My Thoughts on Super 8

Super 8 takes place in a small town in Ohio. It features a small band of friends in middle school as they film a movie for a local film festival. While filming one night, they witness a massive train crash which releases an alien being transported from Area 51. The alien then starts disrupting the town, but less so than the military who want to keep the alien a secret. When Alice, the leading female in the film, goes missing, the young friends investigate into her disappearance.

I loved this movie. I loved the small town setting and the relationship between the characters. What I loved most was how the science fiction element didn't detract from the character relations. Instead, the alien story seemed to boost the tension between the characters. I also like how you can remove the alien and military elements and you still have a movie. Granted, one not as exciting, but a movie nonetheless.

I also loved the quirks of the kids. My favorite was Cary, who carried explosives and firecrackers with him at all times.

I have two complaints. Only one I partially excuse.

The first is the kids' recovery time after huge explosions. They witness a giant train crash, no one is hurt, but no one is remarkably shocked or trembling or traumatized by the fact that the giant train just careened right by them. Of course, they have one in their numbers obsessed with things that go boom, so I can forgive that. Especially when they have to consistently witness giant Booms against their will. I do believe there was another escapade towards the end that I thought they recovered remarkably quickly. Spoilers.

The second is the car that crashed into the train. For all intents and purposes, that truck and its driver should not have made it out alive and in one piece. That was very unbelievable to me, especially aforementioned size of said train explosion. I have no excuse for this one. This is just plain unrealistic.

Overall, you should go see this movie. Because it's awesome.

Alice in Wonderland (review)

Director:  Tim Burton

Starring:  Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska

 

Among a series of adventures over the weekend, I saw the new Tim Burton film Alice in Wonderland, which shares common things in the original book but really follows its own path.  I haven’t really read the original book, but I did see Disney’s first rendition of it as a child.  Nonetheless, I believe that comparing a movie to its book counterpart is completely pointless.  The reasoning behind this is for another post.  But these are my thoughts on the movie, and the movie only.

 

First, I like the tight narration.  Everything that happened in the plot is essential to the story.  Things that happen in the end are alluded to in the beginning.  The end comes in full circle and left a satisfied feeling of completeness.

 

Going along with this, no subplots are left unresolved.  The focus of the movie is on Alice, so the development of the supporting cast is based on Alice’s adventures.  All knots are closed, all flaps are sealed.  A nice way to end things and yet there is still the hint that more adventures may await.  This is not a call for a sequel, this is merely the cliched “end is only the beginning”. 

 

I enjoyed the idea of two separate plots in the movie.  We see Alice in the real world and the problems she sees there, which involve how to act when so many people expect so many things from you.  Then we see Alice in Wonderland, where she faces the same kind of problems though with different expectations.  The lessons from one world are applied to the next, and we have a smooth and closed ending.

 

The casting was very well done.  Whoever cast the movie knew what they were doing.  Helana Bonham Carter was a fabulous Red Queen, and Johnny Depp was amazing as the Mad Hatter.  Both Carter and Depp were the best actors in the whole movie.  Anne Hathaway was good at the White Queen, but I feel like she restrained herself in the role.  I guess I’m just used to seeing Anne Hathaway in really awesome roles and the White Queen isn’t as awesome.  For the first time ever, I have seen Alan Rickman out of a villain role (other than Snape)!  I can die happy now.  The lovely actress portraying Alice (Mia Wasikowska) was lovely.  She had a nice attitude and great accent.  I felt her performance was a little stiff at times, but she was a really nice Alice. 

 

Costumes and makeup were quite amazing.  Johnny Depp’s eyes were absolutely cooky and really fit his character.  The credits listed a single person that did his makeup separate from the rest of the team.  Kudos to that individual (I did not catch their name) because they are a master at makeup.  And the costumes were fabulous!  I especially liked Alice’s dress as she was wandering around the Red Queen’s castle.  And the small shift the Mad Hatter made for her was really cute. 

 

The coolest thing about the movie:  Johnny Depp’s dance.  Enough said.

 

I have to say, I was not entirely blown away by the background or special effects in the movie.  Though interesting in the means, it wasn’t revolutionary or groundbreaking, just very fantastical.

 

I would still like to watch this movie again if only to watch it without a critical eye.  Word of advice: never ever watch something in the hopes of criticizing it.  You turn into a critic, and no one likes the critics.  A hypocrite, am I?  Yes, yes I am. 

 

This is a good movie, and very much enjoyable.  Recommended for Tim Burton fans and anyone who can’t decide what to see in the theaters.

 

For an interesting take on the making of Lewis Carroll’s original Alice in Wonderland, read this article in the New York Times.

