The Hunger Games - Review

Eeesh... talk about a hyped up movie! I guess it's paying off though, if the early box office reports are any indication, this will probably be the next big pop culture phenomenon the will linger on long after it's welcome has worn off. At least I can take some consolation knowing that something is finally starting to dethrone Twilight as the next biggest craze ever (if you've read my review for Twilight, you know I have a particularly angry hatred for that series). Fortunately the hype didn't really impact my thoughts on the movie. I went in with mostly neutral expectations and didn't buy into much of the hype. After all that said, here is my opinion... The Hunger Games is a massively flawed movie that doesn't live up to it's glowing reputation. Sorry folks, but I gotta tell it like I see it.

The movie takes place in an undisclosed year in the future. It's approximately 75 years from now, and North America has become a semi-apocalyptic dictatorship. The nation is divided into twelve districts, most of which poverty stricken (and no, there are no aliens on District 9). Every year, a government regulated competition known as The Hunger Games takes place, in which 24 teenagers aged 12-18 (one male and one female from each district) go the nation's capital and are released into the woods to fight in a barbaric fight to the death. The games themselves are a yearly reminder of Capitol's authority and as a punishment for a rebellion that took place over 70 years ago. The main character is Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) of District 12. When her 12-year-old sister is randomly chosen to compete, Katniss volunteers to take her place. Shortly afterward, she is shipped off to Capitol and prepares to compete in the 74th annual Hunger Games. At the risk of spoiling anymore of this story... I'm going to stop here.

I know I'm about to piss off a whole bunch of people, but the more I think of what I saw, the more I can't shake how many mistakes this movie made. With the exception of some strong performances (more on that later), nearly every element of this movie is one consecutive fail after another. The story is derivative, the writing is predictable, the costumes look ridiculous, the cinematography is awful, the special effects are unconvincing, and... the list goes on.

Let's get the good out of the way first... the acting. Jennifer Lawrence has been starting to make a name for herself with an Oscar-nominated role in Winter's Bone and another strong performance as Mystique in X-Men: First Class. Once again, Lawrence shows that she is a force to be reckoned with, bringing her natural dramatic range and charisma to the role of Katniss Everdeen. A true talent for sure, at the very least, I'm hoping her widespread acclaim here in The Hunger Games will continue to land her good roles. Josh Hutcherson does a solid job as Peeta Mellark, the male contestant from District 12. With an extensive filmography of already good performances, there's really not much I can say other than he's a talented actor. Add in some strong supporting work from Donald Sutherland, Woody Harrelson, and Lenny Kravitz along with some campy performances from Elizabeth Banks and Stanely Tucci and you've got a mostly successful cast. I don't always agree with the direction the actors were always given, but that's another gripe I'll save for later. The cast itself is at the very least passable, at times even great.

Now let's get the first problem out of the way... the story! It's typical to dismiss The Hunger Games as a shameless rip-off of the cult classic book/movie Battle Royale. Now, I don't know if the book's author, Suzanne Collins, was influenced in any way by Battle Royale or if it was just a huge coincidence. Neither one would surprise me, but to be honest, that's not the main problem here anyways. A film being unoriginal isn't really a deal-breaker. Many enjoyable, sometimes excellent or classic, movies have essentially "paid homage" to other works that came before it. There's Avatar (Dances with Wolves), The Terminator (works by Harlan Ellison), Star Wars (Flash Gordon, The Man With No Name Trilogy, Kurosawa's samurai films, and a lot more actually) to name a few. So, when you really get down to it, the fact that The Hunger Games is a Battle Royale knockoff, with elements of The Running Man, a dash of Rollerball, a sprinkled with a little of 1984 for good measure, really isn't that big of a concern as long as the filmmakers can make up for the lack of originality in the other departments. Sadly, they do not.

First problem with the script... the characters. The primary character, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) is the only character who comes close to working. She is a noble, skilled, and self-sacrificing individual with reasonably enough development and enough depth to support the story. Her skills and noble attitude appear right from the start, from her adept bow-hunting abilities and her willingness to talk her sister's place as tribute for the games. She doesn't have much of a traditional story-arc, at least not in the manner of which she pretty much remains the same loyal and dedicated individual from start to finish, but the way she faces conflict and remains a likable character you want to see triumph, at the very least makes her passable.

My main gripe, however, is with the "villains," or at least, the characters you're not directly routing for. What's the problem with them??? Most of them are portrayed in a campy or foppish manner with overly colorful and goofy costumes and hair styles to coincide with their over-the-top humorous personalities. Now, before you start saying, "Hey Chris! It's the future, they're supposed to look funny!" let me tell you, that argument doesn't work. Now, I can buy that in 75 years from now, fashion will have dramatically changed and might look as strange as depicted in The Hunger Games... BUT there are many things to don't add up. For starters, even though certain futuristic sci-fi movies like The Fifth Element, Demolition Man, or Tank Girl also featured silly-looking fashion styles, the costumes in The Hunger Games just don't clash with the drab or "normal" looking outfits of the heroes. Not to mention, those other movies all had a campy, tongue-in-cheek, sense of humor while The Hunger Games takes a dead-serious tone. The main problem, however, is just how non-threatening they're all depicted, especially the "evil" government. Seeing how campy and goofy they're portrayed, it's hard to buy them as an all-powerful dictatorship. I mean, out of all the movies they could have ripped off, they should have looked to some truly intimidating totalitarian regimes like those from 1984 or V For Vendetta. I can kind of see where they were going with these choices, but none of them really worked.

The last group of characters to take note of are the other teens competing in the Hunger Games. First's there's Katniss' male counterpart, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson). Why he was named after an animal rights group I'll never know, but to be fair, he's an okay character. He was mainly brought in to serve as a love interest that feels a tad bit forced, but as a supporting character, I don't have too many criticisms. The rest of the tributes don't get a whole lot of development. Most are generic, one-note, and evil who thrive off the kills they obtain, while a couple others are more sympathetic. Unfortunately, the black and white contrasts in personalities doesn't add for a whole lot of interesting moments. For starters, it's partially because you can tell right from the start who is going to survive and who is going to die. More importantly, however, is that it makes for a very unfortunate missed opportunity. Because everyone is so generically good or evil, it doesn't allow for a whole lot of gut wrenching moments or questions of choice. Think about this... in an environment where it's kill or be killed and only one can be left standing, emotions would run high and one's true character would be put to the test. When would you be forced to kill against your will or to harm someone who didn't deserve it in order to save yourself? With the exception of one or two moments, the movie isn't willing to go that far or tackle ideas that dark. Again, a missed opportunity.

