Life of Pi
Stunning visuals, nifty 3D and a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. Life of Pi was directed by Ang Lee and features some of the most visually stunning moments of 2012. It is a visual cornucopia filled with eye candy and little substance.
The movie focuses on a teenager named Pi spending 227 days on a lifeboat that he is sharing with a bengal tiger named Richard Parker. The freighter that was transporting his family hit a gnarly storm and the following ten minutes are a mixture of sadness and survival. On the lifeboat Pi is joined by a zebra, hyena, orangutan and tiger. I’d hate to give away what happens next the because the viewer should be able to appreciate the journey without spoilers. I will say that Richard Parker is never humanized and the partnership between the two is a mixture of fear and eventual companionship. Together, they see some beautiful sights, a whale almost crushes them and they navigate storms better than Mark Wahlberg and George Clooney.
Pi’s character is explained in a neat little scene where he sneakily gets the students in his new school to stop mocking his name Piscine (named after a beautiful swimming pool). After years of bullying he shortens his name to Pi and writes out the 3.14 as far as he can to firmly establish his nickname at the new school. The quick thinking proves helpful when he has to survive on the open seas while a tiger threatens to eat him at any moment.
The book/movie has a way of simplifying the the big issues. I won’t give away the twist but it is not as deep as it thinks. I’m always wary of over simplifying major issues. It seems like the movie thinks it is pushing major ideals on you but it all comes down to surface issues disguised as life changing. I like that it has an open mind but that makes for a great feeling with empty calories.
Lee was able to avoid the open seas by filming in a massive 1.3 million gallon wave generating tank in Taiwan. Hopefully, he sent a thank you card to Kevin Costner for his trials and tribulations filming on sea for Waterworld. Lee found his leading man among 3,000 other actors. The interesting thing is that Suraj Sharma was only accompanying his brother when the casting agent saw his face and told him to try it out. You can tell the film was crafted by the best in the world and that care was taken to not annoy the nearly nine million people who have read the book. Life of Pi belongs with Avatar and Hugo in regards to using 3D to create beautiful worlds. The world is immersive and the 3D works perfectly while on the water. Take a look at the picture below and imagine it on a huge screen and in 3D. The CGI for the bengal tiger is nothing short of amazing too. In order for the film to work the tiger had to be believable and fluid looking. The creators succeeded because my fiancee and I sat in the theater in amazement and also missing our cat whom looks like a miniature version of Richard Parker.
Life of Pi is full of hope, wonder and visual splendor. However, the final message feels too easy. Comment below. I’d love to talk about the film.
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Lawless
Bloody and uneven. Characters are underdeveloped and others grunt. Lawless is a beautifully shot film that holds nothing back and leaves you wanting more. It is a rare combination of decent and fantastic. Based on the book by Matt Bondurant called “The Wettest County in the World.” The film follows three brothers during the prohibition years as they bootleg alcohol and beat up people with brass knuckles.
It doesn’t match the intensity of John Hillcoat’s Proposition or bleakness of The Road but it is great to look at and gives you enough to appreciate the insanity unfolding before your eyes.
The movie never mixes into a cohesive whole but it has moments that make it worthwhile. Tom Hardy steals the show as a man who is incredibly violent yet painfully shy. He knows he can kill at a moment’s notice and doesn’t need to act like a tough guy. His cardigans and mellow demeanor mask a man who knows what his life will lead to. He explains this in a fantastic scene to Shia.
It is not the violence that sets men apart. It is the distance they are prepared to go. We are survivors We control the fear. Without it we are dead.
The problem is that Guy Pearce comes into town and he is not afraid of the “hillbillies.” Instead he and his shaved eyebrows wage war on the invincible Bondurant brothers. What follows is ultra violence and more ultra violence.
This may sound strange but I love how quick and brutal the violence is in Hillcoat’s films. It is real, spontaneous and bloody. One punch can knock you out and a bullet does real damage It is an unpredictable world that is deadly and harsh. To live you need to be prepared go far and know you might end up with a massive stream of blood shooting out your neck after a bullet wound.
