Sometimes we forget to have fun at the movies. Or the movies that are suppose to be “fun” end up being very forgettable and lackluster. I am honestly tired of those movies. I can’t remember the last time I left a movie smiling because I spent the whole time laughing and thoroughly enjoying myself. Then, I saw Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
This movie is just plain fun. Fun, fun, fun. It’s non-stop hilariousness, with a copious amount of heart and a splash of coke zero mixed with hair dye…oh and people exploding into coins. It’s flashy, gaudy, cheesy, unique and feels like you just stepped out of a pop-art exhibit or an Atari video game.
Now, I was told by my cohort, Javi, that I needed to read the books because they were epic. I agreed to read them because he’s never suggested a graphic book that I’ve disliked (well, the only other was Watchmen, but still), so I gave the books a shot. And the most notable thing about the books are they made me laugh, literally, out loud. So, when I heard there was a movie being made, I got really excited. But were they going to keep the campiness that is woven throughout the books? After all, the books are basically about a 23 year old falling in love, but in this world, any character can break out into a Mortal Kombat-ish fight, and when defeated, will burst into coins.
I am happy to say that yes, the movie keeps the heart and campiness that the books possess. And you would think that this would seem weird or out of place for fights to break out, but no, in this world, it seems perfectly normal. Everything detail in here is so unique and fun, it almost requires a second viewing to catch everything. Sometimes I found myself laughing so hard, I think I missed some things.
What I enjoyed about the movie is how accurately it captured the awkwardness that life is for a jobless, semi-hopeless, looking-for-love twenty-something. Now Scott is dating 17 year old, Knives, who is way more into him than he is to her. But he keeps dreaming about a girl, Ramona, who he later and very awkwardly tries to pick up at a party. All the while, he’s in a band with his friends trying to find their big break. Ramona seems to dig him. Why…I’m not exactly sure, but they seem to hit it off. Then trouble comes. Ramona is apparently THAT girl which exes have a problem getting over. There are seven of her exes that Scott has to defeat in order to even date her.
So that’s Scott’s quest. Not an easy one when two of her exes are Chris Evans and Brandon Routh. It’s hard to pick which ex was my favorite because they’re all extreme in their own ways. Chris Evans channels his inner-douchey action star who’s too big for his own britches, while Brandon Routh is the clean-cut, perfect Vegan who gained his powers from being Vegan (maybe I should think about that). All the other exes are just a quirky, but they were my favorite.
Also, when did Michael Cera become an action star? I mean, this is the kid from Arrested Development and Juno who has become trapped as playing himself in every movie. Here, he is able to take a different route and actually play a believable love interest and action hero. Weird, I know, but he does it.
Also, the parade of supporting characters completely embody the epicness of the books. Many of them have amazing one-liners and subtleties within their scenes that make this movie one of the most unique movies of the year. Pilgrim’s roommate, Wallace Wells (played by Kieran Culkin), kept me in stitches. Every thing he says is so perfectly placed and timed, he has such a future in comedy.
At its core, Scott Pilgrim is a coming of age story. It’s kind of like Garden State, except if Garden State was set in a video game inspired by Andy Warhol. It’s about trying to find yourself and actually being happy; it’s about trying to let go of the past and facing the past if it interrupts your life; it’s about, literally, fighting for what you want; and it’s about second chances. The movie explores all of these situations with a fresh and original take. It will definitly speak to the under 30s, but I'm not sure how it was play to older audiences. People will embrace it for it's unique style and visual eye-candy, and I just hope they see past the campiness and are able to embrace the film. It’s loaded with heart and humor and is easily one of the most fun movies of the year.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World- he said
2010 has been a dreadful year for movies in general. Movie stars are not commanding the same box office power they once held; esteemed blockbuster producers are failing all around, and all the meanwhile, moviegoers keep getting charged more to see extra dark “3D” movies that look like a graphic design student’s first project. Even though I digress, there are still really great movies here and there. (Inception was obviously one of them). This is why it is exciting to see a movie like Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World that comes out to show people the fun times that can be had at a movie. On its surface, the movie is about a lazy and kind of dickish protagonist, Scott Pilgrim (Cera not playing Cera for once), trying to win the heart of the wonderfully alluring Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) by fighting her seven evil exes. But it is so much more; with its fast paced sense of humor, its entertaining visuals that add to the hilarity and deceptively deep story, Scott Pilgrim is my most recommended movie of the year.
