Reel Facts & Opinions

FACT: 20th Century Fox has closed deals with director Matthew Vaughn and the cast of last year’s X-MEN FIRST CLASS to return for a sequel. Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, and Jennifer Lawrence are all expected to return, along with producer Bryan Singer.

OPINION: X-MEN FIRST (CL)ASS was one of the best reviewed films of the 2011 summer, despite its weak plot, lame villain, and penchant for talking way too much. The film was also divisive amongst X fans thanks to its continuity break with (ahem) Bryan Singer’s first two successful X-MEN films. What makes this sequel to the prequel interesting is where the series can go next, as the finale of FIRST ASS had major characters reaching their arcs way too quickly. Vaughn has proven that he can bring the goods (STARDUST, anyone?), so here’s hoping he can find a way to channel Singer’s X2 (the absolute king of the mutants) vibes into this.

FACT: Several websites have been reporting that Steven Spielberg will step onboard to direct the Moses epic GODS AND KINGS for Warner Bros. pictures. The film will cover the entire story of Moses’ life; from his birth to his freeing of the Hebrew slaves to the Ten Commandments and the decades wandering the desert. The tone is expected to be different from Cecile B. DeMille’s THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1956) and be more like BRAVEHEART with Moses portrayed as one of history’s great warriors.

OPINION: Right away, Spielberg knows that he has a tough mountain (Sinai?) to climb in doing a Moses movie, for everyone will automatically compare it to the classic and beloved COMMANDMENTS. Clearly, he has to take steps to make his film different so the comparisons can’t be drawn. What makes it interesting is the angle of Moses being portrayed as a great warrior in history; if this is an historical piece, then will the religious themes still be present (like COMMANDMENTS), or absent (like TROY)? Fumbling away spiritual themes is not something Spielberg has been known to do, so Moses seems like he is in good hands. It will also be interesting to see who he will cast as Moses (coughdanieldaylewiscough), or the all-important role of the (villain) pharaoh. And the thought of a Biblical John Williams score is also exciting.

And one more thing; if Spielberg is doing a film involving a certain set of stone tablets, then he has to feature a certain artifact that he has dealt with before…

SHOW US THE ARK BEFORE IT GOT LOST!

What say you?

A Reel Review: THE GREY

The only mistake director Joe Carnahan makes with THE GREY is this: He allowed it to be marketed as a brainless action thriller; a fist fighting thumper with Liam Neeson punching wolves, leaving many to dismiss it early on as WOLF HARD. In reality, nothing can be further from the truth. THE GREY is a thoughtful and philosophical character drama, packed with emotion and full of humanity. Sure, we get to see Qui-Gon duke it out with some nasty wolves, but that is just one small part of Carnahan’s opus of survival and human instincts.

Ottway (Liam Neeson) is a big-game hunter/sniper hired by an Alaskan oil company to pick-off the wolves that are prone to attack the oil workers while they maintain the pipelines. Ottway, having lost his beloved wife, is severely depressed and is ready to kill himself. Distracted just when he is ready to pull the trigger (quite cleverly), he boards a plane with the work crew, which eventually crashes into the wilderness. Ottway, the only one with knowledge of the wilderness and the wolves, pulls together the few survivors and desperately leads them through the wilderness while fending off attacks from the vicious wolfpacks.

THE GREY starts off very strong. The depressed and tormented Ottway snags you right away and never lets go. His sadness is never over the top, but still powerful courtesy of an outstanding performance by Neeson (more on that soon). When the plane crashes and Ottway has to pull himself and the survivors together, we see a man who now gets to struggle with life and death on the inside and the out.

While Ottway is the main character, THE GREY allows for some excellent character studies of the survivors. They are roughneck oil workers, with a milkshake of personalities and backgrounds; there is the wiseass, the faithful, the philosophical, the humble and the asshole. Carnahan takes all these traits, throws them into the meatgrinder and lets the pieces fall where they may; with a tormented Ottway/Neeson thrown in for good measure.