Grantland writer Zach Baron covered this film in his Summermetrics series and made an interesting observation. He wrote “I’m not saying LaBeouf’s method as an actor is to take a potent cocktail of cocaine and methamphetamines and start screaming at his director to roll film; I’m just saying I can’t think of another explanation for why his performances from movie to movie are identically loud and twitchy and irritating.”
Shia’s manic mode doesn’t gell with the oddities of this film. His ambition seems out of place in a world where ambition will get you killed. After the film you’ve forgotten about Shia and can only think about Tom Hardy’s Cardigans (Hardigans), Guy Pearce’s non-existent eyebrows and a surprise moment with Jessica Chastain.
Sidenote: Speaking of violence. In this scene he literally finds testicles in a brown bag at his doorstep.
Lawless has too much going for it for you to ignore. However, if you were expecting a brutal masterpiece like The Proposition watch The Proposition again. Lawless seems to be a film that lets it’s cast get away with too much (Hardy wanting to be motherly, Shia drinking and scaring Mia Wasikowska, Guy Pearce wanting shaved eyebrows) while letting the story get out of hand. As disjointed as it may be it still creates a memorable experience and a new fashion craze.
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Lincoln
Entertaining, educational and features a plethora of Oscar winners/nominees. Lincoln is a beautiful looking film that will be played in classrooms for years to come. It will appease Lincoln nerds and the people who only know him as the funny guy in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.
Richard Corliss from Time called the film “brain food.” What I love about Lincoln’s story is you think you know it all but there is always something to learn. The best thing about this film is that everybody is clearly enjoying telling his story. The job wasn’t easy, his life hard and the weight on his shoulders would crush anyone but him. The backroom deals, government maneuvering and James Spader acting cheeky were all necessary for the 13th amendment to pass. If the war ended Lincoln wouldn’t have been able to free the slaves without a massive governmental battle. He needed to postpone the peace treaty in order to free the slaves. So, he devised a scheme to pass the amendment under the guise of an act of war.
You know how it ends but you don’t know the backroom dealings that went into the 13th Amendment. Hundreds of men with unique facial hair yelled, schemed and bartered to have their beliefs known.
Tommy Lee Jones steal the show as Thaddeus Stevens. His character wanted nothing more that the independence of slaves and his veteran prowess steal the show away from the reliable incredible Daniel Day-Lewis. Jones captures the spirit of a man whom has fought in vain for many years and he wears it on his face. He will still fight with every fiber of his being but is forced to momentarily abandon his beliefs for the betterment of the world. His performance is my favorite because it seems as if Jones is actually trying and not looking for a paycheck or Spielberg credit.
Between Argo and Lincoln unmotivated teachers will have plenty of material to teach a quick lesson and entertain their classes with solid film making and wonderful hair.
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Bad Movie Tuesday: The Best Spin Kicks are in Bad Movies
Spin kicks are a staple of bad cinema. In a direct to DVD action film acting is not a necessity. What you need is the ability to ride dirt bikes into terrorists homes and spin kick the bad men into oblivion. If you are decent looking and can throw a spin kick you will most certainly become a henchman or hero in a bad action film. Most importantly you can end up in scenes like this.
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The spin kick has long been a staple of cheesy cinema. The kick when used correctly is impossible to defend and awesome when pulled off correctly. The reason the spin kick is not featured in many A-list films is because the diminutive actors are incapable of such a graceful act. The actors who have mastered the move (sans good actor Swayze in Roadhouse) are people who can kick not act. Thus, in bad action films the actors kick a lot and act little. I’m sure fellow MFF co-writer John knows more about spin kicks and bad movies but I came to this interesting realization first.
My favorite exception to the rule as mentioned earlier is Roadhouse. The reason it is a classic is because it is 100% bonkers yet features an A-list star who can spin gracefully with his foot in the air.
Viva la Swayze!
Aside from Swayze the high flying actors who are martial artists do not need to act like Brando. Take a look at this JCVD highlight clip and you will notice bad acting, poor defense and glorious spinning maneuvers that lead to unconsciousness and concussions.
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The art of the spin kick is lost to me. When you are a 6’4 Swedish man your only option is to imitate the Dolph Lundgren front kick or John Cusack side kick.