Soredemo Boku wa Yattenai --- I Just Didn’t Do It (review)

Director:  Masayuki Suo

Starring:  Ryo Kase, Asaka Seto

(info from IMBD.com)

 

After a discussion on “artistic movies” and their lack of happy endings with good friend secret codename Herb, we went in expecting a less-than-happy ending although we were pulling for a happy ending.  Our expectations won out.

 

I Just Didn’t Do It is about a young man wrongly accused of groping a young girl on a train.  Because he believes he shouldn’t be punished for something he didn’t do, he waits out for a trial on the matter.  The trial is long and grueling and frightening because of Japan’s 99.9% conviction rate.  This seems like one of those movies with a political moral, particularly to point out the flaws of the Japanese justice system.  A man who is genuinely innocent cannot walk free without working his tail off to defend himself.  And even then, he is judged so harshly that he cannot walk free. 

 

Lesson for visiting tourists:  Don’t commit a crime.

 

This movie was, in a word, tedious.  Running for two hours and twenty minutes, the movie really wore on me.  I found myself checking my watch periodically.  There was also the feel that this movie would go on for a long time during the movie.  The pacing calls for a long movie because it went through all the steps that go along with a Japanese trial.  Even so, the material wasn’t that interesting to me.  I enjoyed the conversational explanations between the lawyers and the accused (I forget his name) and his friends.  They helped me, as someone unfamiliar with Japan’s law, understand what was going on.  But I wonder if an average Japanese citizens knows a lot about the law system.  If I were to make this movie, though, I would fit in those explanations too.  You can’t assume your audience knows what’s going on all the time, I guess.

 

The pacing was kind of slow, but it fit the narrative.  Going at a fast pace in this movie would deter from it in terms of storytelling.  As being one of the audience, I thought the pacing slow.  The writers did a good job with the suspense.  Between the court trials and the conversational explanations, there was a definite uncertainly whether the accused would get off or not.

 

If I were to go back and watch this movie again, I just might be bored out of my mind.  There didn’t seem to be any interesting symbolism to keep an audience’s attention.  Unless they wanted to really point to the workings of the Japanese legal system to me, I wouldn’t want to see this movie again.

 

Overall, this movie was long, tedious, political, and slow-paced.  A one-timer, albeit an interesting watch.  Recommended for those who want an intelligent movie.

Where the Wild Things Are (review)

Director: Spike Jonze
Starring: Max Records, James Gandolfini
Grade: B+

Personally, I say the question of whether this is a children's movie is up in the air. I highly enjoyed it, but my friend secret codename Herb downright disliked it. Then again, she did confess that the monsters in the movie reminded her of her childhood nightmares. That I can understand.

Max is a disobedient little boy who likes to play outside and have adventures. We see him interact with his older sister and his mother. This establishes the theme that Max feels like the world is against him. Although he can make his mother laugh while she works, he does tend to be a little pain in the butt. One night, he runs away to an island inhabited by giant monsters. They agree to make Max king because Max tells them he was made king of the vikings. From there, Max declares that they build a giant fort where they can sleep in a giant pile like their first night. The story continues from there.

The movie itself does not seem to feature any main or central conflict. But the viewer can draw a few parallels between Max and the monster Carol. While at home, Max feels like the world is against him. I'm sure we've all felt like this before as a child. Adults think their way is the best way and don't believe children have minds of their own. Movies like this help bring to the front that children in fact are capable of thinking for themselves even if it is flawed. While no one agrees to go along with what Max has to say, he becomes a troublemaker.

On the island, Carol is the character everyone else isolates in a similar way. No one very much likes his ideas even if Carol thinks his ideas are the best. This is probably what first draws Max to Carol. As the story continues, and Max becomes king, Max discovers what it's like to be the one with the ideas and to be listened to. He likes it. Even though Max sometimes goes along with Carol,he does not always like Carol's ideas. This is apparent when KW brings her friends Bob and Terri into the fort and their brains are not eaten automatically. Although Max wanted the new friends to enter, Carol did not.

Although the monsters may not appear child-friendly to my friend, the imagination displayed throughout the movie was definitely that of a child. The lack of technology in the kid's life is apparent in the beginning of the movie, and I attribute this to his active imagination. (There is a theme there better left for another post.) The writer's did a very good job writing about a boy with a mind of creation, and they did a good job tying a lot of the events in his life together in the arc of the movie.

The main thing that caught my attention, however, was the photography. Whoever had command of the camera knew exactly how to poetically capture an image. It was kind of breathtaking to watch and kept a person inspired throughout the movie. Perhaps it's these images that reminded the viewer that the movie is about imagination. The cinematography is very inspiring.