As great as the character drama is, the wolf attacks manage to transcend it. The packs are vicious and bloodthirsty, but Carnahan is wise enough to show just enough gore and violence without going overboard. The way the wolves stalk the survivors is executed like a well-timed, well-paced horror movie; it has plenty of surprises and loads of tension that will give you cramps. It is a masterful piece of filmmaking. Carnahan also pulls off the plane crash in such a frightening manner it’s enough to scare anyone away from an airplane for years.

Shot and cut with a gritty real-world style, THE GREY feels like it was shot real-time with a hand-camera and always has you in the middle of the action. Through all the wolf attacks and characters, Carnahan still manages to make a clever and thoughtful comparison to a wolf pack and a pack of humans; statements about alpha-males, survival instincts, and just who the real animals in the woods really are.

This Blogger has no doubt about Liam Neeson in THE GREY; it is the absolute finest performance of his career. While he may be remembered best for characters like Oskar and Rob, it is in his Ottway where he delivers his most powerful and emotional punch. Tormented and heartbroken, Neeson sells it perfectly, and the scene where he curses the heavens is so good it’s hard to watch. It’s also worth mentioning that the supporting cast in Dermot Mulroney, Dallas Roberts and Frank Grillo are also excellent.

The ending feels like a bit of a cop-out, but after careful thought makes perfect sense when thinking about where Ottway came from and what was motivating him. The bigger question THE GREY asks of you is this: when in a crisis, who will you be? Will you be the panicked, the angry, the fearful, or will you be Liam Neeson?

BOTTOM LINE: See it

Nicol Williamson 1936-2011

“A dream to some, A NIGHTMARE TO OTHERS!”.

Nicol Williamson, who was once described by playwright John Osborne as “the greatest actor since Marlon Brando” has passed away at the age of 75. The family reports that he passed away in mid December.

The Scottish-born actor preferred the stage to the screen. He was nominated for two Tony Awards for his stage work, and his screentime earned him several BAFTA, Saturn, and British Academy Television Award nominations.

He was best known for his iconic performance of Merlin in John Boorman’s King Arthur epic EXCALIBUR (1981), where he was opposite Helen Mirren. He also played Little John opposite Sean Connery’s Robin Hood in ROBIN AND MARIAN (1975). Other notable film credits include RETURN TO OZ (1985), and THE EXORCIST III (1990). His final film credit was SPAWN (1997).

*

This Blogger considers Williamson’s Merlin to be the definitive portrayal of the character; it has not been matched in the various films and TV shows that have come after. He will be remembered in this Blogger’s mind always for his musical deliveries of his lines.

“Be still. Sleep. Rest in the arms of the Dragon. Dream.”

A Reel Opinion: Oscar 2011; The Good, The Bad, & The Glorious

The 84th Annual Academy Award nominations were announced today, with HUGO leading the way with eleven nominations. Hot on its heels is THE ARTIST with ten, and MONEYBALL and WAR HORSE with six apiece.

There is a lot to be excited and pleased about, and a few things to spark some wrath. So here we go…

THE GOOD

-2011 is clearly the Year of the Actress, with the Best Actress category being the toughest to pick a clear-cut winner. Outstanding performances by Glenn Close, Meryl Streep, Rooney Mara, Viola Davis and Michelle Williams make this category the Varsity squad of the year.

-THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN, which won Best Animated Feature in the 2011 Golden Globes, did not secure a nomination. It’s refreshing to know that the Academy was able to look past all the visuals and noise and flash and recognize it as the paper-thin film it was. This exclusion is also another exposing of the Globes’ UK slant.

-Sticking with the Best Animated category, CARS 2 became the first Pixar film since forever to not receive a nomination. Totally justified exclusion, and this Blogger thanks the academy for not letting the Pixar name be an automatic vote.

THE BAD

-Outrageous Travesty No. 1 is the Best Picture nomination for the critically drubbed EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE. Review aggregator Rottentomatoes.com reports that 49% of 117 critics have given the film a positive review, with an average rating 5.8 out of 10. The general consensus has been that the film is exploitative; using the tragic events of 9/11 and the mental handicaps of a child as a blatant attempt at sympathy. One has to wonder if the Academy voters even saw the film.

