Wall-E

PIXAR’s latest film rockets audiences far into the future where robots and humans co-exist.  Wall-E, is a trash collecting robot who was left on Earth after the humans left (due to lack of vegetation on the planet).  The only problem is years ago when all of the other trash collecting robots were shut off, someone forgot about Wall-E.  So for 700 some odd years Wall-E’s been doing the job that he was made to do.  Collect trash and compact it into tight cubes, stacking the cubes as high as skyscrapers.  In the midst of all the monotony that defines Wall-E’s existence, he’s developed a personality.  Wall-E is extremely curious.  When he finds a small treasure in the heap of all of the trash, Wall-E takes it back to his home (inside of a larger trash robot).

Wall-E’s life changes once a large spaceship lands on Earth carrying a small robot named Eve.  Eve’s job is to survey the Earth and search for any sign of plant life.  Wall-E falls in love with Eve, and the two form a bond.  Part of that bond includes Wall-E showing Eve a small plant bud that he’s found amongst the trash.  She scans the object, grabs it, and hails her ship.  When the ship comes, Eve hitches a ride, and (unknown to Eve), Wall-E stows away.  Wall-E and Eve arrive at the planetary cruise ship AXIOM, and Wall-E discovers that humans have been living, and getting fatter, on the giant vessel.  Eve must return the plant to the ship in order for the ship to set a course for Earth.  When she tries to present the plant to the captain, she finds out that Wall-E has taken it back.  This makes Eve angry, and she send Wall-E out on an escape pod bound to self destruct in space.  As Wall-E is leaving however, Eve spots the plant in the escape pod, and when it blows up, is devastated that Wall-E is gone.  All is not lost however, as Wall-E comes floating towards her, using a fire extinguisher as his propellant.  The two regale each other in Wall-E’s return, sharing the couples first “kiss” (which consists of Eve transferring a small spark towards Wall-E.)  What ensues after that is a desperate attempt to get AXIOM home.

For the most part, I have enjoyed watching PIXAR’s growth and transformation into a leading digital animation company.  What I found very interesting in Wall-E was the fact that all of Wall-E and Eve’s emotions came from their actions.  I especially found Eve’s emotional projection excellent, mostly because all of her emotions had to be projected through her eyes.  The animators did a wonderful job of personifying Wall-E and Eve, and I think that’s why, for the most part, I enjoyed this film.

The part of the film I did not enjoy was its message.  It’s message was simple and blunt.  Earthlings are destroying the planet so badly, that in another 200 to 300 years, we will have to live in space due to all of the garbage we have made.  Furthermore, Earthlings are fat creatures who have little to no motivation and allow themselves to be brainwashed into blindly following the leaders of big name corporations.  First of all, with all this talk of finding alternative energy sources so that we don’t kill the polar bears and deplete the o-zone layer, I have to believe that people care more about the environment now, than they ever have before.  Congress has gone so far as to block oil drilling off-shore and in Alaska so that we don’t harm the environment.  (Never mind that drilling off-shore and/or in Alaska would greatly reduce gas prices, but that’s another story for another day.)  Overall, I’d give Wall-E four stars.  Even though I didn’t like the message of the movie, the character development made up for what the film was lacking.  I’d say a matinée would be the best time to see this film.

Wanted

I gotta be honest with you, I’ve been waiting for the release of Wanted ever since its first trailer entered theaters sometime in the late fall of 2007.  After seeing it, the movie did not disappoint.  Based on the graphic novel by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones, Wanted tells the story of Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy), the quintessential nobody, (quite literally).  He tries googling his name in the beginning of the film and it registers no hits.  Gibson is working a dead end job under a boss who berates and belittles him, working right beside his best friend, who is, by the way, having sex with Gibson’s wife.

