The Last Stand (2013)

Title: The Last Stand (2012)

Director: Jee-Woon Kim

Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Forest Whitaker, Johnny Knoxville, Peter Stormare, Luis Guzman, Jamie Alexander

Review:

Read an article the other day on Deadline that said that Arnold Schwarzenegger’s come back vehicle The Last Stand was dead upon arrival, that it’s officially a huge flop and that “nobody wants to see Arnold anymore”. Speak for yourself is all I say, I want to see Arnold again alright, and I want to see him kicking ass like he used to, so of course I went to see The Last Stand in its opening weekend. But of course, this is the day and age when the success of a film is determined by it’s opening weekend grosses and sadly, according to box office numbers, The Last Stand only made an abysmal 6.3 million on its opening weekend…which of course immediately marks this one as a turkey in the eyes of its producers and the film industry in general; especially when its budget was 30 million. But is the slow turn out for this movie representative of its quality? Is The Last Stand a shitty come back film for Arnold? Read on my friends, read on.

In The Last Stand, Arnold plays an aging sheriff who was part of the L.A.P.D. during his younger days,  but has moved to the quiet little town of Summerton to live a simpler life; to live his last days in peace. But of course, there’s no rest for the wicked and so a big time Mexican drug dealer has just escaped the grasp of the F.B.I. and is looking to make his way to the frontier, so he can make the quintessential getaway to Mexican territory. In order to do so, he’s acquired a modified Corvette ZR-1, ensuring in this way that his getaway is a speedy one. Too bad for him that in order to crossover to Mexico, he has to go through the town of Sommerton and Sommerton is Arnold’s town, you do the math.

So that’s your basic premise for this very basic movie. I think that the reason why this film isn’t making huge bank is not because “nobody wants to see Arnold anymore” because I think in the public’s eye, and in movie fans eyes Arnold is as cool as he’s always been; people do want to see more of Arnold. They just want to see him in a better movie thats all. A problem the film suffers from is that it's  premise is far too simple, one look at the trailer and you know exactly how everything is going to go down. There’s nothing remotely novel about the film, and that’s always a dangerous deal. Well, the big draw is of course seeing Arnold being an action star again and making fun of himself, but that’s not enough, you have to pull people in with some sort of entertaining or cool concept, otherwise audiences will wait for the dvd, which is what will probably happen to this here film. It seems to me that for Arnold’s big cinematic comeback, we needed something a little more bombastic then Arnold fighting off a small group of goons, in a small town. If you know anything about Arnold Schwarzenegger then you know that ‘small’ just doesn’t fit into his vocabulary. Arnold has always been about bigger and badder things. This story just seemed too small, to laid back for what you’d expect from Arnold Schwarzenegger.

But the question remains: was this a bad movie? Hell no. Truth be told The Last Stand is actually a fun romp, an entertaining flick that’s decidedly smaller in scope, but not any less entertaining because of it. Hey, at least this isn’t another Collateral Damage (2002), Arnold’s lowest point in my opinion. The Last Stand actually has a couple of good things going for it, first off, there’s the joy of seeing Arnold back on the silver screen in his first solo role since Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003). The only difference here being that Arnold is no longer the indestructible action hero he once was. On this one he shows signs of vulnerability and old age, which he wisely makes fun off. On this one he’s the Sheriff who just wants to enjoy his day off. Of course it’s cool to see Arnold raising his gun, pointing it straight at the camera, shooting some bad guys and saying things like “Welcome to Sommerton!”. Movie buffs who have seen Arnold on screen since his Predator (1987) or Commando (1985) days are gonna get a special kick out of that, I know I did! Then we got the supporting cast which was fun to watch, Luis Guzman in my opinion was one of the funniest and most entertaining things about the film, he really livens up the movie with his comedy. Johnny Knoxville plays the resident coo-coo, but he does it well. Not so sure he deserved top billing on this film though, his role is minimal. 

Then we have the other star of the film, the cool as hell Corvette ZR1 which instantly goes down on my Memorable Movie Cars list, this is one of those cars that becomes an essential part of the film. It has its moments, for example, there’s a car chase that takes place right smack in the middle of a corn field, pretty cool sequence. We also get a cool shoot out at the end of the film, if you wanna see Arnold shoot some big guns, you shouldn’t be disappointed; and yet another cool extra is seeing Arnold go on a ‘mano a mano’ with the main villain of the film. It’s interesting seeing an aging action star doing his best to show us that he’s still got it even though he is well into his 60’s, like Conan the King wanting to have a good fight before going to the heavens with the gods in Valhalla. My final word on The Last Stand is that it should’ve been a bigger film, Arnold should have chosen something more explosive for his big come back, it’s too small in scale to call any attention upon itself. At least Arnold’s still got two more films to prove his still got some box office draw. There’s The Tomb (2013) which he’ll co-star with Sylvester Stallone and finally Ten (2014) which I’m looking forward to because it’s directed by David Ayer, the writer/director behind such awesome films as Training Day (2001) and Harsh Times (2005). Let’s just hope that these two films make more money than The Last Stand did or there’s little chance we’ll see that proposed Legend of Conan film we keep hearing so much about, now there’s an idea for a comeback!