-Outrageous Travesty No. 2 is the exclusion of the beautiful and exquisitely composed MELANCHOLIA; no Best Pic, no Directing, no Best Acting, no Cinematography. Inexcusable.

-Also aggravating are the Best Pic exclusions of critically praised films such as DRIVE, (93%), MY WEEK WITH MARILYN (84%) and WARRIOR (83%). Again; Academy voters, please go see more movies.

THE GLORIOUS

-Finally finally FINALLY! The great Gary Oldman receives his first Oscar nomination for Best Actor. His performance in TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY was so damn good they should award him for Best Costume too.

- Score one for the old dudes; films by Steven Spielberg (WAR HORSE) and Martin Scorsese (HUGO) combine for seventeen nominations.

-THE ARTIST did not secure the most nominations, but it got the most important ones; Best Pic, Actor, Director, and Screenplay. If Dr. Emmitt Brown told us in 1985 that a silent film in 2011 would be the favorite to win it all, we would have called him crazy. That makes 2011 a unique year.

What say you?

A Reel Review: RED TAILS

RED TAILS can be summed up in the first 15 seconds of movie; things start off very somber and serious by explaining a U.S. Army report which concluded that Negro pilots are too cowardly for combat. The film then switches to a decent aerial battle, kicked off with a gawd-awful line of “Germans! Let’s get ‘em!”. It is an example of terrible comic-book style dialogue that plagues the entire film and puts the seriousness of racism and personal struggle in the military into a tailspin.

It is WWII and the American bombers are being blown out of the sky because their protective planes fail to do their job. Meanwhile, the Tuskegee Airmen, the first all-negro unit, is stuck flying non-combat missions hundreds of miles away from where the war is being fought. The unit’s commander, Col. Bullard (Terrance Howard) fights for his men’s right to fight in combat. Despite the efforts of the racist Col. Mortamus (Bryan Cranston), the unit is eventually given their chance to protect vital bombing missions into Germany.

Any decent war film can and should strive on the characters as they fight the fight. In every unit, there are men from all walks of life who must come together as one, and RED TAILS sets the stage nicely. These hotshot pilots include the (ahem) maverick, the alcoholic, the faithful, the southern boy, and the comedian. A great opportunity seemed to be open to see how this variety of soldiers reacts to the blatant racism. Unfortunately, the race issue and the struggle of the Negro soldier is glossed over, as RED TAILS chooses instead to focus on military clichés over and over and over. It comes back to the comic-book dialogue, which does nothing to develop any character or create any sort of emotional connection or drama. With the race issue pushed to the side and the characters worthless, the entire plane-ride feels wasted.

RED TAILS has some very good visual effects and the aerial combat scenes are executed nicely. The problem the battles have goes back to the lame characters we are supposed to feel for when they are on the ground. We are given no reason to care if our own heroes are blown out of the sky. The heavy usage of CGI, while it looks nice, doesn’t quite sell the danger these men are supposed to be in; most of the film feels very much like a cartoon. The movie also seems to suffer from massive gaps in logic and continuity; the unit complains that they are hundreds of miles away from the enemy, but yet an early scene has our guys attacking German supply runs. Which is it? The film also tries to wedge in a love story and a POW camp escape; both of which feel intrusive and stupid.

RED TAILS has a strong cast, but no one can seem to get past the awful writing. The biggest name on the poster is probably Terrance Howard, but all he gets to do is recite long-winded, flag-waving rally-cry speeches which feel like fifty movie-trailers put together. Smaller roles by Cuba Gooding Jr. and Gerald McRaney are just a waste of space, and the racist colonel character by Bryan Cranston vanishes from the film before the halfway point, for no reason whatsoever.

Directed by Anthony Hemingway, RED TAILS has been a passion project of producer George Lucas for many years, but has very little passion to show for it. The most frustrating aspect of the entire ride is that this was finally supposed to give the famed Tuskegee Airmen the defining tribute that they deserve. This is more like an insult.

