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Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
REVIEW: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is the two-hour-long fantasy dream of any gamer nerd who boasts, "I still rock the 64" and likes modest indie rock bands that no one's heard of. Not to say that it's not for everyone, because I recommend it to people of all ages, preferably those between 16 and 30, but if you're that guy who loved classic Mario and Street Fighter, then this is probably the best movie you're ever going to see. If you hate that guy, then I suggest you check out "Expendables" with your dad.
Pilgrim is out with great timing, too. With this summer's hit Inception telling us that "all movies are really dreams," here is a movie that's equivalent to the student who finishes his science project first to show that he's faster and smarter than everyone in class. This film actually embraces the concept that the entire story is a fantasy world in which anything can happen (although it is occasionally burdened with a video game-esque set of rules) and time is completely non-linear, which is perfect for the attention-deficient, "Superbad"-raised young audience it's intended for.
The story is very simple and sort of cliched, but you'll barely notice because what really grabs your attention is the fast-paced, special-effects driven details that make Scott Pilgrim stand out amongst teen rom-coms. It is something much more. Maybe in the future it will be outdone, but for now it stand alone as a film unlike any we've ever seen before. What Scott Pilgrim manages to do is to adapt the graphic novel it's based on to the max, meaning that from time to time (more than often, actually) sound effects are written out on the screen like they are in the comics, and the fights are incredibly filmed to mirror the various video game sequences they pay homage to.
But on to the story. Michael Cera plays Scott Pilgrim fairly well, and although I think they could've done better, I can't think of any actors at the moment. He's a few years out of high school and living with his openly gay friend (Kieran Culkin). He plays bass in a garage band called "Sex Bob-omb" (Super Mario reference) with an ex-highschool-gilfriend (the drummer) and the singer/guitarist who we never really learn much about. He burdens their band practices with his new girlfriend who's Chinese and still in high school. They don't like her, and Scott doesn't much either, but he admits that he only does it because he's bored. That's when he meets Ramona (Mary Elizabeth Winstead from "Death Proof" and "Sky High"), a girl he saw in a recent dream. He immediately puts his whole life aside to get her to go out with him, and that's when the real story starts.
The first 30 minutes of the movie cleverly distracts us from waiting for the fight scenes we came for by giving us some pretty quick but efficient character development to make us feel for the characters, although we never see much from Ramona to understand exactly why Scott is chasing her. Oh yeah, she's the girl of his dreams. Double layered dreams I suppose? When he finally gets Ramona to confirm their relationship status, it is then that her "seven evil ex's" come to fight Scott Pilgrim. It's different, yeah, but that's just how this story works. Remember, it's that guy's dream.
The fights are really sweet, and pay some great homage to various games like Street Fighter, Tony Hawk and Guitar Hero amongst many others. However, I must say that I was coming into the theaters expecting to see the greatest movie ever, and I was almost let down, but there's no way I can really say this movie sucked. From the opening scene of the movie when Scott's band plays and the camera angles are zoomed in on the instruments and the noise is booming and it's like being at a Blink concert all over again, the nostalgia kicks in and keeps me amazed until the very end.
Again though, there was some disappointment, but never enough to frustrate me. The ending was very much like those unavoidable credits at the end of Pokemon Yellow, it almost went on too long. And after the first fight I expected more from the following ones, which all start very dashingly but always end very anti-climatically (although every opponent being reduced to coins after being defeated is still pretty amusing); it was almost as if cheat codes had been used!
I gotta say the acting was great everywhere, and I never felt like I was watching actors, which I gotta give credit to the effects team for setting up quite the distraction. "Shaun of the Dead" director Edgar Wright has only proven how much potential he has after creating this highly entertaining fiasco of a movie. As it is the first of its kind, expect Scott Pilgrim to influence many filmmakers in the future as it will prove to be quite innovative. While it doesn't put up the fight I expected, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is still pretty revolutionary.
Pilgrim is out with great timing, too. With this summer's hit Inception telling us that "all movies are really dreams," here is a movie that's equivalent to the student who finishes his science project first to show that he's faster and smarter than everyone in class. This film actually embraces the concept that the entire story is a fantasy world in which anything can happen (although it is occasionally burdened with a video game-esque set of rules) and time is completely non-linear, which is perfect for the attention-deficient, "Superbad"-raised young audience it's intended for.