The monotony that is Gibson’s life changes when, one night, after filling his prescription for his heart medication, he runs into Fox (Angelina Jolie), an assassin who saves Gibson’s life via a heart pounding car chase that accelerates the plot with a bang.  Fox takes Gibson to a warehouse on the other side of town, where he is introduced to Sloan (Morgan Freeman), the leader of the “Fraternity of Assassins.”  Once there, Gibson is trained to be a killing machine, to feel no pain, and to complete the only objective he has; to kill the man that killed his father.  As the plot unfolds, a relationship between Fox and Gibson develops, and Gibson, for the first time in his life, feels like he is doing something that has meaning.  Moviegoer beware, however, a huge plot twist changes the perception of the entire film, making it totally worth the full price of admission.  My review is below, here are some screen shots from the film:

James McAvoy in Wanted

Angelina Jolie in Wanted

Morgan Freeman in Wanted

Angelina Jolie in Wanted

The Theatrical One-Sheet for Wanted

I have to say that the special effects that I saw in this film blew me away.  Some of the assassinations that they pulled off were absolutely incredible.  At one point, Gibson shoots a guy through a limousine sunroof by flipping his car over top of the limo and shooting the victim while the car did a barrel roll.  By far this movie is the best I’ve seen this summer, and it is definitely up for my award for Best Movie of the Summer.  It could also nab my Best Special Effects award as well.  Overall I give the film 4.5 out of 5 stars.  Basically the only area where I thought the film lacked was in its music.  During the car chase scene at the beginning, I was expecting more of a harsh guitar/Ironman-ish kind of sound.  Instead, it sounded like a bugs bunny cartoon to me.  Oh well, basically a great film, and definitely a summer must-see.

The Incredible Hulk

Over the past five to eight years, Marvel Studios has made a name for themselves that almost outshines the name they have put on their comic books.  The success of the Spiderman franchise, in addition to the X-Men series, Ironman, and now The Incredible Hulk, has made Marvel Studios a sure bet for a great summer flick.  For whatever reason, however, The Incredible Hulk has been done over and over again, and it never really seemed to catch on with viewers.  It could be that the hero is just too unbelievable, or it could be that people don’t think a giant green muscular…thing is really a superhero.  I have reason to believe, however, that this version of the Hulk, will be different.  Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) is living in exile in Rio de Jinero, Brazil, hiding out from the vicious General Thunderbolt Ross (William Hurt) after a failed experiment turned him into the Incredible Hulk, a vicious monster who feeds off of his own aggression.  Bruce has lost everything, even his girlfriend and fellow scientist, Betty Ross (Liv Tyler).  Determined to get back what he lost, and return his life to some semblance of normalcy, Bruce contacts Samuel Sterns (Tim Black Nelson), who is working on a cure for Bruce’s condition.  Upon returning to the U.S. Bruce continues to have flare-up’s of his unusual condition.  General Ross and the Armed Forces catch on, and Ross, who knows that the Hulk can not be beat with guns, enlists Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth), a soldier, to take a small dosage of the blood that is inside of Bruce’s system, effectively making Blonsky stronger, faster, and more fit to battle the Hulk.  Blonsky, however, gets greedy, and ends up stealing more of Bruce’s blood from Dr. Sterns, making him into a super villain who is just as powerful as the Hulk himself.  Soon, a battle between good and evil will take place, with Earth and its people as the onlookers.  My analysis is below, here are some stills from the film.

Edward Norton in The Incredible Hulk

Liv Tyler in The Incredible Hulk

The digital age is here, as evident in The Incredible Hulk

William Hurt in The Incredible Hulk

I have to admit that I was a bit weary about going to see this movie because of the past failures to bring the Hulk to the big screen.  I will say though, that this version of the Hulk was by far the best, and has the biggest potential to be a big time franchise.  I also have to say that I like what Marvel has begun to do.  It started with Ironman, and continued with The Incredible Hulk.  Marvel has begun making references to a probable Avengers movie (supposedly hitting the box office in 2011).  They’ve begun to tie the superhero films together, as evident with Robert Downey Jr. reprising his role as Tony Stark for this version of The Incredible Hulk.  I’d say this movie was strong, getting 4 out of 5 stars, and a nomination for my award for Best Movie of the Summer.  I’m also pondering creating a “Best Production Company or Team” award due to the many great movies that have come out under the same production company name.  Marvel would of course be up for that award, as well as Paramount, Universal, as well as some others.

