PG Cooper: Green Lantern Review

Release date: June 7th, 2011

Running time: 114 minutes

Written by: Greg Berlanti, Michael Green, Marc Guggenheim, and Michael Goldenberg

Based on: The character “Green Lantern”, created by John Broome and Gil Kane

Directed by: Martin Campbell

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, and Tim Robbins

I remember way back when I first started hearing about a Green Lantern film, I got really excited. I’ve been wanting more DC characters to be adapted, and Green Lantern looked like a character who’s world lent itself to movies well (granted, my biggest exposure was to the John Stewart character on the Justice League show). Then when I found out Martin Campbell would be directing, I got really excited. Martin Campbell made two of the best Bond films with GoldenEye and especially Casino Royale. I was expecting Green Lantern to be as good as the first Iron Man. Those expectations were dashed and shattered when the first trailer came out. It looked terrible, and I was really disappointed. Then the movie came out and just got blasted by critics. I ended up avoiding it in theaters knowing that I would inevitably see it when came out on DVD. So now that I’ve seen Green Lantern was I smart for avoiding it in theaters, or should I have had more faith in Martin Campbell.

Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) is a reckless test pilot for Ferris Aircraft. He finds himself chosen by a dying alien to bare a ring of power. He then finds himself amongst a society of  ring wielding aliens known as the Green Lanterns. The Green Lanterns are facing a powerful threat in the form of Parallax (Clancy Brown), an entity that feeds on fear. On earth, Hal is trying to mend his relationship with his old friend Carol (Blake Lively) while dealing with his old friend Hector Hammond (Peter Sarsgaard) being infected by Parallax.

That plot description I just gave is far more coherent than the actual plot of the film. The plot is such a jumbled mess that it’s hard to focus and actually irritating to watch. The film jumps around a lot and there isn’t enough time to get attached to anything. There’s a seen early on where Hal is with is family and there’s some drama, and then those characters never come back at all. Then there’s the Hector Hammond character. The film tries to act like him, Hal, and Carol had been longtime friends since they were kids. But you never really feel a friendship and there’s no scenes where we see their friendship, we just hear people talk about it. Then there’s Parallax, who the entire film is dedicated to making this ultimate villain. Problem is Parallax is a boring villain. He’s pretty much just a big cloud that goes around smashing things. Also, despite being in the film from the very beginning, he never feels like a genuine threat.

Another thing that really grinds my gears about this film is the theme at the center of it. The movie revolves around fear and overcoming it. This is reflected in it’s villain who preys on fear. For the hero, that fear stems from seeing death when they were a child. That description sound interesting? It should, Green Lantern stole it from Batman Begins. It’s bad enough that they ripped off the theme and the way it’s used from another film, but they also stole it from one of the best comic book films of all time, one all comic book fans have seen. Did they really think nobody would pick up on the connection? Green Lanern was bad enough on it’s own, but for it to constantly remind it’s audience of Batman Begins didn’t help.

A great super hero can make the film though. Unfortunately Ryan Reynolds isn’t really acting in this, he’s just being himself. I don’t mind Reynolds’ usual schtick but in this he was pretty annoying. I’m especially disappointed with Reynolds because in Buried, he proved he was a pretty good actor. So for him to fall back on just being  himself was lackluster. The rest of the cast isn’t any better. Blake Lively is playing generic love interest number seven and Peter Sarsgaard got on my nerves pretty much every time he was on screen. The only actors who were alright were some of the Lanterns, particularly Geoffrey Rush, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Mark Strong. But overall, this cast was really weak. Oh and why the hell is Tim Robbins in this? I hope he was paid well.

This movie has a budget of $200 million dollars and I wanna know where the hell that money went. Is there a lot of special effects in the film? Oh yeah, tons, but not $200 million dollar value special effects. In fact, a lot of the effects are pretty distracting. Rise of the Planet of the Apes had a budget of less than half what Green Lantern had and looks a million times better. The action scenes aren’t very good in this either and the editing is horrible. The music was also pretty bad, and it’s rare that I’ll complain about a films score.

There’s a lot about Green Lantern that pisses me off. There’s the fact that it’s a horrible film on every level and is painful to sit through. There’s the fact that it’s a horrible DC adaptation, meaning they still haven’t had a good non-Batman film since Superman II. But what pisses me off the most is that this comes from a director I have great respect for. It baffles me that a director like Martin Campbell could put something out this bad. I know almost every director has a few weaker films in their career, but this was just so horrid on every conceivable level. I think I have to watch Casino Royale again just so I can remind myself that Campbell can actually direct. Regardless, Green Lantern is one of the worst films I’ve seen all year and the black sheep in a year where all the other comic book films have been good.

Rating: F

PG Cooper: The Ides of March Review

 

Release date: October 7th, 2011

Running time: 101 minutes

Written by: George Clooney, Grant Heslov, and Beau Willimon

Based on: The play Farragut North by Beau Willimon

Directed by: George Clooney

Starring: Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei, and Evan Rachel Wood

The Ides of March is a political thriller revolving around Stephen Myers (Ryan Gosling), a young campaign manager for Mike Morris (George Clooney) a democrat who is running for president. Stephen is assisted by senior campaign manager Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman), and opposed by Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti) who is running the campaign for the opposition. Duffy approaches Stephen and asks of he’ll work for him instead of Paul. This, on top of being involved with a young intern named Molly (Evan Rachel Wood), pull Stephen into a world of secrets and lies.

