Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

  I'm a big fan of what Guy Ritchie did with Holmes in 2009. It practically reinvented the character entirely. Giving him a witty, gritty, and action packed makeover, leaving the catchphrase and the deerstalker hat in the dust. I don't think many were complaining. A sequel was obviously... inevitable.  Insert catchphrase here.

  The trailers for A Game of Shadows promised the same witty dynamic between Watson, (Jude Law) and the eponymous Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and obviously lots of Guy Ritchian action.  Well, that was only part of what made the first so good and ultimately endearing.  If they abandoned all the heart of Holmes and just crammed it full of more action, I was going to be sorely dissapointed. Even though I love what he's done, I'm the guy still pining for a Ralph Fiennes or a Hugh Laurie Holmes that would be a clever slow burn drama/mystery. Amazingly, Ritchie amps up the action and excitement to a blazingly hot level, and STILL manages to preserve, if not build upon, everything else that made the previous one so damn good.

  It could just be me, but, the opening ten minutes felt off to me.  It felt kind of awkward, out of touch, and rushed. I was already anticipating the worst.  However... very shortly afterwards, the movie immediately finds its stride and opens into a breakneck pace that pretty much never slows down.  Quiet moments between Holmes and Watson behaving and bonding like brothers, are always riding the coattails of a brilliantly executed action set piece. Theres style and flair in these action scenes and lots of character and heart in the quieter moments. Just like the last one, this one is incredibly and expertly stylized, and then some. The fights are carefully calculated and narrated step by step in Holmes' mind before he executes it in reality. These exceedingly clever moments have already become a welcome trademark of Ritchie's Sherlock.  But whats a sequel if it doesn't bring some freshness to an established formula? There are some really clever twists regarding those moments of careful calculation thrown in there.

  The wit, is wittier. The plot, is thicker. The humor, is funnier. The action, is slicker. Any rough edges the previous film may have had, have all been smoothed out now. Guy Ritchie is only on number two and I have a feeling he could do this blindfolded again and again. Its awesome watching it all unfold.We know the characters, and they slip back into the swing of things as if they had never left.  We expect it to be more. And it delivers it all in the best ways possible.  Every person cast, is perfectly cast. From Stephen Fry as Mycroft, Sherlock's brother, to Noomi Rapace as the fiery gypsy Madam Simza, to Jared Harris as Professor Moriarty.  Its hard to see anyone match Downey's manic genius as Holmes' but Harris as Moriarty is the perfect counterpoint to Sherlock. They match wits in a big dangerous game, and at times they're clearly the only ones who really know what is going on. Its a massive chess game. As it should be and these are the two cunning players operating at a level that flies about everyone else's heads.
And for once... Holmes has met his match.

  There are moments of perfection in the movie, where you can see it eclipsing the last one entirely. These moments left me breathless and aren't in the least spoiled by anything, namely trailers, you've seen thus far.  The movie comes to close with an awesome climax that fits excellently in everything we know and love about Holmes.

  In total, seeing this today has been one of the best theater-going experiences I've had in years. Lots of pure fun and genuine entertainment. Some may be put off by the relentless pacing or Sherlock's escalated antics, but I find it welcome and exciting.  I can't think of any serious complaints about this one. Certain moments feel disconnected and out of touch with the rest of the movie, but these moments are brief, fleeting and not worth fussing over.  I loved A Game of Shadows much more than I expected to. Its an exhilarating return to the world of Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes. And while I do belive his rendition of Holmes, so to speak, is not the ideal or definitive version, but it certainly makes for an excellent blockbuster popcorn movie.

Starship Troopers

  Starship Troopers is a zany movie. Its essentially summarized as "Soldiers must wage war against giant alien bugs halfway across the galaxy."  But thats only half of the whole thing. Its equal parts in-your-face satire, and big sci-fi blockbuster.  Its heavy on symbolism and sly jabs at social commentary, and its also quite heavy on big budget special effects and lots of blood and gore.  Both aspects of the movie are insanely over the top. Theres no subtlety here. It may take several viewings to take it all in, but trust me.. just because this movie is the bluntest object in the whole tool shed, doesn't mean its not a whole lot of fun.

  The director has said that the casting of such pretty ideal young actors (with not alot of experience) was intentional.  I somehow get this. Some have critiqued the whole cast of being wooden. However, I just think it fits in a very odd and manufactured kind of way.  They're almost not even playing characters per se, it feels like they're playing archetypes of characters. Like, the young youth leaving home to join the military. We've seen it before. So in a way, Johnny Rico might as well be saying "John Hancock". Johnny Rico is not a character, he's an archetype.
It encompasses many different material views of the ideal action hero. Tall, muscular, blonde, blue-eyed, et. cetera...

   Most of the characters in the movie are like that. So, in a way, every actor's performance had to be blank enough for us to project our own ideas onto them. Or maybe I'm just reading into it, the director is saving face, and they're all just shitty actors. The story is pretty straight forward and serves as a broad all-encompassing coming of age tale too.  The youth of today, the heroes of tomorrow. Its a common phrase for those familiar with Starship Troopers. I can't remember if its ever actually said IN the movie, but it describes it pretty damn well. This trio of friend, young adults, fresh from high school (although they never look that young) ship out to join the Mobile Infantry and combat the intergalactic "arachnid" threat. Subsequently, they are forced to grow up through the most intense hardship ever.

   Friendships destroyed, lives lost, knee deep in blood and guts on the battlefield with people you hardly know... it'll change a person at their core. Unfortunately the physchological aspect and trauma of all this is sidestepped, the question "was joining up worth all this?" is never addressed. Mainly because by the time the end credits role, the narrative is so final in its unwavering satirical propaganda view on everything, we're not supposed to agree with any other answer but "Yes."...
So why even ask the question? These aren't complaints mind you, they're merely observations.

  If I had any actual complaints about Starship Troopers it would be how it never fully manages to find its footing. When you're in the big special effects laden action scenes, you forget about the satire and the social commentary, and when it snaps back, its jarring. It doesn't quite gel 100%. However, each on its own merit is done surprisingly well. The action scenes are incredibly thrilling and quite intense, the special effects, even over a decade later are still damn impressive, and everything has an immense sense of scale and scope.

  Massive CGI creatures feel and look like they inhabit the same space as the actors around it. This is a most impressive feat that even some very recent movies have failed to pull off. The least convincing effect in the movies is the CGI gore. It doesn't look... real. To be fair, few movies have ever pulled off CGI gore convincingly.  But all in all the part of Starship Troopers that would appeal to the summer blockbuster crowd, works perfectly. Its fast, fun, bloody, gross, and incredibly action packed. Lots of fun to be had here.

  Then on the other hand, we have the social commentary and satire. It shows a "perfect" society where almost everyone is handsome and happy.  Its also very communist, facist, and controlling. Does anyone look oppressed? No. But it certainly looks bland.
The ludicrous nature of a society like this actually working is boldly underlined in overly-satirical faux-commercials that kind of act like scene transitions. Bridging one scene to the next, and providing a look into this totalitarian society. "A Society That WORKS!".  As if they're trying to convince their own citizens.
The way the Mobile Infantry pretty much resembles the Nazis might be met with knowing nods, chalking it up to more satire, but what shocked me is how much the media attacked director Paul Verhoeven over this. Going so far as to call him "Pro-Facism".  The satire is so bold and obvious, I think it was TOO obvious, flying over audiences heads and critics alike, robbing them of half the experience here.

  In total, theres alot to take in with this movie, but that doesn't mean its hard to.  Its not hidden or burried under layers of subtext. Its right friggin there. In your face. So close in fact you may have to step back to see it.  But at the same time, if you want to turn off your brain and take in the movie as a big intergalactic space faring adventure, it works just as well like that. A massive sci-fi romp through the galaxy waging war with giant alien space bugs. Lots of fun. Reccomended for a saturday night and of course, with popcorn at the ready.

Rolling Thunder

  Rolling Thunder is for all intents and purposes, First Blood meets Walking Tall. But that doesn't mean once you've seen those, that you've seen it all. I suppose you could call this movie an exploitation flick considering the era it was made and how it coasts by most of its latter screentime on a catchy gimmick (the hook hand) and lots of action. But it has alot more brains and emotional power than you'd typically expect in your average exploitation flick.

