Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Monday, February 25, 2013
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Tekkonkinkreet Review
Tekkonkinkreet as a movie is about as weird as “Tekkonkinkreet” is as a title, which translates to “steel reinforced concrete.” I have watched it a handful of times, yet I still see something the next time I watch it that I apparently missed or overlooked the previous time. A Japanese animated film, or anime, it fully embraces the culture of the Land of the Rising Sun. There are more colors here than one could find in any crayon box, and all those colors are used marvelously. Maybe the visual distraction is why I see something new every time.
The film takes place in the fictional Treasure Town, a city beloved as often as hated by its denizens. The vehicles of the story are Black (Scott Menville), known as Kuro in Japanese, and White (Kamali Minter), Shiro in Japanese. Both are known street orphans, together capable of taking care of themselves as well as any adults. Black, the older, is more the brains and the braun of the pair, a rebel to all authority, fearful of nothing. He considers Treasure Town to be “his town,” which he stands behind, when he confronts and fights three yakuza, Japanese gangsters. On other nights, he and White sneak around, pickpocketing oblivious bystanders to make their living.
If Black has the brains and the braun, though, what does that leave White with? He is the heart. Late in the movie he explains his role to another character, saying that God made him broken, without all the screws for his heart. While he lacks his own screws, he says that he has every one of Black's screws to keep him together. He seems to suffer from autism, often speaking in ways to leave one wondering what he is going on about. I looked up a description of autism that reads “a mental condition in which fantasy dominates over reality...” and that is exactly what is conveyed here. Near the very beginning Black, White, and their grandpa are talking, more so Black and their grandpa to each other, while White goes on talking to them but more so to himself, and all of a sudden, he is riding atop a small elephant, which seems to go unnoticed by the other characters. The elephant is not really in the room, just in his fantasy over reality mind.
One thing to love is that the story that has so many facets, factions, and want-to-be factions. There are the orphans, trying to rule the town, the police, Fujimura (Maurice LaMarche) and Sawada (Tom Kenny), trying to keep some form of reins on the town, the Dawn (Yuri Lowenthal) and Dusk (Phil Lamarr) brothers, attempting to make a name for themselves, “The Boss (John DiMaggio),” a businessman, making ventures to thrive in this town, the Boss’s muscle, the yakuza, the Rat (Matt McKenzie) and Kimura (Rick Gomez), an up-and-coming gangster with a baby on the way, Snake (Dwight Schultz), the Boss’s new business partner, etc.
From time to time, Tekkonkinkreet can be confusing, leaving the audience to wonder where the bounds of the film are, if it has any. Some things seem oddly random, even outside of White. Right when you think you have a grasp on what the movie is, aliens show up. Everything is constantly changing and being reinvented right in front of the eyes.
I do not really have any complaints with Tekkonkinkreet. If there was any it would probably be that the person who watches it once will miss so many things that take multiple views to catch. That can also be a strength, though, because it gives so many reasons to re-watch again and again.
Batman: Year One Review
Year One, as its title suggests, chronicles Bruce Wayne’s (Ben McKenzie) first calendar year as the Caped Crusader. Having just returned from his exodus, wherein he trained for years to come back to Gotham City to rid the city of crime, he finds himself at a crossroads. He wants to wage his war, but feels it is not yet time after a reconnaissance mission goes awry and he is nearly killed. It is on the verge of giving up that he creates his alter ego, Batman.
Lieutenant James Gordon (Bryan Cranston) is sort of exiled to Gotham City, after he apparently turned in a fellow policeman in his former city of work, making himself an outcast to the remaining officer’s of the department. With a pregnant wife at home, he stresses with the preparation of a baby on the way, and struggling to fit in as an officer in this new city. In this way, it is much more of a duality story, equally featuring both characters, Jim and Bruce. Gordon, the officer of the law, operates within the bounds of the law, though he quickly comes to find out that he is just about the only one, his department being full of just as many criminals as the mafia.
Anyone who has seen Christopher Nolan’s first Batman film "...Begins," will quickly see similarities between part 1 of the trilogy and Year One. There are a handful, including the scene where Batman calls in the bats–yes, it’s here–which was my favorite scene from Begins, all the way to how both movies end, though that is not to give away the ending, just to say they are similar. If nothing else, it becomes an interesting history as to how Nolan incorporated some of the most iconic moments in the Dark Knight’s long run of comics into his Dark Knight Trilogy.