I should say right now that politics don’t interest me in the slightest. Perhaps it’s because of my age, but I can’t of too many things that bore me more than politics. Yet in spite of that, I still really enjoyed The Ides of March. While the story is very political, it’s written in a way that makes it accessible to any audience. You don’t have to know the inner workings of politics to understand the drama of the film. This is because of a great script with great dialogue that gets better as the film progresses.  The film starts out good, but starts to really excel as the film hits its second act. From there, the film just continues to improve scene after scene until it eventually reaches its great ending.

What really shines through in this film is the acting. I’ve been a fan of Ryan Gosling for a long time. Half Nelson, Lars and the Real Girl, Blue Valentine, Drive, and now The Ides of March. I wouldn’t say his performance in this is his best role, but it ranks among his best. Stephen is a character who is a good guy and genuinely believes in what Mike Morris stands for. He’s smart and efficient, and Gosling brings a lot of charisma to the role. Stephen also goes through a very interesting arc through the film. He starts out as an innocent man who genuinely believes that he’s doing the right thing. But the deeper he goes into this world the more he begins to question his morals. The arc is very reminiscent of Michael Corleone’s in the first two Godfather films. Even the final shot of The Ides of March is evocative of The Godfather Part Two.

The film also has one of the strongest supporting cast I’ve seen all year. George Clooney isn’t exactly doing any acting stretches, but he is perfectly cast as presidential candidate Mike Morris. Philip Seymour Hoffman is also quite good as the senior campaign manager Paul. Hoffman is very commanding in the role and there are times where you can’t take your eyes off him. He brings in a lot of intensity when necessary, but he also gives the character a lot of credibility and makes Paul feel very wise. But for me, the best supporting performance came from Paul Giamatti.  Tom Duffy isn’t a flat-out villain, but Giamatti gives the character such a threatening presence that he dominates any scene he’s in. One of the best scenes in the film is a confrontation near the end between Duffy and Stephen. Giamatti doesn’t have a lot of screen time, but he does a lot with what he’s given and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get an Oscar nomination. The film also sees strong performances from Jeffrey Wright, Evan Rachel Wood, and Marisa Tomei.

If the film has one weakness, it’s that the revelation that politicians play dirty is not a very surprising revelation. After decades of films, books, and music about how corrupt politicians are, it isn’t a very big reveal. We also live in a world where information is leaked immediately. Politics don’t have the same dark and mysterious feel they use to. This isn’t a big problem mind you, and the film is more than smart enough to make up for this.

If I had to compare The Ides of March to one other film, it would be last year’s The Ghost Writer. Like that film, The Ides of March is a thriller that doesn’t rely on shoot outs and explosions to thrill the audience. It doesn’t bother with pointless action scenes that don’t mean anything. Instead, The Ides of March is film that stands on it’s excellent drama brought to life by some terrific performances. I highly recommend The Ides of March, easily one of the best film’s of the year.

Rating: A

PG Cooper: Moneyball Review

Release date: September 23rd, 2011

Running Time: 133 minutes

Written by: Aaron Sorkin and Steve Zaillian

Based on: The novel “Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game” by Matthew Lewis

Directed by: Bennett Miller

Starring: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Chris Pratt

Moneyball tells the true story of Billy Beane (played by Brad Pitt), the general manager of the Oakland Athletics and a former professional baseball player himself. Beane was believed to have been an all star player back in the 80′s but unfortunately he never panned out. Jump a head twenty years and Beane is managing the Oakland Athletics, a team which doesn’t have the money to compete with other teams. Frustrated by so many losses, Beane attempts to rethink how they scout players. He meets Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), a young kid who views players as statistics. He eliminates all the factors of recruiting players that don’t come down to mathematics. Several of the players Brand sees as having a lot of potential are undervalued by everyone else. Beane and Brand use this information to put together a successful time that threatens to change the baseball industry.

The thing that got me excited for this film was knowing the script was co-written by Aaron Sorkin, who is known as a master of dialogue. Indeed, there is a lot of fantastic dialogue in Moneyball, which is one of the highlights of the film. However, the actual story is not very compelling. We don’t know very much about any of the characters in this film. They’re all just there to fill their part in the plot. The only exception is Billy Beane. We do see some insight into Beane’s past and see the drama of Beane’s life unfold. But I never found this drama very compelling. This leaves the actual baseball statistics of the film. I don’t care about baseball, but I did find some of the insight that Peter Brand brought pretty interesting, at least at first. The problem is the film relies on that so much that my interest gradually waned.

 

A big part of the blame has to go to director Bennett Miller. To add on to the already not very interesting story is the extremely slow pace. At times the film just felt like it dragged on and on. Compare this film to the Aaron Sorkin penned The Social Network. The characters spend a lot of the time talking about things I don’t care about and yet I was constantly engrossed with what was going on. Part of that was because the characters were interesting, but also because David Fincher brought a sense of intensity and excitement to everything with his direction. I’m not saying the direction in Moneyball is bad, in fact the film is well made in the technical sense. It just doesn’t have any passion or excitement.