BOTTOM LINE: Fuck it

Reel Facts & Opinions: Concerning SOPA

The internet, tech industry, and the movie industry have been nuts over the past few weeks concerning SOPA, the proposed anti-piracy bill. It’s a bit of a mess, so let Reel Speak spell out the basics while shoveling out some opinion…

FACT: SOPA is an acronym for Stop Online Piracy Act; a proposed bill designed to crack down on copyright infringement by restricting access to sites that host or facilitate the trading of pirated content. SOPA’s main targets are overseas sites which host illegal downloads, and are out of the reach of U.S. movie studios. Similar to the Napster issue of ten years ago, content creators have been battling against such sites and services for years, and have been losing consistently to those overseas sites. SOPA’s goal is to cut off the shipping lanes the pirates sail on; by requiring U.S. search engines, advertising networks and other providers to withhold their services. That means sites like Google wouldn’t show flagged sites in their search results, and services like PayPal couldn’t transmit funds to them. SOPA, as it is written now, has very broad language that promotes censorship and opens the door to punishing innocent sites which may unknowingly have a link to pirated content.

OPINION: Let’s get two things cleared up right away: First, the internet has always been like the Wild West; unregulated, unwatched, and free for the taking. While the Old West was a ton of fun, the rest of the world can and will eventually catch up.

Second…The movie industry, like any other business, is out to make a profit. While it’s easy to shake your fist at the big-nuts studios and their greed, remember that they are out to sell a product; no different than the Hot Dog Guy on the corner. If the Hot Dog Guy doesn’t sell any wieners, he’s not getting paid, and if the studios don’t sell any theatre tickets or DVD’s, they’re not getting paid. Illegal downloading is no different than swiping the hot dog off the cart and walking away without paying. And NO... illegal downloading is not “sharing”; you can “share” a hot dog by cutting it half. You can’t do that with a movie.

The effects of illegal downloading have been hitting the studios hard for years. Box office numbers have been decreasing as people go for their laptops over the big screen. When the studios see their profits go down, they are likely to veer away from future projects deemed as “iffy”. These days, “iffy” meaning original projects with no guarantee of success. That is why studios fall back to their safe haven of remakes and adaptations. Many of them take it a step further and add a gimmick like (goddamn) 3D. If you’ve been illegally downloading movies, you can pat yourself on the back for ALICE IN WONDERLAND 3D getting made.

The movies need dollars to survive, and that is why the major studios are supporting SOPA. Piracy is a major problem, but the broad language of SOPA messes with too many websites and censors too many searches. Innocent websites and blogs could be crucified and shot for being the messenger. We need a SOPA, but not a big one that annihilates everything. You don’t need a nuclear bomb to kill one rat.

What say you?

Reel Facts & Opinions: What to Look Forward to in 2012

Movie fans should know by now that 2012 is shaping up to be a monster of a year. Long awaited sequels, big franchises and significant names are all over the calendar. Friends of Reel Speak should also know that this Blogger is looking forward to three major films; Peter Jackson’s return to Middle-earth with THE HOBBIT, Steven Spielberg turning Daniel Day-Lewis into Abraham Lincoln in LINCOLN, and Christopher Nolan’s grand finale to his Batman vision in THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. Other monsters include the long-awaited super-hero teamup film THE AVENGERS, Pixar’s BRAVE, SKYFALL (Bond, James Bond), and Ridley Scott’s long-awaited return to the ALIEN-verse he created in PROMETHEUS.

But what else may be lurking in the shadows behind the big-nuts studio productions? Let’s take a peek:

THE MASTER
THE MASTER is the first film from Paul Thomas Anderson since his THERE WILL BE BLOOD made history in 2007. Anderson has assembled a great cast in the form of Phillip Seymour-Hoffman and Amy Adams, and the film also marks the return of Joaquin Phoenix to real acting. MASTER is about a WWI veteran (Hoffman) who returns home from the war and begins a religious cult. And here is your movie-geekout trivia thing for the year: Anderson is filming THE MASTER with the same 65mm cameras Stanley Kubrick used to film 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY.

MOONRISE KINGDOM
Wes Anderson (no relation to Paul Thomas) makes his return to live-action filmmaking in MOONRISE KINGDOM; a charming tale of two kids in love. Along with his trademark quirkiness and unique style, Anderson assembles a fascinating cast; Ed Norton, Bruce Willis, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand, Harvey Keitel, and his usual suspects Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman.