Rating: 3 ½ out of 5

Mom and Dad Save the World (1992)

Title: Mom and Dad Save The World (1992)

Director: Greg Beeman

Writer: Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson

Cast: Jon Lovitz, Jeffrey Jones, Teri Garr, Eric Idle

Review:

I am a great admirer of the legendary English comedy troupe Monty Python, you know, the guys behind Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975), Life of Brian (1979) and The Meaning of Life (1983), three movies I never get tired of watching. I love how their stuff seems silly, but actually talks about a lot of important themes and subject matter. If you’re a fan of the Monty Python guys like I am, then you also probably admire the films of director Terry Gilliam, who was at one point one of the Python guys, but then branched out to make films of his own. Films like Time Bandits (1981) and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1989). Gilliam is yet another director who mixes comedy and satire in his films, he often times criticizes societies obsession with reality and preaches on about our god given right to delight in fantasies, escapism and stories! Mom and Dad Save the World seems to come from that same ‘Pythonesque’ universe, that universe that cares not for logic or rules, but for zaniness! 

In Mom and Dad Save the World we meet Dick and Marge Nelson, two loopy parents who are about to embark on a summer vacation, just the two of them, the kids stay at home. Unfortunately for Dick and Marge, millions of miles into space, Tod Spengo, ruler of planet Spengo has fallen madly in love with Marge, whom he has spotted while scoping the galaxy for a planet to destroy. Obsessed with Marge, Spengo uses his giant magnet and pulls her and Dick through space (along with their station wagon) all the way to the edge of the universe, where planet Spengo lies. Once they get their, they meet the self proclaimed ‘Spengoans’.  Their ruler, Tod Spengo, wants Marge as his Queen and wants to kill Dick, so he can have Marge all to himself. Too bad for Tod, Dick manages to escape and unite with the rebels of planet Spengo, whom he organizes to go on a revolt against Tod and his fascist (yet moronic) empire while rescuing his wife in the process!

So this movie is all kinds of fun for me, I really don’t get why it didn’t make more money way back when it was released in 1992. For some reason this film was completed in 1990 but not released by the studio until 1992. Why? I don’t know, but if you ask me to speculate either the studio wasn’t sure the movie was going to sell, they couldn’t figure out how to market it or maybe there was a change in management in the studio, these are usually the reasons why a studio would hold back a movie like that. Maybe they just thought they had a bad film in their hands. Who knows. The film had a budget of 16 million but only made back little more than 2 million. It only played for one week in theaters! Another problem the film probably encountered is that though from afar it looks like a silly film (and it is) it does have some double entendre jokes that might have made it difficult to sell it as a kids film. Had the titular parents taken the kids along in the adventure, instead of leaving them at home and brought down the raunchy jokes, then maybe they could have sold it as a kids film, as it is, this is a very silly film for adults. And that’s always a hard sell any way you look at it.

But whatever, I like the film the way it is. The art direction is really cool, the sets look like something out of a Dr. Seuss book and so do the creatures which range from killer mushrooms to midgets with the head of a dog or a fish, sounds crazy, I know, but that’s the kind of movie this is. The jokes are decidedly ‘Pythonesque’ in style, it’s obvious the writer and director adore Monty Python and Terry Gilliam style of comedy. One funny scene has the self proclaimed idiots from planet Spengo picking up a  weapon that makes anyone who touches it instantly disappear. One idiot picks it up and disappears, the next one picks it up and disappears, and the next one picks it up….all because the device says “pick me up”.  So the humor, while quite silly, is also quite good.

One of the best thing about this movie though is the cast. Eric Idle plays King Raff, the true king of Planet Spengo! His role is a small one, but he makes his funny mark! I’ve personally always enjoyed Jon Lovitz’s style of humor, there’s something kind of sleazy about him that fits perfectly with the character of Tod Spengo, the dictator. I loved how he worries about the silliest things like “on a level of one to ten, in terms of world dominating greatness…where would you place me?” Teri Garr was always one of my favorites, I’ve been an admirer of hers sense she played sexy laboratory assistant ‘Inga’ in Mel Brook’s  Young Frankenstein (1974), here she plays the role of the quintessential mom, taking pictures of the galaxy as she travels through space on her station wagon. And Jeffrey Jones plays the goofy father well; similar to the role he played in Tim Burton’s Bettlejuice (1988), only on this one he ends up turning into an overweight Flash Gordon.

And speaking of Flash Gordon, at the end of the day, Mom and Dad Save the World is a huge spoof of Flash Gordon films. Fans of that Flash Gordon (1980) film starring Sam Jones and Max Von Sydow will notice that this film is practically the same exact film note for note. Just switch Sam Jones for Jeffrey Jones (they even share the same last name!) Max Von Sydow for Jon Lovitz and Melody Anderson for Teri Garr and you’ll see it’s the same exact movie. Even the rebels that Jeffrey Jones ends up leading are bird people of sorts! So yeah, they might as well have called this one “Dad Gordon”. So, anyways, this film was ambitious in my book, a lot of effort went into it for it to have died such a quick death at the box office; practically unnoticed by audiences. In my opinion, it deserves to find an audience and become a cult film, if it isn’t one already. Do you enjoy films like The Ice Pirates (1984), Spaceballs (1987) or Flash Gordon (1980)? Do you like Terry Gilliam or Monty Python? Then give Mom and Dad Save the World a chance, it’s got an innocence and a goofiness to it that can’t be found in today’s films because studios play it too safe nowadays and don’t dare spend their millions on something as offbeat as this film. Still not convinced, okay, it was written by the guys who brougth you the Bill and Ted's movies and directed by the guy who made License to Drive (1988)! Mom and Dad Save the World was made during the last half of the 80’s and though it was released in ’92, it still has that 80’s silliness to it that’s hard to come by in today’s cinematic landscape. So if you want to get your 80’s groove on, look no further than this.