What saves the film, apart from Sorkin’s dialogue, is the performances. Everyone in the cast delivers a good performance. Brad Pitt is great as Billy Beane. Despite my problems with the drama coming from his story, Pitt still managed to win me over and I did find myself rooting for him. For most of the film, Beane keeps his emotions on the inside through most of the film, only having it come through in short bursts. Pitt does an excellent job trying to keep his emotions inside and makes Beane a far more intriguing character than he seems in real life. I also really liked how Pitt balanced the comedic side of the character, as well as the deeper and more personal side.

The supporting cast is great too. Jonah Hill is popular for his comedic roles in films like Superbad. The character he plays here does have some funny moments, but is mostly a serious character. I really like the way Hill played Peter Brand as an awkward nerd who is also very good at what he does. Philip Seymour Hoffman also has a nice small role as the manager of the Oakland Athletics who doesn’t approve of Beane and Brand’s methods. I was worried they’d make him the default villain of the film, but thankfully they didn’t. While Hoffman isn’t given much to do, it’s Philip Seymour Hoffman, he’s almost always great. There’s a lot of great bit parts here and there too, like Beane’s daughter, the scouts for Oakland, and the players on the team. I must admit I do find it odd that Robin Wright is here playing Beane’s ex-wife and is given next to nothing. Why did they bother getting Robin Wright if they weren’t going to use her? Unless of course there’s a bunch of cut footage.

If one looks at good sports films, one will notice that most of the good ones aren’t really about the sports. Raging Bull isn’t about boxing, it’s about a man who’s rage and inner-demons pushes away his loved ones. This year’s Warrior isn’t about mixed-martial arts, it’s about how two brothers drifted apart and where they ended up. Moneyball is about baseball, plain and simple. If you’re a baseball fan, you’ll likely really enjoy it. Otherwise, then I’d recommend this film as a rental, or at best a low matinee. Apart from the acting, there isn’t anything special about Moneyball.

Rating: C

PG Cooper: Contagion Review

Release date: September 9th, 2011

Running time: 106 minutes

Written by: Scott Z. Burns

Directed by: Steven Soderbergh

Starring: Matt Damon, Jude Law, Laurence Fishburne, Marion Cotillard, Kate Winslet, and Gwyneth Paltrow

Movies about the end of the world have always been popular. Films have predicted our end at the hands of robots, aliens, nuclear war, even apes. Sometimes the most effective apocalyptic films are the ones with simple explanations of our destruction, like Children of Men. While that film showed mass infertility as the threat to human existence, Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion presents an even simpler threat; a virus.

I haven’t seen a Soderbergh film in a long time, but Contagion was still one of my most anticipated films of the year. The premise intrigued me and the cast looked awesome. I also loved the marketing for the film. The posters looked cool and the trailer was badass. So going into Contagion, I truly expected to see one of the best films of the year.

The plot is very simple. A viral outbreak starts to occur in countries all over the world and people start dropping like flies. The film follows several people as they try to deal with the outbreak. These include Mitch Emhoff (Matt Damon) who’s wife (Gwyneth Paltrow) was one of the first people infected, Dr. Ellis Cheever (Laurence Fishburne), a doctor investigating the virus who sends Dr. Erin Mears (Kate Winslet) to investigate, a blogger named Alan Krumwiede (Jude Law), and more.

It doesn’t take long for the virus to break out. However, it does take the film awhile to catch up. There’s a certain tension I found missing from the first half of the film. The pace of the film in general was off. The film doesn’t do the best job balancing all these characters. I love Marion Cotillard, but her character did not need to be in this, and to a certain extent, neither did Kate Winslet. On top of that, none of these stories are brought to a real satisfying conclusion.

With that said, all of the actors do a very good job. Matt Damon and Jude Law in particular sold out. Matt Damon plays a very quiet character who has to hold a lot of pain inside. It’s a subtle performance, but I found it very compelling. Jude Law plays a more colourful character, an eccentric blogger fighting against the big corporations. Law is a lot of fun to watch and the fact that he leaves a mark while being in such a star studded cast is a testament to how good he is. I have no complaints about the cast though, I thought everyone was good.

While the film could be hit or miss, when it did hit, it hit hard. I loved all the scenes where the world started really going to hell. They were tense, dark, and scary. The major reason for this is Soderbergh’s direction. While I think he struggled to make a consistent film, the man did put together some damn good scenes. The film actually works very well on a technical level. I found the cinematography gorgeous, in a very dark way, and the music really haunting. Individual scenes are cut very well, even if the overall pacing is off.

The film does attempt to have some deeper themes. One of which is the way fear and depression can break a society. I do find these interesting, but I felt the film could have done more with this. A theme I did find coming across well was the power social media has in our world. This is shown through Jude Law’s character, who gains a considerable amount of power through his website after the virus breaks.

There’s a lot to like about Contagion, I would even say there’s a lot to love. But the film has trouble balancing so many characters, the pacing is off, it takes too long for the film to kick into high gear, and the their isn’t any resolution to any of the character’s stories. I like Contagion, but it feels like it could have been a lot better.