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We don’t have the torque or ability to manipulate our bodies into a spin. Watch this fantastic clip of Dolph and JCVD fighting to catch a glimpse of Swedish fighting.
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Scott Adkins is the king of B-movie action and he has mastered the triple lindy of spin kicks.
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Michael Jai White made the fantastic film Black Dynamite and made a name for himself with his spin kicks in DTDVD films.
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Before Gary Daniels was crane kicked to death in The Expendables he was spin kicking Wesley Snipes.
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Spin Kicks are beautiful things that happen in bad movies. They are like the monologues in a Mamet play or a Daniel Day-Lewis transformation. You have to seek them out and suffer through bad movies to witness the aerial acts. If you are lucky they can even teach a tough group of high school students to appreciate the bigger picture.
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Bad Movie Tuesday: Horror Czar: The Politics of Creating a Nickname
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Bad Movie Tuesday: Dr. Thanksgiving Movie Strategy or: How to Prevent Your Cinephile Cousin From Pushing 2001: A Space Odyssey on a Family Full of Turkey
Turkey, family, football and television. Millions of American’s will stuff themselves full of mouth watering morsels then retreat to the confines of their trusted couch, futon, love seat or bean bag chairs. Once seated the tryptophan will leave the person in a tired daze of contentedness and coma like symptoms. They will reach for the remote and in front of them will be a plethora of family oriented cinema to dull their senses and prepare them for the inevitable pecan pie topped with whipped cream. The images will pass in front of them in a mixture of consumerism, family values and most likely Nic Cage conveniently finding a bowl of lemons in National Treasure.
After a 5k Turkey Trot, touch football game or surprisingly competitive match of backyard badminton couch time is expected and deserved. Your senses will be dulled, your hands pruiny from washing hundreds of dishes and your aunt will be talking about her kids with adjectives like beautiful funny, fantastic and potentially incarcerated. So, watching Inception, Memento or Usual Suspects will be too much of a sensory overload to absorb while the cranberries are settling in your stomach. In the middle of the film you don’t need your brother complaining about Dicaprio or your Grandma wondering why the well dressed fella is fighting a guy whilst upside down. You will need a film that you can watch in between naps, friendly conversations and games of Uno where you are convinced your Great Grandma is out to get you.
The best Thanksgiving movies are watchable good/bad films that offer moments of ludicrous brilliance and epic moments of dumb. Who wants to watch Kubrick on Thanksgiving? Pushing 2001 on Thanksgiving is like introducing Bon Iver at a Keg Party. The outcome will feature confusion, booing and a potential outbreak of an a capella version of Livin on a Prayer. The reason bad films are good is that they will be perfect background for a bustling home and provide something for you to chat about other than what the next five years of your life will look like.
Movies like The Replacements, The Waterboy, National Treasure 1 & 2 , Major League 2, The Three Musketeers, Gone in 60 Seconds, Die Another Day, The World is not Enough, The Rundown, Walking Tall and Yes Man will prevent long diatribes and television fatigue. Are these films good? The answer is no. However, they feature Nic Cage driving fast, Denise Richards playing a nuclear physicist and Orlando Bloom’s saucy hair. You can go on a walk, come back and still understand what is going on. Do you need to watch these films? No. However, it might get you thinking about putting aside your deluxe version of Blade Runner and focus on movies that will allow you to converse with your family and not bore them with making of documentaries. Most importantly it will keep you from showing your family Malibu’s Most Wanted because you saw it once and thought it was funny.
All of these movies are watchable background fodder that won’t dominate the conversation or open a window for your pretentious cousin to discuss why Raging Bull is the greatest Scorsese film (I am a Goodfellas fan but find Departed the most rewatchable). Most importantly they won’t create any awkward moments that American Pie, Hot Tub Time Machine or Black Dynamite would create. Imagine putting on the VHS of Roadhouse and having this happen to you (funny read).
Are there good background movies to watch on Thanksgiving? Yes, Goldeneye, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Invincible, The Goonies, Talladega Nights and Plane, Trains and Automobiles are all suitable for your cinema needs. However, you don’t want every other conversation interrupted to hear what funny thing will be coming from Will Ferrell’s mouth or what shenanigans John Candy will get himself into it. The movies I recommended work because they are perfectly forgettable. I once watched The Replacements without ever realizing it was on.