Rating:  3 out of 5  

Total Recall (2012)

Title: Total Recall (2012)

Director: Len Wiseman

Writer: Kurt Wimmer, Mark Bomback

Cast: Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel

Review:

I recently wrote an article in which I compared both versions of Total Recall: Paul Verhoeven’s 1990 film, and this new remake. On that article I pointed out the many differences and similarities between both films, because let’s face it, it’s kind of difficult not to compare the two, especially when you’re such a fan of the original one. But now that I’ve said my piece about both films, I feel like this new one is good enough to get its own review. So, here it is a review for Len Wiseman’s Total Recall, sans any comparisons to Verhoeven’s film. But remember, if you’re interested in reading about how the new and the old compare, don’t hesitate to check out my previous article which does just that in a pretty extensive way.

On this film we meet Douglas Quaid, a blue collar worker who can’t wait to escape his redundant life, he doesn’t know what it is he wants, but he knows he wants a change. While drinking at the local bar he asks his co-workers if they are happy with how their lives have turned out, spending their shitty pay drinking shitty beers in a shitty bar. Quaid wants more out of life, unfortunately he is stuck in his same-o same-o life. But salvation awaits! ‘Rekall’ is a company that sells you fake memories, they can implant fake memories into your brain and make you believe you’ve done whatever you ever wanted to do. Of course, Quaid finds all of this very titillating, it is exactly what he needs, the great escape. So Quaid ends up buying the ticket and taking the ride. Problems arise when the fake memory implants awaken a hidden personality which was lying dormant somewhere in the back of his mind. Now people are chasing him and trying to kill him! Is Douglas Quaid who he thinks he is, or is he someone else?

First things first, I loved the themes on this film. I’ve always said that the best sci-fi films are those that comment on the world we live in rather then just being a showcase for  special effects and I’m glad to say that this new Total Recall does just that, it comments on the way society is structured and on they way governments are operating, making their moves so to speak in order to keep a certain part of the population enslaved. Slavery isn’t over; it just changed its name. This new film makes us question the structure of society and if this is the way things should be. On this film when Douglas Quaid is on his way to work, he has to step onto this giant elevator to take what they call “The Fall”. Basically, the working class travels to their jobs by traversing through the core of the planet on this huge elevator. The thing we need to notice about this scene is how tired and bored everybody looks from doing the same thing every day.

Same as the working class that Chaplin portrayed as sheep in Modern Times (1936) or the workers who enter the giant elevator to work in Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (1927), the workers in Total Recall are portrayed as sheep as well. Interesting how going to work and commuting is called “The Fall”, the symbolisms didn’t escape me at all. It’s the idea that we are being treated as herd and that our lives are being wasted doing menial, repetitive jobs that lead our lives nowhere. I take the train to work everyday and can’t help to think we’re all sheep when I see so many people getting on and off the train, looking tired and bored out of their minds; like sheep in a heard in deed. Or rather, like lambs to the slaughter, day by day, the blue collar workers lives are sheered by the scissors of redundancy and time. Why does life have to be like this for some? Can’t life turn out to be something more interesting? Can it all be changed somehow? Can humanity focus their efforts on something more worthwhile? These are some of the questions that Total Recall considers.

This version of Total Recall is really about waking up from that slumber, about disconnecting from that dormant state and taking control of your lives. Quaid is about to take the ‘Rekall’ trip, which is really just a way to try and forget the world and live in a temporary state of bliss. In this film, Quaid is buying a fake escape, not unlike the fake escape that drugs and alcohol offer. These escapes are only temporary, when you wake up; your problems are still there. A smarter solution to redundancy would be to identify it and take the steps to eradicate it from our lives. In a way, Total Recall is also commenting on the stupidity of succumbing to mind numbing drugs to escape our problems. One thing is to use drugs for recreational purposes, but it’s far more damaging to use them to forget about your life, to ignore and escape your problems instead of facing them. There’s a quote from Joe Versus the Volcano (1990), by the way, one of my favorite films ever and a film that addresses some of the very issues that this new Total Recall film addresses; and that quote says: “My father says that almost the whole world is asleep. Everybody you know, everybody you see. Everybody you talk to. He says that only a few people are awake, and that they live in a state of constant amazement” I totally agree with this sentiment, and it’s what this new Total Recall film is talking about, waking up from that slumber; taking control of your life and doing what you really want with it.

In Quaid’s case, what he feels he needs to do with his life is joining the revolutionary movement so he can change the status quo of society, shake things up, destroy the old way of doing things and starting something new. The idea of destroying something in order to create something new is not a new idea in cinema or in life for that matter, but it is a path seldom taken by society. Big changes occur when old patterns of action are left behind; this I feel is something that has to happen in the world. Things have to change in order for everyone to be happy and free, in order for all of us to truly enjoy life. Not just a select few. Not just the rich and powerful, but everyone.

In the world of Total Recall, and in many parts of the real world we live in governments have taken steps to oppress the working class even further, while lying through their teeth about how they do it. The villains of this film are a dictator and his army of cops. The dictator tells the people that they are putting more cops on the street to protect the population, when in fact what they are really doing is gathering more cops to increment their own private little army with which to oppress. In this respect, Total Recall also reminded me a lot of those faceless cops in George Lucas’s THX-1138 (1971), by the way, THX-1138 was an obvious inspiration for this film. I’ve personally seen the powers that be increment their police force, only to use it against the population and to violate said populations humans rights. Not to protect it, but to oppress. But you wouldn’t know that from looking at the media, where they portray themselves as protectors of the people in television commercials and news articles paid by themselves, to make themselves look like heroes. The film is telling us not to stand idly as these vile creatures take over the world, that in order for a change to occur, people need to rise up from complacency.