Rating: B

PG Cooper: The Debt Review

Release date: August 31st, 2011

Running time: 114 Minutes

Written by: Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman, and Peter Straughan

Based on: The screenplay Ha-Hov by Assaf Bernstein and Ido Rosenblum

Directed by: John Madden

Starring: Jessica Chastain, Sam Worthington, Marton Csokas, Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson, Ciarán Hinds, and Jesper Christensen

Going into The Debt, I expected a solid thriller. The trailer was intriguing, it come from writers who I had a good track record with, I liked the cast, and the film had received some strong reviews. What I didn’t expect was that The Debt would be one of the better movies I’ve seen this year.

The film revolves around three former Mossad agents, Rachel (Helen Mirren), Stefan (Ciarán Hinds), and David (Tom Wilkinson). The three are famous for an assignment they had in the 60′s where they went into East Berlin where they captured and killed a famous Nazi doctor (Jesper Christensen). The film cuts between the trio in Berlin (where Rachel is played by Jessica Chastain, and Stefan and David by Marton Csokas and Sam Worthington, respectively) and the trio in 1997 where they are played by the older actors.

Most of the time is spent with the younger actors. All do a great job, with Chastain and Worthington really shining. Chastain does a good job playing a young and vulnerable girl who winds up being psychologically toyed with by the Nazi doctor. She also does a good job showing the inner turmoil Rachel goes through. Sam Worthington plays a driven and intense soldier, determined to see justice done. Worthington does an excellent job with the role and shows the strain it has on him very effectively.

All of the older actors do a fantastic job portraying the negative effects their assignment had on them. You get a deep sense that these people have seen and done things that really changed them forever. Finally, we have Jesper Christensen as the Nazi doctor. His character was amazing, and Christensen plays him to perfection. He’s creepy and dangerous, but equally smart and treacherous. All in all, it’s a great cast and I might even say some performances are awards worthy.

Director John Madden (not that John Madden) brings a lot of atmosphere and tone to the film. The film is tense throughout, especially a portion where the three are trapped in an apartment for weeks with the Nazi. There’s also a lot of clever set pieces. Some are more straight forward action scenes and others are more quiet stealth scenes. The film is aided by some tight editing and good cinematography. It’s elements like this that make The Debt a great spy film.

But The Debt isn’t content to settle with just being a good spy thriller, the film has something to say. The film deals with an interesting theme, how sometimes doing what is right is compromised for the sake of convenience. Earlier this year The Conspirator dealt with a similar theme, but The Debt handles this in a far better and more subtle way. The film also deals with some smaller and more personal themes such as dealing with guilt. This is what elevates The Debt to new levels.

If I have one problem with The Debt, it’s the ending. Throughout the film, nothing happened that I didn’t like. But I thought the ending felt a little off. It’s not a horrible end, but I don’t feel like it lived up to the rest of the film. Now this might change on further viewings. There are films like The Social Network where I didn’t like the ending on first viewing, but came around to it later on.

Great performances, great direction, an intelligent script with some good twists, and material that takes itself seriously. The slow pace may turn some people off, but I found The Debt a riveting and intense thriller that I hope won’t be forgotten. One of my favourites of this year.

Rating: A

PG Cooper: The Conspirator Review

Release date: April 15th, 2011

Running Time: 123 Minutes

Written by: James D. Solomon

Directed by: Robert Redford

Starring: James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, Justin Long, and Evan Rachel Wood

The Conspirator is a film that opened to weak reviews and did very little at the box office. While I usually don’t rely on reviews for if I’ll see a film or not, the negative reviews definitely didn’t help. Plus, I thought the trailer was kinda clunky. But I stumbled across the DVD today and decided to rent it. I must say, I really regret not giving this a chance in theaters.

The plot revolves around the trial of Mary Surratt (Robin Wright) a middle-aged woman charged with conspiring to murder President Abraham Lincoln. Being a Southerner, it seems impossible for her to get a fair trial. Fred Aiken (James McAvoy) is assigned by his mentor (Tom Wilkinson) to defend Mary in court. Fred is reluctant as he believes her as guilty as John Wilkes Booth. But as Fred begins to defend her, he slowly begins to believe her innocence.

James McAvoy leads the film with a charismatic performance. He’s very likable and watching his character change opinions as the film goes on is very satisfying. McAvoy had a great performance in this year’s X-Men: First Class, but his performance here is even better. Robin Wright is also quite good as Mary Surratt, the woman being tried. She does a good job showing the pain her character feels as well as showing her motherly side. You can’t help but feel a lot of sympathy for her character. Tom Wilkinson also has a fantastic supporting bit and I liked Evan Rachel Wood. The rest of the cast is competent. Danny Huston is playing the same type of role as he does in pretty much everything these days, whereas Justin Long and Alexis Bledel aren’t really given much to do.

The story itself is pretty good, but it stumbles here and there. The overall plot is very interesting. Watching Fred essentially square off against a corrupt prosecution is pretty interesting, but he also has to go up against his old client. At first, it’s because he doubts her innocence. As the film progresses, Fred finds an angle he can play with the best chances of Mary going free. But it involves crossing a line Mary refuses to go (I won’t spoil it), so he has to fight her on that. The story, while based on historical facts, is not such a well known story that the average person will know how it ends. As such, the movie is very engaging based on that alone. But the story does stumble a bit. The film introduces story elements that never really go anywhere. The major one is the film keep suggesting that Fred’s life will begin to fall apart because of his involvement in Mary’s case. It’s implied his professional, political, and social life could all be destroyed, along with his relationship with his girlfriend (Alexis Bledel). But this never really goes anywhere.