Get Smart

Even though several mainstream media outlets gave Get Smart low ratings, it still struck well with the fans in its first weekend at the box office.  The film begins before Maxwell Smart (Steve Carrell) is an agent for the top secret government force known as CONTROL.  When CONTROL’s top enemy, members of KAOS, break into CONTROL’s main base, the identities of all of the agents working for CONTROL are compromised.  The Chief, (Alan Arkin), decides that it’s time for Max to go out into the field.  With the help of an attractive female partner (Anne Hathaway), the two set out to find and catch the members of KAOS who stole a large amount of nuclear explosives and  gave them to unstable dictators.  There is only one problem, Max isn’t cut out for field work, and more often than not, dumb luck is the only way he manages to stay alive.  This hilarious comedy is definitely worth full price, and it will have you laughing all the way home.  Here is the theatrical one-sheet from the film.

For as much bad press as this film received, Get Smart was hilarious.  When you are laughing about a movie that you saw yesterday, its a really good sign, and that’s what happened after I saw Get Smart.  Steve Carrell is the only person that could pull off the slapstick humor that embodies Maxwell Smart.  This easily gets a nomination for my award for Best Comedy of the Summer.  I give the film 4.5 out of 5 stars.

The Happening

M. Night Shyamalan attempts to thrill movie goers once again with his supernatural thriller, “The Happening.” The movie begins in central park, where an eerie wind has blown through the area causing visitors to the park to become disoriented and soon after, kill themselves. Moments later, three blocks away from central park, construction workers begin to mysteriously fall off of the sides of a building, seemingly out of their own will.

The next scene introduces the audience to Elliot Moore (Mark Wahlberg), a high school science teacher who, upon hearing of these strange happenings in NYC, decides to get a hold of his wife Alma (Zooey Deschanal) and along with his math teacher friend Julian(John Leguizamo), they board a train bound for where ever this happening isn’t taking place. As more and more of these anomalies start taking place, the group, including Julian’s daughter Jess (Ashlyn Sanchez), try to seek shelter in rural Pennsylvania towns. The group soon learns that the plants might be causing these frightening occurrences, and that these happenings tend to take place when people are in large clusters. The people therefore decide to break up into smaller groups to try to avoid the paranormal activity. Julian decides to go back towards the odd occurrences to try to find his wife, only to end up committing suicide like the rest of the victims.

Meanwhile, Elliot, Alma, and Jess have found refuge in the country home of a peculiar old woman named Mrs. Jones (Betty Buckley), who often exhibits some violent tendencies. The three spend the night and are ordered by Mrs. Jones to leave immediately the next morning. Soon after the “happening” gets to Mrs. Jones, and she ends up putting her head through multiple glass windows. Just when it seems that all hope is lost for our three heroes, the happening ceases…or has it? My analysis for the film is below, here are some stills from the film:

Mark Wahlberg, Ashlyn Sanchez, and Zooey Deschanel in “The Happening”

John Leguizamo, Ashlyn Sanchez, Zooey Deschanel, and Mark Wahlberg in “The Happening”

The Theatrical One-Sheet for “The Happening”

This was the first film this summer that really disappointed me. In my eyes, this was one of the worst performances given by Mark Wahlberg and the rest of the cast. From the very first scene where Wahlberg’s character enters the film, his lines seemed forced. Furthermore, Shyamalan wrote witty comedy into the film that made people laugh, but I think detracted from the “horror” genre, under which this film was placed.