  William Devane plays Major Charlie Rane. Him and his war buddy, John (Tommy Lee Jones), have just returned home from a tour of duty in Vietnam. They're welcomed publicly as heroes having survived being prisoners of war, but they quickly find that home life isn't what it used to be.  Charlie's wife, having presumed him dead, has moved on to another man. Charlie's son doesn't even remember him.  Theres not much left for Charlie. But when a group of ruthless thugs break into his house and torture him to try and find the $2,500 worth of silver dollars awarded to him by the town in the welcome back ceremony, they destroy his hand in the sink's garbage disposal, shoot him, kill his wife, and murder his son.
 
  Its pretty much a no-brainer what happens next. He recruits this town girl who's essentially, his groupie, to help him hunt down the sons-of-bitches that did this... and make them pay! Its pretty cool to watch how this all unfolds. Even despite how many times I've seen this exact formula play out, Rolling Thunder manages to feel fresh in a very welcome way. Its not set at a breakneck pace, but there are at least three really exciting set pieces places evenly throughout the film.  Each one eclipsing the last in intensity and dramatic flair.  Its a very bloody movie when it wants to be, but fortunately for us, the things we don't want to see... like his hand being chopped up in the disposal, or his wife and son being shot, aren't shown to us directly. Some may complain, but I think its rather tasteful. The graphic violence is only unleashed on those who have it coming. Namely, the bad guys.
 
  Which Leads me to my only real complaint about the movie. The bad guys aren't really developed at all. They're just thugs. Murdering thugs. I suppose the writer thought that greed was enough of a motivation, but nobody wants a murder rap on their hands. They showed no hesitation whatsoever to kill the wife and kid.
It didn't particularly strike me as cold blooded, but rather, lazy writing. Out of the quartet of thugs, not one protested. Right. Because $625 apiece is totally worth killing two almost three people over. To me that doesn't make sense even from a bad guy's viewpoint. There just isn't enough motivation to justify their extreme actions, and not even play it up. From an acting standpoint, they're all quite bland. The ringleader should've been played up, the others could've been fearful acomplices. We've seen it many times before. Hundreds of times before. It just struck me as odd they didn't do that here.

  But not even that hampers the enjoyment of this gritty revenge tale. Its merely about the principle of the thing. These guys killed his wife and kid. They're the bad guys. They must be killed.  That logic is hardly ever questioned in the movie. Not once is Charlie Rane's vigilante crusade actually challenged. There was a sub plot with this guy, Cliff, who's not only the other man in Rane's wife's life, but also happens to be a police officer. The tension between Cliff and Rane after the murders is quite downplayed from the go. There could've been some rich dramatic material there, but they almost sidestep that entirely, leaving Charlie to his vengeful business. Giving him the means, ability and know-how to unleash hell on these guys. Thats the ultimate drive of this movie. To unleash this force of nature and watch him destroy the bad guys.

  I can give this movie a solid reccomendation for anyone looking for an hour and a half of drama and vigilante justice. Not a bad flick at all. Quite enjoyable and definately servicable for what it set out to do.

Fight Club

   First off, lemme just say this movie is brilliant. Secondly, its not just a punch-em-up movie, if anything its a slick, gritty, modern, psychological thriller. Or you could just call it a "mind-fuck".
In fact "mind-fuck" might be a VERY apt description here. Edward Norton's character who's listed on imdb as "The Narrator" since he's never really given a straight-forward name in the movie, is at first glance, content with his admitedly boring, lame, and ultimately cookie-cutter life.  But he has chronic insomnia. His whole life can be summarized as just a sequence of mundane formulaic events that happen over and over every day. He clings to part of this dearly. The commercialized, ideal, material life he's worked hard for.

But it brings him no happiness. He'd like to think it does. However, he knows it doesn't.  I won't say too much else. Cutting to the chase. So, when he meets wild man Tyler Durden, a man with a unique perspective on just about everything, his life is turned upside down. And that's a massive fucking understatement. Together, through a series of not-so-awkward male bonding moments, among which include beating the hell out of each other just for kicks, they end up creating an underground 'Fight Club' in which men of any all ages and social stature can kick the living crap out of each other.
All these men... who were merely trudging through their boring miserable excuses for a 'life', now have something dangerous, exciting, and dare I say... life-affirming(?) to look forward to.

Yikes.

But when Tyler begins to act increasingly strange, the Narrator's new found life begins to violently self destruct around him leading up to a mind blowing twist and an insanely unique climax.

The movie is cut together in a brilliant way so that even the most mundane scenes keep your attention glued to whats happening. Its almost impossible to look away.
Its a great story with a stellar cast. They all deliver amazing performances.
Although Brad Pitt just barely edges out his fellow cast mates with an unforgettable performance as the thoroughly bizarre and oddly likable Tyler Durden, who really just... makes the movie.
I can't stress enough how awesome Fight Club is. It will totally defy your expectations.

This movie is quirky, funny, iconic, timeless, manic, genius, and one of the strangest genre-defying experiences I've ever had the good fortune to sit through.
Definite must see, if you haven't already.

Videodrome

  This was... beyond trippy.

Its a great high-concept movie with loads of pure weird. Directed by the amazing David Cronenberg, Videodrome is about a sleazy cable TV programmer, Max Renn (played wonderfully by James Woods), who uncovers a strange and unknown broadcast called 'Videodrome', featuring nothing but nonstop S&M, torture, mutilation and murder 24/7.  Max is captivated by the show. He finds himself wondering if its all staged, or if its as brutally real as it looks.

   He sets out to get answers, but at every turn he's left with bigger and more serious questions. Pretty soon... some very strange things begin to happen to max. His life begins to turns upside down, and his world spins wildly out of control. The deeper he digs, the more the line between fantasy and reality is blurred. Is Videodrome a government experiment? Or is it part of something far more sinister...? Its almost like 8mm, with a Sci-Horror/surrealist twist.

  One great moment in the movie is when Max comes to realize something quite shocking that I won't spoil here, but a character in that delightfully creepy scene says to him... "Why would anybody watch a scum show like Videodrome...? Why did you watch it, Max?"
The line is chilling. The implications are chilling. And not just in this scene, and not just pertaining to Max... you could very well ask the same about the movie itself. Its wall to wall surreal gore and strange sex.

  Why did you watch Videodrome? Another scene in the movie highlights my point exactly.
Its an exchange between Max and a business friend of his, Masha. He says about the show:
"It's just torture and murder. No plot, no characters. Very, very realistic. I think it's what's next."
And she just replies: "Then God help us..."
Its a wonderful little conundrum. Is this stuff entertainment? What exactly do you get out of it?
Of course, the movie feels rather tame next to 8mm in terms of impact, objectivity and seriousness.
The movie often dips into extremely surreal territory, especially in the last half of the movie. This unfortunately renders any social commentary it had, into a mere whisper in the background.

  Of course this whole theme could've supported a whole movie and produced quite a gripping thriller. But this isn't primed to do what 8mm was, you know. Its a horror movie first off. Set up to screw with your sense of reality. And that is honestly fine. It works wonderfully as late night fodder for some really messed up dreams and such. It really does practically feel like a bad dream. This urging sense of dread pushing forward as it gets stranger and stranger. And like any good bad dream it flirts with some dark erotica too. The erotica in Videodrom is far too odd to make you uncomfortable and squirm in your seat, but fear not, the rest of the movie is chock full of mind-bending, hair raising, cringe inducing, squirm worthy moments.

  Videodrome is a full-on weird trip that is ambiguous in all the right ways to keep you guessing. You're unsure about everything. Its a very creepy feeling that will leave you saying... "What the hell did I just watch?" Any other movie, and that would be an insult. But Videodrome kind of stands apart from a select crowd as a movie thats weird for weird's sake. Its not supposed to be wrapped up neatly.
Its one of those late night gems that you wanna show your friends, just to weird them out. It takes pride in its strangeness. It embraces it as few movies do, and for this, its an awesome flick thats worth checking out.

Evil Dead 2

  Evil Dead 2 is straight up entertainment. Its frighteningly funny, insanely over the top, and a totally fun ride that doesn't let up not for a second.  It succeeds on many levels. Its a madhouse of gore and thrills and manages to STILL be fresh and original.

  It kinda recaps the first one in a short remake kind of way. Its definitely a sequel to The Evil Dead, but since the makers couldn't get the rights to use footage from the first one, they had to re-shoot a recap and kind of retcon certain details to make Evil Dead 2 work. It opens with a flurry of awesome camera work, eerie sound effects, and some brilliant B-movie special effects. This sets the tone for the rest of the movie, firmly establishing a great and creative thrill ride that infuses horror with comedy in an genius way.