Aside from these heavy themes, the film is a great sci-fi/action film, I was never bored. Tonally, it’s a more serious film than Verhoeven’s film, it's not looking to make you laugh with one liners or jokes every five seconds, it doesn’t feel as overtly kinetic as Verhoeven’s film and that’s fine, we couldn’t really expect Len Wiseman, the director of this film to do the same exact film in tone or feel. This Total Recall was going for something different. Yeah we go through the same beats and moments, and there’s a nudge or two to Verhoeven’s film, but in the end, this new Total Recall was trying it’s hardest to be something different. I love Verhoeven’s film for all its craziness, but I also loved this new Total Recallfor different reasons, mainly, the awesome art direction, the futuristic technology, I mean, how cool where those hand phones? I enjoyed the decidedly rebellious tone and the flying car chase sequence! They really out did themselves with those scenes. In terms of fx and action, this one pulled no stops, it’s a chase movie with nonstop action. So many things worked just right on this one that I can’t bring myself to say I didn’t like it, because I did like it very much so, it’s not as fun or gory, but then again, it wasn’t trying to be.  

Rating: 4 out of 5 

Best Films of 2012

It’s that time of the year again where we write up our “best of” lists. Before we go on I have to tell you guys that no matter how hard any film buff might try, they just aren’t going to be able to see everything, so there’s always one or two films that slip by me when I write these ‘best of the year ’ lists. For example, I haven’t seen Ana Karenina, Zero Dark Thirty, The Master, Argo, or Paranorman. But fear not, I will surely see them in the coming months and review them for your reading pleasure.

It isn’t easy coming up with these lists because there are lots of good films during a year and it’s kind of difficult seeing them all, even for a Film Connoisseur such as myself. Still, I tried to cut down the fat and truly come up with the best of the best of what I have seen. So without further ado I leave you with The Film Connoisseur’s Best Films of 2012, enjoy!

Title:  The Avengers(2012)

Thoughts: So this movie exploded onto screens last summer and ended up being the ultimate super hero movie, audiences couldn’t have enough of this superhero potpourri, so much so that audiences where going to see it more than once; it went on to become the biggest money maker of 2012 along with Skyfall. It had everything and anything we always wanted to see in an Avengers movie. Great effects, explosive action, funny dialog, and good performance; also, a good representation of every character that appears on the screen, each hero was given its moment to shine. This was a thrill ride of a movie, reminding us what a good summer blockbuster is all about. 

Quote:  “Superheroes in New York? Gimme a break!”

Title: Life of Pi (2012)

Thoughts: I might not be much of a “believer”, but I still enjoyed the hell out of Life of Pi despite its preachy nature. Far be it from me to reject a beautiful looking film simply because it preaches a bit. Everything else that comes with the film is amazing, particularly the visuals that director Ang Lee conjures up, so much color, such beauty and depth. And you know what, even though it preaches a bit about believing in God, it also asks many questions about God through the character of Pi. Plus, Pi displays a certain love and wonderment for nature and the universe that I immediately warmed up to the character because of this. This is a film that’s best enjoyed in 3-D, so if you still have a chance to see it that way don’t let it slip you by, this movie is as good as 3-D gets. It’s kind of like Avatar in that it pushes what can be done with 3-D to its limits.  

Quote:  “Doubt is useful, it keeps faith a living thing. After all, you cannot know the strength of your faith until it has been tested”

Title: Looper (2012)

Thoughts:  Looper was the surprise hit of the year, like some of the best films, it came out of nowhere and critics and audience raved alike, this was a rare thing: an original sci-fi flick with brains! It wasn’t based on no books, it wasn’t a sequel, it wasn’t a remake it was just original and I dug that about it. Sure it's got similarities to Back to the Future and The Terminator, but it has enough originality in it that it becomes its own thing. This time travel movie concerns a group of individuals who call themselves Loopers, they kill people sent to them from the future by their employers. Who are these people they kill? And why are they killing them? Loopers don't care, they just want to get paid. This film comes to us from director Ryan Johnson, the guy responsible for Brick (2005) and The Brothers Bloom (2008), two films I didn’t particularly care much for, but if you ask me he completely redeemed himself with Looper, this movie rocked! Joseph Gordon Hewitt is on a roll! I caught hints of a possible sequel; could this be the first film in a series? It certainly felt like it, with all those unanswered questions and possibilities. Judging by Looper’s phenomenal Box Office intake, I think we’ll be seeing a sequel soon. 

 

Quote:  “The rule is, never let a target escape, even if that target is you”

Title:  Beasts of Southern Wild (2012)

Thoughts: There are few movies out there that distill genuine magic to them and Beasts of Southern Wild is one of them. A very strong willed little girl by the name of Hushpuppy is the character that whisks us away to her own magical world, ala The Wizard of Oz (1939) or Pans Labyrinth (2006), this is a film about a little girl who escapes the harshness of the real world by escaping to a fantasy world of her own creation. Though I gotta hand it to Hushpuppy, she might see fantastical creatures that are not real roaming her world, but she has no problems facing the real world as well; she has a fierceness to her that is admirable, she might be extremely young, but she faces this world head on, no matter how bad things can get. No matter how ugly the storm up ahead looks. This is a very beautiful film; director Benh Zeitlin does an admirable job of creating some truly beautiful images and pulling an amazing performance from an endearing little actress, Quvenzhane Wallis, in the role of Hushpuppy. This is a film filled with hope and love in the midst of a world being trampled by evil.  