One of the film’s biggest strengths is in some of it’s themes. The film is making a statement about the rights of citizens even in times of war. About the battle between justice and convenience. And most importantly, how the American constitution sometimes takes a backseat to the politics of the times. All these are very relevant to are times and are handled over all well. Unfortunately, the film becomes a bit too obvious with it’s message. At times there is no subtlety and characters just flat out tell you what the themes are.

It has it’s imperfections, but I don’t understand why this film was thrown under the bus by critics. It has some very good acting, especially from Wright and McAvoy, an interesting story, and some very important themes about society. It could have been handled better, but The Conspirator is a very good film that will go down as a hidden gem of 2011.

Rating: B+

PG Cooper’s Movie of the Month: Jacob’s Ladder (1990)

“Movie of the Month” is a new series where every month I select one film I watched that given month and do something of a review. The movie I pick may not necessarily be the best movie I see that month, just any movie that I feel like talking about. I don’t know if HT Schuyler will participate in this since I haven’t actually ran this by him, but if he’s reading, consider this an invitation to also post your own “Movies of the Month.”For my first month, I chose the 1990 film Jacob’s Ladder.

Release date: November 2nd, 1990

Running Time: 116 Minutes

Written by: Bruce Joel Rubin

Directed by: Adrian Lyne

Starring: Tim Robbins, Elizabeth Pena, Danny Aiello, and Jason Alexander

Jacob Singer (Tim Robbins) is a U.S. soldier during the Vietnam war. One day he and his squad are attacked and Jacob is injured. Jacob is then brought home, Brooklyn, New York, but Jacob’s nightmare is far from over. Jacob begins to see several grotesque hallucinations and begins to doubt his own sanity. On top of that, he’s struggling with the memory of his son (Macaulay Culkin), his relationship with his ex-wife (Patricia Kalember), and doesn’t know if he can trust his current girlfriend (Elizabeth Pena).

A good movie to compare this to would be last year Oscar nominee Black Swan. Like Black Swan, Jacob’s Ladder is a psychological thriller where the audience questions what is reality and what isn’t. And like Black Swan, the main character’s own sanity is questioned. The film is never clear on what is actually happening and what isn’t. Some may say that without some bases in reality the film is brought down. They do have a point, but the confusing nature of the story allows for some stylish cinematography and directing. Everything has a very dark and uncomfortable look to it, with some scenes standing out as being especially creepy.

Tim Robbins carries the film as Jacob. Robbins has a reputation as a fantastic actor for roles in The Shawshank Redemption and Mystic River. While his performance in this isn’t on that high a level, he’s still quite good. He reacts to all the craziness around him properly and he manages to elicit a lot of sympathy from the audience. The rest of the cast is also good, but this isn’t really an actor’s movie so much as it is a playground for the director.

And like I said, the direction is stylish and fantastic. Adrian Lyne creates a very atmospheric film where you never feel comfortable, especially after the attack in Vietnam. There’s a lot of extremely creepy set pieces, my favourites being the dance scene and the hospital scene. The entire film is grotesque, horrific, and uncomfortable.

But unfortunately, it’s effectiveness hurt the film when it was first released. Audiences and critics where polarized by the horrifying images on screen. As dark as Black Swan was, it also featured a lot of beautiful dance scenes. There isn’t anything beautiful in Jacob’s Ladder. Even film critic Roger Ebert, while admitting Jacob’s Ladder to be a good film, said he found it uncomfortable and didn’t enjoy watching it. This is a good point. The movie doesn’t hold back and for that reason isn’t for everyone. Personally I appreciated how uncomfortable the film was and it elevated the whole thing.

If I had one big complaint with the film it’s the ending. As complex and confusing as the film is, I still managed to predict the ending fairly early on. There are tons of films where I can predict the ending, but it hurt this film more than it does others. Mainly because the film was so deep and complex that I was expecting a lot more from my ending. Granted, the way the ending ties into the central theme of the film was very clever.

October is coming, and I know a lot of people like to watch horror films for Halloween. If you want to see something unique and with some deep themes then I would recommend Jacob’s Ladder. It’s dark, confusing, but also deep and in some ways cathartic. It isn’t perfect, and there were some parts where I felt it dragged, but it’s still a great film that I think I’ll probably enjoy more on further viewings.

Rating: A-

 

 

PG Cooper: The Kids Are All Right Review

Release date: July 9th, 2010

Written by: Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg

Directed by: Lisa Cholodenko

Starring: Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska, and Josh Hutcherson

Going into this, I know nothing. I hadn’t seen any of the trailers and knew very little about the plot. I also wasn’t familiar with the directors previous works. However, I really like Julianne Moore and I had read some great reviews. So I decided to rent it. But was The Kids Are All Right well…..alright?

The Kids Are All Right revolves around a rather unorthodox family. The parents are lesbians, Nic (Annette Bening) and Jules (Julianne Moore). Using an anonymous sperm donor, each have given birth to a child. These kids are Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and Laser (Josh Hutcherson). Despite the fact that they seem like an odd family due to the circumstances, they really are like any other family. Though the kids love their moms, they are curious about their biological father and decide to meet him. Their “father” is Paul (Mark Ruffalo). Paul and the kids sort of hit it off, but their moms are hesitant about allowing their kids to see him.