To preface, I will say that I have been a fan of the books and have read the entire series, so walking into this I had a bit of an idea of what this would look and feel like. It goes to say, that this is a great adaptation of the source material, and even if it doesn’t maintain the exact same events of the comics, it does keep the spirit. Director Edgar Wright has made what I imagine could very well be our generation’s version of The Graduate (Oh snap! Did I just go there?) This mirrors my generation’s overall feelings of confusion and uncertainty all while trying to find our meaning in this fast-paced world. The set and costume design was like seeing the book on screen, in the best way possible. The music is a particularly high point for me because the movie highlights three of my favorite artists, Beck, Broken Social Scene, and Metric. They all contributed music which masqueraded as the in-universe bands. Coupled with Nigel Godrich scoring (psst he’s Radiohead’s main producer for those that don’t know), you have aural and visual treats keeping you so busy you need to see this movie again.
But what about the actors? I know everyone has the same complaint about Michael Cera at this point, and I will say he finally doesn’t play himself! I never saw Youth In Revolt, but I almost feel that this is an evolution of that role, where they said he was breaking away from playing the same tired character. In the comic, Scott is clueless, cocky and all the while being childish and a bit insecure of himself (why else would he date a high school girl?), and I have to say that Cera channels him well. When he hits on Ramona, there’s shyness to him, but he’s no Paulie Bleeker (his character in Juno). Plus! he does pretty amazing fight moves; hell the final battle is worth the price of admission alone, but I will say I am not 100% how much of the stunts he did himself. Among the large and awesome cast, Kieran Culkin, who plays his awesome gay roommate Wallace Wells, steals the show constantly from Scott. Ellen Wong, who plays Knives Chau, Scott’s high school girlfriend, is not annoying like in the book, and this makes her character all the better. Out of the evil exes, my favorite had to be Chris Evans as Lucas Lee, an overtly cocky movie star/skater, because his one-liners are amazing. And since I hated him so much, Jason Schwartzman, as Gideon, does a good job of making Gideon a complete tool, though I will say he’s basically the same character that he played from Funny People, which is getting old.
As far as the story goes, the fans of the books will be greatly pleased. There are many times during the first 30 minutes of the movie where scenes are recreated perfectly from the books, giving you that awesome feeling that some people might’ve gotten from Watchmen. After that, the movie goes off into its own unique but good direction. This makes sense since the first draft of the movie was already done when the third book was released. The only time that the change of the story really bothered me was the final battle and the ending. While it was great, compared to the battle and ending of the book it felt a bit lacking. But this feels like a little fan boy nitpick.
Even though I might be forgiving in ending of the movie, the editing and transitioning between scenes was a little strange at times, and might be off putting for some people. It’s very stream-of-consciousness, but if people aren’t familiar with the style of the book or “get” the movie, they will not like it. And in a weird way, I have a bit of a problem in how Scott and Ramona’s relationship starts. In the book, the relationship feels more organic, whereas the movie was just her liking him for no real reason, and maybe she was a bit frisky, but who knows. All of these are just personal quirks against it; it feels nothing major when compared to how big the applause was after both of the screenings I went to.
For anyone that grew up loving video games, pop culture, and copious amounts of Mountain Dew and wants a movie with great fight scenes, visuals, and even a smarter-than-the-average-bear romantic comedy, go see Scott Pilgrim. Edgar Wright has managed to make not only an entertaining and hilarious movie, but also one that I believe speaks to a lot of twenty-somethings right now. While I noticed that a lot of older people in my screening liked the movie, the potentially niche appeal this movie has might be killer at the box office. Out of all of the movies coming out this week, Scott Pilgrim is the only that manages to be either original or entertaining.