  It picks up and shoots out new gags and wacky ideas at a mind numbing rate. Its manic and creepy, and perfectly delivered. The first 30 minutes of Evil Dead 2 are pure classic. Unrivaled in its breakneck pacing and avalanche of twisted gore and giggles, the first 30 minutes are the most creative and inventive part of the whole movie. Not to say the rest isn't just as fun, but it starts recycling some gags and ideas by the halfway mark. It never feels dull thankfully. Some comedy/horror movies can't balance the two genres well. Some forsake all pure scares, for silly gags wasted on even the easiest audiences. Others abandon any actual laughs, and focus on countless (and redundant) jump-scares instead, leaving all comedic moments an empty vacuum, devoid of any entertainment value whatsoever.

  After having been force fed movies like this for years, its so refreshing to go back and see a movie that does it absolutely perfectly. As Roger Ebert said, and I paraphrase, "The movie is timed for comedic effect, not horror-" but this is a brilliant move because I think there is a little bit of humor inherent in everything scary. So while you're being freaked out, you also can't help but feeling like you're also seeing comedy gold.  Furthermore, Evil Dead 2 cements its protagonist, Ash, as a reservoir of t-shirt worthy one-liners and iconic sayings. He's the ultimate B-movie protagonist. He works as the ideal, square jawed,stalwart action hero, and as a comedic genius who can carry a straight-up comedy entirely on his own. 

   Bruce Campbell plays Ash, and for the first classic 30 minutes, he's acting off of pretty much nothing but special effects.  Stop animation demons, a puppeteered severed hand, and "possessed" furniture. It takes skill to react to this stuff with palpable emotion and a whole lot of gusto. A friend of mine said, if it weren't for his awesome facial expressions and timeless reactions throughout, the movie wouldn't have been even half as fun. I'm inclined to agree.

  Aside from the comedy, it also excels in being very very creepy. Its full of demonic possessions, bloody dismemberments, evil disembodied spirits, excellent eerie sounds, and lots of clever tricks up its sleeve.  On top of all that, the last act of the movie also works as a delightfully creepy adventure haul. Like the climax of Aliens, the protagonists have put up with so much crap by this point, they're ready to fight back. And this leads to one of the coolest, most unforgettable and creative things I've seen in a movie like this... ever. If the iconic sayings and such cemented Ash as a timeless protagonist, this little thing in towards the climax is the proverbial icing on the cake.

  This one ticks all the boxes. Its creative, exciting, funny, scary, and full-on entertainment.  Its something I can watch over and over and find something new to love about it each time.  Its classic drive-in material. I can't stress enough how fun and classic this over-the-top gory horror/comedy is, and how much you need to see it if you haven't already.

Stargate

  It had been years since I'd seen this movie. I'm also pretty sure the last I saw it was on VHS. Yeah.
So today, on my latest Blu Ray run, I picked up Evil Dead 2 (25th anniversary edition), Stargate, and finally, Hancock, which I reviewed earlier. I can't say I was particularly ecstactic to see Stargate again, but I remember it being pretty good, and at $5.00... who can argue with picking it up?

  Its definately not the same 'great!' movie it was to me five years ago, and its still not bad, but I can definately see the flaws now.
  To start off with, the movie is about an ancient portal that the military discovers in Egypt or someplace and they hire this guy Daniel (James Spader), who's a right wing 'expert' on this stuff that no one takes seriously because of his radical theories, to decode the symbols on this portal device to make it work. Well hoo rah, he does in two weeks what their own team hadn't acomplished in two years. Geez. This guy is seriously under-appreciated! Anyway, him and a team of soldiers, led by Colonel Jack O'Neill (Kurt Russell),  go through the portal and wind up on a planet on the other side of the known universe. Literally. The planet is home to some opressed  slaves who also happen to be human, and their "gods" are aliens who possess the bodies of men because apparently human bodies are "easy to repair".  So after the typical language barrier is overcome (sorta) Daniel and crew end up leading a rebellion of sorts against these all powerful "gods" who reside in a pyramid spaceship, whilst also trying to find the right symbols to decode the Stargate on that planet so they can go home.
 Also includes, obligatory love intrest, and obligatory overly-evil villain who likes to blow shit up for the sake of blowing it up. Namely Earth. But it's all good! And for the most part it is!
 
  Its not an outright bad movie, its actually a pretty good time! But my complaints are as such...
No one seems to be impressed or in awe or have any appropriate reaction to the fact they're on the other side of the UNIVERSE! And have found evidence of aliens! In fact they just seem vaguely pissy...
Second issue is how the soldiers in the movie dont conduct themselves like trained professionals. They act like spoiled bratty teens on a vacation they were forced into. I swear to god they spend more time whining than doing anything productive.
Lastly is the villain thing.
His motivations are so unclear. Why did he show up only after the Stargate was reactivated?
What's his vendetta with Earth? Now he wants to blow it up? Why?

  Pretty dumb crap I know. But if you have an appreciation for mindless adventure epics that manage to be pretty entertaining when all is said and done, then don't waste anymore time. Go find this movie.
It has plenty in it worth seeing it for. It has fantastic production design that merges an otherworldly feel with an ancient egyptian style and the result is wonderful to look at. Its simply gorgeous. Even though this is limited to the interior of the alien pyramid ship and their armor and such, its still totally cool to look at. It invokes a proper sense of scope and awe.
Next is the brilliant music score that maintains this dramatic yet adventurous theme that just draws you in completely.
Lastly, the acting from the leads is not bad at all! In fact at some times its strikingly good. And there are plenty of laughs and legitimately engaging action scenes to keep you coming back for more. Its simply a fun sci-fi adventure. Sad thing is, I think it aspired to be far more. And it could have been an absolute must-see classic if it actually acomplished what it set out to... but it falls just short of that.
Don't let that stop you from seeing it though. It still is pretty damn fun even if its own logic just falters at times.

Hancock

  Hancock is by all means, a totally fun movie. Its a good time. On the whole, it has a great cast, a halfway decent script, great dialog, great special effects, and it all gels rather well. The problem is the direction the second half of the movie takes. Its out of the blue, poorly handled, and rather unnecessary.
It has a brilliant premise. It focuses on the real world ramification of the physical hoo-hah and meyhem a superhero would actually cause.  Now crank the meyhem to 10 because the clincher here is our superhero is an irresponsible, belligerent, alcoholic, hobo. Enter: Hancock.

  It works on a wonderful thematic level, and instead of Will Smith playing Hancock as a goof or something of a comedic role, he plays it super serious. Like an outcast from society with anger issues. He plays him dark, serious and quiet. And surprisingly this provides alot of laughs. But Smith is only half of said comedic dynamic. On the flip side we have the completely likable Jason Bateman, who's character's name eludes me at the moment. But he's awesome in this movie. He's the perfect counterpoint to Hancock's recklessness. And it succeeds on an unexpected emotional level because Bateman's character, who's really well fleshed out, is a very compassionate person. And even when the whole world manages to hate and despise Hancock, he sees a person there. Someone who deserves a chance. So being a public relations guy, he decides to help Hancock and revamp his public image entirely.

  Its a great direction. I would've been content with a whole movie about just this dynamic little situation. But unfortunately the movie cuts this stuff short with what I'm sure they thought was a brilliant twist. But all it did aside from shock me, was annoy me. Its unfortunate because it just seems like they didnt know what to do. But aside from that, its great. It really is. So I can definately reccomend this movie to anyone looking for a simply fun filled time, but...
But dont expect the whole thing to be as awesome as the first half. It is a great popcorn flick though with lots of cool parts in it, but its not quite what I expected. Even after seeing it three times.

The Last Circus

  The Last Circus is certainly one hell of a movie. Its out of  the blue and seems to take pride in its weary blood drenched humor and its sickly sense of the macabre. Its also very wild and at times surreal. On one hand, it doesn't appear to take itself that serious, and then on the other hand at times its so serious and straightfaced that you're caught off guard by it.  It feels like... a circus act. In any other context this would be an insult rather than a compliment, but The Last Circus juggles themes and tones, like an expert juggler with 20 flaming apples. Its something to marvel at. But after all is said and done... I can't help like I've also seen a car accident. It feels like a bad joke at times. Like instead of watching a display of skill, we're seeing something suffering from ADHD.