I really don’t wanna go into details about the story, but I will say it’s good. This is a story that starts out simple, but as the drama increases, gradually becomes more complex. The film is also very good at creating a drama without compromising the characters. Reading the premise, you’d probably assume that Paul would be homophobic or something and end up being sort of the villain. But no, all these characters feel like real people.

The acting here is the highlight of the film. There’s a definite chemistry between Bening and Moore. Both characters they play are very different. Nic is the hardworking bread-winner of the family, where as Jules is more the stay at home mom. She has business ventures in mind, but none have panned out. As different as they are, you can see why they’re together. Both these performances were great and I think both could potentially be nominated come Oscar season.

Mark Ruffalo plays the biological father Paul. Paul is a very interesting character as he’s something of an aging hipster. He’s a really likable character and you really get why the kids like him. Yet at the same time, you see why the moms are suspicious. Paul isn’t a bad guy and his intentions aren’t malicious, but what he’s doing his potentially dangerous as he is essentially creating a surrogate family for himself. Ruffalo brings this all to the screen very well.

The rest of the cast isn’t quite on this level. While the actors who play the kids aren’t bad by any stretch, they aren’t really given a lot to do. This isn’t a huge problem mind you, but it’s still important since a big part of the film is the relationship between Paul and the kids. I suppose the title is appropriate since the kids here are just alright.

The Kids Are All Right manages to work as both compelling drama as well as a fairly amusing comedy. Despite the heavy drama that occurs, the film manages to have a sense of humor. But with that said, it really is the drama at the center of the story. And with that said, the drama is very interesting. Watching everything unfold does keep you captivated, but I don’t think the film is as emotional as it should be.

At the end of the day, The Kids Are All Right is a well written, well acted, and well directed film….that lacked an emotional punch. Despite all the drama, the film didn’t move me emotionally the way it should have. Even so, The Kids Are All Right is a solid film that is really interesting while your watching it, but one that won’t ultimately stick with you.

8/10

PG Cooper: Due Date Review

Release date: November 5th, 2010

Written by: Alan R. Cohen, Alan Freedland, Adam Sztykiel, and Todd Philips

Directed by: Todd Philips

Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Zack Galifianakis, Michelle Monaghan, and Jamie Foxx

I don’t think anyone predicted that last year’s The Hangover would be a such critical and financial success. All the actors have exploded since, especially Zack Galifianakis. In what looks like an effort to capitalize on the success of The Hangover, the team of Galifianakis and director Todd Philips have reunited to bring us Due Date. As someone who very much enjoyed The Hangover, I was looking forward to this.

Due Date is a road movie about two mismatched men thrown together by unfortunate circumstances. Yes, Due Date takes the same formula as Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. The two individuals are Peter Highman (Robert Downey Jr.) and Ethan Tremblay (Zack Galifianakis). Peter is an architecture on his way home in Los Angeles, where his wife is pregnant and will be giving birth later in the week. At the airport, he meets Ethan, an obnoxious man-child on his way to Los Angeles to pursue his dreams of becoming an actor. A misunderstanding ensues on the plane, and Peter and Ethan are put on the “no fly list”. All of Peter’s bags however, remain on the plane and end up in Los Angeles. This presents a problem as Peter’s wallet and all his money is in his bag. As a result, Peter has no choice but to ride with Ethan.

While The Hangover was very much an ensemble cast effort, Due Date relies more on the chemistry between Galifianakis and Downey Jr. Galifianakis is more or less playing the same character he did in The Hangover, though he isn’t nearly as funny as he was in that film. Downey’s performance is similar to his performance as Tony Stark in Ironman, though less playboy and more a**hole. While neither give in a bad performance, the relationship between the two is very weak. They have decent chemistry together, but their relationship didn’t feel real. Their comes a point where the things Ethan are so insane there is no way Peter would stay with him. What’s even worse is eventually, they start to bond and Peter starts to actually like Ethan. This comes from out of nowhere, didn’t feel real, and made no damn sense. The small supporting cast here is really meh. Danny McBride and RZA each of cameo appearances here, which were mildly amusing at best. Then we have Michelle Monaghan and Jamie Foxx. Both are good actors completely wasted here and aren’t given anything to do. Foxx’s story especially could have been cut right out of the film.

The story here is, like I said, taken straight from Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. I should say, I haven’t seen that film since I was a little kid, so it’s not like my opinion on Planes, Trains, and Automobiles is influencing my opinion on this. Anyway, the premise here is solid, but the story doesn’t really go beyond its basic premise. I do however realize that the story is more just here as a setup for a bunch of jokes.

So how are the jokes you may ask? Well…..not great. And this is where the film’s biggest flaw shines through. I’d be willing to forgive poor characters and bland storytelling to some degree had the movie been funny, but this movie wasn’t really. There were some funny moments, but they were few and far between. And it’s not like the moments that were funny were side-splitting hilarity. I chuckled a lot, but didn’t have any belly laughs. And the scenes that did make me laugh were stupid like most of the movie, so it’s not like they saved the film.