Quote:  “The whole universe depends on everything fitting together just right”

Title:  Chronicle(2012)

Thoughts: Now here’s the most underrated film of 2012, Chronicle. It came out of left field for me, but when I finally got to check it out, little did I know how awesome a movie I was in for. I’m a sucker for a well made telekinesis movie, and this is one of the best ones I’ve seen in a long while. Add to that the fact that the film is heavily influenced by one of my favorite animated films ever AKIRA (1988) and you’ve got yourselves a winner. The film is told from the perspective of video cameras that the kids manipulate with the power of their mind and cameras found around the city where the events take place in; so at one given moment we get images from security cameras and so forth. The ending of the film is a full blast telekinesis fight the likes of which you have never seen. It makes you wonder what an Akira movie might end up looking like and why they are finding it so impossible to make. Highly recommend this underrated film!

Quote:  “A lion does not feel guilty when it eats a gazelle, you do not feel guilty when you squash a fly,  I think that means something”

Title: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)

Thoughts:  Yet another underrated one in my opinion. I actually didn’t even bother with this one, because for some reason mixing Abraham Lincoln with zombies wasn’t all that appealing to me. But then I actually aw the movie and damn, it blew me away. I should’ve known better, it comes to use from Russian director Timur Bekmambetov, a.k.a. the guy who directed Nightwatch (2004), Daywatch (2006) and Wanted (2008). Though I’m not a huge of Nightwatch or Daywatch , Wanted was awesome in my book. There’s no denying this director has a knack for interesting camera angles, interesting use of computer effects and stylish visuals. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter excels in these departments, one jaw dropping scene involves Abe Lincoln chasing a vampire through a stampede of horses; wow, that scene is really something, made me wish I’d seen it 3-D. There’s an awesome climax, but I’m not gonna spoil it for you, my advice is go rent/buy this one, If you like your movies filled with style and atmosphere, I doubt you’ll be disappointed. Without a doubt, to me this was the best horror film of 2012. Plus, seeing Lincoln chopping off vampires heads in slow mo is just a completely nutty visual, so off the wall it’s entertaining.  

Quote:  “History remembers the battle, but forgets the blood. However history remembers me before I was President, it shall only remember a fraction of the truth…”

Title:  Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

Thoughts: Wes Anderson films all have this similar look and feel to them. One look at a Wes Anderson film and you’ll immediately identify it as such. It’s something about the colors, the art direction and the way characters talk and behave that achieve this signature Anderson feel, so in that sense, if you’ve seen The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) or Rushmore (1998), with Moonrise Kingdom you’ll feel like your revisiting Andersons unique cinematic universe. On Moonrise Kingdom we meet Sam and Suzy, two twelve year olds who’ve fallen madly in love. Neither one of them loves society all that much, so they run away to a secluded beach and share things they enjoy, like their favorite music, their favorite books and a kiss or two. Problem is that their disappearance causes uproar in their home town and so their parents and the local police and boy scout camp go on a search for them. Meanwhile, they are happy as can be sharing their admiration for each other and just chilling the hell out. The film is populated by an amazing cast of characters, we get some Wes Anderson regulars like Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman, and a whole bunch of actors that have never worked with Anderson like Bruce Willis, Harvey Keitel, Frances McDormand  and Tilda Swinton. I thought it was so interesting that the young actors who play Sam and Suzy (Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward) are two complete newcomers to the film industry who added freshness to the proceedings with their great performances. Highly recommend this sweet coming of age film where young love arises and decides to give their back to the crazy world they live in.  

Quote:  “We’re in love; we just want to be together, what’s wrong with that?”

Title: The Hobbit (2012)

Thoughts:  Watching The Hobbit is like going right back to that Middle Earth that Peter Jackson brought through life with his first three Lord of the Rings films. On this first installment of the new trilogy, we meet a younger Bilbo Baggins as he embarks on an adventure with 13 dwarves and the wizard Gandalf. Their goal is to free the Kingdom of Erebor from the deadly, fire breathing dragon called ‘Smaug.’ Along their travels through Middle Earth they meet all manner of creatures and characters. The production values for this film are of the highest caliber, make up effects, wardrobe, and visual effects are all top notch stuff, you will truly be transported to Middle Earth for two and a half hours. That’s right, the film is long, but if you’re a lover of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien or fantasy in general, you won’t even feel them.  

Quote:  “Home is now behind you, the world is ahead!”

Title: Les Miserables (2012)

Thoughts: You guys might not know it, but I love musicals! And this particular one based on Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables is an event of a musical. It’s not just some silly happy go lucky musical you might forget as soon as you leave the theater (like Rock of Ages for example) nope, Les Miserables is one epic sized musical with fantastic production values and an amazing cast who by the way truly did sing every song right there on the set, none of the songs where pre-recorded. In other words, Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway are not dubbing their songs, when they sing, that’s how it really sounded when they were acting the scenes in front of the camera; as a result all the little nuances of their performances shine through more intensely. Anne Hathaway in particular sings a song that really got to me, it’s a song about poverty and how sad life is during harsh, poverty filled days. I literally heard the whole theater weeping after she was finished with her sad song. And the whole musical is this way, it’s a very touching film that makes you feel empathy for the less fortunate, it’s a film that truly explores the sadness of poverty and how it angers a nation, but it also speaks of new beginnings and the art of reinventing ourselves. If you love films like Annie (1982) or Oliver! (1968), two films that are also about orphans who are rescued by a do gooder from the clutches of evil adoptive parents, then you’ll love Les Miserables which has a little bit of these themes in them but also adds romance and revolution into the mix. This is an epic musical not to be missed.   