Now on to my thoughts about the story. I think the premise of the story had a lot of potential, but poor execution took the story in the wrong direction. To me, Shyamalan’s point was that the humans are destroying the Earth and that the plants finally decided to fight back. This is one trend that has been taking place in cinema since around 2002. Directors are turning works of fiction into their own political soapbox to try to prove a point. A point, I might add, that keeps getting drilled home, week after week after week. We get it. Humans are evil, we need to respect the planet, and oh by the way, the American government is behind every bad thing that has ever happened in the history of the world…ever…even before the dawn of time…even before the existence of America. I get it, the audience gets, everyone gets it. It’s come to a point where directors are America-bashing, and I’m not going to pay $9.50, or for that matter, $6.50, to hear some self-righteous director try to prove a point that’s been said over and over again.

I’m not trying to say that America is right 100% of the time, we are not, and I’m certainly not trying to make this review into a political statement of my own. I think I can speak for a very large amount of people who think that Hollywood has gotten a little out of hand. By the same token, I am in NO way saying that America can do no wrong. We’ve made mistakes in our history, and most of us would agree that some major mistakes have been made in the last five years. But please, have some respect for the country that allows you to spit in its face on a daily basis. The film gets 2 out of 5 stars for poor acting, odd comedic sequences, and for using a fictional story as a soapbox for political propaganda.

Kung Fu Panda

Dreamworks Pictures has done it again! This time, with their PIXAR animated Kung Fu Panda, a hilarious comedy about a lazy panda named Po (voiced by Jack Black) who dreams of one day fighting with the great worriers who make up the Furious Five.

Po, a modest panda who helps his father in their local noodle shop, desperately dreams of learning and practicing kung fu. That dream becomes a reality when the vicious Tai Lung (voiced by Ian McShane) escapes from prison. Po travels to the Kung Fu temple high above his hometown of The Valley of Peace, and through an accident involving fireworks, Po is chosen to fulfill an ancient prophecy and bring peace to…the Valley of Peace. There’s just one problem. Although Po is obsessed with Kung Fu, he can’t even make it up the stairs of the temple without getting short of breath. Though at first Po’s master, Shifu (voiced by Dustin Hoffman), and the Furious Five don’t believe in Po, through hard work and a little motivation, (mainly food), Po studies and masters the great art of Kung Fu, and becomes the great Dragon Worrier. Now the only thing left is to defeat Tai Lung and save the Valley of Peace! This hilarious comedy will have the whole family laughing and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it is worth full admission price. Here are some production stills from the film, as well as the movie’s theatrical one-sheet, my analysis is below:

Po (voiced by Jack Black) and Shifu (voiced by Dustin Hoffman) in Kung Fu Panda

Po (voiced by Jack Black) in Kung Fu Panda

The Theatrical One-Sheet for Kung Fu Panda

As I mentioned above, I was very pleasantly surprised at how good this film actually was. At several points throughout the movie, I was doubled over in laughter. I really have enjoyed seeing Dreamworks Pictures’ transformation over the last ten years, and as a 20 something, I appreciate that movies like this can make me laugh. And the laughs went on throughout the movie. Believe me, you definitely do not want to miss this movie. It is in the running for not only my award for Best Comedy of the Summer, but it is also certainly in the running for Best Animated Feature Film of the Summer. I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.

You Don’t Mess with the Zohan

Meet Zohan (Adam Sandler), Israel’s top weapon against Palestinian terrorism, but that is not his passion. No, Zohan’s passion does not involve military action at all, but rather cutting and styling hair for the people of New York City. Zohan flees Israel after a fight with the Phantom (John Turturro), the top Palestinian terrorist. Once in New York, Zohan gets a job sweeping hair at a local dive beauty shop. Certainly not Zohan’s dream. But one day, when one of the shop’s stylists quit unexpectedly, Zohan’s chance arrives. He does well with his first cut, and eventually attracts many women to the once “down on it’s luck” boutique.

