Review: True Grit

I was extremely skeptical about this remake of a true Hollywood classic. After all, by the idea of replacing the Duke, the Coen Brothers are treading very thin ice with all the older audiences, as well as genre purists who think that this is one film that should never have been remade because the original was certainly good enough to withstand the test of time.

That said, as True Grit unfolded on the screen, I became very aware that this version was not a remake so much as a truer, more faithful version of the book upon which the film is based. While no one can ever hope to replace John Wayne--the utter epitome/personification of the Hollywood Western--Jeff Bridges does a phenomenal job portraying a crusty, tired and thoroughly likable Rooster Cogburn.

Fourteen year old Hailee Steinfeld plays Mattie Ross, the eloquent, opinionated and self assured daughter who is out to avenge the murder of her father. Steinfeld is nothing short of Oscar worthy in her straight forward portrayal of Mattie. You are so drawn into her performance that you forget that she is literally only fourteen. I personally cannot imagine this film being as good without Steinfeld's incredible acting.

Matt Damon offers a very different character than I can recall him ever playing. At once both confident, and extremely vulnerable, Damon's LaBoeuf (pr. LaBeef in the film) is absolutely refreshing in the western genre.

The other major character is the dialogue itself. Written in true 19th century American English, the dialogue throughout takes a listening, intelligent ear to pick up the subtleties, jokes and general conversation. However, listening to it was never tiresome because the dialogue itself lent such an authentic air to the film that you don't think twice about the prose. You simply enjoy the banter, jokes and insults. It's really wonderful!

The rest of the cast is excellent. Headed up by Barry Pepper and Josh Brolin, the supporting actors are all well-cast, and add significantly to the authenticity of the period.

True Grit is directed by Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men, Hudsucker Proxy, Oh Brother Where Art Thou). While I usually don't care for their films (aside from Raising Arizona), I found True Grit to be a fun, well-acted and period realistic movie that drew me in much quicker than I expected.

I highly recommend that you see True Grit. It is highly deserving of the praise you are hearing about.

This movie is a buyer when it is released on DVD; and I'll definitely be adding this to my collection.

Caprica

Tonight, I had the wonderful (and sad) opportunity to watch the series wrap up of the phenomenal sci-fi show, "Caprica."

This prelude to the epically grand Battlestar Galactica was a divinely crafted, intensely literate and superbly orchestrated television wonder every bit as gripping and engaging as Battlestar Galactica itself.

The entire production staff, the actors and especially the writers and executive producers should all be welling with pride at the unbelievable storytelling that was presented every week. Caprica was indeed one of the very few television series that actually expects its audience to think, analyze and predict where it would next go on its journey to the BSG years.

Smart television has lost yet another shining beacon to corporate nimrods who look for the fast buck over quality, intelligence and evolving social commentary that shows such as Caprica, Battlestar Galactica and Stargate Universe greet us with week in and week out; and which challenge each of us to better ourselves through insight and examination.

Farewell, Caprica.

Your time was far, far too brief.

Review: Faster

I didn't know what to expect going into this film. The trailers looked promising; but the premise was a huge unknown. What unfolded on the theater screen was something altogether unexpected.

Starring Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino, Billy Bob Thornton and Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Faster is a fast-paced thrill ride that is long on action, short on dialogue. Once it starts, there is no let up until the final scene.

Director George Tillman, Jr. (Notorious, Soul Food, Men of Honor) takes you on a ride of discovery throughout the film. He refuses to spoon feed the audience any of the plot. As the film progresses, so does our understanding of the motivations of 'Driver,' and the back story that precipitates all of the subsequent events we see unfold on screen.

It is well acted by Johnson and Gugino (one of my favorite actresses), with terrific support from Thornton and Jackson-Cohen. All actors seem comfortable in their roles, and come off as quite believable.

Now, any time I don't guess the ending less that one third of the way into the film, then the director and screenwriter have done a terrific job. With Faster, I didn't even see the end of the story until I had viewed about three fourths of the movie. To have that happen was quite satisfying. Like I stated early in this review, the ending was quite unexpected.

This movie is rated R for explicit violence, drug use and language. As far as I can recall, there was no nudity or even excessive swearing.

Faster is a far better film than I expected. I'm glad I went to see it.

Will I see it again? Probably not--but only because of the other films coming out. I'll most likely buy this one on DVD when it's released, though.

Go see it. You won't be disappointed.

Review: Skyline

When I first saw the internet advertising for Skyline, I was excited! Though the storyline would be suspect, the visuals looked incredible. So, going into the film, I knew the movie would be visually stunning, but doubted the film as a whole.

