SKYFALL REKALLED...

After much hype and adulation I saw SKYFALL, the latest installment of the long running Bond series, and I have to say I was let down.

With this film it seemed that they wanted to take it even more into the real world; less gadgets, less fanciful world dominating schemes, no spectacular villainous hideout, no henchmen with unique personalities, and no vixens with a double entendre name. Is a Bond movie without these elements a real Bond movie or just another spy/action thriller? I would say they are trying to get as far from the Austin Powers films and in doing so they are losing what makes Bond movies unique. I know it is a difficult balance to have this be believable but this movie didn't even try. If you want a bare bones Bond then this is it, I was caught off guard by it.

Daniel Craig reprises the James Bond role for the 3rd time and he wears the suit well. He carries himself admirably in this series, he carries the cool, cold hearted mode that one needs to make himself a believable Bond. He continues his work that has reinvigorated the franchise. Javier Bardem really shows his talents why he is usually the most interesting character in what ever film he is in, a great performance be it all too brief. There are no weak actors or performances in the film.

Overall the hype from the film just ruined it for me, best Bond film ever is what I heard. Instead I got the most different of the Bond films. Not a bad movie, I felt the pacing in the 3rd act a little slow, it was a competent action film but I wanted more. Better than Quantum of Solace but not quite as invigorating as Casino Royal was for me.

  

WRECK IT RALPH REKALLED....

It has been a while since my last post and I have been seeing movies, just not writing about them. But I am back and I hope to keep it up once again. My new goal will be to do a sketch for the review, lets see how long that lasts.

Anyways, the movie to get me back into the swing of things is Wreck It Ralph with the voice stylings of John C. Reilly as the title character of this Disney CG animated adventure. Having worked in an arcade I feel that I am especially suited to review this film. I was able to catch the panel at SDCC last summer and it got me excited for this film with the humor John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman so that kept it on my radar. The film is clever about how the video arcade universe works and was easy to by in and follow, the character designs or cool and inventive, and the story is funny with enough heart to give it feeling. My only complaint is I wanted to see more video game worlds, a good portion of the film takes place in one game cabinet(Sugar Rush) but that world has some amazing and funny designs. Perhaps I will get to see more in a sequel? The voice acting was top notch, these weren't your normal celebrities just cashing in on their fame and reading lines, these actors gave life to the game characters. 

I rather enjoyed this film and I think anyone who has played video games over the past few decades will find memories sparked and have a good time doing it. While this movie is aimed at kids it can entertain adults if you check your cynicism at the door. 

The King's Speech rekalled...

The King's Speech is the newest Oscar fodder from England based on the true story of the ascension of a king and his trials as he comes to come to grips with the pressures and reality of the station. Colin Firth plays Berty, heir to the throne and soon to be ruler of a war bound England and does an admiral job as a stammerer with a regal flair. There were no wink links in the acting or screen writing, it was rather entertaining. There was one moment that I felt the music and scene didn't mesh and that is the only problem I had with the film.

What I found most interesting about the film was the use of the art direction and the framing of the scenes. Many shots were composed with a character sitting in the right of the frame and looking to the right which could cause the the viewers eye to lead out the frame. But the side of the frame with no character was usually filled with a pattern of wallpaper or a repetitive texture to give it something interesting but no distracting. This style was used throughout the film and was an interesting stylistic choice. Also the use of a shallow depth of field on close ups gives the viewer a taste of the hyper focus of Colin Firth's tension and the use of head room in shots of the homes and palaces exemplifies his feeling of being minimized by others by being dwarfed by his surroundings.

Overall a good film and an entertaining glimpse of history.

Marwencol rekalled...

MARWENCOL is a documentary about an artists work and his journey with his unique style. The documentary focuses on Mark Hogancamp and his art of photographing G.I. Joe style dolls depicting the fictional WW2 era Marwencol. Hogancamp's medium is not a ironic or mocking tone but it is a happenstance of his therapy from a traumatic event in his life. Marwencol is an incredibly layered and moving story with odd twists and turns as if it was written by Charlie Kaufman. It amazed me that something that is so traumatic and painful could produce a true artist whose motivation is only self and dealing with his own life in a unique way. More than photography or displays, this is more pure artistry than one would imagine at first glance when the whole story is told. A must see.