The film nobly tackles some important subjects like propaganda newscast, class disparity, and reality TV. These are all relevant subjects to satirize and at times The Hunger Games makes a decent point or observation here and there. Unfortunately, once again any relevant satire the movie provides stands in the shadows of better and more interesting material. The whole, reality TV/gladiatorial hybrid wore off it's welcome when Arnold Schwarzenegger did it in 1987's The Running Man. Plus, the potentially edgy concept of teens slaughtering each other for sport reeks of "been-there-done-that" thanks to the aforementioned comparisons to Battle Royale. It doesn't help that the PG-13 rating ultimately forces a censored level of violence and brutality that could have helped the movie sell it's satire. Granted, it pushes the rating to it's limits, but still doesn't go far enough. Unfortunately, despite any the movie's worthy attempt at some relevant subject matter, it just doesn't work. Any good ideas this movie has either come off as half-assed or overly familiar.

Now, in addition to the good performances, if there was one thing that could have salvaged this film, it's the action. And... like all of The Hunger Games' other shortcomings, the action falls flat too. For reasons I can't explain, so many filmmakers have become obsessed with handheld style cinematography, and director Gary Ross is apparently one of them. With an excessively shaky camera, lack of composition, and barely a shred of noticeable choreography, the action scenes are almost impossible to follow. To make matters worse is that in an effort to liven up the finale, the tributes find themselves being attacked by a herd of vicious creatures rendered by some of the worst cgi I've seen in a long time. It's a painfully boring and dull finale that fails to make up for the lack of suspense earlier in the film. Oh sure, every now and then there's a reasonably suspenseful scene, but nothing particularly memorable. Again, it's an unfortunate missed opportunity.

I know I'm in the minority here, but I just couldn't get into The Hunger Games. The solid performances just can't make up for a flawed script, dull action, and lack of originality. The only consolation I can take with this movie is that it's dethroning Twilight as the next big movie/book franchise... and while I didn't like The Hunger Games, it is better than Twilight. I'd say skip it... or at the very least, wait for a rental.

My Score: 2 out of 5!

My Thoughts on the 84th Academy Awards

The 84th Annual Academy Awards have come and gone. The (supposedly) best films of 2011 have received their (supposed) honours and now we have the films of 2012 to look forward to for when, this time next year, we get to do the (supposed) same song and dance again. You know, the one where the Academy mainly recognizes mostly well-made yet unchallenging cookie-cutter Oscar bait while creative and innovative genre films, quirky comedies, and blockbusters usually settle for either the technical categories, becoming cult classics, or ignored altogether... you know, supposedly.

At the risk of coming off as some self-righteous hipster movie geek who thinks of nothing but genre films and indie flicks, the last two Oscar ceremonies have been so underwhelming and forgettable. It's not that I've hated the movies that have won or been nominated. On the contrary, most have been very good films worthy of the nominations (and SOME of the wins, but that's another story). Still, the last few ceremonies have been so dull, predictable, and unambitious that it doesn't make for a very exciting night. I guess they had a few reasonable excuses this year. First off, it wasn't a particularly great year for movies. There were some highlights but overall, most of the year's films were pretty forgettable. Secondly, the Academy were caught with their pants down when producer Brett Ratner dropped out of his producer duties and took original host Eddie Murphy with him. In an effort to quickly salvage the problem, they hired veteran host Billy Crystal to take control for his ninth time all while fixing the mess of Ratner's failed try. So... to the Academy's credit, they were in a tough spot. Nonetheless, here are my thoughts on this year's Oscar ceremonies.

The Host :l
Well, I certainly don't blame the Academy for choosing Billy Crystal as the host. Especially when you consider what I wrote in the above paragraph. Not to mention that last year when they took a chance last year by choosing Anne Hathaway and James Franco... only to see it blow up in their faces. After all, after eight previous Oscar hosting duties, Crystal has become such a natural at the gig that he could host in his sleep. Only problem... it kind of looked like he was hosting in his sleep. To his credit, Crystal had a couple of funny moments, the intro video with him was fun to watch, and he's good enough at this gig to make it look easy. Only thing, it wasn't a particularly memorable hosting bit, and I doubt I'll remember much about it in after a few more days go by. Oh well, at least he did a better job than Franco and Hathaway last year... gotta appreciate the little things.

Hugo Sweeps The Technical Categories :)
Consider how every film buff or Oscar spectator was predicting a Titanic-style victory sweep for The Artist, it was nice to see a few other films, namely Hugo, pick up a most of the awards in the under-appreciated technical categories. Oh sure, it doesn't quite make up for the fact that The Artist reigned supreme in the major categories or how Drive was snubbed out of all but a measly sound editing nomination (but that's a rant for another post). Anywho, it was a pleasant surprise to see Martin Scorsese's new masterpiece take home some well deserved victories in art direction, cinematography, sound design, and visual effects. It was another nice surprise to see The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo get a well-earned statue for editing as well. Like I said before... gotta appreciate the little things.

The Muppets Win Best Song :)
It doesn't quite make up for the fact that The Artist won the Best Score award (but that's yet another rant for later). Nonetheless, this award makes me happy for two reasons. The first reason... because it was great to see a Muppet movie finally win an Oscar. Secondly, it means that Bret Mackenzie (Flight of the Concords) is now an Oscar winner as well. My only bitch about this award... WHY COULDN'T THEY HAVE PERFORMED THE SONGS ON STAGE??? Even if they didn't want to go all out with a huge musical number, couldn't they have at least had someone come out and sing the damn songs??? There were only two songs nominated! While we're on that, why were there only two songs nominated? How about the other Muppet songs or Star Spangled Man for Captain America??? Eeesh... nonetheless, this was still a good choice for the Oscar. Once again I must say... gotta appreciate the little things.