COGAN’S TRADE
The last time director Andrew Dominik and Brad Pitt got together, we got the thoughtful and sweeping Old West character-driven epic in the form of THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD. This time around, Pitt stars as a big bad mob enforcer tracking down cash. This is an adaptation of a George V. Higgins crime novel, and also stars James Gandolfini, Ray Liotta, Sam Shepard, and Richard Jenkins.

GRAVITY
Alfonso Cuaron is an extremely talented director who has brought us CHILDREN OF MEN and the third film in the HARRY POTTER series, which many consider to be the best in the franchise. In GRAVITY, Cuaron tackles science fiction for the first time, telling the story of a lone survivor of a failed space mission trying to get back to her daughter. GRAVITY stars George Clooney and Sandra Bullock.

Other curiosities worth mentioning are Timur Bekmambetov’s ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER (self-explanatory), Rob Zombie’s LORDS OF SALEM (Salem witch hunts/trials), and Kathryn Bigelow’s untitled film concerning the hunt and killing of Osama Bin Laden. Bringing up the rear in the curious but completely un-original, we have Tim Burton’s continuing career as a half-ass cover band with his DARK SHADOWS adaptation, and Quentin Tarantino’s spaghetti-western homage DJANGO UNCHAINED.

2012 should be a fun year. What say you?

A Reel Review: CARNAGE

In adapting “God of Carnage” from the stage to the screen, director Roman Polanski had his work cut for him; making a one-room, one-act play with only four characters interesting, and never tiresome on film. Polanski began his work by casting a trunk-full of Oscar contenders and winners, but how we finish our work is always the most important thing…

After two boys fight on the playground, the parents of the injured boy (Penelope and Michael, played by Jodie Foster and John C. Reilly, respectively) invite the parents of the bully (Nancy and Alan, played by Kate Winslet and Christoph Waltz, respectively) over to their apartment to work out the issues. A polite discussion eventually escalates into a verbal war, with all four adults showing their true colors.

Despite a thin plot, CARNAGE excels thanks to the characters and the way they play off of each other. The thrill here is watching two self-righteous couples square off against one another with some of the sharpest and wittiest dialogue written in a long time. Polanski keeps the pacing quick and does a remarkable job in directing around the small confines of the apartment. The couples fight over child rearing, politics, money and values; and never miss a moment to break each other down. During the arguing, alliances between the two are formed and broken, all while no resolution is being made to the problem of who was responsible for the playground fight.

CARNAGE is absolutely driven by the characters and the actors that play them. Reilly, Foster and Winslet are just flat-out awesome, and seems like they are having a blast despite how much torment their characters go through.

Some time must be given to Christoph Waltz. Ever since winning his Oscar in Quentin Tarantino’s INFREQUENT BASTERDS, the man has done nothing but meatheaded crap, and the world must have been wondering if he was good in BASTERDS only because of how well his character was written. In CARNAGE, Waltz gets around that and really makes his character his. He wears the skin of his prick-lawyer and even-bigger-prick-of-a-parent character perfectly. It is a performance that outdoes what he won the gold for.

The shtick of Nancy and Alan unable to leave the apartment, along with the constant arguing does get a tad tiresome in some places, but just when you think things are in the gutter, Polanski lets hilarity ensue. There is never a moment in CARNAGE where you don’t feel like you’re watching a stage-play, and that’s okay. On a stage, characters rule.

BOTTOM LINE: See it

Reel Facts & Opinions: Science in the Movies

FACT: Earlier this week, a contributor for the movie-geek website aintitcool.com (pen-name Copernicus) hosted a special screening of Michael Bay’s blockbuster sci-fi film, ARMAGEDDON. The screening was held in conjunction with the American Astronomical Society, who were there to help the host ridicule the film for all of the science that it got wrong. The host, a scientist himself, held the event to get revenge on Bay for making a scientifically “stupid” film.

OPINION: As blogged here on Reel Speak in June, Copernicus recently wrote a piece which slam-dunked J.J. Abram’s wildly entertaining STAR TREK film. Getting the science wrong to him is an automatic detractor to the movie. While the written piece was written in good faith, this screening of ARMAGEDDON seems to be going overboard.