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John’s Horror Corner: The Innkeepers (2012)
MY CALL: An entertaining dynamic between two awkwardly sweet characters steers this film into a unique mood. I really enjoyed watching this movie and it made for a very different, satisfying experience. [B] IF YOU LIKE THIS WATCH: Written and directed by Ti West, who didn’t impress me with his episodic contribution to V/H/S (2012). OTHER REVIEWS: This movie was suggested to me by co-writer The Hof. He also positively reviewed this movie.
Claire (Sara Paxton; Shark Night 3D, The Last House on the Left) and Luke (Pat Healy) work at the Yankee Pedlar Inn and are determined to find evidence of the paranormal within its walls before it goes out of business in its final days. They have a refreshingly platonic friendship that isn’t blurred by the typical nudity-harbingering sexual tension so common among horror ilk. These two have a natural and playful chemistry; you instantly know that they care about each other and, in effect, it makes viewers care about them. Already this is a solid victory for any horror movie.
Claire is a somewhat awkward but super-nice young woman with a childish verve who finds listening to others to be exhausting, instantly slouching like a dropped marionette. Luke is a nice, quirky guy who likes getting to know the hotel guests. Their dynamic is nothing short of cute and it comes with some funny accidental scares. The director clearly went out of his way to make Paxton look childishly cute whenever possible. The characters were so well written that I could seriously watch this movie as a dramedy without any horror elements, just to watch Luke and Claire’s interactions. It’s all done very well and they’re so likeable.
They want to find proof of Madeleine O’Malley’s haunting. During the process Claire starts hearing things and some cheap scares really made me smile. Claire does an overnight ghost recording and picks up on something spooky.
“Okay, now I am CERTAIN I hear something.”
TV star Lee Jones (Kelly McGillis; Top Gun, Witness) is in town for a convention. She is a bit distant, in a superior way, but subtly maternal. She offers her spiritual knowledge and turns out to be a medium. Some limited communication with “the other side” reveals a room in the hotel where something awful happened that Claire must not enter because she “cannot save” Madeleine. The tone shifts from light-hearted to serious as the style of the scares follows suit. Stranger, graver things start happening involving the hotel guests and further investigations by Claire and Luke.
The scares seem simple—like they’re meant not to be terrifying, but only jumpy—as if this was made so that preteens could have a “good” horror movie that won’t leave them traumatized. This is still enjoyable to adults, though. There’s no creepy, dreadful vibe whatsoever. It’s more like you look forward to things, like with a good mystery novel, than dread them. “Spooky” elements are simply clichés executing perfectly; as if this movie was a “how to” manual for future horror filmmakers.
The camerawork was good; simple, but well-placed and effective. The movie demanded no more than they gave.
Let’s be clear. The horror “story” wasn’t very good. While I loved the character-driven premise and it carried the movie effortlessly, the horror story itself never really felt like it moved forward and it certainly met us with no resolution at the end whatsoever. However, I really enjoyed watching this movie and it made for a very different, satisfying experience.
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John’s Horror Corner: The Devil’s Carnival (2012)
Note the {Episode 1} on the poster…
MY CALL: Enthusiasts of musicals, adventurous film lovers and fans of Repo! should rejoice and be pleased to watch The Devil’s Carnival. I give this a “B+” for intrigue. IF YOU LIKE THIS WATCH: Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008).
John (Sean Patrick Flanery; The Boondock Saints, Saw 3D: The Final Chapter), Merriwood (Scream Queen Briana Evigan; Mother’s Day, Sorority Row) and Tamara (Jessica Lowndes; Autopsy, Altitude) find themselves in a carnival in Hell dressed in the wardrobe of a long past era (‘50s-ish). After introductory choruses by the carnies, the music treats the sins of each sinner in turn as the Devil reads them as fable morality tales.
Jessica Lowndes in a sock hop dress, tied up to a knife wheel with an undead greaser.
This short (56 minute) musical was directed by Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II-IV, Repo! The Genetic Opera, Mother’s Day). The carnies were all well done and their make-up had an intentional theater appeal. The Devil looks stunningly similar to the djinn (i.e., genie) in Wishmaster (1997). Other characters, especially the cracked face “painted doll” lady who we see quite often, were well wardrobed and creepily presented. The music was decent, occasionally surprisingly good, and dominated the film’s running time as each of the three wayward souls’ sinful stories were told in song.