  But in the end, it does click. I'm not sure if theres anything to get. No striking revelation. No big aha moment. But it does somehow make sense. Not in a logical way, because there is often no logic to make sense of the batshit events leading up to the final scenes... but in an emotional way. Its powerful. Its what was coming all along. And I knew it. Nevertheless it is a sad movie. Its sad from 'go'. But its also not a depressing movie. Its too snappy and stylish to be a downer entirely. 

  My chief complaint is how often we're pulled out of it. We connect to the characters, sympathize with them... and then something happens that just disconnects us. Its not shocking or anything, its just random. And such scenes just seem to happen for the movies sake, to allow it space to expand on its weirdness and try to mold it into symbolism. But by the time we get to possible symbolism, its too much of a mess to be anything coherant. Its subtexts fouled up by pure strangeness, its emotional resonance is damped by its haste to be crazy, and all this feels like its just for the sake of itself. Its like a mad person begging to be noticed. He'll do anything to get your attention, even at the risk of losing credibility and looking like a fool.

  Having said all that, there is something wild, wacky, insane, and oddly likeable in this macabre tradgedy about love, revenge, and apparently... going crazy.  Its an experience you can't take you eyes off of. Despite my complaints about it, I feel like I watched something artful. Something pretty much worth seeing. Its not a masterpiece, but its destined to be a cult classic, and its a triumph for odd and weird movies everywhere.  I'm not going to waste time telling you a plot synopsis, because theres a billion places where you can get that, but I will say its worth watching if you're interested. But this movie is not for everyone to see. It can disturb some people with its violence and such. But I guess I'm desensitized. The only thing I flinched at was the sad ending. And thats probably the least flinch-worthy moment in the whole movie.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, tonight you shall witness a show like no other, and one you shan't soon forget!

Mission: Impossible

  Its taken me about... 6-7 viewings to wrap my head around the plot. If you haven't seen the movie yet, you're gonna wanna read this whole thing. Spoilers and all. Because, lord knows, if I had a plot synopsis in front of me while watching this the first few times, I might've enjoyed it more. Mission Impossible's biggest fatal flaw is its severely overcomplicated plot. Its biggest strength is that you're so caught up in the relentlessly paced espionage thrills, that something you had a question about 10 minutes earlier, is now rendered completely irrelevant.
 
  First off, the plot. Ethan Hunt is our main man. The point man of an IMF team, (impossible missions force) and him and his team are sent to Prague to apprehend a traitor who plans to steal and sell to the higest bidder, a CIA 'NOC' list. Its a computer document that contains a list of all the real identities of every undercover agent... in the whole world I suppose. Anyway, the whole operation goes tits-up and Hunt is the last man alive. It turns out, the list that the traitor stole was a fake. The whole thing was an internal mole hunt, and the whole thing is hung on Ethan as being a traitorous mole. So, now disavowed and,on the run from his own agency he plans to find the person who set him up. "How?" you might ask, by stealing the real NOC list of course and using it as leverage to find out who the real mole was.

  I'm pretty sure I got all that right. Some of the details may be fuzzy, even after I've just watched it, but you always get the impression that something intricate and important is going on. The story climaxes in areas where the suspense and tension come to a head in exciting sequences like the heist of the real NOC list, and the massive climax at the end involving a speeding bullet train and a helicopter. The runtime inbetween never feels dull, because there hardly is any down time. Its 'GO' from the start, and it hardly lets up. Its one big climatic event after the next. In a lesser movie, all of the problems would have been solved with gunfights and painful car chases, and while if done right, thats perfectly fine and just as entertaining, but Mission Impossible has too much class for that. And at certain moments... it has echoes of classic and timeless spy/thriller noir. The rest of course is cutting edge stuff (for 1996).

  As a big spy thriller, Mission Impossible succeeds on all counts. It has a great cast with the likes of Jean Reno, Jon Voight, Ving Rhames, and of course... Tom Cruise. Its a slick action vehicle that doesn't let up, and keeps a breakneck pace, too fast to pause even for a minute... even when you're stuck scratching your head, confused as all can be. This could be a major drawback for some, but for others, they keep pace with the film, letting it play out, and enjoying each scene as it skillfully unfolds.
Total action packed fun. Highly reccommended that you choose to accept this mission... but, of course, not without some tasty popcorn at the ready.

Princess Mononoke

  I've been a big fan of Hayao Miyazaki ever since I saw Laputa: Castle in the Sky at a pretty young age. 
It impressed me immensely. The animation, the story, the characters, the scope and scale; all of it was breathtaking. And I knew I just had to get my hands on more. Enter: Princess Mononoke.

  I knew next to nothing about the story and such, but I knew it was a movie that was very eco-centric.
Like, Avatar, its ecological message was clear as day. But instead of feeling like a sub plot or something tacked on last second, the message and the story are pretty much the one and the same in Princess Mononoke. Its very well handled too. The characters are all well fleshed out, and many of them fall into the 'grey' area. Where its not so easy to simply say "He's good." or "He's evil.".
This is where Princess Mononoke intrigued me. Certain characters aren't bad, but do bad things. The movie never makes it easy on you to decide these things. And in the end, the villain turns out to be harmful notions like greed and hatred. The struggle in the plot is for our protagonist to help these opposing parties overcome such blinding notions when both sides feel completely justified in taking extreme measures to acomplish their respective goals. This analytical breakdown of the movie may feel cold, or make it sound boring, but its not. Its an emotional movie. We grow to know the characters and understand who they are by what they do, and the choices they make.

  The other massive part of this movie is the visuals, and the animation. The visuals are breathtaking, thanks to top shelf animation. Princess Mononoke really draws you into its fantasy world full of wonder and excitement. Not the smallest details on anything are ever overlooked. Massive landscapes and epic battlefields, thick lush forests, and thriving villages are wonderfully and brilliantly brought to life through superb animation.

  I cannot say much else without spoiling the movie. But its a great one. A masterpiece of animation and a triumph of a movie in general.

Tiger on the Beat

 
  As a movie itself, Tiger on the Beat, seems at times unsure whether it wants to be a screwball comedy, a send-up of buddy cop movies, or an actual buddy cop movie. Despite its uneven footing, it actually succeeds on all those counts.

  You may be put off by how silly the movie is at times. The poster boasts its like "Lethal Weapon, only far funnier-" I can see the connection to Lethal Weapon, but far funnier? I'm not sure I can agree to that.
Far sillier, yes. More action packed, yes. And, on occasion, there happens to be a truly funny moment that just genuinely made me laugh. So I can't really reccomend this as a straight up comedy, because its not. Honestly. The action scenes are incredibly intense and serious, they dont make light of these moments, instead they play to their severity. Which ends up making the movie a mixed bag. Those looking for kick-ass action will mostly likely be turned off in the first ten minutes at how unrelentingly silly it is, but if they stay and watch it through to the end... they will NOT be dissapointed! This has some of the coolest, most creative action set pieces I've ever scene. Mostly at the end, but that doesn't mean this whole movie isnt worth watching. Its so fun. Whether or not you buy into the overacting, and the silliness, its totally fun. Unafraid to be goofy at times, and bloody at others, Tiger on the Beat is a movie that doesn't require close inspection. Just take it for what it is:
A damn good time.

(mild spoiler alert ahead)

Also... if you're still not convinced to see this movie:


Chainsaw duel.


And its every bit as awesome as it sounds.

Hunt, Ethan Hunt.

  With Ghost Protocol on the way, my attention has been recently drawn back to these Tom Cruise action vehicles. Having seen the first and third Mission Impossible movies countless times, and the second one, only once... it was long overdue for a revisit.
 
  Sometimes things tend to age better in your mind. As if  your memories of the negative aspects of such a thing tend to blur and fade. Perhaps, with a fresh perspective, you might enjoy that one particular movie you never really thought was all that good to begin with. Well, such is the case with "M:I-2". I thought I might really enjoy it. Yeah...

  Directed by one of my all time favorites, John Woo, I almost feel guilty for not liking it more than I do.  But Mission Impossible is the wrong franchise for you John. Sorry.
  The overly stylized shootouts, the excessive slow motion, and the slew of other time honored cliches of big blockbuster action movies feel so very very out of place here. And thats the least of the issues.
Like Jason Bourne, and to a lesser extent, James Bond, these men of action thrive under pressure. More specifically, when things go wrong. A setup, a double cross, and stuff like that. Which is what Mission Impossible did so very well. A massive setup and a twisting plot, wrapped around pulse pounding set pieces. Like a well oiled machine, with a dizzying array of moving parts, the first Mission Impossible outing, managed to excite and thrill.