To preface, I will say that I have been a fan of the books and have read the entire series, so walking into this I had a bit of an idea of what this would look and feel like. It goes to say, that this is a great adaptation of the source material, and even if it doesn’t maintain the exact same events of the comics, it does keep the spirit. Director Edgar Wright has made what I imagine could very well be our generation’s version of The Graduate (Oh snap! Did I just go there?) This mirrors my generation’s overall feelings of confusion and uncertainty all while trying to find our meaning in this fast-paced world. The set and costume design was like seeing the book on screen, in the best way possible. The music is a particularly high point for me because the movie highlights three of my favorite artists, Beck, Broken Social Scene, and Metric. They all contributed music which masqueraded as the in-universe bands. Coupled with Nigel Godrich scoring (psst he’s Radiohead’s main producer for those that don’t know), you have aural and visual treats keeping you so busy you need to see this movie again.
But what about the actors? I know everyone has the same complaint about Michael Cera at this point, and I will say he finally doesn’t play himself! I never saw Youth In Revolt, but I almost feel that this is an evolution of that role, where they said he was breaking away from playing the same tired character. In the comic, Scott is clueless, cocky and all the while being childish and a bit insecure of himself (why else would he date a high school girl?), and I have to say that Cera channels him well. When he hits on Ramona, there’s shyness to him, but he’s no Paulie Bleeker (his character in Juno). Plus! he does pretty amazing fight moves; hell the final battle is worth the price of admission alone, but I will say I am not 100% how much of the stunts he did himself. Among the large and awesome cast, Kieran Culkin, who plays his awesome gay roommate Wallace Wells, steals the show constantly from Scott. Ellen Wong, who plays Knives Chau, Scott’s high school girlfriend, is not annoying like in the book, and this makes her character all the better. Out of the evil exes, my favorite had to be Chris Evans as Lucas Lee, an overtly cocky movie star/skater, because his one-liners are amazing. And since I hated him so much, Jason Schwartzman, as Gideon, does a good job of making Gideon a complete tool, though I will say he’s basically the same character that he played from Funny People, which is getting old.
As far as the story goes, the fans of the books will be greatly pleased. There are many times during the first 30 minutes of the movie where scenes are recreated perfectly from the books, giving you that awesome feeling that some people might’ve gotten from Watchmen. After that, the movie goes off into its own unique but good direction. This makes sense since the first draft of the movie was already done when the third book was released. The only time that the change of the story really bothered me was the final battle and the ending. While it was great, compared to the battle and ending of the book it felt a bit lacking. But this feels like a little fan boy nitpick.
Even though I might be forgiving in ending of the movie, the editing and transitioning between scenes was a little strange at times, and might be off putting for some people. It’s very stream-of-consciousness, but if people aren’t familiar with the style of the book or “get” the movie, they will not like it. And in a weird way, I have a bit of a problem in how Scott and Ramona’s relationship starts. In the book, the relationship feels more organic, whereas the movie was just her liking him for no real reason, and maybe she was a bit frisky, but who knows. All of these are just personal quirks against it; it feels nothing major when compared to how big the applause was after both of the screenings I went to.
For anyone that grew up loving video games, pop culture, and copious amounts of Mountain Dew and wants a movie with great fight scenes, visuals, and even a smarter-than-the-average-bear romantic comedy, go see Scott Pilgrim. Edgar Wright has managed to make not only an entertaining and hilarious movie, but also one that I believe speaks to a lot of twenty-somethings right now. While I noticed that a lot of older people in my screening liked the movie, the potentially niche appeal this movie has might be killer at the box office. Out of all of the movies coming out this week, Scott Pilgrim is the only that manages to be either original or entertaining.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Inception
Inception
Directed By: Christopher Nolan
Written By: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon Levitt,
Ellen Page, Michael Caine, Tom Hardy
Synopsis: In a world where people can go into each other's dreams,
Cobb (DiCaprio), does one last job, where he has to implant an idea instead of stealing it,
that will guarantee him getting home again.