The story is very simple and sort of cliched, but you'll barely notice because what really grabs your attention is the fast-paced, special-effects driven details that make Scott Pilgrim stand out amongst teen rom-coms. It is something much more. Maybe in the future it will be outdone, but for now it stand alone as a film unlike any we've ever seen before. What Scott Pilgrim manages to do is to adapt the graphic novel it's based on to the max, meaning that from time to time (more than often, actually) sound effects are written out on the screen like they are in the comics, and the fights are incredibly filmed to mirror the various video game sequences they pay homage to.
But on to the story. Michael Cera plays Scott Pilgrim fairly well, and although I think they could've done better, I can't think of any actors at the moment. He's a few years out of high school and living with his openly gay friend (Kieran Culkin). He plays bass in a garage band called "Sex Bob-omb" (Super Mario reference) with an ex-highschool-gilfriend (the drummer) and the singer/guitarist who we never really learn much about. He burdens their band practices with his new girlfriend who's Chinese and still in high school. They don't like her, and Scott doesn't much either, but he admits that he only does it because he's bored. That's when he meets Ramona (Mary Elizabeth Winstead from "Death Proof" and "Sky High"), a girl he saw in a recent dream. He immediately puts his whole life aside to get her to go out with him, and that's when the real story starts.
The first 30 minutes of the movie cleverly distracts us from waiting for the fight scenes we came for by giving us some pretty quick but efficient character development to make us feel for the characters, although we never see much from Ramona to understand exactly why Scott is chasing her. Oh yeah, she's the girl of his dreams. Double layered dreams I suppose? When he finally gets Ramona to confirm their relationship status, it is then that her "seven evil ex's" come to fight Scott Pilgrim. It's different, yeah, but that's just how this story works. Remember, it's that guy's dream.
The fights are really sweet, and pay some great homage to various games like Street Fighter, Tony Hawk and Guitar Hero amongst many others. However, I must say that I was coming into the theaters expecting to see the greatest movie ever, and I was almost let down, but there's no way I can really say this movie sucked. From the opening scene of the movie when Scott's band plays and the camera angles are zoomed in on the instruments and the noise is booming and it's like being at a Blink concert all over again, the nostalgia kicks in and keeps me amazed until the very end.
Again though, there was some disappointment, but never enough to frustrate me. The ending was very much like those unavoidable credits at the end of Pokemon Yellow, it almost went on too long. And after the first fight I expected more from the following ones, which all start very dashingly but always end very anti-climatically (although every opponent being reduced to coins after being defeated is still pretty amusing); it was almost as if cheat codes had been used!
I gotta say the acting was great everywhere, and I never felt like I was watching actors, which I gotta give credit to the effects team for setting up quite the distraction. "Shaun of the Dead" director Edgar Wright has only proven how much potential he has after creating this highly entertaining fiasco of a movie. As it is the first of its kind, expect Scott Pilgrim to influence many filmmakers in the future as it will prove to be quite innovative. While it doesn't put up the fight I expected, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is still pretty revolutionary.
VERDICT:
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
REVIEW: Machete
Here's a film that was hyped up before it was even in production, and more than likely you know what I'm talking about, but for those who don't, I won't go into too much detail because I'm sure every critic mentions it. 'Machete' originated as a well-done fake trailer that appeared in Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino's 'Grindhouse' double-feature in 2007. Rodriguez's half of the film was 'Planet Terror,' which paid homage to the original zombie films of previous decades, while it also made fun of them. 'Machete' is very similar to 'Planet Terror' in that it never takes itself seriously (too seriously at least) but has enough entertainment value to prove itself exceptional.
To truly understand 'Machete,' you must understand Robert Rodriguez. The guy is a very peculiar director, and I say that because he seems to have two distinct filmmaking styles that are completely different from each other. One I'm not very fond of is his childish style that is used in the 'Spy Kids' films, as well as in 'Sharkboy and Lava Girl' and 'Shorts,' the latter of which I loathe. Rodriguez's other style is one that places him amongst the ranks of his pal Quentin Tarantino for his ravishingly entertaining style and attention to over-the-top-ness and violence (Don't think I'm saying that any of his films are better than Tarantino's, though, although some may be better than 'Jackie Brown.'). Surely you've seen 'Sin City,' 'From Dusk Til Dawn,' or one of the 'Mariachi' films. If you have then you'll know what I mean. These films exist in a world of their own and have laws of their own, or sometimes none at all. Their ability to break reality for the sake of entertainment keeps audiences from saying, "That could never happen," and creates a world of unpredictability that keeps us glued to the screen.