  M:I-2, however, manages to feel less like the brainy and exhilarating ride of its predecessor, and more like a Brosnan era Bond flick. This is not good. Ethan Hunt no longer feels like Ethan Hunt. He acts JUST like James Bond. And this time around he's simply on an assigned save-the-world mission. No government setup, no big internal mole hunt, nothing thought provoking. No story capable of delivering anything clever. Expect no twists and no turns.
  You can expect a Bond villain though. And a typical Bond-like plot. Hell, theres even a Bond girl, and she does a great job of being a Bond girl.
  Further irritating me is the the use of those extremely cool masks they used in the first movie to look exactly like someone else. But instead of utilizing them in a clever manner, they appear extremely conviniently, and almost everytime the plot is in dire need of something to keep the audience interested... which is just about every 5 to 10 minutes. By the fourth time I saw someone peel someone else's face off, I was wondering if they keep these masks in their coat pockets or something. Like someone keeping a condom on them just in case you know? Its annoying. Not cool.

  I'm losing objectivity here. My ultimate point is this:
Its too much of the wrong thing.
  Most people won't mind the excessive action over a decent plot, or the fact the villain isn't really all that scary, or the fact Ethan Hunt looks like he stepped out of a damn movie poster the entire time, or the cookie cutter romantic sub plot, or the fact there even IS a romantic sub plot... but I mind. It all belongs in a different series. A different franchise. Wheres the intrigue? Wheres the mystery? Not here unfortunately.
And let me clarify on that "movie poster" bit there.
 Take note in a movie like Die hard, by the end of the movie, the hero is all cut up, banged up, shot, bleeding, and his clothes only hanging on by a thread here and there, the rest is all blood stains and such. This should be what Hunt looks like by the end of this movie, but he doesn't. He has to look cool and stylish for his slow motion close ups in his ultra-cool leather jacket and such. Which is exactly how they would show him... on the movie poster.
I... can't even begin to say how incredibly corny that looks to me now. I'm also pretty sure theres a scene towards the end where we cut away, then back, and stylish black sunglasses have just managed to appear on his face out of, apparently, nowhere. Wow. Now thats a cool trick.

  Now, in any other movie, I wouldn't mind all this as much. I might even love it. But it is not what a Mission Impossible movie should be like. And for the life of me I can't get over that. Its tone is so drastically different from the others I find myself waiting for that specific cue where Cruise will have to say 'his' name: "The name's Hunt...... Ethan Hunt."
 Ha. No. It sadly does not feel like a smart and exciting movie. They've stripped it of what made the first one awesome, and injects the standard ingredients for a typical summer blockbuster. It feels like just another summer hollywood movie. I have more complaints, but I won't waste anymore time listing them. This movie is best seen a couple times, once to get a feel for it, twice to criticize the hell out of it, and then again to accept it as a guilty pleasure and simple weekend action fare. I've yet to get to my third viewing.

  However I cannot conclude this review without giving the movie its due diligence. Despite my feelings towards it, I can't help but also kinda... kick back, be mildly entertained, and take it for what it is apart from the others. Its a serviceable action movie. The action is well choreographed and very good eye candy, which is about the best compliment I can level at M:I-2.
It is decent eye candy.
Of course, not to be had without a nice bowl of popcorn though.  :)

Fright Night

  I'm thoroughly convinced Colin Farrell is a cinematic chameleon. He may not be as versatile as the greats, but he's certainly a damn good actor, and brings something silently refreshing to the role of "Jerry" the next door neighbor/vampire.  Also worth seeing this for is young actor Anton Yelchin, showing up in 2009's Star Trek and Terminator Salvation. Turning in very good performances in both.
I found that this role of teenage horror movie protagonist fits him very very well. He's young, likeable, and isn't obnoxious in the role. A problem I find with many teen actors.

  I haven't seen the original Fright Night so I cannot really compare, but on its own merits, I found this remake to be lots and lots of fun. Creative and scary, and at times has a nice streak of humor in it, (as all horror movies like this should have). I can't elaborate alot on the movie. It has lots of great moments and clever pieces of dialog, and a really really cool and satisfying climax. I enjoyed this movie thoroughly and its definitely worth recommending. 
  Fright Night is a pretty competent movie overall, having only spotty flaws here and there, and manages to be a surprisingly good time.

Saints Row: The Third

  Scroll down just a bit and you'll see its no big secret I loved Saints Row 2. It was wild, fast, and able to be completely yours. Unlike other specific sandbox games  where you can create your own protagonist, Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas (both of which I am very familiar with and are personal favorites) the character creation options didn't stop at just your face. In the Saints Row games, you can pick your own voice. Although choices are limited, you can understand how a Fallout veteran like myself might be thrilled with the prospect of not having to read every line your character says, instead, he actually speaks it.  In Saints Row The Third, I went in with extremely high hopes, and massive expectations. I don't think I'd ever been so excited for the release of a new game.  I will buy almost any game that boasts extensive customization capabilities, and I think its a tad unfortunate I discovered Saints Row 2 first.

  Lets start with the cons. Saints Row The Third, on its own footing, hardly gets anything wrong at all. A few glitches here and there, some mildly annoying AI, but otherwise its a strikingly solid game.
But for people who've experienced the second game... we felt the loss instantly.
  For those who pay attention to detail, several facial detail sliders had been summarily condensed into one new 'Style' slider for each tab: Eyes, Crown, Forehead, Ears, Nose, Lips, et cetera...
While this isn't necessarily a bad thing, in fact its a welcome change, but it does sacrific some finer tweaking options that were a must for people creating well known faces. In my case... I made Vin Diesel... but now I can't get the slant of the eyes just right. See? For most this will be no problem at all, but for Saints Row 2 players, we felt the pain. You know how many hours can be spent running around as your favorite celebrity? Beating random people senseless and running over old people?
So anyhow, ontop of those tiny almost irrelevant details being axed from SRTT, the clothing situation has also been changed.
  Gone are the layering options. You can no longer equip seperately an undershirt, overshirt, and coat.
Tops and bottoms are solid pieces now. If you buy an open zip-up hoodie with an ugly shirt underneath it, you're welcome to change the color for the most part, but nevertheless... you're stuck with said shirt. In #2, that wasn't an issue. At all.  Along with reduced clothing options, gone is the need for so many clothing stores. Sloppy Seconds, Branded, Impressions... all gone. Here to stay is Leather & Lace, Nobody Loves Me, Lets Pretend, and the new Planet Saints.  Yes people, these are just clothing stores.
  But again, for those who aren't so fickle about their appearance... no harm done eh?
Also missing is the size, varried terrain, and scope of Stillwater. The city from #2. Now you're in Steelport. A mostly drab town. Not really all that unpredictable as far as pedestrians go. In #2, the streets and sidewalks were thriving with personality and such, this feels mostly gone from SRTT.

  Now moving on to the pros.
Stillwater was way more "alive" so to speak. Thats not to say that Steelport isn't without merit. This new city is much more atmospheric and colorful than the rather ordinary looking Stillwater. Nothing in Steelport looks generic. Its a banal cesspool of neon lights, hookers, pimps, and flashy looking S&M clubs. I'm sure I'm overlooking some notable locale worth mentioning, but make no mistake, there are LOTS of memorable locations.
  The hand-to-hand combat mechanics have been revamped as well. Gone are the 'fighting styles' of #2, and while many may mourn their absense from this game, I am MORE than happy with the new lil sweet spot button they've put in there. For the PS3 users, clicking R3 at someone while sprinting will unleash a short but brutally sweet melee move on them. Whether you're flipping over them, flipping them over you, or just using your shotgun like a bat and slamming it between their legs right into their nads', you can be sure it never gets old.  Dont worry, you can also use your standard attack buttons to delve out some good ol' "one-two" action when you don't have any weapons equipped.
  And now, with a reduced weapon roster, we're able to upgrade our weapons now! Extended clips, snap-on grenage launchers, lazer sights, scopes, special ammo types, silencers, and more. Its a very very welcome feature. Your two lil .44's may not do much against combat armor when you first set out to wreak some meyhem in the city of Steelport, but upgrade them to level four and you're a force to be reckoned with.
  Also as well as having some cool new cars to trick out in your personal garage or at your local Rim Jobs, driving mechanics have been overhauled. In #2, driving was unexciting and kinda clunky. In SRTT, driving is a blast. You feel like you're going much faster, and nitrous isn't a completely useless thing anymore, and its also super fun to just drift around corners and break out into doughnuts. Super fun.
  Ontop of all this, the missions themselves are as exciting as any number of cinematically inclined cutscenes. You may consider this spoiler-ish, but trust me... having a mid-air fire fight after jumping out of an airplane is just the tip of a very large iceberg.

