QUICKIES! 6 movies, 1 post!

Hi everyone!

As you may have noticed, I’ve been AWOL lately…  Life has been busy, and other distractions have gotten in the way of my reviews.  But that hasn’t stopped me from going on some cinematic adventures!  And with the holiday season right around the corner (which means plenty of awesome movies around the bend), and life not getting any less busy, I want to quickly recap some movies I’ve seen since my last post.  I hope to continue to write my regular-sized posts in the future, but if I don’t write these mini-reviews now, I feel like I never will and will just fall behind, so please excuse the irregular format this time around!

1) Bad Grandpa – 5/10

In another case of the trailer spoiling the best parts of the movie, all the funniest scenes in the film were given away in the trailer.  The rest was just Johnny Knoxville being Johnny Knoxville: outrageous, gross, and rude, which is what you come to see when you go to any of his movies.  This is certainly not as funny as any of the Jackass films, which I feel are bolstered by Knoxville’s crazy friends.  The child actor in this film is hilarious, and Knoxville does have a handful of humorous moments that aren’t in the trailer, but overall you won’t be missing anything if you skip this film.

2) Ender’s Game – 6/10

As with just about every single one of my other reviews, I have not read the book that this film is based on, but even I feel like it’s probably way better than the film.  In what is essentially a space version of Harry Potter (a chosen, gifted boy is asked to save the world using his skills) or a live-action version of StarCraft (strategically place your units in the right places to defeat the aliens), the film can be a bit boring and slightly confusing at times.  The twist at the end of the film is interesting, but not enough to save the rest of the film.  The acting either falls flat is overly bombastic many times, which is a shame considering the star-filled cast (Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, Viola Davis, and Abigail Breslin).  The special effects are decent, but certainly not the best that we’ve seen in recent films.  Once again, you’re not missing out if you decide to skip this film entirely.

3) Dallas Buyers Club – 9/10 

2013 seemed to be the year of McConaughey, as he starred in yet another incredible film.  Unlike his role in Mud, this time around McConaughey plays a man you love to hate and hate to love.  While he is an ignorant homophobe who makes his feelings and opinions very well known throughout the film, it’s this same stubbornness and brashness that makes him so appealing.  Jared Leto does a phenomenal job in his role as the transgender woman Rayon, who is so compelling and charming.  Both actors went through drastic physical transformations to embody their roles.  Jennifer Garner does a satisfactory job in her role.  The story is hilarious and heartwarming, difficult yet delightful.  Not too many movies have really dealt with the issue of AIDS (especially in the early days of it), and this movie definitely does a great job of showing the struggle that people with AIDS faced, particularly the ignorance people had about the disease and its contagiousness.  This one is sure to garner some Oscar buzz, and is certainly worth seeing!

4) 12 Years a Slave – 10/10

An immensely powerful film, it is no surprise that it has already received so many award nominations.  This is absolutely Chiwetel Ejiofor’s breakout role, and he does a fantastic job in a very difficult role.  Showing the extremes that this man would go through just to survive is heart-wrenching, as well as how “normal” this whole insane world was for everyone involved.  For example, in one scene, Ejiofor’s character is practically hung on a tree, with his only means of survival being desperately trying to stand on his tip-toes.  Throughout his entire struggle, other slaves walk around him, children play in the fields behind him, and the white people simply check in on him every now and then as if he is a nuisance.  Other powerful roles are offered by Paul Giamatti, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Michael Fassbender, and of course Brad Pitt.  Believe the hype, this is definitely a great movie that, as hard as it can be to watch sometimes, needs to be seen, and displays one of the most difficultly realistic views of slavery in media of any form.

5) Frozen – 10/10

One of the BEST Disney films (and animated films in general) of recent history, and a true display of the talent that Disney Animation has without the aid of Pixar, this is a movie that both kids and adults will love.  Like every great Disney film, it has a great balance of humor (Josh Gad as a magical snowman?  Yes please!) and sweetness (the relationship between the sisters, Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel is uplifting).  Also, as a musical enthusiast, this movie has one of the best soundtracks of any Disney film out there, with a nice variety of sounds and styles that fit wonderfully into the film; I guarantee you’ll be humming at least one of the songs you hear in the movie for weeks to come.  In another awesome twist, the true love displayed in the movie doesn’t rely on romantic love, but rather the love between family.  The 3D looked great as well and was truly immersive.  The Frozen will rekindle your faith in the power of animated films and remind you about what you loved about them as kids, and I absolutely recommend it!

6) The Hunger Games: Catching Fire – 9/10

Finally, in the blockbuster sequel to the blockbuster original, this film has all the action and excitement that you would expect, and a revolutionary story that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the end.  Again, I’ve never read the source material, but people that I know who have read the books say its a pretty faithful interpretation.  Jennifer Lawrence is as incredible as ever, and the rest of the supporting cast return in excellent form, with a few notable new faces as well (Philip Seymour Hoffman in particular).  While it is over 2 hours long (146 minutes to be precise), it flies by quickly, and ends rather abruptly (which, like any great cliffhanger, simply leaves you excited for the conclusion).  The effects are great and the cinematography is excellent, and its a great follow-up to what I feel will be the biggest trilogy of recent times.  If you liked the first one (or just like action films in general), you definitely should see this one!

