<Source FlicksandBits.com; image property of Sony Pictures and Columbia Pictures>
Sorry for not getting this up until Sunday guys, I did actually see the film on Friday but I was hit with a sudden 24 hour cold that knocked me on my ass from Friday afternoon right on through Saturday so I hadn’t been able to finish this review and get it up for you guys. However you do still have the rest of Sunday and your Memorial Day to go see it if you so desire to after reading this so not to bad. Now I can say, almost without a doubt, that most of you have likely seen at least one of the movies in what is now the Men in Black trilogy. The original Men in Black came out in 1997 and I clearly remember seeing it in theaters and having a great time with it. The sequel, Men in Black 2 came out in 2002 and was…well lackluster is really the best way to describe it as it did very little new and went almost nowhere with the plot. Both of them are played on TV a lot, and both were even just rereleased on Blu-Ray last month so on the off chance you haven’t seen them you have no excuse. I open with that because in this review of Men in Black 3, the third sequel, which being 10 years after the last one I never really saw coming, I will be delving into some of the plot of the last two films and don’t want people complaining about spoilers. But that’s enough prologue, lets jump right in.
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Hey guys, I’m trying out a new look for the site, let me know what you think. I wanted the background to be the same color it was but having some trouble with the the text of the title, pages and top bar as I can’t change them and they don’t show up on that color. I’ll keep working on it but for now this is the look of the site, though it is also subject to change.
Also, as you’ll see on the left bar under pages, there is a new page called “Review Archives” that will take you to a page with the links to all of the reviews I have posted. As you may have noticed I reposted my reviews ofThe Adjustment Bureau,Jonah Hex, andThe Good, the Bad, the Weird. These were reposted because I’m an idiot and deleted them but they are back for your enjoyment.
Anyways, that’s all the updates for now, but I’d love to hear what you think…so what do you think?
**THIS IS A REPOST OF AN OLD REVIEW ACCIDENTALLY DELETED**
So, lets rehash something about me before I get into this: I love Westerns and I also love Comic Books, and Jonah Hex has been a good of both for a long time, so this film had quite a bit to live up to for me.
The thing is, it felt like the director(Jimmy Hayward who has only Directed Horton Hears a Who), and maybe the writers as well(Neveldine & Taylor of Crank 1 & 2 and Gamer fame) had little idea what they were doing with either the genre or the character. Honestly, while I can say I’ve seen Neveldine & Taylor’s work, I’ve only really enjoyed Crank and Gamer was at least campy fun, but still pretty much crap in the end.
The facts are that while there was a lot of a grade talent, Josh Brolin, John Malkovich, Michael Fassbender, and Will Arnett are just wasted on this movie. While Brolin and Fassbender come close to have a real character it is only close. Honestly, as its rumored that Brolin at first hated the script but then its “tongue in cheek nature” grew on him, I have to wonder if he hit his head in the last year. Some people will instantly write it off for Megan Fox’s involvement but honestly she is not to bad in it, if not just barely in it, and truthfully its the rare time she is not the weakest point.
As for the problems with the plot and such, I must first say I am not extremely knowledgeable about Jonah Hex, just what I know from his appearance in DC cartoons and what I read on Wikipedia prior to seeing the film. What I can say is that he is not magical, like in the film, and while Malkovich’s character is an important villain in his world he is not at all part of his origin/the origin of the scar that he is so known for. As for how this fits into the Western genre, it is essentially the worst thing since Wild Wild West for the genre. I’ll admit I liked Wild Wild West though it really was a bad Western but Will Smith and Kevin Kilne are both fun and charismatic in the film, Jonah Hex is a bastard, in comics and especially the film, and Brolin adds absolutely none to charisma but still is an admirable bastard. Furthermore, the direction just feels terrible, falling into predictable patterns and that just do nothing and honestly that is the best of the direction. The daring choice is made to have a comic book style animated section for his being healed by the Crow Indians, which actually looks good but is never revisited, not even in a later scene where once again they heal him, but in live action it is just overly odd and felt like a missed opportunity. Prior to this section there is also and odd section where he is in a dream ‘limbo’ world handling his “unfinished business” of vengeance against Malkovich, which again I was able to accept but then it came back to be spliced in with their final fight where things just became confusing and the unnecessary nature of that scene just became fully evident.
So in the end its clear that I didn’t like this, and honestly if you want a summer movie, see The A-Team, or better yet see Toy Story 3 which also came out today if you actually want total quality.
