Super 8

Year: 2011
Writer: J.J. Abrams
Director: J.J. Abrams


This one crept up on me. From out of the blue, a sci-fi monster movie by JJ Abrams, co-produced by Spielberg. Where have I been? It’s true, writing movie reviews doesn’t have the same appeal as it use to. But after sitting through Super 8, I’m super-charged and need to tell you about it.

It’s the summer of 1979 and Charles (Riley Griffiths) and his best friend Joe (Joel Courtney), the leaders of a group of young-teens, run around town shooting a zombie epic on their Super 8 camera. These kids ‘really’ like movies.

They sneak from their bedrooms at night to film a zombie scene at an abandoned train station. Witnessing a train crash, they narrowly avoid getting killed. Everything is destroyed, well almost everything. Strange cargo litters the debris field, and ‘something’ stirs in the background. The camera and their get-away-car intact, they high-tail it out of there, and the real adventure begins.

The small quiet town of Lillian is about to get its name on the map. Talking about names, all the young protagonists of Super 8, including Ryan Lee (Cary), Gabriel Basso (Martin), and Zach Mills (Preston), play their characters to perfection.

Elle Fanning, (sister of Dakota) does a star turn as Alice. Other principal characters fill their boots well, especially Kyle Chandler (Deputy Lamb) and Ron Eldard (Louis Dainard), whose fashion sense is spot-on.

Most of the time, the film looks and feels like it could have been made in the ‘70s. Lens flair is prominent, and there’s a grainy effect to the visuals which instils that nostalgic vibe, not forgetting some excellent music.

OMG, did we really dress like that? I digress…

If you’re a child of the ‘80s then this movie will remind you of a lot of things, Spielberg movies naturally. All those stories about geeky kids trying to save their neighbourhood from some disaster or other, the father and son denouement, the cute girls next door, the military, the aliens, the nice cops. With Super 8 you get all this and then some.

Super 8 is not without its flaws, but they are so few to mention. I like this movie too much to say anything bad about it. However, I don’t want to like JJ Abrams (of Cloverfield and Lost fame) because he’s a cool-know-it-all-smart-ass-jerk of a director. He’s made a name for himself by not showing us the monster, and leaving us to slowly stew in our imaginations. Now he gives us Super sub-text. The bastard!

Super 8 out of 10!

2010: From the Headlines to Hollywood

What a year 2010 has been for natural and not so natural disasters. An abundance of cataclysm and catastrophes ensures that screenwriters all over tinsel town are very busy these days. So what can we expect? An abundance of terrorizingly bad disaster movies, or some heart-wrenching tragedy with very human drama, brought to the big screen for our, umm, enjoyment?

Putting the usual extreme weather conditions, heavy rains, floods, mudslides, severe cold, and snow, to one side for a minute, you can guarantee that at least one of 2010′s headlines will get the blockbuster treatment. From volcanoes to avalanches, oil-spills to gigantic holes in the ground, there’s a multitude of disastrous news headlines to choose from. I’ve put together a list of possibilities in true Hollywood style… prepare yourselves!

KOREA KOREA
Starring: Harrison Ford, George Clooney, and Megan Fox

The US Naval commander is struggling with a stammer. He seeks out the help of America’s top therapist who has gone into hiding due to a mistake he made in China some years ago which got his partner killed. Can he help the commander deliver a crucial speech bringing the two opposing sides together and stop world war three… before it’s too late?

HAITI 7.3
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Hilary Swank, and Jaden Smith

Christian Aid worker Josh, caught up in the devastation of the first mega-quake, decides to rescue a school of orphaned boys and smuggle them into the US on a visiting cruise ship. The city is in turmoil, and about to be quarantined, there’s rioting in the streets. Josh will have to captain the ship and sail it himself. But can he get everyone out… before it’s too late?

DEEPWATER HORIZON
Starring: Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, and Scarlett Johansson

After an oil rig explosion and subsequent leak, scientists think they’ve got everything under control, until strange noises begin to emanate from beneath the ocean floor sending all marine life into frenzy. Florida diving instructor Lucy discovers a strange mutated marine mammal stuck to the hull of her boat. A strange green gas cloud forms in the sky. Lucy has no choice but to locate the State Governor and persuade him to call the President… before it’s too late.

DARK SKIES
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Audrey Tautou, Cillian Murphy, and Sandra Bullock

Iceland’s volcanic eruption at Eyjafjallajökull closes airspace while desperate scientist and mother Julia holds the antidote to the outbreak of flu like virus which is mutating and spreading from person to person. Julia attempts to fly to Europe with her children, in search of her estranged husband, a top microbiologist who has gone missing on a business trip to Pakistan… before it’s too late.