For a film running on the tagline "They fucked with the wrong Mexican," one would really have to be an idiot to take 'Machete' seriously. However, as "immature" as this film may be, do not doubt its overall value, because it's as big a film for the Hispanic race as 'Inglourious Basterds' was for Jews, meaning that beneath all of the violence and cheesy one-liners that reek of '80s action films, 'Machete' is actually very meaningful. How that relates to the seriousness of the film is up to the viewer to decide.
Danny Trejo is utterly glorious as the title character, an ex-federale who wishes to avenge the murder of his wife and daughter, although his wooden subtlety makes it seem as if their death doesn't bother him as much as it should, but maybe that shows how strong he can be. After all, he is the face of Mexico.
Rodriguez makes it apparent that there really is no central plot to the movie and that Machete "improvises" as he goes. This adds wonders to the film's unpredictability. What's so great about 'Machete' is its ability to continuously surprise us as the film unfolds, and at that point it's obvious that the action and the humor that follows it is all this film runs on. Without a plot it's extremely difficult for a film to maintain its audience, but 'Machete' pulls through magnificently.
It's almost part of the humor of the film that Robert DeNiro is the "conservative-American" villain. A lot of the characters in the movie, including Senator McLaughlin (DeNiro), are actually very symbolic of real events, people, and previous action films that have warped America's perspective of its own history. To what extent any character symbolizes something varies. For instance, Michelle Rodriguez plays She, an obvious play on "Che" Gueverra (look him up), while Machete is obviously supposed to be a symbol for Mexico's attitude towards the U.S.
The movie works as an all-out war between all of these symbolic figures, and all of the characters become so intertwined and point their guns every which way to the point that recognizing a good or bad side is almost impossible. As serious as it isn't, 'Machete' builds up to its final scene almost as well as 'Inglourious Basterds' did, but it's somewhat disappointing that it didn't live up as well. Don't get me wrong, though, it was still entertaining, but when I saw Machete running a motorcycle (with a gatlin gun strapped to it) out of an explosion, I didn't expect that sequence to last ten seconds. In fact, the entire "final battle" seemed to be just a bunch of people showing up a the same spot and shooting whoever they wanted. I suppose it's funny, like it's the punchline of a joke, but I was really confused when Lindsay Lohan (yeah) shows up in a nun's outfit and just starts firing a SMG. Who's she shooting??? Although (like I said before) the film is never meant to be taken seriously, this still wasn't the ending I had expected. I guess that goes for unpredictability. Is the conflict between the U.S. and Mexico supposed to be this messy though? Maybe so.
All in all, 'Machete' is surprisingly one of Rodriguez's best films to date, which is ironic when seeing how it originated. The action is extreme, and extremely off-the-wall, the acting is... well, appropriate, the direction in general is fantastic, and the soundtrack is pretty awesome, making 'Machete' one of the better movies this summer has offered, although I don't see it being mentioned at the Oscars.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Joaquin Phoenix is back!
Hopefully you've heard by now that the whole Joaquin Phoenix retiring-acting-to-start-rapping was just an act for his new movie I'm Still Here.
Here he is over a year ago in his infamous appearance on David Letterman.
And last night he reappeared on the show to promote the movie, back in his normal form.
Here he is over a year ago in his infamous appearance on David Letterman.
And last night he reappeared on the show to promote the movie, back in his normal form.
THE SOCIAL NETWORK
I keep getting more and more excited about this movie every day. So far it still has a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes AND Metacritic, although it will more than likely go down at some point, but all of the reviews so far are saying it's the "movie of the year" and director David Fincher's (Benjamin Button, Se7en) best movie since Fight Club. I suppose I'll make some connection if I get around to reviewing it. But for now, I found some clips of the film on Youtube. I don't know where they came from since they're not on any big websites, but they're legit.
And here's the trailer for those who haven't seen it or want to watch it again. The song in the background is a cover of Radiohead's "Creep" by Scala.
And here's the trailer for those who haven't seen it or want to watch it again. The song in the background is a cover of Radiohead's "Creep" by Scala.
G3N3515
first post. I'm definitely going to use this to post about everything that bothers me or more or less entertains me. Expect some movie reviews/news/trailers, cool bands I've found, news about random stuff and funny videos that end up viral a few months after I've already seen them. Yeah.
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