Emma Stone and Ben Stiller :)
Seeing Emma Stone's funny Oscar presentation with Ben Stiller was one of the few legitimately charming and funny moments from this year's ceremony. Namely because Stone's perky and natural comic timing combined with a surprisingly straight turn from Stiller played against expectations and got a few decent laughs. I've always said that Emma Stone was one of the most talented young actresses working today... I still stand by that.

The Best Picture Nominees
I was hoping to have a few more paragraphs about things I liked from the Oscars this year... but I'm having trouble thinking of any. So... let's go straight to my thoughts on the Best Picture nominees.

The Artist
The winning film! I'll cover my thoughts on it after I do the other Best Picture nominees.

The Descendants
Really liked this movie! It was nice to see it take a screenplay Oscar, but it would have been nice to see it take a few more. Even though I did like Jean Dujardin's performance in The Artist, it wasn't on the same level as Clooney's in this. Not to mention how Shailene Woodley was inexplicably snubbed out of a performance for Best Supporting actress. I'll have to write out a full review one of these days for this one.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
I'm just going to come out with this... I HATED THIS MOVIE!!! I can't remember the last time I've been so appalled to see a movie on the Best Picture nominee list. Usually, even if I don't like a film nominated for Best Picture, I can understand or somewhat get behind the logic or reasoning of the nomination, even if I don't particularly agree with it. But Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close was one of the most pretentious, nauseating, self pandering examples of worthy subject matter turned into a God-awful mess. Oh sure, the 9/11-inspired story might have some important merits and Max Von Sydow's emotional performance prevents the film from tanking completely. None of that makes up for the main character... an annoying and thoroughly unlikable 11-year-old kid. I'll write a full review one of these days... but yeah, I was not a fan of this film.

The Help
This is the other nomination I didn't particularly care for. I wrote a full review for it a few months back if you're looking for a more detailed critique of the film's merits. Ultimately, the movie had a few pros, including some promising ideas, an excellent cast, and relevant subject matter. Unfortunately, the said execution of promising ideas was done in the rough context of the overdone "white saviour" story-arc. Any of The Help's eye-opening portrayals of racism and prejudice are downplayed to provide more development to Emma Stone's character Skeeter, an educated white woman in her early 20s, writing a book that inspires the black maids to stand up against their racist employers. Add in some generic one-note characters and glanced over depictions of important historical events, and it doesn't really work. At least The Help can fall back on the excellent performances of its cast... all of whom really are great.

Hugo
This was on my Top 10 films of the year, ranking at #3. Even though Midnight In Paris (another Best Picture nominee) ranked higher on my list, I would have actually really liked to see this one take the award. It was nice to see it sweep most of the technical awards, but that still didn't change the fact that this got snubbed out of Best Picture for a much lesser film. More than that, it's the fact that both Hugo and The Artist were intriguing homages to classic and silent-era films. Only difference, Hugo was not only more creative, but far more intriguing tribute to the respective era of filmmaking. How so? I'll have to write a review for this one soon.

Midnight In Paris
This was another one of my favorite movies of 2011, placing at #3. It had been a while since we last saw a Woody Allen film, but he came back in glorious form, writing and directing one of the most creative and entertaining romantic comedies in years. It's Woody Allen at his best, with enjoyable performances, a creative concept, witty dialogue, and intriguing insight into our nostalgia-driven society. If either this or Hugo won Best Picture, I would have been a happy film goer. At least it won an Oscar for its screenplay.

Moneyball
I have a feeling that Moneyball is forever going to be remembered as the film that received Jonah Hill an Oscar nomination. I mean no offense to Hill, I mean after all, seeing him make some great dramatic strides in his acting ability is going to help out his career immensely, and hopefully he'll keep picking out some good roles. Still, there's way more to Moneyball than just Jonah Hill's good performance. Its an interesting story based on a real event, Brad Pitt is at his best, and the technical elements are all solid. It's too bad this didn't win any of it's Oscars. Not my personal pick for Best Picture, but I could have lived with it winning if it took the prize.

The Tree Of Life
If you like your films artsy and experimental, this one is for you! For everyone else... good luck. While The Tree of Life can't help but come off as more than a bit pretentious, especially since it's message isn't quite as amazing as it likes to think it is, it's nonetheless a very interesting film. Described as a modern-day 2001, Terrance Malick's experimental portrayal of life, death, and time is certainly different... and I mean that mostly in a good way. By no means a masterpiece like Kubrick's 2001, it's nonetheless a film I recommend simply because it tries something creative and different, even if a bit slow and tedious at times. That and you get some great performances from Jessica Chastain and Brad Pitt. Take that as you will.

War Horse
2011 might just be the year of nostalgia-themed movies. The Best Picture winner was a silent film recreated, Hugo was a whimsical fantasy movie about the power of film, Midnight In Paris was a movie about our nostalgic mindsets, and War Horse is a lovingly recreated homage to cinematic epics of the 1940s... much like the movies of filmmaker John Ford. It's by no means Spielberg's best, but the top notch cinematography and technical execution, along with some solid acting, was enough for me. Check it out.

The Best Picture Winner - The Artist :l
Ugh... I never thought I would be so bummed about a film that I genuinely liked winning Best Picture. And again, let me make that clear.... I DID LIKE THE ARTIST. It's a fun and pleasant homage to a classic era of filmmaking... but that's about it. Overall, the film reeks of being good but not great (at least not that great). Oh sure, last year's winner The King's Speech wasn't my pick either, but at least that one could fall back on Colin Firth's top-notch performance. The Artist had one stand out scene where the film broke from being a simple recreation into something truly creative, but otherwise played it safe and took few chances. Is that all it takes to win Best Picture? To recreate a movie? Why haven't we given any Best Picture awards to Quentin Tarantino yet? That guy basically does the same thing... only difference is that he adds some of his own personal flair to give his recreations more artist merit. I mean, War Horse wasn't much more than a recreation of a John Ford movie, why not give that Best Picture. Again, The Artist is a good movie, but like other forgettable Best Picture winners like Shakespeare In Love, How Green Was My Valley, Chicago, or Dances With Wolves... the only thing it's going to be remembered for is being one of the Academy's weaker picks.