Quote: “I had a dream, my life would be so different from this hell I’m living in..”

Title: Prometheus (2012)

Thoughts: Out of all the films made this year, this one is at the top for me because it’s a film with lots of depth to it and a commercial film that explores philosophical views as it entertains us is not something we see a lot of  these days. I liked Prometheusso much I went and wrote a special “In Depth Analysis” of it in which I explored the different themes that the film touches upon. This my friends is a film that addresses many of the big questions we often end up asking ourselves like  “Where do we come from?” and  “Who made us?” and if someone did in deed make us, then why did they abandon us? It explores death, and our desire to live forever a theme that Ridley Scott explored previously in Blade Runner (1984) as well. But aside from exploring these philosophical views, the film is an extremely well put together science fiction film, the visual effects are amazing; this is probably the reason why it got an Oscar nod for best visual effects. Personally, I just love how director Ridley Scott uses all these filmmaking techniques to create an intricate and complex world. And I love how while the film touches upon all of these heavy themes, it still doesn’t forget to entertain and wow us. I’m of the mind that it didn’t even need to be connected to the Aliens universe, this is a film that could have stood alone without any connections to the Alien franchise, but I’m guessing this choice was made in the name of money. Still, the fact remains that this is a spectacle of a film and without a doubt, one of the best of 2012. Here’s hoping that sequel comes along!  

Quote:  “Every king has his day, then he dies. It’s inevitable, that is the natural order of things.”

Title: The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Thoughts: The Dark Knight Rises was a special film for me because it is a film that speaks a about problems that society suffers from right now. The rich become richer and the poor stay poor, there’s more poverty in the world. The wealth is unevenly spread and as a result, the less fortunate are suffering because of this, the cost of living is getting to high, education has reached prohibitive prices, gas prices are sky rocketing every day and the question inevitably arises “when will this ever end?”. Taking that in consideration, in The Dark Knight Rises Bane, the main villain of the film attacks the bankers of Gotham in order to bring the city to its knees, similarities to Sept 11^th 2001 didn’t escape me. Bane takes the city hostage in order to “give it back to the people of Gotham”. Of course, he’s just another schmoe taking advantage of the pain of the people in order to fulfill his own agenda. Which of course lets us know that when the masses are in pain and angry, they are vulnerable and can easily be taken advantage of by opportunists.  It’s a film that addresses classist issues through all of its characters, for example Bruce Wayne is stripped of his riches and is now a poor man, I loved that about it. Wayne, the multimillionaire is suddenly left on the streets, now, Mr. Wayne feels firsthand what it means to suffer poverty. Also in this film, Catwoman is a woman who struggles to survive and warns Wayne that “a storm is coming” and that when the poor decide to revolt, shit is going to hit the fan. Alluding to the idea that the economical chaos in the world can only bring forth more chaos. A brilliant film that speaks about many of the ailments that society is suffering from now an important film in my book, much like the The Dark Knight (2008) which did a similar thing, these are super hero films with a social conscience. Mr. Nolan, my hats down to you for speaking about such relevant issues with your films, and giving us a spectacle at the same time.

Quote: “There’s a storm coming Mr. Wayne. You and your friends better batten down the hatches, because when it hits, you’re all going to wonder  how you ever thought you could live so large and leave so little for the rest of us”

Title: Skyfall (2012)

Thoughts: Turning Bond into a vulnerable spy as opposed to the indestructible cartoon he’d been for such a long time is something that has been attempted (in my opinion) from Die Another Day (2002) onward, but it is Skyfall that truly achieved it. They’ve gone and stripped Bond down, he is no longer in tip-top shape, he isn’t even fit to be an agent anymore! This film takes Bonds famous gadgets and vehicles and throws them out the windows. For this mission he only gets a gun, and a radio, that’s it! On this film his car doesn’t turn invisible, it’s a 1968 Aston Martin! So basically, Bond is stripped of everything that made him indestructible. This story isn’t about a villain hell bent on world domination, nope, on this one we got a villain with a more personal agenda and by the way, this is a villain wonderfully portrayed by the amazing Javier Bardem. But at the same time, what makes this one of the best Bond films ever is that it gets very personal with Bond himself, this villain goes for the jugular, for Bonds mother figure: M. It asks questions like is Bond too old to be Bond? Is M too old to direct MI-6? The answer is, old people can still kick your ass! And if that isn’t enough, everything is new in this film, a new MI-6, a new ‘Q’ a new ‘M’, this my friends is a Bond film that re-invents Bond and repackages him for a new generation.

Quote:  “Dignity? To hell with dignity! I’ll retire when my goddamn job is done!”