However, the movie fails to present a central conflict to be resolved throughout the movie. Yes, there is conflict with Max's behavior at home and Carol's anger at the end of the movie, but it's not really resolved. We do not see Max learning a lesson while away, we just see him calm down enough to realize that maybe he didn't behave his best. And we do see Carol be upset for getting angry at Max too.

To go along with this, the characters don't really have central goals. While on the island, Max just wants to have fun and be the king for the monsters. Yes, they build a fort, the story continues after the fort is finished. It's just a background activity so the characters have something to do while they have fun.

Overall, I give this movie a B+. After a while, it did seem to get a bit long. And the lack of set goals and conflicts highlight the length. It detracts from what really made this movie enjoyable: good acting on Max's part and the photography. The active imagination was very endearing too.

This movie is recommended for everyone aged seven and up. Some of the images might be scary, and a character does get his arm ripped off at one point. But overall, very family friendly, and enjoyable to watch.

Toki o kakeru shôjo (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time) -- A Review

Director: Mamoru Hosoda
Starring: Riisa Naka, Takuya Ishida
Grade: B/B-
viewed in the original Japanese with subtitles

The movie follows high schooler Makoto Konno. She's the typical student, not very smart but not stupid. Every day after school, she hangs out with her friends Chiaki and Kosuke. They play baseball on a daily basis. Nothing seems to be altogether wrong with anything. The day starts with Makoto almost late for school. She goes on to fail a surprise quiz, cause a scene while making tempura, and then forgets to deliver report books to the teacher's lounge. It's when she investigates someone rustling in the next room where she comes across a small walnut-shaped device that gives her the ability to leap through time.

The movie started out pretty strong. We hear Makoto complain about her younger sister. Some girls at school have crushes on Makoto's friends, but she's not bothered by this until later. As the movie progresses, the film seems to lose some of its strength. I was still interested throughout the whole thing, but then there was the Interesting Twist around three quarters into the movie.

I suppose this Interesting Twist is alluded to, but my friend (secret codename Herb) and I agreed that it could have been done better. The Interesting Twist was more of an unwarranted right-hook. And then I thought about it, and then I concluded that the allusions could have been done better.

That's my only qualm about the movie. The animation is beautiful throughout the whole thing, and there were some interesting shots that were very artistic. I liked the effects when she traveled through time --- with the clocks and numbers. Throughout the movie, she refers to her time travel ability as a "Time Leap", an action made literal by the fact that she leaps if she wants to travel through time.

I found it interesting that she doesn't run into her past or future selves while time traveling. But I suppose when you are the one being taken out of time, the entirety of you is taken out as well.

This movie was also riddled with comedic moments. Leaping through a kendo lesson was pretty funny. After a few leaps, she mastered the ability to roll when she lands. So she'll suddenly appear somersaulting on the ground to the surprised faces of Kosuke and Chiaki. Not only that, but her antics in general were really amusing to watch. It was very entertaining in that sense.

Overall, it was a good movie. A nice little anime for those unwilling to watch an entire series. I'm not sure whether to give it a B or a B-. Yes, it's good, but that Interesting Twist is really something that hits you the wrong way. So I'll just ride the fence on this one and come up with a better grading scale. I'll post it when I have it figured out.

Terminator Salvation (review)

Director: McG
Starring: Christian Bale, Sam Worthington
Grade: B

I sit down to watch this movie, and the first thing I notice is that the movie title is announced twice. First in the subtle-cool way I like movie titles to be announced. Then in the zoom-out-from-the-background-to-reveal-the-title way. And then I saw that the opening credits were also done twice. I didn't notice until I saw the name of the director for the second time. Someone, somewhere did not do their job good enough.

Fear not, for this movie is redeemed by Sam Worthington. Dear Sam, your plot beats out Christian Bale's. Love, KL. It's easy to see why. We have awesome-handsome melancholy dude with a heart who somehow managed to murder his brother and two police officers. The details of said murder were never clarified, but it's just background story. Sam's character Marcus Wright just needed something to get his ass on death row. He signs away his body to science, and BOOM! We wakes up post-battlefield in 2018. Poor guy thought he was dead. He also thought he was human. His development was smooth. When he discovered his innards, his reaction was great. And then he got over it. I liked that a lot. Discover, mull, get over it. I LOVED how Marcus refused to accept himself as a machine. Way to defy The Machine, man. And his actor played it very nicely. Sam Worthington, I <3 u.