Overall
Ugh... I really hope the Oscars get better again soon, because they haven't been really doing it the last couple years. Mediocre picks, forgettable shows, and few surprises. Crossing my fingers for next year.

The Artist - Review

We're a day away from the 2012 Academy Awards, and if any of the rumors are true... we're in for a dull ceremony this year. I haven't posted my full thoughts on the Oscar nominees this year, but in short, I found them kind of underwhelming. Oh sure, there were a few good calls and a couple of nice surprises, but for the most part, the Academy played it safe again with predictable nominees, along with a few "what the hell?" calls while better and more deserving films were given the shaft. Right now the frontrunner for Best Picture is director Michel Hazanavicius' tribute to silent cinema, The Artist. Is it good, great, overrated, a letdown??? Let's look and find out.

As I mentioned before, The Artist is an homage to the classic silent films made in the early decades of cinema. Directed by renown French filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius and featuring a roster of talented actors including Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, James Cromwell, and John Goodman, the film is shot in black and white with hardly any audio minus the non-diegetic soundtrack.It takes place in the year 1927. Dujardin plays George Valentin, an acclaimed silent film star at the top of his game. During this time, he meets an aspiring actress named Peppy Miller (Bejo), whom he encourages to pursue her passion. Meanwhile, the film industry makes one of it's biggest transitions, from silent cinema to talkies. Peppy Miller succeeds in the transition, quickly rising to stardom, while Valentin fails to adapt, and is promptly forgotten from the public eye. Can Valentin regain his star status or will he be doomed to obscurity as an outdated relic?

You might think that a film like The Artist would be a dream come true for classic film buffs or movie geeks like myself. And you know what, in some ways, it kind of is. To his credit, Hazanavicius' vision to recreate films of the silent era is commendable. In fact, it's loving recreation of such influential films is hard not to admire. The actors' spot-on pantomime performances evoke memories of classic Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton films, the German-Expressionist-inspired cinematography was had great visual appeal, and the background soundtrack was an inspired ensemble of themes that recreates the era's style of music while providing the appropriate mood to the tone of the respective scenes. At the very least, it's a loving recreation that evokes memories of classic films. If you're a classic movie fan, that might be all the convincing you'll need to see this.

Now, let's be reasonable here folks. No matter how much of a cinema snob or classic film buff (and I am one) you might be... you have to admit that The Artist can't help but come off as more than a little gimmicky. Listen folks... I get it. I love movies, I love classic cinema, and I understand how greatly films from the advent of cinema have affected our modern techniques and perceptions of filmmaking. BUT... simply re-enacting styles of a particular era does not a great movie make. For reasons I'll explain in the next paragraph, The Artist rarely rises above it's gimmicky concept... a well-executed gimmick I admit, but a gimmick nonetheless.

If that plot description sounds familiar to you... you're not alone. This film evokes memories of a similar film, Mel Brooks' underrated 1976 tribute to silent movies called... Silent Movie. By no means his best work, it still nonetheless demonstrated his excellent abilities as a comedic writer. His satirical references and enjoyable characters shined through in an often funny and interesting look at the film industry. It wasn't his most dynamic directorial effort, but the script worked where it needed to. I don't know if The Artist took any influence from Silent Movie, but I couldn't help but think while watching it that this concept has been done before. Hell, the story itself is basically a combination of Singin' in the Rain and A Star Is Born without the catchy musical numbers. As result, the film is often entertaining, but not particularly memorable. Nearly every plot point is by-the-book, the ending is predictable, and despite a couple of creative scenes, mostly plays it safe and takes few chances. Entertaining movie? Yes. Great movie? Not really.

I don't want to sell the movie too short. It has some legitimately funny scenes (most of which involve Valentin's dog), a few touching moments, and one particular creative nightmare sequence that gives the movie a bit of an edge. The nightmare features sound creeping into Valentin's life for the first time, and stands out as one of the film's most creative sequences. Had there been more scenes like that, or had the script delved into the psyche of the characters a bit more, this could have been something really special. Hell, I imagine if they took the script of Silent Movie and combined it with The Artist's slick style and direction... this could have been a new classic. As it is, however, The Artist earns the designation as a well made and often entertaining, though predictable, gimmicky, and mostly forgettable homage to a classic era.

I'm definitely giving The Artist a recommendation, but not a hugely enthusiastic one. It's great to look at and fun to watch, but lacks the proper script to make it truly special. The Oscar nominations it received are mostly well-earned, but the thought of this being named Best Picture this year... yeah, I'm not exactly on board for that. See it and judge for yourself.

Top 10 Of 2011

Geez! I really need to spend more time keeping my blog up to date. We're halfway through February and I'm just now posting my Top 10 films of 2011. I apologize folks... this post is way overdue. Granted, I spent most of January catching up on films I didn't get to see when they first came out, but still that's not enough, especially since I missed more than I would have cared to. Here are a few I have yet to see... Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Melancholia, Shame, and a few others. Still, I got most of the year's supposed best offerings... at least enough to provide a reasonable top 10 list for 2011. Without further ado... here are my picks for my personal favorite movies of 2011.

10. Thor
By no means a perfect film, but a damn good summer blockbuster with enough of an edge to make this list. Marvel's depiction of the Norse God of Thunder ran for decades in comics, but this was his first live action feature. Thanks to creative direction from Kenneth Branagh, some sweet action scenes, solid performances from Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, and Tom Hiddleston, and an enjoyable story with intriguing characters and a fun sense of humor, we get one of the more enjoyable fantasy-themed action films in recent memory. Can't way to see Thor show up in the Avengers!

9. The Muppets
Just seeing the Muppets make their return to the silver screen was enough to get me excited, but seeing them in a movie considerably more hilarious than I could have expected was even better. Jim Henson's furry creations haven't lost one bit of their quirky sense of humor, mainly thanks an enjoyable script written by Jason Segal. Fourth wall jokes, celebrity cameos, well-timed slapstick, and catchy songs... it's good to have the Muppets back!