Title:  Django (2012)

Thoughts: Django Unchained is Tarantino finally making a Western, though if you ask him he’ll tell you he’s made a ‘Southern’ because the film actually takes place in the south of the united states as opposed to the west. That’s right ladies and gents this here tale takes place in Mississippi, during the time of slavery, the ku kux klan, plantations and ‘Mandingo fighting’. Django Unchained is the story of Dr. King Schultz, a bounty hunter who partners up with a slave named Django so he can capture a trio of murderers. After doing so, Schultz decides to help Django save his wife from the clutches of a slaver known as Calvin Candie, played by none other than Leonardo DiCaprio who by the way turns in a very entertaining performance as the main villain. Interesting how the Academy chose to ignore DiCaprio’s performance this year. Django Unchained was nominated for various awards but nothing for DiCaprio whose performance in Django stands out for its charisma and intensity, but whatever, who understands the Academy right? Still, this Tarantino outing garnered five Academy Award Nominations for best film of the year, best supporting actor, best original screenplay, best cinematography and sound. I’m glad that at least Christophe Waltz’s performance was noticed because his character is a true delight. This film, as are many of Tarantino’s films is a fun time at the movies, it’s bloody, it’s filled with entertaining characters, it has that special brand of Tarantino dialog which is a delight to listen to, it has an amazing cast who turn in equally amazing performances and it aims its guns at racism, what’s not to like? It gets my vote for film of the year, go see it!  

Quote:  “Django, the ‘D’ is silent”

Les Miserables (2012)

Title: Les Miserables (2012)

Director:  Tom Hooper

Cast: Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried, Sacha Baron Cohen, Helena Bonham Carter

Review:

Poverty stricken times call forth films about poverty stricken people and no other film is more suitable for today’s borderline depression era days than Les Miserables, a film that truly explores the sadness and desperation that comes with being less fortunate, actually, to be more accurate it truly wallows in it. But I’m of the mind that even the sadder parts of life have to be explored, life is bitter sweet and to say that life is all peaches and cream simply isn’t true. There’s a lot of sadness out there in the world we live in and it is important we talk about these sad parts of life, it is important that we don’t ignore the darker issues, for how are things to get better if we ignore problems? Les Miserables focuses in on one of the saddest elements of society: extreme poverty.

On this one we meet Jean Valjean, an ex-con who went to jail for stealing bread. On the particular day we meet Valjean he is set free and tries looking for a regular job, but due to the fact that he’d been in jail, he gets rejected left and right. He soon ends up in a church, screaming at god in anger, asking God why his life so miserable. But then a twist of fate makes Valjean reconsider his life and so he decides to reinvent himself and a few years later, Valjean becomes the owner of a sewing factory. Unbeknownst to him, Fantine, one of his female employees gets fired for no good reason. Unable to care for her little baby child, Fantine ends up on the streets, selling her body in the seediest parts of town. It isn’t long before death comes knocking at Fantines door and Valjean, feeling guilty for her death swears to take care of Fantine’s little baby daughter,  Cosette. What happens when Cosette grows up and wants to live her life, apart from Valjean? 

Right away, from frame one you know this movie is epic; we see Jean Valjean and hundreds of other prisoners pulling a boat into shore with ropes as they sing, and I just knew this one was going to be special. First thing you notice when you see this film is that the actors are singing for real, the songs aren’t dubbed or pre-recorded, which takes a little getting used to because normally musicals pre-record every song and actors are simply lip-synching as they sing and dance, but not on Les Miserables; here the actors really sing on set, live and this is the way you’ll hear it. I was pretty blown away by Jackman and Hathaway specifically, but really, everybody does a bang up job here. Anne Hathaway sings a song that just might bring you to tears, and win her an Oscar. I’d say maybe Russell Crowe was the only one a little off at times, but even he did a commendable job. So be ready for a musical that feels just a little bit more realistic then others, every breath, every sob between songs is heard, the pain and the feeling in the performances is projected more efficiently because of this technique.

As I watched this version of Les Miserables, I noticed how similar the story is to films like Annie (1982) and Oliver! (1968). All of these films are musicals and all three are about little orphan kids living in poverty. All three films have kids living with horrible step parents who want to take advantage of the child, and in all three films, the child is rescued by a genuinely good person looking to give the child a chance at a better life. But I guess in scope and tone, Les Miserables is closest to Oliver! The only thing that makes Les Miserables a bit different then these other two films is the element of romance, a love triangle that developes and the French revolution! The people of France in Les Miserables are on the verge of rebellion and this theme of the oppressed being sick and tired of being treated like garbage is an important one on this film because the misery of the people is often simply a reflection of what’s going on with its government. Are people just gonna sit back and let their government trample them? Or are they willing to die fighting for their freedom? Interesting themes no doubt. I found the character of Javert, the policeman following Valjean interesting. He is torn between serving the government and doing what his human side is telling him is right. This character has an interesting duality there.

The Oscar nominations are in and both Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway have been nominated for their work on this film, which isn’t really a surprise. Les Miserables has also been nominated for Film of the Year, so this lets you know there is something special about this film. Plus with a cast like this one, wow, who wants to miss this show? Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonhan Carter who worked together previously in Tim Burton’s Sweeny Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) reunite here with great comical effect, playing the evil step parents of poor little Collette. But screw the Oscars, The Film Connoisseur is telling you this one is awesome, a cinematic experience of the highest caliber; a film that will move you to tears. Not to be missed!

