting through his or her tongue on the inside.

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Jonah Hill is “America’s Sweetheart?” Since when?

Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel are our main characters whose relationship is the engine for our story which basically revolves around the comfort and/or fakeness of Hollywood circles that intertwine and may explain why some individuals are synonymous while others are always feuding. They are both funny enough in that they play the straight men to virtually all of the ludicrous tomfoolery being exerted by the rest of the cast. Whenever there’s even the slightest attempt to get somewhat serious, these moments involve at least one of them.

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Buddy heroes . . . from Canada.

However, my MVP of this entire production must be Craig Robinson who shows incredible diversity, willingness to shift gears physically and emotionally while being totally funny in every instance. Robinson easily has the most charisma out of this entire cast and his consistency is impressive in that he steals virtually every scene. However, what impressed me most was the dramatic scene of concern and remorse he shares with Jay Baruchel in the second act which highlighted one of the few poignant moments of This is the End.

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Shhhh. I’m the best part of this movie.

There isn’t a heck of a lot of action, but there sure is a decent amount of visual effects that start at the midpoint of the film and only increase in scale and frequency from there. Most of this film takes place indoors so the production team took advantage of incorporating CG and practical effects to make for some amazingly proficient “wow” moments while throwing in a couple of obligatory “gross” ones. I found the CG of the various demons to be extremely well done for a film that had an estimated budget of only $25 million which certainly means that most, if not all, of the cast worked for scale (and whatever marijuana Rogen scored for them behind the scenes).

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Taking a walk outside reveals the sh*t-storm.

There isn’t much to say about This is the End other than it’s the most celebrity layered, buddy-survival-comedy that anyone has ever seen. You don’t even need to like anyone in this cast because their performances (overall) tend to evoke distaste anyway. And we Americans certainly do enjoy “hate-watching” thanks to the popularity of most “reality” TV programs out there. This movie belongs in anyone’s library to be whipped out whenever a bunch of friends come over and the only order of the day is getting stoned. Yeah McLovin’ is present, but he’s not enough to justify the $10 plus dollars you need to up chuck to see this in theatres. Save your bucks for Man of Steel.

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This is the closest the rest of Superbad gets to Rihanna ever again.

Movie News Reviews

Review: Da Vinci’s Demons Episode 8: The Lovers

Da Vinci = Jerry Lewis as The Errand Boy

A Show Review of Da Vinci’s Demons Episode 8: The Lovers

By: Lawrence Napoli

[Attention: Major spoilers and end of season commentary ahead!]

Season 1 concludes with The Lovers and the theme of this episode is “tying up the loose ends” with what I hope will be a more adventurous and bold ambition for season 2. Usually, the resolution of subplots is a satisfying experience for the viewer who is invested in any series, but I did not feel the satisfaction for many of them, despite the thoroughness of the attempt to address every character’s particular issue.

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I am unimpressed.

Subplot #1) Da Vinci FINALLY expresses to The Turk, Al-Rahim his frustration for being led around by the nose thanks to the Sons of Mithras and their quest for The Book of Leaves which they entrapped Leo with by linking its fate to that of his own mother’s. The reason this fizzles is because Da Vinci has really become obsessed with this quest himself and he is all too willing to continue on as he has been regardless of his whining and complaining. Leo knows this, The Turk knows this, and thus the entire exchange is a waste of time other than directing Da Vinci towards his new destination. The Turk owns Da Vinci’s left testicle.

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Years from now we’ll get this Da Vinci guy to do all the hard work and . . .

Subplot #2) The fate of Giuliano Medici runs its course. We were all fooled by the way last week’s episode ended, but in order to more closely resemble the history of these events he is dispatched while attempting to save his brother during mass. Giuliano, played by Tom Bateman, was easily becoming my favorite character in this show because he stopped behaving like a spoiled little brat and started rising to the occasion to be a leader whenever possible with charisma and confidence. His presence will be missed, but having his mistress Vanessa (with whom Giuliano had relations once) discover she’s pregnant and inform the skewered Giuliano of this fact in the final moments of his life felt incredibly rushed and swept under the rug. This was a moment of high drama that required more time to see through and it failed as a result.

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I was supposed to “handle” Giuliano.

Subplot #3) Lucretia the spy and Da Vinci have it out and despite that, their relationship is still up in the air. As quickly as Da Vinci is to slit her throat, he is just as quick to massage her tongue with his own and the scene they share is obviously meant to show that both individuals (despite their best efforts) are hopelessly in love with each other, but neither have the courage nor the sense of self to do anything about it. For a man so determined to not be defined by anyone else, Lucretia owns Da Vinci’s right testicle and his interactions with Lorenzo throughout this episode suggest he may eventually pay for this relationship. Da Vinci seems content to remain a slave to Lucretia’s affections.

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You complete me.

Subplot #4) We all find out who the old man being held in Rome’s prison is, and I must say that I was not expecting him to be the Pope’s twin brother. The show is taking immense liberties with this angle and although we have no idea why he chooses to remain in prison, we do know his council helped facilitate Rome’s campaign to unify Italy and increase the church’s power. The funny thing is, I’m pretty sure Leonardo did not notice the family resemblance from last week’s episode, but the very fact a twin exists reveals a major plot point for how I think this series will culminate. [Major spoiler supposition ahead] Da Vinci may involve himself in a plot to swap the imprisoned twin with the evil Pope Sixtus who is known for commissioning the creation of the Sistine Chapel (an act not particularly on the mind of a Pope desiring to instigate a holy war with the Ottoman Empire). This will lead to Da Vinci crossing paths with none other than Michelangelo, who painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

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I can always find “another way.”

Subplot #5) The Pazzi Conspiracy fully engages and its result is pending. “The Lovers” has a ton of swordplay after Giuliano bursts through the church’s doors to expose the Pazzis. I actually enjoyed the action, the throat slicing and the fact that everyone (even the priests!) get down and dirty. If you know the history [attention: historical spoiler ahead], the Pazzi’s fail at assassinating Lorenzo, but it remains to be seen if this will cause a brief moment of internal calm for Florence at a convenient time when Leonardo needs to go away on an oceanic voyage. The only thing I didn’t like about this is how it ends with the very last scene before the credits roll. This scene catches the action literally in the middle and it resolves nothing to the audience. It’s the kind of cliff hanger left for in-between episodes or commercial breaks, but not the end of a season (Editor’s Note: And not having to wait until 2014! – EIC Matt McGloin).

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This Pazzi comes with a Kung-fu action chop.

Subplot #6) Lorenzo discovers Da Vinci is his rival for Lucretia’s affections. Just as Lorenzo is professing his love for Da Vinci for his heroic intervention, he sees Lucretia’s ring, and that love instantly turns into vile hate. This development really felt like Goyer threw this in at the last possible second because Lorenzo’s reaction seems a bit odd. If he really loves Lucretia, it makes more sense for him to become depressed and indifferent to his immediate fate, and if he survives, that sadness can turn into hate which motivates Lorenzo to “hunt” Da Vinci throughout season 2. If Lorenzo’s ego is simply wounded by someone like Da Vinci sharing the same woman, he would certainly get upset, but he wouldn’t seek blood-lusting vengeance as if Da Vinci slept with his actual wife. Da Vinci is, after all, saving Lorenzo’s butt from assassination.

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Do I love my wife and family more than my mistress?

All of the above happens in this single episode and each subplot is done a severe disservice by splitting the audience’s attention amongst them all. Perhaps creator David S. Goyer felt the need to conclude with the Pazzi conspiracy because he didn’t want any major issues lingering between seasons. If this is the case, that means Goyer must have something amazing waiting for the audience with Da Vinci’s adventures abroad. If not, Da Vinci will continue to be conveniently side tracked from his journey to stay in Florence, and we will all be treated to everything we’ve already seen before. Florence could continue to be an interesting place to explore had Goyer given Da Vinci – and the audience as a proxy – a reason to stay. Ending season 1 after Da Vinci’s infiltration of the Vatican seemed to be a more natural place to take a breather because significant plot twists occurred, Da Vinci accomplished a major victory, yet significant danger remained for the future of Florence to address in season 2.

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I am really, *ucking pissed off!

Season 1 of Da Vinci’s Demons was a successful experiment in making a television series. The reason I describe it as merely a test is because its quality in many production levels was inconsistent and the sum of its episodes do not constitute a full season of anything. Here are some things Goyer needs to address for season 2: First, you must give the audience at least 12 episodes because if you don’t, there’s no reason for you to evolve your story telling formula, which means more abbreviated character and plot development and you will be called out on it. Second, get a little more money for effects. Although this is the kind of show that doesn’t require an abundance of visual effects, it is still about Leonardo Da Vinci and he invented a couple of cool gadgets along the way and we need to see more of his infernal devices at work. Third, Da Vinci’s desire to learn of his mother’s fate better pay off because it has thus far been set up to be a massive let down. The first half of season 1 shows Da Vinci having a blast with his own devices and discovering “truth” at his own pace. The Turk shows up and tempts Leonardo with a massive carrot and the man hasn’t returned to jubilant discovery since. This plot arc seems to be setting Leo up for that heaping helping of humble pie so Da Vinci can learn “humility,” the key word left out of Solomon Ogbai’s final words to Da Vinci in “The Devil.”

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Da Vinci must learn his lessons, or this goes right up you know where.

I need to see a lot more follow through from Goyer and his entire production staff. If you’re only given another 8 episodes for season 2, then give the audience 8 episodes that take full advantage of the characters you’ve introduced and TAKE YOUR TIME! I’m sick and tired of merely paying lip service to plot points and twists that have the potential to be really juicy. Give your fine cast of actors more time to ACTUALLY ACT. We need MORE moments of DRAMA that play out organically. Only time will tell what season 2 and the future of Da Vinci’s Demons as a franchise has in store, but the concept of “evolution” should be the first and foremost thought in Goyer’s mind at the writer’s table, behind the camera and in the editing booth.

Movie News Reviews

Movie Review: The Purge (2013)

Did I Just See an Argument Supporting Video Game Violence?

A Film Review of The Purge

By: Lawrence Napoli

Human beings: Are we smart animals or transcendent beings? Are we inherently violent or is our behavior the result of other, more complex forces at work? Believe it or not, but The Purge is a horror/thriller that makes an attempt at some social commentary in regards to this very topic. Having seen the trailers, I was expecting something pulpy, raw and completely void of intelligence. The hook of this story alone makes it one of the smartest horror/thriller films I’ve seen in a long time. I must reiterate though, this praise is reserved strictly to the framework of the story and the fictional reasoning behind allowing American citizens to embrace total anarchy and their inner bloodlust with zero consequences. There are a number of turns to typical, horror filmmaking techniques that snatch greatness away from this film and most of that is attributed to deficiencies in character development. Still, The Purge manages to make you think while it entertains and that’s something horror films simply don’t do these days.

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Bad people are coming for you!

I can see this film being quite polarizing in that it could fire up gun lobbyists, religion, rich people and the political right in general, but most of the audience I sat with was more concerned with seeing new ways to be scared of home invasion and accumulating a high body count in the process. The elements of the story that makes The Purge “horrifying” and “thrilling” happen to be its glaring weaknesses as the same foreground-background reveals are combined with jump scares, POV stalking and surveillance footage. As frightening as real-world home invasion is, what the audience experiences in this film is tame compared to its contemporary brethren. Lots of the horror standards are present story-wise: rebellious teenage daughter, family disconnect, social ignorance, false sense of security, revenge and of course “sacrificing the innocent.” All of these elements fail to be impactful in any way because these themes are all too familiar to us and writer/director James DeMonaco delivers them in such conventional fare that it does inspire several instances of eye-rolling in response. And speaking of eye-rolling, the main characters inspire nothing but; thanks mostly to their frustrating behavior which clearly does not jive with people (of means) living in a world where “The Purge” is a reality. Once again, people acting in this manner are key conventions of horror by playing up the whole “we are the causes of our own demise” angle that allows danger to infiltrate where it wouldn’t normally. Under the harsh lens of industry-standard horror filmmaking, The Purge simply follows the rules without pushing the envelope which makes for a dissatisfying horror experience, but perhaps this film was not meant to be seen as strictly that?

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Yes we’re scared. Convention 1.

This film makes some pretty direct political, ethical, moral and economic statements concerning the current state of the union and applying them to some fictional circumstance in the not so distant future actually inspires a moment to pause. First, DeMonaco clearly feels that the super rich are big problems in today’s economy because their monopoly over the accumulation of wealth is apparently fueled by their willful ignorance of how that affects everyone else. Of course, the posh suburbs support “Purge” violence because it never hits their homes thanks to the state of the art security systems they all pay for and it provides for the euthanizing of undesirables like the homeless, the hungry and the poor who cannot afford the same kind of “protection.” Second, the proliferation of high powered weapons in society is something DeMonaco views as troubling. “The Purge” allows for Class 4 weapons (assault rifles and auto-shotguns) and lower to be used which means flame-throwers, grenade launchers and bazookas are a no-go. This movie is not meant to look like The Expendables, but it makes you wonder why so many gun enthusiasts in the real world are so desperate to hold on to their assault weapon “rights” when there isn’t a fictional day in the calendar year that allows for legalized hell on earth and we are all tasked with our own security. Third, DeMonaco obviously lumps government in the same boat as the super rich as part of the problem for passing such an utterly ridiculous law in the first place, but also for the fact that the most influential government representatives are immune from “The Purge.” Conveniently, people like the president, governors, mayors and senators are not to be harmed in any way. In the end, The Purge is a hyper envisioning of what the writer/director sees in American reality today and by seeing the extremes, people can become more aware and upset over the more subtle economic and political policies of control such as The Patriot Act and legalized government surveillance that brings us closer to a life free from liberty.

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The Purge: land of free cadavers, home of the brave with big guns!

There seems to be an inordinate amount of action for a horror/thriller film such as this. The first half of the film is hard at work setting the audience up for what seems to be some significant urban assault and surprisingly, the movie actually goes there. There is a decent amount of gunplay at work as well as what seems like a random proficiency with hand to hand pugilism. These scenes are actually shot fairly well and although they don’t do much to heighten the suspense, these moments are satisfying to watch. The only thing that seems a bit off with the action is who actually engages in it and how well they perform without being established as having training of any kind. For example, there is a moment close to the climax of this film where the father of the Sandin family inexplicably turns into Rambo and dispatches a number of threats in sequence with barely a scratch on him. The logistics of this entire film borders on the absurd so buying into these leaps in expertise isn’t too difficult, but a little more back story and character development could have easily reconciled this.

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Honey, I got this.

The performances within The Purge all hinge upon father and mother Sandin played by Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey, respectively. Despite being amongst the wealthiest of a pristine upper class community, they are not depicted as base snobs in any way. Hawke and Headey both go for composed performances with slight alterations. Hawke’s James Sandin is really excited about his work directly leading to his family’s increased status so the energy he exudes approaches that of “the annoying rich guy making everything his business,” but this gets pulled way back once danger ensues. Hawke transforms into an average Joe protecting his family quickly without being overburdening or annoyingly over-heroic which makes it easier to sympathize with him. Headey begins as a fairly engaged mother who doesn’t really give off any sort of elitist vibe, but her transformation goes directly to a quivering weakling which seems too stereotypical for women in horror films and certainly makes no sense for any adult cognizant of the real danger that begins in the USA every March 21^st.

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You may have seen this before in any other horror film. Convention 2.

Every other performance from support to antagonists plays off the strength of this relationship. The Sandin children played by Max Burkholder Adelaide Kane do their jobs by performing as frustrating children seem to always do in survival situations on film. Plainly put, they are always liabilities. Ms. Kane’s arc turns her into a damsel in distress and Burkholder represents the moral/ethical counter perspective to the existence of “The Purge” as policy. Their performances feed the strength of their parents as characters, which is fine as a baseline, but they never evolve beyond pure support. The same is true for the antagonists who want to “purge” the Sandin family. Preppy psychotics with an elitist perspective on their violence having a positive contribution to society sounds interesting, but that idea has been overdeveloped in horror. Rhys Wakefield is the only villain who reveals his face and therefore is the only performance that can be evaluated. His smug ego lights up his demented smile, but his character never shifts status from that plastic demeanor even when you assume that increasing bloodlust would turn anyone into a much more ravenous creature. Normally I call for more interesting villains, but in this circumstance I was fine with keeping these bastards as flat as possible because doing so would backtrack on DeMonaco’s social commentary.