8. Captain America: The First Avenger
In the pantheon of the connected Marvel movies, Captain America is probably my favorite. Oh sure, the first Iron Man was great and the sequel wasn't bad, Thor was a lot of fun, and the Incredible Hulk was surprisingly solid. I don't know exactly why, but Captain America just connected with me more than the rest. Maybe it was the campy-retro vibes, the awesome costumes, the solid production design, the well-directed action scenes, or Chris Evans' performance as the titular Captain. Yeah... I dug the hell out of this movie!

7. X-Men: First Class
Okay I swear, this is the last comic book movie on this list! But honestly, how could I not put First Class up here. I dug most of the X-Men movies with the exception of Wolverine (yes, I even kind of liked X-Men 3... even if only somewhat), but I'll admit that all of them had a few notable flaws. While First Class is by no means perfect, it is easily the closest the series has come to achieving that state. Matthew Vaughn's stellar direction gave the film a sort of nostalgic vibe reminiscent of golden age 007 films, while the story's themes of prejudice and discrimination tied in well with the 1960s settings. Of course, there's also the benefit of great action, a fun team of characters, and mostly great performances with the standout being Michael Fassbender's excellent portrayal of Magneto. Mutant and Proud!

6. The Descendants
Any movie starring George Clooney should stand a good chance of being great. That's not just because Clooney is an awesome actor (though he is), it's mainly that he has a good eye for choosing scripts and working with talented directors. This comedy/drama directed by Sideways director Alexander Payne is no exception. It's a fairly predictable story, but the enjoyable characters, great performances, and an perfect balance of drama and humor more than make up for it. Plus it's a legitimately touching film that doesn't descend into melodrama or schmaltz. Not to mention it's beautifully shot as well.

5. Moneyball
Much like George Clooney, Brad Pitt has a good talent for spotting great scripts. This year he starred in two very well-made films, one being the Tree of Life (which while good, is not on this list) and the other being Moneyball. Based on a true story, Moneyball is about Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane and his ludicrous experiment drafting players through bizarre statistical means to accommodate the team's severe budget cuts. Brad Pitt is as great as always, along with a better-than-usual Jonah Hill making showing some promising dramatic ability. It's an inspiring movie, but not in the usual sappy or schmaltzy way so many sports films tend to descend into. It's a bit difficult to explain exactly why I like this movie so much, other than maybe that, it just works!

4. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Maybe when I write a full review for this one, I'll delve more into how it compares with the book or the previous Swedish film version, but not here. Based strictly on it's own merits, David Fincher's adaption of Steig Larsson's thrilling novel is just about everything you could possibly want. Fincher's slick and stylish direction compliment the intriguing story and solid performances that keeps you hooked from start to finish. Though by far, the most memorable aspect of this film, is the amazingly dedicated performance from Rooney Mara as Lisbeth, not only erasing any memory of her bland performance from the Nightmare On Elm Street remake, but delivering one of the most compelling and disturbing performances in recent memory. If you can handle the film's intense content, definitely check this one out!

3. Hugo
The thought of Martin Scorsese directing a whimsical fantasy-themed family movie almost seems like a joke. After all, this is the director of notoriously violent thrillers including Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and Goodfellas. Despite all that, when watching Hugo, you suddenly find yourself reminded of just how good of a director Scorsese really is, seamlessly integrating two separate stories. The first of which (the main plot) is the aforementioned fantasy plot involving a young orphan boy named Hugo living in the walls of a 1930s Paris train station and the other being an fictionalized account of legendary filmmaker George Méliès. As crazy as that sounds, Scorsese is enough of a master to make it work. There's really not much to critique here... it's easily one of the best family movies I've seen in a long time. If you missed this one in theatres, definitely check it out!

2. Midnight In Paris
"Hey Chris! Is this a typo or are you really putting a romantic comedy in the number 2 spot?" It's true Midnight in Paris is my second favorite film of 2011. I admit that I'm often more than a little critical toward romantic comedies, but the Woody Allen-directed fantasy comedy just struck a chord with me. The concept is amazingly creative, the performances are fun to watch, and Allen's witty dialogue is just as appealing as ever. It's a unique and clever introspective into our nostalgia-obsessed society with a love story that develops the characters and supports the main plot without overshadowing it. What can I say? I just really enjoyed this one.

1. Drive
It may not be the most provocative film ever made, but Drive tops my list of films this year simply for it's stellar style and sheer awesomeness. While the violence may seem a bit excessive and the pacing may be a bit slow for some viewers, Drive blew me away thanks to it's compelling performances, top notch cinematography, stellar soundtrack, interesting characters, and inspired storyline. If you can handle some of the gratuitous violence in the third act, than definitely give this one a watch.

Those are my favorite films of 2011. If you haven't seen them, check em' out!

Worst Films of 2011

This is another very overdue posting. We're a month into 2012, and I've barely even made mention of the highlights and low points for the films of 2011. That's mainly because I've been playing catchup with the year's films that I didn't get a chance to see. I was determined to do a proper Top 10 Best and Worst of list this year, unlike in 2010 when I did a Top 10 best films but only a Top 5 worst movies (plus a few dishonorable mentions). So, in an effort to do a proper year-in-review, I not only tried to see as many of the year's best, but also forced myself to sit through more shlock than I would have cared to see. To be fair, I still think I missed a lot of the year's truly bad films (for example, I haven't seen Breaking Dawn, Jack and Jill, and a few others). With that said, some of these films really aren't THAT bad (though some are), but rather felt like missed opportunities or poor executions of promising material. Nonetheless, I think I took in enough shlock to provide a reasonable list. If there's any I see later and feel like should have been on this list, I'll write a review. Until then, here are my picks for the worst films of 2011.

10. Bad Teacher
To the film's credit, this actually wasn't a terrible movie, but rather a huge missed opportunity. The concept was promising, it had a few funny scenes, and the cast was great. I'm not a huge Cameron Diaz fan, but her surprisingly dedicated performance was so spot on that she came so close to salvaging the movie. Unfortunately Diaz, and the rest of the talented cast, was let down by mediocre writing and unfunny jokes. It's really too bad, I can tell a lot of work and effort went into this movie.