Skyline turned out to be much different than I anticipated. Yes, the visuals really were unbelievable. The Brothers Strauss, who lent visual compositing their talents to such film as AVP; Requiem, 2012 and Avatar, really let their vision come out as we see dazzling effects throughout the film. But it was the outcome of the story that I didn't anticipate at all. I won't give anything away; let's just say that the ending will surprise you.

The actors in this film are entirely B-list, headed by Eric Balfour (Haven, 24), Scottie Thompson (TV Guest roles), Donald Faison (Scrubs, Remember the Titans) and David Zayas (The Expendables, Dexter). No great acting to be sure; but they certainly carry their parts well. Considering this film's total budget hovered somewhere around the $11M mark, I think the producers got the best actors they could for whatever monies were available.

While Skyline may not be a cinematic masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, it does make for a decent theater-going experience. Plus, the ending leaves a rather large opening for a sequel--which I'm sure would be entirely dependent on consumer acceptance (aka $$$) of Skyline itself.

Would I see this again? I don't know. The visuals would be worth it, if nothing else. I'll probably end up buying this on DVD...who knows...maybe Skyline will end up being my next great guilty pleasure movie.

Review: Hereafter

*(Yes, I actually got out to see a movie. Unbelievable; I know.) :o)

Clint Eastwood is simply one of the greatest directors of the last thirty years. His latest offering, Hereafter, is a phenomenal piece of art.

Eastwood fascinatingly weaves three story lines into a single, satisfying conclusion. Along the way he involves the audience emotionally with at least two, if not all three, of the main characters. Doing that is not an easy thing to accomplish.

Unlike many of Eastwood's films, this one does not have a bittersweet ending. It remains however, a story of loss, journey and resolution--typical earmarks of Eastwood directed projects. Yet, in spite of the formulaic approach, you come away having had an incredibly satisfying movie-going experience.

I highly recommend that everyone see this film. This one will leave you thinking for a long time after walking away from the theater. This movie deserves an Oscar--it's that good!

This film will definitely be a part of my home movie library as soon as it comes out on video!

Review: Resident Evil: Afterlife

Filmed for 3D, Resident Evil: Afterlife delivers wonderful effects, great action and a few surprises.

While I admit that a few of the CGI effects were a bit amateurish, the overall look and feel of the film was right on. Not intending to be top-notch cinema, Director Paul W.S. Anderson keeps the film flowing nicely. Not once did I feel a let down in the pacing of the film.

The franchise star, Milla Jovovich, loves her role [as Alice--or Project Alice], and it shows. She is stunning to look at, and equally stunning in her stunt work. In my opinion the film would be far less impressive if Jovovich was not doing the bulk of her characters' stunts as edits would definitely take away from the action.

The supporting cast of Ali Larter, Kim Coates, Wentworth Miller, Boris Kodjoe, and Spencer Locke are all great in their roles. They helped make the film not only good, but fun as well. Shawn Roberts replaced Jason O'Mara as Chairman Wesker. While he did a good Job, I would have preferred O'Mara in the role simply because he's a better actor and because he was the actor who introduced film audiences to the character of Albert Wesker.

Of course, being based on a video game series, the movie sets up the next chapter by introducing yet another character at the very end of the film; as well as a wonderful visual of numerous attack planes approaching Alice.

For fans of the film franchise, Resident Evil: Afterlife will not disappoint. It was fun to watch from the opening scene to the last; and it leaves you wanting more! Go see this film! You won't be disappointed.

I'll definitely see this one again, and yes, I'll buy it on DVD!

Summer Movie Wrap-Up

The follow excerpts are a 2010 Summer Box Office wrap-up covering receipts, trends, etc. The story that these excerpts were taken from was published in the NY Times. The reporter is Brooks Barnes.


--Hollywood’s summer may have been tepid — movie theater attendance was the lowest in over a decade — but the big-budget, big-risk stretch delivered an unusually robust array of tea leaves for studios to read as they make decisions for the seasons ahead.

--First, the numbers. Attendance from the first weekend in May through Labor Day is projected to total about 552 million, the lowest tally since 1997, when 540 million people turned up in the same period, according to Hollywood.com, which compiles box office data. Revenue for the period — which typically accounts for 40 percent of the industry’s annual ticket sales — totaled $4.35 billion, a 2 percent increase from last year.

--Sharply higher prices for tickets across the board, but especially for 3-D presentations, drove the increase. The worry, as seen in poor results for recent 3-D releases like “Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore,” is that theater chains and studios have overreached on pricing. “We suspect some consumers are choosing 2-D movies solely to reduce the cost of their movie-going experience,” wrote Richard Greenfield, an analyst at the financial services company BTIG, in an Aug. 23 research note.