Rating: 1.5/5
Reelization:
Basically this movie is like the bastard child of leftover ideas from Wild Wild West and the ‘Summer’ movie sensibilities that the Transformers have brought upon us and is the bane of cinema.
**THIS IS A REPOST OF AN OLD REVIEW ACCIDENTALLY DELETED**
The Adjustment Bureau is a movie I was honestly excited about from the first trailer. It kinda looked like it could be a good thriller with a bit of Dark City mixed in for good measure. Even with my hate of Green Zone, I was still excited by Matt Damon’s involvement in it as well. Now, it may not have been exactly what I expected, but in no way does that mean its a bad film. It actually is a solid piece of cinema that relies more on character interaction than its sci-fi plot and is all the better for it.
As such, I feel its a good idea to give a brief overview of the plot, though you could get it from any of the trailers really. David Norris (Matt Damon) is a (fairly) young guy, already a member of the House of Representatives, running to become a Senator from New York, and is a honest and actually caring politician. On the night that he loses his first bid for the Senate, he meets Elise (Emily Blunt) while he works on his concession speech, and the two truly hit it off with Elise renewing his hope in being elected, before they get interrupted mid-kiss and she disappears as he gives his speech. It is here where we are first truly introduced to the “Adjusters” as they plot to spill coffee on David to delay him, but the moment is missed, and he gets on a bus where he happens to run into her again and then arrives early and “sees behind the curtain” and is taken in. The Adjusters decide to level with him that they keep things following a plan and that plan says that he and Elise can’t be together. Time progresses by a few years and David, having never given up hope of finding Elise, runs into her again, causing the Adjusters to jump back into try and intervene, and thus the true conflict comes in as he must work to stay with her.
Now, an important thing that is left out of that little plot you can get from the trailers, is how the Adjustment Bureau its self is more or less a religious allegory. In fact, at one point David asks one of the Adjusters if he’s an Angel and he is told “We’ve been called that” and that their boss, “The Chairman”, has “Gone by many names”. Essentially it becomes less true sci-fi and more an explanation for religion and mysticism over the course of human history, without identifying with any religion in particular. Now I personally am not a very religious man, and heavy handed religious stuff does tend to annoy me, but they actually do a great job of merely touching on the religious implications of this group, and then lets you decide. In fact, I actually liked their description of the Adjustment Bureau and the use of a corporate structure within it a lot, and it is part of the witty humor used throughout.
Now, the movie doesn’t fully reach that heavy and dark thriller status that the trailers would imply, but the similarity I saw to Dark City is very much there, at least with “The Strangers” from that film. The Strangers were the bad guys, and they controlled everything in the Dark City, as well as the people and would change things every night, and were essentially malicious. The Adjusters are fairly similar, but they can only adjust the thought process of people as well as some minor telekinetic ability to do stuff like spill coffee cups on people. Another big difference is The Strangers can be seen as truly a little malicious, but The Adjusters really are working for an intended greater good. In the end, Dark City is the only movie I can really say is very similar to The Adjustment Bureau.
The film itself is based off a short story by famed science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, however it is adapted to the screen by writer and director George Nolfi. Nolfi is an experienced screenwriter with a few big name films under his belt, such as Timeline, Ocean’s Twelve, and The Bourne Ultimatum. His skill as a writer has clearly grown over time as Timeline was enjoyable but The Bourne Ultimatum is terrific, and the scripting on this film is terrific as well. One of the high points is the dialogue which feels natural and also has a consistently good sense of humor that keeps you engrossed in the very real feeling characters. This film is also Nolfi’s first time directing, but surprisingly it doesn’t really show as he gets great performances out of these big name actors all while not losing the plot. There are a few running and action scenes that are shot well and are a solid addition to the film, that a rookie director could mess up, but Nolfi did not and that is certainly to the film’s benefit.