9. I Am Number Four
The admittedly decent alien vs alien battle in the climax saved this sci-fi themed Twilight-wannabe from ranking any higher, but it doesn't excuse the fact that the first two-thirds of this movie do pretty much everything wrong. The story had promise, but the flat performances, stale dialogue, and slow pacing killed the movie's potential. Actually, this content might have functioned better as a TV series than a movie. Still, it's not to say that a good movie couldn't have come out of this, just not this one.

8. Transformers: Dark of the Moon
It's by no means as bad as the irredeemably terrible Revenge of the Fallen (still not letting you off the hook for that one Mr. Bay), but it's still a disappointment. The story was weak, the performances were annoying, the characters were one-note, and the action was hit and miss. I guess the special effects were decent, the 3D wasn't too shabby, and the finale had it's moments, but there was nothing particularly memorable about it either. At best, its a mediocre movie in a less-than-stellar series.

7. Arthur
This is a remake that is as unfunny as it is pointless. It takes an especially gifted actor to be both bland and annoying, yet Russell Brand (or maybe Russell Bland?) pulls it off, with a portrayal of Arthur that's thoroughly unlikable, annoying, and lacking in emotional depth. Not to mention, it wastes the talent of Helen Mirren, who looked as bored as the audience who saw this piece of crap. Skip the remake and watch the original Dudley Moore version instead.

6. Shark Night 3D
If Piranha 3D was the blueprint for how to make an intentional "so-bad-its-good" exploitation film, Shark Night is the blueprint for how NOT to make one. Boring characters, weak suspense, fake-looking effects, and PG-13 rated violence and sex. There's only one thing a movie like Shark Night has to get right: excessive amounts of blood-soaked violence and gore! Instead, we got a B-Movie with all the typical faults, but none of the enjoyment.

5. Green Lantern
When I first saw this movie, my reaction was something along the lines of, "It wasn't that good, but it wasn't really terrible." Looking back at it now, while I still wouldn't call it the worst superhero movie ever, it's still a definite letdown. It's not much more than ho-hum effects and action, a poorly written script, boring performances, and a weak portrayal of the comic book's mythos and stories. If it weren't for Peter Saarsgard giving it a little bit of an edge, it could have been much worse. Too bad, this was one of the most promising films of the year.

4. The Green Hornet
It's not that I had particularly high expectations for The Green Hornet, but I still thought it could have been better. I mean, this movie was a failure on nearly all levels. Oh sure, Kato was kind of fun and Michel Gondry is a decent enough director to give it a bit of stylish flair, but it didn't make up for the annoying characters, forgettable action, and unfunny humor. I guess for superheroes in 2011, it wasn't easy bein' green.

3. The Hangover Part II
You could watch The Hangover Part II, or you could get the same experience by simply watching the original and muting the audio every time something funny or clever happens. On top of being a generic carbon-copy of it's predecessor, The Hangover Part II takes the quirky and fun humor from the first and makes it considerably darker and more unpleasant. It's one of those films that, in addition to just being plain bad and lazy, also makes you feel kind of dirty after watching it. Don't bother.

2. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
There are a lot of words you would expect to hear to describe a summer blockbuster like Pirates of the Caribbean. Fun, exciting, thrilling, adventurous, etc... but the one word you never want to hear is this one... BORING!!! Unfortunately, that's exactly what On Stranger Tides is. What started off as a promising adventure series has descended into dull and lifeless moneygrab sequels. Depp's shtick as Jack Sparrow was wearing thin in the last two movies, but here's it's lost all of it's charm. Some of the other actors try to pick up the slack, but are let down with a bizarre and ridiculous story. Take that in account with the forgettable action, weak characters, and a strange Christianity vs Paganism subplot... and you've pretty much got a disaster. Thar she blows!

1. Bucky Larson: Born to Be A Star
I........ got nothing. To it's credit, all the other movies on this list look like Gone with the fucking Wind compared this mess! This movie is more than just bad... it's more than a disaster... it's a fucking shitty miracle! Nothing works... absolutely nothing! The characters are annoying and offensive, the actors look lost, the direction is nonexistent, the humor is... SO INCREDIBLY DISGUSTING AND PAINFULLY WRONG!!! How did this get made??? Who thought this was funny??? I'm usually the first to say that you can make a good movie out of anything, but this is one of the first movies to seriously make me second guess my theory. I mean... it's putrid, disgusting, unbelievably offensive and terrible on so many levels. As I write this, I'm actually stuttering while trying to project my feelings toward this ungodly mess. Who thought this would work? How did they manage to get so many established actors to sign on to it? I've never been a Nick Swardson fan in the first place, but any respect I've ever had or may have for him is gone now!!! This is just a whole new level of bad. If I could find a way to personally destroy every copy of this movie in existence, I would do it!

So... now that I've calmed down a bit. Those are my picks for the worst films I saw from 2011. Don't bother watching them.

Drive - Review

You know what folks... I suck! I have completely negated the whole reason I started this blog in the first place, to help contribute to worthwhile films playing in theatres (especially under-the-radar films like Drive). I imagine Drive probably isn't even playing in many theatres anymore, which is even more disappointing considering it had a pretty limited release in the first place. I'm sure I've waited far too long to be able to persuade any potential readers of this blog to see this incredibly awesome movie, so I'm going to start by saying one thing. If you are reading this, and Drive is playing in your local theatre... stop reading and go see it RIGHT NOW! You won't regret it!

The film stars Ryan Gosling playing an unnamed man simply credited as the Driver. He is a mysterious and elusive person who seldom speaks and lives by himself in his tiny low-rent Los Angeles apartment. He works as a mechanic and Hollywood stunt driver while moonlighting as a getaway driver. He's an expert at practically everything he does... a genius mechanic, a top-notch stuntman, and a keen getaway who never gets caught and never works with the same client twice. One day, his auto-shop employer Shannon (Bryan Cranston) makes a deal with a mobster named Bernie (Albert Brooks) for a stock race car in which the Driver will take the wheel. At the same, the Driver strikes a friendship with with his neighbor Irene (Carey Mulligan) and her son Benicio (Kaden Leos). He helps them out in any way he can while Irene's husband Standard (Oscar Issac) is serving time in prison. Suddenly, with little warning, the Driver finds himself caught in the middle of a mob conflict between Bernie's mafia, setting their sights on him as well as Shannon and Standard, forcing the Driver to fight for himself and those he cares for.