Inception- He Said
Christopher Nolan is a director that has an almost Pixar-like streak of great movies under his belt. With his latest movie, Inception, he manages to create a dense world of psychological and philosophical trickery. Inception tells the story of Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his team of “dream thieves” that must undertake the most difficult job of their career in order for Cobb to be able to go home. The premise of the movie is a high end that manages to prove engaging and complex but still understandable.
For anyone that has seen both movies, one will be able to see that Inception is the spiritual sequel of The Dark Knight. One of TDK’s themes was escalation; while Batman kept trying to outsmart the Joker, he was always one step ahead, and the meticulous planning on the Joker’s part was top notch. Similarly in this movie we have this plot that keeps on getting more and more complicated as we go through the movie, but thankfully it doesn’t get convoluted like a Charlie Kauffman story could. The story deals with Cobb’s team trying to steal an idea from a powerful businessman, Saito. After they fail in the trippiest way possible, Saito offers Cobb the chance to go home if instead of extracting an idea, they insert an idea in the mind of the heir of a business empire, Robert Fischer, Jr. Inception, as it is called, is the hardest thing to do to someone’s mind, as it is a really invasive procedure. Cobb gathers a team of experts in very particular fields in relation to the dream world. The best character, that isn’t Joseph Gordon Levitt, is Ellen Page’s Ariadne, as she serves as the character that is new to this world just like us. She helps make this movie understandable which is one of the movie’s great strengths is in building and making you believe in a world where people can go into each other’s minds. The rules are very well established, and explained in a way that doesn’t feel like dumbed-down exposition.
This movie has the great ability to keep you glued to your seat; literally, I don’t think that I saw more than 3 people get up during the movie to go to the bathroom. This is because, by the time that the actual heist and plan come to fruition, the amount of tension and what is happening to all of the character is so much that you cannot look away. This is where I find this movie becoming legendary because the action and “in the moment” occurrences are just plain bad-ass, but underneath there is a lot more emotionally gripping and interesting in a philosophical manner about reality and fantasy and what happens when the lines are blurred. For one, the CG is used in a relatively classier manner and the story has much more layers that can be the subject of many a thesis in film studies classes. And as a good point to note, Arthur
(Joseph Gordon Levitt) constantly steals the show, whether its his funny back-and-forth with Tom Hardy’s Eames, or his amazing gravity-defying action scenes; this character makes dazzles you in his complete badassery. He is easily the Boba Fett of this movie.
(Joseph Gordon Levitt) constantly steals the show, whether its his funny back-and-forth with Tom Hardy’s Eames, or his amazing gravity-defying action scenes; this character makes dazzles you in his complete badassery. He is easily the Boba Fett of this movie.
Depending on your point of view of certain events in the film, your opinion of the characters can shift. I feel that some of the characters that aren’t Arthur or Ariadne aren’t as well developed as they could be. When you see this movie, you definitely feel this is the Cobb show, where we see him deal with the repercussions of his past actions, but it is almost a detriment considering the players in the team feel more like spy movie clichés rather than fully fleshed out characters. If you interpret the movie in a certain way, the lack of characterization makes sense. Otherwise, this feels like really bad writing that feels reserved more to bad action movies than a brainy sci-fi thriller.
I have heard of reviews that are frustrated at not being able to keep up with plot, and to those people I say, they weren’t paying attention. This movie has a lot going, and it is really busy, but just like a tasteful guitar solo. It serves the song, or in this case the movie’s story. When it’s all said and done, you get a movie that mixes the best parts of The Dark Knight and heist films coupled with Nolan’s mind-bending style. In a truly lackluster and boring year of movies, this feels like fresh air, and this is exactly the kind of movie that needs to be seen, it’s either this or The Last Airbender. Your pick moviegoers.
Inception-She Said
I thought I had seen pretty much everything when it came to movies. And then I saw Inception. With as many reboots, remakes, sequels, prequels, adaptations, and cliché storylines we‘re forced to watch nowadays, it was so refreshing to see something original, but not just original…smart; I mean really, really smart. Christopher Nolan created this world where dreams become reality, reality becomes dreams, and sometimes, literally, you don’t know which way is up.