  There are so many situations here where you feel like you're an action hero in a summer blockbuster as bullets fly, cars explode, and you're making sure you look as damn stylish (or absurd) as possible in the middle of it all. Certain missions feel like you're pulling off a Mission Impossible stunt, rappelling down the side of a building, or jumping out of a helicopter to crash an enemy pool party on top of their huge skyscraper. Certain other missions fell like you're in the middle of an urban war movie, or a full on John Woo crime movie with the slow motion shootouts and all the jumping over sofas while shooting two large calibur bullets. Its all very intense and dynamic and feels very natural in SRTT, the gameplay itself, during these epic battles, feels very fluid and vastly improved over #2. Everything does. From running, to jumping, to beating someone's face in feels and looks much more natural and fun.

  Also Saints Row The Third is not without a certain emotional weight, even though it doesn't hang karmic choice on you like inFamous, there are choices you make that will affect the game, and other stuff happens thats completely out of your hands, and its all kind of emotional because you've stayed with these characters for a long time, You get the in-jokes, you know their quirks, you can feel all of it pretty closely. You're definately connected to it all. Without this weight and sense of family I think that SRTT would be a completely hollow experience, and given the fact I'm saying this about a game in which you can beat someone over the head with a giant purple dildo-bat whilst dressed up as a big furry animal mascot... its pretty impressive.

  If you give it a chance, and overlook whats not here from #2,  you'll find a wacky, crazy, funny, intense, action-packed, and rewarding gaming experience thats FULL of clever surprises and twists, and definately worth investing your time in.  Although if wacked out raunchy humor, or over the top violence isn't your bag... stay far far away.
However if you can appreciate this stuff, and if you chuckle at all those nut shots in "America's Funniest Home Videos" than this is definately for you.  I love this game, and I deeply enjoyed every second of playing it.  It gets my full recommendation.

Saints Row 2

 
  I don't think its any big revelation that lots of video games take themselves very seriously now.
We have widely appealing crime stories ala Grand Theft Auto IV, intense sci-fi thrillers like Dead Space 2, and flat out action games like the Uncharted series. Going to buy a video game now, is almost like browsing for a movie at a rental joint. 

  Call me nostalgic but despite my love for the current wave of cinematically inclined video games, begging to be taken seriously, I miss a slightly older generation of games. Ones that came attached with a laundry list of cheat codes, and hidden areas and all kinds of fun stuff. Now, we have to pay for 'DLCs' to get all the extra stuff. Back then you had to either enter a ridiculously long code straight into the menu, or defeat some mega boss on insane difficulty levels. I miss that kind of gameplay.
  I want to now slap myself for not discovering Saints Row 2 sooner. Or maybe I discovered it at the perfect time. Either way... it was a godsend.
 
  Its frequently compared to GTA IV because of its sandbox open world style, its focus on the criminal underworld, and its general approach to gameplay. However, Saints Row 2, is not a game on its hands and knees begging to be taken seriously. In fact it seems to be doing the exact opposite: pistol whipping you over the head, yelling obsceneties in your ear, telling you to just enjoy the ride.
  Its an insanely immature game. Loaded to the brim with tasteless wanton destruction and bloodshed, and removing all moral and ethical consequences from sight. Its wall to wall guns, pole dancers, fast cars, foul language and lots of loud explosions.  Despite it unfolding like it was written by a teenage wannabe white boy rapper with a predilection for all things violent, it is most definately cinematically inclined and gloriously so. 

  Although the graphics aren't the best, or even remotely so, the cinematics at the beginning and end of every action packed mission, feel like you're watching an action movie, with big impressive stunts (i.e. jumping out of a helicopter, and into the top floor of a towering sky scraper) and fast paced action scenes. Mind you, this is just in the cinematics, and its also just the tip of the iceberg.

  I played through the game with select cheat codes enabled, never feeling guilty, because the game is already so over the top its not a big leap to want to feel invincible in this world. Even with infinite health, ammo, and my pick of military grade weapons, thats not to say I had the whole world in my hands. I found myself constantly fighting against a timer, or racing against a time restraint, trying to keep my "homies" alive, or struggling to complete a mission in general. Its no cake walk, but the codes certainly made me feel like I was an invincible action star in the latest summer blockbuster.

  I also found the amount of customizable things to be wonderfully self-indulgent. You start off the game, and you're allowed to create your own protagonist. Sex, age, build, facial features, hair styles, personality traits, and even a choice from three voices (per gender). This in itself had me sold already. I love personalizing my own protagonist in any game, getting to create a completely unique one from scratch is always a special treat. Especially so in this game.  The customizing doesn't end there either.

  The story begins with your character emerging from a coma, induced by some explosion taking place in the previous game, and now you find your gang, the 3rd Street Saints, to be gone, your home drastically changed, and several other new cutthroat gangs have dominated alot of territory. Welcome home to the city of Stillwater.
  You have to recruit new gang members to resurrect the Saints, and fight your way to your rightful place at the top of the food chain once again.  So in this epic urban adventure, you can customize the general look of your gang (ninja clan anyone?), the cars your gang use, your own personal garage full of cars and such, and even eventually... aircraft. Fun yes? I thought so too.
  You can also buy up "cribs" all over the city and add your personal touches...
*cough-stripper poles-cough*

  And from there access your wide inventory of purchased guns, and general weapons, your ever expanding wardrobe, a mini game about a zombie apocalypse, the option to re-view those epic cinematics, and your personal cash vault that restocks over time. All this is an epic setup to hours and hours of open world fun and getting sidetracked on mini-games and tongue-in-cheek 'activities' even long after you've completed your last mission. The game is blessed with a dark sense of humor, and at times even a well placed bit of satire, and it all goes towards creating a very enjoyable and unique game that is for the power-hungry gun-freak in all of us.

  If the point of video games is to be totally immersive, this game does it in spades. The only things that could possible have as much totally immersive, open world, reckless, limitless, fun... is Saints Row: The Third, (which I will be buying)... and/or a Star Trek holodeck.

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift

  Justin Lin's first entry into the well known franchise is just flat out fun. Its maybe not better than 2 Fast 2 Furious, but definitely on par with it. In short, it has the same weaknesses but, a whole new set of strengths. Its not as action heavy as the first two giving way for some respectable stabs at character development. Its less about crime lords and cops, than it is more of just a fish out of water story, set in the underground racing scene of Tokyo japan. Alot like the very recent remake of the Karate Kid, only instead of karate or kung fu, its car racing.  It works pretty well too.

  The protagonist is a fresh face to the series, avoiding the typical kinds of 'heroes' seen in the previous two. He's just a guy. Not a criminal or a cop. Just a high school guy who happens to be very good behind the wheel of a car. But theres a catch, in THIS racing scene in Tokyo, its not JUST racing. Its drifting.

  Where according to wikipedia drifting is when a driver intentionally over steers, causing loss of traction in the rear wheels through turns, while maintaining vehicle control and a high exit speed.  It looks way more interesting that it sounds. Well this new guy has to learn how to drift or he's pretty much useless in the racing world here. Its pretty cool and fun. But again... ridiculous dialog, plenty of overacting, and hammy characters. Except by now, those feel less like flaws and more like trademarks of the franchise. Is that a good thing by now? Or a severely bad one?

Well, I'm still unsure. But I had a good time watching the movie. Its nothing spectacular, or even anything special, but its fun. And isn't that all we really want from a movie like this?

  I don't have as much to say about this one than I did about the first two, because it doesn't feel like there is as much to critique. Also in some respects there isn't much to say because it sticks out like a sore thumb in the series. We're not really catching up on Dom Toretto or Brian O'Connor, so I can't really measure the movie next to the first two.  It feels very different. Better? I'm not sure. But its definitely not worse.