You know what I love about this movie? Just about everything actually. It's a character driven action-drama that pays homage to many films that came before yet stands on it's own as a unique and compelling contemporary film. It's hard to precisely explain what kind of movie Drive is. It's partly film noir, part art house, somewhat experimental... and a straightforward drama too. It takes cues from many different movies, the first of which most have drawn comparisons to would be the 1968 Steve McQueen thriller, Bullitt.

Others may include 60s and 70s gangster movies like Point Blank, or 80s cop thrillers like Miami Vice, or even classic westerns like The Man with No Name films starring Clint Eastwood. It's a dynamic style, with all of it's cues seamlessly coming together to create something so familiar yet very unique. The cinematography is top notch. It has well framed shots with a good sense of composition and interesting color correction. The action isn't too erratic either, but rather well framed and easy to follow. The soundtrack is awesome too, arguably the best of the year. I'll probably have to download the music on iTunes soon. Make no mistake, there's no denying the inherent awesomeness of Drive's creatively stellar style.

As far as the casting... let's just say that it all just works! I've never been a huge Ryan Gosling fan, but he's really started to grow on me after I saw him in this movie and another film from this year, The Ides of March. There's a certain subtlety to his performance in Drive that I found quite compelling. He doesn't have much dialogue, but every time he's on screen, he owns his role. You can see that there is something going on in his mind, and without spoiling the ending, let's just say that Gosling gave one of the most interesting performances of the year. Mysterious, dark, and driven are probably the three best words to describe Gosling here. It's hard to say whether the film's subject matter will end up turning off the Academy from giving Gosling an Oscar nod, but I'm really hoping he gets recognized for this performance.

The other stand out performance would have to go to Albert Brooks as the mob boss Bernie Ross. Unlike the subdued and quiet Gosling, Brooks is vocal and animated (but not too over-the-top). He's one of the more interesting mob boss characters I've seen in a while, because, like Gosling's character, there's something dark and mysterious about Ross too, but in a different way. To reveal what I mean would be something of a spoiler, but there's definitely something driving him that you can't see right away. Is he totally evil, are his intentions ill, or is he just a businessman? Brooks plays his character to a tee, and should hopefully net an Oscar nomination as well. The rest of the cast is all solid. Bryan Cranston (who is finally getting some good roles) does his usual solid job. Carey Mulligan plays the love interest Irene and gives a good performance as well. The great Ron Perlman also has a few scenes as rather intimidating mob hitman... good casting there. No real complaints about the acting, everyone was generally good if not great.

As far as complaints... to be honest, this is another one of those movies that I don't really have anything negative to say. Some criticism I kept hearing about was regarding the ending and a questionable choice made by the Driver. Without spoiling anything, I'll just say that it never really phased me, nor did it strike me as odd. It seemed like a logical conclusion and I felt like it wrapped up the story well. It is a rather violent film, with a particular shift in tone of the violence in the 3rd act. It comes somewhat out of left field and might turn some people off. None of this bothered me personally, but for those who aren't a fan of blood or brutality may be a little bothered by some of it. Those who can stomach their violence shouldn't need to worry about it. Overall, I can't think of anything I disliked about this movie, it's pretty damn close to perfect.

In short, Drive is easily one of the best, possibly the best, film of 2011. I dug the hell out of the movie's concept, style, and performances. I only regret not posting this review sooner. If you missed it in theatres, then definitely check it out when its on Blu Ray and DVD! This is one I'll be adding to my collection the day it comes out!

My Score: 5 out of 5!

The Help - Review

I've been dreading this review for a while, but the hype and impact surrounding The Help has been so immense that I feel kind of compelled to give in and share my thoughts. Based on the best selling novel by Kathryn Stockett, The Help is a civil rights era dramedy set in 1960s Mississippi. In addition to being a well-received crowd pleaser and a likely Oscar contender, the film is also this year's movie people judge you for based on your opinion. Does it live up to it's hype or it just overblown Oscar bait.

As mentioned, The Help takes place in the town of Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960s civil rights era. It focuses primarily on Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan (Emma Stone), an educated and ambitious 23-year-old who has just moved moved back to Jackson after graduating from college. Despite pressure from her family and peers to get married and start a family, Skeeter instead focuses on her writing career and lands a job with a local newspaper. During this time, she also starts her own ambitious writing project, a novel from the perspective of The Help, the underpaid, overworked, and discriminated African American maids to upper class suburban white families. After being repulsed by her peers' racist attitudes toward the help, especially the particularly despicable Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard) who was spearheading numerous Jim Crow-style bills and laws, Skeeter decides to interview various maids about their true feelings toward their employers. The first maid Skeeter approaches for an interview is the soft-spoken Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis). Due to the controversial nature of Skeeter's book, Aibileen is at first reluctant, but eventually agrees to the interview in order to express her true thoughts about society's treatment of minorities. The second to come forward is Aibileen's close friend Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer), a sharp tongued maid whose tendency to speak her mind has landed her in trouble on more than one occasion. More follow suit, and soon Skeeter has a groundbreaking book to correspond with the changing times.

I'm just going to come forward with this... I've had reservations about this film since I first heard about it. Upon hearing the plot, it just seemed like another "White Savior" movie like 2009's The Blind Side (aka Sandra Bullock's vanity film). Also, I have not read the novel, just in case you were wondering. I'm judging this movie strictly on it's merits as a film. I don't know how well it follows the novel nor can I say whether it's better or worse. So, with that in mind, what do I think of The Help? In short, it's not horrible but it's not particularly good . Parts of it are solid, at times even excellent, but other parts are terrible misfires. It's a missed opportunity to say the least, for multiple reasons.

Most of hype for The Help was surrounding it's star studded ensemble cast. The large cast includes Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Bryce Dallas Howard, Cicely Tyson, Ahna O'Reilly, Sissy Spacek, Allison Janey, and many others. I'll start by saying this, despite all my reservations with this movie (and I have many), none of them are concerning the cast... for the most part at least.