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Is there really a difference?

The Purge is an interesting film that finds more fans with members of the audience who are more seasoned and are politically and socially engaged. Teens and Tweens going to see a mindless slasher/brutality film will be disappointed because this movie simply doesn’t do those things that well. Anyone else that goes for basic thrills and scares will be let down because the tension never elevates to a fever pitch. In fact, the whole concept of “The Purge” is the only thing that makes this film worthy of existence. Exploring this new “law” and the events that allowed “The New Founders” of America to tack it on to the constitution would have added 40 minutes of runtime and turned it into a completely different movie. Removing the spectacle of reckless abandon and the base essence of “releasing the beast,” would have made this a much more difficult film to sell investors and if that doesn’t happen, movies (especially horror films) don’t get made. I will, however, suggest that real people in the real world do need a form of release and escape from the grind of getting by day by day, but that needs to be done through a proxy such as watching movies, reading books or playing video games. Oh yes, even the most holy of rollers will agree with allowing digital aggression when the alternative is your neighbor knocking on your door and shooting you in the face.

Movie News Reviews

Review: Da Vinci’s Demons Episode 7: The Hierophant

Da Vinci = Danny Ocean

A Show Review of Da Vinci’s Demons Episode 7: The Hierophant

By: Lawrence Napoli

Yes! Redemption episode! The last episode of Da Vinci’s Demons saw a chance encounter with Dracula (or Vlad the Impaler) of all characters and as interesting as that may sound for an historical reinvention that tiptoes the borders of fantasy, it was plain ridiculous. It made little sense to viewers and even less relevance to the story that’s been developing thus far in the previous six episodes. Be that as it may, David S. Goyer comes back with a vengeance in “The Hierophant” which gets the story firmly back on track by having Da Vinci become embolden enough to confront his opposition directly. We’re going to Rome!

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Pope Sixtus has some cool toys.

For this entire series, the audience has been told how Pope Sixtus IV and his cronies have been directing events across Europe not merely by the strength of arms, but by manipulating the faith and secretly acquiring and hoarding fundamental knowledge of the natural world and by extension, the nature of man. The Vatican’s control over the latter element has been what Da Vinci has dedicated his life in pursuit of, and thanks to his efforts in “The Devil,” he has his bearing to discover the actual resting place of The Vault of Heaven. All he needs is Count Riario’s half of the key. I enjoyed the planning and preparation scenes where Da Vinci, Nicco and Zoroaster consider the options of actually penetrating The Vatican’s defenses. It reminded me of the best parts of the Ocean’s 11 Trilogy in that it comes off as a good old fashioned B&E to a highly secured installation. I also liked how the entire episode tied back into the Medici’s immediate troubles as well as Da Vinci’s personal quest seamlessly (as if the last episode didn’t even happen).

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Another of Da Vinci’s devices at work?

If you thought that Da Vinci’s Demons was moving too slowly for your taste, The Hierophant not only ups the pace, but fills it up with many subplots coming to ahead. Riario vs. Da Vinci? Check. Giulino searching for the spy? Check. Remember Riario’s prisoner? Check. What’s most impressive about the volume of twists in this episode is that nothing feels like it was discarded as soon as it was introduced and every new development leaves the audience with new and satisfying information that ups the tension and gets your brain thinking about what could happen next. Oh yes my friends, everything is coming together at the right time with only one episode left which I eagerly anticipate, but I am also somewhat disheartened because 8 episodes does not a full season of ANY television show make. By the way, if any of you were really anticipating that exciting rematch with Dracula, you will be disappointed by its absence here (thank God!).

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The man is still not to be trifled with.

I’d also like to take a moment to commend all of the show creators for doing their best to root this fiction in the past. I became personally aware when I was inspired to research Pope Sixtus and the extent to which his savagery on the show may or may not have been reflected in how he ruled in the history books. My research brought me to the Pazzi Conspiracy and I was astounded at the accuracy the show was in trying to hold true to the bullet points of that conflict. Unfortunately, I conducted this research prior to watching “The Hierophant” which actually spoiled some of the episode for me and I am fearful for how much of the plot moving forward I may have inadvertently ruined as well. So if you don’t happen to be a history buff and still want to be surprised by this show, do NOT research key words like: Renaissance Florence, Medici, Sixtus or Pazzi. Do it after the first season ends. Perhaps invigorating the viewer’s interest in actual history is the greatest compliment that can be paid to any period piece?

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Who is the mysteriously masked, red rider?

The final episode of this initial season of Da Vinci’s Demons is coming up and the table has been set for suspense, intrigue and wonder. The only thing that “The Lovers” needs to do is match the energy, pacing and relevance of this episode. It is a natural tendency for the filmmaker to constantly up the ante, push the envelope, raise the stakes and so on and so forth, but doing so without discipline would be a sure fire way to end the season on a sour note. Goyer needs to hammer home nagging concerns for Da Vinci before properly sending him off on a brand new quest against new forms of opposition, circumstances, handicaps, etc. “The Hierophant” set up all the pins perfectly and it is left to “The Lovers” to knock them all down.

Movie News Reviews

Movie Review: Ombis: Alien Invasion (2013)

(Note: For purposes in reporting we would like to note that Cosmic Book News EIC Matt McGloin was an extra in the movie )

Local Indie Means Pulp Horror

A Film Review of Ombis: Alien Invasion

By: Lawrence Napoli

It never ceases to amaze me how “no budget” independent films almost always involve some element of horror. As a genre, horror has a history of filmmaking rooted in rollback production costs, and thanks to the ever increasing quality of digital camcorders and off the shelf editing software, amateurs everywhere are feeling the itch to make movies. Horror appears to give the filmmaker the shortest route between making their dreams into reality, and there are a number of reasons why: 1) horror seems to inspire a lot of local, volunteer labor; 2) horror can succeed with even the simplest of practical effects made from household items and YouTube walkthroughs and 3) horror doesn’t require the highest acting level from its cast because the audience will be more interested in looking for monsters and gore. There are more fringe benefits to horror, but despite them all, very few films show capable of distinguishing themselves from the rest of the pack. This brings us to the Western New York success story of Ombis: Alien Invasion which is, in every sense, a horror film masquerading as sci-fi, but unfortunately does little to give the audience anything we haven’t already seen from the likes of Troma or Fangoria.

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Your formal introduction to slime zombies from space.

Since this film was made for the miraculously low price of about $32,000 thanks to DefTone Pictures and its co-financiers, I am stunned that more attention was not given to the basic story, character development and dialogue that could have communicated both in a more compelling and practical manner. The script is the foundation of any film, and if the story isn’t interesting, its visual depiction doesn’t have much of a chance to make it better. It’s also the least expensive element of the filmmaking process to produce. Of course, local filmmakers do not have the resources of a James Cameron to make entirely new and fantastic worlds come to life on screen, but that doesn’t mean simpler stories, using common locations and local talent can’t also be interesting. Writers Janeen Avery, Terry Kimmel, Mark Mendola, Michael Sciabarassi, and Adam R. Steigert (also the director) attempt to blend the basic elements of a zombie movie with the more colorful garnishes of an alien invasion and apply them to a formulaic model as tried-and-true as horror itself: an unsuspecting town in Nowhere-sville, USA is confronted with a supernatural force and all hell breaks loose. This idea is entertaining enough in the sense that a ghost haunting a house, or a child being possessed, or a mad dog killer is on the loose are equally entertaining tropes. Doing something more with these archetypes such as using allegory or metaphor is an excellent way to transform common stories into uncommon experiences.

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Who could that shadowy figure be?

Ombis features a script that is unconcerned with anything but the obvious so what you see is exactly what you get. In lieu of adding intrigue via context, the writers overcompensated by throwing in underdeveloped plot twists that aren’t set up well and fizzle when trying to pay off. A town trying to fend off alien zombies is one thing, but adding intergalactic bounty hunters, a shadowy governmental agency, and a tale of youthful redemption is plainly impossible to develop with any level of satisfaction in an 85 minute film. This script was in desperate need of some serious focus, and the best evidence of this is the fact that the story begins to unfold from the perspective of Sheriff Bracket, but then inexplicably shifts to former high school football star Mark. These two characters could have (and should have) been written as one which would have allowed the audience a more streamlined point of view in addition to better main character to identify with. In the end, the plot, characters and dialogue have resulted less from basic narrative structure and more from late night fanboy discussions of “you know what would be cool?”

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Folks, I happen to be an authority on what’s cool.

The true artistry of Ombis lies not within the fiction, but in the technical production value and cinematography that is spearheaded by director Adam R. Steigert. Far too often, student and indie films fall in love with static camera shots while mixing in the occasional Dutch angle to feign “art.” I am very impressed with how active the camera is throughout Ombis as it tracks, pans and tilts with the action consistently which animates the frame and keeps the pace up for the film in general. The background soundtrack adds another layer of credible production value which is well composed to accentuate the emotional tenor of just about every scene and only occasionally washes out the dialogue track as a small post-production faux pas. The digital/visual effects of this film aren’t exactly cutting edge, but are masterfully cut away to and juxtaposed with practical effects (such as the crawling green Jello) which yields a clear idea of the action and what the supernatural threat is all about.

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Something bad is coming.

The performances throughout Ombis provide glimmers of brilliance, but are often overshadowed by amateurs in need of point-by-point direction just to keep up. As for the standouts, Richard Satterwhite’s performance as Sheriff Bracket is both charismatic and genuine and his particular strength lies in shifting facial expressions which makes a clear connection to the audience. The only hiccup he demonstrates is when he loses patience with another actor in scenes where they are not giving back the same energy he is sending them. Jason John Beebe provides the lion’s share of the stunt work as Mark and provides a worthy performance as the secondary protagonist (or is he the primary?). He plays the role of a younger man quite well, and he demonstrates confidence in his line delivery with just about everyone, but comes up a tad short in generating chemistry with his onscreen girlfriend which has less to do with an acting deficiency and more to do with a lack of opportunity as provided by the script. The final stand out performance was that of Alexander S. McBryde who plays the mysterious Mr. Gray. He is done somewhat of a disservice from the script due to the fact that his character and the organization he represents gets absolutely zero setup as they kind of show up out of nowhere once the weirdness starts to happen around town. McBryde presents the best example of an actor doing more with less because he doesn’t have many scenes to work with, but the presence he exudes, thanks to the bass in his voice, makes the audience pay attention to him whenever he’s onscreen and he leaves an unforgettable impression.

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No one is safe from the Ombis.

Ombis: Alien Invasion is a success in that it was completed with an overall proficiency that not every independent film provides with minimal finances and a volunteer cast/crew. It is not an easy task to accomplish such a feat given the handicaps. That being said, the entertainment value of this film caters strictly to fans of cult, pulp horror films. For a movie like this to have a shot at wider, more diverse audiences, serious polish needs to be considered. Over ambition can muddle any production as global audiences may observe with future super productions such as the next Star Wars, The Avengers 2 and X-Men: Days of Future Past. Too many characters, too many plot devices and too many gimmicks can add up to too many distractions that can sink a film before it even sets sail. Ombis seems intent on doing far too much without being disciplined enough to establish the basics of its own story, and that’s frustrating for an audience intent on making connections. Of course, most indie monster, slasher, alien and horror films just want to deliver a pulp experience that simply shocks and awes which is fine and dandy, but at the same time gets fenced in with the rest of the herd.

Movie News Reviews

Movie Review: Fast & Furious 6

A Little Left in the Tank

A Film Review of Fast & Furious 6

By: Lawrence Napoli

Back in 2001, a little movie called The Fast and the Furious introduced mainstream America to contemporary street racing, NOS and Vin Diesel doing what he apparently does best. None could have predicted that this series would have turned into such an immense financial success considering it took three different directors before finding one that was truly committed in Justin Lin and his first entry (Tokyo Drift) is to this day regarded as the weakest link. Lin listened to the fans and got back to the basics of what made this fiction work and the result was a cacophony of stunts that continued to push the envelope, an added level of brawling combat and gunplay, but most importantly characters that had explosive chemistry together. Fast & Furious 6 is the most recent entry and it’s a rarity to find any franchise capable of holding up to that kind of mileage. If any of you have concerns regarding the possible sputtering of a series long overdue to be put to bed, know that Fast & Furious 7 is already in pre-production and we’ve just gotten past opening weekend for #6. No studio is dumb enough to gut that kind of golden calf before at least running it (humiliatingly) into the ground.

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Is the franchise hanging on for dear life?

Writers Chris Morgan and Gary Scott Thompson return to pen F&F6 and they try really hard to duplicate the general plot points of the last film: assemble the team, give them a challenge, car stunts, punches to the face, victory. It sounds simple enough, but Fast Five was such an incredible experience for being the first to draw in all the marquee characters from the previous films and added The Rock to the mix as the cherry on top. In effect, the F&F franchise capitalized on an “Avengers” effect even before that movie came out. Unfortunately, most of what the audience experiences in 6 feels awfully familiar as we see our favorite criminals with hearts of gold doing the same things they’ve done before with the same level of camaraderie. The story still feels big, but the logistics of getting these main characters back into the conflict seems a tad convoluted and everything else that follows from character arcs to twists come off as slightly ridiculous.

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The team is back. Now give the audience a reason to stay.

I think the film trailers actually worked against the writers in that they revealed too many major plot twists such as spear hooks into giant planes and the return of Letty, someone believed to have been dispatched as of the fourth film. Perhaps the trailer reveals wouldn’t have been so bad had there been larger spectacles and/or developments lying in wait, but this was not the case. To compensate, Morgan and Thompson reach further back into the franchise mythos to resurrect slightly more obscure characters which is nice for nostalgia, but not enough to keep the Fast and Furious formula fresh. What’s worse is that to appreciate F&F6 you must have seen every previous film because the references to the past and a thematic return to what once was in the very first film is the engine for this film. That being said, the story is entertaining enough while maintaining that satisfying focus on family as well as a couple of neat developments along the way.

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Guess who’s back?

For a franchise built on car races and stunts, I find it disappointing yet somewhat inevitable for it to have evolved into a more standard action/adventure film. There’s also a hell of a lot of jumping, falling and launching of bodies in this movie which is an interesting curveball to the action, but seems far too super-heroic even for former street racers, hackers and ex-FBI to be capable of. F&F6 features the most combat action from gunplay and fisticuffs to date which is executed very well on screen, but plays a second fiddle to the true spectacle: massive set-piece-chaos. Notable sequences are the car chase around London and the climactic run-in with a military transport plane near the end. The problem with both of these sequences is that we’ve seen chases similar to the prior and the latter boils down to movement in a straight line for what seems to be a 30 mile runway. The absurdity of the action mirrors the exponential proficiency of each and every protagonist which, despite the separation in real and in-film time between all the sequels, still feels like Paul Walker is trying to squeeze out an extra 10 horsepower from his cheesy import. None of this will probably to most fans seeing how a 6^th entry in a film series has more to do with luring crowds in with familiarity rather than innovation. But know this, at no one point does F&F6 outshine its predecessor in any aspect of filmmaking, which leads me to conclude that Justin Lin needs a satisfying and conclusive way to wrap up this fiction for part 7 before it gets recognized as Saw’s spiritual successor.

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Tyrese believes he can fly.

Performances across the board for F&F6 were reliable and expected. No one outshines anyone else and every character (save for Letty) behaves exactly as they have with no surprises. That being said, this film is all about Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto and every other character, even The Rock, falls in line. I’m sure Diesel is a great guy to work with, but his emotional range varies between mopey-eyed to angry-mopey-eyed and that’s it. This is unfortunate considering this film gave his character an opportunity to emote a little more in between bouts of crashing and punching. Luke Evans as the nefarious Shaw presents as generic of a villain as one can get, but then no villain in a F&F film ever stood out something to truly watch out for either the characters’ or audience’s perspective. They’re all merely speed bumps to the action and camaraderie. The Rock, Dwayne Johnson, is noteworthy because he’s still himself and built like he could run through a brick wall without suffering a scratch. Like the rest of the cast, he doesn’t really show anything new acting wise, so if you are interested in that, I suggest you check out Pain & Gain.