That’s it for now, more reviews and other posts coming soon!  Thank you all for continuing to read these posts!  In case I don’t get to chat with you all again in the next few days, I hope you all have a Happy Holidays and New Year! 🙂

-Dr. A

Pacific Rim

 

Pacific Rim is an epic, action-packed, larger-than-life slug fest and a visually stunning homage to the “Godzilla”/monster movies we loved as kids.

From the creative, dark and twisted mind of Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, the Hellboy series, etc.), it’s no surprise that this film is full of so many amazing looking creatures.  As I stated before, this is an homage to and a re-imagining of sorts of all your favorite classic monsters (which should be immediately evident as all the alien monsters in this film are referred to as kaiju, which is Japanese for “strange creature” or “giant monster.”  There are beasts in here that resemble a giant gorilla (King Kong), crab (Mysterious Island), dragon (for the sake of the theme of this movie with kaijus, let’s go with Godzilla’s arch-nemesis Ghidorah, though there are plenty of other examples!), and of course a dinosaur (obviously Godzilla).  All of them are larger than life, and del Toro does a great job of scaling them against recognizable items and buildings to make that very clear.

Similarly, the robots (or as they’re called in this film Jaegers, German for “hunter”) are just as monumental (though apparently surprisingly light, as they are flown out by just 8 helicopters…  one of a very few gripes I had with the film).  They are powerful (though certainly flawed) war machines that are still grounded in humanity, as they require two humans to pilot and operate them.  I love how you can see the “battle scars” on these robots, it really adds to the vulnerability and “realism” (as much as you can get in a movie with alien sea monsters) of the war that is being waged.

Suffice to say, the movie looks great, and when these two colossal entities battle each other, it’s quite a spectacle and incredibly exciting to watch unfold!  Especially in IMAX 3D, these giants fight with an intense ferocity that you can literally feel in the theater!

The cast is composed of mostly unfamiliar faces.  However, the few familiar faces from the film do a great job in their roles.  Idris Elba (the Thor films, Prometheus) delivers as the battle-hardened commanding officer Spencer Pentecost, and is both intimidating and inspiring.  Experienced in the dangers of the war, he knows what to expect and tries his best to prevent it from happening again (though throughout the film his orders are disobeyed on multiple occasions).  Charlie Day (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) adds comic-relief to the film as the curious and rebellious scientist Dr. Geiszler.  His trademark acting style seems to be a perfect fit for his role and for this film, and he didn’t seem out of place in the movie (which I feared he would).  Lastly, Ron Perlman (the Hellboy films, Sons of Anarchy) appears briefly in the film as the black market salesman Hannibal Chau, but in his limited time on screen does a great job of being funny as well as intimidating, much like his role as Hellboy (if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it right?).

As for the unfamiliar faces, the lead actor Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy, Queer as Folk) does an ok job as the soldier Raleigh Becket who has experienced the brutalities of the kaiju war, though his performance can be dry and monotonous at times.  Rinko Kikuchi plays his partner Mako Mori, who has experienced the terrors of the kaiju in a frightening way, and does a satisfactory job as well.  Burn Gorman, who plays fellow scientist Dr. Gottlieb, works alongside Charlie Day as the comic duo of the film, and is entertaining and a fun character to watch.

Finally, let’s get to the plot.  Aliens have discovered a portal in the Pacific Ocean that they have used to send terrifying sea monsters to attack our planet.  After struggling to defeat them through traditional military tactics, the Jaegar program was developed, creating giant robots operated by not one (for some reason that I still don’t fully understand, it was too much for a single pilot to handle) but two pilots.  These pilots are connected through a “neural handshake” in which their memories and brains “drift” together, allowing them to guide the robot as one.  I won’t give away too much more for those of who still haven’t seen it, but suffice to say it is discovered why the aliens are attacking in a bizarre way and of course the fate of the world is at stake.  I think it’s funny how del Toro shows how when the kaiju were first defeated, they were turned into toys and made fun of on TV; it definitely seems like something we would do if we started to get cocky.  I also like the fact that the robots are guided by two people.  I may still not understand completely how the neural handshake/drift works, but it seems to be very handy to have two people guiding the robot, and it shows the value of teamwork in times of strife.  There are definitely some predictable/cliche moments in the film, but they are certainly overshadowed by the intense action of the film.

FINAL DIAGNOSIS: 9/10

This movie delivers everything it promised and that I hoped to see: giant robots fighting giant alien monsters.  In addition, some humorous moments lightened up the film, and some decent acting added tension and excitement to the story.  Especially in IMAX 3D, this is definitely a movie that is best seen on the big screen.  If you love action movies, sci-fi, or classic monster movies, then you will not be disappointed!