AGATHA
Starring: Dame Judi Dench, Helena Bonham Carter, and Ben Affleck

Guatemala City is evacuated. The Pacaya volcano erupts. Suddenly a giant sinkhole appears 18 m (60 ft) wide. Ex-pat school teacher Agatha notices that predictions of doom written by a local child on the playground wall correspond with events. She seeks the help of an eminent geologist, who is living in seclusion on the outskirts of the jungle writing her memoirs. Tropical Storm Agatha is about to make landfall. Together the two women must find a way to stop the next prediction from coming true… before it’s too late.

RED SQUARED
Starring: Natalie Portman, Colin Firth, and Daniel Craig

Russia is stifled under wildfires which cause gigantic poisonous red smog to engulf Moscow. The government warns people to stay in-doors. City streets are deserted. It’s the perfect night for the perfect crime, as international jewel thief, and side-kick prepare the ultimate heist. But as daylight approaches, and the smog begins to lift earlier than expected, will the duo get what they came for and make their escape…before it’s too late?

SLUDGE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Robert Pattinson, and Nicolas Cage

Strange shining lights appear like UFOs over Manhattan during day-light, just as an explosion at a Hungarian alumina plant releases red toxic chemical sludge throughout Eastern Europe threatening to kill thousands. Danny, a reckless young graduate astrophysicist from MIT makes a startling discovery. He must convince his professor that the two events are linked… before it’s too late.

MOON OVER MERAPI
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Colin Farrell, and Sylvester Stallone

In the shadow of the Mount Merapi volcanic eruption – US Marine Sgt. Clare Lucas battles with her fear of water while searching for her estranged husband. He has spent the last five years building a school for orphans devastated by floods. Using a stolen canoe, can she save the inhabitants of a small village at the foot of the mountain… before it’s too late?

PHOENIX
Starring: Javier Bardem, Benicio Del Toro, and Brad Pitt

33 Chilean miners are trapped 2000 feet below ground…
Well you can guess the rest!

More sad news... R.I.P. Pete Postlethwaite

R.I.P. Leslie Nielson 1926 - 2010

Inception

Year: 2010
Writer: Christopher Nolan
Director: Christopher Nolan

Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Marion Cotillard, Ken Watanabe,Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Dileep Rao, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Michael Caine, Pete Postlethwaite, Lukas Haas

In the beginning there was speculation, and rumour, and down-right lies… then a few insider leaks, and a peak at the indescribable via a good teaser trailer. Fast-forward to July 2010, we finally get to view the much talked-about Inception, in all its glory.

A Sci-fi thriller set ‘within the architecture of the mind’ as the blurb puts it, with elaborate plot-line and all-star-cast, is a movie to behold. Two and a half hours of pure cinematic gold, care-of director Christopher Nolan whose last effort, The Dark Knight (2008), set its own rumour mill ablaze.

Inception’s basic premise, if you can call anything in this movie ‘basic’, is that it’s a heist movie, with endearing criminals and relentless authority, a love interest (Marion Cotillard), a big score, some retribution, and a daring escape across the border, but set in the subconscious. A sort of Ocean’s Eleven for the Sci-fi geeks.

Our main protagonist with a secret is Dom Cobb (let’s not dwell), played impeccably by Leonardo Di Caprio, who seems to get better and better with age. He’s the mastermind and draws up a team of ‘professionals’ for the next big job, at the behest of industrialist ‘Saito’ (Ken Watanabe). This contemporary rat-pack consist of Cobb’s business partner Arthur (a superb Joseph Gordon-Levitt), chemist Yusuf (Dileep Rao), a student of architecture Ariadne (Ellen Page), and a forger by the name of Eames (Tom Hardy).

The film is chock-full of great acting, but sadly we only get a glimpse or two of the superb Pete Postlethwaite, plus interesting turns by Cillian Murphy and Lucas Haas, not to mention a rather botoxed Tom Berenger, and of course… Sir Michael Caine.

To try to explain what is happening defeats the object, you really have to see the film, preferably on the big screen for its CGI is exactly that, big. However, there is a lot more going on here than meets the eye. Some of what you’ll see will look familiar, but stick with it and it will take you up a level or two. You’re thrown in the middle of a strange world. It’s up to you to grasp it with both cerebral hemispheres and hold on tight.

Don’t expect Inception to be the traditional/predictable fare, you may be looking for a big reveal, but what you see is literally what you get. It’s not for everyone, and the strange twisting tale may disappoint some. There are layers to dissect after the fact, and you’ll go away from this film with plenty to talk about, whether you liked it or not. It's best to sit back and relax, and try not to think too much.

“All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream”
Edgar Allan Poe

Robin Hood

Year: 2010
Director: Ridley Scott
Writer: Brian Helgeland

Stars: RUSSELL CROWE, Cate Blanchett, Max von Sydow, Mark Strong, Kevin Durand, Scott Grimes, Oscar Isaac, William Hurt, Danny Huston, Matthew Macfadyen

We’ve been robbed and there is not much hope that we’ll get back those two and half hours invested in this film. Alas, and I say it with shock, this was no ‘Prince of Thieves’, as the entire film is a rehashed revival, resembling the forest ambush scene from the film ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ (2005), another of director Ridley Scott’s epics.