Emma Stone leads as Skeeter, and while I have issues with her character and plotline (which I will get into later), I have to give credit to Stone herself. Stone's been on a roll lately, with well-received parts in movies like Superbad, Zombieland, Easy A, and others. A true talent to say the least, she does an admittedly solid job here in The Help. This is far from her best performance, but her easy going demeanor, natural comic timing, and decent dramatic range is overall a success. Not much to say about her other than that she does a solid job.

By far, the most discussed and easily the most memorable performance has to go do Viola Davis as Abilene. Believe the hype her folks... Davis is awesome in this role! Whenever she is on screen, she brings a commanding charisma to her role that is by far the most compelling performance in this film. Is it an Oscar worthy performance? Quite possibly. She's all but guaranteed to receive a nomination and should stand a good chance at winning too. By far, the best thing about this movie is Davis' performance, and could have easily carried this movie on her own.

The second most talked about performance would be Octavia Spencer as Minnie. While there's no competing with Davis for who gave the best performance, there's no denying that Spencer kills with her role as well. Her character has a few notable dramatic moments, but mostly serves as the comic relief, or at least one of the more humorous characters. She has a few different noteworthy scenes, the most memorable of which is the infamous pie scene (if you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about). An Oscar nomination seems all but guaranteed for Spencer as well, though a win is a little up in the air (though certainly possible).

The rest of the cast is all solid. The main antagonist, Hilly Hollbrook, is played by Bryce Dallas Howard. I've always had mixed feelings toward Howard, since she's shown some decent range though her choices in roles has been kind of hit and miss. Here, once again I have some mixed feelings. Her character is a nasty, dispicable, and thoroughly hateful person that drives most of the film's conflict. She's certainly one you love to hate, but I can't help but feel like Howard goes a little over the top at times. Still, she more or less accomplishes her role, so I'll give a pass. I won't critique everyone else, but rather say The Help is a thoroughly well acted movie.

So the acting is all great... no major complaints there. The story, on the other hand, is kind of a mess. Like I said before, the all-to-common "White Savior" story arch this film embraces has always been a major annoyance to me. According to The Help, the Civil Rights movement in Jackson wasn't kicked off by oppressed minorities standing up for their rights or inspiration from notable Civil Rights era figures like Martin Luther King or Rosa Parks, but rather the chick from Zombieland. It has a couple passing references to civil rights era figures, including a mention of the death of Medgar Evers, but that's about it. On top of all that, most of the black characters conform to stereotypes and cliches that have been present since the formation of the motion picture. For instance, there is a scene with Minny where she professes her love for fried chicken and how it makes life seem better... eek! It's kind of annoying, if not flat out nauseating, that The Help resorts to such an overdone storyline with borderline racist undertones. Unfortunately, the problems with the story go beyond simple concept. Even more frustrating is that it has moments of greatness that are barely utilized or explored.

Even if I could get behind the general idea of the white savior storyline, it still doesn't work in this movie because the movie's central plot (the one with Skeeter) just isn't all that interesting. Skeeter and Hilly aren't very interesting characters. They're both nothing more than generic archetypes (as are nearly every character in the movie) that conform to overdone cliches. Skeeter is your typical perfect enlightened do-gooder whose status as a writer makes me think her character represents a blatant author insert (though that's just a theory). There's also a couple go nowhere subplots about Skeeter's terminally ill mother as well as one about her getting a boyfriend. The one about Skeeter's mother, Charlotte (Alison Janey), is only barely mentioned and rarely developed aside for two or three scenes. The other, where she dates a senator's son named Stuart (Chris Lowell) gets hardly any attention as well. Maybe these plots were more relevant in the book, but here they're just deadweight that adds to the film's already long runtime.

Hilly is just your flat out person you love to hate. She's just another one-dimensional greedy, selfish, and prejudice "villain" without any real depth or subtext. I know people like her exist, and were probably fairly common in the respective time period, but it just doesn't make for a very interesting character. The rivalry between Skeeter and Hilly is predictable, dull, and despite the film's subject matter, kind of shallow. That said, Hilly's story did have a few of the movie's more enjoyable laughs, so that has to count for something.

The Help has two primary subplots that are significantly more interesting than the main plot. The first of which concerns Aibileen. Out of all the maids, she is the one who receives the most screen time and development. Her tragic backstory sets her character arch in motion and is the closest the time the film comes to being truly special. She mentions how maids make a meager living raising the children of wealthy white families while having little to no time to spend with their own. This is all the more tragic for Aibelene as her only son, one she barely saw, recently died. It's heart breakingly tragic story that gives the movie some real emotional weight. Only problem... IT'S BARELY DEVELOPED!!! Since the movie devotes so much time to Skeeter's storyline, Aibileen's is left in the shadows.

The second subplot that I got into was a friendship between Minny and her new employer. After Minny's acting out landed her in hot water with most of Jackson's residents, the only person that would hire her was Celia Foote (Jessica Christian), a sweet natured but naive and outcast resident of Jackson. At first glance, Celia comes off as any other of Jackson's wealthy white families... wealthy, married, and expecting their first child. That said, Celia's non-conformist ways and naive attitude have made her the outcast of the town. Both her and Minnie bond over their time together and form a friendship. It's a great relationship and sweet natured subplot that ties in well with the themes of prejudice and conformity.

It's not the worst movie I've ever seen, but I can't help but feel like the movie would have been substantially better had they dropped Skeeter's storyline. The Help would have been a far more compelling drama had it made Aibileen the movie's primary focus with the Minny/Celia story as the subplot. Both easily tie in with the film's themes of prejudice and civil rights, and could have been considerably compelling had they received more attention and development. Still, the film's acting is superb, and I'm almost tempted to give it a recommendation just on the strengths of the performances from Davis and Spencer. That said, due to the film's massively flawed script, I just can't bring myself to do that. It's out on DVD now, so I imagine anyone who wanted to see this movie already has, but those are my two cents. Still, I say skip it.

My Score: 2.5 out of 5!