The Painted Doll. Eerie and sexy.
Between the dark nature of the movie and carnies versus the bright colors and lighting in the sets and wardrobe I found an interesting duality towing my reactions. This is musical horror in theme, but presented in an upbeat Broadway manner—except for John’s tale, the third and final of the Devil’s fables, which is more forlorn. I am especially fond of the Devil’s role and his musical number at the end, which explains the decisions he has made regarding the three souls cast into his carnival.
This strikes me as being a great deal similar to Repo! The Genetic Opera, although Repo! was only occasionally upbeat in song (in an uppity, non-macabre feel good way, that is) and not so much in set and wardrobe palate. In either case, the “feel” is there and fans of Repo! should be quite pleased. We even find some of the same actors (e.g., Paul Sorvino).
I am told that this is the first of a series of films. I’m curious to see how the next installment will connect to the present characters and theme.
Very different. Very interesting. If you’re very adventurous, then give this a shot.
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John’s Horror Corner: Alien Predators (1985), a gooey alien infection movie that’s good for a few laughs.
MY CALL: A fun, gory, low budget and laughable horror flick that you’ve probably never heard of. I don’t know about you, but this is exactly what I’m always looking for…long-forgotten 80s horror. IF YOU LIKE THIS WATCH: The Kindred (1987), The Bay (2012) and Xtro (1983) are a few gory, mutant infestation-y movies that I’d endorse. ALTERNATIVE TITLE: The Falling. AVAILABILITY: This movie has not yet made it to DVD that I am aware. This flick is so unknown that the only image I could find for the movie online was the movie poster, which doesn’t even match the cover of my homemade DVD cover for the movie under the other title.
In the early 1970s NASA was evidently doing some experiments in a space lab that “could not be done on Earth.” Then, that space lab crashed in Spain. Despite the setting, this is just a typical American horror flick that has a few people with accents and an Old World town.
Samantha, Damon (Dennis Christopher; Stephen King’s It, Necronomicon: Book of the Dead) and Michael are RV-ing across Spain and they discover that strange things are happening in Duarte. The town is shockingly empty, the locals are behaving strangely and they encounter the weirdest, evil, red-headed, pod person-Cher waitress ever.
As this–we’ll call it a plot–endures, we learn that the Apollo 14 moon mission recovered dormant lifeforms. Nothing as zany as the rock spiders from Apollo 18 (2011), but pretty heinous. A NASA scientist, who behaves a lot like a criminal, provides all of the unsensationally ho-hum revelations of the plot. Basically, the research station crashed, alien life contaminated and mutated the local fauna and people, and they need go to a NASA facility that’s in the basement of a Spanish stronghold tat’s hundreds of years old in order to get some canister so they can create an antidote to the mutagenic alien DNA.
They really put some effort in the writing for our three protagonists. The dialogue between these three doesn’t feel nearly as stiff as the standard 80s ilk. Although, all of the other dialogue and acting is awful.
The gore is strong from the get-go. Loads of guts, little slimy monsters, pulsating and erupting mutations…also, I’ve never seen a dog get dragged inside of the disemboweled body of an alien-infected bull. Very cool.
This movie was really quite fun for some random flick I never heard of–(I picked it up at a convention horror booth). I’d retitle this movie The Trouble with Flesh-Eating Tribbles.
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Merantau (2009)
MY CALL: I’ve seen the star and director do so much better in their second movie that I found this flick nearly intolerable by comparison. I really wish I saw this first, but it has forever left a bad taste in my mouth. Maybe a bit biased or unfair, but I give this a “C+“ at best–too many production flaws. IF YOU LIKE THIS WATCH: The Raid: Redemption (2011) really shows you what Iko Uwais is capable of at the expense of a real plot. I’d also strongly recommend movies by Jeeja Yanin (Chocolate, Raging Phoenix) and Tony Jaa (The Protector, Ong-Bak but not Ong-Bak 2 or 3).