--So studios are starting to think more carefully about which titles make sense to release in 3-D and which do not. Part of the challenge in a post-“Avatar” Hollywood, however, is that presenting a film in 3-D is one way to build a release into a must-see event — a crucial part of movie marketing in the age of 50-inch flat-screen televisions.
Some studios were burned over the summer by pushing too hard to “eventize” movies. Walt Disney Studios, for instance, trumpeted May 28 in enormous red lettering on virtually every piece of advertising for “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.” The goal was to blast the film’s opening date into the minds of consumers, but instead the tactic drove expectations so high that “Prince” was quickly branded a bomb despite selling $330 million in tickets at the global box office.

--“You can hype up a movie like crazy, but consumers are smart and can smell a con job,” said Phil Contrino, editor of BoxOffice.com. “It has to be substance over style.”

--No one would accuse Mr. Nolan of soft-pedaling substance. His “Inception,” backed by Warner Brothers and Legendary Pictures, was the breakout blockbuster of the summer, racking up about $660 million in ticket sales. “Everybody looked at us and said, ‘Why are you releasing a movie this smart in the middle of July?’ ” said Dan Fellman, Warner’s president for distribution. “Guess what? The summer isn’t just for dopes.”

--Stars received a sharply mixed reception, which has been the case lately. It was certainly a good summer for Leonardo DiCaprio, who starred in “Inception” as an invader of people’s dreams. Also faring well were Angelina Jolie, who turned an old-fashioned spy caper (“Salt”) into a hit, and Adam Sandler, who powered an ensemble comedy (“Grown Ups”) into the stratosphere.

--Flopping this summer were Nicolas Cage, whose “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” died on arrival, and Michael Cera, whose quirky “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” won positive reviews but failed to draw a mainstream audience. Mr. Cera badly needed a hit: “Pilgrim” was his fifth big-screen dud in a row. Also disappointing were Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, who fizzled in the action comedy “Knight and Day,” and Zac Efron, whose weepy “Charlie St. Cloud” landed with a thud.

--The No. 1 movie of the summer had no stars, at least on screen: “Toy Story 3” topped the North American box office with over $405 million and had a global total of over $1 billion. “Iron Man 2” was second, with $312 million ($622 million total), and “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” was third, with $298 million ($655 million total).
It was a quiet summer for specialty films, with no picture managing to cross over to a mainstream audience. “The Kids Are All Right” came the closest with about $19 million. (The threshold for a crossover hit is typically in the vicinity of $30 million.)

--[It was] an uncharacteristically soft summer for Warner [Brothers]. The success of “Inception” was counterbalanced by a disastrous result for “Jonah Hex,”which sold just $10.5 million in tickets and cooled off Megan Fox’s career. The critically reviled “Sex and the City 2” was also a substantial disappointment; ticket sales lagged behind the first installment by 30 percent.

--[Universal's] “Despicable Me” was a runaway hit, selling over $237 million in tickets ; but “Get Him to the Greek” and “Robin Hood” both misfired.

--Of the major studios Fox had the worst summer. None of its titles cracked the Top 10, as “The A-Team,” “Marmaduke” and “Knight and Day” all went down in flames.

--Paramount Pictures was the most successful by volume; for the summer its releases racked up over $770 million at the domestic box office. “The Last Airbender” and “Dinner for Schmucks” and “Shrek Forever After,” [led the way for the studio].

--Sony’s modestly budgeted remake of “The Karate Kid” was one of the summer’s biggest surprises, rocketing to $176 million in North America. Although “Eat Pray Love” was soft, the studio also scored with “Grown Ups,” “Salt” and “The Other Guys.” (By Brooks Barnes, NY Times 05 Sept. 2010)

*So, not a stellar summer for 2010. I personally believe that Hollywood's trend of remaking films to "updated" versions is beginning to backfire. This is likely most true amongst the over 35 year old theater goers who are just getting tired of remakes that generally end up being worse than the classic original. Looking ahead, the movie landscape looks fairly bleak through the end of the year.

Aside from the next Chronicles of Narnia installment, Clint Eastwood's "Hereafter," "Mega-Mind," the little known SciFi flick "Skyline," the next (oh, Kill me now!) book of "Harry Potter," the much hyped "Tron: Legacy," and the inexplicable remake of "True Grit," the box office does not look to be kind to Hollywood. Let's all hope that 2011 brings better, original material; and tosses aside the lazy screenwriters who are too untalented to draft new, fresh storylines.