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Can you still smell what I’m cooking?

The true theme of Fast & Furious 6 is: “been there, done that.” If you want you your fill of action and consider yourself too cool for super heroes, too dumb for sci-fi or too interested in a sex life for fantasy, this film will adequately address your needs. But it is also by no means a game-changer for this summer as something truly remarkable to see and this will reflect at the box office. Fast Five represented the peak of what this franchise was capable of accomplishing in terms of story, action and character as well as being a natural end that culminates on a high note. Dragging everyone back for this film officially feels like going through the motions and I don’t particularly care for that. The film’s teaser reveal post-credits connects the fiction back to Tokyo Drift (the last sequel in the franchise, chronologically) even seems like jumping the shark because the actor earmarked as the big bad for F&F7 was a real surprise, but in hindsight feels way over the top. Fast & Furious may be biting off of The Expendables and that franchise is already getting as tired, old and dusty as Stallone himself.

Movie News Reviews

Movie Review: The Great Gatsby (2013)

Neither Good, nor Great, but OK

A Film Review of The Great Gatsby

By: Lawrence Napoli

One of the “Great American Novels” gets yet another adaptation for the silver screen thanks mostly to the efforts of director Baz Buhrmann in his 2013 vision of The Great Gatsby. Seeing the teaser trailers for this project back in 2012 certainly had me brewing with anticipation because it looked big, bold and was riddled with star power. After having seen the final cut, I am once again reminded of the trailer’s ability to make any film look 100% better than what it actually may be. This film is yet another shameless Hollywood adaptation/reboot due to zero motivation to deliver something original, but makes sense revisiting at this point in American history thanks to the story’s commentary in regards to class, greed, decadence and the human behavior that results from all of the above. Unfortunately, this film doesn’t quite deliver the same kind of impact from the original novel nor does it deliver the intimacy that defined the 1974 version starring Robert Redford. 2013’s Gatsby had a lot of things going for it, but there were too many things getting in the way of simply telling a good story that ultimately let this film down.

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Things look pretty good from my self-made ivory tower.

The first hindrance for this film was the choice to have the story narrated via a strict regimen of flashbacks by an embittered Nick Carroway. The world of Gatsby’s decadence is a world that begs to be immersed within, but the film forces the audience’s perspective away from that time period to the present date in the 1930s. Apparently it was necessary to remind the audience that Nick’s retelling of Gatsby’s story was therapeutic. This happens far too often during the film which challenges the viewer to invest emotionally in one era or the other.

This criticism alone would not be so problematic had it not been accompanied by an even greater distracting element to the story: the incessant voice-overs by Nick Carroway that frequently interrupt and abbreviate dialogue scenes and dramatic moments. Oh yes readers, the voice of Tobey Maguire as Nick Carroway is a constant presence and although this story is meant to be told from his perspective, his character is perhaps the least important. Nick is the everyman who is put into privileged situations who merely observes the wealthy and powerful at play. The fact that his image and voice are featured in virtually every scene prevents any other character to take on a life of their own. The narration is so overbearing that it feels like every plot point is cherry picked for the audience, leaving nothing to independent interpretation.

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Don’t mind me. It doesn’t really matter that I’m here.

The third jarring element to this film that I didn’t find nearly as egregious as the previous two was the use of anachronous music selections to fill the background noise of Gatsby’s world with a little more flavor. I could understand if the choice for using contemporary pop tracks was made to subliminally connect the kinds of things that happened during the 1920s to today, but all I have to do for that is to turn on the news, go to school, go to work or basically wake up in the morning to see rich people taking advantage of poor people. It has happened at just about every era of humanity in history, but let’s not split hairs here. The fact that Jay-Z was the executive producer for this film has everything to do with his and Beyonce’s songs (amongst others) being used throughout. This choice was made less for artistic integrity and more for increasing appeal to the masses because period pieces are not the kind of blockbusters American audiences are interested in turning out in droves for. Using music that was out-of-time in fictions such as BioShock Infinite or Luhrmann’s own Moulin Rouge worked much better because the nature of those stories were more psychological and fantastic. This Great Gatsby is a film that barely attempts to approach that level of surrealism.

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99 problems and a self-absorbed producer is one.

As the director and one of the screenwriters for this film, Baz Buhrmann bears the responsibility for these criticisms. For someone who has made a career of blowing up conventional filmmaking, I find it surprising he would choose to interpret The Great Gatsby in a manner that forcibly connects all the dots for the audience. I felt that his visual aesthetics were mostly on mark in terms of framing, camera movement and the use of special effects. I felt that his best work is experienced during montage sequences that revolve around the consumption of massive amounts of alcohol. Unfortunately, it appears as though his strength does not lie in conveying what most would refer to as “the standard drama.”

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Drunken fun.

The visual style of The Great Gatsby features lots of cool, period costumes and settings, but these are combined with certain visual effects that allows the audience to get a much wider view of the tri-state area during the Roaring 20’s. There are several moments that feature aerial views from miles away that zoom up to or away from the key action or dialogue that is being featured in the scene. This is a particularly neat effect that my lovely girlfriend observed as a reflection of Gatsby as a character: always wanting to be right there with the important activity, but always feeling like an outsider (a.k.a. so close, yet so far). This leads to the audience’s exposure to a healthy amount of close-ups and wide-shots which doesn’t necessarily hurt the story, but it takes some getting used to.

I didn’t care very much for any of the performances in this rendition of The Great Gatsby. Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan gives the audience a healthy dose of lustful gazes and teasing smiles, but I would have preferred her to share these moments with some of her co-stars so as to develop some onscreen chemistry, of which there is none. I suppose she cannot be blamed entirely as the script does limit her opportunities, but she could certainly control the projection of her own character. I found it interesting how she went for more sympathy by portraying Daisy as a victim of circumstance rather than a willing perpetrator of decadent living. Her rendition of Daisy is not nearly as dainty and superfluous as is depicted in the novel, but doing so works against the sentiment of vilifying the super rich for what they do to Gatsby as stated by several of Nick’s narrations. Mulligan’s performance felt too neutral for me.

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More of this, please.

Tobey Maguire’s Nick Carroway is supposed to be the audience’s gateway into this cinematic world, but when his character isn’t busy telling the audience what to think; his “in world” character only emits a gradient of bewilderment as his constant emotional state for most of the film. I understand that his character (as most normal people) would be perplexed by the super rich lifestyle and the kinds of behavior that is considered “acceptable” amongst their ranks. Tobey gives the audience too much of the deer in the headlights look, but it is his failure to shift status to a more assertive character via improved demeanor and line delivery that fails to sell his character as truly having enough of the decadent BS. Maguire’s wounded puppy routine works fine up to the point where he starts sounding off in disgust during the film’s third act. His character simply has no presence in any scene and perhaps this was a conscious choice between the director and actor, but it also does little to generate an emotional connection with an audience meant to appreciate his perspective above all others for this story.

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I’m the true main character (if you didn’t realize by now).

Leonardo DiCaprio’s Gatsby is a character that is seldom depicted as a leader of men with a clear sense of purpose and a demonstrative presence. His character’s introduction is veiled in this kind of false confidence only to be revealed as being manically uncertain, naive, and uneasy. I can appreciate DiCaprio’s choice to portray this character in this manner due to the truth of his origin, but these moments out-number and out-class the scenes where Gatsby is meant to generate sympathy via the charismatic honesty he is meant to share with Nick and Daisy. These genuine moments simply pale in comparison to moments when it seems he’s about to have an aneurism when he fails to impress Daisy or sweats bullets when he’s clearly not in control of a situation. The unconfident Gatsby comes off as too over-the-top while the sincere Gatsby struggles to dig out from underneath Carroway’s narration and limited screen time.

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I may have hemorrhoids.

My favorite performance was that of Joel Edgerton as Tom Buchanan whose role as the de facto antagonist doesn’t exactly have the same internal conflicts as any other character, but the straight-forward manner in which he plays it is refreshing amidst an ocean of generally weak characters. Tom represents “old money” in every respect which reflects the pinnacle of self assurance (whether it’s justified or not). He’s actually charismatic when he’s not being a bigoted misogynist who best represents the concept of “men as pigs.” Yet, the fact that his performance never succumbs to rage or looses full control suggests that he genuinely believes in his position, regardless of how far from reality it may actually be. I can respect that kind of confidence in a character (even in a villain) and the escalation of Tom’s bourgeois methodology gives the audience some consistency they can count on.

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Where the elite meet to eat.

The Great Gatsby isn’t a terrible film because it still showcases some serious production value as well as some interesting social commentary for anyone attuned to context. Unfortunately, this is not a film I would recommend people to catch in theatres ASAP. Film, as an art form, is meant to communicate through showing and not telling. 2013’s Gatsby is a film that can’t stop telling you everything and it gets very annoying, very quickly. The audience needs to see full conversations between characters, not the Cliff’s Notes version. The audience wants characters to prove what they are on screen through action, not exposition. I’m not even sure if the spoon-fed drama is worse than the immense spectacle the trailers seemed to guarantee, yet the final film didn’t exactly deliver. The hype and expectations for The Great Gatsby were certainly through the roof, but it simply falls way short. Hopefully, the rest of the summer will prove to be more prosperous.

Movie News Reviews

Movie Review: Star Trek Into Darkness

Back to the Past and Into the Future

A Film Review of Star Trek Into Darkness

By: Lawrence Napoli

Before getting right into this review, I’d like to chalk up a victory to internet speculation; which is basically two thumbs way, way up to all of you. Back when J.J. Abrams was tapped to reboot this franchise with a throw back perspective of the original crew’s adventures, message boards all over the net lit up with likely plot points, villains and scenarios. Abrams’ first adaptation in 2009 gave the audience a fresh new take on Kirk, Spock and the rest, but its success as a story was heavily dependent on plot points made famous in both the original series and feature films. This brings us to the images leaked from Star Trek Into Darkness while in production and even more specific predictions hit the internet thanks in large part to the manner in which Abrams’ first story played out. J.J. certainly played coy in response to all the rumors and speculation, but the fact remains that several key predictions of the online community regarding this film are accurate. So again, I say to you all: well done! Your insight serves you well.

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Tron or Trek?

The basic plot for this film continues to make similar allusions to the past exploits of the original crew which is at times its greatest strength as well as its greatest weakness. What’s good about this aspect to the screenplay is the fact that the nostalgia generated from the audience does much to bolster the sympathy factor for every character as well as the stakes they are contending. Of course, what’s bad happens to be predictability; specifically in regards to new characters that are introduced and situations that come off as far too familiar. J.J. went on Jon Stewart’s Daily Show talking about how he continued to want to make these reboots appealing to more than just “Trekkies,” which is all well and good seeing how the “money demographic” of males 18-25 is less likely to be familiar with Kirk and Spock’s original adventures. If these tales worked once before, why wouldn’t they work again with an even bigger budget? However, what’s most impressive about the script is that despite all the action and all the past references is that writers Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof still manage to make Star Trek Into Darkness an intimate exploration into both Kirk and Spock, what binds them together as well as what drives them forward. This intimacy chains to the rest of the cast which really promotes a family dynamic amongst the crew and this makes the audience care that much more. Overall, the script delivers a very accessible sci-fi adventure that focuses on action, but delivers dramatic character interplay minus the scientific jargon that tends to fill out the dialogue of standard issue Trek.

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Star Trek’s version of WMDs perhaps?

As for the action, it is a cavalcade of CG wizardry, wire-work and wreaking havoc with pyro which is exactly what this rebooting effort has been all about thus far. What’s interesting, though, is that Into Darkness continues to not favor starship warfare as the de facto action option. Certainly a budget of $190 million dollars can afford us a glimpse into futuristic people doing futuristic things without the aid of toy models. Just about every character gets put into harm’s way with their boots on the ground which makes for some satisfying chase sequences and hand-to-hand fisticuffs at various points throughout. As important as those elements to a Star Trek adventure may or may not be, seeing the Enterprise (or its respective counterpart) in action has always been a mainstay. As iconic a vessel as that starship will always be, it is severely underused in this film. Granted, the plot gives the audience a myriad of exposition to explain this little detail away, but the Enterprise is still vital in our protagonists accomplishing their goals. I would have liked to see a lot more space ship action, and I’d really like for the production team to dim the lighting and décor on the bridge a bit. For crying out loud, it seems like the command crew is operating within a tanning booth in the middle of an Apple Store!

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More Enterprise please.

Star Trek Into Darkness continues to showcase some of the best examples of ensemble performances you’ll find in blockbuster films thanks to a number of larger names such as Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg and Karl Urban being comfortable with the smaller, support roles of Uhura, Scotty and “Bones” McCoy, respectively. As much as I’d like to see more of the command crew stand out, shifting the focus of a Star Trek movie away from Kirk and Spock is like shifting the focus of an X-Men film away from Wolverine: It just isn’t going to happen. Still, J.J. seemed very diplomatic in partitioning specific moments for everyone to shine as well as bringing new characters such as Alice Eve’s Carol into the fold who will undoubtedly play a more significant role in Treks to come. Peter Weller (a.k.a. Robocop) takes a break from his voice over work to do some live action as the fairly creepy Admiral Marcus. His talents are better served behind a microphone.

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Was this moment the real reason Alice Eve was tapped for this role?

And speaking of creepers, Benedict Cumberbatch as XXXX equates to the best performance you’ll see from a villain this entire summer. Of course, I refer to his character as XXXX because it’s a major spoiler who he really is, and that gets instantly spoiled if anyone checks out imdb.com. If you know your Trek mythos, allow yourself this additional little surprise by limiting your spoiler-free research to right here at cosmicbooknews.com. That being said, this man has an incredibly intimidating voice that could redefine what it means to be a villain these days in Hollywood (and it already seems to be paying dividends in his additional film work as he has also been cast as the Necromancer in The Hobbit sequels). He doesn’t seem much to look at, but his domineering presence exudes from his dulcet tones. Cumberbatch’s performance was a welcome return to respectable villainy unlike Eric Bana’s Nero in the last film which amounted to one of the worst villains ever conceived in the realm of science fiction.

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This is how you do the stare down.

Chris Pine does a respectable job as he continues to embody a young James Tiberius Kirk, and Zachary Quinto continues to amaze with his various reproductions and slight alterations to Leonard Nimoy’s performance during the original television series. Separately, these men accomplish everything required of their characters, but in the scenes they share, I seem somewhat lost in buying their friendship has evolved to such a degree in such a short time to make their decisions in the third act come from a natural place. It’s not exactly a lack of chemistry I am describing as Pine and Quinto nail the knucklehead/straight man routine quite well, but with only the plots of two films to build their camaraderie, it feels like Kirk and Spock are still feeling each other out and this uncertainty would not translate to such reckless abandon, both exhibit towards the end of the film. Still, their evolution as Kirk and Spock progresses despite the fact they take a giant step forward in their shared “bromance” here. I’d like to see Pine take it down a notch in terms of projecting Kirk as a hot-head, so as to accentuate his suave and smarmy appeal. But perhaps this balance is only attributable to the unique efforts of Mr. William Shatner?

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Hunny, what if it was just us? Would J.J.’s Star Treks still hold water?

Star Trek Into Darknessis a very fun adventure for both adults and kids, men and women. There’s lots of CG eye candy, action and character intrigue. It is a fine example of popcorn films doing their best to entertain. A third Star Trek adaptation from Bad Robot and J.J. Abrams is inevitable, but that film will most certainly have to take more steps into uncharted territory than its brethren in terms of plot points. It’s not enough for J.J. Abrams to remix the tales of old with the aid of youthful exuberance and an old Vulcan from the future giving you tips along the way. There needs to be more separation before anyone with a cursory knowledge of Trek knows the entire story before it even hits the theatres. Outside of this dependence on the past, the Star Trek reboots continue to prove as worthy diversions of summer fun.