The actors in general do a great job, and they really make the conflict come to life. The heart of this movie is the romance between David and Elise, and Damon and Blunt make their characters relatable and their love feel real. This is honestly one of the best film romances I can remember in the last few years, just because they bring an energy to it that many films lack. The supporting cast, namely the Adjusters, do include some big names and they are the ones you’ve seen in trailers. We have John Slattery of Mad Men fame as Richardson and Terrance Stamp from Get Smart as Thompson as David’s adversaries, but actually each is only really seen through one half the movie. Richardson is big in the first half, and really is just a guy trying to do his job and having to deal with David’s persistence. Thompson comes in for the second half and he bares the nickname “the hammer” and he does everything he can to stop David, including threats and injury. The more important Adjuster, Harry, is played by a guy you probably will only recognize the face of, Anthony Mackie, who I at least best know from the film Eagle Eye. I can’t really go to much into Harry as he’s a bit to important and could spoil some stuff, but he is there through the whole film and has the most interaction with David. I think this is the first time Mackie has had a solid chance to shine in a good movie and he may not be amazing, but he more than does the job he’s needed for.
Overall The Adjustment Bureau isn’t the thriller that I was expecting or hoping for. Then again, that’s not a bad thing. If you go into this film ready to accept what it gives you, then you’ll likely have a very good time. The acting and writing is very solid and the romance is believable even when strained by, what is to them, the unknown. All in all I could best classify this as movie almost perfectly suited for a date as it is almost a compromise with some solid action and sci-fi intrigued but also humor that works and a romance that you believe. Everyone can leave happy. It may not be perfect, hell its not even exceptional, but I’d pay full price for it.
Rating: 4/5
Reelization:
Mix a little Dark City with a little Logan’s Run and you could easily come up with something close to this film. Its the classic doomed romance with some science fiction for good measure making it a film that can be enjoyed by multiple different audiences.
**THIS IS A REPOST OF AN OLD REVIEW ACCIDENTALLY DELETED**
Assuming you have even remedial pop-culture/film knowledge you will have looked at this movie’s title and instantly gotten a vision of Clint Eastwood in a poncho and good old fashion western fun. Honestly you’d be on the right track, though The Good, The Bad, The Weird is something of a horse of a different color(I’ll call that an intended bad pun) Its actually something that truly is hard to explain as the simple explanation sounds a little crazy: It is a Korean Western, set in Manchuria in the 1930’s. If you’re not totally close-minded as many could be from just that then you’re in for a treat as this is honestly one of the top 5 movies I’ve seen in years, odd setting, subtitles and all. Allow me to regale you with the joy that is this film.
As I stated before, the title The Good, The Bad, The Weird should instantly strike you with the idea of the western. This is because the title, and the general idea of the plot and characters are heavily influenced by and derived from Sergio Leone’s classic The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. This should not be taken as a bad thing for a minute because this movie is far different from that classic western classic(which for those of you who don’t know is technically an Italian film, as were its predecessor’s by Leon and staring Eastwood A Fistful of Dollars, and For a Few Dollars More) even when compared at both the lightest and deepest of levels. The similarities that may be derived are of the most basic plot points, such as the three main characters in the plot filling three key archetypes, and that they are, for the most part at least, all tied together in the search for a great hidden treasure while there is some sort of war going on around them.
Now lets break this down a bit more as it is the differences that are part of the fun and interest. This film takes place in the desert and wilderness of Manchuria in the 1930’s (some general importance/context for you out there is that this is quite a ways before WWII and was also a time of Japanese invasion of both Manchuria and Korea which is why we find our Korean characters here) This is a world equally as wild as the American west and lends itself perfectly to the genre while also diversifying it with different culture and settlements while the Japanese army lends itself more or less to the role the Civil War played in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly but it isn’t used exactly the same. The prize at the ed of the journey is also more of an unknown as it merely a map that is found, leading to what is assumed to be a buried tresure of a lost dynasty, but no one knows.
Now lets delve into our main characters, who as I said before represent 3 key and traditional archetypes. We first meet Park Chang-Yi, or The Bad as he relates to the title and as I’ll refer to him from now on(mind you I will do this for all three characters as their Korean names are a little harder) The Bad is the most feared bandits/mercenaries in the land, and while he surrounds himself with a game of evil murderous thugs, he is more ruthless and self-serving then all of them. He is hired by a rich, double dealing, aristocrat to steal the treasure map back from the Japanese whom he sold it to while they are on a train. Next we meet Yoon Tae-Goo or The Weird and boy does he live up to his name. The Weird is, just like in the title, in place of The Ugly in the classic film and as such he is essentially our main character, the comic relief, and who we are most invested in. He is on this same train The Bad is set to rob, and just happens to choose the car with the Japanese officials and the map to rob and by his dumb luck is able to get the map and just narrowly get off the train, even though he is yet to know what the map means. Finally we meet Park Do-Won, or The Good who of course is on the train as well. He matches his original counterpart from the movie as well, Clint Eastwood’s otherwise unnamed character, in being a bounty hunter who isn’t totally self-serving, but he is out there for money and not to trust anyone. He is on this train to capture The Bad, and uses the distraction of The Weird(as The Weird does to him for his escape) to take out part of The Bad’s gang, in traditional badass fashion, and try to take him out as well.