DISCLAIMER OF BIAS: I will constantly compare this to the FAR BETTER The Raid: Redemption. By comparison, Merantau was awful. However, a lot of Amazon reviewers who saw this BEFORE seeing The Raid seemed to think it was pretty great. I just don’t see it, but I thought it was only fair to let you know that a lot of folks think highly of this movie. This reminds me of people’s opinions of which Hangover movie was better. It seemed that whichever one they saw first was the one they thought was the best. In this case, I think you’d need to Merantau first to think it was good.
“Merantau” is the physical and spiritual journey a boy takes to become a man. Yuda’s merantau takes him to Jakarta to teach the martial art of silat. Instead, he finds himself helping a call girl and her little brother deal with an abusive pimp. The movie is slow and takes forever to get to any action. In the first 30 minutes, all we get is Yuda (Iko Uwais; The Raid: Redemption) manhandling the pimp. It’s not impressive, brutal or fun to watch. The next fight scene is “proficiently” choreographed, but strikes me as totally boring. For this I blame director Gareth Evans’ fledgling experience since he really rocked his next film with Iko Uwais, The Raid: Redemption.
If anyone stumbles across this movie AFTER seeing The Raid, they should be warned that this lacks the “check your brain at the door” videogame action appeal. This film actually has a plot, an Ong-Bak-esque story, and in the beginning it pays more attention to traditional Indonesian martial arts than choreographical sensationalism. The violence kicks up in gear towards the end. For the raw action fan, the first half of this movie may disappoint fans of The Raid much as Ong-Bak 2 and 3 disappointed many Ong-Bak fans; too much “quest for peace” and “doing what’s right” and not enough knees and elbows to the head.
http://www.fmvmagazine.com/?p=8105
Yuda vs. pimp and random goons = unsatisfying.
http://myfilmviews.com/2011/01/25/merantau-2009/
Yuda vs. motorcyclist = unsatisfying. This image looks like it’d be cool I the movie. It actually came out rather dull.
The fight scenes in the middle of the movie eventually hit an appropriate frequency but the lighting, camera work and choreography—plus some choppy editing—left a lot to be desired. This feels like the combat quality I’d find in a Lifetime Network movie or Walker, Texas Ranger; put simply, this just doesn’t cut it. I get that not all movies can be the life-changingly awesome and have things I’ve never seen before… but I manage to love Van Damme’s 90s movies. They had far simpler choreography than this. However, the way they were filmed they just “worked.”
http://kiaikick.com/2011/06/11/review-merantau-2009/
Like Jaa and Yanin’s films, the highlights were in the stunt falls. Lots of guys get knocked off of walls, buildings, etc., and they are done exquisitely and certainly excite the viewers.
For some reason, as the movie persists the fight scenes get WAY better, even decent—outside of the extremely annoying fact that people in these fights are equally affected by quick jabs as they are elbows and knees to the face or throat punches. In the end Yuda faces a HUGE number of tandem opponents with some brutal (on the stunt men) stunts and choreography. These fights never hit Tony Jaa, Jeeje Yanin or The Raid quality. Yayan Ruhian (Mad Dog from The Raid) costars in this, but is sadly under-utilized until he fights Uwais, which might be the best one on one fight of the movie, yet still not a very good fight having seen how much EPICALLY better both of them have done elsewhere. I also found the “boss” fight at the end to be more aggravating than good because his opponents took far too much punishment to keep coming at him full force–or at all. The choreography was good, but the fight just dragged on too much.
http://kiaikick.com/2011/06/11/review-merantau-2009/
Despite very good choreography, I had a hard time buying that two skinny criminals also happen to be some of the best fighters in the movie totally out of nowhere! They also fight in slacks and tucked in collared shirts.
As for Yuda’s merantau. Well, he pretty much kicked the ever-lovin’ shit out of forty or fifty dudes. So, I guess he gets to return home “a man.”
I’d skip it unless you’re a die hard Asian action cinema fan. Even if you’re in the camp that would say this movie is good, there are far too many better executed and more finely filmed examples of great technical martial arts. Feel free to leave harassing comments for my muck-raking review of this flick. But consider seeing The Raid first–just to see where I’m coming from.
Movies, Films & Flix 