This film takes everything The Hangover did right and does it wrong. The great cast is gone, the hilarious jokes are gone, even the fun story is gone. An interesting thing about The Hangover is it actually was fairly interesting watching the story unfold. But here, the film is tedious to sit through with not nearly enough jokes to justify its existence.

4/10

PG Cooper: My Top 25 Films (2000-2009) Part I

I’ve been wanting to do this list for a long time. Thing is, I felt there was a lot of films released between 2000 and 2009 that I wanted to see first. So have I seen all those films? Well…no. There is still a lot of films from last decade that I haven’t seen, but I can’t wait forever. Anyway, this list is not the best films per say, rather my personal favourites. I know there’s gonna be some questionable choices. Basic rules, any film released between January 1st, 2000 and December 31st, 2009 could technically make the list. Anyway, without further ado, my list.

25. Burn After Reading

Release Date: September 12, 2008 (US)

Written by: The Coen Brothers

Directed by: The Coen Brothers

Starring: George Clooney, Francis McDormand, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton and Brad Pitt

Comedies from the Coen brothers are really hit or miss with me. While I love The Big Lebowski, films like O Brother Where Art Thou and Raising Arizona don’t do a lot for me. I wasn’t really sure how I would react to Burn After Reading. Not only did I enjoy it, I was flat out shocked by how much I enjoyed it.

The story is kind of complicated. The basic summary is two employees (Brad Pitt and Francis McDormand) of a health club find a disc from a CIA analyst’s wife and assume the disc contains classified information. What they don’t know is the CIA analyst (John Malkovich) was recently fired and all the disc contains is his personal memoirs. Amidst all this, there is also theft, an affair, and even murder.

The real treat of the film is watching all the characters interact with each other. Every character is hilarious and interesting and all the actors do a great job. This really is an ensemble cast. On top of your main players, you have a lot of great supporting roles from actors like Richard Jenkins. But my favourite character is J.K Simmons as a C.I.A superior frequently monitoring the situation. Every time he was on screen I was laughing and even though he didn’t have as much screen time as the other characters, he never has a dull moment and stole the show when he was on. It’s also incredible how the Coens managed to take such a complicated story and made it really easy to follow. This to me has all the ingredients of a great comedy. Fun characters, sharp, witty dialogue, and an unpredictable story. The sad thing is this was the first film from the Coen brothers after their Academy Award winning No Country For Old Men, and as a result, was looked at as a disappointment. Bottom line, whether you’re generally a fan of the Coen brothers comedies or not, Burn After Reading is a great film.

24. The Bourne Identity

Release Date: June 14th, 2002

Written by: Tony Gilroy and William Blake Herron

Directed by: Doug Liman

Starring: Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Brian Cox, Julia Stiles, Chris Cooper, and Clive Owen

I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who doesn’t like the Bourne films. Everyone from casual film goers to hardcore film buffs seems to love this film series and it’s easy to see why. These are awesome films. It was hard to choose just one considering how consistent the trilogy was, but in the end, I went with The Bourne Identity.

The film opens with Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) floating unconscious in the ocean until being rescued by a ship of fishermen. Upon waking, Bourne finds he has amnesia and doesn’t remember anything about himself (not even his name.) He arrives in Switzerland and starts to try to piece together his past. He ends up meeting a young woman, Marie Kreutz (Franka Potente), and ends up teaming up with her. Meanwhile, Bourne is being chased by the C.I.A group he was once apart of, lead by Alexander Conklin (Chris Cooper). As the movie goes, Bourne continues to try to discover his past while taking out C.I.A operatives sent to take Bourne down.

One of the most talked about aspects of the Bourne films is the action. The action is shot in a “shaky cam” style which you either love or hate. I love it, and it’s used effectively here. The fight scenes are just great. But to me, the best aspect of the film (and the series as a whole) is Matt Damon as Jason Bourne. Bourne is a great character and Damon brings a lot to the role. The film also does a good job of putting the audience in Bourne’s shoes. You feel his confusion and frustration and you want to see him find answers. The rest of the cast is all great as well. While most feel The Bourne Ultimatum was the best of the series, for me, the mystery, the intrigue, and the originality makes The Bourne Identity my favourite film of the series.

23. Batman Begins

Release Date: June 15th, 2005

Written by: David S. Goyer and Christopher Nolan

Directed by: Christopher Nolan

Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, and Cillian Murphy

Thank god for Batman Begins. Love it or hate it, I don’t think anybody can deny it saved Batman’s film reputation after the cinematic bomb Batman and Robin. Batman Begins brought the caped crusader back to his dark roots (where he belongs) with an engaging story and an almost flawless cast.

More so than any other Batman film, Begins studies the characters origins and beginnings in more depth. From the murder of his parents, to his travels around the world, to his training with Ra’s Al Ghul and the League of Shadows, and finally his return to Gotham City, the film shows the journey from Bruce Wayne to Batman. When Bruce (Christian Bale) returns to Gotham, crime has taken over the city and it becomes his goal to stop crime. This includes stopping crime boss Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson) and Arkham Asylum psycho-pharmacologist Dr. Jonathan Crane A.K.A The Scarecrow (Cillian Muprhy). All while romancing his child hood sweet heart Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes).