A prelude to the freak show that Gotham City became, there are no super villains, rather just crimes and crime lords in general. However, Harvey Dent (Robin Atkin Downes) and Selina Kyle (Eliza Dushku) make appearances, the latter of which we actually get to see as an early incarnation of Catwoman, the former in his original role of district attorney, before half his face is scarred. The two main “bad guys” for the tale are the much more normal and ever popular mobster Carmine Falcone (Alex Rocco) and Commissioner Loeb (Jon Polito), a criminal on the right side of the law.
In terms of voice work, everyone in the cast does their job well, except for Ben McKenzie as Bruce Wayne/Batman, though as Batman the voice fits a little better, I think. As Bruce, however, the odd direction taken here would have been better fitted to a robot. I think everyone who knows the character understands that after the death of his parents he became a darker character, but that does not mean he became inhuman. He sounds lifeless, and it just fits horribly–or does not fit.
Only 64 minutes, I felt like it could have been longer. I have not read the actual comic in years, so I cannot quite remember if anything was taken away, though I have heard DC’s animation department largely stuck to Frank Miller’s source material. It feels like a complete story, yet a very tight shoot, so some scenes could have been further elaborated on. A film that leaves one wishing it was longer is usually a good sign, though.
Batman: Year One has been out a while, but I enjoyed it a lot, so I thought I would write a review of it. If interested, it may be dificult to find on store shelves, but it should be on Netflix, and Amazon also sells the DVD and Blu-ray for cheap.
A Good Day to Die Hard Review
It is kind of hard to believe that it has been about 6 years since ’07’s “Live Free or Die Hard” gave new life to the Die Hard franchise, pumping it with cinematic steroids to give the action a boost to over-the-top proportions. I cannot precisely recall what the general feelings of the average fan were concerning the last outing, but it earned enough money to garner another sequel, so someone must have been at least moderately fond of it. After all, who does not like that?
For the first time, the story takes place off of United States soil, as John McClane (Bruce Willis) travels to Moscow, Russia to rescue his son Jack (Jai Courtney), who is going on trial for an attempted murder. It is said that he will be lucky to get life in prison, meaning he will likely be executed for his crimes. As John steps back into his son’s life, who insists that he stay out of it, it is eventually revealed that Jack is a CIA agent, working a 3-year operation to rescue former Russian billionaire Yuri Komarov (Sebastian Koch), imprisoned for seemingly propaganda fueled political reasons. John finds it more humorous than serious that Jack is a “spy,” as he calls it, or “the 007 of Plainfield New Jersey,” while Jack, who does not have a very good relationship with his father, tries to ignore him. Inevitably, as things go so far wrong that Jack cannot right it by himself, he reluctantly enlists the help of John.
It is hard to say whether “A Good Day...” exactly recaptures the action style and intensity of “Live Free...,” but however anyone feels, the action is still the backbone and forefront of the franchise and the reason to see the latest outing. Though time is taken to properly stage the setting, the movie hits the ground running. From the first major action scene, which is a car chase that takes place on the freeways of Russia, to a shootout that involves a military grade helicopter, which happens to be my favorite action scene, through to the very end there is no disappointment here. Bruce Willis and screen son Jai Courtney wield a handful of big guns, by dialogue almost making fun of the script, which never sees them with any sort of plan, but rather a set of skills to will themselves out of any predicament, no matter if they are up to their necks in the mud.
Bruce Willis, the face of the franchise–and maybe the American right to bear arms–brings the laughs, with witty sarcasm, often poking fun at son Jack McClane, even when face-to-face with death. Funny as he is, though, the humor is not used to substitute his ability to bring the thrills, even at the age of 57. As mentioned above, he shoots big guns and looks more comfortable than any other actor doing so (check the trailer for “G.I. Joe Retaliation,” his big shootout in “Looper,” and also “The Expendables 2,” and you will come to the same revelation I have, which is that no one else looks cooler shooting a gun). He may run a little slower–okay, a lot slower–but his lack of agility is made up by his on-screen toughness. For proof, he rolls a truck, gets hit and sent rolling by another car that he drives and rolls more intentionally than the first, all without taking a single pain reliever.