The Green Hornet rekalled...

The Green Hornet is a modern retelling of the classic radio serial of a "super hero" and his supremely talented partner. Even though I am well versed in the super hero universe I am not too familiar with the Green Hornet, the extent of my knowledge is that Bruce Lee's big western break many years ago before becoming the world famous martial arts master. The history of this particular incarnation had a long and troubled road to fruition. Written by and staring Seth Rogen, it definitely had his stamp all over it with his standard improv like comedic sensibilities. Combined with Rogen's style of performance and writing was Michel Gondry as the director whose own unique visual style had peaked my interested. My expectations were rather low for this film going in and I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it. Not a great film but enjoyable. The crowd that I saw it with seemed to enjoy it thoroughly, a real crowd pleaser. Despite only having a few fleeting moments of Michel Gondry's quirky style which I was hoping for, I still enjoyed the Rogeness of the film. What I think I enjoyed most or noticed at least was the constant use of of screen dubbing of comments. I am not sure if they added them to speed up or enhance the film but I enjoyed it and it helped me enjoy it even more. Jay Chou holds up his end in the action department as Kato but I had difficulty understanding what he said but Seth Rogen covered up it up with exposition. Overall an interesting film that isn't a perfect mix but an enjoyable blend of talents that you wouldn't expect to work together in the first place but is still fun.

Rare Exports rekalled...

Rare Exports, a Finnish import film, is an ambitious film about a boy coming to grips with the true nature of Santa Claus of Finnish legend. The film builds up tension with the design of a horror film that ends very differently. With a clever misdirection the film changes in tone about two-thirds of the way which comes as a bit of a disappointment. The film almost had a Thing vibe, an excellent film set in the arctic but the comparisons end with the snow. Overall the film had drawn me into the style and mythos they were establishing, I respected the small twist and then the final tonal shift left me disappointed. Rare Exports ended as a children's triumph film, much like my childhood this film was a bit of a disappointment. This was another instance of a much ballyhooed foreign film that I believe get's more respect than it deserves.

Top movies of 2010 rekalled....

#1 Scott Pilgrim Vs The World: I have watched this movie more than any other on the list. It is an amazing directorial effort.

#2 The Fighter: Christian Bale's performance is Oscar worthy and the film is fun with triumph.

#3 The Town: Not an original story but Ben Affleck makes it one of the best of the bank heist genre.

#4 Macgruber: Funniest film of the year.

#5 The Social Network: Expertly crafted from all angles, screen play, direction, score and acting. This movie should have been terrible.

#6 Black Swan: I may not ever watch this again but it is an intense movie that sticks with you, really well done and has meaning.

#7 Exit Through The Gift Shop: Some may call this a documentary, I think it was another art piece by Banksy. Really awesome.

#8 The Book Of Eli: Harkens back to the great 80's style apocalyptic action films with a great twist ending.

#9 Black Dynamite: Mimics the blackploitation genre perfectly.

#10 Inception: A great film that makes you think and draws you in, heavy exposition makes repeated viewings slow.

#11 Waiting For Superman: A documentary that makes you worry for your kids future but also makes you want to do something about it.

#12 Ironman 2: A fun film with plenty of inside tidbits to a bigger universe, I liked it for that. Others thought it was too scattered. I didn't care.

#13 Toy Story 3: A visually stunning film, one of the best uses of 3D I have seen at the beggining of the movie.

#14 Joan Rivers: A Piece Of Work: A documentary with great insight into what makes Joan Rivers tic and a great comback story.

#15 Youth In Revolt: Michael Cera does a great job of being himself and not being himself.

#16 Kick-Ass: Big Daddy and Hit Girl make this movie awesome.

#17 The Cove: Type of documentary that will make you mad and want to try and do something about the problem.

#18 Cyrus: Does John C. Reilly give a bad performance?

#19 Let Me: A decent remake that doesn't surpass the original but is still interesting.

#20 Unstoppable: It is like the 90's made a 70's disaster film.

#21 The Crazies: 2 words: TIM OLYPHANT!