Let’s clear one thing up right away. The screening was not held to criticize the film on its quality; things like the acting, special effects and storylines did not seem to come into play here. The event was preaching a Rule stating all movies which are scientifically wrong deserve to be shat upon.

Since that is the Rule being preached, then it will be a curious thing to see if similar events are held to criticize other sci-fi films such as STAR WARS or INDEPENDENCE DAY; two very successful films at the box office and in our culture, but both loaded with scientific errors. If Copernicus has a problem with people walking around on an asteroid in ARMAGEDDON, then he should have the same issue with people walking on an asteroid in STAR WARS. If we don’t see such screenings, then a double-standard agenda will be exposed. Think of it in terms of a baseball game; once you establish the strike-zone, it has to stay consistent throughout the game. ARMAGEDDON gets the same strike-zone as STAR WARS.

Such a Rule can be taken a step further. If science is the absolute by which sci-fi movies must be judged, then logically, historical movies must be measured by their historical accuracies. History is an absolute, after all. How many historical liberties were taken in GANDHI and BRAVEHEART? There were many, but that shouldn’t take away from our enjoyment of them.

History, like science should be given a fair amount of respect in the movies, but that doesn’t mean the filmmakers should go into their creations with hard limitations. Making a movie inside of boundaries can be a frustrating thing and can often lead to a boring film. The imaginations of the filmmaker, and the movie-watcher deserves more than that.

What say you?

A Reel Review: A DANGEROUS METHOD

Viggo Mortensen and director David Cronenberg have had great success working together in this decade, collaborating for excellent films in the form of A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE and EASTERN PROMISES. In their newest trip out, A DANGEROUS METHOD, Mortensen dons the skin of Dr. Sigmund Freud while taking a rare back seat; giving way to newer actors in a complex, yet tame film.

Dr. Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) takes on a new patient, the mentally disturbed Sabina (Keira Knightley), and treats her using the new and controversial methods of Dr. Freud (Viggo Mortensen). Jung’s efforts are a success, and he finds himself having an affair with Sabina. Jung and Freud eventually collaborate together, and discover they have many differences in professional opinion, including Freud’s disapproval of Jung’s love affair with a patient.

A DANGEROUS METHOD starts off very strong. Centered on a powerful performance by Keira Knightley, Jung’s treatment of Sabina and his eventual infatuation with her moves things along very well. His adulterous love affair with her is a strong play on doctor-patient ethics, and it is interesting to see where the road will lead. However, around the half-way point things get complicated and eventually derailed. METHOD veers away from the love affair and moves to Jung’s professional relationship with Dr. Freud, which deteriorates as the film moves forward. By the third act, Jung and Sabina (who is training to be a doctor herself) begin publishing their own theories to counter Freud. What follows then are endless scenes of psycho-babble bullshit, which are not only difficult to understand but feel like they have no real bearing on the film or its characters.

Adding to the frustration is that A DANGEROUS METHOD doesn’t feel much like a Cronenberg film. Other than Knightley’s performance, his trademark shock-value is absent. On the surface it seems like the material he is working with doesn’t quite call for his usual disturbing imagery, but with so much talk and debate on the importance of Freud’s work in the film, it might have been helpful to see and understand how mental patients might have been treated or mistreated in 1903 prior to Freud. This adds to the feeling of very little consequence in the entire film. Fans of Cronenberg may be frustrated by the tameness.

Cronenberg however gets tremendous performances out of his cast. Mortensen is perfect as the intelligent and stubborn Freud, and Fassbender is excellent as well. There is a terrific smaller role by Vincent Cassel, but the real star of the film is Keira Knightley. Her violent mental breakdowns are difficult to watch, and the way she contorts her body (and her face) during the episodes is an unexpected, yet harrowing performance.

A DANGEROUS METHOD clocks in at just 93 minutes, but feels a lot longer due in part to the dull psycho-analysis debates. The many debates may have been interesting enough if their importance was more fleshed out. But since it wasn’t, METHOD just talks a lot without saying much.

BOTTOM LINE: Rent it