The story is kind of a heist film in a way. Leonardo DiCaprio’s, Cobb, has been hired to break into Cillian Murphy’s, Fischer, dreams and plant an idea, but the trick is making Fischer believe Fischer thought of the idea. Not an easy task when the brain begins to recognize intruders and starts to attack them. Cobb has the best of the best working for him to ensure this “Inception” is pulled off because the success of this job determines Cobb’s future. He wants to go back home to his kids, but circumstances has prevented him until this job arises. With the successful inception, he gets his life back. The problem with Cobb is he cannot control his subconscious when he’s in someone else’s dream, so his wife, Mal, shows up. This becomes an issue when she tries sabotage the missions.
So the first half of the movie is the set up. We’re given rules of breaking into someone’s dream. And by rules, I mean A LOT of rules. Some of the time I couldn’t keep them straight, or I would forget what was said or how it will play into the inception. Don’t worry; Nolan’s brilliant writing takes care of those fears. All the rules I thought didn’t make sense…made complete sense while the inception was going on. There’s not much more I can say or want to say about the plot. Even if I tried, the impact of it wouldn’t be felt unless it was in context. For example, the ending will be a huge discussion topic, and I could say exactly what happens. But what’s brilliant about Nolan is the ending only works because by that time you’re so invested in the world.
I can’t say enough about this movie. The action sequences are fresh and exciting. There’s one scene that happens in a hallway (shown in many of the TV spots) that was one of the most tense and impressive sequences I’ve seen in a long time. I found myself forgetting to breathe because it was so exciting. Nolan also takes a huge risk of having dreams within dreams. This could have easily have gotten convoluted and messy, but amazingly it doesn’t. It’s a brilliant ploy to give them more time to complete the job…wait, I’m getting ahead of myself. Trust me; it’ll all make sense.
Inception brings an amazing opportunity for discussions. Recently, there’s been a lack of mainstream movies that are truly original, and this is absolutely refreshing. There are so many layers to this film: what’s reality? What’s a dream? How do you escape with your life? How do you finish the job? The craze and praise this movie is receiving is all warranted. It will live up to your expectations. Even if you’re not excited, see it. It’s the first great movie of the summer, and the ideas presented will be discussed for years to come, and trust me, you will want to be a part of the discussion.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Despicable Me
Directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud
Written by Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul
Starring: Steve Carell, Russell Brand, and Jason Segal
Synopsis: Gru wants to outdo his nemsis, Vector, by becoming the best villain in the world by stealing the moon. However, Gru's plans are foiled when he becomes a dad to three orphans.
Despicable Me- He said
Dreamworks Animation studios got its start in pop culture as the makers of Shrek, a great little movie everyone knows by now. Unfortunately, after the success of Shrek, Dreamworks stuck with the same formula of celebrity voices and adult humor undertones, with mediocre animation and stories, giving us such gems as Shark Tale, Bee Movie, and the second Madagascar movie. This all finally went away when they released Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs, and subsequently this year’s runaway hit How To Train Your Dragon. I am glad to say that while Despicable Me is not nearly as great as the other movies mentioned, it is an insanely enjoyable good time and pretty endearing to boot.
When I saw the first trailers for this movie, I was confused and rather apprehensive. The trailers made little to no sense when put together, and the marketing was all over the place. It wasn’t until the minions showed up, and my sister kept on raving about them, that I got a bit interested. The Minions are the cute, yellow things that serve our main protagonist/villain Gru. Gru, from what we see, is a mediocre villain who thinks rather highly of himself. When he goes to the Evil Bank to get a loan for his new plan that involves stealing the moon, he is rejected because he is no longer a hot new villain. That villain is Vector, a super geeky inventor that wears orange spandex and stole the Great Pyramid from Egypt. After Vector foils one of his plans, Gru tries to best him and he’s going to use three orphan girls, Margo, Edith, and Agnes, he adopted to unwittingly help. If you’ve seen any movie when the main character changes his or her way, you know how this movie will turn out for the most part.