One of the best elements of the film is it’s cast. Bale leads with his performance as Bruce Wayne/Batman and for my money is the best live action Batman we’ve seen. Most of the supporting cast here is great as well. Old familiar characters like Alfred Pennyworth and James Gordon are back this time updated with great performances from Michael Caine and Gary Oldman respectively. Lucius Fox makes his first film appearance played by Morgan Freeman. Freeman is great as usual. The villains in the film are all balanced, threatening, and interesting in their own ways. Another of the film’s many strengths is the atmosphere created by Christopher Nolan. Gotham City really feels like a bleak, hopeless place and it makes Batman’s struggle feel that much harder. On top of that, the film has good writing with some solid dialogue and interesting, fleshed out, story and characters. Despite my praise, this is easily the most flawed film so far. Katie Holmes performance is terrible and the action scenes are messy and poorly handled. But still, Batman Begins is a great film that helped elevate the comic book genre. It’s a shame the film is often forgotten and left in the shadow of it’s own sequel, The Dark Knight. Believe me, Batman Begins stands on it’s own two feet.

22. The Incredibles

Release Date: November 5th, 2004 (US)

Written by: Brad Bird

Directed by: Brad Bird

Starring: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Spencer Fox, Jason Lee, and Samuel L. Jackson

I generally don’t like to compare animated films to live-action films. I respect both, but I always have trouble comparing the two because my standards of the two are very different. With that said, Pixar studios had a hell of a decade and it be wrong to not have one of there films on the list. It wasn’t a tough call. The Incredibles is easily my favourite animated film of the last ten years.

The movie tells the story of the Parr family. They’re you’re regular, everyday, normal family with one interesting twist. They all have super powers. Basically in the film’s world, a portion of people are born with super powers. Anyway, the mother and father, Helen and Bob (Holly Hunter and Craig T. Nelson respectively) are former super heroes and because they both have super powers, those traits are inherited by their kids (though they all have different and unique powers). Back before they were married, Helen and Bob were super heroes known as Elastigirl and Mr. Incredible. But after several lawsuits by citizens directed at super heroes, the government has decided to outlaw super heroes. Basically all super heroes just have to hang up their tights and live normal lives. So Bob and Helen instead have to focus on raising their family. While Helen has accepted that her days as a super hero are over, Bob still has trouble adapting. But the rise of a new threat from Bob’s past forces him to come out of retirement.

This film works as a super hero film, as well as a spoof of super hero films at the same time. They take a lot of clever shots at the genre. It’s one of those rare films that finds a perfect balance of action and comedy. The action here is better then in a lot of comic book films. The thing that makes it great is some of the innovative stuff they do with the super powers, especially Elastigirl’s ability to stretch her limbs. But the true heart of the film lies in the chemistry between the family members. Not only is the dialogue between them funny, but it’s well written. It sounds like how families actually speak to each other. I also have to give it up to the supporting cast. Jason Lee makes for a great, unique villain and Sam Jackson has a brief yet memorable role. Many people would say Pixar’s best film would be Finding Nemo, Wall*E, or Up. I will say those are good films (except Nemo), but none of them hold a candle to The Incredibles.

21. Clerks II

Release Date: July 21st, 2006

Written by: Kevin Smith

Directed by: Kevin Smith

Starring: Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Rosario Dawson, Trever Fehrman, Jason Mewes, and Kevin Smith

I know I’m probably gonna get a lot of flack for this, but I stand by my choice. I love this film. I will note here that I am a fan of Kevin Smith films. His movies are just my type of humor. The original Clerks is, to this day, Smith’s most beloved film. When Smith announced he was making a sequel, fans were skeptical and thought Smith was just going back to the well. Thankfully, they were wrong.

Clerks II takes place about ten years after the original. At the beginning, the Quickstop Dante and Randal (Brian O’Halloran and Jeff Anderson) work at is burned down. So, the slacker team has to find a new job. They end up getting work at a Mooby’s restaurant (a fictional fast food chain). So even after all this time, Dante and Randal are still working a dead end job together. But things are about to change with Dante moving to California with his fiance (Smith’s wife Jennifer Schwalbach Smith), leaving Randal alone in Jersey. There’s actually a lot of drama between Dante and Randal, as well as Dante’s boss Becky (Rosario Dawson), who he secretly has a thing for. And of course a lot of really dirty jokes. Not to mention the on screen duo of Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith).

As a fan of the Smith film universe (or the View Askewniverse), I gotta say, this has everything I could want. Many worried a sequel would just rehash the story from the first and use the same jokes. But Clerks II actually takes the characters to new places. There’s some  emotional scenes here, especially towards the end between Dante and Randal. This works especially well because you really love these characters. All the characters are really likeable. From old favourites like Dante and Randal to newcomers like Becky and Elias (Trevor Fehrman), you care about all these people. What’s more, is the movie is really funny. I could watch this movie again and again and it’ll still be funny time and time again. Many people criticize Smith’s visual style, or lack there of. Personally, this has never bothered me because the type of movies he does aren’t visually driven as much as they are dialogue driven. And personally, I love Smith’s dialogue. Clerks II has everything a great comedy needs to have and then some. Not only is the film funny and filled with memorable characters, but it’s also surprisingly emotional and in a lot of ways can be considered Smith’s best film. Not a film for everyone, but I’m proud to call it one of my favourites all the same.

That’s all for now, Part II on the way shortly.