Jai Courtney (Spartacus: Blood and Sand, Jack Reacher), if not before, proves he has a bright future in the movie business. Usually when Hollywood puts together scripts that sort of bridge separate generations with one older and one younger actor, it can be a little annoying to watch. Often the younger is rushing headfirst into situations, needing a rescue every other minute, or the older has lost so much of a step from his youthful years that the younger has to save so many times, I lose count, all in more an attempt than anything else to sort of “pass the torch.” Thankfully those script cliches are avoided here.
Aside from the main headliners, Bruce and Jai, the rest of the cast, which includes Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Lucy, who makes more of a cameo than anything, Sabastian Koch as Yuri Komarov, Yuliya Snigir as Irina, Radivoje Bukvic as Alik or “the dancer,” to name a few, do a good job of bringing the script to life a.
To be honest, I am not much of a Die Hard fan, not because I do not like them, but because I have not seen most of them, however, I recommend seeing it for fans of the franchise and movies in general.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 2 Review
When I watched and reviewed “Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 1,” I wrote that it was “...arguably the best original animated movie DC Comics has put together to date...” Now, I hate to sound like one of those Hollywood critics who watch a movie in January and say, “Best movie of the year so far,” then see another movie in April and say, “Best movie of the year so far,” but one could probably lump me in with that group. The only difference with my previous statement is that there is no arguing about whether “Part 2” is superior to previous efforts or not, it is better than all past DC Comics graphic novel adaptations.
Picking up directly after “Part 1,” “Part 2” sees the previous film’s major threat the Mutants disbanded into smaller factions, most notably the Sons of Batman. Taking up the torch as the Caped Crusader’s opposition are Gotham City’s police force, led by new commissioner Ellen Yindel (Maria Canals-Barrera), old time foe and ultimate nemesis Joker (Michael Emerson), and a sold-out-to-the-government Superman (Mark Valley), who takes orders from the President of the United States. Cramming these plot lines into the movie’s short run time of 1hour 16 minutes risked telling a rushed story, but, surprisingly, it it is done masterfully, with good pacing.
I have not read the graphic novel of “Batman: The Dark Knight Returns”–though I am quite sure I will now–but I have heard they stuck pretty close to the source material. I mentioned this in the last review, too, so I will just reaffirm that is the best way to go when dealing with any of Frank Miller’s material–stick to the script. I also think the nature of the storytelling is much more fascinating because we see a Joker that not only has a history of mass murders, but also goes out with a killing-spree upon his escape from the psychiatric ward he is housed in at the beginning of the film. The way the new Robin (Ariel Winter) is handled is genius, too. Too often, whichever incarnation of Robin is used, we see Batman make a series of uncharacteristic mistakes, just so that Robin can be made relevant, when he saves Batman’s life. The writing between DC’s most iconic superheroes, Superman and Batman, is also fun to watch unfold. While Superman has turned himself into a politicians puppet, Batman remains justice’s rebel, doing things his way. Though Superman tries to stop it, the heroes are clearly on a collision course, and Batman embraces it.
The quality of the animation is once again a highpoint for “Part 2,” the crowning jewel being the final square-off between the duty-bound Superman and stubborn, lifelong crime fighting Batman. Beyond how sleek the animation itself is, the creativity that went into Batman’s resourcefulness as he battles the faster, stronger Man of Steel is so entertaining to watch the movie could have consisted of an hour and 16 minutes of this alone, and I would have given no complaint. However, do not let my ravings of this climactic fight overshadow the other gems of combat because there are so many other good ones.
One of my few complaints about “Part 1” was the lame slang the Mutants used. Because they are not featured here, no one has to suffer through their horrible dialogue. If there is a complaint, it is again that “Part 2” like “Part 1” is so short. I would have loved to see the two as one, a long 2 hour 30 minute film, but the horse is dead, so I won’t continue beating it.
To anyone who is a fan of the character, saw “Part 1,” but is not yet decided on whether to see the sequel, if I have any power to sway your opinion, this is definitely the one to watch. Hopefully DC continues to churn out more movie’s like this. I await “Batman: Hush” and “Superman/Batman: Absolute Power,” and all other Frank Miller and Jeph Loeb work on Batman. Given that they stick close to the source material on those, too, no one will find disappointment there.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)