I believe Christian played the role stoic. You can tell his character was shocked from the way his face froze and how Christian failed to blink. But I think his wife, played by Moon Bloodgood, could have used more screen time. She was pretty good. I did not like her pregnant. Why have a child in the middle of the war? It makes no sense. To live on? Once the machines find out, that child will be a target. Not to kill, but to capture and use as bait. I feel sorry for the little guy. He'll be one helluva protected soul once he comes out.

Just a few slip ups that I did not like. Like when the fuel tank explodes. I really don't know what kind of explosion it would generate, but something tells me the explosion it caused packed too much of a punch. Then again, this is Hollywood, so I shouldn't expect nothing less than grandeur explosions from gas fumes. But it still urks me.

The special effects were seamless. Nicely done. The machine parts looked so real when Marcus's skin was blown off in places.

And this movie wasn't about the action! Too many action movies concentrate on the action! This one had good characters and a unique plot. And maybe that is tearing me away from seeing that this movie really is about action. If that's the case, I don't care. Because I like the plot, I like the characters, and if you're making this solely for the action, then I don't see it. End of story.

Avatar (review)

Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana
Grade: A

This movie is highly recommended.

I think I've seen this plot or something similar before. But I'm pretty sure this is the way that plot is supposed to play out. Man gets an opportunity for a new life. Same man is used to gain inside information on native species. The native species is the biggest obstacle standing between the human company and their goals. Man has no reason to say no --- until he falls in love with the native species.

I knew the ending early on. I mean, he has nothing to live for on Earth, right? Of course the story will play out as it does. Then again, I'm starting to predict movies as they go on now. Disappointing as it is, I find it fun. Whatever doesn't fulfill my expectations gets a few brownie points. So I am jumping for joy that the ending is not the happily-ever-after-for-everyone ending. People die. And because people died I wasn't sure if more people will die. Then I was on the edge of my seat wondering if they will live or die . . . and then I sighed with the outcome.

One of the notable features of this movie is the women characters. I probably wouldn't have noticed unless I read an article in USA Today that my friend pointed out a few mornings ago. Now that I think about it, any woman featured in the movie was not going to let someone rescue her. Trudy, the pilot, is a go getter who won't take orders she doesn't like. We first meet Dr. Grace demanding a cigarette, and she exits murmuring something about taking samples. She's also very confrontational. And then there's Neytiri. She helps lead the battle against the humans, shows Jake the ropes about her people, and murders the Annoyingly Determined Bastard. I like her too.

This movie is riddled with special effects, but it's not bad. You get so lost in them that you forget what you're looking at is entirely made up. And they're so detailed you can't even pretend they're not real! James Cameron spent four (almost five) years working on the plants and world of Pandora. That is dedication to be respected, people.

James Cameron pushed technology for this movie. Although most of the movie is computer animated, he had help from the real people. He built the set and placed censors and cameras at nearly every point. The actors were dressed in suits with the same censors attached in more places than recommended (as in, instead of three censors on an arm, they had ten). So when they filmed the scenes, adding the CGI would be easier and more detailed than ever before. And it's done so seamlessly you don't even remember it's not real! I think I said that before. A linguist was hired to work on the native language, and the actors had to break normal human habits while working (like nodding your head to say yes and other small things like that). It's great!

I feel like I've seen this kind of plot before. But this is that plot done right. Go see it. You'll like it.

District 9

Director: Neill Blomkamp

Starring: Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope

Grade: A

The film opens and ends with mock interviews setting the scene. We hear the story about the arrival of the aliens in South Africa through excerpts of these interviews. At the same time, our main protagonist is set up. He's a man with a position by the name of Wikus van de Merwe newly promoted to move the aliens out of District 9 and into another location further from the city Johannesburg. Problems arise later in the movie when Wikus is going around evicting aliens from their shack homes.

The plot for the movie could have easily portrayed Wikus as a military captain who has to switch alliances to get help. I like the way the movie plays with that concept better. Wikus was an office man. During his time going around District 9, he inhales a chemical that slowly turns him into an alien. His only hope is the alien that made the chemical -- a smart alien by the name of Christopher Johnson. Wikus and Christopher agree to help each other achieve their goals.

I loved the developing friendship between Wikus and Christopher. The only thing bringing them together was their need for the other's help, but they seem to grow fond of each other as the movie progresses. It really warms my heart. I also like Christopher's son, a curious little alien who wants to go back to the aliens' home planet. That kid is badass. His father taught him how to work alien technology, and it brought good things that made my stomach flip at all the right places. Besides, it's not often you see an entire room of gangs downed in one shot.