Rating: 5 out of 5

The Hobbit (2012)

Title: The Hobbit (2012)

Director: Peter Jackson

Cast: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Ian Holm, Elijah Wood, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Andy Serkis

Review:

It’s been almost a decade since I last visited J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth with The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003), but boy, going back to Middle Earth with The Hobbitt: An Unexpected Journey, felt like I’d never left. That familiar feeling you’ll get when you watch The Hobbitt: An Unexpected Journey comes as a direct result of having the same filmmaking team behind the cameras. Same producers, same writers and yes, same director; Peter Jackson returns to Middle Earth after having directed the first Lord of the Rings trilogy, the trilogy of films that won him numerous Academy Awards and made him a house hold name. This film does have an added bonus to it though: Guillermo del Toro also helped write it and conceptualize it, so it’s got a bit of another great fantasist in it. Unfortunately, del Toro had to bow out of directorial duties, sad in a way because I would have loved to see a Lord of the Rings film directed by del Toro, but as fate would have it, Jackson retook the reins of the new trilogy, which is perfectly fine by me, the guy made the previous three, he is the most qualified for the job. So did Jackson lose any steam? Or are his directorial abilities still in tip top shape?

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is a prequel to The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). It tells the story of a younger Bilbo Baggins and his first encounter with “the one ring”. But it all starts rather small, with a visit from Gandalf the sorcerer who asks Bilbo to join him on an adventure to find a gold treasure that’s hidden within the abandoned Kingdom of Erebor. But this might prove to be harder than it sounds; the treasure and the abandoned city are both zealously protected by a giant fire breathing dragon named ‘Smaug’. If Bilbo accepts to join the adventure, he will be accompanied by 13 dwarfs and Gandalf himself. Will Bilbo accept to break with his pleasurable, peaceful life in order to help the dwarves regain their long lost kingdom and destroy the fire breathing dragon that took it from them?

I love what Jackson does with these movies, he brings Tolkien’s worlds to life in a way that makes me want to live in them. Yes sir, I wouldn’t mind living in ‘the Shire’ amongst happy Hobbits planning their next party. I’d love to live in those little Hobbit cabins filled with “all the comforts of home”. I mean, I love those warm looking little huts that the Hobbits live in. It seems like the Hobbits live extremely peaceful lives, jolly most of the time, planning parties with friends, sharing warmth and good food. What’s not to like about that life? Of course, The Shire might be a beautiful, peaceful place to live in, but around it, evil lurks, searching to disrupt peace and happiness. This is part of the theme of the film, how Bilbo has to break from his comfort zone and venture out into the world. He is an unlikely, reluctant hero, but will he think of others? Will he learn empathy? It’s the age old idea that when we break out of our comfort zone, that’s when things start happening, that’s when we start living our lives, that’s when the real adventure begins.

What makes this unexpected journey so pleasurable to watch is its characters and the world they inhabit.  I loved the 13 dwarves and their humor and their appetite and their singing, these dwarves are a very entertaining bunch of characters that bring the film to life. By the way this film reminded me a lot of Ron Howard’s Willow (1988) a film that borrowed heavily from Tolkien’s books;  you know, the kind of film where a bunch of characters are traveling down a strange and dangerous land, filled with unexpected perils, creatures and monsters galore. Orcs, giant rock creatures, giant wolves and spiders, and monsters that defy definition await Bilbo and the dwarves as they travel through Middle Earth. This is one of the things that I always love about fantasy films, the creatures we meet on the journey across the strange land. In that sense, this film is not so different from Ridley Scott’s Legend (1985) either, or any other fantasy film for that matter. This is a monster filled journey. 

As far as faithfulness to the book goes, I’d say that yeah, it’s faithful to the source material, but the filmmakers also throw in a lot of things that are not in the book because they want to tie in plot points from the previous films and bring in new plot points that will appear in future films, by the way, don’t know if you guys know it but two more films have already been filmed The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smug which will be released summer 2013 and The Hobbit: There and Back Again which will be released shortly thereafter. So this is the reason why on An Unexpected Journey, you will see characters talk about future perils and dangers on the horizon, alluding to, yet not really telling us what we can expect in future films. Some characters are introduced briefly, obviously meant to have bigger roles in future films.  I read The Hobbit and felt like they took some moments, placed them in this film, switched them around and put them in the second or third, it was quite obvious that this isn’t a chronologically accurate translation of the book. The filmmaker have switched events around to suit their storytelling, and added new characters so as to have a cohesiveness with the older films. But in the world of Hollywood, this shouldn’t surprise anyone. Very rarely do filmmakers translate a book onto film word for word; poetic license is common practice in film land. So if you’re expecting a word for word adaptation of the book, wake up from that dream. But fret not, the most important key moments are all there. You will see Bilbo solve riddles with Gollum, Bilbo getting the ring for the first time, the 13 dwarves arriving at Bilbo’s home and so forth…the key moments are there. If you ask me, you won’t feel disappointed if you’re a Lord of the Rings fan.

Ultimately I enjoyed this film very much. It feels like it belongs right there with the previous films. It was realized in such a similar fashion that you do feel like you’re visiting that same Middle Earth we visited years ago with the first three films and the film is entertaining because of its cast of lively characters. The visual effects are as perfect as they could be; I am personally amazed at what these filmmakers can achieve with computer effects, when done well. The expressions they can achieve on some of these characters are astonishing; Gollum is a wonder of animation in my book, he seems so alive in the film, yet he only exists within the confines of a computer! I guess the only down side to the film is how long it is, you might feel like they are padding things out, stretching that story so as to make three movies out of one book and make three times as much money, but then again epic length is almost a pre-requisite with these Lord of the Rings films, it’s almost become something we can expect from them. So, with very few bad things to say about it I say An Unexpected Journey was a satisfying and entertaining film with visual effects and storytelling of the highest caliber, without a doubt one of the best of 2012.

Rating: 5 out of 5