Movie News Reviews

Da Vinci’s Demons Review: “The Devil” (Episode 6)

Da Vinci = Van Helsing

A Show Review of Da Vinci’s Demons Episode 6: The Devil

By: Lawrence Napoli

For the first time in this show’s brief history, an episode follows immediately where the previous episode left off which is exactly what the audience needed seeing how last week’s episode: “The Tower,” ended with the unexpected return of Dr. Bashir . . . er, The Turk played by our good friend Alexander Siddig. Unfortunately, what “The Devil” reveals in furthering Da Vinci’s quest for discovery, meaning and purpose really starts to get muddled in what seems to be an incredibly random side quest as is suggested by The Turk himself.

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Warning: There’s a lot of male nudity in this episode.

Attention readers: This is where my Van Helsing reference comes into play and how it corresponds to the individual for which this episode (“The Devil”) was named, and that’s all you’re going to get from me. Even if we are talking about the same time period in history as it pertains to Da Vinci and “Person X,” there are a number of reasons why this chance encounter vexes me greatly. First, I can understand the novelty of writing something like this into the story, but this kind of plot twist feels an awful lot like jumping the shark which makes no sense for a show that very recently got picked up for a second season as of last month. Second, introducing “Person X” as a relevant character to this story completely undermines every form of opposition Da Vinci has encountered so far. Third, it just seems too farfetched for how this drama was established; that being, an attempt to explore the fantastic conspiracy and prophecy of Da Vinci’s work and influence within the context of his country’s political stability.

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Simon Belmont could handle him. Can Da Vinci?

It all boils down to what this Book of Leaves journey really means for both Da Vinci and creator David S. Goyer. Who’s to say how it will end and what Da Vinci will ultimately learn from it, but let’s not forget that merely introducing this mystery to the character (as a means of resolving some deeply felt mommy issues) motivated Da Vinci to get his work out of the studio and into society. That connection is what makes this interpretation of Da Vinci interesting and easy to empathize with. The further Da Vinci drifts towards the Book of Leaves, the further he drifts from every other character this show has so painstakingly connected to the fate of the main character and this sensation is simply impossible to deny once the credits roll for this episode.

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If you see me, that means the Book of Leaves, which means everything else disappears!

Since Da Vinci’s relevance to the overall plot seems to take a hiatus, more supporting characters and subplots come to the forefront. The three brewing subplots that are touched upon are Lorenzo’s political leadership, Giulino’s continued ascension to a contributing member of the ruling family and Rome’s nefarious leadership imploding on itself. By themselves, these plots are all very interesting so long as they connect back to the main character. This is why Da Vinci’s diminished capacity resolved so well during last week’s episode. Unfortunately, none of these situations make a connection to Leonardo’s field trip, they feel rushed because they all happen during this episode and they accentuate Da Vinci’s absence which benefits no one.

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We may be getting lost.

Thanks to “The Devil,” I am concerned that interesting characters like the spy and Count Riario continue to fade to obscurity thanks to the introduction of even more new characters that seem equally important to the events surrounding Europe’s landscape as well as Da Vinci’s quest. I do not take kindly to being introduced to characters who are set up to fulfill certain roles, only to be ushered away from them to satisfy a particular aspect of Da Vinci’s quest which still doesn’t actually get him a step closer to his goal. It seems like an unreasonable sacrifice for the viewer to make when the strength of this show has been about making interesting connections between characters and situations. Viewers should not have to wait for another episode to at least get a hint of some connection.

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Do you remember when I was a promising villain?

I didn’t care for much of this episode other than two quotes which I feel are central to Da Vinci as well as being significant social commentary 1) “Hell exists if the evil of this world exceeds our belief to conquer it.” And 2) “All things are possible. Even defeat.” The first suggests the kind of empowerment felt initially by Da Vinci to do something with his gifts and the second suggests Da Vinci ought to address his greatest weakness: lacking any sense of humility. Perhaps these ideas will take form in next week’s episode: “The Hierophant.” Or perhaps Da Vinci will have a run-in with Medusa.

Movie News Reviews

Review: Da Vinci’s Demons Episode 5: “The Tower”

Da Vinci = Liberace

A Show Review of Da Vinci’s Demons Episode 5: “The Tower”

By: Lawrence Napoli

My titular suggestion of whom else I feel Da Vinci channels in this fifth episode of Da Vinci’s Demons is more than a reference to the many examples of “air piano” he displays throughout as he attempts to work out the predicament he finds himself in. Indeed, last week’s episode ended with an extreme curve ball that saw him in handcuffs at the very moment he was finally receiving full acceptance and praise within the epicenter of Florence’s power. Even during the Renaissance, it was a very bad idea to get on the wrong side of anyone in power because the manner of “due process” the viewer witnesses here apparently requires no evidence to see a person be jailed indefinitely. Ah, but Da Vinci’s powers of observation and reason are equal to the task as his abilities are easily applied to just about any situation; not just inventing cool things. It’s not about being smarter than everyone else (because he’d avoid being Florence’s whipping boy amidst the intercession of Rome), but about cutting to the quick faster than everyone else which reveals the true benefactor, the true motive and the true conspiracy that seeks to remove Da Vinci from the game in which Florence’s freedom hangs in the balance.

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Bat shit crazy!

Although we see plenty of scenes of Da Vinci in prison, the engine of this episode is the court room drama that seeks to make his imprisonment permanent. These moments are perhaps the most pleasing of this episode because it gives the audience an entirely unique format in which to experience the story. The extra twist to these proceedings shows a certain someone pledged with Da Vinci’s defense. This begins to redefine their relationship to a level of mutual respect viewers have not yet seen and have these characters ever experienced in their lives. Unfortunately, this does mean this episode is very heavy on dialogue and not particularly abundant with action, laughs and visual effects.

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Witness for the defense.

It also means that other characters continue to step to the forefront in terms of their impact to the story and their ability to connect with the audience. Da Vinci’s Demons continues its strategy of paralleling conflicts that shows the Medici’s attempt to sure up their financial situation by securing a foreign account while displaying Da Vinci’s personal plight. As it turns out, this subplot is equally important and shockingly, not mutually exclusive to Da Vinci’s imprisonment. These scenes give the audience a much clearer view of what the Medici family represents, the kind of people they really strive to be and their vision moving forward into the future. In just about every episode prior to The Tower, the Medici’s are portrayed as your average ruling class snobs that are completely out of touch with “the people.” Certainly, Da Vinci’s influence has been bridging that gap, but Lorenzo’s sales pitch combined with Giulino’s charm gives us a reverse perspective from the top down that doesn’t repulse or disgust. Knowing Lorenzo’s manic nature, I don’t fully trust his high minded idealism as I could easily see him turn on Da Vinci (and by extension, the audience) instantly if he saw profit in it.

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Not even this ugly beard will prevent me from getting to the truth.

The Tower is easily my favorite episode thus far mostly due to the court room drama format. Although this episode is less concerned with the Book of Leaves, it ends with the surprising return of a person who set Da Vinci on this path of discovery in the first place. The audience is treated to more cryptic imagery that doesn’t exactly make sense so hopefully we will discover the connection between Da Vinci and the Vault of Heaven before this first season is over. The one thing I don’t care for at all is the fact that Riario and his Roman conspirators are not seen once during this entire episode. Although, I imagine this situation will be rectified in next week’s episode entitled “The Devil”. God only knows how Da Vinci will continue to survive, let alone discover the Book of Leaves, despite the immensity of his adversity.

Movie News Reviews

Da Vinci’s Demons Review: Episode 4: “The Magician”

Da Vinci = Batman

A Show Review of Da Vinci’s Demons Episode 4: “The Magician”

By: Lawrence Napoli

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The end of last week’s episode saw Florence all but folding in on itself what with “demonic” possession, spies amongst the ruling family and the flippant Leonardo Da Vinci of all people being relied upon to tip an inevitable conflict with Rome in his own country’s favor. This episode escalates the situation to the closest we’ve all come to witnessing a field battle along the lines of Braveheart or The Patriot, but to have such a conflict only halfway through such an abbreviated, first season could possibly spoil the finale. Thus, we are all given a nice tease as to what we may expect when Florence and Rome set their armies against each other.

As a character, Da Vinci becomes more and more difficult to get a grasp of during this episode which is not necessarily a bad thing considering David S. Goyer’s conscious efforts to portray the man as physically incapable of containing and channeling the brilliance within him. As the title of this review suggests, Da Vinci demonstrates the same DIY, self confidence and determination as a certain Dark Knight. However, it is Leonardo’s sudden change of heart amidst his constant pondering of the Vault of Heaven, the Book of Leaves, the security of Florence and keeping the Medici’s off his ass where this connection is demonstrated by an oddly timed moment of clarity. Rome is on Florence’s doorstep which forces Da Vinci’s rumination to a depressing state in which he all but admits the constant and perpetuating destructive nature of man, which leads to a flip flop (of sorts) concerning his own infernal devices and a rash reaction that surprises every single character.

Da Vinci’s manic nature can be a bit frustrating to accept because he is brilliant and charming and clearly the protagonist of this show, but his attention span is short, his motives still seem a bit selfish and even his own friends are getting irritated by his actions. No, he’s not as easy to like as Iron Man because Da Vinci’s comedy isn’t nearly as frequent, but Tom Riley continues to evolve this character with peaks and valleys in a way that challenges the viewer. I love the fact that Da Vinci is in a world of his own to the point where everything could be collapsing around him and he still wouldn’t care less about such a detail if it interrupted one of his thoughts. It may come off as hubris on steroids, but his unconventional means haven’t backfired yet.

Riario gets back into the direct plot after a brief hiatus last episode to once again come off as the smooth talking sonova-B; he actually is to once again match wits with Da Vinci and the rest of his cohorts from Florence. I like how each confrontation has escalated in terms of the venue and stakes, but I don’t like how Riario is constantly behind the 8 Ball. For someone who claims leadership over a network of spies and information control, he doesn’t have very good facts about Da Vinci the man, his propensity for bravado and his excellent showmanship. As a result, this character is starting to look a little weak to me, and when you factor in his character being handled by Rome in a similar fashion as Florence treats Da Vinci, I expect to see this rabid dog cut loose sooner than later which will make him more threatening and a better villain overall.

This wasn’t a week for special effects of any sort which was kind of a disappointment. Plot twists involving the spy’s conspiracy and the Medici family’s political agenda ate up a lot of time that could have been used to show us all a little more of “Leo Land” from a visual effects perspective. Alas, there’s a lot of dialogue and minimal action and how this episode ends doesn’t suggest the promise of more action in the next episode: “The Tower.” Still, Da Vinci’s pursuit of the Book of Leaves progresses slowly but surely which gives the viewers an explanation as to why this opportunity landed in Florence of all places.

Overall, this was a decent episode that could have been better had it delivered on any one of its various teases (especially one that involves a rather large set piece). I’m really starting to hate Lorenzo as a character and wondering if everyone in Florence would be better off if his brother (who isn’t the blathering idiot he usually is for this episode) was calling the shots. I like what the spy continues to do and I like how any internal conflict about what is being done gives way to self preservation; which yields a more devious character. As for next week’s episode, I really want to know how Da Vinci’s big mouth is going to get him out of this one.

Movie News Reviews

Movie Review: Iron Man 3 (IMAX 3D)

Phase 2 Fizzle

A Film Review of Iron Man 3

By: Lawrence Napoli

Thanks to Robert Downey Jr. (and him alone), the Iron Man franchise has become a household name for the Marvel/Disney Super PAC that isn’t named Spider-Man, Wolverine, Mickey Mouse, Indiana Jones or Luke Skywalker. His performance breathes life into the inanimate and has raised the bar substantially for actors taking roles in the contemporary action/adventure/blockbuster film that is more than likely based on a comic book. Unfortunately, Iron Man is still a man, and apparently Downey isn’t interested in doing these movies for the rest of his career. Yes, Downey is in for The Avengers 2 (which is what Phase 2 is all about), but Iron Man 3 is clearly the official beginning of phasing out Tony Stark from this film universe (thus confirming the rumor that alpha personalities tied to this franchise are walking away) and this impacts Iron Man 3 in a negative way. The parallel to The Dark Knight Rises are undeniable and though we can debate over which final chapter was better than the other, both films could have and should have been more than the final product we all witnessed. Iron Man 3, like Iron Man 2 before it, is guilty of being an average (but expensive) blockbuster. It isn’t fresh and inventive like the first Iron Man, nor does it approach the greatness of Marvel’s The Avengers. For this entire movement of putting the Marvel Universe on film with the infinite resources at its disposal, the crime of going through the motions is inexcusable.

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Is Iron Man flying or falling? You be the judge.

Once enough people fork over the cash to see Iron Man 3 (and don’t you even consider the increased prices for digital DLP projection or IMAX because the 3D effect is 100% NOT worth it), we will finally know what Joss Whedon meant when he was quoted as saying “Now what am I supposed to do now? What am I going to do in Avengers 2?” Everyone in the news media press presumed this was some posturing to the effort made by director/co-writer Shane Black by acknowledging that Whedon’s own plot for the next Avengers would somehow pale in comparison to what others have described as Iron Man’s “epic,” “bombastic,” and “incredible,” third installment. Go ahead and watch the film, then think about that quote one more time. Whedon wasn’t bowing. He was pulling the last strands out of his balding dome over the plot and character limitations imposed on him as a result of Iron Man 3. There are no spoilers here, so if you want to know what I’m talking about, read EIC Matt McGloin’s thoughts. There are only so many places Whedon can go with the Avengers’ MVP and now those possibilities are cut in half.

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So buddy. Where do we go now?

Ultimately, the story of Iron Man 3 is a whole lot of blather that involves Tony Stark’s spring cleaning of some trivial domestic issues back in the US. The Mandarin is blowing up American landmarks and he’s a crazy terrorist that needs to be put down. I found it hilarious how his buddy James Rhodes actually makes reference to this situation: “Aren’t you running around with the Super Friends now?” as to suggest that his involvement in this plot is a little low-ball for Tony. What was suggested as a terrorist plot for some sort of world control boils down to a personal grudge between massive egos in this fictitious, scientific community. What was hinted as Tony becoming an even more devoted partner to Pepper Potts is glazed over thanks to a time consuming, Sherlock-ian investigation and is used as a shameless plot device to usher in what will be the end of Robert Downey Jr. in these films. What would have been possible in seeing the fallout of the invasion of New York is completely swept under the rug with another convenient plot device of Tony’s frequent panic attacks which allows this script to ignore The Avengers completely.

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You know, I could have used you in The Avengers.

I didn’t like any of this. It reaffirms the fact that while Iron Man is a cool Marvel personality, he has the worst rogue’s gallery of every major comic book hero. It tells me in a world where aliens have invaded and can potentially invade again, terrorism in any capacity is somehow still relevant. This script only introduces more important, personal issues with Tony Stark (the man) only to ignore them in order to focus on the active plot of pitting Iron Man against some obscure villain. The story is still funny in that it still shows off Tony Stark as an ego driven, genius, philanthropist, playboy, but there’s just so much of it shoved in your face from start to finish that the audience is left wondering if even Stark is taking any of this seriously even when he gets angry after the conflict hits way too close to home. The climax and resolution of this film treats the audience like children by presenting us with several brand new toys (plot twists) and then taking them away immediately, never to be seen again. The bullet points of Iron Man 3 too closely resemble those of Iron Man 2 and nothing that happens in this film (even in the post credits teaser) introduces, suggests or even slightly hints at anything that could be happening for The Avengers 2. Perhaps this is Hollywood mimicking the comic book industry by employing a lot of writers all in charge of their own projects and are somehow expected to be relevant to the crossover arc the company as a whole is trying to promote. Whedon was right. I have no idea what the heck he’s going to do with Tony Stark now.

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Don’t tell me the dream is dead.

Iron Man 3 is not a total loss (despite the fact it is a big disappointment) and most of that credit goes to the action and visual effects on display. $200 million yields plenty of massive set pieces that get devastated from gun fire, missiles and massive explosions. It also yields lots of awesome Iron Man aerial maneuvers, combat and technology. I must say that it was a real treat to see Stark’s ‘Iron Family’ at work during the climax, but my criticism of them is twofold. First, they only pay off in a minimal way thanks to how they end up (but that’s another writing criticism) and second, the different armors don’t really show off their individual specializations very well. The only one that stands out is the ‘Hulk Buster’ armor we’ve all seen in the trailers, which is used to do one thing and never seen again. As a result, the Iron party is more like a lot of copy/pastes with different paint jobs that still look sleek and realistic, but all do the same thing. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Robert Downey Jr. engaging in a lot more action out of the suit in this film, but those sequences are surprising at displaying Tony Stark’s martial prowess (I’m pretty sure Matt Murdock isn’t his sensei). I like that the plot forces Tony out of the tin can for no other reason than giving the audience something different to look at which is still stimulating, though not as sexy as the suit. Eye candy alone will see this film easily double its budget, but it won’t see Avengers money.