What I found interesting about the way this movie handles its world and how believable everything is. You don’t question a geek stealing the Pyramid, yellow Minions walking around and doing nutty stuff, and the villain banks. I really enjoyed this considering that most movies need a long set up, and it felt refreshing to just jump into a world headfirst. Gru’s life is an eccentric one full of colorful characters like his mom and his assistant/mentor Dr. Nefario; they are both your typical over the top-senior citizen types, which usually seem rather annoying (I never bought into the Betty White hype), but they work rather well. I will say that the issues that the mom give Gru are interesting but felt tacked on at random times of the movie. Once we meet the little girls and their very distinct personalities, the movie starts to pick up in a positive manner. If you have seen the commercials you know that Agnes, the little girl will steal the show along the minions, and that’s not a bad thing at all. If you have seen Toy Story 3, think of Bonnie but a much younger version.
With the kids and the minions stealing the show, it does show Gru to be a slightly boring protagonist, his overly confident persona that masks a guy full of insecurity is something we’ve seen quite a bit. Vector is the worst character of the whole movie; he’s a very one-note sort of characters that did very little to nothing to add to the story. But these are all rather minor complaints about the movie. The weird thing is that there is nothing truly wrong with the movie, and its story is one that we have seen before but it is done well. As I stated before Gru and Vector being weak characters is a detriment to the overall story.
Overall, this is one of the better Dreamworks Animation movies, sure they are following the same formula that has gotten them in trouble before, but this time like in their last two movies it works just fine.
When I saw the first trailers for this movie, I was confused and rather apprehensive. The trailers made little to no sense when put together, and the marketing was all over the place. It wasn’t until the minions showed up, and my sister kept on raving about them, that I got a bit interested. The Minions are the cute, yellow things that serve our main protagonist/villain Gru. Gru, from what we see, is a mediocre villain who thinks rather highly of himself. When he goes to the Evil Bank to get a loan for his new plan that involves stealing the moon, he is rejected because he is no longer a hot new villain. That villain is Vector, a super geeky inventor that wears orange spandex and stole the Great Pyramid from Egypt. After Vector foils one of his plans, Gru tries to best him and he’s going to use three orphan girls, Margo, Edith, and Agnes, he adopted to unwittingly help. If you’ve seen any movie when the main character changes his or her way, you know how this movie will turn out for the most part.
What I found interesting about the way this movie handles its world and how believable everything is. You don’t question a geek stealing the Pyramid, yellow Minions walking around and doing nutty stuff, and the villain banks. I really enjoyed this considering that most movies need a long set up, and it felt refreshing to just jump into a world headfirst. Gru’s life is an eccentric one full of colorful characters like his mom and his assistant/mentor Dr. Nefario; they are both your typical over the top-senior citizen types, which usually seem rather annoying (I never bought into the Betty White hype), but they work rather well. I will say that the issues that the mom give Gru are interesting but felt tacked on at random times of the movie. Once we meet the little girls and their very distinct personalities, the movie starts to pick up in a positive manner. If you have seen the commercials you know that Agnes, the little girl will steal the show along the minions, and that’s not a bad thing at all. If you have seen Toy Story 3, think of Bonnie but a much younger version.
With the kids and the minions stealing the show, it does show Gru to be a slightly boring protagonist, his overly confident persona that masks a guy full of insecurity is something we’ve seen quite a bit. Vector is the worst character of the whole movie; he’s a very one-note sort of characters that did very little to nothing to add to the story. But these are all rather minor complaints about the movie. The weird thing is that there is nothing truly wrong with the movie, and its story is one that we have seen before but it is done well. As I stated before Gru and Vector being weak characters is a detriment to the overall story.
Overall, this is one of the better Dreamworks Animation movies, sure they are following the same formula that has gotten them in trouble before, but this time like in their last two movies it works just fine.
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