2 Fast 2 Furious

  The problem with the first Fast & Furious movie, was the fact it didn't really  have alot of originality. It felt like a poor man's Point Break with the undercover cop befriending the criminals he's supposed to be investigating.Aside from its inherently cliche plot, even most of its car races and action scenes were cliche. Lets not even mention the horrible dialog.

  2 Fast fixes alot of this. Its a cliche genre movie, but it has enough exciting set pieces and flashy cars to keep your attention the whole time. If the first one was loud, this one is louder. If the first one had colorful cars, this one has the whole damn rainbow. Maybe they're compensating for the lack of Vin Diesel's charm here, but it pays off. Its... pardon the pun, twice the fun as #1.
  Movies like this aren't really renowned for their intellectual side or their brilliant dialog.
But they are usually adept in competent action. So 2 Fast's super smart move is ramping up the action.

   It knows it's weaknesses and its strengths and it plays completely to its strengths. The big flashy cars, the sexy women, the loud hip hop music et cetera... Right off the bat, its structurally put together better that its predecessor, it fires off with a big intense car chase, that has an awesome ending. And then the movie just kicks off, unfolding as we're along for the fast paced ride. Its just fun. Stupid fun. But fun nonetheless. Its... just a better movie. I still wouldn't call it a good movie, but overall I don't feel as guilty for liking it as I did with #1. Because this one ticks alot more of the boxes that movies like this SHOULD tick. Still pales in comparison to Fast Five, but overall its not a bad entry into the series.

   I can recommend this one for a fun Saturday night in. But don't expect anything amazing. For that... Fast Five still reigns. n this case, the over-saturation of the action, the car chases, and the silly dialog works. In any other movie franchise, it would be too much. Or too little depending on how you look at it. But it actually fits perfectly in this series. Sign me up for #3.

The Fast and The Furious

To say that The Fast and the Furious is a good movie, wouldn't be a very truthful statement.  Its not my first entry into the F&F franchise, that honor would go to the rather stale Fast & Furious which hit the big screens in 2009 I believe. Aside from not really impressing me or anything, it was an ok way to spend a couple hours. Now, this one, The Fast and the Furious is the first movie in this odd series. And its an okay foundation to what has very recently turned into a promising franchise with the extremely enjoyable Fast Five.

This movie didn't much impress me, cause well... the dialog is terrible, the awkward stabs at character development is half-assed, and we really have no reason whatsoever to give a crap about these characters.  Diesel's iconic character Dom Toretto is supposedly the hero, but why? He doesn't really do anything good. His only redeemable quality is his unflinching loyalty and devotion to his rag tag family, but they're all criminals anyway. So at this point there is a massive disconnect here.

I already care about the characters because of what I've seen in Fast Five, they sort of are like modern day Robin Hoods. So to speak. In that movie, they take down a ruthless drug lord with a death grip on the slums of Rio De Janeiro. Its hard to not root for Dom & his team in that movie. But in this movie all that's at stake is some pretty delicate egos and alot of street cred. I will say though, that by the movie's climax I am invested in these characters, even though, like I said, we're never really given a reason to be. So as the movie progresses, we can really get involved in it, because I suppose that the vague family dynamic that is there is appealing from a certain standpoint, and Dom is like a father figure in a way. Its a nice concept.

   I wish that the movie around these characters could've been much better. Diesel comes very close to having a great performance here, but the movie and the cheap script weigh him down. The movie almost feels like a poor man's Point Break but with less to work with.I actually really enjoyed this movie due to alot of the flashy cars and a nicely staged climax, but I don't expect many others to. Its really devoid of anything really unique. It does have alot of charm and charisma, but thats all it has to offer beyond a few car races and chases. It is also initial foundation to the ever evolving storyline of these characters which is nice to see in a way.

   But considering how many better movies have much better car chases and races, go see one of those instead unless you're a F&F completionist. Which I fear I am becoming. Or perhaps, quite possibly instead I've become a Vin Diesel fanboy.  Which means, 2 Fast 2 Furious and The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift won't be earning any mercy points from me.  Vin Diesel has this cool ability to make even a crappy movie like this and make it lots of fun, so I'm not sure how I'll take in the ones without him.

After the insanely awesome Fast Five, its kind of awkward to go back and see its rather weak (but charismatic and oddly enjoyable) origins. They pale in comparison to Fast Five's massive blockbuster power. Seeing as how promising the future of the franchise is looking after this latest one, I am thoroughly excited for sequels. But I definitely need to catch up on the other movies. There isn't much else to do until Justin Lin and crew get The Fast and the Furious 6 underway.
And then after that, The Fast and the Furious 7.

  Overall, its a really guilty pleasure that is really really brainless.
Not everyone's thing, but I don't mind having this one around for rainy afternoons like this.

Buried

  I wanted to see this movie as soon as I heard about it.
The whole concept seemed fresh and engaging to me. Would they really keep the camera inside with Reynolds the whole time? The answer is yes. Ryan Reynolds' face is pretty much the only face you will see in this movie. And you will see it incredibly close. For an hour and a half. Now, don't get me wrong, Buried is an excellent movie. A masterpiece if you will. Doing SO much with SO little is amazing.

   Precisely 3/4ths of the movie's capability to pull off what it was trying to, rests on Reynolds' performance, and he really delivered! In spades.  He had me as soon as the film started rolling. I totally bought into it. His acting was impeccable and the way the movie is crafted really draws you in. Getting you really emotionally involved with everything. The other 1/4th of the movie is the whole concept of being with this guy for almost two hours, as he's been buried alive in a wooden coffin. Its really risky not cutting off to anywhere else; not seeing the rescue effort, not seeing the people he's calling on that cellphone he has. Nobody else. Just him.

   That concept alone was wildly intriguing to me. Half because I didn't think they'd stick with it, half because I was itching for them to really do it. Something unique. I have to say, this movie, really got me into it. I was biting my nails, sitting at the edge of my seat, and taking breaks about every ten minutes to go get some snacks or something because the tension was shredding my nerves alive. It uses color shifts to give us new settings per se. The blue hue from his cell phone evokes a very distinct feeling, the orange hue from the lighter evokes another feeling, and finally so does the green from the glowstick.

   This is clever! It can take us out of one setting and place us into another setting without ever really leaving the coffin. Very cool. Finally there is a plethora of interesting problems he has to deal with, is a veritable gauntlet of life threatening obstacles he must overcome.
Which brings me to this... what I didn't realize was, with something this fundamentally unique, indie, and edgy...there is always some kind of catch. There will be a massive spoiler involved from here on out. So if you don't want to find out the ending to this movie, avoid the rest of this review.


*SPOILER ALERT*


  We spend the entire movie face to face with Reynolds' character, Paul Conroy. When he is in anguish... so are we. When he feels a lil hope so do we. When he's absolutely positive he's about to be rescued, he has so much hope right then, we're riding high at this point, at this nerve shredding climax which is a race against the clock as his coffin is filling up insanely fast with sand. Then... right when we're ready to let out that breath we've been holding and see this guy FINALLY be rescued...
his rescuers are actually nowhere near him... they were led to a different coffin somewhere far off the actual mark.

 The closing shot of the movie is Reynolds' coffin filled with sand. He's bound to suffocate within the minute... and we hear the man on his cell...

    "I'm sorry Paul... I'm so sorry."


Then the credits roll.

I sat there with my mouth open. Unable to let out that breath. I was devastated... it really did a number on me. So, if you get really emotionally involved as I do. Stay away from Buried.
I wanted to roll over and die from that ending. Seriously. I see what they were going for, defying conventions, shattering expectations, avoiding the cliche, but that ending... In a typical hollywood movie, he would've been rescued and we would've left the movie okay. Perfectly fine. Not a second thought about it. But this way... it certainly sticks with you. But it feels so harsh... a perfectly cruel mirror of reality.

Extremely well made, but not my cup of tea. Movies are escapism for me, and this just left me feeling dead inside, and, of course...trapped.

Fast Five

 
  When I first saw Fast Five I was incredibly impressed to say the least, its a top notch movie in a bottom shelf genre. Its like junk food that actually happens to be incredibly good, no one thinks much of junk food, but everyone eats it.  However, upon second viewing, I think Fast Five is an ideal serving of over-the-top cinematic desert. Pure indulgence.
 