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Here we come to save the day.

I have no complaints about the performances in Iron Man 3 because the overall cast demonstrates their veteran prowess. Guy Pearce’s Aldrich Killian is your stereotypical bad guy/crazy evil genius, and I knew his character was going to be that way because the man’s made a career of playing *ssholes in movies. Don Cheadle, the man who should have been established as James Rhodes in the first Iron Man, produces another fine performance as the Iron Patriot who secretly pines for a resurrection of War Machine which produces a few memorable laughs amidst Stark’s constant “I’m a needy genius” comedy throughout. Jon Favreau is thankfully limited to screen time in the beginning of the film as Happy Hogan (ugh, how is he still skulking around the sets of these films?). Rebecca Hall as Maya Hansen presents a character meant to be plagued by the ethics/morality of science unchecked (which is a plot point that dies before given a real chance to live), but she is hilarious when making reference to her role in Ben Affleck’s The Town in the beginning of the movie. Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts is once again personable, elegant and charming, and I really enjoyed when her character is called upon to get her fists dirty, but that too is muffled thanks to shoddy writing. Paul Bettany simply does not get enough credit as the voice of Jarvis in all of these films, so I’ll give him a much deserved shout-out now because his dignified delivery is matched only by his brilliant comedic timing.

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Wait a minute! We can do stuff outside of the armor?

A word on Ben Kingsley as The Mandarin in Iron Man 3: I totally get what they were trying to do with this character, but I cannot fathom how Shane Black lured an actor of Kingsley’s caliber into this film with the red herring his character represents. Let’s not confuse the quality of his performance with the irrelevance of his character. Kingsley delivers; plain and simple. You may think the lines of dialogue we’ve all heard in the trailers may sound annoying thanks to his disjointed delivery, but that goes away to reveal something much more entertaining, hilarious and actually thought provoking when considering the world’s modern experience with terrorism. Perhaps the uniqueness of the satire is what hooked Sir Ben; that and one fat paycheck.

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I am more (or less) than what I appear to be.

Robert Downey Jr. is Tony Stark. It’s all been said and it’s all true once again.

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Seriously? Were you expecting anything less?

This movie was good, but it is not great. Iron Man 3 is very entertaining in presenting amazing visual effects while coalescing them with uniquely hilarious dialogue and circumstances. Unfortunately, without any effort to move the Avenger franchise forward with Tony Stark’s individual efforts in this film, it makes this story a complete waste of time. It’s great that Tony still cares about stuff at home, both in his country and his personal life. It’s great that he’s still at work doing his innovative Iron-Man-thing. It’s great that he feels anguish over the invasion of New York. But let’s expand on all of those plot points, not just leave them behind in the dust. For a character all about transformation and improvement, there really isn’t a concept of change that matters for Tony Stark. He’s the same human dynamo that is simply put into another dangerous situation that he can skillfully address thanks to his own efforts. A $200 million dollar investment should be thinking about doing more than giving me another day in the life of the amazing Tony Stark especially when you consider the future of the character moving forward. Phase 2 is in like a lamb, and it is left to Joss Whedon to insure that it goes out like a lion.

Movie News Reviews

Movie Review: Pain & Gain (2013)

Mischief. Mayhem. Steroids.

A Film Review of Pain & Gain

By: Lawrence Napoli

[Readers, please humor me by reading the following paragraph]

You’ve just finished a 3 hour work out and you’re sore all over. You’ve put in the work, but now you want to max out on a final bench press before you call it a night. You start off real slow, just to make sure what’s left of your muscles can take it and then you speed it up. Just as you start to pick up the pace, the gym manager shouts out 5 minutes to closing; you keep going. That babe you were trying to impress all night finally cuts you a look and a smile and your adrenaline spikes; you go faster. You notice some fed up mother dragging her screaming children out of day care and then she curses out loud, calling her kids rotten bastards. It all pisses you off and you go even faster. The cleaning crew starts making their way to the main area of the gym, but while one talks the other doesn’t notice the free weights left out on the floor; he trips and falls flat on his face which gets you to snicker. You’re feeling a good burn now, but the manager shouts your name to get the hell out and he stomps over to your direction only to collide with a six foot blonde, taking both to the ground. Turns out she’s a transvestite (because mesh shorts + no underwear was too revealing as she went down) and she proceeds to spill a giant bag of dildos she was smuggling out of the gym (where did she get them in the first place?). Everything just got weird, but you’ve never felt stronger or lifted more in your life so you still keep going. A homeless man then stumbles through the front doors, drops ‘trow and defecates right there on the spot. The lactic acid rushes over you, you’re way past pure exhaustion and you feel the dry heaves of vomit curdling up only to realize your arms have already given out. The weights crash down on your chest and roll to your throat, effectively choking you out. The paramedics revive you and you feel lucky to be alive, but you don’t feel particularly good right now.

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We’re here to pump you up!

I just spoon fed the entire experience of watching Michael Bay’s Pain & Gain, a true crime story of muscle heads turning to kidnapping, torture and murder in Miami in pursuit of the American dream. Of course, there are no spoilers here, but imagining someone’s final set of the day with all the distractions I mentioned combined with an ever increasing pace is exactly what the viewer will see, hear and feel when they buy a ticket to ride this crazy train. Every aspect of the filmmaking process: the camera movement, the soundtrack, the dialogue, the action and the lighting mimics the relentless pace of “the final set” in such an undeniable way that I have to admit that this film is Michael Bay’s most artistic film. Please understand, however, that Bay has always been the stereotypical “Hollywood Guy” that could only tell a story if there were explosions here, explosions there; explosions everywhere! I am certain this film takes several liberties with some of the facts regarding the exploits of Daniel Lugo, but in moments where viewers couldn’t possibly believe what they were seeing was true, the film reminds the audience that this all still happened. Bay shelves his love for pyro with a slight over-abuse of the slow motion visual effect, but there is no mistaking the “bigness” of this film as anything other than a Michael Bay production even without the presence of giant robots or Sean Connery.

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There’s gotta be at least 1 explosion.

The actual plot of Pain & Gain is relatively straight forward and as basic as crime stories get, but screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely apparently binged on Neveldine and Taylor’s Crank franchise prior to writing this script. As a result, manic characters, perpetuating stereotypes, absurd plot twists, and vulgar tone mixed with pure adrenaline turns the crimes committed by Lugo and co. into one hell of an entertaining adventure. Comedy is the key element that pushes the plot forward through a combination of ridiculous dialogue and absurd slapstick. But here’s the catch. These crimes still happened in reality and they ruined/ended the lives of many real people. I cannot help but think that making such a spectacle of Lugo’s exploits in this particular way diminishes the real life tragedy. The counter to this sensation is the fact that Lugo and his crew are depicted as little more than stereotypically dumb body builders who are incredibly high on themselves, extremely gullible and view the rest of the world as somehow owing them more simply for being as awesome as they are.

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This scene was probably more serious in real life than in this film.

Satire is certainly at work here, but as I mentioned earlier, this film never lets up on the single-minded/self-minded nature of the story which disallows the audience to reflect on the utter horror of the crimes thanks to the fact that these meatheads are constantly making themselves look like hilarious idiots. If Pain & Gain is trying to expose the folly and corruptibility of ego-maniacal behavior, this message gets lost amidst the spectacle. The main reason for this is that even when the main characters/antagonists fail, they are never depicted as pathetically low as any of their victims. The audience had more than 4/5 of this film to understand the fact that these men were denser than lead and the fact that the story does not definitively shift to a serious tone pulls back on punches at the end of the film that should be going for a climactic knock out. For a film to be as true of a story as this was, no other was in more need of reality checks.

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I’m as grounded as any character gets in this film.

Pain & Gain is a character driven story and without good performances all around, no film can claim a true cast of “colorful characters.” The one actor the audience would never expect in a film such as this is Ed Harris who plays P.I. Ed DuBois and his presence exists to lend some of that grounded seriousness I just complained that was lacking throughout. As great of an actor as Harris is, his character is simply not important enough in terms of screen time to allow his dialogue and demeanor to leave a lasting appeal. Tony Shalhoub does a solid job as target #1 Victor Kershaw, but he isn’t asked to lift anything heavier than the token scumbag that doesn’t deserve an ounce of sympathy from anyone. Ken Jeong and Rebel Wilson use their specific talents of awkward/absurd comedy to ratchet up the laughs, but neither are given true moments to perform outside of those boundaries.

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Are you a “do”er?

The one performance I was actually disappointed in was that of Anthony Mackie as Adrian Doorbal. I’ve made note of his promising performances in films like Real Steel and The Adjustment Bureau, but he easily stands in the shadow of his other two co stars. A large part of the problem is the fact that he’s playing a body builder and although he’s significantly larger than the skinny body type I’ve always seen him as, he simply doesn’t have the tone and definition of any other muscle head he stands next to (including extras). This takes a large chunk of credibility away from his character and it could have been compensated with a truly marquee performance, but comedy is not Mackie’s strength; it’s drama.

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I look better in Falcon’s armor anyway.

Marky Mark hit the gym a bit more than Mackie prior to filming as his arms certainly showed an upgrade, but the trailers to Pain & Gain made it seem as if Wahlberg was juicing for years. Much of the film is narrated from Daniel Lugo’s perspective as he is technically the main character of this sordid tale of excess fitness. What can I say? Wahlberg knows how to portray flawed confidence, gullible ignorance and absolute absurdity with a straight face. This is vital to Lugo as a character because communicating his disconnect from any traditional morality/ethics in favor of a fitness/self-help inspired credo of “simply doing = godly” explains how this real person was more cartoon character than carbon based life form. Unlike the role he played in The Fighter, Wahlberg is not required to do anything more than play up the meathead in this film and I can only give so much credit to what amounts to a type cast. Wahlberg must have some kind of unspoken/unwritten/unknown connection with Josh Brolin because he has the same tendency of being overshadowed by some (if not all) of his supporting cast. And speaking of whom . . .

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Muscles are my reality. Fitness is my life.

The Rock/Dwayne Johnson/The Brahma Bull is the true star of Pain & Gain. First, being the only true athlete of the cast, he proved that being built like a tank could indeed be improved upon because he looks to have added 20 pounds of pure muscle on top of his already intimidating frame. The man is in impeccable physical condition, but I don’t want to know how many chemicals are coursing through his veins. That aside, Johnson as Paul Doyle is the only character that seems to show any sign of struggling with the jaded nature of the crew’s affairs and this works to his advantage as an actor. He isn’t a talented enough of an actor to actually display a complete shift in demeanor from clueless athlete to tortured soul, but he can keep a straight face while reciting ludicrous lines of dialogue thanks to his experience in the WWF/E. The result is a specific hilarity that actually generates sympathy for the simpleton he plays and let’s just say that when his character rediscovers cocaine, the audience will experience a comedy level beyond the peak of The Rock’s most famous rants of the mid 1990s.

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My boys can smell it. Can you?

Pain & Gain was a tricky film for me to digest due to the intense delivery of so much character development & interactivity, action, comedy and absurdity in such a short amount of time. On a pace rating of 1-10, this film starts at a 9 and exceeds 15 with virtually no time outs. This film is a constant chain lightning of laughs and grotesquery, so the viewer better beware. I like that this film seemed to paint the culture of extreme fitness gone way too far as the true culprit, but the script doesn’t do much to address issues like steroid abuse other than in the first 10 minutes of the film. It appears as though sociopathic tendencies can develop from obsessive devotion to any of life’s sub-cultures and it’s interesting to observe how most involve the “improvement of self” in some way, shape or form. Had this film shown an ability to shift gears to a more serious drama at the right time, Michael Bay would have had a much better film on his hands than an audaciously entertaining romp through the chemically enhanced purple hills of muscle beach. Without reading more meaning into it, Pain & Gain is the first comedy of the summer that’s worth your time thanks to decent performances all around, but an inspired effort by The Rock. That is, of course, if you know what he’s cooking.

Movie News Reviews

Da Vinci’s Demons Review: Episode 3 “The Prisoner”

Da Vinci = Bill Maher

A Show Review of Da Vinci’s Demons Episode 3: “The Prisoner”

By: Lawrence Napoli

Bang! Just as I made an observation concerning the formulaic structure to this show’s episodes, director David S. Goyer goes and throws me a curve ball. Get out of my head, man! Unfortunately, the first couple of minutes of this third episode are no less cryptic, chaotic and curious by cutting to several characters in a sequential order that doesn’t make any sense unless you watch the rest of the episode. Perhaps the purpose of starting every episode in this manner is meant to reflect Da Vinci’s personal thought process which is an incomprehensible collision of ideas that would only make sense to fellow human dynamos. As it is, it’s still somewhat of a frustrating way to start an episode, and even if one were to put the confusing juxtaposition aside, the first moments feel like this entire episode is going to be rushing through some plot. Thankfully, this intro is only a momentary decent into madness.

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The story that is taking form by the end of this episode is certainly branching out to some very interesting places as well as featuring even more established characters and their respective subplots. In fact, Da Vinci takes a bit of a back seat to his supporting cast this time around which makes for more screen time for Giulino Medici (Tom Bateman), Count Riario (Blake Ritson), Clarice Orsini (Lara Pulver) and an as yet unidentified wild card who happens to be introduced in this appropriately titled episode: “The Prisoner.” All that can be said about this new character is that he comes from an older world of wisdom – the very same kind which Da Vinci seeks in his quest for ‘The Book of Leaves,’ and it certainly appears as though “Mr. X” and This third episode unloaded hefty amounts of plot twists and developments that I simply was not expecting: Lorzeno vs. his brother, Lorezno’s wife vs. his mistress, the Pope vs. his enforcer, the enforcer vs. the prisoner and science vs. religion. That last, thematic, conflict is the heart of this particular episode as what appears to be a series of hideous demonic possessions has become quite alarming to the people of Florence so much so that even Da Vinci must take notice and investigate. All right, so maybe Da Vinci isn’t exactly Bill Maher as he isn’t completely dismissive of the devil, but he is still looking at the overall picture as well as the acute details to find nothing but suspicious timing to all of the events he observes.

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I really enjoy the dichotomy this series is delving into between the world of faith, mysticism and religion against the world of fact, reason and science. What’s interesting to think about is that those who are authorities in either world don’t exactly find that much separation between them in how they maintain and utilize their power and influence over others. They also seem to be the kind of people who are so far removed from the trials and tribulations of normal people (i.e. the SUPER rich). This is why Da Vinci presents such a compelling protagonist. At this point in his life, he is only now being recognized for his talents, yet he is still a no-name and is treated as such by those threatened by his abilities (those in power). He is certainly a champion of the people, but this episode is also clear that his own personal demon known only as obsession can get the better of him at times and it remains to be seen if this fatal weakness will be revisited in next week’s episode: “The Magician.”

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Movie News Reviews

Review of Da Vinci’s Demons Episode 2: The Serpent

Da Vinci = Sherlock Holmes

By: Lawrence Napoli

The tale of how Leonardo Da Vinci fits (supposedly) into the political climate of Renaissance Italy and perhaps a greater global web of conspiracy and control continues with “The Serpent.” In this second episode, I already see a structural pattern that may be developing for the remainder of this initial season in that substance induced visions set Leo on the path for which his exploits will follow. The mystery and cryptic nature of Leonardo’s visions dangerously tip toe along the line that separates intrigue and absurdity. This really puts an unnecessary burden on the viewer to really want to see the episode through to the very end before he or she has decided to make that kind of commitment on a Friday night filled with channel surfing. Perhaps creator David S. Goyer’s desire to designate substance abuse during this time period as common as drinking wine ought to be shelved in favor of a slightly more traditional hook to begin episodes. The story of Da Vinci’s Demons is certainly layered with more than enough juicy plot to keep viewers coming back for more that it shouldn’t give them excuses to turn away from the very start.