There is one small problem however, and that lies in the form of a slick building developer named Walbridge (Michael Buffer). His plan, to destroy the boutique, along with all of the other shops on the block, and turn it into a giant mall. His method, make it look as if the Israelis and Palestinians in America hate each other, eventually destroying the block anyway. Will the plan work? Will the Arabs in America be forever at war with each other? Or can a special ops trained hairstylist save the day? To find out, buy a movie ticket to see You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, and believe me, it’s worth full price. Here are a couple of stills from the film, as well as the film’s theatrical one-sheet; my analysis is below:

Adam Sandler in “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan”

Adam Sandler in “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan”

The Theatrical One-Sheet for “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan”

Honestly, at times, this film was laugh-out-loud funny, and that happened many times throughout the film. Adam Sandler was the perfect choice for this character, and also the perfect choice to co-write the film. I think what I liked most about this film was its ability to take a serious subject like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and turn it in to something light hearted and funny. With lines like “They’ve only been fighting for 2000 years, it can’t be much longer,” it really forces the viewer outside of the conflict and sheds the war in a new light. Kudos to Adam Sandler for the excellent performance in the film, as well as his excellent ability to put together a hilarious comedy. He, along with co-writer Robert Smigel, are both up for my award for Best Screenplay.

June is the Month for Movies

Upon further review, it appears that June is going to be one of the best months to go see a flick.  Here’s the week by week rundown of what’s coming out in June.

June 6th, 2008

You Don’t Mess with the Zohan; Kung Fu Panda

June 13th, 2008

The Incredible Hulk; The Happening

June 20th, 2008

Get Smart; The Love Guru

June 27th, 2008

Wall-E; Wanted

In other words, I can’t wait for tomorrow to start this great month of movies.  It’ll be nice to have a movie to go to on Friday and Saturday night.

DVD Review: Dead Silence

Dead Silence came out in 2007, and is now available on DVD.  I heard about the premise of the story from my girlfriend and decided to rent the film to see how it was.  The film begins with Jamie Ashen (Ryan Kwanten) and his new wife Lisa (Laura Regan) getting a mysterious knock on their apartment door.  When they answer it, a long rectangular package arrives for Jamie, and in it lies a handcrafted wooden ventriloquist’s doll.  When Jamie leaves to go get the couple Chinese food, Lisa decides to scare Jamie by putting the wooden doll under their bed covers.  Lisa does scare Jamie, or rather, the doll does.  When Jamie returns home, he finds his wife murdered and placed in the same position under the covers as was the doll a scene earlier.  What’s worse is that Lisa’s tongue has been ripped out.

With a stereotypical detective (Donnie Wahlberg) on his tail, Jamie decides to return to his hometown of Raven’s Fair after he finds out that the doll might be connected to a murdered ventriloquist named Mary Shaw.  As Jamie digs deeper for the truth, he finds out that his own ancestors were the very people who murdered Mary Shaw, and that is why she’s been exacting her revenge on the members of his family.  More people show up dead, all with their tongues ripped out, and Jamie looks more and more like the man who did the job.  Jamie tries to tell the cops about the ghost story, but of course no one believes him.  Soon the real question becomes weather or not he’ll solve his wife’s murder before he becomes Mary Shaw’s next victim.

I thought I’d change it up a bit and post an image of the movie’s theatrical one-sheet.  My analysis is below:

Every once in awhile you notice the work of some of the lesser known crew members on a film really come out in the finish product.  This was the case in Dead Silence, and I’m speaking of the make-up crew.  Imagine, for a moment, if someone you loved, who had died many years ago, had suddenly come back to life, but in a decayed form.  Upon looking at them, you would most likely A. not recognize them, and B. be scared to death.  That is the image that Mary Shaw brings to mind.  It comes out in the story that, according to her will, when Mary Shaw was buried, she was to be buried with her collection of 101 handmade ventriloquist dolls.  Additionally, Mary Shaw wanted to become a doll herself.  The make-up artists did easily the BEST job I have ever seen on a character in a horror film.

With regards to the story itself, I thought the plot was extremely clever.  Even when she was pictured as living, the scenes with Mary Shaw made my heart pump with fear.  Even though the plot was clever, the film somewhat lacks the originality that say the Saw or Halloween franchises have.  Overall, however, the film was strong.  I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.