  Vin Diesel has pretty much in my eyes, attained classic action star status in the likes of Schwarzenegger and Stallone with Fast Five. It was well received by critics (which was pretty mind-blowing in itself) and it turned out to be an all around rock solid (no pun intended. Seriously.) action movie.  Its everything I could've asked for from a movie like this.  The last big movies like this, with the stars in their prime, that managed to be as satisfying as this, in my opinion, were from the eighties.

   Which would mean that Fast Five is the 2nd coming of wholly entertaining slam-bang action movies. It definitely ranks as one of the most enjoyable movies I've seen in a long long time.  Vin Diesel's star power is definitely not wasted here, his character is the leader of this team he's put together to pull off an insane heist in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. He plans to take this ruthless drug lord's money, all of it, every last cent, right out from under him. Which ends up totally about $100 million dollars. Because our 'heroes' are ripping off an evil heartless person, it gives us a reason to root for them. Cause lets face it Dominic Toretto is no saint. When it all boils down to it, he's considered a bona fide criminal. But, Fast Five reminds us... so was Robin Hood.

  So its okay to go with these guys for this high octane ride and watch them pull off a 'mission: impossible'. But of course these guys do it in style. And lots of it.

   Not even the ever popular Transporter movies, which star another big name in current action movies, Jason Statham, are this fun to watch.  Fast Five is wall to wall action, clever one-liners, timely comedy, thrilling car chases, and lots of pretty women. It takes an established genre formula and manages to actually improve on it. Its really fun to watch. The cast has incredible chemistry and a really cool dynamic thats reminiscent of movies like The Italian Job.  In fact alot of this movie is like The Italian Job except hyped on massive action scenes and bass pumping music.

  Fast Five has alot of heart to go along with all the action scenes and car chases. It has a strong sense of family with series mainstay Brian O'Connor (Tokyo Drift aside.) and Mia Toretto in a relationship and a little surprise on the way.  This makes way for some quieter moments between the iconic trio, Dom, Brian and Mia, and really adds to the family aspect. Which make it all that more intense when their lives are on the line. And, fortunately, the core, and extended cast has been together through so many other movies that the family dynamic, that stretches out to even secondary characters, feels genuine and is actually pretty moving at times.

   I firmly believe that without some emotional tie to the characters, an action movie cannot properly anchor itself on anything but shootouts and such. And because we've actually seen all that stuff before... it'd feel insanely shallow and empty. Thankfully, and amazingly, Fast Five has that essential emotional anchor which makes the action sequences that much more engaging and exciting.
So fun and I completely reccomend it.

Drive

  Ryan Gosling plays a stunt driver who moonlights as a getaway driver in this new dramatic thriller from director Nicolas Winding Refn.

  Drive is very atmospheric which right away draws you in, showing that its pure movie. Its not setting out to defy conventions, it just does. I found myself immersed in this movie, firstly by Ryan Gosling's terrific performance, and secondly by the way it flowed.
Lots of movies let scenes run on too long and that extra time is filled with dumb predictable dialog; Drive never loses control of its scenes nor does it let them slip into cliche either.
It does however place more emphasis on character and emotion than action and dialog.
I love that. Its a dramatic emotional piece first. An action/thriller movie is somewhere in here, but its a necessity of the story.  Never the other way around.

  You can feel the emotions on display in this movie. The tension is palpable. The romantic sub plot is beautifully realized without the need for physical affirmation that dips into vulgarity.
It never goes there.  Sometimes there are these long silences that appear to be just a scene dragging on too long, but more is happening in these moments than in the most action packed parts.
You can see characters, most frequently our protagonist, thinking about things, assessing the situation. He looks distant, yet you can tell he's calculating everything, not skipping a beat.

Its rounded out with an excellent supporting cast finding the perfect actor for each role, injecting undeniable believably into it. 
The chemistry between the lead and his romantic interest is utterly amazing.
It doesn't have the archaic need to push their relationship forward and develop it with clunky and obligatory dialog or insulting bedroom scenes. Its not forced. Its feels natural, and that along with everything else about this movie is refreshing.
I loved this movie.
 
  With the awesome soundtrack, including songs by Desire, College, Kavinsky and more, it has a very 80's retro feel to it.  A friend of mine on a forum I frequent pointed out that Drive is practically an exploitation film.  Much like the drive-in fodder of the 70's and then into the early 80's.  Its a fresh spin on a classic notion. Its for all intents and purposes a 'carsploitation flick'. Pack a couple more uber-violent scenes into the back half, and all you'd be missing is film grain and cigarette burns.  As it is, Drive may lack some aspects of what make exploitation movies such a blast, but its hard to not see the connection once its pointed out.  And some may call it slow and say it has pacing issues, but I beg to differ. Stuff is happening from the go. Its not always a car chase or a fight, but these characters are being developed, we're seeing who they are. Plot and story are being laid out and built up. And all the action movie tropes aside, there is a beautiful movie here.

  If you can't appreciate that, then Drive probably isn't for you. But if you've read thus far and are still interested... give it a shot. You probably won't regret it.

  Its always beautiful, endlessly stylish, oh-so sleek and when it needs to be... very very violent.
But it never lets its style overpower its substance which is always balanced perfectly.
Lots of movies can't find that balance and end up sacrificing one for the other.
It also doesn't let the action dominate the runtime. This isn't The Transporter.
Drive is classy and emotional, hardly a typical action movie. But it does have action.
It juggles scenes of brutality with scenes of beauty and gentleness.
If anything Drive finds the perfect balance with all of this.
Perfect.

Excellent movie. Not to be missed.

--

  The art in the banner above is by the incredibly talented James White.
You can visit his site here.
And his Facebook page here.
The full poster definitely deserves a look. As does his other work.
Pay his site a visit you won't regret it.

Tekken

  In the pantheon of video game movies, none are more tailor made for the silver screen than tournament fighters. Yet somehow... they keep dropping the ball. At least Tekken is only a half-fumble. I think the film's design aspect certainly deserves praise, they could've gone totally generic, but I never once got that feel from the movie. Even if everything else about it was cliche, at least the look itself wasn't. Everything from the Tekken arenas to the "stormtroopers" have a bit of originality.
I can see how some of this would forcibly spawn from having a smaller budget, but I still tip my hat to them. Good job there.

  Now seeing as how I don't really give a crap about the Tekken games, I can't really compare any characters beyond Jin and Yoshimitsu (my two favorite characters), and as far as I can tell they're pretty much the same in all ways that matter. Story-wise, the movie isn't as fantastical as Mortal Kombat: The Movie or as stupid as Street Fighter: The Movie but that doesn't mean its original either. The plot and the core story is fraught with cliches and very tired cliches at that. Nothing too original here. The actors fill their roles as much as expected, but nothing truly passionate here.

But, here, I didn't expect passionate performances. I just wanted cool stylized, R-Rated fights, and on that note, the movie delivered. Way more brutal and bloody than either of the aformentioned movies, Tekken really shines when people are fighting, but when it grasps at character development and good story telling, it falls on its face. It is worthy mentioning that none of this is the actors fault, they deal with the script as best as possible. Especially John Foo who seems like he might actually want this to work. He's easily the most charasmatic of the cast and at times he's kind of fun to watch.

   Unfortunately, the movie tries too often to reach higher than it should, and while with any other movie this might not be such a bad thing, Tekken starts to lose focus and it comes off as heavy handed and disconnected. A good dose of humor (i.e. Mortal Kombat: The Movie) and some better, snappier dialog and Tekken might've been easier to recommend. However its nowhere near the much better likes of Mortal Kombat: The Movie. That movie, although the fights haven't aged nearly as well as we'd have liked, the set design, creature effects, wonderfully corny characters (i.e. Johnny Cage, Kano, Goro) and a villain who was in full scenery-chewing mode makes it a B-Movie classic with all the trappings of a good fantasy adventure.

   In Tekken, its best (and pretty much, ONLY) redeeming quality is the fight scenes. They're well edited, pretty bloody, and combined with some pretty cool looking set and character design, they're definately loads of fun to watch. However, this is probably nothing you haven't seen before, and done better too.

So if you want some cool stylish fight scenes, go for it. But know that there are better kung-fu movies out there. And, if you're a fan of the games, I reccomend you stay away, I've heard time and again that it does no justice to the games at all.

In conclusion...

I liked Tekken alot, more than it probably deserves, and if you're in the right frame of mind it's certainly more entertaining than it has any right to be.