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Stay with me. The investigation is just getting started.

As for the plot, Leonardo’s pursuit of a once thought, mythological source of knowledge known only as ‘The Book of Leaves’ continues via baby steps in this episode that certainly comes off as an investigation worthy of Sherlock Holmes. Da Vinci continues to use his photographic powers of observation and deduction to connect the events that unfold before him in the city-state of Florence to clues that are vital to his fated path of enlightenment. What makes this episode work a tad better than the first is that other characters are given more opportunities to develop independent of Da Vinci’s presence which not only makes each character rounder, but makes Leonardo’s interaction with them that more meaningful. I also like how this episode reveals the maestro as more than a selfish artisan, but as a loyal patriot to his native Florence. It’s an important development that finally establishes Da Vinci as a hero and not simply smarter than everyone else. Overall, the plot’s progression continues to intrigue as it leaves the viewer with a new destination in mind for our hero which may lead him to entirely new shores.

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It looks like I will be Da Vinci’s nemesis.

It seems as though the budget allotted to each episode via Starz precludes the possibility of having episodes strictly devoted to action and set pieces that require the use of prolonged special/visual effects to get the idea across. Where “The Hanged Man” episode used sparing visual effects for a couple of Da Vinci’s inventions and his “bullet-time vision, “The Serpent” uses effects for his inventions and a harrowing escape involving a rapid ascent via pulleys. Yes, budget limitations can be used to a filmmaker’s advantage in that it forces one to rely on spectacle less and writing/performance more. However, it can also lead to predictability, because if a very elaborate effect is used early in an episode, chances are the audience will not see another. I understand that this is a very nitpicky criticism, but if the idea is to show Da Vinci’s works as awe-inspiring, then showing more visual effects is an inevitability that the budget may not have accounted for.

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Perhaps one of Da Vinci’s infernal devices at work?

The only other character I’m starting to be interested in beyond Da Vinci himself is Lucrezia Donati, played by Laura Haddock, and yes, my interest goes beyond the regular nudity her character engages in. Being a secret agent for Rome (which isn’t portrayed in the kindest light), she is meant to infiltrate the ruling Medici family and report her findings. However, her budding relationship with Da Vinci and her proximity to Lorenzo may have compromised her self-serving nature. She appears to be showing genuine affection to Leonardo, but it may still be her ingratiating herself into his inner circle for nefarious ends. Either way, Lucrezia is a woman to watch for her fate may be more closely tied to Da Vinci’s than any of us realize.

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Keep your eyes on the prize Leo; not the thighs.

I enjoyed this second episode, but I am disappointed at the fact that this first season is already 25% complete. With only 6 episodes left, I feel the show may not have accomplished enough plot-wise to justify a second season which traditionally means a new direction, characters and stakes. Unless, of course, the “second season” is simply “season one: volume 2,” which would make more sense if released within the same year; along the lines of what AMC does with The Walking Dead. Too much downtime between volumes of the same season without some evolutionary leap in the storytelling process would lose viewers and ultimately kill the show. Next Friday’s episode “The Prisoner” will reveal even more, but it remains to be seen how only 8 one hour-long episodes can effectively communicate the conflict between one man of singular intelligence and talent against a sea of corruption, control, greed and violence.

Movie News Reviews

Movie Review: Oblivion (2013)

Obligatory Obliviousness

A Film Review of Oblivion

By: Lawrence Napoli

I appreciated this film as a slightly above average sci-fi adventure. Initially, I was very excited to see this because I was under the impression that it wasn’t a comic book retrofit or an adaptation of any kind, but the title sequence somewhat dashed those hopes as Oblivion was co-written, produced and directed by Joseph Kosinski based on his (unpublished) graphic novel of the same name. The movie trailer peaked my interest due to the sleek look of high technology being juxtaposed with nature, and when you add Tom Cruise to the equation (this being his 2^nd sci-fi film role) Oblivion seemed like a fresh, new spin on sci-fi that audiences would drool over. Then the reality of the film set in. Again, I’m not suggesting that the ultimate execution of this film made the whole experience a wash, but it was a disappointment because the fact remains that it is about as original as your average “zombie apocalypse film.” As a matter of fact, Oblivion = Independence Day’s general idea + Vanilla Sky’s spoon-fed exposition+ Minority Report’s set design+ Armageddon’s culmination + The Matrix’s mind games. Wow, this must mean that Oblivion is the greatest movie ever made right? Let’s just say this film falls well short of that particular designation.

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Just waiting around (for a truly inspired film).

The writing effort behind Oblivion is very inconsistent. The outline of the story’s plot coupled with the main character’s expository narration lays out an intriguing set up for the first half of this film. The idea of two solitary humans maintaining what’s left of planet Earth (for whatever reason) is made personal by the constant inflection of every line of dialogue/narration by Jack (Tom Cruise). The scenario is basic, easy to identify with and the audience cares about Jack because he’s very unassuming; which is a bit of a stretch for an actor like Cruise who has a history of playing more intense characters. Where the writing falters is in the plot details and regular dialogue amongst the rest of the cast. At about the midpoint of this movie, the story takes a turn towards convolution and without properly established exposition and character development, the audience is less inclined to make the leaps of faith that this film demands.

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All work and no explosions make Jack a dull boy.

From that point on the plot gaps take over and become more and more pronounced with every passing minute. Characters are suddenly making decisions and doing things that are completely out of sync. People and places that seemed important suddenly aren’t (and vice-versa); which leads me to the rest of the dialogue. Personal connections between Jack and the rest of the cast were meant to occur, but 50% of everything that is said is filled with brand new plot details that need some kind of explanation which dilutes the impact of the emotive words between anyone that’s meant to be significant to the main character. Writers Joseph Kosinski, Karl Gadjusek and Michael Arndt must have had ideas for a much longer film (think Lord of the Rings), but time and budget restraints must have forced a hasty evolution of the story that is extremely awkward to witness. I would point to those limitations before outright, literary incompetence because the first half of the film was very well established. Tougher writing choices in the beginning to alter the plot directly would have yielded a more seamless, cinematic experience along with an ending that was equally surprising AND satisfying.

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Do you know where this story’s going?

Production designer Darren Gilford certainly used his experience with Tron: Legacy well with his efforts in Oblivion. The elegant, yet simplistic living quarters belonging to Jack and Victoria are deliciously post-modern and tech savvy. Jack’s jet/helicopter/hover hybrid vehicle is just as sleek and streamlined as his apartment and those aesthetic looks also translate to some practical combat applications. I also enjoyed the “hominess” of Jack’s lakeside hideaway on the planet’s surface. Though not as sophisticated, Jack’s earthly retreat has all the amenities, yet provides an interesting contrast to the sterile white, glass and metal elements of his decadent living quarters in the sky. The look and feel of Oblivion screams high production value in every moment. Those familiar with Tron: Legacy will notice several aesthetic set, prop and vehicular similarities (if not direct copies) with this film and while critics may frown at this filmmaker’s low-jacking of his own material (thank you Michael Bay), the design choices in Oblivion worked well in this fictional world.

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Home solutions inspired by The Jetsons

I would not qualify Oblivion as an “intense action film,” but it has two distinctly satisfying action sequences that put this film’s CG and special effects departments in the spotlight. The first is an aerial chase sequence that involves a healthy amount shooting, explosions and maneuvers that seemed eerily similar to the Millennium Falcon’s escape from Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back. The second is an extended ground assault where Jack’s acumen with small arms is put on display (p.s. there’s plenty of pyro at work here as well). There is a very small element of hand-to-hand combat, but this isn’t a kung-fu flick. All in all, the action is not what drives this film forward, but it helps a great deal in keeping the audience in the driver’s seat.

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Action, engaged.

Oblivion is not a film that boasts an ensemble of marquee performances. Tom Cruise does what Tom Cruise does; which is to say he does his best to make a big budget, Hollywood film look as good as it can from his end. He looks great, his physicality is in top form, but his chemistry with the rest of the cast is weak and despite diminished opportunities to develop said chemistry in scenes meant to do exactly that, he could have made a better effort. He’s done so in the past. Morgan Freeman is the other big name in this cast, but his impact is minimal as his character is basically a Macguffin for the entire film. Six and a half minutes of total screen time seems beneath an actor of Freeman’s caliber, but then he probably isn’t approached with too many sci-fi roles nowadays. How far has Melissa Leo fallen since her Academy Award role in The Fighter? Her very small part in Olympus Has Fallen is followed up with a throw-away as Sally (someone who is only seen via video screen) in this film. Love interests Victoria and Julia played by Andrea Riseborough and Olga Kurylenko respectively do the best they can at providing polar opposite alternatives for Jack (disciplined soldier vs. loving rebel). Unfortunately, these women (along with the rest of the cast) don’t have the chance to really make their characters their own. There’s simply not enough time when considering Tom Cruise must apparently be in every scene.

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Is this where we start acting?

Oblivion, like Avatar before it, is a sci-fi adventure that borrows heavily from many stories, films and fictional scenarios made popular in the past. The main difference that separates the greatness of Avatar from the monotony of Oblivion is the dedication to character and placing the importance of character relations over the immensity of plot and exposition. Good characters can cover up many shortcomings in a film production because they are the most direct connection between the moving image and the audience. As likeable as Jack is, his archetype is as common as his name and with no other dynamic personalities to bounce off of; any perceived potential for his character dissipates. This film is the first real sci-fi installment of 2013 which is entertaining, but not all that thought provoking (i.e. the essence of the Summer Blockbuster). This film is worth seeing at some point, but don’t rush out to the theatres for it and certainly don’t even consider seeing it in IMAX or 3D. Having said that let me explain to the reader what ultimately soured me on this film.

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Oh dear, Giuseppe’s about to get on his soap box.

There is a scene that is essentially ripped from the rooftop scene in Vanilla Sky where an important potion of Oblivion’s mysterious plot is revealed, explained and resolved in a way that is patronizing to the characters and to the audience for having invested in the story thus far. This moment instantly invalidated any positive interest I had and insulted me as a viewer for having to be lectured on a left-field, curveball of a plot twist when this movie should have showed me through well planned and executed action. What highlights this eye-rolling low point is the fact that everything that is said in that instant, actually gets shown not moments later in the film at which point I threw up my arms in frustration. The first half of Oblivion seemed like a movie that was going to go somewhere interesting, but it really takes you down an avenue of broken dreams that we’ve all seen and heard before in X number of cinematic adventures before it.

Movie News Reviews

Review: David Goyer’s: Da Vinci’s Demons Episode 1: The Hanged Man

Da Vinci = Tony Stark

A Show Review of Da Vinci’s Demons Episode 1: “The Hanged Man”

By: Lawrence Napoli

Who ever really knew the genius behind the Renaissance polymath? A man of art, philosophy, creativity and ingenuity apparently had himself some inner demons with which he had to deal. At least, that’s what creator David S. Goyer would have you believe for the premium television series debut of Da Vinci’s Demons only on Starz; a show about the mystery surrounding the man, the myth and the legend of Da Vinci as he finds his way in life during tumultuous times.

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Da Vinci, the dynamo.

This debut episode entitled The Hanged Man presents the setting of Florence, Italy during the middle of the Renaissance and the viewer is introduced to Leonardo in the prime of his youth. His creativity is literally bursting from his mind and his eagerness to extract every thought is just as ambitious. Despite the inspiration of the period, there are still social and political restraints that the man must contend with and it is in this specific regard where we learn of his first true demon, namely: how a genius such as he is to fit in with the rest of society.

Tom Riley plays Da Vinci in a manner that directly channels Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark in just about every way. Perhaps this is the preferred method of portraying a human dynamo onscreen these days? Riley shows off a decent amount of charisma with the rest of his cast, but his best moments are shared with the mysterious character known as “The Turk” played by Alexander Siddig whom you will all remember as Dr. Bashir from Deep Space Nine. Riley’s energy matches his arrogance, but it appears that director David S. Goyer has steered Riley’s performance to reserved calm and focus whenever Leonardo engages in painting or drawing portraits; specifically those of beautiful women.

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Dr. Bashir, I presume?

Oh yes fellow viewers, Da Vinci’s Demons won’t be appearing in high school classrooms anytime soon due to its R-rating for language and nudity and as this is more of a fictional elaboration of the man’s life, it won’t be appearing on the History Channel either. I get a very distinct Assassin’s Creed sensation while watching this show as not only the set and costume design mirror those used in Assassin’s Creed II, Brotherhood and Revelations, but the concepts of conspiracy and shadow government is a thinly layered veil that obscures the events in which Da Vinci participates. Being a man of singular talent, he values the freedom to pursue his own machinations above all else so it remains to be seen if the protagonist will be presented as a proponent of social freedom, of social control or simply a man out for himself.

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Da Vinci, the lover.

The only weakness of this debut episode is the fact that the show launches the viewer immediately into a plot rife with betrayal and conspiracy without being thorough about introducing Leonardo himself and what he’s all about. Goyer is counting on people being somewhat familiar with Da Vinci’s history as he gradually introduces his own unique vision of the man over the course of the next seven episodes. Honestly, I would have preferred a tad more time (perhaps even the entire episode) devoted to strictly establishing the character of Da Vinci. The audience is shown a multitude of the man’s talents over a fraction of the screen time which feels like the show is rushing through Leonardo’s key traits and abilities.

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What drives Da Vinci to his multiple areas of expertise?

This show will not suffer from a lack of production value as the visual effects look great, but are used sparingly for wide establishing shots of various cities and provinces in addition to an impressive means of communicating Da Vinci’s photographic memory in the form of bullet time. This show certainly looks the part of a well developed series, but I still have a question in regards to the cast of characters. Although those of power certainly could be forms of opposition to Leonardo, no one appears to be worthy of being his intellectual foil. Perhaps the series will be pitting intelligence against politics and money and that would indeed be a fresh take on what the concept of “true power” means in society and how it pertains to groups as well as individuals. However, I get the impression that we may be in store for a singular adversary to Da Vinci which would be a tad formulaic and somewhat diminishing of the man’s well established brilliance. I would equate this potential conflict to pitting Superman against Lex Luthor: there really isn’t a match there. But, Superman versus world peace, world hunger, climate change, terrorism, etc; that would be very interesting because it pits an individual of infinite capacity against problematic ideas that are self replenishing.

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Plenty of inventions are showcased in this show.

The Hanged Man was a good first episode, but I really need to see more of Leonardo’s character. He easily comes off as superior to his peers in every category save for resources, but he needs to generate a tad more sympathy to be “heroic.” I anticipate next week’s episode: The Serpent, to unravel a bit more of the shadowy plot, even more of his iconic inventions and dynamic applications of his natural talents. But, I also want to see a better connection between the main character and the audience rather than glazing over the mundane details of his personal relations.

Head on over here for a preview to the next episode of Da Vinci’s Demons, “The Serpent.”

Movie News Reviews

BioShock Infinite Video Game Review

Stand Tall for the People of America!

“The Good” of BioShock Infinite

By: Lawrence Napoli

Story:

Story is one of this game’s strongest elements because it gives repetitive shooting renewed context in every chapter which motivates the player to plow ahead. As the protagonist Booker DeWitt, the player navigates the fictional city of Columbia: a floating city in the clouds that is the result of unparalleled technology not present in the real world’s recollection of the American industrial revolution circa 1912. An ex-Pinkerton (or thug that breaks up organized labor), Booker is no stranger to violence, but he is coerced to go to Columbia himself to extract a girl known as Elizabeth because his employers hold some sort of debt over Booker which he cannot repay on his own. Upon arriving at Columbia, the player is introduced to what seems like nothing short of magic although it is explained to be the result of otherworldly or rather, other-timely technology. As Booker infiltrates the city, he is forced to deal with a multitude of armed opposition, a brewing civil war and a mechanical menace known as Songbird with only his trigger finger and Elizabeth herself to aid his quest. She is somehow at the center of the entire conflict, but the facts are shrouded in deceit and few native Columbians are forthcoming. Capitalism, communism, civil rights, racism, inequality, and the good old fashioned military-industrial-complex is touched upon during Booker’s journey so get used to the sensation of heavy handed metaphors at work throughout this game.