The fact that Wikus is played by a no name actor is also amazing. He is a solid actor. His character was great, his screams of pain were legitimate, and I loved the small things he did. When he first boarded the sweet mecha thing, little probes drilled into his forehead. His swearing and head jerkiness during that was legitimate. There was also the plant at the beginning of the movie. His wife tells the camera that he used to make her little random crafts. This is important at the end of the movie in sweet ways.

The entire movie was filmed with a hand-held camera. Which really added to the documentary style of the whole thing. It added to the dusty plains, tan color scheme look. Every once in a while, the characters would refer to the camera. Wikus would push the lens away so he could puke. And a few blood splatters hit the lens, which I liked.

The special effects were AMAZING. That is a trait that I didn't notice until I walked out of the theater. Everything was merged so delicately everything looked legitimate. I had to remind myself a few times that the movie is really science fiction and there isn't a giant piece of land in South Africa that holds 2.5 million aliens. Nothing was clean-cut and pristine, and everything that happened was actually real. Nothing I could pick up on seemed something out of Hollywood.

Go see this movie. It kicks butt.

He's Just Not That Into You (movie)

What I really liked about this movie was that there was no single main character. One character does some voice-over narration at the beginning and at the end, but she is not the main character, so let's just call her by her character name: Gigi.

Gigi works with another woman, Anna, who is experiencing complications in her marriage. Both work with Jennifer Aniston who has Ben Afleck as the "perfect husband" except he doesn't believe in marriage. Anna's husband is cheating on her with a curvy blonde (Scarlett Johansson) who likes the platonic relationship she has with Conor Barry. This same Conor Barry went on a first date with Gigi at the beginning of the movie. Conor has a close friend, Alex, who works at a bar and starts giving Gigi advice on men. And Conor is the client of a newspaper advertiser (Drew Barrymore) who discovered the complexities of online dating.

So the complexities of the characters help to make the movie. Individually, these stories are short and wouldn't take long to get through each of them. And while some stories seem to get more emphasis than others, you are no less in love with the characters with less screen time. The fact that they're edited together in a nice and coherent way makes the movie a pleasure to watch. Also, because there are so many stories intertwined, the movie is longer than the standard romantic comedy.

My favorite story is Jennifer Aniston's. Her character takes some crap from some relatives because she's not married yet, but then her father comes up and says "You've never done what the others have done, and that's why you're my favorite daughter." She realizes the men her sisters married were jerks, thus she appreciates her boyfriend-who-doesn't-believe-in-marriage more than she realized. It made me warm and fuzzy on a cold day.

So go see this movie. It's good, interesting, and will definitely make you smile. And if you're a man, see it anyway because you can definitely get some awesome pointers about what a woman really wants in a relationship (if that's what you're looking for, that is).

I will try to update more often. The fact that school is slowing down for a while will help.

Whip It

Director: Drew Barrymore

Starring: Ellen Page, Kristen Wiig

Personal Rating: B

I do not consider myself an expert on movies, but I do think I have good taste. I'm not picky (like some co-workers of mine), I don't set my sights too high, and I like to think that I'm a good judge on what appears to be something I'd like when I watch movie trailers.

I was excited to see this movie because I liked the look, I like Ellen Page, and the Badger Herald gave it a decent review. There is also full contact, all women roller derby involved. The cinematography was nothing special. I enjoyed the dealings with the mise-en-scene. Editing was also fairly decent. But what I really liked about this movie was the message behind it.

Here we have a teenager who dislikes the pageants her mother forces her to attend. Right off the bat, she bashes these pageants by announcing that she would like to have dinner with Amelia Earhart instead of someone lamely inspirational. She does this with blue hair. Then we track this same teenager (named Bliss) as she works her way to independence from under her mother's nose. She discovers a world of independence and strong female roll models (haha) who she strives to become. These are women who didn't attend a great college, but they still love life away from the mold of what's acceptable and what isn't.

It should also be noted that when things hinted at wavering, Bliss was the one who stepped up to reveal her lies. She was not called out on anything to her team, and I think that's saying something. Her parents did discover her lies, which made things that way worse, but it only made another message stronger. "Just because you found a new family doesn't mean you throw the old one away," so says Kristen Wiig's character Maggie Mayhem.

I also enjoyed how the romance didn't work out. Bliss was not going to be "that girl" and her choice was final. It just shows that a woman doesn't need a man in her life to be the best she can be. Another good message in the movie.

Although the motto for the movie seems like I've heard it in every other inspirational movie ("Be your own hero"), this movie does take it to another level. At least another placement on a shelving unit. Be your own hero, but don't do it because you have to save the world. Do it because you have to save you.