Perhaps he liked that movie more and this scene so much, that he created an entire movie around it, and reworked the Robin Hood tale to fit? Perhaps I am being too harsh. If you are expecting to hear about the Robin Hood you grew up with then you might as well stop reading now.

This revisiting of the famous Nottinghamshire folk-story is yet another one of those wasted opportunities. The eponymous hero and his gang of so-called ‘Merry Men’ are prancing around the forest, the dark, damp and muddy forests of England and France. However, there isn’t much to smile about in this outdoor life!

There are double-dealings and double-crosses left, right and centre, there’s a Maid Marion (Cate Blanchett) that could do with a change of clothes and a little make-up, and there’s a King or two that need a swift beheading. But alas, yet again, nothing ever turns out as it should.

With some good performances from Mark Strong as Robin’s adversary Godfrey, Oscar Isaac as King John, plus a fantastic soundtrack, with all its attention to details (like the Fleur-de-lis, and the Lorraine Cross), with its brief battle scenes (especially if you like Medieval castles), with its intriguing news that Robin’s ancestors were masons (go figure), with all the lavish cinematography (straight out of LotR)… it still doesn’t hit the mark.

Just unacceptable for a big-budget production of this calibre!

There are some good lines of dialogue, but the narrative, the convoluted lesson of ‘lambs becoming lions’ just don’t register. I came out of this movie wondering why on earth does Godfrey need to find Longstride in the first place. It’s simply meaningless and all too trivial. As for Russell’s accent, that’s the least of its problems!

Final verdict, it will pass the time and I never imagined I’d find myself saying this about a Russell Crowe-Ridley Scott film! If anyone cares enough, the animated credits are worth viewing at the end, but Robin Hood the movie is a huge disappointment.

IRON MAN 2

Year: 2010
Director: Jon Favreau
Screenplay: Justin Theroux
Comic: Marvel (Stan Lee)

Stars: ROBERT DOWNEY JR., Gwyneth Paltrow, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke, Don Cheadle, Samuel L. Jackson, Garry Shandling, Scarlett Johansson, Clark Gregg, John Slattery, Paul Bettany (the voice of Jarvis)

The much hyped sequel to one of the most successful comic book movies ever made, Iron Man 2 is on our screens, giving us another dose of that essential mineral, while simultaneously baffling us with a host of science nonsense, and some hilarious dialogue.

Picking up where Iron Man left off, Tony Stark (the superb Robert Downey Jr. still playing the narcissist bar*tard so well) revealing to the public that he is the man behind the superhero mask, now has the government pressing him to share his technology with the military.

Concerned it could fall into the wrong hands, Stark remains adamant claiming the rest of the world is years behind in developing similar tech. He has single-handedly saved the universe. As he puts it, ‘I’ve privatised world peace’! Remember, this is a super hero movie, so the status quo is about to change.

This time around Ivan Venko (Mickey Rourke) is our ‘super-villain’, giving us a menacingly quiet and calculating foe nicknamed ‘Whiplash’. Although his performance is classy and distinctive, it’s Stark’s other nemesis Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) that steals the show. His performance so spot-on you couldn’t knock it with err… a Hammer!

He’s is amazingly sleazy, and displays the right kind of attitude for anyone going after the billionaire industrialist with inferior product should. Everyone knows that Hammer is no match for Stark, yet he will persist, and this persistence keeps the viewer interested to the very end of this CGI-drenched-mecha-fest.

Iron Man’s seemingly impenetrable armour is what eventually saves the day, but it takes a whole detour circling angst ridden characters, double-dealings, sub-plots involving the next generation of super heroes, and baffling scientific experiments, while our hero toughs it out again before we eventually get there.

Don Cheadle has replaced Terrence Howard as best friend Jim Rhodes, getting little screen-time for an actor of his calibre deserves. As Stark’s personal assistant, Ms. Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) has to contend with Natalie Rushman (Scarlett Johansson). She’s more of a side-note, and introduced to us for reasons that will become apparent later.

I have no idea if the story line and its finale bear any resemblance to the original comic book. However, Iron Man 2 the movie is definitely worth seeing as a stand-alone. It’s the sort of movie that allows grown-ups to indulge in playing with toy cars and robots, and flying rockets through the air to attack the baddies, albeit in a ‘virtual’ world. A real ‘boys’ movie – you’ll have to see it to understand what I mean by this.

However, if you didn’t enjoy Iron Man the first time around then you’re not going to like this much either. Director Jon Favreau and screenwriter Justin Theroux have crafted a move that, on the whole, is a more interesting experience than the original; and still as topical. No signs of rust on this franchise yet!