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“Heavy”

Mechanics:

Vigors– BioShock’s most notable mechanic in the form of pairing weapons with superpowers formerly referred to as “plasmids” have returned in the form of “vigors” in Infinite. These powers function in almost the exact same capacity as established in previous games by giving the player a means of altering tactics to an ever evolving threat level based on differing numbers and abilities of the opposition. Every vigor has an alternate deployment by holding the left bumper button which engages more powerful versions that usually take the form of traps which the player can lay on any surface. Some of these powers give the player mastery over fire, water and lightning while others produce defensive or distraction effects that can be more valuable especially on higher difficulty levels where conserving health is mandatory. Vigors can also be combined to have compound effects when used in tandem. They are all very fun to use and upgradeable at the various automaton stations littered throughout Columbia.

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Thus I present the vigor known as “Shock Jockey”

Equipment– Infinite is the first BioShock game to utilize an equipment-based combat enhancer that is more in lines with contemporary action RPGs. The player can assign different clothing to four parts of the body to give bonuses to a variety of in game activity which never hamper the player in any way. The effects can work together to make new methods of play (like melee) viable in a shooter like this. If he or she wants to completely ignore them, but on higher difficulties, resources are scarce and the player must look for every advantage possible. This serves no aesthetic purpose as the FPS format prevents the player from actually seeing the character or any possible costume alterations. Clothing is well hidden in Columbia so it behooves the player to search every corner and look around every corner to reap the rewards of enhanced prowess.

Infusions– There are three vital stats to track in BioShock Infinite: health, shields, and salts. Health is self-explanatory. Shields are an ever-regenerating barrier that the player actually doesn’t begin the game with, but can absorb a variety of incoming damage from projectiles or melee based assault. Salts equate to a magic or mana meter and this determines the frequency the player can deploy vigors. The player can find infusion bottles while exploring Columbia which can upgrade any one of these vital stats, but what makes them unique is that the player can choose to upgrade any category whenever a bottle is discovered. For instance, there is no such thing as health-only infusions. It is the reason why the bottles are seen as constantly morphing between the colors that represent their respective stat: red for health, yellow for shields and blue for salts.

Guns– Weapons are easily the most unremarkable combat element to BioShock Infinite, but there’s no way to achieve victory without them. Machine guns, pistols, shotguns, rocket launchers, sniper rifles and grenade launchers represent the arsenal at the player’s disposal which can each be upgraded in the same way as vigors. Should the player find an affinity for particular weapons there’s no punishment for holding on to them for the duration. Unlike vigors, the player can only retain two guns at any point so making wise decisions in regards to weapon range will pay dividends. Keeping two heavy damage weapons might seem cool, but are slow and you might need a higher rate of fire to keep up with quicker enemies. I suggest experimentation to discover which guns work best for you, but beware that ammo vendors may not be available at every location in Columbia, so scavenging guns you have neglected to upgrade may be necessary.

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Consider the enhanced range of the sniper rifle.

Elizabeth– Once you rescue her, Elizabeth becomes yet another gameplay mechanic that adds yet another dimension to the shooting action. There are a couple of things that the player can control in regards to the girl. One is that the player can control her ability to open up “tears” in space time that bring in a multitude of set pieces that didn’t exist in the regular environment. For instance, Booker may be walking down an alley and is instantly accosted by enemy snipers. Elizabeth can be ordered to open a tear that produces a brick wall to be used as cover for Booker. Whatever gets “torn in” is predetermined by the area the player is actually in so you can’t magically summon a tank to roll over enemy opposition whenever you want. You can, however, tear in friendly gun turrets, weapons, health boxes and ledges to vertically explore the landscape.

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Looks like a “tear” in progress.

The player will also run into several locked doors in Columbia which only Elizabeth can bypass, provided the player has the right number of lock-picks to gain entry. The amount of picks varies from door to door and safe to safe, but the reward is usually a bunch of cash, new equipments and infusion bottles, so unlocking everything is the order of the day. The other element of Elizabeth that is useful, but the player cannot control is her emergency support throughout the game. Occasionally, she will find money and toss it to Booker, but only when the player acknowledges her via pressing the correct button. She will also toss the player ammo, health or salts in the middle of combat if he or she is running dangerously low, but she will not do this (no pun intended) infinitely. The rule of thumb is that you better be done killing soon after she tosses you support because your lifeline is shrinking.

Money– The currency of Columbia is the Silver Eagle and collecting these will ensure the player is outfitted with upgraded weapons, abilities and ammunition. Money is also fairly scarce on any difficulty so the player shouldn’t expect to upgrade every gun into its ultimate evolution. Resource management is the key, so frugal choices will add to the player’s longevity. Every upgrade for guns and vigors is very costly and if you do not have 100 Silver Eagles to pay when you die on the “1999” (survivor) mode, the game kicks you to the main menu as a form of “perma death.” Spend your money wisely.

Death– Booker DeWitt will die plenty of times during BioShock Infinite, regardless of difficulty level. I like how the game doesn’t exactly punish you for perishing in that every death involves losing some cash and revitalizing you with only a fraction of health while restoring health to enemies you failed to put down. Multiple deaths can become problematic during boss fights because they absorb a ton of damage and ammo is finite. Multiple deaths can be a virtual death sentence over the long haul on a “1999” run. At 100 Eagles a pop, death ain’t cheap and seeing how you scavenge no more than 10 per corpse (if they have any at all), replenishing money to pay for death becomes less realistic. Consider reloading checkpoints if this becomes an issue.

Music:

Few soundtracks for games are worth purchasing as a separate entity, but let me tell you, it is worth every penny for BioShock Infinite. The highlights include an exceedingly emotive performance by Courtney Draper (the voice of Elizabeth throughout the game) who sings an adaptation of Will the Circle Be Unbroken that takes on so many parallels when keeping the story of the game in mind. Another example of emotional, yet metaphoric music is Nico Vega’s song Beast which has been earmarked as the unofficial/official theme song of Infinite seeing how clips of the song have been attached to just about every trailer and commercial you have seen promoting this game. My favorite examples of shear, musical, genius happen to be the turn of the century covers of several 80s pop hits such as God Only Knows and Girls Just Want to Have Fun. Several of these tracks occur during standard gameplay and are worth taking a brief time out from digital homicide, to listen to the music of Columbia as it helps to immerse you into the environment that much more.

Gameplay:

Gameplay is what makes a game fun and regardless of the mechanics a game affords the player, the functionality of said mechanics and the fluidity of their execution determines good gameplay from the bad. Overall movement in BioShock Infinite is fairly satisfying. You can run, jump strafe and aim with relative ease but with a control scheme that may be a tad foreign to veterans of military FPS games.

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There’s plenty of shooting involved.

For instance, just about every shooter (regardless of perspective, developer or license) have all assigned the left bumper to allow the player to aim down the sights of whatever weapon they have equipped for more precision. This cannot be done in any BioShock game thanks to the existence of the vigor mechanic which takes exclusive control over both left bumpers on either controller for XBOX 360 or PS3. You can, however, switch to “iron sights” by depressing the right analog stick (at least for the PS3) which I didn’t find cumbersome, but shooter veterans might consider such a control scheme as a deal breaker.

The one dynamic movement element new to this franchise is the use of the skyline system that bridges the various buildings, airships and freight throughout all of Columbia. It also provides the player with a quicker means of transportation as well as an effective form of evasion during drawn out assaults. With the simple press of one button, Booker can use his “skyhook” to ride the rails to jump in and out of firefights quickly while picking of the enemy from a distance. The only drawback is that you cannot use vigors while riding the rails seeing how your other arm is busy at the moment. Navigating the skylines is actually quite easy from increasing/decreasing throttle, reversing direction, leaping off to safe spots and using the very valuable “skyline strike” that usually leads to instant kills for non-armored adversaries.

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Riding the rails.

Vigors may or may not be easy to use, depending on the player. You see, there is no way to aim as precisely with these as with guns so there may be a little trial and error involved. Trust me when I say that you can completely wiff at point blank range (thank you Shock Jockey). Their functions are also fairly different amongst them and although they all have a quick ability with a tap of the left bumper, every vigor unleashes greater power by holding the left bumper and then releasing. Unfortunately, this leaves the player vulnerable should he or she forget that they can still shoot their weapon while charging their vigor.

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The “Murder of Crows” vigor looks cool, but how useful is it really?

PART 2

Stand Tall for the Beast of America!

“The Bad” of BioShock Infinite

By: Lawrence Napoli

BioShock Infinite is not a perfect game. It has its glitches and it has its character flaws, but believe me when I tell you that this really took some nitpicking on my part to highlight what was “wrong” with this game:

1) Occasionally there will be objects in the environment that you can interact with or collect that are designated by an unmistakable shimmer. Sometimes these objects cannot be collected despite crouching Booker right on top of it as if it weren’t there at all.

2) I found that the upsurge in difficulty that occurs when dealing with a “Handyman” to be a bit unreasonable when compared to every other opposition in the game. These guys absorb a TON of damage, are faster than you and can leap tall buildings in a single bound. Of course, they also happen to attack you whenever skylines are present so don’t ignore them.

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I hate it when these guys show up!

3) The objective arrow is terrible! Ugh, I hated using that thing because when I needed course alterations quickly, it either never engaged or the angle of my perspective was not low enough to the ground to actually see it. If there was anything that the game series of Dead Space did well was their objective arrows.

4) There’s no ability to skip in game “dialogue” cut scenes. Sometimes you just want to get to killing and although you may have completed the game once before, the game won’t deny you the opportunity to sit through the drama once again, whether you like it or not.

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I’m sorry sir. Was this your rail?

5) No manually saving stinks and auto-saving to only one slot is worse. Yes, I know the manual saves (at any point) during the previous BioShock games might have seemed like a broken option, but being irresponsible with it could lead to saves that resulted in instant deaths if they were poorly timed (like in the middle of a firefight). Infinite’s solution to this problem substitutes a player-controlled safety net in favor of a glitchy AI safety net.

6) Replay value is low. With the exception of upping the difficulty for those who may need baby steps when it comes to challenges, more than two runs isn’t particularly necessary. For those who take their time exploring every inch of Columbia, perhaps only once is enough. Trophy hunting is usually a solid motivator for multiple replays on games these days, but even average gamers will find that they will acquire most of Infinite’s achievements effortlessly. Perhaps multiplayer would have helped this bad boy out?

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Is Elizabeth interesting enough to warrant another go?

7) Respawns are the bane of this game. Sometimes revivals will get you right back in the action, not two steps from where you perished. The only problem is that all the bad guys are still there and aiming at your defeated corpse which can lead to some frustrated profanity on the player’s part so consider reloading a checkpoint before wasting more time and Silver Eagles. Respawning also has a significant glitch at the most inopportune point in the game: during the final moments of BioShock Infinite’s climactic battle. This happened to me on my “1999” run as I eliminated the last enemy with an RPG only to be killed by a bullet of his own. I revived, dropped through the floor, respawned and was frozen; unable to finish my objective (which amounted to taking 50 paces straight ahead) and ultimately finish the game. I was ready to break many things and as of this article’s writing, there is still no patch for this problem. Reloading the last checkpoint won’t work because it saves Booker’s “frozen” state as well. If this happens to you, take a deep breath and reload the previous chapter point: yes, you’ll have to do it all over again, but it’s better than starting a brand new game from the very beginning.

PART 3

To “1999” Mode and Beyond!

Survivor tips and the final word on BioShock Infinite

By: Lawrence Napoli

Although the tips that I will go over in this segment are meant for a “1999” run, they can easily be applied to any difficulty level. With a little practice and comfort with the control scheme and timing/placement of vigors, anyone can conquer this beast.

1) If you pre-ordered this game, play all of the “Industrial Revolution” puzzle games at finkmanufacturing.com which gives the player some nice in-game bonuses. Finishing all 59 of them may seem time consuming, but it gives the player a bit more context to the overall story as well as more free goodies towards the beginning of your adventure through Columbia.

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More powerups make dealing with specialty enemies like this much easier.

2) Consider using only the carbine rifle and sniper rifle as your exclusive weapon load out. Just about every weapon gets the job done, but no two does so more efficiently than these two. It gives the player masterful medium and long distance range as well as being moderately common to find replacement ammunition amidst the ruination Booker leaves in his wake. The sniper rifle is excellent with one hit (headshot) kills from range, so take advantage of cover because not every ambush will involve 20 angry Columbians charging right at you. I completely understand switching to some other situational gun or anything else if you’re plain out of ammo, but upgrade-wise; stick with these guns.

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Pistol ammo is very common, but not particularly powerful.

3) Possession and the Devil’s Kiss vigors should be upgraded both times. “1999” mode does mean enemies deal out more damage so conventional wisdom would dictate investing in more defensive minded or distracting powers. WRONG! In this case, a good defense is a great offense and instantly turning your assailants into allies levels out the playing field quickly while you duck for cover and regenerate shields. Devil’s Kiss can deal massive damage (especially paired with the right equipment), but consider using traps as opposed to tosses. The only other vigor you should spend 1 second thinking about is Charge. Late game, this max upgraded vigor will make mincemeat out of the most difficult bosses and conserve minutes, bullets and money in the meanwhile. Its only limitation is that it doesn’t have as much of an area of effect on mobs as Devil’s Kiss.

4) Infusion strategy: Salts FIRST, Shields SECOND, Health LAST! Trust me on this one. The first few chapters of the game are certainly tricky when your health meter is so low, but if you are using your powers more frequently (thanks to a greater salt meter), you are eliminating threats almost as quickly. You shouldn’t even be thinking of absorbing ANY damage “1999” mode seeing how mishandling even one enemy can put you six feet under. Later on, there will simply be too many bullets flying around to keep track of, but max your shields completely before putting a single infusion bottle into health because they regenerate. Health does not.

5) Use skyline to your advantage during all firefights. Use the skyhook strike when possible.

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The skyhook is your friend.

6) Going for the “Scavenger Hunt” achievement isn’t as bad as it sounds. You just can’t buy any ammo, health or lock picks from the “Dollar Bill” vendor, so if you are using your vigors wisely, this shouldn’t be much of a problem. Remember to take your time exploring in between every fire fight and if need be, back track a bit to stock back up because the items you left behind will still be there.

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Avoid these during “scavenger hunt.”

7) If all that still doesn’t work (and you really like this game) consider buying the season pass. Not only does this give you a discounted price for all the eventual DLC for this game, but it gives you a MASSIVE advantage during the standard game in ANY difficulty. You are gifted with superior equipment immediately and you are gifted 5 infusion bottles to distribute as you see fit which brings you half way home to maxing out any stat you like in the first few minutes of the game.

Conclusion:

Believe the hype, BioShock Infinite is a video game worth your time. It’s got more than enough guns, action and bloody violence for FPS fanatics and it’s got enough story and drama for contextual enthusiasts. As far as AAA titles go, this installment of BioShock is worthy of its pedigree as it is worthy of being considered for best Game of the Year before the summer has even begun. And that’s the trick isn’t it? Last year was supposed to be Mass Effect 3’s incredible culmination, but a pre-Spring release coupled with fan rage over the fumbled attempt at an ending saw this title go from favorite to fecal matter in months. BioShock Infinite has one of the best endings I’ve seen in gaming so there’s no problem there, but people have short memories and there are some very heavy hitters coming this fall. I’m convinced that a steady stream of DLC will keep this game relevant because it certainly has more than enough production value and overall quality to be compared to any. So the only question remains if you’re willing to lay down for the Beast of America or stand up for the man next door?

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Would you kindly vote for BioShock Infinite for Game of the Year? Otherwise, Songbird will be pissed!