I would be remiss to ruin anymore plot than that, which I would say is about the first 15 minutes at most, but it sets the tone, plot and characters perfectly for the rest of the film. The plot unfolds in action filled fun that is both over the top as well as believable and always a joy. It is a ways past this where The Good and The Weird have some connection that allows for us to understand that while neither are truly that ‘good’ they have some morals, some humanity which The Bad lacks. There is some troubled history The Weird left behind in Korea, but he has heart that rings true and makes you like him, from his caring for his senile grandmother even when she is a hindrance, to his humble long term goals. The Good is motivated by his goal to put away bad men but also to make money to survive along with his family, whom we meet in one scene that is to good to ruin. The Bad, however, is totally motivated by personal gain, both of wealth and to a higher level of respect as being the very best in the land which is why he’s motivated to get the map, but more so to find and defeat The Weird who he feels challenged by.
This movie just has a beauty in its visuals(much credit I feel is deserved by Cinematographer Oh Seung-Chul) as well as the flow of the narrative. It is a credit to this films casting that the actors all fit their roles quite well while also play off each other terrifically. The movie also has a great sense of humor that follows it throughout, but never discounts the story, the characters or world it takes place in. It is hard to find something to best compare it to, but some other reviews have related some of the fun in the action to the joys of Indiana Jones and honestly I can’t say that isn’t a solid step in the right direction. When a movie can go from a great scene of action adventure to the great use of classic comedy set-up of the fall guy/straight-man team when The Weird and The Good first actually meet(holding their respective roles in this team) few movies are able to hit the pay dirt that the perfect balance of these earns.
Rating: 5/5
As you may have guessed, this movie fit into my viewings at the Dallas International Film Festival, as did Tucker and Dale vs Evil and the shorts section I have yet to review. You may also remember that this is my first festival ever, and honestly between these three things I saw(I will consider the shorts one showing since was in one sitting) it has been a great festival with T&DvE at the start and The Good, The Bad, The Weird as the perfect conclusion. I have spent the last few days since I say this film (Wednesday 4/14/10) trying to find a DVD copy of it, since I doubted it was to be in US theaters as we were told the festival has been trying for the 2 years since the film was made to get it shown. What I have found are quite a few international DVD releases, but none in my home region, and while I am willing to consider one from another region and getting a region free play I pressed on to find out why none for my home region in the US, or region 1. It has been a muddled process, and I have found many, fairly dated, posts about IFC having picked it up and planning a small theatrical release in the US on April 23rd of 2010. I have, however, found one or two posts contradicting this saying the deal fell through, and I have yet to see any mention of a theater showing this limited release, and no mention of a DVD release at all. If by chance any of you reading this can dig up some more details that would be great, but as of now that is all I could find.
<Source: MoviePosterShop.com and property of NBC Universal>
As many of you who have been following me for a while know, my passion isn’t just for films but also TV but one of my biggest loves is NBC’s show Community. If you’re a fan of the show (and if you are the well done on being gifted with great taste, if not then what the hell is wrong with you?) then you know it just had its season finale with 3 episodes airing last Thursday May 17th. The episodes ranged from one paying homage to classic 8-bit video gaming, a heist movie episode ending a story arc that has been going on for weeks, and the season finale that was also the potential show finale. What you may not know if you don’t keep up with the news (though I have no idea how you wouldn’t know because all of Community’s fans are dedicated to keeping the show on the air and its news) but Community has been renewed for a 4th season. This would be a great time of celebration but sadly it also came with the bad news a few days later on Saturday, May 19th, that the show’s creator and lead writer Dan Harmon has been replaced as show runner of Community without him even being part of the talks about it. Dan Harmon has been the driving force behind the creative and hilarious nature of this show, and the source for the idea of many of its best episodes leaving the show in an odd place going into season 4.
That’s all the news you guys need before reading what I have to say up next. After the jump I will talk about the three episodes last Thursday, more in an analysis and discussion and less of a review, as well as Dan Harmon, his being replaced and the show in general thanks to him. Hopefully you guys like this because its from the heart as I truly love this show and find this to be important.
Hey there guys, thought I should post this thing about why I AM NOT REVIEWINGBATTLESHIPeven with my vow to review more movies for you guys, especially less then perfect ones. I’m not reviewingBattleshipbecause I didn’t get a free screening and I’m cheap/kinda broke but also because its FUCKING TERRIBLE!!
No, I haven’t seen it myself to call it FUCKING TERRIBLE but as a reviewer I also read the reviews of others and have those that I generally agree with and trust in the professional community and amongst friends. All of those people say its the biggest piece of shit possible, that it even makes any and all parts of Michael Bay’sTransformerstrilogy look good. If your move comes off as more of a waste of millions of dollars and as a bigger piece of marketing, and marketing alone, thenTransformersa movie remake of a TV series created almost exclusively to sell toys then you’re doing it wrong. I have been told the plot is insipid and the characters are dull and unbelievable and that its nothing but a 2 hour long ad for The US Navy, Battleship and Coke Zero. That’s right, COKE ZERO! Nobody fucking drinks Coke Zero and this movie won’t make you care any more for it. Honestly the best review I heard is “It was the most expensive comedy I have ever seen” but that is being generous when the movie has a 20 minute scene trying to make viewing a grid (JUST LIKE THE BOARD GAME, YAY) be dramatic. So fuck this movie.
Also, all I asked of this film was for anyone, preferrably Liam Neeson, since they bothered to pay him to be in this piece of shit, to say “YOU SUNK MY BATTLESHIP!!” but they supposedly couldn’t even do that. So once again FUCK THIS MOVIE and sorry for no review guys.
I plan to be back next week with a review of Men in Black 3which stands to potentially break my heart as I want it to be good, but only time will tell.
<Source: JustFlick.com; image property of Paramount Pictures>
Hey there guys, you remember like 2 weeks ago when I reviewedThe Avengersand kinda complained that I only had seen, and as such been able to review, really stellar movies of late? Well guess what, that’s changed, I think you’d have to be kinda intoxicated to use “stellar” to describeThe Dictator, but that’s not to say its truly bad either. Before you bemoan my saying this as complaining of having to see a less then good movie let me remind you that I am not paid for these, I don’t get free screenings of everything (or even most things) and I actually willfully paid to go see this film, as well as the fact that I want to be able to give you guys reviews of diverse things. Also, while I didn’t actually seeBrunoI am still a big fan of Sacha Baron Cohen, both as an actor in general and as a writer like withBoratandAli G Showso I went into this film with at least hopes of it being good, just its not as great as hoped.
<Source www.comicbookmovie.com, the image and The Avengersare the property of Marvel Studios and Marvel Comics>
So the time is finally upon us, as I write this it is May 4th, The Avengers has premiered and I have seen it at midnight, drooled over it and added more intended viewings on top of the 3 I initially planned going into it. If that isn’t a dead give away on my feelings I don’t know what is but when a movie makes me this fucking happy, makes me glow this much its hard to be overly clever and/or nonchalant. I feel a little bit bad though, because looking back on my last couple reviews before this one we have The Raid: Redemption and Cabin in the Woods (interestingly another Whedon film, and not even his last this year) both of which were great movies which both got well deserved 4.5s. Why do I feel bad about this? Well I feel bad because while I love being able to tell you guys about great movies to make sure they get seen, part of being a reviewer is that you should also be reviewing less then stellar movies to warn people of bad movies, save them time and frustration and all that. I do want to say though, if you you had to find my review to tell you The Avengers is good then there may be something wrong with you…that’s right, I believe that so much that I’ll insult you, my reader. But I mean come on, the trailers and publicity for it have been everywhere, and none looked bad, plus since the reviewer screenings started the Rotten Tomatoes score held at 100% for a week the finally dropped to a respectable 95%, you can’t top that. With all of that, I clearly have to state and admit that if you rely on my word for if you should see this then I’m flattered and honored, but why because finding my blog and reviews is clearly more of a task then many other places and the movie is just clearly that great without being told. And yet, here I am reviewing the 3rd straight movie that is both really good and something I’d say you should see multiple times when I say you should already know this…god knows I plan to, so sorry for leaving you in the dark on the crap, but why don’t we just jump right into the happiness that is The Avengers.