Movie News Reviews

Movie Review: G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)

“Joe Schmo”

A Film Review of G.I. Joe: Retaliation

By: Lawrence Napoli

THIS is what a 9 month release delay, rewrites, reshoots and reformatting gets anyone remotely interested in action films, let alone what Hasbro has allowed in a complete and utter mortification of one of the best IPs of the 1980s? Push comes to shove, GI Joe: Retaliation was strictly made for 10 year old boys and although I’m no fan of the money-grabbing, demographic gravity well that is the PG-13 rating, there are plenty that deliver more than what these Joes are hauling. The addition of “The Rock,” Dwayne Johnson and the subtraction of Marlon Wayans does make an immediate impact on the quality of this picture, but by no means is this a vast improvement. Then you throw in Bruce Willis for a grand total of about 10 minutes of screen time and I’m left wondering whether director Jon M. Chu used the time off (thanks to the incredibly embarrassing suspended release of this film) wisely. Turns out that cleaning house from The Rise of Cobra, minus Byung-hun Lee’s Storm Shadow, Ray Park’s Snake Eyes, Channing Tatum’s Duke and Jonathan Pryce’s “US President,” doesn’t leave the audience with a superior experience in Retaliation. Plot gaps a plenty, continuity be damned and utter absurdity abound in this film. Now you know and knowing is half the battle.

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Hopefully we aren’t shooting down our careers.

Immediately what detracts from this cinematic adventure is the atrocious dialogue amongst every character at all times. If any of you are familiar with TBS’s (not so “very funny”) sitcom Men at Work, you’ll notice an eerily similar sensation of awkward, bromantic and twenty-something wanna-be, yuppie talk that is in no way appropriate for the likes of GI Joe and Cobra in any capacity. I certainly don’t remember the original GI Joe cartoon sounding so juvenile. The worst examples happen to be every Channing Tatum scene, and The Rock shares as much of the blame here thanks to some of the most eye-rolling delivery we haven’t seen since his days as Rocky Maivia. The purpose of these scenes was clearly meant to build up the camaraderie between Duke and Roadblock, but they come off like college dorm mates constantly trying to haggle each other like teenie boppers. Then the plot takes a serious turn and the dialogue’s tone jumps to “killing” and “revenge” in a manner that is way above (or below) the frat house culture. Consistency in dialogue is what builds character and this is a failure throughout this movie. The screenwriting team of Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick would have been better off low-jacking the dialogue from Act of Valor rather than Clueless.

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Cue the dorm room antics.

I will, however, give the story credit for taking what amounts to a garden variety, Cobra plot for world domination and giving it a neat twist on manipulating the globe’s nuclear weapons. Combined with a very dark inciting incident, the story seems to have a solid skeleton if one ignores most of what was established from the first film. This is where my praise ends. Characters established in the first film aren’t acknowledged in any way in Retaliation. How did Storm Shadow survive The Rise of Cobra? That’s swept under the rug. When did Flint transition from a Joe instructor to a rookie with parkour skills? All of this is the result of fanboys kicking back one afternoon and tossing around a bunch of “what if’s” in regards to GI Joe mythos and throwing it all in the script. This may be the preferred method of screenwriting for adaptation efforts that ultimately don’t give a damn, but I would prefer a bit of focus — of which Retaliation has little. Too many subplots combined with the introduction of several new characters having little (if any) relevance to the origin film makes for a very manic experience. At this point, the script has less to do with story and more to do with marketing Hasbro’s merchandise. The only thing that keeps you in your seat is waiting for the next explosion.

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I kinda like your new mask that’s like your old mask.

As for those explosions, they aren’t exactly what I would refer to as “cutting edge.” They are all standard fare with nothing uniquely negative or positive to report. Vehicular combat is somewhat satisfying during the tank-like battle towards the end of the film, but jets in the sky and boats in the water are strictly CG transitions that deliver zero punch. Firefights that feature the Joe team as a unit utilize a lot of hand held camera work with quick cuts that make conscious efforts to obscure close-ups and sell the featured actors better. The problem is that it makes appreciating these well choreographed sequences a bit of a chore, thus negating its entertainment value. One on one fights are easily the best action elements to GI Joe: Retaliation. The instant any rumor surrounding a GI Joe adaptation hit the internet, every fanboy went nuts over the possibilities of a Snake Eyes vs. Storm Shadow scenario. Their rematch in this film is very nice, but their original showdown in The Rise of Cobra was better. I suppose if Darth Maul can make a comeback from what seems like the exact same fate, so too can Storm Shadow. Roadblock’s fisticuffs obviously feature more brawn over ballet, but they simply do not compare to ninja stars being shot out of the air by an uzi. Perhaps director Jon M. Chu should have ignored everything else and strictly made a GI Joe Ninja force movie because the mountainside repelling scenes featuring Snake Eyes and Jinx were very satisfying. I just wish I hadn’t already been spoiled on this sequence thanks to the teaser trailers I’ve been seeing for more than half a year.

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Ninjas; not nonjas!

I’d like to take a moment to single out the poor casting in GI Joe: Retaliation. I must give two thumbs way, WAY down for Ronna Kress, the casting of director of Retaliation. It’s not that she selected the wrong actors for this type of film, but that they were misused and underused for the roles they were chosen to play. There’s no question that The Rock is an action star worthy of this license, but he’s about as much of a gourmet cooking, black man from Mississippi as I am. To put it plainly: Rock’s line delivery is not ethnic enough to sell the role of Roadlblock. Bruce Willis practically invented the contemporary action blockbuster and even at his advanced age, can still make valuable contributions to any film production. Having him play the “original Joe,” General Joe Colton, would have been a great idea had they actually made that character important to the story with some legitimate screen time. I’d really like to know who’s bar mitzvah did the Rza agree to personally perform at to get his name on this cast list. Having created The Man with the Iron Fists does not make him uniquely qualified to play the role of the Blind Master, yet there he is and he looks absolutely foolish in the role. Note how these examples are the biggest names attached to this production. When your casting strategy revolves around simply adding “names” with no intention of taking advantage of what each actor actually brings to the table, this proves that the production staff doesn’t care to some extent. That, my friends, is bush league, corporate mass production of cinema at its worst.

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I present to you: the blind master.

The performances in Retaliation are so unremarkable that only three are worth mentioning. Adrianne Palicki’s performance as Lady Jaye is solid, and it’s always a tricky situation playing a role that is ear marked for sex appeal without coming off as absurdly overcompensating just like Rachel Nichols’ performance as Scarlett in The Rise of Cobra. Adrianne is still channeling girl power to a large extent, but does so sympathetically by behaving as an equal member of the unit. Byung-hun Lee is the only actor who provides intensity and intimidation for this film in his role as Storm Shadow. Certainly, his physicality is on display showcasing a variety of martial artistry with his shirt conveniently ripped off in several instances. However, it is his presence and demeanor that makes his character not one to be trifled with to the point that he comes off as a white version of Darth Vader sans force choking abilities. Channing Tatum found a way to turn his snicker-inducing performance as Duke in the first film into an all night laugher in Retaliation. What can I say? The movie makes a point of designating Duke as the field commander of the Joes after having X number of year’s experience, but Tatum has the command presence of whoever hosts the MTV Movie Awards. Duke is awkward and completely incapable of shouting a battle cry that isn’t instantly ridiculed by his unit. I don’t know what Tatum was thinking by portraying Duke in this manner, but I would expect “not a lot” being the right answer.

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Lady Jaye > Scarlett

So this film franchise has been green lit for a third installment. Hurray for Hollywood, but this movie is barely worth a Red Box rental. Right now, the superior alternative for an action fix is Olympus Has Fallen. When compared to GI Joe: Retaliation, I think about the difference between a little boy and a grown man: one has a pair while the other is waiting for them to drop. Yet again, another licensed adaptation leans far too heavily on its own mythos and popularity rather than making an undeniable effort to be its own entity. GI Joe: Retaliation is the poster child for going through the motions and proving that adherence to formulaic filmmaking is on the mind of every no name/novice filmmaker because they haven’t the intestinal fortitude to be assertive with their own ideas (assuming they have them) when dealing with brand names like Hasbro. I wouldn’t qualify this as a family film, but if you have young boys, this might be worth a trek to the cinema. But if you have any appreciation for GI Joe from the comic books or the F.H.E. animated series you will feel like someone just took one of your favorite fictions from childhood and urinated on it. You know, just like what Michael Bay did to Transformers and will probably do to “Teenage Mutant” Ninja Turtles.

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Storm Shadow may be convinced to handle Michael Bay’s nonsense.

(Side note: I find it hilarious how Channing Tatum has an Olympus Has Fallen clone film coming out later this summer where he must go on a solo mission to rescue President Jaime Fox)

Movie News Reviews

Movie Review: Olympus Has Fallen (2013)

The Gods Would be Proud

A Film Review of Olympus Has Fallen

By: Lawrence Napoli

The first thing I thought about when the end credits began to roll on Olympus Has Fallen is whether Hollywood just supplied North Korea with its unofficial, “official” national film. As crazy as Kim Jong II was, I can’t imagine his narcissistic mind ever evolving a plot as extraordinary as Olympus despite his well documented obsession with Hollywood films. Thanks to North Korea’s most recent threats to the US, we can clearly see that the apple hasn’t fallen too far from the tree in Kim Jong Un. Seriously, one must question another’s sanity when said person invites Dennis Rodman over for anything that doesn’t involve Fifty Shades of Depravity. As foolish as North Korea has been depicted in the media, they remain a real threat to global stability and Hollywood is certainly not taking them lightly.

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There’s only one thing you do to bad guys doing bad things.

Most recently North Korea was the designated bad guy in the Red Dawn remake as well as occasional appearances as the boogeyman in the likes of Die Another Day (2002) and Stealth (2005). What Olympus represents beyond a “Yay America – it’s US vs. them” sentiment, is a quintessential North Korean wet dream involving the desecration and destruction of Western civilization. As entertaining and thought provoking as this film is, I wonder if the intrigue is worth taunting the enemy or worse, giving them the inspiration for a real-world, armed incursion. By producing such outlandish scenarios, perhaps Hollywood is contributing to society by having whatever American think-tank that’s in charge of national security consider such what-if’s to prevent them from ever becoming viable. It’s a dangerous world out there where espionage, cyber warfare and terrorism are the accepted forms of contemporary war because large scale military operations can be trumped by nukes. And then we all die. Olympus Has Fallen is a film that gives the audience a brief glimpse to all of the above in the form of a very succinct action film that is quick, smart, blunt and graphic.

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Why are all the best American heroes depicted in film and TV from England, Scotland or Ireland?

Shall we ask the cast of AMC’s The Walking Dead?

Olympus Has Fallen is a brand new Hollywood IP not adapted from anything. This film looks, sounds and feels like a breath of familiarly fresh air. What makes this story even more unique is the fact that it was written by the team of Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt; neither of whom have a single credit to their name in La La Land other than Rothenberger’s reception of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting for the Korean War film, The Chosin back in 2002. Obviously, the subject material hasn’t deviated too much in Olympus: it’s still war and Korea’s involvement is essential. Certainly, global forces are at odds amidst this film’s back drop, but what makes the story work is the audience’s identification with secret service agent Mike Banning, the protagonist. This movie has plenty of action and exposition to get to, so character development must be dealt with efficiently. Thankfully, Olympus is equal to the task in that Banning is established as a charismatic professional with a personal stake in the President’s family with a tragedy to redeem himself for. This all happens in the first 10 minutes. Action films can sometimes get too caught up with establishing the setting and mood of the film without introducing their main characters outside of the inevitable turmoil. In this regard, Olympus takes a noticeable cue from Die Hard (1988). We know what Banning is all about, we like him and then the action takes over.

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The whole world is blowing up around me!

Olympus Has Fallen features a treasure trove of action: Airplanes pelting each other with bullets and missiles? Check. Rampant destruction of buildings? Check. Michael Bay explosions? Check. Small arms gunplay? Check. Large arms gunplay? Discount double check. The one aspect of the action as a whole that will easily be overlooked is the fact that despite the plot’s focus on nukes and fleets and planes and various other weapons of mass destruction, it’s the CQC (Close Quarters Combat) incorporating pistols, knives and fists that really saves the day. Stunt coordinators Lin Oeding, Ketih Woulard and fight choreographer J.J. Perry really outdid themselves in making the violence as intense as possible despite the interior confines of the White House and its various secret passages. Not that Gerard Butler needs any help looking more BA than he already does, but the whole stunt team helped the man kick some serious ass and it really shines through onscreen.

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The body count begins to rise here.

Antoine Fuqua has proven that he knows a thing or two about how to shoot an action flick, having directed films like Training Day (2001), Tears of the Sun (2003) and Shooter (2007). Everything from the effects, to pyro, to the action, to the set design and performance comes together quite nicely and that reflects the leadership of a seasoned veteran. One interesting directing choice that I would like to make note of was how Fuqua made dedicated efforts to highlight women as part of the evil invading Korean team that assaults the White House. I simply cannot recall women having been so active participants in these kinds of action films outside of being targets or victims. These ladies kill plenty of civilians and security during their assault and in turn are equally disposed of by the hero, Mike Banning. I like maintaining the professionalism of that character by not having him pause for an instant to consider killing an armed assailant just because she’s a woman. However, I would have liked to see women being featured on the good guy side of the US military as actively as the villains. No one will be referencing Olympus Has Fallen for its progressive depiction of women any time soon, but in a film where adrenaline and testosterone are swelling like Dick Cheney’s ego, it’s nice to not see women as ONLY sexual objects.

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The roof, the roof, the roof is on … oh whatever. Bad joke.

The cast of Olympus Has Fallen is certainly more accomplished than that of a standard action film. Although Angela Bassett, Morgan Freeman, Melissa Leo, Radha Mitchell, Ashley Judd, Dylan McDermott and Aaron Eckhart all produce fine performances, the combined acumen of these actors is somewhat lost in the firestorm that is the constant action throughout this film. Just about every supporting member of the cast has one dialogue moment with leading man Gerard Butler, but it simply is not enough for anyone else to truly shine. Action films are about the hero against the big bad and in this case, Rick Yune seems to have fully embraced being the consummate villainous character actor in his role as the nefarious Kang. Yune, never having been an overly emotive actor, plays to his stoic strengths in Olympus. The fact that he is in fine physical condition makes him a comparable match for Butler and the controlled manner in which Yune portrays spite and hate has certainly been done before, but playing the antagonist as a raving lunatic would have simply been the wrong choice all together.

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I’m a sick puppy.

This is Gerard Butler’s film and not just because he’s the lead, but also because his production company co-financed this project and afforded him a nice, shiny producing credit. Whatever “producing” responsibilities he may or may not have actually had does not interfere with the man’s ability to throw some beat-downs, pop some caps and look pretty damn cool doing it. Given the appropriate frame and physicality, anyone can do this job, but Butler’s eclectic filmography as well as his performance in Olympus show that real acting can exist even in meathead roles. Yes, yes, he plays a secret service agent and I’m sure there are higher degrees of aptitude required for those kinds of positions, but his role still boils down to him killing every one of the bad guys and this does not permit his character to elevate to anything beyond Rambo. Still, in the moments he is afforded to dialogue with the president’s son Connor (played by Finley Jacobsen) allow him to convey humanity to the audience which infuses his character with sympathy. Gerard Butler is every bit the action star as every icon that came before him and although he does not reinvent the wheel with his efforts in Olympus, they are not in vain and he gets the job done.

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So, remind me again. Why are we even here?

Olympus Has Fallen will probably be one of the best, straight up, action films of this year. All of tThe Avengers: Phase 2 films will have the benefits of CG wizardry to make the likes of Hemsworth and Downey Jr. fly around to do their thing. The next Fast and Furious film will have animated car stunts and vehicle gimmicks. Star Trek: Into Darkness will be all green screen and wire work. What this film has over all of those other hybrid action films is combat: hand-to-hand and gunplay. Both of which are executed cleanly and impactful with plenty of blood and headshots to go around. It’s true that there are several action film conventions at work here, but with so many years removed from the original Die Hard,; it’s nice to see a film make an honest effort to really go for capturing that kind of lightning in a bottle again. Hopefully, Zeus won’t be mad.

Reviews

Batman Then, Now and Beyond

Adam West

George Clooney/Val Kilmer

Michael Keaton

Christian Bale

Kevin Conroy

Armie Hammer (The Lone Ranger, The Social Network)

Joe Manganiello (Magic Mike, True Blood)

Karl Urban (Dredd, Star Trek)

Michael C. Hall (Dexter, Gamer)

Jon Hamm (Mad Men, The Town)

PART 2

PART 3

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